Everything I Have (Everything #2) - A.K. Evans

Everything I Have A.K. Evans

Published by A.K. Evans Copyright 2017 A.K. Evans This is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the express written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication To all the victims and survivors of domestic abuse, this is for you. May you find your way out of the darkness and into the light.

Table of Contents Acknowledgements Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27

Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 About A.K. Evans Other Books by A.K. Evans Connect with A.K. Evans

Acknowledgements To Jeff — Thank you for choosing to hold me forever. I couldn’t do this without your love. To my boys, J&J — Mommy could write millions of words and never be able to tell you just how much I love you both. And no, I’m not famous yet, but I’m working on it for the two of you.

Prologue Ventura, California Emme “Thanks for such a good night girls. I needed this bad!” I was sitting in the front passenger’s seat of Monroe’s SUV on a Friday night headed back to my house. Monroe was driving; Nikki and Charley were in the backseat. My girls had just taken me out for my twenty-fourth birthday celebration. Today was not my birthday, though. My actual birthday was going to be next week. Today was simply the only day that I would be able to safely escape to thoroughly enjoy a night out with my three best friends in the whole world. Seth, my boyfriend for the last eight years, left three days ago to go out of town on a business trip. Yes, I’ve been with Seth since I was sixteen, which sadly, feels like a lifetime. I often found myself reminiscing about the early days of our relationship when we were so in love. But oh, how things have changed. Now I need to prolong a night out with my friends for days or weeks at a time because I can’t get away. Because if I dare to leave the house for anything other than work when Seth is home, I’ll pay for it. “We love you, Em. We’d never let your birthday pass without a celebration…even if we have to do it in secret,” Monroe said. “Yeah, but it’s awful that we need to wait until he’s not around so we can spend time with you,” Charley chimed in. My friends knew that things had changed in my relationship with Seth. I didn’t exactly share how bad it had become with them, but they knew enough to know that they didn’t like him very much anymore. Their opinions of him would drastically change if they knew everything. I sighed. “I know, but can we not talk about this now? I’ve got a mere five minutes left with you three. Can we please have this end on a happy note?” Nikki spoke. “So, is it just me or did anyone else think that Miss Monroe was a bit harsh with Mr. Blue Eyes tonight?” “Oh, come on. I’m a sucker for a pair of baby blues, but I just wasn’t into him,” Monroe retorted. Charley then said, “I’ve got to agree with Monroe on this one. She’s something

special and has every right to be picky.” “I’m just saying, you aren’t going to find a good one if you don’t give any of them a chance,” Nikki said. And just like that, Nikki managed to turn the conversation away from my current relationship. I looked back at her as Monroe began to protest Nikki’s statement. I mouthed a ‘thank you’ to her and she gave me a quick wink. I know she wasn’t thrilled with my relationship with Seth either, but she also cared enough about me to respect my choice. If only it were my choice anymore. Two minutes later, we pulled up in front of my house. “You sure you don’t want to stay at my place tonight, Emme?” Monroe asked. “I’m sure. Thanks again for the fun tonight. I’ll call tomorrow. Love you girls,” I said. “Love you, Em. Happy Birthday!” I heard Charley yell from the backseat. Monroe and Nikki both wished me a happy birthday again as I closed the car door and turned to walk up to the house. I pulled out my key, put it into the lock, turned to wave to the girls, and pushed open my front door. After I walked through the open doorway, I closed the door and flipped the deadbolt. Shower and bed. In that order. I had two more nights alone before Seth returned and I intended to enjoy them fully. I walked up the steps and went down the hall to the bedroom. As soon as I stepped inside the room I stopped dead in my tracks. Seth was standing about five feet away from me. I took a step back, shocked to see him there. Shit. “It seems as though my instincts were right,” he seethed. I said nothing. I knew that would put me in no better position. “Knew you couldn’t be trusted. Purposely told you I had a meeting on Monday morning and wouldn’t be coming home until Monday night just so I could come back early and confirm what I knew to be true.” He paused a moment looking me up and down, a look of disgust in his eyes, before continuing. “Look at you. Dressed like a whore. What were you doing, Emily? You think you’re going to find someone else and leave me?” “I’m sorry, Seth. The girls wanted to take me out for my birthday. I haven’t seen them in such a long time and I really missed them. I’m sorry,” I said as my entire body tensed in anticipation of what I knew was coming. “Did you think you could go and I wouldn’t find out?” he asked as he took a couple steps closer to me. “I swear, Seth. We just went out for dinner and drinks. I was only with the girls,” I answered, my stomach tightening. “You lying bitch! You think you can leave me?” he roared as he leaned into me. I shook my head. And that was when Seth struck. His fist came up and cracked my jaw. My body

jerked back and my hands came up to shield my face from any further blows. He punched me in the stomach and I immediately moved my hands over my stomach. He clocked me again in my face. This time, he hit me in my right eye. I tried to protect my face, but he struck again splitting my lip open. When my hands moved to my mouth, he came at me from the other side and punched me in the left eye. I bent over trying to protect my face; so, he grabbed me by my hair and threw me to the ground. Seth stood in front of me and repeatedly kicked me in the stomach before he moved behind my back and kicked my ribs. This was the worst I’d ever experienced his rage. I wanted to scream from the intense pain I was feeling, but I couldn’t. I could barely breathe. “Stupid fucking whore! You are mine,” he yelled as his kicks moved from my ribs to my lower back. The pain was unbearable and I was certain I would die. Incredibly, after what felt like hours, he stopped. I could only see clearly out of one eye as my other was already beginning to swell, but I saw him walk toward the dresser and then he moved to the door to the bedroom. As he walked out of the room he said, “Waste of my fucking time.” I stayed put, fear having taken over me. I hoped he would leave, but knew better than to expect that that would happen. Instead, he made his way down the hallway into the bathroom. I heard the water in the shower turn on. I waited a few minutes and listened, making sure that he was actually in the shower before I moved. It was in that moment I made a decision. Despite the excruciating pain radiating through my body, I knew I had to get up and get help. I crawled over to my purse which had fallen on the floor just inside the bedroom doorway. I pulled my phone out of the purse and called the only person I knew who was close enough and could help me. The phone rang once before I heard, “Hey, Em. What’s up?” “Taj.” I barely squeaked out. “Emme? You ok?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. “Please help. He’s going to kill me.” “Who, baby girl? Where are you?” he asked, now on alert. “Seth. He came home early. The girls just dropped me off,” I paused to pull in a breath, then continued. “I need to get to a hospital, Taj. Please.” “Stay with me, Em. I’m already on my way.” “I can’t,” I winced, attempting to breathe. “He’s in the shower now. He’ll be out soon.” “Two minutes, baby girl. I’ll be there in two minutes.” “I have to go, Taj. There’s a key under the flower pot next to the stoop.” I disconnected the call and put the phone back in my purse. I didn’t have the strength to move from the spot I was curled up in on the floor. Even though it felt like an eternity I’m certain it was less than two minutes later when I heard the front door open. Thankfully, Seth was still in the shower. I heard Taj’s

footsteps as he quickly climbed the stairs. He made it into the bedroom, looked at me, clenched his fists and jaw, and murmured, “Motherfucker.” “Taj,” I whispered from the floor. I heard the water turn off in the shower. He bent down and picked me up off the floor. My body screamed in agony at the movements. “I’m sorry, Emme. We’ve got to get you out of here.” “Thank you, Taj,” I said as he began walking towards the stairs. The bathroom door opened and Seth stepped out to find me in Taj’s arms. I felt Taj’s fingertips dig into my skin ever so slightly. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Seth demanded. Taj ignored Seth, quickly moved around him, using his body to shield mine, and carried me down the steps. After he descended the stairs, Taj walked out the front door and brought me to his Jeep. He opened the car door and put me in on the passenger’s seat. “Be back, Em.” “Taj, he’s not worth it. Come on,” I pleaded. “Emme, I’ll be right back. Use my phone and call the police. This motherfucker is not getting away with this shit.” I located his phone in the center console and called the police. I gave them my address and explained what had happened. They had units on the way. And that was when I heard it. The gunfire. I froze in the seat willing Taj to walk out the front door. As the seconds ticked by and he didn’t come out I decided to go back in. I began to climb out of the car. I winced in pain with each step I took. I finally made it to the front stoop. Hunched over, I pushed the door open and walked back into the house. I looked up as I stepped inside and lost it at what I saw. “Oh, God. No! Taj,” I managed to yell somehow. Taj was lying on the floor in my living room with blood pouring out of his body. I made my way over to him and crouched over him. I framed his face in my hands. “Taj, please. Oh, God. I’m so sorry.” “Tell Charley I love her,” he whispered. “Tell her I’ll always be with her and that she’ll never be alone.” “No, Taj. Don’t you dare. You stay with me,” I cried as I took his hand in mine. “Get safe, baby girl. Go get safe,” he managed to whisper through his short, quick breaths. I stayed right by his side, curled up next to him because I couldn’t move anyway, and I felt the life leave his body. Tears streamed down my face as I heard the sirens approaching. I heard the back door to the house slam. I assumed that was Seth running, but I wasn’t going to leave Taj. The front door finally opened. Two officers made their way over to me. Several others followed behind them. I heard lots of orders being barked

by the officers, but I didn’t pay much attention. I felt one of the officers wrap his hands around my shoulders. I tensed. “Not going to hurt you, darling. You’ve got to get up so we can help him. We have to do that even if he’s responsible for what happened to you,” the officer said. “He saved me,” I whispered. “Come again?” “I called him to come get me and take me to the hospital.” I pointed to my body and face and said, “My boyfriend did this to me. Taj saved me. He died so he could save me. Oh God. What will I tell Charley?” “Who’s Charley, darling?” the officer asked. “My best friend. She’s never going to forgive me. This is her brother,” I said as I kept my face pressed to Taj’s chest and my breathing became rapid. “I killed my best friend’s brother.” “She’s going into shock,” I heard one officer yell out to whoever else was in the room. I suddenly felt very tired. Exhaustion came over me and everything went black.



Chapter 1 Rising Sun, Wyoming Nine and a half months later Emme Fear. A paralyzing emotion for many people. I am one of those people. Fear can not only keep you immobilized in a position of weakness, but can also damage the most important parts of your life before you even realize what has happened. Fear forced me to stay in a physically and mentally abusive relationship for four years longer than I should have. Fear can kill. It did nearly ten months ago and, to this day, it is slowly killing me. My friends knew that that relationship had gotten bad, but they didn’t know just how bad until it was too late. Even after all this time, they still didn’t know just how bad it had been for me. I didn’t figure telling them all the gruesome and gory details would do any good. When I moved from Ventura, California to Rising Sun, Wyoming almost seven months ago I thought it would allow me to make a new start where fear didn’t control every aspect of my life. The problem is that I knew my past could come back at any moment to torture me. That knowledge crippled me. Thankfully, I was not alone and I now lived with my best friend, Charley. I thought for sure that once she learned I was responsible for the death of her brother she’d never speak to me again. To my surprise, she wrapped me up in her arms and held on tight. She hasn’t faltered once in her love and support for me. The first couple months following Taj’s death were extraordinarily difficult for the both of us. I spent several weeks in the hospital recovering from the beating I took that night. I had several broken ribs, a punctured lung, a busted lip, two black eyes, a jaw that needed to be reset, and severe bruising covering most of my body. The worst of my physical injuries was to my kidneys. The repeated kicks to my lower back had caused such trauma to my kidneys that I ended up needing to have surgery. The damage to one of the kidneys was so bad that it needed to be removed, but I was fortunate enough to not lose both of them. Over the weeks and months, my body slowed healed. Emotionally, though, I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover and knew my life would never be the same. One of the biggest reasons I questioned whether I’d ever get back to normal was the fact that I lived every day seeing the pain in Charley’s eyes. Knowing you were responsible for the torture your friend lived through day in and day out leaves you feeling raw. Charley’s parents were killed by a drunk driver back when we were fifteen. Taj was the only family she had left and I took him away from her. Not only did I take Taj away from her, I took her passion. She always aspired to be a graphic designer and ever since

Taj died she hasn’t touched her artwork. It broke my heart to know I had ruined her life. For that reason, I made a promise to myself and to Taj that I’d do whatever I could to make sure she found happiness in her life again. So, this morning when Charley and I were surprised by our two other best friends, Nikki and Monroe, who traveled from California and insisted on going out for a fun night to celebrate Charley’s twenty-fifth birthday, I sat back quietly to let her make that decision. Regardless of any fear or reservations I had about going out, I would suck it up for her. She deserved that much from me. After we spent the better part of the day shopping (the girls insisted Charley and I get new dresses for the occasion), we returned home to get ready. Charley called Hannah, her friend and co-worker at the coffee shop she worked at in the lodge of Parks Ridge Ski Resort, to get recommendations on where to go for a night of fun. Hannah suggested Big Lou’s Restaurant and Saloon; so, after we all got ready we made our way there. Big Lou’s was a two-story building housing a restaurant on the first floor and the saloon on the second floor. It was a huge place that had that true rustic, western feel to it. We decided on having dinner first and would then decide on the plans for the rest of the evening. Our waitress suggested that we head up to the saloon following dinner, especially since Monroe and Nikki were on the hunt for a good time. I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the idea, but since it was Charley’s birthday and Nikki and Monroe were leaving tomorrow I decided that how I was feeling about it didn’t really much matter. We met Lou, owner of the place, who was the most generous man I’d ever encountered. He found out that it was Charley’s birthday and gave us our meals and drinks on the house along with no cover charge to the saloon. We finished our dinner and made our way up to the saloon. Lou told us that one of the hometown favorites would be performing tonight so Nikki and I went to find a table while Charley and Monroe went to get drinks. Nikki and I sat and she didn’t hold back. “So how are you really doing, Em?” she asked. “I’m good, Nik. I’m so happy you and Monroe could make it out for Charley’s birthday. She deserves to have a great day.” “Cut the bullshit, Emme.” My eyes widened at her. She was a no-nonsense type of girl, which was one of the things I loved most about her, but I hadn’t been expecting that. “I’m sorry?” I asked. “I can see how distressed you really are, babe. It’s not lost on me that this is the first time the four of us have been out like this since that night. This is torture for you. Is it getting any better?” I felt my nose stinging and tears threatening to fall. I simply shook my head. “Maybe you should consider seeing someone and talking about it — a professional. I was thinking I’d be saying that to both you and Charley coming out here, but hearing that Charley’s at least now talking to a guy and trying to get back some sense of normalcy in her life I’m sure she’s going to be fine. I’m worried about you,” she said, genuine concern in her voice.

It was true. One of the greatest pieces of news I’d received over the last couple of days was that Charley had met a guy named Wes Blackman. From everything she had shared with me up to this point, he seemed like a really great guy. I had yet to meet him, but yesterday she told me she wanted me to meet him. I was genuinely happy for her. “I’ll be fine, Nik. I haven’t had any nightmares since about two months after we moved here. It’s not been easy, but at least that has gotten better for me.” “That’s not enough, Em. I know you doubt your worthiness right now and you believe you don’t deserve to be happy. Just as much as I know you want Charley to find her happiness, we all want that for you.” I looked away. “Just promise me you’ll hear what I’m saying and think about it. You don’t need to make any decisions today.” I nodded at her. At that moment, Monroe and Charley walked up to the table with the drinks. I immediately knew something wasn’t right. Nikki cut to the chase and immediately insisted Charley tell us what was wrong. As it turns out, Charley’s new guy was at Lou’s with another girl. My heart instantly broke for her. Charley pointed him out to us and then told Nikki about how serious things had gotten between them. They’d been having daily make out sessions every night when she finished work at the lodge. He insisted on walking her to her car every night. He had also been giving her snowboarding lessons for the last week, and most importantly, they’d slept together two days ago. She had talked with me about him several times before now and every time she spoke about him she lit up. I was now beyond pissed because I hated seeing the hurt back in her face. She was devastated. To make matters worse, Big Lou took the stage and announced the hometown favorite. Turns out, the woman with Wes was the woman who was performing. We all looked to Charley who said she wanted to say for a couple of drinks and then leave. I think she was more curious about this woman and needed the alcohol to numb the pain she was feeling. Elle, the singer, was only a few songs in when I heard Charley say something. I turned toward her, but was instantly distracted. Three gorgeous men had just walked in and were walking toward the front of the room. My eyes rounded at the sight of them. Sure, I knew I would never pursue a romantic relationship with anyone again, but I could certainly give credit where credit was due. These men deserved credit; they were breathtaking. The four of us watched as, unfortunately, the guys walked past our table over to Wes’ table. Charley let us know that she was ready to go, so we all got up to leave. As we started walking toward the door Wes spotted Charley and called out to her. He went on to ask her if she was a fan of Elle’s music. Charley answered honestly, telling him that since she’d just moved here she had never heard of Elle. She also told him that she hadn’t expected to come out tonight, but that two of her other best friends surprised her today for her

birthday. He was surprised by the news that it was her birthday. For a moment, I thought he really seemed to care. I didn’t have too much time to really think about it because that was when I saw the tears fill her eyes. My heart broke for her, but I needed to do what I could do for her in that moment. I walked toward her and grabbed her hand. She looked to me. “Charley, sweets, let’s go.” She nodded at me and we began to walk away. “Wait, Charley. Stay. I’d love to introduce you to my friends and Elle,” Wes said. Charley turned back to face him, which meant that I turned with her. “Sorry, Wes. I have no interest in playing this game and meeting your girlfriend.” A look of confusion washed over his face before he began to laugh. What. An. Asshole. That’s when Nikki, our fierce protector, stepped in and gave Wes a piece of her mind letting him know what we were all thinking…he was an asshole for hurting our friend. I squeezed Charley’s hand offering her what support I could. That was when Wes spoke. “Charley, look at me.” She looked to him as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Gorgeous,” he said, “Elle is my baby sister.” “What?” she whispered another tear falling as her hand squeezed mine even tighter. “Christ, Charley. You’re killing me here. Baby, don’t leave.” His voice was laced with agony and I realized he really cared for my friend. He held his hand out to her and she immediately dropped my hand as she threw herself into his arms. I felt my eyes get wet as I watched him hold her and whisper in her ear. Seconds later, Charley introduced Wes to us. Nikki apologized for her earlier outburst, and surprisingly, Wes was not offended. He was happy that Charley had friends who were willing to take her back and look out for her. It was then he asked her to join him at his table, but she insisted she would not be leaving us. He smiled at her and told her that he hadn’t expected her to and that his three best friends would be more than alright with us joining them. Fucking wonderful. Nikki and Monroe were ecstatic. They’d seen the guys walk in earlier so I knew this would be their idea of a good time. It was also Charley’s birthday and I wanted this day to be special for her. I did my best to hide my anxiety and just laughed. With that, we followed Wes back to his table. As we approached the table Wes introduced Charley to his friends, Stone, Luke, and Zane. Then, he introduced his friends to us. I was surprised I could remember the names of his other friends because the moment my eyes locked with Zane’s I saw nothing else and my belly tightened. Zane was incredibly beautiful. He had jet black hair that was

long enough to run your fingers through, but not unruly. He had a strong jawline and cheekbones that were covered by a day or two of scruff. His eyes, though, were undeniably his best feature. They were ice blue and they hadn’t left mine from the moment we walked over to their table. His eyes were heated as he looked at me and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I was going to be in big trouble. Stone and Luke stood to offer their chairs to Monroe and Nikki. Their movements snapped Zane out of his stare down of me and he stood to offer me his chair. We all sat and the guys pulled up a couple extra chairs. Wes’ sister finished up her set not long after and came over to our table. Wes made introductions, but she ultimately didn’t hang around. Elle took off to find Lou and at that moment Monroe stood and said, “Time to dance, birthday girl.” It should be noted that Monroe’s life revolved around dance. She had trained in dance since she was a little girl and she now owned her own studio back in Ventura. Nikki and Monroe were already moving toward the dance floor. Charley looked to me and because I refused to ruin the night for her I said, “It’s your special day. I’m making an exception for you.” This was the truth. If it were any other occasion my booty would be parked in a chair, assuming I even made it out in the first place. Two songs in and I realized how much I’d missed these kinds of night with my girls. We always had such a good time when we would go out, but of course, that all stopped after what happened the last time the four of us went out. Two more songs and the guys joined us on the dance floor. The odd thing about it was that they weren’t dancing. I was barely surviving being there myself; I certainly wasn’t going to be asking them what their intentions were. I kept dancing with the girls, but I could feel Zane’s heated gaze on me. I glanced toward him and saw that he was, in fact, watching me dance. He was so good-looking that I really did wish circumstances were different. Unfortunately, I just grew more and more uncomfortable. Fortunately, Charley called out to me while reaching for my hand, “Emme, I need to run to the ladies’ room. Come with?” God, I loved her. I quickly nodded and walked off the dance floor with her. As soon as we walked through the door of the ladies’ room, I nearly lost it. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and was going to break down into tears at any moment. It was truly overwhelming. Charley wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, but couldn’t speak. We stood like that for several minutes. Eventually, I settled down enough to speak. I apologized to her for ruining her birthday. Being the incredibly supportive friend that she’s always been, she brushed it off and insisted I not do anything that made me uncomfortable. My stomach twisted as I thought of my future. Would it always be like this? My eyes were filled with tears when I said, “When, Charley? When will I be able to have a normal night out with friends and not feel this way? Did you see Zane? My goodness, he’s beautiful. I see the look in his eyes and I know he’s attracted to me. As much as I want to

dance and just have a good time, I can’t do it.” “You’ll get there, honey. I promise.” I seriously doubted her, but knew it would do no good to tell her that. At that, Charley suggested we get our friends and head home. I already felt guilty enough. There was no way I was going to ruin anything else for Charley, or Nikki and Monroe for that matter. I told her I was fine to stay, but that I would just grab a seat, a drink, and stay off the dance floor. She seemed to be content with this. She winked at me, grabbed my hand, and we walked back out to the table. Wes and Zane were both sitting there while Luke and Stone were still on the dance floor with Nikki and Monroe. I sat next to Charley thinking this was the better choice. I should have reconsidered this since I was now sitting directly across from Zane. He was looking at me; however, now he had a different look on his face. This looked to be more like one of concern. It was like he could read me and knew something was wrong, but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Charley knew how tense of a situation this was for me so she called out to Zane to draw his attention away from me. She distracted him with talk of snowboarding. That was when it happened. She said, “So Zane, Wes tells me you snowboard?” “Wes speaks the truth,” Zane answered. Oh. My. God. His voice. He had spoken to Elle earlier, but I was sitting too far from him to actually hear him speak. But now that I was sitting across from him and nobody else at the table was talking I heard him loud and clear. He had a deep, gravelly voice. It was, by far, the sexiest thing I had ever heard. Earlier I had settled on the fact that his eyes were his best feature. Nope. Not a chance. His voice was off the charts. “Nice. Are you as good as he is?” Charley asked. Zane looked at Wes and grinned. Shit. Shit. Shit. He was exquisite. His smile was blindingly white and somehow, he became even more delectable. “Wes spends more time working on the business than he does riding, darlin’. I’m training every day. It’s safe to assume that I’m as good as he is,” he answered. Fuck. His voice could soothe my soul. I had to stop focusing on him. I looked back out to the dance floor to distract myself while they continued to talk. I’m pretty certain it was a combination of needing the distraction and the fact that Nikki and Monroe were being absolutely ridiculous about trying to get Stone and Luke to dance with them, but I started laughing. I hadn’t intended on drawing attention to myself, but the next thing I knew Charley was saying, “It’s times like this when having your camera would come in handy. At least we could have had pictures of this and then used them to help convince those two to move out here with us.”

The conversation then turned to me. Crap. Wes looked to me and asked, “You’re a professional photographer or it’s something you do for fun?” “That’s my full-time gig; though, I do it because I love it.” To my relief, Nikki, Monroe, Luke, and Stone all walked up to the table. Monroe was not happy about having to leave. The girl could spend hours dancing. It’s kind of how I felt about photography. I loved it. Nikki, not surprisingly, announced her displeasure at having to call it a night, so she began attempting to plan her next visit out. The guys agreed to make themselves available for that visit. “I’m in. It was pure entertainment tonight,” Stone said. “Though, can we not be on a dance floor next time?” Nikki, Charley and I all laughed. Monroe gasped. “How dare you?” she practically roared. A look of confusion washed over his face. I put him out of his misery and said, “Monroe is a dancer. You’ve just insulted her livelihood.” “In that case, maybe we’ll come to California to see you dance,” Stone said. “I’m not a stripper. I TEACH dance,” Monroe corrected him. “Even better. And we’ll still come to California. There are great mountains out there for riding. Besides, I haven’t seen the beach in a while.” No. No. No. The thought of California sent my head spinning. I looked to Charley and knew instantly that we were both having the same exact thoughts. She finally spoke up and said that we all had a long day and needed to head out. We said good-bye and the four of us walked toward the door. As we walked away I could still feel Zane’s eyes on me. I glanced back to see that he, along with the rest of the guys, were right behind us. Panicked I asked, “What are you guys doing?” Zane looked me square in the eyes and said, “Lots of bad people in the world, sweetheart. Lou’s lot is well lit, but not going to let you and your girls looking the way you do, which is hot as all fuck, walk out to your car in the parking lot this late at night without making sure you get there safely.” Oh no. I sucked in a breath. Did he even realize the significance of what he just said? I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and prayed for a distraction. As if on cue, Nikki yelled, “Reason number six!” Monroe and Charley laughed. I let out the breath I had been holding. “What? What the fuck does that mean?” Luke asked. Monroe answered, “Nikki is making a list. All the reasons she and I should move here. She’s up to six now.”

“How many reasons do you need?” “I haven’t decided yet,” Nikki answered. As we all started walking to the parking lot, I looked to Nikki and mouthed a ‘thank you.’ She winked back at me. If nothing else, I knew I had hit the jackpot with these girls.



Chapter 2 Emme “I’d consider this a successful night out!” That was Nikki. We had just returned to the condo from our night out at Big Lou’s celebrating Charley’s birthday. “It was,” Charley said. “Thanks for pushing us to do this. I had such a great time. I hope you did, too, Em.” I smiled at her and nodded. “Of course. I’m glad you enjoyed your birthday, sweets.” “I hate to put an end to the festivities, but Nikki and I have an early flight and I need to get some sleep. Who’s sleeping where?” “You can stay with me,” I said to Monroe. Then, I continued, “As long as Nikki is good staying with Charley.” “Works for me,” Nikki answered. We all wished Charley a happy birthday again and gave her hugs before Monroe and I took off to my bedroom. After changing out of our clothes, washing our faces, and brushing our teeth, we climbed into my bed. “So, tell mama how it really was for you tonight,” Monroe encouraged me, her voice gentle. We always referred to her as the mom of the group and she took that role very seriously. She was always there whenever any one of us needed someone to talk to about anything going on in our lives at any given time. And, just like a mom, she always knew when we needed her without us having to say it. “Honestly? It was brutal,” I began. “I don’t know how to get past the guilt that I feel over Taj’s death so I try to do what I can to ease the guilt. That includes putting myself into these situations that are extremely uncomfortable for me. I love Charley and would do anything for her — you know that. But I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to have a total meltdown somewhere because my guilt made me do something that I am not prepared to handle yet. Does that make any sense?” “Oh, Em, I’m sorry. I know we pushed for you to go tonight, but our intention wasn’t to make you feel uncomfortable. Nikki and I are so worried about you and Charley. We just want to make sure that you know that even though bad things happen there is still good out there. Seeing Charley tonight with Wes makes me hopeful that she’s going to finally feel that again. But you, Em? I’m worried about you.” A sadness swept through me and, as the tears welled up in my eyes, I felt the lump forming in my throat. I tried to swallow past it and stay strong, but it was useless. I needed to purge and I knew Monroe would get me through that. The tears spilled uncontrollably down my cheeks and I cried, “I’m terrified. All the time.” I paused a

moment trying to compose myself, to no avail. “I don’t want to hinder her and stop her from finding that happiness she deserves, but I’m so scared. Tonight…” I trailed off as I took in a deep breath and blew it out before continuing. “Tonight, I was riveted by Zane, but I’m petrified. And then to hear him say what he did when we were leaving? Monroe…what do I do with that?” Monroe wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we sat in my bed, our backs against the headboard, and I poured my heart out to her. I rested my head in the crook of her arm as she silently comforted me. After some time had passed and I settled a bit she pulled her arm away, looked me in the eyes and said, “Ok, Emme, listen. What you’ve been through in the last couple of years is heart-wrenching. You still deserve to see the good that surrounds you. I don’t know him any more than you do, but what Zane said tonight should tell you that there are good people; that not all men are bad. I am not blind and I know what I witnessed tonight — there was a connection between the two of you. It was electric and there isn’t a single person there that didn’t feel it. Regardless, you need to move forward at your own pace. And Em, if he’s one of the good guys, he’ll wait as long as it takes for you to get to the place where you feel ready to find your happy.” “I’m not sure a happy exists for me anymore, Monroe,” I responded honestly, as I looked away. “Of course it does, babe. You just haven’t found it yet.” She was so confident and sure of herself. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was wrong. She had been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, literally, so I let her win this battle and simply nodded at her. “You good, Emme?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, Monroe.” With that, we called it a night so Monroe could get some rest before she had to leave to catch her flight tomorrow. I was definitely going to miss this girl when she left. The next morning, we were all up early. I was up early because I hadn’t slept well all night. Anxiety had kept me awake through most of the night, so by six o’clock in the morning I finally decided it was time to put the coffee on. Nikki and Monroe left just before eleven o’clock and I told Charley I needed to try to get some sleep in. I went back to bed for a while and by the time I woke up about two hours later Charley had already left. Last night, when Wes learned that it was her birthday he insisted on picking her up today and spending the day celebrating with her. I was relieved that he did this for her. It made me super happy to know she wouldn’t be spending her birthday weekend dwelling on all the bad that had happened and the fact that her family wasn’t here with her. After waking for the second time, I took a shower, made some food, and got to work on editing photos from one of my recent family portrait sessions. I had a very busy couple of weeks ahead of me with the Christmas holiday approaching. Between family portraits sessions and corporate events, the Christmas season always kept me occupied. Roughly twenty minutes into editing, I received a phone call from one of my clients

for whom I had recently done a maternity shoot. During the maternity session, the husband and wife had asked if I would be willing to capture the birth of their first child for them. I told them that assuming I had no other commitments when the big day arrived I’d absolutely do it. I was now receiving that call from the husband telling me that his wife’s water broke, she just made it to the hospital, and was already halfway to the finish line. Since I had no other obligations for the rest of the day, I told him I’d be right over. Before leaving I wrote a note for Charley. I didn’t want to text and interrupt her birthday celebration with Wes, but I wanted her to know where I was if she came home and I hadn’t returned. Six hours after I left for the hospital, I was finally pulling back up outside the condo. The adage that first-time mothers spend hours upon hours in labor was certainly not the case today. From the moment my client arrived in the hospital until she delivered her brand new baby boy, she had only been there for about five and a half hours. Evidently, she was not the norm for a first-time mom. I was certainly not going to complain because I was exhausted and ready for bed. I parked my car, turned it off, got out, and walked to the trunk. A few days ago, I had a shoot that I took some of my other equipment to and I never brought the equipment back into the condo when I got home. I figured I’d attempt to carry that equipment plus everything I took with me for today’s shoot back in with me. After closing the back gate on the car, I bent down to pick up all the equipment. As soon as I had all of it hung over my shoulders and under my arms and started walking toward the condo, I saw Wes jogging over toward me. He must have just brought Charley back home. “Hey, Emme. Let me get that for you,” Wes said as he approached and began pulling all of the camera equipment out of my arms and off my shoulders. “Thank you, Wes, but it’s not necessary for you to do this,” I said. He looked at me incredulously and started walking toward the condo. Then, he said, “Wouldn’t make me much of a man, especially one that is with your girl, if I saw you with all of this and watched you struggle to carry it in. It’s not a problem, babe.” I followed in step beside him. I didn’t say anything, but I was surprised at how content I felt. I didn’t feel anxiety around Wes. I’m not sure if it was from everything Charley had told me about him or if it was just the vibe you got being around him. We approached the door and I stepped in front of him to open it. He waited until I went in and then followed me in. “You can just set everything there by the door,” I said not wanting to inconvenience him further. “Where do you normally keep it?” he asked me. “Most of it goes in my bedroom,” I answered. “Lead the way.” “Wes, you don’t have to…” I said before he cut me off. “Emme…” he said without a hint of patience in his voice.

I quickly turned and walked toward my bedroom. Wes followed behind me, set everything down inside the room, and then turned to walk out. Before he walked out he said, “Going to head down to see Charley really quick. Good night, Emme.” “Ok, thank you again, Wes. Good night.” He gave me a chin lift before he walked out of the room. Ok, so maybe there was at least one nice guy in the world. I was happy that my friend had found him. On that positive thought and after the long weekend I had just had, I decided to strip out of my clothes and get to bed. Within minutes of climbing under the covers I was out. It was dark outside. At least, I was pretty sure I was outside. It was so dark I couldn’t be sure. I felt cold and I was out of breath, but I had to keep going. Left, right, left, right — I kept running. If I just kept pushing forward I’d get away. He would find me if I didn’t keep going. In the distance, I saw a light. I could just barely take in my surroundings. I struggled to figure out where I was so I would know where to go. I was outside. Running down a narrow alley. How did I even get here? A brick-lined row of buildings passed by me on each side as I continued — left, right, left, right. Get to the light. Then, keep going. He can’t catch you if you keep going. Left, right, left, right. Just as I approached the light, which I now realized was affixed to the side of one of the brick buildings, I stepped into a rut, twisted my ankle, and felt it pop as I put my hands out to brace for the fall. I came crashing down, my face inches from the road. I wanted to yell out from the pain I felt in my foot and my now scraped-up hands, but I had to get up. I couldn’t risk letting him get closer. I began to push up off the ground and I heard the evil laugh just before I heard, “Stupid bitch. Did you think you could run forever?” I shot up in the bed, out of breath, sweating, and terrified. I took in my surroundings and realized I was in my bed, in my condo, in Wyoming. It had been months since my last nightmare. They stopped shortly after I’d moved from Ventura to Rising Sun. It was just after four in the morning — so much for getting a good night’s sleep. I tried to calm myself a bit and relax in my bed, but after an hour of tossing and turning I realized my efforts were futile. I figured it was best to get up and get some coffee brewing. After getting that going in the kitchen, I went to work on editing. Three hours and two cups of coffee later I had completed my photo session edit; unfortunately, that did very little to calm my nerves. ***** To say that I was exhausted would not even begin to accurately describe how I felt. It was now Thursday morning and I was sitting in the kitchen having breakfast thinking about the nightmares I had been having every night since Sunday night. It was always the

same nightmare, but it got worse each night. I’d be running down the dark, narrow alley trying to get away. I would keep pushing myself to go farther. The light in the distance would finally appear and despite knowing that once I arrived at the light I’d twist my ankle, trip, fall, and scrape my hands, I kept running. Worst of all, after falling I would hear his voice. I’d hear his evil laugh followed by his menacing voice. Every night I woke from the nightmare just as it got a little bit worse. At first, he would scream at me. Then, he started taking steps to move closer to me. Fear overtook me in those moments. I couldn’t move. I would stay down on the ground willing him away, but it never worked. The only salvation I had was when I woke because in that moment in the nightmare I was terrified. And now, I was petrified of even going to sleep at night. I knew it would only be a matter of time before the nightmares escalated and Charley figured out what was happening. I didn’t want to bring that burden back on her. It was then as I was contemplating the awful burden I put on Charley that she walked out into the kitchen. We hadn’t seen much of each other lately since she worked pretty much all day during the week while I spent most of my days at home editing. Then, on the weekends when she was home, I was typically out on photo shoots. Sometimes, we were lucky enough to have these early morning chats. And, this morning, Charley wanted to have a chat. Apparently, the night I got home from the photo shoot at the hospital and Wes helped me carry my stuff into the condo he caught Charley off guard. She was in the shower when he went down into her room. When she came out, she found him sitting on her bed with a bunch of her artwork in his hands. It was news to me that Charley had even continued working on her art. After Taj died she abandoned it and I never knew she went back to it. Wes questioned Charley about the artwork and asked her why she wasn’t actively pursuing a career in the graphic design field. She had a complete and total meltdown. That’s when she told Wes all about Taj, or at least, she told him that Taj had died not quite a year ago. Poor Charley. I felt absolutely horrible that I didn’t make sure it was ok that he went to see her before he left that night. Now knowing she told Wes about Taj, though, it made me wonder if she told him how I was the one who was responsible for his death. My body shuddered at the thought. I apologized to her for not thinking twice about letting Wes in, but she assured me all was good. In fact, she admitted that she now felt better about the whole situation and that she was seriously considering Wes’ words to her. He saw the work she did and believed she was incredibly talented. This was true. I might know how to take a great photo, but I have absolutely zero artistic talent when it comes to drawing, painting, or anything else of that sort. In fact, my stick figures leave a lot to be desired. Charley was now wondering if maybe Wes was right and if she should start thinking about pursuing a career in graphic design again. I gave her my honest opinion, which was that I always thought she was crazy for stopping. I understood her reasoning, but it was tough to see her give up on that dream. She considered calling Nikki and Monroe, but after hearing what Wes said to her that night and what I said to her this morning she decided calls to Nikki and Monroe were unnecessary. At that, she thanked

me for the talk and took off for her day of work. I watched her as she walked out and then got back to eating my breakfast. As I was finishing up, my phone rang. I looked down to see Monroe was calling. I smiled at the display as I picked up. “Hey, mama. How’s it going?” I asked. “I’m great. On my way to the studio this morning to work on a few things before classes begin. A couple of my students are putting on a holiday recital and I want to work out the details on a few pieces. The reason I’m calling is because I wanted to check in on you. We haven’t had much of an opportunity to talk since Saturday night. How are you doing?” “I’m ok. Trying to keep myself busy and distracted. So far, it’s been working. I did just get some good news, though.” “Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asked. “Well, it’s actually two things. First, Charley never stopped drawing. She’s been working on it weekly.” “Are you serious? That’s great news!” “I know. It gets better. Apparently, Wes saw the artwork a couple nights ago and gave Charley a bunch of shit for waitressing and serving coffee when she is clearly very talented. He told her she should pursue a career in graphic design. I guess she’s been thinking it over for the past few days and is now considering it. She just asked me what I thought. Of course, I told her that I thought she never should have stopped.” “I knew there was something I liked about Wes. I got such a good vibe from him last weekend. I think he’s great for Charley. In fact, all the guys were great.” I sucked in a sharp breath. Monroe’s words made my mind drift to thoughts of Zane. A vision of his beautiful face popped into my head and I felt my body warm at just the thought of him. Damn it. “I heard that, Em. Yes, I got that same vibe from Zane. We’ll work on Charley for now, though. I’m getting close to the studio so I’ll call you later. I want to give Nikki a call before I get there and give her the good news!” I laughed. Nothing ever stayed quiet too long in this foursome. At least, not news like this. “Ok, Monroe. I’ll talk to you later. Tell Nikki I said hello.” “Will do. Love you, babe.” “You too, mama.” I disconnected the call and smiled inwardly. I had a feeling Charley would be getting calls from the girls at some point this morning. Good news always traveled quickly in this group. I spent the rest of the day editing photos as I had a super busy weekend coming up filled with holiday mini sessions. I loved this time of year for how busy it kept me, but the work could very easily pile up if I didn’t make the effort to stay on top of it during the

week. Aside from the occasional corporate gig during the week, I usually had that time free to do my editing. My weekends were almost always jam packed with shoots throughout the holiday season. Once January rolled around though, things slowed down a bit for me. I would have a couple of gigs scheduled, but I was mostly free for the next two and a half months or so. Friday was much of the same, but thankfully I was able to get myself all caught up on my editing from my previous portrait sessions. I would now be able to go into the weekend mini sessions without any other photo editing looming over my head. This was exceptionally good news since most of my clients expected a faster turnaround time during the holiday season in hopes of preparing and sending out their holiday cards to family and friends. By Friday night, I was ready for bed early. I hadn’t been having much success on getting a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, I was still having nightmares and the intensity of them was increasing. Between the nightmares and taking the time over the last two days to edit, I was absolutely drained. I was really hoping for a good night tonight since I’d be spending the entire day shooting tomorrow. By the time I got into bed, it only took a matter of minutes before I was out like a light. Darkness. I was in the alley again. I was still running and I needed to get away. This time would be different. I would make it past the light. I would get away from him. I had no choice. Left, right, left, right. There was the light. Almost there. Don’t trip. Stay steady and keep going. Left, right, left, right, left…shit. I was on the ground now with scraped hands and a busted ankle. Even if I could get up I’d never be able to run. Then I heard it. I heard the evil laugh. I wouldn’t get away this time. I began crying as he stepped forward. I refused to look at him. I kept my eyes focused on his feet as they stepped closer and closer. “Emily..,Emily…Emily. You stupid bitch. You keep running, but you’ll never get away.” The tears were streaming down my face as I whispered, “Please stop. Please let me go.” And that’s when I felt his breath at my ear. “You can keep running, Emily. You will never get away. I’ll never let you go. And no matter how far you run, I’ll always find you.” His breath left my ear and I pressed my forehead against the ground in defeat. “Please,” I whispered. And then he kicked me in the side as he yelled, “Never, bitch. I’ll always find you.” He kicked me repeatedly and I knew I’d die for sure this time. I cried and tried to protect myself, but he kept at me. “If you think you’re ever going to leave me, Emily, you are wrong. And if you try to

find someone else, I’ll put a bullet in them, too,” he roared as he wound up and kicked me one last time. Zane’s face flashed before my eyes and I screamed in terror. My eyes opened and I shot up in the bed. I brought my knees to my chest trying to protect myself from any further blows. It hurt. It hurt so bad. Suddenly I felt arms around me. I tensed. “Shh. It’s ok, honey. It’s Charley and I’m right here with you,” she began. Charley. It was Charley. He wasn’t here. It wasn’t real. Then she whispered, “I’ve got you, Emme. It was just a nightmare.” I’m not sure how long it took, but I finally began to realize that I was ok and that I was safe for the moment. Then, I heard Charley ask Wes to give us a few minutes. This was embarrassing. Wes had witnessed one of my nightmares. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. On the bright side, he must have been content to give us that time because I heard the door to my bedroom close. After a few minutes, I finally spoke and apologized to Charley for ruining her time with Wes. She didn’t seem even remotely concerned about that. In fact, she knew that my nightmares stopped shortly after we moved to Wyoming, so she was curious as to why I had one. I didn’t want to lie to her so I told her that I started having them the night after her birthday. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. It was too soon. Why didn’t you say anything to me?” she asked. “You’re getting your life back, Charley. You are finally smiling and happy. I figured this would pass, but clearly, it’s getting worse.” “I’m here for you, Em. We’ve been through a lot. Just because I’m doing better now than I have in months doesn’t mean you go at it alone. When you need me, you need to tell me. And, get it out of your head that whatever you are going through is going to put a damper on any happiness I’m feeling. If I find out again that you are keeping this shit from me I’m going to be seriously pissed off. You got me?” I nodded, but began to worry. “What are you going to tell Wes?” I asked. “I’m not betraying your confidence, honey. Don’t worry. I’ll give him enough so he doesn’t worry, but he won’t get the details.” I loved her. I don’t know what I did in life to deserve her, but I knew I was one lucky girl to have her in my life. “Thank you, Charley.”

She smiled and asked, “You good? Do you need anything?” I wanted to tell her about the nightmare. I wanted her opinion, especially now that I saw Zane in it. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to face what any of it meant, so I lied when I said, “I’m good.” Charley walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. I sat there for a long time trying to process the nightmare on my own. Of course, I completely understood the running to get away from Seth part. What I was more concerned with was why I saw Zane’s face. Zane’s beautiful face. The thought of him being hurt because of me filled me with dread. At the same time, seeing his face made me warm inside. I allowed that feeling to run through me for a bit when I heard his gravelly voice in my head. The sound of his voice surrounded me like a warm blanket. I took the next twenty minutes to soak up that sound and was surprised at the peace I suddenly felt, despite the horrific way my morning started. I finally rolled out of bed so that I could have some breakfast before I needed to get ready for the long day ahead of me. I walked out to the kitchen to find Wes and Charley were already in the midst of making breakfast. They asked me to join them. Even though I thought it would be awkward considering what Wes witnessed that morning, he made sure that it never grew uncomfortable. In fact, he took the time to explain to Charley and me that Lou hosts a huge Christmas Eve party every year at his restaurant and saloon. Since Charley and I were spending our first Christmas in Wyoming he wanted to see if we were interested in going. I refused to take that opportunity away from Charley so I immediately told them I’d go. Charley questioned it, concerned about me. I told her I was sure about it and she didn’t push it any further. Wes then invited Nikki and Monroe if they could make it. We told him we’d ask them, but I honestly didn’t think they’d be able to make it out for the holiday. We finished breakfast and cleaned up the dishes. “Ok, I’ve got to get ready for my mini sessions today. I’ll see you later, Charley. Wes — thanks again for the Christmas Eve invite. It’ll be nice not to be alone.” “No problem, Emme. Take it easy today,” he said with a wink. “I will. Thank you.” I looked to Charley. Her eyes began to get wet. Wes told me to take it easy because of the morning I had had. I knew deep down in my bones that Wes was a good guy, and in that moment, I think Charley knew it, too. I couldn’t be happier for her knowing that she found one of the good ones.



Chapter 3 Emme I have always had a special place in my heart for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. From the music and cheerful people to the presents and especially the baked goods, it was my most favorite time of the year. I hated that it always seemed to pass so quickly. This year, though, I wasn’t feeling the Christmas spirit in such a way that was typical for me. I was no longer living in the place that I had called home for the last twenty-four plus years of my life. This meant that I was also no longer around my family and friends I had become accustomed to spending the holidays with every year. Of course, my parents had begged me to come home, but there was no way I could go. As much as I missed them and wanted to see them, California had become a place of such pain for me. And since I was an only child, I felt extraordinarily guilty about not going to see them, too. I was beginning to wonder if the sadness I was feeling over the holiday season was the result of the last two weeks of nightmares. Nearly every night I was waking from the intense nightmares I was having. To top it off, they were so bad that I was also waking Charley. I was grateful she was there to help calm and settle me afterward, but it only added to the guilt I was already feeling. Last night, I was given a much-needed reprieve from the nightmares, for which I was extremely thankful. It was now Christmas Eve morning and I was looking forward to a long day of baking with Charley before we went to the Christmas Eve party at Lou’s tonight with Wes. I walked down the hall toward the main living space and found Charley on the couch working on her art. “Hey, sweets,” I said as I sat down on the opposite end of the couch. “Morning, Em. No nightmares last night?” I shook my head. She looked at me a beat before saying, “Worried about you Emme. It’s been a rough two weeks for you with them. Want to tell me about them?” I decided she deserved to know. “It’s always the same nightmare. Well, it always starts the same anyway. I am running in a dark, narrow alley. I’m trying to get away from Seth. I keep chanting to myself to keep going — that if I can just keep running he won’t catch me.” “Emme…” she whispered. “I see a light in the distance and when I finally get to the light I trip and fall. My hands burn because I’ve used them to break my fall and my ankle screams out in pain because I’ve twisted it. I want to get up, but can’t because seconds after I’ve fallen I hear

him. He shouts at me and tells me I’ll never get away from him no matter how far I run.” I pause a moment trying not to break down into tears. It didn’t matter because they spilled down my cheeks anyway. Charley set her stuff down on the coffee table, scooted closer to me on the couch, and took my hand in hers. “Then he beats me, Charley. I swear, when I finally wake up I can feel the pain in every part of my body that he has kicked and punched. It takes quite a bit of time for the pain to subside, too.” “I’m so sorry, Emme. I hate this for you.” “That’s not all, Charley. As awful as that part of it is, the worst of it is what actually wakes me every time.” “Oh no. What is it, honey?” “After brutally beating me for what feels like hours he tells me that if I ever think of finding someone else to move on with he’ll put a bullet in them, too. Charley…all I can see at that point is Zane’s beautiful face. That’s when I scream and wake up.” I felt Charley’s hand squeeze mine and was sure she was shocked by this turn of events. “What do you think, Charley? Why am I seeing him?” I asked. “I don’t know, Em. I really don’t know. These nightmares didn’t start until you met him, though. Maybe that’s part of it.” “I hate this.” “I’m sorry, Emme. I wish I could take this from you. I don’t know what to do, though. Do you think it would help to talk to a professional? I’ll always be here to listen to you, but honey, I’m not equipped to really help you heal from this.” “Nikki said the same thing to me when she and Monroe were here for your birthday,” I answered. “Maybe it’s worth it to consider?” she suggested. I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” “You know we will all support you no matter what you decide, Em.” “I know.” We sat in silence a moment before Charley asked, “You ready to start the cookie baking marathon?” I loved baking and could get completely lost in that if given the opportunity. So, I looked to Charley, smiled, and answered, “Absolutely.” Many hours and a deliciously smelling house later, we had finally finished. We made seven different kinds of cookies and at least two batches of each. Needless to say, we were going to need to share because there was no way we’d be eating all of them. We cleaned up our mess from baking, left our cookies covered on the counters, and

took to getting ready for our night out at Lou’s. I’m not sure if it was all the cookies, but I was feeling slightly more festive than I had in the last few weeks and was a bit excited for the night ahead. Last night, Charley and I went shopping for outfits for tonight’s festivities. We had just put them on and I was feeling better about my purchase. Charley told me I made the dress, but last night I was a bit skeptical. Now that I had it on and was getting all dolled up, I was happy she pushed me to get this one. It was a black sequined mini dress that boasted a high neckline, three quarter length sleeves, and a form fitting silhouette. The best part of the dress was the non-existent back. The skin of my back was exposed all the way down to just above my ample booty. The girls, especially Nikki and Charley, always commented on how jealous they were of my ass. Monroe always complimented me on it, but never gave me grief about it. She was just as blessed in that department as I was. It was a few minutes before six o’clock and I was in Charley’s bathroom finishing my makeup when we heard the doorbell ring. “That’s Wes. I’ll be right back,” she said. She wasn’t gone more than two minutes when she walked back in a little frantic. As it turns out, Wes had arrived; however, he was not alone. Zane was with him. I was initially a little uneasy and Charley immediately offered for us to go alone or even stay home, but I didn’t want to ruin the night for myself or Charley so I told her it wasn’t a problem. We walked to the kitchen and I said hello to the guys. “Hey, Em,” Wes said. “You guys planning a party?” Zane asked. And I nearly melted on the floor at that moment. His fucking voice was so damned sexy. I must have been too distracted by that because I then heard Charley say, “No. Why?” “This is a lot of fucking cookies for the two of you, don’t you think?” Zane asked. I didn’t want to come across as a complete and total fool so I spoke up. “It’s Christmas. You can never have too many cookies.” “They’re really good,” Wes said, taking my attention away from Zane. “Thanks,” Charley and I said in unison. “You ladies ready to go?” Wes asked. We both nodded. As we turned to walk out of the kitchen I heard that voice mumble, “Fuck me.” “Is something wrong?” I asked, my eyes pinned to his. “It’s pretty cold out. You planning to wear something over that?” Zane asked. “No. I figured it might be too warm in Lou’s and then I’d take the jacket off and have to worry about keeping track of it all night. And then, if I misplace it I’ll be out a jacket.”

“Sweetheart, the high today was just barely thirty degrees. It’s a hell of a lot colder than that outside right now. Get a jacket. If you lose it, I’ll buy you a new one.” Who did he think he was? The last thing I needed was someone telling me what to do. I’d never allow that to happen again, but didn’t want to ruin the night so I said, “A jacket will ruin this dress, though.” “Not much you can do to ruin that dress. Looks pretty fucking perfect to me. Get a jacket, Emme.” My body sizzled at the heat in his eyes. I needed to get out of this conversation fast, so I finally said, “Ok, I’ll get a jacket.” We then all walked out and headed to Lou’s. Immediately upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the man himself, Big Lou. He instantly recognized all of us even though Charley and I had only ever met him once. He, of course, didn’t know how the four of us were acquainted. Wes informed him that he and Charley were officially a couple. Zane being Wes’ best friend and me being Charley’s just made us part of the package. Lou did ask if Zane and I were an item. Even though we had just met, I told Lou that Zane and I were just friends. Surprisingly, the moment I said it I realized that I really wanted that to be true. A look of disappointment washed over Lou’s face before he told me that if Zane and I weren’t together then I should not be standing where I was. Shocked by his words I said, “Excuse me?” Lou lifted his hand and pointed to the ceiling above our heads. I looked up and immediately swallowed hard at what I saw. Mistletoe. What the fuck was I going to do now? Before I had the chance to even come up with a plan I felt Zane’s lips pressed to my cheek to kiss me. Then, his sexy, gravelly voice filtered through my ears, “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Give it some time. You’re not together now; you’re going to be soon,” Lou said teasingly. Thankfully, Wes came to the rescue and said farewell to Lou for us. We made our way to a table and while the guys took off to get a couple of drinks Charley and I sat and chatted for a bit. She didn’t hesitate to ask if I was ok after the peck on the cheek from Zane. I was honest with her and told her that my cheek felt like it was still on fire. I told her that had circumstances been different I felt like he would be a great guy with whom to pursue something. In typical Charley fashion, she was super positive and tried to convince me to find a little happiness with Zane. I couldn’t and was honest with her about that. I was not in search of a happily ever after. I knew it didn’t exist, at least not for me. Happiness for me would be knowing that neither myself nor anyone I cared about would ever be hurt again. That said, I was incredibly lonely. From an emotional standpoint, I had been very lonely since long before we moved to Wyoming…long before Taj was killed. Now though, while I was still very

lonely emotionally, I was extremely lonely physically. I was almost always by myself and I hated it. I’m not sure if it was because I could still feel the burn of Zane’s lips on my cheek, the fact that it was the holiday, or if it was something else entirely, but I told Charley how I was feeling and asked her if she thought it’d be wrong for me to ask for some companionship. I didn’t have to say Zane’s name for her to know that I was considering him. She told me that she didn’t think he’d have the slightest issue with giving me what I was craving, but that I needed to be fair to him and be up front about it. “Ugh. Why does he have to be so fucking hot?” I asked as I dropped my head to the table. Minutes later, the guys were back at the table with drinks. Charley and I spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and talking with Wes and Zane. We did ditch the guys for a brief time only because we wanted to dance and they were not interested in it. We rejoined the guys when karaoke started. After several hours of fun, we decided to call it a night. The entire ride back to the condo all I could think about was the fact that I didn’t want the night to end. I wasn’t ready for anything serious, but I definitely did not want to spend Christmas Eve alone. Somehow, as the guys walked us to the door, I mustered up the courage to ask them if they wanted to come in for a while. I even tempted them with the promise of cookies. With an intensity in his eyes Zane took the bait and said, “I’d fucking love more cookies.” Wes turned down the cookies, but was more than happy to stay a while. As soon as we got into the house, Charley excused us and took me down the hall to her room. She was concerned because it was obviously not typical for me to invite someone to spend the night, which is clearly what would be happening. The truth of the matter is I’ve only ever been with Seth and except for him I’ve never dated anyone. Considering we were so young when we got together, I wasn’t quite sure how all of this would work. All I knew was that I had been feeling terribly lonely for a very long time and I wanted to not feel like that for just one night. In this particular scenario, I weighed my options and I believed Zane was a safe choice. If nothing else, I knew that Charley and Wes were both right down the hall and I think that made me a little more courageous. I explained this all to Charley and she gave me her blessing. We walked back out to the kitchen and Charley not-so-discreetly convinced Wes to go with her to her room. Once they left the kitchen, I turned to Zane who was sitting on one of the stools at the opposite side of the island. Before I could chicken out I immediately announced, “Before anything happens here tonight, I need to talk to you.” “Ok,” he said. I started to fidget, willing myself to muster up the strength to be honest with him. I didn’t quite know how to ask him for what I wanted and I was beyond nervous that even if I could figure that part out I certainly didn’t know what I’d do if he said he wanted no part

of it. Shit. Why did I choose to be fearless with the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid my eyes on? I was so inside my head completely freaking out that I hadn’t noticed Zane get up from the stool and walk over to me. He put his hands on each of my arms just below my shoulders and I went solid. “Are you ok?” he asked, a bit of concern in his voice. I nodded a bit frantically. “You sure?” I barely squeaked out, “I’m sorry. Just really nervous.” He gave a light squeeze to my arms and said, “No need to apologize. There’s absolutely nothing for you to be nervous about. I have no expectations about tonight other than I’d really like to get to know you a little better.” “I don’t want to be alone,” I blurted out. “Come again?” I took in a deep breath dropped my eyes from his to the floor and admitted, “I don’t want to be alone tonight. I am not looking to have a one night stand, but I’m also not looking for a relationship right now either. I just want to be wrapped in someone’s arms and held for tonight.” Zane moved one hand from my arm to under my chin. He pushed up so that I had no choice but to look him in the eyes. I swallowed hard. A sexy grin spread across his face as he asked, “Are you saying you just want me for my body tonight?” I burst out laughing. It was a good laugh. It was something I hadn’t experienced in several years and it felt really, really good. I looked back to Zane and said, “Thank you for teasing me about it.” He nodded and shared, “Just so you know, Emme, what you are asking for is no hardship for me and there is definitely no shame in you asking for it either. You need someone to hold on to tonight — I’m happy you asked me to be the one to give you that.” I swallowed hard again. “What is it?” he asked. How did he know there was more? “I’m thinking I might want to be kissed, too.” He grinned at me. Damn, he was beautiful. “I’ll see what I can do about that, sweetheart.” I took a step back and held out my hand. He took my hand in his and then I led us down the hall to my bedroom.





Chapter 4 Emme Zane trailed behind me as he allowed me to guide him down the hall toward my bedroom. My stomach was a bunch of nerves. In fact, I felt a bit giddy. We entered my bedroom and I turned to look at him. He stood just inside the closed door, but made no move. I appreciated, more than he could know, him allowing me to set the pace. “Please make yourself comfortable. I’m just going to head into the bathroom to change out of this dress and wash the makeup off my face,” I said as I walked over to my dresser to grab a pair of shorts and a camisole. I walked into the bathroom and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I stared for a moment at myself in the mirror before I stripped out of the dress. I pulled on my shorts and camisole and took to washing my face. Then, I decided I should probably brush my teeth. I took one last look at myself in the mirror and walked out into my bedroom. My breath hitched as I stepped out from behind the door. Zane was in my bed. He had removed his jacket, sweater, and boots and was wearing just a pair of jeans and a white undershirt. Zane’s eyes traveled the length of my body, lingering for a bit on my chest. The two parts of my body that I was considered blessed in were my ass and my boobs. Apparently, Zane had an appreciation for at least one of those parts. His eyes came to my face as I stood there. I suddenly realized just how nervous I was. I looked away from him, but he immediately caught my attention when he quickly sat up in the bed and swung his legs over the side. He held his hand out to me. A moment passed before I walked toward him and stopped just in front of him. He took my hand in his, turned slightly toward the head of the bed, and pulled back the blankets. Zane continued to hold my hand as I climbed into the bed. I moved to the opposite side as he pulled his legs back up onto the bed. I was sitting up in the bed while Zane dropped to his back, his head on the pillow. With his arm outstretched he said, “Come here, sweetheart.” I cautiously leaned toward him. My head fell to the crook of his arm, my hand to his chest while he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. We stayed there in silence for a long while. I took in his scent and listened to his heart beating in his chest. “Zane?” I called quietly. “Yeah, Em?” he answered.

Damn. That voice. “Will you tell me something?” “What do you want to know?” he asked. “Anything you feel comfortable sharing.” “Open book, Emme. Ask me whatever you want.” “Ok, what is your last name?” I asked. He laughed and said, “Cunningham. That’s it?” I thought for a minute and finally asked, “Will you tell me about your family? Are you close with them?” “Greatest people in the world. My parents, David and Trisha, are incredible. I guess anyone would have to be to put up with the likes of me and my brothers. We are incredibly lucky; we have very supportive and loving parents.” “What do your parents do?” “My mom is a family doctor; my dad is a surgeon.” “How many brothers do you have?” “Two. Levi is my older brother; Cruz is my younger brother. I’m the middle child. What about you?” “I have amazing parents, Vince and Valerie, but I’m an only child. My house was quiet growing up,” I admitted. “I couldn’t imagine that. My brothers made my childhood so much more exciting and fun. That had to be lonely for you.” I pushed away from Zane, fell to my back, and let out a sigh. Oddly enough, my childhood wasn’t as lonely as one might think. It was adulthood that had proved to be much gloomier than I had ever thought possible. “Fuck, Emme. I’m sorry. That was insensitive,” Zane said as he turned his body toward mine. “It’s ok. My parents made sure I always had people around me. And, I’ve known Charley, Nikki, and Monroe my whole life. Those girls became my sisters, so I wasn’t as lonely as you might think…certainly not as lonely as I feel now.” “Want to talk about that?” he asked. Shit. Why was I suddenly so chatty? I shook my head. “If you change your mind, I’m all ears.” I smiled up at him and hesitantly put my hand up to his face to cup his jaw. “Thank you, Zane.” “For what?”

“For staying with me tonight, without the promise of anything in it for you.” “Are you kidding me? Emme, lying next to you in your bed with your beautiful body pressed up against mine is more than enough for me. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t want more with you, but I’m not here for me right now. You asked me to give you something tonight and I like you enough that I’m going to do what I can do to give you that.” He warmed my heart with his words. My reaction to those words was to lift my head slightly while wrapping my fingers around the back of his neck to pull him closer to me. His eyes searched my face as he brought his lips to mine. He stopped within inches of my mouth and just looked in my eyes. “Will you kiss me, Zane?” I asked. I barely got the words out before his lips came crashing down on mine. The feeling that swept through my body was overwhelming. Zane’s body was half covering mine while one of his hands wrapped around the skin at the side of my throat. The kiss very soon turned more intense as Zane’s tongue slipped past my lips. I moaned. I wanted more of him. I needed to feel more. My hands went under the hem of his shirt and I ran my fingers along the skin of his back. His body was solid and strong. He felt so good and I was seriously turned on. Zane was also turned on as I could feel the evidence of that pressing into my body. Before things got too far out of control I tore my mouth from his. Our breathing was heavy as we stared into each other’s eyes. I swallowed hard. I was scared. It was not fear for my safety. Rather, I was scared by my lack of control around Zane. I was scared at how he made me feel. I was scared that I was doing something now that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to turn back from. But mostly, I was scared for him. My body tensed as I realized just how scared I was for him. Zane immediately recognized it and pulled back. “If you need to stop, Emme, just say it. It’s cool.” I closed my eyes, feeling defeated, guilty, and selfish. “I’m sorry,” I said, unable to look him in the eye. He took his finger to my jaw and turned my face so I had no choice but to look at him. “That’s the second time you’ve apologized to me in less than an hour for no good reason,” he said. My eyes welled up with tears and I tried to blink them away. Zane’s brows drew together at the sight of this and he lifted completely off my body. He settled on the bed next to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and turned my body into his. I instinctively fisted his t-shirt in my hands pulling it toward me. He shifted his body closer to mine and I burrowed my face into his chest. Zane’s hand went to the top of my head and I felt his fingers run through my hair against my scalp. After several minutes, Zane broke the silence and asked, “You want to talk about it?” I shook my head.

“Ok,” he began. “You still want me here with you tonight?” I tensed. There was the guilt again. Did he want to leave? “Emme, if you want me here it’s exactly where I want to be.” I pulled my head back from his chest so I could look at him. He looked down at me and I pleaded, “Please stay with me tonight.” His eyes warmed just before he nodded at me. I snuggled closer to his body, my face inches from his chest once again. He wrapped his arms around me just a little tighter. Within minutes, feeling safe, I was asleep. Run, Emme. Keep running through the darkness. Left, right, left, right. You’ve got to get away this time. You’ve got to get somewhere safe. Run, run, run. Look ahead, there’s the light. Stay steady and just keep running. Get away, Em. You’ve got to get away. You’re almost there. Keep running. I continued chanting to myself. “Ow.” I was on the ground. I tried to avoid the rut in the road and failed. Now I was face down on the ground and I knew he’d be there any second. Like clockwork he stepped out in front of me. “Oh, Emily. When will you learn? You can’t run away from me. I will always find you.” I began to cry and plead with Seth as I always did, “Please, don’t. Please let me go.” “Never, Emily. Never.” He walked closer and closer to me and I began to panic. I knew what was coming. I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder. “Emme, sweetheart, wake up.” I jolted awake. Daylight. When I looked up I saw Zane, with a terrifyingly concerned face, looking back at me. “I think you were having a bad dream.” His voice warmed my soul and settled my anxiety almost immediately. As it surrounded me I felt safe again. “I’m so sorry if I woke you,” I responded, embarrassed. I wondered what he witnessed to know enough to wake me up from it. “You’ve got to stop apologizing to me, Emme. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I swallowed hard past the lump forming in my throat. Humiliated by what happened, I didn’t know what to say. “Are you ok?” Zane asked. Shit. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I definitely didn’t want to talk about it.

“I will be. Thank you for waking me and pulling me out of it before it got really bad.” Zane jerked his head back at that statement and I realized I had said too much. “This happen before?” he asked. “From time to time. Zane, please, can we not talk about it?” I begged. He thought on it for a moment and I could tell he was struggling to let it go. Thankfully, he respected my wishes. He rolled to his back and curled an arm around my shoulders. My body was now pressed against his. It felt good so I enjoyed that feeling while I had it. Eventually, I lifted my head to look at him. “Merry Christmas,” I said. He angled his head down, kissed me on the forehead, and said, “Merry Christmas, Em.” “I have to call my parents this afternoon,” I told him, though I wasn’t sure why. “What time are they coming here?” he asked. “They aren’t. They live in California,” I answered. “I know you and Charley moved here from California. I assumed since you didn’t fly home that they were coming to visit you.” I shook my head, feeling sad. I really missed my parents. “Why wouldn’t they come to visit you? It’s Christmas.” “I asked them not to come here.” “Why?” he asked. “Because if they come here they’ll try to talk me into moving back there.” “Considering you are their only child, I can understand why.” “It’s never going to happen. I can’t ever go back there.” Zane said nothing, but I could tell he was thinking. After a bit of silence, he asked, “Ok, so then what are your plans for Christmas?” “Charley is going to Wes’ parent’s house this morning. We’re going to have dinner together later tonight.” “So, your plan was to be by yourself all day?” he asked, his jaw clenching. I shrugged my shoulders and rolled to my back. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll be fine.” “Of course it’s a big deal. Nobody should be spending the holiday alone.” I stayed silent. Lonely days, not just holidays, were already a huge part of my life. Why should the holiday being here make it any different? I wasn’t looking for pity, either. I made my decision on how to live the rest of my life. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I wouldn’t ever take chances with anything again. I moved to get out of the bed when Zane grabbed me by the wrist. I tensed

immediately and looked back at him. Zane’s brows drew together for a brief second, but he quickly recovered. “Where are you going?” he asked. “I need coffee,” I answered. “Stay. I’ll get it.” “Zane, you don’t have to do that.” “I know, but you’ve had a rough morning. Let me get the coffee.” “Ok,” I answered. “Cream and sugar?” he asked. I nodded. Zane got out of the bed, walked to the bedroom door, turned back to look at me lying in bed, and finally, walked out. He wasn’t gone more than a minute before I heard a knock at the door. The door opened and Charley walked in. “Hey, honey,” she began. “I was just getting ready to leave with Wes, but wanted to check and make sure you were good.” “I’m good, Charley.” “You sure you don’t want to go with us?” she asked. “I feel horrible leaving you here alone today.” “Sweets, I’m fine. And if anything crazy comes up I’ll call you. Go have the single most nerve-wracking experience of your life and meet your man’s parents. Can’t wait to hear all about it later,” I said, trying to reassure her. “Gee, thanks, Em. We’ll be back plenty early so that you and I can make dinner and celebrate. Merry Christmas, honey.” “Merry Christmas, Charley.” I was cuddled up, warm and toasty, under the blankets when Zane walked back in. He had good timing because any longer and I’d have been back asleep. I sat up in the bed and held out my hands for the coffee mug. I took it from him, held it up to my mouth, and took a sip. “Thank you,” I said, closing my eyes and inhaling the sweet aroma. He chuckled and said, “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” I eventually felt awake enough to have a real conversation so I asked, “So how does your family typically celebrate Christmas?” “Not like Wes’ family with an enormous breakfast in the morning. We usually have a big lunch and spend the day visiting with extended family. I can remember when we were younger we’d spend Christmas morning at our house opening gifts and then we’d go to my grandparents’ house for the rest of the day. As a little kid, walking into their house, I remember the stacks of gifts being taller than I was at the time. Of course, I’m not sure

that I appreciated it all the way that I should have at the time. My grandparents have both since passed, but those memories are some of the greatest that I have of Christmas.” “Wow, sounds like you were a bit spoiled.” He nodded and grinned at me. “No use in trying to deny it, either.” I smiled back at him and then asked, “I know I’ve already asked a lot of you, but would you let me cook you breakfast before you have to go this morning?” Zane just stared at me and said nothing. Ok, maybe not. “It’s ok if you don’t want to or if you need to leave now. I just wanted to show my appreciation for you staying with me last night. It means a lot. I can try to make it up to you another time if you want.” “Are you serious?” Zane asked. “Um, yes?” I said, unsure of where he was going with this. “Emme, I’m not fucking leaving you here by yourself today.” “Excuse me?” “Talked to Wes this morning when I went out to make coffee and Charley came in here. They are going to be at his parents’ house this morning and then Wes is taking Charley back to his place for a bit. He has her gift there. I know they are coming back here, but it won’t be until much later.” “You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know.” “So you think I’m an asshole, then?” he asked. I drew my brows together, confused, and a bit nervous as he was now seeming a little angry. “No, not at all. Why would you say that?” “Only an asshole would leave a girl like you alone on Christmas Day while he goes off to spend the day surrounded by lots of people.” “I’m sorry, Zane. I didn’t mean to imply anything by it. It’s just that I’ve already taken up a lot of your time and, don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate it. I just don’t want to inconvenience you anymore.” “Fuck, Emme. Stop fucking apologizing like you’ve done something wrong. I was here last night not just because you asked me to be, but because it’s where I wanted to be. And, I’ll say it again, I’m not fucking leaving you here by yourself today.” Well, fuck, he could be scary. I looked away as my eyes filled with tears. He was so angry and I didn’t want to make him even more angry so I figured it was best to say nothing. His finger came to rest on my jaw as he turned my head back so that I was facing him. A look of remorse washed over his face. “Emme, I didn’t mean to upset you and I’m sorry for getting frustrated. I just don’t understand why you think it’s ok for you to be alone today. I’d love for you to cook me breakfast this morning. But after, sweetheart, I’d really like for you to come with me to

my place so I can shower and change my clothes before going to have lunch with my family.” My eyes got big and I stared at him. I was not expecting that. His voice was so tender, too, as he spoke. I was not sure I was up to the task. Sure, I’d absolutely make him breakfast. Heck, I’d even consider going with him to his place so that he could shower and change his clothes. But lunch with his family? No way. Not a chance. “Zane…I really appreciate the invitation, but I can’t go.” “Why not? You don’t have any other plans this afternoon and I’ll make sure we’re back in plenty of time for dinner with Charley and Wes.” “But Zane — this is your family. And it’s Christmas. You and I just met.” “Your point being?” he asked. “I can’t intrude on something like that. Besides, I told you last night, I’m not looking for anything serious right now.” “You wouldn’t be intruding. I’m inviting you as my guest. And I know where you stand, Emme. Can’t say I’m not disappointed and won’t try to change your mind, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Friends don’t let each other spend the holidays alone. You don’t want to go, fine. I’ll just give my family a call and let them know I won’t be coming today.” He wanted to change my mind? Now I really felt guilty. I rolled my eyes at him and said, “Well there’s nothing like twisting my arm. I’m not going to let you not see your family today because of me. I guess I’m having lunch with you and your family.” He gave me a big, sexy grin. Damn. Why did he have to be so beautiful? “Bacon, eggs, and toast?” I asked. “Works for me.” With that, I made Zane breakfast to distract myself from the nerves I felt about what was ahead for me.



Chapter 5 Emme Zane and I were currently in my car on our way to his place. He insisted on driving and since I didn’t much care to drive at all he got no argument from me. Despite his best efforts to distract me, I was still very nervous about what was to come today. To Zane’s credit, he really did attempt to put me at ease all morning. As I made breakfast earlier in the morning, Zane talked with me about snowboarding and the upcoming events he would be competing in. Apparently, as soon as the new year rolled around he’d be training daily in preparation for the X Games at the end of January. Zane, Stone, and Luke were taking time between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day to recover from previous training sessions and contests and, of course, to spend time with family and friends. They’d hit it hard again after the holiday break. We finished breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, and then I hopped in the shower. Zane was a gentleman and stayed in the family room watching television while I got ready, which was a huge task. Part of me wanted to call Nikki because I knew she’d help me pick the perfect outfit, but I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about what was happening. Like Zane said, we were just friends and he didn’t want his friend to be alone on Christmas. My participation in today’s festivities was strictly due to having my hand forced. I refused to add to my guilt. So, I picked out my own outfit. I settled on a pair of black skinny leg jeans, a three-quarter length dolman sleeved, boat neckline emerald green top that was fitted around the waist and hips, but loose across the chest, and a pair of black, knee high stiletto boots. I decided to put some loose curls in my hair and kept it down. After putting my makeup on and giving myself a once-over I walked out into the family room to find Zane sprawled out on the couch. I would have liked to crawl on the couch with him and stay there all day. I was in the middle of ogling him when I heard, “Emme?” I snapped out of my daydreaming and saw Zane looking at me with a grin on his face. Yep. He totally caught me checking him out. This was not good for my position on the whole no relationship thing. “Sorry,” I murmured, looking away from him. Zane walked over to me, put his finger to my jaw, and turned my head to face him. “No need for an apology, Emme. And, definitely no need for you to be embarrassed. It’s ok to like what you see,” he began. “Can’t say it doesn’t go both ways. You look beautiful, sweetheart.” I felt my cheeks flush. “Thank you, Zane.” “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, I just want to put together a tray of cookies to take to your parents’ house and I’d like to call my parents quickly before we leave if that’s alright with you.” “Sure.” Not much later, we were pulling into a long driveway leading to Zane’s home. From the car, I was already floored by the magnificence of it. Zane had a very large piece of land with no houses immediately surrounding his place. The landscaping was breathtaking and lots of trees covered the view of the home from the driveway. As I looked out the window to one side I saw the beautiful snow-covered mountains and knew that if Zane’s home boasted any windows that would be a view not to be missed. Zane drove through the trees covering the side of the home and his stunning house came into view. Zane parked just outside of the garage. The house on the exterior was timber construction with stone details covering a large majority of the outside of the home. I stared in awe as Zane hopped out of the car and came around to meet me at my door. I stepped out and we walked along the walkway to the double wide front doors. Zane unlocked the door, allowed me to step inside ahead of him, and then disabled the alarm. I took in the long wide hallway as I stood in the foyer. It had a staircase leading to the second floor off to the left and dark brown hardwood floors throughout. To the right was a room that would probably have been made into a formal living room, but it was mostly empty at this point. Zane took me by the hand and walked me down the hall through the foyer to the enormous kitchen. “Ok, now I’m jealous. As we drove up here I was in awe at the beautiful landscaping and privacy of the property, but this could make a girl forget all of her problems.” “The kitchen?” he asked. “Do you cook?” I retorted. “Not so much. A few things here and there, essentially enough to not starve, but not really.” “This is a waste then. This kitchen is like my dream come true. Dark hardwood floors, pristine white cabinets, stainless hardware and appliances, and an island with gorgeous quartz countertops that’s larger than the size of my entire kitchen. I love cooking and baking. You have all this and you don’t really cook? I am so freaking jealous right now.” Zane started to laugh and I realized it was the first time I had heard him really laugh. His voice could soothe my soul, but his laugh — damn, that could make me fall to my knees. I stopped taking in the space to watch him. He stopped laughing, looked at me, and offered, “Anytime you want to use the kitchen, Emme, it’s all yours. Somebody should get some use out of it. My only requirement is that you share whatever you make. “You wouldn’t tease a girl, would you?” I asked. His eyes locked on mine and heated. His voice seemed to drop an octave, if that was even possible, when he promised, “Absolutely.” Damn. I totally did not need the conversation going there, but with that single word I had no choice but to allow my thoughts to wander into forbidden territory. My eyes went

to the island as I considered myself being teased by Zane in this very kitchen on this very island. I felt a shiver run through my body. “Fuck,” he growled. He pulled me out of my daydream and I took two steps back. I kept my eyes on him and he drew his brows together. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Nothing but the fact that I saw the reaction you had to what I said. I’m pretty certain you just considered the very real possibility of you and me together right here,” he said as he pointed to the island. “From what I can tell, sweetheart? You very much liked the whole idea.” Was this guy a mind reader? Now embarrassed, I looked away from him and out the windows of the kitchen to the mountains. Zane stepped in front of me, used his finger to turn my head toward his, and said, “Told you I know where you stand with not wanting a relationship, Emme. Also told you I would do my best to change your mind on that. Now, having just witnessed you inside your own head living out a fantasy, I’m definitely going to do everything I can to change your mind.” Shit. “Don’t you have to shower? Won’t we be late?” I asked, trying to distract Zane (and myself) from the very heated topic at hand. He gave me a sexy grin and a wink when he said, “It’d definitely be worth being late for, sweetheart.” I felt myself getting more and more turned on by this man. I was going to be in serious trouble if I didn’t start distancing myself from him. “Make yourself comfortable,” he began. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes…that is, unless you want to join me?” I rolled my eyes at him. “Go take your shower, Zane.” He smiled at me and turned to walk back to the stairs. I was such a bundle of nerves I couldn’t even begin to explore the rest of the house. I needed advice and decided to take a chance on asking for it. I pulled out my phone and called Monroe. The phone rang twice before she picked up. “Merry Christmas!” she said. I smiled inwardly and said, “Merry Christmas, mama.” “What’s going on there?” she asked. “I need help, Monroe. Please, though, you can’t say anything.” “What? What’s wrong?” “Promise me first, Monroe, that you won’t say anything to anyone. Not even Nikki or Charley.”

“Promise, babe. You are freaking me out. What is wrong?” she asked. “I’m at Zane’s house right now and I am daydreaming about having sex with him in his kitchen which, I might add, is absolutely beautiful.” “WHAT?!” she screeched. “Stop yelling and focus, Monroe. He’s in the shower right now, but I don’t expect I have a lot of time to talk. Last night, Charley and I went out with Wes and Zane to Lou’s for his Christmas Eve celebration. When the guys brought us back to the condo I asked them if they wanted to come in and stay a while. I don’t know what came over me. I just didn’t want to be alone on Christmas Eve. Charley got my drift and scurried off with Wes. I asked Zane to stay the night with me.” “Did you sleep with him?” she asked, shock filtering through her voice. “No. Well, I mean, I slept with him in my bed, but we only slept. Actually, we kissed too, but we didn’t have sex.” “Is he a good kisser?” The excitement in her voice was unmistakable. “Ugh, yes, Monroe he is. In fact, I think he’s very, very good with his mouth, but you need to stay focused.” “Right, sorry. Please continue.” “I had a nightmare last night. I’ve been having them again ever since the night you and Nikki left. Same nightmare every night, it just gets worse each night. Not going to get into the details of the nightmare now, but you can imagine I’m sure. Anyway, just before it got really, really bad, Zane woke me. He was a bit freaked, I think, but he handled it well. We talked a little this morning and he found out that while Charley and Wes were going to be off celebrating Christmas with his family this morning that I’d be staying home by myself. He refused to let me stay alone saying that it was Christmas and nobody should spend the holidays lonely.” “I knew I liked him. He’s one of the good ones, Em. I can feel it in bones. So how did you end up at his place ready to have sex?” “He forced me here.” “What? That doesn’t sound like him. Are you ok?” “Not like that, Monroe. He told me that he wanted me to go with him to celebrate Christmas with his family today and when I declined he said that he would call his family and tell them he couldn’t make it because he refused to let me stay by myself all day.” I paused waiting for her reaction, but got nothing. “Are you there?” I asked. “Oh, I’m here. I’m just busy smiling from ear to ear jumping up and down that this guy has come into your life.” “I can’t do this. You know I can’t. The problem is I keep getting distracted by his

handsome face and his sexy voice. Fuck, Monroe, his voice. I could listen to that man talk all day long.” “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” she responded, giddily. “You are not helping me.” “Babe, what do you want me to say? You need this. You need whatever it is that Zane is willing to and can offer you. If you don’t want serious, tell him. But, in the meantime, if he can help you start living and feeling again, I think it’s worth the risk.” “He said he knows where I stand with a relationship, but he plans to try to change my mind. This won’t end well, mama.” “I think just the opposite is the case. This is going to end very well if you open your mind and your heart to it. Give yourself that chance, Em. You deserve it.” “Well I’m no better off now than I was before I called you. I’ve got to go now. Merry Christmas.” “Oh, it definitely is now. Love you, Em.” “Love you, too.” I disconnected the call and tossed my phone back in my purse. I stood, looking out at the mountains from the kitchen window as I leaned over the island with my elbows resting on the countertop and my chin in my palms. I contemplated my current predicament and what Monroe said. I knew where she was coming from and logically it all made sense, but when choices you made resulted in the death of someone you love and care about, it makes you consider every possible outcome of the situations you face from that point forward. In this particular case, I could daydream about all of the good things that could happen if I pursued a relationship with Zane, but the reality is that in doing so I could face heartache that I might not be able to recover from again. Someone else could get hurt and I wasn’t sure I could take that chance. “Jesus Christ.” I quickly stood and turned around. “Are you ok?” I asked Zane, who stood about ten feet away from me with his hands balled in fists at his sides as his jaw clenched. If the island wasn’t behind me I’d have taken several steps back. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman.” I swallowed hard at the harsh reality of that statement. He had no idea how dangerous being around me could be. Still feeling nervous I asked, “What?” “Sweetheart, you aren’t making it very easy for me to try to respect the fact that you only want to be friends.” “Zane, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?” “Maybe it makes me a dick to say this, but I’m sure you’ve already got to know you have a great ass. Seriously, it’s fucking phenomenal. Actually, your ass and tits are equally as glorious. Problem is, I walk into my kitchen with you bent over the island and

your gorgeous ass is taunting me. It’s taking everything I have to not act on it and, now, I’m the one fantasizing about the island.” Oh shit. I knew most people considered those parts to be my two greatest physical assets. It came as no surprise, but hearing Zane say it made me hot and bothered. I was pretty certain my face was flushed and so in an effort to not let him see that I simply dropped my head to the floor. “Damn it,” Zane mumbled as he walked toward me. When he was standing in front of me he tilted my head so that I was forced to look at him. “Emme, I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable.” “It’s ok, Zane. I’m used to it.” His brows drew together and he said, “Used to what?” I didn’t want to tell him the full truth of what that meant so I simply stated, “I know that those two physical features are more…prominent on my body compared to other women’s bodies.” “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he answered. I shrugged my shoulders and looked away. “Emme, look at me,” he demanded. My eyes immediately shot to his. “You have a beautiful body, sweetheart. You have nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of.” I was really uncomfortable with this conversation and needed to move on so I stared at him a beat before saying, “Thank you, Zane.” Thankfully, Zane quickly changed the topic of conversation and asked, “Ready to go meet my family?” “Do I have a choice?” I retorted. “Of course you do. I can call them and tell them I’m not coming and I’ll take you back to your place…or we can stay here.” Yeah, that was definitely not going to be good. Perhaps being around other people would help distract me from all the sexual tension with Zane. “Ok, yes, let’s go so you can introduce me to your family,” I said as I turned to pick up my purse and head toward the door. I heard Zane laughing behind me. Twenty minutes later, we were pulling into the driveway of Zane’s parents’ house. It was a one-story ranch home. As we walked up to the front door, I felt nerves in my belly. This was crazy. I had just met Zane a few weeks ago and now I was about to have lunch with his family on Christmas Day. The front door opened as we approached and I stopped dead in my tracks. I took in the man in front of me and then looked to Zane. When I

looked back at the man in the door he was now chuckling. “I thought you had an older brother and a younger brother,” I said. “I do,” he replied, smiling at me. “So, are you a twin?” I asked. He laughed. “We get that all the time. No, I’m not. This is my older brother, Levi. Levi, this is my friend, Emme.” “Your friend?” he repeated to Zane with eyebrows raised. “Yes, fucker, my friend. Think you could be decent and let her in the house?” Levi looked to me and said, “My apologies, Emme. It’s very nice to meet you. Please, come on in.” I stepped inside the house not feeling any less anxious when another equally as hot man walked into the foyer shouting, “Zane’s here.” As soon as he saw me he bellowed, “And he’s brought a girl with him.” Zane dropped his head back and looked to the ceiling as he pleaded, “Give me the strength.” Hot guy number two, actually three if you counted Zane, walked right up to me wrapped an arm around my shoulders and said, “Merry Christmas, beautiful.” I felt my face flush as I looked away from him and mumbled, “Merry Christmas.” “Fuck me. He’s found a shy one,” Levi said. “I’m Cruz,” I heard the voice next to me say. “You are?” I took him in. I could see the similarities in certain features between him and Zane, but where Levi and Zane looked nearly identical with their dark hair, exquisite bone structure, thick brows, and captivating eyes, Cruz was nearly their opposite. He had thicker, slightly longer hair. It was not nearly as dark, but definitely nowhere close to blonde. He did have the same blue eyes and chiseled jaw, but his features were a bit softer when compared with Zane and Levi. All three of them were gorgeous in their own right with incredible bodies, one of which was still currently pressed up against mine. In addition, all three of them towered over me, even with my heels on. “Emme,” I answered, introducing myself to Cruz. “Think you can get your hands off her?” Zane demanded. I turned to see him clenching his jaw and seething. Crap. Levi spoke up and offered, “Getting a little worked up over someone who is just a friend, Zane.” “Friend?” Cruz asked Zane with the same raised eyebrows. His eyes came back to me and he continued talking. “Well in that case, beautiful, let me…” he got out before Zane cut him off. “Cruz. Her name is Emme. Hands off now.”

