Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels)

by Brenda Jackson

  Mackenzie doubted that she could love him any more than she did at that very moment. Even before acknowledging his love for her to himself or to her, he arranged for a way to keep her safe from any possible danger.

  The dark eyes holding hers didn’t waver and she continued to feel the love. And moments later when he bent his head and lowered his mouth toward hers, she released a breathless sign. He was giving her not only a full taste of his passion but he was also giving her a strong dose of love. Together they were an overwhelming combination. Her last coherent thought was that she wanted this; she needed this, and had been waiting for this probably since the night of the Brothers’ Auction.

  And when his tongue swept through her mouth, touching and invading every place it could, her entire being was submerged in heat of the most intense kind. He deepened the kiss and she felt his hunger, forceful, elemental. She saw a future where she would love him beyond measure. His strength surrounded her, wrapped her in pure sensual delight, and she knew that she was destined to love him forever.

  Chapter 26

  By the next day everyone in the Madaris family had heard the news of Luke and Mackenzie’s engagement and had called to congratulate the couple.

  The couple called Ashton after talking with Luke’s mother on Saturday and he’d said that he would be honored to walk Mackenzie down the aisle. Although Luke wanted the wedding to take place before the end of the year, he agreed with Mac on a June wedding. That would give him time to research the rodeo school he wanted to start in a year.

  Mackenzie had called Sam and Peyton and they couldn’t wait until Monday to see her engagement ring. Both had driven out to the ranch on Sunday evening to see the huge rock on her hand and to give her congratulatory hugs. Mackenzie knew her two best friends were happy for her and both agreed to be in her wedding.

  Already plans had been made for Mackenzie to come to Houston the following weekend. The engagement party was set for the week following Luke’s rodeo in Reno. Mackenzie looked forward to the event, which would be the occasion when she and Luke officially set in motion their plans and dreams of sharing their lives together.

  It hadn’t been easy for Luke to leave Monday morning. After making love to her one last time, he had gotten dressed and wouldn’t even let her get out of bed to walk him to the door. He’d said he wanted to remember that satiated glow about her until he saw her again.

  With so many memories of the weekend still fresh in her mind, it was hard on Monday for Mackenzie to concentrate at work and she had even thought of taking half a day off when her secretary buzzed her to let her know that Mr. Coroni was there and wanted to meet with her.

  Mackenzie couldn’t help but wonder about his unexpected visit since she hadn’t seen or heard from the man since he’d accepted Whitedyer’s final offer of four million dollars. She still thought Mr. Coroni, probably against Perkins’s wishes, had done the right thing when he’d agreed to at least pay the foundation’s legal fees out of the proceeds. That proved to her that the old man did have a conscience. “Please send him in, Priscilla.”

  She was somewhat taken back and moved around her desk when he slowly walked in as if every step were painful. He was a broad-shouldered man but it seemed since she last saw him a few weeks ago he had lost weight, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been ill again.

  “Mr. Coroni,” she said, crossing the room to meet him. “Are you all right?” she asked, offering him a chair.

  A pained look crossed his features. “I will be after my visit with you. There’s something that I need you to do.”

  She perched her hips against the edge of her desk. “And what’s that, Mr. Coroni?”

  “Draw me up a will.”

  Mackenzie tried keeping the surprise from showing in her expression. “Don’t you have one already, sir?”

  “Yes, but I want it changed.”

  She couldn’t help but wonder why he was coming to her and not using his personal attorney, Lamar Perkins. But the professional in her knew it wasn’t any of her business. Detective Adams had said he would plant a few seeds in Mr. Coroni’s mind and she could only assume he had done precisely that. “All right, Mr. Coroni, I can help you with that. It’s just a matter of completing some legal papers.”

  “Thank you.”

  Less than an hour later, Mackenzie was nearly finished with the paperwork. “Now for the final item, Mr. Coroni, I will need you to name a beneficiary.”

  “Actually, there will be a number of them,” the older man said, drawing in a shallow breath, as if breathing in deeply was becoming difficult for him.

