By the time Silver pulled away, Nuri was out of breath.
“I’ll see you back at the hotel.” His eyes hardened warningly. “No later than midnight, Narek.”
All he could do was nod, still too shocked to do much else.
“Damn,” Nate stated as they watched Silver step out of the shop and onto the street. “I can’t believe that worked.”
Neither could Nuri.
He should have been glad.
So why did he feel nervous instead?
Chapter 24:
Silver wasn’t waiting up for him when Nuri arrived at the hotel later that night. Admittedly, a part of him had been expecting it. Had pictured the Emperor standing in the foyer, arms crossed, ready to interrogate him about how he’d spent these past ten hours without him.
But the suite was offputtingly quiet.
Slipping out of his shoes, Nuri left them by the door and trudged into the living area. The lights had been left on the dimmest setting, making it easy enough for him to see as he made his way down the hall toward the bedroom. When he eased the door open, he found Silver already in bed.
He hesitated, considering his options.
This would be the perfect opportunity to sleep elsewhere. The couch looked particularly comfortable, he could definitely have a good night’s rest there. And in the morning, if Silver gotmad about it, he could just say he’d been too tired to bother going all the way to bed.
Slowly, he retreated, shutting the door once more.
Back in the living room, he rearranged the throw pillows and removed his jacket, using that as a blanket.
The hotel was designed to please dignitaries and celebrities, with all the amenities and expensive furniture one could expect. The couch was as comfortable as it’d appeared, soft yet springy enough to cradle his body in all the right places, with the barest hint of lilac and vanilla fabric softener.
It was every bit as comfortable as his bed back home.
And yet…
Nuri couldn’t fall asleep.
He tried. For almost an hour.
It was too quiet though. Too still. The temperature was perfect, and yet Nuri had grown accustom to the warmth a body lying next to him could provide.
He could be stubborn. Could lie to himself and pretend this was nothing, a one off, and stay here until morning. But if he did that, he’d no doubt be too exhausted to give Nate and Neve the proper attention they deserved, and seeing as how it was their last full day together before he had to return to Ignite…
Nuri tossed off his jacket, leaving it where it landed as he gave in and made his way back down the hall. He was just as quiet entering the room, and didn’t bother changing into his pajamas.
Silver always took the spot closest to the exit, so Nuri rounded the bed and tried to be as careful as possible as he lowered onto the mattress and covered himself with the comforter.
He’d only just closed his eyes when a strong arm settled over his waist and warm breath fanned across the back of his neck.
The Emperor slid to his side of the bed, engulfing him from behind. “What were you doing?”
Nuri checked the clock on the end table and saw that it was close to one am now. “I got here around eleven fifty,” he swore, only for Silver to nuzzle against him soothingly.
“Did you have fun?” his voice was thick with sleep.
“Yes.”
Silver hummed. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
