Her hand rubbed lazy patterns on his back when he came to.He’d collapsed onto her, blacking out from the intensity of his orgasm.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he breathed, trying to push off her.
“Don’t go yet,” she whispered.
“I’m crushing you.”
“I like feeling you on top of me.Inside me.I feel safe.Protected.”
He kissed her lips softly.“Thank you.”
She smiled.“Thank you.”
Eighteen
Harmony lookedacross the lab at Damien.He was head down, sorting through a shipment of lab equipment, clearly not in his element but helping anyway.
When Doctor Griffiths sent a blast to the entire department that new equipment was set to arrive Tuesday morning, Harmony and many others said they would be there to get everything put away and to continue inventory of what was still needed.The lab had been cleaned up, and the ruined research was identified, but there was still a lot to do.
Damien volunteered to help.
Harmony wasn’t surprised he volunteered, but she was still touched.He could have said he was watching the area, or passed her protection off to another coworker, something others had offered.She heard him on the phone that morning, talking to Jude, and assuring him that he did not want someone else to take over.The laughter that came through the phone made Harmony smile.
The look of possession in Damien’s eyes made her hot.
Harmony’s cheeks heated at the memory of their shower before they left that morning.The man was creative, with his mouth and his hands.She couldn’t get enough of him.
He looked up at her and winked.A smile lifted his lips, then he focused on his task once more, leaving her overheated and wishing they were back at his place instead of surrounded by her coworkers.
Harmony drew a breath and ducked her head, determined to finish stocking the lab and get out of there.It was a feeling she’d never had before she met Damien.Work was her life for the longest time.She loved it.She told herself she loved it.The reality was she had nothing else.She lost herself in work to hide the fact that she didn’t have friends or family or any interests outside her work.
She often wondered how her life would have been different if her father hadn’t died when he did.He would have made sure she stayed in college, and she would have graduated on time.But what else?
It had been a while since Harmony gave herself permission to imagine what her life would have been like with her father around, but with Damien across the lab, she couldn’t help but wonder what her father would have thought of the dominant protector who claimed Harmony’s heart in just a few short weeks.
She remembered the first boy she liked.She told her dad about him, gushing about him being cute and popular.It was the first time her father was disappointed in her, and the last.
“What does being popular have to do with him?”her dad asked.
“What do you mean?He’s popular.Everyone likes him.”
“And you’re okay with being someone who follows the crowd, Harmony?That’s the best you can do for yourself?”
“What do you mean?”She assumed he was out of touch.Parents didn’t understand what it was like to be a teenager.To have a crush on a boy that everyone else liked.If he looked at her, if he sat with her at lunch, she would be seen as popular, too.What more could a girl want?
“What’s his name?”
“Johnny.”
“Johnny.What is he like?”
Harmony shrugged.“I don’t know.He’s popular.”
“And cute.I heard.That doesn’t answer the question.Is he kind?Does he help others?Does he work hard?Is he respectful of your teachers?”
“I don’t know.”Harmony’s face heated under her father’s scrutiny.
“What is it you like about him?”
