Devil's Kiss (Sunset Cove #2) (26 page)

“Tough shit,” Derek fired back. “Time’s up, Jordan. It’s too late.”

“Too late? You’ve been
gone
,” Jordan shouted, finally losing his temper with a punctuating stomp of his foot. He could feel the blood rushing to his face as he glowered up at the obstinate man,
and
Jesus,
he was perfection.
 

Derek’s blue eyes were locked with his, and he looked like he wanted to strangle Jordan with his bare hands, but never had anyone fit him so damn well. “You have to understand where I was coming from. One day we were—”

“Fuck buddies?” Derek supplied with an arched brow.

“Yes. And you were fine with that, from what I recall.”

“I was,” Derek agreed, and took a step forward of his own so that they were toe to toe. “But I changed. Maybe I grew up and you didn’t? I don’t fucking know. But I want more, Jordan. And when I told you that, when I
told
you that I loved you. Do you remember what you said to me?”

Jordan winced, and Derek nodded. “Exactly. You didn’t say a goddamn thing. You looked at me like I’d told you we should get married and have ten kids. So excuse me if I got a little pissed off and didn’t want to see your face.”

“Pissed off?” Jordan said. “You went to a club the next night and hooked up with someone right in front of me.”

“That wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know you were invited. Plus, I asked you once we got inside if anything had changed, and again—nothing. So what the fuck does it matter to you if I hooked up with him or not? Jealous?”

Jordan poked a finger in Derek’s chest as he narrowed his eyes at him. “If I thought for one second you went home with that guy, I wouldn’t have answered my phone today.”

Derek shook his head and gave a humorless laugh. “Bullshit. You’ll answer my calls as long as I keep dialing, and just like the fucking addict I am, I’ll never stop calling you.”
 

Wow…
It wasn’t often that he was rendered speechless, but in that moment he had nothing. Jordan wanted to deny Derek’s words, to tell him that he was wrong. But he was right.
 

Whenever Derek’s name and number flashed up on his screen, it was like his next fix was delivered straight to his veins. A high he couldn’t shake because Derek needed him. He wanted him. But having it reduced to that? Having it labeled in such a way as if it were a bad thing made it feel cheap and…sleazy.

Jordan brought a hand to his mouth and rubbed his fingers over his lips, trying for patience, and then he raised his eyes to Derek’s stormy ones. “So, just so I’m clear and I don’t misunderstand the next time I see some random guy all over you. You’re breaking up with me?”

“Breaking up with you? That would imply that we were together in the first place. Finn and Brantley, they’re together. They go to bed together, they wake up together. They go on dates in public
together
. We don’t. We fuck.”

“Not
anymore,
apparently.”
 

“Apparently,” Derek agreed in a tone that grated on Jordan’s last nerve.
 

He had just about had it. He could feel the angry heat crawling up his neck, and put his hands on his hips, ready to do battle since that was clearly what Derek wanted.
 

“Be careful, Derek. You’re showing signs of being a total asshole.”

“Well, if anyone would know what one of those looked like—”

“My, my, you
are
in a particularly caustic mood today, aren’t you?”
 

Derek shook his head but didn’t respond, obviously done with the conversation.
 

Damn him for being impossibly sexy,
Jordan thought, and in the back of his mind a voice was saying,
Let him go. If he wants to go, then let him go.
 

He took a step back, out of the elevator, and wondered if this was it. If this was how they would truly end after everything they’d been through.
 

As the heavy metal door began to close, Jordan couldn’t let him go without asking, “So, this is how it ends? How
we
end? This is what you want?”

Derek’s shoulders stiffened and his eyes blazed. “You are so clueless for a man who is supposed to be so fucking intelligent. You know that?”

