by Zuri Day
The reunion they’ve been dreaming of
The youngest heir to a legendary Northern California dynasty is back in the family fold, gearing up to open his own therapy practice. Life’s perfect—except for the miles that separate psychologist Julian Drake from his longtime love Nicki Long. So when the Broadway dancer makes a visit to their idyllic town, Julian is beyond thrilled. Desire reignites as he and Nicki reaffirm their commitment, ready more than ever for their happy ending.
Relocating to New York was the toughest decision of Nicki’s life—even if it meant realizing a childhood dream. Now she’s finally reunited with the man she loves, but there’s trouble in Paradise Cove. The danger that has followed Nicki west threatens everyone she cherishes most, including the seemingly untouchable Drake clan. With Julian’s career—and her own life—at risk, Nicki’s up against a deadly adversary that could end her future with the Drake of her dreams...
A half hour later, Nicki and Julian returned to their suite. Tired yet exhilarated after the whirlwind day, she hopped over to the bed and fell back on it.
“Julian!”
“Yes, baby.”
“Get over here.”
He walked over and sat on the bed, reached down and untied his shoes before crawling on the bed beside her. “Yes, my love.”
“Have I told you lately that I love you?”
“I don’t remember hearing that lately, no.”
“Well, I do. You are amazing. I don’t know how you pulled this trip together so quickly, but I can’t thank you enough. I’ve never had an experience like this in my entire life. You made me feel like a princess in a fairy tale.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled his lips toward hers. “Thank you.” The first kiss was light, wispy, cushy lips brushing against each other like a whispered promise.
Dear Reader,
This letter is bittersweet, as it’s for the last story in the Drakes of California series. As you’ve gotten to know them, you’ve gotten to know me better, as well. Many of the career choices, locations and story lines were inspired by experiences in my life. Living in Temecula sparked my love for wine country and the southern Drakes’ vineyard and spa. Having grandparents who lived on a large farm in the South made it easy for me to hear the elder Drake voices and convey their love for the land. Griff, the old codger and horse lover in Solid Gold Seduction, was patterned after my grandfather, my dear Papa Nash. All of those years spent visiting him and my grandmother Amanda—whom he affectionately called “Pot’na,” his partner for life—gave me an appreciation for country living.
I equally love bright lights, big city and New York is one of my favorites. Like London, I dabbled in the world of fashion. Like Nicki, I once had my sights set on Broadway. Like the women in this series, I dreamed of life with a man who embodied the kinds of qualities that make the Drake men so desirable. It is fitting that while bringing you Julian’s story, my dream came true. Life imitated art. I got my real-life hero and am headed for my own happily-ever-after. In a sense, it all feels like Divine Order. I couldn’t have written a better ending.
Zuri Day
Decadent Desire
Zuri Day
Zuri Day is the national bestselling author of almost two dozen novels, including the popular Drakes of California series. Her books have earned her a coveted Publishers Weekly starred review and a Top Ten Pick out of all the romances featured in PW Spring 2014. Day is a winner of EMMA and AALAS (African American Literary Awards Show) Best Romance Awards, among others, and a multiple RT Book Reviews Best Multicultural Fiction finalist. Drakes of California book six, Crystal Caress, was voted Book of the Year and garnered her yet another EMMA Award in 2016. Her work has been featured in several national publications including RT Book Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Sheen, Juicy and USA TODAY. She loves interacting with her fans, the DayDreamers, and when she sees them in person gives out free hugs! Contact her and find out more at zuriday.com.
Books by Zuri Day
Harlequin Kimani Romance
Diamond Dreams
Champagne Kisses
Platinum Promises
Solid Gold Seduction
Secret Silver Linings
Crystal Caress
Silken Embrace
Sapphire Attraction
Lavish Loving
Decadent Desire
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
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For Gabriel Ken Robinson, my real-life hero.
Acknowledgments
I am blessed to work with Glenda Howard, who has made bringing the Drakes of California to life a total joy. Love you! The ever-supportive, classy Shannon Criss. You rock! Keyla Hernandez, amid a slew of story lines and schedules, you help keep me organized. Thanks bunches! The devil is in the details and copy editors edit the hell out of a manuscript. LOL. Thanks for being great at what you do. To the Kimani family, especially Nicki Night, Sheryl Lister, Wayne Jordan, A.C. Arthur, Deborah Mello, Cheris Hodges, Patricia Sargeant, Sherelle Green and Martha Kennerson. Y’all make my heart happy. Write on! To the romance queens, the BJs: Brenda Jackson and Beverly Jenkins. Thank you...for everything. To the DayDreamers, my wonderful readers, who have grown to love the Drake family as much as I do. I’ll love you forever and appreciate your support. Remember...don’t quit your daydream!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Excerpt from A Tiara Under the Tree by Carolyn Hector
Chapter 1
Anyone passing by Walter and Claire Drake’s vast farm property in the Louisiana countryside just east of New Orleans would have thought a public festival was in full swing. Or maybe that a mini carnival had been set up for the Fourth of July holiday. A few excited would-be patrons had, in fact, been turned away from the private event by security manning the gated entrance.
