Ties That Bind

by Brenda Jackson

  “Agreed,” she said.

  “By the powers invested in me by the state of South Carolina, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  Surrounded by close family and friends, Randolph lowered his head and his mouth covered Jenna’s to claim what he knew awaited him. Her response was quick and complete. Afterwards, the minister had them turn to face their guests and said to all in attendance, “I present to everyone, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Devin Fuller.”

  Across the glen with tears in her eyes, Leigh leaned over and whispered to the woman sitting on her left. “At long last.”

  Ellie nodded in agreement with tears filling her own eyes. “Yes,” she said softly. “At long last.”

  “May I speak to you privately, Jenna?”

  Startled, Jenna turned around and met Julia Fuller’s gaze, eyeing her uneasily. Standing before her was the woman who had never approved of her relationship with Randolph. The woman who thought she was unfit to become a Fuller because her mother had worked in the school cafeteria and her father had been a meat cutter. This was the woman who hadn’t said a kind word to her in all the years she had been with Randolph. Not a single one. And to be quite honest, she had been surprised when she had come to their wedding, although Randolph had told her she would.

  “Yes, Mrs. Fuller, you can speak with me privately,” Jenna said. She turned back to Ellie and Johnny, with whom she’d been conversing and said, “Please excuse me for a minute.” Inwardly she was nervous but she refused to let it show.

  “We can go into the guest bedroom I’m using,” Jenna said to the woman, leading the way through Gramma Denison’s home where the reception was being held. She glanced across the room at Randolph. He was in a group talking to Noah and her brothers. She saw him lift his brow questioningly. Jenna nodded and smiled, letting him know that everything would be fine, and that she would deal with his grandmother. After all these years, it was about time.

  She closed the door behind them, then looked over at the other woman. Every time she had ever seen Julia Fuller she’d been the epitome of grace and refinement. Today was no different. There was no doubt in Jenna’s mind that the outfit she wore had cost a pretty penny. It screamed expensive with a capital “E”.

  “What did you want to say to me, Mrs. Fuller?”

  “I wish to heaven I knew,” the older woman said softly, looking at her. “I know what I should say, but it’s hard.” Julia sighed deeply. “It’s hard admitting you were wrong—completely wrong—about something or someone, and I’ve been guilty of both.”

  The older woman looked thoughtfully around her before walking over to look out of the only window in the room. A few seconds later she turned around. “I owe you an apology, Jenna. It is one that I hope you can and will accept. For years I thought I knew what was best for the men in my life. It didn’t matter what they wanted, if what they wanted wasn’t in tune with what I thought they should have. In a nutshell, I literally gave them grief. At least all but Randolph. He always stood up to me. He tried to make me understand from the beginning how much he loved you, but I just couldn’t see it. In fact I really didn’t understand it until a while ago.”

  Julia crossed the room to come to stand before Jenna. “All it took was a look into his eyes while he was repeating your marriage vows to know he meant every word. The look on his face was priceless, such a treasure and he was looking at you that way—like you were the greatest gift he could ever receive; one that was long overdue. And in a way, you are.”

  She sighed deeply. “I just want you to know, Jenna, that you are welcomed into our family. And I will do everything to make you feel a part of it. I saw something on my grandson’s face today that I hadn’t seen in a long time, a very long time, and that was a smile of true happiness. And I want to thank you for putting it back there, and I believe in my heart that you’ll keep it there.”

  Tears misted Jenna’s eyes. “I’m going to try.”

  Julia nodded as tears misted her eyes as well. “And I believe that you will.”

  Right before they were to cut the wedding cake, Randolph pulled Jenna aside. “Are you okay?”

  She smiled up at him. “Yes, I’m fine. After all these years your grandmother discovered that she and I have something in common.”

  “What?”

  “Our love for you and wanting the best for you and making you happy.”

  Randolph chuckled. “That should be an easy task for you to do.”

  “Easy and fulfilling.” Jenna’s gaze studied him closely. The lines of strain were still around his eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder what or who had put them there. She knew it had something to do with Trey but she wouldn’t question him about it. She would wait for him to tell her what was going on.

  “I can’t wait to start our honeymoon,” he said, turning her around to him in his arms.

  She smiled up at him. “Neither can I.”

  They didn’t have far to go. Randolph and Jenna had decided to spend their first few days as man and wife in a place that meant a lot to the both of them, the cottage on Glendale Shores. Gramma Mattie had made arrangements to spend time with her relatives on Hilton Head so the couple could have complete privacy.

  It was late evening when everyone finally left the island leaving them alone. The sun had gone down and dusk nearly covered the land. When they reached the door to the cottage, Randolph opened the door then stopped her from going further. He took her hands in his and carried them to his lips.

  “I have dreamed of this moment, Jenna, for so long. Even when I thought I had lost you forever. But even then, you were a part of me. I love you and will always love you.”

  With tears glazing her eyes, Jenna raised her hand and framed his face. “And I have always loved you, Randolph. Even in my darkest moments you were never far from my thoughts. Loving you, losing you, now having you back with me is truly a special blessing from God; one I will never take lightly. We were given another chance and I intend for it to last forever.”

