Page 39 of Body Check

“Goalie tandems,” Gavin said with amusement in his voice as he sipped his own water more slowly.

Dakota wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he shot Gavin a smile anyway and gave into the pulsing rhythm of the music again.

It wasn’t until a while later, when Dakota was on his way to the bathroom and he passed the hallway where he and Gavin had hooked up earlier, that he ran into Thad. With a jerk of surprise—because Dakota had honestly forgotten he was there at all—he murmured an apology as they passed. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Thad smirked, licking his lips as he dragged a hand through his hair, settling it into place. “No worries. Looks like webothhad some fun tonight.”

Behind him, a guy did up his pants, movements lazy and content.

“Yeah, it’s been good,” Dakota said vaguely. “See you around.”

He made a beeline for the bathroom, and he had his fly unzipped before he realized what Thad had said. Was … had heseenDakota getting off with his brother earlier?

Dakota froze, heart rabbiting for a few frantic moments.

But eventually, Dakota forced himself to pee and wash his hands, his face oddly sallow under the stark lights of the bathroom.

When he left, Thad stood in the hallway outside the door, casual and relaxed as he leaned against the wall in an eerie echo of Gavin’s earlier posture. Was it so similar because they were twins and had similar mannerisms. Or was Thad trying to tell him something?

Thad’s hand shot out, gripping Dakota’s forearm.

Dakota made a sound of protest, trying to shake him off, but Thad’s grip was too tight. He leaned in, his breath warm against Dakota’s ear as he said, “Be careful with my brother. He’s not who you think he is.”

EIGHT

Gavin felt warm and loose the following evening as he left the restaurant and waited for a car service to take him back to the hotel.

The southern California air was so mild compared to Boston and between the orgasm with Dakota last night, and a couple of glasses of wine tonight, he was in a good mood. He was tempted to walk back to where they were staying, but LA was so spread out and nowhere near as walkable as Boston.

Still, it had been a good night so far. Gavin hadn’t made a great deal of progress on hashing out a deal with Jed Reilly, the LA Stars general manager, but they were closing in on something.

The Stars were solid defensively, and, if anything, needed to shore up their offense. Boston had the opposite problem and while there weren’t many current pieces Gavin could move, the Harriers did have a decent prospect system and a couple of draft picks he could offer. He didn’t want to leverage their future for a shot at a Cup run now, but he was under substantial pressureto at least give the team a chance while Connor O’Shea was still playing at a high level.

Besides, his latest acquisition of Jesse Webber had certainly gone well.

Jesse was fitting in like a dream and if they could get a few good defensive pieces in front of him and win more games, that mid-level ranking they currently had would rise.

On the ride to the hotel, Gavin tapped out some notes on his phone, adding important points in the meeting he wanted to remember while they were still fresh in his head.

He was still mulling over possible trades as he stepped into the hotel lobby. Several people came out of the restaurant nearby, laughing, and Gavin realized it was Jesse and Connor along with an attractive couple he didn’t recognize. They were maybe in their late fifties or early sixties, polished and stylish.

“Gavin!” Jesse said, grinning when he spotted him. “Hey, you should meet my parents. We were having dinner. This is the first time they’ve met Connor.”

From the happy look on all of their faces, it had gone well.

Gavin held out a hand to the elegantly dressed woman. She had rich brown hair lightly streaked with silver and gold, and striking features that bore a strong resemblance to Jesse’s.

Gavin smiled at her. “Very nice to meet you. I’m Gavin Racine. The team’s general manager.”

“Yes, I know who you are,” she said with a small laugh. “I’m Amanda Webber.”

Jesse’s father—a tall handsome man who was aging incredibly well—held out his hand. “Ethan Webber. Great to meet you.”

“You manage the LA Mavericks baseball team,” Gavin said, shaking his hand.

Ethan nodded. “I do.”

As they made small talk for a few moments, Gavin noticed Connor seemed quietly content as he rested a hand on Jesse’s lower back. Apart from a quick kiss on the plane and dancing and kissing at the club, Gavin hadn’t noticed Jesse or Connor being overly demonstrative in public so far, but Gavin took it as a good sign they were comfortable being open about their involvement, both around the team and the general public.

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