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In the Light of Love
Deborah Fletcher Mello
You have beautiful eyes. I think I could love you.…From the moment Talisa London woke on the operating table and looked into Dr. Jericho Becton's mesmerizing blue-green gaze, she knew he was unlike any other man she'd ever met. Running into him a few weeks later only confirmed the spark between them wasn't imagined. But this time they were in a wartorn African nation, far from the safety of their Atlanta home.…Working toward a common goal in a world where danger lurked in every corner, Jericho and Talisa found themselves swept up in a wave of desire that left them both breathless and wanting more. But would they survive their mission with their love–and lives–intact?
He was tall, dark and handsome, and he was coming her way!
“Hello, my name’s Jericho Becton. Have we met before? You look very familiar.”
Talisa smiled and shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the man’s face. From the other side of the reception her friends were calling her name. Their voices momentarily pulled her attention away, but in a heartbeat, her glance returned to the man standing in front of her.
She stammered searching for her words as she stood lost in the sensation of her small hand resting in the warmth of his large palm.
“I…I was just…thinking the same thing,” she finally managed to say. All of a sudden, the room seemed to spin in a slow circle around her.
“You don’t look like you are having a good time,” Jericho said.
“Have you been watching me?” Talisa asked coyly, her excitement now shining brightly from her dark eyes. Her hand was still held hostage in his firm grasp.
“I couldn’t help myself,” Jericho answered, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper.
Books by Deborah Fletcher Mello
Kimani Romance
In the Light of Love
Kimani Press Arabesque
Take Me to Heart
A Love for all Time
The Right Side of Love
Forever and a Day
Love in the Lineup
DEBORAH FLETCHER MELLO
is the author of five Kimani Arabesque romance novels. Her first novel, Take Me to Heart, earned her a 2004 Romance Slam Jam nomination for Best Author. In 2005 she received Book of the Year and Favorite Heroine nominations for her novel The Right Side of Love.
For Deborah, writing is akin to breathing and she firmly believes that if she could not write she would cease to exist. Weaving a story that leaves her audience feeling full and complete, as if they’ve just enjoyed an incredible meal, is an ultimate thrill for her. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now calls Hillsborough, North Carolina, home, where she resides with her husband, son and two dogs.
In the Light of Love
Deborah Fletcher Mello
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To the children of Uganda,
You have not been forgotten,
And you are remembered with much love.
Dear Reader,
I have an emotional attachment to my stories. Each has been fueled by an experience that has stayed with me, haunted me, encouraged me and motivated me to capture the moment as eloquently in words as was humanly possible.
In the Light of Love was one of the stories that I wanted to tell, needed to tell and fought to write with the emotion and passion of the experience itself. I hope that you enjoy it. I hope that it inspires you to reach out to someone in need, to question what you might not know and to find the light that burns especially for you.
Many thanks to all of you for your continued support. Please visit me at my Web site (www.deborahmello.com) and continue to send me your comments.
With much love,
Deborah Fletcher Mello
Contents
Chapter 1 (#ue5ca0c04-bd07-5655-9e2e-493bbbea0ee8)
Chapter 2 (#ud5f0041a-27b5-5591-a621-83e96aac621a)
Chapter 3 (#u7efa1c51-b688-5a62-a63d-88614b2dae0d)
Chapter 4 (#ucddc71b5-fa11-5336-8915-e18904da1e69)
Chapter 5 (#uc9bc8f9c-d353-5209-9aa9-be3752bd6191)
Chapter 6 (#u9a34ca7b-e867-5fc5-ac77-ae446e1f7183)
Chapter 7 (#u68f9596b-77f3-59de-9f74-af525eed9688)
Chapter 8 (#uc06e3fd9-1542-5f86-8ea1-a75a3f68760c)
Chapter 9 (#uea959923-580d-529a-941e-c6def44828ea)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1
The first wave of intravenous medication had quickly dulled the blinding pain that had cut through her abdomen only moments before. Talisa London could breathe again and she gulped oxygen, fearful that it might be denied.
From some distant place above her, a male voice was eerily calming, the deep tone even and controlled as the man explained the impending procedure, assuring her it would be quick, and over before she knew it. As she felt her body being lifted from the gurney onto the operating table, panic swept over her. A large, brown hand that patted her gently against her bare shoulder instantly soothed the fright-filled emotion.
“You’re doing very well,” Dr. Jericho Becton whispered softly, warm breath blowing against her ear. “Everything’s going to be just fine.” His voice was melodic, a soothing bass tone that eased right through her.
Focusing her attention upward, Talisa’s eyes met his, her stare floating up to his intense gaze. His eyes reminded her of the ocean, the irises a deep, blue-green liquid balm. The black lashes were forest thick; long, luscious, enviable strands. The warmth he exuded was consuming and she could feel herself swimming in his gaze, the sensation like a warm wet blanket wrapping around her. There was something ultra-soothing about his stare and when he smiled, she willed herself to smile back. An anesthesiologist placed a mask over her nose and mouth, instructing her to breathe deeply.
