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Gus kicked his little legs when she held out her arms, and Jade felt a flare of pride that the boy had confidence in her baby-holding skills, even if she didn’t.
“Oh,” she said, as Rafe placed him in her arms. “He’s holding me back.”
“Of course he is,” Rafe said, looking at her suspiciously.
“I just didn’t expect that part,” she said defensively. “It’s very nice.”
“Pah,” Gus chortled, slamming his chubby fist down on her shoulder like she had just delivered a long-awaited punchline.
“Are you always like this?” she asked the baby.
“He has not mastered language yet,” Rafe offered, as if he thought she might have actually been expecting an answer. “But he is good-natured, and he has a very good sense of humor, which is a sign of intelligence. His reflexes also seem to be excellent.”
Jade tried to hide her surprise. For a guy who was just dropping off the baby, he really seemed to be invested in the little one’s attributes.
“Well, I have a feeling we’ll get along just fine,” she said, looking down at her son’s sweet little blue face.
My son…
He even smelled good. People talked about that all the time with babies. But they also said all babies did was spit up and dirty their diapers, so she had thought it was just something you said.
Gus smelled absolutely heavenly, though. She pressed her nose to his silken curls and inhaled him.
He chose that exact moment to wiggle, bumping her chin and causing her to bite her lip, hard.
“Ow,” Jade cried in surprise.
“We should probably get on the road,” Rafe said, in spite of the fact that there clearly was no road, just vast miles of open tundra.
“You’re riding with us?” she asked.
“Well, it’s faster than walking,” he laughed. “And I assume you haven’t driven a lichen-deer sleigh before?”
“Nope,” she replied, approaching the sleigh with a deep sense of relief.
Even if she wasn’t wild about the unwanted twinge of attraction, she was bone-tired from getting here. If she could rest with the baby on the drive, hopefully, she could recharge enough to figure out bottles and diapers when they reached their new home.
He offered her his hand and she took it without thinking.
As he swung her up, she swore she could feel the heat of him straight through her glove.
Another shiver of attraction went through her, stronger this time.
She made a point of not looking at the big man as she settled herself onto the bench seat with the baby.
“Grab a fur, if you’d like,” Rafe said casually as he swung into the seat beside her.
“Would you like one?” she asked, bending and twisting to grab a fur without disturbing the baby.
“I’m Invicta,” he laughed. “My body regulates its own temperature.”
“A dragon warrior,” she said in surprise.
The Invicta were an elite force of fighters. She knew they were the reason the Imberian babies had been created from the DNA of their extinct forebearers and raised in pods. But she hadn’t thought the Invicta would get their hands dirty on the ground making baby deliveries like a fleet of gorgeous, extremely over-qualified storks in one of her childhood picture books.
“Guilty as charged,” Rafe quipped with a smug pirate smile.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Weren’t these guys supposed to be super serious?
