Cat
I LIKE HARRISON’S ROOM. IT’S more spacious than mine and he has quirky decorations. As though he’s collected items over the years and somehow made a representation of himself through his décor. I turn over a particularly heavy hunk of metal and stare at it in confusion. It’s clunky and I have no idea what it even is. But I guess art is that way. Beloved to the eye of the beholder and all that jazz.
My eyes drift to the window and I stare longingly at the house in the distance. I can see it beyond the fog that’s starting to clear. It makes my chest ache.
My home.
Well, my old home.
I miss it.
And not just for the things in it. I miss the memories. The smell. My dad’s always cheery disposition.
“It’s an alternator.” Harrison takes the clunky metal thing and places it back on the dresser. “A car part.”
“I thought it was a decoration,” I say, smiling.
He rubs at his eyes and I take a minute to admire him as he yawns. His gray sweatpants hang low on his narrow hips, revealing a very obvious bulge. Morning wood. I bite back a smile as I let my eyes roam up along his dark happy trail to his sexy belly button. Over his gloriously chiseled abs decorated in ink painting every inch of him. Up along his chest and between his pectoral muscles that are downright lickable. I slide my gaze up his strong neck that’s corded with muscle. His Adam’s apple protrudes and I find myself fixated on that lovely but unusual part of the human anatomy. Eventually, I let my eyes flit to his face. He’s watching me, minus his usual knowing smirk. So serious this morning.
“Did you get your fill?” he asks, his voice still rough and gravelly from sleep.
“Not yet,” I say, darting my gaze to his dick before meeting his eyes again. “Someone insisted on my sleeping last night.”
His jaw clenches and his features harden. “Your cousin had just felt you up. Didn’t exactly feel like the right time to fuck my girl for the first time.”
I try to make light of it, but he’s right. Last night, we came to his room and I burst into tears. I was pissed at Theo but also upset that he’d creep on me like that, pretending to be Harrison. It was disturbing. A shudder ripples through me.
“Hey,” Harrison says, kneeling in front of me. He tips my chin up with his fingers so his blue eyes sear into mine. “You okay?”
I swallow down the emotion and smile. “Perfect.”
“Liar,” he says, smirking. “Talk to me, mustang girl.”
Turning from him, I stare out the window again. “I was feeling homesick.”
He takes my hand and brings it to his mouth. After giving each knuckle a sweet kiss, he bites my thumb.
“Hey!” I yelp.
He grins wickedly at me. “I was trying to cheer you up.”
“By biting me?”
The asshole shrugs. “It was worth a try.”
“Dumbest idea ever, Harrison.” But I’m smiling stupidly at him.
“It worked,” he says smugly. He bites me again and I swat him in the head. His laughter fills my soul this morning, driving out any lingering depression.
“I guess I’ll leave so you can get ready for work,” I say in resignation.
He shakes his head. “I’m calling in sick today.”
“You are?”
“You mentioned last night you missed riding Shorty. I thought we could take the horses out and you could take me to some of your spots,” he says with a smile that makes my heart flutter.
“My spots belong to someone else now.”
“The sweet spots are mine,” he says with a wolfish grin. “But the secret spots at your old house, those are the ones I’m talking about. We’ll pack a lunch and make a day of it.”
“A day of breaking and entering?” I ask with an arched brow.
“Unless you have something better to do.” He smirks as he rises to his feet, offering me his hand.
I allow him to pull me up and into his arms. “Nope, nothing better. Let’s be bad together.”
His lips press to my neck as he squeezes me. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m perfect now.”
“You always were.”
We sneak away on the horses before Theo gets up. When I went to grab some clothes, I found him in my bed snoring. I hope he wakes up and regrets the way he behaved. Although, I’m not going to hold out hope. Heath is a bad influence on my cousin. He’s turned into an ass since we’ve come to live here.
I’m so over this place.
Once Dad finds a new job, I’m leaving. I’ll somehow convince Harrison to come with me. We can leave Windy Hills and never come back. Theo can spend the rest of his life trying to please an unhappy man.
