Ambrose (The Theriot Family 5)

I poured coffee into both mugs and set one on the counter in front of him. He looked at it and frowned. “I need cream and sugar.”

I failed to hold back my laugh that time.”

“I’m allowed an occasional luxury.”

“Like those sheets.”

“Yes.”

“Speaking of luxuries, you never told me if you have a shower.”

Ambrose looked over his shoulder and grinned. “It’s outside.”

“Fuck.”

“You’re laughing at me because I don’t want bitter, black coffee but you’re too good to take a shower outside?”

I imagined all the bugs and other animals that could get into an outside shower in the bayou. As if he’d read my mind, Ambrose said, “There’s a mosquito net over it.”

“That only makes me feel slightly better.”

“Then stay like that, smelling like me.”

When he smiled at me, eyes half closed like he was remembering last night, I kind of wanted to.

“There’s no point in showering until we’ve fed Gerard anyway.”

“Who, or should I say what, is Gerard.”

“My gator friend.”

“Whoa. Tell me you do not have a pet alligator.”

“He’s no pet, but we do help each other out on occasion. We have an understanding.”

Why did the crazy keep escalating? “You have an understanding with an alligator?”

“The best way to survive out here is to befriend the other monsters.”

“You’re not—”

“I am. You have no idea what I’ve done or what I’m capable of.”

“I’d listen if you wanted to tell me, but no one who cares as much about his family as you do could be—”

“Don’t.” His expression hardened, and he pushed away from the table. “We need to get going.”

I wanted to ask what the rush was. We had hours before I’d be missed back home, but I thought it was probably best to just do as he said for now.

I wolfed down my last few bites of egg and took my plate to the wash basin where Ambrose was scrubbing his. He grabbed it from my hand, and I headed to the bedroom to dress. If nothing else came of whatever there was between us, I hoped I’d at least be able to make him see he was a caring man and not the monster he believed himself to be. It hurt to see the way he’d looked when I suggested he was likable and not scary.

I longed to banish the pain and despair in his eyes, but could I really do that? Surely Dax and his cousins had tried. Maybe Ambrose needed someone else, someone not expected to care because they were bound by family ties. I’d felt such need in him last night, not just sexual need but a desperate desire to make a connection with another person. He deserved that. He shouldn’t have to shut himself away all the time.

I pulled on yesterday’s clothes, wishing I had something else to change into once I’d braved the outdoor shower. Of course I might not survive my encounter with Ambrose’s “friend.” There was no point in getting too ahead of myself.

For a moment I wondered if Ambrose intended me to be Gerard’s breakfast. Maybe that was why he said he was a monster, but I couldn’t believe that, not with the way he’d kissed me, the need I’d felt in him, the sounds he’d made when he’d come the night before. All my instincts told me he cared about me too much to turn me into gator food.

When I came out of the bedroom, Ambrose was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was holding a bag I’d seen in the fridge when I’d gotten out the cream. “Do I want to know what’s in there?”

He laughed. “What if I told you it was the last of a body I’d chopped up.”

“I wouldn’t ask any more questions.”

“Really?” He looked truly surprised.

“I don’t want to have to arrest you.”

“It’s a chicken.”

“You buy chicken for your not-pet alligator?”

“No, I shoot them when one’s strays onto my property.”

“Are there wild chickens out here?”

Ambrose shook his head. “Most of them have escaped from someone. Here.” He held out a plastic bottle.

“What’s that?”

“My own mosquito repellent. You’ll need it.”

I sniffed the liquid and recoiled. “You really want me to put this on?”

“Unless you want to be eaten alive, yes.”

I really hoped I wasn’t being pranked. I almost asked what the repellent was made of, but I changed my mind. It was better if I didn’t know. I smeared some on my arms, ankles, calves, and the back of my neck.”

“Face too,” Ambrose ordered.

I hesitated but finally obeyed. At least it didn’t burn my skin. It actually felt good like aloe.

Ambrose grabbed the bottle from me and placed it back on the counter. “Let’s go.”

I followed him closely. In his mind, we were probably on a path, but it just looked like we were aimlessly wandering to me. We came to a spot where there were only a few trees and the ground sloped down to the water.