“And yet you did it anyway?”
“I couldn’t risk you attempting to leave with your brother. If you’d made a public scene...”
Nuri considered it and then snorted. “Don’t pretend that my doing so would have forced your hand. That wouldn’t have been enough for you to drop my name from the list and we both know it.” He inwardly cursed. “I can’t believe I was in here feeling bad.”
That caught Silver’s attention. “Bad for what?”
The petty part of him wanted to refuse to answer, but really, he was only slightly upset at the Emperor for his actions. The fact of the matter was, even though he wouldn’t confess as much out loud, Nuri had enjoyed last night. Even if it meant dancing to the Emperor’s tune another day, he didn’t think he’d take it back if given the opportunity.
There was also the matter of how he’d delivered his resignation in the first place to consider. He didn’t want to, but now that he’d had some time for the rage to settle in his gut, Nuri could admit that he’d been hasty with his decision to quit on the spot the way that he had.
“A couple of weeks should give me enough time to properly train my replacement, at least on the basics. I believe Marta would make a good choice, as she’s already familiar with many aspects of my job.”
“Have you forgotten our agreement already?” Silver moved a step closer. “Do you perhaps need a reminder?”
“I’ve thought it over and I realize that I was too harsh,” Nuri tried again. “Leaving you in the lurch was irresponsible of me, and unprofessional.”
“Unprofessional?” Silver grunted, seemingly holding back a grin. “You’ve had my cock up your ass, Narek. I think we’re way past that, don’t you?”
He blushed and quickly looked away, hating himself for being unable to maintain eye contact over a small comment like that. The Emperor was good at pushing other people’s buttons, however, and he must have noticed how uncomfortable Nuri got whenever the topic of sex came up. Now that it’d happened between them…The thought of forever being the butt of Silver’s jokes after this left a bitter taste in his mouth and he couldn’t help the way his lips pursed in displeasure.
“Don’t pout,” Silver said, “it’s unbecoming.”
“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think it’s fair of you to make a statement like that. If it weren’t for you, I would be with my siblings right now instead of—”
“In my charming company?” he cut him off. “Is it really that bad? Being with me?”
Even though the words weren’t meant in any romantic or insinuating context, Nuri felt his heart leap and inwardly swore.
Since they were in the room that belonged to the emperor, the space was vast and broken up into areas. There was the bed which was large enough to fit four grown men, the window seat tucked against the bay window, and a leather couch on the opposite side in front of a large projection screen. Doors to both the walk-in closet and the bathroom were also over to the far left. Everything was done in shades of warm honey, deep umber, and reds.
There was enough space for a judo team to practice comfortably, and yet suddenly the walls seemed like they were closing in and Nuri was finding it difficult to breathe.
And all because Silver was still advancing toward the end of the bed, a glimmer in his eyes that Nuri didn’t quite recognize.
“Majesty,” he paused to run his tongue over his suddenly dry lips, spine straightening when Silver’s gaze immediately dropped to follow the motion and Nuri tensed up.
All at once the strange look vanished and Silver frowned at him, eyes sweeping over him swiftly. “Are you in pain? I knew I was too rough with you last night. Should I summon the doctor?”
“No.” He shook his head. “That’s not—I’m fine.”
“Nuri.”
“Really,” he insisted, wanting more than anything to get them back on track and talking about work. Work was safe. “Back to Marta—”
“Fuck Marta,” Silver snapped.
Nuri bristled. “You’re going to need to hire a replacement, sir.”
“Are you so certain you’re going to win the next round?”
“Are you so certain I won’t?” he countered. “Either way, making sure there’s a suitable person trained to fill my shoes is the logical next step.”
“You think you can, what? Keep trying even if you lose?” Silver shook his head. “Not going to happen. I gave you this chance, this one chance. That’s all you’ll get.”
“You can’t honestly expect me to continue working for you for the rest of my life.”
“That’s exactly what I expect.”
