The Slayer and the Blinder

by StoryQueen2

Maddie is 2020's current chosen one: The vampire slayer. Until she is pulled through time to 1924 and the world of the infamous Peaky Blinders. Years and dates are an estimation so don't judge me too harshly! Initial slow burn romance with some eventual regular smut so read at own risk.

12. Pleasure and Pain

Tommy ran his hand over the smooth sheets of the bed next to him, searching for the supple warmth of Maddie's body, but his hand simply skidded over the chilly empty space where she should have been. He dragged his eyes open reluctantly and squinted at the light that had started to peek through the curtains; he turned his head to the side and scrutinised the vacant space next to him. He debated whether he had imagined the events of the previous evening and hadn't actually fallen asleep with her in his arms, but then he caught the scent of her hair on his pillow and sighed with relief that it hadn't all just been a wonderful dream.

He remembered the feeling of her skin in his hands and the taste or her on his tongue, feeling his blood surging back to his groin at the memory. It had been a long enough wait and Tommy felt the happiest he had been in months; a new sense of peace filled him which meant he had also had the best night's sleep he'd had in recent memory. He sat up in bed and smiled to himself before swinging his legs out of bed and getting up to check the bathroom for Maddie.

The muscles all over his body actually ached, although it was a pleasant satisfied ache. If there was one thing that Tommy should have expected it was Maddie's impressive stamina, and the woman certainly had an endless supply. If he was being totally honest with himself, he had struggled to keep up with her, something that he had never experienced before with any other woman. He was usually used to being the one in control, the dominant force dictating what happened and manipulating things the way he liked them. However, she had turned that on its head and had led him along a merry chase despite his efforts to the contrary. The game they had played last night had ultimately led to his embarrassing defeat; although he would never forget the look on her face as he had fondled her leg under the table. Tommy would definitely be using that trick again in the future.

Tommy wandered into the bathroom and found it empty and he wondered where Maddie had gone before he realised that she would be in her new training room. He had been extremely relieved and glad that she had loved her new space, seeing her smile light up her features after seeing her previously so deflated and bereft of hope was a welcome sight after the hell she had put him through the previous night. Tommy had fretted and paced around that endless night, the likelihood of him vomiting with the stress increasing with each passing hour. He had expected himself to be furious when Ada had phoned to say Maddie had come home, but all he felt was the desire to see her and make sure she was alright.

Now that they knew that Maddie was staying, Tommy was sure it was going to be slightly easier for her with somewhere for her to think of as a sanctuary. It paled in comparison to the watcher's training room but Arthur and John had done an exceptional job on the room nonetheless; he had been impressed himself when he walked in and saw what they had managed to do in such a short space of time. He expected that she would be spending most of her time in there whenever at the house and if not, she would be out slaying and putting her training to good use.

Tommy got into the shower, washing away the lingering aches and tingling under his skin with the steamy water. When he returned to the room, he saw that it was still early, but they would need to leave for the office soon, so he dressed swiftly before going to find Maddie. As he left, he noticed that her clothes were still on his bedroom floor and knew that Frances would be taking great joy in telling the rest of the staff about it for the rest of the day. He hoped that Maddie hadn't walked through the house completely naked, even if part of him didn't oppose to the sight, but he noticed that the shirt he had worn the previous night was missing and assumed she had used it to cover herself. Hewent downstairs to find Frances dutifully waiting for him in the foyer as ususal.

'Your family have already left for the morning Mr Shelby. Will you be taking breakfast this morning, sir?' Frances asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

'Yes, as will Maddie. Have it ready in ten minutes.'

Tommy turned away and disappeared through the old heavy door that lead to the cellar. He could hear the periodic thuds as he walked down the dank corridor towards the training room and knew his hunch had been correct. He pushed the door open and spotted Maddie in the centre of the room with a bow in her hands, pulling the string back loaded with an arrow before releasing it. The arrow embedded into the centre of the target next to numerous others and she turned to smile sweetly at him as he approached. He was surprised to see that she was already dressed and groomed for the day and realised that she must have been up for a few hours, which explained why she had gotten up without waking him.

'Morning,' she said with a smirk and a bite of her lip.

I really wish she'd stop doing that, thought Tommy. If she was going to keep biting her lip throughout the day, he was sure he wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself for very long.

'Nice to see you making use of your new toys,' said Tommy, plucking an arrow from the quiver next to Maddie and rolling the point over his index finger.

'Not to worry, I'll have better use of them than collecting dust in some museum,' she chuckled before putting the bow down and picking up the crossbow by her feet. 'Sorry for abandoning you in bed this morning. Waking up was another realisation that I'm here and not at home. I just needed to come down here to get in the right frame of mind for the day.'

Tommy hated that Maddie was missing her home so much but was impressed by her level of self-awareness. He nodded his understanding after shrugging off her apology.

'It's alright,' he said before reaching out to grasp her arm. He ran his hand down her forearm to take hold of her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. He brushed her long hair behind her ear with the other hand before leaning down and placing a soft kiss to her lips. He felt like an addict when it came to Maddie's lips, he couldn't get enough of the warm velvety feeling of them against his own. In matter of fact, he had enjoyed the feeling of her lips on other areas of his body just as much. This renegade thought caused Tommy's blood to rush south very quickly and he abruptly cleared his throat and stepped back whilst keeping his face unphased.

'Breakfast?' he asked with a knowing quirked eyebrow.

'Did you even have to ask?' Maddie laughed before returning the bows to the cabinet and joining Tommy in the walk to the dining room.

They sat and ate breakfast together in silence, Tommy reading the day's paper rapidly and absorbing anything that may be of use to him but found the information as usual to be dreary or about something he had found out about several days prior. Soon it was time to leave and he and Maddie got their coats from Frances at the doorway as headmired how put together Maddie looked. He was used to her looking a little rough around the edges, if not completely tattered, that seeing her so clean and flawless was odd. She looked beautiful as usual, but Tommy couldn't help but miss the element of imperfection that made her Maddie.

Frances bowed her goodbye to them as they stepped out of the door and into the car waiting for them outside. Tommy began their drive into Birmingham with resolute focus on the road in front of him, but before too long his attention wandered to Maddie and the exposed skin of her calf. She had decided to wear a pair of attractive red heels and a matching deep red dress, the hem of which teasingly brushed her knee as she crossed her legs. He sighed and forced his gaze away before pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one. At this rate, the day was going to progress agonisingly slowly, and he was almost convinced that he wouldn't be able to wait until they got home before stripping her of her clothes.

'Do I get a desk?' asked Maddie chirpily and out of the blue, making Tommy blink and shook him harshly out of a daydream that involved him, Maddie, and his desk.

'Yes,' replied Tommy with a small smile, deciding this was a good opportunity to tell her more about the day ahead. 'You have a full schedule to keep you occupied, and there's a family meeting today that I want you to attend.'

Maddie turned to look at Tommy initially with shock which was quickly replaced by nervousness.

'Erm… okay,' she stuttered. 'I know that you're all fond of me and have called me a Shelby and all but, I'm not officially one.'

Tommy looked at Maddie and considered her for a moment. Indeed, she was right, he was sure certain members of his family will not be pleased with her presence at the meeting, but he wanted her there, whether certain individuals liked it or not.

'You may not have the Shelby name, but you're a part of the company and a part of the family so you'll be at the meeting, alright?'

Tommy realised he sounded more authoritative than he intended but he wanted Maddie to come into the company with confidence, which was something that she would need to survive working for a company like theirs. He was certain that the way businesses were, or rather would be run in 2020 would be considerably different to how they were run now, and he wanted her to know that she would be able to adapt as easily as he believed she would.

Maddie raised her eyebrows at Tommy amused before laughing a hesitant nervous laugh. 'Okay Tommy, you're the boss.'

When Tommy finally pulled the car up outside the office he looked over to Maddie and gave a her a small smile of encouragement before tilting his head to the side to signal for them to go inside. When he opened the door into the office they were greeted with a jubilant round of applause and cheering, and he turned to see Maddie blush bashfully as she took off her hat. Tommy realised that this was the first time she had set foot in the office since she first appeared and destroyed the place, and he guessed that she was also reminded of that incident as well.

'Welcome to the Shelby Company Ltd Mads!' yelled Arthur over the clamour.

Maddie smiled widely before thanking her fans for the warm welcome once the noise had died down.

