Chapter 49.5
“Jojo give Celuk ring,”
Celuk added helpfully.
A sputtering laugh left me.
“Jo give ‘Luk ring? Like Rek’s? No! Rek know she no give ‘Luk ring! Rek want see,”
Rek demanded as he unearthed the ring on the necklace he was wearing.
Celuk tilted his head. “Rek sure Rek wants see?”
“Ohmyfuckinggod,”
I blurted between sputtering laughs. “Kookypants! Shut to the up, bossy boo!”
Celuk lost it then, laughing as I snort-laughed my ass off, all over Gopher.
“What?! Why laugh?! Rek know better! No funnies! Rek prove! Rek show!”
Rek began digging through my purse and pulled out the special items I’d had made, right before I’d been taken.
Celuk’s laughter died as Rek held the rings out to him with a SEE, BITCH?! What now?! glare.
“My Jo?”
Celuk moved in closer, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of all of those shiny pretties I’d put to good use. Well, most of them, not all of them. Each ring had a set of stones that made me think of them, my favorite pieces of jewelry melted down for the settings, mixed in so it was extra special. I had enough sparkling pretties extra to have a ring commissioned for Buu.
“Rek careful,”
Rek grumbled, “make sure no one get my Jojomine’s purse. Keep my Jo’s special things safe.”
My purse, his stomach.
Kissing Gopher one last time, I slid out of his lap. “You don’t have to do that anymore,”
I told Rek, holding my hand out for my purse.
Rek looked rather loath to be separated from it but his skin needed the break.
“I was thinking about asking Celuk to make me one and he told me about how you two made my beautiful dress-”
“Dresses,”
Rek cut in. “Rek make my Jojo lots of beautiful dresses. For my beautiful Jojomine.”
Nodding, grinning at the conviction in his voice, I went on. “I thought about asking you two to make me a new purse, just like that one but in a much… softer, nicer material. You are the princess of softness, right?”
“Pfft! Think butter Rek up, Rek let my Jojo use stupid silly lovey names and ‘stract Rek with new purse idea…”
Cutting the shit, I smirked. “Is it working?”
Rek grumbled, smoothing his hands down my purse. “Maybe… Little.”
Sidling over to him, I took the rings he was holding out for all to see from him, pecked a kiss to his cheek that had him purring, scooted my purse towards me until he let that mangled, seen better days thing go, and rested my head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Rektal, you’ll always be the softest princess in the land to me.”
Rek’s purr had Celuk shaking his head as he squished in on the other side of me.
“Rek still want know what ‘Luk mean, Jojomine gives him ring that Rek know she not,”
Rek muttered under his breath.
Fiddling with the rings in my hand, I stole a peek at Celuk to find him eyeing me like he was more than willing to put on a repeat performance, he didn’t care who saw me “put a ring on it”.
“What they do ‘fore we go into wash room?”
Jeh-kal barked at Rek.
Rek’s face pinched like he’d just sucked a lemon. “That not count.”
Rek lifted a hand to wave Celuk off. “That counts, Rek’s Jojomine puts ring on Rek lots of times.”
“Rek!”
I spluttered, yet laughed.
“What?”
Rek shrugged his wide shoulders. “What Rek say? Joanie claims Rek with sex all the times. Lots of times. Rek claims Rek’s Jojo with sex lots of times, too.”
Thinking about it for a moment, Rek conceded, “Celuk Bride, Jeh-kal big penis, but Rek claims Jojomine most out of all.”
“What Gopher do?”
Odix asked, looking wary of asking about himself.
Rek lifted a hand as if to fan the question away. “Goober stupid, Odious fat head.”
“Rek!”
I snapped. My hand lifted and I swatted at him much gentler than I used to.
“What?”
Rek barked right back. “Him head is big. It huge!”
“That what my Jojomine says,”
Odix snarked back smartly.
“OOOO. Odix comin’ in hot with the slick burns,”
I cackled out.
“Who stupid now?”
Gopher chortled out, pointing a finger at Rek.
“No point at me. Goober still biggest stupid,”
Rek muttered as he snatched me up and hugged me to him. In my ear, he whispered, “Rek feels naked without my Jojo’s purse.”
Eyeing him, I waggled my eyebrows. “You do look rather dashing with the man bosom out on display,”
I whispered softly back.
Rek blushed, from the top of his head clean down to his belly button, the flush of his skin visible without all that fur hiding it. “Quiets, you,”
Rek grumbled, making me laugh harder. “Think you funny? Hmm? Rek make my Jojo laugh,”
he threatened.
A soft gasp left and I began to squirm in his lap. “And in front of my purse and everything?! You wouldn’t dare!”
