Bite Me Harder (a paranormal shifter novel) (Guardians of the Deep Book 2)

by Chris Genovese

  She let go of Penny’s arm and moved around the campfire. She walked over to where Jagger and Rickshaw were busy holding him back. They’d loosened their grips but were still keeping him in place. Everyone watched Sylvia move toward him and nobody said a word. It was total silence except for the ocean gently lapping at the shore.

  Cobalt looked at her and even in the darkness, with only the moonlight and the slight glow from the campfire illuminating him, she thought she saw dampness in his eyes, where tears had settled at their corners but had refused to fall. As she stood in front of the giant, Jagger and Rickshaw looked at Thane, waiting for guidance. Sylvia looked his way too and saw him nod at the two men. They let go of Cobalt and he shook his arms loose.

  Still nobody said a word.

  Sylvia reached out and took Cobalt’s right hand. He allowed her to lift his fingers and intertwine hers through his. He had saved her and rushed into her life and had protected her. He’d cared about her when everyone else had been preoccupied. If not for him, she could be dead right now.

  Cobalt’s heavy frame stood still, stuck to the beach at his feet, until Sylvia whispered, “Come on.”

  She turned and walked ahead of him, her hand still in his, pulling his arm over her shoulder so that he was forced to follow her almost like a dog on a leash. The crackling of the fire and the ocean waves provided a soundtrack that seemed to be playing only for them as an instant connection formed inside her heart and she hoped might have wrapped around his as well. She led him away from the fire and farther down the beach where the crowd would be left in the distance.

  Their voices grew farther and farther away. Penny was probably checking on Thane and they were all undoubtedly rehashing the fight and Evelyn’s return, but Sylvia concentrated only on providing whatever level of comfort she could to the man who’d saved her life. His pain was palpable, and his fury had only now begun to fizzle out as his footsteps thudded behind hers. It wasn’t until they’d reached the end of the beach, where the sand crept its way into thinning trees and on to denser forest, that she finally stopped and sat down.

  “Sit with me,” she said.

  She looked up at him and could barely see his face. It was so dark that all she could make out was his silhouette. His head, his arms, his legs, and as he turned slightly to the side, his cock. She gulped nervously, thinking that it was almost scary how big it was. Cautiously, like a fierce beast deciding to allow itself to be tamed, his knees bent, he put one hand down next to hers, and he lowered himself to the seated position.

  “You saved me,” she said.

  He didn’t respond. His gaze remained on the ocean. His home. Sylvia could only assume he felt more comfortable out there than on dry land.

  “It’s okay to talk to me, you know,” she added.

  He didn’t reply but pulled his knees up and folded his arms over them, keeping his eyes glued on the water. He seemed to be doing everything in his power not to look at her.

  “I don’t want to keep you here if you’re uncomfortable,” she said. “You can go if you want.”

  Silence. He wasn’t talking, but he didn’t get up to leave. That had to count for something.

  “Poet?” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about him. Penny told me the story.”

  More silence. Finally, he turned to look at her, and in the moonlight, she thought he didn’t look quite as menacing as he had earlier. She sensed a vulnerability in him. Having dated many men in her life, she’d learned that most of them had a soft spot for family. If it wasn’t mom, it was usually baby sister. In this guy’s case, it was baby brother. The way he looked at her told her he wanted, no, he needed to hear more.

  “You know,” she said. “He was a hero. He fought that great white that was trying to kill Penny. He could have stayed on the boat, but he saw her being attacked and jumped in to save her.”

  “A great white?” he said, his voice deep and low, but carrying enough rage with it that she nearly flinched. “A great white like me?”

  He’s a great white. Holy shit.

  “I wasn’t there,” Sylvia said, gulping down her fear and forcing it deep into her stomach. “I’m just a, you know, a human girl, but that’s what Penny said. A great white with a big scar across its face or snout or whatever you call it.”

