Page 29 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

Her heart began to pound when he slowly lowered hismouth until it was only inches from hers, “Is it still a bad idea if I kiss you?” he asked. “Because I really want to right now.”

“I think it might be okay just this one time,” she said. “You did ask, after all.”

Simon laughed, pulled her up against him, then brushed his lips across hers, sending delicious tendrils of anticipation shooting through her. She let out a sigh as all the fight slowly drained out of her. When his lips met hers again, pleasure rushed through her, and she gave herself over to the kiss as the world around them melted away, leaving only the two of them. Simon’s tongue slipped into her mouth, sending another wave of sensation washing over her, and she moaned deep in her chest.

Simon groaned, then deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue, then nipped at her lips with his teeth before kissing her again. When they were finally forced to part, chests heaving, Simon looked down at her with surprise in his eyes, then crushed her to him.

“That was way more than I bargained for,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “A few more minutes of that and I would have embarrassed us both.”

She looked around, suddenly remembering where they were, and felt the blush rising on her cheeks, but it looked like no one had noticed them. “We should go,” she said. “The bus will be here any minute.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Simon said, pulling her back into his arms. “Tell me that was the best kiss you’ve ever had, or I’m going to kiss you again, because I’ve never felt anything like that before, and I don’t want to be the only one.”

“Hmm, that’s a tough decision to make, if I tell you the truth, it will only make that ego of yours bigger,” she said. “And if I lie, I get another kiss.”

“Does that mean you want one?” heasked, grinning at her. “Because I always aim to please, and I promise to keep my ego in check. I’ve learned my lesson, that’s for sure.”

“Then I guess you’d better kiss me again,” she said. “Just to make sure we were feeling the same thing.”

When they parted the second time, both out of breath and wishing they were alone, the bus was just coming down the street. “The bus is here,” he said, looking down at her. “Do you think you’re up to making a run for it?”

She wasn’t about to admit how much he’d gotten to her, “I bet I can beat you there,” she said, grinning up at him. “The winner gets the window seat.”

They didn’t talk much on the way back to the marina, but Kira was very aware of everything about Simon, the way his arm hair tickled when he brushed up against her, the way he smelled, the tilt of his head as he watched the island go by out the window. She was falling and falling hard, having the vacation romance she hadn’t wanted, with a man she’d once hated, and had no idea how to stop what was happening, no longer sure that she wanted to.

The bus dropped them off with just a few minutes to spare, and they arrived back at the slip slightly out of breath just as the boat pulled up, Montgomery behind the wheel this time. He gave Simon a quick once over, then threw him the rope to tie up, watching carefully to make sure he did it right.

“I have to grab a few packages from the office,” Montgomery said. “I’ll just be a few minutes. Make yourselves comfortable, you know where the cold drinks are.”

“We’ll help ourselves, take your time,” Simon said. “Thanks for coming to get us.”

Montgomery just grunted and walked away, “I’m going to have to work at winning him over,” Simon said, helping her onto the boat. “I guess he knows. I wonder who else does.”

“Probably the whole island,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “You know how gossip spreads.”

“I’m used to people talking about me, but not like this,” he said with a sigh. “Oh, well, I suppose that’s part of my punishment.”

They settled onto the bench seats on the boat deck, “Is that how it feels?” she asked. “Like you’re being punished?”

He didn’t answer right away, “It did at first,” he finally said. “But not so much anymore. To tell you the truth, for the last few hours, I’ve just felt like myself.”

She looked up at him, “That’s good,” she said. “Maybe you’re finally beginning to figure out who you really are.”

“It feels nice,” he said, putting his arm around her. “Just like this does.”

When she opened her mouth, he hushed her, “This is all I want right now, Kira,” he said. “I just want to sit here with you in my arms and not think about anything but how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be sharing it with you.”

“There you go again, saying all those sweet things to me,” she said, smiling up at him. “I almost believed you that time.”

“Then I’m getting better at telling the truth,” he said. “Do you really have to sit with that Corey guy tonight at dinner?”

“I promised him that I would,” she said. “It wouldn’t be very nice to cancel on him.”

“I was just hoping to spend some time with you, that’s all,” he said. “But a promise is a promise. I’ll be okay on my own.”

“That sad face won’t work on me,” Kira said, shaking her head. Think of this as another opportunity to try out the new you. There will be lots of other people there, Simon. Talk to them.”

“It won’t be as fun as being with you,” he said. “But I’ll do my best.”

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