Edge of Desire
(Let Me In, Book 3)
Jessica Marin
Copyright © 2018 by Jessica Marin
Cover Design by Najla Qamber Designs.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ISBN EBook - 978-0-9997859-4-2
ISBN Paperback - 978-0-9997859-5-9
Contents
Prologue
1. Cora
2. Sean
3. Isla
4. Sean
5. Sean
6. Cora
7. Isla
8. Sean
9. Isla
10. Sean
11. Cora
12. Sean
13. Cora
14. Isla
15. Sean
16. Cora
17. Isla
18. Sean
19. Cora
20. Isla
21. Sean
22. Sean
23. Cora
24. Isla
Epilogue
Also by Jessica Marin
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Prologue
Cora
The Past
There haven’t been many things in my life that have scared me.
My mother taking us away from my drunk of a father when I was four, didn’t scare me.
Moving every few years after my mother got dumped by her ex-boyfriends, didn’t scare me.
Having to start new schools every time we moved, didn’t scare me.
Every time my mother slapped me across my face, didn’t scare me.
But staring up at the ominous, gothic looking building that’s supposed to be my new boarding school, scares me.
“Mother, why do I have to go away to school?” I whine, not understanding what I’ve done this time for her to banish me from our home. I was behaving at my former school, despite the hatred and jealousy that oozes from the other girls there. Jealousy over my looks, which in turn, makes them hate me when all the boys want me instead of them. I can’t help that I was born beautiful. I can’t help the attention I receive from men. Those bitches should want to be my friend so they can have a shot at my leftovers. I was finally settling into a nice routine when my mother dropped the bomb that I will now be going to boarding school.
“Stop whining, Cora. You’ve been given an opportunity to attend one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the UK, so be a little bit more grateful!” she retorts as she tugs my hand harder in order for me to keep up with her pace. The “opportunity” being given to me by her current boyfriend, who is extremely wealthy. Despite him being half her age, overweight and ugly, she still spreads her legs for him in order to have the lifestyle she believes she deserves.
“But I don’t want to go away!” I pull my hand free from hers and stop walking. I cross my arms over my chest, stomp my foot and glare at her. If I put up more of a fight, maybe she will forget where we are and hit me in front of witnesses, preferably the headmaster, who will then not let me into the school. I learned from a young age that being naughty was the only time I received any attention from my mother.
She turns around and approaches me, her steel gray eyes turning hard, her hands fisting at her sides. I bite my lip to keep the smug smile of satisfaction from appearing on my face as I know what that look means. I brace myself for the impact of her hand across my face, but to my surprise, she grips my arms instead and squeezes, not caring when I yelp out in pain.
“Listen closely, you little brat,” she leans in, whispering harshly into my ear. “You will keep your mouth shut and use this opportunity to make friends. Preferably friends whose parents are not only very wealthy, but also influential. You will pick your friends based on who their parents are. You will date boys based on who their parents are. You will stay out of trouble and play nice, even if they are wretched to you. And if a fat, pimply boy wants you to suck his small dick, you will do it if he’s the son of a duke!” With a hard shake, she lets go of me, turns on her heels and continues walking toward the front entrance of the school.
I rub my arms where her hands left red marks and glare at her retreating back in loathing. The one person I crave love and attention from, is the one who refuses to give it to me. My mother has made it crystal clear that children are not her forte. Her attention has always been focused on who her next conquest is and how much they are worth. I was mostly raised by nannies and babysitters instead of an attentive mother. She has always been an opportunist, especially since she claims her one mistake in life was falling in love with my father.
She met him when she was a waitress at a high-end restaurant. He was a captain in the 1st Armoured Division in the British Army. His charm and good looks were no match for my mother when he set his sights on her. She was pregnant within three months and they got married before my arrival. Right after my third birthday, he was deployed to Kuwait for the Gulf War and was a completely different man when he returned home six months later. The playful light that used to shine brightly from his green eyes was gone and in its place was fear, anxiety, and dread. Nightmares invaded his sleep and he turned to alcohol, hoping to forget his new memories from his time in the Persian Gulf. He was kicked out of the Army two months later for his PTSD diagnosis, sending him into a deeper spiral of depression.
My mother left him a short time later, bitterness forever in her veins from the loss of the man she once used to love.
Since her experience, my mother’s advice is to never fall in love with good-looking men. “Make yourself come first, Cora,” she said, year after year when another boyfriend bit the dust. “Meet men who come from money. Use your beauty and charm them into marriage so that you will be taken care of for the rest of your life.”
Turning out to be exactly like my mother is the last thing I want to do.
I just want to be loved, to finally get the attention that I deserve.
