Logan eased himself down onto a blanket by the fire, deciding at the first touch of his ass to the hard rock below he would need to sit on a pillow for a while. He got back up on his knees and looked up to see amusement twitch on Ian’s lips. “I’m glad I can provide you with some humor at my expense. ” His tone was sulky, but Ian smiled.
“I’m sorry, honey. My wolf got a little out of control last night. Okay, a lot out of control. ” He leaned over to him and caressed his cheek. “I’ve missed you so much, darlin’. ”
“I’ve tried to tell you for some time I feel the same. I know I went with Nicky, but I really didn’t know what else to do with you saying you wanted nothing to do with me. ”
“I never meant it. I wouldn’t have left you in that place, no matter what I said. I was just crazy with thinking you betrayed me and wanted me dead. I never stopped loving you—not for one second. ”
“Yeah, well, you sure fooled me. ”
“I never meant to chase you away, to make you do something as crazy and dangerous as ask for asylum from those lunatics. ”
“I wasn’t serious. I wanted Dawson to give me information. That’s all. What will you do with the bodies?”
“Marco and I buried them last night while you and Nicky slept. All that’s over now. I don’t want to discuss it anymore. We’re going home and starting over. ”
“But Ian—”
“No. ” He crossed a finger overLogan’s lips. “Not another word. I’ve been stupid about a lot of things, and I know I have to treat you differently. Obviously, I’m having a little trouble with that. Marco told me last night he and Nicky had a long talk and things are going to change for the pets. Now let me get you some breakfast. I decided last night to stop dwelling on the past. I have you in my arms, and I’ll have you in my bed, and that is not going to change. I hope you can get used to it because, no matter what, I can’t let you go. ”
“I am used to it. That’s the way I want that part of it. I’ve been trying to tell you, but I’m a soldier, Ian. I know you think of me as your mate and your possession, but I’m more than that. I have to be more than that. ” Something he’d come to realize the two weeks they’d been apart.
“I know,” Ian said quietly.
“No, I really don’t think you do. I’ve been military trained for as long as I can remember and started training in combat operations when I was seventeen years old, and I’m pretty damned good at it. If I’m to stay here for the rest of my life, I have to continue working, contributing, being something besides an empty-headed ornament in your apartment. Hell, I like combat. I like training men. I’m damned good with munitions too. Let me use my skills to stop the Hunters. If the idea of me going out in the field upsets you, at least let me train your men. ”
“Okay, agreed. That’s settled then. ”
Logan looked at him like he’d lost his mind. Puzzled by the easy agreement, Logan added, “Just like that? No arguments?I don’t want you in danger either. If we agree to this, then I want you to stay out of any more field operations too. I nearly went crazy worrying about what they were doing to you. ”
Ian was quiet for a moment and then sighed. “Okay, that’s fair enough. A good beta should probably stay in the command center anyway. Agreed. ”
Logan breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized how important an issue it was to him until he heard Ian agree. “This is all sounding too good to be true. ”
“It is though, Logan. I won’t go back on my word. I can’t promise I won’t be bossy sometimes—I’ll try, but…”
Logan laughed. “No, I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself, sweetheart. I know who you are. ”
Ian grinned, then turned and scooped some stew into a tin plate. He handed it to Logan. “Eat up, honey. Marco will be in here soon. He and Nicky spent the night outside by the campfire. I think Marco made a lot of rash promises last night to Nicky, too, from what he told me. Marco does like to live on the edge. ” He laughed, and his eyes showed some easing of the sadness. “Nicky certainly makes his life interesting. ”
“Is Nicky all right?”
“Of course he’s all right. Marco would never hurt him. I imagine he got some of the same treatment as you did last night, though. He might be limping a bit himself this morning and not wanting to sit down. ”
“Oh, ha-ha. ”
Ian sat across from Logan and occasionally smoothed a hand over his face or ruffled his hair. “Do you really love me, Logan?”
Logan looked directly into his eyes. “I really, really love you, you big oaf. I never stopped loving you, not for one second. ”
Ian leaned across and touched his lips to Logan’s. “Never stop telling me you love me. It seems I need to hear it a lot. ”
“The same goes for you. ”
“Stop looking at me that way, baby, or I’ll have to tap that little sore ass again this morning. Damn, I thought I’d go out of my mind while you two were gone. We were on our way to another site when we stumbled on the Hunters. If we hadn’t done that, we might not have found you in time. We’ve been looking everywhere. ”
“It hasn’t been bad. We had fresh water and a fire every day. I showed Nicky how to fish and snare rabbits. ”
“My own personal commando. ”