Devil's Kiss (Sunset Cove #2) (6 page)

“Okay. But one day before we’re old and gray…?”

“Yes, okay, one day soon.”

Jordan saluted him with his coffee cup and then jogged the rest of the way up the path and stairs to the door of his building. He pulled it open and stepped inside where he was blasted by the cool air offering some relief. Tugging at the collar of his shirt, he tried to extricate the material from his torso the best he could as he walked farther down the hall.
 

As he got closer to his classroom, he spotted Derek with his back up against the wall, with none other than Daniel resting against it with one shoulder angled toward his friend.

Jordan kept an eye on the two of them as he moved closer. Brantley’s words ran around in his head as he observed Derek while remaining unnoticed. Ever since that first day, Jordan had made it a point to keep his distance from Derek. He’d known something was off after their original run-in, and having it confirmed merely made him more curious about the student he’d found difficult to push aside.
 

He would be the first to admit that these two intrigued him more than they should, and he wasn’t quite sure why. There was something about them. Something that was niggling in the back of his mind, and as he stood there observing them, Jordan watched Daniel place his hand on Derek’s bicep before smoothing it down his arm to squeeze his fingers.
 

That was when he got it. When the missing piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. These two were extremely comfortable with touching one another. The same way he was with his friend—
and yeah, okay, on-again-off-again fuck buddy
—August.
 

It wasn’t in a friendly clap on the back,
hey, man, it’s cool
kind of way. More like an
I’m here for you and always will be
way. They shared an intimate connection. It was obvious if you took a second to really watch them, and this little glimpse at a private moment made it abundantly clear.

A couple, maybe? Hmm, they might be,
but Jordan would almost place bets they were just friends.
Friends with benefits, then?
he mused, and wasn’t quite sure why he cared. But he did.
 

He hadn’t pegged Derek as gay. Daniel either, for that matter, and he was generally very astute when it came to men of the same feathers who liked to flock together. But then he remembered Derek’s departing comment from day one as it came slamming back into his brain.
 

“I just want you to know, I respect who you are, very much.”

And shit.
Maybe he wasn’t too far off track in thinking Derek batted for the same team he did. And wasn’t that a shocker?

Taking in their close stance a final time, Jordan couldn’t help but note that Derek had turned his hand over and was gently squeezing Daniel’s fingers in return as he aimed a hell of a disarming smile at the laid-back surfer.
 

Well, slap my ass and call me Sally.
It was a rare day when
his
actions weren’t the most shocking to take place.
 

He was about to announce himself, but before he could, Derek’s blue eyes drifted past his buddy’s shoulder and connected with his own.
 

Oh shit. Busted.
 

The immediate furrow between Derek’s brows and the fierce scowl that twisted his lips conveyed quite clearly that he wasn’t happy that their private little interlude was being observed.

Well…tough shit.
Jordan had no reason to feel bad or even guilty. He was allowed to be there in the corridor. Hell, he was supposed to be there. He was the damn professor.
 

Mustering up his nerve, and he had plenty when provoked, Jordan straightened his shoulders, knowing he didn’t even come close to these guys’ heights, and sauntered down the hall.
 

Deciding he would stick it to Derek in the most
I don’t care if you’re holding hands, kissing, or making out with your friend
way he could manage, Jordan paused when he got in line with them and said cheerily, “Good morning, boys,” then pulled open the door with extra flourish and reminded them, “while usually I’d be the one on the sidelines wondering what was about to happen next here, I’m already running late, which means you are too. So don’t linger out here long. You don’t want all the seats to be taken. And I know how close you like to sit to one another.”

Their mouths fell open, and as Derek pushed off the wall as if to correct or confront him, Daniel touched his shoulder in a
leave it alone
gesture
.
 

Jordan flashed them a grin then, and stepped into the classroom, letting the door fall shut behind him.

There, let him make of
that
whatever he will.

* * *

“WHAT THE HELL was that about?” Finn asked, laughing as the two of them stared at the door.
 

“Who knows,” Derek said, racking his brain to work out what the hell was going on with Devaney—but nope. He was coming up with nothing.
 

Ever since their first and only discussion, he’d sat in the back of the guy’s classroom, kept his head down and his mouth shut. He’d also managed to get pretty decent grades on his essays, so he had no idea what the guy’s deal was.
 

One thing was for sure: the man knew how to make an entrance.
Christ.

“I don’t know, something about you sure pushes his buttons. Did you see how pissy he was under that posh
Good morning, boys.
He looked like he wanted to claw your face off.” Finn laughed again.

“Posh, that’s a good word for him,” Derek said. “Loud and in your face. And that perfectly styled hair and those clothes? They look like they cost more than my entire fucking wardrobe.”
 

“I know, right. But you have to admit, he looks damn good. Bet he scores big time when he hits the clubs,” Finn said, nodding as though he were onto something. “I was looking at the faculty website the other day—”

“Why?”

“I…I just was.”

“O
kay
,” Derek drawled, feeling as though he were missing something there, but let it go.

“And did you know he’s the second youngest professor to ever be appointed a position in the US?”

“Funnily enough, no. I didn’t know that.”

“I also Googled him because that’s pretty crazy, right. He’s a genius or some shit. Can you believe that? And his family is super rich. Like, I don’t know, Midas rich.”

“What about his dick size, was that on there too?” Derek deadpanned. But really, he was kind of curious.

“Fuck you. I just thought it was interesting, that’s all.”

“Yeah? Huh. Clearly our opinions vary on what’s interesting and what’s not. Nerd.”

“Okay. I don’t think he’s
that
interesting.”

“So then
why
are we still talking about Posh Spice?”

