Page 34 of Blood and Bonbons

He stood, coming around the desk. His stoic expression didn’t give away a single thought.

“Why is Vena staying all night? What’s going on?” As he spoke, he gently clasped my chin, tipping my face up.

It was the first time he’d touched me like this, and my pulse stuttered a beat as our gazes locked and held for a long, awkward moment. His expression softened as he released my chin and brushed his thumb right below my cut.

“You can trust me to take care of you, Everly,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

I swallowed hard and glanced away, unable to maintain eye contact when he was so close.

“I trust you, Shepard. Thank you. Everyone here is like family.”

“Good. Remember that.”

I nodded. “I will.”

Backtracking, I left the office and paused in the hall to take a calming breath.

Shepard was sexy as hell but my boss. I liked him because, to me, he wasn’t unreasonable with what he asked of his staff. He had high standards, which sometimes led to staff turnover. But his standards were what ensured a comfortable work environment.

That included his hands-to-yourself work policy.

All the bar staff, who’d been here much longer, were extremely attractive and flirty. But they always kept their hands to themselves.

Until now.

Until Shepard.

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head. No matter how it had seemed, he hadn’t meant it as anything more than a caring gesture. I knew that. Yet, it still surprised me how much he cared.

I cared, too. Blur had become my second home. Except for Sierra, I saw them all as my second family. Which made being here tonight even worse.

If what Miles had said was true, there was every chance the vampire would show up here tonight instead of at the house. Was I putting everyone at risk by being here? I hoped not. It wasn’t like a vampire could go on a mass killing spree and get away with it in today’s age. Not that that thought gave me much comfort.

I smiled at Detroit, who was working the VIP bar and focused on preparing my station. After I had enough napkins and other supplies to keep me going until the end of the night, I straightened the chairs around my tables.

Perfect.

I felt the fae before I saw my first VIPs of the night ascend the stairs. Typically, I’d rather hang with the dwarves. I trusted myself with the dwarves. Fae, not so much.

With alabaster skin, clear arctic eyes, and silvery hair that transcended any beauty salon, the fae were beautiful. And they knew it.

Being near them was like looking at a chocolate cake I couldn’t eat and telling myself I could just lick the frosting. Dangerous. Alluring. Tempting in all the wrong ways.

I knew it was their natural effect on humans.

The old tales about the fae hadn’t been far from the truth when they first appeared in our world. Their presence beguiled to the point that some humans would do anything a fae asked. Thankfully, the fae weren’t malicious. They simply wanted to enjoy the finer things in life, and for the most part, humans were the finer things. They craved our adoration and collected human lovers like Vena collected hunting knives.

Being at clubs like Blur usually meant they were looking for a new flavor of the month amongst the clientele. The VIP section gave them a bird’s eye view of the selection.

I gave them my best smile and moved to take their order.

“Hello, beauty. Tell me, what drink graces your delicious lips from this place?” He didn’t even have to move his gaze from my face for me to feel it along my body.

“Blur’s most popular signature drink is Effervescence,” I said.

They both nodded their acceptance.

Stepping over to the bar, I placed the order with Detroit. Not that I needed to. He was already mixing the drinks by the time I got to him.

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