The Knight Bride Series: 3 Book Collection

By Chloe Kent

His Taken Bride: Book 1

All Everleigh wants to do is go on a seven-day cruise with her girlfriends for nothing but fun, sun, and sea. But then her father makes one uncharacteristic mistake and suddenly she's forced to marry Parker Knight the day before she's meant to board The Black Opal for her cruise.

What's a girl to do? Go on her cruise, of course!

As far as she's concerned the marriage is one of convenience and in name only, so they could easily go their separate ways.

But she soon realizes that no one disobeys Parker Knight without suffering the consequences.

Publisher's Note: His Taken Bride was originally featured in the free Kisses and Kink Bookfunnel anthology which is now no longer available. It has also undergone a substantial extension to the ending since then.

His Unwanted Bride: Book 2

A dark, forced marriage romance.

He doesn't want a bride, but if it means consummating the marriage to help his brother find answers, then so be it.

When his older brother's brand new wife is critically attacked at her bakery, Silas takes it upon himself to find out who the responsible party is. But the one man who can give him an answer demands something in return. He wants Silas to take his daughter as his bride.

Arabelle Davenport's life is turned upside down when her father suddenly and without a reason marries her off to a man she's never met before. Silas Knight. Cold. Dark. Dangerous. And earth-shatteringly gorgeous. He also says upfront they'll never be friends and Arabelle soon finds herself stuck in a marriage as his unwanted bride.

His Stolen Bride: Book 3

Finally armed with the name of the man responsible for the attack on Parker Knight's bride, Everleigh, the Knight brothers are unstoppable in delivering their vengeance.

But when Elliot Knight, the youngest, is called out personally nothing pleases him more than rising to the occasion. He plans to play with his enemy before he takes him out. And what better way than to steal the man's prized bride right from under his nose.

Vivian Anna Antonelli knows what she must do to ensure her family's safety. She has to marry a man she despises but nothing will stop her from keeping her family safe. No sacrifice too big. That is until she is caught up in the vengeance plot of the very gorgeous, very infuriating Elliot Knight who steals her away on her wedding day.

For every one attempt Vivian makes to escape Elliot and go back to the man she was supposed to marry, Elliot unleashes his dark and dangerously addictive touch on her.

But Vivian can't forget she's nothing but a pawn in his game of vengeance.

For a full reader experience The Knight Bride Series must be read in order:

Not for sensitive readers. These books contain explicit scenes.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chloe Kent
• Release date: Feb 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224346172

Book preview

THE KNIGHT BRIDE SERIES

3 BOOK COLLECTION

CHLOE KENT

Copyright © 2024 by Chloe Kent

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Join my newsletter, get a free ebook and keep up to date with all my book news!

Dear Reader

If you have any questions, please email me at [e-mail]

Hugs and Happy reading!

Chloe

CONTENT

HIS TAKEN BRIDE

HIS UNWANTED BRIDE

HIS STOLEN BRIDE

HIS TAKEN BRIDE

BOOK 1 of THE KNIGHT BRIDE SERIES

Copyright © 2022 by Chloe Kent

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Join my newsletter, get a free ebook and keep up to date with all my book news!

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter One

Parker Knight was a pompous billionaire and an arrogant jerk, and he could kiss her ass for all she cared.

No, scratch that, Everleigh Rose thought angrily. Parker Knight would not be coming anywhere near enough to kiss anything of hers, let alone her ass, even if the man had just made himself her husband.

Her freaking husband.

How did this even happen?

She was never supposed to meet him in real life. That wasn’t supposed to happen in this lifetime of hers. Parker Knight had been designated fantasy fodder from the first moment she had seen him and that was all. She daydreamed about him in a romantic setting. Okay, a very hot romantic setting.

Which girl wouldn’t?

He was in two words male magnificence.

When she had feasted her eyes on him for the first time, she had no idea about his possible affiliation with the mafia. While he portrayed an upright, honorable billionaire on the surface, with his hotels and casinos and resorts and islands, he apparently took care of his own dirty business behind the scenes.

There had been enough rumors and speculations, which had made it to the media about his involvement in the mafia, or that he was the mafia himself, of all things. Nothing could be proven though, which made him undeniably powerful and untouchable.

Sadly, even after digging up everything she could about him on the Internet, and becoming aware of who he might be, she still couldn’t erase him from her mind.

Or her body.

