Page 4 of A First for the Playboy Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #7)

CHAPTER 3

***HARRISON***

W hen he got back to his cabin, Harrison put the flowers in water, then forced himself to sit down at his computer and begin working on the security plans for the island. At first, it was hard to concentrate, and it was frustrating that it wasn’t Claudia he found himself thinking about, but after a few false starts, he managed to get to work. He didn’t surface for several hours, and when he finally looked up at the clock, he was surprised to see what time it was. Pleased with what he’d accomplished, he got up and stretched his cramped muscles, deciding that he needed a break.

He still had a few major issues to figure out. A walk always helped when he was faced with an especially difficult problem, and the coves were a huge problem, especially with the restrictions Mateo had put on him. Grabbing his sunglasses and a water bottle, he left the cabin, then stood on the porch of his cabin, trying to decide if he wanted to hike or just wander around the island a bit. Choosing the latter, his date with Claudia in the back of his mind, he started for the village, wondering what the dark-haired beauty was doing right then, a pleasant stab of lust erupting in his belly.

With a smile of anticipation on his face, he took the first trail he came to, not paying attention to where he was going as he enjoyed the fantasy that popped into his mind. He didn’t see Juliet until it was too late and slammed into her, knocking the camera she’d been looking through to the ground and throwing her off balance, making her stumble back a couple of steps. Reaching out, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms to keep her from falling. She let out a little gasp of surprise, then looked up at him through her thick glasses.

When their eyes met, a feeling of warmth instantly began to flow through him. He knew that he should let her go, but his arms wouldn’t move. Alarm bells going off in his head, he willed his arms to move, but he was trapped in her blue eyes, frozen by the strange sensation that he was finally home. Juliet finally broke the spell by wiggling out of his arms and backing away a few steps, her breath coming in little gasps, a look of shock on her face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going,” he said, walking over to the camera and picking it up, hoping to hide his reaction from her. “I hope it’s not broken.”

He held the camera out to her, but Juliet didn’t move at first, just studied him warily as if she was afraid to get too close to him. “I’m sure it’s fine,” she said, reaching out and grabbing the camera without getting any closer than necessary. “It doesn’t look broken.”

“Well, if it is, I’ll cover the damages,” he said. “It was my fault.”

“Oh, that’s okay, it’s just a cheap digital camera,” she said. “But thanks for the offer…I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“It’s Harrison. I guess I didn’t introduce myself earlier today,” he said. “There was so much else going on.”

“Thank you again for jumping in and saving me,” she said, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “I’m still embarrassed, but I’m glad you were there.”

Her words touched something deep inside him, awakening the creature that lived there, and he had to swallow several times to find his voice. “I’m glad I was there too,” he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “Any time you need rescuing, just give me a call. It’s what I do best.”

“I’ll remember that,” Juliet said, her voice shaking just a little. “I guess I should get back to my picture taking. It won’t be long before the sun sets, and I don’t have a flash on this thing.”

“I should probably go too,” he said, not wanting to let her go but unable to think of a reason to stay with her. “Have a nice evening, Juliet.”

“You too, Harrison,” she croaked, then turned and fled down the trail, but not before he saw the blush that spread across her cheeks.

He stood and watched her retreating until she disappeared into the trees. Then, with a shake of his head, he headed for the village, wondering what was wrong with him. Juliet was the complete opposite of the women he was usually attracted to. She was clearly innocent and had possibly even been hurt badly by someone close to her. He avoided wounded women like the plague, knew that they were a danger to him he couldn’t afford, but this one pulled on his instincts and made him want to protect her.

Claudia was a much safer choice, a strong, independent woman who didn’t need him for anything but the pleasure and companionship he could give her. There would be no messy feelings to worry about with her. They’d have their fun then go their separate ways, just the way he liked it. But for the first time, thinking about the night to come didn’t wind him up the way it usually did. In fact, it all felt a little bit empty.

Shocked and a bit annoyed by the path of his thoughts, he looked around to find that he’d reached the village and paused, wondering what he was doing there. He didn’t have time to answer his own question; Claudia came racing up to him, her face full of excitement, and he forced himself to smile at her.

“Harrison, there you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said. “I just got the best news. We just got a big break on that case I’ve been working on, a new witness just came forward. It looks like we’re going to nail that bastard after all.”

“Oh, Claudia that’s great,” he said, giving her a hug. “You must be so relieved.”

“I am,” she said, then hesitated. “Harrison, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel on you tonight. I’ve got a big conference call that I can’t miss. Max has already made all the arrangements. Could we do it tomorrow night?”

“Of course, I know how important this is to you,” he said, alarmed to discover he wasn’t that disappointed. “I was looking forward to tonight, but that call is more important.”

***Juliet***

Stumbling away from Harrison, Juliet couldn’t quite catch her breath. The man made her feel things she’d never felt before, and it both thrilled and scared her. It didn’t help that she’d been caught prowling around the other cabins taking pictures of them, but Harrison hadn’t seemed to notice, hadn’t questioned what she was doing, which had been a relief because she had no idea what she would have told him.

