Page 25 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

***Kira***

Kira sensed the change that slowly came over Simon on the bus ride across the island, but she wasn’t aware that’s what she was feeling. She was too occupied watching him to notice the way she was softening to him or to hear the warning bells going off in her head. He was like a kid in a candy store, absorbing every sight and sound around him, his face animated with a kaleidoscope of emotions, and she was glad that she was there to see it.

When the bus came to a stop at an open market that filled an entire city block, he turned to her, “Isthis where we’re stopping?” he asked, jumping to his feet when she did. “I’ve never been to anything like this before.”

“There’s a mall on the other side of town, but I thought this would be more fun,” she said. “And the barber that the woman from the marina recommended is right around the corner.”

“Oh, something smells good,” Simon said, taking a deep breath. “Where is it coming from?”

“We must be on the end of the market with the food stalls,” she said. “We missed lunch. Maybe we should get something to eat before we go get your hair cut.”

“I’m all for that,” Simon said. “Lead the way, it looks crowded in there.”

She nodded, then held out her hand before she could change her mind, “Hold onto me,” she said, “but don’t get any ideas, it’s just so we don’t get separated.”

He grinned at her, “Right, got it,” he said, wrapping his hand around hers. “Just so we don’t get separated.”

“Right,” she echoed, trying to ignore the warmth that spread from their joined hands all through her body. “Just so we don’t get separated.”

He just smiled at her, his green eyes full of amusement, and she knew that it might be impossible to resist the new Simon. “You already said that,” he teased. “I think the heat must be getting to you, or is it something else?”

She gave him a dirty look, “Something is, but it’s not you,” she said. “So, stop looking at me like that.”

Simon just laughed, threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her into the open market, “Come on, I’m starving,” he said. “You can be annoyed with me later.”

At first, they just walked up and down the long line of stalls, watching the vendors cooking their creations, both a little too overwhelmed to choose anything. When theyarrived back where they’d started, Simon looked over at her, then shook his head.

“I can’t decide,” he said. “I want to eat all of it, well, maybe not the live shrimp, those I’ll skip.”

“We need a plan,” she said, her stomach beginning to growl. “We should get a few things and share them.”

“Good idea, and I vote we start with the place that makes that soup,” he said, pulling her back into the crowd. “It looks so good; I just have to try it.”

After they’d polished off the bowl of shrimp, mussels, and clams in a spicy broth, Simon bought them a big glass of fresh lemonade, and they moved on to the next stall. By the time they emerged from the open market an hour later, Simon was still eating the last of their dessert, and she was sure that she was going to burst.

“I’m so stuffed I can’t walk,” she said. “This was supposed to be a shopping trip, I think we got horribly sidetracked.”

“Oh, horrible isn’t the word I would use,” Simon said, grinning at her. “That was so much fun, I want to come back tomorrow.”

She laughed, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” she said. “Maybe we should go see about that haircut. The barbershop should only be a few blocks away.”

“It would be nice to get this mess on my head under control,” he said, taking her hand again. “You’ve got the map, lead the way.”

After glancing down at their joined hands, then up at him, she let out a long sigh, but before she could say anything, Simon beat her to it. “We don’t want to get separated,” he said, grinning at her. “The sidewalks look really crowded.”

Her heart skipped a beat and thrills shot through her, but she didn’t pull her hand away, “Come on, it’s this way,” she said instead, startingdown the street.

Five minutes later they were standing in front of the barbershop, and she could tell by the way Simon was staring at the door that he was nervous. Before she could offer to go in with him, he turned to her, “Hopefully, this won’t take too long, but maybe you should find someplace to sit and wait,” he said, then leaned down and gave her a kiss. “Thank you again, Kira.”

If the old Simon had kissed her, she would have slapped him, but this Simon’s kiss made her entire body hum, and she almost reached out to grab him for another one, but let him walk away. Lips still tingling, she watched him disappear inside, then stumbled over to a bench in the shade, trying to tell herself that it was just a physical reaction, knowing the entire time she was lying to herself.

CHAPTER 15

***SIMON***

Simon was as shocked as Kira that he’d kissed her. It hadn’t been planned, the urge had come instinctually from somewhere deep inside him, making him act without thinking. But as he strolled to the door of the barbershop, he couldn’t find a scrap of regret inside him, and decided that given the opportunity, he would do it again. Remembering the look of surprise on her face, and the hint of desire in her eyes, a smile spread across his face, and a little of his old confidence came back.

The barbershop was filled with the sound of men’s voices but when they saw him, a silence fell over the room as they all turned to stare at him. “Ummm……someone said this was the best place on the island to get a haircut,” he stammered. “You look really busy, but I wonder if you might have time to squeeze me in?”

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