We are going to look at the vast amount of character growth Ada has experienced over the four seasons/series and where I think her story has the potential to go based on that development.
****** NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD *******
S1 Ada – Doesn’t want anything to do with the family business or the crime. She wants Freddie Thorne and to follow true love and generally not involve herself with anything else. She and Tommy are constantly at odds, and you can see them struggling with a sibling relationship and protector dynamic with Tommy trying to keep her safe but she doesn’t want his help. He has to use Polly as a go between for them and try to convince Ada of Tommy’s point of view. She always sees this coming and doesn’t listen. In the final scene, she puts herself and the baby carriage in the middle of the pending war as a metaphor for the victims of their war that aren’t present: the men’s families and children. She effectively deescalates the situation and Tommy/Billy settle the issue directly and everyone else can go home. (RIP Danny) After a season of seeing her mostly as an emotional and vulnerable woman that needs protecting, she takes a stand and shows considerable growth in this final showdown.
S2 Ada – She’s lost Freddie and she and Karl are living in London alone and away from the family. At the funeral she once again doesn’t have much to say to Tommy but is more receptive to his conversation. Polly tries to get him off topic and he makes a comment about how she’s not weeping, she’s capable of discussion. This moment is important for Ada because she’s essentially lost the one thing she wanted to fight her whole family for in S1 in Freddie and she’s strong enough to grieve, accept and move on for her and Karl. She and Tommy have matching black eyes after their attacks and this is an important moment that ties them together symbolically. He offers her a house and where S1 Ada would have refused, S2 Ada takes the key and visits the house with her son. Later on, Tommy lets himself into the house and she demands the key back at gunpoint. Ada is actively standing up for herself at this point and showing she is capable. He gives it to her willingly but notes that “if there was no one watching the house, I couldn’t sleep.” Another notable instance of tables turning is when Polly is not speaking to Tommy when he is withholding Michaels address. Polly goes to the Garrison to the party, and Tommy invites Ada to try and talk to and reason with Polly. This is a direct reversal of their roles in S1.
S3 Ada – In S3, Ada decides to rejoin the family in a sense and become part of the Shelby Company LTD. She previously wanted nothing to do with the family business but this is a showing of her growth since S1. She also plays a critical role of securing Tommy with the meeting contact he needs after his attack and severe injuries. When Tommy is accusing family members of potential treachery later in the season, Ada confirms she rejoined the family and business out of love and with no other motivation. At the end of the season, Ada and Finn are the lone Shelby family members (spouses excluded) that were not arrested and expected to be hanged. At this point, it is clear that Tommy has used his family members and tasked them with dangerous activities and put them in harm’s way, but not Ada or Finn. In the official photos, I don’t think it is a coincidence that Ada is one of the two characters closest to him in the photo, and facing the same direction as him whereas Polly is facing away. The body language speaks volumes.
S4 Ada – She experiences her greatest character growth to date in this series. She is once again a neutral family member between Thomas and the rest of the family that nearly met their deaths. She travels to Arthur’s house to carry the news of the Black Hand cards and leaves him with her gun. This is a scene that any of the brothers may have starred in previously, but this time it is Ada providing the news and resources. Ada says in a family meeting that “The Bolsheviks couldn’t organize a fucking picnic.” Tommy directly quotes this later when speaking with Jesse Eden and says “I have it on good authority that the Bolsheviks couldn’t organize a fucking picnic.” We, the viewer, understand that Tommy is referring to Ada as his good authority. He sends her to the rally Jesse Eden is speaking at and has her extend a dinner invitation to Jesse from Tommy. Most notable about the scene is Ada entering the bar and demanding service, fully embracing who she is at this point. Later in the season, Ada is arrested by the British army and it is revealed that Tommy has set up a plan with the officer Ben Younger and it directly involves Ada and her previous connections. When she and Tommy later discuss this, he provides the full details of this plan with her, something we haven’t previously seen him do. For example, in S2 when Tommy taps her housemate James to accompany him in his plan at Alfie’s bakery, when Ada asks they just tell her they’re doing something for the “good ole cause.”
Conclusion: Arguably, Ada has experienced the most dramatic and in depth development of any character across the series so far. She starts as Tommy Shelby’s younger sister that he wants to ensure is protected and not used as a pawn in Campbell’s plan. She matures into the single parent and provider for her son and attempts to help Tommy reason with Polly. We see her further develop and rejoin the family and business and become a more trusted and central figure in Tommy’s operations. And finally we see her brought up to the metaphorical “Big League” when Tommy involves her with the military vehicles plan. Over the course of the 4 seasons, it stands out that Ada is the one family member (besides Finn) that Tommy never outright betrays or leaves high and dry while he’s working on contingency plans. Ada is a weak spot for Tommy and is one of the few people we see call him out mercilessly and face no consequences. He trusts her opinion, uses her quotes in business conversations and trusts her to secure high importance meetings with critical timing. As the series progresses, we see Polly moving to work against Tommy any time Michael is threatened, and Ada actively moves into a position of working with Tommy.
The photo speaks to this sentiment as well. Polly is facing against them, while Tommy and Ada are in line beside each other. In S5, I think Ada is positioned perfectly to rise to be Tommy’s equal and most trusted confidant in business and in the family. I hope we see her character continue to grow and realize this enormous potential.
Notes: All photos came from google image search. This meta is of course, just my opinion on the characters and growth over the show’s course so far. I welcome all Peaky Blinders discussion so never hesitate to reach out! Thanks for reading.
Warning:Strong Language, Graphic Depictions Of Violence & Smut
Words: 3k
[A/N]: i’m baaack! Sorry about the lack of activity. Uni was a bitch and so were my exams but thankfully I am all done for this semester and I’m ready to continue this hot mess Tho in the meantime I became quite a hoe for Henry Cavill…so I might post a lil something about him
The icy crisp British air did wonders for Isabelle’s lack of enthusiasm and will-power. In the last couple of hours, all she did was sleep and control her temper enough to prevent herself from ripping Gina’s head off. All that while trying to keep the scheme ongoing and not allow Thomas to find out about their little secret that would surely escalate in the upcoming days which she would spend in the Shelby manor. To believe that only a few weeks ago she was despising the man she now does not want to let go…and has to most likely kill? To any outsider the whole idea of Gina’s would seem ridiculous, but Isabelle knew her well enough to know that crazy bitch was not messing around.
“You alright there, love?” Thomas’ raspy voice popped Isabelle’s daydream. It appeared she has spent the car ride from the airport to the Thomas’ home staring out of the window and thinking of a way to get out of that situation alive. Thomas however, did not wish to break her away from the window, thinking she was enjoying the view, considering it was her first time in this part of the UK.
She looked at him speechless for longer than necessary, causing a slight frown to appear between his eyebrows: “Yeah yeah, was just thinking.” she managed to let out while stepping out of the car.
“About what?” he questioned, closing the door behind her.
Once out of the car Isabelle’s eyes caught onto the glorious building in front of her. A large mansion, expanding on three floors with a Georgian exterior instantly caught the eye of the American girl. She was more than impressed. The recognisable clean elegance and swooping lines of the building mixed with the perfection of the garden left her bewildered. Despite the cold season, the garden is bright with colour, with beds of yellow aconites beneath Persian Ironwood trees that produce blood-red buds: “this.” she breathed out, her mouth partly opened. Her reaction earned her a chuckle from Thomas, who was soon there to pull her out of the trance and bring her back to reality.
“Come on love, there’s a lot to see.” he wrapped his arm around her lower back, guiding her towards the grand entrance of the mansion, which was mind you a double door over 5 meters tall.
“A double door? Really Thomas?” she looked at him with wide eyes, yet her expression showed a bit of sarcasm as to how much of cliché the house was.
With every step, she discovered things she only knew from movies and prude documentaries: from gilded eagles over the drawing-room windows to Chinese wallpaper and imposing Italian marble fireplaces in almost every room. There’s a large black and white hall that holds historic armour and weapons. The dining room is big enough to sit over 20 comfortably and around the table sits 22 Empire hand-embroidered chairs that were apparently gifted to the Thomas’ family by the Congress of Vienna.
“Oh you’re rich rich.” she pure shock and horror caused by the realisation of the true measure of Thomas’ wealth led her to have to lean against a wall for a moment.
“You could say so…” he smiled leaning closer to his girlfriend.
“Thomas, I feel like a peasant in front of the royal court.” her groans echoed against the high ceiling.
“Oh stop it,” he pressed his lips against her forehead, trying his best to remove the pout from her lips, “come on, there’s one more room I want to show you.”
After walking up the wide staircase made out of pure oak, they soon reached a door made out of the same massive wooden material like all the other doors in that hallway, yet Thomas only focused on that one room. The room appeared so big that in Isabelle’s eyes it could practically take over a whole floor of the house. A luxurious God-knows-how-many-square-feet-big-room featuring a large and fragrant bed, covered in various blankets and pillows, all made out of the finest materials. All the furniture made out of old oak wood or something similar to it, everything in darker tones of brown. Yet it was peculiarly characterless, no family pictures or any decoration that would make it look like someone lives there. It looked like a rather large spare room. The musk that usually followed Thomas wherever he went, the mix of cigarettes and whiskey, was opulent and sensual in that room. Despite the heating and the actual temperature being pleasant in it, it felt cold, bare.
Standing by the entrance of the room, Isabelle looked around, in hope to find something that would make the room stick out to her, but all she found was a turned picture frame, laying on his desk on the other side of the room. It looked heartlessly plain and it hurt her to think that he would shut down his feelings even in his own bedroom. She chose to change that.
While Thomas was already inside, looking around his luggage, Isabelle closed the door behind her and placed her own luggage aside. She made her way across the room to where her boyfriend was unpacking and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him upwards until he was around the same height as she was in her heels.
“Wha-” Thomas confusing question was cut off by her lips crashing against his in a hungry sensual kiss. Thomas’ eyes stayed open for a bit, unsure about the reason for her kiss, yet had no plans on pulling away from it. His hands let go of any clothes he was holding and were about to grab onto her hips, but she was quicker. She ceased the kiss and pushed him on top of the bed, against all the soft white sheets.
Isabelle climbed on top of him, straddling his hips: “What’s gotten into you woman?” his hands roamed down her sides and to her ass, squeezing it over her jeans.
“This peasant might as well become a mistress and splurge in all this wealth,” she smirked as she was undoing the buttons of his shirt but leaving the tie to hang loosely around his neck. The joke was corny and earned her an eye-roll.
Thomas’ eyebrows raised upwards, uncertain on how she came up with that idea, but he was never one to deny her sex. She sat up straight on top of his hips and circled her pelvis over his most sensitive area, over his jeans, making him groan out loud. Leaning down with a seductive smile on her face, she cupped his face with her right hand. Her left hand was trailing up and down his lower chest as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss. Isabelle rested her fingers on his jaw, under his ear, as her thumb was placed under his lower lip, opening his mouth up a bit more. Their tongues collided in a battle for dominance which Thomas used to flip them around with him being on top.
“Been here for less than an hour and you couldn’t wait to jump on my bones.” commenting, he ripped the flimsy material of her shirt onto the floor. The dark locks of his hair from the top of his head already fell onto his forehead as he moved his body up to her lips. He kissed her rough and passionate, biting and sucking on her lips as the kiss got hotter. However, Isabelle was impatient and could not handle being the submissive type. Therefore, her body moved up till her elbows touched the big and fluffy white pillows, fighting for somewhat of a type of control. Thomas wanted none of that however and grabbed the lower part of her waist, dragging her back onto the bed while her hands were around his head, pulling his head into the.
She tugged onto the wooden rods of the headboard as he kissed down her chest, between her breasts which were covered with a black lacy bra. The muscles in her arms tense as he sucked down her stomach. Similar to her nakedness Thomas upper body became naked once he parted from her body to take off his shirt and threw it to the rest of the clothes. He looked back at her, sliding his body up to her face again before he kissed her passionately. Removing one of his hands, which were placed in her luscious brown curls, he placed them down her waist onto her butt. He squeezed it aggressively to which she smiled into the kiss. Such behaviour was uncommon to her a while ago, but since Thomas with time became more trustworthy to her, she could give in to anything he did to her.
Their lips parted just so he could kiss down her jaw, to her jawline and neck. He licked from her collarbone to her jaw, up her neck. Isabelle moaned sensually, dragging her head back against the pillows when she felt his hot tongue on her cold neck. While he was tasting her neck with his tongue, Isabelle was too busy undoing the button of his trousers. Her other hand slid over his stomach, making him shiver under her touch. To get a hold of some dominance in the situation, she slowly moved her hand over his already semi-hard member, rubbing softly up and down it. He was grinding against her, making it slightly difficult to deal with those trousers, but once she got them to open up and pulled the zipper down and reached inside, finally being able to take his semi-hard in her hand. Slowly her fingers began to run up and down his considerable length feeling it harden as she did. Thomas growled and broke away from her neck to look into her eyes. Her smirk was proof that she took over.
“Vixen,” he hissed under his breath, his hands moving away from her hot skin to get on with unbuttoning her tight ripped jeans and pulling them off her desirable body.
While he was busy getting rid of any clothing from both of their bodies, Isabelle used it to switch positions. She pushed him onto the bed once more, before he could reach for her bra. A groan was heard coming out of his lungs. Her body hovered over his with a naughty smirk on her face. Her hair was pushed aside, over one shoulder. She slid a finger down his chest, enjoying the warmth of his skin, the feeling of the scars and marks sorted all over his chest, each one of them another dark story he never wanted to tell, to the tattoo on his chest and to his stomach, down to the hem of his boxers. Removing her upper body away from his, she looked at him with fierce eyes. Giving in to one short peck on the lips, Isabelle went back to business by pushing his head back on top the pillow, giving herself better access to his neck.
Thomas closed his eyes, a relaxed grin pasted on his lips, while his hands were comfortably placed over her juicy ass, his fingertips playing with the hem of her panties, while she was busy kissing down his neck, searching for spots that would make him moan. The smile on her face never vanished as she kept sucking on his neck.
“Bloody hell, Izzy.” he sighed, his hands squeezing the soft skin of her ass. His patience was tested with every second in which he could not have her. The teasing, the foreplay, it was frustrating. Grabbing onto her waist, he spun them around in one swift movement and immediately he unclasped her bra, throwing that God annoying piece of clothing onto the floor. His mouth focused then on her breasts, licking the right breast, while he squeezed the other with his hand. He kissed all over the breast except the nipple which he ignored on purpose, driving her crazy. When he finally came to the nipple, he licked it. He repeated that to the other breast before both were hard and wet. Her hands busy playing his dark hair, tugging on it whenever he touched any of her sensitive places. She moved her hands down his neck, to his shoulders and to his deltoids and upper back. Thomas hunger continued to take over, he slid his finger straight into her panties and ripped them off her body. He then carried on down her body. Without any resistance, he parted her legs with his strong hands. Moving downwards until he was finally in the area he desired most at that time, he kissed up her legs, licking up to her inner thigh, playfully biting in it. As she placed her hands back into his hair, she moaned out loud, a bit too loud for his liking, considering his whole family was downstairs. He licked one last time at her thigh before looking at her wet mound a shiver ran through him.
“Bloody hell…” he moaned, using his long cold fingers to open her wet lips. She jerked in surprise and pleasure as his long tongue entered her and his thumb and forefinger began rubbing her clit. His tongue was exploring her pussy like it was the tastiest thing in the world. She could hear a low moan begin at the back of his throat, she placed her legs over his shoulders and placed her hands in his soft hair pushing his head closer onto her, his tongue was probing deeper now, and she felt like in a state of pure bliss. With every movement of his tongue, she felt like she was a step closer to heaven. Her lips parted, her eyes closed, head rested against the pillows. Gentle sighs escaped her plump lips, his name being mixed with various curse words. He would have playfully scolded her for using such language, but at that moment it was the sexiest thing ever. His eyes looked at her from time to time. The bare image of her falling apart by his touch made him even harder than he already was.
“Oh Tommy, fuck yes!” she screamed, suddenly he pulled his tongue out of her pussy and replaced it with three of his fingers and still rubbing her clit with his thumb, he bit down on her thigh. It was no aggressive bite, but it was enough to bring her to her climax. His tongue went back to her pussy just to lick up the cum that was now running out of her.
Her chest was rising and falling, breath hard and deep. The speed of her heartbeat almost scared her. Looking down at her lover, she noticed the wetness around his mouth, a small whine left her lips just caused by the image in front of her. Cupping his chin, she ordered him to come back on top of her. And as soon as he did that, she collected all of her strength and pushed him down on his back: “My turn.”
She had one hand in his hair the other slowly ran down his perfect chest down his perfect stomach, to his cock and then began running her hand up and down his incredible length. It was now Isabelle’s turn to make the man under her into a hot mess. And that began as soon as she rubbed up and down his length while running her tongue over the tip. She felt him shiver and looked up at him to make sure he was watching this time
Isabelle plunged her head forward taking his whole member in her mouth. He moaned, slowly at first as she began to move up and down his hard dick pushing her tongue against the tip every time, she reached the top. She picked up pace and while she was using her mouth to pleasure his dick, she used her hand to squeeze his balls just enough to make him gasp in ecstasy. He laced his fingers with her hair, pushing her head down to take more of him in. His kissable lips parted, deep breaths escaping them. The heat his body felt, was visible on his cheeks. A pink shade covering his usually pale skin. His eyelids were closed, yet all he wanted was to look at the angel taking him to heaven. British curse words ran out of his mouth, some familiar to her, some completely unknown to her American ass. He was close, she could feel his cock throbbing in her mouth and with a shudder, he came filling her mouth with his sweet essence. She swallowed down all he had given her and pulled her mouth back licking his cock as she went. She came again to face and kiss him, making himself taste his cum.
Her body collapsed on top of his, too tired to move any longer: “For fuck’s sake if I was married, I’d make you my mistress right away. That was fucking brilliant, love.” he chuckled, reaching towards the nightstand to grab himself a cigarette. She prompted her naked body on top of his, not bothering to cover them. While he lit himself a cigarette, Isabelle’s fingers moved over his chest, drawing unidentifiable objects.
She leaned her chin against her hands which were resting against his chest. Her lips placing a short peck onto his chin: “but you’re not married.”
“Not yet.” he chuckled, taking a long drag of his smoke, before blowing it above him. Isabelle stared at him in the meantime, biting her lip as her eyes focused on the lines of his face and for some reason even him smoking looked fucking irresistible, “you’re giving me that look again.” he commented, to which she frowned obviously confused by his remark, “the look in which you want to rip my clothes off, even if they’re already off.”
“Can’t help it when my boyfriend is fucking tempting.” she pouted, throwing him a doe-eyed look.
Thomas stared at her for a moment, a sigh leaving his lips. The next thing he did was to place the remains of his cigarette onto the ashtray near the bed. His fingers then reached down to grab onto the rim of the sheets, pulling them upwards, until it covered their whole bodies, including their heads. While he was doing so Isabelle grinned widely, rolling onto her side before wrapping her arms around Thomas. The two of them isolated themselves from the world and vanished underneath the smooth sheets into an exploration of their bodies.
Thomas ran his cold hand over his face, rubbing his temple with the tips of his fingers, trying to calm his nerves. His whiskey glass almost empty after such a short amount of time since he filled it. The desk was covered with paperwork but all he could think of is how Finn pissed him off and used his trust, just to get under some skirts of random American college girls. His brother did not prevent him in any way, yet Thomas was not angry at Arthur, just at Finn. He did not know if he could ever become a father, knowing he could react like that.
Finn was caught spending his college days smoking weed and fucking girls instead of attending his classes and focusing on his education. Thomas being the closest Finn could have to a father figure reacted like a father figure. He dragged his ass out of his dorms and grounded the hell out of him. However, Thomas feared it would be pointless and nothing could change that lazy ass of a brother.
Cursing under his breath, he chugged down everything that was left of the drink and tried his best to focus on his work, but he was soon cut off by a knock on his door. Not giving a fuck who it could be, he did not bother looking up. Much to Isabelle’s bad luck since she was the one who knocked. Carrying a take-out bag with food that was supposed to be Thomas’ lunch.
She knew that he probably overthought everything too much to have any time or will to remember to eat. Therefore, being the lovely girlfriend, she is, she decided to end his suffering or at least the suffering of his stomach and get him something warm. However, once she saw the state of his desk, she knew that food would not be enough to calm him down.
“The cute one’s here.” she chuckled, closing the door behind her and making her way to his desk.
Thomas’ eyes moved away from a contract, up to his girlfriend. She looked sensational in the matching blazer and skirt, her long legs completely nude, almost perfectly matching her nude heels. He pushed his chair away from his desk, and leaned back, staring at, checking her out from head to toe as she walked up to him.
Prompting herself on his lap, with her legs hanging on one of his sides, she rested the food on her lap. Isabelle removed the glass from his hand and placed it aside, before she leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips: “hey there, grumpy cat.” she spoke against his lips, earning a groan out of him as he kissed her once more.
“I guess you’ve heard.” she nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Ada, I presume.” she nodded once more and eared an eye-roll.
“Oh don’t be like that, someone had to tell me, since my boyfriend would rather sulk with whiskey in his hand than tell me.” she could smell the alcohol on him, and she knew that the glass she removed from him was surely not his first, “That explains also why you did not reply to any of my calls yesterday.”
“I don’t know how my mother managed that boy,” he sighed, running his hand over his eyes, “wonder what she would do in this situation…”
“Do you miss her?” Isabelle asked, her fingers running softly over the back of his neck.
“Sometimes, whenever I have to take care of my siblings…whenever I see a child…” he stared straight ahead and not at Isabelle.
“How was she?”
“Comforting. She always knew what to say to cheer you up. But also a drunk head that never knew when to stop. She ended up going mad, probably because my father was a piece of shit that beat her.” Thomas scoffed, “if it wasn’t for him…”
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Isabelle stared at him with a worried look, genuinely curious about his history. She wanted him to open up to her.
He looked at her for a moment, searching for a hint of potential betrayal in them, but all he found was a bit fear and honest desire to know more. However, he was not ready to share such things yet and quickly changed the subject: “Fucking teenagers. He is so tedious, almost like you are.” Isabelle gasped and slapped his chest.
“I am not.” she kept her mouth open in shock. Instead of apologising he just laughed, and she raised her hand, ready to slap him once more.
