Read Online Tied - Part One by Ellen Callahan - Free Book Online Page A

said.
     
    “All right,” he shrugged, taking his hand back. But he didn’t move. He still leaned into me, the armrest hardly a barrier between us thanks to his size. He still breathed against my hair, close enough for me to feel his warmth, to breath him in. God, the man barely had to do anything at all to envelop my senses.
     
    “We’re going to talk about this later,” I hissed.
     
    He blinked, but he nodded. Good . I was glad I surprised him a little. Patrick had been right that morning - I was strong, I did have a backbone. It was time to stop letting my uncertainties overwhelm me.
     
    And I had to start with confronting this thing with Lockett head-on. If that meant pushing him away completely, so be it. But I wasn’t going to let him just toy with me anymore.
     
    It was hard to stay annoyed at him, though, when I saw him with his niece and nephew. We went out for pizza after the movie, the two of them skipping down the street ahead of us, arguing about who the best character was.
     
    He played with them the whole way, stepping on the backs of Finn’s shoes and lifting Amber gracefully over puddles and garbage on the sidewalk. They obviously adored him.
     
    “Do you visit them very often?” I asked. They didn’t live very far from us but I knew everyone was always busy.
     
    “I try to,” he said.
     
    “Not often enough!” Finn declared, circling around behind us so he could step on Lockett’s shoes. Lockett danced out of the way, always staying just an inch out of Finn’s range.
     
    “I’m a busy man,” Lockett said, flexing an arm. “It takes a lot of time and effort to be this perfect.” It was a perfect arm - mouthwateringly perfect.
     
    “Ugh, don’t make me gag,” Amber said, though she was grinning ear to ear.
     
    We let Finn and Amber lead us to their favorite local pizza joint, an old-fashioned little spot called Moro’s Perfect Pizza. “False advertising,” Lockett said, gesturing up at the sign. That was another thing I’d learned since moving to the city - everyone seemed to have a very strong opinion on who made the best pizza.
     
    The four of us slid into a big booth, the kids on one side and Lockett next to me. He ordered a whole pie and a pitcher of soda, and served the kids and I as everything arrived. He did it so naturally, too. Like he wasn’t even thinking about it.
     
    In my experience, it was a rare guy who was so at ease with young kids - even their own family. When Amber dropped cheese on the table, he cleaned it right up without so much as a sigh. And he had a pocketful of quarters ready when Finn wanted to go play an ancient arcade game in the back after scarfing down two slices.
     
    “Move in,” he said to Amber, switching to the opposite side of the booth so he could keep an eye on Finn without craning his neck around.
     
    It warmed my heart, seeing him taking care of them like that. That lust that I’d been feeling for him, that “unexplained attraction,” as I’d called it, was morphing into something more. Something bigger. I smiled at him across the table despite my reservations. I was actually starting to like the man.
     
    I was still annoyed at him about the way he’d reacted over my AA chip, but maybe I was being too hard on him. Maybe there was a lot more to him than the musclebound fighter that I drooled over. I really wanted to find out.
     
    ○●○●○●○●○
     
    We got the kids home before Lisa and Josh were back from dinner, so Lockett got them ready for bed and planted them in front of the television.
     
    “You’re really good with them,” I said. Once they were settled, we sat across from each other at the kitchen table.
     
    “They’re fun,” he said. “They’re like, little almost-human creatures. It always shocks me, what they know and what they can figure out.”
     
    “Yeah?” I said, “That’s my favorite part of teaching. Watching the gears turn in their heads, seeing that moment when something