Driven By Love (The Heirs 0f Orion Series Book 1)

by D. Anne Paris

  He pried his eyes away from her body and looked at the wall above the bed. “Everyone’s fine. Hawk and I managed to drive it into a bunch of trees.” His gaze went to the bruise on her forehead. Gently, he moved a lock of hair away from it. “That bastard hurt you.”

  She smiled that smile that made so many men long for her. “I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.” She pressed her body against his and took his lips softly in hers.

  Dean wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss as he inhaled the sweet smell of her. Her body was crushed against him and he became acutely aware that she was half-clothed. His hands touched the soft supple skin of her back, then lower still until they rubbed her jean-clad rear. He was thoroughly convinced that this is what heaven was like— just drifting in the slow throb of passion.

  The chirp of a cell phone broke through their cherished moment.

  Anne looked at the bedside stand. “Crap, it’s my agent.” She pulled a shirt on that was on the bed, much to Dean’s dismay.

  “Hi, Jacob.”

  Jacob was so loud that he could hear the whole conversation as Anne sat down on the hospital bed and rolled her eyes.

  “Jacob, I’ll be fine.”

  “Fine!? Fine!?” Jacob’s voice screamed over the phone Anne moved the phone away from her ear. “You were almost abducted, Anne! I’m going to demand a full investigation as to what happened! You could have been killed! And where was your bodyguard!?”

  Anne looked at Dean and saw the guilt and anger in his eyes. “I asked him to give me a moment of privacy so I could change.”

  “You did what?” he screamed. “From now on, he follows you everywhere, even to the can. I want you safe!”

  “I know. I’ll be careful.” Her defeated voice tore through Dean’s heart. She tried to bring the phone to her ear again but couldn’t.

  “I’m getting some extra security for your house and the movie set! Until that lunatic is caught I want extra security around you at all times!”

  Dean was glad this guy was in show business because someone as loud as him would have never been included on any secret ops team. With his bellowing voice, he would have given out their position to the enemy ten times over.

  “Fine. I have to go. I want to visit my sister before I head home.”

  “I heard she’s awake.”

  Dean sighed. The whole world knew that Missy was awake. Well-wishers created a shrine to her in front of the hospital. Her website had more hits than the White House and Vatican combined and donations to her favorite animal welfare charity almost quadrupled overnight.

  “Yeah, she is.”

  His voice finally toned down enough for her to bring the phone to her ear.

  “Thanks Jacob.”

  With that she hung up the phone and grabbed the plastic bag with the prescribed pain medications.

  “He’s right. I should have been there.”

  Anne grabbed Dean and gave him a long deep kiss to knock him off his feet. When she released him she looked into his eyes. “There was no way that you could have known that someone was waiting for me in my trailer. It’s been guarded day and night.”

  “And yet somehow he got in and bound and gagged you. If Hawk didn’t warn me, I don’t know what would have happened to you.”

  Her fingers gently touched his cheek as if trying to ease his pain. “I’m okay, Dean. I just can’t believe that someone out there wants to hurt me so bad.”

  He grabbed her hand and gazed into those warm eyes he learned to fondly love. “We’ll find him, Anne. Stan and the state police are looking for him right now. As soon as he pops up, we’ll nail him.”

  She smiled and grabbed her purse. “Let’s go see how Missy is doing.”

  *

  As soon as the elevator doors opened Anne let go of Dean’s hand and they walked down the hall until they got to Missy’s room. They were lucky that no one else was in the elevator when they got there, and Anne used the moment to tenderly kiss Dean and ease some of his worry and her own.

  The whole attempted abduction was terrifying to begin with, but also not knowing if Dean was okay kept eating at her until she got a text from him an hour before he arrived.

  When they got to the room they dug out their IDs and the security officers let them in. The instant she walked in she was bombarded with the scent of a million flowers. There were gift baskets, balloons, and flowers everywhere. There was so much that there was barely enough room for the four chairs for the family.

