Page 68 of Country Contract

Everyone here has welcomed me without a doubt or second thought. I get an extra glance when I’m first spotted, but once a conversation starts, it’s like everything clicks. I wonder how Cassidy moving into this town went; was it as seamless as it seems? Do people just welcome you with open arms despite how different you are?

My time with every person here is leaving an imprinton my soul and getting me ready for whatever I’m going to face next.

As much inspiration as Harrison offers me, and trust me, there’s a lot, I realize it’s much more than that. It’s the control and freedom I get simultaneously while spending time with him. As he would say, we haven’t taken things all the way, just lots of other stuff. I’m surprised by how much fun I’m having with the “other stuff.”

I’ve enjoyed pleasuring my partners in the past, but this is different. Every time I go down on Harrison I feel a burst of energy after. I feel alive and high-wired, and if I was anxious or upset, that tension is relieved.

My period had just finished almost in time for Meg’s arrival, and I know Harrison had been itching to return the favor. I don’t mind making our time together about him. I don’t think he’s used to being tended to. He is a natural caretaker. He likes setting up a movie, blankets, and drinks for us. I can tell each time we watched a movie and he massaged my feet that it brought him a sense of accomplishment as well as joy.

A side thought barrels its way into my mind.

Does Harrison have a foot fetish?

Every single time we watch a movie, he starts massaging and touching my feet. It’s almost a habit for him, like he can’t help it. I file the thought away to include that in my erotica research.

“Damn, Sandra Bullock has aged like a fine wine. Like she’s cute here and all, but she’s smokin’ now,” Cassidy states before finishing her margarita.

The movie plays in the background and is almost over.

“I just love how much this guy loves her. Like he was the person they needed to break that stupid curse. Her fate was meant to be with him, as heartbreaking as losing herhusband was. In the end, true love wins,” Meg chimes in, her third margarita more than halfway gone.

I roll my eyes at the two of them. “But some people may never get to experience that kind of love.” I hate being the negative one, but that is the reality for some people.

“You can’t say that just because you and Heath might get married!” Meg whines.

Cassidy’s head snaps over in my direction lightning fast.

“Who’s Heath?” she asks.

“No—”

“Oh! He’s this guy her parents are trying to set her up with. Not ugly. Not hot. Kind of a stick-in-the-mud, ya know? Like he’s always on his phone working and taking care of business.” Meg uses air quotes around the words “taking care of business,” sending the wrong kind of signal.

“Does he take care of business?” Cassidy quirks a brow at me.

“I wouldn’t?—”

“He does! He makes lots and lots of money running his family’s business. So, he knows what he’s doing. He saw a picture of Harley and knew she would make the perfect corporate trophy wife. But he barked up the wrong tree. Harlow isn’t anyone’s trophy!” I facepalm myself and close my eyes as Meg runs her damn mouth.

Cassidy has a stupid smile on her face, but at the same time, she looks worried. She’s been watching Harrison and me. I know how much this family means to her. Taking Cassidy into their family means mutual love and protection.

“So, are you guys dating?” Cassidy inquires.

“They—”

“Meg hush!” I quiet her before she can start again. Getting up and grabbing a glass of water, I shove it in Meg’s direction and take her other drink away.

“No. We’re not dating. It’s meant to be a sort of . . . arrangement between my parents and him. We had one family dinner before I left town.”

Cassidy sits up and puts her glass down on the coffee table.

“I’m sorry, what?! An arrangement?! Between who?!” I love how mad she is. I can only imagine crossing someone she’s truly close with. She would burn down a city for them.

“Girl. That’s how my family works. It took my dad like a decade to accept that my sister is gay. He already arranged one of my sister’s marriages, and I’m his oldest. He can’t stand that I’m not married to some business elite. I haven’t said yes to anything, but in my house, it’s hard to say no.”

Cassidy’s cheeks were pink before from our alcohol consumption, but now they are red.

“Fuck that! You are not going to get stuck in some ugly, boring business marriage! You are a queen, you hear me?! A QUEEN! Say it. Tell me you won’t go through with it. What if he has a small dick, Harlow?! What will you do, masturbate until you die?” I laugh at her last line.

---