Page 19 of A First for the Playboy Dragon

“Well, how far away are we?” she asked when his feet hit the ground. “Can we make it back tonight?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, then paused before looking over at Juliet. “The village isn’t there. I can’t see a single light; it’s just disappeared.”

Juliet stared at him for several long seconds. “Harrison, that’s not possible. The village could not have just disappeared,” she said, shaking her head. It has to be there. We must be on the other side of the island, or maybe the electricity went out. It can’t have just vanished. Things like that don’t happen.”

“I’m not losing my mind, it’s not there,” he said, sitting down heavily on a big rock. “Even if the power went out, I should have been able to see something. The marina is gone too. There’s nothing there, no docks, no boats, nothing.”

“Harrison, if this is your idea of a joke, it isn’t very funny,” Juliet said, stomping over to him. “You should be ashamed of yourself, you’ve got me…”

“Juliet, this isn’t a joke, I’m completely serious,” he said, getting to his feet. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

She looked at him, the scowl she’d been giving him slowly disappearing, replaced by confusion and a touch of fear. “But how…” Juliet whispered. “I don’t understand.”

The need to comfort her washed over him, and he didn’t fight it. He needed her touch as much as she needed his. “I don’t either, not completely,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “But we’ll figure it out together; everything is going to be fine, I promise.”

Juliet looked up at him, tears in her eyes, then let out a shaky sigh, “I believe you,” she said before snuggling back into his arms. “I guess we’d better find someplace to spend the night.”

He didn’t let her go right away. It felt too good to have her in his arms again, and his head was spinning just a little. No one, not even his buddies in the Seals, had ever had that much faith in him. When he finally pulled back and looked down at Juliet, the color had come back into her cheeks, and she looked much calmer. He just hoped she was tough enough to spend the night out in the jungle.

Looking around the little clearing they were standing in, he realized there was no good place to create any cover for them. “Do you think you can handle hiking just a bit more?” he asked. “I can build us a shelter, but this isn’t a good place. We need to find a rock outcropping or a dense stand of trees, something like that.”

“I’m okay, I can go on if that’s what we need to do,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. “You’re the expert, just tell me what to do.”

“That’s what I like, a cooperative woman,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. “Someday, I’m going to remind you that you said that.”

“Harrison, if you mean what I think you do, you should really behave yourself,” Juliet said, but her smile was a little bigger, and her cheeks blushed. You’ll get me all flustered, and I’ll fall down or something.”

“And I’ll be right there to pick you up,” he said, grinning down at her. “Besides, you’re ten times the hiker that I am; you kicked my butt on the way to the cliff. I think you’ll be just fine.”

“As long as I’m with you, I will be,” she said. “You make me feel safe.”

***Juliet***

Juliet followed Harrison through the jungle, aware of the tension radiating from him, and did her best to keep the panic that was welling up inside her at bay; the last thing he needed right now was a hysterical woman. Taking deep breaths, she told herself that it was just a misunderstanding. The resort couldn’t have disappeared. It was impossible, beyond the limits of science. They were probably just turned around. It happened to everyone, especially since they didn’t have a compass; they just needed a little daylight to clear things up.

A night under the stars might not be terrible. It was warm, there was no sign of rain, and she’d be with Harrison. A wave of warmth spread through her, and a tingle of desire came to life deep in her belly at the thought of sleeping in his arms. Wondering if she might be brave enough to do more than that, the tingle turned to a throbbing need that made her insides clench, and she let out a little gasp of surprise.

“Are you okay?” Harrison asked, coming to a stop, a look of concern on his face. “We could stop here if you’re getting too tired. It’s not ideal, but I can make something work.”

“I’m okay, I was just…umm…lost in my thoughts,” she said, feeling her cheeks beginning to flame. “We can keep going.”

They’d only been walking for a few more minutes when a huge wall of rock appeared out of the darkness on one side of the trail. “This might be it,” Harrison said, stopping and examining the rocks. “Wait here for a few minutes while I go explore.”

The darkness folded around her as soon as Harrison was gone, and she shivered as she waited for him to come back, each second feeling more like a minute. Around her, the jungle seemed to come alive, and she did her best not to let the fear coursing through her make her imagination go wild. After what felt like an eternity, she heard Harrison coming back and realized that there were tears on her cheeks.

“I found a cave. I don’t know how big it is. I didn’t stop to explore it, but it should do for the night,” he said, then really looked at her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and gave him a thumbs up, not trusting herself to speak, afraid the tears she was holding back would explode out of her. Harrison grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, then held her close, instantly making her feel better, but the sobs still came from deep in her chest. He held her until she stopped crying, then pulled back and used his thumb to wipe the moisture off her cheeks, a tender smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” she said. “The last thing you need is me falling apart.”

“You didn’t fall apart; in fact, you’re amazing, Juliet,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Most people would have completely lost it by now. You’ve been holding it together like a champ. Give yourself a break, tears can be very cleansing.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I do feel better,” she said. “I guess being left alone in the dark was more than I was ready for. I’ll do better next time.”

“You did just fine, sweetheart,” he said, crushing her to him. “I’ll take you into battle with me anytime.”

She laughed, “I don’t know if I’d go that far,” she said. “But I might be able to follow you to the cave you found without losing it again.”

---