Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight

Ch7: The winner is...

Leah, sitting across the dining room table from Seth and Jacob, bit into the roll filled with melt in the mouth shredded pork drizzled with a peppery vinegar barbeque sauce and topped with coleslaw. Jacob had added thinly sliced dill pickles and extra sauce on the plate.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Incredible."

Jacob winked at Leah. "You're an incredible cook, Leah." She had created a roast pork dish, served with flavorful white rice, black beans, an avocado salad and a potent garlic sauce.

Seth speared a forkful of shredded pork that had fallen out of his roll. "While you two are wasting time engaging in a mutual admiration, I intend to get my eat on." His eyes grew wider. "Damn, Jacob! You are good. Would you like to come and work for me at Clearwater Farms? I'll pay you whatever you want."

Jacob swallowed a mouthful of black beans. "Doing what?"

"You could take over as the farm's chef."

"Sorry, I like my current job, and my cooking repertoire isn't that versatile."

He had liked working undercover for the Bureau because he liked being challenged, enjoyed taking risks. But, as he grew older, taking risks was no longer priority. Staying alive was. Jacob promised his mother, he would apply for a field office position. He knew she would never recover if she had lost both her sons in the line of duty. She had sacrificed enough when agents came to the door with the news that her husband had given his life for the Bureau and his country.

During a one-on-one meeting with Charlie Swan, Jacob had requested permission to speak off the record. It was the first time he had bared his soul to his supervisor. He had revealed the pain of growing up without his father, his mother's tears whenever she would have celebrated her wedding anniversary if her husband had still been alive, and her fear of losing not one, but her two sons in the line of duty. He had been forthcoming when he told Charlie he loved working as a special agent, but wasn't certain how much longer he would remain with the Bureau if he wasn't assigned a supervisory field office position. Charlie promised to see what he could do.

Jacob had served notice when he told the men representing joint task force operation that bringing in Embry Call was going to be his last field assignment. If the other men hadn't believed him, he knew Charlie did.

"What's wrong with the chef you have, Seth?" Leah asked.

"He's okay, but the man's afraid to cook outside the box."

Leah touched her mouth with a napkin. "He probably needs to take a few continuing education courses. Even though my college roommate taught me to cook it was grandma who taught me to raise the bar and not to be afraid of using different spices."

"Too bad our mother didn't listen to her," Seth mumbled under his breath.

"Seth!" Leah chided softly. "Not in front of company."

"Which is he, Leah? Company or your bodyguard?"

"I am her bodyguard." Jacob answered for Leah, resenting the younger man's interference. He had recalled her talking about being the dreaded middle child, and there was no doubt she was forced to be a scrapper in order to stand up to two overprotective brothers.

Seth stared at his sister, and then his gaze shifted to the man on the left. "Maybe it would be better if you didn't tell people you were Lee Lee's bodyguard."

A thick silence filled the dining room as the three occupants stared at one another. "How do you want me to introduce Jacob, Seth?" Leah's voice had taken on a coaxing quality.

"If you say he's your boyfriend or companion then no one will ask questions."

Leah was totally confused by Seth's behavior. Something nagged her as she tried assembling hints and innuendos like a puzzle to make a recognizable picture. Her brother claimed to have stopped by on a whim, he had invited her and Jacob to visit his farm the following weekend and now he wanted Jacob to pretend he was her lover.

"Why do I have to convince people that Jacob and I are lovers, Seth?"

Seth's impassive expression did not change with her query. "Have you forgotten that you are the only witness in a trial that is certain to attract not only local but national attention?"

"I have no intention of hiding—"

"He's right, Leah." Jacob interrupted. "You'll make it more difficult for me if you don't keep a low profile."

Leah wavered, trying to comprehend what she was hearing from her brother and Jacob. "So you want me to pretend that you and I have hooked up?"

He cocked his head. "I wouldn't say hooked up. It would be more like involved."

"How involved, Jacob?"

"Very involved."