  She reached out to touch his face, where she imagined the scar would be, and stopped a few inches away. He was silent again and his cheek shook from the intensity of his clenched teeth. He was trying to control himself for her, that much she could tell. She decided to pull her hand back for now. She didn’t know enough about the sharks to know how their abilities worked, and she wondered if they could become so angry they transformed right then and there, like all the werewolves in the movies.

  What movies? Name one movie you’ve seen where that happened, Sylvia. Thriller. Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Okay, not a movie, but it happened there.

  She remembered that in that super long music video, it wasn’t anger that transformed MJ. In fact, he hadn’t been mad at all. He’d been out walking with his date. It had been the full moon that had done it. The moon over Sylvia and Cobalt wasn’t quite full, but she wondered if the moon had any effect on sharks.

  “I need to find that great white,” he said.

  “I understand,” she said. “But for now, can you stay here with me? I was scared. So scared. Until you came. You saved me and being next to you…this is the first time I haven’t felt fear. You…you take it away from me somehow.”

  It was true. Even when she’d watched him flip out on Thane, she felt almost invigorated by him. His power. His ability to not give a shit about anything around him and go after the one thing he wanted was inspiring. Revenge. That was his motivation, and she’d been enthralled with him, almost rooting for him. But why?

  “You should be afraid,” he said. “I’m a monster.”

  His words came short and strong, in a whispered hush, seeping their way into her mind and giving her chills. His answer surprised her, and for a second, but only for that fleeting moment, she did feel fear. Then she only wanted to understand what he meant.

  “I don’t believe that,” she said. “I think you’re a hero too.”

  “I attacked a diver yesterday,” he said. “I like blood. I’m not like Thane and his kind.”

  “Show me,” she said, surprising herself.

  She wasn’t even sure what she meant by that. What exactly did she expect him to show her? Was he supposed to shift into a shark and go kill someone for her viewing pleasure?

  “I don’t know why I said that,” she admitted.

  “You don’t want me to show you,” he said.

  “Maybe not,” she said.

  “I think Poet would have liked you,” he said. “Poet…Kenneth was his real name.”

  “Kenneth,” she said. “And your name is Cobalt?”

  “Yes,” he said. “But Poet called me Coby.”

  “Coby,” Sylvia said. “Would you mind if I called you that?”

  Sadness crept over his face again. She could only see the moonlit right half of his expression, but she could tell he was hurting. Whatever the story was between his brother and him, Coby was feeling great guilt.

  “My name’s Sylvia,” she said.

  He was quiet for a moment.

  “Sylvia,” he replied. “Nice. I like that.”

  She slid closer to him and tried not to make it obvious when she gently touched his arm. She couldn’t help eyeballing his cock as it lay limply in the sand, a fact that didn’t seem to bother him at all. As a shark, she imagined, his cock probably hung loose all the time, in and out of water. That made her think about sharks and where the man’s penis went whenever they shifted.

  “I’m a monster,” Cobalt said again. “I don’t deserve happiness. And you’re safer if you stay far away from me.”

  “Would Poet have agreed?” she asked. “That you’re a monster and don’t deserve this?”

  This? What is this? What did I mean by tha
t? Me? He doesn’t deserve me?

  He shifted his gaze again to the water and she knew she was dangerously close to losing him. She shouldn’t have mentioned his brother. It was risky. She wanted to talk romance and she’d used the least romantic tool in her arsenal.

  Arsenal. Like I’ve got a bag of tricks. If that’s the case, I just pulled out my pistol, screwed on the silencer, and pulled the trigger. Mentioning his dead brother’s name was plain stupid.

  Finally, he turned his face her way and his fingers walked across the sand and found hers. He lay his fingertips across her knuckles and watched their hands intertwine. With his face still pointed downward, he lifted his gaze to see her smile, and the look on his face was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen in her life. A surge of electricity ran through her body, a wanting that she was tired of trying to control. The moment he’d stepped into her life and had saved her, she’d felt a longing in her bones, a wetness between her legs, and she was ready to explode. Her pussy was ready to melt in his presence, and she hadn’t been fucked in so long.

