“Thass a baaaad word,” Kehko ooooh-ed, like Bia was a bad beastie and someone was totally going to get after him. I chuckled, catching the byplay.
“Get on out of here so you all can hurry back!” Dorothy called after them. Lukar hugged her from behind, long arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on the top of her head. “I’ve always hated this part. I’ll never get used to it,” Dorothy whispered fretfully, her hands wringing visible through the opening in the fur settled over her shoulders.
Lukar began to purr soothingly for his mate. “Be okayed, Rothy mine,” he crooned at his female.
“I know- I just- Who- whah! Luka!” she burst out breathlessly as he released her to scoop her up and, grinning into her stunned face, began to cart her off elsewhere. “Now just what- What do you think you’re doing?” she burst out, slapping at him halfheartedly.
“Take my Rothy home,” he said simply, staring down at her with a calm as you please, blank look.
“But did you have to do it in such a dramatic fashion,” she sputtered, while everyone watched on with amusement.
Lukar paused. “My Rothy not worried about mates and babies no mores?”
“I- Well... I suppose, for a minute there,” she conceded, “I wasn’t.”
“Goot.”
“Well, what are you doing now?” she demanded, eyeing him evenly as he began to hum some old fashioned sounding tune that had her blushing for some strange reason I had an inkling I didn’t want to know.
“Distraction,” was all he’d say.
Dorothy immediately clamped her mouth shut but the deep red flush to her cheeks gave her away.
“Mama looks like that when daddies carries her off to beds,” Kehko said with a laugh.
Rosa’s eyes widened and it was her turn to blush. “I, uh, love to read to them,” she announced to all, then started to hush her daughter. “I love reading before bed.”
“Loves,” Tokre signed, to a deeper blush from Rosa than Dorothy had sported.
Mina’s mates all laughed when they asked what he’d said and Rosa, though she looked like she really didn’t want to, translated, then the males began joking with their female about tucking her into bed and reading to her, how much they loved it. Tokre, chuckling as he pecked a kiss to Rosa’s forehead, gave Kehko a squeeze next, then began the trek back to their hut. Mina, rolling her eyes at her males, just laughed and hit her beastly boys with a few zingers when she could get them in as they turned as one group to head home.
Waiting until there was absolutely no trace of the hunting party left, not even a speck of a fluffy Lo denaii head in the distance, did I finally look to Boog to tell him I was ready to head back.
It hit me, as we reached the hut, Khri leaving and being gone for so long, how happy I was in this moment to have not one but two awesome mates that cared about me and I loved to death.
“I love you,” I blurted to Boog.
I’d whispered those three little words to Khri when Boog’d gone off to take care of something for a little bit, offering me and Khri a small window to ourselves.
Right in front of the hut now, Boog paused to stare down at me. “Boog has the loves for hims Pumpkin mate, too.” Already anticipating his next move, I threw my arms up and launched myself at him. Boog snatched me up with a happy rumble, hugging me to his chest. His purr had my words coming out like I was talking into a fan. “Don’t hold back, boogster, tell me what you really feel.”
Boog laughed and his purr grew impossibly louder.
Chapter 13
“You sneaky, sneaky male,” I tutted, though I grabbed another cookie up to stuff it into my mouth. Green cookies that tasted like peanut butter. I couldn’t get enough of them. “You told us you had something you needed to do, not that you were slinkin’ off to bake sweets.” Waving the cookie in my hand at him flippantly, I clucked my tongue. “Tell me all your secrets or I shall call Unkel,” I intoned darkly.
“Joansie says Boog can’t get troubles for cookies. And Boog is one the darked side, so it’s ‘kayed.”
“That bitch,” I muttered, then took another bite to mumble out around a mouth full of cookie, “this was her idea, wasn’t it.”
“Yes. And Boog want Khri and Mally say the byed byes. Boog give Khri and Mally mate time.” Smiling as I made yummy noises, licking my lips to make sure I didn’t leave any crumbs behind, I froze to stare at him.
“I don’t deserve you,” I admitted.
