Bite Me Harder (Guardians of the Deep 2)

Rafe was a damn good-looking man, but this guy was even more handsome. Where Beanie had a bit of a wimpy look to him, Hightail was all man. His chest was so well built his pecs seemed to be having a hard time staying within the confines of his Bungee Blast T-shirt. He had a dopey grin that was adorable and reminded her of the actor Stephen Baldwin. It was a lazy smile and was a great finishing touch to his total package.

This guy would be perfect for Faith.

She scribbled it down in her mental notebook, so she could remember to tell Faith about him later. Maybe they could even double date. She shook the thought from her mind as she imagined what the date would really be like. These two trash talkers, meaning Hightail and Faith, joining together to poke fun at Kalina and her man. It would be a full-on roast instead of a dinner among friends.

“So, you two are the guys I have to worry about,” Kalina said.

“Worry about?” Beanie asked. “Nah, man. We’re nice guys. And you haven’t even met Squid.”

“Nice guys hell,” Rafe joked.

“Squid?” Kalina asked.

“Our other buddy,” Rafe said.

“He’s out hooking up with some chick he met at that bonfire the other night,” Beanie said.

“At least one of us got lucky,” Hightail added.

“I got lucky,” Rafe said, squeezing Kalina’s hand.

“Whoa!” Hightail said.

“TMI,” Beanie announced. “But really, it’s not too much info. Give me more.”

Kalina shooed him away and laughed.

“I didn’t get that kind of lucky,” Rafe said. “I meant lucky to have met her.”

“Sure,” both the other guys said in unison.

Kalina couldn’t help thinking as much as she didn’t want to keep Rafe on a leash, these guys looked like bad influences. She could tell from the look on Hightail’s face, and the way he didn’t even try to hide the fact he was checking her out, that he was the kind of guy who might try to convince Rafe they should go out looking for chicks, even though Rafe clearly had a fucking chick!

Wow. Where is all this unwarranted jealousy coming from? Again, I walk naked on a beach with all my friends.

She needed to jump. She needed to lose herself in the fear and excitement that would come from doing something so daring. Really, she needed to lose herself in something other than Rafe because she felt herself unraveling in his arms. He was consuming her thoughts and of all the dangerous situations she’d been in, his embrace might be the most hazardous of all. She had no idea how he’d react if and when he ever saw her in shark form, and it scared the hell out of her to think this could all be over in an instant.

“Let’s do this,” Kalina said.

Everyone seemed surprised.

“Hook us up I guess,” Rafe said.

“We’re going together?” Kalina asked.

She’d assumed they would go separately. One of them would go first and the other would follow. So, she was surprised when Rafe grabbed both her hands, laced his fingers through hers, and smiled down at her.

“We’re in this together,” he said. “Where you go, I go.”

She liked the sound of that more than he’d ever know.

Oh, how I hope that’s true.

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” Kalina said, forgetting about the other guys on the platform. “Because I might hold you to it.”

“I said it because I mean it,” Rafe said.

At that moment, if they’d been alone, she would have kissed him. This was the right moment, but she couldn’t help noticing the snickering coming from Rafe’s friends.