When it was time to leave, she knew that if she decided to stay in New Orleans, one of her first acts would be teaching reading at the orphanage.
As she lay in bed that night, she thought about all she’d seen and done over the past two days and she also thought about Drake. He hadn’t come back to Julianna’s since they decided to step away from each other, and she told herself it was for the best, even as the memory of his kisses remained vivid. She was promised to another man, but it was difficult to erase her first taste of passion and the enjoyment she’d found in the conversations she and Drake shared. He’d introduced her to his family, offered to build her a school, and asked about her dreams. Those things alone were enough to endear him to her forever. Since saving her on the awful day they met, he’d been nothing but kind, and caring. Although she was engaged to Cole, she missed Drake LeVeq.
On the second morning of Drake’s absence, Julianna and Henri prepared to leave for their trip to Baton Rouge. Henri had sufficiently recovered from his travels and was eager to investigate the land he might want to purchase. Mr. Doolittle would be taking them to the train station. Doolittle and Julianna’s gardener, a young man named Frank Poole, were outside loading the luggage into the carriage under Henri’s watchful eye.
In the parlor, Julianna asked Val, “Have you heard from your Cole?”
“Not yet. I’m assuming he’ll be arriving any day though.”
“If he does, don’t you dare leave New Orleans until I return.”
Val smiled. “I’d never leave without saying goodbye.”
“Good. Drake promised to stay here while we’re gone to keep an eye on things, but I haven’t seen him. Raimond said he reminded him. I hope he hasn’t forgotten. Sometimes he gets so focused on whatever he’s building he loses track of time.”
“I’m sure Little Reba and I can manage alone.”
“I don’t doubt that, but I worry about the supremacists and their night rides.”
Val understood. The newspapers were filled with more frightening accounts of burnings and deaths. There’d also been editorials demanding the arrests of Liam Atwater’s kidnappers. That Drake hadn’t denied playing a role in his disappearance continued to cause her worry about retaliation against him and his family.
And suddenly he appeared in the parlor—all glorious, six-foot-plus inches—and her breath caught. His eyes met hers. The way her heart was pounding, she was sure everyone in the room heard it. He gave her a slight nod and she gave him a tremulous one in response. He walked over and placed a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Morning, Mama. Came to say goodbye and find out if there’s anything you want done around here while you’re away.”
“I worried you’d forgotten.”
“No.”
Henri stepped inside. “Are you ready, Julie?”
She nodded and said to Valinda, “If your intended needs a place to stay have him speak with Archer. I’m sure he’ll have a room available.”
“I will. Have a good time.”
“Take care of her, Henri,” Drake added.
Henri escorted his wife out to the carriage, leaving Valinda and Drake alone. The silence between them was awkward, but underneath, as charged as it had been the night in the gazebo.
“Is there school today?” he asked her.
“No. The doctor is visiting.”
“Are the children ill?”
“A couple have the sniffles. Sable said they’ll all come down with it eventually. She just wants to make sure it isn’t something more serious.”
“Ah.”
Even with Cole’s imminent arrival, the man holding her gaze illuminated her feelings like a lighthouse in the darkness.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been well,” she replied softly. “I’ve been helping Sable with some of her charity work. And you?”
“I’m fine. How and where did you help?”
She told him about the first day and the second with the orphans.
“You’re to be commended. I’ve volunteered there, too, in the past. I’ll go back to it—but not under the Bureau—once the house is done.”
“How’s it coming along?”
“Should be finished soon.”
Another awkward silence.
She said finally, “Since there’s no school today, I’m going to work on organizing the rest of Julianna’s files.”
“Where’s Little Reba?”
“At the market. She should be back shortly.”
“I’ll see if the gardener needs help with anything,” he said.
She nodded and watched him leave.
Drake helped gardener Frank Poole dig out a stand of old hackberry trees that Julianna wanted to replace with magnolias. She’d hired the thirty-year-old Frank a few months ago through the Freedmen’s Bureau. She wanted to help the freedmen get started on their new lives, and a job was a good place to begin. Drake and his brothers were of the same mind. The laborers working for him were formerly enslaved, as were the women working as housekeepers at Archer’s hotel. Rai had a small army of freedmen working in his warehouses, and on his ships and docks.
Drake knew nothing about Frank’s past but learned a bit as they worked and he talked about his ongoing search for his mother. Over sandwiches Little Reba brought out for lunch, Frank told Drake more. “I was sold away when I was five but have been looking for her since the day after Freedom. Searched all over Mississippi where I believe I was born, but no one had ever heard of her or her master.”
“Why do you think you were born there?”
“Old woman on my last place said people there told her that’s where I’m from, but I could’ve been born anywhere, so I’ll keep looking.”
Judging by the number of advertisements and letters in some of the Black newspapers, there was a flood of people seeking sold-away family members just in the New Orleans area. Multiply that by the estimated three million held in slavery across the South before Freedom, and Drake suspected there were thousands upon thousands wanting to reestablish ties to their kin.
