Chapter thirteen: Sunset
July 1930,
Kate yawned and stretched; she had fallen asleep on the porch again. Her notebook fell from her lap and she leaned forward to grab it…when she noticed a pair of black shoes beside her. She jumped up from the porch swing to see that it was Thomas Shelby sitting beside her, calmly smoking a cigarette.
He patted the seat beside him that she'd just jumped out of. "Sit back down Kate."
Kate sat back down with a yawn as he smirked at her. "I hate you."
"Yeah, I know." He pats her knee, causing her to jump slightly. "Easy there Kate. You jump at every little thing."
She decided to ignore him, calling him on it would undoubtedly result in him touching her in a different manner. That touch would be far more personal than a pat on the leg. She shifted her position slightly on the porch swing so she could face him. "What are you doing down here? It's late."
"Well, I was going to invite you to dinner, but, you were asleep." He stretches his hand alongside the back of the swing, tugging her into his side. She hesitates a moment before relaxing against his shoulder as he took another puff on his cigarette. "Bit late for that now."
Kate yawned again. "Yes. What time is it?"
"Eh," he stuck his cigarette back in his mouth so he can read his pocket watch. "7:30." He closes his watch with a snap. He reached out to casually to stroke her cheek. "Got here around 6:00."
Kate smiles for a moment, allowing him this liberty. She was growing attached to Thomas. He often made feeble excuses to show up at her place several times a week for the last two months. However, he always brought Charlie and Ruby with him. This was the first time that he'd actually come over by himself.
Kate wondered what was on his mind. He hadn't kissed her since that afternoon under the tree. Well, not true. He'd kissed her cheek or the corner of her mouth, but not on her lips. He seemed to be waiting for something, but what it was she didn't know. She flushed as she remembered his hand on her skin that day.
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead. Kate, really wasn't used to this much affection, so, it was strange to her. Her father told her he loved her often; he just never really showed her that love. Emmett, his parents had raised him to be the perfect gentleman. He never kissed her until they were engaged and even then, the kisses were proper. She'd appreciated it, until now. She hated to admit this, but every time Thomas gave her a peck, it forced her to compare the two men. For her, it almost felt as if Emmett was the boy she loved and she was now learning how a man would actually show his affection towards a woman. If it had been someone other than Thomas, it probably would have been less intimidating. He had a powerful presence that scared her at times, but…it wasn't terrifying.
Kate glanced up at him. "Won't everyone be missing you for dinner?"
He shook his head. "Everyone's gone. That's why I came to invite you."
She frowned. "Where is everybody?"
"Polly and Arthur took the kids to a fair. They'll be back the day after tomorrow." She hesitated, considering her reputation if one of the servants blabbed that he'd spent a good few hours alone with her. "No one will say anything Kate. Your reputation is still intact."
She laughed. "How do you do that? Guess what I'm thinking."
"I feel it. You sorta stiffen up and at times," he grins. "I swear I can hear your thoughts rolling around in your head."
"Very funny." She straightened up. "Well, since you came to invite me to dinner and wound up watching me nap, I should make you dinner."
"You can cook?"
She nodded. "Yes." She stood up. "Come on, you can give me a hand."
He blinked. "I can't cook."
"You were in the army, so I know you can at least peel potatoes." She headed inside the house. "And put out your cigarette please."
"You have a problem with me smoking?" He asks as he drops the cigarette into the cup of tea that she never finished.
She smiles. "No, I just don't want the smell in the cottage. I like the natural smells of the wood, the pine," he steps in the cottage and closes the door behind him. "and the lilac bush in the back is blooming now."
"When'd you get the icebox?" He asks her.
"Ahh, the day after the picnic." He always was one to notice every single new thing. "I figured that with you all stopping by occasionally; I could keep food a bit longer. The well still works, but this is more convenient." Kate grabs an onion from a basket and tosses it to him, which he catches with one hand as he places her cup of tea in the sink. "Peel and chop that please."
