How boring.
“As you wish, majesty.” Falc bowed, but Silver was already twisting the door handle and slipping back inside his bedroom.
Nuri was sitting up when he got there.
“Did we wake you?” Silver closed the door once more, but didn’t bother with the lock.
Nuri clearly noticed, but didn’t comment on it. He must have already realized he was still chained.
“How are you feeling?” He made his way to the bed, easing onto the side so he could press the back of his palm to Nuri’s pale brow. He’d been worked up last night, which could easily lead to fever. When his temperature was normal, he hummed in approval. “Hungry? Thirsty? I’ll have breakfast delivered.” A single press of a button on his multi-slate did just that.
“Clothes,” he didn’t say it like it was a question, but the look in Nuri’s eyes made it obvious that it was.
Silver gave a single shake of his head, then picked at the edge of the blanket currently pooled over Nuri’s lap. “I like you like this.”
“I do not.”
He pretended to consider that. “How badly do you want them?”
“Are you threatening to dismiss breakfast if I insist?”
Silver scowled and straightened. “I would never starve you, Narek. Be serious.”
“I’m naked and chained to the floor,” he drawled. “I assure you, I’m painfully aware of the severity of this situation.” Resting against the headboard, he sighed. “Have you taken careof the footage from the club? What about other potential leaks? There weren’t many, but there were still hovercars in the parking lot, all with dash cams. If—”
He silenced him with a hand over his left thigh, curious over the way Nuri’s eyes latched onto it and his whole body tensed at the small bit of contact.
“Are you afraid of me?” That wasn’t what Silver wanted, but it’d be foolish to ignore how useful a tool fear could be. He wouldn’t cultivate it, yet quashing it all together might not be in his best short-term interests.
“I’ve always been afraid of you, majesty.”
That wasn’t true. Wary of him, yes. Careful, of course. But above all else, patient.
He was counting on that patience now to get them through this.
“I have a gift for you,” Silver said.
“I don’t want it.”
“Are you sure?”
Nuri’s lips pursed slightly, his silence enough to indicate he was considering it. Calculating his best options.
Silver lifted a hand and pressed his thumb between Nuri’s eyes, smoothing the wrinkles away. “You’re clever, that’s what makes us such a great team.”
“We aren’t a team,” he disagreed, pushing his hand away. “I work for you, not with you.”
“I wish you wouldn’t lie to me, Narek. I don’t like it.”
“Where was the lie, majesty?” When he didn’t get a response, Nuri glanced away. “What do you intend to do with me now?”
“Keep you.”
His eyes slipped shut, and he folded his hands in his lap, picking at the cuticle of his pointer finger absently. “In this room?”
“That depends on you,” Silver replied, waiting until the other man had composed himself enough to brave meeting his gaze once more before elaborating. “Do you remember last night?”
“Which part?”
