“It’s my duty to keep you grounded,” he said piously, making me snort. God, spare me from his bullshit.
“Oh, that’s what it is, huh? Your duty?” I rolled my eyes. “If you say so.”
“I do.” He shoved me in the side again, then before I could say another word, strode off in Theodosia’s direction.
My heart flared, and though the strange pang of jealousy hit me, a jealousy that was formed from Cain’s ability to speak with anyone and everyone without revealing what he was truly like, I found myself hovering.
It was almost inevitable that she’d like him. That she’d prefer him to me.
Everyone did.
Cain made sure of that.
As she treaded water at the side of her lane, Cain sat down on the edge of the pool and dipped his toes in. Within seconds, he had her laughing and smiling.
Not because he wanted her, not because he cared, but because I’d been stupid enough to look at her overlong.
Because I hadn’t shielded my attention.
Fuck. When would I learn?
Mad at myself, I gritted my teeth. He’d done this with two other girls I’d liked, including Maria, his current girlfriend. I’d liked her, had stupidly smiled at her and sent her a few goofy texts, and within five days, they were dating.
Stomach churning at Theodosia’s laugh, I forced myself not to turn away. If I did that, then he’d know he’d gotten to me. He’d know he’d made a hit.
Some days, I wondered what the fuck I’d done to him to make him hate me so much. Then, on others, I was past caring. Surviving a psychopath who was your twin and who seemed intent on destroying your happiness wasn’t something I’d ever found a self-help guide on.
A fucking shame.
I could have used the assistance, and my parents gave me none of that. Mom believed whatever shit Cain spewed to her, and Dad? Well, he wasn’t as taken in by my twin’s BS, but he was a busy man. One who I thought was boning his PA.
Naturally, his PA’s pussy was more interesting than his eldest son’s misery, so there was no pity there.
Another laugh trickled toward me. Only this time, it stood out because it was uneasy. Restrained.
Cain could charm the birds from the trees... I’d almost never heard that kind of fake laugh coming from a woman he’d set his sights on. Women who I dared to find attractive.
I wasn’t sure if Cain even knew what attraction meant. Surely if he did, he’d go around getting a boner for his own crushes rather than worrying about what made my dick twitch? But then, psychopaths weren’t attracted to the same things as regular people, were they? And Cain was, without a shadow of a doubt, a whack job.
No one else saw it but me, but I knew.
Eager to understand what was different, why she’d laughed like that, I aimed for the girl whose beauty and skill in the water had caught my eye. Now? She was ten times more attractive to me if she could recognize my brother was an ass.
Padding toward them, I moved behind Cain, waiting for her eyes to drift up to me, the intruder on her conversation. I waited for the usual cascade of giggles and trite, “Oh my God, there are two of you!” But it didn’t come.
When she looked at me?
The Earth stopped spinning. It was like the moment when atoms collided, when miracles came to be in the beat of a heart...
I’d never anticipated this. Could never have anticipated this because, my God, how could anyone unless they felt it themselves?
It went beyond attraction. Morphed into some kind of connection that went deeper than the surface crap and penetrated to the bone.
I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut.
Felt as if... Fuck. Maybe like I’d been kneed in the damn balls. Only, there was no pain here. Nor was there joy, to be fair. Mostly there was confusion and heat. Not like horny ‘heat,’ either.
More like the energy building between us necessitated its own byproduct—like a lightbulb that scorched your fingers when you touched it…
Cain shattered the moment—of course. He twisted around, glowering up at me and snarling, “It’s rude to stare.”
My jaw tightened at his attempt to make a fool out of me—even if he was totally right, there was no need to point it out to the person I was goddamn staring at!
But I didn’t have to worry about being humiliated. Theodosia had