Page 7 of Saving Dakota

“Let me help you keep that promise.” Terrance said softly and with a tenderness that touched his very bones. Dakota looked up at him and saw something in that gaze that endeared and pleaded. He was reaching out and Dakota could not resist responding. He reached out and took his hand while eyes never wavered from Terrance’s intense stare.

“Who are you Terrance?” Dakota voiced his bewilderment. “Since the moment I saw you I felt that I knew you. Your heart calls to me beckoning me near and my heart responds. I need you close your touch gives me comfort and support. What is this between us and is it real or simply a glamour?”

Terrance moved slowly, took Dakota's hand, and held it in both of his hands, keeping his eyes trained solidly on Dakota's. His expression was open and happy, and he tookanother step, putting him just a few inches in front of Dakota. "I recognized you too, Dakota, the minute I stepped foot into the library and took a deep breath. My lungs were filled with the sweet essence of sweetgrass and honey. I saw you at the end of the desk, and my heart began to hammer in my chest."

Dakota listened and saw that Terrence's reactions mirrored his own, and Terrence wasn't afraid to tell him exactly how and what he felt. "This is not fake and not a glamour. This is our destiny, Dakota. You are my beloved, and I have waited centuries to meet you." Dakota knew the word, he'd heard it before and knew its importance. Terrance bent and gently took Dakota's lips in a soft embrace. The contact was electrifying, sending thrills through Dakota, sensitizing every inch of his body.

He reached up and cupped the side of Terrance’s face reveling in the touch of his warm skin and the amazing contact of his soft demanding lips. His mouth was searching and insistent and Dakota opened to his demands needing more and returning the kiss as ardently as he was receiving. The taste and the sensations of this kiss filled him with a sense of belonging and trust and a desire so deep he could feel it in every cell of his body.

The kiss came to a slow end with neither of them wanting to stop. Terrance pulled back on a strained deep breath and then pulled Dakota into his arms hugging him to his chest and burying his face in Dakota’s hair. He could feel him taking long intense breaths while his fingers dug into Dakota’s flesh. It was an embrace that was completely immobilizing, and it felt wonderful.

Dakota closed his eyes and did the same he took one deep breath after another drinking in the fresh scent of cedar and his natural manly scent. Dakota would have been satisfied to havestayed like that for hours. After a few minutes, Dakota looked up at Terrance searching his face for something.

“This is just the beginning.” Terrance whispered against the side of his face and then straightened still looking down at Dakota. “Let’s find Eric and settle whatever is going on with him and then focus on you and me.”

"You and me." Dakota's eyebrows raised, and Terrance smiled that heart-stopping smile.

“Oh yeah, there is definitely a you and me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Terrance was thrilled to have been able to move their connection forward. Dakota was a straightforward kind of guy and didn’t waste time. He had a few questions based on his feelings and he wasn’t shy about getting clarity. The relationship was out there now, and Terrance could begin building their bond but first they needed to find Eric Blackbird.

Terrance figured the Sheriff’s office was a good place to start in order to set hard feelings aside and get everyone on the same page and working toward the same goal. Dakota seemed a bit resistant at first but came around. His hostility toward Lawson was deep and set, considering they only had a handful of contacts. Lawson screwed this up spectacularly.

He guided Dakota out to his vehicle, and they were soon on their way. "Your Master is very old and very powerful. I felt that stare right to my bones." Dakota stated.

“Yes, he is." He answered with a subtle smile covering both points. "Master DuCane and his second, Ismael Patronne, came to this area when the French were immigrating many centuries ago."

“The DuCane Coven controls this area?”

“It controls most of Michigan and parts of Ohio.” Terrance clarified.

"The covens in the western U.P. are not as organized or civilized as those in the east or lower peninsula. They tend to be hostile and aloof, so I apologize for assumptions I have made about you and yours." The apology surprised Terrance, as did the description of the covens up north.

He planned to discuss the matter with Master DuCane at a later time. They had taken over most of the covens in Ohio because of behaviors that put them, the vampire community, in jeopardy. Perhaps the Western U.P. deserved the same scrutiny. They soon pulled up out front of the Sheriff's office and headed inside.

"I understand your feelings regarding Deputy Lawson, and I am sorry he was so bad at his job when dealing with you. But with that said, Sheriff Keller and the other officers are very good at their jobs, so please give them a chance." Terrance placed his hand on Dakota's back, enjoying the contact and lending some support before they entered the station. Dakota nodded with a tight look of concern but did not speak. He was clearly not ready to be friends with the local authorities as of yet.

To say that their arrival was not expected would be an understatement. Lawson was across the room speaking with one of the other deputies and Sheriff Kass Keller was in his office. The minute he and Dakota stepped inside Lawson moved towards them and his stance was still adversarial until Terrance took a sidestep moving to put himself between Lawson and Dakota. The man was being a complete jerk.

Lawson didn’t say anything, but his expression spoke loudly of his continued dislike and disdain. “I’d like you to meetDetective Lieutenant Dakota Winters from the Lac Vieux Desert Reservation in Watersmeet.”

Lawson should have checked him out and should have been aware that he was dealing with a fellow officer, but he'd chosen to be an asshole from the start instead. Now, he had the nerve to look surprised. Kass came out of his office at that moment, obviously having just finished a phone conversation with Master DuCane. He did not look happy.

Kass looked at Lawson who gave him his attention immediately. “Go to my office and stay there. I will be with you as soon as I’m finished here.” He said and his tone was short and clipped. Lawson did not argue and left the room disappearing into the back office.

Kass made his apologies to Dakota for himself and for Deputy Lawson. “Assumptions were made by us all and it would be best to put it behind us now and work together to find Eric Blackbird.” Dakota accepted the apology with no anger or sarcasm. He didn’t seem to have a problem with Kass. Terrance was impressed with Dakota’s rational attitude.

He truly was a man who saw the bigger picture and avoided petty pitfalls and obstacles. It became clear how he achieved his position at such a young age and also why he was given the task of finding Eric in a land laden with the unknown and the supernatural. His beloved was a thoroughly competent investigator and a very intriguing man.

They shared information with Kass, giving him a copy of the missing person's report and the progress of Traverse City detectives, which was mostly nothing. "I am sorry that we didn't take it seriously, especially when his sister and you contacted us for updates. With that said, we were sincerely under theimpression that he had left voluntarily, just as the Traverse people had intimated."

“He was scheduled to start work as a dealer at the local casino, a job he trained for, and had waited a long time for an opening. He'd worked minimum wage until this position came his way, and he would not have just blown it off. He had plans that included college and working his way up in tribal politics he wouldn't have run away from something he saw as his future.” Dakota was adamant that Eric was a solid individual with clear goals and not someone searching for himself or needing to run away.

“What about this Ivy Lee?” Kass asked.

"No one has seen or heard from her, although the cashier at the café said that Eric referred to a friend who wasn't feeling well. I've found no one that has actually seen her in town.”

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