Free Taming the Heiress by Tiffany Graff Winston

Chapter 1
FRANCESCA
    That stupid fucker.
    That sorry excuse for a man, that insane
son-of-a-bitch.
    I've known him for all of two minutes and I'm
already hell-bent on ripping his throat out the first chance I get. And I will not be gentle, you can count on that.
    Kaiden Hunter is currently sitting across the
table from me, laughing that wicked smile of his that might just
spoil my entire future with one show of his perfect pearly
whites.
    Which won't be perfect for much longer if I
have anything to do with it.
    “So, Fran,” he says with his mouth full of
buttered bread.
    I freeze instantly, hating the way he
shortened my name like I’m some stupid commoner.
    “It’s Francesca,” I say through gritted
teeth, all the while shooting a murderous look at my friend Emmalee
Branson, who is the one who dragged me into this whole thing.
    “Oh?” he asks, his eyebrows raised almost to
his hairline. “Fran suits you so well, though. Very … homely.”
    There’s that wicked grin again, and I’m
hating the adjective he used.
    Luxurious, expensive, beautiful, stunning …
Those are all the things I’m used to, and appreciate being
called.
    But homely ?
    Fuck no.
    “Fran,” he repeats, taking no further notice
of my anger. “I hear you’ve shacked up with plenty of dudes over
the years, huh? What makes you choose Angus over here?”
    My date shuffles uncomfortably in his seat,
and again, I am wondering what brought these two together, because
they couldn’t be more different.
    On one hand you have Angus Lions. Perfect,
London-bred, a bit on the short side, but more than makes up for it
with his boyish good looks. He’s the Prince Harry of the Upper East
Side and every girl I know has nasty, dirty little dreams about
him.
    Then you have that damned Kaiden Hunter. Nouveau riche , shall we call him? His mother is some actress
who has one of those rags to riches story, and his father … God
only knows. Kaiden may look just fine outside – okay, more than
just fine, I won’t be a hypocrite for a change. Towering over me
even in my sky high heels, his hair dark and thick, rebelliously
shaved at the sides and longer on top, his shoulders broad, his
abdomen muscled according to the tabloids I read religiously for a
mention of my name.
    What they don’t tell you though, is the fact
that he is a complete, utter jerk face.
    In a matter of ten minutes, this double date
has gone straight to hell, and I blame none other than Mr. Hunter.
Even though he is my friend’s date, he has made several crude
remarks about me, shot me down even after my polite answers, and
managed to trip me on the way into the restaurant, breaking my heel
in the process. While I hobbled into the restaurant, he laughed it
off and pinched my girlfriend’s butt cheek while she laughed
nervously.
    Classy .
    “I think that’s a bit inappropriate to ask,”
I say stuffily, feeling a blush on my cheeks already. But that
moron is grinning from ear-to-ear and I have a sudden urge to snap
that smirk off his face.
    I look at Angus for support and he clears his
throat.
    “Be a good sport now, Hunter,” he says with a
chuckle.
    “Always am, Lions,” Kaiden replies, flashing
another smile.
    “So,” Emmalee interrupts cheerily and I give
her a stony look, but she refuses to meet my eye. She was the one
to set us up, going on and on about how hot Kaiden is, and when I
realized he knew Angus, I had to jump on the bandwagon.
    “Have you all decided what you’re having?”
she chirps happily.
    “I’ll have the ossobucco , and I
wouldn’t mind you for dessert, doll,” Kaiden replies, smirking, and
by Emmalee’s horrified expression, I’m pretty sure his hand has
found its way onto her thigh. Inner thigh, judging by her
dilated pupils.
    “Oh,” she says stupidly, while Angus chuckles
again and I roll my eyes.
    “What’s the matter, sugar?” Kaiden asks me
sweetly. “You jealous? There’s more than enough room, so you’re
definitely free to join