Lucky Seven

by Elle M Thomas

  As she fumbled with the unfeasibly tight buttons he made reference to him tearing off her blouse the previous day. “My method is more effective.”

  She gave him a small shrug. “I’m not on the breadline, but I don’t know that I can afford to go around ripping your clothes off.”

  He was already pulling the shirt off over his head. “Then let me resolve the situation for you.”

  “I missed you.” Her admission was entirely honest as she buried her face in Jim’s naked chest before littering tiny, gentle kisses to his warm skin.

  “Me too.” He lifted her chin so he could look down and fully take in her appearance. With a small smile exchanged, Jim’s mouth covered hers, allowing him to devour her mouth.

  She moaned loudly in response to his kiss as she reached for his waist to undo his trousers as he located the zip on her dress.

  “Do you want to shower?”

  “Yes.” She panted the single word response.

  “Alone?” His confident tone suggested he already knew the answer to that particular question.

  “God, no!” A loud moan echoed around them as she slipped her arms out of her dress, letting it fall to the ground.

  “Bra and shoes, my favourite outfit. We still need to talk about your underwear situation today.”

  “But not now?” She thought the erection she was palming was enough of an answer.

  “No, not now.” Reaching forward Jim removed Tasha’s bra, then effortlessly lifted her over his shoulder where he pulled off her shoes. Rubbing his hand across her cheeks Jim grinned. “So, so beautiful Tasha,” he murmured as he carried her to the bathroom.

  Chapter 8

  Tasha smiled as she lay in Jim’s embrace, a sense of genuine and complete contentment having washed over her as she decided he was honest in the promises he made. He really had made love to her like nobody else ever had and it had been amazing; gentle and sensual, but still passionate.

  “Do you want some dinner?” His words, the sound of his voice, the way it seemed to surround and vibrate against her naked skin infiltrated her thoughts.

  “I suppose.” Tasha was already rolling over so that her upper body was draped across his, allowing her to kiss his chest while he picked up her hand and returned her kiss. She stared up at him intently, unable to conceal the smile that had her wondering just how she’d ended up here, with him and why he’d awoken the thoughts and feelings he had, especially in such a short space of time.

  “We will be going to Vegas.”

  She laughed, at his perseverance if not his marital past, unlike Jim who wore a very serious and determined expression.

  “Maybe, but not together and not to get married.”

  “We’ll see, baby.” His expression softened as he caressed her hand, each fingertip and knuckle before his thumb began to knead the soft flesh of her palm. He took one of her fingers into his mouth where he began to stroke and tease it with his tongue.

  Her loud gasp preceded her picking up his hand to reciprocate causing his louder groans to join and drowned out hers.

  “Oh, honey, we will most definitely be going to Vegas together, and definitely to get married.”

  Before she could respond, not that she thought anything she had to say would cause him to waver, his phone rang.

  “Hi, Marc, yeah, sorry. I had something to take care of here. No, no, she’s seen things our way and her team are calling ours tomorrow to sort out the details, but no financial penalties for either side and we part as friends.” There was a short pause. “It would appear that she was taken advantage of and will be literally left holding the baby. I ended up feeling sorry for her. I most certainly have not lost my edge and unless you want to go back to making tea and coffee you would do well to remember that.” He laughed again and then paused before saying, “New York? Yes, good, very good. The English actress?” Looking down at Tasha he grinned. “She is very interesting and keen to work in Hollywood, but there may be some availability issues in the short term. There were a couple from Thursday that could be suitable for some of the newer stuff. I’ll let you have the details tomorrow.”

  Jim was still laughing when Tasha’s phone began to ring in her bag. As she scrambled to grab it, she fell off the bed making Jim roar with laughter as he watched her land straight on her still tender ass.

  “Sorry Marc, hang on. Something rather valuable and fragile has just fallen,” he told his friend, colleague, and quickly put his phone down on the bed to help her to her feet. “Are you okay?” His amusement was still clear.

  “Hardly, straight on my already delicate arse. And the bloody phone stopped before I got there.” Tasha laughed herself now.

  Jim landed a single delicate kiss to her cheek before moving his lips so that he was nuzzling her ear. “I’ll kiss it better if you think it might help, but later, baby. Maybe you should get your phone and return the call rather than risking another fall as you dive to find it.” He retrieved his own phone now. “I’m back, no it’s fine, no permanent damage. Yeah, I’ll be in the office tomorrow, maybe not too early though.” Jim pulled Tasha back onto the bed to sit next to him. “See you tomorrow, say hi to Marcia, bye.”

  “How many actresses did you see in New York?” she asked him as she processed the details she’d heard.

  “Only about six. We often get tip offs on up and coming stars, male and female, and we invite them to casting sessions or informal meetings.”

  “We?”

  “Yes. I’m usually just an observer really, but Marc, his wife Marcia, Trey and Trish are the main ones. They all come from casting backgrounds.”

  “So, why did I only meet with you?” She was curious now, well suspicious more than curious. Suddenly, she wondered if she was somehow being taken advantage of and although she’d been taken advantage of on more than one occasion and by multiple people she was desperate not to add Jim to that particular list.

