Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (33 page)

She looked down at their joined hands. “I fought my feelings for you, too, but when you came here to recuperate, I had to face them all over again.”

She looked up at him and a smile touched the corners of her mouth as she said, “It was then that I admitted to myself what I’d denied over the past five years. That I loved
you. And when we made love, I knew within my heart then but was willing to settle for just those stolen moments.”

Luke raised her hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles before saying, “I’m not willing to settle for a few stolen moments. I want it all. You. The rodeo. Everything. And I believe I can have everything. It will be a challenge but I can’t and won’t give you up, Mac. I want to marry you, be with you forever. Father your babies. Make a home for us. Here. Or Houston. It doesn’t matter as long we’re together.”

At that moment it took great effort for Mackenzie to breathe. Was he saying what she thought he was? Her heart soared at the very thought. For clarification, she asked, “What are you saying, Luke?”

He looked deep into her eyes. “I’m asking you to believe in me. To believe in us. And to plan a future together by saying that you will be mine for life.”

He eased off the sofa and onto the floor before her on a bended knee and asked, “Will you marry me, Mac, and do that?”

Mackenzie fought the tears that threatened. Her hold on his hand tightened as she stared into the depths of his dark eyes. She drew in a shaky breath and then said, “Yes, I will marry you, Luke.”

And then she felt him sliding something onto her finger and glanced down. Her breath caught when she saw the beautiful diamond ring he had placed on her hand.

“I brought this with me, hoping you believe the words from my heart, Mac. By consenting to be my wife, you have made me a very happy man.”

Mackenzie couldn’t stop the tears. She wanted to say that, in turn, he had made her a very happy woman, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she leaned down toward his lips the moment he tilted his head up toward hers. Their mouths connected and she felt the contact all the way to her toes. They were sealing his proposal, their agreement to become one in heart, body, and soul.

And then with their mouths still joined, he eased to his
feet and pulled her up off the sofa with him, molding their bodies together as their tongues mated hungrily.

She gasped when he swept her off her feet into his arms. “Luke, put me down! Have you forgotten your injuries? You’re going to hurt yourself.”

He smiled down at her, taking in the fullness of the lips he had just thoroughly kissed. “My injuries are fine and I’m about to do what I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Carry you to the bedroom.”

And he did just that, moving through the house at a slow pace until he reached her bedroom, then crossing the room and placing her on the bed. He stood back and stared at her, feeling a fullness in his heart. What he’d told her earlier was true. He could imagine her stomach swollen with his child. A child that would grow up bathed in their love.

“Strip for me, Mac,” he said, his focus trained directly on her.

She smiled. “If I strip for you will you do the same for me?”

He chuckled. “Gladly.”

“All right then, cowboy. Get ready to take your boots off.”

Easing up on the bed, she proceeded to remove her robe to reveal the silk short PJs underneath. She tortured him somewhat when she slowly began unbuttoning her top, revealing just a little portion at a time of creamy skin.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked when she finally tossed aside her top, showing perfectly shaped twin mounds.

“I’m just giving you what you asked for,” she said, shifting her body to remove her shorts. It took only a moment and she smiled when she had accomplished the task, leaving her completely naked. She glanced over at him. “Now it’s your turn.” She found a comfortable spot on the bed to watch, lying flat on her stomach and resting her chin on her elbows.

He chuckled, bending down to remove his boots and placing them aside. “I don’t intend to waste plenty of time
like you did,” he said, straightening and then nearly tearing his shirt from his body, sending buttons flying.

She laughed. “I guess you have another one of those shirts.”

“Yeah, in the rental car outside.” And then he went to his belt buckle and slid if off before easing the jeans zipper down. He smiled over at her. “I’ve been thinking of you a lot since QT’s party. You don’t know how much I want you, Mac.”

She heard an intensity in his voice that sent heat flooding through her, weakening her limbs. “And I want you, too, Luke. So come here.”

He had taken off his last stitch of clothing when she’d made that demand and he walked naked over to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her like a man determined to make her his.

His to love, protect, and cherish.

She was his future, a future he was no longer hesitant to face. “I love you,” he whispered as he tumbled her onto her back and followed her down into the soft covers. Those were three words he hadn’t thought he would ever say to any woman, but he was saying them to her. And he intended to worship the body that was hers . . . and now his.

Starting at the base of her throat, he took his time as his mouth moved all over her, reacquainting his tongue with the smoothness of her skin, the texture and taste. Driven by the love he felt in his heart, he gave unwavering attention to the twin mounds of her breasts, taking the nipples in his mouth, cherishing them, loving them with his tongue and creating a level and a degree of heat within her that had her unable to stay still.

“Like that?” he asked softly as his mouth began moving lower.

“Yes, but only because I love you.”

Her words sparked the flame inside him even higher, and when he settled between her legs and placed his mouth on the swollen and wet area between her thighs he heard her let out a deep moan.

He held her thighs to keep her from moving as he loved her this way, using his tongue to drive her to mindless pleasure. And when he felt her body shudder, a whirlpool of sensations flooded through him and he knew he had to join his body with hers. Now.

He shifted positions and eased his body over hers, settling between her spread legs, leaning down and kissing her at the same time he entered her body in one, deep powerful thrust.

“Luke!”

The moment he was inside, fully embedded within her, he felt her feminine muscles clamp him tight. Let go and then clamp him again. And that’s when he lost what little control he still had. He wanted her with a hunger that overwhelmed him and it showed in the way he began mating with her, thrusting in and out of her body, tilting her hips at an angle to take even more of him, as she fluidly moved her body to receive each and every stroke.

And then an explosion hit and he felt his entire body shattering at the same time her nails dug deep into his back and she screamed out his name.

