Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels)

by Brenda Jackson

  The intensity of his gaze made heat settle low in her stomach. And when he shifted his eyes to her lips, she felt more than heat. She felt a rumbling in her stomach that had nothing to do with a missed meal. And when he bent his head and lowered his mouth to hers, she was more than ready to receive him.

  And receive him she did, on a breathless sigh, which only gave him the opportunity to deepen the kiss, take it to another level and then some. She gripped his shoulders thinking he had introduced her to a different form of kissing. He mated with her mouth, taking the edge off her day and at the same time clearing her mind. All she could do was return the kiss as unabashedly as he gave it.

  When he released her mouth sometime later, her body quivered at the loss. Before she could say anything—not sure at that point what it would be—he swooped back down to her mouth for a quick lick, brushing against her lips with his tongue.

  Satisfied, he gave her a smile; the same one that had endeared him to her for life. “So,” she asked when she was able to pull air through her lungs, “what’s cooking?”

  His smile widened in a way that made a dimple appear in his cheek. “Another boring casserole.”

  She chuckled. “Trust me. Your casseroles are anything but boring. In fact, I can’t think of a single boring thing about you, Luke Madaris.”

  “Prove it.”

  No problem, she thought, and immediately pulled his mouth down to hers. They stood there and for the next few moments by silent mutual assent they made time for a playful interlude. As if he sensed her body’s stress and had somehow detected her inner frustrations from the day, with deliberate precision and a meticulousness that had her moaning, he used his tongue to stroke away any tension and anxiety. By the time he had finished, she was panting, barely able to stand on her feet.

  “Now for your bath,” he whispered close to her ear.

  “My bath?” she asked, trying to regain the senses she always lost during the kiss.

  “Yes, I already ran your bathwater. All you have to do is take off your clothes and get in the tub and play in the bubbles.”

  Mac thought that sounded heavenly. She removed her hands from around his neck to slide down to his chest, then lower to cup him through the material of his jeans. She felt the way his body responded and when she looked into his eyes, she saw heavy desire staring back at her. “And will you get into the tub with me?” she leaned close to ask in a seductive tone.

  “Tempting, sweetheart, but no,” he said, taking a step back. “I’m going to get dinner ready and placed on the table.”

  Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. It was as if he were determined to stay in control tonight. Why? “Is anything wrong, Luke?”

  He didn’t immediately answer. Instead he met her gaze and she couldn’t read anything in his eyes. But that funny feeling wouldn’t go away.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong,” he finally said. “But we need to talk and we’ll do so over dinner.”

  Mackenzie wondered what they had to talk about. What did he want to say to her that required him to deny them both pleasure right now.

  “Mac?”

  She blinked and then realized she’d just been standing there. “Yes?”

  “Your water is getting cold. We’ll talk over dinner,” he murmured in a low tone.

  She felt her throat tighten but got out the words anyway. “All right, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  And then she was rushing off toward the bathroom. She had a strong feeling that her bad day was about to get worse.

  Chapter 20

  As usual the casserole Luke had cooked was excellent. However, it could have been topped with vanilla ice cream and garnished with glazed walnuts and Mackenzie would still have had a hard time forcing it down her throat.

  She had a feeling about what Luke was going to say, and at the moment she didn’t want to hear it. Just as well, since it seemed he wasn’t in a talkative mood either. It reminded her of the old days when he’d first arrived and they sat across from each other at the kitchen table and barely exchanged a single word. But that was before the time in the kitchen when he had taken her—or she had taken him—in that very chair he was sitting in. And it was before all those times, too numerous to count and too precious to forget, when he would make love to her until she moaned and groaned while teetering on the edge of pleasure and then plunging her there with a force that could rob her of her senses in one climactic scream.

  She always found it utterly amazing how her body would ripple in anticipation even before he touched her. Just knowing what was to come kept her cloaked in sensual awareness, made her body want him even when it should have had enough. And that was one of the problems. With Luke there was never enough. She had an unquenchable hunger, a desire that kept going and going. And all it took was a look from him. A smile. A touch.

  She would become all hot and bothered, all hungry and greedy, so quintessentially needy. So—

  “I take it you had a bad day.”

  His words made her glance up and she wished she hadn’t. For some reason her gaze went straight to his lips. Lips that liked kissing her, tasting her, and a tongue that could send her over the edge with a skill that he ought to patent. And just knowing that skillful tongue was behind such beautiful lips had her senses purring, heat moving low to settle in one particular part of her body.

  “Mac?”

  She blinked and her gaze snapped to his eyes. “Yes?”

  “Did you have a bad day?”

  She shrugged as she tried to continue eating her food. “It hasn’t been the best. First thing this morning I got a call saying that the judge has set a date for our hearing against Whitedyer. Then I visited Mr. Coroni and found out that he’s really nervous about what’s going to happen and there was no way I could assure him that he had no reason to be nervous. Then when I got back to my office I saw that the city had sent a letter of condemnation on his property.”

  Luke arched a brow. “A condemnation letter?”

