Power and Lies

Fifteen

"It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Freya draped her arm across Tommy's midsection, laying her head on his chest, and stared up at him. His breathing was rhythmic and easy, his sleep calm. She could not remember the last time she had taken a nap, perhaps when she was a girl, but it had been so easy to sleep wrapped up in him. This was not a moment she wanted to lose, she needed this. She needed to feel love in a way she had never before. She knew once they left the house it would be different, she would be Freya Smith, and he would be Thomas Shelby, the monster among men to those who did not know him. The tender moments would begin and end here in this home, and in this bed. She would relish it while she could.

The light filtered through the window, lighting up the bedroom and causing Tommy to stir beneath her weight. It was not long before his eyes fluttered open, his icy blues meeting her own. The normal hardness was gone, instead he looked at her with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. This moment was perfection. She had never had a moment like this. She had prayed when she met Lee it would be like this, full of love unspoken but not unfelt. "Morning," He croaked, his voice rough with sleep. He pressed his lips to her forehead and placed his arms over her, squeezing her tightly to him. His body was warm, bringing her comfort in the chilly room. For a brief moment she wondered if he would regret these moments later on when the real world returned to them, but if it came to that, she would carry on in her duties, never forgetting the bliss she felt in these hours.

"What is this?" She asked him, drawing shapes on his chest lazily with her fingertips. He looked at the ceiling, a playful smirk dancing on his features. She wished he always looked so peaceful.

"This is beauty loving a beast."

A laugh escaped Freya as she propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him, marveling at his features. He was a work of art. "And which are you? The beauty or the beast?" He wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled her to him, pushing her lips against his. Electricity flowed through her body at the show of affection and she pushed her body closer to his, hungry for more. All at once he flipped their bodies, his weight resting fully on her own, his own hunger growing.

"The beast," He answered as he nipped at her neck, causing her back to arch against him. This was paradise, and she prayed it would never end.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

John sat at the pub, staring at Freya over a drink with a sour expression. Freya missed the relationship they had before, where she could expose everything about herself without hesitation to him. Now he was cold and when he did speak it was of business and then he ducked out, leaving her alone to her thoughts. But, when he drank, he stared, a bitter look upon him, but a longing in his eyes. She knew he was probably replaying the day from the month before, turning over and over in his thoughts how she loved Tommy, and had been with him physically. Guilt swirled around her at first, interweaving itself into her thoughts and soul. Now she had let it go, forcing herself to adopt a passive stance on everything. She and Tommy did not show affection around the others, leaving their love to the moonlight, and the daylight to ignorance. She did not know if there would ever be a day this would not be the situation, or if it did evolve into something more- what it would ultimately cost her. She worried this would be it forever, her and Tommy being secret, and her and John being strangers.

She grasped her smoke in her hands, bringing it to her lips momentarily, allowing the taste of tobacco to distract her. Tommy had gone to London to see about a horse, taking Arthur and a few others with him, leaving her alone with John and Grace. Neither party was keen on interacting with her, each harboring their own ill will towards her. Another drink landed in front of her, set down by a local with a smile. She had become quite familiar with the regulars at the Garrison, and had crafted many friendships. It was more than she thought she would have when Lee moved her here.