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

by D. Anne Paris

  She was his heaven. Without her his life was hell.

  #

  "Keith! Keith!"

  He heard Jeri's voice but he couldn't stop. Fresh air, he needed fresh air. He yanked the door to the backyard open and walked out into the freezing cold. The cold air slapped him in the face and helped bring his anger down.

  He drew some of the bitter air inside his lungs and felt a chill move through his body.

  A hand on his shoulder broke his trance. He twisted and found Jeri standing behind him wrapped up in a blanket.

  "Don't shut me out, Keith."

  He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just keep thinking if I'm the father..."

  "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it."

  He opened his arms and she walked into them, wrapping the blanket over both of them. He leaned his forehead against hers, inhaling the scent that was uniquely hers. "If this child is mine, I can't turn my back on it. I can't have some psychopath bitch raise it."

  Jeri looked into his eyes. "I know, but we'll need to see how Karen will be in the picture. She won't give up the child without a fight."

  "I'm prepared to fight her." He bared his teeth. "But it might get ugly, I might..."

  Jeri placed her finger on his lips. "Let's see who the father is first. It may not be you."

  "Yeah, it might be Tiny, but I'd be very surprised because he was always careful. He never wanted to get stuck with a child. So it narrows it down to me."

  "Or someone else. The father could be someone from the Agency. She's the type of woman who would do something like that to have some leverage to move her career."

  Keith sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry I'm overreacting. I guess our last encounter with Karen is still in the front of my mind." The last embryo Karen had was the final chance for Jeri to be a mother but unfortunately it was lost during the fight with Karen. It tore Jeri apart and he swore after they were done with this mess with the Agency he would do everything in his power to make her the mother of his child.

  Jeri grabbed hold of his head and pulled him down. "Then let me get your mind on something else." Her lips crushed against his and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

  His body became hard and his mind filled with thoughts of her. He needed her as much as he needed water and the air. No matter what happened he’d never let her go.

  He broke away from her. “Let’s go back to the cabin.”

  A wicked grin formed on her lips. “This early in the day, Sargent Brinks?”

  “Get used to it, Miss Miller. I’m a man who has needs only you can fulfill.” he leaned down and gave her another quick kiss.

  “I promise I will the rest of my life.”

  “Speaking of which, when do you want to officially tie the knot?”

  Jeri smiled, “How about late spring? I love it when the tulips and daffodils are in bloom.”

  “Late Spring it is. Now we just need to figure out where.”

  Her hand caressed his cheek. “I don’t care where, Keith. I just want to become your wife.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He tugged her hand and lead her in the direction of their cabin.

  Chapter 14

  Tiny grabbed the split chunk of wood and threw it into a pile. He leaned over and took another log and placed it on the stump. They had a log splitter, but he preferred the old fashioned way of splitting logs with an ax. He could burn out some stress.

  The team successfully extracted some blood from Karen without her knowledge and sent it to a lab with his and Keith's sample. Tiny couldn’t believe Christina walked in, became invisible and extracted the sample from Karen while she was sleeping. The hard part was waiting for the results.

  Elle had tried to distance herself from him after the meeting, but he wouldn't let her. He worshiped her body every chance he could, breaking down her defenses and giving her insane pleasure she craved. Even with his loving touches he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. She worried about their future together. If the baby Karen was carrying was really his, then they both would need to reevaluate their relationship. He didn't want to think about breaking their relationship. Even with the stress of the Agency and Karen, he was now the happiest he ever was in his life.

  The ax swung down and split the log in half. He smirked. Each day he was getting stronger, and the last two weeks even more so. If he kept this up he'd be back to normal by summer. He stood the split log upright and swung the ax at it, splitting it in two. Pride surged in him. He was going to be all right.

  "Hey, there."

  The voice caused his cock to stir to life. He turned and smiled. "There's my Angel."

  Elle held a steaming mug. She strolled over to him. "I thought you could use some hot coffee. You've been out here for a couple hours."

