Page 67 of Devil's Kiss

Jordan brushed past him hard enough that their shoulders connected, and as he stormed out the door, Derek turned and watched him go.

PRESENT

“Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find

You and I collide.”

~ Collide, Howie Day

Chapter 18

IT TOOK HIM less than ten minutes to pull into the underground parking garage of the Palisades and take the elevator up to where his drug of choice waited for him. He glanced up into the camera in the corner of his metallic confines and stared boldly into the face of the one who was waiting at the other end of this ride.

Yeah, he was about to fall off the fucking wagon big time. Was about to slide back into the one place he promised himself he wouldn’t go again. Yet as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, there was no denying this was exactly what he wanted.

“I have thirty minutes,” were the words that greeted him.

Derek walked off the elevator and over to the naked man waiting for him. He took the haughty chin between his thumb and forefinger and promised in a voice thick with arousal, “I only need ten. Take me to your room, Jordan. Time’s a wasting.”

AS THEIR WORDSechoed around the open living room, Derek devoured the supple skin of Jordan’s back as he turned and walked, unapologetically naked, across his tiled floor toward his bedroom.

Fuck,he knew he shouldn’t be there, especially since this was the first time he’d seen Jordan since that horrible night at Boyz two months ago. But after speaking to his brother yet again about helping out his piece of shit dad, and then going to welcome Finn back to Sunset Cove only to find him and Brantley all over each other, Derek hadn’t been able to stop himself from reaching for the phone and the one person whoevermade any sense in his life.

So much for staying strong and letting Jordan call him.What a crock of shit.

Jordan’s penthouse was as familiar to Derek as his own apartment, and with every step he took, his cock throbbed a little harder in anticipation. Following Jordan’s lead, he kicked off his flip-flops and stepped over the threshold into a room he’d seen in many different capacities. Today, though, he was there for one particular reason, and the naked man heading toward his bedside table knew it.

Once Jordan had tossed a condom and lube on the mattress, he strolled back around the end of the bed and tilted his head so he was looking directly up at him. Derek’s chest rose and fell as he waited for whatever Jordan would do next.

It sucked to know that this man was exactly who he needed, even as his brain was calling him a fucking moron for being back there.

Jordan’s knowing eyes took his measure, and just as Derek knew he would, Jordan took control. “Get on your knees,” he told him, and Derek went to them with no questions asked.

Still dressed in his shorts and tank top, Derek was aware he was several steps behind the man who was about to drive him insane. But that was why he was there, to lose his damn mind, and no one other than Jordan had ever come close to being able to pull him out of his jacked-up headspace when he was stuck there, just as he was now.

He aimed his eyes up at Jordan, and there was no doubt in his mind as to why he was the only one who was able to offer solace while at the same time unravel him. It was the very reason Derek had walked away—he loved him.

“Well, you sure know how to hold a grudge,” Jordan said, as he gently stroked the back of his index finger down the line of Derek’s jaw. When he reached his chin, he took it between his thumb and forefinger, holding Derek in place as he asked, “What made you change your mind?”

Derek tried to pull his head back, but Jordan held him still.

“I thought you only had thirty minutes,” Derek reminded him.

“And you said you only needed ten. That leaves me twenty to listen to your explanation.” Jordan moved then so his lips were by his ear and told him, “Start talking, Derek, or you aren’t going to get what you want.”

“I’m not going to getthatanyway,” he said, and turned his head so he could nip at Jordan’s plump lower lip. As he caught and sucked it into his mouth, he reveled in the way that Jordan’s pupils dilated and his breath caught. It was intoxicating to be under Jordan’s spell again. But to know that he had the power to make Jordan stumble ramped that high up even more.

He brought a hand up to touch Jordan’s face, but the guy was lightning quick, wrapping his fingers around Derek’s wrist and holding him off.

“Uh uh…talk first.”

“Jordan,” he said.

“Derek…” Jordan batted his lashes, and Derek shut his eyes, knowing it was the only way to stop himself from begging.

Most days he was convinced that Jordan was the devil. A beautiful seduction put in his path to offer salvation at the cost of one thing—his soul. It was those days that Derek told himself he should steer clear, and he’d finally managed two full months without craving him in some fucking way.