Dark Time

by Summer Cooper

  The overall affect was a tad overwhelming, but at the same time, it invited you to come in and play, to join in the festivities with total abandon. An idea formed as I walked back into the living room. Emily had a degree in hotel management, and she’d never had the chance to use it. Even her family didn’t know she’d managed to rack up that accomplishment. I wondered how she’d feel about working for me.

  She was a smart woman, sensible in most things, and dedicated to the causes she took up. She would be an asset to any company that wanted to succeed. I’d get to see her when I was at the hotel working.

  The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea, and I decided I’d ask her when she made it home. I also knew I should go out and pretend she’d surprised me.

  I picked up everything I’d dropped off and made my way out to a shopping center. I picked a few things, and then I went to have something to eat. I texted her and waited for her response.

  When I got a reply, I smiled. She was more than a little happy to find out I was home and said she was on her way back to the penthouse. I was given strict orders to wait for her to be home before I made my way up. I knew then that she wanted to surprise me, and I’d been right to come out.

  I thought about what she’d done and how excited she was and thought about past Christmases. When I was little, we couldn’t have a tree. The one time Dad had tried to put one up, Mom had almost torched the house when she tried to put candles on the thing for some reason. Dad put lights on it, but she’d wanted the candles anyway.

  When I was older and had gone to live with the James family, they’d always put up a tree and decorated, but there was always something restrained about their Christmas displays. They weren’t religious people, and I thought the only reason they even celebrated Christmas was because of me. I’d appreciated their efforts and would always love that they’d tried, but what Emily had produced with very little space really impressed me.

  I waited about twenty minutes then made the drive to the penthouse. When I texted her that I was home, she came down in the elevator to meet me. She looked happy but nervous. We’d never really talked much about religion or holidays, and I knew she was probably worried about how I’d react.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you, Dylan,” she said after we’d made our way to the elevator to go up. I had her tucked up under my arm, and her left arm was wrapped around my back. I really wanted to pin her to the wall and have my way with her, but I knew this was important to her, so I tried to stay sane for a few more minutes. For her sake.

  “Have you, indeed, princess?” I kissed the top of her head and brought her around to face me. “What is it?”

  “Well, I’ve, uh…” She had the cutest face when she was excited but uncertain about something. Like a naughty child who wanted you to be pleased with their exploits but wasn’t sure you should be.

  “You’ve what?” I lifted an eyebrow as I stared down and gave her a look that said I was curious.

  “I’ve, well, you’ll just have to wait and see.” I guessed she lost her nerve because she moved away and stared at the numbers on the panel.

  “Hmm. Is this going to be something that deserves a spanking, by any chance?” I teased as I bent down to whisper in her ear. “I’ve missed you terribly and can’t wait to have you riding my dick, Emily.”

  “Dylan!” she said and turned to me, her eyes wide. Then this little smirk came, and I knew she wasn’t as shocked as she pretended to be. Or wanted to, whichever was the case. “No, it shouldn’t deserve a spanking.”

  Her tiny little nose went up in the air, and she side-eyed me, but I could see the way her lips twitched.

  “Are you sure?” I tried to pull her back, but she slapped my hands away and stared up at the ceiling in mock annoyance.

  “I am quite sure.” She even nodded for emphasis. Minx.

  “Hmm. I guess we’ll find out now.” I took her hand as the elevator came to a stop, and we stepped through the penthouse door together.

  “Oh my, what’s that smell?” I asked as I sat down my bags and luggage. “Did you make cookies? Is that my surprise?”

  “No! Come with me.” Her eyes danced with joy now, and she was the one who pulled as I followed her into the living room.

  I let the wonder of it all come over me again and examined every aspect of her decorations a second time. “I love it!”

  “Do you?” She almost danced in place as she watched me. I nodded and looked around.

  “It’s like the Christmas I always wanted but never had,” I declared and meant it. It was every kid’s fantasy of what a home should look like for Christmas.

  “I know we didn’t talk about it, but it’s not far away now, and well, I couldn’t help it. I was out with Roxie, and we kind of went overboard with the decorations.”

  “Did you leave any in the store?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen to get a drink.

  “I left a few. I didn’t want to be too greedy.” I saw the pleased smile she tried to hide behind her hands and pulled her into my arms.

  “I love it, Emily. It’s perfect, really. Just like you.” She was to me. Every inch of her was pure perfection. “Can I get you naked now?”

  “May I?” she said primly and pulled away. “No, not yet. I need a shower, and then maybe you can. I’ve been out all day.”

  It wasn’t late, but it had gone dark. She wasn’t usually out that late, unless it was for her charity, so I didn’t begrudge her a shower. I could use one myself, but I waited for her to finish before I went in. When I came out a little while later, she was in a very sultry long, gray nightgown that matched my eyes more than hers.

  The material was silky, and soft black lace trimmed the neckline and hem. She’d made two cups of coffee, set out a few snacks, and was curled up on the couch waiting for me when I came in.

  “Sit with me, tell me how the trip went.” She held her hand out, and I took it before I sat beside her.

