that sounds weird as fuck, but shit, that has way to much detail to just be imagined. Maybe he had a model? Maybe it was made from a mold of his own dick? Who the fuck knows with this dude.
“Do you like it, Mr. Donnelly? That’s a life size self-portrait.”
Yep. That makes sense. He grins and looks at Sloane when he says self-portrait. Fucking great, we’re looking at Kronin’s dick in all its veiny glory. But if anything I’m way bigger than he is, so I look at my kitten and wink at her enjoying the adorable blush that begins to appear on her cheeks. It’s very hard to remember I’m supposed to be her brother.
“So, what do you think дорогая (darling), you like?”
Sloane mutters something about realism, walking past the bronze dick and stopping in front of a large painting that’s hanging above a Louis XV style sofa.
“This is interesting. It reminds me of a storm at sea?”
Kronin nods enthusiastically and opens his arms to encompass the size of the canvas. “Very good, my muse. That was my first attempt at shit art and you’re spot on. It’s called ‘Shit storm’. It’s valued at fifty million dollars. I’ve received countless offers for it but I couldn’t quite bear to part with it until very recently. I sold it to a North Korean businessman. He’s been invited to the wedding next week and he decided to take it home with him then.”
Sloane nods and asks, “What made you decide to sell it, if you were so emotionally attached to it?”
Kronin’s toothy grin reminds me of a predator, a shark.
“He offered me double, a hundred million. Everything has a price, дорогая (darling), everything.” From the cold stare in Kronin’s eyes, I know that he means it and he'd probably sell his own mother if someone offered him enough money.
We keep pursuing more of his art pieces, entering a large bedroom dominated by a huge four poster bed. Everything is covered in dark red velvet and gold trimmings, from the heavy curtains hanging on the windows, to the antique chaise longue at the foot of the bed.
Definitely not my taste but the way Kronin flaunts his money makes me think that he wasn’t born into this kind of opulence. I file this information in a corner of my mind for later and set my eyes on the Russian, who turns to look at Sloane and steps a little too close to her for comfort.
“So, my muse, what do you think? Would you let me render you immortal? The whole world deserves to see your beauty.” Sloane nods as we agreed earlier. None of us likes having her so close to Kronin but this is the only way to intercept those nuclear codes and possibly find out what type of involvement VDB has in this deal.
“Can I take a moment to sketch you right now, дорогая? (darling?) I’ll need to make a mold of your entire body for the sculpture and we could get together in a few days for that, but I also want to do a painting and for that a sketch would suffice.”
I really don’t like how close he’s standing to Sloane and the view of Kronin’s hands on my girl’s shoulders is enough to make my blood boil, but rather than grabbing his blond dreadlocks and smashing his head against the mirror of the ornate vanity on one side of the bed, I think about what Kaden would do and opt for making a suggestion instead.
“Wouldn’t it be better to take some photos of her? Wouldn’t they be more realistic than a few sketches?”
Kronin doesn’t even turn, rapt with his perusal of Sloane’s face. “Нет (No), River. I will also take some photos but a photo could never capture the brightness of her eyes, the softness of her lips, the delicate structure of her bones. Wait until I have my hands on her beautiful body, covering it with the material I need for the mold.”
“What kind of material will you use?” Sloane asks with some concern in her soft voice. I don’t blame her. I feel like that is information I’d want an immediate answer to.
“Vaseline first, to make sure the mold comes off and then plaster.”
Sloane takes an instinctive step back but Kronin grabs her chin in one of his hands and that’s when I notice a very odd silver ring on his middle finger. It’s a very large piece that covers two of his knuckles and represents