Page 26 of Devil's Kiss

Choosing to ignore the question, Jordan asked instead, “What time should I meet you at the library?”

“How about six?”

“Okay, six it is.”

“Sounds good,” Derek agreed, and then smoothly switched gears to ask again, “So, what time’s your bedtime?”

Jordan laughed. “Is this a distraction technique?”

“Asking you about when you get in bed?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe. Will you answer me if I say yes?”

“No.”

“Well, damn…”

As Derek’s voice tapered off and all that remained was silence, the reason for his deflection remained a mystery even as it lay heavy between them.

“Derek?” Jordan finally said, not wanting to lose sight of the reason Derek had sought him out in the first place.

“Yeah?”

“It’ll all work out. I don’t know what’s bothering you, but whatever it is, we’ll talk it through and work it out. Okay?”

Jordan wondered if what he was saying was a bunch of bullshit or if he really could help this guy the same way that Professor Hamilton had helped him. He hoped for both their sakes it was the latter.

“Yeah, okay. I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you at six, Devaney.”

“I’ll see you then.”

When the phone disconnected, Jordan lowered it to the coffee table and got to his feet. He headed back to his groceries, and as he went about putting the food away, he couldn’t shake the thought that whatever it was Derek needed to talk about would be something he might be unable to fix…and then what?

DEREK YAWNEDAS he glanced at the clock on the wall of the library.Fucking A.It was a little after five thirty, and he had no idea how his eyes were still open.

He was exhausted.

Grabbing his backpack off the floor, he unzipped it and fished out his notepad and textbooks. He needed to at leaststartwriting his paper, but all he could think about was getting some much-needed shuteye in a comfortable, safe place.

He closed his eyes for what he thought was a minute then startled awake, sitting up like a jack-in-the-box in his chair.Shit,he’d only meant to doze off for a ten-minute power nap, but as he checked his phone for any missed messages, he saw the time and cursed that forty minutes had passed by just as someone nudged his shoulder.

Derek craned his head to the left, and his eyes travelled up a pair of khaki shorts and an aqua shirt to land on Devaney. He was smirking at him in a way that let Derek know he’d caught him sleeping, and the heat of embarrassment crept up his neck.

“Studying hard, I see.”

Derek swallowed as Devaney walked around the front of his chair and tapped the open page of his textbook.

“At least you weren’t asleep while studying formyclass.”

Derek’s eyes tracked his professor as he moved to the aisle opposite him and leaned back against the bookshelf with his arms crossed. He really could pass as one of the students there. Devaney’s chestnut hair had grown a little longer than he’d originally worn it, and lately he’d gotten into the habit of styling the front into that faux-hawk Derek had seen on him in the newspaper article he’d…ahh, enjoyed reading. And damn, he looked really hot.

Derek cleared his throat as he closed his textbook and took a look around to see several students close by, hunkered down over their work, just like he was. He then returned his attention to the man across from him whose eyes were directly focused on his.

Unsettled by the intensity of Devaney’s scrutiny, Derek ran a hand down the top of his thigh and then tapped his knuckles on his knee. “I didn’t know when you’d be here, so I was catching up on?—”

“Some sleep?” Devaney supplied, and then walked over to where Derek was seated. He bent down and placed his hands on both arms of the chair, effectively blocking him in where he sat. That wasn’t such an easy feat for someone of his size, but again, that never did seem to deter the professor. “I’m not here to bust your ass, Derek, though I’m fairly certain a little discipline in your life wouldn’t go astray. You called me here because you wanted to talk. Am I right?”