Spotting a bench under some trees, she plopped down and looked down at the camera in her lap, wondering why her brother thought she could do this. She’d almost blown it the first time she was challenged, and it wasn’t even a challenge, not really. Harrison hadn’t even been interested in what she was doing. He’d been too busy staring at her in that weird way that made her insides turn to jelly, her heart go a little crazy, and think things that weren’t possible, not for a woman like her.

Harrison was so far out of her league, she was surprised that he even talked to her, but it didn’t matter, she reminded herself. She was here to save her brother and nothing more. Pushing thoughts of the man who had her more unsettled than she liked, she forced herself to think about Joe and what she had to do to keep him from being killed, still not sure she was up to the task.

The first thing she had to do was come up with a backstory, a good explanation of why she was taking so many pictures of the island just in case someone noticed her. It didn’t take her very long to realize that sticking as close to the truth as she could would make the lies she’d have to tell that much easier, a story slowly began to unfold in her mind, and she started to feel better.

Getting up from the bench, a renewed sense of purpose filling her. She told herself it was just a few pictures, even she could manage that much. She had to have more confidence in herself. Joe’s life depended on it. Retracing her steps, she picked up where she’d stopped when Harrison had suddenly appeared on the trail, but this time, she paid more attention to her surroundings, not wanting to be surprised again.

When she finished the last cabin, she saw the main path to the village was only a few steps away and decided that she’d done enough for one day. The sun would be setting in less than an hour, her stomach was rumbling with hunger, and she still had to figure out how to download the pictures onto the computer her brother had given her. Looking at the village in the distance, the idea of dinner started to become very appealing. She couldn’t think on an empty stomach after all, and it wouldn’t hurt to take advantage of what there was to offer even if she was here on false pretenses.

Promising herself that it would just be the food, that she’d stick to her promise to herself not to have any fun while she was on the island, she walked to the village, the smell of something wonderful reaching her long before she got there. She made her way past the shops, telling herself to ignore them; the last thing she wanted was a souvenir of her treachery. Then, she stopped in front of the row of huts where the enticing smells were coming from and studied the menus posted outside the open doors.

When she realized how long she’d been standing there, she finally just picked a door and walked toward it, ignoring the little tingle of guilt when she thought about what her spying might cause. Shaking her head to chase the thought away, she gritted her teeth. Joe needed her help. She couldn’t let him down. He’d finally agreed to get clean, the one thing she hoped for. She had to stay strong, see this little adventure through. What happened with the information she gathered was not her concern, her brother was. She had to save him from himself before it was too late.

Just as she stepped up to the door, Harrison came out, nearly crashing into her and dropping the stack of takeout boxes in his hands. She let out a little cry of alarm, then reached out to help him steady the stack of food before it went crashing to the ground and spilled all over both of them. When their hands touched, a bolt of electricity traveled up her arms and into her chest, releasing a wave of warmth that made her entire body begin to tingle.

Gasping, she looked up at Harrison, frozen in place by the sensations shooting through her body. She was very aware that the only thing that separated them was the stack of boxes. He had that same strange look on his face, and for a moment, she thought he was going to lean over and kiss her, but the moment passed, and she finally managed to step away from him.

“Juliet, we meet again,” he said, the look gone from his face. “If I didn’t know better I might think you were following me.”

Horrified that he would think that, afraid that he could tell what she was thinking, her cheeks began to flame. “I wasn’t following you, you ran into me earlier,” she stammered. “I was just going to get some dinner.”

“Hey, relax, I was just teasing you,” he said, smiling at her. “But haven’t you noticed that we’ve been running into each other a lot? I’m beginning to think that means something.”

She was sure that her heart was going to beat right out of her chest, and it was all she could do not to start gasping for air, but she managed to stay in control. “It’s probably just a coincidence,” she said. “It’s a small island.”

“Maybe, but I’m going to take this as a sign,” he said, flashing her another smile. “My dinner plans for tonight fell through and I’ve got all this food that’s just going to go to waste. You said you were here to get dinner. Why don’t we share this?”

He held the takeout containers out to her, and she felt panic beginning to well up inside her. The thought of sitting down and sharing a meal with him was so frightening that she almost turned and ran away. “We can stay right here. We’ll eat in the food court,” he said, a spark of understanding in his eyes. “I’m perfectly harmless, I promise, and we’ll be right here in public the whole time. I won’t even offer to walk you back to your cabin when we’re done.”

She felt herself beginning to relax and let out a shaky sigh. “You must think I’m silly or paranoid or something,” she said, hating the heat that came to her cheeks. “I just…well…”

“What I think is that you’ve been hurt by someone you trusted,” Harrison said, his voice soft and soothing. “I won’t hurt you, Juliet, that’s the last thing I would ever do.”