Page 24

As they settled in Dakota’s bed later that night, it was a snug fit. The full-size bed was nowhere near as roomy as Gavin’s king, but when Dakota slid in beside him, he had to admit, there were some advantages to the lack of space.

“Hey there,” Gavin said, wrapping an arm around his waist. His voice sounded particularly deep as he smoothed his hand up under Dakota’s T-shirt.

“Hi.” Dakota settled his hands on Gavin’s chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” Gavin looked vaguely confused. “Why wouldn’t I feel okay?”

Dakota shrugged. “I know you probably didn’t expect the conversation we hit you with earlier.”

“I hate Violet even has to worry about that stuff.”

Dakota sighed. “Yeah, me too.” Because she really, really shouldn’t have to.

“I meant it though. I’ll go to bat for her, if necessary.”

“I know.” Dakota smiled. “And thank you.”

Gavin scoffed. “You don’t have to thank me for trying to be a decent human being.”

“Maybe not. But it can be rare.”

“Unfortunately.” Gavin shifted a little closer. “But unless you particularly want to talk about that right now, I had some better ideas about how we could spend our time.”

“Sleeping?” Dakota teased.

Gavin grinned and a little flutter went through Dakota’s chest. Not a heart issue, just Gavin being devastatingly handsome, as usual.

“Not quite.” Gavin leaned in and kissed Dakota.

His mouth tasted minty from the toothpaste he’d used earlier, and Dakota sighed softly, flicking his tongue at the seam of Gavin’s lips.

Gavin opened, allowing him in, and they kissed leisurely. Slow, lazy pecks and nips interspersing deeper, longer kisses. There was none of the frantic energy of the last time and Dakota dimly realized they hadn’t done anything sexual since the night before the holiday skate.

This was nothing like that though.

Rather than being forceful like he had been before, now Gavin was soft and pliant, shifting onto his back when Dakota pressed forward. Dakota was the one who got their shirts off, nuzzling into the warm crease of Gavin’s neck before trailing his lips along his collarbone.

The sounds Gavin made were quiet in deference to the fact there were other people down the hall, but his response was no less passionate than ever when Dakota closed his fingers on Gavin’s nipple. He pinched and Gavin’s hands tightened on his back, hips lifting, searching for friction against his cock.

Dakota replaced fingers with his mouth, loving the hissing, indrawn breath that escaped Gavin’s lips when he licked and sucked at his nipple.

Dakota had one leg flung over Gavin’s, and he reached down, cupping Gavin’s length as he sucked at the hard nub. “You like that, don’t you?” Dakota whispered.

Gavin let out a low, soft groan.

He wasn’t fully hard, but he was getting there, cock pressing at the stretchy fabric covering his length. Dakota had a wild thought that Gavin wasn’t having any trouble with blood flow there .

And he hadn’t even had to take a pill to do it. Dakota had watched him chuck the pills in the trash, sheepishly admitting he’d let his insecurities get the better of him and make him wonder if Dakota was happy with their sex life.

Ridiculous man.

Dakota toyed with his cock for a minute, loving the heat of his skin, the heft as he rubbed a little more firmly, grazing his teeth across his nipple and biting gently.

The strangled sound—quickly muffled—encouraged him to do it again, and he kept up at it until Gavin’s dick was leaking, turning the fabric darker.

Dakota switched to the other nipple, teasing it and worrying it with his tongue until Gavin’s hips lifted in a mesmerizing rhythm. Dakota smiled, slipping his hand under the fabric, loving the way Gavin bucked into his touch.

After a while, the rub of the waistband of Gavin’s pajamas grew uncomfortable against Dakota’s wrist and he sat upright long enough to strip them off. When Gavin was naked, Dakota looked at him, taking in the muscular flex of his body.

“Enjoy it while you can. I won’t look like this if I change my diet and exercise routines,” Gavin said, sounding a little breathless. “I won’t be as cut?—”

“Oh, shut up,” Dakota whispered, shifting to brush their lips together. “I don’t care how cut you are, you stupid man. I want you alive and feeling good.”

