Chapter 6

6

GRIFFIN

O ver the course of the evening, Harper and I chat about everything and nothing and then everything again. On the one hand, it feels like we've known each other a lot longer than twenty-seven hours. On the other, I'm excited to learn much more about her.

We drive along one of the winding back roads, then stop at a lookout point that gives an incredible view of one of the mountain peaks on one side, and the valley on the other. The moon is nearly full, and its ghostly glow seems to touch every tree for miles.

I help Harper out of the car, and even though she has a light coat on, I grab my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. "It's not a very glamorous cape, but you'll soon learn that it's breezy here at night."

She smiles up at me sweetly. I left the headlights on, so there's just enough of a glow to catch the smile in her eyes. "I would've thought all of these trees would block the wind. And, you know, the mountain itself."

"You’d think so, but the wind whips around the angles in unpredictable patterns. So it's always a good idea to dress in layers up here, just in case."

Leaning my back against the side of the car, I face Harper toward the valley, pulling her back to my chest. With my arms wrapped around her waist, she soon melts against me.

"You see that ridge right there, with the rocky bit?" I point slightly to the west.

"Yeah."

"Most of that land…" My finger drifts to the north, "is all Dirty." I feel her laughing against me, her firm, hot ass driving me wild whenever she moves. "Yeah, I know. Ha ha."

"What's on the land now?"

"Nothing. Just pristine forest. It's family land – we're just holding it and maintaining it. Clearing dead trees, checking the rough paths, that kind of thing."

"So it's an investment, kind of?"

"Hmm." I'd never thought of it that way. "I guess so. An investment in the future of our family, sure. Dad has thought about putting up a little cabin there in the darkest part of the forest as an autumn getaway."

Harper turns, looking up at me with her eyes shining. "I guess the families around here are timeless like the mountain, aren't they?"

"Yeah, you could say we put down roots like the trees and never leave."

"It must be nice," she sighs. "Never having to search for an apartment, and then fighting to beat out dozens of other applicants. Or thinking that you're moving into a nice neighborhood, but you haven't had time to really check how loud it gets on a Saturday night." She shudders. "Or not bothering to check if nail polish fumes drift up through the floor."

I want to tell her that she never has to worry about any of that again. That if she wants to stay here, I'll take care of her forever. No. I should keep my mouth very firmly shut about anything like that for a while longer.

"It must really suck having to move around a lot."

"It did. It does. But education always comes first." Her eyes fly wide open. "Please don't think that I believe formal schooling is the only kind of education. You said that you apprenticed with your father and brothers. That's an important education too."

"Yeah. And I apprenticed with a couple of mechanics in West Stoneburg with certain specialties. I also took two years of community college through online courses."

Her eyes light up. "Did you like that?"

"I liked some things about it. Cramming my brain full of new information is amazing. It feels satisfying, I guess you can say. Like I'm doing something productive." My eyes roll as my palms start working circles around her lower back. "Although I found some of the structure a bit frustrating. The way they felt they had to chop things up into bite-size segments and make things identical lengths when it didn't make sense to do it that way. Like it was regimented for the sake of being regimented. Does that make any sense?"

She nods slowly. "I guess I always think of a course or module as a whole, but if you're thinking of it more as piece by piece, yeah, I get it."

Harper's body fits against mine perfectly as I press one palm against her lower back, then slide my other hand up very slowly from her hip bone to her ribs. "Yeah, as a mechanic, I think of things piece by piece. Like this piece here…"

My mouth dips to trail a line of kisses along her collarbone. "And this piece right here…" Kissing slowly just under her ear, I feel her entire body shudder against me.

"And you know… Since I'm usually driving a tow truck, I have to think about things like weight and force, and how things fit together."

She squeals as I grip her hips, swinging her up to sit on the hood of the car. I stand between her spread legs, and her arms go around my neck to hold herself steady.

"Should we blame it on the moonlight again?" I love the way she quivers whenever I breathe softly against her ear.

"Maybe," she whispers back. "Or we could blame all the sugar we just had from those brownies?"

"Excellent point. We're not in our right minds."

I hitch up her dress on one side to trail my fingertips around her knee. "If it weren't for this sugar rush of insanity, I would never have the nerve to do this."

My lips hover over hers, not quite kissing, just teasing. Finally, I dip my head, pressing my mouth to hers as I feel the instant rush of adrenaline. She kisses me back with every ounce of her passion, gripping me, holding me against her as if she's hungry for me. Her breath becomes unsteady, her fingers gripping the back of my neck.

"Such a hot little firecracker," I murmur against her lips, shifting as her mouth opens to allow me to delve deeper.

It's exquisitely quiet, with nothing but the trees rustling faintly around us. Nothing to block the sound of Harper's breath, her soft little moans, the way she gasps as I slide my hand up her ribs to cup her round, firm breast. She moans softly, rolling her shoulder back to give me better access.

