Magnetic (New Adult Contemporary Romance) (6 page)

He knew it
wasn’t any different from the other advances he had received from women ever since high school, but for some reason they now felt hollow, fake, insincere. He wanted Samantha, and no substitution would do.

He had dialed her number so many times he lost count, always clearing the s
creen before hitting the send button. He wanted to talk to her, but couldn’t handle another rejection.

The two who entered looked around, but didn
’t see him reclined in the charcoal gray seats, in the back corner of the dark room, they thought they were alone. His experience had taught him that most people came and went from the planetarium in just a few short minutes, unless they were lovers, and then you had to be careful that you announced yourself before everyone was embarrassed. As long as these two kept their hands to themselves and their clothes on, he was sure he could wait them out and return to the solitude of the room.

“
Oh Mark, this place is beautiful.” Darren froze when he heard the voice that had been burned into his mind for a month now. He craned his neck to see, to prove that it was her. His breath caught in his chest when she saw her, standing there even more beautiful than the day he met her. The man she was with had his hand on the small of her back, it took every ounce of control not to pounce on the man and beat his face in for touching
his
woman.

They sat in the seats and continued to take in the majestic view of the room, neither one of them saying a word. Darren sat up in his chair and watched them. Though the room was dark, his eyes w
ere well adjusted, and the stars and constellations upon the screen provided a soft glow that drenched the two within his view. Samantha sat with her hands folded in her lap while the man she had called Mark draped his arm across the back of her chair and shoulders. Darren thought he saw her stiffen under his attentions, but he couldn’t be sure. At least she hadn’t melted into Mark as she had him, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to watch that.

Mark began to play with her hair, trace his fingers over th
e shape of her ear, and then placed his hand upon her thigh. Darren tensed as he watched every move they made, his heart leapt with joy as Samantha pushed him away, and then with horror at her situation.

“
No, Mark! I don’t think so; I’m not ready for your
full
attentions.”

“
Sammannthaa,” he crooned, “this isn’t my
full
attention, this is just a
get to know you
attention.”

“
Well I think we need to go back to the
indifferent acquaintance
attentions.”

“
We are way past that. Plus, there’s no turning back.” Mark continued to stroke her thigh, and leaned in to kiss her neck.

“
Mark, we are not past that, and yes, we can turn back.” Samantha leaned away from him. His breath on her neck set her on the verge of panic.

“
I’ve waited for weeks to convince you to go out with me, I’ve picked the most romantic and secluded spot I know of, and by God there is no going back now.” Mark reached out and grabbed the back of her head with his hand and pulled her to him in a demanding kiss. His other hand grabbed at her shirt, pulling it up.

Darren was already on his feet poised to take action when Samantha struggled against him, freeing her arm and then balled up her fist and punched him across the face. Darren took a few steps forward and paused. He didn
’t want to attract attention to himself, but there was no way he would let this man hurt her. If she left with him, he would stop her. If she left alone, he would follow her until he was sure she made it home and then buck up his courage to call her. Had the two been together, as he knew they should be, she never would have been in this situation. Rather, she would be there with him, in the safety of his arms.

Darren
’s mind raced back to the present when he heard Samantha scream, “Don’t you ever touch me again, Mark. I mean it.”

“
You mean it huh? Just like you meant it when you kept telling me no for a date? Well where are you now? Oh yeah, you’re on a date with me.”

“
Against my better judgment, you can rest assured I won’t make that mistake twice.”

“
Well, as you can see I always get what I want, and since I want you, there’s no way you can get away from me. Plus, I already know where you live.”

Terror, dread, and fear coursed through her. He was right, he knew where she lived. She would have to leave, call up her dad and go back
to Ritzville, this very night, if only she could make it through this unharmed. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket she pressed and held the two, speed dial to her father.

Mark grabbed the phone from her hands, threw it to the ground, and stomped the he
el of his shoe into it just as she heard her father’s voice pick up the line, “Hey sweetie, what’s up?”

Darren had witnessed more than enough. Anger against Mark, and fear for Samantha was blinding all rational thought, he jumped over the seats and ran to
her side, sweeping her behind him, he stood between the love of his life and the danger in front of her.

Samantha had no idea another person was in the room, relief flooded her when the man stepped between her and Mark. His body was familiar, one she had s
een in her dreams every night for the past month, but she couldn’t trust herself, she had often conjured up visions of him when she wanted him most, just to be disappointed when it turned out not to be him.

“
The lady said she wants you to leave.” Samantha froze at the sound of his voice. She wasn’t just seeing him, now she was hearing him also.

“
Yeah, well who asked you?”

“
You did when you didn’t leave her alone, she did when she punched you, and you asked again when you took her phone from her hands and destroyed it under your foot.”

Darren and Mark were nearly identical in height, but Darren had the stature of a man not to be messed with. It
wasn’t surprising when Mark backed down.

“
Fine, come on Samantha I’ll take you home.”

Darren couldn
’t see her, but from the look on Mark’s face, she wasn’t agreeing with him.

“
No, I’ll get home myself.”

“
Whatever Samantha, let me just take you home. What are you going to do, walk?”

“
No, I’ll take her home.” Darren stated.

By now Samantha had realiz
ed it was him, and despite the turmoil that they had experienced, she wasn’t shy about clinging to the back of his shirt as she cowered behind him.

