Alex Ryder - Revenge By Seduction

She accepted the rebuke with a weak smile of apology. ‘I…I suppose not.’

‘You’re damn right you haven’t. And the reason is obvious, isn’t it?’ Madge paused, eyed her thoughtfully for a moment, then asserted dryly, ‘That really must have been a night to remember if it’s still got you glassy-eyed after all this time.’ She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. ‘So tell me…woman to woman…are all the things I’ve been hearing about him true?’

‘What things?’ Catriona asked warily.

‘Is he as good in bed as they say he is?’

A question like that would have shocked her a month ago, which only went to show how sheltered and innocent her life had been in Kindarroch. But this was London and this was Madge, and between them both she was rapidly getting an education.

‘Can’t we discuss this tonight back at the flat?’ she asked in a frantic whisper.

‘No. I’m going away for a couple of days. I’m catching the evening flight to Paris. An old flame of mine has invited me over for a house-warming. He’s just bought a château.’

Catriona smiled to herself. Madge seemed to have enough old flames to set fire to a rain-soaked forest. ‘That sounds exciting,’ she said. ‘I hope you have a nice time.’

‘I will.’ Madge assured her. ‘He’s a sweet old thing. Now answer my question. Satisfy my curiosity. How would you rate Ryan Hind as a lover?’

‘I’ve no idea,’ she answered stiffly. ‘He was the first and quite possibly the last lover I’ve ever had, so I’ve no one else to compare him to, have I?’

Madge gave a delicate cough. ‘Pardon me. I was forgetting. Well, let’s put it another way. Did he make the earth move, as they say in novels? You don’t have to go into the details. A general impression will do.’

There was no way of getting out of this. Madge could be like a terrier after a rabbit when she wanted to. Catriona almost blushed, but managed to remain calm in spite of the memories and passionate emotions the question evoked.

Her strongest emotion was one of guilt at the willingness with which she’d surrendered. But there was also the undeniable fact that her own awakened sexual desire and the apparent loving tenderness he’d used to inflame that desire had been a combination impossible to resist.

His touch had been electrifying, and as his hands had explored and moulded and caressed every contour of her body she’d closed her eyes and let herself drown in a warm sea of sensual delight and rapture. She’d felt the vigorous hardening of his own yearning as he’d crushed her to him, then she’d clung to him in a fever as he’d lifted and cradled her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom.

His loving had been slow and exquisitely controlled, turning every nerve into incandescent flame until at last he’d thrust deeper and faster and brought her to a heart-stopping, dizzying climax. She’d gasped and moaned and raked her fingers down his back, only half hearing his own groan of satisfied release.

Suddenly she was brought back to earth by the sound of Madge’s amused voice, ‘All right! That dreamy look on your face says it all. Then I can take it that the stories about his prowess are all true?’

Catriona cleared her throat and said primly, ‘I was the only one wearing L-plates that night. He certainly seemed to know what he was doing.’

Madge raised her eyebrows. ‘Well, I should bloody well think so, considering the amount of practice he gets!’

Catriona toyed with her fork and wished that Madge would change the subject but Madge didn’t.

‘What puzzles me,’ she went on, ‘is why you were so surprised when you saw his picture in the paper and discovered that he was going with someone else. Surely you must have had your suspicions about him when you awoke in the morning and found your taxi fare on the table? I mean…how much of a hint does a girl need?’

She bit her lip, looked at Madge helplessly, then shook her head, more in wonder at her own innocence than anything else. ‘No…I didn’t. He’d already told me that he was a busy businessman and I thought that since I’d still been asleep he’d left me undisturbed out of consideration. And, anyway, there was that note promising to get in touch with me as soon as he got back.’ She gave a laugh of self-mockery. ‘That shows the kind of fool I was, doesn’t it?’

Madge regarded her with sorrow. ‘Your misfortune was to fall in love with him. Any other girl would have realised that he’d only been looking for a one-night stand, but you’re so guileless and innocent. I don’t like saying this, dear, but you’re going to make an even bigger fool of yourself if you keep on brooding about it like this. You have your whole adult life ahead of you. All men aren’t like Ryan Hind. Some day you’ll meet someone decent, who really loves you, and you’ll get married and raise a lovely family.’

‘And how can I tell if a man is decent or a…a rat like him?’ she demanded hotly. ‘I was wrong once and I could be wrong the next time, couldn’t I?’ Her face hardened. ‘Well, there won’t be a next time. I’ll make damn sure of that.’

Madge sighed in frustration. ‘It’s just as I feared.’ She pressed her lips together, then said, ‘You, young lady, are in danger of turning into a disillusioned and sour old maid. We’ll have to do something about that before it’s too late, won’t we?’

Catriona stared at Madge in silence, her blue eyes perplexed. This was her own personal problem…a problem of her own making, caused by her own stupidity. Madge’s sympathy was understandable, but she was acting as if she was the one who’d been betrayed.

‘You are suffering from a personality crisis,’ Madge went on relentlessly. ‘You’re beginning to lose your sparkle and your youthful exuberance, and that’s bad for business.’

Bad for business? She gave Madge a long, perceptive look, then smiled wryly. ‘You’re a terrible liar, Madge. That isn’t the reason at all, is it?’

Madge returned the smile, then shrugged. ‘I know, but the truth is too embarrassing to admit.’

‘Huh! I doubt if you’ve ever been embarrassed in your life.’

‘No. I don’t suppose I have,’ Madge admitted cheerfully. ‘But then I’ve always been a selfish bitch. The only person I ever really cared about was myself. But they say that every woman has a mother instinct. Well, mine has been about twenty years late in arriving, so let’s just say that I’m trying belatedly to make amends.’ She paused, and for a moment her eyes were filled with a sadness that suddenly made her seem vulnerable, then she brightened up. ‘Just look on me as a shop-soiled old fairy godmother who hates to see you unhappy.’

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