Bite Me Harder (Guardians of the Deep 2)

“Because Evelyn is coming back. War is coming. It will be bad, Horace. It will be brutal, and I can’t stand to think of Rafe going into the water with me and not coming out by my side. I’m afraid without your help, he has too little time to prepare. He will be too weak, too undisciplined, too fragile. I know you can make him strong. You can make him much more durable.”

“You are asking me to take a human and help you make him a supercharged shark,” he said.

“Yes,” she said. “Like you did for me.”

“And you are aware that it is temporary. You remember what happened to you, right?” Horace said. “Any magic I give that boy will wear off. And then he’s your responsibility.”

Of course, she remembered what happened to her. She’d been a teenager with a new ability to transform into a tiger shark. She’d been excited and headstrong. She’d gone into the water alone when newbies weren’t supposed to. She’d had so much energy and so much strength that she thought she could take on the world. She couldn’t. One tough as nails bull shark taught her that. She’d barely made it back to the island alive.

“How long will it last?” she asked, not sure how long hers had since her near-death experience had drained most of it.

“A week…maybe. It depends on how much damage he sustains. Yours lasted two days…and you would have died without it.”

“Then I will keep him as safe as possible.”

“I wouldn’t do this normally, but I’ve known you a long time, Little Kalina. You deserve love more than anyone I’ve raised. You adore this man. That much is clear. Go to him,” Horace said. “I will prepare the tent.”

When she returned to Rafe, he was lying on his back on the bench.

“You’re back,” he said without looking at her.

“Do I make that much noise when I walk?” she replied.

“Your scent,” he said. “You have an amazing scent. I don’t know exactly what it is. Maybe coconut mixed with seawater.”

“A girl has to lotion up her skin from time to time,” Kalina said.

She had in fact put on coconut lotion earlier that evening. The seawater, she supposed, never left her body completely. It was as much a part of her as her blood.

“Can I ask you something?” he said as he sat up and looked at her across the dark table.

Behind him, the multicolored holiday lights created a dull rainbow-like glow. She wanted so badly to refuse his question and kiss him instead.

“Do your kind get married?” he asked.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest. The thought of it made her more nervous than she’d ever expected such a thing would.

“We do,” she said.

Are you going to ask me? Oh my God. Don’t ask me. But do ask me. Don’t you dare ask me. You’d better ask me.

“Have you ever been close to marrying anyone before?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “Not really.”

She was being honest. She’d always expected that maybe Thane would get around to it. That maybe he would decide nobody else was fit if she only treated him kindly and remained loyal to him. She’d been wrong. Now, as she sat across from Rafe, she thought, Thank God I was wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rafe leaned in close to her and kissed her. His mouth moved slowly over hers, massaging her lips as saltwater air flowed in between them, filling her lungs with its sweet scent. Then he closed the distance as his tongue entered her mouth and sipped at hers, seeming to savor the taste of her. It was sweet and delicious. Behind her, a horn sounded off and they both jumped, their kiss ruined by the uncomfortable ache of their teeth clanging together. That was Horace’s signal. It was time to take Rafe to the tent.

“It’s time,” she said.

“Time for what?” he asked.

“Are you serious about wanting to be like me? Now’s your chance to back out.”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

“I hope you mean that because—”

“—Kalina,” Rafe interrupted her. “I love you. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you that night at the bonfire. Every thought I’ve had involved you. When I surf, you’re there beside me. When I swim, your body is wrapped around me like that night in the pool. When I breathe…every single time I inhale, it’s your breath filling my lungs. I love you.”