"What are you doing here?" Eleanor hissed.

I smile. "I came to see you, darling. See if I can tempt you once more. Just once more."

She shoots a look of death. Her iris dart to the corner of her eyes in disdain. Such dark eyes filled with such intensity.

I stay on my side of the shop. She licks her lips her eyes darting away from me.

"Did you do it? Or rather...how?"

I step closer. "Are you mourning him? Do you miss him? Do you think of him?"

She lets out a small sigh. Her breast heaves with the sigh she lets out, her whole body shivering as she does so.

Her head leans back, exposing her throat. I lick my lips. Close my eyes. Don't taunt yourself, I admonish. Don't look.

"You are a monster from hell," she says softly. I come a bit closer.

"Mh. So that's a no. You don't think of him, so you? Save perhaps his paycheck."

"Don't," she says softly. I'm within arms reach now. I reach out, putting my hands on her waist. Her hips are wide, and satisfying to hold. Her belly is soft, a cushion of fat, protecting her softest organs.

She's a woman, developed, mature and she wants me. She just...hates me as well.

"But any man can be a paycheck for you," I continue, massaging her flesh. She allows me.

I watch her face carefully. I want her to want me. Crave me. At hesitance, I stop. Killing that man, was a calculated risk.

I knew she wouldn't like it, but she can't prove it, can't condemn me for it, truly.

"Establish you. Give you why you truly want. Freedom. Freedom to have this place, of your hearts desire. Freedom to give way to yourself."

She closed her eyes. I pull her closer. Eleanor is a woman of merit. I see all humans equally. Men, women. I don't share the view of women being inferior.

It's merely man's way of distinguishing himself as better, whether he is or not.

Eleanor. My Eleanor. A woman of fairy tales trapped in reality. I see how much it hurts. The suffering she endures.

I press my lips against her throat gently. Her fingers gingerly rest on my shoulders.

Don't bite.

I kiss a line up her soft neck. A pretty throat she has. I want to bite into it, leave my mark, make her mine, for eternity.

Refraining is such surprised, but I must.

"You..." she whispers, shaking in my arms. "You are every sin I should have the strength to resist," she whispered, twirling a strand of my hair on her finger.

Her lips make an o as I tug on her ear.

"Do not resist me," I whisper. "Let me in. We are all sinners in the eyes of the lord, dear. So fear not. Once more...couldn't hurt."

I feel her weaken. In my hands, she weakens, bending to me.

I lift from her throat, resting my lips, ghosting them over hers. I want her...to want me. I won't make her chase.

But I must...see that she wants this. She looks in my eyes.

Her hand rises, touching my cheek. My eyes close of their own volition. It's comforting this hand, warm. I adore it.

She presses her lips to mine. I smirk. So much for her fiancée. She was too good for him, too important.

"Alastair," she whispers, "You're the worst. Despicable,"

I smirk. "That's me," I whisper back against her lips. "Despicable." I kiss her deeper, pushing her against her bookcase.

A book falls, neither of us mind it. She smells so nice, and her touch is so intoxicating. Her warmth pressing into me, hot. She flutters against me.

My lips tug up. "Alastair," she whispers once more. "Tell me what you did."

I pause. Take a step away from her. My eyes settle on hers. I've stop smiling now.

She glares at me.

I take another step back. "Eleanor."

Her dark eyes stare into mine, unwavering.

"Yes, Alastair?"

I smile softly, cupping her face. "If you try to marry again, I'm sure your partner will find himself in the clutches of god."

"You're sure?"

I nod. "Very. So certain in fact, that...I would think it falls into your personal responsibility."

"Ah...but if I don't kill these men, is it my responsibility? Or the responsibility of the murderer?"

Such sharp wit.

"Then...will you attempt to marry again?"

She shrugs. "A husband is a commodity, I must acquire."

"No...it's money you require. A husband, is attached to that money, but you don't require him, do you?"

She licks her lips. "Ah...no man is requirement. One only needs food, water, shelter and to provide those things, money."

I press my lips against her temple. "Money. I happen to have it. A noble name, if you require."

Her lips tug up. "In exchange for?"

I smile, pulling a book off the shelf. "One free book of your recommendation a month. How does that sound?"

She smirks. "A recommendation. Merely a recommendation. For how much?"

A shark. And here I am, bloodletting in the waters. Nevertheless we must all satiate our needs. Hunger, thirst. Freedom.

Her curls press against the book case. I'll paint this moment later.

"How much do you need?" I ask.

She pulls out a ledge from behind me. "300 will pay off the mortgage. Let's start there. How long—"

"I'll have it tomorrow. You just kept yourself unwed and in your books, I'll do the rest."

She smirks. "I'm going to suck you dry of everything you have. Do you understand that?"

Ha...my perfect match.

"I...look forward to it. Suck me dry, Eleanor. Bleed me of all that I possess."

I lick my lips. She watches me. She looks me up and down. I brush her cheek, gently. Her breathing hitches.

"Whore or wife. It seems, I've settled squarely on whore."

I lick my lips. "Not whore. Just...human. A whore is just a businesswoman. And we all have to pay bills. Don't we?"

She smiles softly. "I suppose you're right, Alastair."