Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (30 page)

“I told you that Wyatt and Tanner are interested in her and—”

“And I told you to keep your damn horny friends away from her, Blade.”

“Luke, be reasonable. You admitted yourself that there’s nothing going on between you and Mac, that the two of you are only friends. And I assume that’s still the case. If it’s not then let me know and—”

“Nothing changed,” he growled. “But that doesn’t mean I want them hitting on her.”

“Well, Luke, I don’t know what to tell you. Mac’s a grown woman and is free to do what she wants and old enough to look out for herself. The only thing I do know is that Wyatt and Tanner will be attending QT’s party this weekend, and I know Mac’s going to be here. They’ve stated more than once that they’re attracted to her so chances are they will hit on her.”

Luke nearly knocked over the chair in his haste to stand up. “Over my dead body!” he yelled, and the pitch of his voice was coming through loud and clear on the speaker phone.

“Luke, calm down or it
will
be over your dead body because you’re liable to burst a blood vessel. I’ll talk to Wyatt and Tanner and do my best to make them see reason, but keep in mind that those guys have had the hots for Mac for a long time. Surely you can understand why. She’s a looker.”

“I’m going to ignore you said that, Blade,” Luke said,
taking another pull of his beer, this time emptying the bottle. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand before moving across the room to sling open the refrigerator to grab another bottle.

“Why are you ignoring it when it’s true? All I did was give her a compliment. Mac is a beautiful woman, both inside and out, and if you haven’t noticed by now, well, you should move aside for some other man who can and will appreciate her.”

Luke slammed the refrigerator shut and then screwed the top off the beer bottle before taking a long, deep pull as if would somehow soothe his anger. It didn’t. “I meant what I said, Blade,” he said in a voice laced with steel. “You keep those two away from her.”

“I’ll try. But then what about QT’s friends that are flying in for the party, not to mention Nettie’s brothers, those Kallorens? What am I supposed to do about them after they take a look at Mac? I can’t keep them away from her for no reason. Besides, I understand there are a number of single women attending. I got to spend time handling my own business.”

Luke crossed the room and took Blade off speaker. “Damn your business. You just better keep Wyatt and Tanner away from Mac.”

“I can’t make you any promises, Luke.”

Seeing red, Luke slammed down the phone, ending the call.

Blade hung up the phone and glanced across the room at Slade. “He’s pretty damn mad.”

A smile touched Slade’s lips. “I heard all the way through the phone. So you think he’ll come now?”

Blade chuckled. “Hell, I’m willing to bet any amount of money wild horses won’t be able to keep him away.”

Pulling in a deep breath, Luke left the kitchen and went into the living room and dropped down on the sofa. What
the hell was wrong with him? Why did the thought of Wyatt and Tanner, or any other man for that matter, hitting on Mac make his blood boil? Why was he feeling possessive, territorial, to the point that he wanted to hit something at the thought of another man touching what he considered as his?

His.

Until now he had never considered any woman his and was suddenly forced to accept what he could no longer deny. At first he had almost convinced himself that his intense attraction to her would eventually wear off. But each and every time he saw her at a family function, whether he was within ten or twenty feet of her, less or more, he was totally aware of her even when he hadn’t wanted to be.

He sucked in a deep breath as that admission crashed through his mind with the impact of a tidal wave. He then chronicled the last five years in his mind, including the night he first set eyes on her. That memory had him getting up and crossing the room to the mahogany cabinet that held his favorite DVDs. He immediately pulled out the one he wanted; the one he had purchased the night of the Brothers’ Auction.

Syneda had been the mastermind behind the auction to raise money for charity and had encouraged the attendees to buy the video of the event since the proceeds would go to charity as well. No one had had to twist his arm to get a copy; especially since Mackenzie had been the center of attention near the end of the affair.

He would never forget the moment he had walked out on stage and become the man to bid on. All he could do was hope and pray the bidding went quickly and that he didn’t fall into the hands of Angela Meadows. What he hadn’t counted on was looking out over the audience and locking eyes with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, a woman so striking she had taken his breath away.

He had stood there and basically stared at her and she
had tilted her head and stared back. Any curious onlookers would have thought he was staring nonchalantly at some fixture in the back of the room. But both he and Mackenzie had known that had not been the case.

I had singled her out
.

Just like the Madaris men before him had singled out the woman who would be their mate for life. A part of him had known it at the time, had understood what was taking place, and had recognized it for what it was. But he had staunchly refused to accept it. He had told himself a million times such a thing wasn’t possible, no matter how often over the years he’d heard the Madaris men say that it was possible and in a way expected. Justin had accepted Lorren as his fate; Dex had married Caitlin within two weeks of meeting her; Clayton—who’d been a diehard bachelor at the time—had fallen hard for Syneda, and Jake, who’d sworn never to marry again, had been zapped of his senses the moment Diamond had set foot on the Whispering Pines Ranch.

But even knowing all that, he had been determined not to succumb to any emotions and had fought the very thought, despite the depth of his attraction to Mackenzie. It didn’t matter how often he thought about her and how much she had invaded his dreams. He had pretty much convinced himself she had not gotten embedded under his skin. Until now.

He removed the DVD from its case and slid it inside the player and then clicked on the television. Moments later the night of the auction filled the screen. Grabbing the remote, he fast-forwarded the CD almost to the end, to the part where Mackenzie had emerged from the throng of attendees after making the winning bid on Ashton.

