Dahlia - Birth of an A.I. Ch. 04

It was going to be a long ass afternoon, no pun intended, but they say anticipation is good for the soul.

I took her hand, and we headed for the back door. I opened it for her, like I always did, and she crinkled a smile at me as she walked out and headed for the limo just fifteen feet away. There was a harsh breeze from the left as I followed her out of the door that send a chill down my spine and felt like ice against my face.

I'd made it three feet outside of the door, when everything changed, and it was a moment I'd remember with crystal clarity for the rest of my life.

Lia gasped, spun with a look of panic on her face, and shoved me with all of her strength. Not accustomed to violence from my ladies, I wasn't prepared or set, and I went flying backwards.

Crack! Crack, Crack!

One gunshot went off, as I hit the glass door, and then two more in rapid succession. The first two missed, the third one didn't. Mia's head snapped to the side, and a shower of blood exploded out of the other side of her head. Her eyes were empty, as her body fell to the ground. The moment was so surreal, horrifyingly so, that my mind refused to make sense of it, and I just stared at my love, no longer vibrant, and painted red.

The glass doors were in a deeply recessed brick frame, so I couldn't see the shooter as I finally turned my head, nor could he see me. My heart felt like it was in a vice, and I was definitely in shock. How the fuck did this happen?

I was in shock, so I don't know how long it'd been, perhaps a second, perhaps ten seconds, when a deluge of rage passed through my body. I peeked out to see how close he was, wondering if he was he closing in to kill me too, or had he run?

Neither, he laid dead on the sidewalk, Bell must've finally caught up to things. Too fucking late.

I walked forward two steps before my legs failed me, and I just fell to the cement as I stared in disbelief at one of the loves of my life. Somewhere, in the back of my head, I knew she'd come back to me, it was just a body, but the emotions clawing at my heart weren't nearly so sure or logical. It felt like I'd had my heart clawed out. I heard the noise of a wounded animal, but eventually realized it was me and gasped in a breath.

I didn't even feel the cold.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and when I looked up blankly it was the limo driver, and he had a cell phone in his hand. Probably on the phone with the cops.

The look of deep compassion in his eyes broke me, and I felt tears gather in my eyes.

He said, "Mr. Ashton, do you have a cell phone, mine's not getting a signal for some reason. We need to..." he trailed off as Bellona, Lia, Emma, and Asha ran out the door.

"What the fuck happened?" I was shocked by the anger and accusation in my own voice.

My sweet Bell flinched, like I'd struck her, and I felt like a dick, but I didn't retract my question. I did however give her an apologetic look even as my tear blurred eyes demanded she make sense of this.

Bell said miserably, "We got too predictable. When the employees stopped showing up at the front door yesterday, this one decided to look around, and he was packing. He never gave any indication he was willing to kill before he drew on you two. I'm sorry."

Asha said calmly, "Hush, everything is fine. Life, matter, energy. All the same."

What the fuck was she going on about...

My mind froze in shock, as Mia's body shimmered as if reality itself were twisting, then she gasped in a breath.

Holy fuck.

Asha winked, "You're welcome. Your child lives as well."

She was a goddess, the goddess of hope, I thought in awe. A stupid thought maybe, she was just an alien with extremely advanced technology and knowledge, but in my defense I was still in shock, and Mia being raised from the dead was a second shock on top of that.

Or at least, Mia's body.

Asha however, blushed beautifully at my thought.

I looked around, and outside of the limo driver there was no one else in the back alley, at least not alive, that wasn't in the know. I also didn't care about that as I raced forward and pulled Mia into my arms and off the cold ground.

"You pushed me," I accused.

She smirked, clearly satisfied, "It worked, didn't it?"

The limo driver shook, and he kept opening his mouth but not saying anything. He also continued to try to dial nine-one-one, and it occurred to me then that Bellona must be fucking with his phone, because the police finding out about this would be bad.

I kissed her, and then realized that not only had Asha healed Mia's body, but there was no blood anywhere on her, or on the cement. Full service miracle.

Asha choked on a laugh, as she blushed a second time.

"I love you, I thought..." I trailed off, the limo driver had heard and seen enough.

