“I’m not sure I have,” he stated. “We have an arrangement, a deal, and we haven’t even played a single round yet. I’ll honor the terms that were set. Beinggood for youwasn’t one of them.”
“I didn’t think it needed to be,” Silver admitted, “since you’ve always been that way for me.”
“That was before you almost destroyed my relationship with my siblings and turned me into a prisoner,” Nuri said.
“I’ve apologized for the first and tried my best to make amends,” he pointed out. “As for the second, I have no regrets. If that upsets you, I’m sorry for it, but that won’t change my stance on the matter. I want you with me, Nuri. If I have to chain you to my side in order to make that happen, I will do so. Shamelessly. Without remorse. However,” he tapped his fingers on the armrest and nodded a few times, “I do see what you’re trying to tell me. I won’t release you from our agreement, but if I promise to try harder not to cross those other boundariesof yours, to not…force your hand anywhere other than in the bedroom, will that satisfy you?”
Honestly, Nuri was too shocked to respond right away, though he did his best to hide that fact. He’d never heard Silver be so forthright before, and the fact there’d also been an apology thrown in there for good measure…
“I still don’t understand why you’re doing all of this,” he admitted, “however…yes, that will do. For now.”
“I’ll have Nickel deliver your things directly to you,” Silver said. “You can sort them as you wish. I do have one other thing to confess, since it seems pertinent I do so now instead of waiting, lest you get the wrong idea and think I broke this newly formed accordance.”
“What’s that?” Nuri braced himself.
“I called you out of the office all week,” he told him. “But that can change. I’ll assess your health later tonight and decide whether or not we should work from home tomorrow as well. Obviously, I’ll now leave that decision in your hands. But,” his eyes darkened slightly, “you have to be honest, Narek. Even if you don’t like being here, if you’re in pain that’s not a good enough reason to force yourself to go into the office.”
There was no real reason to argue with that, but Nuri found himself pushing anyway.
“We’re playing the first game tonight, aren’t we?” he asked. “I might end up winning and not having to work for you come tomorrow at all.”
Silver’s eyes narrowed. “That won’t happen.”
“How do you know?” They were using his N.I.M. to roll and the odds were split fifty-fifty.
Slowly, Silver rose from the bench, staring down at him all the while. “You’re mine, Nuri.”
“That may be,” he said, “For now. I have three chances to change that.”
Silver opened his mouth but then closed it once more. After a moment he finally motioned toward the study. “Let’s get back to work. The sooner we’re done for the day the sooner I can teach you whose cock you’re going to worship for the rest of your life.”
Nuri sputtered, shocked by the vulgarity of that statement, but Silver had already turned away, leaving him with no other choice but to follow.
Chapter 15:
The Emperor’s bedroom somehow seemed more ominous than it had in the past, and Nuri hesitated just within the entrance, hand itching to grab onto the doorknob, throw the thing open, and make a run for it.
Nate was staying in the room just down the hall, meaning he’d hear the commotion and most likely come to see what was going on. If he got himself involved a second time, there was no telling what Silver would do—
“Try it,” Silver’s low spoken words sliced through Nuri’s thoughts and his head snapped up to find the Emperor had stopped in the center of the room and turned toward him. His hands were casually in his front pockets, hip cocked, but his expression wasn’t guarded like it usually was. Instead, the swirl of heat and challenge written on his face was impossible to miss. “Give it an attempt. See what happens, Narek.”
Nuri dropped his arm to his side, giving up on the idea of running. Not that he would have actually done it anyway. He knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“Good boy,” Silver praised, the corner of his mouth quirking upward when that had Nuri’s spine stiffening. He held out his hand, palm up. “Shall we begin?”
Pointedly, Nuri bent down and picked his N.I.M. up off the floor from where it’d been idling at his side and took a step closer to the Emperor. He was careful to maintain some distance, not entirely trusting the other man to keep his word should Nuri come out of this the winner.
He also didn’t trust himself not to feel a bit disappointed if that were the case either, but he wasn’t above admitting to himself that he wanted to know. He wanted to experience sleeping with Silver. Wanted to try it once andrememberit, if only to satisfy all those fantasies his past self had wasted all that time with.
Really, it came down to what was more important to him.
Getting railed by the Emperor?
Or his freedom?
It should be an easy enough question, and yet…
The two of them had finished their work a couple of hours early but had been forced to attend dinner as per usual since Nate had arrived shortly after. Nuri had feared that Silver would force the issue, but he’d surprisingly gone along with it, possibly understanding that Nuri didn’t want his brother to know what was going on here, whether that was him gaining his freedom or…
