Chapter 147: Interrupted

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Interrupted

By the third day in Draxil, Sebastian had developed a theory.

The palace was conspiring against them.

There was no other reasonable explanation for the fact that Nero had attempted to drag him against every remotely convenient surface in their guest quarters, only for someone to interrupt them with almost supernatural timing.

It had started the morning after the collar.

Sebastian had been standing beside the balcony doors, half dressed and trying to decide whether the pale gray shirt Melanie had packed would survive the heat, when Nero came up behind him, slid both hands around his waist, and kissed the side of his neck directly beneath the new collar.

That had escalated quickly.

Within minutes, Sebastian had turned toward the carved wooden screen beside the bedroom entrance, Nero’s mouth on his and one hand already working beneath the hem of his shirt, while Sebastian tried, and failed, to remember why they had been getting dressed in the first place.

Then Nero’s secure phone rang.

Nero ignored it.

It rang again.

Sebastian pulled away just enough to breathe.

"That is probably important."

"It isn’t."

The phone stopped.

Then started a third time.

Nero closed his eyes.

Sebastian laughed against his mouth.

"Answer your father."

"How do you know it’s him?

"Because only Dax would call three times knowing you’re ignoring him."

Nero retrieved the phone with the look of a man personally betrayed by telecommunications.

It was Dax.

A ministry dispute involving transport permits had apparently followed Nero across international borders, and by the time he finished the call, Sebastian had already showered again, dressed properly, and gone to breakfast.

The second attempt happened that afternoon.

Chris called.

The third ended when Duncan entered the sitting room without warning, stopped so abruptly that one polished shoe remained half over the threshold, and looked at the ceiling.

Sebastian sat on the edge of a low table, Nero between his knees and Nero’s coat somewhere on the floor.

Duncan took one step backward.

"I can return."

"You can disappear," Nero said.

"I would prefer that."

Sebastian laughed hard enough to ruin whatever mood was left.

The following morning, Hale did almost the same thing.

He at least knocked.

Unfortunately, Nero said, "Come in," without apparently remembering that Sebastian’s shirt was open and Nero had him pinned lightly against the side of the wardrobe.

Hale entered carrying a security tablet.

He stopped.

Nero stared at him.

Hale stared back.

Sebastian looked between them.

Hale lowered his eyes to the tablet.

"The eastern arrival route changed."

Nero’s voice became dangerously calm. "You could have sent that."

"I did."

Nero glanced toward his abandoned phone on the bed.

Hale’s mouth twitched.

Sebastian noticed.

"You’re enjoying this."

"I have served his family for thirty-two years, Your Highness."

That was not an answer.

It was somehow more revealing than one.

By lunch, Sebastian had decided the problem was Nero’s complete lack of caution.

Nero disagreed.

"The problem is that everyone has forgotten how doors work."

They were sitting in the private dining room, where a long table intended for twelve had become absurdly oversized for two people. Sebastian was halfway through a plate of grilled fish and spiced vegetables while Nero stared resentfully at the carved double doors as if considering whether to seal them permanently with pheromones.

"You told Hale to enter."

"I was distracted."

"You were the one distracting yourself."

Nero looked at him.

Sebastian smiled.

That was enough.

Nero set down his fork, stood, crossed the space between them, and caught Sebastian by the back of the chair.

"You’re doing that deliberately."

"Doing what?"

"That."

Sebastian’s smile widened.

Nero bent and kissed him.

They made it as far as Sebastian unfastening the first two buttons of Nero’s shirt before someone knocked.

Nero froze.

Sebastian started laughing before the door even opened.

This time it was Orin.

Nero’s chief steward had perfected the art of moving through royal spaces with the quiet efficiency of someone who had spent years attempting to become functionally invisible.

Unfortunately, familiarity with Nero made that impossible.

Orin entered carrying a slim folder, took in Nero leaning over Sebastian’s chair, and stopped with the profound resignation of a man whose career choices had led him somewhere deeply unfair.

He was in his forties, always impeccably dressed, always composed, and apparently determined to react to Nero’s personal life as though none of it existed.

He was failing.

"Your Highness."

Nero did not move.

"What?"

"The Draxilian household requires confirmation for tomorrow evening’s private dinner."

"Confirm it."

"I require the seating preference."

"Any."

Orin’s eyes shifted briefly toward Sebastian.

Sebastian smiled.

Orin immediately looked away.

"Any is not considered a seating preference."

Nero straightened slowly.

"Orin."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Why are you still here?"

"Because if I choose incorrectly, Idris will send it back."

That was fair.

Nero released a long breath.

Sebastian finally took pity on the man.

"Put Amaru and Amelie opposite us, Hale and Duncan farther down, and keep the political staff together."

Orin nodded with visible gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

He escaped before Nero could change his mind.

The door had barely closed before Sebastian looked at Nero.

"You frighten your staff."

"I pay them well."

"That is not the same thing."

"It helps."

The fourth interruption came from Idris.

The fifth from Melanie.

The sixth somehow involved both at once.

Sebastian was lying across the sofa with Nero above him, Nero’s white-blond hair falling around them like a curtain while Sebastian had one hand tangled in it and the other at the open collar of Nero’s shirt, when both of their devices began vibrating on the side table.

They ignored them.

Then Idris called Nero.

At the same moment, Melanie called Sebastian.

They stopped kissing.

Looked at the phones. Looked at each other.

Nero said, very quietly, "No."

Sebastian laughed.

The calls stopped, only to both start again.

Nero dropped his forehead against Sebastian’s shoulder with a pained groan.

"I hate everyone."

"You’re crown prince."

"I can abdicate."

"No."

"You answered that too quickly."

"You would become unbearable without work."

"I am already unbearable."

"That is true."

Nero bit lightly at the side of his neck, careful to avoid the collar.

Sebastian’s phone vibrated a third time.

He sighed and reached for it.

Melanie did not bother with a greeting.

"Do you know that Fitzgeralt has moved tomorrow’s secure council briefing forward by three hours?"

Sebastian closed his eyes.

Above him, Nero mouthed, No.

Sebastian ignored him.

"No. I did not."

"Well, now you do."

On the other side of the sofa, Nero’s phone started ringing again.

Idris.

Nero stared at it with the expression of a man contemplating treason.

Sebastian covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing into Melanie’s ear.

By the time both calls ended, whatever momentum they had built was gone again.

Nero remained stretched partly over him, staring at the ceiling.

"This is deliberate."

Sebastian ran his fingers through the long hair resting over Nero’s shoulder.

"You think Dax, Chris, Hale, Duncan, Orin, Idris and Melanie formed a coalition against your raging boner?"

"Yes."

"That would be an impressive amount of coordination."

Nero lifted his head.

Sebastian saw the thought appear before Nero said anything.

"No."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You’re thinking about locking the door."

"I’m thinking about locking every door."

"That would make security nervous."

"I want security nervous."

Sebastian laughed and pulled him down by the collar of his shirt.

Nero kissed him immediately.

The doorbell chimed.

They both stopped.

Neither moved, hoping that whoever rang the bell would reconsider and leave.

The bell chimed again.

Nero closed his eyes.

Sebastian whispered, "Maybe if we stay very still, they’ll leave."

Duncan’s voice came from the hall.

"I can hear you."

Sebastian buried his face against Nero’s shoulder and started laughing.

Nero looked toward the ceiling.

"Amaru can keep his coronation."

From the corridor, Duncan answered, "Unfortunately, you are scheduled to attend it."

That finished Sebastian completely.

Nero, still half on top of him, looked down with profound betrayal while Sebastian laughed hard enough to tear from it.

At this rate, the tiger would make it back to Saha before they did anything else.