So I’ll become an actress, a famous one at that.
Because I want the whole world to know who Cora Gregory is.
And I want them all to bend to my will.
I want the attention.
I deserve the attention.
I will get the attention.
The only redeeming quality about this boarding school is that they have an exceptional theatre program. With that reminder, I begrudgingly follow my mother to the entrance. One of these students must have a connection in the entertainment industry and I am determined to find out who that is.
She presses the button on the intercom and announces herself when questioned by the voice through the speaker. A click and buzzing sound indicates that the door is now unlocked and we pull it open. We walk through the formal hall into the grand foyer, my eyes becoming wide at the chaotic scene of students in uniforms walking up and down the double staircases and through hallways to wherever their destinations might be. I take a deep breath and put on my mask of indifference as I catch men and women checking me out, whispering to themselves about who I may be.
A tall, lanky gentleman with a full head of gray hair in a brown suit walks toward us. “Welcome to Chackmore College, Mrs. Gregory. I am Headmaster Caldwell Aldrich and this is my assistant, Gretchen.” My mother shakes both of their hands be
fore their attention is drawn to me. “This must be Cora,” he says as his brown eyes give me the once over, his head nodding in approval at my attire. My mother purposely bought us new dresses, coats and boots for this visit, hoping we can fake the part of looking like we come from money.
“Why don’t we go into my office so you can fill out paperwork while we discuss our expectations of Cora here at Chackmore?” He extends his arm out for us to follow Gretchen to their offices and I immediately feel bile start to rise up my throat at the thought of my mother leaving me here. Despite my hatred for her, at the end of the day, she is the only family I’ve got.
“Where is the loo… I mean, restroom?” I quickly correct myself as my mother gives me a murderous look for not using the proper term for a toilet.
“It is right over there,” Gretchen says as she nods to a door along the wall behind me. “Why don’t you just meet us in the office once you are done?” I nod my head in acknowledgement as she points to the office door. I turn around and quickly make my way toward the bathroom. Once inside, I lock myself in a stall and try to control my rapid breathing, anxiety spreading into my lungs like smoke filling a burning building.
You will be just fine, Cora!
Think of it as the start of a new life!
You don’t need your mother!
This is your chance to go for your dreams!
I repeat this to myself until I start to believe my own words. I take a deep breath, stand up and exit the stall. I wash my hands and look at myself in the mirror. I want to give myself a confident smile, but my mother tells me smiling increases wrinkles. Instead, I wink at my reflection, square my shoulders back and hold my head high as I turn around to exit the bathroom.
The foyer seems to be empty as I start to walk through it back toward the office, but a movement from the stairwell to my right catches my eye as three boys descend the stairs, watching me. They look to be older, all three of them of athletic build. The hair on the back of my neck starts to rise as an uneasy feeling creeps over me with the way their mouths turn to sneers.
“Well, look what we have here, boys.” They reach the bottom of the stairwell and surround me before I have a chance to pass them. All three of them are tall and wearing their school uniforms of a navy blazer, yellow button down shirt with a red tie, and khaki slacks.
“Looks like we have some fresh meat.” A ginger haired boy to my left says as his eyes rake over my body salaciously.
“Yes, and isn’t she a pretty one!” I look to my right as the boy with black hair licks his lips, his eyes trained on my chest as my increased breathing draws attention to my breasts.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?” The boy standing in front of me asks. He could be considered good-looking with his blond hair and piercing light blue eyes, except I feel nothing but pure evil radiating off him.
“Cora!” I gasp in shock as my back hits the wall, not realizing I was walking backwards as they stalked toward me. I frantically look around for help, discouraged at the sight of two girls running by us.
“My name is Nate and these two here are Ed and Blake,” the blond says, as he uses his thumbs to indicate the other two boys. “If you do as we say and don’t cause any trouble, we will make sure your time here at Chackmore is…memorable,” he laughs and the sound sends chills up my spine. He leans in close and whispers in my ear, “Do you like to share, Cora? Because we sure do.” I recoil as he reaches out and traces his hand along my cheekbone.
“Looks like you are scaring her with your breath, Nate.”
A voice coming from behind them has all three boys turning to look around at the two boys coming our way. But with the way Nate, Ed and Blake back away from me once they recognize who it is, I can tell that these new boys are not part of their crowd.
“You are always so good at interrupting my fun, Harrington,” Nate says with disdain as the two new boys step between us.
“We want no part of what you call fun,” the other boy says and I notice he has an Irish accent instead of an English one. The two boys block me in and stare down the other three boys. Ed and Blake refuse to meet the eyes of the two boys and continue to move away from us.
