TheWolfInside (7 page)

She sat on
the bed, and the exhaustion rushed over her body and made her limbs feel like
wet noodles.

A few
moments later, Ewan stepped out of the shower in just a towel. His tan skin
shone in the yellow light. The little droplets of water dripped from his hair
and over his powerful build. He was even more muscular without the clothes, Eva
realized, and licked her bottom lip.

Then she
noticed the cuts and bruises on his skin. He probably got them from the fight
with the bum, and he limped when he walked up to the edge of the bed.

“You look
tired, lass. Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

She smiled
at the idea of her first full day in Paris. “What do you have planned?”

“It’s a
surprise,” he said and slipped a pair of boxers on under the towel. The wet
cloth fell off at the last moment, and she caught a perfect view of his tight
ass.

Damn. He was
far too gorgeous to be a tour guide.
And he was hiding something
, she
reminded herself.

She blushed
as he climbed into bed next to her. Although it was a queen, his frame hogged
more of it than she was used to, and Ewan wrapped his strong arms around her
from behind, like she was nothing more than a doll.

“What are
you doing?” she asked and wriggled in his iron-like grip.

“Keeping you
safe, Evangeline.” His lips brushed her neck as he spoke, and she froze.

His body
melted against hers, and the fatigue washed over her. She closed her eyes,
willing her body to pull away, but his hold was too comfortable and safe. How
could he do that to her when they’d only just met?

“Let go,”
she mumbled.

Ewan’s grip
tightened, and Eva knew he felt all the bulges and fat she tried to hid under
her expensive clothes.

“How can I
keep you safe if I let go?” he asked.

Her fleshy
ass pressed against his length, slowly hardening, and she squeezed her eyes
shut. Was he going to fuck her?

“What are
you going to do to me?” she breathed.

His fingers
griped her jaw and he leaned over her. His blue eyes shone in the darkness.

“Keep you safe,
lass. I’ll always keep you safe.”

Then his
lips brushed hers with the faintest of touches. Eva sighed as the butterflies
flitted around in her stomach. She was too exhausted to deal with any of this
at the moment.
In the morning, she’d do something about it
, she thought
right before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ewan stood
by the window when Eva woke up. She blinked at his shirtless form and frowned.
All the cuts and bruises from the day before where gone. Healed. How was that
possible, unless she hadn’t seen them properly to begin with?

“Morning,
lass. It’s a beautiful day for a beautiful woman.”

She ran a
hand through her hair, which was a mess, she knew and frowned. Usually she’d
ask for coffee, but after the steak and cake the night before, she didn’t want
to seem like a pig. Not when he already thought she enjoyed food too much.

She picked
up her phone, but the tour agency hadn’t called her back yet. What was taking
them so long?

“Would you
like breakfast in bed or at a café?” Ewan asked and smiled at her.

“Café. Isn’t
that how the Parisians do it?” she said and climbed out of bed, pulling down
her pajamas so they drowned her.

He was
suddenly standing right in front of her, huge and bulking. His musk stung her
nose and she wanted to run her fingers over his muscles, but that wasn’t a good
idea. Giving in to his allure would only hurt her in the end.

“Let me wash
up,” she breathed and retreated to the bathroom.

After she
washed and dressed, Ewan took her out on the town. They ate at a charming café,
where he ordered pastries and coffee – things Eva wouldn’t dream of
eating normally. But her tour guide had a way of talking her into it. Was he
some kind of weirdo with a food fetish? She frowned at the thought.

The rest of
the day felt like a whirlwind. He took her to the
Moulin Rouge
and
Notre-Dame
.
They rode a boat down the
Seine
, and wandered through little cobblestone
streets looking at shops of all sorts.

Ewan
insisted on holding her camera, and he took pictures of her at every turn.
At
least her mother would know what she’d been up to
, Eva thought bitterly,
and smiled as she posed in front of the
Arc de Triomphe
.

He even took
photos of the two of them together, their cheeks pressed against one another,
like lovers did. That would make her friends back home curious, but Eva found
it difficult to care about that at the moment.

Paris and
Ewan swept her up in a current of beauty, and she let herself be swept away
with it.

“Was that a
good first day in the city of love?” Ewan asked as they wandered back to their
hotel after dinner.

The butter
soaked fish had been divine, but she dreaded to think how many damn calories
was in it.
It’s my vacation
, she reminded herself. “Yes. Surprisingly.”

He chuckled.
“And why is that a surprise, lass?”

She shrugged.
“After last night I wasn’t sure what to make of you. I mean, you don’t act like
a normal tour guide most of the time.”

The kiss the
night before came to mind, and she pushed it aside. He hadn’t tried to kiss her
again during the day. Maybe that was just the wine talking. No way Ewan McLane
wanted to kiss Eva when he was sober.

“Oh, and how
am I not normal?”

When she
thought of him canceling her reservations, it still stung. “Well, you changed
my hotel reservations. You order all my meals, regardless of what I want. And
you fought a crazy bum in a dark alley!” Her cheeks flushed when she thought of
how he’d held her the night before. She didn’t bring that up.

“That’s it?”
he asked and leaned into her.

His
proximity took her breath away. “Most tour guides are supposed to do what the
client wants, right? You don’t do that.”

Ewan smiled
and his teeth glinted in the street lamps. “Calling yourself a client makes our
relationship seem a little distant, lass. I think you’re far more than that.”

Eva’s cheeks
felt like they were on fire. “And what I am? I hired you for a job. That makes
me a client and you a--”

Suddenly,
Ewan growled into the shadows. His fingers dug into her shoulders, and Eva’s
words died in her throat.

