Page 24 of Harmonizing with Little Heaven Leigh

He squeezed her hand. “They weren’t punished because of anything you did, Heaven Leigh. And they were going to be punished regardless of whether or not you watched. I doubt they were even thinking about you being there at all. I should think it was the least of their concerns at the moment.”

All true, but it really didn’t settle the point. “I know.”

One eyebrow went up. “You know, but you still feel guilty. Be careful, young lady, or I might decide you need a punishment more than a reward.”

Her eyes widened and she sat up straight. “No thank you, Sir. I don’t feel that guilty about it,” she assured him. Whether it was true, she wasn’t sure, but she knew that punishment wasn’t what she was wanting in that moment.

“Mhm, well, I suspect this is going to be a long-term goal, and part of learning to accept who you are. So, we’ll work on it. For now… I want to hear you say, ‘There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what happens in front of me’.”

Heaven gave him a look, frowning. “Daddy…”

“I mean it. It would be different if you had been sneaking around and spying, but you weren’t. You simply enjoyed what you were allowed to see. It’s no different than watching a scene here and enjoying it.” He jerked his chin toward the playspace, before continuing, “And believe me, if Master Derek hadn’t wanted you to see the spankings, he would have sent you out. That man misses nothing.”

Okay, she couldn’t argue that. She’d been where she was supposed to be and seen what she was allowed to see. By that logic… she supposed it was okay to enjoy it. But she didn’t want to say it out loud and waited until her Daddy nudged her, before obeying with a sigh. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what happens in front of me.”

He smiled wide enough to flash white teeth. “That’s my girl. Now, are you ready for your reward?”

She shivered and nodded with barely suppressed eagerness. “Yes, Sir.”

“Excellent. I have a treat for my sweet submissive.” He stood up and pulled her along with him.

She followed him with a quick step, wondering what he had in mind. They stopped at the St. Andrew’s Cross and her heart sped up. Her tongue slid across her bottom lip as she examined it up close. They’d never used it before, and she’d always been curious.

The glossy wood seemed to invite her touch, and before she knew it her fingers were gliding over the smooth surface. “It’s pretty.”

Angel pushed her ponytail, still damp from the quick shower, out of the way, and nibbled the side of her neck. “Not as pretty as it will be with you on it,” he said.

The words tickled as his breath brushed across her ear, and she shivered. She leaned back against him with a sigh. “I love you.”

“I love you too,mi corazón. Now… you stand right here. Keep looking at the cross, and don’t peek.”

When he pulled away, she automatically started to turn before the order sank in. It wasn’t hard to guess that he was going to get implements and she heard the armoire doors opening, which confirmed that assumption.

Being ordered not to look, of course, made her desperately curious, and it was so tempting to sneak a quick glance… but not worth the possible consequences. She didn’t want to watch the other players anymore either. As interesting as their scenes were, now she wanted to focus on her own.

She forced herself to turn back to the cross, and then focused on the wood grain. Her fingers traced each line embedded in the polished surface. She didn’t look in his direction, no matter how much she wanted to.

In a second, Angel had returned. “Such a good girl,” he crooned as he set some things down on the handy table that stood by the cross. Before she could see what he’d taken from the cabinets, he turned her away and wrapped a red silk blindfold over her eyes.

Tied in place and adjusted, the last line of light disappeared and she was left in the dark. Her skin stippled, little bumps of excitement rising and pulling things tight. Her nipples grew hard and rubbed against her shirt.

“How does that feel?” he asked.

“Good.” It felt better than good. With her vision cut off, suddenly her world had narrowed to just his voice and her body and she was very aware of both. Distantly she could hear the sounds of other people playing, but she no longer had any interest in what they were doing.

He reached around to unbutton her shirt and helped her shrug it off. The skirt went next—she had dressed up a little for the adventure—and she had a second of worry as they got down to her underwear. What if he’d forgotten…

“The red matches the blindfold so beautifully, so I think we’ll leave your panties and bra on,” he said, at the same time reassuring her, and making it seem as though he was simply choosing how to present her.

She was grateful for the small kindness. She still struggled with full nudity, even in a play space where other people were naked. Even when it was perfectly acceptable to be without clothing, her upbringing had left her with the remnants of too much body modesty and shame over bare skin to be comfortable.

Her lingerie set covered as much as a bikini would have, and even though her strict religious parents would never have allowed her to wear one when she was a teenager, she’d been able to acclimatize that much. She’d also learned to accept having her panties down when she was bent over, though it had been hard when she first arrived at the Ranch.

She simply made sure to keep her legs together, at least until it hurt so much she was no longer concerned with modesty, and then it didn’t matter. But for a scene like this, standing up, with other people in the room… she’d have felt too exposed to truly relax.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

A light kiss on her shoulder was his answer. And then he lifted her arms and cuffed them above her head one at a time. She could feel the soft fur that lined the inside of the cuffs, and when she gave an experimental tug, she heard the rattling sound of chains as they moved but found herself quite secure.

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