That made Finn just about double over with laughter. “Posh Spice. Fucking love it. Bet that’d
really
piss him off. Anyway, what was I talking about again?” Finn asked, then he pointed at Derek. “That’s right. Bianca’s tonight. Why don’t we go? She asked me the other day if we wanted to come to the bonfire, and I was going to say no. But I think you could do with it. Plus, I want to talk to you about something.”

Derek grumbled a little, but in the end agreed.
What the hell.
Maybe it would do him some good to be around kids who were hanging out with the single-minded goal of drinking themselves into a state where they could find someone passable to make out with. Who knows, maybe he’d find some guy who’d make his dick twitch and be able to forget his jacked-up life for two seconds. He could get on board with that.

A couple of nights ago his father had been ticketed for public intoxication and brought home in the back of a squad car. His older brother Alan had been passed out on the couch when the cops arrived. So who had had to deal with all the nosy neighbors standing on their balconies staring at the flashing red and blue lights at 3 a.m.?
Yeah, lucky fucking me.
The only saving grace was that his father had stumbled into his bedroom, passed out, and Derek had been gone by the time he’d awoken the next morning.

Pushing the disgust and pity on the neighbors’ faces from his mind, Derek followed Daniel inside their classroom and snuck a quick look toward the front of the room and the “genius” sorting through his mess of papers at his podium.

Devaney had to be the most unorganized person on the planet. Derek thought it was a miracle he managed to teach a university-level class considering the state of his teaching materials, but teach it he did.
 

Loved by all of his students, the professor was animated and lively with each topic he covered. But no matter how exciting he made his class, the fact remained that he made Derek cautious as hell. He couldn’t remember the last time his cock had been this fixated on someone, and he was starting to think the guy was a sorcerer weaving a spell.

Deciding the idea of a party and a hookup was exactly what he needed to maybe forget this weird infatuation, Derek leaned over to Finn and put his lips by his ear to ask, “What time’s Bianca’s thing tonight?”

Finn turned his head and grinned. “Ten. Are you going to make sure we get home in one piece or do you need to unwind?”

“Nah, I’ll walk your drunk ass home. I think the Pearson household has had enough alcohol within its walls for the week—”

“Mr. Pearson?”

As his name registered in Devaney’s familiar tone, Derek froze and saw Finn grimace, then he turned to look down at his professor. Devaney was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised in an expectant manner. He’d obviously asked a question, seen that Derek wasn’t paying attention, and singled him out—again.
 

Is he fucking serious?

“Yeah?”

“Do you have something to add to the conversation?”

He hadn’t been told to stand, but since it seemed that he was about to be made an example of, he got to his feet anyway. ’
Cause why the hell not.
 

“Not really. I was just squaring up my plans for the weekend. You know, something fun, after enduring an hour of this.”
 

He wasn’t sure why he was being such a dick. But just as Finn had suggested that he pushed Devaney’s buttons, there was something about his professor that sure as fuck pushed his. He also provoked him into saying stuff that wasn’t true. There was no
enduring
happening in this class. It was actually one of the ones he enjoyed. All he knew was the irritated look his teacher was aiming at him made Derek be sure to add a healthy dose of
fuck you
to the end of his statement, just to ruffle the guy’s feathers.
 

He was
so
going to get booted from this class.
 

Mirroring his professor’s stance, Derek widened his feet and crossed his arms in a defiant show of attitude, and the way Devaney’s face reddened was a sure tell that he’d raised the guy’s blood pressure which was immensely satisfying. Not to mention a total turn-on.
 

It had Derek’s mind travelling directly south, and imagining Devaney naked and flushed from head to toe.
 

God, he was being a shit.

Certain he was about to be told to get the hell out of the class, Derek was stunned when he caught the corner of Devaney’s lips twitch. That tiny indicator that his professor was enjoying their little sparring match had his dick about two seconds away from embarrassing the hell out of him.
 

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Mr. Pearson,” Devaney finally said, and for a minute Derek had to remind himself he wasn’t talking about his current situation, but the fact he wanted to do something fun after this long week. “So if you don’t have anything to contribute to class, please retake your seat, keep quiet, and let me get through the next fifty minutes without your
mouth
interrupting me.”

No way.
There was no way he’d just said that to him and meant it the way Derek was taking it. But the feisty eyes holding his practically sparkled in confirmation, and Derek knew without a doubt that Devaney had just purposely stroked his cock with his words, and in the next breath denied him.

And I’ll be damned if that doesn’t make the guy even hotter.
 

* * *
 

JORDAN COULDN’T BELIEVE what he’d just done.
Okay,
so he could believe it a little bit. He’d just eye-fucked one of his students and, if he were honest, enjoyed every second of it.

The truth was, Derek was just the kind of guy he was drawn to. Someone who was off-limits. Someone who was troubled. He was a bad boy at heart, and knowing his background a little better, Jordan could understand why he was the way he was.
 

But there was also something fragile about Derek and the way he kept to himself, and it was
that
quality that saved him from being a total punk.
 

It also made him extremely appealing and was the reason for Jordan’s racing pulse.
 

It was a totally inappropriate reaction, one he knew he would never in a million years pursue. But there was no way to deny the attraction was there, bubbling between the two of them like lava in a volcano waiting to explode.

Shit. I really need to get laid.
 

As he was finishing up, Jordan decided he’d go ahead and give August a call. The guy had left a message earlier in the week that he was in town to catch some prime waves—
his words, not mine
—so Jordan figured he should take advantage of a sure thing.
 

It’d been way too long since he’d gone dancing, and there was no way he was going to miss out on getting his groove on. The excuse to dress up and flaunt his stuff was too heady a feeling, especially when he wanted to let loose. So he supposed he really hadn’t been telling a lie when he told Derek he wanted the day to be over.