Dark Time

by Summer Cooper

  Even as a teenager, I was the one who made decisions about what was to be done, how to control the damage. I’d been a problem-solver my entire life it would seem. I could do that for Dylan too.

  I brushed the thought away as nonsense. Dylan has just said he was bringing staff in from his other resorts. He didn’t need me one bit.

  He took me through the rest of the hotel and then we went home to have some lunch. Dylan had a meeting with a designer, but he told me he’d be back around five to take me to dinner. He’d been so nervous and almost twitchy that I’d been worried about him.

  When he returned, I met him in the parking garage. He seemed calmer, if somewhat quiet. It wasn’t long before we arrived at one of our favorite restaurants and had placed our orders.

  “Emily, I have an offer for you,” Dylan said from his seat across the table.

  We always had the same table, in a private nook of the dining area, away from prying eyes. I was distracted, my mind on whether or not I should run my foot up his thigh, when he made his announcement.

  My head tilted as I grew curious. “What’s that, Dylan? You want me to crawl under the tablecloth and open your zipper for you?”

  It never failed to amaze me how aroused I always was around him. I was only half-teasing. The thought of doing just what I’d said made me flush, and something odd happened to my breathing.

  He leaned across the table, placed his hand over mine, and looked me right in the eye. I knew the offer had turned his mind from whatever he was about to say because his gaze turned hot, and his lips turned that shade of red that only came when he was aroused. My eyes narrowed when he licked his lower lip quickly.

  I wanted to bite those lips and let our tongues tangle together, but I moved my eyes up to his.

  “That’s a very tempting offer, Emily, but that wasn’t…” He paused, and I saw him visibly fight for control over his body. “That wasn’t quite what I was going to offer you, my dear.”

  “Oh?” I gave him a look that dared him to ask me to do it.

  “No, it wasn’t.” He pulled away, and the moment passed. His lips twitched into a smile, and he took a sip of his wine.

  “Then what did you want to ask me, Dylan?” I sat back in my chair, only a little annoyed. I knew he’d make it up to me when we got back to the penthouse.

  He’d been tense about something all day, but when I’d asked him, he wouldn’t say what was wrong. Now here we were, in a nice restaurant, and I had to wonder what exactly he wanted to offer me.

  There’d been no more talk about contracts since that one fateful night. I was glad about that. I hated those contracts. I couldn’t figure what else he might want to offer me.

  For a brief, fleeting moment, my heart fluttered, but then I dismissed the idea. Dylan would not be offering marriage. He definitely wasn’t that kind. I had no expectations of that, although, I did sometimes fantasize about wedding dresses and ceremonies that he took part in. I didn’t want to admit that to myself, not right now, and I took a deep breath to push that silly little fluttering feeling away.

  “Go on, darling, what did you want to offer me?” I smiled at him and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear.

  I had the blonde mop in a French twist on the back of my head, with a few strands out to soften the look. He seemed to like it, and his eyes followed my fingers.

  “I wanted to… Well, I know it’s probably the last thing you want to do, but you did get a degree in it, so maybe you do. I don’t know.” He was nervous all over again.

  Now I had an idea of what he wanted to offer, and my heart melted. “Do you want me to come work with you, Dylan?”

  “I do, Emily.” The words burst out of him with relief. “You’re not mad?”

  “Why would I be mad, Dylan? I’d love to. I’m not sure what you’d want me to do, but I’d be glad to be part of the team.” I grinned, touched that he thought that much of me.

  Some demon in the back of my mind repeated the word traitor over and over, but I told it to fuck right off. My family didn’t even know I had a degree. None had cared enough to ask me how I spent my time and didn’t know I’d obtained the degree through online courses at the state university. It was their loss.

  I was a free agent and owed no loyalty to people who had disowned me, did I?

  Dylan was pleased and called the waiter over to order a bottle of champagne.

  “What do you want me to do exactly?” I was curious and wanted to know some of the details right away.