“Are you going to stay in New Orleans?”
“Just until the end of summer. I’m going up to Baton Rouge next. If I don’t find her there, I may head to Texas. My wife says she’s going to leave me if I make her move again. We’ve been going from place to place since Freedom, so I understand her complaining, but I have to find my mother. She’s expecting me to. Otherwise why’d she crop my ear this way if not so she can recognize me?” He turned his head and Drake saw the shortened lobe of his left ear. He wondered how common the practice had been. Hester Vachon, wife of Rai’s best friend, Galen Vachon, was born into slavery. Her mother severed the tip of Hester’s little finger at birth in case she was sold away and needed to be found. What other methods had slave parents used in the hopes of finding their children again, was a question he couldn’t answer. He did know how fortunate he and his brothers were to have been born free. He couldn’t imagine the heartache he’d be suffering had he been sold away from his parents. “If there’s anything my family can do to assist you, please let us know.”
Frank nodded. They finished their lunch and went back to work.
At the end of the day, Frank left for home and Drake went into the house to wash up. As he cut through the kitchen he was surprised to find Valinda stirring a pot on the stove. “Where’s Reba?”
“She had to leave. A man came by about an hour ago with a note from her brother-in-law. Reba’s sister is ill. The brother-in-law has to work tonight and needed Reba to come and sit with her.”
“Did he say how serious it was?”
“No, but she said if she has to stay longer, she’d let me know.”
He didn’t want to be in the house alone with Valinda. Just looking at her made him want to throw all good intentions out the door. Desiring her continued to plague him.
“She left dinner. Are you hungry?”
He was, but it had nothing to do with filling his stomach. “I am. But let me
wash up first.” And he left her alone.
Val admittedly had a moment of panic when Reba was leaving. Being in the house alone with Drake was only going to magnify what they both were determined to avoid. Due to the circumstances of her marriage to Cole, there’d be no intimate relations. Was it selfish of her to want another taste of passion because she’d have none in her life going forward? How would Drake react if she were to ask him for one night in his arms? How might she start the conversation? What should she say? She wished she knew.
Drake came downstairs clean and refreshed but wanting Valinda continued to bedevil him. In a way, he wished her intended had already arrived, so he’d be occupied with other things, like how to send the man back to New York alone, but for the moment, she ruled his thoughts. She, with her sunny smile, honey-brown skin, sharp wit, and lips made for him alone. He was glad to see her, and now he had to get through the evening without pulling her onto his lap and slowly stripping her bare. The thought made his groin tighten and he sighed at the self-torture.
He found her in the kitchen removing dishes from the oven with a towel-covered hand and he enjoyed the view of her skirt-shrouded backside as she bent into the oven.
“Do you want to eat in the dining room, or upstairs in your room alone?”
“I’d like to eat outside with you, if you don’t mind.”
She turned, studied him for a lengthy moment before refocusing on her task. She removed another dish and set it on the counter. “I don’t mind.”
Their gazes held. He lowered his eyes to her mouth, reminding him of its taste and shape, before rising them again to her brown eyes. Desire waited, and it was mesmerizing. “You shouldn’t look at me that way, cheri.”
“No?”
“I’m doing my best to keep my distance. You’re not helping.”
“What if keeping your distance isn’t what I want?”
He settled on the frankness in those same brown eyes. “You’re determined to make me lose my mind, aren’t you?”
Mischief in her smile, she shook her head, then turned serious. “I enjoyed our time in the gazebo. It’s probably going to be the only real passion I’ll know for the rest of my life. Is it wrong that I want more to hold on to?”
He didn’t know how to respond.
“Cole and I don’t desire each other. There is no physical attraction. That isn’t why we’re marrying. You showed me passion, so truthfully, this is your fault.”
“Blaming me, are you?”
“You were the man kissing me in the gazebo.”
“So, what is it that you want, Lady Hellion?”
“A night, an evening—with you.”
“I’m not taking your innocence, Valinda.”
“That isn’t what I want. My mother says that part is awful anyway. She told my sister and I that when my father insists, she recites the alphabet until he’s done.”
His jaw dropped, and he laughed. “The alphabet!”
“Yes. She said it’s usually over by the time she reaches the letter P.”
Laughter erupted again, and he couldn’t stop.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, grinning.
Still laughing, Drake felt his knees weakening and his ribs vibrate on the edge of pain. “Oh, lord. I’m going to die right here in Reba’s kitchen.” He finally pulled himself together and with amused eyes viewed her like the treasure he considered her to be. “No lover worth his salt should have his woman so bored she’s silently reciting the alphabet.”
“No?”
“No, cheri. She shouldn’t be thinking anything other than how good a time she’s having.”
She looked confused, then said, “This is why I need more tutoring.”
“You’ll not get your completion certificate from me though. No matter how you and Cole feel about each other, that’s not my place.”
“I understand.”
“But do you agree?”
“Is this a contract?” she asked.
