What a Woman Wants

by Brenda Jackson

  Wave after wave of pure ecstasy flooded his mind and body, and as the explosion subsided, he shifted so he wouldn’t collapse on top of her and brought her to his side, their joining complete, their bodies still connected.

  And as he cradled her in his arms, he felt an inner peace like he’d not felt in a long time. And he knew why. He had connected with his future.

  25

  “Hey, I thought you didn’t bring your dancing shoes.”

  Lyle had a huge grin on his face as he led Monique off the dance floor and back to their table. “Everyone knows how to do the Electric Slide, Nicky.”

  She smiled. “Yes, but still, you did real good out there.”

  “And you didn’t do so bad yourself.” He glanced around when they sat down. “This is a nice place.”

  Monique agreed. “Yes, and what I like the most is that it caters to adults our ages and not the younger crowd.”

  Lyle leaned back in his chair, frowning, “You’re making us sound rather old.”

  She giggled. “Not old but mature. I consider the thirty-something group as the mature crowd.”

  At that moment a slow song began playing, the first for the night, and Lyle glanced over at Monique. “Just what I’ve been waiting for,” he said, standing and offering her his hand.

  She took it, refusing to tell him she’d been waiting for it as well. Ever since they had talked at lunch about dancing together, she looked forward to having his body melded to hers.

  “You look nice tonight, Nicky.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled, pleased he had noticed. Instead of taking a nap as Lyle assumed she had, she’d left the inn and visited that little boutique she’d seen earlier on their stroll. She had decided that the dress she’d packed just wouldn’t work and wanted to purchase a special outfit for tonight.

  She hadn’t been absolutely certain about this one, since it was a little more daring than any outfit she’d normally wear, but while in the dressing room trying it on, she could have sworn she heard a little voice sounding a lot like Cely’s saying, Girl that dress looks good on you so buy it. She had. And from the looks she was getting, it seemed that Lyle wasn’t the only male appreciating the way the material clung to her hips as well as the generous glimpse of her cleavage every time she made a move.

  The moment they were on the dance floor, he pulled her closer to his muscular frame and wrapped his arms around her as they began moving slowly in place. “You smell nice, too, Nicky.”

  She glanced up at him and smiled. “Well, aren’t we full of compliments tonight, Dr. Montgomery.”

  Lyle looked down at her, returning her smile. “And you deserve each and every one of them.”

  He wished he could give her even more compliments but knew he had to be careful not to make it too obvious how very attracted he was to her. Just having her in his arms would suffice for now because he intended for them to share many more slow dances before the night was over.

  The moment their bodies had touched, he knew that he would be her only dance partner tonight. If the other men in the establishment had other ideas, then that was too bad. She felt wonderful in his arms and the swell of her breasts pressing against his chest was sending all kind of sensations through his body. Then there was the way her hips rocked against his as they moved to the slow rhythm.

  “You mentioned your sister had called,” Monique said.

  “Yes, she called the minute we got back to the inn from lunch. She and Connor are flying in the week after the Fourth for a visit.”

  “That’s wonderful. I’m sure you’ll be glad to see them.”

  The smile at the corners of his lips widened. “Yes, I will. Carrie’s really happy now that she’s married to Connor. He’s just what she needs.”

  “And I’m sure she’s probably what he needs as well. It works both ways, you know. What day are they coming in?”

  “That Friday, and I would love for you to meet them. And according to Carrie, there’s a possibility Logan, Lance, and Asia might be coming as well.”

  Monique gazed up at him with a curious expression on her face. “Is there some special occasion?”

  “Umm, nothing special other than my birthday.”

  She considered him for a long moment. He’d said it like it was no big deal, and Monique had a feeling that to him it wasn’t. But evidently his family was going to make it a big deal and so would she. “And how do you feel about having another birthday?” she asked.

  “Good as opposed to not having one. I feel grateful. Glad to be alive. In my profession you deal with so many who wish, almost too late, that they had done a better job of taking care of their heart.”

  She nodded her head. She could definitely believe that.

  Their song came to an end, but before they could leave the dance floor, another slow number began playing, so instead of releasing her, Lyle pulled her back into his arms. He was ready to go another round on the dance floor.

  “I had a wonderful time tonight, Lyle. I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun.”

  He glanced down at her. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” When they’d returned to the inn, he walked her to her room and opened the door for her. Being the gentleman that he was, he had asked to go inside to check things out as he’d done earlier that day.

  She’d let him lead, following him around the room as he checked in closets and under her bed. She, on the other hand, was checking out something else altogether. Besides his seductive scent, he was wearing a pair of black slacks and a gray shirt. His physical appeal nearly had her panting.

  “You’ve been watching too many of those crime shows,” she said sometime later, walking him to the door after his inspection was over.

  “Maybe so, but you can’t take unnecessary chances these days.”

  She had to agree with him on that. “What time do you want to return to Hilton Head tomorrow?” she asked. Her mind was still back on the dance floor. Each time their bodies had touched, rubbed against each other, she’d felt the hardness of him pressing against her middle. That had been a dead giveaway that friendship hadn’t been the main thing on his mind.

