“You opened a can of worms, Ivy.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You led Grunt to believe you care about his well-being. He’ll interpret that little bit of attention as a come-on. He will not leave you alone despite me warning him to stay away.”
“I get it, okay?” she said through a shaky breath.
“Don’t try to pacify me with meaningless words.” He grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, plowing her into his chest. “You should’ve gotten it before approaching him with your affections.” Her poorly thought-out intentions thoroughly sickened him. Worrying about Grunt’s future intentions sickened him worse. Sure, Bronto understood her cultural indifference but really, why would she run to Grunt’s rescue? The man deserved to suffer the consequences of his actions. If what he’d done wasn’t such a big deal, why’d they even rough him up? Why in the hell couldn’t Ivy see that? They didn’t deliver ass whoopings just for sport.
“Please move aside. I’d like to leave now.”
“The only place you’re going,” he said while sitting on the crate and pulling her onto his lap, “is over my knee.”
“Bronto, stop,” she yelped while struggling to stand. “Don’t do this.”
Ignoring her pleas, he locked his hands around her waist, and damn him to hell, the feel of her ass wiggling against his groin aroused him and his cock sprang to attention. Shit, he couldn’t go there right now but if he didn’t act fast, yeah, that was exactly where he’d go. He blinked to kill the sensation then stood her on her feet.
“You’re a mean beast,” she shrieked, tugging the frock in place around her thighs. “I said I get it. There’s no reason to frighten me.”
“I’m having a hard time believing you.” He rose and clamped his hand around her wrist.
Again she shrieked. She twisted her arm free and took a backward step. She had the right idea because if he didn’t get away from her, and soon, he’d lay her down and fuck her senseless.
“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” she spat right before she dashed to the door and fled outside.
Yeah, what a great disciplinarian he made.
Chapter Nine
Ivy had never, ever been so angry in her entire life. Bronto had better apologize or she would not step one foot near him. He’d come to Jade’s hut during the night but Jade convinced him to let Ivy cool down until morning. Well, it was morning and she was still blazing mad, so that hadn’t worked. Maybe she was more upset at herself because she realized she truly had hurt his pride. She hadn’t meant to. She’d just followed her nurturing instinct as any woman from her peaceful clan would have. Learning Barbarian customs was going to take a lot of work.
Having run their argument through her head constantly, she understood what he’d been trying to convey. She’d also apologized to Jade. They had a very long, endearing talk during the night. Ivy didn’t want to mislead Jade into thinking that Ivy thought what Grunt had done to her was okay. Ivy realized it wasn’t okay and women should have a say regarding what happened to their bodies. She was so sorry no one pointed that out before any of this happened. Sadly, because of her naivety her dignity had suffered.
Oooooh, she wanted to hurt Bronto. Really badly.
No, she didn’t. That was anger speaking. Truth was she missed listening to his heartbeat sing her to sleep. Missed his strong arms holding her tightly. Just missed him in general.
She tossed the hide aside and gazed at Jade where she sat near the fire, weaving a blanket. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she’d been weeping. It saddened Ivy. They’d formed a friendly bond last night and she’d rather not see Jade hurting.
Ivy stood and sauntered across the hut. She woke with belly cramps and they continued to worsen. She rubbed her hand back and forth across her tummy while she dropped to her knees near Jade. “Hi,” Ivy said softly.
“Hi, baby doll.”
Jade hadn’t looked at her. She wouldn’t take her eyes off her project and Ivy knew it was because she didn’t want to expose her pain. “Are you all right?”
She nodded and a tear slipped from her lashes.
“Are you still upset because of Grunt?” Ivy asked, laying her hand on top of Jade’s. Her upper arms were bruised from Grunt’s grip and the side of her cheek near her ear was slightly discolored. “Do you want to talk about it some more?”
Jade squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Additional tears escaped beneath her lashes and slowly rolled down her cheeks. “I’m with child,” she whispered.
Instinctively Ivy glanced at Jade’s tummy. “How do you know? It just happened.”
“It’s Rocko’s child,” she replied then inhaled a deep breath and shrugged.
“Rocko? I didn’t know.”
“No one does. We love one another, Ivy.”
“Then why are you sad? He doesn’t know about the child?”
“He does,” Jade said nodding. “And I now repulse him because Grunt has been inside me.”