I glance over at Harrison as he rides Heath’s horse, Brontë. He’s wearing a black Henley that hugs all his muscles and a baseball hat that’s flipped backward on top of his head. A bad boy riding a horse. Yummy.
“Whoa there,” I say to Shorty as I guide him around a large rock.
“The scenery is great and all, but don’t kill yourself looking at it.” He grins at me, his blue eyes glimmering. Smug ass.
We continue riding and I inhale the cool morning air. This is nice. Every moment I have with Harrison is nice. It makes me realize that for the first time in my entire life, I feel wholly a part of something. In this case, it’s another person. Not cheerleading or my friends or my family or my future.
Just him.
“My boss Damian met his wife their senior year in high school,” Harrison says as we clomp along on our horses. “He said they just knew.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Their folks had a shit fit when they ran off and got married.”
“Sounds like a sweet story,” I say, grinning.
“They met in first hour on a Monday and were married in the courthouse by Friday after school.”
I let out a gasp. “What? No way!”
“He told me that one time when we were taking apart a bitch of an engine. I thought he was stupid, but they’d been married for a long-ass time before she died of cancer. Looking back, it was smart.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. “Smart?”
He stops his horse and turns his intense stare my way. “They didn’t waste a minute, Cat. They just knew and that was that.” He pulls off his hat to run his palm over his head before putting it back on and pinning me with a penetrating stare. “You know, your mom and Heath…” He sighs. “What a fucking tragedy.”
“They wasted it,” I murmur. “They wasted their minute.”
He nods. “Damian is happy. He runs his shop with a smile on his face. My boss lost his wife, but he remains happy because they stole every second together.”
“And Heath is miserable because he and my mother wasted their time,” I agree.
“I want to be happy,” he says before trotting off, not waiting for my answer.
We’re quiet until we get the horses put away in the barn. He shoulders his bag filled with our packed lunch and we walk up to the door. After a quick peek through the windows, it’s clear to see no one has moved in, which frustrates me even more over the whole debacle. We didn’t have to leave in such a rush. Heath is just a dick.
“Ready to break in?” he asks as though this is a regular, everyday task.
“Luckily, we don’t have to.” I kneel and lift a pot to reveal a key.
“Clever girl.”
I grin as I pick up the key and unlock the door. The house is quiet and partially empty, but most of the furniture still remains. I spend the next half hour showing him all the nooks and crannies in the house. Eventually, I take him to my spot. The attic. When I was a girl, I was always hiding. Dad got tired of losing his mind when I’d disappear for hours and converted the attic to a hideout for me so he could always find me. It’s the part I miss the most about this house.
“You have to climb,” I say to Harrison as I point to a ladder on the wall at the end of the hallway.
“Maybe you should go first. To show me how,” he flirts.
I swat at him. “You just want to check out my ass.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Try not to get distracted and fall,” I tease.
We climb up to the attic and I inhale the familiar scent. Dad packed up everything except here. I’d been too upset to even check. Now, I’m glad it remains untouched.
“Watch your head, big boy,” I tell him as I hunch to avoid a rafter on the angled ceiling.
He grunts but mimics my actions. We make our way over to the mattress on the floor by the only window. It’s covered with soft, chenille blankets and has a ton of pillows thrown on top. Stacks of books litter the floor around the bed. It’s cozy and my heart warms at being here again.
“I love this place,” I tell him sadly. “It’s not mine anymore.”
He kicks off his boots and sprawls out on the bed. “What makes this place so special?”
With a sigh, I pull off my shoes and curl up beside him. I run my fingers along his jaw and kiss his lips. “I love how I feel like I’m someplace far, far away from the world. A secret place. I love getting lost in my books and napping on rainy days. It’s quiet and perfect.”
“Like my spots,” he agrees, his thumb running along the outside of my neck.
“Yeah.” I smile. “Like yours.”
