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Authors: Cheris Hodges

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BOOK: Too Hot for TV
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Elliot thought what he and Tres were doing was nothing but exploitation, like those old black movies from the late seventies, but he wasn't going to make too much of a fuss about it because he needed to work. Still, he had to do something to help Imani hold on to some of her dignity. No matter how much of a diva he thought she was, she didn't need to be exploited on national TV, unless that was what she wanted.
 
 
Raymond took Imani's hand as they headed down the hall. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up signal. He turned to his left and nodded. “Let's go,” he said. They took off running like two school children sneaking away from their parents, only to run into a lone cameraman. While he didn't say a word to them, his intentions were pretty clear. He was going to follow them wherever they went.
“This sucks,” Imani said under her breath. “Had I just stuck to my plan, this wouldn't even be happening.”
“Hey,” a quiet voice called out. “You two, come over here.”
Raymond and Imani looked at each other and shrugged. “Who is that?” he asked.
“I don't know,” Imani said.
The man stepped out of the shadows so that they could see his face. “Look, I can help you guys, but you have to come over here and be quick about it.”
They recognized him as one of the show's producers and they followed him. “Listen,” he said. “I'm Elliot Reynolds, one of the producers, and I have to tell you something. Tres, the executive producer, thinks that you two are the stars of this show and she has assigned a camera crew to follow you everywhere.”
“Isn't that happening with everybody?” Raymond asked.
“Not to the extent of what's going on with you two,” he replied. “We know about your secret, Imani.”
“What?”
Elliot shrugged. “There are cameras and microphones everywhere. Tres wants you two to be the stars of this show. Now, I can't guarantee that your image won't get captured, but if you go around the north side of the hotel, there are no mics and you should be able to say what you need to say.”
“Why should we trust you?” Imani asked. “If she's trying to get that deep in our business, how do we know you aren't?”
“First of all,” he said, “I am not even supposed to be talking to you all and I'm risking my job. This is because I don't want
you
to be exploited.”
Imani inhaled sharply. “So, you all have been . . .”
Elliot clasped his hands together. “Look, I'm trying to help and I've done what I can. Get over there before the cameraman catches up with you two again.” He started down the hall and Imani touched his elbow.
“Thanks,” she said.
He nodded and kept walking.
Raymond slipped his arm around Imani's waist. “Let's get moving,” he said. “That was really righteous of the dude to tell us about this. But, Imani, if you don't want to tell me this secret, then you don't have to.”
“But I need to,” she said. “It's only fair.”
They peeked around the corner looking for the cameraman. Seeing that the coast was clear, Imani and Raymond tore down the hall and out of the hotel. When they made it to the side of the hotel Elliot told them about, they found a small bench behind a few potted plants.
“So,” Raymond said as they took their seat. “What do you have to tell me?”
Imani inhaled deeply.
Just say it,
she told herself as she stared into his eyes. “I've never felt what I'm feeling when I'm around you before.”
“All right,” he said. “I think I'm there too.”
“You don't understand,” she replied as he took her hand in his. “Raymond, when I'm close to you like this and when I kiss you, I want to do things that I've
never
done before, and it's exciting and scary at the same time.”
“I get that. This isn't the ideal setting to . . .”
Imani groaned because he obviously wasn't picking up on her hints. “I've never been intimate with a man before,” she whispered.
Raymond's mouth dropped open and everything he was going to say died on his tongue. Immediately he thought she didn't look like a virgin.
But what does a virgin look like?
She definitely didn't kiss like a virgin. Then again, he hadn't kissed a virgin in over twenty years. Though he couldn't believe the words that had come out of Imani's mouth, he felt a swell of pride as he looked at her. He'd been right when he thought there was something different about her. “Wow,” he said. Imani averted eye contact with him. “I had no idea.” He turned her face toward his.
