Page 6 of A First for the Playboy Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #7)
CHAPTER 5
***HARRISON***
H arrison closed his computer, then walked over to the coffee table, rolled up the maps he’d been working on, slipped them into the big tube, and put the cap on the end, thinking about how many hours of work they represented. Pleased with the progress he’d made that day, he looked over at the clock, surprised to see that he’d missed lunch. A few seconds later his stomach began to growl, and he decided that he still had enough time to head to the village for something to eat before he had to get ready for his dinner date with Claudia.
The day had turned warm while he’d been locked up in his cabin, but there was a fresh breeze coming in from the ocean, and he took a deep breath of the salty air, thinking he could get used to living there. Then again, he decided as he headed for the village, living here had turned Max into a paranoid fool. The isolation might not be as beneficial as he was thinking after all. But before long he’d be able to put most of his friend's fears to rest. He’d been on the island for two weeks and hadn’t even come close to falling in love, sure proof that all that it was all just coincidence and possibly a little bad luck.
In another week, he’d be able to hand Max not only a comprehensive security plan for the island, but also the knowledge that the island wasn’t charmed or alive, or any of the other things that had been said. It was just a slab of rock in the middle of the ocean, nothing more, nothing less, a beautiful chunk of land that was special only because of its location. People didn’t fall in love just because they came to the island; it just didn’t happen that way, and certainly not for him. He’d seen the damage love could do, and he wanted no part of it.
The food court was nearly deserted when he got there, most of the tables empty, including the one where he’d sat with Juliet the night before. Thinking about her unleashed a slew of emotions that he’d buried away. Guilt that he’d kissed her, excitement when he thought about how she’d responded, a feeling of protectiveness when he thought about how innocent she was, quickly followed by what he could only describe as affection that left him feeling warm all over.
Pushing it all away, he went into the sandwich shop and ordered his lunch, then took it out to the food court, but looking around at the empty tables, he decided to eat on the beach instead. He found a shady spot, made himself comfortable in the sand, devoured the sandwich, chips, and fruit, then washed it all down with a bottle of iced-cold sweet tea before reclining back on his elbows to watch the people around him.
He’d been pleasantly distracted for a while when he looked down the beach and saw a familiar figure walking toward him, a floppy hat on her head, camera around her neck, her customary baggy tee-shirt and shorts a contradiction to scantly clad bodies around her. Unable to help himself, ignoring all the warning signals his body was giving off, he watched Juliet come toward him, detecting the sway of her hips as she walked, the curve of her breasts when she filled her lungs and found his body warming to the sight.
Wondering what he would find if he peeled away all the layers she covered herself in, images that had no place being in his mind came to life, and the warmth turned into something more. The gentle throbbing between his legs reminded him that he was sitting in public, and he forced the images out of his head, chastising himself for losing control of his imagination.
Feeling the need to escape, he started to get to his feet, then realized that it was too late. If he got up, Juliet would see him. Sinking back into the shadows of the trees, he stayed where he was, feeling a little foolish as Juliet got closer, the urge to get up and walk over to her getting stronger and stronger. Then to his embarrassment, she looked over into the trees just as she reached him and saw him crouched under the bushes like a peeping Tom.
Jumping to his feet, he walked out of the trees, grabbed the garbage from his lunch, and held it up to show Juliet. “I was just having lunch, and a napkin blew into the bushes,” he said. “I was trying to find it.”
She studied him for a second. “It’s a bit late for lunch,” she said. “You must have had a busy day.”
“I lost track of the time,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “What have you been up to?”
“Taking pictures, of course,” Juliet said, smiling nervously at him. “I’ve been walking along the shore all day. It’s amazing what you see if you look closely enough.”
He studied her for a second, looking past the thick glasses to the impossibly blue eyes, then let his eyes roam lower, his imagination stripping away her clothes to reveal…well he wasn’t sure what, only that he wanted to know. Juliet stared back at him, a blush rising to her cheeks, then began to get nervous when he still didn’t say anything, her chest rising and falling a little faster.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” he said, taking a couple of steps toward her. “Sometimes you have to look beyond the surface to see what’s hiding in plain sight. I’m just beginning to learn that lesson.”
“Oh…well, that’s good, I think,” Juliet said, her cheeks even pinker.
“I think it could be very good,” he said, walking up to her until he was close enough to smell her wonderful scent, something sweet but slightly spicey. “Just like that kiss last night.”
Juliet tensed up a little, but he saw a spark of excitement in her eyes and felt the creature inside him begin to awaken at the prospect of kissing her again. He started to reach for her, aware on some level that she wouldn’t refuse him if he did, but before he could pull her into his arms, he heard his name being called from down the beach. Turning, he saw Claudia coming toward them, dressed in one of her bikinis, her breasts almost falling out of the top, and to his shock and surprise, the sight did nothing for him.
