Harley's Fall

by G. Bailey

  “I heard you and I understand. Now leave, I want to talk to my brothers,” I tell the doctor who gives me a worried look but walks out.

  “Harley–” Elliot starts to say, and I shake my head at him. I don’t want anyone else to know. As far as I’m concerned, I already have family that need me.

  “Impressive,” Luke whistles when I walk into the kitchen in my tuxedo.

  “Do I look alright?” I ask him, worrying about my hair that I’ve spent ages on, braiding the sides back. The tuxedo is tight but made to fit, so I have to think it looks good.

  “Yeah, man, but don’t worry. That girl loves you anyway,” he says, walking past me and patting my shoulder. When did my youngest brother get so grown up?

  “Fucking hell,” I whisper to myself when I see Tilly walk into the corridor, in a tight, black dress that Allie helped me choose for her. The dress is simple, just black but the long spilt up to her thigh just makes her look stunning. Her red hair is half up in a bun, and the rest falls down her back in curls.

  “Harley?” she calls, like the damn siren she is. I find myself helpless in doing anything but walking straight over to her. Her eyes widen when she sees me and I can’t help but grin.

  “You look so beautiful, Tilly,” I tell her, not knowing what else to say to her. ‘Beautiful’ doesn’t even seem like a strong enough word to describe how she looks. She is just something else.

  “Thank you, and thank you for the dress. How did you know my size?” she asks, but it’s Allie who answers for me.

  “He called me, and I knew your size from one look,” she says as she walks out of the lounge with Elliot at her side. Allie has the baby monitor in her hand, and she offered to babysit baby girl tonight so I can take Tilly out. Elliot was just dragged along, but he doesn’t seem too bothered.

  “Are you sure about having her all night?” Tilly asks Allie. Allie comes over and hugs her gently.

  “Positive, now go. If we have any trouble, I will call. You both deserve a night out,” Allie tells her, and she nods.

  “I’m here, too, and baby girl loves me,” Luke comments, leaning against the wall.

  “Only because you keep watching Minions with her,” Tilly laughs.

  “It’s a funny film,” Luke shrugs and walks off.

  “Let’s go,” I say to Tilly and take her hand in mine. We walk out to my car, and I hold the door open. Tilly goes to get in and then changes her mind, turning and leaning up, kissing me gently and making me smile before she turns and gets in. After I get in, we start the ten-minute drive to the place I want to take her.

  “Where are you taking me, then?” she asks.

  “We have to take another means of transport to get there first,” I tell her, just as I pull into the drive of the house I was looking for. I drive down and park outside the giant house, and Tilly gives me a questioning look.

  “Trust me?” I ask her, and she laughs.

  “More than I want to admit,” she says and then gets out the car. I get out and walk around the car, wrapping my arms around her waist as we walk to the front door. The door opens before we can press the doorbell.

  “Harley, you all ready?” Mark asks me, as he comes out of the house and shakes my hand.

  “Yes, and thank you for doing this for me,” I tell him.

  “Don’t thank me, I owe you anyway,” Mark waves a hand, “let’s go and get in the helicopter. My pilot is ready,” he says. Mark is a good man who used to fight in the Cage and couldn’t pay back the debt he owed Arthur. A debt he owed Arthur for the lifesaving treatment his daughter needed and the transport to America as they couldn’t save her here. That was years ago when I was eighteen, and he wasn’t rich. I paid the debt off for him, from my savings, because I knew he would end up getting himself killed in the Cage because Mark isn’t a fighter. Mark then took his freedom and set up a very successful truck driving business. He paid me back the money two years ago and insisted on helping me however he could. This is the first thing I’ve asked of him because he is the only one I know with a helicopter.

  “Helicopter?” Tilly gives me a wide-eyed look, and I grin at her. I’m sure she can hear it from here, the noise is loud.

  “Yes. The helicopter is going to take us to our date,” I say, and she chuckles.

  “Always surprising me with dates I will never forget,” she says.

