Deliver Me (33 page)

Eli closed his eyes
and his head fell forward. He looked as if he was headed to the guillotine.

Monica giggled, but
she was not letting him off the hook. “You still have to answer my question.
The food can wait.”

“But I’m hungry,” he
complained.

“All the more reason
for you to start talking.” This time, Monica was the one to pull him into her
embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his
warm, naked back. He felt so strong, and oh, so good.

“Okay, what’s the
deal with the rule?” she asked.

“You are asking the
tough questions tonight, aren’t you?” He took a deep breath and began. “Back
when I was young and extremely stupid, I got mixed up in an affair with one of
my professors.”

“Not the wisest
move,” Monica said.

“I’ve definitely had
better moments,” Eli concurred. “Someone caught us in a compromising position
in her office. Instead of owning up to our relationship, she started spreading
rumors that I tried to seduce her to get ahead because I didn’t have the skills
to make it as an ob-gyn. It wasn’t until later that I found out she was up for
the Head of Obstetrics position. She pretty much feed me to the wolves to save
her own hide. “

“Oh, Eli, I’m so
sorry.” She gave him a light kiss on his back. “I guess I can’t blame you for
having that rule.”

He shrugged. “The
rule was never written in stone, but I was so leery of being accused of trying
to sleep my way to the top that I decided to cross doctors off my list of
eligible love interests. There are millions of women around the world who are
not doctors, I thought I could surely find my soul mate in one of them.”

“Do you still see it
that way?” Monica asked. Eli dislodged himself from her hold, turned around and
pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply and Monica arched her neck to
give him better access to the sensitive spot that craved his kiss.

“No,” he answered
after trailing a string of kisses along her proffered neck. “I think I’ve found
my soul mate, and she happens to be a brilliant doctor.”

A ripple of
excitement fluttered through her. “I think I’ve found my soul mate, too.”

“Is he a
brilliant
doctor?” Eli asked, an
irresistible grin lighting up his face.

“I wouldn’t say
brilliant, but he’s okay.”

He bit her shoulder.
“Just for that, you’re going to be punished.” He scooped her into his arms. The
bed sheet opened at her neck and Eli dipped his head and ran his tongue between
the valley of her exposed breasts.

Monica gasped, then
moaned as his mouth moved to her nipple. “Mmm...but I like your form of
punishment,” she purred. “So is it really punishment at all?”

“Yes, it is.” Eli
said. He brought her back into the room and deposited her on the mattress.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Eli relieved Monica of the sheet, throwing it
over the room’s lone chair. He pushed the pajamas and boxers from his hips and
down his legs. “You see,” Eli said in a silky voice, “this time, I’m going to
make you scream for hours before I let you sleep.”

A smiled curved up
the corners of Monica’s mouth as a shiver of heated excitement ran down her
spine. She held out her hands and parted her thighs.

“Let the punishment
begin.”

Monica tried to
concentrate on the caterer’s words, but her brain was having none of that.
Instead, it was fixated on the man whose bed she had left in the wee hours of
morning.

Monica had never
been more tempted to call in sick then when the alarm had gone off at four o’clock
this morning. Eli had set it after their long bout of lovemaking when, Monica
told him she would need to be back in New Orleans for seven A.M. She had
switched to an earlier shift so she could tend to banquet issues this
afternoon.

As she tried to keep
herself awake long enough to understand the caterer, her heart overflowed with
regret. She did not want to be here. She wanted to be in Hattiesburg, waiting
in Eli’s bed.

Monica cursed the
Mississippi insurance commission. They had no clue of the far-reaching
implications of their actions. If not for them, Eli would be only a few minutes
from her grasp, not hours.

Monica nodded at the
caterer, shook his hand and prepared to leave. She would speak to Dr. Moore about
entrusting the catering details to the subcommittee once again. Eli was right,
she didn’t have to do it all by herself. Monica had other ways to spend her
time, like in bed with her man.

Tragically, she
would not be in his bed for another couple of days. Since the strike in
Mississippi seemed nowhere near its end, Eli was stuck there for the remainder
of the week until one of the other OB docs returned from vacation.

Although Eli was
over a hundred miles away, thankfully, Monica would not be alone tonight. She’d
accepted a dinner invitation from Alex. Apparently, Eli’s niece had
accomplished something outstanding in school today and wanted to celebrate with
dinner at her grandmother’s. Alex said it would only be a few people, but
Monica already knew what the Holmes family considered a “few”. She was prepared
for a houseful.

When she pulled up
to the curb in front of the wood-frame house, Monica smiled at her accurate
assumption. There were three cars in the driveway and four parked along the
street. She could hear the myriad of voices as soon as she stepped out of her
car.

Bypassing the front
door, Monica walked to the back of the house and, knocking lightly, entered
through the kitchen door. Many of the people she had met at Jasmine’s birthday
party were gathered in the kitchen, though there were a few unfamiliar faces.
Monica did, however, notice the woman Eli considered one of his past serious
relationships. She tried to keep her teeth from clenching.

Goodness, when had
she become so possessive?

Monica spotted Alex
among the fray and motioned for him.

“Hey, I’m glad you
could make it.” Alex gave her a light peck on the cheek. Monica knew she would
have to get used to these freely given offers of affection. Her family had
never been the touchy-feely type; they’d been too wrapped up in their own
pursuits to form a true family bond.

“I bought a little
something for Jasmine,” she said, holding up the doll with the huge lips and
big eyes that seemed to be all the rage with little girls Jasmine’s age.

“You didn’t have to
do that,” Alex said, ushering her in and closing the door behind her.

“It’s what Eli would
have done,” Monica tried to speak above the noise. “I didn’t want her to be
disappointed.”

