Exposed: Laid Bare (Laid Bare #1)(11)

My heart raced, I was so nervous. This was his private line, and I was not supposed to even have the number. But I’d jotted the digits down when I first received the particulars of the shoot. Someone had left the number printed in the margins on a sheet of information.

Lucien had to be surprised to hear from me, and I assumed his initial silence was an indicator that that was the case.

At last, he cleared his throat. “Miss Vaughn,” he said, “may I ask where you obtained this number? It is a private line, after all.”

“Uh…”

I was stumbling, and Lucien spoke right over me, his tone becoming terser and terser. “This number is for friends. It’s for people I choose to talk to. I don’t recall giving it to you. So I must inquire, is there a reason why you’re contacting me—”

“You, you…” I stammered, interrupting. Now, I was mad. What a prick.

“—on my private line,” he continued as if I’d never spoken.

I passed mad and landed at fuming. What an arrogant, pompous ass. And to think I’d spent the whole day thinking of him, feeling aroused by him, touching myself while looking at images of him. For the love of God, I’d given him my virginity. Asshole.

“First off,” I began, “you have some nerve acting as if we’re strangers.”

“Sorry to break it to you,” Lucien stated matter-of-factly, “but we are strangers.”

It was all I could do to keep from climbing through the phone and throttling him. If I could have, I would have.

“I’d hardly call us strangers after the things that occurred last night,” I volleyed back.

He barked out a laugh. “One night of sex doesn’t make us friends all of the sudden.”

“It makes us something,” I retorted.

What was I even going on about? I knew I had no real right to make any demands. He was essentially correct, but still, he had me so pissed.

And then he had the guile to laugh, like a deep, fully amused chuckle.

“Well, I’m glad you find this so amusing, Mr. Chambers,” I said in the coolest of tone. “I’m sure the general public will find it infinitely amusing, as well, when they see the, let’s say, very interesting shot I took of you.” Take that, I silently added.

I braced myself for his wrath…but nothing happened.

The jerk had hung up on me.





I expected Lucien to show up on my doorstep in a fury. I expected him to demand for me to give him the incriminating picture…or else. I, at the very least, expected him to call back and try to work something out with me. I mean, what if I was serious about my threat? What if I exposed him?

But none of what I expected to occur happened.

I heard not a single word from the mysterious man…if he even was a man.

One day turned to two then two days turned to three.

It was that awkward time of the year, between Christmas and New Year’s, where nobody seemed to be working. Everyone was in a festive limbo, including me. Well, minus the festive. I was actually in more of a down limbo.

The day before New Year’s Eve, I got myself together and drove to the local mall. I had a few gifts to return and figured I might as well get out of the house and do something productive. I’d not left my apartment since speaking with Lucien, and, needless to say, it felt weird to be around so many people when I stepped in the mall.

I hadn’t minded the solitude at my apartment. I had spent the time alone watching old Christmas movies and drinking too much coffee. Fueled on caffeine, I had done loads of laundry, cleaned out my closets, dusted, and vacuumed the new carpeting.

The goal, however, had been to not think of Lucien. And I’d been successful, for the most part. But here at the busy mall with the decorated trees and hanging garlands, the holiday tunes and the smell of cinnamon, I was reminded of Lucent Magazine’s Christmas party, where I’d first laid eyes on Lucien Chambers in the flesh.

Sighing, I sat down on a bench outside of a store selling cookware. I needed a distraction, so I called Veronica. After all my alone time, I decided it was time to rejoin the land of the living.

After Veronica answered and we dispensed with our greetings, I asked, “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“It’s New Year’s Eve, silly. What do you think I’m doing?”

“Going out?”

“Yes, of course.” Veronica sounded flabbergasted with my obtuseness. “Dahlia, don’t you remember me inviting you to Solstice? There’s a private party being held there to usher in the New Year in style.”

Solstice was a high-end nightclub. They were hosting an upscale New Year’s Eve private party this year. When I thought on it further, I did vaguely recall Veronica mentioning something about the party weeks ago. I had told her no way when she’d requested I join her.

“Oh, yeah,” I murmured, “I remember now.”

“Have you changed your mind about going?” she asked. Veronica sounded so hopeful that I silenced the “no” that was on the tip of my tongue.

What other options did I have, anyway? Lounging on the sofa all night, watching more TV? Or, God forbid, continuing to pine away for Lucien?

“Hell no,” I mumbled.

Veronica replied with a confused, “Huh? Hell no to what?”