Page 323 of Bride of Choice

Jerking my hand out of his, I pressed the cloth tightly to it and stood. Opening my mouth to tell him I was going to pop over to Dorothy’s to have her or Lukar look at it, he jerked me to him with so much force the words died in my throat.

He stared down at me with such loss and longing, I nearly fell for it. Almost but no fucking way, asshole.

“I said I’m fine!” I burst out, and shoved him away.

He didn’t budge, instead jerking me back to him and hugging me to him tight. “Miss Jo,” he choked out as he started to shake, clinging to me. “Miss my Jojomine so much.” His voice cracked and his throat worked like he was swallowing past a sudden lump in it to speak.

Fuck me, I couldn’t drive the stake home. My gaze darted away. After all this fucking time, and still, even after all of the shit he’s pulled, his tone, that lost, heartbroken- Fuck me. “I’m not yours anymore,” I muttered softly, mustering up all the resentment that appears to have abandoned me once he was here and holding me and telling me how much he fucking missed me. Damn him!

“No. No. Jojomine always Rek’s. Rek never say Jo not mine!” Pulling back, he grabbed my shoulders.

Fully expecting him to shake me a little, his fingers dug into my flesh as he croaked out hoarsely, “No one believe Rek. Rek no want her.” He was smart enough not to say her name. It would totally set me off. Carrie. Her name was Carrie, like the horror movie. My life had felt like a horror movie after she’d entered it. I wanted to douse them both with pig’s blood many a late night contemplating my revenge on them. “Jo listen. Rek tell. Have to believe Rek!”

“I don’t have to believe anything! And if you think I’m going to buy whatever cockamamie thing you’re going to try and sell me on to try and make shit all better, when I know good and well you two are literally still shacking up-”

“NO! She clings, like sticky sap! No leave Rek ‘lone! Follows everywhere! Like big, whiny baby! Need constant Rek say, you fine, you ‘kay, you safe, stop crying! Rek no kick you out you room! You no have to be mate to stupid male you no want. Rek not force to stay with other male, not want them. Make Rek’s head ache!”

“Boo-fucking-hoo. I- Did you just say she has her own room?” I blurted. Fucking weird, but whatever. Maybe she hates his snoring?

“Yes! What Rek trying to say!! Rek no want her! Only take her to save!” Releasing me, he paced. His arms waved around frantically as he spoke. “Rek go to get special thing for my Jojomine.” He glanced up at me then with the most utterly pathetic, pleading look. “See female, her male yells. Yells loud. Say she no do things right. He hits and hits and yells. She cries. Him bad male. No good. Rek roar at male to get him to stop. Him gets scared and says, “Fuck the shit”, and leaves. Female cries and cries, begs him not to leaves her. Thinks Rek want eat her. Rek say no. She needs go. She say, nowhere she go. Rek think in head, what my Jo do? My Jo not leave female all ‘lone, nowhere go, with mean mate. Rek say, okay, you come with Rek. Go Rek home. No males hit and yell and beats on female. She scared. Rek say no one hurt. Rek promedthis with the pinkies. Tell her, my mate strong, too. She beats up anyone hurts her, Rek say.” All the while, Rek is miming this all out, his voice changing for the female and male speaking parts.

I just stared at him in disbelief.

“And all this time, she’s been living with you because…?” I prompted with a mental roll of my eyes.

“She no leave me! She keep saying, Rek say she stay with him, promises with pinkies. Rek know Rek not want break promise with the pinkies! No want curses!” he burst out, grabbing at his hair and growling in frustration. “Rek take to no mates hut, she cry and cry and make self sick! Refuse to eat! Keep coming back to Rek hut, crying into cracks of door until Rek opens door! No care it snowy and cold, just wants in! She says Rek safe. Rek try to find her mate, but they think she Rek’s and Rek looking for other males for grouping, not mate for her! Rek shunned! No one want talk, listen. All say Rek bad male. Even Kirch say no make no sense! Say Rek fucked up bad and need to find way to fix it. But no one want her and she won’t leave Rek alone! She’s like small, annoying bug buzzing ‘round Rek all the times, won’t leave Rek ‘lone! Eats all Rek’s food, talk-talk-talks about nothings! Rek say go ‘way, you bug me, talk all the times, but then she cry and cry until Rek apologize for making cry, then she say it okay and then she come right back! She say she not want Rek when Rek say Rek no want you, Rek has mate. Rek loves my Jojomine and only my Jojomine.”

“Did you take on a mate or a pesky little sister,” I muttered under my breath.

“She not Rek’s!” he burst out, roaring the words at me.

“Fine. Whatever. Get out of my face and move out of my way so I can go get my hand put back together.” I hated myself for almost buying it. Not just what he was saying, but his reaction, it just- Maybe I just wanted to believe him so badly I was willing to go along with all this madness?

“Jojo MINE,” he growled, grabbing me up to crush me to him. Burying his face in my neck, he inhaled deeply and groaned. And yet one of his hands found mine and he pressed the cloth to it more tightly.

“I’m mated, happily,” I pointed out.

“To Rek,” he growled out, fisting a hand in the back of my coat.

“To Odix and Gopher,” I corrected. “To Tor and Celuk, if they’ll still have me.”

“And to Rek,” he muttered. Pulling back, nostrils flaring at my body’s response to him, damn that hoochie coochie, a deep, satisfied purr rattled his chest.

“Not to Rek,” I muttered, but couldn’t meet his heated gaze fully.

I knew if I looked in his eyes and they told me he was telling the truth, or at least that he’d convinced himself that he was at this point, he had a very good chance of getting me naked.

“Most to Rek!”

“Get off of me.”

“No.”

Lifting my head to glare at him, he gripped my chin and quickly stole a kiss. It was short, so brief I blinked and it was over, but the sizzle and pop, that electric zip from just that brief contact, couldn’t be denied.

“Mine,” he rumbled out softly. “Jojo all mine.”

His grip on my chin loosened and he brushed the backs of his claws down my cheek. Pressing his forehead to mine, his breaths were as ragged as mine. “My Joanie,” he whispered brokenly.

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