Share

chapter 2

Penulis: Uriel Kings
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-02-10 09:59:26

He’s not even Dad’s friend or the man who’s more powerful than the world. He might be a senator’s son, but he’s so much more than that.

He owns half of the world and eats the rest of it for breakfast.

“There you are.”

I freeze, my hand tightening on the phone. Did I maybe gain wizard abilities for my birthday and conjure him up?

That’s stupid, of course, because I can feel the warmth his body always emanates and smell his cologne. A little bit musky, a little bit spicy. A little bit…wrong.

I shouldn’t know him by his smell alone or be able to recognize him among the dozens of people crowding our house. I shouldn’t have heated ears and a throbbing neck just because I heard the deep, rough tenor of his voice that’s only meant to say firm, serious things.

A voice that I’ve started to dream about despite my damn self.

And now, he’s behind me.

And that means he can see my phone.

I jolt, hugging it to my chest, and in hindsight, that’s such a bad idea, because now I’m thinking about him between my breasts, and my heart kind of explodes all over the place.

My reaction goes downhill from there and there’s no way to stop it. My lips part, and my expression must be frozen like a deer caught in the headlights.

But instead of commenting on his picture on my phone, he steps in front of my swing, towering over me like a fucking god.

One with Adonis looks and as cold as the statue.

That’s what one of the magazines compared him to. They called Senator Brian Weaver’s son—that’s Nate, by the way—one of the most sought-after bachelors and the most apathetic of them all.

But I’ve never received the frigid treatment everyone talks about. For me, he has always been warm. Well,somewhatwarm. Because Uncle Nate is too businesslike to ever be warm in the traditional sense.

Nate.I chastise myself.It’s Nate.

“Don’t worry. I won’t peek at your conversations with your boyfriend.”

My heart does that flippy thing that makes me feel as if I’m going to vomit or faint or maybe both.

While it does have something to do with his presence when I thought he wouldn’t come, it’s more about what he said.

Boyfriend.

As in, he’s my boyfriend since I was staring at him. Well, that’s not exactly what he meant, but in my twisted brain, it sure as hell counts.

I tilt my head back to see the entirety of him. Though I doubt there’s any picture frame that can contain him.

His face is all sharp lines and defined cheekbones, which become shadowed depending on where the light is coming from. He has the type of features that communicate with the slightest twitch and the merest of movements. Nate has always had immaculate control over his body language and facial expressions, and it shows in each of his movements.

The older I’ve gotten, the more aware I’ve become of his imposing, silent character that speaks through actions more than words. I’ve also begun to see why he’s the perfect partner for Dad. They’re alike in a way, but Nate is still harder to read. Due to his rigid demeanor, I have to be extra careful in deciphering any change in his facial expressions.

It’s blank now, which could mean a lot of things. Is he angry, disapproving?

Or maybe he’s just indifferent as he is most of the time.

I can’t stop looking at him, studying him, getting my fill of his face as if I won’t see him for a while. I’m engraving everything into my memory, like how he fills his suit or how he appears majestic in it.

I can’t stop staring at his thick brows and lashes, at the slight stubble covering his jaw, and at how a few strays of dark blond hair kiss his forehead with each gust of wind.

And for a tiny moment, I wish I was a stray hair or the air. Either would do.

But what I really can’t stop staring at are his dark eyes that appear almost black right now. Those eyes have a language of their own that no one is allowed to learn, no matter how much they attempt to.

A language that I’ve been desperately trying to speak for a while now.

I grip the phone harder, needing the courage it provides as I speak, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“One less thing for King to worry about.”

I bite my lower lip, unable to hide the disappointment at how he blatantly ignores my statement and pushes it all to Dad.

It’d be better if I stopped.

Usually, I would.

Nate isn’t the type of man anyone likes to push—and I’m no exception.

But if I did, how would I accomplish what I’ve strived for? I waited for my eighteenth birthday to shout that I’m a woman now.

That I want him to see me as one.

That’s probably why I ask, “Do you think I should have a boyfriend?”

