“N.I.M.,” it could be a coincidence, “roll the dice, please.”
Seven total.
“N.I.M., roll the dice for the Emperor, please.”
Nine.
Nuri dropped the orb, barely processing when it hit the edge of the desk and rolled off it, clanging onto the floor, the tears welling in his eyes making it hard to see much of anything.
All this time, Nuri had foolishly thought the Emperor had been playing with him, when in reality, he’d merely been playing him.
Chapter 28:
Silver woke alone to a cold bed and empty room. Any lingering effects of the drug he’d taken last night should have been gone, but he found himself eager to locate his mate.
He’d bend Nuri over the nearest flat surface he could find.
His cock was already achy at the mental image, and he tried to calm it as he dressed.
Once upon a time, simply sitting down for a meal with Narek had been enough to ease some of this chaotic tension swirling within him, but now that Silver had tasted him in bed, he’d gotten greedy for more.
Simply enjoying Nuri’s company wasn’t enough. He wanted to put his mouth and his hands on him. Wanted to sink inside and get lost in the sensations only Nuri could provide.
Then they could sit at the table and make small talk, and Silver could go back to pretending like he didn’t think aboutleaking word of their engagement to the press. Nuri would throw a fit if he did though, which was the only thing stopping him.
When it came to announcing him as his Royal Consort, Silver had to play it safe.
“Where is he?” he demanded as soon as he stepped into the hallway and found Falc already waiting.
“He’s in the study, majesty.” Falc pursed his lips in a partial frown.
Silver didn’t bother asking him about it. “We’ll be late for breakfast. Don’t make the staff wait. You’re all free to take the day off.”
He headed up the stairs two at a time, not giving Falc a chance to reply. Yesterday, leading up to the party, there’d been phone calls from several idiots and a slew of emails from even bigger idiots. The distribution problem had only just been solved, and even though that particular mess was his own damn fault for hiring those hacks to start the fires, he felt like his head was ready to explode from it all.
When he came to the door to the study, he shoved it open, only finally feeling like he could breathe again when his eyes locked onto the man standing on the opposite side of the room.
Nuri was in front of the large window, his back toward Silver. He seemed to be lost in thought, staring out at the backyard, even though he probably couldn’t see much with the gray clouds blanketing the sky. He was only dressed in a simple robe, which was odd since he never left the room like that, and at the sound of the door, his head tipped to the side, though he didn’t turn to greet Silver.
“Nuri.” Why did he get the odd sense that something was wrong? Silver searched the area but there didn’t seem to be anything weird or out of place. The coffee table where Nuri usually worked was empty, and though the man was standing on the other side of his desk, the surface seemed untouched aswell. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling, and an unease unlike anything he’d ever known before began to coil in his gut. “Narek.”
Finally, Nuri turned away from the window, meeting Silver’s gaze with a soft smile touching his lips.
But something about that didn’t seem right either.
His gaze traveled down to Nuri’s outfit. He’d left the tie loose, the material opened suggestively, showing off a good amount of his chest.
Silver frowned. “Nuri?”
“I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve said my name in the past, and yet you keep saying it.” Nuri came around the desk, and Silver noticed he was holding something. He rolled the N.I.M. absently in his palm, and then perched on the edge of the desk and cocked his head. “What’s wrong, majesty? You don’t seem like yourself today.”
“The same can be said about you.”
“Oh?” Nuri shrugged. “Perhaps I’m just anticipating the end of our game.” He held up the N.I.M. “Speaking of which, should we get started?”
He’d almost forgotten today marked the start of their fourth week. “Right now?”
“No time like the present.”
