Run Wild (Escape with a Scoundrel) - By Shelly Thacker Page 0,132
you’re right.”
Acknowledgments
I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to my critique partners LaVerne Coan, Beth Manz, and Linda Pedder for their creative insights and steadfast support while I wrote the original manuscript of Run Wild.
And above all to my husband, Mark, who has always held me through the darkness and helped me find the light again. Every day, you show me the true meaning of the words love and hero.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed spending time with Nicholas and Samantha in the pages of Run Wild. I’d love to keep writing books that touch your heart for many years to come. Readers like you make it possible, and I’m so thankful for your support and enthusiasm.
If you enjoyed Run Wild, could I ask you for a small favor? I’m just getting started in indie publishing, and with hundreds of new books published every month, it’s difficult to stand out in the crowd. I need a little help (actually, a lot of help) getting the word out about my books. If you’d be willing to share your enthusiasm with other readers, I’d really be grateful.
The easiest way is to post a reader review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Apple iBookstore, or wherever you bought the book. Just visit this book’s page on that site and scroll down to where it says “Customer Reviews.” Your review doesn’t have to be long. Short and sweet is fine—just a line or two about why you enjoyed the story. The more reviews a book has, the more it encourages other readers to sample an author they’ve never read before.
If you’re active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, book sites like Goodreads or Shelfari, or review blogs, those are also great places to post a little note about the author you just discovered and the book you enjoyed.
Thanks so much for your support. I really appreciate your kindness!
If you enjoyed Run Wild, I think you’ll love my next book, Midnight Raider. I’m currently working on a new, fully revised edition of this award-winning historical romance about a lady highwayman and her handsome rival who form a dangerous alliance to defeat a powerful mutual enemy. The odds of both of them surviving the scheme are not good—and falling in love was never part of the bargain. Enjoy this exclusive, advanced sneak peek!
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London, 1735
“Lord Pierce Wolverton, fourth Earl of Darkridge. So pleased to make your acquaintance.”
He spoke with the smoothness of a man born and bred in Cavendish Square, but Elizabeth got the impression he would be more at ease trading curses with a Thames ferryman. If he were truly a lord, he was strangely attired, for he wore neither wig nor hat nor any face powder. His hair was tied in a simple queue at his neck, one dark brown lock straying over his right eye.
“I... I am...” Trapped by that unyielding, dusky gaze, Elizabeth could not remember by which name she should introduce herself. He was studying her face, her chin, and most of all her eyes. She found the intense interest both odd and disturbing. He still held her wrist, and the sensation of his strong fingers clasping her bare skin filled her with the strangest prickly warmth. “I am—”
“Lady Elizabeth Barnes-Finchley,” he said with a cynical bite to his voice. He released her at last, seeming satisfied with his perusal. “I was told you would be here tonight.”
Elizabeth felt unsteady on her feet, but a rising sense of alarm quickly cleared her head. “By whom? And how do you know who I am?” Had Arkwright said her name? She couldn’t remember.
Lord Darkridge wandered to the edge of the pond. “You, my lady, have swept London society off its feet. Every drawing room and concert hall is abuzz with talk of the beautiful young woman who arrived with her aunt from the Continent, three months ago. When I heard you had the most striking violet eyes, I simply had to meet you.”
Elizabeth’s heart began to pound. Was this merely a wealthy nobleman interested in seduction? Or did he somehow suspect that she was not what she seemed? “My eyes have brought you all this way out into the country? To attend a party where you are obviously not wanted?”
“Yes.” He said the word harshly, and when he turned to look at her, Elizabeth thought she saw a