What a Woman Wants

by Brenda Jackson

  Taking her hand, Zach led her over to the wicker sofa and they sat down side by side while he held it. Anna recalled the first time she had faced the two men in Noah Wainwright’s study. On that particular night as well, Zach had set next to her holding her hand just like this.

  “Is something wrong?” Zach asked, his voice strong and sturdy.

  Noah smiled warmly. “No, son, Randolph and I believe that everything is completely right, which is why we want to talk to you. But first I want to say how extremely happy we are for the two of you, as well as to tell you how happy you’ve made this family. I can just imagine how elated Ross is about this union.”

  He leaned against the porch rail and continued by saying, “I was blessed in my lifetime to have three men that God placed in my life who were truly men I can consider as my best friends. First there was Leigh’s brother, Zachary, my childhood friend who was killed in the line of duty as a police officer, and the person for whom you’re named. And then there was Ross Fuller, a man I met my first day at Howard University. Both men touched me at different times, but their presence in my life was more profound than I can ever say.”

  He was quiet for a brief moment before glancing over at Randolph. “And then there’s Randolph, who I consider as my best friend. He was the one who stuck by me in my quest to find you, Anna, and during the thirty-four years that it took, we’ve developed a rather close relationship. I trust him more than I trust any other man. That’s why it means so much to me for you and Zach to join our families together by your marriage.”

  Anna nodded. She’d always known Zach’s father’s relationship to her uncle was a close one.

  “I didn’t come out here to say all of that,” Noah then said in a deep voice filled with both emotion and the sheer exuberance of a spokesman. “But I think in saying that, the two of you will understand just how important this moment is for us.”

  It was then that Randolph came forward. “The last letter I got from your father, Anna, told of his plans to bring your mother home to us that January and present her to the family as his wife. They had gotten married at a small church somewhere in Saigon and by an almost miracle, Noah was able to be there as Ross’s best man. That day your father presented your mother with a small, inexpensive wedding band, just something for the occasion. To give her anything expensive at the time would not have been wise because she was still living among her people, and the paperwork hadn’t been completed for her to be sent to the States. It was always his plan to purchase a more expensive ring for her later. One day while on a short leave in Paris, he did so. A particular ring caught his eye, and he purchased it and had it shipped to me for safekeeping.”

  Randolph took a step back, and Noah took up the story. “It was Ross’s dream that he and Gia have another wedding once they got here in the States and that would be the ring he placed on her finger. As the two of you know, none of that took place because Ross lost his life in the war and Gia died months later while giving birth to you, Anna. But Ross’s ring to her has been in my and Randolph’s possession since that time, and considering the occasion, I think Ross would have wanted us to give it to the two of you.”

  Noah pulled a small white box out of his pocket and handed it to Zach. “I brought it with me because I felt that you would be asking Anna to be your wife soon.”

  Zach took the small box out of his father’s hand and slowly opened it up. He heard Anna’s gasp the exact moment he sucked in a deep breath. The ring Ross Fuller intended to give his wife was simply stunning and beautiful in every sense of the words.

  “It’s breathtaking,” Anna said, wiping a tear from her eye, knowing such a gift would have made her mother happy.

  “Yes, it is, and now it belongs to you and Zach.”

  Zach met Anna’s eyes as he took the ring out of the box, the diamond’s brilliance shone brightly for all them to see. He then reached for Anna’s hand and slipped the engagement ring on her finger, knowing very soon the wedding band would follow.

  “I love you, Anna, just as much as Ross loved his Gia,” Zach said, leaning down and kissing her lips.

  His words were too much for Anna, and she began crying. Zach pulled her into the comfort of his arms and held her while murmuring more words of love to her.

  Noah glanced over at Randolph, and the two men nodded. They both knew that somewhere Ross, Gia, and Murphy and Mattie Denison were extremely happy. It was a joyous time for the Fuller and Wainwright families, which was fitting after so many years of betrayal and bitterness. Now it was a time of love, devotion, and peace.

  41

  “You’re quiet, Shane.”

  Shane glanced up at his brother, Grey, who was younger but almost just as tall as he was. And Grey, a former FBI agent, was very observant. “I don’t have a lot to say, Grey.”

  Grey chuckled. “All right, then let me ask, what’s your opinion of Brandy’s cousin?”

  Shane took a sip of his drink as he glanced across the room at the woman who was engaged in conversation with Grey’s wife, Brandy; Quinn’s wife, Alexia; Brandy’s mother, Valerie; and Brandy’s cousins, Taye and Rae’jean. He then looked at his brother. “Do you want my honest opinion?”

  “Yes, that would be nice,” Grey said, taking a sip of his own drink.

  “She surprised me by being a looker, I’ll give her that. But she has one major flaw.”

  “Which is?”

  “She talks too damn much.”

  His words, spoken so candidly, straight to the point and direct, had Grey bursting out laughing. The group of women across the room turned to stare at him. He gave them, especially his wife, an apologetic smile. “Do you have to be so damn blunt, Shane?” he asked.

  “Hey, you asked.”

  “Well, for a man who always fancied himself as marriage material, I don’t see you making any progress.”

