Dark Matter: SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE

by Jessica Loft

  “You think he’ll come back?”

  “He’s probably slashing your tires or keying your car right now.”

  Dylan walked to the front door and peered out the window. “I don’t see him.” He looked back at her and saw her terrified expression. “Okay, why don’t we pack some of your things and you can come to my place for a while. That way we don’t have to worry about him showing up.”

  She nodded, her face fearful and her eyes shining.

  He took her hand and led her up the stairs. In her room, he helped her pack a bag of things. She threw in clothing without much thought, shoving in other random items—the book from her night table, a few pair of earrings, her deodorant.

  Dylan went into her bathroom to get her shower things and makeup. He heard her let out a small scream from her bedroom. He dropped the tube of toothpaste and ran back to her.

  Justin had her wrist in his hand and as Dylan entered the room, Justin reached up and slapped Cass hard across the face.

  “If you think you’re getting away from me, you have another thing coming,” Justin growled. “Do you even recall who my father is? You stupid bitch. You will pay for this. If you break off this engagement, I will come after you, do you understand? You won’t be able to sleep or drive or go anywhere without wondering if I’m there, following you. And if you think for a second you’ll get to keep this baby when it’s born, you’re nuts. That baby will be taken from you faster than you can blink.”

  It seemed like it had taken ages to get across the room. Dylan let go of the fist he’d had ready and punched Justin across the jaw. He stumbled back and Dylan hit him again. All he could see was Justin hitting Cass and it made him see red.

  “Get into the bathroom and lock the door,” Dylan said to Cass.

  She ran out and the door shut hard. He heard the lock.

  “You will not touch her, and you will not threaten her again,” Dylan said.

  He grabbed Justin’s shirt collar and dragged him to his feet. His barely contained rage broke free. He sent his left hook into Justin’s eye, then a jab to his nose. Justin fell back to the ground, blood streaming from his face.

  Justin curled into a ball and held up a hand to protect his face. “Please, stop,” he said, coughing and trembling. “I’ll go.”

  Dylan wanted to haul him up again, but a little part of him said that if he kept hitting Justin’s face while the adrenaline still ran hot in his veins, he’d end up killing him. It was too easy. One or two well-placed punches and his years of training would take over, leading him to go too far. This wasn’t a warzone and if he killed Justin, he’d lose Cass forever because he’d be in prison. So instead of punching him, he kicked him in the ribs and stomach several times. He didn’t want him just walking out of there. Justin needed to know that if he came near Cass again, there’d be consequences.

  Justin struggled to get to his hands and knees and crawl to the door. He’d make it a few feet, then Dylan would land a solid kick to his ribs and he’d collapse back to the ground. He coughed up blood and tried to crawl away again. He had to have several broken ribs by now. It was all Dylan could do not to crush his skull every time Justin’s head hit the ground.

  As badly as he knew he needed to stop, Dylan still wasn’t ready for the fight to be over. He still contained too much raw anger. If he didn’t get it out, he’d burst. He stomped his foot down hard on Justin’s hand. Bones cracked and Justin cried out. He tried to get away from Dylan faster, but now he held his injured hand to his chest as he tried to pull himself to the door.

  “Have you learned your lesson yet?” Dylan asked with another kick to the stomach.

  “Yes,” Justin croaked. “Please.”

  “Are you going to stay away from Cass and let her live in peace?”

  He nodded.

  Dylan kicked him one more time, a kick so hard it lifted Justin’s body off the ground. Then he kicked his butt to push him forward through the door.

  Dylan stood and watched for a long time as Justin slid down the stairs one at a time, then stumbled to his car, bent over, trying to walk while cradling his hand. He watched from the entryway until Justin got in his car and drove off.

  Chapter 8

  Dylan found Cass on the bathroom floor, crying.

  “It’s okay, baby,” he said, kneeling in front of her. “He’s gone and he won’t ever hurt you again. I made sure of that.”

