Queen of the Immortals

by T. R. Hamby

  And onto the reception. Everyone watched the bride and groom have their first dance--Michael turned out to be a great dancer--before other couples swept onto the dance floor.

  Nora watched the bride and groom for a moment--they looked so, so happy. Michael was grinning, something he so rarely did, and Gilla was radiant, murmuring in his ear. They danced gently, Gilla’s dress sparkling.

  “You did great,” Mel said, touching the small of Nora’s back. “I’m proud of you, diletta.”

  Nora felt her heart swell, and she looked up at him, smiling. “I had some help.”

  “I only helped a little.”

  “Whatever.”

  He chuckled. He looked sexy in his tux, his black hair a little tousled and his icy blue eyes striking.

  “You sure you don’t want one of these?” he joked, and Nora rolled her eyes.

  “Not in a million years.”

  “I’ll check back with you then. Come dance with me.”

  She was more than happy, and he swept her onto the dance floor, taking her hand and her waist, swaying them to the music. He was a much better dancer when it didn’t involve a club. Nora loved it: the closeness, his scent, the furtive kisses he placed on her neck. They had been together for almost two years, and they were still happy, still so much in love. How did she get so lucky?

  But eventually her stomach growled; she had been too nervous to eat breakfast. Mel laughed, and they got in line for the food, spread out on three tables. The catering had been Mel’s handiwork, and Nora was impressed.

  As they waited, the man in front of Mel fumbled with his cell phone. Mel caught it with his good hand and handed it back to him. The man turned, took Mel in and smiled.

  “Quick reflexes,” he said, grinning. “You could be a surgeon.”

  Mel chuckled. “Not quite. I’m a jeweler.”

  “Close enough,” he replied, and he held out a hand. “Andreas Berg.”

  He spoke in a slight Swedish accent.

  Mel shook his hand. “Mel King.”

  “Bride or groom?”

  “Both, technically. But I’m the groom’s brother.”

  “Really.” He looked Mel up and down, and Mel shifted. “You don’t look anything alike.”

  Mel chuckled again. “That’s what we’re told.”

  They talked as they went down the line, loading up their plates with food. Nora stood behind Mel, listening curiously to the conversation, not wanting to interrupt.

  Andreas Berg was an interesting character, working as a surgeon at a practice in London. Mel, perhaps not wanting anyone to know about their coming move to London, mentioned his galleria in Rome.

  Nora was intrigued--she kept catching Andreas glancing at Mel, a slight smirk on his face. Mel, too, would catch Andreas looking at him, and would look away, almost casually.

  “You’re Swedish?” Mel asked, and Andreas nodded.

  “I’m a friend of Gilla’s,” he said fondly. “We went to school together.”

  He paused, his lips twitching, before continuing, “I can’t place your accent. American?”

  “Canadian, technically. But I’m all around.”

  He nodded, shrugged casually. “Makes sense. They make them better over there.”

  Nora stared, then tried desperately not to laugh. Andreas Berg was hitting on Mel, right in the middle of the buffet line.

  To her further surprise, Mel actually blushed. He cleared his throat and, as if noticing her for the first time, turned and swept her front and center.

  “This is my girlfriend, Eleanora,” he said, still red in the face.

  Andreas looked surprised, but he recovered nicely.

  “Eleanora,” he greeted, shaking her hand. “Hej.”

  Nora tried not to giggle--they were both very clearly flustered. “Hello.”

  Just then Gilla appeared, pink-cheeked and grinning. “Andreas! Hej!”

  The two began to talk in rapid Swedish, and Nora and Mel slipped away, carrying their plates to an empty table.

  They sat down, and Nora stole a quick glance at Mel. He was making a project of cutting up his potatoes, keeping his head down. His left hand shook, but Nora ignored this for now. She was smiling amusedly, trying not to giggle at the slight red color that still tinged his cheeks.

  He must have sensed her gaze, because he looked up curiously. “Yes, love.”

  Nora tried to hide her smile, and took a bite of her chicken. “He was nice.”