  “Yes, it’s standard procedure in an eminent domain case so I really should not have been surprised. A government body, in this case our city, supposedly acting in the public’s best interest, orders the company to condemn the property. Usually that’s done before attorneys can formulate a case for their plaintiffs. But in this case, I was able to represent Mr. Coroni based on the support he was receiving. So in a way, although he is the plaintiff, I’m representing a group that was organized to support him. The letter was annoying because it ordered him to move off the property while we’re still in litigation. It’s as if they assume they’re going to win.”

  Luke didn’t say anything. But she could tell by the way his hand tightened around his fork that what she’d said had angered him. “Where is he supposed to go?”

  “Nowhere if I have anything to do with it. I’ve filed an injunction to block the condemnation and I’m hoping Judge Ivory will approve it. He’s up for reelection next year and now he’s between a rock and a hard place. Some citizens support Whitedyer but others do not.”

  “So what’s next?” Luke asked.

  “Now through me they will make him an offer, which they’ve done once before and he turned them down. Last time they offered him two million dollars.”

  Luke let out a whistle. “And he turned it down?”

  Mackenzie nodded. “Yes. I suspect they will make him another offer before the date of the hearing to avoid going to court. If they want the land bad enough they might double it.”

  “And you don’t think he’ll take it?”

  She shook her head. “For him it’s not about the money. It’s about keeping something that he feels belongs to him.”

  A few moments passed and they were quiet again. Deciding it was time to change the subject and finally find out what he wanted to talk to her about, she placed her fork down and said, “Okay, Luke, what is it? What do you want to talk to me about?”

  He stared at her for a moment before placing his own fork down
. “I got a call from Cam today.”

  She nodded. “And?”

  “A rodeo, the first outfit that we toured with, the Bill Picket International rodeo, will be in Los Angeles next week. It will be too soon for me to complete except for maybe one event. Depending on what the doctor says on Thursday, of course.”

  She felt her lungs beginning to burn and swallowed deeply. “And which event is that?”

  “The relay race. It will be just what I need to ease back into things. I’ll be riding Cisco and will know how much I can handle.”

  She wanted to give him a reassuring smile but knew if she tried doing so she would probably fail miserably. “So when are you leaving?”

  “Saturday afternoon. And again that depends on whether the doctor says I’m good to go. He said four to six weeks recuperation time and it’s been four weeks.”

  She nodded again and resumed eating her food. There was no doubt in her mind the doctor would say he would be good to go, just like there was no doubt in her mind that he would be going. But why was hearing that he was leaving bothering her when she’d known that he would? Why did the thought of not waking up beside him any longer send a lonely chill down her spine? There would be no more casseroles waiting for her when she walked through the door. No more hot and torrid kisses to greet her whenever she’d had a bad day, and no more of Luke’s lovemaking putting her to sleep each night.

  “Mac?”

  She forced her head up and met his gaze. She loved him and wondered if he saw the truth in her eyes. Probably not. “Yes?”

  “We knew I would be leaving one day and—”

  “Hey, no sweat,” she said, deciding to stop whatever he was about to say. “It was enjoyable while it lasted but we both knew it wasn’t forever, Luke. I’m fine,” she lied. But then truthfully, she added, “And I’m going to miss you.”

  She watched Luke blow out a frustrated breath before slowly pushing away from the table. And then he was there, standing beside her and offering her his hand. “And I’m going to miss you too.”

  She looked up into his eyes as she placed her hand in his. He then gently assisted her to her feet. The moment she stood he was pulling her into his arms and taking her mouth like he needed this kiss as much as she did. He needed to taste her passion, feed on it, feed off it, and do what she planned to do, store it inside of her when they were no longer together. She would keep busy. She certainly had plenty to do. Farley would make sure of that. She would have to be on her toes, although she’d rather be on her back in bed somewhere with Luke. But that wouldn’t be happening. When he left on Saturday he wouldn’t be coming back.

  She plastered her body against his, needing to feed off his strength. Okay, he was leaving but she would make sure he missed her when he did go. This would be an affair he would remember.

  And so she returned his kiss with a force she hoped would jar his senses, ram his nerves. She felt him quiver and deliberately let her hips settle in the alcove of his thighs. And she knew that tonight and those remaining nights until he left would belong only to them.

  “So, did you find out anything?” Clayton asked Alex the moment he walked into his office and sat down in the chair across from his desk.

  Alex rubbed his hand down his face. “Not sure, so you might want to grab Syneda so I can tell you both at the same time.”

  It took Clayton less than a minute to summon his wife. She swept into the room with her mass of golden-bronze hair flying around her shoulders. She smiled at Alex. “How are you holding up, Dad?”

  Alex grinned as he stood and offered her his seat but she waved to decline. “I’m holding up just fine,” he said, sitting back down. “Had I known fatherhood was so much fun, I would have gotten Christy pregnant a long time ago.”

  Clayton frowned. “No, you would not have,” he said with an edge in his voice.

  Syneda rolled her eyes. “I’m sure Alex meant after they were married, Clayton, so please stop looking like you want to hurt somebody. You’re reminding me of Dex.” She smiled over at Alex. “So what have you found?”

