Page 19 of Royal Player
She lifts a finger. “First, very important. A penis hat.”
“Shh!” Polly says in a loud whisper. “You’re not supposed to say penis out loud. It’s a member, remember?”
They collapse into laughter.
Alice chokes out, “That rhymes. Member, remember. Regency humor!”
“Dick humor!” Polly exclaims. “What the hell is Regency?”
My jaw drops. Polly has not uttered a crude word since we met. It makes her feel more approachable.
I take her hand and brush a kiss over the back of her knuckles, one of my many smooth moves. I’m being naughty tonight too.
Her brown eyes go wide in shock.
I almost want to laugh. “Regency is Alice’s preferred historic time to write about.”
“Oh.” She stares at her hand in mine. “Why did you do that?”
“Because I appreciate a dick joke.”
She crinkles her cute nose. “You’re speaking very inappropriately to a woman of my station.”
“I’m at your same station, right?”
She tilts her head to the side. “You are.” She smiles, lifts my hand, and studies the inside of my wrist. “Look at that. Blue blood just like me.”
“Me too!” Alice says, holding up her wrist. “Lucas pumps it into me every chance he gets. No condom, so I think—”
“Alice!” Lucas barks.
She turns and smiles. “Lucas, I was just talking about you.”
Polly sends me an amused look and whispers, “Inappropriate.”
Lucas slides an arm around Alice. “Yes, we all heard. Would you like something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry. Don’t you remember dinner?”
He smiles indulgently. “How about chocolate?”
“Oh, yes! I always have room for chocolate.”
He guides her across the room toward a table laden with desserts.
“Guess it’s just us,” Polly says to me.
I glance around. Adrian is across the room, talking to some people he seems to know well. Louis is leaving with Lina. I guess he’s off duty since we have two guards with us here. I turn back to her. “Guess so.”
“I would like a drink,” she says with a nod.
And you know what? I can’t deny her a good time, even if she does regret it in the morning. How often does a virgin princess with a constant chaperone get to party? Her guard remains a distance behind, standing watch but giving her some leeway.
I incline my head for her to follow, and we head for the bar just off the kitchen.
“What’re you drinking?” I ask as we get in line behind a couple of actresses.
“Let’s see, I had two martinis earlier, shaken not stirred in honor of Bond, so now I’ll have…” She taps her finger against her pink lips. “What’re you drinking?”
