I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration. “I exist right here, right now, and I want us to make a plan.”
I took a step toward Ambrose. I was challenging him, pushing harder than I should. I was well aware of that, but if I didn’t make him understand how serious I was, I would never gain any ground with him. I wasn’t about to let him think I’d back down.
To my surprise, he stepped back as I moved closer.
I took another step. How far could I get with this?
Ambrose took another step back and then another until he was pressed against the counter. I could cage him in, and then I…
No. I was not going there. This was a professional relationship. That’s all it would ever be, and that was already more than either of us needed.
Faster than my eyes could track him, Ambrose pulled a gun, grabbed me, and spun me around. When he held me tight against him, he pressed the barrel of his gun to my head.
“Don’t play games with me. I don’t like it, not even from my family or friends.”
My breath caught. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. He wasn’t going to shoot me, not that he needed the gun to kill me. He didn’t kill innocent people. I knew that about him, and I believed it, but that didn’t mean I was going to get away until he was ready to let me go.
I was no weakling. I was smart, strong, and well trained, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was going to bring down a half-insane former Green Beret whose family ran New Orleans. I’d be more likely to wrestle a gator into submission, something Ambrose could also supposedly do.
“Tell me what else you know about Carlotti, then get out,” Ambrose ordered.
“I’m not talking to you like this.” I kept my voice calm but firm.
Ambrose spun me around so fast it took me a few seconds to focus on his face. He held his gun at his side now, pointed at the floor. At least that was a slight improvement. He fisted his hand in my shirt and pulled me in. We were close, our bodies nearly touching, our faces only inches apart.
If I had any question at all about how much I wanted this man, it had vanished because, despite knowing what he was capable of, despite knowing he could kill me right there if he chose and cover it up so no one would ever find me, my dick was still hard as a rock for him.
I held his gaze and saw his anger give way to confusion. He didn’t move, though. I could barely pull air into my lungs. What would happen if I leaned in and kissed him? Would he shoot me or kiss me back?
I was tempted to find out. I let my gaze drop to his lips and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath.
His tongue snaked out to moisten his lips, and I watched it glide across the soft, plump surface. I wanted to pin him to the wall and grind against him while I kissed him. I wanted to know if he was as crazy in bed as he was in everything else he did.
I wasn’t going to find that out. Not today. Not ever. I brought my hands up between us and pushed at his chest. He barely moved, and his grip on my shirt tightened until I heard seams rip. I shoved harder. He lost his footing for a moment, and his snarl made me shudder. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“Put your fucking gun away, and I might.”
I jumped straight into the air when he let off a round into the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
He stared at me, eyes wide.
“Shit.” He let go of me and looked down at the hole he’d made in Dax’s floor.
I didn’t say anything. Hope whined and barked and scratched at the door.
Ambrose flicked the safety on, put his gun in his pocket, and went to let her out. She jumped up on him, and he picked her up and soothed her.
“It’s okay, girl. It’s all okay.”
He kissed the top of her head as he stroked her fur. I was frozen in place watching him. How did he go from wanting to shoot me or fuck me or both to this tender display of affection? Who was he really, and what the hell had happened to make him bury this side of himself so far down?
Hope calmed down, and he set her on the floor. When he turned my way, he looked startled to see me. A moment later, he cleared his throat. “You never saw that. Any of it. You were never here. Go home, and I’ll take care of your problem.”