That hidden meaning revealed itself in an instant, causing Nuri’s anxiety to spike despite how amazing his body was being made to feel.
“If I had that type of reassurance,” he coaxed, “I wouldn’t feel the need to follow you around. You could wander on your own again. Travel, even, if you wanted. Visit your siblings. But only if I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, you couldn’t try to leave me.”
“Silver, don’t.”
“You said it yourself. You know what I want. You’ve known for a while now.”
“No.” He shook his head, fear cutting through the desire. “Stop.”
There was no proof. No reason for him to believe that tiny voice that had whispered the impossible when he’d found out about the bond. No matter how many times Silver called him his, or threatened to never let him go, Nuri still wouldn’t let himself consider, even for a second, what that could truly mean.
“Stop,” he said more firmly.
“Beg me for it one minute and then resist the next?” Silver tsked. “I’m not just a warm body you can use at your leisure. You can’t view me as an object to be toyed with and discarded. You aren’t one either, despite how desperately you’ve tried to make the both of us believe that’s how I see you.”
“You’re giving me too much credit. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied, crying out when Silver’s thrusts turned bruising.
“If we keep at it like this, someone won’t be able to walk a straight line in front of his siblings at breakfast.”
Nuri bucked in protest, but barely managed to lift a centimeter off the mattress. He didn’t stand a chance against Silver’s weight.
“Think. You’re happy that I let you spend time with them, aren’t you?”
“It doesn’t make up for all the other times you held me back,” Nuri managed to growl.
“The future can be different,” he told him. “I can be more trusting. Laxer.”
“You’re a possessive, arrogant, and presumptuous asshole,your majesty,” he retorted. “You’ll never change.”
“Trying to anger me won’t alter the outcome.” Silver saw right through him. “You’ve had a few days to sit with it. Nate and Neve have helped relax you. You’re ready, Nuri. Ready to hear it, even if you may not be ready to accept it. Yet.”
“I’m going to quit.” His determination sparked and then fizzled just as quickly when Silver pulled his cock back and used his crown to rub directly against his prostate repeatedly.
“You’ll have to win first,” he reminded.
“I’m going to.” Nuri groaned and saw stars as he was edged closer to the finish line. “Quitting doesn’t mean taking on a different position. I’m going to move here, Silver. I’m going to quit and—”
“A Royal Consort can’t reside on a planet separate from their Imperial.”
Even though he knew what they were working up to—or at least, his subconscious had—hearing it out loud, having it confirmed, caused him to whimper. If it were possible, he wouldhave caved in on himself and pulled away, but Silver wasn’t going to let him off that easy.
“I won’t name you until you agree,” the Emperor said. “But youwillagree, Nuri. As soon as we’ve finished this game, once you’ve lost as per our terms, you’ll become my Royal Consort. No one will dare covet you then. Not Romeo Brixton or anyone else. And you won’t have anywhere left to hide. But that’s the beauty in it, don’t you see? In my knowing you’ll be snared, you’ll finally gain your freedom.”
It was simple enough for Silver to claim he’d allow Nuri to travel between planetsnow, with his cock battering him open and his broad shoulders keeping him caged. But what about later, when the coital bliss had worn off, and they were facing each other once more and he could see the defiance in Nuri’s eyes?
Because he was defiant in this.
Being Royal Consort didn’t mean freedom. It meant giving up what little pieces he’d managed to scrounge together over the years. It meant loosing this knotted, fucked up thing between them, and willingly chaining himself the Emperor. Forever.
Ever since they’d been dumb teenagers, Nuri had failed to treat Silver with the proper level of caution. The Emperor was a bonfire, and he was the fool getting too close, greedy for warmth.
He was about to burn alive, and it was his own damn fault.
“Don’t cry, pet.”
Was he crying?
Oh.
