Bite Me Harder (Guardians of the Deep 2)

It was still early, and the party was only beginning, but already Sylvia was seeing potential suitors.

Suitors. The alcohol is definitely working.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she went sexual window shopping. She hadn’t tried to find anyone new since returning home from vacation. Only once when she’d gotten ridiculously drunk and hopelessly horny had she called up an old flame and begged him to come over and fuck her. It had been a mistake. Sore, hungover, and pissed off at herself for climbing into bed with a guy she’d kept at such a faraway distance while sober, she politely told him to take a hike and become a born-again virgin.

This virgin shit is for the birds. Now that one…

Sylvia had spotted a guy with combed back blond hair and wearing a thin buttoned up shirt that blew in the breeze, clinging to what looked like a muscular chest. The fire’s glow lit up the left side of his face and bounced off the silver beer can he lifted to his lips.

Sylvia remembered the day she went out on the party cruise with Penny to meet up with some stranger. She hadn’t known anything about the guy, but knew he was the one. Penny had gotten knocked overboard and attacked by a shark before sealing the deal, but in the end, it had all turned out okay. She was still with Thane to this day, and now she was preparing to have his baby.

Was this blond guy by the fire her Thane? Sylvia wondered if there was a sure way to tell one of the paranormal shifters from a regular human. The wolf guy she’d dated once upon a time had been normal, if not slightly more aggressive than past boyfriends. Looks wise, he’d been a handsome, scruffy player. She’d dumped him not because of his behavior or his strange abilities, but because he’d been an asshole who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants around other women.

In her shadowy spot by the cart, she realized the blond guy probably couldn’t even see her. He was so close to the floating embers that they seemed to dance above his head, mesmerizing her, and she was invisible to him. She’d always been the girl with the sparkle—Sylvia Foxx, the one who could make men beg for her affections. For a second, it seemed the guy was looking

back at her, but then he turned his attention away and looked into the crowd. Other men caught Sylvia’s eye, but none of them seemed like “the one.” None had that thing that made her heart flutter. In the past, she would have settled for a sexy stud who might or might not be good in bed. She’d faked orgasms at least as often as she’d had them. A few times she’d finished herself off in front of the guy to teach him how it was done. This time, the new Sylvia would wait. She wouldn’t budge unless something abnormal happened. She wouldn’t make a move unless she found her Thane.

Chapter 5 – Rafe

These beers cost a bloody fortune.

The problem with these nightclub-run parties was the cost of drinks and the refusal to allow people to bring their own. Not that Rafe was a cheapskate or anything, but he could buy a twelve pack for the cost of one beer here. Yet, he’d decided to go to the bonfire as a chance to unwind and have a good time. He fished into his jeans pocket and pulled out enough cash to pay for another one.

Doug’s Frozen Fridgesicles.

The woman standing next to the cart was gorgeous. He liked her long black hair and the soft, golden tone of her skin in the fire light. She was cute, exotic, and from the look of it, totally attached to someone. She seemed as if she were waiting for someone, expecting some guy to come waltzing back to her with the drink he’d promised. She didn’t have the desperate floozy look of some of the other drugged up or drunk chicks that seemed to make up half the crowd. He considered approaching her. He could act like he thought the cart was where he needed to go to buy a beer. Then once he realized the error of his ways, he could offer to buy her one.

But if she is with someone, that’ll be a dick move.

He had already talked himself out of approaching the woman he’d been spying, when his eyes landed on the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It could have been the darkness or the neon lamp blasting its way out of the nightclub doorway, but the woman’s blonde hair was in a ponytail and looked almost blindingly white in the strange glow. Her lipstick was bright pink, and glitter adorned her cheeks. She wore all black, with tight jeans and a top with elastic that was pulled down to show her bare shoulders. She wore glasses that looked more like a fashion accessory than anything meant to improve sight. The crystal-clear lenses and metallic silver frames bounced fire light off and gave her face a majestic quality. She looked like some sort of pop star gracing the party with her presence. She was too cool to be anybody average.

“Oh my God,” Rafe let escape his lips with a gust of air that felt like it came from a gut punch. “Now, her. I don’t care if she has a man.”

Not once in his life, not with his first girlfriend, and not with any woman he’d ever been turned down by, had he ever been completely knocked off his feet. He realized the fire behind him posed great danger as his knees weakened and nearly buckled. He’d surfed many shores and had partied with some of the hottest chicks known to man. He’d dated some of them. This girl…this one was different though. It didn’t make sense. He’d never even spoken a word to her. The girl with her was pretty, ridiculously hot if he were being absolutely honest, but he’d dated the bad girl, covered in tattoos type, and that never worked out. As much as he liked to party, he wasn’t all that rambunctious, and it never worked with those kinds of girls. He wished Hightail was here with him. They’d played wingman for each other on many occasions. The tattooed girl would have been perfect for Rafe’s buddy.

Now, how am I going to approach her? I’ll just walk over to her. And say what?

A girl like that wouldn’t accept any cheesy pickup lines. She needed to be seriously wowed by his words. The problem was, he couldn’t think up anything that would impress her, let alone wow her.

Rafe felt helpless as he watched her walk away.

“Great,” Rafe said. “And she’s gone.”

He needed to find her again. Even if he never said a word to this girl, he’d leave the party knowing he’d watched an angel from afar, and he might hate himself for letting her fly away. For now, he only wanted to see her again.

And cue creepy stalker mode.

Rafe made his way closer to the crowd, making sure she was within eyesight at all times.

Chapter 6 - Kalina

Kalina tilted her head back and guzzled the beer in her hand, enjoying the burn that ran down her throat. She wasn’t much of a drinker. She’d steal a beer from Kino or Jagger whenever they were boozing it up on the beach, but for the most part she didn’t enjoy Faith’s party-girl lifestyle. Tonight was different. She wanted to let loose and open herself up to new opportunities. She’d willed Thane from her mind, had decided it was time to find someone new to crush on, and was now scanning the crowd for potential suiters.

“This party is lame,” Faith said as she leaned against a wooden post outside the nightclub and stared at the bonfire in front of her. “The big festival will be lame too. Family-friendly parties always are.”

“We just got here,” Kalina said. “And what’s wrong with family-friendly?”

“I don’t have children,” Faith replied. “Maybe that’s why? And I know I’m going to sound like a total bitch when I say this, but at least when Evelyn was around, there was always some kind of action.”