Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (13 page)

“If you’re not trying to scare me then what are you trying to do?” she asked, taking yet another step back.

“Get myself in a position to work off a bit of frustration.”

Her back was against the wall, literally. She had misjudged things and there were no more steps backward for her to take. Just as well, he thought. He had her just where he wanted her. And when he saw her stiffen her spine and tilt her head to glare at him, and then said, “In that case, call Margaret,” he deepened his smile.

He came to a stop directly in front of her. “I like you a whole lot better,” he said, and watched an angry pout take shape on her lips.

“Besides,” he decided to say before she took a notion to kick him, especially in his bad knee. “You’re a lot younger than Margaret. She’s old enough to be my mom.”

He saw the moment she understood. “Your mother?” she asked incredulously.

He leaned in a little. Damn, she smelled good. And her lips looked so ripe, like they were made for kissing. “Yes, my mother.”

“But you had me thinking she was a young woman.”

He shook his head. “No I didn’t. You jumped to conclusions.”

Her glare deepened. “You could have set me straight.”

His smile widened even more. “Yes, I could have but I chose not to. You’ve been acting skittish around me for
weeks now. Trying to put distance between us. That little bout of jealousy was the first sign you’ve given that you cared.”

“I’m not jealous and I don’t care,” she denied hotly.

“Liar.”

She placed her hands on her hips and her spine stiffened even more. “Well, you haven’t exactly been the friendliest person lately.”

No, he hadn’t. In trying to build a friendship with her instead of a relationship, he had created animosity between them. “Sorry,” he said, bracing both hands against the wall, effectively pinning her in. “But I’m about to change that, starting now.” And then he lowered his mouth toward hers.

Mackenzie saw it coming and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Luke was about to kiss her. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted him to kiss her, in a bad way.

Although she should resist, just a little. But the moment his lips touched hers, any thought of resisting escaped her mind. Instead she concentrated on his scent—sensual and provocative—and then on the way he pulled her tongue into his mouth and began mating with it with an intensity that made her purr.

She quickly decided there was definitely something intrinsically erotic about kissing Luke. This was their third kiss and each one got better and better, went deeper, became more succulent and mind-blowing. Just plain wonderful. Heat was thrumming through her stomach and what felt like bolts of lightning were flashing in her body. Being pinned up against him, feeling her taut nipples pressed into his chest, wasn’t helping matters either. Sensations she had never felt before, didn’t think were possible, were steadily eroding her defenses, overwhelming her to a degree that was just plain unreal. Then there was the heat of his body that she could actually feel through his clothes. Luke Madaris was definitely a red-hot male with a masculine scent and he was doing crazy things to her
mind. Like enticing her to inch her body even closer to his, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss him with the same intensity that he was kissing her. She and Lawrence had kissed, but never like this. Never had the air surrounding them been charged like it was now. And she’d never been involved in a kiss that required so much tongue interaction. And when he increased the pressure and began taking the kiss to another depth, she actually felt weak in the knees. Her breasts, which were pressing against him, began to tingle, the nipples hardened. And then not surprisingly, she heard herself purr again.

She had no idea how long the kiss lasted. She wasn’t keeping track of time but figured they had to come up for air sometime. And when they did it was only for a second—no, a half a second—before Luke was back at her mouth with a hunger that astounded her and at the same time shattered any restraints she might have had.

Only half mindful of what she was doing, she removed one of her arms from around his neck and her hand went to his belt, eased the buckle free before sliding down his zipper. Luke broke off the kiss and with a low murmur close to her ear he asked, “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Mac?”

Weakly, still filled with sensations she didn’t quite understand, she raised her eyes to his, regarded him for a moment while wondering why he would even ask her something like that. How many men would? They would seize the opportunity to indulge in their wildest fantasies. A willing woman was something they would not question, just thank their good fortune.

But a part of her knew Luke Madaris wasn’t just any man. He was a man who knew what he wanted out of life. He also knew what he didn’t want and a long-term relationship with a woman was one of them. rodeo was his life. The only mistress he desired. Anything else was just wasted time. Besides, she knew although he desired her that she wasn’t his type. She had seen the kind of women who threw themselves at the rodeo riders. Bold, brassy,
and assy. That had been Cam’s way of describing them, not hers.

“Answer me, Mac.”

She blinked, remembering he was waiting for her response. No, she wasn’t ready for it although her body was singing a different tune. She wasn’t one to indulge in trivial affairs. She couldn’t be just another notch on any cowboy’s bedpost, just another itch he had to scratch. An easy lay.

She dropped her hands from him and shook her head. “No,” she finally said softly. “I’m not ready.”

Accepting what she said, he took a step back and she felt the heat of embarrassment when he rezipped his jeans. “All right. But if you ever change your mind—”

“I won’t.”

He smiled. “If you ever do, you’ll always know where to find me.”

Yes, she knew. All she had to do was follow the PRCA circuit. Instead of saying anything, she nodded. And then before she could take her next breath, he leaned in and kissed her again. This one was different. There was a tenderness to it that vibrated emotions all the way through her.

It only lasted a minute and then he was walking away and all she could do was inhale softly as she watched him go.

The next morning when Luke got up, Mac had already left for work. He smiled, thinking she probably assumed it was business as usual, but boy was she wrong. He would be turning up the heat and more than just a little.