"You're putting this in mashed potatoes?" He asked as he removes his coat and drapes it on the edge of a nearby chair.
"No." She laughs as she pulls out some pork and tortillas. "I'm making tacos."
He stopped mid peel and studied her carefully. "What the Hell are tacos?"
Kate laughed. "A traditional Mexican dish. It's fast and simple."
"You know how to cook Mexican food?"
"Yes, remember, I lived in the Western part of the states. There's a lot of people sharing their Mexican influence and I was only too happy to learn." He looked at the tortillas curiously. "Those are tortillas, I made them from scratch. It's very therapeutic for me to make tortillas, when I'm stressed." She glanced at him. "Would you like some tea? Coffee?"
"Got anything stronger?"
She shakes her head. "No. As you know…I have those occasional days and I prefer to face them without alcohol."
He smiles faintly. "In that case, I'll take the coffee."
Kate set the kettle on to start boiling as they worked in compatible silence. Thomas finished chopping his onion before she even started cooking the pork, so he stood there watching her as she worked. She smiled slightly, not minding the feeling of his eyes on her. As she added a handful of his onions, he stepped closer to her.
She tried not to show that his closeness unnerved her as she reached for the spices. He peered over her shoulder as she reached for the paprika, cumin and chili powder. She twitched as he placed a hand on her hip. "I'm not familiar with those spices." His voice was right by her ear, tempting her to almost look at him, but she didn't dare risk it, knowing he'd be too close.
"I picked them up in Arizona." She cleared her throat. "You guys probably never had spicy food."
He could feel him shaking his head as he shifted a little closer to her. "Not really."
"I'll," she swallowed hard after clearing her throat. "make it mild for you."
"Smells good though."
"Thank you." She croaked out as she tried to concentrate on the task at hand. However, his hand kept creeping from her hip to her waist was distracting her. She let out gasp as he pressed her against him, her stomach jumped up in her throat.
"Breathe," she inhaled and exhaled. However, the feeling wasn't dissipating much. "that's it." he wrapped his second arm around her waist in a cradle and she understood what he was doing. He chuckled as he felt her relax. "I'm just holding you."
"I'm not used to this." He rested his chin on her collarbone. "I never understood this kind of thing."
He laughed lightly. "Really? Didn't your loving parents hold onto each other like this?"
She groaned. "Yes, constantly. It was a little annoying."
"Really? The lady who writes romance novels, found her loving parents annoying?"
She swallowed hard. "First off, my parents were always up to something in a romantic sense. One never knew to expect when round a corner! Besides, my novels are simply good paying rubbish and a lady has to support herself."
"How'd you ever get your…well paying rubbish to be bought?"
"A friend of mine took a story I lent her to a publisher. He loved it and he wanted more stories. When Emmett passed, he let me stay in his villa in Italy for some time to recover."
"Kind of him." He was silent for a moment before asking. "How old was he?"
Kate laughed. "As old as my grandfather, he didn't want anything." He let out a soft snort. He then buried a kiss in her neck, causing her to jump, but his grip didn't allow for her to move anywhere. "What about your parents?" His mouth stilled on her neck and his grip tightened. She knew it was a touchy subject, but it halted his advances for a moment. "They lovingly affection towards each other?"
"No." He continued trailing kisses on her neck. "He seemed to only really around to knock her up, then leave again."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Only good thing to come of them, was her dying." She could hear the bitterness and knew that this wasn't the entire story. "He couldn't hurt her anymore and she got some rest. Happiest day of my life when he finally f**king died."
She exhaled deeply as she set her hand atop of his. "I wish I could be like you."
"How so?"
"Able to turn off my feelings about people I should be obligated to care about." She exhaled. "I may have separated from my father and brother, but I do miss them and visit them once in a while…in spite of all the grief in the past."
"Be the way you are Kate." He moved his hand slowly up her waist, causing her to grip his fingers tightly as he neared her breast.