“
Like hell you will, she knows you even less than she knows me. It took me weeks to convince her that she knew me well enough to go on this date. There’s no way she’ll leave with you.”

“
A lot of good getting to know you did her. I think she’s better off leaving with a stranger, than with you.” Turning towards Samantha he asked, “Would you prefer that he takes you home, or will you go with me?”

“
You!” There was no doubt in her response; she would go to the end of the Earth with Darren if he asked her to.

“
There you have it; she would rather that I see her home. You can leave now.”

Mark just stood there, a glare o
f disgust on his face for both the man in front of him and for Samantha. “You’ll be sorry Samantha, I’ll …” Mark’s voice caught as Darren grabbed him by the throat and squeezed.

“
Or you’ll what? God help me if you come near her again, I will kill you. Do you hear me? Damned the consequences,
I will kill you
.” Darren let go of his throat as he threw him towards the door. “Get out, NOW!”

Both Darren and Samantha watched Mark ran out the door. When the last sliver of light was shut out, Samantha collapsed on t
he floor behind Darren. Tears, unseen in the dark, streamed down her face, and she choked on her uncontrollable sobs. Darren sat on the floor next to her and pulled her into his lap, Samantha melted into his body, exactly as he had feared she would do with Mark. Darren encased her in his arms, holding her tight, rocking her as he let her drown the front of his shirt with her tears. Her delicate hands gripped fist-fulls of his shirt, her lifeline to safety. He continued to rock, the swaying of their bodies soothing her soul.

“
Shh, you’re alright now, I am here. Don’t worry, he’s gone, he can’t hurt you.” Darren whispered into her hair. His heart broke with each of her tortured sobs. Finally, her crying began to wane, and she tried to sit up. Darren just held her close, his hand reaching up and stroking her silky hair, beckoning her to rest back into him. Neither of them said a word, Darren just held her close, occasionally brushing his lips across the top of her head when he thought she couldn’t feel it.

Sa
mantha could feel everything though. Not all of her tears were for the fear that Mark had invoked, though most of them were. No, some of her tears were for the joy she felt at finding Darren. She could feel his hands wrapped around her as she sat on his lap. Every so often, he would rub a hand down her back, or over her shoulders to promote additional support. She felt him dip his head to kiss the top of her's. Samantha looked up into his eyes, the same dark pools of passion that she had been dreaming about. She was desperate for him to kiss her. It was the only way to wipe away the harsh memories of her horrific night.

Darren paused, his eyes roaming her lips. He was a dying man in the desert sands, and her lips were his water. He was desperate to drink fro
m her. To press his lips against her’s as they had in the Seattle parking lot, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare her; she’d been through too much already tonight.

“
Samantha, who were you calling before he took your phone?”

“
My dad, I wasn’t sure what else to do.”

“
Here, you better use my phone and give him a call. He’s probably going to be worried sick.” Darren reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He handed it to her.

Samantha dialed her father
’s number and spoke to him, their conversation was long. When Mark had crushed her phone, it had continued to work for a little bit, he had heard some of what had gone on and he was worried sick. He wanted her to call the police, wanted her to come home, back to Ritzville where he could protect her.

“
Samantha, I think you need to come home. Either that or we need to get him arrested and put in jail. I don’t like that you’re home alone, not with him roaming around knowing where you live.”

“
Dad, the police can’t do anything. Nothing happened, I told you, another guy I know showed up and got rid of him. I can’t drive back to Ritzville tonight, it’s too late, and after all that has taken place I just don’t have the energy. Maybe tomorrow.”

“
It’s tonight that you’re not safe though.”

Darren had gathered all of his belongings from where he had been sitting and brought them to where Samantha was. He could hear her father
’s booming voice through the phone. He could hear his anxiety and distress. Motioning for Samantha to give him the phone he spoke to Samantha’s father. “Mr. Lyle, Darren Riggs here. I understand your distress over this evening’s events, I promise you they upset us all.”

“
Do you? Can you actually know how I feel? I just had to listen through a broken phone to my daughter being attacked. Then when the phone went dead I had to sit here and wait with trepidation, not knowing how I could even tell the police where she was at. I don’t think you can understand, but I will thank you for being there, and for being a big enough man to stand up for her.” Mr. Lyle’s voice caught in his throat, the emotions of the evening too strong.

“
It was my pleasure sir. Listen, I’ll do whatever Samantha decides. I’ll drive her home to Ritzville, or I’ll go stay at her house and sleep on the couch. No matter what, I’ll make sure she's safe, I promise.”

“
Thank you,” was all he could say, and then Darren handed the phone back to Samantha.

“
Dad, I don’t want to drive that far tonight. Let’s have Darren come stay at my apartment with me and tomorrow we can talk again and determine what I should do.”

Mr. Lyle wasn
’t keen on the idea, but it was all he had at the moment. “I guess it will have to be, but you better call me bright and early in the morning.”

“
I will dad, from this same number if it’s alright with Darren.” Darren nodded his head as she passed her love to her father and hung up the phone.

“
I didn’t realize that my phone hadn’t broken entirely. He heard way too much, and now he’s stressed out. That is so bad. I am never going to have a moment’s peace again. Once he starts worrying, he never lets up.” It seemed that talking with her father had set her mind at least somewhat at ease, something Darren was happy about.

Samantha sat down i
n the chair and leaned forward, cradling her head in her hands. She felt a pounding headache coming on and wanted nothing more than to lie down.