“Yeah, more like bad-tempered, snappy and arrogant.”
Her mouth was widely opened as she heard him say that with a grin on his face: “well then, your arrogant EX-girlfriend got you some lunch so you don’t die from being such a dick, but she and the food will go find someone who will honour her favours.” she let out an insulted breath and got up, taking the food with her. But Thomas just rolled his eyes and grinned, pulling the brown-haired goddess back onto his lap, together with the food.
“Since I am apparently single now, my ex surely won’t mind I do this.” he cupped her jaw and pressed a long passionate kiss on her nude lips.
Raising her eyebrow as soon as he pulled away, she scoffed and rated his kiss: “Yeah, eh…I had better.” she looked away acting as if she was unimpressed.
“Oh, yeah?” Thomas raised his eyebrows playfully
“Yep.” she popped the letter p.
Thomas chuckled, pulling her into another kiss, this one much more sensual. His fingers slid between her locks, head tilting to the side to deepen the kiss. But as soon as she let out a small moan, he pulled away: “How’s that for better?”
Isabelle bit her lower lip, tugging on it slightly until it snapped back to its original position: “Much.”
“What did my not arrogant girlfriend get me for lunch?” he slid his hand down her back to her ass, fitting perfectly on the mound of her butt. He looked at her lap and at the bag on her lap.
Isabelle pouted at his teasing. He knew how to easily ruin any sexual mood they had going on, but only once he turned her on to the point where it frustrated her. Sighing, she gave up on any fun they could have and focused on feeding her boyfriend: “Hopefully the best thing you will have eaten in New York.”
Thomas was frankly interested in what magic she had in that bag. But as soon as she opened it, he could not hold back and let out a laugh. She bought him Cottage pie with a side of vegetables.
“Why are you laughing?” she whined, slapping his chest again, “we haven’t been dating for long and I actually do not know what foods you like or dislike…so I couldn’t really go out and get you your favourite. But since you’re British, I thought you’d like something British.” she took the container out of the bag, together with the cutlery, “the woman said it’s basically made up of minced beef with vegetables and gravy topped with mashed potatoes.”
“Cottage pie, love.” he adored staring at her face when she was confused, her nose frowning up together with the skin between her eyebrows, her lips pouting and her eyes focusing on the thing she did not understand.
“Yes! That’s it. Some kind of pie.” she nodded quickly, “though I am used to having pie as dessert, not as the main course.”
“Don’t worry, love. Once you come to Birmingham, you can try all the savoury pies you can imagine.” Even if it was probably just a joke, to even hear him considering taking her to the UK, caught her off-guard. Despite its comedic elements, the surprise in her face was clear only for a second, before returning back to its natural position. Thomas placed the container on top of his desk, once he moved all his paperwork aside. He took the fork and knife from her hands and tried the food. It was almost as good as the ones they made back home, yet it tasted better than any he had before, but not because of its flavour, but because the person who got it was Isabelle.
“Sorry if you don’t like it. I can bring you something else if you’d like. My lunch break is not over yet.” she looked at him while he was eating. But her statement made him return to his previous position.
He cupped her face once more and placed a sweet, gravy-flavoured kiss on her lips: “I love Cottage pie, almost as much as I like Sheppard’s pie. It’s the same thing just with lamb instead of beef.”
Isabelle grinned once she realised, he liked it: “Good to know.”
After a few more bites he leaned back and stared at her without saying a word. “What? Don’t stop on my account, I had my lunch already.” That was all it took, and his lips melted over hers, slowly moving in rhythm and thumbs rubbing circles on her thighs. It caught Isabelle off guard. When it comes to Thomas it’s often hard to tell what he is thinking at the moment. Sometimes she wondered what was going on in that genius head of his. How he jumped from Cottage pie to making out with her. Who knows, maybe Cottage pie turns him on?
Their lips moved in unison and she swept her tongue over his lips, asking for entrance when he obliged and smirked, she only slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. After some heated moments with their tongues fighting for dominance, they had to pull away to catch their breath. Isabelle wanted to go straight in for another kiss but was stopped by Thomas’ words: “Thank you.”
“If this is the thanks I get whenever I buy you food, I might come more often.” she gave him a half-suppressed laugh.
“No. Thank you for giving this a chance.” the back of his fingers softly slid over her cheek and she leaned into his touch right away. Now it was her turn to initiate a kiss. Grabbing onto the collar of his blazer, she pulled him in, pressing her lips against him but also using him for the balance so she could raise her lower body and straddle him. He groaned. His hands were sliding up her thigh, under her skirt, as well as under her shirt at her lower back. Isabelle moaned against his lips, grinding her clothed core over his own. Her fingers threaded through his soft, dark locks of hair and tugged, breath becoming more ragged by the second. His hand reached her underwear, squeeze her covered butt. She gasped, fingers tangling themselves deeper within his locks before finally releasing them to tug on the buttons of his shirt. Her nimble fingers toyed with the buttons, struggling to get them undone. As she was so close to undoing all of them, they heard a knock on the door and without any other warning, Finn came walking inside.
“Tommy, I came to-” he stopped in the middle of his track as he realised in what he just walked into. Thomas had no wish to fix himself or pretend like it did not happen. Instead, he just kept his hands where they were, leaned back against his seat and stared at his brother, while Isabelle hid in his chest. Unlike Thomas, she normally was not a fan of being caught doing something inappropriate. Once again, a Shelby brother walked in on them.
“-apologise, but it seems like you’re busy right now…so…I…will just come by later…” and with that Finn left as quickly as he came.
“Should have locked the door, love.” he pulled his hand out of her skirt and slapped her ass playfully.
“Mmm…not my fault your brothers always bust in like that.” she sat up straight on his lap, teasingly rolling her hips against him, as payback for putting her in such a situation. However, once she heard a groan escaping his lips, she began fixing his buttons.
“Guess no hot office sex today.”
Isabelle chuckled as she got up and fixed herself, to look presentable. “Maybe next time, when I bring Sheppard’s pie.” she leaned in and pecked his lips, before taking her bag and winking at him, “eat up grumpy cat.”
And with that, she left him by himself in his office, with a growing problem in his pants and an empty stomach, yet he did not feel like eating pie anymore. The thing he wanted to eat just walked out on him.
Warning:Strong Language, Graphic Depictions Of Violence & Smut
Words: 3.5 k
[A/N]:Merry Christmaaaas peeeeps~ it’s literally midnight where I live so it’s officially xmas. I promised to post like a lil xmas thingy, cause I got a request to do so. This is like the opening to the xmas thingy and I will elaborate and deepen it in the next chapter
A gentle smile appeared on his face and he asked: “come celebrate Christmas with me and my family in Birmingham.”
“Woah woah woah,” Isabelle pulled away from his gentle hold just enough so there was space between their heads on the pillows. Her eyes were searching for the joking core of his statement in his eyes, but all they found was genuineness, “you can’t be serious.”
“Am I laughing?” his gruff after sex voice replied to her statement.
Isabelle let out a shaky breath: “Thomas, I know the sex was great, but I surely did not fuck your common sense out.”
Thomas breathed deeply out of his nose and grabbed onto her waist again, dragging her chest back to his. He rolled onto his back and rolled her with him, allowing her to rest on top of his chest. Her hands were pressed against his naked chest, making sure her face still hovered over his with an intrigued frown between her eyes.
“You didn’t fuck my common sense out, love, maybe some other time. My mind’s clearer than ever right now. And I know I want you this Christmas with me.” his hands gently drew circles over her waist.
“Thomas, we’ve been together for only a few days. Don’t you think it’s too early for family visits and celebrating holidays together?”
“I know your relationship with Gina and her family isn’t the best and you clearly do not plan on spending time with them longer than necessary. I don’t want you to spend the holidays by yourself, drowning your sorrows in booze.”
“Let me get this straight, you want me to celebrate Christmas with you…in Birmingham?” her doubt was clear.
“I don’t want to stay abroad for weeks without having you by my side. Besides, that might damage this young romance if we do not see each other for so long.” the last part surely was a joke but due to Tommy’s orotund voice, it made it appear like he was deadly serious.
“Thomas, the holidays are still weeks away, we might break up until then.” she joked.
“We won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?” she leaned her chin on her hands resting on his chest.
“Because you wouldn’t risk not spending Christmas in Birmingham. A lot of pies for you to try.” she suddenly busted into laughter, Thomas following her by letting out a chuckle. Her hands moved up to his jaw, feeling the short stubble.
“Mr Shelby you’re overly cocky again.” her nose tenderly poked against his.
“Not cocky, just confident.” he corrected her, “now that we cleared that. Let’s get back to business.” Isabelle tilted her head but her wondering soon ended as Thomas rolled himself on top of her again, hands pinning hers above her head. She broke into giggles as Thomas groaned, his lips attached to her neck.
Their night continued as a steamy mess of flesh clashing, lips melting against each other and a mixture of moans and grunts. That could also describe their time with one another in general. Even weeks after they started dating Isabelle and Thomas were still head over heels for each other. Whenever their schedule allowed it they were together. They were desperate for one another, needy, touchy, but most of all horny like teenagers. Steamy office sex, lustful fucking on every possible surface of their apartments, risky sex in public. They felt like unripe kids, just needy for some relief. But the talks they had afterwards were about things no one else knew about them. She learnt more about Thomas in bed than he could ever tell her in public. His paranoia got the best of him. He never shared facts about his life or his past. Anyone could hear them and use it against him, and by telling Isabelle about it, he not only risked her getting hurt but also getting himself hurt. If she ever turned against him, he would be doomed. It disturbed him that he had to hide so much about himself, but his openness towards Isabelle made chills run down his spine.
But he did not care.
With every passing day, with every conversation he shared with her, Thomas fell more and more for that browned hair woman. She wrapped him around her finger. He would give her anything she wished for. However, she needed none of it. Having money and power for herself meant she needed no expensive gifts or luxurious trips. Her independence, her stubbornness and occasional arrogance intrigued him, pulled him further into her.
Isabelle had to admit that she loved every moment she spent with that mysterious man. She still heard little about his illegal business, anything that had to do with the dangerous parts of his past in Birmingham was a secret. But that was exactly what she needed to find out, due to the unfortunate circumstances in which she found herself.
She somehow hoped Gina would forget about the task she gave Isabelle and just move on with her life once she calmed down. But Gina did not calm down. Instead, she became more radical. Her wish to destroy and end Thomas grew bigger with every day. She was fixated on the idea that Isabelle kills Thomas, to the point that she demanded updates after every date with Thomas.
There was no sense in denying it. Isabelle was scared. On the one hand, scared of Gina and her infatuated mind, and on the other hand, that she would have to kill the person she actually cared about.
And with every day, Christmas came closer. The offices were filled with every possibly Christmas decoration, whereas the number of people working grew lesser and lesser. The weather grew colder outside, and the insides grew warmer, cosier.
Isabelle would not mind spending the holidays with Thomas curled up in some blankets with a cup of warm chocolate…or tea for Thomas. And the more she thought about the idea of leaving for Europe to spend some days away from work, New York and most of Gina. Despite the probable awkwardness of the family visit, being away from the toxic relationship would do Isabelle good.
The time flew and before she knew it, it was time to leave for the UK. It was the day before Christmas Eve and Thomas, together with his cousin Michael, were to leave. Arthur and Ada and everyone else left days ago, in need for a longer resting time and some time to spend with their partners before they would have to handle their whole family. Thomas picked Isabelle up with his SUV and decided they needed no driver anymore. Her excitement could not be contained. Even on their way to the private jet, Isabelle’s smile was never restrained.
That is…until she found out exactly what Gina saw in Thomas’ death.
As they stepped hand in hand out of the SUV, Thomas was greeted by his cousin Michael, whose arm was locked with someone Isabelle knew too well. The dishonest and ignorant face of Gina Claiborne. That wicked wench had a glued smile on her face, her body language giving out positive bubble gum blonde vibes, but her eyes showed her true face. A face Isabelle wished to punch and kill instead. The grip Isabelle had on Thomas’ hand tightened and she felt like she wanted to throw up. Thomas looked at her from the corner of his light blue eyes, noticing straight away something was up with her. After being with her for so long he could see right away if something was not going as planned for her.
She was never a huge fan of aeroplanes, but not to the point where she would die before stepping into one. However, that one time, she wanted to die before having to be in the same aeroplane as Gina and Thomas at the same time. She was more scared of what she would do to him, than what she could ever do to her.
“You alright, love?” Thomas’ deep, raspy voice halted Isabelle’s thoughts. She blinked quickly a few times, before turning her head towards him. His for the most part expressionless face stared at her back, but she knew that inside of those blue eyes was genuine concern.
“Y-yeah, just not the biggest fan of flying.” she threw him an awkward smile, her hands wrapping half-tightly around the strap of her handbag.
Thomas searched for any type of different answer in her eyes, but as soon as he got nothing, he just took her hand away from her purse strap and guided her towards the plane: “don’t worry, I’m here.”
Those words hit her slowly, as he guided her behind him towards the plane entrance. She stared at his back. They were enough to make her forget about the shit she got herself into and made her only focus on him, for at least a few moments.
Once inside the private plane, she sat on an empty seat next to the hallway, so she could, in case of an emergency run into the bathroom, or out of the door, depending on the emergency. With the phone in her hands, she tried to concentrate on other things, such as her business. However, that would be quite the task, considering that her best friend Gina decided to sit on the opposite of Isabelle, only a table parting them from one another.
Gina threw her a smile that perhaps seemed genuine to others, but Isabelle knew that it was fake just like she was. Isabelle stared at her with a stern look, her eyes probably shooting arrows at her. Though that fierce appearance did not last for long, because the Shelby men decided to join the two by sitting across from one another on the window seats.
Unlike Gina, Isabelle did not immediately throw herself around her man, but instead kept her cruel glare pointed at Gina. However, her flight fear still showed in the form of nail clicking and a jumpy leg. Thomas leaned his head against the palm whose elbow was resting against the window frame. He was not interested in the view outside, but rather kept looking at his girlfriend from the corner of his eyes. Not only did he notice the harsh looks, but also the symptoms of her anxiety.
He reached out and gently took her hand, causing her to cease her glares and look at him: “Come here.” he simply ordered and pulled her out of her seat, pointing her to sit on his lap. She threw him a confused look, but he did not give in. Instead, he pointed with his head for her to move. Rolling her eyes, she sat down, her back leaning pointing at the window, while her legs rested on the other side, towards the hallway.
She wanted to throw him a comment about their age and the ridiculousness of sitting on his lap but kept it for herself as soon as he heard him ask: “You ok?” he rested an arm on her waist for support.
Her face was only a few inches away from him and by the tone of his question she knew it was supposed to be a private conversation between them. Isabelle gently placed a hand on his jaw, cupping his face. Throwing him a small smile, she nodded quietly, before leaning her head against his shoulder, inhaling his natural scent, which seemed to calm her down.
Thomas’ other hand rested on her thighs as the one of her back gently stroke over her shirt. After a few moments, she threw a look at Gina who was leaning her head on Michael’s shoulder. Both of them were busy staring at their phones, yet Gina seemed to have noticed Isabelle’s stare and looked at him, throwing her a smirk.
Isabelle frowned at that and turned her head around, hiding completely in Thomas’ shoulder and neck, her hands wrapping around his chest, “I just wanna stay like this.” she whispered against his skin and he got the memo. Holding her close to him, he pointed out that she was safe in his arms and even if he by that probably meant the flight fear, at that moment she felt as if she was same from Gina and her schemes.
Soon enough, Isabelle fell asleep in her boyfriend’s arms. Not only exhausted physically but also mentally. But being wrapped in Thomas’ arms made it all go away. So, for the next few hours, she felt warm and protected from everything and everyone, even if that would not last for much longer.
After a very necessary nap, Isabelle slowly opened her eyes. Everything around her was much darker than she remembered, just a few lights on the floor and the ceiling gave any type of illumination. She looked around, noticing that both Michael and Gina were missing, and the stewardesses were gone as well. It probably meant that everyone went to bed and that it was already late at night.
Isabelle stretched out her limbs, trying to regain any feeling in her muscles. Even if it was comfortable sleeping in her man’s arms, she would still feel it soon enough. Thinking of her man she remembered that she fell asleep sitting on top of him. He probably did not feel his legs since she fell asleep. She spun her head to the side and noticed his resting face, leaning against his seat.
A soft smile appeared on her face as she realized that he did not wake up even if he wanted to sleep, but instead stayed with her, comforting her. She reached out and lightly touched his cheek with the back of her hand, her eyes still looking at him with a mix of guilt and something deeper, something she would have never thought she would feel – love.
“Has no one ever taught you it’s rude to stare?” his husky voice sounded even deeper after being asleep. His eyes still closed, but the corners of his lips pulled up in a small smile as soon as he felt her moving her hand away from his face. He quickly grabbed the escaping hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. He knew how to be so romantic with the smallest things, mostly when they were alone.
“Sorry for waking you,” she whispered as she straightened her back.
“It’s fine, couldn’t really sleep in this position anyway.” he groaned trying to straighten his own back and keeping his hold on Isabelle at the same time.
“Sorry about that as well…” Isabelle apologised again, her eyes turning away from his gaze, feeling even guiltier.
Thomas frowned. It was not a common thing for her to feel any type of regret or to show such weakness, even if it was with him. It could either mean she is slowly letting her guard down or she is not feeling her best.
He removed his hand from her thighs and cupped her chin instead. Turning her head back to him he stared at her for a bit longer, hoping she would say something, but she just kept avoiding him, until he pressed his lips against hers in the most delicate manner: “you sure you’re ok?”
“I guess the flight is making feel all kinds of ways…” she sighed, her hand reaching out once more to touch his face, over his jaw and his cheeks up to his cheekbones. Her thumb gently grazed over his lower lip, before she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, “can we go to bed, please?”
“Sure, love.” they slowly pulled away from each other and got up from their seat, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Everyone, besides the pilot and co-pilot, was probably asleep or at least napping.
Even if he thought she was avoiding him by wanting to go to bed, she proved him otherwise once she took his hand as soon as they got up. Intertwining their fingers, she looked over her shoulder and threw him a smile, leading him to a bed. Behind the seats on which they were sitting was a barrier and door that led to the bedrooms and bathroom. To no one’s surprise, Gina and Michael took the double bed, to which Isabelle could only roll her eyes. She could not care less though, because all she wanted was to be with Thomas.
Continuing their walk, they moved to the other bed, which was a single bed, probably meant for one person and not a couple, yet they did not mind it. Taking off their shoes they slid under the duvet. Thomas was first and opened his arms for Isabelle to sneak into. She let out a small giggle as she slipped into and he returned it in the form of a smile. Both of them were pretty worn out yet they could not fall asleep so quickly.
“You gonna tell me what is really bothering you?” he asked her, his hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her close enough.
Instead of answering she placed a finger against his lips, to identify that he should not talk. For her answer, she just pointed towards the other bedroom with her eyes and shook her head. Thomas tilted his head a bit and tried to understand why, but the look in her eyes, filled with anger and a hint of fear told him enough.
“Just kiss me,” she whispered as her lips touched his lightly in passing. Her hand held onto his neck, leaning in and pressing her lips fully against his. Closing her eyes, she tried to keep all of her mind filled with Thomas. The kiss was not hungry or horny, but it was needy and sensual. She just needed to feel him. Thomas’ hand moved down her waist to her butt, groping it as he pulled her closer. The hand under his pillow came out of its hiding and nudged her by the shoulder to move on top of him. Her hands moved up to his jaw and cupped it on both sides.
After what felt like minutes, they pulled away, foreheads resting against one another, as small pants left their lips, clearly out of breath: “tell me you’re with me.”
“I’m with you.” his hand slid to cup her cheek as her hands rested on his chest, “always.”
Isabelle smiled at him, pressing her lips once more against his, before finally laying her body completely down. Her head rested on his chest, arms wrapped around him. His fingers combed through her hair, staring at her and the ceiling, until both of them were too tired and finally gave in, falling asleep in each other’s arms.
Approximately an hour away from Birmingham airport, Isabelle slowly awakened from her slumber. Thomas’ back was pressed against her chest, she was spooning him. Instead of being the small spoon she was the big one. Thomas was still asleep and sound, his hand resting underneath his pillow as Isabelle’s hand was wrapped around his torso. She enjoyed seeing him sleeping so effortlessly. She knew about his night terrors, and the lack of sleep he got because of his family and his work. Therefore, she let him sleep as long as he could. Considering how stressful the holiday season is for normal people, it would mean it is going to be ten times worse for Thomas. He needed all the sleep he could get.
For a moment longer she did not pull away from him, instead just stared at his back, wondering if she was making a mistake, coming to the UK with him, opening up to him, if attempting to talk to him that night he arrived in New York. She was contemplating her decisions. If it would be possible to tell him the truth without him killing her or even worse, hating her.
“Aww what a beautiful sentiment.” a soft voice was heard from the entrance of the suite. Isabelle quickly turned around, but gentle enough not to bother Thomas.
Isabelle’s calm facial expressions darkened immediately. Seeing that woman in her bubble gum pink outfit made her blood boil. She stood up straight right away, ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was only a meter away from her, she was so close to snapping her neck.
“What the fuck are you doing here Gina?”
“Izzy, sis-”
“No actually, I know the answer to that question. You have a thing going on with Thomas’ cousin. And I guess he is the main reason for my task. Somehow in your fucked-up mind, you built this fantasy of you ruling the world with the help of your boy toy.” Isabelle tried her best to keep her voice down.
“Good for you sis, two plus two.” Gina leaned against the entrance. Their boyfriends were sound asleep and most of the flight attendants were on their break. Therefore, leaving the two sisters alone, “but your job is not done just because you know my reasons. He will still die by your hand. If not…you know what will happen next.”
“Why drag me into this bullshit?! Why are you here Gina?”
“Mickey told me you plan on visiting Birmingham, so I convinced him to take me as well. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without my sis.”
“What are you planning Gina?” she didn’t believe a word that came out of her mouth. She knew something was off about it.
“I just wanted to spend the holidays with you, sis.”
