Nora Roberts: Times Change

With the same disregard, she tossed her coat over the back of a chair, then kicked her boots into a corner. Digging a candy bar out of a bag, she unwrapped it and wandered back into the living room. What she needed was a long afternoon of research. Lately she’d been toying with the idea of going back to school and trying for a law degree. The idea of arguing for a living had a certain appeal. Along with her clothes, her camera, her sketch pad, her tape recorder and her dance shoes she had packed two boxes of books on an assortment of professions.

During her first week in the cabin she had researched and discarded screenwriting as too unstable, medicine as too terrifying and running a retro clothing store as too trendy.

But law had possibilities. She could see herself as either the cold, hard-edged D.A. or the dedicated, overworked public defender.

It was worth looking into, she decided as she mounted the stairs. And the sooner she had her focus the sooner she could get back to where there was something more exciting to do than watch the melting snow run off the gutters.

The candy bar was halfway to her mouth when she stepped into the doorway and saw him. He was standing by the bed—her bed—obviously engrossed in the fashion magazine she’d tossed on the floor the night before. It was in his hands now, and his fingers seemed to stroke the glossy paper as if it were some exotic fabric.

Though his back was to her, she could see that he was tall. He had two or three inches on her willowy five-ten. His dark hair was long enough to fall over the collar of the sweater he wore, and it looked as if he’d ridden fast in an open car. Hardly daring to breathe, she took his measure.

If he was a wayward hiker, he was dressed neatly, and sparely. The jeans showed no signs of wear. The boots he wore were unmarked, expensive and, unless she missed her guess, custom-made. No, she didn’t think he was a hiker, even a foolish one who would challenge the winter mountains.

He had a lean build, though she couldn’t be sure what the baggy sweater hid in the way of muscle. If he was a thief, he was a stupid one, passing the time with a magazine rather than bundling up what passed for valuables in the cabin.

Her gaze shot over to the dresser and her jewelry case. Her collection wasn’t extensive, but each piece had been selected with care and a disregard for expense. And it was hers, just as the cabin was hers, just as the room he’d invaded was hers.

Furious, she dropped the candy and snatched up the closest weapon, an empty pop bottle and, brandishing it, lunged forward.

Jacob heard the movement. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a red blur. Instinct had him turning, shifting, just as the bottle whizzed by his head and smashed against the nightstand. Glass exploded with a sound like a shot.

“What the—”

Before he could utter another word, his foot was kicked out from under him and he found himself flipped neatly and sprawled on his back. He stared up at a tall, slender woman with a shiny crop of blond hair and molten gray eyes. She was crouched, arms bent, hands flexed in an ancient fighting stance.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned, in a voice as smoky as her eyes. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, so get up slow. Then get yourself downstairs and out. You’ve got thirty seconds.”

Keeping his eyes on hers, he braced himself on one elbow. When dealing with a member of a primitive culture it was wise to go slowly. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, pal. I’m a fourth-degree black belt. Mess with me and I’ll crush your skull like a walnut.”

She smiled when she said it. Otherwise he might have offered her excuses and explanations then and there. But she smiled, and a challenge was a challenge.

Without a word, he sprang up to land lightly on the balls of his feet in a stance that mirrored hers. He saw surprise in her eyes—not panic, surprise. He blocked her first blow, but he still felt it reverberate from his forearm to his shoulder. He shifted enough to prevent a well-aimed kick from connecting with his chin.

She was fast, he noted, fast and agile. He parried her offensive moves, staying on the defensive as he judged her. Fearless, he thought with pure admiration. A warrior in a world that still required them. And if Jacob had a weakness he would admit to, it was the love of a good fight.

He didn’t toy with her. If he did, he knew, he’d end up on the floor with her foot on his throat. The kick that shot past his guard and into his rib cage was proof of that. It was an even match, he decided after five sweaty minutes, except for the fact that he had the advantage in reach and weight.

Deciding to put both to use, he feinted, blocked, then caught her in a throw that sent her flying onto the bed. Before she could recover, he spread himself over her, cautiously gripping her wrists over her head.

She was out of breath, but she wasn’t out of fuel. Her eyes burning into his, she put all her strength into one last move. Just in time, he shifted his weight and avoided the knee to the groin.

“Some things never change,” he muttered, and studied her while he waited for his labored breathing to slow.

She was stunning—or perhaps it was the fight that made her seem so. Her skin was flushed now, a rosy pink that enhanced the sunlight color of her hair. Its short, almost severe cut played up the elegance of her bone structure. She had sharp cheekbones. Warriorlike, he thought again. Like a Viking, or a Celt. Large, long-lidded gray eyes smoldered in frustration but not in defeat. Her nose was small and sharp, and her mouth was full, with the lower lip slightly prominent in a pout. She smelled like the forest—cool, exotic and foreign.

“You’re very good,” he said, and gave himself a moment to enjoy the way her body held firm and unyielding under his.

“Thanks.” She bit the word off, but she didn’t struggle. She knew when to fight and when to plot. He outweighed her and he had outfought her, but she wasn’t ready to discuss terms of surrender. “I’d appreciate it if you got the hell off me.”

“In a minute. Is it your custom to greet people by tossing them on the floor?”

She arched one pale brow. “Is it yours to break into people’s homes and poke around in their bedrooms?”

“The door was unlocked,” he pointed out. Then he frowned. He was certain he was in the right place, but this was not the woman called Libby. “This is your home?”

“That’s right. It’s called private property.” She struggled not to fidget while he studied her as though she were a particularly interesting specimen in a petri dish. “I’ve already called the police,” she told him, though the closest telephone was ten miles away. “If I were you, I’d make tracks.”

“If I wanted to avoid the police, it would be stupid to make tracks.” He tilted his head, considering. “And you didn’t call them.”

“Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t.” The pout became more pronounced. “What do you want? There’s nothing worth stealing in this place.”

“I didn’t come to steal.”

A quick panic, purely feminine, fluttered just below her heart. Fury banked it. “I won’t make it easy for you.”

“All right.” He didn’t bother to ask her what she meant. “Who are you?”

“I think I’m entitled to ask you that question,” she countered. “And I’m not really interested.” Her heart was beginning to thud thickly, and she hoped he couldn’t feel it. They were sprawled across the unmade bed, thigh to thigh, as intimately as lovers. His eyes, green and intense, stared into hers until she was breathless all over again.

He saw the panic now, just a flicker of it, and eased his grip on her wrists. Her pulse was beating rapidly there, causing an unexpected reaction to race through him. He could feel it singing through his blood as he shifted his gaze to her mouth.