  Mel shrugged, avoiding her eyes again. “He was.”

  She waited a moment. Should she?

  Yes, she should.

  “He seems to like Canadians,” she said slyly.

  There was a pause, and she looked at him. He was blushing again.

  “Don’t make fun of me,” he said quietly, and she smiled.

  “I’m not, I promise. It’s cute. I almost forgot you were--”

  “Bi?” he finished, raising a wry eyebrow.

  “I’m sorry,” she said gently. “I really do think it’s cute.”

  He looked at her. “You know I would never….”

  “I know. Don’t worry.”

  He nodded, and they returned to their meal.

  Nora looked up, and caught sight of Andreas across the hall. He was tall and lean, not unlike Mel’s body type, green-eyed and sandy-haired. Very handsome.

  She looked at Mel again, who was focused on his bad hand, curling his fingers shakily. Unlike Michael’s wounds, which were almost completely healed, and painless, Mel’s seemed to be getting worse. The wound was healed, but his arm was now painful, his fingers and the grasping of his hand growing weaker. Nora could tell he was worried, very worried, but he still hadn’t mentioned it, as if refusing to talk about it would somehow make it better.

  She reached out and gingerly rubbed his arm.

  Mel looked at her, wincing, but managed a smile. “I’m fine.”

  Nora didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to push him right now. They were all stressed, even at the wedding, and Gilla’s eventual voice loss was hanging over all of them.

  She looked across the hall, biting her lip, and caught sight of Andreas again. He was holding a beer, talking with Gilla, laughing.

  She suddenly got an idea. A crazy idea. Insane. But possibly a good one too.

  Maybe.

  She turned to Mel and leaned in, whispering in his ear. “Do you want to….like….ask him?”

  He looked at her, frowning. “Ask him what?”

  She gave him a look.

  He stared.

  “Are you serious?” he breathed, lowering his voice as if Andreas could hear from across the room.

  “I’m letting you do it,” Nora said firmly.

  “Nora--you’re the love of my life--”

  Her heart leapt at this statement, but she interrupted with, “There’s nothing wrong with sleeping with someone else if we’re both okay with it.”

  He made a sort of tut, looking away.

  Nora raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to sleep with him.”

  He gave her a look. “Not that badly.”

  “Would it be fun? Because if it would, then you should do it. You need it.”

  Mel muttered her name, pinching the bridge of his nose. She felt a surge of guilt. She hadn’t meant to stress him out even more.

  But then he looked up, gazing across the room at Andreas, who was still talking to Gilla.

  Mel looked at her. “I will if you do.”

  Nora frowned. “Like--like a threesome?”

  He nodded.

  She bit her lip again. She had certainly never taken part in a threesome before. She wasn’t even sure how any of that worked.

  But she looked at Andreas again, and she considered it. He was very attractive--again, a similar body type to Mel’s, with pretty eyes, a nice smile. She could picture him naked, and it was a nice image.

  She took a deep breath. Fine. She would do it.

  Nora looked at Mel and nodded. �
��Fine.”

  He shrugged grumpily. “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  He looked at her, and this time he smiled. “Good.”

  “You’d better go talk to him.”

  Mel got up, straightened his bowtie, and then stooped down and kissed her cheek. He didn’t say anything, just set off across the hall.

  Nora watched him go. She felt multiple feelings at once: guilt, anxiety, excitement. She had never done this before, although she was sure Mel had.

  She watched as Mel approached Andreas, handing him a glass of champagne and taking him aside. They talked for a minute, clearly idle chit chat. Then it was clear Mel had made the offer, because Andreas looked mildly surprised. Then he laughed, and Mel grinned, flushing. Andreas drew closer, murmuring in Mel’s ear and lightly touching his waist. Mel smirked and nodded.

  Nora felt herself blush. She had never seen Mel flirting with anyone else before. It was strange, seeing someone else touch him, making him smirk, turning him on. For a moment she thought she should feel jealous--but she didn’t. In fact, if anything, she felt excited.

  This was going to be fun. She could feel it. And what they needed right now was some fun.