“There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Claudia said, giving him a big kiss and shoving Juliet away in the process. “Have you been hiding from me, you naughty boy? I know it was terrible of me to cancel on you last night, but I’ll all yours tonight. We can do all those things you talked about.”
***Juliet***
Juliet stumbled back a couple of steps narrowly avoiding an elbow to the face as the woman draped herself all over Harrison, her heart sinking when she realized that they were together. Stung and feeling foolish, she could only stare as the woman rubbed herself all over Harrison, whispering in his ear as he did nothing to stop it. Wanting only to escape, she started to back away, but the woman turned around and stared at her, an evil look in her eyes.
“And who do we have here?” she asked. “Did you make a new friend, Harrison? He looks a little young to be hanging out with you.”
Harrison extracted himself from the woman’s arms, but the damage had already been done, anger was surging through her. It was bad enough that Harrison had made a fool of her; she wasn’t going to be insulted, and she opened her mouth to let the woman have it, but Harrison jumped in before she could speak.
“Claudia, this is Juliet,” he said, putting some emphasis on her name. “She’s been taking photographs of the island, and we were just talking about them.”
“Oh, I see,” Claudia said, sliding her sunglasses down her nose to study Juliet again. “My mistake, but if you want a piece of advice, sweetheart, don’t dress like a boy unless you want people to think that you are one.”
She gasped, so angry she was trembling, and for the first time in her life, she considered punching someone She knew that it would feel wonderful to wipe the smug look off the woman’s face. But Harrison jumped in again, put his arms around Claudia, and led her away a few feet, but she could still hear their entire conversation. She stood listening even though she knew that she should leave.
“Let’s have dinner earlier tonight,” Harrison said, his head bent close to Claudia’s. “I’ll stop by the village on my way home and pick something up. We can meet at my cabin in an hour. Won’t that be nice?”
Claudia let out a long sigh. “I don’t like competition, Harrison,” she said, then looked over her shoulder at Juliet. “Not that she’s much of a threat. I just thought you were into real women, not little girls.”
“Claudia, that’s enough. I’ll meet you at my cabin in an hour,” he said. “Don’t spoil the night. We’ve been waiting for this for days.”
The woman let out a little snort, looking over at Juliet again. “You’re right, I don’t know what I’m getting so worked up about,” she purred, putting her arms around Harrison again. “Just do me a favor and wait to find my replacement until I’m gone.”
Claudia flounced off before Harrison could say anything, her laughter only fading once she was out of sight. She started to back away, wondering why she’d stayed so long. Harrison wasn’t the kind of man she wanted to get tangled up with. She wasn’t out for cheap thrills no matter how wonderful that kiss had been. She had more self-esteem than that.
“Juliet, hold on, don’t run away,” Harrison said, walking over to her. “I’m sorry about that…Claudia just…well, I don’t know, I guess she was jealous.”
“Good thing she didn’t find out that you kissed me last night,” she said. “But at least now I know the truth about what kind of man you are.”
“Juliet, it’s not what you think, I’m not involved with Claudia,” he said. “I mean, not really. We just met a few days ago, and we’ve been spending time together, but we’re not committed to each other or anything.”
“That’s sure not what it looked like to me,” she said, anger flaring to life again. “Dinner at your cabin, all the things you’re going to do, that sure sounds to me like you’re involved.”
“But we’re not, I haven’t even slept with her yet,” he argued, not realizing he was only making it worse. “She canceled on me last night.”
“So, you made a play for me,” she said, disgusted that she’d ever been attracted to him. “Did you think I’d be easy, or was I just the closest substitute for Claudia? Did you think I’d just fall into bed with you, that I’d be grateful for your attention?”
“It wasn’t like that,” he protested. “I didn’t plan to kiss you when I asked you to have dinner with me. You weren’t even going to let me walk you back to your cabin, remember?”
“My mistake,” she said, giving him a dirty look. “I might not have changed my mind if I’d known I was just a replacement for Claudia when she leaves.”
“That’s not how it was,” Harrison said, stepping closer to her. “I wanted to kiss you, Juliet. You, not Claudia.”
She studied him for a minute, too angry to speak, not about to believe his lies, not when she’d seen Claudia with her own eyes. “You know it must be nice to just do whatever you want without worrying about anyone else’s feelings,” she said. “Maybe I should start living my life that way. Maybe I should just give into whatever feeling takes hold of me.”
Then, before she could stop herself, she closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, stretched up onto her toes and kissed him, fueled by the anger still surging through her. He was stiff with shock at first, but then his arms slid around her, and he pulled her close before kissing her back. She almost lost herself in the kiss, but the anger wasn’t completely spent, and she managed to pull away from him.
“Now we’re even,” she said, then turned and stomped away but only made it a few feet before whirling around and facing him again. “If you were thinking I’d be Claudia’s replacement, you can think again. That kiss is the last thing you’ll ever get from me.”