  He stood and pulled a piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to her. Mackenzie scanned the paper and then looked back up at him. The list did not contain any one individual’s name but reflected several charities—the Cancer Society, the Diabetes Foundation, the Boys Club of America, and the University of Oklahoma. “And you’re sure this is what you want?” she felt the need to inquire.

  “Yes. I also made large contributions to those same charities yesterday. I felt good in doing that and I could tell they appreciated the donation.” He paused and then asked, “How long will it take for my will to be finalized?”

  “Within a few days.”

  “Good.” A strained smile touched his lips. “Taking that money from Whitedyer made me lose the respect of a lot of friends who believed in me. I lost it because of greed.” He paused and then said, “I learned a very important lesson because of it.”

  Mackenzie drew in a tight breath and felt compelled to say, “Your decision to hold out for more money wasn’t wrong, Mr. Coroni. But what was wrong was the way it was done and deceiving your friends and supporters in the process. You deliberately misled them.”

  He nodded. “I know,” he said, pressing his hands together in his lap. “And I regret doing that. Someone tried convincing me that it wouldn’t matter, that big businesses have been messing with the little guy for years and that I had a right to take as much from them as I could get and that I shouldn’t care. But I do care. Not about them but about everyone else.”

  Mackenzie didn’t say anything for a moment and then, “Please clarify something for me, Mr. Coroni. When Whitedyer first approached you directly, were they interested in all of your land?”

  The old man shook his head. “No, only a certain portion of it. They wanted to buy my property on the west side of where I live, the twenty acres near the lake. It was only when I refused to sell that they went after all of it.”

  She nodded. “So what will you do now?” she asked. She knew in essence the man no longer had a home, and from the sound of it, he had few remaining friends. He’d found out the hard way that money didn’t always bring you happiness.

  “I’m thinking about moving to Florida to live in one of those senior citizen communities. I figured I have maybe another year or two left and I want to live my life in peace. I won’t be telling a lot of people where I’m going so I would appreciate it if you ever get any mail from me with my address that you keep it to yourself.”

  “I will,” Mackenzie assured him.

  He bowed his head for a second and when he lifted it and met her gaze he had a grateful expression on his face. He looked at her pointedly and said, “I want you to know that I had nothing to do with your recent misfortunes and was not even aware of them until Detective Adams paid me a visit.”

  She nodded. “But do you know who did?” she couldn’t help asking.

  He shook his head sadly and the eyes looking back at her were filled with honest concern. “No, I don’t. There was no reason to harass you that way. We figured that in time Whitedyer would give us what we wanted.”

  Thanks to Alex, Mackenzie knew the “we” and the “us” who had been involved. His attorney, Larry Perkins, was the one to advise him. She allowed time for his words to sink in and for some reason she believed him. He might have agreed to go along with the plan to get as much money out of Whitedyer as he could, but she couldn’t believe
that he would go along with anything as serious as deliberate harassment of her; especially to that degree. What would have been the point? Like he’d said, there hadn’t been a reason for doing so. Whitedyer had played right into their hands, and now knowing what she did about a body possibly being buried somewhere on his land she understood why they would have done so.

  Mr. Coroni slowly pulled himself out the chair to stand. “Do you need for me to come back here at the end of the week?” he asked in a somewhat weak-sounding tone.

  “No, I can save you a trip and drop by your house for your signature. I’ll have Priscilla call you when all the papers are ready.”

  “Thanks.” Then strengthening his voice somewhat, he said, “I appreciate all you’ve done and I regret misleading you as well. Another reason I would never have been involved in any negative campaign against you is because you’ve been nothing but kind to me, Ms. Standfield, and I will always appreciate it.” He then turned and slowly walked out of her office.

