Page 302 of Bride of Choice

The moment I had two feet on moist soil he was scooping me up into his arms, hugging me tight. “No want be ‘way from Jo no more. No want be broked up,” he mumbled into my shoulder.

Hugging him back, burying my face in his fur, I murmured, “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, let you explain. I’m sorry for pushing you away and being a total asshole.”

Pulling back, I spied that pesky, telltale moisture pooling in his eyes. “Jo- Jo no want be broked up no more neither?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I missed you too much. I’m-”

Gopher let out a soft little whoop, curled himself around me tighter, and kissed me. I shivered, the warmth of his body heat and the chill outside battling.

One of his hands slid down my back, cupped one of the rounded globes barely decent with my bikini bottom pushing it, and grabbed a handful of ass to squeeze.

His purr vibrated my chest, making my aching nipples even harder. “My Jo,” he growled out softly.

“Stop watches!” Elle snapped.

Three soft gasps and a burst of giggles had Gopher breaking away to glare off in the direction of the noise and bark something at them in Lo denaii that had them scurrying off.

Glancing back towards me, he groaned.

Tugging him back to me, I kissed him, long and hard. “Get them home. It’s okay.”

“No want-” Gopher groaned and pulled me in close to kiss me once more. “No want leave,” he grumbled.

“I’ll still be here when you get back,” I promised.

Gopher scowled but nodded.

With one last kiss, he rushed off to collect his wayward sisters and escort them all back home where they hopefully stayed until they found their wanted prospective other butt cheeks.

This felt good. Right. I had to stop fighting the what-ifs. I needed to accept the here and now and live in the moment. I had to stop trying to hold all of them accountable for Rek’s crimes. I couldn’t control every fucking thing and I’d had to learn the hard way I shouldn’t want to. What kind of life was I living?

Gopher spared me a quick glance over his shoulder, taking me in. He got one look at my outfit, my clothes nearby, and shook his head. “No go home wet, cold. Go’ take.”

“Take me home?” I spluttered. “But it’s just down the way and I was going to stop by Rosa’s to make up with her, I- What are you doing?”

“Take Jo home,” he rumbled out stubbornly, steering me towards his place.

“I don’t have dry clothes there,” I pointed out, “and I’m not getting naked in front of your sisters.”

“Go’ fix hut. More room. Make clothes for my Jo.”

“I- You did?” There was definitely an echo in here.

“Jes,” he said simply. After a moment's hesitation, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his wayward sisters had listened to him, he admitted with a grimace, “No want leave. Go’ Bapas, Papa, Mamma need help. Bapa Furgof hurt in head. Bapas and Papa need help him. Mamma say seesters run the wilds. No listen no more.” Lifting a hand with a growl, he waved off behind him. “Papa say like the wilds west, and now they wants mates. All the talks, all the times, want meet mates, mates, mates, mates. Treks to villages take long time. Keep Gopher from my Jo.”

If I was understanding this correctly, he had some crazy going down back on the home front, siblings running wild, a sick dad who needed care, and here I was piling on making him feel guilty for disappearing in such long stretches, but I had to point out, seeing I had no clue any of this was going on, “Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this? I mean, I thought you were just using them as an excuse to get away from me because I was being too much…” And now that I said it out loud, it didn’t really jive with the Gopher that I knew.

“Go’ not ‘llowed say. Only bring Odix to family group ‘cause Odix nosy, want see what Go’ do leave my Jo, leave Gopher no choice.” With a quick glance around, he leaned in to whisper, as if imparting a great secret, “No want seesters stolen to mate. Want them choose. Secret. Quiet. Safe. Odix help fix family hut. Help Go’. No tell no one.”

I gave him a long, measuring look. He was protecting his sisters. “But it’s cool if you do it to a gal, the whole stolen mate thing?”

Gopher shook his head. “Go’ never go on brides hunts. No want.” With a comical miming of him being beaten up by what I assumed was a tiny woman, he grinned. “Mamma beat the buns, Go’ do stupid things.”

“She sounds like a blast,” I said on a laugh.

Gopher’s grin widened. As if he couldn’t hold back a moment longer, he reeled me in, grabbed the towel I’d brought with me to wrap it around me, and kissed me like he meant it. “Go’ Jo fall in Go’ lap.” Gopher’s chest puffed up with pride. “Dropped in Go’ lap like present. Mamma say goot things happens, those who pade-she-ent. Go’ have Jo.” A soft, happy rumble left him. “Jo best present.”

I felt dumbstruck, with all of it.

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