“How long have you been like this?” Summer asked, pulling the strap of her testing kit from Chance’s shoulder. She set the kit on the dining room table and began to unpack her tools.
“Since yesterday,” Tim said, sitting down at the table to watch Summer work.
“You have acute arsenic poisoning. Probably from your drinking water. I’ll test it now to see what kind of levels we’re talking about.”
She went to the kitchen sink and turned on the water, pulling a sample into a sterile syringe. She put the sample into a test tube and added the testing solution before putting it into the stand to wait.
“We’ll know in fifteen minutes.”
“We’ve been poisoned?” Tim asked, just catching on to how serious this was.
“I suspect it’s runoff from the mine that’s polluting the river.”
“Our water comes from a well.”
“If the arsenic is seeping into the water table already, it's worse than I thought.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Tim said.
“It probably isn’t from the mine,” Chance told him. Summer glared at him, furrowing her brows. He shrugged. He still didn’t have a firm reason to believe the mine was responsible for the poisonings. At this point, the only connection was the fact that arsenic was used in copper smelting. He’d wait for the environmental oversight reports to make his final judgement. Summer’s tests in the river had come up clean. There had to be an explanation.
After several minutes, Summer lifted her test tube beside the strip of paper with all the colors on it. “It looks like you have fairly low levels in your drinking water. I’d guess it dissipated since yesterday. I got the same results at the river. I suspect the copper mine let out all its wastewater two or three days ago and then stopped.”
“Are we going to get better?” Tim’s wife asked from the living room.
“You should see a doctor, and I wouldn’t drink from this water source until it comes up completely clean. We can go to town and pick you up bottled water, and Summer can leave you some testing supplies,” Chance said.
“Sure. I can do that,” Summer agreed.
“Still don’t want to go to the hospital,” Tim said. “Shifters heal fast.”
“With your accelerated shifter healing, you’ll most likely get better as the poison makes its way out of your system. But Chance is right. You should see a doctor.”
“We’ll be fine,” Tim said. “If you can get us the water, I’d be much obliged.”
Chance led Summer back to the truck, and she stopped at the passenger door, giving him a look that spoke a thousand words.
“What?” he asked, knowing he was in trouble with her.
“Why do you keep contradicting me?” she asked, her irritation quite evident in her voice.
“Look, Summer, you’re a smart woman. Anyone can see that, but I’m not convinced you’re right about the source of the problem. If we keep focusing on the mine, we might miss the real cause. Now, let’s go get those folks some water.”
By the time they made it back to town, bought the water the Owenses needed, and drove all the way back out to the ranch, it was already dark. Summer explained to Tim how to use the testing solution to check for arsenic and left him with a color strip that showed the levels. She told him how he wanted the water to come up clear after the solution was in it for fifteen minutes. Then it would be safe to drink again.
Chance hated to leave the family still ill, but Tim was a notoriously stubborn bear. If he believed his family was safer at home than going to the hospital, that’s exactly what Tim would do. Nothing anyone could say could change his mind.
At least they had clean water and Summer’s assurance that they’d probably get better on their own. That made him feel a bit less guilty as he drove off into the darkness and away from the sick family.
“Why don’t you come up to my place tonight,” he said, looking over at Summer in the dim light of the cab. She was gazing up at the full moon. It bathed her beautiful curves in its soft glow. “We can discuss the case over a few beers.”
“Why not? After seeing that sick family, I don’t feel much like going back to my hotel room alone.”
Chance smiled in the darkness. His bear roared in his head that he finally had his chance to claim her as his mate. No matter how much the idea of sinking his teeth into Summer’s neck while he sank his shaft into her wetness made him hard with desire, he had to keep his distance from this woman.
He could lose her forever if he didn’t play it right. Asking her back to his house had probably been a mistake, but he really didn’t want to be alone tonight. After seeing Tim’s family ill from poison, it had given him a horribly sinking feeling. Maybe Summer was right about the mine. No matter how much he didn’t want to believe that a major new employer in town was making his friends sick, the evidence was starting to pile up.
He decided he would talk to her about it further when they got inside. Pulling up to the front driveway of his house, he cut the engine and smiled. “This is it,” he said, opening the door of his truck.
She slipped out into the darkness and slowly walked toward the front porch of his house as he followed behind her. He’d built a big, pine wrap-around porch onto the old farmhouse a few years after he’d bought the place. But that wasn’t his prize possession. No, that was the garden at the back of the house. Something he wanted to show her more than anything.
They walked up the steps as the lights from the inside glowed through the big bay windows. Chance opened the door and held it for her as she walked inside and began to inspect his home.
He took a sharp breath inward, hoping she liked what she saw. His bear grumbled that this was her home now. Chance wanted more than anything for that to be true. No matter how much attitude Summer had, he still wanted her. He wanted her with every breath in his body. Her spirit only made her sexier.
