Sakura reluctantly followed them out of the dining room door, and only moments later she found herself in the pool area with seven grown men.
She shrieked and nearly ran from the scene when she saw Sebastian pulling off his T-shirt. Her heart thumped so loudly in her chest and her stomach flipped so hard she thought she was going to die of a heart attack.
Oh my gosh! Sebastian looked amazing with just his jeans on. His muscles were toned and well shaped, not to mention his six-pack. Sakura had heard of women who liked to look at men, especially at their abs, and sigh with that odd feeling in the pit of their stomachs. She thought that type of thing would never ever happen to her, but she was wrong. She was feeling it right now. Her body felt all tingly, and her breathing became a bit labored.
She saw Sebastian looking at her in that strange way of his again. She bit her lip and hastily looked away, only to see Darcy taking off his shirt, too.
Compared to Sebastian, Darcy wasn’t as bulky, though his muscles were as toned and well-defined as Sebastian’s. His abs were very prominent and caused Sakura’s breath to catch at the back of her throat.
Oh God! Another hot, shirtless man.
Then Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, Hayden, and, of course, Conrad all took off their shirts. Oh, God, she thought. She hoped they weren’t going to go totally naked in front of her. She was about to run away to save herself from the embarrassment of seeing seven hot men naked when Tristan caught her by the shoulders and said cheekily, “How about a kiss for good luck?”
Sakura blushed. “I’m not kissing anybody, and what are you guys doing anyway? I’ve already asked Sebastian to be my swimming instructor.”
“Ah,” Nicolas said, taking off his glasses. “It’s already been decided.” He gave her a grin.
Sakura gasped. Oh gosh! Nicolas looked so different without his glasses. He looked very handsome. His eyes, though perhaps he couldn’t see properly, had that twinkle in them.
“If you guys keep doing this, I’ll ask Richard to teach me instead,” she said loudly, almost in sheer panic. She was panicking because she was surrounded with seven very good-looking, shirtless men who were about to take off their jeans. Breathe, Sakura, breathe, she told herself.
The brothers weren’t listening to her. Sebastian jumped into the pool with his jeans still on, followed by Conrad and Hayden.
Sebastian said loudly, “Richard is a lousy swimmer.”
“Yes, he is indeed,” Logan said, shoving Tristan to the side. “Now then,” he said, leading Sakura by the wrist to the seat near the pool. “You just sit here and enjoy the race, eh?”
Sakura didn’t want any part in their competition and was about to run when Logan chuckled and said, “You know it makes no difference whether you want us to race or not. It’s just us brothers. When we want something we like, we compete for it. And it doesn’t matter if we know we’re going to lose. We’ll still give it our best shot. So just sit there and enjoy the race. There’s a good girl.”
When he saw Sakura wasn’t going to argue, he stood up and jumped into the pool.
Darcy was watching her and noted her feet were pale and turned almost purple. He took off his socks and came over to her.
“Darcy?” Sakura voiced, surprised to find him kneeling before her.
Darcy picked up her left foot and pulled his sock on it. “Your feet are freezing cold,” he said, his warm palms on her skin.
Sakura bit her lower lip as he pulled the other one on her other foot. His touch was gentle, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest.
Darcy glanced up at that moment, and their eyes locked. His heart started to thunder within his chest, and he couldn’t tear his gaze from her.
Sakura bit her lip and blinked, her whole being quivering warmly at his intense stare. Then she also felt the brothers watching them. She looked up, and sure enough, they were.
“I wish I was wearing socks,” Conrad said.
Darcy got up, and with his jeans still on, jumped into the water. Suddenly it was like a real race as the brothers all climbed back out and took their positions.
“On my count,” Nicolas said. The brothers nodded and got themselves ready.
Sakura felt her heart start to thump faster. Her body tensed and stiffened as she waited patiently.
“One,” Nicolas said loudly. The brothers bent forward.
God, Sakura thought, they look like professional swimmers with their tall, lean bodies all bending like so, ready to throw themselves into the water and start the race.
“Two,” Nicolas said.
Sakura gritted her teeth and perched up on the seat, her heart pounding.
“Go!”
Suddenly, they all dived into the water. Splash! From Sakura’s vantage point, she noted that Sebastian had the strongest start, his body hitting the water the farthest, followed by Darcy and then Hayden. Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, and Conrad dived in at about the same distance. Then they were on—head to head—their powerful arms propelling them forward, stroking alternately, their strong feet kicking along.
Sebastian was the first to reach the other end of the pool. He flipped around, kicked his powerful legs against the wall of the pool, and then swam toward the other direction. Darcy wasn’t far behind him, followed by Hayden, Logan, Tristan, Nicolas, and then Conrad. They did another three turns, all in breathtaking pace—neck to neck. Suddenly, Conrad stopped. Sakura panicked because she thought he was drowning. She watched him climbing out of the pool. He seemed to be having trouble breathing.
“I can’t go on any longer,” he puffed out. He was starving for air, and his chest was heaving with exertion. “Sorry, Sakura,” he managed.
Sakura nodded her head and gave him a smile. Conrad nodded back, and then they both turned their attention to watch the intense race that was still going.
