Page 36 of A First for the Playboy Dragon

“You’re welcome, Juliet, you’re part of the family now, and we protect our own no matter what,” he said, a pleased smile on his face. “I’m just not sure how I’m going to explain it to the other women. I don’t suppose you have any ideas.”

“I’m afraid not,” she said, patting him on the arm. “I’ll try to think of something, though.”

“The only thing you’re going to be doing is taking a shower and crawling into bed for a nice long rest,” Harrison said. “Max will figure out something, he always does.”

“Hold on. I want Juliet to go check in with the doctor first,” Max said. We’re not taking any chances, and lord knows I pay the woman enough money; it’s time for her to earn some of it.”

“I’m fine, Max, really,” she said. “I just need some rest, like Harrison said.”

“No arguing, I’m not budging on this one,” Max said, shaking his head. “If you really are fine, then it won’t take long. The sooner you go, the sooner it will be over.”

“Fine, you win, but only because you risked so much for me,” Juliet said, walking over and kissing him on the cheek. “It’s nice to be part of the family.”

Harrison paced up and down the hallway outside Juliet’s room, still annoyed that the doctor had kicked him out, and a little worried that something was wrong. Max’s prediction that they’d be in and out had been wrong. They’d been there for hours while the doctor ran bloodwork that didn’t seem necessary, and then she’d ushered him out of the room with a polite smile. That had been ten minutes ago, and he’d felt like barging in for every second since then.

When the door finally opened, he rushed over to the doctor. “Can I see her now?” he asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I’ll let Juliet explain,” the doctor said. “But she’s perfectly healthy, so you can stop worrying.”

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, he thanked the doctor and slowly pushed open the door, not wanting to disturb Juliet if she was sleeping. “Hey,” he said when he saw that she was awake. “Are we ready to get out of here?”

She looked at him, then let out a long sigh, her face uncertain, and he began to worry again. “Harrison, we have to talk first,” she said. “I have something to tell you, and I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.”

He rushed over to the bed. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he asked. “The doctor said that you’re perfectly healthy. Those were her exact words.”

“I’m not sick, that’s not it…” she said, looking up at him. “I’m pregnant, just a few days if the doctor is right, but she ranthe test three times, so I don’t think she’s wrong. Marie told me yesterday about the baby, but I didn’t really believe her, then I got sick last night…”

For a second, he didn’t think he’d heard her right. “Pregnant,” he repeated, the word making him wince. “That can’t be right…I’ve never…”

“I’m sorry, Harrison. Please try not to be upset. We should have been more careful,” she said, her voice shaking, tears running down her face. Don’t let this spoil everything; we’ll figure it out.”

His head spinning, his future suddenly decided for him. He saw himself married, a pack of children following him around as he mowed the lawn around their suburban home, his business gone, his dreams drying up to dust. It was more than he’d bargained for; it was someone else’s dream, and he wanted no part of it. He couldn’t give himself or his life over that easily. Anger began to surge through him; he didn’t want or need all of this; there was always a price to pay for love, and it looked like he’d be paying forever if he didn’t walk away.

“Spoil everything?” he asked, a sneer in his voice. “It’s going to do a lot more than that. I didn’t ask for this, this is not what I wanted. I was perfectly happy with my life the way it was. This is not going to happen, I won’t let it.”

“Harrison, please, let’s just talk about this calmly,” Juliet said, throwing back the covers and sliding out of bed. “This isn’t what I had planned either, but we’ll figure it out.”

Dressed in a loose-fitting hospital gown, there should have been nothing to rouse him when he looked over at Juliet, but his body responded, sending out waves of desire that had him instantly hard. She was only a few steps away when he started backing toward the door. His only instinct to get away, to run as far as he could from the woman who had him completely out of control, a feeling he hated.

“I have to go,” he said. “I’ll find someplace else to sleep tonight. You can have the cabin.”

He ran out the door, down the hallway, and out of the infirmary before he stopped feeling like his chest was going to explode. Bending over, afraid that he was going to pass out, he forced himself to concentrate on his breathing, blocking out any other thought. When he finally had control again, he stood up. Unable to think of any place else to go, he headed for Max’s cabin.

“If this is your idea of a joke, I don’t think it’s funny,” he yelled, looking around at the jungle, hoping the island was listening. “I thought you’d gone too far last time, but I was wrong. You can’t force me to do this, do you hear me? I don’t want her, I don’t want a baby, I just want my old life back. I was fine on my own, I’ll be fine again, just leave me alone. Just make it all disappear so I can be happy again.”

He was so upset and angry that he didn’t feel the ground beneath his feet begin to tremble or hear the leaves on the tree around him rustling in a sudden wind; he even missed the surge of power that blanketed the island for a second. Max was standing on the porch when he stomped up, a look of confusion on his face that quickly turned to concern when he saw Harrison.

“Why aren’t you with Juliet?” Max asked. “Did you just feel the ground rumbling?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, pushing past his friend. “I just want to go to where I can be alone so I can forget that woman exists.”

***Juliet***

As soon as the door closed behind Harrison, Juliet felt cold beginning to seep into her as if the temperature in the room haddropped. Sure that her heart was breaking, she stumbled back over to the bed, climbed in, pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. The pain was so intense it felt like she was going to split into a million pieces, and she would have welcomed it if it hadn’t been for the life growing inside her.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she tried not to cry, sure that she’d never stop, but then the door flew open, and Stella came running in. “Juliet, are you okay? I tried to get here as soon as I could,” she said, rushing over to the bed, then looked around the room. “Where’s Harrison? I can’t believe he’s not here, I thought he’d be glued to your side.”

“He’s gone, I told him about the baby, and he left,” she said, then began sobbing. “I knew this would happen. He freaked out. I don’t think he wants anything to do with either of us now.”

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