Jordan flinched at the vehemence in Derek’s tone as he released the door and let him go. Nothing he’d said or done tonight was right, and the flame that burned hot and furious between them was finally threatening to consume them. So maybe it was time to put out the fire before it raged out of control.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE NEXT MORNING, Jordan shoved open his car door and squinted at the sun beaming down at him. His head was killing him, but he couldn’t blame anyone for that except himself. Once Derek had left, he’d hit his liquor cabinet and wasn’t really proud of the fact he was turning up to class today hungover.

Shoving his sunglasses up his nose, he bent at the waist to check himself out in the side mirror and was mortified by what he saw reflected back at him.
Ugh,
it was worse than he thought. He used the palm of his hand to try and smooth down the right side of his hair that was sticking out at all kinds of odd angles. But after two minutes of unsuccessfully trying to tame it, he huffed out a sigh of defeat and straightened.
 

Oh, just quit while you’re ahead, Jordan,
he told himself, and ran his fingers through it instead, hoping the unruly strands would fall in some kind of way that made him look fabulous instead of fugly.

With his head down and his brain protesting at actually having to make his legs move, he headed across the east lawn and inside to his first class. When he reached his room, he spotted Brantley standing by his door and frowned.
 

Happy and in love was so
not
what his digestion called for this morning.

“Okay, that face doesn’t look happy,” Brantley said as Jordan got closer. “Tell me, do you ever wake up in a good mood?”

As Jordan came to a standstill opposite his friend, he glanced at his watch then back at Brantley. “No. And especially not when I have to be up early enough to be here at eight on a Monday morning. So run along. I’m already late—”

“Something unusual for you.”

“
And
,” he continued, as if Brantley hadn’t spoken, “your overenthusiasm is not appreciated or wanted this morning. Please go and be put together elsewhere.”
 

“Rough night? What if I brought coffee?” Brantley asked, as he flashed a charming smile and held out a venti cup.

Jordan eyed the caffeine bribe and pursed his lips. Something was going on. When Brantley was waiting in front of his classroom this early armed with coffee, something was always going on. But
what
, was the question.

He reached for the cup, and as his fingers came close to slipping around the top of it, Brantley snatched it back and that smile of his turned smug.
 

“Okay.” Jordan sighed, placing a hand on his hip. “What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want something?”

“Well, for one, you’re holding my coffee ransom.” He paused, and then he asked, “Peppermint mocha?”

“Of course.”

“Exactly. That’s just cruel. You know I’ll do just about anything for one of those. Give it to me, Hayes.”

“No. No,” Brantley said. “First things first.”

“I knew it,” Jordan said, pointing. “I knew you wanted something.”

“Maybe, but let’s face it, you aren’t your most congenial in the mornings, so I have to use what I can to my advantage. And this morning I’m kind of glad I came armed.”

“Oh for God’s sake, spit it out. I’m already going to be walking into a room full of zombies. You think it will do them any good if their teacher turns up the same way?”

“
When
he turns up.”

“You’re hilarious this morning. Married life must be nice.”

Brantley chuckled, but quickly said, “We’re not married.”

Might as well be,
Jordan thought, and remembered how happy Brantley had been when he’d returned from chasing down Daniel Finley in Chicago, and said he was moving back to Sunset Cove. The guy hadn’t stopped smiling for two months straight, and now they were living together, picking out china patterns, and no doubt planning a wedding on the beachfront.

“Mhmm. Are you sure about that? Living it up on the beach in your little love shack with your boy toy.” Jordan whistled. “Some have all the luck.”

“Actually, that’s what I’m here about.”

Jordan really didn’t want to stand out there talking about happily-ever-afters when the one person who usually gave him his had told him to fuck off the night before. So stepping around Brantley, he placed a hand on the door handle and said, “Aww, thanks for thinking of me. You and Daniel
are
an enticing offer, but I tried being a third once and it wasn’t for me. I like to be the main attraction.” He added a wink to keep any questions about his surly mood at bay, and it worked. Brantley laughed.
 

“As thrilled as I am to know
that
piece of information, I’m here to invite you to a kind of housewarming for Finn on Saturday night.”

“A housewarming? He’s been here for two months.”

