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.

27. Christmas Spirit

'Your terms are quite ambitious Mr Shelby. I now see why people tell me you're a formidable businessman.'

Tommy regarded the man, Oliver Wilkerson, the owner of a large and influential line of iron work factories that made car parts, with a cool yet unperturbed expression. They were stood outside on the patio in the frozen cold as snowflakes were beginning to fall and settle on the ground but despite this had managed to discuss business for the past ten minutes. Tommy was well aware that his business offer was well weighted in his favour, but it was rare for him not to take risks like these when it came to new business deals.

'I did warn you Oliver,' chipped in May, whose expression was one of solemn amusement. 'Tommy rarely ever has anything other than business on his mind.'

Tommy shot an icy look in May's direction which she didn't notice as she was giving Oliver and the other men an arrogant smile to try and look like she knew Tommy more intimately that she actually did. At that moment, he wasn't sure if he despised May or in fact wanted to thank her. Yes, she had nearly caused he and Maddie have a large argument earlier that night with her very obvious attempts to piss him, but mostly Maddie, off. However, the little row they did have had ended with him having the addictive taste of Maddie's arousal on his tongue which in some part was thanks to her. That taste had lingered on his tongue until dinner, and it had taken a lot of effort not to be distracted by it whilst he negotiated various business deals with the other guests.

Tommy flicked his gaze momentarily in the direction of Maddie who was stood by the fishpond talking with Annie, who she had befriended earlier that night, and two other women who he recognised were married to two other men he had spoken to already that night. He was glad she had seemingly managed to get the hang of socialising by herself, even if he had regretted letting her sit at the dinner table without him. When Robert was to show his face again, Tommy was sure there would be a heated interaction between them. He had been worried that Maddie would cling to his arm the entire night when they first arrived. She had kept a pleasant smile on her face that first hour or so but Tommy was able to notice the nervous flickering of her facial muscles and the stiffness of her body which made him fear that she was struggling to relax. He had tried his best in the days leading up to this occasion to put her at ease, but it was evident that she found being in these environments much more difficult that he did. However, now she finally seemed to have shook off her self-consciousness since Annie had struck up a friendship with her which he was relieved to see.

Tommy turned back to look at Oliver who looked like he was still considering his offer with resignation. 'So, what do you say Mr Wilkerson?' he asked, wanting to get the deal secured so he could return indoors and warm his now numb hands.

Oliver looked down at his whiskey glass in thought for a second before looking back up to meet Tommy's eyes again which he held steadily until he finally spoke. 'You drive a hard bargain Mr Shelby, but I cannot deny that a partnership will have its benefits,' he said followed by another short pause. Eventually, Oliver held his hand out to Tommy which he grasped and shook firmly.

'Here's to a long and profitable partnership,' said Tommy, raising his glass in a small toast which Oliver returned before looking towards the doors that led to the ballroom.

'Indeed. I'll be in contact with your office after the new year. Excuse me,' said Oliver, excusing himself from the group and walking toward the house and the other men nodded and started to follow him, leaving Tommy and May stood alone.

'I must return inside also,' she said before looking up at him softly and he noticed a shifty look cross her features. 'Do come and find me if you need a map of the house for tonight.'

Tommy held stern eye contact with May for a moment as he battled the urge to snap back at her spitefully. He recognised his own words he had spoken to her two years previously. Words that had easily seduced her and led to them sleeping together in this very house and which had evidently stayed with her all this time. If he had known then that Maddie would be in his life at this point, he wouldn't have wooed May and caused this awkward position he was now in. However, hindsight was a beautiful thing, and Tommy knew himself well enough to admit he still would have slept with May even if he had the knowledge that she would become this insufferable. At the time, he had developed such a certainty that he and May would fuck that nothing could have distracted him from it. Just then, the image of her writhing on top of him flashed through his memory and his blood betrayed him by rushing southward. He quickly pushed the memory from his mind but kept his face neutral as she gave him a parting smile and sauntered away toward the house.

Huffing out a breath, Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose before clearing his throat and downing what remained of his whiskey. Now he knew why Pol and Ada cursed men so much as their cocks seemed to have a mind of their own, and his was no exception. He looked back over toward Maddie and saw that Annie had begun to walk toward the house herself and he assumed she would soon follow so he turned to walk toward the warm ballroom. He made it a few steps in the direction of the house when a loud but short scream echoed from behind him followed by a deafening cracking sound and a thunderous splash.

Everyone remaining on the patio turned to identify the source of the commotion including Tommy, and he looked toward where the pond was to see the two women who had been talking to Maddie and Annie earlier but with no sign of Maddie. It took him a second to process why she wasn't there and realised what the sound must have been. He hurried over toward the pond as several other guests did the same and as he got closer he saw Maddie's head emerge from the dark water of the pond. She had broken through the thick layer of ice on the surface which was now floating around her in triangular shards. She let out a shocked gasp as she breathed for air and he ran toward the pond to help her.

As it turned out he needn't have bothered because as he approached, he saw Maddie shoot a hellish glare toward the two women she had been speaking to who Tommy then noticed were laughing viciously. Before he knew it, she launched herself out of the pond, climbing back onto the patio with such speed that it caused the two women to recoil a few paces in shock and Tommy reached her just before she managed to throw herself at them, catching her arms and stopping her in her tracks.

'You fucking bitches!' screeched Maddie as she pushed back against Tommy who had to use all of his strength to keep her at bay. 'Which one of you fucking pushed me?!'

Pushed her? Tommy looked back the two women to see them sneering at Maddie with amused looks on their faces before turning back to her and continuing to struggle. Just then, Teddy, Annie's husband who he had spoken to earlier that evening appeared and assisted him in holding her back as she continued to try and throw herself at the two women. He gave Tommy an odd look as he too struggled against her strength, but Tommy pretended not to notice it. If he didn't get Maddie to calm down, then they risked everyone knowing that there was more to her than meets the eye.

'Maddie, calm down!' he urged just as Annie appeared again, hurrying over to also clasp onto Maddie's arm.

'What on earth has happened?!' she exclaimed. 'Maddie you're soaking wet!'

Finally, with the two of them fighting to restrain her, Maddie relaxed but batted Tommy away angrily before pointing toward the two women again. 'One of them pushed me into the pond!' she yelled, her hands shaking with the cold and Tommy quickly removed his suit jacket to wrap around her.

She was indeed soaked to the bone, her black dress hanging heavily from her as water dripped and pooled around her feet. Her hair was dripping wet also and stuck to her face as her make up began to run down her cheeks. Now that she had stopped struggling, she had quickly begun to shiver, and Tommy knew he needed to get her inside before she got hypothermia. However, he couldn't ignore his fiancé's angry accusation and he turned to stare daggers at the two women as Annie did the same.

'Betty, Greta,' began Annie. 'I really ought to be surprised but honestly I should have expected such a dirty trick like this from the two of you.'

Greta and Betty smirked scornfully, and Betty rolled her eyes at them and laughed. 'Don't be so crass. The silly girl was leaning too far over the edge of the pond and lost her balance. Serves her right if you ask me.'

At this, the crowd that had formed around them began to snigger and laugh along with them at Maddie who blinked and immediately seemed to shrink into herself. Her face was wet, but Tommy saw a tear spill out of the corner of her eye as she stood there shaking with a mixture of cold and fury. He quickly felt his own blood begin to boil dangerously and he turned and stepped toward Greta and Betty, his face like thunder and the two women immediately stopped their cackling.

'Who was it?' he asked, his voice dangerously calm in contrast to his expression. The two women shifted uneasily, and Greta betrayed her friend by flicking her gaze nervously in Betty's direction. So, it was Betty. Tommy shifted his gaze squarely to Betty who was unable to meet his stare and he lowered his head toward her slightly making her take a shaky breath.

'Come anywhere near my fiancé again, and they'll find you in this pond tomorrow with no eyes,' Tommy whispered quietly enough so only Betty and Greta could hear. He flicked his gaze over to Greta to signify that the threat included her, and she looked back at him with wide eyed terror.

'What on earth is all the commotion about?' came May's voice from behind him and he straightened up to look at her as she approached. She looked over at him looming threateningly over Greta and Betty with a nervous look before turning and spotting Maddie before letting out a shocked gasp. 'Oh, my goodness! What happened?'

Maddie was still stood on the spot and was staring at Greta and Betty as Annie was rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm her up. May looked from Maddie to Tommy to Betty and back to Maddie again before an infuriating smile tugged the corner of her lips as she took in the sight of her. Tommy was close to throwing Betty, Greta and May into the pond as well as he saw that Maddie was now ducking her head low in embarrassment. Suddenly his focus was back on her, and he noticed that all the colour had gone from her face and hands and she was now shivering violently. Her lips had also turned a worrying shade of blue and he walked back over to her, ignoring May and taking her hand which felt like a block of ice.

'I'll help you take her inside,' said Annie who looked genuinely concerned for Maddie. Tommy nodded and wrapped his arm around Maddie to hug her to him. They began to lead her away when May spoke up again, her insufferable smile still present.

'If you wouldn't mind going around to the side door,' she said. 'You'll only drip water into the carpets if you go through the ballroom. I'll send someone to bring some hot water.'

Tommy halted and shot May a truly furious stare which actually made her falter, her smile falling from her face before he turned to carry on leading Maddie forward as the crowd around them watched in awkward silence. Wasn't it enough for her to see Maddie in this state? Now she had to insult them by making them walk around the whole house. A maid hurried over and indicated for them to follow her down a path that led around the side of the large house to one of the side doors of the guest wing. Maddie was now shivering so hard that her breath was coming out shakily and her chin was wobbling and making her teeth chatter. He took her hand and enveloped it in his in an attempt to warm it up as they reached the door and hurried inside. The maid said she was going to heat up some water as they reached the stairs and he and Annie walked Maddie up to her room.

'I have some spare clothes in our room that you can wear,' said Annie to Maddie as they reached the room. 'I'll be back shortly.'

She gave Tommy a friendly smile before going to carry on down the corridor and he nudged Maddie into the room. As soon as he had shut the door behind him, Maddie threw herself into his arms and buried herself into his chest before bursting into tears.

'I want to go home,' she sobbed, and Tommy felt his heart tighten at hearing her voice choke out her words. Her wet clothes were beginning to make his own clothes wet but he didn't care, and he hugged her tightly to him. The fire in the room thankfully had already been lit for the night, the heat from it radiating invitingly across the room as he waited for Maddie to calm in his arms.

'Come on,' he said softly, taking her still cold hands and leading her over to the fireplace. He removed his jacket, which was now sodden as well, from her shoulders and replaced it with a towel that was hanging on a nearby clothes rack.

Maddie stood and held her hands out to the fire to warm her fingers as Tommy gently brushed her hair from her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Even with her make-up staining her cheeks and her hair stuck flat, she still looked so beautiful. Part of him couldn't help but blame himself for what had happened as he was the one who wanted to attend the party that night. However, he never would have suspected that anyone would have had the courage to do something so spiteful at a Christmas party.

'Why did she push you?' asked Tommy. He had the feeling he was missing something that had been said between Betty and Maddie and she looked up at him with a sniff.

'Well, she was pretty rude to me earlier,' began Maddie. 'She made some remark before dinner about how she expected me to have sold my engagement ring because I would have wanted the money. Then after the commotion at dinner she tried to insult me again and I may have told her not to get on my bad side.'

Tommy absorbed Maddie's words and finally nodded tersely. The night for Tommy himself had been a success, having made serval business deals. However, the party for Maddie had overall been a series of embarrassments which he should have made sure never happened. He cupped her face with his hands, making her look up at him before kissing her forehead.

'I'm sorry, Maddie,' he said. 'I should have stopped this from happening.'

Maddie gave him a perplexed look. 'It's not your fault. How could you have stopped that bitch from pushing me? Even I didn't know it would happen and I have slayer senses.'

Tommy couldn't help but smile and huff out a laugh despite himself. She was right, it was silly to blame himself, but she was going to be his wife soon. And it was a husband's duty to protect his wife. Particularly from vile vultures like Greta and Betty who had insulted her and tried to sully her reputation for no apparent reason. Looking back, he wished he could have let her get her hands on the two women but knew he couldn't compromise her carefully crafted persona of being a normal woman from Small Heath.

'I promise, I won't let anything like this happen again, eh?' whispered Tommy sternly. Maddie had finally stopped shivering and her skin felt slightly warmer as a result of the fire and she looked up at him with a soft smile.

'I know. I won't let it happen either. I think I've learnt my lesson that these people can't be trusted,' she replied. 'Except for Annie and Teddy, they aren't like the rest.'

