Wild and Wanton Read Online Free PDF Page A

Then Luisa Delmar bid her to turn round.
    This done, with Lindsay all too aware of the sparkle in Nick’s tropical-blue eyes, she had to swallow to meet the paler ones of his grandmother.
    â€˜Mmmmm. Pity you aren’t taller. On the other hand, you do have the grace of movement which height brings, and you’re all there in the right places. Nick has an unfortunate and most infuriating habit of invariably being right. Who backed you into that dress? The color is fantastic, the perfect foil for your fairness. But the style! Oh, my dear!’ Luisa said, shuddering delicately.
    â€˜Never mind the dress,’ Nick Farraday instructed. ‘Remove it from the body in your mind and then tell me that you don’t see what I see.’
    A dry chuckle found its way up the old woman’s throat. ‘Dear boy, I’m positive that I don’t see what you see.’
    â€˜Don’t be naughty, Luisa,’ he said turning to Lindsay, Nick Farraday further admonished, ‘Don’t encourage her.’
    â€˜How am I encouraging her?’ Lindsay gasped.
    â€˜By blushing.’
    â€˜Wouldn’t you blush if someone mentally stripped you?’
    â€˜I doubt it very much. Did I?’
    Damn him! Lindsay’s blush deepened as she remembered how she had envisioned him in swim-trunks against a backdrop of white sand and blue sky.
    â€˜What are you mumbling about?’ Luisa Delmar demanded querulously. ‘You know my ears aren’t as good as they used to be. Speak up!’
    â€˜Don’t count on that,’ Nick Farraday counseled Lindsay in a wicked aside before turning back to the bed. ‘Yes, Luisa. Now, look at Lindsay and see it. Woman awakening. The bud about to blossom. You’ve got to agree that she’s perfect.’
    â€˜Mmmmm,’ Luisa Delmar said.
    A vibrant note of excitement entered Nick Farraday’s voice. ‘Can’t you feel that . . . allure? It’s there, I tell you!’
    â€˜I see the possibility. Don’t rush me; you know I like to take my time. I’m still disturbed by what you’re seeing. I’m not convinced that you aren’t looking at the girl on a more personal level.’
    â€˜Rubbish! You’re creating difficulties where none exist.’
    â€˜Am I, Nick?’ Looking at Lindsay, Luisa Delmar said, ‘You must think us very rude, talking over your head as we are. Sit down, here on the edge of my bed. That’s better,’ she added as Lindsay obeyed. ‘Now we’re cozier. As you see, I’m having my own private party.’ She waved a beringed hand at the nightstand, which contained food and champagne. ‘A glass of champagne for Lindsay and something for her to eat,’ she instructed Nick Farraday, ‘and I will try to explain. But before I begin, I must ask two things of you, Lindsay. One, even though I don’t intend to tell you much at this stage, things that may mean little to you would mean more to our competitors, and months of planning, not to mention the expense involved, would come to nothing. So, anything you hear must remain behind sealed lips. Have I your promise?’
    â€˜Yes, Madame.’
    â€˜Good. The second thing I ask—no, command—is your absolute honesty. Have I got that, too?’
    â€˜That’s easily granted. One of my failings is that I’m often too honest.’
    â€˜Yes, that
can
be a failing,’ the old lady observed wryly.
    â€˜Champagne and something to nibble at,’ Nick Farraday said, pressing a glass and a plate into Lindsay’s hands.
    Lindsay didn’t want anything to eat, and she was intoxicated enough by events, but Luisa Delmar had decreed that she must have these things, and she wasn’t brave enough to refuse. She didn’t think anyone, including Nick Farraday, would dare to disobey this fascinating lady. She took a sip from her glass and the interrogation began.
    At first Luisa Delmar