Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (23 page)

“Go on inside,” he said, walking her back to the front porch. “I want to let Theo know that we’re in for the evening. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“All right.”

When she made it to the door she glanced over her shoulder to see that Luke was still standing there and was looking at her. And pushing his Stetson back with his thumb, he continued to stand there and stare at her, letting his gaze rake over her from head to toe.

She was wearing a skirt and a blouse but from the way his eyes were glued to her she might not have been wearing anything at all. It was as if he had the ability to see right through her clothes. His look was sending those sensations she had felt earlier skittering down her spine, in anticipation of what she knew was to come—release they would be sharing after five whole days of going without. She had gone five years without having a man in her bed and now it was as if Luke had a definite place there. Not a permanent place but a place just the same.

She felt hot and knew that if she continued to stand there, she would burn to a crisp, so she opened the door and went inside.

Luke watched her go before finally turning toward the barn.

It was strange how in that sudden moment of looking at her, his testosterone had plunged into overdrive and he had wanted her to a degree that he found unsettling. He was discovering that with Mac his mind and his body had no restrictions. Sparks would flare, flames would ignite,
and his senses would get shot to hell. The only thing that would seem vital to his living or dying was passion, passion she could stir in a way that he found totally compelling. He had told her that he wanted to give her a taste of passion and now it seemed like she’d turned the tables, and without even realizing the extent of her capabilities, she wasn’t just giving him a taste of passion, he was getting a whole whopping mouthful.

Thinking of what they’d been sharing over the past weeks and what he’d gone without during the past few days pushed him to move quickly across the yard. It still amazed him how Mac could have a full-time career as an attorney, yet was able to successfully run an operating ranch. One reason was because she had good and dependable men working for her. Theo, Luke had discovered, was as loyal as they came and mainly because of Mac’s grandfather. Theo, who was now in his late fifties, had been in his early twenties, down on his luck, hungry, and with no place to stay when he had stumbled onto Mac’s grandfather’s place. He had been employed with the Standfields ever since.

Luke knew the man was very protective of Mac and he couldn’t very well blame him for that. But at the same time Theo knew when to mind his own business and accept the fact that Mac was an adult who was old enough to make her own decisions.

Circling the building and going around back to where he knew Theo and the men were, he glanced over to where Mac’s horse was prancing around the locked gate. She definitely was a beauty and he could just imagine the off-spring she and Cisco could produce. He wondered if Mac would go along with the idea of Cisco and Princess getting together and decided to bring it up to her.

He smiled. That particular topic of conversation would have to take place later. Once he joined Mac in the house, talking would be the last thing on his mind and he intended to make sure it was the last thing on her mind as well.

“This had better be good, Clayton.”

Clayton rolled his eyes. Alex’s tone suggested that he might have interrupted something. If he had then that was too friggin’ bad since the man was married to his sister. His
baby
sister. So what if Christy would be celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday soon and that three months ago she had given birth to a beautiful little girl she’d named Alexandria Christina Maxwell. Okay, he would be the first to admit that whenever he saw Christy she looked happy, content, and well loved. That meant Alex must be doing something right. But still, he couldn’t overlook the fact that Alex had pulled a fast one on him and his two brothers, Justin and Dex.

“I need your help on something,” Clayton said.

There was only a brief pause and then Alex asked, “Something like what?”

“All the information you can find out on the Whitedyer Corporation.”

The name drifted off Alex’s lips when he repeated it. “Whitedyer Corporation. Anything in particular I need to be looking for?”

“I want to know everything about them. Specifically, who they might be doing business with in private and whether they’re desperate enough to keep things hush-hush by trying to harass Mac off the case she’s handling against them.”

“Luke’s Mac?”

Clayton frowned. Was he the only one who hadn’t noticed anything going on between those two? “Yes, apparently. Someone ransacked her office a few weeks ago and now they went after Jake’s cattle on Mac’s land. Six were poisoned.”

“Damn.”

“If Whitedyer is behind any such foolishness then I want to know why and what they’re trying to hide.”

“Okay, I’ll begin checking them out in the morning.”

“Thanks. How’re Christy and AC?” “AC” was the nickname the family had given the baby.

“Both are doing fine. They can’t be happier,” Alex said.

“So you say.”

“So I know. My goal in life is to take care of
my
ladies. Their every wish is my command,” Alex responded.

Clayton couldn’t help but smile. “Whatever. Talk to you later.” He then hung up the phone.

“I gather that was Clayton.”

Alex glanced up at his wife who was standing beside the bed. “Who else.” When the phone had rung she had gotten out of bed to go to the nursery to get their daughter, who had awakened and started crying.

“The next time I see Clayton I’m going to make sure I tell him to table his calls to when AC is awake,” she said, handing him their daughter. “He just interrupted ‘Mom and Dad’ time.”

Alex chuckled as he took AC into his arms, instinctively cradling her to his chest. He stared down at the baby he and Christy had made together. She was simply beautiful. She had her mother’s reddish-brown hair as well as most of Christy’s facial features, with the exception of her nose and ears. Now those were truly his.