Tommy had to agree on that point. Teddy was a formidable man in his own right but underneath his intimidating exterior, he had was a kind, gentle and generous man. He was especially popular with the women, who all seemed to blush when he greeted them with his charming smile and Tommy quickly dismissed the thought that Maddie had likely done the same when he introduced himself to her. It was therefore a little wonder that Teddy had made a woman like Annie his wife. She was full of life and ferocity despite her delicate and demure appearance and the two of them made a perfect match. He couldn't blame Maddie for wanting them at their wedding as she and Annie seemed to have grown quite close over the space of one evening.

There was a knock at the door that pulled Tommy from his thoughts, and he called for whoever it was to enter. The maid who had shown them in opened the door carrying a large kettle full of hot water followed by another maid with another kettle as well as a bucket of cold water. The maids came in and pulled out a copper bathtub from the corner of the room and set it in front of the fire as they stood to one side. They filled the bath with hot water, mixing the cold water to get it to the right temperature.

'Thank you,' said Tommy as they finished and the two maids bowed politely before leaving the room, kettles in hand.

Maddie looked down at the inviting hot water and removed the towel from around her shoulders. 'Undo these for me,' she asked, turning her back to Tommy and he began unfastening the buttons on the back of her dress. He felt the skin of her back underneath her dress and noticed that it was still freezing cold, and she shuddered as he ducked his head to kiss the nape of her neck softly. He flicked his gaze over to the hot bath, making the decision that he was going to climb into the bath with her and the two of them would stay up in that room for the rest of the night when there was another knock at the door.

'It's Annie,' came the soft voice from the other side of the door. 'May I come in?'

Tommy gave Maddie a pleading look, but she only smirked at him and turned to face the door. 'Come in, Annie!'

Annie opened the door and slipped inside, a wide smile on her face and a handful of clothes in her arms. 'Don't you worry Maddie,' she started, walking over to the bed and placing the stuff down on it. 'I'll have you sorted and back down at the party in less than an hour!'

Maddie gave Annie an unsure look as did Tommy, who wasn't sure that either of them wanted to re-join the frivolities after such a dramatic scandal.

'But… I don't know whether I could show my face down there,' replied Maddie timidly and Annie suddenly turned on her with a stern expression that Tommy was surprised her pretty face could even make.

'Yes, you bloody well can! And you must!' exclaimed Annie, taking both Maddie and Tommy aback. 'You cannot let those two witches or May for that matter get the better of you! I know you will walk back out there with your head held high, or my name isn't Anabelle!'

Tommy raised one eyebrow in surprise and looked down at Maddie to see that she was regarding Annie in amused shock before she laughed and nodded her head. 'Yeah, you're right. I won't give them the satisfaction.'

Annie clapped her hands together and gave Maddie a look of pride as Tommy also gave her a happy smile that was mixed with a bittersweet regret that he wasn't going to be able to spend the night in the hot bathtub with her. Never mind, he thought, we have a much bigger bath at home.

'Now, Tommy,' said Annie, stepping over to him and taking him by the arm. 'You go back downstairs and join the party and I'll help Maddie get cleaned up.' Annie picked up his suit jacket as she tugged on his arm and he let her lead him over to the door, something which very few people were brave enough to do. He looked back at Maddie who nodded that it was okay and he removed his cigarettes and lighter from his jacket pocket, deciding the jacket was still too wet to carry on wearing. He hung it on the back of the door before looking back down at Annie as she all but shooed him from the room. 'Don't worry, we'll be down in a flash. Also, Teddy will want to talk to you about your horse.'

Maddie cast Tommy a departing smile from by the fire as Annie closed the door on him. The woman had more balls than most men that was for sure. Closing the door on Thomas Shelby was sure to get anyone else killed, but when it was Annie he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He turned to make his way back to the party, lighting up a cigarette as he went. He supposed it would be a good idea to use this time to finish off any deals he had yet to complete, including the one with Teddy, so that he could spend the rest of the night dancing with Maddie as he should have done from the start.

On his way along the downstairs corridor, Tommy bumped into someone as he rounded the corner and saw that it was Robert, the man who had been sitting next to Maddie at dinner, who recognised him immediately and tried to duck away. The tension caused by the anger at Maddie being pushed into the pond was still winding Tommy's body up tight and the anger from that as well as what he knew Robert had tried to do at dinner caused him to snap like a taught elastic band. He grabbed Robert by the lapels of his jacket before slamming him against the wall, winding him in the process as he looked back at him terrified. Tommy had been meaning to get Robert alone since dinner, not wanting him to get away with violating his fiancé so easily.

'Mr Shelby!' Robert pleaded shakily, holding onto Tommy's wrists in freight. 'Please, I didn't know she was your fiancé!'

Tommy felt his nostrils flare furiously. It was men like Robert that made women distrust men, and rightly so. The fact that he had tried to touch Maddie in any way made him livid and insinuating that he only didn't go ahead with it because he knew she was Tommy's fiancé only made it worse.

'You are lucky I came here unarmed tonight,' said Tommy darkly, making Robert recoil even more. 'You picked the wrong woman to try and fool with.' He held Robert there a second longer, debating whether or not to land a satisfying punch to his nose but decided that would only ruin the party for everyone involved and finally released him. 'Come within ten feet of Maddie and I will drown you in the pond myself.'

Robert didn't need any more convincing, and he nodded quickly before side stepping and hurrying down the corridor and away from Tommy. Tommy knew that if he told John and Arthur what Robert had tried to do to Maddie, both of them would take it upon themselves to make sure Robert didn't have the opportunity to do that to any other woman ever again and he decided he might do just that.

Tommy huffed angrily before continuing through the house to the ballroom where he entered just as the band changed song to a more modern jazz piece. A few people gave him funny looks as he entered, and he knew that the story of the fishpond had made its way around all the guests. A few people looked long enough to make eye contact with him, and he gave them pointed icy looks to signify that he wasn't going to tolerate anyone bringing the incident up. He approached the table that housed the whiskey and poured himself a large glass before scanning the room to find Teddy who he spotted talking to someone by the window.

As he approached, Teddy noticed him and excused himself from who he was talking to and stepped forward to meet him. 'Tommy,' he said. 'Is Maddie alright?'

'She's fine,' said Tommy. 'She and Annie will be back down again soon.'

Teddy nodded with a thankful smile before he looked around him to check no one was listening. 'I don't want to ask as I'm not sure whether I was imagining it but… Maddie, has she always been that strong?'

Tommy looked back at Teddy stoically as he sipped his whiskey. They hadn't even made it through one event without the guests getting suspicious of her, but then of course she had good reason to lash out and use her strength. However, Teddy had evidently noticed that something wasn't right about her, and Tommy needed to be careful he didn't make him any more suspicious.

'It must have been the adrenaline and the anger of the moment,' said Tommy with a shrug, lighting a fresh cigarette. Teddy gave him a look to signify he wasn't totally convinced, and he couldn't exactly blame him. Teddy was a large man, taller than Tommy and built like a racehorse which meant he shouldn't normally have any trouble overpowering a woman of Maddie's size, and yet she had been close to throwing he and Tommy off her in her fury. Nevertheless, Teddy must have decided it best not to probe further on this particular topic.

'I've spoken to David and Andrew; they've sent their wives up to their rooms for the rest of the night. They were practically red in the face with embarrassment when I told them what had happened,' informed Teddy. Tommy recalled speaking to David and Andrew, Greta and Betty's husbands, before dinner and was surprised the two of them had married such insufferable women.

'Good,' said Tommy. 'Maybe this night can be savoured after all.'

Tommy changed the subject and picked up on the conversation he and Teddy had before dinner regarding the thoroughbred, called Count Fleet, he had bought Maddie for her birthday. He was reminded of Maddie's birthday in that moment and suppressed a smile at the fond memory. He wouldn't have ever admitted it to her, but he had actually been as close to giddy excitement about the surprise party as was possible for him to get. Watching her face light up as she realised that they hadn't forgotten her birthday was a sight he would treasure forever, as was the sight of her face contorted in arousal beneath him later that night.

Teddy informed Tommy that it would be no problem getting Count registered for the Derby next year as long as he was trained and certified by a qualified trainer by the end of April. This was good news, however there was only one trainer Tommy knew of who could achieve that and his gaze quickly landed on May who was mingling a few yards away. He had hoped to avoid hiring May to train Maddie's new horse given his own history with her and now the evident dislike her and Maddie had for each other would mean Maddie would likely protest. But it seemed that May was his only option in this case. Tommy agreed to Teddy's terms and shook his hand, thanking him for his help. Teddy then started a more in-depth conversation about horses and horse training that Tommy actually found engaging. It was obvious that Teddy was a keen rider and a lover of horses like he was, only Teddy's experience was grounded in his upper-class background whereas Tommy's came from his gypsie heritage. They talked enthusiastically for a good thirty minutes until Tommy realised he should be expecting Maddie back downstairs any moment.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he looked toward the door to the ballroom and Annie appeared a moment later looking rather excited. She looked around the room and spotted Tommy before waving him over to her.

'They're back,' said Tommy, nodding his head in Annie's direction and Teddy looked up to spot his wife.

Tommy started to make his way across the room toward Annie and watched as she turned to look back down the corridor, beckoning to someone forcefully. A second later, he saw Maddie's face emerge from around the doorframe looking particularly shy and nervous before she finally stepped out to stand in the doorway. He had to pause a moment as she came into full view, his heart beating a little faster like a schoolboy's.

Any evidence that she had been submerged in a freezing cold pond just an hour ago had vanished and she in fact looked fresh faced and positively radiant. The pale blue dress Annie had lent her was a perfect fit, the front cut a lot lower than the dress she was wearing earlier. Blue was one of Tommy's favourite colours on Maddie and it made her pale skin glow in the bright light of the ballroom. Annie had also managed to restyle her hair and makeup; her lips painted a brighter shade of red that drew his eyes to them hungrily. She quickly spotted him looking at her and she smiled widely as he finally managed to shake himself out of his awe and continue walking toward her.

Annie gave Maddie's hand a squeeze and a sly look before turning to leave as he approached. He caught Annie look up at him and winked mischievously as she passed, and he immediately began to wonder what the two of them had planned. Maddie looked up at him nervously once he reached her and gave her a small smile.

'You look beautiful,' he said quietly so no one else could hear.

'Thanks,' replied Maddie as Tommy instinctively wrapped his hands around her waist. 'Annie has really good taste in clothes.'

'Hmm,' hummed Tommy distractedly as he ran his hands not too discreetly over her hips. He gazed at her lips for a few seconds, fighting the urge to kiss her much more aggressively than was socially acceptable, before moving his gaze down to her neck and finally her breasts. From the angle he was looking, he could see directly down the front of her dress, and it took him less than a second to realise she wasn't wearing a brazier. His eyes snapped back up to meet hers and she gave him a sly look before he moved his hand up and round to discreetly cup her breast over the top of the dress. Her nipple hardened immediately, and he brushed it with his thumb as he gave her a pretend look of disappointment. 'We're still at a Christmas party you know,' he teased with an amused grin.

Maddie bit her lip and looked bashful for a second before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. 'The spare underwear I bought showed underneath the dress and the set I wore earlier were still wet so… the only thing I had were my spare stockings and garters.'

She gave him another seductive look and he immediately cottoned on to what she was saying, she was completely nude underneath her dress. He moved his hand over her backside to confirm and felt no seams or ridges of any underwear underneath. Blood surged in an angry current towards his groin, and he felt his cock starting to grow firm in his trousers as he gave her a dark and dangerous look. However, if they stayed stood there much longer, the guests nearby would grow suspicious, even if part of him didn't care. The music being played then changed to a much slower and romantic number and Tommy heard several sets of feet start moving as couples began to dance behind him.

'Do you want to dance?' he asked, causing Maddie to give him a look of shock.

'You dance?' she asked, unable to stifle a giggle.

'When the mood takes me.'

'I don't know how to dance to this kind of music, Tommy,' admitted Maddie, looking suddenly nervous again. Tommy realised then that he hadn't taken Maddie out dancing at all since he met her, or even danced in the privacy of their own home together, which was something that needed to be rectified as soon as possible.

'I'll teach you,' he said. 'Come on.'

He placed his hand softly into Maddie's before leading her towards the middle of the room where a gaggle of people had begun to waltz in a neat formation. They stopped on the edge of the dancefloor and Tommy turned to Maddie again, taking her left hand in his and placing her other on his shoulder before resting his left hand on her waist. She looked up at him in nervous confusion, her eyes flitting to the other dancers as if she were trying to quickly pick up the steps from them.

'Just follow my lead alright?' whispered Tommy soothingly.

'But what does that even mean?' she asked frantically.

Tommy chuckled quietly to himself. Had she really never tried to dance a waltz before?'

'Keep your feet with mine without stepping on them,' he instructed.

