She lifted her chin, met his gaze. “Keep your kisses to yourself, or better yet share them with those women who make it their business to fawn over you. I am not one of them.”
She definitely wasn’t. In the five years they had known each other, he had formed a fairly good picture of the women that came in and out of his life. His list wasn’t as enormous as Blade’s, but he could boast of having women whenever he chose since they seemed to enjoy throwing themselves at him. Although he wasn’t a moody person, he was selective. Not just any woman could share his bed. He avoided those who might be candidates for a serious relationship. He didn’t want or need a woman, especially not now. In fact, he couldn’t even imagine becoming involved with someone in the near or distant future. His life was built around his rodeo career. He enjoyed what he did and it was what he’d wanted ever since his uncle Jake had given him his first horse at six and had taught him how to rope his first steer at eight. He had won his first steer-roping title at twelve.
“Don’t take it so personally, Mac,” he heard himself saying, even though that kiss had been the most personal thing he had shared with a woman. Oh, he had kissed women before, but never with the same intensity and lack of control as this.
“I won’t.”
“Good. Now I guess you’d better go take your seat if you want to see all of the show.” He knew he sounded cool and distant, nothing like the fire and heat he was still feeling in his bones. Mac was the last person who needed to know just how he was feeling. Just how much he had needed that kiss from her. And only her.
He forced those tempting thoughts from his mind to keep from pulling her back into his arms and kissing her again. He took a step back and came close to asking her to meet him afterward when he and some of the guys—along with their favorite girls—would be going out to one of the nearby restaurants after tonight’s show. But the lastthing he needed or wanted was to be in Mackenzie’s presence any more than he had to. He had kept his promise to Great-grandma Laverne and had invited her to the rodeo. His great-grandma claimed it would be so ungentlemanly to show up in her hometown and not at least invite her. Okay, he had done it, and as far as he was concerned, that was enough.
“See you around and thanks for the ticket, Luke.”
“You’re welcome.”
Then he watched as she turned to leave, and thought how nice she looked in her jeans and pullover top. And she had a walk that was perfect. She could have been a model easily since she had the looks, height, shape, and size for it. He felt the racing of his pulse and the pounding of the blood in his veins at the same time he heard Bobby Joe call his name. He tried ignoring all three.
“Here, take this.”
He glanced up, but only after Mackenzie had disappeared in the crowd, to find his good friend Camden Bannister standing beside him offering a plastic cup with a cold soda.
He took it, grateful, since he definitely needed to cool his overheated body down some. “Thanks,” he said, taking a big gulp.
“So, was that her?” Camden asked, raising his brows ever so slightly.
“Her, who?”
“The attorney. The one you talk about sometimes.”
Luke frowned. Did he actually talk about her? Damn. Things were worse than he’d thought. “Yeah, that’s her.”
“She’s definitely a looker.”
He shot Camden a glare and then quickly decided he couldn’t get upset because what Camden had said was true. Mackenzie was a looker. She was also a pretty damn good kisser even when she wasn’t trying to be.
“So, will you be joining us after the rodeo or have you made other plans?” Camden asked.
Luke raised a brow as he took another sip of his drink. When he lowered the cup from his mouth, he said, “Nothing has changed, Cam. I’m joining you and the guys to celebrate our victory.”
“You feel that lucky, huh?” Camden asked, grinning.
Luke remembered the good-luck kiss he’d shared with Mackenzie and gave him a smile that touched each corner of his lips. “Yeah, I feel that lucky.”
Mackenzie leaned forward in her seat, watching with rapt interest and anticipation as steer ropers and daredevil bull riders took center stage in the arena. The crowd surrounding her was energized and she couldn’t help being affected by it. Again she was reminded of the last rodeo that she had attended with her parents, the year before they had gotten killed in that plane crash.
