Pumpkin Bride: Brides of the Hunt: A Brides of the Hunt Holiday Novel

by Jeanette Lynn

  Half a human blink later, I found myself back near the bed. Setting me down on the end, he walked over to the middle and began rummaging through assorted thick hides. Satisfied with a sable colored beast of a pelt, he brought it over to me. Holding it out proudly, he presented it to me.

  “Take. Keep. Mally be warm,” he said with a rumbling purr. His chest puffed out and his chin lifted.

  Running my fingertips along the crazy soft pelt, I lifted my hands to hold them out for it. He set it in my arms reverently. His thickly clawed fingers shook slightly. I wondered at it but was soon distracted as he leaned in and planted a whopper on me.

  “Khri’s. Mine. Keep Mally warm. Khri makes batheses,” he murmured against my lips, and then he was rushing off, muttering in broken English as he worked about water and baths and his Mally.

  His Mally. Mally-mine. My lips tugged up into a soft smile as I admired a firm but furry backside.

  Doing away with my other boot, then my coat, I hesitated to strip further as he grabbed large buckets from a corner of the bathing room and rushed outside. When he came back seconds later, heavy assed looking buckets full, I exhaled softly. I hadn’t realized I’d held my breath waiting for him to return. A mini bout of panic had hit me at the idea he might get cold feet and ditch me, like this was all some clever ruse and everyone was going to come running in to taunt the Pumpkin butt, or he finally asked himself what the hell was he doing with me. God, I loathed that stupid moniker. I couldn’t ditch it fast enough. Mally-mine, though... now, I could get used to that.

  The sound of water splashing as he dumped it into the tub reminded me I was supposed to be stripping down to my birthday suit. I felt a little silly once I was left in my underwear. It was my comfy set, of course, nothing spectacular. The urge to do away with the faded baby blue set in all its overstretched elastic, frayed edges glory so Khri wouldn’t see, had me rushing to add them to my clothes pile.

  Once finished, I bundled up in the fur. It was insanely thick, warm, nearly covering me from neck to knees. What enormous animal had this thing come from? My fingers brushed the mink soft fur again. Leaning in, I gave the pelt a sniff. It smelled like him, heavily, like maybe he slept with it.

  “Mally?”

  I glanced up as I heard my name so softly murmured. Was Khri nervous? One look at him and I had my answer. The big beast eyed me curiously. His throat worked convulsively. Fat, clawed toes curled into the stone floor for the bathing room.

  Watching him watching me, I spoke as the thought popped into my head. “Is this your first communal bath?”

  “Munal batheses?” he grunted out, frowning. His head cocked as that dark gaze traveled up and down my frame for the tenth time or so. He kept glancing up and down my person, blinking, swallowing thickly, shifting, blinking, then doing it all over again.

  Standing, the bottoms of my feet prickled as they hit the wood floor that made up the rest of the cozy space. Walking on tiptoe to try and help ease the sting of it, I made my way over to him. “Have you ever bathed with anyone else?” I elaborated.

  “Yes,” Khri said simply.

  “Oh.” Some of the wind left my sails, but I was trying not to show it. It bothered me, the idea he brought other women to his place to do the things we were getting up to. I had a possessive streak in me. It reared its head at funny times. My steps slowed and my grip on the pelt around me tightened.

  Khri paused, eyeing me. “Mally?”

  Glancing at my reflection, watching him through the water’s mirrored image, I snapped out of it as he called my name. “Hmm?”

  “Khri’s?” he blurted suddenly, worry filling those large, dark blue eyes.

  “Khri’s what?” I wasn’t sure what he was asking of me.

  “Khri’s Mally? Mine?” he said in a rush.

  “Am I yours, you’re asking?” I queried.

  His hands weren’t questioning our connection as we met near the tub and he wrapped them around me, urging me close to him. “Mine,” he rumbled out, a growl to his voice, leaning in to nuzzle the top of my head. Man, this guy was freakishly tall. Ugh, and so warm. Right. Khri just felt right.

  So what if he’d tempted other women. So what if this wasn’t his first doubles bath. It certainly wasn’t mine. Who was I to pass judgement like that and be an ass? If I kept that line of thinking up, I’d be no better than that confusingly psychotic Rek beast. I wasn’t sure who I felt more sorry for, him or Joanie. They were both certifiable. Maybe I felt sorry for Rosa, who seemed to deal with Joanie on a regular basis.