  She couldn’t take it anymore. Ignoring his words and going on her gut instinct that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him, she threw a leg over him and straddled him on the beach. Sex wasn’t the endgame here. Trust was. This guy didn’t want to be tamed and she had no interest in constraining him. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she couldn’t let him slip back into the ocean without knowing she was into him, and she hoped he’d return the sentiment.

  “Every beast has a soft spot for one woman,” she said. “I could be that woman. You’ll never know until you give yourself the opportunity to be loved.”

  “Love,” he said.

  It was way too early to be talking about the four-letter word, but of course, that was the endgame. What woman doesn’t want to be held by biceps as large as his, and be squeezed tightly and reminded that she was the calm in his storm? This could be her only chance to steal a moment from him. He’d appeared out of nowhere, her super hero in the darkness, and he could vanish as quickly.

  She didn’t wait for his response but kissed his mouth hard. His lips remained solid and strong, refusing to open for her. He was stoic, but she was patient, and as she closed her eyes and pretended he wanted her as badly as she wanted him, her mouth softly opened over his and bore down, her lips caressing his and let him know, in total silence, that it was okay to open himself up. Finally, his mouth loosened, and his lips parted for her no more than an inch, but that was all she needed. Her tongue swiped at his bottom lip, and he released, giving in to her passion. She felt his jaws relax and finally, his tongue met hers. The slickness of his mouth was unbelievable, like a silky ribbon gliding across her lips and wrapping around her tongue, trying to tie a bow around it. The coolness of his body gave his outer shell a statuesque feeling to it, but inside, his mouth was warm, and his total devotion was relayed in that one kiss. She felt at home.

  When his hand reached to the back of her head, she knew she had him. He grabbed her hair and clenched it in his fist, controlling her movement, and then she was no longer the one kissing him. He lifted her, hoisted her over and onto her back where he spread her legs and pinned her to the ground, making her fully aware that she’d become his woman.

  Sylvia’s shorts were a thin fabric and under that was only her bikini bottom, but it was enough of a barrier that his cock could push against it and reach her lips, but he couldn’t penetrate her. It didn’t matter. She rocked her hips, enjoying the feel of his stiffening cock between her legs. To fuck him now might ruin it, even if she was completely into him and knew she would give herself to him eventually. He was a beast, a predator, and he was used to taking what he wanted. She needed to make him work for it.

  Yet, she couldn’t stop her hand from reaching between his legs and grabbing hold of him. He was so fucking thick that she couldn’t wrap her fist all the way around him. Not even close. His growl filled her ear and she wanted so badly for him to rip her shorts off and take her. Sylvia had never been shy about her sexuality. She was a modern woman and knew what she wanted. She’d had one-night stands, not that she was proud of it, but she’d gotten what she wanted at the time. This was one of those times where her pussy ached so badly she thought she could only stave off the desire with penetration. Her body wanted Coby, her pussy throbbed for him, and she was dangerously close to giving in.

  “You controlled me tonight,” he said into her ear.

  She found his mouth and kissed him hard again, not knowing what he meant, but knowing how fucking sexy it sounded.

  “It wasn’t the sound of your friend that stopped me, it wasn’t her words, it was you. I saw you watching me, and I didn’t want to be that monster in front of you.”

  Oh my God. Fuck me, Coby. Rip my shorts off and show me that monster you claim to be.

  Her inner voice begged for him, but she remained tame. Suddenly he pulled away from her and sat back on his haunches, his cock hidden in the shadows but undoubtedly stiff. Mentally, she urged the moon to slide to the left and circle around the night sky, so it could shine its natural spotlight down on Coby, but the moon wouldn’t play nice and she was robbed of the opportunity to catch a final glimpse of his manhood.

  “Come with me,” he said.

  “Umm…go with you where?” she asked.

  He nodded toward the ocean.

  “You’re a shark,” she said. “How would I go with you?”

  “Never mind,” he said. “That was stupid. I was speaking without thinking. Of course. You can’t go with me. You should go back to your friends.”

