Page 40 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

She didn’t move at first, and he started waving the gun around, “I mean it, Kira,” he said. “Get moving or I’ll find your family and start shooting.”

Looking down the dock at the shore, it became clear that no one was coming to her rescue. She would have to save herself or die trying. Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly past Edward, then knelt down and began messing with the line, pretending that she couldn’t get it untied.

“What’s taking so long?” Edward demanded. “If you’re trying to stall, it won’t work.”

“I can’t get it untied,” she said. “It’s all tangled up, and the rope is hurting my fingers.”

“Worthless female,” Edward grumbled, walking over to her. “Get out of the way. I’ll do it.”

When he bent down, she gathered all her strength, turned, shoved her hand into the middle of his chest, and pushed. Edward let out a panicked yell as he went flying backward. She sprang to her feet and started running, not even looking back to see if she’d hither mark. She was halfway down the dock when Simon came barreling out of the trees, Max right behind him, her parents bringing up the rear, and she started screaming at them to go back, sure that any moment she was going to hear gunshots ring out in the night.

CHAPTER 22

***SIMON***

Simon was aware of only two things as he ran, the woman he loved running toward him and the gun trained on her held by a man with a deranged look in his eyes. He didn’t stop to question what he was doing, never gave a thought to his own safety as he barreled down the dock and pushed Kira out of the way before the bullet could reach her. It hit him in the shoulder, but the pain was nothing compared to what he knew he would feel if he lost Kira, and he managed to stay on his feet as blood poured down his arm.

Edward lifted the gun to take another shot, and he glanced quickly behind him, heart sinking when he saw that Kira was still in range, then gathered himself to charge the other man before he could get off another shot. Before he could leap, his body began to hum and tingle, and he felt the first wave of power surge through him as his magic began to awaken. It was followed by another much stronger wave, and he began to feel the tingle of the dragon inside him coming to life and braced himself for the shift that was coming.

When the next burst of power shot through him a secondlater, the pain in his shoulder disappeared as the wound closed up, leaving only a pink scar. He took a deep breath, feeling the release as his human form dissolved, and the dragon took over. Then, he took a couple of steps toward Edward. The gun slipped from the man’s hand and fell into the water with a splash. Edward fell to his knees, screaming and covering his head, then rolled into a ball.

The instinct to protect Kira suddenly drained away, and he realized what he’d done. Heart sinking, sure that he’d just saved her and lost her at the same time, he slowly turned around. Four sets of shocked eyes looked back at him, but the only pair that mattered weren’t filled with fear as he’d expected. Instead, Kira was looking at him with awe on her face. When she took a couple of steps toward him, he was drawn toward her by an unseen force and closed the distance between them in only a few steps.

She reached out with a shaking hand and gently touched the feathers that covered his body, then looked up into his eyes and let out a long sigh. “It really is you,” she said, then threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. “Thank you for saving me again.”

Her acceptance of what he was nearly overwhelmed him, and as he stood there assaulted by emotions he’d buried for years, the magic that flowed through his veins slowly started to drain away. His body began to tingle again, then with a rush of power, the dragon melted away, leaving him standing with his arms around Kira, Edward still whimpering behind them.

Kira looked up at him, then pulled back some more, “Simon, you look like yourself again,” she said, and then her legs started to buckle. “I think I need to sit down.”

He swept her up into his arms just before she collapsed and started toward the village, “Sorry about that,” he said when he passed Max. “I’m taking Kira back to your cabin.”

When he got to Molly and Dan, he stopped, “She’s not hurt. She just fainted. I’m going to take her back to the cabin,” he said, then looked at the two of them. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but I promise I would never hurt Kira.”

They both nodded, “I don’t think you would,” Dan finally said. “You jumped in front of a bullet for my girl, thank you.”

“I love her,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“Then go take care of her,” Molly said, then stepped over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “But you have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

Kira began to stir in his arms when he got to the cabin, and then her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at him, then started shaking her head. “Simon put me down,” she said, pushing against his chest. “I can’t breathe, I need some space.”

He put her down, but held on until her legs could hold her, “I’m sorry, Kira, I thought……you were okay with all of this,” he said, hating the confused look on her face. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me. You just look so different,” she said. “I guess I forgot that wasn’t the real you.”

“They were both the real me,” he said. “No matter what I look like on the outside, I’m still me on the inside, the man you saved, the man who fell in love with you.”

She studied him for a long time but didn’t move, so he closed the distance between them, relieved when Kira didn’t step away. “Close your eyes,” he said, then brushed his lips across hers. “You don’t have to see me to know me, sweetheart. I’m still Simon, no matter what I look like, and I love you. I love you more than anything in the world.”

He brushed his lips across her again to prove his point. Kira sighed, then wound her arms around his neck, and he kissed her again, this time slipping his tongue into her mouth. She groaned and pressed her body upagainst his, and he felt her pull away, but he deepened the kiss, and she relaxed again. When he finally let her go, the passion between them was burning white hot. Her eyes were filled with desire, and all trace of the fear and confusion was gone.

***Kira***

Kira’s head was spinning again, but not with the shock that she’d felt down at the beach. She was overwhelmed with the love she felt for Simon, a love unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It took her a second to catch her breath, then she launched herself at him and threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, you stupid complicated man,” she said through tears that stung her eyes. “I love you too.”

Simon swung her around, then lowered his mouth to hers again, and her body responded, tingling and tightening in all the right places. Letting out a moan, she plastered herself against him, remembering how close she’d come to losing him, and kissed him back until they were both trembling with suppressed need. They climbed the ladder to the cabin's porch, then she was in his arms once more, and Simon was kissing her hungrily again.

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