After Ela had helped Frances with John's children, the older woman introduced her to Charlie.
He was about four years old, blond, and blue-eyed, but most likely he would have inherited them from his mother as his fathers were a different shade altogether, but the boy did have the prominent cheekbones of Mr. Shelby.
He was a shy charming little boy and Ela fell in love with him immediately.
-"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Dawson," he said in the most adorable little voice, hiding slightly behind Frances and Ela melted for him.
-"You can call me Ela honey, I'm sure we'll be great friends," she said offering her hand to him, which he took with a bit of hesitation at first.
-"Why don't we accompany Frances to the kitchen so she can help us with some of her famous marmalade on toast" With that the boy's eyes sparkled and he nodded his head rapidly.
Yeup, he had caught her heart.
Frances smiled at the pair, and the three of them walked to the kitchen together.
As they made their way in, her eyes met the strong figure of Thomas Shelby by the counter speaking in a small voice with Polly, who returned her look immediately, and she averted her eyes immediately looking at Charlie instead, who in a second was running toward his father.
-"Dad!" the boy said excitedly.
-"Hello my boy" the man greeted him while bending to pick up the boy in his arms, with such love and the first smile Ela had seen from him erupted from his lips. She thought he had never looked more beautiful "Enjoy your time with your uncles?"
-"Yes Dad, we fed Uncle Arthur's goats, and ran with the dogs on the farm, and Linda made sandwiches for us" The boy made a hurried recount of the activities of the day and Polly smiled endearingly at his excitement.
-"Well, that sounds great my son, you sure smell farm-like, after dinner Miss Dawson will make sure you get a good bath," he said making a quick gesture toward the woman.
-"You should call her Ela Dad, I am" Charlie stated matter of factly and Polly had to hold back the laugh at the embarrassed expression from Ela and the lack of response from Thomas, who only put the child on the floor.
-"Here you go Master Charlie," Frances handed him the toast wrapped in a napkin and the boy ran to the dining room. Frances following after him with some trays of food. Leaving Ela in the room with Thomas and Polly, she bowed her head and excused herself to leave.
-"Ela dear, what's this package? a maid told us she saw you holding it before" Polly spoke preventing the girl from leaving the room where the tension had built up quickly.
She turned around and remembered the present.
Letting go of as much fear as she could, she took the offering in her hands and turned to look at the man standing near her.
-"Mr. Shelby, this is a present from Mr. Salomons, he said you would be most welcome to pay him a visit in Camden Town having been too long since your last" Tommy took the package ripping it open to find a fine new brand of Whiskey from Salomon's distillery wrapped in it.
Polly eyed it knowing it meant business, and decided to leave them alone much against Ela's pleading face.
-"What were your Impressions of Mr. Salomons in your stay with him, Miss Dawson?" Tommy asked while still eyeing the bottle.
Ela considered her words carefully as if to not get in trouble with too much honesty, nor too little as if evading the question.
-"He's a man dedicated to his business, more fond of Opera than most, with a sharp mind, eccentric tastes, and a nice hand for baked goods" she announced trying to hold his gaze without faltering.
-"You're fond of him" That almost sounded like a question but she knew it was not "His impressions on you I wonder what they'd be" another phrase not built as in a question, but this time she decided to answer.
-"He'd probably say I'm a foolish woman that believes the Irish bake a better product than his own" and somehow after saying it, her confidence peaked by seeing the tiniest hint of a smirk peaking on the edge of his mouth.
-"Let's hope he has kinder words than foolish about the woman who'll be taking care of my son" he teased and Ela liked the edge of his voice.
-"I hope you make your own impression of me and my job Mr. Shelby, trust your own instincts".
-"My instincts, are the only way I lead my life by Miss Dawson" he stepped closer to her, and she felt a chill creep up her back while a rush of adrenaline ran through her senses, but he only placed the bottle on the counter behind her back and with a smirk he walked from the kitchen to join his family in the dinning room, leaving her alone and breathless in the room.
The first two weeks had been the hardest for Ela, between building a teaching plan for Charlie, getting to know his schedule of activities to accompany him, getting him interested in the subjects she would be teaching him, and preventing any unnecessary run-ins with his father proved to be a struggle.
But by the third week, she had accommodated nicely to her duties and workdays, not doing much more than reading, walking Charlie to the sweet shop in the Village on Saturdays, and accompanying the maids to church on Sundays.