Gavin smiled and the look was oddly tender, despite the fact Dakota still had a hand on his dick. “You mean that?” Gavin asked softly.

“Of course I do.” Dakota’s throat thickened. “I like you, damn it.”

Gavin laughed, reaching up to brush Dakota’s hair off his face. “I bet if I put my mind to it, I could make you fall in love with me.”

Dakota didn’t answer, just slid down and took Gavin’s dick into his mouth. But even as he delved the tip of his tongue into Gavin’s slit and teased, he had a feeling Gavin was probably right.

He took his time, enjoying the opportunity to explore every inch of Gavin’s length, to lick at his soft sac and breathe in the musky scent of his body.

Gavin’s hand settled in his hair, soft and gentle, stroking and caressing rather than demanding or pushing. Dakota bobbed over his dick, sucking harder, loving his quiet groans and pants.

Later, when Gavin’s hips rose and fell, his mouth open with almost silent gasps, as he pressed deeper into Dakota’s throat, something welled up inside Dakota, warm and familiar. That dizzying surge of affection and closeness to his partner that he’d missed. The intimacy was so different from the detached pleasure of a hookup. He could get used to this. No, more than that, he wanted this. Wanted this with Gavin so fiercely it took his breath away.

An ache appeared inside Dakota, a restless need he hadn’t experienced in so long. He wanted … he wanted …

Startled by his own thoughts, he choked a little and Gavin backed off, lifting his head to look at Dakota with a worried frown. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” His voice and expression were soft and concerned.

“Nothing,” Dakota said, breathless. “Just … stay right there.”

He patted Gavin’s chest, shifting away to grab lube and a condom from the nightstand.

Gavin watched him with wide eyes, his brow furrowing when Dakota rolled the condom over his length, bucking up into Dakota’s touch. Dakota shifted to his knees, reaching behind himself to press fingers inside himself, opening himself up for Gavin’s cock. “But you …”

“I want it,” Dakota said firmly, his gaze never leaving Gavin’s.

Because he might not be able to say everything aloud yet, but he wanted Gavin to see he was trying too. He was willing to trust him, to show him Gavin didn’t have to be the only one who pushed himself out of his comfort zone.

Because Gavin wasn’t Bryce, he wasn’t …

“This is what I want right now,” Dakota said firmly. And it didn’t mean he’d want it every time, but it was okay for him to want this now.

“Okay.” Gavin reached for him, his hands gentle as he guided Dakota to straddle his hips. “Okay. Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

The first nudge of Gavin’s cock made Dakota freeze but he breathed out, looking into Gavin’s eyes. They were wide open, filled with so much warmth and affection Dakota’s muscles unclenched.

Dakota sank slowly down Gavin’s cock, his breath catching at the thickness spreading him wide. Gavin rubbed his thumbs tenderly against his hips until the tension melted away, allowing Dakota to take him even deeper.

Dakota was suddenly glad the light on the nightstand was still on, because he could see Gavin’s lips part, watch the way his lashes fluttered every time Dakota dropped a little lower. Gavin’s hands were so strong but so careful against his skin, gentle like he wanted Dakota to know he was still the one in charge.

It made Dakota’s throat go tight and his eyes a little damp, because he’d been so wrong about Gavin at first, hadn’t he? About what kind of man he was.

Dakota leaned forward, brushing their mouths together briefly before he sat up and began to rock his hips. A small gasp left Gavin’s parted lips and Dakota smiled down at him, softly rising and falling over Gavin’s cock.

“Fuck,” Gavin whispered, rubbing his thumb against his hip in a way that sent a shiver through Dakota’s body. “You feel amazing. You didn’t have to do this though, you know that right?”

“I know. But I wanted you to see … to know …”

But the words melted away as he got lost in the sensation, and clearly Gavin was too. His lashes fluttered, his eyes falling shut, his abs tensing as he fought to keep from thrusting up into Dakota.

The care Gavin was showing made tears prick Dakota’s eyes and he began to move faster, pleasure beginning to rise in him too. Dakota’s skin heated with every slick glide of Gavin inside him.

