Not stiff like that. My eyes drop to his crotch. Wow, how did I never notice his massive dick print before?
Dude, stop looking at his junk!
Thank fuck he’s too busy bending down to scoop up Dahlia to notice me staring at his crotch. Dolly’s tail thumps and she gives his chin a few kisses, looking at him adoringly.
“Hey, sweet girl.” He laughs as she lets out an excited whine in reply. “I know, I know, I missed you, too. Who is the best girl?” Her head cocks like she’s unsure of the answer, even though he’s asked that a million times. Ambrose beams at her. “You are!”
I chuckle at his clear adoration for my girl. For a man who wasn’t sure about me adopting a dog, he sure is obsessed with her. It helps that Dolly is the best dog ever. She’s a little crazy, and sometimes I swear she intentionally runs over my toes when she’s wearing her wheels, but she’s the best.
River sidles into the kitchen behind Ambrose, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know about that. Miss Dahlia, despite my warnings, turned your shoe into a chew toy.”
“Dolly! How could you?” I gasp in mock horror. She turns to look at me, tail still thumping against Ambrose’s arm, oblivious to any of her past wrongdoing. “One of these days, I’m going to cook you up for our breakfast sausage.”
Ambrose gasps and clutches her to his chest. “Don’t listen to him. Who cares about a stinky old shoe, anyway? You’re a good girl. Your daddy doesn’t mean it.” He kisses the top of her head and sets her back down to go scoot over and greet River.
Normally I’d keep up the joking, but I’m frozen to the spot at Ambrose saying “daddy” again.
That’s it, sweetheart. You’re being so good for Daddy.
“Dude, I think those blueberries are clean,” River says, giving me a bemused look.
I jolt and turn off the sink, setting the colander down. “Right.”
“You’re making brunch?” River asks, taking his glasses off and wiping them on the hem of his shirt to get rid of Dahlia’s nose print from her enthusiastic morning greeting. “I thought you’d still be in bed. The only reason Ambrose came down was because the coffee scent was torturing him.”
I bet it was. I appreciate the fresh-brewed aroma a lot more than I ever did before, though it pales in comparison to Camille’s scent.
“Yeah. Figured we could all use a good meal and a chat. It’s been a while.” I try to keep my tone casual and not too needy, but I miss them.
Who knew you could miss people that live in the same house as you?
Ambrose nods. “That’s a great idea.”
“Yeah, we have a lot to catch up on.” River smiles, but his words sound a little ominous.
Oh shit, is he mad about Ambrose helping with Camille’s heat? I was pretty shocked when the older alpha actuallyshowed up, but they have an open relationship, so I figured River was cool with it. As soon as we had a moment to speak while Camille was resting, Ambrose told me I hadn’t shut off our bond properly, so we kept things locked down on our end. I hope he’s not mad about that slip up too.
I finish up cooking, putting a few bits of bacon in Dolly’s food dish so she’ll stop hanging out right under my feet and tripping me. River and Ambrose set the table, get us all drinks, and start cleaning up what they can.
Moments like these, when we’re working in tandem so well, make me understand why we’re a pack. There’s no asking what to help with or pretending to not know where to find something. We’re all grown ass men, not shitheads who weaponize our incompetence to get out of doing things.
We settle into some friendly chatter as we eat, but there’s an undercurrent of tension, like we’re all waiting for someone to bring up the elephant in the room. Except I’m not sure it’s the same elephant for each of us.
River brings a sausage link up to his mouth and my horrible brain replaces it with Ambrose’s dick. I almost choke on my water.
River quirks a brow at me. “You okay, dude?”
I cough and nod, my cheeks heating. “Yep. Totally great.”
Dolly lets out a little whine, and Ambrose looks down at her, shaking his head. “No begging, angel. Your daddy already gave you some.”
I sputter, half-chewed waffle bits scattering across my plate.
Dammit, I can’t handle someone calling me Dahlia’s daddy after what I witnessed during the heat. Especially when Ambrose says it.
“Seriously, what’s up?” River asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I don’t know, maybe we should askDaddy.” I blurt the words before I can think better of them, and cringe when Ambrose’s face flushes a deep red.