He pulls me so I’m lying on top of him. “You make the spot, you know. This,” he says, waving around us, “can be anywhere.”
“It’s much better with you in it,” I admit.
“My spots were empty until you came along.” His steel blue eyes sear into me, brimming with unspoken words and emotion.
I sit up and pull off my shirt. His stare burns a trail along my exposed flesh. When I reach back and unhook my bra, he lets out a hiss.
“Cat…”
I toss my bra at him, loving the way he turns from predatory to grinning wide. He sits up and peels off his own shirt, losing his hat along the way. I lick my lips as I admire his chest. Never gets old. The man is hotter than hell.
“Lie back, mustang girl,” he says playfully.
I fall back on the pillows and watch him as he unbuttons my jeans. He efficiently undresses the rest of me. When he leaves my pink knee-high socks on, I lift my brows, trying to ignore the nerves flitting through me.
“I heard leaving socks on during sex was extremely unsexy,” I whisper. My voice shakes and it embarrasses me.
“You heard wrong,” he murmurs as he sits up on his knees. He grabs my foot and tickles it. I squeal at him. “These are very sexy.” He bites my foot before letting it hit the pillows.
“Are you going to leave your socks on?” I curl my arms around me, suddenly uneasy.
He pushes down his jeans and boxers. His cock springs out, bouncing. I’ve had it in my mouth. I’ve had his fingers inside me. But…that thing seems pretty huge right now.
“Do you want me to leave my socks on?”
I nod and swallow. “Harrison,” I choke out. “I’m freaking out right now.”
His features soften as he prowls over me and kisses me. “Cat, baby, we don’t have to do this.”
“I want to,” I breathe, digging my fingers into his back and pulling him against me. “I just, uh, I need a minute.”
He settles his naked body against mine and rests on one elbow. His other hand strokes the hair from my face and he regards me tenderly. I melt under his attention.
“I don’t want to waste a second,” he murmurs, “but I’d wait an eternity for you.”
Tears sting my eyes and I scratch my fingers along his head. “Don’t waste any more seconds.” I pull him to me and he kisses me deeply. His hand caresses my breast and then he slides it south. All it takes is for him to start sliding his finger along my slit, and all apprehension melts away. He rubs on my clit until I’m squirming and then he slides his longest finger between my pussy lips before pushing inside me. My back arches up off the mattress as I moan in appreciation.
“Right there,” he growls against my mouth. “Feel that?”
I jolt at the pleasure that zings from within me. “Y-Yes, I feel it.”
“That’s my new favorite spot.”
My eyes flutter closed when he rubs that tiny spot of pleasure inside me until I’m crying out in ecstasy. I kiss him frantically when he slips his wet finger out. My legs wrap around him and I urge him to me.
“I need you,” I beg. “Please, Harrison.”
“Cat, baby,” he groans. His cock slides against my wet slit. “I want so many things from you.”
“So take them,” I encourage, my heels digging into his ass.
He nips at my bottom lip. “We should be careful—”
His words are cut short when I grip his throbbing cock and guide it to the part of me that practically weeps in need for him. We both hiss as he slides his thickness inside me. It stings as it stretches me, but I’ve never felt anything so unreal. So amazing. Like I’m connected to another person on a level that is not of this world—something of another plane of existence. It transcends anything I’ve ever known.
“Fuckfuckfuckfuck,” he chants as he sinks all the way inside me. “I’ve never done this.”
“You’ve had sex,” I breathe.
“Not like this,” he growls. “Not so…raw.”
His mouth crashes against mine and he thrusts his hips. I’m dizzied at how maddeningly beautiful it feels to have him filling up every inch of me. We’re connected. I love being with him this way. He slides out slightly only to drive back in. The stretching of his thickness inside me sort of hurts, but it’s a pain I could get addicted to. And I’m feeling every single part of his supposed ten inches as he buries himself deep inside me.
“You okay, mustang girl?” he rasps against my mouth. I love how utterly out of control he sounds. Like I make him just as crazy as he makes me.
