Bane (Sinners of Saint)
Book #4
A COMPLETE standalone and a Sinners of Saint spin-off.Bane
Naked surfer. Habitual pothead. A con, a liar, a thief and a fraud.
Last I heard, he was extorting the rich and screwing their wives for a living.
Which is why I’m more than a little surprised to find him at my threshold, looking for my friendship, my services, and most puzzling of all—looking humbled.
Thing is, I’m on a boycott. Literally—I cut boys from my life. Permanently.
Problem is, Bane is not a boy, he is all man, and I’m falling, crashing, drowning in his sweet, perfect lies.
Jesse Carter
Hot as hell, cold as ice.
I wasn’t aware of her existence until a fat, juicy deal landed in my lap.
She’s a part of it, a little plaything to kill some time.
She is collateral, a means to an end, and a side-bonus for striking a deal with her oil tycoon stepdad.
More than anything, Jesse Carter is a tough nut to crack.
Little does she know, I have the teeth for it.
*This book contains material that might be offensive for some or elicit a strong emotional response.
Then.
A liar.
A con.
A godless thief.
My reputation was a big wave that I rode, one that swallowed everyone around me, drowning every attempt to fuck with what’s mine.
I’d been known as a stoner, but power was my real drug of choice. Money meant nothing. It was tangible, and therefore easy to lose. See, to me, people were a game. One I’d always known how to win.
Move the rooks around.
Change the queen when necessary.
Guard the king at all fucking times.
I was never distracted, never deterred, and never jealous.
So, imagine my surprise when I found myself being all three at once.
It was a siren with coal black hair who robbed me of riding the biggest wave I’d seen that summer. Of my precious attention. Of my goddamn breath.
She glided from the ocean to the beach like nightfall.
I crouched down, straddling my surfboard, gawking.
Edie and Beck stopped beside me, floating on their boards in my periphery.
“This one’s taken by Emery Wallace,” Edie had warned. Thief.
“This one’s the hottest masterpiece in town.” Beck had chuckled. Con.
“More importantly, she only dates rich bastards.” Liar.
I had all the ingredients to pull her in.
Her body was a patch of fresh snow. White, fair, like the sun shone through her, never quite soaking in. Her skin defied nature, her ass defied my sanity, but it was the words on her back that made my logic rebel.
It wasn’t her curves or the way she swayed her hips like a dangling, poisonous apple that warranted my reaction to her.
It was that tattoo I had noticed when she swam close to me earlier, the words trickling down the nape of her neck and back in a straight arrow.
My Whole Life Has Been Pledged to This Meeting with You
Pushkin.
I only knew one person who went gaga over the Russian poet, and, like the famous Alexander, he was currently six feet under.
My friends began to paddle back to shore. I couldn’t move. It felt like my balls were ten tons heavy. I didn’t believe in love at first sight. Lust, maybe, but even that wasn’t the word I was looking for. No. This girl fucking intrigued me.
“What’s her name?” I snatched Beck’s ankle, yanking him back to me. Edie stopped pedaling and looked back, her gaze ping-ponging between us.
“Doesn’t matter, bro.”
“What’s. Her. Name?” I repeated through a locked jaw.
“Dude, she’s, like, way young.”
“I will not repeat myself a third time.”
Beck’s throat bobbed with a swallow. He knew damn well that I didn’t mess around. If she was legal—it was on.
“Jesse Carter.”
Jesse Carter was going to be mine before she even knew me.
Before I even knew her.
Before her life turned upside down and her fate rewrote itself with her blood.
So here was the truth that even my lying ass wouldn’t admit later on in our story—I wanted her before.
Before she became business.
Before the truth caged her in.
Before the secrets gushed out.
I never did get to surf that day.
My surfboard broke.
Should have known it was an omen.
My heart was going to be next in line.
And for a small chick, she did one hell of a fucking job obliterating it.
My first book from Ms. Shen was Vicious and against all odds, I loved it. I say that because I'm pretty picky about the asshole-ishness of my heroes. And Vicious was waaay up there, but I still loved him. So I continued with the series, and by the time I got to Scandalous, I couldn't wait to read about Bane! He was definitely a side character that I was chomping at the bit to get more of. So I was (unusually) patient and finally he was here!
I absolutely LOVED this book! Like, loved so much I plan to order the paperback to add to my pretties on my shelves. I was hooked from page one and I couldn't put it down.
Bane is an asshole. A manwhore, literally. A con and a liar. But he's unapologetic and he owns it. He knows who and what he is, and if you have a problem with it, then you just have to deal with it. He's also an up and coming businessman. And for this he needs money. Enter Jesse's stepdad.
Jesse. She was fierce. It was an understated and hidden fierceness, but it was there. Her story completely broke my heart. I hated what she'd been through and I wanted so badly for her to be healed and have a happy life. Enter Bane ;)
These two start off on a rocky friendship that isn't based on truths. Bane is on a mission and Jesse just wants to be left alone. But as they spend more and more time together, Bane starts to see who she is behind her walls and Jesse unknowingly worms her way in his heart. On the surface they may seem like an unmatching pair, but in reality they were absolutely perfect for each other. They had major chemistry, witty banter and I ate it up. There are truths that come to light that I won't spoil, but I was on the edge of my seat waiting to get the details and see just what exactly happened! Omg it was devastating. I have to stop there before I give anything away...
This book was amazing. I really can't say enough good things about it. I know I will reread it in the near future because I just can't let it go. The writing was wonderful and Ms. Shen is definitely one of my all time favorite authors! Go read this book! ❤
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Vicious
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L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.
Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.
She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed
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