Page 43 of Devil's Kiss

“’Kay, professor,” Derek managed, and Jordan put his foot on the gas and headed straight for home.

DEREK DIDN’T REMEMBER muchof the drive back to Jordan’s or the ride up the elevator. But when he was led down the hall and into a room that was not his own, he paused on the threshold and looked toward Jordan, who was over at the balcony opening the doors to let in some air.

When Jordan glanced back at him, concern marred his expression. As he came back to Derek’s side, he reached out a steadying arm and asked, “Are you okay? You need to get off your feet.”

Derek swallowed at the kindness in those brown eyes, and braced himself against the emotions welling up inside of him.

Of course Jordan was concerned. Who wouldn’t be when faced with someone who’d just had the shit beaten out of him? That was all this was. But as Jordan placed a hand gently on his chest, Derek couldn’t stop the way his heart ached.

“This isn’t my room.”

“No,” Jordan whispered, and took Derek’s right hand, drawing him farther into the room. He stopped them at the base of the wide bed in the center. “But since I’m not letting you out of my sight for the next”—he looked to the clock on the wall—“oh, twenty-four hours, you are going to be in here, where I can harass you incessantly about whatever comes to mind.”

Derek’s lips pulled into a tight line and the split on his lip cracked open.“Ow, fuck.”

“Okay, this is the one time you have permission not to laugh at my jokes.”

Derek grimaced.

“So come on, we’re going to clean you up. Then rest.” Jordan let go of his arm and asked, “You okay on your own for a second?”

Derek gave a nod and Jordan disappeared into the connecting bathroom to flick on a light. When he came back, he took Derek’s hand again. “All right. Let’s go.”

Derek followed him into the bright bathroom, and when his eyes narrowed and he groaned a little, Jordan apologized and moved to the light switch to turn it down.

“You have a dimmer in the bathroom?”

Jordan looked over his shoulder and shrugged. “Mood lighting.”

“Only you,” Derek mumbled.

“Oh, hush.” Jordan chuckled when he came back toward him. “Actually, no. Feel free to speak as much smack talk as you like. You get a pass tonight, and it will keep you awake. Now sit.”

Jordan pointed to a chair he must’ve moved into the bathroom, and Derek gingerly took it.

“Okay, let’s get this face cleaned up first.”

He watched Jordan move around the bathroom as he gathered a washcloth and cotton balls. Then he disappeared and came back with a first-aid kit and?—

“What’s that?”

Jordan looked at the little leather kit in his hand and grinned. “A manicure set. I usually use it for a weekly mani-pedi, but tonight I need the tweezers. You have some gravel in the cut above your eye.”

Once he placed that on the basin and filled it with warm water, he held up a finger and then vanished. As Derek looked around the opulent bathroom, he saw Jordan’s whirlpool tub and decadent shower and pushed aside any images he had of the guy in there. He remembered when he’d moved in and Jordan had told him that he could use either one.Yeah,that’d never happened, but fuck, he’d had no problem fantasizing about Jordan in it.

“Okay, mister. I think you should swallow this,” Jordan said, handing him a shot glass full of clear liquid. “Tequila, hopefully, can numb some of the pain but not put you to sleep.”

Derek brought the glass to the non-swollen side of his mouth and tipped his head back. As the fiery liquid burned a blazing path down to his gut, he handed the glass to Jordan.

“I know, but you needed something. Thisisgoing to hurt.”

For the next half-hour, Jordan washed, cleaned, and meticulously removed gravel from the wound above Derek’s eye, and when he was finished, he gently patted his face dry and took a step back.

“How much do you like this shirt?”

Derek looked down at the black tee he was wearing that had some band’s slogan on the front, then shrugged. “It’s okay.”

Jordan picked up a pair of scissors. “So it’s replaceable?”