Page 242 of Bride of Choice

“My Jojo,” he whispered, sounding choked up.

“This isn’t a done deal, you boob. I have stipulations.” Wiggling my hand free, I jabbed it into his side.

Rek grunted and set me down. “Rek listening,” he grunted down at me.

“If we’re seriously going to make this work, I want to do it the right way. All in or all out, no in between. That goes for the others getting their shit together and worming their idiocy back into my good graces, too. It’s not a one way street with you three, you all fuck with each other, and their beef with you lies heavily in the bullshit you threw at me. Can you handle that? If you have a problem, come to ME with it before it really is one. You’re going to have some work ahead of you if you really mean to do this, because I’m not going to put up with brawling and shit. Work it out. Make it work. Someone’s going to have to swallow some crow and be the bigger man.”

Rek grimaced at the idea of having to apologize to Odix or Gopher for anything, least of all for legit reasons of assholery, but he nodded all the same. “Rek have the sorries for my Jojo,” he rumbled out softly.

Studying him, I felt my face puckering. “I want to believe you,” I told him.

“Rek want Joanie. All of my Jojoknee. Rek be good. Rek mean it,” he swore. Looking like he wanted to say something but was hesitating, he pulled me close, squishing me to him, and grumbled out, “Rek want Joanie know Rek. Kirch say tell Jo. Help Jo understand Rek better.” Hesitating, he swallowed thickly. “When Rek at old village… little and get older, Rek mama say her no want. Mama say Rek bad male. No want bad male. Make Rek go into cold with other babies mamas no want. Lo denaii find Rek and babies. Kirch and others there. Take Rek and babies to village. Babies picked first. Rek last. No want go ‘way. Want mama that no want Rek. Rek angry. Rek mean. Kirch say Rek strong, big spirit. Rek fight. Rek fight Kirch all the times. Kirch try to teach Rek, but Rek no like it. Kirch not Rek daddy. Not Rek brother. Nothing to Rek. Rek leave Kirch when Rek old ‘nough. Kirch still come to Rek, teach Rek things, help Rek. No matter Rek do, Kirch always come see Rek, make sure Rek has food, tools. Make sure Rek know how to take care Rek self.” Taking a deep breath as garbled noises left his chest, he sounded like he was forcing the words through gritted teeth. “Rek see Tokre with Jojomine’ Rosie. He not good male to Rosie. She scared, quiet, soft. Rek want help. Think she what Rek want. She no want Rek help. No want Rek. Rek do bad things, think Rek helping. Rek no help. Rek think help but Rek being bad. Then Rek get Jojoanie. Rosielindy want her Joanie. Rek find her Joanie. Rek not meet female like Joanie before. She loud, not ‘fraid to beats Rek up. She bite. Growls. Tricksy. Joanie bad. Rek no s’posed to want. Rek s’posed to want good female that listen to Rek. Rek no want Rosie-lindy no mores. Rek say Rek no want bad Joanie but Rek want bad Joanie bad,” his words tapered off into a growl as he held me to him tighter. “Rek know Rek not always good. Rek try to be good but Rek get mad. Push Joanie away when Rek think Joanie pushes Rek away. Rek scared, Rek push and push, ‘til Joanie no come back no more.”

In a way, it was like listening to myself and pulling my bullshit to test others willingness to deal with my ass, if to a much more extreme extent with him.

“I’ll never not want you, you furry headed fool. You’re stuck with me for life. Even when I told myself I hated you, I still wanted you,” I mumbled into his chest. I felt sick admitting that, because baring that part of myself like that wasn’t exactly easy.

“Joanie Rosie-lindy know Jojoknee loves Rek now,” he muttered, forcing the words past a garbled rumble. “Wear Rek ring for time. Rek ‘trothed.”

“I hesitated to go public with you after the fact because I was scared. I trusted you and you broke that trust, several times over, then got angry at me for getting upset at you for it. Should I have just rolled over and taken it? Like a good little doormat? You tell me, Rek, what would you do if the person you love and trust stabbed you in the back? The person that’s your person, your everything, betrays you, what would you do?”

Rek swallowed thickly, taking a long time to answer. “Rek no want say,” he muttered under his breath. “Rek want Jojomine say she be Rek’s, not tell Rek to make babies by Rek self.”

A snort left me. “Exactly.”

“Joanie still wants Rek?” he grunted out, pulling back to set me on my feet and hold me at arm’s length. “Jojomine forgive Rek for Rek’s badness? Rek swear on both Rek’s balls Rek never hurt Jojomine again?”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, buddy. That’s just as bad,” I cautioned him.

“Rek try very hard, Rek work on being best mate to Jojomine, Rek try not to be mean, Jojomine’s other males get sticks out of butts, Rek not take stupid mates things out on Joanie. Rek ask first, then be mad,” he replied, sounding like he was reciting a speech he’d been practicing in his head.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you, dude, but it’s a start.” Holding out my hand for him to shake, he grumbled down at it like I’d offered him a dead fish.

“No want that. What that?” he muttered, batting my hand away. “Want this.” Jerking me to him, he had me in his arms and his lips on mine, claiming them in a heated kiss before I could blink.

My hands had found their way to his chest and fisted thick handfuls of fur. He purred as I absently kneaded his chest.

“I- I want a real proposal, no skimping,” I muttered between heated, searching kisses.

Rek growled at the idea, like he liked it, the sound rumbling his throat.

I thought it wise to elaborate. “Not right this minute. I mean, when we’re ready.”

“Rek ready,” he muttered against my lips.

His mouth quirked up into a smile as he walked us over to his bed, purring all the while, and the thickness between his legs, trapped between us, jerked. “Rek always ready,” he rumbled gutturally.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” The look I gave him had his eyes narrowing, that guttural rumble going from a mangled purr to a hasty growl in seconds flat.

“Rek ready to say Joanie Rek’s for forever. Moment Rek stop being stupid and see Joanie Rek’s.”

My eyebrows quirked and my lips pursed. “And when, exactly, would that have been?”

Dropping me onto the bed, grinning with smug satisfaction when I bounced and a soft “eep” left me, he moved in to tower over me. “For the evers,” he rumbled down at me. “All the times.”

“Mm… I don’t quite recall you being all warm and fuzzy wuzzy with me from the get go,” I murmured skeptically. My face scrunched up as I replayed our initial encounters. The longer I dwelled on any of it, the harder it was not to cringe.

“Rek stupid,” he grunted out. The look on his face said, C’mon, man, gimme a break.

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