They call him The Mute for a reason.
Hard, cold and calculated, he rarely speaks.
When he does, it’s with disdain.
When he does, his words aren’t meant for me.
When he does, my stomach flips and my world tilts on its axis.
He is thirty-three.
I am eighteen.
He’s a single dad and my father’s business partner.
I’m just a kid to him and his enemy’s daughter.
He’s emotionally unavailable.
And I am…feeling. Feeling things I shouldn’t feel for him.
Trent Rexroth is going to break my heart. The writing isn’t just on the wall, it’s inked on my soul.
And yet, I can’t stay away.
A scandal is the last thing my family needs. But a scandal is what we’re going to give them.
And oh, what beautiful chaos it will be
Check out the other books in the Sinners of Saint Series – I LOVE these books and the Hot-Holes are deliciously addictive!
Defy is a smutty, insta-love, insta-lust short novella. Defy is a prequel to Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1). It is recommended, but unnecessary, to read Defy before reading Vicious.
First included in Hot for Teacher Anthology: 19 Stories Filled with Lust and Love.
My name is Melody Greene, and I have a confession to make.
I slept with my student, a senior in high school.
Multiple times.
I had multiple orgasms.
In multiple positions.
I slept with my student and I enjoyed it.
I slept with my student and I’d do it all over again if I could turn back time.
My name is Melody Greene, and I got kicked out of my position as a teacher and did my walk of shame a la Cersei Lannister from the principal’s office, minutes after said principal threatened to call the cops on me.
My name is Melody Greene, and I did something bad because it made me feel good.
Here is why it was totally worth it.
Emilia
They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true.The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. He is a brilliant lawyer. A skilled criminal. A beautiful liar. A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover.
Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him.
Vicious
She is a starving artist. Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom. Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down. She paid the price.
Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t. So she hates me. Big fucking deal. She better get used to me.
Rosie
They say that life is a beautiful lie and death a painful truth. They’re right.
No one has ever made me feel more alive than the guy who serves as a constant reminder that my clock is ticking.
He is my forbidden, shiny apple.
The striking fallacy to my blunt, raw, truth.
He is also my sister’s ex-boyfriend.
One thing you should know before you judge me;
I saw him first. I craved him first. I loved him first.
Eleven years later, he waltzed into my life, demanding a second chance.
Dean Cole wants to be my bronze horseman. My white knight has finally arrived. Hopefully, he isn’t too late.Dean
They say the brightest stars burn out the fastest. They’re right.
She sets my mind on fire.
All smart mouth, snarky attitude and a huge heart.
In a world where everything is dull, she shines like fucking Sirius.
Eleven years ago, fate tore us apart.
This time, I dare it to try.
Getting to her is a battlefield, but man, that’s why they call me Ruckus.
Rosie LeBlanc is about to find out how hard I can fight.
And conquering her will be the sweetest victory.
I L-O-V-E Trent SO much!!!
Keep reading to see the full Love Note!
Edie,
They say that nothing good ever grows from hate, but you know that’s bullshit because look at us.
We started as enemies—yes, that’s what we were. You were never too young, too weak, or too much of a teenager to be anything less than my equal, my match, my peer—and now we’re stronger than ever.
Hate was all around us. In your father. In Val. In me. Hate choked us and tried to pull us into a death grip, but wrestling out of it, we finally broke free. We found something so much bigger than hate.
Love.
It would have been so easy to turn my back and walk away from you.
You’re so young.
I’m so much older.
It looks so, so wrong.
If people judge us, I can’t even blame them. It looks pretty bad from the outside. A single-dad in his thirties. An eighteen-year-old girl in distress. The kind of shit Jerry Springer shows are made of.
On paper, we’re a disaster. In reality, we’re…everything. We are everything, Edie.
You’re irresistible, Mrs. Rexroth. Utterly and completely undeniable. I thought I’d never love a woman who is not my daughter, then you came into my life and proved me wrong.
I didn’t think I’d have more kids after Luna. I didn’t know who was more traumatized by the child-parent experience, me or her. But as we said our vows under a palm tree in Hawaii—the surfing capital of the US, you’d told me—I realized that I wanted more. I knew then that I wanted to have more kids, that I wanted to expand my family with you.
I don’t know what we’re having yet.
And I don’t even care if it’s a boy or a girl.
All I know is that this time it will be different.
Because we’re different. You and I, Edie. We’re the real deal.
I’m tucking this letter in the duffel bag you packed for the hospital, so you probably won’t read it until after giving birth to our child, but I needed to write it now.
In case I don’t say it (they do call me The Mute, after all).
Thank you for the gift.
For all the gifts, really.
And for being you.
Love,
Trent
L.J. Shen is a #1 Best-selling author of contemporary romance books. She lives in California with her husband, son and lazy cat.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading a good book with a glass of wine and catching up on her favorite HBO and Netflix shows.
Yeah, she’s a badass like that.
Omg! Trent ❤️
OMG…I love Trent & all the other Sinners Of Saint!
Oh my god, I’m a mess. 😭😭😭 i love Trent and Eddie’s story so much. 🖤