Maddie gave him one last unsure look before finally nodding timidly. Taking a breath, Tommy nodded once to her, waiting for the appropriate beat to start moving before stepping his right foot forward. There was a fraction of a delay from her, his leg knocking hers slightly before she mirrored his movement and let him lead her into a slow and admittedly clumsy waltz. He made sure to make his steps steady and obvious so she could pick them up although she frequently had to look down at their feet awkwardly. A few times she accidentally caught his toes with her feet but eventually they managed to fumble into a slow regular rhythm, so she was able to keep her head up and look up at him with a shy look in her eyes.

'Am I doing it right?' Maddie asked with an innocence that made her appear all the more beautiful.

'Not bad,' replied Tommy, making sure he had a teasing tone in his voice. She looked up at him and pouted, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly which made him smile jestingly back. 'Try pushing your chest out more.'

Maddie gave him a suspicious look but nevertheless she pushed her chest forward and her shoulders back just as Tommy pulled her toward him by her waist intentionally. He felt her breasts press up against his chest and he looked down to see that her dress had stretched over them, making them swell over the top of her neckline, just as he planned. He tightened his grip of her waist, stretching his fingers down toward her backside. Again, Tommy felt his blood make a beeline for his cock and it swiftly firmed in his trousers and pressed against her thigh. She looked up at him with a mock look of disappointment but ended up giggling and blushing sinfully which only made his cock grow harder against her leg. It was a rare moment for Tommy to be at a physical advantage over Maddie, so he admitted he couldn't resist the temptation to take light-hearted advantage of her inexperience. However, in his unashamed indulgence, he lost his concentration and took a wrong step causing her to stumble on his foot and nearly fall although he managed to catch her with some grace before quickly regaining their previous rhythm.

'That's what you get when you try to cop a feel,' said Maddie, looking up at Tommy with an amused smirk.

'Cop a feel?' he repeated dumbly as he usually did with the numerous unfamiliar terms she used.

'Try to touch my bum without asking,' she clarified with a laugh. 'I thought you'd know that one.'

'You know I don't understand half the things you say.'

'And it never gets old seeing you so confused by my stellar way with words,' she teased lovingly.

Tommy gifted her another smile, letting her win at her attempt to poke fun at him. They carried on dancing for a few minutes, Tommy not making another effort to fondle Maddie for fear they may end up in heap on the floor. Eventually the music stopped, and they came to halt near the fireplace and he placed his hands onto her waist as she rested her hands on his chest.

'How do you feel about dancing now?' asked Tommy softly, drawing Maddie to him again now that they were safely stationary.

'Better,' she nodded. 'But I think I'd be better at something faster.'

Tommy quirked his eyebrow up suggestively and Maddie quickly realised what she had said and grimaced. 'You want to do something fast, eh?' he jibed.

Maddie sighed and shook her head. 'I walked into that one, didn't I?'

He laughed softly at her slip up but made sure not to be too ungentlemanly. He looked over at the fire briefly and saw that there was a sprig of mistletoe pinned to the mantlepiece, causing him to look back down at her with a warm smile.

'We can save the fast stuff for later,' he said in a low tone. 'But for now, how about a kiss?'

Maddie was now the one quirking her eyebrow up, evidently perplexed by Tommy's polite request for a kiss when he usually stole one whenever he wanted without asking. He nodded his head in the direction of the mantlepiece and she looked over towards it, spotting the mistletoe and smiling widely.

'Well… since it's Christmas and all,' she said, and Tommy tilted his head down to press his lips to hers softly.

The kiss was initially delicate and tender, an innocent and romantic kiss that made both his and Maddie's breath quicken with its intimate nature. However, their lips soon began to move against each other, the kiss becoming much more erotic and inappropriate for their surroundings and Tommy soon felt her hands pushing on his chest urgently and they broke apart with a gasp. They looked at each other in amusement for a moment, understanding crossing between them before she took a step back from him and he noticed that her erect nipples were showing conspicuously beneath her dress.

'I'm going to find Annie for a bit,' she said, her voice thick with arousal. 'Before we have to leave the party unfashionably early.'

Tommy pursed his lips in disappointment but nodded in agreement anyway. He only needed to last a couple more hours before he and Maddie could exit the party politely and he would have her to himself in the privacy of their bedroom. She smiled at him knowingly and as she walked past him, brushing her hand against his arm softly. He let a small smile cross over his lips as she did this before he looked up to find a route back to the drinks table. As he did so, he spotted that May was stood not too far away and caught her eyes for a second, seeing that her expression was nothing short of forlorn. She very quickly moved her gaze away, the skin of her neck turning an angry shade of red, and Tommy realised that she must have been watching he and Maddie kiss a few seconds ago.

Tommy's instinct was to take some private satisfaction in May's discomfort but otherwise make a particular effort in avoiding her for the rest of the night. But then he remembered his discussion with Teddy, about getting Count trained for the Derby, and realised that her evident discomfort could hurt his chances of enlisting her help in that endeavour. With a resigned sigh, Tommy set his jaw into a hard line again and began walking towards May who had distracted herself by making conversation with a guest. He lit a cigarette on the way to her and puffed on it as he came to a stop next to her.

'May,' he announced, making her turn to him nervously, a fresh blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks. 'Sorry to interrupt,' he followed, giving the guest she was speaking with an apologetic glance. 'Can I speak with you a moment?'

May faltered for split second, her lip twitching nervously before she forced herself to smile and nodded. 'Of course,' she said.

The other guest gave them a polite smile and took it as his cue to find someone else to talk to as Tommy regarded May with a blank look, drawing slowly on his cigarette. She shifted slightly on the spot and he could tell that she was anticipating harsh words for being caught watching he and Maddie with evident jealously. After a second, she finally looked him in the eye and swallowed.

'What is it you'd like to speak about?' she asked. 'If it's about the incident earlier, I apologise for the undignified walk around the house, that was very inhospitable of me.'

It seemed that May had now realised that her attitude that night had been less that ladylike, although it was a few hours too late in Tommy's opinion. However, she had voluntarily offered him an apology, even if she had neglected to apologise for the various other insults she had made that night. He debated whether to coax a better apology from her, including a direct one to be made to Maddie, but he knew that wouldn't put her in the mood to work with him. If her watching him and Maddie kiss hadn't already broken any possibility of business between them that is.

'Apology accepted,' Tommy said sternly. 'But that's not what I want to talk to you about.'

May's eyebrows flicked upward momentarily, evidently shocked that he hadn't been angry. If only she knew, he thought, but it would be better for now for her to think I'm not furious with her. Her face softened slightly in relief, and she offered him a pleasant smile.

'Oh? Then what is it you want to ask me?'

'I have a horse I need to train for the Derby,' said Tommy, not wanting to beat around the bush. 'A thoroughbred stallion.' May, who Tommy knew was absolutely devoted to her job, smiled widely at the mention of horses, particularly a thoroughbred.

'The Derby, that's an awfully short time to train a horse,' she said. 'Even a fine horse like that.'

'I have faith in the horse, he's a natural born racer,' replied Tommy, recalling the stallion's natural swiftness. 'Tough to handle though, which is why I need you to train him.'

May pursed her lips, a certain element of smugness to her expression. 'Do you have a name for him yet?'

'Count Fleet.'

'Hm,' hummed May, pausing in thought a moment before making her decision. 'Very well. But it will cost you more than last time as it's a stallion.'

Tommy nodded once, unbothered by whatever price May was a planning to charge for Count's training. The stallion was fast but unruly, as he had found out the hard way when the horse had threw Maddie from his back and dislocated her shoulder, and he needed an experienced trainer to get him in shape.

'I look forward to meeting the stallion,' continued May. 'What drove you to buy such an expensive stallion?'

Tommy paused in thought a moment, debating whether to tell May the truth. Her jealously of Maddie might lead her to not put enough effort into Count's training if she knew that he was actually Maddie's horse in an effort to spite her. On the other hand, he doubted that May would sabotage the chances of such a horse winning the Derby just because of her own jealousy. Besides, he was sure she would find out the truth eventually.

'Maddie,' replied Tommy, taking a final drag of his cigarette before extinguishing it in an ashtray on a nearby table. 'It's technically her horse, I brought it for her birthday.'

May's expression hardened somewhat at this news and Tommy watched as a train of emotions played behind her eyes. He could see that she was fighting the urge to spit out an insult, but she managed to swallow whatever venomous words she had in mind and settled for a milder but still obvious jab.

'I had no idea Maddie could ride. Let alone ride a thoroughbred stallion.'

Tommy stiffened slightly but kept his face neutral. The infuriating thing was, even if she was wrong in assuming Maddie couldn't ride, she was right in inferring that Maddie would struggle with Count. He recalled the many hours Maddie had spent wrestling with Count to try and get him to obey her like Luna did, but the enormous beast hadn't taken to her leadership. He had realised that the giant stallion was probably one of the only things that matched Maddie in strength, and made it challenging for her to control him when she didn't have the addition of the experience needed to ride him.

'She is a decent rider,' replied Tommy honestly. 'But Count is proving difficult for her.'

This admission seemed to restore May's confidence and she again looked smug, but he tried his best to ignore it and instead held his hand out to her.

'So, it's a deal?' he asked. May put her hand in his and they shook firmly.

'Yes, it's a deal.'

'Good,' said Tommy before looking over at the drinks table. 'If you'll excuse me.'

May gave Tommy a slightly disappointed look, as if she were hoping he would chat to her a little longer, but nodded politely and he made his way eagerly to the drinks table to pour himself a fresh whiskey, glad for that necessary conversation to be over. He made conversation with a handful of people for the next hour or so although their conversations were now beginning to bore him. He frequently glanced around the room to check on Maddie who he saw was smiling happily with Annie by her side who seemed to be bringing out the social butterfly within Maddie with ease. However, as the time passed, Tommy glanced around the room again to see that neither Annie nor Maddie was in the room and furrowed his brow in concern.

Just then, Teddy approached and held out a cigar to Tommy that he took from a gold case. He wasn't a big fan of cigars but since it was Christmas, he accepted the offer and took the cigar and lit it. He could tell it was an expensive brand of cigar from the quality and found he rather liked it. He poured himself a brandy this time to go with the fine cigar.

'Have you seen Maddie?' asked Tommy, taking another look around the room.

'Oh, she and Annie have gone to the cellar to find some of May's finer wine,' informed Teddy. 'Annie does pride herself on her taste in wine.'

Tommy nodded, satisfied that Maddie wouldn't get into much trouble in the cellar and proceeded to inform Teddy that he had gotten May to agree to train Count for the Derby.

'Ah excellent,' smiled Teddy. 'Then I'm sure he will turn out to be a fine steed indeed!'

They smoked their cigars and drank their brandy in silence for a while, watching the other guests with half bored expressions when suddenly there was a commotion on the other side of the room toward where the door was, a murmur of concerned shock rippling over the room. Tommy's senses were immediately pricked, as were Teddy's, as the two of them straightened up just as the figure of Annie came hurrying across the room, nearly knocking people over as she passed them.

As soon as they spotted her, Tommy's felt his body tense awfully. She looked dishevelled, her neat hair now out of place and sticking out in places. Her expression was that of freight and a tear had caused her make-up to streak down her cheek. It took him another second to notice that she had her hand clasped to her neck and once she got closer, he could see the red stain of blood on her pale skin. He and Teddy abandoned their drinks and cigars on the table and strode over to meet Annie who threw herself into Teddy who hugged his wife to him before looking down at her with furious concern.

'Annie, what on earth has happened?' he asked as other guests close by looked over at them curiously.

'Oh, Teddy!' she gasped, evidently in shock. 'Maddie and I were just attacked!'

Tommy stiffened at this news and immediately looked up to try and find Maddie, who he thought must have followed Annie here, but she was nowhere to be seen.

'Who attacked you?' asked Teddy sternly, the man's anger at seeing his wife like this already boiling to the surface.

'He looked like one of the waiting staff,' said Annie. 'He escorted us to the wine cellar before he grabbed me from behind and…' Annie faltered before taking her hand from her neck to reveal two small holes that were still oozing fresh blood. 'He bit me.'

Tommy swallowed as he recognised the puncture wounds on Annie's neck and he turned to her urgently.

'Annie, where's Maddie?' he urged.

'She's still down in the cellar,' she said. 'When that man bit me she was on him like a cat. When he let go of me she screamed at me to run. I didn't want to leave her but then she shouted for me to come and get you!'

Fuck! Tommy didn't wait to hear any more before he took off in the direction of the door at a run, people watching him in shock as he dashed past into the corridor. As he ran a few paces down the corridor he heard footsteps running to catch him up and turned to see Teddy running to join him. Shit, if Teddy sees what Tommy was imagining was going on down there, then Maddie's carefully crafted reputation would be in tatters.

'No,' he shouted back, rapidly trying to think of an excuse. 'I'll go ahead. Make sure Annie is alright first and round up some men before following me.'