“That’s none of my business, kiddo.”

“I-I’m not a kiddo.”

His lips twitch. “You just pouted like one.”

Damn it. I knew he still thought of me as if I were a little girl. Can’t he see I’m all grown up now? That I’m looking at him?

That I can’tstoplooking at him?

“I’m making it your business,” I insist. “So what do you think?”

“About?”

“Should I get a boyfriend?”

“No.”

My heart nearly rips my ribcage open and hops out to dance at his feet. He said I shouldn’t get a boyfriend. That can’t be meaningless, right?

“Why not?” I try to sound cool, but I can’t control the tremor at the end.

“King wouldn’t like it.”

Oh.

So it’s back to my dad again.

Seems I’m out for blood, though, because I still refuse to drop it. “How about you?”

“How about me?”

“Would you like it if I had a boyfriend?”

He pauses, the

n says, “I would be neutral.”

Right.

Of course, he would.

Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi
Komen (1)
goodnovel comment avatar
Shehzad Ali
Hoclcmx MN xmxkfzjxnjxjjcnmvcbk
LIHAT SEMUA KOMENTAR

Bab terkait

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 3

    Why would the king of the jungle look in the direction of a stray cub when he has countless lionesses by his side?The breaking sound in my chest that I felt when I thought he didn’t show up returns and I dig the edge of my phone into my ribcage as I struggle to maintain a neutral façade.This would be the perfect time for me to stuff myself with some vanilla ice cream or a milkshake while I hide in the closet.“Happy birthday, Gwyneth.” He reaches into his pocket and produces a small blue box and tosses it my way.I let the phone fall to my lap so I can catch it. Receiving a gift from him is almost enough to make me forget about his words. About the apathy everyone in the media talks about.Almost.“Can I open it?”“Sure.”I didn’t even open my other presents, but the ones that I have from Nate are always first on my list. In the past, he’s always gotten me toys and books. This isn’t the packaging of either of those.Inside, I find a gold link bracelet with a scale charm hanging from

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-10
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 4

    GwynethTwo years later“Dad!”I run down the stairs and toward the front door, my sneakers slapping on the marble with each step.At the sound of my voice, he stops and turns to me with a questioning gaze and a smile.There’s always a smile on Dad’s face whenever he looks at me. Even when he’s mad at me, he soon forgets it all and smiles.Our housekeeper, Martha, says I’m the only one who makes him smile from his heart. So I’m kind of proud of having the superpower of making the “savage devil,” as the media dubs him, smile only at me.But the media is a bunch of assholes, because they forget that he’s been such a devout single parent ever since he was young.My dad hasn’t aged much. At thirty-seven going on thirty-eight, he still has a strong build that fills out his suit. He’s tall and broad and has an eight-pack. No kidding. He’s the healthiest man I know. But he also has a few age lines that make him the wisest ever—aside from a certain someone.Also, the look in his blue-gray eye

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-10
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 5

    “Did you change your shampoo, Gwen? It’s still vanilla, but is it a different brand?”I roll my eyes as I pull back. He has a super sensitive nose, like he can smell when I’ve had a drink behind his back, even after I brush my teeth and consume copious amounts of mouthwash.“I mixed two brands together. Seriously, Dad, you have a weird sense of smell.”“It’s for when my angel decides to drink when she’s not supposed to.”I make a face and Dad ruffles my hair, sending the auburn strands flying.“Not the hair!” I jerk away and smooth the stubborn thing down.“You still look beautiful.”“You’re only saying that because you’re my father.”“You got my genes, Angel, and that’s not something trivial. Anyone would find you beautiful.”Not Nate.A jolt rushes through me for just thinking his name. It takes all my resolve to say goodbye to Dad without turning a furious shade of red.After he leaves, I sit on the steps, place my milkshake beside me, and grab my bracelet. The one he gave me for m

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-10
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 6