Cruz held his hands up and confessed, “Just trying to be nice, big brother.” “Oh my goodness, you poor thing,” I heard a female voice say amidst all the commotion. I looked up to see a pretty woman walking toward me with her arms outstretched. “Emme is it? My name’s Trisha.” She wrapped an arm around me and looked at her sons. “What is wrong you three?” She pointed to Levi and Cruz first and reprimanded them. “You two know better. Why do you always insist on pushing buttons?” Turning her attention to Zane, she advised, “And you…this poor girl is scared out of her mind. Next time, it would be a good idea to let me know you are bringing someone so that I can prevent this from happening.” “I didn’t mean to intrude today, Mrs. Cunningham. I’m sorry this was just sprung on you,” I interjected, looking anywhere but any of their faces. I felt extremely awkward. “Fuck. Emme, you don’t need to apologize. I asked you to be here. You aren’t intruding.” “Mouth, Zane,” his mother said before she turned to me. “Honey, call me Trisha. And despite his foul language Zane is right. You are more than welcome to be here. You can come help me in the kitchen and leave these boys to do what they will. It’s nice to have another woman in the house.” As we walked out of the foyer through to the kitchen I heard Zane mumble, “Motherfuckers.” “I heard that,” his mother yelled back. I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. “I brought some homemade Christmas cookies with me. My roommate, who is also my best friend, and I spent the better part of the day yesterday baking. I didn’t want to come here empty-handed,” I explained as I held the tray out to her. She took the tray from me and said, “Thanks, Emme. If there’s one thing I know, those boys can put away the cookies.” As we entered the kitchen and moved farther away from the boys I was able to take in my surroundings. The house had an open floor plan where right off the kitchen was the dining room with a table that was already set for what I could only assume would be a heck of a feast considering the wonderful smells in the room. Off the dining room toward the back side of the house was a very large, comfortable family room that had been decorated with a Christmas tree and stockings hung from the fireplace. I turned around when I heard footsteps and a deep voice asking, “What’s all the commotion?” This had to be Zane’s dad. Zane bore a striking resemblance to the man who I had to admit was very good looking. He was tall, in great shape, and had that voice that was so very similar to Zane’s. I wondered for a moment if that was one of the things that made his wife fall in love with him. “Oh goodness,” he gasped as he realized I was standing there. “Hello, I’m David. Merry Christmas.” “Merry Christmas, Mr. Cunningham. I’m Emme,” I revealed, stretching out my arm to shake his hand.

“Please dear, call me David. You come with Zane?” he asked as he continued to hold my hand in his. I nodded. For a moment, I felt his hand tighten around mine before he let it go. “David, honey, you need to have a chat with those boys. They tortured Emme when she came in,” Trisha said. “Trish, my love, when are you going to accept the fact that those boys are always going to torment each other? It’s in their nature. Talking to them isn’t going to change a damn thing.” I listened to the two of them go back and forth about their boys while admiring the way they spoke with each other. Even though she was frustrated with how her sons had acted I could tell from her conversation with her husband that not only did they care very deeply for their children, but also that they were very much in love with each other. David repeatedly called her ‘my love’ when he spoke to her. It was very heartwarming to witness. I went about helping Trisha get the food in serving dishes and took it to the dining room table. Minutes later, Zane walked into the kitchen followed by his brothers. I had to admit, it took my breath away. Zane edged out his brothers ever so slightly in the looks department, but they were undoubtedly one good-looking bunch. “Zane, honey, will you set a place for Emme at the table?” Trisha asked him. He nodded and got to it. Not much later, Trisha and I had successfully brought all the food to the table and we were all sitting down to eat. She made stuffed chicken breasts, potatoes, tons of veggies, and homemade cheddar biscuits. Everything tasted amazing and I made sure to ask her for her recipe for the biscuits. Thankfully, once everyone was sitting down to eat the conversation from earlier that day had been forgotten. “So how did you two meet?” Levi asked. “My roommate, Charley, is dating Wes,” I answered. “Zane and I met a couple weeks ago at Lou’s when Charley and I were out celebrating her birthday with two of our friends from California.” “Wes is dating someone?” Cruz asked, seemingly dumbfounded. I’m not sure where my courage came from, but I said, “He really seems to care a lot for her and he’s made my friend happier than she’s been in a long time. I hope everything works out for them because she’s been through a lot and deserves a bit of happiness.” I could feel myself getting choked up so I tried to blink away the tears threatening to form. Zane grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed. I looked to him. He searched my face with concern so I did my best to ease that by smiling at him. So, the bright side of the whole situation was that the guys were all in a great mood and trying to include me in the conversation. Aside from my defense of Charley and Wes’ relationship, it was never forced or awkward. They learned all about my photography business and I learned that while Levi and Cruz occasionally went snowboarding for fun,

Zane was the only one who ever did it professionally. Levi started a private investigations business quite a few years ago and shortly afterward, Cruz joined him. Levi had a team of guys who were very good, and apparently, he was very highly sought after in Rising Sun and the surrounding areas. Zane and I hung with his family for a while after lunch, but as he promised me he’d make sure we were back to my place before Charley and Wes got there he told his family we had to get going. This was, of course, not before everyone had a sampling of the cookies I brought. They all loved them or, they at least claimed to love them. Nearly half the tray was gone by the time Zane and I were ready to leave, so I assumed they couldn’t be making it up. I thanked them all for their hospitality and kindness before we left and every single one of them pulled me into a hug and wished me a Merry Christmas. I heard Zane growl when his brothers hugged me, but they didn’t seem to be the least bit phased by it. After we left his parents’ house, Zane and I stopped back at his house briefly so that I could grab my car before we made our way to my place. As promised, Zane had me home before Charley and Wes got back. “Thanks for inviting me to go with you today,” I said to Zane as we walked into the house and straight to the kitchen. Once I put my purse down on the counter, I turned around to face him and continued, “You are very lucky. You have a great family and I’m really thankful they were gracious enough to allow me to join in on a special occasion such as this.” “You’re welcome, Emme. Though, if I have my way, this will just be the first of many occasions that you celebrate with us.” I really appreciated his determination, but I felt horrible that he wanted something that would never be. I tilted my head, looked at his beautiful face, and felt my heart break because I knew that if my life hadn’t taken such horrible turns Zane and I could have possibly had a chance. “Zane…I know you’ve been teasing me and joking about this all day, but I really don’t want to give you any mixed signals. Maybe I was wrong for asking for what I did last night and I’m sorry if I’ve given you the impression that there could be more. Deep down I think you really are one of the good ones. Unfortunately, this type of thing isn’t in the cards for me.” “You’ve been up front with me from the start, Emme. Any effort I put into trying to change your mind is my own choice. Just know, I’m not joking about it. You aren’t going to always feel this way and I imagine you won’t want to be alone forever. We just recently met. I think you are someone worth getting to know a little better. Right now, if you can only offer friendship then I’m willing to take that.” My eyes got wet and a lump formed in my throat. I tried to swallow past it, but to no avail. A single tear fell from each of my eyes and I croaked out, “I’m sorry, Zane.” “Christ, Emme,” Zane said as he swiped his thumbs across my cheeks. “Sweetheart, don’t apologize. It’s evident you are hurting and clearly there is something bigger than me going on right now. Don’t worry about me. Take care of yourself and if you need

someone along the way to help you through it, I’ll be here for you. That’s what friends do, right?” I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded at him. His eyes searched my face a bit before he asked, “You know that no Christmas is complete without watching A Christmas Story, right?” And just like that, Zane took away the hurt and guilt I was feeling. “I love that movie,” I said smiling up at him. “Then you’re in luck because I picked up my copy of it when we stopped back at my house to get your car. Want to watch?” I nodded furiously at him. He chuckled, wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and walked with me from the kitchen to the family room. Ten minutes before the movie ended, Wes and Charley walked in. While Charley and I made dinner, the boys hung together in the family room watching television. I’m sure both would have preferred to have been with us in the kitchen, but I think they both knew that Charley and I needed our time together, too. Sadly, I couldn’t bring myself to tell my best friend about my trip with Zane to his house or to meet his family. She asked questions about my day with Zane, but I was vague. I didn’t want her getting excited about something that I knew wouldn’t be going anywhere. Thankfully, she seemed to catch on quickly that I wasn’t up for discussing the situation with Zane so we moved on to other topics, such as her day with Wes, meeting his parents, her Christmas gift, and then, we exchanged gifts with each other. We finished making dinner, ate with the guys, and had a great night. It was, by far, the best day I had had in many, many months. When Zane finally got up to leave, Wes and Charley said good night and took off down the hall toward her bedroom. I walked Zane to the front door. I stood in front of him and looked up at him, smiling. He wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and squeezed gently. “Thank you for today,” I said to him. “Wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere that you weren’t today.” “I feel like I need to do something to repay you for what you’ve done for me, between both last night and all day today. This was easily the best day I’ve had in a very long time, Zane. I know I acted like a tough guy saying that I’d be fine being alone today, but the reality is that I would have been miserable and lonely. Thank you for not allowing me to feel that today.” Zane eyes warmed and his face softened. “You don’t need to do anything to repay me. Just knowing that I made the right choice in staying with you today is payment enough. I don’t need anything else, Emme,” he began. Then, he flashed his sexy grin and said, “Though, I won’t turn down a good night kiss if you are really feeling indebted to me.”

I rolled my eyes at him. Typical guy. “Friends don’t kiss, Zane.” “Sure they do. We did last night and we were just friends then, right?” He did have a point. Since it was Christmas and he had gone out of his way to make the day good for me I figured I could give him this. “Ok. You win,” I said. I pressed up on my toes as I put my hands to his shoulders. Zane’s hand at my neck tightened ever so slightly as he slowly bent his head down to meet mine. My lips gently brushed his before I decided that if I was going to give him this I might as well do it right. With my mind made up I pressed my lips to his and he pulled my body up against his. I then gently bit his bottom lip. I kissed the spot my teeth had grazed over before I let my tongue come out to tease his lips. He groaned and pulled me even tighter to his body with his other hand that was now resting just above my ass. My hands moved to his hair and my tongue slipped past his lips into his mouth. He took it and gave me his in return. I could feel the hard length of his arousal pressing into me and I moaned. This was going to get out of control really quick if I didn’t stop it. I tore my mouth from his and whispered, “Zane, we have to stop.” With his forehead pressed to mine and his eyes closed he whispered back, “Fuck, sweetheart. You are so damn sexy.” “Zane…” I said, trailing off because I didn’t know what else to say. I was turned on and this was not easy. He pulled his head back from mine and looked at me. I watched him as his jaw clenched. I could tell he was thinking so I stayed quiet. Eventually, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and said, “Going to need your number, Emme.” “My number?” I questioned. “Yeah.” “For what?” “Only way I can get to know you better is if I can talk to you. Besides, I imagine all your other friends have your number. It’s only fair that I get it, too.” So, I gave him my number. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and looked back at me. “Good night, Emme.” “Good night, Zane.” With that, he leaned forward, kissed my forehead, and turned to walk out the door.



Chapter 6 Emme Run. Run. Run. I keep telling myself that I’ve done this too many times now to not know how to save myself. I need to get away. Keep going. It’s dark, but there’s the light ahead. Get past the light this time. Run. Stay steady. Left, right, left, right. I approach the light and, sure enough, despite all the focus and determination not to fall I do. The searing pain shoots through my ankle and my hands burn from the scrapes I get catching myself as I land on the ground. “I’m almost beginning to enjoy this,” his voice taunts me. “Please don’t do this. Let me go,” I plead. “Never, Emily. You’ll always be mine. Always.” I hear his footsteps. He is so close to me. I close my eyes bracing for the impact of either his foot or fist. Then I hear a chime. It distracts me for a moment. This is new. “Nobody can save you, Emily. Not even him.” Zane. I see his face. I shot up in my bed, out of breath, and heard the chime again. I looked to my side and realized it was coming from my phone sitting on my nightstand. A text message popped up on the screen from a number I don’t recognize. The message was cut off so I unlocked the phone and opened my text messages. Figured I’d come home and have no problem crashing given the long day. I know it’s the middle of the night, but thought you should know that you are one difficult face to forget. Hope you are sleeping well. This is Zane, btw. I felt a warm feeling run through my body as I smiled at the phone. I tapped out a quick reply. I was sleeping, but not well. He responded immediately. Another nightmare? Yep. I answered. No response. Seconds later, my phone rang. I quickly answered.

“Hey,” I said, as I dropped my head back to my pillow. “Are you ok?” Zane asked, tenderness and concern in his voice. How could he not know? His voice was enough to make me ok. I said, “I am now. You had perfect timing with your text.” “Would it help to talk to someone?” he asked. I stayed silent. I was so not going to tell him about my nightmares and what I knew they meant. I couldn’t imagine the reaction he’d have. “I’m not saying it has to be me, Emme. You had one last night and another tonight. You told me you get them from time to time. Seems like they are pretty frequent. Maybe talking to someone will help.” “I’m sure it’s a passing thing. I used to have them all the time and they stopped once I moved here. If they don’t stop soon I’ll consider talking to someone about them. Nikki, Charley, and Monroe have all told me the same thing.” Now it was his turn to stay silent, so I spoke again. “So, you couldn’t sleep?” I asked. “Keep seeing your face every time I close my eyes, sweetheart.” I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. I’m sure he thought it was a good thing, but I knew it didn’t help my take on this whole Keep Zane Only as a Friend mission. Since I didn’t respond Zane took the opportunity to further detract me from my mission by saying, “And I keep remembering the feel of your body pressed up against mine while I savored the taste of you.” I closed my eyes and thought about that exact moment from mere hours ago. It was pure bliss. “Fuck, Emme. Seriously?” he asked, a slight edge of humor in his voice. “What?” I asked. “You just moaned in my ear.” I did?? “No I did not,” I said. “Yes, you did. But it’s ok. At least I know you enjoyed it at least as much as I did which, just saying, was a whole fuck ton.” I whispered under my breath, “Zane.” We stayed silent for a while before Zane said, “Ok, Emme. Going to let you go back to bed, but first, do you work on Wednesday?” “No, I don’t have any shoots planned until January. Why?” “Good. On Wednesday, we’re hanging out.”

“We are?” I asked. “Yep. Going to do something fun and we can either get dinner out or if you really want to use my kitchen, I’m down for that, too.” “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Zane.” “What? Using the kitchen?” “No. I’m not sure us hanging out is a good idea.” “Told you I want to get to know you better. I’ve got the time off this week, but next week starts hardcore training in preparation for the X Games. Won’t have much spare time at all once that starts. I’m asking for one day for the very foreseeable future, Em.” “Why Wednesday?” I asked. “Figured I might need the next two days to try to convince you.” I laughed. “Ok, then. I’ll call you in the morning and give you my answer.” He chuckled before saying, “And you called me a tease.” “Did you just call me a tease?” I asked, incredulously. “Sweetheart, don’t play innocent. You bit my lip, shoved your tongue in my mouth, ran your fingers through my hair, and pressed your sexy-as-fuck body up against mine a few hours ago. And you moaned through the entire thing. You bet your ass that was a big fucking tease…but Emme, I enjoyed the shit out of it.” “Oh,” I murmured. “Tomorrow morning then,” Zane began. “Good night, Em.” “Good night, Zane.” I disconnected the call and set my phone back on the nightstand. I tried to go back to sleep, but now all I could think about was kissing Zane, which got me all worked up. My body needed release so I let my hand travel down my body to the spot right between my legs. Between thoughts of him taking me on the island in his kitchen to the very real make-out session we had earlier, it wasn’t long before I was in the throes of an orgasm trying not to say his name. Within minutes, I was fast asleep. I woke up late the next morning. I was surprised, but also thankful that I hadn’t had another nightmare. Last night’s events played through my head and I thought how fortunate I was the past two nights with Zane having seemingly excellent timing to pull me out of the nightmare hell before the beatings started. I looked to the clock and saw that it was just before eleven. Considering there wasn’t much time left before it would no longer be considered morning I realized I needed to contact Zane. Instead of sending a text I decided to give him a call. The phone rang three times before Zane answered. “I sure hope you’re calling with good news,” Zane said. He sounded sleepy and if it

was even possible he sounded even sexier first thing in the morning. If I was going to say no to hanging out with him on Wednesday I would have changed my mind that quickly. He could easily get me to do anything with that voice. “I’m sorry for waking you.” “No need to apologize…unless, of course, you are going to turn me down.” “Well then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not turning you down. I just need to know where to be and when on Wednesday.” “I’ll pick you up at your place, but we’ll need to leave pretty early.” “Where are we going?” I asked, genuinely curious now. “It’s a surprise. Just be sure to dress warm…really warm. And, make sure you bring your camera.” “Will I still be allowed to cook dinner for us at your house?” I asked. “Not going to turn down the opportunity to have you in my kitchen so, yeah, you can cook dinner at my house.” “Ok. I’ve got to admit I’m a little excited now.” “That’s good because it means you’re smiling. And I was. I had gotten nearly nine hours of uninterrupted sleep, I had just agreed to spend my Wednesday with Zane, at the end of which I was going to be able to cook in my dream kitchen. I didn’t get happy very often, but considering Zane was going to be busy for the next month with training I was going to soak this up while I could. “Is there anything you won’t eat for dinner?” “Peas and lima beans. As long as it doesn’t have either of those two items, I’m good.” I laughed. “Peas? Really? Lima beans I can understand, but peas aren’t so bad.” “Peas taste like dirt.” I laughed again. Hard. It felt fantastic. After I regained control of myself I said, “Alright, no peas or lima beans.” “Appreciated. So I’ll pick you up by seven thirty on Wednesday morning,” Zane said. “That work for you?” “Yes. I’ll be ready.” “Ok. Going to go get a workout in and then have a few things I’ve got to take care of. What size shoe do you wear?” “Seven and a half. Why?” “Don’t worry. I’ll explain on Wednesday. Got to go now, but I’ll call you later.” “Ok.” “Bye, Emme.” “Good bye, Zane.”

I spent the rest of my day coming up with a plan for dinner and dessert with Zane. I figured I’d spend the day today taking care of grocery shopping, getting all the ingredients I’d need, and making sure my camera equipment was good to go. To my surprise, Monday and Tuesday passed quickly. I went to bed Tuesday evening feeling pretty excited. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off and I was up getting ready for my day with Zane. He said to dress very warm, but I still had no idea what we were going to be doing. I decided on a pair of jeans, a heavy sweater over a scoop neck tank, and a pair of tall riding boots. I put on makeup and made my hair decent before I put a slouchy white knit hat on. I then went to the kitchen to pack up the cooler. I was doing my very best to stay quiet so that I didn’t wake Charley. While I was loading the cooler, I got a text from Zane saying he had just parked and was coming to the door. I walked over and unlocked it and texted him back to let him know. Not even two minutes later Zane walked in carrying a duffel bag. I looked to him and saw he had a look of amusement on his face. “What’s so funny?” I asked, whispering. He took from my cue and quietly said, “Tell a woman to dress warm and she still makes the effort to do it cute. You look great, Emme, but you are going to need to change. He then held out the duffel bag to me.” “Why?” I asked. “You aren’t going to be warm enough with what you are wearing. Had a feeling you wouldn’t be dressed the way you need to be, so I brought back up. Go change so we can get out of here. If you want, you can pack the clothes you are wearing now in the duffel bag so that you can change when we get back to my place.” I didn’t want to delay and risk waking Charley so I took the duffel bag and walked down the hall to the bedroom. Once inside my room I set the bag down on the bed and opened it. I pulled out tons of Blackman Boards snowboard apparel. There was a snowboard jacket, a pair of pants, a long-sleeved pullover fleece, thermal leggings, two pairs of socks, some hats and gloves, and a pair of snowboard boots. I tried not to dwell on it so much and quickly changed into all the clothes so that we could get going. I packed my clothes into the duffel bag and met Zane back out in the kitchen. The smile on his face grew as he took me in. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded, pointed to the cooler, and said, “Can you carry that while I get my camera bag?” He picked up the cooler and took the duffel bag from my hands. When I came back with my camera backpack he took that out of my hands too. “I can carry something, Zane.” “I know, Em, but it doesn’t mean that you should. Let’s go.” I shook my head at him and locked the door behind us as we left the condo. Zane put the cooler and bags in the back of his Ford Raptor, which had a small

enclosed trailer attached to it, then opened my door and helped me climb in. He walked around to the other side, got in, and started the truck. “Are we going snowboarding?” I asked. He shook his head. “Would love to do that with you one day, sweetheart, but not today. We are going to be in the snow, though, and it’s going to be really cold so that’s why I brought all the gear for you to wear.” “So where are we going?” He looked to me and asked, “Ever been to Yellowstone?” I sat up in my seat and turned toward him. “Yellowstone as in Yellowstone National Park? Like Old Faithful?” I practically shouted because I was so excited. He chuckled. “Yeah, Em, that Yellowstone.” “I’ve always wanted to go there. Oh, man. Thank you for telling me to bring my camera. I bet it’s going to have incredible scenery for pictures.” “It does and I figured you’d want to capture that.” I smiled big at him before sitting back in my seat and settling in to the happy I was determined to have for just one day. A little over an hour later we had arrived at the east entrance to the park. We parked, Zane opened the trailer, and pulled out a snowmobile. My eyes got big and I asked, “Please tell me I get to drive that!” Zane laughed. “Really? You want to?” he asked. “Um, yes,” I said, disbelievingly. “Have you ever driven one before?” “I lived on the beach in California my whole life, Zane. What do you think?” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at me for a moment. “I promise you we’ll plan to ride snowmobiles together another time, but today I’m driving in the park. You aren’t learning on this one in this park.” “Ok.” I grabbed my backpack with my camera, lenses, and mini-tripod and put it on my back. “Ready?” I nodded. I sat behind Zane on the snowmobile, held on to him, and took in the beauty of the park. Our first stop was Yellowstone Lake. I pulled out the camera and took tons of pictures. The lake was mostly frozen with gorgeous snow-covered mountains sitting in

the back. The beauty of it all was almost too much to bear. I felt my eyes get wet at the peace and serenity I felt in that moment. Zane came up next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “You ok?” he asked. “It’s so beautiful,” I rasped out. Despite all the layers I was wearing I could feel Zane’s fingers press into my hip as he gently squeezed and pulled me into him. We stood there together for quite a while. I think Zane knew I needed that time to reflect, even though he didn’t know why, and I was grateful he gave it to me. “Before we go will you do me a favor?” I asked. Without hesitation Zane answered, “Anything.” “I don’t think I’ll ever forget this, but I want to capture this memory forever. If I pull out the tripod and set the timer on the camera, will you take a picture with me?” “One condition.” “What’s that?” I asked. “I get a copy of the picture, too.” I thought a moment and said, “Deal.” I found the perfect spot to set everything up, told Zane exactly where to stand, and set the timer. I jogged over to him, but with my lack of practice wearing snowboarding boots I tripped and fell forward into him. Thankfully, he caught me as my hands went to his shoulders. “Sorry,” I said, looking up at him. He looked down at me and smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back. Then I heard the camera. It had taken the photo. “Crap. I think we might need to retake that picture,” I said as I stood straight and started to walk back to the camera. I knelt behind the camera and reviewed the shot preparing to trash it, but sucked in a breath at what I saw. It was Zane holding me in his arms smiling down at me as I looked up and smiled back at him. Our position in the frame was perfect, the lighting was perfect, and the scenery was breathtaking. Zane knelt down beside me and his sexy voice filtered into my ears, “You want another one, I’ll give it to you. Please don’t trash that one, though.” I turned my head to look at him. The intensity of his piercing blues sent shivers through me. “I’m good with this one,” I said quietly. He smiled at me and gave me a wink before asking, “You ready?” I nodded.

We hopped back on the snowmobile and continued heading west. We stopped at the Old Faithful Geyser next. I was so excited to see it erupt. We were told that it had been erupting consistently roughly every seventy-five minutes and given that timeline it was set to erupt sometime within the next ten minutes. Zane had chosen the perfect time to come visit because there were only four other people waiting to see the geyser at the same time as us. I snapped a few shots as we waited and five minutes later it happened. I kept clicking away with my camera, but eventually lowered the camera from my face and stared up in awe of its magnificence. It was truly an incredible sight to see. When it finished, I looked to Zane and said, “I’ve seen pictures and videos of that before and none of it does it justice. I’m so happy I had the opportunity to witness that in person.” “Glad you enjoyed it,” he began. “You hungry?” I thought a moment and realized I was, in fact, very hungry. “Yes, actually, I am.” Zane walked to the snowmobile and opened the cargo carrier he had attached to it. He opened the carrier and pulled out a bag. “You packed lunch?” I asked. “Not going to bring you out all day and not feed you, Emme,” he started as he pulled a foil-wrapped packet out of the bag and handed it to me along with a bottle of water. “It’s already a little past lunchtime. Egg salad good with you?” I took the packet and water from him and said, “That works for me. Thank you, Zane.” “You’re welcome. Sliced up some apples, too, if you want some.” I sat down and Zane sat next to me. I opened the foil, took out the sandwich, and said, “I’m impressed.” We ate and talked for a while before loading up and getting back on the snowmobile. Zane said he wanted to show me one more spot before we called it a day. We were going to be heading north, but back toward the eastern side of the park in order to get to what was known as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was a bit of a ride there, the scenery was beautiful, and I was still trying to soak up all the happy that I could for the day. With my arms wrapped around his waist and the front of my body pressed against the back of his, I put my cheek to the middle of his back. At that moment, I felt one of his hands wrap around my hands and squeeze briefly before it was gone again. It felt good. I felt good. And best of all, I felt safe and happy. We arrived at our destination and I was floored by the views. Snow covered the walls and trees of the canyon, the waterfall was frozen, and the view was absolutely spectacular. “Wow,” I whispered. “This is incredible, Zane.”

“Amazing, right?” I took out my camera and did my best to capture the exquisite beauty of the place. I only hoped my photos would do it justice. After, I put away the camera and grabbed my phone out of the backpack. “This goes against everything I stand for as a photographer,” I began. “We need to take a photo here, though, using my phone.” Zane chuckled and asked, “Are you asking me to take a selfie with you?” I dropped my head in defeat. When I looked back up at him I said, “I’m afraid I am. Promise not to tell anyone? I do have a reputation to uphold.” He grinned at me before he said, “Your secret is always safe with me.” Zane stood behind me and wrapped both arms around my shoulders. I attempted to extend my arm in front of us. With his arms around me I couldn’t reach out far enough to get both of us in the frame. He took the phone from my hand, but kept one arm wrapped around the entire front of my chest so that his hand was resting on my opposite shoulder. We smiled at the camera, I counted to three, and he clicked. “Let’s take one more,” he said. “Ok.” I agreed. The both of us looked at the screen on the phone. I started counting and just before I got to three I felt (and saw) Zane’s lips go to the top of my head where he kissed me. Instinctively, my hands came up and wrapped around his forearm that was holding me and I closed my eyes. I heard the click of the camera. I opened my eyes and turned my head against his chest to look up at him. I saw his sparkling eyes looking down at me. “What was that about?” I asked. He shrugged. “I thought it would make for a great picture.” I gave him a look that told him I thought he was full of himself. “Come on, let’s look at it,” he said. He went to the camera roll on my phone and pulled up the picture he’d just captured. I wanted to cry at what I saw. I loved it. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought we were a happy couple that was madly in love. Of course, I knew this wasn’t the case, but that didn’t mean I didn’t wish it were true and that my life were different. Zane tapped on the screen in an attempt to text the picture to himself. Shit. Shit. Shit. He started typing his name, pressing the Z first and nothing came up. This was because, unbeknownst to him, I hadn’t saved him in my phone as Zane. “Damn, Em. You didn’t even save me in your contacts? I’m feeling pretty wounded now.” “You are saved in my phone, Zane.”

“Just started typing my name and it’s not coming up.” I looked away and mumbled, “That’s because you aren’t saved under your real name.” Zane took two fingers to my jaw and turned my head toward his face. A sexy grin spread across his face and he asked, “So tell me, sweetheart, what name am I saved under?” I stayed silent and stared at him. He was going to gloat. And I, well, I was going to be thoroughly embarrassed. He stayed silent and stared at me, daring me to try to hold out. He wasn’t going to budge. He cocked an eyebrow at me. We stood staring at each other for easily a solid three minutes before I eventually gave in. “Ugh, fine. You can find it under Barry,” I said. “Now, can I have my phone?” “Barry?” he asked, completely confused. I nodded and attempted to grab the phone from his hands. He pulled the phone away and hit the screen with his fingers. I knew the moment he found it because initially his eyes rounded, which was likely due to the shock that I had actually saved him under what I saved him under, but then his expression grew smug. Fuck. “Sex Bomb Barry?” he asked. Mortified, I said nothing. “Sweetheart, you’ve got to help me out here. I mean, more than half of this name is self-explanatory. I get it. But Barry? What the hell is that about?” I stared at him utterly shocked. “Barry White,” I simply said. “The singer?” I nodded. He still stared at me in confusion. How could he not get this? “Not following you, Emme.” “Seriously, Zane? Have you heard your voice?” I asked, disbelievingly. “It’s pantymelting.” My hand flew to my mouth and my eyes rounded realizing I had just said that out loud. “Please tell me I did not just admit that,” I begged. Zane threw his head back as he roared with laughter. He really, really laughed for a long time. When he finally settled down, he looked at me with shining, smiling eyes and I was certain I liquefied on the spot. I’m not sure if he was trying to be a gentleman and not embarrass me any further or if it was something else, but he just asked, “You ready to go?” I let out a breath and nodded. I put my camera backpack on and we got back on the snowmobile. Before we took off Zane said, “Going to head back to the truck. If you see something along the way and want to stop just let me know.”

“Ok.” With that we were off and on our way back to the truck. I held on to Zane and replayed the day in my head. It was the most carefree I had been in a very long time and I had Zane to thank for that. Christmas was wonderful, but this blew it out of the water. Other than the awkwardness of the phone situation I had just experienced (and I still wasn’t sure how Zane felt about all of that) it had been an incredibly perfect day. We finally got back to the truck. Zane unlocked it, helped me in, turned it on, and then went back to the trailer to load the snowmobile. After, he got in the truck and pulled out of the lot. We had been driving in silence for a good fifteen minutes when I began to worry. The day had gone so well and now I felt an awkward tension. I wanted to say something, but I was worried I’d lose it if I did. I had experienced enough embarrassment for one day. Unfortunately, as time passed I grew more and more worried and my emotions got the best of me. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and despite my efforts to blink them away the tears spilled down my cheeks. It was at that moment Zane pulled over on the side of the road. He put the truck in park and turned in his seat to look at me. “Talk to me, Emme.” I looked away. He turned my head, as he always did, back to face him. “Tell me what’s wrong?” he encouraged. “I’m sorry, Zane. I didn’t mean to offend you. I never would have intentionally done something to upset you. I know that doesn’t lead to good things.” His brows drew together and he said, “Offend me? Why do you think you’ve offended me?” “Because of what I named you in my phone. I thought you were ok with it because you were laughing, but then you didn’t say anything about it and we just left. And I’m fine with leaving. It’s been a long, wonderful day, but now you aren’t talking to me. I just thought that maybe I offended you with that. I can change it to Zane. I’m really sorry.” “Sweetheart, don’t fucking apologize for that shit. I think it’s fucking adorable that you, cute and sweet Emme, actually gave me a nickname like that and then hid it from me in your phone. I’m not the least bit offended by it and if you change my name in your phone I’m going to be pissed at you.” I sat, staring at him, dumbfounded. “I don’t understand, Zane. Why are you so quiet now? Is it something else I did?” He grinned at me and gave me a wink before he said, “Emme, I’m just trying to keep your panties intact, at least until we are somewhere that I can do something about it.” At that, I burst out laughing.



Chapter 7 Emme “It smells absolutely fucking amazing in here right now, Emme.” I was currently in Zane’s kitchen, also known as my dream kitchen, and dinner was in the oven. We had gotten back to his house about an hour and a half ago. I chose to keep the clothes Zane brought to me that morning on, except for the outer layers. So now, I was standing in a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved form fitting charcoal gray shirt and was in the process of making dessert so that I could put it in the oven as soon as dinner was finished. Zane had a double oven, but I wasn’t going to spoil myself in this kitchen just yet. I’d just be disappointed when I had to go back to using a single oven. “Thanks. The lasagna needs about ten more minutes in the oven and then another ten when it comes out,” I answered. I made my spinach and mushroom lasagna. I didn’t know prior to today where we were going, but Zane did tell me to dress warm. For me, any time I spent a day in the cold there was nothing like some comfort food to warm you up. I just hoped Zane would enjoy it. “What is this?” he asked as he stuck his hand into the bowl I had in front of me, pulled out an apple, and popped it in his mouth. “It’s dessert. This,” I said gesturing to the bowl, “is the filling for my apple crumb pie.” “Well it’s not even baked yet and it tastes awesome.” “If you think it’s good like that, just wait until it’s warm out of the oven and we put some vanilla frozen yogurt on top of it,” I teased, as I poured the filling into the crust. “Looking forward to it,” he said as he winked at me. Zane poured some wine while I finished putting the crumb topping on the apple pie. I pulled the lasagna out of the oven and quickly closed the door. The olive oil and rosemary biscuits I made needed another couple minutes in the oven. The two of us set the table together while we waited. I brought the lasagna dish over to the dining room table and cut it. I served the first pieces for each of us, setting two on Zane’s plate and one on mine. I had already plated our salads while the lasagna was cooking. Finally, the biscuits had finished so I pulled them out of the oven and popped the apple pie in. I brought the biscuits over to the table and sat with Zane. He held up his glass of wine and asked, “So what should we toast to?” I picked up my glass and suggested, “New friendships?” Zane thought a moment and conceded, “Alright, Emme, I’ll give you that. To new friendships.”

I quickly chimed in, “And dream kitchens!” He laughed and said, “And dream kitchens.” After our toast, we ate. Zane couldn’t compliment me enough on the food and actually went in for a third piece of the lasagna. The biscuits were a hit with him as well. I loved it. It felt so good to have someone to cook for, even for just one night, that thoroughly enjoyed the food I made. For the last ten months, the only person other than myself that I cooked for was Charley. It just wasn’t the same, though. Zane really appreciated my food and that made my heart swell. “So, as it turns out it looks as though I’ll be getting lucky,” he said. I dropped my fork and looked up at him, scared. “Excuse me?” He chuckled and said, “Relax, Emme. Wes called and left me a message earlier today while we were out. Apparently, your girls are coming from California on Friday to spend this weekend celebrating the holiday. Said he talked to Charley about it and the two of them wanted all of us to go snowboarding on Friday, followed by dinner. New Year’s Eve celebration will be on Saturday at Lou’s followed by New Year’s Day celebration at Wes’ place on Sunday. I’m thinking I’m pretty lucky considering I thought it’d be a couple weeks before I’d get to see you again.” The smile on my face was huge. Nikki and Monroe were coming back out to visit. I couldn’t wait. Of course, the promise of seeing Zane three days in a row added to the excitement. I’d just have to distance myself a bit from him so that nobody got the wrong idea. The thought saddened me. “Happy to sad in about ten seconds. What’s that about, Em?” he asked. “I’m sorry. I am excited. I haven’t seen the girls in a while and I miss them, so I’m super thrilled and very much looking forward to seeing them again.” “Damn it. I thought that smile a few seconds ago was because you realized you’d get to hear my panty-melting voice and see my sex-bomb face three days in a row.” I shook my head at him. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” “Not for a while. It was a huge ego boost for me.” “Oh, please. I don’t, for one second, believe that I’m the first to have said something like that to you. You can’t be surprised by it.” “No, Emme. I won’t lie to you. You aren’t the first to hint that I’m good looking, but the whole ‘panty-melting voice’ is news to me. Still, even if I had heard that before the ego boost comes more from the fact that it was you who thought it, not someone else.” I looked away. He put his hand to my jaw and turned my face to his. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m teasing you about it, but it’s mostly because I’m hoping to change your mind on this whole ‘friendship only’ decision you’ve made. Knowing I’ve got some things in my favor is encouraging. I’m just making sure you don’t forget them.” His eyes searched my face before he asked, “So, you are happy your friends are

coming to visit. Why the sad face a few minutes ago?” I closed my eyes and let out a breath. When I opened them again, I said, “Because despite what you might think I am not only looking forward to seeing them and spending time with them, but I’m also looking forward to seeing you. The problem is I don’t want any of them getting the wrong impression. I don’t want them thinking there is more to this than there is. They’ll get their hopes up and I’ll just disappoint them. I haven’t told any of them about us spending the day together today for this very reason.” His jaw clenched and his eyebrows drew together. “Am I understanding this correctly? You want to keep our friendship a secret?” he asked. “No, not at all. I just don’t want the pressure to date somebody coming from them and that’s exactly what will happen. I talked to Monroe on Christmas. She’s the only one who knows that you spent the day with me and took me to meet your parents and even her reaction to that tells me that they’d all push for us to get together. Charley knows we spent Christmas together, but she has no idea we went to your parents’ house.” “If they’d all be pushing for us to get together, I’m beginning to think telling them is a great idea.” “Zane, please. I’m begging you not to tell them about today.” “Why not, Emme?” “Because they’ll not only be happy for me, but because they will also want to know the details of today. And that means I’ll have to tell them the truth.” “Which is?” I took in a deep breath and admitted, “That it was perfect. That it was the best day I’ve had in years. And that it was so wonderful that I wished I could have the happiness I felt today every single day for the rest of my life.” “What makes you think you can’t?” I looked away as I felt my nose stinging and my throat getting tight. “Because I can’t. Not anymore.” “I hope you don’t really believe that, Em. I don’t know what you are scared of or what you’ve been through, but I know it’s bad enough that I see that pain in your eyes a lot and that you have had some pretty bad nightmares. I won’t say anything to your girls, but sweetheart, don’t live your life being unhappy.” “I will be happy knowing my friends and family are safe and loved. That’s what is most important to me.” He shook his head at me, but said nothing. I stared back at him a while and finally said, “I’m going to check on the pie.” I moved to clean up our dishes when Zane’s hand came out to wrap around my wrist. “It’s ok, Em. I’ve got them.” I looked at him and my heart melted. He was such a good guy. “Thanks, Zane.”

I walked back into the kitchen and checked on the apple pie. It was finished so I pulled it out of the oven and set it on the countertop. Zane walked into the kitchen behind me carrying the plates from dinner and looked to the apple pie. “We’re going to need to give it some time to cool before we cut it,” I explained, moving to the sink where Zane was now standing as he placed the dishes in it. “Dinner was really good and I overate a bit so holding off on dessert right now is not a problem.” “Thanks. We should give it at least an hour to cool,” I said. I heard my phone chime alerting me to a text. I walked over and pulled the phone out of my camera bag. Turns out I had more than one text. Charley had texted telling me that she and Wes were picking up dinner on their way to the condo and wanted to know if I wanted anything. I told her I wasn’t home and would be in late, but did not elaborate on anything. From what I knew of Charley, she wouldn’t question me on it. Monroe also texted to tell me about her and Nikki coming to celebrate with us this weekend. I responded and told her how excited I was to see the two of them and couldn’t wait for them to get here. I tossed the phone back in the bag and looked to Zane. “I’m sorry. Charley and Wes are stopping to pick up dinner and wanted to know if I wanted anything. And Monroe was just filling me in on the plans for this weekend.” “Emme, you don’t need to apologize to me. You do that way too much. And, if you want to share things with me, I’m all for it, but you shouldn’t feel obligated to tell me things. You telling me all that felt too much like you thinking you needed to tell me what was going on instead you wanting to do it.” I looked away. I guess I hadn’t realized how conditioned I’d become over the years. Apologizing whenever I thought I messed up to hopefully soften the blow or trying to rapid fire details of things so that I wouldn’t be accused of doing something unbecoming of a girlfriend. This was not to say that I thought I was Zane’s girlfriend. I knew that this was absolutely not the case. The next thing I knew Zane had his hand at my jaw and was gently pushing against it so that I had to look at him. “And you look away too much. It’s like you’re ashamed of something. Never feel that way around me, Em, ok?” I swallowed hard and nodded. “You said earlier that today was perfect and you wished you could feel this happy for the rest of your life. I don’t like your thoughts that you can’t have that, but at the very least, I’m going to do my part to make sure the rest of this day feels just like the start of the day. So, it’s your choice on what we do while we wait for dessert.” “What are my options?” I asked. “We can play a game or two of pool, watch a movie, or swim in the heated pool which, just saying, is my top choice.” “You have a pool?”

He smiled and winked at me before saying, “Got a hot tub, too.” There was no way I was getting in a bathing suit in front of Zane, not that I had brought one with me, but even if I had it wasn’t happening. Not with the scar. No way. Not a chance. In the same regard, I didn’t want to disappoint him so I let him down gently when I said, “Well I didn’t bring a bathing suit, so that’s out.” “Undergarments, or nothing at all, work as well.” I rolled my eyes at him and said, “Nice try, but it’s not happening. I’d love to play a game of pool and then maybe a movie when we have dessert.” “I can work with that,” he said as he reached his hand out to hold mine. “Come on.” Zane walked me through his home, which I was now able to take in. We walked down the short hallway that angled off the back side of the kitchen toward the back of the house into the sunken great room, which was the coziest place I’d ever seen. Upon my initial inspection I immediately, yet silently, declared my favorite part to be the U-shaped pale grey sectional. I was very much hoping to try it out later. It had two, fluffy cream-colored blankets neatly folded and thrown over the backs of each corner. The cushions were deep and looked perfect for snuggling up to watch a movie or read a book. There was a floorto-ceiling stone fireplace with a beautiful hearth that didn’t have much in the way of decorations on it, but I imagined it filled with picture frames. It was currently dark out so I couldn’t see outside, but nearly the entire wall on the back side of the house was made up of huge glass window panes. To the back wall, opposite of doorway to the kitchen was another hall. We walked down the hall and passed by a set of double doors that Zane told me led to the theater room. We continued to the single door a little further down the hall. Zane opened the door and let me in ahead of him. I walked in to find a pool table in the middle of the room, a wet bar off to the back corner of the room, and a couch with two oversized armchairs set up in front of the wall mounted television. “I know I haven’t seen all of it yet, but your home is beautiful, Zane.” “Thank you. I wanted a place that I’d be able to entertain in when I wanted, but also a place that was comfortable. I travel enough for snowboarding so it was important to me to make sure that when I’m home I’m in a place that I actually enjoy living in.” “I can see why you’d be comfortable here. If this were my home, I’d never leave,” I said. Zane said nothing, but something in his face changed. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was and just as quickly as I noticed it it was gone. We walked to the pool table and as he handed me the cue stick he asked, “You know how to play?” I gave him a coy smile and said, “How about you rack ‘em and I’ll break?” He struggled to fight a grin from spreading across his face. With that, Zane racked the balls. Twenty minutes later, he racked them again in hopes of a rematch. Since I was feeling good and soaking up all the happy I could today I decided to give him the rematch. He won the second round.

“Tiebreaker or pie?” I asked. “Pie,” he answered. “Really? You don’t want to just settle this now and admit that I’m the better player?” I asked. He smiled as he walked toward me. He stopped inches in front of me and said, “Don’t give a shit if you are the better player, Em. Want to wait to find out for sure because in doing so, you’ll have to come back.” I swallowed hard as I looked up at him and whispered, “Oh.” He gave me a sexy grin and I was convinced he knew exactly what he was doing to me. I was so damn attracted to him and my body wanted what it wanted. My heart also knew what it wanted. It was my mind that kept getting in the way and bringing me back to reality. The truth was, you didn’t always get what you wanted. I needed to stop thinking about how much I wanted Zane, so I finally found my words and said, “Ok, let’s get some pie.”



Chapter 8 Emme We walked back out to the kitchen where Zane grabbed plates and I sliced the pie. It was still just warm enough. I pulled the frozen yogurt out of the freezer and placed a scoop on top of each piece. After putting the frozen yogurt back, I turned to find Zane holding both plates and walking back into the great room. I wanted to jump for joy that we were going to that room, but didn’t want him to think I was completely crazy so I kept it together and followed behind him. Zane set the plates down on the coffee table and walked to the fireplace to turn it on. The only lights on were the two recessed lights spotlighting the fireplace. They were already dimmed. When he came back to the couch he asked, “Are you going to sit?” My body and my heart were currently battling with my brain over where to sit. My brain wanted to wait until Zane sat so that I could make sure enough distance was between us. Unfortunately, he called me out so now I had to sit first. Sure enough, as soon as I sat Zane was right next to me. At least the other two parts of my body were satisfied. He picked up the plates and handed one to me before he focused his attention on his own plate. I watched him while he took the first bite. He closed his eyes as he savored the taste of it. I knew in that moment he really liked it and that made me smile. More happy for the day. “Good?” I asked as I brought my first bite to my mouth. “Fucking amazing, Emme. Where did you learn to cook?” he asked while taking another bite. “Mostly self-taught. I have a few things I make that are family recipes from my mom or my grandmother, but most of the stuff I cook is my own. If I’m looking for something new to make I’ll search online for different recipes and then tweak them to my own personal tastes or ideas on what I think will be good together. The apple pie is one of my own recipes and I’m so happy you like it.” “So, there’s another thing I can add to the list,” he offered. “List?” I asked, as I realized he was nearly done with his pie and I was barely halfway through mine. “Of things you’re good at.” I chewed and swallowed another bite, but said nothing. Zane set his empty plate back on the coffee table and used his fork to slice through a piece of my pie. After he put the forkful of the pie and frozen yogurt in his mouth he looked to me and winked. Curiosity got the best of me and I said, “Dare I ask what’s on that list?”

“Well, baking pie for one,” he began. “Dinner is another. I’ve had two dinners you’ve made so far and both were incredible. Cookies. You’re very good at making those. Haven’t seen a ton of your work, but saw one picture today that I particularly liked. Seeing just that one, I’m willing to go out on a limb and say you’re a really good photographer. Our friendship is relatively new, but you have these long-standing friendships with three other girls that you’ve known for years so I’m guessing you’re a great friend, too.” “Wow, Zane. That was very nice to hear. Thank you,” I said as I put my now empty plate on the coffee table. “Sweetheart, I didn’t even get to the best part of the list.” “Oh. Well, what else is there?” I asked curiously. “Kissing. You’re a great fucking kisser. I’d even go so far as to say it’s the best of all your talents I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing,” he shared with a bright intensity in his eyes. I thought back to the last kiss I shared with Zane. I looked to his lips, licked my own, and swallowed hard. Zane’s hand came up to wrap around the side of my neck just under my jaw as his thumb swiped across my bottom lip. “Can I kiss you again, Emme?” he asked, the gravelly tone of his voice sending shivers through my body at the same time it warmed my soul. I couldn’t speak so I gave him quick nods of my head. He leaned slightly toward me, but mostly pulled me toward him. His lips captured mine and I fell into him. It was a feeling of such relief having his lips against mine that I moaned. I turned the rest of my body toward him with my feet curled up under my bottom. As soon as I turned I felt Zane’s other hand come to my waist while the one at my neck went behind my head. He fell to his back on the couch and pulled me with him. I was now on top of Zane, my mouth still connected to his, and one of my hands resting on his chest while the other wrapped around his bicep. He deepened the kiss, his velvety tongue gliding against mine. His hand at my hip traveled to my ass. The hand that had been at the back of my head moved to the same spot. I tore my mouth from his and stared into his smoldering eyes. When I said nothing, Zane squeezed my ass. Even though I was already pressed to his body, it was like I wasn’t close enough for him. I continued to stare at him. Now, Zane didn’t move. I think he was waiting for any indication from me that I was ok to keep going. My brain was screaming at me to stop, but my body wanted more…much, much more. My heart, well, my heart would either survive or it wouldn’t because today I was determined to soak up all the happy I could get. As I looked him in the eyes I spoke softly, “I’m sorry. I’m going to kill the moment here by talking too much.” “It’s ok, Emme. You aren’t ruining anything and if you need to stop just tell me.” I took in a deep breath and searched his face.

“I’m not ready for all that you have to offer,” I started and pressed my hips into his a bit so he’d catch my drift. He groaned. “Which, by the way, congratulations. From what I can tell there is a lot there to offer.” He chuckled. I continued, “It’s just going to be friendship for me, Zane. And I’m not sure I’ll ever get to a point where I can give more than that. In fact, I’m certain that I won’t ever be able to give more than that, but I think you are one of the good ones.” I paused a moment. Zane waited patiently while I took the time I needed. Finally, I said, “Thank you for giving me the chance to feel some happiness this morning, this afternoon, and tonight. Even now, Zane, you have no idea what you are giving to me every time you kiss me. I don’t want to stop now, but I don’t want to mislead you either.” “Em, we don’t have to do anything you aren’t ready for. I’d never pressure you to do that. Whatever you can handle is all we do.” I stared at him wishing things had been different, wishing that my life hadn’t been total shit for the past couple of years, and wishing that I could follow my heart. “Tell me sweetheart, what do you want?” My voice just a hair over a whisper, I answered, “I want you to kiss me, Zane. And I want you to touch me.” “I need you to be clear, Emme. You want kissing and touching. Anywhere off limits?” We could easily see each other up close, but it was dark enough that I wasn’t worried about Zane seeing my scar. Confident in that, I shook my head before I whispered, “Help me find my happy tonight.” Zane’s eyes heated and he rolled me to my back on the deep cushions of the couch. He settled his hips in the space between my legs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my hands went to his hair. His head came down and he kissed me good. Insanely good. One of Zane’s hands was at my waist. As he kissed me, that hand traveled slowly up my side and came to rest just beneath my breast. I wanted him to keep going, but he stopped. I moaned and I moved my hips trying to get him to do what I wanted, but his hand stayed put. I pulled my mouth from his finally and begged, “Zane, please.” “What, Emme? What do you want?” “Touch me, please.” That was all the encouragement he needed because his thumb stroked from the underside of my breast, back and forth across the fabric covering my hardened nipple. It took me to another level of excitement and I was aching to find that release. Zane’s hand finally moved to cover my breast and he gently squeezed. I’m not sure how long passed before he pulled back to rest his ass on his heels. His hands went to the hem of the shirt I was wearing. I lifted myself up enough so that he could pull the shirt up over my head. Wanting to feel (and see) the skin of his chest and abdomen I sat up in front of him and my

hands went to the hem of his shirt. I began to push the shirt up and Zane used one arm to reach behind his neck and pull the shirt over his head. I took in the sight of him. He was flawless. “Wow,” I murmured and swallowed hard. “What is it, Em?” I looked up at him through hooded eyes and asked, “May I touch you?” He grinned at me and confessed, “Be pretty fucking disappointed if you didn’t, sweetheart.” I smiled and touched my fingertips to his abdomen. It was solid muscle and even though he had just had a huge dinner followed by dessert you couldn’t tell. His abs were rippling. I trailed my fingers up his solid chest and brushed my fingertips across his nipples before gliding my hands back down. At that moment, I felt his hand at the center of my back, right at the clasp of my bra. I looked up to him and he asked, “Ok?” I nodded. Zane effortlessly unclasped my bra and put both hands to my shoulders. He leaned forward and gently pushed me back so I was lying on the couch again. His fingers grasped the straps of my bra and slid them down my arms. When he pulled back to look at me I kept my arm close to my side to hide the scar just in case there was enough light for him to see it. “Christ, Emme. You are so damn sexy,” his gravelly voice filtered through my ears. Zane settled his hips once again between my legs. His lips came to mine for a moment to kiss me quickly before he began trailing kisses down my throat. I felt his hands at my breasts and I moaned at the feel of his strong hands on me while his solid body covered mine. It felt safe. It felt good. Zane’s mouth traveled down the center right between my breasts. He used his hands to press them together next to his face as he inhaled. Then, he lifted his head just enough to one side to take a nipple into his mouth. “Oh God,” I said, my voice ragged. It had been so long since I had felt this. It was too much. Zane’s mouth worked one breast before moving to the other. The soles of my feet were pressed into the couch and I used them as leverage to work my hips. If I didn’t find my release soon I was certain I’d die. I’m not sure if it was his instincts or if he was just a ready for more, but Zane’s mouth traveled down my body at that moment. His hands came to the waistband of the leggings and he dug his fingers in. He looked up at me and confirmed, “Good?” I loved that he was making sure I was ok before he did anything new. I nodded. Zane

slid my leggings down my legs. He tossed them to the side and kissed his way up one leg before his face was right at my center. He inhaled my scent, growled, and wrapped his fingers around the strips of fabric at my hips. He pulled my thong down my legs and tossed it aside. His hand traveled slowly up my thigh, searching. Just before he reached the treasure he was looking for his eyes came to mine. With his eyes focused on mine, he gently pressed his fingers against my sex. My eyes fluttered closed and I took in a deep breath. I needed this. Zane didn’t move. I finally opened my eyes and looked at him. He smiled at me and pressed his thumb to my clit as he pushed one finger inside me. I moaned, loudly. Zane’s finger moved in and out of me while his thumb gave me the friction I’d been so desperately searching for moments ago. He took his other hand to my breast and bent his head to take it into his mouth. It felt glorious. “Oh, Zane. Fuck, please don’t stop,” I moaned feeling myself coming closer and closer to the edge. His head shot up with a grin; he looked at my face, but he gently pinched and rolled my nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand was still working my sex, though he now had two fingers inside me, and I could feel it coming. “Find it and take it, Emme. Get your happy, sweetheart.” And that’s when I yelled out his name and found my happy. It took me a minute or two to come down from my orgasm, but when I did I looked at Zane who was now lying beside me propped up on his elbow with his head resting in hand. Even though I wasn’t sure how it was possible I realized how hungry I still was for him. “What is that look?” he asked. “I don’t know. How do I look?” “A few minutes ago, you were looking really fucking sexy. Now, still sexy, but you have a look I’ve not seen before.” I decided to be brave. He just gave me the best kind of happy after giving it to me in different ways all day long. I figured he deserved to have a little bit of his own. I just wasn’t sure how he’d react. I swallowed hard, trying to find the courage. “I can tell when you have something to say and you’re trying to figure out how to say it. You do what you are doing right now. Just say it, Em.” I took in a deep breath and said, “Ok. So, the look you just saw is new because I’ve never considered doing what I’d really like to do right now.” Zane looked down at me and the look on his face changed, but he said nothing. “I’d like to taste you, Zane.” I felt him go solid next to me before he said, “Emme, fuck sweetheart, I am not in any way turning that down, but you don’t have to do that. I don’t want you to feel like you need to do anything simply because I did what I just did for you. Seeing you like that was beautiful and easily its own reward.” “I appreciate you saying that and reassuring me, but I really want to do this,” I began.

I pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth for a moment to think and then said, “Please, Zane. Will you let me put my mouth on you?” “Fuck me. I don’t think I’d ever be able to say no to you,” he admitted. I smiled at him and pushed up on the couch. I put a hand to his shoulder and pushed him back on the couch. I maneuvered my body so that my scar was on the opposite side facing away from him. Then, I crawled down his body and settled in between his legs. I took my hands to the waistband of his jeans where I wrapped my fingers on the inside and kept my thumbs on the outside by the button. I looked up at him and could see the intensity in his face. I slowly opened the top button of the jeans before I moved to pull the zipper down. I did it agonizingly slow. My hands went back to the waistband of the jeans at his hips and I began to inch them down. He lifted to help me and then settled back again. I looked at him there on the couch in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs and had all the proof I needed that this man was exquisite. Much like he did to me I ran my hands up his muscled thighs to the goods. I placed my hand over him and squeezed gently. He groaned. Deciding that torture wouldn’t be nice I moved to pull the boxer briefs down. Once they were gone I confirmed what I had pretty much felt to be true. This man deserved to be congratulated on what he was sporting underneath it all. I only hoped I’d be able to fit enough of him in my mouth to make it good for him. I wrapped my hand around him and lowered my head toward his beautiful cock. With one last look up at his face I saw how much he wanted this and how much restraint he was using. Finally, I put him out of his misery when I wrapped my mouth around him and ran my tongue along the underside of his length. I heard the groans coming from the back of his throat and that only served to motivate me. Slowly, I lifted my head so that my mouth was just around the tip. I pressed a kiss there before taking him back in my mouth. Moving up and down his shaft, I changed my pace and was now moving quickly. Wanting to draw out his pleasure and make this really good for him I took him out of my mouth and moved to his balls. I licked and then sucked each one into my mouth before running my tongue up along the underside of his shaft. “Emme,” he said, his voice the sexiest I’d ever heard it. I pulled him into my mouth again and moaned. I would do this forever just to hear that voice. I kept my hand planted at the root of his shaft and worked him with my mouth. Minutes later he said, “Sweetheart, you’ve got to stop.” I froze immediately and sat up. “What’s wrong?” I asked, thinking I had mistaken everything I had heard coming from him. “Nothing at all, but I’m going to come if you don’t stop,” he answered quickly. Relief swept through me and I said, “I want you to have a little happy today, too, Zane.” I wrapped my hand around him again, took him in my mouth, and heard him groan. I picked up my pace, felt him swell inside my mouth, and took everything he gave me while he said my name in his sexy voice. When he finished, I sat up and looked at him.

He was already sitting up and coming toward me. I froze for a minute unsure of what he was doing when he got close and whispered, “You aren’t the only one who gets a taste tonight. I’m eating now.” With that, Zane gripped my hips and pulled me toward him. My head fell back on the couch and Zane’s head disappeared between my legs. Within seconds his mouth was on me and he was eating. Even though I already admitted to myself (and Monroe) that he was good with his mouth, Zane proved that I wasn’t wrong in giving him credit where credit was due. He licked, sucked, and feasted on me. It didn’t take long before I felt the orgasm building. “Fuck, don’t stop,” I moaned. “Zane, please.” He didn’t relent. He kept giving. Seconds later I was coming and screaming his name. I came down from the high and was utterly spent and useless. I rolled to my side, my scar against the couch, and buried my face in Zane’s chest. “Wow,” I said. He chuckled. “Tell me about it. Just found another thing to add to the list of things you do really fucking well,” he said. I smiled against his skin and said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He didn’t say anything. He just wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to him. “Thank you, Zane.” “For what, sweetheart?” “For giving me these memories today. For making me feel good, in more ways than one. But, most of all, thank you for respecting me enough tonight to allow me to set the pace and to not push for more than I could handle.” Zane went solid and said, “You’re welcome, Emme, but you don’t need to thank me for it. I understand your appreciation. I got something out of today, too, and I don’t just mean physically.” “This feels nice,” I admitted, enjoying the warmth and security I felt wrapped up in his arms. We stayed like that for a long while before he said, “Need to ask you something, Em.” I pulled back to look at him. “You thanked me for respecting you tonight. For respecting the limits and boundaries with regard to your body. Did someone ever not give that to you?” I closed my eyes and exhaled. I didn’t want to get angry and ruin the day, but I’d said too much. It wasn’t his fault; it was my own. Instead of answering him I said, “Zane? Please don’t take away my happy today.” He stayed silent a moment. Finally, he grabbed a blanket from the corner of the

couch, draped it over us, pulled me closer to his body wrapping his arms tighter around me, and mumbled under his breath, “Motherfucker.” And I knew he wasn’t referring to me when he said it. Thankfully, he respected me again and didn’t push me any further. That’s when I knew he was definitely one of the good ones. I only wished I could give him what he wanted. I decided earlier that morning in Zane’s truck to make the day happy and to let go completely for just one day. I had done that. It was a huge step for me and I was proud of myself for it. On that thought, I forgot about the bad and settled into the good that Zane gave me.



Chapter 9 Emme “I’m so afraid I’m going to fall.” I was currently standing at the top of the beginner’s slope next to Zane at Parks Ridge Ski Resort. Nikki and Monroe arrived early this morning and we all met at the lodge bright and early. Charley had gotten lessons from Wes weeks ago, so she knew what she was doing. I had never been on a snowboard before in my life. Nikki and Monroe were in the same boat as me. Stone was sticking with Monroe while Luke stayed to teach Nikki. “First, we’re on fresh powder here, Emme,” Zane began. “If you fall, it’s not going to hurt. Second, if you do what I say it’ll decrease your chances of falling. Next, I’m right here and I’m not going to leave your side the entire time we’re out here. If I see you going down, I’ll catch you. I would never let you get hurt, sweetheart.” I sucked in a breath at his words. I genuinely believed he would do whatever he had to just to be certain I didn’t get hurt. I felt his words deep down in my soul. I took in a deep breath and said, “Ok. I’m going to go now.” “Good. Remember, keep your knees bent and if you feel like you are going too fast just lean back on your heel edge or turn to your toe edge. That will stop you.” I nodded and started to go down the hill. I didn’t make it more than a couple feet before I felt off balance. I was about to go down on my ass when I felt Zane catch me. “Thank you,” I said, standing up on the board again. I felt like I had such a long way to go to get to the bottom. How was this considered the beginner hill? “Keep going, Em. You have to keep trying.” I kept going. This time I made it a little farther than I did on the first attempt. Unfortunately, though, I went tumbling and fell face first into the snow. I’m not sure if he felt bad or what, but Zane went down with me. Given he was one of the top snowboarders in the world I knew he didn’t accidentally fall. I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t willing to let me look like an idiot on my own. “Don’t stand up,” he advised. “You didn’t keep your knees bent and you didn’t stay in the squatting position. When you stand straight up like that, it’s going to make you more prone to falling forward like you just did.” “Oh,” I said, my voice laced with disappointment. “This is so much harder than it looks.” “You’re doing great, Em. You went much farther that time. Just remember what I

told you about your stance.” “It hurts, though.” A look of concern washed over his face. “What does, sweetheart?” “My thighs. I stay in that position too long and it makes my thighs and my ass start to burn.” He grinned at me and said, “You’re using muscles you aren’t accustomed to using. When it starts to burn, use your edge to slow yourself down and stop. Then you can take a break for a minute.” “Ok.” Zane stood up and helped me up. I started again. I rode down a bit and began to feel the burning in my thighs. Not wanting to fall again I tried to do what Zane said. I leaned back on my heel edge, which made my thighs burn even more, but I eventually came to a stop. He immediately came up behind me, put his arms underneath mine and said, “Give it to me.” “What?” I asked. “Your weight. Give it to me to take the pressure off your legs for a minute.” I leaned back into him and gave him my weight. “Oh, that’s such a relief,” I said, practically moaning. “Christ, Em. Can you not be sexy right now?” I turned my head to look up at him and gave him an innocent smile. He looked down at me and just shook his head at me before he said, “Really want to kiss you right now.” I immediately stood up and took my weight off him. “Emme, relax. I said I wanted to. That doesn’t mean I would just do it and I already know what your expectations are for this weekend. I’m not going to go against your wishes, no matter how much I want to.” The problem is that I wanted him to kiss me, too. If I had stayed there in his arms a second longer I would have probably told him to do it. I needed to listen to my brain for the next few days because my body and my heart were going to get me into trouble. On that thought, I said nothing to Zane and took off down the hill again. I don’t know if it was determination to get away or if Zane’s words about what to do on the board were sinking in, but I made it the rest of the way down the hill without falling. When I stopped at the bottom, I bent down to unstrap one foot. When I stood up, Zane was standing in front of me. He was glaring a bit and his jaw was clenched. “What?” I asked, a little nervous at his demeanor. “Proud of you. Congratulations on making it the rest of the way down successfully.” Ok, definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Thank you, Zane. I had a great teacher.” “Yeah, one you want to run away from, unfortunately.” I looked away and said, “I’m sorry. This is difficult for me.” He put two fingers to my jaw and turned my head. His eyes searched mine a moment before he said, “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said that. I know where you stand, Em, but it’s not exactly a walk in the park for me. You’re sexy and cute; that’s a lethal combination.” I gasped and looked away again. It was at moments like that when he said those things that reminded me of what happened that I realized how much I needed to pull back. It was unfair to him to be stuck in this grey area where he wanted more and I couldn’t give it. “Can we try to ride down the hill again?” I asked, desperate that he wouldn’t call me out on being a chicken and avoiding the conversation. He was pensive as he looked at me a few moments. Eventually, he nodded and we walked to the lift together. Yep, he was one of the good ones and I was a shitty, shitty person. We all spent the rest of the morning and afternoon with the girls getting riding lessons from the guys, stopping only to have lunch in the lodge. “I think I speak for all my girls when I say we’ve had enough riding for today,” Charley began. “But, I think we’d all love to watch a little pipe riding if you guys are up to it.” “Oooh, that sounds like fun,” Nikki sang. “I’m good to ride for a bit,” Stone responded. “You guys up for it?” “I’m down,” Luke answered. Wes and Zane both nodded their agreement. As everyone began walking toward the pipe I took off toward the lodge. “Hey, Em,” Charley called out. “Where are you going?” “My camera is in the car. Thought I’d grab it and take some pictures.” “Ok,” she answered. “Meet us over there?” I nodded. The girls turned to start walking toward the pipe and the guys stayed there watching me. I took in their expressions and my eyebrows drew together. I didn’t know what their deal was, but I wasn’t about to stand around and find out. I turned around and started walking toward the lodge. “Emme,” I heard Zane call. I turned back around and saw him jogging toward me. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Nothing. I’m walking with you.” “I’m just going to grab my camera, Zane. I’ll be right back.” “I know, but you aren’t walking out by yourself. I decided not to argue with him on it. “Ok.” Zane and I walked out through the lodge to the parking lot. I grabbed my camera from the car and we walked back out to the mountain to meet the others at the pipe. Zane went over to meet the guys and I stayed with my girls. I started snapping pictures as the guys rode. I photographed people a lot and candid shots were what I typically did, but this was a whole different level. I really enjoyed trying to capture the guys in the middle of a trick at just the right angle. “Charley, babe, you hit the jackpot with that one,” Nikki said, referring to Wes. “And, just sayin’, considering those are his boys and we’re your girls, we’re pretty freaking lucky right now, too!” I smiled. This was our Nikki. She always spoke her mind and it was one of the things I think we all loved most about her. “Can’t say I disagree,” Monroe added. “I picked up the snowboarding pretty quickly, but was tempted to fall just to have Stone’s hands on me. He’s got good, strong hands. Manly hands. It’s such a shame I’ve got all these layers on.” My eyes rounded as I looked to Charley. Monroe was a virgin and we didn’t hear her say things like that very often. When she did, it always threw me. “I know. I told Wes I loved him,” Charley said. “What?” Monroe asked. “Christmas Day. We went to his place for a while after going to his parents’ house. He gave me my gift, which was this board and the job offer,” she said as she gestured to the board. “In that moment, I knew I loved him. Everything he makes me feel tells me this is the real thing. I didn’t want to wait any longer to tell him.” “What did he say?” I asked. “At first, nothing.” “Oh my God. I would have been mortified,” I shared. Charley laughed. “He didn’t say anything because he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to his bedroom, kissing me the whole way there. Then, he made love to me.” “Well then, I guess he was feeling the same way,” Monroe said. Charley nodded and said, “Yeah. He said it to me after we made love.” “So happy for you, babe. You deserve this,” Nikki began. She turned her attention to me and said, “You’re next.” I looked away.

“Don’t play shy with me, Em. With the way Zane looks at you and the way you look at him when you think nobody is watching, your time is coming. Everyone can feel the sexual tension between you two,” she continued. I looked at my girls. Charley and Nikki were simply smiling at me. I eyed Monroe. She gave me a smile and a wink. Shit. I didn’t want this. They were already getting ideas. Of course, it wasn’t exactly like their assumptions were far off the mark. I knew how Zane looked at me and I knew how I looked at him. If they only knew about our rendezvous two nights ago. I didn’t want to outright lie to them so I stayed silent and looked back to where the guys were riding. Thankfully, my friends didn’t push me any further. We stayed a little while longer watching the guys. I continued snapping shots of them riding and a few of my girls. Zane, Wes, Luke, and Stone walked over to us when they finished and we all decided it was time for dinner. We spent a couple hours at dinner and it was a really great time. There was no pressure or awkwardness and the entire night was laid-back fun. After dinner, the guys came back to the condo with us and hung for a while. Throughout dinner and then back at the condo Zane stayed true to his word and respected my wishes to not give anyone anything to talk about regarding the two of us. After hanging with us for a bit, the guys took off, but not before giving us a heads up on the festivities for tomorrow night. Charley, Nikki, Monroe, and I stayed up late catching up with each other. Nikki and Monroe filled us in on the happenings back in California. Charley talked a bit about the new job she’d be starting on Monday working as a graphic designer for Blackman Boards with Wes. Hours later, we called it quits for the night. I was exhausted and hoping for a good night’s sleep free from a nightmare. When I woke late the next morning I let out a sigh of relief. Other than Wednesday night, last night was the only night over the last week that I slept through the night without a nightmare. I heard a chime come from my phone. I rolled over and swiped the phone off the nightstand. Zane had sent a text. Got a package in the mail yesterday, but didn’t realize it until I got home last night. I smiled at my phone and sent back a reply. Anything good? His response was simple and to the point. Fucking beautiful. As I read his text I could hear his voice in my head. It melted my heart. On Thursday morning, I went through my photos from my day out with Zane on Wednesday. I pulled out some of the best along with the accidentally perfect one of the two of us, edited them, and then by Thursday afternoon I was at the post office mailing Zane a package. I had framed the photo of the two of us. I sent him a reply.

So I’m guessing you liked it then? Zane: No doubt. Thank you. Me: You’re welcome. Zane: Sleep ok last night? I closed my eyes. He never forgot and he cared enough to ask. I was overcome with such emotion my eyes welled with tears. I tapped out a quick response as I felt the tears slide down my face. Me: Success. Zane: Happy to hear it. Look forward to seeing you tonight. Me: Same here. Thanks for being so great yesterday, even when I was shitty to you. Zane: You weren’t shitty, Em. Me: I’ll do better tonight. Promise. Zane: You don’t need to do anything. You were fine. Me: Ok, agree to disagree? Zane: Ok. See you in a few hours, sweetheart. Me: Later, Zane. I put my phone back on the nightstand and rolled to my back again. I stared at the ceiling and heard, “Ok, I’m going to need an explanation on what all that was.” Shit. Fuck. Fuck. I forgot Monroe slept in my bed last night. I glanced over to her and saw she was smiling brightly at me. “How long have you been awake?” I asked. “Long enough to know that you went through a whole range of emotions in less than five minutes.” “So pretty much the entire time?” She nodded and questioned, “What did I miss, Emme?” I looked back up at the ceiling, debating on what to do. It was too late to hide it and I refused to lie to her. “Promise to keep quiet about it?” “You know I will if that’s what you want.” “I made a choice on Wednesday. Zane asked me to spend the day with him and I agreed. He picked me up early in the morning and took me to Yellowstone. On the way there I decided that I was going to give myself one day to soak up all the happiness that I could. I wasn’t going to do anything out of my comfort zone, but I needed to feel good for just one day, Monroe.”

“How was it?” she asked. I looked back to her and whispered, “Incredible.” She smiled at me and I could see the wetness in her eyes. “Em,” she said, her voice just a touch over a whisper. “Mama, it was amazing. I haven’t felt so good in so many years. We spent the better part of the day at Yellowstone. It was beautiful. I took tons of pictures; I’ll show them to you later. After, we went back to Zane’s house. I made dinner and dessert. He ate the dinner I made and he loved it. We played two games of pool and then we had dessert on the couch. After dessert and after an entire day of such good, he gave me more happy than I’ve had in years.” Her eyes got big and she asked, “You slept with him?” “No. We didn’t go that far. I told him before things got too crazy that I wasn’t going to be able to go there with him, but there was a lot of kissing and touching and oral displays of affection. He was so good to me, Monroe. I mean, aside from him being really good at all of that, the way he respected my boundaries was heartwarming. He never did anything without making sure I was ok with it first. It’s like he knew I needed that security. And now I feel like such a crappy person.” “What? Why?” she asked, concerned. “He wants more, Monroe. I don’t mean physically…though, I’m guessing he wants that, too. He wants to see what else there could be between us. I keep telling him I can only offer friendship. What kind of a person tells someone they can only be friends with them, but then does what I did with him?” “You told him this before you two did anything?” I nodded. “Emme, you can’t feel guilty. You did what you did. I’m sure it was just as great for him as it was for you. And it seems like it was really great for you, right?” “I want it, Monroe. What he gave me on Wednesday is something I want every day for the rest of my life.” “And he wants to give it to you?” “Yep.” “So take it, Em. Take it and enjoy it for as long as he wants to give it to you. And while he’s giving it to you, I know you’ll be giving back just as good as you get. Don’t stay in this place where you seclude yourself from everything good and remain numb for the rest of your life. You deserve so much more than that.” “I wish I could. I can’t get out of my own head, though. And then the nightmares come back and remind me why I can’t do this.” “Emme, you need to see someone about them. Don’t let the past ruin your chances at a happy life. It breaks my heart to see you giving up.” I stayed silent because I had nothing else to say.

“So what happened this morning?” she asked. “We had taken a picture together at Yellowstone. I told him I’d give him a copy. I edited and printed it on Thursday morning and sent it out to him that afternoon. He got it last night when he got home after leaving here. He said it’s, and I quote, fucking beautiful. And you know what, Monroe? He’s right. It is fucking beautiful.” I paused a moment trying to settle myself so that I didn’t start crying. “He always asks how I’ve slept. He cares if I’ve had nightmares and I don’t know what to do with the concern he shows for me. I’ve never had that.” “I love this guy, Emme. I understand completely where your head is at and I know you have every reason to be hesitant, but this guy is special. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for the things that Seth did. I’m not going to push you or try to make you do anything you don’t feel prepared for, but I am asking you to think about it.” “Ok, Monroe. I’ll think about it.” “That’s my girl. You ready for some food? I’m starved.” “Yeah, me too.” With that, Monroe and I made our way out the kitchen for some food and found Charley and Nikki were already there. I spent the rest of my morning and afternoon soaking up the goodness that having our foursome together again brought, even if it was only for a couple days. A few hours later, the four of us were ready for a night out and we looked smoking hot, too. Nikki, our resident badass, was in a pair of black skinny leg, sparkly pants with a white tank, black leather motorcycle jacket, and a pair of black stilettos. She wore her hair down in big, loose curls. It was tough for her to ever style it up since she had so much of it and it was so thick and heavy. Apart from her porcelain skin and ice blue eyes her jetblack hair was, without question, her greatest physical feature. Charley had a silver sequin mini-skirt on with a black cap-sleeve top and a pair of black booties. She pulled her platinum blonde hair into a delicate chignon that sat at the nape of her neck. Monroe, with all the gloriousness that was her legs, donned a pair of gold-sequined short shorts, a white drapey tank, and a black blazer. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head. The girl was, no doubt, a sex kitten. And then there was me. I didn’t go with sequins like my girls did, but my black, skinny leg leather pants had a bit of a shimmer to them. I wore a black tube top with a crisp white blazer. On my feet, I went with my kneehigh black stiletto boots. While I didn’t have nearly as much hair as Nikki, I did have a lot of thick, long hair so I typically wore it down. Tonight, I decided to put some curls in my hair and kept it down. I had just taken a couple pictures of the four of us when Zane, Wes, Stone, and Luke arrived. The guys came in and a there was a bit of banter between Charley and Nikki. While everyone else was preoccupied with the two of them Zane looked to me and ran his eyes up and down my body. When his eyes came back to mine, he smiled and gave me a wink. I smiled back at him. Monroe broke up the friendly exchange between the girls. Before we took off I asked everyone if I could grab a quick photo of all of us. The guys agreed and because everyone had pretty much paired up — Wes with Charley, Luke with

Nikki, and Stone with Monroe — there was no choice but for me to come stand directly in front of Zane. As soon as I was standing close enough to him, Zane reached out and gripped my hip with one hand and pulled my back to his front. His other arm came around the top of my chest so that his hand was wrapped around the opposite shoulder. My hands instinctively came up to hold on to his forearm. It reminded me of the photo we took at Yellowstone on my cell phone. The timer on the camera went off and it snapped the photo. I walked over to the camera and checked out the photo to make sure it was good. Then, we all took off for the celebration at Lou’s. The limo pulled up outside of Lou’s, we all climbed out, and made our way up the stairs to the saloon. Not long after we arrived, Elle took the stage and performed. Elle worked full-time as a singer and the locals loved her. She traveled and played gigs, but mostly, she stayed local and performed at Lou’s. Elle’s set that night lasted about an hour. We all sat around talking and enjoying each other’s company. Charley, Nikki, Monroe, Elle, and I all made our way out to the dance floor. The guys refused to dance, but were at a table right near the dance floor so they watched us the entire time. We had been out on the dance floor for quite some time when I felt a firm body behind me. I went solid and didn’t move. “Relax, sweetheart. It’s just me,” I heard the gravelly voice say into my ear. I immediately relaxed and leaned back into him. Then, I realized I was in the middle of a dance floor surrounded by all of my friends. I looked to them to see that they were all preoccupied with one of the guys. Elle had taken off at some point. “Love these pants, Emme,” Zane said as I felt his arousal pressing into my ass. I closed my eyes and arched my back so my ass pushed a bit more into him. He groaned. I turned around to look at him, but didn’t say anything. He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me toward him. “Want to start the year with you in my arms, Em. Will you give me that?” I took a moment to think and realized I had asked Zane for a lot the last two times we were alone together. The least I could do was give him this one thing. I nodded. The countdown to midnight began. I wrapped my arms around Zane’s neck and looked him in the eyes. His were heated as he looked down at me. As the countdown got to five Zane pulled me even closer to his body and started mouthing the numbers. When the clock struck midnight, I heard people shouting and wishing each other a ‘Happy New Year’, but I didn’t have the opportunity to really focus on any of that because Zane bent his head to mine and pressed a firm kiss to my lips. When he pulled away his eyes searched my face. Since tradition states that it’s practically a crime to be in the presence of a hot, single guy on this holiday and not kiss him, I decided to not become a fugitive. I used my hands around his neck to pull him toward me, pushed up on my toes, and leaned in to kiss him.

