Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) (39 page)

June

It seems that everyone turned out for what many thought was the event of the year—rodeo superstar Luke Madaris’s marriage to Oklahoma attorney Mackenzie Standfield. The wedding took place on the grounds of Luke’s uncle Jake’s ranch, Whispering Pines.

It was a huge affair with guests coming all the way from the Middle East, and everyone was more than happy for the newly wedded couple, who were presently making their rounds greeting their many guests.

Mama Laverne Madaris, who was sitting on a bench with one of her great-grandsons standing beside her, wiped tears from her eyes as she gazed upon the couple.

“You need a hanky, Mama Laverne?”

She glanced up at Blade, her great-grandson who thought he was above getting married. “No, but you can make me happy by settling down with
one
woman, preferably a wife.”

He looked aghast. “Why would I want to do something like that? I don’t want a wife.”

She rolled her eyes before taking her cane and tapping him on the leg, and not too gently, with it. “Ouch,” he said.

“Listen up. I’m living long enough just to make sure it happens with you, Blade.”

He chuckled. “Then I guess that means you’ll be around for a long time.”

“But you have to admit Luke is a lucky man. Mac’s a beautiful bride,” Mama Laverne went on to say.

“Yes, she’s beautiful,” Blade agreed. He was talking about Mac, but his gaze had shifted to one of her bridesmaids. The one she called Sam. The one who wore her sexuality like it was some mind-drugging scent. In other words, she was a looker, stunningly so with an exotic look. They had met briefly last night and for a reason that he was still trying to figure out, it was instant dislike. At least on her part. The look she’d given him had nearly chilled him to the bone. He couldn’t help wondering what her problem was.

“Somewhere out there is a woman just made for you,” Mama Laverne said, interrupting his thoughts.

Blade smiled. “Possibly, but I’m in no hurry to meet her. You might want to warn her of that. In the meantime I’ll just go about enjoying life to the fullest.”

His gaze shifted from the woman named Sam back to his grandmother. “Don’t you get tired of trying to marry us off?”

“No.”

His gaze shifted back to Sam. She was an unnerving and disturbingly very sexy woman. “Sorry to hear that,” he said to Mama Laverne, shifting his gaze to her glass of punch. “Do you want a refill?”

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.” She watched him walk off and shook her head. Whether the boy knew it or not, his days as a bachelor were numbered.

Jake Madaris lifted a brow as he watched Rasheed Valdemon approach him with an intense look on his face. “Is something wrong, Rasheed?”

His friend shook his head. “I just got a call from my future brother-in-law, Sheik Jamal Ai Yasir. His sister, the woman I am to marry, graduated from Harvard a few weeks ago and was to return to Tehran to start planning our wedding. Jamal’s call was to let me know she’s missing.

Jake lowered the wine glass from his lips. “Missing?”

“Yes, missing.” Rasheed inhaled a deep breath and
then told him in a very irritated tone, “It seems she’s decided she’s not ready to return home just yet. She likes it here in the States and wants to have fun before settling down and marrying an
old
man.”

Jake couldn’t help but laugh. At Rasheed’s frown he quickly sobered up. “Sorry, Rasheed. What are you going to do?”

“Find my future bride, and when I do, she’s going to regret the day she decided to deliberately get lost. Please give my regrets to the bride and groom, but I must leave.”

Jake nodded. “I will and I’m sure they’ll understand.”

Rasheed turned to walk off and Jake couldn’t help but smile. He had a feeling Rasheed was going to be teaching his future wife a thing or two when he found her.

The sun going down over the lake was the perfect setting for the last of Luke and Mac’s wedding pictures. Luke was grateful since it seemed the photographer had taken a million of them already. But no photograph would be able to capture Mac’s beauty the moment she had walked down the aisle to him on Ashton’s arm. She had taken his breath away just like she had the first time he’d seen her that night at the Brothers’ Auction. And today, as she had walked toward him, a vision of beauty in her wedding gown, both love and desire had pounded in his chest with every step she’d taken.

“Ready to go take off our clothes, Luke?” Mac asked.

Luke smiled. “Sweetheart, I’ve been ready.”

She rolled her eyes. “What I meant is that since we’ve finished taking all the pictures and mingled with our guests, we can change into our traveling clothes.”

Compliments of Sheikh Rasheed Valdemon, they would be spending two weeks in Dubai, a city that was located along the beautiful Persian Gulf. In recent years Dubai had emerged as one of the world’s largest business hubs and was considered a vacation paradise.

Luke pulled his wife into his arms. “I knew exactly what you meant. I guess we’re just going to have to wait
until we get on the plane to get naughty. Start our own Mile High Club.”

Mac could only smile at what he was suggesting. “I thought it was nice of Jake to have his private jet fly us over there and then come back to get us.”

“I thought so, too,” Luke said. “In fact everyone has been nice. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were glad to see us get married.”

“I think they were.”

“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Madaris. I can’t resist asking if we can get one more photo? This one of the two of you kissing with the sunset in the background,” the photographer approached them and asked. “I think it would make a beautiful picture.”

“We’d love to,” Luke said.

And then Luke pulled his wife into his arms in a passionate embrace and whispered, “I could never resist kissing you.”

“And I never could resist being kissed by you,” she countered, before reaching up and pulling his mouth down to hers.