'Come on, I'll show you around,' said Tommy, placing his hand on the small of her back as everyone returned to their work.

He guided Maddie around the office and showed her where both the illegal and legal sides of the business were run. Tommy showed her John, Polly and Arthur's offices and the main room where they took bets. She eyed up the men and women in the office with fascination as they counted money and betting slips, her face evidently betraying that she had no idea what it was they were doing. He realised he'd made the right decision in not giving her work in this area, and recalled her various comments about the differences in money between now and her time since they'd met and knew she would probably struggle with it, at least at first. He eventually led her toward the office outside his own where Lizzie and Michael also worked. They passed the new large meeting table on the way and Maddie stopped and chuckled, running her hand over the polished wooden surface.

'And this is the table you destroyed on your first day here,' she said, mocking Tommy's voice as she had done before.

'Actually, it's a new table,' said Tommy with a teasing smirk.

'Well, I promise I'll try not to break this one,' she said with a giggle. 'Emphasis on the 'try' part though.'

Tommy continued to lead Maddie into Michael's office where they found him bent over some paperwork at his desk. Tommy cleared his throat to announce their arrival and Michael looked up and smiled at them, placing his pen down and standing up.

'Good morning Maddie, Tommy.'

'Morning!' sang Maddie, now looking more excited with each passing second.

'Let's show you where you'll be working eh?' said Tommy, squeezing Maddie's arm before walking out of Michael's office to the empty desk outside Tommy's office door opposite Lizzie, who looked up venomously at Maddie as they approached. He was well aware that Lizzie was vehemently opposed to Maddie working in the company, even more so about her working so close to her but he didn't much care for Lizzie's griping and gave her a silent look to tell her to play nice. She pursed her lips sourly at him before looking back down at her typewriter.

Maddie walked up to the desk and inspected the items on it which included a typewriter, Shelby Company Ltd headed paper, pens and a notepad before looking back at Tommy and Michael with a happy grin.

'This is my desk?' she asked.

Tommy nodded and she smiled widely again, biting her lip before taking off her coat and hanging it and her hat on the coat stand and walking round her desk to sit at it. She ran her hands over the surface before inspecting the typewriter closely as if looking at it from the outside of a glass case. He and Michael watched her with amusement as she fiddled with the platen levers.

'Do you know how to use it?' asked Michael with a laugh.

'I know how to type. Everyone in the future does, just not on typewriters,' she informed them with a nervous smile, no doubt hoping that this wouldn't mean she would be fired from her new job before she'd even begun.

'Michael will talk you through it and what you'll be doing today,' said Tommy evenly.

'The first item of which we need to be at in an hour. I thought you could take notes for the meeting I have with the manager of a factory in Kings Heath. Start of simple,' said Michael.

Maddie gave him a wide-eyed look before nodding nervously. 'Oh ok. Simple...'

'You'll do fine,' encouraged Tommy. 'I'll leave you two to it.'

Tommy gave Maddie one last parting smile which she returned with a little wave before opening the door to his office and disappearing inside. He shed his outermost layer before commencing his usual morning ritual of a healthy shot of whiskey and at least two cigarettes before tackling his itinerary for the day. He decided he was going put aside time to check up on her periodically through the day to make sure she was okay and that Lizzie wasn't giving her a hard time. But he also hoped there would be a quiet moment at lunchtime to pull her into his office to fulfil the daydream he'd had earlier that morning, his cock already twitching at the idea.

Three hours into the day and Tommy finally found the time to get away from his paperwork to check up on Maddie before his meeting with one of the governors of Birmingham City Council, which was thankfully the only meeting apart from the one with his family he had scheduled for the day. He opened the door to his office and initially saw Lizzie looking over her desk toward where Maddie was sat just out of his view. She was glaring at her with irritation as he registered the rapid tapping and clunking sound of typewriter keys with the regular ringing sound of the platen being dragged back and forth.

Tommy rounded the corner of the doorframe and saw Maddie typing away impressively fast at the typewriter, a neat pile of newly typed sheets of paper next to her on the desk. He raised her eyebrows at her as she typed away just before she looked up and grinned at him proudly, pausing her assault of the keys.

'How are you getting on?' Tommy asked, although it was partly a rhetorical question at this point.

'I think I've got the hang of it now,' replied Maddie before nodding to an untidy pile of discarded sheets of paper on her other side. 'It took me a few tries to get it right at first but it's just muscle memory after a while.'

Tommy looked down to the sheets of paper and inspected them, each one an attempt at the same part of the meeting she'd been to with Michael. The quality of the typing was a lot poorer than what Maddie was currently producing, the spaces between the words and the lines were irregular and some of the letters weren't clear as she hadn't put enough pressure on the keys to make the imprint on the paper. The lines were slanted diagonally on the page and he noticed several spelling and grammar mistakes. As he sifted through the pages however, he saw that each attempt had improved in some aspect until she had perfected the technique. He then saw a dictionary sat open on Maddie's lap and she blushed when he reached down to pick it up.

'Spelling was never my strongest skill at school,' she said shyly. 'And they used so many words I didn't know in the meeting that I had to look them up.'

Maddie's notepad was also open on the desk and Tommy realised he'd never seen her handwriting before. Evidently, the common practice of making children write out letters repetitively and making them join together smoothly as he had done in school was no longer used in the future as her penmanship was unusually large and rounded; it also didn't slant either and only the odd letter was joined to the adjacent one. Tommy skimmed her notes and saw that she wasn't lying about the spelling and spotted several errors she'd made, no doubt as a result of her writing at speed. He saw that she had tried to write the word proprietary but had written it as 'pro-pie-itry'.

Tommy chuckled before handing the dictionary back to her. He wanted to laugh more openly but didn't want Maddie to feel embarrassed, especially with Lizzie watching.

'You're doing good. Maybe you should do the notes for the meeting this afternoon as well?'

Maddie opened her mouth to reply before they were interrupted by Lizzie's clipped tone.

'That's my job, Tommy,' she stated bitterly.

He and Maddie looked at Lizzie and he heard Maddie shift awkwardly in her chair. Lizzie was an exceptional secretary and Tommy admitted that she had gotten him through the worst of his grieving over Grace, something which he felt guilty for using her for, although he'd never admit it. He knew she was jealous of Maddie, and also a tad threatened he realised. He hadn't given Maddie an official job title as yet but he decided that making her his secretary and replacing Lizzie would be foolish, as good of a job Maddie was doing so far she would never be able to compete with Lizzie's intimate knowledge and understanding of the company. An important necessity for the role of Tommy Shelby's secretary.

'I'm aware of your job Lizzie, I'm sure Maddie will appreciate the experience just this once, eh?' he stated sternly after a moment's pause to glare at Lizzie in the eye.

She snorted rudely before turning back to ignore them again and he sighed as he turned back to Maddie who bit her lip and threw him a knowing smirk. There she goes again with that bloody lip. He wanted to bend down and kiss her so he could bite her lip for her but restrained himself, even for him that would be a cruel thing to do in front of Lizzie so he couldn't help but stare at her lips instead. Maddie noticed and smiled flirtatiously at him in return, altering her posture so she sat more upright with her chest out. Tommy promptly cleared his throat before nodding to her to signal his retreat. She smiled at him as he trudged back into his office and closed the door again, needing the physical barrier to stop him from devouring her within an inch of her life. Maybe having her work in his family's company wouldn't be such a good idea if she was going to present this level of distraction on a daily basis.

Tommy had just enough time to puff away at another cigarette and wash it down with a mouthful of whiskey before there was a knock at the door and Lizzie opened it with a man he recognised as the governor stood behind her.

'The governor's here to see you Mr Shelby,' she announced.

'Yes, come in,' Tommy said, beckoning the man in with a small gesture of his hand.

As he entered, Tommy caught Maddie walk across the room to Michael's door through the still open doorway. She looked over her shoulder towards him and winked provocatively at him. It took considerable effort for him to wrench is eyes away from her so he could look at his visitor in the eye as he stepped into his office. Once Lizzie shut the door, Tommy was soon engrossed in the meeting with the governor and managed to push Maddie from his mind.

The meeting went on for longer than scheduled although, it proved more successful than Tommy initially predicted. It was well into lunchtime by the time he showed the governor out and his thoughts jumped to spending some time alone with Maddie before the office filled up again for the afternoon. When he stepped out of his office door and bade the governor farewell, he saw that both Lizzie and Maddie were not at their desks. He stepped across the room to Michael's office to find him smoking whilst he worked, creating a grey fog that filled his office from floor to ceiling.

