Free Until Forever by Johanna Lindsey

basket open to reveal the mountain of food she’d stuffed into it, and thesword case open too, though she was careful not to touch the weapon yet.
    The food was a consolation prize. Thorn wasn’t going to be happy with her when she was done giving him her ultimatum, so she figured the least she could do was assuage one of his needs. Satisfaction of the other two needs he professed to having he would have to do without, since she wasn’t going to barter on the intimate level he’d had in mind when he’d threatened her, and in this century he’d have a hard time finding the kind of battle he was used to.
    She grinned to herself, thinking of that. Poor man. He really was going to get the short end of the bargain she was going to propose. And then it hit her suddenly that she really was expecting another appearance, was practically taking it for granted. And there weren’t any hidden gadgets out there. If he came with his thunder and lightning, she really was going to have to accept the fact that he was—
    She groaned to herself. She didn’t want to think about that, didn’t want to face facts that were just too implausible to credit. There had to be another explanation, one that didn’t demand she suspend all known beliefs, and she was determined to find it.
    She reached for the sword but didn’t quite touch it, because her heart was suddenly beating erratically, her blood started rushing, and deep inside her—dear God, just the thought of seeing him again was arousing her. Noman had ever had this kind of effect on her before. She didn’t have to bargain with him. She could just—no. No. Not in payment for information she wanted, and not with a man she wasn’t even sure, yet, was real.
    She took a deep breath, pulling her emotions and her body under control, and slipped her fingers firmly around the sword hilt. As usual, it was warm, another thing that defied logic. The metal should have been cold and warmed only to her touch, but not this sword.
    The sun was out. If there was lightning, she didn’t see it, but there was no mistaking the crack of thunder. Yet she didn’t see Thorn Blooddrinker. She swung around quickly, but he hadn’t appeared behind her either. And she felt…crushed, devastated with disappointment. It was as if she had just lost something very, very dear to her, and she felt the urge to cry, to scream even. But she didn’t. She dropped the sword and pushed back the realization that the whole thing had been just a hoax, some cruel joke played by…whoever the man was who had invaded her bedroom. She wasn’t ready to deal with that yet, or how it had been accomplished, or why. She was too—
    “You surprise me, lady. I would have thought you would prefer a bed.”

10
    R oseleen slowly tilted her head back on her shoulders, and there he was, Thorn Blooddrinker, sitting on one of the lower branches in the tree above her. His legs were swinging back and forth, reminding her of a little boy. But there was nothing childlike about the smile he gave her. It was broad and distinctly wicked-looking, telling her exactly what he was thinking—that he figured his long abstinence would soon be over.
    For a moment, she stared at him blankly, while her emotions readjusted from dejection to—well, she certainly didn’t feel dejected now. Acute nervousness would be an apt description of the feelings that were quickly taking over.
    Had she really thought she could handle this man? He came from a race of the most aggressive, war-minded, barbaric men history had ever produced, men so arrogant that they believed in a heaven that was exclusively forthem, and could only be entered if they died in battle, with weapons in hand. That alone said so much about the way they must have thought, the way this man thought.
    She’d be running for her car in a moment, if she didn’t curb the direction of her thoughts, so she blurted out, “How did you get up there?” and hoped the question would distract him from his