After Mr. Shelby had informed her he would not be making any changes to her contract and both had signed it, she had not seen much of him, and whenever she felt his strong scent in the house, despite her instincts to chase it, she would walk the opposite direction to avoid him as much as possible, which had not gone unnoticed by him, and although he would hunt her smell around the house in some occasion to bump into her inadvertently and cause her to squirm for his own amusement, he had let her take her measures to avoid him.
Not only had he noticed the change in manners from Charlie around the house, and his newfound likeness of sharing random literature facts during dinner and complying with his chores to hear Ela's stories as a reward before bed; but after his visit to Camden Town he noticed Alfie and Edna's keen interest in knowing more about the girl after the letters they had been exchanging with her, it was a firm testament to the good impression she had left with them and the connection they had built; even when visiting his Uncle's metal scrap yard, Curly had inquired about her quickly, saying she had been kind and amusing while he had chaperoned her around. Not to mention Polly's and Ada's constant comments and laughs about the conversations they had with her on the phone over the weekends and late afternoons.
Day by day it was making him unsettled that everyone in his life seemed to know the woman better than himself when she slept four doors down the hall from him; and after Arthur and John who had not been in Arrow House for weeks told him to let her know how much they had enjoyed the pie she had baked and sent over days before, he had enough.
It was time for the dynamics to change.
He was his employer, his son was under her care, she was staying under his roof, and he was the one barely enduring her scent day in and day out.
It was only logical he got to know the woman and discover what had everyone so enraptured by her.
It was not hard to guess it tho, he had seen her around; heard her with Charlie, Frances, the maids, and cooks.
She was charming, liked to listen to everyone's problems, and tried to help in whichever way she could, she was funny and witty making everyone feel safe and welcome.
He knew there was strong tension between them due to their animalistic sides, his to dominate, hers to please. But the wall she had built around her, and he had allowed, was high enough. He would make it his mission to tear it down.
Midday Saturday Ela was making sure Charlie was ready as she had promised to take him on a picnic for lunch just the two of them outside the state, and in the countryside where there was a nearby river. The sun was peaking from the sky, it was a hot afternoon perfect for the plan she had asked Mr. Shelby permission to organize, and he had quickly agreed without giving it much thought.
Ela picked up the basket with the meals she had prepared, and noticed Charlie was outside already waiting for her, she smiled and shook her head loving the boy's excitement.
Just as they were making their way to leave, Tommy's car went through the entrance and Charlie hurried to the door to greet his father, who took him in his arms to hear everything the little boy had to say about her plans with Ela for the afternoon.
-"Is that right my boy? Well those plans sound wonderful" he said to the toddler, but looking to the woman who was approaching the vehicle looking anywhere but his eyes.
-"Yes Dad, we're leaving now, we'll walk there" the boy excitedly said.
-"No need my son, I'll drive you, I believe I'll be joining you for the afternoon" he announced and the boy couldn't be more thrilled to hear the news.
Ela on the other hand could almost shake at the thought. When she had requested his approval, he hadn't mentioned his intention to join them to at least prepare her for it, and although she had more than enough food for three people, lack of lunch to suffice them was the last thing she had to be concerned about.
-"C'mon Miss Dawson, let's not waste time for the adventure to begin, right Charlie?" the boy cheered and called out for Ela to hurry to the car.
She managed to walk without her knees buckling, Tommy had put Charlie and the basket on the backseat and walked around to open Ela's door, offering a hand for her to step inside, it took her a moment to take it, fearful of the proximity, but refusing his gesture would only be seen as rude, for the brief second their fingers touched she felt the electricity enrapture her body and tried to calm herself quickly breathing through her mouth to prevent his scent to affect her as much since the minty cream on her would not work as well as it had the past weeks having him on such close proximity.
Tommy was enjoying himself too much watching her fidget with her dress in the seat next to him, even when he was having more than a hard time adjusting to the strong pheromones of fear and longing pouring from her within a feet of distance.
God he had missed having her so close, her scent was like no other, sweet and irresistible, not even Grace's smell streamed as strongly as Ela's, neither caused the effect on him he was experiencing at the moment.
Ela was thankful Charlie filled the silence with his remarks on the view and what he'd like to do as soon as they arrived because it would have been misery to ride in silence with the tension she was sure both she and Thomas were going through. Conversation was not the best route to go down either, as her brain would most likely betray her on displaying her nature's desires, so she limited herself to replying to Charlie with lovely responses to his every comment.