'Where's Maddie?' asked Tommy sharply, not bothering to knock before entering his cousin's office.

Michael looked up from his desk and pressed his lips together in a line to suppress a smile before leaning back in his chair and placing his hands together on his lap.

'She went out for a walk,' replied Michael. 'I said she didn't have to come back until the meeting as she's already finished what I had planned for her for the day.'

Tommy sighed and tensed his jaw, annoyed that Michael took it upon himself to give Maddie the time off. Not because he thought she didn't deserve it, but because he had been picturing them fucking in his office for the next hour as well as getting some additional satisfaction in restoring some tattiness to her persona as a result. When Tommy didn't speak Michael spoke again.

'I also paid her for her first week in advance,' he said. 'Seemed appropriate with her not having a penny to her name.'

Tommy nodded but pinched the bridge of his nose with this news, now certain that he wouldn't be seeing Maddie for the rest of the afternoon if she had money that she could spend.

'Good,' he huffed before marching back out of Michael's office and back to his own.

Tommy slumped into his chair and sulked for a while, which for him took the form of chain smoking about five cigarettes whist he sipped at another glass of whiskey. When he finally finished feeling sorry for himself, shaking off his bout of childish bad mood by occupying his mind with an admittedly large list of jobs he needed to complete. However, as the minutes ticked by, he found it harder to focus on the words in front of him as the sound of the clock on his desk ticking patronisingly reverberated in his skull. He couldn't help but glance at its face frequently, expecting the hands to have rotated further than they actually had. This resulted in Tommy throwing the thing into his desk draw angrily when it told him that the past half an hour had only translated as five minutes according to the clock.

The hours dragged by agonisingly leading up to the family meeting, Tommy going out to speak to Lizzie and Michael a handful of times to find that Maddie was still absent. He rehearsed a few excuses in his head so he could go and look for her but realised that the likelihood of him finding her would be close to none. He hoped that none of the Lees camping on the patch had bumped into her and taken her on a merry tour of the city, although he was sure that Maddie wouldn't be taken in by such an obvious con.

Tommy marched through the building to the meeting a few minutes early, hoping to find Maddie already there but of course she was absent. He sat at the table as patiently as possible and was eventually joined by Polly, who was usually the first to appear at family meetings. She sat at the table next to Tommy and lit a cigarette and much to his pleasure didn't try to engage him in conversation. Eventually other members of the family filed in and sat themselves at the table, leaving only Maddie and Arthur to arrive. Just as John spoke to ask where they were, the door opened, and Maddie emerged from the doorway with a sheepish smile.

'Sorry I'm late,' she apologised timidly like a child arriving late to class.

Tommy felt the unfamiliar yet welcome feeling of joy when she walked in, something which he suspected was going to be a regular occurrence now that Maddie was going to be in his life permanently. He even allowed himself to show a small smile in response to seeing her arrive, not caring if anyone noticed or not.

'It's alright,' chuckled John. 'Arthur seems to have worse time keeping skills than you Mads!'

Maddie sighed slightly with relief at this news and proceeded to walk over to the chair next to Polly before taking off her hat and placing it on the table. It was then that the reason for her tardiness was revealed; he expected her hair to fall down onto her shoulders once her hat was gone but now he saw that her hair was above shoulder length with curls and waves put into it which shined glossily in the warm light from the ceiling. Several other members of the table noticed her new hairstyle and complimented her as Tommy felt his heart sink a little. As beautiful and as fashionable as she looked, part of him missed her long locks that had framed her face and would certainly miss the feeling of it in his hands even more.

'Nice hair do, Mads,' teased John, laughing and winking at her from across the table.

Maddie thanked her admirers humbly and sat down and pulled out her notepad and pen from her coat pocket and placed them on the table as the door flew open and Arthur finally arrived. He held up his hands in apology as he stomped around the table to sit next to his wife.

'Nice of you to join us Arthur,' said Tommy sarcastically and in his ususal deep monotone.

'Yeah well I'm here now,' grumbled Arthur, evidently pissed off about something but neglecting to share whatever it was with the group.

Tommy, now that everyone was present, stood up and kicked off the meeting as ususal with the legal side of business and nodded to Maddie to start writing down what was being discussed. He saw her scribbling furiously out of the corner of his eye as he and his family discussed what they had been talking about the previous night with some additional points thrown in. After forty-five minutes he concluded the legal part of the meeting and inhaled in preparation for the final topic of discussion.

'Finally we move onto the last topic of discussion which I'm sure I don't have to ask is to be kept strictly off the record,' began Tommy, looking down to Maddie and she smiled up at him as she put her notebook to one side ready to listen attentively. 'As you're all aware, I have been in contact with members of the Russian Aristocracy as part of a job laid out by Churchill himself,' he began, looking to Maddie to see her eyebrows reaching for her hairline.

He wanted to assess her reaction to this information, she was the only one present who was in the dark about his relationship with the Russians and he was planning on using her wealth of skills to his advantage in some way. The rest of the table nodded impatiently, wanting to know exactly what role they would all be playing in this dangerous game he'd gotten them involved in.

'They are under the impression that we will steal a number of armed tanks from the Lanchester Motor Company to aid their revolution in Georgia. In return they've agreed to pay us £70,000. However, I don't trust the Russians to pay up when the time comes so I am currently working on a plan to carry out a simultaneous robbery of their assets,' Tommy dictated clearly, pausing to allow his family to react to the news.

Most of the looks that were passed across the table were sceptical and amused at best, mostly followed by looks of doubt and apprehension.

'I thought the Russians were in a considerable amount of debt. What makes you think they have anything to steal?' probed Polly, meeting Tommy's eyes piercingly.

Maddie was looking between the two of them with a peculiar look on her face, as if she was deciding what she felt about the situation. He hoped that she would be on board with it, as he was already thinking of how to fit her into his grand plan.

'Mr Romanov has made it clear that their wealth isn't in pounds or dollars but in valuable gemstones which I believe are being kept in their residence on the grounds of Hampton Court. I'm planning on getting us a spy inside the house to pass us information on the layout and hopefully keep an ear out for any information.'

As Tommy finished, Arthur and John nodded their understanding, as did Polly after pursing her lips in another doubtful expression. The rest of the family looked considerably less than pleased at being involved in another venture that could possible get them all killed, but this was an opportunity they wouldn't get again and Tommy would be damned if he would let it pass them by.

'Details of the plan will be discussed with everyone individually as and when I have decided what their roles will be. I still have talks to attend with my contacts with the Russians and their associated British representatives,' finished Tommy, wanting to end the discussion there but Linda, much to everyone's dismay, decided to get a word in.

'There seems like there's more to this that you're not sharing with the group Thomas,' she trilled in a mock show of innocence and sweetness.

Tommy could almost feel the little contents of his stomach curdling at hearing Linda's irritating voice but turned his gaze to her, blinking slowly twice before inhaling sharply through his nose to offer his reply.

'For everyone's safety, information regarding the robbery will be shared on a strictly need to know basis,' he stated flatly. 'That concludes this meeting for today.'

Linda squinted and glared at Tommy for a split second before getting up with everyone else to leave. He kept his cold eyes on hers until she broke away and stormed off, Arthur throwing him an apologetic look as he went to follow her out of the room. Tommy sighed and tried to make his jaw relax before taking out his silver cigarette case.

'Just when I thought being in a gang actually consisted of a shit tonne of paperwork and boring meetings, you throw a jewel heist into the mix,' came Maddie's voice from next to him.

Tommy looked down to see her smiling but shaking her head in disbelief at him. The room had gone quiet, as had the whole office, everyone except those attending the meeting having already left for the day. He heard car engines starting outside and more doors closing somewhere in the building indicating that the last stragglers were also departing for the day, meaning that he and Maddie were finally alone. He turned to face her without replying and grasped her waist roughly to pull her against his chest. She opened her mouth as if to protest so he quickly brought his lips to hers to quieten her. He kissed her eagerly as he ran his fingers through her new hair, gripping the cropped strands and realising that he did miss her long hair but at least there was still enough to grip in his fist.