  “Well, for now, I want your opinion on things. You know this coast better than me. You know what makes the people who come here tick, what they want, what they like. You have something nobody else from my current employee pool can offer. Insider knowledge of the market here.” He paused, frowned, and then rushed to speak again. “I don’t mean I want you to divulge confidential information about your family’s business; I didn’t mean that at all.”

  “Dylan, it’s fine. I knew what you meant, and I wasn’t offended. I’ve actually got a lot of information to share, you’re right. None of it has to do with my family’s business, but I learned a lot from my experiences there. I’ll be glad to be part of your team.”

  Our dinner and the champagne arrived, and we talked about future plans together while we ate. I was pleased, and excitement made me grin like an idiot. I would be working with Dylan, and hopefully, I would become a valuable member of his team.

  I really liked the idea of having a real job. I didn’t need one, but it would be nice to have something to do every day. I’d spend my days with him at work and my nights in his bed. That sounded like complete heaven to me.

  Emily

  “Merry Christmas, Emily.” I stretched as Dylan whispered into my ear, a broad grin on my face.

  “Dylan!” I whined out because I wanted just a few more minute to sleep. “Let me have another half hour.”

  “Come now, my dear. You don’t want to lay in bed while there are presents under that magnificent tree you put up! They’re out there, calling for you.” He paused and then in a small, dramatic voice he called out, “Emily, open us. Please, you must reveal the secrets we contain. Come to us, Emily.”

  “Are you trying to get me out of bed with a bad Dracula impression, Dylan? Really?” I hugged my pillow tighter and grunted. “I just need five more minutes.”

  “Nooooo!” Dylan groaned and pulled the covers away. “Come on, show some enthusiasm.”

  I knew he was trying to fill my day with a little happiness, and I couldn’t do much after he took the covers away but get up. “Fine!”

  It wasn’t a very excited fine, and I pushed up off the bed with a slight glare in his general direction. “I’m up! Let me have a minute in the bathroom, and I’ll come out. Is there coffee?”

  “Indeed, there is, Em. I’ll go and prepare a cup for your majesty.” He bowed as he slid from the bed and left me to it. I couldn’t help but forgive him for waking me up.

  He’d spent the days leading up to Christmas the happiest I’d seen him. We’d started work on the resort, yet, somehow, he’d managed to add a present to the growing pile under the tree every day. I went to work with him, to lunch, and came home with him, but every single day, he walked into the apartment with something in a bag that he’d leave under the tree.

  I’d never been the kind to sneak a peek at the presents. My brothers would try to lift the tape from the edges of the presents to have a quick look at what they were getting. I’d always looked at the pile of presents under the tree and thought the whole presentation represented our family well.

  The boxes weren’t decorated with cheap and somewhat gaudy paper, as my mother called it, that other families had. Oh no, we had white boxes with silver, gold, red, or green ribbons. The colors were never mixed up, and the ribbons were never large or ostentatious. The whole display was cold to me, clinical, and the bare minimum of cheerful. I hated it. That’s why the presents I’d bought for Dylan were decorated with paper that was printed with
brightly colored Santas and snowmen, holly and snowflakes, and all sorts of colors. I’d even put a rather lurid amount of ribbons on the presents.

  It was an in your face extravaganza of Christmas cheer, and I couldn’t help but smile as I joined Dylan in the living room. He was surrounded by a fort of boxes that had started to call my name. The pile of boxes I had from Dylan were similarly decorated, and I knew he must have spent a fortune on wrapping materials. Some of those ribbons actually looked like necklaces. He smiled up at me from the floor and patted a spot at his side.

  “Sit here. I know we should probably eat first, or do something that says we know how to adult properly, but I don’t want to do that. You’ve inspired me to find that kid in me again. For once, I want to be completely immature and break into these boxes you’ve brought for me. Since it’s just you and I, well, we can do what we want, can’t we?”