His mouth took mine and we kissed. I eventually pulled away, looked him in the eyes, and said, “Happy New Year, Zane.” “Happy New Year, Emme.” Not long after, we all decided to call it a night and head out. On the way to the condo, Nikki, Monroe, and I all urged Charley to spend the night with Wes. Nikki and Monroe knew, as did I, that Charley hadn’t yet spent a single night at Wes’ place. She did this because she knew there was the very real possibility that I’d have a nightmare. I felt horribly guilty about it and unfortunately, without someone there for me she would never have agreed to leave me alone just to spend the night with Wes. I hated being that burden in her life. The guys walked us in and waited while Charley packed a bag. Before leaving, each of the guys gave each of us a hug, and in some cases a kiss, and wished us a ‘Happy New Year.’ When Zane came up to me he held on to me just a bit longer and a little tighter. It was the greatest feeling. Everyone said good-bye after Wes told us what time to be at his place tomorrow. After everyone left, Nikki and Monroe followed me to my bedroom where we all changed out of our outfits and put on sweats and t-shirts. “Ok, babe,” Nikki began as she sat down on my bed. “You’ve got to fill us in on the details with Zane.” I looked at her, but said nothing. “Em, the guy has got it bad for you. And I caught the tail end of that kiss. Don’t act like there’s nothing going on.” “I was just following through on a tradition. When it’s New Year’s Eve and the clock strikes midnight, you need to kiss somebody. He was close enough, so I gave in and kissed him.” “Ugh, fine. Don’t share. I’ll just have to gush about Luke. But, will you at least answer one question?” she asked. I looked to her waiting for it. “Is he a good kisser?” I gave both Nikki and Monroe a devilish smile and answered, “Let’s just say that it would have been a tragedy if I never experienced his mouth on mine. The man has got some skills.” Monroe squealed with excitement as she fell to her back on my bed and said, “Oh, I so love this!” I couldn’t help but look at my girls and laugh. Boy did I miss having them around all the time.



Chapter 10 Emme Run, Emme. Run as fast as you can. You’ve got to get away. Don’t let him catch you. Keep moving forward. One step at a time. I keep telling myself to run. Left, right, left, right. I see the light in the distance. Please let me get past it. With each step, it gets brighter and brighter. I’m so close now and I see something new. A figure in the shadows beyond the light. Oh no. The figure moves out of the shadows and into the light toward me. I gasp when I see Zane. “Zane,” I call as I keep running toward him. “Come here, Emme. Come to me and let me help you. Let me protect you, sweetheart.” I keep running toward him as he stops and waits for me. He’s so close yet, so far away. I am nearly there when I lose my footing and go crashing to the ground. I look up to see Zane there looking down at me. “You’ve got to come to me, Em. Get up and run, sweetheart, and I’ll never let anything hurt you again. You need to come to me.” “I can’t, Zane. I can’t.” “That’s right; you aren’t going anywhere, Emily,” I hear Seth’s voice say from somewhere alongside me. I feel a cold, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach simply hearing his voice. “I control you. You belong to me.” “No. Please, no. Let me go.” “Never, Emily,” he begins. Then he kicks me in my side. “Never.” I do my best to curl up into a ball to shield myself, but he continues to kick me. “Get up, Emme. You’ve got to get up,” I hear Zane say. “Sweetheart, come to me so I can keep you safe.” Seth bends down and rolls me over so I’m on my back. He grabs the neckline of my shirt at my chest and lifts me ever so slightly off the pavement and punches me in the face. My head jerks to the side and he throws me back down to the ground. He leans down and whispers in my ear, “You aren’t going anywhere. You belong to me forever. And if you keep running or try to get away I’ll kill him.” Then, he pulls out a gun. “No!” I scream as I find the strength to sit up. “Oh my God, Emme. It’s ok. It was a nightmare. You’re safe,” I hear Nikki’s voice

filter into my head as her arms wrap around me. Nikki’s here. She’s here. I’m here. Seth is not. I hear the door to my bedroom open, but I don’t look. I’m too scared, too worried. Is he coming for me? “What happened?” Monroe asked. “She had a nightmare. I tried to wake her and she wouldn’t.” I feel the wetness sliding down my cheeks. “Zane,” I whisper. “You want him here, Em?” Monroe asked as she sat in front of me on the bed. “Oh my God, Zane.” “Call him,” Monroe said to Nikki. I shake my head. “No, no, no. Please. I don’t want him to know what happened. And, it’s not safe; he’s not safe,” I answer, panic filling my voice. “It’s ok, Em. He doesn’t have to know, but if you need him we’ll get him here.” I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I completely broke down and cried. I just kept crying. “Where’s your phone, Em?” Nikki asked. “I’m calling him. You kept saying his name while I tried to wake you.” I looked at Nikki, scared out of my mind. “It’s going to be ok, Emme. You don’t have to tell him anything, but you want his comfort right now,” Monroe said as she grabbed my phone off the nightstand and handed it to Nikki. Nikki handed me my phone so that I could unlock it. I scrolled to his name and handed the phone back to her. She looked down at the display seeing his name and chuckled. I didn’t care in that moment that she knew. “No. Sorry, Zane. It’s Nikki,” she said, pausing a moment. “It’s Emme. She just woke from a horrible nightmare and she is in a bad state. She’s called for you several times. Is there any way…” she said before she stopped. “Right. Thank you. We’ll see you soon.” I looked to her. “He’s coming. He said he’d be here in ten minutes.” “Please don’t tell him,” I begged. “Don’t worry, Emme. We won’t say anything.” My body ached. It hurt so bad. The tears continued to fall. Nikki and Monroe sat with me and kept their arms around me as I cried. We heard the doorbell ring and that’s when Monroe got up to go let Zane in. Not even a minute later, I felt him walk into the room, but I didn’t look at him. The

tears were still streaming down my face. “Jesus Christ,” he mumbled. In the next instant I felt him standing right by my side. “We’re sorry to call you so early Zane, but…” Nikki said before Zane cut her off. “Don’t apologize. Would have been pissed if you hadn’t called. If she ever needs me, you call. Doesn’t matter what time it is, I’ll be here.” Nikki’s face came level with mine. She was blurry since my eyes were filled with tears. “We’ll give you two some time, babe. You need us you just yell, got me?” I nodded and then barely rasped out, “Please don’t tell Charley. She’s going to worry.” “You’ve got it, babe.” A few seconds later I heard the door shut. Zane rustled around a few minutes as I sat there staring straight ahead, my eyes filled with tears. I was so afraid for him. The next thing I knew Zane was in the bed next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. That’s when I lost it. I fisted his shirt in my hands and buried my face in his throat. I cried. I cried for him. I cried for me. I cried for everything that I wished I could have, but never would. I cried until there were no more tears left. Zane held me and comforted me without a word through it all. The crying eventually ceased. We sat in silence a while before Zane asked, “It’s ok if the answer is no, Emme, but do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head. “Ok.” “Zane?” I called. “Yeah, Em?” “Thank you for coming.” “Like I told your girls, Emme, if you ever need me you just need to call me and I’ll be here.” I snuggled into him and his arms tightened around me. “Will you hold me just a little while longer?” “Sweetheart, I’d hold you forever if you’d let me.” If I were ice I would have turned to a puddle at that moment. “You can’t say things like that, Zane,” I said to him. “Why not? It’s the truth.” “Because I can’t handle that. I just stopped crying and that’ll push me over the edge again. Sometimes, we want things that we can’t have. Every time I see your face or hear

your voice it reminds me of how badly I want something that I can’t have. When you say stuff like that, it makes it that much worse for me.” “Emme, if you want me you can have me. I feel like I’ve made it pretty clear that I’m seriously interested in you as more than just friends.” “I can’t, Zane. It’s for your own good. Please trust me on this. Just know that if things were different I would grab on to you so tight and I’d never let you go.” “Breaks my fucking heart, Em. Please tell me what’s eating at you. Let me help you get through it. I promise you if you take that chance on me, I’ll fight this battle with you every fucking step of the way, no matter what it is.” I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and I whispered, “Zane, please. I’m sorry; I can’t.” He let out a frustrated sigh, but squeezed me tight. “It’s ok, sweetheart. I’m still here for you whenever you need me.” Zane stayed with me for a while before I got up and told him I was good. I thanked him again for coming to me and comforting me. He, of course, told me he needed no thanks and that if I ever needed him again he’d be there. I appreciated him so much. After reassuring him that I was fine, which took a lot of effort, he took off and said he’d catch up with us in a couple hours over at Wes’ place. I spent the rest of the morning talking with Nikki and Monroe. They were more than concerned for me and kept pushing to have me schedule an appointment with a doctor to deal with everything that had happened and to hopefully help me get past the nightmares. I listened to their concerns, but had no intentions of following through on seeing a therapist. We had breakfast, got ready, and left the condo to head over to Wes’ place. By the time we arrived everyone else was already there. I was really grateful for Wes’ hospitality. It was so nice to have a laid-back day with all my girls and a couple of really great guys. “Hey Emme,” Wes said as I walked into the kitchen to get a drink while everyone else was in the great room. “Hi Wes. Just wanted to grab a bottle of water if that’s ok.” He chuckled and said, “No problem, Em. You don’t need to ask for water.” I gave him a small smile and then he continued, “I actually wanted to ask you a question. I know you took a couple of pictures when we were riding at Parks Ridge on Friday. Any chance you could send me a couple of the shots you took to check out? If there are some good ones, I would be interested in purchasing them.” “Sure, I can send them to you tomorrow. If you need me to sign a waiver for the rights to the photos, Wes, I’m happy to do it. You don’t need to pay me for them, though.” “How do you support yourself, Emme?” “What do you mean?” “How do you make a living?” he asked.

“With my photography business,” I answered. “Ok, so if I want any of the photos I’ll expect you to send me a bill.” “Wes, you didn’t ask me to take the photos. I did it on my own because I wanted to. If you like any of them you can have them. It’s really not necessary to pay me.” “Pay you for what?” Stone asked as he walked out into the kitchen. “Wanted to look at the shots she took on Friday on the pipe. Told her I might be interested in purchasing some if they were good. She doesn’t want to accept payment.” Stone looked to me and said, “You’re fighting a losing battle, sweet cheeks. He won’t budge on this. Besides, he’s got enough money. If he wants any of them, let him pay for them. He won’t feel it and you deserve to be compensated for your work. If it bothers you that much, give him a discount…not that he needs one.” I rolled my eyes at the both of them. “I’ll email them over to you tomorrow after I edit them,” I assured Wes. He grinned, winked at me, and said, “Appreciate it.” I spent the rest of the day hanging with the girls trying to soak up the last couple hours of having Nikki and Monroe around. It would likely be at least a solid two months, if not longer, before I’d see them again. A couple hours after dinner we made our way back to the condo. Charley came back with us since she’d be starting her new job at Blackman Boards tomorrow. She insisted on going to work on her own. When we got back home I had been worried that Nikki or Monroe would make mention of what happened that morning to Charley, but they kept their word and said nothing to her. I loved Charley and that was precisely why I didn’t want her knowing. She had been so miserable for so long and was finally getting to a place where she was happy. I had no intentions of ruining that for her by bringing up painful memories. The hours passed quickly and the next thing I knew Nikki and Monroe were leaving again to head back to California. It wasn’t easy to see them go, but I knew they’d be back sometime in the next few months to visit again. Thankfully, I didn’t have another nightmare. I didn’t want to make them worry more than I’m sure they already were. After they left I edited the photos for Wes and emailed them over to him. I was surprised at how well some of the shots turned out; at least, I thought they turned out well. I hadn’t done much research on snowboarding photography, but I guess I’d get an answer on whether they were any good if Wes decided he wanted some of them. Two days later, I received an email back from Wes telling me that he wanted to meet up with me about the pictures and ‘some other stuff.’ I was a bit nervous about it, but he said that he would be coming over to the condo that night with Charley and we could chat then. I didn’t have any plans or shoots scheduled for that evening so I agreed. It was just before five thirty that night when Charley and Wes walked through the door. I was sitting in the great room doing some research on my laptop on a venue I’d be shooting an engagement session at the following weekend. “Hey guys,” I said as they walked in.

“Hi, Em,” Charley said. Wes nodded at me. They both came in to the great room and sat down. Charley was acting unusually happy. Something was up. “What’s going on? Why are you in such a good mood?” I asked her. She didn’t answer, but Wes did. “As you know, I got the photos you sent over on Monday. I’ve got to say, Emme, you are an incredible photographer.” I felt my insides warm. It was nice to get that compliment. “Thank you,” I said. “I’m going to need you to bill me for prints and posters of most of the shots, I’ll email you the specific details for each one we’d like later this week. I have something else I want to ask you about, though.” I swallowed hard, feeling a bit nervous about what he wanted to ask. I didn’t think it could be that bad since Charley seemed to be in such a good mood, but still, it was slightly nerve-wracking. “Ok,” I whispered. “Do you have anything planned, for work or otherwise, for approximately the last week to ten days of this month?” he asked. “I don’t think so, let me check my schedule.” I pulled up my calendar on my laptop and noted that I was, in fact, free at the end of January. “All clear,” I said. “Awesome. The X Games are during that last week and we’re going to be debuting the first line in the new series of boards we are releasing. These are the boards that Charley is going to be designing. After seeing the pictures you took this past Friday, I’d really like to have you join us out in Aspen for the X Games. I would need shots of the boards for our marketing material and think you are more than capable of delivering for us.” My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Are you serious?” I asked. “One hundred percent,” he answered. I looked to Charley. “Are you going?” She nodded. “You really think the shots I took were good enough, Wes? I’ve never done extreme sports. Most of my clientele consists of engaged couples and families. I have a few corporate clients, but none of what they have me doing are action shots. It’s typically just shots of new products for marketing purposes. And while candid shots are a big part of

what I do, capturing quality action shots is a whole different thing.” “I’ve been in this business a long time; first, as a rider, and now as a business owner. As a rider, it used to be my goal to do the craziest tricks I could to get shots taken that would end up being used in promotional materials for my sponsors. I saw those shots then and I still see them to this day as a business owner. What you captured on Friday was just as good and, actually in many cases, better than what I’ve seen in all my years in this business. I have complete confidence in your abilities to get this accomplished for us.” “Wow. I really appreciate that, Wes. Thank you,” I began. “Since I don’t have anything else planned for that time, I’ll do it. I’m going to want to do a bit of research and get some practice in ahead of time. Will you get me all the details for the trip so I know when I need to be there, how long I need to book my stay for, and what dates I’ll be shooting?” “I’ll get you the specific dates, but you don’t need to book anything. Blackman Boards will take care of your flight, food, and accommodations while you are there and, of course, we will be paying you for the actual work that you do.” “Are you sure? I don’t mind booking reservations for myself.” He smiled at me and warned, “Don’t insult me, Emme. We have you covered.” “I’m sorry, Wes. I didn’t mean to insult you. I do appreciate your offer. Thank you,” I said as I looked away hoping I hadn’t upset him. When I looked back at Wes and Charley, he had a look of concern on his face and she looked a bit worried. Wes quickly recovered and changed the subject to dinner. I was thankful for the distraction. We ate dinner together that night before I took off to my bedroom. After getting ready for bed I grabbed my laptop and started doing some research on snowboarding photography. Ten minutes in I realized I would benefit from having the real-world experience. I reached out to the phone on my nightstand. I unlocked the phone and scrolled to Zane’s name or, more precisely, the name I had him saved under. I tapped on his name and put the phone to my ear. After two rings, he answered. “Hey, Em.” “Hi, Zane. How’s it going?” I asked. I hadn’t spoken to him since Sunday. We sent a couple of texts back and forth Monday night, but I knew he was training so I tried to give him the time he needed to rest after those full day training sessions. “Better now. What’s up with you?” he asked. “I’m a little scared right now.” “Of what? What’s wrong?” he asked, panic in his voice. “I’m fine, Zane. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to worry you. Wes and Charley came here after they left work because Wes wanted to talk to me about something. After looking at pictures I took on Friday of you, him, Stone, and Luke riding the pipe Wes asked me to go to Aspen for the X Games to take photos for the new board line.”

“You’re going to be with us in Aspen?” he asked. “Us?” “We all always travel together, Em. You going with us?” “Well I agreed to do it, so yes, I’m going.” “Good. So, you said you were scared. Why?” he pressed. “Wes seems completely convinced that I’m more than capable of doing this based on the pictures I took on Friday. I feel like I need more practice before I dive into a thing like this.” “I haven’t seen the pictures, but I don’t doubt you can do it. If you want we can go out on Saturday so you can practice a little. I’ll be training then, too.” “Really? You wouldn’t mind?” “Why would I mind?” “I don’t want to distract you or get in the way. Plus, you are in training. Maybe you have some top-secret tricks up your sleeve. You might not want people seeing them before the Games.” He chuckled. “You planning on taking up snowboarding professionally any time soon?” “No,” I answered meekly. “I think we’re good then. I won’t have to worry about you stealing any of my moves.” “Ok. So, what time should I meet you there?” I asked. “You don’t. I’ll pick you up after training on Friday night and you can stay at my place. We’ll go together on Saturday morning.” “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Zane.” “Em, I’ll keep it strictly platonic. Would really like to spend some time with you, though.” And that’s when I caved. “Ok, fine. You can pick me up on Friday and I’ll stay with you Friday night on one condition,” I said. “Which is?” “I get to use your kitchen that night to make dinner.” “I’m beginning to think you like me only for my kitchen,” he teased. “It’s a good fucking kitchen, Zane.” He laughed. “I’m trying to find the downside to this for me and I’m not sure there is one. It’s a deal, Em.” “Any special dinner requests?” I asked.

“Whatever you want to make. I’m not picky. Just remember, no peas or lima beans.” “Ok, I’ll see what I can do. Thank you, Zane.” “No problem, sweetheart.” “I’ll see you Friday then. Good night.” “Good night, Emme.” I went to bed that night feeling great about my professional life. Even though it felt as though nothing was going right in any other part of my life, this was the one area where I really had no complaints. On that thought, I fell asleep and fortunately, I slept through the night without any nightmares.



Chapter 11 Emme There was a knock at the door. It was a few minutes after five o’clock on Friday evening and I had just finished packing up everything I needed to take to Zane’s house tonight. I walked to the door and opened it. As soon as I opened the door and saw him I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Zane’s beautiful face was smiling back at me. “Hi Zane,” I said. He stared at me a moment, still smiling. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said as he finally stepped inside and pressed a kiss to my forehead. The simple gesture made my heart swell. I stepped back so he could come fully inside. Then, I closed the door. “How was training today?” I asked. “Good. I’m finding that I am more motivated as each day passes. Of course, now I’ve got someone I’m trying to make a lasting impression on going out to Aspen, so that pushes me to train harder every day.” “Snowboarding or not, you’re the kind of guy that leaves a lasting impression no matter what. I think you’ll accomplish your mission.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. “You ready?” he asked. “Yes, but I’ve got a lot of stuff to take. I am going to need some help carrying it all.” “Not a problem.” With that, I led Zane into the kitchen where I had packed the food I was planning for dinner tonight, my camera equipment for tomorrow, and my overnight bag for, well, overnight. As he took in everything I had packed up he just chuckled and walked over to it all. He hoisted everything but the overnight bag up into his arms, looked to me and asked, “How heavy is that?” “Not so heavy that I can’t carry this and something else,” I answered. “Ok. Get that and I’ve got the rest.” The two of us walked out of the front door and I locked up. We made it to the Raptor where Zane put all of my stuff he’d been carrying into the back seat. He then took my overnight bag from me, helped me into the front seat, put my bag in the back, and climbed

in the driver’s seat. At that, we took off to his place. Once we arrived at Zane’s he helped me out of the truck then grabbed my overnight bag and the food. As soon as he opened the door, I immediately walked to the kitchen. He followed behind me and set the food I had packed on the island. “I’m sorry that bag was so heavy,” I began. “I wasn’t sure if you had a rice cooker, so I brought mine. Makes things much easier. I figured you might be hungry after a long day on the mountain. I didn’t want to make something that would take too long, so I decided to make my beef and broccoli. It should only take about twenty-five minutes or so.” “Appreciate it, Em. I’m starved. Going to strip out of these clothes and take a hot shower. I’ll be back before dinner is ready.” I let my eyes roam his body while I licked my lips and swallowed hard at the thought of him stripping out of his clothes and being naked in the shower. I really wanted to join him. Damn. When my eyes made their way back to his I found him looking at me with a questioning look and a cocked eyebrow. Embarrassed, I looked away wishing I could control my body’s reaction to this beautiful man. Zane walked over and stood within inches of me. He brought his fingers to my jaw, turned my head to look at him, and said, “Already gave you my word that I’d respect what you asked for and keep this nonsexual and friendly. I’m trying my hardest to honor that, Em. Problem is, I can see that even you don’t like the decision you’ve made. This needs to be on your terms, but I can tell you want this just as much as I do. The ball is in your court, Emme. This is the last thing I’ll say about this and I won’t bring it up again, but if you decide to follow through on what you really want, feel free to join me upstairs.” With that, he turned around and walked out of the kitchen. I stood there, my body on fire, wishing I had the courage to go after him. Instead, I unpacked the bags and started dinner, hating that I was such a coward. Twenty minutes later, Zane walked back into the kitchen. I had just finished making the food and was ready to serve it. I took out two bowls, filled Zane’s with rice, and then covered it with the steaming hot beef and broccoli. He was sitting at one of the bar stools on the island so I took the bowl over and placed it in front of him. “Smells great, Em. Thanks,” he said. I smiled back at him and said, “You’re welcome.” I turned around to fix myself a bowl and then I joined Zane at one of the barstools next to his. “How is it?” I asked. He finished chewing, swallowed, and replied, “Hope there’s more.” I guess he liked it. Confirmation that he enjoyed and appreciated the food I cooked did things for me I’d never be able to explain. I just let the happiness his affirmation

brought me sink in while we ate dinner. “Favorite color,” Zane blurted after he had filled his bowl with seconds. “What?” I asked. “Your favorite color. What is it?” “Depends.” “On what?” he questioned as he chuckled. “What are we talking about? Clothes? A car? Eyes? I’d pick something different for all of those.” He laughed at me and said, “Ok, tell me those three then.” “Grey, white, and blue. Yours?” “Same subjects?” he confirmed. I nodded. “Black, white, and green.” I smiled. My favorite eye color was blue, which was the color of his eyes. I’m not sure if green was really his favorite eye color or if he was just trying to make me feel good since that was the color of my eyes. Either way, it didn’t matter to me. “Favorite topping on pizza?” I asked. “You don’t even want to know what my favorite food is first?” he retorted. “Are you suggesting that pizza isn’t your favorite food?” I responded. “No, but not sure how you would know that.” “Pizza is like the universal favorite food, Zane. It’s at the top of my list, too. So, favorite topping?” “Peppers and onions. Yours?” “Mushrooms.” “Favorite type of movie?” “Romantic comedy or animated. You?” “Animated? Really?” he asked, disbelievingly. “Tell me that you don’t enjoy watching an animated film. That takes me back to my childhood, where life was simple, easy, and carefree.” “Fair enough. Action or a comedy for me.” I smiled up at him. Zane and I finished eating our dinner and moved to the couch in the great room while throwing question after question at each other in an effort to get to know more about one another. It was the most fun I had had in a very long time, even more fun than some of my recent encounters with Zane, and some of those were really, really fun. I think the reason

I enjoyed this so much was because there was no pressure. It was simply just the two of us getting to know one another and trying to develop a deeper friendship. We spent a lot of time laughing, especially when one of us would give an answer that the other thought was completely absurd. We laughed so much I started getting side stitches. After a while, either we ran out of questions or we both were worn out from the incessant laughing. We stared at each other a beat with an intensity that said so much more than either of us could have expressed with words. For me, it was a bit of longing mixed with fear. That fear was comprised of many things. At the forefront of my mind was always the worry and fear for his safety, but now it was coupled with fear that I’d lose this one day. Zane’s look seemed to be a bit of adoration mixed with frustration. I couldn’t say that I didn’t have those same feelings as well. “Damn, Emme, didn’t realize until just now how much I missed being around you.” “Zane…” I trailed off, not having any other words. “I’m serious, Em. Been training so hard over the last week and was grateful for the times I got to talk with you on the phone, but seeing your face and hearing you laugh in person after such a long week is the greatest reward.” “I’ve missed you, too.” “I am exhausted. My body took a beating this week and I really need to get in bed to sleep so I can recover a bit for tomorrow. Don’t really want to do that now, though.” “Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have to stay awake to entertain me. This is probably why I should have stayed home and just met you at Parks Ridge tomorrow morning.” “Don’t apologize, Em. I wanted you here.” “Well, it’s getting late and I know you’ve got to be tired. I could stand to get a good night’s sleep, too. Can you just show me where I can change and sleep and I’ll be out of your hair?” “Have a couple of guest bedrooms, but don’t really want you in any of them,” he admitted. I jerked my head back at his statement. I hadn’t expected that out of him. Still, he was offering to allow me to go with him while he trained tomorrow so that I could get a bit more experience before going to the X Games so he wasn’t a total asshole. I tried to swallow past the hurt I felt at his statement. “Fuck,” he began. “Sorry, sweetheart. You took that the wrong way. You are welcome to stay in any one of the guest bedrooms I have if that’s where you want to be for the night. I just meant that I’d prefer you with me, in my room in my bed. And not for any reason other than to be next to you.” “Oh,” I said. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.” “I know,” he said as he looked away, clenching his jaw. It broke my heart to see the disappointment and frustration in his face. Zane stood up from the couch, turned back, held a hand out to me and said, “Come

on.” I put my hand in his and stood. I followed Zane out of the great room, back through the kitchen where he grabbed my bag, and down the hall to the stairs. Zane waited for me to walk up the steps ahead of him. When we reached the top of the steps he moved to my side and pointed to the left, “I’ll be right down here at the end of the hall.” I looked to where he was pointing and saw a set of double doors at the end of the hall. “Ok,” I said. “Don’t want you too far away. You can stay in the guest room just outside of my bedroom,” he said as he took my hand in his and started walking down the hall. As we approached the door just outside of his bedroom he let go of my hand to open the door then put his hand to the small of my back to usher me into the room. I walked into the room and said the first thing that came to my mind, “This is your guest bedroom?” Zane laughed. “Yeah, Em.” “It’s beautiful, Zane,” I said as I took in my surroundings. Straight ahead on the opposite side of the room were floor-to-ceiling windows and a set of French doors that led out to a balcony. To the left, a stone fireplace sat positioned directly across from the kingsize bed. A flat screen television was situated on the stone above the fireplace. A beige carpet was on the floor with ivory bed linens and a cream-colored chair and ottoman sat in the far corner of the room near the windows while a bench sat at the foot of the bed. “Even more beautiful now,” he added. I looked to him and saw he was staring at me. He watched me for a moment before he moved to put my bag on the bench at the end of the bed. “The bathroom is through that door,” he began as he pointed to the door directly to the right of where I was standing, which was just inside the door to the bedroom. “Make yourself comfortable. If you need anything at all, I’m right next to you. Just come and get me, ok?” I nodded, “Thank you, Zane.” He took a few steps toward me so that he was standing only inches away. He brought his hand up to wrap around the back of my neck and whispered, “You’re welcome. Good night, sweetheart.” Then, he pressed a kiss to the top of my head before he walked out of the room. I stood there motionless trying to stop myself from chasing after him. After a few minutes, I talked myself out of it, moved to grab my bag off the bench, and walked into the bathroom. Upon entering the guest bathroom, I had a reaction very similar to the one I had when I entered the bedroom. It was absolutely gorgeous. The floors had large light brown and ivory-colored tiles that covered the entire space as well as the step leading up to the soaking tub located at the center of the back wall directly across from where I was standing. To the right of the tub was the glass paneled stand-up shower. A double vanity went along the wall between the door to the bathroom and the stand-up shower. To the

left of the tub was a separate door that led to the toilet. After I finished ogling the bathroom, I decided to hop in the shower. I turned on the water, retrieved my toiletries from my bag, and stripped out of my clothes. I quickly did my business in the shower, turned off the water, stepped out onto the bathmat, and wrapped one of Zane’s towels around me. Even though it took forever given the amount of hair I had, I hated going to bed with wet hair so I took out the hair dryer and got most of the moisture out of my hair. I put on my lotion, grabbed a pair of panties from my bag, and threw on my cotton nightie. It was a lavender nightie with tiny white polka dots that had thin spaghetti straps, a built-in shelf bra, and came to mid-thigh. I walked back out into the bedroom, pulled the covers back, and climbed into the bed. I stayed there a while attempting to fall asleep so that I’d be well rested for a long day out in the cold tomorrow. I tossed and turned for quite some time before I realized I was no closer to finding sleep. My mind raced with thoughts of Zane. The laughter we shared earlier in the day, the frustration on his face before we came upstairs, and the gentle kiss he pressed to my head before he went to his room. My thoughts then drifted to the fact that he was in bed in the room right next to mine and I’m certain that’s what prevented me from falling asleep. Realizing I would have no luck falling asleep and knowing he was genuine in what he said to me both downstairs and before he walked out of this room nearly two hours ago, I decided to get out of the bed. I opened the door, walked out of the room, and lightly tapped on the door to Zane’s room. I saw the barest hint of light filtering out from under the door. Seconds later, the door opened and Zane stood before me in a pair of boxer briefs. My eyes traveled down his body and I was immediately turned on. “You ok?” he asked. I looked back up to his face to see his eyes had begun to roam my body as well. When they came back to meet mine I swallowed before whispering, “Couldn’t sleep.” He gave me a warm smile, but said nothing. I looked anywhere but at his face when I quietly inquired, “I was wondering if the offer to be next to you in your bed was still open.” He put his fingers to my jaw and moved my face toward his. He then said, “Always, sweetheart.” At that statement, he pushed open the door, took me by the hand, and pulled me into the room. The room was dark so I couldn’t take in too much of my surroundings, but I could tell that it was massive in size and the bed was the largest I had ever seen (or slept in, for that matter). Zane closed the door and led me to the bed. He stood waiting for me to climb in. I finally crawled into the bed and started working my way over to the opposite side. I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I let out a small squeal and tensed up as Zane hauled me up next to his body, my back to his front. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Helping you sleep, Em.”

“Um, I’m not sure that…” I said, before he cut me off. “Insisted on staying in a separate room earlier tonight, Emme. Two hours later you are knocking on my door wanting to be next to me. You aren’t going to sleep on the other side of the bed. Just relax and let me hold you.” My body stayed tense for quite a while, but I eventually began to feel the comfort and warmth that Zane’s body was providing me so I relaxed and settled into it. I actually found myself trying to get closer to it, to him. “Em?” “Yeah?” I responded as I felt the warmth from his incredible voice surround me. “Happy to feel the tension leaving your body and I’m trying my best here, but I’m fighting a losing battle. Think you could help me out here and stop wiggling your luscious ass against my dick?” I immediately froze and apologized, “I’m sorry.” “It’s ok. Just get some sleep, alright?” And because his sexy voice had done such an incredible job in settling me I said, “Alright, Barry.” I felt Zane’s body shaking behind mine and knew he was laughing. I smiled inwardly as I felt Zane’s arm tighten around my waist. Ten minutes later, I was asleep. ***** Warmth. I felt so incredibly warm and comfortable. I was going to stay in my bed all day. Then, I realized I wasn’t alone and I wasn’t in my bed. I froze. I was in Zane’s bed. I couldn’t sleep last night and I came to his bedroom. He graciously allowed me to spend the night in his bed and refused to have me outside of his reach. Like right now, I was on my side facing Zane. My eyes were closed, but I knew he was on his side facing me because his arm was draped over my waist. I peeled my eyelids open and chanced a peek up at him. He was still asleep so I took that time to stare at his exquisite form. He was absolute perfection. His dark hair had me itching to run my fingers through it. His flawless lips were urging me to press mine to them. His broad shoulders and thick, muscled arms made me want to curl up inside of them where I knew I’d always be safe. I needed to get out of this bed before I actually acted out any of my daydreams. As carefully and quietly as I could I rolled to the opposite side and started to scoot to the other side of the bed. I made it about two feet away before I felt Zane’s arm wrap around my waist again and cease my movements. “Trying to sneak away?” Zane’s incredibly sexy morning voice said in my ear. This was precisely what I needed to get away from. I wasn’t sure I had the willpower

to stop myself from jumping on top of him if I didn’t get out of this bed immediately. “I figured I’d better get up and get ready for today. I don’t want to make you late.” “Does it look like I’m in a rush?” he asked. I rolled to my back and turned my head toward him. “No.” “You sleep ok?” he asked. Damn it. Why did he have to give me any indication that he cared? I nodded. “Sorry for waking you last night. I appreciate you letting me stay in here with you. I’m not sure I would have fallen asleep in the guest room.” “Please don’t apologize. Didn’t really much care for you being in the next room anyway. I’m glad you came to me last night. Wish you’d come to me more often.” I tensed at his words. The same words he says to me in my nightmares. Come to me. Oddly enough, I didn’t have one last night. Regardless, those words were haunting. “What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately sensing my tension. Shit. I shook my head trying to play it off and said, “Nothing.” “I saw it and felt it, Emme. It’s something.” I let out a sigh. “You’re right. It is. You’ve said those words to me before, Zane.” His eyebrows drew together and I could tell he was trying to recall when he said them. “Em?” he finally asked, willing me to share something more with him. I stared at him a beat before I said, “Come to me. You’ve said it before, but you don’t recall it because you say it in my nightmares.” Now it was his turn to go solid. He quickly recovered and said with a pleading tone, “Tell me, sweetheart.” I closed my eyes and turned my head away from his. “I can’t,” I whispered, feeling my throat constrict. I tried to swallow hard past the lump forming in my throat. This is not how I wanted this day to go. I was beginning to think jumping him would have been a better alternative. I knew if he pressed me further I’d lose it completely. “Hey, hey, hey,” he began, softly. “It’s ok. I want you to tell me, Emme, but not if it’s going to bring you to tears and ruin your day. We can try another time; whenever you’re ready. And if you don’t get there, as disappointing as that is, that’s ok, too.” Relieved, I took in a few deep breaths, turned to him, and said, “Thank you.” He eyes searched mine a moment before he urged, “Go ahead and get ready. I’ll make you breakfast this morning.” My eyes rounded. “I thought you didn’t cook.” “I don’t, but this is breakfast. Breakfast is easy,” he said as he pressed a kiss to my forehead and sat up in the bed, swinging his legs over the side.

I smiled up at him and then I climbed out of the bed. Zane got himself ready and went down to make breakfast while I did an inventory of his room. I was sitting in the middle of what had to be a custom-made bed. It was huge. The bed was located on the wall opposite the double doors and had a nightstand flanking each side. To my left there was another set of doors, one of which was slightly ajar. I could see that was his walk-in closet. To my right, lots of natural light filtered in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors that led out to a balcony. The view from his bedroom was breathtaking. In the right corner of the room on the wall opposite of the bed was a door that I imagined led in the master bath. In between the doors to the bedroom and the bathroom door was a beautiful floor to ceiling stone fireplace. I loved his bedroom. It felt warm, cozy, and inviting. Once I had sufficiently taken in his bedroom, I went back to the guest room to get ready. I finished up and met him downstairs for breakfast. After we ate, we loaded ourselves and our gear into the truck, and made our way over to Parks Ridge. I then spent the day taking pictures of Zane while he trained. By the end of the day, I felt much more confident in covering the X Games event for Blackman Boards. Zane took me home afterward, though, not because he wanted me there. He asked me to stay with him again, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to keep torturing myself or him so I asked him to take my home. He begrudgingly agreed to my wishes. After walking me to my door, Zane hugged me and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I fought the urge to ask him to stay, thanked him for the day, and wished him a good night. I locked up and made my way to my bedroom. After taking a shower and doing my nighttime routine, I climbed into bed. It was then I realized that no matter how many blankets I put on my bed, I’d never be as warm as I felt when I was lying next to Zane.



Chapter 12 Emme It was now the night before we were leaving for Aspen. Charley told me that Wes was having a car pick us up tomorrow morning to take us to the airport. I was currently in my bedroom packing for the trip running through the craziness of the last couple of weeks in my head. Later in the week following my Saturday photo session with Zane on the mountain, Charley texted me as I was just about to head home from a photo shoot telling me that she was on her way to the hospital and might not be home until late. I immediately started panicking, wondering what happened, but she quickly sent a follow up text telling me that one of her former co-workers, Greg, from the diner had been in a bad car accident. I told her I was going to stop by the condo to change quickly and drop off my equipment since it was on the way to the hospital and that I’d be right over. No sooner did I get inside the house and set my equipment down when I heard a knock at the door. I walked over, looked out the peep hole, and saw Wes standing there. When I opened the door, he asked if Charley was around. I found it odd, but I told him she was at the hospital. A look of panic and fear washed over him and I quickly tried to ease that by telling him what happened. He thanked me and took off to hospital. I quickly changed and made my way to the hospital. I walked in just minutes before the doctor came out to update everyone on Greg’s status. He had experienced trauma over his entire body, but the swelling in his brain was of the greatest concern. I was devastated for Charley. From the moment I arrived, I could see the anguish and worry in her features. When Greg’s boyfriend, Tony, asked to go in to see him Greg’s mother refused to let him. She didn’t approve of their relationship and I knew the second I saw Charley realizing what was happening that she was going to lose it. She started speaking to Greg’s parents and explained what she had been through with her parents being killed by a drunk driver and then not even a year ago her brother died. She wanted them to realize how bad of a decision they were making in not accepting their son’s relationship; that things were strained between them now, but they were all still alive and should cherish that. My heart broke listening to her because of the guilt I felt over Taj’s death. After her outburst, Charley had Wes take her home — she was in no position to drive. I told her I’d wait to see if anything changed with Greg and update her with any news. Not long after she left, Zane called me. He had been doing that over the last few days after he finished training. We’d talk for a bit every night, but I’d try not to keep him, knowing he needed to recover from the workout and rest for the next day’s training session. I picked up the phone after the second ring. “Hey,” I said. “Hi, Em. How was your shoot today?”

“It went well, thanks. How was training?” I asked. “Brutal, but good. What are you up to tonight?” “I’m actually at the hospital right now.” “What the fuck? Why? Are you ok?” “Yes, I’m ok. Charley’s friend, Greg, was in a bad car accident. He’s currently in a medically induced coma and the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours are supposed to be the most critical. Charley’s really torn up over it. She had a bit of a breakdown and Wes just took her home. She drove herself here, but was in no position to drive home.” “Rising Sun Medical Center?” he asked. “Yeah.” “Did she leave you her keys?” he asked. “No, but I have a spare. Why?” “I’ll have one of the guys pick me up and drop me off there to meet you. I’ll bring her car back to the condo for you.” “Oh, Zane. That’s not necessary. We can leave it here tonight and I’ll bring her over tomorrow to get it. You’ve got to rest for tomorrow.” “Appreciate the concern, Emme. I’m coming anyway. See you in a few.” He disconnected the call, and sure enough, he walked in the door a few minutes later. Seeing him for the first time in several days was like seeing him for the first time ever. It’s like I somehow forgot how beautiful he was. But even more than that, when he walked into the room I felt peace settle in me. All of the stress and anxiety I feel fades away and his warmth surrounds me whenever he’s close. It’s an incredible feeling. He smiled at me as he approached. “Thanks for coming, Zane. You really didn’t have to do this.” “It’s not a problem, Em. Besides, it’s a good excuse to see you,” he said as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I hated to admit to myself that I really wanted to kiss him on the lips. I smiled up at him, said good-bye to the rest of Greg’s friends, and took off with him. He followed me home and walked me to the door. Since he had gone out of his way I felt it was only fair to offer something in return. “I have some leftovers in the fridge if you’d like to come in for some food. I’m guessing you haven’t eaten yet.” “Fucking starved and you’re offering your food; I’m going to take you up on it.” I told him to help himself to anything he wanted in the fridge while I went down the hall to check on Charley. My dear friend was an emotional basket case and I hated seeing her that way. I was happy she had Wes by her side to pick her up and help her through the pain I knew she was feeling. He excused himself to give us the opportunity to talk. Our talk was a bit emotional for me, but I sucked it up for her. Making sure she was ok was

more important to me than anything else. We rejoined the guys in the kitchen afterward and Zane said he needed to get going so he could get some sleep in. Apparently, Wes offered Zane his truck so that I wouldn’t need to go back out that night. I was a bit bummed considering I wanted a bit more time with him. I walked him to the door, thanked him again, and said goodnight. He gave me a hug with his usual kiss to the top of my head and told me he’d talk to me the next day. Two days later, I had an engagement session scheduled. I spent the better part of my day traveling to the location, shooting the session, and traveling back home. Knowing I’d be leaving within roughly a week after the engagement session I took the time over the next couple of days to edit the entire session so that my clients would have their photos before I left. I knew that I’d likely have a ton of shots to go through once I got back from the X Games and I’d want to focus my attention on that completely. I didn’t want anything else looming over my head. The last thought that ran through my head as I finished my packing was Zane. Unfortunately, except for the night he came to the hospital to bring Charley’s Jeep back, I hadn’t seen Zane. We communicated with each other nearly every night. Sometimes he’d call to talk to me, other nights I’d send him a quick text to check in and see how training was going. Sadly, I found myself growing more and more needy for those scraps of communication. I missed him terribly, but I tried not to let it show. I was relatively certain that if he knew I was feeling that way he would have hopped in his truck and hauled ass to my place. I didn’t want to distract him from his training, so I kept quiet on this. But now, I was so ready to see him. With my bags finally packed and my mind focused on Zane I picked up my phone, found his name, and tapped on the screen. One ring and he answered. “Emme,” he said. “Hi Zane,” I began. “I just finished packing and wanted to see how your day went today.” “It went well today. I left a little early so I could get home and pack up. I’m nearly finished. What about you? Are you ready for the event?” “I definitely have some nerves about covering the event. I wish I could have seen the place ahead of time.” “I’m sure you’re going to a phenomenal job, Em, but I’ll get you over to the mountain before the actual event so you can check it out.” “That would be awesome, Zane. Thank you.” “I’m looking for more excuses,” he said in response. “Excuses for what?” I asked. “It’s been a long couple of weeks. I’ve seen you twice since I started training. I’m looking for excuses to spend some time with you.” Hearing that made my heart swell. It was nice to know the feeling was mutual. “Oh,” I whispered.

“Miss you, Emme.” “Well, we’ve got to get through one more night. I’m excited for tomorrow.” “Me, too.” “I should probably get to bed now and let you finish packing.” “Sleep well, sweetheart.” “Good night, Zane,” I said. And then, before he could hang up I yelled, “Wait, Zane!” “What’s wrong?” “Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that…I miss you, too.” Zane let out an audible sigh. “Thanks, Em.” “For what?” I asked. “Felt good to hear that.” I smiled, realizing that making him feel good filled me with such a sense of pride. “See you tomorrow morning,” I said. “Can’t wait.” I disconnected the call and plugged my phone into the charger on my nightstand. After, I climbed under the blanket, replayed my conversation with Zane, and fell asleep smiling. The next morning, I experienced a bit of a surreal life experience. I was picked up in the morning by a limo that took me to the airport so I could board a private jet that would take me to Aspen where I’d be staying in a vacation house for about a week while I worked the X Games doing photography. Considering the harsh reality of my crappy life for roughly the past five years this was certainly a welcome change of scenery. I was with Charley and she was ecstatic. I figured it was best to roll with it all for the sake of her happiness. Besides, if I could experience a bit of luxury for a few days after everything I’d been through, there couldn’t be any harm in that, right? After a standoff on the tarmac between Wes and Charley over the number of bags we brought, which she cleverly brought to a halt by telling him in front of the rest of the guys about her bag of panties, bras, and other sexy items, the guys took our bags and we all boarded the jet. It should be noted that at this point I was fighting every urge in me to not jump Zane. From the moment we pulled up in the limo and saw him standing outside the jet talking to Luke, Wes, and Stone and when he asked me if I packed similarly to Charley to the moment I sat down in a seat in the jet and he sat right next to me, I was struggling to appear unaffected by his presence. The truth was that seeing his face, inhaling his scent, and hearing his voice had all my senses firing.

After landing in Aspen and arriving at the house Wes rented for the week, Charley and I offered to take a trip to the grocery store to stock the place for our stay. Getting out of the house and away from Zane did little to ease the buzz I was feeling being around him. Following our trip to the store, Charley and I made dinner for the whole group. Zane sat next to me at dinner and even though he wasn’t the only one at the table who moaned after taking bites of his food, his moans were the only ones I heard. This heightened my feelings being near Zane and I was certain I would explode if I didn’t get a handle on this. Everyone wanted to make it an early night since tomorrow was going to be a long day. Bed. That’s what I needed; some alone time in a bed. As everyone dispersed, Zane came up next to me and said, “I’ll show you to your room.” I nodded and followed alongside him up the steps to the second floor. When we stopped in front of one of the doors, Zane turned the knob and pushed the door open. I walked through and into the room, not paying attention to any of my surroundings. I turned around immediately to face Zane who had also stepped just inside the room but kept the door slightly cracked. I couldn’t control it anymore and I launched myself into him, threw my arms around his neck, and pressed my lips to his. He took a step back to steady himself as he wrapped his arms around me to catch me and his back fell against the door, closing it. The kiss started frenzied. I couldn’t get enough. I wasn’t close enough. I couldn’t taste enough. My hands moved to either side of his neck just under his jaw, ready to pull him back to me if he tried to pull away. Despite the fact that my body was already pressed up against his, my feet took steps toward him in an effort to get closer. My hands moved down and rested at Zane’s chest, my fingertips digging in. He groaned, pulled his mouth from mine, and rested his forehead against mine. “Fuck, Em, you are so damn sexy. Wasn’t expecting that and I’ve got to admit, it was one of the best surprises I’ve ever had. Don’t know what changed your mind and not sure now that it matters anyway. I feel like I’ve been waiting a fucking eternity for you to come to me.” Come to me. His words from my nightmare snap me right back to reality. And that was all it took. My blood went cold. I pushed back off his chest and took two steps back. My hand went to cover my mouth as my eyes welled with tears and I looked anywhere but at him. “Oh my God,” I said. Zane took two steps toward me. I took two more steps back. I looked up at him as the tears spilled down my cheeks. The look of concern and pure torture on his face was heartbreaking. I dropped my hand from my mouth and said, “I’m sorry, Zane. I’m so sorry.” “Emme,” he began. “What just happened? Why are you apologizing?” I couldn’t control what happened next. My body was wracked by sobs and I fell to my knees. Zane was immediately crouched in front of me and his arms wrapped around

my body. If I cared about him at all I wouldn’t have done what I did. I wouldn’t have made him think things had changed for me. I wouldn’t have gone to him. And I wouldn’t be here now with him trying to comfort me when I was the one who was going to hurt him. “Jesus Christ. What happened?” I tried to pull myself together. I took a few deep breaths trying, but failing to regain some control. “I’m such a selfish bitch,” I said. “Don’t fucking say that, Em. What are you talking about?” “All day, Zane. All day I’ve been fighting the urge to do what I just did to you. It took everything I have to not do that hours ago. I haven’t seen you in so long. And seeing your beautiful face today, having you near me, and hearing your voice, well, it all just sent me over the edge. The minute you stepped inside this room with me and nobody else around, I lost control.” “Sweetheart, it’s really ok. If you don’t think I enjoyed that…” he said before I cut him off. “That’s just it. I know you enjoyed it. I did, too. A lot. But, I can’t do this to you. It’s not fair. You thought I had a change of heart, Zane. I didn’t. I just couldn’t handle what I had been feeling all day seeing you for the first time in what felt like forever. I threw myself at you without a second thought of the impression you’d get from it. It was wrong and selfish of me. I’m sorry,” I said as I looked away from him. As he always does when I divert my eyes from his, Zane gently placed two fingers at my jaw and turned my head, urging me to look at him. When I brought my watery eyes to his he said, “Never apologize for kissing me, Emme. Ever. And never fucking call yourself a selfish bitch again. If you didn’t give a shit, you wouldn’t have just crumbled to your knees in a fit of tears which, just sayin’, is like a kick to the gut to watch. You’re feeling guilty about something that you shouldn’t be. I’m disappointed things haven’t changed for you but, disappointed or not, I don’t want to see you reduced to this.” Fuck. He was such a good guy. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. Zane moved to get up off the floor. “Come on,” he began. “Let’s get you off the floor.” He then helped me up and took my hand as he walked through to the bathroom. As soon as we walked into the bathroom, he turned toward me, put his hands under my arms, and hoisted me onto the counter top. I sat there watching him as he turned on the sink and found a washcloth. After testing the water temperature, Zane put the cloth under it, rang it out, and turned off the water. He stood in front of me and put the warm cloth to my face, wiping away what I’m sure was a mess of mascara and dried tears on my cheeks. His touch was so gentle and comforting (something I never had) and after what I had just done to him it had me on the verge of another round of tears. Zane sensed where my head was at and spoke softly, “Shhh. It’s ok, sweetheart. Don’t beat yourself up about this.” “I feel horrible. I shouldn’t have done it.”

He tilted his head and gave me a small smile. “Was I really that bad?” I laughed. “Thanks for that,” I said, taking a moment to appreciate his kind heart and his attempt to make light of the situation. “You don’t have to worry; your skills are top notch.” He smiled back at me a moment and said, “Good to know.” Then, his face turned serious and he continued, “Worried about you, Em.” “I appreciate it, Zane. I’ll be ok, though.” We stayed there looking in each other’s eyes for a bit before I announced, “You probably need to get some rest before tomorrow.” “Are you kicking me out?” he asked, incredulously. “No. It’s just that you’ve been working hard for the last few weeks and I don’t want to distract you from your goal with my…stuff.” “Winning a snowboarding contest is great, Em, especially the X Games. But, sweetheart, I’d give that up in a heartbeat if it meant I could take away your pain.” My lips parted as I took in his words. A single tear fell from my eye. “You’re such a good man, Zane.” “It’s true, Emme. I’m painfully attracted to you and want a whole lot more than friendship with you as you already know. What just happened proves to me that you feel that same attraction. You have this thing you’re dealing with, not so well I might add, and it’s eating at you, sweetheart. It is gut-wrenching to watch, especially when I don’t even know how to best help you. I absolutely mean it when I say I’d forget about the snowboarding in an instant if I could fix this for you.” “I’m really sorry I can’t get there,” I began. “Please, Zane, please tell me you know that if I could get there, if I could get past this, I would come to you. I’d run so fast to get to you and I’d appreciate and cherish you more than anything in this world because I know deep down that you are deserving of everything I have to give, as little as it may be, and then some. And then, I’d spend the rest of my days praying that what I did give you would be enough to always keep you happy.” “Emme,” he said as he put his hand up to cup my cheek, his voice strained. I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes a moment, savoring the tenderness. When I opened my eyes, I saw he was clenching his jaw and I could tell he was fighting back emotions. I brought my hand up, wrapped it around the back of his, and squeezed. We stood there for what felt like hours just looking in each other’s eyes. I could only hope he saw the sincerity in mine. Zane broke the silence and asked, “You sure you’re going to be ok alone tonight?” “I have to be,” I answered putting my hand back to rest on the edge of the sink. “Correction, Em. You have to be ok, but you don’t have to be alone.” “I appreciate that, Zane, but I can’t ask you to do that. Besides, I think I’ve taken advantage of you enough for one night.” “You didn’t ask. And, I don’t mind being taken advantage of when you’re the one

who’s doing it. It’s up to you, though.” “I’ll be ok,” I reassured him. He nodded. “Ok. I’m in the room right next to yours; so, if you need me you know where to find me.” I hopped down off the sink while he put an arm out to make sure I didn’t fall. “Thank you.” We walked out of the bathroom and toward the door leading into my bedroom. Zane turned to me, gave me a small smile, and said, “Sleep well, sweetheart.” I closed my eyes. That sentiment. I felt it so deep down in my soul, especially when his voice was easily a whole octave lower than was usual. “Good night, Barry.” He chuckled, kissed my forehead, and walked out of the room. I stood there watching the door for ten minutes before I moved to shower and go to bed.



Chapter 13 Emme My alarm went off early the next morning. I purposely set it extremely early so that I could get up ahead of everyone else and start breakfast. I knew that Zane, Stone, and Luke had a big day ahead of them on the mountain and I wanted to make sure they were all well fed before they got to it. I made my way downstairs to the kitchen and found that nobody else was downstairs yet. Mission accomplished. I took to getting all the necessary ingredients out for an egg and Belgian waffle breakfast. Once I had everything out, I located the waffle maker, turned it on to heat it up, and set the oven temperature to two hundred degrees so I could keep the waffles warm while I cooked the rest. As I pulled out a mixing bowl for the waffle batter I heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked up to find Luke descending the stairs. He looked like he was nearly ready to go out riding. He was already wearing a pair of snowboarding pants, but was only wearing a long sleeved thermal on top. I knew he was a big guy, but as he approached I felt smaller and smaller. The man was seriously jacked. “Now there’s something I don’t see every morning,” he began, a twinkling smile lighting up his face. “Morning, babe.” I smiled at him and said, “Good morning, Luke. I hope you like Belgian waffles and eggs.” “Works for me. Thanks for cooking,” he said as he walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “It’s really no problem. I kind of feel like I need to do something to contribute here,” I started. “Between Wes paying for everything and all you guys not letting Charley or me pick up a bag I’m feeling underused. Besides, I love to cook so it doesn’t feel like work.” “Well we don’t expect you to do it, but we definitely appreciate it. And the bonus is that you’re really good at it.” I smiled at him in acknowledgement. I had just finished whipping up the waffle batter and was still waiting for the waffle maker to fully heat up so I moved on to cracking eggs in a bowl for the scrambled eggs. A few seconds later, the waffle maker sounded and I went to pouring the first batch of batter in. Then, I got back to the eggs. “So, you, Zane, and Stone are all out there competing against all these other people, right?” I began. “I keep thinking about how competitive guys are in general and wondered how the three of you got along when you were in competition mode? I mean, I’m certain you are rooting for each other over the rest of the riders, but how do you handle the heat between the three of you?”

“There’s more competition between Zane and Stone because they both ride pipe. I ride it only for fun. I compete in the big air contests, so I’m never riding against them. They seem to handle it well between the two of them, though. We’ve been friends since we were little, so that always comes first anyway. Now, I’ll certainly do my best to yank their chains in other ways.” “I can only imagine what that means,” I said on a roll of my eyes. At that, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Luke took that moment to step closer to me. He put an arm around my shoulders and whispered, “Like this. Just watch.” I stood there trying to focus on cracking eggs, but I was feeling a bit nervous. “Dude, what the fuck?” I heard Zane’s voice filter into the kitchen. “What the fuck what?” Luke responded, a smugness in his tone. Yep, he knew exactly what he was doing. Zane was not going to tolerate this much at all. I’d already seen how he reacted when his brother, Cruz, had his arm wrapped around my shoulder. “You getting a fucking cooking lesson that requires you to have your hands on her?” Zane asked, his tone now very close to lethal. “Nope. Don’t want to know how to cook, even though I imagine Emme here would be a good person to have as my teacher if I ever change my mind,” he said on a squeeze of my shoulders. I was definitely beginning to get a bit nervous. Luke was taunting Zane and Zane was not happy at all. I stopped cracking eggs, unsure of how many I had actually cracked at this point, and chanced a glance up at the two brooding men. Luke was relaxed; Zane’s hands were balled into fists and he was clenching his jaw. Shit. Luke continued, “Emme and I were just here discussing the competition. Right, babe?” I noted how Luke didn’t exactly specify what competition. I looked to Zane briefly and then my eyes looked anywhere but at the two of them. Thankfully, Stone walked in at that moment followed by Wes who materialized out of the den. “Do I smell waffles?” Stone asked. Luke gave me one last squeeze and walked around the island to sit at one of the stools. It was a relief because the tension was so thick in the room I didn’t ever think we’d get past it if he hadn’t. Unfortunately, Luke walked away and Stone walked right up and stood right next to me. I’m not sure that this would have been a problem, but Stone decided to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “Morning, Emme.” I heard a growl come from Zane. I looked up and saw Luke smirking and Wes was shaking his head, chuckling, and looking at the floor. Oh crap. They all knew what they were doing. I decided to stay neutral. “Good morning, Stone,” I replied looking up at him. Then I continued, “And yes,

there are waffles being made with a side of scrambled eggs. Is that ok?” “More than ok. You rock, sweet cheeks,” he said on a wink in response as he walked over to sit in a stool next to Luke. “What. The. Fuck.” That came from Zane. I looked to find him giving a death stare to Luke and Stone. They didn’t even seem remotely phased by it. Fortunately, Wes chimed in from the other side of the island and not with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Morning, Em. Thanks for making breakfast today.” “Good morning, Wes. It’s not a problem at all. Charley still sleeping?” “Yeah. I’ve been in the den working for a little while.” I nodded. Then, I looked to Zane. He was stalking over to me. Shit. Shit. Shit. Zane came up to me, turned my body so I was facing him, and tipped my chin up toward his face. I barely had a second to register what was happening when he brought his mouth to mine and kissed me. Like, really kissed me. There. In the kitchen. In front of his friends. One hand went to the back of my head while the other grabbed my ass. I melted into the kiss and moaned. Then, I remembered where I was and pulled my mouth from his. He kept his body pressed to mine and brought his lips to my ear. “Forgive me for the public display, sweetheart, but I needed to give you a proper good morning after all that shit a few minutes ago.” I pulled back to look at him, nodded, and with my voice much quieter than it had been all morning I said, “Good morning, Zane.” I was pulled out of my Zane-filled fog when I heard Stone mumble, “Lucky fucking bastard.” I turned to look back at the guys and found them all smirking. When I looked back to Zane I could tell he was silently gloating. “Ok, I’ve got to get back to the food.” Ten minutes later the mood in the kitchen had gone back to normal and the tension was gone. I made a bunch of waffles, the last couple were still cooking, and I had just put the eggs in the skillet to cook. I heard footsteps again and saw Charley coming down the stairs. “Morning, sweets,” I said. “Mornin’, Em,” she answered. Everyone said good morning to Charley and after Wes gave her a proper good

morning, much like Zane did to me that morning, she came over and got out plates and utensils and filled everyone up with some coffee. Minutes later, breakfast was ready. I set out the syrup and powdered sugar for the waffles and pulled the waffles out of the oven where I had kept them warm until everything was finished. The guys dove in and before I had the opportunity to finish one waffle they were on seconds or, in some cases, thirds. After breakfast, the guys offered to clean up while Charley and I got ready. Apparently, they needed to get going soon and felt that if they cleaned up I’d be ready sooner. I was going to be going to the mountain that morning with Zane, Luke, and Stone. Charley and Wes would be meeting us there later after they checked on the final details for a post-Games party Blackman Boards was hosting. I tried to get ready as quickly as I could, but I first had to have a heart-to-heart with one of my best girls. Charley followed me into my bedroom to make sure that I was going to be alright going with three guys by myself for the better part of the day. I loved her for her concern for me. I hated she was so worried, which is why I hadn’t brought her up to speed on a lot of things that had gone on with me lately, namely the worsening nightmares. I did my best to convince her that she didn’t have to worry. I did use some of the same words she used with me back when she first told me about Wes. I told her that Zane makes me feel safe and that helps with me feeling comfortable going with the three guys. Of course, I told her that I was going to go regardless because I had an opportunity to capture her designs on Blackman Boards that were being ridden by three guys who were at the top of their game. This was huge for her and I wouldn’t let her down. Confident that I wasn’t going to totally lose my shit heading off with Zane, Stone, and Luke for the day, Charley took off to her bedroom to get ready. I got ready as quickly as I could, grabbed my camera equipment, and made my way back downstairs so we could get on the road. They were all already ready to go so after Zane took the camera equipment bags from my hands we all filed out and got in the Tahoe. Stone drove and Luke rode shotgun. Zane sat with me in the back. Of course, I was itching to touch him, but I knew I couldn’t. It was then that I realized I really needed to get a handle on this. The more I was around him the more I wanted him. And then, the whole kiss in the kitchen this morning had me all hot and bothered, which did not help things. I wasn’t sure how I’d get over my attraction to him, but I knew I needed to figure it out soon. I felt Zane’s hand on my thigh. Even through the layers I had on it was like his hand was searing my skin. I looked down at his hand and then up at his face. “Got it?” Zane asked. “I’m sorry. What?” He chuckled and squeezed my thigh. “We were just telling you the plan for the next couple of days. Are you not paying attention to us?” I looked away, shaking my head, and said, “I’m sorry.” “You ok?” Zane asked, his voice quiet. I looked back to him and nodded. “Yeah, just have some things on my mind. What did I miss?”

His face grew concerned, but he didn’t press me further. “We’re not going to be putting in full days over the next couple of days. Just a couple hours, maybe two to three, to practice and get comfortable riding in a new location. Think that’ll be enough time for you to get what you need so you’re ready to go once the Games start?” “That should be plenty fine. I’m feeling more confident about shooting you and Stone. I’ll just want to check out the specific location for the pipe. I’m not so sure on Luke, though, since I’ve not seen any big air stuff. I’ll probably need at least an hour to watch that so I can not only check out the location and the best spots to shoot from, but also to get an idea on camera angles to get the best possible shots of him and the boards.” “We’ll make sure you get that time then.” “Thanks. So, what is planned for the rest of the day once you guys are done with practice?” “Resting mostly. Wes is going to have a lounge set up at the event for riders, the public, and media. We’ll probably check that out today, but otherwise, heading back to the house and taking it easy.” Fuck. I was kind of hoping that we’d be spending most of the day out so that I wasn’t struggling to figure out how I was going to distance myself from Zane. “Ok,” I said. We finally arrived at Buttermilk Mountain and we unloaded from the truck. The guys got right to it. I checked out the pipe location, took a bunch of pictures there of both Zane and Stone, and found what I deemed to be ‘my spot’ during the actual event. Satisfied, and feeling confident about my ability to deliver good pictures, I decided to head over to the big air course, which was parallel to the superpipe. As I walked over I saw a rider coming down the hill to a jump that launched him into the air. He did a bunch of twists and turns while grabbing his board and then he landed at a point further down the mountain after the jump. Ok, so now I knew what snowboard big air was and had a small clue as to how I’d want to shoot it. I continued to watch rider after rider come down and do their tricks; some were good, some didn’t land. Finally, I looked to the top and saw Luke ready to drop in. I had already found what I thought would be a great spot to get good shots, so I was prepared as soon as he turned the board and began his run. I started snapping photos before he even made it to the jump. The next thing I knew he launched off the jump, did some crazy trick in the air, and landed with ease. It was incredible. While I waited until Luke ran again I swiped through the photos I took to make sure they turned out alright and was happy with what I saw so far. I was hoping that Luke would make at least two more runs just so I could be sure I knew what I needed to do. Luke ended up making another three runs, all of which I managed to capture. Zane and Stone joined me before Luke’s last run. They had done enough practicing and were ready to call it quits for the day. After Luke’s last run we all went over to the Blackman Boards lounge that was currently in the process of being set up for the event. Charley and Wes were there as Wes was overseeing the set up. “Hey, honey. How did it go today?” Charley asked as she walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Great. Feeling much better now that I’ve had the opportunity to witness the big air

riding. I’ve found the perfect places to take my pictures from, so I hope nobody steals them before we arrive on day one. I’m happy I came here today, though. Got rid of a lot of my jitters,” I answered. “You’re going to do awesome, Em. I’m so excited for you.” “I could say the same to you, you know?” She smiled at me. “Yeah, I have a few nerves. I hope they ease up over the next couple of days, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to get worse.” “I know I’m biased, but I am confident it’ll be great. I am not at all worried about how well your designs are going to do. It’s too bad we couldn’t have the same confidence in ourselves that we do in each other.” She rolled her eyes, “Tell me about it. So, have you had a chance to think any more on what we talked about this morning?” I had a feeling she’d bring it up again. Part of Charley’s heart-to-heart with me this morning resulted in me telling her how happy I was for her that she had found someone who loves and supports her unconditionally. She, of course, decided that I needed a lecture on it and insisted that I could find it if I’d just allow myself the opportunity. I genuinely believed that it wasn’t in the cards for me. I was not going to risk my heart or the heart of anyone else again. The consequences could be devastating. “Actually, I did,” I began. “I sort of spaced out a bit on the ride over here and thought on a lot of things. As much as I may want to find the good and something even half as wonderful as what you have with Wes, it’s just too risky. I am not willing to take a chance on suffering through that kind of torture and heartbreak again. And, Charley, it’s not just for me that I feel this way. I’ve made the decision because I refuse to see someone else get hurt in the process.” Charley’s face grew sad. “I wish you’d change your mind, honey. You have so much love to offer, but most importantly, you deserve to be loved. You need to feel that goodness and warmth that comes from a healthy, loving relationship. Everyone deserves it, Em, but nobody needs it more than you do right now.” My nose began to sting as my throat got tight. Charley took my hand in hers. I barely squeaked out, “Charley, I’m not saying I don’t want it. I do. I really do. Trust me. I’m just too scared to take that risk with my heart and someone else’s life. And you know that it’s still a possibility.” “I know, Em. I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you. I just don’t want to see you alone for the rest of your life. You deserve so much more,” she said with a squeeze of my hand. I stared back at her and a single tear ran down my cheek. Charley pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “You’ll always have us. I understand your feelings on it, Em. I’ll support you on the decision you’ve made. Just know that we all just want to see you happy again. No matter what, though, you’ll always have Nikki, Monroe, and me.” I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded into her shoulder. She was right. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’d always have those girls. And that would just have to be enough for me.



Chapter 14 Emme I convinced myself this morning that I could never be in competitive sports. The pressure would be too much for me. It was day one of the X Games and my stomach was a bunch of nerves. I did my best to hide it today because Charley had enough nerves for everyone combined. Apparently, it didn’t matter how much I had ‘practiced’ for this event; I was scared that the work I’d do wouldn’t be good enough and Wes would end up regretting his decision to hire me. I didn’t respond well to pressure. Part of my nervousness also was stemming from the fact that the guys would actually be competing today. Had it been just Luke or Stone I don’t think I would have been fighting the nerves, but with Zane needing to ride today and defend his title I was slightly on edge on his behalf. Over the course of the past few days I struggled to maintain a safe distance between the two of us. I tried not to make it seem too obvious as I didn’t want his head out of the game for today. Luckily, with there being so many of us staying in one house it was not as difficult as I thought it would be to keep that distance since there always seemed to be someone around. It was difficult at night. I fought myself tooth and nail to not go to him in the middle of the night just to have him wrap me up in his arms. I felt so safe and protected there or any other time he was around me, that I longed for it nightly. To make matters worse, I woke this morning and made egg sandwiches for breakfast for everyone to take on the road. When I distributed them amongst everyone before we left the house, there was a bit of a scene. I carried the brown paper bags I’d had made up for each person and handed them out. “Breakfast on the road today,” I said. “Fucking awesome. Thanks, sweet cheeks” Stone said. Luke looked to Zane and said, “You don’t lock this shit down I’m swooping in and staking my claim.” Then, Luke turned to me with a smirk on his face and said, “Thanks for breakfast, beautiful.” “You aren’t claiming shit but a big air win this week. She’s off limits,” Zane said, seething. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable and it only made things worse in my head. The guys were giving Zane shit about the non-romantic relationship between us. It seemed to me that they thought it was him who was holding back. Little did they know, it was me. If nothing else, I knew that I could trust Zane. I’d like to think that Luke and Stone were good people and I imagine if he told them where I stood with everything and told them about my nightmares they wouldn’t have been getting on his case as much, if at all. The knowledge that he’d kept those things private when it would have been so much easier to

just tell the guys the truth was huge, in my opinion, and it said a lot about the kind of person Zane is. I had these thoughts running through my head as I stood watching the first few riders make their runs in the first qualifying round for the men’s superpipe competition. I was brought back to reality when I saw Zane and Stone at the top of pipe. Zane was up first. I felt like I was going to throw up I was so nervous for him, but I tried to stay focused enough so that I could capture some really great shots of him. After strapping his second foot into the board, Zane took a deep breath and went. I had already taken a couple of shots of him and Stone as they stood at the top. I thought it was important to capture some of their interactions as well as the actual riding. Now, though, I was focused completely on him as he made his descent and dropped in. I didn’t know much about snowboarding, but I knew enough to know that when he landed after his final trick and the crowd erupted in applause and cheering that he had had a great run. This was further proven by the fact that moments later his score was posted and he was sitting in the number one spot. I watched him in amazement and awe following his run. I was so very proud of him and so excited that he had a fantastic run. And to see how much the crowd adored him made my heart swell. I knew how hard he worked and how much he deserved that recognition. Of course, it was still early in the competition, but I was proud of him regardless of the outcome. A couple more riders came down the pipe, but nobody came close to matching Zane’s run. One of those riders ended up wiping out on the landing following his final trick. Finally, it was Stone’s turn. He made his run and while I wouldn’t have known if his tricks were the same as Zane’s or if they were different, the one thing I knew for certain was that they both had some serious height out of the pipe. I was in awe of the two of them. Stone had a flawless run and, as they had done with Zane, the crowd cheered just as loudly for Stone. I was certainly feeling much more relaxed now that both our boys had good runs and were qualified in spots one and two. When the qualifying round for the men’s superpipe was finished, I made my way over to the big air course. I knew that I had plenty of time before it started, but I was determined to make sure I got my spot to shoot from and didn’t want to risk heading to the lounge and having someone else scoop it up. I got there with plenty of time to spare and since I didn’t know anyone around I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Nikki. The big air qualifying round is about to start soon. Fingers crossed for Luke! She immediately replied. If you see him before he makes a run tell him that if he wins I have a surprise for him. Me: Well he won’t be winning today since it’s just qualifying, so if I don’t see him before he runs today I’ll still be able to pass your message along later tonight. I really hope he wins, though, because I’m guessing that means you’ll need to come out here to give him his surprise… Nikki: Yes ma’am! Wasn’t going to tell you this now, but Monroe and I are planning a trip out soon. Somebody has a birthday coming up. Shit. My birthday. The most horrific time ever.

Me: Don’t take this the wrong way, Nik, but I don’t know that I’m up for celebrating my birthday. I absolutely want to see you and Monroe and would love for you guys to come out, but a celebration marking the most horrible time in my life…a time where I made a choice that resulted in Taj’s death…I’m not sure I can handle that. Nikki: That’s precisely why we need to celebrate, babe. You need good memories for your birthday. And you didn’t kill Taj, Em. It’s NOT your fault. You can’t keep blaming yourself. I started getting emotional with all of this talk. I texted Nikki only to tease her about Luke and it turned to this. My eyes were welling with tears and I tried to blink them back. I tilted my head to the sky and took a few deep breaths trying to calm myself. “Hey, you ok?” the voice that could make my entire world better sounded in my ears. I dropped my head forward and came face to face with Zane. I gave him a small smile, but I knew he knew that I wasn’t ok. “Congratulations on your runs,” I said. “I’m so happy for you.” “Appreciate it, Em, but I’m more concerned with you right now. Why didn’t you come to the lounge to warm up a bit before big air started? And why did you look like you were about to completely lose your shit thirty seconds ago?” “I am here to do a job and I want to do it well. When we came out a few days ago I scoped out the area and this very spot is the best spot to get the shots, so I came right over here to claim my space.” “Fair enough. And the other thing?” Damn it. I was hoping he’d forget. I was a chicken shit so I just shrugged my shoulders at him. “Emme. Twice now I’ve seen that. Didn’t say anything the first time, but now I’m saying something.” My brows drew together. First time? He shook his head at me. “You’re upset so much you can’t even remember when it happens. The other night when we were here in the lounge you were talking to Charley. I don’t know what you were talking about, but you had the same look on your face just now that you did then. The look is all desperation mixed with fear.” Oh fuck. So apparently, I suck at hiding my emotions. Or, Zane is really good at reading them. Either way, I was screwed. My eyes dropped from his. I wouldn’t lie to him, but there was no way I was telling him any of this. I could feel the lump forming in my throat and I was definitely on the verge of a meltdown. I looked back up to him with pleading eyes when I begged him, my voice just a hair over a whisper, “Please, Zane. Don’t do this to me now.” His jaw clenched. He was angry. I felt like shit. He held my eyes a moment before he looked away. At least he was gracious about it. I didn’t have much time to dwell on the situation with Zane because they began announcing the start of the big air qualifying. Luke was second to go and I immediately

got back in the zone, capturing as many shots as I could. Luke got a total of five runs in during the qualifying session. I ended up learning afterward that they would take his two best scores. Luke did exceptionally well and was also sitting in first place. Overall, Blackman Boards could consider day one of the X Games a huge success. I only hoped I did my part in capturing the best moments of the day. Zane walked with me back to the lounge where we met up with Stone, Luke, Wes, and Charley. He didn’t say much to me on the walk over and I took the easy way out, saying nothing in return. I felt incredibly guilty about it. He was trying so hard and I wasn’t giving him anything. I could tell how much it bothered him, but I simply couldn’t go there. I knew it would be catastrophic for me if I told him the horrible truth about my past. After we got our group rounded up and Wes tied up loose ends in the lounge we piled into the Tahoes and went back to the house. Earlier that morning while I was cooking breakfast I had done some prep work for dinner by chopping the vegetables and cubing the beef I’d be using in the beef minestrone soup I was making. As soon as we got back to the house, I immediately went about preparing the soup. Charley chipped in by carving out the bread bowls that we picked up to serve the soup in. After getting all the ingredients into the pot, I set the burner to the low setting to allow the soup some time to simmer and took off to hop in the shower to warm up. After a long, exhausting day in the cold, I needed to stand under the hot water for a while. I got to my bedroom and immediately turned the water on to hot. I stripped out of my layers and stepped under the spray. I stood there for a long time just letting the water run over my body in hopes of relieving some of the tension I was feeling. When I felt I had sufficiently pruned myself, I quickly finished up in the shower and turned off the water. Considering I had been in the cold all day long I refused to go back to feeling cold so I, unfortunately, took the time to blow dry my hair. With so much of it there was no way I could let it air dry without feeling the cold creep back over my body. Ten minutes later, my hair was dried enough that I wouldn’t feel frozen the rest of the night. I walked back into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of panties. As I pulled them over my hips I heard a light tap at the door. “Just a second,” I called out. I quickly scurried around the room, threw on my cream-colored camisole, and snatched up a pair of shorts. So much for being warm. I ran to the door, opened it, and found Zane on the other side. “Hey,” I said. “Sorry, I just got out of the shower.” His eyes traveled the length of my body, lingering a bit longer on my breasts. It was in that moment I regretted my choice in wardrobe. “Zane?” I said quietly. His eyes came back to mine and he responded, “Fuck you’re so beautiful, Emme.” I swallowed hard at his admission because I knew it was genuine. I also knew that he wasn’t currently standing in my doorway just so he could tell me that. “Thank you,” I murmured. “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head quickly as if he were trying to pull himself out of a fog and said, “Yeah, actually, I wanted to come and apologize to you.” I stayed silent. He wanted to give me an apology? “I know you’re dealing with some serious shit and I didn’t help matters today. I’m sorry for pushing you earlier and then being pissed off when you refused to explain. You have a right to your privacy and if you aren’t willing to share something I need to respect that. I also want you to know, though, that it fucking kills me to see you struggling with this. It doesn’t matter whether you are standing there with one of your girls getting emotional or you’re standing there out in the cold by yourself trying to fight back your tears. Either way, I fucking hate seeing you hurting.” A single tear slid down my cheek. Zane cupped my face in his hand and swiped at my tear with the pad of his thumb. I closed my eyes and felt myself lean into his touch. It was so gentle and it was like I had no control over my body in that moment. I needed to get back to reality. Zane was a good guy. He deserved better. “Thank you for the apology, Zane.” He nodded at me. “Are you doing ok?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say. I had so many things running through my mind and I wasn’t sure how to do what I needed to do without not only hurting myself, but also Zane in the process. “You don’t need to give me an explanation, Em. I just want to know that you are ok.” “I can’t lie to you, Zane. I’m not ok, but I’m sure I’ll figure it all out soon.” “I’m here, sweetheart. If you ever change your mind, I’m here if you need me.” “Thank you.” He squeezed my hand gently in response. “Are you hungry?” I asked. “For your food? Always.” With that I started walking to the door to go down and get the food served when Zane grabbed me by the wrist. I looked up to him, silently questioning him. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Em, but you aren’t planning on going downstairs like that, are you?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Excuse me?” “Emme, you have an incredibly sexy body. I feel like a jackass even saying this, but the guys have been getting on my case for days about you. You walk downstairs dressed like this and I’m never going to hear the end of it. And, I know it’s not my place to tell you what to wear, but sweetheart, that shirt is killing me. The guys see that and I know how they’re going to react. I really don’t want to have to knock out one of my best friends tonight.” I completely forgot about the fact that I was wearing a practically see through top

with no bra underneath. “Right,” I began. “I’ll put on a sweatshirt.” Zane let out a breath and waited while I put on a sweatshirt. We then walked downstairs together and ate dinner. Zane was in a much better mood than he had been earlier in the day. I, on the other hand, finally realized what it was that I needed to do. I just wasn’t sure how I’d do it without breaking myself and, very likely, Zane in the process. ***** Three days later I wasn’t feeling so well. It was the final day of the X Games and Zane, Stone, and Luke had all placed at the top. Zane took the win in the superpipe, with Stone in second place. Luke won the big air contest. We had arrived not long ago at the local pub where Blackman Boards was hosting a post-Games party. A live band was playing and the front man had just publicly congratulated Blackman Boards and the riders on their successful showing at the X Games. Zane, Stone, and Luke were in the throes of post-Games fandom with constant requests for autographs or pictures. They were all so gracious about it. There were also some moments of promotional stuff that they had to tend to. I stayed back and watched Zane. He had undoubtedly worked extraordinarily hard for this. The more I watched the more I realized how horrible it would be for me to be involved in his life to the point where this could all be ruined for him. Watching him in those moments solidified the decision I made several days ago and it did nothing but give me a cold, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I needed to tell him about the decision I made, but I wouldn’t ruin today for him. Realizing that I couldn’t handle being that close to him without longing to be near him, I decided I needed to get out of there. Seeing him there made my heart ache. My belly was in knots and I wanted to throw up. I went in search of Charley to let her know I was heading out. I didn’t want to tell anyone I was leaving, but I also didn’t want anyone worrying unnecessarily. Charley and Wes were huddled up with each other and I felt bad intruding on their moment, but I needed to leave before I totally lost it. I walked up and quietly told Charley that I’d be catching a cab back to the house. She was, of course, immediately concerned. I tried to reassure her and let her know that I was just feeling tired after the long week. She was my best friend, though, so she knew it was more than that. She told Wes that she wanted to take me back, but I insisted they stay there to celebrate their success. Refusing to let me take a cab, Wes gave me the keys to the Tahoe and let me take that back. I agreed to text Charley and let her know when I made it back safely. Wes walked me to the car and twenty minutes later I sent a text to Charley letting her know I had gotten to the house. I made my way upstairs, changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, grabbed my laptop, and went back down and sat on the couch in the living room. I opened the laptop and there it was. The picture we took at Yellowstone. The one that was accidentally perfect. My eyes welled up with tears remembering how wonderful

that day was, how wonderful Zane had been to me. This was going to be brutal. I would likely hate myself for the very foreseeable future, but I’d be content in the knowledge that he’d be safe. I closed the laptop, set it on the coffee table, and pulled a blanket over myself. Then, I fell asleep trying to figure out how I was going to live with myself after tomorrow.