  “I never want you to forget me,” I whisper in her ear as I wrap my arm around her shoulders as we walk towards the helicopter.

  “I could never forget you, Harley King,” she tells me, having to basically shout it for me to hear as we get closer to the helicopter. We lower our heads as we get in the helicopter as it’s already on. After we all have our earphones in and our seatbelts strapped on, the helicopter takes off, and Tilly squeezes my hand tight in hers.

  “It’s amazing up here,” Tilly comments as we fly across the countryside and towards London where we are staying for the night. I had bags with some clothes sent there yesterday and everything we need to stay the night. I know the flight is only forty-five minutes to get into London. Tilly comments about all the beautiful views there are; the city lights, the towns. All I can think of is how beautiful she is. I spend the whole trip watching her, the way her eyes widen and the happy smile she gives me sometimes.

  “Landing,” I hear in our headphones from Mark, and the pilot nods.

  “Thank you for this, it’s just amazing,” Tilly tells me and leans into my side as the helicopter lands, and we get out when the door is opened. We have to keep our heads low as we move away from the helicopter, and we watch from the door as Mark, and the pilot flies away.

  “London?” she asks me as she looks around the view of the city from the rooftop we are standing on.

  “Have you ever been?”

  “No, I’ve always wanted to see it.”

  “Well, after tonight, we can spend the morning looking around the tourist parts before we have to fly back. Your mum and dad are coming over to look after baby girl.”

  “I would love that, you have planned everything, haven’t you?” she asks, and I chuckle.

  “I’ve been planning this date for months, from the first time I kissed you,” I tell her, and she tilts her head to the side, soft, loving looks on her face.

  “Mr. King?” a man asks from the door to the roof, and I take Tilly’s hand in mine as we walk over.

  “Yes, and this is Miss Fox,” I say, introducing Tilly and shaking his hand.

  “I’m your driver to the theatre tonight, and I will drive you to the hotel afterwards,” he tells her, as I already know this.

  “Thank you,” Tilly responds.

  “We should be going; the show starts in an hour, and the traffic is difficult to get through at this time of night. There are refreshments in the limo,” he tells us.

  “Theatre, limo, and a hotel in London?” Tilly whispers as the man opens the door, and we follow him to the lift. We wait for the lift to come up after he presses the button.

  “You’re worth every second of it,” I whisper back, sliding my fingers up her spine and making her shiver.

  “I don’t need fancy things, Harley, I only need you,” she whispers back, and I lean down, kissing her gently.

  “I know, but I want this for you. Trust me,” I tell her gently, and she kisses me once more before leaning away. I keep my hand in the middle of her back, not ready to let her step away from me, yet.

  “Always,” she says, and the lift beeps as it opens. I find myself struggling to look away from her eyes.

  “Mr. King?” the man says, and Tilly walks forward into the lift with me following. The lift opens up into the entrance hall of the hotel we will be staying at later. We go outside, to the limo parked waiting for us, and the man opens the door. Tilly gets in, and I follow her, waiting for the door to be shut.

  “What are we seeing at the theatre?” she asks.

  “You remember when I brought roses to your room, and you told me that story about your f
avourite, childhood story?” I remind her.

  “The Princess and the Pea?” she asks in a whisper.

  “Well, I found this theatre performance and knew you might like it,” I tell her, watching as her eyes light up, and she has the biggest smile on her face.

  “Oh my god. I’ve wanted to see this performance since it was advertised, but the tickets were impossible to get a hold of unless you pay . . .,” her voice drifts off.

  “It took about a week to find tickets but you're worth it,” I say, and she blushes as she looks down.

  “I never thought I’d see the day when your cheeks match your hair,” I say, and she gently hits me on the arm.

  “This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, Harley,” she says gently, and I pick her hand up, kissing the back as gently as her words.