Christy got back into the bed and turned slightly toward them. “So, what does Clayton want this time?” The Madaris and Madaris law firm often used Alex’s services when they were working on an important case that involved private investigative work.

“The usual but this involves Mac.”

Christy lifted a brow. “Luke’s Mac.”

Alex couldn’t help but grin. “I wonder if Luke knows yet that she’s his.”

Christy shrugged as she took AC from out of her father’s arms. “Probably not. You know how slow you men are.”

Alex knew she was hinting at how slow he’d been back in the day. That was then. This was now. He looked over
at his daughter, who was wide awake. “How long do you think it will be before she drifts back to sleep?”

“Hard to tell. Why? You got something to do?”

He smiled. “Umm, when it comes to you, sweetheart, I always have something to do.”

He reached up and caught a flaming red lock of hair to twirl around his finger. Mindful of his child in his wife’s arms, he leaned over and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth and could vividly recall the first time he had ever kissed her. “I thought we could go ahead and get started on AC’s brother,” he said in a husky tone.

He heard Christy draw in a deep breath before saying, “I thought we had agreed to wait until Alexandria was at least two.”

“We are, but practice makes perfect. I figured we should get in as many practice sessions as we can so when the time comes it will be a piece of cake.”

“A piece of cake?”

He grinned. “As sweet as it can get.”

Mackenzie stood at her bedroom window and looked out at the lake. With Jake’s visit she had put aside her research. And now Clayton and Syneda had suggested that she let them handle that end of things for her. If there was misuse of eminent domain in the Whitedyer case they were willing to help her find it. She had been more than appreciative of their offer. Now she could concentrate on what courtroom strategies to use and perfect them. For Farley this would be a performance in front of the judge and jury. He enjoyed being on stage and in that regard he reminded her so much of Lawrence. But where Lawrence had physical beauty to captivate his audience, she’d found out that Farley was big on dramatics. She’d heard the man could be a complete bully in the courtroom. He saw her as an inexperienced attorney and he was so darn sure of himself that he had told her more than once to back off or she would get eaten by a shark. But she was committed, no
matter what, to providing Mr. Coroni with the best legal counsel possible.

Her stomach suddenly clenched at the same moment that she heard booted footsteps. Without turning around she knew that Luke had come inside the house. Her heart rate increased with every step he took down the hallway, moving toward her bedroom.

She became caught up in what she knew would happen the moment he set foot in her bedroom. She wished there was a way to explain why a woman who had gone without passion for so long could suddenly be swept away to the point it was almost blinding. Even now, if she wanted to, she could close her eyes and recall every vivid detail of the lovemaking sessions they had shared. She doubted the memories would ever be eradicated from her mind. They were probably singed there forever.

She swallowed. Her stomach clenched tighter the moment she knew he had walked into the room. She tried to force her heartbeat to slow, but it was useless. A need gnawed at her; made her appreciation of the passion he had introduced her to that much stronger.

She could hear his footsteps coming toward her. And then he was there. The heat of his broad chest was pressed against her back. His aroused body part, thick and hard, was bearing down on her bottom. Without saying a single word, his hands reached out and wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

“We’re alone again,” he said, leaning down and whispering the words close to her ear. His warm lips moved to place a kiss on her throat. “I missed this,” he said, moving to place another kiss close to her ear. “I’ve been craving you for five whole days. If Uncle Jake had taken you up on your offer to stay another day I probably would have died.”

His words stirred something elemental within her. Did he know what he was saying? If he couldn’t do without her
for five days then how was he going to handle the rest of his life? She knew the answer to that. Once he got back on the rodeo circuit, she and any other leisure pastime would be forgotten.

He shifted his stance and all thoughts fled from her mind. The only thing she could think about was the liquid fire her body seemed to have suddenly turned into. His hands had dropped from her waist and were moving possessively all over her body. And when he cupped her breasts through the material of her blouse, she felt weak and instinctively leaned back against him.

She shuddered as he began unbuttoning her blouse.

“Do you know what I love most about your breasts?” he asked as his hand slid into the opening of her blouse, while his lips branded her throat.

“No,” was her response in a low voice, while shivers raced through her.

“The way your nipples fit around my tongue. The way they taste when they are in my mouth.”

His words, whispered in a hot rush of breath close to her ear, increased the heat she felt between her legs. In response she pressed her thighs together.

He felt the shifting of her body and knew what she’d done and said, “No, I want your legs open.” He then leaned forward and closed the window blinds. “And now we have all the privacy we need.”

She had a feeling it would be a while before they made it over to the bed, which was fine with her, and doubted she could get her legs to take very many steps anyway. His hand then returned to her chest to remove her blouse and bra and toss them aside. He opened the zipper of her skirt with a flick of his wrist, and a slight tug made the garment fall in a heap at her feet, leaving her clad in her panties.

He still stood behind her as he said, “Now I want you to lean forward and brace your hands on the windowsill.”

She was tempted to look over her shoulder at him but refrained. Instead she did what he asked.