It had been a week since they’d found out Zobelle was an informant. The guys had managed to corner him outside of Charming lines. He had recruited the Mayans to help him leave town but once Clay told Alvarez he was a rat, they were more than happy to let Clay finish him. Harley and Kozik were still progressing slowly. As comfortable as she’d been with having him around their child, she still kept him at arms length. She’d watch him carefully. How he’d interact with croweaters or how he’d react when there were drugs around. She couldn’t afford another heartbreak. Not when she had another life that counted on her. She’d been a wreck for months after their break up but the moment she had held her daughter in her arms, everything went on the back burner and stepping up for that little girl was first priority.
It was friday night, the party was full swing. Harley was dancing by the bar with Tara while Lyla was pouring them drinks. Kozik had his eyes on her the entire night. He knew if he wanted to get back with her he had to be on his best behavior. He’d gotten away with a few kisses here and there but other than that she kept on with business as usual. He leaned against the wall as the boys were playing pool. Jax walked up next to him joining his line of vision to their girls dancing. He laughed watching his buddy narrow his eyes as a hang around offered to buy them a drink.
Jax patted Kozik’s back as he watched with them. “Like I said man, if it’s one girl you never have to worry about – it’s your girl.”
Kozik shook his head as he took a swig of his beer. As much of an appearance has he had to keep, Jax had known him and Harley long enough that he could open up to him. “Yeah man, if only I had that claim. She keeps me at a distance at all times unless it’s for the baby. Don’t get me wrong I’m thankful I can spend anytime I want with my daughter but I wish she’d let me back in her life too.”
Jax nodded his head, his eyes on his own girl but Harley as well. “Thats a whole other can of worms brother. Harley can take a grudge to her deathbed. Fuck, even if she lets you back in she’ll still be pissed at you in some way.”
“That you’re right about. I still get shit about breaking her favorite necklace on like the first date we went on”
Jax laughed as he took a swig of his beer. “You know that girl more than anyone. As much as she’s changed, she’ll always be Harley brother. Go get your girl before she decides to stop being a prude.”
Kozik didn’t need to be told twice. He set his beer on a table and walked over to Harley. “Wanna take a walk with me?” She nodded and excused herself from Tara and Lyla, He took her hand and led her out the doorway. The fresh air hitting their faces seemed to sober them both up. He looked down at Harley who had her eyes closed enjoying the night air. “Harley, I need you to talk to me. You know how badly I want this to work. Us to work. But all you do is keep me at a distance.”
Harley opened her eyes to look up at him. She sighed as she leaned back against the cold wall of the clubhouse. “I don’t know babe. If you want me to be honest – it’s because I can’t risk you doing something to fuck up again. Baby Belle has just gotten used to you being here. She loves you. I can’t imagine us separating again and having you disappear from her life. You and I just don’t work. We were way too chaotic then and as proved from our most recent fight, we still are. You’re still getting over Nora. You can’t be looking for another girl yet.”
He put his hands in his pockets and stood in front of her looking down at her face in sadness. “Nothing. And I mean nothing could keep me away from her at this point. Harley, WE do work. That’s how OUR love works. Nobody could ever give me that feeling of raw, passionate, uncensored love that we had. Even in our worst fights we never doubted us, Harley. You cannot let your fear stop us from becoming the family that we need to be. For us and for our daughter.” His hands cupping her face, he could see her eyes starting to water as his eyes locked with hers. “Harley, I love you. I know you love me too. You’re the only person I could see, myself being with for the rest of my life. This isn’t me looking for a rebound. YOU are the only one I want – I’ve always wanted. Every other person after you has been a rebound. I need you in my life Harley. I need us to fix this. I’ve cleaned up my act. My family is the only thing that I need in my life.”