Chapter 15 Zane Silence. Despite the noise that had been surrounding me over the last couple of days at the X Games and most recently at the pub where the Blackman Boards’ post-Games party was held, I was now sitting in silence in the back seat of the Tahoe. I had gone in search of Emme at some point while we were at the pub. When Charley and Wes told me that she left about an hour prior, it left me wondering why she wouldn’t have come and said something to me before leaving. It’s been a bit frustrating lately for me. Since I’ve met Emme, I’ve been trying to get to know her better. I want to pursue something a bit more serious with her, but she isn’t interested. Actually, correction — according to her, she is interested, but she insists that she can’t get involved in a relationship. I have tried to be respectful of her choice, but it’s evident from the way she is when nobody else is around that she’s miserable with the decision she’s made. And what makes it all even more difficult is the fact that she refuses to share with me why she’s made this decision. I know her reason for it is a serious one that clearly has her scared and hurting, but it’d really help to know what I was up against. So now, I was sitting in the back of the Tahoe because once I learned that Emme had left early from the party I decided to leave to check on her. Wes and Charley were ready to head out so they said they’d drive back to the house. It wasn’t even five minutes into our drive back when Charley dropped a bomb on us. Apparently, a little less than a year ago her brother died. Wes and I both already knew this. What we didn’t know and what Charley decided to share then to shed some light on the situation surrounding Emme was that Charley’s brother, Taj, was actually murdered and evidently Emme blamed herself for it. My body went solid at the news and I sat there frozen while Charley stumbled out of the truck and vomited on the side of the road. Wes jumped out to take care of her while I sat there and wondered what the hell had happened to that sweet girl. After Charley and Wes got back in the car we drove in silence the rest of the way to the house. As soon as we got back Wes took Charley upstairs, but not before she said, “She deserves to be happy. Be patient with her. What she needs from you…if you give that to her, I promise she’ll give it back. Tenfold. She just needs time to realize you are what she needs. There’s more to her story, but that’s hers to give.” I wanted Emme. Not only was she the most incredibly sexy woman I had ever laid my eyes on, but she was also sweet, smart, loyal, and a badass cook. And her laugh — fuck me if it wasn’t a sight and sound to behold. Sadly, she didn’t do it very often; in fact, I had seen her cry more than smile, but when she smiled she lit up the room. When she laughed, though, I felt that deep in my gut and I wanted more of it. As Wes and Charley took off upstairs I walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water

before I went up to check on my sweet girl. She didn’t know it yet, but she was, without a doubt, my girl. I closed the refrigerator door and something caught my eye in the living room. Emme’s laptop was sitting on the coffee table. My eyes shifted to the couch to see her lying there, sleeping. I stripped off my jacket, set it on one of the barstools at the island, and walked over to her. I crouched down in front of her and just watched her. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. Her delicate features at such peace while she slept with all of her hair spread out on the couch beneath her head. I could have sat there the rest of the night watching her sleep, but I didn’t want to seem like a total creep. Besides, I didn’t want her sleeping on the couch. I decided to take her to her bedroom and put her in the bed, but not before giving myself another two minutes to sit there and take in her beauty. Three minutes later, I scooped her up in my arms. She immediately grabbed onto my shirt and pressed her cheek into my chest in a way that made me feel like she needed me to be there with her. I would have held her like that the rest of the night just to feel that need coming from her. I began walking, made my way up the steps, and carried her into her bedroom. Just as I was about to set her down she murmured a pained, “I love you, Zane.” My body went solid. Fucking hell. Did this girl just say she loved me? I couldn’t fucking breathe. I stood there staring at her, holding my breath and willing her awake. I wanted to make whatever she was dreaming about a reality. I wanted her to open her eyes so she could see my face and say those words to me again. She didn’t. She just nuzzled her face closer to me; though, I’m not sure how that was even possible. Reluctantly, I gently placed her body in the bed. Her hand had such a tight hold on my shirt I had to physically pry the shirt out of her grip. Even though I felt like it was her way of subconsciously telling me to stay with her, I didn’t. She left the pub without telling me, so I didn’t want her to wake with me in her bed. I was certain that wouldn’t be the best way to play this. After putting the covers over her, I pressed a kiss to her temple and walked out. The next morning, I walked down the stairs to find Emme standing at the island making breakfast for everyone just as she had done every morning since we arrived in Aspen. Wes and Charley were already awake. Wes was sitting on one of the barstools working on his laptop while Charley helped with breakfast. As I descended the stairs Emme’s eyes came up to meet mine. Thinking back to what she said in her sleep as I carried her to her bed I offered her a smile, but she looked away quickly with a sadness I hated seeing in her face. That was like a kick to the gut. I wasn’t going to turn this into something awkward around everyone so I decided to play it cool until I had an opportunity to talk to her alone. “Morning,” I said to nobody in particular. Everyone acknowledged my presence and returned the sentiment, but Emme barely made eye contact with me when she did. What the fuck was going on with her? Wes started talking to me about the success they were seeing already on the Fire line, the first in the Elements Series of boards to be released by Blackman Boards. The Fire line had boards that were meant specifically for pipe riding and it had been debuted at the

X Games. Stone and I competed using the new boards and that coupled with the fact that Charley had done the graphic design work for them apparently made them a huge success. Stone and Luke seemed to have perfect timing as they arrived right as Emme and Charley had finished making breakfast. Everyone ate while discussing the past couple of days’ events. Luke and Stone filled everyone in on their antics from last night and despite the hilarity of stories I could only focus on my girl. She would smile and laugh at the things they said, but I knew it wasn’t real. The smile never made it to her eyes and the laugh wasn’t her genuine laugh that could make me fall to my knees. Her head was somewhere else. We were all going to be leaving that afternoon to head back to Rising Sun, so after breakfast everyone took off to their bedrooms to pack up for the return trip. I already packed last night so I went to Emme’s door and knocked. She opened the door and looked up at me. She didn’t seem very happy to see me. She wasn’t angry; rather, she looked sad. “Can I come in a minute?” I asked, deciding to tread lightly. She didn’t say anything, but stepped back and pulled the door open further. I stepped inside the room and closed the door. “I’m hoping you don’t mind, but when I came in last night and saw you asleep on the couch I carried you up here to bed. I thought you’d be more comfortable and would sleep better.” The sadness that had been previously in her face turned to anguish. “Sweetheart, are you ok?” I asked, now more concerned than anything. She stared at me a beat before a single tear fell down her cheek. I wanted to reach out and swipe it away, but I had a feeling she would have pulled away. In fact, I felt like that’s what she had done since she left the pub last night without telling me. Finally, her voice just a hair over a whisper she spoke. “You are such a good man, Zane. I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. And, I’m really very sorry for what I’m about to do, but I need to do it.” My brows drew together, confusion, I’m sure, washing over my features. “I thought I could do this,” she began. “I tried, Zane. I really tried to be friends with you, but I’m failing miserably at it.” “No, you aren’t,” I cut her off. “That’s not what I mean,” she said. “I’m failing miserably at being your friend because I want more than that between us. Every time I look at you I want to see more of you. Every time I hear your voice I want to close my eyes and listen while you talk to me all day long. And every time your skin touches mine, whether it’s your hands or your mouth, it sears my skin and leaves me wanting to be held in your arms forever.” “I want that, too,” I began. “I’m not sure I understand why you look devastated right now, though.” “I know you want it, Zane. And that’s precisely the problem. You deserve so much

more than I can offer. I can’t ever give you what I know we both want and so I need to do what I am about to do to at least not feel this pain anymore. Because the truth is, Zane, that I want you so bad it hurts. And I made a promise to myself that I’d never put myself in a situation where I hurt again. The sad thing is, this already hurts more than I could have imagined.” At that, the tears really started to fall down her beautiful face. “Emme, what are you saying?” I asked, feeling the pit in my stomach grow colder and colder. “I can’t be with you in the way we both want, Zane. I thought I could handle being just friends with you, but I can’t. Once we get back to Rising Sun, I have to go back to the way things were before I met you.” “Please don’t say that,” I pleaded. I didn’t care if I looked like the biggest pussy in the world at that moment practically begging her to change her mind. “We can figure it out, Em. I know you have your reasons for believing you can’t be in a relationship. I will respect that, but please, sweetheart, don’t take away your friendship.” “Zane,” she croaked out, despair in her eyes. Seeing that coupled with everything this girl, my girl, was already telling me had my heart breaking. And then, she spoke again and it shattered. “You’ve always respected me, Zane. Please respect this and don’t make it any harder than it already is. I’m barely holding it together right now.” “Emme,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Please,” she pleaded. And suddenly, I was angry. I didn’t exactly know what I was angry at I just knew that whatever put that sadness in her eyes and the despair in her voice had my blood boiling. With that look burned into my brain I turned to the door, walked out, and slammed it behind me. I walked into the bedroom I had been staying in and sat on the edge of the bed. With my elbows resting on my thighs and my hands clasped in front of me I stared at the ground in front of me and tried to get my emotions in check. All I could think about, though, was how I was going to fix this. How would I get her to realize how big of a mistake this was? I sat there for a long time and came up with no solution. I finally grabbed my bags and walked out. I loaded the bags in the Tahoe and when I came back into the house I saw Luke carrying Emme’s bags down the stairs. Fucker. We left the house not long after and I rode with Stone and Luke. I was going to give Emme what she asked for and hope to hell she realized, sooner rather than later, that she had made a mistake. When we got to the airport, I stepped out of the car, and my phone rang. I pulled it out of pocket and saw that my brother was calling. “Levi,” I said, taking a few steps to be out of earshot of the rest of the group. “Would have called you sooner, but I was working on a case that had me unavailable

for an extended period of time. Congratulations on the win, brother!” “Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Everything go alright with your case?” “Doesn’t it always?” I smiled into the phone. “Good to hear. Getting ready to board the jet and head home now.” “How’d it go with your friend? I remember you said she was going to be out there taking pictures.” “Her name is Emme and it’s a long story.” “Seriously, Zane? You can’t tell me you haven’t locked it down with her yet? What are you waiting for?” “Working on it, Levi. She’s got other shit going on that she needs to work through and she hasn’t exactly shared with me what it is. I can’t push her on this; I just know it’s some serious shit.” “Need me to look in to it?” he asked. “No, man. Appreciate the offer, but I want this to come from her when she’s ready.” “Fuck, dude. You’ve got it bad.” “Don’t fucking remind me. Gotta run. See you when I get back.” The asshole laughed at me before he said, “Alright, Zane. Catch you later.” I disconnected the call, grabbed my bags from the back of the Tahoe, and walked to the jet. Everyone else had already boarded. When I stepped inside I saw Emme sitting in a window seat with Luke parked right next to her. It took everything I have to not go over and lay him out. Luke was like a brother to me and I knew he was doing this just to yank my chain, but I’m not sure how much longer I could deal with his antics. My hands in fists at my side, I clenched my jaw and tried to calm myself. I turned around and sat in a seat that faced away from Emme. A few hours later, we arrived back in Rising Sun. Wes took Charley and Emme home. Luke, Stone, and I had all driven our own cars. I drove home and spent the rest of my night thinking about Emme. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I tried to get back into some kind of routine. I spent very little time in the office because I knew I’d be tempted to talk to Charley about Emme. I texted her once about a week after we got back to tell her that I missed her, but she never responded. It was evident she had made up her mind so I didn’t want to torture myself further by asking about her. Fuck, is this what love did to you? I had to admit it. I loved her. I hadn’t even fucked her and I knew I loved Emme with everything I had. Go figure. The weekend arrived and Wes called me earlier in the week letting me know that his sister, Elle, was going to be performing at Lou’s. Unless we were away at a snowboarding contest we all have always gone to support her when she performs at Lou’s. I didn’t know if Emme planned on going, but I knew that if there was the chance that I could see her I

was going to take it. I showered, got ready, and made my way to Stone’s. He ended up driving himself and Luke. I drove separately. I’m certain the reason I did it was in hopes that I’d see her there and she would come to me, realizing she didn’t want to do this anymore. We walked in and found everyone already seated at a table. Elle was already in the middle of her set. None of it mattered to me, though, because I saw my girl. She looked tired and I was certain she was still having nightmares. Regardless, she was still so fucking beautiful. And her dress. I thought I might die. It was a pink dress the color of ballet slippers that had these incredibly thin straps holding up pieces of fabric over her tits. Fuck, they were perfect. I’d seen them before, had them in my mouth, and this dress had me practically salivating, teasing me with hints of her cleavage. Stone, Luke, and I went around the table saying hello to everyone. When I got to her, I nodded at her and said, “Em.” She responded, “Hi, Zane.” And then I saw the sadness wash over her features. It only brought me a little comfort to know that at least she wasn’t happy about all this. The tension between us, though, was still so palpable. The guys and I grabbed chairs and listened while Elle finished her set. After she finished, Elle, Charley, Emme, and Charley’s friend, Hannah, all went out to the dance floor. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Of course, watching her dance had been a major turn on and I was currently sitting very uncomfortably at the table. It didn’t matter, though, because while she was dancing she seemed a bit carefree. I wanted that for her. The girls finally trotted off the dance floor to the ladies’ room. That was when we had the pleasure of witnessing Wes’ ex-fiancée, Dana, trying to talk him into getting back together with her. He told her he had moved on and was happy with Charley; he told her there would be nothing between them ever again. The bitch wouldn’t take no for an answer and it was then that the girls came back from the restroom. Charley marched right up and apparently spoke in a language that only women understood. “It’s okay, honey,” she said to Wes. “Despite everyone else here understanding what you said and knowing what that means you aren’t speaking in a language that she understands.” She turned her attention to Dana and said, “Last week, Wes and I sat in his great room in front of the fire and he asked me to decorate his place. Actually, correction — he asked me to, and I quote, decorate for us.” There was a realization in Dana’s eyes that it was really over for her, and after taking a bit more of a lashing from Charley learning that Wes also asked Charley to move in with him Dana stalked off. My eyes were then directed to a very sad Emme. She was standing in front of Charley with tears in her eyes. “Em, I’m sorry,” Charley said. Why was she apologizing? Tears spilled down Emme’s cheeks and I fought to not go to her and wrap my arms around her. What the fuck was going on?

The girls went back and forth and I realized that Emme just learned, at the same time as Dana, that Wes asked Charley to move in with him. Charley kept trying to explain that she was scared to tell Emme because she didn’t want to abandon her. Emme was hurt that Charley didn’t trust her enough to know that she’d be happy for her. Charley tried to get her to realize that she was just worried about her. Then, Emme said, “I get that, but Charley, come on. Don’t you think it would be finally fucking freeing for me to know that my life isn’t continuing to ruin yours? I’m the reason Taj is no longer here. You think I wouldn’t want this for you?” I’ve talked to Charley before about Emme. I never got the impression that she thought Emme was a burden. “You haven’t ruined my life, Emme. And Taj’s murder is not your fault. I don’t know how to make you see that.” “Are you kidding me? It was my psycho ex-boyfriend who decided to pull the trigger.” Shit. Emme’s ex-boyfriend murdered Taj. Why? “Exactly. He’s the one responsible. Not you.” “I called Taj. I should have never called Taj that day. If I hadn’t called him he’d still be here,” she said, shaking her head back and forth as the tears streamed down her face. “And it’s very likely you wouldn’t be. You barely survived as it is, Em.” She barely survived? Barely survived what? I saw red. “What the fuck?” I all but roared. Emme’s eyes searched the table we were all sitting at before she said, “That’s right, everyone. It was almost a year ago when Taj was murdered and I nearly died right next to him. My ex-boyfriend, Seth, beat the shit out of me for months, years actually. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. I decided to call Taj one night because it had gotten so bad I knew I wouldn’t make it out alive if I didn’t get to the hospital. He was able to get me out of there to safety, but he was ultimately shot and killed. So, you see, the problem is that Taj succeeded in saving me, but lost his own life in the process.” And then my girl, sad and broken, walked out.



Chapter 16 Zane “Motherfucker!” I pushed my chair back from the table and stood. I needed a place to put the rage I was feeling in that moment. “Dude, chill out,” Stone said with his hand on my shoulder. “Chill out? Did you just fucking hear the same thing I did? Emme was beaten by some asshole to the point she was hospitalized and nearly died. Not sure how the fuck I’m supposed to calm down right now.” “Just as fucking pissed about that shit as you are, but you need to calm down because the last thing that girl needs right now is someone with a short fuse around her. Chill the fuck out and go find her or I will,” Luke demanded. Nobody else was going to take care of her; that was my job. I took off to find her. By the time I got outside I saw Emme making her way down the stairs of the balcony to the parking lot. No fucking way was she driving in her current mental state. I ran down the steps after her and as I got closer I heard her giving her location to someone on the phone. She wasn’t fucking taking a cab either. “Emme,” I called out. She jerked her head in my direction and there was fear all over her face. She said something quietly into the phone and pulled it away from her ear. I stayed put about five feet away from her. I wasn’t going to make her uncomfortable. This needed to be done on her terms. She stood there staring at me and said, “Now you know the truth, Zane. I’m damaged goods.” Like hell she was. “Sweetheart, you’re so fucking far from damaged goods.” She looked away from me. Instinct pushed me and I started to walk toward her. Her head snapped back up and I could tell she was scared. I stopped immediately. “Emme…fuck, sweetheart, you don’t have to be fearful of me. I would never hurt you,” I said, hating the fact that I even had to say it to her. She should never have to fear for her safety. She nodded slowly at me. I held out my hand to her and said, “Come to me, Em.” She looked down at my hand and back up at my eyes. I nodded to her. And then she was in my arms, shaking uncontrollably, crying her eyes out.

I brought my head down to hers and with my mouth at her ear I asked, “Can I take you home?” She nodded, but her crying and shaking didn’t cease. I shrugged off my jacket and put it around her before I picked her up and carried her to my truck. Thank fuck I drove myself tonight. I put her in the truck, put the seatbelt on her, and walked around to the other side. I started up the truck, put it in drive, and pulled out of the lot. She was hysterically crying and all I could think about was the fact that I wanted ten minutes in a room with the asshole who did this to her. I reached over and wrapped my hand around hers. I’m not sure she realized it, but she squeezed my hand so tightly for the remainder of the ride back to her place as she cried her eyes out. I wanted to stop and pull over just so I could hold her and make this better, but I knew she needed to be in her home. We made it back to her condo and as soon as I parked my phone rang. I pulled it out and saw Wes was calling. I hopped out of the truck and rounded it toward Emme’s side. “Yeah,” I answered. “You with her?” he asked. “Yeah. Just pulled into the parking lot at her condo.” “Was going to take Charley to my place, but she’s worried about Emme.” “She’s not doing well, but I’ve got her. Take Charley to your place and let me help Emme right now.” “Right. Keep me posted.” “Will do.” “Ok, man. Later.” I disconnected the call and opened Emme’s door. After unbuckling her seatbelt, I helped her out of the truck. She took a few steps, but was struggling so I bent down, picked her up, and carried her to the door. She wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled her face into my chest, just like she did our last night in Aspen. When we got to the door, I set her down only long enough to get her key out and open the door. Then I carried her into her bedroom and set her down on the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped my hand around one of her ankles while the other hand slipped the shoe off her foot. I then removed the second one. I walked into her bathroom, turned on the tap, and located a washcloth. After the water had warmed up enough I wet the cloth, rang it out, and made my way back to Emme. I wiped the makeup from her face as the tears continued to well up in her eyes and spill down her cheeks. After I’d cleaned her face of the makeup I said, “Let’s get you comfortable. You want any special clothes?” She shook her head and said, “You are so good to me and I don’t deserve it.” “You deserve the fucking world, Emme.” She shook her head and looked down at her hands in her lap. I walked over to her dresser, found a t-shirt, and came back to the bed. Her eyes found mine again and I could tell she was nervous about something. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

She looked away while she murmured, “I need panties, too.” Fuck me. I put my hand to her jaw, turned her face to mine, and said, “Then I’ll get you a pair. Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed of anything in front of me, Emme. Ever.” I turned back to the dresser and found the drawer that had all the good stuff. Stay fucking focused, Cunningham. I managed to pull out just one pair and walked back to her. I sat back down on the edge of the bed and moved to pull my jacket from her shoulders. She freed her arms and sat there nervously looking at me. I held my hand out to her and after a bit of hesitation she put her hand in mine. I helped her up off the bed so she was standing in front of me facing me. I gave her a warm smile before I put my hands to her hips and turned her around. After unzipping her dress, I put my hands back to her hips and helped guide her back around so she was facing me. When I put my hands to her shoulders to pull the straps down she went solid. “Relax, sweetheart. I’ve already seen it all before and it’s beautiful, but that’s not what this is about right now.” Her breathing quickened and I knew something wasn’t right. “You’ve got to talk to me, Em. What’s happening right now?” “You haven’t seen it all yet, Zane.” What? Of course I had. It was the best fucking night of my life. I took in a deep breath. “Ok, so show me now then,” I encouraged as gently as possible. As the tears continued to stream down her cheeks she nodded. I gently pulled the straps down her arms. As I reached her elbows the dress fell to the floor and pooled at her feet. And that’s when I saw what I hadn’t seen before. A scar. Motherfucker. To distract myself from the anger I was feeling and so she didn’t feel so exposed, I grabbed her panties off the bed and pulled them up her legs. Then I moved my hand from her hip up her side to rest my fingertips on the scar. I swiped my thumb back and forth over it and leaned forward to press a kiss to it. That’s when she lost it again. Her knees buckled and she was in a fit of tears again. Christ, how do I make this better for her? I pulled her into my lap and she immediately curled her body up into a protective ball. I looked to the foot of the bed and saw she had a blanket folded up at the end. I snatched it up and wrapped it around her, trying to do anything I could to make her feel safe and protected. As she cried I whispered in her ear, doing whatever I thought might work to calm her down. “That scar doesn’t change who you are,” I began. “You are still the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. I realize it’s a reminder of a horrible time in your life, but look at where you are now. You’re here and you’re safe. And, sweetheart, I will do

whatever is necessary to make sure you don’t go a single day of your life from this point forward not feeling safe, protected, and loved.” She froze in my arms. “What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling slightly panicked. She shook her head and just curled her body deeper into mine. I kicked off my boots, pulled back the blankets on her bed, stood while I was still holding her, and shifted my body back into the bed so I could lie down next to her and hold her close. It took a good long while before she finally settled down. She was still wound tight; I could feel the tension coursing through her body. “I need you to do one thing for me, Em,” I said. She pulled her head away from my chest and looked up at me. Without a shred of doubt in her voice she said, “Anything, Zane.” I closed my eyes, amazed at the strength in this woman. She didn’t even know what I wanted and immediately agreed to it. “Give me your burden, sweetheart. I know now only just a shred of what has happened to you; I want you to give me the rest. I don’t need all of it tonight, but please give me some of it. Tell me what happened so I can fight this battle with you.” She stayed silent a while. Finally, she spoke. “It was my birthday. Actually, it was a week before my birthday. The girls wanted to take me out to celebrate, but he would never allow it. He went away for business and I made plans to go out with the girls that Friday. He told me he had a meeting first thing the following Monday morning, and would return Monday night. I figured this was my opportunity to spend time with Charley, Nikki, and Monroe.” She paused a moment before continuing, “When they brought me back home I found him waiting for me in the bedroom. He never had a meeting scheduled for Monday. He told me that just to set me up. He was so angry. He insisted that I was out looking for someone else. I apologized profusely and tried to explain that I’d just gone out with the girls for my birthday, but he didn’t care. According to him, I was out dressed like a whore so I could find someone else and leave him. It didn’t matter how much I said I was sorry or even if I would have promised to never do it again, the punishment was still the same.” She took another break and I waited patiently for her. I knew this couldn’t be easy for her. I was also taking that time to brace myself because I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear. “I’m surprised at the fact that I remember every single detail of the beating he gave me that night. He first punched me in the jaw and I heard it crack. I’ll never forget that sound…or the pain. When my body flew back, I pulled my hands to my face to try to prevent any further damage so he punched me in the stomach. Of course, that made me drop my hands away from my face. It was a bad decision because then he hit me in my right eye. When I tried to protect my face again I wasn’t quick enough and he split my lip open. Then, he grabbed my hair and threw me to the ground. And then…actually, this is where it gets bad, Zane. Are you sure you want me to continue?”

This is where it gets bad? What the fuck did she think everything she just told me was — a walk in the fucking park? Jesus Christ. “You had to endure it physically; I’m going to hear it all,” I answered, trying to keep the tone of my voice neutral. “He began kicking me in the stomach repeatedly. I curled up into a ball trying to protect myself. He moved behind my back and started kicking my ribs. I’d never felt such pain before ever in my life. I remember I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have a concept of time, but at some point, he just stopped. He walked away and went into the bathroom to shower. I should have run, but I could barely crawl the few feet to my purse so I could get my phone. Charley’s brother, Taj, lived two minutes away from where I lived. I called him thinking he could come get me and take me to the hospital before Seth got out of the shower. Taj got there and carried me to the car. He told me to call the police. Then he turned to walk back into the house. I begged him not to go, telling him it wasn’t worth it, but he wouldn’t listen. He said there was no way that he was going to let Seth get away with what he had done to me. After I called the police I sat there waiting for Taj to come out and that…that’s when I heard the gunshots. Taj never walked back out so I got out of the car and walked back into the house. I saw Taj lying in a pool of blood on the floor. He was still alive and I yelled at him to stay with me, but as I laid there next to him I felt the life leave his body. All I could think was that I was responsible for Taj’s death and that Charley would never forgive me.” I pulled Emme tighter to my body hoping she’d get whatever comfort she needed from that. Then I said, “Tell me about the scar.” “The police arrived and that’s when I went into shock. I don’t remember anything after that. The next thing I do remember is waking up in a hospital bed. I spent weeks there recuperating from two black eyes, a busted lip, a jaw that needed to be reset, several broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Of course, I had bruises covering most of my body, but the worst of the injuries was to my kidneys. Both kidneys suffered severe trauma and required surgery, but the doctors couldn’t save one of them and it had to be removed. In exchange for my kidney I got that lovely scar.” My girl. To think that her beautiful body endured such physical abuse was gutwrenching. I looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. “You endured all of that, Emme, and you’re still here. No doubt you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met, but sweetheart, you don’t deal with this on your own anymore. You feel scared, you come to me. You feel unsafe, you come to me. You need to cry, you come to me. You just need to be held, you come to me. If I know you need me, I will get to you. Always. If I can’t get to you in five minutes or less, you call Luke, Stone, Wes, Levi, or Cruz. You tell them where you are and they will be there no questions asked and they will stay with you until I get there. But, Emme, you need to understand you don’t do this alone anymore. Five minutes or less, Em. You got me?” She stayed quiet a while, but eventually murmured, “I’m so sorry, Zane. The way I treated you in Aspen was unacceptable.” “Don’t worry about Aspen. We’re well beyond that now. Please tell me you got me, Emme. Five minutes or less, yeah?”

Her voice was just a hair over a whisper when she repeated, “Five minutes or less, Zane.” I held her in silence a while before I called, “Em?” She pulled her head back from my chest and looked up at me. “Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me before?” She closed her eyes a moment and let out a sigh. When she looked back up at me, she answered, “Lots of reasons, I guess. Mostly, though, everything with you has always been beautiful. I didn’t want to ruin that with this. Of course, I destroyed what we had a couple weeks ago so I guess it doesn’t really much matter.” “You didn’t ruin anything, Em. I understand it might not be easy for you, but you can trust me when I say that.” “I’ve always trusted you, Zane.” Fuck, that felt good. I squeezed her a little tighter and she snuggled in a bit closer to me. Ten minutes later, I felt the tension completely leave her body and her breathing evened out. She was finally asleep. When I glanced to the clock I could see it was nearly six in the morning. I held Emme for a long while, but I couldn’t sleep. I stayed there holding her to give her the comfort she needed and I had to admit, it was the only thing stopping me from losing my shit. I got up to use the bathroom about two hours later and as I made my way back to the bed I heard a chime come from my phone. I fished the phone out of the pocket of my pants and saw Wes had texted. Checking in. Wanted to see how she’s doing. I took the phone and walked out of Emme’s bedroom. As I walked down the hall toward the kitchen I called Wes. “Zane, how is she?” he asked when he picked up after one ring. “Fuck, Wes. It was not pretty. She’s sleeping now, but she only fell asleep about two hours ago.” “Charley’s going to want to see her today. Think she’ll be up for it?” “I can’t see why not. I’ll talk to her when she wakes. If I don’t think it’s a good idea I’ll let you know, but you two should plan on coming. I think she needs people who care about her around today.” “Ok. I’ll take Charley to my parents’ house this morning and we’ll come over around lunchtime.” “That works. Thanks, Wes.” “No problem.” I disconnected the call and went back to Emme. I tried to catch some sleep, but I was still so angry over what I learned last night. And it bugged the shit out of me that I didn’t

know all of it yet. I remembered when she announced to everyone at Lou’s what had happened to her over the course of God knows how many years she said that him beating the shit out of her wasn’t even the worst of it. I hated to think of what else that bastard could have done to her. A couple hours later, Emme started stirring. I dozed off a handful of times, but mostly kept waking up thinking about her whole situation. I was on my side with my elbow on the pillow, my head resting in my hand, watching her as she woke. She had been curled into my body, but she moved away and rolled to her back. Her legs straightened as she stretched them out while simultaneously arching her back and stretching out her front side. As she did this, the blanket began sliding down her chest. After she collapsed into my arms last night in just her panties we never got around to putting a shirt on her. Seeing her like this now was pure torture. I watched as her eyes fluttered open, a look of contentment over her face. That look didn’t last long as I witnessed her mentally recalling the events of last night. Suddenly, her eyes shot to the side and she realized I was still there with her. “It really happened, didn’t it?” she asked. I nodded to her. Her eyes closed as a look of defeat filtered into her features. When she opened them she stared up at the ceiling, saying nothing. I left her to it for a while before I decided to break the silence. “I can see your mind working,” I began. “You want to talk about it?” She looked to me and said, “Charley.” “Ok. What are you thinking?” “I’m thinking last night was such a disaster and after dropping a bomb on everyone there I walked out on my best friend.” “Emme, I’m sure she knows you were a bit out of sorts last night. Your reaction was completely understandable.” “I’m such a hypocrite, Zane. I gave her shit for not telling me about Wes asking her to move in with him and she knows nothing about most of the time you and I have spent together.” “So give her an apology if it’s bothering you and I’m sure she’ll understand.” “I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t forgive me.” “Sweetheart, she’ll forgive you. Charley loves you. This isn’t going to change that in the slightest.” Emme took in my words and nodded, “I hope you’re right.” “I am.” “I’m so mortified,” she confessed. “About what?”

“My behavior at Lou’s last night. Everyone must think I’m a lunatic.” I rolled over in the bed and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “Come here, Em,” I said as I pulled up my text messages. “What?” she asked. “I want to show you something.” She scooted her body over toward mine and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I pulled up the first text from Stone and showed it to her. Hey, man. Just wanted to check in on Em. Hope she’s alright. Then, I went to the next text from Luke. How’s Emme? Still fucking pissed she went through that shit. Let her know I’m thinking about her. Last, I showed her the text I received from Wes this morning. “Nobody thinks you are a lunatic, sweetheart. They are angry about what happened to you and they care about you. I wasn’t kidding last night when I said that if I can’t get to you in five minutes or less and one of them can, they will. And they’ll do it, Em, because not only are they good fucking people, but also because they give a shit about you.” She got quiet again for quite a while. It was tough, but I tried to give her the time she needed to process whatever was going through her mind. After some time had passed she sat up in the bed, pulled the blanket up to cover herself, and quietly shared, “I’m going to go take a shower.” “Ok. Is there anything I can do for you while you’re doing that?” She looked in my eyes with so much compassion and said, “You’ve already done too much, Zane. Thank you for taking care of me last night and for staying with me.” “You don’t need to thank me, Emme, but you’re welcome.” She gave me a small smile as she picked up the blanket I used to cover her last night, wrapped it around her body as she got up, and made her way to the bathroom. I heard the water turn on for the shower and after sitting there for a few minutes letting the image of Emme waking up this morning filter through my brain I got up and walked out to the kitchen. It was about ten minutes later when Charley and Wes walked in. Charley wasted no time in questioning me on Emme’s whereabouts. I told her she was in the shower and let them both know that she had been rather quiet that morning. I also, once again, extended my condolences to Charley on her brother. With that, she made her way down the hall to check on Emme. “You look like shit,” Wes said as soon as Charley left the kitchen. “Thanks,” I began, shaking my head at him. “It was that bad, wasn’t it?” he asked. “Wes, I want ten fucking minutes in a room with that asshole. She only told me about

the night Taj was killed and with what she told me he did to her that night…I don’t know how I kept my shit together. He beat her so bad she was in the hospital for weeks recovering from broken ribs, a punctured lung, two black eyes, a jaw that needed to be reset, and a busted lip. To top it off, she only has one kidney, Wes. One. Both suffered severe trauma, but one had to be removed because the damage to it was beyond repair.” Wes’ jaw clenched at the news that I gave him. After thinking on it a minute he demanded, “You ever get that opportunity to get him in a room, I’m second in line with that piece of shit. What the fuck, man? How is she still standing?” “I have no fucking clue. She’s a hell of a fighter, that’s for sure.” Wes nodded at me then asked, “You guys eat anything?” I shook my head and said, “No. I was thinking of ordering pizza. If I don’t she’ll put herself through the trouble of cooking. I know she enjoys it, but the girl needs a fucking break.” “I’ll order it,” Wes began. “Any idea what she likes?” “Mushrooms.” Wes pulled out his phone and ordered one pie with mushrooms and another with peppers and onions. We grew up together, so Wes knew what I preferred on pizza and he didn’t think twice in ordering it. I wasn’t one to get sentimental, but at this particular time in my life, it was nice having friends around that gave a shit and did things that might not seem like a big deal, but spoke volumes about what they’d do for you in a crisis. I could only hope Emme would realize, especially after the texts I showed her this morning, that she had people who cared about her and would always be there for her. Had Levi and Cruz been there last night they, too, would have checked in on her in one way or another. And, it’s very likely they would have been even more pissed than everyone else was at what she endured at the hands of that monster. While we waited for the pizza to be delivered and the girls to come out of Emme’s room, Wes brought me up to speed on Charley’s version of the events from last night. She was extremely concerned for Emme and was worried that Emme wouldn’t forgive her for keeping things from her. I told Wes a bit about my conversation with Emme this morning and how she was feeling guilty about the situation with Charley. Wes and I both concluded that they’d be fine, but since we were dealing with women we also knew that it could go either way. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Wes went to answer the door and I took to getting out plates. As he brought the pizza in the girls emerged. Wes and I turned our attention to them and waited for one of them to give us an indication of where they stood. “You ordered pizza?” Charley asked. “Yeah, you girls want to eat?” Wes answered. The girls smiled at each other, which was a huge relief to me, before Charley teased, “Well, you two can’t exactly eat all of this on your own.” She hopped up on one of the barstools and Wes got her a slice. I was already getting Emme a mushroom slice. As I handed her the plate I whispered, “You doing ok,

sweetheart?” She gave me a small smile and nodded her head. I gave her a wink and sat down next to her at the island. We ate pizza and then we spent the rest of the day hanging with Charley and Wes at the girls’ condo. We avoided last night’s incident and everyone made a genuine effort to help make sure Emme had a carefree day. Overall, I would consider it a success. Wes and Charley were finally ready to call it a night. When I agreed, I saw the expression on Emme’s face change. She went from being happy and relaxed to worried and distressed in about two seconds. Charley came over to check on Em once last time before she came to me, pulled me into a hug, and said, “Thanks for taking care of my girl last night and today.” I quietly replied, “She’s not just your girl.” After she pulled away I gave her a wink and she and Wes walked down the hall to her bedroom. As they walked away, Emme got up from the couch and stood in front of me. She said nothing. I ran the back of my fingers down her cheek before I cupped her cheek in my hand. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. “Tell me what’s on your mind,” I said to her. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know. I guess I have a lot going through my head right now.” “Understandable, Em. But, from the time we had pizza earlier until just before everyone decided to call it a night you seemed to be fairly relaxed and relatively happy. Now, you seem as though you are a bit anxious. Tell me why.” “I guess I’m just trying to come to terms with some things Charley said to me earlier.” “Which are?” “For almost a year now I’ve been living my life basically as a hermit. I don’t want to form any new bonds or connections with anyone because I’m afraid for them and I’m afraid for myself. Of course, you’ve made me unsuccessful in this venture. Charley told me, though, that if I continue living my life this way, then Taj died for no reason. And, she’s right. I know it, but I’m scared. I don’t want him to have died for no reason, Zane, but my fear is crippling me. And now, when everyone gets up and is ready to call it a night I’m sitting here thinking how I really want to ask you to stay with me for just one more night, but that I’m petrified that I’m giving into something that I shouldn’t.” “Would it help if I told you that I was planning on spending the night with you regardless of whether you asked me to or not?” Her eyes rounded and she asked, “You were already planning on staying?” “Would have liked it if you asked me to, but yeah, I was already planning on it.” Relief washed over her features and I pulled her into a hug. She didn’t have to say anything because everything she wanted to tell me was conveyed in that hug. I gave her a minute before I told her I needed to run to my truck. I had a bag with some snowboarding gear and spare clothes in it. After grabbing my bag, I walked with Emme down to her

bedroom. I took a quick shower and then, because we both hadn’t slept much last night, I joined her in bed, pulled her body next to mine, wrapped my arm around her waist, and held her while we slept.



Chapter 17 Emme “I cannot believe all of this happened nearly one week ago and I’m just now hearing about it!” Nikki was practically shouting in my ear as I brought her up to speed on everything that had happened on Saturday night. To say that this past weekend was significant would be an understatement. I never, in a million years, would have dreamed that anyone would learn the truth about what happened to Taj and my role in the tragedy. An unfortunate turn of events while we were out this weekend resulted in not just one or two people finding out the real reason Charley and I left Ventura, but a whole group of people instead. I still cringe to think about how it all happened. The only thing that brings me peace about the whole situation is thinking about Zane. I was a mess Saturday night and he was so calm, offering me the comfort and tenderness I needed. And ever since he learned about what happened to me and to Taj he has never once faltered in his concern for me. In fact, Zane’s level of protectiveness has skyrocketed. I was in no position Saturday night to push him away and when Sunday rolled around I realized that the peace he gave me was something I no longer wanted to push away. For once, my mind was beginning to catch up to what my heart had been yearning for, but I still had reservations about putting Zane in a position of vulnerability, especially when he didn’t know all the details. Zane spent the night with me on Sunday night. I was relieved in the instant he told me he planned to stay with me. I knew I couldn’t hold him hostage forever, but I wanted just one more night of being able to sleep wrapped in his arms, the only place I’ve felt safe in nearly five years. Throughout the rest of the week Zane got back to riding and I got back to work, but none of that stopped him from checking in on me several times throughout the day. He’d typically text me claiming he didn’t want to interrupt me if I was in the middle of a shoot, but occasionally he’d call. I preferred his phone calls and I’d use any excuse to be able to hear his voice. It was now Friday and I had finally found not only the time, but the courage to call Nikki and Monroe and give them all the gory details. I had just gotten off the phone with Monroe and immediately called Nikki. She was currently not very happy to learn that I had held off on sharing this information with her. “I know Nik, I’m sorry. It’s been a lot to deal with and I’m still processing it all.” “So what’s been happening since Zane left Monday morning? Has he spent any more nights with you?” she asked.

“You realize the significance of everything I just told you, right? Why are you only concerned with what has happened with regards to Zane in this situation?” “Emme, babe, he’s fucking hot. And you, my friend, need to get laid. Look, I realize that’s probably the most inappropriate thing I could say to you after everything you’ve been through, but let’s face it, you can’t go the rest of your life never having sex again! I’m just saying, if there is someone who can give you the goods I think he’s a really good choice.” “He is,” I whispered. “I’m sorry…what did you just say?” she asked, her tone accusatory. Shit. I didn’t think she’d catch that. “I may have had a bit of a good time with him one night a few days after Christmas.” “WHAT?!?!” “Relax, Nikki. I didn’t sleep with him, but he gave me a little bit of a preview of what I could expect which, not to brag, is a lot.” Nikki let out a squeal and at that moment my phone alerted me to another call. I looked at the screen and saw it was Zane calling. “Hey, not to interrupt your celebration over there, but Zane’s calling me now. Let me talk to him and I’ll call you back.” “Call me immediately because this conversation is not over!” she answered. I disconnected the call with her and answered for Zane. “Hey,” I said. “Hi, Emme. What are you up to?” he asked. “I was actually just on the phone with Nikki. I finally filled her and Monroe in on this past weekend.” “How’d that go?” he asked. “Monroe is her typical supportive self. She’s like a second mom to all of us, making sure we’re always doing alright. Nikki is another story entirely. All she cares about is if you’ve spent any more nights with me since Sunday night.” He chuckled. “Well, is she angry or happy about the fact that I haven’t spent any more nights with you?” “I didn’t get a chance to answer her on that yet, but she’d be disappointed to learn that you haven’t.” “Thinking it wouldn’t be wise to upset her. Maybe I should spend the night with you tonight.” “What?” I asked. “You said earlier this week that you don’t have any shoots this weekend. Was thinking I’d like to take you out tonight on an official date.”

I stayed silent. “Emme?” “I’m here. Sorry, I’m just not sure what to say.” “Say yes. Say you’ll go on a date with me. I’m not going anywhere, Em. You turn me down tonight, I’m going to ask you every day until you say yes.” I took in a deep breath and said, “Ok.” “Ok?” he asked. “Yes. Ok. I’ll go on a date with you tonight.” “I’ll pick you up at six,” he said quickly. I pulled my phone from my ear and saw that it was nearly five o’clock. “That’s only an hour away,” I announced. “And?” “Zane. There’s no way I can get ready in an hour.” “Why not?” “You aren’t seriously asking this question.” “Sweetheart, you could wear sweats and be the sexiest fucking woman in the room.” Damn. “An hour and a half? Please? It’s our first official date, Zane. If we’re going to do this I want to do it right and I want it to be special.” He let out a sigh. “I’m so fucked.” “What?” “Said it before, Em. Don’t think I could ever say no to you. You’ve got an hour and a half.” “Wait!” I cried out, not wanting him to hang up. “Yeah?” “What should I wear?” I asked. He stayed silent a moment before he answered, “Already told you that you’d be sexy as fuck in sweats, Em. You want special, though, so I’m giving it to you. Wear a dress, Emme.” “Ok, Zane. I’ll see you at six thirty.” “Bye, Em.” After hanging up with Zane, I immediately called Nikki back. “Ok, so I need details on this day of fun after Christmas,” she said as her greeting. “I can’t give them to you right now.”

“Why not? What’s wrong?” “Zane is picking me up in an hour and a half for our first official date.” “Oh, fuck. Ok. Get your laptop and get on Skype. I’ll call you on there and get Monroe on, too. Is Charley around?” she asked. “Working. Laptop is open and I’m signed on.” Two seconds later, Nikki called me on Skype and then called Monroe. We gave her a briefing and she responded, “Oh, this is the greatest news ever!” “Ladies, you’ve got to celebrate later. I don’t have much time and I still need to shower.” Monroe then asked, “So where are you guys going?” “Not sure. He didn’t say.” Nikki then said, “Ok, so we’ve got to dress you appropriately for a first date and we don’t want you to be underdressed or overdressed. Though, better to be slightly overdressed than the opposite.” “Well I did ask him what I should wear. He said that I could, and I quote, wear sweats and be the sexiest fucking woman in the room. Ultimately, he told me that since he knew I wanted this to be special he’d give me special, so I should wear a dress.” “Fuck, I love this guy,” Nikki beamed. “Me, too.” “I love you both, but if you don’t focus now and help me I’m never going to be ready on time!” “Ok, babe, sorry. Take us in the closet.” I picked up my laptop and walked toward the closet. “I’m thinking little black dress,” Monroe began. “But let’s not get too sexy with it. Maybe a sweater dress.” “Agreed,” Nikki said. “And you can wear your over the knee black boots with it since it’s frigid there.” “I’ve got these three black sweater dresses,” I said, holding each of them up. In unison they both exclaimed, “The first one.” It was a crew neckline black sweater dress. The back and front of the dress were ruched while the sides of the dress were smooth. It fit snug to my body, was incredibly warm, and accentuated my curves. Zane had previously expressed his appreciation for my curves, so I agreed with my girls and decided on dress number one. “Ok. Dress and shoes figured out. Hair?” “Down. With lots of volume and waves. It’ll be a super sexy look for you,” Nikki said. “Diffuser volume?” I asked.

She nodded. “I need to get in the shower now if that is going to happen,” I insisted. “Ok, Emme. Go get ready and then send us pics,” Monroe said. “You’ve got it. Thanks girls. Love you.” “Love you too, Em,” they answered. I disconnected from Skype, closed the laptop, and set it on the big, comfy chair in the corner of my room. I turned the water on in the shower, stripped out of my clothes, and hopped in. As quickly as possible I did my business in the shower. After I finished, I threw on a night shirt and got to work on my hair, knowing it would be a pretty big task. I got it to the point it was mostly dry, but still slightly damp. I took the ends, twisted them into circles and pinned them all along my neckline and the frame of my face. I then took the diffuser attachment and put it on the hair dryer. Circling my entire head, I held the diffuser up to each section of hair so that I could set the look. I kept the pins in my hair while I moved on to my makeup. Right in the middle of that process my phone rang. It was Charley. I answered and Charley told me that she and Wes were in the middle of celebrating. Apparently, it had been a really great week at Blackman Boards and they weren’t quite ready to stop the festivities. She was merely calling to check in with me and let me know that she was thinking of spending the night at Wes’ place. When she found out that I wasn’t working tonight she quickly said that they’d be more than happy to come back to the condo instead. I told her not to worry and to go enjoy her night out. I finished my statement by telling her that Zane was taking me out on our first official date. She completely freaked out and screamed her excitement into my ear. This news made her even more ready to come back to the condo so that she could help me get ready. I told her that Nikki and Monroe had already taken care of it and for her to go have fun with her man. She wished me the best for my date and asked me to send pictures to her as well. I finished applying my makeup and began taking the pins out of my hair. As the individual sections fell in long, loose waves over my shoulders and down my back I realized I had successfully gotten the look that would make Nikki proud. I walked back out into my bedroom and noted that it was ten minutes to six thirty. I tore off the night shirt, grabbed a matching bra and panty set, and got myself dressed. After I zipped up my boots, I stood in front of my full-length mirror and took in my reflection. I had to be honest and admit that I looked good. Grabbing my phone from the bed I snapped a quick picture and sent it off to the girls. Monroe immediately replied. You are one smokin’ hot lady! Have a fabulous time tonight!! xoxo Not even a minute later, I received Nikki’s text. You sexy bitch! Zane’s going to be uncomfortable in his pants the second you open the door. No pressure tonight, but if that man does not get you in bed looking like that I may have to change my mind on him. Sometimes, I really wondered if Nikki had a filter. The girl made me laugh and

always livened things up; I loved her even more because of it. I quickly tapped out replies to both of them and told them I’d call tomorrow with updates. A few minutes later, my phone alerted me to another text as there was a knock at the door. I looked down to see Charley had replied. Honey, you look so beautiful. Can’t wait to hear all about your date. Love you!! I smiled down at the screen and moved to the front door. I looked out the peephole and saw Zane on the other side. I instantly felt the warmth course through my body at the sight of him. I opened the door and Zane’s eyes quickly grew heated. They traveled the length of my body and back up. “Fuck me, this is going to be painful.” I drew my brows together at his statement, but said nothing. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “Emme, hope to God you are ready to go. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on and I want nothing more than to pull your body next to mine right now and kiss you senseless. If I do that, we aren’t going anywhere. We cannot stay here any longer if I’m going to take you out on a proper date tonight.” There was a small part of me that wanted to say that I wasn’t quite ready yet just so he’d do exactly what he said he would. Instead, I slowly nodded at him and said, “I’ll grab my jacket and purse.” I locked up and we walked to Zane’s truck. After opening my door and helping me in, Zane rounded the truck, got in, and started it up. He turned to look at me and shared, “You should know, didn’t like giving you that extra half hour, but sweetheart, the result is worth every additional minute I had to wait to see you.” I smiled at him and said, “Thank you, Zane.” With that, Zane pulled out of the lot and drove to the restaurant. He took us to a local steakhouse that I had heard rave reviews of but had never been to before. After opening my door and helping me out of the truck, Zane put his hand at the small of my back, and guided me toward the restaurant. Though we arrived and found the place packed, we were immediately seated as Zane had made reservations after I agreed to the date. Roughly an hour and a half later we had finished our dinner and the single dessert we ordered to share. It was a magnificent first date. The food was incredible and certainly lived up to its reputation. The conversation was easy and lighthearted. There weren’t any awkward moments and we really took the time to get to know each other better. I told Zane a bit more about my work and my parents while he shared stories of his childhood and his snowboarding career. The best part of all, though, was simply Zane. Of course, talking to him was always its own reward, but I found the more time I spent simply being in his presence the more I craved it. I knew that he’d always do whatever he could to protect me and the feeling that gave me, more than anything else, was something I couldn’t quantify. It was on that thought that I made a final decision. I wanted to be with Zane tonight, in all the ways that mattered. I wanted to give myself to him and having the ability to make that choice made me feel extraordinarily powerful. Before I lost my courage, I looked Zane in the eyes and without any hesitation I said, “Dinner was lovely,

Zane. Dessert too, but I’d really like for you to take me home now.” I held his eyes a beat and realization dawned in his. He knew exactly what I wanted and he wasted no time in making moves to give it to me. After throwing entirely too much money down on the table, Zane quickly ushered me out of the booth, to the door, and out to the truck. He drove quickly back to the condo, his right hand gripping my thigh while he drove. We made it back in record time and Zane all but carried me to the door. I pulled out my keys, unlocked the door, and let us inside. He closed the door after we stepped inside and then locked it. I reached my hand out to his and pulled him down the hall to my bedroom. Once inside my bedroom, he closed the door and stood there staring at me. I broke the silence and asked, “Will you kiss me?” He didn’t answer me, at least not with words. He simply took one step toward me, snaked his arm around my waist, and pulled me into his body. His lips were on mine not even seconds later. The kiss started slightly frenzied, but eventually turned slow. I moaned into his mouth. The arm he had wrapped around my waist squeezed me a bit tighter to bring my body closer to his body. I was suddenly feeling very hot so I moved my hands to my jacket and began pulling it off. Zane tore his mouth from mine and removed his jacket as well. After tossing it to the chair in the corner of the room, Zane let his heated gaze roam my body. His intense blue eyes came back to mine and he said, “Worth every fucking extra minute.” “I appreciate your words, Zane. I only hope you’ll feel the same about what’s to come.” “Emme,” his sexy, deep voice was even more gravelly. “I want you tonight, Zane,” I began as I started to look away. “If you’ll have me.” His fingertips came to rest at my jaw and he gently turned my head back to his. When my eyes met his he said, “There’s nothing I want more in this world than you, Emme. And right now, with you looking the way you do with all this hair, the fucking boots, and this incredible dress that shows every sweet curve of your body? Yeah, Em, I’ll have you tonight.” I swallowed hard under his intense gaze, but stayed silent. “You sure about this?” he asked. I bent down and unzipped my boots, removing each one carefully before I stood up and said, “Never been more sure about anything else in my life. Will you take this dress off me?” Zane put his hands on my thighs with his fingertips at the hem of my dress. He began slowly sliding the dress up my thighs, over my hips and ass, and up over my breasts. I lifted my arms as Zane continued pulling the dress up and off my body. He tossed it to the side and stepped back to let his eyes roam my body. “Don’t cover it, Em.” “What?” I asked.

He reached a hand out and pulled my arm away from the side of my body. I had instinctively pulled it against my body to cover my scar. “You are feeling awkward about the scar. Stop. You are beautiful, Emme.” I nodded at him and gave him some time to take in my nearly naked figure before I took a step toward him and closed the distance between us. I put my hands to the hem of his baby blue henley and asked, “May I?” He smirked at me and said, “Absolutely.” I lifted his shirt as high as I could before he reached an arm behind his neck and pulled the shirt the rest of the way off. I put my hands to his shoulders and trailed my fingertips down over his pecs and the hard muscle of his abdomen. I reached the waistband of his jeans, rested my fingers at the center on either side of the button, and looked up at him through hooded, questioning eyes. He nodded at me. I opened the button and unzipped the fly. It didn’t take much effort, but I gently pushed the jeans down and they fell to the floor. Zane kicked off his boots, socks, and jeans. It was my turn to take a step back and appreciate his beauty. “You are perfect,” I said, my voice a breathy whisper. I let my eyes wander over the smooth planes of his body. When I could no longer take the distance separating us I stepped back into him and pressed kisses to his chest. One of my hands traveled down his body to his boxer briefs. I cupped my hand over his hardened length and gently squeezed. He groaned; I pushed up on my toes and captured his mouth with mine. As we kissed, my hand continued to stroke over the length of him while Zane’s hands cupped either side of my face. After several minutes one of his hands moved to the clasp of my bra. He unhooked it with ease and brought his hands to the straps at my shoulders. He pulled his mouth from mine and gently guided the straps down my arms. My bra fell to the floor and Zane’s hands immediately came up to my breasts. The second his hands were on me I moaned. My moaning only encouraged Zane further and he bent his head down to take one into his mouth. My knees buckled at the sensation and Zane caught my weight. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His lips came to mine and he began walking toward my bed. After carefully putting me down on my back he settled over me with his hips in between my legs and the weight of his upper body mostly in his arms. He began trailing kisses from my lips down my throat to my breasts. My senses were firing, I was moaning, and I needed more. “Zane…please,” I begged. “Tell me what you want, Em. Tell me and it’s yours.” “You. I want to feel you,” I began. “Please, I don’t want to wait any longer.” At that, Zane pushed up off of me and got off the bed. He turned and began walking away. I immediately sat up and covered myself with my hands. “Zane?” “Yeah?” he said as he turned back to face me. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Not at all. Want to give you what you want, what we both want, but I need to get a condom first,” he answered. “Oh,” I said, looking away. “Tell me, Emme,” he pled as he walked back and pressed his fingers to my chin so I’d have to look at him. He knew I had something more I wanted to say. I swallowed hard before I admitted, “I want to feel you, Zane. I’m on birth control and I was tested after everything happened. He was the only person I was ever with, but I didn’t know if he was faithful. I was clean and I haven’t been with anybody since.” He stared at me for what felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds. “I mean, I understand if you would prefer not to. It’s ok. I just thought that it would be nice to…” I said before he shut me up by crushing his lips to mine. My head fell back to the pillow and Zane resumed his earlier descent down my body. He stopped at my breasts for a while before he began kissing down my stomach. His hands came to the strips of fabric covering my hips while his head lifted and his eyes came to mine. He pulled my thong down my legs and tossed it to the floor. I felt one of his hands at my thigh while the other went directly to my core. I moaned at the feel of his hands on me. “Fuck, sweetheart. I don’t know which is sexier…the way you look or the sounds you make.” I stared up at him as his hand worked the sensitive spot between my legs. “Zane,” I managed to get out. “Please. This is amazing, but I want you. Please let me feel you.” Sometime during all of this Zane managed to remove his boxer briefs because I immediately felt the tip of him at my entrance as his body came over mine and his face was inches away from mine. “You sure?” he asked. “Absolutely.” I barely got the word out of my mouth when I felt him slowly pushing into me. He hadn’t gotten all the way in when he stopped and gave my body a second to adjust to his size. Oh. My. God. I wanted more. I needed more. “More, baby. Please,” I said. Zane pushed the rest of the way in. He didn’t move. He rested his forehead against mine. “Oh my…fuck. Emme, sweetheart, don’t fucking move. I just need a minute.” I stayed as still as I could with my hands fisted in his hair. Soon enough, Zane lifted his head and looked me in the eyes. Then, he pulled out of my body slowly. He was

almost completely out when he pushed right back in. He felt so good, I thought I might cry. Zane found his rhythm. His initial thrusts were slow and controlled, but soon gave way to quick, strong thrusts. I couldn’t handle the barrage of pleasure. It was too intense and I was on the brink of an orgasm. “Oh, fuck,” I began, my voice raspy. “Please don’t stop.” “Take it, Em.” And then I took it while I yelled out his name. Somewhere in the middle of my orgasm, Zane took it, too. He collapsed on top of me briefly before he rolled to his back and took me with him. “I may never walk again,” I whispered with my cheek pressed to his chest. “My limbs feel like jelly now.” Zane chuckled and squeezed his arms around me a little tighter. “If it makes you feel any better I’m feeling a little humbled right now.” My head shot up off his chest and I looked at him. “Why?” I asked. “Knew being with you would be incredible, but wasn’t expecting it would be everything that it was. Didn’t think I’d need to give myself a minute to regain control the second I was inside you, but I haven’t been with anyone since before Christmas. Other than the night following the day we went to Yellowstone, the only action I’ve been seeing has been with my hand. The fact that there was nothing between us just now probably didn’t help.” He paused a moment and I held his eyes, trying to absorb what he had just told me. He hadn’t been with anyone since before Christmas. “You should know, sweetheart, I’ve never not worn protection before and I’ve been tested. I’m clean. You have nothing to worry about.” I smiled at him and shook my head. “I wasn’t worried,” I admitted. “You weren’t? I didn’t share any of that with you beforehand and you probably should have been told before we went any further.” “If you had any doubts about your status, I know you would have done the right thing. I believe wholeheartedly that you wouldn’t ever do anything to intentionally hurt me. I can’t explain why because I’m not sure I even know what the reason is but, Zane, I trust you completely.” “Fuck, Emme.” My brows drew together and I gave him a questioning look. “Feels good,” he said. “What does?” I asked. “To know I’m getting in there,” he said as he pressed a finger to the skin over my

heart. My eyes softened and I tilted my head, “You were always in there, Zane. It was my head that kept me from doing what my heart wanted.” “Sweetheart,” he said, his voice guttural. I put my head back down and pressed my cheek to his chest as we fell into a comfortable silence. A few minutes later I looked back up at him. “Zane?” “Yeah, Em?” “Can we do that again?” I asked. Zane chuckled and said, “Planned on it, Emme. Was just giving you some time, but if you’re ready I’ll give it to you now.” “Yeah, I’m ready now.” “What my girl wants, my girl gets.” And with that, Zane gave it to me again.



Chapter 18 Zane “Zane, baby, please don’t stop.” That was my girl, always seemingly worried that I’d take her pleasure from her. The night after I took her to Yellowstone and I was bringing her to an orgasm she begged me not to stop. Last night was the first night I was inside her and it was the single most incredible experience of my life. Both times I took her last night she cried out just before she came pleading with me to not stop. I loved that she seemed to be enjoying what I was giving her, but it was beginning to bug the shit out of me that she thought she needed to tell me not to stop. I was certain she legitimately believed I wouldn’t see her through to the end. But now, my girl was on top of me giving me an amazing fucking show as she rode my dick. With her hands on my shoulders, her tits bouncing, and her head thrown back she was close to the edge. I had just brought my hands to her tiny waist and began thrusting my hips up into her making sure I got her there. That’s when she cried out and asked me not to stop. I wouldn’t. I would never deny her. I kept giving it to her and several thrusts later I watched in awe as she exploded around me. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed. I let Emme come down from her orgasm and then lifted her off my body. I helped to guide her onto her knees and I positioned myself behind her. I had been dying to take this woman from behind from the first day I met her. Every day I was around her since that first day my desire to have her this way grew more and more intense. I wasn’t sure what I’d done so great in my life to deserve the likes of someone like Emme, but the person she was coupled with the fact that she had the most amazing body, all tits and ass, told me that I must have done something great at some point. I began taking her from behind. Initially, I had my hands wrapped around her waist, but as she arched her back I couldn’t help but to bring one of my hands to her ass and squeeze. I alternated my pace between slow and controlled to quick and relentless. I began feeling myself getting close so I wrapped my arm around her and my hand found her clit. “Oh, God,” she said, her voice a groan. “Zane, I can’t.” My other hand wrapped around her chest and lifted so she was now upright in front of me. I kept up my work on her clit as my other hand now captured her tits and played with them. “Going to get you there again, sweetheart. Come on, Emme, get there with me.” I continued thrusting in and out of her and within minutes I could feel her beginning

to tighten around me. “Fuck,” I growled. “Zane, please. Oh fuck, don’t stop.” Seconds later, we were both over the edge. Emme couldn’t stay upright and immediately fell back into me. I took her weight while she regained her bearings. She didn’t say anything or move for a long while. “You ok, Emme?” I asked. She shook her head and answered, “I think I’ve died and gone to sex heaven.” I laughed. The woman said shit sometimes that caught me so off guard and I never knew what to do with it but take it for what it was and just laugh. “Oh yeah? What’s it like there?” I asked, deciding to play her game. “Fucking magnificent,” she answered. I smirked and squeezed her from behind. Then, I moved to allow her to collapse on the bed. After a while she asked, “You want breakfast?” “Sure, Em, but I can take you out. You don’t need to cook.” Her head snapped up and she looked over at me. “I love cooking for you, Zane.” Sucker punch right to the gut. “Ok, sweetheart. You can cook for me then.” “I just need to get cleaned up and I’ll get to it,” she said as she moved to get out of the bed. “I’ll put some coffee on in the meantime,” I said as I moved to put on some clothes. I threw on my jeans and my undershirt and walked out to the kitchen. A few minutes later, Emme joined me in the kitchen. She walked up to me, wrapped her arms around my waist, and squeezed while she pressed her cheek to my chest. I held her for a beat before I said, “Want to talk to you a minute before you start cooking, Em.” She pulled back and looked up at me, questions in her eyes. “Come on and sit a minute,” I said. She walked over to the stool at the island and sat down. When her eyes came to mine again I could see how nervous she was. “What is it, Zane?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. “Emme, sweetheart, relax. I just want to talk to you about something and there’s no reason for you to feel worried or nervous right now. I promise.” She swallowed hard and nodded at me. Me saying that to her basically did nothing to calm her nerves. “The only way to describe last night and this morning would be to say that both were

absolutely incredible. I’ve have enjoyed every minute of it immensely. Based on your reactions to it all I’m guessing you have as well.” She nodded. “I want you to know, Em, that I’d never not make sure that you were taken care of, physically, emotionally, and sexually.” Her eyes started to wander from mine and she looked away. She knew what I was talking about. I put my fingers to her chin and brought her eyes back to mine. “Did he do that to you?” I asked, my voice as tender as possible. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I thought something was wrong with me,” she began. “In the beginning of our relationship I chocked it up to inexperience on both of our parts. As time passed, it never improved. He was always taken care of, but…” she trailed off. “Tell me, sweetheart.” She took in a deep breath and said, “After he would finish that was it. He never made sure that I got the same.” “Never?” I asked, incredulously. She shook her head. I could kill that motherfucker. I didn’t want to think about anyone giving her pleasure, but this asshole made sure he got his and never took care of her? “Not fucking happy he used you like that, Emme. Only thing that pleases me about it is that I’m the first to give it to you. But, I want you to know you never need to worry about that with me. Never, Em. I will not ever bring you to that point and not take you all the way there. I am not the selfish bastard that he was and I will always make sure that it’s good for you.” She closed her eyes and said, “I’m sorry, Zane.” “Why are you apologizing?” I asked. “You shouldn’t be punished for the things he did.” “Emme, look at me.” Her eyes came to mine. “It is not a punishment to be with you. It’s also not a punishment for me to hear you enjoying what I’m giving you and knowing you want it. I just want to make sure you know that I’ll never deny you that pleasure. In fact, I’ll always make sure you’ve been taken care of before I am. You will get everything I have, Em. Every. Single. Time.” She leaned into me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “You good?” I asked. “Yeah, I’m good.” “Ok, then let me get you some coffee.”

I walked around the island and grabbed two mugs. After fixing two cups of coffee I brought one over to her and stood in front of her on the opposite side of the island. “So, what do you want to do today?” I asked. Before she could answer the front door opened and in walked Charley and Wes. Charley came right over to me, pulled me into a hug, and wished me a good morning. She then did the same thing to Emme. Emme returned the sentiment and acknowledged Wes as well. After, Charley took a box of donuts out of Wes’ hands and told us that they wanted to bring breakfast to us this morning to celebrate. I was a little confused at this gesture. Emme was feeling the same as me, noting to Charley that we had only gone out on one date and that a celebration was a bit overkill. That’s when Charley went on to tell us that the celebratory donuts weren’t specifically for our first date. I then realized something else was going on so I asked what it was all about. Charley looked up to Wes and then back to Emme and me. She said, “Last night, Wes asked me to marry him.” Then, she held out her hand and showed us the ring. “We’re engaged!” “OH MY GOD!” I looked to my left to see Emme mid-scream jumping off the barstool and running to Charley. The girls hugged and I moved to Wes. “Congrats, man. You picked a good one.” He thanked me and the four of us then spent the morning eating donuts for breakfast while Charley told Emme the details of the proposal. Charley then asked all of us if we could go out that night to celebrate. “YES!” Emme shouted. Twice now, in less than an hour, Emme yelled louder than I had ever heard her before. “Fuck. You’ve been so quiet since I’ve met you,” I began. “Didn’t think you had it in you to be this loud. Good to know, sweetheart,” I said on a wink. She blushed and looked away. That was my girl. Wes chimed in and told us that Elle would be performing at Lou’s that night and that they could announce it to everyone there. Charley was thrilled with the idea, but insisted that she tell Nikki and Monroe first. At that, Emme took off to get her laptop. When she got back she and Charley sat in front of the screen and moments later we heard Nikki. “Hey bitch. How was your date? Fuck. Charley is there and I don’t see a hot guy so this can’t be good news. I really thought Zane was a good one. What happened?” What? There was a ringing sound again and Monroe’s voice filtered into the conversation. “Hey Em! Hi Charley. Oh shit. The date didn’t go well. I’m so sorry, babe.” Seriously? I nudged Wes and asked quietly, “What the fuck?”

Charley let the girls know that Wes and I were both there and Nikki then questioned why Emme and Charley were calling. Charley shared her news and they all went crazy, screaming. Wes was pulled into view of the screen where Nikki and Monroe congratulated him. I let him have that moment, but once they were done I moved over to stand next to Emme. Their eyes came to me and I said, “Just so you ladies are aware — Emme and I had an amazing fucking date and it went really fucking well.” Nikki then shouted, “You gave her the goods, didn’t you?” I was about to answer when Emme spoke up and said that the call was finished. The girls congratulated Charley and Wes once again and told Em to call them later. After she disconnected with them, Wes and I got roped into a shopping trip with our girls. It wasn’t my idea of a fun time, but I wasn’t going to put a damper on the celebration. After spending not quite two hours out shopping with the girls, Wes and I dropped them off back at the condo and took off to head home and get ourselves ready. I offered to drive tonight so that Charley and Wes could thoroughly enjoy their night. Wes and I drove separately back to the condo to pick up Charley and Emme, but I arrived a few minutes ahead of him. When I got to the door and knocked, Emme opened it and it took so much restraint for me to not take her there in the doorway. She was wearing a one-shoulder, black, lace, short dress that fit her body like a glove. “Sweetheart,” I began, my voice even more gravelly than was usual. “You are fucking perfection.” She smiled at me and asked, “Do you really like my dress? I feel like I could have done a much better job had we had more time today.” “Em, every fucking time I’ve seen you all dolled up to go out you’ve looked incredible. This is one of those times. My personal favorite so far is the one from Christmas Eve, but this is easily a close second.” She beamed up at me. Fuck, she was beautiful and that smile made me weak in my knees. “Come on in,” she said. “Wes isn’t here yet.” I went in and hung for a while until Wes showed up and the girls were finally ready. We piled into the Raptor and I drove us to Lou’s. Not long after we arrived, Charley and Wes made their announcement to the rest of their family and friends and everyone congratulated them. Elle ran through her set, dedicating a few songs to her brother and future sister-in-law, after which Emme got up and moved to the dance floor with Charley, Elle, and Charley’s former co-worker, Hannah. I sat there at the table with Wes, Luke, and Stone, but my focus was on my girl. For so many weeks, every time I had seen her she always had a sadness in her eyes and she was never truly happy. For a good portion of the last two days I was finally seeing her more happy than sad. Of course, our conversation this morning told me there was a whole heck of a lot more to work through and it likely wasn’t going to be easy. As I watched her move on the dance floor, though, I tried to soak up all the beauty there was in seeing her so carefree. I knew in that moment that it didn’t matter how hard the road got,

I’d spend the rest of forever doing whatever I had to just to put that smile on her face. “Yo, Zane,” I heard Stone yell. I turned to look at him. “What’s up?” The guys laughed and Stone asked, “You next?” “For what?” “Getting married.” Marriage. Fuck. I never really thought about the possibility of it, but now that Emme was in my life it was something I’d certainly consider. I told her last night I hadn’t been with anyone since before Christmas and that was the truth. After the first time I met her, the image of her was burned into my brain. A week later I had a random hook up with a girl and all I could see was Emme’s face. I knew in that moment I no longer had any interest in being with random girls. I wanted my girl, my Emme. “Not planning on going at lightning speed like this one here,” I said as I pointed to Wes. Then, I looked back out to Emme and continued, “If I was going to settle down with anyone, I’d do it for that girl. She’s going to take a little persuading, though.” Wes then attempted to talk Stone and Luke into settling down, possibly with Monroe and Nikki, but Luke wasn’t interested in a long-distance relationship and Stone, well, Stone’s past kept him from wanting to pursue anything other than one night stands. Luke and Stone eventually took off, and not long after, Emme and Charley made their way back to the table. The girls were ready to go so we said good-bye and left. Not even five minutes into the drive back to the condo I knew that both Emme and Charley were slightly buzzed. They were discussing wedding plans and I caught Wes’ eyes in the rearview mirror a few times. He was just as amused as I was listening to the two of them. I glanced over at Emme a couple times throughout the ride back and the look on her face had me mesmerized. The alcohol in her system had her cheeks slightly flushed, but it was pure, genuine happiness for her friend that had her radiating happiness. We got back to the condo and Wes and I got the girls back inside. Emme and I said goodnight to Wes and Charley and then we took off in the opposite direction down the hall to her bedroom. She pulled her jacket off as we walked down the hall. I stepped in the room behind Emme and closed the door. She tossed her jacket on the chair in the corner of the room and as soon as the door clicked shut she turned to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled my bottom lip between her teeth. She then kissed the spot she had gently bit. My cute, sweet girl was such a little vixen behind closed doors and I fucking loved it. “Emme,” I managed to get out, but my voice was hoarse. This woman made it hard to breathe sometimes. She turned around and asked, “Will you unzip this for me?” I did as she asked. She then turned around and took two steps back. The dress slipped down over her shoulder and after freeing her arm, Emme pushed the dress down

over her hips. It pooled at her feet and she stepped out of it. She stood in front of me in a black lace matching bra and panty set on a pair of smoking-hot stilettos. “So fucking sexy, Em.” “This is unfair, Zane,” she said as she took the two steps back toward me. “What is?” “You shouldn’t be the only one who gets to look,” she started as she put her hands to my chest and pushed my jacket back over my shoulders and down my arms. After it fell to the floor she brought her hands to the hem of my shirt and lifted it up over my head. She then tossed that to the floor and brought her hands to the waistband of my cargo pants. I knew she had to be feeling a bit feisty because she had always been a bit more cautious every other time we were together. She was now taking charge and it was undoubtedly a huge turn on for me. She unbuttoned and unzipped my pants and pushed them down my legs. I kicked off my boots and socks and stepped out of the pants. She took a step back, looked me up and down, and said, “That’s much better.” With her eyes now completely focused on mine she reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. I watched as it fell to the floor. She then hooked her thumbs into the sides of her panties and pushed those down her legs. Now she stood in front of me with nothing but her shoes on and she was, no doubt, perfect. I pushed my boxer briefs down my legs and stepped out of them. I stared back at her. The intensity in her eyes was too much and I reached out to snake an arm around her waist. I pulled her toward me and lifted her up. I heard her shoes fall to the floor. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist while I brought my other hand to her ass. Capturing her mouth with mine, I walked to the side of the room with open wall space. I pressed her back up against the wall and began kissing along her jaw and down her throat before making my way back up to claim her mouth. I brought one of my hands between us and found her slick and ready. “Zane, baby, please give it to me,” she begged. “You’ll get it, sweetheart. You’ll get everything I have, always.” I positioned myself at her entrance and put my hands on her hips. I looked in her eyes, but made no move. She still had her legs wrapped around my waist, so when I made no effort to move, she squeezed her thighs together and urged me forward. That was all the encouragement I needed. I brought her down hard on my dick and watched her face. Contentment in her features the moment I was inside her. I pulled back slowly and thrusted back into her. She moaned and brought one hand to her tit. My eyes went to her hand and watched as she massaged and squeezed. Her fingertips went to her nipple where she alternated between rubbing and pinching the pink bud. I growled. There was no other word that could accurately describe the sound that came out of me when I saw her touching herself. I bent my head down to take one of her tits in my mouth. She moaned again as I licked and sucked. I moved to the other side, making sure to give equal attention to both. When I tore my mouth from her, her hand went right back to her breasts. I peeled my eyes from the beautiful scene in front of me to look at her face I saw she was focused only

on me. She continued touching herself, but had laser sharp focus on me. I stayed focused on her and persisted in giving it to her. It wasn’t long after that when her breaths grew quick and shallow. “Fuck, baby, I’m going to come,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I’m right there with you, Em. Take it,” I ordered. The next second I felt her walls squeezing me as she yelled out, “Oh, Zane.” My fingers dug into her hips as she milked my cock. I groaned through it and seconds later felt Emme’s body fall forward into mine. She had both arms draped over my shoulders and she couldn’t hold herself upright. I carried her and walked across the room, put a knee to the mattress, and gently placed her in the bed. As I pulled back, I heard her whimper. I instantly froze. “Are you ok, Emme?” She shook her head. Shit. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” “No, Zane. You just aren’t in me anymore.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and looked down at her. I climbed in next to her, looked her in the eyes with one hand in her hair, and tenderly asked, “You want more?” She moved her eyes from mine and answered my throat, “If I say yes, does that make me a freak?” I chuckled and demanded, “Look at me, Em.” Her eyes shot to mine. “First, if you say yes, I want you to look at me and say it. Second, if you say yes, it does not make you a freak; it makes me a very lucky man.” She stared at me a moment before she spoke and admitted, “Ok, then yes, I want more.” I gave her a grin and said, “Anytime, Emme — anytime, anywhere, you want it you’ll get it.” She cuddled into me and I took a minute to hold her close. Then, I gave it to my girl two more times that night.



Chapter 19 Zane A zipper. Sniffling. I heard one, then the other. Emme. My eyes shot open and I realized I was alone in her bed. When I looked to the side of the bed I saw her standing up from a crouched position in front of a suitcase she had just zipped up. Why the hell was she crying and why the fuck did she have a suitcase in front of her? “Em?” I called out as I sat up in the bed. “Oh no. I’m sorry, Zane. I was hoping to get out of here before you woke up.” I threw my legs over the side of the bed, stood, and walked to tag my pants off the floor. As I pulled them up my legs I asked, “Get out of here? You taking a trip somewhere?” She shook her head. I stared back at her waiting for more. “I’m leaving, Zane. I have to go.” “Ok. What exactly do you mean by that? Where are you going?” “I don’t have an answer to that. I have to go and I don’t quite know yet where I’m going.” “When will you be back?” I asked. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she rasped out, “Never.” Then, she grabbed the handle on her suitcase and walked out of her bedroom. I stood there, dumbfounded. What. The. Fuck. I snapped out of my catatonic state, which was brought on by the fact that I had heard the most ridiculous news ever, and stalked out of the room. Emme had only made it to the family room. “Emme,” I called out. She turned to look at me. “Zane please. I need to go. I can’t stay here. Nobody else can get hurt.” “What?” I asked. She looked away. “Emme, look at me.” She didn’t.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I put my hand around the side of her neck and bent down a bit so that my eyes were level with hers. “Tell me what’s going on, Em.” “I can’t stay. Somebody will get hurt. I don’t want anyone else hurt.” “You are crying your fucking eyes out right now. You aren’t going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on.” “I CAN’T stay.” “Why not?” I demanded, now beginning to really lose my patience. “Someone is going to get hurt,” she said, still crying and now moving toward her suitcase. I instinctively reached out to grab her wrist. Her eyes came to mine. “Emme, talk to me,” I pleaded. “I can’t. I have to go.” “You can’t just go. Tell me what’s going on.” She was becoming more and more frustrated and at that moment screamed, “STOP, PLEASE. ZANE, YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO!” I released her wrist and took half of a step back, shocked at her response to me. What was happening to my sweet girl? Her face had a look of sheer terror on it. Seconds later, Wes boomed in my ear, “Zane, what the fuck is going on?” “Fuck if I know. I was asleep and woke up to her zipping that shit up,” I began as I pointed to the suitcase. “I’ve asked her what she is doing about ten times already. She won’t explain anything to me. Just keeps saying that she needs to go and she can’t stay. Says she doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt. You’ve got any fucking clue what that means?” “Oh my God,” I heard Charley say. I turned to look at her. Something was up and she knew what it was. Charley kept her eyes on Emme, walked to her, and put her hands on either side of her face. Then she asked, “Did he contact you, Em?” My brows drew together at Charley’s question. Emme nodded. “He call?” Charley asked. Emme shook her head. “How?” She didn’t answer. “Emme. How?” Charley asked again. Emme put her hand into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a piece of paper. She

handed it to Charley. Charley read it and now tears were pouring down her cheeks. What. The. Fuck. “Charley?” Wes called, trying to refocus her. She handed him the piece of paper. He looked at it and then to my girl. “How did this get here, Em?” “I found it this morning. Came out to put a pot of coffee on. Saw it on the floor in front of the door. I think he slipped it under the door.” “He?” I asked as I walked over and took the paper out of Wes’ hand. “My ex, Seth,” Emme said. My head dropped to the piece of paper and with each word I read my blood began to boil. You think you can run away from me, you whore? You’re mine. You better get rid of your snowboarder before he gets a bullet, too. You’ll always be mine. Wes asked, “You mean he had someone do it for him?” The girls shook their heads in unison before Charley added, “After Seth killed Taj he was never caught. He went into hiding and they never found him. Emme and I moved here not only to get away from the painful memories, but to make sure that he’d never find her.” Fuck that shit. He wasn’t going to get to my girl. And he definitely wasn’t going to make her leave either. I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my pants and walked out of the room. I found the number I was looking for, tapped on the screen, and held the phone to my ear. It rang twice. “Nearly ten in the morning on a Sunday, Zane. This better be good.” “Need your help, Levi. Going to text you an address. Need you to get here now. Bring Cruz with you.” Suddenly very alert, Levi asked, “You alright, man? What’s going on?” “Should have fucking called you a week ago when I learned of it to have you look in to this shit. Didn’t think twice about it though because my focus was on Emme. Found out last weekend that the real reason she moved here from California was because her exboyfriend beat the shit out of her. He did it for years, man — fucking years. And the last time she saw him was the night he beat her so bad she called Charley’s brother to come take her to the hospital. He got her out of there, but he was shot and killed by Emme’s ex. Levi, she landed in the hospital for weeks and nearly died. Girl only has one fucking kidney he beat her so bad. Just found out minutes ago that the fucker was never caught. He slid a note under her door this morning.” “One fucking kidney, Zane? She was beaten that badly?” “Dude, my blood is already boiling and I’m fucking livid as it is. Need to get back to her right now and I need you to get here.” “Right. Text me the address. I’m throwing on some clothes and getting Cruz. See

you soon.” I disconnected the call and immediately sent a text to Levi with the address to Emme’s condo. I walked back out to the family room to find my sweet girl in the corner crying her eyes out. Wes had his arms wrapped around her and was talking softly to her trying to console her and offer her something in the way of comfort. He looked up and saw me approach. “You call them?” he asked. I nodded. Wes moved away from Emme as I wrapped my arms around her. I pulled her into my body and whispered in her ear, “You aren’t running, Em. He’s never going to touch you again. I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep you safe, sweetheart. I promise you.” “Zane, please let me go,” she whispered. “I could never live with myself if something happened to you.” “Nothing is going to happen to me. And sorry, but I just got in here,” I said pointing to her head. “Not a chance I’m letting you go now.” “He’s dangerous, Zane. Please,” she pleaded with me. “Emme, listen. Two days ago, you became mine. Mine, meaning I do what I’ve got to do to protect you and keep you safe. Mine, meaning I make sure you feel loved and respected. Mine, meaning nobody, and I mean absolutely fuckin’ nobody, puts the fear in your eyes that I’m seeing right now. That motherfucker does not scare me and he better hope for his sake that I never find him because if I do, swear to God, Em, he’s going to wish he never harmed a single hair on your beautiful head.” With that, Emme gave in and curled her body into mine. I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. I held her in my lap for a good while trying to settle her when I heard the knock at the door. Emme tensed. “It’s ok, Em. It’s Levi and Cruz.” Wes, who had moved to the kitchen with Charley, came out and went to open the door. I heard him talking to my brothers and then I heard him introduce them to Charley. Emme pulled her head back from my chest, which was now wet with her tears, and asked, “Why are they here?” I tilted my head at her and answered, “Seriously?” She held my eyes, but stayed quiet. Seconds later, Levi and Cruz entered the room. I could see the looks of concern all over their faces. Emme looked to them as they walked in. The tension in her body was palpable and I was hoping that before they left here she’d be reassured that they’d take care of this for her. “Hey, Emme,” Levi greeted as he sat on the chair opposite where we were sitting. “Hi, Levi,” she said, her voice a hushed whisper.

Cruz came over and sat next to us on the couch and nodded to Emme. Wes sat in the chair next to Levi and Charley climbed into his lap. Emme looked to me and asked, “What’s going on?” I took the note that was left this morning and handed it off to Cruz. He read it, clenched his jaw, and passed it off to Levi. “Zane?” Emme persisted. “Sweetheart, Levi and Cruz are going to find him and make sure he never touches you.” Her eyes rounded and she looked to my brothers. “Oh my God. No, you can’t do that,” she said to them. “Why not?” Levi asked. “You’re both Zane’s brothers. Please don’t do this. I can’t be responsible for the death of a brother of another person I love,” she answered as she brought her eyes to Charley. My body went solid. Charley’s eyes had welled with tears, but she, too, realized what Emme had said. “Emme?” I said, my voice hoarse. She turned her head to look at me. “What did you just say?” I asked. “I don’t want Levi and Cruz to do this. Charley’s brother is no longer here because of me. If something happens to your brothers, Zane, I can’t…” she said before I cut her off. “Not that, Em. You said you didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a brother of another person you love.” She held my eyes for what felt like hours. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you the day you took me to Yellowstone. I knew for sure the day Nikki and Monroe called you when I had another nightmare. You didn’t hesitate in coming here. Every day I’ve talked to or seen you since then I knew my love wasn’t misplaced.” “Yellowstone?” Charley said, pulling me out of my head. “Nightmare?” Levi said. Shit. Why did all of these people have to be here right now? My girl just admitted she loved me and I couldn’t do anything about it. At least, not the way that I wanted to. I looked to Levi and Cruz. “What do you need to know? We need to do this right because I’m not taking any chances with her, but we need to do it as quickly as possible.” “Can’t rush it, Zane. Need details.” “Levi, my girl just told me she loved me for the first time, at least the first time consciously. I’m feeling the need to do something about that. Need you to make it quick, brother.” He smirked and shook his head.

“Your girl? And, what do you mean consciously?” Emme asked. “Yeah, Em. My girl. Why is that even a question? And, Aspen. The night you left the pub early. I found you asleep on the couch and I carried you to your bed. You said it then, but you were sleeping,” I answered while giving her a wink. “Ok, I hate to interrupt the declarations of love, but we need info,” Levi said. “No. You can’t,” she said as she sat up in my lap. Cruz spoke, “Beautiful, don’t know the full story yet, but with the very little that we know trust me when I say you won’t win this battle. Levi and I have every intention of finding this motherfucker. You giving us some details will only make our jobs easier.” “Emme?” Charley called. “Let them help.” “Charley,” she cried as the tears welled up in her eyes. “Honey,” Charley began. “I’ve lost my brother. It’s not your fault and you know I don’t blame you. Right now, I’m really worried about you. You’re my sister, and I need you safe. Please let them help. Don’t risk it because I can’t lose you, too.” Wes wrapped his arms a little tighter around Charley as we waited for Emme to say something. After a couple minutes of silence, she took a deep breath, looked to Levi, and asked, “What do you need to know?” The guys smiled at her, Charley let out a breath, and I squeezed Emme’s thigh. She had the support of everyone in this room and we’d do whatever was necessary to get her through this. “Going to need to know the basics about him. Name, last known address, physically identifying details, previous work, anything you know about his family, but also going to need to know some specifics about your relationship with him. Don’t want to put you through painful shit, beautiful, but the more we know about how he works, the better our chances are.” “His name is Seth Miller,” Emme said. She then went on to give Levi and Cruz all of the rest of the basic details. “Thanks, Emme. Ok, now we need to get into the tough stuff. Can you tell us a little about your relationship with him? Starting at the beginning.” She swallowed hard and nodded. “I started dating him when I was sixteen. I was with him for eight years, but should have left four years into it. When we first started dating he said all the right things and made me feel special. It was the definition of a first love. I was so caught up in him that when he started changing I refused to acknowledge it. I was basically blind to the abuse.” “The abuse started four years into it?” Levi asked. She shook her head. “It was probably a year and a half into it when it started. It only started as verbal and emotional. He would say things to manipulate me and prevent me from being with my

friends. He put a strain on my relationship with my parents. I loved him and just wanted to make him happy so I allowed it to happen. Four years into the relationship is when the physical abuse started. During the first year of physical abuse it was just a slap or backhand across the face or he’d pull my hair. As time went on, it got worse. Slaps turned to punches and shoving turned into kicking. The verbal and emotional abuse continued. I was consistently isolated from my family and friends. I could only leave the house if I was going to work or if I was with him. He’d take the money I made from my photo shoots. And then, over the course of the last year he,” she paused and became visibly uncomfortable. A single tear fell from eyes and she looked to the ground. I squeezed her shoulder. I could feel the tension in her neck, back, and shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve never told anyone this.” “Take all the time you need,” Cruz assured her, gently. A minute later, with her head still down and her eyes still on the ground, she said, “I guess it should come as no surprise that after everything he was doing to me I was no longer interested in…being intimate with him. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter what I wanted; he wouldn’t accept that.” I was going to lose my fucking mind. Emme’s head was still down and I looked to everyone else in the room. Wes’ jaw was clenched, Charley was quietly crying with her palm covering her mouth, and my brothers had their hands balled in fists. They all fucking knew what she was going to say. “The first time he raped me was the worst.” The first time? How many fucking times were there? “He wanted to have sex and I didn’t. He kept pushing himself on me. I pushed back and I said no. He didn’t want to hear it. He began pulling at my clothes, ripping them off my body. I tried,” she said through tears. “I tried so hard to fight him, but after so long I just didn’t have the strength anymore. He got my clothes off and he took what he wanted. That night I realized I no longer had any control. From that point forward, I always said no, but never fought back. He would have just taken it anyway.” “Jesus Christ,” I growled as I pulled Emme into my chest. She was full-blown crying now. “Oh my God,” Charley whispered. “How could I have not known?” “We’re done today,” I said to Levi. He nodded and said, “Going to get to work right away, Zane. Your house is set up with the security system and cameras, so you need to keep her there until we find him. Going to put someone on her. I think it’s best, considering what she’s been through, that she gets to meet the team. She needs to be comfortable. My guys are the best and I trust them all with my life, but if there is anyone she’s uncomfortable with we don’t put that man on her. They’ll work behind the scenes on her case. Think you can bring her to the office tomorrow so we can make that happen?” I nodded.

