Page 97 of Country Contract

“I don’t know,” I can hear her holding back. “You were just lying there, waiting. Then . . . you got scared and I . . . I lost it. I felt so uncomfortable and out of my element, then I saw that you were too. It was just so . . . not for us.” She says as if remembering something and beginning to laugh again. I growl and quickly move to tackle her.

When her back hits the bed, she squeals and laughs harder.

“Stop, Harrison! I’m sorry!” She’s literally going to combust.

“What. Is. So. Funny?” I say, burying my face between her jaw and shoulder. I bite down on her neck, and she squeaks.

“Stop! You’re still . . . you’re still . . .” She can’t talk.

I pull back, looking down at her. Tears are falling down her face as she giggles.

“I’m still what?” I bark out, biting the side of her hand that covers her face.

“Hard!” she cries.

I look down and I am. I am rock fucking hard.

“Well, shit.” I roll off her and grip my erection firmly. “Damn thing has a mind of its own.”

Harlow drops her hands to her chest and takes deepbreaths in an attempt to calm herself. I situate myself so I’m lying right next to her. I wait until she has calmed down before opening the conversation again.

We turn and look at each other, the flush staying on her cheeks as she grins over at me.

“I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in . . .” She scrunches her nose up. “Well, I don’t think I’ve actually ever laughed like that.”

Harlow looks down at my erection and I sigh, grabbing a pillow and covering myself. It won’t lie flat, and Harlow giggles again. I give her an unamused look, and she makes a poor attempt at a serious face.

“Well, it was hot. Really, it was. You are like sculpture-worthy hot. You were so patient and sexy. I thought, ‘Wow, this is so hot.’ But then I wanted to touch you more and to have more interaction. I tried to push those feelings down, but I couldn’t. I could tell you wanted it too, but you were nervous. You were also flinching . . . a lot.”

I was?

“Anytime you thought you heard something, your body would jerk, and I would have to remember this is what they call a scene. I would get pulled out and just want to undo you and do things the way we usually do. So I pushed myself and grabbed the crop to try and get back into the zone, but you were terrified. Literally shivering, while sporting a massive erection.”

I roll my eyes.I did not shiver.

“Then, I touched your nipple, and you yelped and called out my name. I fucking lost it. Like this is not for us.”

I grab her and pull her slightly on top of me; she looks down at me and smiles.

“Me bein’ scared funny to you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I think I was just so out of myelement. Then you were too, like, very out of your element,” she states before kissing my lips. “I love that you were willing to go to such lengths.”

Anything for this woman.

“Of course, I don’t want your inspiration to die out.” I hope I sound charming and a little more confident than I had a few minutes ago.

She kisses me again. “I can’t hurt you. It doesn’t turn me on. It makes me sad. You’re like a tied-up puppy.”

I bite at her bottom lip, and she giggles.

“Do you want to tie me up?” she asks earnestly.

“Not like this. I can’t hurt you, either,” I admit.

“What do you mean, not like this?”

“I think in a spontaneous moment I’d like to try something a little different.”

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