minutes, but he watched the clip twice and every time he got to the part where Jenna and Kalen hugged, he paused and studied her expression. He couldn’t remember ever feeling jealousy toward his brother; sure, he had often wished that he could play the piano as well as Kalen, but he had never been jealous about it – it was Kalen’s thing.
But looking at Jenna hugging Kalen tightly, like he was special to her, made Kioni full of irrational envy.
She couldn’t have known Kalen more than ten or twenty minutes in this video clip, so how had Kalen managed to tap into this warm, unguarded part of Jenna?
Kioni had only experienced her tough and defensive side, but clearly she was a warm and caring person underneath that hard shell. She had to be, with the tender way she acted around his brother.
Most people, especially women, pulled away from Kalen because of his excessive need to touch and be tactile. It was unusual that a stranger didn’t get overwhelmed and put off by him.
I wish that I had met you under different circumstances and that you would show me that side of yourself, he muttered to the image of Jenna before pressing play again.
When he got to the part where Jenna leaned in over his bed, he hit pause again. This image excited him. To know that she had been here and had physically touched his bed, his most sacred domain, made his dick harden.
He wished that she was here now and that she would let him fuck her slow and deep. He touched his lips… she had kissed him, and he could still hear her small gasps and moan from when he had pressed himself against her. I’ll have her… I’ll make her take her rejection back and surrender to me.
An inner voice said that he would only get burned by her rejections again, and it made him rub his temples in frustration. Oh fuck, I’m so screwed!!!
With harsh movements he closed down the video file and opened another folder on his computer called “Candidates.” Pictures of five young women popped up.
These were the remaining subjects that the council, and his mother, wanted him to choose a queen from.
All the girls were beautiful and ranked according to title, fortune, and connections. There were also descriptions of their personalities and comments from his mom and the council.
Kioni had put this off for too long, but being mad and frustrated made him not care much about anything.
The council favored Amira, the only foreigner in the group of candidates. She was fifteen and the daughter of a Saudi Arabian prince. The girl was pretty, with large dark eyes, and she came with both title and fortune.
Kioni wasn’t a Muslim, and wondered if that would be an issue. I’ll have to ask about that .
The thought of his wife praying five times a day didn’t sit well with him; it simply seemed impractical.
His mother preferred Tahita, a sixteen-year-old daughter of a prominent member of his council. She came from money and influence. He could see why his mother had chosen Tahita. The girl was the easy choice as they shared the same culture and language, not to mention that she would already have friends here, and would undoubtedly be delighted about the match with him, whereas he wasn’t so sure what a potentially spoiled Saudi Arabian princess would think of Spirima.
He wrote a quick email to his mother and gave her the green light to set up an introductory meeting with Tahita.
If I’m lucky I’ll be so enchanted with my new wife that I’ll lose all interest in Jenna.
CHAPTER 8
New Friends
Jenna
“I could really use a beer.” Nick’s outburst was met with a show of support from the others. A quick glance at the clock told Jenna that it was already past eight p.m.
Erin was the only one who had retired to her room, excited about a Skype call with her daughter and grandchildren.
Eric stood up and stretched the stiffness out of his back. “It’s Friday night, we should go out and get something to eat and find a bar or something,” he
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