He had accepted her decision that taking things to another level was something she wasn’t ready to do, but he intended to get her primed so when the time came and she was ready, it would be a very smooth transition. Friendship was no longer an option for them. Even a committed player like Blade had been able to see that. The only excuse he could come up with for not seeing it himself was the fact that when it came to life he had tunnel vision. The rodeo was the only focus he had in his future. It had always been primary. Anything else was secondary.

Nothing had really changed in that regard, but he was willing to indulge in a short-term affair with Mac, just as long as she understood short-term meant short-term. “Forever” was not a word in his vocabulary. Neither was the word “love.” Both had been the downfall of many good rodeo riders, who were probably sitting at home, watching the rodeo on their television, and regretting having given up the chance to experience the profound adrenaline rush that came with the sport.

He would not be one of them. Once Mac understood that and accepted how things had to be between them, his
conscience would be clear and they’d be free to move on, enjoy the moment and create beautiful memories.

His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He quickly picked it up. “Yes?”

“Luke, it’s Reese.”

Luke couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his brother’s voice. There were two years between them. At thirty-one Reese was following in their cousin Dex’s footsteps, and after getting a degree in geology, he was presently working as a geologist at Madaris Explorations, the company Dex owned.

Luke’s brother Emerson, who was twenty-nine, was a criminal attorney working for Houston’s state attorney’s office; and his brother Chancellor, who was twenty-seven, had joined the military after high school, and after giving Uncle Sam five years as a U.S. Army Ranger, he had returned home to try his hand at ranching. He owned a small spread outside Houston not far from Whispering Pines and enjoyed ranching as much as Jake did.

“How’s it going, buddy?” Luke asked Reese. He was close to all three of his brothers.

“That’s what I want to know about you. Blade suggested we wait a few weeks before we call, to give you time to adjust.”

“Yeah, I know and I appreciate it. That first week was a killer. I was in a lot of pain most of the time. Now I’m undergoing physical therapy.” He chuckled when he thought about his first day with Margaret. “Hell, I’m still having pain, but at least I know it’s a means to an end and I’ll be back in the chute in September.”

“Just don’t overdo it, Luke.”

“I won’t.”

He spent the next half hour talking to Reese, getting caught up on what was happening with his other two brothers and figured that he would probably be hearing from them before the week was out.

“So, how are things with Mac?”

Luke lifted a brow. “Mac is fine. Why do you ask?”

“I was over to Uncle Jake’s place on Sunday and the womenfolk were there. And I overheard a few things.”

“A few things like what?”

Reese cleared his throat before saying, “I think they assume that something is going on between you and Mac. Said they had picked up on it a while back and it would be just a matter of time before you got hooked.”

“Hooked?”

“Yes. I think they meant it would be just a matter of time before you fell in love with Mac and walked away from rodeo.”

Luke snorted. Evidently they had lost their minds if they thought that. “Trust me, Reese, it’s not going to happen. The only thing I love is rodeo. There’s not a woman alive who can compete. rodeo is the number one thing in my life.” There was no reason to admit that Mac was a very close second.

“That’s what I thought but I figured how they were thinking was something that you should know.”

“Thanks for sharing.”

After ending the call a slow smile touched Luke’s lips. He could just imagine who was the ringleader of the Madaris Women’s Movement. Syneda. She thought the only good Madaris was a married one and probably felt that way only because Clayton, when footloose and fancy-free, had had a reputation as a ladies’ man that made Blade’s looked tame. And the thought of that was pretty scary considering Blade’s reputation. Hell, after Clayton had settled down and married Syneda, he had given the case of condoms he’d kept in his closet to Blade. And Blade had been quick to tell him and Slade about the assortment of shapes, styles, and colors, but all guaranteed to be highly effective. And as per Clayton they didn’t have an expiration date, which meant they hadn’t been cheap. That had been nearly five years ago and knowing Blade they had probably gotten all used up by now.

Luke glanced at the clock on the wall. Margaret would
be arriving in a couple of hours. That would give him a chance to go out and share a cup of morning coffee with Theo. He liked the older man and had been surprised to learn that he’d had dreams of being a rodeo rider, but an unexpected pregnancy that had resulted in a rushed marriage had ended those dreams.

Luke shook his head. As far as he was concerned the worst kind of dream was one that ended before being given a chance to come true.

“Finally, a hickey.”

Mackenzie’s hand flew to her neck before recognizing the shrewd smirk on Sam’s face. She frowned. “I don’t have a hickey!”

Sam chuckled. “I know. Gotcha!”

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “That’s not funny.”

“Yes it is,” Sam said, coming to place her rear end on the edge of Mackenzie’s desk. “The mere fact that you reacted as if you could have had one is definitely a telltale sign. Evidently you’re not too tired when you get home late in the evenings to mess around with the hunk.”

“But not what you think.”

“Hey, cheer up. It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” Sam said, smiling. “And make sure you pass on to me any new positions. For me it’s been a while.”

“Longer for me,” Mackenzie couldn’t help but say.

“Has not,” Sam countered.

“Has too.”

“Has not.”

The two women then simultaneously laughed at the ridiculousness of their conversation. “But seriously,” Mackenzie said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “It’s been over five years for me.”

“Damn, Mac, it’s been only two for me. Didn’t you do what I suggested after you broke up with Lawrence?”

Mac gave her friend a stern look. “No, I didn’t. I couldn’t do something like that.” Not surprisingly, Sam was the one who’d suggested that she get back at the entire
male race—especially those with the word “player” written on their forehead—for what Lawrence had done by setting up a few for heartbreak . . . only after she had gotten her use out of them.

“Hey, don’t pity the players of this world. They deserve every bad thing that comes their way.”