Cruel Prince: A High School Bully Romance
Page 34
“Are you kidding? That’s a hell yes. Of course, I’ll move in with you.”
The relief on his face is apparent. “Good. Because I set up meetings with the landlords this afternoon.”
My stomach sinks like quicksand. “I can’t move in with you.”
He blanches. “The fuck you can’t. Why?”
It’s almost laughable that I forgot how broke I am. “I don’t have any money. I only got a partial scholarship to Duke’s. The rest is all loans—”
“You don’t have to pay for anything.” He kisses me slow and sweet and my heart swoops down to my toes. “I’ve got you. Always.”
“But I’m not a mooch.”
“No, you’re not. You’re mine.” His thumb strokes the edge of my jaw. “And I take care of what’s mine—what the hell?”
My eyes widen in shock as a blue butterfly lands on Jace’s nose.
Jace, however, doesn’t seem to share my sentiments. I stop him when he tries to swat it away.
“Dylan, there’s a butterfly…on my fucking face.”
My throat prickles as I recall what Sawyer told me that day in the graveyard.
“Jace.” I wait for him to look at me before I whisper, “Butterflies appear when angels are near.”
Preorder Ruthless Knight here
Royal Hearts Academy
Series Order:
Cruel Prince (Jace’s Book)
Ruthless Knight (Cole’s Book)
Wicked Princess (Bianca’s Book)
Join my newsletter and sign up for the latest news and updates on my books and releases:
http://signup.ashleyjadeauthor.com/
Resources
Help is only a phone call or e-mail away.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-8255
Available 24 hours everyday.
Website: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Chat: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/
If you or anyone you know is are struggling, I urge and I beg you to reach out.
You are never alone.
Acknowledgments
There's honestly no way I can possibly thank each and every one of you. You’re all amazing and I can’t do any of this without you. I’m also praying I didn’t leave anyone vital out, because man, that would suck.
I won’t go into how Devil’s Advocate was the hardest book for me to write, or how risky it was because I knew where this story was going back when I wrote The Devil and how I know if I had spilled early readers would have jumped ship. For those who stayed and didn’t give up on my vision—thank you. For those who loved it despite it being what you thought it would be—you have a piece of my heart. For those who loved it AND shared with others how much you did—you have a piece of my soul.
Kristy: I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for letting helping me out of my creative spiral and letting me talk and plot your ear off and untangling my brain when I was going crazy. I’m pretty sure I’d still be sitting at my desk having a panic attack over whether or not I could put my big girl panties on, pull the trigger, and write the damn story if it wasn’t for you. And that was just with the Devil. With Advocate you went above and beyond. There will never be a way to thank you that would do it justice, so just accept my lifetime of gratitude. This book wouldn’t have been finished without you, and I can’t thank you enough for not only being my right hand cheerleader, but bringing a special voice to Kristy. I’m sorry about killing you though.
Ellie: I love your face. I’m keeping you. Thank you for everything. I know it’s not easy working with my schedule and I know I probably drive you crazy. Even though you claim I don’t. I don’t know many editors who will do what you did for me. I love the crap out of you and I’m so thankful. Also, #PiranhaBlowJobsForTheWin
Brandi, Vickie, Jackie, Crystal, Rebecca, Mary, Dee (Chief Trejo), Jodie, and Kris.
You all have been vital to this process. Thank you so much for trusting me and giving me your input. Thank you for being there at all hours of the morning (or night) and putting everything aside to read my words. Thank you for your continued support and for being my cheerleaders. <3
Stacy Garcia: I love you. Thank you for not only reading Devil’s Advocate as I was writing, but also making gorgeous teasers!! You’re amazing, lady!!!
Candi: I think you deserve two awards. One for being so organized. And one for patience. Holy cannoli. If I had a penny for every time something changed with this release…I could probably by myself a notebook to write down deadlines and stick to them. Thank you so much for sticking with me!!!
Stephanie: Bahaha. I don’t know whether to apologize profusely or just keep saying thank you. I’m sure you didn’t expect all this…um, excitement when you signed on to be my agent. Thank you for sticking with me and being so incredible at what you do.
Lori—Thank you (yet again) for such a gorgeous cover and for making my vision come to life! You are such a beautiful, talented woman.
A VERY special shout out to these amazing authors who not only took a chance on this duet, but were so gracious and shared it with their own readers!
Isabella Starling, Tabatha Vargo, Kate Stewart, Lexi Ryan, Melissa Andrea, Mira lyn Kelly, Hayley Faiman, Abby Gale, Kailee Samuels, CoraLee June, Parker S. Huntington, Jade West, Amara Kent, and Lucy Smoke.
I seriously can’t thank you all enough.
And Readers,
Please—read them, Fall in love with them. And tell everyone you know about them. They are immensely talented, and they work their butts off. These authors don’t just bring you words on a page. They bring you stories that will break your heart in one chapter only to mend it the next. Stories that drive you outside your boxes (and usually your comfort zone). Stories that challenge you. Heal you. Stories that make you laugh. Make you cry. Inspire you. Make you angry. Make you swoon.
Stories that never fail to always make you feel. And THEN they go out of their way to tell you about books and authors THEY love. How amazing is that?
So please—review our books, spread the word, and share your knowledge of them with others just like they have. <3
My reader group—I have the best Angry Girls on the planet. I love you all so much. Thank you for all of your support and giving me someplace where I can be me and connect with all of you. You guys rock.
And Jesus…let me mention this because I forgot him in the last one. Mike. I love you. You’re my strength, my weakness, my everything. <3
Last but not least—to all my fellow underdogs in the world. We’re just Eden’s in the making, babes. Don’t give up. <3
About the Author
Want to be notified about my upcoming releases?https://goo.gl/n5Azwv
Ashley Jade craves tackling different genres and tropes within romance. Her first loves are New Adult Romance and Romantic Suspense, but she also writes everything in between including: contemporary romance, erotica, and dark romance.
Her characters are flawed and complex, and chances are you will hate them before you fall head over heels in love with them.
She's a die-hard lover of oxford commas, em dashes, music, coffee, and anything thought provoking...except for math.
Books make her heart beat faster and writing makes her soul come alive. She's always read books growing up and scribbled stories in her journal, and after having a strange dream one night; she decided to just go for it and publish her first series.
It was the best decision she ever made.
If she's not paying off student loan debt, working, or writing a novel—you can usually find her listening to music, hanging out with her readers online, and pondering the meaning of life.
Check out her social media pages for future novels.
She recently became hip and joined Twitter, so you can find her there, too.
She loves connecting with her readers—they make her world go round'.
~Happy Reading~
Feel free to email her with any questions /
comments: ashleyjadeauthor@gmail.com
For more news about what I’m working on next: Follow me on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashley-Jade/788137781302982
Other Books Written By Ashley Jade
Blame It on the Pain - Standalone
Blame It on the Shame - Trilogy (Parts 1-3)
Complicated Hearts - Duet (Books 1 & 2)
Complicated Parts - Series (Books 1 & 2 Out Now)
Thanks for Reading!
Please follow me online for more.
<3 Ashley Jade