Page 17 of Devil’s Kiss (Sunset Cove #2)

Jordan’s heart ached at the longing he heard in Derek’s voice, and he had a sudden thought of his own family. He really should give his mother a call. It’d been a few weeks, and he knew she’d love to hear from him.

As he fiddled with the sleeve of his coffee cup, Jordan knew what he was about to do next was unwise. It was likely the dumbest idea he’d had to date, and really, he didn’t do dumb. But there was no way he was going to let Derek leave this café to go back to some motel full of God only knew what.

“What if you come and stay with me?”

The words sounded odd, even to his own ears as they fell off his tongue. But Derek’s stunned look of what the fuck made them feel even more out of place.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Why can’t I?” Jordan shot back, even as the voice in his head was telling him this was a bad idea .

But he was already in it now. If he backed out he’d look like he was worried, or worse, thinking this would be some kind of illicit setup where he moved a sexy student into his rich penthouse to fuck?—

“Well, for starters,” Derek said, breaking Jordan from his completely inappropriate thoughts, “I’m pretty positive you don’t like me too much.”

“That’s not true.”

Derek’s eyebrows winged up until they practically hit his hairline. Okay, so they’d had a few run-ins as professor and student, but that didn’t mean Jordan disliked him. “It’s not my job to make you think that I like you or that we’re friends, Derek. It’s my job to teach you.”

An unreadable spark lit Derek’s blue eyes, then he sat up in his chair as if he found it difficult to sit still.

“Wouldn’t you get in trouble?” he asked. “You know, if someone found out?”

Yes. “Maybe. But I can’t let you sleep in some flea-infested motel. What kind of person would I be if I saw someone in trouble and didn’t help them? It’s not like it would be permanent. And I’m not your teacher anymore, so there’s no conflict of interest with your grades.”

Derek chewed on his upper lip and his eyes narrowed. “I’m not some kind of charity case, you know.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Jordan blew out an exasperated breath.

Patience was never one of his strong suits.

“This isn’t charity. Trust me, I contribute to plenty of those and know the difference.

This isn’t pity either. It isn’t anything other than me offering you a spare room and bed to sleep in.

My place is—” He stopped himself from saying enormous .

“I have a couple of spare rooms. You can take one until you can apply for, and move into, an apartment. Much better than wasting your money on some place that isn’t safe. ”

“So, you’re doing this because you’re worried about my safety? I thought you said I was a badass.”

“The only person you’re going to require safety from in the next few seconds is me if you don’t stop acting like such a shit.”

Derek finally relaxed and chuckled, the sound breaking the tension for the first time since the conversation had taken a turn toward the serious.

“You keep implying that you could take me on and win. But I gotta say, Devaney, I’m not buying it.”

Jordan finished his coffee then placed his cup on the table, silently sizing Derek up. The guy may have him beat in size, but when it came to confidence, Jordan didn’t doubt himself for one second.

He got to his feet and took a step forward so he was standing beside the table and Derek, who was smirking up at him.

“First, don’t call me Devaney. My name is Jordan, unless you see me in school, where it will always be Professor Devaney.

” His reprimand was meant to come out professional and keep the two of them on the same page after this odd conversation.

But Derek’s eyes darkened and Jordan’s breath caught at the desire swirling in them.

Oh shit, he likes it when I get on him like this, and fuck if that didn’t keep his mouth from delivering words he knew that he shouldn’t.

“Second. If I ever decided to take you on in any capacity, you can rest assured by the end of it you would be the one to surrender. Not the other way around. Now, if you’re interested in the offer, I’ll show you my place.”

When Derek pushed his chair back and unfolded himself from the chair, the wooden scrape of the legs on the floor was the only sound Jordan could hear over the thumping of his heart.

God, the guy was overwhelming, but Jordan would be damned if he moved back.

“Duly noted, Jordan . And yes, I’m interested.

” Derek’s voice was raspy, and Jordan knew exactly where his mind had gone because, damn it, despite his good intentions, his had gone there too.

He wasn’t sure if he should stress that this was just a living arrangement, but then he remembered their previous conversation in the car and figured it was pretty clear on both their sides that they definitely were not interested in something as complicated as fucking each other would be.

So with that in mind, Jordan backed up and picked up the paper bag that held Derek’s uneaten salted caramel bar.

“Good. Then let’s go. On the way over, you can explain to me again why you don’t eat sweets, because that is just plain wrong.”