Strength of Love: Book 3 in the Heirs of Orion Series

by D. Anne Paris

  After he returned to his cabin and took a shower, Dean and Keith stopped in with some beers. They talked until around ten and then left to go back to their ladies. Usually, he wasn't one to talk about his feelings, but the guilt from the experience with Elle gnawed at him. His friends and fellow ex-marines listened to him and even offered advice learned from their relationships. For once Tiny didn't make a joke at anything they said. Instead, he sat and listened, and for the first time in his life Tiny felt a pang of envy. He’d never really cared about being in a relationship before, but now, seeing the positive change relationships made in Keith and even Dean, he was having second thoughts about it. He wanted what they had- a relationship with one person, someone they could trust, someone they knew would always be there for them. He wanted that with Elle, his Angel.

  He walked back to the room and sighed. He knew from the past nightmares that sleep would not come to him. So he decided to go out for a walk.

  He pulled on his clothes and coat and headed out the door. It was dark, but the moon was still out and brought in some light, which made the surrounding area look like a creepy scene from a horror movie. He preferred this to the one he was reliving in his head.

  The cabin he stayed in was one of the seven that were outside of the resort. Only he, Keith and Jeri were staying in the cabins outside. It was a security precaution, better to have the team split up than concentrated in one area. He and Keith would be the eyes and ears on the outside, and Jeri, well, Jeri was there to keep Keith happy. Tiny preferred to have his former commander be happy than grumpy. The new happy Keith was a lot easier to get along with, so Tiny was not nervous with him having a gun.

  He sat down on the bench outside the log cabin and put on his boots. There were no sounds. Even the wind had died down. He tied his boots and glanced at the cabin at the end of the row. There was a small light on and smoke came out of the chimney. Tiny grinned. Keith and Jeri were up late, probably having some extracurricular fun. He stood up and walked down the snow-covered stone path.

  He passed by the fire pit now covered with a fresh layer of snow.

  Elle. The kiss they had shared was intense, but there was something more. He wanted to spend time with her and not just between the sheets, which was odd.

  As he walked past the campfire he noticed some movement by one of the doors in the main building. He froze and watched as the door swung open and Elle walked out in jeans, shoes, and a sweatshirt.

  Tiny smiled when she headed in his direction. "Well, now, this is a pleasant surprise," he said as she neared him. Her pace didn't slow and she walked right around him and the fire pit and headed towards the woods.

  She must be sleepwalking again. Tiny raced after her. He caught up with her and kept the same brisk pace.

  "Hey, Elle." He tried again.

  He didn't expect a response, but he had to try. They were heading in the direction of the forest where she’d sleepwalked before. How long this trance would hold until she woke up? He reached out and grabbed her hand. She whipped her head around, her blue eyes glowed with a soft blue glow, but there was bitterness behind them.

  "Ma Kat!" she screamed as she ripped her hand away from him.

  Tiny stepped back and held his hands up. "Elle, it's me. Tiny. I'm not going to hurt you."

  Her eyes glowed eerily as she continued to scream. "Ja jok ne had wed!"

  "No idea what you just said, but I bet it's that you find me irresistibly attractive." Maybe his flirtations would crack her out of this spell.

  She charged towards him and knocked him down in the snow. "Ka dane tiot na t!" She lunged on top of him, her hands clawing at his face. He frantically grabbed both of her hands and rolled on top of her, pinning her beneath him.

  "Elle, wake up!" he screamed at her while she thrashed underneath him, wild as a captured tiger.

  "Ka na!" she yelled and tried to rip her hands away from Tiny. Her body lurched underneath his and he adjusted his body to completely cover hers and let his full weight pin her down.

  "Elle! You don't want to hurt me." He tried to reason with her, but he knew it was no use. She had to wake up. Her eyes glowed in the darkness full of anger and rage. The snow around her was already melting around her body. If he didn't take her out of the cold she'd get sick.

  "Don tu!" she screamed and her body lifted up.

