Page 338 of Bride of Choice

“I’m not feeling sick anymore,” I confirmed.

Scooping me up into his arms, a click-purr left him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He’d claimed me and now I was pregnant. That was the fastest “I do” I’d ever been part of. That was saying something considering I’d been chilling in Yeti country for quite some time now.

“How did you know I was sick? It was mostly dry heaving,” I pointed out.

Buu just tapped his nose. My nose wrinkled at the idea of having a nose that strong. I mean, they could tell so soon after a Yetified conception, of course they have a crazy sniffer for other stuff.

He wasn’t so different from a Lo denaii. It was kind of hard not to note similarities and differences.

“Joalee need food,” he grunted out, taking me not to my designated room but his.

Once there, he set me down on my feet, grunted for me to stay put, and rushed right out of the room.

Waiting for him to get back, I noticed the basket full of leaves wrapped paste had been pulled free of the water and now sat next to it.

Buu came rushing back into the room to set my pelts in their previous spot.

I didn’t say anything, just let him do as he would. Encouraging me to take my spot, he grabbed the basket and retook his own place. Pulling leaf paste packets out, he unwrapped one and handed it to me.

The paste had puffed up, the consistency similar to corn masa.

I loved tamales. One bite and I had to state that the masa-like texture was where the similarities ended.

Dense, sweet, a little grainy, like spongy corn bread with a coffee cake and bread pudding kinda flavor, it was really good but definitely not a tamale.

One thing it was, was really filling. One piece and I was pleasantly full. It was the lembas bread of Lo denaii food.

Could I even call it Lo denaii cuisine, I wondered, studying my companion. The more I studied him, the less and less he reminded me of a Lo denaii.

His nose was small, a little snubbed tip, the nostrils a soft, dark grey like his lips, with a little bisecting line down the middle. His ears had thick tufts at the ends a soft, cotton candy purple, a backwards looking second set of ears set behind the first, swiveling independently for that full surround sound effect. That swishing sound along his fur was a tail that was thick and hairless more than halfway down it, the tip a surprisingly soft pinkish, light purple color.

I blinked as he caught me staring at it and the hairless tip retracted into the rest of it.

The look he gave me was apologetic, which confused the crap out of me.

Was he not supposed to share that with me? Was it rude that I’d looked at it while it was extruded? Didn’t he say he’d claimed me? Did mates not do that? I was so confused but loath to ask. This wasn’t like dealing with one of my Lo denaii males and I was weirdly hesitant to rock the boat. Buu was a whole other can of worms. He was super sensitive and so cautious.

As if the tail thing had never happened, and I dipped my chin towards him. “Thank you. This is really good.” Folding my leaves, I glanced around at where to put them.

Buu held out his hand for them and placed them in the now empty basket. His clicking purr had gone wild at my words. Staring down at his food, that naked tail tip slipped free as his tail lifted and began to happily swish back and forth along his back. A small, fang peeking grin tugged at his mouth as he took a big bite of his paste bread.

Stealing a peek at me to find me staring at him, he froze, mid-chew.

“Thank you. For everything.” I smiled at him then, so widely it flashed my teeth, unable to contain it.

Buu bared his teeth back, though it looked more aggressive than a smile. With a growl in his throat, he tossed his bread aside and launched himself at me.

I barely had time to blink and he had me beneath him, hovering atop me like he didn’t know where to start.

“What just happened?” I whispered.

Buu blinked, shook his head, and let out a chuff of a noise of surprise. With a forehead nuzzle that felt apologetic, he climbed off of me and quickly retreated to his spot on his pelts.

“Buu forget,” he blurted, looking sheepish. “Think Joalee bare teeth mean want Buu to mount. Joalee not- not like Buu.”

Ohhh. Uh- Whoops. “I- Well- I’m sorry for the mix up, Buu-Kehr-bear,” I said on a laugh. “I’ll try to be more careful with my, erm, teeth flashing.”

Picking his food back up, he fiddled with a leaf end and peeked up at me shyly. “Buu like Joalee bares teeth. Like Joalee’s teeth.” Another quick peek. “Like silly namings for Buu-Kehr.”

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