There still is the issue of "true love" to get around.
Someone else already pointed out that Lara got burned when Harry touched her during the Thomas rescue mission, so I can dispense with that. What you seem to have missed is an answer that you came up with in an earlier post.
The one where you pointed out that Harry was good at manipulating others. I will add, even when Harry is consciously trying to manipulate another, he doesn’t necessarily have an end game or specific goal in mind. Also, there are times when Harry influences others, without intending or realizing he is doing so.
In Blood Rites, Harry overtly manipulated Lara into taking out Lord Raith by telling her he could hand her control of House Raith and show her just how weak her father really was. Harry wasn’t lying, but he implied that he would overthrow Lord Raith himself, not that he would only weaken him so Lara could finish the job. Harry had a specific goal he wanted, and that needed, to attain with this manipulation.
When Harry told Lash that she had changed and might have a life outside of returning to Lashiel, it wasn’t part of a plan to make her turn against Lashiel at a critical moment. Harry was mostly trying to fight back against Lash manipulating him. He was trying to keep Lash off of her game and it only morphed into a plan when Harry was out of other options.
Mab believed that Harry manipulated Molly into becoming his loyal vassal, when Harry was completely unaware that Molly was a magic user. Harry influenced Molly without realizing the effect he was having on her.
So, influence and possibly some manipulation without an end game in mind. Where might that lead? True love. Harry can’t plan on that happening. It is simply too remote and crazy to have that as a goal; plus, you can’t will yourself to love someone else.
Speaking of will, it seems to me that Harry is almost always in a contest of wills with Lara. That does requires some degree of manipulation on Harry’s part; largely for survival, but if Harry might be afraid of being in Lara’s company; being influenced by her, losing himself, I wonder if Lara might have her own worries about Harry. Even some fears Lara might not admit to herself. Lara might be compared to a tiger, but Harry is the guy who makes tiger traps.
Let me put this in simpler terms. Harry and Lara will be in each other’s company for a fair amount of time over the next year. They are already attracted to each other. There will be a lot of back and forth between the two. It seems a good bet that one hostile party or another might take a shot at removing Harry, Lara or both of them. That could be a perfect opportunity for both of them to be willing to lay down their life for one another. I don’t think Jim is going to do this, but it could happen.
Imagine how much fun this scenario could lead to. The marriage couldn’t be consummated. Harry would be frustrated, as usual. Lara would be terrified that she would look weak and be overthrown; and she would probably be correct, if it the rest of the White Court found out that she was in love with Harry, with her prey. Mab would wonder why Harry wasn’t becoming more pliable. Ebenezer and the rest of the White Council would now be certain that Harry was under control of the White Court. Yes, I know Justine found away around this, but do you think Harry would suggest it?
