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Lifting the cloches from the platter, my smile broadened at Cora's intake of breath. The chefs had outdone themselves. Beef parcels stuffed with herbs and spices, intensely flavoured pasta bundles topped with exotic mushrooms and garlic, and glazed vegetables tossed in butter—all accompanied by a variety of delightful treats.
After everyone served themselves, I watched Cora eat. I couldn't drag my eyes from her mouth. Every time she took a bite of something new, she would make a contented little noise. I wanted to watch her eat forever.
To keep her.
And I had a week to make her want to stay.
Cora and Alfie struck up a conversation, her voice growing more bubbly with every sip of wine.
Jealousy burned inside me. Not because I thought either of them was doing anything wrong but because I wanted her attention on me. Every sweet smile and laugh I wanted to capture.
Why did she have such a hold on me? I barely knew her.
It had been years since I'd wanted to get to know someone beyond just enjoying their body. I'd never felt such intensity before. I had to discover if it was just loneliness driving me to her.
By the end of dinner, the two seemed fast friends, and I looked far more like the third wheel. When Alfie suggested drinks in the library bar, Cora accepted in a heartbeat.
Taking a stool, I listened as Cora chatted about her photography course. The way sparkles danced in her eyes as she spoke made her impossible to ignore. Despite not knowing the first thing about cameras other than the one on my phone, I was gripped by her every word.
Alfie excused himself after an hour, having an arrangement for the evening, leaving just Cora and me.
'I should hate you,' she said, her words beginning to slur as she poured herself another glass of wine.
'Probably,' I answered.
'You've barely spoken to me all night. Just glared at me. Why?'
'I enjoy listening to you.'
'Why me? Why take me here? We barely know each other. Can't you get a woman who wants you without needing to force them into a week-long stay?'
'Something got your knickers in a twist? No one is forcing you to stay.' Amusement quirked my lip as she let the drink rouse her fire.
'You are. You have my fucking sister.'
'Mhm. Is that the sole reason you are here? To find the sister who doesn't seem to give two fucks about what you want?'
Reaching over the bar, she slammed a bottle of tequila down before putting a large measure in her glass. 'You wouldn't fuck me last night when I was under the influence. So if I stay drunk, then you won't touch me, right?'
She grimaced as she downed the measure and followed it with another.
I got it. She was attracted to a murderer. It was a lot to take in.
'I never said I wouldn't touch you, Cora. I said I wanted you sober when I took your virginity. Play stupid games, and you'll win stupid prizes.'
'Aren't you mad? Didn't you want to fuck me tonight?' She wobbled as she stood.
'I'm a man of great patience. I'll come tonight regardless of your state of inebriation. You won't.'
Her nostrils flared as she started off down the hall toward her room, bumping into the walls as she went. I followed behind her as she let out a string of curses.
She didn't close the door when she found the room, leaving it for me to enter behind her.
'Did you really kill Seth?' she asked, turning toward me and sitting on the bed to pull off her boots.
I could lie to her to provide her the comfort she sought, but if I was going to make her mine then she had to know the real me. Relationships built on lies could never last.
'I did.'
