The Time Key/Tagline: Would you risk your own life travelling through a wormhole if it meant you might be able to save the one you love?
Jazlyn Martin is a bright young scientist who is assisting Macrocosm in sending a spacecraft to a traversable wormhole located on the far side of the moon. Helping her is renowned physicist Jackson Hale, a man she finds irresistible both mentally and physically. They are assisting another man who has recently lost his wife and unborn child in a plane crash. They hope to help him travel back to the past in hopes of saving his family by preventing them from getting on that ill-fated plane before it crashes. Will the unravelling of history that this intervention causes to the fabric of the universe irreparably destroy Jazlyn’s and Jackson’s chance at happiness?
Chapter One:
The rush to arrive at the lab in a semi-presentable
state and on time had taken all of Jazlyn Martin’s patience. She’d even had her
roommate Ashley help her with her hair, giving her soft waves instead of her
usual messy bun or braid, and then applying a little make-up to reduce the
pallor from always being cooped up in the lab. She knew she looked good, Ashley
was a wiz at that sort of thing, but the time involved was such an annoying
nuisance. Surely someone could invent a dry-cleaning device that you could step
through and be fresh and clean in five to ten seconds? Didn’t she see something
like that in that movie set in the future with Bruce Willis, yes—The
Fifth Element. She had loved movies growing up and had watched many of them
curled up long side her grandma who just kept knitting away at a gentle,
rhythmic pace for hours on end. She still thought of being near someone knitting
as comfort for the soul. Maybe when she was old and gray she’d find the time.
But judging from her life to date, that was light years away for her.
Joining her fellow scientists in the main meeting
room that was more like an old style gymnasium found in most high schools, she
was surprised to see members from all of Macrocosm’s three labs present. That
was a first. Normally all three groups were kept well apart, secrecy being
their modus operandi. She perked up. There was going to be a big announcement then. God, I hope this
doesn’t mean lay-offs? Calling them all together was unprecedented. Hold on
she told the jumpy character perched on her shoulder it could be something good.
“Good morning, darlin’. How are you this fine
morning?” Jackson Hale asked in his southern sexy tone as he strolled over to
join her holding a cup of coffee from Starbucks, his voice that low pitch drawl
that resonated so effectively inside her. Thunderstruck. Yes, it looked like
today’s reaction to his presence was the same as yesterday’s when she met him
for the first time. Her heart rate had increased and her insides quivered. Great! Now she felt like a star struck
schoolgirl instead of the consummate professional she hoped to always be seen
as.
An explosion had rocked the facility last night and
she had run into his lab to see if anyone needed rescuing. No one had been hurt
which had been a vast relief. It had turned out an experiment had gone astray
in another part of the building, but she had the extreme pleasure of meeting
the legendary and far-too-hot physicist Jackson Hale. She still felt on high
alert, an uncomfortable feeling after he had featured in her dreams during the
night. He was such an expert lover in her imagination that her body broke out
in a fine sheen of perspiration as she remembered his firm insistent hands that
had been everywhere, making her flesh throb with desire. She got wet all over
again, making her mortified and turned on in equal parts.
Wrenching her mind away from the image of Jackson in
her bed, she noticed he had the common sense not to drink the caustic brew
offered under the guise of coffee in the tarnished urn at the back of the hall.
He looked spectacular even in the harsh florescent lighting. Spruced up and presentable
like everyone else present. We may not get all social conventions right but at
least we know when to clean up. She breathed deeply of his exotic fragrance
that tantalized her with its undertones of soap and manly musk, discovering her
mistake instantly. She swallowed hard, finding the female in her reacting in
unaccustomed ways. Since when had she
completely lost it?
The problem was he was the real deal. An extraordinary
genius of a scientist and a virile hunk
of a man with his wide shoulders and lean hips that his pants hung off of just
right. He must work out she decided, nature could not be that kind. His dark
unruly hair fell over his broad forehead and she had a sudden urge to push it
back. It looked like it would be silky to the touch and she wanted to test the
theory. Not to mention how damned handsome he looked. She had realized last
night that he did not know the affect he had on females. The memory of her
three AM orgasm featuring him in the leading role made her tingle all over
again. She pulled herself back to the present with difficulty and answered his
inquiry.
“Good, thanks, and you?” She gave a nod to his cup
that matched hers. “I see you know better than to drink the vile stuff they
pass off as coffee here.”
“Yeah, well, my stomach is not made of Ti-22,” he quipped
back, his eyes alight with good humor.
Oh my, he was also witty. She inwardly sighed,
dreaming of having such a man in her life. Yeah,
like you have the time or could interest a man like Jackson Hale.
“So, any idea of what this is all about?” she asked
and gestured toward the stage where the main characters of the play were
milling about.
“No more than anyone else present,” he replied, and
then raised his expressive brows towards the crew, his voice barely suppressing
laughter. “Nice to see how efficiently they’ve set things up considering the
high paid help in this room.”
She literally choked on her coffee. Everyone knew
scientists were notoriously poorly paid. Proletarian,
that best described their pay grade, she thought ruefully. She’d loved big words
since she’d taught herself to read before preschool from a primer found by the
side of the road. She’d dusted it off and dragged her treasure home, holding
her grandma’s hand tightly all the way. It was one of the fondest memories of
her short childhood. Before she understood that her birth had meant the death
of her mother.
“Well at least the extra work makes up for the great
pay,” she said straight faced. This time she made him laugh and it made her
feel good, like they were in league together. But it drew her mind to how much
work there was to be done and never enough time to do it the way she wanted.
Nights were better and why she opted so often to work them as well. At least
with no one there, she felt the illusion of time control which was basically
not worrying about the time.
The notoriously poor quality speaker system squeaked
one last ear-splitting time. Everyone turned expectantly to the stage and all the
scientists and lab assistants quieted down. With Jackson standing by her side
keeping her all too keenly aware of his fine male presence, she intently
watched the small group sit down. She recognized all except the one man standing
who had the microphone clutched in his hands.
“Fellow scientists,” the man said and paused. She studied
him, curious about his un-kept appearance and eyes that burned with a fanatic’s
intensity. “You must be wondering why I’ve asked to speak to you this morning.
I’m here to tell you that I have discovered the exact location of a traversable
wormhole that allows time travel back to the past.”
