Bite Me Harder (Guardians of the Deep 2)

“I do, but you’ll never find a proper young lady with language like that,” she said.

“You have no idea the proper young lady I’ve met. Becca, I’m telling you, the girl is the one.”

She was shocked.

“But I thought I had a shot,” she said, again with her fake gasp and about-to-go-faint expression.

“You did,” he said, “But this one blew me away.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, babe,” she said. “Plus, I’ve got a hot date tonight too. Stan. I don’t know if that’s his real name, but his screen name is StanBigStud501.”

“501 like the Levi jeans?” he asked. “Damn, how old is this guy?”

“Hmm, never thought of it like that,” she said. “I suppose so. Maybe it means he’s a big stud in those jeans. I like big.”

Rafe tried to stop it, but his mind went there. Suddenly, he could see Becca bent over on all fours and a big bull of a man hitting it from the back. He could imagine she was a wild one. An enthusiastic and experienced lover, and that was a turn on. But Kalina was his woman now, even if she didn’t know it yet. It was all about her. Forcing his mind far from his imagination, he pointed a scolding finger at Becca.

“This is so not appropriate talk for the work place,” he joked.

“You’re so right,” she said with a wink. “I’ll make sure to tell you all the juicy details tomorrow.”

“So, what’s the good news?” he asked. “You have me on the edge of my seat.”

“Petey is doing great!” she exclaimed. “Come on.”

She took his hand and dragged him to a giant cage where the seagull was mixed in with a couple others. Petey was chilling, watching a TV in the corner of the room, and didn’t even look his way.

“Petey, what’s up, man?” Rafe asked.

The bird looked at him and squawked.

“What’s the bad news?” Rafe asked.

Becca smiled and said, “Petey’s an asshole.”

“What?” he said with a laugh. “He’s great. Look at him. He doesn’t bother anyone.”

“Try feeding him,” she said. “He’s a diva. If he doesn’t like what you give him, he looks at it, pecks at it, then walks away.”

“He’s a man with taste,” Rafe said.

He thought about Kalina again and how badly he ached for her.

“And that I can totally understand,” he added.

Chapter 9 - Kalina

The island was uppity that day, that was the best way to put it. Everyone was down by the beach staying far enough away from the water that they wouldn’t accidentally shift but not so far that they couldn’t enjoy the fresh ocean breeze. Kino and Rickshaw tossed a football back and forth with Oliver in the center. Monkey in the middle with a bunch of bare-chested, great looking monkeys. Kalina couldn’t deny the fact that the men she was surrounded by every day were hunks. But they all had their woman already, and besides, they were all like brothers to her. She’d never slept with any of them other than Thane and never would.

Ruby brought a cooler of beer down to the guys. Of course, they didn’t have electricity on the island, but they had generators for random use. Juan Diego made sure to keep them supplied with enough gas to keep them going if and when they needed them. This morning, with a barbecue on the horizon, cold beer was a necessity. The kids, Tiko, Malena, and Little Ricky, ran from the cabins with Hailey racing behind them growling with her hands up and fingers out like claws. The kids screamed as they dashed over to Oliver, hugging his legs and messing up his only chance to snatch up the football and free himself from his undesirable position in the middle.

Paisley whistled at Rickshaw and called out to him, “Look at that body, baby. Somebody’s been working out.”

“You guys are in love, aren’t you?” Kalina asked as Paisley approached.

“How about severe like,” she said. “I like the hell out of that man. Maybe love. I don’t know.”

The way the woman kicked at the sand was hint enough. She was in love with Rickshaw. Shark women were like that sometimes. Too damn stubborn for their own good. Faith had been in and out of relationships with most of the men on the island. She had always been a free soul and it saddened Kalina that her friend might not ever find anyone. As if mentally called out to play, Faith stepped out of her cabin rubbing her eyes. Even without makeup and her hair a mess, she was a beautiful woman. She had a raw fire to her and Kalina always thought if she weren’t trapped in this paranormal lifestyle, her friend would be on the back of some guy’s motorcycle riding from town to town. She was an ol’ lady at heart. Maybe that was why she was still single. She hadn’t found an ol’ man worthy of her. Any guy too weak would find his motorcycle swiped and Faith riding off on it alone into the sunset. The thought made her laugh.