Chapter 22 This was getting ridiculous. I couldn't stop thinking about Harmony. In class. Out of class. Even after having sex with her multiple times, my emotions refused to calm down. I found myself pacing back and forth in my classroom, becoming short with a few of my students, and even searching for Harmony in classes she didn't attend. I had to do better. Why couldn't I get her out of my head? Or my heart? Every day that passed and I continued to want her-body and soul-led me deeper into the threat of love. I'd expected to spend a few nights with her and have it out of my system, nothing more than a passing flirtation that left as quickly as it had hit. No such luck. I ran my hands through my hair as the last class for the day ended. "Don't forget your study guides. You'll need them for the test next week." Papers shuffled. Students talked among themselves. I turned my attention to the board, working a little too hard at erasing the equations I'd spent the last hour explaining. The constant motion gave me too much time to think. I had more than enough of that already. "Hey, Professor?" A feminine voice sounded from my left. I turned to face the brunette who'd started wearing short skirts and sitting in the front row last month. She took things to the next level yesterday when she spread her legs, attempting to give me a view of her panties. Withholding the sigh threatening to escape, I resumed cleaning the board. "Yes, Miss Argyle?" "I was wondering." She took a step closer and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I mean, could you tutor me?" "No." Somehow, I managed to keep my tone pleasant even as I denied her. "I'm afraid my schedule doesn't allow me to take on more tutoring sessions. You could speak with Lee." I snapped my fingers and pointed. "Hey, Lee, could you help Miss Argyle with her math?" "Sure." Lee Thompson, the lanky senior who currently had the highest score in any of my classes, beamed at the girl shooting daggers in my direction. "What are you having the most trouble with." Lee scurried over and stepped between me and the girl. Her sudden understanding of the problem came as no surprise to me. Lee didn't take the hint but helped the girl carry her books from the room. I released a pent-up breath, finished cleaning the boards, and retreated to my office. I had a tutoring session with Harmony in a few minutes, and I needed to figure out how to regain some of my composure before her arrival. The things we'd done in the penthouse were not supposed to interfere with my day-to-day life. I wasn't supposed to think about her every second of every day. She wasn't supposed to help me heal from my grief. I rubbed my thumb over my empty ring finger. I'd worn my wedding ring the first three years but had finally removed it and stored it in a small jewelry box on my dresser. I missed the weight of the gold ring. Missed my wife with the kind of ache that stole my breath and made me wish for death. Until Harmony. Her signature three-tap knock on my door announced her arrival while I was still in the middle of gathering my thoughts. I turned to face her, hands deep in my pockets. "You're early." The light smile that played with her lips and made me want to kiss her fell a bit. "My last class ended early." She cleared her throat. "Want me to wait outside?" "No. It's fine." If I couldn't handle her showing up twenty minutes early, I didn't have any right to be her tutor or a professor. "Let's see how you did on your homework." I held out my hand, and she slid the sheets of paper across my palm. "Have a seat." I pointed the papers at the small desk beside the door. We should move to the main classroom, but I preferred the cozy intimacy of my office. She sat and knotted her hands together on the smooth top. "The last test seemed easier. I worried I'd forget everything you taught me, but I didn't." Her smile returned, bigger and brighter than before. "Did I get them right?" I dragged my gaze from her joy-filled face to the papers she'd handed me. A quick scan revealed correct answers and processes to reach those answers. I tried to withhold my proud smile, but she made it impossible. A wall full of diplomas behind my desk, and none of it made me happier than seeing Harmony light up. "You got them all right. Congratulations." I made a notation in the grade book. "Your overall grade is improving." My throat convulsed. "I'm proud of you." Her eyes widened, the glow in them brightening. