Chase: Black Bear Outlaws #2 (Mating Fever) Read Online Free Page A

He most certainly knew his way around all my buttons. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. “No—”
    “See? That’s always been their problem. Too selfish.”
    “Who?” I asked, glancing around and wondering which direction this conversation had turned.
    “Men.” She slipped her arm through mine and started tugging me toward the front of the store. “They’re too damned selfish to figure out how to please their partners. If it wasn’t for our maternal instincts, I swear we’d all be lesbians. At least then we’d get some satisfaction in the bedroom.”
    I cast a sidelong glance at Melinda. If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that she loved men; loved being admired by them and flirting with them. Hell, she had never been without a boyfriend as long as I’d known her. There was no way she was, or ever would be, a lesbian. Not that anyone but her mother would care if she was. “Melinda? Is there something you want to tell me?”
    “What?” She glanced over at me.
    “Is Mathew not living up to his husbandly duties or something?”
    She grimaced, nodded, and then glanced around in a semi-state of panic as she shoved me out the door. “Don’t tell anyone, all right? I’m sure he’s just been tired because he’s been working a lot of overtime. When this big project is done, we’ll plan a special weekend and then...well, you know. All I really want is a little cub of my own. The clock...it’s been ticking.”
    I clutched my brown paper bag and felt an electric bolt of guilt slice through me. And here I was making sure that didn’t happen to me. “You’re only twenty-five.”
    She dropped her hand from my arm and stiffened. “Everyone’s clock is different. Just because yours is in hibernation doesn’t mean mine is.”
    “I didn’t—”
    She strode off in a huff. When she reached her car, she turned and stared pointedly at my bag. “I hope you don’t end up regretting that decision. Remember what happened to Samantha?”
    “Sam? Are you sure that’s the example you want to use?” One of our sorority sisters had thought she was pregnant and decided to make herself a poppy seed tea to end the pregnancy. Only what she should have used was dandelion seed. Or was it sesame seed? I could never remember. But two things had happened: she’d nearly been expelled for having opioids on campus, and she’d missed out on a summer internship because she’d failed the drug test.
    “It’s almost the same. There were consequences.”
    “Right. Because she was an idiot.”
    Melinda let out a huff of frustration and yanked her car door open. “You know what I mean!” Then she climbed in and drove off.
    I stood there, momentarily stunned. That had escalated quickly. And in a direction I hadn’t seen coming. After a few deep breaths, I pulled my phone out and sent her an apology text. I hadn’t meant to insult her, and I felt bad about her apparent lack of opportunities to get pregnant. If she wanted a baby, she should be able to have one.
    The phone chimed as I climbed into my Mustang. She’d replied. Forget it. But do me a favor and really consider what you’re doing before you take that pill.
    Irritation coiled in my gut. That was none of her business. I tossed the phone and the bag into the passenger’s seat and took off.
    An hour later, with two suitcases in my trunk, I was on the interstate heading east to my Aunt’s house in Tybee Island, Georgia. I needed to clear my head away from Chase, Melinda, and everyone else in this town. And the beach was as good a place as any. Once I got there, I’d take that little pill and figure out my next move.

Chapter 4
Chase
    “D ude, you’re pathetic,” my brother Cyrus said from my doorway.
    I didn’t even bother to look at him as I flipped him off and turned the volume up on the television.
    “Property Wars?” He strode in and stopped in front of me, blocking my view. “This is a new level of low.”
    I took a swing of my beer and