Chapter 26
The party was going off without a hitch. Over one hundred people filled the event hall, dressed to impress as cameras from the media captured handshakes and shared champagne between societies elite.
Nuri milked a glass of his own, standing on the outskirts chatting with a visiting Royal from a nearby planet. The man had kept him busy for the past ten or so minutes, engrossed in his own recollection of a beach trip he’d taken once that had ended in tragedy.
“I told him not to swim that deep,” the older man tsked. “He didn’t listen.”
“Yes, I’ve heard razors are prevalent in Synastry waters,” Nuri supplied absently, trying not to make it too obvious that he was sneaking glances across the room where the Emperor stood surrounded by a small gathering.
One of the women said something to him, and even went as far as to lightly rest her fingers against his arm, and Silver threw his head back and laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d heard in the whole damn galaxy.
Nuri’s fingers tightened on the flute, but he was more frustrated at his own reaction than by what he was witnessing.
Mostly.
“It’s their long winters,” Geoff, the man standing next to Nuri, said, oblivious to his distraction. “Tricks people into thinking the razors are hibernating or whatever. Monsters like that don’t sleep though.”
Nuri hummed, though he didn’t agree.
Razors were aquatic animals with three mouths and scales as sharp as knives.
They were carnivorous and not picky when it came to food.
They survived exclusively on the planet Synastry, where the waters were frigid most of the year, leaving them weakened and sluggish, though that didn’t mean they wouldn’t attack if presented with easy prey.
They were hardly monsters though.
If Geoff knew the real monster was currently in the room with them, how would he react?
If he knew how Nuri felt about said monster, despite knowing exactly what he was, would he tell this story to a stranger at a boring party some day in the future?
The story of a secretary falling for his boss?
Tale as old as time.
But with the added details of the boss being an Imperial and insane…
Nuri drained his glass in one go and slammed it onto a passing tray. The waiter carrying it momentarily paused long enough for him to pluck up a fresh one, but he exercised self-restraint and only took a delicate sip from it.
Across the room, Silver laughed again, this time at a pretty male brunette who was standing far too close to be considered appropriate.
Their fight two days ago was still fresh on Nuri’s mind, but Silver had greeted him that evening and acted like nothing had happened. They’d sat at the dinner table and eaten in relative silence, then the Emperor had excused himself to his study to work.
Nuri had gone to bed, in Silver’s room as usual, but he’d spent the night there alone.
Last night had been no different.
It was almost as if they’d gone back in time to before he’d tried handing in his resignation letter. They were polite, orbited around one another, but that was all. Hell, the man sidling up to Silver’s side right now had gotten more physical contact than Nuri had in over five-two hours.
Not that he was counting.
At the end of the day, it was impossible not to realize that he’d hurt Silver’s feelings. Which was shocking in and of itself, considering how few the Emperor had. But no matter how right Nuri had been to voice his grievances, he couldn’t help but feel…bad.
They’d argued before, of course. Ten years together had given them ample opportunity. But now that the dust had settled and he’d been given proper time to think more clearly, Nuri recognized that Silver had tried being vulnerable with him.
And Nuri had shit all over it.
…Could he really be blamed though?
What was he supposed to tell his siblings if he accepted Silver’s offer? How was he meant to reassure them? Nate barely accepted the fact they were lovers, there was no way he’d trust that Silver actually cared for Nuri enough to treat him the way a Royal Consort should be treated.
Hadn’t Silver himself sort of eluded to that much on his own? He’d said nothing would change. That they’d go on as they have been. Meaning all he wanted was to slip that title around Nuri’s neck like a noose.
No matter what his misguided thoughts happened to be, that wasn’t love.
Nuri would never approve if Nate or Neve came to him and admitted they were settling down for anything less than true, honest love.
How could he ever ask them to accept something he couldn’t?
“Ah, it looks like CEO Rein really knows how to have a good time,” Geoff said then, finally noticing where Nuri’s attention lay. “I suppose you’re in for a busy evening, am I right?”
“Pardon?”
“Men like Silver Rein require a strong PR team. I’m sure you’ve buried more than your fair share of scandals over the years. Looks like you’re about to have another one on your hands.”
The man next to Silver lifted onto his toes and pressed his lips to the corner of Silver’s mouth.
Nuri was halfway across the room before he even realized, with no clue what he intended to do. Before he could make it all the way, however, the lights flickered, causing him to come to an abrupt stop.
He frowned up at them, then over to the stage when the screen in the back suddenly came to life.
Gunshots cracked through the speakers, the blurry images of a group of men surrounding someone on the ground appearing. The angle suggested it’d been filmed from within a car in a parking lot, and there was something in front of the lens that cut off the top half of the film.
Too bad Romeo Brixton, lying on the ground, crying and clutching his arm and leg, was in perfect view.
Nuri raced toward the stairs, already calling the staff in the technical booth.
“We got it,” the voice of Eli, an Imperial guard, spoke through the line a second before the screen went blank. “No one is here.”
“Find them,” Nuri instructed. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”
The crowd burst out in chatter, many staring at Silver, though some eyes found Nuri as well.
Neither of them had been fully pictured thanks to the obstruction in front of the camera, but news about Romeo Brixton’s arrest had made headlines for weeks now, so it wasn’t too hard for assumptions to be made.
