On his first night renting a cottage on the Cornish coast, widower John Tennant comes face to face with, of all things, a grizzly bear. Fearing for his life, John tries to convince the animal he isn't worth eating, and is relieved when the bear ambles away. Maintenance man Mitch Benjamin is two hundred years old but doesn’t look a day over forty. As a werebear, he needs to stay under the radar. The new renter is making that difficult. Not only is John attractive, but his vulnerability triggers all of Mitch’s protective instincts. If that wasn’t trouble enough, Mitch is struggling with his inner bear’s desire to befriend John. He knows what his bear is up to, but Mitch doesn’t want another mate. His last one was murdered ninety years ago, and he’s still grieving. John is confused by Mitch’s mixed signals. Physically, Mitch -- with his bulging muscles and hulking frame -- is a gay man’s wet dream come true. But emotionally, he keeps closing down. John discovers more comfort with the magnificent grizzly bear he occasionally meets on his evening walks along the beach. In an effort to help, Morwenna, the owner of the cottages, uses her psychic gifts to give John a message from his dead lover, George. Far from helping, it adds another layer of strangeness to what’s already turning out to be the strangest summer John can remember. Can a well-meaning medium and a determined grizzly bring John and Mitch together? Will Mitch come clean about his werebear nature? If he does, can John accept that a man and bear exist in the same body?

Summer's Lease

Spent, Mitch slumped on top of John and they shared a few lazy kisses. Although he didn’t want to move, Mitch had to.


“No!” John said, pulling Mitch back on top of him.


“Need to take care of the rubber.” Plus Mitch knew their current position was putting a lot of strain on John’s lower back.


“You all right?” Mitch was concerned he’d hurt John. They’d gotten pretty wild, especially at the end. He also needed to know if John had regretted what they’d done.


“Tired,” John admitted, yawning again. “But a good tired, you know?”


Mitch nodded. He couldn’t help his smile, part relief and part satisfaction. He dealt with the rubber, which had stood up well to the battering they’d given it.


“You’re a real tiger in bed,” John said, finding and kissing Mitch’s lips.


Mitch could feel Teddy growl at that. It must have been audible, because John chuckled.


“You were awesome yourself,” Mitch said, stroking John’s damp hair back from his sweaty forehead.


Chapter 73