Alex waved away the
notion. “Eli had me to store a closet full of toys for those occasions when he
can’t get away from the hospital. My little Jazzy Bean is never without a
little something special from her Uncle Elijah.”

That didn’t surprise
Monica one bit. She knew how much Eli loved his niece. He doted on her as if
she were his own. He would make a wonderful father one day.

A warm sensation
formed in the pit of her belly. Monica wanted to close her eyes for just a
second to imagine herself and Eli welcoming a baby into the world, but just as
she was about to, Margo came up to greet her with a big hug.

Monica’s presence
and her position as Eli’s girlfriend were summarily announced to the entire
room. She was then introduced on a more intimate level to the people whom she
had yet to meet.

Monica got her first
real look at Tosha Culpepper, who made sure to mention at least five times in
the first five minutes of conversation that she and Eli had dated throughout
high school. She was also introduced to Tosha’s younger sister, Sienna, who
seemed much more down to earth than her high strung sister, and who was
celebrating a new job she had landed with one of the city’s premier marketing
agencies.

“You and my best
friend, Nia, should talk,” Monica told Sienna after hearing about the
multi-million dollar account the young executive had landed her first month on
the job. “The two of you could go into business together.”

Sienna laughed. “I’m
not sure I’m ready to take my show on the road yet. Maybe after I’ve
established a few clients and made a name for myself I’ll consider branching
out on my own.”

“She had better kick
butt at her day job, because her basketball game is weak,” Toby said, coming
over to where they stood just to the right of the stove. His arm was draped
across Aria Jordan’s shoulders.

Monica noticed
Sienna stiffen at Toby and Aria’s intrusion. Her previously relaxed expression
turned to one of discomfort.

Quickly recovering
her gaiety, Sienna responded to Toby’s jibe. “Even though I could kick his butt
in basketball even before his accident, Toby still thinks he’s the better
player.” She hunched her shoulders in helpless surrender. “I begged him to get
help for his delusions, but he just won’t listen.”

“Let’s bring it
outside,” Toby demanded. “We can handle this right now.”

“Are you sure you
want the wrath of St. Mary’s Academy’s all-district and all-state player?”
Sienna asked. “You do remember there was only one player—male or
female—with that distinction our senior year, right?”

Toby shook his head
in agitation. “There you go bringing that up again. You know I had a bad flu
that season.”

“Yeah, yeah. Always
an excuse.”

Monica laughed at
their sparring and wondered again about the look that had flashed briefly
across Sienna’s face when Toby walked over with his arm around Aria Jordan. It
was obvious the two had been friends for a long time. Sienna’s reaction caused
Monica to wonder if they had ever been more than just friends.

A few minutes later,
everyone sat for an informal dinner of hotdogs and potato chips. Because this
special dinner was in honor of Jasmine having a perfect report card, she was
given the honor of picking tonight’s menu.

Monica could not
decide if the Holmeses just loved getting together, or if she’d had a lacking
childhood. She had received straight A’s from kindergarten through twelfth grade,
but since the same could be said for her older brother, that accomplishment had
gone unnoticed by her family. Jasmine Holmes made all A’s and the entire block
showed up to celebrate.

Monica felt a twinge
of self-disgust. Was she really jealous of a five-year-old? How pathetic!

No. It wasn’t just
the five-year-old that struck an envious cord, it was the entire family. Monica
had never experienced such closeness. She wondered if the Holmeses realized
just how lucky they were. And she couldn’t help but pray she would become a
more permanent fixture in their family.

Monica nibbled on a
piece of chocolate cake—yes, there was even a “Congratulations Jasmine”
cake for the occasion—and perused the scene before her. She tried to
ignore Tosha, who had come to stand next to her. Tosha leaned against the wall,
mimicking Monica’s stance.

“So, how long have
you and Elijah been together?”

Well, she certainly
didn’t waste any time, did she?

“For a while,”
Monica answered. That was about as specific as she cared to get. She did not
owe this woman a play-by-play recap of her and Eli’s relationship.

“We were together
throughout high school. We were so in love,” Tosha sang sweetly.

“Yes, you mentioned
that already.” Monica could not control her clipped tone. She felt ridiculous,
resenting the ex-lover. How cliché.

But she didn’t like
this woman.

Tosha Culpepper had
purposely injected her and Eli’s high school romance into the conversation
every chance she got. She had tried every trick known to man to make Monica
feel left out.

“I’m not sure what
he’s told you, but when Elijah and I decided to end our relationship it was not
as amicable as he makes it out to be. I was the one who ended it.”

Monica turned her
head to the side and ran her gaze up and down the other woman, hoping she
achieved the disinterested look she was going for.

“I was tired of his
lies,” Tosha continued. She turned her body fully to Monica. “You see, no
matter how much he tells you he loves you and that you’re the only woman for
him, Eli will always be attracted to other women. He is incapable of being
committed to one woman.” She shrugged. “Of course, some women are willing to
let him get away with it. For what you get in return, letting Eli have a little
something on the side isn’t much to pay.”

Monica lifted a
brow.

Tosha patted her on
the shoulder and said with a halfhearted laugh, “Don’t even try it, honey. I
had him long before you did. I know how good he is.”

She’d
had
him? Just the thought of Eli with
this woman had Monica ready to throw up. Or throw a punch upside Tosha’s head.
Either one sounded good at the moment.

“His roaming eye
gets old,” Tosha continued. “And no matter how good he is in bed, the fact that
he’s giving it to countless other women will start to get to you. I just
thought I’d warn you,” she said, then smiled as if they had just spent the last
five minutes trading recipes.