Page 13 of A First for the Playboy Dragon

***Juliet***

Juliet stood in front of the closet, wrapped in a towel, her hair still wet from the shower, a heavy curtain over her back, staring at the clothes hanging there, not sure what to wear. She started to reach for her usual black pants and long-sleeved white dress shirt, then pulled her hand back, looking at the brightly colored garments on the other side of the small space. Running her hand over a sundress that she’d fallen in love with in the dressing room, she wondered if she had enough guts to wear it; if she could leave the cabin with that much skin exposed.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed the dress. “It’s just a dress. You’ll still have more skin covered than most people around here,” she said out loud, hoping it would give her courage, then dropped the towel and slipped the dress over her head. Letting out a sigh when the soft fabric caressed her skin, she tugged the zipper in the back up, then looked in the mirror. “Now, that’s not so bad, you’re mostly covered, and those days are long behind you. Have some guts, Juliet. Nothing bad will happen to you if you dress like this, lots of women do, and nothing happens to them.”

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the mirror, went into the bathroom, and quickly braided her waist-length hair, then secured it to the back of her head with a big clip and a bunch of pins. She briefly considered putting the contacts sitting on the counter in and leaving her glasses behind, but she rejected the idea, already more nervous than she should have been.

It’s just dinner, she reminded herself. You’re not going to sleep with him. Stop fussing and get out of here, you’re already late. She made it all the way to the door, then turned around and ran back to the closet, grabbed a sweater and quickly put it on, instantly feeling better. Before she could leave the bedroom,there was a knock on her front door, and she froze for a second, her eyes trailing over to the black pants, but she forced herself to turn around leaving them behind.

When she opened the door, Harrison was standing on her porch wearing dress shorts and a button-down Hawaiian shirt, his hair slicked back from the shower. He had a big bouquet of flowers in his hand. When he saw her, a smile spread across his face, and a spark of desire flared to life in his eyes, making her heart do crazy things.

“I thought I was meeting you in the village,” she said, slightly breathless. “You look really nice.”

Harrison didn’t say anything. His eyes were busy roaming over her body, making her shiver as the spark of desire in them turned into a full blaze. She was suddenly filled with the same warmth that she’d felt earlier this afternoon, and the urge to kiss him soon followed, but she managed to take a step back instead.

“These are for you,” Harrison said, holding out the flowers. “Someone pointed out to me that I should pick you up if this was a real date, but these were my idea.”

“They’re beautiful,” she said, feeling her cheeks warming with a blush. “I should put them in some water. Do you want to come in?”

“I think I’ll just wait here,” Harrison said, a look of disappointment on his face. “I was hoping those might earn me a kiss.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t even think of that,” she said, stepping up to him and giving him a quick kiss. “They really are beautiful, Harrison, thank you. I’m going to put them right next to my bed so I can think about you first thing in the morning and last thing at night.”

Harrison got a funny look on his face, almost as if he was in pain. “Damn woman, you really know how to get to a man,” hesaid. “It might take me a second to recover from that one. I’m trying not to think about you in bed.”

A thrill rushed through her. “Oh, Harrison…I didn’t…I’m sorry,” she said, her voice shaking a little. “I wasn’t thinking…”

“Maybe you should go put those flowers in some water and give me a few minutes,” he said. “You smell good, and that’s not helping; I keep wondering if you taste the same way.”

She gasped, her cheeks flaming, not sure how to handle the rush of desire that almost overwhelmed her. “That might be a good idea,” she said, backing away from him. “I’ll be right back.”

Her hands shook as she filled a vase with water, the desire still pumping through her blood, but she managed to get the flowers inside, then left them sitting on the counter, not sure she could trust herself to carry them to the bedroom. Harrison was still standing on the porch when she came back, his back to her, but when he turned around, she could see that he hadn’t made much progress getting himself under control.

Something inside her responded to the look in his eyes, and without even giving it a second thought, she walked over to him. He swept her into his arms with a rumbling growl, then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her until she was trembling and a new need began to build deep inside her. Harrison ended the kiss, reluctantly pulling away from her, then held her close while they both caught their breath.

“I’m sorry, I really tried to resist, but seeing you in that dress…” he trailed off. “I know it shouldn’t matter what you’re wearing, and it doesn’t, but…”

She reached up and put her fingers over his lips. “It’s okay, Harrison, I’m glad you like it,” she said. “It’s a big change for me, but if it makes you happy, then it makes me happy.”

Harrison groaned, “There you go again, saying something that makes me want to kiss you,” he said. “You’ve really got tostop doing that or we’ll never get to dinner. I think you might be better at this romance thing than I am.”

“But you’re better at the kissing part,” she said, grinning up at him, just beginning to realize the power she had over him and enjoying it more than she should. “Maybe you should kiss me again, just to even things up.”

“Your wish is my command, sweetheart,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers again.

CHAPTER 9

***HARRISON***

Harrison led Juliet across the food court toward the cloth draped table in the back, watching for her reaction when she saw the scene he’d set for dinner. When she let out a little gasp of surprise, then a sigh of appreciation a wave of relief washed over him, and he realized just how important her happiness had become to him. When she turned to look at him, the smile on her face sent thrills rushing through him, followed by a wave of warmth, and he relaxed.

“Oh, Harrison, this is so sweet,” she said, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, but I’m glad you did. This definitely earned you a kiss.”

“I’ll collect that kiss later when we’re alone,” he said, pulling out her chair. “But in the interest of full disclosure, Max and the staff helped put it all together. It helps that I’m best friends with the owner of the resort.”

“Have you and Max been friends for a long time?” Juliet asked, settling herself at the table. “He seems like a good guy. I can see why you’d be friends with him.”

“We’ve known each other most of our lives. We went to boarding school together and then college,” he said, sitting down across from her. “There were eight of us in our group, and wemanaged to stick together through all those years. Even though we’re all living our own lives, we stay in touch the best we can.”

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