Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (25 page)

“Thanks for allowing me to be a visitor here, Jake.”

Jake looked over at Rasheed. “I’ve told you a number of times that you’ll always be welcome at Whispering Pines. Diamond and I always look forward to your visits. Besides, everyone considers you part of our family.”

Jake paused and then said, “I don’t want to pry, Rasheed, but you seemed deeply troubled about something. Is it about your homeland? Is there anything I can do?”

Rasheed could only give Jake an appreciative smile. Jake was just that type of friend. He knew if he ever needed anything that Jake would be there to make it happen. Besides Jake, he had made a number of friends that were either in or connected to the Madaris family. But this issue that concerned him was one that he alone could deal with, and whether he liked it or not, he agreed with his father that it was time.

“Thanks for the offer, Jake, and to answer your questions, in a way it does deal with my homeland but there is nothing that you can do. I can’t even look at it as a sacrifice for my people like I did when I was much younger. Now at the age of thirty-eight, it is my duty.”

Jake lifted a brow. “What is your duty?”

Rasheed met his curious gaze. “Marriage. And before you ask, the answer is no. She is not anyone that you know. In fact, she isn’t anyone that I know. Our marriage was arranged years ago.”

Jake took a sip of his wine and decided to wait. It was up to Rasheed to tell him any more than that. He was aware that in Rasheed’s country arranged marriages were the norm. And with his wealth Rasheed would certainly be a good catch. And according to the females in the Madaris family, Rasheed was also an extremely handsome man. He was tall with piercing dark eyes, brown skin, and straight black hair that flowed loosely around his shoulders.

“It was decided that I would marry her before she was even born,” Rasheed said, breaking into Jake’s thoughts. “I’ve never met her and she has never met me.”

“But she is aware of the marriage,” Jake was curious enough to ask.

Rasheed smiled faintly. “Yes, but I’m sure growing up she figured by the time she had to marry me, I would have died off or something.”

At Jake’s raised brow, he added, “There’s a fifteen-year difference in our ages. Presently, she is in this country attending college. She will graduate next year from Harvard in June, and then she is expected to return to the Middle East where the two of us will officially meet and plan our wedding.”

Rasheed then sighed deeply. “I’ve been single a long time, my friend. I’m set in my ways. I enjoy women but—”

“You’re not ready to settle down,” Jake finished for him.

Rasheed nodded. “No, I’m not ready to settle down. And I have another concern.”

“What?”

“She’s young. Probably inexperienced and not anything I’m used to in a woman. Chances are she doesn’t possess any of the skills and aptitudes that I expect in a mistress.”

Jake chuckled. “But she won’t be a mistress, Rasheed.”

“True. And that, too, will be different. I’m used to lovers who are here today and gone tomorrow. All my prior relationships have been short and meaningless. As a marriage this one will have to be different.”

Jake didn’t say anything for a moment and then, “Would it help any if I told you that at one time I felt the
same way? That I wasn’t interested in having a wife, but since marrying Diamond I can’t imagine life without her?”

Rasheed smiled before shaking his head. “I know that you love Diamond, Jake. But then you selected her as your partner in life. She was not selected for you.”

Jake knew that to be true. “Well, I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.”

Rasheed sat back in his chair. “I really don’t have a choice in the matter. I just need time to get prepared and hope that when the day comes I will be.”

Roger Coroni’s mouth tightened into a frown. “Why can’t those people just accept my decision not to sell my land and leave me alone?”

Mackenzie could only sympathize with what he was saying. She had taken time to come visit with him during her lunch hour to find him sitting on the porch in a rocking chair looking tired and despondent. “I understand how you feel, Mr. Coroni, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that you keep it. Has anyone at Whitedyer tried contacting you?”

“No, but I get irate calls. People are blaming me for not having jobs and that’s not fair.”

Mackenzie nodded. “You’re right, it’s not fair, but hopefully things will be over soon. I got a call this morning. The judge has set a date and time for the hearing. It’s going to be two weeks from now.”

He raised a surprised brow. “That soon?”

“Yes.” She waited for Mr. Coroni to say something, not sure what he was thinking. And then he asked her, “How good are our chances?”

She didn’t want to dampen his spirits nor did she want to give him false hope. “I honestly don’t know. The most recent eminent domain cases that went all the way to the Supreme Court were ruled in favor of the private developer or corporation. But that doesn’t mean it will go that way again.”

“I hope that you’re right, Ms. Standfield. I was born on
this property and so were my daddy and his daddy before him and his daddy before that. This land has been in the Coroni family for generations and I can’t see myself losing it to a bunch of stuffed shirts who want to use it for their personal gain. What about the blood, sweat, and tears my family endured to cultivate this land, hold on to it? That has to stand for something.”

Mackenzie heard the frustration in his voice and the traces of anger as well. “Yes, Mr. Coroni, it does stand for something, and as your attorney it will be my job to convince a judge and jury of that.”

She knew that Mr. Coroni had sought out several law firms before deciding on Standfield, De Meglio, and Mahoney. Everyone else, foreseeing the case turning into a three-ring circus because of who they’d be up against, had backed away saying thanks but no thanks. How could you fight a major corporation that had in their arsenal promises of jobs—jobs people needed to make their lives go a little easier?

A few hours later when Mackenzie pulled into the yard of her ranch home that same question was on her mind. That answer, whatever it was, would be the key to winning the case. And if her day could have gotten any worse, she had returned to the office after meeting with Mr. Coroni to find the post office had delivered a letter of condemnation for Mr. Coroni’s property. By exercising their condemnation powers the city was officially letting her know they were siding with Whitedyer. Not that she had been surprised.