Tommy tilted Maddie's head to the side and began to kiss and bite her neck instead, grinning smugly when she sighed blissfully in response. He continued to kiss and nibble at her skin and lips as he let his hands roam around her body, keen to feel her firm curves and her soft skin in his palms again. The wait he had endured that day had felt more like a week but now he confessed that the wait was worth it. Maddie, most likely not happy with being dominated so easily, started to graze Tommy's earlobe with her teeth whilst her hands caressed the back of his head, targeting his weak spots with precision. A rumble sounded in his lungs as he faltered momentarily with his lips still hovering on her collar bone.

'You've been waiting all day for this haven't you?' whispered Maddie into his ear followed by a breathy laugh.

Tommy didn't allow himself to waver at her teasing and instead began to gather the skirt of her dress up towards her waist and holding it there with one hand started to fondle Maddie's upper thighs and buttocks which ceased her giggling and elicited aroused mewling from her lips.

'I wouldn't have had to if you had been here a few hours ago rather than getting your hair cut,' taunted Tommy finally in response, pulling back to look into her eyes with an arrogantly raised eyebrow.

Maddie made the mistake of rolling her eyes at him whilst biting her lip before pouting at him mockingly.

'Sorry I made you wait all afternoon for your first fuck of the day.'

Maddie followed her faux apology with another pout and a flutter of her eyelashes and Tommy felt a rush of frustrated anger at her taunting and delivered his punishment in the form of a sharp smack to her backside. It wasn't hard enough to hurt her by any means, but it had the desired effect he was aiming for. Maddie gasped, her mouth dropping open, partly with shock but also with arousal and raised her eyebrow up at him before biting her lip again. Suddenly, he felt her hand on his crotch, finding his now marble hard cock and grasping it firmly.

He hissed as she began to rub his erection confidently and as always bested him again by pulling his head down to continue their kissing. Determined to not let Maddie dictate what was going to happen next, Tommy grabbed her thighs and lifted her up and turned to sit her on the edge of the table. She kept their lips crushed together and he tried to separate them unsuccessfully so instead he moved his hand down her waist, hoiking her skirt up again before grasping her silk underwear and pulling it to one side. Maddie whimpered and slowed her kissing as she anticipated what he was going to do next. He smiled and managed to break his mouth from hers as he slowly and gently ran a finger over her wetness. They moaned into each other's mouths as Tommy started to push a finger inside her, relishing in how wet she was in response to his attentions. He placed his other hand on her chest now that she was sufficiently distracted and enveloped by pleasure and firmly pushed her backwards so that she was lying on the table, with him stood between her open legs.

He quickly unbuttoned the front of Maddie's dress and lifted her brazier up to free her breasts as he began to rub tender circles around her clit. He cupped one of her breasts and mirrored his circling of her clit on her nipple. He prided himself on how efficiently he had learned the layout of her body the previous night; he'd mapped out her skin in his brain in relation to what reaction he could get from her when he touched, stroked, pinched, licked and bit a particular area of flesh. Maddie moaned loudly as Tommy pinned her down with his precise caressing, her back arching further up off the table with every revolution of his thumbs. He felt her heels press into his backside, forcing him to lean against the edge of the table and loom over her slightly.

'Tommy…,' Maddie gasped weakly, her eyelids heavy as she attempted to look up at him.

His cock was throbbing painfully in his trousers, protesting angrily at being neglected up to now and even more blood surged into it and around the rest Tommy's body on hearing Maddie's iteration of his name. He was succeeding in making her lose her control, but he failed in containing his short laugh in response. She lifted her head up and looked at him annoyed but he simply smiled at her and relinquished his grip of her breast and began to unbutton his trousers, pushing two fingers inside her and making her head fall back onto the table again.

Tommy managed to free himself with one hand and held his erect cock in his hand. He'd wanted to tease her further before pushing himself inside her, but he made the mistake of looking down and saw her pussy was glistening under the influence of his fingers, her juices coating his hand. Without even thinking about it, he withdrew his fingers from her and replaced them with his cock in one swift movement. He grunted with the sensation of Maddie surrounding him and shut his eyes and sighed as he began to move in and out of her slowly, wrapping his arms under her legs so he could move her toward him with each thrust and get deeper inside her. She begun to groan and whimper uncontrollably as he repetitively entered and withdrew from her until she eventually mustered enough sense to sit herself up again, her abdominal muscles tensing and making her feel impossibly tighter.

Tommy growled and increased his pace as Maddie gripped his shoulder and began to roll her hips against his, causing him to reach new points inside her that he realised she must have been aiming for. Her chest began to rise and fall deeply and more rapidly, and he could also feel his own breathing becoming ragged as sweat began to make his shirt stick to his skin. Maddie craned her head up and kissed him, drawing his lower lip into her mouth and biting it harshly as they moved their hips together in perfect rhythm. Tommy was ready to reach his climax but he was determined to get her to finish first so he wouldn't miss her exquisite expression as she came. Helaced his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back to break their kiss and began biting and sucking at her neck aggressively.

'Oh fuck – Tommy. I'm gonna…' moaned Maddie, as Tommy sucked more forcefully on her neck and rammed his cock against the spot inside her that was making her almost scream with every thrust.

A handful of seconds later, Maddie reached her climax and was no longer able to form words as her orgasm took her. She squeezed her eyes shut and her eyebrows knit together as a myriad of curses mixed with Tommy's name tumbled from her lips. The sight of her face and the sensation of her pussy pulsating around his cock lead to him reaching his release soon after, his blood swirling through his body violently as he emptied his cum inside her.

The two of them collapsed on the table breathlessly, Tommy resting his head on Maddie's chest between her breasts. He breathed in the scent of her as she placed her hand on the back of his head tenderly, both of them coming to their senses slowly as if sobering up from drinking one to many shots of whiskey. She sighed and they looked at each other with amused smiles.

'So, was that enough to keep you satisfied to make the drive home?' taunted Maddie with a bite of her lip.

The sex was enough to satiate them for the car ride home, but only just. Maddie managed to occupy them both at first with telling Tommy about her walk around the city and telling him how much it would change over the next one hundred years. He listened to her with avid interest as she explained how the layout of Birmingham was different in her time and what buildings still existed although they had been modified or extended several times. He was particularly shocked to hear that most of the factory buildings by the canal were still standing but England's production of goods had significantly reduced in the future so these buildings had been converted into living accommodation. Tommy found it hard to picture anyone wanting to live by the canal as anyone who did now were considered the poorest amongst society; but according to Maddie, people who lived there in 2020 were considered fashionable and well-to-do, or as she put it'well loaded'.

As they approached the last five minutes of the journey, Tommy began to get the needing itch to fuck her again. He even reached across to place his hand on her thigh as they approached the driveway to silently signal what his intentions were once they were inside. She was evidently thinking along the same lines as she responded by covering his hand with hers and sliding his hand up her leg to her groin making her skirt ride up to reveal the tops of her stockings and garters. The two of them practically leapt from the car once he had bought it to a halt at the front steps and they wasted no time in getting inside so they could find the nearest empty room. Frances was waiting for them and took their coats as she usually did but Tommy didn't fail to notice the distressed look on her face as she gathered their things together. Her gaze darted between Maddie and Tommy nervously and she looked as though she was attempting to pluck up the courage to speak. Hescrutinised her with his cool gaze, now becoming concerned that something serious had happened.

'Frances?' he prompted evenly, causing Maddie look at him and then at Frances confused, now picking up on the same tension he had noticed.

'I'm sorry Mr Shelby, but there is a gentleman here who came to the house around midday. I tried to turn him away, but he was quite insistent that he would wait,' Frances stuttered anxiously, looking down to avoid his glare which he pierced her with.

Tommy could instinctively feel his muscles tense as Frances spoke, fury bubbling up in his stomach at the fact that she had allowed a stranger to wait in the house all day with Charlie so close by. He was already convinced that whoever it was likely from Section D, god forbid that it was the insufferable Father Hughes waiting for him.

'Did he say why he came to see me?' asked Tommy pointedly.

'Actually sir, he said he was here to see Maddie,' she squeaked, and the two of them turned to look at Maddie who blinked once dumbfounded. 'He said he was from somewhere called the Watcher's Council.'

Tommy and Maddie whipped their heads around to look at each other with concerned expressions and he noticed that she had additional signs of fear etched into her face. She swallowed once before looking back at Frances as her expression transformed into one of anger.

