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  Keith glanced at Imani as she slipped quietly into the room. “Please tell me you’re my new nurse,” he joked.

  Imani smiled nervously. “No, I’m here with Raymond.”

  Celeste began to stir on the bed and sat up at the sound of voices. She looked around the room and smiled when she saw Raymond. “Ray, I’m glad you’re here,” she said as she sat up.

  Raymond walked over to her and hugged his friend. “Are you getting enough rest? You know you don’t have to stay here twenty-four hours a day. They’re not going to toss this bum out yet,” he joked.

  Celeste nodded and placed her hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Thank God the doctors are expecting him to make a full recovery,” she said. “I just can’t go home. You never know what’s going to happen.” Celeste smiled as she locked eyes with Imani. “Well, hello. Glad to see you.”

  “Hi,” Imani replied.

  Celeste smirked at Raymond. “I see you made up for being an ass.”

  “Ouch!” Raymond said, clutching his chest. “That’s just mean.”

  Imani laughed, immediately deciding that she liked Celeste.

  Keith laughed as well. “Get him, baby,” he said.

  Celeste turned to Imani. “Welcome to our wacky family,” she said. “We watched the two of you falling in love on that show and this one was miserable the other day when he came in here without you.”

  Imani smiled. They were in love and she had no idea that everyone could see it. “That won’t happen again. He’s got his act together now.”

  “Oh, do I?” he questioned as he squeezed her bottom. “Guess who’s going to meet with Will Smith this week?”

  “Not you,” Keith said. “Congrats, Imani. Now we can all say we knew you when.”

  “So, are you auditioning for a movie?” Celeste asked.

  “Yes, and I’m so excited. But it’s bittersweet,” Imani said as she cast a glance at Raymond. “I don’t want to leave this guy.”

  “Aww,” Celeste exclaimed. “This is so sweet. Raymond, she’s a keeper.”

  “You think?” he joked as he kissed Imani’s cheek. Then he turned to Keith. “What have they said about when you’re getting out of here?”

  “More good news. I’m probably getting out of here tomorrow and will be able to go home and get waited on hand and foot by my fiancée and my mother.”

  Raymond shook his head. “You’d better watch how you act before you end up like that dude in Misery.”

  “Thank you, Raymond!” Celeste said.

  “I got something that will end this argument,” Raymond said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a blue Tiffany box. For a split second, Imani thought the ring was hers and covered her mouth with her hand. She felt a twinge of disappointment when Raymond handed the box to Keith.

  Imani, stop being silly. Raymond isn’t trying to get married, she chided herself as she watched Keith struggle to open the box. Beaming, he showed the pear-shaped diamond ring to Celeste.

  “Keith, it’s beautiful,” she said as she slipped the ring on her finger.

  Keith pointed at Raymond and Imani. “You two are next,” he said. “America is waiting for your wedding.”

  Raymond laughed nervously, and Imani said, “It may be a little too soon to talk about that.” She squeezed Raymond’s hand as if she was telling him that he was off the hook and she understood that this was Keith and Celeste’s moment. Imani felt as if she had to say that, but she did want to marry Raymond, when the time was right. In that moment, she wanted his wedding band as much as she wanted an Academy Award. But she didn’t want to seem desperate like Lucy. They hadn’t known each other long, but how could you put a time table on love?

  “Is that so?” Keith asked, “Because . . .”

  Celeste placed her hand over her fiancé’s mouth. “Imani, ignore him,” she said.

  Raymond wrapped his arm around Imani’s waist and brought his lips to her ear. “We’re going to have to talk about that,” he whispered. Then Raymond turned to Celeste and Keith. “All right, guys, we’re gonna bounce. Try not to piss your fiancée off, Keith.”

  “Come on,” Keith said as Imani and Raymond headed out the door. “If I behave, how will she know that I’m ready to go home?”

  Raymond wished he could read minds as he and Imani walked out of the hospital. What did she mean by saying it was too early to talk about marriage? He was sure she was the woman he wanted to marry and he would ask her tomorrow if he knew that was what she wanted. Raymond was certain no other woman would ever touch him as deeply as Imani had. There was something about her that got under his skin. She was the perfect mix of minx and pussycat. She was sexy, innocent, and beautiful. He glanced at her as they walked to the corner to hail a cab.

