Showing results by narrator "Stephen Dexter" in All Categories

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

Bull riding is all Gavin’s known for years, but when it’s time to retire, he can’t let go of the reckless lifestyle. He finds a job that brings him to a small-town Texas ranch and face-to-face with the woman who snuck out after their one-night stand. She can pretend she’s over him, but he’s not letting her go that easily. After months of giving her space, Gavin’s tired of waiting for Maize to admit what he knows they both want - a second round between the sheets. It may only take eight seconds to win a championship, but he’ll prove to her that he can go all night long. 

Selfish. That's the only way Andrew will ever see me. An abused boy who grew up and became a defense attorney for the rich and famous. I'll never forget the look on his face when I told him. The hurt and disgust I saw in his eyes as I stomped all over his dreams. He left me behind, convincing me he'd hate me forever. Now, circumstances have brought me back into his life. I have one more chance to prove I'm not the man he thinks I am. I'll do anything to prove I'm worthy of him.

Here’s the thing: I’m not a bad guy. Lying to Mia wasn’t part of the plan. Finding success as a romance author using a female pen name wasn’t part of the plan, either. But sometimes, life takes unexpected turns. Like realizing the woman you’re falling for is your alter ego’s online best friend.

Settling down and starting a family is something Diesel has considered, regardless of his one-night-stand reputation. However, he just might be single forever since who he wants is off-limits - his best friend’s little sister. He’s been in love with her for years, but betraying his friendship could ruin everything. Rowan Bishop is over men, especially after finding out her boyfriend cheated and left her heartbroken. After graduating from college, she’s back home and has to face the one guy who purposely gets under her skin - her older brother’s best friend.

We were high school sweethearts with our futures planned, together every step of the way. Then one day, he disappeared. I was shattered, left with questions and doubts. I've worked hard to rebuild my future, to create a different life. And I have. Good job, good friends...but something's missing. A decade later, he's back in my life. But he's changed. Gone is the happy-go-lucky boy I knew, replaced by a brooding, mysterious beast of a man.

Pippa just showed up uninvited with plans of staying the weekend. I can hardly handle an hour with her, let alone two days. Despite more than a year of dodging her, nothing has changed. She’s the only woman I want. Smart and sexy and bold. My best friend’s little sister. Forbidden. Denying my desire for her is torture. And she doesn’t make it easy. She wants me, too. The thing is, making her mine means ruining my best friend.

Amara is my dark obsession. She was promised to me in a deal she knows nothing about. Four years ago, I sent her away to protect her from the life I live as the son of a crime lord. Now her brother—my best friend—is dead, and though I wasn’t there for him in the end, I intend to look after his little sister. I should stay in the shadows, let her live the life her brother wanted for her, but she’s in trouble in more ways than one, and I’m the only one who can save her...but I’ll have to break her first.

Griffin: All it takes is four days to change my carefully planned-out life. Four days to fall for Peyton Monroe. Four days to convince her to give me . . . us a chance. Before her, baseball was the center of my world. Being the best. Getting a full-ride scholarship. Getting drafted. Going pro. But from the moment my frisbee lands at her feet on the beach, I can't stop thinking about her. She's beautiful, funny, smart . . . and lives thirteen hours away. Long-distance love is a complication I should avoid, but staying away from Peyton is not an option.

For Hunter, what should be an easy job of finding another veteran’s long-lost brother has turned up nothing but dead ends. Even worse, it uncovered problems his team thought had long since been buried. Down to his last lead, he tracks down a woman who has his protective instincts kicking in for reasons he can’t fully understand. While her expressive dark eyes and generous curves catch his attention, it’s her fiery temper that holds it.

I never knew what hit me. Rex stormed into my little world with two adorable twin boys and no apologies. Bearish. Short-fused. Consuming. Huge. Torturously gorgeous. Leave-your-heart-in-pieces wrong. Did I mention HUGE? He's instant trouble the second he checks into our lodge and my overprotective grandpa hires him. Then I catch him staring with that knowing ache in his eyes. I forget what trouble even means. He also needs a nanny. Sold.  