Leah couldn't believe she was having this conversation—and in front of her brother, no less. Her gaze lowered. She stared across the table at Jacob through her lashes. If Seth hadn't rung the bell there was no doubt she and her self-appointed bodyguard would have become more than involved. He probably would have ended up in her bed and inside her.

Since she had become involved with Jacob Black she was constantly bombarded with the realization that she was a woman, a very passionate woman who had yet to experience the full range of her sexuality. Leah knew she was able to excite Jacob as much as he excited her.

She didn't want involvement as much as she needed it. She had pledged her future to a man who was ambivalent about sex. It hadn't mattered to Sam if they didn't make love for weeks. At first, she believed it had something to do with his age. But she knew a lot of men in their forties who were still very sexually active. She had great uncles who had fathered children in their forties.

Was she physically attracted to Jacob?

The answer was unequivocally yes.

Did she want to become physically involved with Jacob?

The answer was still yes.

Did she want to fall in love with him?

Leah knew without a doubt that she didn't. If the circumstance for her to take a lover for the summer presented itself, then she would, and when it ended she knew she would be mature enough to walk away with incredible memories from the liaison.

The tense lines bracketing her mouth disappeared when she smiled. "You're right." She conceded to no one in particular. "Whenever Jacob and I are out together in public he can be my escort, boyfriend, companion, or lover." She winked at Jacob. "The choice is yours darling."

He inclined his head in a mock bow. "Thank you, baby."

Seth picked up a glass of sweet tea. "That was easy." He murmured before taking a deep swallow.

Dinner became a leisurely affair, lasting more than two hours. Jacob and Seth talked about everything: the military, politics, sports and the state of the economy. Leah had served tea and pinot noir to accompany the meal, and while she drank the tea, Jacob and Seth drank wine. She had surprised the two men when she retreated to the kitchen to bring out a tray with flan de coco, a light and airy coconut flan, and strong, dark aromatic coffee in demitasse cups.

Jacob rose quickly to take the tray from her. "Why didn't you ask me to help you?" he asked close to her ear.

She flashed an attractive smile, bringing his gaze to linger on her mouth. "Now, that would have spoiled the surprise. I didn't know who'd want lemon peel, but it's there for whoever wants it."

Seth, having finished his dessert and coffee, patted his flat belly. "I've overindulged on everything and that includes food and wine. I'm definitely going to turn in early tonight." He raised his half-filled wineglass. "The winner of the pork challenge is…" his words trailed off as he appeared deep in thought. "It's a tie!" Jacob and Leah threw their napkins at him, and Seth doubled over laughing. Pushing back his chair, he stood. "I'm going out to my car to get my bag. I don't know about you two, but this farm boy is early to bed, early to rise."

Waiting until her brother left the house, Leah turned to Jacob. "We have a dilemma." She whispered. "How are you going to perform the duties of a bodyguard—"

"Don't worry," he said softly. "I'll help you clean up the kitchen. After Seth goes to bed I'll go back to my place, get my things and then I'll come back here. The moment I leave I want you to activate the alarm. You're going to have to give me the code so I can get back in."

Leah nodded like a bobblehead doll. She couldn't believe a man she hadn't known a week, a man who turned her on with a single glance, was going to move into her house for the summer. If she had planned to seduce him, she wouldn't have been able to come up with a less plausible scheme.

"Okay, Jacob."

"Don't look so worried, Doc. We're going to have a lot of fun hanging out together this summer."

That's what had Leah worried. They would have fun, and then what? At the end of the summer they would go their separate ways to live their separate lives? Jacob would go back to protecting the rich and famous and once the trial concluded, she would go back to practicing medicine. What they would share for the summer would be placed in a box, covered, tied with a neat little bow and placed on a shelf never to be opened again.

Once she had recovered from the anesthesia and had remained awake long enough to recall how close she had come to losing her life in the very hospital where she had worked, Leah promised herself she would treasure each and every sunrise and sunset because her life had been spared when so many others had lost theirs.