'Where is he?' she snapped at Frances, making the woman flinch with the harshness of her tone.

'In the drawing room,' she replied, barely managing to muster enough volume to be heard.

Maddie turned on her heel and began to march toward where the mysterious man was waiting. Tommy was tempted to scold Frances but only had a second to dismiss her before hurrying to follow Maddie into the drawing room. As they entered, he spotted the gentleman in question sat on the sofa sipping at a cup of tea. He wore the familiar tweed suits he remembered from his trip to the Watcher's Council and as he turned to look at them as they entered, he saw he wore a pair of small wired spectacles which slid down the bridge of his nose giving him an awkward demeanour as he pushed them back up his nose as he stood to greet them.

'Ah, Miss Chapman you're finally here,' said the man with a smile and an uncomfortable laugh.

He stepped up to Maddie and held his hand out to her. She however, folded her arms over her chest and looked down at his hand before looking back up at him with a face of stone.

'Who are you and why are you here?' she asked plainly as the man dropped his hand to his side dejected.

Tommy admired the sudden sense on authority Maddie had managed to muster reminding him of why he admired her so, but the debauched area at the back of his brain was focussed on how much sexier it made her appear. However, this wasn't the right moment to indulge in such trains of thought and he joined her in glaring the man down.

'Er, apologies… I'm Stephen Gregory. You're new watcher.'

Tommy had to fight to keep his face neutral but managed to maintain an indifferent air to his features. Maddie however stiffened next to him and sucked in a short breath through her nostrils as Stephen spoke the word'watcher'. She remained silent as she regarded him with ire and Tommy took the opportunity to fill the silence as Stephen shuffled uncomfortably, obviously not expecting this reaction from her. Hopefully it would give her the time to gather herself together in order to respond.

'Thomas Shelby,' said Tommy, holding his hand out for Stephen to take, which he did with a polite nod. 'Can I ask how you knew how to find my house?'

He was less than pleased that this man had found his way to his supposedly secure home. It reminded him that he needed to bolster the property's security as Maddie had suggested before too long.

'We have contacts who are familiar to you Mr Shelby. They told us where we could find you,' replied Stephen.

Tommy nodded but he could feel his skin prickling dangerously under his clothes. He would have to find out who had given them this information, if the watchers knew how to get a hold of this address then so would his more dangerous enemies.

'I don't need a watcher,' said Maddie suddenly and the two men turned to look at her. 'So, you can turn your tweed arse around and scurry on back to London.'

Stephen looked as though he had been slapped in the face before he chuckled, no doubt assuming that Maddie was joking. But Tommy knew she wasn't, and she continued to stare him down until the smile was wiped from his face.

'But… I was under the impression that you were without a watcher,' he stuttered.

'Yep.'

'Well th-this is quite unacceptable. A slayer without a watcher? Who will train you? Who will give you your orders?'

Tommy huffed a laugh which he could do nothing to contain and Maddie glanced up at him to smirk as well. What possessed these men into believing they could order her or indeed any slayer around was beyond him. But evidently the patriarchy had spread its influence into her world and established a tight hold on it as it had in his. Tommy felt he sympathised with her even more now, he knew what it was like to fight against people who thought themselves above you and he cheered for her silently in his head.

'I don't take orders. I'm the slayer and I work alone,' she responded confidently, raising her chin up higher. 'And I suggest you pass that on as a message to Mr Travers. He's the one who sent you here correct?'

Stephen looked positively dumbfounded at this point but managed to nod in response to Maddie's question, having been left speechless by her frankly frightening aggressiveness.

'Well what are you waiting for?' she continued with irritation, beginning to look more and more pissed off when Stephen made no attempt to move as if he were glued to the spot.

Stephen opened his mouth, no doubt to argue with her further but Maddie, now losing her patience grabbed him by the collar with both hands and shook him roughly.

'Am I going to have to throw you out of here?'

Stephen looked at her wide-eyed in shock and quickly shook his head.

'No, but I have no way to get –.'

Maddie huffed before grabbing the man's upper arm tightly and leading him out of the room as Tommy looked on, unsure of what he could do to help but he decided to follow them out nevertheless, not wanting to miss out on the display she was making of Stephen. She dragged him out into the foyer and then out of the front door to the driveway as he looked positively terrified. She pushed him and he stumbled several steps and looked back at them panicked.

'How am I supposed to get back to London at this time?' he pleaded.

'Not my problem,' spat Maddie, and began to crack her knuckles threateningly and Stephen recoiled further.

Just then the truck that the stable hands used to get to Arrow House and back pulled around the corner, signalling that they were leaving for the day. Tommy acted quickly and lifted his hand up toward the driver to signal him to stop, he then turned to Stephen and indicated to him to follow.

'It's your lucky day,' he said before walking up to the driver's side of the van.

Tommy told the driver to take Stephen to the nearest train station as he waved for him to get in the back of the truck.

'Yes, Mr Shelby,' nodded the driver and Tommy walked back to stand next to Maddie who was watching Stephen climb timidly into the back of the truck with the house's staff.

'And don't forget to pass on that message!' she called to Stephen who looked back at her with displeasure.

The truck trundled off down the driveway as they watched it disappear into the treeline. He could hear Maddie huffing her breaths as they stood there, and he eventually turned to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

'Hey, you alright?'

She blinked and shook her head as if she had been daydreaming before turning her head up to look at him with a creased brow.

'Yeah,' she breathed before a pause. 'I'm going to the training room.'

She turned away from him abruptly and approached the front door with Tommy following close behind before stopping and turning back to him.

'Can I be excused from dinner? I'll find something to eat later,' she asked.

'Of course,' nodded Tommy, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

Maddie smiled appreciatively before continuing inside, she headed straight for the cellar and disappeared through the door without looking back. Tommy sighed and creased his brow; he couldn't understand how the watchers could leave her so out of sorts. He decided it best to leave her to it and headed to Charlie's room, the prospect of another evening of fucking regrettably forgotten about. After checking on Charlie to make sure he was still safe, Tommy spent the evening alone in his office and spent most of it on the phone, making enquiries about how the Watcher's Council knew so much information about him. He rang the men in London and ordered them out on the street to start asking questions. He had an inkling that Alfie or Sabini's men had likely given up the information and if they had, it would only be a matter of time before he found out for certain. He also made further arrangements on employing an appropriate spy to place in the Russian's household.

When he had finished on the phone, Tommy called for Frances who appeared promptly and looking considerably nervous, probably expecting to be disciplined for her mistake of letting Stephen in the house. She shuffled across his office to stand in front of his desk and waited silently for him to speak.

'I don't think I need to remind you of the importance of keeping strangers out of this house Frances,' he stated coolly as he perused the last letter he had just opened, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

He heard Frances' breath begin to shake before she answered. 'I'm sorry Mr Shelby but the man was quite insistent, and I made sure he stayed in the drawing room all afternoon.'

Frances made her case shakily and Tommy looked up to scrutinise her and decided that she was telling the truth and had likely learned her lesson from the look of terror in her eyes.

'It's alright Frances,' he said, dropping the letter on his desk and removing the cigarette from his mouth. 'Did he say how he got this address?'

'No sir.'

Tommy nodded, expecting that answer and paused in thought for a moment before speaking again.

'I won't be having dinner this evening Frances but have the cooks prepare and save something for Maddie. You can go,' he ordered with a flick of his hand.

Frances bowed her head before scuttling out of his office the fastest he'd ever seen her move. He leant back in his chair and sunk deep into thought. What were the watchers planning? Tommy had a feeling they wanted more than just to provide Maddie with a watcher, and he was now certain that they hadn't seen the last of them. No doubt Mr Travers would be displeased when Stephen returned with his tail between his legs. Tommy sipped leisurely at a glass of whiskey as he pondered this further, amongst other pressing issues that were causing him his usual unhealthy amount of stress. Once he finished his drink, he got up to pour another and saw the second glass sat next to the decanter and smiled. He filled his glass as well as the second one and carried them both out of his office. He knew Maddie didn't like whiskey, but if she was going to be living in this household and working for the Shelby Company, she would need to learn to like it if she was going to survive. He also found the face she made when she drank it infinitely amusing and would hope it would lead to the relighting of the sexual atmosphere from earlier.

