Chapter 6
“He’s out of danger, Majesty.”
Silver couldn’t help but snort derisively at the doctor, a man old enough to be his father who used to serve Sij as well.
Danger wasn’t something so easily avoidable, case in point, the fact that Nuri had merely been driving away from Rien Inc.
when a driver had lost control of their hovercar and crashed into him.
“Why hasn’t he woken up yet, Doctor?” Falc asked softly, a deep furrow in his brow the only indication that he was concerned.
He stood on the other side of the bed, spine straight, hands clasped before him.
Even though he’d helped transport Nuri from the hospital to the mansion, his all-black three-piece suit was as crisp and clean as ever.
But that was Falc. For as far back as Silver could remember the old gentleman, he’d always been impeccably put together.
For the longest time, he’d assumed that was due to his father’s influence, but when Sij Rien had passed and Silver had informed Falc that he wouldn’t need to be so rigid around him anymore, the butler had blinked at him, frowned, and walked away.
There were few people in the universe that Silver allowed to dismiss him, and Falc was one of them. The other was currently lying unconscious in the full-sized bed, tucked partially under a thick light gray duvet.
Short strands of Nuri’s chocolate-colored hair fanned across the white pillow, and if not for the fact there was an angry-looking bruise at his left temple, he’d appear as though peacefully sleeping.
“There’s no way of knowing exactly when he’ll wake,” Doctor Yi said.
“It could be any moment, or it could be tomorrow. If it goes on any longer than that, give me a call and I’ll return immediately, but as far as I can tell, aside from the nasty bump and the small fracture to his ankle, Mr. Narek is fine.
He’s fortunate to have come out of it relatively unharmed.
The same can’t be said for the man who hit him. ”
“He’s the lucky one actually,” Silver stated darkly, clenching his hands into tight fists at his sides as he continued to watch the slow rise and fall of Nuri’s chest. If the man hadn’t died upon impact, Silver would have ensured he’d suffered for the rest of his miserable life.
“Yes, well,” the doctor cleared his throat, having been around Silver enough times to understand where the Emperor’s thoughts had turned without needing further explanation.
“I’ve prescribed him some pain medication.
He should only be allowed to take four tablets a day and no more.
If the pain is great, he can use as much Sun cream as needed.
I’ll come back in,” he checked the calendar on his multi-slate briefly, “six days. He should be ready to remove the Del-Bandage by then.”
Silver glanced down at where Nuri’s leg was covered by the blanket, glowering despite being unable to see the ugly tan bandage wrapped around his ankle.
The material was meant to harden around a person’s injury, acting as a thin cast meant to allow them to move more easily as they healed.
It also didn’t restrict them; Nuri could get it wet and fit his shoe over it with ease without fear of damaging it or applying painful pressure to his fracture.
Honestly, it was barely visible at all, but Silver hated it anyway.
He hated what it stood for.
Nuri had gotten hurt and he’d been nowhere around when it’d happened.
Helpless.
Silver hated being helpless, hated when things were out of his carefully crafted control.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Falc motioned toward the exit. “Allow me to see you out.”
“Certainly.” Yi turned back to Silver and gave a low, measured bow, then without another word, was escorted out of the room.
Silver exhaled the second the door clicked shut behind them, sealing him inside of the vast bedroom with only Nuri as his witness.
He’d tried his damndest to control his irritation around the others, especially at the hospital, but it’d been difficult and he wasn’t sure how successful he’d actually been.
When it came to his stubborn secretary that tended to be the case.
“You’re the only person who can make me worried,” he muttered down at Nuri’s sleeping form, slipping his hands into his pants pockets. If not for the other man, Silver probably wouldn’t even understand what that emotion felt like.
He’d always known he was different from the rest. His father had recognized it in him from a young age and had immediately gotten him tested.
Silver had been too young to remember much of that time, but he’d read through the files since and was aware of everything he’d undergone.
All of the specialists he’d met with. Apparently, in the beginning, Sij had been in denial, but no matter who he brought in or from what part of the galaxy he brought them, the diagnosis was always clear.
Psychopathic tendencies.
