my decision to make. It's yours. But, Storri, you're my heart. If you decide to come, I won't be able to think about anything but protecting you. That isn't your fault. It isn't something you should have to care about. It's my weakness. But…I can't change it. Not right away, anyway." I'd let myself run out of air and sucked in a ragged breath, speaking quickly so I wouldn't run out again. I needed to convince him I was still an alpha he wanted to belong to. "Give me time, please. We can work up to it. With practice. I don't ever want you to feel like you are being erased, Storri. You are so much more than my mate. I can change. I prom—"
His lips on my mouth silenced my plea. I stood stock-still, forcing my body to allow Storri to decide how the kiss went. Storri's fingers cupped my face. He caressed my chin with his thumbs. The scratching sound of his fingers over my bristly face echoed in my brain. His pink lips turned down in a frown, but at least he wasn't crying. I couldn't stand watching my omega cry. "I've never felt erased by you, Faust. And I can't imagine how hard this must be for you in here." He rapped his knuckles against my chest, over my heart. "But you can't tell me my opinion and voice matters and then ignore both when the situation is dangerous."
He kissed me once more before pressing the side of his face against my chest. My arms ached to hold him, but while he might've forgiven me for steamrolling over him, I couldn't forget his face when he'd had to ask if he was even allowed to be himself anymore.
"Stop beating yourself up and hold me," Storri murmured against my chest. When I didn't immediately move, he bit down on my nipple.
"I will, I will!" I cried out, rubbing my chest. That had actually hurt, and Storri's proud smile told me he already knew that. Had I mated a kitten or a mountain lion?
The answer came to me as quickly as the question. Storri could be both. Storri could be whatever the hell he wanted, and it was my job to support him. I'd forgotten that today but wouldn't again. My arms squeezed around him, and he sighed, becoming all liquid and boneless against my chest.
"I'll surrender." He pulled his head back sharply and narrowed his eyes up at me. "But not because you were being a stubborn boar. I just want to protect you, but, you're right. If we're both only worried about the other, then the mission will suffer." He frowned, and the expression was so close to crying, I held him tighter. "I still hate the idea of you going alone."
"I won't be alone, kitten. I'll have my team. The twins are coming, and they already know the layout. It's going to be a breeze. A walk in a park."
"That isn't a park I ever want to visit. We're compromising," he barked. "I'll stay here, if you take Dog. You just said the twins are coming with you, which means Knox and Diesel will be here. You work better with Dog. You're a team, and I won't separate that team."
I kissed him. I wasn't trying to silence or distract him; I simply had been unable to keep from kissing him a single moment longer. Somehow, I'd found the man of my dreams locked away in a tower in the middle of a redwood forest, and he wasn't only kind but fierce as well. I didn't like his suggestion or any suggestion that took layers of security away from him, but my dissatisfaction was what made the idea a compromise. I nodded, adding, "If Dog wants to."
***
Dog wanted to. He'd been as unhappy about the prospect of staying behind as Storri. He sat beside me in the back seat of the Hummer, the twins in the front as I double checked our equipment. We'd been on enough missions that I knew the difference between the side that succeeded and the side that lost was often preparation. After preparation came skill and after skill, plain dumb luck.
I pulled out the mission laptop and opened the GPS. The compound coordinates had already been put in.
"What's it look like?" Huntley asked.
The traffic north had been one of the only unknown factors, but from what I was seeing, traffic wouldn't be an issue. "No delays. We'll get there no later