Warning:Strong Language, Graphic Depictions Of Violence&Smut
Words: 7.1 k
[A/N]:it’s holiday time bishessss, I will try my best to post some Christmas specials before Christmas…we shall see if I can manage, between all the baking and cooking I have to do
After a long sleepless night, the two lovers were woken by their alarm clocks that strangely enough echoed throughout the room at the exact same time. Their tangled bodies then pulled away from one another to reach the two nightstands next to her bed and turn the alarms off, before moving back to one another. The first rays of sunshine shot through the curtains covering the ceiling tall windows and hitting random spots of their half-covered bodies.
Soft tracing of skin, sleepless sighs and the smell made out of smoke and sex woke them up from their half-sleep. Isabelle’s face was tucked between Thomas’ shoulder and neck, her fingers tracing his chest tattoo as her legs gently slid up and down his legs. Thomas on the other hand already lit a cigarette on and replied to text messages and e-mails while he ran his other hand over Isabelle’s hair.
“Straight to business, I see,” Isabelle commented as she peaked at Thomas from the corner of her eyes. Her body then raised up with a groan leaving her lips and moved then to comfortably on top of his lower stomach, a position that appeared to be quite the charmer on more than one occasion the night before.
Thomas kept his eyes on his screen for a few more seconds before placing it next to him on the bed and then removing the cigarette from his lips. A thick cloud of smoke hovered in front of his face before fading away into the air, allowing Isabelle to look at his gorgeous poker face. His face did not give out any information except his obvious cheeriness caused by the view in front of him. Isabelle’s naked body covered with love bites and bruises was a sight for sore eyes.
“Nhmm…business never sleeps love, and apparently neither do you. You’ve proven me so last night.” the small smirk on the corner of his lips was the proof of his pleasure.
“As if. You’re the reason I didn’t have any time to sleep. Whenever I was about to close my eyes you had some mysterious new outbreak of energy and ravished me once again.” she scoffed at him, smacking his stomach playfully.
Thomas let out a breath, moving his body into a sitting position, his arms wrapping around her lower back, resting on top of her butt. The tops of his hair fell over his forehead, giving it an appearance that he owned bangs, which he sadly did not but it was quite a nice image for Isabelle. His lips pressed against her collarbone, right on top of a hickey. Isabelle rolled her eyes and snatched his cigarette from his fingers and placed it between her lips, letting out a drag of smoke into her lungs and then letting the poison escape through her mouth. He slowly pulled away from her skin and looked at her, so delicately holding his cigarette, yet the look in her eyes was never clear. Something dangerous and vicious was hidden behind those hazel eyes. Something he could not decode and only made him want her more. All the things he felt last night made him want her by his side, at all time. But he could not allow that to himself, besides after that night it could have been his dick talking to him and wanting more of her body and not more of her.
It would take time to know what he actually wanted.
“I should head out to work,” he informed her, his hands still gently chilling on top of her butt.
Isabelle frowned at his statement and looked at the clock hanging at her wall: “at 6am?”
“I have to handle some things before I get to work,” he explained himself, running his hand through his bed hair.
“Can’t you stay with me and we can consider ravishing in the kitchen?” she suggestively offered and slid her fingers down his upper arm.
A small smile appeared on his lips, followed by a shake of his head: “as much as I’d love to claim you on every surface of this apartment, I have to get going, love.” with that he grabbed Isabelle by her waist and raised her into the air, the cold air causing goosebumps over her skin, before placing her gently back on top of the warm sheets. Yet that did not feel as warm as sitting on top of Thomas did. He on the other hand, stepped out of the bed and grabbed some of his clothing, anything that found itself on his way to the bathroom, where he did his usual morning routine, leaving Isabelle naked by herself on the bed, “You’re not even gonna tell me what business you have to tend to?” she never got a reply to her question.
She did not bother putting on any clothing, somehow still in a bit of a desperate mood to bring him back to bed. However, nothing would come out of that as proven by Thomas once he came back out of the bathroom. Dressed to 80% he came into her bedroom and saw her resting on her knees with the blanket nowhere near her body. She just sat there in her full glory, stopping him in his tracks to grab the rest of his stuff. Thomas just pursed his lips and tilted his head, wishing he took a picture of the beauty drooling for him. Despite him wanting to ruin her even more, the business he had to attend was more urgent. And he could not take her anywhere near that kind of business. But he somehow had a feeling she could not be able to keep her nose out of things like that.
“I promise I’ll pick you up for lunch later on,” he redeemed himself, in some way, walking up to her and placing a gentle kiss on top of her head, “I’ll see you later, love.” and with that, she was alone in her apartment, yet again, feeling like a hooker in her own home. She sat down and groaned, running a hand through her hair.
She could not remember the last time she was so thirsty about a man, not to mention a man that had the audacity to walk out on her, twice. She would have been fuming if it wasn’t for the curiosity that got the best of her. It could have been just any regular job that needed seeing, but not with Thomas Shelby.
After the research that had to be done due to Gina’s request, Isabelle knew very well that Thomas is a secretive man and would not tell just anyone about his work and businesses. And most likely Isabelle did not step out of that “just anyone” part of Thomas’ acquaintances.
She could have just run after him and follow him to his business, but she was naked, and he was already out of her flat. There was no way she could get ready and catch up with him. Therefore, she just gave up on the idea, at least until she would see another opportunity and take it. Until then she would have plenty of work just covering the bruises and love bites, she noticed once she looked at herself in her mirror.
Later at work, she was going through some contracts as no other than Gina burst into her office like a bomb that just exploded. Isabelle’s oval face rose up from the paperwork in front of her and just threw a disapproving look at Gina who just acted like her office is her living room. “oh yes, please Gina, just come inside.” Isabelle broke the silence as Gina made her way to Isabelle’s desk.
Gina’s usual ecstatic yet fake smile was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Isabelle faced a dark, taunting glare coming from her friend: “I want you to kill Thomas.”
Unsure if she heard her properly, Isabelle asked: “excuse me, what?”
“I want you to kill Thomas Shelby.” Gina made herself comfortable on the seat across of Isabelle and lit herself a cigarette.
“No no no, the deal was that I seduce Thomas and bring him to you. You and your people would deal with the rest.” Isabelle quickly sat up from her seat and made her way to the other side of the desk.
“No, Izzy.” Gina looked at her with unholy, almost diabolic look in her eyes, “the deal was that you do as I say, or we will make sure we kill anything that is left of your family. You might think my family is like your own, but it isn’t. You should be thankful we raised your filthy gipsy ass.”
“Gina-”
“Shut up.” Gina stood up and stood only a few inches away from Isabelle. Despite Isabelle being taller, Gina had something wrathful inside of her that scared even the foul side of Isabelle, “the planned changed. Tommy made a deal with Alfie Solomons this morning, which means he has that fucking Jew on his side. Do you know how much power that bread baking piece of shit has in Europe? If you combine Thomas’ and his empires, nothing could ever compete with them!”
“What does that even have to do with you? What do you need Thomas dead for anyway?”
“That’s none of your business, little sister. Your job is to just shoot his brain out when you get the chance.”
“And how the fuck will I just causally get the chance to point a gun at Thomas Shelby’s head?! That man could kill me in less than a second when he realizes I’m planning a move against him.” Isabelle walked after Gina who was casually pacing around her office.
“When he’s weak.” Gina suddenly stopped and looked at Isabelle.
“Why would he ever be weak around me? I don’t even know him.”
“Oh you know him very well, sis. And by the activities in which you two participated in the distillery, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already is weak just with you being around him.” Gina tilted her head, explaining to Isabelle what she knew.
“H-how did you know?” fear appeared on Isabelle’s face, despite her trying to cover it up as good as she could, there are some surprises not even she could pretend never happened.
“You think I wouldn’t find out? You mingling with our enemy? You making out with him in front of your apartment building? After which you two headed inside? Guess you did more than just making out?” Gina took a step closer to Isabelle and whispered, “I’m always one step ahead of you, Izzy.”
“We-”
“But fortunately for you, since our plans changed, your connection with Thomas can be of favour.” Gina played with a long strand of Isabelle’s dark hair.
“This is your plan, Gina, not mine,” Isabelle spoke through her teeth.
“Oh no no, sis. It’s our plan. You’re part of my family as well, right?” the contradiction coming out of her mouth only confused Isabelle more. She was a sly bitch ready to get anything she wanted, as always, “so I suggest you wrap Thomas around your little finger and then drive a knife right through his heart, and then we might not kill all of your gypsy family.” Gina’s words stung like a wasp sting. Isabelle stood there, allowing the blonde to attack her verbally. Because she knew, she could never attack her back despite the high chance of Isabelle’s win. She was not allowed to wound Gina or not only the possibly alive family members but Isabelle herself could die.
Gina was a petty woman, arrogant, spoiled but most of all-powerful due to her parent’s power. She had the best guard, whose jobs sounded more like guard dogs than normal people. If Gina was to be even touched in a negative way, the person doing so would be attacked and killed right away. No one had the power to mess with her family. Yet it seemed like there were some families around the world who were simply stronger, richer, more powerful.
Even if she never got a reason behind Gina’s hatred towards Thomas, she could probably guess it was jealous and hunger for power. But even if she could kill him, there would be other Shelbys ready to take over his position, so she did not understand what Gina would gain out of that. There were so many blank spots inside of her Isabelle’s brain that had to be filled.
As soon as Gina left Isabelle’s office, Isabelle needed a drink, a strong one. The early afternoon hours did not prevent her from reaching towards her alcohol stack and pouring herself the strongest she got. As the strong liquor slid down her throat, burning it in the process, she just stared out of the window, contemplating on whether this plan could work out and whether she would ever come live out of this or was her undoing part of “our” plan as well.
Minutes passed and she did not move, but the glass got emptier and she came to the conclusion that she would probably die as well, and she could at least have another drink before that. So she decided to make herself another drink. But halfway through she heard a voice coming from her door: “I knew you hid the good stuff.”
Thomas stepped into her office and closed the door behind him, a hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette.
“Ah yes please, just walk straight inside. Seems like that’s a common thing nowadays.” she murmured to herself as she just walked back to her desk, ignoring Thomas’ presence.
A settle confusion settled into him as he listened to her. He was unsure about the reasoning to her displeasure with him walking inside without knocking. Thomas proceeded to step closer to his girlfriend and spin her chair around until she face facing him: “what made you so grumpy, love?” he asked, kneeling in front of her and cupped her jaw.
The whole thought process was deleted once he touched her skin. There was something so electrifying about that him that made all common sense vanish. The mission she had, the job she had to finish and the danger she was putting herself into just by being with him did not matter. The fact that being with him was a danger to her from both his side and Gina’s side did not matter. All she wanted was just to be held by him.
A sigh left her lips once she felt the warmth of his skin on hears: “just some shitty employee fucking with my nerves.” a lie, but not really. However, knowing Thomas would overthink everything and proceed to look into that “shitty employee”, Isabelle quickly put the matter aside and asked about him, “but forget that, how was your business meeting this morning?”
Thomas stared at her for a few moments, before taking a drag of his cigarette and simply replying: “tolerable.”
An odd description for a meeting for anyone who did not know about Alfie Solomons, but considering Isabelle knew who the meeting was with, she could just nod in understanding, as she would probably feel the same having to listen to that man for too long.
“Can we go grab something to eat, I just wanna be away from this building for a bit…” Isabelle uttered in a quiet voice, just low enough for him to hear. A gentle chuckle left his lips as he got up, taking her up with him by grabbing her hand, “anything you want, love.”
On their way towards his car, Isabelle broke their comfortable silence by asking something she was curious about but somehow had a feeling would be rejected by him: “Thomas?”
A husky groan was his only response, but it was enough for her to understand that he was listening to her: “what do you think about that rum Jew from London?”
“You mean Mr Solomons?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, rum Jew,” she confirmed his question and made him laugh but only for a moment, before his face turned back into its natural state of emotionlessness.
“What makes you so curious about him?”
“Well since he’s the nemesis of my boyfriend, might as well know more about him.” she smirked, leaning against her seat in his SUV.
“Nemesis, huh?” he repeated that term more for himself then for her, but nodded and started speaking: “I’ve known him for quite some time now, our parents were rivals as well, so obviously we became rivals too. But we do not fight directly anymore, we keep on collecting partners and business deals. I guess the winner will be the one who gets the most.” he shrugged unsure what exactly she asked about.
“And how about you settle for a truce?”
“A truce you say?” he turned his gaze towards her for a moment, before returning back to the road, leading them towards their lunch destination, “tell me Isabelle, would you settle for less if you could have it all?”
“If it meant surviving and living safely? Yes.” the answer surprised him, but his facial expression never exposed him.
“Hn.” he never replied to her, but instead kept on driving in silence until they reached their luxurious looking restaurant destination, where they would have their lunch before returning to their work.
During the lunch, Thomas bragged with his skill of ordering foreign dishes in the mother tongue of the dishes without showing any signs of a British accent. Isabelle was less impressed than Thomas hoped for, probably because she was used to hearing such flexing by other men. Instead she just silently ate her food, her mind still occupied with the merciless task she was given by her so-called sister.
Throughout the whole lunch, Thomas was busier looking at his phone and texting away than to actually keep an ongoing conversation with her. Isabelle tried to peak onto his phone to catch a glimpse of the texts he was having: “Thomas?” she asked once she realised it was pointless to stalk his phone.
“Hn.” he replied unbothered, keeping his eyes to his phone.
“The food’s quite delicious, don’t you think?” she poked some of the meat with her fork.
“Hn.” was all she got.
To test whether he even listened to her she took a turn: “Tommy I have no underwear on.”
“Hn.”
She opened her mouth in shock and disbelief and just continued to eat her food. That was the most boring lunch she ever had. Listening to those fat businessmen trying to make a deal with her was more fun then listening to Thomas text on his phone.
Suddenly even that silence ended when Thomas got up, leaving Isabelle surprised with a fork topped with food halfway to her mouth, “Sorry, love, but I have an urgent business meeting to attend. I promise I will make it up to you.” she looked at him with confusion but had no chance to ask anything as he threw some bills onto the table before leaning down at her to kiss her cheek, before whispering into his ear: “and I have to check later to make sure you really have no underwear on.” a chased kiss was placed on her ear, leaving her blushing on her seat as Thomas vanished. And with that, her lunch date ended much sooner than hoped.
But leaving her only made her think about her chance to finally find out what he was doing. Any regular business meeting would not begin in the middle of his lunch break and surely wouldn’t be planned via texts. This was something similar to what happened that morning. Isabelle had to find out what he was doing. She probably did not have to, but her curiosity got the best of her.
Isabelle knew that she should just walk away from it. Running after him would mean danger, danger in which she did not wish to be involved in. But the curiosity was getting the best of her. As soon as she was out of Thomas sight, the look on his face became colder, almost dangerous. Despite only being able to spot the profile of his face, Isabelle could feel a shiver down her spine. And the adrenaline rushed through her blood as soon as she called a taxi. Giving the man the task to follow Thomas’ car, but within a safe distance. Thomas would know right away if someone followed him and God knows how that would end.
Instead the taxi kept at least two cars between itself and Thomas’ car. The taxi driver did not mind following the car, he would get paid either way. And Isabelle just sat in the back, her eyes trying to keep track with Thomas car, figuring where he was heading to. After what felt like hours, they finally noticed Thomas pulling down shorter and narrower streets. Until he finally reached his destination. It was a restricted one-way alley somewhere in Chinatown. And despite it being late in the afternoon, no one seemed to live around that area nor did someone seem to work or walk by that place. Perhaps it was known for some dangerous business going on around there and everyone just tried to avoid it. That assumption only made Isabelle want to turn away and go back to work. Yet that possibility of being caught, of ending up in a dangerous, hazardous situation made her heartbeat go faster. She felt like she was high on adrenaline.
Once Thomas stepped out of his car, Isabelle quickly paid her taxi driver and let him drive away, leaving her only a few meters away from Thomas’ car. She tried her best to hide, but the clicking of her heels did not help her. Instead, she just tried to be as slow as possible, hiding behind every possible wall or store.
She planned on staying hidden at least for a while until she could evaluate the situation. Thomas vanished within the walls of the alleyway, his hand holding tightly onto the inside of his jacket, something he usually never did. But Isabelle was not stupid, she could have guessed what he was holding onto. And soon enough she knew exactly way he was holding so desperately because once she heard gunshots echoing throughout the alleyway, her hiding spot was useless and her perfect plan was destroyed.
Loud groans and inarticulate conveys of pain could have been heard right after the gunshots rang throughout the street. Isabelle was surprised no one came out or called the cops, instead anyone that was anywhere near escaped inside of the buildings. The guns continued to be heard after a few seconds of weeping in between. And Isabelle could not hide any longer, those whimpers could have been Thomas’. She was no weak woman, despite her feminine appearance she knew how to protect herself, but no matter how strong she is physically, none of her attacks could match a bullet.
Nevertheless, she ran towards the unsafe scene and was met with a bloody view. Bloodstained floor covered with dozens of bodies half dead and half still alive. Their bodies were covered in a crimson mess made from blood and probably other bodily fluids. Isabelle restrained her gag reflex and stopped herself from vomiting at the scene. Her eyes were looking for Thomas, hoping he was not one of the men on the floor. The story behind the attack did not matter to her at that moment, all she wanted was to make sure Thomas was safe.
He was not dead. However, he was far from being safe. Thomas was struggling on his legs, a wire wrapped around his neck from behind him, being held by a tall ginger-haired man with a matching beard. He himself was also covered with blood, most likely not his own, as he tightly pulled the wire closer to Thomas skin. She could already see the bruises and wounds forming from the pressure. Thomas held onto the wire, trying to pull it further away from his skin, but the taller man appeared to be stronger than Thomas.
Isabelle did not think twice but ran towards the man hitting him with a leg kick with all strength she had. Her attack succeeded as she kicked right under the sides of his ribcage, catching the man off guard. He yelped in pain, easing the grip on the wire, and therefore allowing Tommy to turn around and quickly shoot the man straight through his head. Blood splattered all over him, reaching both Thomas and Isabelle, covering them also with blood.
The woman gasped, more in shock that her outfit was ruined than actual fear. Thomas looked at her for a moment, eyes shocked but thankful. He stared at the beauty covered in blood for a second before throwing her a gun and just threw her a look that told her everything. She never used a gun before in her life, but she has seen enough movies to know what to do. But the backlash of a bullet leaving the barrel.
Thomas paid no attention to the woman next to him that appeared out of nowhere, he was too occupied with the enemies attacking them from every side. The moment Isabelle turned around to look for Thomas a gunshot was heard. One of the men attempted to shoot her, however only to collide with the wall next to her. Isabelle gasped turning towards the man laying on the floor, but still having enough energy to attack her. She raised her eyebrows and stepped towards him shooting a few bullets through the muzzle of the gun, hitting various different parts of the man, ending both him and her outfit.
The destructive scene became gorier with every moment. A barbarous, warlike scenario that would be tattooed into Isabelle’s mind. Soon afterwards, everything was quiet again. The dozens of men were splattered around the floor, covered in blood, a true homicidal picture. And standing above all of it was Thomas, breathing deeply. The animalistic expression on this face was highlighted by the blood covering most of his skin and clothing. His hand was shaking, holding the gun with everything in him. He could taste the metallic flavour of blood that dripped into his mouth. He had to check a few time to make sure everyone was dead, but then he realized he was not alone in this.
His back quickly turned around, hoping to see Isabelle still alive. And thankfully she was. She was standing above the man she just shot and killed. He would have probably died from his previous wounds caused by Thomas, but she was the one who finished him. And it suddenly hit her, she killed a man. Despite the adrenaline she slowly came back to earth and realized in what she just got herself. Thomas rushed to her by long gallops, still holding the gun tightly in his hands.
As soon as he touched Isabelle’s shoulder, she spun around, pointing her gun with both hands against Thomas’ forehead. It was just a reflex caused by fear, but once she looked at him, she knew she could finish her task right away and be done with it. Thomas however, was calm enough to know that she was scared. He did not know about her task and simply grabbed onto the barrel of her gun, slowly moving it downwards until he could casually take the gun out of her hand and throw it aside, far from the men.
Her eyes were looking for him, she was frightened, alarmed and panic-stricken. Thomas was shaky as well but he was no stranger to gunfights and shootings and bloody aftermaths. Despite all that he knew he had to calm Isabelle down before she broke down. His arms wrapped around her body, holding her tightly. The blood spread over his clothes mixed with the blood covering her own. They were a mess, but she never felt safer in someone’s arms than him.
Her breath slowly calmed down as he hugged her. His eyes still wandered around the scene caused by them, no moment did he have to relax. But she did. And soon enough her panic lingered slowly away. She was still petrified but calm enough to know they had to leave this scene before either the police or more of those men arrived.
“Thomas-” she clearly shaken looked at him, her eyes told him everything.
“I know,” he spoke, the pain obvious but his pride would not allow him to show it. He slowly let go of Isabelle and pointed at the car, “get inside and wait for me.” she just nodded her head and slowly walked towards his nearby car, after every few steps she threw a look at him just to make sure he was still there, still alive. Thomas quickly grabbed any gun that had their fingerprints on them and took a couple of pictures of the men. His eyes wandered around the buildings hoping no one has seen what happened, but that was highly unlikely.
On his way towards his car, his eyes kept looking around, scanning and analysing everything and everyone. His march was stopped, however, once he saw Isabelle just sitting in his car, covered with blood. Tears finally left her eyes, the shock clearly ceasing, yet the realization hit her stronger now. Looking at her bloody hands she knew that she fucked up, really badly. Even when Thomas stepped into his car, she did not stop crying, her eyes still focused on the foreign blood ruining her skin and clothing.
Thomas grabbed her hands and placed a kiss on top of them. Isabelle’s watery eyes then stared at Thomas with an opened mouth. Sobs left her lips, her arms suddenly wrapping around Thomas again holding onto him tighter than before. Not much could be understood from all the sobs leaving her, but Thomas did recognize one sentence that affected him more than he thought: “I thought you would die.”
“Isabelle look at me,” he cupped her face and raised her face until she looked at him, “we have to leave. Right now. I will explain later.” she just nodded her head and allowed him to drive away as quickly as he could. He took the easiest road he could think off and quickly drove towards the apartment in which he lived for the time being until he could decide whether he would stay in the States or head back to the UK.