Only those related to or invited by a Drake family member could attend the family’s twenty-fifth biennial reunion, where descendants of former slaves and the owners who held them came together to honor their shared heritage and the enduring legacy of friendship between the slave Nicodemus Drake and his owner, Pierre. The story that forever bonded them had been passed down for generations.
The two men had grown up together, more like brothers than anything else. While making the journey to relocate from New Orleans to California, Pierre had fallen ill. Nicodemus’s knowledge of herbal remedies and holistic healing had saved his life. Pierre was forever indebted to Nicodemus. In his will, Pierre deeded over to his lifelong friend more than a hundred acr
es of pristine land in tony Temecula, California—Southern California’s wine country. He’d also stipulated that upon his death, Nicodemus and his immediate family would be given their freedom. This indeed occurred, and while the families dispersed across the United States—including Nicodemus’s son who settled in Northern California—the ties that bound them, black and white alike, remained strong. In 1967, amid social unrest and war protests, Walter’s grandparents had joined with Pierre’s side of the family and held the first Drake reunion. Fifty years later, they still reunited every two years—bigger and stronger than ever.
Julian Drake, the youngest son of the fourth-generation Northern California clan, sat among a group of his relatives in the large, cool tent that was centered among colorful bounce houses, carnival rides and games. They were being entertained by a group of brothers and cousins going up against wives and girlfriends in a friendly yet competitive game of Family Feud. As often was the case, Julian sat quiet, contemplative, taking in everything going on around him. He’d been this way since childhood—his brothers loud and boisterous, Julian observant. Saying nothing, and missing nothing, either. So much so that during a visit to Louisiana his mother, Jennifer, had voiced her concern to his grandmother Claire.
“Almost eighteen months and still not talking,” Jennifer had whispered, afraid to say the words out loud.
Claire had given Jennifer’s hand a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry none about that child. He’s a special one. Not in that way,” she’d quickly added when Jennifer’s eyes grew wide. “Not that we would love him any less if that’s the case. But I mean special as in gifted, maybe even like Nicodemus, as I am told, able to see into the future. Don’t worry. He’ll talk when he’s ready, and when he does, he’ll have something meaningful to say.”
Claire had been right. Two months later Julian uttered his first words, a complete sentence, to his next-oldest brother, Terrell. Julian had been reading a book. Terrell wanted to play a game. Julian had looked up and pointedly demanded, “Leave me alone.”
Jennifer had breathed a sigh of relief. His interactions with siblings and friends gradually increased. But to this day, he was still mostly a man of few words. Although when spoken, his statements usually had value.
Terrell was the exact opposite. He was a talkative extrovert who commanded attention everywhere he went and was the perfect host for these rounds of family fun.
“Next question,” Terrell said, holding up a card while standing between his cousin Diamond and her husband, Jackson, whose hands were poised below bright red cowbells that served as buzzers.
“Name a side—”
Jackson clanged his bell. “Patricia!”
Men groaned. Women laughed. Julian smiled.
Terrell placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “The question is about a side dish, dude, not a side piece.”
Jackson feigned shock. “What kind of man do you think I am? I thought you were going to say sidekick.” He winked at Julian.
“Who’s Patricia?” Diamond crossed her arms in mock anger.
“Who cares?” Faye, the wife of Julian’s cousin Dexter, asked. “Finish the question so Diamond can answer and we can win the game!”
Julian studied Faye’s serious expression. She looked as if she were preparing to treat a patient rather than watch the ladies take a round of Family Feud. He hadn’t gotten the chance to know her well but felt a shared camaraderie with the doctor, even though her title was MD instead of PsyD. In their last conversation, he’d discovered her heart for the less fortunate and had promised that once his internship ended and he started up his private practice, he’d offer monthly free counseling sessions at her clinic in San Diego. Since then he’d talked with his mother and decided to do the same on a more regular basis at the community center his family had built in their hometown. Every member of the family contributed in some way, including Terrell’s twin sister, Teresa, who along with Faye and two women from Pierre’s side of the family were now laughing and high-fiving at the women having beaten the men.
All of the couples were well matched, he reasoned, observing their effortless interactions. Even those with opposite personalities, like Faye and Dexter, who was as easygoing and extroverted as she was serious and subdued. Their dynamics reminded him of his own relationship. Nicki Long, his on-again, off-again girlfriend since college, was a private but sociable butterfly and professional dancer who fluttered seamlessly and graciously throughout life both on and off the stage. Watching the other couples made him miss her even more than he had since moving back to Paradise Cove three months ago.