“Boog no ‘serve hims Pumpkin, then.” Wide shoulders lifted in a shrug. “But Boog has the loves for Mally, and Mally loves Khri and Boog. We all be’d good. Everyone has the happies.”
“So very true,” I murmured. Lifting my... third or fourth cookie, I’d lost count, off the platter of them he’d proudly presented me with, his lips quirked, eyes bright, watching me devour them. “I’m going to have the fattest ass, I keep eating these,” I told my cookie.
Grinning, Boog scooted the platter my way, until it was directly in front of me.
“Turd,” I laughed, leaning across the table to feed him a bite of the treat in my hand. “You’ll show me how to make these, right?” I asked as I plopped my butt back into my chair.
“Boog still makes them, though, for my Pumpkin?”
Standing, I made my way around the table. Forcing him to scoot his chair out to plop into his lap, my arms wrapped around him. Lifting my chin, staring down the length of my nose at him, I gave a sniff. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist on it, my dear boogster. It’s a well-known fact, the dark side must always have cookies.”
Boog blinked and made a show of frowning thoughtfully, humming out loud. “Boog sees,” he said with a bob of a nod.
“Indeed,” I replied with the same joking, serious mein. Turning to face him, about to plant a smooch on him, I blinked and frowned, pulling back.
Boog, readying for some cookie-d lips headed his way, froze, mouth mid semi puckering, slowly closing eyes opening wider as his brow furrowed.
“Idea,” I whispered, before closing the distance to make good on that offered lip smacking.
“Boog listens,” he mumbled against my mouth.
“How do you feel about dressing up with your Pumpkin witch?” I tossed the thought out there casually.
“Dressing up?” he echoed, as my gaze slid to the platter of cookies pointedly.
“I know a certain someone who never got her visit from the candy wish,” I reminded him.
“Keke,” he murmured, nodding. With a grudging look that said he was going to agree but was afraid of what I might have in store for him, he grunted out, “Tell Boog what hims to do.”
“You know you’re the best, right?” I cooed.
Furry eyebrows shot up even as he grumbled, “What Mally Boog have to do?” right as his purr started up.
We had sweets, and there was a little one who’d gotten cheated in the candy witch visits this year.
“We should probably get Joanie involved in this,” I admitted, now that I was thinking about it.
“Joansie has the smelly maked ups,” he agreed. “Boog no be wish, yes?” A queasy look followed his query.
“No, baby,” I laughed, “you don’t have to be a witch.” When I continued to grin, he shifted uneasily, unsettling me on his knee.
“Why Boog think Pumpkin’s smile say Boog wish not so bad?”
“What?” My laugh bordered on hysterical. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Mally...”
“Boogster, darling, love of my life, sweet mate who’d do anything for me, who will have me all to himself tonight and every night thereafter until Khri comes home.” Leaning in to give him a happy rumble inducing nuzzle, I smiled as my lips found his.
Boog grunted but resigned himself to whatever fate he’d just signed up for.
Chapter 14
“Hims pouts.” Kehko chortled, a cookie in each hand, her legs swinging back and forth in her chair as we all sat around the table. Boog let out a chuff but nothing more.
“You look adorable, baby. I thank you for your sacrifice,” I called sweetly, seated between Rosa and Joanie as he glowered over at me from across the way.
“Hims a monkneed,” Kehko told everyone, to three grins from me, Joanie, and Rosa.
“I think you mean monkey, sweet pea,” Rosa gently corrected. “Doesn’t he look neat?”
“Monkneeds in books no have wings or bests,” the little blue spit fire reminded us with a pointed look at the ridiculous outfit Joanie and I’d talked my poor male into wearing. Every witch needed a flying monkey, did she not?
“He’s a flying monkey, a special Halloween monkey that makes cookies,” I improvised, to Joanie’s poorly muffled laughter.
Boog gave her a look that said he’d never trust either of us in one of our kooky schemes again. I was impressed we’d been able to talk him into it in the first place, even more so that Joanie’d already made up a vest, wings, and tiny hat out of clothes she’d brought with her that had eventually given in to wear and tear. The woman could sew like nobody’s business. She could give Khri and his needle skills a run for their money.