Isabelle has never been to that place, but she knew she wanted to be with Thomas. She was upset, overwhelmed and unprepared. During the whole ride, she kept on holding onto his arm or hand, wishing for contact. Thomas understood and did not even think of pushing her away. In fact, he enjoyed it, the neediness of hers. However, they did not speak a lot. They just drove, making sure they avoided any attention from people. The windows of his SUV was darkened so no one could look aside into the car, but the front window was not. The darkness of the late autumn days helped them be hidden. They made their way towards his building without any stops. All they wanted was to quickly leave the public, just because of their red appearance.
The couple drove into the underground garage of the apartment building where Thomas lived. Locking up his car he looked around once more, before quickly grabbing onto Isabelle’s waist and leading her to the elevator that would lead them straight to his floor.
She did not care about the appearance of his apartment building, the elevator or even his flat. All she wanted was to wash the shit from her body and to calm down, there would hopefully be other times when she would have all the time of the world to inspect the appearance of his home. Isabelle held onto his arm as he unlocked his door and led her inside. All the time he made sure no one followed them, and he locked the door with more than just one lock. He became somewhat paranoid after what happened.
Thomas crimson fingers wrapped around hers, leading her towards his bathroom. He turned on the shower and allowed the warm steam to cover the whole room, while he slowly undressed. Isabelle took the hint and slowly removed every article of her clothing, together with her shoes, kicking everything aside, knowing she would most likely throw all of it away, due to the fact that such stains could not be removed.
Thomas body was covered in bruises, making Isabelle regret not rushing sooner to the scene and preventing more damage. She looked down at the floor, as Thomas stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run down his body, dyeing the floor into the deep red shade. He turned around taking a look at her frozen state. Regret and shame covering her expression, leading her to almost break down into tears again. He had to prevent that. And he did so by taking her hand and pulling her inside the shower, closing the door behind her. He wrapped his hands around her naked body and kept her under the showerhead. Her head leaned against his shoulder, the blood staining her body slowly sliding away, allowing her natural skin colour to show.
Thomas slid his hand through her hair, undoing random small knots. The silence was comforting but so many questions were to be asked: “Thomas…”
“Why were you there?” his stern voice broke her quiet words, “you could have died you bloody idiot.” he groaned against her hair, holding tighter onto her.
“I wanted to know what kind of business you and the rum Jew had to go on…” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear it.
He cursed under his breath, some of which could not be understood by Isabelle. She just hid more. She was not scared of him or the consequences of her actions she just wanted to feel safe again. Which would hardly be possibly considering the mess under their feet.
“I’m sorry Tommy. I just-”
“Thank you.” his words were unfamiliar to her. She never heard those coming from him, “fuck knows what would have happened to me if you didn’t punt that fucker away from me.” he chuckled before pulling away from her just enough to see the mess on her face.
His rough hand gently removed the stains on her face, as her fingers ran over his hair, washing the semi-dry blood from the tips of his locks.
“I’m glad I kicked that bastard away from you. Only I should be allowed to leave marks on your neck.” her fingertips slowly touched the red mark around his neck. It would not leave any scar but it sure will bruise.
Thomas response was just a low chuckle. His hands trailed over her hot naked skin. Touching all the parts that were covered with blood, washing them away under the pressure of the hot water. Their eyes met once more, however, this time, after calming down they realised in what situation they were. Naked underneath the showerhead, barely survived just an hour ago. Something else besides adrenaline started pumping through their veins. They started craving more than just a gentle touch from one another.
His nails dug into his waist, surely leaving red bruises wherever he touched. A deep breath left her lips as her hands wrapped around his neck, their lips meeting in a hungry kiss. There was still some blood running down their bodies mixing with the water and hitting the slightly lighter red water on the floor of the shower.
“I need to feel more of you.” Thomas breathed against her lips as Isabelle held on top of his head, tugging on his hair as she deepened the kiss. Neither one of them cared about foreplay, about taking it slow and enjoying the moments. She knew it would hurt much more but she could not care less. Thomas let go of her waist with one hand and started pumping his member, making sure to get it at least semi-hard before he would make his next move. He lined himself up quickly, the bulging tip grazing her narrow opening. His fingers spread her lips, and she let out a long whine as he slowly sunk into her. His hands went to her ass, lifting her up until she was waist and pressed with her back against the steamed-up wall, and she could only yelp at the feeling of his fingers and dick against her wet welts.
He stroked over her folds gently and she moaned out loud, taking more of his cock inside her. Finally, she felt his muscular thighs brushing her ass next to where his hands were resting, and she took a few quick breaths. “Fucking hell, love, you feel so fucking good!” Thomas murmured with a lustful voice.
“Feels so fucking good, Tommy. So fucking tight,” she whimpered.
“Fuck I should take you raw more often.” he cursed, leaning forward and tilting her head back, kissing her jaw before crushing his mouth against hers. Isabelle moaned as he slid his tongue over hers, nipped at her bottom lip. Instinctively, she rolled her hips as he devoured her mouth and sucked at her lips, the motion sending bolts of pleasure out from her pussy and into her legs and stomach.
She whimpered as he moved quicker, the pull of his turgid flesh against her inner walls causing instant heat. His hands slid up her back, and she hissed. He started slowly at first, moving out only a few inches and sinking back down, his grunts and soft gasps of her name urged him to move faster. Soon, her hands grabbed onto his shoulders, bracing herself as he pulled out until only his tip was inside her, before slamming back inside. As he pounded into her in a rapid speed, his arms slide around her, one hand holding onto her waist, the other on her ass, teasing the bruises there, making her cry out.
God, he felt so huge around her. Every time he entered her, she felt him stretch her wider. She got wetter with every thrust. Her breasts swayed and jiggled with her movement, and she knew Thomas noticed that when he growled, his mouth dropping to the untouched skin of her chest. She moaned as his tongue licked the line between her breasts. As he sucked gently, his fingers still teasing her sensitive spots, she felt her pussy squeeze tight around his shaft. Warmth built in her belly, and she took a stunted breath: “Tommy, fuck I’m gonna come,” she gasped, grabbing onto his shoulders.
Thomas’ forehead pressed against her shoulder, curses coming out of his mouth. She was on the edge of an orgasm when he moved harder. Isabelle was aching to come. She needed his big dick to come inside of her. His hands worked between them again, squeezing his head up between her lips. As soon as she felt it, she sank down, moaning desperately, “Go faster,” she pleaded. “Tommy, please.”
He bent his knees and started thrusting up into her convulsing core as she grabbed onto his arms for support. He grunted into her ear, and her breathing got shallow. They were so close, they could tell from the acute throbbing between her legs, “Come, Izzy, come love,” he growls. “I need you to come.”
“I’m close,” she whined. “so fucking-” His mouth dipped down to her neck again, and she whimpered. His teeth scraped lightly over her, barely at all, but it was enough for her. A wail tears out of her throat as her orgasm ripped her apart. Her pussy clenched desperately at him as he continued to drive into her. Her head fell back against the wall, as she dug her fingers into his skin, her lungs struggling to breathe through it.
Suddenly, he yanked her hips down at the same time he powered his up, ramming his cock in so deep she could feel his balls against her. She looked down to see his face twist with a roar as he came. The feeling of his cock jerking and spilling inside of her sent a sharp surge through her core, extending her orgasm. Her forehead dropped to his shoulder as he grunted into her ear, “fucking hell Izzy that was fucking amazing.”
After slowly putting her down, his arms still holding onto her to make sure she would not crash onto the floor, their breaths slowed down: “are we bad people…for fucking while their blood washes down the drain?”
“Might be kinkier than my usual preferences, but if you’re into it…” Thomas joked with her and she just slapped his shoulder
“I’m serious, Tommy.” she whined, as he chuckled at her, “those people are dead…we killed them.” she commented, her hands sliding down his shoulders to his upper arms.
“They would have killed us if we didn’t kill them Izzy.” he opened the shower door and stepped out, grabbing some towels for them to dry with.
Taking a towel from him, she slowly rubbed her body dry, removing any cum between her legs: “who were these people Tom?”
“I’m not sure…but they weren’t Alfie’s men, that’s for sure.” he frowned at the floor, a towel on top of his head, drying his short locks.
“Why did you even go there, Tommy?” Thomas walked up to her, a towel wrapped around his waist. His hands grabbed an unused towel and gently wrapped it around her hair, helping her dry her long dark brown locks.
“I got texts. Allegedly they were from Alfie about some changes to the deal. I guess those changes include my death.” he shrugged before grabbing onto Isabelle’s ass and raising her into the air, her legs wrapping around his waist as he started walking with her towards his bedroom, “those texts weren’t from Alfie, Izzy. He wouldn’t send such texts.”
“Then why did you go there if you knew they weren’t from him?” Isabelle frowned, her fingers holding onto his shoulders as they walked.
“I wanted to confirm a suspicion.”
“What suspicion?” she asked as he placed her on top of her bed and under his covers. She never got a reply to her question and took it with ease, knowing he had his reasons for keeping quiet, “can you at least tell me whether you can confirm that suspicion or not?”
“It’s confirmed.” Thomas wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. The way she looked at him made him melt away. The look made him feel adored, needed, wanted, “Izzy?”
“Hn.” she even started copying his usual emotionless reply.
A gentle smile appeared on his face and he asked: “come celebrate Christmas with me and my family in Birmingham.”
Warning:Strong Language, Graphic Depictions Of Violence & Smut
Words: 4.6 k
[A/N]:ah yes, another late updated. College be a bitch, I guess. Just another week and Christmas holidays begin…just another week….but until then have some long ass and awful smut
Thomas inhaled another breath of nicotine, while Isabelle tried a sip of the Ale she received. “So, Izzy, how about to finally tell me what you’re and Gina up to?” hearing that question made Isabelle choke on the alcohol that was just about to go down her throat. She let out a few coughs before looking at him. The serious expression on his face did not mean anything good and she knew that she was screwed.
“W-what do you mean?” a slight stutter left her lips, almost exposing her straight away. Her hands were fidgeting around underneath the table.
“You two seem chummy.” his head jerked back just an inch while his eyebrows frowned downwards towards his eyes. Those piercing blue eyes dug into her soul, “were you planning on ever telling me you’ve known her for years?”
For a second there Isabelle wanted to let out a sigh of relief because apparently, all he was referring to was her friendship with Gina and not the whole plot going on about it. He however never broke eye contact with her, just excepting a reply coming from her: “yeah…that’s a long story.”
“I have time.” he immediately commented taking a sip of his drink.
Lying would only make things more complicated later and she knew it was already complicated enough. Therefore, she decided to come clean, at least with the part for which she would not end up on Thomas’ hitlist: “Not sure what your family told you about my family, and don’t try to convince me you have clue what I’m talking about, ‘cause we both know that’s a lie.” she rose her eyebrows, pointing her index finger towards him.
Thomas just put his hands up as a sign of innocence and surrender, closing his eyes and not saying a word, allowing her to continue, “We are all aware that my family is probably extinct, besides myself of course.” her finger slowly glided around the rim of her glass, eyes slowly wandering away from Thomas, “I do not remember much of it, probably because I was a toddler back then. But I do know that my family was killed, each one of them, slaughtered like pigs.” her eyes jerked towards Thomas as she finished that sentence before ending the tension with a scoff leaving her lips.
“However, I was not killed. I never found out why. All I know is that someone sent me to the States soon afterwards, subsequently deleting every connection I had with the UK. Once I arrived in New York I was taken into the custody of the Claiborne family.” Thomas just quietly continued to listen to her, “You may recognize that name, if not I will help freshen up your memory, Gina’s maiden name is Claiborne. Does that ring a bell?”
“I had no say in all that, besides, how could I? I was a kid. I was never allowed to ask them any questions about my family or how I ended up living with them. All they ever said was that Gina’s mother Theresa was my father’s cousin and therefore the closest relative. But I never believed any of that bullshit, so I hired some private detectives to dig up some dirt about them and my history, once I was old enough and earned enough money. However, none of my efforts worked.” her voice trailed away from him, slowly turning her simple story into a deep depressing history lesson for which their relationship, if you could call it like that, was too fresh and too young to handle. So she had to quickly go back to the main topic of his question, “so to answer your question, we are somewhat like cousins, but I consider her more of a friend…I had to endure her bratty attitude my whole life and I learnt to handle her, so yeah….we’re friends if that answers your question.”
Thomas saw the look in her eyes, the drop of sadness and realization that she had no real family and in fact, could have lost her life just like the rest of her family did. He was never someone to publicly comfort anyone, heck, he would rarely do that in private either. However, some instinct inside of him just made him move without thinking. He reached out and grabbed her hand, as gently as he could: “come here.” he whispered, just barely recognisable above the sound of the music and football game playing in the background of the pub. Isabelle just looked at him, not knowing what to do or say, so he took things in his own hands, literally. Thomas pulled her body closer to him until she was close enough for him to wrap his arms around her, hugging her in his warmth.
Isabelle gasped at the sudden hug, not expecting a reaction like this coming from a usually brutal man. After a few hesitant moments, she wrapped her hands around his torso and back, hiding her face in the crook of his neck, before whispering: “sorry about that sappy story.”
“It’s quite alright, love. I don’t mind knowing more about you.” his hands slid over the tips of her hair, not letting her go, but instead allowed her to control the duration of the hug. To prevent any awkwardness in a silent hug he kept on talking, “to agree with you, yes, my family told me about your family. Not much, but enough to find it fascinating.”
Isabelle suddenly pulled away from his neck and looked at his face: “what do you know?”
The sudden burst of interest made him chuckle: “my mother spoke about your family as an influential family during her childhood. Your grandfather owned a huge part of the racing tracks. His brother was a big name in the insurance business, yet they were not getting along very much. They were jealous of one another and wanted everything for themselves, hence leading to a literal war between the two parts of the family. I was not much older than you when the murdering happened, so I can’t tell you much. But from what I’ve heard, some members of the family itself were the killers.”
“Great, my family is made out of lunatics like you.” she scoffed and pursed her lips, rolling her eyes.
“Oi, who are you calling lunatic?” he grabbed onto her hips a bit tighter, “I’m being a caring boyfriend by sharing my knowledge with you and you insult me?”
“Oh, boyfriend?” she rose her eyebrows in surprise and amusement, “since when are we on boyfriend and girlfriend terms?”
Thomas smirked at her teasing, before leaning in and whispering in her ear: “since you were so close to ripping my clothes off in the distillery.”
“What makes you think I don’t wanna do that now as well?” her fingers slowly slid over the collar of his suit.
“As much as I would hope that’s true, you’re only saying that to escape your punishment for insulting me.”
“Punishment? What am I? Four?” she laughed pulling away from him, “well then Mr Shelby, how would you punish me for saying the truth? Or should I call you daddy, just to get those daddy issues onto the table?” the doe eyes hid the spitfire that she actually was.
“Oh, love, you’re playing a dangerous game here.” Thomas added, taking a drag from his cigarette.
She simply smirked at him and returned back to her drink, crossing her legs, leading to her dress being pushed upwards, revealing more of her milky thighs, yet she did not add anything to the conversation.
Thomas’ eyes wandered over her body, at least the parts which were visible to him. He thought he had enough will power to ignore her teasing and go back to his beer, but with every second the tension only grew and with that other parts of his body as well. To the point where he could not stand it anymore. He put his cigarette away and grabbed onto her sides, raising her with his arms, only to place her down on his lap, legs on resting on either side of him: “mind telling me what you’re doing Mr Shelby?”
Isabelle was amused staring at the frustrated expression on his face, cheeks just barely blushed but the eyes dark and hungry. His hands roamed down her back to her plump ass, holding roughly on it, “Punishment.” he whispered before slapping her ass over the fabric of her dress. Thankfully the sound of the football game was loud enough to cover the echoing of the slap.
She opened her mouth in a mix of shock and lust, her eyes looked at Thomas with disbelief: “Did you just slap my ass, Mr Shelby?”
Thomas just kept quiet, a grin growing on his face as he repeated the thing once again on the other butt cheek. Isabelle just returned the grin: “don’t you think this is something for the bedroom and not a pub?”
“We both know that would not be a punishment for you then, you vixen.” his hands groped over the sensitive flesh of her butt.
Her hands wrapped around his neck, her lips placing sensual kisses and pecks over his chin and the corner of his mouth: “take me home, Tommy and I will show you what a punishment would be.”
“Don’t you think our dates end too quickly in bed?” he joked as her lips trailed down his jaw until they finally found their way to his ear where she whispered a reply; “who said anything about the bed?” She heard a groan escape his lips and with that she was off his lap and on her feet, fixing the length of her dress before she was harshly dragged away from the table by Thomas’ hand. He was hasty and apparently, the lack of bed caused a great wish to head home.
Throwing some dollar bills onto the main bar, he nodded his head to the bartender and headed out with Isabelle. His car was parked not too far from the pub, but the harsh autumn wind resulted in shivers and goosebumps all over her half-exposed body. Thomas was soon to notice that and as a proper boyfriend cliché, he wrapped his jacket over her shoulders, covering at least some parts of her naked skin. Hand still holding hers, he led her to his car, where he opened the door for her, what earned him a peck on the lips. An eye-roll and an enjoying smile was his reply to that before he finally stepped into his car and made his way back to her apartment.
Once they arrived back into her building, Thomas felt like he was already somewhat at home in that place. He knew exactly which way to go, what floor to choose in the elevator and what door was hers. Yet there was something exciting about coming to her apartment, like two horny teenagers, wanting nothing else but some release. As soon as she unlocked the door Thomas pushed her inside, slamming the door closed behind him and pressing her chest against his, her lips finding his right away, her nails gently dragging over his scalp, while he was busy deepening the kiss and making his way to the living room with her, to the couch to be exact. There was something so appealing about not going straight to the bedroom. Either that on the horniness was simply too big to wait any longer.
Without breaking the kiss, he sat down on her couch and pulled with him, allowing her to sit on his lap: “The record for the shortest dates go to…” He whispered against her lips, she grinned in return and finished his sentence for him: “to the couple with the longest fuck.” his hands held her face the next second; his lips on hers.
His lips moulded on hers so well she felt herself trying to get closer to him; her hand holding his jacket, feeling his tongue slowly slipping into her mouth making her open it. His tongue exploring her mouth, his hands letting go of her face so he could hold her hips and make her rub against him again. This time her moan was swallowed by him, and he was getting hard again. The air in the room was hot. Once she opened her eyes, he broke the kiss and instead started to kiss and bite her neck, definitely leaving red marks on it. Isabelle’s fingers pulled on his hair again and he moaned on her neck making her push herself down on him harder.
He lifted his head to face her, his already plump looking mouth swollen and red making her almost salivate. Her lips were starting to get numb when he stopped kissing her again, just to remove unzip her dress. His rough fingers slowly dragged the zipper down her back, allowing the sleeves to slide down her arms. Taking advantage of the small distance between the, she began undressing him as well, throwing his jacket somewhere in the living room.
His eyes grew once he realized what she was wearing underneath the dress: “God I knew I had to rip that dress off your body as soon as I saw it.” Her breasts were covered in a red bra, apparently his favourite colour. His hands holding her breasts, squeezing them lightly, almost making them come out of her bra.
“You look so fucking hot in red,” he commented, without letting go of her breasts. His fingers played with the rim of her bra, sliding his digits underneath it. She bit her lip, while he teased her sensitive skin. However, as much as he enjoyed the bra, he enjoyed what was under it, even more, therefore, the bra was soon also lost somewhere in the living room. His eyes stared at her naked chest for a few seconds before his mouth went against one of them a short time later, and Isabelle’s head was thrown back as she felt his tongue pass around her nipple; one of his hands holding the other breast. Her hands were holding onto his shoulders gripping tightly onto him, yet her body movements had stopped for some time, and she only noticed when his other hand came back to her waist forcing her to move against his crotch once again. The moan that escaped through her mouth was way higher than the others, and the bastard smirked against her flesh as soon as he heard it. His lips soon shifted, paying attention to her other breast. She decided to do something by guiding her hands down his abdomen, unbuttoning his shirt. The skin of his belly shivered under her fingers, and his eyes opened and looked at her
As he was looking at her with those light blue eyes that turned darker just filled with lust, he threw his shirt off his body, while the dress she was wearing was still handing over her hips. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, love.” Isabelle stared down at him, her hand gently tugging on his short hair, her mouth opened after hearing him. “I know how dirty you are, love, just like me. Punishing you would be a pleasure to you, such a fucking vixen.” He finished, biting his lip still looking at her with those dark eyes. At that point, she could confirm that her panties were ruined and wet.
“Why did you stop moving, love? Dirty talk is your kryptonite?” Thomas put both of his hands on her butt, rocking her body over his covered crotch while squeezing her ass with so much will that her head fell forward, and she placed her face in the crook of his neck. Her mouth opening again to let the air out, his mouth close to her ear again. “By that wetness, love, I guess I was right. I bet I could make you cum just from doing this, hm?” His words and the friction making hard to think.
“Fuck, look at you, Izzy. So fucking hot, getting yourself off on my trousers. You ruined them, love. I’m trying so hard to not just fuck the shit out of you right now.” He let go of her hips, putting his hands by his sides, but she simply could not stop moving. Her mouth is still open on his neck, letting out gentle moans while pressing sloppy kisses over his hot skin. “I think I should just let you come for me, would you like that baby?” she just nodded moaning his name. “Yeah, you want that? God you’re so sexy like this” he rested his head against the back of the couch, a smirk growing on his face, just enjoying the goddess getting herself off just by rocking over his crotch. “I’m going to fuck you so well after this, gonna bury my cock deep inside of your tight little pussy.”
“Fuck Thomas! You kiss your mother with that mouth.” despite being a literal mess, Isabelle could not help herself but to throw in some jokes. But they were cut off really quick as she felt the knot in her stomach getting tighter.
“No. I kiss you with that mouth.” He held her chin forcing her head up, pressing a hot, hungry kiss onto her lips. His mouth opens just a little letting some low moans escape The hand holding her jaw dropped, and two of his fingers came to her lips, slowly sliding inside of her mouth. Isabelle felt so turned on by it, automatically wrapping her lips around them, “Such a dirty girl, wrapping perfectly around my fingers. Makes me wanna put something else between those sexy lips.”
Isabelle’s eyes stared at him, dark and needy. Her hips kept on moving in a steady rhythm, yet she could not get enough of his dirty whispers and naughty thoughts. She was almost there. Her body was burning, and she couldn’t stop moaning even with his fingers in my mouth. Thomas was completely hard against her, her panties were not even a barrier anymore since they were so wet, but as soon as he pushed his lower body upwards, she let go.