    KingsleyI use the voice command to call Nate.The sound of ringing fills the car, but there’s no answer.“Fuck.” I hit one of my fists against the steering wheel as I take a sharp turn to the right.I zigzag between cars, ignoring their honking and the occasional name-calling.Right now, I’m on a mission.One that will only be fulfilled once I’m at the firm and talking to that low-fucking-life.When I first saw the document this morning, I thought something was wrong. Surely, the name and the fucking proof that lay in front of me were some sort of a mistake.A miscalculation.A Coincidence.A fucking anomaly in the system.But it wasn’t.And neither were the facts that I learned from the private investigator. Neither were the records that I had to stoop low and call in favors to acquire.The truth was sitting squarely in front of me all this time, hiding in plain fucking sight and I was too blind to see it.Was it arrogance?Ignorance?After all, I’ve grown so fast in so little time.

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-10
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 7

    GwynethThe glass of water slips from my hand and hits the sink with a loudcrash, splintering all over the surface.The sound collides with the climax of Car Radioby Twenty One Pilots that’s playing from Alexa.I wince while I carefully grab the tiny pieces and throw them in the trash and simultaneously scroll through my phone.Aside from the memes and mindless conversations in my group chat with my college friends, there’s nothing of importance. Though calling them friends is an exaggeration. Colleagues would be more appropriate.Chris, Jenny, Alex and I all take pre-law at the same college, so we kind of flocked toward each other. It’s hard for me to consider anyone an actual friend, because most of the people I’ve met since I was in elementary school were either interested in my super successful father or our family drama, namely the drama between Dad and my step-grandma. It got worse in pre-law since everyone is gunning to snatch an internship at Weaver & Shaw.The screening proce

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 8

    Anyway, Chris and I still haven’t gone all the way and I don’t want to. I feel like if I do, I’ll be letting myself down or something. Not that he’s been pressuring me or anything, but he can’t be patient forever, no matter how much he enjoys the make-out and groping sessions.It isn’t right to lead him on, though, which is why I need to make a decision. Either end this or go all the way in.The main reason I said yes to Chris in the first place, aside from his negotiating skills, is because I needed to move on.I needed to find someone else to fill up the emptiness.There’s one tiny problem, though. I hadn’t thought that the previous occupier of that spot, Nate, would refuse to leave his place for someone else.But I’ve been pushing him out gradually. Soon, I’ll get completely rid of him and maybe someone who actually likes me, like Chris, will fill it.So I type with shaky hands.Me:Sure!Chris:Can I come to your house or will your father rearrange my features?I smile, remembering

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 9

    NathanielA coma.The doctor is telling us that Kingsley is in a vegetative state. He’s saying things about swelling in the brain due to the impact and that he might wake up in the next few days, weeks, or never.This hotshot surgeon spent hours working on my friend with his people, and yet he still couldn’t bring him back.He was in the operating room for hours, just to tell us that King might or might not wake up. I don’t miss the fake sympathy or his attempts not to give hope.But even if I grab and shake him, then punch him in the face, it won’t bring King back, and it sure as fuck won’t serve any purpose. Except for maybe getting rid of some of my pent-up frustration.Gwyneth listens to the doctor’s words with her lips slightly parted. They’re lifeless and pale, like the rest of her face. She clinks the nails of her thumbs and forefingers together in a frantic, almost manic type of way. It’s a nervous habit she’s had since she was a kid—since she learned the truth about her mothe

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25
  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    chapter 10

    “It’s not true. Tell me it’s not true, Nate.”I should reprimand her for not calling me Uncle like I usually do, but this is neither the time nor the place.“Denial won’t help you. The sooner you accept reality, the faster you can deal with it.”“No.” She grits her teeth, then lets out another haunted, “No…”“Let go, Gwyneth.” I try to soften my tone, as much as I’m able to, but it still comes out firm. Like an order.She shakes her head again, but it’s meek, weak, just like she is beneath my touch. Until now, I’ve never noticed how small she actually is compared to me.How fragile.Actually, I did once. When she was pressed up against me with her lips on mine.But I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I shouldn’t be thinking about how small my best friend’s daughter is or how she feels in my hold when we’re in front of his hospital room.A muscle clenches in my jaw and I loosen my hold on her shoulders, starting to step away from her.I’m unprepared for what she does, though.Completel

