This was bad. Very bad.
The waitress came back with coffee and took our orders. I got eggs and toast while the alpha ordered a burger and fries. As soon as she left, he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.
"So." His voice was low and rough. "Who sent you to take out Webb?"
I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug and considered how much to tell him. He could be working for anyone. Just because he said he didn't know why he followed me didn't mean I could trust him. "Does it matter?"
"Yeah, it does." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I need to know if you're a problem or not."
My fingers tightened on the mug, and I felt my own suspicion rising to match his. "Were you working with Webb? Is that why you're pissed someone took him out?"
He stared at me for a second before he laughed. It was a genuine sound that transformed his whole face and made him look younger and less dangerous. It threw me off guard. I hated being off guard. "Working with him? Fuck no." He shook his head and leaned forward with his arms on the table. "I was there to do the same thing you did. My bosses sent me to take him out, but you beat me to it." His voice had an edge to it, almost like he sounded impressed rather than upset that I took out his mark.
The tension in my shoulders eased, and I took a sip of my coffee. He wasn’t an enemy. "Who are your bosses?"
"Ferrini and Menetti families. Yours?"
Okay, I knew of them and had heard they’d forged some kind of alliance after a marriage between the families. Maybe he was telling the truth again. "Bandinos. We’re a west coast operation."
His eyebrows lifted. "They sent you all the way out here for one target?"
"I was in town for other business." I shrugged and traced the rim of my mug with one finger. "Heat in one region brings heat to every region. You know how it goes."
"Yeah." He nodded slowly and watched my finger move. "I know exactly how it goes."
The waitress eventually brought our food, and we both dug in. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes while I tried to process what this meant for us. Not that there was an us.
Apparently, we were on the same side. Allies instead of enemies. That should've made me feel better, but it also complicated things in ways I wasn't ready to think about.
"I'm Dominic, by the way.” He wiped his mouth and leaned back in his seat. “Most people call me Dom."
"I’m Carmine." My eyes locked with his, and I could almost feel his heat across the table.
"Carmine." He repeated my name like he was testing how it felt in his mouth. "You always work alone?"
That was a random question. "Mostly."
"Same." He took a drink of his coffee, and his eyes never left mine. "Easier that way."
"Less complicated." I didn’t look away either. Couldn’t if I tried.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Exactly."
But sitting across from him felt extremely complicated. The air between us was charged with something I'd never experienced before. Every time he moved or spoke, my body reacted in ways I couldn't control. My skin felt too tight and too hot, and I wanted to reach across the table and touch him just to see if he was real.
It was more than an attraction. More than interest. It was a need I couldn’t ignore.
I finished my eggs and put down my fork with shaking hands. I tucked them under the table where he couldn't see. "We should probably get back."
Dom flagged down the waitress and paid for both of us before I could protest. We walked back to his car in silence, and the tension cranked up exponentially.
The drive to the motel was short but felt like an eternity. Every second in that enclosed space made it harder to think straight.His scent wrapped around me and seeped into my lungs until I was tasting him with every breath.
Instead of parking across the street, Dom pulled up in front of my room. The appropriate thing to do was to thank him for the food and get out. I should've gone inside and locked the door behind me, putting as much distance between us as possible.
But I didn’t do any of that. I turned to him and stared into the deep pools in his eyes. "Do you wanna come in?"
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his pupils dilated. He knew what I was asking. What I was offering. "Yeah. I do."
