Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) Read online

  Praise for

  BRENDA JACKSON

  “The Nora Roberts of African-American fiction.”

  —Romantic Times

  and the novels in the Madaris series

  SLOW BURN

  “An entertaining story…Jackson brings back beloved characters from her popular series, and the reunion is exceptionally satisfying.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “A good solid story with fiercely tender and intensely romantic protagonists.”

  —SingleTitles.com

  UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  “Jackson is a master at juggling two plots at a time, and Unfinished Business proves no exception. A perfect balance of tension and chemistry is created as Christy and the somewhat domineering Alex battle unknown criminals—as well as their unresolved attraction to each other.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “Hot and sexy.”

  —Romance Reader at Heart

  THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

  “A super-hot hero, a kick-butt heroine, and non-stop action! Brenda Jackson writes romance that sizzles and characters you fall in love with.”

  —Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author

  MORE…

  “The Midnight Hour is a roller-coaster read of passion, intrigue, and deceit.”

  —Sharon Sala, New York Times bestselling author

  “With a taut, over-the-top romantic thriller, Jackson revisits her popular Madaris Family and Friends series…Jackson smoothly alternates between several points of view and throws in a number of plot twists…Jackson [has a] knack for creating characters with emotional depth and distinct voices…[a] tension-packed read.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Jackson has written another compelling drama about the Madaris family and their friends.

  —Booklist

  “Action, mystery, and sensuality propel The Midnight Hour forward. Jackson forces readers to step outside the romantic suspense box and enter an elusive world of undercover agents and crime lords. Victoria and Drake are memorable characters who will provide hours of enjoyment for even the most cynical of readers.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “Drake and Tori are tough, passionate, loyal, and attractive protagonists. Their courage and fire and their strong feelings for each other can’t help but appeal to readers. So, too, will the non-stop action; there are no dull moments in The Midnight Hour.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles by

  BRENDA JACKSON

  Taste of Passion

  Slow Burn

  Unfinished Business

  The Midnight Hour

  Taste of

  Passion

  BRENDA JACKSON

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks

  NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  TASTE OF PASSION

  Copyright © 2009 by Brenda Streater Jackson.

  Cover photograph © Masterfile / Masterfile

  All rights reserved.

  For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  ISBN: 0-312-94050-5

  EAN: 978-0-312-94050-8

  Printed in the United States of America

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2009

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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  Acknowledgments

  To the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr.

  To all the members of the Brenda Jackson Book Club who joined me at the BJBC Meet-and-Greet in Mary land to attend the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.

  To all the guys and gals of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo circuit. You are a wonderful group who brings to life a part of our western history. Thanks for sharing so much information about what you do best!

  Let us not love (merely) in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth—in practice and in sincerity.

  I John 3:18 AMP

  Chapter 1

  Mackenzie Standfield took a deep breath when she saw Luke Madaris excuse himself from the group of men that he’d been talking to—other rodeo riders—and head over in her direction. Irritation washed through her, but she forced it away, thinking that it wasn’t his fault he was such a good-looking man; one who oozed sex from the Stetson he wore on his head all the way down to the well-worn leather boots on his feet.

  He was tall, probably at least six foot three, and from the fitness of his body it was easy to tell that he worked out regularly. He was too toned and had too many muscles not to. The front of his Stetson was worn low and nearly covered his dark piercing eyes, making him look the part of a renegade. A very handsome renegade.

  As she watched him approach, she remembered the first time she had seen him. Had it been almost five years already? It was the night of the Brothers’ Auction where the proceeds had gone to benefit the Children’s Home Society. He had been one of the men auctioned off.

  Nothing in her life could have prepared her for the man who had walked onstage after being introduced as championship rodeo rider Lucas Madaris. That night, even while dressed in a black tux and white shirt, he had exuded an air of ruggedness, arrogance, and maybe even something a bit untamed. He had looked across the audience and seemingly his penetrating gaze had latched on to hers.

  At the time she couldn’t bring herself to believe such a thing was possible. After all, Sisters, the upscale restaurant and nightclub where the benefit was held, had been packed that night with over three hundred people, and she had purposely taken a table in the back so as not to be seen until the appropriate time. She had been there on an assignment for her newly opened law firm’s first client, who just happened to be her cousin Ashton Sinclair.

  But still, Luke had proven her wrong when his gaze kept returning to hers time and time again. She had been tempted to bid on him and had almost given in to that temptation. The only thing that had kept her from doing so was the reminder that her presence at the auction had a purpose and that purpose was strictly business.

