“No husbands and a few boyfriends. One really significant one, Gerry, and one that could have been more, I think. Oh, and a real crazy guy I was saddled with for a while.” Her reply shocked her because of how easy she found it to talk to him with honesty.
“So, significant, could have been more and the crazy guy? I bet there have been lots of dates and making out?” His gaze intensified as his voice turned almost husky.
She was shocked that he would ask, suggest, imply what she had or hadn’t experienced, but nodded her confirmation anyway.
“No broken engagements though?”
She shook her head. “Gerry asked me to marry him and was weird after I said no. Stuff happened and the others just wouldn’t have worked.”
“Guys don’t tend to ask unless they’re pretty sure of a yes so they do get weird if they get a no.” Jim smirked. “I’ve never had a no. Maybe I should have,” he mused then quickly switched back to focus on Tasha. “Why didn’t you marry him?”
His genuine interest and dark intensity had her shuddering with arousal, trepidation and a little fear.
“Because I don’t want to be married. I loved Gerry, still do in some ways, but I couldn’t give him marriage and things had happened. I’ve seen first-hand that marriage is complicated and messy and usually painful and whilst I appreciate your excuses for six failed marriages, it’s not always that simple, is it? Especially not when children are involved. I just don’t want to tread that path. Certainly not right now. Maybe one day, but I think I’ll only ever do it once, so it will need to be right.”
“I see. Very sensible, but maybe their loss could be my gain. Oh, everyone has at least one ex with issues to contend with. Wife number six, suicide.”
She was unsure what to say to that revelation so moved her empty plate from in front of her as Jim did the same. Reaching across he began brushing a strand of hair off her face. Instinctively, she moved into his hand and allowed him to brush his thumb across her lips, slowly, gently, seductively and although she knew she should stop, pull back and retreat, she didn’t. She did the opposite. She closed her eyes and felt that this man could be seriously dangerous for her judging by the electric current she could feel passing between them. The intensity increased with every passing second.
Suddenly, he stopped. “Are you familiar with the casting couch?”
She frowned and all of her earlier doubts and self-warnings flooded back. “I suppose, does that still happen?”
“How refreshingly naïve you are. But yes, sometimes I imagine. There are countless stories from back in the day of many beautiful actresses who got their studio deals that way and I always disapproved of it, in principal and reality. I view it as an unhealthy manipulation, bullying of sorts and certainly an abuse of power and position, but right now...” He breathed heavily and purposefully.
“But right now?” Tasha ignored the alarm bells almost deafening her as she encouraged him to continue.
“But right now I can see why those things happened. I can understand why those men made the offer of the chance to become the biggest, brightest, richest Hollywood star in exchange for whatever they wanted.”
“Sex.” Tasha shook her head.
“Excuse me?”
“Sex. That’s what they wanted, wasn’t it? I guess some might have gone on to marry their starlet but essentially they wanted sex, to somehow prostitute the object of their desire.”
Her voice was bitter and hard, she could hear it and Jim’s slightly startled expression seemed to suggest he’d heard it too.
He shrugged, an expression of confusion spread across his face, but he couldn’t quite disagree with her because whilst her summing up might have been blunt and harsh, it was accurate.
“And if the offer was made to you?” he asked and hastily added some clarification. “Not by me. I like to know that any woman who spends time with me is doing so because of me and not what I can do for her professionally.”
She shook her head thinking that was the last thing she wanted, would ever want. To be made into a star at the cost of herself, not that the idea of being under him didn’t appeal because it appealed far more than she wanted to admit, even to herself, but not like that. She wasn’t currency.
“I would turn down any such offer.”
“Potentially the biggest break of your career?”
“Yes. Strangely enough I like to earn jobs on my ability to perform, not screw.” She almost spat the words they were so terse. Anger followed that he potentially viewed her in that way. As nothing more than a piece of meat to be used at will. A commodity that could be bought and sold, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to get up and leave after telling him where to go with a slap across the face for good measure.
They stared at each other, the atmosphere darkening and intensifying. She could still feel the electricity crackling between them like some kind of warning of just how badly she could get burned. What was she doing? She was toying with this very powerful man and enjoying every second of it. He was old enough to be her father and at twenty-one-years-old, she was out of her depth, way out of it.
“I admire your integrity, honey, and I like you very much, but if you continue to use that word,screw, well I might have to stop you.”
There was a definite undercurrent of a threat, but she wasn’t scared. In fact, she was sorely tempted to say it again, just to see what would happen. Yes, she was in big trouble.
“Would you like dessert, more food?” There was a flirtatious glint in his eye as he spun the conversation on its head.
She shook her head, unsure if she could string actual words together with all the thoughts in her head involving sex with Jim. A frown in return suggested she would need to speak.
