Kimber's Daughter - Tommy Shelby x Reader Fan Fic

Chapter 62

He was stood beside the fireplace, cotton shirt tight against his body, creasing a little at his torso and shoulders as he turned around. Cigarette in one hand. Hair freshly cut, neck freshly shaved. The perfect curve of his spine.

The sight of Tommy left me breathless. Literally. Whether it was the stress, or the week of neglecting my health, my head began to spin. As I fell, I gripped the back of the sofa, fighting to pull myself together.

Polly's voice cut through the haze. "Is she alright? Michael, get her a chair, for god's sake."

I felt Tommy's arms around me. "Easy, Kimber," he murmured, pulling me into the chair Michael pulled behind me.

"I'm fine," I said, though my voice sounded distant. "Just underslept."

Tommy made a small noise of disbelief. "Head between your legs," he told me.

It was enough to bring me somewhat back to myself, to look him in the eye.

"It's a recovery position, love," he said, fighting a smile. "You'll feel better."

I did as he said. He placed his hands on my shoulders, gently massaging as I recovered. Within a few minutes, the vertigo passed, but the nausea came back with force.

"I'm never drinking again," I groaned, pulling myself upright.

"Thank fuck for that," Tommy said as he pulled away. He sighed. "Don't know how much I could take of you fainting on me."

"I wasn't fainting," I argued. "I just needed to sit down." I frowned, scanning the room. "Where's Michael and Polly?"

"They've given us some room," Tommy said.

He pulled away, retreating back to the fireplace where he lit another cigarette. Already I missed his warmth, the smell of his aftershave. Already I wondered if I was doing the right thing.

"If you wanted to end things with me," he said, tapping his cigarette out in the ashtray almost immediately, "you might have told me, at least."

"Ended things?" I whispered. "What are you talking about?"

Tommy pushed his hands into his pockets before turning around. "You returned your horse to my stables," he said. "Not a word between us."

I noticed the dark shadows beneath his eyes, the pallor in his complexion. "I had to move her... or I would have lost her."

He raised an eyebrow. I sat on the sofa, running my palm across the cool leather.

I told him everything. At first my voice was barely a whisper, and I was unable to look at him, staring at the leather, at the shadow of my moving hand. But my voice grew as I spoke and my hand stilled. And when I finished, Tommy knelt on the ground before me, taking my hand and holding it in his own.

"Kimber," he said quietly. "Look at me."

I did as he asked, and found his eyes once more open, bright, unguarded. My favourite shade of blue, lighter than the coolest waters.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. "I could have sorted this all out with one visit to the bastards."

"Because I thought I could handle it." My voice trembled. "I thought with Michael..."

"So that's why you've been spending so much time together," he murmured.

"Of course." My brow twitched. "Why...?"

"I thought perhaps you loved him," Tommy said evenly. "You asked me to leave you alone, and he arrived almost instantly."

I shook my head. "Tommy, I love you. I love you so much it terrifies me, I... I don't know what to do with it. If you hurt me again, I don't know how I'll cope. And now I have nothing," I tried to laugh, but it felt hollow. "No distractions. No work to focus on."

"Let me take care of you," he murmured, brushing his lips across my hand. "Please, sweetheart. I've been empty without you. I've been trapped in that tunnel all over again ever since you left."

"I'll always doubt you." Tears welled in my eyes. "Don't you understand that, Tom? I'll never know for sure."

He closed his eyes and took a pained breath. When he looked at me again, there was fire in his gaze and colour in his cheeks.

"Come," he told me. "I have to show you something."