After they arrived at their destination, Ela made a point of getting out of the car quickly and by herself to prevent another touch of Tommy, and a smirk played visibly on his lips at her rushed motions.
She set the picnic and settled Charlie to eat, raising her eyebrows at him lovingly when he attempted to eat with his hands instead of the silverware she had passed on; he immediately relented and ate properly winning a smile from her.
Tommy could only consider how easily she was able to manage a wild four-year-old, yet took it so hard to speak two words his way.
After they were done eating, Charlie ran wildly away from them to the nearby trees and to roll in the grass, leaving Ela and Tommy far alone.
Ela's heart quickly raced as the man sat closer to her, her body stiffened.
He offered her a cigarette knowing it would calm her nerves, and her system desperately needed it, just like his.
She accepted it gracefully.
-"You seem to have taken an interest in my family, Miss Dawson, and my business associates" It had been a while since Ela had heard his non-questions, and hearing them again, especially with his low manly voice sent a shiver through her body. But she was tired of making a fool of herself by being affected by everything he said and did; although it took all her strength she pulled herself together to have a normal conversation with the man. He was his boss and Charlie's father anyway and it was long overdue they behaved normally around each other.
-"As have they in me Mr. Shelby, they are the most gracious people, I'm happy we get along so well" It was true, she had been in constant contact with the Shelby brothers, Ada and Polly too, and while not visiting Alfie and Edna yet, she had enjoyed corresponding back and forth with them.
-"And yet you seem to have made it a point in evading me altogether," he said with no reproach in his voice, only stating the facts.
-"You're my employer, Mr. Shelby, I would think it inappropriate to establish more than a professional relationship with you" She tried to cover the real reason for her avoidance, although she believed her words, there was more to it than behaving professionally to keep their distance.
-"Ant yet you bake pies and have hour-long conversations with my siblings" Now his voice did have a hint of reproach.
-"I apologize if I've stepped out of the line Mr. Shelby, If you deem it more acceptable, I'll limit my contact with your close ones" Maybe he was right to be perturbed, she was engaging too much with his relatives, keeping in touch almost as much as her own friends back in London. Under his gaze, it could be seen as inappropriate.
-"That would only cause them all to turn on me Miss Dawson, I would never hear the end of it from Ada; the relationship you have built with them doesn't trouble me," he said calmly staring at the sky after exhaling the nicotine.
-"In that case, I don't fully understand what you're asking of me Mr. Shelby," she said honestly not comprehending his train of thought.
-"Walking around the house as if it were a maze trying to escape me at every turn is not what I'd call professional behavior, wouldn't you agree Miss Dawson?" so he had noticed, Ela blushed furiously at how evident she had been.
-"Disturbing you in your own house wouldn't be prudent on my part Mr. Shelby, if it upset you I apologize," she said in a small voice while he watched her closely.
-"Is that what it has been Miss Dawson? preventing from disturbing me by looking over your shoulder when you know I'm home are certainly measures I had not considered for employers in the past, here I was thinking simply being respectful and minding their own business was enough" He said looking at her in the eye and not letting her eyes move from the place he wanted them, his features strong and inquisitioning, only softened by the smirk on his lips, he was done with bullshit excuses, and although he enjoyed watching her scramble her head to come up with more pretenses he would simply discard as easily as he just had, he loved making her uncomfortable but wanted to have a real conversation with the woman next to him.
-"Mr. Shelby, I'll be candid" she began with newfound confidence elicited by her boss's bluntness "You must know, that is, you're quite aware of the difficultness it causes us both to be around each other; when I say I'm trying to avert disruptions in the house I'm telling the truth".
-"And why is that Miss Dawson? The difficulties as you so cleverly point out" Now a mischievous sparkle played in his eyes, he was on a task to make her blush.
-"You wish to make me uncomfortable Sir" she retorted looking at Charlie in the distance.
-"Speaking to somebody, your boss no less, without looking him in the eye and abstaining from answering a question don't seem to match with your description of professional behavior, or is hiding from me in my own house your sole accurate description of it Miss Dawson?" He had her where he wanted her, insulting the education of a noblewoman such as herself, would bring her to the edge of upsetness.
But that same education would prevent her from lashing out at him.
-"Not at all Mr. Shelby, you're right, my mistake" Ela's eyes burned with fire looking directly at him while articulating her response in the softest voice she could find in her repertoire "The difficultness is born from our equally shared natures from opposite sides of the spectrum".
Her need to use technical terms to describe their biological situation amused him.