Tommy felt a sense of déjà vu as he walked down the corridor towards the training room, the day coming full circle as he opened the door. He initially didn't see Maddie but soon spotted her stood upside down in a handstand on the parallel bar. She must have gone upstairs to change as she was wearing trousers and nothing but her brazier on the top. She was holding her weight securely on the bar, her back and legs perfectly straight and as he walked up closer, he could see the definition of the muscles in her arms and back as well as a sheen of sweat that coated her pale skin. She must have been there a while and he guessed it was some kind of endurance exercise as she hadn't moved or displayed any sign that she had noticed him enter the room.

'Maddie?' said Tommy after clearing his throat softly.

She didn't flinch but lifted her head back to look forward to where he was stood and smiled when she met his eyes.

'Hi,' she chirped before shifting her weight onto one hand and balancing there as she opened her legs in the splits.

Tommy knew she was showing off and he admitted that he would never stop being impressed by her strength and agility, despite this he kept his face blank and held up the two whiskey glasses in a gesture.

'Drink?'

Maddie chuckled before returning both hands to the bar and swinging down and dismounting the apparatus in a backwards somersault, landing a couple of yards away from Tommy.

'Now you're showing off,' he teased, holding out the glass to her.

She giggled guiltily and gave a mock look of offence, placing her hand on her chest and gasping dramatically.

'Never!' she sighed dramatically as she took the glass from him. 'Whiskey again? You trying to kill me or something?'

'You have to get used to it. We may make a whiskey drinker out of you yet,' said Tommy, giving Maddie a half-smile. 'It's good for when you're feeling angry.'

This last suggestion seemed to convince her and she sipped the liquid with her eyes closed as if tasting a fine wine. Tommy saw her attempt to keep her face relaxed, but her eyes squinted as she swallowed, and the familiar grimace graced her features and she looked at him like he was crazy for drinking it all the time. He laughed a hearty laugh and Maddie joined in but kept the glass and he felt glad that she was intending on finishing it.

'Feel better?' Tommy questioned.

'Yeah, although I think punching that for half an hour worked out most of my anger,' she said pointing at the punching bag which was newly secured to the ceiling with an iron chain.

'And it's still attached to the ceiling,' she jested and they chuckled together before she took another tentative sip of her drink.

Even though she was slicked with sweat, her new short hair damp from it and sticking out at funny angles, Tommy admired her and couldn't help but look her up and down and a tense silence fell between them. Maddie looked down at herself and blushed as she realised that she was barely clothed on her upper body, not that he was complaining. She smiled up at him and bit her lip flirtatiously, which was enough to make him ready to drop his glass on the floor and pick her up and fuck her again. But Maddie's lips turned into a small frown before she rubbed her stomach and sighed.

'I think I've worked up an appetite,' she said, laughing at Tommy as he betrayed a look of disappointment. 'But once I've eaten, we can work out the rest of our frustrations in the shower.'

Maddie winked with a smirk and walked off with her glass still in hand as he looked down, smiling as he shook his head before making to follow her to the kitchen.

The following week or so went by in rapid fashion so that by the following Monday Tommy felt as though if he had blinked, he could have missed the previous seven days completely. He and Maddie were virtually inseparable for the entire week and any quiet or free moment was spent embracing or more often fucking wherever they could find privacy. They had also begun to explore more sinful forms of pleasure in the quiet of the night together, tucked away in the cosy safety of his bedroom.

By Monday morning however, Tommy awoke knowing that he needed a rest. Every inch of his body was sore and his libido had plummeted with it being turned up so high constantly for so long. Maddie however was still insatiable and had rolled over to him as the sun rose and woke him up by kissing and nibbling his neck. Finally, after a whole week, he had to turn her away with an apology and a exhausted look, feeling the most inadequate he had ever felt in years; this had never happened to him before and he found that he disliked the feeling immensely. She initially seemed hurt but didn't take it to heart in the end, instead using the time they would usually lose to sex in her training room, out riding or visiting Charlie's yard during their time at the office.

Tommy had formally introduced Maddie to his uncle and Curly one afternoon that week when they walked there together from the office. They had met a few times before but the formal introduction lead to her visiting the yard every lunchtime that week and Charlie informed Tommy that she had helped Curly in the stables and Charlie in the scrapyard, her slayer strength proving to be immensely useful. He had laughed as Charlie told this story and his uncle looked at him in horror and asked him if he was feeling alright. In truth, he was more than alright. Maddie's presence in his life had filled a space that Grace had left when she was taken from him. Although, he was well aware that there were parts of him that were still rotten and empty inside, Maddie had taken up house within him and was like a roaring fire inside derelict house, gradually warming up the bricks with her unwaning heat. He had come to think about this more and more over those days and the idea of marriage began to blossom in his head.

However, as a result of them not sleeping together for several days, they had spent more time talking on the evenings and when out walking and he had learned more about her and her life than he had since she'd met her. One thing that stuck with him was the fact that women were encouraged to marry a lot later when she was growing up and often didn't settle until they were in their thirties. As a result, Tommy got the impression that Maddie, being in her twenties and definitely still filled with youthfulness wouldn't want to marry anytime soon, so he kept the idea to himself and hoped that one day in the future it may be a possibility.

Tommy's trust in Maddie had however, become absolute and found that he would trust her with his, Charlie's and any member of his family's life and as a result he confided in her as well as Polly about the planned killing of Father Hughes. She had listened and had admitted honestly that it made her feel nervous but nevertheless was behind him as she said the man sounded like'an absolute prick'which had made both him and Polly laugh. As Tommy told her about his plan, he realised that she may be of great help to him and asked her if she could be involved. And she agreed, all be it reluctantly.

On the Friday of that week, as the middle of April approached and the weather warmed with each passing day creating a milder atmosphere to the air, a mysterious letter airmailed from America was waiting for Tommy on his desk when he got home. He had inspected it suspiciously before he opened it and had read it with his heart picking up unexpectedly. The sentence'It is my regret to inform you that your father, Arthur Shelby Snr, has passed away'Tommy had to ready twice to make sure he hadn't imagined the words. He swallowed and read the rest of the letter quickly before placing it down on the desk and rubbing his hand slowly over his face. He pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and lit one just as there was a knock on the office door and Maddie stepped into the threshold.

'Hey, I was wondering if you wanted -,' she started before cutting of when she noticed the look on his face. He imagined that his skin had lost what little colour it had. 'Are you okay?'

Maddie approached his desk and Tommy drew on his cigarette and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. She continued to look at him with concern before he indicated to the letter on his desk, not wanting to read it again or say the words out loud. She picked up the letter and her watched her eyebrows crease as she read it and a sad look paint her face.

'Oh, shit Tommy... I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. He was a terrible father.'

The words left Tommy's mouth before he could stop them and Maddie blinked and stuttered, clearly taken aback by his harsh words. She opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to say something else in condolence but couldn't decide on the right words and he found the he was glad she didn't. He had shared a lot with her about himself over the past fortnight, but his relationship with his father wasn't one of them. Tommy had spent most of his life preferring to pretend like he didn't have a father which had been easier than accepting that the one he had abandoned him and his siblings. Nevertheless, he was shocked to feel that the familiar sense of grief tickled the pit of his stomach. It wasn't overwhelming like it had been with Grace, but it was there nonetheless and after an uncomfortable few seconds of silence, Tommy finally broke it.

'I need to make some phone calls,' he said, his voice more deadpan that he intended.

'Okay,' replied Maddie with a small nod before turning and leaving his office.

Tommy sighed shakily and removed his jacket, rolling his sleeves up before pouring a healthy dose of whiskey and knocking it back eagerly. He knew he had been cold with Maddie just then, but he didn't want her to see him like this, even after how close they had become. He sat at his desk and picked up the phone receiver and asked the operator to dial him through to Arthur. He knew that Arthur would take it the hardest, even though their father had led him to trying to kill himself a few years ago, so he would tell him first. John would brush it off and Ada and Finn were too young to really remember their father enough to feel much grief. During the call with Arthur, Tommy could tell he was holding back tears and he managed to offer his older brother some words of comfort, all be it delivered in an icy tone. His other siblings took the news better and John even said good riddance to him. His final call to Polly was also the same and he swore he could hear the smug grin on the woman's face.

