Devil's Kiss (Sunset Cove #2) (22 page)

Jesus,
Derek looked beyond hot. He was attitude and sex in a suit. One that Jordan desperately wanted to peel him out of.

Hands started to fly up around him and the bids rolled in. The auctioneer was going on about “talents” and “measurements” as Derek strolled up the stage to the left then turned to walk back to the center before heading to the right. The more Derek walked, the more confident he became, and on his second pass of the left-hand side his eyes roved over the crowd and found Jordan’s.

To Derek’s credit, he didn’t falter, he merely slowed his pace and narrowed his eyes a fraction, which anyone in the crowd would think he was doing to look suave and sexy, but Jordan knew better.
 

Derek was watching him now. Had him in his sights,
and hell
, that look had Jordan edging back into the crowd away from Brantley, who’d been swallowed up by the sea of men. When Jordan was as far back as he could get, he looked at the man standing beside him. He was tall, taller than he was, at least, and that was when he was struck with a brilliant plan.

Jordan placed a hand on the man’s arm and leaned up to speak in his ear. With the music so loud and the crowd going nuts, the man had to lean down, and Jordan said, “I will give you a hundred dollars to stand here and bid on that man. One dollar over
every
bid, no matter how high it goes, until you win.”

The man’s eyes widened and Jordan pulled a hundred from his wallet.

“Deal?”

The man looked back to the stage and raised his hand, issuing the first bid. When Derek’s eyes flew to his bidder, and then to Jordan, this time his feet did falter.
 

Mhmm…
Derek always had been smart, and Jordan was positive that he knew exactly which man was going to be taking him home tonight.

* * *

HOLY SHIT. HE would know that face anywhere.
 

When Derek had first stepped onto the stage and the lights had shone into his eyes, he’d squinted, trying to see if he knew anyone in the crowd. Then about a minute into the ridiculous song, like a magnetic fucking pull, his eyes had drifted to a man watching him, and there, standing in the rowdy crowd of men, was Jordan Devaney. And
God
he looked amazing.

In tight jeans and an even tighter lightweight black V-neck, Jordan looked sexy. So damn sexy. And the heat that fired his eyes when he’d checked out Derek’s tux made it close to impossible for Derek to remain decent.

“Okay, it looks like we have a bit of a bidding war happening. The young redhead down the front here and the gentleman in the back.”

Derek’s eyes darted to the tall man who Jordan had been standing beside, to see that he was now alone. Jordan was nowhere in sight.

Where the hell did he go?
Derek had been positive Jordan would try and make a play for him. Lord knows he was arrogant enough to buy ten minutes of his time. But he was gone. And it pissed him off that he was disappointed.

“Do I hear a final bid?”

When the man in the back shouted out a preposterous amount of money that Derek didn’t believe he
actually
warranted, the auctioneer hit the gavel to the podium and declared him sold.

Well, fuck.
He’d hoped when he’d seen Jordan that he’d—
Jesus, stop already.
 

“Congratulations, to the gentleman in the back. I have to say, you had a real run for your money tonight. If you head out the exit on your left, you can pay the lady by the stage door and then we’ll let you back to meet up with your date.”

Derek heard the whoops and whistles as his “date” made his way through the crowd. He did as he’d been instructed before heading on stage and took a bow, which the crowd loved, then pivoted on his heel and walked behind the curtain.
 

As he stepped backstage, Dylan stood there with a huge smile. He was up next, and Derek wondered if the guy was crazy enough to actually enjoy this kind of thing.
 

“Two thousand and one dollars.” Dylan shook his head and then clapped his arm. “I knew you’d break one K, but two? Hot damn.”

“By a dollar. That hardly counts,” Derek pointed out.

“Someone just paid two thousand dollars for your time, and Derek, it all counts. Now hurry along—your Richard Gere awaits you through those doors.”

“I thought you said I didn’t have to fuck the guy.”

Dylan frowned and then busted up laughing. “You don’t. I was thinking more Lancelot and less
Pretty Woman
.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I just heard my name, so…wish me luck out there.”

“Oh please, you’ll bring in three grand easy with that face.”