  Yeah, Rosa won.

  Those other women, they weren’t here right now. It was just me and Khri.

  Stepping back to stare up at the male, his all-consuming growl of, “MINE,” like music to my ears, I smiled up at him. “I believe I said I was yours,” I told him, lifting the pelt to open it and let it drop, the thick, midnight black fur tumbling to my feet.

  My skin pebbled instantly, because, yeah, sexy times, and this green faced witch was going for nothin’ but treats this Happy Halloween—but, also, I was pebbling up like a warty frog because, yes, it was freaking cold!

  From the look on Khri’s mug and the way he snatched me up, growling so loud it hurt my ears, I’d say he was getting into that Happy Wiener nonsense Rek and Booger had been babbling on about. The thick rod pressing into my belly as thick lips found mine, a slightly sloppy kiss he quickly corrected, Khri was looking all treats and no tricks, a giant furry snack I had every intention of helping myself to.

  My hands went to his hair, burying in the dense mass. The male groaned as my fingers tightened. His kisses began to grow heated, lips venturing past mine, and that was where the record scratched on the sexy times. Gagging suddenly, he pulled back.

  “Wash. Washes first,” he burst out, shaking his head with the funniest ick look on his face.

  Though I blushed furiously, because who wouldn’t, I laughed.

  Khri stepped right into the tub, leaving me clinging to him, my feet dangling, dipping into the water up to my calves. Steam wafted all around us, bringing with it a light, citrusy scent on the water.

  “Just how many women have you bathed with?” my prickly, jealous ass felt the need to harp.

  Setting me on my feet, watching as I sank into the tall tub, he was just sitting down facing me when I spoke. He stopped his descent, but only momentarily. Dark blue peepers found mine but darted away. “Womens? Females? In the batheses? With Khri?”

  “Yeah, with-with Khri, like us right now.” Sitting down to join him, facing him, I sat comfortably between his long legs. Khri snatched my foot up as my back rested against the tub’s wide lip. “How many lady friends have you taken to your bathtub to play water aerobics with?” I asked as he lifted my foot up, rubbing a thickly calloused finger along the flat of my foot, to examine my pudgy toes.

  “Like Khri and Mally?” Was that a hint of something in those beastly eyes? Had Khri clued in to just how green-eyed stupid I was getting.

  “Yeah.” My gaze dipped to the water and I folded my arms over my chest, my fingers hugging my middle, arms over my breasts covering up the girls.

  The soft growl that left him at my almost pout had me glancing up at him sharply. My hands fells away as he glared at my arms like they’d insulted him grievously.

  “Feeling a mite possessive too, maybe, are we?” I asked.

  “Yessss,” he said on a hiss. He didn’t bother denying it.

  A little grin tipped my lips. “Good.” Once again my gaze dipped. “Me, too.”

  “Goot,” He garbled out, right before he nipped one of my toes playfully.

  A sharp squeal left me as I tried to jerk my foot back. Khri held firm. “Khri!” I cackled out as he continued, nipping each toe until I was a snort-laughing, giggling mess. “Stahp!” I got out between guffaws. I was ridiculously ticklish. Beast boy was totally taking advantage. “Uncle! Uncle!” I shouted.

  Khri stopped suddenly, dropping my foot to shoot up. Thick hands grabbed at me po
ssessively and he slapped me to his chest. An, “Ooomph,” left me as I found myself bitch slapped into a thick slab of wet fur with a hearty thwack. “Ow. What was that fer-m-mph. Ermph.” The snarl that rattled Khri’s chest had my eyebrows shooting up. I’ve missed something here. Something very important...

  “Who Un-kel?” Khri demanded, jerking me back to glower down into my surprised face.

  “Erm, huh? Whuh?” I mumbled dazedly.

  “Un-kel who?” he barked. He sounded angry, but worry was filling those wild blue eyes. He wasn’t mad at me but the idea of this mysterious Uncle he looked like he’d fight to keep me. Be still, my chocolate covered peanut butter pumpkins stuffed heart.

  “Uncle, like the phrase, to say I give, as in you win. You know, it’s- I forget you’re not human,” I muttered, watching him intently. “I feel so... I dunno. I feel, uh, things with you.”

