Living With Mr Shelby

Chapter Eleven

John had called and said that he wanted Esme and the kids to catch the train back home a few days ago. Tommy hadn't sent for me so Danny refused to let me leave, saying that his orders were to keep me at his house till Tommy said otherwise.

I had to admit I didn't mind too much. I played with Rosie and the Boys in the garden, we went horse riding and swimming in the lake. We even had a picnic without the horrible smoggy air clinging to us.

"Lola, phone." Danny yelled from his office. I practically skipped to the office and Danny left, shutting the door behind him, to give me some privacy.

"Tommy when am I coming home?" I said into the phone and was disappointed when Polly's musical laugh traveled through the phone.

"He's still not got you then, cheeky bugger." Poll muttered into the phone I sighed dramatically.

"Tell him the longer I stay here the more likely it is that I won't come back because it's been pretty fun." I said to Poll hoping she didn't ask me how bored I was, because we had begun. But to do the same things every day and it was getting tiresome.

"Put Danny on the phone and I'll get him to get you on the next train home, I thought you were on your way home then Danny says you're still here." Poll chuckled, sounding amused. I quickly called for Danny and a few minutes later he emerged from his office.

"Your train arrives in an hour." He told me. He waited for me while I packed my bags and carried them out to the car for me. Rosie and the boys waved goodbye from the windows as we pulled out of the drive and headed to the train station.

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I stood in the doorway staring in surprise as I took in the sight before me. Tommy had been having sex with a tall slender blond woman who was now glaring at me because Tommy had jumped up from the sofa and was pulling his clothes on; I walked past him quickly dragging my bags with me and hurried into my room.

It's a school girl crush I told myself as Tommy knocked on the door. It's not like I could say anything about it. We weren't in a relationship. A stupid crush on my roommate that's all it is. I muttered under my breath as he knocked again.

By the third round of knocking Tommy was shouting angrily through my locked door and I was sobbing silently into my pillow. Eventually I heard the woman, who sounded Irish, shouting at Tommy but he stayed silent. Once I heard the front door slam I wiped my eyes trying to make it look like I hadn't been crying and opened the door to look for some food. I jumped when Tommy almost fell through my door. I had just assumed he would have left with the woman. He must have been leaning right against it.

"Are you mad because of me and Grace or because I didn't get you from Danny's like I promised?" Tommy asked, watching me make a sandwich for myself. I froze trying to figure out which upset me more but quickly decided it would be easier to pretend it didn't bother me. It wasn't like we were In a relationship.

"I'm not mad Tommy was just surprised to see you doing... that." I said indicating with the butter knife what I meant. Tommy sighed and grabbed his keys from the table.

"Well I'm going for a drink before Poll finds out what I did and takes my manhood." Tommy shivered as if Poll really would do it and I had to admit I wouldn't put it past her. Once he was gone I locked the front and side doors and pulled the bath tub out and put it in front of the living room fire and began boiling the water.

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I jerked awake sloshing water around in the bathtub when I felt someone place a kiss on my forehead. I looked up to see Tommy leaning over me and quickly shifted to cover myself feeling uncomfortable making Tommy chuckle. He reached over to the living room table and handed me a big fluffy towel he must have gotten out of the cupboard for me.

I waited until he had walked into the kitchen to get out and wrap myself in the towel. I did a double take when I realized the sofa was no longer in the lounge.

"Tommy where's the..." I pointed to the empty space and Tommy shrugged.

"We don't really want to keep a shared seat that I've had sex on do we?" Tommy asked, making me smile a little.

"You know I'm not mad at you there's no need to chuck it out." I said casually but when I looked up at Tommy he was shaking his head smiling to himself. I gently bit at my lip and groaned as I realized he'd seen through my lie with ease.

"I found it quite flattering." Tommy chuckled knowing I had no idea what he was talking about.

"What?" I asked him, swallowing as the dangerous blue eyed man crossed the room and I was soon craning my neck to look him in the eyes.

"You don't remember your dreams?" Tommy murmured, rubbing the tip of his nose against mine, making me choke on the air I was breathing.

"N..No?" I questioned. I was unable to get any more words past my lips, just as suddenly as he had begun Tommy stepped away and strolled into his room shutting the door behind himself leaving me alone in the warm living room. "Not a school crush?" I whispered to myself hopelessly as my mind began to wonder what it would feel like to have Tommy touching me how he touched the Irish girl. I sighed and dragged the bathtub to the window tipping out the con-tense and dumped it in the kitchen so I could get dressed and go to bed.

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Tommy was having a nightmare again he was screaming and sobbing, I moved everything in his room that he could hurt himself on, away from him when I couldn't wake him up and sat on the foot of his bed waiting for him to return to normal.

"Lola?" Tommy croaked as he sat up coated in sweat. He looked around at the room and sighed, dropping down onto the bed when he realized what had happened. I hurried to fetch him a glass of water which he gulped down and was about to go back to my own bed when Tommy pulled my arm forcing me to sit next to him.

We sat together in silence. Neither one of us wanted to move, Tommy was lying on his back with his head in my lap gripping my left hand tightly as if he thought I'd leave if he let go. It was odd looking down at Tommy, the most feared man in Birmingham, like this. He had tears slowly slipping down his cheeks and a glazed faraway look in his eyes. He didn't look like the violently passionate war hero he portrayed himself as, but a twenty something boy who felt lost and afraid. I had to twist my free hand into my nightie to stop myself from tracing my fingertips across his high cheekbones, a movement Tommy seemed to notice as he was gazing up at me with a questioning look.

"Are you ok now?" I asked quietly as he began to shift in my lap. He nodded, loosening his grip on my hand; I jumped a little making him smile as he rubbed my bottom lip with his thumb watching my response intently. Living with the Shelbys often felt like you were under investigation, they would never ask you anything directly but learn what they needed from you by your actions. Something I had tried to get Poll to teach me to do but she had refused. I gasped as Tommy used his elbows to push himself up out of my lap and pulled me down by my neck until our lips met kissing me with a gentle dominance and hunger before pulling away and looking up at me with a dark seriousness.

"Like fuckin Kimber would get me to give you up." He said in a low whisper making me shift awkwardly as he stared down at me. He moved so I could get up and watched me cross his tiny bedroom as I was shutting the door he called out to me.

"If you want you can sleep in here, I like listening to the dirty dreams you have about me." I squeaked at his brashness and blushed realizing I must have been talking in my sleep when I was in the bathtub.