by James Cox
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2015 James Cox
ISBN: 978-1-77233-223-0
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Kerry Genova
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
This is all about my readers. Thanks to you, I've been on the bestseller list at several sites with nearly all my books. I wanted to show you how thankful I am for purchasing my books, so, here's a free read for you. Enjoy!
DIPPING HIS PEN IN THE OFFICE INK
James Cox
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Earth, 2045
“I love you, Quinn!”
“This is not love.” I was so angry my voice was a cross between a yell and a growl. “This is obsession. This is...crazy.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Listen, Sean. We’ve been going out for four months. I like you a lot, but you’re following me to work, and you freak out if I talk to another guy. Do you know that you barging into the office and punching my boss got me fired?” My tone hitched again. I was just so fucking pissed.
Sean paced to the door of my small apartment and back. His black hair was darker with sweat. His blue eyes were wide as he stopped at stared at me. “He was flirting with you.”
“Sean, he was telling me my assignment for the week. There was nothing there but a boss giving his employee work. You freaked out on him. On me. That’s not love.”
“What are you saying?”
Ah, it had been coming for weeks. Sean showing up when I was on a lunch break, sitting at my door when I got home from work, hell, I could have sworn I saw him in a hover car when I was jogging. “Sean, I’m saying this is getting too intense for me. I think we should—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Sean, please. We’re not right for each other. Can’t you see that? We don’t like the same things and now you’re turning into this...clinging person that follows me around.” I crossed my arms over my chest. The muscles flexed. “I want to break up.” I gave my voice a soft tone. This last month had been filled with an extreme side of Sean that I didn’t want any part of.
“You can’t.” His bottom lip trembled.
“I’m sorry. Please, leave.” I didn’t turn my back on him. After seeing the way he whaled on my boss, I wasn’t going to be stupid. Especially since my vision was so crappy. I pinched the bridge of my nose, my glasses jostling a bit.
“You don’t mean that. You’re just mad.” He took a step toward me. We were about the same size, weight, and height.
“I meant what I said.”
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Just take some time to—”
“No. I am sorry, but we’re done.” I had to break this shit up before it got worse. “Please. Leave.”
He nodded slowly, lowering his head.
I was expecting more fight out of him and was glad when he walked to the door. Now I had to go look for another job. Or beg for my old job back. I don’t see why I was fired over something completely out of my control. The door banged shut. I stared around the empty place with a sense of relief. The brown curtains by the door wavered and I heard the hover car fade off. Then I waited four breaths and walked to the window. Sean’s vehicle was gone, blending into the traffic over the designated driving area. I took a deep breath.
I called my boss up next to get my job back. It surprised me when the secretary answered that he wasn’t in. Maybe he had gone to the hospital for his injuries. Damn it. I hope the cops didn’t get involved. I never wanted to set sight on Sean again.
By the time I went through a few holographic help wanted ads, the sun had set. It was just me. No family to speak of thanks to the plague of 2015. I needed employment to survive, but I guess that would have to wait until tomorrow. I’d call the boss again bright and early. Maybe he’d relent and let me come back. I was standing my full height of five foot eleven inches, my arms stretched above my head. A yawn escaped my lips and I padded barefoot into the bedroom. Considering this was a small apartment, the walk was about thirty seconds. I pulled my white shirt off, showing off my pierced nipples and hard abs. I didn’t work out as much as I used to but maybe that would change now that I didn’t have to spend so much time on Sean. The light was left on as I always did. My night blindness was getting worse thanks to my Retinopathia Pigmentosa. Hereditary retinal degeneration. Essentially I have night blindness. My vision would start to tunnel and after that total loss of sight. I had been working for a company that was working on several disease treatments and my problem had been one they were trying to help cure. I only worked in the accounting department, but I still hoped they’d let me test out the first batch. Now that dream was lost because of Sean and so was my wish of seeing again.
I yanked back the sky blue comforter and with it a thin white sheet. I shoved my army print boxers down my legs. My cock had been hanging all day, too stressed to even be playful. Poor thing. I rubbed my flaccid best friend before slipping between the soft sheets. I was lying on my back, the sheets just below my hips so the neat line of auburn hair that led to my dick could be seen. Not that anyone was looking. And tonight I was happy about being alone.