Rek nodded, a calculating look on his face as his arms tightened around me and I struggled for freedom. Weak as he was, he was still a hell of a lot stronger than me. “In front of all Jojomine’s mates, purse, my Jo’s god she talk to, her Buu, EVERYONE.”
“You bastard!”
My softly gasped exclamation was met with a feral grin. My gaze darted around the room frantically. “What are you all sitting around staring at us for?! One of you save me!”
Gopher and Odix glanced to Celuk, who was watching Rek with a questioning look.
“What are you looking at him for?! Hello, your mate is right here!”
I caterwauled.
Gopher leaned around Rek to ask Celuk, “What him do she no want us see?”
Celuk’s grin matched the one Rek was leveling on me. “Rek knows all the spots our Jo tickles-ish.”
“Fuzzsticles! Rektal!”
I warned. “I’ll get you back, both of you, for this!”
Celuk’s feral grin slipped into concerned innocence. “What Celuk do?”
“Fuzzed-sickles?”
Odix grunted out. His expression pinched as he said it.
“Mean him fuzzy balls,”
Jeh-kal helpfully put in.
A laugh burst out of me, just listening to them.
“Gopher likes Go’s balls were they are,”
Gopher wisely muttered, bowing out of this one.
“Tickles hurt my Jo?”
Odix waffled, wavering as he grimaced at the idea.
“Help me, Griz! They mean to torment me!”
I mock-pouted.
Odix made a noise that said he wanted to, he really did, but he also wanted to respect the boss of the house. Sadly, I was not considered top dog in this pack. Pfft! A true shame!
“Fine,”
I muttered, between fake sniffles as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Tickle me and I’ll pee. See if I care.”
“NO!”
Rek barked. “No pee on Rek!”
Odix moved closer, snatching me up the moment Rek’s arms flew up.
Rushing across the room with me in tow, Odix cuddled me to his big old fluffy chest.
Glancing at Celuk over my shoulder, I stuck my tongue out at him.
The crazy fool grinned and began to purr as if in answer.
“No flirt my Jojomine like that after ‘Luk try and get Rek to make Jo pee on Rek. No do that.”
Rek waggled his finger at Celuk but pulled his hand back at the last moment when he waggled too close to Celuk’s mouth and Celuk snapped his jaws at him. “MEAN!”
Rek burst out, curling his finger protectively to his chest.
“Excuse me!”
a small, squeaky voice called out from outside. “So sorry to bother you! But, uhm, if I might have a word with the lady of the house?!”
Everyone froze, glanced at one another. Like they were all in agreement, Odix’s grip on me tightened, Celuk stood and made his way to the door. Gopher followed closely behind. Jeh-kal threw a knife at Gopher with a grunt that Gopher easily caught, nodded, then grabbed one up himself.
“Who there?”
Rek called out at a signal from Celuk. “We not home. Having the sex my Jo! You go way now! Come back laters! Bye-byes now!”
Rek, I mouthed, scowling in his direction.
Odix’s hand slowly came up to slide over my mouth, preventing me from saying anything out loud.
“What?”
the woman squeaked.
“Wace?”
I blurted between Odix’s fingertips.
Celuk cocked his head as he leaned in close to the door. “Dace?”
he called out, glancing between everyone pointedly.
“You know of me, then?”
the woman squeaked.
“What you want?”
Celuk called out, motioning for everyone to move away from the door.
“I- Look, I know you have Buu in there! You can’t- I won’t let you hold him prisoner!”
With a growl, I clamped down on Odix’s palm until he let go of me with a pained yowl.
“We aren’t keeping him against his will!”
I bellowed at the door. “He’s mine- Ours,”
I stressed, “and fuck if I’m handing him over to anyone!”
“Then why did you kidnap him?”
she squeaked out reasonably. After a beat, she added, “I saw.”
“You saw what?”
I stalled, glancing from Buu’s prone form to the door.
“I saw him being carted off!”
Her voice got higher pitched, the louder she tried to get.
She was like a living cartoon.
I was so focused on her talking and arguing back, I missed when Gopher and Celuk slipped out the back.
A loud squeak, a shout, the sounds of a struggle, and finally a gunshot rent the air, had me scrambling for the door, ignoring everyone warning me to stay back.
Rek beat everyone to me, throwing himself at me, catching me up to curl himself around me protectively.
“Gopher?! Celuk?!”
I cried out in a panic as I smacked at Rek to let me up.
“Okay!”
Gopher called out, as the sound of Celuk snarling rent the air.
A louder, longer snarl followed.
It took me a full minute to realize it was coming from inside the hut as opposed to outside of it.
“Let Jo go,”
Jeh-kal advised Rek, eyeing my purple eyed mate as he popped to and then shot up, pissed off and ready to protect his female.
“No,”
Rek grumbled. “No let Boob hurt my Jojomine, my baby.”
