Holy shit! She’d thought the man was gorgeous from behind, but facing her, he was devastating. His darkly tanned face revealed his eyes in a way that was startling at first then utterly beautiful to behold. They were a blue so pale they almost looked silver, like those beautiful wolves that roamed the area’s woods. His T-shirt stretched over his heavily muscled chest. He wasn’t built like a steroid-using Neanderthal, but more like a man who worked long and hard in a job that required heavy physical labor. She was willing to bet it was construction.
When she’d met his gaze, her mind had filled with images of sweaty, tangled limbs and sex. Eva had blushed and run, mortified that she’d openly fantasize about a man while standing mere feet from him. Perhaps, she needed to buy a vibrator. The books were nice, but she needed to blow off some steam before her hormones took over and caused her to do something horribly embarrassing.
She was looking for her favorite snack, cinnamon and sugar pita chips, when she noticed someone entering that section.
Shane.
His friends weren’t far behind, and given the way his stocky frame listed to the side, she knew he was drunk or maybe even high. He hadn’t noticed her yet so she decided to flee. Just her luck, one of his friends had separated from the herd and grazed in the aisle she’d ducked into.
“Look what we have here. Shane’s old lady,” Bobby sneered.
“Not hardly. I was never his ‘old lady’, and you know it. Now, leave me alone I’m going home.” She prayed her voice wasn’t shaking as badly as she was, but his smile told her that her bluff had been called.
“Why don’t you stick around? We were getting pretty bored so we decided to come on over here and get us some snacks and a few more cases of beer. You should join us.” He came over and ran his fingers down her arm. “Wouldn’t you want to hang out with us? We could do all kinds of things.”
“No, I told you I’m leaving. I have no urge to be anywhere near you disgusting pigs. If you want a whore to entertain you then go find one.”
“Oh, but I have. You shake that pretty little ass all over town. I don’t see why you can’t shake it for me. Shane won’t mind. Hell, I’m sure he’d want to join in. You ever let two men have you at once? Let one stretch that little ass while the other fills your pussy? I bet you’d like that.” Bobby backed her into the shelves and his breath caused her to gag. They were drunk, but they’d been smoking, too.
They were drunk
and
high, just great.
“I’ll scream if you don’t get away from me right now,” she warned.
“Hey, Shane! I found something for us,” he called out.
“Well, well, well. Hello, Evangeline. Have you missed me, honey?” Shane sauntered over and pulled her close with a bruising grip on her arms. “You haven’t answered me.”
“You know I haven’t missed you. How could I? You seem to pop up everywhere I go.” She was ready for him to strike her and squeezed her eyes shut. The blow never came.
“I believe the lady would like to be left alone, gentlemen. And if you don’t feel inclined to grant her that request, I’ll be happy to have the store pull the security footage and help her to file the proper complaints with the police department.” It was the man from the book section. His voice was deep, commanding and incredibly sexy.
Shane glared then released her with a quick. “I’ll see you later.” he left with his friends trailing in his wake.
Evangeline sagged in relief. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that and have probably caused yourself a world of trouble, but thank you.”
He frowned. “My name’s Adam Wolfe, and please, you don’t have to thank me. Real men know how to treat a woman, and that’s why every one of those men will never have one of their own.”
She smiled. “I’m Evangeline Black.”
“Well, Evangeline, would you allow me to escort you to your car? I’d feel better if I knew you made it to your car safely. Those men seemed a little past drunk and a lot past stupid.”
He was trying to help her. This insanely handsome man was trying to protect her from Shane and his goons. What were the odds of that?
“Thank you, but I’d hate for them to start trouble with you just because you did a good deed. These men love to torment me in any way they can, and if they think you’re showing even the slightest hint of interest in me, they’ll turn their efforts to you until you no longer do.”
Evangeline hated this. She hated having to turn men away, potentially good men, all because of what Shane and his followers would do. Feeling resigned and defeated, she’d turned to leave when Adam asked, “Why do these men target you? What could you have possibly done to warrant this much hatred from them?”