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-25

Bab terbaru

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 36

    Joe glanced at me, sensing for the first time that this news might not be as benign as he thought. “Um, yesterday?” He scratched his nose and eyed me, checking to see how that information went over. When my face darkened, he added, “Maybe. I don’t remember.”“Well I just talked to Maureen about it yesterday morning, so either it was yesterday or it was really early this morning,” I said evenly.“Yeah, it was probably yesterday.” Joe pulled an apologetic face. As if he were the one with something to apologize for. Then he wrapped up his uneaten egg sandwich and made a quick exit.I stayed in the break room for another few minutes, trying to get a handle on my anger. My tendency was to go with the emotion–let it swell and break and deal with the cause of it. I didn’t like to let things fester. This time, though, I really did try to tame it. I asked myself if I was being unreasonable–maybe this wasn’t actually Aiden treating me like a child. Maybe there was some way in which he could ask

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 35

    LAYLAI sensed Aiden’s mood even before I saw his face. It was the way he moved when he came out onto the balcony. A stiffness in the set of his shoulders that was echoed in his face when he turned around. He lowered himself into the chair beside mine without kissing me first.I closed my book, keeping my finger between the pages to save my spot. I had a pretty good idea what this was about.Aiden didn’t waste time getting to the point. “You went around me.”“I went up the chain of command,” I countered. “I report to Maureen.”“I don’t give a damn who you report to at work. You went aroundme.” He bit off the words. “Not as your boss, but as your–whatever the fuck we’re doing is called.”“I think that about describes it,” I drawled, hoping to tempt him out of this fight. I dogeared the corner of my page and set it down beside my chair.Aiden wasn’t tempted though. Or amused. If anything, his face grew stormier. “If that’s all it was, I wouldn’t bother.”I stood up and slid into his lap

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 34

    I swallowed uneasily, well aware I’d just made things worse. When this all came out–and it would all come out–Jack was going to remember that he’d sent me to New York City to protecthis daughter, when all along, I was the asshole he should have been worried about. But I’d painted myself into this corner, and when I did something, I did it well. There was no way out. “Then I’ll go, Jack.” I did my best to make my voice sound relaxed rather than placating. “No problem.”Finally, some of the tension eased out of his jaw. He picked up his beer again and took a long drink. When he set it back down, he looked like my old buddy Jack again. “Not like you have anything better to do, right?” he asked, half-joking, half-prying.“Nah, nothing better,” I agreed.“You don’t sound too worried about it.”“I got divorced for a reason, Jack.” I stretched my arms over my head and did my best to put off the impression of what I had been just a few months before–happily single, enjoying my bachelorhood. I

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 33

    AIDENIwas late meeting Jack because Blake Morten had invited Layla to a charity ball being held by a wealthy fan in order to raise money for his foundation. He wasn’t inviting her as his date, he swore. He knew she was new and this would be a good chance to see more of his brand. Or so he said.“His brand is YouTube,” I said when Maureen–not Layla–mentioned it on our way to get our second cup of coffee on Monday afternoon. “She can see all of his brand that she wants without leaving her house.” My heart was pounding an ugly rhythm. Electricity had shot into the palms of my hands, and I’d curled my free hand into a fist instinctively. Then I shoved it in my pocket because Blake Morten wasn’t here to punch.“ItwasYouTube. Then he hired us to expand on it,” Maureen reminded me. She seemed distracted.I shot her a sideways look. I didn’t expect Maureen to feel the same defensive rage at the idea of our client trying to move in on one of our team members as I did. She wasn’t secretly slee

