Jade was having a wonderful sleep when a blinding light woke her up and a loud noise that had her jerking up in her bed looking around for any danger.

"Time to get up Corporal." She groaned at the booming voice of the sergeant at such an early hour of the morning.

"Why." She groaned as the bed sheets were ripped off her bed and clothes were thrown at her.

"Get dressed and be in the kitchen in 10 minutes." Marcus left causing Jade to groan again before getting out of bed and putting on the clothes that Marcus left out for her. Jade put on her cameo pants and a brown shirt with her unit number on it before tying up her boots which were left at the end of the bed.

"5 minutes corporal." Jade murmured under her breath and left the room tying up her hair. Jade walked into the kitchen when something was thrown at her that she quickly caught.

"Eat up we are leaving in 5." Jade quickly eat her muesli bar under the watchful eye of Marcus. She could feel his eyes lingering on her arm, but he didn't make a comment as she continued to eat. Once she finished eating, Marcus passed her a bottle of Gatorade which she started to sip as they started to move out of the house and into the brisk country air.

"Okay 10 minutes to stretch before we go for a run." Jade started to stretch and couldn't help, but notice the way Marcus's muscles tightened up exposing large masses of muscles as he stretched. Shaking her head, she continued her own stretch knowing if she didn't she would be very sore afterwards. Her physio had given her the all-clear for light physical exercise on her leg. Running was allowed but only at a slow brisk jog. However, that didn't stop her.

"You ready?" Jade rolled her shoulders back before nodding her head.

"Well, let's go." They both started off the run, and they set a decent pace as they both ran side by side. They ran in silence as the endless land stretched out before them and the fresh air filled their lungs. As they ran, the sun started to rise, bringing with it the heat for the day. After a while, Jade felt her leg throb, so she slowed down the quickened pace to a slower jog.

"You all right?" Marcus said as if he hadn't been running at all.

"Just my leg is cramping up," Jade said breathless realising just how unfit she had become with not being able to do anything. Marcus said nothing as he slowed down his pace to match hers and they kept running. The longer they ran the hotter it became and by the time they got back to the house every part of her body ached and she was panting like a dog.

Jade placed her hand on her knees trying to get air back into her body. However, she felt herself stop breathing as she watched Marcus remove his shirt and tuck it into his pant. She starred at his solid chest as sweat ran down his bronzed skin and gathered at the top of his pants, which were sitting incredibly low on his hips.

"You did better than I expected." Marcus chucked her a bottle of water that snapped her out of the lustful daze she was in.

"How long were we gone for?" Marcus checked his watched before grinning.

"We were running for just over two-and-a-half hours." Fuck Jade thought, no wonder she was so bloody sore.

"I'm so unfit." Marcus didn't say anything as Jade finished the water.

"Now drop and give me 20 situps." Jade stared at him with a wide mouth before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you serious?" Marcus raised an eyebrow and copied Jade stance with legs apart and arms crossed over his chest showing off his bulging muscles.

"I don't want to ask again corporal. Drop and give me 20." Jade stared at Marcus a little longer trying to challenge him, but she saw that he wasn't going anywhere until she gave him 20. So she got on her back and started giving the arrogant man 20 sit-ups. When Jade had done her 20, she collapsed on the floor groaning as her body ached all over.

"I can't move." Jade groaned causing Marcus to chuckle as he walked over to her.

"Here I'll help you up." Jade sat up and Marcus lifted her to her feet and helped her walk inside.

"You go take a shower and I'll cook us some breakfast." Jade nodded and limped her way back to her room where she undressed and let her muscle soak under the blazing hot shower. Once Jade finished with the shower she walked back into the kitchen drying her hair and sat on the island bench where Marcus was serving up breakfast.

"Perfect timing." Jade sat down and Marcus joined her as they both dug into breakfast.

"After breakfast, I have to go into town to get some food. Do you want to come or just stay here?" Jade finished what she was eating before answering.

"I'll come." They both finished up breakfast and while Marcus went to change and Jade cleaned up. Marcus stopped when he saw Jade finishing up the cleaning admiring the strong women that was before him.

"Okay, you ready to go?" Jade turned around and saw Marcus dressed in shorts, singlet and thongs.

"Yea let me just get a jacket." Marcus frowned and as Jade passed him and he grabbed onto her upper arm stopping her from going anywhere.

