Page 51 of Hard Bargain

Dominic’s eyes caught the movement and Knox froze. Humiliation crashed over him so fast his stomach twisted. He jerked his hand away immediately, letting it fall uselessly to the floor.

“Don’t stop.” Dominic’s voice was hungry and absolutely final. Those eyes pinned him. “Show me.”

Dominic didn’t look away. Didn’t give him anywhere to hide. Slowly, Knox obeyed. He got his fly open. The air was cold against his burning skin, making him suck in a breath. He was already embarrassingly hard, already leaking.

He spat into his palm before wrapping his hand around Dominic again, his other hand jerking himself in uneven strokes. Heat, friction, breath, the slick sound of skin moving against skin—it was all too much.

Every time Dominic grunted, Knox’s hips jerked, pathetic, needy sounds slipping from his own mouth. He tried to hold back, but it was impossible; he’d never been this turned on in his life.

Then Dominic’s hand came down on his shoulder. The pressure of it—so strong, so unmistakably male—sent a spike of something cold straight through the heat.

Oh God.

Panic, bright and profoundly stupid, flickered through his arousal. His brain had apparently chosen this moment to point out that what he was doing was extraordinarily gay.

As if the dick in his hand hadn’t already made that abundantly clear.

A shudder ripped through Dominic’s body. The groan that tore out of him was so deep and raw it cut straight through the panic like it had never existed.

Every thought in Knox’s head vanished. There was only that sound. Only the wild certainty that Dominic was close—and that Knox was the one doing that to him.

Dominic’s fingers bit harder into his shoulder. “Don’t fucking stop,” he ground out, voice rough enough to make Knox shiver. Then, harsher. “Look at me.”

Knox obeyed before he could think about it. Their eyes locked. And something about that nearly destroyed him.

No distance.

No escape.

Just Dominic staring straight at him while Knox worked his fist around his cock.

He stroked faster.

Dominic made a strangled sound, somewhere between a curse and a groan, his grip tightening enough to hurt. Then he came. Violently. His entire body locked up. A guttural “Shit—fuck—” ripped from him as release hit. Knox felt the heat of it spilling across his hand and wrist, some of it even catching his cheek. But what held him frozen was Dominic’s face. The raw, unguarded pleasure.

That was what snapped the last thread holding Knox together. His own orgasm hit so suddenly it almost hurt. A broken sound escaped him as his hips jerked helplessly into his own hand. It felt endless, like every ounce of tension, humiliation, and frantic need was being ripped out of him all at once.

By the time it stopped, Knox could barely breathe. His whole body trembled.

For several long seconds, neither of them moved. Knox became aware of everything all at once—sticky hands, jeans a mess, fried nerves, and burning skin.

He realized, dimly, that Dominic hadn’t looked away. Abruptly, he let go. The heat drained out of him all at once, leaving embarrassment in its place.

He couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Dominic anymore. Every instinct screamed at him to get up and get the hell out, but his body felt weirdly unresponsive.

Dominic moved first. He stepped back, fixing his clothes with slow, deliberate movements, his expression shuttered again.

Knox swallowed. His mouth was painfully dry. He had no idea what to say. So he shoved himself back into his jeans with clumsy hands and got awkwardly to his feet.

Without a word, Dominic reached for a box on the side table and grabbed a handful of tissues.

Knox frowned, still too dazed to understand what he was doing until Dominic stepped back into his space and caught his jaw, tilting his face up.

Knox froze.

Dominic wiped the mess from his cheek before moving to clean his hands next. Quick. Efficient. Matter-of-fact. The intimacy of it hit Knox harder than it should have.

Dominic still wasn’t looking at him. His jaw was locked, expression unreadable, movements brisk enough to suggest he was trying very hard not to think about what he was doing.