Page 2 of A First for the Playboy Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #7)

CHAPTER 1

***HARRISON***

H arrison lay with his eyes closed, listening to the breeze off the ocean rustle the palm trees around him, more relaxed than he should be since he was supposed to be working. Rousting himself, he sat up and stretched, then looked over at the woman stretched out on a beach chair next to him, her luscious body on display in the string bikini, enjoying the wave of lust that washed over him. She opened her eyes and looked over at him. A slow smile spread across her face, and he knew that she was reading his mind.

“I hate to leave you, but I have a few things to do before dinner tonight,” he said, anticipation shooting through him at the prospect of finally getting Claudia into his bed. “My place at eight o’clock.”

“I’ll be there,” she purred, her eyes filled with raw desire. “And I’ll bring dessert.”

He groaned when need raced through him, images of the night to come filling his mind, and he had to force them away before he could breathe properly. Getting to his feet, he grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the chair and into his arms, then slammed his mouth down on hers. He kissed her until they both wanted more, then gently pushed her away, knowing he couldn’t finish what he’d started until later that night.

“We’ve played this game long enough,” he said. “A man can only take so much before he loses control.”

“Promises, promises,” Claudia purred, stepping over to him and running her hands up and down his chest, then a little lower, making him gasp. “This better not all be talk. I would hate to be disappointed.”

“I’ve never had any complaints before,” he said, grinning at her. “And I don’t plan to start now.”

He left Claudia with a smile on his face and anticipation thundering through his blood, made his way back to the village and then down to the marina, wondering why he was still wasting his time meeting every guest that arrived on the island. After the first couple of days, he’d learned all he needed to and had seen right away that the marina wasn’t their problem, but it had given Max and Mateo so much reassurance that he’d kept going.

Standing at the top of the dock, he scanned the surrounding area, then found a place in the shade to wait, deciding this would be the last time he’d come down to meet the new guests. If Max still wanted someone here, he’d assign one of his men the task. It was taking too much of his time, time he should have been spending putting together a security plan for the island.

After two weeks, he should have more done, should have made more progress figuring out how to secure the island. Instead, he’d lost his focus, something that rarely happened to him. Claudia popped into his mind, quickly followed by Samantha from the week before, and a little smile spread across his face. With those two around, it wasn’t surprising that he’d gotten distracted.

But he hadn’t come here to satisfy his sex drive, he could do that anywhere. He’d come to the island to help his friend out, and he needed to get his focus back where it belonged. It wasn’t like he hadn’t made any progress, he’d walked every inch of the beach, made detailed maps of every cove and inlet, and shot plenty of drone footage of the entire island. Now he just had to take what he had and use it to put together a plan, the thing he was best at, and he felt the usual surge of excitement when he let his brain shift into protective mode.

The sound of an engine broke into his thoughts, and he forced himself to focus on the boat slowly coming toward the dock, but a second later, he recognized the captain and let himself relax. If Montgomery was behind the wheel, there wasn’t anything to worry about, and he thought about leaving then but stayed where he was, just out of sight in the trees. There was still another boat to come in, and if this was his last time coming down to the marina, he’d stay until the job was completed.

With a renewed sense of purpose, he watched the boat slide into the slip, not the least bit surprised to see a dock hand standing there ready to catch the line. Montgomery ran the marina like a well-oiled machine, something he respected, and as an added bonus, he really liked the man. As soon as the boat was secured, Montgomery cut the engines and then began unloading his passenger’s luggage, handing it to the young man. Shaking his head, he watched as one bag after another was piled up next to the boat and couldn’t help but become a little curious about who it all belonged to.

It had to be a woman, he decided, as the last bag was placed on the pile, and she had to be rich, probably a little spoiled, and used to getting her way. He knew the type well, he had grown up around women just like that; she might be coming out of a nasty divorce, looking for some companionship, or out to shock her daddy by going a little crazy on vacation. But when the woman finally stepped out of the boat, she was none of those things. In fact, she was the complete opposite.

Dressed in baggy shorts and an oversized tee-shirt, her mousy blonde hair pulled back in a long ponytail, a pair of big glasses perched on her nose, she was nothing like he’d imagined. Feeling a little disappointed, wondering what had gotten into him, he started to turn away, but something on the dock caught his attention, a movement that shouldn’t have been there, and he froze, eyes scanning the wooden planks.

When he saw it again, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing for a second and closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, the rope coiled right behind the dock hand was still slowly unwinding and snaking toward the young man. The rope had wrapped itself around the young man’s ankles before he managed to get his feet moving, so he was still too far away to do anything when everything suddenly went sideways. The dock hand turned to grab one of the bags, but his feet got tangled together. He flailed his arms to keep from falling, then bumped into the woman, sending her stumbling into the pile of luggage.