  Tiny momentarily lost his train of thought as her body ground against him, causing his cock to wake and want more. He ground his teeth and pushed his body down harder against her. "Normally, I love it when women move against me like this."

  "Jat wen ka!" she yelled at him and thrust her body against his, trying to throw him off of her.

  Tiny looked around to see if there was anything close by he could use to tie her up, but there was nothing remotely close to what he needed. She stopped thrashing around and stared him down. Her legs tried to curl up, but Tiny pushed down on her even harder. If he kept putting his weight on her he would crush her.

  "Ok, we got to end this."

  He swooped down and captured her lips. She resisted opening up to him and Tiny pushed her head against the snow covered ground. His tongue licked the outside of her lips and she opened them to protest. His tongue dove inside the sweet velvet heat of her mouth and began to seductively lick and tease. Her body stiffened and he continued to kiss her like he never kissed any other woman in his life. She was so soft, warm, and sensuous, even when she was angry. Deep down inside he enjoyed taming this wild, angry Elle.

  Moments later he felt her go limp. He didn't release her, he couldn't. He needed this as much as she did, no matter what she said. He slowed his pace and savored the feel of her lips. So soft and perfect. The scent of cinnamon filled the air and he felt her mouth respond to his. Her tongue darted and met his in a sweet dance that made Tiny feel like he was in the most perfect place.

  Elle pulled away from him and stared at him. The look of fear was clear on her face.

  "Tiny? What...?"

  "Is this what you call foreplay?" A deep voice asked behind them.

  Tiny twisted his head around and saw Keith and Jeri staring at them. Max sat beside them with his head tilted, looking confused.

  "She was sleepwalking," he called out.

  Keith looked over at Elle. "You okay, Elle? I can kick his ass if he's lying."

  Elle shook her head. "No, he's right. The last thing I remember was being in my room and then..." She looked into his eyes and smiled. "I'm okay."

  Tiny rolled off of her and helped her out of the snow.

  "Didn't you lock the door in your room?" Keith asked her.

  She shook the snow out of her hair. "Yes, I did."

  "Crap, it looks like we may need to add more locks to keep you safe," Keith muttered.

  Tiny took off his coat and wrapped it around Elle. "I'll stay with her."

  Keith's eyebrows shot up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "It's fine," Elle told him as she wrapped the coat tighter. "I trust him."

  Tiny grinned and wrapped his arm around her. "I’ll take care of you. Besides, I know now what breaks you out of the trance, so it'll be easy to protect you."

  "I really don't think this is a good idea," Keith reiterated as they both headed back to the main cabin.

  "Let it go, Keith." Jeri wrapped her arms around his. "They'll be fine."

  Tiny waved back to them as he opened the door and let Elle inside.

  The warm air was a welcome relief to Elle's frozen face.

  "How long was I out there?" she asked Tiny.

  They both walked down the hall to the staircase. "I caught you right when you left the cabin, but you weren't so cooperative. That's why we ended up in the snow."

  Elle ran her hand through her now wet hair.

  "I'm sorry."

  They trudged up the stairs to her room on the third floor. Normally the elevator would be in service, but since it was the off season it was shut down for regular maintenance. Elle was amazed she hadn't tripped and b
roken her foot while she walked down these stairs sleepwalking.

  "You've got nothing to be sorry about. Actually, I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry about my beating joke. I had no idea..."

  "It's alright. I should have told you sooner, but it's hard to talk about."

  In the dim light she could see his deep concern for her. "You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to."

  "I think I do need to talk about it. Ever since I used my powers I can't help but remember the last time that I used them on my mother. Maybe that's why I'm sleepwalking, maybe it's guilt for using my powers again."

  "Elle, that's just silly."

  "It's the only explanation I have for what's happening to me." She stopped and spun to look at him, her eyes wide in horror. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

  Tiny brushed a wet strand of hair away from her face. "You could never hurt me, Elle."