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 2

    LAYLAI got away with wearing Aiden’s t-shirt with my jeans and blazer that first day. After that, we were more careful. I went to my place first to get a change of clothes, and then after a couple weeks, I began keeping things at his place. We were careful in other ways, too. Careful not to be alone together at the office, careful not to let our gazes clash for too long. It was easy enough during the workday—it was the happy hours, working dinners, and the last baseball game of the season that made things tricky. Inhibitions lowered. Stolen glances lingered for too long. More than once, we found ourselves sneaking off to find a place to be alone.Still, we got away with it. Liv and Bran were the only other two souls in the world that knew about us, and even Aiden didn’t know about that. I wanted to tell him, but he had been so adamant that we had to keep this a secret just between the two of us that I didn’t know how to tell him it wasn’t. I’d never been a particularly secretive pers

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 31

    AIDENI didn’t sleep that night. I had Layla curled up against me, her body warm and her breathing even as a metronome. The moonlight was streaming through my curtainless windows, and I caught the down notes of the band playing at the bar across the street. How many nights had I spent sleepless, staring at the ceiling, listening to that bar’s live music? More than I could count. I’d never needed much sleep, and since the company got so busy, I needed even less.I was tired now though. Bone deep weariness that came from being in an impossible situation. I’d crossed the line with Layla, but there was no way in hell I was going to cross back. It had been hard enough to resist her when I didn’t know what it would be like between us. Now I knew, and nothing was going to keep me from her.Not even Jack.The exhaustion moved into my bones. I’d have to tell him eventually. If this had been a one-time thing, maybe we could have gotten away with it, but it wasn’t going to be that.I turned my h

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 30

    “Because I can’t have you.”I set my beer on his barren dresser and put my hands on his shoulders. I’d barely had half of it, but I didn’t need liquid courage. Not for this. “I think you can.”Aiden’s eyes were hot, but he didn’t make a move to touch me, even as I felt his muscles tense. His voice was low and scratchy when he said, “I can’t keep you.”There it was again. That conviction that nothing could last. That nothing was really his. I slid my hands up to his face and pulled it gently down. Our foreheads brushed, and his eyes were glittering with need, but he still didn’t move. I wanted to kiss him so badly that my lips were tingling, but I had brought us this far. He had to meet me halfway.“You can keep me tonight,” I whispered.I saw the last of his resistance collapse, and his lips came down on mine. Triumph swelled in my chest, then was brushed away by overwhelming lust.I kissed him back fiercely, pulling his face down to mine and wrapping my arms around his neck. I could

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 28

    “Looking at each other?”His mouth hitched up in one corner. “I don’t want to just look at you, Layla.”My heart hammered in my ears. My blood hummed, every sense attune to him. “I don’t want to just look at you, Aiden.”He took a deep breath and I sensed the final battle was raging in his head. I held mine, waiting for the outcome. “Come over to my place,” he said, the words tearing out of his throat. “We can talk more.”I sensed that if I told him I didn’t want to talk, it might be pushing him too far. He might revert. So I nodded as though it were plausible that we might just talk.But I knew better.* * *I’d never been to Aiden’s old place, but I knew instantly that the two-bedroom condo on the twelfth floor of a nice high rise only a couple miles from work was new since the divorce. The packing boxes still stacked against a wall and the dearth of furniture was a dead giveaway. In the living room, he had exactly one place to sit, and that was a long, three-cushioned couch. There

  • In Bed With Daddy’s Best Friend    Book 4: chapter 28

    “No, I’ve got it.” I took them from him. “I forgot something at my desk anyway.”“Do you want us to wait for you?”I hesitated. I couldn’t say yes because my plan was to dump these empty boxes in the break room trash can and then confront Aiden. But did it look suspicious if I said no? Would they suspect? “No, I might hang out for a minute. My roommate is coming to meet me for a drink at a bar nearby,” I lied.They accepted it without a flicker of skepticism. “A drink sounds good,” I heard Joe suggest to Gloria as they walked down the hallway toward the elevator with William.“I’m tired.”I felt a moment’s pity for Joe, then my heart kicked into overtime. I was about to be alone in the office with Aiden, which was something I’d tried to engineer before, but these weren’t ideal circumstances. I couldn’t focus on seducing him–I had to confront him over this Blake Morten situation first.As I walked through the office with the pizza boxes in hand, I heard him talking in his office. At fi

Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status