Live Love Rewind: The Three Lives of Leah Preston (9 page)

Neal led her into the house. The building’s interior was nearly as magical as its outside face. Sunlight streamed through circular windows onto a roomful of plants. The furniture, handcrafted in burnished wood, filled the space in front of them comfortably.

Neal continued, “This is my home. Someday soon, I’d like us to share this place together.”

Leah told him, “You barely know me.”

“I feel I know your heart.”

Jon knows a lot more than my heart,
she thought.

But was Jon truly interested in her? If the story she’d just heard was the truth, the Visitors had taken some extraordinary steps to make one of her wishes come true.

Jon was almost – forced – to be with me. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, and now…

See you never.

“I should have stopped after I’d asked for peace on earth,” Leah said.

Neal cocked his head quizzically. Lifting her hand to his mouth, he kissed it.

The landscaper wasn’t as young or handsome as the FBI agent but he had some worthwhile qualities. He loved his work, he was loyal, and he was romantic. Moving into the middle years of his life, he remained vital and attractive.

If all he’d wanted was a sexual playmate, there were dozens of willing candidates at the Skyline Apartments. She’d watched him ignore the flirtatious efforts of any of the tenants who approached him.

He wasn’t interested in a brief affair. He was seeking something really special, a lifelong commitment.

Neal might not be the love of my life
, she admitted to herself,
but he acts as if I might be his. He’ll be with me because he wants to be. It’s the choice he’s making, not a choice that’s been made for him.

That’s more than I can say about Jon.

If Neal’s pressing a little too hard for now, that’s okay, too. I’ll tell him he has to take it slow and we’ll both see where it goes from here.

“Everything outside, I care for,” Neal said. “Inside, Ashley was responsible for things. It’s a small place. Less to clean.”

He sounded like a salesman, trying to pitch the house’s advantages. Leah said, “It’s perfect.”

“I’d welcome your company here,” he said, “while we’re courting. If you don’t find it too bold a suggestion.”

“A little, maybe. We can discuss it.”

“The room to your left is my bedroom.”

“And the one across from it?”

“That would be your bedroom. Would you like to see it?”

The curved, hand-carved doors had been left open. Leah saw that each room was a twin of the other. They were lightly furnished, with a small single bed placed in the center of the hardwood floor.

“My bedroom?” she asked. “You mean, during our courtship?”

“No, no.” Neal’s lips brushed her fingers. “Over time, Ashley and I realized the physical aspect of a relationship was the least important part of it. These days, I don’t have an interest in that kind of thing.”

“You…don’t?”

He regarded her warmly. “It’s not a traditional relationship but it might be better in some ways. More spiritual.”

Leah stared at him. She didn’t have any objection to other people sharing a sexless relationship. Indeed, she believed that marriages could, and did, flourish under such conditions.

She’d just never expected to be in such an arrangement herself.

“There you are.” Wiping his feet across the front mat, Jon entered through the open doorway. Freshly shaved, he was dressed in his suit. The lines fell cleanly, unwrinkled despite spending the night on an apartment floor.

David Boreanaz wishes he looked so good
, Leah thought.

Jon said, “I wondered where you’d gone.”

Leah pulled her fingers from the gardener’s grip. “How did you find me?”

“Good thing I work for the FBI.” Jon adjusted the knot on his tie. “Also, it appears there’s an elderly spy in this complex. She uses her binoculars to watch the world around her.”

“Rita.”

“She’s not really a fan of yours,” Jon revealed.

Neal said, “You’re the man who spent the night. Leah’s friend.”

“More than a friend, I hope.” He pulled her to his body. Leah melted into his kiss, feeling a flush of passion rush through her.

Jon asked, “See you after work?”

“Leah has other plans.” Neal’s frown deepened the wrinkles around his mouth. “She’s ready for a steady, regular life. A life with me. She doesn’t want what you have to offer.”

Jon curled his arm around her waist. “I hope you’re mistaken.”

Leah remembered her conversation with the Colonel, only a short time earlier:
Did the Visitors say how long the symptoms last?

It ends with release.

Last night, Jon had attained release, over and over. So had she. Yet he was still here, clearly interested in being with her.

She remembered the first time he’d touched her and the electric shock that had passed between them. That spark had happened well before she’d ever heard of Area 72.

She rested her head against her new boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Neal, I’m sorry,” she said, “I think I do want something more.”

“You might try Rita Talsman,” Jon said. “She told me she’s single.”

With that, he swept Leah into his arms and carried her off to her apartment.

Chapter Thirteen

Totally naked and covered in sweat, Leah looked up at the bedroom ceiling fan. Cloaked in artificial darkness, it sent a soft breeze over her body.

Beside her, Jon was soundly asleep on his stomach. When she listened closely, she could hear him breathing. It comforted her.

I’ll bet you’re exhausted
, she thought.
We had sex all night long, then twice more when we returned to the apartment. I quit counting orgasms, three orgasms ago.

She hadn’t, though: Seven full-blown, legs’-trembling, head-swimming
ohs
. Not counting this last, only semi-there pleasure ride. Leah had felt too tired to make a final push toward Nirvana once again.

Not that she’d let Jon know. Their relationship was still too new for her to be quite so honest.

While the FBI agent had almost immediately fallen asleep, Leah was somehow still awake. She let her hand run over the curve of his muscular, perfect ass.

Her bed partner remained in a deep and restful slumber.

