Page 3 of A First for the Playboy Dragon

She was gone before he realized that he hadn’t introduced himself, but then he decided that it was just as well. The woman had done something disturbing to him, and he needed to stay away from her. But as he watched her walk away, her shoesmaking a squishing sound, a trail of water droplets following her all the way to the sand at the end of the dock, he felt something pulling him toward her. Shaken, he turned away, deciding that it was only his protective instincts running high. The feeling would fade with time. It always did.

Remembering his dinner with Claudia, he shrugged off the strange feeling still haunting him and headed for the village, seduction on his mind. Not that Claudia was going to need much prompting; she wanted him as much as he wanted her. They’d been dancing around it for three days, enjoying the thrill of the chase. Tonight, he was going to catch her and do all the things he’d been imagining since he’d met her.

If he wasn’t as thrilled with the prospect as he’d been a few hours before, he ignored it, and headed to one of the restaurants that filled the food court. Cooking was not one of his many talents, but he wanted to make sure they had a good meal before the fun and games started, then something sweet for the interlude. After placing an order to be delivered a few minutes before Claudia arrived, he walked a few doors down to the florist and picked up several arrangements to spread around his cabin.

Checking off the last item on his mental list, he left the florist and found Max waiting for him outside, an unhappy look on his face. “Glad to know that you’re taking your job seriously,” he said, gesturing to the flowers in his arms. “It looks like you have your priorities straight. After all, flowers for your latest conquest are far more important than letting me know that one of my guests nearly drowned.”

“She didn’t almost drown, she was under the water for a minute at most before I got to her,” he said, instantly on the defensive and wishing he could just forget about Juliet. “I didn’t think it was my job to inform you. The marina isn’t my responsibility, so chill out. If Montgomery didn’t tell you that’s not my problem.”

“He told me, I just can’t figure out how it happened. No one remembers that rope being there,” he said. “Charlie is a good kid, he keeps his eyes open for things like that, I don’t understand how he missed it. You were there. You must have been watching if you saw Juliet go into the water.”

He remembered the rope sliding across the dock, then slowly wrapping around Charlie’s ankles like a snake, but couldn’t bring himself to tell Max about it. He was afraid he’d start in about the island again. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t really paying attention until I heard the splash,” he said, forgiving himself for the lie. “I can’t tell you if the rope was there or not. Juliet was fine, I wouldn’t make that big of a deal out of it, she won’t like it.”

Max studied him for a second. “Juliet, huh?” he asked. “How do you know she won’t like it? Are you an expert on this woman now?”

“Don’t look at me that way. She said herself that she didn’t want any fuss,” he said, wanting the conversation over. “Just leave it alone, there was no harm done. No one should be in trouble, accidents happen.”

Max let out a long sigh. “I guess you’re right. I just don’t like the idea of my guests being pushed into the water,” he said. “That could have been much worse than it was if you hadn’t been there.”

“Montgomery or Charlie would have gotten her out of the water if I hadn’t been there,” he said. “She was never in any real danger; you’re making a big deal about nothing.”

“I hope you’re right. You know how people are today, happy to sue over anything,” Max said, running his hands through his hair. “I can’t afford a lawsuit.”

“She’s not going to sue you, Max,” he said, patting his friend on the back. “You know what; I think you need a vacation. This island is starting to get to you.”

“Before you all started visiting, I loved this place. Now it’s just one problem after another,” Max said. “You might be right, maybe I do need to get away for a while. I’ll give it some serious thought.”

“I could give you a few ideas. I’ve been all over the world and there are some amazing places out there,” he said. “But right now, I have to get these flowers back to my cabin before they begin to wilt.”

“Sorry about what I said earlier,” Max said. “Have fun with your lady friend tonight. You are supposed to be on vacation after all.”

***Juliet***

Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Juliet followed Katie up the dock toward the little village, keeping her head down, sure that everyone was looking at her. “Normally, I would show you around the village now,” Katie said, a look of sympathy on her face. “But under the circumstances, maybe we should save that for later and take the back way to your cabin. You probably want a shower and some clean clothes.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said, a surge of relief shooting through her. “That was embarrassing enough without having to walk through the village.”

“My thought exactly,” Katie said, smiling at her. “But you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You didn’t fall in. You were pushed; there’s a big difference.”

“I guess, but I still feel like a drowned rat,” she said. “This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted things to go when I got to the island.”

“You’ll feel better once you get cleaned up,” Katie said. Then you and I can take a tour of the island. It’s a beautiful place, andthere are so many fun things to do. I’m sure the rest of your stay will be great.”

She felt a little bit of the young woman’s enthusiasm rubbing off on her, but only a second later, she remembered why she was there. “You must like working here,” she said, then looked around. “But I guess I can see why.”

“It’s not just the island, it’s Max too. He’s such a great boss, he really cares about us,” Katie said. “And you should see what he does for the guests and not just his friends. He’s helped a lot of people with this resort.”

“Oh wow, he does sound like a great guy,” she said, a bit disappointed since she’d been hoping Max St. Clair was a jerk. “You’re really lucky.”

They’d reached a cabin built on what she could only describe as stilts with a ladder leading up to a porch that wrapped around the little building. “Here we are,” Katie said, then saw the look on her face and laughed. “The cabins are built up off the ground because of hurricanes. The flooding can get pretty bad during one of those storms. I grew up in Bermuda, and I’ve been through a few, and that’s always the worst part.”

She looked over at the cabin again feeling a little thrill of adventure. “It’s going to be like living in the trees,” she said, the first real smile on her face. “I can’t wait to see inside.”

Just then, Charlie came driving up on a three-wheeler with a trailer attached, beeped the horn at them, and pulled up to the cabin. “Oh good, there’s your luggage,” Katie said. “Now you can shower and put on some dry clothes. Come on, let’s go in before he starts unloading; you can show him where to put everything.”

Half an hour later, she closed the door behind Katie, having promised to meet her in the village in a couple of hours, then turned and looked around the cabin, unable to hide the smile on her face. Indulging in the fantasy that she was just there onvacation, she walked around the living room then the kitchen, opening cabinets and drawers before returning to the bedroom.

The pile of luggage in the corner of the room made her frown, but she ignored it and walked over to the window to look out at the trees, which were at eye level. She spent a few minutes watching the birds flitting from branch to branch, then turned to face the pile of bags. After sorting them into two piles, her clothes and the other clothes, she dug out a clean pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, took her overnight bag into the bathroom, and got into the shower. When she came out, free of the sticky residue from the salt water, she felt better and quickly dressed, hoping to find her way to the village without getting lost.

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