  Imani caught his gaze and raised her sculpted eyebrow. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You’ve been quiet since we left Keith’s room.”

  “Nothing,” he replied. Raymond waved his arm at the yellow cab that approached them.

  “Don’t say nothing when it’s something. I know you better than that,” she said. “Keith is on the mend, I’m going to read for a plumb role in LA and we get to spend the night together.”

  The cab stopped in front of them and they climbed into the car. “I wonder,” Raymond said, “you going to Los Angeles and doing this screen test . . . Does this change what we have? Are you back to the Imani I met at the airport?”

  “What? How can you even ask me that? You think that I can’t have my career and be with you too?” Imani asked as Raymond closed the door and gave the driver the address where they were going.

  He turned to Imani and placed his hand on her knee. “Look, you were the one who just gave a little speech about not being ready for marriage. I knew from the start that you’ve had a singular focus. I can deal with that, but be honest with me and yourself. I won’t stand in the way of your career, because I wouldn’t let you interfere with mine.”

  Imani sighed and rolled her eyes. This argument was old and she was tired of it. “Driver, will you pull over up here, please?”

  Confused, Raymond asked Imani what was going on. She glared at him. “Since you want me to focus on my career so much, that’s what I’m going to do. My agent’s office is down the block. I’m going to go tell him that I’m ready to go to LA tonight.” Imani opened the door and hopped out before the taxi had even come to a complete stop. As she stalked down the sidewalk, she cursed under her breath. Was this his way of letting himself off the hook? But why? He’d just proclaimed his love for her in front of all of his patients. Hell, maybe Raymond should be the one reading for roles in LA and not her.

  “Imani, stop, wait,” he called out as he reached out and grabbed her arm. “What is your problem?”

  “Why do you keep throwing my career in my face? Do you think I choose to be with you as a publicity stunt? Damn it, I love you,” she said. Then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

  “And I love you too. But I can’t read your mind. I want to marry you. So, when you say things like you said in Keith’s room, I don’t know what to think.”

  “You what?” she asked, her mouth dropping open.

  “I said I want to marry you, but a marriage takes two people. I don’t want you to do something that you don’t want to do. If you think it’s too soon for us to talk about marriage and you want to focus on this movie, then fine.”

  Imani stood on her tiptoes and kissed him slowly. “I said that for your benefit,” she said when they broke their kiss. “Watching Keith and Celeste, I knew I wanted that, but I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to force you into something that you weren’t ready for.”

  “Let me tell you something. I’m never going to let you go. And you are going to be my wife.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “You don’t have to say that,” she replied, blinking back the tears.

  Raymond stroked her cheek. “I don’t say things I don’t mean, especially when it comes to the woman I love.” Raymond pulle
d Imani in his arms and kissed her with a furious passion. She held him tightly, accepting his kiss. His tongue entered her mouth, probing the crevices, branding her as his. Imani melted against him, falling deeper and deeper into his kiss. Onlookers on the busy street hollered and whistled at them as Raymond’s hands roamed her back.

  He broke off the kiss and stroked her cheek gently. “Let’s get out of here. These people have seen enough of you and me kissing to last a lifetime.”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly. Desire was building between them like a campfire. They rushed back to the cab, which hadn’t pulled off yet.

  “Where to now?” the driver asked as they got in. “The meter is still running.”

  “That’s a surprise,” Imani said in a whisper. Raymond gave the driver his address and moments later, they were arriving at his Harlem brownstone.

  Walking inside, Raymond led Imani to the sofa and pulled her skintight leggings off. Then he slipped his finger inside her barely there thong. “Can I tell you that I love your underwear?” he said as he teased her throbbing clitoris with the tip of his index finger. “First rule of our future marriage, you can never wear those horrible granny panties.” He pushed the crotch of her panties to the side and replaced his finger with his lips and tongue.