This was bad. They were going to have to—
Screams sounded and his head whipped over to where Silver had been standing. When Nuri saw the Emperor on the ground, his heart leapt in his chest.
* * *
“The drug should be out of his system within a couple of hours,” Doctor Yi told Nuri from where they stood outside of Silver’s room at the manor. “It’s fortunate that he didn’t finish the drink. He didn’t take a strong enough dose for there to be any real concern.”
Nuri snorted. “The Emperor passed out in front of a hundred people, and you don’t think that’s concerning?
No,” he held up his hand when the doctor went to reply, “you wouldn’t.
I’m the one who has to deal with the fallout, you’ve already done your job.
Forgive me, Doctor, this situation has me out of sorts. ”
“Of course.” Yi nodded. “You did everything right, Royal Secretary. It’s good that you arrested the culprit first thing. If he hadn’t still had the drug in his pocket, I may not have been able to deduce what his majesty had been given in time.”
The man who’d been chatting Silver up had lingered around like an idiot, probably to try and avoid suspicion.
Too bad for him, he’d been the first person Nuri had searched, and the guards had found the vial in his suit pocket right away.
Currently, he was being held and questioned by the Imperial guard, with Nuri as their point of contact since Silver had yet to wake.
“Is there anything I need to do?” Nuri asked, pursing his lips when the doctor seemed to grow uncomfortable all of a sudden.
“It doesn’t appear as though the Emperor has slept the past couple of nights.
That also explains why this hit him so hard.
Because of his exhaustion, it’s best if the drug is purged as quickly as possible.
” He cleared his throat. “The drug is meant to subdue whoever takes it, while keeping them…” Yi coughed into his hand, clearly stalling.
“Yes, Doctor?”
“Aroused.” The older man seemed mortified that he’d been forced to say it. “Since you’re the Emperor’s partner, I can only suggest—”
“Hold on.” Nuri held up a hand. “Where did you get that idea from?”
“I’m sorry?” Yi’s brow furrowed.
Falc, who was standing nearby glared, and the doctor instantly backtracked.
“My point is, purging the drug from his system will help heal him sooner.”
“And that’s done…how?” Nuri already knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Sexual release, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t worry about getting…it…on you. The drug is no longer a threat once it’s passed through the body.”
It.
He was referring to come.
To the Emperor’s come.
Because he expected Nuri to—
“That will be all, Doctor.” Nuri needed him gone before this got any worse. He should have realized that being a part of Silver’s personal staff meant word of their sexual relations would have made their way to Yi. “Falc, please see him out. I’ll stay with the Emperor.”
“I’ll make sure you two aren’t disturbed.” Falc bowed his head and led the doctor away before Nuri could comment on the implication of his words.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Nuri inhaled slowly.
There was so much to do, but he’d already divvied the tasks between the team in charge of searching for the mole and the Imperial Guard.
Public Relations was taking care of the video situation, and the Emperor collapsing was somehow overshadowing the crappy footage that’d played for less than a minute.
Guess that was one good thing to come out of Silver being drugged.
Nuri stepped back into the room and shut the door behind him, eyes meeting Silver’s. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Hot.” Silver tossed the blanket off of himself and climbed off the bed.
His fingers shook as he started undoing the buttons on his dress shirt, giving up part way and yanking the fabric open instead.
Buttons went flying, pinging against the wall and skittering across the floor, but he hardly seemed to notice, already wrestling to get out of his pants.
“Stop.” Nuri rushed to his side, yelping when Silver captured his wrists and spun them, sending him sprawling onto the bed with the Emperor’s heavy form landing over him. “Slow down!”
“Can’t.” Silver shook his head and brought his mouth to Nuri’s neck, sucking on the sensitive spot beneath his ear before delivering a warning bite. “So horny.”
“You were drugged,” Nuri tried to explain, even as his clothes were ripped off.
He gave up trying to talk sense into him and laid there while he was stripped bare.
“That guy you were flirting with intended to rape you. Potentially even film it. We’re questioning him now. As soon as we have answers—”
“Spread your legs, Narek.”
Nuri planted his feet on the edge of the mattress and widened his thighs, breath catching in his throat when Silver drank him in and growled.
Silver wasted no time opening him up, delving two fingers straight into Nuri’s passage with no further preamble. He pumped them aggressively, free hand settling over Nuri’s lower abs to help keep him in place.
“Tell me you want it,” the Emperor demanded.
“If I say I don’t?”
He scowled. “I’ll stop.”
“Will you?”
“We’ve fucked too many times. I like it best when you’re willing. When you’re forced to admit you want me.”
Nuri’s dick was already weeping between them, a testament to his desire, even if he wanted to verbally deny it. “Everyone already expects us to do it anyway.”
“Everyone?”
“Yi and Falc.”
“I want to put it in.” Silver was flushed, and his eyes seemed unable to focus on anything for too long. Sweat beaded at his brow, and everywhere they touched made it obvious he was burning up.
“So,” Nuri spread his thighs even wider, “do it. No one is stopping you.”
Sex wouldn’t solve all of their problems, but it could fix this one at least.
“Don’t hold back,” he told him. “The doctor says the more you come, the more drug you’ll get out of your system.”
Silver grinned at him devilishly, and then shifted closer on his knees. His large cock bobbed, the thick, rosy crown brushing against Nuri’s sack before slipping lower to find his hole.
When he drove into him, they both cried out.