  “Howed many Mally batheses males?” Khri narrowed his eyes and muttered, like the thought had just occurred to him. “No smell males,” he said as I just gaped up at him.

  “How many have you?” I quipped, eyeing him uncertainly. I wasn’t going to tell, surely, if he wasn’t.

  “Males?” He gave a grunt. “Cave bow-wells. All washes. Many. No count.”

  “All washes? Like community baths? As in you all wash up, you mean? In the cave bowl things?” Mm, not what I’d meant asking if he’d bathed with others.

  “Not females with... Not-” His brow lifted, thick eyebrows puckering. “Not this, with Mally-mine. Not here with Khri.” He made a show of gesturing at us in the tub, our legs touching, bodies pressing. “Khri only Mally,” he said softly, like my ire had canceled out his. Well, unbeknownst to him, mine deflated as his did. Settling his butt back down, allowing me to squirm free to lean away, he lifted a hand, clawed fingers dusting my cheek. The action wetted the makeup on my face. We both grimaced, mine bordering on a cringe as my green witch paint smeared.

  “Hold that thought,” I whispered, scooting back to my respective corner of the bathing bowl, tub, whatever he thought of it as. Sitting up, I dipped forward, cupping water to my face to start scrubbing it within an inch of its existence.

  When my hands no longer came away smudged with green, I sat up. Slicking my hair away from my face, swiping the water from my stinging cheeks, I opened my eyes to find my beast bath buddy watching my breasts sway with my movements.

  “See something you like?” I teased.

  “Yes,” he muttered absently, dragging his heated blue eyes up from the fun bags to meet my smiling green eyeballs.

  As if he’d never seen me before, he froze as our gazes met and held.

  “What?” I murmured, bringing my hand to my face self-consciously. “That bad?” I joked. When he didn’t respond, merely staring with that scary intense look, his chest barely moving, like he’d forgotten to breathe, I glanced away. Tugging a wet lock behind my ear, I ventured almost shyly, “Not what you expected, I’m guessing?”

  My eyelashes were blond, like my eyebrows. I was a bit startling if you weren’t used to seeing me without mascara on, rather plain. And he had seen me all green faced first, I reasoned.

  “Be-oo-tiful.”

  Starting to babble nervously, feeling shy suddenly, my words tapered off onto a spluttered raspberry, I was so surprised to hear that softly uttered compliment.

  “Bootiful, I think you mean.” The shy smile I gave him, blush on full display, no green makeup to mask it, my face now as naked as the rest of me, he’d peeled back all the layers. There was nothing else he’d yet to see.

  “Mally mine,” he murmured, sloshing water as he scooted closer. His large frame bent to lean forward, hand outstretched to trace the flush heating my skin. “Bootiful female. Mine.”

  “Heh. I know you claim you aren’t that great with the human words and such, but let me tell you, honey, you’re doing a mighty fine job to me, limited as you might feel it is.”

  “Kiss,” he growled out softly, nuzzling his nose along the side of mine, tipping my chin up with a waterlogged finger until our lips met.

  “Kiss,” I agreed, grabbing at his head to attack his mouth.

  Khri grunted, jerking back with the force of my vehemence, taking me with him so I was flopped onto his chest, but then his lips were exploring, searching out mine. A pleasurable groan left him as his tongue rasped across the seam of my lips and I opened up to him. The bulge he should be proud of, sandwiched between us, jerked when I tilted my head and put everything I had into that wild smooch, a tiny moan escaping me in the process.

  When we were once more forced to part and come up for air, I flopped against him. I grinned as his heaving breaths lifted me high enough with his next deep one we were almost eye level. And then down I went, to be lifted back up again. His barreled chest was like a bellows.

  “Pretty,” he garbled out between deep breaths, lifting a wet orangey lock of my hair to rub it between his fingertips. He was acting like I’d literally stolen his breath away, like I was that damn good, or pretty, or hell if I knew right now but my ass was feeling just as shaken.

  A naughty thought hit me as his eyes devoured me, like I was a tasty little snack. “You know what I liked to do on Halloween? I haven’t done it in years but I think there’s always a chance to rekindle traditions, don’t you agree?” At his curious look and questioning lilt of his eyebrows, I lifted myself off of him and continued. “It’s a game. A Halloween game. Do you want to play a Halloween game with me, Khri?”

  Khri looked like he wanted to say no but slowly nodded. “Kiss then? After?”