  “Trust me, I’m working on it.”

  “Working on what?” his other brother, Quinn, came up to ask, along with his other brother, Lake. “We heard Grey laughing and wondered what was so funny.”

  Grey smiled. “Shane thinks Brandy’s cousin, Linda, talks too much.”

  Both Quinn and Lake were amused. “He’s not far from hitting the mark. She talks just as much as Valerie, and that’s scary.” The four men who had gotten to know Brandy’s mother all nodded.

  Quinn Masters then turned to Shane. “You never said what you were working on.”

  Shane smiled as he took another sip of his drink. “Giving Mom another daughter-in-law.”

  Lake Masters stared at Shane. “You’ve met someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “In Hilton Head?” Quinn asked curiously.

  “Yes, but she’s from Minnesota.”

  “And you want to marry her?” Grey asked. Everyone knew that although Shane had always been marriage material, his last engagement had soured him.

  “Yes, although it will take some time to work up to that point with her, since we met less than a month ago. But I’m past the age of wanting a chase. I’d rather go straight for the capture, and she’s trying to be difficult at the moment. But then you know how I feel about difficult women.”

  “A lot better toward them than a talkative one, evidently,” Quinn said, grinning.

  Shane glanced down at his watch. “Do you think Brandy would get upset if I left early to return to Hilton Head?” he asked Grey.

  Grey was surprised by the question. “How early?”

  “Just as soon as I can pack.”

  Grey smiled in understanding. “No, not after I explain to her the reason why.”

  “Thanks.” He then looked at his brothers. “Wish me luck.” Lake tipped his wineglass up to him. “You’re a Masters. You don’t need it. Just pull out that Masters charm.”

  Shane nodded as he walked off. He intended to do just that.

  42

  Shannon glanced up from the book she was reading when Faith entered the room. A smile touched her lips. Now that things had heated u
p between Monique and Dr. Montgomery, Monique spent more time over at his place than she did here with them, but they weren’t complaining. They were happy that another good man had entered their friend’s life.

  “You’re staying in again tonight?” Faith asked, flopping down on the sofa across from her.

  Shannon drew her brows together sharply. “Yes. Do you have a problem with it?”

  “No, I’m just curious as to what happened to you and that mechanic. You haven’t mentioned him lately.”

  After a brief pause Shannon said, “It was just a fling, Faith, nothing more. We had a good time, and now it’s over. Flings aren’t meant to last.”

  Silence settled between them again for several moments, and then Shannon said, “What about you? What happened to you and that tennis guy?”

  “Nothing happened. We were never involved.”

  “Umm, what a waste.”

  Faith shook her head. Leave it to Shannon to think that way. “But not for long. I’ve decided to engage in a serious relationship with Shane before leaving here.”

  Shannon looked shocked. “Really? How serious?”

  “As serious as he wants it.”

  Shannon placed her book down. “When did you decide all of this?”

  “Rather recently.”

  “And where was I?”

  Faith gave her a pointed yet teasing look and said, “Somewhere getting your brains screwed out, I guess.”

  Shannon glared at her as she picked her book back up. “Be serious, Faith.”

  “I am.” Then when Shannon’s glare deepened, she said, “Oh, all right. I decided this a few days ago, but Shane is out of town now.” What she didn’t say was that he was giving her time to think her decision through. But there was nothing to think through. She wanted an involvement.

  “I can’t believe it,” Shannon said, shaking her head.

  “What can’t you believe?”

  “You and Monique’s plans for this summer. None of them included finding a man, but you found one anyway.”

  Faith nodded, seeing her point. “Maybe because unlike you we didn’t go out looking for one to become a victim. Now if you were to ask me what I want, I would give you an answer in more specific terms rather than general.”

  “And what would that answer be?”

  “I want a man who will love me for me. A man I know I can trust and a man I believe I can count on when the going gets tough.”

  “And what about security?”

  Faith raised an arched brow. “What security?”

  “Don’t you want someone on the same level as you? Who can provide for you?”

  “I can provide for myself. Besides, the size of a guy’s bank account isn’t everything. I learned that the hard way with Virgil. When my father introduced us, he assumed he was securing my future. Boy, was he wrong.” Faith stood. “I guess we shouldn’t expect Monique back tonight,” Faith said.

  “No, I guess we shouldn’t,” Shannon said, thinking about what Faith had said. When Faith left the room, Shannon momentarily closed her eyes, and the face that suddenly came in view stirred her heart. She had been fighting the truth, but couldn’t any longer. She had fallen in love with Adam Corbain.

  She threw her book across the room and stood up, knowing something like that was not supposed to happen. Emotions had no place in a fling. Sex was sex and nothing more.

  But it had been more than sex, the greatest she’d ever experienced. It had been a touching of her soul as well. Even without trying, Adam had left his mark on her, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. How had he gotten to her so quickly? How had he gotten to her at all? Why had that guard she usually kept up lowered just for him, giving him an in she never meant for him to have?

