“It’s not fine,” Neve disagreed with a pout. “You’re finally here, but we can only see you for a few hours every day. It sucks.”
“This won’t be the only trip I make,” Nuri said, pretending to read the menu while he held his breath to see what Silver would do. Would he interject? Technically, neither of them knew the future. With four rounds of their game left to go, it was anyone’s guess what next week could look like, let alone next month.
If Nuri did win, what would he do?
He’d struggled not to dwell on it, to push the Swiftbond to the corner of his mind. Now wasn’t the time to unpack something so heavy, and he didn’t want to lose focus and miss out on this rare opportunity to be with his siblings.
But the anxiety was constantly there, bubbling just beneath the surface.
Before this, Nuri would have said with utmost confidence that he could more than happily live without orgasms or sex or any contact of the sort at all.
Of course he’d always wondered what Silver was like in bed, and he’d hoped this strange reluctance to give up on future experiences was due to that fact. A result of his inappropriate crush that had spanned near a decade. It’d been easy enough to blame the bond initially, but Silver had successfully stripped Nuri of even that comfort when he’d ordered him to fuck him in broad daylight.
There was no denying that Nuri enjoyed sleeping with him. It was aggressive and controlling, and half the time, he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. But it was also thrilling, and euphoric. He’d inadvertently found with Silver the thing that had been lacking with all other sexual partners.
Did that mean it was enough for him to throw his plans away?
Was he really sitting here, across from his family, considering, even for a second, staying with Silver Rein? And all for something as unimportant as sexual chemistry?
No, he needed to wake up and remember who he was dealing with. If Nuri fell into this trap, he’d find himself right back in the perpetual cycle. His life as Royal Secretary arguably wasn’t a bad one, but…If only to himself, Nuri could finally admit that he was perhaps a bit lonely.
If he stayed, nothing would change. Even if Silver was telling the truth about physically wanting him. That just meant warming CEO Rein’s bed would be added to the list of tasks Nuri was expected to perform. And if that ever got out…
The press would have a field day.
His siblings would panic.
And he’d feel more trapped than ever before.
Nuri had always known exactly what this was. He was the employee, the subject. Silver was the employer and the regent. Just because Silver had suddenly decided to flip the script did not mean Nuri could be expected to go along with it without complaint.
“You’ve had that three times already this week,” Nate was scolding Neve, flipping the page of her menu and pointing at a different section. “Choose from here.”
“Fine. But then you,” she pushed his copy of the menu onto the table, “have to stick to this selection as well.”
“Fine.” Nate didn’t so much as bat an eye lash, making Nuri wonder how often the two of them played like this. “I’ll get the roast duck.”
“I wanted that.”
“Then I’ll get the l’eak.” He shrugged and picked up his water to take a sip, catching Nuri’s gaze. “What are you getting, brother?”
“He’ll have the truffle pasta,” Silver replied for him, but not to Nate. The waitress had arrived. He took Nuri’s menu and handed her both of theirs. “I’ll have the strip steak.”
Neve scowled. “He has a mouth of his own you know? He can use it.”
“Neve.” Nuri gave a curt shake of his head, but that only spurred her on.
“Why are you defending him?”
“He isn’t,” Silver said. “He’s worried you’ll insult me and I’ll retaliate. He’s defending you.” Before Nuri could get worried, he continued. “There’s no cause for alarm. I came here as a guest of your brother’s, not as your emperor. You may both speak freely around me. Even if it’s something I don’t want to hear, I won’t harm you.”
“Yeah? In that case—”
Nate pulled her back into her chair and smiled politely at the now visibly uncomfortable waitress. “She’ll have the duck and I’ll have the l’eak, thank you. I love your broach, by the way. It’s from Guest Fine Art Academy’s recent showcase, right?”
“Yes.” The waitress fingered the small ruby rose pinned over her heart. “There were so many wonderful pieces this year, I almost didn’t know what to choose.”
“I know,” Nate chuckled. “I left with a handful of stuff. I’m still trying to figure out where to display it all.”