Telling herself those few articles about him were all just click bait, so she didn’t feel as if she had thrown her morals out of the window when she brought him, an alleged crime lord, into her bedroom night after night to star in her fantasies.

But it hadn’t mattered to her at all.

He didn’t know she existed, which was exactly how she preferred it. He didn’t need to know a twenty-three-year-old baker, with not a single glamorous bone in her body, without any sophistication or temptress traits, thought about him as much as Everleigh had.

She was, in a word, ordinary, tepid in the looks department, her fashion sense dependent on her bank balance but she had some good friends to enjoy life with. She was doing the best she could with what she was given.

And she was okay.

She didn’t belong in Parker Knight’s world whether he was a legitimate billionaire, or a mafia billionaire and he didn’t belong in her unspectacular world either.

That was up until her father had made one crazy mistake that changed her world forever.

She couldn’t believe how her life had taken such an epically wrong turn.

How could she possibly be Parker Knight’s wife?

Yet she had signed the marriage license, hadn’t she? That couldn’t be a dream, right?

She’d been warned by everyone in her family to follow his instructions without any deviations. Her two uncles, stunned by the turn of events, wholeheartedly believed her new husband’s nefarious reputation, so in the interest of her health and her longevity, they had begged her to follow his instructions.

Well, no. She had no plans to do that at all.

She didn’t care that he was considered a dangerous man.

He didn’t scare her, so no, she wasn’t going to be waiting patiently for him to send a car to her tiny apartment to collect her and then deposit her in his palatial home... as his wife.

He had graciously allowed her, through his lawyer as the messenger of course, twenty-four hours to pack up whatever she needed to bring with her and tie up any loose ends.

How kind of him. This after they had gotten married, and during which he had been entirely absent for the signing of the licenses.

He had sent over one of his henchmen... okay, his lawyer again, as a proxy.

So, it seemed fair that she did not show up for their marriage as well. In fact, the arrangement couldn’t suit her better. Besides, he only wanted the same thing as, at least, twenty other men before him had tried to get out of her.

Except he had succeeded because he was brutal and devious.

Why else would he want to marry her if not for that? She didn’t fit in his world any more than he fitted in hers.

But the ink had dried, and she was legally and binding Mrs. Parker Knight and unless she had as much money as he did, there was no way she could fight her way out of this marriage that was barely five minutes old. He had covered his bases and Everleigh was trapped.

But they both could give up all pretenses that this marriage was anything more than a farce and leave each other alone. He had it in writing. That was all he needed.

She angrily zipped up a suitcase, then started to tackle her toiletries, which she furiously stuffed into a small vanity case.

When her lips started to quiver, she sucked them in and shook her head. She wasn’t going to start crying over the fact that her father, who had been a social gambler at best, all his life, had gotten sucked in so badly one night, that he anted up his whole livelihood.

He had gambled in the wrong house, made the wrong enemy, and she was now the one to pay his debt.

Never in a million years would she have imagined that on waking up yesterday morning, her whole life as she knew it would be derailed. All because of Parker Knight.

A frantic call from her dad, one where he emphasized his life was over, had her scurrying out the door, her pajamas concealed by her coat, as she rushed to see her father.

She found him weeping silently in a disheveled suit, clearly from the night before, and looking as haggard as he had five years ago when her mother had passed away.

When she finally got him to tell her everything, she had been stunned. She also didn’t have the heart to ask her father what he had been thinking. He felt bad enough as it was.

He'd had a little too much to drink, then in a moment of delusional confidence, had gambled away not only the house Everleigh had grown up in but also the bakery she currently managed. The house and the bakery were two of her mother’s most treasured possessions besides of course her daughter and her husband.

The thought of her father having to give up the charming brick manor and the beloved, small bakery to a stranger devastated her as deeply as she had been when her mother had died. It would be like removing every physical trace of her existence.

The bakery was Everleigh’s whole life. It made just enough profit to ensure she got to open the doors the next day. Which was fine. She was happy.

She had inherited her mother’s talent for creating everything from elaborate wedding cakes to the perfect macaron. It was the only link she had left with her mother. She had grown up in the bakery, hanging onto her mother’s skirts as she baked and served faithful regular customers. The scent of vanilla and cinnamon and orange zest was synonymous with her childhood and awakened every memory she had about her mother. The bakery remained a priceless, irreplaceable connection for her. Just like the house served for her father and his connection to his wife.

