What a Woman Wants

by Brenda Jackson

  He smiled as if proud of his handiwork. “I like your hair down this way.”

  She couldn’t break the eye contact even if she wanted to. “I never knew you preferred that I wear it down.”

  Zach’s smile widened. There was a lot she didn’t know when it came to him and her. Maybe it was time he spelled a few things out for her.

  Slowly the hands he had on her shoulders draped around her neck as he moved closer to her, not able to resist the temptation of her lips any longer. Any willpower he once had was all used up.

  Anna saw what was coming and held her breath. It would be just the way she had played it over and over in her mind countless times.

  She continued to look at him, to study the darkness of his eyes, the perfection of all his features, but it was his lips, about to be joined with hers, that made heat settle in all parts of her body. She watched as his head lowered, not for one minute thinking she should pull away. This was Zach, the man she loved. The man she said a special prayer for every night before going to bed. The man who filled her nightly dreams with fantasies. The man who at this moment was taking her breath away. Had already done so.

  “Anna.” He whispered her name seconds before taking her lips in his. The expertness of it almost brought her to her knees, and in her mind everything faded, including the beauty of the setting sun.

  Everything was replaced with another beauty. The feel of his mouth gently, slowly, and thoroughly feasting on hers, the way his hands that had been draped around her neck were now wrapped around her in a warm embrace. His hands were firm, strong, and caring. Just from the way he had them around her neck was stirring every nerve she had in her body.

  Moments later when he released her mouth, the eyes holding hers almost burned through her, fanning the familiar heat. “Zach,” she breathed, needing to speak his name to make sure what was happening between them was real and not another dream she wasn’t ready to wake up from.

  Instead of answering, he leaned down and captured her lips again, this time with startling possession. The first time was the blissfulness of slow discovery; this time around was the audacious awakening of desire, pleasure that was meant to flare through her body like wildfire.

  And it was.

  His kiss was more than just physical. It was so generous and selfless that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. No one, not even Todd, had ever kissed her this way, and as if with a mind of their own, her hands moved to his shoulders, then moments later wrapped firmly around his neck as his mouth mated unhurriedly, yet hungrily, with hers.

  A shiver passed through her when she felt his body shift, bringing her closer to the fit of him, making her front mesh with his muscular form. She felt him, every inch, the hard form of him through his shorts, but instead of feeling tense, she felt safe, protected and secured in his arms.

  When he finally lifted his lips from hers, her head was left swimming in desire, her body was drumming to the beat of a heat she didn’t know could exist, and her mind was fully absorbed in sensations she had never felt before. That kiss had unleashed a sensuality within her she had been afraid to expose. Would it be a turn-off when he found out just how little experience she had at thirty-four? Would he be totally shocked to discover that technically she didn’t have any at all?

  Each and every time they had been together, she had been tempted to take the initiative and kiss him, but she’d been too afraid, too unsure of herself to do so. But he hadn’t. He had solved her problem—or it could be that he’d created a new one, because she wasn’t sure what had driven him to kiss her. Had it been the heat of the moment, or had it been something else? The big question of the hour was whether or not there could or would be anything more than this, a stolen kiss under the setting sun.

  “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he whispered, caressing her bottom lip with the tip of his finger. Blood was rushing hard through his veins.

  “How long?”

  He smiled gently. Leave it to Anna to ask him that. “Umm, maybe from that first day we met, when I walked into your office and found you all serious and self-protective, ready to do battle to defend your right to use your father’s full name as your surname. I admired your spunk, your ability to stand up for yourself and not take anything off of anyone, even the rich and powerful Fuller family.”

  Taking her hand in his, he continued. “Yet at the same time I felt your hurt for being rejected, and a part of my heart that had been closed suddenly opened and I knew two things. That I would protect you no matter what, and that I had fallen in love with you.”

  She raised a surprised brow. “Just like that?”

  His smile deepened. “Yes, just like that.”

  She shook her head. “And you’ve felt this way for an entire year?”

  “Yes, but I only finally admitted it to myself within the last few months.”

  She took a deep breath, inhaling slowly. This was almost too much. “But what about Shaun? How can you make sure what you’re feeling is real?”

  Zach knew why she was asking him that. There was another man she had believed loved her, but in the end he had turned his back on her when he should have remained by her side and fought for their love to anyone crazy enough to ridicule it.

  “Oh, I know it’s real, sweetheart, and as far as Shaun, she is a part of my past that I will always cherish, and I know she would be happy to know I was able to find love once again.”

  Anna tipped her head back as if measuring his words. “And you’re sure about this? Your feelings?”

  He chuckled. “Trust me, I am, but the question I should be asking is what about yours? How do you feel about me, Anna?”

  Anna held her breath. She could easily tell him that she loved him, too, and had loved him for just as long as he’d said he loved her. That she had also fallen in love with him that day in her office when he had sat in the chair across from her desk looking like he had stepped off the cover of a GQ magazine.

