Sakura, Akira, and Jane came down to the main hotel restaurant some fifteen minutes later. The moment they stepped across the threshold of the dining area, the loud chatter and smell of delicious food enveloped them. Indeed, the place was packed with guests, several hundreds of them. The vacationers who were there to simply relax, rejuvenate, and enjoy themselves.
“Wow!” Akira said, as her eyes scanned the huge area. “It’s popular here, isn’t it?”
Jane nodded. “It’s a buffet. Everyone likes buffets, right?”
Sakura nodded. She, too, was very impressed with how full it was in here. She wondered if it was busy in the other three restaurants scattered across the property of the Princeton Hotel as well. She knew there was one up on the nineteenth floor that had a great view of the island, one by the pool near the bungalows, and one at the beach that overlooked the ocean.
“Hey, over here!” Conrad called out to them, which drew the girls’ attention.
Sakura flicked her gaze toward the tables near the windows, seeing only a sea of heads. Of course, it was hard spotting the Princeton brothers because there were simply too many people around. Once they did, a couple of seconds later, Akira waved.
“We’re coming,” she shouted, hopeful that the men could hear her over the noise of the chatter.
The three girls hastily made their way to join the others, having to maneuver their way carefully so as not to bump into people carrying plates filled with exotic, international food, which made Sakura’s mouth water. She couldn’t wait to sample some of those, since she was very hungry. This morning’s work exhausted her more than she had expected.
Upon arriving, Sakura noticed the Princeton brothers had divided themselves into two tables, with Nicolas, Sosuke, Tristan, Logan, and Conrad at one and Sebastian, Hayden, and Darcy at the other. There were three empty seats in a row along Sebastian’s table, and the girls were about to head there when Conrad appeared in front of them.
He wrapped his hand around Sakura’s slender wrist and said, “Come sit with us.” Then he started leading her toward his table, leaving Akira and Jane to look at each other with amusement.
Sakura said, “But I was going to sit with Akira and Jane.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll be fine sitting with Sebastian, Hayden, and Darcy,” he interjected. “But you won’t.”
Sakura raised a brow in question. “What do you mean by that?”
Conrad didn’t answer, instead saying, “You know, they have very good food here. Roast pork, steak, pizza, Chinese, Italian, Indian, not to mention Hawaiian.”
Sakura sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to get any reply from him. She turned her attention to Jane and Akira. “Sorry, guys.”
Akira waved aside her concern. “No worries.”
Jane giggled and then said, “You’re popular, Sakura.”
Only with the Princeton brothers, though.
A moment later, she found herself sitting between Conrad and Tristan. Opposite her were Sosuke, Nicolas, and Logan. On the other table, Sakura noted Akira and Jane were sitting opposite Sebastian and Hayden, leaving Darcy to face an empty chair, which Sakura suspected would have been her seat if she hadn’t been dragged away by Conrad.
Tristan poured her a glass of spring water. “Here you go, darling sis,” he said, pushing the filled cup toward her. “There’s the tea and coffee stand over there, if you need something with caffeine.”
“No, water is good.” Sakura picked up the glass and drank her fill.
Nicolas said, “Should we get some food? We only have an hour before Mr. Tachibana expects us back.”
Logan said, “Actually, you guys can take your time. It’s me, Tristan, and Sakura who need to be back early. Our session is right after lunch.”
“So, technically, we only have half an hour?” Sakura asked.
“Yes,” Jane answered loudly from the other table. “For Tristan and Logan, that is. Sakura, you have makeup in twenty minutes with Kay and Keri.”
Sakura sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Sorry,” Jane said apologetically. “It slipped my mind.”
Akira added, “And you can’t eat too much.”
Sakura was about to ask why when Jane answered for her.
“It’ll be troublesome if you can’t fit into the dresses.” She even gave Sakura a lovely grin.
Sakura sighed with disappointment.
Seeing her disheartened face, Akira chuckled with amusement. “Better get moving, then.”
Sakura stood in response to that urging. “All right, I’d better get myself some food.” She hastily moved out of her chair and made her way toward the buffet area. Everyone followed suit.
While Sakura had no time to nitpick which dishes she’d like to sample, the others took their sweet time surveying the vast cuisine on offer, which made her more than a little envious. There were so many dishes to choose from here that it made her head spin with delight. God, if only she could enjoy the fare. Then again, most were carbohydrates and proteins, some very filling things. It’d be upsetting for her if she got too full and couldn’t get into Mr. Tachibana’s super-tight designer dresses. So, Sakura found herself at the salad bar, staring at the loads of greens.
She was so concentrated on mixing the salad to make it more appealing and colorful, with the greens of the lettuce and cucumbers, the orange and yellow of the capsicums, and red of the cherry tomatoes, that she didn’t notice a man approaching her.
Her hand, which was holding the tongs and currently hovering over the salad, was suddenly enveloped. Sakura jumped at the intimate contact, and her eyes darted up.
“Oh, hi,” she said softly, as she gazed at the man beside her.
Darcy smiled, his dark eyes twinkling. “If you have to eat like this every day, I’ll be worried sick.”
She licked her lips, staring deeply into his eyes, scrutinizing him. When she noted the gleam in his eyes and that there wasn’t a hint of that strange, dark vibe she had experienced earlier this morning, she relaxed and gave him a smile in return.
She said, “Aren’t you glad modeling isn’t my profession, then?”