"Thomas."
"Shh," he ghosted his hand up towards her side, skating dangerously close to her breast, but he didn't touch her there. Once his hand rested on her shoulder, she exhaled deeply until he turned her around to face him. Kate felt the blood rise to her cheeks as he studied her intensely. Those penetrating cold blue eyes seem to hold her pinned in place. "just gonna kiss you…if you don't mind."
"I'm really bad at it." The words skated out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn't know, she wanted to deter him and that was the only thought that was in her mind now.
Thomas cupped her face in his hands. "You're not."
The heat jumped into her face at his quiet words as their lips touched. She wasn't used to these types of kisses, kisses that made her heart still in her chest. His hands stayed on her waist and shoulder, but as the kiss grew deeper and more passionate, his hands moved as he pressed her closer to him. Her nervous stomach tied itself into a huge knot as he aligned his hips opposite hers.
As his lips traveled from the mouth to the side of her neck, Kate let out a moan as she released all the pent up air inside her. She hadn't even noticed she'd been holding her breath! His hand moved from her shoulder into her hair, which she'd forgotten to pin up this morning. She inhaled deeply as she grasped onto his muscular forearms for support. These sensations were new and she liked them, in spite of that little bit of fear which was warning her that this needed to stop now before it went too far.
Thomas's lips slowly traveled back up her neck to her mouth. His hands encouragingly guided her hands towards his shoulders. Kate gripped his shoulders tightly as his lips touched hers again. She shuddered the kisses grew deeper and more passionate.
Kate's hands limply dropped from his shoulders to his waist as he locked an arm around her waist, pressing her against the counter. She let out a moan, then a yelp when Thomas dared to move his hips forward against hers. Her mind screamed that this was wrong and she needed to get away from him before he compromised her further. However, Kate was curious, she'd never felt or know anything this powerful in her life. She wanted more of it. She wanted more of him. He held onto her tighter, coaxing her mouth open into a deeper kiss and she responded.
Kate inhaled sharply; her nose detected the scent of burning meat, causing her to wrench away from him. Her elbow managed to hit him hard in the ribs, causing him to let out a grunt of pain as she pushed past him to grab the skillet. She grabbed the skillet handle, which was hot and resulted in burning her hand. "Ouch!"
"Here," he grabbed a hold of handle with the rag. "I got this."
"I can't believe I burned our dinner."
"It happens Kate." He steps towards her and looks at her hand. "How's the hand?"
"It's alright. I'm sorry, I ruined our dinner and I hit you too, I am so sorry," he began shaking his head. "I know, you're trying to be romantic-
"Kate-
She couldn't stop babbling. "And you're so patient with me while I'm rebuffing your advances. I know, you're more experienced than I am, and I'm so naive-
"Kate," he gripped her shoulders. "it's alright."
"No, it's not alright." She exhaled raggedly. "You must be very frustrated with me."
He chuckled. "Kate, you have no idea how tempting you are to a man like me."
She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Sure, I'm quite the prize." She said sarcastically.
"I'm serious. I'm assuming your mother told you that a man enjoys a good chase." She nods. "Well, this is it," he trailed his hand down her cheek. "I'm enjoying the chase."
"I'm not a game," she whispered. "Thomas Shelby."
"No, you're not." His eyes roved over her face as he trails a finger down her cheek. "I am going to remember this moment for a long time."
"Why on earth would you remember a moment like this?"
"Because, you look so f**king cute when you're frazzled, Kate." He kissed her lightly on the nose. "Come on; let's check on your dinner. I'm sure many a dinner has been burned in such a manner throughout history."
Kate laughed and shook her head. "You scoundrel."
Lil'Sparrow7: Thank you very much. The first stories always need a bit of a rewrite and this one was desperate for one. I'm glad you're enjoying it, stay tuned for more! I'll be posting 6 new chapters, daily.