By the time Everleigh’s uncle and aunt had arrived to try and help them, not that they could help cover the exorbitant amount required to clear the debt, her father had delivered the final blow:

Give me your daughter, and I’ll wipe out your debt.

The very words which Parker Knight had uttered to her father and what he had repeated verbatim when she had questioned him repeatedly.

Didn’t the man know what century they were in? No one in their right frame of mind would ask for something like that, which meant, apart from him being a bully, he was also deranged for wanting to marry a woman he didn’t even know from a box of cereal.

But it was at that moment that everything became crystal clear for Everleigh and at the same moment, she realized Parker Knight was nothing but a six-foot-three megalomaniac bully of the worst kind. And there was nothing anyone could do about it because he won—unfairly—but he had won.

As he had promised her father, Parker's lawyer had arrived promptly at nine that morning to conclude their business. The lawyer had brought with him two ginormous thugs in case her father didn’t do one of two things. Marry his daughter off or give up his house and the bakery immediately.

Everleigh had no choice. She either married him, or her father would forever be haunted by his one mistake, where he thought his luck would hold out in a game of poker against the devil himself.

After five years of grieving and only sometimes being aware of his daughter’s existence, giving up the house would send her father down an abyss he’d never return. He might have closed himself off from her when her mother had died, leaving her to grieve on her own, but nothing had changed for her. She would do anything for her father. Including this.

She married Parker Knight right there, in the living room of the house she had grown up in; her uncles and aunt watching helplessly, her father too distraught to lift his head from his hands.

And she, in her pajamas sticking out from under her coat, was married to Parker Knight, sans Parker Knight.

But it was only a marriage in name. She never wanted to see him for as long as she lived. Not that she had ever thought she would see him, but fate most assuredly had other ideas for her. He got what he wanted.

And it wasn’t her.

She knew all his actions had been premeditated. That it wasn’t a coincidence at all. He had sought out her father and gained what he wanted in the most underhanded way possible.

Everleigh’s grandmother had left her vast acres of land in a prime location in Montana, which surveyors had predicted was rich in oil. Everyone in the mining industry wanted that piece of land from her.

But the stipulation was the land would only become hers once she married. Everleigh had no intention of getting married. Not that a series of businessmen hadn’t tried to woo her for that exact reason.

She didn’t even date because she couldn’t trust anyone. If it weren’t for a clip on a news site about who owned the land and the clause that went with it, no one would know she existed.

But if she were honest, when all things were considered, she was a lot like her father, and he merely existed as an empty shell after the death of her mother.

She was afraid to love for that reason only, so it was just as well she couldn’t trust anyone to love her for herself or whether they wanted her for her land.

Since that choice was completely and forcefully removed from her control, she intended to put it behind her and carry on with her life.

Mr. Knight could have fun with the land he clearly so desperately wanted, given how he went about obtaining it.

Glancing once more around her tiny apartment, she carried her bags out, locked the door, and loaded her equally small car that had seen better days.

She didn’t take a moment to stall or think. She was afraid she would second-guess herself and change her mind about going on a seven-day, girls-only cruise with her friends when she had gotten married just thirty-six hours before. No, her suddenly being married wasn’t going to change anything about her life.

She and her friends had worked extremely hard to save up for the trip, and finally, the day had arrived. It was the first time in five years that she had taken time off from the bakery and she planned to relish every moment.

So, what if they could still only afford the standard package, the lowest tier of accommodations: it was a luxury liner, and they were resolute about having a blast.

Determined to push aside the new, very much-unwanted marital status of her life, she parked her car, gathered her luggage, and entered the port.

Yes, she was extremely early, but it was better being here than in her apartment when his car arrived for her.

Dragging her suitcase with her, she decided to check in before she got some coffee. She also sent texts to the friends' group chat to say she was ready and waiting and they all should hurry up. Not one of her friends was going to believe she was married. Maybe she wouldn’t even bring it up. It was bound to spoil her cruise. And the idea of losing her virginity on said cruise had come up more than once in her head but that happening was an impossibility for her now. She somehow couldn’t bring herself to do it now. Dammit.

She dropped off her bags with the luggage handlers and headed to the cruise terminal for check-in.

Ms. Rose? A smartly dressed check-in officer approached her, smiling broadly.

Yes, Everleigh said slowly, a frown deepening on her forehead.

If you’ll follow me, I’ll help you embark and show you to the lounge area, where you can relax and freshen up until departure.