She grabbed onto his neck with much force, a load groan leaving her lips as she finally felt her release running down her body: “Tommy, oh fuck, Thomas!”
“That’s it, love, fucking come for me” His voice was low and rough, her whole body throbbing without her control. Thomas hugged her body, preventing her from falling back and hitting the floor. His name coming out a few more times through her mouth, almost just like a prayer, “That was so hot, love.” Thomas chuckled softly and she sighed, a soft laugh left her lips as she realised what they had just done. It was desperate, literally feeling like horny teenagers, but it felt so fucking hot, but she wanted more. And Thomas wanted it as well. He put her down on the floor, allowing her to slowly stand on her feet, which subsequently caused the dress to fall down the floor, revealing the matching red panties, which were dripping wet at that point. Thomas stared at her for a moment. The tightness of his pants became evident. Isabelle soon noticed his stare and placed a hand on her hip: “you wanna take a picture or you wanna rather rip my panties off and fuck me, Tommy?” she laughed at his surprised reaction.
“Actually, I’d like to do both, but fucking you is my priority.” he commented before finally sliding the tight trousers down his legs, together with his shoes and socks, “I’m hard for too long, love. I don’t think I can’t hold it for much longer.” He slid his underwear down and Isabelle swallowed hard, her teeth already gripping onto her lower lips, preventing her from letting out an erotic moan. Isabelle sat down onto the couch, now free from her panties. Her legs slowly opened up for him, giving him the perfect view of her soaked core, as she leaned her head where he was leaning only a moment ago, hand grabbing onto her breast, playing with herself. Thomas cursed under his breath, moving his body so he was staying between her legs, his hands going up her thighs and she could already feel the heat coming back into her core.
“We never had dinner tonight, I might need to devour you instead.” her eyes widened and soon he leaned down, placing a sloppy kiss on her swollen lips. She could feel his member lean against her stomach, one of her hands moving towards it. She wrapped her hand around his hard member, causing them both to let out a moan at the same time. Her steady but slow movement made him break apart from her lips. The wet on the tip helping my movements, starting slow but getting at a fast pace kind of quickly, “You vixen!”
“You don’t want me to wrap my pretty little lips around your cock, Tommy?” Isabelle purred, her hand still pumping his hard shaft.
“Trust me, love, you can bet your sexy ass I’d love to see those lips around my cock, but that can wait for the next round, right now I want to be inside you.” His face was inches from hers. “Inside that pretty little pussy again” His hands released her, and he leaned on one of them so he could leave the other slowly pass by her breasts to her lower abdomen, making her shiver from head to toe. Despite his hand being rough, the warmth of his skin made her melt away. His hand touched her core and the malicious smile was back on his face.
“You think you can handle another orgasm before my cock, love?” Just the thought of the question made her moan loudly again. His fingers making quick and hard circular movements over her clit. Then two of his fingers got inside her without warning and she opened my eyes staring at Thomas, who was still smirking. He leaned on his knees, letting his other hand hold her onto the couch, forcing her back to be pressed down onto the soft furniture. “Yes, that’s right, love!” her vision was blurred, and she felt pleasure splash out of her. She could not hold it much longer as she was still raw and sensitive from her previous orgasm. She felt her body shake. This orgasm stronger and more intense than before. As she opened her eyes, Thomas was occupied by licking his fingers, a low groan escaping his throat as soon as he felt the hot liquid coating his mouth.
Isabelle bit her lip, staring at the man kneeling between her legs. However, the pining ended sooner than expected as he wrapped his arms around her lower back and pulled her from the couch, laying there instead of her. His back was now against the couch, a hand guiding Isabelle to sit on top of him. An eyebrow perked up as she tried to connect the dots on what he wanted. He laid on his back, his hand on his member moving slowly "You can’t expect me to do the work, now can you love?”
“Is that so? You want me to ride you, Tommy?” she challenged him, as she positioned herself on top of him, her wet core, pressing against his lower stomach. A groan left his lips as he kept on pumping his member. The vixen on top of him slid her finger up his chin to his lips, where he immediately bit her fingertip as soon as she touched his lips, “Want me to ride you, baby?” she slowly rose her hips, moving them downwards until she was hovering above his cock. He took this into his own hands, literally as his hand guided him inside of her. Once he was halfway inside of her she felt him stretching her without mercy. Her head pushed back, an erotic moan escaping her lungs. His hand stopped at her hips, pulling her down; a groan coming out of his mouth.
Her body started to move and had to lean her hands on the couch, just above Thomas’ head. As she was occupied with finding a steady rhythm and not falling apart too quickly, Thomas seemed to enjoy the sight he was having. Her hot sweaty skin, glistening in front of his eyes, breasts bouncing together with her hips. Therefore, it came as no surprise as his hands dropped to her waist and rising to her breasts. His lower lip pinned between his teeth and Isabelle could not not stare down at him, “Oh Thomas!” she whined, feeling his hands groping her sensitive breasts. Throwing her body back, Thomas held on to her waist again, lifting her and thrusting his hips back to hers.
Her hands closed tightly holding his hair and pulling him up. Sitting up he wrapped his arms around her back and ass, pressing their chests against one another. Their lips met in a desperate, sweaty kiss. Teeth crashing, lips smacking. Their moans and pants filled the room, her hips moving in a quicker pace. His nose brushing against hers and her eyes closed tightly as she felt his movements slow down, but still getting harder: “Look at me, Izzy, look at me, love” Thomas whispered hoarsely, and she forced myself to open her eyes. “I want you to come for me again, and I want to feel you come undone for me.” Her body was so sensitive, yet so needy of more, it should have been illegal to feel that good. Her lips pressed against his once more, hands resting on his neck to support herself.
“Tommy! God, Thomas!” she almost screamed his name, his hands on her waist wouldn’t let her stop and she could feel him throbbing inside her.
“Fuck I’m so close!” Thomas groaned huskily. The knot in her stomach getting so tight that she was clenching against him. He let a real growl out of his throat as her walls pressed against him, making it hard for him to get out of her.
“Tommy, fuck, I’m so close, fuck” she could no longer control her orgasm as one of his hands moved over her clit, rubbing quick small circles over the nerve. Her body pushing forward, making him hit just the right spot inside of her. Her body fell completely over his, and she could feel him spilling inside her. She raised her head to see his complexion of complete pleasure in his face, his mouth open and sweat running down his forehead. Their breaths were soon returning to normal, and we were still sitting on the bed until we calmed down.
He helped her part from him, placing her exhausted body onto the couch next to him. She felt empty as soon as he came out from inside of her. Despite their heartbeat slowly returning to its normal speed, they were still somewhat out of breath. She looked at him as he reached into his trousers and pulled out a cigarette, before sitting down next to her, an arm placed behind her head, resting against the couch.
Thomas looked at her from the corner of his eyes. Without saying a word, she climbed onto his lap again and took the cigarette from his fingers and took a drag herself. She was not much of a smoker, but something about nicotine after a hot round of sex did something to her. The dark cloud escaped her lips, her head leaning back, eyes closed. And that image made something click in Thomas’ brain, and so he cupped her chin and pulled her into another hungry kiss as if he did not just spend hours fucking her brain out: “Bloody hell woman, you will be the death of me.” he breathed out against her lips.
She chuckled wrapping her hands around his neck, her fingers still holding the cigarette: “what a lovely way of dying.”
Her normally perfectly decorated and nice neat room was covered with half-used tissues, which covered random spots around the floor, mostly next to her bed. The cupboard next to her bed, which was usually half-empty was not filled with cough medicine, unused tissues and a cup of hot earl grey tea. Her bed was now made out of more pillows and blankets than usually, all due to her wrecking in the form of a common cold. Her body felt like shit, her porcelain skin was now pinkish and feverish. Her nose every now and then stuffed or runny, missing those days when she could easily breathe through it. Her body felt weak, unable to move any longer than a few minutes, which were just enough to run into the bathroom from time to time to either barf or pee, sometimes both. She felt disgusting, she did not wish to be seen by anyone, let alone Thomas. To her bad luck, she had planned to go on a date with him exactly on the day where she felt invalid and unwell. She texted him hours ago saying she was feeling a bit under the weather and could not attend their date. Laid up on her bed was everything she could do for at least a few days. However, it was not so bad that she had to be hospitalised. All she needed was a few days of solid rest.
But Thomas being Thomas would not simply accept her rejection. At that point, he knew her better than that. He knew she would not just refuse a date with him, unless she a really good reason behind it. After a few calls, including one to her and his own office, he not only found out that she was ill and did not come to work for a few days already, but also cancelled all his meetings for the rest of the day so he could attend to his sick girlfriend.
On his way to her apartment, he did a few stops to her favourite restaurant, to the pharmacy and the supermarket, to get her everything she could possibly need in such times. He did not have much experience when it comes to taking care of someone unless it were his brothers. But Isabelle was special, she was one of his rare loves and he wanted to take care of her as much as possible. And since he did not know what she could possibly need, he just bought everything and then drove straight to her home.
As he already knew the password to enter her flat, he did so by observing her as they visited it a few times for some scandalous times, he simply stepped inside together with all the things she needed. All he heard was the TV playing in her bedroom. To which he hoped she was focused on, so he could place all the things like juices and fruit in the fridge, before placing a hot chicken soup from the take-out box onto a deep plate. Next to it a few of her favourite macarons from her favourite restaurant and a chocolate mousse. He was not sure if she would even eat anything, but she had to at least finish the soup.
Making his way to her bedroom he heard her blowing her nose into a tissue and cursing right afterwards. He chuckled knowing she was still well enough to complain about herself being sick. Stepping into her room with a tray of food he looked at his girlfriend, laying half-dead under what seems to be fifteen blankets: “you feeling warm enough, love?”
Isabelle looked up at him with a surprised look on her face before opening her mouth in disbelief: “oh no, not you,” she quickly covered her face with one of the blankets.
“Not the welcoming I expected, but alright.” his eyebrows rose in disbelief, but he still brought the food onto her cupboard, before settling down next to her dead-sick body.
“You don’t wanna see me, love?”
“No, go away.” she coughed up a few times right after sending him away.
“And why is that?”
“I look disgusting. I don’t wanna be seen like this.”
Thomas looked at her blankets with sympathy, a tiny smile climbing on his lips. His fingers gently tugged onto the edge of her blanket, pulling it downwards until he finally saw her makeup-less face. Her hair was uncombed and all over the place, her nose pinkish from all the blowing, while the bags under her eyes showed a darkish colour, a sign of the lack of sleep she must have gotten in the last few days.
“Why didn’t you call me when you got sick? I had to hear it from your secretary that you’ve been absent for half the week.” he threw her a bit of an irritated look, but as soon as he heard her sniff her nose once more he sighed, “I’m your boyfriend, am I not supposed to take care of you?”
“I am a programming expert, speak four languages and can even survive your family dinners and yet I am crushed by the fucking common cold. I don’t wanna be seen in this state by anyone.” she groaned and threw a pillow onto her face.
Thomas rolled his eyes before gently removing the pillow, moving some strands of hair away from her face: “I don’t care how bad you look, I just want you to get better. Therefore, I got you some chicken noodle soup and your favourite desserts. How about that?”
“You did that for me?” she slowly moved her tottering body into a sitting position and looked at the food on her cupboard.
“The juice and fruits are in your fridge and I’ve got you some pain reliefs and cough drops.”
Isabelle looked at him for a moment, trying to grip onto the feeling she just felt. Besides the illness she was going through, something else was sneaking its way into her heart. Immediately she collected all the strength she had left and hugged him, hiding her hot face into his neck, “I’m sorry for hugging you, you’ll probably get sick now too.” she whispered in his neck.
“It’s ok, love. I don’t mind,” he replied, gently stroking her hair with one hand while holding her close with the other, “but you should eat something.”
She whined against him, not wanting to let go. All she wanted was to be held by him and make the sickness go away. At the one hand, she did not wish to be been by anyone, let alone Thomas, but on the other hand, she did want to be taken care of, and that’s exactly what Thomas did. She was not used to that thought. None of her so-called boyfriends ever took care of her, Thomas was the first who would do something like that for her and so it took her a bit to get used to it.
“I will. Later. But can you just hold me for a bit, I really feel off right now.” she was using her delicate voice to get him to give in.
“Anything for you, love.” he slowly let go of her, letting her move back to under her fortress of blankets, while he undid his shoes and jacket, before slowly climbing under her blankets and wrapping his strong arms around her, her face resting on his chest. As he was running the tips of his fingers over her scalp, she was finally able to rest enough to fall asleep on him. He could most likely get infected as well, and get himself sick, but he did not give a fuck at that moment. All he wanted was to make her feel better and if that meant getting ill as well, he would take the risk. The heat that radiated from her blankets and their bodies made him fall asleep soon after her and so the couple was knocked out for hours with some random TV show playing in the background.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Isabelle breathed out with a sigh.
“Hello to you too, love.” the raspy voice of her favourite, yet also least favourite gangster echoed from the other side of the room. She wondered how she did not realise someone else was in her office, her senses could have been fogged with the smell of the roses still harshly lingering, due to their great amount.
“How the fuck do you always find your way in here?” she groaned raising her arms upwards, her fingers cramping from the anger she tried to sustain in herself. Just when she thought she got rid of him, he once again found his way inside.
“Considering your receptionist still think I’m your husband, it was not hard. Besides I’ve been calling you for weeks.”
“Odd, that’s exactly how long I’ve been ignoring you.” her eyes moved to the corners of her eyeballs, a gentle frown appearing between her eyebrows as she sarcastically let out that sentence.
Thomas scoffed at her replied and nodded his head, his fingers already reaching for his cigarette box, pulling out one of to light it on. Meanwhile, Isabelle was trying her best to remove all the vases of red roses from her desk so she could get back to her work.
As she was busy with that task, Thomas made his way behind her, letting out a breath filled with nicotine, wrapping her rose-filled sense with a new smell. While one hand was holding the cigarette, the other reached out to get a hold of Isabelle’s hand: “You owe me a tour of my new business.”
“I don’t owe you shit. You can easily get the address and visit it by yourself.” she groaned, yet did not make any attempt to move away from him, despite him clearly invading her personal space.
“I don’t think so, love. I’d much rather you show it to me.” his lips leaned closer to her ear, his deep voice pulling her into him, “and while we’re there, maybe we can christen it as well.” the dark chuckle leaving his lips caused a sickening expression form on her face.
“You’re disgusting and I hate you.” she spat out, refusing to turn around and face the smug son of a bitch.
“Mmm then why are you still holding my hand?” his lips pressed against her other ear, making her realise that she has been holding his hand for the whole time. And not only did she hold it, her fingers almost intertwined with his, not that he would complain about that.
Abruptly she pulled away from him and moved a few feet to his right, just enough so he could not approach her anymore: “Fine. Fine! I will fucking show you that fucking place, Mr Shelby. But then this will have to stop, the flowers,” she pointed at all the vases around her office and then continued, ”the calls, the disgustingly perverted messages. And just because I never reply does not mean I have not read the shit you have been sending me. You have no shame, Shelby.”
“Yet you never blocked my number, never changed your number and never told your receptionist I am not your husband.” his calm voice corrected each and every one of her reasons to complain.
She opened her mouth, trying to think of any smart remark or come back, yet she knew it was useless and just closed her mouth, shooting him a glare: “Fine! Get out and wait for me downstairs, I will take you to the fucking brewery.”
His eyes analysed her and everything she said, but no expression on his face would tell anyone anything. “As you wish, love.” he respected her, most likely because he won that argument and she finally gave in, after weeks of him trying to contact and reach her. It might have not been as excessive as she makes it appear, because both of them had lives and jobs to take care of, but he did indeed try a lot of ways to reach her, but he would never go to those lengths to stalk her or threaten her. Teasing was a different category though, that he could not deny he did.
Once he was outside of her office she snapped out of the cold attitude and panicked like a prisoner before his death sentence. Not only did she never own a brewery, nor did she know how any of those work, nor did she know a brewery is a business that makes and sells beer and not spirits. She had no clue about the process of making liquor. It was all Gina’s fault for pulling her into all this shit and she would be the one who would pull her out of there.
Immediately she dialled her number and hoped she would for once pick up her phone at the first ring and not keep her suffering with her panic all alone: “pick up, pick up, pick up you, stick up little-”
“Hello hun!” to her surprise, in the middle of her cursing she might have summoned the witch herself
“-Gina! We have a problem. Ignoring his calls did not work. Thomas is waiting for me downstairs. He demands I show him the brewery and I don’t own a fucking brewery Gina! What the fuck do I do now?!” Isabelle was pacing around her office, her hand running through her hair as she let out annoyed groans from time to time.
“Calm your tits Izzy, I will send you the address of the place my friend owns. And it’s not a brewery, it’s a fucking distillery, you moron.”
“Does it look like I give a fuck about that?! My business with alcohol is to drink it, not to fucking make it!”
“Oh shut up. Go to that address, I will tell Tyler to keep it open for you and pretend like he works for you. Just don’t touch anything or he will know you have no clue what you’re doing. Don’t fuck this up Isabelle, or-”
“I know, I know, I fucking know. Don’t be all over my neck with that. I know what I have to do. Just send me the address and find a way to end this sick game of yours.” Isabelle hung up straight after saying that because she did not wish to listen to Gina attacking her or defending herself.
Isabelle let out a long sigh, closing her eyes and trying to contain herself, to not appear frustrated or caught off guard. She had to seem perfectly cool and collected. Placing her phone into her bag, she headed down to the reception where the handsome gangster stood, waiting for her in his crisp suit and tie, like he just came out of a business meeting, which may as well be true, considering he came in the middle of the day.
“Ready, love?” he looked at her with his usual empty expression, however, there was something in his eyes that was different than when he spoke to other people. Something that pulled him closer and closer to her.
In spite of that Isabelle never noticed that spark, nor did she understand that he was acting somewhat differently when he was with her and when he was with others. To her, he was still a sex-driven gangster, who just wanted money and a quick fuck. And also Gina’s object of hatred, which automatically made him Isabelle’s object of hatred as well: “Let’s get this over with.” she rolled her eyes, making her way to the exit of the building with giving in to Thomas’ smooth words and that irritating nickname.
To avoid getting lost or having to convert to GPS and give herself away, Isabelle decided to drive with Thomas’ drive and just give him the address to the place. That way if the driver gets lost it would not be her fault and it would not be too obvious that she has no clue where they were going. At the same time that meant she would have to sit in the back seat together with Thomas, who would surely not keep his hands from her.
Once she settled in the back seat and gave the driver the address, they were already on their way. Thomas lit another cigarette and leaned against the other side of the back seat, keeping an eye on her from the corner of his eyes. As she was staring out of the window trying to figure where they were driving, Thomas analysed her expressions, her movements, every inch his eyes could spot. It has been a while since he was so intrigued by something or better yet by someone.
“Has no one ever taught you it’s rude to stare?” the sentence he once used on her was not used on him, as Isabelle finally turned her face towards him and caught him in his act.
“Trying not to ravish you right here in the back of the car.” he bluntly exposed his desires while taking a drag of his cigarette.
Isabelle opened her mouth in a mixture of disgust and surprise, she did not think he would say something in front of the driver, who seemed to not be bothered though: “would you shut the fuck up, we’re not alone, you pervert.”
“Means if we were alone you wouldn’t mind?” Thomas chuckled, moving his body closer to her, sliding towards the other side of the back seat.
“Oh no no no, you can’t pull that bullshit with me. I am not some British floozy that will fall for your face or your money.” she straightened her arm in front of herself, stopping him from coming closer.
“I know.” he simply replied, taking her hand between his fingers and placing a kiss on the back of her palm, “that’s why I like you, Isabelle.”
Her eyes looked for his, moving quickly and uncomfortably. She swallowed any saliva that was inside of her mouth and tried to think of anything to reply but feeling her hand in his rough, yet warm hand made her weak.
Thankfully the driver cut off the beautiful sentiment by opening the door for Isabelle as they have arrived at their destination. An old warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, not a neighbourhood Isabelle often went to. The building was not massive, it was clearly a smaller distillery, nothing that could produce any amount even close to what Thomas’ companies produce. Yet knowing it belonged to Isabelle made him want it more than any of his own distilleries.
She fixed her dress once she stepped outside and cleared her thought, mentally thanking the driver that saved her from that burning car. Thomas on the other hand mentally cursed his driver, yet he did not say anything and kept his serious facade.
By the time they arrived there, Gina already informed her friend Oliver of the little lie he would have to keep up with and Izzy could not help but wonder how much she promised to pay him for that. From just looking at the man next to the big iron slide door, which seemed to be the entrance, Isabelle could have guessed that he must have been Oliver. And immediately Isabelle put on a wide grin, despite dying inside from shame, before she headed towards the man.
“Hello, Olly, how are you doing today?” the look in her eyes could have been read by Oliver who seemed to somewhat take pity on the woman who had to keep up with Gina’s bullshit.
“Fine, boss, I see you brought company today?” he responded to his alleged boss before looking towards the British man who stood right next to Isabelle.
“Oliver this is Mr. Shelby, from now on we will do business with him.” Isabelle pointed at Thomas before heading in while the two men shook hands really quickly, as Thomas wanted nothing more but to look at that biggest secret of Isabelle’s.
To not only his but also her surprise the distillery looked in very good shape, pretty modern interior, very robust and distinct equipment. Even someone as oblivious as Isabelle could have guessed that was a place where distillation takes place, especially the distillation of alcoholic spirits – and in her case, that would have been brandy.
“Brandy, huh? Why brandy?” Thomas made himself at home and walked in front of Isabelle, inspecting all of the machines and stages of distillation.
“Why not? I do not fancy vodka or rum, and whiskey is obviously outdone.” she clearly called him out at that point, and he knew that but let it slide with a chuckle. Oliver, on the other hand, did not come any closer to them. He still stood by the entrance, leaving the couple all alone. And that was what Isabelle feared. He was supposed to be by her side and help her with answering anything Thomas would like to know. And she knew he always wants to know something.
Gina was supposed to tell him that he was to help her, but obviously, he forgot about that part. Isabelle seemed anxious and tense, her timid posture and angsty look in her eyes did not help her at all.
