Page 4 of Bride of Choice

My god, it was too cute for words.

“Why you look at hims, Aunie Jojo-me?” my little Keke, auntie’s girl, inquired curiously. Making a face, she grumbled, “Hims bad male. Bad bad. Daddums says no talks to hims.”

“Who? What?” I spluttered, looking anywhere but at Rek. “Oh, honey, I’m watching Lottie do her thing. She’s a regular mini of her mama.”

Kehko gave me a look that said she wasn’t so sure but she didn’t want to argue with an adult, perhaps more so this adult in particular.

“Would you like some more fruit, sweetie?” Rosa cut in, rescuing me from one of Keke’s question fests. That kid was like the Spanish freaking Inquisition when she got going.

Daring to steal a peek of my secret boyfriend, my heart squished to find him stealing peeks at me right back. But for that look of longing in his eyes, there and gone in a flash, masked behind a quickly blanked expression, I felt a similar stirring of that same wanting myself.

My god, was baby fever hitting me hard today.

As if to quell that longing, I got a sweet baby smile aimed my way as Gurog, one of Daisy’s youngest, crawled his way to me, babbling and gurgling, to then promptly christen my lap with regurgitated melon.

Daisy popped into action, helping me clean up, apologizing profusely all the while as she checked over her little one, even though I sucked it up and assured her spit up happens. As if to squish any baby making thoughts of me and Rek altogether, my gaze was drawn to a twin set of alarming snarls.

Standing off to the side, Kirch and Rek had wandered away from Kirch’s family grouping. Shoving off Kirch’s grip on Rek’s nape, teeth bared, eyes flashing, they were nose to nose, snarling in each other’s faces. Kirch pulled back first, throwing his hands up at Rek, who threw his hands up back, snapping at him in beast speak, for Rek to storm off without another backwards glance.

Uhm, so, yeah, maybe not so ready to jump in and have to deal with a real baby along with my big furry sock puppet fuzz monster of one.

One baby was enough for me right now, I thought as I grimacingly wiped toddler vomit off of my lap.

One was more than enough.

Chapter 2

Making my way back to my place to change and regroup, I quelled the ick face I felt coming over me and the squeal I was squishing back down into my throat because, my god, it was just vomit. It’s just a little baby upchuck. I can handle it. No need to squeal internally and resist the urge to fling my hands about and piss and moan. I’m a big girl now. Joanie does not make the ick, yuck, ew face at a little puke! I’m made of sterner stuff than that!

Shrieking like an idiot was reserved for- No sooner had I thought it, thick arms reached out for me and I gave a live action demonstration of what I’d been holding in, in stereo.

A thick hand clamped over my mouth and a grumbled, “Why my Jojo be so loud? Who her think has her, hmm?”

When I stilled, urging my heart to quit trying to pound right out of my chest, my grabby handsy idiot let out a long, happy rumble that had me shivering from head to toe as it vibrated his chest and right into my back.

Leaning in as if he meant to sniff at my nape, he paused when he got a good old whiff of what I’d been up to. Should I say, or what had been dumped into my lap, barf.

With a grunt, he released me quicker than you could say Peter Piper picked a peck o’ what?

“Baby vomit. My new favorite perfume,” I chortled out sarcastically on a poorly muffled snort at the look on his face.

Blinking, scowling down at me as I glanced up at him from over my shoulder, he took so long in answering I wondered if I’d broken his brain.

“Yes,” he said simply at first, elaborating when my eyebrows shot up as he glanced around and, seeing as we were the only ones around, hoisted me into his arms to cart me off in the total opposite direction of either of our places, “Jojo be’d with more.”

“You think I need more baby vomit?” I sputteringly questioned. “More?” I reiterated. One glance down at my lap and I fake gagged. “If you’re trying to be funny, it’s not working, mister.”

“No mister. No try beed funny,” Rek grunted out as he toted me wherever and my crazy gaga for him butt let him do as he pleased.

It made me feel like a freaking princess, a poorly protesting, feisty lady of a maiden who’d been taken by the morally grey character everyone was struggling to root for, so freaking sue me.

Was this some weird, playful thing he was trying to pull off? I needed more baby vomit?

We’d been walking for a bit as I contemplated this.

“I dunno where you’re going with that line of silliness but if you think you’re…” My voice trailed off as I spied the first frothy bit of steam.

Much like the hot springs spot in front of my one and done previous Yeti hybrid captor’s home, Rek had found a similar ‘cuzzi in the wild.

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