Page 57 of Body Check

“And where are you off to so late, mister?” Violet teased as Dakota passed by the kitchen on his way out the door later that night.

Dakota winced, pausing to look at his sister. He’d kinda hoped he could scribble a note on the pad of paper they used for communicating rather than talk to her face-to-face, but she was up with Lily, who was peacefully sucking down a bottle.

“Uhh,” Dakota said. “Hookup.”

Violet grinned. “Good for you!”

“Are you sure that’s something you should be cheering me on for?”

Shrugging, Violet stepped closer. “Why shouldn’t I? I respect you want a break from dating, but why not at least get laid?”

He laughed. “True enough.”

“So, how’d you meet this guy?” she asked.

“Uhhh.” His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see a message from Gavin letting him know he’d left the restaurant.

On my way,Dakota typed out and hitSend.

“Gotta go. Tell you more tomorrow!” he said hastily. He kissed Violet’s cheek and then Lily’s before bolting for the door.

“You better!” she called after him as he fumbled to get his shoes on.

Dakota was still smiling and fastening his coat as he pulled the door closed behind him. He’d successfully dodgedthatbullet, though he didn’t think he’d be able to continue dodging for too long. He hated the thought of lying to his sister, but he couldn’t tell her he was sleeping with the team’s GM. Hisboss.

Ahh fuck. This was so monumentally stupid.

And yet … here he was.

It was a cold, crisp night, but thankfully the walk to the MBTA station was short and even at this hour, there were still fairly regular trains running from Quincy to downtown.

As Dakota settled in a seat on the train, he realized that depending on how late he stayed at Gavin’s, he might need to get a rideshare home. Ugh, he really didn’t have the budget for anything extra.

Still, they were both worries for future Dakota. Current Dakota was too eager to get laid to care.

Despite the risks, despite the inherent stupidity of it all, he was looking forward to tonight. He’d hemmed and hawed about it often enough between their second hookup and the talk with Gavin this morning, but he was right. It was stupid to keep second-guessing everything.

And although it made it alittlemore personal to go to Gavin’s place tonight, it was much, much safer than their previous hookups.

Half an hour later, when Dakota left the train and walked to the address Gavin had given him, he was unsurprised to find the building was extremely high-end. Inside a lobby that rivaled some of the hotels the team stayed at on the road, Dakota gave his name to the concierge at the desk and was directed to the elevators.

He was whisked up to one of the upper-level floors and easily found Gavin’s condo.

He’d barely finished knocking when the door was yanked open and Gavin pulled him inside, quickly shutting it behind them. Before Dakota could even speak, Gavin had him pressed against the door, his mouth already seeking Dakota’s, hot and hungry.

“Hey,” Gavin managed when they finally pulled apart, both breathless and desperate for oxygen. “You made it.”

Grinning, Dakota gently pushed at Gavin’s chest, urging him to step back. “Did you think I might not?” he asked, shrugging out of his coat.

Smiling, Gavin took it from him and hung it in a nearby closet. “No, just glad to see you.”

“Oh.” Surprised, Dakota let himself be pulled in for another heated kiss. But when Gavin began to drag him farther down the hall, Dakota pulled away.

“Hey, gotta get my boots off too,” he pointed out, crouching to unzip them.

“Sorry.” Gavin rocked back on his heels, hands in his pockets, the almost-bashful gesture at odds with the rest of him.

He was dressed all in black from his finely tailored trousers to his button-down shirt and the loosened tie around his neck. His feet were bare. From Dakota’s position looking up at him, he looked both powerful and vulnerable and it made Dakota’s chest feel oddly tight, like he couldn’t quite catch his breath.

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