  She shook her head. “He will. He wasn’t lying. I never got a chance to tell you. His father is a lawyer. The best in the city. I don’t stand a chance. They have so much money and power, that they’ll easily be able to make me look unfit and take the baby.”

  “There has to be a way we can fight it.”

  “No there’s not. Even if we had as much money as them, they know everyone. His father wins cases all the time because so many judges are his friends and take his bribes. They’ll do whatever he wants.”

  “We can run away then. Go somewhere they’ll never find us.”

  She looked up at him. “He’ll find me. He won’t stop until he does. He’s crazy like that. This is why I couldn’t leave him sooner. And now with the baby, I have no way to escape him.”

  Dylan saw that the place where Justin slapped her was bright red. He’d hit hard. “Was this the first time he hit you?”

  Cass dropped her head and slowly shook it.

  Dylan’s hands balled into fists. Maybe he should go after him and kill him after all. Could it be deemed justifiable if he was protecting his fiancé? Maybe he’d get a lesser sentence. Or maybe Justin’s father would see to him being locked away forever.

  “There is one thing we can do.” She looked at him again. “But it might be even more dangerous.”

  “What?”

  “I have evidence against him. But it would mean going to the FBI. Anyone local is tied too closely with his family’s connections and this is huge.”

  “The FBI? What is he involved in?”

  “He and his father both. They do a lot of insider trading. Justin works selling stocks.”

  “What sort of evidence?” Dylan asked.

  “Video. One time I was goofing around with my phone, taking a video and he was in the next room on a phone call. I overheard an important conversation. I would have deleted the video, but he hit me for the first time shortly after that, and I guess I kept it as backup.”

  “Smart move. I don’t know if that’s enough, though.”

  “Well.” Cass twisted her mouth to the side. “I might have also copied a bunch of his computer files. When I came to your house the other day, I thought you might take me back right then and we could run away or something. I made a copy of his hard drive the day before. But it’s still risky, doing this. They might come after me, come after us.”

  “I will take my chances. I will do anything to keep you safe.” Dylan put his fingers under his chin and tilted her head up so he could kiss her. “You are 100% brilliant. How many people would have thought to do what you did? I love you.”

  She covered his hand with her own. “I love you. I’m so sorry, Dylan. I wish I’d never written that letter. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “On one condition.” He pressed his lips to hers again. “Love me forever.”

  She smiled. “Deal.”

  She slid herself forward and climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, swaying her side to side. She put her arms around his neck and started kissing him again. This time, there was no holding back, no pulling away.

  She turned to straddle him, her hips pressing into his. She felt him get hard and pushed harder against him.

  “I miss making love to you,” she whispered in his ear. “You were the best lover I ever had.”

  “It’s been a long time.”

  “One way to fix that.”

  Cass stood and pulled her shirt over her head. He gazed up at her as she unhooked her bra and let her breasts fall. They were bigger than he recalled, full from her pregnancy. He stood and took the
m gently into his hands.

  She pulled his shirt off, and he picked her up and carried her to the bed.

  “Is the door locked?” She sat up suddenly. “I don’t want him just walking in here.”

  “He’s not walking anywhere right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He tugged at her pants until they were free of her body, then pressed her legs apart. “I mean, I beat him pretty badly. He’s probably going to the hospital. But yes, the doors are all locked.”

  “Really?” Her eyes went wide then she let out a moan as he slipped his tongue inside her. “Oh, God.”

  All mention of Justin was long gone now as he slid his finger in and made her moan more. She raised her hips with his motion and pulled at her hair, enjoying the intense pleasure of it.

  When he came to meet her, she was crying.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I missed you so much. I’m sorry.”

  He wiped away her tears and kissed down her cheek. “I’m here now. No more of that.”

  He pressed inside her gently until he filled her completely. She wrapped her arms and legs tight around him, making soft moaning sounds in his ear as he rocked back and forth, in and out of her.

  He sped up, moving faster and harder until they both cried out with a release long in the waiting. She trembled in his arms. He pulled away for a moment just to stare at her. She was so beautiful as she lay on the bed, looking up at him. He kissed along her chest to her stomach and put his hands there.