He had been sitting at the table of the woman who’d cast the winning bid for him, but his eyes, like those of every male in the room, had been on Mackenzie. And later that night after joining him, Blade, and Slade for drinks, he saw that she was a beautiful woman who was
comfortable and confident with everybody. She accepted compliments graciously and didn’t act as if she expected them, like a lot of women he knew. That same night he had also sensed a passion in her, a passion that he’d known instinctively, if he were ever to embrace it, would all but overwhelm him. That was one more reason he’d decided to keep his distance and protect himself from the primitive hunger she was capable of stirring within him. But distancing himself from her hadn’t solved the problem because whenever he did see her, he’d craved her, would imagine what it would be like to be the one to uncap her passion.

What it would be like to taste it.

Luke continued to watch the video and when the camera took a close-up of Mackenzie, he froze that particular frame and stared at it as emotions he had fought for nearly five years washed through him. This was the woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind since leaving her home nearly three weeks ago. This was the woman who had made him feel things he had never felt before. The woman who, from the first time they had made love, had touched a part of him no other woman had been capable of touching. He had made her his that first time, although he hadn’t wanted to claim it, had tried denying it, and had even walked away from it.

But he could do so no longer. He could no longer deny what his heart was forcing him to accept. He loved her.

The truth sent a heated rush through him that saturated his skin, every part of him. For a man who assumed the rodeo was his entire life, he was being hit with another revelation, one that consumed his very soul. He’d fooled himself into thinking all he wanted to share with her was a taste of passion. But that night five years ago, he thought, shifting his gaze back to the TV screen displaying Mackenzie’s image, he had met his destiny.

And now that he knew the truth, he would do whatever it took to convince her of it. Not being a part of her
life, not letting her be a part of his, was no longer an option.

For the first time in his life, something other than the rodeo was motivating him. Winning his title back was no longer his top priority. Winning the love of Mackenzie was.

Mackenzie glanced around the crowded patio. Where were the Madaris women when you needed them? She then glanced at the three men standing in front of her. Oh, goodness, now make it four. When had that one arrived? Their ardent attention was literally holding her hostage. It was as if she were holding court and they were intended suitors.

As soon as she had arrived, coming straight to Whispering Pines from the airport, she had been set upon by Wyatt Bannister, one of Blade’s close friends. She had to admit the man was as handsome as they came, but he wasn’t Luke. Then there was Tanner Jamison, another of Blade’s friends. Neither Wyatt nor Tanner had left her side. The other two were Dean Allen and Malcolm Gamble, close friends of QT’s from the D.C. area.

She appreciated their attention but enough was enough. This was the first time something like this had happened to her at a Madaris family function. Most of the men knew her as Ashton’s cousin, which was enough to make them keep their distance. But these men seemed determined to monopolize her attention and there wasn’t a female in the Madaris family who’d picked up on her predicament and come to her rescue.

“So, Mackenzie, how do you like living in Oklahoma?”

She looked over and met Dean’s smiling eyes. He, too, was handsome and, like QT, a recent graduate of Howard University Medical School. And she knew that Congressman
Harold Allen was his father. “Oklahoma is my home so I enjoy living there.”

And so the conversations continued. She was grateful that the men were all really nice. But already she missed Luke’s presence. Although during most Madaris family gatherings the two of them had kept their distance, she’d known he was around. It wasn’t unusual to look over in his direction once, twice, or possibly three times, and their gazes would connect.

Tanner was now talking, telling about the oil rigs he managed out in the Gulf, and she had to admit that what he was saying was interesting. Suddenly he stopped speaking in mid-sentence as something behind her caught his attention.

She was tempted to turn around to see what or who it was when she felt a rush of heated sensations course through her, and her heart began pounding. And then she knew. Her body knew even if she hadn’t yet laid eyes on him. Luke was here. But why? How?

She hauled in a deep breath and quickly decided she needed to keep the conversation going while she had time to regain her equilibrium, force back the desire that had begun churning through her. His presence alone, the knowledge that they were now breathing the same air, was madness enough.

“So, Tanner, you were there offshore mere moments before Hurricane Dolly hit?” she asked, as she felt her heart beating faster. That had to mean he was headed in her direction.

Tanner, suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable, reluctantly brought his gaze back to her and the smile he gave her seemed guarded, wary. “Ah, yes, I was there and . . .”

Tanner continued talking but she could tell he was behaving somewhat awkwardly because of Luke’s approach. Okay, she could understand Luke changing his mind and deciding to attend QT’s party, but why was he heading toward her when he’d never sought her out before? And it couldn’t be because they’d shared a bed, since they
had agreed it was just a short-term affair that had meant nothing . . . at least not to him.

And then she felt his presence and knew he was there, standing directly behind her. All the men’s eyes were on him but she refused to turn around.

“Luke, this is a pleasant surprise,” Wyatt was saying with a little disappointment edging his voice. “I thought Blade said you weren’t coming.”

“I changed my mind.”

His voice had a sensuous roughness to it that seemed to grate across her skin, made goose bumps form on her arm. “I thought I’d come to protect something that’s very valuable to me,” he added.

And then she felt him step closer to her, so close she could feel the heat off his chest touch her back. And when he placed his arms around her waist to bring their bodies even closer, she almost melted right then and there.

She swallowed, wondering what he was doing and why. He was all but making a public statement, a bold proclamation, that the two of them were more than just family friends.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he leaned and whispered close to her ear, though at the same time making sure his voice carried for the benefit of the other men.

Instead of turning around she glanced over her shoulder and looked up. The eyes that locked with hers made her stomach quiver, and when he tilted his lips into one sinfully sexy smile, she almost lost her senses.