"So much easier to be honest with each other I find it Miss Dawson, I enjoy our chats; I can understand why my family and friends do too, we must make them a regular event," he said with a smile standing up to chase after his son and making him giggle by catching and lifting him in the air, while leaving Ela panting from their talk but feeling much more relaxed around him too, even a smile creeping up her lips.
Ela watched them in the distance, Charlie laughing away feeling the greatest level of contentment having his father by his side in playfulness.
Thomas Shelby looked different away from the house, away from his business, and around his son. Out in the sun, his black hair shined brightly and his eyes sparkled like crystals, much more beautiful than the fanciest jewels could ever aspire to look.
Ela found herself admiring him in the new light with different thoughts in mind. How great of a father he was, even knowing he would have work pilled up for him upon their return, he didn't seem to care, paying attention only to his son.
At one point, Mr. Shelby got close to the river dipping his hand in the cool water to have a drink of it, and Charlie made his way to attempt his climb on a tree. Ela took the chance to start re-packing the basket, but as she looked up fear welled her body. Charlie had managed to climb too high up the tree and was balancing on the thinnest branch, without a second thought she ran to him, and called out his name in fear. Tommy glanced up at once and saw the scene unfold; just as she was reaching the tree the branch cracked and Charlie screamed.
Ela got in time to catch Charlie while Tommy ran to them, she had the boy in her arms but in her movement to prevent him from hitting himself she had slid to her knees to get hold of him, she panted and checked on the boy asking him for any pain worriedly to make sure he was alright. But he didn't have a scratch.
Tommy got to their side and knelt.
-"Charles, you can't be so careless! Mrs. Dawson, are you alright?" The boy looked down at his hands, tears of shame pooling in his eyes at his father's angry outburst.
Ela was about to stand up to reassure her boss she was alright when she winced at the pain, her stockings had ripped on the knees from sliding and a branch from the ground had made a cut near her ankle.
She let go of Charlie and sat up to look at the damage.
The boy felt too much guilt seeing how his caretaker had been injured and was afraid for her. Tommy just closed his eyes knowing if it had been up to him, he would have let the boy take the tumble, just like in his own childhood, learning to be careful and taking the necessary hits to understand it was a part of life to assess a decision better. But he understood that Ela's heart would never let the boy get hurt if she could do anything to prevent it. She was too gentle.
Ela sat, resting her back against the trunk to assess what to do. It was hard to tell how bad was the cut with her shoes and stockings on, the blood staining them quickly.
Tommy instructed Charlie to get one of the containers from the basket, clean it, and fill it with water from the river.
The boy ran and did what he was told.
-"Miss Dawson, we'll have to remove those to clean you up," he said pointing at the pantyhose.
Suddenly the pain in her legs disappeared and panic filled her system at the thought of removing any clothing item in front of the man.
He felt the rush of immense fear and shame from her pheromones and knew it was not going to be an easy discussion.
-"No Mr. Shelby I can fix myself when we arrive at Arrow House," she said with complete terror in her eyes.
-"By that time you might have gotten the wounds infected from the dirt, let me help you," he said pointedly not wanting to debate it any longer.
-"Sir I appreciate the help, but when I said earlier I don't want to disturb you, this is exactly what I meant" She was right, she was done arguing about the subject too. Not only was it the fact that she would be removing her clothes, that her scent, her reaction would surely trigger his own, but she didn't want him to see what lay at her feet.
-"Miss Dawson, I'm not discussing this further, remove them," he said almost with a snarl in his voice. She was frightened and her instinct to please wanted to agree but her shame grew wider by the second.
-"No Sir," she said not able to look him in the eye.
Her defiance had been enough and not being one to take refusal from anyone, the rage filled Tommy's system and ran like wildfire; his eyes got black.
-"Ela, do as you're told!" his command voice came out as a roar.
Charlie was startled, not ever hearing it from his father, he stepped back not knowing what it meant or what it was for, but he noticed Ela changed at the moment.
Ela's nature would not be able to deny him any further, her head popped up looking at him directly and her eyes became dark with lust and desire to do whatever he wanted. For him to take anything he wanted from her. The little part of her brain that was still conscious spoke.
-"Charlie Love, help me pack the basket and get to the car please," he obeyed quickly knowing the exchange between the two adults was serious. When he was far away she removed her shoes and slowly pulled up her dress just above her knees for her fingers to find the garments' clasp on both her legs and unhook it diligently, then she took each of the hosieries down carefully.
