Jake Whitley and I start off on the wrong foot. And then it goes downhill from there. After my career implodes, I’m determined to make a living with my new event planning business. But Jake and I are at odds from the moment I step on his private plane.

I’m a no-nonsense man. As the head of a business empire, I have to be. I’m logical, cut-throat, and don’t believe in cheesy things like marriage and happy ever afters. But when my best friend asks me to be Best Man, I can't say no. En route to the wedding, I get stuck at the airport when my flight is delayed, and this obnoxious woman sits next to me. Not only does she keep drinking champagne even though she obviously can’t hold her liquor, but she seems determined to push every single one of my buttons.

Being a single dad while managing one of the biggest businesses in New Orleans keeps me very busy. I spend my free time with my daughter, Bella—reading to her, styling her hair, or choosing nail polishes appropriate for an eight-year-old. But I’m okay with that, because she is my whole world. After my divorce, I made myself a promise: I wouldn’t date until Bella was older. Then, all my good intentions go up in smoke when I hire our newest chef for the flagship restaurant in the French Quarter.

Someone is stalking Audrey Young. And she has no idea why. Complicating matters is her landlord and new neighbor, Josiah Haven. She doesn’t usually go for the big, surly lumberjack type. But there’s something about that broody man. He intimidates her a little, but she kind of likes it. She could totally handle the mess that is her life, except the strange feeling of being watched is just the beginning. Next thing Audrey knows, she’s a target, and she doesn’t know who’s behind it or why. For Josiah Haven, none of that makes her his problem.

Landon Connor is a man of many talents - all business magazines agree on that. My family calls me a workaholic, but being driven and career-focused is what turned me into a hotshot CEO. I have good reasons for keeping my personal life on hold. Then Maddie Jennings walks into my life and makes me question all my choices. Maddie says she hasn't met anyone like me before, and hopes she never will again. Good. I can't stand the thought of anyone else getting the reactions I do out of her when I boss her around, when I stand just a little too close.

I swear I didn’t mean to flirt with the world-famous Brayden Clarke - especially not right in the middle of an interview for a job. It was a slip - or, perhaps, a gut reaction to his smoldering eyes and deep, sexy voice. To my total disbelief, they give me the assignment. My task is simple: advise Brayden and his band on how to communicate with their fans.

The first time I met Dawson Reed, we wound up in bed. The problem was, neither of us knew the other were there. When I woke up in the middle of the night and found a stranger next to me, instinct kicked in and I attacked the intruder. Only it turned out, the man wasn’t an intruder at all. Dawson had rented this cabin, too. Apparently, a system glitch allowed a duplicate booking. We’d soon find out we were in town for the same wedding, and Dawson was the groomsman I’d been warned about. He was as tall, dark and jaw-droppingly gorgeous as my best friend had described.

Henley Holloway is my boss’s daughter, and I’ve been assigned to mentor her. The problem is, I’m not looking to babysit anyone. But I’m determined to make partner at the firm, and this is the final obstacle in my way. So, I agree to take the little princess under my wing. I’ll work her so hard, she’ll beg me to leave her alone. But from the first day she walks into the office and spills scalding hot coffee on my chest—I’m intrigued.

It all starts as pretend. To everyone else, Hunter is the most powerful man in New York. Respected by his associates and feared by his competitors. But to me? He's just my best friend. my sexy-as-hell best friend. It was easy to agree to help him fake a romance. After all, who knows him like I do? Convincing his tight-knit family takes a little more: An unexpected kiss that makes my skin sizzle, my knees go weak. Before I know it, our banter turns to flirting and Hunter's hell-bent on charming me. On our first night together, we barely keep our hands off each other.

For a long time now, I’ve despised Weston Shaw. He’d been someone I’d admired, taking my favorite football team, the Colorado Mustangs, to the Super Bowl. But that all turned upside down after one night that had nothing to do with me. We share one undeniable connection: his son, Caleb. Unfortunately, the circumstances behind that have never been my story to tell. But now, the truth is out, and I’m left to deal with the consequences. I’m living under the same roof as Weston, and each day, I discover a side of him I never expected.

I never thought I’d see her again—the woman I left behind at the motel after our one-night stand. Picture my surprise when she strolls into the office as my new assistant. But wait, there’s more. I come home to find her with suitcases, nowhere to stay. I could decline to have her move in, yet I see a chance. My nosy aunt’s visiting, expecting to meet my non-existent spouse. My assistant’s onboard with the madness of playing my newlywed wife.

Brax Gallo doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Heck, he doesn’t stay in relationships long enough to develop real feelings for any woman. But one look at the sad girl alone at his bar, checking her phone, and gnawing her lip with worry and he’s absolutely smitten.

It’s not easy being a woman working in a male dominated field. Add in the fact that my uncle owns the baseball team I work for, and proving I belong here is a constant battle. Dating a player was never an option. Not if I wanted to keep a shred of dignity and respect. Then Ronan Sinclair sits down next to me in first class with his alluring blue eyes and hard-to-resist dimples. To say nothing of his kindness and charm, or his determination to convince me that a steamy vacation fling is what we both need.

A little white lie never hurt anyone . . . or so I thought. One fake date and we’d go our separate ways, at least that’s how hockey’s hottest golden boy—Nixon Sinclair—convinced me this would work. But it turns out, Nix had other plans. Now I’m sneaking around with my brother’s teammate, refusing to admit he’s everything I want but never knew I needed.

Two weeks in a tiny house in a small town with the woman who broke my heart. Or was it me who broke hers? It was complicated. And it was about to be a heck of a lot more complicated sharing one bed in the guest room with a woman who wasn’t mine anymore.

