He's a man who survives by his wits and lives by his own code. Along the way, he's left a trail of broken hearts, broken bones, and quite a few broken laws. But when he gives his heart to the right woman, it comes with a promise he'll never, ever break... Dedicated artist Evie Washington doesn't fancy herself the marrying kind. But the moment she admits that her faceless portrait of a naked man was modeled on the devilishly handsome Reverend Swanson, the whole town assumes she has been ruined. Now, her family's determined to save her reputation—even if it means taking away her hard-won freedom. However, it's Brad "Shadow" Swanson's preacher status that's a pose—to avoid the law. Now that he's been convicted of the one crime he didn't commit, if he doesn't step up and marry Evie, he'll have to admit his true identity and replace his collar with a noose. Of course, a life sentence in the spirited beauty's bed wouldn't exactly be torture—and it just might be the key to making an honest man out of him.