“Which style of Brandy do you produce?” Thomas asked as he was sniffing some of the samples, standing next to a barrel of brandy.
“Styles?”
“Cognac, Armagnac, Spanish Brandy, Pisco, American Brandy, Grappa…there list goes on and on.” Thomas named some of the different types of brandy as she walked deeper into the distillery.
“Ah various styles, I don’t like to commit to just one, I like to have my options opened.” she avoided any clear answer and hoped that would satisfy him enough.
“And in what type of wood do you age it?”
“…cherry?” her voice was somehow broken at that point, not knowing any of the basic information any distillery owner would know.
As she was backing away from him, her body finally came in contact with one of the massive barrels where Oliver keeps his brandy, “that’s random, usually it would be in oak. But I guess cherry will do.” Thomas stepped in front of her, looking down at the gorgeous woman, who was clearly unsettled at that moment.
Isabelle nodded her head at his reply and sighed from the inside, relieved he did not suspect anything or did he? “You seem nervous.” he pointed out, his eyes checking her out.
“I’m not nervous, I just don’t like you.” and just like that, she snapped back to her bratty, hussy self. That bad-tempered, assertive characteristic made her so playfully to him because she reminded him of himself. His hand reached forward and cupped her cheek, gently stroking her warm skin with his thumb. Her heartbeat like crazy. Whenever he touched her, she did not know if she could hold up with her lies and schemes. With every curse word and groan that left her lips whenever she saw him, she felt more and more like an evil, scheming woman, yet shameless at the same time, because she was slowly falling for the man she was supposed to destroy together with Gina.
But whenever she felt him enter her personal bubble, whenever he touched her, whenever he called her love, she felt a tiny part of her wall chip and break away.
“When will you just stop this?” Isabelle looked him in the eyes unsure where that question came from and what he expected of her as an answer, “when will you stop pretending you don’t feel what I feel?”
“I have no idea what you mean.” she tried so hard to keep the same stern eye contact that he kept with her.
“You honestly want me to believe you do not feel any connection between us? No bloody electric shocks whenever we touch, no fucking strings pulling us closer?” he hissed through his teeth, obviously angry for being rejected so often with the same stupid lies.
She knew very well that he felt just as attracted to her as she felt attracted to him, but there would always be a but with her, “It’s been fucking weeks since I fucked you and all I can think about is you, you stubborn woman.” he hit the barrel next to her head with his fist, the anger slowly showing.
“Thomas-”
“Don’t give me excuses, you know God damn well you want me just as much as I want you.” he left her chin and grabbed her waist, crushing her chest against his. her hair moved graciously with the same kind of speed as she was pulled into him. Her hands found their spots on his shoulders, while she leaned a lot of her weight against him. He did not budge, still holding his footing without any problems.
“Thomas, we-”
“Give it a try Isabelle. You have nothing to fucking lose.”
“Expect my standards.” that was the last bratty comment that left her lips, one that was in the back of her mind for a while now, but she did not have the chance to let it out. Thomas looked sterned at her, so close to taking her right there against the barrel with Oliver standing just a hundred feet away, “yeah sorry, that one had to get out…”
“Bloody hell, you will drive me crazy.” he groaned, unsure how he will ever get the bratty part out of her, but one the other hand, he enjoyed that part as well.
His fingers slowly slid over her jaw, to her chin. His thumb pressed against her lower lip, while his eyes were focused to move from her lips to her eyes and back. “Give in, you stubborn vixen.”
Warning:Strong Language, Graphic Depictions Of Violence & Smut
Words: 4.3k
[A/N]: I’m thinking of randomly posting little snippets of Isabelle’s and Thomas’ relationship, which don’t directly have much to do with the plot but will give us more of a deeper look into their behaviour around one another. (aka wrote lot of smexy scenes and they don’t fit into the main plot but I still wanna post them hehe) So if you have anything you wanna see feel free to request :3
The morning sun peaked through the wide windows covering most of the walls of the grand room. The rays of sun moved from the empty space in the room to the bed in the middle of it, covering two bodies, tangled in one another with the sheets covering their bodies only partly. Thomas was laying on his back, his hair covering his forehead like bangs. His hand was wrapped around her shoulders like an inborn pattern of tendency. Isabelle was laying on her chest, her body resting against his chest, hair spread around her and the sheets like a fan. By the looks of their hair and bodies, which were covered with love bits and marks in various shades of pink, red and purple, it was obvious they were in for a long sleepless night. Despite all that, they looked very peaceful, as if it was just another morning for them.
Although they would have probably needed much more sleep to catch up with what they missed last night, they were business people, who were used to waking up early in the morning. The first one to do that was Thomas. Sleeping in was not a term known to him. His morning routine started early in the morning, so he could catch up with all the news. That morning was no different, or at least that’s what he thought.
As soon as he opened his eyes, all he wanted was a cigarette. But once his eyes caught the mess of brown hair laying on top of him, he forgot about the cigarette immediately. Most people would be uninterested in a woman that looked like her that morning: make up smudged all over her eyes and lips, hair resembling more of a birds nest than actual hair and the little bit of droll peaking at the corners of her lips. Unlike them, Thomas could not stop staring at the woman who caused him so many problems yet caught his interested like no one before.
His fingertips gently moved a loose strand of hair from her eyes, catching a peek at her peaceful face. His face expression would not expose any of his feelings, yet his heart beat a bit faster than usual when he was around her.
He just laid there for a few more moments, enjoying the silence and the view, before he had finally had to get up and probably head out home to change. Yet something held him back, and instead of leaving with his clothes, he decided to just skip that and take a shower at her place.
Gently lifting her upper body, he slid out of her grip and got up just after he placed her gently on top of some pillows, covering her naked back with her sheets. He wanted to stay with her, but he knew he had work to do. Lighting up a cigarette he took her in one last time before heading out to find her bathroom in her apartment. On his way there he realized the extent of the mess they left behind them from undressing last night. Panties hanging on lampshades, shoes chilling in the middle of the living room. It looked like they had quite a blast last night.
While Thomas was busy with his shower, Isabelle slowly woke up. Probably because of the lack of warmth in the bed or because she heard the water running. But her body denied her enough energy to get up. So, she just slowly opened her eyes and looked around herself. She was at home, yet naked and with a messy bedroom. After she rubbed her eyes and realized she slept with her makeup on she let out an annoyed groan, knowing she would have to change all her sheets because the makeup was most likely all over them. Yet the main reason why she would have to change them is the other stuff that was all over them.
She did not wake up with amnesia, she knew very well what happened last night, but she would have wished for nothing else but to forget that accident and move on with her life. Despite it is most likely the best sexual experience, she has ever received, she wanted to forget about it. Her being with him was a bad idea, it would cause her even more problems than it did when she first saw him.
Isabelle slowly sat up on her knees, the sheets falling down her naked body on a pool in front of her. She looked around herself and ran a hand over her messy hair. It was still too early and she was not late so there was enough time to send Thomas off and home that he would wish to forget about everything like she wished.
“What a view from up here.” the male voice made her gasp. She quickly pulled up the sheets and covered her naked chest as she looked at the man that just walked out of her bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist, “oh don’t cover on my account, it’s nothing I haven’t seen already.”
“What are you still doing here?” she glared at the gorgeous man, still wet from his shower, which was made obvious by the water drops glistening on his skin.
“Showered, figured it was quicker to do that here than to go home and then to work.” he shrugged and picked up his boxers and pants. His towel dropped soon afterwards, and Isabelle gasped once more, quickly covering her eyes with her hand: “nothing you haven’t seen already, love.”
“Something I wish I could forget.” she peeked through her fingers to check if he was decent or not. And while he was already in his pants, she could not stop staring at his still naked chest.
In the meantime, Thomas frowned at her statement: “you’d forget about it? If I remember correctly you were screaming my name last night, on more than one occasion, so I don’t see the reason why you’d want to forget that.” with every word he came closer to her until one knee rested on her bed and his fingers found the sheets.
“Thomas-”
“See? Doesn’t that sound much better than Mr Shelby?” he chuckled and tugged on the sheets.
“Thomas, this never happened. You caught me by surprise once, I won’t let it happen again.”
“You think this is a onetime thing?”
“Yes. This was a mistake. We were drunk and tipsy.” she held tightly onto the sheets, trying to cover some decency she has left.
Thomas chuckled and got up: “think whatever you want, love, but we both know the truth. This was the best night of your life and you knew very well that you could not resist me.” he put on his shirt and jacket.
“Oh, we’ll see about that.” she spat, sitting up straight.
“We will, indeed.” Thomas finally finished getting all his stuff and was about to head out when he stepped back to have a last look at her, “really, a view to die for.” he winked at her before he vanished behind the corner, leaving a hot mess behind him, ready to either kill him or kiss him.
Once he was out of her sight, Isabelle crashed her whole body back onto the bed and let out a loud groan. Running her hand over her face, she closed her eyes and wished she could forget about the night. Though that would be rather hard considering the little token he had left her on her nightstand: his cell phone.
As soon as she spotted it from the corner of her eyes, once she opened them again, she shook her head and glared at it: “mother fucker.”
Despite the wish to run downstairs and throw it in his face, she could not afford to make a scene so early in the morning. And besides, she had to get ready for work herself, which would take a while, considering the mess she was left in.
After an excruciatingly long shower and even a long period where she fixed her hair and make-up, Isabelle was finally ready to head out to work. That ended up being almost an hour late, but as the boss of her own company, she could probably afford to come in a bit late here and there. As she made her way to work inside of her car, she was surprised when an unfamiliar ring tone buzzed. Reaching out into her bag, she pulled out Thomas’ phone. On the screen appeared to be a name: Arthur. A side of her thought it would not be the best idea to get involved with even more Shelbys, but the other side of her wanted to know if all of them were such assholes, like the one she fucked the night before.
Answering the call, she put it on speakers and switched her focus back onto the road: “Hello?”
“Would you believe it? I happen to forget my phone at your place.” instead of an unfamiliar voice, she was greeted by the one she heard one too many times.
“Thomas. What a surprise.” she did not even try to make it sound like she was genuine with what she said.
“My mind must have been focused on other things.” she could hear the smirk from the other side of the call, and she wished she could punch it out of his gorgeous face.
“Don’t worry, I will send it to you, safe and sound.” she rolled her eyes, throwing a fake smile onto the road.
“How about you come and bring it to me, love?”
“What am I? Your fetch dog? I will get it delivered.”
“Oh, well since you don’t want to bring it, I can get it myself. You wouldn’t mind me coming back to your office, right? I mean I already know where it is and your receptionist knows I’m your husband, so it’s pretty easy. Or better yet, how about you and I grab some lunch once I come over?” the bastard was casually sitting in his seat in his office, enjoying the view of the city skyline and knowing damn well how annoyed Isabelle was in that moment, yet he could not help himself but continue the teasing.
“Fine. I will bring it to you. And no lunch and no receptionist lies.” she sighed, “I will just bring it to you and that’s it.” with that, she ended the call and threw the phone back into her bag.
“That son of a Shelby.” she hissed and turned the wheel around, having to make a detour instead of heading straight to her office. She would probably be more than fashionably late that day.
The minute she stepped foot into the building she knew she was in deep shit. Not only will she have to face Thomas again, but she will also risk being seen by someone else she knew too well and that was the last thing she needed. Though she had to admit that the walk-in process was quite easy. Before she could even pronounce her name, she was already let through by the security guards. It seems like Thomas did not wait a moment to announce her to her whole staff. She went immediately up to his floor, without having to hand out her belongings to the receptionist or needing a guest pass. That asshole was quick and witted and knew exactly what he wanted. And unfortunately for her, she was what he wanted.
Her heels clicked over the wooden floor as she stepped out of the elevator and made her way to the double door that was most likely his office, only because it was the only office with a double door. For a moment she just stood by at his door and questioned her decisions, but she had no other option at that time. Fixing her dress, she cleared her throat and stood straight.
Without knocking, she opened the door and walked confidently in. She did not announce herself nor did she greet him as she walked inside. All she did was walk straight to his desk, while feeling a bit intimidated by the size of the office and his choice of furniture inside, yet she could not let it show.
“Here.” she threw the phone onto his desk, not even waiting for him to turn around from looking out of the window to look at her, “bye,” she added and turned around, heading to the door, to leave just as quickly as she walked inside.
Thomas chuckled at her entry and quickly got up, chasing after her and catching up on her before she could reach the door. He wrapped his cold hand around her wrist and pulled her back so swiftly that she lost her balance and slipped forwards, right into his chest.
She steadied herself by placing her hands onto his shoulders and he took that opportunity to wrap his hands around her waist, holding securely onto her waist. The moment Isabelle realised in what situation she was literally pulled into she slapped his chest and pulled away: “Oh my God, stop that. You can’t keep on doing that!”
“Excuse me, love, but you’re the one with the weak balance.” he smirked at her, keeping a small distance between their bodies.
“You have your phone, now fuck off!” she hissed through her teeth and threw a deadly glare at him.
“Is that what you want, love?” he leaned in, cupped her jaw in his palm.
She slapped his hand away as soon as she felt it on her skin: “yes!” she knew very well that once he touched her, she would become weak again and fall into his trap, and unfortunately for her, he apparently knew that as well.
“I must disagree with you, love.” Thomas’ moves were sudden and unexpected, he grabbed onto her hips and pressed her one of the double doors. Her back firmly pressed against the hardwood, a load noise pointing out that she was now trapped between the wood and him. She swallowed hard as she felt him being inches away from her. One of his hands moved down her hip to the hill of her butt, while the other cupped her chin, making her look at him. A smirk was glued on his lips, while she kept a serious expressionless face. She did not show him any weakness. As soon as she would do that, she would lose once again.
“Thomas let me go. I will scream.” the stern look in her eyes would scare most men, but Thomas is not like most men.
“Out of pleasure I presume.” he leaned in, his nose pressed against her jaw, taking in that intoxicating smell of her perfume. His lips soon pressed against her delicate pale skin, exactly against a spot that he learned from last night was her most sensitive spot. Her lips opened just slightly, eyes closing slowly, as she was once again dragged into oblivion with him. Her hands were pressed against his chest, still somehow hoping that by pushing strong enough he would let go, but he would not.
“Thomas, I saw you literally hours ago. You got what you wanted last night. What the fuck else could you want?” Isabelle’s head rested against the door, waiting for Thomas’ reply, but he was busy pressing gentle kisses down her neck, that is, until he could not resist anymore and bit into her neck, creating a little pink mark. Isabelle gasped at it, jumping out of her trance, “okay that’s it.” she grabbed onto the top of his head and pulled at his hair, pulling his face from her neck, “what the fuck do you want Thomas?” she asked him once his face was at the same height as hers, her fingers still holding onto his hair.
“Mmm I like it when you’re rough.” he chuckled at her, both of his hands holding onto her ass.
“Thomas, you got my fucking business. Sadly, we kissed. Unfortunately, we fucked as well. What else could you want?” she snapped at him and studied his face, trying to find reasoning in his eyes. But the usual icy blue eyes did not give out any secrets. He just bored holes into her soul.
“You. I want you, Isabelle,” he spoke up, leaving her off guard. She just stayed there, not moving, yet still holding onto his hair, but not tugging harshly on it anymore.
They just kept staring at it each other for a few moments, until someone busted into the office even harsher than Isabelle did: “Oi Tommy! You done with my phone? I need to call-” he stopped and stared as he realised in what position Thomas was and with who, “…Linda…”
“Hello, Arthur.” Thomas greeted his brother while still being held by his hair by Isabelle.
The woman quickly let go and escaped Thomas’ grip. She stood a few steps away from the brothers and felt her cheeks growing a dark shade of red.
“My my brother, I did not expect you to be into such rough shit reminds me a bit of John.”
Thomas just raised his eyebrows waiting for the point of Arthur’s comparison.
“I would have never guessed brunettes were your type. I always thought you were more of a blonde chicks dude.” he laughed before walking up to Isabelle and taking her hand, shaking it quickly and roughly, making almost half of her body shake with her hand: “hello there, love. I am Arthur, Tommy’s older brother.”
“Isabelle.” she simply replied.
“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”
“The party last week.” Thomas lit himself a cigarette and replied instead of Isabelle.
“Ah yes! I knew I don’t forget such a pretty face. You know I have quite the memory, dad always said I was quite the brain, like a bloody database.” now it was Isabelle’s turn to raise her eyebrows and wait for the point of Arthur’s talking. At some point, she even looked at Thomas with a questioning look on her face, wondering if he knew how to make him shut up.
Coming to her rescue, Thomas stepped in: “Arthur your phone’s on the table.”
Looking at his brother, Arthur grinned widely and ceased his storytelling: “Ah yes, my phone!” he moved swiftly with long steps towards the desk and picked up his phone, before looking back at the not-really-couple that was staring at one another uncomfortably, most of the uncomfortable part was done by Isabelle. Thomas was not one to show many emotions with his facial expressions, besides anger or annoyance.
“Well, I’ll leave you to your business then.” he slid his phone into the back pocket of his pants and headed to the door, but before he left, he looked back at Isabelle and added, “how about you join us for dinner tonight? Ada is making us a little family feast before me and my wife head back home tomorrow. I mean she isn’t really making the food, she just ordered some catering but it’s the closest we will come to home-cooked meals in this family.”
Instead of looking at Arthur, Isabelle’s eyes focused on Thomas: “I think I had enough Shelby dinners.”
“Oh, come on love, I’d love to hear how you capture the attention of this grumpy head over there.” he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder towards his brother who just rolled his eyes and looked aside, focusing on his cigarette, “everyone will be there, Ada, Finn, Michael, Gina…oh I hope Ada will get some American food, don’t you people deep fry butter? Such crazy bastards, you Americans.”
Isabelle’s eyes widened for a moment and ended their focus on Arthur for a moment, her breath stuck in her throat for a second. That by itself was suspicious enough, therefore, she had to quickly cough it out: “Yeah…I don’t think so”
“Oh, come on love, Thomas can pick you up, he knows where Ada’s place is.”
“I’d rather poke my eyeballs out, but thanks.” she threw him irritated smile, yet not fake enough for Arthur to get it.
“Too bad, maybe we will see each other when I come back to the States. Cheers, love!” he waved quickly before vanishing behind the door.
Isabelle’s eyes met Thomas’, somehow hoping he would explain to her what just happened. Yet all he did is shrug, raise his eyebrows and close his eyes in uncertainty. Isabelle opened her mouth, thinking of some reply to all that, but once she realised, she had none, she just nodded her head at Thomas, pressing her lips into a tight line with the corners of her mouths pointing downwards, another evidence of her oblivion. And with that, she left his office. The situation was awkward enough even without Arthur bursting in like that.
Work has not been kind on her. Throughout the day she was faced with various problems that she would have managed with ease if it was not for the whole Shelby thing constantly happening in the back of her mind. As any tech company, it was a necessity to be sufficiently good in using a laptop or computer, which she was, however, that day whatever could go wrong, went wrong. Her lack of concentration mixed with the tapping of her feet against the floor and the chewing of her knuckles and fingers ruined all the work she was working on.
She was not someone that had any boy trouble. Isabelle was undoubtedly a gorgeous and seductive woman that could cause distress to any man standing in her way, yet Thomas Shelby seemed to have hit a nerve in her, no one else hit before him. Men to her were easily played with and used for her own win, but Thomas was smarter than that, he was smarter than anyone.
To that comes the fact that he was the target of her best friend. Or so-called best friend. Gina.
Isabelle’s connection to the Shelby family was a complicated one. One she does not like to look back. Too deep were the wounds. Still, Thomas had no direct involvement in that. However, Isabelle would have preferred if she did not have to spend time with the son of a woman that caused her pain.
Thankfully, she declined Arthur’s offer and therefore could avoid Thomas as long as possible. And despite her needing a few days to return to her previous work ethic and speed, she was as happy as she could be with every day, she could live her life without having Shelbys always around her. Her office hours were back to normal, filled with the usual activities, including meetings, business lunches and lots and lots of programming, just as she liked it. Yet, despite all the things she loved on her work, she was somehow missing Thomas, his fingers over her skin, his lips on hers. Maybe it was just a feeling, a temporary feeling that will pass away…or at least that was what she hoped it was.
But as soon as she stepped inside her office after a too long business lunch with an obese elderly corporation owner, who wished to interact more with her than he wished to interact with her company, she was left speechless. Those types of meetings were sadly from time to time the case with such men. But Isabelle learnt to control those types of situations and politely turn them down, together with their whole business proposal, even if she wished she could just slap them across their face in front of the whole restaurant, but simply ordering the most expensive drinks and meals was revenge enough.
Once she returned from one of those lunches, there was an unusual yet lovely situation happening in her office. Since the door of her office was wide opened and her secretary nowhere to be seen, she just walked inside and there she saw that particular secretary helping two men carrying bouquets and even more bouquets of red roses around her office, looking for any free space to put them.
“What’s going on here?” Isabelle left her coat and bag on the coat rack next to the entrance of her office.
“There’s been a delivery for you Miss Datcu.” her secretary giggled as she poked her head out from behind a massive bundle of roses.
“I see that,” she commented as she walked around her room, admiring all those flowers. Until she finally spotted the one bouquet with a white note sticking on top of it. Her fingers wrapped around the little piece of paper and read it out loud: “Couldn’t get you nor that night out of my mind. For each hour I’ve been thinking about you a red rose.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” she read the note with a disgusted look on her face. She tried so hard not to cringe at something so cheesy, yet she felt a warm sensation happening around her stomach, making it spin around. However, as she turned the card around she noticed another text, “P:S: this was Ada’s idea. I just wanted to send you whiskey.” she scoffed at the part that seemed to be the real Thomas writing and shook her head.
Her secretary left her in peace once the men left the room. “That bastard wanted to get me with booze,” she whispered to herself as she grabbed a random rose in between her fingers, placing it in front of her nose and inhaling it.
To her unknowledge, there was someone else as well in her office. At this point her office was more like an opened field than a private working area: “Calling me a bastard isn’t the politest thing, now is it?” the man hiding inside her chair finally turned around from the view through her windows and looked at the woman standing next to her desk with the rose in her hand. The day just could not get any better, now could it?
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Isabelle breathed out with a sigh.
