Page 368 of Bride of Choice

“Oh my god, I’ve missed you- Missed you so fucking-” A loud thunk near my feet cut in on my mumbled between heated kisses words.

Celuk pulled back slowly to glance up, where as I jerked back like I’d just been caught doing something naughty, and my gaze shot up to meet the swirling eyeballs of Tor’s other half.

“MINE,” Hyde grumbled.

“Yours. Mine. Ours,” Celuk grumbled out softly.

“There’s a movie by that very name,” I joked, hoping to break the tension. I got two frowning scowls aimed in my direction for my efforts. My hands shot up in surrender and I left them to their grumbling conversation.

Hyde dropped down to his knees, lifted his water skin, and scooted in closer to hand it over to me.

“Thank you,” I told him softly, bringing it to my chest with a grateful smile to uncork it and take a long drink. Frowning as I realized it was nearly gone, Celuk had another quickly held out to me.

“I don’t want to drink all of yours,” I muttered, even as I eyed that thing covetously.

Celuk waggled it at me with a look until I took it. “I don’t recall you being this stubborn,” I muttered, but took a long drink.

“Food.” Hyde grunted and dropped a sack in my lap.

Glancing between them, I pulled out what I had to offer. “We can all share.” Explaining what each item was on the off chance they didn’t know, Celuk and Hyde munched on the sweet ground corn balls Buu had made, while I devoured a sandwich as big as my head Dorothy had prepared.

Finished, I made yet another trip to the ladies’ room, grumbling about the little ninja kicking my bladder, and then shuffled my way back over to them.

My feet, back, boobs, my just about everything were killing me. I was tired and feeling it. I just wanted to crawl into something comfortable and sleep.

Determined to wait for Buu, I ignored their repeated entreaties for me to rest in favor of waiting for my Kehr-Bear. While we were waiting, I filled them in on all that’s happened up to this point. I may have glossed over a few things that they might get upset about, but for the most part I stayed true to the real story.

By the time I’d run out of things to say, Celuk and Hyde had moved in closer, until we were hip to hip, their warmth more than welcome with the mad chill in the night air.

Hyde had torn up a large section of grass as I spoke. Bits of it coated his legs.

Celuk stared off ahead, into the woods, alert, listening.

With a yawn, I allowed my eyes to close for just a moment, just one little second.

What felt like moments later, I popped awake with a jolt, to a heavy arm wrapped around me, warmth at my back, curled up on my side, the slow, steady rise and fall, warm breath ruffling my hair.

Struggling to get my bearings, forgetting where I was for a moment, a noise tore from my throat.

Hyde popped up with a snarl. Blinking owlishly around the small space, his gaze dipped and softened as it found mine.

“No more scaries things. No more cries sounds,” he soothed, flopping back down to urge me to join him. “No cries,” he cooed, smoothing a hand up and down my back.

Confused, I rolled to face him. The action dragged his hand up my scarred side. My body’s reaction was instant. With a hiss, I jerked away from him.

Confused, Hyde, looking more Jeh-kahl at the moment with the multicolored red and black swirling eyes, sat up. I had to assume the tusks and extra arms were optional when he was in his middle form. The horns were not. “Hurts? Where? What do?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt. I- I- You can’t touch me like that.” I didn’t mean to shout it at him like that.

He slowly pulled away with a nod. His movements were stiff, wooden, jerky.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” My breaths grew shaky, my words quavering.

He nodded but no longer met my gaze. A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

When I lifted my hand to shove my hair away from my face, it was shaking so badly I could barely use it properly. My tongue felt thick and dry. “I’m sorry,” I found myself repeating once more. “M-m-my scars, they’re sensitive. They-” A short, self-deprecating laugh left me. “I have a funny reaction to them being touched,” I hedged.

My super-sized fuzzy wuzzy made an unhappy noise in his throat. “Hurts,” he grumbled. Carefully, he reached out. The back of his hand brushed along the scars marring my cheek. “Want hurt for hurting my Jo.” His lips drew back, exposing an impressive display of sharp teeth.

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