  “Then every man before me was an idiot. You should have always been treated like this, and if you let me . . . I want to be yours. I never wanted anything serious before I met you, I didn’t even think of it as an option. But then, you stormed into my life, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I’m a messed-up man, with a bad past, but I swear I will do anything to give you a perfect future,” I tell her, and her breath catches as a stray tear falls from her eyes. I wipe it away, and she leans her head into my hand.

  “I don’t need a perfect future, but I need you at my side, only you, Harley,” she says, and then I lean down and kiss her. The kiss is broken when the limo stops, and the door opens a few moments later.

  “Wait,” Tilly says when I go to get out.

  “Yeah?” I ask, and she chuckles as she wipes something off from the side of my lip.

  “My lipstick,” she says, and I kiss her.

  “Don’t care,” I say and get out of the car as I hear her laugh behind me. I link my arm around her waist as we walk into the theatre, following the red rug on the floor. The theatre is amazing inside, everything is gold. Gold walls and floors, gold statues lining the walls. Our driver speaks to the staff, and then he takes us into the room we rented on the top floor that overlooks the play. I open the door and thank the driver for shutting it behind me. There is a row of seats near the balcony and a buffet filled with food and drinks on the side. There is a small, white table, with two chairs set up in the other corner of the room. There’s light music playing from the theatre stage, and Tilly goes to look over the balcony.

  “Is this all ours? The view is amazing,” Tilly says, and I move to stand next to her, pushing her hair to the side and gently kissing down her neck.

  “Yes, it’s all ours for the night,” I say, and her breath catches when I gently suck on the spot under her ear. She turns in my arms, looking up at me and not moving as we stare at each other.

  “Can anyone see us here?” she asks, sliding her hands down my chest. I know we are at the highest point.

  “Not if we move further back into the room,” I say, with a smirk, and she leans up and kisses me. I want to take it slow as I enjoy how she tastes, how her soft lips move across mine, but when she slides her hands into my hair, I can’t control the kiss anymore. The kiss becomes frantic from both of us, a kiss built up of all the tension we have had with each other since we first met. I walk backwards, keeping my hands in her hair and move her closer to the table in the room. I lift her onto the table as her hands slide down my waist and start undoing my trousers. I pull her dress down her chest, exposing her perfect breasts and lean forward, twirling my tongue around one, making her moan louder.

  “Shhh,” I say, and she chuckles a little for a second, but then, she pushes down my trousers and boxers, pulling my hard cock into her soft hand. She moves her hand up and down, making me groan with how amazing that feels.

  “Tilly,” I say, pushing up her dress to her hips and seeing the lack of underwear she has on. “You’re a bad girl, aren’t you?” I ask her, just before sliding my finger inside her and feeling how wet she is. I rub my thumb around her clit, loving her little moans and the way her hand strokes my cock harder. When I feel her getting tighter around my finger, and her moans getting to the point where I know she is close to coming on my hand, I pull my finger out. I grab her hips and line my cock up, before kissing her and sliding inside. She moans into my mouth, her nails pressing into my neck as I thrust into her again and again.

  “Harley, oh my god, don’t stop,” she moans again and again, as I feel her tighten around me and I pick up speed. I finish only moments later, our heavy breathing and her moans still filling the room.

  “I love you, Harley King,” she tells me, and I gently lean forward, kissing her.

  “I love you, too, Tilly Fox.”

  Chapter 24

  Tilly

  “TILLY!” I hear Izzy shout up the stairs, just as I put baby girl down for her nap after a feed. I cringe and look down at baby girl, praying that she doesn’t wake up, but she only stirs a little before rolling on her side and cuddling the dinosaur teddy that Jake gave her. I bought her lots of pink teddies and dolls, yet the old dinosaur teddy that Jake gave her is what she has to sleep with every time. I lean down and kiss her forehead, loving the little smile that she does, even in her sleep. She is so cute. I pick the baby monitor up and shut the bedroom door quietly, just as Izzy gets to the top of the stairs and runs over to me.

  “I’m engaged!” she says and shows me her hand, with the large, engagement ring on her finger. The ring has a large diamond in the middle and sapphires on the sides. I know Izzy has a sapphire necklace, and it’s the only thing she has left from her mother; the fact he put those in the engagement ring is so sweet.