  “Because after Thursday’s session Trish flew home as her son was unwell and Trey did Friday morning with his head in a waste paper basket courtesy of the previous night’s oysters. It was only you we were due to see and Jon had already given me his thoughts on you and as you’d flown in especially I thought it would be unfair of us to cancel, so…”

  “So, I met with just you and I’m very glad I did.” She really was, but her grin was more for the fact that their meeting had no ulterior motive.

  “Me too, honey.” He grinned in return and leaned down to kiss her, thoughts of dinner forgotten for a while because he knew from the second his lips made contact with hers it would be game over. Her lips would part and invite him in and he would devour her before taking possession of her completely, again. He was going to need some kind of convalescence at this rate, but maybe he could check-in somewhere when Tasha returned home. That thought made him sad and angry in equal parts and the desire to own her once more grew as did his dick, however as he reached her lips her phone rang again.

  With his thoughts and the moment broken, Jim pulled back, putting some distance between them.

  He afforded her some privacy. “Dinner? Come down when you’re ready.”

  She nodded, already answering the phone with a very weak smile and a sigh. “Hi Dan.”

  Jim looked at her with concern from his position in the open doorway because she seemed genuinely sad now, like when she’d called her mother, but also because he had no idea who Dan was. He smiled at her, hoping to offer some kind of support and reassurance before leaving her alone while he went downstairs to start dinner, somehow and inexplicably trusting her to tell him at some point who the man calling her was, and why it made it her sad.

  ****

  He was mixing a salad when she appeared in the kitchen wearing the linen shirt he’d earlier removed but was still on the phone.

  “Okay, Dan, okay, how much?” She accepted the glass of wine Jim offered her. “That’s a lot of cash. What has he done with the money he had last week? All of it? Well obviously it wasn’t much of tip, w
as it? When does he need it for?” She sounded angry as she gulped down her wine but then softened her tone, reassuring Dan. “No, it’s not your fault. It’s his. He really is a fucking liability, isn’t he? I can call the bank tomorrow and transfer it, or do it online, but I can’t keep doing this, Dan. None of us can. I’m working my arse off while he sits on his all day and loses our money, money I am running out of.” She was speaking in a hushed whisper now, as if by speaking at full volume would make things worse or maybe she hoped Jim wouldn’t hear all of the details.

  He looked across at her and thought she was going to cry as she held her head in her hands. He also decided Dan was no threat to him, although they were very familiar.

  “So, has he been spending the mortgage again if he needs that much?” She sounded tired and worried. “What? This is a fucking nightmare. She needs to kick his sorry arse out and get the house in her name before he loses it. Has she been to see Grandma?” Tasha asked and listened to the response intently. “I suppose. No, you’re right. If she went to them and told them she was divorcing him they would probably help, but she’s not much better than him. So how much to clear the security against the house?” She drained her glass and walked over to refill her glass, almost forgetting Jim was even there. “Holy shit, Dan! I will transfer the money to you, but don’t give it to that fuck up of a father for Christ’s sake. I don’t expect you to pay me anything back and I know he never will. I spoke to her yesterday or the day before. I can’t work out the time difference and she didn’t say a word. She said they’d argued because she’d accused him of giving Barbara from the bookies one.” She laughed at Dan’s response, but it sounded hard. “Yeah, maybe him and Barbara could go on a double date with her and Frank.” She laughed again, glancing down at the wine glass she’d drained again.

  Jim appeared in front of her and took the glass. He’d obviously decided she’d drunk enough. If only.

  “Does Pippa know all of this? Is she okay? I know Dan. I’m sorry for abandoning you both.” The break in her voice proved tears were only one wrong word away. “He would have destroyed me if I’d stayed. If things get too bad take Pippa to Grandma’s and stay there or go and stay at mine. Lucy won’t mind and you should be okay while I’m still coughing up. I’ll call you as soon as it’s done. I love you too, bye.”

  She clicked the end call button and when she looked up found Jim staring at her seriously. Unsure why he wore that particular expression she decided the last thing she needed now was a lecture or a bollocking.

  “If you are going to say a single word about my mouth or my language, don’t, or I will pack my bags and leave immediately.” Her tone was strong and determined, and her agitation obvious.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” He ignored her irked demeanour and words.

  “Not really. But I’d like a drink.”

  “Dinner is done,” he told her as he set down two plates on the small table in the kitchen and poured them both a glass of wine.

  She joined him at the table with a small smile and a slightly lifted mood. “This looks lovely, thank you.”

  She wasn’t sure if it was something specific, but she could see it was salad and chicken with pasta. She began to eat in silence. She knew too many words would be her undoing and the last thing either of them needed was for her to reveal all about the mess she’d left at home. The same mess, maybe a bigger mess that awaited her upon her return.

  “I was thinking,” said Jim. “When we were texting we were finding things out about each other. I want to know you, Tasha, really know you. I know we don’t have much time right now, but maybe we could talk about things over dinner and find more stuff out face to face.”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “That sounds like a good idea. I want to get to know you too.”

  “So, you can go first. Ask me something?”

  She thought for a moment. “Have you married all of your wives in Vegas?”