“Very glad,” he said, now guiding her hand toward the next tray, which was loaded with pasta salad.
Sakura felt her throat became dry like a desert and her body heat up and tingle because the warmth of his hand on top of hers was rather intoxicating. When she thought she couldn’t handle the intimate contact, especially surrounded by so many people, she loosened her grip on the tongs, released them, and freed her hand from his.
“Don’t you want any?” he asked. “It’s still salad.”
“No, it’s not that,” she said, blushing. It was then she felt that strange vibe from him again, and her heart began to race. Should she look at him to ascertain what that feeling was? But what if it was too much for her to bear? Like this morning.
Slowly, she guided her gaze toward his.
The instant she saw him, she sucked in her breath. No, Darcy wasn’t looking at her face. He was staring at the left side of her neck.
She noticed his eyes were dark, intense, and passionate, which made her body shiver. Her neck, too, the spot where his gaze still lingered, felt sensitive and tingly. She felt as if she were being caressed by his warm hand.
“Dar…” She licked her lips. “Darcy?”
Darcy flicked his gaze to her face then and said, “You don’t have a lot of time.” He turned and scooped some pasta salad onto her plate. “Now go eat.”
“Thanks.” Then Sakura turned on her heel and headed back to the table.
With her neck still feeling sensitive, Sakura sat down to eat her food while, one by one, the others returned. Of course, throughout her fifteen-minute meal, Conrad and Tristan constantly talked to her, drawing her attention from the others. By the time she finished her meal, she didn’t notice that Sebastian, Hayden, and Darcy had already left the table. When she looked up and saw the seats empty, she frowned, wondering why they’d leave so early when they had a whole hour to enjoy themselves.
She said, “I have to go now.”
Jane turned from her food and asked, “Want me to come along?”
Sakura shook her head. “No, you stay and enjoy your lunch, Jane. I’ll be fine. I know my way.”
With that, she left the table, with everyone saying, “See you soon.”
At the elevator, Sakura quickly took out her cell phone to check the time. Noting she wasn’t late yet, she relaxed a little. God, she couldn’t wait until the day ended.
The elevator door dinged open then, and she stepped in, followed by a few other people who must have been heading up to their rooms on the upper floors.
A few moments later, the door dinged opened on the nineteenth floor, and Sakura stepped out alone. Unsurprisingly, the corridor was quiet at this time of day, as most of the staff was currently at lunch. Of course, there were a few who were still around, going about doing their jobs. At this point, she wondered if both Kay and Keri had their lunch earlier so they could return to redo her makeup for her next photo shoot.
She was just rounding a corner of the corridor and about to head into the ladies’ makeup room when she felt a warm hand wrap around her arm.
Sakura halted in her tracks as her heart raced.
Calm down, heart, she thought internally. Just calm down. It’s only Darcy.
But of course, her heart only sped up even more.
She licked her lips as she turned to face him. “Darcy,” she said with a smile. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Come with me,” he said, leading her back the other way.
Stumbling after him—since she had no choice in the matter, as his hand on her arm was indeed tight—she protested. “But I have to be back now. I have makeup with Kay and Keri and then my photo shoot with—”
“This won’t take long,” he said firmly, as if to indicate no argument from her. He opened a door then and took her through it.
Sakura thought it was a suite inside but realized instantly it was a set of stairs.
“Oh!” she expressed, as she looked about their new surroundings while Darcy continued to lead her up. “I didn’t know there was another floor up.”
He turned to face her with a grin. “There isn’t.”
She cocked her head to one side. Then why are we going up?
A few moments later, Darcy opened the door at the landing and out they came into the huge open area that was the roof of the Princeton Hotel.
Sakura’s breath was taken away as she stared wide-eyed at the picturesque scenery before her. In the distance, there was the deep-blue sea and beyond. To the left, there was the city of Honolulu, and immediately below them, on the nineteenth floor, there was an outdoor pool, complete with a bar area. However, the site was entirely empty today, and Sakura assumed it was closed off specifically for the photo shoot.
Suddenly, she was excited and couldn’t help but chuckle with glee. “Wow! It’s beautiful up here.” She turned to face Darcy and grinned with delight. “You brought me up here to show me this?”
She was expecting him to give her a dashing smile and say yes. But of course, being Darcy, she should have known he was damned good at being unpredictable.
Suddenly, she felt that strange, dark vibe from him again, and she was more than a little apprehensive.
“No,” he said as he roughly pulled her into his arms.
Sakura was taken by surprise. Embraced in his arms, her body shivered all over at his demanding manner.
She asked weakly, “Darcy, what’s wrong? Why are you behaving like this? You’re staring at me strangely. I felt it this morning, too.”
Before she realized it, Sakura found herself trapped between his manly body and the wall. They were so close, in fact, that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin, which only made her even more aware of him. His closeness was sensually stimulating her craving for him, for his kisses and touches.
Darcy’s hand cupped her chin as he gazed at her long and hard.
“I’m sorry, Sakura,” he said softly but firmly. “I felt as though I couldn’t take it when I saw…” His eyes trailed from her face to the left side of her throat. “I was certain that…”
“Darcy?” she whispered. “What is it? Why did you feel—”
He cut her short. “Fuck it!”
He claimed her lips in a scorching kiss. He was at first wild and demanding, his lips pressing hard against hers, urging her mouth to open for him.