A Vampire, a Shifter by J A Fielding & Bwwm Romance Dot Com & Paranormalromanceclub Dot Com

Author:J A Fielding & Bwwm Romance Dot Com & Paranormalromanceclub Dot Com [Fielding, J A & com, BWWM Romance dot & com, ParanormalRomanceClub dot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, United States, African American, Romance, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages), Paranormal, Vampires
Amazon: B00NI7GD8U
Published: 2014-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Page resisted the urge to scratch the bandages on her arm. She was at work, after all, and didn’t exactly need to draw attention to her injury.

She still felt that the bandages were overkill, but Nicholas had insisted. He’d apologized, for crying out loud. It wasn’t even his fault. The roller skating had been her idea.

Nicholas usually planned their dates, but Page had decided to turn the tables on him for an afternoon. There was a park a short walk from the coffee house, and the sign for skate rental had piqued her curiosity. She still reveled in the grin that had split Nicholas’s face when she told them what they were going to do. She always loved when he smiled, but when she was the one responsible, it seemed that the joy infusing her being could rend her in two.

Then, of course, she’d taken a spill while trying to turn in the unfamiliar skates. She’d waved it off, quickly righting herself, and they completed their two-hour rental. Only then did Nicholas notice she was bleeding.

It was only a scrape, but Nicholas had wanted to disinfect and wrap it thoroughly before Page went to work.

“No point in teasing the clientele,” he pointed out when Page resisted.

Plus it had meant a few extra minutes with Nicholas alone in his apartment. They’d been so intent on stealing burning kisses that Page had very nearly been late for her shift.

Armand had raised his eyebrows at her flushed face and bandaged arm, but hadn’t passed comment. When she’d cashed in, he flippantly remarked that he’d be spending her shift in the basement, tending to the beans.

“Think you can handle the regulars?”

Page grinned. “Absolutely.”

She’d been working at the coffee house nearly a month now, always with Armand near at hand. She’d gotten the regulars memorized by the end of the second week, but couldn’t fault Armand for his caution. In a normal café, she might have been insulted that her boss hadn’t trusted her memory sooner, but in a normal café there was no chance that she’d end up accidentally serving blood to the wrong person.

In this coffee house, Armand leaving her alone felt more like a mark of trust than a business decision. She still didn’t know much about the soft-spoken man, though Nicholas had mentioned that he was far older than he looked as well as being a werewolf. Page never would have guessed. Armand wasn’t exactly a small man, but he was downright diminutive compared to Donovan’s bulk.

Page managed the first few hours easily, even as the coffee shop began to approach full capacity. She was used to long lines and customers far less patient than the ones who frequented Armand’s shop. She was so absorbed in her work, though, that she didn’t notice the strained hush that had fallen over the crowd until she was nose-to-nose with the cause of it.