Everleigh knew enough about that kind of special treatment not being common.

I’m actually going to wait for my friends, she said, glancing around the terminal. Also, it was far too early to embark.

Your friends will be taken care of as well. This way, please.

Okay, she said, then quickly texted her friends’ chat that she was embarking, and they really should hurry up. Maybe it was a perk for choosing the Black Opal cruise line. Who cared? Her holiday was finally going to start.

She was taken on board and directed to a beautiful lounge setting that shone with mahogany finishes and smelled like lavender.

A fruit basket donned a table and a bottle of champagne chilled next to it. There was also a box of imported chocolate and an array of nuts in crystal vases.

She twirled around the room and breathed in the luxury. She was fully aware their cabins would look nothing like this waiting area. None of her friends were swimming in money and they had saved hard for the trip.

Well, she was here now, and she vowed that Parker Knight would not intrude on her thoughts for the duration of the round-trip cruise from New York to the Bahamas.

She eyed the comfortable sofa and realized she hadn’t slept at all in twenty-four hours. Not since getting married the day before. She gratefully sat down and was enveloped in sheer bliss as she sank into the soft couch.

She allowed herself a moment to close her eyes, just one moment before she would force herself to splash some water on her face to wake herself up.

One moment turned out to be much longer. Somewhere along the line, she had lain down on her side for maximum comfort and when she awoke, she was completely disoriented. It took her a while to get her bearings.

But as soon as she realized she was on a ship, her level of excitement started to increase. She was finally on a much-deserved holiday with her favorite people. She wasn’t going to bring the baggage of her life with her on this trip, mostly because it would still be there when she returned.

She was going to have fun if it killed her.

Except something felt off.

Was the ship vibrating?

She quickly checked her phone and turned ice cold.

Hours had passed. She had been asleep for close to three hours already. Her friends had been frantically messaging her and calling her, and she had slept through it all.

She whisked through their messages, frowning deeply.

Their cruise tickets were canceled by the cruise line for no other reason than something had come up, and they were immediately refunded with a generous gratuity added for their inconvenience. They also had a choice to embark on a different cruise line if they wished, and it would be complimentary from The Black Opal—in other words, absolutely free.

Heaving heavily as she tried to make sense of it, she told herself to calm down and understand the facts, but the thing that bothered her the most was that her friends were asking her where she was when everyone who was meant to board The Black Opal had been refunded.

And worse, she was now certain the ship was moving. With her in it.

Panic soared, and for a moment her mind blanked completely.

She charged toward the glass door that led out onto a balcony to see exactly where she was. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as her brain asked a much scarier question. What if she had been locked in?

But before she made it to the glass doors, something changed in the atmosphere around her. Not daring to breathe, she slowly turned around.

A man dressed in a suit, with dark almost black hair, looking utterly and disturbingly magnificent, stood with his hands in his trouser pockets as two unbelievably green eyes looked back at her.

Parker Knight.

She stopped dead in her tracks, retreating a few steps away from him as she took in the sight of him.

His presence forced her to admit the truth.

Had it been any other man her father had crossed, which resulted in her having to marry him, she would have stayed and owned up to her new set of circumstances. She wasn’t a coward.

Any man except him.

She'd had a rather intimate kind of encounter with him once before, three years ago, which explained why she chose to run away and board the cruise instead of facing him again. An encounter that he didn’t even know he had involved in.

She had a strong urge to do the same thing she had done the instant her dad had dropped the name of the man who had the power to destroy them.

She had collapsed onto a sofa then in her family house, her knees too weak to carry her, and if it weren’t for the piece of furniture behind her, she would have sunk to the floor instead. The same urge to give in and curl into herself on the floor of the ship struck her now again. Tenfold.

She knew him, but he hadn’t known she existed that night.

Chapter Two

Everleigh may have been momentarily knocked off her axis, but her senses eventually returned, and lucky for her, her voice came back as well, ending her muted shock.

No, she said with absolute determination. You’re not here, she added as if her words had the power of magic, and he would disappear just because she had said so.

No. No. No.

Her whole plan in life was never to set eyes on him in person. Ever. She didn’t care that they were married. And if it meant she had to go on a lifelong cruise to escape him, that’s what she would do.

Unfortunately, her treacherous body had other ideas and heated up at the sight of him. Flashes of him that one night blitzed through her mind and warmed every part of her.

Nope.