Harley looked up in his eyes as his thumb brushed a tear away. She closed her eyes to try and regain composure. “I was really rooting for Nora, ya know? She genuinely made you happy. She genuinely loved you. I made that my goal. I wanted her to be the perfect old lady for you – like I couldn’t be. I always want to argue and oppose and give an input. Nora just seemed to accept things. It was different. I guess I wanted to believe that that’s what you wanted. Someone completely opposite of me.” She looked back up into his eyes. “The night you came in hurt. I don’t know what came over me. I had done so well to keep myself closed off from you but seeing you like that, I wanted nothing more than to take your pain from you. Just like old times. I wanted to kiss every scrape, soothe every burn. I needed to bring her in, so she could do that while I fixed you up. That night, I was actually jealous that she would be the one sleeping in the same bed as you, checking on you, being there to lull you to sleep. That didn’t really work out to well either seeing as that girl seemed to drink her problems down. But the point is – I haven’t been jealous in years. I mean years. Even before me and you got together. I was never jealous of the other women after you. You were mine. I wholeheartedly believed that. Even after I saw you with that other woman, I shut myself off from any feeling. But then you came back, with a woman that truly cared about you, and I couldn’t shut those feelings off. I guess what I’m getting at, is I do want to try again. I can’t say that I trust you. But I’ve always loved you and I want that to be enough to give this another go.”
Kozik’s eyes lit up as he looked into hers. “I love you Harley.” He whispered against her lips as he leaned in to kiss her. She placed her hands on his hips, pulling his body closer and deepened the kiss. He placed his hands on the wall beside her head, boxing her in as she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. As he pressed closer, her phone started to beep. She growled as she pulled away to pull her phone out. it was 1am and time for her to get out of there and relieve Neeta. “I need to get going.” She bit her lip as she took a step to the side to unbox herself. “If you want.. you could come with? Can’t imagine it’s fun sleeping here on Friday’s.”
He laughed in agreement and took her hand. “Will I get to be next to you?”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah.. where you belong.” His smile widened as he leaned in to kiss her again.
At the house, Harley paid Neeta and Kozik followed her on his bike to make sure she got home safe. Harley took a hot shower to wash away the smell of the drinks and smoke. Isabelle woke up pretty early in the morning and she was not having Belle smell her like that. It was weird how well she’d been able to play different roles everyday from being crazy with the club to being in full out responsible mommy mode. The one thing she hadn’t done was see how a relationship would fit into all of this. She guessed must be a bit easier since the relationship would be with her daughters father but it’d been years since she’d been with a man. She needed to feel things out again. The next step would be to let him in the house and in bed then they’d see where to go from there.
Kozik pulled his bike into the driveway and stared at the house. It wasn’t like the old house he shared with her but it was inviting. He still couldn’t take in the fact that she was allowing him back in. To her home. To her life. This was a step forward. A big one considering Harley’s grudge holding abilities. He put his helmet on the bike and walked into the house, taking a look around as he walked through. There were pictures of Belle through all the stages he’d missed. Although he was still upset, knowing how close he was to her now – he’d make up it all up to her and hopefully her mother too.
A door closing caught his attention to the hallway where he saw Harley coming through the doorway. Her face clear of any makeup, her damp hair down her back, her tank top and cotton shorts hung close to her silky smooth skin. She smiled at him and he could feel his heart melting. This was the Harley he remembered. He walked up to her, lifting her tank top up slightly over her hip, brushing his thumb over his crow as he looked down at her. “Hey beautiful”
She smirked and kissed his jaw lightly, “Hey” she pulled away slowly still smiling at him as she walked to her kitchen. She put her teapot on the the stovetop and sat up on the counter next to it. Kozik followed behind her standing between her legs, his hands on her thighs, rubbing them slowly. “I think I still have a box of your old clothes in the basement. Just things the prospects didn’t pick up when you left” she wrapped her arms around his neck holding him close.
Nodding he wrapped his arms around her waist sliding her closer to his waist. “So do you want me to take it or…”
She smiled softly, pressing her forehead back against his. “or do I want you to bring the rest of your stuff?” She laughed lightly and pressed her lips against his. “I want to take things slow babe, but I do think it would be ridiculous for us to start on square one seeing how far we were in our relationship. I would like you to move back in. It’d be good for Belle to get used to having a two parent home.”
His smiled widened as he pressed numerous kisses onto her lips. “That sounds good to me babe.” She smiled as she pulled his head closer deepening the kiss, her legs wrapped around his waist pulling him deeper between her legs. Feeling his hardening member pressing against her core she moaned lightly. He took that as a sign to keep going and his hand slid up the bottom of her shirt, cupping her plump round breast while his fingers worked to play with her nipple. His free hand tight on her hip as she grinded into him. This time it was his turn to groan.
