I woke up to John placing slow kiss down my neck and shoulder. I smiled and sighed with contentment, letting him know I was awake. "Good morning, Mrs Shelby." he whispered, placing a kiss to my forehead, then my nose then my lips. "Good morning, Mr Shelby." I responded, opening my eyes. I took in his face as a few streams of light crept in through the not quite closed curtains. We had been married just over a week now and we were happier than ever.
Being nine weeks pregnant was starting to take its toll on my body and the early pregnancy exhaustion, as Polly called it, had definitely taken hold over the last few days. Although it wasn't a big issue, it did mean later mornings and earlier nights. John seemed to be benefiting the most from the situation as, even though my energy had taken a dive, my sex drive was higher than ever. "How long until you need to go downstairs?" I asked, trailing my fingers along his bare chest. "How long do you want?" he replied, placing his hand under my chin and tilting my face to look at him. He paused for a moment before pressing his lips to mine.
I quickly deepened the kiss, pressing my body against his and placing a hand on the back of his head. I could feel his excitement press against me through my thin nightgown. His hand left my chin, trailing down my body before grabbing my thigh and pulling it up to his hip. In one quick movement, I pushed him onto his back and used the momentum to lift myself onto him, straddling his waist. We continued to kiss heavily as his hands made the journey down my body and to the edge of my nightgown, pulling it up so it gathered at my hips. He groaned slightly when he felt the soft flesh of my inner thigh against him. I smiled and pulled away from him, sitting up straight as I positioned myself above him.
His eyes watched me, hungry, as I slowly lowered myself onto him. My mouth opened slightly as I encompassed him, fighting back a moan as I took him in. He watched me closely as I slowly moved up and down on him, knowing it was driving him crazy. John let me do it a few more times before sitting up to reach me, wrapping me up in his arms and moving me against him. It was a position we had perfected as it made the headboard bang the least. I couldn't help but let out a moan at the sudden change of speed and masked it by biting into his shoulder, knowing the rest of the house would be busy. He moved all the curls from one side of my neck before placing hungry kisses along my neck, shoulder and collarbone causing me to moan into his shoulder again. My hands were at his back and neck, keeping him close to me as he kept a fast but steady rhythm inside me.
Suddenly, the door crashed open. "Fuckin hell!" Arthur shouted as we both came to a quick stop. I fought back a laugh as I rested my forehead on Johns shoulder before looking over mine. "Morning, Arthur." I called, as he quickly turned and closed the door again. John chuckled beneath me and was grinning when I turned back to him. "Well, no point bein' quiet now." he told me before flipping me on my back, earning a squeal. His hungry lips came back to mine as he pushed inside me from this new angle, holding my thigh against his hip with one hand and the other under my shoulder, pulling me down onto him. My hand went to his side and his neck as he knocked the breath out of me, quickly building the orgasm inside me. My hands clenched into him as I found release, tensing around him and moaning into him as he released inside me.
Breathing heavily, he rolled over beside me, pulling me into his chest as he caught his breath. "We have got to move out." I told him, placing my head on him and working on controlling my own breathing. John chuckled. "Ah, it's only Arthur." he laughed, absentmindedly stroking my hair. "That's the third time this week, John." I told him, fighting back my own laugh. "The cottage isn't going to be ready for a while but I'll speak to Pol about getting somewhere round here. Somewhere just for us." he told me, kissing the top of my head. "C'mon, let's go get me some food." I said, sitting up to give John a kiss before getting out of bed.
It didn't take long for us to get dressed, although my dark green skirt that I had paired with a black blouse was starting to get a bit tighter around my stomach. I decided to leave my usual heels off for now, choosing to go down just with my stockings protecting my feet. John pulled the chair out from the table for me as we joined Polly and Arthur in the kitchen. "You two need a bloody lock on that door." Arthur said, looking up from his paper at us. "It would be alright if that door was the only problem." Polly told him, shaking her head at John and I as she gave us each some tea. "In our defense, we did tell Scudboat to go home." John told her, sitting next to me. She shook her head, fighting a smile.
I took a sip of my tea before turning to Polly. "Did you see Ada this morning?" I asked. She shook her head, "She still won't open the door to me." she told me, taking a seat at the table and lighting a cigarette. "I was thinking of going and doing a bit of shopping so I'll call in on her on the way, see if that'll coax her out." I told her, drinking some more of my tea. "Take George and Robert with you." Arthur told me, gesturing to two of the newest Peaky Blinder recruits in the shop. "George! Robert! Get in here!" Arthur shouted. The boys looked surprised to be invited into the kitchen but came obediently, taking off their caps as they came through the doorway. "You're going to take Evelyn to do what she needs to do today." Polly told them, taking a drag from her cigarette.
The boys looked nervously between John and Arthur, obviously waiting for one of them to tell them the real reason they'd be following me around all day. "It's alright, Arthur. You can give them the full brief." I laughed, sitting back in my chair. Arthur narrowed his eyes at me before turning towards the boys. "You are not to let her out of your sight, do ya hear me? One of you by her side at all times. You do not let anyone get near her and if she comes back with one hair out of place, you'll both be in the cut. Understood?" Arthur told him, staring the pair down. I fought back a laugh and John bumped his knee into mine. "Done?" I smiled at Arthur, he nodded going back to his paper. I stood up and went to stand between the two boys. "Which one of you is best at fighting?" I asked the pair, they looked confused and didn't answer. I could see John and Polly trying not to laugh. "C'mon boys. It's not that hard. I just want to know which one of you is better at fighting?" I laughed. Neither of them responded again. "You two need to find your bloody balls. Robert beat George the other day." John laughed. I nodded, turning to George. "You can carry my bags then." I smiled before giving John a kiss on the cheek and heading upstairs to fetch some shoes.
Although I wasn't happy to have two teenage babysitters, I was happy to be out of the house. We had only made it halfway down Watery Lane when I turned to George and Robert. "Why are you walking behind me?" I questioned, looking up at the two. George shrugged. "We thought that would be better, Mrs Shelby." Robert replied. I rolled my eyes at the pair, "You can walk beside me, one either side. Then it might actually look like you are meant to be with me rather than stalking me." I told them, turning and waiting for them to step in line next to me. "And call me Evie." I added. I set off again, one either side.
I stopped them again once we had made it to Adas building. "Right, you two wait here. I won't be long." I told them before going towards the door. "But Arthur said one of us should be with you at all times." George protested. I rolled my eyes at them. "Listen, we can do this one of two ways. You can both wait here and I'll be back in five minutes and I'll tell my lovely husband and his wonderful brother and aunt that you two were the perfect gentlemen, who kept a respectable distance the whole time. Or you can insist you come in with me and I will have to tell my very protective husband that you both followed me into the changing rooms in Eliza's dress shop." I told them, giving them a sweet smile. They looked at each other before turning to me and nodding. "That's what I thought, boys. Won't be long." I smiled, turning and entering the building.
I stopped at the bottom of the steps, looking up to make sure neither of the boys followed. The basket that Polly had brought earlier was still in the hall. I knocked on the door and could hear the baby crying through the thin walls. "Ada, it's me Evie!" I called through the door. There was no answer. "I was just heading to the bullring to do some shopping, thought you'd like to come. Ya know, stretch your legs and get some fresh air." Still no answer. "C'mon, Ada. Please. It's me." I pleaded. I waited a few more minutes. "If you change your mind, you know where I'll be." I conceded. "I miss you, Ada. We all do." I told her before turning and climbing the stairs.