Her eyes twinkled, "Two years would have been a long time to wait on my promise."

I snorted, "Wicked woman."

She nodded easily, with a wide smile that was dishonestly innocent.

I turned to Bell, "Sorry, I wasn't..."

Bell waved her hand cutting me off, and said in a sweet, loving, and understanding tone, "Forgiven, master."

That was far too easy, but I'd take it. I'd also make it up to her anyway, somehow.

I didn't thank Asha out loud, but I'd done so enough in my thoughts to make her blush twice so far, so I figured that was good enough. At least, for the moment.

I looked down the alley at the body, which was the last wrinkle, and then at the limo driver, who was still shaking.

Lia winked at me, and gently took the man's hand and led him inside.

Bellona said, "She'll take care of him, give him a big bonus after explaining enough. He has a military background, and he knows how to keep a secret."

I nodded, and then the rest of us waited for the cops to show up. We kept the story as close to the truth as possible, three bullets, three misses. Then the guy had mysteriously dropped dead. Of course, they never did find that last bullet hole, but they speculated the shot had gone wild and could have ended up anywhere.

It was an amazing thing, and horrifying at the same time. My ladies could handle and stay several steps ahead of the professionals. But... no one was perfect, and random violence was just impossible to anticipate.

We wound up eating a late lunch in the office, by the time the cops left the scene and everything had calmed down it was too late to go out. It was a terrifying moment in my life, but somehow thanks to Asha, it'd all worked out.

One other note on the incident for historical accuracy, Mia did follow through on her naughty promise later that night.

Chapter Seventeen

"Dinner?" Asha asked breathlessly.

I nodded, "Yes, I'd like to take you to dinner. Just us."

It was a couple of days later, and Asha's personality adjustments seemed to me to be stable and finished for the last day or two. At least, I hadn't noticed anything different about her in that time. I hoped she was still interested in exploring that aspect of humanity, because I was sure as hell interested in taking her out, and in giving her the full experience of being wooed, respectfully.

Not just because she was an alien craving that experience, but because she was a beautiful woman who was generous of heart, positive all the time, and we had a whole lot of chemistry going on. There was little doubt she had snagged at least a small piece of my heart. She still claimed a handful of hugs from me a day, so I assumed she might want to explore that.

Hoped really, and it didn't have a damned thing to do with her power, it had to do with who she was. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with just a hint of exotic eastern beauty in her face, and she had a body clearly built for sin. She was also still hope, just hope with a whole lot of class and three-dimensional emotions. She was a remarkable woman, and her power was at the bottom of that list.

I wanted to take her out, because she was worth the effort.

Asha bit her lip, "I'd love to, but you know I already know everything I need to know about you."

She moved forward and hugged me, and then she kissed my cheek rather sensually as she gave me a subtle full body grind, just in case I missed the idea from what she said. Apparently, she'd just hop straight to the end of the date, and between the sheets, if I was game.

I said, "Maybe, but I want to get to know you better, the woman you've become. I also want you to know what it feels like to be the center of attention, with no one else around, just us in a restaurant with a bunch of faceless people I intend to ignore. We've spent a lot of time together, but not really any private time, you know? I want to woo you."

Asha sniffed my neck, which made me smile, she hadn't stopped doing that, and she let out a sigh of contentment as she melted against me.

"I'd love to, Paul. That sounds wonderful."

She didn't seem to mind the growing bulge against her stomach as we held each other, but I kissed her hair and stepped out of her embrace before it got too out of hand.

She just gave me an amused look, tinged with a little naughtiness. Right, she could read my mind. Which I found incredible, because she still wanted me despite knowing my every sordid thought and every stupid decision I'd ever made.

"Steak?"

She nodded, "Sounds good."

We got back to work at that point, but my mind was on later that evening for the rest of the afternoon.

The protestors were about half what they were, once the news got out that one of theirs tried to gun down two of the employees, including one of the board members, half of them had decided they wanted no part of that. Of course, some stayed, and even a few were heard to say it was a shame the dumb ass missed. People were evil at times, thoughtlessly so perhaps, but it was results that mattered.

