𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄 - 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

"𝐃𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞?" - 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵

The long day that Harper had had was nothing short of exhausting. She had sat in her office all day, trying to piece bits of evidence together in hopes that she could find whoever it was that they were looking for but ever piece of evidence came right back to Harry. It was deflating to say the least.

After locking up her office and putting all of her files back where they belonged in the filing cabinet, Harper left and made her way to her London flat.

the drive from the office to her flat wasn't very long and as it was late, the detective had successfully avoided the rush hour traffic.

The traffic was Harper's least favourite thing about living in London. It was such a busy city, always bustling and full of life. It could be quite beautiful when you were sitting back and watching the world go by but if you were in a rush, London is the last place you wanted to be. It was almost always gridlocked with angry drivers suffering from intense road rage. All Harper could think was how lucky she was that she had learned to drive in the busy city. It was stressful to say the least but now she was able to handle the stress and she knew the ins and outs of London better than anyone.

Arriving at her block of flats, the raven haired detective parked her car in the car park. She had a quick look around and didn't see Harry's car there so it either meant that he was yet to arrive or he was smart enough not to bring his car in case he was caught.

Walking to her flat, Harper was on high alert, making sure that whoever it was that she was trying to catch wasn't trying to stop her.

Making it to her front door, she scanned the hallway for Harry and when she spotted him hiding in the shadows underneath the stair case, she gave him a small smile and beckoned him inside her flat.

Harry Winks rushed across the hallway, not wanting to be seen by anyone and risk Harper's career since she was the one that he was relying on to save him from the prospect of jail.

"You alright?" Harper was the first to break the silence as she removed her classic boots that Harry didn't think he had seen her without.

"Shitting it to be completely honest." the London boy let out a laugh and Harper could hear the nerves behind it. She had absolutely no idea how he was feeling. His career, relationships and reputation were all on the line. His life was in her hands.

"You have to trust me, Harry. I know it might be hard but I've never failed anyone before." The detective walked closer to the murder suspect and rested her hands on his arms. Harry looked to her eyes for comfort, something that he had been lacking over the past two weeks since he had discovered Cassandra's body.

Looking at Harry, Harper noticed the dark circles under his chocolate eyes. She didn't know if he was kept awake at night from the stress of the case or the nightmares that she had heard he was having.

Without a second thought, the footballer leaned in towards Harper's face and pressed his soft lips against hers. It came as a shock for Harper and she knew that she couldn't have any sexual or romantic relations with a suspect in her case but Harper didn't care. She knew that Harry was innocent so instead of fighting it, she melted into his kiss and his touch.

Their kiss very quickly lead them into harper's bedroom. Both of them were desperate for the other. Harry's touch sent shivers down her spine and Harper's fingers danced across Harry's tanned skin. Harper brought Harry the comfort that he had so desperately needed and Harry provided clarity for Harper's mind that was constantly in a spin.

Harper and Harry needed each other, not just for sex but to keep them mentally sane.

***
Harry Winks laid naked and awake with Harper Hayes in his arms. Her fingers were tracing shapes across his tanned skin and it gave Harry goose bumps.

The two were quiet as they laid in each other's embrace and thought about everything that had gone on. Harry never got the chance to tell Harper everything that he knew from either of the murders and although he knew that he didn't have much time, Harry was sure that he could tell her another time.

"Stop thinking about it, Harry." Harper broke the footballer out of his thoughts and lifted her head from his chest to look at him.

"I can't help it. I could go away for something that I didn't do and if I go down, Dele goes down too." Harry sighed and Harper shook her head, her glossy hair falling into her face. Harry lifted a hand and brushed it off of her face, finding her beauty incredible. "Trust me, you're not going down for this. I won't let you." Without hesitation, the detective leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"We've got this, okay?" Harry nodded his head and found himself feeling slightly more reassured than before. He wanted to trust Harper's words but he found it hard to do when every single piece of evidence was pointing towards him.

a/n: i know it's only chapter eight but i'm going to defend my choice for having them hooking up so soon:

emotions are running very high for both of them at the moment. harry's facing jail time so as it stands, he doesn't really care anymore.

there's also not a whole lot of time for 'romantic' scenes in this type of story.

how are we all? give me a little life update!
- i have my uni welcome week starting on monday and i'm a mix of nervous and excited!

also, did you see the brighton v man utd game?! crazy.

a bit of self promo here: i have a new story on my second account (growingpains-) and i would love for you to check it out if you haven't already! i'm not forcing you though since i know it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

enjoy and stay safe!

lots of love, e x