by Elle Thorpe
The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, and I moaned in pain.
“Oh, that’s how they get you to moan like that, huh?”
Another backhand had my eye swelling.
I opened my mouth to scream, but he clapped one meaty hand over my lips, pushing the back of my head down into the sand with force.
“Now now,” he whispered, running his nose up my neck and to my ear. “No need for that. Hold still, and I’ll have you screaming in pleasure. If I move my hand, are you going to scream? Shake your head like a good girl.”
I shook my head.
He moved his hand.
“Fuck you,” I screamed in his face. “Hel—”
I only got half the word out when his fist slammed into my stomach. My whole body locked up. I’d never felt pain like that before. It spread out like a wildfire from my midsection, stealing my breath. Another blow across the face had me curling into a ball, instinctively trying to protect my head. I squeezed my eyes closed. There was no fighting him off. He was too big. Too strong. His fists rained pain all over my body, while he swore at me, called me a slut and a whore.
He didn’t let up. Not for a moment. His rage and his fury were all directed solely at me.
My mind drifted. The pain lessened. And as I floated in and out of the fading blackness, my only thought was I’d trusted all the wrong people. Banjo. Rafe. Owen. They’d all betrayed me.
But this wouldn’t be my downfall. They might have won this battle. But this was a war.
If I lived through this, I’d be their princess no longer.
I’d be their fucking queen.
And they’d bow to me. Whether they liked it or not.
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To be continued…
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Preorder book 2— Dangerous Little Secrets (Coming September 24th, 2020)
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Preorder book 3— Twisted Little Truths (Coming December 28th, 2020)
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Want more of Banjo and Rafe? Yeah, I did too! So I wrote them a steamy little bonus scene that takes place the morning after their almost threesome with Lacey. Download it from the bonus material section of my website https://www.ellethorpe.com/deviouslittleliarsbonus
While you’re waiting for your next bad boy fix…
If you loved Elle’s Saint View boys, try her contemporary romance Only You series. Here’s a sneak peek from book 1, Only the Positive.
“Reese, stop! I have HIV.”
The words exploded from his lips like a cannon blast, halting me in my tracks. The silence was deafening as I slowly turned around.
“What?” I honestly wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
He shook his head, one hand gripping the back of his neck. He took a step towards me. “There’s a chance I have HIV. A good chance. I’ve had direct exposure and I’m being tested for it.”
My hand flew to my mouth as my heart skipped a beat. HIV? As in AIDS?
He grimaced, his features twisting, his hurt clearly evident on his face. “And that’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone. I didn’t want to see that look of disgust. Especially not from you.”
I dropped my hand, shame creeping over me. I wasn’t disgusted, but shock rolled through me like a wave, making my movements sluggish. How was I supposed to react?
“Don’t worry, you can’t catch it from kissing, or from anything else we’ve done. You’re safe.”
All the heat and passion between us had disappeared, and where moments before his voice had been sweet, he now sounded sharp and sarcastic. He shook his head and jogged over to his horse.
My feet were rooted to the spot. I wasn’t responding the right way. I didn’t need his body language to confirm that. But my brain seemed to be disconnected from my body. I had no idea how to make it move, or make it talk. No idea how to make it do anything that would salvage this situation, so we could go back to making out. I touched my fingertips to my lips.
His face was blank when he turned back to face me.
“You see now why we had to stop? I told you it had nothing to do with you. Do you believe me now? I couldn’t stay away from you. So maybe you could do me a favour and stay away from me.”
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For this month only, the boxset is on sale for $5.99. Save over $10, off the regular price of all five books. Tap here to learn more.
Also by Elle Thorpe
The Only You series (complete)
*Only the Positive (Only You, #1) - Reese and Low.
*Only the Perfect (Only You, #2) - Jamison.
*Only the Truth - (Only You, bonus novella) - Bree.
*Only the Negatives (Only You, #3) - Gemma.
*Only the Beginning (Only You, #4) - Bianca and Riley.
*Only You boxset
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*All of Him - A single dad anthology, featuring Only the Lies. Only the Lies is a bonus, Only You novella.
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Dirty Cowboy series (complete)
*Talk Dirty, Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #1)
*Ride Dirty, Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #2)
*Sexy Dirty Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #3)
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*25 Reasons to Hate Christmas and Cowboys (a Dirty Cowboy bonus novella, set before Talk Dirty, Cowboy but can be read as a standalone, holiday romance)
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Saint View High series (coming July-December 2020)
*Devious Little Liars (Saint View High, #1)
*Dangerous Little Secrets (Saint View High, #2)
*Twisted Little Truths (Saint View High, #3)
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Buck Cowboys series (coming early 2021)
*Buck You! (Buck Cowboys, #1)
*TBA (Buck Cowboys, #2)
*TBA (Buck Cowboys, #3)
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Acknowledgments
I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Saint View High series. What a wild ride it’s been, getting inside these characters heads and digging out all their secrets. There’s so much more to come over the next two books. Believe me when I say, you ain’t see nothin’ yet.
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A huge thank you to all my readers, new and old. To the ones who have been here all along - I still pinch myself that you keep coming back. Thank you! And to the newbies, welcome aboard! Come hang out with us in my facebook group!
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Thank you to Jolie Vines, Zoe Ashwood, Emmy Ellis and Karen Hrdlicka who make up my stellar editing team. And an extra thanks to Jo and Zoe for being my author besties too! Thank you to Sara Massery for the chats, sprints and graphic design advice. Not to mention for the push to try a new genre. Thank you to Shellie, Lissanne and Dana for your early feedback.
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And as always, a huge thank you to my family. To Jira, Thomas, Flick, and Heidi. You four are the loves of my life and I couldn’t do any of this without you.
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Love, Elle x
About the Author
Elle Thorpe lives on the sunny east coast of Australia. When she’s not writing stories full of kissing, she’s a wife and mummy to three tiny humans. She’s also official ball thrower to one slobbery dog named Rollo. Yes, she named a female dog after a dirty hot character on Vikings. Don’t judge her. Elle is a complete and utter fangirl at heart, obsessing over The Walking Dead and Outlander to an unhealthy degree. But she wouldn’t change a thing.
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You can find her on Facebook or Instagram(@ellethorpebooks or hit the links below!) or at her website www.ellethorpe.com. If you love Elle’s work, please consider joining her Facebook fan group, Elle Thorpe’s Drama Llamas or joining her newsletter here. www.ellethorpe.com/newsletter
s: A High School Bully Romance (Saint View High Book 1)