Page 99 of Devil's Kiss

Derek knew that Jordan would’ve meticulously picked out his look. But as Jordan tucked his feet up under him and leaned into his side, Derek had never appreciated his eye for details more.

“Let me see. Jordan as a boy…” Gabrielle aimed twinkling eyes at her son, and Jordan angled his glass toward her.

“Be nice.”

“Why should I be nice? You never are. And Derek here already knows you…”

Jordan took a sip of wine and then looked back over his shoulder at Derek. “Oh, I suppose you’re right. No use trying to lie now. Have at it.”

His mother grinned at him and then aimed her eyes over at Derek. “He was too smart for his own good. Always getting into trouble?—”

“I was not?—”

“Alwaysbutting inwith an opinion of his own when people were trying to tell him things. Running with the wrong kinds of boys. You know, the bad ones.”

“Imagine that,” Derek said, and reached for his wine glass on the table and took a sip.

“Excuse me,” Jordan interjected. “I happen to remember another student who tried the badass routine all the time. He tried to get thrown out of my class.Twice.”

“We’re not talking about him, Jordan. So stop trying to distract us and drink your wine.”

“You do realize that I’m not five anymore, right?”

“Were you ever five?” his mother asked.

“Good point.”

Gabrielle winked at her son, and Derek saw Jordan in every nuance of that expression as she continued.

“I’m sure you know by now how wonderful Jordan is. His father and I couldn’t be more proud of him. Bachelor’s degree at age fourteen, PhD by twenty-one, and then a university professor to top it all off. Parents couldn’t want, or ask, for more of their child. And while the public kept a close eye on him during hiswilderyears, they backed off as he got older. His history professor really helped him to focus his energy and stay on the straight and narrow.”

“Well, the narrow, anyway,” Jordan added with a laugh.

“One thing, though, that the press will never tell you is what a wonderfully generous person he is. He doesn’t even like to advertise it.”

“Mom, you don’t have to convince him I’m more than just a pretty face. He is aware.”

“I know. But you should be proud of these things, dear. Especially this recent charity you’ve been working on getting up and running for abused and neglected children. The Pearson Project.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Derek stiffened where he sat.

No…there’s no way she just said what I think she did. Did she?

Derek felt the red-hot burn of embarrassment race up his neck as he stared across at the elegant woman watching him.

Surely he’d misunderstood what she’d just said, because if not, that meant this woman…this sophisticated, worldly woman, who happened to be Jordan’s mother, knew all about his appalling past.

Fuck.He felt like he was going to vomit. His stomach turned and his palms grew clammy as he looked between mother and son.

How much did she know? What had Jordan told her?

That his father beat him, that he was the town drunk, that he’d mooched off Jordan just so he wouldn’t have to live in some fucking dive throughout college?

Jesus,how fucking mortifying?

It was bad enough that he was coming into this relationship with Jordan at a disadvantage—the money, the condo, hell…even the brains.But now this?What was Jordan thinking spilling all his problems to his mother? To the public?

There was a reason he kept his shit private. He didn’t want to be some fucking role model or platform for people to look at and think,Oh, he’s come a long way. No.He just wanted to be left the fuck alone and forget about the miserable family that spawned him.