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the world.
    He had left Johnny Mac with Richie and Jamie to tie up the loose ends of the deal, and then he had driven here with a feeling of anticipation inside him that he had not felt in years.
    She looked stunning, even in her cheap market clothes and shoes. As he ushered her into the restaurant, he saw the looks she was getting from most of the men in the place and he felt an inordinate pride that she was with him. He pushed his wife Caroline and his son Michael to the back of his mind. Once he had fucked her she would lose her appeal, he was confident of that. It was the conquest with him more than the sex.
    Her youth did give him pause, but he consoled himself with the fact if she was brought up by Eileen Riley she wasn’t going to be a raging virgin. She was sixteen and he was twenty-eight − only twelve years between them − and in another few years, that wouldn’t seem so great an age difference. It was all relative, as his old mum used to say.
    ‘Want a glass of wine? I think we know you’re not a vodka girl by now.’ He laughed at his own wit and was surprised to find he was actually feeling nervous. It was her eyes, so trusting, so fucking lovely.
    ‘Please.’ She was clearly even more nervous than he was and his heart went out to her. He wondered if he was getting soft in his old age.
    ‘I’ll order a bottle, darling, a good one.’
    She nodded compliantly, unsure how to answer him. This was so far out of her usual life she just didn’t know how she was supposed to react. She was scared, if truth be told.
    Cain Moran was all good-natured bonhomie but he could see that this was a girl completely out of her depth. What had seemed a wonderful adventure was frightening her, so he kept topping up her wineglass. He was going to get his leg over tonight if it was the last thing he did on this planet. She was exquisite, and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted a woman in his life.
    When she laughed at one of his jokes, he realised the wine was finally doing its job and now all that was left was for him to do his. Happy days.

Chapter Sixteen
    Jenny looked around her at the apartment Cain had brought her to. She was half drunk, and she knew in her heart that she should never have agreed to come here with him for a last drink.
    The room was beautiful − velvet curtains and antique furniture. She was overawed by her surroundings, and she perched precariously on a leather sofa. Cain handed her a glass of brandy, sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. She settled against him and, as he felt the contours of her body, he was almost breathless at the prospect of what was to come. She looked up into his eyes and he saw such trust there that he felt a momentary pang of guilt at what he was doing to her. He lowered his head and kissed her; she tasted of brandy and garlic − not a bad combination at this particular moment. She smelled of cheap scent and deodorant, and he wondered at how she had such a spectacular effect on him, making him feel fifteen again.
    ‘Do you live here? I mean, is this your wife’s home too?’
    He laughed. ‘You’re joking, darling! If my wife knew I was here with you I’d be looking for someone with a bollock donor card! No, this is my little pied à terre, for when I’m in town and can’t get back.’
    She smiled, the wine making her even more mellow along with the brandy. ‘So this is where you bring your girlfriends, then.’
    He leered at her saucily. ‘Got it in one, darling. I don’t think my old woman would be too thrilled if I brought them round the house!’
    He was beautiful, and she didn’t care if he was using her. There was something about this man that made her feel like never before. She felt looser somehow, but she guessed rightly that was the wine and the brandy as well as Cain’s company. If all she got was one night then that is how it had to be but, for the first time in her life, she was aware of herself, and the power she had over someone. Men had