The Wolf and His Wife (Wolf 2)

Her fingers stroked the keys, and the music filled the room. The tune was slightly quick, beautiful, and resonating, and she wove a vivid picture without singing a word. Then the words followed seconds later. “The kiss of a thorn, a painful sting. But the kiss of a petal, it becomes serene. Tough like hardwood and wise with rings. An ageless soul, too bitter to sing…” She captured the attention of every single person in the room. Even the waiters stopped serving because no one was interested in food or drink.

My eyes were focused on her, my dick hard in my slacks. The second her voice turned poetic, I was stripped down to my masculine basics, reduced to a man that wanted the most beautiful woman in the room. The songs she sang were much better than the ones given to her at the opera. Her words were always so profound, but also cryptic.

“Damn, that woman can sing.”

I stilled at the sound of his deep voice, recognizing it even though I’d only heard it a handful of times. With my glass in my hand, I slowly turned to the man who’d come to my side. At nearly seven feet with a maniacal gleam in his eyes, he stared at my wife like he had the same thoughts I did.

My heart picked up its pace, my fingers crushing my glass a little too hard. My eyes focused on the white teeth that were visible in his carnal smile. He was almost unrecognizable in his suit since he always wore casual clothes to our meetings. I hadn’t expected him to appear, but when it came to money, it didn’t matter how it was earned.

He finally turned his gaze on me, his eyes gray like steel. “I understand why you aren’t eager to sell her.”

Her music continued to play in the background. “The rock beneath my feet, the crutch for my knees, he’s held my hand so sweet, never asked me to say please…”

I didn’t carry a weapon, and even if I had, it would destroy my reputation if I’d drawn it at a party like this. All I could do was hold his gaze and watch him grin with joy, enjoying the fact that I was clearly caught off guard.

Kamikaze held a glass of champagne like he was a refined man who deserved to be there. “I’ll make you a deal—”

“If you think you can just take her from me, you’re mistaken. Cross me, and you cross all of my men. You walk onto a battlefield and start a war. We both know that’s not something you want.” I kept my voice low so the surrounding crowd wouldn’t hear me, but they seemed more absorbed in Arwen’s singing anyway.

He smiled slightly, like this was all some kind of joke. “I’m not going to take her from you, Maverick. Come on, I thought we had more respect for each other than that.”

His words meant nothing because I knew this was still a threat—just veiled.

“I’m willing to offer a fair market value price for her. I’m not trying to rip you off, Maverick.”

Maybe it was just business to him, but it was incredibly insulting to me. “She’s not for sale—”

“Forty million.” He took a drink of his champagne then wore a gloating smile.

Forty million was an astronomical amount for a human being. She wasn’t the Duchess of Cambridge or the Queen of England. My father wanted her dead, and now this psychopath wanted to buy her like a cow for good steak. “No.”

“Fifty.”

“No.”

“Sixty—”

“Not for fucking sale.” I stepped closer to him, ready to break his jaw right there in the middle of the room. “How many times do I have to say it? You’re gonna have to take her from me because I will never sell her.”

He chuckled. “Wow…that must be good pussy.”

He was clever to choose this party as the backdrop for our conversation—because I was paralyzed from doing anything.

“I’ll cut you a deal. Keep in mind, I don’t do this often. I’ll buy her from you for a fair price, sixty million—but I’ll give you a cut of the proceeds she earns through her lifetime. That’s million-dollar checks every year until she gives out.”

My jaw was so tight, it was liable to snap and break. The idea of Arwen being a slave to barbarians made me see so much red that I turned blind to all the other colors. All of this was happening because of her piece-of-shit father, and it made me lose all respect for his memory. I couldn’t even get myself to say no because I was too pissed.

Kamikaze could read the answer on my face. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“She’s not for sale. She’ll never be for sale. Move on to something else, Kamikaze. I won’t change my mind.”