  Imani inhaled sharply as he licked and sucked her pleasure zone as if she were the sweetest piece of chocolate he’d ever tasted. She held the back of his head, pushing him deeper into her wetness. “Yes, yes, yes,” she cried as his tongue lashed her.

  He looked up at her, their eyes locking in a lustful stare. Raymond entered her with his finger as she tugged at his shirt. “How do you feel, baby?” he asked as his finger went in and out, round and round.

  “G-good,” she stammered as she felt an explosion spill down her thighs. Pulling out of her wetness, Raymond peeled his shirt off and tossed it across the room. Then he scooped Imani into his arms. He nearly ran into the bedroom and laid Imani in the center of the bed. He pulled her sleeveless tunic off her body and climbed into the bed beside her. He closed his mouth down on her neck, licking and kissing the spots that he knew drove her crazy. With his free hand, he unsnapped her bra and then stroked her breasts until her nipples hardened at his touch.

  He placed the flat of his hand on her chest and eased down her body, yearning for another taste of her sweetness. He held her hips tightly as he slowly kissed her puckering lips, then in a swift motion, he darted his tongue between those lips. Imani shivered as he repeated the motion two times and then he sucked gently on her throbbing bud. Moaning, she arched her back and gave Raymond full access to her passion. Using his fingers and his tongue, Raymond sent ripples of pleasure throughout her body. He lapped up the sticky sweet nectar that poured from her body. “Ooh,” Imani moaned as Raymond pressed his tongue deeper inside her. She clasped her thighs against his head, urging him to give her more. Raymond was more than happy to oblige and increased the intensity of his kiss, lavishing her slick bud with his tongue. She felt her climax building again, but she needed Raymond inside her—now.

  “I need. You. Inside,” she cried as she came all over his face.

  He drew her into his arms and they connected instantly. “Anything you want, baby,” Raymond said.

  Imani kissed her man slowly, sucking his bottom lip as he’d done to her the night before. Her kiss sent tingles from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Raymond lifted Imani’s leg and wrapped it around his waist, tempted to drive into her wetness without even protecting them. She was his woman, was going to be his wife, but they had to be protected. Imani slipped her hand inside his underwear, gripping his manhood with a tender touch. He moaned as her hand moved up and down, fast then slow. Slower, faster, slower, faster. She nearly brought him to climax as she stroked him and ran her tongue across his lips. He needed her right now. He reached down and peeled her panties off, inserting his finger inside her to torture her as she had been doing to him. Raymond wiggled out of his underwear when it became evident that Imani wasn’t going to stop stroking him.

  “I need to be inside you,” he moaned as they broke off their kiss.

  “Protection first,” she said.

  Easing away from her, he opened the nightstand drawer and retrieved a condom. In a quick motion, he opened the prophylactic and slipped it in place. Turning around, he saw Imani’s eyes sparkling in the darkness. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. She propped herself up on her knees and opened her arms to him as he made his way to her. “I want you so bad,” he said before bringing his lips down on her neck. She parted her thighs and thrust into him. Raymond was enveloped by her warmness immediately. She was hot, wet, and fit him like a glove. As he ground slowly against her, he wondered how long would it be before this was their everyday routine? When would Imani become his wife and share this bed with him every night? Gripping her hips, Raymond slid back so that he was lying flat and Imani was on top of him, since they’d established that this was her favorite position. He could feel her juices spilling down on him as she gyrated against him. He was in total ecstasy as she tightened her walls around him, seemingly milking his essence out of him.

  “Yes, yes,” Imani moaned as Raymond pumped his hips into hers and palmed her breasts and fingered her hardened nipples.

  “You feel so good, so good,” he said as he lifted his head to take her nipple into his mouth. She arched her back as she felt her orgasm approaching. Raymond was near climax as well and he exploded when Imani clasped her legs around his waist and reached her own release. Imani rested her head on his chest and Raymond stroked her smooth back. Neither of them said a word as they held each other.

  Chapter 21

  Lying in bed with Raymond and being held in his strong arms made Imani think the world had just stopped spinning and they were in their own universe where time didn’t matter. A cell phone, in her opinion at that moment, was nothing but a mood killer.