His name.

And when he thrust hard one last time the world surrounding them ceased to exist. It was as if they were suddenly plucked from this place and transported to another, where they were dipped in a sea of earth-shattering ecstasy, searing passion, and fulfilled desire.

At that moment nothing else mattered. Nothing beyond them existed. Intense pleasure was theirs for the taking and they grabbed hold of it and didn’t let go.

The following morning Mackenzie forced her eyes open, feeling blissfully content and sexually drained. Luke had told her how much he loved her and then he had showed her the extent of that love when he had made love to her.

She lifted her hand and gazed at the sparkling diamond ring he had placed on her finger last night. It was a beautiful representation of his love. Their love. She felt intense
happiness all the way to her bones and could only sigh in pleasure.

She heard the shower going and remembered Luke inviting her to join him there. But at the time she could barely breathe, much less imagine moving her body to do anything other than lie there in bed for a while, trying to regain her strength. It always amazed her how much stamina luscious Luke had. Once unleashed, it was unlimited. And all concentrated on her. And more specifically, the pleasure points between her thighs.

She was about to ease out of bed when the phone rang. She scooted toward the edge of the bed and then leaned toward the nightstand and picked it up. “Yes?”

“Ms. Standfield, this is Detective Adams. I received a call from Alex Maxwell yesterday with more information that he’d uncovered during his investigation. He flew in this morning and I think the three of us should meet as soon as possible to discuss these new findings.”

Mackenzie raised a brow, wondering what information Alex had uncovered. “Okay. Is there a particular place you want us to meet?”

“It’s Saturday morning, but we need somewhere private that’s close to the heart of town. Can we meet at your office?”

“My office will be fine. I’ll meet you there in about an hour.”

Less than an hour later Mackenzie was walking down the hall to her office with Luke by her side. Although she’d tried to encourage him to stay home and relax, he had insisted on coming with her.

“What additional information do you think Alex was able to uncover, Mac?”

She glanced over at Luke. He was looking at her intently and that look alone made flutters go off in her stomach so that she had to take a deep steadying breath before answering. When it came to masculine sexiness, the man was a world-class deliverer. After his shower he had changed into a pair of jeans and a blue chambray shirt along with his signature silver-buckled belt and leather boots. He looked rugged, all cowboy, handsome. “I’m not sure but I’m hoping he’s found out why Whitedyer was willing to pay so much for Mr. Coroni’s land, and also who was behind those incidents.”

Once in her office Mackenzie opened the blinds but not before Luke pulled her into his arms for a kiss. The spontaneous kiss sent heat throbbing through all parts of her. “This isn’t how I envisioned we would spend our Saturday,” he said, against moist lips.

She nodded. “I know, but just think, after this meeting we’ll have the rest of today and all day tomorrow.” He wasn’t scheduled to leave until Monday morning.

“Yes, and I guess at some point we need to contact the
family to tell them our good news,” Luke said, smiling. “For some reason I really don’t think they’ll be surprised.”

He was about to pull her back into his arms for another kiss when he heard a knock at the front door of the building. “That’s probably Alex, Adams, or both.” He turned toward the door and then changed his mind for a second and returned to her. “It won’t kill them to wait for a few minutes,” he said, before pulling her into his arms again.

Moments later Mackenzie turned from her office window to find Luke had escorted three men into her office instead of two. She recognized Alex and Detective Adams but didn’t know the third man. It was Alex who made introductions.

“Mac, this is Larry Griffin and he works for the local FBI office here. I thought it would be best if he were included since he’s been my contact in retrieving a lot of the information I’ve acquired.”

Mackenzie nodded as she crossed the room to shake hands with the three men, giving Alex both a handshake and a hug. “I made coffee for everyone,” she said, indicating the coffeepot sitting on a side table.

After pouring a cup, Griffin, who’d literally been staring nonstop at Mackenzie since the moment he’d walked into her office, leaned back against a wall and sipped his coffee. Noting the man’s interest, Alex, who recalled just how territorial Luke was last weekend, decided to waylay any hope Griffin was harboring by saying, “Mac, I suppose that ring you’re wearing means you’re now officially taken,” Alex said, holding up Mac’s hand to check out her diamond ring.

“Yes, she is,” Luke said proudly. He smiled over at her before returning his gaze to Alex. “Very much so.”

Mackenzie watched as Alex gazed down at her hand. “Nice rock. Congratulations, you two. Has a date been set?”

Luke chuckled. “No, just happened last night. We haven’t told the family yet.”

Alex nodded, smiling. “Then they won’t hear it from
me. But I’m sure you both know they have been expecting it.” He then said to Adams and Griffin, “Luke and I are related since I’m married to his cousin.”

After everyone had gotten a cup of coffee and was seated around Mackenzie’s desk, Alex began talking. “It bothered me that Whitedyer would pay all that money for a piece of land, so I began doing a little more investigating,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “It was then that I discovered that another company Whitedyer does a lot of business with, Cunningham Electronics, is housed in Tulsa. Have you ever heard of them?” he asked Mackenzie.

She shook her head. “No. Should I have?”

Alex shook his head. “Not really, I just wasn’t sure if the name ever came up in your conversations with Farley. I found it interesting that a few years ago one of Cunningham’s top executives, Aaron Gerhard, went missing.”

“Missing?” Luke asked, frowning.

“Yes,” Griffin responded. “It was believed by some that after he’d embezzled a large sum of money from Cunningham, Gerhard left the country. Those close to him claimed he was innocent and there was no way he would have left the country without taking his wife and child. But everything we had to go on, including a plane ticket in his name, indicated that’s exactly what he’d done.”