Читать книгу Delilah - Shelia M. Goss - Страница 10

Samson did his best to concentrate on his upcoming nuptials, but thoughts of Delilah in his office a few days ago seemed to be on the forefront of his mind. He prided himself on walking in the Spirit of the Lord, but lately lust for Delilah had taken center stage. He stared out the window at the open space in his backyard. Thoughts of Delilah were soon replaced with thoughts of the family he would have with Julia—the woman he loved.

“Lord, why now? I’ve been able to control my carnal nature for years. Now that you’ve sent me the woman I’ve prayed for, why now?”

He walked away from the window and took a seat behind the desk in his study. He picked up the black leather Bible his father had given him the day he dropped Samson off on the campus of Grambling University his freshman year. He could recall the speech he’d given him also. “Son, I’ve tried to protect you as much as I could. You’re going to be faced with many temptations. Don’t try to fight them on your own. I’m giving you a new Bible to start a new stage of your life. Use it. Let God fight your battles.”

During his time at Grambling, Samson was able to resist drugs and alcohol, but he wasn’t prepared for the onset of girls who constantly hounded him. His innocence and Creole good looks, combined with his Southern charm, was an automatic attraction. He spent many nights going from one young woman to another. He barely passed his freshman year. He gave his parents the lame excuse of trying to adjust to being away from home for his lackluster grades.

The cell phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t bothered to look at the caller ID. The voice of the one person he had been trying to avoid for the last few days squealed from the other end. “Why aren’t you returning any of my calls?” Delilah asked.

Samson leaned his head back in his chair and swiveled it around. “I’ve been busy.”

“We need to talk.”

“There’s nothing else we need to talk about. What happened in my office the other day was a mistake.”

Delilah seemed to purr her words. “We both know you wanted it as much as I did.”

Samson couldn’t argue with her. Delilah told the truth. He hated himself for succumbing to her, so his only recourse was to keep his distance—by any means necessary. “Let’s pretend like none of this happened. We can go back to being just friends.”

“Friends? You have got to be kidding.” Delilah laughed.

Samson’s doorbell rang. He held the phone, listening to Delilah go on and on. He was grateful for the interruption. He would thank whoever it was responsible for getting him off the phone. He opened the door, and to his surprise Delilah stood on his front porch. She closed her flip phone. “Surprise,” she said, with an evil grin, moving past him into his house without waiting for an invitation to enter.

She turned and looked around. “You have a nice home, Samson. I’ve wondered why you never invited me over before.”

Samson stood by the door, never taking his hand off the door knob. “Delilah, what are you doing here?”

She removed the dress jacket from her shoulders and threw it on the chair. “Like you don’t know.” She began to unbutton her shirt.

Samson rushed from the door and grabbed her jacket. “This has to stop.”

Delilah swayed her body from side to side. “It doesn’t have to.” She continued to unbutton her blouse.

Samson’s reflex automatically threw the jacket at Delilah, throwing her off guard. She bent down to get it, but while stooped she moved closer to Samson.

“What is going on here?” Julia asked, as she whisked through the opened door.

Samson, stunned and lost for words, couldn’t talk. Julia asked again, “Samson?”

Delilah winked at Samson as she stood up. “I lost one of my contacts on the floor, so Samson, I mean Pastor Judges, stood still until I could locate it.” Delilah plastered a fake smile on her face as she faced Julia. “And I did, so I’ll be going.” She turned around and with her back toward Julia winked at Samson again. “Pastor, thank you for the advice. I feel better now.”

Delilah held her jacket in front of her, and Samson hoped and prayed she wasn’t showing too much cleavage when she whisked past Julia. Julia slammed the door behind Delilah, missing her back by inches. “Good riddance.”

“You could have tripped her,” Samson said.

“Humph. Like I care.” Julia moved closer to him. “When we get married, these home visits by your parishioners—that’s going to stop.”

Samson didn’t know if he liked this side of Julia. “Dear, you can’t dictate how I run my ministry.”

She crossed her arms in front of her. “If you think for a minute that I’m fooled by the likes of Delilah and other women like her who come to Peaceful Rest, you have another thing coming.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and those women. I’m their pastor.”

“Uh-huh.” Julia never did uncross her arms.

Samson attempted to kiss her on the lips, but she turned her head so fast his lips landed on her cheek. She pulled away. “Samson, I’m going to give you the opportunity to change your mind if you want to. Are you sure you’re ready to marry me?”

“Yes, I’m ready to marry you,” Samson didn’t hesitate to respond. “You’re the woman I’ve prayed for. I love you, Julia.”

She sulked. “It’s hard to tell.”

Samson rubbed her back. “We’re both stressed, so just chill out, okay?”

Julia faced him. “I love you so much, Samson, but I’m not going to be like some of these first ladies in the city. I refuse to share you with anyone.”

“You’re not going to have to share me. I’m a one-woman man.” Samson hoped God wouldn’t strike him down. In his heart, he was a one-woman man. He just had to figure out a way to get Delilah out of his system. He would keep his distance from her—he had to.

He embraced Julia and blinked a few times when he glanced at one of the living room windows and saw Delilah blowing him kisses. Before he could react, she walked away. He squeezed Julia without once taking his eyes off the window. He had to think of a way to deal with Delilah or risk losing Julia—and that’s one thing he wasn’t ready to do.