  Dylan had explained to me the week before that his adoptive parents had flown down to Puerto Rico for Christmas, which meant I had him all to myself. Later we planned to make dinner and sit in front of the television watching dated Christmas movies and cartoons.

  I placed my hand on his smooth cheek and looked into his smiling gray eyes. He really was magnificent. I could see the little boy that he’d never been allowed to be in the face of the grown man and finally got my brain into gear.

  “Fuck adulting, Dylan. Let’s do this.” I leaned over, kissed him quickly, and reached for a box with the gaudiest amount of ribbons. It was the sweater I’d bought for him, and I gave it to him now. He probably wouldn’t get much of a kick out of it, but I knew he’d like it. “Here, open this one first.”

  “Okay, you open this one.” He handed me a large, thin box that looked like a clothing box and when I felt how light it was, I knew it must be some kind of clothing too. I went to pluck the ribbon away, and found out I was wrong. It was a thin gold herringbone chain necklace. I looked up at him, my eyes round with awe.

  “I had to do something awesome didn’t I?” he asked with a jaunty smile and just a tiny amount of cockiness. “I can’t do things completely normal, now can I?”

  “Thank you.” I leaned over, kissed his cheek, then opened the box.

  It was filled with multicolored tissue paper, and when I didn’t find anything, I looked over at him perplexed. “Was the necklace the gift?”

  “No, go back through the paper; it must have got stuck to one of the pieces.” His eyes conveyed a message, something I didn’t quite understand.

  This must be something important then.

  I squished the paper around until I found a round, flat piece of plastic. I dug it out of the paper and looked down at it. It was a name tag for the resort, and on it was a title and five letters I never thought I’d see.

  EMILY-Director of Marketing and Sales

  “You don’t have to actually wear it, but all of my staff will have one. I thought you’d like to see yours now.”

  “Dylan…” I was speechless. Not because he’d given me a nametag as a present, but because he was giving me a chance. I’ve never had a real job, not one with office hours and benefits, and things like that. I was always working when it came to my family, but that wasn’t the same thing, not to me. This was a real job, one that I could be proud of. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “It’ll be my pleasure, Emily. If there comes a time when you want to move on or do something else, you just let me know. We’ll figure out what needs to be done.”

  “This might be the best present I’ve ever been given.” I looked down at the thin piece of plastic and really meant what I’d said. I wasn’t quite sure he realized it, but that name tag was a promise of a future far more solid than the words he’d put into the last contract we’d signed.

  This nametag meant permanence, home, and a place where I was needed and appreciated. It meant I was home, at last.

  “Thank you, Dylan. You’ve given me the world on a platter, do you know that?” I meant it too. He’d opened up my eyes and given me so much. I’d started this journey on my own, but when I met him the future had changed for me. Now he was going to give me a chance to prove myself.

  We went through the rest of the presents, and I was surprised when Dylan really gushed over the sweater and scarf I’d bought him. He wasn’t usually a gusher, but he really liked the handmade presents.

  “You know, I’ve been given so many things in my life, but nobody has ever bought me anything so … suitable.” The sweater was nice, and it fit him perfectly; I knew that because he’d put it on immediately. The color made his eyes stand out and enhanced his muscular physique.

  “I’m glad you like it,” I said with a pleased note in my voice.

  “I do. Now, let’s see what else is in here.” He smiled a happy smile, and we went on with the opening of boxes.

  I had enough jewelry now to start my own store, dresses, lingerie and a few things that didn’t make sense at first, but then I thought about them and realized what they meant. There were picture frames and a very expensive vase, as well as a few figurines of lighthouses that reminded me of our time on that little island we’d visited together.

  They were the kind of things his mother would have destroyed during her rages, things he’d learned long ago to put away or not purchase at all. Another promise of a very different kind of future for both of us.

  “You’re a very good present giver, do you know that?” I asked him once it was all opened except one last box for Dylan.