  Evan sat by Missy’s side, holding her taped-up hand. Her cheek had a three inch gash stitched up and one of her eyelids was bruised and swollen. Smaller scraps rounded out her face and her normally immaculate chestnut hair was filled with knots.

  Dressed in a hospital gown and robe with an IV pump next to him, Evan looked worn and tired. Helen, Kenneth, Jeri, and Elle equally looked exhausted as they sat next to him.

  Anne bolted to the bed and gently hugged Missy, who weakly smiled at her.

  “You look good, Missy!”she said with a smile.

  “No, I don’t. My life is over.”

  “Stop saying that, Missy!” Helen snapped. “You are alive and you are recovering. You should be thanking God for that!”

  “I’m a mess, Mom,” she practically whispered.

  “No you’re not,” Evan told her as he brought her hand to his heart. “You’re beautiful.”

  “A beautiful train wreck,” Missy muttered back at him.

  A knock interrupted the conversation and a nurse walked in and looked at Missy and then Evan.

  “Mr. Tensel, it’s time for you to go back to your room. Doctor’s orders.”

  Before he could protest, Anne interjected. “Evan, go get some rest before you pass out on Missy. You can come back tomorrow when you have rested.”

  “But I can’t…”

  “More like you won’t.” Helen chimed in. “You need some rest dear.” She reached over and gently patted his cheek in a motherly gesture. “Go, Evan. You have stood guard over Missy since the moment you awoke. You need to rest yourself.”

  He saw he could not win the argument, so he leaned over and kissed Missy’s cheek careful not to touch her wounds. “I’ll be back.”

  Anne felt tears form in her eyes as she saw how deeply Evan loved her.

  The nurse helped Evan with his IV pole and they walked out of the room.

  Anne knew she had to say something to her.

  “Mom, Dad, would you mind getting me and Dean some sandwiches and coffee from the cafeteria?”

  They took her cue and nodded as they slowly headed out of the room.

  Jeri stood to leave as well. “I should head on home too.” She grabbed her purse. “But I will be back tomorrow. If you need anything, Missy, just let me know, okay?”

  Missy looked up at her and sighed. “Sure.”

  Anne walked over to Jeri and embraced her. “Thanks for everything, Jeri.”

  “Anytime. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  They released each other and Dean opened the door for Jeri. “I will walk you to your car since the piranhas haven’t left yet.”

  “Thanks.”

  When they closed the door behind them, Anne sat down next to Missy and took hold of her hand.

  “Everyone was worried sick about you, Missy.”

  Missy’s expression was blank. “I know.”

  “I think that Evan was on the brink of being suicidal when you were in a coma.”

  Her silence confirmed Anne’s suspicion that she blamed Evan for the accident.

  “Missy, the guy who tried to abduct me today was the same guy that cut the brake lines on Evan’s car.”

  Disbelief filled her eyes. “What? How do you know?”

  “I went to see Evan’s car after the accident.” she told her in a hushed tone.

  “It told you?”

  Anne nodded and took hold of Missy’s hand in both her hands. �
��Evan wasn’t to blame. If you need to blame someone, it’s me because I’m who this guy was after. Maybe he wanted to hurt me through you…”

  “Oh, Anne, I don’t believe that! Who would want to hurt you?”

  “Probably a lot of people. I got so famous so fast there are probably a lot of jealous people out there who would just love to get rid of me.” she snickered. “Also, don’t forget that I have an ex-husband.”

  “Would he really want to kill you?”

  Anne thought back a moment. Because of her excellent legal team, her divorce settlement entitled her to half of everything her ex owned because of the “emotional distress.” The final settlement was in the multi-million dollar range and none of her assets were even touched. Would he really kill her for it? Even after all the time she knew him, she wasn’t really sure if he was capable of killing her or even hiring someone to do the job.

  “I honestly don’t know, Missy, and that scares me.”

