Free Tied - Part Four (The Tied Series) by Ellen Callahan Page A

wrong to accept her love now that revenge wasn’t poisoning my mind anymore. That was over - I wouldn’t waste another thought on it.
     
    There were more important things to focus on, like making love to my girl in our new apartment. I kissed her softly, then harder as I bent her to the floor and spread myself over her. She clung to me fiercely. Never let go . “I love you, too,” I said, planting slow, hot kisses down her neck. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and I wished that our clothes would just disintegrate on their own.
     
    But we had time. We had all the time in the world, tonight.
     
    And if I had my way, we’d have forever.

EPILOGUE 1
     
    September
     
    Sometimes I couldn’t believe how different my life looked compared to last September. Back then, I hadn’t even met Katherine yet. Riley and Mallet were an item but they hadn’t moved in together. He hadn’t been signed - he and Surly practiced at Lee’s Gym with me every day.
     
    We’d been so carefree. It was hard to even relate to that old version of myself anymore.
     
    Now, I was living in Brooklyn with the woman that I loved. I didn’t fight anymore - I couldn’t - but I was working an overnight security job and I was starting classes at the local community college.
     
    Me. Taking classes. College . I hadn’t decided what exactly for yet, but I still had time to make up my mind.
     
    That one wasn’t even Katherine’s doing. Lisa and Josh had somehow managed to talk me into it.
     
    The front door open and Katherine came in, smiling, carrying a tote bag full of folders and papers and who-knew-what.
     
    “You’re home!” she said, dropping her bags so she could wrap her arms around me.
     
    “Wednesday,” I said. I had no classes scheduled on Wednesdays. It was our one weekday afternoon together.
     
    “Yeah, I thought you might want to go see the guys or something,” she said.
     
    “Nope.” I wanted to see her. With our busy schedules, sometimes it felt like we were never even awake at the same time. We had the weekends but sometimes that just wasn’t enough.
     
    I rested a hand on her belly. “Hmm. Are you growing something in there or have you just been eating too much pudding?”
     
    “Stop it!” she shrieked, throwing back her head and laughing. I tried to silence her with a kiss but she just giggled into my mouth.
     
    So I just kissed her harder, until she whimpered and melted in my arms. Then I took a step away and grinned. “Somebody told me it was your birthday today.”
     
    She smirked. “Yeah, I dropped that hint.”
     
    I led her inside to the table, where I had candles and flowers waiting for her.
     
    Her jaw dropped. “You did this?”
     
    “Well it wasn’t some birthday fairy.”
     
    “For me?”
     
    “No, the other pregnant woman I’m living with.”
     
    She slapped my shoulder playfully as my sarcasm finally broke through her surprise. “Jerk.” Then she kissed me. “Thank you.”
     
    “Sit,” I said, gesturing at the table. I’d set two places. “I thought about inviting everyone but I kind of wanted to hog you to myself for the afternoon.”
     
    “It’s perfect,” she said, waving away my concern. “I can see my sister later. This is exactly what I want to do.” She smiled. “Sit with you. And eat.” She rubbed her stomach - it was just beginning to grow round. “I feel like a bottomless pit, lately!”
     
    “Gee, I wonder why.” I retrieved our plates from the oven where I’d left them to stay warm. “Here we go. Some of this I made and some of this I bought. You get to guess which is which.”
     
    The only thing I’d actually cooked was the meat - steak, since she was still on a red meat kick. The potatoes and the asparagus I’d gotten from an oldschool Italian deli I’d stumbled upon.
     
    “I tried to make dessert,” I said, “Cake is fucking hard.”
     
    “See, I find the opposite,” she said, cutting into her steak with a hungry grin. “I can make