Before leaving the office she had talked to Syneda and she’d mentioned that Clayton had called Alex Maxwell and he had agreed to try to dig up information on a possible third-party involvement. But Mackenzie knew that as good a private investigator as Alex was, she couldn’t bank on him finding anything that might help her client. Today had certainly not been a good day for her.

The moment she walked into the house she could smell
the casserole cooking in the oven. She was getting used to coming home and getting fed, pampered, and loved. Okay, it was probably wishful thinking with the “love” part, but a girl had to have some kind of hope. Right?

“Luke, I’m home!” she called out after placing her briefcase on the table.

The moment she said his name he strolled out of wherever he’d been and crossed the living room to where she stood. He placed his arms at her waist and pulled her closer to him. “You were missed today.”

Likewise, she settled into the cradle of his frame while placing her arms around his neck. “You were missed today, too,” she said, meaning every word. “I need a kiss real bad, Luke.”

The intensity of his gaze made heat settle low in her stomach. And when he shifted his eyes to her lips, she felt more than heat. She felt a rumbling in her stomach that had nothing to do with a missed meal. And when he bent his head and lowered his mouth to hers, she was more than ready to receive him.

And receive him she did, on a breathless sigh, which only gave him the opportunity to deepen the kiss, take it to another level and then some. She gripped his shoulders thinking he had introduced her to a different form of kissing. He mated with her mouth, taking the edge off her day and at the same time clearing her mind. All she could do was return the kiss as unabashedly as he gave it.

When he released her mouth sometime later, her body quivered at the loss. Before she could say anything—not sure at that point what it would be—he swooped back down to her mouth for a quick lick, brushing against her lips with his tongue.

Satisfied, he gave her a smile; the same one that had endeared him to her for life. “So,” she asked when she was able to pull air through her lungs, “what’s cooking?”

His smile widened in a way that made a dimple appear in his cheek. “Another boring casserole.”

She chuckled. “Trust me. Your casseroles are anything but boring. In fact, I can’t think of a single boring thing about you, Luke Madaris.”

“Prove it.”

No problem, she thought, and immediately pulled his mouth down to hers. They stood there and for the next few moments by silent mutual assent they made time for a playful interlude. As if he sensed her body’s stress and had somehow detected her inner frustrations from the day, with deliberate precision and a meticulousness that had her moaning, he used his tongue to stroke away any tension and anxiety. By the time he had finished, she was panting, barely able to stand on her feet.

“Now for your bath,” he whispered close to her ear.

“My bath?” she asked, trying to regain the senses she always lost during the kiss.

“Yes, I already ran your bathwater. All you have to do is take off your clothes and get in the tub and play in the bubbles.”

Mac thought that sounded heavenly. She removed her hands from around his neck to slide down to his chest, then lower to cup him through the material of his jeans. She felt the way his body responded and when she looked into his eyes, she saw heavy desire staring back at her. “And will you get into the tub with me?” she leaned close to ask in a seductive tone.

“Tempting, sweetheart, but no,” he said, taking a step back. “I’m going to get dinner ready and placed on the table.”

Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. It was as if he were determined to stay in control tonight. Why? “Is anything wrong, Luke?”

He didn’t immediately answer. Instead he met her gaze and she couldn’t read anything in his eyes. But that funny feeling wouldn’t go away.

“No, there’s nothing wrong,” he finally said. “But we need to talk and we’ll do so over dinner.”

Mackenzie wondered what they had to talk about. What
did he want to say to her that required him to deny them both pleasure right now.

“Mac?”

She blinked and then realized she’d just been standing there. “Yes?”

“Your water is getting cold. We’ll talk over dinner,” he murmured in a low tone.

She felt her throat tighten but got out the words anyway. “All right, I’ll be back in a minute.”

And then she was rushing off toward the bathroom. She had a strong feeling that her bad day was about to get worse.

As usual the casserole Luke had cooked was excellent. However, it could have been topped with vanilla ice cream and garnished with glazed walnuts and Mackenzie would still have had a hard time forcing it down her throat.

She had a feeling about what Luke was going to say, and at the moment she didn’t want to hear it. Just as well, since it seemed he wasn’t in a talkative mood either. It reminded her of the old days when he’d first arrived and they sat across from each other at the kitchen table and barely exchanged a single word. But that was before the time in the kitchen when he had taken her—or she had taken him—in that very chair he was sitting in. And it was before all those times, too numerous to count and too precious to forget, when he would make love to her until she moaned and groaned while teetering on the edge of pleasure and then plunging her there with a force that could rob her of her senses in one climactic scream.

She always found it utterly amazing how her body would ripple in anticipation even before he touched her. Just knowing what was to come kept her cloaked in sensual awareness, made her body want him even when it should have had enough. And that was one of the problems. With Luke there was never enough. She had an unquenchable hunger, a desire that kept going and going. And all it took was a look from him. A smile. A touch.

She would become all hot and bothered, all hungry and greedy, so quintessentially needy. So—

“I take it you had a bad day.”

His words made her glance up and she wished she hadn’t. For some reason her gaze went straight to his lips. Lips that liked kissing her, tasting her, and a tongue that could send her over the edge with a skill that he ought to patent. And just knowing that skillful tongue was behind such beautiful lips had her senses purring, heat moving low to settle in one particular part of her body.

“Mac?”

She blinked and her gaze snapped to his eyes. “Yes?”

“Did you have a bad day?”

She shrugged as she tried to continue eating her food. “It hasn’t been the best. First thing this morning I got a call saying that the judge has set a date for our hearing against Whitedyer. Then I visited Mr. Coroni and found out that he’s really nervous about what’s going to happen and there was no way I could assure him that he had no reason to be nervous. Then when I got back to my office I saw that the city had sent a letter of condemnation on his property.”