Leaning to her right, she brushed her mouth over Jacob's. "I'm looking forward to it."

Jacob stared at the lush lips belonging to the woman with the dimpled smile. Everything about her pulled him in until he felt trapped in a force field from which he didn't want to escape. No matter how he felt and was beginning to feel for Leah he knew their liaison would come to an end.

He had offered to protect Leah before Seth informed him about the break in her house. What had been imagined was now real and he was faced with a dilemma. Could he protect Dr. Leah Clearwater and complete his assignment?

Jacob maneuvered into the driveway to the two bedroom time-share and parked. Reaching for his BlackBerry, he punched the speed dial for Charlie Swan.

"Black," he said, identifying himself when hearing his supervisor's greeting.

"How are you, mountain man?"

Jacob smiled. It wasn't often Charlie Swan exhibited a modicum of humor. "I'm good Swan. I'm going to need your approval to change the base of operation."

"Talk to me, Black."

He told him everything from meeting Leah Clearwater, his accompanying her to a neighbor's Memorial Day celebration, the unannounced visit from her brother and Seth's invitation to spend a weekend at his horse farm in western Virginia.

"Don't hang up, Agent Black. I want to check out something."

Jacob shook his head. Charlie Swan had morphed back into his role as an associate Bureau director. Swan must have placed his cell phone down next to a computer because he could hear the rapid tapping of keys.

"Approval granted." Charlie said in a strong voice. "Dr. Clearwater is known and respected in and around Waynesville. You connecting with her will help you blend in and increase the odds of Call contacting you. Just be certain to let me know of any changes."

"Thanks, Charlie."

"Just bring our man in, Black."

"You…" Jacob couldn't finish his sentence because his supervisor ended the call. It no longer mattered.

He exited the truck and walked into the small house that was to have been his temporary domicile for the summer. Charlie Swan's willingness to approve him moving into Dr. Leah Clearwater's vacation retreat nagged at Jacob. Was there a connection to the shootout in the hospital E.R., and other open cases in the Bureau files? He had wanted to ask—before Swan had summarily hung up on him—if the gun used in the shooting was stolen, and if it was one in a cache linked to the brazen gang crisscrossing the country and targeting gun dealers.

He made quick work of packing his clothes and netbook and of cleaning out the refrigerator. He had purchased enough food to last only a couple of days, so there wasn't much to throw away. Jacob stripped his bed, putting the linen in an army duffel bad along with the clothes he had taken from the laundry-room hamper. From now on he would do his laundry at Leah's house. He carried his possessions out to the truck, returned to the cottage to make certain he hadn't left anything, turned off the lights, set the silent alarm, closed the door and pocketed the keycard. The sound of the door closing echoed loudly in the stillness of the night.

When he drove away, Jacob felt as if he had closed the door on one phase of life, only to begin another. There was still the question of the whereabouts of his brother. If or when would he make contact? And if he found his brother, would that be the end of his relationship with Leah?

Leah sat up straighter, her heart pounding in her chest when she heard the distinctive sound of the door being opened. Seconds later it went silent before another buzz indicated Jacob had deactivated and reset the security system.

After Seth had gone upstairs to bed, she had retreated to the back porch to watch television. Forty minutes into the Lifetime movie, she found herself dozing off. There had been a time before she had been shot that she had been able to work thirty-six hours before feeling fatigued. Now if she sat still more than half an hour she found herself dozing off.

"Hey, Doc, where do you want me to put my things."

Leah turned off the television and slipped off the chaise. There was enough light from the lowest setting on a table lamp to make out the outline of Jacob's broad shoulders spanning the doorway.

Walking on bare feet, she closed the distance between them. "Follow me, "she ordered quietly.

Jacob complied, staring at the outline of Leah's hips in a pair of fitted jeans. She had just enough curves not to be mistaken for a boy from the back. He usually liked women with a more substantial booty, but he couldn't complain about Leah's chest. She had more than a mouthful or handful—and he had very large hands.