  For some reason that day she had felt she could trust him, and when he had convinced her to travel back to D.C. with him, she believed that no matter how things turned out, he would always be her friend—her true friend. And he had been, easily stepping into a role no one else had held before him.

  And if he truly felt the way he said, he would be stepping into another role no one else had filled before, the role of her lover.

  “Anna?”

  The sound of her name from his lips soothed her. She knew he was waiting for a response but wasn’t sure she was ready to tell him what he wanted to know, since the truth could potentially complicate things. But then there was no way she could not tell him.

  She said, “My feelings for you are the same as yours are for me, Zach. I fell in love with you that day as well, and yes, I’ve been keeping my feelings to myself because I wasn’t sure they were reciprocated. Even now I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing by telling you what they are.”

  He smiled and reached out and kissed her lips. The thought that she loved him, too, seemed to overwhelm him. “Why, sweetheart?”

  “I can see problems.”

  “What kind of problems?”

  “How our families will feel about an involvement between us? Your parents are my godparents, Zach. Then there’s Uncle Randolph and—”

  “They gave us their blessings.”

  “What?” she said in surprise.

  “My parents and your uncle gave us their blessings. I talked to them before coming to Hilton Head. And I’m sure your grandparents won’t have a problem when we tell them. The reason I spoke to my parents and your uncle was that I knew what my intentions were in coming to see you and wanted them to know as well.”

  She looked at him curiously. “And what were your intentions?”

  “To let you know how I felt.” Zach decided he would let her get used to how he felt about her before hitting her with the news that he wanted them to marry and share their lives for always. He also would wait to tell her about his political aspi
rations. He wanted to take one step at a time, and the most important thing right now was letting her know how much he cared.

  “And just in case you’ve forgotten,” he said, leaning in closer. “Let this serve as a reminder.” And then he was kissing her again.

  Anna closed her eyes, thinking that she could get addicted to this, Zach’s touch, the taste of him, and the sensations he was evoking. These were moments she wanted to file away and always remember. And the way his fingertips were caressing her bare arms while his mouth mated deliciously with hers was making everything female inside of her come alive.

  While she was in college, the girls she’d roomed with had tried convincing her that it was okay to engage in sex with the guys on campus even if she didn’t love them. They claimed making out was a healthy and normal release. She was glad she hadn’t bought into that theory. She was also glad she hadn’t caved in under Todd’s persistence that they sleep together before getting married. Again, she felt like waiting had been the right thing to do.

  But now I don’t want to wait any longer.

  All the sensations that Zach was making her feel led her to believe the next part, beyond kissing, would be just that much more pleasurable. And she wanted to share all of that with him, the man she loved.

  She could admit now that she probably never really loved Todd, not to the extent that she loved Zach. If she thought she did once it was because Todd had promised her all the things she’d never had and had always longed for: love, family, and devotion. In the end he hadn’t delivered any of those things. He had let her down.

  But she believed in her heart that Zach would never let her down. He was a man with high principles. He was a man who could be trusted. He was the man she would gladly spend the rest of her days with.

  She opened her eyes when she felt him break off the kiss, but she wasn’t ready for things to end. She wanted more. She needed a connection to him, one she’d never shared with another man.

  She lifted her gaze and met his. She saw the dark desire in his eyes, the heat, the wanting, and knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him, but he wouldn’t suggest it or ask. He was too much of a gentleman to do that, so she decided to do it for him.

  Up on tiptoe, she leaned close to his moist lips and whispered, “Make love to me, Zach.”

  24

  Without saying a word, Zach swept Anna off her feet into his arms. He carried her into the house, grateful that he knew his way around—because with every step he took, his gaze was locked on to hers.

  This wasn’t what he’d planned for their time together on Glen-dale Shores, but the moment she looked into his eyes, he saw more than desire shining in their dark depths. He had seen her heart there as well, and when she asked him to make love to her, he’d fought the urge to comply, then and there, right out on the porch.

  But he knew he was going to touch her soon, in the privacy of a bedroom. He would join his body with hers and make her his in every way that it was meant to be. There were still some things they had to work out, but confessing their love for each other was an important start. Joining as one in the most intimate way was another.

  When he reached the bedroom he’d been using, he placed her on the bed and stood back. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

  She nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I want you, Zach, but I need to tell you something first.”

  “Okay, what is it?” He was staring at her, waiting. And when he saw that whatever she wanted to tell him was important to her and wasn’t easy to say, he went to her and lay down beside her, bracing himself on his elbow. “Whatever it is really doesn’t matter, you know. I love you, and there’s nothing you can say that can erase my love for you, Anna. And you should know by now that you can tell me anything.”

  She nodded again. He was right. She had gotten so comfortable with him over the past year. They shared a special kind of friendship. And now it had escalated into a special kind of relationship. But how would he feel about making love to a thirty-four-year-old virgin?

  “But this might matter to you,” she said softly, remembering Todd’s words that men didn’t particularly like to be bothered with inexperienced women.

  “It won’t, but go ahead and tell me anyway, since you think it does,” he whispered, inching his body closer to her.

