Page 15 of Devil's Kiss

Jordan let his eyes do a quick sweep of the room, and when he realized they were the only two in there, he made sure to keep his attention focused on the face of the student in front of him.

“Can I help you, Derek?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Derek said, and then paused before he asked, “Did I do something to piss you off?”

Taken off guard by Derek’s language, Jordan squared his shoulders for the verbal sparring match to come. Not that he was worried. He had no delusions that should he want to take this guy, he could, and would, win every time.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he finally replied.

Derek scoffed and took a presumptuous step forward, and Jordan ordered himself to stay put. There was no way he was about to back down just because Derek was several inches taller than himself, and exuded a pent-up energy that was practically making the room vibrate.

It was time the guy had a little discipline in his life. It was obvious now that he rebelled due to whatever was going on with his family, but one thing Jordan would not stand for in his classroom and everyday life was disrespect. No matter who you were or why you thought it was acceptable.

This close, Derek was—Oh hell, there’s no use trying to deny it. The guy is muy caliente.Dressed in green cargo shorts and his standard black T-shirt that stretched across his broad chest like a second skin, the words printed at the center of it made Jordan want to smile:Normal people scare me.

Well, then Derek should feel right at home with him, because no one had ever accused Jordan of being normal. It was time, however, that Derek was taught a lesson about what Jordan was and wasn’t willing to let slide.

“If you’re referring to my calling on you?—”

“I am,” Derek said, and Jordan prayed for patience. “Why do you always do that?”

Jordan placed the papers on the podium behind him and then turned back to aim a pointed look up at Derek. “I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

He thought about that for a second and made sure that Derek wasn’t right, and when he was satisfied he wasn’t actually singling him out, Jordan shook his head and pointed a finger up at him. “No, I don’t. In fact, I haven’t called on you until today, and that was only because you were being rude and talking through my class. If you don’t wish to be singled out, Derek, then show some respect.”

As his words lingered between them, Jordan’s entire demeanor dared Derek to defy him. He couldn’t believe how close they were standing. His finger was practically poking that huge chest in front of him, and Jordan could see it rising and falling with every annoyed breath Derek took.

“I already told you,” Derek said, his voice so soft and controlled that Jordan was lucky he was so close or he wouldn’t have heard him. “I respect you.”

Jordan could hear ringing in his ears as his heart thumped out an insistent tattoo.

One, two, three.Move. One, two, three.Move. Move. Back. Now.

Yeah… But he didn’t.

Instead, his eyes ran up the square line of Derek’s jaw, and Jordan moistened his bottom lip with his tongue. He wanted to bite and suck his way up to Derek’s ear and tell him—Focus, Devaney. Focus.

“Then show it. When I speak, listen to me. It’s really not that hard.”

Derek’s eyes dropped to his lips, and Jordan knew he was perilously close to crossing a line. One that was highly inappropriate.

“You’re wrong,” Derek told him. Then he shrugged his bag up his arm. “It’s extremely hard every time you speak. And just so we’re clear, I’mnotreferring to my attention span.”

Oh no he didn’t,Jordan thought, shocked right down to his leather shoes. He knew exactly what Derek was referring to, and, never one to act coy, he ran his eyes down Derek’s body and finally back up to his face. If he’d been anybody else—But he’s not.

“Listen to me very closely, Derek. While you are in my class, this is not going toeverhappen.”

When Derek’s eyes darkened, and the side of his surly mouth tugged into a smirk, Jordan realized exactly what he’d said, and went to correct himself. But it was too late.

“I can live with that. At the rate I’m going, you’ll kick me out anyways.”

Jordan couldn’t help himself then. He chuckled at Derek’s insolence and shook his head. “And that’s now a goal of yours?”

“To fuck you or to get kicked out? The way I see it, they kinda go hand in hand now, don’t they.”

While Jordan was aware Derek was going for the shock factor, there was no way he could let that go without some kind of recourse.