ANY MAN." She had blood on her dress and trouble in her eyes when she walked into Cavey Davey's tavern and roused Dr. Cain D'Alessandro from his drunken stupor. The sight of Ana, "The Duchess" --- beautiful, icy, desperate --- almost sobered him. She looked like a whore and spoke like a lady ... who had just committed murder. She had money, and they both needed to escape. So Cain D'Alessandro agreed to pose as her husband on the dangerous trip through Panama to California. But Ana hadn't reckoned on a full ship of sailors --- or the perilous trip through the Panamanian wilderness. All she had was Cain, an intimate stranger forced to abandon his liquor to save them both. Suddenly he was a threat, capable of seeing her weakness and offering his strength. And all he asked for in return was her love, something she'd never given to any man before ...

    Nicholas Brogan is an ex-pirate with years of sin branded on his soul. Captured by His Majesty's marshals, the two are on their way to the gallows until they stage a daring escape and run for their lives—shackled together by an iron chain that quickly proves unbreakable. Lost in a remote forest in Staffordshire, the pair of outlaws are forced to work together to survive and quickly find themselves locked in a battle of fierce wills…and fiery passions.“4 stars (highest rating). This could be the romance that takes Shelly Thacker to the big time: the hardcover contract, the fan club… Thacker always spins a good story, but this is her best ever. There’s a new depth of soul to go with all that heart.” –The Detroit Free Press“Thacker skillfully entangles a notorious ex-pirate with a high-born lady turned thief… Offers an exciting and innovative plot…and many steamy love scenes.” –Publishers Weekly"A thrilling romantic adventure, exciting and sensual. Shelly Thacker has a unique and dazzling talent!" -Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling authorAn earlier edition of this novel was published by Avon Books under the title Run Wild. This new Author’s Preferred Edition has been revised by the author.The Escape with a Scoundrel SeriesThese sexy bad boys are on the wrong side of the law—and willing to break all the rules to protect the women they love. Each book is a stand-alone steamy historical romance:Book 1: ESCAPE WITH A SCOUNDREL (Nicholas and Samantha)Book 2: HER SCOUNDREL EARL (Marcus and Elizabeth)Book 3: ONE NIGHT WITH A SCOUNDREL (Saxon and Ashiana)Book 4: A SCOUNDREL’S KISS (Max and Marie)

    Four lovely ladies will arrive… but only one can become a duchess.James, the scandalously uncivilized Duke of Harland, requires a bride with a spotless reputation for a strictly business arrangement. Lust is prohibited and love is out of the question.Four ladies. Three days. What could go wrong?She is not like the others…Charlene Beckett, the unacknowledged daughter of an earl and a courtesan, has just been offered a life-altering fortune to pose as her half-sister, Lady Dorothea, and win the duke’s proposal. All she must do is:* Be the perfect English rose [Ha!]* Breathe, smile, and curtsy in impossibly tight gowns [blast Lady Dorothea’s sylph-like figure]* Charm and seduce a wild duke [without appearing to try]* Keep said duke far, far from her heart [no matter how tempting]When secrets are revealed and passion overwhelms, James must decide if the last lady he should want is really everything he needs. And Charlene must decide if the promise of a new life is worth risking everything . . . including her heart.

    So young and seemingly so naive, no one could guess that the child-bride possessed an astonishing sexual appetite.Isabel the Temptress—Her husband King Philippe-Auguste scorned her...until she set his bedchamber afire with her wild sexual exploration. If the young king was a slave to desire, Isabel would offer him an orgiastic feast, plotting that ultimate she would rule him.Isabel the Queen—Clever, cunning, willful, she seduced ad charmed the royalty of Europe, then dressed in rags and took to the streets to win the favor of the peasants. Many called her mad, but they all came to adore the flaxen-haired Queen of the Franks.Isabel the Legend—Though Isabel's cold body lay entombed in the cathedral of Notre Dame, Philippe was haunted by the memory of her captivating beauty, her exquisite grace. He could not forget her dying words: "You are mine until the grave makes ghosts of both of us."

    But to the Captain of a pirate ship? It’s the best thing that has ever happened to a sheltered young lady who quickly discovers she has a taste for adventure.Captain Samuels:We were pirates. Er, traders. Yet even we were repulsed by women being sold like chattel.But I couldn’t stand by while her father sold her, treating her as if she were worthless.She was a sweet, hard working girl.Her delicate blue eyes called to me even more than the sea itself.The only thing I wanted now was to keep her safe. In my arms. In my bed.My biggest fear was that I might hurt the tiny lass. I could never let that happen.Flora:A complete stranger asked me what I wanted. I’d never been asked that question before.The Captain was the first man to ask me to speak my mind.I made my choice – to sail away for a life of adventure rather than stay under my father’s thumb.The world was bigger out on the open sea.The colors were brighter.The feelings were… Strangely deep and powerful.I just couldn’t tell if the Captain felt the same.He was so kind to me, treating me as if I were precious.Every time he touched me, I wanted to feel like I was his to enjoy.As my life finally became my own, I began to make my own rules.I'd learn to speak up for what I need.***Author’s Note: I write contemporary romance. How the blazes did a pirate tale appear? Look, sometimes these things just happen. If this doesn’t float your boat, sail on past. Or raise the flag and come aboard for a sweet and steamy adventure!Even More Important Note: If you’re looking for perfect historical accuracy… Er, keep looking. This is fiction. Please consult history books for precision. This is heart fluttering, pearl clutching, knicker dampening romance.***This shy girl / alpha male romance is a standalone novel.No cliffhangers, no cheating, and a sweet HEA.Please look up and to the left for the “Follow This Author” button for updates!