Teddy hesitated, looking confused that Tommy had made such a strange command, but he nodded and turned to go back to the ballroom. He would have ideally wanted to keep anyone else away, but it would look too suspicious if he had said he'd go alone so his only hope was to keep people away long enough so Maddie could kill the vampire. Tommy continued through the house, barking at a passing maid to tell him how to get to the cellar and she hurriedly pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

'It's through the door at the far end of the kitchen sir.'

He carried on into the kitchen, not thanking the maid and dashed toward the door she mentioned, wrenching it open and flying down the stone steps. The cellar itself was cavernous, damp and cold but the stone walls carried sound well and Tommy soon heard the sounds of a struggle up ahead and he ran up the corridor toward it. It wasn't necessarily Maddie's safety he was concerned for. One vampire was hardly a threat to her, but more her reputation. If any of the guests witnessed what was happening, her guise as a normal woman from Birmingham would be broken and her world of monsters and demons revealed. Not to mention to a room full of highly influential people which would be undoubtedly disastrous.

As he reached the source of the noise, the corridor opening up into a room full of wine racks, he spotted Maddie brawling with the vampire. He was indeed dressed in a waiter's uniform, although it had been torn in several places, and his face was contorted into his vampiric visage. If any of the guests were to come downstairs now, they could risk being injured or possibly killed by this creature. Maddie, who had been knocked backward by the vamp momentarily, looked up and spotted Tommy and called to him.

'I need a stake!' she called. 'Quickly!'

Tommy looked around frantically but couldn't see anything he could use as a stake but then spotted an old wooden chair in the corner of the room. He began to walk toward it but the vamp had finally noticed him and made to swipe at him. He ducked just in time as Maddie grabbed the vamp and launched him into the wine rack. Several bottles of wine tumbled from the shelves and smashed on the floor, causing a rain of red and white liquid to pool on the flagstones. She continued to throw punches at the vamp as Tommy hurried over to the chair. He picked it up and swung it against the wall to smash it, creating several stake shaped pieces of wood. Picking one up he turned back to Maddie as he heard the sound of footsteps and voices far up the cellar corridor. Shit!

'Maddie!' he called, and she turned just as he threw the stake to her.

She caught it deftly before spinning and kicking the vamp up against the wall before plunging the pointed piece of wood into the vamp's chest. The vampire dissolved into dust at her feet and she turned to look at him as he walked over to her with a relieved expression. She then picked up the sounds of approaching footsteps and hastily dropped the stake by her feet as Teddy, Annie and several others ran into the room.

'Where is he?!' shouted Teddy angrily as the others looked around the room quickly. 'I swear to god I will run him through!'

Tommy glanced down at Maddie, who looked more than a little dishevelled, and they shared a look as she quickly scraped her foot over the small pile of dust by her feet to try and disperse it. Teddy seemed so preoccupied with finding the assailant that he hadn't noticed them, but Annie however came hurrying over in a panic.

'Oh, Maddie, are you alright?!' she asked, taking Maddie's hands. 'I was so worried! I thought he was going to kill you for certain!'

'I'm alright,' responded Maddie, putting on a nervously feminine voice that was uncharacteristic of her. 'Just a little shaken up. Are you alright?'

'Oh, it's just a scratch,' dismissed Annie and Tommy noticed that the bite on her neck had stopped bleeding.

Teddy was suddenly shaken from his anger long enough to notice them, and his gaze landed on Maddie and a look of concern crossed his features. 'Dear god, Maddie, what on earth did he do to you?'

'I… er… he attacked me, but I managed to fight him off,' she stuttered nervously, making her sound convincingly like a victim of a cruel man's attack. 'He made a run for it down that other corridor.'

Maddie pointed down a small passage with a door at the end of it and Teddy as well as a couple of other men ran down it to investigate. Tommy put his hand around Maddie's waist and pulled her to him before taking a second to look down at her and assess the damage. Her left cheek had a minor bruise, and her hair was ruined but she seemed otherwise unscathed. The hem of the dress she had borrowed from Annie however was soaked with the wine that had fallen from the racks. Maddie looked down at the dress to where Tommy was looking and gasped in shock.

'Oh god, Annie I'm sorry, your dress is ruined!' she cried, giving Annie and apologetic look.

'Oh, pish posh to the bloody dress!' exclaimed Annie. 'You saved me from that man, and you are thankfully alright, that's all that matters!'

Annie then took a moment to look around the mess of the room and regarded Maddie quizzically. 'My goodness! What and awful mess. It looks as though he threw you about this room.'

Maddie swallowed nervously and looked up at Tommy with a worried expression, as if wanting him to come up with a plausible story before seeming to find one on the spot herself.

'I don't know what the matter with him was, he kept falling over and breaking things, maybe he was drunk.'

Annie gave Maddie an odd look, a look that signified that she knew she wasn't being entirely truthful, but nevertheless she smiled warmly and accepted her explanation as Teddy returned into the room.

'No sign of him!' he said angrily. 'That door leads outside. He must have made a run for it across the grounds. Tommy, did you get a good look at him?'

Teddy addressed Tommy eagerly and he quickly thought of the appropriate answer. 'No, by the time I got here he was already gone.'

Teddy looked at Tommy a moment, the same look of disbelief in his eyes as Annie had before he glanced around at the wreckage of the room and shot a probing glance at Maddie. 'That's a bloody shame,' he sighed disappointedly.

'He was wearing a waiter's uniform,' said Maddie innocently. 'He was young, but I didn't get a good look at his face… I'm sorry.'

'It's quite alright,' smiled Teddy. 'As long as you're alright.'

Just then, a pair of heels came marching into the cellar and May appeared, her gaze falling on the mess of the room causing her to gasp before her gaze landed on Maddie. It was twice now that Maddie had gotten into some sort of drama in one night and May's expression signified that she wasn't at all impressed.

'What on earth has gone on here?' she asked shrilly.

'One of the waiter's attacked Maddie and Annie,' said Tommy. 'He's made a run for it.'

May bristled slightly at this news but upon seeing the dishevelled state of Annie and Maddie softened and pursed her lips.

'Well, thank God you're both alright,' she said. 'I'll send someone out in the car to search the grounds for the culprit.'

He and Maddie nodded as everyone else began to file out of the room and the two of them glanced down at the scattered dust at their feet before smirking to one another silently. Good luck with that May, thought Tommy, you'll be searching an awfully long time.

The incident in the cellar brought Maddie's time at the party to an end as she was sure it would be too much for her to go upstairs and come back with yet another outfit change. Tommy took this opportunity to also excuse himself from the party, not wanting to answer any probing questions on what had happened. Both Annie and Teddy also seemed to feel the same way and they too excused themselves to bed, wishing them a goodnight.

Once back in the quiet of their room, Tommy planned to question Maddie on the details of what had happened, mainly wanting to know why there was a vampire at May's house in the first place. But instead he was taken by surprise as she leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and kissing him hard as he caught her by her thighs. There was urgency in the way she kissed him, and she ground her hips against him making his cock quickly grow hard in his trousers. All questions he had wanted to ask quickly left his brain and he walked the two them over to the bed and threw her onto it, eliciting a sexy giggle from her as she bounced onto the mattress.

'Have you got over your scary little encounter in the cellar then?' teased Tommy as he descended onto the bed to pin Maddie down playfully. She giggled again and bit her lip suggestively as she gave him a provocative look.

'Did you like my innocent victim act?' she asked, writhing herself beneath him and making his cock throb. He realised then that she had actually gotten a kick out of fooling the others into thinking she was a sweet and innocent victim of an attack and not in fact a killing machine. Tommy gazed down at her with an amused smile as she fluttered her eyelashes and licked her lips knowingly.

'It was a very good performance,' he replied.

'I could carry on pretending if you want?' she asked coyly. 'You know, to be innocent and in need of comforting by a strong and handsome man.'

Tommy flicked his gaze over Maddie for a second, his cock throbbing angrily and letting him know what response he ought to make.

'What sort of comforting do you need, luv?' he asked huskily, lowering his lips to brush hers seductively.

'The sort where I end up feeling numb and on fire all at once,' she breathed heavily.

'I'm sure I can manage that.'

Tommy took a sip of tea to conceal his smirk as he watched Maddie awkwardly adjust the neck scarf around her neck that she was using to conceal the very dark and conspicuous bruise she had on her neck. The memory of him creating that bruise with his mouth the night before flashed through his mind and he cleared his throat in an attempt to distract himself.

They had joined everyone who had stayed the night that morning for breakfast before they were due for home later that morning and they were both trying their best to not look exhausted. He and Maddie had been up for what must have been several hours completely absorbed in one another, Tommy taking the task of 'comforting' Maddie very seriously. When she discovered the bruise in the mirror later that morning, she frantically tried to find ways to cover it up. He hadn't realised just how hard he had sucked on her neck as the mark was almost black in colour and was blazingly conspicuous against her fair skin. Part of him wanted to tell her to not cover it; to show it off proudly to the other guests and to May so they could get satisfaction out of their mortification. However, he admitted that was not a particularly wise idea, not wanting rumours to spread that Maddie was promiscuous to the point of flaunting her bruises so shamelessly.

Maddie looked up and caught Tommy's eye and gave him a withering look in response to his amused expression before pursing her own lips to stop herself from smiling. There were only a handful of people at the table who had stayed overnight, including Annie and Teddy who had sat themselves next to them and were chatting away happily. Annie was also wearing a scarf around her neck, only Tommy was sure it was to conceal the vamp bite that would no doubt leave a scar. The events of the night before had been briefly mentioned when they sat down to breakfast, May informing them that the culprit had of course not been found but the authorities had been informed all while Tommy and Maddie feigned ignorance. Annie had brushed off everyone's concern for her well-being, saying that she was more than alright and thanked Maddie again for jumping to her aid.

This prompted a lot of odd looks in Maddie's direction who faltered slightly but was quick to be humble and brush off the incident as best she could. It was obvious that everyone had seen the blinding elephant in the room; that it was no short of a miracle that a five-foot three woman had somehow fought off a fully grown man without so much as a scratch. The bruise on her cheek already showed signs of healing although thankfully no one pointed this out. However, Tommy got the distinct sense that everyone had cottoned on that there was more to Maddie than meets the eye. Especially Teddy and Annie who he noticed cast quizzical though not unkind glances in h direction. He remembered how Teddy had noticed how strong she was after she had been pushed into the pond and worried that he may put two and two together. All they could do was feign innocence as much as possible and hope people would forget about it.

Once breakfast was over, the remaining guests gathered in the foyer to say their farewells as the cars were brought around for them to make their departures.

'It was splendid seeing you Tommy,' said Teddy as they shook hands. 'Even if the night was more eventful than we initially hoped.'

'Indeed,' agreed Annie who turned then to Maddie. 'But I wouldn't change a thing. I have made a delightful new friend who I shall cherish dearly. Let's be sure to write often Maddie, and I still insist on you and Tommy coming to stay with us for a weekend when the weather changes.'

'I can't wait,' smiled Maddie excitedly, looking ecstatic at the prospect. 'And I want to invite the two of you to our wedding. If you'd like to come?'

Annie's face lit up radiantly and she nodded enthusiastically. 'I wouldn't miss it for the world my dear!'

'Absolutely,' smiled Teddy. 'I'm sure it will be a beautiful occasion.'

Teddy and Annie's car then pulled up outside and Annie and Maddie hugged as Tommy shook Teddy's hand again and assisted them with their bags before they climbed in the car and pulled away, Annie blowing them a kiss and waving sweetly from the passenger seat. When they returned inside, May approached them and smiled appreciatively.

'Thank you both for coming,' she said. 'I do hope the dramatics didn't tar the night for you?'

In all honesty, the only thing that was at the forefront of Tommy's mind was the still fresh memory of what he and Maddie had been up to just a few hours earlier. He looked down at Maddie who was blushing bashfully in response to May's question, and he knew that those memories were also at the forefront of her mind as well. At least the overall memory of her first Christmas party was a good one.

'Oh… um… no, I had a lovely time,' smiled Maddie. 'What's a party without a little drama anyway?'

May pursed her lips silently, looking like she would have deeply preferred that the night proceeded as boringly as possible. 'Yes…' she said unconvincingly. 'Well, I wish the two of you a safe journey home. And Tommy, I shall be in contact about coming to pick up Count after the new year.'

Tommy felt his jaw muscles tense instinctively as May spoke and at the same time he felt Maddie bristle next to him. In the wash of panic and subsequent erotic events of the previous night, he had forgotten to break the news to Maddie that he had asked May to train Count and now she had just found out from the one person he didn't want her to get the news from. He heard her take in a breath through her nose as if to speak and he quickly grasped her arm with his hand to stop her before she said something that could undo arrangement he had made with May.

'Good,' responded Tommy with a nod. 'And thank you for your hospitality.'