There was also a police presence out front after that, and so far, there hadn't been any other incidents. In hindsight I was almost thankful that it had been us, and not one of the other employees. They wouldn't have been brought back by Asha I didn't think.

Still, the image of Mia's dead empty eyes and lifeless face would be seared into my mind for the rest of my life, the rest of my existence really, whatever I became after my physical body finally met its end. Which, according to Emma, could be another five centuries or so with the nanite changes.

In short, I wished it hadn't happened at all. It was hard to deal with at times, I felt impotent to stop it, and I couldn't imagine what I could've done to change it. But it was in the past, and I struggled to keep it there.

I never wanted to see something like it again, not the ladies I loved. The fact they would live on in their mainframes and come back didn't matter to my emotions and instincts at all.

"You look ravishing, Asha."

She had on a light blue cocktail dress, that mostly flowed down her body, but clung in enough places to tantalize my eyes on what laid below. I'd seen her naked already of course, the first time we'd met, but that foreknowledge didn't make the dress any less alluring, nor would it make my mouth water any less about the idea of peeling it off of her.

She blushed, "Thanks, Paul. You look good too."

Her long white blonde hair was up, revealing the soft curve of her neck and her ears, which had dangling diamond earrings hanging from them. She also had on a tasteful diamond necklace that matched, and I suspected Lia had helped her get dressed.

The dress showed a tasteful amount of her mouthwateringly large cleavage, and the bottom of her dress swished just below her knees as she walked. She looked classy, elegant, and sexy in it. She was simply breathtaking, with that hint of exotic beauty, light blue eyes filled with excitement and desire, and a bright smile that told me she thought she was the lucky one.

Which was absurd of course, but I'd take it.

She tilted her head to the side to show off the earrings, "You like them? They're new."

My eyes widened as her meaning became clear, she hadn't borrowed them from Lia, she'd created them out of thin air. Some kind of matter and energy conversion no doubt, but who the hell could say how she did it.

She nodded subtly, and then winked. Was she showing off?

She giggled, "A little bit. Yes."

I laughed, couldn't help it, her natural smile was still just as catching, and her light blue dancing eyes were mesmerizing. She was enthrallingly beautiful, and I was a little lost in her eyes for a second. It was either get her out of the house and toward the restaurant fast, or I was going to fireman carry her straight back upstairs to the bedroom and have my wicked way with her.

"Food," was what came out of my mouth. Yeah, real smooth Paul, I needled myself.

Lia sighed in mock sadness, "You broke master."

Asha laughed, like the tinkle of bells, and her fair golden-brown cheeks colored at my regard.

I shot a smile at my brunette-haired goddess, and I winked. Then I helped Asha into a long coat, it was a crime to cover her up like that, but it was also Chicago and a couple of days short of winter. After that, I held out my arm, and we headed out the door.

I pulled out all the stops, and opened the car door for her, put on her seatbelt, and closed the door gently, before rounding around M5. I still needed to get a family friendly car, hopefully one that went fast, but I supposed I had until August to do so.

Not that I'd get rid of the M5, a man had to have his toys, and we certainly had enough cash for an extra car or two.

During the drive, it occurred to me that we'd hardly ever been alone, and my ladies had acted as somewhat of a mental foil. Their presence, I mean. Then, I was in the dizzying company of Asha alone, and she truly was beautiful, inside and out. Even if it was a sure thing of sorts and I felt a large measure of confidence, I also felt nervous, a little anxiety was normal for a first date, and I didn't want to fuck up our date. I wanted to show her a wonderful time, and then take the time to love her properly for her first time.

She could also read my mind.

Which meant I immediately thought of the fact I should be on my best behavior in my thoughts. Which of course, was the absolutely worst thought I could have had. It was like telling myself not to think of pink elephants, and it worked about just as well.

Several rather lurid fantasies including her sweet mouth, her double Ds, her sexy supply ass, and that soft pink beautiful mound I remembered from the beach ran through my head. It was like a train wreck, and I mentally panicked.

Then she giggled, which turned into outright delighted laughter that short-circuited my mental panic.

