Page 89 of Hard Bargain

And yet here he was. Three days later. Standing in his own warehouse because, for reasons he hadn’t bothered trying to untangle, he had needed to see him. And this time, for once, he hadn’t felt like fighting it.

Knox had his sleeves pushed halfway up his forearms and was leaning over the table, listening while Mendez pointed something out on one of the sheets between them. The two of them were deep enough in conversation that neither had noticed Dominic.

He watched the exchange for a long moment. Three days ago Knox had watched a man bleed out in his basement without flinching. Now he stood in the middle of Dominic’s warehouse, arguing over paperwork with one of his most trusted men, like he’d simply always been here. Most people needed time to adjust to the reality of his world. Knox stepped into it like he’d been walking toward it his whole life. Dominic didn’t like how much he respected that.

Mendez finally noticed him. “Boss.”

Knox turned, surprise flashing across his face before he caught it, and their eyes met across the table.

Christ. The boy’s gorgeous.

He had the kind of looks that pulled attention without asking. Maybe it was that stubborn, defiant mouth paired with light blue eyes that saw far too much. Or the way his body moved with an unpolished confidence. Whatever it was, it caught Dominic’s attention every single time. There was just something about him that refused to be ignored.

Dominic was staring.

He was aware, with a clarity that was both unwelcome and impossible to ignore, that Mendez had everything under control. He’d known that before he’d even left his office. Which meant the only reason he’d come down at all was Knox.

The implication settled in with uncomfortable precision. He wasn’t in the habit of being distracted by anyone. Women came and went without leaving much of an impression, interest burning out quickly. Men had never held it at all.

Until now.

Apparently, he wasn’t quite as straight as he’d always assumed. His muscles tensed at the thought. Not because the idea itself bothered him—it didn’t. He’d never cared much about what other people did in their own beds. But the world he operated in did. These were men who measured respect in dominance and bravado, who lived inside a culture where masculinity was constantly tested and loudly defended. It was a world where anything that could be twisted into weakness got pounded on the moment it appeared.

Dominic had spent years building the kind of authority that depended on the image he projected. That didn’t leave much room for complications like this.

And yet he couldn’t deny it any longer.

He was attracted to Knox.

That was—new.

Knox was still looking at him. Dominic met his eyes for a beat longer than was wise before he ripped his gaze away, fixing it on the paperwork spread across the table, as if that had always been his target. “What’s this?”

Mendez straightened. “Inventory adjustments from the north dock.”

Dominic took a step closer and scanned the sheets. He gave a single, curt nod, a gesture of acknowledgment or perhaps approval. Then he let the silence stretch before looking back at Knox. “You’re done shadowing Mendez.”

Both men looked at him. Knox’s brow creased. “What?”

“You’ve learned what I needed you to learn here,” Dominic said evenly.

Knox glanced at Mendez, who was watching the exchange with undisguised curiosity.

“Did I miss something?” Knox asked.

“No. You’re shadowing me for a while.”

“Shadowing—” Knox blinked. “You?”

Dominic ignored the question and started walking toward the exit. “Come on.”

Knox hesitated half a second, then followed. They crossed the warehouse floor in silence. Dominic was aware of Knox beside him without looking. He had walked in here with no intention of pulling Knox from Mendez. None. Yet the moment he’d seen Knox leaning over that table, he’d opened his mouth and done exactly that.

He ground his teeth together as he pushed the warehouse door open. “You ever fired a gun?”

Knox’s eyes darted to the side. “No.”

“Then that’s the first thing we fix.”