“Dakota,” Gavin said roughly, lips parting, breath coming faster.

Watching his chest rise and fall was a revelation, so Dakota bent down, licking a stripe along his collarbone and grazing his teeth across Gavin’s skin.

“Yeah,” Gavin breathed, his hands hot as they smoothed across Dakota’s skin, every touch filled with careful need. “Yeah, leave your mark on me.”

Dakota shivered at the thought, and he licked at a spot on Gavin’s shoulder, his hips rocking faster, taking Gavin deeper and he closed his mouth over the skin and began to suck. Gavin sighed softly, his grip tightening on Dakota’s hips.

This man … Dakota thought, head spinning when he finally lifted it to look at Gavin’s face. His eyes were still closed, mouth slack with need. Dakota sat upright, shifting to get his feet under him, so he could really move . The noise Gavin made when he did made Dakota laugh, then clap a hand over Gavin’s mouth.

“My sister is down the hall,” Dakota hissed, but he couldn’t stop smiling, especially when Gavin’s eyelids flew open and amusement crinkled the corners. The light in his eyes made another bolt of heat go through Dakota and he lifted his hand away, bracing himself against Gavin’s chest.

Gavin bit his lip, muffling the noises he made, and this was suddenly so easy … so right. Dakota couldn’t remember the last time sex had been fun and a little silly and joy rose inside him.

Oh, oh this was what he’d been missing …

“Gavin,” he said with a quiet gasp. “I …”

But he didn’t know what he wanted or how to say it.

“I’ve got you,” Gavin murmured. He fumbled in the bedclothes for the lube and Dakota nearly cried out with relief at the feel of his big warm hand wrapped around his cock, his grip tight and slick.

Dakota had been so caught up in the feel of Gavin inside him that he hadn’t paid much attention to his dick, but the touch was so good. It made heat and need sizzle up Dakota’s spine, urging him to move faster over Gavin.

The bedframe began to creak a little, the headboard knocking against the wall, and Gavin laughed again, quietly joyous, and braced his free hand against the wall. His other hand was busy, twisting over Dakota’s cock with an expert rhythmic stroke that sucked all the breath from Dakota’s lungs.

“So close,” Dakota whispered, overwhelmed by the sensations racing through him and settling at the base of his spine.

“You’re so beautiful like this.” Gavin whispered. And maybe it was that or maybe it was the way Gavin’s cock grazed his prostate, but Dakota let out a cry he cut off by sinking his teeth into his lower lip.

Pleasure raced through Dakota until he clenched around Gavin’s cock and came. He came and came, rocked by it, overwhelmed by the tight, expert grip of Gavin’s fist.

When the orgasm was over, Dakota collapsed, dimly aware of his thighs aching as he shifted to rest on his knees again. Gavin’s skin was sweaty against his own and Dakota suddenly realized Gavin was still hard inside him, hips twitching with imperceptible shifts, like he was fighting back the urge to shove up into Dakota.

“Yeah,” Dakota said, grinding their hips together, shivering at the way Gavin’s cock pressed against that sensitive spot inside him. He was going to feel this tomorrow, wasn’t he? “Yeah, come on, Gavin,” Dakota urged. “I can take it.”

Gavin’s grip tightened on his hips and he fucked up into him, a few short, hard thrusts that made Dakota gasp and writhe over him. And then Gavin went still, body shaking as he emptied into the condom.

The soft, surprised noise Gavin made as he came made Dakota smile and he buried his head in the crook of Gavin’s neck and lay there a moment, breathing him in.

He … he’d missed this. It was only one of many positions but it was one that had become so fraught and tangled up in the hurt from his past that he’d closed himself off in every way.

It was different with Gavin though, wasn’t it?

He wasn’t perfect, of course he wasn’t, but he was a good man. He was trying.

Dakota hugged him tighter.

“Sweetheart …” Gavin whispered tenderly, stroking a hand up and down Dakota’s sweaty spine and damn, Dakota didn’t hate the sound of that nickname at all now.

