~ Dakota ~
Waking up early the next morning, Dakota immediately rolled out of bed and into the shower because her son would be expecting her. After the conflict from yesterday, she didn’t want to risk upsetting him again. As the warm water cascaded over her, Dakota wondered why Jared kept insisting that his biological father was human. It made no rational sense. He had a noticeable vampire heritage and clearly did not get it from her. Her own characteristics were so weak that they didn’t even make her vampire. She wanted to talk it out with him but remembered he didn’t care to share his life’s burdens with the woman who was forced to give him up for adoption all those years ago. That could only mean he’d not fully forgiven her for not fighting harder to keep him. Stepping out of the shower, she thought that if just knew what all she’d done, he wouldn’t be still be harboring resentment.
Again, Alek had clothing brought in for her. She had no idea where or when he got clothing because it looked brand new and in fact, several pieces still had the tags on them. She got dressed and blew dry her hair.
When she came back out Alek walked into the room. He seemed excited and came immediately to her, took her by the hands and sat on the bed with her.
“I know you said you wanted to spend the day with your son, so I invited him to come here and swim with you and my daughter. I just thought that with all the recent media attention it might be nice to spend time together without everyone in the world watching you. I hope you don’t hate me for the interference.”
Dakota slid her hands around his neck, kissed him with a passion and whispered that she loved him. He must have been worried that she would be exceptionally angry with him for interfering and had not been expecting quite the response that he just got because he seemed delighted. “I get the feeling that I can do no wrong with you, baby.”
“I’d probably love anything you do to smooth out the relationship between Jared and me.”
Again, he seemed pleased that she did not seem upset when he took some initiative in their relationship. Alek handed her a small bag, and she peeped inside and realized it was a swimsuit.
“Do you mind if I ask where you keep getting clothing for me to wear?”
“There is a nice boutique about four streets over. Selene and I know the owner. We shop for you together. It’s kind of getting to be a thing.”
“Let me guess, she shops and you pay.”
He reluctantly admitted it was true.
“Well just so you know, your daughter has excellent taste in clothing. Remind me to thank her.”
“She loved seeing you on TV in the outfit she picked out for you. She said it was like playing dolls with grown-ups.”
Dakota giggled because she could kind of see how Selene might like that. “I imagine so.”
“What about yourself? You can’t swim without a pair of trunks.”
“Sorry, but I can’t afford to get naked around you again. You would never make it out of my room today. You dress in the bathroom, and I will dress out here.”
She slipped into the bathroom and emerged moments later in a very classy black one-piece swimsuit. He seemed to stop breathing for a moment when she walked into the room.
Alek had changed into his trunks, and she realized immediately that he looked quite handsome half naked. She whispered, “Get me out of here because I am close to pulling those trunks off you.”
He looked down, walked over to her, took her by the hand, led her downstairs and out to his pool. Wrapped around each other feeding were his daughter and her son. He seemed aggravated, and she grabbed him by the arm and led him off across the patio to a settee.
“Just give them a minute. You said yourself that feeding is private.”
“How can you stand to watch her feeding from him that way?”
For the first time, Dakota found herself genuinely annoyed with him. She moved away from him slightly, preparing for a real fight. “Is there something wrong with my son that leads you to believe he is not an appropriate feeding partner for your daughter?”
He appeared shocked by her reaction and unsure how to respond.
She continued, “They are attracted to each other, they are age mates, he could not provoke the bloodlust in her if he wanted to because they are both so young. Please tell me, exactly what is your objection here?”
He looked at her for a long hard moment and chose his words carefully. “I object that she should be making herself accustomed to drinking synthetic blood not the blood of every nice gentleman she comes across.”
His older daughter plopped down in a chair. “Do I get a vote on this subject. I say let her feed from her love mate. She has as much right as you or me.”
“I can smell his blood in the air, and I don’t appreciate the two of you ganging up on me.”
“Well, you don’t get to control everyone’s life.” Arianna’s voice was brisk and dismissive.
John pressed a glass of red wine into Dakota’s hand and murmured a few words of advice. “If you hang around here long enough you will need this.”
Arianna smiled wickedly at him. “Oh, I don’t think she’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
Dakota clarified, “I can assure you that I am a short-term guest.”
Alek’s voice was light and playful as he replied, “No, Dakota you are not a short-term guest. You are my hostage. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
Dakota giggled at the annoyed man’s antics. “If that is the case, I’m the most well-kept hostage on planet earth.” She took a sip of her wine and murmured, “Humans don’t usually drink alcohol in the mornings.”