  “Nothing, which has me suspicious?”

  Syneda raised an arched brow. “Why would that have you suspicious?”

  “Because in my line of work I’ve discovered if anything is too good to be true, usually it isn’t. Then on the drive over here while I was talking to Christy on the mobile phone, the reporter in her asked a lot of questions; especially after I told her what happened to Mac’s office and Jake’s cows.”

  “What kind of questions did she ask?” Clayton said, knowing how inquisitive his baby sister could be.

  He moved from behind his desk and sat on the edge, freeing his chair for his wife. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, as long as she was standing, his attention would be on her legs and not what Alex was saying.

  When Syneda took her seat, Alex continued. “If the intent of those two incidents was to scare Mac off the case, then why not go to the source, which is Mr. Coroni? He’s an old man, so why not go about scaring him instead of Mac? After all he’s the one holding back, the one who owns the land with no intention to ever sell. Mac is merely representing him or, in this case, the group of people banded together to support him.”

  Syneda and Clayton exchanged glances. Then Syneda spoke. “Umm, Christy does have a good point. But I think the reason has something to do with Whitedyer’s attorney. At first he threw subtle hints that it would be in Mac’s best interest to get off the case.”

  “Yes,” Alex agreed. “But from what I was able to dig up on Lewis Farley, he is the kind of attorney who likes the attention to be on him in the courtroom. I think the first time he saw Mac he figured she might be a liability, since more than likely the focus would shift off him onto her.”

  “Especially if there were any male jurors,” Syneda said, smiling, shaking her head slowly as she followed Alex’s train of thought. She not only followed what he was insinuating but totally agreed with it. She couldn’t help but remember the night of the auction five years ago and how the moment Mackenzie had come forward to bid on Ashton, the entire room got silent, and the eyes of most of the men there that night, including Clayton’s, had nearly popped out of their sockets. Mac was a very beautiful woman.

  “Farley is just that much of a jerk?” Clayton asked.

  “Seems that way. I was able to get the videotapes of a few courtroom cases he was involved with,” Alex said. “The man is the drama king.”

  Syneda shook her head. She knew a few such attorneys who made it their business to use the courtroom as their showroom. Instead of simply presenting their case, they spent their time delivering a performance they felt worthy of an Oscar. “Okay, there’s nothing we can do about Farley but make sure Mac is well prepared,” she said. “However, I’m still curious as to why no one has bothered to harass Mr. Coroni. And I’m even more curious to find out what happens to the land when he dies. He’s in his late seventies, was recently hospitalized for health reasons, and according to the report Mac faxed me, he has no living relatives.”

  “Umm, that’s very interesting,” Alex said, getting to his feet and heading for the door. “I think I need to check out a few more things.”

  “The hunk is actually leaving?” Sam asked, slipping into the chair across from Mackenzie’s desk.

  Mackenzie tried to fight the tightening she felt in her chest. Yesterday the doctor had given Luke his approval for him to participate in the relay race, but he had stressed it would be another month or so before he could actually take on the full activities of a bull rider.

  Luke was still anticipating being ready for the Reno rodeo in September. If he followed the doctor’s orders and didn’t overexert himself, he would be ready to participate by then. “Yes, he’s leaving, but I knew he would. There was never a time that I thought he would stay. I told you that.”

  “Yes, but I was hoping. The two of you had gotten so close. Darn it. I’m going to miss teasing you about all those hickeys on your neck.”r />
  Mackenzie didn’t say anything. If only Sam knew about the marks that Luke had left in places no one could see. To say the man liked branding her was an understatement. But then again, she had to admit she enjoyed waking up each day wearing his brand.

  “What are you going to do with yourself once he’s gone?” Sam asked, reclaiming her attention.

  “The same thing I did before he got here. Stay busy. The Whitedyer case assures me of that. I need to have all my wits about me when I face off with Farley.”

  “And Mr. Coroni hasn’t changed his mind about the offer the city and Whitedyer are making him? That’s a lot of money he’s turning down. And each offer gets substantially higher.”

  “I know and I can see them making yet another one before the hearing next week. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if they pulled out a check at the hearing and made a final offer, although doing so would steal some of Farley’s fire, since he’s looking forward to humiliating me in the courtroom. The city and Whitedyer are desperate. Look what they stand to gain if a settlement is reached out of court and Mr. Coroni accepts what they’re offering.”

  Mackenzie shook her head. “And the sad thing about is that I think there was a slim chance Mr. Coroni might have accepted their offer at one time, but then Farley had to go and make him mad.”

  “With Farley, that was easy to do. The man is a jerk fifty times over.”

  Mackenzie smiled. There was no way she was not going to agree with Sam. She pulled her purse from the drawer. “I’m checking out early today. Luke and I are going into town to celebrate the good news he got from the doctor yesterday and his last night here in Oklahoma City.”

  Sam’s face brightened. “So the two of you are going on a date?”

  Mackenzie shook her head. “No, it’s not a date. We’re just doing dinner, and he wanted to drop by the mall to pick up a couple of pairs of jeans and a few more shirts.”