May gave them a small smile before nodding curtly and leaving them to say farewell to her other guests. An angry puff of air came from Maddie's direction, and he turned to look at her sternly. She gave him a furious look and opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head, giving her a warning stare to tell her now wasn't the time. She snapped her mouth shut obediently but gave him an even more venomous stare as the sound of her car pulling up outside the door turned his attention away. Tommy pulled on his cap with one last look at Maddie before calmly picking up their bags and walking out of the door.

The servant who had brought the car around opened the boot for Tommy to put the bags into before he hurried around to open the passenger door for Maddie who had followed him out. She thanked the man curtly as she climbed into the car before he shut it with a polite bow. The man handed Tommy the car key and he thanked him as he bowed again and hurried away. Tommy sighed in anticipation for the storm that was likely to erupt inside the car once he shut the door and readied himself for the oncoming argument. He slowly walked to the driver's side and opened the door only to find that Maddie shuffled over had sat herself in front of the wheel, her hands gripping it tightly. She looked up at him when he opened the door with a determined expression before holding out her hand to him, palm up.

'I want to drive my car,' she said tersely, meeting his eyes unblinkingly.

Tommy regarded Maddie stoically for a moment, flicking his gaze down to her palm and back to her face again. He knew she wasn't the best driver, especially when it came to the Roll's. He admitted he hadn't thought through the problem of it being difficult to drive when he brought it for her, but it had made her so happy when she saw it, he hadn't much cared. However, he wasn't keen on the idea of suffering her terrible driving all the way back home, the thought of the car shuddering constantly and stalling every five minutes already giving him a headache. They stared each other down for a few seconds until she jerked her hand angrily toward him to command the key from him and he sighed before placing the key in her palm.

She snatched it away before putting the key in the ignition and reaching over to shut the door with a loud slam. Tommy half feared that she was going to drive away without him, but she thankfully waited for him to walk around the car and get into the passenger seat. As soon as the door was closed, she put the car in gear and set of, the car jerking violently as it rolled away down the drive.

Maddie initially remained silent as she drove the huge car down the winding gravel driveway toward the main road, her brow furrowed in what looked like anger as well as intense concentration. Tommy decided it best not to initiate conversation lest he cause her to explode so he sat silently as he watched her struggle. The engine growled painfully as it shook and rocked its way down the driveway before eventually reaching the junction to the road where Maddie stopped and immediately stalled the engine. She huffed in frustration and pointedly avoided his icy gaze as she restarted the engine again before making sure the road was clear and pulled out onto the road.

Once she had settled the car into a somewhat steady speed, even if the car was rattling rather uncomfortably, she finally cast an unimpressed look in Tommy's direction which he countered with an equally disapproving look. She really did have a tendency to be very immature when she was upset, and this time it was more annoying than it was endearing.

'So, were you planning on telling me that you were giving my horse to May or were you going to keep it a secret?' Maddie asked venomously.

'I'm not giving her Count,' replied Tommy, trying his best to remain calm. 'She's going to train him for the Derby.'

She cast him another fiery look before looking back at the road. 'And you didn't think to ask me whether I was okay with that?'

'I didn't think you'd agree to it,' he said stoically.

Maddie snorted and chuckled bitterly. 'Oh, I wonder why!'

Tommy clenched his teeth and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his growing temper. 'May is the best horse trainer in the country,' he explained. 'If we want any chance of Count winning the Derby, we need her to train him as soon as possible.'

Maddie sighed in irritation as she changed gear, the car making a deafening crunching sound as she forced the gear into place, making the car jerk again. 'You and your fucking schemes,' she grumbled before falling silent again.

The atmosphere in the car had quickly become so tense, that the slightest movement could have caused either of them to explode, which was exactly what happened. Maddie reached the end of the road where they needed to make a right turn and as expected, stalled the car again as she stopped causing it to lurch with a clunk.

'Maybe I should drive us home,' said Tommy sharply, now unable to keep the irritation from his voice.

'It's my car and I want to drive it,' snapped Maddie back as she started the car again. She went to pull away however her anger had now started to get the better of her and the car immediately stalled again making her growl in fury. She quickly gave Tommy a look to warn him to keep his mouth shut and she took a deep breath before starting the car for a second time and this time successfully pulling away, turning right onto the next road.

Unfortunately, Maddie's new level of anger caused her to plant her foot onto the accelerator far too hard and the engine roared loudly, the huge contraption complaining every time she changed gear far too late and inefficiently.

'It won't be your car much longer if you carry on like this,' stated Tommy, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer.

'I don't need your opinion!' shouted Maddie sharply and Tommy clenched his jaw in order to stay silent.

This was more than an overreaction in his book. He understood and expected her to be upset at his admitted mistake, however this behaviour was beyond childish. Over the course of a few minutes, all the lingering pleasure from the night before had vanished into thin air and had been replaced with hot ire. He sat in excruciating silence for several miles as Maddie forced the car along the road painfully until they were halfway down a country lane when there was an almighty bang and the car stuttered to a stop followed by a plume of hot steam erupting from beneath the enormous bonnet.

'What the fuck?!' she exclaimed angrily as she stared at the cloud of steam in disbelief.

Tommy however was not at all surprised, the way the engine had been groaning, it was no wonder the thing had overheated.

'You've overheated the engine,' stated Tommy blankly. 'I told you I should have drove.'

He knew that he sounded far too smug with his last statement, but he didn't care. He felt Maddie's eyes boring into him angrily as he opened the door to climb out of the car. He approached the bonnet, pulling out his handkerchief to cover his hand before grasping the small handle and opening the bonnet with a swift movement. More steam hissed out of the engine's radiator as Tommy withdrew and shook his hand painfully. The metal of the bonnet was scorching and had nearly burnt his skin despite the handkerchief. He looked down into the engine compartment once the steam cleared and saw that the engine and radiator was so hot that the metal was glowing red. Boiling water was spurting out of the radiator cap angrily and he sighed despairingly. What a way to spend Christmas eve, he thought.

The sound of Maddie's door opening diverted his attention, and he watched as she walked around the car to look at the damage herself.

'Oh… shit,' she mumbled as she looked at the engine.

'We'll have to wait for it to cool down,' said Tommy.

'How long will that take?' she asked.

'Couple of hours at least,' he replied. 'Then I'll have to change the water and the oil by the looks of it.' By now Tommy was not even trying to sound calm, his voice oozing of anger and a temper that was about to explode any second. He was less than pleased that they were now stuck in the middle of nowhere for a considerable time, all whilst they were in the middle of a heated argument.

'Great…' huffed Maddie, now looking somewhat guilty although it had come far too late in Tommy's opinion.

'Help me push the car off the road into that layby,' ordered Tommy, pointing toward a nearby dirt patch by the side of the lane. The car was so large that it was currently blocking the whole road and they needed to move it before another car came.

Maddie looked at where he was pointing about fifteen yards away and sighed, slumping her shoulders. Tommy again swallowed his growing fury, her attitude becoming almost intolerable. To add to his foul mood, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and an icy rain had begun to fall around them. She walked around to the rear of the car, being the strongest it made sense for her to push the weight of the car whilst he pushed whilst turning the wheel. He walked to the driver's side and braced himself against the door whilst holding the steering wheel before calling for them to push. The car began to roll forward surprisingly easily with Maddie providing most of the power and they soon steered it into the layby and out of the road. Normally, her superior strength didn't bother him at all. However, he was now in such a bad mood that he now resented her even that.

'Wait in the car,' he ordered tersely and rather arrogantly as he walked toward the boot and opened it to check that there were spare jerry cans of oil and water in there.

'Excuse me?' replied Maddie, picking up on his tone and crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. Tommy cast her a furious look, probably the most furious he had ever directed at her. She faltered slightly but tightened her resolve with a flaring of her nostrils. 'You can't just command me like a dog! You know what, maybe I'll walk the rest of that way home. It'll be better than sitting in that car with you!' With that she turned on her heel and began marching away in the direction of home.

That was it. The argument had finally reached his head and Tommy's temper exploded ferociously in a way that it rarely had before.

'MADDIE!' he roared, surprising himself with the volume of his own voice.

Maddie ignored him and continued stomping away from him down the lane. Now she really was in dangerous territory. Tommy slammed the boot lid down violently and yelled after her again, only this time he made sure she would listen.

'MADELINE!'

Maddie halted in her tracks and whipped her head around so fast that he was surprised her head didn't spin off her shoulders. She looked positively livid, and she stared at him as her body shook with anger. He had never called her by her full name before and it had had the desired effect he was after.

'I said get in the fucking car, now!' commanded Tommy again and this time he saw her falter in her resolve. Hearing him use her full name must have told her that he was beyond furious, and she paused a moment before walking back to the car and getting into the passenger seat without a word.

Tommy sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself. He opened the boot again, not having actually checked if there was water and oil in there. Once he saw that there thankfully was, he removed them and placed them by the front of the car before taking out a cigarette and smoking it hungrily. He could feel Maddie's gaze watching him from inside the car, but he made a point of ignoring her for the entirety of his cigarette. Once finished he stubbed it out in the dirt and walked around the car to get into driver's seat, slamming the door shut.

Maddie was sat with her feet on the seat, hugging her knees in a sulk as she tried to ignore him. She had taken her shoes off and her stocking covered toes were curled over the edge of the seat. He looked at her disapprovingly for a moment before clearing his throat loudly.

'You only have yourself to blame for this,' he said stonily.

'Fuck off, Tommy,' she muttered spitefully, and he felt his temper snap again.

'Stop acting like a child!' he snapped back harshly.

Maddie turned to look at him now with a mixture of fury and hurt, her eyes looking glossy as if she were on the verge of crying.

'You're the one who entrusted his fiancé's horse to his ex-lover without even asking!' she retorted. 'Maybe you do still want May, even if you won't admit it.'

Tommy felt his nostrils flare at her words and his jaw muscles rippled dangerously. He knew she had said it as a result of the turbulent emotions that had been brewing since they left May's house but nevertheless, she had stepped over the line. With an aggressive movement, he reached across to her and grabbed the end of the scarf she was still wearing and pulled it, undoing the knot and whipping it off her neck in one swift swipe. The act made Maddie flinch and gasp just as Tommy then put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her toward him roughly. She gave him a look of freight as he pressed his thumb into the bruise on her neck, making her exhale sharply and he lowered his head to bring it closer to hers.

'That bruise on your neck says otherwise,' he whispered menacingly as he looked down at the purple mark he had created that night. Suddenly all the blood that had been boiling in Tommy's body surged downward and he felt his cock begin to harden. This was probably the most unexpected and inappropriate moment to find arousing, but yet he could feel all of his prior anger slipping to be transformed into pure lust.

He flitted his eyes up to meet Maddie's and she looked back at him half-lidded, and her mouth fell open slightly causing him to look down at her lips. Lips that just a moment ago were pouting so infuriatingly but were now so red and enticing. She sighed quietly as she watched him stare at her lips for a few seconds before he met her eyes again and they shared a silent lustful look before he closed the gap between them and smashed his lips to hers, the hand behind her head gripping a fistful of her hair.

Tommy forced her mouth open roughly and brought her lip between his teeth to bite it harshly. Maddie gasped and tried to recoil but he held her fast against him. Then all of the anger she had also been harbouring took her over and she grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pushed him back against the seat with a jolt causing her to nearly fall on top of him with the force she exerted and his cap fell of his head only to disappear on the floor somewhere behind him. Making the most of this opportunity, Tommy used his free hand to grab Maddie's leg and pull her onto his lap to straddle him whilst still holding her lips against his with his other hand in her hair. She responded to this by biting his lip in return and he hissed angrily as he felt her smile in victory. He quickly thrust his hand under her dress and grasped the soft sensitive skin of her inner thigh with a harsh grip. She gasped again and instinctively forced her hips down onto his crotch, making him smile darkly this time. They tousled like this for a minute until Maddie seemed to get impatient and began pulling Tommy's coat and jacket back over his shoulders and he responded by sitting forward so he could shrug them off, forcing her to lean back against the steering wheel. The car horn blared loudly but they hardly noticed it as he sat back again and began pulling her dress over her head. Their lips finally broke apart and they both panted desperately for air as she threw her dress off and onto the floor.

Tommy placed his hand on her lower back and pulled her even closer to him so that her chest was close to his face. He pressed his lips to her breastbone between her breasts and kissed firmly making her shudder before brushing his lips across the silk of her bra to find her erect nipple and sucked it into his mouth. Maddie groaned as he sucked at her nipple, a wet patch forming on her bra from his saliva. He released her nipple momentarily to reach up and pull her bra straps down her arms and pull the fabric down to expose her breasts fully before sucking it back into his mouth again. He felt her fingers lace themselves into his hair as he sucked, lightly at first, before he began to suck harder to the point where he knew it was painful as she hissed and balled her fist in his hair. It was then that he bit down on her nipple hard, and she let out her first scream as what Tommy hoped a fresh purple bruise formed on her skin. After a second, he withdrew and looked at his handiwork and was pleased to see that her nipple and surrounding skin was now a dark shade of purple and his cock throbbed with approval. He looked over at her other breast and made the decision that he wanted them to match and quickly sucked the other nipple into his mouth and bit down on it just as hard so that she squealed again.

