Page 134 of Hard Bargain

“You don’t know that.”

Dominic pressed his forehead to Knox’s, thumb tracing the bruise blossoming at his jaw. He could feel the tension sitting in Knox’s shoulders, and something in him wanted to smooth it away before it had the chance to settle. “I know him,” he murmured. “And I’ll make sure he keeps his mouth shut. You don’t need to worry about Marco.”

The tension eased out of Knox by degrees. “Okay,” he said, biting his lip.

“I’m not done with you yet,” Dominic muttered. “Not even close. But not here.”

Knox’s lips curved, that reckless fire climbing back into his eyes. “Then take me somewhere we won’t be interrupted.”

Chapter 34

Knox

Knox sat slouched into the corner of his new couch, controller loose in his hands, staring at the TV like it might disappear if he blinked wrong. The place was open and clean, filled with furniture that matched instead of whatever had been cheapest at the time.

It was his.

Which was still weird as hell.

“Bro, are you playing or zoning out?” Logan’s voice cut in, followed by the sound of rapid button smashing.

“I’m playing,” Knox shot back, straightening a little—then immediately regretting it. A dull ache pulled low in his body, sharp enough to make him shift again. They hadn’t even made it to the bedroom earlier. The second they’d walked into the loft, Dominic had pushed him onto the nearest flat surface and that had been it. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other long enough to make it any further.

Knox adjusted his position and kept his face neutral.

Miguel didn’t look up from his slice of pizza. “Your character hasn’t moved for two whole minutes.”

Tara snorted from the other end of the couch, legs thrown over Knox’s lap without asking. “He’s buffering.”

“No—no, no no—are you kidding me?!” Logan leaned forward. “That was bullshit.”

“That was skill,” Miguel said, grabbing another piece of pizza.

Of course, his friends had asked about the apartment, about Dominic, about all of it. Knox had told them he was doing odd jobs for Dominic now, driving him around, running errands, handling whatever needed handling. Whatever vague nonsense sounded plausible enough not to invite follow-up. It didn’t explain everything, but it was enough to keep the questions from going any further.

“Okay,” Miguel said suddenly. “We need to address the real problem here.” He held up a slice like evidence. “Pineapple.”

Logan nodded immediately. “Yeah, that’s criminal.”

“It is not criminal,” Tara shot back. “It’s delicious.”

“It's fruit,” Knox said. “On pizza.”

“Exactly,” Miguel added. “We should have stopped you at the door.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “You’re all dramatic. Just don’t eat it.”

“We’re not,” Miguel said. “We’re judging you instead.”

Knox shook his head, relaxing back into the couch. They kept arguing over it while the game kept going. This felt normal. Knox found himself laughing more than he had in a long time. It caught him off guard, how natural it felt. For once, things didn’t feel so heavy. Life was easing up, giving him room to breathe.

Eventually, the pizza was gone and Logan dropped his controller onto the cushion. “Alright, I’m out. Early shift. Not ruining my sleep schedule for you idiots.”

“Same,” Miguel said, pushing to his feet. “If I stay any longer, I’m not waking up before noon.”

Tara groaned. “You guys are boring.”

Knox walked them to the door, exchanging quick goodbyes. Logan clapped him on the shoulder on the way out. He turned back toward the living room. Tara was still there, stretched out across the couch like she had no intention of moving. “You’re not leaving yet?”