“He’s done,” Vulcan hollered, dodging Bronto’s fists. Vulcan bear-hugged Bronto’s waist and dragged him off Grunt’s chest.
“Like hell,” Bronto growled. “He’s still breathing.”
Vulcan slipped but held tight to Bronto, pulling him down to the ground with him when he fell. Bronto ended up on his lap, digging his heels into the dirt as he wrestled to free Vulcan’s arms. Briefly he overpowered Vulcan, jumped up and lunged at Grunt. Vulcan just as quickly grabbed Bronto’s ankles and pulled them out from beneath him. Bronto hit the ground but it didn’t seem to faze him as he scrambled forward, kicking at Vulcan and reaching for Grunt.
“Enough!” Vulcan hollered.
Bronto was either too enraged to hear him or he didn’t care. His face was deep red and his eyes darker than Ivy had ever seen. In his state of rage, nothing was capable of stopping him. Not even the Barbarian chief, as he’d proven by struggling until he’d finally broken loose. He dove at Grunt, who lay motionless, and straddled his chest. Grabbing both sides of Grunt’s head, he bashed his skull into the ground.
“Bronto, stop,” Ivy screamed. “Please?” she begged.
Immediately he stilled. She approached him slowly and dropped to her knees. Blood and abrasions covered his knuckles. By looking at Grunt she realized most of the blood came from his battered face.
Utilizing caution, she placed her hand on Bronto’s cheek and gently maneuvered his head until their eyes locked. She was unsure how’d he react, so she handled him gently. “It’s okay,” she said softly, stroking his face with her thumb.
“It’s not okay. He hit you,” Bronto stated, his eyes moving to the presumable handprint on her cheek. “Are you all right?”
Unfortunately the sting to her pride hurt worse than the slap on her face. “Yes.” She stole another glance at his hands and the blood splattered on his chest. “Let’s walk to the lake to clean you up.”
He released Grunt with a shove. “If you ever touch her again I’ll rip your fucking heart out,” he seethed, his jaws clenched. As he stood, dragging his foot over Grunt’s chest, he wiped his hands on his loincloth then offered Vulcan assistance to stand. “Sorry, Chieftain.”
Vulcan clutched Bronto’s hand and pulled himself to his feet. Surprisingly he didn’t look angry. Instead he smiled while smacking the outside of Bronto’s arm. “If one day you decide to challenge me for the chieftain position, tell me in advance and I’ll just hand it over. It’ll save us both the trouble.”
Bronto nudged his head toward Grunt. “Think he’s dead?”
Vulcan ambled to Grunt, knelt down and placed his hand on his chest. “No. He’s breathing.”
“That’s too bad,” Bronto replied while turning toward Ivy. He glanced at his hands before stroking her cheek with the back side of his fingers. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Ivy released a breath, not realizing she’d been holding it. His touch was so gentle it felt as if a breeze caressed her face. She nodded while leaning into his fingers. “Can we go now?” She never thought it possible to feel emotionally closer to him than last night but his retaliation against Grunt brought tears to her eyes and a closeness she couldn’t comprehend.
“Yes, love,” he replied, gazing longingly into her eyes. “Let’s go,” he added, clasping a tender hold on her fingers. “I want to grab a few supplies first.”
She nodded and fell into step beside him as he walked to the supply hut. Jade emerged from behind the flap, glanced into the yard then passed by. She didn’t say a word while she rushed in the direction of her own hut. How bizarre she hadn’t stopped to talk to feed her inquiring mind or acknowledge Grunt lying unconscious on the ground.
Bronto stopped just inside the doorway and glanced around. “What happened in here?” he said under his breath.
Ivy had never been inside the hut but she hadn’t expected it to be in such disarray. Boxes were tipped over on shelves and a bunch of things lay on the ground.
“Jade always keeps the supplies neat,” he murmured.
Ivy knew he was talking to himself out loud, so she began placing the items where she thought they belonged. She recognized one object, a bar of soap, and only because she’d used it last night. She set it aside then finished picking the weird items up off the ground while Bronto righted the boxes and straightened them on the shelves. One long, white object in particular caught her attention. When she lifted it, it made a crinkly sound like dried leaves. She squeezed it. One end was bigger than the other and it felt kind of hard. She squeezed it again.
Bronto glanced over his shoulder and looked at her hands. “What do you have there, love?”
“I don’t know.” She held it up. “What is it?”
He smiled and shook his head. “That is specifically for women. You might want to ask Jade.”