A soft brush of fabric against the stairwell wall told him that one of the nine other people in his home was coming to join him and Seth. His guess was Teagan or Iona.
Both women walked into the living room. After a quick glance around, Teagan headed to the kitchen where Seth kept watch.
Elias held out his arm, and Iona snuggled against him as if she belonged there. Each time he was with her, he knew she was his. Now he had to find the courage to speak up and claim her. If she knew he held back because he didn’t want his past life to taint her, Iona would be angry. Worse, he was coming to realize he needed her to be whole.
He sighed. Yeah, he was toast. That’s all there was to it. Elias settled her against his side. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Iona shook her head. “Teagan couldn’t sleep either. At this rate, we might as well assign couples for night watch.”
He threaded his fingers through her long chestnut hair, which felt like silk against his skin. “Want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“I thought women always wanted to talk about their feelings.”
She chuckled. “So you manned up and asked me even though you really don’t want to talk about feelings?”
“I should get extra credit for that. Just saying.”
She looked up at him. “Extra credit toward what?”
“Getting me out of the doghouse next time I say something stupid to you.” He drew a deep breath, steeled himself, and said what he should have months ago. “Or extra credit toward finally wising up and claiming what’s mine.”
Iona’s eyes widened. “And what’s yours?”
He cupped her chin in his palm. “You.”
“And that means what, exactly? Don’t make me guess, Elias. I don’t want to get this wrong.”
“You can’t get it wrong. I’m saying straight out that you’re mine.” Elias grabbed his courage and held on for dear life. “And I’m yours.”
“So, we’re dating? I thought we had already established that.”
“Yes, we’re dating. Exclusive. No changing your mind or take-backs.” When Iona remained silent, Elias frowned. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you staked your claim just for this mission and intend to dump me back into the abyss when the mission ends.”
“Are you kidding? I can finally claim you as mine. I’m keeping you, no matter what it takes.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Good to know.”
“Yeah? Then you should know if anyone tries to get between us or take you away from me, I’ll fight back, and I’m not above playing dirty to keep what I need.”
“Understood.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs as the rest of their teams entered the living room. “Did someone announce breakfast?” Grant asked, eyes twinkling.
The operatives laughed, and Seth looked at the teams. “I guess we’re getting an early start this morning.”
“Breakfast, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “You must have hollow legs and arms, buddy. Lucky for you, I know there’s a diner near here that’s open twenty-four hours a day. If no one objects, let’s load our gear and lock up before we leave so we don’t have to come back here.”
“Any supplies you need to replenish, take care of it at Fortress headquarters.” Noah hugged Violet to his side. “We leave in five minutes.”