Summer was doing pretty well on her own, but he felt, deep down, that she needed some grounding in her life. Without it, she was frantically pushing against a specter she didn’t even know was real. He hated to see that. He wanted her to know what she fought for, to have that security and assurance that her work would pay off in the end and that she could make a real difference.
“This is a nice place. What period was it built in?”
“Turn of the twentieth century. It still has a lot of the historic features. That fireplace is original,” he said, pointing to the big, stone hearth. “So are the floors.” The wood floors that stretched across the entire house were a source of pride for him. “When I first bought the place they were covered in green shag carpet. When I pulled it up, I found the original floors. They had some damage, but I was able to salvage them.”
“They’re gorgeous,” she said, moving into the dining room that opened into the kitchen. He’d put all new cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. Chance might be a big burly man, but he liked to cook and knew his way around a stove.
“Gosh, I love this kitchen. Do you even use all this stuff?” she said, looking from his gas range and back to him.
“Of course. Hungry?”
“I’m famished, actually.” She slid onto the stool at the bar and leaned over the counter, squeezing her arms together around her breasts. Chance’s eyes lingered on the curve of her cleavage for a brief moment, but he quickly tore them away.
“Let me get you that beer I promised,” he said, turning to the fridge to pull out a bottle of domestic microbrew. He popped the cap and handed it to her.
Summer looked at the bottle and smiled. “I would have taken you for an aluminum can kind of guy. This is good stuff.”
“What would give you the impression that I like bad beer?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“I don’t know, the whole country boy, ex-army, game warden thing you have going on.”
Chance lost it. A deep, belly laugh erupted from his gut and spilled out, echoing through the room. Summer smiled and started to giggle between sips of beer.
“You’d be surprised what I’ve got going on,” he said, his laughter finally dying down. He opened his own bottle and took a deep swig.
“Oh, like what?” she teased, her bottom lip caressing the mouth of the bottle. Chance took a sharp breath through his teeth. Summer was so damn hot. He could barely contain himself. His bear rumbled to attention.
He cleared his throat and took another swig of beer. “I told you about the garden. It’s dark out back, but the moon is full. Want to go see it? We can get some veggies for dinner.”
“Sure.”
She followed him out the sliding doors onto the back porch, and he flicked the porch light on. Down the porch steps, the plastic coverings of the hoop houses and the glass of the greenhouse glinted in the dim light. The raised beds inside the main garden were faintly illuminated by the moon.
“This way,” he said quietly, feeling as if he was about to give her a little tour of his soul.
“Is this where you grow your famous huckleberries?” she asked as they entered the main garden, which was fenced in against deer and other predators by a tall, wire mesh.
“It is. Here I’ve got the broccoli, over there is lettuce. I’ll cover it with a running hoop house when the weather turns. The tomatoes were fantastic this year. I’ve got corn coming up down at the end. This trellis is raspberries, and here, this entire section is wild huckleberry. Bears like huckleberry.”
“Bears?” she asked, turning to him suspiciously.
She doesn’t know. Chance blanched. He’d assumed she knew about his bear. Everyone in town knew. Chance had come out to the public almost immediately. Would she think differently of him if she knew?
“Yes, bears,” he said carefully. The grizzly inside him grumbled and grunted for him to just spit it out.
“Are you… are you a shifter?” she asked, her fingers playing on the dark amber bottle.
“I am. A grizzly bear.”
“No wonder!” she said, her eyes growing wide in the light of the moon. She took a step closer and looked into his face.
“You aren’t afraid?” he asked.
“Of course not. Should I be?”
“Maybe,” he said, moving toward her. He could smell her luscious scent, sense the warmth of her curvy body, his need growing with each breath.
“I’m not,” she whispered.
“Good,” he said, stepping away. He knew what would happen if he let himself get closer, and he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.
He took a swig of beer and told her to follow him. Chance gave Summer a tour of the greenhouses and the gardens, picking a few things as they went through. He planned to make her a vegan feast in an attempt to keep his hands off her tonight. They had things to discuss.
They made their way back into the kitchen, and Chance got to work washing the veggies he’d picked. Then he gave Summer a chopping board and a knife so she could prepare the salad.
“How does breaded and fried eggplant sound?” he asked her, looking over his shoulder as he pulled things from the cabinets.
“I can’t think of anything more delicious.”
Chance prepared the eggplant and put some fresh potatoes in the oven for potato wedges. While they cooked, they discussed the case.
“I just can’t believe another family was hurt,” Summer said.
“I know,” Chance said. Seeing the little shifter girl so sick from the water in her own home filled him with frustration and rage.
“We’ve got to do something about this,” Summer said. “I bet the fact that both victims have been shifters really angers you.” She sat back at the counter, her salad already cut and ready to eat.
“It does,” he growled. “I can’t tell you how much.”
“I know it’s the mine.”
He grumbled and checked the potato wedges. Everything was done, so he began dishing it up on plates to take to the dining table.
“Something has to be done to protect the shifter population. When the council decided to come out to the public, no one expected this kind of backlash.”
