Page 14 of No Longer Safe

My heels clicked on the polished white floors as I made my way through the massive throng of people. The outdoor kitchen was something from a fantasy. It couldn’t even be considered in the same ballpark as a Better Homes and Garden magazine. There were several people running around with white coats and silver trays to serve all the guests.

Not too far from the outdoor kitchen was a massive fountain in the center of the direct backyard to the mansion. It was too hard to tell with the sun already setting on the other side of the house, but the estate seemed to go on for miles. The immediate backyard was the only way to describe this space and it was still much bigger than anything I’d played in growing up.

When my eyes were done devouring everything and everyone, I found the bar tucked next to the stage on the other side of theyard. It was, thankfully, empty and I rushed over immediately.

The bartender looked like he belonged to the family with slicked-back blond hair and dark blue eyes. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was a distant cousin or something like that. He grinned at me as he watched my cleavage. One of the problems with big boobs? It was all anyone wanted to focus on. I cleared my throat and he blinked out of his happy thoughts.

“What can I get you?”

I eyed the bottles behind the counter. Some of the bottles I’d never seen before and it didn’t take long for me to feel intimidated. What was an open bar like with the rich?

“I would really just love a bourbon, on the rocks, though I don’t recognize any of these brands.” Heat flushed my cheeks as I really realized how much I didn’t belong here. No wonder Carina’s mom made up some excuse about missing her flight and whoops, I guess she couldn’t make it now. She would be to all the other events that mattered but this party was supposed to be about the Cristofs, it didn’t matter as much that Mrs. Phipps wasn’t here. The only person it bothered was Carina.

The bartender smiled softly like he completely understood, he probably did. He wasn’t related to these elites. Why would they have relatives working for them? How silly. He poured an expensive-looking bottle of amber liquid over a massive cube of ice and slid it across the bar. My mouth practically began salivating. Since Brian told me it wasn’t ladylike to drink bourbon or whiskey, it had been a little over a year since I’d even taken a sip. Fruity drinks had nothing on a good bourbon.

The first sip was like heaven. It didn’t even burn going down and was so terribly smooth. I closed my eyes and inhaled the woodsy scent of it. The notes of vanilla and honey seemed to heal everything wrong with my soul.

“That’s a three-thousand dollar bottle of Blanton’s,” A rough voice said behind me and I felt myself pale. I could have choked on the stuff if he’d spoken just a few seconds earlier. I turnedslowly to the intruder praying it wasn’t Sinclair. He hadn’t spoken enough at dinner the other night for me to be able to recognize his voice. Instead, I found myself staring into the eyes of one of the other Cristof brothers and thanked my lucky stars it wasn’t Alexei. “You have good taste.”

“Thank you,” I wracked my brain for his name but came up short. He was the quiet, bored one from the previous night. My eyes flicked back to the bar and I wondered if I should stay away from it.

As if reading my thoughts, the brother laughed. “It’s an open bar, you’re only going to find the best of the best back there. In fact, that’s probably the cheapest bourbon we even have.”

I felt myself relax a bit at his teasing tone. “No Crown back there?”

He chuckled and it warmed my worried heart. “No chance, but if you want,” His light blue eyes bounced around before he leaned in to whisper and I immediately regretted thinking he was the quiet, bored one. He was the flirt.Griffin.“I have a pretty decent stash of alcohol up in my room.”

A snort escaped me. I couldn’t help it, he seemed so boyish in that moment that I wondered just how old he was. His light blue eyes darkened with the sound and I wondered how on earth he could enjoy this. I felt like a hot mess. “I’m sure you do.”

He raked his fingers through his dirty blond hair and leaned against the bar. “I would be more than willing to show it to you whenever you’d like.”

“Does this usually work for you?”

His grin was wicked. “All the time.”

Chapter Twelve

Alexei

The leggy brunettein dark red heels had it coming. She was going to have me coming if she kept walking away in her skintight dress. I’d never wanted anything as bad as I wanted her and I hadn’t even seen her face yet. She was too busy entertaining my brother, Griffin, but she would find out soon enough that he was all talk and no action. She would get bored with him and when she did, I would swoop in. I couldn’t wait to swoop in.

She placed her empty glass of bourbon on the bar top and I wanted to know what it was. But more importantly, I wanted to know who she was. I got my wish.

When she turned on her heel and headed toward the house with my brother, my blood went ice cold.

Audrey.

AudreyfuckingWilde.

The sweats she’d worn to the airport made her look like she had no shape. The pantsuit she’d worn for dinner the night before had a similar effect. This… this dress was nothing like either of those. Her breasts were more than a handful and her ass? I bit into my fist to keep myself from groaning out loud.

What the fuck? What in the actual fuck? Her green eyes were bright and accentuated by dark makeup andher lips. They begged to be kissed. They begged to be fucked.

This was not good. Ace already gave me the run down about how I was supposed to stay away from her and then there was the boyfriend situation. I hadn’t minded a rough and rowdy night with a taken woman before, but I knew Ace wouldn’t appreciate that kind of drama coming into his life. I clenched my fists and paced the small shadowed area against the house. I would mind my manners when it came to her boyfriend, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have my fun too. But what was Griffin doing with her? All the brothers got the rundown from Ace.

I thought it was laughable in the beginning, I’d even told him so. Why would I want to touch her? It drove me wild, so wild, in fact, that I’d sought her out to find out what was so special. What did Audrey Wilde have that my dearest brother didn’t want me to have? To corrupt?

The night before, I was hellbent on trying to get close to her to figure her out, to get under my brother’s skin. But this was completely different now. This was going to be interesting. I pivoted on my heel and shadowed my brother with his new find. This was going to be the best kind of interesting.

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