“It's not something that I advertise,” she said in a low tone. Raymond held her hand, stroking it reassuringly. Finally, she met his gaze. “I'm not ashamed or anything. I just haven't met someone who I wanted to share that part of myself with. Most of the men I meet are in the business and I probably could have been in many more movies if I had spent some time on the casting couch. I just have more respect for myself than that. If you don't want to waste any more time . . .”
Raymond placed his finger to her sexy lips. “I never feel like any time I spend with you is a waste. Imani, I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not taken aback. But I applaud you. That being said, when I look at you, I still see a sexy and beautiful woman I'm still going to kiss, touch, and yearn for.”
Skepticism made her purse her lips and raised her right eyebrow as if she was asking, “What?”
Raymond pulled her closer to him, bringing her face inches from his. “It's your body, as beautiful as it is. And you respect it. Anyone who only wants you for your body doesn't deserve you. Anyone who doesn't respect you enough to wait until you want to share your gift with him is wasting your time.”
A lone tear dropped from Imani's eye. “Really?”
“Hell, yes. And there is no way that you should or will lose your virginity on national TV,” he said, then kissed her tear-stained cheek.
“Raymond,” she whispered as her lips moved toward his. He brushed his lips across hers and kissed Imani, slowly, tenderly, gently. And she trembled because she realized that this was no showmance. She was falling head over heels in love with Raymond Thomas.
Chapter 13
Tres banged on her desk until everything but the monitor itself fell off while Elliot smirked behind her. “Why is there no sound?” she demanded as she watched Imani and Raymond kiss.
“That's one of the resort's dead spots,” Elliot said. “At least you have the video.”
“Not good enough. We have to get them in the confessional chair tomorrow first thing,” she said as she started picking up the files that crashed to the floor. “Why would they go there?”
Elliot shrugged and started helping Tres clean up. “Her secret,” Tres said, “was going to be the focus of tomorrow's show. What am I going to do now?” She turned back to the monitor and saw Imani and Raymond kissing deeply. “They're going to have sex! Elliot, make sure the night cameras are set in both of their rooms.”
Elliot nodded, but didn't move. There was no telling what Imani's secret was and maybe they needed some time alone to continue talking, he thought, but Elliot had to at least go through the motions and pretend that he was going to make sure the video Tres wanted would be available. “Did you reach out to Imani's agent?” Elliot asked.
“I did and she should be excited. Because of the buzz from this show and the dailies that Elize has been shopping around, Imani's agent said he's been getting a lot of calls about her. Make sure we share that with Raymond in the morning.”
Elliot nodded and made his notes. For some reason, he wanted to see Imani and Raymond make it without all of the reality show drama. Looking at them he could see that there was something bubbling underneath the surface.
Wait a minute,
he told himself. He couldn't develop a soft spot for them. But he didn't have to help exploit them either. As he watched them return to the inside of the hotel, he hoped this show wouldn't be the runaway smash hit Tres was hoping for and those two could have a real chance to be together. Damn, he did have a soft spot for them.
 
 
Raymond held Imani's hand as they walked back to their rooms. Her admission put so many things into perspective and made him realize one thing—he wanted to be the first and the last man she ever shared her body with. He wanted to be the one to teach her what making love was all about, wanted to be the one who she shared her first orgasm with. It was his job to uncover all of her erogenous zones, then stroke, kiss, and lick each one of them until she quivered with desire and screamed his name.
He felt a tug at his hand and his thoughts moved from making love to Imani to what she was saying at that moment.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Where did you go?”
“What do you mean?”
“I was asking you if you wanted to come in and order some room service, but you were out in space somewhere,” she said, facing him and cocking her head to the side. “What's going on in your head?” Dread started to spread through Imani's system. Had Raymond really meant what he said? Or had he just said what he'd thought she wanted to hear? Did this mean that Lucy would actually have a chance with Raymond since she was willing to do what Imani wasn't?
“I was just thinking about our conversation,” he replied honestly.
Imani frowned, thinking that what she'd feared was right. “Look,” she said, her voice low and melancholy. “If this is too much for you to deal with, then let me know.”