Jake Whitley and I start off on the wrong foot. And then it goes downhill from there. After my career implodes, I’m determined to make a living with my new event planning business. But Jake and I are at odds from the moment I step on his private plane.

As a divorced single father, I live by three rules: Make sure every day my daughter, Paisley, knows she’s number one in my life. No matter what, keep contact with my cheating ex-wife to a minimum, and turn Maxwell Wineries into a legacy that keeps Paisley set for life. When I hire Lexi to look after my daughter, I realize I need another rule: Don’t pursue Paisley’s nanny. But even if I had that rule it wouldn’t matter. Because I'm breaking it already.

River Tate is a god on campus. The king of football. A tattooed bad boy with gunmetal eyes that see right through you. The only chink in his armor is HER, the girl he pretends doesn't exist, the forbidden one with the shy smile and lavender hair. Anastasia Bailey is a nobody.

Being a single dad while managing one of the biggest businesses in New Orleans keeps me very busy. I spend my free time with my daughter, Bella—reading to her, styling her hair, or choosing nail polishes appropriate for an eight-year-old. But I’m okay with that, because she is my whole world. After my divorce, I made myself a promise: I wouldn’t date until Bella was older. Then, all my good intentions go up in smoke when I hire our newest chef for the flagship restaurant in the French Quarter.

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

My new client is trouble. From the moment I step into his office, he makes it clear that he wants me. I am the marketing consultant for his jewelry empire. Daydreaming about the hot CEO is definitely not on my to-do list. Neither is doing said CEO. But he breaks down all my defenses, until I'm ready to break all the rules for him, and I discover that it's all more fun if it's forbidden. But what happens when we get caught?

It all starts as pretend. To everyone else, Hunter is the most powerful man in New York. Respected by his associates and feared by his competitors. But to me? He's just my best friend. my sexy-as-hell best friend. It was easy to agree to help him fake a romance. After all, who knows him like I do? Convincing his tight-knit family takes a little more: An unexpected kiss that makes my skin sizzle, my knees go weak. Before I know it, our banter turns to flirting and Hunter's hell-bent on charming me. On our first night together, we barely keep our hands off each other.

I’m a no-nonsense man. As the head of a business empire, I have to be. I’m logical, cut-throat, and don’t believe in cheesy things like marriage and happy ever afters. But when my best friend asks me to be Best Man, I can't say no. En route to the wedding, I get stuck at the airport when my flight is delayed, and this obnoxious woman sits next to me. Not only does she keep drinking champagne even though she obviously can’t hold her liquor, but she seems determined to push every single one of my buttons.

Six months in Italy was precisely what Mimi Albizia needed to move on from an incident that cracked her trust in men. Just as she is ready to resume her old life in Boston, charming—and very sexy—Jake Bellini swoops into her life and proves that not all men are jerks. But with their lives thousands of miles apart, a relationship is impossible. If only she could stop thinking about him…

I knew it was a bad idea to get on the elevator. Because now, I have three problems. Number one, I’m stuck in the elevator. Number two, I’m soaking wet from the rain. Number three, he got in before the doors closed. Miles Humphries. My neighbor. The one I hate. The biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Mr. Bachelor-for-Life and I, Rose Taylor, are like night and day. Imagine my jaw dropping when he asks me to be his fake fiancée. And move in with him. Together with my cat. Hello? That’s disaster waiting to happen. But then he makes me an offer I can’t refuse.

Maximo and I, we were definitely a fairy tale. Not the cleaned-up, sanitized ones where life’s problems are solved with a smile and a song. We were the old-school kind. A twisted tales packed with murder, violence, and tragic beginnings. Okay, so maybe we weren’t a traditional fairy tale. After all, Maximo was more villain than prince. He was scarily sexy. Devilishly charming. Controlling, possessive, and dangerous. Especially when it came to me. His little dove. And heaven help anyone who tried to free me from my gilded cage.

After Serena's boyfriend of six years abruptly leaves her, she indulges in mountains of chocolate. When that doesn't mend her broken heart, her friends convince her that a night out is just what the doctor ordered. That night she meets James. The encounter is breathtaking. Electrifying. And best not repeated. James is a man who has amassed a fortune by taking risks. He's charming, seductive, and looking for fun. He's the exact opposite of Serena. But sometimes opposites attract. Sometimes they give in to burning passion. But are they meant for each other?

Falcon Bellamy spent years locked up for a crime he didn’t commit, which shattered his dream of serving his country as a Navy SEAL. When he's granted early parole to help with a family emergency, he’s determined to reclaim his life. The last thing Falcon wants or needs is a relationship, but when he meets his beautiful parole officer, he knows he's in trouble.

Sienna Hensley loves everything about the Christmas season, from hanging decorations to the cozy get-togethers with her family. Despite being part of the well-known Bennett family, Sienna is determined to first gather experience before joining their business. Her job at Statham department store is perfect for that. But her new boss, Winston, is going to be a slight problem. He is broody, dictatorial, and sexy as all get out. For Winston Statham, Christmas is just a reminder of the deadline looming ahead this year. Saving the store his parents built is his top priority.

One of the wealthiest Russian oligarchs, Alex Volkov is as ruthless as he is magnetic. He always gets what he wants, and what he wants is me, in his bed. He’s the kind of trouble every woman should run from. The bullet his bodyguard took for him proves that. I should stay far away, but for one night, I give in to temptation. Before I know it, he’s pulling me deeper into his world of excess and violence, invading not only my life but my heart. How much trust can I place in a man so dangerous? How much do I dare risk for his love?