Read Come As You Are for Free Online Page A

Shrew.’”
    “I hate to tell you this, but if the play was written about us, it would be very, very short. There’s not a lot of taming to do when the male lead already knows the female lead has the major hots for him.”
    “Well, we can rehearse the real one, then. Are there spankings involved with this taming?”
    It was hard not to laugh at the idea. “I don’t believe Will wrote any into that particular piece of work, and I know all his work, by heart.”
    “Well, then we’ll have to improvise. Just follow my lead. I’m really good at this.”
    Somehow, she didn’t doubt that at all.

Chapter Seven
     
 
     
     
    I need to remain calm
    If I allow this interloper to upset me, then things will not go well
    I need to stay calm
    I am in charge, and I need to remind my woman of that
    I must be firm, but sweet
    Temper is what left me in the position I’m in
    Alone and floundering, stuck in this hell hole
    She’s in his arms right now, but he didn’t fuck her
    The stupid man would be no match for me
    If I’d had the chance I would have filled her completely
    I would have claimed her and let her know who she belonged to
    Once I’m rid of the idiot, I will make that happen
    But until then, it’s time to show her how much power I really have
    And what will happen if she continues to ignore me
     
Candice, my darling, come to me
    This will only hurt for a little while
    * * * *
    Being nestled in Franco’s arms was the next best thing to being in heaven, or so Tempest thought. Necking with him was sheer magic, and when he hadn’t pushed for anything more, she felt herself fall a little bit in love.
    When they’d settled down, wrapping the blankets around them, he’d quickly fallen asleep. His deep, even breathing should have lulled her to sleep. Instead, she lay awake, listening to it, enjoying every second.
    Who would have thought that, when she woke up this morning sore and wondering what was happening to her at night, she would fall asleep in the arms of one of the hunkiest men she’d met in years.
    If she’d known Quinn had friends like this she would have invented a ghost, or in this case, a demon, a long time ago. She’d been in such a drought where men were concerned that she’d given up on them. There was no chance of her finding someone she could spend the rest of her life with, or so she thought.
    Right now she doubted that fact. Sure, she’d known him less than twenty-four hours, but the instant attraction she felt for Franco Antonio LeBeau was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She was pretty sure he felt the same way, maybe not as much as she did, but there was a definite attraction.
    Men, she knew, mostly thought with their little heads. But that didn’t seem to be the case with Franco. If so, he would have pushed to be inside her tonight. Not that he would have had to push very hard.
    Truthfully, she probably would have said yes in about two seconds flat. Unfortunately, decisions made that fast usually spelled disaster for relationships. The fact that he was willing to stay with her to protect her from the demon, and was willing to wait for sex, was perfect.
    A low moan brought a smile to her face. Maybe he wasn’t asleep. She needed to steel her will. If he made a move to take things deeper than they had with the necking session, she would need all her willpower to say no, that they needed to wait.
    “Oh, ow, no, please no.”
    Tempest’s eyes flew open and she tried to sit up, hindered by Franco’s arms that still held her close.
    The next sound she heard was a wail of pain.
    “Franco!” She put her hand on his chest. “Did you hear that?”
    The woman’s voice sounded as if she was saying, “Please stop.”
    “Franco!”
    He was sitting up now. “Where’s it coming from?”
    “In the house. It’s a woman.”
    A loud wail brought him to his feet and he rushed inside. Tempest was shocked at how fast he moved. She scrambled up, hurrying after him only to stop when