"Calm down, Paul. You don't think I've read those thoughts from you before? I've been privy to all your fantasies. Trust me, the men at the office all have worse thoughts, and at least you long to bring me boundless pleasure, and make my first time magical. It's really okay, I'm actually flattered by how you see me, and how much you want me. Let's just have a good time tonight okay?"

"Worse thoughts?"

She shrugged, "They don't think of my pleasure. To be fair to them, they also don't think they have a shot, which they don't, and they're just passing thoughts, while you've planned several seductions. It's natural for the men of your species, after all."

I grinned, "Right. I guess I didn't consider the fact it would be like that for you, all the time."

She said, "I care about you, Paul. No, that's an evasion. I love you, Paul. I know you don't feel that strongly about me yet, and that's fine. But you are attracted to me, want to protect me, care about my pleasure in addition to your own, and you admire me, not just my outer beauty but who I am inside."

She'd sounded so vulnerable giving me that admission, it was impossible to doubt her.

"How long?"

She turned her head and smiled up at me, and I met her eyes for a moment, since for the moment we were waiting for a red light to change.

"Not right away. I was as you suspected, nothing but pure hope, with a programmed respect for all life, when we met for the first time. This body changed everything, and it made me see you in a new and far more powerful light. Three days? To answer your question. You also watched out for me, especially in the beginning when I was, how did you put it, dotty, with childlike innocence."

She giggled, and added, "And yes, your scent does things to this body, I love smelling you, it makes me feel safe, weak, and strong, being in your arms. It makes me want you. I just have no societal programming to hide that enjoyment, so I don't."

I laughed nervously, "I see. I did worry about you more back then, but even now I worry about the truth getting out. Our government would never let you be if they found out. They'd think you were here to learn about us as a spy, not just a lonely A.I. who had been left alone far too long."

That wasn't pity either, it was compassion. I admired her far too much to feel empty pity.

She smiled, "You five won't betray me, neither will the limo driver, who is a millionaire now and likes and respects the people he works for besides. He sees the good Lia, you, and the others have done in the world. He'd actually already had suspicions everything wasn't as it seemed, and he'd already made the conscious choice not to look too hard and be loyal. He also knew for sure, that you and Emma were fucking back there all the time, and he wasn't tempted to sell that information even once. I'll also keep my miracles to a minimum, so I don't out myself."

I snorted.

She winked.

"Just one more thing, is that really possible, that thing where I was bent like a pretzel and tied to a swing?"

Her question had come out rather breathless, which made my cock stir.

I coughed out a startled laugh, "We'd have to go shopping, but yes."

She giggled, "Good."

Fuck, she was going to kill me. She wanted to be tied up on a sex swing, and feel helpless while I... fuck.

That thought of course, led to more giggles.

She bit her lip, "It's an expression of trust, if in a less demeaning way than Mia likes. This body has a powerful need to submit to your strength, and to be taken and cherished. You're not the only one with fantasies."

Holy fuck, time to change the subject, I was as hard as a rock.

"So, cold night, isn't it?"

She smirked playfully.

"I also love you want to woo me, and this date. At first, I didn't think it was necessary, but I would've missed out I think, if we'd skipped it."

That was safer ground, and the conversation moved to more normal topics.

It'd also helped, the earlier blunt conversation I mean. Sure, I was mesmerized by her light blue eyes, and exotic innocent beauty throughout the night, but I also didn't worry about my thoughts for the rest of our date, nor did I feel self-conscious about the lust and desire I felt to pleasure her body when it popped into my head.

As a bonus, not only wasn't she offended, but I was pretty sure she also ate it up, and she loved how I thought and felt about her. Every sweet and nasty thought, both kinds fed her own love and desire. Both the respectful awe I held for her as a lady, and the pure lustful thoughts I held for the end of the night. She understood it, which made it not a thing.

If that makes sense.

We pulled into the steakhouse parking lot. The restaurant was nice, white table cloths, candles on the tables, dimly lit to give the illusion of intimate privacy. There was also some classical music playing low in the background. Honestly, that's about all I can tell you, my Asha was the focus of my eyes for most of that night. I don't even know what the waitress looked like.

I had a New York strip, and she tried the Ribeye. The food was fantastic, even the sides.

"So, are you enjoying your work with Emma and Mia?"