  "I'm scared," she admitted to him. They continued the trip up the stairs. "I don't know what's wrong with me so I have no control over it."

  They passed the second floor and continued walking up.

  "We'll figure it out, Angel. It will eventually pass."

  Elle looked over at him. "What if it doesn't? Or worse- what if hurt someone?"

  Tiny stopped them at the top of the stairs and twisted her around to face him. "I'll protect you. I won't let you get hurt or have you hurt anyone, okay?"

  She nodded. "Okay, my room's this way." She motioned behind Tiny and moved past him. He followed her down the hall.

  One of the benefits of their hiding out in a resort was that each person could choose his or her room. Elle chose the room that over looked the back garden and gazebo. Even in the winter it was still a beautiful scene. They reached the last room and Elle noticed that the door was wide open.

  "So much for locking myself in."

  Tiny leaned in and looked at the door.

  "Looks like you just unlocked it and left." He went inside the room and turned on the light. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed.

  Elle's heart started to race as she bolted inside. "What? What's wrong?"

  Tiny grinned as he held up a bra that was on the floor. "Looks like a tornado came in here!"

  Her cheeks reddened and she snatched her bra from his hand and started to pick up her discarded clothes. "I wasn't expecting anyone." So much for his thinking she was perfect.

  Tiny walked to the other corner and picked up some black lacy panties. "Oh, Angel. You really don't need to clean up for me."

  Elle swore her face couldn't get any redder. She dumped the clothes in a pile and walked over to grab the panties from him.

  "One of these days you need to model these for me." He held them up and she snatched them.

  "If you do my laundry, maybe I will." She threw them into the pile and picked up some other clothes off the floor.

  "That can be arranged." He walked to the window and gazed outside. "You really have a great view here."

  Elle took off the wet sweatshirt and placed it on the chair by the desk. "Yeah, I really fell in love with this room when I saw it. I'll miss it when we leave. Whenever that will be." She opened a dresser drawer, pulled out a pair of sweatpants and headed to the bathroom to change.

  Tiny turned around just as the door closed. "Don't worry, Angel. We'll get through this."

  "I hope so." She told him from the bathroom. "I'd really like to get back to my old life."

  Tiny pulled out the chair from the desk, turned it around and straddled it. Elle came out of the bathroom and threw the soggy pants onto the pile of clothes.

  Tiny couldn't help but stare at her. Even in sweatpants she had a body that he just wanted to touch constantly. "So before all this craziness started what was your life like? The only thing I know was that you worked as a nurse."

  Elle walked over to the bed and sat down at the edge. "Yes, I was a nurse. I did homecare for the elderly and homebound people. I loved it. I helped these people get better and I got to know them."

  Tiny narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure you had a lot of old guys hit on you."

  Elle laughed. "Yeah, I did but I knew how to brush them off."

  "Ah, so that's how you learned to keep guys like me away."

  "It's more like instinct now."

  "I see."

  "When I wasn't working I hung out a lot with Jeri and helped her with her farm. Then she and Keith started dating. He was there a lot more, so I stopped going there ."

  Tiny chuckled. "Yeah, you're right to stay away from him. He can be nasty sometimes."

  Elle shook her head. "No, he was nothing like that. He's a really nice guy but I just felt like a third wheel around them. I'm thrilled that Jeri found her true love. She really deserves it."

  "You believe in that stuff?"

  "What? True love? Yes. Why, don't you?"

  He shrugged. "Don't know. Not sure what it's supposed to feel like."

  Elle pulled her knees up to her chest. "I've heard that you always want to be with that person who makes you feel happy. When your special someone isn’t with you think about him." She wrapped her arms around her knees. "Your special someone will always support you and tell you that you are great, even when the world says differently."

  "Sounds like something you've been thinking about for a long time."

  "Yeah, I guess I'm a hopeless romantic."

  Tiny whistled. "Your boyfriends had their hands full with you."

  The smile on her face faded. "I only had one boyfriend. He was nice, but we just didn't click. There wasn't that..."

