Devil's Kiss (Sunset Cove #2) (8 page)

Trying to work out what the hell to say to Finn’s confession, he shut his eyes for a second and tried to drown out the loud beat of the dance music that was throbbing throughout the house. He was surprised the windows weren’t rattling from the vibration. His head sure as shit was.
 

He couldn’t believe what had just come out of Finn’s mouth. He glowered at him, irrationally pissed that the one person he wanted to talk him out of the most moronic idea he’d ever had was having the same damn one.
 

Motherfucker.
“Are you out of your damn mind?”

As soon as the words spewed out of his mouth, Derek knew they were the wrong ones to say. The smile that had been across Finn’s face slipped a notch. “No. I mean it. I think he’s really hot.”

“Then you’re an idiot. As well as drunk.”

He watched Finn’s shoulders tense, and even though they were roughly the same height and he was trying to be intimidating, the slight sway to Finn’s stance lessened the impact.
 

“Fuck you, man. I’m not drunk.”

“Yeah, you are,” Derek said, shaking his head. He threw his cup in a large trash can and took a step toward Finn.

“Am not.”

“Listen to what you’re saying, Danny boy—”

“What? That I like Professor Hayes?”

“Yeah…,” he said, and looked around. “You might want to keep that little tidbit to yourself.”

Finn scanned their surroundings and then shrugged. “No one’s listening.”

“If you think that, you’re an even bigger dumbass than I originally thought.” He knew he was being a dick, but hearing Finn say out loud what he himself had been tossing around in his head made him see what a gigantic mistake it would be.
 

“You’re being an asshole.”

“Why? ’Cause the truth hurts?”

“You know what? I wanted to talk to my friend about this. But maybe you can tell him to come find me when he shows up, because you’re acting like a judgmental prick.”

Before Derek could grab Finn’s arm, his friend walked out of the back door to the strip of beach that Bianca’s house looked out over. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
 

Fucking hell
, he
was
being judgmental. That was totally unlike him. Usually he wouldn’t give a shit who Finn liked. He would likely be the one encouraging a sex-a-thon with his hot professor. So what the hell was his problem? Oh yeah, he wanted the exact same thing.

Deciding one shot of tequila was allowed considering the circumstances, he snatched up a glass, downed it, and then walked toward the back door. He needed to find Finn and let him know everything was cool. The guy had been stumbling and swaying on his feet, and just because Derek didn’t know what to do about his jacked-up reactions to Devaney didn’t mean that Finn was in the same situation. He owed it to his buddy to hear him out.
 

Heading down the stairs to the long stretch of sand, he looked to his right and then his left, and there was Finn, a fair way up for someone who was three sheets to the wind.

Derek sucked in a breath and decided right then to forget about his whacked-out fantasies. It wasn’t like anything would ever come of it. Devaney was rich as a king, smarter than Derek even knew was possible, and probably thought he was a ridiculous kid he had to teach—if he even thought about him at all. So there was no need to hash it all out.
 

Finn, on the other hand, obviously wanted to talk, and what kind of friend would Derek be if he wasn’t there to listen?

As he caught up with his friend, he called out his name. “Yo, Finn! Finn, you drunk asshole. Wait up. I’m not gonna let you walk home by yourself.” And when Finn rounded to face him, he added, “Don’t go off all half-cocked—ha! Get it? Half-cocked?” trying to get a grin.
 

There was no immediate smile, but Finn did stop and wait for him, and Derek gave a sigh of relief, knowing that was his sign. Everything between them would be okay.

* * *

AS THE INCESSANT beat of the techno dance music throbbed throughout the club and vibrated through his body, Jordan shut his eyes and let his head fall back on the shoulder of the man behind him.
 

Mhmm,
he’d needed this tonight. Boy had he been wired when he got home today. Not only wired. But horny. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so fired up. But
man oh man
, he thought—then laughed despite himself, because, yeah baby, sometimes two men were better than one. He’d tried that in the past, but really, all he wanted tonight was someone fun, frivolous, and very fucking capable of getting him off. And August was that man.

