Zane (The Bad Boys of Saddle Creek #1)

by Kat Baxter

Do you want me to put on a condom, or are you on the pill? I’m clean and haven’t been with anyone in a very long time.” Her head tilts on the mattress. “How long?” “Years. It’s been years, Emmy.” “I didn’t realize you were celibate. I mean, not that it was any of my business.”

I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my life, but even I was smart enough to see how special she was. I made plenty of mistakes getting from there to here. There were a couple of years when I pretty much fucked any woman I could, thinking I could fuck away my feelings for Emmy. And let me tell you, I was lucky that I didn’t screw up my whole life during that time. Lucky I didn’t get some woman pregnant or catch anything. Lucky that my behavior didn’t disgust Emmy and make her end our friendship. Thank God, it didn’t take me long to realize I was being a dumbass and that no other woman in the world could replace her. So, yeah, maybe I earned my reputation for being wild, but it’s not who I am. Not anymore. Despite the tattoos and piercings. “I’m not that wild,” I say aloud. “Not anymore.” Not since I’ve pretty much devoted myself to her. She gives a little eye roll. “But look at you.”

“You told me so many times over the years that you were not a couple person. You’d never be in a romantic or physical relationship. So, I became your friend because I thought it was the only way I’d ever have you. I wasn’t going to squander that opportunity for anything.”