  "Have I?" He looked at the pile of cut wood and realized it was a lot bigger than he’d realized. "Oh, I guess I have."

  He took the mug from her and swooped down for a kiss.

  Her mouth opened and he dipped his tongue into the heat of it. The warmth traveled through his whole body. He released her lips and smiled. "You're so much hotter than the coffee."

  "You never stop, do you?"

  His gloved hand caressed her face. "Not when it comes to you. I need you, Angel, I told you that."

  She sighed. "But what..."

  His lips crushed hers, and her mouth opened in surrender. His tongue traced the curve of her mouth before dipping inside to savor her. His cock pressed against his jeans. There was something addictive about her, and he couldn't get enough of her. He released her lips and took the mug from her hand and placed it on the chopping block. Last thing he needed was hot coffee spilled on his erect cock.

  Never taking her eyes off of him, Elle pulled him closer. Tiny circled his arms around her waist and thrust her closer to his body.

  She let out a soft moan as their bodies collided. Tiny reached out and cupped her head to bring her sensuous lips closer to him. He leaned down and captured her mouth. He was swimming in her. It wasn't just lust. He'd had his lust satisfied many times, but the sensation Elle stirred in him physically and emotionally was different. He now understood those lovey dovey sayings like She was the first thing he thought of in the mornings and the last thing he thought of at night. It was surreal to him. He’d never thought he'd be blessed with this feeling. Now that he had, he wasn't going to let her go, ever.

  The dings on both of their phones broke them away from each other.

  "That's not good," Elle muttered as she fished her phone from her coat pocket.

  Tiny pulled his out of his pants pocket. "Just like in the movies, when things are getting good something always interrupts." The smile on his face died when he read the text from Daniel

  The results are in. Meet in the dining hall.

  He glanced at Elle and saw the her dismal expression. He cupped her chin and made her look straight into his eyes.

  "Elle, I meant everything I ever said to you. You are my world. This..." He lifted his cell phone. "won't change any of that."

  She nodded and he took hold of her hand. "Let's go."

  They sauntered towards the resort, neither in a hurry.

  When they arrived at the dining hall Dean, Keith, Anne, Jeri, and Daniel were waiting for them. Keith sat at the end of the table, Jeri next him, fingers entwined with his. Anne sat next to Jeri with Dean's hands on her shoulders. Daniel sat at the head of the table, tablet in hand, as always.

  Tiny motioned for Elle to sit down across from Keith.

  "Don't you want to sit?" she asked him.

  "I can't. I need to move." He stood behind her chair after she sat down. "Anyone else coming?"

  Keith shook his head. "I thought it would be best if it were just us."

  Tiny nodded and focused back on Elle. A terrifying thought hit him. He could lose her. The feelings that thought brought him made him grip the back of her chair tighter. Best to get this over with.

  "So, Intel, what's the news?" He tried to
cover the fear in his voice.

  Daniel sighed, typed on the tablet, and pulled up the email with the results.

  They all leaned in to read it.

  Tiny's eyes bulged and he reread it again. His heart dropped. "Mother..."

  They all looked at him as he stormed to the other side of the room and slapped the wall.

  "Tiny!" Dean's voice rang out.

  He slapped the wall again. "It's impossible! I was careful!" His foot slammed against the baseboard.

  "Hey!" Keith's voice boomed. "Keep it together, Tiny!"

  A pair of hands squeezed his shoulders. His body jerked away. Why him? Why now? He’d finally found a woman who brought feelings up from inside of him that he never knew existed, and now he had to deal with being a father to another woman's baby.

  Hands touched his arms and he spun around to spit fire on whichever team mate was touching him. Elle stood there, tears in her beautiful blue eyes. His heart tore in two. He didn't mean to cause her pain.

  "Elle." He breathed her name.

  "I'm still here."

  Not for long. Now that you have to raise a kid she's going to leave.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered.