But her gaze kept reverting to him, and she wanted to dig her eyes out because seeing him in person again after three years, taking up every bit of real estate in her head, had tossed her out to sea with no lifeline. Pun bloody-well intended.

No, wait, her brain told her silently. She was being drastic. There had to be a valid explanation for what was happening. But with every effort she made to stay logical, what her friends had told her about the whole cruise being canceled and everyone refunded, huge alarm bells set off in her head.

Somehow the notion that they had forgotten her on the ship started to make less sense now that Parker Knight stood in front of her.

Frantic, she looked around her, remembered the glass doors, and immediately whipped them open. She stepped out onto the balcony. The ship had left the port, and even though there was still land in sight, she just wasn’t a good enough swimmer to jump ship. Ahead, only an endless oasis of blue water awaited her.

But now was not the time to lose her head.

Taking a deep breath, she vowed to be calm.

Still ignoring his presence entirely, she grabbed her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. She didn’t know who exactly she was going to call, but she had to send out some message of distress to someone. Except her phone was useless.

You no longer need any cell or internet reception while you’re here with me, he said with as much lilt as he would have used to describe a mild weathered day.

Oh, god. Oh fuck.

Was he really real?

Your family and friends have been notified you are not to be disturbed.

Everleigh turned around and glared daggers at him. She stopped herself from having a complete meltdown in front of him and geared herself up for another battle.

I want to see the captain. I want to tell him I’m here against my will and that I would like him to turn this ship around immediately and take me back home.

She started to march toward the exit but had no choice but to pass by him.

He didn’t move, and her skin burned as she inhaled the scent of his cologne. Some part of her still held onto the hope that she had imagined him standing there, imagined his scent because it had lingered on her skin once before without him knowing.

More annoyed at her body’s unwarranted reaction to him, whether imagined or not, she yanked open the door and gasped when it led into a bedroom that took her breath away.

The stately furniture screamed exorbitance: the art, the décor, and every single thing about it was lush beauty, coupled with an understatement of extravagance.

She soon realized she hadn’t been placed in a waiting lounge. She had been waiting in a lounge that belonged to a high-end suite where clearly only billionaires were allowed to go.

Okay.

She straightened her shoulders, flicked her hair back, and quickly tried another door.

Fuck.

That door led to an intimate dining area.

Her frequent peeks at him didn’t serve her well. She had hoped he would disappear by now, but he remained larger than ever. And if her surreptitious glances his way were anything to go by, Parker Knight seemed bored with her attempts to pick the right door. He busied himself pouring champagne into one glass and what looked like whiskey into another.

The captain takes his orders only from me, he said when she finally opened a door that led onto a corridor.

Okay. There was no escaping that he was very, very real.

I’m sure he’ll be sympathetic to my cause when he finds me here against my will. She turned and took one step outside of the suite.

Everleigh, Parker said, and she wanted to die. Her name whispered from his mouth triggered a tsunami effect on her already taxed body.

She grappled for control. She would never for the life of her understand why she hesitated, why she turned around and faced him.

If you get lost, and you will, and I have to come and find you, and I will, you’re going to be in even bigger trouble than you are in right now.

His words were loaded with dark dominance and a hint of threat that instantly dampened her panties.

Against her will.

She consciously shook her head to clear it of the nonsensical reaction she was having to him. Hadn’t she tried for years to wean herself off from the image of him? Hadn’t she succeeded? No. The answer was no.

But maybe he was right. She envisioned the size of the ship in her mind when she had embarked. She was bound to get lost. She had never been on a ship before, and no, a tiny little boat didn’t count. She wouldn’t even know where to find the captain.

Heaving, she clenched her fingers and hoped she was able to articulate her words properly.

What are you doing here? she asked, unable to hide the incredulity from her voice anymore which also made her sound strained and almost hoarse. What is happening?

So, you know me, then? He smiled, and a cannonball knocked her heart sideways. She hated that he was so ridiculously good-looking; she wanted to scream at him for being unfairly favored that way and ruining her every thought when it came to other men.

But fuck. He wasn’t supposed to know she knew him, but it was too late now, and she had other things that needed to be taken care of, like why was he here? With her. On a ship. Seemingly alone?

What is going on? Why are you here? She started to pace, her default setting taking firm hold of her as she tried to understand everything but failed. I demand to know what’s going on, she asked through clenched teeth.

You’re on a ship, to be precise. He