Time After Time Read Free Page B

comforting.
    As she sat at the coffee table, glancing through the papers, she quickly ate her salad. Leah knew she ate too fast—it was a habit she shared with many busy, ambitious people—but there always seemed to be something more important that needed her attention.
    In the next few hours she broke away only once, and that was to carry the dishes to the sink, rinse them and stack them in the dishwasher. The rest of the evening she spent bent over her work.
    At five minutes after eleven she stood and stretched her back. It was done, she thought. Walking to the television, she wondered how long the screen had been filled with gray static. She pulled the tape from the machine and placed it in the empty space beside the others, then closed the cabinet.
    Leah was satisfied with her day's work. In fact, she thought smugly, she was satisfied with her life. How many people could honestly say that?
    Switching out the lights, she walked to the bedroom and pulled back the cover on her bed. She had trained her mind to work for her and could usually fall asleep at will. Tonight, however, she still felt wideawake. The project wouldn't let go of her mind.
    Stubbornly she closed her eyes and waited for sleep
    to come.
    * * *
    Seconds later, when she opened them again, Leah had to blink several times at the bright sunlight. She rose slowly to her feet, feeling the soft, springy grass beneath her toes.
    "Wow!" she breathed in awe.
    She had never fallen asleep so quickly. And whoever it was who said dreams reflected the tensions of the day obviously didn't know what he was talking about. She had had a hellish day, and this was one beautiful dream.
    The area where she stood was open ground, but fifty yards to her right was the beginning of a thick, shadowy forest, and straight ahead, in the distance, were gently sloping hills. The air she breathed into her lungs was as fresh, crisp and intoxicating as new wine.
    For several seconds she merely stood and stared. She had never had a dream in Technicolor and was stunned by the spectacular beauty surrounding her.
    At that moment a crackling noise behind her caused her to spin around abruptly, almost losing her balance in her haste. Instantly a gasp caught in her throat, and her eyes widened in astonishment. There, not ten yards away from her, was a leather-clad, shield-toting, card-carrying Roman gladiator.
    Leah's first impulse was to giggle. In one hand he carried a round shield, in the other a net. He wasn't much taller than she was, but he was built like an ox. Muscles bulged across his bare chest, shoulders and thighs.
    But as she took in the expression on his face, amusement died swiftly. The visor of his metal headgear was raised, and his gaze was trained on her barely covered breasts. While she stood mutely, he examined the long legs that showed below the short gown, then returned his gaze to her breasts and took a step forward.
    "Hold on a minute, mister," she said, then began to back away warily.
    He simply grinned and took another step toward her. For an interminably long moment, Leah couldn't move. Events seemed to take place in slow motion. It was the strangest sensation. The gladiator continued smiling and walking, and Leah simply stood watching him.
    She tried to say "Let's talk about this," or "Can't we reach some kind of compromise?" but it seemed her voice was suspended, as well.
    Then, whatever had held her still, released her. Her breath left her in a whoosh of relief, and she whirled around and ran. She didn't even consider talking to him now that she could move. This was obviously not a man open to rational discussion, she told herself, heading toward the safety of the forest. _ As she ran, she thought she heard the net hiss through the air and hit several inches behind her, but she wasn't about to turn around to check. When she reached the first of the trees, she plunged headlong into the concealing foliage behind it. Running instinctively, she dodged limbs and jumped over