“If she isn’t up to it yet, Cruz and I will cover her until she’s ready. Get our numbers into her phone right away. If she trusts your boys, get their numbers there, too. If you need to leave your house for any reason, let us know. If she is going to be working and you can’t be there, we’ll have someone covering her. Know the US Open is coming up in a little over two weeks — if you need to leave your house to train and she’s going to be there alone, make sure we know so someone can be with her.” “Don’t give a fuck about the Open right now,” I said as I looked to Wes. “Sorry, and no disrespect to you or the brand Wes, but she’s my priority.” “I’d expect nothing less, Zane. Take care of your girl. The brand isn’t going anywhere and I’d be doing the same exact thing.” Levi turned to Wes and said, “As a precaution, since the situation is the same at your house with security keep Charley there. We can get their place wired and set up with security, but for now they both shouldn’t be here.” Wes nodded. Levi stood to leave. Cruz put his hand on my shoulder and said, “You focus on taking care of her. We’ll worry about keeping her safe and finding him.” “Thanks, Cruz.” With that, they both walked to the door and let themselves out. “Emme,” Charley called out softly after Levi and Cruz left. She pulled her face from my chest and looked at Charley. “I’m so sorry, Em. I should have done something; I should have done more. I knew something wasn’t right, but I never knew it was that bad. I swear, honey, if I had known what he was doing to you…” she said, before her emotions got the best of her and she broke down into tears. “It’s not your fault, Charley. I was good at keeping it a secret.” “Why didn’t you tell us?” Emme shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know. I was ashamed, I guess. And on the rare occasions that I got to be with you, Nik, and Monroe I didn’t want to be wallowing in self-pity.” “Self-pity? Em, you were being raped and beaten.” “And it’s ugly, Charley. Most of my life was ugly and dirty because of what he did to me. You girls were one of the beautiful, clean things that I had left. I didn’t want to ruin that. Please don’t be mad at me.” Charley got up and walked over to us. She pulled Emme into a hug, held her tight, and maintained, “I’m not mad at you, honey. I’m mad at myself and I’m so sorry for not being a better friend to you.” I looked to Wes and knew he was feeling exactly how I was. These two girls had been through hell and back. It was a wonder they were still standing.

“Charley, baby?” Wes called. “Yeah, Wes?” she said as she pulled back from Emme. “Why don’t we go make some breakfast for everyone and then we can get to packing up some stuff?” Charley looked at him, but didn’t move to get up nor did she say anything. “Gorgeous, I know this isn’t going to be easy for the two of you, but Levi is right. Your safety is the number one concern right now. My house is big enough as is Zane’s. You and Emme want time together, we can easily make it happen at one of our homes. You want your girls to come in from California, we can make that happen, too. I’ll pay for their tickets and get them here if that’s what the two of you need right now. But, first, we need to get you both packed up and out of here.” She nodded to him and said, “Thank you, honey.” At that, the two of them went to the kitchen to work on breakfast while I held my girl in my lap and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to make her smile again.



Chapter 20 Emme “Will you do me a favor?” I was currently looking up at Zane as I had my head resting in his lap while we sat on the couch in his great room. I loved this couch; it held good memories for me. Zane and I had just finished dinner. With the events from this morning, he refused to allow me to cook so we ordered in. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but he insisted I eat something. The way he took care of me today when I was ready to just walk out on him had me realizing that I needed to make sure my life and all of its problems didn’t affect his to the point I knew it already was. “Anything, Emme. What do you need?” he asked. “I want you to make me a promise that you are going to continue training for the US Open,” I said. “Please don’t ask me to make that promise, Em.” “I’m serious, Zane. I want you to train. I want you to compete at the US Open and I want to go with you so that I can watch you win.” His face warmed and he gave me a small smile as he looked down at me. “Sweetheart, I’ll give you anything you want, but I want to make sure my focus is on you and your safety. That’s my number one priority.” “And I really appreciate that, I do. But today you called your brothers to my place so that they could handle this. There is a reason you did that. You trust them to get the job done and because I trust you, I believe that they will do what they need to just to make sure that I’m safe. I hope you know that I always want to be where you are, but I’m not ok with you giving up something so important to you. Who won the Open last year for the men’s half pipe?” “I did.” “So, you have a title to defend and I want you to do that. You’ve worked hard and deserve to be able to see the fruits of that labor. It’s important and it matters.” “Emme…fuck, sweetheart, none of that shit matters. You do. You. Matter. Swear to God, Em, all of it — I’d give all of it up because everything I have means nothing without you.” “You had this all before I came along, Zane. And you’ve worked hard for it. Of course it means something.” “Wrong, Emme. It meant something before I knew you existed. Now, it means

nothing because you exist in this world. And if something happens to you because I’m not around to make sure you are safe, I’m left with nothing.” I let out a sigh. I was not going to be ok with all of this if he gave up his passion. “Zane, please listen to me. Today, before leaving my place, Cruz said that you should focus on taking care of me and that he and Levi would focus on making sure I was safe. Let them do the job you already know they can do. You can focus on doing what your brother said you should and that’s taking care of me, which you’ve already been doing seemingly effortlessly. You refused to let me leave today; you wouldn’t let me run. I’ve thought about it all day and I need to be honest, I’m glad you made me stay because it made me realize that if I run he still has all the power. He took my control from me back then. If you give up riding because of this, he still has the control. I wasn’t strong enough on my own to fight him before, but I have you now to fight him with me. Baby, help me get back what he took from me.” Zane held my eyes a beat. “Christ. Will I ever be able to say no to you?” he asked. I smiled up at him. He was going to start training again. “Here’s the deal,” he began. “I don’t start training again until you go into the offices to meet Levi’s crew. I want to know you are comfortable with everyone that will be with you. I know we’ve already programmed everybody’s numbers in your phone, but Em, you always call me first. I don’t care if I’m in the middle of training. You need to hold up your end of the deal and call me first. And then, five minutes or less, yeah?” I nodded. “What is your work schedule like from now until early March?” he asked. “Light. Only a couple of shoots are booked, but they’re all during the week thankfully. It’s not wedding season so that helps.” “You want me to train I need you to do me a favor,” he started. “Don’t want to take you away from doing what you love, but I need you to compromise and not book anything additional from now until after the US Open. Book all the appointments you want after that, but I’ll be able to focus better if I know you aren’t out there somewhere that I can’t be. Don’t want you more vulnerable.” “Ok, I can do that.” “Really?” he asked. “Of course. It’s only a little over two weeks before the Open — it’s not a big deal. Besides, we’re fighting this together, right?” He smiled at me a moment before his face got serious. “Every step of the way, sweetheart. I’m sorry that you ever had to do it alone.” I took in a deep breath. “I wasn’t very good at it, not recently and definitely not back then either,” I said as I looked away. I paused a moment before continuing, “Sometimes I wonder if I should have fought harder. I know physically I didn’t stand a chance, but mentally I gave up and allowed him to do what he did during that last year.”

“Emme, look at me,” he said. I looked to him. “You told us earlier today that you said no every time, but that you didn’t physically fight him. Was that true?” I nodded. “Then you didn’t allow him to do anything. You said no. He took advantage of you. You just did what you had to do to survive; and Em, what you’ve endured — fuck, you’re the strongest woman I know.” I swallowed hard debating how to ask him what I needed to ask. In his typical mindreading fashion Zane said, “Just ask me whatever it is because I can see there’s something.” “Am I a complete turn off now?” I asked quietly. “Come again?” “Now that you know the whole ugly truth of what happened, are you repulsed by me?” “You serious?” he asked, disbelievingly. I nodded. Zane looked at me a moment before he admitted, “I fucking love you, Emme.” He lifted me up and pulled me into his chest. He then nuzzled his face into my neck and I soaked up the warmth that I felt in hearing him say those words to me. “I love you, too,” I said, my voice a hushed whisper. He squeezed a little tighter and held me a minute longer before he pulled back to look at me. I continued talking. “And I’m sorry.” “For what?” he asked. I answered, “The first time I told you I loved you should have been beautiful. I’m sorry that it was marred by him.” “Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter that it wasn’t the definition of a perfect setting for what you said to be beautiful. The affirmation from you that you love me could never be anything but beautiful.” “Baby…” I said, trailing off. “Fucking love that, too, Em.” My brows drew together. “Hearing you call me that. Love it, Emme.” I smiled up at him while he ran his fingers through my hair. “Will you do me one more favor, Zane?”

“Anything.” “I’d like to go up and take a shower to wash away the bad stuff from today. After, I’d like you to replace all the bad, ugly stuff with something beautiful. Will you make love to me tonight?” “Not sure I’d consider that as me doing you a favor, but yeah, I’ll give that to you.” With that, Zane snaked an arm under my knees and wrapped the other around my back. He lifted me up while he stood and then he carried me up to his bedroom. He walked through the room to the bathroom, set me down on my feet, and turned to put the shower on. When he turned back to look at me he said, “Told you I’ll fight this with you. I’ll fight every part of it until you get back everything you lost or until it’s been replaced by something better, something beautiful. A week ago, I told you that you don’t do this alone anymore. I know more now than I did a week ago. I’m still not going to let you do this alone, but I think it’s important that you tell me what you want my role to be in some situations. One of those situations is right now. You want to wash away the bad, Em, you’ve got to let me know how you want it to happen because it needs to be your choice. You feel like you need to do that by yourself and have me waiting to give you the good, I’ll do that. But sweetheart, if you want me there to help you wash it away as well, I can do that, too.” My eyes got wet and a lumped formed in my throat. Seth took away my control. Zane was going to give it back to me. I tried to swallow past the lump, failed, but managed to get out, “I want to get rid of it and I want you to give me beauty after.” He gave me a small smile before he pressed a kiss to my forehead and said, “You’ve got it; I’ll be right outside if you need me.” Then, he walked out. At that, I stripped out of my clothes and walked into the steaming shower. The water temperature was perfect and I stood there allowing the hot water to ease some of the tension in my body. I wasn’t so naive to believe that a couple minutes in the shower would take away all of my stress and worries, especially considering my ex was still out there, but I’d settle for the little bit of relief I could get out of the shower and then the peace and love I knew Zane would give me afterward. I got to work on doing my business in the shower before I stood under the spray one last time allowing the water to take away any remains of the ugliness from the day. Finally, I switched off the shower, dried off, wrapped a towel about my body, and moved to pull my hair dryer from my bag of toiletries that Zane brought upstairs for me earlier when we got back to his place. I dried my hair, brushed my teeth, put lotion on my face and body, and walked out into the bedroom. “Random question,” he said as he looked at me from the bed, where he sat in a pair of boxer briefs. Damn, he was one fine man. “Ok,” I responded. “You always dry your hair after you shower?” I nodded and said, “I hate having wet hair. I especially despise it when I am about to

hop into bed because I’ll wake up in the middle of the night feeling cold. I hate being cold. It’s worth the extra ten minutes now so I don’t freeze later. Why?” “No reason. Just curious.” I had to laugh a little. Zane always managed to surprise me with his unplanned inquisitions. I loved the way he would take these moments occasionally to learn more about me. “Feel better?” Zane asked, now walking toward me. I nodded as he stood in front of me. He took one of my hands in his and brought his other up to my scalp. He ran his fingers through my hair as his eyes followed his fingers down my strands. When he reached the end of the strands his hand came up to cup the side of my face and his thumb brushed back and forth across my cheek. “It’s amazing to me that someone so beautiful could ever be made to feel anything but.” I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat again and managed to get out a throaty, “It doesn’t matter what happened before because now I have you and beautiful is all you’ve ever made me feel.” “Sweetheart,” he said tenderly, as his hand made its way around the back of my neck and squeezed. “Make love to me, Zane.” At that, Zane brought both of his hands to the top of the towel I still had wrapped around me. His fingers gripped the edge of the towel and slowly pulled it apart and away from my body. As the towel fell to the floor Zane’s lips came crashing down on mine. This kiss was different than any kiss I’d ever experienced before; it was claiming. I felt the possessiveness in his kiss and gave myself in return. He was taking so I was giving. Zane’s hands went to either side of my upper back while he began trailing kisses down my neck to my breasts. My hands went to his shoulders and my fingertips dug in. Zane’s mouth captured one of my nipples. He sucked, licked, kissed, and teased it while one of his hands came to my other breast to squeeze it. After paying proper attention with his mouth, Zane switched sides and took my other nipple in his mouth. I felt the wetness pooling between my legs with his relentless assault on my sensitive body. Soon enough, his mouth moved from my breast and he kissed his way down my abdomen. With his hands now at my hips, Zane pulled his mouth from my body and looked at me. The heat in his now liquid-blue eyes was mesmerizing, but I was unable enjoy them for long because Zane’s mouth went straight to my core. My head dropped back and my knees buckled. Zane caught my weight in his hands, which were now at my ass holding me in place, and he didn’t cease in working me with his mouth. I felt the onset of my orgasm with the tightening low in my belly within minutes. “Oh, baby,” I moaned as he swiped his tongue through my core and pushed two fingers inside me. Zane kept at me with his mouth as his fingers slid in and out of me. I cupped my

breasts in my hands and brushed my fingertips across my nipples. Hearing Zane groan, I looked down at him to find he was looking up at me and watching me touch myself. His mouth worked me harder and his fingers moved faster. Seconds later, I was coming undone and screaming his name. I couldn’t stand any longer and Zane immediately caught me, lifted me in his arms, and carried me to the bed. After putting me down on my back, Zane settled his hips between my parted thighs while he brought his hands up to frame my face. “Couple days ago, I said I didn’t know if the way you looked or the sounds you made was sexier. Just realized that as beautiful as both are, the answer is neither. Watching you touch yourself — Christ, Em, nothing fucking sexier than that.” I felt my cheeks flush and I couldn’t look away since Zane’s hands had my head immobile. So, I stared back at him and made a mental note of his preference and knew that I’d have to do something about seeing to it that he got the full show. “Going to love you and give you beautiful now, Emme.” I smiled up at him and ran my fingers through his hair. He then pushed inside me, filled me with beauty, and loved me good…twice. ***** Darkness. I was back in the alley. I was out of breath, running as fast as I could. I knew he was coming after me. I had to get away this time. He had found me and he was going to try to kill Zane. I had to keep running. I saw the light in the distance. I ran harder, faster. I kept looking for him in the distance just past the light, but I couldn’t find him. “Zane,” I whispered as I approached the lighted area. “Where are you?” I kept running, trying to get to him wherever he was when I lost my footing, twisted my ankle, and came crashing down to the ground. The skin on my hands was instantly burning as I used them to break my fall. The pain radiating from my foot wouldn’t allow me to get up and walk, let alone run. I tried to crawl away, but with the scrapes on my hands I didn’t get very far. “Emme, get up,” I heard Zane’s voice call to me. I looked up trying to find him, but didn’t see him anywhere. Tears welled in my eyes. “You won’t find him here, Emily.” Seth. Oh God, please no. “Please, let me go,” I begged, the tears pouring down my face.

“Emme,” Zane called out. “Zane,” I cried out. Seth grabbed my shirt up near my shoulder and turned me so that I was now on my back facing him. “Get up, Em,” I heard Zane’s voice say, though my mind was consumed with fear now face-to-face with Seth again. “You aren’t getting away from me this time, Emily. No matter how far you run, I’ll always find you. And if you think he’s going to save you or stop me, I’ll just have to get rid of him first.” And then his fist came down and blasted me in my left eye. I screamed out in pain and brought my hands up to shield my face. He grabbed me by my hair and began kicking me repeatedly. I could no longer breathe. “Zane,” I rasped out. “Baby, please help me.” “I’m right here, Emme,” he said, as I felt his hands on me. “Come on, sweetheart.” I shot up in the bed, out of breath, and took in my surroundings. “Jesus Christ,” I heard Zane say beside me. I turned my head to the side to look at him and the second my eyes came to his pained ones I lost it. My breathing was rapid, the tears were spilling down my cheeks, and I grasped at Zane’s arms and chest, searching for something to hold on to that would keep me safe. He immediately wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap as he rested his back against the headboard. “It’s ok, Em” he whispered in my ear. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You are safe with me.” My body trembled and shook with the fear I was feeling as I continued to cry on Zane’s chest. He held me tight and continued to whisper in my ear, reassuring me that I was safe and that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to me. “It hurts so bad, Zane. My whole body hurts.” “I know, Em, but you are safe. It wasn’t real.” It took a good long while, but I eventually began to settle. My breathing returned to a somewhat normal pace, the tears had stopped falling, and I was settling into the comfort that Zane was giving me. “Can you tell me about it, Emme?” Zane asked. I’m not sure if it was something he really wanted to hear or if he was asking out of obligation. Regardless, he’d been there for me through too many of my nightmares and always asked me to share with him, but I’d always refused. He deserved better, so I nodded. “I started having nightmares shortly after Taj was killed. Charley and I didn’t move here until about three months after that night. I had been having them nearly every single

night for those three months. Shortly after we moved here they stopped. I’m not sure if I felt a bit safer being away from Ventura or not, but I didn’t dwell on it either way. I was simply relieved they stopped.” I paused a moment, taking in a breath before I continued, “The night after I first met you at Lou’s on Charley’s birthday they started again.” I felt his body tense, “That was over two months ago, Emme.” I hadn’t really paid attention, but I guess he was right. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Sweetheart, I can’t believe you’ve been dealing with these for that long. Please tell me they weren’t frequent,” he said. “I wish I could. I’ve had them regularly, several times a week.” “Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath. “Tell me about the nightmares.” “They started off relatively tame and have gotten progressively worse each night. It’s always the same scene. I’m out of breath as I’m running down a dark, narrow alley. I can’t see anything, but I do know that I need to keep running to get away. I know that I’m scared out of my mind. I eventually see a light off in the distance and I try to keep pushing myself to get there. There is a rut in the pavement and every single time, even though I know it’s coming and I try to avoid it, my ankle twists in the rut and I go crashing down to the ground. I use my hands to stop me and they get all scraped up. I try to get up, but I can’t walk because my ankle is injured. And within seconds of me falling, he’s there. He tells me how I can keep running, but that he’ll always find me. He insists that I belong to him and nobody else.” After taking a deep breath I continued, “I was waking up shortly after this, but now they are worse. The morning Nikki and Monroe called you was the worst they had been to that point. He had beaten me, badly. It was brutal and the only reason I woke up from that one was because after he insisted that I was his and couldn’t continue running from him or he’d kill you, he pulled out a gun. I remember waking after that nightmare and all I could think about was you. I was so scared for you. After the girls called you the pain kicked in. It was like I could feel everything he had done to my body. I’m sure it was because I was so tense as I was asleep, but the pain is very real.” “Em,” Zane gently whispered. “I’m so sorry.” “There was eventually one nightmare where I had been running down the alley and I saw a shadow step out in front of me as I approached the lighted area. It was you. I tried to get to you, but I ended up twisting my ankle as I did every other time and falling. You kept telling me to come to you and that you’d keep me safe, but I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t get to you, and you…you never came to me.” “Emme…” he trailed off. “Know this, sweetheart. If anything ever happened and you needed me I will always come for you. I will do whatever I need to just to get to you. I’m sorry you are having these nightmares, but please know that what’s happening in them is not what will happen in real life. I love you, Em. You need me, I’ll always get to you. I promise you.” And I knew he always would. The nightmares were horrific, there was no denying

that. But with every moment I spent in Zane’s arms I felt more and more protected than ever. I still feared for his safety, but I had to trust that he and his brothers knew what they were doing. On that thought, I snuggled into him and settled into the peace he gave me.



Chapter 21 Emme Cunningham Security. I was currently sitting in Zane’s truck, which was now parked outside the private investigation and security firm’s building in downtown Windsor, Rising Sun’s neighboring city. It was a couple hours after I had woken from my nightmare and even though Zane had managed to soothe and console me that morning, I was now feeling very tense. “What are you thinking about?” Zane’s voice filtered into my head. “This makes it real, Zane. I go in there and I’m admitting that he still exists.” “Sweetheart, he doesn’t exist the way that he used to for you. You going in there is only about keeping you safe from him. The fact is, he is out there. I’m not taking chances with you. I’m ok with you not going in if you are uncomfortable being around that many men right now, but I’m not ok with you not going in because you don’t want to admit that you need to be protected until that asshole is caught.” I swallowed hard and nodded. I knew Zane’s number one concern was my safety, but the reality is that I was more concerned for him. I didn’t trust that Seth wouldn’t follow through on what he said in his note. Zane’s life was too important and I wasn’t willing to risk it. Having Levi’s team around would not only keep me safe, but Zane as well. “Ok, we can go in.” “You sure?” Zane asked. “Yes,” I answered, firmly. With that, Zane exited the truck, walked around to my door to help me out, and held my hand as he led me to the front door. I took in the building’s exterior as we approached. Modern day architectural designs, a matte black stucco facade with dark gray accents, and lots of dark tinted windows all added to the sleek look of the building. When we arrived at the front door Zane punched a code in to the key pad at the side of the door and I heard the lock click. He opened the door and ushered me in ahead of him. As we entered the building I stepped into the reception area. It was a well-lit space with modern furnishings that consisted of two crisp white couches in the left hand front corner of the room, an espresso colored end table separating them. There were an additional two chairs off the side of one of the couches along with an espresso colored coffee table that sat in front of the seating. Directly in front of where we stood was a reception desk that had a woman, who looked to be in her forties sitting at it. “Good morning, Zane,” the woman said. “Haven’t seen you here in a while.” “Morning, Deb,” Zane started. “Been busy training, so there hasn’t been a whole lot

of free time. Deb, this is my girlfriend, Emme. Emme, this is Deb.” I took in Deb. She was a beautiful woman with medium auburn colored hair styled in a pixie cut. She had a pleasant demeanor and kind, pale-blue eyes with specks of gold in them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Emme.” “Thank you. And the same to you,” I quietly answered. “Oh Zane,” she said as she directed her attention to him. “She’s too sweet. You better take good care of this one.” “I fully intend to,” he replied as he pulled me tighter into his body. “Speaking of which, I assume Levi and Cruz are here?” She nodded. “Already in the conference room. The rest of the guys are there as well, except for Tyson and Gunner. Tyson is on a case that’s not exactly local and Gunner is on security detail for another client. You can head on in; they’re expecting you.” “Thanks, Deb.” Zane walked with me toward the conference room which was located at the front of the building directly across from the reception area. Zane turned the handle on the door and pushed it open. I had my head down as I took two steps into the room, but quickly realized I should have been paying attention as I bumped into a solid wall of man and big, strong hands gripped my biceps to steady me. “You alright there?” I heard a deep voice say. My eyes traveled up from the abdomen that my eyes were currently focused on up to the chest, neck, and finally the face of a huge man standing in front of me and rounded at the sight. I couldn’t say anything. I had no words. I had never seen a man so large in my entire life. I felt Zane’s arm wrap around my waist and his fingers put a little pressure on my side. I slowly nodded to the man in front of me in response to his question. He pulled his hands from my arms, stuck a hand out toward Zane, and said, “Zane, brother, how’s it going? Congrats on the win at the Games, man.” Zane stuck his hand out to shake the man’s hand and said, “Thanks, Dom. Appreciate it. This is Emme who, apparently, has lost the ability to speak. Emme, this is Dominick, better known as Dom.” Nice to meet you, Dom. That’s right. I responded in my head since I couldn’t actually speak. As a result, I nodded again. Dom gave me a grin. Wow. At that moment, I saw movement to my right so I managed to peel my eyes from the sight in front of me to find Levi was now standing next to me. “Hey, Em. Good to see you. I want to introduce you to the rest of the guys before we start talking strategy. Come on in and have a seat,” he said. “Ok,” I said as I turned my head back to find that Dom was no longer blocking my view to the rest of the room. I stopped dead in my tracks.

Holy. Fuck. A couple weeks ago Charley and I had the pleasure of staying in a beautiful home that Wes rented while we were out in Aspen for the X Games. Charley and I deemed it real estate heaven, even though I still had a special place in my heart for Zane’s house, particularly his kitchen. Then, a few days ago I told Zane I was in sex heaven. Somehow, I managed to look away from the men surrounding the table in front of me and turned to Zane. With my brows drawn together I asked, “Did he already kill me?” Confusion marred Zane’s face. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” I leaned slightly into Zane before I said, not as quietly as I had thought, “I’m pretty sure I’m dead and have currently taken up residence in Hot Guy Heaven.” While his jaw clenched, there was still a brightness in his eyes. They were smiling. “And baby, I think you’re their leader here.” I heard a few chuckles from the room and Zane leaned in to press a kiss to my temple. “Sorry, Em. This is real life. You are very much alive.” “And we intend to keep it that way, beautiful,” Cruz said as he pulled my attention from Zane. “Fuck, Cruz. Her name is Emme.” “Already know that Zane. You going to tell me that I’m wrong for calling her beautiful?” Cruz challenged him. Zane narrowed his eyes at Cruz. Cruz wasn’t the least bit affected. “Relax, bro, she thinks you are the leader of Hot Guy Heaven here. I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything to worry about.” I looked down at the ground, suddenly wishing I had kept my thoughts to myself. “Alright, guys, let’s take it easy here and focus on the task at hand,” Levi chimed in. I was grateful for his redirection of the situation. With his hand at the small of my back Zane guided me toward a seat, pulled out the chair for me, and then sat down next to me. “Emme, you’ve already met Dom,” he began as he pointed to Dom who was sitting off to his left. He then began pointing at each man sitting at the table and said, “This is Trent, that’s Pierce, Holden is over on this side, and next to him is Lorenzo. I’ve got two more guys that are part of the team, Tyson and Gunner, but both are on jobs now that they couldn’t be here today. You’ll meet them before they’d ever cover you, so you don’t have to worry about that.” My eyes had followed Levi’s introductions. Dom was a big man, no doubt about it, but when Levi got to Lorenzo I realized that he was now the largest man I’d ever laid my eyes on. Trent, Holden, and Pierce were certainly built, but where they were lean muscle, Dom and Lorenzo had a whole lot more weight on both of them. It was all rock-solid muscle. I was still in shock. How was it possible that every single one of these guys was

gorgeous? Levi pulled me out of my thoughts when he said, “So I want to make sure you have a better idea of what will happen here over the next few days and weeks. As you know we need you staying at Zane’s where the top of the line security is already set up. We’ll get security on your place, but until then we want to make sure you’re always covered by having you stay at Zane’s. Know that he isn’t planning to let you out of his sight much, if at all, but you should know that if he needs to be away for any reason, one of these guys, Cruz, or myself will be with you. We won’t intrude on whatever you are doing and we’ll be there solely to keep you safe.” “Um, Levi?” I called out. “Yeah, Em?” “I’m not sure if this puts a damper on the game plan, but Zane actually isn’t going to be around much for the next couple of weeks.” “Come again,” Levi said, his eyes narrowing. I took in a deep breath and responded, “I didn’t want all of this stuff I was dealing with and going through to take Zane from his passion so I kind of forced him into making me a promise yesterday. He’s agreed to continue training for the US Open.” “Lucky fuck,” Cruz murmured as he looked to Zane. “You don’t have to remind me; I fucking know it. Emme made some compromises on her end for me to agree to training and competing at the Open. Her workload is light, only a couple of shoots between now and then. Any additional shoots will be booked after the Open. If she needs anything she calls me first. If she can’t get me or if I can’t get to her quickly enough then she reaches out to one of you. I trust each and every one of you to make sure she remains unharmed and I know all of you would lay down your lives to protect her so I owe you.” “Oh,” I interrupted. “I have another question.” Levi smirked and shook his head. “What’s up, Emme?” “I haven’t had much of an opportunity to research all the details of your agency, but I was curious what you charge? I’m guessing this isn’t going to be cheap considering not only your reputation, but also the fact that you’re planning to have someone with me whenever Zane is not. Given his training schedule, I’m figuring the hours are going to add up quickly. I just want to have an idea of what I need to prepare for. I might need to work out a payment plan if your rates are more than I can afford.” Levi chuckled and dropped his head. Cruz full blown laughed, and the rest of the guys had grins. I looked to Zane, confused by their reaction. He gave me a soft smile, but didn’t say anything. “Did I miss something?” I asked. Levi’s eyes came to mine again and he said, “I’m sorry, Em. I thought you would have just known, so I was a little taken aback by your question. We’re doing this pro bono. You don’t have to worry about the costs.”

“What?” I asked, shocked. “You can’t do that.” “Considering I own the firm I’m pretty sure I can do that, but I’m definitely curious to hear why you think I can’t.” “Um, well, it’s dangerous work and it’s a lot of hours. What if someone gets hurt or shot at?” “That’s already happened to all of us, Emme. I expect it’ll happen again. Hopefully not on your case, but if it does it’s part of the job we do.” My eyes nearly popped out of my head at the news that all of these men had been shot at at one time or another. “Ok, so you definitely need to charge me then,” I insisted. “Not happening, babe. Listen, here are a few things you should know. This firm is in high demand and we charge a lot for the service we provide because it’s the best money can buy. We’ve got plenty of other cases happening now that cover our operating costs and then some. You don’t need to worry that you are putting us out. Also, you’re my brother’s woman and the first good one I’ve ever met at that. If nothing else, that qualifies you for the family discount, which is always free. But Em, most importantly, as part of what we do here there are certain things we don’t take lightly. My guys,” he said as he motioned to all of them sitting around the table. “They need to know all the details of the cases happening here. Cruz and I brought them all up to speed on what you shared with us yesterday. They know what you’ve been through. If there is one thing they don’t tolerate it’s a man putting his hands on a woman or taking advantage of her sexually, especially after she’s already said no repeatedly. None of them would accept payment from you for the simple fact that they all feel, myself and Cruz included, that you’ve already paid plenty in this situation. We’ll get our payment when we catch the motherfucker that thought it was ok to do what he did to you. And Em, we will catch him.” My eyes welled up with tears and I dropped my head down to avoid their eyes. This was embarrassing. These men now knew what had happened to me and despite washing away the bad and getting the beauty from Zane last night I now felt the ugly creeping back in. Zane’s hand came over and wrapped around mine, while his other arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me into his body. Cruz took that opportunity to speak. “Emme, there’s nothing for you to feel ashamed of or embarrassed about. We all know that you might feel that way, but understand that nobody here sees you the way you might be seeing yourself right now. All we see is a woman who, unfortunately, was seriously mistreated and deserves a bit of a break after what she’s been through. In a situation like this when we are considering offering the work at no charge all the guys here have the option to say no before we officially take on the case. Assuming we have enough guys willing to do it to properly cover the case we take it. When Levi and I told them about you not one of them said they wouldn’t be involved. In fact, beautiful, they’re actually more motivated now because they’re each hoping that they are the one to find him.” I looked around the table to see them all nodding and smiling. “Thank you,” I barely rasped out.

“You’re welcome, Emme,” Levi answered. “Do you have any more questions?” I thought for a moment and said, “Just one. You are going to be covering Zane as well, right?” Zane spoke up and said, “Em, I’ll be fine. You are the concern right now.” I pulled back from his body, turned to look at him, and said, “He threatened you Zane. And, I get that you consider me to be the top priority here; I have my own priorities. If something happens to you, where does that leave me?” I turned to Levi, my eyes pleading with his, and I begged, “Levi, please tell me you are going to cover him.” I could see Levi was struggling with it and his eyes went to Zane’s a minute before they came back to mine. “Emme, if he doesn’t want the coverage I can’t force it on him. He wants it, he knows he’s got it.” I turned my head back to Zane’s and a single tear fell down my cheek. “Baby, please,” I began, trying to swallow past the tightness in my throat. “Please let them do it.” He sat a moment staring at me when he finally mumbled under his breath, “Fuck me.” He turned his head to his brother’s and asked, “Levi, can you offer coverage on me when I’m away from any secured places?” I turned my head to see Levi smirking at Zane, but nodding as well. I let out a breath and slumped back in the chair. This was exhausting. With the formalities out of the way, Levi got down to the business. I gave him my schedule for photo shoots so he knew when he’d have to have guys covering me for sure. Zane told Levi that he would start training as early as tomorrow morning assuming I didn’t have another nightmare. Zane would train Monday through Friday for full day sessions, and half day sessions on Saturdays. Of course, that resulted in the guys learning that I frequently had nightmares, one as recently as that morning. This only served to motivate them more in their competition amongst each other over who was going to find Seth first. An hour later, Zane and I were back in his truck on the way to his place. “So, what do you think?” he asked. “About what?” I replied. “The guys. You good with all of them? Anybody make you feel uncomfortable?” “I think I’m good with them,” I answered. “I guess only time will tell, but for now I have no complaints.” “That changes for you, you tell me,” he demanded. “I will.” Just then, I heard my phone ringing in my purse. I fished around in my bag searching for it, finally located it, and pulled it out to see Charley’s name on the screen. “Hey, sweets.”

“Hi, honey. How are you doing?” she asked. “Ok. Had a nightmare early this morning so it was a rough morning, but Zane got me through it. We’re actually just now on our way back from meeting with Levi, Cruz, and their crew of guys.” “Emme, I’m so sorry the nightmares are still happening. Maybe Zane’s brothers will find Seth and that will help put an end to them. Speaking of which, how did that meeting go?” “It went well. Everyone seems nice enough. I just feel bad now because they won’t let me pay them for their services. And, last night I talked Zane into training for the US Open so with him needing to be away to train they’ll need to have one of their guys with me until Zane finishes.” “Wait, I thought he said he wasn’t going to compete at the Open?” she asked. “He didn’t want to, but I asked him to not give it up. I don’t want Seth having any more control. If Zane doesn’t compete, Seth wins. So, I convinced Zane to train, but as a result, now I’ll be abusing their security services.” “Oh, Em. I’m so happy you could talk him into competing. He deserves it, but so do you. I’m glad you’re fighting back, honey.” “Me, too.” “So, aside from wanting to check in on you I was calling to give you some news. Yesterday, after we left the condo I had a long talk with Wes. I wanted to do something for you so Wes and I are flying Nikki and Monroe out this weekend. They’ll get here Saturday morning. I wanted to have you come here and spend the day at the house with us Saturday. I’m going to be inviting Elle and Greg, too, and I thought we could do some wedding planning.” “Charley, I’m going to cry now. Are they really coming out?” I asked, tears welling in my eyes and my throat tight. I loved this girl. I’m certain she hadn’t set a date for her wedding, but she was looking for a way to distract me from everything bad that was happening in my life right now. “Yes, Emme, they’re really coming.” “Thank you, Charley, to both you and Wes. I’m looking forward to it,” I said as Zane pulled the truck into the driveway. “So am I — can’t wait. I’ll text you later and let you know what time they’ll be here. Of course, you can come at any time you want. I’ll be staying here that morning; Wes is going to pick them up and bring them here before he heads into the office. He’s got some stuff to work on this weekend.” “Sounds great. I’ll talk to you later then. Thanks again, Charley.” “No problem, honey. Love you.” “Love you, too.” I disconnected the call, tossed the phone back in my purse, and looked to Zane, who

had just parked the truck. “Your girls coming out?” he asked. I nodded and said, “Yes, Charley and Wes booked flights for them and they’ll be here on Saturday morning. Charley wants us all over to Wes’ place on Saturday; she’s inviting Elle and Greg, too, and she wants to do some wedding planning.” “I think that’ll be good for you, sweetheart. I’ll only put in a half day so when I’m finished I’ll head over there. You can stay as long as you like, but after a week of training I’ll want you close by.” “Thank you, baby,” I said as I put my hand up to his face and I leaned in to kiss him. Zane wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and gently squeezed as he kissed me back. When I pulled my mouth from his I looked him in the eyes and said, “Thank you for conceding in Levi’s office and asking them to cover you.” “Didn’t want to do it, Em, but more than that I couldn’t bear to see the anguish in your face when you realized nobody would have my back. I refuse to put you through that so I agreed.” “Zane?” “Yeah, Em?” “I have your back.” He grinned at me before he said, “Yeah, sweetheart, you do.”



Chapter 22 Emme “Hey, what are you doing in here?” I asked Zane as I walked into one of the guest bedrooms. After we returned from Cunningham Security a couple hours ago, Zane told me he wanted me to unpack my suitcases and put my things in his closet and dresser since I was going to be staying there for the foreseeable future. I started preparing for dinner first and then after we ate I took to unpacking. Zane left me to it, and when I finished he still hadn’t joined me so I went in search of him. I found him surrounded by stacks of snowboards and tons of snowboarding gear. “Just getting my gear prepped for tomorrow. I have all my pants, jackets, gloves, and hats already packed, and I just started tuning the boards. Want to have a couple that are fully prepped so I won’t need to do it before the weekend again. The team normally has a guy that will prep the boards for us, but I have my own way and it’s been working for me, so I’m sticking with that.” “I see. And what exactly are you doing to the board?” I asked. “I start by sharpening my edges like this,” he began as he showed me. He had a handheld sharpener that he ran up and down all of the metal edges around the entire board. “And if I remember correctly the edges are used to stop, right?” I asked. He looked up at me, smiled, and confirmed, “That’s right.” “So, this part is easy, then. It’s like filing your fingernails or sharpening kitchen knives.” Zane chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so.” “Well, why do you have an iron?” I asked, noting the smaller than average sized iron off to the side. “For waxing the board.” “Waxing?” “This is definitely not the kind of waxing you are thinking about. We wax the board for speed. Here’s the wax,” he said holding up a square that looked like a bar of soap. “I hold the wax up to the hot iron and let it melt onto the board. Then I use the iron the same way you would if you were ironing clothes to make sure it is evenly spread over the entire board. After, I scrape down the base of the board using this plastic straightedge. It helps to ensure the wax has been absorbed into all the pores of the p-tex.” “P what?”

“P-tex. It’s what the base of the board is made from and you want to have it soak up all of the wax that you can, especially if you are looking for speed.” “Wow. I never realized snowboarding required all this prep work. I thought you could just get on a board and go.” “You can. Some people do. But, you won’t be competitive if you aren’t tuning your board properly.” “Can I try to do one?” I asked. “You want to?” he retorted. I nodded. He handed me one of the boards and the file. I sharpened the edges just the way he showed me. Then, I heated the wax, allowed it to melt drizzling it over the board, and ironed it. After, I used the straightedge to help the wax get absorbed into the board. It didn’t take very long and was simple to do. “How did I do?” I asked. “Pretty fucking perfect, Emme.” I stood there and looked around the room. Zane had hundreds of boards there. “Do you have to do all of these boards?” I asked. He laughed. “Not today. I’ll do them all before I ride them, but I’m just doing this stack here so I’m good for the week.” “Ok. I’m going to go take a shower now and get ready for bed.” “Sounds good. I showered while you were prepping dinner and I should be finished with these by the time you are done in the shower and have dried your hair, so we’ll be able to go to bed together.” “Ok, baby.” “Give me a kiss before you go.” I smiled at him before I leaned in to give him a kiss. At that, I took off down the hall back to his bedroom where I grabbed a sexy nightie and panties to take into the bathroom with me. I got undressed and hopped in the shower. While I was in there I came up with my plan to give Zane a little something that I thought he’d enjoy. I finished quickly in the shower, got out, and went about drying my hair. After I finished drying my hair, rubbing lotion on my body, and brushing my teeth, I put my baby pink, satin and lace-trimmed, front-closure nightie and matching side-tie panties on and assessed myself in the full-length mirror. Here’s hoping Zane was into this. I took one last deep breath, trying to muster up my last bit of courage since I’d never done this before, and walked to the door. As I stepped into the bedroom I found Zane in his boxer briefs lying on his side in the

bed facing me, his head propped up on one hand. The second he saw me his eyes heated and a mouth-watering grin spread across his face. I took a couple steps toward the chaise lounge sofa he had positioned off to the side of the bed near the floor-to-ceiling windows. I stood there, and he still hadn’t moved. “What do you think?” I asked. “That I’m the luckiest fucking man in the world. God, Emme, you’re so damn sexy.” I gave him a coy smile and said, “I’d like to do something for you tonight, Zane.” I brought my hand up to the end of the bow I had tied at the front of the nightie. Gently pulling the string, I undid the bow and the satin slid off to the sides of my breasts. Bringing my hands up to the straps on my shoulders I coaxed them down my arms and let the nightie fall to the floor. As I stood there in nothing but a pair of baby pink panties, Zane finally moved. He got off the bed and walked to me. I held my hand up in front of me when he was only a foot away from me. He stopped immediately and his face grew concerned. “I’m giving you something tonight,” I began as I brought my hands up to the ties on the sides of my panties. I opened the bows and let the panties drop to the ground. Zane was clenching his jaw and his hands were balled into fists as he fought to remain in control. “I need you to do two things for me, baby,” I said, softly. “Fuck, sweetheart. I’d do anything for you.” I smiled at him, pointed to his boxer briefs, and said, “First, I need you to lose those.” Without a second thought, he dropped them. “Next, and most importantly,” I started as I began to lower myself onto the chaise sofa with one leg on either side. “I need you to try to relax and enjoy this without touching me.” Zane eyes were now molten, but he nodded ever so slightly in acknowledgement of my request. I brought my hands up to cup my breasts and tenderly rubbed my thumbs back and forth across my nipples. I kept my eyes focused on my man as I started to trail one hand down my abdomen to my core. His eyes remained focused on my hands, but occasionally made their way back to my eyes. I allowed my eyes to drift to his manhood that was jutting out from his body, ready for release. Sliding two fingers inside, I dropped my head back and moaned as I imagined my hands were Zane’s. That’s when I heard him growl. I brought my eyes back to him and found him standing there stroking himself. I nearly came on the spot. “Wow, that’s seriously the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” I said, my voice breathy as I continued to touch myself. His voice was its deepest gravelly sound when he replied, “That’s because you aren’t standing here listening to and watching you.” As Zane continued stroking himself I found myself getting more and more turned on and closer to orgasm. I didn’t relent in my hands’ movements between my legs or on

breasts. His eyes grew even more heated, his groans louder, and the pace of his hand faster. He was as close as I was. “Come closer to me, Zane,” I said. He moved instantly, continued stroking, but didn’t touch me. I looked up at him through hooded eyes and continued, “I want you to come with me, baby, but when you do I want you to do it on me.” I rested my head back on the sofa as my breathing grew quick and shallow. With my right hand fondling my left breast and my left hand at my core, I looked to Zane and said, “I can’t wait anymore.” “Take it, sweetheart, because I’m ready, too.” I looked to his cock and came, calling out his name, as I watched his release shoot out and onto my breasts. “Fuck, Emme,” Zane growled as he slowed his strokes. For several minutes afterward, we didn’t say anything to each other as we kept our hands on our own bodies. Finally, Zane broke the silence and said, “Really want to kiss you, Em. Need you to tell me it’s ok.” “It’s ok; you can kiss me,” I said, softly. Seconds later Zane pressed his lips to mine. When he pulled his mouth from mine he said, “Be right back.” I nodded and Zane took off to the bathroom. I heard the water running for a few seconds before he came back out carrying a washcloth. He walked over and sat down next to me before he brought the warm cloth up to my breasts to clean me. After making sure he cleaned his mess, Zane picked me up off the chaise, moved himself to where I was seated, and put me in his lap. “Didn’t think I’d ever really have such an appreciation for this chair. Thinking it’s my new favorite piece of furniture in the whole house,” he said. “So you enjoyed that then?” I asked, sheepishly. “Sweetheart, I fucking loved it. Told you last night that watching you touch yourself was the sexiest thing I had ever seen, and that was only with your hands on your tits. Emme, seeing you just now, spread for me on this chair, with your fingers inside of you — fuck, I’m getting hard just thinking about it. Then, you completely throw me off balance when you tell me to come on you.” My eyes left his and I looked to the ground. He immediately placed two of his fingers up under my chin and brought my eyes back to his. “Why are you embarrassed?” he asked, his voice and face both filled with concern. I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I wasn’t sure if you’d like it and now I’m kind of surprised at the fact that I even had the courage to do it.” “I’m happy that I was the first and will be the last to ever see that,” he began as my breath hitched. “I’m also very fucking happy that you found that courage because it was very much appreciated. I love watching you, Emme. Please don’t ever be embarrassed about something like this, especially because I’m hoping you’ll do it again for me some

day.” “Ok,” I said as I wiggled myself in his lap. He groaned and I could feel his hardened length underneath my ass. I placed my hands on each of his shoulders and straddled his lap. “I need more, Zane. Will you give it to me?” “Always, Em,” he said, smiling up at me. “Lift up a second.” I lifted and he used one hand to position himself at my entrance while the other hand went to grip my hip. I lowered myself back down onto him and settled into the relief I felt in having him there. “You feel so good,” I moaned. “The feeling is mutual.” At that, Zane’s hands, which were at my hips, urged me to move. I obliged and began riding him. I loved being with him like this. He would alternate between having his hands at my ass with his mouth on mine or having his hands on my breasts with his mouth on my nipples. It felt incredible either way. Zane let me control the pace for quite some time before he dropped his feet to the floor, held my hips in his hands, and thrusted his hips up into me. His pace was so quick that I had to brace my hands on each of his shoulders. He knew just how to build me up to an earth-shattering orgasm and that’s precisely where I was headed at that moment. “Fuck, baby, I’m going to come,” I all but yelled as I fell forward slightly. With those words and the close proximity, Zane leaned forward a bit and turned his head to the side to gently bite down on one of my nipples. That sent me over the edge. “Oh, fuck, Zane,” I screamed as my orgasm hit and the sensations I was feeling splintered all over my body. I was in the middle of my orgasm when Zane yelled out my name and came apart. I slumped forward, no energy remaining in my body. A few minutes later, Zane spoke. “Are you tired and ready for bed, Em? Or do you think you’ll need more?” “I think I’m good for tonight. Too sleepy,” I answered. Zane’s body vibrated with laughter before he shifted on the chaise, stood, and carried me to the bed. After placing me in the bed under the covers, he climbed in beside me, turned off the lamp on his bedside table, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me into him, my back to his front. “Love you, sweetheart.” “I love you, too.” It was still dark out when I woke to a warm, hard body behind me and a hand resting on my hip while kisses were being peppered along my neck and shoulder. The first thought that ran through my mind was that I was in bed with a man and I had never felt safer in my life. The second thought was that this man not only made me feel safe, but also loved. I wanted nothing else in my life but those two things, to feel safe and loved.

After everything I had been through, I was willing to settle for simply feeling safe. I, of course, never truly felt that until Zane came into my life. And love? I had pretty much given up on that back when I was still with Seth. I never expected that I’d ever be in my current situation, so I knew I would do everything I could to make sure Zane knew how much I appreciated having him in my life and how much I loved him. I slowly rolled toward my back and sleepily asked, “What time is it?” “Early. Didn’t want to wake you, but also didn’t want to leave without telling you first. I didn’t want you waking without me here.” “I’m really tired, Zane. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay awake after you leave.” Zane pressed a kiss to my temple and said, “I know, Em. Just wanted to make sure you saw me before I left. Going to miss you today, but at least I’ll have last night’s fun to get me through the day.” I smiled inwardly. Mission accomplished. “I’m going to miss you, too. Is someone going to be with you this early?” “Pierce is with me and Cruz will be here with you today. He’s in the guest room right now. I’ll check in with you this afternoon, but if you need me before then you call, ok?” “Ok, baby. Please be careful. Oh, by the way, I made up some food last night so you’d have something good to eat for lunch instead of the lodge food. It’s in the fridge along with breakfast. If you have a few minutes, pop breakfast in the microwave for about forty-five seconds and it should be good to go.” He stayed silent a minute before he said, “I’m the luckiest man alive.” “Good luck today, Zane.” “Thanks, Emme. Love you, sweetheart.” “Love you, too.” He pressed a kiss to my lips before he got up and made his way out of the room. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Run. Run. Run. I had to keep going. I had to get away. He knew where I was and he wouldn’t stop until he staked his claim. My body was tired and my lungs were burning, but I kept going. I needed to get to Zane. We needed to be safe. I saw the light off in the distance. It motivated me to run faster because I knew I’d find Zane there. “Zane,” I whispered. Learn, Emme — learn from your mistakes. I chanted this in my head and as I approached the lighted area I slowed my steps. I wasn’t going to fall this time. I managed to avoid the rut in the ground and came to a stop when I saw the figure in the shadows. “Zane,” I called out. The figure moved out of the shadows and into the light. It wasn’t Zane.

Oh no. “You didn’t really think I’d let you run to him, did you, Emily?” Seth seethed. “Where is he?” I asked, panic rising in my voice. “Zane!!” I yelled out. “He isn’t going to be able to save you. Not from me. Not anymore,” Seth continued as he took more steps toward me. I took steps back from him, but lost my footing in the rut in the ground and went down. I tried to get back up and was nearly half way to fully standing when a blow to my jaw sent me flying backward. I landed on the ground again and tried to regain my focus. There was little time to do this because Seth came over and began kicking me repeatedly shouting out that I’d always be his no matter how much I ran. I curled my body up into a ball trying to protect myself and praying that he’d stop, but he just kept going. Where was Zane? Why wasn’t he here? With one final devastating blow to my lower back, I screamed out in pain. The kicking ceased. His footsteps were walking away from me. When I lifted my head slightly I noticed he stopped next to something on the ground. It was too dark to see what it was. He bent down and began dragging the object toward the light. It was then that I realized why Zane never called for me. He was barely breathing as his eyes came to mine. I began crawling toward him, my body screaming in agony at the movement. “Zane,” I said. The closer I got to him I realized there was blood soaking through his shirt at his stomach. “No, no, no,” I cried out. “I’m so sorry, baby. Please don’t leave me.” “It’s time to say good-bye, Emily,” I heard Seth say from above me. I looked up and saw he had his gun pointed to Zane. “NOOOOO!” I yelled out. I shot up in the bed, violently shaking. I brought my knees to my chest, dropped my head to my knees, and cried my eyes out. “Fucking hell,” I heard a man’s voice say. I froze. It wasn’t Zane’s voice. I had to get away, but before I could move I felt hands that weren’t Zane’s wrapping around my arms from beside me on the bed. I immediately tried to pull away to no avail and yelled, “NO!” “Emme, it’s ok,” the voice said. “It’s Cruz. You’re safe, beautiful. It was just a nightmare. You. Are. Safe.” My body relaxed only slightly, but it was enough for Cruz to pull me into his chest and wrap his arms around me. I was now curled up into a ball leaning into Cruz. “Oh my God, Zane,” I managed to get out between my sobs. “He’s fine, Em. He’s training and Pierce is with him. He’s good. You’re good. Trust

me, beautiful. You are both safe.” I cried my eyes out as Cruz held me, trying to comfort me. It was nice and I appreciated his efforts, but it just wasn’t the same as being held by Zane. I eventually started to settle; though, I was certain I wouldn’t fully relax until I had Zane with me. “Zane,” I whispered. “You want me to get him here, Emme?” I did. I wanted Zane. But, I wasn’t going to be selfish. “No, don’t interrupt him. I want him to focus. Promise me that he will be safe, though.” Cruz tightened his arms around me a little and said, “I promise.” I felt my body relax a little more into Cruz with his promise. He held me a while in silence before he asked, “You ok?” I nodded slowly against his chest. It was then I realized one very important detail. Zane put me in bed last night after our little sex session on the sofa and I never put any clothes on. Shit. “You’re shaking your head yes, but your body just went completely solid,” Cruz said. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. If Zane walked in to the room right now he’d completely lose his shit seeing me curled up into a naked ball with his brother’s arms wrapped around me. The problem is that I was certain Cruz couldn’t see anything so long as I stayed like this. If I moved, he’d see everything. If he moved, he’d still see everything. “Cruz?” I called. “Yeah, Em?” “You have to close your eyes,” I declared. “Come again?” I kept my head down, my body curled tightly into a ball, and whispered, “I just realized I have no clothes on.” Cruz’s body vibrated with a small laugh before he said, “I know, beautiful. I was trying to be a gentleman here by not bringing it up. Figured it was more important to make sure you knew you were safe. Would have wrapped the blanket around you, but you kicked it so far away when you tried to get away from me that I would have had to let you go to get the blanket. That said, I’ve done my best to keep my eyes focused elsewhere.” “I appreciate your efforts to remain noble. Unfortunately, I’ve assessed the situation right now and there are only two ways that we can be certain you don’t get a full show here. First, and likely the easiest and best choice of the two, you close your eyes so I can get the blanket wrapped around myself. Or second, you are going to have to hold me like this all day. I’m not a genius, but I’m willing to bet Zane would be pretty pissed if we went with that option.”

Cruz laughed again and said, “Ok. Eyes are closed and my head is turned.” “Promise?” I asked. “Yes, I promise.” I immediately shot out of Cruz’s arms and over to the blanket. I quickly wrapped it around my body and looked to Cruz. He had his head turned. “Ok,” I began. “I’m covered.” Cruz looked back to me and gave me a small smile. “Sorry about that,” I said. “Which part are you apologizing for?” he asked. I thought a moment and said, “Well, I was apologizing for the naked act, but I guess I’m also sorry for the whole nightmare scene.” “Beautiful, you were asleep. You can sleep however you feel most comfortable. You don’t need to apologize to me for that. I just now know exactly how lucky my brother is,” he began as I felt my face flush. “And about the nightmare, I’m pretty certain that’s something you can’t control. No need for an apology. But, fuck Em, — are they always that bad?” I shook my head, looked down, and said, “Actually I’m not sure about the aftermath of them. Zane has witnessed quite a few so he’d be able to tell you how bad that part of it is, but this was the worst nightmare for me.” When I brought my eyes back to his I found his were terrifyingly concerned. I continued, “He shot Zane. In the stomach. I saw him lying there with blood soaking through his shirt. And Zane’s eyes — I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. He was scared, Cruz. Oddly, I don’t think he was scared for himself; he was scared for me.” I felt my eyes get wet as my throat got tight. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure you both stay safe, Emme. The guy has really fallen off the grid in the last year, so while it’s not impossible to find him it does make it a little more difficult. Know that we will find him, but it may take some time. And in that time, protecting you and Zane is our top priority.” “I’m so scared for him,” I rasped out. “I know, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you don’t have to feel that way anymore.” “Thank you, Cruz.” He nodded. “Did you have breakfast?” I asked. He shook his head. “If you give me a few minutes to throw on some clothes I’ll come down and make breakfast.”

“Appreciate that, Em. You don’t have to cook for me, though.” I laughed and said, “I see Zane hasn’t filled you in on my love for cooking.” “He has not.” “Let’s put it this way — if I’m offering to cook it’s not because I feel obligated, but because I want to do it. I enjoy cooking.” “Are you any good?” he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. “I’d like to think I’m half decent. Zane seems to like what I make.” “Ok then, I’ll give it a try. I’m going to head down and let you get dressed.” I nodded. With that, Cruz walked out and I got to getting myself dressed. I used the bathroom and then threw on a pair of panties, a bra, yoga pants, and a long-sleeved, scoop-neckline, loose-fitting top. As I walked out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the steps I thought about my day to this point. I knew I’d need to tell Zane about my morning, but I didn’t want to interrupt him. His focus needed to remain on his training. I just hoped that after I told him what happened that morning that he’d continue preparing to defend his title at the US Open.



Chapter 23 Emme I got to the bottom of the steps and walked out into the kitchen. Cruz was sitting at one of the barstools at the island with his laptop open. He acknowledged me with a smile when I walked in, but went back to the laptop. I began making breakfast and got the skillet warming up after setting the coffee maker to brew. “You like omelets?” I asked. “Yeah.” “Peppers, onions, and a touch of cheese in it good for you or would you prefer something else?” “That works for me.” I nodded to him and went about preparing the omelets. I also popped some whole grain bread in the toaster. Once everything was finished I plated two pieces of toast and two omelets for Cruz and then a single omelet and piece of toast for myself. I set the plate in front of him and moved to grab some coffee. After pouring two cups, I gave one to Cruz and set out the cream and sugar for him. He closed his laptop, looked to the plate, and said, “Well it looks good and it smells good.” I held up my hands with my fingers crossed and said, “Fingers crossed it tastes good.” Cruz laughed and took a bite. “So, the good thing is that now I have something to get on Zane’s case about,” he teased as he swallowed the first bite. “And that would be?” “That I had an incredible homemade breakfast by you and he didn’t get to enjoy it.” I smiled at him, relieved that he like it. “Well, that’s not exactly true,” I said. He looked to me for further explanation as he took another bite. “I prepared food last night for Zane. I baked him egg cups in muffin tins. Same ingredients and they heat up well the next day. All he had to do this morning was pop them in the microwave and he had breakfast. I also packed him a lunch so he wouldn’t have to eat food at the lodge.” Cruz smiled at me and said, “Kind of bummed I can’t rub having breakfast with you in, but honestly, I’m pleased as fuck my brother found you.” “I’m sorry?” I asked.

“Zane couldn’t have found anyone more perfect for him.” I cocked an eyebrow at Cruz and I said, “If your brother hadn’t found me he wouldn’t currently be needing protection.” “That may be true, but he also wouldn’t be the happiest I’ve ever seen him.” I pulled in a sharp breath. “It’s true. I give him shit and try to get on his case from time to time, especially around you, but the reality is I’ve never seen him with anyone who loves him the way you do. And, Emme, I haven’t been around you that much, but I know you really care about him.” Tears welled in my eyes as I sat there staring at Cruz. That was such a nice thing for him to say. “Thank you for saying that,” I said. “I guess that means I have the approval of at least one member of the family.” Cruz looked up at me, finished chewing, swallowed, and said, “You fucking serious?” “Um, yes,” I answered, hesitantly. “Beautiful, the entire family approves of you. After you and Zane left on Christmas, my parents, especially my mom, wouldn’t stop gushing over you. And Levi feels the same way I do. We can all see that you have a genuine heart. Not going to sit here and talk about other relationships that Zane has had, but I’ll tell you that none of the other girls he was ever with cared about him the way he deserves. They liked what he could offer them.” “Well that’s shitty,” I responded honestly. “That right there is what I’m talking about, Em. You aren’t that kind of person. You’re authentic; that’s hard to find. And, I’m sure Zane knows just how lucky he is to have you.” I didn’t know what to say so I picked up my coffee mug and took a sip. “So what about you?” I asked. “Is there a special lady in your life?” He laughed and said, “Not at the moment.” Cruz didn’t offer any additional information and I didn’t want to seem nosy so I let it go. We finished up breakfast and I cleaned up the dishes. Cruz got back to work on his laptop and I let him know I’d be upstairs doing some work. I decided to make my way up to the guest bedroom Zane was in last night working on his boards. I knew this was going to be a long week for Zane with training and since I’d be spending a couple hours at Wes’ place with Charley and the girls on Saturday I wanted to make sure I did what I could so that I would have as much time as possible with Zane on Sunday. I looked around the room, decided on a stack of boards to start on, and tuned his boards for him. I spent several hours working on the boards and had gotten through about half of them when my stomach started growling. I decided to take a break so I could make lunch. Tomorrow was another day; I’d get the rest of the boards done then. I walked downstairs and heard voices. As I entered the kitchen I saw Cruz and Levi

standing there talking. I found it odd that Levi was here. “Hi Levi,” I said as I entered. He gave me a soft smile before he replied, “Hey, Emme. How are you doing? I heard it was a rough morning.” I looked to Cruz. “Worried about you, beautiful. Had to tell someone. It won’t go beyond Levi, though.” I nodded and looked back to Levi. “I’m ok, thank you for asking. And, it’s ok that you told Levi, Cruz. Just please don’t tell Zane. I want to be the one to do that — after he gets home.” “You’ve got it, Em.” “Is everything ok?” I asked, my eyes on Levi’s. “I didn’t expect you were going to be here.” “Everything is fine. Just wanted to come by to update Cruz on a few things.” Why didn’t he just call him? “It’s about him, isn’t it?” I asked, suddenly feeling my stomach grow cold. “Did you find him?” At that moment, I heard my cell phone ringing on the counter. I walked over, picked it up, and saw Zane’s name on the display. I smiled at the display, swiped my thumb across the phone, and held it to my ear, “Hey, how’s it going?” “Good. Just taking a break to eat lunch which, I’ve got to say, is way fucking better than the lodge food.” I smiled into the phone and said, “I’m happy to hear that.” “How’s it going there? You doing ok?” “Yeah, I’m ok. Miss you, though.” “I miss you, too, sweetheart. Cruz around?” “Yes, actually. I just walked downstairs to make lunch and found him in the kitchen with Levi.” “Levi’s there?” he asked, his voice indicating he was alarmed. “What’s going on?” “Honestly, I don’t know. I just asked them that, but then you called so I haven’t gotten an answer yet.” “Give Levi the phone, Emme.” “For what?” I asked. “Emme, can you not fucking question me right now and just do what I asked? I’m about ready to pack up my shit here and come home. Put Levi on the fucking phone so I can find out what the hell is going on,” he shouted.

I swallowed hard at the harshness in his tone. “I’m sorry, Zane,” I said quietly as I looked to the ground. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Hold on,” I said, as I walked over to Levi. I held the phone out to him, tried to swallow past the lump in my throat and blink back the tears threatening to fall before I whispered, “He wants to talk to you.” Levi gave me a concerned look and took the phone out of my hand. I began walking away knowing I was going to break down at any moment and didn’t want them to witness it. I made it about four steps away from Levi when I heard, “Hey asshole, did you just fucking yell at her?” I froze. Silence. Then, Levi continued, “I fucking know because I just witnessed that girl’s face light up when she saw it was you calling and then not even minutes later she’s walking to me with tears in her eyes to give me the phone only seconds after apologizing to you for upsetting you. From where Cruz and I are standing I didn’t witness a single thing she could have done to upset you to the point you put that look on her face.” Silence again. Then, “Can’t say for sure since she started walking away the second I took the phone from her and now she’s frozen solid with her back to me and her head down.” Fuck. I thought yesterday was embarrassing. Nope. This was way worse. I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide at that moment, but my body wouldn’t move. Levi finally said, “Not fucking discussing it right now.” Silence again. Then he roared, “Because she’s already way too fucking upset and is going to need you here when I tell her, that’s why. Though, considering the way you just treated her, maybe fucking not.” At that, I ran out of the room and up the steps to the bedroom and didn’t wait to hear the rest of the conversation. Zane If they were giving out awards for the biggest fucking asshole in the world, I’d definitely be in the running. I was currently in my truck on the way back to my house. I cut my training session short today because I chose to call my girl when I took a break this afternoon and after hearing that Levi was at the house I yelled at her. I fucking yelled at my sweet girl who had been verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually assaulted for years prior. And she had been so conditioned to apologize when she thought she had done something wrong that she apologized to me after I yelled at her. Yep.

No doubt I was winning that award. My intention was not to yell at her, frighten her, or upset her, but the second I realized Levi was there I knew something was up. I knew he had news about her case and my stomach sank. He would have only come by if it was serious; I knew this and I lost it. And it was all because the thought of something happening to her would make me lose my fucking mind. After I got a much-deserved lashing on the phone from Levi I packed up my gear, told Pierce I was done for the day, and took off. I pulled into the garage, parked the truck, and went inside. I found my brothers sitting at the kitchen island. “Where is she?” I asked them. “She took off right about the point Levi started yelling at you,” Cruz began. “Went upstairs and has been crying her eyes out. He tried to go in to talk to her, but she begged him to leave. He figured it was best to respect what she was asking for and leave her alone.” “Fuck!” I yelled. “That woman loves you, Zane.” “I know that, Cruz.” “Do you? Because I mean, she really fucking loves you. She came down here this morning and made breakfast. I told her I had ammunition now to give you shit about the fact that I got to eat her homemade breakfast while you were off training. And you know what she fucking told me? She told me that she planned ahead and last night she made you not only fucking breakfast to take with you this morning, but also packed you a lunch. That’s real fucking love, Zane. And yesterday in our offices she begged us to cover you because she’s scared for you. Fucking. Love. Bro. And let’s not forget the fact that she knows snowboarding is your passion and even though her psychotic ex-boyfriend is now threatening her again, she insisted that you continue training. That girl that you just reduced to tears for no fucking reason worries about you, cares about you, and loves the shit out of you and after everything she’s been through you fucking yell at her?” “I’m a fucking asshole, Cruz. I know it. I also fucking know that Levi’s not here just to hang out. He’s got some bad shit to tell and when I realized it I lost my shit. If anything happens to her, swear to God, I don’t fucking know what I’ll do,” I countered and felt myself getting choked up. Levi walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, “Zane, we get it. But if you can’t figure out how you should react to shit like this you’ll run the risk of losing the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to you. And it won’t be because of anything her motherfucker of an ex-boyfriend does. Don’t let her love you the way she does and then treat her the way he did. She deserves better than that.” “Need to go talk to her. Don’t fucking leave until I know what’s happening,” I ordered as walked to the stairs. I took the steps two at a time and quickly walked down the hall to the bedroom. Putting my hand to the door knob I took a deep breath, turned it, and pushed through the

door. When I opened the door, my stomach sank at what I saw. My sweet girl was sitting on the floor in the middle of her suitcases. I couldn’t speak; hell, I couldn’t fucking breathe. Her eyes came to mine and a single tear spilled down each of her already tear-stained cheeks. Those tears were on me. I put them there. “I had another nightmare,” she began after a moment of silence. “After you left early this morning I fell back asleep. That’s when it happened. It was the worst I ever experienced. He shot you. I didn’t know it right away, though. You never called for me; I didn’t know where you were. He beat me…badly. I hadn’t realized it, but he made you watch the whole thing. Then, when he stopped he drug you over closer to where I was. Your shirt was soaked in blood from where he shot you in the stomach. You never said anything to me, but you looked to me with a fear in your eyes that told me you feared for me. You weren’t scared for yourself; you were worried about me. I ended up waking up screaming just after that when he held his gun up to you and told me it was time to say good-bye. I couldn’t do it then — I’m not sure what makes me think I can do it now.” I dropped to the floor in front of her. I saw her body tense. I fucking hated myself in that moment. “Emme, sweetheart, I’m so fucking sorry.” “I think it’s because it’s reality. The nightmares — they feel real, but I know they aren’t. This is real. What happened today was real. I can’t live my life constantly worried about whether I’m going to do something to upset someone. I realize I shouldn’t have questioned you when you asked me to put Levi on the phone. I am sorry for that. All that said, I love you, Zane. The time I have spent with you is beautiful. It’s always been beauty with you. I don’t want to ever remember it as anything but beautiful. And that’s why I need to go. I’m not willing to risk it turning bad and having ugly memories with you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better girlfriend. I really tried, Zane.” No fucking way. I’d sooner die than have her leave. “You can’t go, Em. You did nothing wrong today. Absolutely. Nothing. Wrong.” She looked to me, confused. “But I questioned you today.” “So what? That’s no reason for me to yell at you. I was wrong, Emme. The reason I snapped was because I knew that Levi’s visit here wasn’t a good one. I’m worried sick about you and I let my emotions over that get the best of me. It doesn’t matter what my reasoning was, though; I never should have treated you that way. I am sorry.” “You aren’t angry with me?” she asked. “Not a chance, sweetheart. I’m pissed at myself, and it fucking kills me that you shed a single tear at all, let alone for me to be the cause of it.” She stared at me, her bottom lip quivering. “Emme, please come to me,” I said as I held my hand out to her. Not even two seconds later and she was curled up in my lap holding on to me like her life depended on it. I held her tightly and apologized profusely to her for what I had done.

“Why didn’t you call me, Em?” I asked her after she had been sitting in my lap a while. “When?” she asked. “This morning. You didn’t call me about your nightmare.” “I didn’t want to interrupt your training. I wanted you to be able to focus on what you needed to focus on. And after a bit I settled down and was ok. Cruz really did a great job helping me through it.” “I don’t like not being here for you.” She didn’t respond. She merely snuggled in tighter to me. A few minutes later, I asked, “Sweetheart, are we good?” She looked up at me with a sadness in her features. “I hated this. I didn’t like the way it felt when I thought you were angry with me. To top it off, it was humiliating that it all happened in front of your brothers.” “Emme, I know it’s probably easier said than done, but you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about it. Cruz and Levi are pissed at me for the way I treated you and their anger is justified. Believe me when I say this is all on me. I’m sorry for the way I made you feel today. I can’t promise that my emotions won’t ever get the best of me again, but I can promise that I’ll try to keep it in check. I can also promise you that I would never do something to intentionally hurt you.” “Thank you for the apology, baby. I love you and I want us to move past this… together.” I let out a sigh, nuzzled my face into her neck, and whispered, “My sweet girl, I love you so much.”



Chapter 24 Zane “You ready to see what Levi has to say?” I asked, still holding Emme in my arms on the floor of my bedroom. “Not exactly, but I know we have to at some point so…” she trailed off. “Whatever it is, Emme, we’ll deal with it together,” I reassured her. Her arms that were wrapped around me squeezed me a little tighter before she pulled back and said, “I guess we should face the music now then.” “Yeah, I think so, too. But first, give me a kiss.” She smiled at me before she leaned back into me to press a kiss to my lips. I savored the taste of her for several minutes. Reluctantly, I pulled my mouth from hers and moved to stand. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go down.” We made our way downstairs and back out into the kitchen where we found Levi and Cruz. I could tell they were happy to see that things were ok with Emme and me, but they had some shit that wasn’t good to tell us. “I’m sorry about earlier, Levi,” I heard Emme say from beside me. “You didn’t do anything wrong, babe. There’s no reason for you to apologize.” She nodded her head and leaned into me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in a little tighter. “Alright, Levi, we’re ready to hear it,” I said to him. Cruz chimed in, “I just found out about it, Zane. I think we should go sit down somewhere.” Fuck. This wasn’t going to be good. We walked into the great room and sat on the sectional. Emme and I were on one side of it; Levi and Cruz were on the other. Levi looked to me before looking to Emme with a pained expression on his face. “Emme, babe, there’s no easy way to tell you this. We found the place Miller has been staying at for the last several months, since July to be exact.” “Wait, that was only a month after Charley and I moved here. He’s been here all this time?” Emme said, panic already filling her voice. “I’m afraid so,” Levi answered her. “He’s no longer there. In fact, it looks like he left in a hurry. The place was ransacked and was an utter disaster. We found a few things that we’ve already taken back to the offices to look into further, but they’ll take some time.

Most interesting to note was the smashed laptop and the several large external hard drives. All of the files on the hard drives are password protected, but I immediately put Trent to work on getting into those files. Earlier today I had Lorenzo and Dom go over to your condo to get the security system put in for you and Charley. Everything was going fine until they got to your room, Em. They found several small cameras set up and hidden in your bedroom and bathroom. They searched Charley’s room, but her room was clean.” I felt Emme begin to tremble beside me. I pulled her closer to my body. Levi took in a deep breath and continued, “I’m sorry, Emme, but Trent called me when I was on my way here to let me know he unlocked the files on the hard drives. We recovered a total of five hard drives. They are large so they’ll store a lot of files. There are hundreds of files on each of the drives. Every single one that he has seen so far is from inside your bedroom or bathroom. It looks as though at some point your ex got into your place, set up the cameras, pushed them to a live feed that he had access to, and recorded all the data. He’s been watching you for months, Em.” “Oh my God,” she whispered as her body really began to shake violently. “Fucking motherfucker,” I seethed. I grabbed the blanket from behind us on the couch and wrapped it around her. I didn’t think she was cold, but I’m sure she already felt too exposed. If this girl hadn’t already been violated enough and now she had this to come to terms with. I was going to fucking kill this guy if I ever saw him. “Do you know when the most recent videos are from?” Emme asked, fear laced through her voice. “As recently as a couple days ago. If you are wondering if there are any with Zane there, the answer is yes,” Levi answered honestly. What a sick fuck. Emme’s voice was barely a whisper when she spoke again. “Um, will Trent, you two, or any of the other guys have to…” her voice trailed off. “No, beautiful. We aren’t going to be watching the videos,” Cruz reassured her, knowing exactly what she was concerned about. “Trent will scan them for anything out of the ordinary and confirm that there aren’t any other files that aren’t from your bedroom or bathroom saved on the hard drives.” “In addition,” Levi began. “We took the smashed laptop and are trying to see what we can get off the computer’s hard drive. It is possible that he saved things there or in the cloud as well. If the files from your place were saved in the cloud, Trent will destroy them so that there’s no chance of them being accessed by anyone else.” “Well, I guess there’s the silver lining,” Emme said, sarcastically. “At least I won’t have to worry about anybody else seeing me naked today.” My body froze as my arms tightened around her. “Anybody else?” I asked. Her eyes came to mine and she said, “Well…um, Cruz may have seen me naked this morning.”

My jaw clenched and I snapped my head to stare down my brother. Levi had a look of confusion on his face as his eyes went back and forth between Cruz and me. “Bro, it’s not what you think,” Cruz said. “Care to enlighten me…quickly?” “Zane, calm down,” Emme said from beside me. My eyes came back to hers and she continued. “I told you upstairs about the nightmare. As I said, I woke up screaming. Cruz was in there immediately. I was slightly disoriented when he first came in, and didn’t instantly realize it was him. He came over, sat next to me, and wrapped his hands around me trying to console me. I initially freaked and tried to pull away from him. As soon as I realized it was him I relaxed enough for him to be able to hold me while I settled. The nightmare was bad, so it took me a while, Zane. And I wasn’t cognizant of anything other than my concern or worry for you in that time after I woke up.” “Ok. I would expect that. I don’t understand how this translates into him seeing you naked.” “You are forgetting one thing.” “And that would be?” She leaned into me and said quietly, “I’m not sure if you remember, but last night after our fun on the chaise sofa you carried me to bed.” “Of course, I remember that.” She continued, “I slept naked last night, Zane.” Fuck. My eyes went to the opposite side of the couch. Both Levi and Cruz were smirking. Fuckers. Emme’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back to her. “So, I was curled up in a ball crying while he held me. I don’t think he saw much.” Fuck. “You were naked and he had his hands on you?” I bit out. “Really, Zane?” Cruz interrupted as he stood. “What the fuck did you expect me to do? Let her sit there in the middle of the bed terrorized with nobody comforting her because my brother thinks I’m an asshole and would cross that line? Fuck, man. She’s a beautiful woman; I’m not going to deny that, but my concern in that moment was making sure she knew that she was safe. I really wasn’t taking your feelings into consideration at the time since her well-being was the top priority.” “Zane, baby, relax please. I wanted to tell you to be honest with you about it, but I don’t want you to freak out over it. It wasn’t Cruz’s fault that I slept without clothes on or that I had a nightmare. He really was a gentleman about it,” she said, her eyes pleading with mine to have a little more understanding about the situation. Cruz began to walk out of the room when I yelled, “Cruz, wait.”

He turned to look at me. I took in a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, man. You give me shit all the time and yank my chain, but I know you’d never do anything like that. I feel like I’m going out of my fucking mind right now with all the shit we just learned. It’s like every time I turn around I’m learning that Emme’s been violated in another way. Would have preferred I was here for her this morning, but since I wasn’t you were the next best thing. Thank you for taking care of her.” “Apology accepted. And, you’re welcome.” I didn’t want him thinking I was happy about the situation so I added, “But if you ever look at her like you’ve seen her naked I’ll knock your fucking lights out.” He grinned and shook his head as he walked back over to sit on the couch by Levi. “Levi?” Emme’s delicate voice called. “Yeah, Em?” “What happens next?” “We’re going to continue looking for him and we’re going to keep you and Zane covered until we find him.” She nodded at him and said, “My schedule changed from yesterday when we met at your office. On Saturday, Zane has a half day of training.” “Already knew that. I’m going to be with you on Saturday while he’s training.” “Ok. Well, just wanted to make you aware that I won’t be at home. I’m going to be going to Wes’ place. He won’t be there, but Charley and Wes are flying our friends, Nikki and Monroe, in from California. They’ll be there Saturday morning and she wants me to come over for a day with the girls, Wes’ sister, Elle, and Charley’s friend, Greg.” “No problem, babe,” Levi said. “We’ll be wedding planning,” Emme added. Levi’s head dropped down to the floor as he said, “Fuck me. And here I thought I lucked out by getting the half day.” Cruz and I laughed. In turn, Emme laughed. As sure as I was that Levi was not looking forward to spending the day with a bunch of women and a gay man talking about wedding plans and truly meant what he said I was grateful for his reaction and the fact that I was hearing my sweet girl laugh for the first time that day. Two hours later, Levi and Cruz were getting ready to head out for the day. They had stayed so long after giving Emme and I the news about her condo and the hard drives because despite everything that had been thrown at her, my girl insisted on making food for everyone. I had always admired her strength and told her on many occasions that she was the strongest woman I knew, but today Emme blew me away. I’m not sure where she found mental toughness to set aside each and every devastating blow, but it was evident to me that she was, if nothing else, determined to find at least a shred of happiness or beauty in each day. If cooking for other people brought her that happiness, I wasn’t going to take

it away from her. “Thanks for breakfast this morning, beautiful. And the food just now — everything was awesome,” Cruz said. “You’re welcome, Cruz. Thank you for helping me this morning.” “Don’t mention, Em,” he responded. Levi looked to Emme and said, “Thanks for feeding me, too. And, don’t worry, Emme, we are going to find him. I promise you.” “You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do after everything you guys are doing for me,” Emme said. He smiled at her before turning to me. “Locke’s here with Emme tomorrow; Tyson’s with you. Told Tyson to follow you here afterward and then come in to meet her if that works for her.” I nodded to him. “Sounds good, man. Thanks. See you Saturday.” I then turned my attention to Cruz, “Thanks again for what you did for Emme today.” “No problem. You’re a lucky man, Zane. Don’t forget that.” My brothers left and after I shut and locked the door I turned to Emme. She had a confused look on her face. “What’s the matter?” I asked. “Who is Locke?” she asked. “Holden. Last name is Locke. A lot of the guys are referred to by their last names. Pierce’s last name is Reynolds, Lorenzo De Luca, Dominick Moore, Tyson Reed, Trent Michaels, and Gunner Hayes.” “Got it. Though, I’ve never understood that. I mean, I can understand using a nickname or a middle name, especially if someone is named after a parent or other family member, but why the last name. I’ve never gone around calling the girls by their last names, Meadows, Archer, and Drake. And, nobody has ever called me by my last name.” She paused a moment, thinking, before her eyes got big. She asked, “Would you call me by my last name if I asked you to from now on? I think it’d make me feel like a total badass.” I laughed. Really laughed. This woman was fucking crazy sometimes. “Love you a lot, Emme, but not sure I can see myself being inside you calling out ‘James’ as I’m about to come.” She burst out laughing. I fucking loved it. I wasn’t going to tell her that if it would make her that happy I’d call her anything she wanted me to call her. When her laughing ceased, her smiling eyes came to mine. “Christ, Em, how do you do it?” I asked. “How do I do what?” I searched her face, and to my amazement there wasn’t a trace of worry in her

features. “With everything that has happened to you prior to moving here to Rising Sun and then everything in the past few days, most recently a few hours ago, you have every reason to have a complete and total breakdown, but here you are lighting up my world with your laughter. How is it possible?” She tilted her head to the side and asked, “You really don’t know?” I shook my head. She smiled big at me and said, “I’ve got you, baby.” In stunned silence, I stared at her. “Months ago, I was living in total darkness, Zane. There are still plenty of dark, ugly moments and bad things happening around me, but since you’ve come into my life I get glimpses of light. I hold on to those glimpses because I know that if I can get to a place where I’m in the light with you all the time, everything I’ve endured will be worth it.” “Emme, as beautiful as what you just said is, you shouldn’t have ever had to suffer through a single moment of pain, heartache, or darkness.” “Yes, I did,” she began. “Because not only did that all of that lead me to you, but it also taught me how much to appreciate the beauty that you give me every single day.” “Sweetheart,” I said, my voice a deep growl, as I bent down and picked her up in my arms. “Need to love you good now. You alright with that?” She nodded and smiled at me. I carried her up the steps and to the bedroom where I loved her good. And my sweet girl gave back just as good as she got. Emme I was in Zane’s bed on my back, looking up at the ceiling, feeling deliciously sated. He had just given me some good love and I was basking in the beauty of that. I was also basking in the beauty of having Zane’s body next to mine with his arm draped across my abdomen and his head resting by my shoulder. It would have been easy to dwell on the horrific news I received from Zane’s brothers today, but I decided that focusing on the good I had surrounding me would reap much greater rewards. It was early evening and I had a feeling I wasn’t done receiving beauty from Zane. “Zane?” “Yeah, Em?” Damn, but did I love his voice when he said that. “Want to bake a cake with me?” I asked. Zane chuckled and said, “Excuse me?” “Cakes are celebratory. I want to bake a cake.” “Ok, what are we celebrating?” he asked. “Are you suggesting that there should only be one thing to celebrate? Baby, there are

lots of things to celebrate right now. First, I don’t think we’ve officially celebrated the two of us. We’ve traveled quite a road to get to this point. It hasn’t been easy, but that’s worth celebrating, don’t you think?” “Sweetheart, we’ve definitely fucking celebrated the two of us. I just think our definition of what constitutes a celebration is different.” I rolled my eyes at him. “Ok, well we never celebrated your win out in Aspen. We also haven’t celebrated surviving our first real disagreement slash argument.” “Emme, that wasn’t a disagreement or argument. That was me being a complete and total jackass to you. You want to celebrate the fact that you were gracious enough to forgive me, I can work with that.” I smiled inwardly and asked, “Favorite flavor?” “Chocolate cake,” he answered as he lifted his head off my shoulder and looked at me. “Please tell me you love it with vanilla frosting.” “I love it with vanilla frosting.” “Do you really?” I asked, overly excited and sitting up in the bed next to him. He grinned at me and nodded. “Same exact taste in favorite cake and icing flavor — if that isn’t a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is! Come on, we have to go bake it now,” I said as I hopped up off the bed and began throwing my clothes on. I looked back to the bed after I had pulled my pants on and saw Zane hadn’t moved and was just watching me. “What?” I asked. “I fucking love you, Emme.” I pulled my top over my head, walked over to the side of the bed, leaned over, and kissed him. “I love you, too, baby. But, you’ve got to get up if we are going to enjoy any cake tonight.” With that, Zane got up and put some clothes on. We went downstairs and I got out the ingredients we’d need to bake the cake from scratch. After mixing all of the ingredients, we poured the batter into two eight-inch round pans and popped them into the oven. I set the timer and we went to work on the frosting. We finished the frosting and not long after the timer went off letting us know the cakes were finished. We pulled them out and set them out to cool. It was at that moment that my cell phone rang. I walked over, looked at the screen, and felt my heart squeeze at what I saw on the display. “Hey Mom,” I said into the phone as my eyes came to Zane’s. “Emme, my dear. You sound happy.” I sighed into the phone and said, “That’s because I am.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you. We miss you so much.” “I know. I miss you both, too.” “So, what is going on? There’s got to be something going on for you to sound so happy.” I took a deep breath and answered, “I met someone.” “Oh no,” my mother said and I heard the panic rising in her voice. She was scared. “Mom, calm down.” “My dear, how can I calm down? I’m so worried about you.” “I understand that, but I promise you that you don’t have to worry about Zane.” “Zane?” she inquired. “Ok, tell me about him.” “Well, his name is Zane Cunningham. He’s a professional snowboarder and he’s best friends with Charley’s fiancé, Wes. He’s incredibly handsome and generous. But, best of all, he loves me, he makes me feel safe, and he enjoys my cooking.” My eyes went to Zane’s and his were smiling back at me. “He almost sounds too good to be true, dear.” I heard a commotion in the background and my mom then cried, “Vince, I’m talking to her right now.” More commotion. Finally, my mom’s voice came back to the phone and she stated, “He wants to talk with you, Emme.” “Ok.” A few seconds later, I heard my dad’s voice. “Princess.” “Hi, Daddy.” “I am listening to your mom talking here and it sounds to me like you’ve met a guy. Emme, you have to be careful.” “I know, but I don’t need to worry about my safety with Zane. He is always looking out for me.” He sighed. “Miss you, princess. We want to see you and I want to meet this guy. I’m not going to let my little girl end up in a bad situation again.” My eyes welled up with unshed tears. “I miss you, too. And I know it’s hard for you and mom, but I promise you that Zane really truly loves me. He knows about Seth and he gets angry on my behalf about everything I’ve been through. Nikki and Monroe came out to visit for the New Year. I had a nightmare while they were here, and despite how early in the morning it was when Nikki called him for me, he came right over to be with me. He’s different, Daddy. He puts me first, he takes such good care of me, and he makes me happy.” “Are you with him now?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered. “In fact, he just baked a cake with me.”