  She leaned toward him and kissed him. Slow. Deliberate. Sensuous. And he returned her kiss in like form then picked her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold.

  Once inside he placed her on her feet and only then did they break the kiss. His gaze locked with hers and he knew she was thinking, as he was, what they had endured since that night in nineteen-sixty-five when they had first met on Howard University’s campus.

  As he continued to watch her, study her, absorb everything about her into his entire being, he felt the atmosphere in the room change as it became electrically charged and intensely passionate. And at that moment he wanted her in a way he had never wanted her before. All he could think about was that now, today, forever, she was his.

  His.

  He had waited so long for this moment. But first there was something he had to do, something special he had prepared just for her to erase the years they had been apart.

  Placing a kiss on her lips he crossed the room to the stereo and pushed a few buttons.

  Jenna raised a brow. “Music?”

  He returned to her side and smiled. “Because we didn’t spend time together in the seventies, I want to relive that time with you, especially a song that always made me think of what we had shared.”

  “Our Love” by Natalie Cole began playing softly. Randolph offered Jenna his hand. “Come, sweetheart, dance with me in celebration of our love,” he whispered huskily.

  Jenna went into his arms and he pulled her gently to him as they began moving around the room in tune to the music.

  Our love.

  She closed her eyes as her mind and heart absorbed the words to the song he had selected for them. Their first dance as husband and wife.

  Jenna’s breasts felt tight, sensitive and achy pressed so close to Randolph’s chest. She felt his hands, firm and possessive, rest against her bottom, kneading her softly, provocatively. As the sound of Natalie Cole floated around them she rested her head against his shoulder
and shifted her hips against him and he shifted his against hers as they continued to move slowly.

  “Open your eyes, Jenna, and look at me. I want you to see my love. I want you to actually feel it. I love you.”

  Jenna opened her eyes, leaned back in his arms and met his gaze. The look on his face was so full of expression it made her drag in a deep, consuming breath. His eyes were filled with love, devotion and desire. She swallowed thickly. No woman could ask for more from the man she loved and whom she knew loved her. She felt the strength in him as well as his weakness and knew that even now, as well as in the past, she had always been both.

  A shudder of love rippled through her and she knew the man who held her in his arms would have her heart forever. And on this special day, on this special island where he had proclaimed his love to her over fourteen years ago, he was reaffirming, reclaiming, restating.

  Tears began filling her eyes and she knew she had never felt as loved as she did at that very moment. “And I love you, too, so very, very much, Randolph Devin Fuller.”

  Book Three

  The Present

  The wicked man is doomed by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

  Proverbs 6:22

  Twenty-eight

  September 2002

  Los Angeles, California

  It wasn’t hard to tell she was an easy lay.

  That thought went through Trey Fuller’s mind as his gaze lingered on yet another woman his mother had arranged for him to meet. He wondered if she would ever tire of playing matchmaker.

  Checking his watch he noted it was almost nine o’clock. Although he had arrived late to the dinner party his mother had given for the Barfields—business associates of his stepfather—Trey had all intentions of leaving early. Across the room his mother met his gaze and scowled her disapproval, evidently having read his mind. He decided to allow her this one concession tonight and hang around a little while longer.

  “Trey, isn’t it just wonderful hearing about those exotic places Marva has traveled?”

  He glanced at his mother and then glanced at Marva, noting that she, too, was waiting for his response. “Yes, I find her travels utterly amazing,” he said smiling. “Which place did you enjoy visiting the most, Marva?”

  As Marva began talking Trey noticed his mother, stepfather and the Barfields conveniently departing the room, leaving him and Marva alone. After she’d finished telling him about a recent trip to Egypt, she placed the wineglass she’d been holding on the table beside her.

  “I can’t believe they think we’re that dense,” she said, obviously amused.

  Trey shrugged. “I take it you’re no more interested in their matchmaking schemes than I am.”

  Marva looked like she was about to gag. “Not in the least. I find the very thought of settling down with anyone and getting married quite revolting.”

  Trey chuckled, deciding he actually liked her after all. “Same here. I keep telling my mother that I’m thirty-four and not eighty-four. I have plenty of time to settle down and get married later but have no desire to do so now. I’m totally enjoying myself as a single man.”

  Marva shifted positions in her chair. “My parents can’t get it through their heads that I’m no longer a child. I’m twenty-eight and doing quite well by myself. I have a job that takes me all over the world and pays a very good salary.” She shifted positions in her chair again. “They would die if they knew the only thing I want from a man is sex.”

  Trey wasn’t shocked by her bluntness. It was the only thing he wanted from a woman as well, and he did believe in equal rights. “Is that the reason you’re sitting across from me with your legs wide open, showing me that you don’t have on any panties?”