Her son came over, hugged her and smiled. His little love mate gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Jared asked “So are you living here now? I just need to know where to come for my weekends.”
Dakota glanced up at him and realized he was joking with Alek more than her. She could tell because he was looking at Alek and had a small almost imperceptible smile playing about his lips.
Alek looked uncomfortable and covered it by changing the subject. “So is anyone swimming or is it just going to be awkward conversation all day long.”
The young people all made a run for the pool at the same time and dove in. Dakota sat back in the settee pressing her body against his. He wrapped his arm around her, and they both watched their children play together. They seemed so young and carefree.
“You know, your son looks almost fully human. Most people would miss his vampire heritage.”
She glanced up at him. “Other vampires can always tell. What gave it away for you?”
“Besides watching him very discretely fleeing from my daughter at times. There is something about his hands and the way his back curves.”
“He definitely didn’t get that from a human father or me.”
Nodding, Alek murmured quietly. “Also, his eyes turn as he feeds as do my own.”
Dakota smiled up at him. “No one’s eyes look like yours. You are incredibly attractive when your eyes change.”
Alek wrapped her tighter in his arms. “Be that as it may, I think that if your son played his cards right maybe, he could slip through the academy and end up with a nice position doing what he loves.”
Dakota rubbed her forehead. “We have to talk.”
“I thought this was your son’s day.”
“It won’t take long. Where can we go that is private?”
“You’re scaring me. I feel like I’m about to get a bomb dropped on me. I have a private study where we will not be interrupted.”
They headed into the house, she grabbed something out of her purse, and they landed in his study.
She ran her fingers nervously through her hair and finally asked, “Have you wondered why I didn’t return to the academy after your hunt?”
Alek sighed and replied quietly. “I thought that perhaps it was because you didn’t approve of their treatment of vampires. It’s not like you need to work. I haven’t given it much thought.”
“I don’t approve of their lopsided policies regarding equal rights for vampires. In fact, I so strongly disagree that I have created my own training academy an easy drive from here.” She turned on a holographic data device and threw up a three-dimensional image of a vast state of the art facility.
“The facility was built in just over two years and has been operational for just under 1 year. In other words, it represents the last four years of my life including the planning phase. I have staffed it with some of the most brilliant minds in our world. Our team is very collaborative and extremely informal. We’re experiencing breakthroughs in technology relating to law enforcement almost daily. You love new tech, so I think you might enjoy working on some projects with our team.”
Alek stood gaping at her. “Where in the hell did you have time to do this? Why are coming clean about it now?”
“The time has come for me to transition myself there, full time. Arianna is the academy’s best, and if she came on board, we could begin screening instructors and begin taking students as early as next fall. My goal is to cannibalize the academy for every single person who could contribute to making this happen. I have given the academy the opportunity to do the right thing, and as they do not seem to be able to do that, I plan to pull the rug right out from under them. We would no longer have to worry about issues of heritage. Potential candidates would be judged on their abilities alone.”
Alek looked more than a little shocked. “I’ve heard you refer to the institute, and I know you have a bunch of special projects going, but I honestly thought it was just free-lance work.
Dakota explained gently. “I hired your friend Squeaky as my administrative assistant, and he manages an unbelievable amount of information for me. I have taken quantum leaps forward since he came on board. I hired Josh and Faran. Josh is my head of security and Faran is teaching hand to hand defense techniques. If you don’t approve, we can do something else there.”
Alek nodded and replied, with a blank stare. “I am glad you found jobs for them to get them out of…well, crime.”
Dakota laughed because there really was no other way to say that.
Dakota continued, “I am virtually broke because over the last four years I’ve been funneling every single cent to my name into an alternative training facility about sixty miles from here. I’ve used my own money to match government grants and solicited corporate donations to the point that this dream is just about possible.”
She clarified, “Personally broke means that I have spent about 13 million dollars. The money I have earned in my lifetime is substantial.”
Alek stared at her apparently waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Dakota sighed and continued, “This whole project is growing exponentially, and it’s beginning to get away from me. I was hoping you could look at my business plan and financials and let me know if I am on track. If not, maybe you could recommend someone who could help me…I need a good CEO.”
Alek tilted his head slightly. “I want to see. If you show me, I will, of course, assist you in any way I can.”