Buu’s snarl tapered off into a gurgling sound. “Buu no hurt my Joalee! My bebeh! YOU hurt my Joalee, squish and roll, hold down!”
“Rek not hurt! Rek ‘tect!”
Rek shot back, lifting his head to glare up at him from where my bleachsquatch was tangled up with me on the floor.
“What the hell is going on out there?”
I cut in as I listened to the signs of a struggle.
“She small, squirmy. Like slime worms,”
Gopher called out.
“Did you- Did you just call me a slimy worm?!”
the squirrel outside squealed.
A yelp sounded and Gopher groaned.
“Put snow on it,”
Celuk muttered as a soft growling noise pricked my ears.
“Dace?”
Buu sputtered. Running to the door to throw it open, we all gaped as we spied Celuk finishing off hogtieing a human woman.
Gopher glared, curled up on the ground a short distance away, cupping his sausage and giblets. Aww, poor Go’ got kicked in his fuzzsticles.
Instead of snarling at Celuk and trying to help her, Buu bellowed, looking exasperated, “What you do?!”
at the woman.
A pretty, if grime covered face, large blue eyes set in a small, round face scowled up at him. Her long blonde hair stood out, loose from the two French braids she’d had it pulled back in, getting in her eyes as her piercing blue eyes met his. “I’m- I’m rescuing you!”
Buu sighed, hands going to his hips, and eyed her curiously. “Not goot,”
he said simply.
“Am so!”
she spat back.
“Try to shoot ‘Luk!”
Gopher growled at her. “Bad female.”
“I didn’t! I just wanted to scare him, make him listen! I wasn’t expecting him to lunge at me! I panicked! It was an accident! I saw! You were unconscious and they dragged you off!”
she insisted.
Buu looked about two seconds from rubbing at his forehead. Beneath all that annoyance, I recognized a similar begrudging brotherly affection similar to that between Carrie and Rek. “Dace… Buu want my Joalee mates want to keep Buu,”
he pointed out.
“Yeah but…”
The woman’s oddly full lips pulled into an overdone pout. With tears filling her doe-like blue eyes, she glanced from me to Buu. Her frown deepened as her gaze snagged and held on Rek pinning me down. “Does… does she want to be here, too?”
the woman finally squirrel squeaked out uncertainly.
“Believe it or not, I do,”
I grumbled from my tangle with Rek.
“Rek protect my Jojomine from crazy face,”
Rek grunted out, though his grip on me loosened.
I nearly lost it at his unkind, if apt, description of Buu’s Dace. The face she was making, her large lips and super-sized eyeballs, that tiny chin and rather small head with all that hair, those skinny limbs better suited to a twelve year old. She looked like a strange anime character come to life.
Pinching Rek’s hip, an action that caused him to momentarily lose his grip on me as he yelped, long enough I could elbow him and get free, I rushed the door. Making my way past Buu, I glanced around for this weapon she used to shoot they mentioned.
Spying a small gun nearby on the ground, I grabbed it and marched right back to her. Checking it first, I put the safety on but pointed it at her head. This Dace gasped, winced, then slammed her eyes shut. She waited. Nothing happened.
“Buu is mine ,”
I got down to snarl right in her face, “and we’re keeping him. Alright? That’s it. That’s the end of it. Celuk may run things behind the scenes but I’m the starring lead in this shit show.”
I glanced up, waiting for my mates to all nod, say something close to being in agreement with me, before I continued. “You tried to shoot my mate!”
“It went off! I panicked! I’m sorry!”
she whispered. She looked about ready to piss herself as she trembled on the ground.
Lowering the gun, I grimaced, held it away from myself, and held it out to Celuk. Not exactly fair, her all tied up like that, then threaten and point a gun at her all willy nilly but, damn it, she coulda unalived my man!
“My Joalee?”
Buu croaked out.
Glancing over at my sweet, unassuming Kehr-a-boo, I met his gaze squarely. Ignoring Rek squished in next to Buu, glaring at him as if daring him to just try and leave his Joanie once more, see what happened, their height differences comical, Buu absently wrapped an arm around Rek as he leaned out the door towards me. “No hurt Dace, my Joalee. She no mean hurt my Joalee Celuk.”
“Celuk fine,”
Celuk rumbled out from directly behind me. Where- How- That sneaky kooky pants!
Frowning over my shoulder, then down at Dace, who was trembling so hard in place she could barely hold still, I had to question whether Dace was piss her pants scared of Celuk and reacting to that, or whatever he might be doing behind me to freak her out, or if any of it had to do with the crazy pregnant lady that’d held a gun to her head was spouting crazy shit. It was sort of odd that I had to question that.
Sighing heavily, I stood, allowing Celuk to help me to my feet.