  Marva smiled, a hot sultry smile, opening her legs some more. The way she was sitting was not ladylike at all but from the way his eyes had darkened she had gotten the effect she wanted. For the past two weeks her parents had been singing the praises of Ross Donovan Fuller III, who was called Trey by family and friends. He was a hotshot corporate attorney for his stepfather’s financial corporation. Her mother called him a good catch. Her father indicated he was a young man with a good head on his shoulders. His mother claimed he was an eligible bachelor who the right woman could turn into a family man. But the first thing that had gone through her mind when she’d first seen him was that with a body like his, he would be dynamite in bed.

  “The reason I’m being so forward is because I want you to know just how hot and ready I am. And now that you know it, what are you going to do about it?”

  Trey slowly stood as a smile curved his lips. “I plan to give you the only thing you want from a man.” He placed his wineglass on the table next to hers. “I’ll let our parents know that I’m taking you home.”

  Marva grinned. “You know if we leave together they’re going to assume their little matchmaking scheme worked.”

  “Let them think whatever they want. You and I will know differently, won’t we?”

  Trey couldn’t wait to see Marva completely naked. And she couldn’t wait for him to see her naked. She began taking off her clothes the moment they entered her apartment. He’d known she wasn’t wearing panties and soon discovered she wasn’t wearing much of anything else, either. When she had gotten completely naked, he watched as she strutted into her bedroom and stretched her lush body out on the bed to wait for him.

  He took his time removing his own clothes, knowing she watched his every move and was getting even more turned on. Before he was through with her, she would think twice about being a temptress and sitting across from him with her legs wide open exposing herself.

  “You’re taking too long.”

  He looked at her, holding her gaze. “Am I?”

  “Yes. Need any help?”

  He chuckled. “No, I think I can manage. I’ve done this several times in my lifetime.” He had taken everything off but his briefs. And she watched, licking her lips, as he took his hands and began lowering his underwear down his legs. He smiled upon hearing the sharp sound of her indrawn breath. “That about does it,” he said moments later after putting on a condom. He moved to the bed to join her.

  Trey didn’t think he would ever forget the look on her face when he placed his body over hers and slowly entered her. He hadn’t gone all the way in when she began panting and moving her body to meet his, softly saying words in a language he didn’t understand. He had wanted to start off by taking things slow, initiating foreplay, but she had other ideas. She became an acrobat beneath him, moving her body this way and that. The more she moved, the more he tried pinning her to the bed with his body in an attempt to keep her still. She was hot. Greedy. Hungry. And she was liable to end things before they began. He was already on the edge of going off.

  “Slow down, damnit, I’m not going anywhere.” His words were useless as she kept up her aggressive pace. After a while when he saw there was no stopping her, he wrapped her thighs firmly around his waist and flipped her over, letting her take the dominant role and give him the ride of his life.

  She did.

  His body became sensitized as she pulled everything out of him until he couldn’t bear it anymore. If he didn’t know better he would think she hadn’t had a man in months. But then he hadn’t had a woman for just that long.

  When he felt her body jerk atop his, he knew a climax was coming. Quickly changing positions, he placed her beneath him and slipped his hand under her hips, making sure he had gone as deep as he could, feeling her tremors, shivers and liking the way her body was clutching him.

  “Don’t fight it. Let it go,” he whispered in her ear as one climax after another rammed into her. She moaned loudly, alternating in English and what sounded like Chinese or Japanese. Or was it Russian? It could have been a language from another planet for all he cared. At that moment he was feeling too good to give a damn. Closing his eyes he arched his back to go deeper as a climax tore into him as well.

  He gulped for air. She
did too, but kept her body moving. Trey knew she’d come twice already and was going for a third, taking him with her.

  “Mercy!” The last thought that infiltrated his lust-induced mind before another orgasm struck was that Marva Barfield definitely knew how to get all the sex she wanted from a man.

  The ringing of the telephone roused Trey awake. He blinked his eyes several times before remembering he was not in his own bed. He turned and nudged Marva awake. “Your phone is ringing.”

  Marva peered at him through sleepy eyes before his words registered. She then quickly reached across him to answer the phone. “Yes?”

  She slowly lifted her brow. “Yes, he’s here. Just a moment.” She handed him the phone saying, “It’s for you. Your mother. And she says it’s important.”

  Trey sat up. He didn’t have to think twice as to how his mother knew where to find him. “Yes?” After a few moments a frown marred his forehead. “When?” For the longest time he didn’t say anything, then, “I’m going home to pack. Yes, I’m flying out as soon as I can. There’s no discussion about it, Mother, I’m going.” He then hung up the phone.

  Marva reached out and touched his arm. “Trey? You okay?”

  He looked at her with sad eyes. “My mother called to let me know she’d just received word that my great-grandmother who lived in South Carolina has died.”

  “Sir, please prepare for takeoff.”

  Following the flight attendant’s instructions, Trey snapped his seat belt in place wondering what to expect when he arrived in South Carolina for Ma Mattie Denison’s funeral service. There had always been a special place in his heart for Ma Mattie and he had managed to stay in contact with her over the years. A year ago while on a business trip to Charleston, he had rented a car and had taken the scenic drive to Glendale Shores. She had been surprised yet pleased to see him and he had spent two days with her. That visit had made him realize just how many memories he had of visiting her as a young boy. They had been good memories.