“That’s a good girl, deep breaths,” Dr. Becton said, echoing his associate, the warmth of his hand still pressed against her shoulder.
Talisa stared upward, her smile widening. “You’re very sweet,” she said, mumbling into the mask. “And you have beautiful eyes. I think I could love you,” she chimed, her eyelids fluttering open and then closed. As drug-induced sleep tiptoed in to possess her, Talisa heard the man laugh, a faint “thank you” echoing into her dreams.
“Talisa? Are you sleeping, baby?”
Talisa opened her eyelids to find her mother staring down at her. She blinked quickly, wiping at her face with the length of her fingers. Lifting herself up against the bed pillows, she yawned widely. “No, ma’am. I think I just dozed off for a quick moment.”
Mary London smiled at her daughter. “You was asleep. I woke you up. Sorry ’bout that, but it’s time for your medicine. That doctor said you had to take your medicine every four hours.” The woman glanced down to the Timex watch on her wrist. “It’s past time.”
Talisa nodded, extending her hand for the antibiotic and pain medication her mother was holding out toward her. As the small pills settled against her tongue, she reached for the cup of chipped ice and cold water the matriarch passed her way.
It had been one week since Talisa had been rushed to Atlanta’s Northside Hospital with a ruptured appendix. She could have kicked herself for ignoring the initial pangs of hurt that had teased her only days before. High doses of aspirin had dulled the ache just enough for her to consider it of little importance. A sprained muscle, she’d thought, remembering an aerobics class that had taxed her body’s limits. Then, out of the blue, agonizing pain had hit her broadside, crippling her movements and sending her straight to the floor.
She shook her head at the memory. Everything after that moment, from the ambulance ride to the operating room, was nothing but a blur. As Talisa reflected back, one memory swept over her. She smiled, and as she did, her mother gave her a strange look.
“What?” Mary asked, fluffing the pillows behind her daughter’s head. “What are you grinning about?”
“I just remembered this man in the operating room who had blue eyes. I think I told him I loved him.”
Mary frowned. “There were lots of men in that hospital with blue eyes now. That nice Dr. Pearson has ’em, and that tall boy, the nurse. What was his name?”
“Tim, I think.”
“That’s it. Tim. He had blue eyes, too. But I know you were not serious about being in love with one of them.” The woman frowned, the lines deepening against her dark complexion.
Talisa shook her head, two shoulder-length ponytails swaying back and forth against the sides of her skull. “No. This man was African-American. He was Daddy’s complexion, maybe a little lighter, and he had bright blue eyes.”
Mary skewed her face in disbelief. “They was probably them colored contact lenses.”
“Did you see him?”
The woman shook her head no. “I would have remembered a black boy with blue eyes. You must have been dreaming from all them drugs.”
Talisa shrugged. “Well, if I was, it was a very nice dream.”
Her mother sucked her teeth, rolling her eyes skyward. “You don’t need to be dreaming about no man. A man ain’t nothing but trouble waiting to happen to you. They’s devils. All of ’em. Take my word for it.” She reached for the television remote, taking a seat in the cushioned wing chair at her daughter’s bedside. “It’s time for my stories. Erica Kane’s in some mess, again. I’ll sit here and watch All My Children with you, then I need to go get lunch ready.”
Talisa laughed, her palm falling against her bandaged belly. She winced slightly, the act of laughing an uneasy feat to accomplish with the multitude of stitches that crossed her stomach.
Mary fanned a hand in her daughter’s direction. “Hush, now. I need to hear the television.”
Glancing from her mother, to the TV screen and back again, her wide grin continued to fill her face. Settling herself comfortably against the pillows, Talisa closed her eyes and wished for a dream. Wishing the memory of a blue-eyed, black man back to her.
The tall, Caucasian man was pacing the floor anxiously, his distress painting an intricate frown pattern across his face. He ran a thin hand through the short length of salt-and-pepper-toned hair that graced his head, staring intently at the younger man who stood before him.
“This is career suicide, Jericho,” Dr. Elijah Becton insisted, shaking his head from side to side. “What are you thinking, son?”
Jericho shrugged, shaking his own head. “I don’t agree, Dad. I need to do this.”
“What about the practice?”
“The practice will be fine. You will continue to run things just as we’ve been doing. Besides, I’m not going to be gone forever. It’s only going to be for one year.”
The elder Becton rolled his eyes. “Why Africa, of all places?”
“Because they need the medical help. Because it’s where I need to be for a while.”
His father nodded slowly, his own ocean-blue gaze meeting his son’s as the two aquatic stares spun one into the other.
The moment was interrupted by a knock on the library door. Both men turned toward the entranceway as the solid oak door was pushed open. Irene Becton stepped into the room, greeting her husband and son with a wide grin.
“Is it safe to enter?” she asked, easing over to stand between the two men.