  Before leaving for the day Mackenzie placed a conference call to Alex and Detective Adams, to keep them abreast of the new developments, including letting them know of Whitedyer’s initial interest in the land on the west side of Coroni’s property. Neither Alex nor Detective Adams were surprised about Mr. Coroni’s visit. According to information Alex had gotten earlier that day, courtesy of FBI Agent Griffin, recent bank records indicated both Larry Perkins and Camille Yeager had deposited large amounts of money into their accounts. Probably not as much as the two had anticipated, which most likely was the reason Coroni was leaving town and requesting that his destination be kept confidential. Chances were Perkins and Yeager were hitting the old man up for more money; money he had decided to give to charity instead.

  Alex thanked her for pinpointing the area of land that held Whitedyer’s main interest and informed them that the FBI planned to obtain court orders to proceed with excavation.

  “I still wish there was a way for Perkins and Yeager to be exposed. Regardless of how we look at it, ethically they were both in the wrong. Yeager, I understand, is still working for Whitedyer,” Mac said.

  “But I figure not for long,” Miller chimed in to say. “With the money she was able to get from Coroni she has no reason to remain employed with Whitedyer. But as for letting Whitedyer know what she was up to, it will come out once the FBI solves the case. It wouldn’t surprise me if they pull everyone in for questioning, even Perkins and Yeager. How do we know they don’t know anything about Gerhard’s disappearance? I doubt very seriously that they do, but it would be nice to see them sweat.”

  He chuckled and then added, “And it will do my heart good to see Farley’s face when he finds out Camille Yeager used him. He’s not going to like that worth a damn.”

  Mackenzie knew what he said was true. Farley was not going to be a happy camper when he found out.

  Chapter 27

  “And you’re sure that everything meets with your approval?”

  Mackenzie smiled first at Sarah Madaris, Luke’s mother, before turning to all the other women in the room. She’d often wondered how it would feel to belong to such a large family and now she knew. How on earth she could answer her future mother-in-law’s question and not get emotional? From the moment she had been picked up at the Houston airport on Friday evening until now, she had been showered with more kindness than anyone had a right to receive.

  “Yes,” she said in a voice she knew was close to breaking. “I’m positive. I appreciate everything that all of you have done. I didn’t expect it.” She then glanced over at Skye and held her gaze for a moment. Since Skye was the newest member of the Madaris family, Mackenzie knew that she understood.

  “Okay, enough sappy moments,” Syneda said, standing. “It’s time to eat.” She then headed for the table that was loaded down with all kinds of delectable foods.

  That caused everyone to laugh as they, too, got to their feet. Nettie had offered the use of a private room in her restaurant for their get-together, and Mackenzie couldn’t help but smile to herself since it was here in Sisters that she had first set eyes on Luke.

  Skye walked over and gave her a hug. “I am truly happy for you, Mac. You and Luke make a beautiful couple and are so deserving of each other. And your ring is simply gorgeous.”

  Mackenzie couldn’t help but smile at the compliments. “Thanks and I appreciate your agreeing to be one of my bridesmaids.”

  Skye chuckled. “I’m glad you asked. You’re having one huge wedding.”

  Mackenzie nodded when she thought of all the plans that had been made. When she arrived in Houston she had assumed it was just to make plans for the engagement party, only to discover the Madaris women had other ideas. They figured since they had her captive in their presence, they would get ideas on what she wanted for the June wedding as well.

  “Yes, and I can’t wait to tell Luke about all the plans,” she said excitedly.

  “When will you get to see him again?” Skye asked, her expression showing she could feel Mackenzie’s enthusiasm.

  “Next weekend in Reno. He’s competing then to regain his title.” Mackenzie felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking about when she would be seeing him. It had been almost a week since she had seen or talked to him. She knew he was busy concentrating on the upcoming competition and she was fine with that. From talking to Jake earlier that day she knew a number of Madaris family members would be there to cheer Luke on and that seats in the arena had already been reserved.

  “I can tell by the look on your face that you can’t wait to see him,” Skye said, smiling.

  Mackenzie returned the smile. “Am I that transparent?”

  Skye chuckled. “Only because you look like a woman totally in love.”

  “That’s because I am,” was Mackenzie’s response.

