Page 408 of Bride of Choice

“I want to go home,” Dace whispered.

“Suns cave broke,” Buu pointed out. “Dace stays with Buu clan. Be goot. Stay safe.”

Buu set Dace gently down in the middle of the living room, walked over to settle me next to Rek on the couch with a nuzzle and a kiss, then walked back over to Dace to work on the ties on her hands and feet.

Dace grimaced as she sat up and began rubbing her wrists. “They hate me here,” she softly whined.

“No talk like that,” Rek grumbled. “Use high, squeak voice, more squeaky. Crazy Face not baby. No cry whine like baby.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” she mumbled dejectedly. Her hands lifted, one brushing what I hoped was mud off of her person. Looking to Buu, she did the lower lip jut thing again. “See? They hate me.”

“Rek no hate Dace,” Buu gently argued. Joining me on the couch, he scooched in, mashing me in between him and Rek.

“Rek no like Dace neither,” Rek huffed and puffed out under his breath.

“Quiet you,” I ordered, wiggling a finger at him warningly. “You’re not helping the sitch any, bleach-squatch.”

Instead of getting upset at my mouthy retort, a purr began to rattle his chest. Reaching out, his hand closed around my finger. He brought it to his lips to kiss the top, then settle our hands together and placed them on his furry thigh. “My Jojoknee needs nap.” A pointed glance at my filled to aching breasts told me he had more on his mind than just helping me catch a couple winks.

Pretending I wasn’t getting all jelly goo insides at that look, I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow at him. Rek’s grin was all fang. The male was unrepentant. Ugh, I fucking loved his crazy ass.

“No leave. No be bad. Stay ‘way from Meanie and Meanie mates,” Celuk ordered Dace as he closed the door behind him and made his way past her.

Gopher limped along beside Celuk, accepting his assistance over to the couch.

“Least they not fall off,” Rek graciously offered.

When Gopher gave him an incredulous look, Rek shrugged. “Gopher tall but skinny. Babies with my Joanie not hurt like big fat head babies from Odious or monster babies from Jeh-kal.”

Gopher laughed and shook his head at that. “No know why my Jo loves you but she does.” With a look at me that begged me to explain the phenomenon that is my love for Rek, he told me on a blustery sigh, “Makes for funnies, him ‘round. Rek easy.”

“Rek not easy! Goober easy!” Rek was huffing and puffing, glaring at Gopher.

“Gopher only easy for my Jo,” Gopher egged him on with a smirky smile and a shrug of his wide shoulders.

“Bah!” Rek waved him off. Looking to Buu for support when it looked like no one else was going to entertain his delusions of grandeur, he grumbled, “See what Rek have to put up with?! ‘Diculous!”

“‘Diculous,” I happily chirped in agreement, making Celuk snort, Odix chuckle, Jeh-kal snort-grunt, and Gopher laugh.

“Makes fun of me,” Rek mock-grumbled.

Nabbing me up, he acted like he meant to bite me, going right for my throat. Rek played it up, pretending to snap his jaws at me, snarling, and dove right in.

Buu let out a shocked shout but it cut off as Rek blew an enormous, sloppy raspberry on the spot, and an ear piercing squeal, followed by a peal of laughter left me. A surprised noise and a relieved sigh followed.

It was the squeak and loud thunk that had us pausing to glance towards that loud thump simultaneously.

“Dace do that, some the times,” Buu admitted as we all leaned forward to study her prone form.

“He wasn’t really going to do it,” I mumbled.

“She cocked-eyed,” Rek noted with a frown. His head canted to the side as he studied her awkward slump.

“Hurt, she wakes up,” Gopher agreed.

“Someone should probably move her,” I hedged, glancing around the room to settle my gaze on Buu.

“She wake up. Think bad. She try bite,” Buu warned everyone, shaking his head to lean back.

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