The tension melted out of her body and relief slid onto her face.
He asked, “Can we take the kids, I’ll bet they would love to see your institute?”
Dakota smiled her approval of that suggestion.
They walked over to the pool and waved the kids back in. They all went to his large spacious living room because they all would not have fit into his study.
Alek announced, “We have a field trip planned for you today. We think you will love it. Miss. Dakota has been working hard over the last several years to develop an alternative to the academy. She’s opening a private institute, and today we are going to visit the campus and see what kinds of projects they are working on. Grab yourselves some clothing and pack a weekend bag. Expect to be thrusters up in thirty minutes.”
The kids scrambled upstairs, and Arianna looked thoughtfully at Dakota as she walked by her.
Alek and Dakota walked to his room. He seemed very quiet and pulled out a small bag from his closet.
Dakota went to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Sorry for not coming clean earlier.”
He looked quite shocked. “Dakota, you have known me intimately for a very short time. I am surprised you are telling me now. This is quite a secret to entrust to my family and me.”
She frowned. “I never even thought of that. I love you, and I trust you. I’ve also been through a lot with the girls, and I know I can trust them.”
He pulled her close. “I believe in your ideals. I don’t want to be parted from you, and I’ll do whatever I can to support you in this endeavor.”
She smiled at him, curled herself around him and kissed him on the lips until he picked her up, took her to his bed and made love to her one last time. He was hard and fast, and Dakota loved it. She got the distinct impression he was making up for the mating he never got all those years on the ship. She thought herself lucky to be getting the opportunity to share that kind of lust with him.
They bounced into the shower, got dressed and hit his yard as her limo landed in shuttlecraft mode. The kids all had bags. She gave them free rein in the craft. Arianna piloted the craft with Dakota’s own pilot taking the co-pilot chair. Dakota could tell she liked the design. The other three spent the entire one-hour voyage messing with the holographic interface and scrolling through the craft’s database.
Alek and Dakota sat wrapped in each other’s arms. They realized that their children were very advanced and inquisitive. They were learning as they played and Dakota had to admit they were an impressive group of minds. Dakota curled up, wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. His arms immediately came up around her, and he kissed her forehead.
He suddenly realized why he was so keen on helping her. He was worried that as strong and dedicated as she was to the cause, he knew her to be sensitive and vulnerable as well and he wanted and needed to protect her. He didn’t want to see her go off and fail if there was anything he could do to assist her in being successful. He knew for certain that running a successful business was his personal superpower.
The shuttlecraft landed at the facility, and they went into the main compound. They were immediately surrounded by about a dozen scientists all clamoring for her attention and signature. She looked at Alek, and they began to review the information presented to them. She shoved off the tech stuff for him to study, and he ended up redirecting some to obtain more information, signing off on some and declining others.
Dakota said, “Good God that went more smoothly than ever before. Thank you.”
“How long until they figure out my signature means absolutely nothing.”
“We’ll have to see.”
Squeaky came in with a stack of reports in paper form, greeted them and took them on a tour explaining all the current projects.
The entire bottom floor was free space for scientists to test various gadgets and gizmos. One scientist had a small dog running around on a hoverboard as he tried to stabilize the board. Another was testing a holographic interface which appeared to be giving medical instructions…a field doctor designed to assist an officer when they had someone down in a remote location. Yet another something that appeared to be a small robotic vending machine that distributed warm synthetic blood pouches as well as an electrolyte balancing drink for humans. One person seemed to be testing a flying remote-control camera shaped like an eyeball.
The kids ran from test section to test section asking questions, taking turns at the controls and sharing feedback with the scientists. Alek was very impressed with the entire operation. Dakota was right it was very collaborative. He also noticed that they were heavy on vampire scientists, which was not surprising because many found it difficult to secure good jobs in the private sector. He knew Dakota well enough to know she would snap up every single one she could to get the results she was looking for.
Dakota continued to get approached by scientist after scientist asking questions and wanting approval for everything under the sun. Alek could tell she was getting exhausted.
He called Arianna and Squeaky over and said, “Dakota and I need a break. Do you think you could review the approval requests and ferret out the ones that seem viable give them preliminary approval and then rank them in order of viability for us to review later this evening?” They smiled and eagerly accepted the assignment.
Arianna accepted just for the privilege of reviewing the work. She was a geek at heart and truly loved that kind of thing.