It's been five years since Mackenzie "Mac" Standfield's heart was broken by the man she thought she would spend her life with.

It's been five years since Mac met—and subsequently ignored—Luke Madaris. She knew Luke by reputation and by acquaintance with his sprawling family, the Madaris clan. But that's as far as it's gone, despite steaming sexual tension between them. Besides, at current, she's committed to helping her client stave off greedy developers trying to seize his property.

Luke, a rodeo cowboy, noticed Mac five years ago, but he's committed to reclaiming his national championship. There's no space in that quest to any woman. As big a fan as I am of Brenda Jackson's novels, before now, I never read one of the many Madaris family romance stories. This was my first, but it won't be my last.

When Luke is injured and asks to recuperate at Mac's home, both find it difficult to ignore this thing that has pulsed between them for five long years.

Sexy, sexy, sexy. That's how I'd describe this story, from the sensual atmosphere Ms. Jackson weaves around her main characters to the intense, steamy love scenes that just don't stop (and no avid romance reader will wish them to). Mac is a strong woman; Luke is an honorable man. A duo of this type always gets my vote.

I found myself enamored with the wealthy and accomplished Madaris family. I like stories that give me African-American characters in roles and settings that the average person might not expect, yet which are 100% real. I wish there hadn't been a need to fill in as much background information as was received especially in the beginning but also throughout the book. I suspect there have been so many of these novels, and the Madaris family is clearly huge, that it might seem as though a reader new to the series would have trouble keeping up with the characters and following along. I didn't, although all that extra information did make me wonder about some of the stories I've missed.

Although I'm a huge fan of Brenda Jackson's, I'd never read any of the many Madaris Family novels before now. This was my first, but it most certainly won't be my last.