Page 73 of Hard Bargain

The memory flared without permission—hardwood floors, Dominic’s hand in his hair, the sound he’d made when he lost control. Heat crawled up Knox’s spine. “And I make you impulsive?” he asked.

Dominic didn’t blink. “Yes,” he said. Controlled. Like he’d weighed the admission and decided it was acceptable damage.

Knox went rigid. “That sounds like poor self-control,” he said.

A dangerous curve touched Dominic’s mouth. “Just a miscalculation.”

Knox’s lips thinned. “So now I’m a miscalculation?”

“You were,” Dominic said. “That’s been corrected.”

The words should have stung. They didn’t; they did something else entirely. Knox felt his pulse kick harder, adrenaline rising. “Then why are you standing here?”

For a fraction of a second, Dominic’s composure thinned. “Because distance doesn’t work when you deliberately walk into my club hoping to find me.”

Knox’s throat tightened. Dominic was standing too close. Close enough for Knox to see the tension in his shoulders and a vein pulsing at his temple.

“Your turn,” Dominic said, each word deliberate. “Why are you here?”

Knox held his gaze. “I wanted to see you.”

Silence.

Dominic’s nostrils flared, the only crack in his composure. “You’ve seen me,” he said. Like that settled it.

Knox’s brow pulled. “That’s it?”

Dominic’s eyes raked over him, slow enough to make Knox feel every second of it. Then, in a voice that was far too calm: “You stupid boy. You really have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

Knox held his gaze. “I think I do.”

“If you’re smart,” Dominic said, “you don’t push this.” Then he stepped back. The space between them widened by inches, but it felt like a wall going up. Dominic adjusted his cuff, gaze sweeping the room as if recalibrating to the larger space. “Enjoy your drink,” he said. “Don’t make me regret letting you stay here.”

He turned and walked away, stepping back into his world without looking back.

Knox stood there, his teeth clenched so hard he could feel the ache in his jaw. He’d seen it—that brief fracture in Dominic’s composure before it sealed itself shut again.

Now Dominic was across the room, head inclined toward whoever had approached, one hand resting casually in his pocket. Like nothing had happened. Like Knox hadn’t mattered enough to linger on.

That made something unpleasant burn in his chest. Reckless energy crawled under his skin with nowhere to go. He grabbed his glass and knocked back the rest of the alcohol in one swallow. It barely cut through the frustration.

He knew Dominic didn’t owe him his attention.

The adrenaline flooding his system didn’t care about that.

It wanted friction. It wanted to see that flash in Dominic’s eyes.

Fuck it.

He set his empty glass on the bar harder than necessary and turned away from it. Cassian and the others were somewhere near the stage. He shoved through the crowd, shoulder clipping someone who cursed at him as he passed.

He would give Dominic something to react to.

Chapter 20

Dominic

He didn’t look at him. That was the first rule. He kept his attention fixed on the man in front of him, listening to the supplier talk about margins and timelines. Dominic nodded at the right intervals and asked the appropriate questions.