Bryna feels his eyes on her. Hot, seductive, enticing. He's at least 10 years older than her 17 years, and he knows exactly what he's doing to her with that look. Walking away would be the smart thing to do...but she can't. Not that first night when he takes her home and claims her body. Not when he shows up in her life again with expensive gifts to win her trust. Not even when she's falling for him, and everything else is falling apart....

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

I'm in love with two men. But I can only marry one. And today is my wedding day. The bridesmaids button my wedding dress. They titter excitedly as the music begins. My groom is waiting for me. I walk down the aisle prepared to say I do. All according to plan.

When Liz Dougherty’s first reporting assignment for her North Carolina college newspaper finds her covering a state senator’s impromptu press conference, she has no idea how drastically her life is about to change. Senator Brady Maxwell may look the part with his devastating good looks and impeccable style, but his politics rub Liz the wrong way, and she’s not going to let him off easy. Liz’s hardball question catches Brady off guard and shows her editor, Hayden Lane, that she’s headed places as journalist. But to Liz’s surprise, she’s also headed for a secret, high-stakes romance with Brady Maxwell.

I shouldn’t have hooked up with my one-night stand...again. To be fair, I was having the worst day of my life. I was sure that nothing else could go wrong. Then in walks Jordan Wright. We have a heated history, and I’ve been avoiding him. Not least of all because he’s a hundred percent my type with those big brown eyes, a ripped body, and his blisteringly broody charm. I said I’d never go near him again. But he’s there for me when I need him. And well, old habits die hard.

Once I saw Marnie Long, a sassy, sultry, charismatic older woman in a bar, I couldn’t peel my eyes off her. I wanted her. At least, for one night. I’m way too busy with my career these days for anything more. As it turned out, after recently getting burned, Marnie was on the same page as me—all she wanted was one night of fun. I was happy to be of service. What I didn’t expect during our night together, however, was how deeply we connected. Also, how much I was dying to see her again the next morning.

Grant Manwhore. Adrenaline junkie. Lead singer of ContraBand. What you see is what you get. I make no apologies for my actions, and by now no one expects any from me. I live my life the way I want, and as long as it pushes the demons back, then I'm solid. I've never needed a chick for more than a good lay. Why would I need just one when I can have a different one every night? Until she walks into my world.

After failing my last semester of grad school, I decided to come back to my hometown and wallow in my boyfriend’s sympathetic arms. Instead, he proceeded to dump me...for being boring! Now, I'm not typically a spiteful person, but there's only so much I can take. Hence why I’m holding the box of his most cherished possessions...stolen possessions no less!

Jack and Lexi never had a typical relationship. After two years without speaking, she receives a phone call that changes everything. He unexpectedly asks her to convince the new girl, Bekah, that he's ready to commit. Jack is calling now after everything they had been through because there is another woman. She can't believe it. Follow Lexi in this heart wrenching drama as she relives her past relationship, or lack thereof, with Jack, and not just in her own mind, but to his fiancée-to-be. Throw in Bekah's hot brother who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, a past with more secrets to unravel than you can even imagine, and you get a recipe for disaster.

Life hasn't been easy for Charlie. Her mother was a monster. And when Charlie left home, there wasn't always a warm bed, food, or a hot shower. She figured out how to get by on her looks. When her mother dies and she comes home to put that part of her life behind her, she finds the diary. It fills her with rage. She's out for revenge. But along the way she meets him. Ethan DOES play by the rules. And at the top of his list is "Don't get involved with clients." Will he break his rules for Charlie?

Nick Fisher is State's most eligible bachelor - confident, creative, and driven - and is completely aware that every girl he knows is trying to land him. But Nick is more than the marketing genius everyone sees on the outside. In fact, his life is far more complicated than anyone suspects...even his own brothers. Jess Michaelson knows she shouldn't want Nick like all the other girls do, but she's crazy about him anyway.

I didn't plan on him...or for him. I didn't plan on anything that had to do with Cal Donovan from Boston. Meeting him was a complete and utter surprise, taking me completely off guard. I met new people every single day in my line of work, and none of them affected me. Isn't that just the way of things? You could meet a thousand people, and they'd all mean nothing to you, but then you'd meet that one and they suddenly meant everything.

I should have run the other way. Paid my tab and gone back to my room. But he was there. And he was…everything. I figured, what’s the harm in letting passion rule my decisions for one night? So what if he looks like the Devil in a suit? I’d be leaving in the morning, flying home to my pleasant but predictable life. I’d never see him again. Except I do. In the last place I expected. And now everything I’ve worked so hard for is in jeopardy.

For the last year, I’ve wanted someone I can’t have. The man my father built his latest multimillion-dollar business with. He’s nearly a decade older than I am, and he’s entirely forbidden. The fact that he’s never given me a second glance only makes me long for him more.

I'm a city boy, not a cowboy. I'm way out of my league on a horse ranch in Texas. Falling for the sexy horse vet was never my intention. Especially when I find out she could be dating a killer. Sneaking around with her? Not my brightest idea, but someone's got to protect her. It's just one summer. One casual fling. Until it becomes everything but.