“Call me Mr Shelby one more time and I will kiss you so hard you will forget your own bloody name.” he hissed at her in a low manner. Her mouth opened up just slightly. Her brain was too focused on holding back the hunger she felt for him, to focus on anything else. Unconsciously her face leaned in towards him, nose faintly grazing over his as a breath stuck in her throat. His hands moved slowly from the sink to her sides. The moment she felt his hands against her waist she felt a tingle up her spine. A pleased smirk glued on his face, he felt her body giving in. Her hands climbed upwards to his chest, pressing against the strong muscles. He inhaled the captivating smell of her perfume as she was just about to press her lips against his.
Suddenly the fairy tale moment ended as an elderly lady stepped inside the bathroom, obviously in need to use it. Isabelle quickly pushed Thomas away, whereas he would have not minded continuing whatever they were doing, despite the glares the grandmother shot at them. Isabelle looked at Thomas once more before heading out of the bathroom. In fact, heading out of the restaurant altogether.
Thomas threw the elderly lady a wink before walking out of the door and leaving the lady in shock. As soon as he realized that Isabelle headed out and not back to their table, Thomas quickly paid more than enough for the meal and followed her outside.
To his surprise she did not wait for him but instead walked towards the street, a foot already onto the trench, her hand raised upwards, hollowing for a taxi. From Thomas’ lips escaped a cuss word as his feet quickened their pace as he realized that she was about to leave. Once he reached, it was almost too late. A taxi already pulled up and she opened the back door.
“Oi love,” he grabbed onto her upper arm and she threw him a frown for a moment, then her eyes looked down at her arm in disbelieve. She pulled her arm out of his grip and pointed the taxi driver to wait a moment, as she stood in between the opened door and the entrance of the car, “where are you going? You didn’t even finish your food.”
“I think I’ve had enough, Mr Shelby.” despite his attempts to stop her from calling him by his surname, she was persistent.
“At least let me drive you home then.” he politely pointed towards his car that was driven to the front entrance of the restaurant by the valet service.
“I think I’ll find my way home easily, thank you very much.” she turned around ready to get in.
“Come on, love.” she threw him one last glance, seeing the honesty they gave out.
“Ah for fuck’s sake…” she whispered to herself before stepping out of the car and slamming the door close. Thomas grinned at her capitulation. She rolled her eyes once she noticed the grin and just walked past him to the car, where she let herself in without waiting for him.
She turned away from him as he stepped inside and started the engine: “834 Fifth Ave.” without turning towards him, she pronounced her address but soon realized that a Brit would probably not know where that was, so she rolled over and groaningly typed it into his GPS before turned back where she was sitting. Thomas could not help but chuckle at her childishness and just shook his head, before driving towards her most likely highly luxurious home.
Once he pulled by her apartment building, she let herself out, without saying a word. He followed her example and got out of his car, leaning against the roof of it, as he watched her stroll towards the door, swinging her hips in a controversial way, without even saying goodbye to him: “I regret it, you know?”
Isabelle stopped just before the doorkeeper had the chance to open the door for her. She looked straight ahead, her back still turned towards him. She knew she would regret asking but something inside of her just did not let her way away from him: “Regret what?” she looked at him from her shoulder.
“Not kissing you when I had the chance,” he uttered louder than he probably should have. Everyone walking by could have heard him.
Snapping her body around she quickly made her way to him, her eyes already opened widely, a fire burning inside of them. Noticing her coming back, Thomas walked onto the other side of his car and leaned his back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. Isabelle stumbled for a moment before shushing him: “Would you mind keeping it down!? I do not need anyone getting the wrong idea!”
“Oh? And what would that be?” he smiled smugly at the irritated brunette.
“That we were really about to kiss, you asshole.”
“But we were, Miss Datcu. And if I recall probably, I told you I would kiss you so hard you would forget your own name if you referred to me by my surname one more time.” as soon as he said that she took a step back, knowing well that she indeed called him by his surname afterwards.
“What makes you think I’d let you kiss me?” she tilted her head, propping her weight onto one side, one hip more prominent than the other.
Thomas just rolled his eyes, sighing away from her before swiftly pushing himself off the car, just to wrap an arm around her waist and pulling her with him back to the car. She gasped at his unexpected movement, her hands pressed against his shoulders, holding onto him for support as he jawed: “Just shut up already.” Before she was able to attack back, he cupped her cheek with his other hand and pulled her face up towards his. In one hasty movement, he pressed his slightly chapped lips against her soft dark red lips.
She whined against his lips, smacking against his shoulders and stomped with her feet, trying to release herself from him. Unsuccessfully. His strong grip held onto her waist, pulling her against his chest with all he had. Unlike his rough grip, the kiss was rather sensual, slow and desirous. Isabelle’s thoughts ran a hundred miles per hour as she was processing the situation.
Thomas tried to deepen the kiss, yet that appeared to be difficult with a stubborn woman like that in his arms. So, he did the only thing a man can do in that situation: he went for the butt. Sliding his hand south, he grabbed onto her ass and squeezed it just enough for her to gasp once more, which was the perfect opportunity for him to deepen the kiss.
Despite what she made herself believe, she did not despise the man nor the way he kissed her. The warmth he made her feel scared her. Yet her stubbornness slowly surrendered. Isabelle was fighting long enough. The grip on his shoulders loosened once she completely lost herself in him. Her eyes slowly closed while she slowly began to kiss him back. Much to his liking. Her fingers carefully slid up his collar, to the back of his neck, wrapping around him, to lean in, if that was even possible. His fingers dug into her thick dark locks and tilted his head to the other side, allowing their tongues to slide against one another, fighting for dominance.
People walked by them, but no one paid much attention to the couple making out in the late evening. And even if they were, neither one of the two could care less at that moment. They enjoyed what felt like the best kiss they have ever experienced in their life. Their lips melted against each other. Her nails ran over the back of his neck, touching the short hair on his head. Their lips just could not pull away from each other, even if they really needed to catch their breath.
Soon enough they broke apart, but just inches, just enough for them to catch their breaths and look at one another. They did not say a word for a bit. Just breathing, staring at each other’s lips and eyes, switching every now and then, whilst their hands were still wrapped around the other.
Isabelle had the chance to just escape right now, but her senses were fogged and all she could think of was him. Biting into her lower lip she stared at the man. Thomas felt his trousers getting tighter just because of the lip biting. His hand cupped her jaw again, his thumb gently pulling her lip out from between her teeth and stroke over the painted lower lip. His eyes were still focused on her, as she admired his strong features.
Before he could pull her into another kiss, she pulled out of his grip and took his hand, rushing inside the building. Isabelle took the keys out of his hand and threw it at the doorkeeper as he opened the door for them with a clever smile. Thomas was taken by surprise as he was dragged inside.
For once even he did not know how to react to such a plot twist. She became so needy after one kiss that expressed all the frustration she felt since the moment she met him.
Pushing him inside the elevator, she clicked at her floor number and turned her attention back to him. He raised his brows at her as she pressed him against a wall of the elevator and cupped his cheeks, pulling him into another kiss. This time much hungrier as they did not have to wait for her to finally give in. Thomas did not hesitate and kissed her right back. Teeth clashing against each other, hands roaming over their bodies as they rode up to the highest floor in the building.
As the elevator pointed out to them that they have arrived, Isabelle pulled away from the British man’s lips and allowed her thumb to wipe a bit of her red lipstick from the corner of his lips. Thomas’ hands slipped under her skirt and gripped onto her ass. She bit her lip once again, trying to hold back a moan. She slapped his shoulder half warningly as she did not wish to be seen doing the nasty in a semi-public place. Thomas just smirked at her, whilst she could only roll her eyes at his comeback.
Taking his hand once again, Isabelle walked to her apartment door. Once they arrived Isabelle stopped right in front of it and reached for her bag, to find her keys. While she was busy roaming through her bag, Thomas found other ways to occupy his time. His hand gently moved her hair from one shoulder and leaned in, pressing hungry kisses over her delicate skin, while enjoying the scent of her perfume.
Isabelle struggled with pushing the key into the lock because all she wanted was to lean against him and let him kiss her all over her body. But to do that she had to open the door. Thomas smirked against her skin. He kept on kissing her as she let out a small moan. He got a hold on her hand and helped her unlock the door, before allowing them to finally get in.
Then it all quickened up. She threw her purse onto the table next to the door and tried her best to pull herself out of the black thigh-high boots. Bending forward, she tried to unzip them as quickly as possible, whereas Thomas just enjoyed the sneak peek of her underwear as he was standing behind her. Unlike her, he was taking it slowly, he placed his shoes at the door and just chuckled at her struggle.
“You wouldn’t laugh if it was you that was wearing these suckers.” she groaned as she threw a boot onto the floor.
He stepped closer, watching her pull on the other one and enjoying the view of the one naked skin and the length of her leg that seemed endless: “You were the one who decided to wear that skimpy outfit.”
“Excuse you, those are 500-dollar boots.” she replied as soon as she threw the other one away.
“And they look divine on you,” he smirked. Rolling her eyes, she threw her jacket onto the couch.
She stood in front of the taller man and caught a glimpse of the business going on in his trousers. Letting out a small giggle she added: “I need a drink.” she made her way to her kitchen. All the thirst for that man-made her thirsty for alcohol and a cool down.
“After all that you’re going for a drink?” Thomas stated in disbelief before heading out towards her.
She shrugged as she leaned against her counter, pouring herself a whisky. Groaning Thomas placed his face in the crook of her neck and placed a wet passionate kiss on her already exposed skin. He had pulled her flush against him, in which she responded by repeatedly grounding her butt against his groin. Thomas began planting deep kisses against her shoulder, working all the way along her neck. It earned him a few delighted sounds from her. A quiet curse escaped his lips, upon having felt himself harden against his trousers. Isabelle’s grip on the glass just tightened, just like his arm around her waist.
“Thomas-”
He quickly pulled away from her neck and took a deep breath of her perfume. His lips moved to her ear while whispering: “You just said my name for the first time.” he pressed a kiss in the spot just under her ear and she moaned once more, “I like when you moan my name, love.”
“Mmm maybe I should go back to Mr Shelby.” she leaned her head against his shoulder, rolling her bottom against his trousers once more.
Thomas bit onto her earlobe, snapping the drink out of her hand and bringing it to his lips: “Mr Shelby will spank the attitude out of you if you continue like this.”
Turning around to face him she pursed her lips and grabbed her drink back, taking a sip herself: “Not used to a woman not letting herself being dominated?”
“Not used to a woman denying she wants me just as much as I want her.” his lips suddenly captured hers, at the same time he pulled her once more, close to him. Isabelle could feel herself melt into the kiss, sending her mind into a frenzy. Moans and gasps were shared between the two, as the heated kiss intensified, with their tongues clashing aggressively against one another. In the midst of their lip-lock, her fingers made their way to his shoulders, pushing the sides of his suit away from one another, pushing it simulations down his shoulders, until Thomas finally got the memo and pulled the jacket off, throwing it onto one of the kitchen counters. Breaking away from the kiss she made quick work on his crisp white shirt, in the same way as she did with the jacket. Thomas shrugged off the shirt that he was wearing. Isabelle leaned back against the counter and was silently astonished at how well-built he was. Under the suit was a well-toned body and she wanted nothing else but to slide her hands over every inch of his skin.
Thomas noticed the hungry look in her eyes, her legs already pressing against one another. He was once swifter in his actions and pressed his body against hers, pulling her into another passionate kiss. Isabelle’s hands wrapped around his neck, replying to the kiss just as lustful. His hands cupped her ass cheeks, lifting her up and earning a gasp from her. Her legs wrapped themselves around his naked back, as her hands wrapped around his neck. She did not break the kiss but instead deepened it by allowing her tongue to slide over his lips, asking for entrance. However, she knew that by lifting her up he wanted to take this somewhere else.
“Down the hall, the last door on the right,” she whispered between the kisses. He let her lead the kiss as he had to focus on not crashing into furniture on his way to her bedroom.
Once inside, he slammed the door closed by pressing her back against it. That gave him enough flexibility to drag her shirt over her head and revealing the black lace bra covering her breasts. His usual expressionless eyes focused on her breasts until Isabelle grabbed onto his chin and kissed him once more: “Bed. Now.”
Turning her around, he made his way to her bed, where he threw her on. Laying onto the soft cotton sheets she let out a contented sigh. He dark locks were spread around her head against the pillows.
“Strip.” Thomas ordered her as he stood at the end of the bed and stared down at her half-naked body.
Isabelle raised her eyebrow and arched her back. “And what if I refuse?” Instead of stripping she turned around, pressing her chest onto the bed. She arched her ass up in the air, just to tease him even more.
“So spoilt.” Thomas threw out as he kneeled behind her on the bed, grabbing onto her hips and pressing her ass against his crotch, “stop fucking teasing me.” she felt the hardness that was obvious in his pants and let out a moan, before she slowly rolled her ass over his problem.
Thomas let out a throaty groan. He then preceded to undo her bra and flip her around, so she was laying on her back. Quickly he discharged her breasts from the bra and threw it aside. She tried to cover herself, but Thomas was quicker and pinned her hand above her head as he kissed her fiercely. Pulling away from her face, as fast as he took her lips, he moved down to plant a deep kiss on her neck, underneath her chin. Isabelle’s hands moved up his back and on the nape of his neck, before running down his toned shoulders, over the warm skin of his chest. Then she took the opportunity when he was too focused kissing her neck and pushed him down onto his back, hovering over him.
Isabelle flipped her hair over one shoulder and smirked down at him, her finger running from his throat to his chin. Thomas’ hips thrust upwards, in need of physical contact: “fuck you’re so sexy.” he purred as one of his hands wrapped around her throat, gently placing some pressure, just enough for her to feel it. And as soon as she closed her eyes, enjoying in that moment of bliss, he flipped her over once more, finally winning the battle for dominance. He smirked when he heard the gasping cry from her before he continued to plant more kisses down her body.
“Ah-fuck!” she moaned, her hands holding onto Thomas’ as he was still holding her still. Thomas placed a few deep kisses around her mounds. Stopping for a moment he pulled away, just to slide her leader skirt down her legs and throwing her next to her other clothes. He left a trail of kisses down her abdomen before his eyes finally stopped at the area between her legs. The lustfulness in his eyes became even worse when he inspected that intimate area of her closely. Her black, lacy panties which were matching her bra perfectly were already dampened from her arousal.
“So much for not liking me.” he chuckled, his finger sliding over the rim of her panties.
“Liking has nothing to do with this.” she defended herself but that backfired once Thomas touched her over her panties, “is that so? From the cute sounds coming out of your mouth, I’d say otherwise.”
“Fuck you.” she groaned pushing her head back.
“Oh, you will soon enough, love.” Hooking his fingers on the hem of her panties, from the sides, Thomas slowly tugged them away. Sliding them past her knees, he shifted his focus towards her face, her expression filled with great anticipation of what was going to come next, despite her hard tries of covering it. Slipping the undergarment through her feet and out Thomas threw them over his shoulder, his grin of content signifying his desire. He parted her shapely legs outward, exposing her completely to him. Hands-on her thighs as support, Thomas began kissing around her inner thighs, leaving dark bruises on them. Isabelle reacted with airy mewls, tossing her head left and right, while he continued with his teasing touches.
His face moved upwards, finding its way to her entrance, licking away her wetness that gathered on the inner-most areas of her thighs, savouring its sweet flavour. “Tom-,” Isabelle whimpered, her head lifted a bit to look down at him. “God, you’re such a tease-”
His lips stretched to a wide, naughty smile at her plea, Thomas proceeded to sweep the blade of his tongue against her sopping clit. A short, but loud cry was wrested from her, as she arched her back slightly, in response. Turning her head side to side, delighted moans spilt through her gape, while her hands flew over to her the top of his head, where his hair was at its longest.
Thomas grunted quietly, having felt her fingers around his hair, tugging on it. He continued to pleasure her, licking away at her clit, tracing the tip of his tongue all over her most sensitive areas: “Thomas, more!”
“What’s the magic word?” he smirked at her, enjoying how flushed and bothered she looked like.
“Fuck you!” she cursed
“Wrong. Try again.” he stopped all his movement, leaving her in a state of frustration.
“Ah fucking hell, please Thomas, I just fucking need more!” Granting her request proudly, Thomas furthered her pleasure, sneaking his tongue into her opening. It earned him another loud moan from her, and a tightened hold on his hair, as he slid his tongue all over her inner folds. Arching her back, even more, Isabelle kept her grip on his hair, as she threw her head back in bliss.
Now holding her by her outer thighs, Thomas shoved more of his tongue into her inner folds, licking at them more intensely. He then quickly pulled his tongue out of them, before covering over her entrance with his mouth: “Jesus fuck!” Isabelle cried out, again.
She could pressure in her lower abdomen. “Thomas! I’m g-gonna-” her fingers held tightly against his dark hair, her nails scratching at his scalp. The sensation only made him quicken his face, holding more firmly against her thighs. Her head shot back against the pillows as the final sensual moan escaped her swollen lips. She felt her orgasm running over her whole body, lifting her almost into unconsciousness.
Though that did not prevent Thomas from continuing his movements until she rode out her ecstasy and her breathing finally started to come back to normal.
Thomas slowly lightened his grip on her thighs, his tongue still occupied with fixing the mess he caused, as Isabelle ran a hand through her hair, while the other hand did the same to his hair, “fuck Thomas, what was that?”
“An orgasm I’d say.” he licked the corner of his lips before retrieving from between her legs.
“Fuck yes it was.” she grabbed onto his neck and pulled herself up to meet him in a passionate kiss. She was so intrigued by him, pulled under his spell with every touch and kiss she received from him.
His fingers grabbed onto his ass, groping his with his rough hands. His erection was even clearer than before, poking her stomach with every kiss that they shared, to the point where Isabelle could not help but notice. Pulling away from the kiss, she moved to his chin and jaw, kissing down the hot skin of his throat, down to his neck. Meanwhile, her hand slid down his toned chest and stomach, until she finally reached her destination and wrapped her hand around the base of his member. A groan escaped his lips as he felt her hand around him. She smirked against his neck, continuing to ravish it while her hand was busy slowly moving her hand over his cock.
“Bloody tease.” he hissed under his breath, “I will fuck you so hard.”
Isabelle removed her lips from his neck and made eye contact with the man. Her hand was still pumping him at a slow pace as she smirked at him: “What are you waiting for big bad gangster? Have at me.“
As she whispered sinfully, she enticed the demon to take what he wanted from her. Thomas’ hand suddenly wrapped around her throat. He expected her to gasp or have some kind of fear in her expression, but instead, she kept her cool and just smirked at him.
"On your knees.” He commanded the girl in front of him to move. Despite her cool façade Isabelle felt her heart pounding in her chest. Turning around she pressed her fingers against the soft sheets under her and perked her ass towards Thomas, what earned her just another groan from him. Next time he would surely take his time with her, however after all the teasing and having to listen to her moans, Thomas could not hold back any longer or he would have just come right there.
He enjoyed the view of her naked body ready for him, just for another moment, before he wrapped his hand around the base of his cock and coated the tip of his cock with her cum, moving his tip over her opening. Isabelle pushed her head back just slightly; a satisfied moan escaped her gorgeous plump lips. And then, without warning, Thomas buried his dick deep into her convulsing pussy.
Isabelle cried out lewdly as the tip tickled her cervix and stretched her walls deliciously. “Fuck Thomas-” She moaned as he began to move inside of her. She panted hotly as he immediately bucked into her, his savage grunts mixing in with her dirty moans. Now it was Thomas’ turn to grab a handful of her hair and jerked her head backwards as he bruised her squishy cunt. Deep hungry groans left his lips as her tight walls squeezed around his manhood. She maintained her grip on the strands of fur, as she reigned in the fuzzy, ecstatic sensations that whirled around in her head.
“Fuck,” he hissed, pounding away from behind. “You feel so fucking good!” His gaze panning down, Thomas took a full view of her sleek back, curvy sides, and her round bottom. In addition, her long, feathered locks rose and fell in ripples and waves.
“Thomas, harder,” she panted, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “Fuck yes!” Skin slapping against skin reverberated throughout the interior when Thomas picked up his pace. Noises of pure ecstasy escaped the two, who could not just get enough of each other. Sheen layers of sweat coated their bodies, as they continued their carnal, lustful act.
Isabelle felt a sudden lack of contact and yelped as Thomas abruptly pulled out of her and flung her onto her back. The brown-haired man fully sheathed himself again, much to her delight, kissing her passionately as he thrust into her roughly. He clenched her breast heartily, as he kept on hitting just the right spot with every thrust. Isabelle’s body became overstimulated; no one had ever given her such attention. She felt like she was rising into a state of oblivion. She felt as she was absent in her mind. The only thing she could perceive was Thomas. His cock twitched wildly in her, their hips meeting evenly with each passing moment. Her climax peaked again as she dug her fingernails into his back, his drive never faltering. Thomas groaned along with Isabelle as she unwound in his hold, milking his cock.
They let out animalistic moans as they both finally found their release. Thomas’ body collapsed on top of her sweaty one, but at that moment none of them could care less. They needed a few moments to catch their breath and regain enough strength to move away from one another.
Once that was achieved Thomas moved away from her, reaching out to grab some kind of a cloth to clean himself up and her as well. But once he returned he found her on her side, preparing to go to bed.
As soon as he saw that he grabbed onto her upper arm and pushed her onto her back, before climbing on top of her: “What’s wrong, feeling tired already?”
“Just thought you had enough already, old man.” she snorted back at him, clearly enjoying that he was up for another round.
“Trust me, love. I am far from being done with you.” and with that, he pulled her into another lustful kiss that led to a very long night that had not much to do with sleeping.
Thomas made his way downstairs through the masses and out of the building. Most of the photographers were already gone, yet some were still persistent and waited for some kind of scandalous picture. Therefore, they were still taking pictures of Thomas as he stepped into the back of his car. While he was doing so, Polly could not help herself but to look after her nephew, who seemingly vanished in the middle of the celebration and just so quickly vanished out of the building, as if he was escaping it.
Without a word Thomas gave his driver the address to which he should take him and without a word the driver followed suit and did as shown. Pleased with himself Thomas leaned back and studied the information given to him by Michael. From all of the information, the lack of family history was the most annoying. There were no legal records of Isabelle’s family in the States, therefore making it quite difficult to track them down. But if it was really true and she was all by herself, it would only mean his mother was right and all of the Datcu’s are dead.