  “You’re what?” Laverne Madaris said, reaching Mackenzie’s side and leaning heavily on her cane.

  Mackenzie smiled and met the older woman’s intense stare. “I’m totally in love with your great-grandson.”

  Laverne chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know. If you recall, Skye, I told you last year at the family reunion that Mackenzie was the woman for Luke.”

  Skye chuckled. “Yes, you sure did.”

  Surprise leaped into Mackenzie’s dark eyes. “How had you figured that?” she couldn’t help asking the older woman.

  Laverne chuckled. “I might be up in age but when it comes to my grands and great-grands, I can see very well. Luke had a thing for you. You had a thing for him. I’m glad to see the two of you got together. Now I can turn my attention elsewhere.”

  Mackenzie didn’t want to even imagine in whose direction the woman would be looking next.

  “Why do I get the feeling that you’ve been avoiding me, Luke?”

  Luke sighed deeply. In his peripheral vision he saw Nadine Turner. Impulse told him not to acknowledge her presence and just ignore her, but he was too much of a gentleman to do so. He glanced up, pushed his Stetson back on his head, and leaned against the gate. “Nadine. I thought we had an understanding that we would in fact avoid each other whenever we could.”

  Somehow the woman managed to look surprised. “Aw, come on, Luke, stop pretending that you don’t want me when I know you do.”

  He could only shake his head. “Sorry, you’re wrong. I don’t want you.”

  A pout appeared at the corner of her lips. “You did at one time.”

  “Anything between us was strictly physical.” Luke was annoyed that he had to spell things out to her once again, and he couldn’t help wondering why she refused to believe him. He wondered what happened to her new boyfriend Cam had told him about.

  “Well, since I know you’re not into long-term affairs, I have no problem with sharing nothing more than a physical relationship with you again.”

  “I have a problem with it and I’m sure my fiancée would have a problem with it as well.”

  He saw her stiffen as the meaning of his words regi
stered. “Fiancée?” she all but stammered.

  “Yes.”

  “Who is she?” she asked in a contemptuous sneer.

  “You don’t know her.”

  “How dare you lie to me! You said you’d never marry.”

  Luke inhaled deeply. The woman, as usual, was getting on his last nerve. If nothing else she had the ability to bring out total weariness in a man. “I changed my mind,” he said simply.

  From the fire that flashed in her eyes he could tell his answer hadn’t been good enough for her. “No! I’m the one you should marry. Me and no one else,” she all but snarled. “And you will regret the day that you cheated on me for her.” She then turned and angrily walked off.

  Luke could only stand there, stare and shake his head, not believing the conversation he and Nadine had just had. Her behavior was getting even more irrational and he had put up with it long enough. Something had to be done about this obsession of hers. Her father, Preston Turner, was a likable guy, although he had allowed his daughter to grow up to be a selfish, self-centered woman.

  More than once Luke had considered approaching the older man about Nadine’s behavior, but he had not done so in hopes that Nadine would finally see reason. Since it seemed that wouldn’t be happening he definitely needed to have a conversation with Preston when he saw him again.

  Satisfaction gripped Mackenzie after hanging up her phone Monday morning. She had barely been in her office an hour before she’d received a call from Alex letting her know the courts had approved the FBI’s request to excavate a portion of the land Whitedyer had purchased from Mr. Coroni. Papers would be delivered to Farley that morning.

  Mackenzie would give anything to be a fly on the wall when Farley received the papers.

  “Mr. Farley, there are a couple of gentlemen here to see you.”

  Farley lifted his gaze from the documents spread on his desk. He had gotten behind in a lot of paperwork while handling that issue with the Coroni land. Although costly, the settlement had come too easily. He had been looking forward to squaring off in the courtroom with Mackenzie Standfield. There had been something about her he hadn’t liked from the first. She had been too sure of herself, too confident. That type of woman was a total turnoff for him. Most women had brains or beauty, Standfield had both, and more than anything he had wanted to break her.