Evangeline was startled by his straightforward question and therefore answered honestly. “I wouldn’t marry Shane.” He just frowned at her, and she sighed. “He refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, and I refused to marry without it. I figured he was cheating on me, and his refusal and rage over my request for the document only confirmed my suspicions.”
“Then he’s an idiot. You’re a beautiful woman and deserve a man who’s devoted to you and only you. Never settle for anything less.”
He reached out to her, and she flinched away from his touch, still recovering from her rough handling only moments ago.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can assure you I’ve never raised my hand to a woman and never plan to do so. I was only going to check your arm. He had quite a grip on you.” He lightly touched the already bruising flesh. “His mama didn’t teach that boy shit. If I would’ve done anything like this, my mother would have beat me to within an inch of my life. Our family never condones hitting women. Hell, you could beat the crap out of any of us, and we’d barely even defend ourselves.”
He appeared genuinely upset over her treatment, and the thought sent a warm tingle through her belly. “Adam, I really appreciate your help and
would
like for you to see me to my car if you don’t mind, but only from a distance. If they’re outside and see you with me, you’ll become a target, and I would hate to see that. You seem like the type of man who’s respectful and loyal, and these men are neither. They’ll never leave me alone for long, and I’ve come to accept that.” Evangeline turned once again to leave and was glad when he didn’t object.
God knew, she wanted him with a fierceness that frightened her. His touch had sent heat zinging up her arm and tightened her nipples. This man was actually more of a danger to her than Shane. Adam made her want, desperately, when she’d just grown to accept she would be alone—at least, until Shane found a new outlet for his hatred.
That was fine, she assured herself. She had plenty of money and would never have to work. She would have moved away to another town or state, but her grandmother’s house was all she had left of her family, besides her money. She wanted to hold on to the memories in that home for as long as she could.
Fate seemed to have very different plans. Upon arriving home, she discovered all the windows in her home had been shattered. Glass lay both inside the house and out, showing that some of the windows had been broken from within. All the lights were out when she approached the door.
“Don’t go inside.” Adam appeared behind her, startling a yelp from her mouth before she slapped her hand over it.
What the hell? He’d followed her home?
Well, that isn’t creepy or anything
, she thought sarcastically, wondering just what kind of situation she’d just landed herself in. “This is my home, and I need to see what’s left of it. I highly doubt anyone is still around.”
“You don’t know that. There could be someone inside.”
There wasn’t, and he knew that because he could scent no danger. Adam was sure, however, that the damage on the inside was probably far worse than on the outside.
He watched Evangeline as she nervously shifted on her feet, her heart rate picking up as evidenced by the tick on the side of her slender throat. She was scared, but he couldn’t blame her. After all, he
had
followed her home after having just met her.
“Why are you here? It’s a little creepy that you followed me home.” She eyed him warily while slipping her phone from her purse. “I’m going to call the police to report the break-in. I guess I’ll have to wait for them to look inside before I go in. Maybe, they can find some evidence that could get Shane out of my hair for a few weeks.”
“Weeks?” Adam wasn’t following that. For breaking and entering, a person would get more than a few weeks in jail.
“His uncle is a lawyer and good friends with the local judge. Small towns suck like that. Shane will be out a lot sooner than he should be, and his friends will keep up their duties while he’s in.”
Adam was appalled. To think the very legal system, meant to protect victims like Evangeline, was corrupted enough let her attackers go free with not much more than a slap on the wrist. It was unacceptable, and Adam wanted to make sure that, this time, they stayed in jail.
Shrugging, she placed her call with a familiarity that saddened him. He suggested that they go to his truck until police came, and because she was instructed to stay away from the scene until they arrived, they made their way around the corner and climbed into the front seat to wait.
From their position, they could see over her neighbor’s fence that her back windows had been busted out, as well. Needless to say, there wasn’t much conversation. She seemed to be deep in thought, and Adam left her to it, not sure of what exactly he could say to comfort her at the moment.