His usual frown spread over his face as he tried to build a strategy on how to deal with her. Her potentially dangerous ambition could be of a problem for him, unless he kills her or brings her onto his side. Still deep in thoughts, Thomas did not realize that the driver already pulled up in front of the rather tall building a few blocks away from the Shelby Tower.
“Sir,” the driver waited for a second, before repeating himself once Thomas did not reply, “sir, we arrived.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.” Tommy replied soon after shaking his head, to wake himself up, “Wait up for me, I won’t be long.” he added before stepping out of the vehicle and bottoming his suit, before looking up at the building apparently owned by the vicious brunette.
Running a hand through the upper part of his brown hair, Thomas made his way inside of the office building. However, unless he had an appointment with the CEO, there was no way he would pass thought the guards.
However, Thomas would not be Thomas unless he had a plan B in his sleeve. Immediately he put a fairly fake, yet charming smile on top of his lips and made his way to the receptionist in the middle of the entrance area, “Hi there. I came to see my wife, I believe she informed you of my arrival.” despite him being used to people commenting on his British accent in the USA, he made sure to intensify it, giving an even bigger impression of a friendly foreigner in New York.
“Oh, h-hello sir.” the receptionist undeniably flustered by his accent and that handsome look on his face stuttered, “I am not sure. Do you mind telling me who your wife is?”
“Isabelle Datcu.” he simply replied with a smile on his face while the receptionist looked through the given appointments. The frown on her face only made him roll his eyes while she was not looking. Quickly he went back to his simulated friendly self, “is there a problem Miss?”
“It appears you do not have a scheduled appointment with Miss Datcu…”
“Mrs Datcu.” Thomas corrected the young woman but then sighed, “ah that woman. I love her but she is sometimes really forgetful. I guess I have to call her and tell her that the receptionist has no info about our date.” Thomas’ face was regretful, yet to someone who knew him very clearly staged.
Going in for his pocket he was about to snatch his phone out of it, he was stopped by the receptionist who feared of the worst – that her boss would fire her for messing up the appointments, despite there never being an appointment for Mister Shelby: “No no, there is no need for that, sir. It is probably my mistake. I apologize. Here is your guest card, please feel free to use the VIP lift right there on the right.” the polite woman handed him his pass before smiling at him.
“Oh, how sweet of you. Thank you. I will tell my wife how nice her receptionist is.” he grinned before making his way to the lift, a slight smirk growing on his face, clearly amused by how easily he could manipulate people.
He had to admit, the building was a fine specimen of architectural art. One of the newer building in the New Yorker skyline, yet not as big as some of the most popular buildings. However, with its fine, classy lines and elegant interior design, it could compete with all of them. As he stepped into the what seemed like pure chrome VIP lift that went straight up to the highest floor, the CEO’s floor, Thomas questioned firstly why he had no lift that led directly to his office and secondly did her business do so well that she could afford to have such a luxurious building. And if that was the case, why would she be having an illegal rum production going on, if she could with all that many easily turn it into a legal hit.
Once the lift dinged and pointed out to him that he reached the top floor, Thomas went back to his usual cold self. Serious and self-centred. As soon as Isabelle saw his body moving out of the lift, she wanted to kick herself in the gut, just to wake up from that nightmare. The expression on her face was just justifying how she felt inside. A pure reflection of the disgust she felt. Yet she was somehow impressed how quickly he was able to hunt her down.
“Good day, Miss Datcu. Lovely to see you here.” Thomas greeted her with a smirk hanging on his lips while he walked closer to her desk, but not before he locked the door of her office. You can never know what could happen…
For a moment there she just stared at him, her lips parted just slightly as her eyes focused on the man closing the door. Her head slightly tilted, until she was finally able to pronounce something: “I have to admit, I did not think you’d be looking for me after what happened last night.” she placed the paperwork she was working on aside and leaned her elbows against her desk, while leaning her chin against the backs of her palms, “to what do I owe the displeasure, Mr Shelby?”
“Your receptionist is quite the doll, Isabelle. She believed that I am your husband who just came here to have a lovely lunch date with my wife.” he allowed himself to sit on the chair on the opposite side of Isabelle.
She closed her eyes for a second, cursing her naïve receptionist. But she would handle her later, right now she had to keep her poker face and do not let him see her weaknesses: “I see you’ve found out my name.” she quickly changed the subject.
“It was harder than I thought. No family records, no history in America, no police records, nothing. As if you suddenly appeared here out of nowhere. Weird, isn’t it?” he leaned back, “might if I smoke in here?” even if he was a ruthless man, he was still polite enough to ask for permission before lighting a cigarette in a stranger’s office.
“Do as you please.” she snapped before moving back to the topic, “I don’t like my ends loose. I prefer them tied up. I do not intend to give you, a complete stranger, any information regarding me or my family. Besides, that is none of your business.”
“But it is, Isabelle. Or should I say wife, now that we are married.”
“Call me wife one more time and I will tear up your liver.” she grunted before stepping up from her seat. The pale pink coat that was hanging over her shoulders fell onto her chair as she snapped her hands against the wooden desk, “Why are you here, Shelby? Didn’t I make my lack of interest clear enough last night?”
“Isabelle, as a new member of the New Yorker high society it is my duty to make sure that the high standards are not damaged by illegal businesses in our lovely city. And it seems you, out of all those bastards, one of those little businesses.”
“Are you seriously accusing me of owning an illegal business? While sitting in my office? In my fucking building?” she raised her voice while making her way around the desk to stand in front of the bastard who was clearly trying to blackmail her.
There she stood, a meter away from his sitting form, wearing a tight white shirt with the matching skirt that reached down to her knees, but left a small gap between the shirt and the skirt, but still leaving much to the imagination. Her pink heels matched her coat perfectly, yet he preferred the darker colours on her. The white seemed like she was just trying to hide her true self. She was a sight for sore eyes. “Oh, I have to apologize. It seems I did not express myself properly. Let me paraphrase what I just said.”
Thomas got up from his seat, cigarette between his fingers as he stepped towards the woman who apparently had the temper of a chihuahua, “I am here to offer you a deal, Miss Datcu.”
“Excuse me?” she looked up at the taller man, with a serious expression on her face.
His cologne hit her nose, combining it with the constant cigarette smell that followed him suit. That warmth his body let out invited her in, pulling her senses into a delirium. Thomas removed his cigarette from his lips, holding it between his fingers that pointed towards her: “I know all about your little booze business happening behind the curtains. But rather than exposing you in front of the whole city and simultaneously ruining your legal business, that’s quite charming, if I say so myself, I am offering you a deal that could bring profit to both of us.”
Knowing that a Shelby is capable of everything he wraps his head around, she had to, even if it was with a heavy heart, ask: “What do you want, Shelby?”
“I want you to work for me.” he stepped closer to her, while she back off until her butt met her desk. His hand fell on the wood right next to her frame, “I mean your illegal side. I don’t care much about software development. I have plenty of other sectors I focus my business on.”
“Yeah. Weapons and drugs.” Isabella hissed.
“Among others.” he chuckled and leaned his face closer to hers. The smell of smoke and cologne kept on fogging her brain. Her eyes looked into his, trying her best not to lose herself in his ocean blue eyes.
“What do you want from me and my business?” she sounded defeated.
“I will help you bring your products onto the European market. As you probably know, and I am sure you do, love,” he cupped her chin and jaw and pulled her face upwards, letting her meet his eyes, “I own most of the ships that transport alcohol from the UK to Europe and the USA, therefore the building here in New York. So, I could easily make your little company global, if I wanted to.” he leaned in a bit closer, their lips probably just an inch from each other, the tips of their noses touching from time to time as Isabelle tried to move away from him, but he kept on pulling her back to him.
“What will you gain out of it? You want all of the profit, right?”
“No, love. I couldn’t give a fuck about money. As you can imagine I am rather jolly with what I have.” he tilted his head before moving his lips to her ear, “I want you to go out with me.”
The close almost intimate proximity between them made her cheeks turn into a darker shade of pink. She hated herself and her easily compellable nature. “Excuse me?” she groaned, trying to push him away from her, but his stronger body just placed itself back to her.
“Go out with me and I won’t inform the law enforcement about your little hobby.”
“And what if I refuse?” she whispered, her nails digging into her desk.
“Think about it, gorgeous. You would earn a lot of money from this.”
“I have plenty of money, as you could have probably guessed.” her overly confident self made an appearance again and Thomas could not help himself but to chuckle. He liked how proud she was, how she would not give in without a fight. It only made him want her more.
“Then I guess the police it is.” he stepped back and reached for his phone. She acted quickly, her eyes turning towards the door on the other side of her office before colliding her body with his and grabbing onto his tie, as he was ready to head out. That quickly pulled his attention quickly back to her, “No!” she simply reacted as her chest pressed against his.
It took them a moment to realize just how close they were to each other. Thomas’ eyes were glued on the woman’s face as she breathed hard, her breath stuck in her throat. She was still holding tightly onto him but avoided eye contact no matter what. Isabelle was clearly embarrassed on her unthoughtful reaction. His hand slowly reached up to her and cupped her cheek ever so gently, allowing him to finally make eye contact again, “go out with me, love. Think about all the money you can earn.”
“Makes it sound like I’m a hooker.” she rolled her eyes and he just chuckled.
“Trust me, love. I would never make such a fuss for a hooker.”
All she could do is hide her inner anxiety.
“I will pick you up tomorrow in front of your building at 8pm. Wear something red.” he whispered against her ear, before he pulled away from her and walked out of the office, just as professionally as he stepped into it, leaving a hot and bothered brunette flustered on her table.
The next morning, after a too short night, filled with booze and cigarettes, Thomas made his way to the Shelby Tower. Today was supposed to be the official opening of the Shelby Tower and the Shelby business in the USA as a stand-alone company. However, instead of spending the night with some good rest or with some interesting company in form of beautiful American girls, Tommy spent his night focused on the potential Datcu girl.
Just like every other morning Thomas prepared himself for his day in office. A crisp white dress shirt combined with a tailored suit with the matching tie and dress shoes. His consistent companion: a cigarette and a drink. The man knew how to dress professionally but rarely wore any casual outwear, unless it was specially requested by some of his family members, usually Ada or Polly.
The man was a heartthrob. The way he walked, the way he stood, the way he held his cigarette, it all screamed power and expertise. His face was always marked by the dull look in his eyes, mixed with a frown or a harsh glare from time to time. Despite his age of 33, he was still quite desirable. To some extent he enjoyed it, but most of the time he did not give a damn about that. If he wanted something, he would get it, if he did not, he would not.
As he made his way towards his car, he called his cousin Michael, to check on the building, but most of all to check on the assignment Thomas gave him. To everyone’s surprise, Thomas did not drive the SUV in New York. He was not a fan of neither their driving skill nor their direction of driving. Therefore, not to embarrass himself, he decided it would be for the best if someone drove him around, at least until he is fully assimilated in the American lifestyle.
While in the back of the black SUV, Thomas dialled Michael and leaned against the backseat, his gaze focused on the road, trying to remember all the details of it. After waiting for what felt like hours Michael finally picked up and answered his cousin in the most hungover tone Thomas has heard since Arthur the morning after his wedding: “Tom I’m sorry I-”
“-got too drunk to find anything out.” Thomas finished the sentence for him while pressing the side of his thumb over the peak of his brow with the hand he held his cigarette. Annoyance spread over his face as he sighed. “Fine then. Get yourself ready boy, we have an opening in two hours. I want you fit and ready.” and with that, he just hung up.
“Plan B it is…” he whispered to himself before turning his face to the driver, “change of plans. Drive me to Ada’s place.” the chauffeur nodded his head and listened unquestionably.
It was 6 in the morning, which was certainly too early for a grungy Ada to be awake, even if she was supposed to be in the office in less than two hours. That combined with the heavy banging on her front door did not leave anything good about her morning. Still, in her nightgown and robe Ada opened her front door just to see her brother: “Thomas? What do you want so early from me? I told you the opening-”
“I want you to tell me something about a guest from the party.” Thomas stepped inside, without bothering to close the door behind him or let Ada to allow him to walk inside.
“Please come inside, Thomas.” Ada sarcastically commented while standing next to the door, “Good morning to you, my dear sister.”
“Stop being cute Ada and come here.” Thomas was already sitting on her couch, lighting himself another cigarette, “You are the one who created that guest list, right?”
“Yep.” she yawned as she sat across of him on the other couch, pressing her thighs against her chest and hugging her legs closed as she rested her chin on top of her knees.
“And you know all the people you invited, right?”
“Yep.” she nodded her sleepy head.
“Who was the brown-haired woman, wearing a dark green gown?”
“Tom, there were many women with brown hair and green dresses, there was Mrs Humpton, Mrs Buren, Miss Tipen-”
“Young women, Ada. Under the age of fucking 80. I don’t give a fuck about the old hags. One-shoulder dark green gown and long wavy brown hair. Think Ada.” Thomas grew notably more irritated the longer he had to wait for information.
“Well, that could have been Isabelle, but I’m not sure if-”
“What’s her last name?”
“Datcu, but what does that-”
“Thank you, Ada, you’ve been a great help. See you in the office in a few hours.” Thomas got up, ruffled Ada’s hair and quickly made his way to the exit, “oh and you should probably do something about that hair. It looks like a bird’s nest.” he added with a small grin hiding in the corners of his mouth.
“Fuck off, Thomas!” Ada snapped, throwing a pillow at him as he was closing the door. She quickly turned around and looked at her phone screen, while running her fingers over the length of her hair. “it’s not that awful…or is it?”
Thomas was somewhat hoping that the mysterious lady was simply seeking attention and therefore lied about her heritage, but apparently, she was the real deal, which apparently means she is a possible threat to the Shelby empire. Although Thomas would have preferred going straight up into research about that mysterious Miss Isabelle Datcu, his opening was the main priority. The lady in green would have to wait until he was done faking smiles for the reporters.
To his surprise, the main ceremony lasted less than expected. From the formal arrival of Tommy and the rest of his family to the collaborative drinking and toasting to the opening of the new headquarters, to all of the staff members joining the Shelby family and the reporters for the official reveal of the building. Obviously, the building was under high-security check, with guards on every possible exit. Despite it being a pretty casual affair, it would have still been stupid of Thomas and the rest to ignore the dangers of possible intruders. It would have not been the first time something of such sorts happened in one of their buildings. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
His brain was focused on an official reveal and on answering all the questions the reporters asked him, regarding the leading of the building, the family members who would keep on running that place and regarding the ones who would return back home. In spite of Thomas’ wish to return to his beloved Birmingham, he had to make sure the place is running smoothly for the first few months, before deciding whom of his family members would run it while he goes back home.
As the storm calmed down and the reporters stopped taking pictures and asking questions, Thomas ceased to associate in any social undertakings, stepping back from the crowd. He made his way to his office without anyone noticing, at least for now. Needing a moment of silence so his brain could go back into its own pace, he sat down in his, now new chair behind his desk and leaned against it, inhaling a long breath of smoke that not only fogged his lungs but also his mind. But that is exactly what he needed. Fogginess…and her.
Suddenly a knock interrupted his meditation. The person stepped inside without waiting for Thomas’ permission to enter, which would usually end up in a scolding or unemployment. However, the person coming in was none other than Michael Gray with information regarding the precious green lady: “I’m sorry Tom, I just now managed to check the details about that surname of yours. The opening was very hectic and-”
“Cut to the chase, Michael.” Thomas breathed out as he leaned his elbows against his desk.
“Well, there is in fact a record of a Datcu in New York. Her name is Isabelle-”
“I know. What else do you know about her besides her name?”
“It seems she runs a company on the Upper East Side.” Michael looked down at the paper in his hand, containing all the information he could collect in such a small amount of time, “The company’s called Infore and bases itself on software development, mostly used by accounting companies and finance headquarters such as banks and shit like that.”
“So, she’s a tech freak. Didn’t expect that…” Tommy whispered into his hands as he listened to his cousin.
“However, that’s not all. My men found out that she has some secret offshore businesses, inter alia a start-up in the alcohol production field. To be more precise: the chick’s been making rum and selling it.”
Thomas looked up at the man and raised his brows: “Is that so? So that little vixen isn’t playing by the rules.”
“Here the address of her legal headquarter. I could not find much information about the illegal part. That girls really knows how to erase her own footprints. No records of any brewery being bought in that name, no distillation business is owned in that name. All I could find out was from one of her former employees who was so kind to tell me about the things he accidentally overheard while working there, obviously for a price. Oh, and don’t worry I paid him well enough for him to keep his mouth shut.” Michael placed the paper on top of Thomas’ desk and stepped back. During Michael’s elaboration, Thomas was already thinking of a way to use that to his advantage and combine business with pleasure.
“Thank you, Michael” Thomas replied without looking at the man, but rather focusing on the address he just received.
“I assume you won’t tell me what you need that information for?”
“Correct.” Thomas agreed as he got up and walked towards the exit of his office, “oh and Michael?” the younger man turned towards his boss with a questioning look on his face, “stay away from my chair.”
made for display, part one. thomas shelby x reader
summary: a widely known performer seems to catch the attention of a gang leader who can’t seem to get her out of his head
warning/s: swearing, drinking, really bad writing because i don’t want to revise my old writing, smoking, harassment, and slight violence
slater’s note: this was originally a wattpad book of mine (just slightly edited) with an original character (kiera knightly as a faceclaim) but y’know, let me post it here
you love the way people stare at you even when they have no reason to. their eyes could simply be wandering the room and then land on you for no reason and just stick there.
you loved it because it gave you some form of power that no one could seem to place. the attention they fed you reflected off of you and gave you a glowing effect, attracting more eyes. it was a mentality really; no one could be you, no one could beat you, there was no like you.
however, the attention came to be a bit much when it came to certain men, especially men like harvey lucas. a man who made constant passes at you and when rejected; he made other equally indecent men make passes at you.
there was a constant growing of discomfort that would just form in the pit of your stomach each time he came into your vision. you just couldn’t avoid him no matter how hard you tried, he always found his way to you.
you made money by playing piano at the hudson; a large ballroom that was open every night, and had you play every saturday. you made good money but you also made good impressions on some of the men that would watch you, making it easy for harvey lucas to find someone to force on you.
you leaned against the copper bar rail with a glass of wine in hand as you observed the men and women that swung along to the music together.
a small smile of amusement formed on your face as you continued to watch until it was suddenly dropped when you saw the eager face of harvey from the corner of your eye; he was looking for someone.
he was looking for you.
you quickly adjusted yourself off the bar railing, setting down the glass half full of thick red wine before pushing yourself into the crowd of dancing people in hopes his eyes wouldn’t catch you.
you looked around frantically, looking for someone to hide behind or to just to talk to so you could drown out harvey who was soon to find you. it was always better with the company of another person, it always made it hard for the man to push on his abrasive words.
your eyes land on a man who, conveniently, was looking right at you. you almost smirk but he slowly diverts his eyes to somewhere else with a blank expression, almost thinking you wouldn’t notice him if he was subtle, but it was too late, he was already quick pray.
you glided across the slick polished wooden floors to the man who stood to the side with a glass of whiskey.
you smile when his eyes find their way back to you when you’re only five feet away. he seems unaffected, as if he expected you to come around eventually, like this was his plan the whole time, even as he had no idea who you were.
and you smiled to yourself knowing he was very well unaware that you had no intention in sleeping with him, but only to escape from the drooling men that chased after you.
“do you dance?”
maybe you liked him, chose him because he wasn’t drooling all over you, and of course that’s the way things go? you desire the ones who don’t desire you.
he nods slowly and always hesitantly, taking a sip of the drink in his hand, not offering you any verbal response. but you take that as an opening to drag him onto the dance floor as he wasn’t speaking; wasn’t protesting.
eyes seemed to land on the two of you, including the ones of harvey who was after you. you smiles to yourself as you can see the disappointment clouding his features from the corner of your eye.
thank god.
thomas shelby reluctantly places his hand on your hip as well as lacing his fingers with yours. he purses his lips while studying your features as your eyes dart around the room, as if your anxiety was turned to a high and he found that strange.
“these people, mr. shelby, they take great interest in you,” you mumble while studying other people and the way they look at you, no, the way they look at him.
“who are you?”
you finally look to him, finding his icy eyes that seem to stare into your soul. they make you lightly shiver, but you keep your composure, slightly smiling to hide the fear that started to creep into the back of your mind.
you were a fool to consider him as a dance partner so lightly.
his eyebrows were raised high, “how do you know who i am?”
“i don’t.”
he leaves your eyes, looking at the crowds of people who you were referring to, and he frowns at your incorrect observation.
“they’re all staring at you.”
thomas has never seen you a day of his life until now. it took him on edge on how well you seemed to know him for no reason, but it’s as if he forgets how notorious him and his brothers are.
“they’re staring at the both of you.”
you closed your eyes tightly at the voice, leaving tommy all the more confused. he formed his lips in a tight line glancing at the man who stood uncomfortably close to the two of you who continued to dance to the music.
“fuck off, eh? harvey,” you mumbled, your eyes wandering around the cream colored room.
“wouldn’t you like that, huh, y/n?”
thomas looks between the two of you, loosening his grip on you and you notices right away, your head flipping to him. you give him a desperate look that he sees a lot from woman.
you didn’t want him to leave you to another conversation with the man that continued to stand next to you in an awkward stance.
but thomas fully lets go of you, nodding to the man named “harvey”.
you bite the inside of your cheek as you watch the man smooth down the front of his nice three-piece suit while walking away, back to his scotch.
“you look nice.”
you scoff, marching back to the bar where your alcoholic drink also awaited.
maybe, you thought, maybe if i act like he’s not here, he’ll go away.
but he didn’t. he continued to talk about the hotel room he had up in the hudson and how he was ready to go up at anytime.
“harvey, you really have no idea how much i’d like to strangle you right now,” you mumbled, connecting the tip of your wine glass to your lips.
you glanced his way while you take in the thick liquid down your throat. he thinks while looking at his shoes before looking back up to you.
he comes in really close to where his lips are connected to your ear, “i’d prefer to be the one who strangles while fucking you senseless.”
you could feel your blood boiling to the point you couldn’t even think, so you smashed your wine glass over the top of his head.
