Free Come As You Are by Melinda Barron Page B

than a little frightened. This was something she’d never expected to happen in her house. Hopefully this would work, and the thing would be gone. Forever.
    “It’s getting close to eleven,” Dev said. “We need to go inside and get this done before Samhain ends.”
    Franco took her hand and led the group into the house. It felt cold to her, and she grasped Franco’s hand more firmly. He squeezed her, the movement telling her it would be okay, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
    They moved into the living room and Tempest saw all the furniture pushed against the wall, except for one fainting couch that sat in the middle of the room. Candles glowed around it, and Pebbles and Rumer went to work, quickly lighting them all.
    When they finished, Fletch turned off the overhead light, leaving the room bathed in candlelight.
    “On the couch, you two.” Pebbles indicated they should move, but when Franco started toward it, Tempest stood still.
    “Shouldn’t it just be me? Won’t Franco’s presence scare him off?”
    “If you think I’m letting you go in there on your own, you’re nuts,” Franco said. “We’re in this together.”
    “But if he gets angry…”
    “He’s drained,” Martin said. “That’s why we left him alone for so long, so that he wouldn’t have any energy left to fight us tonight. He might have a little, but not a lot. And Franco’s right. There’s no way we’d let you go in there alone, not after what happened before.”
    Tempest wanted to remind Martin that the beast had been feeding off her then, and he’d had power. She decided, though, not to fight. This was their bailiwick and she should follow their directions.
    Franco lay down on the couch and guided her on top of him, caressing her sides before settling his hands on her hips. Her heart was beating like an overworked drum, and he reached up and stroked her cheek.
    “Relax, darling Tempest. I’m here, don’t forget that.”
    Yes, he was there, and now that she was on the couch, she was thrilled that he was. She wanted to be brave and say she should attract the demon on her own, but in truth, it felt right to be here with Franco’s arms around her.
    She leaned down and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.
    Tempest lost herself in the feeling, vaguely aware of words floating around her, of motion near the couch. Rumer, the witch, casting the circle.
    Franco deepened the kiss, darting his tongue into her mouth, licking her gently as his hand stroked her cheek, her neck, her shoulder.
    Soon everything was gone but the two of them. She wasn’t aware of the cold, the light or the other people. All that mattered was Franco, the man laying under her, the man wanting to protect her from the evil that had threatened her house, her very life.
    “I love you,” she whispered against his lips. “Can you read what I’m thinking?”
    “Always.” The air around them stirred and Tempest heard a voice call her name. It was him. The demon. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was the man under her, who was now describing how their life would be together. “Home. Life. Babies. Us. Forever.”
    “Yes.” She arched into him as he cupped her buttocks, then traced his fingers up her spine, causing tiny tremors of bliss to rush through her.
    “I love you, too, Tempest.” He grasped her face between his hands and kissed her possessively. The air around them seemed burst with static and from what seemed like far away Tempest could hear chanting. It was Pebbles, or was it Rumer? Or was it both of them?
    Frankly, she didn’t care. Franco had flipped her expertly, his hands pulling up her shirt, roughly pushing up her bra. His lips found a nipple and she gasped, seeking to hold him as close as possible as he suckled her.
    A male voice screamed “no” and the voices around them rose in anger. Tempest ran her hand down Franco’s side, grasping his hips, then fumbling with the