Page 35 of Devil's Kiss

Derek laughed at Jordan’s over-the-top attitude, but nodded. “Yeah, it did.”

“See, there’s a method to my madness. Notjustmadness.”

Derek took a sip of his wine, feeling like a bit of a buffoon with his big hands and the tiny glass. “I don’t think you’re mad at all,” he said, surprising himself with his sincerity. “I actually think you’re kind of amazing.”

Jordan’s playful attitude sobered in an instant, and he gave Derek a serious look. The expression made Derek’s heart skip, and he wondered if Jordan felt the pull the same way he did. His question was soon answered when Jordan sat forward and placed his glass on the coffee table. He then turned to face Derek and said with the utmost sincerity, “I have to be clear about one thing here, Derek. I won’t get involved with you. Not in any way beyond friends.”

Feeling like a fucking idiot for his moment of honesty, Derek shot to his feet and cursed. What was he thinking saying that out loud?Way to make a guy feel uncomfortable, he thought, as he headed back to his bag where it lay by the elevator. He pushed the down button, hoping it would open up and swallow him whole, then Jordan’s fingers touched his arm and he stepped up beside him.

“Hey, don’t go. That’s not what I meant.”

Derek looked down at Jordan, and with his shoes off and a wine glass in his hand, he looked…well… Oh, fuck it. The guy looked gorgeous.

“I just wanted to be clear that this is merely a platonic arrangement. That I don’t expect you to pay in”—Jordan frowned and then shrugged—“other ways.”

“You mean like sex? Are you trying to tell me I don’t have to let you fuck me to stay?”

“Derek,” Jordan grumbled, and whacked his arm.

“Well, are you?”

Jordan gave him a pointed look. “Yes. I guess if you want to be crude about it. I’m just saying that this is merely a landlord and tenant situation, and at college, a student and professor one.”

Derek nodded and faced him. “Got it. And in there anywhere, are we friends?”

Jordan gave a long-suffering sigh and drained his wine glass. “Well, I guess. Iwillhave to see you every day. Now can you please stop bolting for the door every time things don’t go your way?”

“Sure,” Derek agreed, and dropped his bag to head back through the living room and toward a long, narrow hallway Jordan was walking down.

“So just to clarify, that means we will be sleeping in separate bedrooms…right?”

Jordan smirked as he looked over his shoulder. “Smartass.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be crystal clear and not misunderstand anything,landlord.”

“I sleep in there.” Jordan pointed to an enormous room with floor-to-ceiling doors that were opened to a closet that someone could, in all likelihood, go missing in.

Derek whistled. “Impressive, emperor, and where do the commoners sleep?”

Jordan laughed, and the sound was free and easy, the best fucking noise Derek had heard all day.

“You, lowly peon, may choose from the six spare rooms available.”

“Six?”

“Yes, six.”

“Okay, how about you just point me in the direction of one and I’ll take it.”

Jordan’s grin was cheeky as he walked ahead of Derek with what he could’ve sworn was added swing to his hips. “I do like a man who doesn’t mind being told what to do.”

And yeah,fuck him, this friendship business was going to be a goddamn challenge. Likely one of the hardest he’d ever face, if his eager cock had any say in the matter.

Chapter 10

One Year Later

FINALS. IT WAS always the most stressful time of the semester, and as Derek stared at the economics textbook in front of him, he swore his eyes were starting to cross. It was well after two in the morning and he had to be up in,shit, four hours.