“Good.” Nuri pushed him to the side and stood. “Make sure you compile all of the date we have so I can go over the file while we’re on the spaceship.”
He nodded, but Nuri was already headed for the bathroom.
“Tried to drag me down with you, is that it?” he grumbled under his breath as he went. “We’ll see about that. I’ll make sure you receive the harshest punishment possible.”
Silver grinned.
That was the ruthless secretary he knew and loved.
A knock on the door reminded him of breakfast, and he pulled on his pants and went to retrieve it. They were going to need their energy. He may have won the battle, but the war was just beginning.
Once Nuri had space to really think about the bond, he was going to start freaking out.
And Silver would be there to pull him back from panic. He’d calm and soothe him until Nuri was conditioned to turn to him at the first sign of distress. He would make himself for Nuri what Nuri had always been for him.
A touchstone. Clarity amidst chaos.
A place to call his own.
Chapter 23:
“This place is so fancy.” Neve linked her arm through Nuri’s, gaze sweeping up at the domed ceiling and the sparkling crystal chandelier. “Like, I get it, but I still wish you’d come home and stay with us.”
Silver had booked them a room at Concealed originally, a somewhat taboo hotel that Nuri had absolutely refused to step foot into. They’d ended up somewhere else, but the place was no less befitting someone of the Emperor’s station. When Nuri had suggested Silver stay there, and he go to his siblings’ house alone, he’d almost found himself chained up again.
So he’d conceded.
But that didn’t mean he was any happier about it than his siblings were.
Since he was there later than originally planned, neither of them had time off. Neve was settling into her new internshipat a medical facility located at a hospital, and the auto shop Nate worked for was apparently booked solid for the next few weeks. The past two days, they’d done their best to make time for Nuri, but it was harder to do with him staying halfway across the city.
“Next time,” Nuri found himself promising his sister as the four of them were led through the restaurant to a table tucked into the corner of the second level. It overlooked the floor, and gave them a fantastic view of the bustling city below.
Vitality was known for its long-lasting rainy season, and it was currently pouring out. Water cascaded down the side of the glass window, causing the neon lights from nearby buildings to warp and seemingly glow more brightly.
“If the weather were nicer,” Neve noticed where he was looking, “I would suggest going to the park afterward. You’d really like it. They’ve brought in trees from several galaxies.”
“He’s probably just happy to be away from the snow.” Nate frowned slightly when Silver, who’d been at the back of their little group, stepped around him and placed a hand on the the chair next to Nuri, completely blocking Neve from taking the seat herself.
Nuri glared, but Silver ignored him, settling in, and effectively blocking Nuri’s path in the process. If he wanted to leave for any reason, he was going to have to ask Silver to move first.
It’d only been a couple of days since he’d learned about the Swiftbond, during which, the Emperor had been acting…oddly.
Though he’d booked them a shared hotel room, with only a single bed, he hadn’t initiated sex again. The blinds had been kept closed against the moonlight, and their clothes had remained on.
But he’d held Nuri tightly all through the night.
Who would have guessed the stoic Emperor of Ignite was big on cuddling?
Nuri certainly hadn’t.
Beneath the table, Silver’s left hand moved to rest possessively over his knee, but Nuri didn’t do anything about it. Whenever they were around his siblings, he tried his best to act normal. The last thing he wanted was to worry them, and if either discovered that he’d formed a Swiftbond with Silver…
They’d both worked so hard to make something of themselves here on Vitality. Nuri couldn’t be the one who ruined that by becoming a distraction when they were so busy.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t leave the shop earlier today,” Nate said then, as if reading Nuri’s mind. He’d taken the seat across from Silver, but pointedly ignored the Emperor. Instead, he handed out the old-fashioned paper menus between the three of them, leaving the fourth one lying in the center of the table.
“It’s fine,” Nuri reassured.