  “I tried. I’m glad you like it all. It wasn’t easy to get out of the resort without you noticing.” He chuckled and reached for the box.

  It was a large box and very heavy. He was puzzled by it but intrigued.

  The sound of the paper as it tore made me wince, but I pulled my lips in between my teeth and kept my mouth shut. This was an odd present, but I thought he’d like it.

  The paper revealed a wooden box, about four feet long and two feet wide. It was thin pine wood, and on the front of the five-inch-deep box was the image of a steam train passing by a mountain scene. The images were branded into the wood and gave an added hint of quality. This was a very expensive train set that I had ordered from a specialty craftsman in Colorado.

  “Wow. Emily, how did you know?” He looked at me with excitement and pleasure written all over his face.

  “You’ve stopped to look at them when we’ve come anywhere near toy train sets. I thought maybe you liked them.” I could feel a blush forming but didn’t try to hide it. I was pleased he liked it so much and felt there was no shame in showing it.

  “I love them. They’re just one of those things I’ve never thought about getting for myself. It’s beautiful.” He’d pulled the lid open and looked down at the set. It wasn’t just a train and some tracks, there were mountains, trees, and all of the signs that would be necessary for the completed look.

  “I thought maybe you could put it in your office. When you need a break you can turn the train on and watch it do its thing. You can add to it as well, and even buy terrains to go with it, you know, little replicas of the towns and areas trains go through…” I cut my words off because I knew I was rambling.

  “I think that’s a great idea.” He pulled me to his side and gave me a very grateful kiss. “It’s wonderful, Emily, thank you.”

  I was pleased that we’d both had such wonderful gifts, but my stomach chose that moment to rumble. “I think we should get breakfast started now and get dinner going while we’re at it.”

  “I think I should take you to bed first,” he whispered, his eyes already that dark gray they turned when he was about to do very naughty things to me.

  “You don’t want to eat first?” I breathed the question against his warm lips as our eyes remained locked together. I couldn’t look away; that feral look in his eyes did things to me that meant I was going to have to wait a little longer to eat. I had other needs that had to be met first.

  “Eating can wait, Emily. Unless you mean eating you?” His
lips pressed into mine, and his hand settled on my hip. Something went tight deep in my abdomen, and I let him pull me into his body as his lips took mine.

  The crudeness of his words made that tightness strain just a bit tighter, and I wanted to groan but spoke instead. “That’s just rude, Dylan, but if you’re offering?”

  I leaned away from him with a smirk on my face. He wasn’t the only one who could be cocky sometimes.

  “Oh, you know I mean more than offer, Emily.” His finger trailed down my throat and to the very top button of the white cotton pajama top I had on. His finger slid into my cleavage, and I forgot how to breathe.

  His lips followed, and I felt his tongue slide into the crevice, a taunting mimic of what he intended to do. He always came through on his offers.

  With a sigh he pulled away and opened the tiny pearl buttons on my top. “You know very well I never say things lightly. I always…”

  Dylan paused to kiss the very top of my exposed breasts before he spoke again.

  “Always follow through.” His hand slid between my thighs just as he finished, and his lips closed around my left nipple.

  “Dylan…” I gasped as desire flared to life when his fingers found my clit, even through my pants. Thank goodness I didn’t sleep in panties. My hips followed the tight circles he stroked out over the eager bundle of nerves, and I could hear how my reaction affected him.

  His breathing became ragged, and I heard a faint groan every now and then that made me eager for whatever he had planned for the moment. His lips pulled away from my nipple, and I made a noise of discontent, but he only moved to the other one and captured it in a tight suction grip.

  “Dylan, fuck, you do that so well.” I wasn’t sure if I meant sucking my nipples or getting me off, but he did both well. My hips moved of their own will now, and I knew it wouldn’t take long. I was almost there, so close I could all but feel it. “Just a little more, baby, please.”