Why would it? It wasn’t any different than sitting snuggled on his lap or standing in his arms.
She curled onto her side, tucked her hands beneath her head and closed her eyes. In fear of waking him, she left a short distance between their bodies. The darkness behind her lids heightened her senses and she became keenly aware of his warmth and scent. The scent of a man. Even his shallow breaths reached her ears.
She sighed and relaxed, her body sinking into the thick, soft furs. It’d been a long time since she felt such comfort. At home in the stone cave nothing separated her skin from the damp, clay ground when she’d slept. Even after Sledge gave her father a stack of pelts and hides as payment for a future unity with Wisteria, Ivy refused to sleep on them. She’d not enjoy the solace they were intended to provide while her sister was facing a horrible life with the foul, filthy man. Wisty was worth so much more than that. Thankfully he’d met his demise and no longer posed a threat to her sister.
She yawned, her eyes watering behind her lids. Then she drifted into the haze that consumed her before falling sleep.
“Ivy?”
Were her dreams calling to her?
“Ivy?” a whispered voice repeated.
She opened her eyes and came face-to-face with Bronto. His hand lay on her cheek, his thumb stroking the area beneath her bottom lashes. “Hi,” she said. “I didn’t mean to impose.”
He smiled. “It’s fine.”
“I wanted to come here instead of spending the night with Jade.”
“Ivy-love,” he said, leaning forward and kissing the tip of her nose, “I said it’s fine. You don’t need to explain.”
Oh how she wished his lips would travel to her mouth. Was it wrong to wish that? Unfortunately she’d never been kissed. She blamed her momma for the inability to experiment because she’d sheltered and clung to her and Wisteria while they should’ve been exploring life.
“Your sister may murder me but I’ll take the chance,” Bronto said, grinning.
“She knows.” She also knew Ivy’s feelings for him and would never interfere. “I’m a grown woman. She didn’t question my actions.” Wisty actually tried explaining what happened between a man and a woman to prevent Ivy any embarrassment when the time came. She’d not care in the least what would transpire between Ivy and Bronto, if anything. It wasn’t as if Ivy came to his hut to mate, though. That wasn’t her purpose at all.
“I’m just speaking from a brother’s perspective. If my younger sister snuck into a man’s room, I might be tempted to beat him to death.”
Ivy laughed softly. “If anyone would beat you, it would be my momma. She’s very protective.”
“That explains a lot.”
“About what?”
He smiled. “Your innocence.”
“I guess so. Momma held on to me and Wisty too tightly. She lost eight of her twelve kids.” Since Boar’s demise it was now nine children Momma lost. But she didn’t know that yet. Neither Ivy nor Wisteria had the heart to tell her the other night that aliens had captured Boar and used him as an experiment. Sadly they’d done the same to Ivy’s father. How could they ever explain to their mom both men had died? “Her heart is broken.”
“Understandably so.”
“Most women my age already have children but ever since the Mountain Slayers shredded my older sister Lily to pieces, Momma wouldn’t part with me and Wisty. She set limits and wouldn’t let us wander far.” She sighed and curled her knees farther against her tummy. “She only recently agreed to let Wisteria unite with Sledge because our clan needs to grow. When the Flesh Eaters stole our home in the meadows, they killed a lot of our people. That’s how I lost most of my brothers and sisters.”
“I know,” he replied, gently stroking her brow. “Our tribe wanted to chase them away and reclaim the land for you but we were prohibited from taking action because of our governmental rules.”
Again she yawned. “I don’t know why they gave you rules to follow,” she stated rather than asked.