"I was looking at a couple of companies, and Adam & Eve's values are in line with what I want," Kross told XBIZ. "I have a lot of respect for the people in the company and I have a lot of respect for where the company is going. It worked out.

"I'm looking forward to the promotional stuff. I love the boy/girl videos, but I'm not going to be doing them that often. They had me traveling a couple times with them, doing signings. They brought me to New York twice now. It's fun. They put myself and Bree [Olson] on the Opie and Anthony show, and they sent me to the 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' show alone. I'm not really doing this so much for the money as for the experience, and Adam & Eve really offers a good time."

A native of Sacramento and a lifelong horse rider and animal lover, Kross started club dancing in order to raise money for a pony that was scheduled to be slaughtered.

She currently owns three horses ("All boys — mares are bitchy.") and she said, "My ultimate goal is to one day own a horse farm. I have always wanted to rescue animals and create a safe place for them to live out their days."

Now 22, Kross was a club dancer at 18 ("I'm not tall enough or long enough to be a ballet dancer," she said. "I jumped into some aspects of the adult business right away.") She was a nude model before becoming a contract performer for a year at Vivid Entertainment, where she did her first video performance in October 2006. She moved to Southern California "in the last year, when I started doing hardcore videos."

Vivid has released three videos with her.

"You know, I'm unsure how many videos I did for them," Kross said in December. "Four, possibly five. The last time I shot with them, there was a lot of shooting, but it was up in the air what they were doing with it. It had a babysitter theme, so there is one huge babysitter movie coming out. Or two smaller ones."

Since leaving Vivid, Kross has performed in "Meet Kayden" for NinnWorx_SR, and "Bree's Slumber Party" and "Bree & Kayden" with Bree Olson for Adam & Eve, which are scheduled for release later this year.

"Kayden is a rare find in this industry," producer Mike South told XBIZ. "She is stunningly pretty with a very pleasant personality, and most importantly she doesn't require a babysitter to accompany her.

"Despite her being under contract her first year, she stayed in college. Pretty impressive when you learn that she is also a feature dancer and travels a lot doing that. She is very professional. She has done what she said she would when she said she would do it."

The Adam & Eve people are looking forward to working with her.

"Kayden defies everyone's expectations on what an adult star is," Peter Reynolds, vice president of sales and marketing at Adam & Eve Pictures, told XBIZ. "She's gorgeous, she's intelligent and she loves sex. She has a head for business and a body for sin. 2008 is Kayden's year."

Meredith Christopher, executive producer at Adam & Eve Pictures, is impressed by Kross' performing ability.

"Kayden is simply amazing. She can come across as sweet and shy or dangerous and depraved. But that's exactly what you want in a contract star. She's a chameleon and the camera — and the fans — love her."

Adam & Eve Director of Public Relations Katy Zvolerin is equally enthusiastic.

"Kayden embodies everything Adam & Eve looks for in a contract girl. She's smart, sexy and stunning. She also has a terrific sense of humor and she understands that being a contract girl means more than performing well in a scene. It's about the press and the promotion. She is actually pushing us to do more work. AEE proved that Adam & Eve made the right choice with Kayden. Her lines were huge and we actually had to make her take breaks."

Even after a year under contract with one company and starting a new year under contract with another company, Kross still is enthusiastic about working in the adult entertainment business.

"I like everything about it. It's just fun. I love the promotional part of it, like I said before, and I love doing boy/girl videos because I make sure to retain that control over who I work with. I really enjoy working with the people I choose. It's fun to hang out with a bunch of people who don't have sticks up their asses.

"I hear 'Action!' and I start getting wet. There's just something about the lights and the sets. Something primal in me just takes over and everything is heightened."

Her first project under her Adam & Eve contract is in the planning stages.

"We're talking about a western, called 'Kayden's Crossfire,'" Kross said. "I play a crime-fighting cowgirl, but the great thing is that I have a miniature horse, a little thing, only 24 inches high, and he's going to be in the movie. His name is 'Mini Horse.' I don't have all the details, but we have agreed that my miniature horse will be in the movie."