He pulled his lips from hers. “This reminds me of New York.”
She laughed and confessed, “I thought I’d offended you so much that you were throwing me out.”
He laughed too. “That’s what I was hoping for. I knew I wanted you, but I wasn’t entirely sure that you felt the same. I thought you did, but your face when I led you to the door told me that you really did and by the time I got you to the bedroom there was no doubt at all.” He laughed. “I couldn’t believe you, so eager, so responsive,” he added.
“I couldn’t believe me. That is not my usual style, but you were different, you made me different, you still do,” she almost whispered. “We could recreate it,” she suggested.
He shook his head, “No, I have other plans for tonight.”
“Like what?” she asked, panting, feeling full of anticipation.
“I am going to take you into the bedroom and then I am going to slowly undress you and after I have kissed and stroked every inch of your very beautiful body I am going to make very gentle love to you all night,” he said seductively, gently pulling her lip with his teeth.
Tasha could sense his smile in the dark.
“You like my plan?”
“I love your plan.”
As he moved back towards her, his lips barely a hairs breadth from hers she leaned in and pulled his face to hers to kiss him hard, plunging her tongue into his mouth to fully appreciate just how good Jim tasted before he pulled back.
“I thought I said slow and gentle, honey.”
“Take me to bed, James. Make love to me,” she said, her voice full of need and desire.
He took her hand, just as he had in New York when he’d awakened things in her that even she hadn’t realised were there.
****
Lying in bed, Tasha watched Jim sleep and smiled a truly contented smile. She didn’t think she could feel any happier than she did right now. The light was shining through the voile covered window and she had still not been to sleep, but didn’t feel tired. She stretched across Jim and found his watch that told her it was half past six. She really should try to sleep or she may collapse before the end of the day, but try as she might, sleep still escaped her.
She sat in the lounge wearing only Jim’s discarded shirt looking at ‘Betrayal’ and wondered what she should do with it. The image was another faceless one; an obviously female body sitting on the edge of a bed, naked with knees together and feet spread on the floor. She held her face in her hands, her chin resting there as her fingers spread across each cheek. She stared at it and remembered sitting like that and felt how she’d felt then. She had never considered that he’d choose to preserve it in this way.
She jumped when Jim asked, “What are you doing up so soon? Have you been to sleep at all?”
“I couldn’t.”
“You really hate that picture, don’t you?”
“Yup,” she admitted with sadness.
Jim sat down next to her wearing only his boxers and placed a hand on her knee. “You are looking mighty fine in my shirt.”
“Sorry, it was the first thing I found,” she explained.
“That’s okay, I told you that you should wear my clothes whenever you want and then I can rip them off.” He smiled at her, but didn’t seem to be suggesting anything sexual, something his next comment confirmed. “Although, I really think you should sleep. Come back to bed, even if you’re not going to sleep then we could lie together. I like to hold you and feel you next to me.”
She smiled across at him, loving how he wanted to take care of her, loving everything about him. Gently, she threw “Betrayal’ onto the table before following Jim back to bed where she lay within his embrace.
“What’s the story with the picture, Tasha? You look so sad when you look at it,” he said, but thought that haunted may be a more accurate description of the look on her face when he’d found her studying it.
“The story is me, the image is me. Not just an image that Gerry came up with to represent me, that is actually me. I had been at work and wasn’t due home until late, but the night shoot I was doing got cancelled because my co-star was taken ill and sent home. So, rather than phoning Gerry and telling him I just went home earlier than expected. I thought it would be a nice surprise. His studio and apartment is in a disused warehouse and the studio takes up about a quarter of the floor space and then you reach the living area. The place was in darkness when I got back and I assumed that he must have gone out, so I went into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee and then when I was heading towards the bedroom to get changed I heard voices, well noises, and noticed light from under the door.”
Jim already knew where this was going. He could almost see the drama unfolding in his head like a scene from a movie, but this wasn’t a movie, it was Tasha’s life, her past.
“I waited for a couple of minutes and realised what the noises were and burst in and there they were, Gerry and Kara. It never occurred to me that they’d be in there together; I had even considered that Gerry may have let somebody else use the flat while he went out, but no, there they were, and I literally caught them at it. She screamed, I swore and Gerry chased after me, naked.”
“I’m sorry you went through that, honey and I’m sorry they hurt you.” Jim had no clue what else to say and although he was glad that her and Gerry were no longer together the idea of her being hurt, sad and betrayed saddened him,
