Like wild grass after a rainstorm.
But they have the same bearing—both stand tall and straight, with an air of authority around them like a halo. Or a crown.
“Did you forget to put on trousers?” Nicholas asks.
Henry laughs and flashes—with a big, all-encompassing smile that makes me want to smile too.
“It’s a costume party.” He steps back, framing Nicholas’s suit-clad form with his fingers, like a cameraman on a movie set. “Let me guess…you are Charlie Sheen from Wall Street?”
And then, Prince Henry’s attention turns to me. His interest turns to me.
“And who might you be?”
I quickly review my 1980s movie mental database and pull the hair tie from my bun, shaking out the curls. “I could be…Andie MacDowell from St. Elmo’s Fire.”
He brings my hand to his lips, kissing the back. “Quick on your feet—I like that. How are you on your knees, love?”
Oh yeah—he’s definitely Nicholas’s brother.
Nicholas shoves him, kind of playfully—kind of not. “This is Olivia.”
“Is she my welcome-home present?”
“No.” Nicholas scowls. “She’s…with me.”
Henry nods, and rakes his eyes over me, head to toe. “I’ll trade you.”
“Trade me?”
He points at me, then spins his finger around the room. “Her…for any girl here.”
Nicholas shakes his head. “I haven’t seen you in a long while—don’t make me smack you right away. Behave yourself.”
I step closer. “He’s teasing, Nicholas.” Then I take pity on the younger brother—and throw him a bone. “And you’re not one to talk about behaving…considering the first night we met you offered me money for sex.”
Nicholas flinches.
And Henry’s jaw drops. “No! My brother did that? Mr. Prim and Proper in Public—I don’t believe it.” He nudges me with an elbow. “How much did he offer you?”
I grin evilly at Nicholas and he looks like he wants to strangle me just a little bit.
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“You cheap bastard!”
“I was pissed!” Nicholas defends himself. “If I’d been sober, the starting bid would’ve been much higher.”
And we all laugh.
Nicholas puts his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m in the penthouse at the Plaza…let’s get out of here. Come back with us.”
Henry’s demeanor changes then. Like the thought of being in a quiet place for too long panics him…but he’s trying to hide it with a forced smile. It’s only then that I notice the gauntness of his cheeks and the dark circles below his eyes.
“I can’t. I just got in—lots of people to see, shots to drink, lasses who’ll be so disappointed if I leave without fucking them. You know how it is.”
Nicholas’s eyes narrow. “When can I see you, then? There’s much to talk about, Henry. How about breakfast, tomorrow?”
Henry shakes his head. “I don’t eat breakfast. Since I was discharged, I make it a point not to rise before noon.”
Nicholas rolls his eyes. “Lunch, then?”
Henry pauses, then nods. “All right, Nicky. Lunch it is.” He turns his head, looking into the crowd. “I have to go—there’s a gorgeous little piece I promised to trade costumes with.”
And he points to a redhead in a Little Mermaid getup.
Nicholas grasps his brother’s shoulder, like he doesn’t want to let go.
“Until tomorrow.”
Henry pats his brother’s back and nods to me, then disappears into the crowd.
In the limo, on the way back to the hotel, Nicholas is quiet, the sound of the pelting rain and occasional thunder filling the silence.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He rubs his lower lip with his finger, thinking. “He looks awful. Like he’s haunted…being hunted…hiding from something.”
I don’t want to tell him it will be all right; that’s too flippant, too easy. So I give him the only thing I think will help—a hug.
While the rain smacks against the windowpane outside, Nicholas thrusts into me from behind, long and slow. His thighs are spread, bracketing my closed ones; I feel them tighten each time he pushes forward, pressing his chest against my back, his pelvis against my backside, like he can’t stroke deep enough. But then, suddenly, he pulls out of me and the bed jostles as he straightens, rising up on his knees behind me.
He taps my back with his wet cock. “Roll over, love.”
My languid limbs do his bidding without question and I watch as Nicholas strokes his fist up his thick hardness—taking the condom off and tossing it over the edge of the bed to the floor. He’s very careful about the condoms. I started birth control a few weeks ago, and even though it’s definitely effective now, he still uses them every time.