“I need you.” She moaned as she tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth.
Pulling away from the kiss, he turned off the oven and lifted her up into his arms. She sucked on his neck as he ran up the stairs to her room shutting the door behind them. Laying her down on her back he kissed his way up her body to her lips kissing her passionately, their hands roaming each others bodies. He slid his hands up her sides, sliding her tank top up over her head. Her hands following his lead as she tugged at his shirt, tossing it across the room. His bare chest on hers, their warm bodies against each other, she couldn’t help but moan into his ear as he made his way down her jaw to her neck.
His tongue worked circles around the soft skin on her neck, his lips brushing every inch they came across. Harley slid her hand into his hair, her fingertips stroking through it as her other hand ran down his back, her nails digging in as his teeth dug into the skin on her collarbone. Another moan escaped her lips. Kozik growled feeling her nails on his back leading his lips down her body, his mouth going over her nipple, taking it between his teeth before he sucked on it. She arched her back, pressing her body against his more. Her hands sliding down his body, undoing his belt, before pushing his pants down.
He lifted his hips letting his pants fall before kicking them off the bed, his rough hands working their way up her thighs to the hem of her shorts. With one swift tug he pulled them off along with her panties, tossing them aside. Kozik sat up on his knees, taking in the body he missed so much. His hands roaming over every curve, every scar, then finally over his crow. Harley watched him with heavy lidded eyes, biting the corner of her lip. Truth be told, as hard as she worked on her body after having the baby, his gaze made her nervous. “You’re so beautiful Harley” he whispered before pushing off his boxers. She pulled him back down, kissing him deeply. He lifted her legs slightly over his hips as he positioned himself at her entrance. She was already soaking wet for him. He pushed inside all the way. A gasp escaped her lips as he filled her entirely. He leaned his forehead on hers, both looking up into each other’s eyes letting their bodies adapt to each other again. He held his hand on her hip as the other held her head, he began rocking his hips as his pulsating cock moved in and out slowly. Her hips moved against his. Push for push they kept up with each other.
Even after all these years, they had their own rhythm. The sweat glistened off their bodies as she rolled over on top of him, riding him nice and slow so she could see him, all of him. His eyes roamed her body as his nails dug into thighs. He pushed his hips up to meet hers before pulling her down against him pushing in and out of her harder kissing her deeply. He felt her walls tighten around his dick and as she came, so did he. Moans filled the room followed by heavy breathing.
Harley rolled off him, curling up to his side. He wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead as she dug her face into his neck. “Let me take you out tomorrow night babe.”
“Like on a date?” She asked not moving from her spot on his chest.
He felt like they were in high school but he nodded. “Yeah”
He felt her lips curve into a smile. “I’d like that.I missed you “ she whispered into the crook of his neck. He smiled and pulled her in closer. “ I missed you babe.” He whispered back, running his fingertips up and down her back like he used to so she could doze off.
Kozik was nervous. He had taken Harley on plenty of dates, but tonight was different. He needed to redeem himself to her. It was his chance to get his family back. He felt bad for breaking Nora’s heart but things felt right with Harley. This was where he belonged. As much as he tried to convince himself that he was that innocent guy in Nora’s eyes he wasn’t and Harley accepted him for all of it.
He pulled up his bike up to her driveway and went up to knock on the door. Neeta answered and invited him in. He walked up to Isabelle’s room to say goodnight when she asked him to read her a story. He peeked out the doorway to see if Harley was ready but when he heard drawers being open and closed he decided he still had time.
Harley was ruffling through her drawers looking for something to wear. They had agreed to take her car out so dresses were acceptable. She pulled on a black loose fitting silk v-neck tank top that hung low in the back and tucked it into a little black skirt that was tight around her ass and fared out on her legs, stopping mid thigh. She slipped on her black pumped and looked at herself in the mirror, Her hair golden blonde hair was straight, and she had done a perfect smokey eye for her green eyes and red lip. She stepped out into the hallway after she sprayed on her perfume. She heard whispering from Isabelle’s room and cracked the door open to see Kozik inside reading to the sleeping baby. She smiled as she tapped Kozik’s shoulder.