  “I’m not in a rush, unless there’s a reason you need to get back early,” he said.

  She shook her head and gave him a soft smile. “No, there’s no reason. I talked to Faith and Shannon earlier, before we left to go dancing, and they’re doing fine, holding down the fort. They told me to have a good time tonight and I did. Thanks again.”

  He placed the key back in her hand. “You’re welcome. And if you don’t mind, I prefer not leaving until after lunch tomorrow. That way we can sleep in late and enjoy a brunch at one of the restaurants.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” She had a feeling that like her, he wasn’t ready for their weekend together to end.

  For the longest time they didn’t say anything, but just stood there staring at each other; then Lyle cleared his voice and said in a husky voice, “I really like this outfit.”

  She glanced down at herself. “I thought it would be perfect for tonight.”

  “And it was.” What he didn’t tell her was that she looked perfect in the dress and had felt perfect in his arms. Suddenly his heart swelled with love for her. He could hardly stand it—he needed to leave. Now. “I better go before I...” His words drifted off when she licked her top lip with her tongue.

  “Before you what?” She glanced into his eyes and saw blatant desire there but wanted him to say it, to spell it out for her.

  “Do this.”

  And then he reached out and pulled her to him. His kiss was gentle. It was sweet. It took her breath away when he took her mouth now with a hunger that astounded her. It made her realize that the cool, calm, and collected Dr. Lyle Montgomery could be tempted. But then, so could she.

  She felt sparks.

  She could imagine his skill in the operating room, but it appeared he possessed another skill, one he was applying pretty thick now. Arousal, quick and immediate, caught her,
and she felt herself shivering in his arms. This wasn’t an ordinary kiss. This was a kiss of possession, of intent and deep desire.

  He slowly broke off the kiss and as if warring with what he’d just done, he took a step back. “Good night, Nicky.”

  She sucked in a deep breath to calm her racing pulse. When he opened the door to leave, she said, “Good night, Lyle.”

  26

  Shannon sat on a pier with her legs dangling over the edge while she sipped a cup of coffee and looked out toward the ocean. It was Sunday morning. She had surprised even herself at how early she had awakened, and since going back to sleep hadn’t been an option, she’d decided to put on some clothes and mosey on down to the beach to one of the coffee shops.

  She knew Faith was still asleep after having read her killer thriller novel well into the night. When Shannon got up at midnight to raid the fridge of the leftover lasagna, she had seen the light shining underneath the door to Faith’s room.

  Shannon stood and dusted the back of her black shorts, thinking that with no plans for the day, it would probably be a boring one. In a way she wished she could do like Faith and read for pleasure, but there was pleasure and then there was pleasure.

  Despite not wanting to do so, she glanced down at her watch. It was a little past eight. She wondered what Adam was doing. Had he gotten out of bed yet to begin his day? Was he still planning to spend his entire Sunday working on that car?

  Why am I even thinking about him? she wondered, feeling annoyed with herself.

  But then she knew why. Her body was remembering how it felt to be in his arms, his bed, to be pinned beneath hard muscular legs, to have her body stretched to the hilt while he entered her, and being thrust into, over and over again just in that right spot, dead center, that made you moan, groan, and throb for release. And when the explosion hit, it came and shook your body to the core, making you fight to keep your sanity while absorbing multiple shock waves and fiery sensations that rocked the living daylights out of you.

  And yet you still wanted more.

  Shannon hugged her arms around her middle, shivering despite her best efforts to control it. She released a long-suffering sigh, getting angrier by the minute at her lack of willpower. She could not get Adam Corbain and his sexual abilities out of her mind.

  But that was her problem. She couldn’t stop thinking about him because in all her thirty-two years, she had never met a man quite like him. He was a man whose incredible body could turn raw sex into a masterpiece, a work of art.

  But then there were those times in between their lovemaking sessions when they had actually talked. To her surprise, he was well versed on economics, probably from all those Wall Street Journals he read, no doubt. But that showed he had potential to be a lot more than what he was.

  And she didn’t like it when he gave orders as if he actually expected her to follow the line, like him mentioning for her to come help him work on that car today. Did he actually think she would show up?

  There was no man alive who could make her do anything without asking nicely first. It was time Adam saw that.

  “Line, it’s clean, man,” Adam said into the phone to his brother, while glancing over at his GTO. “Another three weeks, and this baby will be in excellent running condition.”

  Moments later he nodded. “Yes, I still plan to stop by D.C. to see Sydney and Tyrone before returning home.” He smiled. “Tell Raven that I’m going to hold her to that. A home-cooked meal is right up my alley. Okay, I’ll see you soon. Give Grant and the folks my best, and tell them I’m doing fine.”

  He hung up the phone and sighed deeply. Hell, he wasn’t doing fine. His mind, his thoughts, his entire being were wrapped in the memory of a woman with an incredible mouth. But that wasn’t all Shannon Carmichael had.

  She had a face with the beauty of an angel, a body that made a Coca-Cola bottle weep, a tongue that was sharp and delicious at the same time, and inner muscles that clenched him better than any pair of pliers when he was inside her. She pulled everything out of him.