Her mother had been a Cherokee Black Freedman and her father a full-blooded Cherokee. She had been their only child. After their deaths she had remained in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, under the care of her paternal grandfather. After he died she was sent away to Boston to live with one of her mother’s distant relatives, Aunt Gloria. At eighteen, she had made the decision to return to the Cherokee Nation. After college she had a job offer from a well-known law firm and had made the move to Shreveport. A few years later, a broken heart had brought her back home to Oklahoma.
Although she tried not to think about it, she couldn’t help but remember Luke’s impulsive kiss. What had he been thinking? She knew the answer without giving the question much thought. For him it had been all in fun, nothing more than that. She seriously doubted his lips were still tingling, or he was still trying to downplay the adrenaline rush it had caused. Men. Did they ever take anything seriously? She had found out the hard way that they didn’t thanks to Lawrence. Those lessons had come hard but would stay with her forever. Trust was something she wouldn’t give easily to another man, and her love was something no other male would ever claim. She just didn’t need the heartache and pain.
A short while later, after intermission, it was time for the steer ropes. She glanced down at the printed program supplied by the Professional rodeo Cowboy Association. It seemed that Luke was last man up. She couldn’t help but read his career highlights and found them impressive. Just this year he had been the all-around and steer-roping winner at the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Frontier Days; had taken first place at the Grand National rodeo in San Francisco; and had set the PRCA team-roping record in Utah.
An hour or so later she stretched out her legs thinking her seat was very comfortable as well as accommodating. She had a front-row seat close to the chute that Luke would be coming out of. It wasn’t long before she saw him. She leaned forward and placed her arms across the top rail to get a better look at him. She tried to ignore the flutter in her heart as she watched the chute team assist him as he swung his long legs over his horse’s back. Beneath the black Stetson on his head he looked fearless, strong, and invincible. Handsome as sin. And just like that night five years ago, as uncanny as it seemed, his gaze found her in the stands, held a moment before an irresistible smile touched his lips. She couldn’t help but smile back, thinking his smile was contagious.
Apparently she wasn’t the only female who thought his smile had been just for her. The cheers that came from the women in the crowd indicated he was a cowboy who was appreciated in every sense of the word, and although he might be a heartache just waiting to happen to some, Luke Madaris had still won the hearts of most of the women there that night.
The arena suddenly quieted, and Mackenzie watched as the gate flew up and the steer was released. Seconds later Luke, riding expertly and skillfully, was right on its tail. In less than three heart-stopping seconds, Luke was off his horse with his rope in his hand. Dirt and dust fleweverywhere but it was evident who was in control; before anyone could bat an eye, Luke had the steer on the ground and efficiently roped.
When he began walking away the people in the stands broke into cheers, whistles, and applause. Luke hadn’t made it back to the chute when the judges posted their scores. There was no doubt he was the winner. The crowd went wild and the announcer’s voice beckoned Luke to come back onto the field to take a bow for his cheering fans.
Then suddenly everything got quiet and Mackenzie saw why. Behind Luke a chute gate flew open and out tore the most ferocious-looking bull Mackenzie had ever seen. A scream caught in h
er throat as she watched everyone go into action to stop the bull, which was headed right in Luke’s direction. Clowns tried doing everything they could to distract the bull and some got more than they bargained for, when the animal’s horned head sent a number of them flying.
From where Mackenzie sat it wasn’t apparent whether Luke had managed to jump out of the way before the bull could charge him. All she saw was that a number of cowboys had finally gotten the bull under control and were returning him to the pen. But Luke was lying flat on the ground, unmoving. Paramedics were rushing out on the field with a stretcher.
While fear of the unknown gripped the suddenly hushed crowd, Mackenzie whispered his name out loud. “Luke.” And then she sprang from her seat, threw her legs over the top rail, and was running down from the stands and toward the fallen cowboy.
Chapter 2
“How is he, Camden?”