  Mel

  Eleanora Barbara Rossi.

  God, this woman. She knew how to drive him crazy. Just when he thought he knew her inside and out she would throw a curveball, surprise him again. It was one of the reasons he loved her so much.

  But this was a hell of a surprise.

  Andreas would arrive at their hotel room at midnight, so at eleven the two got their things and went out to the car. Michael and Gilla had snuck off about an hour ago, and the rest of the guests were beginning to file out too.

  They got to their room with ten minutes to spare, and waited, lounging on the bed and talking. Nora seemed excited, but also nervous, fidgeting slightly and constantly glancing at the door. Mel wrapped his good arm around her, kissing her neck, and she relaxed a little.

  “How many times have you done this?” she asked, tilting her head to give him better access.

  He chuckled. “Many.”

  She was still tense, so he slid down the sleeve of her dress, kissing her shoulder. Then he slipped her dress down, exposing her breast. He traced his fingers along its curves, and she sighed, arching her back.

  “Don’t worry,” he continued, “I won’t let anything happen that you’re not comfortable with. I promise.”

  Nora nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”

  Then there was a knock at the door, and she was nervous again. She fixed her dress while Mel went to answer it.

  Andreas was leaning on the doorjamb, his hands in his pockets. He smiled, smug, and Mel grinned. He had noticed Andreas even before the buffet line, earlier in the evening. He hadn’t expected Andreas to flirt with him though, and he certainly hadn’t expected to find him at their hotel room’s door later in the night.

  It was turning out to be an interesting evening.

  “Tjenare,” Andreas greeted, looking Mel up and down. “You look good.”

  “I haven’t changed.”

  “Forget what I said, then,” he smirked, and Mel grinned, letting him inside.

  “Hello, darling,” Andreas greeted Nora, who had gotten off the bed and was standing in the middle of the room.

  She smiled, and Mel could see some of her nerves fade away. “Hi.”

  “Nervous?”

  She went pink and shrugged, embarrassed.

  But Andreas wasn’t teasing. “Me too,” he said, rummaging around in his pocket.

  “Hard to tell,” Mel murmured, and Andreas caught his eye, smirking so sexily he might as well have kissed him there.

  “Here,” he said, producing a joint from his pocket.

  Nora giggled, and he grinned, flushing. “Just the one, but I thought we could share. Celebrate the happy couple.”

  They lay down on the bed and smoked, passing the joint around, chatting and giggling like teenagers. Mel was in the middle, and every so often Andreas would brush at his fingers, sending a jolt up his good arm. Mel would look at him, and Andreas would look so close to kissing him. But then he would turn his head away, handing him the joint without even looking at him.

  Tease.

  “How long have you two been together?” Andreas asked, beginning to loosen his tie.

  Mel and Nora looked at each other. “Almost two years,” Nora said.

  He nodded.

  “What about you?” Mel asked.

  “God, no,” Andreas was saying. “No, I prefer being single.”

  “Prefer the solitude?” Mel asked.

  Andreas was unbuttoning his top shirt button, and Mel studied his exposed skin.

  Andreas smirked at him. “Perhaps that’s more your speed.”

  Mel raised his eyebrows. “That’s your impression of me?”

  He shrugged coyly. “Am I wrong?”

  “You are.”

  Andreas looked a little surprised, and he turned his head to look at Mel. “And here I thought I had you figured out, Mr. Jeweler.”

  Mel chuckled. “I’m sure you think you have most people figured out.”

  Andreas laughed. “You are funny.”

  Mel smirked, then got off the bed, turning to face him. He could see Nora out of the corner of his eye, turning onto her stomach and watching. But his focus was on Andreas, who was studying him almost lazily.

  Mel jerked his head, gesturing for him to approach him. “I want to see.”