My dad was silent a minute before he said, “Can you put him on the phone, princess? I want to talk to him.” My eyes shot to Zane’s. I didn’t want to put him in an awkward position. “Is that really necessary?” I questioned, as Zane made his way over to me. “Yes, Emme, it is. If he’s a good man, he won’t have a problem talking to me.” Zane was now standing right in front of me and he asked, “Would he like to talk to me?” I nodded while biting my lip, but I stayed frozen on the spot. Zane took the phone out of my hand and put it up to his ear. “Mr. James? Zane Cunningham here.” A pause. “Yes, sir. That is the truth.” Silence. “Because, even though I’m not at all a fan of cooking or baking, both of those activities make your daughter very happy. And quite honestly, Mr. James, there’s nothing in this world more beautiful than seeing Emme when she’s happy.” Oh. My. God. Zane stayed silent a beat while my father spoke to him. Then, he said, “Yes, sir, I do love your daughter. I know what she’s been through and making sure she always feels safe is one of my top priorities, second only to making sure she knows she’s loved unconditionally.” Pause. “Ok then, Vince. I look forward to meeting you soon, too. You want to talk to Emme again?” Silence. “I’ll be sure to tell her that. Have a good night.” He hung up the phone and looked at me with a sexy grin on his face. My jaw needed to be picked up off the floor. I was dumbfounded. “You just called my dad Vince,” I exclaimed, astonished. “He asked me to.” “WHAT?!!?” I shouted. Zane smirked and calmly answered, “He asked me to call him Vince. Emme, we had a chat. I think he understands I’m not an asshole and that I love you. He also knows that I’m the kind of man that’ll put your happiness before my own. He respects that.” I stood there speechless. “That said, I think you should invite your parents out for a visit with you sometime soon. It’s obvious they miss you. Can’t say that I blame them either.”

I looked down at the floor. I missed them so much and I knew how much they were hurting. After everything that happened to me, I completely shut down (more than I had already) and then I just left them. Zane brought his fingers to my chin and tipped my head back up. “I miss them a lot.” “We’ll bring them out here. Whenever you want just say the word and I’ll get them here for you.” “Thank you, baby. My dad didn’t want to say goodbye to me?” I asked. “Your dad wanted me to tell you that they love you. He didn’t want to take up any more of our time and said that they’d call again soon. According to him, you make the best cakes and he felt it was crucial that we get to enjoying our cake.” “Well then, we should get to putting our frosting on.” I got out a cake plate, put one of the cakes on it, and started putting the frosting on. After it was sufficiently covered, Zane watched as I put the second cake on top of the first. I spread more of the frosting over the cake so that it was completely covered. I was always sure to make a little extra frosting so that there’d be some to eat later. I then moved to grab two small plates, a couple of forks, and a knife. After cutting a rather large slice for Zane and a smaller one for myself I sat down next to him at the island. “Can we add one more thing to the list to celebrate?” I asked. “Anything you want. What else are we adding?” “We’re going to also be celebrating the fact that my dad asked you to call him by his first name. I think that deserves a celebration.” Zane smirked and moved to put a piece of cake on his fork. He brought it to his mouth as I watched. He groaned. “You like?” I asked. “Emme, every time I eat a new food that you’ve made I’m never disappointed, but this is a different story. This cake is, by far, the best food I’ve ever tasted.” I smiled big at him. We ate our cake and after finishing his first piece Zane went for a second, but smaller, piece. I finished my first piece and then used my fingers to have a few extra licks of frosting out of the bowl. “Em?” I turned my head to Zane’s as I was in the process of sucking some frosting off my finger. “Sweetheart, watching you lick frosting off your fingers could easily be considered foreplay.” I pulled my finger from my mouth and licked my lips. “Sorry,” I said, sheepishly.

Zane pushed his now empty plate back and reached over to pull me off my stool and over to straddle his lap. “Don’t fucking apologize for being the sexiest woman alive,” he said before he crushed his mouth to mine. His tongue was instantly in my mouth, tasting me. I tasted right back and he was absolutely delicious. As we kissed I began rolling my hips in his lap and could feel the evidence of what our make out session was doing to him. When he pulled his mouth from mine, he looked at me with his brows drawn and asked, “Why did you make extra frosting?” I gave him a coy smile and said, “So we’d have some if we wanted it not on the cake.” “You little minx,” he began as he stood and set me down on the top of the island. “I think now is the time to act out that fantasy you had on Christmas Day when I brought you here for the first time.” Thinking back, I remembered the details of that fantasy very well. Zane and I had been discussing whether he’d ever tease a girl. “You’re going to tease me?” I asked. His hands went to the hem of my shirt and he lifted it over my head before he answered, “Absolutely.” I felt my body begin to tingle in anticipation of what was to come. I was also a bit nervous. Would he only tease me? Would he bring me to the edge and not send me over? “Emme?” he called. When my eyes came to his he said, “I’m going to take my time teasing you, but know that I will get you there, too, ok?” I nodded. He brought his hands to the waistband of my pants and said, “Lift up.” I lifted so he could bring the pants down over my hips and ass and down my legs. I was then sitting in a bra and pair of panties while Zane took in my form. After looking at me for a few moments Zane moved to the bowl of extra frosting. He brought it over to where I was sitting and put his finger in the frosting. The next thing I knew his finger was at my mouth. My lips parted and I took his finger in my mouth. I licked and sucked all the frosting off his finger while I listened to the grunts coming from the back of his throat. Once he removed his finger from my mouth, Zane’s hand went to the clasp at the back of my bra. He opened the clasp and pulled the straps down my arms. His mouth came to one of my breasts and instantly pulled my nipple inside. He licked and sucked before he pulled away. I whimpered. “You’ll get my mouth there again, Em. Just thought it might be fun to add a little flavor,” he said as he brought the frosting to my breasts. He covered both of them with frosting and then put his hands at my panties. I lifted so he could pull them down my legs. Once he removed them the fingertips of one hand traveled slowly up my leg as the other hand cupped one of my breasts. His mouth feasted, licking and sucking all the

frosting off of me. The slow assent of his fingers up my leg combined with teasing he was doing to me with his mouth was absolute torture. My body writhed on the countertop, begging him for more. “Zane, baby, please.” I felt his mouth smile against my skin as he moved from one breast to the other where he was sure to remove all of the frosting he had put there. It was at this point that his hand had finally reached my core. I moaned in relief. Zane’s fingers worked me while his mouth remained focused my breasts. He was so good at what he did that within minutes I was on the verge of an orgasm. My breaths came quick and at that moment I lost Zane’s fingers. “No, Zane,” I cried out. His hands came to my waist as his mouth traveled down my abdomen. I felt his tongue swipe through my center. He pushed his tongue inside and brought me back to the edge within seconds. “Oh baby, I love your mouth.” He pulled his mouth fractions of an inch away from me to say, “Take it, sweetheart.” Instantly, his mouth was back on me. Seconds later, I came apart. It was intense — one of the most intense orgasms I had ever had. As I came down from the orgasm, Zane stood in front of me and pulled his shirt over his head. Then, he dropped his jeans and I found that he had nothing on underneath. “Commando?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders and admitted, “Figured they’d be coming off soon enough anyway.” “I like it.” “Happy to hear it,” he said as he brought his hands to my hips and lifted me off the island. “I’ve been dreaming about bending you over this island since Christmas, Emme. You good with that?” I looked up at him through hooded eyes for a moment before I turned around to face the island. With my feet a touch wider than shoulder width apart, I bent over slightly, and placed my hands on the countertop. I turned my head to look over my shoulder at him. “I’m definitely good with that,” I answered. “Fuck, Em, you are so fucking sexy.” Zane positioned himself at my entrance, gripped my hips, and pushed himself inside. “Love this ass, Emme,” he breathed as he moved in and out of me. I used my arms to brace myself against the countertop and pushed back to meet Zane with each thrust. We fell into a steady rhythm and it wasn’t long before I felt the tightening low in my belly. The sounds I heard coming from Zane told me he, too, was close.

“Zane,” I moaned. “I know, Em. Get it, sweetheart.” I got it right along with Zane. Basking in our post-orgasm bliss, I curled into Zane’s body and he pulled me tight to his chest. “That was incredible, baby…way better than the fantasy.” Zane pressed a kiss to the top of my head and said, “Every time with you has been better than the fantasy.” I smiled up at him when he bent down and picked me up in his arms. “Where are you taking me?” I asked. “Shower,” he answered. With that, Zane carried me up the steps and to the bathroom. He set me down on the counter of the sink, turned on the water in the shower, and came back to me with a serious face. “Thank you, Zane.” “For what, Emme?” “Making sure I got beauty today. Could have very easily stayed dirty and ugly, but you gave me beauty. Thank you for that.” “It’s all you, Em. You want that beauty so you always figure out a way to find it. Love that about you. That said, if you are ever struggling to find it, I’ll do what I have to just to make sure you get it.” “I love you, Zane.” “Love you, too.” Then, Zane picked me up and carried me into the shower where he gave me more beauty.



Chapter 25 Emme “Time to get dressed, sweetheart,” Zane whispered. I groaned in protest. I heard Zane chuckle in response. “I’ll do the work, Em, but need you to not be rolled into such a tight ball.” I stretched out my limbs a bit and turned toward Zane. He’d been doing this every morning since that morning he left to go train and learned later that I had a nightmare and Cruz saw me naked. Now, I still typically went to bed with no clothes on and before he’d leave in the morning he’d put a pair of panties and either a nightie or a t-shirt on me. I tried putting clothes on before going to sleep, but Zane said he preferred me naked next to him and that he’d make sure I was covered in the morning before he left. Thankfully, I managed to make it through the rest of the week without any more nightmares. I felt his hands sliding the panties up my legs and when he reached the top he said, “Lift up.” I lifted, but as soon as he had them over my ass I dropped my hips back down to the mattress. Next, he brought the nightie over my head and then I had to slip my arms through the openings before he could pull it down my torso. Once he did, I rolled my body towards his. My eyes were still closed when I smiled and said, “Tomorrow is Sunday. No training and no need to dress me in the morning.” “Can’t fucking wait to stay in bed with you, sweetheart.” “One more day,” I reminded him as I slowly opened my eyes and reached out my arms to wrap around his neck. I pulled him toward me. “Need to get going, Em” he said. “I know, I just need a little love. Two minutes, please? Will you just lie on top of me for two minutes? It makes me feel safe and extra loved.” I felt his body vibrate with laughter as he settled half on and half off my body. “If you need that, I’ll give you five minutes.” I moaned as I felt his body settle on mine. “Keep that up and it’s going to be more than five minutes,” he warned me. I stopped moaning immediately and just looked at him. “So, what time are you heading over to Wes and Charley’s place?” he asked.

“As soon as I muster up the strength to get up and get myself ready. Charley said I could come over whenever I wanted since she’d be staying at the house this morning while Wes goes to pick up Nikki and Monroe from the airport.” He nodded. “Training with Stone today. Maybe I’ll let him know your girl is coming in.” My eyes rounded. “Do you think he’d get serious with her?” He shook his head. “Not saying she doesn’t deserve it or isn’t worthy, but a long-term relationship isn’t his thing. I’m sure he’d be up for showing her a good time, though.” Now it was my turn to shake my head. “He can’t, Zane. Monroe is special.” “Not sure what you mean, Emme. You are special and I’d do anything I could to show you a good time.” “I know you believe that and you should know that you always make me feel that I am, but that’s not what I mean. The thing is, and she’d kill me if she knew I told you this, Monroe isn’t that kind of girl.” “What do you mean?” he asked as he brows drew together. “Monroe is a virgin, Zane. She’s not going to hook up with Stone if he is only interested in a one-night stand.” “No shit?” he asked, clearly shocked at the news. “I’m serious. The sad part is after talking with her over the past couple of months, I know she’d move here for the right reason. She’s hinted at some serious interest in Stone. You really don’t think he’d consider it?” I asked again. “He’s had a rough past, Emme. Shit that he went through changes you. I mean, I guess anything could happen, but the reality is he’s made it very clear that he’d never settle down. He wouldn’t do anything intentionally to hurt her, but if you don’t want your girl to get her heart broken, I’d suggest she not pursue him.” “Damn…” I said, trailing off. Zane squeezed me in response. “Baby?” “Yeah, Em?” he asked, his morning voice still warming me to my core. “Love you.” “Love you, too, Emme. You feeling better now?” I nodded. He leaned in to press his lips to mine. I kissed back. After pulling my mouth from his I said, “You know — just saying, I don’t know what Stone’s story is, but I’ve had what many people would consider a rough past. I was pretty sure I’d never fall in love and settle down. But, you changed that for me. Now I can’t imagine my life without your love.”

Zane smiled at me before he said, “You’re right, Em. I guess anything can happen.” “Maybe you should bring Stone by Wes’ house…just in case.” “Ok,” he began as he laughed. “I’ll let him know she’s here when I get to Parks Ridge this morning. Speaking of which, I’ve got to go if I’m going to get in a good day of riding.” “Alright, baby. I know you didn’t have the time, but thank you for figuring out a way to give me some this morning anyway.” “Always, Emme. I’ll always give you everything I have.” With that, Zane pressed a quick kiss to my lips and got up to leave. “Levi is downstairs. He’ll take you to Wes’ place whenever you’re ready.” “Ok. Don’t forget to take your breakfast with you. Good luck today.” “Will do. Thanks, sweetheart.” Zane turned and walked out of the room. I stayed in the bed for a bit thinking about the week I had had up to that point. On Wednesday, Holden spent the day with me while Tyson was with Zane. I used a good portion of my time that morning to tune the remainder of Zane’s boards. After I made lunch for Holden and myself I made calls to Nikki, Monroe, and Charley, but I didn’t tell them about the news I learned from Levi the day prior. I figured I’d wait to see them in person so they’d see that I was doing alright. I knew they’d worry too much otherwise. Later that day, Zane arrived back home and Tyson came with him. I’m not sure why I was surprised to see that Tyson also looked like he belonged in Hot Guy Heaven, considering all his coworkers did. Regardless, he was incredibly friendly and I felt comfortable around him. On Thursday, I had a corporate shoot planned that I spent nearly my entire morning and early afternoon working. Trent had gone with me and was more than accommodating. He was just like Zane in that he wouldn’t even let me carry my own camera equipment even though I had two perfectly functioning arms. I learned quickly it wouldn’t be worth trying to fight him on this. All of the men I had met since I moved to Rising Sun had been chivalrous; and after everything I’d experienced in my life, it was definitely refreshing. What I was mostly grateful for was that even though Trent had seen me in some compromising videos he acted like a complete gentleman and never, as Zane so gracefully put it to Cruz on Tuesday, looked at me like he had seen me naked. I made a later lunch as soon as we got back to Zane’s place that afternoon and got to work right away on editing my photos. When Zane came home that night, Gunner was with him. At this point I was no longer surprised or caught off guard by the fact that every single member of Levi’s team was impeccably gorgeous. To top it off, they all, Gunner included, had this way about them that immediately made you feel like they’d move mountains to protect you. It was safe to say that I felt sufficiently at ease considering the anxiety I previously had about the situation surrounding Seth. And finally, yesterday, Dominick spent the day with me. He went with me in the morning to the grocery store so that I could get some ingredients I needed to prepare a few items for my day with the girls and Greg today. Of course, during the shopping trip I

realized that Dominick was likely not having very much fun, so I decided to get a few extra ingredients and make a special lunch for him. After getting everything I needed we made our way back to the house and I got started on my dessert for today. I had made my chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, but put the batter in my silicone individual mini-brownie baking sheet. It should be noted that I had made a request to Zane before we packed up and left my condo that he’d allow me to bring a lot of my kitchen gadgets that I used for cooking and baking. Since Zane knew this would result in good food and desserts for him, he didn’t mind. By the time the chocolate crinkle cookie-brownies were finished it was time to make lunch. I whipped up a quick batch of bison meatballs. “Zane’s a lucky fuck,” Dom said about thirty minutes later as he bit into a meatball. “Pretty much knew the moment you walked into the offices earlier this week. Then, seeing how worried you were about him that day and not yourself proved that to be the case. Now, knowing you can cook on top of it all…I hope for his sake he realizes the gem he’s found.” I felt my face flush at this and thanked him for his kind words. When he finished his lunch, I offered up a couple of the cookie-brownies for him to try. Dom devoured them in no time at all. Following lunch, I got to work on the avocado tuna salad and the chicken salad that I was going to be bringing with me to the wedding planning festivities while Dom worked for a bit before turning on the television. Just as I started dinner preparations, Zane walked in. He had a very tough day of training, so last night after dinner we showered, made love, and went to bed. Having run through the week in my head I was now in bed realizing that if I didn’t get myself moving soon I’d not get in all the hours I could visiting with Nikki and Monroe since they were going to be flying back to California first thing tomorrow morning. On that thought, I rolled myself out of bed and got ready. After getting dressed, fixing my hair, and doing my make up, I emerged from the bedroom and made my way downstairs. I walked out into the kitchen at the same time Levi walked in from the great room. “Hey, Levi. Good morning,” I said. “Morning, Em. You seem to be in a good mood,” he replied. “That’s because I am. I get to see my girls today, Zane only has a half day of training, and tomorrow is Sunday, which means I get to spend the entire day with him. I’m very much looking forward to that.” “I’m sure he is, too,” he said as he grinned. “So, are you ready to head out?” I nodded. “Just need to get a couple things out of the fridge and I’m good to go. Sorry about this, though. I’m sure this is not how you planned to spend your Saturday.” “No need to apologize, babe. Wedding planning isn’t exactly my thing, but I’ve got my laptop with me and have some work to get done on a couple cases. I’ll have enough to keep me busy.” “Any more luck on this case?” I asked, not really sure if I wanted the answer. Ignorance is bliss, right? He shook his head. “He’s been quiet since he left the other place — definitely off the

grid at this point.” As I walked toward the refrigerator to get out the food I had prepared I questioned, “Does it worry you? Are you scared that you might not find him?” “I’m worried about what other potential things we might uncover in attempting to locate him, but I’m not at all scared or worried that we won’t find him. It’ll happen sooner or later. Someone like him isn’t going to just walk away without another word. Sometimes, doing what the guys and I do we just have to learn to be patient while people like your ex get impatient and make stupid moves. I don’t like when it happens that way because there is more chance for bad things to go down. If it works that way in this situation, we’ll do everything we can to minimize the fall out to keep both you and Zane safe.” “Well, in case he hasn’t mentioned it to you, I think you should know that I’m extremely grateful to you for doing this. And though it bugs me that you won’t let me pay for any of your services, I’ve found a way to not feel so bad about it. I’ve just been feeding the guys every day they are here,” I responded as I put everything in a bag. “So I’ve heard. You know you don’t need to be doing that, though, right?” he asked. “I know. But, one, I love cooking. Two, if I’m making breakfast or lunch for myself, there’s really no harm in making a little extra. And finally, it makes me feel like I’m not getting all of this completely free.” He just shook his head at me. “Listen,” I began. “You don’t give me a hard time about this and I’ll make sure you get some of this lunch I made up for later today.” He nodded with a smirk on his face and explained, “Just so you know, Zane has mentioned how grateful he is that we’re doing this. He knows it makes you feel safe and more at ease. And for me, I see the way you love my brother — I think it’s safe to say you are someone worth doing this for.” It warmed my heart to hear him say that. The fact that he knew that I really truly loved and cared for his brother was all I could have hoped anyone would see. “Going to grab my shoes and jacket,” I said, certain he wasn’t look for a response to his previous statement and probably knowing that I’d have a hard time coming up with one. I walked out of the kitchen, threw on my shoes, and wrapped myself up in my jacket. I still was nowhere close to feeling used to the cold here. When I walked back into the kitchen, I found Levi had put a beanie on, threw on his jacket, and had his laptop in one hand while he carried my bag in the other. “You aren’t going to let me carry that, are you?” I asked, pointing to my bag. He shook his head. I let out a sigh and said, “And people say chivalry is dead. Either they have no idea what they’re talking about or they aren’t living here in Wyoming.” Levi laughed at me as we walked out and locked up the house. Not quite fifteen

minutes later, Levi pulled into the driveway at Wes’ house. As Levi came around and opened my door to help me out I saw Wes’ truck pull into his driveway. It was too cold outside and Wes’ driveway was long so Levi and I made our way to the door. I rang the bell and Charley opened the door seconds later. “Emme,” she said as she pulled me into the house into a hug. “Hi, Levi. Come on in.” “Charley,” he responded. “Hey, sweets,” I said as I hugged her back. When she loosened her grip on me I pulled back and stated, “Wes just pulled in the driveway. Thanks, by the way, for flying them out here. It means a lot to me.” “Anything for you, honey. Come on, Wes will bring them in through the garage. Greg just called. He just picked up Elle and is on his way with her. They should be here in about ten minutes.” We walked out into the kitchen and the door leading into the mud room off the kitchen opened. Monroe walked in, followed by Nikki, and finally Wes. We exchanged hellos and hugs when Nikki finally asked, “Who is this fine specimen? Does Zane have a twin?” I had to laugh. She didn’t care that Levi was standing there listening to every word she said. Of course, she wasn’t wrong in her assessment that there was some relation between them and I had made the same exact assumption the first time I met Levi, too. “This is Zane’s older brother, Levi. Levi, these are my friends, Nikki and Monroe.” “It’s nice to meet you,” Monroe said. “Likewise,” Levi responded. “I’ve made a decision,” Nikki began. “When Monroe and I get back home tomorrow I’m making arrangements to move here. Every fucking guy I’ve met is drop dead gorgeous out here. What the fuck?” “You have no idea, Nikki,” I murmured. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked. I looked to Charley. “Have you told them?” I asked. She shook her head. I looked back to Nikki and said, “I need to unpack the bag and get out the chocolate crinkle cookie brownie bites. We’re going to need them. I’ll explain then.” “Oh shit,” Monroe said. “This is going to be bad.” Levi looked to Wes and confirmed, “Emme said you’ll be out this afternoon. I’ll be here at least until Zane gets here.” “Sounds good,” Wes said. “Help yourself to anything you need, man. And,” Wes paused as he looked to Charley, Nikki, Monroe, and then me. “Good luck today.” Levi rolled his eyes and said, “Thanks.”

With that, Wes left. Levi took that opportunity to find a spot in the house that was far enough away to not only give us some privacy, but to likely also protect himself from the torture of being cooped up in a house with the four of us girls. He hadn’t even met Elle or Greg yet, and I already felt bad for him. I grabbed the desserts from the bag while Charley threw the food I brought for lunch into the refrigerator. Then, the four of us made our way to the great room. No sooner did we sit down and we heard the chime for the security system alerting us that a door had opened. “That’s probably Elle and Greg,” Charley said as she got up and walked back out to the kitchen. Seconds later, Charley walked back in with Elle and Greg following behind her. We all got up and were in the middle of exchanging hugs and hellos with them when Levi reappeared. “Everything ok?” Charley asked him. I looked to Levi. His eyes were glued to Elle. “Levi?” Charley called. He shook his head almost as if he were trying to remove the image of Elle from his brain and looked to Charley. “Yeah, I heard the security system chime and wanted to make sure you all were alright.” “Charley, girl,” Greg started. “Who is this gorgeous man and why have I never met him before?” “Greg, this is Zane’s brother, Levi. You’ve never met him before because I only just met him about a week ago,” Charley answered before she turned her attention back to Levi. “Levi, this is my friend, Greg, and this is Wes’ sister, Elle.” “Nice to meet you both,” he said, but he was only looking at Elle. My eyes went back and forth between the two of them. Elle was giving Levi the same exact look. “Oook,” I said. “Let’s get down to business now. Levi? Are you staying for girl talk?” His eyes came to mine and he questioned, “Girl talk?” I nodded. “What’s he doing here then?” he asked as he motioned to Greg. Charley chimed in, “Greg is gay, Levi. Girl talk is one of his specialties. You dabble in that, too?” He looked to her, narrowed his eyes, and then turned to walk off. As soon as he was out of earshot Nikki asked, “Is it just me or does anyone else here think that it’s only a matter of time before Levi and Elle are an item?” “What?” Elle questioned, shock filtering through her voice. “No.”

“Honey, he’s got the hots for you,” Charley started. “And from where I’m standing, the feeling seems to be mutual.” Elle started looking a bit uncomfortable, but quickly recovered and deflected. “I don’t understand. Why is Zane’s brother even here?” she asked as she looked to me. Monroe answered, “We were just about to find that out ourselves. I have a feeling Charley and Wes lured us here under false pretenses telling us that there was going to be wedding planning happening.” “There will be wedding planning,” Charley insisted. “Emme, it’s up to you. We can start with wedding stuff if you aren’t up to it now.” “It’s ok, Charley. I need to start talking about it,” I said. We all sat down and I spoke. I told them all everything that had happened since last Sunday morning. I knew Nikki and Monroe were shocked to find out that Seth had contacted me a week ago and I hadn’t told them about it. More than that, they were absolutely devastated when they learned that the abuse had been so bad for so long and that I had been raped by him for a year. By the time I had finished that part of the story more than an hour later, all of them, even Elle and Greg, were in tears. “So, the reason Levi is here with me now is because until the guys at his firm can find Seth they are providing Zane and me with one-on-one coverage,” I said. “Do you get to spend every day with Levi?” Elle asked. Yep, she had the hots for him, too. I shook my head at her. “No. They rotate. I’ve had a different guy every single day this week. First, it was Zane’s younger brother, Cruz, on Tuesday, Holden on Wednesday, Trent on Thursday, Dominick yesterday, and now Levi today. There is also Lorenzo, Pierce, Tyson, and Gunner. And, swear to God, when I met them all I thought I had died. They are all hot…every single one of them.” “Well there’s the bright side of it all, girl,” Greg announced. “If they all are as fine as that man in the other room I might have to find myself in a crisis so that I can utilize their services.” We all burst out laughing. When we all settled down and it got quiet again Nikki murmured, “Heartbroken at what you’ve just told us, babe. Cannot believe you went through so much for so long and none of us knew it. That said, I’m so happy that you now are surrounded by a pack of men whose sole mission it is to keep you safe. The fact that they are all beautiful only sweetens the deal.” It was then that Monroe caught me off guard by not saying anything to me about everything I’d just shared. In fact, she changed the subject and asked, “So Charley, have you and Wes set a date yet?” To say I was hurt was an understatement. The four of us had always been so close, but we all always looked to Monroe as our mama bear. When one of her cubs was hurt, she would always be there to make it better. Now, it was like she wanted nothing to do

with me. I tried to brush off the hurt I felt, but couldn’t swallow past it. I faked being happy for the next hour while we discussed Charley’s wedding, for which she and Wes had not yet set a date. Finally, Elle said, “Charley, love, I’m starved. Mind if I raid the fridge?” “Emme actually made a ton of chicken salad and tuna salad for lunch and I went out and got a bunch of different cheeses, crackers, and fruit. I could stand to eat some food now, too. That work for everyone?” Everyone agreed and began moving to the kitchen. Charley turned around, looked to Elle again, and suggested, “Why don’t you go find Levi and tell him to come out and join us for lunch? There’s plenty of food.” Elle narrowed her eyes at Charley, but quickly took off to find Levi. At that, Charley, Greg, and Nikki walked out of the great room toward the kitchen. I looked back at Monroe once more and grew even more sad. She hadn’t moved off the couch and the second my eyes came in contact with hers she turned away from me. My head dropped and my heart shattered into a million pieces.



Chapter 26 Emme I took a moment to attempt to swallow past the lump that was still in my throat while trying to blink back the tears threatening to fall. I’d never seen Monroe like this. Ever. With my head still down, I walked out into the kitchen to join the rest of the group. Monroe followed behind a minute later, but refused to make eye contact with me. Before I really had any time to dwell on it, the man door from the garage into the house opened and in walked Wes, followed by Zane, Stone, and Luke. My heart swelled at the sight of Zane. His eyes immediately came to mine and he smiled. I was fighting the urge not to breakdown and he knew it instantly. His brows drew together and he walked over to me. I’m certain that nobody else noticed because Wes had gone over to Charley while Stone and Luke approached Monroe and Nikki. “Where’s Elle?” I heard Wes ask. Uh oh. My eyes rounded. “Where’s Levi?” Zane asked. “Oh shit,” Luke said, a hint of humor in his tone. “Relax, Wes,” Charley said. “We all just came out here for lunch and Elle went to find Levi so he could join us. The man might be working, but he deserves to eat, too.” As if on cue, Elle and Levi walked out into the kitchen. They were so caught up in talking to each other that they hadn’t noticed the silence in the kitchen. It was a moment later when they realized they were the only ones talking and their eyes came to all of us. I looked around. Nikki, Luke, and Stone were beaming with excitement, Monroe was watching, but her mind was preoccupied, Greg and Zane both had devilish smirks, Charley was biting her lip, and Wes looked about ready to murder someone. “What’s going on?” Elle said. Wes kept his eyes on Levi and said, “Respect the shit out of you, Levi, but it’s not fucking happening, man.” “Wes,” Levi began. “I’d never disrespect you like that in your own fucking house.” “Excuse me?” Elle interrupted. “I’m not sure what you think is going on here, Wes, but I merely went to get Levi so he could come have lunch with us. Regardless, I’m pretty sure that you just tried to put your foot down and tell Levi that he shouldn’t think about being interested in me. I’m not saying that’s what’s going on here, but you don’t have that right.” “Elle, you’re my baby sister. I have every fucking right,” he responded.

“Really?” she asked, incredulously. “I can’t even believe you right now.” With that, she turned around and ran down the hall. Everyone stood there, staring, except for Levi. His eyes followed Elle. I could tell he wanted to go after her, but he realized he was in Wes’ house and some shit just went down. “Fuck,” Wes said. “I’ll be back.” He took off down the hall where Elle went. Thankfully, Luke said, “Levi, my man, long time no see. How’ve you been?” And just like that the tension in the air dissipated and everyone went back to their conversations and to getting food. Even though I wasn’t feeling hungry I made up a plate. After it sat in front of me for a good ten minutes with me only nibbling on food, Zane asked, “Can you come with me a minute, Em?” I nodded and walked out of the kitchen into the great room with him. “What happened, sweetheart?” he asked, gently. “What do you mean?” “Saw the look on your face when we got here and you’ve been pushing food around your plate for the last ten minutes.” “I’m just not feeling hungry right now,” I said, knowing it wouldn’t be a pretty sight if I got into this here with him. “Emme, my girl appreciates food. She does not put it on her plate and let it sit there. What happened?” My eyes welled with tears. I chanced a glance out into the kitchen to see Stone standing near Monroe, a look of concern on his face. He said something to her and they got up and walked out of the kitchen. “Monroe is angry with me,” I said to Zane. “Come again?” “I think she is. I’m not sure. I told everyone about everything that has happened since Sunday. I even told them about everything that Seth had done to me over the course of the eight years that I was with him. She didn’t even acknowledge it. She just changed the subject and hasn’t even looked at me since. Maybe she’s repulsed by me.” Zane pulled me into a hug and I felt myself let go of the tears I had been trying so desperately to hold back. Zane held me while I quietly cried in his chest. “I’m sorry, I know your friendship with her means the world to you. You shared a lot of shit with her; maybe she needs some time to process it. As someone who loves you I can tell you that hearing all that is not an easy pill to swallow. And for girls that are as close as the four of you are, maybe she’s a little hurt, too, that you waited so long to tell her. I’m not saying it’s right, Em, but everybody reacts differently to things. Give her some time and then try to talk to her.” “What if she won’t talk to me?” I asked, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

He looked at me a moment and without a shred of doubt in his voice he assured me, “She will.” I dropped my head and Zane’s fingers were instantly at my chin lifting it. “Keep your head up, Em. You do not need to feel any shame or embarrassment.” Then, he brought his thumbs to my cheeks and wiped away the tears that had fallen. “Do I look hideous now?” I asked. He smiled at me before he said, “Most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Now, come and eat some food before you wither away to nothing.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s hardly going to happen, Zane. I’ve got plenty on this body that I could go for weeks without eating and likely not see any effects from it.” “Well I fucking love your body just the way it is, so I’m not taking any chances. Food now, Em.” “Ok, baby.” We walked back out into the kitchen to find that Wes and Elle had rejoined the group. Elle was talking to Levi, but Wes, even though Charley was doing her best to keep him distracted, had his eyes on his sister and Levi. “So Emme’s birthday, right?” Nikki yelled out. I whirled my head around to her from where I was sitting at one of the barstools. “What about it?” I asked. “Um, big celebration, babe. I’m coming back out here for that and I’ll be staying longer than twenty-four hours.” “When is that?” Luke asked. “March,” Nikki answered. “I’m not so sure a celebration is a good idea,” I said. “Why not?” Zane asked. I looked around a minute, my stomach feeling cold. I felt Zane wrap my hand in his and squeeze, “The weekend after the US Open is the anniversary of Taj’s death. My birthday is the following weekend. It wouldn’t feel right.” Charley’s eyes welled up and everyone grew silent. “Alright,” Nikki said. “So, Monroe and I will come out and stay two weeks. We pay tribute to Taj on the first weekend and we celebrate Emme the following weekend. That work?” I looked to Charley. I couldn’t do this to her. “I would love that,” Charley said. My brows drew together. “Really?” I asked. “Absolutely,” she answered. “Taj deserves a tribute. We do that for him and then we celebrate another year of your life. That’s what Taj would want. It’s why he’s not here,

Em — so you could live life. That’s worth celebrating.” My eyes filled with tears. “Hey Levi,” Greg called out. “Any chance you can get some of your employees to come to this thing for Emme. I hear they’re all just as fine as you.” Everyone burst out laughing. It was in these moments that I loved that Charley had found a friend in Greg. He truly was the life of the party and knew just what to say and when to say it. “You’ll have Tony with you,” Charley chimed in. “Girl, if they are as hot as Emme says Tony will be totally ok with it. Trust me.” I heard Zane growl behind me. I turned to look at him when Levi said, “Don’t know why you’re getting all worked up, Zane. She’s already told you that she thinks you’re the leader of Hot Guy Heaven.” My face fell into Zane’s neck and I said, “I’m absolutely mortified right now.” Everyone else laughed. “Don’t be, sweetheart,” Zane said in my ear. “Though, if it really bothers you, I can do something about it since I’m his leader.” I laughed and pulled my head back. “I think I’ll manage.” At that point, everyone got back into their own conversations. It was then that I saw Monroe come back into the kitchen with Stone. She looked even more upset than before. Stone’s look of concern from earlier was worse than before they walked out of the kitchen. Monroe locked eyes with me, walked over and said, “Can I talk to you, Em?” I nodded. When I looked to Zane he was giving me a small smile. He helped me off the stool and I walked with Monroe out of the kitchen back into the great room. We sat on the couch and I glanced out into the kitchen. I saw Stone talking to Zane, but Zane had his eyes on me. I brought my eyes to Monroe. She took me in a moment before the tears spilled down her cheeks. “Emme,” she said, quietly. “I’m so sorry. I feel horrible. How did we let all that happen to you?” I let out the breath I had been holding and felt my nose begin to sting. She took my hand in hers. “Oh thank goodness. I thought you were angry with me.” “What? Why would you think that?” “You never said anything to me after I laid all that stuff on you guys. Then, you just changed the subject, and haven’t even looked at me since. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Monroe.” “I feel like a failure, Em. What kind of friend am I to have not known what was happening to you?” “Charley said the same thing. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her; I was very good at hiding it. And, I didn’t say anything to the three of you because when I was with Seth I

had very little left in my life that was not dirty or ugly, Monroe. I know I didn’t get to spend much time with you all the longer I stayed with him, but the time I did have with you three was all beauty. I didn’t want it to turn ugly with my stuff.” She stared at me a moment before she said, “We would have gotten you out of there, Em. God, my best friend was not only being beaten, but also raped for over a year and I didn’t know it.” She dropped her head down toward her lap and cried. “Mama, you’ve got to let go of the guilt,” I said as I cupped her cheek in my hand and made her look me in the eyes. “I’m here, I’m alive, and most importantly, I’m in a relationship with a man who loves and respects me. He would do anything to protect me and keep me safe. I love you and I understand why your heart hurts so much over this, but I’m ok now. I need you to let go of the guilt.” With the tears still spilling down her cheeks she asked, “Are they going to keep you safe? Em, we almost lost you a year ago and it was the single most heartbreaking experience of my life. I don’t want to go through that again. Stone says Levi and his team are the best there is. Do you really believe they will protect you? I have to know you are safe, Emme.” “I can’t say what will or won’t happen, but I believe deep down in my heart that they would stop at nothing to protect me. And, if something happened to me I know they’d do whatever they had to just to make sure I got through whatever it was. I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not scared about the fact that Seth is still out there actively stalking me, but I can’t keep giving him control. I decided to get my control back. It’s not easy and I have moments that I struggle with it, but I’m ok with being a work in progress. If I can get through this, mama, I know that there is so much beauty that awaits me.” Monroe wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. I glanced out to the kitchen to see both Stone and Zane with their eyes on us. Both were smiling at me and I gave them a small smile to let them know all was good. When I pulled back, I looked at Monroe. I wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks and said, “Love you, Monroe.” “Love you, too, Em. Was going to wait to tell you this until it was definite, but after all this I need some happy stuff.” She paused a moment taking in a deep breath before she said, “I’ve decided to move here. I need a change from California and after thinking about it for quite some time I realized I can dance anywhere. I’ve started looking at places out here for a studio. I’ve spent enough time in California and while I love my job, I’m not feeling personally fulfilled. I want love, Em. I want a love like you and Charley have found out here. I’m not sure if I’ll find it here,” she said, pausing to glance out into the kitchen where Stone was. When she looked back to me she said, “But I think it’s worth the risk.” “Really?” I asked, shocked that she had made this decision. I was so happy that I’d have her close by again. “When?” “I’m hoping within the next month or two. I figure if I want the next chapter of my life to begin, the best way to get it done is to start it now.” This girl deserved loved and my heart broke for what I was certain she didn’t know

about Stone. I didn’t want to crush her hopes, so I decided to stay quiet on the subject. “Have you told anyone else?” I asked her. “Nikki knows.” I frowned. “What about her? She’s going to be there and we’re all going to be here.” She smiled at me and said, “I’ll let Nikki give you her own news.” My eyes bulged out of my head and I said, “Can we go out there now and give everyone else your good news?” She thought a moment on it before she said, “Yeah, I think I’d like to do that.” I shot up off the couch, grabbed Monroe by the wrist, and pulled her out into the kitchen. I raised my voice a bit and said, “Hey guys.” Everyone turned their attention to me. “Monroe has a bit of news that she’d like to share.” I turned to look at her, my face beaming. Her eyes went to Nikki’s and then to Charley’s before she said, “I just told Emme that I’ve made the decision to leave California and move here to Rising Sun.” Screaming. All I heard was screaming from Charley who ran over and practically jumped Monroe, throwing her arms around our friend. Monroe’s twinkling eyes went to Stone’s. When I looked to him, I could see his were smiling back and his mind was working. Boy did I hope he could get past whatever it was that made him say he’d never settle down with anyone. Monroe was a genuine treasure and any man would be lucky to have her. When Charley finally settled down she pulled her hand to cover her mouth and she looked to Nikki. She dropped her hand, pouted her lips, and tilted her head to the side. “Nikki. You’re going to be by yourself back there in Ventura.” Nikki rolled her eyes and looked to Monroe. “I thought we weren’t telling them yet?” she asked before turning her attention to Charley. “I won’t be alone, Charley. I’m coming with her.” Screaming ensued again. Charley and I made our way over to Nikki and pulled her into a hug. As Charley began asking for all the specifics of when and what their plans were for work, I took the opportunity to steal a glance at Zane. He gave me a sexy grin and a wink. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Happy for you, sweetheart,” he whispered as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I didn’t say anything. I simply snuggled into him and squeezed his waist in response. “Only have a few hours left with the girls here, but we need to have a celebration,” Charley announced. “Can everyone stay for dinner?” Everyone was more than willing to stay for dinner to celebrate and Charley told Greg to call Tony and invite him over. Wes and Charley ended up ordering food in for everyone

and the rest of the night was spectacular. Given the start to my week I was easily satisfied with the way the week was ending. I had my man with me, my girls with me, and some great friends, too. After so many months of isolating myself, this really felt good. It also felt good to see everyone else in such good spirits. Zane was happy; I think his happiness came mostly from the fact that he knew that I was currently sitting on cloud nine. Monroe and Stone, Luke and Nikki, Greg and Tony, and Elle and Levi were all cozy with each other. Even Wes had finally let go of whatever was bugging him about Elle and Levi and made the attempt to actually enjoy the evening. I knew he was doing it for Charley and I loved that for her. I couldn’t have asked for a better night; however, I knew Zane well enough to know he’d make it that much better for me when we got back to his place. Many hours later, well after dinner, I begrudgingly said good-bye to my girls. The only thing that made this good-bye a little easier to swallow was the fact that I knew it was only going to be a few short weeks before they’d be back out here permanently. I wished them both a safe flight back and told them we’d chat later in the week. With that, Zane and I took off. After he pulled the truck into the garage and shut the garage door, he got out, and came around to help me out. The moment we stepped inside the house I was pulled back into Zane’s body. He spun me around and crushed his lips to mine. I moaned as my body melted into his. He pulled me tighter to him and pushed his tongue inside my mouth. We stood there for a long time touching and tasting each other, moans and groans coming from the both of us. When Zane pulled his mouth from mine I asked, “What was that for?” “Haven’t done that all fucking day, Em. Been wanting to do it since I walked into Wes’ house.” “Oh. Well, do I get to pick what we do next then?” “I guess that depends on what you want to do,” he answered with a devilish grin spreading across his face. “Hmm,” I said, contemplating. “I think I’d like to take a shower with you if you are up for it. I really enjoyed that last night.” “Is that a serious question?” he teased. “Emme, sweetheart, any fucking time you want me with you like that you don’t have to worry about me declining the invitation.” We made our way upstairs, down the hall, through the bedroom, and into the bathroom. Zane turned on the shower to let the water heat up while I began stripping out of my clothes. I was standing in front of the mirror in my bra and panties when he came up behind me. I could feel his erection pressing into my backside. His hand came up to brush my hair off to one shoulder while he bent his head down and kissed the skin on the top of the opposite shoulder. His mouth worked its way toward my neck as one of his hands wrapped around my waist and rested on my abdomen. His hand slowly traveled up toward my breasts where he gently squeezed. I moaned again. Zane’s free hand moved behind my back and undid the clasp of my bra. He put his fingers to the straps at my shoulders and helped guide them down my arms. Putting his hands to my waist he gripped the waistband of my panties and pushed them down my legs. As he stood up

behind me again with his hands at my hips I arched my back. He groaned. “Not going to make it to the shower, Em,” he growled. I pulled away quickly and turned around. “Oh yes we are,” I said as I grabbed him by the wrist and led him toward the shower. No sooner did I step under the hot spray and close my eyes while lifting my hands to push my hair back off my face did I feel Zane’s hands wrapped around my sides and his mouth claim one of my nipples. The sensations he sent through my body with this simple act had my knees buckling. Zane held me upright firmly in his hands and continued to wreak havoc on my already overly-sensitive body. I managed to regain my footing enough that if Zane had let me go I wouldn’t have collapsed on the floor. While he moved his mouth to my other breast I reached for the soap. I put some in my hand and then pushed him back against the wall. My hand wrapped around his cock and I began stroking him, my hand gliding easily back and forth. I wasn’t sure I had ever heard the grunts and groans coming from Zane in the intensity that they did right in that moment. It was extremely rewarding and encouraging for me. I looked up at him through hooded eyes and the intensity in his shining back at me was almost too much to bear. I tightened my grip slightly and continued stroking him at a steady pace while I reached up with my other hand to bring his mouth to mine. After several minutes, Zane lifted me up and put my back to the shower wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Damn it, Emme. How’d I get so fucking lucky?” he asked, the tip of his erection at my entrance. “Baby,” I said, my voice breathy. “Beautiful, Em. Everything about you is so fucking beautiful. Your mind, your body, your smile, your laugh — it all leaves me craving more. But your heart? Fuck…so fucking genuine it makes it hard to breathe.” I gasped. Then he pushed inside me. He pressed a kiss to the skin right over my heart before his eyes came to mine and focused on them as he moved in and out of me. As he had done many times before his movements started slow and controlled, building me up. He then alternated to quick, deep thrusts and would have me right on the edge before he’d slow his movements again pulling me back. I’d cry out in frustration, but I knew he’d get me there soon enough. He always did and when it happened, it was magical. Sure enough, Zane didn’t make me wait much longer. He picked up his pace and relentlessly thrusted into me. Moments later, I was exploding around him, screaming his name while he did the same, finding his release and burying himself to the root of his cock inside me. It was minutes later, when our breathing returned to a somewhat normal rate, when Zane pressed a kiss to my lips, pulled out of me, and carefully steadied me on my feet. We went about the business of finishing up in the shower and then I turned off the water. Zane got out and wrapped a towel around my body before getting one for himself. We

stood there, drying off when he came up to stand right in front of me with another towel in his hand. He pulled all of my hair into one hand then wrapped the towel around it and squeezed out the excess water. The simple, but thoughtful gesture made my heart melt. Then, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and said, “Love you, Em.” “I love you, too.” “Going to run downstairs and grab some water. Do you want anything while I’m down there? Are you hungry?” I shook my head and said, “No, I’m good, baby. Thanks.” He nodded. “Ok. Dry your hair and then we’ll go to bed. Looking forward to waking up with you in my arms and no alarm tomorrow morning.” “Me too.” With that, Zane brushed his teeth and walked out of the bathroom. I got to work on putting on my lotion, brushing my teeth, and finally, drying my hair. Roughly fifteen minutes later, I walked out into the bedroom to find that Zane hadn’t returned from getting the water. I thought it was odd so I quickly threw on a pair of panties and a nightie and went in search of him. As I opened the door and walked out of the bedroom I called out, “Zane?” No answer. I began walking down the hall and realized the bedroom door to the guest room where Zane kept his snowboards was open. I walked in and found him standing there, with his back to me, holding a board in his hands. “Zane?” I called again, alerting him to the fact that I was in the room. He turned around and looked at me with a look on his face I’d never seen before. He didn’t immediately say anything and I quickly grew concerned. “Is everything ok?” I asked. Zane looked around the room at all the boards and when his eyes came back to mine he asked, “Did you tune my boards?” His face was impassive. Suddenly, I was worried. I thought I was doing a nice thing by doing what he had showed me. Maybe I did something wrong and ruined them. My stomach was suddenly in knots, but I knew I needed to own up to what I had done. Of course, I couldn’t exactly look him in the eye and admit it so I turned my head to the side and said, “Yes.” “Emme, look at me,” he demanded. My head snapped to him. “Why did you do this?” he pressed. Tears filled my eyes as I cried, “I’m sorry if I ruined them, Zane. I was just trying to help. After having such a long week of training and everything else we’ve been dealing with I wanted to do something to help so that we’d be able to spend the day together

tomorrow without you having to worry about doing this. I was just trying to help and save you some time. I’m very sorry. If I’ve damaged them I’ll pay to replace them.” “Do you know how much a snowboard costs?” he asked. I shook my head. I wasn’t sure, but I knew they weren’t cheap. “On average, three to four hundred dollars. Some of these are limited edition or oneoff boards, making them worth quite a bit more.” I swallowed hard. Zane had hundreds of boards. I had ruined them. It didn’t bother me that I had to pay to replace them; it bothered me that I had destroyed them. Some of them had to be pretty meaningful. “Math wasn’t exactly my best subject, but I might need some time to pay you back for all of them. Oh God, I’m so sorry, Zane,” I rasped out as I brought my hand up to my mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.” “Emme, relax,” Zane said as he set the board down and walked over to me. “You didn’t ruin the boards, sweetheart.” My brows pulled together and my head jerked back as I asked, “I didn’t?” He shook his head. “They’re perfect.” “They are?” “Couldn’t have done them any better myself.” I dropped my head to his chest, gripped his biceps in my hands, and let out a huge sigh. “I was so worried,” I admitted. “It’s a lot of money you were preparing to pay me,” he said, his tone teasing. “I wasn’t worried about the money. I mean, it is a lot and I would have needed some time to pay you for all of them, but I was more worried that I had ruined them.” “What do you mean?” he asked. I pulled my head back to look around the room before I looked to him and said, “This is your life, Zane. Your passion. I imagine many of these boards hold some sentimental value for you, especially if you won events with them. I know some of them have got to be pretty significant. I would have hated myself if I destroyed them and they were irreplaceable.” He stared at me a moment before he said, “Most genuine fucking heart, Em.” He paused a moment letting that sink in before he continued, “Just so you know, even if you had trashed every single one of these boards I wouldn’t have taken a single penny from you. Told you before that this stuff is just that…stuff. It doesn’t mean anything without you, Emme. Fuck, this entire fucking house could burst into flames and I wouldn’t give a shit as long as you were safe outside of it, standing right next to me. I’ll tell you again — everything I have means nothing without you, sweetheart.” “I love you so much, baby,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest. Zane’s arms wrapped around me and squeezed me tight. “Come on, Em. Let’s go to bed.”

With that, Zane picked me up and carried me down the hall to the bedroom. Ten minutes later, we were asleep.



Chapter 27 Emme “Do you really think it’ll be necessary to have the security detail out there?” I asked as I stood next to the suitcases by the door. Zane and I were getting ready to leave for the airport so that we could head to Vail, Colorado for the U.S. Open. Other than the day I found out that Seth had set up cameras in the bedroom and bathroom of my condo, there had been no new findings. I knew the guys were hard at work attempting to track him down, but everything was leading to dead ends. Now, with Zane and I heading out to Vail I wasn’t sure we needed to continue to inconvenience Levi and his crew further by making them travel with us. “Not taking any chances with you, Emme. I can’t be with you every minute we’re there and I’m not going to be able to focus if you are by yourself.” “But we’re talking about thousands of people, Zane. I don’t think he’d be that stupid to do something in broad daylight with so many people around,” I argued. “Em, he was stupid enough to think it was ok to put his hands on you. I think it’s safe to assume he’s a fucking idiot and might not make the best decision moving forward. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to risk having something happen to you.” “Ugh, fine. I just feel bad about this.” “I don’t. You’re too fucking important for me to feel bad about it,” he said. “Now, do you have everything you need?” I nodded. With that, Zane loaded everything into the Raptor and we took off to the airport. Just as he had done for our trip to Aspen for the X Games, Wes chartered a private jet for the flight to Vail for the U.S. Open for the Blackman Boards team. In this case, we had two additional people with us, since Zane insisted on having me covered while we were out in Vail. Wes also made sure he rented a house that would accommodate all of us. All of us consisted of Wes, Charley, Zane, Luke, Stone, Cruz, Lorenzo, and myself. The flight to Vail took just over three hours. When we arrived, there were three GMC Yukons waiting for us. Apparently, Wes sprung for two of them and Levi got the third. We had a thirty-minute drive from the airport to the house, but Charley and I convinced the guys to make a quick stop at a grocery store so that we’d have food for the next few days covered. When we arrived at the house, I realized that in typical Wes fashion he spared no expense in setting us up in an exquisite mountain home during our stay. The moment we pulled into the driveway I was in awe at the beauty of the home. It had a contemporary design with a mix of bricks, stone, and timber on the exterior. Interestingly enough, there was a three-car garage attached to the home, so that was a

perfect addition. After we parked, everyone climbed out and the guys went about unloading the suitcases. Charley and I weren’t allowed to help unload the bags when we went to Aspen, so we didn’t even attempt to offer after we arrived here. In fact, Wes pulled out a key to the house and handed it to Charley as soon as he helped her out of the car. We walked to the front door, unlocked the door, and pushed inside. As we stepped inside we walked across the slate tile floored foyer into the hardwood floored open concept living space. Floor-to-ceiling windows, displaying the snowcapped mountains behind the home, with vaulted ceilings were on the entire back wall of the house off the family room and kitchen. To the left side of the family room was a floor-to-ceiling stacked stone wall. The bottom third of the wall had a huge fireplace while the top twothirds were covered with the largest flat screen I’d ever seen. Across from the fireplace was a white microfiber sectional that separated the family room from the kitchen. On the back wall of the house where the windows were sat two oversized armchairs. Just past the foyer to the right was the kitchen. It was a completely custom kitchen with white granite countertops covering the island and tops of the lower cabinets. All the cabinets were dark-stained solid wood with matching fixtures. Walking through the kitchen to the wall on the complete opposite side of the house from the family room was the dining room table with seating for ten flanked by another stacked stone wall with a much smaller built-in fireplace. Sliding glass doors were off the back wall of the house and led out to a beautiful partially-covered stone patio complete with a fire pit, Adirondack chairs, a small couch, a few arm chairs, a built-in barbecue, and a hot tub. “Charley, sweets, ever since we’ve moved to Wyoming I keep finding myself in situations that make me think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I said taking in the gorgeous mountain view. “I know exactly what you mean, honey. This place is incredible.” The guys all walked in a moment later carrying all the suitcases and bags. Luke, Stone, and Lorenzo took off to pull the Yukons into the garage for the night. It was still early in the day; it was past lunchtime, but not quite time for dinner. As Zane, Wes, and Cruz began carrying suitcases upstairs, Luke, Stone, and Lorenzo carried the grocery bags in from the garage. Charley and I unpacked and put them away while the rest of the suitcases were carried upstairs. “Chicken and veggie fried rice for dinner?” I asked Charley. “Yeah, I think that’d be good,” she answered. Zane walked into the kitchen with Wes right behind him. “What would be good?” he asked. “I’m thinking of chicken and veggie fried rice for dinner. You good with that?” “Works for me.” “Wes?” I asked. “Whatever you want to make will be fine for everyone here, Em. Nobody is picky.”

I nodded. “This home is beautiful, honey,” Charley said to Wes. “I love it almost as much as the one in Aspen.” “Well I guess it’s a good thing that they moved the event here then,” Wes responded. “What do you mean?” Charley asked. “This event has only been happening out here in Vail for a couple years now. It used to be held in Vermont for thirty years, most of those years at the same mountain.” “Oh man,” I began. “I would have loved it if they still held it there. I have never been on the east coast.” “I’ll take you,” Zane said without a moment’s hesitation. I looked to him. “You will?” “You want to see the east coast?” I nodded. “Then I’ll take you. We can wait and take two weeks in the summer time if you want. There’s a lot to see and do out there, especially in the northeast.” I was fighting not to cry. Zane knew it and asked, “Why are you upset?” “We’re going to go on a vacation together?” Zane grinned. “That’s what they call it, Em.” “She’s never been on one,” Charley chimed in. Zane’s eyes went to Charley and came back to me. Wes chimed in and confirmed, “You’ve never been on vacation? Like a real vacation?” “Well my parents took me places when I was younger, but other than that…no.” Zane stared at me a moment in stunned silence before he announced, “Changed my mind. We’re not going to go away for two weeks. I’m taking three weeks this summer and I’m giving you a real vacation.” I loved this man. I stood there staring at him for a solid minute before I asked, “Did you take all of our suitcases and bags upstairs to a room?” “Yeah.” “I think we should go unpack now,” I said, not a trace of humor in my voice. Zane immediately caught my drift and came over to pick me up. He pushed his shoulder into my belly and lifted me up in a fireman’s hold over his shoulder. I squealed with delight as he walked toward the staircase. When I glanced up I saw Charley and Wes grinning at me. They knew what we were going to do. Unfortunately, so did everyone else because on our way up the stairs Stone and Cruz were walking down. Stone called Zane a lucky bastard and Cruz shouted at us to have a good time. The shouting, of course, resulted in Lorenzo and Luke both stepping out of their rooms. Lorenzo took one look at us, saw me being carried over Zane’s shoulder, dropped his head to the ground, and

chuckled. Just as Zane was about to step inside our bedroom Luke said, “Why did I have to get the room next to these two? Fucking hell. I’ll be downstairs.” Once we entered the room, Zane closed the door, took a few steps, and bent over to gently set me down in the bed. He then bent down to take off his boots while I kicked my shoes off my feet. Seconds later, Zane had settled over me with his hips between my legs. Despite him being on top of me he allowed me to show him just how much I appreciated the fact that he wanted to give me my first real vacation. ***** It was now the evening of day five of the U.S. Open. We just left the mountain following the slopestyle finals that Luke competed in and won. The halfpipe finals were scheduled for tomorrow so Zane and Stone still had to remain focused. Over the course of the last couple of days they had been especially busy. The first day of the event was a day for registration and practice for all halfpipe and slopestyle competitors. The second day of the event was the same, less the registration. By day three we finally started getting into some competition. The slopestyle semi-finals were taking place, but half pipe was still in practice mode. On the fourth day, Zane and Stone were competing in half pipe, while Luke, and the rest of the slopestyle competitors that were still in the competition, were back in practice mode. Today put Zane and Stone back in practice since they both qualified for the finals while Luke competed in and won the slopestyle contest. It had been an extraordinarily long couple of days out in the cold and the guys were typically wiped by the time the end of the day rolled around. I spent my days taking photos of our guys at the event. Since I was feeling so good at this event, especially when compared with the X Games, I even snapped quite a few shots of Charley, Wes, and my bodyguards. I had dubbed them with that nickname and both Cruz and Lorenzo didn’t seem to mind. I figured if this was going to be part of my life for the foreseeable future I needed to find ways to cope with it. Making jokes helped and nobody seemed to be bothered by it so I went with it. We finally arrived back at the house and Luke, Stone, and Zane took off to shower. Charley and Wes went to change out of their layers of clothes. Cruz went off to find his laptop to get some work done and Lorenzo took a seat on the couch in the family room where he turned on a hockey game. I took the opportunity to get dinner started. I decided on some baked salmon with avocado salsa and sides of asparagus and roasted garlic and parmesan herb potatoes. I was in the middle of prepping the salmon filets when the doorbell rang. Knowing we were all here I was a bit puzzled. I looked up to Lorenzo and found that he was already moving to the door, his body having gone from relaxed on the couch to alert. He cracked the door open, looked out, and opened it further to speak to the person on the other side. Lorenzo was so large I couldn’t see who it was, but I heard something about a

flower delivery. I smiled as I walked back to the island and continued prepping the food and thought how nice it was that someone was sending Luke flowers for winning, even though I didn’t think he was the type to get all mushy over having flowers being delivered to him no matter what the reason. I had just finished prepping the last salmon filet, popped them in the oven with the potatoes, and set the timer when I turned around to see Lorenzo standing there with a seriously concerned look on his face. “Is everything ok?” I asked. “Is Emme a nickname for Emily?” he countered. My stomach went cold and my knees buckled. Lorenzo was quick on his feet and immediately wrapped his arm around my waist to catch me before I collapsed to the floor. “Talk to me,” he said. “Nobody calls me Emily,” I began, my body beginning to tremble. “Except for him.” “Miller?” I nodded. With his arm still wrapped around me pulling me into his body, Lorenzo tossed the flowers on the counter and tore open the card with one hand. He didn’t show it to me. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapped the screen, and held it to his ear. “Need you in the kitchen now,” he said into the phone before tossing it on the countertop. “He knows where I am. How does he know I’m here?” I asked, my body shaking uncontrollably now. Lorenzo wrapped both arms around me and pulled me into a hug. He leaned down to my ear and said, “He’s not going to touch you, Em. As long as I’m here in this house I promise you he does not get to you.” Seconds later, I heard footsteps in the kitchen. “Fuck,” I heard Cruz say. “What happened?” I felt one of Lorenzo’s arms let go of me briefly, though the other got tighter to compensate for the loss. “Motherfucker. Who brought this?” Cruz asked. I assumed at that point that Lorenzo had given Cruz the card. “Delivery guy. Call and get Trent looking in to it now. Need to know if the threat is local.” Hearing the word threat had me trembling harder. I then heard more footsteps. “Hey what’s going on?” Luke asked. “Is she ok?” “Need you to get Zane,” Lorenzo ordered. I completely zoned out at that point. Zane. I just needed him. Within seconds, I heard footsteps running down the stairs.

“What happened to her?” Zane roared. I tensed. “Fuck, man. She’s already fucking scared and her body just went solid hearing you yell. Think you can take it down a notch so I can put her in your arms, where I’m sure she’s going to get a whole hell of a lot more comfort than she will in mine?” Zane didn’t answer. His arms came around me as Lorenzo let me go. He whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry for scaring you, sweetheart.” Luke spoke up and asked, “What happened?” “The flowers were delivered a few minutes ago. Delivery guy said they were for Emily. Took me a second to realize that they had to be for her. Came back and asked her if Emme was her nickname for Emily. Had I been standing farther away from her she would have collapsed on the floor. She told me Miller is the only one who calls her Emily.” “Was there a note?” Luke asked. “Cruz has the card that was attached to them. He’s calling Trent to have him look in to it.” “What did it say?” Zane questioned. Silence. “De Luca,” Zane called, no patience left in his voice. “What did it say?” “Enjoy your final show tomorrow.” I burst into tears. Zane bent down and picked me up. He carried me to the couch where I curled into his body. It was at this point that I heard things happening around me, but couldn’t bring myself to do anything but cry with my head buried in Zane’s chest. The fear I was now feeling had taken over. Enjoy your final show tomorrow. I couldn’t help but run through every possible scenario in my head. Why would it be the final show? Was he going to hurt Zane? Was he going to do something to me? Would he try something in broad daylight? Would he wait until we returned to Rising Sun? Question after question filtered through my mind. Stone had joined the group now and had just gotten the rundown on the whole situation. Minutes later, Cruz returned. “What do you have?” Lorenzo asked. “Confirmed the order was placed online this afternoon. Trent’s figuring out where the order originated. He’s working like a madman right now trying to get us a lock on Miller’s location before tomorrow morning. Even if we can determine he’s still in Wyoming we’re still going to be on high alert tomorrow. Nothing changes.” It was at that moment I spoke up. “How did he find us here?” Cruz shrugged and offered, “You told us he worked for an IT firm throughout the last

half of your relationship. Thinking he was half decent at what he did there and then he likely spent the last year researching how to get ahold of that kind of information.” It was then that Wes and Charley came down the stairs. The tension and anxiety in the room was thick and they felt it the moment they walked in. Wes immediately pulled Charley into his side. I’m pretty sure he had a good idea of what was happening. “What’s going on?” Charley asked. “Just had a delivery guy here dropping those flowers off for Emme,” Lorenzo began. “Told me it was a delivery for Emily.” “Oh my God,” Charley started. “He knows we’re here?” Lorenzo gave her a nod. Wes held tight to Charley, whose eyes were on mine, when he asked, “Just the flowers?” Cruz walked over and handed the card to Wes. Wes took the card from Cruz, and read it as Charley looked on. Charley’s terrified eyes came back to mine as Wes’ jaw clenched. Cruz’s phone rang. As he pulled it out and up to his ear everyone sat in silence listening. “Tell me you’ve got something good, Michaels,” he answered. Silence again. “You got someone on that?” Cruz asked. He waited while Trent answered. “Keep us posted on anything new.” Silence. “Appreciate it, but I think De Luca and I will be good, especially considering this news. If you find anything else, though, get it to us.” Silence. “Thanks, man. Later.” Cruz disconnected the call and looked to us. “Trent managed to locate the IP address used to place the online order. Tracked it down and it’s coming from a location twenty miles east of Rising Sun. Assuming he’s not working with anyone else, it looks like he’s still back in Wyoming. Reynolds is going to check out the area the IP is targeted in to see what he can find. They’ll call with any updates. Trent said Levi was ready to send out two more guys for the extra security tomorrow if we wanted it, but I’m thinking that since we’re pretty certain he’s still back in Wyoming we should be good.” “Want you both on her tomorrow?” Zane said. “What?” I asked, pulling back from him. “No way, Zane.” “Emme, I’m not fucking kidding. I want you safe and I’d prefer there be a second

person with you,” he said. “And what about you? Who makes sure that you are safe? Somebody has to have your back, baby,” I demanded. Zane was struggling at this point. He knew how strongly I felt about this and how much I wanted to know that someone was looking out for him. He stared at me, fighting a battle with himself to make a decision on this. He wanted me to have the extra protection, but he knew I wouldn’t settle for him having nothing. “I’ll help,” Luke chimed in. Everyone looked to him. Luke looked to Zane. “I don’t have any formal training, but I can be an extra body. Let Cruz and De Luca split up, one on each of you, and I’ll be a second body with Em. I’m sure one of these guys could singlehandedly watch out for the both of you; you know that’s the truth, Zane. My stuff ended today so I’m free tomorrow. I’ll stay with one of them and Emme so you can ease her mind and have one of them at your back.” “Luke,” I whispered. Zane stared at Luke. After a moment of silence he finally asked, “You serious?” Luke nodded. Zane dropped his head and I felt some of the tension leave his body. When he brought his head back up he looked to Luke and in a slightly more raspy voice said, “Thanks, brother.” “It’s all good, man. You’d do the same if the roles were reversed.” “Without a doubt.” The timer on the oven started going off. I moved to get up, but Zane held me tight in his arms. “Baby, dinner is ready. I have to get it out of the oven before it overcooks.” He gazed at me a moment before he pressed a kiss to my forehead and let me get up. I walked out into the kitchen and Charley followed behind me to help. After I turned off the timer and took the food out of the oven I looked back into the family room. Zane was still sitting on the couch, but his elbows were now resting on his thighs and his head was dropped in his hands. Cruz had walked over and sat down next to him. He put his hand on Zane’s shoulder and said something to him. Zane looked to his brother and nodded. Cruz squeezed his shoulder and patted him on the back before dropping his hand. “He’s worried for you,” Charley’s voice filtered into my head. I looked to my best friend. I could see the worry on her face, too. “I know, sweets,” I began, giving her a small smile. “A lot of people are. I’m going to be ok, though.” “You’re not scared?” she asked. “Of course I am, but I’ve learned that being scared doesn’t mean you stop living your

life. There’s too much beauty you can miss out on.” “I hate that Seth is still terrorizing you, but I’m so happy you’ve opened your heart to Zane. That man would do anything to protect you and keep you happy. And, there’s nobody in this world that deserves it more than you.” “Thanks, Charley,” I said, pausing a moment to let her feel my sentiment. “When we get back to Rising Sun will you help me out with something I want to do for Zane?” “Anything, honey. What do you need?” “Wes liked your boudoir photo session, right?” “He freaking loved it,” she began, a smile spreading across her face. “In fact, he made me give him all of the shots you took of me.” “I want to do one for Zane. I think he’d like it,” I shared. “Are you kidding me? He’s going to love it!” I smiled at her before I looked back out to the family room and asked, “Think we should feed these boys?” She looked out to the family room before looking at me and agreeing, “It’s probably not a bad idea.” With that, the two of us plated the food and took it to the dining room table. We called the guys over and somehow the tension that had been overwhelming not a mere ten minutes before seemed to have dissipated, except for Zane. I watched him throughout dinner. His mind was preoccupied. After dinner, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed, I moved to start cleaning up when Charley said, “Hey, Zane. You’ve got a long day tomorrow. Why don’t you take my girl here upstairs and get some rest?” “Charley, I can help clean up first,” I said. Wes chimed in. “You cooked, Em. Go take a break. I’ll help Charley clean up.” Zane and I both looked to our friends. This is what I would have missed out on had I not taken a chance and opened my heart to Zane. People who cared about you. People who knew what you needed and did what they had to do to give it to you when you wouldn’t give it to yourself. “Thank you,” I said. Zane pushed his chair back and stood. “Thanks, guys.” They both nodded and Zane took my hand in his as we walked out of the dining room toward the stairs. When we got inside the bedroom he insisted, “Why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for bed?” What? “What’s wrong, Zane?” He shook his head. “It’s been a long day, and Charley was right, tomorrow will be a

long day, too. We should try to get some rest.” I didn’t say anything. He was struggling with this right now and needed some time to process it. It saddened me, but I’d give him the time he needed. “Ok,” I said, trying not to let the sadness I was feeling overwhelm me as I walked toward the bathroom. I lingered a bit in the shower trying to give Zane some time alone, but it wasn’t easy. I hated that he was in such turmoil over this and wished I knew what I could do to make it better. I wanted his head in the game for tomorrow so he could go out and win the event. He’d been working so hard and deserved it. When I could no longer stay in the shower I hopped out and went about the business of my usual nighttime routine. I took my time doing this, which easily gave Zane an extra fifteen minutes of time alone. I finally emerged from the bathroom and walked out into the bedroom to find my strong, protective man looking defeated as he sat on the small sofa in the corner of the room. It broke my heart seeing him like that. I walked over to him, put my hand on his shoulder, and he lifted his head. The turmoil swirling in his baby blues was too much to handle. “Baby,” I began. “Talk to me.” “Don’t think I want to ride tomorrow,” he said, the tightness in his throat evident. I moved and settled myself in his lap. His arms wrapped around my body instantly. “Tell me why not,” I urged him. “All I care about is you, Emme. I want you safe and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you tomorrow.” “But Cruz said that they believe he’s still in Wyoming,” I reminded him. “Know that, but they aren’t positive about it.” I took in a deep breath before I pleaded, “Zane, baby, don’t let him win. I understand why you are struggling with this because I feel the same exact way about you. If something happened to you I’d be a mess. We need to fight back, though. We’ve got Cruz and Lorenzo here with us and I trust them. I put my trust in them in the beginning because I trusted you. You were confident that they could get the job done. And now, I trust them not only for that same reason, but because they’ve earned it. I believe they will do whatever they need to so they can keep the both of us safe. It took a lot for me to get to this place, Zane. I did it because you were by my side. I know you are worried and I love you for it, but please don’t give up. Keep fighting with me and get me out of the darkness so I can spend the rest of my life in the light with you.” “You want to spend the rest of your life with me?” he asked as he stared me in the eyes. I smiled back at him and answered, “Absolutely.” “I love you so much, Em.” “I love you, too.”

With that, Zane picked me up and carried me to the bed. He settled over my body and I put my hands up to frame his face. “Tell me, Zane. Tell me you’re going to compete tomorrow and that we’re going to win.” “Sweetheart, I’ve got you; I already won.” I held his eyes a moment before he added, “We’ll fight together tomorrow. Want to love you now, though.” “Ok, baby,” I agreed. At that, Zane loved me good. It was slow and sweet and meant everything to me.



Chapter 28 Emme “We did it, baby.” Zane turned to look at me, let out a sigh, and agreed with me. “Yeah, sweetheart, we did it.” We were currently sitting in the Raptor and had just pulled into the garage at his house. The last two days sent the two of us through a whirlwind of emotions and I’m certain we were both grateful at this point to be back. The morning following the flower delivery left everyone feeling a bit on edge. I tried to remain as calm as possible, particularly around Zane because I didn’t want him more worried that I was actually completely freaking out about what would happen that day. He had enough on his plate and needed to focus; I refused to add to the stress I knew he was already feeling. Everyone was up and ready to go early that morning. Cruz and Luke were with me while Lorenzo was spending his day covering Zane. Zane and Stone had quick practice sessions just after lunch and the finals started immediately afterward. The competition was tough, but as was typical our guys were leading the pack. I took photos throughout the entire session and knew the moment I saw Zane land his final trick that he had done it. Of course, I was biased in my assessment, but I wasn’t wrong either. When all was said and done, only a tenth of a point separated Zane and Stone. The next closest competitor was two full points off. Throughout the entire competition neither Cruz nor Luke left my side. When it was over, we all wasted no time in heading out and making our way back to the house. After arriving back at the house and having dinner, everyone called it an early night. We were leaving early in the morning to head back to Wyoming so Zane and I got our stuff packed back up. When we got into bed roughly two hours later Zane wrapped an arm around my waist and held me, but never tried to make love to me. He was pretty quiet and this was unusual, which made me begin to worry. “Zane?” “Yeah, Em.” I rolled over in the bed so that I was facing him, pressed my hand to his cheek, and asked, “You ok, baby?” “Yeah, I’m ok. Why do you ask?” “You aren’t trying to get in my pants. Not that I’m wearing any, but I’m guessing you know what I mean.” He laughed. “You need it, Emme?”

“No. I mean, well, of course you know I love being with you. It’s just that I’m surprised you don’t want it.” “Honestly, I just want to hold you. Not sure how I kept it together long enough today to do as well as I did. Couldn’t get you off my mind and was constantly looking over to where I knew you were standing just to make sure you were still there. Now that we’re here in bed together I just want to feel your body pressed up against mine and know that I have you safe in my arms.” “I’m sorry,” I said, letting out a sigh. “For what?” he asked. “I hate that you have to feel this way. I hate that this is even part of our lives right now. And I’m sorry that it’s consuming so much of your mind. Is there anything I can do to make it better?” “You’re already doing it, sweetheart. Just let me hold you,” he answered. “Ok. Good night, Zane. I love you.” “Love you, too. Good night,” he said as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head and tightened his arms around me. When we woke up this morning and left the house I noticed that not only Zane, but also Cruz and Lorenzo were on high alert. Their bodies weren’t relaxed and every moment we were outside their eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings. It was beginning to freak me out a bit. We boarded the jet and they all visibly relaxed once we were up in the air. Three hours later, we were back in Wyoming and the moment we were on the tarmac it was back to business for all of them. Cruz and Lorenzo saw Zane and I safely to his truck and then Cruz followed us back to Zane’s house. He waited at the end of the driveway until we were safely inside the garage and then he took off. The moment the garage door shut I felt the relief sweep through me and that’s why I had expressed my excitement over it to Zane. “I’m proud of you,” I said. “For what?” he asked. “For fighting. For staying focused and doing what you went to Vail to do. Even though it would have been easy to give up with everything that was going on you pushed through and did it.” “No thanks to you. Seriously considered not riding in the finals, Em. I did it for you.” I gave him a small smile before I leaned over the center console and pressed a kiss to his lips. Zane snaked an arm around my waist, lifted me up and over the console, and settled me into his lap. He kissed me for a long while before he moved to get us out of the truck. “We should probably get the suitcases,” I said as Zane started walking toward the door into the house.