“You could think of it that way. I don’t want you angry with me when we’re done.” He studied her. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I am.”
“Positive?” he asked softly.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then let’s eat. I’ll tutor you when we’re done.”
The thought of gifting her with the pleasure she’d requested made him want to cancel dinner and carry her up to his room then and there. No man in his right mind would say no to a sensuous evening of play, even with the limits he’d set down. But he wanted to court her, seduce her, give her the full measure of how earth-shattering desire could be, so he set aside the urge of having her immediately. With Reba away, they had all evening.
Standing outside on the terrace connected to his room, Valinda watched the night roll in. The wind had picked up. A storm was on the way. She could hear him moving quietly around inside. She didn’t know what he was doing. Preparing things, maybe. Not that she knew what that might be. Having never been in a man’s room before, she was more nervous than she’d ever been in her life. So much so, she toyed with the idea of telling him she’d changed her mind, but truthfully, she hadn’t. She wanted whatever was to come. With him. And then, he was behind her. His arms gently encircled her waist and the initial touch and feel of him closed her eyes.
“Storm coming,” he voiced quietly.
In more ways than one, she thought. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by the faint, low rumble of thunder.
His lips brushed over her ear. “You sure this is what you want?”
Slow, lulling sensations made everything go hazy. “Yes.” His lips slid over her jawline and he gently nipped her ear. Her soft hum of arousal blended with the rising wind.
He whispered, “I’m going to kiss you. . . .” His big hand cupped her breast. “And touch you. . . .” His thumb moved featherlight over the point until her head dropped back and a gasp of pleasure slipped from her lips. “And do it again.” Both hands came into play, touching, gently circling until she swore she’d catch fire.
“I can’t wait to taste these.”
Her knees dissolved, and her breath caught. She hadn’t known this touching played a part when she dared ask him for this night. Lost in how he made her feel, she distantly noted the beginnings of wind-blown rain. She didn’t care if she was drenched as long as he didn’t stop, but without a word, he picked her up and carried her inside.
The lone lamp barely lit the room, leaving most of the contents, including his big four-poster bed, in shadow. He gently set her on her feet in the middle of the gloom, and as she stood there shaking, he ran a slow finger down her cheek. Her shaking increased but she drew in a deep breath, hoping to calm herself, even as her senses continued to spiral.
“I don’t want you to be afraid,” he said reassuringly. “I want this to be as special as you hoped it would be. If you need us to stop so you can catch your breath, just say so. And at any time, if you want to end the evening, say that, too. I won’t be angry or upset.”
She gave him a quick nod but was determined to see this through.
“Come sit with me.”
He took her hand and led her to the settee positioned near the window. He sat and guided her down sideways onto his lap. His arms eased her closer and he placed a gentle kiss on her brow. “How would you like to take your lessons? Do you wish to be nude, partially dressed, or remain fully dressed?”
His closeness, faint brushes of his lips against her ear, made it hard to think, and even more difficult to form speech.
He kissed her then, deeply, thoroughly. The world spun. Her senses soared. After a few more moments he drew his mouth away, and whispered heatedly, “Shall I strip you bare so I can kiss every satin inch of you?”
His voice scalded her, and when he leaned her back against his rock-hard shoulder and took her nipple into his mouth, the temperature shot higher. Her thin cotton blouse and shift were no barrier to his mouth’s heat. Crooning, she arched to give him
more, and he drew her in deeper, his fingers plucking and circling its gem-hard twin.
“I need an answer, cheri.”
No matter how wanton he made her feel, this was her first time with a man. She wasn’t bold enough to be nude, even partially, so she somehow managed to reply, “Dressed.”
“Okay, we’ll save nude for another time.” He ran a finger down her buttons. “I’m going to open these though, okay?”
Pulse pounding, she nodded.
“But first, I want more of this gorgeous mouth.”
He kissed her for what seemed like endless, soul-firing moments. He tutored. She learned. His tongue tasted hers. She tasted his. He brushed his softly bearded cheek over hers and she savored the feel. He slid searing kisses over her jawline and the bare skin above the high neck of her blouse, and she gasped softly.
True to his word he worked her buttons free, kissing each small patch of exposed skin along the way. His tongue dallied with the hollow of her throat, and his mouth traced a lazy searing path against the top edge of her shift. He eased the cotton aside and for the first time in her life, a man took her bared breast into his mouth and she tightened with a soft cry.
“Small and perfect, just like you.” He bit her with gentled teeth. The sensations crackled like lightning. He lowered the other side and treated the twin to the same gasp-inducing feast. He spent an inordinate amount of time leisurely going back and forth, while she groaned, and arousal pulsed between her thighs. His big hand slid her skirt up and down her leg, mapping its length with his heated palm, while the storm of passion buffeted her like the powerful winds of the storm outside.
“Shall I bring you to pleasure, cheri?”
She didn’t know what that meant, but she was on the edge of something bright, dizzying, and new.
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