12. Eric #2
“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.
Ambrose whistled. I watched the water, not seeing anything for several seconds, then something that looked like a log appeared on the surface around a bend in the bayou. As it moved closer, I saw two eyes staring at us. I was sure the overgrown lizard was assessing how I would taste.
“Ambrose.”
“Just don’t make any sudden moves.”
The gator came to the shore and began to climb out. My instincts screamed at me to run, but I held still.
“Good morning, Gerard.” Ambrose called. “I’ve got some breakfast for you.”
If I didn’t know better, I would have said the creature smiled at him.
“You see anything suspicious lately?” Ambrose asked when Gerard was almost to shore.
The gator looked at me, then back at Ambrose.
“Eric’s a friend.”
Gerard made no further response.
Ambrose pulled a whole chicken, feathers and all, from the bag and tossed it to the gator. He swallowed it down whole, then turned and swam away.
“That was… How… There’s no way you can really talk to that animal.”
Ambrose shrugged. “We communicate in our own way.”
He didn’t say anything else as we walked back to the house.
The hot, humid air was already weighing us down, and by the time we reached his cabin, I was covered in sweat.
Ambrose’s mosquito repellent did seem to be a miraculous potion.
I might be uncomfortable, but I didn’t think I’d suffered a single bite.
“You can shower first.” Ambrose gestured to a wooden stall attached to the back of his cabin. “There should be enough water.”
I studied the structure. “The water’s not heated, is it?”
He grinned. “No, but the cold water will feel good after our walk.”
I was skeptical about that, but I really wanted to wash off.
“There’s soap in there and towels in the cabinet beside the shower.” He looked me up and down slowly which made my cock perk up.
“I’ll see if I can find something you won’t burst the seams of. I think Dax left some clothes here.” Dax and Ambrose weren’t identical, and Dax was taller and broader than his brother. I would definitely be better off in his clothes.
The spray of cold water was shocking at first, then refreshing, but by the time I was finished, I was shivering. I wrapped a towel around my waist. I didn’t think there was anyone but Ambrose for miles, but I didn’t want him seeing my junk in the shriveled state it was in after the freezing shower.
“Your clothes are on the bed,” Ambrose said as he brushed past me and headed to the shower. I hadn’t really needed to worry about the towel. He seemed to barely see me. I reminded myself he wasn’t used to having anyone here and he was probably desperate to be alone.
How would it work with him staying at my house?
I dressed quickly and hung the towel over a doorknob, but as humid as everything was, I didn’t know when it would ever be dry.
I was pouring myself another cup of coffee when I heard the sound of a car approaching. I dug my gun out of my filthy jeans and approached the front window slowly.
I saw a black SUV pull up, then heard the sound of a gun going off and ducked down.
The shot hadn’t come from the vehicle. I rose up enough to see Ambrose leaning around the side of the house with a rifle in his hand.
“What the fuck are you doing?” It was Lance. He was the driver of the SUV.
“Warning intruders,” Ambrose answered.
“You knew it was me.”
“I did, but I don’t want you here.”
“Remington sent me.”
“You fucking told him?” Why would Lance admit that? Did he want to be shot?
“Put the gun down.”
“I will when you drive away.”
Knowing I was an idiot to interfere, I stepped out onto the porch. Ambrose was not only armed, he was naked. “Why don’t we all just talk about this?”
Ambrose growled. “Don’t use your cop voice on me. I didn’t invite Lancelot here.”
“Couldn’t you at least get dressed?” Lance shouted. “I don’t need to see all that.”
Ambrose fired another round into a tree.
“Whoa,” I said. “Please put that down. You don’t really want to hurt Lance.”
“If I did, he’d be hurting now. I never miss.”