Kaige grinned at me, stretching his arms to admittedly impressive effect. “I feel like this calls for a raid into the liquor cabinet.” He poked Wylder’s shoulder. “You’ve been promising that Grey Goose for a while now.”
Wylder rolled his eyes. “Fine, but only if the princess retrieves it.”
I set my hands on my hips. “You still haven’t made good on your word.”
“What word exactly did I give you?”
I let out a huff of frustration. He hadn’t said exactly that getting the money from Trent would be what it took to finally get his help, but what more proof could he possibly need of my “worthiness”?
Anger surged up inside me. I’d had enough of this shit. “Do you want me to prove myself as the gang princess or your freaking maid? If you even for a second mistook me for the latter, let me remind you that—”
Wylder spoke over me. “Spare me. You know you need my help—you’re a desperate little kitten. That’s why you’re here following my orders like the good girl you are.”
“You have no idea what I am or what I can do.”
“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea.” Shaking off Gia, he took a step toward me. He might not have been quite the hulk Kaige was, but he still towered over me. As if I was going to let him scare me.
His eyes flickered down to my mouth, and he wet his own lips as if in anticipation. I found myself following the path of his tongue. Okay, maybe fear wasn’t the emotion he was trying to strike here.
I balled my hands into fists, my glare daring him to try me.
“Woah, woah, woah,” Kaige said, stepping in between us. “No brawling until I get the drink I was promised.”
Wylder just chuckled. He spun on his heel, and I didn’t have much choice but to follow him and the other guys into the house.
Wylder led the way to a lounge room near the kitchen. To my annoyance, Gia followed us to the doorway. He turned to her there. “Don’t you have anywhere else to be?”
She peered at him coyly through her eyelashes and reached for his arm again. “I’d rather be here.”
He pried himself out of her grip, much to my satisfaction. “We’ve got work to do. Take a hike.”
Gia made a face, but she couldn’t exactly argue with him. She gave me one last dirty look before she pranced away. Good riddance.
Kaige was already standing in front of a liquor cabinet behind a built-in mahogany bar, rubbing his hands together eagerly. It was packed with bottles of just about every kind of liquor I could imagine and then some. The Nobles kept a nice stash, I’d give them that.
“Go on,” Wylder said. “Find the Grey Goose.”
I brushed past Kaige to step behind the bar, running my hand along the smooth surface of the polished wood. Even more bottles were stashed under its countertop. There was enough classy booze in this room to party for a year straight without feeling your face.
I spotted the bottle easily and held it up. “Just vodka straight? I could do something more interesting with this.”
Wylder looked faintly amused. “So you know your liquor too, huh? What was that about being a good girl? Maybe I’ll have to revise my opinion.”
“Like I give a shit about your opinion on that subject,” I retorted mildly, grabbing a couple more bottles and a few of the glasses stacked off to the side of the bar.
“Kind of a shame to cut that stuff with anything else,” Kaige said.
“Fine, you can have yours neat. I’ll save my skills for the boss.” I let sarcasm drip from that last word.
There was a little fridge with lemons and an icemaker, a saltshaker perched on top of it. I was set. With several brisk motions, I poured Kaige his Grey Goose, slid the glass across the bar to him, and got to work on my concoction for Wylder.
I was freestyling, but that was how I’d found I worked best after I’d branched out from learning all the typical cocktails the people at my father’s gatherings would want to inventing my own. No one had ever cared that most of that time I’d been too young to legally drink myself.
People’s lips got pretty loose around the bartender, even an unofficial one. It’d been one more way to glean all the secrets I could, searching for an advantage. For a way to ensure Dad never got to lay a finger on me again.
The guys watched, Wylder still looking amused, Kaige practically swooning as he savored his vodka, and Rowan’s expression mildly surprised. I’d picked up this hobby not long after I’d parted ways with him.
As I tossed a dollop of this and that into the glass, Anthea and Gideon walked in. Her eyes narrowed. “What’s our runaway princess doing now?”