Page 124 of Hard Bargain

Dominic’s eyes moved over him, taking in more than Knox was comfortable with, before settling back on his face. “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

Dominic held his gaze for another moment—then just as easily looked away again. “Then wait,” he said, turning back to the men. “I’m busy.”

Irritation flared under Knox’s skin. “I don’t want to wait.”

He heard it the second it left his mouth, how petulant and demanding he sounded. Like he had any right to say it.

He didn’t. Dominic didn’t owe him his attention. Had given him more than anyone ever had. But the gray was still there. Closing in. Dull and suffocating and pressing at the edges of everything, and Knox didn’t care how he sounded right now. He just needed it gone.

Dominic’s head tilted, attention shifting back. His eyes had gone colder now. “Behave,” he said, voice dropping enough to carry weight. “These are important men.”

Knox didn’t even look at them. Didn’t care who they were. Didn’t care what they wanted. “I need you.”

That did it.

Dominic’s attention locked onto him fully. “Need me for what exactly?”

Knox held his gaze, jaw tightening. It should have been easy to answer, but the words didn’t come. “You know.”

Dominic went still, his eyes darkening in a way Knox felt more than saw. His pulse kicked harder, breath catching, that flicker of relief starting to rise because Dominic understood, he always understood—

“Try again.”

Knox’s breath left him, frustration flaring, desperation pushing up behind it. He knew what Dominic was doing. Knew he wasn’t going to give him anything until he said it properly.

He hated how much he needed it anyway.

The words sat there, caught somewhere between his chest and his throat, harder to push out with Dominic watching him like that. Not offering an inch.

Silence stretched.

Dominic didn’t move. Didn’t soften. The air between them pulled tighter with every second, charged with an expectation Knox could feel in his bones.

“Don’t make me wait,” Dominic said, his eyes burning through him.

He felt the dominance in those words. They settled deep, dragged lower, took hold of his body before his brain could intervene. His cock hardened and his mouth went dry. The hesitation crumbled—crushed beneath the power of his voice. He leaned in, mouth brushing the shell of Dominic’s ear. “Please,” he whispered. “I need you to fuck me.”

There it was.

Dominic moved. His hand came up fast, gripping Knox’s jaw, turning his head to look at him fully. “My office,” he said. “Now.”

* * *

Dominic’s office sat at the end of a narrow hallway past the casino floor: matte-black door, keypad, no nameplate. He entered the code, pulled Knox in, and pushed the door shut behind them. The ambient noise of Lucky Thirteen dulled to nothing, leaving Knox’s pulse roaring in his ears.

Dominic slid the deadbolt with a click that felt final.

Knox stood where he was, breathing hard but trying to hide it. The office smelled of leather and whiskey. Soft light pooled over a wide desk, a single chair, and bare walls that somehow made the space feel even more controlled.

Dominic turned.

He looked calm—pristine suit, not a crease out of place—yet the way he watched Knox said something else entirely. Heat simmered behind his eyes, the kind that promised consequences. “You were acting like a spoiled brat,” he said. “Interrupting my conversation. Making demands.”

Knox swallowed. The need that had shoved him this far was still there, but it mixed with anticipation now, a nervous current crackling under his skin.

Dominic moved closer, stopping only when Knox’s back met the door. Heat radiated off him—Knox could feel it through his clothes before they even touched. A broad palm pressed flat against his chest, pinning him there without effort. “Tell me what’s wrong.”