“You’ll wear the suit for me later, yes? Before we have to give it back to Joanie?” I asked with a meaningful look at the male.
Patting Boog’s hand, not quite understanding the adults’ conversation but easily smelling Boog’s feelings on the matter and knowing he was gamely allowing himself to be the butt of a joke, Kehko handed him a picture of a huge white monkey in a red and blue vest with matching hat and dark grey wings. The sparkly green eye shadow powdered faced witch in the moon beaded dress was me. She’d put little hearts all over it, from what I could tell. “For you,” she said, taking off for her Pop-pop before Boog could say anything.
Boog cleared his throat, those amber eyes flushing with that sexy sunflower yellow that said he’d caught my drift as he folded the paper carefully in half to tuck away in his vest pocket. “Yes,” he grunted out gutturally, his voice gone deep and gruff.
Rosa and Joanie lifted the home-made papers they’d been using to try and make origami critters for the kids to play with out of them up. The papers shook with their poorly contained laughter. Joanie’s voice was equally as shaky as she informed us, “Consider it a mating present. Keep it.”
“Thanks, Joans,” I said with a grin that set both women off again, snort chortling their butts off.
“Thanks to you?” Boog muttered, though he sounded confused to have to thank someone for torturing him.
“I think you look very handsome,” I told his grumptastic buns.
Boog just stared at me, muttering, deadpan, “Boog is monkey, Pumpkin.”
“Such a lovely monkey,” Rosa lowered her papers, cheeks pink from laughing, to flat out lie. Best friends ever.
“No, really, you’ve got my vote, Booger,” Joanie agreed, then gave him two thumbs up. Turning to me, she mouthed, You go, honey boo, make him work for it.
Rosa and I laughed and shook our heads. At a noise in the large space, Rosa glanced over her shoulder. Tokre signed to her, and from what I picked up as she signed back, she was relaying the events of moments before to him. A grunt and an impatient chuff, a little diapered furred baby bottom wiggling drew his attention back to his current audience, grinning, he settled back into his current task.
Tokre was sitting in the book nook corner with Zhuel and Tohkrii, pointing at pictures and signing to the little boys. Eyes wide, they kept glancing from their Pop-pop, to the book, then his hands. Rumbling to them softly as he went, they were entranced. If he stopped for longer than a minute, he got a wriggly worm baby and an impatient grunt. They had their daddy wrapped around their little fingers and they knew it. Joining them, snuggled up beside her Pop-pop, Kehko spoke what he signed, signing along with him.
“I wish I had a camera,” Rosa said on a happy sigh.
“Me, too.” Glancing up from the papers in her hands she was folding, a series of paper animals now in front of her, she told Rosa casually, “You should have, like, ten more, just not all at once.”
Bringing the cup of water in front of her to her lips for a sip, Rosie almost spit it at me. The brunette’s head whipped in her cousin’s direction and she sputtered, “Well, why don’t you go and have ten or more too, then, just not all at once.”
Joanie made a clucking sound, pausing in her folding task to peer up at her cousin from beneath her thick glue on lashes. “Maybe I will.”
“Joanie needs mates first,” Boog pointed out.
Joanie scowled down at the paper in her hands as if it had offended her. She stared for so long I’d have thought she’d dazed off.
“Joansie?” Boog asked after a moment, glancing from the pained grimace on Rosa’s face to the cringe on mine, the pair of us motioning as unobtrusively as possible for him to fix it, and then his gaze fell on Joanie, whose face was screwing up and then smoothing out, like she was upset but reminding herself to hide it.
“Boog just wants to hook you up with all his single friends so they’ll quit asking him to do single Lo denaii bachelor things and we can see our lil Joanie poo settled down with a beastman or two of her own,” I murmured, flippantly lifting my had to wave it him as if to shoo his comment off.
“Oh. Oh yeah,” Rosa chimed in, catching on and adding, “Noyel is always talking about his crazy Uncle Celuk and how he needs a mate. I’m terrified of the idea of you two getting together. He’s crazier than you, Jo.”
