Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

***SIMON***

S imon 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 second later, 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 up against 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.

She stripped off Simon's shirt before they got through the front door, her shirt landed on the living room floor, and the rest of their clothes left a trail to the bedroom door. His mouth never leaving hers, Simon closed the door with his foot, then backed her up against it, his hands roaming over her naked body, sending waves of pleasure shooting through her. When she was trembling with need, sure that she'd explode if he didn't take her right then, he grabbed her by the hips and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his hips and with one hard thrust of his hips, he buried himself inside her with a growl of satisfaction .

She cried out his name as waves of sensation sent her soaring, her body stretched to take him deeper, and she threw back her head, lost to everything but the power of the passion they shared. Simon drove himself into her over and over, sending wave after wave of pleasure rushing through her until she tumbled over the edge, crying out his name, her body gripping him tightly. He growled deep in his throat and froze until her body stopped trembling, then carried her over to the bed.

He threw her onto the bed, then stood, eyes roaming over her body before reaching out and flipping her over onto her stomach. Grabbing her by the hips, he pulled her up onto her hands and knees, then slipped between her legs, spread them wider with one knee, and filled her with his throbbing manhood again. She cried out as pleasure shot through her and began to build again, then Simon reached around and began to stroke her swollen nib with his finger.

Her body responded instantly, filling her with the most powerful sensations yet, and all she could do was let them take her higher and higher until she was soaring, her body beyond her control. Simon followed her into oblivion only a few seconds later, his engorged manhood spasming inside her body and sending another wave of pleasure rushing through her.

When Simon finally collapsed on top of her and rolled onto his side, she couldn't catch her breath, could only lay in his arms panting, her body still sending out little waves of pleasure. Simon was in no better shape and it was a few minutes before he caught his breath, and a few more before he stretched out and kissed the back of her neck.

"I love you, Kira," he said. "I don't know what the future holds for us, but I think it's going to be amazing."

"I love you too, Simon," she said, rolling over to look at him. "No matter what you look like."

"I would have told you about the dragon thing, but when the island changed me, that went away too," he said. "I didn't know if I'd ever get it back, and I wasn't sure that you'd believe me anyway."

She reached up and stroked his cheek, "We have a lot to talk about, Simon, but I don't think there's any hurry," she said. "I just hope my parents aren't freaking out. That was a bit……shocking."

"I don't think you have to worry about your parents," he said. "Your father thanked me for taking a bullet for you, and your mother told me to take care of you. Although she did mention having a little talk."

"That's never a good thing," she said, grinning at him. "My mom is famous for her little talks."

"Well, I do have a lot of explaining to do," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "And they deserve some answers."

She leaned over and kissed him, "I think we left our clothes all over the cabin. We should probably get up and get dressed," she said. "We won't be alone for long."

Simon pulled her underneath him, "Oh, I bet we have a few more minutes," he said, sliding his hand between her legs and gently pushing them open. "They can have you when I'm done. For the next few minutes, you belong to me."

"I love you, Simon," she said as the pleasure began to rush through her again.

"I love you too, Kira," he said. "And I will for the rest of my life."

Kira lay back in a lawn chair, the baby asleep on a blanket next to her, watching the waves roll onto shore, wishing they didn't have to go home the next day. "Where has Simon been all day?" her mother asked. "I haven't seen him since breakfast."

"He said he had a few things to take care of before we leave tomorrow," she said. "He was being very mysterious about it."

"Well, then, let's hope it's something good," her mom said. "We've had enough upset to last a lifetime."

Just then, Simon came walking up, a big smile on his face, "Hello, everyone," he said, leaning down to give her a kiss. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"We were just wondering where you've been all day," she said. "You missed most of the last day on the island."

"It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for this," he said, holding up a stack of papers. "Would you like to see?"

"Simon, what have you been up to?" she asked, taking the pages from him. "What is all this?"

"Just look," he said, then squatted next to her chair while she paged through them, watching the emotions play out on her face. She didn't say anything at first, then looked over at him, a look of disbelief on her face. "Well, what do you think?"

"Simon, this is amazing, but how did you do it?" she asked. "A job and an apartment in one day? No one can do that."

"Well, the family name still counts for something," he said. "And I had a buddy that owed me a favor. I hope you don't mind; I just can't imagine being more than a few miles from you and Kiley."

"Oh, Simon, this is perfect," she said. "You'll be a few miles away, and we can spend as much time together as we want."

"I hope someday you'll agree to marry me, Kira," he said. "But for right now, I'll be happy just being in the same town as you are. I love you, sweetheart. You changed my life."

"I love you too," she said. "But I didn't change your life, you did that yourself."

"With a little help from the island," he said, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. "I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think the island did what it did because we were meant to be together, but with the way I was, it never would have happened."

"I guess we owe the island a thank you," she said, smiling up at him. "But I have no idea how to thank an island."

"By living happily ever after," he said, then lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that sealed the love they shared and was full of promise for the future.