“You have no room to speak. I can still feel your erection against my ass.”
“And whose fault is that? I’m just a man.”
“You touched me first!”
“You kissed me first.”
“That’s irrelevant, you ass. Anyway, I’m not letting you mess with my brother’s mind. He has suffered enough already. His terminated bond is still hurting, and who knows what it would do to him if his mind is messed with again.
“I can assure you I’m fully capable of—”
“Seyn!”
Seyn flinched at the sound of his brother’s voice, and Ksar realized that they were still indecently close. He still had a hand on Seyn’s hip while Seyn was still gripping his other wrist, all but leaning back against Ksar. He could only imagine what they must look like from Seyn’s brother’s perspective.
“I can’t even…” Jamil said, shaking his head. His handsome face contorted with a mix of anger, disbelief, and confusion. He seemed undecided what emotion to settle on. “What is the meaning of this, Seyn?” He glanced sharply at Ksar, his dislike obvious. “He has just publicly humiliated you by requesting the dissolution of your bond, and yet I find you all but having—” He cut himself off, his eyes narrowing as they studied Seyn, clearly noticing the undeniable signs of arousal in his younger brother’s body.
Ksar had to suppress the instinctive urge to step in front of Seyn. Instead, he looked at Jamil coldly and said, “No offense, but it’s none of your concern.”
Predictably, Jamil took offense. He straightened himself to his full height, his eyes glinting with anger. “None of my concern?” he said. “I have every right to demand an explanation. In fact, I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day. First you publicly humiliate my brother and our House, then I come across you with your tongue down Seyn’s throat. Explain yourself.”
As an eldest brother himself, Ksar could understand where Jamil was coming from. Except he had little patience for people sticking their noses into his business, and even less patience for explaining himself to them.
“Jamil,” Seyn tried, sounding half-embarrassed, half-exasperated.
“Not a word, Seyn,” his brother snapped. “I thought you hated him. I always thought your hatred for him was unjustified, but now that he’s actually done something to justify it, I find you all but climbing him instead of—”
“Leave,” Ksar said, his patience worn thin.
Jamil stared at him, incredulity written all over his face. “You’re actually trying to give orders in my own palace?”
Ksar sighed, tired of this pointless and completely avoidable conversation—if Seyn let him erase his brother’s memories.
A chuckle broke the tension in the room.
Seyn was laughing, his eyes glinting with unrestrained mirth.
“I fail to see what is so amusing,” Jamil said sharply.
Ksar ignored him, staring at his younger brother instead. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Seyn laugh so genuinely in his presence. The sight was…oddly transfixing.
Still chuckling, Seyn looked at Ksar. “I’ve been telling everyone what an arrogant, entitled asshole you are, but no one ever believed me. It’s good to see you show your true colors to someone other than me. Being able to say ‘I told you so’ never felt better.” He turned back to Jamil, grinning. “See? I told you he was a horrible, arrogant asshole.”
“Seyn,” Jamil said, incredulity thick in his voice. “You were just kissing him like you were trying to eat him. And now you say how horrible he is. Am I the only one noticing the contradiction here?”
No, he wasn’t the only one.
Although Ksar could no longer see Seyn’s face, he could feel his intense embarrassment and defensiveness.
“It was a mistake,” Seyn said. “Nothing for you to worry about. Please stay out of my personal affairs, Jamil.”
His brother shook his head. “There’s more at stake here than your personal affairs. He publicly humiliated our House—the entire Third Grand Clan, actually—by rejecting its scion in such a manner. There’s a betrothal contract signed by our parents. Even if the Council gives him the permission to break the bond, he’s still morally obliged to honor the contract. He literally owes his life to you! I don’t understand how you can be kissing him after the way he publicly rejected and humiliated you. Don’t you have any sense of pride and self-respect?”
“Enough,” Ksar said, stepping in front of Seyn. It had nothing to do with protectiveness. He didn’t feel protective. The waves of intense discomfort rolling off Seyn were simply too aggravating to his already frayed nerves.
“Stay out of it,” Ksar said, looking at Jamil firmly. “This is the last warning.”
Jamil’s green eyes narrowed. Although the color was the same, Ksar thought they were nowhere near as expressive and beautiful as his younger brother’s.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Jamil said.
“Ksar,” Seyn said from behind him, a warning clear in his voice. He put a hand on Ksar’s arm, as if that would stop him from doing something rash. Ksar had no intention of doing anything rash. All the touch accomplished was to make him hyper-aware of it, which just made him more irritated with the whole affair. He was done playing nice.