“I would never hurt her. I’m savoring my frustrations to expel on a certain someone from a weaker gender.”
“I suppose that would be me.”
Vulcan laughed and rustled Bronto’s hair. “Go post yourself outside Jade and Ivy’s hut. I’m sure you feel no one else is worthy of the job.”
Well put, since it was plain and simply an understatement. He trusted the tribal men’s abilities but their testosterone-driven actions—not at all. He was comfortable with Zypher, Trice and Tyran, the other Americans in their unit, but he kept a close eye on the full-blooded Barbarians. One in particular, Grunt, spent most of his time wiping drool off his chin whenever he was in the same vicinity as Ivy. Bronto couldn’t put a stop to that overtly sexual response. Not until he claimed her. In the meantime she was up for grabs. If Bronto had taken her captive she would’ve already been marked as his. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
Bronto shook his head while sauntering along the huts. He knew Pearl and Ruby’s were vacant because both women refused to leave the underground shelters after the T-Rex stormed into camp, wreaking havoc.
He sat down outside Jade’s hut and leaned against the corner support beam, laying the bow on his lap. It was too weak a weapon to injure an actual dinosaur but Tyran, the unit scientist, suspected an arrow could drop a dinosaur shifter quicker than a blink of an eye. As it would drop a sneaky alien, which they were determined to kill. And hopefully before they achieved shifting into such a humungous subject. Every single person on Helixis was in jeopardy of being captured and drained of their blood for that experimental purpose.
For a brief moment Bronto closed his eyes and rested his head against the beam. In the distance an array of groaning sounds echoed from the foothills. He sat up and gazed toward the mountains. The noises didn’t appear human, nor had he heard such reverberations before. They weren’t sounds of distress but hums of contentment. The horses didn’t seem to mind. Other than an occasional stomp of a hoof, they hadn’t made a peep.
He stood, situated the bow over his shoulder and walked past Zypher’s hut, the last in the row, and halted on the path leading to the meadow. He glanced at the rays of moonlight filtering over the lush landscape to where the mountaintops appeared etched in the sky.
“Bronto?” a soft voice called.
He turned to see Ivy approaching, arms wrapped across her tummy. “Hi. You couldn’t sleep?” he asked, offering his most charming smile.
“Not really.”
“You’re welcome to join me.” He held out his hand. “Come here.”
She stepped into the nook of his arm and laid her head on his chest. He wiggled his hand around her waist and held her close. The crown of her head leveled near the crease of his armpit, to where he had to actually tilt his chin forward to place his lips on the top of her scalp. In other words, she fit perfectly.
“Will you be guarding the camp ’til sunrise?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, mesmerized by the soft fragrance of her skin. Jade had obviously shared her lotions. How could something so simple smell completely different on two different women? Pheromones. Hormones. Something altered the scent but he wasn’t complaining. Hell no. It provided the spark that set fire to his balls. And he and Ivy had enough chemistry burning between them to keep the flame alive.
She tilted her chin and batted her lashes. “Would you mind if I stay awake with you?”
He smiled. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.” If he still practiced promiscuity from his high school days he might’ve tried claiming her by now. Might’ve being the operative wordbut he respected her way too much to break into her pants, or bottoms as she called them, just for the sake of getting laid. Ruby was sent on the mission for that purpose. He wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d taken care of an itch or two by utilizing her time.
“Me and Wisty used to sit around the fire and talk all night. I miss it.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be as entertaining but I’ll at least try to keep you from falling asleep.”
She laughed softly and the sound fled directly to his testicles. He didn’t know how Ivy felt in regard to making love, or how far she might’ve gone if he’d initiated a seduction. Most times she just wanted a hug. She’d experienced a lot of heartache and what he considered a messed-up family. He wasn’t being judgmental but it was what she’d said that led him to believe it. As long as she sought comfort he’d provide it. And until she hinted she wanted something more he’d act the perfect gentleman.
He inhaled another deep breath of her scent and swished it around in his head. Musk. Flowers. God, he loved the smell. Or did he love the smell because it now signified Ivy?
Jade was a good woman for sharing her supplies. She’d even lent shaving cream and a woman’s razor to Vulcan to shave Wisteria’s legs.