Dylan pulled the curtain aside. “Hey, it’s hard being this pretty.”

“Yeah, for the other guys looking at you.”

Dylan waved his hand over his head and called out, “Have a good time on your date.” Then he disappeared out onto the stage.

Derek made his way to the side exit, and as he stepped out into the hall he came face to face with Jordan, who was lounging back against the wall with his ankles crossed and his hands deep in his pockets.

Derek looked him over, and before Jordan had a chance to speak, he said, “You’re not supposed to be back here.”

He unbuttoned his tux jacket and headed down the narrow hallway. As he did, he saw Jordan out of the corner of his eye and knew that he was following.

When Derek got to the room where he and Dylan had been told they could freshen up, he pushed inside, hoping to find it full, but instead found it the complete opposite.
 

As the door opened and shut behind him, he knew Jordan was standing there and decided to hell with this. Why was he nervous? It had been three years since he’d seen the guy.
 

He hadn’t called him. He didn’t need him. But when he turned around and saw Jordan with his hands on his hips and an exasperated expression on his face, Derek sure as fuck wanted him.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, as Jordan took a step forward.

“I’ve come to collect my date.”

“
Your
date?” Derek asked, hearing the incredulity in his own tone as he looked around for the guy who had purchased him.

“Yes. I won you, after all. Now I get to take you on a date. So…do you have any place in particular you’d like to go?”

Derek crossed his arms over his chest. “With you? Nowhere. I’m not going on a date with you.”

Jordan pursed his lips in a pout, and it galled Derek that he wanted to kiss it right off his mouth. “After all this time, you’re still mad at me.”

Fuck yes, he was. Not that he’d ever admit that. “Actually, I don’t feel anything about you at all.”

“Liar,” Jordan said as he walked toward him.

“What do you want, Jordan?”

“Well, since I just paid a little over two thousand dollars for your time, how about we start with that.”

Derek sighed. “This is insane, even for you.”

Jordan laughed, clearly taking that as a compliment. “Oh, I didn’t come here tonight with the knowledge that you were going to be up for sale. That was just a happy coincidence. But now that I’m here, I thought it was my duty to let you know how hot you look in that tux.”

The guileless eyes Jordan aimed at him didn’t fool Derek for a second. The guy was certifiable. They hadn’t seen each other in years, yet the second Jordan flashed the right look his way, Derek felt himself wanting to fall back under his spell. Jordan was his fucking kryptonite.

“You paid that much money to tell me I look good in a suit? You shouldn’t have bothered. My roommate told me for free.”

Jordan’s eyes narrowed and he shrugged. “
Hot
is what I believe I said. And I don’t care who told you. They’re not me. And we both know you like hearing it from my lips best.”

Derek close to growled with frustration because,
fuck
, Jordan was right. Then, for the first time in three years, Jordan reached out and touched him. His fingertip grazed the line of his jaw, and before he could remove it, Derek captured Jordan’s wrist and held it in place.

“Why?” he demanded again. “Why are you here?”

“I told you, it was a coincidence.”

“One you couldn’t let pass by. You just
had
to make sure that I saw you up close, huh? Is it a thrill to know that after all these years you still make my dick hard?”

Jordan shook his head. “No. I mean, it is a thrill. But you’re wrong. It was the other way around. I wanted to see
you
up close. It’s been so long, Derek. You don’t call me anymore. And I never see you.”

“So you paid two thousand dollars for the privilege? Jordan, I’m pretty easy to find for free.”

“Yes, but you made it clear by staying away that you didn’t want to be found.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, whatever…” Derek muttered.
 

“I just thought it would be nice to catch up. I don’t know. We were friends too at one point, weren’t we?”

Derek laughed, but the sound lacked any kind of joy. “Is that what you want now?” he asked, his voice lowering several octaves. “To be my friend?”

Jordan grimaced, and Derek wondered if the thought of being “just” friends felt as wrong to Jordan as it did to him.
 

“Has something changed that I don’t know about?” Derek asked. “Because I’m sorry, I don’t want to be your friend. And the last conversation we had, you told me that you had no desire to date anyone.”

