Page 11 of Jace

“Really?” she asked, looking relieved.

Honestly, he would pay the workers himself if it wasn’t. A soldier’s income wasn’t a fortune, but he lived simply, and saved as much as he could.

“Of course,” he said. “They know you’ve just walked away from your regular life. Everything is supposed to be set up for you and Zeke, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Though I will have to learn how to run a farm,” she said.

“That’s easy stuff,” Jace said. “There’s some know-how, but after that, it’s all manual labor.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I grew up on a farm,” he said, shrugging. “We also had a droid crew, but it was still a lot of hard work.”

“What did you grow?” she asked.

“Oh, a little of everything,” he told her. “Fruit, vegetables, and grain, of course. We also had some animals.”

He could feel her relaxing by his side. His arm was still wrapped around her, and it was good to know she felt safe with him.

He continued to list out facts about his family’s farm, quietly and slowly.

Before long, her breathing leveled out. When he glanced down a minute later, she was asleep.

There was something incredibly satisfying about watching mother and child sleep in his arms. Little Zeke looked completely at peace with Susannah, and he wondered at how quickly the two seemed to have formed a bond.

Of course, Jace had bonded to her right away, too. He liked to think that even if there weren’t an overwhelming physical attraction, he would have liked her anyway. She was a genuinely happy spirit, and he could already tell she was kind and caring.

Mate.

The only trouble with her being asleep was that now there was no one to distract him from the delicious thoughts of what it would be like to claim and care for his mate.

The dragon began to feed him images again, scenarios that would make even a soldier blush.

Though he knew they would have to make camp at least once before then, he found himself more eager than ever to reach her land, so he rode on into the night.

5

Susannah

Susannah awoke in darkness.

She was wrapped in delicious warmth, but a cold breeze buffeted her face.

“Did you sleep well?” Jace’s deep voice reminded her where she was. The warmth on one side was his big body.

And the warmth against her chest was the baby.

Zeke.

Instantly, she opened her eyes to check on him.

“He’s fine,” Jace said calmly. “He’s still sleeping. But we should stop and make camp so he can have a cell of milk soon.”

She relaxed against him, relieved that she hadn’t neglected the baby’s needs during her nap. She hadn’t even realized she was falling asleep. She must have drifted off while Jace was speaking in his gentle voice about his family farm.

She winced, hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you,” she said sheepishly.

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