  “Wait, what?” she said. “I thought we were getting along.”

  “Yes,” he said. “But I’m not like these people. I don’t sit around the campfire and tell stories. I don’t live in a cabin. I’m a savage, Sylvia. I swim, and I eat, and I fuck.”

  “I like swimming,” she said. “And I like eating and I definitely like…you know…I like fucking.”

  She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Shame washed over her and suddenly she was thankful the moon had resisted her charms, because darkness had become her friend, hiding her reddening face.

  “You’ll find a good guy for you,” he said. “But I’m afraid I’m not it.”

  He stood and stepped closer to her, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her softly on the lips.

  “I think we both got carried away tonight,” he said. “My head is a mess and you soothed me. You controlled me. You calmed me. But I can’t afford to be soothed, controlled, or calmed right now. I need to find that great white and break its fucking neck.”

  “Can’t you do that, like tomorrow?” she asked, feeling the ache in her pussy pound, pulsating and wishing he’d throw her up against a tree, bend her over, and fuck her good.

  “You’re safe now,” he said. “I’ll come back to make sure nobody fucks with you. But I need to go.”

  He kissed her once more and then turned and ran into the ocean. In the moonlight she was pretty sure she saw a fin break the water’s surface.

  “This sucks,” she said. “I should go home. This was a mistake.”

  The childishness of her thoughts made her scoff at herself. She kicked at the sand, like the poor looser she was being, and reluctantly walked down the beach back to Penny and her friends.

  Chapter 11 - Rafe

  “Of all the places you could have thought to have her meet you, you chose Tilly’s,” Kane said as he took a long swallow of his beer and slammed the empty bottle against the wooden table.

  Rafe didn’t see what the big deal was. He liked Tilly’s. The crowd was mostly locals rather than the touristy type and the live band would start in about thirty minutes. Classic rock cover songs were the best. The waitresses were always friendly and he’d yet to see a fight in the place, unlike many of the other bars in town that seemed to breed physical altercations. Besides, in a few days, the Party for Life Festival would start, and this place, along with all the others, would jack up t
he prices and be standing room only. Tonight was a good night to meet Kalina. No fighting. No drama. Only Rafe with his girl.

  At least that would be the case soon. At the moment, drama oozed off the man sitting opposite him at the table. If anyone seemed ripe for a fight it was Kane. He’d had too many beers and his words were beginning to slur. Rafe had seen his boss drink a lot, on many occasions, but had yet to see him get this hammered. He wasn’t quite sure what sparked his need to drink himself into a stupor, but he’d noticed the man’s attitude change after their trip to the island. He seemed sullen. It had gotten worse the moment Rafe mentioned how Thane’s people looked like one big happy family.

  The people on the island were there for each other the way any real family would be. He could tell that from only seeing them once. They’d all crowded around as soon as their boat came into view, and even when Kalina had made it clear she wanted alone time with him, they’d kept their eyes on her from afar. As far as Rafe could tell, Kane had no family. At least none he ever talked about.

  “Family,” Kane suddenly said as he took his next beer from the waitress and held it up as if making a toast. “Here’s to family.”

  Rafe held up his beer and tapped it against Kane’s, not sure where the older man was taking this but hoping he’d explain. Secretly, he wished he’d hurry up because it was half after six and Kalina was supposed to meet him at seven. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his boss’s company, but there was no denying that the atmosphere changed greatly whenever Kalina and Kane were near each other.

  “I had a family once,” Kane said. “I had a good family. Yessir, I did. Gone now. Gone to the wind, scattered like ashes. Hell, that’s what they are now. Ashes.”

  Rafe didn’t know what to say. He wanted to console the guy, but he wasn’t sure if that would be smart. Kane had a bit of a temper and seemed to snap at hardly anything at all sometimes. Rafe didn’t want to end up nursing a broken nose from an accidental punch thrown in his direction. Even with the fear of triggering a knee-jerk reaction, Rafe knew the right thing to do was to keep him talking, to allow him the chance to put his pain into words.