The Wolf and His Wife (Wolf 2)

Last time Maverick went to a bar, he came home alone. I felt relieved when there wasn’t another woman on his arm. It’d been a while since he’d brought a stranger home, and I’d gotten used to the exclusivity. I liked it just being us…no one else. But if he was going out for drinks tonight, then maybe our exclusivity had come to an end. “That’s nice. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Want to come with us?” Maverick tilted his gaze down so he could look at me, his cologne fragrant. It immediately reminded me of sex, when the sweat from his body made it release from his pores. “We can watch Kent make an idiot out of himself.”

“I never make an idiot out of myself,” Kent argued. “I always go home with someone.”

“But you get slapped too,” Maverick teased.

Kent rolled his eyes. “That happened one time. I was a little drunk and tired, and I just wanted to get to the point.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Maverick turned to me. “He walked up to a woman and, point-blank, asked if she wanted to come over to fuck. Didn’t buy her a drink or even ask her name.”

Kent sighed. “Like I said, I was tired…”

I could understand why that would be a turn-off for any woman. It was impersonal and rude. “I’m sure it would work if you did it…” If I saw Maverick across the room, I’d do anything to get him to come home with me. I’d be the one buying him a drink. I’d be the one pushing the other girls out of the way so I could have his attention.

He stared at me for several seconds, his stony expression absorbing my words like it took a few moments to process them. I just gave him the biggest compliment of his life. “Doesn’t mean much unless it worked with the right woman.”

I held his gaze, the pulse loud in my ears and rampant in my neck. “I still think it would work…”

“You drink scotch?” Kent asked in surprise.

“She smokes cigars too.” Maverick brought his glass to his lips and took a drink.

I swirled my glass before I brought it to my lips. “My father drank and smoked a lot, so I just picked it up…”

Kent gave me a look of approval before he pivoted his body in the booth and examined the women in the bar. With predatory eyes, he scanned the room for a warm body to take home.

I imagined Maverick did the same thing—but tonight, he wasn’t.

His arm was around my shoulders, and his body was pressed close to mine. Sometimes his fingers dug into my hair gently, the touch light and sexy. With his thighs spread apart under the table and his shoulders looking broad in his suit, he was the hottest man in the joint.

And he was my husband.

“What about her?” Kent nodded to the blonde in the corner. “She doesn’t look like a weirdo who will ask for my number later.”

“Asking for a number makes a woman a weirdo?” I asked.

Kent shrugged. “You meet a woman in a bar to hook up. Pretty self-explanatory.”

“But you might want to hook up again. And you’ll be glad you have that number.”

“I doubt it.” Kent looked at me before he turned back to the girls. “What do you think, Maverick?”

He stared at the girls and shrugged. “They all look the same to me. I would just pick one and go for it.”

“You know…” Kent turned back to Maverick. “You’re a lot more boring as a married man.” He finished his drink and left the glass on the table before he scooted out of the booth and buttoned the front of his jacket. Then he walked up to a brunette standing at the edge of the bar and initiated a conversation.

Maverick turned back to me. “Want another?”

“I’ve had enough for tonight.” I pushed my glass away so I couldn’t be tempted anymore.

“You don’t seem drunk.”

“I hold my liquor well—like a lady.”

“I think ladies don’t drink much in the first place.”

“Then I’m not a lady.”

He chuckled as he looked at me, the smile reaching the corners of his mouth.

My hand moved to his thigh under the table, and I resisted the urge to press my face into his neck and close my eyes. My body wanted to relax into this man, to be as affectionate as I wanted. It was past midnight, and I’d already had such a long evening…and he looked as comfortable as a pillow. “You can join Kent if you want. You don’t have to stay here because of me…”

Maverick looked into my gaze and watched me for a long time, his eyes focused like nothing would interrupt his concentration. His fingers moved in my hair slightly, and his thumb brushed against my cheek. He was a rough man, but he could be so gentle when he wanted to be. He could be anything he wanted to be…if that’s what he wanted. “You know this is the only place I want to be.”