Page 5 of Dirty Whispers

She makes the smallest sound – nearly a moan, a whispered, "Mmm-hmm."

The kiss burns through me, her soft, luscious mouth awakening everything I've kept suppressed for years, but I force myself to pull back, murmuring faintly against her lips, "Damn, gorgeous. I've waited so long to find you."

It takes her a few seconds to open her eyes all the way. "What? Are you joking?"

"Not at all." There's some shuffling inside the house, and I assume the other girls are peeking through a window. "I won't keep you from your secret spy work any longer. Go plan global domination, or whatever you're up to."

Harper laughs lightly. "Thanks, Griffin." She stretches up on her toes to whisper in my ear, "You might be a Dirty boy, but you're also a really nice man."

I clutch my heart as if I've been stabbed and address the sky. "Nice? She thinks I'm nice? Ugh."

Staggering to the Jeep, I mutter sadly, "Nice guys finish last. They don't get a second date. They're not the hot dudes that chicks dream about. I'm going to have to go home and rethink my entire life."

Flashing a wink at her over my shoulder, I notice Harper is holding a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Then she goes inside.

As I drive away, I realize what an incredible first encounter this was. Yes, I kissed her way too soon, but I just couldn't wait. Now I'm going to have to make sure that our date is amazing.

Not to mention, hopefully figure out what her work is about so that I can help her.

3

HARPER

Staring at the photo of a beautiful wildflower meadow on my phone, it feels like my heart actually skips a couple of beats. His text about the car being an easy fix was sweet, but then this photo… I've never had a man send me flowers before, even like this.

I glance up when I hear Nikki and Jocelyn laughing. "There she goes again," Nikki says with a grin. "She's all freaked out about her big date and it hasn't even happened yet."

My sigh is loud and long as I flop back against the couch. With the dining room table completely covered in notes and a large map of Old Hemlock Valley, we've been taking our coffee breaks in the living room.

It's such a beautiful house. The unbelievable forest and valley view from the huge dining room window is particularly amazing. The pilot who owns the place is away for two months, and rents it out occasionally, so we got lucky. It's much nicer than the inn right downtown. Plus, it gives us more privacy while we work.

"Do you know what you're wearing?" Jocelyn asks eagerly, sitting at the other end of the couch.

Nikki leans forward in the easy chair. "Yeah. We didn't get a long look at the guy, but Griffin seems like a steady, hard-working, normal dude. You don't want anything too fancy."

"He must have already noticed you're really pretty." Jocelyn sips her coffee while she stares at me carefully. "Maybe put your hair half up so it doesn't block your face."

"I know I should delve into all of the psychology and nonverbal communication stuff we've learned." My eyes roll slightly. "But I don't want to. I feel like… I don't know. Maybe it's cheesy, but I feel like I should just let nature take its course and try to relax?" My traitorous left ring finger finds its way to my teeth. It's the only nail I can't stop biting when I'm stressed. Yanking it away from my mouth, I take a slow breath. "Although I do want to try to seem less nerdy. I don't want him to know that I'm a geeky book addict who's never even been on a date before."

Nikki's chin jerks up. "Really? Never?"

"No. But…um…" I can already feel myself blushing, and looking down, my hands are trembling. "We definitely clicked last night, so I think things are going to go well. As long as I keep it together."

My friends glance at each other, then finally Jocelyn says, "We couldn't help noticing that the two of you were standing on the porch for a while before you came in. Then we were all consumed with work, and I didn't want to pry." Her eyes twinkle. "But are we allowed to ask if he kissed you goodnight?"

I don't need to answer. My flaming cheeks do it for me.

"Amazing! We've only been here a few days and Harper already got herself some!" Nikki's laugh rings out around us. "I was wondering if one of us would run into a hot mountain man. Well, not me of course…"

Jocelyn and I laugh. We're at the age where most people are already dating a fair bit. But Jocelyn and I are both quite shy, and Nikki has sworn off dating until she's at least twenty-five. According to her, relationships are always useless before then, because nobody takes women seriously until they're nearing thirty.

"Honestly, I think a practice relationship might be good for you." Nikki jumps to her feet. "What time are you meeting him?"

"He's picking me up at six." The clock on the wall says five-fifteen, but I've already showered and done my make up. I just can't figure out what to wear to save my life.

"Pretty early," Jocelyn says, nodding. "I like it."

"Where are you going?" Nikki asks.

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