“Fuck the suitcases; I’ll get them later. Right now, I’d like to have you. You good with that?” he asked. “I’m great with that,” I whispered back. After letting us inside the house and dealing with the alarm, Zane and I went upstairs so he could have me. I was ok with it because in return, I got him. A couple hours later, after having made sure that we were both sufficiently sated, Zane brought in the suitcases and bags. We unpacked together before we had dinner. I absolutely loved it. Such mundane everyday tasks of laundry and dinner, but I enjoyed every single second of it. The two of us took in the time with each other without the need to worry about any outside issues. We did take some time to talk about our plans for the next couple of weeks. Zane told me that he wanted to take at least the next two weeks off from riding and after my birthday he’d get back to it. I wasn’t going to fight him on it. If this is what he needed to bring himself a little peace surrounding the whole situation with Seth, I’d let him have that. I did let him know that since Nikki and Monroe were going to be back out in Rising Sun by the middle of the week that I was hoping to have them over on Thursday to work on a special project with me. I wanted to make sure he was alright with me having them come over. Of course, he had no issues whatsoever with it, but was also curious as to what the project was. I told him it was a surprise for him, but that he’d be receiving it on Saturday and he might find his patience was well worth it. Before heading up to bed Zane and I decided to finally have our pool game tie breaker. I won, but I’m certain Zane purposely missed a couple of balls. He was in such a mood to make me happy with everything lately that it was hard to miss. Plus, I knew he wasn’t as bad at pool as he had been during this game. After the tie breaker game, we took off up the stairs and went to sleep, only after Zane made sweet love to me again. ***** Thursday morning rolled around and I was super giddy. I couldn’t wait for Nikki, Monroe, and Charley to show up and help me pull off this boudoir session. I knew they’d all be able to help contribute something useful to it. Oddly enough, I was always on the other side of the camera so while I could coach others through something like this I had never considered doing it on my own. Thankfully, my girls were the best around and would get the job done. “Love this, Em,” Zane said as he sat at the barstool at the island while I made breakfast. “What?” I asked, confused. “Seeing you like this, so happy and carefree. It’s beautiful, sweetheart.” I tilted my head to the side and smiled at him. He winked back at me. I took the last pancake off the griddle and put it on the plate. After turning off the griddle and taking the

plates over to where we were sitting I stood next to Zane and framed his face in my hands. “You are the reason I’m in the light today, baby. I can’t tell you why and ruin the surprise, but trust me, it’s all because of you.” “Emme…” he said, trailing off and seemingly at a loss for words. “You don’t have to say anything, Zane. I already know.” He put my hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of my hand. “Ok. Sit and eat breakfast with me then,” he said. I sat and we ate breakfast together. Two hours later, the doorbell rang. Zane went to answer the door. Charley, Nikki, Monroe, and Wes all walked in. I ran over and gave all my girls hugs. And since I was feeling extra happy I even gave one to Wes. “Alright boys, you have fun down here. I’m taking the ladies upstairs,” I announced. “Please…take your time,” Wes insisted. “Oh, hush. You act like you’ve been tortured,” Charley said. “The three of you for the last fifteen hours or so has been worse than torture,” he told her. “But you love us,” she said. He nodded and kissed her on the forehead before he said, “Yeah, I do.” “We love you, too, honey,” Charley called as we walked upstairs. The girls followed me down the hall to the bedroom. “This place is seriously fucking amazing, babe,” Nikki said. I looked to her and said, “I know. I love it here. I don’t know how I’m ever going to go back to our condo once Seth is caught. The bedroom and the kitchen — my two favorite rooms in this house.” “So, Em, I didn’t tell Nikki and Monroe what they are doing here today. I figured I’d let you give them the good news.” My eyes rounded. They were going to freak. “Ok,” I began. “So, a couple of months ago Charley was wracking her brain for the perfect Christmas gift for Wes. She finally came up with the idea to do a boudoir photo session and give him a framed shot from the session. It was incredibly beautiful and apparently, Wes loved it. When we were out in Vail last week, I decided I wanted to do a boudoir session and give Zane some sexy shots as well.” Nikki and Monroe looked to each other before looking back at me and jumping up and down squealing with delight. I couldn’t help but laugh. Charley laughed right along with me. “Alright, what are you wearing?” Nikki asked. “Well, I have a couple ‘outfit’ changes, but here they are,” I said, pulling the box I had put them in out from under the bed. I opened the box and showed the girls what I had

selected. “Ok, sexy hair and makeup first,” Nikki said. “I’ll get some music going to get you loosened up and when you’re ready I’ve got some killer poses,” Monroe added. I followed Nikki into the bathroom where she went to town on my hair and makeup. The girl was a miracle worker. An hour later I had to admit that she had done me proud. I had the most incredibly sexy hair and makeup and I knew Zane would love it. “Ok, honey,” Charley said. “Monroe and I have been doing a bit of research out here on the laptop while you were getting prepped. We know you do this for a living, but we’ve got a ton of ideas. One question, though, is Zane more of a boob man or an ass man?” I smiled coyly and looked away from them. “Oh boy, I know that look,” Nikki said. “Let’s face it, ladies…Emme’s got it made in both departments. Zane, I’m guessing, is equally appreciative of those parts. Am I right, Em?” I nodded as I bit my lip. “Perfect,” Monroe said. “We’ll just have that much more fun with this. Alright, go get your girly bits covered with your first scrap of material and we’ll go from there.” I changed into my first outfit, not that it could ever actually be considered one, and gave Charley a quick lesson on using the camera and where she should take shots from depending on where I was and what she was photographing. Monroe turned up the sultry tunes a bit and I started feeling a little more like a vixen. I could only pray that the pictures would turn out as well as I had hoped. For the next three hours, my best girls snapped photos, put me into positions, and encouraged me to go that extra mile in some cases. In fact, knowing how much Zane appreciated when I touched myself I went completely topless in a few shots and used my hands to cover my breasts. I had a feeling those shots would be some of his favorites. After we had gone through all of my outfit changes and then my non-outfit I removed the memory card from the camera and loaded the photos onto the computer so we could review them. I was absolutely blown away by the shots Charley captured. “Oh my God,” I said, my voice a hair over a whisper. “These are incredible.” “I’m not normally one to toot my own horn,” Charley teased. “I’m just kidding, Em. They’re incredible because of you, honey. You are beautiful.” “You might usually be the one behind the lens, babe, but you know exactly what to do when you’re on the opposite side. You look smoking hot,” Nikki added. “My girl,” Monroe bragged, as tears welled in her eyes. “I love this for you. I love that you did this and that Zane has put that sparkle back in your eyes. You are exquisite in these photos, Em. I can’t wait to hear how he reacts.” I took in a deep breath after hearing the wonderful words my friends had just given me. “Thank you,” I began. “And you’re right, Monroe — Zane has put the sparkle back

in my eyes. But before I met him I had you three and I’m so lucky to have you all in my life. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” My girls pulled me in for a hug and we let that love between us settle a moment before I decided it was time to put my clothes back on and take the makeup off my face. I wasn’t going to be able to tame my hair, but I didn’t want to give Zane too much on the off chance he figured out what we were up to for that many hours. After I looked a little less sexy we all made our way back downstairs to find Zane and Wes hanging in front of the television in the family room. They each had a beer in their hands and were completely chilled out. When we entered the room their eyes came to ours. Actually, Wes’ eyes went to Charley while Zane’s came to mine. “Was that a long enough break for you, Wes?” I asked. “It’ll do.” “Did you guys eat?” I asked. “Sweetheart, you were up there for four hours. We had to eat something. Found some of your leftovers in the fridge and heated them up. That was two hours ago and served really only as an appetizer. We didn’t want to overdo it figuring you all would want to eat when you finished.” “Ok, I’ll whip something up quick. Any requests?” “Anything that’s quick works.” I nodded and made my way back to the kitchen. The girls followed me. We spent the next couple hours cooking, eating, laughing…a lot, and catching up. Even though Wes acted like it was a struggle to be around all of us I don’t think he was serious. He knew how happy Charley was now with having all of her girls around and he’d never want to take that from her. When I took a moment to think about it, I realized that Zane was the same way. He would do whatever he had to just to see me happy, even if that meant letting four women take over his house for a day. “You had a good day,” Zane concluded, as he locked the front door and set the alarm on the house again. It was late and our friends had just left. “Yeah, I had a very good day,” I said. “Though, I’m kind of hoping you’ll help me turn it into a very good night.” Zane eyes heated and he immediately picked me up and carried me up the steps. He made sure I had a very good night. ***** Kisses were being peppered all along my neck and shoulder. Saturday morning had arrived. I spent the day yesterday working on the final touches of Zane’s surprise. I had cut it close and wasn’t sure I’d finish it, but luckily, I got it done

just in time. He knew I had been working on it and left me to it. Now, we were snuggled up in his bed spooning and he was kissing me. I needed to get up and get his surprise before he teased me any further. “Can I get it for you?” I asked. “Didn’t realize I’d be getting it first thing this morning. Had I known, I would have done what I needed to do to wake you up much sooner,” he joked. “I’m horrible at keeping stuff like this a secret, Zane. I’m surprised that I didn’t give it to you yesterday.” “Alright,” he said, as he pulled his arm from around my waist. “Go ahead and get it.” I hopped out of the bed and bent down to pull out the two boxes I had put under the bed. I stood and placed them on the bed next to Zane. “Are you telling me that these were under the bed all night?” he asked, with a smile on his face as he sat up in the bed. I nodded. “Does it matter which one I open first?” I pointed to the box I wanted him to open first and said, “That one.” He pulled the gold satin bow open and lifted the lid off the box. He pushed the tissue paper out of the way and looked down at the framed photo in front of him. I saw him take a deep swallow before he clenched his jaw. His knuckles were beginning to turn white his grip on the box was so tight. I stood there waiting for him to say something…anything, but he just stared at the picture. I couldn’t take the silence any longer so I finally spoke up. “Do you like it?” I asked. Zane’s eyes came to mine and that’s when I saw that his were a bit glassy. “Emme,” he said, his voice rough. “I’m the luckiest fucking man on the planet. You are perfect. This is perfect. Worth every single minute I sat downstairs without you two days ago. Do I like it, Em? I fucking love it.” I smiled at him and reminded him, “You have one more box to open.” “I’m not sure if I can handle one more, sweetheart.” “It will be worth it, baby.” He struggled with it, but eventually put the first box down and moved to open the second one. He took his time opening the bow and taking off the lid. He removed the tissue paper and saw the black leather-bound book, nothing indicating what was inside. Zane pulled the book out of the box and opened it. It was then he realized I had made an entire book for him with all of the best shots from the boudoir session. The problem was he couldn’t bring himself to turn the page past the first one. I didn’t want the framed photo to be something so explicit, but I knew the photos of me with my hands on my breasts would be his favorite. The first picture in the book was that one. It was a black and white photo of me on my knees in the middle of his bed wearing only a pair of lace

panties, my hands over my breasts, and my eyes focused right at the camera. It was ultrasexy. I wanted him to look at this photo and know that it was his…that I was his and I did this only for him. “Em,” he said, his voice the sexiest I had ever heard it. “You have to turn the page, Zane. There are more,” I said. “I can’t.” It was then that I climbed back on to the bed and crawled over to my man. “I’ll help you,” I said. I put my hand to the top corner of the page and turned it. Zane’s eyes scanned the pictures on the next two pages. “Fuck,” he whispered. I gave him a minute before I asked, “Ready?” He nodded. I turned to the next page. We continued this same process until we reached the end of the book. “Can you turn it back to the first one again, please?” he asked. I turned it back to the first page. He sat and stared for several minutes saying nothing. His eyes finally came to mine and he admitted, “All my life, Emme. I’ve never dreamed I’d ever meet someone like you in all my life. You’re beautiful…in every way that matters. You know me. And when I say that I mean, you really know me. You trust and believe in me. You always have my back. And your heart is pure fucking gold. Tell me, Em. How’d I get so lucky? What did I do so great in my life to deserve someone like you?” I searched his face a moment before I said, “You loved me.” Zane’s hands dropped the book and came to my face. He brought his lips to mine and took my mouth, unapologetically. After several minutes of kissing he tore his mouth away to rest his forehead against mine. Our breathing was heavy and we both struggled to regain some sense of control. “Sorry,” he said, as he pulled away and moved off the bed. “Not going to risk ruining these.” Zane then took the picture frame and the picture book and moved them off the bed. After, he came back to the bed and settled himself over me. He brought his lips back down to mine and kissed me deeply before he moved his mouth toward my jaw and down my throat. “I love you so fucking much, Emme,” he said with his mouth at the base of my throat. “I love you, too, Zane.” I pressed my foot into the bed and lifted my hips. Zane rolled to his back and let me straddle his body.

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy the first picture in the book, but I want you to get a view of the real thing right now. That is, if you want it…” I said, trailing off and giving him a coy smile. Fighting the tightness in his throat he said, “Already told you I’d never turn you down. Whatever you want, whenever you want it. That includes whatever you want to give to me.” We had slept naked so with nothing in the way I pressed one hand to his chest to steady myself as I lifted my hips and used my other hand to position him at my entrance. I slowly slid down on his shaft and moaned at the fullness I felt with him in me. Zane’s hands came to rest on the top of my thighs while my hands went to my breasts. I’m certain it was exactly like it was in the picture, other than having him underneath and inside me now. Catching his heated eyes with mine, I began riding him. His hands moved up and down my thighs for a bit before coming to grip my hips. He held me steady while he thrusted his hips up into me. “Oh, baby,” I moaned. Zane’s hands began traveling from my hips up my sides. When they reached the spot just beneath my shoulder blades he pulled me toward him as he lifted his head. Zane’s mouth captured one of my nipples while my hands went to the bed on either side of his head. I felt Zane’s fingertips gently pinch and squeeze one nipple while his teeth and tongue tortured the other one. He did all this and continued to thrust himself into me. My body was being assaulted by all of the sensations Zane was delivering that I was seconds away from an orgasm. Teetering on the edge I rasped out, “Baby, please.” Zane dropped his head back from my chest, brought both hands to my hips, and gave it to me harder, knowing that’s what I needed. “Oh, fuck…Zane,” I screamed out as my body exploded around him. When my eyes came back to Zane’s I saw that he had watched me come apart on top of him. He was still thrusting into me and seconds later he gave me the opportunity to watch him find his pleasure. It was a thing of beauty. I collapsed on Zane’s chest and tried to catch my breath. After several moments Zane asked, “Why did you do it, Em?” I picked my head up and looked at him before asked, “Do what?” “The pictures.” I took a deep swallow and answered honestly when I shared, “It was a year ago I was beaten to within an inch of my life, after enduring years of abuse. I lost someone I loved that day and never thought I’d ever recover. As time went on I found a way to exist, but my life was terribly dark and lonely. Then, I meet you and you refuse to accept the plans I’ve already put into place for the rest of my life. You give me beauty every single moment we’re together and in doing that you brought light into my life again. There’s still darkness, but when I’m with you it’s so bright sometimes I think I’ll go blind. I made the decision to do the pictures when we were out in Vail. After the flowers were delivered

and that whole situation happened I saw a bit of that darkness creeping into your life. I wanted to do something that would squash the darkness out for you. I don’t want you to end up where I was only a few months ago. Giving them to you today only seemed fitting for how far I’ve come in this last year thanks to your love.” “Sweetheart,” he began. “As long as I have you my life could never be dark. Shit happens and we’ll deal with it. I worry about you and sometimes I struggle to remain in control when it comes to your safety. But never Em, my life will never be dark as long as you’re in it.” I smiled at him and rested my head back on his chest. “Should’ve listened to Wes,” he said. My head snapped back up and I asked, “About what?” “When you and the girls were up here putting together my surprise and I began bitching to him about how long you were taking he told me to relax and that it’d be worth it. Just kept telling me to trust him.” My eyes rounded. I never thought that Wes would have known what we were doing here. “Charley told him,” I said. “Does that bother you?” he asked. I shook my head. “Did him telling you it’d be worth it help calm you down?” “Not exactly. Though, now that I think about it I’m wondering how he knew what the result would be…” he said, trailing off. “He has his own photos, that’s why,” I said, nonchalantly. Zane’s body went solid and I realized he misunderstood. “Of Charley,” I added. “I did a boudoir photo shoot with Charley before Christmas because she was struggling to come up with a gift to give Wes. Her photos turned out beautiful and she said that Wes said it was the best gift he’d ever gotten. I’m guessing he knew you’d appreciate the photos of me at least as much as he enjoyed his of Charley.” Zane rolled us in the bed so I was now on my back and he was hovering over me. “I guess that’s one thing I can say that Wes and I have in common. We know what constitutes a good gift. Sweetheart, they were fucking beautiful pictures and I love them. I have to amend an earlier statement, though.” My brows pulled together. “This place ever bursts into flames I won’t give a shit if everything I have burns to the ground as long as I have you and those pictures safely outside of it with me.” I giggled and said, “I love you, baby.” Zane pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose before he said, “Love you, too, Em.” His eyes searched my face before he continued, “So, you feeling ok about tonight?” Tonight was our Tribute-to-Taj night. The guys, meaning Zane, Wes, Stone, and Luke, had agreed to join my girls and me out for a nice dinner where we’d reminisce

about Taj and the goodness he gave to all of us. Then, we were going to go to Lou’s where Elle was going to put on an impromptu show to honor Charley’s late brother. We figured a few drinks would be part of the festivities as well so Lou’s was the perfect location. “Yeah. I mean, I’m sure it’s not going to be easy, but I think it’ll ultimately be really good for all of us. I am actually very much looking forward to a night out with everyone.” I paused a moment before I said, “Zane?” “Yeah, Em?” His voice was gravelly and so very sexy. “Fuck, I love your voice when you answer me like that.” Shit. I slapped my hand over my mouth and pulled back from Zane. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I mumbled with my hand still over my mouth. Zane chuckled. “You wanted to ask me something?” he said, a full-blown grin spreading across his face. I shook my head. “I can’t now. I’m mortified.” “Sweetheart, why are you embarrassed? You just gave me those gifts over there, which required a whole hell of a lot of courage to pull off, but telling me you like the sound of my voice sends you over the edge?” I shrugged my shoulders. “What did you want to say to me before?” I looked away from him and admitted, “I was going to ask you if you wanted more.” “More what?” he asked, as he used his fingertips to push my face back to his. I swallowed hard and bit my lip. “Love.” “Emme…do you need more?” he pressed, his voice gentle. I nodded and quietly added, “I’d like it.” “Then you tell me. I’m your man, Em. It’s my job to take care of you, in every way that you need me to take care of you. Told you I would always do that. You want more, sweetheart, I’ll always give it to you.” I stared at him a moment before I confessed, “I want more, baby.” With that, Zane picked me up and carried me to the shower, where he gave me more.



Chapter 29 Emme “Well that was harder than I thought it was going to be,” I said to Zane, my mood melancholy. We just left dinner with our friends and were on our way to Lou’s for Elle’s performance. Charley told us at dinner that she and Elle had spoken a lot about Taj over the past couple of days. Elle wanted to make sure that she put on a good show to appropriately honor her future sister-in-law’s late brother. Hearing that made me realize that dinner may have been difficult to get through, but Elle’s show was going to be much harder. I was thankful for the fact that we were going to be at Lou’s, where I knew we’d be able to have a steady flow of drinks to numb the pain. Of course, I always had to watch how much I had considering the whole one kidney situation. “You did good, though, Em. I’m proud of you,” Zane began. “Have to admit, it was nice to learn a little bit about him. I’m not one to get too sentimental, but wish I could have met the guy.” My body warmed at Zane’s words. “You would have gotten along great with him,” I said. “He was a surfer and he was a lot like you are with snowboarding; exceptional at it with what seems like very little effort to the outsider. Of course, those of us who know you know that you are very serious about what you do and that you work hard at your craft. Taj was the same way with surfing.” Zane reached over and squeezed my hand. “Think you’ll be able to make it through Elle’s show?” I let out a sigh. “I’m almost dreading it. Don’t get me wrong; she’s incredible, but I have a feeling this is going to be brutal.” “You feel like you need to leave, you say the word.” I looked to Zane, who had just pulled into a parking spot at Lou’s. “Taj died for me, Zane. I’m pretty sure I can suck it up for a couple hours and pay homage to the guy who saved my life.” Zane gave me a small smile. “Ok, Em. But, the minute I think it’s becoming too much for you, I’m taking you out to get some fresh air. You take a break and you can go back in. Got me?” I nodded. With that, he turned off the truck, hopped out, and rounded the front of it to come to my side where he helped me out. I had worn a sleeveless navy blue lace mini dress. I didn’t want anything overstated or showy considering the occasion, but I still wanted something nice. In fact, when I had finished getting ready earlier at Zane’s house and he saw me he got this heart-melting look on his face before he stated, “You look really pretty,

Emme.” We walked up the steps to the saloon and made our way inside. All of our friends were filtering in together since we left the restaurant at the same time. We walked toward the stage and found Elle’s crew already on stage getting everything set up. Surprisingly, she was sitting at a table front and center that was already reserved for our group, but she wasn’t alone. Levi was with her. Oh boy, Wes was going to have a canary. “Hey, Elle,” I greeted, as Zane and I approached the table. “Hi, Emme,” she said as she stood and pulled me into a hug. I looked to Levi with a smile on my face and offered, “Hi, Levi.” He stood and nodded to me with a quick, “Em.” Zane then looked to Levi and asked, “Wes know you’re here with her?” Before Levi had the chance to answer Elle jumped in. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but Levi is not exactly here with me. I’m pretty certain he’s here on your behalf. Regardless, Wes doesn’t have a say in what Levi or I do, which unfortunately, isn’t much of anything,” she announced on a roll of her eyes. I looked to Levi to see he was definitely frustrated. It was then that the rest of the group joined us. Everyone said hello to Elle and Levi. When Wes approached he pulled Elle into a hug and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. She then took off to get ready for her show. Wes then moved to Levi and said, “Not getting into shit tonight; it’s about Charley’s brother. I’m just hoping you didn’t lie to my face at my place a couple weeks ago.” “I didn’t,” Levi said, his face deadpan. “Told you I wouldn’t disrespect you in your house and I kept my word.” “Hoping you keep your word outside of my house, too, and that you don’t do shit behind my back.” “There’s nothing to worry about, Wes. I’m here tonight for Zane and Em. Arrived here before everyone else, though. And just saying, you don’t want me disrespecting you and I get it, but I’m also not going to disrespect her. So, you might not like it, but I’m not going to be a dick to your sister and completely ignore her.” Wes nodded and moved away. I let out the breath I was holding. The tension quickly dissipated and everyone took a seat at the table Elle had reserved for us. Nikki ordered a round of shots for everyone on the way in and the waitress brought them over to us a minute after we were all seated. Nikki held out her glass as she said, “I’d like to make a toast.” Everyone turned their attention to her. “One year ago today, my best friend and my sister, Charley, lost her big brother. We were all devastated by the loss of him. His selfless act to protect and save our sister, Emme, is one that should be honored. What you might not know is that Taj was a big

brother to all of us and sacrificed a lot for each and every one of us girls. For Charley, he gave up nights out with friends when he was eighteen to take care of her after their parents died. He encouraged her to pursue her dreams every single day. For Monroe and I, he sacrificed many nights of restful sleep or date nights just to keep us out of trouble. Oh, who am I kidding? It was mostly me he was keeping out of trouble.” Nikki said as she looked to Monroe. “I know you’re going to kill me for this babe, but for Monroe he always insisted on making sure that any guy who wanted to date her knew she was something special and that they better not try to take advantage of her, as if her three older brothers weren’t already scaring the guys away.” I looked to Monroe. Her eyes were glassy, clearly reminded about how protective Taj was of her. When my eyes drifted to Stone who was sitting next to her, I saw he was watching her, his mind working. “And then there’s Emme,” Nikki said, directing her attention to me. I felt my throat get tight and my eyes get wet. “Taj made the greatest sacrifice when he rescued Emme, his baby girl, one year ago. I know sometimes you struggle with it and regret making the decision to call him, but babe, if he were here today and had to do it all over again knowing the outcome, he’d do it in a heartbeat. So today, I’m grateful for all of the sacrifices Taj made and his selflessness when it came to keeping all the girls he deemed to be his baby sisters safe. I still mourn the loss of him, but I find comfort in the fact that I was privileged enough to be part of his short life. With that, I’d like to say cheers to Taj.” “Wait,” Charley said. Everyone, who now had their drinks in hand mid-air, stopped to look at Charley. “That was beautiful, Nik. Thank you. I just want to add one more thing,” she said as she looked to me. “I know you wanted today to be about Taj, and it is, but I feel like there is something else that needs to be said. Taj died a year ago, but he didn’t do it in vain. He did it saving you so that you could live a life full of love and happiness. It’s taken you some time, honey, but you’re here and you’re finally happy. You’ve been able to see and feel what real love is supposed to be and nobody deserves it more than you, baby girl.” Tears spilled over my cheeks as I smiled at my sister. Zane’s arm tightened around me and squeezed a little. Monroe lifted her glass in the air and said, “To Taj.” We all followed suit. Seconds later, Lou was up on stage introducing Elle. When Elle had the floor, she made a statement before she began her set. “A couple months ago I met a girl who became my brother’s fiancée and would grow to become one of my closest friends. I didn’t know when I first met her about the hardships she faced in her life that brought her into our world. Over time, I learned about those tragedies and I’m blown away by her. I know now that regardless of what she’s faced in her past she brings such joy into the lives of all my family members, especially my big brother. I can’t imagine my life without my brother and I don’t know how she stays so strong, day in and day out. So tonight, I want to help my friend and future sisterin-law, and her friends celebrate the life of and pay tribute to an incredible man that I wish

I would have had the honor of meeting. This is for Taj.” Elle immediately went into her set selected specifically for the occasion. The rest of us sat there initially just staring at her, too emotional to do anything else. Halfway through Elle’s first song I chanced a glance at Levi and found that he was riveted to her. I leaned into Zane and whispered, “You think there’s any chance Wes is going to ease up on the whole situation with Elle and Levi?” He looked to me with his brows drawn. “Baby, look at your brother,” I said as Zane turned his head toward Levi. “He feels something for Elle and I get the sense that she feels something for him, too.” “Agreed, but Wes is very protective of Elle.” “We’re talking about Levi. He’s not some random guy off the street. What does Wes need to protect her from?” “With Levi? Nothing. But, it’s not our place to tell Wes how to feel about it, unfortunately. If Levi wants to pursue something with Elle, he’ll do right by her and he won’t hide it from Wes.” I nodded and rested my head on Zane’s shoulder as Elle continued her set. Throughout it, Charley, Monroe, Nikki, and I all had a couple more shots. I tried to always chase mine with water knowing drinking too much wasn’t something I should be doing. Thirty minutes later, Elle finished her set and came to join us. The four of us thanked her for putting on such an incredible show and then all five of us girls took off to the ladies’ room. Zane The girls had all just taken off to bathrooms and I sat there at the table with Wes, Stone, Luke, and Levi. The guys were talking about something, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I was too consumed with thoughts of my girl. I wasn’t around a year ago when she nearly lost her life, but this day was seemingly so significant in my own. I met Emme only three months ago; yet, I felt like I had loved her a lifetime. I spent the last several months trying to get inside her head and her heart. It was the single most frustrating experience of my life, but the reward I received once I got in was worth every ounce of effort I put into making her mine. Over the last few weeks I had witnessed such a positive change in her. She let her guard down and was now smiling and laughing more often. Even when bad shit trickled in she found a way to always see through to the good. The strength she showed always amazed me. Even tonight, she got emotional at times, but she kept it together and stayed strong. I was so proud of her. “Yo, Zane,” I heard Stone call out. I snapped out of it and turned my attention to him. “What’s up?”

“Wes says you’re zoning out thinking about some surprise you got. What’s he talking about?” My eyes sliced to Wes’ and I found him smirking at me. “Didn’t fucking know it on Thursday, but I found out this morning why you insisted the wait was worth it. Surprised you aren’t zoning out yourself considering your Christmas gift.” “What the fuck are you two talking about?” Luke asked. I looked to Luke and Stone and said, “You get serious enough with one of those girls, you might find out. I’ll tell you from now, though, that happens and you get what we both got you’ll regret you ever wasted any time on anyone but a girl like that.” I paused a moment and looked Stone right in the eye when I said, “Especially you.” Stone and Luke looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and brushed it off. I looked to Wes to find him grinning. Fucker. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself and think about what Emme had given me that morning. Those pictures were everything. My sweet girl was pure perfection and I was stuck wondering how I could have ever gotten so lucky. And it once again showed me her strength. To have been in the situation she was in before she moved here and be able to get to a point where she was comfortable and confident enough to do a photo shoot like that only proved she’d always find a way to fight and get through to the good. I was pulled out of my thoughts when we saw the girls approaching the table. It was crowded at Lou’s so they were moving toward the table single file. Charley was in the front. As she moved out of the way and rounded the table to where Wes was, Monroe followed behind her and sat next to Stone. Nikki was behind her and as she sat Elle stepped forward. When Elle moved out of the way I didn’t see Emme. My body immediately went on alert. “Where’s Emme?” I asked, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear me. “She was right behind me,” Elle answered as she turned to look behind herself. I was up out of my seat and moving toward the direction the girls had come from. I didn’t turn around, but I knew Levi was moving, too. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Hoping she decided to get a drink, I scanned the area by the bar, but didn’t see her. “Check the bathroom and talk to the bouncers, Zane,” Levi said behind me. “I’m heading outside.” I took off toward the bathrooms. Thankfully, as I walked up toward the women’s bathroom two girls had come out together. “Anyone else in there?” I asked them. They shook their heads and walked off. I went in and double checked. Nothing. For good measure, I went into the men’s bathroom. Still nothing. I went back out into the bar area praying that I’d see that smiling face looking back at me, but when I got there I couldn’t find her. Cliff, one of Lou’s longtime bouncers was at the front door to the saloon. I ran over to him.

“Cliff, you see Emme leave here?” I asked. “Just got back to the door about two minutes ago. Our new guy, Pauly, was covering the door before me.” “He still here?” Cliff looked beyond me. “Hey Pauly,” he called out to him. Pauly walked over and said, “What’s up?” Levi materialized beside me at this point. “Nothing,” he said. I held my phone up in front of him and showed him Emme’s picture. “You see this girl leave here?” I asked. “Yeah.” “She with anyone?” Levi asked. “Some guy. She didn’t seem happy. Figured it was another typical lover’s quarrel.” “She was kidnapped,” I said, turning to Cliff. “Can you give Levi access to the security cameras, Cliff? It’s likely Emme’s with a murdering rapist who likes to beat up women.” “Pauly, cover the door.” We took off behind Cliff to the room where they kept all their surveillance footage. Lou joined us at this point and gave Levi full access to all of the footage both inside the saloon and out in the parking lot. It took a few minutes, but we found the footage that showed the girls heading into the bathroom and then out. As Elle said, Emme was right behind her until a guy came up, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her away from the group. She was tense. He spoke into her ear, saying something, and Emme nodded. We saw the footage of him walking her out of the bar. He had his arm wrapped around her waist and as she walked I could see the rigidity in her body. She was fucking scared. Levi switched over to the parking lot footage and we watched the bastard dragging Emme across the lot. He was pulling her hair as he approached a white panel van. He opened the back of the van and moved to pick her up and put her in. She fought back. She kicked and flailed her arms, but he overpowered her and tossed her in the back like a rag doll. Levi zoomed in on the plate and got a number. “Thanks, Lou,” he said before looking to me. “We’ve got to get to the office.” We moved quickly out of the offices and back out into the bar area. The guys and girls were all there waiting for us. “What happened?” Luke asked as they all fell into step beside us. I pulled my keys out of my pocket and tossed them to him. “Motherfucker has Emme. I’m riding with Levi to his office. Somebody needs to grab her jacket and purse from the table. Take my truck back to one of your places.”

“I have her stuff,” Charley said, as they all followed alongside Levi and me. “Seth took her?” Nikki asked. “Yeah,” Levi said. “She fought him and tried to get away, but he threw her into the back of a van. I’ve got to get my guys on this so we can find out where she is and get her back.” “Oh my God,” Monroe said, her knees buckling. Stone caught her before she collapsed. “Going to get the girls back to my house. Keep us posted, Zane. Let us know what we can do.” I nodded and hopped into Levi’s truck. He pulled out of the lot and took off toward his office. The Bluetooth in the car started ringing. “Michaels,” we heard after one ring. “Miller just took Emme. Need you to get any camera footage from the streets leaving Lou’s in Rising Sun heading west. White panel van,” he began as he rattled off the plate number. “Zane and I are on the way to the office, probably about twenty minutes out.” “Roger that.” Disconnect. Levi hit a few buttons and we heard the phone ring once. “Yeah, Levi?” “Emme’s been kidnapped, Locke. Miller took her.” “Fuck.” “Zane and I are on the way to the office. I need all hands on deck. Call Dom, De Luca, Tyson, Reynolds, and Hayes. I’ll call Cruz to fill him in.” “Got it, boss.” Disconnect. Ringing again. “Levi?” “Miller’s got Emme.” “Motherfucker. When?” “About twenty minutes ago. We were at Lou’s. Know you’re on assignment and not in town right now. You finish, we’re going to need you.” “How’s Zane?” Cruz asked. “Right here,” I answered. “Almost at the office. I’ll keep you posted,” Levi chimed in. “Thanks. Zane…we’re going to get her back, brother.”

“She’s scared, Cruz. Levi got the footage from Lou’s security cameras. She fought him in the parking lot, but he overpowered her and threw her into the van. I know my girl and I know she’s fucking terrified right now.” “She’s a fighter, Zane. She’ll get through this. We’ll all get her through it.” “Pulling into the office lot now, Cruz. Gotta go. We’ll update you when we’ve got more.” Levi turned off the truck and we jumped out and ran to the door. To save us time, Pierce was at the door and had it open for us already. As we walked through the door, Levi asked, “What do we have boys?” We walked into Trent’s office and found him sitting behind the computer. “Hit a dead end, Levi. Was able to follow the van all the way through town, but he got on the interstate, heading south. We lost him there. Don’t know how far he’s going, but I’m checking footage from the cameras immediately off every exit on the interstate. It’s going to take time. She have her phone with her? I can track that much faster.” I shook my head. “She went to the bathroom with the girls and left her purse and phone on the table by me. They went as a group; I never thought she was in danger. FUCK!! I never should have let her out of my sight.” “Can’t beat yourself up, man. We’re going to find her,” Hayes said. I began pacing around the offices waiting for something to happen. The guys worked tirelessly attempting to locate her or any sign of that fucking van. A little over an hour after she was taken Trent got a lock on the van. They made a stop at a gas station. Dom and Hayes took off and made their way to that area. Emme was never taken out of the van. It was dark out and my sweet girl was locked in the back of a dark van. I hoped like hell we found her soon enough so that I could get her back into the light. Three hours after she was taken we still had nothing new. The van got back on the interstate after the stop at the gas station and they hadn’t located it again. I heard a buzzing sound indicating someone was at the front door. I followed De Luca to the door. A woman was standing outside. De Luca turned on the intercom and asked, “Can I help you?” “I was told to deliver something here,” the woman said. “What is it? And from who?” “It’s a flash drive. I don’t know the man who gave it to me, but he said to tell you to enjoy the show.” De Luca and I went solid. “That’s him,” I said. De Luca opened the door and took the flash drive from the woman. “When did you get this?” he asked her. “Earlier this evening. I was told to deliver it now.” “And you just did this for some guy you didn’t know?” he asked. “He paid me to do it. I am a single mom and I’m struggling now. I was at work; I’m

a waitress. He offered me a hundred dollars and I need the money so I agreed to do it.” “Thank you.” De Luca let her go and we walked back to Levi’s office. “Just got a delivery. USB flash drive. It’s from him,” De Luca said to Levi, Tyson, Pierce, and Holden. Trent was still working on locating the van on the cameras. Levi held out his hand and Lorenzo gave him the flash drive. “Woman who brought it was paid off.” “Message?” Levi asked. “Enjoy the show.” “Fuck,” Levi muttered under his breath. Levi put the drive into his computer and opened the file. There was a clickable link in the file. When Levi clicked on it and a new screen opened my stomach twisted at what I saw. I stood there frozen, staring at the screen. “MICHAELS!!” Levi yelled. Trent ran into the room, a look of concern washed over his face. Levi turned in his chair and pushed a button that dropped a projector screen down. He tapped out a few buttons on the laptop and suddenly the screen on his computer was displayed on the projector screen. “Jesus Christ,” Trent said. “Oh fuck,” Pierce and Holden said in unison. “It’s a live feed, Michaels. Where is it streaming from?” Levi said as he stood. Trent came over and sat at Levi’s desk. He immediately went to work, but I kept my eyes laser-focused on the screen. We were watching a high-quality live feed being filmed with infrared cameras. My girl. My sweet girl. She was in the dark. I couldn’t see her face. She had her head down to the side and her hair was covering the side of her face. If that wasn’t already bad enough, she was there with her arms over her head with her wrists bound together in shackles, suspended from the ceiling. Her ankles were also shackled and connected to the wall behind her. She had no shoes on, but she was still wearing her dress, thankfully. I could see her body trembling. She was scared for sure, but she was cold. She hated being cold. Emme’s body was hanging there almost lifeless when she suddenly went solid. That’s when we heard the footsteps.



Chapter 30 Emme My body was numb. I was cold. It was dark. I wanted Zane. All I wanted was Zane to wrap his arms around me, warm me up, and bring me back into the light. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I’d been taken. It could have been five minutes and it would have felt like five hours. I had gone with the girls to the ladies’ room at Lou’s. We walked out and I was at the back of the pack. I felt an arm wrap around my waist and I was pulled back into a body. That’s when I heard Seth’s voice in my ear. “You scream or try to get away and Cunningham is as good as dead. Tell me, Emily, you going to walk out of here with me and do this the easy way?” I nodded, hoping that someone would see me walking out and do something. Cliff was always at the door, but today there was a new guy. He didn’t recognize me. The moment we got outside and down the stairs to the ground level Seth started dragging me. He pulled me by my hair across the parking lot to the van. If I got in that van I knew the chances of someone finding me would diminish. I struggled. I tried to fight. I tried so hard, but in the end, I just wasn’t strong enough. Seth managed to pick me up and throw me into the back of the van. My body screamed out in pain as I landed on the hard metal surface. I attempted to crawl out, but he slammed the doors before I could get there. And then, I was in darkness. He drove. It felt like I had been in the back of this van for hours. It eventually stopped. He spoke again. “Make a sound and you’re dead.” He got out of the van and I listened carefully. We were at a gas station. I wished there had been some light. I was feeling around the back of the van, but couldn’t find anything to help me. The gas pump stopped and seconds later he got back into the van. It started moving again. We drove for a while, but it didn’t seem nearly as long as the drive before the gas station stop. I heard Seth get out of the van and braced myself. The back doors opened. He leaned in, grabbed me by the ankle, and pulled me out. I tried to look around and take in my surroundings. It was too dark out and it looked like we were in the middle of nowhere. Seth walked me to what looked like an abandoned house. I didn’t recognize anything, not that there was much to see. Seth forced me up the steps and into the house. “What do you want from me?” I asked.

“You, Emily. You’re mine.” The house was dark and damp. I began searching for anything that I could possibly use to fight him. He must have seen me and realized what I was doing. “That’s cute, but you aren’t going to be here.” I froze. “Come with me, Emily,” he said as he held out his hand. I stayed put. No way was I going to go with him. He started walking toward me and I took steps back. I continued moving back until I felt the wall behind me. Shit. Seth stood in front of me and grabbed me by the wrist. He squeezed it tight. So tight it hurt. He pulled me through the house and stopped in front of a door. He yanked open the door. No. No. No. No. I was pulled down the steep concrete stairs struggling against Seth. I tried pulling back, but he only yanked harder. I was still in my heels, so when he yanked and moved toward the wall I went tumbling down the rest of the stairs. Then, everything went black. I came to minutes ago unable to move my arms. They were over my head, bound together. I had a headache. I couldn’t see anything; it was pitch black. I tried moving my legs, but realized that they were also bound together. I felt cold metal on my wrists and ankles and knew he had to have me in some sort of shackles in a cold, dark, and dingy basement. I felt my body trembling because it was so cold. I had no strength and knew that I’d only make it worse on myself if I struggled. I tried to relax and conserve what little energy I had left. I dropped my head to the side and closed my eyes. I kept them closed. If I was going to be in the dark I was going to be in control of it. So, I closed my eyes and tried to hold onto my beauty. I closed my eyes and saw Zane. I stayed like that for a long time, comforted by him. I knew he was probably sick with worry right now and was doing everything he could to find me. He told me if I ever needed him he’d always come to me. I trusted him and knew he’d stay true to his word. I just had to do what I had to do in order to make sure I was alive when he found me. That was when I heard the door open and the thud of Seth’s footsteps down the stairs. I tensed. I did my best to stay still. Maybe if he thought I was still knocked out he’d go back upstairs and that would buy me more time for Zane to find me. Despite my best efforts to remain still Seth continued to approach. I felt him put his hands on my hair. He pushed the hair that had fallen in front of my face out of the way. “Time to wake up, Emily.” I didn’t move. He laughed an evil laugh and said, “Come on, Cunningham is watching.” Zane was here? I moved my head and opened my eyes.

“That’s it, Emily. He needs to see you awake. He needs to see how much you’re going to enjoy this.” I tried to search the room, but I couldn’t see anything other than the outline of Seth standing immediately in front of me. His hand came up and he touched my cheek. I flinched. “Cunningham isn’t here. He’s watching you, though. I’m going to walk over there and turn on a light,” he said pointing directly behind himself. “Then, the fun begins.” Seth turned on a light, if you could even call it that. It lit up a small square of space on the far side of the basement. My eyes struggled to adjust. Seth came back to stand in front of me. He pointed across the room. “See that, Emily?” he asked. “That’s a camera that’s sending a live feed to Cunningham. He can see you right now. In fact, now he’s going to get a little show.” My body began trembling and my heart began racing. “You see, Emily, I had to sit and watch as he put his hands and his mouth on you. Then, I had to watch while he fucked you. Now, he is going to see exactly how that feels.” Zane I was going to lose my fucking mind. I was standing here watching as my girl was shackled in what was a dark and seemingly cold room. Miller stood in front of her and used his hands to push her hair back from her face. He told her I was watching. She opened her eyes and searched the room for me. He put his hands on her again, touching her cheek. She recoiled. He moved away from her and turned on a light. It didn’t do much to light up the room, but I was able to see her better. He showed her the camera and told her I could see her. My jaw was clenched, my hands balled into fists. She was right in front of me and I couldn’t get to her. I promised her I’d always get to her. She was so scared and the look on her face broke my fucking heart. Then, the fucking bastard continued to torture my sweet girl. “You see, Emily, I had to sit and watch as he put his hands and his mouth on you. Then, I had to watch while he fucked you. Now, he is going to see exactly how that feels.” Levi, without a trace of patience in his voice, said, “Michaels, where are we at?” “Getting close man.” I kept my eyes on my girl. Miller walked behind her and held up a knife. I stopped breathing. He put his hand to the shoulder strap of her dress and lifted it. He used the knife and sliced through the fabric. Emme’s breathing grew shallow. She was fucking terrified and I was doing nothing. He moved to the other shoulder strap and did the same thing. After, he dropped the knife and moved his hands to the zipper at the back of her dress. He opened the zipper and pulled the dress down her body. And there was my girl,

now shackled in a bra and a pair of panties in front of her psycho ex-boyfriend who had raped her for a year and beaten her for much longer than that. The tears were spilling down her cheeks. “Sweetheart,” I whispered. “Where are you?” He came and stood alongside of her. “Damn, Emily. It’s been too long.” His hands came up and squeezed her breasts and his mouth went to her neck. She pulled back, but couldn’t go anywhere. One hand traveled down her abdomen and into her panties. “Fuck,” Tyson murmured. I saw fucking red. Then, she spoke and I froze. “Zane,” she began, through her tears. “Baby, it’s so dark.” “FUCK!!” I yelled, picking up the chair closest to me and throwing it across the room out into the hall. “Levi, we have to find her now!” “You don’t fucking say his name,” Miller yelled at her. My eyes were back on the screen. “I need you, Zane. Bring me back into the light,” she yelled out. My stomach was in knots already and then he cracked her in the jaw before he punched her in the stomach. “Motherfucker!” De Luca yelled. She screamed out in pain as his fist connected with her left eye. I was losing my patience. “I’ve got it. He’s got her at an abandon house in Firebend,” Trent called out. “That’s more than an hour away,” I said looking to Levi. “She’s never going to make it.” Levi’s phone rang. “Cruz,” he answered walking to the door. Before he walked out, “Text me that address, Michaels. Lock up and move out boys. Someone call Dominick and Hayes and get them the address. They’ve got to be close to that area by now.” “You’re finished?” Levi asked into the phone. Silence. “Michaels located Emme. She’s at an abandoned house in Firebend.” Silence again as we walked outside to Levi’s truck. “I’ll get the exact address over to you.” We got into the truck and Levi switched to the bluetooth. Trent had already sent us the address to where my girl was. Levi forwarded it to Cruz. “Just sent you the address, Cruz. You get to her first, she’s going to be in bad shape. We had a live feed. She was shackled; looks like the basement. And then she was assaulted. Motherfucker cut her dress off of her, put his hands and mouth on her. She

knew there was a camera in there giving us a live feed. She started talking to Zane. Miller got pissed and started beating her.” “That son of a bitch is dead,” Cruz said, his voice lethal. “Got the address, I’m five minutes out.” “Dom and Hayes will likely be next on the scene, Cruz. They took off to that area a while back when we got a lock on the van at a gas station not far from there.” “Roger that.” “Cruz?” I called out. “Yeah, Zane?” “You get to her, get her safe, and then handle her with care. She was…” I trailed off. “I got it covered, Zane. I’ll let you know when I have her safe.” Disconnect. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. My girl needed me and I was so far from her. “Cruz is going to get her, man. We’re going to get you to your girl.” “Levi, I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure I know how to take care of her after this. How did I let this happen to her?” “You’ll figure it out, Zane. And it’s not your fault. The guy is an asshat who’s about to get what’s coming to him. Emme will be ok. We’ll get her all the help she needs, but I’m certain you are the only thing she’s going to want.” “I fucking hope you’re right.” Cruz I pulled up outside the abandoned house at the address Levi sent to me. Wanting the element of surprise, I moved quietly but swiftly through the grass and up the front steps. I picked the lock and pushed open the door. As soon as I walked in I heard Emme’s cries. My adrenaline kicked up a notch and as stealthily as I could I moved through the dilapidated house trying to locate the door to the basement. It wasn’t difficult since the stupid motherfucker left it open. I heard Emme begging, “Please stop.” I moved down the steps and saw her shackled, just as Levi said she would be. Miller was in front of her, his back to me, with one hand on one of her naked breasts the other stroking his own fucking dick. Her panties were pushed more than halfway down her legs. Her face was swollen and bloody, her abdomen already bruised, and she was trembling and crying hysterically. He moved in front of her, put his hands behind her thighs, and said, “It’s time, Emily. I’m making you mine again now. Spread your legs.” It took me three strides to make it across the basement floor to where they were. I grabbed the fucker by the neck of his shirt and threw him across the room where he landed in the corner on the floor.

“It’s ok. It’s Cruz. You’re safe, beautiful,” I said, as I pulled her panties back up her legs and over her hips. “Going to get you down in a second, but I need to take care of him. Look the other way, Em.” She nodded and looked away. I turned around and moved to him. Then, I beat the shit out of him. What a fucking pussy. He had no problem beating up women, but when it came to a man he couldn’t even land one fucking punch and he cried like a bitch. I neutralized him and cuffed him to a beam in the corner of the room. Emme wouldn’t be able to see him. I moved back to her and she was still trembling uncontrollably. “I’ve got you,” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist. “Not going to leave you down here alone with him to go find a key. You ok with me shooting this to get you down?” She nodded, but said nothing. I supported her weight in one arm and held the other up ready to shoot when I heard footsteps above us. Dom and Gunner. “Basement,” I yelled out. Their footsteps came faster. “Jesus Christ,” Dom yelled out when he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Hayes, can you go find the key so we can get her down without the need for gunfire? He’s a stupid motherfucker, so I’m guessing it’s out in plain sight.” Hayes took off up the steps and came back seconds later with the key. He and Dom worked quickly to free Emme’s wrists. “Going to release your arms, Emme. It’s going to hurt,” Hayes said to her gently. “You ready?” She nodded. Hayes released her wrists from the shackles. Her arms fell around my shoulders and she yelled out in pain. “I know, beautiful. We’ll get you taken care of. We’ve got to get your ankles free.” I kept one arm wrapped tightly around her waist while I brought the other up to massage one of her arms. While Hayes worked to free her ankles, Dom bent toward her ear and quietly said, “Cruz is working the muscles in one arm for you. I’m going to get the other. You ok with that, honey?” She nodded. Dom massaged the opposite arm as we waited for her ankles to be released. I looked to Dom and said, “He’s cuffed to the support over in the corner. I get her out of here, you do whatever the fuck you want with him.” He nodded. At that moment, Hayes freed her ankles. I bent down, picked her up, and carried her up the steps. I found a worn-out couch in the living room and sat down, keeping her settled in my lap. With one arm wrapped around her back I reached my other hand behind

my neck and pulled off my shirt. I pulled the shirt over her head, covered her, and pulled her tight to my body. I began massaging her arms again. She groaned in pain. “I know, Em. It’s ok. Zane’s on his way, but we’re about an hour from home. They’re coming as fast as they can.” “It hurts everywhere and I’m so tired,” her delicate voice murmured. “Sleep, Em. You’re safe. He’s never going to touch you again. Until Zane gets here we’ve got you covered, beautiful. Just close your eyes and sleep. I promise you’re safe.” “Thank you, Cruz,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Before I had the chance to respond to her she was asleep. I pulled out my phone and called Levi. It rang once. “You have her?” Levi asked. “I’ve got her. She’s safe. Boys are downstairs in the basement with Miller.” “We’re still about twenty-five minutes out.” “No worries. I’ve got her. See you when you get here.” I disconnected the call and put my phone back in my pocket. Dom and Hayes joined me in the living room twenty minutes later. “What did you do with him?” I asked. Dom gave me a devilish grin and said, “He’s getting a little taste of his own medicine. Fucker is hanging around until Levi and Zane show up. Figure we’ll let them decide what to do with him.” I nodded. “How is she?” Hayes asked. “Exhausted, sore, and violated.” “Do you know how bad it was?” Dom asked. It was then the front door was pushed open. Zane and Levi walked in. Zane looked like shit. He walked into the living room and looked down at Emme. When his tortured eyes came to mine he asked, “Did he…?” “Unless it happened before I got here I’m guessing I stopped it just before he was about to do it.” Zane let out a breath and dropped his head. “It wasn’t good, bro. I walked down the stairs and he never knew I was there. He stood there next to her jacking off while fondling her naked breasts with her underwear pulled down around her knees. She was crying hysterically and trembling uncontrollably she was so fucking scared. He told her he was going to make her his again, wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs, and told her to spread her legs. I picked him up by

the neck and threw him across the room. Beat the shit out of him, cuffed him to a beam, and went to her. Hayes and Dom arrived and helped me get her out of the shackles. The way she screamed when we freed her wrists — fuck, man, she had been hanging there a long time. Her body is beyond exhausted.” “Where’s Miller now?” Levi asked. “He’s in the basement,” Hayes answered. “Dom went a little crazy and decided to put him in the shackles. Thought you guys might want your shot at him.” Just then, Locke, Reynolds, De Luca, Tyson, and Trent all walked in. Zane looked to them and back to us. “I’m taking my girl out of here. Give him a little something from me, will you?” Dom’s devilish grin went back into place and he said, “Absolutely.” Dom was a crazy motherfucker and sometimes I think he relished in doling out punishment to someone in a situation like this. With that, I stood and put Emme in Zane’s arms. She melted into his body, but didn’t wake up. Zane looked from Emme to the rest of the guys who just walked in. “Thank you for finding her before it was too late.” “Don’t worry about it, Zane,” Tyson said. “Get your girl out of here and get her home.” The guys all nodded their agreement. Zane held their eyes a moment and turned back to face me. “Thank you for being here for her, Cruz. I owe you, bro.” “You want to repay me, Zane? Take care of her. And then, when you think she’s ready for it, give me a sister-in-law.” “I already fucking planned on that,” he declared as he turned and walked out of the house with his girl in his arms.



Chapter 31 Zane I strode out of the house with my girl in my arms and walked up to Levi’s truck. He followed behind me and opened the back door so I could climb in without jostling her too much. After he closed the door he came around to the front, turned on the truck, and blasted the heat. “Need five minutes inside with the guys. I’ll be quick so we can get her back home,” Levi said. I nodded and offered, “I’m good if you take ten minutes and use the extra five to fuck Miller up for what he did to her.” He smirked at me and closed the door. In all honesty, I didn’t give a shit if he spent five hours in that house giving the bastard what he deserved. All I cared about was the fact that I had my girl sleeping peacefully in my arms. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want to let her go, fearing that something else would come along and try to take her away from me. I knew in that moment I would spend the rest of my life doing whatever I had to do to keep her safe. I spent the next several minutes just staring at her, watching her sleep. “Please stop,” she murmured, her voice filled with anguish. Her eyes were closed. Fuck. “Sweetheart,” I said gently, trying to wake her. I heard the front door to the truck open and glanced up to see Levi hopping in. He must have realized by the look on my face that something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “She’s having a nightmare.” “No,” she called out. “Please stop.” “Emme, you’ve got to get up.” Her body went from relaxed to tense. I heard a pained groan come from her. “Zane,” she breathed. “Baby, please help me.” “I’m right here, Em. Come back to me, sweetheart.” “Christ. She has these regularly?” Levi asked. I nodded. “This isn’t bad yet.” “Fuck,” he said.

Emme groaned again and started trembling. Then, she began crying. “Come on, Em.” “Please don’t….No,” she begged. “You’re safe, Emme. I’ve got you.” “Zane?” she called out. “I’m here, Em.” “No. NO, DON’T TOUCH ME,” she screamed as she woke up and struggled to pull out of my arms. “Emme, sweetheart. It was a nightmare. You’re safe. I’m here. I’ve got you. Nobody is going to hurt you ever again.” “Zane?” she called out in disbelief. Her head turned toward the sound of my voice and the second her eyes made contact with mine she lost it. “Oh my God,” she said as she pulled at my shirt, trying to get closer. I swear if she could have climbed inside my body she would have done just that. She was sobbing uncontrollably and I just held her through it. “It’s ok, sweetheart. You’re safe. He’s never going to touch you again. I promise you, Em. You are safe,” I whispered in her ear. When I looked up at Levi I saw he was struggling to remain calm. I’m certain that’s what I looked like after the first time I witnessed one of her nightmares. “Let’s move,” I mouthed to him. He nodded. The moment the truck began moving Emme tensed again and then began squirming. “NO,” she screamed. Levi stopped the truck immediately. “Where are we? Where are we going?” she asked, panic filling her voice. “We’re in Levi’s truck, Em. He’s driving. We’re going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out.” She looked to the front and saw Levi looking back at her. His face softened when she looked at him. When she looked back to me she shook her head. “No. No hospital.” “We’ve got to make sure you’re ok, Emme.” Her lip trembled and she pleaded with me, “Please. No.” Fuck. I looked to Levi. “Mom?” he asked. I looked back to my girl. “Ok, sweetheart. I’ll take you home.”

She visibly relaxed. “You ok with my mom coming over in a couple hours to check and make sure you are alright?” She nodded. “Ready to go home?” I asked. She snuggled into me and said, “Yes, please.” With that, Levi took off and drove us home. Emme fell asleep. I had called Wes on the way to get Emme to let him know that we found her, but that she went through hell and that I still didn’t know the fullest extent of it. I knew the girls would be worried about her and wanted to set their minds at ease. On the way home I sent him a text and told him I had her and we were on our way back. He responded, saying they were all relieved, but that the girls didn’t have a good night. He told me they wanted to come and see her. I responded back and let him know that Emme was going to need some time, but maybe later that night would work. I didn’t want to overwhelm her and would leave the decision to have visitors up to her. When we arrived back home about an hour later I breathed a sigh of relief. I was home and I had my girl with me. Levi hopped out and opened the door to the back seat. Emme woke the moment she felt the cold air hit her bare legs. “We’re home, sweetheart.” She moved and tried to scoot off my lap when I held on to her. She looked back at me, confused. “You don’t have shoes, Em. Let me carry you.” She nodded and settled back into my lap. I got out of the car and walked toward the house. Levi used his spare key to my place and opened the door for us. We stepped inside and Emme wiggled in my arms. I set her down gently, but kept an arm wrapped around her waist. I knew her body had been through hell and I didn’t want to risk having her fall. “Need anything?” Levi asked. I shook my head. “Emme?” he called. She shook her head and looked down. Levi’s angry eyes came to mine. He had the same thoughts I did. That motherfucker made her feel inadequate, ashamed, and embarrassed. “Going to head out. I’ll give you some time alone with her and then I’ll call mom in a couple hours. You good with that?” “Yeah. That works. Let me get her cleaned up and settled. Want to give her some time to rest before people start coming over. Tell mom to come around lunch time.” “You got it. I’ll check back in later.” I nodded.

“Levi?” I heard Emme’s small voice say beside me. We turned our heads to her and Levi said, “Yeah, Em?” She had been staring off not looking at either one of us, but after a moment she brought her eyes to Levi’s and with a single tear running down her cheek she said, “Thank you.” His face warmed and he gave her a soft smile before he said, “You’re welcome. I’m just happy you’re home safe. You need anything, you tell Zane and we’ll get it for you, ok?” She nodded. “We’ll check in on you later,” he said as he moved to the door. “Thanks, Levi,” I said, feeling grateful that I had two brothers who did what they did for a living. After Levi left, I secured the house at the alarm panel and moved to pick up Emme. She curled into me while I carried her up the steps and into the bathroom. I set her down on the ledge of the sink. Keeping one hand on her I held her steady while I leaned over to the side and grabbed a washcloth. I turned on the tap and waited while the water warmed up. After a few seconds I wet the cloth, rang it out, and brought it up to her face. Her left eye was already bruised and swollen and her lip had a nasty gash in it from when he punched her. I gently put the cloth up to clean the right side of her face since that had the least amount of trauma to it. Despite my best efforts to be gentle, when I moved to the other side of her face she winced in pain. “I’m sorry, Emme,” I said to her, hating that I was causing her any further pain. I managed to get her face all cleaned up. I tossed the washcloth to the side and took my hands off her. Once I knew she was steady and wouldn’t fall I moved to turn on the shower. I saw the anxiety in her face as I walked back over to her. I framed her face in my hands and said, “We are going to wash away all of the bad and ugly, Emme.” The tears spilled down her cheeks. “You want me to help you do that, sweetheart?” She nodded. I took off my shirt, boots, and pants, but I left the boxer briefs on. She had been through enough and I wasn’t going to traumatize her any further. I put my hands to the hem of Cruz’s shirt that was still covering her body and looked in her eyes. “You ok with me taking this off?” I asked, gently. She was beginning to tremble, but she nodded. I carefully lifted the shirt over her head and had to swallow down the anger I was feeling really quick. There were bruises covering the majority of her tiny body. I picked her up carefully and set her on her feet, keeping my hands on her, supporting her weight.

“You ok?” I asked. She nodded and brought her arms up to cover her chest. Fuck. I brought my hands to her hips. She turned her head to the side and began crying. Her body was quivering with uncontrollable fear. “Look at me, Emme.” She slowly turned her head toward me. “Sweetheart, it’s me. I would never hurt you. Do you trust me to take care of you?” “Yes,” she said through her tears. “Can I get these off of you, Em?” Her breaths came quick, but she nodded. “Keep your eyes on mine. You don’t have to be scared.” I kept my eyes on hers while I slid her panties down her legs. When they reached her feet, I stood up in front of her. “You ready?” She nodded and began walking toward the shower. I stayed close, but let her do it on her own. She stepped inside the shower and stood underneath the spray. I walked in right behind her. Her arms were still bent and covering her chest while she dropped her head back and closed her eyes. I gave her a minute to stand there and let the warm water loosen her muscles and help relieve some of her tension. I’m not sure if it helped at all, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. Her eyes were still closed when I put my hands to her forehead. She tensed for a moment, but quickly relaxed. I moved my hands back over her hair. I would gently turn her head one way or the other making sure all of her strands were wet. Then, I put some shampoo in my hands, worked it through her hair, and took my time massaging her scalp hoping that I was providing her some relief. “Keep your eyes closed,” I said as I began rinsing the shampoo from her hair. Once it was all rinsed out I filled my palm up with some conditioner and worked it through her strands. I ran my fingers through the length of her hair and then rinsed it out for her. When I finished washing her hair she tilted her head forward and opened her eyes to look at me. She was fighting back emotions so I simply gave her a small smile. She still hadn’t dropped her hands from her chest and her hands were balled into tight little fists. “You want me to wash him off your body, Emme?” I asked her. She nodded, but still said nothing. I grabbed a washcloth and lathered it up with some soap. I knew her front was going to be harder for her, so I put my hands to her shoulders and gently turned her around. I pushed her hair out of the way and moved the cloth across the top of her back and worked my way down. I wanted to help relax her a bit so after I lathered up her entire back I hung

the washcloth a moment and worked my fingers into the muscles of her back. The soap allowed my fingers to glide smoothly over her delicate skin and after several minutes there was a noticeable difference. Her back wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been before I started. I grabbed the cloth again, ran it under the warm water, and lathered it up. After washing her entire backside down to her ankles, I stood and carefully turned her around to face me. I worked more soap into the washcloth and began to clean her front side. I started at her neck, where I remembered him putting his mouth. I cleaned every inch of her neck to make sure there was nothing left of him there before I moved out toward her shoulders. I wrapped my hand around her wrist, careful not to grab on the spots were the shackles had dug in and lacerated her skin, and pulled her arm away from her body as delicately as I could. I washed down the top side of her arm and back up the underside of it. When I reached her underarm, I cleaned her there before I moved the washcloth across the top of her chest to the other side. I repeated the same movements on the other arm. Knowing I was approaching a sensitive area, I wrapped my free hand around her waist and held her tight as I kept my other hand planted on her chest just above her breasts. “Are you ok, sweetheart?” I asked her. She looked up at me and nodded. “Is it ok to move my hand down and wash away where he had his hands on you?” Her lips began to tremble and her knees buckled. I quickly shifted myself behind her to support her weight as she leaned back into me. Taking my free arm to wrap it around the front of her to the opposite shoulder I looked down at her. Her eyes came back to mine pleading with me. “Please get him off of me,” she begged, her voice hoarse. I moved my hand holding the washcloth slowly across the skin of one of her breasts. I kept my eyes focused on her face. As I continued to wash her breasts one of her hands came up and wrapped around my forearm. Her fingernails dug into the skin of my arm. It hurt like a bitch, but I didn’t give a shit. She’d endured way worse and if that is what she needed to get through this, then I’d sacrifice my entire body for her. I finished cleaning her breasts and began working the washcloth down her abdomen, careful to not put too much pressure on the bruised part of her body. I washed her sides and her hips before I came back to rest my hand flat on her stomach, just below her belly button. Her body had gone completely solid again and I found myself struggling to maintain my composure. She now had both of her hands wrapped around my forearm. I hated this for her. “Emme, I can’t do this if you don’t tell me it’s ok. Sweetheart, I’ll do everywhere else without a doubt, but I can’t move my hand down any more until you say that it’s what you need me to do.” “Get rid of him, please, Zane.” I moved my hand down, but couldn’t actually clean between her legs because she had them squeezed together so tightly. I gave her a minute, hoping she’d calm herself down and relax, but she didn’t. “Em?” I called.

And that’s when she lost it. She completely broke down into a fit of tears. I moved my hand immediately and dropped the washcloth. I held on to her while I angled the spray toward the bench in the shower and then I picked her up and carried her over where I sat and settled her in my lap. She nuzzled her face into my neck and wrapped her arms around me. She kept using her feet to help move herself closer to me, but she was already pressed flat up against my skin. “It’s alright, Emme,” I said, trying to calm her. She continued to cry and finally said, “How can I get rid of him? I keep flashing back to when he had his hands on me, to when he…to when he shoved his fingers inside of me. It hurt so bad.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Part of me now regretted not walking into the basement so I could beat the everloving shit out of him for what he did to my sweet girl. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so fucking sorry he got to you and he did that to you. We’ll get rid of him. I promise you.” “How?” she asked, defeat in her voice. “Together,” I answered, tenderness in my voice. “We will fight together and get rid of him. You hold the washcloth in your hand; I hold your hand. Ok?” She thought for a moment and eventually said, “Ok.” I reached out my hand and snagged the washcloth from the bench. I ran it under the spray once more and lathered it up with soap again. I handed her the washcloth and said, “Whenever you’re ready, Em.” She placed the cloth on her belly and brought her eyes to mine. She nodded. I put my hand on top of hers. Emme parted her thighs and began moving her hand down her abdomen. I kept my eyes on hers as she cupped her sex. She didn’t move her hand and I kept my hand still on top of hers. “Wash him away, sweetheart. I’m right here with you,” I encouraged her. She slowly began moving her fingers to clean herself. I kept firm pressure on her hand so she knew I was with her every step of the way, but refused to move my fingers. I didn’t want to do anything that would put her mind back in that fucking basement. Her sad eyes came to mine when she finished. I took the washcloth from her hand and cleaned her legs and feet while she sat in my lap. After, I set the washcloth aside and looked back to her. “He’s not on you anymore, Em,” I began as I brought one hand up to her temple. “I know he’s still here and that’s going to take some time, but we’ll get rid of him there, too.” “Ok,” she said quietly. “Come on,” I said, standing with her in my arms. “We’ll get you rinsed off and then you can rest for a while. Alright?” She nodded.

I set her down so she could stand under the spray to rinse off. She winced in pain and I realized that since she was no longer running on adrenaline the aches and pains were going to hit her full force. “I’m going to step out and get you something to wear. Stay warm under the water until I get back, ok?” She shook her head. “Please don’t leave me alone.” My heart broke for her. “Ok, sweetheart. I’ll step out to get you a towel and then we’ll head into the bedroom together.” She nodded her agreement. With that, I stepped out and took my soaked boxer briefs off before I wrapped a towel around my waist. I grabbed two towels for Emme, walked back to the shower, turned off the water, and helped her out. I took the first towel and wrapped it around her before I walked behind her and gathered all her hair up in my hand. I then used the second towel to get the excess moisture out of her hair. Once I had sufficiently done that I brought my arms to her shoulders and ran my hands up and down her arms over the towel to not only dry her off, but also to warm her up. Still standing behind her I brought my hands to the top of the towel and opened it up so I could use it to dry the rest of her body. I worked my way down her back, over her bottom, and down her legs. I stood and came around to her front. With the towel separating us I brought my hands to her throat and began drying down her front side. I applied gentle pressure since I knew she was really beginning to feel the effects of his assault on her. I dried her breasts and abdomen before I moved to her hips. After, I moved to her ankles and worked my way up her legs. As I worked my way up her legs I tilted my head to look at her face. She seemed anxious. I got so far as her upper thighs and stayed there. “We need to dry you, Em. You want to do this part?” I asked. She reached out her hand and I brought the towel up to her. Instead of taking the towel from me she put her hand behind mine and then moved my hand to cup her sex. My eyes went to hers and despite the sadness and tears in them I knew at that moment that I’d get my girl back. Surely, she’d need some time, but eventually I’d have her back. We finished drying her before I stood and wrapped the towel around her again. I put my hand behind her back and began to guide her out of the bathroom. I stopped and pulled open one of the drawers with medicine in it and grabbed some pain meds. After, I filled up a cup with some cool water from the tap and then grabbed her hair dryer. She had her back to me and walked out into the room. I set everything down on the table by the chaise and moved to get her a pair of panties and a nightie. When I stood in front of her I put my hands to the towel and asked, “Can I help you get dressed?” She nodded. I removed the towel from her body and picked her panties up off the bed. She stepped into them and I slid them up her legs and over her hips. After, I picked up her

nightie and brought it down over her head. She slid her arms through the arm holes before I pulled it the rest of the way down her body. “Let me help you into bed,” I said, pulling back the blankets and helping her maneuver her body into the bed. I walked over to the table and grabbed the glass of water and medicine. Emme was sitting up in the bed when I walked back over. “You’re already in a lot of pain, Em. It’s going to be worse in a couple hours. Take this,” I said handing her the glass and the meds. She swallowed them down while I put on a fresh pair of boxer briefs. I went back to the table and picked up the hair dryer. When I turned around, Emme said, “I don’t have the energy for that, Zane.” I continued to walk toward the bed and moved the pillow behind her out of the way. After plugging the hairdryer in the outlet beside the bed and sitting where the pillow used to be I said, “You don’t like going to bed with wet hair. I’m not going to let you go to bed with wet hair. I know you don’t have the strength right now to lift your arms over your head and do this, which is why I’m going to do it for you.” “You don’t have to do that. You’ve already done too much,” she said. “I haven’t done anywhere near enough, Emme. You said you trust me to take care of you, so that what I’m going to do. I know I don’t have to do this, but I don’t want my girl falling asleep and waking up cold. So, I’m going to dry your hair and then we’re going to relax for a while and get some sleep. You alright with that?” She nodded her agreement. I turned on the hair dryer and dried her hair. Ten minutes later, her hair was completely dry. I turned off the dryer, got up off the bed, and moved her pillow back into place. After unplugging the dryer and putting it back on the table by the sofa I walked back to the bed and climbed under the covers. She dropped her head back to the pillow and pulled the blankets up to cover her body. More than anything I wanted to hold Emme while she slept, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Deciding it was best to let her make that move I slid over far enough that I was within arm’s reach, but kept my hands to myself. I was lying on my side looking at her. She was on her back looking at the ceiling. We stayed like that a long time before she turned her head to me. She took a deep swallow and that’s when I knew she had something she wanted to say. “What is it, Emme?” I asked. Her eyes roamed my face before she admitted, “I’m afraid to sleep.” “I know, Em. I’ll be right here and if you have a nightmare I’ll do what I can to get you out of it quickly.” She held my eyes a moment before she asked, “Will you hold me?” I let out a breath and promised, “Forever, sweetheart.”

I moved toward her while she turned her body toward mine. Wrapping an arm around her waist I carefully pulled her into my body. Her face was pressed into my neck and I bent my head down to press a kiss to the top of her head. Within minutes, exhaustion took over and we were both asleep.



Chapter 32 Emme It was the beginning of the summer after I turned eight years old when I fell off my bike and broke my arm. School had just let out two weeks beforehand. It hurt and I remember thinking at the time that it was the worst possible thing that could happen to me. Not only did I break my arm, but I did it at the beginning of the summer. There was nothing good about the situation. I was stuck in a cast that was hot and itchy. I started feeling like I smelled horribly after about a week in the California sun. And, of course, I was eight, it was summer, and I lived by the beach. Do you know what it’s like to get sand in your cast? Miserable. I remember after I got the cast on the doctor told my parents that since I had suffered trauma to my arm I’d likely experience more significant pain the first few days of being in the cast. At that time the doctor was referring, obviously, to the physical trauma. He never mentioned all of the psychological trauma I was going to experience as a result of spending my entire summer in a stupid, freaking cast. It was that summer when I first learned that physical trauma paled in comparison to psychological. Of course, what one considers traumatizing when they are eight years old is insignificant in most cases later in life. That said, it doesn’t change the lesson I learned. Your body would almost always heal and you could manage the physical pain with meds, but your mind was another story. I was currently in Zane’s bed wrapped in his arms and I was watching him sleep. He was such a beautiful man. I meant that in more than just physical looks. This man had the most caring soul. The first night I met him he insisted on walking my friends and me out to the car. Every day I spent with him after that night he always put my happiness and well-being first. Nothing, though, compared to the tenderness and love he showed me over the last several hours. He took extraordinary measures to not only see to my physical injuries, but also the psychological ones. Even now, while he was asleep, he somehow managed to comfort me and bring me a sense of peace. As I looked at him I began wondering how he was dealing with all of this. Given his protective nature, I can only imagine the worry and distress he had been under after I was taken, when he watched the live feed, and then once he found me. His eyes fluttered open and he looked down at me. His face warmed and he said, “Hey, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” “My body hurts,” I answered honestly. I could see the pain register in his eyes. He hated that I had been hurt. He lifted his head up and turned to the nightstand to check the time. When he looked back to me he said, “My mom should be here within the next thirty minutes to an hour. Maybe she can

give you something a little stronger to help with the pain.” I nodded, still feeling overwhelmed at the concern he showed for me. It was then I noticed a different look on his face, something I’d only ever seen once before. It was the same look he had the night I stayed at his place but told him I wouldn’t stay in the same room with him. The look was all frustration, but this time it was mixed with a bit of anger. I tensed. Had I been wrong? Why was he frustrated and angry? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that, so I kept quiet. “What is it, Em?” he asked. My brows drew together. “You’re rock solid right now. What’s wrong?” I didn’t think I couldn’t handle confrontation right now and I definitely knew I would not be able to deal with any form of rejection from him, so I chose to not bring it up. “Nothing,” I lied. I hated myself the moment the word came out of my mouth. He looked at me a moment contemplating. I’m certain he knew I had just lied to him but, for whatever reason, he let it slide. Even still, it didn’t do anything to quell the tension I now felt between us. “Know you don’t want to be left alone, but I also know your body probably can’t handle too much jostling around either. Do you want me to carry you downstairs with me so I can get you something to eat?” Maybe he needed a break…some time to himself? He literally hadn’t left my side since he got me out of that house. “I’m not really hungry, but go ahead and get yourself something. I need to pee so I’ll use the bathroom and you can go down,” I said, even though I really didn’t want to be out of his presence. “Emme, you have to eat something,” he pleaded. The thought of food turned my stomach right now, but I didn’t want to upset him. “Ok. Just some dry toast then.” “Alright. You sure you’re going to be ok until I come back up?” he asked. I nodded. “One more thing, I spoke with Wes last night when I was in Levi’s truck on my way to get you and then on the way back home while you were asleep. Everyone was worried so I wanted to let them know that you were safe. He said the girls didn’t have a good night and would want to see you. Are you up for that later today?” Oh no. I can only imagine the distress the girls must have been under after I was abducted last night. They had to have been worried sick, and it all happened on the anniversary of Taj’s death. Those girls were my sisters; there was no way I would deny them the opportunity to see me so I said, “Sure.”

Zane got up out of the bed, threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and walked around to the side I was on. “Let me help you up,” he said as he pulled back the blankets and waited while I rolled myself over in the bed. I moved to sit up and winced in pain. My abdomen and my ribs screamed in agony. Zane immediately took the stress off my body and lifted me up in his arms. He walked to the door of the bathroom and put me down on my feet just outside the doorway. Once I was steady on my feet he said, “Yell if you need me.” I nodded my acknowledgement and slowly walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I made my way to the toilet, did my business, and walked back to sink to wash my hands. As I was drying my hands, I looked up and that was when I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time since everything had happened. Holy. Crap. My left eye was seriously bruised and swollen. My lip was split open. I gripped the edge of the sink and stared at myself. I didn’t even recognize the person staring back at me. Perhaps that was the best thing about being hospitalized a year ago. I didn’t have the opportunity to see the immediate result of being beaten so badly since I was confined to a bed. I stood staring for a long time before I lifted the hem of my nightie. Angry, purple bruises covered a large portion of my abdomen. Between my face and my stomach, I looked hideous. My knees buckled and I didn’t have the strength to hold myself upright. I fell to my bottom on the bathroom floor. Bringing my knees up to my chest, I dropped my head and cried. A minute later I heard Zane’s voice. “Fuck,” he growled. I felt his hand wrap around my back as he brought his head to mine. “Did you fall?” he asked. I shook my head in my knees. Zane wrapped his other hand under my knees and lifted me up. He carried me out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. I was settled into his lap when he took a seat on the chaise. He held me in silence a few minutes before he said, “Tell me, sweetheart.” I burrowed my face further into his shirt. At that moment, the doorbell rang. I felt Zane lean slightly to the side where the table was, but he never got up to go open the door. Suddenly, he spoke. “You’re here?” he asked. Silence. “Levi or Cruz will have their key if you don’t. Open up and come in. We’re upstairs. Just come up.”

I heard the phone land on the table. Two minutes later, I heard Zane’s mom speaking as she walked into the room. “I’m sorry; I didn’t want to wake you up. Levi told me you wanted me to come by around lunchtime…oh.” I’m guessing she just realized we weren’t sleeping. I didn’t want to be rude so I pulled my face out of Zane’s chest and looked to her. Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath and a look of shock fell over her features. “Oh, Emme,” she finally said, snapping herself out of it. “I know, I’m hideous,” I said, looking away. I felt Zane’s fingertips come to my jaw and gently turn my head toward his. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Em. A black eye and a couple of bruises aren’t going to change that.” “He’s right, honey,” she said, her voice tender. She paused a moment as I brought my eyes to hers. “Zane, your father and your brothers are downstairs. Why don’t you head down there with them and give me a few minutes to make sure we don’t have any injuries that are too serious?” “Not leaving her,” Zane said. I turned my head back to his, started to sit up in his lap, and said, “It’s ok, Zane. I’ll be alright.” His brows drew together and a look of confusion and concern washed over his face. “Zane, honey, sometimes, a woman just needs another woman,” Trisha said. “She’ll be ok with me; I promise.” Realization hit him and he stood with me still in his arms. He set me down gently in the bed, kissed the top of my head, and turned to his mom. “She hasn’t eaten anything since dinner yesterday. Make sure she has something in her stomach before you give her any pain meds. And she’s having a lot of trouble sitting up from…” he said before he was cut off. “Zane, did you forget what I do for a living? I’m the doctor here, honey. We’ll be alright.” He stood before her in silence a moment. Finally, he nodded and said, “Thanks, Mom. Yell down if she needs me.” “I will,” she answered gently. With that, Zane walked back to the table, grabbed his phone, and walked out of the room. We both watched as he stepped out and closed the door. I sat there staring at the door for several moments afterward. When I turned my attention back to Trisha she had a smile on her face. If she ever had a doubt about it before I think she knew in that moment that she had raised an incredible man. I thought she deserved more confirmation of that so I spoke. “He’s a saint,” I declared.

She laughed and said, “I don’t know if I’d go that far.” “I would,” I maintained, my face serious. “You should be proud of him. Of all three of your boys, actually. What they did for me…I’ll never be able to thank them enough.” “Emme, I don’t know exactly what you went through over the last few hours, but even still, the way I know my boys they won’t want thanks from you. They’ll just be happy knowing that you are safe and are healing. For me, knowing that I raised those three into the men they’ve become makes my heart swell. They have very strong feelings about the way a woman should be treated, which I attribute to their father being a hell of a role model. Trust me, honey, they already know you are grateful.” I nodded and looked down to my lap. I looked back up at her several moments later when she had moved to sit next to me on the bed. She brought over a bunch of medical supplies and started tending to my face. “I’ve seen a lot throughout my years as a doctor, Emme. I think my patients always opened up to me because I’m a great listener. Do you want to talk about what happened?” she asked as she moved her focus from my lip to my eye. “It’s not nice stuff,” I warned. “Which is even more of a reason it might help to talk about it. You don’t want it to fester, Emme. And just so you know, whatever you say to me stays between us.” “I haven’t even told Zane everything that happened yet. He knows a lot of what I went through because he had to watch it happen, but once they located me he no longer saw what happened. I’m worried how he’ll react when he knows everything.” “My guess? He’ll respond just the way he has been…with love. Sometimes, though, it helps to talk to someone who isn’t so close to the situation. And that’s not to say that I don’t hope for you and me to grow closer the longer you and Zane are together.” I didn’t want to burst her bubble and tell her about the fact that I was pretty sure Zane and I wouldn’t be together much longer. It was clear this morning that he was a bit fed up. Of course, I didn’t exactly have a whole lot to tell her about it since I had only seen the look this morning. Even having witnessed that, I still believed he was a good man. Maybe he was just doing the right thing right now because he had a girl who had been physically and sexually assaulted hours ago and it was in his nature to take care of someone who had been through something like that. Perhaps when he witnessed what Seth did to me it completely turned him off to me. I mean, he had to watch Seth put his hands and his mouth on me. It was probably one thing to hear that something like that had happened before you came into the picture, but to then have to witness it might have just been too much. He had kissed me on the head twice since I was found, but he hadn’t once said he loved me. He had taken such good care of me and called me his girl last night, but the simple fact remained that he never said he loved me. My eyes welled with tears. “Oh, God,” I cried. Trisha’s arms came around me and she pulled me into a hug. She did her best to calm me. It took me a while, but I finally settled enough to tell her everything that had

happened. She was right about one thing; she was an excellent listener. Throughout the entire story, she remained calm and continued her assessment of my injuries. She wrapped bandages around my wrists from where the shackles dug in and tore my skin. Then, she helped me lie down on my back so that she could check out my abdomen and went about her doctor business being completely professional. In that moment, despite the fact that I had a feeling this could very well be the beginning of the end of my relationship with Zane, I was grateful for his insistence that I get checked out and that his mom was up to the task. I spent the next half hour talking with her doing everything I could to avoid my horrible thoughts about the status of my relationship. Zane Fuck. I hated this. My sweet Emme may have seemed like a shy girl, but once she was comfortable with someone she never stopped talking. Now though, it was almost worse than when I first met her. She wasn’t talking much at all now. Maybe I was being selfish. No, not maybe. I knew I was being selfish. My girl had been through some ridiculously terrifying shit. She had been kidnapped and assaulted. For more than four hours she was missing and she had been fucking scared out of her mind. We hadn’t discussed what actually happened yet; I didn’t want to press for that before she was ready to share. However, seeing how she was fighting the turmoil in her own head and not hearing her voice was pure torture. Yes, I was selfish. I wanted her words, her uninhibited words. I didn’t just want those words, though — no, I wanted that and I wanted her breathtaking smile, her soulwarming laughter, her outrageously silly ideas, and her pure as gold heart. As selfish as I was feeling I also knew that she needed time. I was trying my best to remain unaffected, but I’m not so sure I was doing a great job with it. She needed my patience and I needed to figure out how to give that to her. I had just left her alone in our bedroom with my mom only minutes after finding her sitting on the bathroom floor with her knees to her chest, crying her eyes out. I didn’t get an answer yet on what brought her to tears as my family showed up right after I asked her about it, but I intended to find out. So now, she was in our bedroom while my mom checked out her injuries. Before I made my way downstairs I pulled out my phone and called Wes. It rang once. “Zane — how’s Emme?” he answered. “I don’t fucking know, Wes,” I said, my voice full of despair. “My mom is here now tending to her injuries, but she’s shattered, man.” “Fuck.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m doing the right things for her. I’m trying, but it’s the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done.” “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Do you think having the girls over would help?” he asked. “I know it can’t hurt. Asked her this morning if she was up for it and she agreed. My mom is the only woman she’s been around since before that fucking bastard took her so I think having the girls over could be good for her. Prepare them, though. She’s in bad shape. I don’t know everything that happened to her yet, but she suffered serious physical assault. She’s got a lot of cuts and bruises. He sexually assaulted her, too.” “Jesus, fuck. Was she raped?” “I don’t know for sure, but Cruz doesn’t think so. He got there first and said he arrived to find the motherfucker jacking off while he had his hands on her. He had cut off her dress and her bra, and had her panties pulled down to her knees. From what Cruz told me last night, he believes Miller hadn’t raped her, but was about to because he brought his hands behind her thighs and told her to spread her legs so he could make her his again. Cruz, obviously, stepped in at that point.” “Motherfucker,” Wes seethed. “Alright, I’ll give this to Luke and Stone first so they can prepare to help the girls deal with this when I deliver this news to them. We’ll try to prepare them for what they’ll see when they get there.” How are they doing?” I asked. “Let’s just say I’m thankful Luke and Stone were with us last night. They spent the night here and I think that helped in giving the girls a bit of comfort. It was tough, though, to sit around and wait for news. Everyone is still here, so I’ll let them know she’s up for company and we’ll see you soon.” “Alright, Wes. See you then. Thanks.” “Later, Zane.” I disconnected the call and looked back to the bedroom door. I wanted to go to her. I fucking hated leaving her, but I needed to respect that she may have really needed some time with a woman. On that thought, I decided to give them some privacy and made my way down the stairs. “You still look like shit,” Cruz said to me as I walked out in to the kitchen finding him and my dad sitting at the barstools while Levi stood at the island. “Still?” I asked. “Thought that last night when you walked in to that shithole to get her. You don’t look any better now.” “Thanks.” “How is she?” he asked. “A mess,” I began. “Fuck, I could kill that guy. What happened with him anyway?” Levi looked toward my dad and back to me before he shook his head and said, “We

took care of Miller; don’t worry about him. Focus on Emme.” “I’m trying. Not sure I’m succeeding at that, though.” “Why not?” my father asked. I looked to him and both my brothers before I said, “She’s still fucking scared, not wanting to be left alone. I came down here to get her something to eat a little bit ago and when I went back upstairs she was sitting on the bathroom floor crying her eyes out. And when we got back here earlier this morning after you left, Levi, I tried to get her cleaned up. It was the most difficult fucking thing I’ve ever done. Seeing what he did to her body — it took everything in me to not completely lose my shit. The worst thing, though? She’s so fucking quiet.” “She’s been through a lot, Zane,” Levi said. “You’ve got to give her time.” “I know, but a little more than four hours is what he had her and in that time he fucking broke her.” “Doesn’t matter how long she was gone, Zane,” Cruz began. “It was a traumatic experience for her, to say the least. Doing what we do, we’ve made it part of our job to know where the best services for help can be found. We’ve got access to a lot of places that’ll offer assistance to victims of the type of torture and abuse she went through. She needs or wants it, she’s got it.” “I’ll do anything right now to help her because, quite frankly, I feel like I’m failing her.” “Zane?” my father called. I looked to him. “You taking care of her? Showing her love?” he asked. “Of course.” “Sometimes, son, that’s all you can do. She needs time to heal. The physical stuff, that will heal in no time at all. Mentally and emotionally, it might be a longer road for her. You can’t force it or rush it. Trust me, she’ll let you know what she needs and seeing you now knowing how much you love her, I know you’ll step up to the plate and be exactly what she needs you to be. You’ve got to give her time, though.” I nodded and let out a breath. We then heard footsteps coming slowly down the stairs. I began to move toward the steps knowing she was trying to come down them when Levi grabbed my arm. “Let her do it,” he said quietly. “I fucking get it, Zane, I do. But, you can’t make her feel like he took everything from her. You heard what dad said — when she needs you, she’ll let you know.” I clenched my jaw. Every fucking fiber of my being was pushing me to go to her, but I held it back. I wanted her to heal and if allowing her to realize she was capable of doing things was part of it, then I’d have to learn to pull back a bit. As Emme came into view I heard my father suck in a sharp breath and mutter under

his breath, “Motherfucker.” She walked into the kitchen wearing a pair of sweats and a V-neck tee, her wrists in bandages, and my mom by her side. She took us all in, looking first to me, letting her eyes linger on me before looking at Levi, my father, and finally, Cruz. Her eyes settled a long time on Cruz, filling with tears as she fought back her emotions. As the first two tears spilled down her cheeks she rasped out, “You.” Cruz’s brows drew together. I’m sure we were all a bit confused where her mind was, but nobody pressed her. We waited. “You stopped him,” she said, her voice hoarse. The tears fell faster and she was going to break down. Cruz looked to me, panic in his face. I nodded to him and jerked my head toward Emme. He went to her. The second he was within arm’s reach she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her good cheek against his chest. He held her as she continued to cry. It took a few minutes for her to settle down and it killed me to see her so devastated. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did…” she trailed off. “Shh. You don’t have to say anything. It’s alright, beautiful,” Cruz said, his voice now hoarse. “I do because you stopped it. You stopped him. A couple more seconds and it would have ended differently for me,” she said, pausing to take in a breath. “You stopped him, Cruz, and I don’t know how to thank you.” Cruz held on to her a bit while she calmed down and finally said, “You can thank me by getting better and letting your body and your mind heal. You do that and we’re even.” She nodded, pulled away, and her eyes came to mine. “I’m working on that.” My face warmed and I gave her a small smile. “Speaking of which, what’s the verdict on her injuries?” Levi asked. “She’s going to be ok. Mostly just the few cuts on her face, wrists, and ankles and the bruising on her body. I brought the portable ultrasound machine when you told me what had happened, Levi. I checked for internal bleeding and all is clear.” “Her kidney is ok?” I pressed. My mom nodded and said, “Looks beautiful. I do have some prescription pain meds I brought with me. I already told Emme that she can take them every four to six hours only as needed, and she needs to make sure to take them with food. Also, fluids. Lots of fluids. We want to keep that kidney healthy.” My eyes went to Emme. “Sweetheart, you know I can’t really cook for shit, but if there’s something you want I’ll do my best.” She gave me a smile. Fuck. That was the first she smiled at me since I had gotten her back and it felt fan-fucking-tastic.