There was more to it than that, but none of it really mattered to Silver. He was who he was, and who he was happened to be the Emperor of Ignite.
“Your emperor.” He pulled one of his hands free and lightly brushed Nuri’s bangs off his forehead.
Admittedly, he hadn’t anticipated Nuri’s explosive reaction to canceling his trip. He’d expected anger, sure, a bit of hostility, but that was about it. It was hardly the first time he’d made a unilateral decision for the other man, and typically Nuri got over his annoyance fairly quickly.
The two of them had been permanent fixtures in each other’s lives for so long, Silver had wrongly assumed he knew everything there was to know about Nuri Narek. He should have realized that everyone had their limits.
If he’d allowed him to travel off planet however, there was little doubt in his mind that pesky sister of Nuri’s would have done everything in her power to convince her brother not to return and that…
Silver couldn’t allow that. Just the thought of days apart from Narek made his skin crawl, but if he’d received a call stating he no longer planned on returning at all?
“It was this, or I go after your siblings directly,” Silver whispered, “and I know you’d never forgive me for something like that.”
Neve and Nate were all Nuri had, and he’d do anything to keep them safe.
Silver had contemplated threatening them in order to keep Nuri from leaving, but the risk of Nuri hating him—for real—far outweighed the benefit of forcing him to stick around.
So Silver had done the only other thing he could think of.
He’d canceled his tickets and added Nuri’s name to the No Fly list. Clearly, that had still been a step too far.
Silver cocked his head, waiting to see if a flash of guilt would enter him, but it never came.
He’d been in a panic when he’d gotten the call about the accident, the trip from the office to the hospital a blur, and logically, a part of him understood that if he hadn’t pulled that trick on Nuri, then Nuri never would have been on the road at that time in the first place.
But that didn’t mean he felt guilty about it.
For one, it’s not like he’d told Nuri to get behind the wheel while in such an emotional state. That’d been his stubborn secretary’s choice. Silver also hadn’t been the asshole who’d gotten wasted at the bar down the street.
So, no, he didn’t feel guilty, but he could see that someone else in his position most likely would.
Could see that Nuri may expect him to.
“Since when did you become so much damn work?” he grumbled, though he had the answer to that already.
Ever since he’d discovered Nuri’s plan to resign over a year ago, Silver had needed to calculate to keep the other man in line.
His father’s passing had bought him some time, but apparently not enough.
Nuri’s hand shifted over the blankets, his fingers twitching slightly before he pursed his lips and winced.
A moment later, his eyes slowly blinked open, squeezing shut against the bright lights in the room before he peeled them open once more and swiveled his head on the pillow.
The second he caught sight of Silver, he frowned.
“What’s going on?” his voice came out crackly, and his confusion only deepened when Silver poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the end table. Still, he dutifully opened his mouth when Silver brought the tip of the straw to his cracked lips.
“Slow down,” Silver ordered when half the glass was drained with a few drags.
Nuri released the straw and licked his lips, flinching when his tongue touched a crack.
Silver placed the glass back on the table and then reached for the small tube of Sun cream nearby. Lowering so he was perched on the edge of the mattress, he quickly applied a small amount to his finger and then gently brushed it over Nuri’s damaged bottom lip.
Nuri sucked in a sharp breath, eyes staring up at Silver as though seeing him for the first time. “What are you doing?”
“Tending to you,” he practically growled, grabbing onto his chin roughly and moving him back into place when Nuri tried to tip his head away. “I’m furious at the moment. Don’t test me.”
Nuri paused, his glazed-over expression seemingly homing in on Silver, as if in his stupor he was only really just now realizing he was actually there. “Is this…a dream?”
Or maybe not.
Yi had prescribed a ton of drugs initially and it was obvious Nuri was half out of his mind and delirious at the moment.
“No, you—” Silver didn’t get the chance to finish that sentence. One second, he was leaning over Nuri and the next the smaller man was latching onto his wrist with a strength he shouldn’t have been able to muster considering all the drugs swirling through his system, and yanking him down.
Silver barely caught himself at the last second, but not before their mouths met. The contact was minimal, barely a brush of skin against skin, and yet Nuri let out this reedy moan that Silver felt vibrate through his entire being.