Tommy watched her, attentive to her every movement. He had intended to use his command voice but her reaction had been so grand to it, while he watched her do what he wanted he knew he could demand anything as she would comply. He could instruct her to lay on the ground on her hands and knees and she would let him take her from behind in whichever way he pleased, the thought of seeing her in that position, no restrictions, no hesitation to satisfy him, obeying his demands submissively, anything that would please him would be the only thing she cared for, made him grow hard in a second.
But it made him feel like a bastard too, knowing he would have complete control over her and her nature would only agree, and he could without thinking not about the Omega, but the woman in front of him.
It took all his strength, but he regained control of his senses, now it was his time to breathe through his mouth as her scent was pouring want and yearning for him, even in the open air there was no way to hide what she desired, and his own musk was telling her he wanted to give in.
But then he noticed, probably the other reason why she had not wanted to remove her clothes.
The soles of her feet were covered in scars upon scars, of all sizes and shapes. They were fully healed, but too evident not to notice with a simple glance, as if someone had waited for old ones to heal just to imprint new ones on top.
Without thinking we traced his fingers on them and as she was coming back to her senses, her self-consciousness and embarrassment filled her body.
To advert further discomfort from her, feeling protective of her privacy all of a sudden, Tommy took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket, dipped it in the water container, and cleaned her knees carefully one by one. She winced a little at the sensation but was glad he had not commented on what he had seen and touched. On her part, she could not manage a word to come out of her mouth.
He then examined the cut on her ankle while cleaning the blood it was gushing and noticed it was not deep, no stitches were needed, and it would heal probably without a scar, lord knew she didn't need another one.
For a second leaning in closely, he thought about tracing his tongue alongside her injuries, the animalistic part of his brain deeming to protect her knew the enzymes in his saliva would make the cuts heal better, and selfishly he would get to taste the droplets of her maiden blood.
She realized his intentions and although her leg muscles hardened with angst her nature also made her push her leg further in offering, he looked at her, cheeks blushed, strings of her pinned-up hair had come loose and they were framing her beautiful face, her full lips parted and flushed; his cock twitched in his trousers at the sight and her invitation, and knew it would send them both on overdrive to share any fluids. They were caught up enough sharing the same air. With all his willpower he sighted and abstained from it.
When she was fully clean he stood up and offered a hand to help her stand as well. As their skins touched Ela blushed for the hundredth time that day, and thanked him for his help bowing her head further since looking at him any longer would be too much for her after the intimate moment they had shared, he only made an agreement sound gathering her clothes swiftly and handing them over.
She walked barefoot to the car where without a word he helped her up before going to his seat.
As they drove off, none of them uttered a word, their senses were still coming down from the high they had gone through.
And once again it was Charlie who broke the silence with his small innocent voice.
-"Ela, I'm sorry to have caused you harm, please forgive me," he said leaning to the front seat and offering her some flowers he had picked up.
Her heart melted at the sweetness of the boy.
-"Oh my love, don't you worry, I'm alright, it wouldn't have been an adventure without a bit of a scare. It's all forgiven," she said taking the flowers and stroking his cheek sweetly. The boy felt more than relieved hearing her lovely voice return.
Tommy smiled without saying anything, realizing Ela was helping raise Charlie like a gentleman.
As they made their way to the mansion, Tommy instructed Charlie to fetch Frances and tell her Ela would need help getting into the house and to aid her with the injuries. The boy nodded and got out of the car quickly in his seek for the housekeeper.
Tommy helped Ela get out of the car as well, holding her gaze although he had let go of her hand.
-"I believe Miss Dawson, after today's events we can stop playing cat and mouse around the house," he said with a smirk knowing they had discovered although hard, they could interact and contain themselves even if just by a fine thread of reason from overstepping onto something dangerous.
Ela smiled at him and agreed quickly knowing he was right.
Frances approached them gasping as she saw Ela's legs and the cuts she had endured from a simple outing, and Ela turned her back to Tommy to make her way to the house.
Before Frances got too close Tommy put his hand on the nanny's shoulder and leaned in close to her ear sending an adrenaline rush to her core.
-"It can be a dangerous game. I'm sure you wouldn't want to know what happens to the mouse when is under the cat's hold".
Frances took Ela carefully by the elbows and helped her in, Tommy leaned against the car watching as Ela walked to the house not missing how her knees buckled with the first few steps. Smiling to himself knowing her wounds were not to blamed.