Page 374 of Bride of Choice

Celuk sighed and closed his eyes. “Not want Jo worry,” he grumbled, sounding surlier than ever.

“Well, it’s too late for that.” My finger lifted to poke him in the chest as I glared up at him. “Spill the beans, fuzzsticles, what’s wrong with Rek?”

Celuk’s lips tipped up at the corners briefly at the use of my silly nickname for him. They fell just as quickly. “Rek sick,” he said finally.

Before he could elaborate and I realized what the fuck I was doing, I’d grabbed his fur in a death grip and the shake I tried to give him shook me instead of his solid as a rock ass. “Sick? Sick how?!”

Celuk’s hands slid over mine and started to smooth up and down the backs of them. Entwining our fingers, he pried my hands free to nuzzle his face into the palm of my left hand. “No want Jo worry. Bring Jo home to Rek, Rek get better.”

If he brings me home, Rek will magically be better? Is he for real? “On what fucking planet?!”

“Planet Rek gets sick missing him’s Jojomine,” Celuk replied softly.

“He- He has some kind of broken heart syndrome or something going on, is that what you’re saying? My not being there had him tumble down some rabbit hole of sad-sickness? And he’ll get better when we’re reunited?”

Celuk nodded.

“Why haven’t I heard of this before?!!” I burst out. Eyeing him, I quietly wondered why Rek was afflicted with this mate-gone heart-sick sickness stuff and he and Tor seemed hearty and whole.

“Is… Is everyone else okay?” I ventured to ask. My gaze darted away as I slid my hands out of his hold and let them fall to my lap. Fiddling with my fingers in my lap, I bit at my lip. “Are- Uhm, is everyone else okay? No one else got sick?”

Cupping my face, Celuk forced me to face him or risk mushing my face painfully. This was not an if I choose option. It was a look at me, woman, kinda deal. His thumb brushed along the side of my mouth. “No one ‘kay, Jo go missing. No lose hope. Always look. Celuk look ‘til Celuk die,” he swore. “Rek not take Jo gone goot. Want to look, look, look, all the times, not come back to village. Get weak, no sleep, no eat, just go, go, go, look for our Jo. Rek forget be strong for Jo, take care of Rek for Jo. Carr-ree worry for Rek. Say Rek like her brother. Rek wastes way, she say. No listen to Kirch. No listen no one. Angry all times. Cry all sleeps. Celuk know my Jo no like come home, her Rek gone. Carr-ree say, Rek Celuk’s now, too. Celuk Jo’s, Rek Jo’s. All same.” Leaning in, he bussed his forehead with mine. “Celuk take care of my Jo’s Rek. Him not die, but him need Jo.”

Realizing I was trembling, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Is he- Is someone with him now?”

Celuk nodded.

“How bad is it?” I asked as I pulled back and scrambled to get myself in order to get the fuck out of here.

Buu was here, he’d found me, but he’d left, for whatever fucking reason. He’d willingly left. Rek was sick and he needed me. If Buu was the intrepid wilderness guru he presented himself as, he’d find me if he really wanted to. He’d found me at our campsite, had he not?

I wasn’t going to dwell on Buu’s decision to leave a moment further. If he found me, I’d deal with it then. I was worried if I thought about it too long, I might have to consider the possibility he’d brought me out of the cave and left me like he had with the intention of tricking me into leaving me, and I really didn’t want to even considerate it.

Forcing down the heartache of yet again feeling duped, dumped, ditched, abandoned for whatever fucking reason, wasn’t nearly as simple as it sounded, but I put all of my focus on Rek and getting back home to him.

If Rek died because we dilly-dallied waiting for Buu to come back- No. Wasn’t even going to entertain the idea, not even for a moment.

As much as I didn’t want to face any of it, the facts were just that. Rek was sick and needed me. Buu had found me and then left me. The decision to leave was a no brainer.

“I need clothes!” I muttered under my breath, scrambling around for something to cover my nudity besides pelts.

Celuk stood with me. Turning me to face him, he bent and kissed me. When I would have pulled back, he snarled softly and followed after me.

“What in the world are you doing?” I mumbled against his mouth. “We need to get the fuck outta here and get home!”

“Kiss my Jo,” he said simply, as if that wasn’t obvious enough.

Pulling back to eye me, he grunted, frowned, and dove back in, again and again for sweet, curl your toes kiss after kiss, until I was dizzy with them and my lips were makeout-session puffy. Nodding, like that’s exactly what he wanted, a dopey-eyed mate wobbling where I stood, he left me standing there, wonky-kneed and kissed senseless-lightheaded, to dip out of the tent for a moment, then return with a bundle in his arms.

Gently tugging the pelts clenched in my hands free, he stole kisses as he helped me dress. “Where did you get this?” I breathed, staring down at the prettiest beadwork dancing along the hem of a long, to-die-for, absolutely gorgeous dress-like top.

“Make,” he grunted out softly.

“When?” I burst out.

Hesitating to answer, he rumbled out finally, “Rek has the night scares. Celuk stay with Rek nights, Celuk not out look for Jo. Odix, Gopher, Tor, help. Rek need things do. Teach Rek things, distract. Learn the things for our Jo.” Dipping to help me into my pants, he tied them loosely, gave Bump a short nuzzle that melted my heart, and glanced up at me. Fingering the hem of the top, he held it up to me. “Celuk start, Rek finish.”

“Rek helped make this?” I blurted. Trying to imagine him having the patience for the intricate patterns and these teeny tiny beads, consider my mind blown. “Was it under threat of death?”

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