  There had also been Lawrence Dixon, the man she had fancied herself in love with six years ago while living in Louisiana. The same man who had betrayed her trust. She had eventually left Louisiana and moved back home to Oklahoma to start her own law practice. And that was a decision she never regretted making.

  Which brought her focus back to Luke . . . not that it had ever left him. That night after the auction she had gone out for drinks with him and his two cousins, twins by the name of Blade and Slade, who had also been auction participants. And since she was a relative of their family friend Ashton Sinclair, they considered her a close friend to their family as well. As she’d gotten to know the Madaris family—and there were a lot of them—she had discovered they were good people.

  She basically got along with everyone in the family . . . except for Luke. They didn’t consider themselves enemies, but for some reason they were always trying to avoid each other. The only reason she was here tonight was because he had personally issued an invitation. At least some may have considered it an invitation, but she had seen it for what it truly was. A dare. He hadn’t expected her to show up. And from the expression on his face she wasn’t sure whether or not he was glad to see he
r.

  It was a hot June night in Oklahoma. Everyone had come out to see the rodeo riders perform and the arena was filled to capacity. As far as she was concerned all of the riders had nerves of steel and a skill she couldn’t help but admire. This wasn’t her first rodeo but it was the first she had attended in a long time. She hadn’t been to one since she was twelve and now in a few months she would be celebrating her twenty-eighth birthday.

  She held her breath and forced a smile when Luke came to a stop in front of her. “Mac,” he remarked, calling her by her nickname.

  “Luke,” was her reply.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said, taking his thumb to push his hat back on his head. And the grin that touched his face almost made her breathless. It showed dimples that usually were kept well hidden. “I didn’t think that you would,” he added.

  She had figured as much. “I told you that the next time you were in my neck of the woods I’d come.”

  “Yes, so you did.”

  She glanced around and saw the group of men he had been talking to earlier were looking at her curiously. Then she saw the women staring, too, with both envy and dislike in their eyes. And she knew why. Not only was Luke Madaris a rodeo superstar, he was also a body magnet. He had the ability to draw women to him in droves. And from what she’d heard, he made no promises and preferred no-strings-attached flings. But to some women that didn’t matter.

  “Do you like your seat?”

  She looked up and met his gaze. His eyes were dark, appeared almost chocolate, and she tried at that moment to forget how she was known to have cravings for chocolate on occasion. “Yes and thanks.” He had reserved a seat for her toward the front.

  “You were to sit with Blade, but he called earlier today and won’t be making it. Something has come up.”

  “All right. When was the last time you talked to Slade?”

  Another smile touched the corners of Luke’s lips. “I talked to him earlier today as well. He and Skye were flying out to visit with her aunt in Maine.”

  “It doesn’t seem like they’ve been married almost a year,” she said.

  “No, it doesn’t but they have. I’m happy for them. They make a great couple.”

  She was happy for them as well. She liked Skye. Mackenzie had known that of the three cousins who were thick as thieves—Slade, Blade, and Luke—it would be Slade who would settle down first. Blade, she figured, wouldn’t be settling down any time soon since he loved his bachelor status too much. Luke wasn’t any closer to settling down than Blade, but for a different reason. Unlike Blade, who enjoyed chasing after women, Luke was chasing after his dream of another national championship. Over the years he had received numerous awards and had several titles under his belt, but she knew that what he wanted more than anything was to regain the national title he had lost last year.

  “Hey, Luke, it’s time to chute up, buddy,” one of the men called out.

  “Okay, I’m coming,” he called back.

  “I guess it’s time for me to take my seat,” Mackenzie said.

  “Yes, I guess it is.”

  “Hey, Luke, you haven’t been doing so hot lately, maybe you ought to kiss the lady for good luck,” another man called out.

  “Go to hell, Bobby Joe,” Luke threw over his shoulder. But the look he was giving her made Mackenzie think he was considering the idea. She decided it was definitely time to leave. “Good luck tonight, Luke,” she said, and took a step back.

  “For some reason I’m not feeling so lucky. Maybe Bobby Joe had the right idea after all,” he said, recovering the distance separating them. And before she could utter a single word, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  This was not a good idea, Luke thought, feeling Mackenzie’s mouth open beneath his. Then he quickly thought, when her tongue twined with his, that although the idea might not be a good one, her taste was the best he’d ever sampled.