  “You have to be careful, Anne. Mom said that the guy got away so he might come back for you. Get a bunch of cars to watch over you.”

  She shook her head as she heard Dean’s lecture coming out of her mouth. “I have to be careful about that with all the media around me.”

  Missy nodded in understanding. “Then you need to make sure you keep that bodyguard with you at all times. Don’t let him out of your sight. Besides…” Anne saw a slight twinkle in her eye. “He’s not half-bad to look at.”

  An image of Dean fully naked popped in Anne’s head and her heart began to race. For the first time in a very long time Anne blushed at seeing the image.

  “You’re blushing!” Missy practically squealed in delight for the first time since the accident. “You never blush like that unless…”

  Anne’s cheeks got redder.

  “You and him?” Even in her weakened state she wanted details. “Come on, spill it! Or do I have to push you into telling me?”

  With Missy’s fragile state, Anne didn’t want her to over exert herself with her powers so she blurted out, “It was the best sex I had in my whole life!”

  Missy smiled at her big sister. “I want details!”

  “I’m glad that you’re feeling better.” Anne felt her heart lighter at seeing Missy smile, even if it was at her own folly.

  “Do you blame me? I need some juice to hold me over until I get the hell out of here. Mom mentioned that he’s related to Jeri?”

  Anne leaned back in her chair and smiled. “Yes, he’s Jeri’s older brother and he returned not too long ago from his tour of duty in the Middle East.”

  “Oh, he’s a soldier.” Her breath caught and then she winced in pain.

  Anne sat up quickly and took hold of Missy’s hand. “Do you need me to get the doctor?”

  Missy reached for the button on her left side and pressed it, and the machine dropped a dose of painkiller into her IV. “No, I’m fine. I just need a minute to get the medication in my system. So you and him…”

  “Dean.”

  “Right, so you and Dean…”

  “Had sex.”

  Missy looked over at her and gave her a pitiful look. “Really? Just sex? Come on! Details!”

  Anne laughed. It was as if they were thrown back to their high school days when they would gossip about boys and who they thought was cute and who was dating who. Anne gave her as many details as she was comfortable with sharing about her night with Dean.

  “Wow!” Missy exclaimed. “You usually never have sex with someone that fast, and in Hawk! Wow! I don’t think I can look at him the same way again. I’m surprised he didn’t open the door and shake Dean out.”

  “He likes him.” Anne told her as she took hold of her bandaged hand. “Missy, I need to know something.”

  Missy squeezed her hand. “Sure, what?”

  “Did you convince Evan to love you?”

  “What? No! Not now, not ever.” Tears formed in her eyes. “He’s had a crush on me since the first grade. Why would you think that I would do that?”

  “It’s just…you left him and yet he still loves you.”

  A stray tear ran down her bandaged cheek. “I know.”

  Anne leaned over and wiped the tear away. A knock on the door interrupted them. Dean poked his head in, then closed the door behind him.

  “Jeri make it to her car safely?” Anne asked him, as he closed the door behind him.

  “Yeah, I had to push a bunch of cocky journalists out of the way, but I managed to get her to her car.”

  “Your sister is so nice,” Missy chimed in. “She’s been here the whole time with my Mom and Dad and they really appreciate it. I really appreciate it. I feel better knowing that they are being taken care of.” She lifted her arm which was full of IV lines and other sensors. “I’m not exactly in the best of shape to take care of them right now.”

  He walked over to her bedside and pressed his hand against her shoulder. “The best thing you can do right now, Missy, is to take care of yourself and get better as quickly as possible for both your family and for Evan.”

  Missy’s facial expression dropped a bit at the mention of Evan’s name. “I thought it was his fault. He’s always been so puppy-eyed for me and I thought that seeing me again after all this time just made him not pay attention… but then Anne told me the guy that tried to kidnap her was the same guy that cut the lines on Evan’s car…I just… I should…”

  Anne leaned over the bed and placed her forehead to Missy’s. “Shhhh, everything right now is just chaos for both of us. Get some sleep, I’m sure Evan will be back first thing in the morning and you can thank him for all his support.”