  Silence fell, and Zach waited patiently for her to speak, rubbing his fingertips across the back of her hand while holding her gaze. Finally, she began talking. “I—I’ve never done this before.”

  Zach blinked, then went still. “Are you saying you’ve never been intimate with a man, Anna?”

  “Yes. Does it matter?”

  He reached out, gently cupped her face and kissed her forehead, thinking, If you only knew how much it matters. Somehow he had to explain it to her. He made an attempt to smile, but it wasn’t easy. His entire being was filled with so much love for her.

  “Yes, it does matter, Anna, but not the way you think. It matters because to me that means what you’re offering me is yourself. That in itself is truly special, and there must be a reason I was chosen to be the recipient of such a very extraordinary gift. And that’s how I look at it, your virginity, as a gift. It’s a gift that you believe I’m worthy of, and that means a lot to me. For you to have kept yourself celibate for thirty-four years when society dictated otherwise is truly remarkable.”

  Touched by his words, Anna leaned forward and met his lips with hers, needing the contact, needing the taste she’d come to know just moments ago. And he obliged her, letting her get acquainted with how to work her way around the insides of his mouth the same way he’d done hers.

  Zach closed his eyes and remained still, letting her take the lead, not even following in her wake. He wanted her to feel comfortable with whatever she did to him. He wanted her to know that with them there would be no limitations and no prohibitions. When her tongue insisted that he get involved, he tangled his tongue with hers as a deep and profound quiver shook his entire body.

  Opening his eyes, he leaned toward her. He slipped his hands beneath her tank top with a quick flick of his wrist, undid the front fastener to her bra. Her breasts seemed to spring free into his hands, and he ran his thumb over the nipples, concentrating on the hardened tips and hearing her moan deep into his mouth.

  He pulled back from her kiss, with an urgent need to taste her breasts. He removed the tank top and bra, tossing them aside before pushing her on her back until he was looming over her. The breasts were firm, well-shaped, delicious looking, and he leaned forward and took a swollen nipple into his mouth. Each lick made her moan deep within her throat.

  After tormenting her breasts for a few moments, he traced a path with his tongue down her stomach. When he reached her navel, he pulled back to remove her shorts, leaving her clad in a pair of white lace bikini panties. He thought that he’d never seen such a beautifully shaped woman before in his life, and a degree of posses-siveness surged through him.

  “Has anyone ever made love to you here?” he asked, stroking her intimately through the material of her panties.

  She shook her head, writhing beneath his touch. “No. Todd, wanted to, but I wouldn’t let him. I wasn’t ready for anything like that.”

  His eyes darkened even more with desire. “Do you think you’re ready for something like this now?” he asked softly, his pulse surging.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “And would you let me do it?”

  “Yes. I don’t want anyone but you to touch me this way.”

  Her words affected him deeply, and he moved over her on his knees to remove her panties. He tossed them aside to join her other pieces of clothing and then he gazed upon her, specifically that area she had decreed he could claim as his.

  And he would.

  He was getting all his fantasies fulfilled in a way he hadn’t thought possible. “Open your legs some more for me, sweetheart,” he whispered as he continued to stroke her, feeling how wet and ready she was for him. “
Once I get started and if you decide you don’t like it, just let me know and I’ll stop.”

  “All right.”

  He gently gripped her hips and leaned forward, placing a trail of kisses on her tummy and inner thigh. He felt her body beginning to quiver beneath his mouth, and when he moved his mouth lower, he heard a quiet moan escape between her lips.

  When his tongue darted out and touched her, savoring a quick taste of her, and then another, she caught hold of his head in her hands to keep his mouth steady.

  He glanced up. “You like this already?”

  “Yes, I like this already. Do you like doing this?”

  “Oh, yeah, baby, I like doing this. Only to you.”

  And then he returned his attention to her, tasting the sweet wetness between her legs, absorbing all the sensations he knew she was feeling. For seemingly endless moments he stroked her with his tongue, making love with her this way to let her know just how much she meant to him. And when a climax swept through her, she arched her hips closer to his mouth and called out his name. A long mournful groan followed, and he continued making love to her like that. When he pulled back, she opened her eyes and stared up at him, awestruck.

  “Now to put the icing on the cake,” Zach said, getting off the bed to quickly remove his clothes. He took a condom out of his wallet and slipped it on, knowing she was watching everything he did. Moments later he was covering her body with his, placing his huge erection at her wet opening.

  He looked down at her. “This may hurt a little.”

  “I know. But I want you. I need this and only from you.”

  Zach considered her for a moment, saw all the love and trust that filled her eyes. Words weren’t needed between them right now. Instead he slowly began easing inside her, giving her body time to adjust to the fit of him as they connected. When he’d gone to the hilt, he leaned over and kissed her forehead, then her cheeks before claiming her mouth.

  Knowing their bodies were merged this way sent sensations spi-raling through them, and slowly his body began rocking into hers, careful not to hurt her. And when another climax hit and she began moving her body frantically beneath his, he began thrusting into her, soaring on a plane so high, he felt the way she was pulling him into her, making love to him.