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." Always so polite. Except in bed. The wildness came out in the bedroom. I loved the contradiction she created, and part of me wanted to unravel every part of her and figure out what made her different from every other woman I'd encountered. I set the papers aside and propped my hip on the side of my desk. "We need to talk." I made the decision on the spot. Harmony deserved to understand what she was up against, why I'd demanded no feelings as part of our arrangement. "Uh-oh." She leaned forward and propped her chin on her fists. "Sounds serious." I considered letting it go, but it was going to come out sooner or later. I took a second to settle the concern ricocheting around in my chest. My office held an array of items I held dear, but the one thing that was missing from every part of my life remained absent. I'd removed pictures of my wife soon after her death. They were too hard to look at, and I didn't need pictures to remember her. "I lost my wife and baby girl in childbirth five years ago." I'd never said it out loud before. Even after all this time, the words tore my heart to shreds. "Oh, Stephen." She stood and took a step toward him. He held out a hand to stop her, and she staggered to a halt. "I feel more like myself since I've started spending time with you. I'm still grieving." I said it with all the warning I could muster. "I'm sorry." She looped her arms over her middle and rocked side to side. "I'm glad you told me, and I'm so sorry you've gone through such pain." She didn't offer any other sympathies, and I appreciated the honesty she showed. Most people offered platitudes that only angered me. So what if they were in a better place. They were not here with me, and that was all that mattered. I'd been forced to continue on in this life without them. Nothing about that was right. It fucking hurt. "I like spending time with you." The confession slipped out in the morbid silence. This time, Harmony ignored my outstretched hand and ducked close enough to hug me. "I like being with you too." She seemed touched by my words, and when her arms went around my waist, I let them stay. Her breath fluttered over my neck, and the rasp of her shirt against mine sounded too loud in the deafening quiet that followed my admission. It was too much. All of this was too much for me to handle. Harmony made me feel things I'd rather never experience again. It wasn't love, but it was damned close. I wanted to protect her, even though everything I did put her at risk. If I truly wanted to protect her, I'd break off our tryst until she graduated. That would be the adult, responsible thing to do. I'd never been foolish like this. Harmony scrambled my head and made me want things I had no business asking for. Things that included her staying with us ... and not just after classes. My office had never felt smaller than it did with Harmony in my arms, and there was nowhere else I'd rather be than in her embrace. Location stopped meaning anything when she tipped her head up to look into my eyes. "You don't have to hide from me, Stephen." I kissed her before she said anything else, before she made me believe there was more to this than sex. My hands locked on her hips, pulling her flush against my body and giving me a chance to deepen the kiss. She leaned into it, into me, opening her lips and exploring my mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. In all the times we'd been together, it was never this, never just the two of us. I took advantage of the moment and splayed my hand across the back of her head, anchoring her in place. All my wants and needs surged to the surface. We might be in the middle of my office with the door open, but all I cared about was the next touch of Harmony's lips and the healing that she brought me with her calm acceptance. "Harmony?" a feminine voice called out from a distance. Harmony's name pierced the fog, and I dragged my mouth away from hers. She blinked slowly up at me, her hands fisted in my shirt and her breathing ragged. "What?" "Someone called for you." I ran my thumb over her lips and stepped back. The instant her hands fell away from me, a girl I recognized from Harmony's class appeared in my office door. She looked from me to Harmony, her eyes moving in darting motions as they narrowed. "I've been looking all over for you." "Oh?" Harmony shrugged, but the move was too tight to look genuine. "I have a tutoring session tonight?" "I know." The girl-Delilah-crossed her arms. "I've been texting you. We're supposed to have a sorority meeting tonight. Leighona changed the date to tonight instead of tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory." Harmony rolled her eyes. "Leighona and her meetings. Sorry I missed your texts. Professor Harding was explaining my grades." She motioned one hand in my direction, then grabbed her bag from the desk and threw it across her shoulder. "Keep up the hard work and you're guaranteed to pass." I rounded the desk and sank into the swivel chair. "I'll be sure to update Mrs. Collins on your progress." "Thank you." It was amazing how easily we slipped into this routine. Harmony had floundered the first few seconds, but looking at her now, I'd have no idea we were just locked in a kiss to end all kisses. 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