  Missy nodded her head as Anne brushed some of the hair from her face.

  “You’ll pull through this, Missy. We’re fighters. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  There was a knock at the door and one of the security guards popped their head in.

  “Excuse me, Miss Stevens, there is a Marshall Foss here.”

  Anne jumped up from her chair. “Please let him in.”

  Marshall slowly entered the room with his million-dollar smile on his face. “Anne, darling.” He extended his arms and Anne ran to give him a hug. When she released him she turned towards Missy.

  “Marshall, this is Missy my sister. Missy, this is my friend Marshall Foss.”

  Missy smiled. “Hello Mr. Foss.”

  “Please, call me Marshall.” He told her as he glided by her side, ignoring Dean as he walked right by him.

  Anne saw the deadly look Dean gave him and was thankful that he didn’t have the power to kill someone with a look. When Marshall’s back was turned, she casually walked over and squeezed Dean’s hand. He was tense, really tense.

  “It is so unfortunate that such a horrible accident has touched a lovely flower such as yourself.” Marshall crooned as he stood over Missy’s bed.

  “I guess that’s just how life is.” Missy told him.

  Marshall snorted. “For normal people it is my dear, but you…” He pointed to all the gifts in the room. “You are world-famous. Everyone worships you.”

  Missy stared blankly at the flower basket closest to her. “They used to.”

  Marshall sat down on the chair beside Missy’s bed and took hold of her hand. “They still will, my dear. You need to have hope, and I will give that hope to you.”

  He reached into his suit pocket, and Dean instinctively sprung forward. Marshall looked directly at him as he pulled out a business card. “Stand down, Bulldog. You must ease up on your caffeine consumption before you give yourself a heart attack.”

  He looked back at Missy. “I have the finest doctors and surgeons at my beck and call. They are the best in the industry and they can perform miracles.”

  “Nobody can perform miracles.” Dean spat back.

  Marshall’s eyes darted towards him. “You would be surprised what money can buy.”

  “Marshall, we really appreciate you wa
nting to help…” Anne began.

  “Anne, darling, I really want to help your sister.” He turned back towards Missy and handed her the card. “This is my personal number. When you are feeling up to it, please call me and I will have my assistant make all the arrangements for you.”

  Tears formed in Missy’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  Marshall smiled. “It’s my pleasure. Now then, you look dreadfully tired so I won’t bother you any longer.”

  He got up and walked up to Anne. “Anne, my dear, you have my number. Please call me and give me updates on your sister.”

  Anne nodded. “I will. Thank you for stopping.”

  She wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. It felt nice to know that she still had a good friend from Hollywood , but she couldn’t get over how he treated Dean. When he released her he turned and left out the door.

  “I don’t like him.” Dean folded his arms across his chest.

  Anne spun around and looked at him. “Why? He’s a nice guy.”

  “Gut feeling.”

  “Maybe your gut feeling is wrong.” She slowly walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Or maybe you need me to loosen it up a bit.”

  Dean stiffened and looked at Missy’s direction.

  She chuckled. “I know what happened between you two.”

  His eyes widened. “You told her?”

  “She’s my sister. We tell each other everything.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Everything?”

  Anne knew that he meant his gift and she made a promise to him. “Ok, maybe not everything.”

  “What am I missing? Was there another car involved?” She covered her eyes and sighed. “You know what? Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

  Anne looked at Dean and pleaded with her eyes. She couldn't keep everything from Missy and it would be hard to keep something like Dean's gift a secret.

  Dean's sigh confirmed that he got the message. He slowly walked over to Missy and sat down in the chair next to her bed.

  “Missy, there's something else that you need to know about me but I need you to swear that you won't tell anyone outside of your family.”

  She nodded. “Okay. What is it?”

  “I have some gifts, abilities just like Anne.”