Dexter walked by Julian and bopped him on the head. “Thanks a lot, genius!”
A nickname, but also the truth. Julian’s IQ was near genius level—part of the being special his grandmother Claire had alluded to when he was a babe.
“For what? I wasn’t even playing.”
“That’s his point,” Terrell deadpanned, taking a seat beside Julian. “We needed that sharp mind of yours to best those conniving women. Now we’re going to have to endure their endless ribbing for the next two years. All because of you!”
“No, because of Jackson and his sidekicks.”
“Don’t put all the blame on me.” Jackson was more than ready to defend himself. He looked pointedly at Terrell. “I’m not the one who named sparrow as a bird that people eat.”
“Hey.” Terrell shrugged. “Chicken, turkey and duck had already been mentioned. Those are the only ones I...” His voice trailed off as he looked beyond Julian. “Is that who I think it is?”
Jackson looked up. “Who do you think it is?”
“Julian, isn’t that your girl?”
Julian turned his head in the direction Terrell and Jackson were focused.
Nicki? He slowly rose from the chair as a tall, fit woman wearing a bright yellow maxi and a devilish smile walked toward him. She was with his youngest sister, London, who, given the look on her face, had obviously been in on the surprise.
He held out his arms to wrap her in a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Milo decided to let us enjoy the holiday after all.”
“The same director who works y’all for twelve hours a day, the one you questioned had a heart?”
“Yep. Guess there’s something beating in there besides a drum after all. I texted London to surprise you and caught the first plane out.”
“Surprised?” London asked, her smile widening.
“Delighted.” His eyes drank in Nicki like a parched man guzzling water. “Let me take you around to meet everybody. Are you hungry? Can I get you a drink?”
Nicki laughed. “Okay, yes and yes.”
“Hey, Nicki!”
“Hello, Terrell.” She accepted his hug.
“You remember Atka, Teresa’s husband.”
“Of course. My mom still raves about your company’s salmon that I had shipped to her house.”
“And my cousin Jackson.”
Nicki waved. “Hello.”
Both were actually in-laws, but the Drakes disregarded that fact. Family was family. After going around to those nearby, Julian reached for Nicki’s hand and headed toward the food tent. “We’ll say hi to my parents and then get something to eat. You look beautiful, by the way.”
“Thank you.”
“You feel good, too. In fact—” he pulled her closer “—why don’t we make our plates to go and find a more private place to...enjoy the meal?”
“Are we still talking about food?” she teased.
“Definitely not.”
“Ha!”
Exactly thirty-nine minutes later, Julian and Nicki had successfully and surreptitiously left the farm, driven to a four-star hotel and checked in. Here, within the confines of a single room with a king bed, the quiet, studious doctor showed the wilder, passionate sid
e that few would imagine. The door had barely closed when he reached for the hem of Nicki’s maxi and backed her up to the bed.
“Julian, wait!”
“Shh. No talking.”
They collapsed on the bed. Julian planted several kisses across Nicki’s face before plunging his tongue into her mouth, his hungry, scalding kiss outmatched only by an ever-hardening shaft grinding against her thigh for proof of his ardent desire. He broke the kiss and tugged at her dress. She lifted her hips enough to free the unwanted material from beneath her body, then pulled the dress up and over her head and tossed it to the floor. His shirt quickly followed. Then pants, bra and undies. Julian groaned and delivered another hot kiss before his mouth left hers and went on a journey along the skin he’d missed immensely since Nicki’s last visit to Paradise Cove over a month ago. He nibbled the sensitive area by her collarbone before inching down to modest breasts, pulling a hardened nipple into his mouth even as his hand traveled lower to Nicki’s shaved treasure. He slid a finger along lips already creamy and teased her pearl with his fingertip even as his tongue caressed her other nipple.
“Ah!”
Her cry of pleasure made him smile as he continued to cherish every inch of her body with the same focus and attention to detail that he applied in professional life. Positioning himself between her legs, he scooted farther down, planted kisses on her pelvis, down her inner thighs, his tongue on a languid journey down the length of a leg solid and defined from years of lessons in tap, modern and jazz. She pulled her legs up and away from him, parted them in a perfect inverted split in the air. Her exposed, rock-hard pearl sent a clear message of what she wanted next.
He got the memo and without hesitation drew the nub into his mouth and then plunged his tongue inside her. Swirling, tickling, licking her joy trail as though it were chocolate ice cream. She ground herself against him. Short bursts of breath hinting of her impending climax. Just as she erupted, he replaced his tongue with several inches of hard passion and continued loving her.
