Page 108 of Hard Bargain

Dominic reached for his phone but didn’t dial, turning it once in his hand. “If the warehouse checks out,” he said, “we move on it.”

Knox’s attention snapped back. “Just like that?”

“Yes.”

Knox frowned. “Isn’t that… dangerous?”

Dominic shot him a sidelong look, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “I thought we’d established we like danger.”

Knox almost smiled. “I’m serious, Dom.”

The smirk disappeared. “So am I. Speed matters. If Mercer’s relying on that location, we need to take it.”

Knox considered that. It made sense—brutal, efficient sense. The kind of logic that didn’t waste time pretending to be anything other than what it was.

“You’re escalating,” Knox said.

Dominic didn’t deny it. “He started it.”

Knox held his gaze. “And you’re going to finish it.”

Darkness moved through Dominic’s eyes. “Yes.”

Knox didn’t look away.

Neither did Dominic.

The air between them shifted—the way it always did with them, like an invisible current snapping into place. Dominic’s gaze held his, steady and unflinching, but there was heat in it now. Knox felt it land low in his chest and spread. His pulse kicked harder. Dominic’s eyes dipped, just for a fraction of a second, to Knox’s mouth.

The look burned.

Knox’s breath caught. His body reacted before his brain could catch up. Every nerve went live, extremely aware of the space between them in the car, how little of it there was.

Say something. Break it.

He didn’t.

Neither did Dominic.

The silence stretched, thick and charged, neither of them willing to be the one to pull back first. Then a door closed behind Dominic’s eyes. “Last night,” he said. “That can only be a one-time thing.”

Knox blinked. It took a second to land. “Right. So it worked?”

Dominic didn’t answer.

Knox leaned back, still watching him. “That was the plan, wasn’t it? Get it out of your system?”

Dominic’s expression didn’t change, but he didn’t say yes.

Knox’s mouth tightened. “So?” he pushed. “Did it?”

Dominic looked away. “It needed to happen.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Knox said.

“This doesn’t exist in my world.”

Knox blinked. “What?”