She needed to know. Needed to know that she was his.

When her nipple was sufficiently bruised, Tommy pulled away and looked up at Maddie to find her looking down at him with a pleasant mix of arousal and shock on her face at how painful and yet pleasurable the feeling of him biting her had been and he let a small smile turn his lips up. He pulled her head down to press her forehead to his and he kissed her now sore lips.

'I'm going to cover you in bruises,' he whispered huskily. 'I'll cover every inch of your body if I need to, so you understand that it's only you that I want.'

Maddie whimpered helplessly as he spoke, and he punctuated his statement by pinching one of her sore nipples between his thumb and index finger. He hadn't wanted her to necessarily respond to his declaration, but she nodded hazily in agreement anyway as if he were expecting her to, the action making him smirk in amusement. He pulled her into another kiss before turning to lower her onto her back on the seat where he would have better access to her body. As he did this, Maddie started undoing his vest and shirt buttons and she wrenched them off eagerly to be added to pile of clothes on the floor. He then moved his attention back to her lips and kissed her again, nipping her lip with his teeth before moving down to her neck to kiss the bruise there. He could feel her chest heaving below him as he brushed the sensitive spot with his lips, and he tucked his arm under her arching back in order to press her closer to him. He then slowly glided his lips along her collar bone to the other side of her neck where he kissed gently before drawing her skin into his mouth and bit down again to create another matching bruise on her neck and making her writhe beneath him.

Tommy meticulously made his way down Maddie's body, imprinting bruise after bruise into her skin, his pleasure increasing with each one. He marked everywhere that took his fancy: her arms, her chest, her stomach, her hips, her backside. All the while she was beside herself; moaning uncontrollably with each mark he made. By the time he reached her lower body he feared she might even pass out with the ecstasy she was in. He bit down on her inner thigh, and she moaned again and managed this time to mutter out some words.

'Oh… please…'

Smirking, Tommy took this as a sign that she was close to begging him to fuck her. Fuck her so hard that any memory that they had ever argued would be forgotten. However, he wasn't yet satisfied with his current task, and he continued to imprint bruises into her thighs and calves. As he did this, he noticed that her underwear was now soaking wet where her pussy was, and the smell of her arousal had now filled the car to the point that it was making him dizzy.

When he was finally finished, he lifted Maddie back up to sit on his lap again, her head lolling to the side as she was barely still conscious. He cupped her face with his hand, and she opened her eyes to look at him, her eyes black and hazy but she managed to make herself speak.

'I need you to fuck me, Tommy,' she sighed, finding the wherewithal to drag her hand down his chest toward the buttons of his trousers. 'Please… I've been such a bad girl today.'

Tommy's cock lurched and throbbed so violently at her words that it made his head spin, and he growled hungrily and pressed her against him roughly. She'd never said anything like that before during sex. She was pushing his buttons on purpose, and it was working. She was also right. She had been bad. She had wound him up like a coiled spring and made him so angry that he had been ready to explode. And now she wanted him to punish her for it, even if it was a very pleasurable form of punishment. In the few short seconds that this thought skipped through his mind, she had successfully undone his trousers and was now making to reach into his underwear for his cock. He quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her and pulled it away with a shake of his head.

'That's not what good girls do,' muttered Tommy and he saw a sly smile turn Maddie's lips up and he felt himself tense at the sight. She really was enjoying this.

'Sorry,' she whispered sweetly. 'I'll be good.'

That was it, he couldn't take it any longer. He lurched forward, dropping her on her back again before reaching down to grab and yank her underwear off, tearing the material in the process. Maddie squeaked with surprise and giggled as he followed by finally freeing his cock from his trousers and coming down to hover over her, resisting the urge to plunge inside her a little bit longer. He pressed his lips to hers passionately, pushing his tongue into her mouth before finally thrusting his hips down and filling her up.

Maddie groaned loudly; the sound muffled by his lips as he struggled to contain his own moan. Fuck, she felt so fucking wet. He knew he had to stay still for several seconds as he was sure he would reach his climax with only one thrust. However, she soon grew impatient and started grinding her hips upward to coax him into moving and the sensation caused electric shocks to ripple through his body and he quickly pinned her hips down with one hand. She gave him a pleading look but stopped her movements obediently when he shook his head at her and pressed his thumb into her hip bone firmly. After a couple of seconds, Tommy started to thrust in and out of her in as fast of a pace as he dared and watched as Maddie's eyes rolled backward into her head. Soon she was moaning so loud that it wouldn't have surprised him that she could be heard from a mile away. It was a good job that they were in the middle of nowhere without so much as a soul for miles around.

After a couple of minutes, Tommy could no longer contain his own moans and the car was filled with the erotic orchestra of their pleasured outbursts, their skin glistening with sweat. He could feel his climax approaching closer and knew he wouldn't be able to reverse down the path he was now on. He lifted himself up so that he was kneeling, holding Maddie's hips in place as he continued to thrust at a slightly quicker pace. He placed his thumb on her clit and began to slowly draw circles around it which made her curve her back off the car seat as she swore at the top of her lungs. In a few short seconds he could feel her pussy begin to shudder around him and he knew that they were both seconds away from their orgasms.

Tommy finished with a barrage of several hard and aggressive thrusts as Maddie came hard, incoherent screams falling from her lips. The feeling of her pussy tightening around him pushed him over the edge also, and he came inside of her before collapsing on top of her in a sweaty heap.

All Tommy could hear for at least a minute was the sound of their breath inhaling and exhaling in deafening gusts as they battled to regain their energy. He kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of Maddie's body pressed against him as the fog in his mind slowly cleared. Then, he felt her begin to shake beneath him and initially thought that she had started to cry causing him look down at her suddenly in concern only to find that she was actually laughing. Her nose was wrinkled as she struggled to contain her giggles, high pitched squeaks escaping her which she tried to cover by putting her hand over her mouth. He initially looked down at her perplexed before he realised why she must be laughing. Not so long ago, they had been ready to scream at each other and tear one another to shreds but had somehow ended up naked and tangled on the front seat of a broken-down Roll's Royce. Then, despite trying to resist, Tommy started to join Maddie in her laughter, he too finding the scenario they were in close to hilarious. It took them several seconds to regain their composure and she smirked up at him before placing a hand on the back of his head to caress his shaved hair.

'I think we should have arguments more often,' she chuckled.

The couple of hours it took for the engine to cool passed astonishingly quickly. Tommy and Maddie spent the entire time in the car naked and entwined. They had climbed into the back seats where there was more room and fucked until he felt as though his legs had gone numb. They heard a few cars drive by on the road but didn't worry about being spotted as the heat they generated inside the car caused the windows to steam up as the outside was comparatively freezing. It was also no short of a miracle that the seats weren't damaged from all the sweat and other fluids that could have easily stained the red leather. Once the two hours had passed and the engine must have been more than cooled, they were still reluctant to separate themselves from one another. But Tommy eventually forced himself away from Maddie when he remembered that it was Christmas eve, and his entire family were expecting them home.

It took them an annoyingly long amount of time to find their clothes which had gotten tangled up on the floor and even longer to dress in the car. Tommy couldn't hide his satisfied smirk as he admired Maddie's body as they dressed. He had added even more bruises to her body in those two hours to the point where she needed nothing short of a nun's habit to cover them all. He also had no shame in the fact that he had ruined her underwear so she couldn't wear it and had to go without until they got home.

Tommy finished dressing first and got out of the car and inspected the engine to see that it is was now cool and thankfully undamaged. He picked up the jerry can of water to fill the radiator before also topping up the oil in the engine before being joined by Maddie.

'Is it going to be okay?' she asked, a definite guilty tone making her voice a pitch higher.

'Yes,' said Tommy, although he wasn't the slightest bit angry anymore. 'But maybe I should drive the rest of the way, eh?'

Maddie smiled ruefully and nodded. 'Yeah, that's probably a good idea.'

Once the jerry cans were back in the boot, Tommy wasted no time in setting off for home. They should have been home the best part of an hour ago and he suspected that his family would soon begin to worry about them. With him at the wheel, the car sped along the road smoothly and he couldn't help but notice that Maddie was casting him annoyed glances as he manoeuvred the five-tonne hunk of metal around several tight turns before finally speaking up.

'How do you drive this thing so easily?' she questioned. 'It's like trying to drive a sodding battleship.'

'Practice,' replied Tommy. 'After Christmas I'll make sure I teach you how to drive it properly.'

He caught Maddie's happy smile in the corner of his eye as he concentrated solely on the road ahead. 'Thanks,' she sang. 'It would be silly for me to have this ridiculous car and not be able to drive it.'

Tommy chuckled, not at all offended by her use of the word 'ridiculous'. He was ready to admit that the car was stupidly garish and ornate to the point that it was indeed ridiculous to consider it a practical vehicle of any kind.

Despite being significantly delayed, Tommy managed to catch up the lost time well and he pulled into the driveway to Arrow House only a little over two hours later than expected. Nevertheless, he suspected that his family would still be concerned about their whereabouts. He parked the car outside the front door and gave Maddie a relieved look that they were home which she returned. When they went up the front steps and into the foyer, they were for once not greeted by Esther, who Tommy had given permission to visit her family for Christmas. As a result, they had to hang their own coats in the cupboard before Maddie told Tommy to go ahead to join everyone else whilst she excused herself upstairs to put on new underwear.

Tommy made his way to the sitting room alone where he could hear the large gathering of various friends and family chatting loudly. When he entered, despite doing so in a way he would have had he not been over two hours late, the room cheered and clapped in mock celebration. The room was full to the brim of adults and children who were playing round them happily. The adults all looked like they had gotten their Christmas eve drinking well underway and laughed as the cheering died down.

'Where the fuck have you been?' asked Pol, a glass of wine gripped in one hand.

Charlie, who had spotted his father walk in the room, ran over to him and Tommy scooped him up into his arm and kissed his forehead affectionately before resting him on his hip and addressing the room.

'Nice to see that you were all concerned for our well-being,' stated Tommy sarcastically, walking over to join them as Arthur passed him a fresh shot of whiskey into his free hand.

'Ah, we knew you'd be alright,' mumbled Arthur, sounding particularly drunk. 'Where's Mads anyway?'

'She won't be long,' dismissed Tommy, not dreaming of telling them that she needed to put on new underwear as he'd ruined her previous pair.

'You didn't tell us where you've been, Tom,' urged John, who looked annoyingly curious about their absence and Tommy got the feeling that his younger brother already suspected it involved more than just a mundane delay.

'We broke down,' stated Tommy flatly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it hoping it would be enough to deter further questions.

'Broke down?' huffed Michael with a quizzical look. 'But that car is brand new.'

'Maddie was driving,' clarified Tommy.

The room fell silent a split second as an audible hum of understanding rippled over the room before they all chuckled to themselves. It was well known that Maddie was a poor driver and he winced internally when he realised he had just given his family fuel to tease her about it more than they already did.

'Why on earth did you let her drive home Tommy?' asked Ada, looking amused.

Tommy debated whether to try and lie but realised that Maddie would likely tell the true story to Ada eventually and decided he couldn't be bothered with the effort on Christmas eve.

'We had an argument,' replied Tommy flatly. 'She wouldn't let me drive.'

Several people smirked at this, but they still didn't find his explanations satisfactory.

'How long did it take you to fix the car?' asked Pol. 'You did fix it didn't you?'

Tommy nodded. 'The engine overheated, we had to wait for it to cool down for a couple of hours.'

'A couple of hours?' repeated John in disbelief. 'And the two of you were still arguing the whole time?'

Tommy kept his face in a stony mask of indifference. He had no intention of replying in any way to John's question and was quickly trying to find an appropriate way to change the subject when Maddie decided to have the best, or possibly the worst, dramatic timing in history.

'Hey, everyone!' she greeted from the doorway causing everyone to turn to her as she bounded into the room to stand next to Tommy. 'Merry Christmas!'

The faces around the room simultaneously travelled from delight to confusion to realisation and finally to amusement as they stared at Maddie silently for a second. Tommy followed their gaze to look down at her and had to fight to contain his desire to wince. She was still wearing the same dress, the collar of which was low and exposed the skin of her neck, shoulders and chest where a number of the many dark bruises Tommy had given her earlier were visible from a mile away. In her excitement to join everyone, she must have forgotten about the bruises and not thought to change her outfit to cover them. It was painfully obvious what had caused them as he could see the small, crescent moon shaped marks his teeth had made on her skin.

The smile on Maddie's face fell as she stood awkwardly watching everyone stare at her, and Tommy could tell she had not yet cottoned on as to why they were staring at her with amused faces.

