Authors: Naomi Chase
Exposed
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
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Copyright © 2011 by Naomi Chase
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Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-6795-5
eISBN-10: 0-7582-6795-9
First Printing: February 2011
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
For my sisters
My utmost gratitude to Executive Editor Selena James, who patiently brainstormed with me to make this book as compelling as possible. And to Mercedes Fernandez, who enthusiastically embraced
Exposed
and came up with the perfect title.
Now that’s teamwork!
To my agent, Jessica Faust. Words can’t express how grateful I am to have you in my corner!
With love and appreciation for my family and friends, whose unwavering faith and support keep me going.
“Tamia! Baby, get up.”
Jolted awake by her boyfriend’s frantic voice, Tamia Luke opened her eyes and stared at his dark, handsome face.“What time is it?”
“After seven,” Brandon replied.
“Shit!”
Tamia threw back the covers and sprang out of bed, naked breasts bouncing. “What happened? Why didn’t the alarm clock go off?”
“The power must have gone out when it rained last night.”
“Shit,” Tamia repeated, bending over to retrieve her discarded clothing from the floor.“I can’t be late for work. Especially not tod—
Ow!
” she yelped as Brandon slapped her soundly on the ass.
He grinned, dimples flashing in his cheeks. “
That’s
for keeping me up late.”
Tamia laughed. “I didn’t hear you complaining last night, Negro!” she called as Brandon ducked inside the large master bathroom, a blur of mahogany stretched over lean, taut mus-cles.“And hurry up so you can take me home!”
Brandon’s response was muffled by the sound of running water.
If they hadn’t been in such a rush, Tamia would have
joined him in the shower for round two of what they’d started last night. After attending a cocktail party at a ritzy downtown hotel, Brandon had invited her back to his place to spend the night. They’d doused themselves with a bottle of champagne, then licked, sucked, and fucked each other until they collapsed from sheer exhaustion. They probably would have overslept even if last night’s storm
hadn’t
knocked out the electricity.
Grinning slyly to herself, Tamia hurriedly tugged on her bra and panties and the black Christian Lacroix dress she’d worn to the cocktail party. Leaving Brandon to his shower, she headed out of the bedroom and made her way to the kitchen. It was a large, ultramodern room with gleaming granite counter-tops, black-lacquered cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. It was as immaculate as the rest of Brandon’s plush condo, thanks to the cleaning lady who came like clockwork twice a week.
Tamia got busy brewing a pot of gourmet coffee, though she knew Brandon usually stopped at Starbucks on his way to the office. It was the thought that counted. If she’d had more time, she would have whipped up some eggs, bacon, and grits, though she knew Brandon often grabbed breakfast with a colleague at the prestigious law firm where he worked. Again, it was all about taking care of her man. Which was why she’d blown off her friends last night to accompany Brandon to some social mixer he’d forgotten all about until the last minute. And she hadn’t batted an eye when he’d sheepishly asked her to pick up his tux from the dry cleaner. Tamia would have gone anywhere and done anything he’d asked of her.
Because she was on a mission to become Mrs. Brandon Chambers.
Oh, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Truth be told, Brandon was more interested in making partner at his law firm than getting married. Although Tamia frequently spent the night at his place, she was barely allowed to keep a toothbrush there. And after seven months of dating, she had yet to meet his parents, one of the most powerful political couples in
Texas. Whenever she hinted at being introduced to them, Brandon always told her that his folks could be very intimidating, so he didn’t want to scare her off.
What he didn’t realize was that Tamia didn’t scare very easily. So she’d be a good little wifey for as long as it took to convince him to put a ring on her finger.
Smiling at the thought, she poured steaming coffee into two fancy paper cups and snapped on the lids just as Brandon strode purposefully into the kitchen. He was impeccably dressed in a dark pin-striped suit that accentuated his tall, athletic build.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Been ready.” Tamia straightened his tie, admiring his smooth chocolate skin, midnight eyes, and boyishly sexy smile. Brandon was the total package: fine as hell, rich, smart, and successful. He was going places, and she had no intention of being left behind.
“Here. I made you some coffee.”
Accepting the cup from her, he took a long sip and let out an appreciative groan. “Damn, baby, you make the best brew. What would I do without you?”
Tamia smiled privately.
If I play my cards right, you’ll never have to find out.
Twenty minutes later, they turned off the main road and into a lushly landscaped development located in the shadow of Houston’s Galleria. Brandon was on his BlackBerry, assuring his secretary that he wouldn’t be late for a scheduled deposition that morning. So he didn’t notice the way Tamia’s hands clenched in her lap as they passed another car on the narrow street, nor did he hear the small sigh of relief that seeped past her lips.
He pulled up to a one-story stucco house situated on a perfectly manicured lawn. Tamia’s red Honda Accord was parked in the driveway.
Grabbing her purse, she leaned over to kiss Brandon. “Have a good day.”
He smiled.“You, too. Don’t be late for work.”
“If I am, I’ll just
blame it on the rain,
” she said, crooning the old Milli Vanilli song.
Brandon laughed as she climbed out of his Maybach.
Although he was in a hurry, he waited until she’d reached the front door before he pulled off with a wave.
Tamia inserted her key in the lock, stepped inside the cool interior of the house, and closed the door. But she didn’t move beyond the foyer. Staring anxiously at her watch, she waited until three minutes had ticked by. Then, opening the door, she poked her head outside and glanced up and down the tree-lined street, watching as cars backed out of driveways and joined the flow of other vehicles headed to various workplaces.
As Tamia locked the house and hurried to her own car, her cell phone rang. She fumbled it out of her purse and answered with a breathless,“Girl, that was close!”
“I know,” Shanell Jasper agreed. “I was running late this morning. And so are you! What happened?”
Tamia grimaced, sliding behind the wheel of her car.“The power went out last night, so we overslept.”
“Uh-oh. You’ve got that client meeting at nine. Are you going to be late?”
“I hope not.”Tamia glanced at her watch, mentally calculating how long it would take her to get home, shower and change, and make it to the office on time. If only she’d had the foresight to leave a change of clothes at Shanell’s place last night. But everything had been so rushed. After picking up Brandon’s tux from the dry cleaner, dropping it off at his condo, and hurrying home to get dressed for the cocktail party, she’d reached Shanell’s house just minutes before Brandon arrived to pick her up.
“How long do you think you can keep this up?” Shanell asked.
Tamia pulled onto the main road.“What?”
Shanell snorted. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. This crazy charade of yours, lying to Brandon about where you live and using my house as your cover. How long can you keep this shit up?”
“However long it takes.”
“And what if it takes that man, like, five years to propose?” Shanell paused.“Or what if he never does?”
“He will,”Tamia said resolutely.
Before Shanell attempted to sow more seeds of doubt in her mind, Tamia told her that she’d see her at the office, then ended the call.
She knew her coworker meant well, and God knows Shanell had every right to voice her concerns since she was doing Tamia such a huge favor. But Shanell didn’t understand what was truly at stake here. She had no clue what it was like to grow up on the wrong side of the tracks and dare to aspire to greater things. The crumbling shotgun house Tamia still called home was a world away from the lavish River Oaks estate where Brandon had been raised. He wouldn’t be caught dead dating someone from Houston’s notorious Third Ward—no matter how smart, successful, and educated Tamia now was. So showing him where she
really
lived was out of the question.
Sure, she felt a pang of guilt every time she lied to him or had to inconvenience her coworker. But she was compensating Shanell for her trouble. And once she and Brandon were mar-ried, Tamia would spend the rest of her life proving to him that he’d made the right decision.