Every single thing about her, both words and body language, is screaming "green light". If I didn't want to fight so hard to be a gentleman instead of a true Dirty boy I might entertain thoughts about taking her in the back seat of the car.

My hand slides slowly under her skirt, up her knee, along the top of her thigh. "You said part of what you're studying is communications, right?"

"Yeah," she gasps, as I nibble her bottom lip.

"Then you know that we can slow down any time you want. Just tell me, or push me, or?—"

She grips the collar of my shirt, pulling me closer until my body is wedged tightly against her, my rock-hard erection pulsing between her legs.

"Is that what you want, sexy? Just yank me around and use my body for your pleasure?"

Harper's head tilts back as she laughs, her eyes glowing in the moonlight. "You make it sound like I know what I'm doing. For real? I have no idea what's going on here."

My fingertips graze her inner thighs, slowly sneaking inward. "I think what's going on is that I'm going to see what kind of hot animal noises I can coax out of my beautiful girl."

Her eyes blaze when I call her mine. I want so badly for it to be true.

I love that she says yes by the way her toned legs tighten around me. By the way her fingertips pull my neck closer as my hand dips into her panties. My eyes fall closed as I revel in the feeling of her softest skin against my fingertips.

My other arm scoops behind her, supporting Harper's back when her breathing becomes uneven as I drag my fingers against her. Slowly, I explore her folds, her slightly damp opening, and the sensitive nub just above. I kiss her just as I place my finger flat on her clit, loving the way she jumps, then moans against me.

Every touch, every caress, makes me more positive that she is the one.

It probably isn't fair to think this way. I've dreamt of finding a woman for years. Harper is only focused on her project, her courses, and getting a better and healthier apartment. I'm a bad, greedy man for wanting to take her away from her life. Yet it's right. I can feel it in my bones. Feel it in the way she writhes against me gently, tilting her hips to tell me she wants more.

I kiss her as if I'm drinking from her soft lips. Her sweet honey coats my fingers as I plunge them deeper, gliding inside just a bit as my thumb lands firmly on her button, pumping in and out gently while working tiny circles on her clit.

Harper's thighs clench, her body jerking and then shuddering as she grips me tightly.

"Is this what you need, darlin'? To come on my hand right now under the moon?"

"Yeah," she breathes, then she kisses me again, as if wanting to show her desire without words.

I can feel her innocence, tell that every single thing we do is brand new to her. The primitive caveman part of my mind wants to claim her entirely right this second. Tell every man in a thousand-mile radius that she is mine and mine alone.

As the wind picks up, rustling the leaves on the trees, her soft moans against my lips grow louder. Soon Harper is panting, dripping into my hand as I pull my mouth from hers so that she can breathe. She's so close, muttering my name as her head jerks from side to side, her fingernails pricking the back of my neck.

"Is that what you need, gorgeous?" I breathe against her ear. "A dirty man to do dirty things to you here in the dark?"

"Mmm-hmm." Her voice trembles with excitement.

"You're such a proper girl most of the time. Smart and sweet and studious. But out here in the forest, you're just a wild little force of nature, aren't you?"

"Mmm-hmm." She's past the point of words, but I can tell from the gleam in her eye that she's enjoying mine.

"You're going to get all wild for me right now." My middle finger slips deeper and I feel her pussy clamp around me hard. "I'm going to thrust inside you right here and see what kind of noises you make."

Her head tilts back with a ragged cry, as I feel her inner muscles spasming around my finger while my thumb flutters harder against her clit. It feels like I've hit some sort of hidden switch and set Harper's lust free for the first time.

She comes hard and fast, shaking against me helplessly. "That's it," I murmur. "Let it all go for me, darlin'." Another surge runs through her and I chuckle. "Oh, yeah. I think you needed that. Your hot little pussy has been neglected for way too long."

I kiss along her collarbone as Harper catches her breath. "I'd like to make you dinner at my place tomorrow night. Then I'm going to spread you open and eat you for dessert. Is that what you want?"

She's already nodding languidly. "Mmm-hmm."

The breeze picks up, and as it turns to actual wind I pull my fingers away, laughing at her gasp of shock when I suck my fingers clean. "Just a taste to hold me over."

I bundle her into the car and drive her home. She seems to be in a daze.

After I walk Harper to the door, I wrap my arms around her, snuggling her against my chest. "What time can I pick you up tomorrow night?"

Her eyes are even deeper in the amber porch light. "Oh. Um, I'm sorry… I can't remember where we're going to be. Can I text you?"

"Of course."

Tipping up her chin with my finger, I give her a soft, gentle kiss. "Your work is important to you. I'll never get in the way of that. Have a good night."

"You too. And, um, thank you for dinner."

She's so adorably flustered. I wait until she's safely inside to drive away, my hands drumming on the steering wheel. My mind should be filled with thoughts of everything I need to do to prepare for our dinner.

But first, after I get home I'll relive the highlights of this perfect evening, my cock in my hand so I don't explode from the overload of unrestrained lust Harper unleashes in me.