When he was done, Tommy felt like the life had been drained from him and he trudged out of his office and to the living room so he could attempt to relax. He opened the door and saw Maddie sat with her knees to her chest on the sofa, reading a book of all things. He had been sure that she hated reading as he hadn't seen her pick up a book since he met her, but when he saw the title he realised that it was a children's book and pursed his lips in a smile, his mood lifting somewhat. She looked up when he came in and smiled timidly at him before looking down briefly, as if making her mind up about something. Then without a word, she got up and walked over to him and threw her arms around his waist to hug him, resting the side of her face on his chest and squeezing him tightly so that he was forced to huff out a breath. It was an innocent, yet intimate gesture and Tommy let his arms wrap around her waist as he rested his chin on the top of her head. They stayed this way for a while and he let himself enjoy the feeling of Maddie's warm body against him and the sense of comfort it allowed him to feel.

When Sunday arrived, Tommy rose early in preparation for the hunting trip he and his brothers had organised as a farewell to their father. He kissed the still sleeping Maddie on the forehead and dressed reluctantly even though he knew that he wanted to get the morning over and done with so he could put the old man behind him forever.

Hunting, a useful skill to have back when he was a boy, was the only useful thing their father taught them although Tommy admitted he wasn't fond of taking the life of animals when he now had a life where he didn't have to do it himself. The buck he shot was beautiful and an exceptional find which he and his brothers skinned and cooked together out in the open like they had as children, only this time Finn was old enough to join them. His parting words about his father were brief, not wanting to embellish the man with any glory he didn't deserve. Once the words were off of his chest, he felt immediately lighter and pictured the man now far behind him in the past where he belonged. Tommy took the opportunity to speak with the men of the family about the robbery away from the women, particularly Linda, who's watchful eye wasn't currently cast over Arthur's shoulder. He had managed to plan out and finalise the majority of the plan and laid out the dates clearly to them and approximately what shares they would all receive for their participation.

Tommy was keen to get back to Arrow House and to Maddie, knowing that the rest of the day was his own to spend as he liked. However, once back at the house he spotted the grand Rolls Royce that he recognised immediately as Duchess Tatiana's. He sighed as his brothers circled the car to admire its beauty, he was surprised that the Russians had taken so long to respond following his accusation of Father Hughes as a double agent at their last meeting. He bolstered himself mentally for the upcoming interaction with the Russian woman. He had concluded early on that she, along with the rest of her family, were dangerously insane and equally as dangerous which made them difficult to deal with at the best of times. Despite this, he also remembered that he had been heavily attracted to her at their last meeting. However a certain slayer had entered into the picture since then, and now Tommy's emotions toward the Duchess were closer to contempt.

When Tommy went inside, Frances informed him that Tatiana was waiting for him in his office. Maddie was nowhere to be seen and he hoped he could speak to Tatiana and usher her out of his house before Maddie even knew she had been there, wanting to avoid the questions she would no doubt have about this odd Russian woman who he knew would try to flirt with him during this meeting.

Unfortunately, luck was not on Tommy's side because when he went into his office, he discovered Tatiana and Maddie stood opposite each other in the middle of the room in mid-conversation, both sporting fake polite smiles and piercing glares. Fuck...

'Mr Shelby,' greeted Tatiana in her deep Russian accent as he walked in, turning her back on Maddie and fluttering her eyelashes at him. 'It is rude to keep a Duchess waiting.'

Tommy shifted his gaze between the two women and dreaded what words had been passed between them as Maddie looked like she was ready to rip the Russian's head off. If it were possible, he was sure steam would be blowing out of her ears she looked that enraged. He paused to think of the appropriate response before replying.

'It is customary to call ahead when visiting somebody's home,' Tommy replied flatly, meeting Tatiana's eyes piercingly.

She pressed her lips together in an amused smile and stared at him with her large brown eyes. He took out his cigarettes and waited patiently for her to speak, using the silence to control the situation. Luckily Maddie had the same idea and regarded Tatiana silently but also shot Tommy some angry looks and he knew she had picked up on the sexual undertone that Tatiana was radiating. He needed to remove Maddie from the situation before she did decide to use Tatiana as her new punching bag, he would just have to deal with the repercussions later.

'I'm here to discuss business Mr Shelby,' said Tatiana finally, a smirk lifting the corners of her lips. 'Preferably without your whore listening like an extra wheel.'

Tommy was glad he had a cigarette in his mouth as he probably would have winced if he hadn't. He kept eye contact with Tatiana who was now smiling like a jester as he spotted Maddie out of the corner of his eye bristle and whose face turned an ugly shade of puce.

'Takes one to know one,' hissed Maddie who dropped her hands to her sides with her fists balled at her sides.

The smile dropped from Tatiana's face and she twisted her head to stare at Maddie in the eye, the atmosphere suddenly changing and Tommy knew he had to intervene.

'Maddie.' She didn't immediately take her eyes of Tatiana and continued to stare her down for a couple of seconds before slowly moving her gaze to meet Tommy's eyes. She looked at him with, he struggled to think of a better word than wrath, but he kept his expression neutral. It was crucial he didn't show any signs of weakness now and tried to telepathically convey that to her through his eyes, although it was likely she was just staring into the blank eyes of a ruthless man in that moment. 'Could you give the Duchess and I a moment alone please,' he said as politely as he could whist still sounding authoritative.

Maddie did one rapid blink before returning to a slow open and close of her eyelids. Her expression remained unchanged, but Tommy could see a mixture of hurt and anger in her eyes as she looked at him. Eventually, she turned to cast one last venomous look at Tatiana before stepping around her and walking out of the room at a measured pace but slamming the door so hard on her exit that the floor shook with the force. Tatiana chuckled devilishly once the door was shut and waltzed over to the sofa before reclining on it like she was in her own house. He glared at her dangerously, he was close to throwing her out of the door without even finding out why she was there, but his enterprising mind wouldn't let him.

'She is quite beautiful, you must pay a good price for her,' she said with a tone of seriousness but with an almost definite undertone of seduction.

Tommy found that he despised Maddie being thought of as a whore, the idea leaving a bitter taste in his mouth and it took great willpower for him not to march over to Tatiana and slap her across her smug face. He knew she was trying to get a rise out of him, but he was too experienced in these tactics to let her win. So, instead he ignored her comment like she hadn't said it and went straight to the point.

'There's not much to discuss. The priest is passing on information from the meetings to the soviets. Give me permission to kill him.'

They shared short blunt exchanges about the topic, her demanding evidence and him stalwartly refusing until she eventually caved and agreed. Tommy took advantage of the win to try and coax some information about where the Russian's jewels were kept, and the conversation quickly turned to Tatiana attempting to seduce him again. She adjusted her stockings and lifted the hem of her dress up in an unflattering manner as they spoke, which he pointedly ignored. She picked up on his reluctance to engage in her flirting, and as a result let slip about a strong room beneath their house as she retold an anecdote about smuggling jewels out of Georgia in her private parts in a desperate attempt to seduce him. Gladly it didn't work and for once in his life, John decided to have the most perfect timing in the world.

'Tom, that car on the drive is somthin' else,' he said as he barged into the office and walked up to Tommy who kept his eyes on Tatiana who was now looking considerably frustrated.

John looked around to follow Tommy's gaze and spotted Tatiana and looked at her with resignation.

'John,' began Tommy, pacing slowly over to Tatiana before reaching down to pick up her bag from her lap and reached inside to pull out her car key which he held out in John's direction. 'Go and start the Duchess' car for her, she is ready to make her way back down south.'

Tommy kept stern eye-contact with Tatiana as he said this and held it still until he felt John take the key from his outstretched hand.

'Alright yeah,' mumbled John.

As soon as he had taken the key, Tommy turned away from the Duchess and walked out of the room calmly, not offering any polite parting words as he left. He immediately headed to the kitchen where he could hear the rest of the men talking and hoped that Maddie would be in there. As should have been expected, she wasn't there, and his stomach suddenly felt like it was being tugged downwards into his pelvis. Arthur smiled as he walked in and raised his glass of whiskey up to him.

'So, what did the Russians want then Tom?' he asked.

Tommy didn't reply and instead snatched the glass of whiskey that Finn had just poured for himself out of his hand and necked it hungrily. Finn looked up at him in irritation and made as if to complain but thought better of it when he saw the sour look on his face. Arthur looked at the other men around the room before prompting Tommy to speak again.

'I know where the jewels are being kept,' said Tommy tersely, pausing as the men looked at each other impressed but still confused at his odd behaviour. 'Where's Maddie?'