'What?' she finally stuttered, opening her arms outward in a questioning gesture. 'Why are you all staring at me?'

Tommy wished Maddie hadn't flung her arms outwards in that moment because her dress also only had elbow length sleeves and both her forearms also had at least a couple of bruises blooming on them which everyone quickly spotted, causing them all to start giggling uncontrollably. Maddie still looked lost and more than a little flustered by now as everyone continued to snigger at her. Just as Tommy decided he was going to put her out of her misery Charlie twisted himself in his arms to face her excitedly and his gaze immediately noticed the bruises on her neck. He reached his little hand out to touch her neck where one of bruises was, causing her to look at him.

'You hurt?' asked Charlie in a quiet and innocent voice that caused the room to fall silent again.

Maddie's face looked momentarily more confused when the realisation hit her and her eyes widened in embarrassment, her hands coming up to cover her neck as her face turned an impressive shade of beetroot. This proved to be too much for the room, and everyone proceed to descend it howls of laughter to the point where they soon struggled to breath and tears fell from their eyes.

'Had an argument did you, yeah?' guffawed John once he had gathered enough breath to speak making them all laugh more.

'Must have been some argument,' commented Lizzie bitterly, who was sat near to Maddie who heard and immediately began to look virtually mortified.

Tommy cast Lizzie an icy glare before looking down at Maddie to silently tell her that he hadn't told them what had happened in the car and that they had figured it out themselves. Charlie, who had been watching Maddie during this ordeal, had started to get upset and frowned as he watched her self-consciously cover her bruises with her hands. In his innocent mind, he had connected the bruises with being hurt and was probably upset that she was in some kind of pain, being far too young to understand the reality was in fact the complete opposite. Tommy thanked whatever power existed that Charlie would forget this incident by the time he was old enough to understand it although he couldn't help but feel guilty for making his son fear for her well-being. Seeing his son upset, however, was enough to spur him to break his nonchalant demeanour and he turned to look around the room with a threatening glare.

'Alright, that's enough,' he said, only just raising his voice above normal volume which he knew sounded far more threatening than yelling.

He looked at everyone in the room who quickly fell silent with a dangerous look to signify that the joke was over and done with. He gave his brothers additional pointed looks to tell them that if they even so much as mentioned the bruises in his presence he'd have them hung, drawn and quartered. His brothers looked down and away to signify they understood before thankfully, like the angel she was, Ada called Maddie over to sit with her, holding out a glass of wine she had poured.

With the awkward moment finally over, Maddie smiled and hurried over to Ada to sit next to her on the sofa as everyone started to talk amongst themselves again. As soon as she walked away, Charlie began to squirm in Tommy's arms, reaching desperately in her direction and he put him down so he could toddle over to her. He watched as Charlie reached Maddie, pulling at her knee to get her attention. She looked down and beamed at him before scooping him off the floor to sit him on her lap where he cuddled himself tightly to her and buried his face in her neck. Charlie's actions, which hadn't seemed to register to Maddie or Ada who were already laughing together, made Tommy's chest feel suddenly tight, the familiar feeling of need dominating him. The need to see Maddie carrying his baby.

If it weren't for that thing in her arm, Maddie would already be pregnant with his child by now. He was a patient man, but this was one thing he realised he possessed currently no patience for. He couldn't wait for them to be a real family.

Tommy was rudely awoken Christmas morning by Maddie, who shook his shoulders violently to rouse him from his whiskey induced slumber. He grunted angrily and attempted to bat her away, scrunching his eyes closed, but she dodged him and proceeded to bounce on the mattress next to him excitedly.

'Wake up, Tommy!' she urged. 'It's Christmas!'

'Chris'mas papa!'

The sound of Charlie's voice still didn't make him open his eyes however the feeling of him jumping onto his chest knocked the wind from him and he opened his eyes only to scowl up at them tiredly. Maddie covered her mouth as she giggled as Charlie endeavoured to sit himself on Tommy's chest and clap raucously in excitement. He cast Maddie a tired scowl which quickly turned into an amused smile and he begrudgingly sat up, cradling Charlie to him as he rubbed his sore sleep filled eyes.

'Alright, I'm awake,' he grumbled moodily. He never was a fan of Christmas.

They had gone to bed before midnight that night but that didn't mean they hadn't drunk enough to make sure they fell asleep within seconds. Charlie had already long since fallen asleep in Maddie's arms, so she had little choice but to let him sleep with them in their bed. Even despite Tommy's pleading look telling her he wanted them to have the bed to themselves and he now wished he had been more insistent on this being the case.

Maddie shuffled over to him and rested her chin on his shoulder as he blinked himself awake before pressing her lips to his cheek tenderly. 'Merry Christmas, Tommy,' she whispered. 'I love you.'

This caught Tommy's attention much more effectively than her previous giddy antics and he turned his head to look at her intensely, meeting her shining eyes that looked back it him with adoration. There was no way he was going to let her get away a peck on the cheek on Christmas morning and he reached over to brush her hair behind her ear as he flicked his gaze down her body. She was mostly covered by her nightdress, but he couldn't help smirk as he gazed at the exposed skin that was speckled with now mostly yellow marks. He looked back up before cupping her cheek and pulling her into a real kiss.

Maddie's lips were warm and soft as they moved gently against his, the feel of them against his own making his heart begin to beat at a faster pace. They had done this what must have been a hundred mornings by now but somehow, this particular morning felt more special than the others. Maybe it was because it was Christmas, even though Tommy readily admitted he had never been one for Christmas spirit. Or maybe it was just because of the events of the past two days. Either way, this intimate kiss was lighting his skin on fire, and he soon began to kiss her much harder as a result.

However, Charlie was not at all pleased about being so easily forgotten about and he roughly pummelled his fists against Tommy's stomach with a whine, making him huff and break away from Maddie's lips in irritation. He looked down at his infant son who pouted at him indignantly and found he couldn't be angry at him, especially not at Christmas. Maddie giggled again and sighed before reaching over and took Charlie into her arms.

'C'mon Charlie, we need to get ready before we can go down and open your presents!' she said in a sweet and motherly voice. She bounced off the bed with him in her arms, making him laugh excitedly before walking out of the room with a skip in her step in the direction of the nursery.

Tommy watched them leave with a content smile on his face before he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up himself. Luckily, they hadn't slept in too late, and it was still rather early, although he was sure most of his family would already be up by now. He went into the bathroom to wash and shave before returning to the bedroom as Maddie returned with a freshly dressed Charlie who she plonked on the bed before she too got ready of the day.

Tommy of course didn't find the act of getting dressed at all difficult since he wore the same thing most days. Maddie however spent a quarter of an hour pulling out dresses from the wardrobe and asking him which one he liked the most.

'They're all nice, luv,' he said after she pulled out the tenth dress to show him, now starting to grow impatient. 'Just choose one.'

'But it's Christmas day!' she protested as she observed herself in the mirror with the dress draped over her front. 'My first Christmas with you and your family. I need to make an effort.'

Tommy huffed in amusement as he realised he hadn't given today that much thought. Especially in regards in what it would mean to Maddie. The year of 1924, the year which she had travelled back in time to, was coming to an end and she was going to experience a transition into a new year in an era that happened well before she was even born. It would be reminder to her that time was indeed ticking on and that she had been there now for nine months and would be there for the rest of her life it seemed. That thought was enough to confuse anybody and was even making his head hurt with the absurdness of it and he suddenly understood her need to obsess over something minor in order to ease her anxiety.

He walked over to stand behind her before pulling her into an embrace and pressing his lips to the back of her neck. 'Do you want to know what I think?' he asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

'What?' replied Maddie with a knowing giggle, sensing that Tommy was going to poke fun at her.

'You shouldn't even bother with clothes at all, you look fine as you are.'

Maddie at this point was only wearing her underwear and dressing gown and he watched in the mirror as she rolled her eyes jokingly and turned to playfully slap him on the shoulder. 'Ha. Ha,' she joked, going over to the wardrobe to look through it again. 'I'm being deadly serious, Tommy.'

'So was I.'

In truth, he was only being half serious. If it were just the two of them spending Christmas together, he would have wanted nothing more to have the two of them spend the whole day in just their underwear and not have to bother with clothes at all. However, he wasn't actually prepared to have his fiancé be around his brother's wandering eyes with nothing but a gown to cover her. Maddie must have also sensed that this was what Tommy meant and she looked back at him with an amused but exasperated look.

'Oh, stop joking around and come and show me which one you like!' she jested.

Tommy smirked and walked over to the wardrobe, nudging Maddie aside as he quickly sifted through the numerous dresses hung on the rail before pulling one out that caught his eye. It was an attractive deep festive green colour, shin length with long sleeves and a collar that was neither provocative nor overly modest. The material was thick and warm, the texture soft to touch. He pulled the dress out of the wardrobe and handed the dress to her with a confident look.

'Wear this.'

He didn't intend for this to come across as and instruction, but he heard the authoritative tone in his voice as he spoke. Maddie raised her eyebrows slightly in response, as if part of her wanted to protest to being told what to wear. However, her face settled in to one of relief as she looked at the dress and nodded in agreement before taking the dress of the hanger and undoing the buttons. Tommy could tell that she was relieved that he had taken it on himself to choose for her and in doing so had alleviated her stress, even if it was trivial. As he helped her button up the back of the dress for her, he recalled all the times that Maddie had taken some of his burdens from his shoulders in times of need and realised that they were already acting like a man and his wife. Like a couple who relied heavily on one another to pick up some of the pieces that other had dropped and he found that this knowledge comforted him greatly.

When they were finally dressed, Tommy picked up Charlie who was jumping on the bed impatiently and they went downstairs to join everyone for a morning of jolly celebration. When they entered the sitting room, most of the family were already present and trays of breakfast foods the chef had made were set up around the room. The only people still absent were Finn and Michael who were using the morning as a chance to sleep in longer and Tommy was glad to see that at least he and Maddie weren't the only one's who'd had that idea.

'Merry Christmas!' called Maddie as she entered the room looking like an excited child.

'Merry Christmas!' repeated everyone in the room as all of John's kids ran over to climb on Maddie excitedly.

'Can we open our presents now!' called Katie, looking over at her father. John opened his mouth to speak but Esme interrupted him before he could answer.

'Not yet Katie,' she scorned. 'Finn and Michael aren't here yet.'

All the children around the room groaned impatiently before going to sit in the middle of the room in a sulk. Tommy wished each member of his family merry Christmas, adopting a warmer persona than was his usual before her placed Charlie down next to Karl and went to sit on one of the armchairs. Maddie sat on the arm of the chair next to him and he automatically rested his arm comfortably on her hip as she cradled a plate piled with freshly buttered toast on her lap.

The tree that he and Maddie had decorated a few days ago now had an impressive collection of presents stuffed beneath it all wrapped in brown paper. They ranged in size and shape, from large square boxes to small oddly shaped ones. When Tommy was young, he remembered that he and his brother's neither had a tree or indeed any presents to place under one, being far too poor to celebrate Christmas the same way other families did. The only Christmas they did receive a gift was when his mum brought him a wooden spinning top whilst John got a wooden pistol, Arthur a cricket bat and Ada, who was only a baby at the time, a wooden rattle. They later learned that their mum had gotten Uncle Charlie to make the gifts with some spare wood he had in his yard. Despite this, Tommy recalled how happy he and his brothers had been that they had finally received Christmas presents like the other children and had taken great pride in showing them off. The stark contrast between those days and now were shocking and he was pleased that he had created a life where his son would never have to feel the disappointment he felt when he didn't have gift to open on Christmas day despite making a wish to father Christmas every Christmas eve.

Everyone chatted happily as they got their fill of breakfast and tea. Maddie forced a slice of toast onto Tommy's lap in a command for him to eat it when it became evident that he wasn't going to. Begrudgingly he munched on the toast to please her, washing it down with tea until she smiled at him satisfied.

Eventually, Finn and Michael had the grace to join them, and everyone cheered happily. The children jumped up again and dashed over to the tree to start pulling out their gifts when Maddie suddenly leapt to her feet.

'Wait,' she announced. 'I still need to put all of my gifts under the tree!'

Everyone gathered gave her a perplexed look before she hurried out of the room, her footsteps disappearing down the hall. Tommy hadn't even thought that Maddie would have gone to the trouble of hiding her gifts until Christmas morning. His gifts, who he mostly had gotten Lizzie to buy for everyone on his behalf, were already under the tree. The only gifts he had chosen himself were Maddie's and Charlie's.

A couple of minutes later they heard Maddie's hurried footsteps coming back up the corridor before she reappeared, coming through the door with a childlike expression of joy on her face. Gasps and murmurs erupted around the room as she entered carrying two huge sacks that looked like they were stuffed full with presents and were both twice the size as she was. As she hauled them into the room everyone watched her gormlessly as she placed them by the tree and undid the ropes holding them shut. Where the hell had she been hiding those? Tommy couldn't believe that he had missed finding two mammoth bags of gifts in his own house and concluded Esther must have had a hand in helping her hide them.

