Chapter 86: Reasonable Restraint

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Reasonable Restraint

"A collar."

Sebastian stared at him for several seconds before lifting one eyebrow.

"Careful."

Anyone with a reasonable sense of self-preservation would have recognized the warning and retreated.

Nero, unfortunately, possessed neither shame nor any meaningful instinct to retreat where Sebastian was concerned.

"I am being careful," he said, still leaning over the back of the armchair with both hands braced against the upholstery, his white-blond hair slipping over one shoulder as he looked down at Sebastian’s exposed throat. "You agreed to collars."

"Two."

"Yes."

"In writing."

"I remember the document very fondly."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"I agreed to two restrained collars, Nero. Deep green and silver, nothing oversized, no absurd royal crest hanging from my throat, no gemstones large enough to finance a municipal budget, and nothing that makes me look as though you purchased me."

Nero’s expression became almost offended.

"I would never purchase you."

"How reassuring."

"I would simply outbid everyone."

Sebastian closed his eyes.

"Nero."

A quiet laugh warmed the side of his neck before Nero finally straightened, although one hand remained resting against Sebastian’s shoulder as though complete separation had already become inconvenient.

The study had gone quiet after Idris left, leaving only the low hum of the climate system and the faint tapping of rainwater still falling from the terrace gutters outside. Afternoon light had begun breaking through the cloud cover, catching in the wet gardens beyond the windows and turning the stone paths silver between the hedges.

Sebastian set his phone on the arm of the chair.

"What exactly have you done?"

"Nothing unreasonable."

"That phrase becomes meaningless when you say it."

Nero walked around the chair and settled on its wide arm, one long leg angled toward the floor while the other remained stretched comfortably in front of him. His black shirt was still open at the throat, the sleeves folded to his forearms after hours of work, and the entire arrangement made him look considerably too relaxed for someone Sebastian increasingly suspected had commissioned half a jewelry house.

"The jeweler can come here," Nero said.

Sebastian turned his head.

"What jeweler?"

"My jeweler."

"Of course you have one."

"My family has several. I chose the least exhausting."

That answer did very little to reassure him.

"Nero."

"I asked for designs."

"How many?"

"A reasonable selection."

"How many?"

The smile arrived immediately.

Sebastian pointed at him.

"That expression is why I’m asking."

"The agreement says you choose the final two."

"That was not the question."

"No, but it is the important part."

Sebastian stared at him.

"You already commissioned them."

"Concepts."

"That sounds expensive."

"I am the Crown Prince of Saha."

"That continues to be an occupation, not an answer."

"It solves most financial questions rather efficiently."

Sebastian rubbed a hand over his face.

Expecting moderation from Nero after giving him written permission to put jewelry around his neck had perhaps been a tactical error on Sebastian’s part.

"When is this jeweler coming?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, assuming Claude has no objection to visitors."

Sebastian’s hand dropped.

"You already scheduled him?"

"I reserved the time."

"Nero."

"Tentatively."

"You are impossible."

"Efficient."

"Obsessive."

Nero inclined his head without the slightest embarrassment.

"That too."

Sebastian leaned back and studied him, and beneath the returning arrogance and humor, he could still see what had changed after the episode.

The fear had not disappeared.

Nero simply wore it better now.

Before Sebastian’s collapse, the wedding had already occupied an alarming amount of space in Nero’s thoughts, but the possibility that Sebastian could not remain safely separated from him for long had sharpened that determination into something heavier.

A shared residence.

The collars Sebastian had agreed to.

Eventually, the mark he had not.

And a marriage Nero clearly considered one more uncertainty he could eliminate.

"You’re planning the wedding again."

Nero’s eyebrows lifted.

"I am always planning the wedding."

"That is somehow worse."

"I disagree."

"How soon are you trying to make it happen?"

"Soon."

"That is not a date."

"Every time I provide a date, you accuse me of trying to marry you before your physicians finish restructuring half your endocrine system."

"You attempted to reserve a ceremonial hall while I still needed supervision to walk down a corridor."

"The hall had excellent availability."

Sebastian gave him a flat look.

Nero’s mouth twitched, but the amusement softened when Sebastian continued watching him.

"The other night made this worse, didn’t it?"

Nero did not pretend otherwise.

"It did not make me less interested in securing you permanently."

Sebastian exhaled slowly.

"Marriage would not have prevented what happened."

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Nero’s fingers moved over Sebastian’s shoulder before sliding down until he could catch his hand.

"But I dislike having variables I can remove."

Sebastian turned his hand beneath Nero’s until their palms met.

"I’m not going anywhere."

"I know."

"You say that very badly."

Nero looked down at their joined hands.

"I believe you completely."

Then his gaze lifted again.

"I am less convinced about the universe."

Sebastian huffed a quiet laugh.

"That sounds more like you."

"I’m recovering."

"Unfortunately."

Nero squeezed his fingers once.

Sebastian let the silence settle before returning to the far more immediate danger.

"So. The collars."

Nero brightened.

"No."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You looked pleased."

"I am pleased."

"I choose the two."

"Absolutely."

"And if this jeweler arrives with twenty velvet boxes and an armed escort, I am sending both of you back out."

Nero considered that possibility with suspicious seriousness.

"You would miss me."

"That is medically irrelevant."

"Recent evidence suggests otherwise."

Sebastian pointed at him again.

"Do not weaponize my transition to win jewelry arguments."

Nero grinned.

Sebastian stared at that expression for another moment before asking the question he already suspected would ruin his afternoon.

"Do I have any chance of convincing you to buy only the two collars I choose, or has everything already been paid for?"

Nero became very still.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.

"Nero."

The prince slowly turned his face toward him.

Then he smiled.

Not the controlled expression he used in public, nor the sharp one that usually appeared during negotiations, but a bright, devastatingly handsome smile entirely devoid of guilt.

Sebastian looked at him.

Then at the ceiling.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

Nero bent and kissed his temple.

"Tomorrow afternoon, sweetheart."

Sebastian caught his wrist before he could move away.

"How many?"

Nero’s smile widened.

That was answer enough.

Sebastian released him with a sigh.

What he did not know was that the collars were only part of the appointment.

The jeweler had also been instructed to bring wedding rings.

Nero intended to keep that detail to himself for at least another day.