Free Tempting The Bear: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 4) by Natalie Kristen

CHAPTER
ONE

    Harper Clair put the two wine
glasses on the tray and walked steadily towards the well-dressed
couple seated at the window table. There were only a few customers
left in the restaurant. It was almost ten o'clock and the dinner
crowd had left. In about half an hour, her shift would be over and
Harper could finally go home and flop into bed.
    She felt so tired, and every
muscle and joint in her body was aching. She was eating a little
better now but she still had night sweats. Harper wasn't sure if her
poor appetite and insomnia were due to stress or her pregnancy.
    Harper glanced down at her
tummy. She was rather petite, and with her baggy clothes, her baby
bump wasn't showing all that much.
    With a wince, she pressed a
hand to her side. Was it normal for her baby to be kicking so
violently and moving around so much in her womb?
    But she wasn't carrying a
normal human baby now, was she?
    Harper took a deep breath and
concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The distance
to the table seemed unnaturally, unbearably long. She swayed
precariously on her feet and she hurriedly put the tray down on a
nearby table to stop the glasses from sliding off the tray.
    Harper gasped at the sudden
sharp pain in her tummy. The pain shot up her spine and spread
through every nerve in her body.
    Cold sweat oozed out of her
pores. Harper took quick, shallow breaths and tried to quell her
spiking panic.
    This couldn't be labor pains.
She was only five and a half months into her pregnancy. She couldn't
be going into labor now.
    “ It's just gas and
gastric pain,” she wheezed to herself. “It's okay.
Baby, hang in there. Mummy's working now, but we'll get home soon,”
she whispered to her tummy.
    The pain subsided, and Harper
took another shaky breath and tried to smile as she approached the
couple's table.
    The woman didn't even glance
at Harper as she set the wine glasses carefully on the table. Harper
blinked, momentarily blinded by the glittering rocks on the woman's
fingers.
    Harper was about to step away
from the table when the man drawled, “You may pour the wine
now.”
    With trembling hands, Harper
took the wine bottle from the ice bucket. She bit her lip hard as
another stab of pain lanced her body. She grabbed the bottle with
both hands and straightened up after filling the man's glass.
    Harper's vision was starting
to swim as tears flooded her eyes. She had never felt such pain
before. It was a miracle she was still standing.
    The woman arched a penciled
brow at her and indicated her empty glass. “My wine,”
she said icily.
    Harper nodded and proceeded to
fill her glass.
    The man spoke but Harper
couldn't hear the words. It was just a low, droning buzz, and the
buzz wormed into Harper's head and intensified her throbbing
headache.
    The woman laughed at her
companion's joke and waved her bejeweled hand animatedly. Her hand
slapped against the wine glass and toppled it. Harper watched
helplessly as the dark liquid spilled all over the table cloth and
dripped onto the woman's dress.
    “ Argh! Look what you've
done, you stupid girl! You've ruined my dress!” the woman
shrieked. “You dumb, clumsy bitch!”
    “ I'm sorry,”
Harper sputtered, staggering back in shock and pain. She pressed one
hand to her tummy, her mind going blank as her body screamed in
agony. The pain was growing more intense by the minute. “I'm
so sorry...” she whispered.
    “ Stop saying you're
sorry, you stupid bitch! My dress is completely ruined. You can't
even afford to pay me back!” The woman turned to her companion
and whined, “Oh, Christoff, what am I to do? I love this dress
so much. You bought it for me, remember?”
    “ Yes, of course,
Stephanie,” Christoff said smoothly.
    The restaurant manager,
Howard, rushed up to the table, apologizing profusely and bowing so
low his forehead almost touched the edge of the table.
    Stephanie dabbed at her eyes
and pouted. “Get the bitch out of my sight. I don't want