A few seconds later, Nicolas climbed out. He wasn’t at all breathless. He said, “I can’t see a damn thing. I need my glasses.”
Conrad gave him his glasses, and after he’d safely put them back on the bridge of his nose, Nicolas sat down and watched the race with interest.
At this time, Sebastian was still in the lead, and Darcy wasn’t far behind him. They only had another lap to go, and then it’d be over. Sakura watched, her stomach flipping and her whole body tense with anticipation. She didn’t know why she was so anxious. Perhaps she was in the competition as well. Although, to be honest, she didn’t really care which of the brothers won.
Then it was the final lap, and Darcy and Sebastian were now side by side, head on. Suddenly, Sebastian increased his power and propelled himself harder and faster. Darcy must have felt it and increased his power, too. Then in a split second, Sebastian reached the end first, followed by Darcy. Hayden wasn’t far behind and Tristan after that. Logan was the last to finish, by a mere five seconds.
Sakura was amazed as she stood there breathless. What an experience, she thought. It was something she’d never expected to see, to feel. God, she felt as though she were with them, swimming along, feeling the power and the adrenaline. Then when they’d reached the end, she stopped breathing completely.
“I can’t believe I’m last,” Logan muttered under his breath.
Tristan, Logan, and Hayden climbed out of the pool, and they all lay down on the marble floor, trying to catch their breath. Sebastian, however, wasn’t even breathless. His face showed it was nothing to him.
Nicolas said, “He didn’t do his best.”
Sakura was confused as she stared wide-eyed at Sebastian’s powerful, handsome body climbing out of the pool. Her whole being trembled with longing. She didn’t understand why, but she yearned to be close to him. She wanted to run her fingers along the length of his toned muscles, to feel his wet, smooth skin against her fingertips. Her insides ached, and she had to control the tremor that seemed to rise within her. Oh, God, fire. There was fire within her that was burning and refusing to die down until…
Sebastian caught her eyes as he stroked back his wet hair. He noticed the look on her face and swallowed hard. Shit, he thought longingly. Holy shit! He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Did she know she was staring at him that way, that she was practically ogling him with desire?
Conrad’s words penetrated Sakura’s muffled mind. “He isn’t usually that slow.”
“Why the hell did you do that?” Darcy shouted from the pool.
Sebastian glanced away, knowing very well his body had willingly responded to his adopted sister’s intense stare, to what those beautiful eyes of hers were implying. He distracted himself from her by saying, “What? I won, didn’t I?”
“You were mocking us, Sebastian,” Logan said none too gently. “What? Because you didn’t want to make a fool out of us in front of Sakura? Oh, thanks a lot, dear brother.”
Sebastian wasn’t listening to them. His mind was elsewhere. God, how was he going to deal with this forbidden blaze of desire he was obviously having toward his adopted sister? And it seemed, whether she knew it or not or whether she liked it or not, she too was beginning to feel the same way toward him.
He came up to her, standing mere inches from her, his massive height easily towering over her form.
Sakura gasped involuntarily the moment he stopped in front of her. She gazed up at him and caught her breath. He was truly an amazing specimen. His face was gorgeous, and those azure eyes of his penetrated deep into her soul.
Because she couldn’t handle how intensely he was staring, she dropped her gaze and found herself gawking at his massive chest instead. So smooth and still wet. She itched to touch him. Oh, God! What was wrong with her? She shut her eyes, telling herself to stop being so stupid.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring at his abs. The heat! Oh, God! The heat within her body.
Sebastian cleared his throat. He said to her, sounding more like a growl than anything, “Monday morning, ten o’clock sharp, we begin our lessons.” Then he turned on his heel and walked out the door.
Sakura stared after him, confused. “What happened? I don’t understand?” she whispered to herself.
Nicolas said, “If he were to put in all his effort like he used to, he would have finished before any of us even got halfway.”
Sakura wasn’t referring to that. She was referring to her own response to seeing Sebastian in such a state.
“Right,” she said, nodding her head but still confused.
“Oh well,” Tristan said. “I did try my best.” He got up and walked to the door. “It’s shower time.”
One by one the brothers headed out the door.
Sakura turned her attention to Darcy, who was just getting himself out of the pool. She noted that his toned, muscular body was wet, beads of water kissing his smooth skin. As he stood up, he stroked back his dark hair, and incidentally, his eyes met hers. Her breath caught at the back of her throat as he gazed at her. Her heart began to race and her fingers tingled. Her whole body buzzed with a warm sensation, and she felt lightheaded all of a sudden.
“You should go and have lunch,” he said. “You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
Sakura cleared her throat. “Yes, I will later.”
He nodded at her and then left.
Conrad came up to her and asked, “So what are you going to do this afternoon?”
“I have to fix my dress,” Sakura said without thinking, her mind still on Darcy.
“I’ll help,” Conrad announced.
She chuckled. “How?”
“Dunno. But I’ll help.”
“I’m meeting up with Beth, Katherine, and Mary later. They’re here to see how I got on with the dress. I’ll have to tell them about what happened.”
“Are you?”
Sakura laughed uncomfortably. “To the dress. Don’t worry. I’m not about to spread rumors about your sisters attacking me. See ya later,” she said, heading out the door.
Conrad had a sad look on his face as he watched her go.