Page 59 of Dominion

SKYLAR

I don’t thinkthat anyone has ever checked into a hotel faster than Dylan. The reservation was under his name, so he had talk to the lovely girl who kept batting her eyelashes at him, making me laugh in the process when Dylan took a step back from the counter, searching for Ash and me.

The two of us were huddled on a big, plush sofa, overlooking the front desk, trying to suppress our laughter every time Dylan looked at us. The whole process probably took less than ten minutes, but it felt even shorter with the way he behaved. If looks could kill, both of us would’ve been dead because he knew what we were doing.

The pretty front-desk agent kept smiling at him, trying to upsell him, talking to him, which in all honesty was her job, but our little ray of sunshine wanted to have none of that. I was surprised when we got to our chalet because I was positive she was going to give us the worst possible accommodation because he was as rude as they came.

“Th-this is,” I stammered. “I have no words.” The way Dylan advertised the accommodations to us painted a completely different picture from what this place truly was. I mean, the chalet in my head was a really small cabin, somewhere in themountains, and that was it. But this… Jesus fucking Christ, there was a jacuzzi on the deck, overlooking the forest.

I expected one floor with maybe one bedroom and a tiny living room, but this was a whole house. The wooden walls gave warmth to the place, along with the scenery in front of us—or well, at least what I could see. The night had already fallen on the mountain, shrouding it in darkness, but I had no doubt that it was as beautiful as the chalet itself.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, while the bellman brought in our luggage, taking it upstairs where, I assumed, was the bedroom.

Warmth enveloped me from my back and a strong pair of arms wrapped around my middle, followed by a strong chin pressing into my shoulder. The scent of pines trickled into my nostrils, and I knew it was Ash even without turning around.

“It really is perfect,” he murmured.

“And it’s all ours for the next three days,” Dylan added, taking my left hand in his. “I’m glad you guys like it.”

I turned toward him, almost taking a step back at the emotion shining in his eyes. Since he came back from the Manor, emotions weren’t something he displayed often. Hell, I was glad he started sharing more than one-word sentences, but I didn’t expect to see him like this, completely open to us, ready to work on our relationship.

My throat clogged, the overwhelming joy spreading through my body. Just as I was about to move closer to him, to continue what we had started in the car, the bellman came downstairs, smiling at us. “Would you like me to show you around?” he asked, crossing his hands in front of him.

“Nah,” Ash answered, taking a step back from me and walking toward the man. “We’re all good.” He pulled a couple of bills from his pocket and handed them to the bellman, beforehe walked deeper inside the chalet, taking a seat on the large U-shaped sofa, in front of the television mounted to the wall.

“Well…” the bellman smiled. “If you need anything, my name is Sam.” He pointed at his name tag. “You can just dial zero on your phone for our call center, and we will assist you.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Dylan said.

“Thank you so much.” I grinned. “This is truly amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so, ma’am.”

He retreated from the chalet shortly after, leaving us all alone. There was a moment of silence, and all three of us soaked in the pure calmness that took over the room.

But not for long.

Before I could even take another step, Dylan scooped me up into his arms, carried me through the living room, all the way to the stairs, followed by Ash.

“Dylan!” I shrieked when he started walking up the stairs. “You’re gonna drop me.”

“Not a chance,” he murmured, tightening his hold on me.

No one ever told me that it was okay to be both fragile and strong. No one ever told me it was okay to fall apart from time to time, and to trust those you loved the most, because they would be there to catch you. They would be there to support you. No one taught me how to love, how to cherish the time spent with people who surrounded you because you never knew when the last time you would see them would be.

But I’d learned.

I’d learned from my mistakes, from all the things that have happened over the past few months. I knew I still had a lot to learn, to experience, to make mistakes and to fix them, but we had all the time in the world. We had each other.

Dylan carried me as if I weighed nothing, and maybe that was another thing about love.

When you cared about someone, when you loved them, truly, deeply and with no reserves, then their demons weren’t too heavy to carry. Their mistakes weren’t something you couldn’t forgive because you could see that they were trying.

I looked over Dylan’s shoulder at Ash, who was diligently following us without a word, his eyes filled with a heat I wanted to consume me. That tingly feeling spread again all through my body, starting at the center of my being, in my heart, and rushing through my bloodstream, filling me with a giddiness and happiness I didn’t know before.

I had spent years living in the darkness, waking up and wishing I wasn’t alive. I had spent years praying for the day when I would cease to exist, only I was a coward that couldn’t simply disappear from this life, leaving the people I loved behind.

I’m glad I hadn’t disappeared, because then I wouldn’t have been able to experience this.

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