Subtle Invitation [Thomas Shelby]

Iridescent Eyes

There was a hunger building within Tommy that he could not satisfy as his lips worked against Lily's. It must of been her sweet smell, her soft lips or her timid kiss that had worked him up. It must have. Gripping his hands in her soft hair he had to keep control, afraid that at any moment they would slip down her body and he would be done for. Lily on the other hand was starting to reciprocate his burning kiss with a new awakened need that started to swell inside her chest.

Lily had never been kissed before and she was taken back by the rush of feelings from his lips and body. As Tommy's hips pinned her against the car she gasped in surprise at the sensation that rippled down her body.

As both of them became lightheaded from the lack of oxygen and sense, Tommy was the first one to pull away, his face still hovering inches above hers.

Lily's eyelashes fluttered open, her mouth shaped in a soft O as her brain started to fire back up and take in the current events. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline or the powerful skill of his lips but she felt completely breathless, as if she was floating above her own body.

"Stay" he demanded, his voice hoarse and tense "I need someone like you, someone who knows numbers. There's a job here for you" and he took a step back from her and straightened his coat, his eye's began regarding her reaction with trepidation.

Lily felt her fingers twitch, wanting to hold onto him for just another second but she busied her hands by grabbing her bag from the car and trying not to think about her swollen lips.

"I don't know....." she said, her eye's flicking from his lips to his tousled hair. Had she done that?

"You either turn up on Monday or you go home" and he shrugged letting her know that it was completely her choice.

Lily bit her lip, completely frazzled by the days events as she tried to process what was currently happening to her. Taking a step forward she tested her legs and found instant relief that they weren't going to buckle.

"I should go" she mumbled as she slipped by him and started to make her way up the steps to the hotel doors. Even in the darkness she was pretty certain her cheeks where blazing red from embarrassment. No romance novel could of warned her about this feeling, nothing could of prepared her for the storm of emotions that had erupted within her body. Nobody could of prepared her for having her first kiss stolen by Thomas Shelby.

---

The following morning rolled around and Lily was a mess. Having replayed the events over and over in her head the previous night it meant that sleep had become bored of waiting and left. As she sat in the bar area with a tea she looked out of the big windows, watching the birds pat for worms on the grass and wondered if she could make Birmingham her home.

Lily had come here for revenge. The plan was to always leave, sell up her parents home and move to some quiet place by the sea where she could read until her hearts content. Now that dream seemed lonely and redundant.

In the space of two weeks she had changed so much that she wasn't sure who she was or what she wanted anymore. No identity, no family and no place to call home she really was just hanging in the balance.

Could she start a life here? Would the job at The Shelby company keep her satisfied but most importantly safe? probably not. Did Tommy want her to stay because he cared for her or was he using her fragility to source her skills and use them to help build his empire?

"I hope I'm not interrupting your daydream?" Polly mused as she looked over Lily's shoulder. Lily quickly looked to her side to see Polly moving to take a seat across the table.

"I was miles away" Lily smiled as she watched Polly pull off her gloves and hat.

"I could see that love"