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I laughed inwardly at myself. This wasn’t a permanent change. It couldn’t possibly be, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun with it.
Chapter 7
Gray
Five days had passed since the spanking in my office and our subsequent lunch. It hadn’t been an eventful lunch, but I did learn a few things as we sat and made minimal meaningless small talk.
She’d constantly glanced nervously around the cafeteria, but flashed a large fake smile whenever someone noticed her. The upper echelons of high society had obviously trained her to always smile to hide what she was truly feeling. It was all about appearances in that social circle, and god forbid anyone show a hint of any real emotion.
She’d constantly fidgeted in her seat, filling me with a sense of pride at my job well done. Harmony had needed that spanking as much as I’d needed to give it to her. After that, and our conversation at lunch, our past could be left in the past and we could move forward in whatever capacity we decided to move forward in. The most interesting thing I’d noticed, though, was the rock she held in her hand. Her thumb moved back and forth over the polished lilac stone. I didn’t know how I’d possibly missed that back in New York.
The rock was obviously some sort of comfort item, but when I tried talking to her about it, she deflected. Since I wished to gain her trust and help her as we were just getting to know one another, pushing seemed like the worst possible thing to do. We’d continued our small talk until it was time to go back to class. I teased her a little more about only being on time because she had a personal escort. She took it good-naturedly and even went as far as teasing back. The shift in us both was huge and being with her felt almost natural.
When we parted after class that day, she seemed disappointed. She wasn’t the only one. I was painting a picture in my mind of the two of us being together, which seemed ridiculous at this juncture, but there was something about Harmony that called to me.
The next day she came to class with a few of the girls from her dorm, and she seemed genuine with the trio, a behavior I’d never witnessed from her in class back home.
I pushed thoughts of her to the back of my mind as I grabbed my phone and made my way down to the pool for the first pool party of the season. The glass ceiling was still shut, but the sun blazed down, warming the area like a summer day. It had been a long week and I was looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the festivities.
This particular party was specifically for the staff and students of Rawhide University. It was meant to give everyone a break and a reset going into the last few weeks of school and the dreaded “finals week”. I told myself I was going to relax and get to know my colleagues a little better, but truth was, I was hoping to see Harmony.
It did not surprise me to see her with her new friends when I arrived at the pool. One of them was Jillian, also from New York, with a classic accent. The only thing I could see those two having in common was the Big Apple, but they seemed thick as thieves with Priscilla, the third woman in their party and a lit major at the university.
All three looked up and smiled as I passed them.
I nodded politely. “Hello, ladies.”
I continued to the end of the pool deck to find a spot to relax and take in the atmosphere. I liked to scope out everything and always found myself choosing a position at one end of a room or area so that I had a good vantage point from which to observe. My spot was perfect; from there I could keep my eye on Harmony and make sure she didn’t get herself into any trouble. I found myself secretly hoping she found some kind of mischief I could call her on. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I kind of missed battling the little brat. She had been so good, it was almost too good to be true.
The girls were giggling, as they discussed… what? I didn’t know. I grew nervous when all three sets of eyes settled on me as they continued to jabber. What shenanigans were those brats up to? I only knew Jillian and Priscilla from my 101 class, but the Ranch inhabitants were known for pranks and naughtiness, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning something. I just hoped I wasn’t the target.
Thankfully, I didn’t have long to contemplate their discussion. Harmony broke away from the trio and poured two glasses of lemonade at the bar. She waltzed toward me, looking too sexy for her own good in her barely-there bikini.
She wasn’t tall, but the wedges she wore on her feet made her already long legs look longer than usual. And as she made her way toward me, her strut caught the attention of every person around the pool, and I felt a sudden need to cover her.
Mine!
My inner Neanderthal screamed and beat his chest, but outwardly all I could do was watch and wait. I ground my teeth the moment she noticed all eyes on her and added more sway to her hips. The front of her looked divine and I could only imagine how her fleshy globes jiggled as she walked.
Damn woman!
I needed to claim her and lay down the law before someone else scooped her up. I’d shared my observations regarding Harmony with Derek and Sadie last night over cocktails.
“‘I heard she’s a total brat,’” Sadie had said.
“‘Like another I know,’” Derek responded, lifting a brow.
Sadie blushed.
“‘It sounds like you are on the cusp of making her yours?’”
Derek’s face gave nothing away about his thoughts regarding a match between Harmony and me.
“‘Would it be a bad thing if I did?’”
“On the contrary, I think she would tick off all of your boxes.”
Sadie nodded her head sagely in agreement with Derek’s answer.