Chapter 33 Emme The doorbell rang. I tensed. I had just chilled out when Zane asked me what he could make for me to eat and then the doorbell rang and sent me into freak out mode again. Zane noticed immediately and came to my side. “Talked to Wes a little bit ago. Thought they’d be coming later, but your girls probably couldn’t wait and made him leave immediately to come here.” I relaxed into him. That sounded like them. Cruz moved to the front door. I heard them. My girls. They were going to completely lose it when they saw me, which would obviously result in me completely losing it again. My back was to the door when I heard them all make their way out into the kitchen. It grew silent. I slowly turned around and was shocked to see not only Wes with Charley, Nikki, and Monroe, but Luke, Stone, and Elle were also with them. Charley’s hand flew to her mouth, shock taking over her features. “Oh my God,” Elle said quietly, fear and concern laced through her voice. Monroe immediately started crying. Nikki looked to Levi and Cruz and said, “That fucking asshole is lucky it was you guys who found him.” I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. That was my Nikki, a fierce little warrior. The sad truth is that if she could have she would have found me and done her very best to do worse to Seth than Levi and his boys did. Unfortunately, the mood shifted a bit when I took in the faces of Wes, Luke, and Stone. Their gazes were murderous. If it weren’t for the fact that I knew the looks they had were directed at Seth and what he had done to me and not actually at me, I would have been trembling in fear. I was trying to lighten the mood and let everyone know that I was alright, so I wasn’t exactly thinking about the ramifications of what I said next. “Guys, it’s ok. Really. I know my face looks bad, but it’s nothing compared to the rest of me.” “What the hell does that mean?” Nikki demanded. Shit. I looked away.

“Emme?” Monroe called softly. I looked to her and the concern in her face was overwhelming. I couldn’t hide it now. I brought my hand to the hem of my shirt and lifted it to just under my breasts. “Jesus Christ,” Wes muttered under his breath. Stone’s jaw was clenching and his hands were balled into fists. “Son of a bitch,” he said, his voice lethal. “Fucking motherfucker,” Luke bit out. And that was when I lost it. I burst into tears. Zane immediately hauled me up into his arms and carried me into the family room. He lowered himself to the sofa and settled me in his lap. I heard footsteps shuffling in behind us, but I kept my face buried in Zane’s neck. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into his neck. “You’re fine, Em,” he said. “I’m a disaster.” “You’ve been through hell, sweetheart. It’s expected.” We sat for several minutes in silence as I tried to get myself under control. When I pulled my face from Zane’s neck I looked around the room and saw everyone, except for Zane’s parents, had followed us into the family room. “Sorry,” I announced to the room. “Emme, honey,” Charley started. “There’s nothing to apologize for.” “I’m having a little trouble keeping it together,” I said, not looking at anyone in particular. “It’s ok. You are allowed to feel the way you do. Nobody here is judging you or upset by the fact that you are having a bit of a rough time coping with having been kidnapped and assaulted less than twenty-four hours ago,” she responded. “We’re all here to support you, Em,” Wes added. Fuck. Now I was going to cry again for a completely different reason. “I know you, babe,” Nikki began. “You’re concerned that everyone is now distressed over what happened to you. You don’t want to be the center of everyone’s concern. Unfortunately, that’s not how this works. You’re allowed to feel scared, angry, upset, sad, and every other emotion under the sun because of what happened, but you can’t ask us not to feel the way we do. We love you, Emme; it comes with the territory.” Luke spoke next. “What Nikki said extends beyond the girls. Stone, Wes, and I are here to help you and Zane in any way that you need. Whatever that is, we’re here for the both of you. And I’m sure the same can be said of Levi and Cruz, as well as Zane’s parents.” Shit. Shit. Shit.

“I’m going to cry again,” I warned. “You can,” Monroe said. “Just know that we’ll be here to dry your tears through it.” I didn’t have an opportunity to break down into tears because David and Trisha walked in to the room with their hands full. “Excuse me, boys,” Trisha said as she worked her way through them and came over to set a baking dish on the coffee table. David followed behind her with a stack of plates, utensils, and a bread basket. “Wanted to do something quick and easy. I made up two dishes of baked ziti and some garlic bread at home this morning. I just heated it up and your friends brought some goodies with them as well.” “Thanks, Mama C,” Stone said. She smiled at him and the rest of the group before she said, “Well, don’t just stand around. Eat!” Everyone started moving toward the food. Zane brought his mouth to my ear. “Can I fix you a plate, please?” I turned my head toward him and nodded. At that, he shifted me over out of his lap and got up to make me a plate. When he walked back and handed me the plate I looked up at him and asked, “Are we sharing this?” He shook his head. “Zane, I can’t eat all of this.” He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s been too many hours since you’ve eaten. I don’t want you withering away. Eat as much as you can.” I’d hardly be withering away any time soon, and he knew it. I thought back to the first time he said that to me and felt my body warm. It felt good so I rolled my eyes at him, gave him a smile, and took the plate. A couple hours later Zane and I had said good-bye to everyone. I appreciated them coming by to check on me, but I was exhausted now. After everyone ate food earlier, Zane’s mom and dad cleaned up the kitchen. Trisha insisted that we spend time with our friends and that she wanted Zane to be able to focus on taking care of me later and not the dirty dishes. Once they had cleaned everything up, David and Trisha took off. Of course, this was not before she went over instructions for my care with us one more time and insisted that if I needed anything that we should call. After his parents left, Zane wrangled the guys and they took off to play some pool. I think Zane was giving me some time with the girls, which he knew that not only did I need, but the girls did as well. It was also great for Zane because it gave him a break from having to constantly care for me, which I think he deserved. Once the guys were out of earshot I told them everything. They knew about the shackles, the dark basement, the beating, the sexual assault, the live feed, and the rescue. They were, of course, horrified at what I had endured. The conversation turned toward Zane then. “I can’t imagine what Zane was going through with all of this,” Monroe said.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it yet and I’m a bit scared to bring it up.” “Why?” Elle asked. “He had this look at one point this morning that I’ve only ever seen one time before. It’s a look of frustration. The only difference is that this time it was that look mixed with a bit of anger. I’m beginning to wonder if his feelings toward me have changed.” “Are you crazy?” Nikki asked. “What? No. Why do you say that?” “Emme,” she began. “Did you hear the story you just told us about how he’s taken care of you since you were rescued? Not to mention, the way he keeps looking at you now that you’re here and you’re safe.” “I know, but I think it’s in his nature to be like that. I mean,” I paused taking in a breath. “All of the men in his family —his father and his brothers are all very protective of women. I even had a conversation with his mom about it earlier today. She said they all have very strong feelings about the way a woman should be treated. I’m thinking he just can’t find it in himself to abandon me after what I went through. I’m thinking he’s going to at least wait until I heal a little.” “I don’t understand, Em,” Charley said, confused. “One look made you think he no longer has feelings for you?” My eyes welled with tears as a lump formed in my throat. I felt my stomach grow cold as I barely whispered, “Since they got me out of that house, he hasn’t told me he loves me.” As soon as I got the words out, the tears spilled down my cheeks. Monroe scooted closer to me and pulled me into her arms. “Oh, Emme, I’m sorry he hasn’t given you those words.” “Honey,” Charley said. “He hasn’t said the words, but Emme, he dried your hair for you because he knows you don’t like going to sleep with wet hair. He may not have said it, but he loves you.” “Maybe it was too much for him,” I started. “Having to watch what Seth was doing to me. Maybe it turned him off to me.” “No doubt this has had to be difficult for him, Em, but I really don’t think it’s made him fall out of love with you,” Nikki added. “The things I’d do to have someone look at me the way Zane looks at you,” Elle said. “Right?” Monroe added, clearly agreeing with Elle. “Hey, I think I know someone who’d like to look at you a little more,” I said, teasing her about Levi. “Yeah, well, no thanks to my brother for ruining that.” “I don’t get that,” Nikki said. “Levi is obviously a genuinely good guy. And, he definitely seems like he’s interested. What is Wes worried about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” The conversation continued moving to other topics like the love lives of the rest of the girls, Nikki and Monroe’s upcoming move, and Charley’s wedding. I was so very thankful for the distraction they provided me. A little while later, the guys rejoined us. I tried to hang, but was beginning to fall asleep on the couch. That’s when everyone decided to call it a night. I thanked them all profusely for coming and spending the day with me. Zane, too, acknowledged their love and support and thanked them. I literally had zero energy so I waited on the couch while Zane walked everyone to the door. I didn’t like being alone, but I did my best to let him know I’d be fine and that I was simply too tired to walk out. He wasn’t gone long. When he walked back in to the living room he came over and knelt beside the couch in front of me. I was barely able to keep my eyes open. “You’ve had a long day.” “Yeah,” I said, sleepily. “Ready to go up to bed?” My eyes closed and I shook my head. “I’ll just stay here if that’s ok with you. I’m too tired.” I felt one of his arms come underneath my legs while the other went behind my back at my shoulder blades. I was hauled up into his arms and held close to his body. He felt so warm and comfortable that I immediately melted into him. Zane started moving and I heard him begin climbing the stairs. Damn, he was so good to me. The last thought I had before I was completely out was that I hoped my girls were right and I had been wrong and that Zane’s feelings for me hadn’t changed. I was bruised and banged up, but I’d heal and recover from that soon enough. If Zane left me I knew I would never survive losing his love. ***** Light. My eyes were closed and I could see the light and brightness surrounding me. It was incredibly comforting. Then, despite the good I was feeling I realized something wasn’t right. I was alone. I was in Zane’s bed and I was by myself. My eyes shot open. I was facing the side of the bed he always slept on and saw that it was, in fact, empty. I suddenly found it hard to breathe. I had been right. My girls insisted that there was no way Zane’s feelings had changed for me, but now I knew the truth. I rolled to my back, wincing a bit at the pain I was still feeling in my abdomen. Bringing one of my hands up to cover my eyes I blew out a breath and tried to regain some control over my breathing, but it was useless. My chest rose and fell rapidly, proving I wasn’t doing a very good job reigning it in. I was certain my heart was going to beat out of my chest I was so panicked. “Emme?” I heard Zane call.

Startled, my hand fell from my face and my head turned toward the opposite side of the room. Zane was sitting on the chaise sofa with his laptop resting on his thighs. I looked to him and tried to swallow past the tightness in my throat. “Zane.” “You ok?” he asked, clearly concerned. Nope. Definitely not. I was in his bed nearly having a complete and total breakdown about five seconds ago because I had just realized that my worst fears came true. I had rules. I broke them. And now, I had to face the consequences. I didn’t blame him, though. I knew it had to have been difficult for him and despite where we were now headed I still believed that he was doing his best to handle me with care. Things had changed for him and I understood why. It didn’t make it hurt any less. With tears in my eyes, I shook my head. I wasn’t going to lie to him about it. He closed the laptop and set it aside. After walking over and sitting down on the edge of the bed, he put his hand up to cup my cheek and asked, “Do you want to talk about it?” My breaths came quick and I couldn’t hold it in. I burst into tears and managed to say through my sobs, “I’m so sorry.” Zane bent over and slid his hands underneath my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me up. I sat there holding on to him as my heart shattered, knowing that I never wanted to let him go. “Sweetheart, what are you apologizing for?” I continued crying, but tried to take in a couple of settling breaths so I could tell him what he deserved to hear. “I never wanted this to happen,” I confessed. “I’m sorry it has ruined us.” “What are you talking about?” he asked. I took in a few more breaths. “I know it was probably the most awful thing for you to have to go through when I was kidnapped.” “I hated every fucking second of it.” “I know. And I understand that having to watch him…put his hands and mouth on me changed things for you. I really do get it, but it still hurts.” “Emme, I don’t understand.” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I knew if I said the words it would destroy me. I also knew if he said them I’d be obliterated. All I could do was apologize. “I’m sorry, Zane. I’m so sorry.” “It’s not your fault, Em. You couldn’t control what happened.” I knew what he was saying was true. There was no way I could have stopped what

happened to me after I was kidnapped and shackled. It didn’t change the fact that I still felt tremendous guilt over what it had done to our relationship. I eventually stopped crying and pulled back from him. My eyes came to his and I begged, “Will you tell me what it was like for you?” “Em…” he trailed off. “It’s important, Zane. This didn’t just happen to me. It happened to you, too, and I want to know what you went through.” He took in a deep breath and blew it out. “The girls came back from the bathroom and I asked where you were. Elle said you were following right behind her. That’s when I knew he took you. I silently hoped that I’d find you getting a drink at the bar or that you had run back into the restroom, but I knew you hadn’t. I knew you weren’t there and I felt that deep in my gut. We talked to the bouncer who saw you leaving the saloon. Cliff immediately took Levi to the back offices so he could check the security footage. We saw him come up behind you when you came out of the restroom and then as he walked you out of there. I saw you fight, sweetheart,” he said, his voice getting hoarse. He paused a moment to regain his composure. “Out in the parking lot, you fought so hard. And then he just threw you into the back of that fucking van. Levi and I immediately took off to the Cunningham offices. He had Trent checking every single security camera out of Lou’s lot following that van. He called Holden on the way and told him to get everyone to the office. Cruz was out of town on a case so he called him next to fill him in. Trent worked tirelessly on locating the van and finally found that it had stopped at a gas station. Dom and Gunner took off in that direction. A woman showed up three hours after you were taken and delivered a USB flash drive. It had the link to the live feed.” He paused again. I could tell he was struggling with his emotions. I gave him the time he needed. “Sweetheart, when I saw you on that screen hanging from those shackles…fuck, it was torture. You were hanging there in the dark, so cold, and I hated myself for not taking better care of you. Levi got Trent immediately working on figuring out from where the live feed was streaming. I just stood there, useless, watching you. It wasn’t even minutes later when Miller came down in the basement and woke you up. I watched it all, Emme. I watched as he cut off your dress and touched your body. I watched and listened as you spoke to me. I’m so sorry you were in the dark, Em. So fucking sorry.” His eyes were filled with sorrow; he blamed himself for this. “I saw everything he did to you and I’ll never forgive myself for letting that happen. I threw something in Levi’s office. I think it was a chair. And then, he hit you. Seconds later, Trent had located you. You were more than an hour away. Cruz called and had finished his work on the other case. Levi updated him. He was five minutes away.” “And then you came for me,” I said, softly. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, Em. Then I came for you. It was just over five hours from the time you were taken until I held you in my arms again. Those were

the worst five hours of my entire fucking life. You’re sitting here apologizing to me and I have no idea why, sweetheart. I’m the one who is sorry. I am so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you and keep you safe.” I was silent a moment before I said, “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.” “Pure gold, Emme.” “What?” I asked. “Your heart. You are the one who goes through something so horrific and you’re worried about how it has affected me.” “You don’t have to do this, Zane.” His brows drew together. “Do what?” he asked. “Pretend,” I said, looking away. “I saw the look yesterday and I’ve felt the distance already.” “You’re going to have to explain because I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I asked what you went through because I wanted to know what it was that brought us to this point. It didn’t dawn on me until yesterday after we woke up before your family came over and I saw the look on your face. You were frustrated and angry. And as time goes on I’m feeling you pull away from me. You’ve been so incredibly caring and you’ve taken such good care of me, but I understand how having to witness that live feed and seeing what he did to me changed how you feel about me. I hate him for taking your heart away from me,” I said, my voice cracking on those last few words. “Em, what do you think I feel right now?” he asked, genuine concern in his beautiful voice. “I think you’re struggling to figure out how to handle me with care because it’s in your nature to care about someone who has been through what I’ve been through, but at the same time you can’t deny what having witnessed his hands and mouth on me did to change things for you. I’m ready to beg right now, but know that I can’t because it would be unfair to you and selfish of me,” I said. “Beg for what?” he asked. I held his eyes and a single tear fell from one of my eyes when I pleaded, “Please don’t take your love away from me.” He sat there staring at me, dumbfounded. Damn it. He was so beautiful and I loved him more than anything in the world. I looked away. “Emme, look at me.” I turned my head toward his. “I love you.” I went solid. He did?

“I don’t know why you are questioning that. I also don’t know what face you saw yesterday, but I can assure you that you’ve misinterpreted it. I won’t lie to you and say I haven’t felt frustration in the past day, but it has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to make you think that you aren’t my entire fucking world.” “That’s the first time you’ve told me you loved me since before I was taken. And, you weren’t in bed this morning. I thought that you…” I trailed off, my emotions getting the best of me. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I have been preoccupied with trying to make sure that I’m doing everything you need me to do for you physically that my mind is a little out of sorts. I hate that you have any doubts about my love for you, but trust me, I’m not taking it away from you. I promise to make sure you hear those words from me.” “Can I ask you a question?” He nodded. “Of course.” “Does the thought of being intimate with me now disgust you?” “Are you serious?” he asked in disbelief. I nodded. “Why would you think that?” “You haven’t kissed me.” “Em,” he said, letting out a sigh. “You were kidnapped, beaten, and sexually assaulted. I haven’t kissed you not because I don’t want to, but because what I want doesn’t matter right now. You need words to know how I feel, I’ll shout them from the rooftops now. I’m sorry I didn’t give those to you before. But sweetheart, you need physical affection from me I’m going to need you to tell me that. I don’t want to put your mind back in that basement by doing something you aren’t ready for.” “Oh,” I said, dropping my eyes from his to my lap. He brought his fingertips to my jaw and gently pressed my head up. “Do you want me to kiss you, Em?” I nodded. He moved his face closer to mine and wrapped his hand around the side of my neck. I closed my eyes and felt him gently press his lips to mine. Relief swept through me as we kissed, our lips and tongues tasting. Zane pressed his hand to the middle of my back and helped to guide me to my back so I was lying down. With his lips still connected to mine he shifted himself so that he was positioned half on, half off me. He was careful not to put his weight on me knowing my body hadn’t come close to being healed enough. My hands roamed, moving from his face to his hair and finally down his back. The feel of his skin under my fingertips was nice, but I wanted to feel his skin against mine. I pulled my mouth from his. “You ok?” he asked.

I nodded and moved my hands to the shoulder straps of my nightie. “Can you take this off me?” “Emme, don’t push yourself.” “I’m not. I just want to feel the warmth of your skin against mine, Zane. Please.” His face softened. He lifted himself enough to reach the hem of my nightie and slid it up my body over my head. Then, he settled his body half on mine again. “I love you, Em.” I smiled up at him. “I love you, Zane.” He gave me a beautiful grin before he brought his mouth back to mine. I then spent the rest of my morning in bed kissing Zane.



Chapter 34 Emme They say time heals all wounds. With each day that passed after my kidnapping I realized the truth in that statement. It was now Thursday, but the past few days had been spent healing and trying to get my life back to some sense of normalcy. On Monday, following my morning make out session with Zane, I spent the day relaxing. My body was still very sore and small tasks wore me out very quickly. Zane was grateful for the fact that there were still plenty of leftovers from when our friends and his family had come over on Sunday. I definitely didn’t have the stamina to be up cooking meals. Zane spent the day with me, essentially waiting on me hand and foot, and it never once seemed to bother him. I didn’t think it’d help me to revisit it at night, and since I wasn’t able to do much else I took time that afternoon to talk to Zane about the kidnapping. I gave him the details of what happened to me before the live feed and then once he left Levi’s office to come to where I was being held. It wasn’t easy and I knew he was really struggling to maintain his control, but I felt it was crucial to share it all with him. Thankfully, I managed to get through it and Zane held me the entire time and for quite some time afterward. We didn’t dwell on it for long. I wanted him to know what had happened, but at the same time I was grateful that he knew I didn’t want to focus too much on it. Throughout the rest of the day everyone had called to check on me. While I knew they probably wanted to come and visit with me, I’m sure they also realized I needed some time to rest. Overall, Monday was the definition of a lazy day…at least for me. Tuesday was much of the same. I was feeling better only needing to take pain meds once. My lip was nearly completely healed; I secretly told myself it was from all of the kisses Zane gave me. Our friends and Zane’s family came to visit me again arriving at different times throughout the day. I, at least, had enough energy to not fall asleep on them while they were there. Charley, Nikki, and Monroe were insisting that as long as I continued to heal physically they were still planning on having a birthday bash on Saturday for me. I was hesitant, knowing I’d be going back to the place I was kidnapped, but in the end I agreed. I knew that if I got there and it was too much to handle they’d all take me somewhere else. That night, I asked Zane to shower with me. He was cautious, but I managed to convince him that it was what I really wanted. We did a lot of kissing. My hands roamed his body and I could tell he was fighting to keep his in the safe zones. I wanted him to touch me, but I also knew he needed me to tell him when I was ready for more. I brought my hands to his and helped to guide them to my breasts. I was a bit nervous beforehand, but realized I wouldn’t know how I’d react until his hands were there. Surprisingly, I think it was just what I needed. As he squeezed them and played with my nipples I moaned. I wanted more.

“Zane, will you put them in your mouth?” I asked. His eyes grew intense and he growled as he bent his head to take one into his mouth. He paid special attention to one side licking, sucking, kissing, and teasing before moving to the other side. I wanted to give him a little pleasure as well so I reached my hand out to his hardened length and began stroking him. He groaned. A few minutes later he began trailing kisses back up toward my mouth. I continued stroking him while he brought one hand around to squeeze my bottom. We were both seriously worked up as I felt his other hand leave my breast and begin trailing down my abdomen. He continued to kiss me as his hand went further south. The second his fingertips touched my core my hands went to his biceps and I pulled my hips away. “I’m sorry,” I said as I pressed my forehead to his chest. “I can’t.” “Ok, sweetheart. It’s alright,” he said. My stomach went cold and I felt the burning in my nose. I looked up at him, tried to swallow past the lump, and said, “I’m sorry.” “Emme, it’s ok.” I bit my lip, feeling awful about having gotten him all worked up only to do this. “What are you thinking?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to get you worked up and have this happen,” I said, quietly. “I know you didn’t, Em. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive,” he said, giving me a warm smile. “I don’t mind helping you finish,” I offered. He shook his head. “Appreciate it, but no. I am waiting for you. We do this together and it takes as long as it takes.” I wrapped my hands around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest. “Thank you, baby.” His arms came around me as he said, “Love you, Emme.” “I love you, too.” Wednesday rolled around and physically I was feeling the best I had since the whole kidnapping incident. My face was healing nicely and with a little make up (ok, it was more than a little) you couldn’t really tell that I had suffered a black eye. The bruises on my abdomen were fading and I no longer needed any pain medications. I had been stuck inside for so many days trying to give my body the time it needed to heal that I asked Zane if we could get out of the house for a couple of hours. He was more than willing to take me out. In fact, he asked if I wanted to go shopping for a new dress for my birthday celebration on Saturday. “You want to go shopping?” I asked. “No, but your birthday is coming up and I want to buy you a dress for it. I’m not prepared to let you head out alone just yet so I’d like to take you.”

So, we went shopping on Wednesday and Zane bought me a new dress for my birthday. After a couple hours at the mall, Zane took me out for an early dinner and following dinner we drove to Wes’ house. Zane had called Wes earlier when I was in the dressing room and told him that I wanted to spend some time out of the house today. Since Nikki and Monroe were staying at Wes and Charley’s place, he invited us over so I’d have a couple extra hours of different scenery. I appreciated the invite and soaked up some time with my girls. It was dark by the time we got back to Zane’s house that night and I was thoroughly exhausted, but I had absolutely loved my day out with him. So now it was Thursday and I was beginning to think about the whole healing process. Physically, I was doing great. My mind still had some work to do, though. In an effort to get life back to normal I began thinking about my current living situation. I’d been staying with Zane ever since Seth resurfaced. Of course, staying with Zane made sense until Levi and the rest of the Cunningham Security guys could locate his whereabouts. I hadn’t asked what happened to Seth following the night I was kidnapped and then rescued. I didn’t really care much what happened to him. I just knew that those guys ‘took care of it’ and that was satisfying enough for me. It was even understandable that I would have stayed with Zane over the past couple of days considering the physical injuries I had. I knew that Zane would never kick me out, which I why I thought it was important I make this move on my own. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. I made breakfast this morning for the two of us and had just come back upstairs to brush my teeth and make myself decent for the day. We hadn’t made any plans for today so I figured it would be best to immediately throw myself into making this happen. Before I came upstairs Zane told me he had a few things he needed to take care of on his computer, which was now downstairs, so it was the perfect opportunity. After getting myself dressed, I got to work. I began by organizing all of my toiletries before I moved to my clothing. I was in the middle of the floor packing my suitcases full of my clothes more than an hour later when the bedroom door opened. “What the hell is going on?” Zane thundered. I looked to him and replied softly, “Nothing.” “Nothing?” he asked, disbelievingly. “Then why are you packing your suitcases?” “Well, staying here was a temporary thing, Zane. It was for my safety when Seth’s whereabouts were unknown. I don’t exactly know, nor do I care to know, what happened to him after you guys found me, but I’m pretty confident that he’s no longer a threat to my safety. Am I right?” He nodded. “So, I’m packing up my stuff. I appreciate you taking care of me and letting me stay with you through all of this, but I’m not going to overstay my welcome. In order for me to heal I need to start getting my life back to normal.” “Emme,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “Love the shit out of you and I hope you keep that in mind and realize I’m not trying to scare you when I say this, but you aren’t fucking moving out.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked not feeling scared, just curious. “You. Aren’t. Moving. Out,” he said, enunciating each word for effect. “Zane, I have to move home sooner or later.” “This is your home, Em.” “What?” “You want to leave?” he asked. “You don’t like being here?” I swallowed hard before I answered, “I love it here. You know that.” “I thought I knew that, but packing up to leave doesn’t say you love it here.” He was really upset about this. I wasn’t so naive to think he’d not have an opinion about it, but I wasn’t expecting this reaction. “I’m sorry, Zane. I wasn’t doing this to upset you. I just thought it would be good for me, for us, to get back to life the way it was before all of this happened.” “You said you love it here, right?” I nodded. “Good. You love it here, I love having you here. There’s nothing else to discuss with this. This is your home now. You’re staying.” Before I could respond, the doorbell rang. My brows pulled together. I couldn’t recall Zane saying anything about expecting anyone. He turned to walk out of the room and said, “Come downstairs, Em. Got something I want you to see.” I sat there staring at the empty doorway. I was pretty sure Zane just asked me to move in, except that he hadn’t actually asked. It was more like he demanded that I move in. I took a moment to think about it and realized it was quite the turn on for me to see him so fired up about something like this. I smiled inwardly, picked myself up off the floor, and walked out of the bedroom. I was walking down the stairs and heard Zane talking out in the kitchen. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I took a few steps toward the kitchen until I heard another voice I recognized and halted in my tracks. I stood there, staring out into the kitchen, and felt my knees get weak. Zane’s eyes came up to meet mine and he smiled really big at me. “Princess.” My eyes shifted from Zane’s to my father’s. “Daddy,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. Then, my body proved just how much it had healed over the past couple of days. I took off running toward him. He held his arms out and caught me as I jumped up into them. I held on to him as I cried and he didn’t, for a single moment, loosen his hold on me. I felt my mom’s arms wrap around me as well. “Emme, dear,” her delicate voice filtered into my ears.

“I have missed you both so much,” I sobbed. “We’ve missed you, too, princess. It feels so good to have you in my arms again.” My parents held me a little while longer before my dad set me down. I looked up at him and then over to my mom in disbelief. My eyes then drifted to Zane. “Did you know they were coming?” I asked. “I’m the one who called them, sweetheart.” Shit. I was going to cry again. “You did?” “Em, they needed to know what happened. I called them on Sunday when everyone was over. You were in the family room with the girls and I went to the other room with the guys to play pool. The guys played; I called your parents. I told them what happened and that I was going to book flights for them to come out here. I know you had your girls here, but I thought it was important you had your family, too.” The tears spilled over my cheeks and I managed to squeak out, “Thank you.” Zane walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in to his side. He kissed the top of my head and said, “You’re welcome, Em.” My eyes went to my parents to find them both smiling at us. Zane gave me a gentle squeeze and said, “I’m going to head up and take a shower so you can have some time to talk with your parents.” “Ok.” Zane looked to my parents and shared, “It’s nice to finally meet you both; please make yourselves at home.” “Thank you, Zane,” my mother said. With that, he walked out of the room and my eyes followed him until he was out of sight. I turned back to my parents. “You love him, princess?” my father asked. I nodded. “Think you should know that he has my full approval. If it weren’t for him calling us I’m not sure when or if your mother and I would have found out about that ex of yours taking you.” Great. Now I felt guilty. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t want to worry you both.” “Emme, dear,” my mom started. “You are our only child. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been kidnapped or if you are safe here; we’ll always worry about you.” “I know.” She smiled at me and said, “I like Zane. He seems to be very responsible and

generous. What I like most about him, though, is how much I can see that he truly loves you. I can’t wait until tomorrow.” My brows pulled together. “What’s happening tomorrow?” “Zane said he wanted us to meet his family.” My eyes rounded. “He did?” She nodded. “Princess, he’s a good man. He knows we don’t live right down the road and he wants us to know that you have people around you that love and care about you.” I smiled at my father. He was a such a good judge of character. He never liked Seth, even in the beginning of our relationship before things turned sour. The fact that he thought so highly of Zane spoke volumes. “You’re going to love them,” I said, softly. “I’m sure we will.” “Emme?” my mom called. I turned my attention to her. “Tell us what happened,” she said, her eyes and voice pleading with me. I dropped my head. I didn’t want them to have to hear the awful truth about what happened, but I knew they deserved to know the truth. When I brought my head back up to look at them I explained, “We should go in to the family room and sit down first.” My parents followed me into the family room and we all sat. I told them everything from the day I received the note under the front door of my condo until the moment Zane called them earlier in the week. My mom cried…a lot. There was no denying now where I got that from. My dad’s face stayed pretty stoic, but I could see the anger swirling in his eyes when he learned what Seth did to me. I was his little girl and someone hurt his little girl. That did not sit well with him. I saw a change in his eyes, though, the minute I began telling him about how well Zane took care of me. It was a bit of a relief to see that change because I couldn’t stand seeing him, or my mom for that matter, hurt. Zane joined us a few minutes later and my father almost instantly asked Zane if he could speak with him privately. Zane, of course, agreed without any hesitation. I got up and told them that mom and I would go out into the kitchen because I wanted to bake a chocolate cake for after dinner later. My dad and Zane both laughed at me. At that, my mom and I took off to the kitchen and gave Zane and my dad some privacy. I spent the next little bit baking a chocolate cake while catching up with my mom. We hadn’t been able to have conversations like this in so long and I had truly missed it. Zane, I decided, deserved to be rewarded for giving this to me and I couldn’t wait to surprise him later. After I made my cake, Zane and my dad joined us in the kitchen. I knew they were both hoping they’d be able to sneak in some early bites. Seeing that made my heart swell.

I was so happy about the fact that they got along that I couldn’t be bothered to stop them. The four of us spent the rest of the day together at Zane’s. My parents were content to stay in, simply basking in being around their daughter for the first time in a little less than a year. It started getting late. My mom said that she thought that they ought to get going. “Where are you staying?” I asked, surprised. Zane answered. “I told them they were both more than welcome to stay here since we have plenty of room, but they said they preferred to get a hotel. I sent over some recommendations to them Monday morning.” I thought back to Monday morning. That was the morning I woke up alone in bed to find him sitting on the chaise with his laptop. He had been emailing my parents planning this whole thing and I was too busy questioning his love for me. I felt horrible for having done that to him. I looked to Zane and the look in his eyes told me he knew that I’d realized exactly when he reached out to my parents. He gave me a wink. Damn, but did I love him. “Thank you for your hospitality today, Zane. We’re very much looking forward to tomorrow,” my mother said. Zane nodded in acknowledgement. My dad’s eyes came to mine. “So good to see you, princess. Even better seeing you happy.” His eyes went to Zane. “Thank you for taking care of my little girl and treating her with the love and respect she deserves. You’ve made her the happiest I’ve ever seen her.” “She does the same for me,” Zane answered. Yep. Zane was definitely getting surprised tonight. I hugged my parents before Zane hugged my mom, and shook my dad’s hand. We saw them out and then Zane armed the security system. As soon as he turned around I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed up on my toes so I could kiss him. He bent his head to capture my lips as he wrapped one arm around my waist and lifted me. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist and he brought his other hand to my bottom. I pulled my lips from his briefly and framed his face with my hands. “I love you.” He grinned and said, “That’s good, considering I love you, too.” “Thank you, baby. What you did for me today means everything to me.” “I’d do anything for you, Emme.” I gave him a coy smile before I said, “That’s good, considering I’d really like you to make love to me tonight.” His eyes heated at the same time his face grew serious. “Em, you sure? There’s no

rush if you aren’t ready, sweetheart.” “I think I’m ready.” His arms tightened around me and he made his way swiftly up the stairs. When we got to the bedroom Zane put a knee to the bed, set me down gently, and settled his hips between my parted thighs. My hands went to the hem of his shirt immediately and I began pushing it up his body. He reached behind his neck and pulled the shirt off over his head. I craved the feel of his skin against mine so I pulled my shirt up over my head. Zane’s eyes traveled down to my lace trim bra where they lingered a moment before his face was buried in my chest. His fingers came up to lace and pulled it down, freeing my breasts. He wasted no time in putting his hands and mouth on them. I loved the attention he giving them, but soon realized he was waiting for me to indicate I was ready for more. I knew what I needed to do. “Zane?” I called. His head immediately shot up and he said, “Yeah, Em?” Fuck, that voice. “Baby, would you mind if I was on top?” He let out a sigh, “Thank fuck.” With that, he rolled to the side and took me with him. I was now straddling him, but there was too much between us. I pushed up onto my knees and brought my hands around my back to unhook the clasp on my bra. After sliding the straps down my arms and tossing it to the floor I slid my hands down my sides and under the waistband of my pants and panties. I first moved myself over to the side off him and then I began to shimmy my way out of the remainder of my clothing. Once the clothes were gone I was back on my knees beside Zane’s thigh. I ran my hands up my thighs until one reached my core and the other traveled up to my breasts. Zane watched me with such an intensity in his eyes. He was fighting so hard to stay in control. As I ran my fingers through my soaked center I gestured my head toward his pants and asked, “Do you think you could lose those?” Zane wasted no time in removing his jeans and boxer briefs. After they were gone he scooted back on the bed so he was sitting upright with his back against the headboard. I fell to my hands so I was on all fours and crawled my way up his body. “Fuck,” Zane growled. When I reached his torso, I looked up at him through hooded eyes and brought my mouth to his. As we kissed I straddled his hips. I reached my hand between us and gripped his cock. He pulled his mouth from mine and looked down to where I was positioning him at my entrance. His fingertips were pressing into my thighs. I lowered myself ever so slightly so that just the tip of him was inside me. My hands went to his shoulders, my eyes focused on his, before I lowered myself onto him completely. As soon as he filled me I threw my head back. Zane’s hands traveled up my thighs and gripped my hips.

When my head came forward he said, “You are so damn sexy, Emme. Fuck, I love you.” It was then I began to move. I lifted and lowered myself loving the feel of having him inside me. I missed this. I missed the way he felt and this connection to him. As I continued to move allowing the pressure to build, with Zane’s hands at my hips guiding me, I couldn’t help but let all of the love he showed me over the past few days flow through my mind. My movements grew faster, the thoughts came quicker, and I was soon right on the edge. “It’s all for you, Em. Take everything I have and let go,” he encouraged me. I let go and the second I came down from my orgasm I was flipped to my back with Zane still inside me. “Watching you come apart like that,” he said as he moved in and out of me. “It’s so fucking beautiful. I need to see it again.” Zane worked to build me up slowly, his movements unhurried and controlled. He angled and rolled his hips so precisely he hit the right spot with every single thrust. I felt the tightening low in my belly come quickly, especially as the thoughts of his love and care for me over the past few days continued to filter through my brain. “Zane,” I moaned. His pace picked up ever so slightly and the sounds coming from the back of his throat grew louder. “You feel too good, Em. You’ve got to get there,” he said, bringing a hand to one of my nipples and rolling it between two of his fingers. “Oh, baby,” I rasped out. He continued his torturously slow attack on my body. His mouth came down to capture mine and it wasn’t long before Zane got me there. We both yelled out together as we found our pleasure. After, Zane rolled over to his back and took me with him, our heated bodies struggling to come down from the high. My senses were on overload, firing at me from all directions. Physically, I was feeling fabulously sated. My emotions were another story. It was too much and before I knew what was happening I felt the tears leak out of my eyes. That’s when Zane’s body went solid. “Em?” he called. I took in a breath and said, “Hmm?” “Are you alright?” I nodded with my cheek still pressed to his chest. “Why are you crying?” “You came and got me,” I began, lifting my head to look at him. “You found me and brought me back here. You were so gentle with me, cleaning up my face first and then my body. You dried my hair. You never left me alone. You made sure I was surrounded by

your family and our friends to help distract my mind. You took care of me. You held me when I needed it. You took me shopping. You surprised me by bringing my parents here. You helped me heal. You loved me.” He stared at me a beat before he admitted, “Fuck, I was worried.” “About what?” “I thought you were crying because we made love too soon and you weren’t ready for it. But, that’s not all. From the moment I realized you were taken, I’ve been worried about you. I was scared as shit I’d never see you again or that we would find you too late. Once we found you, I worried that I wouldn’t know how to help you through it. From the second I carried you out of that house in my arms, I have questioned every decision I’ve made regarding your care. I didn’t know if I was doing the right things.” I smiled at him and put my cheek back to his chest. We stayed like that for a long while before I lifted my head a bit more and looked to the floor. “You moved my suitcases?” I asked. He shook his head. “No, I emptied your suitcases, put all your shit away, and then I moved the suitcases.” “I guess that settles that,” I joked. He grinned at me. “Are you sure about this, Zane?” I asked. Zane knifed up in the bed and rolled me to my back. He didn’t settle over me; he got out of the bed, threw on his jeans, and walked out of the room. I didn’t move other than to sit up and cover myself with the bed sheet, mostly because I was surprised by his reaction. Seconds later, he walked back into the room. “Didn’t think I’d do this now, but I think you need to realize where I’m at,” he began as he came back and sat on the edge of the bed looking at me. “I love you, Emme. I’m not with you now practicing for something with someone else down the road. My reasons for not wanting you to move out are selfish. I love going to bed at night and waking up in the morning with your beautiful body pressed up against mine. I love watching you get excited over the most mundane, little things. I love your laugh and your smile. I love your ability to see the good in any situation, no matter how shitty it is. I love your food. I especially love your chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. I love how you get embarrassed when you accidentally say something that you only meant to think in your head.” I sat silent and stared while he continued, “I always tell you I don’t care about anything else in this house because none of it matters without you. I mean that, sweetheart. When you are here, all of this stuff is just better. The kitchen is better, the family room is better, my snowboards are better, and the bedroom is much fucking better. Hell, I love that fucking sofa over there now and I never really cared much for it before you. You walk out of here and it all goes to shit. This place no longer feels like home to me if you aren’t here and it’s all because of your heart. I love your heart. You care about me in a way nobody else ever has. You’ve got my back when you think nobody else does. All of that, Em? I’m not looking to give it up.”

He slowly slid off the bed to the floor and held my hand in his. “Didn’t think I’d be one of those men that would have so much to say, but I think you deserve to know how I feel before you agree to this. Now that I’m down on one knee I want you to know that I promise to always love and protect you with everything I have.” He opened a little black box, held it out to me, and asked, “Will you marry me?” Oh…my…God. “I’d do anything to guarantee I could hear your voice every day for the rest of my life. Yes. Yes, Zane, I will marry you.” He gave me his wickedly sexy grin before he pulled the ring out of box and slid it onto my finger. It was easily a two, possibly even a two-and-a-half carat, solitaire, princess-cut diamond on a platinum band and it fit me perfectly. I loved that he didn’t go overstated with it. It was a simple, classic style and it was exquisite. After he had the ring on my finger, he stood up next to the bed. I came up on my knees and was nearly eye level with him. “I love you,” he said. “I love you, too.” “Think it’d be ok if I made love to my future wife now?” he asked. I grinned, and using words he had once said to me, I teased, “Be pretty fucking disappointed if you didn’t.” He burst out laughing before he brought his mouth to mine and made love to me.



Chapter 35 Zane She was mine. Correction. She was always mine, but now it was official. My sweet girl was officially my fiancée. I hadn’t planned it the way it happened, but she was clearly still in a state of mind where she was questioning what she meant to me. I didn’t like that she felt that way and thought it was best to make sure she no longer had any doubts about what I saw for the two of us. But, fuck, was it nerve-wracking. I guess I hadn’t realized until I was already down on one knee beside the bed holding the ring out to her that she could have said no. She didn’t make me wait long for an answer, but those few seconds felt excruciatingly long. It was early the following morning and I was in bed with one arm wrapped around Emme’s waist while the hand on my other arm held my head up as I looked down at her. She was at such peace and it was a look I was beginning to see more and more as the days went by following her kidnapping and subsequent rescue. It was like the thoughts finally settled in her mind that her ex was no longer a threat to her safety or her happiness and once she realized that she became carefree. I felt her beginning to stir and watched as her eyes fluttered open. She hadn’t yet noticed me watching her and I saw as last night replayed in her mind. She slid her left hand up and pressed it against my chest as she looked at her ring. A beautiful smile spread across her face. That was when she tilted her head back and looked up at me. “It’s so bright, baby,” she said, with her super sexy morning voice. “Well, it’s brand new. It should be sparkling, Em.” “I wasn’t referring to the ring; though, it is also so sparkly and bright and beautiful.” My brows pulled together. What was she talking about? “I meant my life,” she began. “It was so dark for so long I never thought I’d ever see light again. You gave that to me and despite the most recent hurdle we’ve faced you continue to give it to me. Now, Zane, all I see is light and it’s practically blinding. I feel so warm and it feels so, so good.” “Sweetheart…” I trailed off, my throat tight. “Thank you,” she whispered as she moved closer to me and pressed a kiss to the base of my throat. She brought her hand up to my shoulder and pushed me to my back as she straddled my body. Her mouth was on my chest and she was making her was down my torso to my abdomen. She repositioned herself in between my legs and rested her right hand on my hip while her left one wrapped around my cock. “Love that look, Emme.”

“What look?” she asked, squeezing gently. “My ring on your finger on the hand that’s wrapped around my dick.” “Hmm,” she gave a coy smile. As she began stroking she asked, “Do you think I’ll ruin the picture you’re currently enjoying if I keep this hand here and add my mouth?” I groaned. She was so damn sexy. “No fucking way that’s possible.” I guessed that was all she needed to hear because the next thing I knew she had me in her mouth. She kept her hand planted at the root of my cock as her mouth worked the rest of me. I felt the vibrations from the back of her throat when she moaned. I groaned. She was seriously talented at this. Her mouth suddenly disappeared, but her hand began to stroke up and down my shaft. I felt her tongue at my balls before she sucked each of them into her mouth. Fuck. I wasn’t going to last much longer. Her tongue licked up the underside of my length until she reached the tip where she put me back in her mouth. “Em, I’m going to come.” I wanted her to have the option to stop before that happened. Not surprisingly, telling her that only made her work me that much harder. Not much longer after, I called out her name as she milked me with her mouth, savoring every last drop I had for her. When she lifted her head and sat back on her heels, I could see just how turned on she was and knew exactly what she needed. “Get your ass up here, Em,” I demanded. She came up next to me and sat there. “Sit on my face.” Her face flushed. I fucking loved it when she got shy like this. She was having a tough time following through on it, so I snaked an arm out between her legs and wrapped it around her backside. I pulled her over toward me. Her hands went to the headboard and she had no choice but to straddle my face. I swiped my tongue through her pussy. Drenched. She always was for me. I ate. I loved the taste of her. I kept my hands at her succulent ass as I continued to work her with my mouth. She was moaning and her breathing became more and more shallow. I pushed my tongue inside of her knowing that would send her over the edge. Sure enough, the moment I did that and I dug my fingers into the cheeks of her ass making sure she didn’t pull away before I could see her through to the end, she came apart screaming my name. She collapsed on the bed next to me and I laughed. I loved seeing her like that, wellloved and sated. I knew I wasn’t done with her yet this morning. My phone rang on the nightstand at that moment so I gave Emme a minute to catch her breath and I picked up the phone.

“Yeah?” I asked. “Hey Zane. Sorry to call so early. Charley had this idea this morning and she insisted I call everyone. She wants the eight of us go out for breakfast. Already called Luke and Stone. They’re good to go. You and Emme up for it?” “I think I can talk her into it,” I said as she looked over at me. “Ok. Can you meet here at nine this morning?” he asked. I looked over to the nightstand and saw it was only seven. Plenty of time left to give my girl a few more orgasms and get to Wes and Charley’s place. “Yeah, we can do that.” “Alright man. See you in a little bit.” “Later.” I disconnected the call and tossed the phone back onto the nightstand. “What’s going on?” Emme asked. “Charley wanted to have all eight of us go out for breakfast this morning. Wes had to make the calls. Luke and Stone are in. I’m guessing Nikki and Monroe are considering they are staying with Charley and Wes. You up for it?” Her face lit up. “Can I tell them we’re engaged?” “Be pretty fucking disappointed if you didn’t,” I said, giving her a smile. “How much time do we have before we need to leave?” she asked. Yep. My girl wanted more. I sat up in the bed, reached over to pick her up, and said, “Enough time for me to make love to you in the shower.” “Yay!” she said. I couldn’t help but laugh she was so fucking cute. I took her into the bathroom and we got in the shower. I couldn’t wait to have her and I knew she wanted it so I took her against the wall the second we stepped inside. After, we went about using the shower for its originally intended use. We finished up, got out, and got ready. I let Emme do her thing in the bathroom, knowing she’d need time to dry her hair and put on her make up. She was feeling a little self-conscious about the now barely noticeable bruising on her eye. To me, she was beautiful regardless, but I knew she felt better being able to cover it up. I left her to it. I finished getting ready and waited for her. When she stepped out of the bathroom about twenty-five minutes later with her hair done and her make up on. She had a look on her face that told me something was on her mind. “Zane?” “Yeah, Em?” She looked away from me, struggling to get it out. I got up from the couch and

walked toward where she was standing, still wrapped up in the towel. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” I asked, gently. “Nothing is wrong. I just…um, I…you told me to tell you when I needed something.” “Absolutely. What do you need?” Her hooded forest green eyes came to mine and the color swirling in them told me what she needed. I smiled at her and put my hand to the back collar of my shirt. I lifted it over my head, tossed it aside, and dropped my pants and boxer briefs next. Putting my hand to the top of the towel I pulled at the part she had tucked in and opened it up. As it fell to the floor I picked her up, captured her mouth with mine, and carried her over to the bed. Then, I gave my girl what she needed. ***** We were in the truck on the way over to meet up with our friends and Emme was bursting at the seams she was so excited. If I had known she was going to be this happy about it I would have asked her to marry me a long time ago. After our last love-making session this morning, we got dressed and called her parents before leaving the house. I know part of her wanted to tell them first, but she didn’t want to do it over the phone. We told them our plans to have breakfast out with our friends, but that we’d be by to pick them up later that morning to go to my parents’ house. They were fine with the arrangements and said they’d be ready when we got there. We pulled into the driveway and saw that Luke and Stone’s vehicles were already there. I was thankful because I wasn’t sure Emme would be able to wait to share the news. I parked the truck and said, “Ready?” She nodded her head furiously with a huge smile on her face. I laughed, got out of the truck, and came around to help her out. The garage door was open so we walked through the garage and up to the man door. I knocked first and then opened the door as we heard Wes yell from inside, “Come in.” Emme and I went in and walked into the kitchen. Everyone gave a quick hello to acknowledge us, but Monroe must have noticed something was off. “Wait a minute,” she started. “What’s going on with you, babe? Why are you so giddy?” Emme turned to look at me. I nodded at her. “Zane and I are getting married,” she announced with the biggest smile on her face. The girls all started screaming and ran over to hug her. Luke and Stone stepped back. I’m not sure if it was from the yelling or to simply get out of the way. Wes, Luke, and Stone all congratulated me with a handshake or a slap on the back.

“Oh my God, look at that ring!” Charley shouted. “Congratulations, Em! You’re going to make the most beautiful bride,” Monroe said, getting teary eyed. I looked to Stone and saw him watching her. Maybe I’d have to have a chat with him. He had no idea what he was missing out on and if Emme could get past what happened to her and find love, maybe he could, too. “Can’t wait to hear the story, babe,” Nikki said. Charley’s eyes came to me and she claimed, “I told you she’d be worth it. Thank you for giving my best friend the love she deserves, Zane. Congratulations!” She came over and gave me a congratulatory hug, followed by Nikki, and then Monroe. When Monroe pulled back she quietly revealed, “I’m so happy for the two of you. Emme’s about as special as they come, so you’ve struck gold with her. If one day I can find someone who loves me half as much as I can see that you love her I think I could be a very happy woman.” Even though I knew she was genuinely happy for Emme and I, I could see the sadness in her eyes. Emme was right; Monroe wanted to find love. I kept my voice quiet when I spoke to her. “Not for nothing, but Emme’s talked a bit about you. I’ve heard you’re pretty special yourself. Whatever you do, don’t settle for anything less than you deserve. Someone would be very lucky to have you,” I said on a wink. Her eyes widened, realizing that Emme had shared something personal. I questioned it a moment, but then she broke out into a smile and said, “Thank you, Zane. I hope you’re right.” She turned around and I looked to my side. Stone was looking at me inquisitively. I gave him a look that said he needed to shit or get off the pot. I turned my attention back to Emme. Wes had pulled her into a hug and congratulated her. When she turned around, Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said, “Congratulations, babe.” “Thanks, Luke,” she answered. “Happy for you both, sweet cheeks,” Stone said as he pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations.” “Thank you.” Emme let the girls know that her parents were in town and that we were picking them up after breakfast to go to my parents’ house. We didn’t want to waste any time so we took off and went out for breakfast. Most of breakfast was spent with the girls asking about every single detail of the engagement story. Emme explained how she had packed up her bags yesterday morning and how I subsequently told her she wasn’t moving out. Then, of course, when she was downstairs visiting with her parents later that morning and I put all her stuff back where it belonged, which was not in the suitcase. The conversation moved to Nikki and Monroe’s move out to Rising Sun and their living arrangements. Charley suggested that since she

was now living with Wes and Emme was living with me that they take over the condo. The girls seemed happy with that and then told Emme that they found a place earlier for them to rent together where Monroe would be able to have her dance studio and Nikki could open her salon. They signed a lease for it already even though they still needed a couple weeks back in California to tie up loose ends. We finished up at breakfast and told everyone we’d see them tomorrow night for Emme’s birthday celebration. Before we left we got a final round of congratulations from the gang and took off to pick up Emme’s parents. “I want to wait until we are all together at your parents’ place before we tell anyone about the engagement. Are you alright with that?” Emme asked as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. “Whatever you want to do, Em, I’m good with it.” When we pulled up to the front door to the hotel, Emme sent a text to her mom’s phone letting her know we were outside. A few minutes later, they walked out and Vince helped his wife in before he came around to the other side and let himself in. Emme spent the drive talking with her parents about Nikki and Monroe’s upcoming move to Wyoming. Ten minutes later, we arrived at my parents’ house. Vince and I both hopped out of the truck and made our way around it to help our women out. We made our way up the walkway to the front door. I pushed my key into the door lock, opened it, and let everyone walk in ahead of me. As soon as we were all inside I heard my mom yell, “David, Levi, and Cruz, Zane is here with Emme and her family.” “Hi, you must be Mr. and Mrs. James. I’m Zane’s mom, Trisha,” my mom said extending her hand to them. “Pleased to meet you, Trisha. I’m Valerie and this is my husband, Vince.” My mom’s eyes went to Emme and she asked, “Emme, honey, how are you feeling?” “Much better, Trisha. Thanks for asking.” “Thank you, Trisha,” Vince piped up. “Emme told us that you are a doctor and you came to Zane’s house to check her out so she didn’t have to go to the hospital. We appreciate what you did for her.” My dad and my brothers walked out before my mom could respond. “Hey Emme,” Levi said, coming up to give her a hug. “Feeling better?” She nodded and introduced Levi to her parents. “Heard you own the company that was responsible for keeping Emme safe after that asshole, pardon my French, resurfaced. Was also told you that it was because of you and your boys that she was found so quickly after he took her,” Vince said. “Thank you for finding my baby.” “You’re welcome,” Levi acknowledged. “Also heard you did it pro bono,” Vince continued.

Levi shrugged his shoulders and pointed out, “Emme’s family. That’s what you do.” My dad approached next and introduced himself to them. He then walked over to Emme, gave her a hug, and said, “It’s good to see you getting around better, darling.” After, Cruz walked up to Emme, put an arm around her shoulder, kissed the top of her head, and said, “Hey, beautiful. You doing alright?” “I’m doing really well, Cruz,” she said. “These are my parents, Valerie and Vince. Mom, Dad, this is Zane’s younger brother, Cruz.” “Cruz?” Vince called, extending his hand. “Yes, sir. It’s nice to meet you both,” Cruz answered as he shook Vince’s hand. “You got to her first and you were the one who got her out of there,” Vince reminded Cruz quietly, still holding on to Cruz’s hand. Cruz nodded. Then, Vince surprised them all by pulling Cruz into a hug. “I owe you,” he bit out, his voice hoarse. When he pulled back, he looked to Cruz, Levi, and me before he added, “I owe all three of you.” I wasn’t as surprised as everyone else that he had pulled Cruz into a hug. He had done the same thing with me the day before when he asked to speak with me privately. He felt indebted to us for what we did for Emme. I understood it, but he wasn’t realizing that Emme was our family now, too, and that we loved her just as much as he did. Emme’s eyes came to mine and she mouthed, “I can’t wait; you tell them.” I nodded at her and said, “Vince, it’s ok. We understand how you feel. I do, especially. Told my brothers that day that I owed them for what they did. They wanted nothing, except for Cruz.” “Whatever it is, I’ll give it to him. Anything,” Vince said. “You can’t give it to him,” I started as I looked to Cruz. “It was something he wanted me to give him and I’m happy to say I no longer owe him.” Cruz’s head jerked back and he asked, “Are you shittin’ me?” I shook my head. “Feel like you’re talking in circles here, Zane,” my dad said. “What’s going on? And Cruz, how dare you ask for anything?” “Relax, Dad. Cruz was the first on the scene. He dealt with Miller and got Emme out of that basement. When Levi and I arrived, Emme was sleeping. She felt safe enough with Cruz to be able to give into the exhaustion she was feeling and sleep. Knowing what he did for her, I felt like I owed him my life. Cruz told me the only thing he wanted was for me to get Emme home, to take care of her, and when I thought she was ready for it he wanted a sister-in-law.” “Wait, what?!” my mom shrieked. “Last night I asked Emme to marry me and she said yes.” “Oh, Zane. I’m going to have a daughter now,” my mom said as tears filled her eyes

and she pulled me into a hug. “Congratulations, honey. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled Emme into a hug next and congratulated her. Emme’s parents and my dad congratulated me. When I turned around I saw Cruz had pulled Emme into a hug and congratulated her. When he pulled back, he put his hands to her shoulders and joked, “Just so you know, when I asked for him to give me a sister-in-law, he said he had already planned on it. Wanted to make sure you knew that he didn’t ask you to marry him just for me.” Emme laughed and thanked Cruz. Levi walked up to her next, kissed her on the forehead, and said, “Welcome to the family, Em. Couldn’t be more happy for my brother that he found someone who loves him the way you do. He’s a lucky man. Congratulations.” “Thank you, Levi.” My dad congratulated Emme as Levi and Cruz both came over to do the same with me. Emme’s mom walked up to her next. Valerie framed her daughter’s face in her hands and said, “Emme, my dear, congratulations. I never thought you’d ever get yourself out of the depression you were in. I’m so grateful to Zane for loving you and making you see the good in the world again. You deserve every bit of happiness the world has to offer and I’m happy you have a good man by your side, with whom you can experience that. I love you.” Emme’s eyes were filled with unshed tears as she pulled her mom into a hug and said, “I love you, too, mom.” When they separated, Vince stood in front of his daughter. “Princess…the day you came to your mother and me and told us you were moving away was one of the worst days of my life. I was bitter about it. My little girl was sad and broken and she was moving a thousand miles away. It’s been just under a year since you moved away and the girl I see standing before me now is the Emme we remember before her spirit was shattered. I hated that you left, but it was clearly what you needed to get your life back. Yesterday, when Zane asked me for permission to marry you I didn’t hesitate to tell him he had my blessing. I knew the day he told me on the phone that he made a chocolate cake with you not because he likes baking but because it makes you happy that this man would do absolutely anything for you. It is evident to me that Zane and his entire family love you as if you were their own. It’s going to be another year before I retire and your mother and I can move out here to be closer to you, but I know we can at least go home now confident that you are surrounded by people who will love and care for you no matter what happens. I’m so relieved you found someone like Zane to spend your life with because I have no doubts that he’ll treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Congratulations, princess.” “Daddy,” Emme barely squeaked out as she wrapped her arms around her father’s waist. He held her for a minute before she pulled back and asked, “Are you and mom really going to move out here?” “I expect you’re going to give me grand babies one day. I’m not missing out on that,” he shared.

Fuck. I hadn’t thought about it before now, but the moment Vince said those words I realized I couldn’t wait to see Emme carrying my child. My eyes drifted down her body and I tried to picture her with a belly growing a baby. Emme snapped me out of my thoughts when she turned toward me and warned, “Stop looking at me like you are ready to make that happen now. I’m nowhere near ready for a baby, Zane.” I gave her a grin, pressed a kiss to her lips, wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and turned with her as we followed everyone into the family room. The meet and greet, combined with the engagement announcement, had officially been a success. As we walked out into the family room all I could do was think to myself how lucky I was to have found this incredible woman with whom to spend the rest of my life. I knew I’d spend the rest of forever proving to her that she didn’t make a mistake when she chose to put her heart in my hands.



Chapter 36 Emme With my eyes closed I smiled to myself as Zane’s morning voice quietly sang in my ear and served as my wakeup call that morning. This was, by far, the best rendition of a birthday song for many reasons. First, when you are woken up by someone singing a birthday song to you on your birthday, it tends to put you in a good mood right from the start. Secondly, when that someone who was singing to you was Zane, who had the world’s sexiest voice, that put you in an even better mood. Lastly, and probably most important, when it was Zane delivering that song to you on the morning of your birthday in his sexy voice and he did it while running his fingertips gently over the skin of every part of your body, it took your mood from better to the best ever. I was pulled against Zane’s body, his front to my back. He was tracing his fingertips over every inch of my skin and I was seriously turned on. I’m not sure if it was the touching or his voice singing in my ear that did it, but either way I was feeling really good. I considered my options at this point and realized morning sex on my birthday was the way to go. I arched my back and pushed my ass into Zane’s lap. He groaned, tightened his grip on my hip, and gently bit the skin between my neck and shoulder. I pushed my body back the slightest bit so that Zane had no choice but to fall back a bit. Parting my thighs, I reached my hand down between them, wrapped my hand around him, and positioned him at my entrance. He pushed himself inside and I moaned as he filled me. “Drenched,” Zane growled. “It’s the voice,” I rasped, my voice a breathy whisper. Zane had one arm underneath my arm and body and wrapped it around the front of me across my chest. He used his other arm and gripped my hip as he thrusted in and out of me. I turned my head to look back at him. His blue eyes were smoldering as he looked back at me. I felt the hand he had at my hip move to rest in the middle of my abdomen. “Want to help get you there, Em,” he started. “You good with me touching you there?” I nodded at him. He slid his hand south and found my clit. As he continued giving me the goods his fingers worked me. I was definitely close to finding my orgasm. I brought one of my hands up to caress my breasts. “So fucking sexy, Emme,” Zane’s guttural voice said as he picked up his pace. Hearing his voice again did me in. “Oh fuck, baby, I’m gonna come.” This motivated Zane who powered his hips harder into me. I shattered, coming apart

around him and in that same instant heard and felt Zane find his release. As I tried to come out of my post orgasm bliss I affirmed, “That was the best birthday present ever.” I felt Zane laugh behind me. “Love that you enjoyed that, but I’ve got a real present for you.” I brought my eyes to his and in a shock-filled voice, I asked, “You do?” He looked at me like I had three heads. “You serious?” I shrugged my shoulders and bit my lip. “You bought me a dress earlier in the week. You also gave me an engagement ring the next night.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Go get cleaned up and then I’ll give you your present, unless of course, you need more of the first gift…” he said, trailing off. I was so excited. “No. No. I’m good for now,” I said as I moved quickly out of the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I heard Zane laughing as I walked out of the bedroom. I did my business and got myself cleaned up in record time. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw that Zane had set out a pair of sweats, a long-sleeved tee, and a pair of panties for me. I got dressed as fast as I could while Zane stood at the door to the bedroom waiting for me. When I finished getting dressed I looked to him and I’m sure he felt the excitement rolling off of me. He smiled at me and reached out his hand. We walked downstairs together and when we came to the kitchen I saw a small wrapped box sitting on the island. “Is that for me?” I asked, overly excited. Zane chuckled. “You’re so fucking adorable, Em. I can’t take it. Of course, it’s for you.” He picked up the box and handed it to me. I stared down at the box that easily fit into the palm of my hand and took a moment to appreciate just how great of a man Zane was. Damn, was I one lucky girl. I pressed up on my toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you,” I said. “You don’t even know what it is. You’re thanking me and you might not like it,” he said. I stared at him a moment before I explained, “It doesn’t matter what it is, Zane. The fact that you thought it was special enough of an occasion to give me any gift is what matters to me. I would have been happy with a simple card signed by you that wished me a happy birthday.” Silence a moment. “Gold, sweetheart. Fucking gold.” I smiled back at him and asked, “Can I open it?” He nodded.

I tore open the package and I’m sure I looked like a little kid at Christmas. Once I removed the wrapping paper I pulled the lid off the box. Sitting inside the little white box was what looked like a key. It wasn’t a car key, which I had to admit would have been a bit overkill, but I knew for certain it was a key. I looked up at Zane, confused. “What does this go to?” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and said, “Come with me.” We walked toward the man door to the garage. Zane opened the door and let me step out ahead of him. When I looked up my jaw dropped. Sitting there in the middle of one of the garage bays with a big red bow on it was a snowmobile. I whirled my head around to him and with the biggest grin on my face I asked, “You bought me a snowmobile?” “Yeah. I remembered how excited you got when we went to Yellowstone asking if you could drive the one I brought there that day. Told you then that I’d show you how to ride one someday…figured you should have your own.” I jumped into his arms. Literally. I threw my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Thankfully, he caught me. With his hands at my ass supporting my weight I kissed him good. Real good. When I finally pulled my mouth from his he looked me in the eyes and said, “If that’s the way you say thank you, I might need to buy you a present every day.” I nuzzled my face into his neck. “Thank you, Zane. I really love it.” “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” “When do I get to try it out?” I asked. “I was kind of hoping I could take you out today if you’re feeling up to it. There’s plenty of land here so we don’t need to go anywhere to ride it. Thought we could ride for a couple hours, or for as long as your body can tolerate since I know you are still not one hundred percent healed, and then we’ll go out for a later lunch with your parents. We can come back here after lunch and get ready for tonight’s festivities at Lou’s.” My eyes got big and I said, “Ok, put me down. Let me get my sneakers on so we can try this out.” He laughed. “What is so funny?” “You need to change and put your snowboarding gear on, Em. You won’t be warm enough in this.” “Oh,” I said. “Ok.” Zane walked me inside, set me down, and then we went upstairs to change into our snowboarding gear. My phone had dinged several times indicating I had received text messages. I checked and saw that there was actually a missed call from Nikki and then texts from her, Charley, and Monroe. Apparently, they must have tried calling when Zane and I were downstairs. They followed up with messages wishing me a happy birthday and that they couldn’t wait to see me tonight to celebrate. I took my phone with me as Zane

and I made our way back downstairs. As he opened the garage door and pulled out his snowmobile, I snapped a quick picture of my birthday gift and sent it off to the girls in a group text. I then put the phone back inside and walked back out into the garage. Zane stood next to the new snowmobile and asked, “Got your key?” I held it up and shook it. “Hop on.” I walked over and got on the snowmobile. Zane gave me a quick lesson on how to start it, where the throttle and brake were, and gave me a few pointers for riding it. I hopped off and Zane moved the snowmobile out of the garage and into the snow next to his. “Stay alongside me as we ride. If you need to stop it’s no problem. I’m not going to go anywhere too crazy until you get a bit more experience, ok?” I nodded. He bent down, pressed a kiss to my lips, and said, “Be careful.” “I will.” Zane and I spent the next few hours riding. I can’t remember ever having so much fun, especially on my birthday. I was seriously disappointed when we had to head back to the house to get ready for lunch. Considering I thoroughly enjoyed food, it was at least a testament to how incredibly enjoyable my morning had been. After bringing the snowmobiles in and changing out of our snowboard gear, we got ready and took off to meet up with my parents. I was in the mood for Mexican food, so Zane took us to the city’s best Mexican restaurant. Everything looked so good and I was having a hard time deciding. When I told Zane I couldn’t decide between the beef nachos or the chicken tacos he told me we’d order both and could split them. I had to admit…the man knew how to make me happy. Lunch was absolutely delicious. The only snag at lunch occurred when the bill came. Zane insisted on paying for it, but so did my father. After a bit of back and forth, Zane finally gave in and allowed my dad to pay the bill. My parents weren’t going to be leaving to go back to California until tomorrow afternoon. They knew I had plans with my friends tonight, but they said they’d stop by Zane’s house tomorrow before they went to the airport. Zane and I thanked them for lunch and we made our way back home. Following another love making session, I spent the next two hours getting ready for our night out. Zane was happy to leave me to it and didn’t seem to mind that I had taken over the bathroom. Thinking back to when Zane told me his favorite dress I wore was the one from the Christmas Eve party at Lou’s, I decided on a similar style dress when he took me shopping for one earlier in the week for my birthday. I took a bunch of dresses into the fitting room with me, but he never saw it on me. It was a blush colored form fitting, sleeveless, deep-v plunging neckline dress that showed just a hint of cleavage, and had a sexy open back. The material cinched together at the middle of my booty, which filled out the backside of the dress nicely. I threw on a pair of matching sandals that had a threeand-a-half-inch heel. After putting on a pair of earrings and a bracelet (I refused to take

away from the ring on my finger by wearing too much jewelry), I walked out of the bedroom to go in search of my man. In an effort not to fall, I carefully made my way down the stairs. I heard Zane talking in the kitchen so I walked out there to meet him. As I stepped into his view Zane’s eyes immediately heated and traveled the length of my body. He had the phone held up to his ear, so I decided to tease him a little. I gave him a sexy smile and turned around to show him the back of my dress. I glanced over my shoulder to look back at him. My plan worked. He was seriously turned on. “Hey man,” he said into the phone. “I need to run. Emme just walked in. We’re heading out of here shortly so we’ll see you at Lou’s.” He didn’t even wait for a response; he disconnected the call and slid the phone into his pocket. “That’s the dress I bought you?” he asked as he started stalking toward me. I nodded, turning toward him. “Do you like it?” “Christ, Emme. I don’t really think I want to take you out now. You look fucking hot.” I smiled up at him. He was wearing a pair of jeans that fit him incredibly well, a black short sleeved tee that fit snug around his muscled arms and chest, his black leather jacket, and his motorcycle boots. “You’re looking pretty damn fine yourself,” I shared. “This is my new favorite dress,” he admitted as he wrapped his hands around mine. “I love it, too. It makes me feel pretty. Thank you for buying it for me.” “Sweetheart, you always look pretty. That said, you pick out ones that look like this I’ll buy you a new dress every week.” “That’s crazy, Zane. Where would I wear a new dress every week?” “I’ll find places to take you. And if I don’t, I’m completely content with you putting one on and staying in,” he said, giving me his sexy grin. We stared at each other for several moments before Zane broke the silence. “Fuck,” he began. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through the night, Emme. You look beautiful.” “I feel beautiful and it’s because of you. This is, by far, the best birthday I’ve ever had. I love you, baby.” I reached my hand up to wrap around the back of his neck so I could pull him toward me. I pressed my lips to his as one of his hands went to my hip, the other splayed across my back. We kissed for quite some time before I pulled away and said, “We’re going to be late.” He brought both of his hands to my ass, pulled my body toward him, and asked, “You feel that?” I nodded.

“That’s what I’ll be dealing with all night. And yet, despite this torture I still consider myself to be the luckiest man alive because you’re officially mine. I still don’t know what I did to deserve you.” “You loved me,” I said, even though he already knew that was the answer that I’d given him a week ago. Then I brought my hand to the front of his jeans and squeezed him. He groaned. “You don’t want to be late, you’ve got to stop.” I didn’t stop. “Em…” he warned. “Maybe we could be a little late,” I said against his lips. With that, Zane moved me so that I was positioned in front of the island. He slid the back of my dress up over my ass, pulled my panties down my legs, and gave it to me. Twenty-five minutes later he pressed a kiss to my forehead and said, “Alright, Em, let’s get you to your party.” I did a little happy dance and shook my hips as I started walking toward the garage. I heard Zane groan as he followed behind me telling me I needed a jacket. Zane pulled the Raptor into Lou’s parking lot about fifteen minutes later. He hopped out and rounded the truck after parking and came over to my side to help me out. His hand wrapped around mine as we walked up the steps to the restaurant. The moment we walked through the front door Lou greeted us. “Emme,” he began as he pulled me into a hug. “Darlin’, I can’t apologize enough for what happened the last time you were here.” “It’s ok, Lou. It wasn’t your fault.” He pulled back and wrapped his hands around my shoulders. “Happy to see you back here and I’m honored you wanted to celebrate your birthday with us. The rest of your friends are already here. Have a great time tonight. Happy Birthday,” he said. “Thank you.” Lou held his hand out to Zane as he greeted him before we made our way over to the table where our friends were already seated. Two chairs in the middle of the table were left unoccupied for Zane and me. The second Zane helped to guide my jacket down off my shoulders, I heard Nikki. “Happy birthday, you sexy bitch,” she started as she walked over from where she was sitting between Luke and Stone to pull me into a hug. “Seeing this dress, now I know why you’re late.” I couldn’t help but laugh and roll my eyes at her. “Oh, ignore her,” Monroe said, as she approached from her spot between Stone and Charley. “If you’re late because your man wanted to love you, that’s quite alright. We can’t all be as lucky as you. Happy birthday, babe.”

She pulled me into a hug before Charley stepped in next. “You aren’t that late, Em. Wes and I just got here, too. Happy birthday, honey.” Nikki chimed in again. “Yeah, you two just got here because I’m sure you were getting the goods, too. And here we thought you were right behind us.” Charley shook her head and said, “Fuck, she needs to get laid. Hey Luke, if you don’t have any plans for later tonight, I think Nikki might need a place to stay.” Everyone laughed and Luke gave Nikki a look that said he was completely fine with having her spend the night. “Wish I had a reason to be late,” Elle said walking up to me, clearly frustrated she made it here on time. I glanced quickly to see Levi’s jaw clenching. “No you don’t,” Wes said, his voice a touch lethal. She rolled her eyes at him. “Happy birthday, Emme.” I was then given a round of hugs, kisses, and birthday wishes from Luke, Stone, Wes, Levi, and Cruz. After, we all sat and ordered drinks followed by dinner. From there the conversation flowed well. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so much. It felt so good to be surrounded by such an incredible group of people. These were my people now. Each and every one of them meant something to me and I realized that having them in my life was the best present, second only, of course, to Zane and his gifts. When we finished dinner and moved onto dessert, which was a cake the girls got for me earlier that day, Zane leaned into me and said, “Cake is good, but doesn’t come close to touching yours.” I turned toward him and smiled. He pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “I’ll bake you my cake anytime you want,” I said. Everyone finished dessert and we all made our way up to the saloon. Lou’s staff had pushed together a bunch of tables and reserved them for us right up front. “So, who else in this group sings?” Elle asked. “What?” I asked. “Tonight’s karaoke night. I am not going to be the only one from this group up there. Who else sings?” Before I could give any death glares to anyone, Charley answered, “Emme does.” I felt Zane’s hand tighten around my waist. “You do?” he asked. No way was I going to sing karaoke in front of not only all of our friends, but also everyone else in the saloon. I shrugged my shoulders. “I want to hear you sing, Emme,” Zane said. I shook my head. “Oh, come on just do it,” Nikki added. “I can’t. No way. Besides, the real performer in the group is Monroe. She’s got the

voice and the moves.” “I like your moves,” Zane said. I rolled my eyes at him. Monroe added fuel to the fire when she said, “You do it, I’ll go up after you.” I shook my head again. “What if I do it?” Zane asked. My head swung to his and I asked, “You sing?” “I will if you will,” he said, nonchalantly. Shit. I wanted to hear him sing. “Damn. I really want to hear you sing. Ok, if you sing, I’ll go after you.” “This is awesome. Maybe I’ll have the night off and all of you will have the guts to go up there and sing something,” Elle chimed in as she looked around the table. Sadly, nobody else volunteered. “Alright, Zane,” Nikki said. “You’re up.” “I can’t believe you are doing this,” I said to him as he pushed his chair back and stood. Zane winked at me and walked up on to the stage. He got the microphone in his hand and I sat there with my eyes fixed on him. His voice was absolutely amazing when he spoke; I could only imagine what he sounded like when he sang. I was sitting there looking at him when I was thrown into a fit of laughter as the music flowed through the speakers. “Oh my God,” I said, under my breath, the smile plastered across my face. “Is this why he is saved as Barry in your phone, Em?” Nikki shouted at me. I nodded. Then, Zane started singing Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe. The entire time he sang his eyes never left mine. I was mesmerized by him and couldn’t believe the ease with which he sang the song. Best of all was his incredible voice. I fucking loved every single second of it. He finished the song and we all cheered for him. When he made his way back to the table I stood, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him good. “I love you, baby. That was fantastic,” I said as I pulled my mouth from his. He grinned, gave me a wink, and tapped me on the ass before he said, “Your turn. Do me proud.” I knew immediately what song I was going to sing. It would definitely be a change from Zane’s more upbeat melody, but it was important to me to sing this song. I wanted Zane to hear it. I walked up on stage, entered my selection, and waited for the music. As the sound of the piano filtered through the speakers, I knew the girls all realized what song

I had chosen. Then, I started singing Jessie J’s Flashlight. Much like when he was singing, I didn’t take my eyes from Zane. His elbows were resting on his thighs as he leaned forward to watch me. I was no professional, but I’d always had a good voice. This song meant a lot to me in this moment so I went big with it. I made sure that in the spots where Jessie would be belting it out, I did, too. When I sang the last note, the room erupted in cheers. I looked around to see most of the room standing, clapping for me. Holy. Crap. I looked at my friends to see that our entire table was standing either cheering or whistling for me. Everyone, that is, except Zane. His elbows were still resting on his thighs, his head had dropped down, and his thumbs were pressed against his forehead. I went to him. The second I was in front of him I was about to kneel down, but he stood, wrapped his arms around my waist, and lifted me up. He brought his mouth to my ear and said, “Pure fucking gold, sweetheart. Fuck, I love you.” I smiled inwardly. Zane pulled his head back to look me in the eyes. I could see his were a bit glassy. He felt that song and I loved that he got it. It was important to me that he knew just how much he changed my life. It was then his turn to kiss me good. We didn’t care that we had an audience. When I was with him, nothing else mattered. Zane set me back down on my feet and our friends all gave me loads of praise. I didn’t know what to say so I said, “Well, if you think that was good, just wait until Monroe gets done. You won’t know what hit you. Nobody does karaoke like Monroe; she always leaves an impression.” “You’re turn, mama,” Nikki shouted. “Get your ass up there!” Monroe strutted up in her super short, black sequined mini-skirt and four-inch red bottom Christian Louboutins that made her already incredible legs look even more incredible. She had a spaghetti strap, black satin top that showed off the top swells of her breasts. I knew the second I saw her walking up to the stage that she planned to leave her mark. She made her selection, turned around, brought her eyes to Nikki, Charley, and finally me. She gave us a wink and then directed her attention to Stone. Instead of holding the microphone in her hand, she put it in the stand. Yep. This was going to be good. As soon as the music started Nikki, who was sitting between Luke and Stone, said, “Oh shit.” I watched as Stone glanced at her a minute, his brows drawn, before turning his attention back to Monroe. The first thirty seconds or so were instrumental. A very sexy instrumental. Monroe used those thirty seconds wisely. She then started singing Toni Braxton’s You’re Making Me High. I was grinning from ear to ear. Monroe was no fool. She knew exactly what she was doing and when I chanced another glance at Stone he was transfixed on her. The song was so sexually charged and Monroe did it justice. Her hands

roamed her body, sliding up her thighs, hips, and over her breasts as she delivered the sensual lyrics. Stone’s jaw was clenching. If he felt any sort of attraction to her I knew he had to be at least a little turned on. Heck, I was feeling slightly turned on by her performance. Monroe finished the song and got a standing ovation, with many more hoots and hollers than I received. We all stood as she walked off the stage. I looked over to Stone and saw that he was no longer in the spot he had been in all night. When I looked back to Monroe I saw she was no longer smiling and her eyes were following Stone who was now walking out of the saloon. We heard a drunk guy somewhere behind us yell out, “If he doesn’t want a piece of that, I’ll take you home with me and show you a good time!” Zane, Levi, Cruz, Wes, and Luke all turned to look at the guy and he shrunk down in his seat. When my eyes came back to Monroe I saw that she now had a single tear falling from one of her eyes. She was humiliated. I immediately ran up to her and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry, mama,” I whispered in her ear. “I am mortified,” she said as she held on to me. “Am I that awful? What is wrong with me?” “Nothing,” Zane said from beside us as he put his hand to her back. “Told you yesterday, don’t settle for less than what you deserve. I meant what I said; someone will be very lucky to have you. It’s just a shame that Stone’s being too much of a jackass right now to see that he could be that person. I’m sorry he walked out like that.” I looked to Zane and gave him a warm smile. I mouthed a thank you to him. “We need some drinks,” Nikki said. “We’ll get them,” Luke and Cruz answered in unison. Elle walked up to Monroe and me and said, “I know what just happened kind of sucks, but you both totally kicked ass. I might want to have you join me for a few numbers from now on when I’m performing.” “That would totally rock,” Nikki said. “I’m never getting on a stage again,” Monroe said. “You teach dance for a living, honey. You will. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up,” Charley said as she reached out her hand to Monroe and walked her off to the restroom. I turned back to Zane. There was a look of disappointment on his face. I tilted my head to the side and pulled my brows together. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m sorry he ruined your birthday celebration.” “He didn’t ruin it, Zane. I hate that Monroe put herself out there like that and got hurt, but I understand where Stone is coming from. I don’t know his reasons, but I know

what it’s like to feel like you can’t go after something you might really want. Give it some time; maybe things will change.” “This heart,” he said, pressing his fingertip to the middle of my chest. “I love it.” “That’s good, seeing how it’s yours forever now.” Zane grinned a sexy grin at me and pulled me in for a deep kiss. It was true. This man had my heart in his hands and I never doubted that he’d always protect it with everything he had. ####

About A.K. Evans A.K. Evans is a married mother of two boys residing in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. After graduating from Lafayette College in 2004 with two degrees (one in English and one in Economics & Business), she pursued a career in the insurance and financial services industry. Not long after, Evans realized the career was not for her. She went on to manage her husband’s performance automotive business and drive the shop race cars for the next thirteen years. While the business afforded her freedoms she wouldn’t necessarily have had in a typical 9-5 job, after eleven years she was no longer receiving personal fulfillment from her chosen career path. Following many discussions, lots of thought, and tons of encouragement, Andrea decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. Between her day job, writing, and homeschooling her two boys, Evans is left with very little free time left. When she finds scraps of spare time, Evans enjoys reading, doing buti yoga, watching NY Rangers hockey, dancing, and vacationing with her family. Andrea, her husband, and her children are currently working on taking road trips to visit all 50 states (though, Alaska and Hawaii might require flights).

Other Books by A.K. Evans The Everything Series Everything I Need Everything I Have Everything I Want Everything I Love - Coming Winter 2017/2018 The Cunningham Security Series Obsessed - Coming Winter 2017/2018

Connect with A.K. Evans To stay connected with A.K. Evans and receive all the first looks at upcoming releases, latest news, or to simply follow along on her journey, be sure to add or follow her on social media. You can also get the scoop by signing up for the website newsletter. Website: http://www.authorakevans.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AK-Evans-224899077955599/?ref=bookmarks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorakevans/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAKEvans Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/64525877-a-k-evans