“Not at all,” he said as he twirled her around to face him. “Imani, I meant everything I said to you. Nothing about how I feel for you has changed, or the fact that I find you to be the most beautiful woman I've met in a long time.”
“But . . .”
Raymond shook his head and held his hand up. “But nothing. Imani, if I simply wanted to sleep around, then I have had plenty of opportunity to do that here and in New York. You're special and—”
“Don't think of me as a project or some—”
“Imani, there's no way in hell that I could think of you in that way,” Raymond said.
“Good,” she said with a sigh of relief. “So, want to order room service or what?”
“Let me check in with Keith and then we can order something with a lot of pineapples and wine,” he said, then turned toward his room. When he noticed that Imani looked as if she was going to head to her room, he shook his head. “You're coming with me. This phone call is going to take about five minutes.”
She smiled and Raymond felt as if she lit the entire hallway. How could he fall any deeper for this woman? Damn the show and to hell with the money. If he could walk away with Imani and make love to her, then he'd be a winner.
“If you need to talk on the phone in private, I understand,” she said.
Raymond rolled his eyes. “You know what I think. I think you want things to change so that it will confirm whatever it is you think about men.”
“Oh, now you know what I'm thinking?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She slapped her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. “Maybe I'm trying to make it easy on you. You have your needs,” Imani said as Raymond opened his room door.
“I know what I need,” he replied as they walked into the room and he closed the door. “And you're it.”
“How can you be sure?”
Raymond pulled Imani against his chest and held her tightly as they settled on the bed. “Because I know. I've never met a woman who has challenged me as much as you have and who knows what she wants and will hold out for it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We've all dated the wrong people in New York and I've had my share of women who thought ‘doctor' meant a lot of money and when they found out I didn't have as much as they wanted, the relationship ended. But that doesn't mean I think all New York sisters are gold diggers. I'm sure you've met some jackasses, but don't lump me in that group.”
“All right, I'm sorry,” she said as she tossed her head back and shook her hair. “But . . .”
Raymond placed his finger to Imani's soft lips. “No buts, no ifs or ands,” he said, then leaned into her and kissed her lips softly. She moaned quietly as his tongue flicked across her bottom lip.
“If you kiss me like that again,” she said, “I might forget that there are cameras watching our every move.”
“Is that so?” he asked, then brushed his lips against hers. “Then I guess I'm going to have to control myself, huh?”
“And why would you do that?” She leaned over and kissed Raymond, but there was nothing gentle about her wanton kiss as she darted her tongue between his lips. He pressed his body against hers and Imani immediately felt his arousal and this time, she didn't back away. She allowed her body to melt with his and relished in the tumble of emotions flowing through her. Desire, passion, and lust now took on new meaning for Imani as their kiss took an even more sensual turn with Raymond slipping his hand between her thighs.
He pulled back from her as his palm brushed across her mound of untold sexuality. “Tell me to stop at any time,” he moaned as he felt a trickle of wetness when he slipped his hand inside her silky panties.
“I—I,” she stammered as Raymond slipped his forefinger between her wet folds of flesh and touched her in a spot that made her knees quiver. She'd forgotten about hidden cameras and what this would look like immortalized on video. “My God,” she exclaimed as he teased her clitoris with his finger, making small circles and giving her a feeling that she'd never experienced. Was this an orgasm, she wondered as she felt a hot explosion from deep inside.
Raymond stared at Imani as he felt her come. She had a look of satisfaction and surprise on her face. As much as he wanted to strip her down and make love to her—especially after licking her essence from his finger—he put his want on ice and asked, “How do you feel?”
“Amazing,” she replied breathlessly. “I've never. Felt anything. Like that.”
“That's just a taste, baby,” he whispered as he leaned into her, his lips inches from her ear. “One day soon, I'm going to make you feel even more amazing, if you want me too.”