Jordan had his hands looped around the back of his friend’s neck as he gyrated his hips against the rigid cock aligning his ass, and he felt fantastic. Several minutes earlier he’d peeled his top off and shoved it into the pocket of his skintight jeans. As August ran his hands down his ribs to his waist and then
, yesss, a little lower
, Jordan let himself get lost in the delicious feel of being seduced.

He knew that’s exactly what August was doing, too. He’d known August since he was thirteen and on a family vacation in Lake Como, Italy.
Yeah
, if he and his family were rich, he wasn’t sure what that made August.
But the term
out of this world
sprang to mind.
 

From that first vacation when they’d met, the two of them had been inseparable every summer, and when they’d turned fifteen and experimented with a few kisses and fumbling hands, they’d quickly discovered that the both of them were extremely compatible when it came to getting naked and having some casual fun.
 

August’s large palm flattened over the zipper of his jeans, and Jordan quickly added his own to increase the pressure so he could grind a little harder against that hand. He heard August’s wicked chuckle in his ear but didn’t give a fuck. It’d been too long since he’d been with someone who knew all the right buttons to push, so he was going to enjoy this to its full potential.
 

When August’s mouth skimmed across the shell of his ear, Jordan twisted his fingers under the dark shoulder-length hair that curled against his friend’s neck and tugged his head down so he could take those laughing lips in a hot, sweaty kiss.

Perspiration ran down Jordan’s temple and his body felt fevered as the song switched and an anthem with lyrics about
respect
blasted from the speakers. Jordan halted as the words filtered through his mind, and then shook his head, trying to shake them loose. He tried to lose himself in the rhythm and his partner, but as the lyrics continued on a loop in his head, a very different face was coming to mind. One with a brazen stare and an audacious tongue, and for a second, he lost his fucking footing.
 

When the heel of his boot came down on August’s toes, August cursed in his ear and tight fingers wrapped around one of his wrists. Jordan was spun around and yanked in close to his date, who lowered his head so he could speak directly in his ear. “Want to watch your feet, J? Or mine, for that matter?”

Jordan found August’s dark eyes and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, hon. I got distracted for a second there.”

“Yeah, I noticed. It’s all good. But now my foot’s throbbing as hard as my cock. Why don’t we take a breather? I could use a drink anyway.”

Jordan smiled and slipped his hand into August’s then led him off the dance floor. They ordered a couple of drinks and headed over to a more secluded spot where a booth was being vacated. Jordan slid in one side and patted the faux leather beside him, inviting August to sit close by. When his friend followed his suggestion and took a seat so their thighs touched, Jordan gave a flirty wink and brought his apple martini to his lips. He took a sip and let his eyes roam over August’s dark hair, stubbled jaw line, and the dark eyeliner he’d used to make his eyes and lashes stand out.
 

August was an extremely sexy man. A braided leather strap wrapped around his neck had a stone pendant at the base of his throat, and it invited one to look at the strong column of his neck and fantasize about kissing and licking it. He’d done that on many occasions, and had planned to enjoy the hell out of doing it tonight. But somewhere in the last ten minutes, his desire to let his freak flag fly had fizzled out and he was sitting there thinking about Derek Pearson.
What the hell?

“Hey,” August said, and waved a hand in front of his face. When Jordan blinked and refocused on him, his friend frowned and lowered his glass to the table. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just—”

“Distracted. I know. You’re giving me a complex here, J.”

Jordan laughed at that. “Oh
please
. As if you could ever have a complex. One crook of your little finger and you could have any guy in here.”

August gave a wolfish grin and dipped his head in acknowledgment of the truth, and then he leaned in close and took Jordan’s drink from him, setting it on the table. “But I’m not here for just
any
guy. You already know that.”

When August traced a finger along his lower lip, Jordan reached out to take a hold of his wrist. This was exactly what he’d wanted tonight. A hot night with an even hotter bed partner, but instead of sucking on that finger and biting down on it, Jordan pulled it away.
 

