Total pages in book: 10
Estimated words: 9381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 47(@200wpm)___ 38(@250wpm)___ 31(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 9381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 47(@200wpm)___ 38(@250wpm)___ 31(@300wpm)
Declan
I've loved Penelope Draco since the moment I set eyes on her.
But having one piece of her heart was better than having none of it at all…
So I kept my secret just to keep her close.
Finding out that I might lose her anyway is killing me.
I won't let that happen.
She belongs to me. She always has.
It's beyond time she realizes it.
Pen
Watching my best friend and bandmate love someone who isn't me will destroy me.
But now that we're on top of the world, it's only a matter of time before it happens.
So I'm quitting the band to protect my heart.
Telling him is the hardest thing I've ever done.
He's my best friend. I'd do anything for him.
I just never expected him to have secrets as big as my own…
If you enjoy sweet and steamy friends-to-lovers romance featuring possessive heroes and curvy heroines, you'll love Declan and Pen!
*A shorter version of Fallen Saint was originally published in Rock Me Tender, an exclusive, limited-edition anthology not available for purchase.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Declan
"Jesus Christ," I growl as Penelope Draco, drummer for our band, the Vengeful Saints, throws her long blonde hair over her shoulder and rises from behind her drum set to dance with Saint Greenway, shaking her hips in a tight leather skirt. The damn thing molds to her curvy body, showing off her round ass and sexy thighs.
It looks incredible on her.
It'd look even better on my bedroom floor.
But let's be honest…that isn't ever going to happen. I've been in love with Pen since she joined the band five years ago. Our chemistry is undeniable—everyone has seen it. But to her, I've always just been Declan Riser, her badass best friend. That's all I'll ever be to her.
I still follow her around like a lost puppy. Everywhere she goes, I'm right beside her. But she doesn't notice. She thinks I'm just being a good friend and that I'm protective. And I'm so fucking in love with her, I'll take it.
Frankly, I'd rather have one piece of her heart than none of it at all.
Best friend is a whole helluva lot better than guy she used to know.
"Shake it, Pen!" Jace calls, making her throw her head back and laugh.
The breathless sound rolls over me, making my cock throb. I swear to Christ, that laugh haunts my dreams. Her smile is ingrained in my psyche. Every fucking thing about her plays on repeat in my head like a song. I know every line, every verse, every note. And I love every single one. There isn't a damn thing about her that doesn't make my heart race or light me up. She's perfect from her blonde head to her always-cold toes.
The day she decides to enter the dating pool is the day my goddamn world ends. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to survive losing my little rebel to another man.
Thank God I haven't had to find out yet.
She writes these incredible fucking love songs, but she always swears there's no one inspiring them. Part of me is afraid she's lying about that. The other part is glad as hell our lives haven't been conducive to dating for the last five years.
I realize how fucked up it is to be grateful that our lives have been a nightmare for so long…but part of me is grateful anyway. We shot to stardom fast and were so focused on the music that we didn't have time for much else. Dating wasn't an option when we were rushing from show to show and city to city every goddamn night.
And then things with Saint went sideways. He was always a wild card, always trying to prove something to the world and be who he thought they wanted him to be. But after he flipped his car and nearly killed his sister two years ago, things got dark. He and his brother mostly stopped talking. He started avoiding his family out of guilt. His reputation took a hit—and so did ours.
For a while, the whole fucking world hated him. And because they hated him, they hated us, too.
The regret was the worst part for him. He felt like he destroyed his sister's life, his own…and all of ours. We've spent a lot of the last two years just trying to keep him from spiraling. We've kept our heads down and tried like hell not to make waves. The last fucking thing he needed was any of us adding to the shitstorm already pelting him.
What happened nearly destroyed him. He was lost for a long fucking time, barely making it through every day. But he's finally in a good place. He and his brother have mended fences. His sister is doing great. His wife, Everleigh, keeps him grounded. And we're on top of the world again.
It's different this time, though. I think we're all just done with fame and all the bullshit that comes with it. Once, we would have given up everything for it. And then we realized just how high the price could be.
It's not fucking worth it in the end.
I would have walked away a long time ago, but I stayed for Pen. I go where she goes. And I'm fucking glad I stayed. Because this version of Vengeful Saints? This is what we always should have been. There's no drama, no bullshit. It's finally just about us and the music.
But I don't know how much longer I can survive being her best friend when the only thing I really want is her in my arms, where she belongs.
Saint holds his microphone out to her. She leans down and belts the lyrics of Pretty Little Thing into it, shimmying her hips. At the bridge, she drops back down into her seat and launches into her drum solo, her green eyes shining. Her sticks go spinning as she rocks out as if this were a concert and not a simple rehearsal. There is no marking with Pen. She gives one hundred percent every single time.