He smiled, pressing his lips to Gavin’s neck, tasting the burst of salt against his tongue once again, though for very different reasons this time.

“Was it good for you?” Gavin whispered eventually, shifting them onto their sides. He brushed Dakota’s hair out of his eyes, studying his face intently.

“Yes,” Dakota said simply, because he didn’t have any other words.

For now, that was enough.

Gavin awoke to the sound of a baby crying.

For a moment, he was deeply disoriented. And then someone stirred beside him, muttering something too muffled to hear, and Gavin remembered he’d spent the night with Dakota.

He smiled, pulling his warm body closer, hoping they’d both be able to fall back asleep. Dakota sighed, pressing a sloppy kiss to his bicep.

“Mama, Mama!” Another little voice piped up. “It’s Cwistmas!”

“So, how much are you regretting spending the night here?” Dakota asked hoarsely.

Gavin turned his head, smiling at the sight of Dakota’s hair covering most of his face. “Not even a little bit.”

Dakota lifted up on one elbow, pushing his hair away and squinting tiredly at him. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Gavin said firmly. “I am. Now, let’s get dressed and see if we can do something to help Violet and Jeff.”

Dakota’s face softened. “You’re pretty great. You know that, right?”

“I just want to be good to you and your family,” Gavin said.

And maybe it was too much right now. Too nakedly honest. But it had the desired effect because Dakota’s face went soft, and he stretched out to kiss Gavin’s cheek. “You know, I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.”

Gavin pressed his lips to Dakota’s forehead, letting his lips linger. “C’mon, let’s go celebrate Christmas.”

Christmas morning was as chaotic and noisy as Gavin had anticipated. He wound up hovering awkwardly, not sure how to be helpful as Dakota fed the baby and Violet and Jeff tried to slow Daisy down before she tore through every present under the tree.

But eventually, Gavin realized he could be useful if he recorded the happy chaos, and he caught a grateful smile from Jeff as he did so.

There was a lot of laughter and some tired yawns as the sky began to lighten, and when the room was strewn with paper and bows and Daisy gleefully threw packing peanuts up in the air to watch them rain down again, a deep sense of contentment stole over Gavin.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he said thickly, turning to look at Dakota. “This meant so much to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent the holidays with—with a family.”

The look of mingled sadness and understanding in Dakota’s eyes made Gavin swallow, and he was grateful for the soft touch of Dakota’s fingers on his jaw and the barely there tickle of his lips as Dakota leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Because when Gavin had spent Christmas with Rory, it had been … hollow. They’d had the perfectly decorated tree and they’d taken photos of themselves in front of it, the ostentatiously large pile of presents in full view when they posted them on social media.

It had been all about the look of things. Not about creating treasured memories of their time together.

Even if this barely begun relationship with Dakota didn’t work out, Gavin would look back fondly on the time this lovely family had welcomed him into their home. He’d remember the stories Violet and Jeff had told about the ornaments on their tree—Christmas presents they bought each other every year—and the memory of Daisy’s delighted shrieks as she opened gifts.

He’d think about the warm weight of Lily in his arms, holding her when the other adults were busy cleaning up the mess. He looked down into her face now, wide-eyed but content, and wondered if he did want kids.

If Dakota did.

Gavin had no idea how Jeff and Violet had gone about growing their family—frankly, he didn’t figure it was any of his business if they didn’t offer that information—but he and Dakota could do the same, if they wanted.

They could adopt or find a surrogate …

And maybe it was too soon to think about any of that. Maybe Dakota didn’t even want that, but Gavin knew he wanted to know everything about Dakota.

And then he wondered if maybe it was time for him to tell Dakota about what had happened shortly after his and Thad’s draft.

Because if they were really doing this, if they were really going to date, if Gavin was going to sweep Dakota off his feet and make him fall in love with him, Dakota needed to know the truth.

Not the story most people thought they knew, about the rebellious Thad Racine who had taken part in a burglary and fucked up his chances of playing pro hockey.

But the real, honest, ugly truth that it was Gavin who had fucked over his twin brother.

It was Gavin who had ruined both their futures.