Page 27 of Hard Bargain

Unacceptable.

And still, every instinct he trusted was screaming at him not to look away. As though something essential might happen if he kept watching.

He told himself it was nothing. Just curiosity. Just an exercise in control.

The lie barely lasted a second, because Knox was unraveling now. Dominic watched him fight it, a stubborn attempt to remain composed. He expected Knox to swallow any sound, to stay silent till the end.

He was wrong.

As the dancer took him deeper, a broken moan tore out of him, loud enough to hear over the thump of the bass. The sound was hungry and so honest it set Dominic’s nerves alight.

He saw the exact moment Knox lost it—his body going rigid, head tipping back, mouth falling open as another broken sound spilled free. Even then, Knox’s eyes clung to his, dazed but intent, like he was anchoring himself there.

That was all it took.

Dominic’s release crashed through him hard enough to obliterate thought. For a split second, nothing existed except the wrecked look on Knox’s face and the violent rush surging through his body.

Fuuuck.

He had never—never—felt anything remotely like that before. And worse, he knew exactly why. He dropped his head back against the velvet, jaw clenched so tight it hurt, heart pounding like he’d survived a gunfight.

Across the room, Knox was still staring at him, looking just as stunned. Just as lost. The realization landed somewhere deep and unwelcome: a line had been crossed. One he didn’t understand and absolutely couldn’t uncross.

He shut his eyes. He needed a minute.

Maybe several.

For the first time in a very long time, he had absolutely no idea what the hell came next.

* * *

The car rolled to a stop in front of Knox’s building, the engine left idling in the dark. Knox reached for the door handle without looking at either of them, his mind clearly a thousand miles away.

Before Knox could get out, Dominic broke the silence. “You’re quitting your job tomorrow.”

The words came out flat and transactional, as though making it sound like business might quiet the turmoil in his own head.

Knox froze, his hand still resting on the handle. “What?”

“You heard me,” Dominic said. “You’re done at the gas station. You hand over your keys, thank your boss, and don’t go back.”

Knox turned toward him, disbelief hardening rapidly into anger. “That’s not your call.”

“It is now.”

“No.” Knox stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “I need that job.”

Dominic’s mouth twisted. “You need to stop arguing with me more. Besides, I’ll pay you better than they ever did, so what exactly are you so pissed off about?”

“Because it’s mine,” Knox snapped. The force of it caught Dominic off guard.

“It’s my job. My money. My life. I pay our bills with that money. My mom needs medication. What happens when you get bored? Or decide I’m not useful anymore? If I quit, all I’ve got left is whatever you give me.”

Cassian let out a low whistle, glancing between them but wisely staying out of it.

Dominic’s teeth ground together. The practical answer—that Knox would be taken care of, that Dominic wouldn’t let him or his mother go without—should have come easily. Instead, what came out was harsher. “I’m not asking, Knox.”

Knox’s expression hardened, his jaw ticking.