Page 15 of Jace

Jace was mortified. Was he not supposed to do his best? They had always been encouraged to excel in all things.

“I won’t play anymore,” he said right away.

“That’s a good idea,” the officer said. “You could hang out, but don’t take their money.”

“No, no,” Jace said. “Give it back, please.”

He went rummaging in his things and pressed the wad of credits into the officer’s hands.

“That’s not necessary, son,” the officer said.

“I insist,” Jace told him, trying to hold in his horror until the man left.

After that, he hung around the card game without playing another time or two. The others stopped paying him any mind and he was able to observe their rough jokes and ribald humor.

But he was no closer to understanding it than before.

“Looks great,” Susannah said, rousing him from his memories.

“Thanks,” he said. “It was part of Invicta training.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “Though I only ever picture the Invicta battling in the sky as giant dragons, or celebrating their victories drinking ale in leather armor.”

“That’s common,” he told her. “But we trained in mundane tasks, just like regular soldiers.”

“I get the feeling that’s very good news for us out here,” she said, looking around.

She bit her lip, and he could see the tension in her, as if she were about to start vibrating. Her arms were wrapped protectively around the baby, though the sling held him to her.

“You don’t have to worry, Susannah Beck,” he told her solemnly. “I will protect you and the whelp, no matter what occurs.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him.

Need for her pounded in his veins, and it was all he could do to stop himself from pulling her into his arms.

But that would be the worst thing he could do. Jace had never had a gift with women. They were attracted to him physically - that part was easy. He could tell by the way their eyes slid over him whenever the Invicta took a leave at one of the more glamorous intergalactic ports.

But as soon as they approached and began their flirtations, he was lost. He was pretty sure that humor was the perfect icebreaker. Or it would be, if he understood it.

Now, he was going to be alone overnight with the one woman who was guaranteed to drive him to madness if she rejected him.

And he had no more idea how to woo her than if she were a tree or a star.

“Everything okay?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

“I hope you will be comfortable tonight,” he told her, more formally than he meant to. “I have some rations. They are not delicious, but they will nourish you. Once I get the fire started, we can warm our dinner and Zeke’s.”

“Camping out under the stars with a roaring bonfire sounds great,” Susannah said, with a dreamy smile. “And food of any kind sounds even better.”

“You did an excellent job gathering fuel,” he told her as he moved to prepare the fire.

He crouched before it and breathed a tiny lick of flames onto the smallest, driest sticks.

There was a crackle and the dried leaves on the branches lit up and curled.

“Oh,” Susannah said. “Wow. Was that…?”

“Yes,” he told her. “I used my dragon’s ability. I hope it didn’t frighten you.”

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