'Fuckin' ell, Mads,' said John. 'Are you trying to put Santa out of a job or something?'

Everyone laughed in response to John's joke as the children, who had quickly gotten over their shock, had gathered around Maddie as she started handing out her gifts to them.

'Well…' she said, looking a little sheepish. 'I might have gotten a little carried away.'

'A little?' laughed Ada who patted Karl on the head as he came to sit by her feet with a handful of presents Maddie had handed him.

Once she had distributed the children's gifts, she gathered up what must have been Charlie's presents in her arms, of which there were many, before bringing them and Charlie over to sit on the floor by Tommy's feet. He watched silently as Charlie ripped into his presents and laughed giddily at each one, his reaction making Maddie beam with joy. She had spoiled the child rotten it seemed, getting him a rocking horse, a toy car, marbles, building blocks, a kite, several toy animals and a drum. The latter of which she seemed to immediately regret as he proceeded to bang on it loudly to the point where Pol had to get up and take it away, looking like she was ready to rip a hole in it.

'Let's put this away until Aunty Pol goes back home,' she said as gently as she could as Maddie looked down guiltily.

The children all opened their gifts first as the adults watched, most of them having done this every year for the last five years and so tried their best to look surprised and interested when their children showed them their amazing toys. Maddie was the only one who genuinely shared in their delight, her smile stretching from ear to ear. Tommy couldn't stop watching her as she gasped and clapped as Charlie showed her the gifts everyone else had brought him. But when Charlie gave a look of disappointment of being gifted a woollen hat by Curly, she quietly reprimanded him and told him to go over to Curly to thank him politely for the gift.

Once the children were done with their gifts, they left the room running with their new toys to go and play around the house, leaving the adults to open their gifts in peace. Ada distributed all the gifts out into neat piles, and it was then revealed that Maddie had also bought them all more gifts than any of them ever expected from her. Tommy, who had been handed just singular gifts from each of his family, had her drop a stack of gifts onto his lap with an excited grin before sitting on the floor next to her comparatively small collection of parcels.

'You kept all this a secret,' said Tommy as Maddie looked up at him in anticipation. 'Did you have a good time spending my money?'

Tommy was not at all angry or bitter. Who else's money would she have used to buy so many gifts? Still, the fact that he was holding gifts that technically had been bought with his own money was ironically funny. Since Maddie had stopped working, he had been giving her a regular and sizeable allowance to spend as she pleased but since she didn't have much use for the money in her day-to-day life, she must have stockpiled it to buy all the gifts now in front of them.

'Well, duh!' she laughed, also seeing the irony in the situation. 'Now go on and open them!'

Tommy huffed, giving her a small smile before picking up one of the smaller parcels on his lap. It felt heavy for its size, and he gave it a small shake, casting Maddie another smile as she giggled knowingly. He unwrapped the parcel to find a black leather-bound box of good quality and immediately recognised it. Smiling he opened the box to find a pocket watch nestled inside velvet padding. He pulled the watch out to inspect it, acutely aware of Maddie watching him anxiously and inching her way toward him on her knees. It was made of silver, rather than the standard gold his other watches were made of, which was inlaid with an ornate pattern. He turned the watch over in his hand to look at the back and saw that the letters 'T.M.S.' were etched into the metal.

It was impossible to keep the smile from his face. Maddie must have gone to great effort to pick out the watch and have his initials carved into it and he found that he would have been more than happy if this was only gift she had gotten him.

'Do you like it?' came Maddie's timid voice and he looked down to see that she had rested her chin on his knee and was looking up at him nervously. He reached down to brush his fingers tenderly against her cheek.

'Yes,' he replied. 'Thank you. Aren't you going to open your gifts?'

Maddie beamed, her cheeks flushing pink before she nodded and picked up one of the gifts that was labelled from him. It was a long flat box and she shook it to try to figure out what was inside. Tommy found he got some satisfaction from knowing what was in the box when she didn't and looking forward to what her rection would be. She unwrapped the box and opened it, smiling again as she pulled out the delicate pair of cream brushed leather riding gloves.

'Oh, they're beautiful Tommy,' she gasped, pulling them onto her hands to admire them. 'Thanks.'

She got up from the floor fleetingly to lean over Tommy and plant a kiss to his lips and sitting back on the floor before he had a chance to grab her and pull her onto his lap.

'Bloody hell,' exclaimed John suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. 'Thanks, Mads, this is great.'

John was holding a very large and garish hunting rifle on his lap. The handle had gold plating and the wood was carved with a similar ornate design that was on Tommy's watch and he spotted that John's initials were also carved onto the stock. John held the gun up to look down the sights and smiled in appreciation at the craftsmanship.

'I'm glad you like it,' she replied, looking very relieved.

As it turned out, Maddie had bought at least one expensive gift like this for everyone, with their individual initials visible somewhere on the item. Arthur got a bespoke whiskey glass with his initials carved into the crystal. Ada received a gold pendant; Pol a silk shawl; Finn a pair of leather gloves; Michael a cigarette case; Esme a pair of earrings; Linda a broach; Uncle Charlie a metal working hammer and Curly a new hat. She had even brought one of these gifts for Lizzie; an attractive gold bracelet that was far more than the woman deserved from Maddie considering the way she had been treating her lately. Their other gifts they received were less expensive but still must have taken some thought on herbehalf, with Tommy receiving a cashmere scarf, a fountain pen, a bronze horse statue and new cigarette box for his office.

'You really shouldn't have done all this Mads,' announced Ada once everyone had opened the majority of their gifts. 'There are really too many gifts here.'

Maddie blushed bashfully but shook her head in defiance. 'No really, it's fine,' she protested. 'I wanted to. After everything all of you have done for me over the last several months it's the least I could do. If it weren't for you all, I wouldn't have survived. Not to mention all the gifts you got me for my birthday last month! I don't feel like I could ever repay you.'

Maddie smiled humbly to her onlookers before turning to Tommy and directing a smile at him. His chest ached to see her expression but in happiness not pity. How could she think that she needed to repay them? It hadn't even occurred to him that she should need to do that. Her love for him was more than enough in his books and he knew his family didn't expect anything in return for their hospitality as they had gained another sister in her. Lizzie was of course the only exception, but even she was looking hard pushed to look at Maddie in a negative way today.

'You didn't have to repay us for anything,' said Tommy softly, giving her a brief smile.

'Yeah,' agreed Arthur. 'We like having you around and you're a part of the family now. Gifts or not.'

Maddie smiled again and blinked rapidly, her eyes welling up as she desperately fought to contain her tears. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and sighed as she nodded in agreement. 'And I've loved being a part of this family. Thank you.'

She looked down at her lap in embarrassment as everyone smiled in understanding as well as some disbelief at Maddie's sudden shyness.

'Maybe we should open the rest of our gifts and then we can get on with the rest of Christmas?' prompted Pol before the room could fall into awkward silence.

As everyone began unwrapping their remaining gifts, Tommy leant forward and grasped Maddie's arm gently, pulling her out of her little trance as she watched the others happily. 'You haven't opened your gifts from me yet,' he said, nodding his head toward the last few parcels she had by her feet.

'Oh… yeah, of course!' she apologised, reaching to pick them up.

'Bring them up here and open them,' said Tommy before tugging gently on her arm causing her to blush but she picked up her gifts as he pulled her to sit on his lap.

Maddie placed the gifts on her lap and opened the smallest one, pulling out the small velvet case and opening it to find the expensive set of pearl earrings he had chosen just last week. She gasped and placed her finger delicately on the pearls to feel them as Tommy watched her face with avid fascination as he always did.

'Are they real?' she asked quietly, making Tommy smirk.

'Of course, they're real,' he answered. How could she think that he would get anything less than the best for her? 'Why don't you try them on?' Maddie giggled and removed the earrings from the box before fastening them to her ears. The pearls complimented her skin beautifully and she smiled, turning her head to the side in an exaggerated swish so Tommy could admire them. 'Perfect,' he said as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 'Now open this one.'

Tommy held out another gift to her, a flatter box that was heavier than the previous. Maddie gave him a piercing look, wondering why he was so keen on watching her open her presents so closely. She took the present and tore off the paper before opening the expensive box underneath. Another audible gasp escaped her as she looked at what was inside, staring at it with her mouth open like a fish before she put a tentative hand on what was inside. Like she was handling a loaded gun, she lifted the diamond necklace from its cushion and held it up, her face a picture of shock.

'Are those…?' she stuttered, trailing off as she gawped making Tommy laugh this time in genuine amusement.

'Diamonds,' he said. 'Yes. Twenty of them.' Maddie let out a breathy chuckle, her eyebrows raised as she continued to admire the necklace that was dancing with reflected light. 'Here,' he said, taking the necklace from her hand. 'Turn around.'

Maddie turned herself on his lap so her back was to him as he opened the clasp and lifted the necklace over her head before clasping it again behind her neck. He adjusted her hair for her, and she turned back around to show him. The necklace dazzled attractively on her neck, drawing attention to her collar bone and breasts as well as her fading bruises. He had wanted to see her dressed in the jewels that he'd bought her for the past few weeks and now the moment had finally come, and he liked what he saw. He gazed at her neck hungrily, wrapping his arm around her waist to bring her closer to him and she responded by chuckling at him.

'They must look good then,' she said, pursing her lips in amusement.

'Uh huh,' dismissed Tommy, his attention not the slightest bit deterred as he leant in to press his lips to her neck just under her ear. He felt her tense in his arms and sigh breathily but managed to keep her composure.

'Good,' she hummed. 'I was afraid I was beginning to look like Liz Taylor.'

'Who?' said Tommy, pulling back to look up at Maddie inquisitively.

'Oh, she was… or will be this famous actress who wore a lot of diamond jewellery,' clarified Maddie and Tommy nodded but raised an eyebrow as he didn't see how looking like Liz Taylor would have been a bad thing. Seeing that he didn't understand her reference she hurried to elaborate. 'Seriously, the woman wore that much jewellery that if she fell into a river, she'd have sunk to the bottom.'

Tommy tried hard not to smile at Maddie's joke but couldn't help but chuckle as she snickered heartily also. 'Don't worry,' said Tommy once they had stopped laughing. 'They just make you look more beautiful.'

The smile fell from Maddie's face, and she looked down at him, a sudden hungry look like what he had earlier in her eyes, and she slowly lowered her lips to his. He snaked his hands around her tightly, the rest of the room falling away a moment as he took in the feel of her lips on his. The sound of people chattering around them brought them back to reality after a few seconds and they broke apart. He admired her freshly flushed skin with a smirk, and she prodded him playfully in the chest for it before she looked down and picked up the last present.

'Surely you didn't get me more jewellery?' asked Maddie jokingly, although she did give him an uncertain look as she felt the rectangular object.

'You won't know until you open it,' he said.

Maddie eyed him suspiciously before removing the wrapping of her final gift to reveal a hardback book. She initially looked at it in confusion, evidently not expecting it as she stared down at the blank back cover before she turned it over. On the front cover was written'The Time Machine by H.G. Wells'in gold lettering and she stared at it blankly for a few moments before bursting into a fit of laughter.

Tommy had bought this final gift at an attempt at humour and was glad to see that it had worked. She was his time travelling beauty from the future so a novel about time travel seemed like the perfect light-hearted gift.

'I think this one would be hard to top,' she said between breaths.

'I thought we could read it together,' said Tommy. 'Me, you and Charlie.'

'I'd love that,' she whispered as Tommy drew her in for another kiss.

The rest of Christmas day went by miraculously without too much chaos or any major family arguments. Tommy wore his new watch from Maddie and his family also wore and used their gifts from her which delighted her no end as she wore her earrings and necklace for the entire day. They all had their fill of Christmas dinner, even Tommy ate more than usual. Maddie however, surpassed everyone but still didn't manage to empty her plate and had to declare herself full much to everyone's amazement. They played with the children and their toys until it was time for them to go to bed and afterwards the adults' played cards, danced, sung carols and drank until after midnight. John, who got drunk first, nearly destroyed the dining room chandelier with his new rifle and created a rather ugly bullet hole in the ceiling so Tommy and Arthur had to throw him outside to sober up. Pol, in a tipsy and happy mood, started to dig out her teacup and tea leaves to do readings and Ada had to quietly distract her so Michael could sneak them away before she could do any damage. But finally, in the early hours of the morning, with their belly's full and eyes drooping, they all went up to bed in a parade of jolly chorus.

Once in bed, Tommy made love to Maddie until they were both sweating and panting like animals before he held her against his chest until she fell into a peaceful sleep. He drifted off soon after, thinking that maybe Christmas wasn't all that bad after all.