She smiled and tingles danced up and down his spine. Raymond had to let her go because if he didn't, he'd be tempted to spread her legs and bury his face in her sweetness. “All right,” he said, rising from the bed and taking a deep breath. “I have to call Keith.”
“And I'll order our food,” she replied once her breathing returned to normal. As he headed for the balcony with his cell phone, Raymond watched Imani flip through the menu.
“What's up?” his friend greeted. “Tell me you're not calling because you've gotten kicked off the show already.”
“I'm still here,” Raymond said. “And so is the most intriguing woman I've ever met.”
Keith chuckled. “I should've known a woman was involved. Before you tell me about her, I got to tell you this.
Let's Get Married
has a big buzz around the city. A crew from New York One came by here today to do a profile on the clinic and the bachelor doctor on the reality show.”
“Really?” Raymond asked. “Please tell me you didn't make me sound—”
“No worries, man. I told the reporter you were desperate for a wife but you're so ugly this was the only way you could find someone to give you the time of day.”
“Dude!”
“Kidding,” Keith replied. “I told the reporter about the clinic and our struggles with finances. Then we talked about what Marion G. Palmer means to the community and how you're taking one for the team so that we can keep our doors open. Then, the phones started ringing off the hook. In the last two days, we've had about ten-thousand dollars in donations.”
“Are you serious? That's great.”
“And, of course, there have been about fifteen marriage proposals since the billboard went up in Times Square with your face on it.”
“What?”
“But forget your ugly mug. I want to know if you have had a chance to get to know that sexy actress? She was in a horrible movie, something about a diva, but damn! She is wearing that pink wet suit in the ad.”
“That's Imani and I know her,” Raymond replied, smiling as if he was sitting across from his friend.
“If you tell me that's the woman you were going to rave about, I'm hanging up the phone. No way in hell you should be that lucky,” he quipped.
“Then I'll holla at you when I come back to New York.”
“Lucky bastard,” Keith exclaimed. “So, what makes her so amazing?”
Before Raymond could say anything, he heard a commotion in the background on Keith's end, followed by a string of profanities. “Ray, I got to call you back, slight emergency.”
“What's wrong?”
“A water pipe just burst. I'll call you back. Make sure you win some money before riding off into the sunset with the sexy actress.”
Raymond laughed, pressing the End button on his cell phone. Then he heard the balcony door open and Imani walked out, pushing the room service cart.
“I ordered pineapple slices,
haupia
and a Yalumba Antique Tawny. The room service attendant said this Tawny is the best wine to go with this coconut pudding,” she said.
Smiling, Raymond wanted to tell her that he knew what would go best with the pudding and the fruit and it wasn't found on the room service menu or on that cart. Instead, he nodded and replied, “Let's give it a taste.” Raymond took the bottle and filled the empty glasses as Imani stuck her finger in the pudding to sneak a taste.
“This is delicious,” she said as she swiped some more.
Raymond set the wine aside and gripped Imani's wrist. “Let me try that,” he said, then slowly and methodically licked the thick pudding from Imani's index finger. Even though the treat was gone, he still sucked her finger as if she was made of the coconut dessert.
“Oh, stop,” she moaned.
“Sorry,” Raymond said with a sly smirk. “But it just tasted so good, I couldn't help it. Every part of you is delicious and sweeter than sugarcane.”
“Umm, you're something else,” Imani said, grabbing a spoon and dipping it into the pudding. She held it out to Raymond and he dipped his finger in the heaping mound, then brushed it across her lips. He leaned into her and kissed the pudding away, using his tongue to lick the corners of her mouth. She shivered, her body flinching with delight as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Imani wished they were just together on vacation or celebrating their honeymoon privately. Then she could allow him to peel her clothes off and teach her how to make him feel as good as he'd made her feel earlier in the room. She could share her body with him in the privacy of their honeymoon suite and scream his name. Sucking her bottom lip in as they broke their kiss, Imani wondered if this show was really worth it. Should she just take a real chance on love and leave?
BOOK: Too Hot for TV
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