“Perfect, stallion.”
He grins against my lips before kissing me hard. His hips buck harder. Wilder. I dig my fingers into his shoulders. My breasts bounce as he drives into me over and over again. When his hand slips between us to show my clit some attention, my pussy tightens around him. It causes some discomfort on my end, but he lets out a ragged moan that encourages me. I try to rock my hips with him, clenching my inner walls hoping it feels good for him, when he gives my clit a slight pinch. Stars glitter around me as an orgasm slices through me without warning.
“Fuck,” he hisses, his body stilling as heat surges inside me. He starts to pull out, but I’ve never felt anything so satisfying in my entire life. The heat of his cum as he marks me from the inside. I dig my heels into his ass, imploring him to stay. I win out because he does a lazy grind of his hips before relaxing on top of me. I like that his cock remains inside of me despite the fact it has softened. His nose nuzzles my hair and he finds my ear with his lips. “Mine, Cat.”
I rub his buzzed scalp and smile. “You’re mine too.”
After we get cleaned up and get dressed, we decide to eat our lunch down by the lake. We’ve been to Harrison’s side of the lake, so it’s only fitting while I’m showing him my secret spots, we visit my side.
Harrison unravels the blanket he packed and shakes it out across the grass a few feet from the water. We sit and I open the bag with our food, handing him a sandwich and keeping one for myself. I pull out a container of strawberries and set them down between us, then hand Harrison a bottle of water. For a few minutes, we eat in silence. My thoughts back with our conversation from earlier. After I had finished reading my mom’s journals, I almost wished I could go back to being ignorant. For so long, I had put my parents’ relationship on this imaginary pedestal. They were madly in love and created me. Then one horrific night, a storm came through and she went into labor. That night I was born and my mother died, and my father lost the love of his life. But after reading her thoughts and feelings, I’m no longer ignorant to the type of woman she really was, and I now know my mother wasn’t capable of love. Not of loving my father. Or Heath. Or me. Or even herself for that matter.
But Heath loved her.
Enough to wreak havoc on my entire life just to get revenge on my dad.
It’s sad that love could breed so much hate.
“What’s got you so quiet?” Harrison asks, breaking me out of my thoughts. I stare into his questioning eyes for a moment and go for the truth.
“I was thinking about my mom’s journals. Maybe they were left behind to serve a greater purpose. Like to be read as a cautionary tale.”
“Like a warning?” he clarifies.
“Yeah, her entries all have one thing in common. She had two men who loved her, yet she never seemed truly happy—content. She seemed to always want more money, more materialistic possessions, more attention. More love. But it was never enough. That’s not the kind of life I want to live. One where I’m always searching for more. Reading her thoughts have made me realize I don’t want to be anything like my mother.” I give him a sad smile.
Harrison sets his sandwich down and reaches his hand out for me to take. We link our fingers together and he pulls me toward him until I’m tucked between his legs. Keeping our fingers intertwined, he wraps his arms around me and nuzzles his scruffy face into the crook of my neck, his breath whispering across my skin. I sigh in contentment.
“Then don’t be,” he murmurs. “What is it you want, Cat? What will make you truly happy?”
I know the answer without having to even think about it. “You, Harrison. I want you.”
“You have me,” he breathes. His lips find their way to my neck and he trails soft kisses along my heated flesh, downward. He pulls the sleeve of my top down, peppering kisses across my shoulder.
His hands unlink from mine and come up to gently massage my breasts. My head falls back against his chest as I get lost in his touch. I can’t imagine ever needing anything more than this man. The pull I feel toward him is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. Before Harrison, I might’ve been able to understand my mother’s needs, but now, I don’t comprehend how, if she felt even half for Heath what I feel for Harrison, she could choose anything or anyone over him.
Harrison’s fingers pinch my nipples through my bra and shirt and I let out a breathy moan. He chuckles softly, knowing exactly what his touch does to me, as his lips make their way back up to my neck, landing on my earlobe. His tongue darts out as he licks the outer shell of my ear, eliciting a shiver down my spine.