Rolling onto her side, she closed her eyes. Even though she expected to be every bit as weary as he was, she remained oddly alert. Was this lack of tiredness a byproduct of her trip to the aliens’ dimension? Or was her body simply responding to the most wonderful sex of her life?

At his best, when they were first courting and Brandon had been willing to try anything, he hadn’t been half as gifted as the man she’d just enjoyed. Jon was as good as any lover she’d had in the past. In his own way, he was every bit as talented as Tanner, the man she’d once married, and she’d never thought she’d have those pleasures with anyone else.

The way Jon used his mouth, his fingers, his cock – it was practically miraculous.

The realization sent a jolt through her, causing her to open her eyes. “Well, shit,” she said out loud.

What was it the Visitors had asked her? 

If you could have anything, what would you ask for?

And what had she answered?
I want to find my one true love. That’s what I really want: yes, yes, yes.

My own personal miracle.

“Is that who you are, Jon Wexler?” she asked the man lying beside her. “My miracle in the flesh?”

As if in response to her words, Jon rolled onto his back.

“Did you, um, hear what I said?” Leah said, feeling terribly foolish
.

He didn’t respond. Reaching out, she touched his arm with her fingers. “Babe?”

Masked in the darkness, he remained silent.

“Are you okay?” she asked. She felt along his body. His arms were stiff, pressing along his sides, and his torso was nearly rigid.

A feeling of panic squeezed at Leah’s chest.
There’s something wrong. Really wrong.

She grabbed for her bedside cell phone. Before she could call emergency services, she heard his voice.

“Leah.”

Her finger remained poised over the phone’s
Emergency Call
symbol.

Speaking in an easy, conversational tone, Jon said, “Am I who you want?”

“What? Oh.” Feeling foolish, she replaced the telephone. “So you heard me.”

He didn’t answer.

Trying to make light of what she’d said, she told him, “Don’t be getting a swelled head, pal. Whatever you think you heard, I didn’t say it.”

Mutely, he remained on his back.

Oh, God, is he going to tease me forever?
Leah knew she’d have done the same to him if their roles were reversed.

He finally spoke. “No one is perfect.”

“I didn’t say you were
perfect.
”

“Know this,” he told her. “I’m a hard worker and I’m ambitious. I make a good salary and I’ll make better, possibly much better, before I retire.”

“Jon?”

“I have plans for my future.”

“That’s nice.” Leah didn’t know what else to say. Was this his idea of pillow talk?

“Even though I haven’t known you for long, there’s some things about you I really like. You’re cute, I love your ass, and you’re not stupid.”

“…okay.”

“There’s a lot of stupid out there. But you’re not too smart, either. I wouldn’t like a woman who thinks she’s smarter than me.”

Even in this darkness, Leah knew he wasn’t looking in her direction. He almost sounded as if he was thinking out loud.

Jon said, “I’ve heard about the money you’ll be getting. That can only help me in what I want to do. I’m going to be somebody and a big bank account is better than an Ivy League degree.”

“Who told you about my contract?” But Leah already knew:
Clarissa.

“My career, my looks, and all those dollar signs, those are the kinds of things that resonate with voters. They like marriage and stability, too. A year or so, maybe eighteen months at most, yeah, we’ll be taking our vows.”

Jon’s odd pose and strange manner forced Leah to consider another idea:
The Visitors. They’re doing something to him. I don’t think he knows what he’s saying.

I doubt he’s even awake.

“You’ll say ‘yes’ when I propose,” he told her. “You’re not getting any younger, are you? Besides, I’ve seen how you watch me. You and a thousand like you, you want the truth. Women always tell me yes, no matter what I want.”

“Do they?”

“That’s why I fuck so many of them. You’re kind of special, though. I love the way you moan so loud, the way you’re so responsive. I’ll bet you’ll do anything I want. You’re not as good as Clarissa but she’s a freak.”

Leah slapped him.

Jon jerked. Rolling to face her, he said, “Hey now. What was that about?”

Too angry to speak, Leah reached out for the lamp on the side table. She turned it on.

Rubbing a hand over his reddening cheek, Jon allowed a cocky smile to return to his face. “Kinky. Not that I’m totally against such things. But you might give a guy some warning.”

“Get out of my bed.”

“Did I – I mean, I thought we were enjoying each other.”

“God, I wish I’d made you wear a condom. Get
out.
Wasn’t I clear?”

Jon stumbled from the bed. Collecting his clothing, he dressed hastily. Letting the door slam shut behind him, Leah heard him as he stomped out onto the landing. A moment later, a car engine roared to life and tires squealed as a vehicle raced from the parking lot.

Leah dangled her legs over the side of the bed.
So much for my miracle
.

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Knowing that the Jon Wexlers of the world weren’t worth such a depth of emotion, she fought her own feelings of depression.

I hate my life.

Why don’t you start over?
a voice asked inside her head. She twisted sharply, seeking some sign of the Visitors.

Her apartment remained reassuringly in her own dimension. The beige walls were unchanged, the tan carpet still needed cleaning, and her walk-in closet still contained too many shoes for any one woman to wear in a lifetime.

I thought you needed a portal to communicate with my kind,
she thought.

Not any longer. Not with you.

Before Leah could ponder over this new and startling piece of information, the voice asked,
Are you happy?

No. Not that it’s any of your business.
Still trying to piece things together, she added,
Was that the point of this, to make me happy?