"You don't need a jacket, Jade. It's getting warm outside." Jade frowned and looked down at her scared filled arm and knew that people would stare and judge her. She didn't mind when people stared at her, but it was their judgemental looks she couldn't stand.

"There's no need to be embarrassed Jade these you got fighting for your country and if anyone has anything to say about them tell them to go to hell." Jade smiled up at Marcus as his kind words but still felt incredibly naked in her singlet and jeans.

"I don't know Marcus." Jade looked down at her feet unable to keep looking into Marcus's intense brown eyes.

"It's up to you." Marcus let her go and watched as she retreated into her room before coming back out with a green cardigan.

They both walked to the car where Marcus had the radio on low so they could talk.

"How long until we get into town?" Jade questioned as there weren't many houses around.

"About 30 minutes." They both fell into silence again as Jade hummed along to the music playing on the radio.

"So, tell me about what it was like growing up with your mother," Marcus asked out of the blue catching Jade off guard.

"Horrible is the only way to describe it. She drove everyone in the family away." Even though Marcus had his eyes on the road he was watching Jade out of the corner of his eye.

"What made you join the defence force?" Even though Marcus had a pretty good idea what made her join, he wanted to make sure he was right.

"I did it to get away from my mother. I was raised to be the perfect debutant. My mother had my life planned out for me. I was groomed to be the perfect housewife, to be compliant towards my husband's wishes and commanded. To raise and breed perfect children, to cook, clean and take care of the children to the highest standard. I was taught to not have dreams or ideas and was taught everything I did had to be perfect, from my grades right down to the single hair that had to be in its right place on my perfect head." Jade shivered as she could remember her mother's lesson in her head about a way a lady should and shouldn't act.

Marcus knew Jade had a strained relationship with her mother, but he never realised the full extent what she went through. That one time he saw her mother he knew she was a high maintenance woman, something Jade wasn't, but he would never have believed that Jade had been groomed all her life by the one person who was meant to support you through every decision no matter how much they didn't like it.

"So, what happened?" Marcus asked curious about how Jade joined the army when she was raised to be anything but.

"I always fought against my mother. When I was younger, I listened to everything she said, but as I got older, I realised that this wasn't who I was. By the time I realised this my father had already left, and I fought against mum until she started punishing me for not being the perfect daughter."

"My ex-fiancé Garret wasn't my mother first choice for a suitable husband. By the time I was 16 my mother already had a suitable man in mind, who was 10 years older than me. We were meant to be married the moment I turned 18, but I didn't love him or even like him so I made my mother a deal, if I could find someone suitable to her liking then I wouldn't have to marry the man she chooses. However, the moment I turned 18 I joined the army to get away and meet my ex-fiancé 5 years later who my mother approved of." Jade looked out the window to see they were just pulling up to town.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that as a child." Jade shrugged it off because there was nothing anyone could have done. Marcus pulled into a Woolworths and quickly found a spot before they both got out.

"So how long are we staying for? I know you said a few days, but how many is a few?" Marcus said nothing as he grabbed a trolley when they stepped inside.

"Relax Jade, we go home when we go home okay, now help me grab some fruit." They went around to each aisle grabbing things they both needed or wanted. Jade was worried about all the food they were getting, but Marcus said not to worry cause anything they didn't eat the housekeeper who maintains the place would, when they leave.

They finished their shopping, and it was only just hitting 10 o'clock meaning that had all day to do whatever Marcus had planned.

"So, what is the plan now?" Jade asked as they both walked back to the car with all their shopping.

"We will head back to the house and you will help me clean out the stables and other odd jobs that need doing." Jade wanted to groan. Her body was already sore from the run this morning and all she wanted to do was curl up on that comfy looking lounge and be a bum for the rest of the day.

Jade said nothing as she got into the car knowing today would be a long tiring day.

"So, tell me about your childhood. It couldn't have been as bad as mine." Jade asked and Marcus had an instant smile on his face when he thought about his childhood.

"My childhood wasn't perfect, but for the family it was. My mother when we were younger worked as a teacher and my father stayed at home most days, but had the odd job here and there, as he struggled to find permeant work. My mum was our main source of income, but when she lost her job and struggled with health problems, things became tough. We were only 8 at the time. We struggled for a while before my father came up with a solution. He joined the defence force, there were many benefits to the family. At first, mum didn't like the idea, but the longer dad stayed in the force the more accepting she became." Jade watched as Marcus talked about his family with such care that it surprised her that a man of his size and arrogance could sound so calm and pace taking about his family.