  “It went fine.” I pushed the doctor’s words to the back of mind and focused on the first part of my trip. “I got the problem sorted out quickly enough and put steps in place so that the hotel manager could deal with those kinds of problems in the future. She’ll still have to consult me, but I won’t have to fly out there next time something similar happens. Because there’s always a next time.”

  “Good. I hated you being gone so long.” She leaned against the arm of the couch, and the lights from the Christmas tree illuminated her in a way I found rather magical.

  Thoughts left my head, and I stared at her like a love-struck schoolboy who was in the throes of his first crush. She was just … beautiful.

  “You know, you amaze me, Emily. You really do.”

  “Why do you say that?” she asked with a confused look.

  “You just carry on, no matter what life throws at you. I know it must be hard for you right now, being without your family, but you just smile anyway and make the best of it.”

  “It’s not like I could do anything else.” She looked more perplexed than confused now, but it settled into a smile. “Besides, it’s hard to be sad when you’ve come home.”

  Home. She’d called this place home. I looked away and made myself busy picking up a strawberry. I didn’t want her to see my face because I probably looked like some goofy kid.

  The news from the doctor had been … alright. The new medicine had started to work at last, and as long as it kept that up, I’d be fine. He did warn me that if anything happened, more symptoms, or something became worse, that I was to come right back and see him. If it was bad enough, he’d said, I should go to the emergency room. That was the part that worried me, that I could develop a symptom so bad I’d need emergency care.

  I tried to push the thought away. I was young, mostly healthy, and kept away from cigarettes and food that was far from healthy. I kept in shape and exercised often. I was happy for the first time in my life, really happy, and had a woman who could change the entire world for me. The fact that this wa
s happening now, when life had suddenly become good for me, really pissed me off.

  I wouldn’t think about it, I reminded myself. I sat back against the couch with Emily and sighed. There was no need to rush to bed, I decided, as she turned the television on and found a movie for us to watch. I had time to do all the things I’d fantasized about and then some.

  She fell asleep curled up in my lap not long before the movie ended. I could have woken her up and taken her to bed, but the thought struck me that this was trust. She was totally unguarded, without any kind of protection at all, but she still fell asleep. That meant she felt safe with me, and I wasn't sure I’d ever made anyone feel safe before in my life. Only her. She trusted me to keep her safe, and she trusted me to not harm her.

  She was totally unconcerned about what might happen to her, and that really hit me hard. She’d fallen asleep on me before, but it hadn’t really occurred to me what that meant. She trusted me implicitly.

  I knew I should tell her what was wrong with me. She’d have to know if our relationship went on any longer, but for now, I wanted to keep it a secret. Was my failure to tell her a form of dishonesty? It wasn’t something she could catch from me, it wasn’t something like that, but it would impact my health and my way of life, eventually. I would have to tell her before the day came when I’d need help.

  I didn’t want her to think of me as a patient, though, or to burden her with that knowledge, not right now. If, and when, the day came that I’d need more care than I needed right now, I’d tell her. It would be her choice to make about whether she stayed with me.

  I didn’t really have much concern about that either, if I was honest. I knew how loyal she was and knew she wouldn’t leave me just because of an illness. I didn’t want her to stay because of that loyalty, however. I shifted as guilt started to nag at me.

  I shouldn’t have started this relationship, not with such an uncertain future ahead of me, but Emily was a storm wrapped in a blessing that I hadn’t counted on. She’d thrown everything inside of me into havoc, while she made everything outside seem calm and sensible. She gave me hope that I could have a future, and I loathed to give that up now.

  I brushed at her cheek softly as she began to snore and smile. Even her snores were soft and unobtrusive. I reached for my phone, made sure it was in silent mode, and then took a picture of her there, on my lap, completely angelic looking.

  She’d hate it if she knew I’d taken that picture, but I knew it was one I’d look at often in the future. I had a few of her, and I’d look at them every night before I went to sleep while I was away. We would do video chats, and we talked every day, but I still liked to see these moments we’d captured together before I went to sleep without her. Sometimes the life she’d given me in our short time together seemed unreal. I’d take out the pictures, have a look at them, and know that it wasn’t all a fantasy. Emily was mine, she was real, and I’d do whatever it took to keep it that way.

  Emily

  I woke up the next morning and prepared some breakfast for both of us. I knew he liked light breakfasts, I did too, so it wasn’t too complicated. I’d learned to cook from my brother Trent’s wife when we were both young. I thought about her now, and the hurt that came with thoughts of my family dimmed my happy expression.

  Dylan made the hurt disappear the instant he walked into the kitchen and slid his arms around me from behind. “Good morning, Emily. Have I said how much I love this Christmas wonderland you’ve created?”

  “You have, but thank you. I really like it, and I’m glad you do too.” I drizzled a little icing onto the cherry-filled pastries I’d baked and brought the plate to the small table we sat at in the mornings. “Come eat before they get cold.”

  “Fine.” He dragged the word out like a teenager that had been asked to clear the dishwasher, but smiled as he sat. “You know these are my favorite, right?”

  “I do, indeed.” I picked one up and carefully bit into the flaky pastry. The taste was heavenly, I had to admit.

