Page 7 of A First for the Playboy Dragon

“That’s the funny thing, I am,” he said, searching her face. “The truth is, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Her heart leaped in her chest, thrills rushed through her, but she forced herself to be realistic. This wasn’t a romance novel or a fairy tale; Harrison wasn’t her Prince Charming. “It was nice of you to invite me to dinner, and I really did enjoy myself,” she said, feeling her cheeks begin to turn warm. But I know I’m not exactly…well, the kind of woman you’re usually with. I don’t expect anything more than…”

Before she could finish, Harrison pulled her into his arms, lowered his mouth to hers, and kissed her, shocking her so much that she didn’t even think about fighting at first. When it finally popped into her head, it was too late; delicious waves of pleasure were washing over her, and instead of trying to get away, she found herself leaning into him, then wrapping her arms around his neck. His tongue found its way into her mouth, and she was assaulted by feelings that she’d never experienced before, making her legs begin to tremble and forcing her to cling even tighter to Harrison.

When he finally pulled away from her with a low rumbling growl, she swayed on her feet, unable to move with her brain fogged by pleasure, but managed to look up at him. His eyes were still filled with the strange look, and it slowly dawned on her that it was desire, something she’d only seen in one man’s eyes before. The memory quickly cleared her head, and she slowly lowered her arms and stepped away from Harrison, her face filling with heat.

“I have to go,” she said, backing away from him. “You really didn’t have to do that, but it was nice…I just don’t…that is…never mind, good night, Harrison.”

“I would call it a little more than nice,” he said, his voice husky. “If I didn’t think it would scare you, I’d do it again, and just for the record, you’re just the kind of woman I want to be with.”

She shook her head, didn’t dare let herself believe him, “You don’t even know me,” she said. “I’m not…well…I don’t…I mean…you know…”

“You’re right, I don’t know you,” he said. “But I would like to get to know you, especially after that kiss. There was real fire there, Juliet, definitely worth exploring.”

A little flame of hope burst to life inside her, “Do you really mean that?” she asked, then groaned, afraid that she sounded pitiful. “I mean, I guess that would be okay.”

He gave her a brilliant smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said. “I might even teach you to swim.”

She was too stunned by his attraction to tell him that she didn’t have a bathing suit, but she realized as she climbed the ladder that it didn’t matter. She couldn’t waste her time with Harrison. Her brother was depending on her. She had to get the pictures he needed. She’d just have to come up with an excuse or avoid him completely until she had what she needed. It was a big island; it couldn’t be that hard.

CHAPTER 5

***HARRISON***

Harrison 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 theknowledge 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 inhis 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 thesurface 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.

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