  “Oh my god! I’m so happy for you!” I say, pulling her hand up and looking at the stunning ring closely.

  “You have to tell me everything, the when and the where. Come on,” I tug on her hand and lead her up the stairs to Harley’s attic room, knowing he is out at the gym this morning. We both go and sit on the sofa, and she starts off.

  “Okay, you know all the trips he took me on?” I nod, “Well, he has been trying to propose to me at each one, but something was always going wrong.”

  “Okay, I feel really sorry for Blake now,” I chuckle, and she laughs.

  “I know, right.” She looks down at her ring and then back up at me, “So, last night, we stayed at his mum's and had dinner. It was great, but some nurses had called in sick, so his mum had to go in to cover. Then we had a power cut, and the power was out all night.”

  “Same here must have been a blackout,” I tell her, and she nods.

  “So, imagine this, the living room full of candles, the fire in the fireplace lit, and we were lying on the rug, after doing stuff–”

  “To keep warm?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her, and she laughs.

  “Exactly,” she winks.

  “Anyway, Blake went into the kitchen to get some more candles, as some had gone out, and his phone started ringing. I went and grabbed his jacket, to find his phone just in case it was important–”

  “And, you found the ring box?” I say, clapping my hands.

  “Well, it fell out on the floor, and I picked it up, opening it as Blake came in. He laughed, explaining all the romantic things he had planned and how they went wrong, as he held my one hand and got down on one knee.”

  “Aww,” I say, wiping my eyes. This is exactly what I wanted for her; she deserves this so much.

  “The speech he gave me, about how we met, the struggles we had, and how he never wants me anywhere but at his side . . . oh my god I was in tears,” Izzy says, wiping a few tears away at the memory.

  “You remember when we used to sit and watch those witch TV shows with your mum? How she told you that you’d find a perfect guy one day,” I say, and she chuckles.

  “I remember that we used to watch those shows over and over again,” she sniffles a little, “I miss her. I wish she was here, to help me pick a dress, and to meet Blake,” Izzy admits.

  “She would have loved him,” I say, squeezing her hand.

/>   “I know. Would you be my maid of honour?” she asks me suddenly, and I pull her to me. I wrap my arms around her, and she sobs a little into my shoulder.

  “Of course, I will, and even though your mum isn’t there, we won’t forget her on your wedding day. She will be with you,” I tell her, rubbing her back.

  “I know she is with me. I see her when I do simple things like buying apples from the shops and how she used to pick each one up and see what shape they were before buying them.”

  “I remember, she didn’t like apples that were odd shapes,” I chuckle with Izzy as I pull away from the hug.

  “Thank you, for coming here, I didn’t realise how much I missed having someone from my past around until you came here. I know I could talk about my mum to anyone, but it’s not the same, I know you remember her.”

  “I’m always here to talk,” I tell her, and she holds my hand.

  “I’m going to ask Harley to walk me down the aisle, and I know Blake is asking Sebastian to be his best man,” she tells me.

  “Right . . . I have to go and tell Allie and Maisy. We are meeting up for lunch. Do you want to come?” she asks me.

  “No, Hun, I have work to catch up with. But, have fun,” I say and hug her once more before she leaves. I pull my laptop off the coffee table and start editing the book that was sent to me yesterday. Thankfully, the author is in no rush, but I don’t want to leave her long without getting the first edit back to her. I spend the next half an hour editing. I know I can’t do too much more before baby girl wakes up.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” I hear Harley say as he comes into the room and shuts the door. I put my laptop down, knowing that I will have to do more tonight. Overall, it’s not badly written, and won’t be a massive job.

  “Hey, did you hear about Izzy and Blake?” I ask, watching as he comes over and sits next to me on the sofa. Harley looks so much more relaxed, and less stressed since everything with Arthur is behind him, and we are together. I like seeing him like this, and the smile he always has on.