  "Spark," Tiny finished her sentence. She looked up at him. Their eyes locked.

  "Yeah. I mean he was a great guy and he treated me right, but..." Her eyes glanced away from his. "Sometimes I think that I've been waiting for someone who doesn't exist."

  Tiny leaned forward on the chair. "Maybe you need to loosen your standards and start listening to your gut."

  Elle sighed and placed her chin on top of her knees. "I think you're right. I'm tired of being alone and I'm tired of being a virgin."

  Tiny shifted, causing his chair to move and fall flat on the floor. His body crushed against the back of the chair and he grunted in pain.

  Elle bolted next to him. "Oh my God, Tiny!"

  He slowly rolled onto his back, eyes shut and his lips formed an O.

  "Talk to me, Tiny!" Elle knew that the chair hit his wounds at full force and the impact could have reopened them.

  He slowly opened his eyes and focused on her. "Virgin?" he whispered.

  Elle's face turned grim. "You have deep cuts on your chest that could have reopened and that's the first thing you think of?!"

  A grin lit his face. "Mr. Happy isn't damaged."

  Elle leaned over him and brushed his blonde hair away from his face. The pain was etched in his face, but he masked it well with his smile. "Tiny, you are unbelievable."

  His breath slowed and he took hold of her hand. "Admit it, Angel- you like me." He brought her hand over to his lips and kissed her wrist. The sensation traveled up her arm and her breath escaped in an erotic sigh. When his tongue circled her pulse point, the sensation started to grow more intense. Every circle and lick made her heat rise and she felt like she was in the tropics, riding the waves of passion.

  She had to break free from him, otherwise she would get lost in the abyss of lust.

  Tiny stopped kissing her and looked up at her. "I won't force myself on you, Angel." His eyes didn't hold a hint of deception. "I'll let you make the move, if you want it."

  Elle couldn't believe her ears. "What? But you ..."

  "I won't hide that I want you, but I won't force you into something you don't want. I'm not a rapist."

  Elle gently took her hand from him and caressed his face. Never had any man offered her something like that. Her boyfriend broke up with her because she wouldn't have sex with him. It hurt her, but sex was so terrifying to her, especially after everything she saw as a child. "Thank you. You don't know how much that
means to me."

  He smiled, making her feel things he’d never experienced before. Her fingers lingered on the stubble of his chin. It felt like sandpaper, but she continued to slowly rub it. The abrasion caused strange sensations across her body. He closed his eyes and exhaled as her fingers traveled down his neck. She stopped and remembered to check his wounds. Her hand pulled his shirt out of his pants.

  Tiny's eyes flung open.

  She smiled. "I want to check your wounds."

  "Ah, hell. I was hoping you'd want to check something else." He slowly moved the shirt over his head.

  Elle hoped he didn't hear her heart start to race. Even with gauze pads taped around his chest he still was attractive. Elle steadied her hands as she peeled away the gauze from the first wound. "Maybe some other day."

  Tiny's heart raced under her hand while she removed the gauze. Her eyes darted down his pants and she saw his erect cock. As a nurse she saw many different kinds of penises, but Tiny's really piqued her curiosity.

  Absentmindedly she licked her lips as a dirty thought crossed her mind. She focused her eyes on Tiny's wound and out of his pants. It looked like it hadn't reopened, but she still wanted to add some ointment and a fresh gauze pad.

  "Wait here. I'm going to get some fresh gauze pads and ointment."

  "There's no other place I'd want to be," he told her as she walked to the bathroom. She took out her medical bag from under the sink and brought it back to him.

  "Why are you so fascinated by me?" She opened the bag and took a pair of gloves.

  "You're different."

  She put the gloves on and took out the bottle of ointment. "Different as in I fry people's brains?"

  "You make me realize there is some good left in this world."

  Her hand froze as she squeezed the ointment on her finger. "Good people don't hurt others."

  "You actually feel guilty for what you did to Karen?" he asked, shocked.