Before he could even call out a warning, the woman lost her balance and, with a scream, tumbled into the water and disappeared under the surface. Already pulling off his shirt, he sprinted down the last few yards of the dock and dove into the water right where the woman disappeared, hoping that he wasn’t too late.

***Juliet***

Juliet was aware enough as she tumbled off the dock to take a deep breath, close her mouth, and brace herself for the ice-cold touch of the water she knew was coming. Instead, it felt like she’d fallen into a warm bath, surprising her enough that she almost gasped and opened her mouth, but in the next instant, she realized that she was sinking. Trying not to panic, the feel of the water closing around her no longer pleasant, she tried to fight her way back to the surface, but her clothes were soaked and dragging her down.

Her air supply slowly dwindling, she couldn’t hold the panic back any longer and began to thrash in the water, suddenly not sure which was up, the fear that she was going to drown becoming very real. Fighting the urge to open her mouth to take a breath, her lungs burning with the need, she was just about to give in when a pair of strong arms came out of nowhere and began to pull her to the surface. Instantly sensing that she was safe, her body relaxed and only a few seconds later, her head was above the water.

Sucking in deep breaths of air, she was only vaguely aware of her rescuer as he pulled her over to the dock, his arm wrapped around her chest from behind. Another pair of hands grabbed her under the armpits and she was suddenly sitting on the dock, the world spinning around her, her body still fighting for air. Realizing that she was starting to hyperventilate, she tried to slow her breathing down but couldn’t get control and began to panic all over again.

“Hey, you’re okay, you just took a little tumble into the water, but you’re safe now,” a soothing voice said just as a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. “You’re going to be just fine. Try to take a deep breath for me, it will help, I promise.”

Closing her eyes, she forced the panic away and sucked in a deep breath of air, then held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. “That’s good, now do it again,” the voice said. “You’ll feel better in a few minutes. Your body hasn’t figured out that you’re safe yet.”

Several deep breaths later, she was finally able to open her eyes and look over at the man sitting next to her on the dock, but it took a few seconds for his face to come into focus. A pair of hazel eyes flecked with gold and filled with concern looked back at her, and her breath caught in her throat again when a wave of warmth unlike anything she’d ever experienced filled her. She couldn’t help but gasp, and the concern in the man’s eyes turned to worry, intensifying the feeling even more. She forced herself to look away.

“I’m okay,” she finally managed to stammer. “But I lost my glasses, I can’t see anything without them.”

“Here they are,” Montgomery said, handing them to her. “Are you sure that you’re okay? That was a pretty bad fall.”

“I’m not hurt, just a little shaken up,” she said, shoving her glasses back on, relieved when the world came back into focus until she looked over at her rescuer again. The warmth was instantly back, bringing along with it a tingle of desire that made her heart beat a little faster and a blush rise on her cheeks.

“Maybe we should get you to the infirmary just in case; have the doctor give you a quick once over,” Montgomery said. “Max isn’t going to be very happy when he hears about this.”

“I don’t know how that rope got there,” the dock hand said. “I’m sure that it wasn’t there when you pulled into the slip, I guess I should have been paying more attention. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay, I know it was an accident, if I hadn’t brought so much luggage with me…well, anyway, I’m fine. I don’t need to see the doctor,” she stammered, suddenly desperate not to be the center of attention. “But maybe someone could help me to my cabin? I need to get dried off.”

Just then, a young woman came rushing down the dock, her face flushed, her breath coming in short gasps. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry I’m late,” the woman said, pushing the men away. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I accidently pushed her off the dock,” the young man said. “I still don’t know how it happened.”

“We were trying to talk Juliet into seeing the doctor, but she says she’s okay,” Montgomery said. “I still think it’s a good idea.”

“I just want to go to my cabin,” she said, a little louder than she meant to. “I’m fine, really; you don’t need to make such a fuss over me.”

The young woman studied her for a second, then nodded her head. “She looks fine to me,” she said. “By the way, I’m Katie. I’ll be your guest services representative while you’re on the island. If there’s anything you need while you’re here, I’m the one you ask, and if you want to go to your cabin, then that's what we’re going to do.”

“Thank you,” she said, sighing with relief. “What about my luggage?”

“Charlie will take care of it,” Katie said, giving the dock hand a dirty look. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t drop it in the water.”

Katie helped her up from the dock as she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, very aware that her tee shirt was sticking to her, revealing everything underneath. Taking a few steps, her shoes leaking water, her clothes dripping onto the dock, she desperately wanted to get away from the three men, but forced herself to stop in front of the man who’d rescued her.

Without looking up, afraid of what would happen if she looked into his eyes again, she swallowed a couple of times, getting up the nerve to speak to him. “Thank you for saving me,” she said. “I guess a vacation on an island in the middle of the ocean wasn’t a very good idea for someone who doesn’t know how to swim.”