    She never dreamed her orderly life would be turned upside down when a mysterious stranger came knocking on her door one stormy night. And, when they were found in a compromising position, she found herself marrying a man she barely knew...but couldn't resist.A NOT SO CONVENIENT MARRIAGEWhat Samantha doesn't know is that her unknown bridegroom is Yale Carderock, the disinherited son of a duke, banished by his father years before. Now the prodigal has returned—rich, but only somewhat reformed. Yale is bewitched by his bride's innocent fire, and he knows he's powerless to resist her awakening sensuality. But is this outcast from society worthy of her tendor love?

    In innocence, young Maria Hallett teases him, taunts him...and surrenders to a scorching seduction that leaves her in disgrace as his ship sails. But Sam cannot forget Maria--his golden-haired angel, a haunting beauty whose awakened sensual passion has seared his very soul with tormented longing. When he returns it is to claim her, to sweep her into his pirate's world--on a perilous voyage of daring dreams and dangerous desires...and a confrontation with a love that thunders with the raging passion of the stormy sea.

    But his search for an heiress goes deliciously awry when an enchanting seamstress tumbles into his arms instead....and true love is always in fashionMiss Adeline Black aspires to be a fashionable dressmaker—not a duchess—and not even an impossibly seductive duke will distract her. But Kingston makes an offer she can't refuse: join him at society events to display her gowns and advise him on which heiresses are duchess material. It's the perfect plan—as long as they resist temptation, avoid a scandal, and above all do not lose their hearts.

    Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart. But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?

    She had come seeking peace between the Scots and English - and won the admiration of two special men. The kindly, awkward laird of Kildalton Castle became a trusted friend. But the Border Lord, a dashing, tartan-clad legend disquised by black midnight, swept her into his arms... and claimed her innocence.A Lord's Unbreakable VowA lifetime of anguish lay behind this disguise of Duncan Kerr, laird of Kildalton by birth, Border Lord by choice. If the queen's emissary, flame-haired Lady Miriam, unmasked him, he would lose the prize he held most dear. He had meant to seduce and compromise her.. not to cherish and desire her.A Passion That Sealed Their DestinyBy day, Miriam strove to establish harmony in the realm; by night she surrendered to forbidden pleasure with the mysterious Border Lord. Only he knew the truth, as elusive as the mists of the hills: whether he loved her passionate soul, or the promise of peace she brought to his beloved land...

    Only one seductive detail threatens his victory: the scandalous beauty imprisoned with him, Lady Valerie Monroe. Temptation has never been so intoxicating or so forbidden, for Steven is disguised as a French priest. If they make it off the ship alive, to protect her from his enemies he must never see her again ...AN UNDENIABLE LOVEBack in England, and under the ton's scrutiny for a reckless past she hasn't escaped, Valerie dreams of the breathtaking "man of the cloth" with whom she shared her greatest adventure. Then he reappears in society under his true identity, Viscount Ashford, but, despite the danger, their consuming passion cannot be denied. Now standing in the way of their desire are Valerie's wounded heart, Steven's lone destiny, and a villain who will stop at nothing to crush them both.

    Reeves must seek out the first of the earl's arrogant sons, Captain Tristan Llevanth, a one-time pirate, and teach him to be a gentleman.A will of steel...Tristan Llevanth gave up his free-wheeling life as a pirate to fight at Admiral Nelson's side. Wounded, Tristan will never again sail the seas he loves. Life has no more challenges. Or so he thinks, until Reeves brings a certain outspoken lady into the captain's uncultured household...An iron-clad spirit...Reeves believes Tristan needs a spark to relight the fires of his soul. And who better than lovely Prudence Thistlewaite, the bane of the captain's existence? Prudence wants nothing to do with her wickedly handsome, ill-tempered neighbor. Still, she cannot refuse the outlandish sum Reeves offers to smooth Tristan's rough edges.

    Mistaken for the Countess of Bridgewater, Ophelia saw no reason to reveal herself until she had stripped the hamlet of its fortunes and escaped into the sunset. Raised from grifter to gentlewoman, the fiery-haired actress couldn't help but chuckle at teaching a lesson to a town so sold on appearances. But the free-spirited beauty almost swallowed her script when she met Tyler, the town's virile mayor.When Tyler Matthews returned from an Ivy League college and his year abroad, he simply wanted to settle down and enjoy the simplicity of ranching. But his aunt and uncle were set on making a silk purse out of Dead End, and Tyler was going to be the new mayor. It was a job he took with little relish—until he caught a glimpse of the village's newest visitor. And as Tye got to know the "Countess" Ophelia, he grew to love her. But trusting her was a different story, and Tye swore that before he was through, he'd uncover her deepest secrets—and teach her that it's what's underneath that counts in matters of the heart.

    She has tasted a sweet morsel of ecstasy and now she can never return to a prim and proper life. Rolfe is savage with his kisses and brutal in his caresses, but for Angline his exquisite punishment is a heaven she never imagined. But how long will the passion last before Rolfe tires of his plaything and moves on to new conquests, leaving Angline a broken and shamed woman? Can Angline's flaming hair and bewitching eyes capture the heart of the arrogant prince?