“Thanks for that glowing invite,” she quipped. “Where’s your little ‘wife’?”
“I’m not married,” he replied as he filled her glass with wine before refilling his.
“You know who I’m talking about,” Lucy said as she took a dainty sip of wine. “I guess you’ve finally seen what the actress is all about, huh?”
Raymond sighed, suddenly feeling sober. “You know what,” he said, rising to his feet. “I need to find out everything about her. You enjoy the wine and dinner.”
Lucy hopped up and put her hand on Raymond’s chest. “Come on, Raymond. That girl is not worth all of this energy.” She smoothed her hand across his chest. “Everything you could ever need is right here. I’m all the woman you can handle and Imani is just a flighty actress trying to make a name for herself.”
“You may be a lot more than I can handle,” he said. “But I know what I want.”
“Your loss, playboy,” she said. “This could be your last chance unless America has the good sense to put you and me together.”
Raymond patted her on the shoulder. “I’ve got to go.” He tore off toward that hotel and went immediately to Imani’s room. Tonight the cat and mouse game would end. If she wanted to build something with him, then she was going to have to make a decision about it tonight.
As he approached her room door, he sighed. Was she worth it or was this going to be just another performance? He knocked on the door and waited. It seemed to take forever for Imani to open the door. But when she did, looking fresh faced and innocent with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and dressed in a terry cloth romper, Raymond didn’t stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.
Imani could barely gather her thoughts with Raymond’s lips pressed against hers. She went with the kiss, telling herself that as soon as they stopped kissing, she was going to tell him why she was hot and cold. She would tell him that she was too afraid to open every part of herself to him or any man because she didn’t want to get her heart broken. She dealt with too much rejection in her professional life and she couldn’t take it in her personal life.
But did she want the audience of Let’s Get Married to know that? Pulling back, she inhaled deeply. “Raymond,” she said breathlessly.
“Look, we need to talk—seriously.”
“I know,” she replied. “But, I just can’t right now. Not with all of the cameras and—”
“To hell with the cameras and this show. Imani, I want something real with you,” he said, taking her face in his hands.
She closed her eyes, hoping to hold back the real tears stinging her eyes. “Everything we say and we do is being filmed right now,” she said. “I want to tell you . . . Let’s go out on the beach.”
“I don’t think you want to do that. Lucy’s out there,” he said.
Imani rolled her eyes. “I really don’t want to run into her. But we need to go somewhere we can be alone and as far away from the cameras as possible.”
Tres pointed to Elliot. “Make sure a camera crew is on these two at all times. Roll someone with a hand camera to Imani’s room right now. If she reveals this secret, I want to make sure we find out what it is and I want it on screen moments after she utters the words.”
Elliot shook his head. “How do you know she has some juicy secret?”
Tres pulled out her package of clove cigarettes and took one out of the box. “She’s probably a lesbian,” she said as she dangled the slim stick between her fingers. “That’s why she runs away every time she kisses him. That will ruin this show. Please don’t let that be her secret.”
“What if she has some fatal disease?” Elliot asked.
“That’s ratings,” Tres said, slipping the cigarette between her lips. “If I don’t find out what this secret is, you’re fired.”
“This is really a new low for you, Tres. I know you’ve done some shows that hovered over the bottom of the barrel, but this is scraping it.”
“How so? They all knew what they were getting into when they signed up for this show. I don’t feel bad for wanting to know her secret, especially since Imani hasn’t hidden the fact that she’s using this show to get noticed by movie directors. And you know what? I’m sure she’s getting noticed. Call her agent in the morning and find out. His name is Funderburke or something. Make yourself useful and find out,” Tres said, waving him off as she headed outside to smoke—again.
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.”
“Real
ly?”
“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.
Too Hot for TV Page 13