peaky blinders imagines + smut.

john shelby: cellar.

CELLAR.

His eyes made contact with your own from across the room, a cheeky grin on his face as he sipped on his beverage, attempting to keep eye contact with you but also his older brothers who were not happy about your little trip to their local. John was ecstatic when he saw you walk through the wooden doors, a skip in your step and three of your girls following behind you but he had to keep calm and not show any emotion other than hate – he was failing.

"Why do you keep looking at her?" Arthur asked, mumbling the question quietly into John's ear so Tommy and the others did not hear. "She's bad news, remember that."

John furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his brother from the side, a hint of playfulness in his eyes. Arthur wasn't stupid, he knew everything about John – including when he was lying – but for John's own safety, he kept his mouth shut. "I don't know what you mean, Arthur. Just checking out the enemy, making sure that she's staying in line and not plotting anything."

It had been easier to lie to the family in the recent weeks, more specifically since the first day that you and John had met. It was at the races and was meant to be a casual day out, no violence or business but genuinely enjoying what the place had to offer. Tommy, of course, was focused on the horses and John and Arthur had been watching everyone that came near them. That was until you and about twenty other girls entered the stands and started to cause mayhem. John had to remember what Tommy said, no violence, but when he saw a man swing for you and harshly make contact with your cheek, he rushed out to put the drunken man in his place. You weren't thankful for John's actions and claimed that you didn't need no man to help you which automatically attracted John. Still, you found some time during the day to sneak away from your girls and into a less-busier bar where you found John sat alone.

"Aye, okay then," Arthur huffed, spinning around in his seat to face Tommy and chat some more business, the only thing that they ever did.

From your side of the room, you looked around and made sure that no-one was looking before slowly opening your legs for John. He almost chocked on his drink but his eyes remained on yours as you bent down to tie the laces on your boot, giving John a clear view of your cleavage. He had never been around any lady as bright and confident as you but he adored the game that you had been playing for the last few weeks – sending him "love" letters through the post and "accidently" bumping into each other in random places.

John was desperate for a break and some time away from the backroom which was becoming stuffy and small, your stare only making John more turned on. He quickly downed his drink, no longer phased by the burning liquid that ran down his throat and nodded towards the cellar, signalling for you to meet him there.

"Going to get another drink," he told the rest of the family, although no-one listened to him, too busy with their own conversations to care about what John was doing. He huffed quietly before standing up and walking over towards the door, shutting the backroom doors in the process. Harry eyed John up but didn't dare question what he was doing, instead pouring him a drink and then allowing him to enter the cellar. You followed soon after, a hint of nervousness beginning to set in your stomach as you followed John's loud footsteps until you were deep into the cellar, surrounded by the barrels of booze and the smell of stale alcohol. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me," he whispered as he pressed your hands against the cold, brick wall.

You arched your back and pressed your body into John's, rubbing yourself gently across his own toned stomach before leaning back against the wall, making John breath heavily and look up at you through half-lidded eyes. The desire was burning, the addiction was increasing and John was becoming desperate. He wasn't one to beg but you did something to him, something that no other woman had been able to do.

"You might be right, you might not be." Your voice was like silk, slowly falling out of your plump lips at a slow pace, torturing John with every passing second. "How are you brothers?"

"I don't wish to talk about them right now." John leant down to press his lips against yours but you moved your head to the side which pained you as much as it pained John. There was a hint of amusement behind his eyes, impressed at your attempts of teasing him but John always got what he wanted, even if it took a lot of time and effort. That was the thing about you; you were worth the time, pain and everything else in between.

"I heard that you have plans to join teams with Kimber, I don't think that's very clever."

"I'm not saying anything about the business to you, darling. For all I know, you could be some psychotic spy whose using me to get information for their own business, ay?"

"Would you be bothered if I was?" You asked. John knew that you weren't like that, keeping your own business to yourself and only getting involved in the dangerous side of things when you or one of your girls were threatened. Kimber, Sabini and The Peaky blinders did not bother you and often, you stayed away from the trouble that they caused. Still, you found yourself risking everything that you had worked for because of your infatuation with the enemy.

"Honestly," he started and leaned in closer, his lips barely against yours but still enough to make you want more. "I wouldn't give a shit." After weeks of flirting, mind games and keeping secrets, your lips were pressed against John's in a hot, wet kiss that would make a whore blush. There was nothing romantic about the way your lips moved against his own but you wouldn't have expected John Shelby to have kissed you gently and taken his time.

"God," you whispered when John finally detached his lips but he swiftly moved them to the thin skin on your neck, teasing you by lightly sucking and then pulling away from the area that drove your crazy. You pulled John away for a second and quickly checked your watch, sighing when you saw the time. "I need to leave."

John nodded and kissed you one more time, almost as if it was going to be the last kissed that you ever shared which would not happen, you had plans for John. "Well, you know where the door is."

"Are you not even going to walk me out? That's not very nice of you, Mr. Shelby."

"And have my brothers see you and me together, I don't think so. They'd go ballistic if they knew the truth, okay?"

"Are you telling me that we have to sneak around like some children?" you raised one eyebrow and placed one hand against your hip, looking up at John is disbelief. You wouldn't admit it, but the thought did seem exciting. Still, a part of you hoped that now things had gone a step further, even if it was just a kiss, there would be a chance that you and John could be publicly together, if that's what he wanted. You felt nothing towards The Peaky Blinders, no anger or hate, just nothing. They had never done anything to mess with your business, luckily for them, so a part of you could not understand why John was adamant about sneaking around. "Why can't we tell them?"

"I don't think they trust you, my love. They don't understand why you keep hanging around Small Heath," he told you as he pressed one hand against your cheek. The confidence that you had only minutes before was slowly falling away as the realisation kicked in. The game that you were playing was dangerous and would it be worth it?

"Okay," you hummed, not wanting to argue with John. You removed his hand from your face and walked towards the cellar door, shaking the handle slightly. "Looks like we'll be stuck here for a while."

John's eyes widened as he paced over to the door, shaking it more aggressively than you did. "Fuck," he groaned, kicking the bottom of the door angrily only to wince in pain. "I told Harry that this door needed fixing but of course, no-one fucking listens to me."

Deciding not to worry about the business meeting that you were due to attend soon, mentally praying that one of the girls would click on and sort it out, you pressed your back against the door and pulled on John's tie, his body falling into your own. "We could finish what we started."