Too Hot for TV (11 page)

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Authors: Cheris Hodges

BOOK: Too Hot for TV
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Chapter 10
Raymond stared into the camera, still thinking about what Imani had said to him on the beach. He was smart enough to know when to cut his losses, but there was something about that woman that had gotten under his skin and he wasn't willing to walk away—yet.
“Raymond?” Tres said.
“What?” he asked, then offered her a half smile. “I'm sorry. What was the question again?”
“You're quite popular. Do you often witness breakfast catfights over you?” she asked, crossing her legs and gripping the clipboard.
“You guys got that on tape?” Raymond asked.
She nodded and tapped her pen against the board. “Cameras are everywhere. Why do I have to keep telling you all this? Anyway, Imani and Lucy seem to like you a lot.”
Raymond shrugged. “How in the world can you tell that by watching us on closed circuit TV?”
Tres laughed. “Because they were both in here before you and all they could talk about was Dr. Thomas.”
“Who knows what either of those women want.”
“What do you want . . . in a woman, that is?”
Shaking his head, Raymond couldn't be honest and say what he wanted was wrapped up in the temperamental actress he'd left on the beach. Had he been honest with himself, he could admit that Imani had the major quality he wanted in a woman—honesty. She'd told him from the beginning why she came to Hawaii, and he didn't want to accept that now that he was falling head over heels for her. “I want a woman who knows what she wants, doesn't want to play games, and can have a life outside of me.”
“Very specific. Who fits those standards more, Imani or Lucy?” Tres pressed, leaning forward with the camera.
“Who says either one of them is the woman for me?” he asked. “I honestly came here with one woman on my mind.”
“Really?” Her nose crinkled as she looked at him. “I know you and Imani met in passing in New York, but—”
“Not her,” he said. “Marion G. Palmer. The woman my clinic is named after.”
Tres released a cleansing sigh, silently thanking God that this show was not going to have a stalker or murderer tied to it like some other reality shows. “That's right, you're a doctor with a huge heart. Do you have room in your heart to share it with a special woman?”
“Imani might be special enough,” he said without thinking.
Tres folded her hands underneath her chin and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Thank you, Raymond,” she said as she shut the camera off.
He walked out of the room knowing that he'd said too much, but the hell with it. It was time for him to stake his claim on Imani. He wanted her and he would not be denied.
 
 
Imani stood on the beach for about an hour after Raymond left, wondering if she should just find someone that she didn't have feelings for to show off her acting skills with. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was not supposed to develop a genuine attraction to anyone on the show and here she was feeling her heart strings being tugged by Raymond Thomas.
She was supposed to use this show as a stepping stone, but why did Raymond have to be everything that she could ever want in a man? Considerate, sexy, and a damned good kisser? She took a step toward the raging waves of the ocean, allowing the salt water to splash over her.
When he finds out that you're a virgin, he's going to cool what's going on between you two,
her nagging conscience said.
He'll run off into Lucy's arms and bury his desire right between her thighs. How many men have left you because you wouldn't sleep with them? Do you honestly think Raymond is going to stick around?
Imani pressed her hands over her ears as if she was trying to silence the voice of doubt. Raymond wasn't like any other man she'd ever dealt with and she had to trust that he wanted more than just a quick romp. If that were the case, he could've hopped into bed or on the sand with Lucy's scandalous ass. She had everything on disgusting display and . . .
“Wait,” Imani muttered. “Why am I acting as if I'm jealous? He's not my man and if he ever touches that warmed-over tramp he won't even be my friend.” She wished Dana was close by so that they could get together, eat hot dogs, and she could lament about Raymond and how she thought he could be the one that she would give her virginity to. He did things to her that she'd never felt before, and she was so ready to explore those feelings—but not with a TV audience watching. No matter how much she wanted to be a star, Imani was not going to use her sexuality to become one. That wasn't the kind of fame that she wanted.
Truth be told, had she traded in her morals the first time she was propositioned on a director's casting couch, she might not be on reality TV. “And you wouldn't have any self-respect, either,” she said to the wind as she headed back to the hotel. As she walked, she noticed Lucy standing at the door of the hotel with her arms wrapped around another contestant's waist.
“That didn't take long,” Imani muttered as she passed them.
Lucy rolled her eyes and whispered something to the man she'd been cozied up with. The man looked at Imani and smiled, drawing a quick elbow to the gut from Lucy.
Imani couldn't help but put a little extra twist in her hips as she passed them. Laughing as she approached the elevator, when the doors opened she saw Raymond exiting the car. She stopped and locked eyes with him.
“I was looking for you,” he said as he stepped back into the elevator and beckoned her inside. “We need to talk.”
“We do,” she said as she entered the elevator. “I know what I said—”
“Your career is important to you and I can't get upset about you wanting to use this opportunity.”
“Right, but there is something else,” she said.
“No,” Raymond said, bringing his finger to Imani's lips. “I've given up a lot in the name of my career, but I'm not a prop.”
“I don't think you are, Raymond. This is really scary to me,” she said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “This isn't what I expected would happen when I came here and you . . .”
Raymond cut her off with a slow kiss that caused an eruption inside Imani. Heat radiated from the pit of her stomach and exploded throughout her entire body. As his hands gently stroked her back, Imani melted against him, losing herself in passion as his tongue slowly danced with hers. Feelings that were as foreign to her as Chinese arithmetic had her confused and filled with want, need, and longing. How was this even possible? He awakened a desire in her that she hadn't even known rested inside her. Raymond was cupping her bottom to bring her closer as the elevator came to a stop on the roof of the resort. They reluctantly broke their passionate kiss as the doors slid open.
“Where are we?” she asked him as he reached for her hand.
“Some place where we won't be interrupted,” Raymond said. “We were having a discussion on the beach that I think we should finish.”
“Raymond,” she said as they stepped out on the roof, “you know, I—”
“I want you, Imani. And no isn't an option. You can stand there and try to hide behind your career, but that's not going to stop me.” He stroked her forearm and Imani closed her eyes, then sighed.
“What if I'm not what you want?” she asked, staring into his bejeweled eyes.
“How can you tell me what I want?” he replied, cocking his head to the side and giving her a quizzical look.
“Raymond,” she whispered.
He cupped her chin and fought the urge to kiss her. “Don't tell me you don't feel this energy between us. Don't tell me you don't want to see where it leads as much as I do,” he said.
“I didn't say that,” she replied. “But I know there is something that will—”
“Tonight, I want you to stay with me. I want to greet the morning with you in my arms.”
Imani shook her head and took a step back from Raymond. “I can't do that.”
He raised his eyebrow. “What's stopping you?”
“I—I have to go. Raymond, I can't do this. You're confusing me and I don't need this right now.” She turned toward the elevator and pressed the button. Raymond grabbed her arm.
“Okay, so what is this—a game to you? Did I get you in the middle of a scene?” he asked as she pulled away.
“You know what?” she spat. “If you think I'm performing or that I'm always acting, then just leave me alone.” The doors of the elevator opened and Imani dashed inside. Raymond shook his head as the doors closed. Just what in the hell was going on with this woman?
Turning his back to the elevator, he looked at the sun beating down on the island and decided that he wasn't going to force his way into her life anymore. Imani made her choice and he was going to accept it.
 
