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“That makes me sad to hear it. Why else would you live in a village if you were not going to help share the load?”
Brayden played with his fingers. “There’s not a lot of village living anymore in the human world. It’s almost all big cities.”
“Ah. I am not made for city life. I crave nature and the ysidri. The sunshine and the grass.”
“That’s less and less common, there. Which is one of the reasons I adore it here. I can fly. I can live rough if I want to. I can have land to farm. It’s amazing.” Brayden studied the stream for a long moment.
“I love seeing this place through your eyes. It’s glorious, it makes me proud.” Brayden made something old feel special.
“That makes me happy, baby. It really does. Speaking of baby, how are you feeling?” Brayden reached out and touched his belly.
“Good. Good, I’m loving this trip with you.” He grinned. “And I do not miss being ill every day at all.”
“No, I bet you don’t. It was agonizing for me, and I’m not the pregnant one.”
“I do not recommend it.” Harden leaned against Brayden hard. “Of course, having our child will be worth every second, I know it.”
“I believe you.” Brayden put an arm around him. “Are you ready to have a little sleep? You’re not going to offend if you are.”
“I should really tend to the bocapal.”
“I did that already, just the way you taught me. If you’d like to check, you’re not going to anger me with that, either.”
His heart warmed at the fact that Brayden had put the animals before them and had seen to them while Harden dozed. “I trust you. I just didn’t see you do it. I would like to just sit here with you for a little while. Maybe I will doze again, maybe I will not, but I’m still hungry…”
“I have honey cakes.”
Oh, that was even better than cheese and meat and fruit. Somehow a little bit of sweetness at the end of the day was something he craved now. “I would like that very much.”
Brayden kissed the top of his head. “Let me go get them. I’ll be right back.”
He rubbed his belly, which only showed a gentle, but definite bump. “You are good to me, mate.”
“That’s literally my job right now.” Brayden’s grin glinted in the low light, the teasing clear. The best part was he knew Brayden didn’t consider him a burden or a job at all. He loved to do for Harden and it was a wondrous thing.
And ever since that first discussion about how he felt abandoned when Brayden was doing so many patrols, they had never lost that balance again.
Brayden came back with a most staggering package of pastries. Not just honey cakes but also cookies with the crystallized hint of the plant in them that made them sharp and sweet at the same time. Brayden told him it tasted like ginger, which was something that grew as a root where he came from.
He groaned, his nostrils flaring. “Oh, I didn’t know I was still hungry, but I am. I’m starving.”
“We just had to find the magical key that unlocked your belly.” Brayden broke off little bits of honey cake, holding them to his lips to feed him. He felt lazy and decadent and as though he truly was on a trip where he could just relax and not work for a while.
Harden licked Brayden’s fingers, the taste of honey and a tiny hint of Brayden’s sweat making it the most wonderful dessert he could think of.
His body reacted, but he allowed it to happen, slowly, steadily. He had never been so happy, so in love, and so at peace in his soul.
Chapter
Fourteen
They decided not to camp again the next night, so it was late when they pulled into Harden’s parents’ homestead. Brayden would have felt a little bit guilty about that, but Harden was so tired that he didn’t want him to have to sleep on the ground once more.
He got the feeling Harden was surprised at how much the trip was taking out of him, but he didn’t comment on it at all. He had found out from being around Tyr when he was pregnant that that was just gonna get his head taken off.
What he did do instead was make sure that Harden got frequent rests, napping in the back of the cart while Brayden drove, and lots of water and food to make sure he kept his hydration and strength levels up.
When they reached the large open area in front of the amazing picturesque cottage that was Harden’s family’s house, the door opened and light streamed out as a dragon who looked just like Harden and another smaller dragon with curly purple hair and beautiful silver eyes came bustling out.
