“You should do whatever you want to do and I will do the same.” His voice carried a seriously pissed off tone she wasn’t sure she’d heard before. “But this is fuck all to do with you, and Jon should have kept his fucking mouth shut, although I think we may be talking about Helen.”
Tasha wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed his shoulders, making him jump briefly, but it did calm the snarl in his voice.
Jim swivelled around to face her, frowned as he undid her robe then pushed it off her shoulders and smiled as it pooled around her feet.
She grinned at him as she stood in front of him, naked once more. He signalled his approval when he brushed her hair behind her ears. A stony glare marred his handsome features as he appeared to be listening to the voice at the other end of the phone, or at least the words he was being subjected to. Tasha softened into the touch of his hand that still stroked her cheek, hoping to somehow ease his tension. She assumed she’d met her objective when Jim bent down and blew across her breasts. His huge, smug smile as her nipples hardened and puckered so readily confirmed the positive change in his mood.
With one finger lifted to signal that he needed another minute, Jim spoke to the person on the phone, the exasperation in his voice clear. “Mickie, you do what you want. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable as the only single adult there, but that is nothing to do with me.”
Tasha watched his expression change from exasperation to anger and she wasn’t sure what Mickie had said but he was certainly pissing Jim off.
She flinched as he replied.
“Mickie, I am ending this conversation. Do what you want.” He hung up with a sigh.
“Are you okay?” she asked a little nervously.
“Fine, well, not fine, but I don’t want to talk about it, not with you and not now or it will spoil our last night together.” He put her hand into his boxers where she found a very large erection. “For you,” he said and covered her mouth with his, ending all conversation on his mood, Mickie and everything that wasn’t this moment.
****
Tasha was packing the last of her belongings before checking out when she found ‘Betrayal’ again. What the hell was she going to do with it? She didn’t want to hang it up on display and as much as she considered destroying it, that seemed wrong. She was staring at it when Jim appeared behind her.
“What are you going to do with it?”
She shrugged. “Not a clue. I really do hate it.”
“You hate it or how it still makes you feel?” he asked insightfully.
“I told you I feel how I felt then when I look at it, so maybe I should keep it just to remind myself of how unhappy, humiliated and betrayed I felt at that point in order to prevent me from ever allowing anyone to make me feel that way again.” She threw it into her bag.
“Whatever you want, Tasha, but I will never make you feel like that I promise,” he assured her, kissing her neck gently.
She stood at the reception desk checking out and was amused to watch the snooty bitch receptionist smiling and batting her eyes at Jim, with little to no effect on him. Tasha allowed a smile to curl her lips as she realised this man really was hers and confident that he was as happy to be hers as she was to be his, so much so that she walked towards the exit where the doorman hailed a cab to take them home, to their home.
****
The following morning Tasha and Jim lay in bed together, still entwined as the alarm sounded.
“Baby, I need to get up otherwise I’m going to miss my flight,” he said as he tried to free himself from her arms and legs.
“Stay with me,” she pleaded but did release him, reluctantly.
“Tasha, I really can’t, but you will be in L.A. in a week and we will keep in touch every day.” He kissed her lips gently.
As she watched him gathering his things Tasha remained in a sombre mood and by the time he was ready to leave she was positively miserable.
“I know it’s not the same as being together, but I got this for you,” he said as he passed her a beautifully wrapped present. “Open it.”
She smiled as she took in the silver photo frame holding a picture of the two of them standing together on the red carpet at the movie premier.
“Thank you.” She fought tears as she reached up and kissed him, still feeling sad that their week was already over.
She’d returned home from taking Jim to the airport and received a message. Her phone showed she had three messages. The first one was from Lizzie.
Tasha laughed at her ability to raise the subject that she wasn’t supposed to be by pointing out that she wasn’t allowed to discuss it.