  Andreas got up, in that same lazy way, and stood close to Mel. They stared at each other for a moment, tense, before Mel began to undo the buttons to Andreas’ shirt. His left hand shook, so he used his right instead. Once the buttons were undone Andreas slipped his shirt off. Mel didn’t hesitate; he reached out and touched him, tracing his fingers down his chest, his stomach, his hip. Andreas closed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

  He got impatient, and quickly undid the buttons on Mel’s shirt. Mel shrugged it off, and Andreas took him in, his eyes roving over Mel’s necklace, his scars. He frowned, and examined the recently healed wound on Mel’s arm.

  “Ouch,” he said. “Better be careful.”

  “I’ll live.”

  “I’ll go easy,” Andreas said, and then he was kissing him, cupping Mel’s face and running a hand down his chest.

  Mel shivered and kissed him hard. He was hot, his heart was racing, and he loved what Andreas’ hands were doing.

  They were frantic, yanking off the rest of their clothes. They looked at each other and grinned, chuckling. Andreas tilted Mel’s head and kissed his neck, sucking and biting down to his shoulder, his collarbone. He ran his hand down Mel’s side. Mel leaned his head back, letting out a breath. God, this was really happening.

  Andreas moved lower, and Mel hissed, looking down. He caught sight of Nora on the bed and grinned. She was lying on her stomach, kicking her legs, watching delightedly. She met his gaze and grinned too.

  Andreas straightened and smirked at the look on Mel’s face. He kissed him, then turned, looking directly at Nora.

  “Come here, darling,” he purred, and she immediately slid off the bed, excited.

  He took her face in his hands and kissed her, and she melted. He pulled away, nipped at her neck, and turned her around.

  “Beautiful dress,” he murmured, pulling down her zipper.

  Mel went to them, helping Nora shed her gown. He wasn’t the least bit jealous; in fact he had a suspicion that he was enjoying watching Nora with Andreas just as much as she was enjoying watching Andreas with him. He caught her eye, and they grinned at each other again. Her brown eyes were sparkling, and she was so beautiful.

  Andreas seemed to be thinking the same thing. “You are stunning,” he said, taking her hand and slowly twirling her around.

  She giggled, flushed, and he pulled her in and kissed her.

  “On the bed.”

  She lay back down, and Andreas kissed her, down her torso, across her hips
, between her legs. She moaned, stretching her arms over her head. Mel got on the bed and kissed her, touching her breasts, and she gasped.

  He was dizzy, and he couldn’t stop grinning. Watching Nora squirm underneath Andreas’ lips was driving him crazy.

  When she finally tensed he kissed her, catching her before she could cry out. She held his face and kissed him hard. Mel was lost in her until Andreas hovered over her. He kissed her, then turned to Mel, pushing on his good shoulder until he was flat on the bed.

  “You’re not even breaking a sweat,” Andreas said, hovering over him now.

  Mel smirked. “You might not be doing enough.”

  “Maybe not,” he replied. “Turn over.”

  They lay in bed for a while, catching their breath and talking. Nora was curled into Mel, her head lying on his chest. Andreas was to Mel’s left, and Mel was enjoying the view.

  Andreas looked at him and smirked. “Like what you see?”

  “Very much.”

  “Likewise.”

  He looked Mel up and down, then said, “Shame you aren’t single.”

  “So what? You can have me to yourself?”

  “You’d have to fight me,” Nora said, slinging an arm over Mel’s waist.

  Andreas chuckled. Then he turned onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow.

  “What happened to your arm?” he asked, staring at the pink scar on Mel’s bicep.

  Mel hesitated.

  Andreas touched his hand. “Can you squeeze?”

  Mel did his best, and bolts of pain shot up his arm. He grimaced, and Andreas let go of his hand.

  “Hold it up….can you move your fingers like this?….move it like this….”

  Nora sat up, frowning. “What’s up?”

  Mel eased up too, wincing.

  Andreas rubbed his jaw. “It looks like the nerve was damaged.”

  Mel sighed. He had been afraid of that, but hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself.

  “What does that mean?” Nora asked warily.

  “It needs surgery to correct it,” Andreas replied seriously. “If you wait too long, the damage will be permanent. When did this happen?”

  “A couple weeks ago.”

  Andreas stared at her. He looked at Mel, then back at Nora. “A couple weeks?”