  “Oh yes, definitely,” I bargained. If he only knew, I thought, smothering a tiny little evil smirk.

  “I heard you guys talking about Halloween and trick or treating,” assuming that mangled madness was to do with that little ditty about trick or treating and smelling feet, and happy wieners was a chewed and spit out, mish mashed Halloween greeting, “am I right?”

  “Rosie and Jojo like Happy wieners-Ah, Happy Weenie?”

  “Halloweenie,” I murmured. “Happy Halloweenie?”

  “Khri play Mally game,” he encouraged, dutifully straightening, the thick cockstand between his legs bobbing right there just below the surface. That monster was about to pop out the water and greet me, he was so generously endowed.

  I wasn’t afraid of the big bad ‘bominable’s monster erection.

  “Have you ever heard of bobbing for apples?” The smile I’d been smothering escaped then.

  Khri frowned. “Bobbed fur apples? No.” He shook his head. Dark eyes followed my green ones as I gave his eager friend a good once over. He grunted and his, ahem, Halloweenie jerked. Perfect. He was catching on.

  “I have my own way I’d like us to play it,” I hinted, “would you like to try it?”

  My head dipped as I scooted back a little and hunkered down, preparing. He tracked my every movement, his gaze following mine as it repeatedly dipped pointedly to the water.

  “What do?” he asked finally. “What Khri do?”

  “How is it played? What are you supposed to do, you’re asking?” My fingers slid over the sides of the tub, gripping the thick lipped edges.

  Instead of answering, he nodded. My beastly friend kept swallowing, thick Adam’s apple working as if his mouth had suddenly filled with saliva.

  “Well, bobbing for apples, you get a large bucket, fill it with water, and usually you’d put apples and such in it to, you know, try and catch them with your mouth, bobbing, to get them.” Waiting a moment as that sunk in, I added, “I was thinking I could go first, and bob for something a little more...substantial.”

  “Sumsansial?” From the sound of his voice, the suddenly high pitch and the way he began to squirm in place, I’d say my beastie boy was cottoning on.

  “Mm, hmm.” My answer was little more than a soft hum in my throat but he heard it all the same. Again, he followed my pointed look at his friend before my gaze once more sought out his.

  “Mally bob f
or- Mally bob- Mally want to- to-”

  “Yep.” I made the word pop, waiting.

  “Bob for-”

  One of my hands slid to his knee, sliding up his thigh to rub the spot. The male looked like he was choking on his own spit. His eyes had gone so wide they were comically enormous. Those almond shaped orbs were perfect circles and his pupils were large, starting to go oblong.

  “Shall I show yo-” I started to say, to a wild outburst from my big bad beastie. “YESSSS,” he growled out, his teeth gritted as he gripped the sides of the tub, the fat knuckles of one hand resting near mine going an off white, frosted looking lavender with his deathgrip.

  My head dipped, bobbing, before he could finish that long hissed S. A strangled noise left him, soon replaced with a broken purr as my face dipped, lips finding the straining head jutting up towards me, and I sealed my lips around the bulbous tip.

  Khri let out a sharp gasp and his hips jerked as I gave my Halloweenie treat an experimental suck. A growl followed as I released him, pulling back to dutifully bob back down, dipping lower for a better tasting on the next drop.

  “Mally,” he growled out as I took almost all of him, snarling my name with the sexiest little purr. More, it said.

  Popping back up to take a deep breath and dive back down, I was determined to take all of him in one go. He was big but this wasn’t my first rodeo with a well-endowed man. Bleak as my track record with long term relationships has been, my sex life has been decent in the no strings attached brigade all in all over the years.

  “Goot. Goo-Uhng. Mally!” I heard the creak and snap, like something had cracked, before the emphatic snarl. His hips moved. He gave a shallow pump of a thrust. He was close, so close. My sex clenched at the idea of taking him over the edge so fast. He was fighting it, trying to hold off. His hand went to my hair but froze. His legs were trembling and he was jerking hard enough water was sloshing about everywhere. I wanted to take him over the edge, make him come so hard he never thought of another. The stubborn cuss fought it tooth and nail, entreating me between pleasurable groans and seething growls to come to him. Oh, I wanted to get mine, but I loved power plays and a good challenge. My beastly lover was proving a difficult sell. My hands fell to his leg, nails digging in just enough to bite.