I turned away so he couldn't see my face. "Still monitoring. Nothing suspicious."
"Lorenzo called again and wants to know when his nephew is coming home. You keeping him here for some reason, Dom?"
My jaw clenched because I hated to lie. "Of course not. He's free to leave whenever he wants."
"That's not what I asked." Cord paused, and it was clear he had more to say. "Andro wants a full report tomorrow. Everything you've learned about what he's doing here. And I mean everything."
The line went dead.
Carmine turned back to me. "Problem?"
I shook my head and forced myself to meet his eyes. My mate. The person I was supposed to be investigating. "Nope. All’s good.”
Carmine gripped my hand and tugged me toward the couch. We both sank into it, and I was thankful that I’d opted for comfort over style. The realtor I purchased the apartment from had offered me that staged furniture in the purchase, but it was all stiff and nothing like the plush couch I was on now with my mate sunk against me because the cushions pushed us together.
"To answer your question, my place is similar to this." Carmine pulled my hand up to his chest and cradled it there. "I don't spend a lot of time there, and when I do, it's in bed or in the kitchen."
That pulled me out of my distraction. "Kitchen? You like to cook?"
"I bake, but only a few recipes. I don't do anything elaborate. Just cookies and pies. I got on the sourdough trend a few yearsago.” He glanced at me from under his lashes. “My friend, Keegan, takes care of it for me while I'm away."
My stomach did a funny swooping thing, and I worried my emotions were all over my face. It was as if this was my fantasy brought to life. A man who understood and connected with me like no other. "What's your sourdough starter's name?"
Carmine scoffed and pulled away from me. "It doesn't have one. I'm not goofy like that. It's silly to name a sourdough starter."
It frightened me how good he could lie. But I was beginning to understand his tells, or maybe they didn’t exist, I was just that in tune with him. "Mine's name is Breadley. Breadly Cooper."
Carmine whipped around to face me so fast. "You bake?"
I nodded. "Bread mostly. I just never have the time. Usually when I come home, I fill the bread machine and make a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread, along with some sourdough."
His lips twisted into a smile. "Doughly Parton."
I grinned. "Maybe we should introduce the two of them."
"And how would we do that? I've never heard of two sourdoughs mixing together and living happily ever after."
I rested my forehead against his. We weren’t talking about sourdough anymore. "We can try."
"I suppose we could start out with a simple introduction."
I snorted out a laugh. "Like you'll bring your jar here?"
"Or you can bring your jar to me."
I couldn't resist. I pulled Carmine closer to me and buried my nose in his neck. Inhaling his sweet scent made my dick hard as my lips ghosted over his skin.
He sucked in a breath. "Dom."
"Shh, just let me hold you for a minute."
He relaxed, and the two of us lay there for a long moment. Eventually, we needed to get up and go to Andro's so I could give my report. I would need to let them know that Carmine would be in the area for a few days, and we could gauge their reaction to his presence. But I didn't want to think about any of that. I simply wanted to hold him.
The sound of my phone alarm finally broke the silence. I grabbed it and swiped at the screen.
"What is it?" he asked.
I smiled. "Time to feed Breadly."
