Page 8 of The Mentor
“What’s that?”
“Tinker Bell – you know, the fairy that helped Peter Pan. It’s a classic children’s story.”
“They’re not fairies, they’re bugs,” Archer said matter-of-factly. “Fairies aren’t real.”
“I know that,” I exclaimed, a little offended that he thought me that naïve. “But you have to admit that it’s a bit magical with the way they dance in the air like small stars or torches of fire.”
He chuckled. “I’m happy you like it, and it’s a lot more relaxing to watch them with you than my usual crowd.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know why, but boys tend to want to catch them and I always have to stop them from hurting the little suckers.”
I gave a small gasp. “Why would anyone try to hurt something this precious?”
He shrugged. “Boys will be boys, I guess.”
I angled my head and bit my tongue. This was a wonderful moment and I didn’t want to spoil it by arguing that boys in the Motherlands were as considerate and thoughtful as girls. “Thank you for showing me. It’s much prettier than I could have imagined.” To underline my gratefulness, I took both his hands and looked into his eyes in a sign of respect and appreciation.
By now the dusk had fallen but Archer was close enough for me to see the gleam in his eyes.
“You’re very beautiful,” he whispered and the intimacy of standing close to him in a quiet forest made his words stand out like he had shouted them.
Something inside my stomach did a somersault and I remembered what he had said about kissing a pretty woman. The rush of this new situation made my breath a little shallow.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “I said you’re very beautiful.”
Raised to be polite, I reciprocated his compliment. “So are you, Archer. I love your eyes – the color is extraordinary.” When I tried pulling back my hands Archer held on to me.
“Would you be mad if I kissed you?” he asked.
I gave a small laugh, flattered by his interest in me. “Why would you kiss me? You’ve only just met me today.”
“I know, but I really like you and you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
A crazy and curious part of me whispered internally about all the times Christina had described kissing Boulder, and how she made it sound like something amazing.
Archer leaned in, but didn’t kiss me. “Can I?” he whispered.
Maybe the little fairies were spraying some magic dust on us or they’d brought their cousin, the dangerous Cupid, because at that moment I wanted nothing more than for this fascinating man to plant his lips on mine. I didn’t think about the fact that I didn’t know him very well or that he might not be able to stop once he got started. It was like I’d swallowed a bunch of fireflies that were now buzzing around in my belly causing my blood to pump faster and my brain to switch off.
“Yes,” I whispered almost inaudibly.
Archer made a hoarse sound in the back of his throat and that was the only warning I got before I hung dangling over the ground in the arms of a large and very strong man. His lips were demanding and he kissed me with such intensity that I couldn’t breathe at first.
It took me a while to get over the initial shock, but then I kissed him back.
When he lowered me enough for my tiptoes to reach the ground again, his hands moved up to cup my face as if afraid I would pull away from him. The sound he produced made me want to say something, but as soon as I spread my lips his tongue entered my mouth, making me sputter a protest. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized without letting me go. “I just wanted to try it. I won’t use my tongue again.”
I stood perfectly still while he nibbled at my upper lip. “I never imagined kissing would feel this good,” he muttered into my mouth.
“Me neither,” I admitted, because except for the tongue thing, his kiss had felt exciting and I wanted more.
My words set him off again and soon he was all over me. His hands roamed my back, my neck, my hair, and with his eyes closed he kissed me like this would be his last chance to ever kiss a woman.
Only when he tugged up my shirt did I set my boundary. “Stop,” I whispered and pulled back.