 
“This will never do!” Tres exclaimed as she watched the argument between Raymond and Imani. “Elliot.”
“Yes?” her overworked assistant producer asked with an exasperated sigh. What could she possibly want now? More cameras on the doctor and the actress?
“Make sure we team Imani and Raymond up for the couples' tasks and let's get all the contestants on the beach in an hour to get started on those tasks.”
“That's not scheduled until tomorrow morning,” he replied as he looked at a production schedule.
“What did I say?”
He sighed again. “All right. I'll get it done.”
“Thank you.”
 
 
Imani flung herself across her bed the moment she entered her room. Why couldn't she have just told Raymond the truth?
I'm a virgin and I don't want to become famous for losing my virginity on a reality show.
“He doesn't need to know I'm a virgin,” she muttered. “Especially since he made it clear that he wanted sex. He wants me in his arms after a long night of sex.” She pounded her pillow and rolled over on her back. There was no way Imani could stay on this show. Forget the money, forget the acting, she had to protect her heart and get away from Raymond Thomas. Just as she was about to reach for her cell phone, there was a knock at her room door. Thinking that it was Raymond, she decided to ignore it, but the knocking persisted.
Damn it,
she thought as she padded to the door. Looking out the peephole, she saw that it was one of the show's producers.
“What now?” she asked when she opened the door.
“You need to be on the beach in an hour for the first couples' task,” he said as he handed her a production note. Before Imani could tell him that she didn't want to do the show anymore, he was on to the next door.
Suck it up, Imani,
her inner voice chided.
You want to be a star, here is your chance. Raymond is a distraction that you brought on yourself. Just do what you came here to do.
Imani read the note, which stated that she needed to wear the wet suit that the show had provided for the activity on the beach. She grabbed her cell phone and started to call her agent, but when she dialed the number, a recording from her wireless company played in her ear.
“Your account has been suspended. Please call customer service to make a payment.”
Imani tossed her phone across the room. “Damn,” she muttered as she rose from the bed. She pulled the wet suit out of the closet and tossed the pink gear on the bed. She couldn't help but wonder what foolishness she and the other contestants were in store for. As she peeled her bathing suit off, she heard another knock on the door. She grabbed her robe and snatched the door open, thinking it was another representative from the show.
“What now?” she demanded, then looked into Raymond's eyes.
“Am I disturbing you?” he asked.
Imani clinched her robe tighter as he eyed her frame. “No, but I have to get ready and you do too.”
“Ready for what?”
Imani motioned for Raymond to come in and then she handed him the production note she'd been given moments before. He read it over and laughed. “Wet suits?”
She nodded and chuckled. “I have to say, I'm surprised to see you at my door.”
“There was something said on the roof that I wanted to clear up,” he said.
“What's that? You made your intentions pretty clear and I'm not going to give you what you want. It's better that what was said on the roof is the end of it all.” She knew the words were just lies, but she thought they sounded good.
Raymond folded his arms across his chest and cast his bejeweled stare upon her. “That almost sounded as if you meant it,” he said, slowly walking toward her. Imani shivered with the anticipation of feeling Raymond's breath on her face, his hands on her body, knowing that she was naked underneath her robe. She imagined having him take her robe off and kissing every inch of her body until she couldn't take anymore and gave in to the desire of having sex. Would he be a gentle lover? A slow and tender teacher?

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