Page 32 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

She could hear him right behind her, cursing her as he chased her down, and knew that she couldn’t outrun him, but saw the metal pail gleaming in the moonlight. Changingdirections, she headed straight for it, scooped it up off the ground, and with all her strength, launched it at Corey. It hit him in the middle of the forehead with a loud clang, but he didn’t go down like she’d hoped. Instead, his eyes filled with rage, and he charged toward her.

“You little bitch, you’re going to pay for that,” he yelled, reaching for her. “I’m going to drag you back into those trees and make you sorry you ever crossed me.”

“I don’t think so,” Simon said, stepping in front of her. “The lady isn’t going anywhere with you.”

Corey stopped short, then started laughing, “And you think you’re going to stop me?” he asked. “Back off looser, you’re just going to end up hurt, or maybe you want to watch, you know, get a few tips from a real man.”

CHAPTER 18

***SIMON***

Simon was no longer in control of the rage pounding through him, couldn’t have controlled the fist that connected with Corey’s face with a crunch of bone if he’d wanted to. He’d never hit another human being before, not as an adult, and found that he was very satisfied with the result when the other man went flying through the air and landed in a heap on the sand. When Corey rolled over, blood pouring from his nose, whining like a little boy, he turned and scooped Kira into his arms.

“Are you okay?” he asked, crushing her to his chest. “I know I shouldn’t have been following you, but when I saw that guy taking you down the beach, I couldn’t help myself.”

Kira wrapped her arms around him and held on, her entire body trembling, but didn’t say anything for a long time, “He’s drunk,” she finally said. “I didn’t want to go with him, he forced me. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t followed us. Thank you, Simon.”

“Well, you were doing a pretty good job of defending yourself,” he said. “I bet getting hit with that bucket really hurt.”

“It didn’t even slow him down,” she said, then shivered. “Then you showed up.”

He looked down at her, “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he asked, the rage slowly starting to build again.

She shook her head. “No, not really. It just scared me mostly,” she said, then looked over at Corey, still rolling around on the ground. “He doesn’t look very scary right now.”

“I guess we’d better go tell Max what happened,” Simon said. “Do you think you can make it back?”

“I’ll be okay,” Kira said, “just don’t let go of my hand.”

“That’s a deal,” he said, threading his fingers through hers.

Max handled Corey and his friends quickly and quietly without the rest of the guests knowing anything was wrong, and he could tell that Kira was relieved. “If you’re not up for socializing, I’d be happy to make you some dinner,” he said when they finally had a few minutes to themselves. “I make a mean omelet.”

“Oh, Simon, that’s very sweet, but I don’t want to let that jerk ruin the night,” she said. “Let’s go eat some crab and forget all about it.”

When the crab was nothing but a pile of empty shells, the fire had burned low, and they’d eaten their fill of the delicious deserts brought down from the village, Simon offered to walk Kira back to her cabin. They took their time strolling back down the beach and along the trail that led to the cabins, the moonlight above their heads all the illumination they needed.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue tonight,” Kira said when they got to her cabin. “I should be mad at you for following us, but I know you were just worried about me.”

“I was a little jealous, too,” he admitted. “But mostly I was worried.”

“It’s nice to have someone worryingabout me,” she said, stepping up to him. “I’m going to kiss you now, because you’ve earned it.”

Simon sucked in a breath. Desire blossomed in his eyes but he didn’t move, so she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, then stretched up on her toes and brushed her lips across his. When he still didn’t move, she pulled his head down and captured his lips like he’d done to her, then slipped her tongue into his mouth. Simon groaned, making her bolder, and when she felt his arms wrap around her, she moaned deep in her throat.

When Simon finally pulled away from her, they were both panting, and they stared at each other for a few seconds, dazed by the passion she’d awoken. “I promised to help Montgomery fix his boat tomorrow morning, but I’m free after that,” he said. “Maybe we could go for a hike or something.”

“There you go mentioning that something again,” Kira said, grinning up at him. “You have a one-track mind, Mr. Nelson.”

“Guilty,” he said. “But after a kiss like that, can you blame me?”

A blush spread across Kira’s cheeks, “It was a pretty good kiss, wasn’t it?” she asked. “Maybe we should try it again, you know, just to make sure it wasn’t a one-time thing.”

“That sounds like as good an excuse as any to kiss you again,” he said, then lowered his mouth to hers.

When they finally parted, the passion between them was burning brightly, and all he wanted to do was carry Kira inside and make love to her, but he held back, something he’d never done before. He watched until she disappeared inside the cabin, then headed back to his cabin, not the least bit sorry to be going home alone. For the first time in his life, he wanted something special, he wanted a real connection with a woman, and he was willing to wait for it.

The next morning, he stopped by to see Max on the way down to the dock to help Montgomery, “Well, you’re up early this morning,” his friend said when he stepped into the kitchen. “What are you up to?”

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