After receiving a lead from an unlikely source, Juliana, the mortician tasked with the bodies of victims of the "Carolina Creeper", the South’s most notorious serial killer in decades, sets off to New Orleans in search of Theresa Morris, an heiress and presumably the Creeper’s only surviving victim. Theresa now goes by “Tess” and is a shadow of her former heiress self. She’s also being pursued by famous novelist Michael, who sets his sights on Tess as the muse of his work-in-progress, oblivious to her former identity.

Parker: Of all the hot guys in the club, of course I find myself tangled up with a baseball player. Our chemistry is out of the park, igniting as his athletic body moves next to mine. I know exactly who he is, but the infamous Holden Bailey has no idea who I am, or my connection to the team. I prefer it that way. I give in to one dance with Holden and send him home alone. He can have any woman he wants, but for some reason, he wants me. His pursuit is relentless. He wrote the playbook on being a player, though. Giving in could cost me my heart.

Being a superhero is exhausting - Nicole knows that well. Since the Gods have done nothing but put her through unimaginable tortures, she’d have every reason to join the Corpse King in his quest for revenge. Yet, joining the vengeful king would be a terrible and drastic action. As she tries to stop him from leaving Olympus, after kidnapping the 12 Hours, Nicole’s power arises - revealing that she can jump through time. An ability unheard of by the Gods, because only Chronos himself can control time…. And, now that the Corpse King knows Nicole’s secret, her life is in jeopardy.

I was starting to think I knew what I was dealing with here at the university best known as Villain Academy. Not so much. But can I really trust a shocking revelation from someone who's proven to be my enemy? There's no way to answer that without diving in. If my mother is still out there alive, I have to uncover the truth. Even if it means putting myself back in the hands of the mages who've betrayed me before.

Every time I turn around, new opponents are looking to knock me down. No part of the magical community is safe. And now my enemies have left me with a horrible accusation hanging over my head, using so many tricks I can barely defend myself. If I want to clear my name and keep my freedom, I have to turn to the guys who once made my life hell. They've changed their tune and made amends, but how far can I really count on them? Especially if they find out that my greatest foes are within their families.

I've spent my entire life running from my past and staying out of trouble. That's how I've kept alive ever since my parents were killed by the Black Dragon, who's ruled the world under her oppressive talons for as long as anyone can remember. But it's hard to keep a low profile when four handsome strangers turn up in your village claiming you're destined to save the world. According to them, they've been chosen by the gods to become elemental dragons - and I'm their mate. 

The battle lines have been drawn. My fellow scions and I stand on one side and the power-hungry barons on the other. The scheme they've put in motion could shatter both our community and the non-magical world. Neither I nor the guys I love are willing to let that happen, but with the barons throwing both laws and parental bonds aside, we're short on options. The fate of our world could come down to a literal battle for our lives - one I'm not sure we have any hope of winning.

I've won one victory against my enemies, but it seems the barons are just getting started with their new, vicious schemes. They'll stop at nothing to expand their power. Any move I make to oppose them could have horrible consequences for both me and the guys I love. My only hope is playing along until the right opportunity comes my way. There's a chance I could sway my mother if I can earn her trust. She may be brutal when she feels she needs to be, but I've seen glimpses of a softer side underneath.

Having my birth mother back in my life? To say it's a big transition is an understatement. Especially when she's basically a stranger to me, and I'm not sure yet whether I can trust her to be any more maternal than the average fearmancer parent (which, spoiler, isn't much). Unfortunately, the other barons aren't giving me time to ease into the situation. They've turned their sights on my fellow scions and newfound lovers, putting them under fire from far too close to home. As if that wasn't enough, an unsettling plan is unfolding that threatens every student on campus.