Page 78 of Hard Bargain

Knox closed the last inch and kissed him.

The kiss was slower this time. Not less intense, just exploratory in a way that felt dangerous. Then Dominic took over. His hand shot up into Knox’s hair, fingers tightening hard enough to sting, before he drove Knox back into the wall. Knox made a rough sound, half surprise, half satisfaction, and Dominic felt the vibration of it move through his own chest.

This was what happened when restraint failed.

The kiss turned hungry. Dominic set the pace and took exactly what Knox had been daring him to take. Knox grabbed his shirt with both hands and whimpered.

Dominic pulled back abruptly.

Knox’s lips were parted. His eyes were darker now, the challenge from earlier replaced by something more volatile. He looked—god, he looked good.

Dominic leaned in, mouth brushing the shell of Knox’s ear. “You should be careful what you ask for.” Then he stepped back completely.

The absence of Knox’s hands felt almost violent. He ignored it. He straightened his shirt, smoothed the fabric, and brought control back the way he always did. When he looked up, Knox was still against the wall, lips swollen, hair disheveled, watching him with an expression Dominic didn’t have a safe place to put.

“You wanted my attention,” Dominic said. His voice had returned to its usual register. “You have it. But the next time you decide to provoke me… be very sure you’re ready for the consequences.”

He held Knox’s gaze just long enough to make sure it landed. Then he turned and walked back toward the club.

He didn’t look back, but he wanted to.

Fuck.

Chapter 21

Dominic

He slid into the booth beside Cassian like the last ten minutes hadn’t happened. The club folded around him immediately—bass vibrating through the floorboards, lights stroking across the crowd in restless color. Everything moved the way it always did. Bodies packed, drinks lifted, laughter cutting through the music.

Exactly the way it was supposed to be.

Dominic reached for a glass waiting on the table and took a drink, letting the burn of it settle his breathing.

Cassian watched him over the rim of his own glass. “You disappear with the kid and come back looking like that.”

“Looking like what?”

Cassian tilted his head. “Like he managed to get under your skin.”

“Careful.”

Cassian’s grin widened, entirely unbothered. “That sounded dangerously close to a threat.”

“It’s advice.” Dominic ignored him after that. His attention had drifted back across the room, instinctively scanning the crowd.

And then Knox reappeared. He pushed through the crowd from the direction of the hallway and reached the table. The moment he realized Dominic was there, he hesitated before sitting down. It was subtle enough that most people wouldn’t have noticed.

Dominic caught it.

Knox’s shoulders tightened before he leaned toward his friends and spoke over the music, the words lost in the noise. One of them glanced between them with visible curiosity, clearly sensing the tension but not understanding it.

Knox kept his focus firmly on the table. Avoiding Dominic entirely.

Up close, he looked disheveled from earlier—hair still out of place where Dominic had grabbed it, lips faintly flushed, expression guarded in that stubborn way Dominic had started to recognize.

And he looked—

Beautiful.