The men looked at each other awkwardly, betraying that they knew something which they wish they didn't. Tommy looked at Arthur expectantly for an answer, becoming more impatient by the second.

'She took off across the fields on one of the horses, Tom,' said Finn, causing Tommy to look down at his baby brother. 'She looked pretty pissed of an' all.'

'Did she say where she was going?'

'I wouldn't follow her if I were you Tom, she looked about ready level a city,' said Arthur, correctly assuming Tommy's intentions. 'Besides she didn't say anything, just ran out of the house.'

Tommy sighed and looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes and running his hands nervously through his hair. He marched over to the window and looked out to see Tatiana turn her car on the gravel and fuck off down the driveway. At least that bitch was out of the way, he thought. Just then John walked into the kitchen and gave Tommy a confused look.

'What the fuck was that all about?' he asked loudly but Tommy ignored him causing John to scoff and drop himself into a chair at the table in a huff.

There would be no use in looking for Maddie, he knew. He would just have to wait for her to come back in her own time, although he prayed that it wouldn't be all night like the last time she disappeared. Tommy marched back to his office, leaving his family to stare after him silently. He sat at his desk and did his best to occupy himself with further planning of the robbery but he couldn't stop himself from getting up every few seconds to look out of the window to see if he could see her returning. Much to his relief this didn't jinx the likelihood of her return and only half an hour passed before he spotted her mounted figure galloping across the field toward the stable side of the house. Tommy pulled his jacket on and marched out of his office and through the house to exit into the stable yard through the back door; he emerged onto the courtyard just as she clopped into the stable on the back on Luna. He hurried into the stable and called to her as she dismounted Luna and walked her into her stall. Maddie ignored him as he joined her in the stall and stood next to her. As he did, he noticed that she was covered head to foot with mud and her clothes were drenched all down her back.

'Luna threw me off and I landed in a puddle,' said Maddie as she fiddled with the buckle of Luna's saddle, predicting what Tommy was going to ask before he did. 'I think she could sense I was a bit cross.'

Sarcasm was dripping from her words and he sighed, trying to think of how to rectify the situation in a civil way.

'Well you don't have to be cross now, she's gone.'

'That's a shame, I was looking forward to cracking her skull open on the bonnet of her fancy car,' she bit back venomously.

Tommy gritted his teeth and flexed his jaw; he knew she was upset but he thought this was all a ridiculous overreaction. Nevertheless, he tried to place his hand on Maddie's shoulder gently to comfort her, but she shook him off and turned to look up at him with furious eyes.

'Did you fuck her?'

Tommy furrowed his brow at her in disbelief. How could she think something like that? He debated whether it was just the anger talking, but as he searched her eyes, he saw the same hurt he had seen earlier and realised that she truly believed that he had slept with Tatiana. He began to feel angry that Maddie would easily talk herself into believing that he would hurt her that way, especially after everything they had shared together over the last two weeks.

'Of course not,' he replied in as calm of a tone as he could manage, although he could feel his temper rising dangerously.

Maddie scoffed, looking away from him and shaking her head. 'Even after she batted her pretty eyelashes at you? She is royalty after all, I'm just your live-in whore,' she spat, her eyes now starting to look glassy with the tears building in them.

Hearing her refer to herself as a whore was enough to push Tommy's temper over the edge and he opened his mouth before he could reign it in.

'Stop acting like a child!' he retorted, his voice rising in volume.

Maddie raised her eyebrows and gritted her teeth in irritation, fighting to stop the tears from falling from her eyes but lost, the first one running down her cheek to drip off her chin.

'Do you know what she told me?' she asked in a strained tone but didn't wait for an answer. 'She said that men like you couldn't resist women like her, that you had made it clear to her that you wanted her the last time you met.'

Tommy blew air out of his nose furiously, of course Tatiana had taunted her, made her feel insecure as part of a cruel game. The worst part was it wasn't a complete lie, the last time he had spoken to Tatiana there had been an undertone sexual tension that, at the time, he had been drawn towards. Now the idea repulsed him, but as a result he had inadvertently hurt Maddie.

'Do you really believe I would do that to you?' said Tommy angrily. 'Yes, Tatiana and I have flirted. But that was before I met you.'

He looked for Maddie to respond, but she was staring at his chest rather than at his face as more tears dripped down her face. Tommy stepped forward and grasped her face firmly with both hands, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes.

'Hey, look at me,' he said softly, his anger waning as he wiped more tears away with his thumbs. 'I love you, Maddie.'

As he said the words, Tommy's heart felt like it was swelling in his chest and he knew that he meant them. Maddie inhaled a shaky breath and let out a weak sob followed by and chocked laugh.

'I love you too,' she whispered, and his chest felt like it was going to explode. 'I'm sorry Tommy.'

'It's alright.'

Tommy bought his lips to Maddie's and kissed her softly, her lips tasting of salt from her tears which were still falling from her eyes, but he didn't care. They hung onto each other like they hadn't seen each other in weeks, and it was several minutes before they broke apart.

'Come on, let's go inside and have a drink with the others,' she said, taking her hand.

'Only after I've changed out of this dress,' she chuckled followed by a hiccup. 'John won't let me live it down if he saw.'

The following day at the office was interesting to say the least. Linda had decided to take all the women out on strike the previous day which resulted in Polly getting drunk and making speeches off the back of a wagon. Everyone found it all very amusing as Polly nursed a nasty looking hangover that morning. Everyone except Tommy, who saw it as a definite power play on Linda's part. An act that he would need to counter if he was to maintain any amount of discipline amongst his family.

However, Tommy found some joy in telling Maddie that Ada would be coming up to visit that evening from London and would likely be waiting for them at Arrow House when they got back. She had moved her visit forward on account of the passing of their father and had wanted to come just to be there. Maddie's face lit up and Tommy mirrored her smile with his own as she laughed with excitement. Her chest bounced up and down as she laughed, and his couldn't stop his gaze from dropping to stare at her breasts which he could see more of from the angle he was stood at. He felt his cock throb in his trousers, the first sign of his libido returning after almost a week off. He began to picture what he was going to do with her once they got home and he felt more blood pump toward his crotch. The events of the previous day had been quickly forgotten and Tommy had been thankful for that. He'd slept with Maddie held tightly to his chest and had vowed to himself to never let her believe that he would ever want anyone else.

The working day went by in a blinding rush, Monday always being the busiest day of the week for Tommy. He had expected them to be working there until the sun had set and that was exactly what happened, the velvety darkness seeping through the windows by the time everyone was ready to leave. As Ada was visiting, all the Shelby's were staying at Arrow House the next couple of nights, all of them taking Tuesday and Wednesday off in order to enjoy a short holiday at the house. Tommy had agreed to it last minute the previous evening, realising it would be a good way to let off some steam in the lead up to the next couple of months.

'I can't wait to see Ada,' said Maddie halfway through the car journey home, jumping up and down on her seat like an excited child.

'She'll be glad to see you. All she did was ask how you were over the phone the other day.'

'That's cos I'm so interesting and likable,' she laughed as Tommy hummed his agreement stoically.

Soon enough, Tommy pulled the car up on the driveway next to Ada's car that was already there as predicted with the rest of the convoy close behind. Everyone got out of their cars in unison, the atmosphere already feeling so jovial that he could even feel himself being infected by it. He snaked an arm around Maddie's waist and gripped her hip, pressing his thumb into the soft bit of flesh next to her hip bone. She looked up at him and smiled, her lips pursing and turning up provocatively and he knew she understood what he was after.

'Let's get the drinks going!' bellowed John as he caught up to the two of them as the group approached the house making everyone else laugh and roll their eyes.

Then, as if death had just appeared, Tommy felt the air around him go cold and the hairs on his arms stand up on end. Maddie must have felt it too because she froze to the spot abruptly before whipping her head around to look into the surrounding darkness. Everyone else stopped still as well and looked at her with confusion just as Tommy heard it. A low, rumbling growl emanated from the pitch black and surrounded them all menacingly. A chill shot through his spine and he felt his heart pick up speed, still not able to see what was making the sound.

A footstep on the gravel to Tommy's left caused him peer in that direction to try and see what it was but it was quickly followed my more footsteps from all around them until eventually he spotted what was causing them. Seven figures stepped up within a few yards of the group, all with disfigured foreheads, glowing yellow eyes, and long sharp fangs. Vampires.