Page 32 of My Bodyguard’s The Boss

“It’s fine,” Dominic said. “She didn’t get me too deep.”

Austin nodded. He looked distracted, rubbing his stubble while he stared at the bandage taped over Dominic’s stitches.

Dominic wanted to go over and console him. To wipe that worry off Austin’s face and take him out of his head. But he couldn’t treat this like any other relationship. Austin was his boss. They had to keep some distance.

“Look,” Dominic began. “Thank you. But I should really get home.”

Austin’s head snapped up. “What? Why?”

“A guy can’t want to go home after a hard day at work?”

Austin scoffed and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. “Bullshit. What, you’ll fuck me, but you won’t sleep over? Is my bed too soft or something?”

Dominic sighed. He could point out that he got stabbed, and he just wanted some time alone. That he didn’t need Austin to take care of him, especially after the wound had already been cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. But he got the feeling Austin would see right through it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to stay over,” Dominic began. “But come on, Austin. You’re my boss.”

Austin’s arms flexed over his chest. It should have looked intimidating, all that toned muscle. But it just made him look more defensive. Like Dominic’s words were something he was trying desperately hard to protect himself from.

“Right,” Austin snapped. “I am the boss. I could order you to—to⁠—”

His face twisted. He squeezed the bridge of his nose, a tic that he’d picked up from a character he’d played across multiple movies. It happened with any character he played for a long time. Pretend to be someone for long enough, and it starts to stick, he told Dominic once.

Dominic thought about politely excusing himself and heading home. It would be the smart thing to do. The kind of thing he’d feel okay telling Ben about on the phone while they worked out. Instead, he found himself crossing the living room floor, watching Austin try to avoid his eyes.

“Order me to what?” Dominic asked. “You gonna make me stay, puppy?”

Austin scoffed again. But it was weak, like he was trying to convince himself more than Dominic.

“I could,” he muttered.

“No,” Dominic said. “You couldn’t.”

His stab wound throbbed under the bandage. All his self-preservation instincts told him to go home and collapse into bed. Dominic took a deep breath through his nose and focused on them, rather than the much louder desires screaming at him to take Austin to bed and stay there until Austin stopped looking upset.

“I’m going to go,” Dominic said.

He turned toward the door, telling himself he was making the smart decision. Never mind that it hurt more than the damn stab wound.

Austin darted in front of him. “Wait!”

Dominic stopped. He could have pushed Austin out of the way with little effort. But he was eager for any excuse to stay. Especially when Austin dropped that defensive posture, even if he looked royally pissed about having to do it.

“Shit,” Austin muttered. He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t just bring you here because I’m worried about your giant open wound, okay?”

“Again,” Dominic said. “It’s shallow. And closed. You watched it get stitched up.”

“Yeah, but still.” Austin rubbed his inked chest with a grimace, as if imagining Gail’s broken champagne flute slicing his tattoos open. Sometimes Austin forgot that most people had never been shot, stabbed, or lacerated in their lives. Austin’s worst injury was a broken ankle after a stunt gone wrong. He hadn’t lived like Dominic, who had his share of injuries even before he went into the army. His skin might be tattooed, but it was luxuriously smooth underneath all that ink.

“You promised me a reward,” Austin said quickly. “If I went to the event. And I know you’re tired. I just— Tonight sucked, and…”

Austin trailed off, his face filling with guilt before he quickly shut the expression down. “Shit. Never mind. You can go. You have better things to do than coddle your fucking boss. Jesus Christ, you got stabbed tonight.”

He waved at the door, avoiding Dominic’s eyes. “You can go. Just—just go. Your shift ended ages ago anyway.”

Dominic didn’t even look at the door this time. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Austin, all droopy and rejected and trying to look otherwise, his hands tucked angrily into his pockets.

Then Dominic stepped closer, and Austin looked up in surprise.