The bum from
the night before stepped out of the alley. Only this time he wasn’t alone. Two
other men flanked him, and they were just as dirty and greasy as the original
bastard.

“Didn’t
learn your lesson, I see,” Ewan grumbled and stepped in front of her.

The men
shouted something in French and spread out. How the hell was he supposed to
protect her from three men instead of just one? Ewan might be strong, but these
guys had the advantage of greater numbers.

Eva pressed
herself against the wall. The bricks were cold on her back, even through her
coat, and she took a shallow breath of the cool fall air. In front of her, Ewan
rolled his shoulders and braced his legs, like he was preparing for the attack.

“We can
escape,” she whispered.

He shook his
head. “No. But this might get ugly, lass. Promise me you won’t run, no matter
what. I can’t protect you if you run, Evangeline,” he said.

She didn’t
know what to say. Why should he promise not to run when it might save their
lives. Was he trying to impress her? No. He didn’t have to impress anyone.

Then the
three men attacked. They piled on Ewan with teeth bared and their hands curled
like claws. He toppled under the weight, and the bum from the night before
leapt at Eva, his stinking form pinning her to the wall.

She squealed
and slammed her purse into his crooked nose, but his head barely moved at the
assault.

His greasy
fingers roamed up her legs, squeezing her fleshy thighs in his hold. He growled
something she didn’t understand, and his eyes glowed.

Eva
screamed.

Then a beast
ripped the man off of her. A huge, pale wolf sunk its fangs into the bum’s leg
and tore into the flesh. The man screamed and turned around.

Was she
imagining this? Were the hell was Ewan?

Eva looked
around the street. The two other bums were bloody and stirring on the ground,
and the one who’d attacked her limped badly. Then, all three men bent and
shifted. Their human limbs fell away and in place stood three wolves.

They
attacked the one who’d saved her, but he was larger than any one of them. His
great head pushed them aside. His fangs shredded their fur and his claws ripped
their flesh. There was so much blood, it stung Eva’s nose.

She screamed
again and ran, Ewan’s words forgotten.

The cold air
burned her lungs as she charged down the street. She turned into alleys, broke
onto a new street, but she couldn’t find anyone. It was as if all of Paris was
deserted. Or maybe it was just this neighborhood.

Sobs rocked
her entire body, and she ducked against a wall and fought to catch her breath.
“Ewan,” she whispered into the night. “Where are you?”

Something
snarled from the darkness, and she whipped her head around.

Eyes glowed
in the shadows, and the wolf jumped out and brought her to the ground. It
lapped at her face with its rough tongue and its claws ripped at her clothes.
She wanted to push it off, but she was frozen in fear. This creature could kill
her!

And why were
there wolves in Paris?

It opened
its mouth, ready to bite her, when the pale wolf lunged at it. They rolled off
Eva and across the ground. She scrambled to sit up, and caught the pale wolf as
he bit into the other ones throat. Blood spilled over the cobblestones, and Eva
screamed for the third time.

Then the
pale wolf looked at her. It had blue eyes that shone in the darkness, and as it
stepped toward her, the wolf form shifted back into Ewan.

He stood
naked in front of her and held out his bloody hand. “I told you not to run,
lass. They like a chase.”

Eva leaned
against the wall for support and stood up, not taking his hand. She didn’t know
what to say or what to think. Her tour guide turned into a werewolf. How often
did something like that happen?

“I – I
have to go,” she cried and ran again.

She had to
get away from him. He just killed a man – and he was a werewolf!

But what was
she supposed to do? Go to the police? They’d think she was crazy?

Eva stumbled
over the cobblestones and fumbled for her phone. It slipped out of her sweaty
palms three times before she finally got a firm grip on it. Just as she was
getting ready to call someone, Ewan grabbed her from behind.

“That’s not
going to do you any good, lass. I told you we like a good chase,” he growled
and turned her around.

Eva’s breath
caught in her throat and she stared at the man in front of her. His bare chest
heaved and he flicked his tongue over his lips.

“Let me go,”
she whimpered.

“Not when I
have you like this. I said I’d protect you, Evangeline, and I did,” he said and
his mouth brushed hers.

The touch
wet her pussy and sent her stomach into a flutter of desire, but she shouldn’t
feel that way after what he did. Plus, he was a werewolf!

“Those men,”
she started, and his eyes hardened. His hands grasped her shoulders so hard
they’d probably bruise.

“Those
wolves where trying to rape you, claim as their own. I saved you from them
– unless that’s what you wanted.”

Eva shook
her head. She didn’t want any of those dirty homeless men, but that didn’t mean
she wanted them dead either. She struggled under his hands, but his grip only
tightened on her.

“You riled
up the wolf, lass,” Ewan growled and his breath misted in the air. “I’m don’t
think I can control it now. You made it hard enough to control in the first
place.”

What was he
talking about? Eva shook her head. “Please. Don’t hurt me,” she said and
shuttered under his touch.

Ewan’s lips
trailed down her neck, kissing and biting her exposed flesh with hunger. “Hurt
you? I wouldn’t dream of it. I need you, Evangeline. I’ve always needed you.”

Always? What
did he mean? She didn’t have the breath to ask him. When she tried to push him
away, his chest felt like a solid wall of muscle, and he didn’t move an inch.

Then his
fingers wound off her arms and gripped her thighs instead. She wiggled under
him, but his body held her firmly against the wall. No matter what she did she
couldn’t budge. She felt his hardened cock pressing against her upper hip and
squeezed her eyes shut. What was Ewan going to do to her?