Page 42 of My Best Friend's CEO Dad

He tilts his head. “Are you mocking me?”

Crap. The booze is making me reckless. “No,” I say.

“The world is falling to machines, my friend. That may sound silly to you, but it’s a fact. Lukas will fall just like every other tech freak will. It’s the way it has to be.”

It’s a bunch of idiot talk, honestly. Ashley looks at me with the same wide, terrified eyes she used to aim my way when Dad flew into one of his rages.

“I’m working on it,” I tell him.

“When’s the last time you saw the slut?”

“A few days ago.”

Instinctively, my hand clenches into a fist. Kayla isn’t a slut. Kayla’s a funny, interesting, kind, accepting person. She’s far better than a man like me ever deserves. She’s got a heart overflowing with love. I’ve shared real stuff with her about my childhood and poetry, but I’ve lied too damn much.

“Work harder,” Nobody says, leaning down over my sister, causing her to cringe away. “This rat,” he says, nodding to Sebastian, “was going to take a holiday. We had to nab him early. Inconvenient, you’d agree? The timeline has picked up. First, the media destruction. Then, we show him what we’re capable of.”

Sebastian bites down around the rag they’ve stuffed into his mouth. His eyes are different. They’re angry and resentful. If his hands weren’t tied behind his back, I think he’d leap at his kidnappers in a full-on rage.

They’re going to kill Sebastian. That’s my guess. Nobody—or whatever the asshole’s name is—pretends he’s doing this for some oh-so grand cause. I can see it in his plain eyes, though. The truth is he likes this. He enjoys the power. He’s tricked a few morons into wearing masks and following him around. He chose me because he happened to seduce my sister and deceive her the same way I tricked Kayla. I guess Ashley must’ve mentioned I can be resourceful. She saw that enough growing up.

“Tick-tock, Finn,” he snaps. “The end is nigh.”

The end is nigh. Who the fuck speaks like that?

“I love you, sis,” I say.

She tries to say it but can’t talk with the rag stuffed so deep in her mouth.

Returning to the city, I get more whiskey. It’s a mistake, but I feel like I’m having a mental breakdown. It’s like I’ve slipped out of my skin, and I can watch myself—the person I’ve been ever since I first “matched” with Kayla on the dating app. I’ve been a self-deluded ass. I’ve lied to myself. I’ve pretended I’m some apex predator and that I like it.

“Are you okay, son?”

I look up. The world is blurry. I find an elderly man staring down at me. I realize I’m in a park, balling like a baby. I’m shaking with the pain. He leans against a walking stick, letting me spring up, run away, and dart around the corner. I can’t stand the pity and the support in his eyes. It makes me wonder what it would’ve been like if I had a dad who cared.

Hailing a cab, I tell them Kayla’s address. What have I done? What the hell is wrong with me?

I need help. That’s the truth. I know I should slow down. I’m letting the booze make decisions for me, but that’s a good thing. The booze knows better than I do.

CHAPTER 21

LUKAS

As we walk across the quiet lobby, I can’t resist sweeping Maci into my arms one last time. We’re in a weird in-between place right now, both of us wanting to take this all the way, but both of us know it’ll cause so many damn problems. She moans as I lean down and drive against her, letting her feel my manhood, my heart pounding hard in my chest.

“Lukas,” she whispers, placing her hand on my chest. “You feel like you’re gonna blow.”

“I’ve never felt like that for anyone,” I tell her, kissing the edge of her mouth, tasting her lips, skin, and sweat. It’s a her taste, just her, and it drives me wild. “My maybe-girlfriend has the magic touch.”

She shivers and grips my sides, pulling herself closer. It’s like I can feel her getting wetter and hotter. It’s like her body is sending me signals. She makes that cute-as-hell squealing noise of surprise when I grab her thick ass and use it to lift her off her feet. She wraps her legs around me, and I carry her to the reception desk, pushing with my manhood.

She gasps as I grind myself against her slit through the fabric of our clothes. I didn’t plan on more than a kiss, but how the hell am I supposed to stop when she makes such perfect noises? She slips her hands under my collar, clawing against my bare skin, panting.

“I shouldn’t have stopped you,” she moans between kisses.

“Don’t say that,” I growl, “or I’ll take you right here. I’ll fuck you on this desk and own your virgin pussy.”

“You already do own it,” she whimpers as I glide my hand up her leg, pushing down on her core.

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