Mackenzie asked the question as she looked up into the charcoal-gray eyes of the man whom she knew to be a close friend of Luke’s. Security and paramedics, assuming she was just one of Luke’s adoring fans, had stopped her from getting close, but Camden had grabbed her hand after quickly introducing himself and pulled her through the crowd to see firsthand the extent of Luke’s injuries. He’d told anyone who asked that she had a right to be there since she was a very close friend of Luke’s.
She could tell from the way some people stared at her, some of the same ones who had probably witnessed the kiss she and Luke had shared earlier, that they assumed she and Luke were an item. She decided not to worry about what anyone thought. Luke was her main concern. She had ridden in Camden’s truck while following the ambulance transporting Luke to the nearest hospital.
Mackenzie could tell Camden’s smile was forced as he said, “A busted knee and cracked rib, which means he’ll be out of competition for a while. I figure for at least six weeks. But at least he’s alive. He’s damn lucky that Scar Face, who is one mean son of a bitch, didn’t rip him in two.”
Mackenzie closed her eyes as she relived that moment when she had seen the bull charging at Luke, thinking she hadn’t been so frightened in her life.
“Luke wants to see you.”
Mackenzie snapped her eyes back open and met Camden’s gaze. “Me?”
“Yes. He’s back from being X-rayed and the doctor and nurse are in there with him now. They’ve assigned him to a room and I figure he’ll be here for a day or so. And although they’ve given him something for the pain I can tell he’s still hurting like hell.”
“And he wants to see me?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
Camden chuckled. “Hell, he’s been asking for you for a while, even before I told him you were here at the hospital. He knows the entire thing was televised on ESPN and figures his family is probably frantic with worry right about now. It’s my guess that he’d like you to contact them and assure them he’s doing okay. The last thing he wants is for them to show up here to baby him.”
He paused and then added sheepishly. “I could call them myself, but if I were to tell them he’s doing fine, they may not believe me since I’ve kept the truth about his other injuries from them in the past, and they know it.”
Mackenzie nodded. “Okay, I can do that. I’ll contact his family.” She figured she’d call Blade and Slade first, and they would handle things from there.
Moments later, after talking with Blade, she was walking with Camden toward Luke’s hospital room. Without bothering to knock, Camden pushed open the door just in time to see a nurse—a very young one at that—about to straddle Luke’s body.
“Excuse us,” Mackenzie said sharply. The woman jumped, almost falling off the bed in the process. When she looked over at them, her face showed her embarrassment, while one of pure relief was reflected on Luke’s. Evidently the brazen woman had been about to take advantage of the fact that he was drugged with painkillers and intended to have her way with him.
As an attorney who had handled a number of paternity cases involving high-profile individuals and celebrities, Mackenzie knew that some women would seize any opportunity to impregnate themselves by a famous person or a person known to have a nice bank account.
“I—I was about to take his temperature,” the nurse said, pulling the hem of her uniform down.
“Yes, I just bet you were,” Mackenzie said, coming to stand before the woman and looking her up and down. “Find yourself another patient to take care of. I don’t want you to come near Mr. Madaris again,” she added in a firm voice.
From the expression that suddenly appeared on the woman’s face it was evident she didn’t like what Mackenzie had said or the tone of voice she’d used. She flung her hair back from her face and asked haughtily, “And just who are you supposed to be?”
“His fiancée,” Camden said before Mackenzie could respond. Although Mackenzie didn’t refute what he said, her response would have been totally different. She would have claimed to have been Luke’s attorney and nothing more.
“And if I were you I’d do what she said. She’s a person who wouldn’t hesitate to sue your panties off if you messed with her,” Camden added in a sharper tone than the one Mackenzie had used.
Mackenzie decided to give what Camden had said time to sink in before she added, “We walked in on you about to behave in an unprofessional manner with a patient who is not in his right frame of mind due to the medication he’s been given. If you need your job, you’ll make it your business to see that he’s assigned to another nurse.”