He shut the book and walked out into the hallway where he got a good look at her and froze. She looked beautiful. He couldn’t remember the last time she got so dressed up. Her outfit made her look classy, just enough to accentuate her curves but not enough to give everyone a free show.
Harley bit the corner of her lip and smirked. “I’m ready to go when you are” He took her hand hand in his, making her spin in front of him for a better look. He noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra and bit his lip before his eyes fell to her long tan legs. If it was up to him, he’d just rip off the whole outfit right now and wrap those beautiful legs around his waist, but she deserved to be shown off. He laced their fingers as he lead her down the stairs. She quickly told Neeta when they should be back before heading out of the door. Harley handed the keys to her truck over to him as part of their agreement and he walked over opening the car door for her, helping her climb in.
She wasn’t used to this side of him. It’d been a long time since she’d been on a real date where he’d actually tried this hard. As he started to drive, Harley turned her head to look at him. “So are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Kozik let a small smirk creep through his face as he looked over at her. “Nah, I want to surprise you.” he slid his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together again.
She looked down at their hands and let out a small smile. “You know I don’t like surprises”
He just laughed and kept driving. She had turned the radio and started singing along. He couldn’t help but steal glances at her listening to her beautiful voice. Her cheeks started to blush as she caught him staring and gave his hand a little squeeze.
As they got closer to their destination, he begged her to close her eyes. As much as she hesitated, she complied. The car came to a stop and Kozik ran to her side, lifting her off the seat onto the ground. Placing a hand on her waist, the other over her eyes, he led her inside. Once they got to the room, he uncovered her eyes and her jaw dropped. He had rented out an entire room in the restaurant they had their first date in. White flower arrangements surrounded the entire room with petals sprinkled all along the floor. There was a single table for two in the center of the room in front of the large window overlooking the water.
Harley’s eyes began to water as she covered her mouth with her hand taking in the room before turning her attention to look at him.. “Koz..” she whispered but he shook his head and smiled. This was exactly the reaction he wanted to see. Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her to the table where he pulled out her seat for her before taking a seat himself.
She bit her lip and wiped her eyes carefully before letting out a little laugh “This looks amazing. You did all this?” she asked looking up at him.
He smiled at her, her red lips drawing him in. “Yeah, with the help of Gemma of course.”
Harley laughed. “Of course. You really didn’t have to do all this, but thank you” she smiled before looking down at the menu.
“Anything for my girl.” He smiled watching her face as she looked at the menu. A waiter came by and brought them a bottle of wine and took their order.
Harley couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she looked over the entire room then at Kozik. “This is beautiful.”
His smile didn’t seem to be going away either as he took her hands in his. “ I want to make everything up to you Harley. Everything.”
“You don’t have to do that Kozik. You’ve been doing so well moving forward.” She squeezed his hands.
“I want to. I know how hard it must have been for you do deal with me when I was high all the time. How hard it was to maintain our bills with me spending all that money, but I’ve grown so much and it’s all been for a shot at another chance with you. Now that I have you I can’t imagine doing anything to fuck this up Harls. You and Belle mean the world to me. “ He looked into her eyes and she saw the sincerity.
“You were always worth it to me Koz. It’s really good to have you back.” she smiled leaning in kissing his hand softly. He smiled and kissed her lips as music came on and I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis Presley started.
“Wise men say, Only fools rush in”
Harley bit her lip as her eyes started to water. This was the song they were going to dance to at their wedding. Both being huge Elvis fans, it held so much meaning to them. She looked over at Kozik and smiled. As he beamed at her. “I know we never made it to the big day, but I’m not missing out on this dance with you.”
He stood up and held his hand out for her. She took his hand and he pulled her close against him. His left hand holding her right, his right hand on her lower back as her hand wrapped around his neck. Looking into eachothers eyes, they swayed to the music slowly.
“Like a river flows, surely to the sea”
“Darlin’ so it goes, Somethings are meant to be.”
He spun her around slowly as small tears fell from her eyes. She held him close. Letting all the emotions she’d been trying to suppress finally come out.
“Take my hand, Take my whole life too”
“For I, can’t help. Falling in love with you”