mountain. The glass floor gave a peek at the steep slope of the mountain’s descent below my shaky view.
Once I was within a few feet of my groom, my lips twisted into a smile despite the hot coils of tension riding my body. He was handsome, in his expensive white Tuxedo that fit his impressively tall frame with class to highlight his defined chest and arms.
Surprisingly, I considered Arjen a gift to my imagery sensors, his picture as captivating as the view outside. I took in both he and Khane as I eased closer. The brothers shared similar heights and masculine statures, but their appearances were like night and day. Where Khane had darker features, Arjen’s were lighter, his eyes, hair, and complexion.
By the time we made it to within a few feet of Arjen, the pastor, and Khane at his side, Desiree and I appeared to be standing in mid-air atop a glass floor.
A debilitating thought socked me in the chest when I stood to face Arjen. Was I about to make a mistake?
5
Arjen
Every eye in the room was cast on Mecca as camera flashes popped off like an A-list celebrity had entered the building. The power of anticipation held me captive as she edged closer, her dress fitting her delicious figure to perfection. Her cousin, who I was set to marry only a few weeks prior, was walking her down the aisle.
A glance around the room revealed genuine awe on people’s faces along with their appreciative smiles. Cameras and phones were held at every angle, attempting to capture the moment and peek into her emotions.
The few moving lips I read spilled words like beautiful and lovely, and a few men thought I was lucky. I didn’t need anyone’s approval, but their reactions swelled me with pride, like I was accomplishing a goal I had not known I needed to set.
I wasn’t one to get anxious, and if I did, I had learned how to keep it hidden. However, this union had me on edge, and a jittery tension I wasn’t used to had crept into my bones and stiffened my body.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” Khane whispered, likely picking up on my tension.
Until he had spoken, I had forgotten him standing at my side. I wasn’t like this at my first attempt at a wedding, so why was I reacting now?
The attempts I made to swallow the anxiousness bubbling up inside of me failed. The closer my bride came, the more intense the sensations grew, and caused my damn knees to get a little twitchy. My heart pounded against my ribcage like it wanted out of my chest. Where had these uncharacteristic feelings come from? More importantly, why was I feeling them?
Once Desiree walked Mecca within a few feet of me, my mouth went dry, and nerves overtook me, sending tiny shockwaves zipping throughout my entire body. The pastor talked, and I assumed he was instructing me to do the unveiling since Desiree had kissed Mecca and was standing in place a few paces behind her.
Reaching for the veil, I took my time lifting the sheer white material. Her hair was pulled into an elegant bun atop her head that held the veil in place. Once I had it lifted past her face, I paused, my hand stuck mid-lift as my gaze had traveled over Mecca. I needed a moment to process what my eyes were seeing.
Holy shit!
The gum that I shouldn’t have been chewing was a gulp from slipping down my throat, and I wasn’t sure if I had just cursed out loud. The crowd’s collective gasps filled the room as Mecca’s unveiling had cameras and phones being set off in a frenzy. I knew that my wife-to-be was easy on the eyes from our first few brief interactions, but, hot damn, she was gorgeous.
Her brown skin shimmered with a bronzed glow that wasn’t all makeup but her natural tone. Thick lashes waved above a set of big seductive eyes, so dark I couldn’t tell if they were black or dark brown.
The sight of her naturally plump and kissable lips made them appear to be offering me an invitation. I couldn’t feed my eyes enough of her skin, which at certain angles appeared to be sparkling like diamonds were embedded in her pores.
It was best that I ignore her body from the neck down because it set off a whole different system that had things moving and hardening. Full ample breasts, enticing shoulders, a long inviting