  Her small hands took hold of his and she led him back to the table.

  "We need to figure out what to do next." Keith's authoritative voice rang out across the room.

  "Agreed." Dean nodded and turned to Keith, waiting to hear any suggestions.

  Tiny shook his head. He was going to be a father. How had that happened? He was always careful. "This is unreal!" he spat out.

  Keith glared at him. "Tiny, we need you to get your head together."

  "Easy for you to say!" he snapped back. Panic filled his body. "You're probably on a high knowing it's not yours!"

  Keith stood up and leaned across the table. "I'm not going to lie to you, Tiny. Yes, I'm relieved it's not mine, but I'm not going to leave you high and dry! We're all family and we're going to figure out what to do to make sure your kid gets away from that psychopathic bitch!"

  Keith's words sent a wave of relief through him. He wasn't going to be alone in all this. Lord knows he needed help. He didn't know the first thing about babies or being a father.

  He looked over at Elle. She pursed her lips and nodded at him. God, he needed her so bad. If he didn't lose her after this baby arrived he swore he would get a ring on her finger and make her his forever.

  He turned back to Keith. "Okay, what's the plan?"

  Chapter 15

  Tiny didn't like this one bit, but there was no other way. He sat stiff next to a blindfolded Karen Aimes on the back seat of the rental car. Part of him had hoped when they found her she would not be not pregnant, but his wish was denied when he spotted her huge belly.

  His whole body was on edge. When they’d found her in the hospital she didn't resist them at all. To everyone's surprise, she grabbed the few things she had and shoved them in a bag, ready to go.

  Daniel managed to forge some release papers for her and they waltzed out of the center with no problems. Christina waited for them in the car and did a thorough patdown to make sure Karen was not hiding any trackers. She found nothing, but that still didn't reassure them. They’d stayed at a motel in Oklahoma for a couple days to be sure no one was following them or had them under surveillance.

  Tiny felt like he was climbing the walls. He needed to get back to Elle and reassure her again that everything between them would work out. Instead, he was stuck with Frankenbitch who, even though she couldn't talk, made it very clear what her needs were by pointing to pictures in some old magazines she grabbed from the motel lobby.

  Christina was her unfortunate roommate during the time and made it very clear to all of the men they owed her lots of red wine and hazelnut truffles. She even texted them the stores they needed to buy them from.

  They turned down a street and up the drive that led to the resort. No one was happy with bringing Karen to their hideaway, but there was no other option at this point. They needed to keep an eye on her and the baby once it came. They made sure she had no idea where she was going and all phones at the resort were inoperable. Any trace of literature with the address was also removed.

  Keith drove up to the main entrance and parked at the front door.

  Tiny opened the door and grabbed hold of Karen's arm to left her out. She stumbled out, so he held onto her so she wouldn't fall.

  "Mah jet kel," she mumbled.

  "Yeah, whatever," he muttered as he led her up the stairs.

  Dean opened the doors and Tiny pulled her through.

  Boomer and Max ran up to them, both wagging their tales excitedly.

  "Later boys." Tiny shooed them away from Karen and started to lead her up the stairs.

  "About time you guys showed up." Kenneth walked in from the kitchen.

  "Took the scenic route," Keith said as he petted Max's head.

  Kenneth's eyes squinted at the blindfolded Karen who was being helped up the stairs by Tiny. "So that's Frankenbitch."

  The nickname made her stop and she screamed. "Ha ket yel ma dit!"

  "You ma dit it to yourself! You don't fuck with the Marines!" Even though she couldn't see anything through the blindfold, he pointed at finger at her to emphasize his point.

  "Jel ket hum na dee!" she screamed back at him. Tiny grabbed her arm tighter and yanked her up the stairs.

  "Yeah, yeah. We've heard it," Dean mocked. He went up the stairs to help Tiny with her. "Keep moving."

  The three of them trudged up the stairs until they hit the top floor. They walked down the hall to the third room on the right. Even though they had cameras in her room to keep her under surveillance. George volunteered to sleep in the room directly across from her to keep an eye on her.