When I opened my eyes, the time was projected over my head. It was two in the morning. Shit. I grumbled and turned onto my side. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when I saw a form lying next to me. “The fuck.” I pushed away. “Sean...” But the guy was too big. My lips were parted on the verge of screaming as I tapped the cold body with my palm. The head tilted and I looked into the empty eyes of my boss. I scrambled backward, falling off the bed. I landed on my elbows hard and banged my head. Thankfully, it was on carpet.
“I took care of our problem,” Sean said.
I tumbled backwards and landed on my knees, my back hit the wall. I blinked furiously. He had turned the lights off. I could barely see.
“Now we can be together again.”
Holy fuck, he’s a nutcase! “Okay,” I said softly. Keep calm.
“You’ll love me again?”
“Yes.” Fucking fruitcake! “Where are you?”
I heard a tsking noise. “Say it.”
Say what? I was silent a moment then it clicked. “I love you, Sean.” You crazy fuck. Yeah, I left that last part out. I heard a soft sigh. The floor creaked to my right, near my bedroom door.
“I knew you loved me. I knew it. You were just mad before. Right, Quinn?”
“Yes.” I squeezed my hands into fists. I sat on the floor, my balls brushing the carpet. I tucked my legs to my body and when I saw a shadow to my right, I kicked out. My bare feet jammed into Sean’s legs. He grunted and went down. I jerked to my knees and tried to punch him, but my sight was too bad. I spun and hit the floor. A jolt of pain bolted up my arm. I winced and fumbled to my feet. Something sharp slid against my calf. It felt like a fucking knife! I moved faster toward the door. Something hit my leg—a bag or something. I landed on my knees brutally enough to cry out. Then my head hit the wall. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. I couldn’t even figure out where I hurt, it was just everywhere. I slid down, my hands digging into the plush brown carpet. Get up! But I couldn’t see at all and my limbs were stiff. I managed to roll to my back and that’
s when Sean jumped on top of me. Oh fuck, he was naked. His erection pressed against my abs. I tried blinking again, my vision returning in short bursts of gray. “Sean?” He didn’t speak. I didn’t try talking again. The sharp point of the blade pressed against my throat. I swallowed hard. At least I could see the glare of the knife from the light still on in the living room. He dragged the edge along my neck, not yet piercing skin.
“You disappoint me.” His voice was low. He rubbed his dick against me and dragged the knife to my nipple piercing. Then moved it right over my heart. “I loved you.” He pressed the blade into my skin. I gasped. The warm blood pooled and then dripped down my side.
No! I was not going to die like this. I grabbed Sean’s hand and twisted. He yelled, and the knife slipped from his grasp. I was bleeding as I punched him, bucking him so he rolled off my body. It took all I had to stand up and run. Of course, my sight made that trek worse. I managed to get to the front door and wrench it open. Then, like a true survivor, I started yelling at the top of my lungs. I screamed, I raged, I even threw some begging in there. I ran down the hall, jamming my hand over my heart as blood seeped out. A door opened. Apartment Two. “Help me!” I stumbled forward, rushing into the nearest safe place.
I don’t know where Sean went after I escaped. The police came and found my former boss. I must have recited what happened that night a dozen times. I was stitched up and stayed at the hospital. It didn’t take long for Sean to find me again. I couldn’t sleep that night and it had saved my life. He had killed two officers before he was stopped. The son of a bitch was crazy and busted out of jail that night. Apparently, Sean wasn’t his real identity. His fingerprints didn’t match anything in the system. No one knew who the hell my ex-boyfriend really was. I hate to admit it, but I was worried. He wasn’t the quiet, sexy guy I met four months ago. He changed, warped before my eyes. I didn’t give Sean a chance to find me again. I barely escaped the first time. So, I went into witness protection and got a ticket to the next shuttle rocket then made my way to the colonized moon.
In 2020, we built domes on the surface of the moon. It kept the harsh atmosphere out and dulled the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light. They were able to sustain human life, creating oxygen-rich areas. But it was so dangerous only the tough, the brave, or the stupid lived in a moon dome. I liked to think I was a little of each. Sean knew how much I hated to fly so I doubted he would check for any record of me or someone who looked like me on a shuttle. It was the only thing I could think of. Runaway. And it took a lot for me to hightail it off Earth. I didn’t know how to deal with a crazy stalker who had almost killed me twice now. What happened when I went blind? How did I survive him then? And to think I dated Sean for months without any weird shit showing up.
Onward to the moon.