  “I can’t wait for our family to begin.” He kissed around her stomach, where there was just a hint of roundness beginning.

  Chapter 9

  8 months later

  They sat together in the courtroom, holding hands. Cass’s free hand rested on her large round belly. The baby had been moving a lot and he was so big, there wasn’t much room for him anymore.

  Justin, in his orange prison jumpsuit, sat beside his lawyer father. The judge banged the wood gavel to get everyone’s attention.

  Cass squeezed Dylan’s hand as the judge read out the verdict. It was how the FBI investigators had told them to expect. Guilty. Charges of insider trading, tax fraud, embezzlement. And then the sentence. The judge read the sentence for each charge separately first. Dylan tried to add up the years in his mind, but lost track.

  “The accused shall serve his sentences consecutively, for a time of no less than twenty years,” the judge said. “Upon completion, parole may be possible.”

  Cass looked at Dylan, her eyes wide, and a look of shock across her face. “Twenty years?” she whispered. “That’s even more than we hoped for!”

  Dylan smiled and winked at her. “Looks like fate is in our favor.”

  Dylan’s father’s trial was next week. He’d managed to stay out of jail until his trial, but the FBI said he’d be going away, too, based on the evidence Cass had given them.

  They walked out of the courthouse, hand in hand. A feeling of complete contentedness washed over Dylan. He had Cass. They’d been married months ago and bought a new house. A place with no old memories, with plenty of room for the baby and the future children they’d have. The house was almost all unpacked and settled.

  And now Justin was taken care of. He wouldn’t bother them again. Cass had worked with her lawyer and they’d convinced Justin to sign a paper giving up his rights as a father completely. He’d fought it at first, but when he found out he’d still be required to pay child support, regardless of the fact that he was in prison, he relented.

  It seemed like everything had worked out perfectly in the end.

  “Ohh,” Cass said as they stepped into the parking lot.

  His head whipped to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “This contraction hurt.”

  “This contraction?”

  She nodded. “I’ve been having them all morning, but they weren’t strong. That one, though…”

  “You’ve been having contractions all morning? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I thought it was nothing. Stress or just Braxton Hicks contractions. But these are becoming kind of regular and definitely getting more painful. Ooo.” She stopped mid-step and bent around her stomach.

  “Let’s get to the hospital.”

  She nodded and he helped her into the car. He sped to the hospital and grabbed a wheelchair to push her inside. By the time he came back from parking the car and found her, she was already admitted and hooked up to monitors.

  “I’m officially in labor,” she said. She stopped to breathe through another contraction. He came to her side and held her hand.

  “This is it,” he said, kissing her hand and brushing hair from her forehead. “This is the beginning of the rest of our lives.”

  Her face relaxed and she lay back on the pillow. “I love you. Forever.”

  “Forever,” he said. “And then some.”

  Now Enjoy The Next Story Below Or Choose One From The Table of Contents

  Curious Chemistry

  CHAPTER 1

  “Amanda, are you coming?” Queenie asked, standing in the doorway to their dorm room.

  Amanda’s blue eyes left her computer screen for a moment as she turned to look up at her voluptuously curvy new roommate, Queenie. A soft smile graced her pale pink Cupid’s bow lips and she shook her head no.

  “I have to finish this essay for the Renaissance Lit class,” Amanda explained, biting her lower lip. “But maybe you could bring me something back?”

  Queenie was heading to Stephenson Dining Hall to meet her friends Jamal, Kyeisha, and Bronson. They’d all been friends since high school and even though the semester started over a month ago, they had yet to meet Amanda. Sticking her lower lip out in a pout, she threw her long black hair over her shoulder and gave Amanda a nod of her head.

  “All right, I’ll bring you back some nom noms, but you have to promise me that you’re going to meet my other friends soon, all right?”