  He laughed. “No, none in fact. They were all fairly traditional ceremonies, although only the first was in a church.”

  “So why Vegas for lucky seven?” Despite her own protests at her status as lucky seven she was voluntarily getting drawn back into it.

  “Why not? It started off as a joke, but I’m rather taken with the idea now. Also, the connection between lucky seven and the gambling thing amuses me.”

  “Do you gamble?” A sudden seriousness took over her with her three-word question, a seriousness that unnerved Jim slightly.

  “Occasionally. Sometimes I go to the track or I get invited to join a poker game, but rarely.”

  She had no idea why, but she believed him. The truth was that for some unknown reason she seemed to be pre-programmed to trust and believe him in everything.

  “Good. Do you—”

  “Tasha, do I get a turn at a question, baby?” he interrupted, preventing her launching into yet another question.

  “Of course, sorry.”

  “Why are you so sad now?”

  She stared at him and sighed. There was a split second where she considered making up some kind of excuse for her sadness and an even shorter period of time where she thought she might simply refuse to answer. She did neither because she was truly incapable of not answering him. For as much as she believed the things he told her, it was impossible for her to do anything but answer his questions. She really did trust him, a lot. So much that it might be dangerous for her wellbeing and yet she seemed to have no choice where he was concerned.

  “Because, my father is a complete and utter fuck up. The other night you said to me that you weren’t my daddy wrapped around my finger. Well, my daddy is not and has never been wrapped around my finger, Jim.”

  He put his cutlery down and moved so he was knelt at her side. “Maybe it would help to talk.”

  She shrugged. “I doubt it. Next question, Mr Maybury.”

  He hesitantly took his seat again, almost considering his options on pushing for answers but one more look at her face and her uttering the single word, please, he decided against it and concentrated on his own question. “Who is Dan?”

  She smiled at the mention of his name but any negative feelings on Jim’s part disappeared when she spoke. “My brother. He is eighteen-years-old and adorable.”

  He smiled at her description. “And Pippa?”

  “My sister. She is fifteen and a mouthy, argumentative, stroppy madam, but she is also kind and sweet, and I love them.”

  “Where does she gets that from, I wonder?” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and teased Tasha, but she liked the teasing.

  She cut her eyes at him, but smiled again.

  “If you change your mind about talking, I’m a good listener.”

  “Thank you, but not right now. Do you have a computer I could use?” she asked, throwing the conversation.

  “Sure. Use the one in my office.” He was already pulling her to her feet and leading her to his huge office on the ground floor, near the front door.

  “I feel like I’m in the headmaster’s office.” she said, taking in the desk in the middle of the room, bookcases filled with leather bound books and wood panelled walls.

  He laughed and with a point towards the computer asked, “That’s the principal right?”

  “Principal, yes.”

  He turned the computer on and opened an internet tab for her. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. Do you want coffee?”

  “What I would really like is another couple of bottles of this stuff,” she replied, gesturing to her glass. “But I’ll settle for coffee as you’re wearing your disapproving face.”

  With a smile and an arched brow but no words, Jim left her to do what she needed to do.

  Once her bank details were entered and she was logged in, Tasha accessed her savings account containing thirty thousand pounds. She looked back at her balance when it had said more than a hundred thousand pounds and then at the amount as of today. She really had worked her arse off to get her ow
n car and flat and to have that amount of money stashed for a rainy day, but now her father was going to bugger up her rainy day fund. She had other money, some invested properly with financial people and of course her current account that had more than enough in for her needs and a healthy wad on top, but that wasn’t the point. It wouldn’t last forever and she couldn’t sustain this amount of subsidy so frequently.

  She highlighted the transfer button, selected Dan’s details from the regular recipients list and entered the amount, twenty-five thousand pounds and clicked transfer, then the confirm button and suddenly she was looking at a balance of five thousand pounds.

  Jim reappeared so she quickly clicked log out and stood up to leave, desperate for him not to know any more than he really needed to. “Are you going to show me your very clean pool then?”

  “I would love to. Let me turn off the computer first, but feel free to familiarise yourself with the pool,” he said as she hurried from the office.

  He looked at the screen. ‘Are you sure you want to log out?’ it asked. He clicked ‘No’ and skimmed through the details before hitting the print button. He collected the papers off the printer and locked them in his desk drawer before logging her out and shutting the computer down.

  He found her standing at the poolside, talking on the phone, still dressed in his shirt and staring at the water.

  “Yes Dan, it’s done. See you at the weekend. I love you too, bye.”

  “You okay, Tasha?” he asked with what sounded like genuine concern. She nodded but didn’t even looked too convinced herself as he added, “Do you swim?”

  “I can swim, but I don’t very often. Usually just when I’m on holiday.”

  “Do you fancy a dip?” Before Tasha could answer, Jim’s phone rang. “Two minutes. Hello,” he snapped and immediately softened. “Lizzie, sweetie. I was going to call you tomorrow.” He laughed at whatever Lizzie was saying. “No, I haven’t brought you a present from New York. It was not a vacation, nor a shopping trip.” He laughed again and then became a little more serious. “Why do I pay so much money to your school if they’re not even going to maintain the building? Ridiculous,” he muttered.