As the words left his mouth, Derek saw Jordan’s cheeks flame, and he shifted his feet as though he were uncomfortable. The silence that then fell between them was like a dead weight, and as if a light bulb switched on inside of Derek’s head, he shoved off the wall and pointed at Jordan.
 

“You’re seeing someone,” he said, and Jordan took a step back. Not surprising, considering any idiot could see Derek’s temper had just been flipped the fuck on.
 

He advanced on Jordan, who retreated, and for the first time in their ever-changing relationship, Jordan looked nervous.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Jordan tilted his chin up, defiant as always, and finally answered, “Maybe. I mean. Yes. Kind of.”

When Jordan’s back met the wall, Derek kept coming until he had him pinned against it and was now caging him in with a palm on either side of his head. Even after all this time, and with no real claim on the guy, the thought of someone other than himself with Jordan made Derek close to homicidal.
 

It should’ve been me,
he thought, as he fumed down at Jordan.
But it never fucking is.

“Did you really just pay that much money to tell me you’re dating someone else?” Derek was aware that he sounded beyond pissed, but his tolerance for bullshit and etiquette had just run out.

“No, I just wanted to—“

Derek took Jordan’s chin in his hand, effectively stopping his words, then he brushed their lips together and whispered, “Don’t lie to me. You have never lied to me. Not even when it fucking hurt.”

Jordan brought a hand up and encircled his wrist, and the expression that flashed in his eyes made Derek’s breath get lodged in his throat. He looked torn.
 

“I paid that much money on impulse because I saw you and wanted to touch you. That’s the truth. It’s as simple as that.”

“But you’re dating someone else?” Derek asked one last time, and Jordan closed his eyes and nodded.
 

Derek’s body trembled at the impact of that silent but final answer, and as he stood there looking down at the one man he’d always wanted but was forever out of his reach, he pressed a kiss to the corner of Jordan’s mouth and said, “One of these days, we will get this right.”

When Jordan’s eyes opened and he stared up at him, Derek released his wrist and said, “But it’s not going to be today.”

And with that, Derek exited stage left.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Four Years Later

DEREK STOOD AT the front doors of Pearson’s Total Fitness and couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He’d done it. He’d really gone and done it.
 

Today was the opening of his very own business. The gym he’d been dreaming about owning since he’d finished college, and today it was finally happening.
 

The red ribbon had been cut, the doors had parted, and the distinct sound of weight machines clinging and clanging as they were used could be heard. He couldn’t believe that after all this time he’d finally achieved what he’d set out to do.
 

His staff were all smiles as they signed up client after client with their opening-month promotion, and Derek was relieved to be past the building portion of the project and into the running and enjoying aspect of his hard work.

He waved at Kelly, his front desk girl on the weekdays, and wove his way through the machines that lined the back mirror toward his office entrance. His office was an additional room he’d had built onto the back of the facility that faced the main strip of the beach.
 

After stepping out into the fresh air, he inhaled and tipped his face up into the sun.
Yeah
, this was what he’d been talking about.
Living the dream, baby.
 

So he had debt he had to pay off, but at least it was his debt. He didn’t mind working to pay back loans for a business he loved and would work his ass off to have succeed, and as he unlocked the door to the enclosed patio office, he smiled at his little corner of the world. He loved it there. It might not be an empire, but it was his. All of it. Well, his and the bank’s, for now.

He headed for the windows and opened them up to let in the sea breeze before he walked around the small couch to his desk. Sitting behind it, he booted up his laptop to go through his email and saw one from Daniel Finley.
 

Jesus
, it’d been a long time since he’d heard from Danny boy—last Christmas, he thought—but the sight of the name in bold staring back at him made Derek smile. He’d missed his friend. He clicked open the message and saw that it was fairly standard, nothing out of the ordinary. It basically updated him on Finn’s life and mentioned that someday soon he’d get home and see everyone, and even though Derek knew Finn meant it, he had a feeling that it would be a cold day in hell before Daniel Finley ever set foot back in Sunset Cove. Unless, of course, the one who sent him away groveled, or asked him home.
Like that will ever happen.