  Amanda nodded her head and ignored the panic rising in her chest at the thought of interacting with a group of people. As an introvert, it had taken Amanda everything she’d had to go to an actual university and not an online school. Her anxiety had surprisingly stayed at a minimum level, but only because she had tried so hard to avoid things like group projects, parties, and academic clubs.

  Queenie was the exact opposite of Amanda. She was living large in life and didn’t deny herself anything that she wanted. She was always receiving visitors and making friends any time she went to the dining hall. Amanda wasn’t sure how she did it, but she drew people to her like bees to honey. Everyone wanted to be around her, to be her friend. Tons of people who had an open room had even invited Queenie to come live with them, but she always refused, saying that Amanda was the best roommate she’d ever had.

  It was common for Queenie to introduce Amanda to her new friends and have them looking at her as if they were missing the connection. Where Queenie was tall, curvy, with big, bouncing black curls and just all out beautiful in her porcelain pale skinned perfection. Amanda was shorter, athletically thin, and had long, pencil straight blonde hair that came down to her mid back. While Queenie wore dresses, boots and tight jeans, Amanda wore her white and rainbow striped hoodie, with boyfriend cut jeans and her navy blue Chuck Taylors.

  Amanda had no idea why Queenie thought she was so great, but she was glad that she did. The larger than life woman was always patient with her, no matter what. Even now, after begging her to come with her to meet her friends, she still didn’t get mad when Amanda told her that she was busy. It wasn’t a lie, Amanda consoled herself. She really did have an essay to finish for her Ren. Lit. Class. But she knew it was nearly finished, and it wasn’t even due until Friday.

  Sighing, Amanda turned back to her laptop. Instead of working on her essay though, she clicked the Internet browser icon and pulled up Queenie’s Facebook page. A warm tingling went through her heart as soon as she saw Queenie’s smiling picture. It was one with the both of
them, standing outside of Smith Hall. It was the first time that Amanda had ever gotten tipsy, thanks to Queenie. While walking back to their dorm Queenie had stopped and wanted a picture. Wrapping her arms around Amanda, she pulled her close to her chest. In her inebriated state, Amanda closed her eyes and laid her head directly on Queenie’s bosom. A large smile was spread across both of their faces.

  The ring of her cell phone brought Amanda out of her thoughts, and she looked down at her phone screen. The name Pierce flashed on it, and her smile faded. She knew she was supposed to be happy about her boyfriend calling, but for some reason she dreaded talking to him anymore. Still, she knew that if she didn’t answer he would just show up at her door.

  “Hello?” She asked softly.

  “Hi baby. What are you up to?” Pierce asked. “I’m outside your dorm. Why don’t you come downstairs and go for a walk with me?”

  “Oh, um, no,” Amanda said, closing the Facebook and bringing her essay back up. “I can’t. I have to finish this paper and then proofread it.”

  Pierce let out an irritated sigh.

  “You know Amanda, every time I try to do something romantic you shut me down. I can’t believe that you’re picking a stupid essay over me. I can’t believe –“

  Amanda held the phone away from her ear and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was barely five. If she went for a walk with Pierce and calmed him down, she thought for sure that she could be back in her room and finishing her paper by seven. She brought the phone back to her ear and cut Pierce off.

  “You know what, you’re right, Pierce. I’m sorry. Let me put my shoes on and I’ll be out in five minutes.”

  After hanging up, Amanda saved her essay and laced up her chucks. As she made her way down the three flights of stairs, she wondered if she still loved Pierce the way she thought she had in high school.

  ~

  “Hey girl!” Queenie heard her friend Kyeisha’s voice over the crowded dining hall buzz, and looked around. All the way at the back at one of the round tables she spotted her, along with Jamal, Bronson, and Bronson’s new girlfriend, Lydia. Smiling over to them, she made her way to their table. Like always, people parted like the red sea to let her through. Her beauty was to be admired by everyone, gay, straight, or otherwise. It made it easy for her to adopt the mindset, ‘what Queenie wants, Queenie gets’. If Queenie wanted a clear path to her friends, then she was sure going to get it.