Evidently the woman knew Mackenzie meant business, and without saying anything else she merely glared at Mackenzie before turning to leave the room.
Camden shook his head. “She’s one bold, brassy, and assy woman. I can’t believe what she was trying to do.”
“Believe it. I’ve handled enough paternity cases to know it can and does happen to unsuspecting men. They end up fathering babies but can’t recall anything about the conception mainly because they were drugged. Date rape can happen both ways. In the end most of the men pay the woman off with a huge sum of money to avoid causing a scandal that can hurt their careers.”
“Mac. Cam.”
They turned at the sound of Luke’s strained voice. His eyes were glazed and he’d barely been able to get out their names. They quickly walked over to the bed and saw he had been strapped down. That angered Mackenzie even more.
“Thanks,” Luke whispered in a hoarse voice. “I wasn’t interested in her.”
“Yeah, tell us anything,” Camden said, laughing as he undid the straps. “You were just going to lie there while she had her way with you. Who do you think you’re kidding?”
Instead of answering his friend, Luke glanced over at Mackenzie. “Please. Call Blade for me.”
Mackenzie came to stand closer to the bed. “I already have. He told me to tell you to just get better and that he and Slade would take care of the rest.”
Luke nodded, and Mackenzie realized it was taking a lot out of him to even do that. And then without saying anything else, he dozed off.
It was almost a full hour before Luke awoke and Mackenzie was aware the moment that he did so. She glanced over to find him staring at her. She stood up to approach his bed the exact moment that Camden returned from getting a cup of coffee. It had to be past two in the morning.
“How do you feel?” she asked him in a quiet tone.
“Sore.”
He then glanced up at Camden. “Who let that damn bull out?”
Camden shrugged. “The sorry truth is that no one knows. But you best believe Gilmore is going to get to the bottom of it. Somebody’s head is going to roll behind this one for being careless.”
Mackenzie could tell from Luke’s expression that Camden’s words had satisfied him somewhat. But still, she figured he had to be pretty upset knowing he would have to skip competing for a while. “Has the doctor said anything about how long you will be here?” she decided to ask him.
He glanced
back over at her and a part of her inwardly shivered from the impact of his gaze. She actually felt a tug deep in her stomach. She slowly took a deep breath, wondering what in the world was happening to her. “Yes, and that’s what I want to talk to you about,” he said in a low tone.
He glanced back over to Camden. “Can you give us a few moments alone?”
Camden’s face broke into a grin. “Sure thing. I think I’m going to find that pretty little nurse and see if she’d be interested in me instead, since things didn’t work out with you.”
Mackenzie raised her brow, hoping the man was merely joking, but since she’d just met him a few hours ago, she couldn’t be sure. Evidently, Luke figured out what she was thinking and said, “No, he’s not kidding.” His grin spread wide—at least as wide as his bruised cheeks would let it. “He’s as much of a ladies’ man as Blade,” he added.
“Oh.” She then asked, “So you remember the incident with the nurse?”
He nodded. “Yes, I remember. I wasn’t that drugged but I was strapped down and there was nothing I could do to get her off me. Having sex with any woman was the last thing on my mind.”
When he momentarily closed his eyes Mackenzie thought that it evidently hadn’t been the last thing on that woman’s mind. She had looked pretty determined to have her way with him. The more Mackenzie had thought about it, the madder she’d gotten, and after Luke had drifted off to sleep earlier, she had decided to bring the incident to the attention of the hospital authorities after all. She did not want the nurse to get away with what she had done. When Mackenzie met with the floor’s nurse supervisor she was told that the nurse in question had surprised them when she had left that night, actually walking out without turning in a resignation. However, Mackenzie managed to get the nurse’s name, so she could file a report and have the woman’s behavior documented.
Mackenzie let her eyes assess Luke, noting the cut under his right eye as well as the scrape on his shoulder, the portion of him that was not bandaged. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” she decided to ask before he drifted off to sleep again.
Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) Page 2