“You are a smart-ass,” Bronto stated then walked away, listening to Vulcan burst into laughter.
By the time they dragged the first load of wood and stacked it near Zypher’s hut, Ivy and Wisteria had returned and were sitting in front of Vulcan’s dwelling. Birmon lay curled in Ivy’s lap, his wings covering his head. Wisteria’s mouth moved as if she were talking but Ivy’s face was tilted toward the animal and hadn’t moved. She was probably envisioning her fate. Smart woman. Let her worry about it for a while.
He tried ignoring her as best as he could during the remainder of the afternoon while he, Vulcan, Zypher, Trice, Rocko and Tyran reinforced the huts but he failed a half dozen times. Not once had he caught her eyes on him. Not once. Not one frigging time, and at one point he stood so close she could’ve reached up and touched him. At least he’d worked off a chunk of his anger. Not all but a good-sized portion. He still wanted to throw her over his lap and beat her ass. Maybe not as hard but beat it nonetheless.
He said not a word as he pulled her to her feet by the hand and led her into his hut. With the door having been reinforced, he latched it closed with a small piece of rope. A gap remained around the entire doorframe but it was better than the prior flimsy leather flap that could easily be lifted.
Ivy broke from his grip and fled across the hut to the farthest corner between a pile of hides and the wooden supply box. She spun around, holding up her hands. “Before you yell, let me explain.”
“You’ll do more than that, I’m afraid.”
She flinched and sat down on the crate, wringing her hands in her lap. “You have no reason to be angry,” she said so softly he hadn’t heard the entire sentence.
Angry pretty much summed it up and he got the gist. “What part of the entire scenario don’t you get, Ivy?”
“You.”
“Me?” He strolled to the fire, turned, facing her, and folded his arms at his chest. If he moved any closer than ten feet he’d likely lunge for her perfect little throat. “Are you insinuating that I’m being irrational?”
She nodded, lowering her gaze to his feet. “Yes. It’s human nature that the women from my clan offer healing methods to those who’ve been injured.”
“Then why didn’t you offer any to Sledge after Vulcan rearranged his nose for beating your sister?”
Ivy’s mouth dropped. She snapped it shut and looked him in the eye. “He seriously hurt her.”
“And Grunt hurt you,” he shouted.
“It was just a slap.”
“Just a slap,” he repeated in disgust. “Men don’t just slap women.” They needed a reason. Like betrayal.
“Do unto others. That’s what Wisty told me. I slapped him first.”
“Sometimes a man needs to analyze a situation before reacting. You didn’t threaten his life in any way.”
She shrugged.
“What about Jade, Ivy? He raped her. That’s more than a slap. You’ve not only insulted Jade but you’ve insulted Rocko and me as well.”
Her eyes shot to his and bulged. “How?”
“By trying to repair the lessons displayed on Grunt’s face. I beat him for your sake. Rocko beat him for Jade’s. When you offered yarrow to mend Grunt’s wounds it signified your disagreement with how we handled the situation. That’s a low blow to a man. I’m still feeling the sting.”
Tears filled her eyes and the tip of her nose turned red. “In our culture Grunt did nothing wrong,” she argued in a desperate tone as if trying to convince herself his actions were justifiable. “Men take women against their will all the time. Even amongst my peaceful kind, if a man wants a woman and she resists, he forces himself upon her. No harm done.”
Bronto narrowed his eyes and took a large step closer. “In my culture assault and rape are against the law. Jade is from my world. She’s been violated in the worst way possible.”
She huffed and again looked at his feet. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
Of course she didn’t. Sometimes common sense took precedence over beliefs and he had a feeling she was beginning to understand the difference but was too stubborn to admit it. “Talking isn’t what I had in mind. I’m going to throw you over my lap and spank your ass. There are not any yarrow leave big enough on this planet to heal the burn.” No way in hell could he actually beat her but she didn’t know that. He wanted to scare her a bit. Hopefully he’d succeeded.
She jumped up so quickly she stumbled. “I’m not a child deserving of such.”
“You’re right,” he said, strolling into her space, leaving a foot of distance between them. “You’re a woman who overstepped her boundaries who deserves more than a simple ass blistering.”
She placed her hands over her bottom as if to protect it. “Is that not going against your beliefs?”
“No. I’m not going to beat you in retaliation or revenge. I’m going to beat you as punishment to teach you a lesson about groveling over a bad guy.”
She backed into the wall. “I didn’t grovel.”