Page 206 of Bride of Choice

“That’s right! You run, you coward!” I screamed after Bum-bum’s shadowy figure. Grabbing up a huge snowball, I chucked it at him. It fell sadly short, and this for some strange reason got me crying again.

Rage, tears, Lo denaii moonshine induced emotional dysregulation— fun times.

Slumping to the ground, staring down at my snow covered hands, no idea where my gloves went or if I’d even had any with me or on me today, I cried harder.

I heard someone approaching behind me but I didn’t care. The sob fest, to my eternal embarrassment, continued.

Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me back against them until I was swallowed up in heat. One chest rumble and I knew it wasn’t Doogie. A short glance up, spying Rek, and things got ugly.

“What wrong my Jojomine?” he whispered hoarsely, curling me into his lap to slowly rock me.

“Everything’s a mess! I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing! I’m in so far over my fucking head it’s not even funny! You hate me! You ruined my hut and now I have nowhere to live! Kooky didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean to hurt them, but now Odix and Gopher probably hate me too! Noyel gave me spiked tea and I don’t care how much salve you put on it, it still fucking hurt when he shoved his finger in there full of goop! Now I’m hallucinating!” I wailed.

“Where No-yell shove gooped fingers in Jojoanie, makes it hurt?!” he snapped.

“Huh?” Sniffling, I wiped my eyes on the back of my jacket sleeve, frowning at the pissed, gaping look on his face.

“The holes in my arms he had to stitch up.” I stared at him uncomprehendingly. “Where else would he put them?”

Rek let out a hard grunt and curled me into his arms better, easily popping up with me in tow to cart me off.

Sniffling, fighting off a mad case of the weepies, I tearfully ran my fingers along the side of his face, tracing his jaw. “I’ve missed you. I don’t care if you’re not real and I’m talking to a shovel or something, I love you. I hate that you hate me.”

Pausing, he stared down at me. With an even louder grunt, he mumbled under his breath, like he was embarrassed and thought I was making a scene, even though it was just us, “Rek no hate Jojomine.”

“You don’t? You- You mean it?”

When he gave a very brief, short nod, I smiled happily and grabbed his face. Planting one on him, I didn’t let go until he was purring so loudly it sounded like an engine idling.

I moaned out loud, dying to wriggle closer. My tongue slipped inside his mouth when he groaned and his lips parted for me. Like I was determined to suck his tongue clean from his head, I kept it up until he was forced to stop so he could bark something in Lo denaii over his shoulder.

Adjusting his hold on me, a growl entered his voice. I thought he might put me down, so I buried my hand in the fur near his neck, gripping it tight enough as I rested my head on his chest, if he did separate us it wouldn’t be without him sporting an enormous bald patch for it.

“Don’t leave me. Promise. I wanna stay with you.”

“Rek promiss,” he rumbled out easily, ignoring the grumbles behind us to cart me off to his place.

I was half awake when we reached his hut and he unlocked the door to carry me inside.

“My wet and my boot is leaky,” I warned him when he would have set me on the bed. No, that didn’t sound right.

Setting me gently on my feet on the rug near the fire, he went to the door and stepped just outside, using his body to block my view.

Peeling off my wet clothes, I draped them over his chairs and then quickly climbed under his covers on his bed. Oooo. So comfy warm. Tucking them up to my chin, surrounded by his scent, I closed my eyes on a jaw cracking yawn.

“I’m still cold,” I said as I literally shivered a little. “Rek? Warm me?”

Rek glanced over his shoulder, stopped dead in his tracks, then quickly shoved his door shut with a half mumbled answer, locked it, and slowly approached his bed.

My legs sawed under the blankets.

“I need my personal heater,” I mumbled sleepily, wriggling to my side to give him more room.

Someone banged on the door but it was muffled.

“I need a door like your new one,” I told him. “Very nice.”

When he still hadn’t climbed into bed, my eyes cracked open. He looked like he was trying not to swallow his tongue.

---