“Are you sore, baby?” he rasps. I don’t have to squeeze the muscles between my legs to know I am. But I’m not in pain. It’s more of a delicious kind of soreness. A reminder of what we shared. I know if I say I’m sore, he won’t continue. It’s one of the many things I love about Harrison. He always puts my needs first. Not wanting him to stop, but also not wanting to lie, I speak around the truth. “I want you. Please.”
He grunts softly into my ear, then gripping my hips lifts me and flips me onto my back, so he’s hovering above me. He pulls off my shoes and throws them to the side, once again leaving my socks on. Then he pulls my jeans down my legs at the same time I lift and remove my shirt. His eyes appreciatively roam down my body as I pull away my bra, and I’m almost positive it’s not just lust but something more shining bright in his irises.
Needing to feel him skin to skin, I sit up and drag his shirt over his head. My gaze travels directly to the beautiful ink decorating his body. Almost his entire chest and biceps are covered with images and words. But one quote in particular catches my attention.
Years of love has been forgot, in the hatred of a minute.
My heart squeezes at the sadness embedded in the meaning of the words. Realization that Harrison hasn’t just felt alone his entire life, but if that quote is anything to go by, he also felt unloved. The only woman who loved him, left him before he was old enough to have any real memory of her, and the only thing he knows is that she chose to leave him with his father, who chose to overdose and leave his son in the hands of a monster. The words across his chest have me vowing to spend the rest of my life showing him what true love feels like.
Harrison’s eyes follow mine. “Edgar Allan Poe.” He shrugs one shoulder self-consciously, and for the first time, I’m seeing a deeper, more vulnerable layer of Harrison, and it only has me falling even more in love with him.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
My eyes continue their trail downward and I spot another quote on his ribs.
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
“Poe?” I ask.
“No.” He shakes his head and his cheeks turn slightly pink. “J.K. Rowling.”
It takes me a second to think about who that author is, and when it hits me, I fall back onto the blanket in a fit of laughter. “Harry Potter?” I confirm. “How do you end up with quotes from both Poe and Rowling on your body?”
Harrison’s hands drop down to either side of my head, caging me in. His mouth brushes up against mine once, twice, before he pulls back just enough to look into my eyes. “Don’t make fun of Harry Potter. There are many lessons to be learned in those books.” His voice is deadly serious, but his eyes are dancing with laughter.
“Can I just say how damn sexy it is that you know both Poe and Rowling?” I waggle my eyebrows.
“Oh yeah?” His face dips closer to mine, and his nose rubs against mine playfully. “How sexy?” he asks softly.
Before I can answer, one of his hands leaves the side of my head and glides down my front. He cups the material covering my sex. “Is it sexy enough to make you wet?” Harrison taunts, and I squirm at the thought.
“I don’t know,” I tease. “Why don’t you find out?”
His eyes glimmer with lust as he pushes the material of my panties to the side and plunges two fingers into me, finding out what I already know. I’m drenched.
“Fuck, Cat,” he rasps, and without another word, his mouth crashes against mine. He rips my panties from my body as I push his jeans and boxers down his thighs. My legs wrap around his waist and my hands grip around his neck. And with his lips never leaving mine, he pushes his hard length into me. Unlike the first time we made love just a couple short hours ago, this time isn’t soft or gentle. It’s fierce and passionate as he drives in and out of me with abandon.
My orgasm builds higher and higher as the head of his dick hits that special spot. The pain mixing deliciously with the pleasure. I’m almost there. I can feel my body tightening, ready to detonate. Just a few more thrusts will set me off. Harrison’s lips leave mine and move to my shoulder. His thrusts turn frantic, unhinged, and just as I’m about to explode in pleasure, he bites down on my shoulder and stills. His warm seed filling me. He looks into my eyes, his breathing still erratic. Sweat dotting his forehead. I stay quiet, unsure if I should tell him I didn’t get off. Maybe women don’t orgasm every time. Not wanting to ruin the moment, I decide not to say anything.