How could he console someone who knew the person responsible for her trouble would be free to do it again in no time at all? It wasn’t as if he could promise her he wouldn’t let it happen again, though if he had the power to do so, he would.
As the police went over the house, gathering any evidence they could find, a deputy came out and pulled her to the side. “Ms. Black, we’ve been coming out here for months now, and I’ve got to tell you, you’ve got some enemies you should be very cautious of.” He glanced over at Adam before asking, “Is that your boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Friend?”
“Possibly. Why?”
“Because you can’t stay here. You need to find somewhere to stay until the repairs are done.” When she paled, the deputy asked, “Have you been inside yet?”
“No,” she whispered. “I waited for you to come so I didn’t mess up any evidence.”
“I see, and good thinking. There’s extensive damage. We had to shut off the gas since one of the lines to the stove was open. A few walls are busted up pretty good, and there’s lots of broken things, too, so watch yourself when you enter. Just gather what you need, and find somewhere safe to stay for a while. We’ll board up the windows and lock up as best we can for you.” He sighed. “I’m really sorry this happened, Ms. Eva. We’ll try our hardest to make the charges stick for as long as we can, but he’s getting dangerous.”
Dangerous? Just what had this guy been doing to her?
Adam was several yards away, but he heard the conversation as easily as if he’d been standing next to her, and he didn’t like what he was learning.
“I know, and thank you. I’m glad that at least the police aren’t on his side.” She offered what anyone could see was a forced smile before promising, “I’ll check out the hotel down near the diner.”
Oh, she wouldn’t be checking into a hotel if he could help it. If this guy was as dangerous as the police seemed to think, she didn’t need to be by herself.
“I’d rather you stay with someone. You shouldn’t be alone.” The young deputy looked genuinely concerned, and a knot formed in Adam’s stomach. He wondered how long this had been going on.
“I’ll be fine. I know to be careful.” She was clearly trying to assure the deputy as much as she was herself, but Adam wasn’t fooled and neither was his nose. She was scared, and the scent of her fear angered his wolf.
“Just remember,” the officer leaned in and whispered, “self-defense is
not
murder.” With that rather disturbing advice, he turned and walked back to the house, and Adam approached her once more.
“He’s right, you know.”
She jumped and stumbled when his comment startled her.
Adam cursed and caught her by the waist to steady her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I should be more aware of my surroundings, especially now. It wasn’t your fault.” Evangeline was exhausted. It figured that when she was finally tired enough to get a few decent hours of sleep, she had no bed to sleep in.
“You shouldn’t stay at a hotel. You should stay with a person. I know you don’t know me, but I’d like to offer you the spare room in my cabin. You can stay as long as you need to.”
He was being rather abrupt, and though she was attracted to him, it didn’t change the fact she didn’t know this man at all.
“I admit I fully intended to ask you out to dinner, despite your warnings, and before you try again, I am not afraid of the men who were harassing you.”
Eva felt herself blushing again.
Damn this fair skin!
She couldn’t believe this man was interested in her. Surely, there had to be something wrong with him. Sadly, he and the officer were right. Things with Shane were escalating, and now, there seemed to be the potential for violence toward not just her property but to her, as well. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t know anything about you other than your name. I’m sorry, but as far as I know, you could be just as crazy as what I’m already dealing with.”
“I understand completely, and though I can assure you that you’d be perfectly safe with me, I am glad you’re being cautious.”
He was making her feel guilty now, although she knew it was unintentional. Here was a man who knew nothing about her except that she was obviously on the wrong end of a nasty situation. This was the South and, for the most part, people are very helpful. He seemed to take no offense at her refusal, though it was plain to see it seemed to prick at him.
Looking up, Eva noticed the sheriff and his men exiting the house. He waved her over then smiled. “Adam! What brings you out here?”
“Hey, Gus. Well, Ms. Evangeline had a run-in with some drunks at the store, and I wanted to make sure she made it home all right.” The two men shook hands and clapped each other on the back in what Eva referred to as the “man hug”.