He stopped at the staircase and picked up two bags a calfskin carry-on and the other a matching Pullman, both were stamped with his initials. The carry-on held his computer, handcuffs, bulletproof vest and several clips of ammunition. Whenever he traveled by commercial aircraft, he had to be cleared before boarding the plane with the firearm and ammunition.

Leah flipped a light switch, and light flooded the way up the staircase and hallway leading to the bedrooms. She stopped at the first room on the right. "This will be your bedroom." Stepping aside, she let Jacob walk in. She had turned down the bed, left a supply of towels on the table in a corner of the spacious bedroom. A light fixture, similar to those over paintings in museums or galleries, bathed the bed in a soft warm glow.

Jacob's jaw dropped when he surveyed the bedroom Leah had offered him. Crown molding affixed to the ceiling over the bed replaced a fabric canopy and the off-white panels surrounding the California king bed matched the wood on the moldings. Moving closer, he peered at the framed oils on the walls. They were Impressionist paintings depicting scenes of nighttime Paris, Venice and Rome. There was a sitting area with a love seat table and a media center with a flat-screen television, audio equipment and built-in shelved with books and magazines.

"This is nice," he said. "I'm going to enjoy sleeping here."

Crossing her arms under her breasts, Leah leaned against the door frame. "Your bathroom is across the hall."

Jacob smiled at her over his shoulder. "Where is yours?"

"It's in my bedroom."

"Where is your bedroom?"

She angled her head. "It's at the end of the hall on the left."

"So, you put your baby brother in between us as a buffer," he teased.

Leah straightened, giving Jacob a long penetrating look. "Even if Seth wasn't staying over nothing's going to happen."

"Not tonight, Leah."

She held her breath until she felt her lungs laboring for air. When she exhaled, breath came out in an audible swoosh. "Are you that certain something is going to happen?" Her voice was barely a whisper. Jacob turned to face her. He appeared taller, larger in the muted light.

"If Seth hadn't rung the bell earlier this morning something would have happened. Where did you think it was going to lead?"

"I would have stopped before we had gone any further," Leah stated confidently.

"You may have been able to stop, but I wouldn't only because I didn't want to. You can't get me that aroused then expect me to take care of myself the way I did when I was a teenage boy," Jacob leaned in closer. "If you don't want to go all the way, then don't tease me, baby."

Leah's lips parted in surprise. She hadn't expected him to be so blunt. "Point taken, Black."

Forcing a smile she didn't feel, she turned and walked down the hallway to her bedroom. She had lied to Jacob and she had lied to herself. She wouldn't have stopped him only because she had wanted it to go on until its conclusion. Seth's unexpected arrival had stopped something that had been about to get out of hand. If her brother hadn't come, there was no doubt she would have wound up in bed with a man she had met four days before in the produce department of a supermarket.

She walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Flopping down on a club chair in the dressing area, Leah closed her eyes. The events of the day came flooding back like frames of film. The images slowed, then paused when she recalled the erotic sensations taking her beyond herself when she straddled Jacob's lap.

A shudder passed through Leah as her heart thumped wildly under her breasts, and it took Herculean strength not to retrace her steps and bed Jacob Black to make love to her. She sat, eyes closed, hands fisted until her traitorous body returned to normal. Then she left the dressing room and made her way into the bathroom and took a shower.

When she finally got into bed and pulled the sheet and lightweight blanket over her body, Leah tried to thinking of anything but the man occupying her guest room who was a constant reminder of what she had been missing… passion.

Taking a few more chapters before I get into where I want the story at :)

I just hate super-di-duper long Chapters that people start yawning halfway into lol

I definitely do not want to bore anyone :)

Oh and to anyone who's wondering why 'The Call of Leah' just vanished randomly one day I took it down to fix something majorly important in the storyline that I didnt realize I messed up until I re-read it... but it should be back up by the end of the month :D

All Reviews are welcome! Don't be shy loves lol

xoxo