Sidetracked by the image of teaching a certain student of his a lesson on respect from down on his knees, Jordan sighed dramatically and let his head fall back with his eyes closed as he cursed his flagging libido.
Fuck.

“All right. What the hell is going on with you? You’re a hot mess. Or not so hot, I should say.”

Letting out a breath of air, Jordan brought his head back up to face his friend and rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot.”

August gripped his chin and moved in to press a brisk kiss to his lips. “You know what I mean. You look phenomenal as always, but your mind…it isn’t in my pants, where I was hoping it would be. So where the fuck is it?”

Ugh,
August was right. There Jordan was on a Friday night with the surest thing to an epic orgasm sitting next to him, and he was busy thinking about Derek goddamn Pearson.
 

 
“J?” August said again, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah.” Jordan sighed.
 

“What’s wrong?”

He reached for the martini August had taken away from him and decided if he was going to actually admit he was sitting there thinking about a student to this playboy, he should do it while sucking back some alcohol. When he finished, he saw one of August’s dark eyebrows arch and quickly said, “I was just thinking about one of my students.”

When a salacious grin split August’s lips, Jordan brought a finger up and wagged it at him. “Oh no, it’s not like that.” Even though it kinda was.

“Like what?” August asked, feigning innocence.

Jordan couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips. “Whatever filthy thoughts you’re thinking over there.”

August let out a deep, rumbling laugh. “I’m not thinking those.”

“Bullshit.”

“What? I’m not.” August winked. “But I bet your students are about you.”

He laughed at his friend’s audacity. “You’re so bad. Not only is that frowned upon, that is
not
the issue here.”

“Are you sure?”

No.
“Of course I’m sure. One of my students is…in some trouble, I think. But he’s also a total smartass. Hard to talk to. A real handful.”

“How would you know he’s a handful
,
if it’s not like that?”

Realizing what he’d said and what August was implying, Jordan screwed his nose up and whacked him on the arm. “Shut up. I’m being serious here.”

August flashed his killer grin and shrugged. “Okay, but if we’re really going to sit here and talk about work, I need another drink,” August said, and Jordan wanted to slap himself on the back of the head.
 

What is wrong with me?
August didn’t care about his work issues. He was there for a good time, not to hear about Jordan’s concerns that one of his students had home problems. The same student he couldn’t stop imagining getting naked with.
 

Shit.
Maybe he’d talk about this on Monday with Brantley. Someone who could sympathize with him and understand where he was coming from.
Minus the whole “I want to sleep with my student” part.

Mentally shoving aside any thoughts of work, Jordan pushed up onto his knee and moved until he was straddling August’s lap, catching him off guard. He placed his hands on August’s shoulders and whispered against his lips.

“Forget it. It’s nothing. Maybe I just need some help unwinding.”

August’s hands stroked up his spine, but the frown he’d adopted earlier remained. “That’s not what I meant. I was gonna suggest after this we head out and go somewhere a little quieter. There’s obviously something on your mind.”

Or someone. How inconvenient.

Jordan shook his head. “Nope. You’re here for one night, right?”

“Mhmm,” August agreed, and Jordan rolled his hips forward and brushed his hardening cock over his friend’s obvious erection. “Hell, J. Stop it unless you’re going to—”

Pleased he’d finally gotten August’s mind back on the night’s activities, Jordan climbed off his lap.

“Oh, I’m going to,” he assured him, and held out a hand. “Now get your hot ass out of that booth. We’re going back to my place.”
 

Somewhere Derek Pearson was certainly not allowed.

CHAPTER SIX

Three Months Later

“WHERE DO YOU think you’re goin’?”

At the sound of his father’s voice, Derek stopped in the kitchen and clutched the strap of his gym bag. He was dressed for his weekly night shift over at the local twenty-four-hour gym. He’d been doing that on the weekdays the past couple of months and had somehow managed to talk Finn into applying for,
and getting
, a “dancer” position down at club Boyz on the weekends. A shitty home life could make a person very motivated, and no one was more determined than him to make as much cash as humanly possible so he could move the fuck out.