“Hah.” Joanie grinned at that and the tension riding her eased. “I’d just like to see him try to out-crazy me. Celuky pants ain’t got nothin’ on Auntie Jojo-me.” Lifting the small paper airplane with an even smaller origami duck on it, she sent it sailing in Kehko, Tokre, and the boys’ direction. “Isn’t that right, auntie’s girl?” she called out to Kehko, who giggled and hopped up to chase after the present Joanie had sent her way.
“Another! Another!” Kehko cried out, catching the first one to bring it to her daddy and brothers to admire.
“You know,” I said quietly, eyeing the origami book she was studying to work out of, then the papers she was folding, “I never did ask what all you sent Boog and Rektal on a wild goose chase for...”
At Boog’s pursed lipped stare, like he’d suddenly become a huffy old woman, loyalty was everything to that male. Much as he loved me, he wouldn’t break his trust with Joanie and spill the beans. It was for her and had nothing to do with him, he’d just been helping out, and that was all I was to know on the matter. Honestly, his reaction just made me even more curious.
A sharp cry called Rosa over to the reading corner to attend a fussy babe, excusing her from the convo. Rosa wasn’t interested in anything Rek related. There was a lot of bad blood. It was rare for Joanie to even speak his name in her cousin’s presence and no one understood her attachment or odd kinship with the volatile Lo denaii. But, again, as Boog respected her privacy, we were her friends. I didn’t always agree with her, but friends weren’t friends simply for agreeing on every damned thing. We could agree to disagree and have our differences.
Joanie cleared her throat and focused really hard on the small piece of paper she was folding in her hands. “Oh... you know, a little of this, little of that.” A tiny smirk of a smile started to pull at her face as she glanced up to find Boog squirming in the hot seat, but she smothered it.
Rosa glanced up from where she was breastfeeding little Zhuel, sat in a big plushy chair near Tokre. “That’s Joanie speak for you honestly probably really don’t wanna know.”
Joanie pointed at Rosa with a teasing lilt of her lips. “Bingo, baby.”
“Right...” I muttered slowly. With that little tidbit, I really didn’t want to know, and yet I was dying to know all the more. Some things really were better left where they lie, I knew that for a
damned fact, but, ugh, that nosy old biddy part of me was so damned curious. What was worth all that damned time and effort? What on earth could have gotten Rek to make such a trek for said items, whatever they may be? My thoughts were rife with wild imaginings.
Some things, I supposed, I just wasn’t supposed to know.
Chapter 15
Several months and hunting trips in later...
I didn’t make it this time. Groaning, kneeling over the hole I’d managed to dig in the snow before queasy-stomach-geddon hit yet again this glorious morn, I just hoped that was the last of it for a while. Heck, I doubted there was anything left to bring up. Tea and toast, I told myself, that was it until this stuff settled. Vomiting eggs was god awful.
After my second post breakfast upheaval, two days in a darned row during washing duty with the ladies, everyone had urged me, quite politely, to beg off. I did, but under protest. I felt lazy leaving it all up to everyone else.
Finishing off the last of the cold tea Juniper had offered up, a minty concoction to help ease my stomach that worked well to rinse my mouth out as well, I gargled the last bit and spit it out into the snow. Standing, I was just making my way across the village’s center, the main pit they liked to use for celebrations, when I heard a familiar voice call out.
“Mally!” A very happy beastman of mine called out.
Khri wasn’t walking, he was running, packs with furs and meat and everything weighing him down. This was the first time he’d caught me by surprise coming home from a hunt. I’d been a mess with his first trip, stressing Boog out with my up, down, out of my head worrying. Khri had been more than accommodating comforting me upon his return. They were both wonderful. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
“Khri find Mally first,” he called out happily. If those packs were ridiculously heavy or straining him, he showed no signs of it, which had me grinning thinking about activities that made his chest heave, breaths coming in harsh pants. Ugh. My face heated and I wanted to fan myself as he jogged closer, headed right for me, but I wasn’t flushed from embarrassment.
Pumpkin Bride: Brides of the Hunt: A Brides of the Hunt Holiday Novel Page 13
