All Chapters of Exposure: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

To WantFebruary 14th:I have never been anyone of great significance. I was raised in an Anchorage shack of a house to a woman who collected more men than things, and through the years her heart had been broken so many times I had to wonder why she bothered. To her, love was an eternal hope, a way to make this bitter life shine like the many little trinkets she collected. To me, love was something a person gave up a piece of themselves for and never walked away from. I quickly learned that if I wanted anything, I had to work for it. Where my mother fruitlessly dreamed, I preferred reality. That's not to say my mother doesn't love me. She does, with every fiber of her flighty, spirited being. Our family dynamic left me more the parental figure than her, but I never lacked for anything and my need for control didn't mind. I worked my ass off to get a scholarship to college and earned a Fine Arts degree so I could move us out of nowhere to somewhere. And I did. In a beautiful loc

Noah Caldwell stood facing the rear window of Salvatore's and resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair again. Instead, he smoothed his tie down and shoved his hands in the pockets of his Armani suit. He despised suits. A privileged upbringing and a lucrative business meant they were required, but he didn't have to like it. He'd much rather be in Raven's apartment in his jeans but, for what was going down tonight, it was vital he use class and distance from their usual routine. He'd had Gino set up their table in the private room and threw enough money at the man when he'd booked the reservation to close the restaurant tonight just for them.He blew out a breath. Raven was going to flip out. She hated surprises, hated anything that didn't fit into her perfect order. And wasn't this the biggest whopper of them all? Yes, best friend of mine. I am the famous photographer you've admired for years, and the man who's admired you. For going on ten fucking years. Six of which he'd

Halfway through Monday, any progress in regards to work was shot. Raven couldn't get what happened with Noah out of her head. Ten years they'd been friends, and she'd never once suspected. Never suspected his alter ego or his attraction to her. Worse, she couldn't decide what to do about Friday. Should she go to his place?She remembered when he'd bought the condo, right after his company took off, around the same time she started looking into investors for hers. She hadn't been there since the first walk-through other than a handful of times. Noah knew she preferred the comfort of her apartment, and rendered her that small vice.God. He was Hoan Dwell. Rich, mysterious, sexy Hoan Dwell. The man who captured women through his lens with innate skill. Noah had liked photography back in college. He used to carry a camera around wherever he went. It had been years since she'd seen him with one. So he could better hide what he was doing? Who he was?The tight ball in her stomach clench

The yes from her lips nearly brought him to his knees, but Noah forced his body to slow down and take her mouth with the time he wanted to give the rest of her body. Brushing his lips across hers, he smiled when her sigh mingled with his. Applying more pressure, he licked the seam of her mouth and coaxed entry. Hesitant at first, as if she'd never kissed before, she trembled against him. After a brief moment, she softened and opened. The second their tongues met, sanity was a memory.He dove in, exploring her in ways he'd only fantasized. She met him match for match, warring for possession of the kiss. The taste of the wine she drank hit his tongue, the scent of rain floated in his head. Fuck. He knew she'd be his downfall. He pressed his hips to hers, pinning her to the balcony door and sliding his hands under her sweater, up her sides to brush his thumbs over her bra. Soft satin against his rough, callused hands.She moaned, arching into his touch and fisting her fingers in his h

Raven shot up so fast his head spun. "What?"Noah was a little shocked himself by the proposal. He'd never had a woman in his apartment, never mind asking one to move in, albeit temporarily. But after what they'd just done together, and everything they'd left on the table, no way was he letting her go until he got all of her.She made a move to climb off of him. He grabbed her hips to still her. "Stop. Hear me out."She tensed, but ceased her escape. "We live twenty minutes apart. Between your work schedule and mine, travel would waste time. One month, Raven." It would build trust on her end if she stayed. Falling asleep with her, waking up, it would push his typical boundaries, but she'd relax with him, put them in more intimate capacity. It would speed progress.She shook her head. "That goes beyond the agreement. You don't share well with others. We'd kill each other."Something else was going on in that pretty head of hers. "Right back at you. But what aren't you telling m