  Dean pushed the door open and Tiny led her in and took off the blindfold.

  "We'll bring you some food when it's ready. Bathroom's over there." Tiny pointed to the left to a set of doors. "If you need anything use this radio."

  He showed her a black, handheld two way walkie talkie.

  "I'm sure you know how to use it."

  "Ma hek da to net!"she spat back at him.

  "Go fuck yourself!" he snarled at her.

  Dean grabbed hold of his shoulder. "Tiny, let's go."

  Tiny let Dean lead him away. When they got to the hallway, Dean locked the door. They headed back downstairs.

  "You okay?"

  Tiny shook his head. "I am so fuckin' pissed. I was careful when I was with her. I still don't believe it and I'm actually kind of freaked out." They reached the stairs and started to walk down them. "If this happened to her than could I have other kids out there that I don't know about?"

  "It's always a possibility. As they say, no birth control is 100% except maybe a vasectomy."

  Tiny cringed at the word. "That's not an option for me right now."

  Dean's stern expression didn't change. "Tiny, I know you're with Elle..."

  "Dean, Elle's different. She's not like any other woman I met in my life. She's genuinely kind. She reminds me there are good things in life. I just want to be around her all the time. I can't imagine my life without her." They continued to walk past another floor.

  Dean smirked. "I never thought I would see it."

  Tiny turned to him. "See what?"

  Dean smacked him on the shoulder. "The day you finally fell in love."

  "Whoa, I didn't say the L word."

  "You don't have to. What you just described is love."

  Tiny shook his head. "No way. Impossible."

  "Ok, so how would you feel if she moved to another state and you couldn't see each other?"

  A deep pit formed in his stomach and a numb feeling came over him. Shit. Dean was right he’d fallen for Elle, hard.

  Dean looked at him and his smile widened. "That's what I thought."

  Tiny shook his head. "I never really thought I'd ever find a woman I would fall in love with. I never planned on it." They passed by the se
cond floor. "I always wanted no strings attached. Love em and leave em. Shit. Now I found the perfect woman and my past caught up with me and is now fucking it up!"

  He slapped the banister.

  "You need to talk to her about this," Dean told him as they stopped on the main floor. "Communication is the number one thing that helps maintain a relationship."

  "Talking from experience?" Tiny smirked.

  "Yes."

  "Thanks for the advice." He turned and headed to the living room.

  "Oh, and Tiny."

  Tiny stopped and looked back at Dean. "Yeah?"

  "If you break her heart..."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and Keith are going to beat the crap out of me."

  Dean shook his head. "Nope, what we would do would be mild compared to what her Uncle Kenneth would do."

  Tiny gulped inadvertently. "Good to know." He turned and headed towards their mock control room, still replaying the conversation he just had with Dean.

  Chapter 16

  Elle stared at the monitor and tried to rein in her emotions. Karen Aimes sat on the bed, her belly visibly protruding. There was no doubt she was not faking the pregnancy, and there was also no doubt that Tiny was the father. The situation kept replaying in her mind. How would she and Tiny continue their relationship if he would be busy being a dad?

  Why did she fall so hard for him? She closed her eyes and rubbed them. This was such a messed up situation. She felt like she was on one of those tv shows where they reveal your new love is a daddy of another woman's baby. She hated those shows and now felt empathy towards some of those women.

  "Hey, Angel."

  Her heart leaped. She swiveled the chair around and saw Tiny smiling as he leaned against the entryway. His eyes were red and there were dark circles under them.

  She jumped out of the chair and into his outstretched arms. Her lips crashed against his and her arms circled around his neck, slamming his body against hers. He tasted like coffee mixed with a woodsy scent. Elle couldn't stop kissing him. The stiffness of his growing erection poked at her stomach and her body responded and pressed against it.

  Tiny broke the kiss. "Elle, we need to talk."