  He would be the first to admit he had wondered how she would taste from the first time he had laid eyes on her. He had anticipated and fought this moment ever taking place between them. Yet now, he couldn’t resist this sampling even if he wanted to, which was just plain crazy. Luke Madaris never kissed a woman in public. Doing so would be like laying a claim, which was something he just didn’t do when it came to women. However, here he was, standing in front of both friends and enemies alike, kissing Mackenzie as if his entire life depended on it.

  Why?

  Was he trying to convince himself that he could share a kiss with her without any undue hardship? Or that, contrary to what his great-grandmother Felicia Laverne thought, he did not have designs—of any kind—on Mackenzie. Hell, he would be the first to admit that he was attracted to her and had been from the first. But he would also be the first to admit that some things just weren’t good for you, and he had decided five years ago that Mackenzie Standfield was not good for him. The last thing he needed in his life was a woman who could make him lose focus. A woman who could make him realize that at thirty-three he couldn’t take bruises, scrapes, and broken bones forever, and that at some point in his career as a rodeo star, he needed to think about settling down and starting a family to continue the Madaris legacy.

  And the last thing he needed was a woman who could drive him to take her mouth with a hunger he didn’t know he had while crushing her to him so tight she could barley breathe.

  Like he was doing now.

  And damn it, she was so responsive. Who would have thought that buried beneath all that primness and properness was a high degree of passion and sass? Enough to make even the most unwilling man consider how it would feel to have the liberty of taking that passion and sass over the edge any time he wanted.

  The realization that he was even considering such a thing had him suddenly ending the kiss. But he felt a sense of loss the moment their lips separated. Sensations he wasn’t used to feeling crept up his spine and began invading his body, and he had to inwardly admit that the real thing had been better than the dream he’d had of her.

  He watched her shake her head, as if she were trying to force some sense into herself, saw how the mass of jet-black hair swinging around her shoulders gave her a blatantly sexy look, especially with her just thoroughly kissed lips. At that moment he thought what he did whenever he saw her: Mackenzie was a beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman he had seen in his entire life, and he was used to seeing, as well as being around, plenty.

  He would never forget how she had come forward that night at the Brothers Auction. As Ashton Sinclair’s attorney, she had followed her cousin’s orders to place a bid on him so that Ashton could end up choosing the woman he wanted—Nettie Brooms. The moment Mackenzie had come forward, both men and women alike had been spellbound, taken by her exotic beauty—a mixture of African American and Cherokee Indian. Her features were flawless . . . especially the lips he had just tasted. Now he watched her eyes, darker than any color he’d ever seen, narrow as they looked at him.

  “Why did you do that, Luke?”

  He sighed, knowing he could give her a number of reasons. None that he actually liked since they would only verify that he hadn’t been able to resist temptation. So instead he said, “For good luck.”

  “You took me by surprise.”

  He started to say, “welcome to the club,” and that he had been taken by surprise himself, but decided against it. He was a man known to always be in control and could just imagine what Bobby Joe and the others, who had to be standing over there staring, were thinking. Hell, Nadine Turner was probably lurking somewhere in the shadows. He had dated the spoiled and wealthy socialite, who was the daughter of a rancher in Austin, a couple of times last year, and for some reason she’d figured the two of them had become an item—although he had taken the time to tell her up front that they weren’t, as well as several times after that when she’d begun making a pest of herself. She saw him as a challenge, was determined to bring him around to her way of thinking, and refused to accept that it wasn�
��t going to happen.

  “Don’t you like surprises, Mac?” he asked, forcing a smile on his lips. He was tempted to pull her back into his arms and taste her mouth one more time for good measure, but knew that wouldn’t be a smart move.

  “No, I don’t.”

  Now why wasn’t he surprised? The one thing he had discovered about Mac was that she liked being in control. That facet of her personality didn’t bother him, since he liked being in control as well. However, what did bother him was that she tended to be way too serious most of the time, was always focused, and didn’t seem inclined to have any fun. He took his work as a cowboy seriously but liked letting his hair down too. He was a man of passion and enjoyed messing around with it every once in a while. Evidently she preferred keeping her passion hidden, which was probably the reason she was glaring at him now. He had long ago decided that he and Mackenzie were from different worlds. He was from the hot hemisphere and she was from the cold . . . at least he’d thought so until their kiss. Now he was convinced that no matter how cold she was, with the right man she could definitely thaw out.

  “Luke?”

  Another thing he had discovered was that he liked hearing how she said his name. She seemed to develop a huskiness in her voice whenever she said it. “Yes?”