  She was a sex vixen if ever there was one. A snooty sex vixen at that. And like it nor not, she had gotten under his skin and no amount of washing could get her out.

  Damn.

  Ever since the last time he’d been with her, he had prowled around like a caged lion pining for his lioness before finally calling himself all kinds of fool. Even this morning he had moped around before finally picking up the wrench to start working on his car. But that hadn’t kept his mind from wandering every so often to remember the sound of her moan when he kissed her, the sound of her groan when he entered her, and the depth of her scream when she came.

  The raw sensuality of what they shared suddenly had his jeans feeling tight in one particular spot. A hot pulsing ache had him almost bursting out his zipper. Hell. This was as crazy as it could get. No woman had ever affected him this way, to make him perform like a stallion in heat, as uncultured as she actually thought him to be.

  And that’s what really had him pissed. He didn’t expect her to show up today to help him work on the car, hadn’t figured she would when he’d asked, but he’d done so anyway, thinking he might catch her in a weak moment. He’d been disillusioned to think that women like Shannon had weak moments. She was as boogie as they came, with an emotionally wrenched heart on top of it. Over the years, someone had convinced her that she was all of that and a bag of chips, and she measured a man’s worth by his academic echelon and his bank account. She haughtily believed that she had an automatic right to the best of everything, and anyone she considered less than her equal didn’t stand a chance.

  And she assumes I am less than her equal.

  The very thought should have him rolling on the floor laughing, but he was hard-pressed to find a damn thing funny. In fact, anger seared through him. He could very well do without a woman like Shannon Carmichael disrupting his well-ordered, uncluttered life. She had gotten what she wanted from him, and truth be told, he’d gotten what he wanted from her. Unemotional sex. While she might have enjoyed all the physical pleasures he’d given her, he knew she had inwardly loathed and resented what she thought he represented.

  Deciding to dismiss Shannon from his mind permanently, he began getting the tools together that he would use today. Since it was Sunday, most of the businesses in the area were closed, which meant without a lot of noise, he would be able to get some work done.

  He felt his muscles tense as he turned around slowly, thinking he’d heard a sound. Although he didn’t want it to, intense pleasure gushed through his veins and a deep feeling of heat rushed through every pore. His snooty sex vixen was standing at the window, staring at him.

  Shannon had always prided herself on total control, but as her gaze locked with Adam’s she suddenly discovered she had none left. Somehow, the man had done something no other man had been capable of doing. He had tempted her beyond reason, given her a taste of what real sexual delight was all about and had brought to life any fantasy she’d ever possessed.

  Because of him she was breaking rules she’d never broken before, not thinking logically, throwing common sense to the wind, and shedding certain principles and values that she’d acquired over a lifetime.

  On the drive over here, she’d known she’d made a choice. She would sacrifice everything for another night in Adam’s bed. And she quickly dismissed the icky feeling that it was more than that. As heat began spreading through her limbs from the way he was staring back at her, she refused to believe this strange attraction could be based on more than just sex.

  Don’t dismiss that thought, because it could be.

  Shannon’s chest tightened at the familiar voice that had sounded quietly in her ear: Cely’s voice. Thinking she had really stepped over the deep end in more ways than one, she continued to be locked into Adam’s gaze. His expression was unreadable, so she couldn’t tell if he was glad to see her or not. But through the clear windowpane she couldn’t dismiss the look in his dark eyes. Hot, unadult
erated desire. Whether he was glad to see her didn’t matter. He wanted her. Just like she wanted him. And although she wondered if she’d made a mistake by coming here, some deep womanly instinct assured her it wouldn’t be a waste of her time.

  Adam stood immobile. Almost glued to the spot. It was hard to believe she was back, and the magnetic pull between them was more potent, fiercer, and more intense than ever. And knowing she needed him to make the next move, he took a step forward, then another as he headed toward the garage door.

  He opened it, thinking that today it took longer than usual to go up. While he waited, a prickle of anticipation flowed up his spine, that part of him pressing against his zipper got harder, and he could barely pull in a normal breath. And when the door was finally up all the way and she begin walking toward him, his gaze raked her from head to toe. At that moment he knew that Shannon Carmichael had become his obsession.

  She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a T-shirt, hardly an outfit for messing around in a garage, but definitely one that could take his mind off the work he was supposed to get done today. The shorts were almost too short to be considered decent. They showed too much of her legs, legs that could wrap around him, lock him inside her, refusing to let go even when the warm gush of his release flooded her insides. Those long, gorgeous legs carried a sexuality that was more intoxicating than the strongest whiskey.

  She was stunningly beautiful, annoyingly confident, and snobbish as all outdoors. But at the moment, the latter didn’t matter. It was something he intended to work on. Starting now.

  When she stepped over the threshold, she didn’t stop there. She kept walking until she was standing directly in front of him. And when he pushed the button to lower the garage door back down, he knew the last thing he intended to do was to ask why she was there. Like the other times, it was clearly obvious. And like before, no matter how much his hormones ached to pick her up and carry her up to the apartment and make love to her all day, he intended to do things his way.