Harrison bites down on his lip and gives me a boyish grin. “Fuck, I’m sorry,” he says still out of breath. “You just felt too fucking good. Too fucking tight. The way your cunt chokes my cock.” He shakes his head with a low chuckle. “You make me feel like a thirteen-year-old virgin all over again.” I give him a questioning look and then it hits me. He knows I didn’t get off. And what the hell? He lost his virginity at thirteen? I’m pretty sure I was still playing with Barbies at that age.
“It’s okay,” I say, not wanting to ruin the moment. All that matters to me is how I feel when he’s inside of me. The closeness we share. The orgasm is just a bonus.
Harrison gives me a what the fuck look then pulls out of me. “No, Cat, it’s not okay.” His hard body glides down mine until he’s on his stomach, between my legs with his mouth parallel with my pussy. “But I’m going to make it up to you.” He shoots me a playful wink.
Remembering I’m full of his cum, I try to press my legs together, not wanting him down there, but he just scowls and forces my legs to part.
When his fingers slowly separate my folds, I close my eyes, embarrassed that he’s down there in the broad daylight. “Open your eyes,” he demands and my lids shoot open.
“I want you to watch as I eat your cunt. Let’s see how many times I can make you come on my fingers and tongue.” My pussy clenches at his dirty words and I let out a low groan.
His wet tongue hits my clit, and my eyes roll back, until I remember he told me to watch. Quickly, I open my eyes and dart them back down. I was already close before, so as I watch his tongue swirl around my clit with the perfect amount of pressure, it doesn’t take more than a half a minute before he sets me off and my orgasm explodes around his tongue.
He glances up at me, his lips glistening with my juices. “That was one,” he states matter-of-factly. He pushes his fingers into my soaked pussy. “Let’s see how quickly I can make you come this way.”
With his eyes never leaving mine, he fingers me slow and deep, hitting the same spot his dick was hitting earlier. His head dips slightly and he places soft, sensual kisses along the inside of my thigh. His hand moves up to my breast. His thumb and forefinger squeeze my sensitive nipple, rolling it between his fingers. Feeling overstimulated, my body begins to shake uncontrollably. I’ve only experienced less than a handful of orgasms—all at the hands of Harrison—but something is different this time. Something feels different. Harrison’s fingers twist inside of me. His lips leave my thigh and land on my clit. He sucks on the sensitive nub. Instinctively, I try to push his head off me, but before I succeed, my body begins to convulse. My thighs begin to shake. And then the most powerful orgasm I’ve ever felt hits me with so much force, my back arches off the blanket. My eyes close of their own volition and stars hit the back of my lids as I come so hard, I’m almost positive I black out.
When I finally come to, Harrison is sitting up, still between my legs with a goofy grin splayed across his face. My butt drops back down and I feel wetness. Oh my God! Did I pee myself?
“That was so fucking hot,” he says. “The way you came all over my fingers and tongue.”
He climbs up my body. “I want you to taste it.” He rubs the pads of his finger along my bottom lip then my top, coating me with our cum. “Taste what we created.”
Curiously, my tongue darts out and I taste our mixed juices. Salty with a bit of tang mixed in. Harrison groans loudly before he melds his lips to mine. He sucks on my tongue for a few seconds, and I find myself wanting him again. He’s like an addiction I can’t get enough of. It doesn’t matter that my body is spent and I probably couldn’t even handle another orgasm.
I still want it.
I want him.
Need him.
Crave everything and anything that’s him.
When his mouth leaves mine and he looks at me with the same intensity I’m feeling, the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “I love you.”
His eyes widen at first then soften. I hold my breath, praying he doesn’t reject me. I’m about to give him an out, tell him he doesn’t have to say it back, when he opens his mouth and says the only two words that are crazier than the three I just spoke.
“Marry me.”