  Just like Faith, if anyone were to ask her now what she as a woman wanted, she would have to tell them she wanted a man who provided her with true love, regardless of what he did for a living. She wanted a man who would supply her not only with all the love she could handle but with hot, satisfying sex, emotional intimacy, and the willingness to let her be herself in the bedroom. A man who, when she was in his arms, made her forget the world existed. There was only one man who she knew could give her everything she wanted.

  She glanced over at the clock. It wasn’t late, just a little past eight. Was Adam still up working on his car? It had been a few days since she’d seen him, trying to deny in her heart what she now knew7 as the truth.

  Deciding she needed to see if there was the slightest chance her feelings were reciprocated, she went into the kitchen and scribbled a note for Monique and Faith—mainly for Faith. Chances were Monique wouldn’t be returning tonight, since it was the night Lyle’s family was coming into town to celebrate his birthday.

  She headed for the door, hated to leave Faith alone again. She’ll understand. Shannon stopped within a foot of the door and turned around. She could have sworn she’d heard Cely’s voice. She shrugged. Again she’d been hearing things.

  Adam put the Wall Street Journal article down and leaned back in his chair. He couldn’t get Shannon off his mind. He hadn’t seen her since the Fourth of July. For the past few days he’d had no sense of direction, no desire to do any of those things he’d always wanted to do.

  Today was the first time he hadn’t worked on his car. Instead he had hung out in his apartment, practically doing nothing but drinking a beer every now and then, eating only when his stomach demanded it and taking unnecessary naps. At one point he thought about driving to D.C. just to get away for a while to visit with Sydney and Tyrone. But he couldn’t get up enough energy or any real interest to make the drive.

  He hadn’t been able to sleep through the night, waking up a dozen or more times just to gaze out the window whenever he thought he heard a sound downstairs. It finally dawned on him that she wasn’t coming back. Their affair was over, and she’d made a clean break.

  And I wish like hell that I could do the same.

  But instead his mind was playing over and over the intimacies that they had shared. He’d had sex with other women, but none of them ever came close to making him feel the way Shannon had. What was it about her that was so different, so intense, so downright unforgettable?

  Was it her snappy attitude? Or was it the way she could hold her own against him or the way she could give just as good as she could take? Probably all of those things. He had enjoyed their time together—their little fling, as she called it—and he knew when he returned to Memphis in a few weeks that she would dwell in his mind for days and months to come.

  Dwell in his mind as well as in his heart.

  Adam sucked in a deep breath, almost daring himself to breath when it suddenly hit him why he felt so strongly about Shannon. Why he’d been in such a piss-awful mood since he’d last seen her. She had been wrong. It hadn’t been all about sex. At least for him, it hadn’t been. For her it was the challenge of doing a mechanic, but for him it was something else all together.

  He hit his hand on the table in denial but knew it hadn’t done any good. The truth was the truth. And speaking of truth ... he hadn’t told her his true profession, because he had wanted her to accept him for who he was and not what he was, but she hadn’t been able to do that.

  He turned when his cell phone began ringing. He wondered if it was Kent calling or a member of his family. He started to ignore it since he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, but then decided what the hell. He crossed the room and picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  “I’m downstairs. Will you let me in?”

  Adam went still at the sound of Shannon’s voice. His muscles tensed. He tried to swallow but couldn’t.

  “Adam?”

  He snapped out of his daze and said, “Yes, I’ll let you in. I’ll be down in a second.”

  Although he was glad she had come, he knew why she was there. She wanted unemotional sex, but he had news for her. There was no way he could be emotionless where she was concerned. She would not be making any more boot
y calls, at least not with him.

  Shannon watched the garage door go up, and the same adrenaline that had been working a number on her since leaving the house was at its peak. She could only stare beyond the opened door as her pulse escalated alarmingly. And then Adam was there, and she quickly moved toward him.

  “Hi,” she said, hearing the garage door lower behind her. The moment their gazes locked she felt an intensity of emotions she’d never felt before.

  “Shannon,” he acknowledged, a deep, throaty sound that seemed to caress her skin. “Why are you here?”

  She swallowed nervously. Wasn’t he glad to see her? Was he upset that she hadn’t contacted since the Fourth? “I needed to see you,” she said softly.

  “Do I need to ask why?” he asked dryly.

  She studied his face. This wasn’t exactly the reception she had hoped for. But then with all things considered, and what she said the last time they had seen each other, what did she expect?

  She inclined her head. “Aren’t you going to invite me up to your apartment?”

  He slowly raked his eyes over her, making her pulse that much more erratic. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a regular blouse, probably the most clothes he’d ever seen cover her body.

  When his gaze returned to her face, she knew he was trying to fight her, fight whatever it was that always pulled them together, that strong sexual chemistry they could never deny. And the question that lodged in her mind was, Why was he even trying?

  Before she could wonder any longer, he swept her up into his arms.

  He hadn’t intended to touch her, definitely didn’t intend to make love to her, refusing to put himself through such torture and pain. But the moment she looked into his eyes and asked if he was going to invite her upstairs, any resistance to her died then and there. Every step he took defined a weakness in him for her that he could not fight. He could no longer focus on what was right or wrong about their relationship, or about the lie it was based on. The only thing he could concentrate on was how much he loved her and wanted her in his life, although she would want no part of the things he wanted.