  “You’d better get that,” Raymond whispered. “It’s been going off since you started snoring.”

  “Excuse you?” Imani laughed. “I don’t snore.”

  “Yes, you do, but it’s cute.” The phone stopped ringing.

  “I still say I don’t snore,” she said as she pinched his arm. The phone started ringing again and Imani reluctantly pulled herself out of Raymond’s arms and got up out of bed.

  “Imani, how do you know if you snore or not? You were asleep.”

  She shook her head and giggled as she grabbed her cell phone from the living room, thinking this had better be good.

  “Yes, Edward?” she asked when she answered.

  “Imani Gilliam, I hope you’re sitting down,” he said. “No, I hope you’re next to your suitcase.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re going to LA tomorrow and forget about doing a screen test. You got the part, if you want it, and I know you do.”

  “What if I didn’t like it?” Imani joked.

  “Then I’d have to drop you like a rotten, hot potato. I don’t know what you did or how you charmed Brock, but he went back to LA shortly after our meeting and has been raving about you to anyone who will listen. And get this, I may have found you steady work in New York.”

  “Doing what?” she asked.

  “A new night time drama, called Atlanta Confidential, ” he said. “Baby, you are about to rocket right up into the heavens and be that shining star we always knew you were.”

  “Wow. So, when does filming start in LA?” she asked as she watched a shirtless Raymond walk into the living room.

  “Next week,” he said. “You’re set up at the Regency and there will be a car waiting for you when you get to LAX.”

  “All right.”

  “And, don’t miss your flight. First-class tickets don’t come cheap.”

  “Bye, Edward,” she said, then hung up the phone and rushed over to Raymond and leapt into his arms.

  “Whoa. What’s going on?” he asked as she squealed.

  Sighing, she
said, “I got the role in the Will Smith movie. Of course, it doesn’t have a title yet, but filming starts next week. I’m so excited.”

  “So,” he said when he set her on the arm of the sofa, “when are you leaving?”

  She fluffed her hair and looked into his eyes, and at that moment, her excitement began to wane. “In the morning.”

  “That soon?”

  She nodded and Raymond cupped her chin. “Imani, I’m going to miss you, but you should still be excited about this. Your big return to the big screen. It’s what you’ve wanted and now here it is.” He kissed her gently. “I’m proud of you.”

  “Raymond . . .”

  “Shh,” he said, bringing his finger to her full lips. “How much time do we have left together? I don’t want to waste a second.” In a quick motion, Raymond scooped Imani up in his arms and took her back into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed, happy that she was still naked. He ran his tongue across her lips as he held her hands together above her head.

  “Imani,” he whispered before feasting on her breasts, licking her nipples as she moaned in delight. Slowly he inched down her body, exploring her smooth skin with his tongue until he reached her wet mound of femininity.

  He looked up at her and asked, “What do you want me to do? This?” He pushed her legs apart and slowly kissed her tender folds of flesh until her desire stained his face. Imani screamed in pleasure as Raymond pulled back and slipped his finger inside her. “Or do you like this?”

  “Oh,” she panted breathlessly as he made circles on her sensitive bud, bringing her close to climax. Raymond reached for a condom as he continued his slow torture of Imani’s sensitive body. When he was sheathed, he placed her hand on his hardness. “Or,” he asked, “do you want this?”

  “I—I want it all,” she said as she stroked him, hoping to exact some sensual punishment of her own.

  “You got it, all of it,” he said, then gripped her wrist as he dove into her awaiting body. Imani screamed out his name and tightened her muscles around him as he moved in and out, in and out. Imani thrashed against him, matching him stroke for stroke. He loved the way she moved, the way she fed into his passion with raw desire of her own. He loved how quickly Imani learned about sex, but more than anything else, he loved her. Loved everything about her—her beauty, her heart, and her drive. Raymond didn’t want to come, wanted to keep making love to her until the sun rose, but when she tightened her thighs together around his waist and licked her full lips as she reached her own climax, he was done.