"I don't mean to pry, but what happened to your father if you don't mind me asking. Marco mentioned he passed away" Marcus didn't say anything so Jade let it go and they both drove back to the house in silence with the soft hum of the radio in the background.

They pulled up to the house and got everything out the car and started to unpack and put everything away.

"You finish up doing this and I'll meet you outside, you saw the stables coming in?" Jade nodded her head and watched as Marcus left out the back door and Jade sighed wishing she didn't let her curiosity get to her. Jade finished putting the food away and went outside to where she saw the stables on her way in.

At first, she couldn't see Marcus so she wondered around the stable admiring the beautiful animals that resided in the stable.

"Hello there." Jade walked up to the beautiful dark stallion patting its mane admiring the beautiful creature.

"He likes you." Jade jumped startled at the sound of Marcus's voice. Jade turned around and saw Marcus carrying in bundles of hay that caused his muscles to strain against his singlet.

"He's beautiful." Jade continued to stroke the magnificent creature standing before her. She felt Marcus come up behind her and felt his warm breath on her neck causing goose bumps to run up and down her arms. She felt Marcus take a step closer, and she closed her eyes inhaling the scent of the barn and the scent of Marcus. She opened her eyes when she felt rough fingers brush against her neck brushing away the few strands of hair that were resting on her neck.

She tilted her head to the side as Marcus caressed her neck creating more goose bumps over her skin. However, the moment between the pair of them was lost at the sound of the horse making a noise in front of them.

She felt Marcus's fingers disappear, and she opened her eyes while taking a deep breath.

"So, the stables need cleaning out. You can start at one end and I'll start at the other." She could hear the sound of Marcus heavy boots leaving and she sighed banging her head on the stable in front of her.

The horse made a sound and Jade looked up and smiled at the horse before giving him one last pat and walked down to the other side of the stable away from Marcus, hoping it would clear her head. Jade started cleaning out the stable hoping to get whatever just happened out of her mind.

She saw out of the corner of her eye when Marcus came back in carrying more hay. Neither of them said anything as they both got to work cleaning out the stables and moving the horses from the old stables to the new ones. She tried not to watch Marcus, but as she cleaned, she found her eyes gravitating towards him.

She couldn't work him out. One minute he acted like he didn't give a rat's ass about her and the next he was caring. One minute he is an arrogant bastard and the next he is making her body react in a way, no man has done before. Sighing she mucked out the stable wondering why he bought her out here.

The more Jade worked the less thinking she did, and soon her mind became a blank space, and for once her mind was quiet. There were no racing thoughts travelling through her mind, no thoughts about Marcus, and no thoughts about her broken mind and body.

Once they had finished Jade took note of how Marcus had lost his shirt, but that wasn't her focus due to the intense throbbing in her leg.

"Shit." Jade sat down rubbing her leg that throbbed from overuse and putting too much weight on it throughout the day.

"You alright?" Jade looked up and saw Marcus with a serious look on his face creating wrinkles on his forehead.

"No, not really. I overworked my leg and it's a tad sore and my knee looks a little inflamed." Marcus walked over and touch Jade's knee gently causing her to hiss in pain. Marcus stood up knowing he should have been keeping a better eye on Jade knowing she was still recovering, not just mentally but physically as well.

Jade yelped as Marcus picked her up and carried her back into the house where he placed her on the couch in front of the tv and quickly went into another room. He came back with his arms full of pillows, where he placed one under Jade's head and the rest under her legs elevating Jade's slightly swollen knee.

"You didn't have to Marcus." Marcus didn't say anything, annoyed at himself that he didn't take better care of Jade.

"I'll make us some lunch." Jade went to get up, but Marcus gently pushed Jade back onto the couch. "You sit." Jade put her hands up in the air and settled back into the couch.

When Marcus came back with lunch he let himself smile at Jade who was fast asleep on the couch looking peaceful. Marcus put the food down and grabbed a light blanket throwing it over Jade to keep her from the slight chill that the fan and aircon created, that was keeping the room cool. Marcus walked over to the other couch and put the tv on low and ate lunch before soon he found himself taking an afternoon nap as well.