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

He’d taken a long look at his life the night after that conversation and the answer had been simple—no, he wasn’t challenged. He’d become bored with his privileged lifestyle, and yes, he wanted to make a difference. He still remembered what she’d said to him moments before she’d passed.

“You were my biggest challenge, Professor Jordan Devaney. Now, go and find what makes you work the hardest, and dare yourself to make a difference.”

That had been a couple of weeks ago.

So there he was— he, Jordan Devaney, was going to endeavor to be…responsible.

Her final words still lingered as he stood there under the shower getting ready for whatever life was going to “challenge” him with. He tipped his head back and let the water sluice over his face as he thought about the day ahead.

Three classes before noon and one after. If he managed to get through those in one piece, maybe he could track down that gorgeous Professor Hayes he’d met on his campus tour and see if he would be interested in dinner.

As a friend , of course, he told himself. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to pursue that. Sex in the workplace was just too messy. Not that he’d know, since he’d never taken a job before, but that was what he’d heard.

With a sigh, he turned off the water and snagged one of the fluffy white towels hanging over the pewter hook on the wall. He rubbed it over his hair then toweled off his body before he headed to his walk-in closet to get ready for the day.

The wooden floors were the perfect temperature under his feet as he threw the towel over an armchair and perused the pants hanging in front of him. As he evaluated his choices, he groaned.

Ugh, dressing for school was going to be so boring.

He much preferred dressing for fun. Maybe when he did finally speak to Hayes he could ask if he had any tips for him that didn’t include sweaters.

Because really, who wore sweaters in Florida?

Then a brilliant idea struck him. He didn’t have to dress boringly, just…

appropriately. So why not have a little fun with his students on his first day?

Go for the shock factor. His age would already be a topic of discussion, so why not add a little outlandish attire to go with?

He reached for the brightest pair of pants he owned and smiled as he tossed them over the top of his back-to-back chest of drawers in the center of the closet.

He then slipped into a pair of tight black briefs before searching the opposite rack of hangers for a shirt.

Hmm. He glanced back at the pants. What color, what color… Oh! Yes, perfect.

Settling on a vibrant button-down, he finished getting dressed, slipped his feet into some loafers, and went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth and finish styling his hair.

It wasn’t until he walked back into his bedroom that he spotted the long line of a muscular leg sticking out from under his navy sheets.

Oh, shit. Caught up in his head about his first day of being an adult, Jordan had completely forgotten he’d left a man in his bed. One who was still there. Awkward.

Not possessing one iota of shame, he walked to the double sliding doors that led to his balcony and tugged open the curtains.

As the morning sun pierced through the glass and right into the sleeping man’s eyes, Jordan stopped by the edge of the bed and flung back the sheet, revealing one very naked man.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he singsonged.

As the mountain of muscle started to shift, Jordan took a moment to admire the play of skin over that firm ass and toned back. The man had such a different physique to his own, one that he had really, really gotten off on having under him the night before.

Yes, what a shocker—he liked to top.

“Oh, sorry, man. I didn’t realize the time.”

“Not a problem, big guy. But alas, our night together is over. I have to go and earn a living, and you need to exit the building.”

Rob…Rod, or shit, whatever his name is , sat up and swung his legs over the bed, and when his giant feet hit the floor and he stood, Jordan grabbed his jeans and held them out to him.

The guy was massive. He had him by at least three inches and fifty pounds, but hell if that hadn’t made it more exciting when he’d been begging for Jordan to give it to him harder, harder…

Shit. Focus. He’s leaving. “Seriously, hon, you need to get dressed and skedaddle,” Jordan said with a waggle of his fingers toward the bedroom door. “Or I’m going to be late.”

Rod— yes, I’m positive it’s Rod —pulled on his jeans and buttoned them as he gave a shy smile that was at odds with his pierced nipples and shaved head. “Can I call you?”

And there was the rub. The problem he’d always had with letting someone wake up beside him: they never just…

left. Jordan opened his mouth to say something along the lines of probably not , but he was saved from having to break the poor guy’s heart because his phone started an incessant ring throughout his condo.

He held his finger up and dashed into his closet to hunt down the cell.

Shit, shit, shit… Where had he left the damn thing? Flinging several shirts over his shoulder to the floor, he hunted under a pair of shorts, and a bathrobe, then spotted his messenger bag slung over the closet handle. Jackpot.

Racing to it, he got his fingers around the noisemaker just as his mother’s call went to voicemail. Oh great. Just great. She will not let me hear the end of that, he thought, as he spotted Rod heading toward the private elevator.

Pocketing the phone, Jordan followed and then leaned around him to press the down button. As the door opened, Rod walked backward inside and raised a brow. “Do you ever visit North Carolina at all?”

Pursing his lips a little, Jordan shook his head. “Hmm, not recently.”

“No problem. Last night was…unexpected. You’re a real firecracker.”

Jordan gave a shrug and winked. “Like lightning in a bottle, baby. I’m hard to capture or contain,” he said as the door slid shut and his guest went down one more time during their acquaintance.

Jordan dashed back into his bedroom, grabbed his car keys and the bag he’d been rifling through a minute ago, then snagged a banana and headed back to the elevator.

First day of college, here I come. It was time to head for class . Huh , he thought with a grin. This felt eerily reminiscent of his teenage years. A boy leaving his bed and his mother calling just in time to ruin the moment, or in this case, save him from an awkward one .

He really was lucky to have such wonderful parents, and he counted his blessings each and every day for that. It had taken him a few years before he’d been comfortable enough to embrace all that he was, but now that he had, he lived by a simple motto.

No excuses.

No apologies.

And not one damn regret.