  “What are you going to do today?” he asked after he swallowed a bite of his food and then watched me.

  “I have no plans, actually.” I didn’t want to admit it, but I was starting to get bored sitting at home all day on my own. There were enough books in the world to keep me occupied for the rest of my life, but I liked to be active too.

  “How about you come into work with me then?” he asked, and I felt excitement bubble to life.

  “Really?” I took another bite and waited.

  “Yes. You have a good eye for decoration, and I’d like your input on a few things.” He didn’t quite meet my eye, but I understood. He was busy eating.

  “Oh. Thanks.” I felt heat bloom in my cheeks and looked down at the last bite of my pastry. I was pleased that he thought that.

  “I’m going to get dressed, just casual stuff for now. We don’t even have furniture in the place yet, so there’s no need for anything more.”

  “Great. I’ll join you then.” The bathroom had enough room to accommodate both of us, so we showered and dressed together, and managed to get through it without too many distractions. Although, before we left the house, he pinned me to the wall in the hallway and kissed me absolutely silly.

  His tongue swirled around mine for a long moment as his hand went to my waist. I had on a pair of jeans and a long gray sweater with a pair of designer combat boots on my feet. A long gray scarf finished off the look, but instead of letting it warm my neck, he was pulling it off to wrap around my waist. When he pulled tightly to him with the scar, I moaned into his mouth.

  Dylan, the bastard, pulled his mouth from mine, and I tried to follow, but he stood up straight, smirked that infuriatingly adorable smile of his, and ran his finger through his hair to straighten the mess my hands had made of it.

  “Let’s get out of here before I take you back to the bedroom and remove that rather concealing sweater you have on.”

  I was in a daze by the time he put my scarf around my neck and pulled me into the elevator. I swear, I heard him chuckle when he started the car, and I looked over to give him a glare, but his face was clear of any kind of chuckling activity.

  “You know you make my brain go dead when you kiss me like that,” I complained at him, and he chuckled out loud.

  “Of course, I know that. Why else would I do it?”

  My muttered response was drowned out by the sound of the engine of the car as he pulled into traffic, and I let it all go with a contented smile. It wasn't like I was going to complain too hard about being kissed silly. It was a wonderful thing.

  Dylan drove us toward the beachfront, and I was surprised when he pulled into the parking garage. My family’s resort wasn’t far from this one, and I’d heard Trent say more than once that he’d like to acquire it, but the owner refused all of his offers. I wondered how Dylan had managed it but didn’t ask. It was none of my business.

  “This, my lovely, will be the newest version of Pebbles, my own brand of resorts.” He guided me into another elevator that soon opened into the lobby. “There are seven floors of rooms, four penthouse suites, one of which will be ours, and a few rooms that we will use for staff quarters, should the need arise.”

  He guided me into the reception area, and I could see workers had already gutted most of the furnishings and the carpets. Cement and drywall waited to be painted or covered by paneling. The reception was located at the rear of the building, opposite the beachfront side. That made it convenient to the parking garage, but I wondered if a separate office would be useful on the side that faced the beach.

  “There is space for a bar inside, an infinity pool, which so many families want now, a bar at the back, and two restaurants.” I watched him, this normally confident man who now seemed uncertain, nervous even.

  “It’s a good place to start. Definitely a good place to start. It’s in a good location; you’re on the beach. How many pools are there?” I was thinking about possibilities, and already my brain had ret
urned to the old days of maintaining a resort from the back end, the part that none of my brothers had ever wanted to deal with.

  “There are three pools and several hot tubs. We have plenty of water activities. I’m planning to put a full gym in, one of the bars will probably end up an Internet café type of area, and I have other ideas.” His words trailed off as his thoughts spun out to the future.

  I could see what he wanted, a place where the guests never had to leave and families could spend their days together. “Have you thought about shuttle services, for those who want to see the sites?”

  “I have, and I’m scouting a fleet now. I’ve also got someone working on how many staff we’ll need. Most of that is coming from my dad’s resorts. I’ll be able to put a lot of the practices from there into place here. I’ll pull in some of my staff from California for a little while until the staff here is trained properly. It’s a huge task, but I think it’s manageable.”

  “You can do it, Dylan. I know you can.” I walked around the bare space and wondered at the possibilities. I didn’t want to butt in and give too many opinions.

  Dylan was as deep into hotel management as I was, and he didn’t need my two cents to add into the pot of advice I was sure he was already getting. I walked around and couldn’t help but add in my own touches. I’d put a plant there, to hide the odd corner, and a chair in case someone wanted a corner to sit in if lines got long at reception.

  In fact, I’d put a couch or two in here, and a table for a laptop and drinks that always came with large crowds. I couldn’t help but start to problem-solve for Dylan the same as I’d done in my family’s hotels around the world.

  “I can’t believe I’ve spent so much time in hotels,” I said with a laugh. I’d told Dylan about my childhood, and then the adult years, so many endless days in hotels, dealing with problems. When my brothers were old enough to cause problems, I was called in a lot of the time to deal with it until my father got back.