The first time I met Hudson Rothschild was at a wedding. I’d received an unexpected invitation to one of the swankiest venues in the city. Hudson was a groomsman and quite possibly the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. He asked me to dance, and our chemistry was off the charts. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with him, considering the wedding I was at. But our connection was intense, and I was having a great time. Though the fun came to a screeching halt when Hudson figured out I wasn’t who I’d said I was.

Walking away from Sam Rutherford was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s been five years since that day, and I’ve given up on looking for love. My focus is on my career. And it’s paid off - I’m successfully managing the reelection for the mayor of New York City. Then, Sam walks into my office as the new legal counsel. Which means I have to see him every single day from now until November. We vow to remain professional, but it’s a small office. The sly glances and his blistering charm are unavoidable. It all feels so familiar. Too comfortable.

Court Kensington is a thorn in my side. I’m hired to clean up his badboy image, which would’ve been easy if my life wasn’t falling apart. First, I catch my movie star husband having an affair with his co-star. Then when I return to work, my job is at stake, because Court has gotten himself into trouble...again. Instead of getting him back in line, I find myself falling for his charm. And into his bed. And against the wall. And, and, and...Except Kensington charm shouldn’t work on me. Not when I’ve sworn to never ever sleep with a client. I had good intentions. I really did.

I'd dated his brother. He didn't remember, and I wish I could forget. I may have sworn off the Wright family a long time ago. But when I returned home, Jensen Wright crashed into my life with the confidence of a billionaire CEO and the sex appeal of a god. Even I couldn't resist our charged chemistry or the way he fit into my life like a missing puzzle piece. Too bad he'd forgotten the one thing that could destroy us. Because Jensen Wright doesn't share.

I signed on the dotted line. A marriage contract to seal my union with the devil. I thought I knew what I was doing. His money and name were mine for the taking. But Camden Percy always gets exactly what he wants. And what he wants is me - my body, my obedience, my surrender. He wants to break me. But I'm Katherine Van Pelt. I'll never break. I'll never beg. I'll never give in. Except I promised him one more thing - a baby.

I didn't mean to star in a sex tape, okay? It was just one of those unexplainable things. Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds. It just happened. Now, my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston's nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan. The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family's oil company. Little does she know, that's not the only pipe I'll be laying....

Lexington Dane was my brother’s best friend growing up. We did everything together. He taught me how to throw a punch, how to change a tire...and he taught me how to kiss. I fell hard and fast, and gave him all my firsts. I promised I’d wait for him.... But I’m done waiting, because he went off to college and never came back. He took his fancy business degree and moved to New York City, where he promptly became a real estate mogul - turning every penthouse and apartment project he touched into gold. 

Author K. A. Linde presents One Cruel Night, a prequel to the Cruel series.

Workaholic billionaire Sawyer Carlyle may have joked he needed a buffer from their marriage-obsessed mom, but he didn't need a waiting room filled with candidates to further distract him. (Thanks, bro.) But when a sexy job applicant shoos his mom and the socialite in tow out of his office, Sawyer sees the genius of the plan. And the woman. In fact, Miss Clover Lee might just get the fastest promotion in history, from buffer to fake fiancé....

Cutler Ryder was everything I wasn’t. He was the hockey star. I was an outcast. He was best friends with my stepbrother, that same stepbrother who hated me. His two parents loved him. My mom was a junkie. My dad barely knew me. Years passed. I got my life together. Cut went onto NHL stardom. Then there was a text. 

It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good, until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever - and that old humiliation hits hard. I recognize him immediately. The hottest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league. But then he kisses me. And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything. Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months.

I’m not boyfriend material. If a trail of broken hearts and a piss-poor record of failed relationships have taught me anything, it’s this. My buddies are happy to give me shit about my latest breakup from here to next Sunday. Thanks, but I’d rather have a root canal. And a vasectomy. At the same time. Relief comes in an unlikely package - the gorgeous and feisty Maren. She just so happens to be my best friend’s sister, so that’s not awkward at all.

In the morning, she was gone and had taken my solace with her. I left for the military that day, vowing never to return to Pennsylvania. When my father dies, I’m forced to go home to bury him. At least I'll finally be rid of his farm, which is grown over and tangled with memories I've fought to forget. And that’s when I find her. She’s even more beautiful than I remember and has the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen. Years have passed, but my feelings are the same, and this time I refuse to let her go. They say you can't bury the past, and they're right.

Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer. After that night, we became friends. He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff. But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer. Until one night we crossed the line.  

At first, the request seemed simple - sign a new athlete to the agency. Then I found out the new athlete was none other than the most wanted man in hockey today: Hunter Maddox. Gifted. Sexy. At the top of his game. And the only man who has ever broken my heart. If signing him will help save our family business, I’ll swallow my pride and do what’s asked. But when it becomes clear his uncharacteristic antics off the ice are a hint of something deeper, keeping things strictly professional between us becomes more than complicated. But I know better than to cross that line.