“Humans are ignorant. Just look at how we treat each other. Let alone a once-mythical species that is higher on the food chain than us.”
“True, shifters are faster, stronger, healthier, but we just want to live our lives and raise our families. If humans knew what most shifters were really like, they’d never persecute us like they do.”
“It isn’t right,” Summer said, helping Chance clean up the dishes from the dining room table. They stood in the middle of the kitchen, dirty dishes in the sink. Chance lowered his gaze and let out a long sigh.
“I would do anything to protect my people,” he said.
“I want to help you.” Summer moved in close to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. His bear rumbled inside his head. He couldn’t resist any longer.
As his arms curled around her waist, Summer lifted on her tiptoes and pressed her lips hard against his. He growled, his cock springing to attention.
Her tongue flicked through his lips and pressed against his. Hot desire coiled at the base of his spine, and his inner grizzly roared for fulfillment. Deepening their kiss, he crushed her against his chest, wanting her as close to him as she could be.
“Do you want this?” he asked her, pressing his hardness against her belly. She took a sharp breath and rubbed him with her body.
“Yes,” she whispered.
That was all he needed. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the ground, stepping quickly up the stairs. Summer squealed with delight as he hurried her to the second floor of the farm house. He couldn’t believe it was happening, but he couldn’t stop now to question it or hold back. She wanted him. That was all that mattered.
Chapter Seven
The moment Chance revealed he was a shifter, Summer saw him in a completely different light. He wasn’t just the good ol’ boy she’d taken him for. He was a misunderstood minority who was being persecuted by bigots. That fact allowed her feel all the emotions she’d been stuffing down and trying to ignore since she’d met him.
Her attraction and desire shot to the surface and suddenly took over. Uncontrollable craving flooded her senses, and she let loose. She’d spent the whole evening trying to drown out the need building inside her.
But Chance seemed to have sensed it in her and swept her off her feet. He placed her on his big, four-poster bed, looking down with lust-filled eyes. She tingled from head to toe, her mind not willing to process what was happening as her body took over.
Chance pulled off his shirt and climbed over her, kissing her mouth and down her body as he unbuckled his pants. She was reckless and willing to go places she’d never been before.
Chance lifted up her shirt and flicked open the front latch on her bra, letting her ample breasts spill out. He growled between his teeth as he sucked a nipple into his hot mouth. Summer arched her back, pleasure rising and coiling in her core. Chance plunged his hand under the soft waistband of her pants, pushing into her damp panties with ease.
She gasped as he found her wetness, flicking his fingers up and down her slit. His tongue circled her nipple, and his finger circled her tight, pink bud. The intensity of pleasure pulsed through her, and she called out, gripping his impossibly broad shoulders.
Chance moved to her other nipple, suckling and biting the tender bundle of nerves. Summer breathed his name as he slowly kissed down her belly before gripping the sides of her pants and pulling them off.
When she was naked from the waist down, her breasts framed by her shirt and open bra, Chance dove into her pussy, licking up the slit with the passion of a starving man. Summer had never had a man give her so much attention down there. She could barely think or breathe as his tongue played over her clit and soaking wet opening.
He circled over her nub as he pushed his thick fingers into her core. Her legs shook, and she panted while she ran her hands over his cropped hair. Lifting her head, she looked down at him. The sight of his handsome face
and thick shoulders moving over her curves was enough to send her into the stratosphere.
“Oh God,” she moaned, feeling her climax breaking through. It pulsed over his thrusting fingers as he took her with his tongue.
While her body still clenched and gushed, he climbed on top of her, unzipping his pants. He grabbed a small packet from the bedside table, ripped it open, and unfurled the condom over his wide length. With a low growl, he angled his head against her wet opening. Her head spun with desire as he pushed inside her.
She felt every ridge of his shaft as it stretched her wide. His mouth opened around her neck, his teeth biting her tender flesh, grazing the skin but not breaking the surface. The fact that he could turn her into a bear with just a little more pressure made her come again, hard on his stiff shaft.
He moved in and out of her, making her come like a freight train, again and again. She groaned, holding onto his massive body as he took her curvy frame. She whispered his name as he brought her to new heights of pleasure and awareness she’d never known possible.
“Summer,” he groaned, kissing her neck and face. His tongue darted into her mouth as his shaft widened inside her. “You’re everything to me.”
He groaned and thrust one last time into her softness. Chance held himself over her, panting. His wet lips kissed her sweaty forehead before he rolled over on his side. Her fuzzy thoughts couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, but her body still buzzed with desire.
Leaning against his chest in the darkness, she quickly fell asleep.
Sunlight streamed through the bedroom window, and Summer groaned. Sitting up with a gasp, she looked around the room. Chance lay sleeping across the rumpled bed. She was naked from the waist down, with her shirt and bra open.
Chance rolled over, and his eyes slowly opened. “Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a smile way too bright for her. She shielded her eyes from it.
“What did we do?” she muttered to herself.
“Probably had the most amazing night ever, beautiful,” he said, running his hand down her back.