Page 54 of The Dark Side

Adrik cut in, "Religion is for the weak-minded. A way to control the masses."

Jolie shrugged. "It works. And it gives people confidence, security, and hope. What a terrible thing."

Alexei snickered, but the glare from his brother snapped him shut, and he coughed.

"Is this what you guys do on your days off? Bask in the sun and enjoy beautiful women?"

Alexei quickly sputtered. "Oh, no, no, I'm not for"—he waved a hand—"all that. Adrik's more…" He glanced toward him, and Adrik waited for what he was 'more' of. Alexei finished with, "For that."

Jolie giggled. "Okay."

Adrik wanted to change the subject and asked what he’d been dying to know. "What did you and my father talk about?"

The happiness on her face drifted, and she turned away, avoiding his gaze. His fist tightened at his side. He avoided Jolie all this past week. He knew if he found out Yakov threatened her, he'd do something stupid.

Alexei cut in. "Don't mind Papa, okay? He's a bit"—he paused and thought of a word—"um, paranoid?"

"And a hunter, apparently," Jolie nipped.

Alexei sneered. "Yeah, I never enjoyed hunting. Animals are so much better than people."

"I know, right! My cats are my best friends, literally."

Alexei chuckled, and Adrik could tell he was enjoying her in the same way that he was, but Alexei was much more obvious about it. There would be no doubt that if things kept going in this direction, Jolie was gonna fall for his brother. They were clearly a better fit.

Am I jealous?

Adrik stood, gaining her swift attention. He didn't need to look at her to know her eyes were on him. He worked out two hours a day to have a body like this and used it now. He stretched unnecessarily. "I'm going in."

Adrik jumped in the pool to clear his head. He didn't fight for girls. Girls fought for him. That was the way the world worked. Alexei had a lot more practice fighting for girls because they were always choosing Adrik. Even though they looked similar, Alexei didn't project sex appeal as well as Adrik did. He was less confident, more in the background, fearful to look a woman in the eye.

Adrik swam to the pool's edge, putting his arms up as he looked at the two of them talking. He didn't know how to interrupt without it seeming obvious, but he wanted her to look at him.

And then she did, with no incentive. Her eyes slipped over to him for just a fraction of a moment, and though it could have meant nothing, he didn't believe it did.

His confidence was restored, and Adrik threw himself on his back and stared at the sky with smug satisfaction.

"We own an animal shelter," Alexei told her.

Jolie couldn't stop her gaze from going over to Adrik. With every move of his muscles, it was like artwork. The water glittered around, reflecting off his smooth, hairless skin like a snake slithering in the water. He was beautiful, and it was hard not to watch or feel something in the middle of her belly. "That's awesome," she replied, focusing on Alexei. He was way better at conversation than Adrik was, and he didn't make her nervous.

But Alexei was not a friend. Every word out of his mouth was fake. Mally said he talked about killing her, and from there, any bridge they could have built or any friendship that could have formed was impossible. Despite Adrik being a womanizer, he hadn't threatened to harm her.

Just forced me to live with him so he wouldn’t kill anyone,Jolie reminded herself.

"Who were all those people?"

"Workers," Alexei quickly answered. "Some family."

"Do you have a lot of family?"

"Oh, yeah, we're pretty big. You still haven't met our sisters. They live in Russia with all my nieces and nephews. My father's parents had nine kids, and my mother's parents had ten. From there, everyone had six, seven. So, I have over a hundred cousins."

"Oh, God. Christmas must suck. I don't have any family. I was an only child, and my parents' parents are dead. My father had a brother, but he died. My mother's brother lives in Texas. I've never met him."

Alexei pitied her. "That sounds lonely." He looked over his shoulder at his brother. "I couldn't be without my family. Especially my brother."

Jolie melted under those words. Nothing was more adorable than sibling adoration. "You're not married? No kids?"