“I know. But he’s finally settled in, his stuff has arrived, and it feels like the right time to welcome him properly.”

Jordan shrugged the leather strap of his bag up his arm. “And…” he prompted when Brantley stood there silently, as if trying to choose his next words carefully.

“Well, I was just going to have a small dinner party and I wanted to invite our two closest friends. I’m hoping that we can all start to—”

“Stop. Right. There,” Jordan said, shaking his head, knowing exactly where this was going. While he would love nothing more than to be able to sit down and eat a peaceful meal with Brantley, Daniel, and Derek, considering the only time they’d all been in the same vicinity he and Derek had been in a down-and-dirty war with one another, he doubted the likelihood of such an event ever actually taking place. Hell freezing over seemed more likely.

“Come
on
, Jordan,” Brantley pleaded. “This is ridiculous. What happened between you two? Daniel called him about Saturday, but as soon as he mentioned you he said Derek got in a foul mood.”

Ass. Serves him right. He ended things with me, not the other way around
.
 

If Derek had just been patient and given him some time to adjust to the idea that Jordan loved him, then the two of them could be working this out together instead of—
Woah. Wait a minute. Did I really just admit that I…?

Jordan looked up at his friend and knew the panic he was feeling must be evident on his face, because Brantley reached out a hand and asked, “Are you okay?”

No. No, I’m not okay.
“I’m fine,” Jordan said, and even to his own ears his voice sounded uncertain.
 

“Are you sure? No offense, but you look terrible.”

God, what have I done?
Jordan thought, as he remembered all the horrible things he’d said the night before.
Shit
. He needed to call Derek, but he had class. All damn day.
 

Great,
as if he’d be able to concentrate on anything now other than tracking the guy down and…and… “Brantley?”

“Yes?”

Jordan knew he was about to sound like a goddamn nutcase, but… “Remember when you raced after Finn and told him how pathetic you were without him? How did you know?”

Brantley’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t ask questions. He just grinned a smug-ass grin, as if Jordan had just told him something he already knew. “If you’re asking me that, then you already know.” And he was right.
 

Oh my God.
Brantley is right.
 

He
did
know. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Jordan had always known. From the first time they’d met to the night he’d found Derek broken and bloodied. Yes, they’d never labeled it. Probably because the both of them were too scared to ruin a good thing, but when Derek had finally been brave enough to bring it up with him, Jordan had panicked. There was no other way to describe it. He’d had no clue what to say and royally fucked everything up—just like he had last night.

Oh God. Oh
God
.
 

He needed to fix this. And he would. Somehow.
 

Jordan grabbed Brantley’s arm and gripped it tightly. “I’ll be there Saturday. Text me the details.” When Brantley’s brow rose and his mouth opened to respond, Jordan plucked the coffee out of his hand and said, “Thanks for this. You’re a genius.”

Brantley laughed. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Right, well, don’t worry. I hear being a genius these days doesn’t mean you’re any smarter than all those around you. Set two extra places for Saturday. I’ll be there.
With
a date.”
 

* * *

DEREK GOT HOME a little after eight thirty, tossed his keys on the kitchen counter, and made a beeline for the fridge. He needed a beer. Hell, maybe two at this stage.
 

His day had been busy and long. They were in the middle of adding a sauna to the showers down at the gym, and today there had been one problem after another. Though, he had to admit, he didn’t mind standing in a room full of hot, sweaty men as they worked through the issues with the plumbing. They’d estimated the new piping they had to order would set them back about a week with the deadline. Though it wasn’t ideal, it was manageable, and Derek figured in the end the payoff would be worth it.

On the plus side, he hadn’t had time to think about a certain someone who had a bad habit of always being in his head, and he also didn’t have time to think about the other huge problem in his life.
 

His fucking father.

He’d conveniently pushed him aside in the hope that the longer he ignored the issue there was a chance that Alan would stop leaving messages on his phone. But when he’d looked on his way home this afternoon, there’d been two new messages from his brother.