“I don’t give a fuck who your daddy is, Sean. He isn’t here to protect you now,” Nate snidely remarks as he takes a step closer to Sean.
“Oh, but you should, Nate. Because of your last little stunt, you are skating on thin ice with Aldrich and it would only take one phone call from my father, telling him how you harassed a new student, for us to say goodbye to you forever. So, I advise that you start making better choices and keep your hands to yourself.”
Nate’s jaw starts to tick as he slowly starts to walk backwards. “See you around, Cora,” he says with a smirk and turns around to join the other boys. I breathe out a sigh of relief as I watch their retreating backs.
“I’m going to follow them to make sure they don’t come back,” Sean tells the boy still standing in front of me, who just nods his head in agreement. Sean looks at me and smiles, “Don't worry, lass, we will make sure they don’t hurt you.” He runs after them before I have a chance to thank him. Remember his name, I tell myself since not only did he come to my rescue, but Nate insinuated that this Sean fellow had a powerful father. I watch him follow the other three boys and notice that he has a decent body to go with his cute looks.
“Are you okay… Cora was it?” My attention is drawn to the boy now facing me and all thoughts of Sean completely vanish from my brain. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes behold this boy’s handsome face with aqua eyes that seem to want to read my soul. I swallow hard, trying to find my voice that his looks have robbed me of.
“Yes,” I stutter. “My name is Cora. Yours?” I squeak out, needing to know the name of the man of my dreams.
He smiles at me and I suddenly feel light headed as I have never seen someone as beautiful as he. “My name is Cal. Cal Harrington,” he says, his strong voice soothing my rattled nerves. “That other guy is my best mate, Sean Lindsey. I promise that as long as we’re around, we won’t let Nate and his asshole friends hurt you. Just make sure you are never out walking alone, okay?”
He looks me up and down, noticing my attire. He raises one of his eyebrows in question. “Are you meeting with Headmaster Aldrich right now since you are not in uniform?”
“Yes, my mother is meeting with him now. I was just on my way back to his office when those boys blocked my way there,” I explain, hoping that Cal really means what he says when offering to protect me.
“Why don’t I escort you back to his office?” He offers up his arm for me to take and all I can do is nod my head in agreement. He gives me another heart stopping smile and warning bells start to go off in my body as my mother’s advice starts to blare in my head.
Never fall in love with a good-looking man, Cora!
But, it’s now too late, as Cal Harrington has completely stolen my heart.
And I will stop at nothing to make him mine.
Forever!
1
Cora
Present Day
I open the door to my apartment and sigh in relief to finally be back home. I just got off the plane from shooting my latest movie for the last three months in different locations around the world and only have a small amount of time to rest before the press tour for another one of my movies begins. At least I will be with Cal during this press tour! I roll my suitcase into my bedroom and fall down onto my bed, exhaustion settling in.
What people don’t understand or see is how utterly exhausting it is being an actress. Auditions, meetings, rehearsal, wardrobe changes, memorizing your lines, traveling, waiting around in your trailer, press releases, award shows… the list is endless. Thank goodness I was in the right place at the right time, vacationing with Cal and Sean during one of our school breaks, when all three of us were discovered by a talent scout. The talent scout got us in the door, but we have all had to work our asses off in order to keep ourselves in the business. All
these years later, Cal and Sean are at the height of their careers while I still have to suck some director’s cock in order to even be considered for a role. Not to mention, I am still single, with Cal seeming to drift farther out of my reach.
“Damn you, Cal,” I say out loud to no one but myself. I get off the bed and go straight to the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. Once I pour a large glass of Pinot Noir, I sit down and look at the view out of my living room window. A view that should have been London, but instead is a view of a nasty, dirty lake.
Lake Michigan in Chicago.
If you asked me where I thought I would be in my life right now, the answer would’ve been being Cal Harrington’s wife and us living in London part time while we traveled the world together, taking turns shooting movies. I’m still striving for that kind of life, but instead, I’m living in a secret apartment that no one knows about in Chicago in order to follow his every move while he plays house with the mother of his children.
Never would I’ve imagined him falling in love with someone else. Nor would I’ve believed it would be with a commoner. I snort in disgust as an image of Jenna Pruitt comes to mind. I guess some might think she’s pretty… if you think a fat mouse with beady brown eyes is fucking pretty. I don’t understand what he sees in her. And her body… ugh! She looks like a small man with her muscled arms and legs. Why any man likes an athletic body in a woman is beyond me. I keep myself lean and tight, with the help of Pilates, cigarettes and cocaine. Food is a nuisance. I eat because I have to, but I try to get away with the bare minimum.
Edge of Desire: (Let Me In, Book 3) Page 1
