Falling For Sakura (Falling For Sakura Trilogy, #1)

by Praks, Alexia

  Now he felt as though a heavy burden had lifted off his chest. Standing there on the diving platform and gazing off into the endless blue horizon, he breathed in the salty ocean air. He closed his eyes, his handsome face serene, and then he jumped and expertly did a beautiful somersault as his body soared down into the pool below.

  Tara and Alaina applauded after Darcy slipped into the water with barely a splash.

  Logan said, “Who wants another drink?”

  Most shook their heads, and Tara turned her attention to Sebastian, now rubbing his wet, blond mane with the towel. She admired his masculine body. She had to admit he had one of the best bodies she’d ever seen, with firm muscles and toned six-pack abs. What girl didn’t want to run her fingers—oh ever so slowly—down those abs of his? And those azure-blue eyes, the color of the summer sky, so vibrant they took a girl’s breath away.

  She was sure if she dated him every woman would envy her. Of course, she was sure guys secretly envied him as well. Not to mention, he was very smart and rich and at only twenty-six years of age had accomplished so much. With his real estate business and investments going international, now he was planning to get another business up and running.

  Deep down she was very glad all the brothers were still single because it made her feel special, like all those times when they’d been children when she was the center of their worlds. Now she wanted that again. She wanted all seven of them around her. But most of all, she wanted Sebastian Princeton. She wanted him to love her as a woman. She wanted him in her bed, making love to her and calling her sweetheart. But then again, she also wanted Darcy—despite he was a year younger than her and didn’t seem to have any interest in her whatsoever, which of course made the chasing even more exciting. Oh God! The choices. They were so hard to make, and she felt just like a kid in the candy shop.

  Tara grinned and lay back, feeling the warm sun on her skin. She had this whole spring to work on it. Sooner or later Sebastian Princeton—or Darcy Princeton, for that matter—would be hers.

  “I can see South Hampton from here,” Darcy said from the high-diving platform, drawing everyone’s attention to the one and only town on St. Joseph Island that suddenly appeared in the distance.

  It was a picturesque island with Mount St. Joseph standing grandly in the middle, the lush, green woods surrounding it and the historic, Victorian town securely nestled against its bosom to the west side.

  This was their hometown, had been the Princeton’s hometown since 1750 when the first generation had arrived from England and made this island theirs.

  Darcy felt his heart do a somersault, and an odd pain spread out across his chest. It wasn’t physical pain, but a type of emotional pain he was sure he’d had before that was now buried deep within his heart, forgotten. Now it was there again, and he didn’t have a clue why. He fisted his hands, feeling frustration building up within him as he watched the island getting bigger and bigger as the yacht sailed closer and closer.

  Sebastian strode to the side of the deck and gazed out at the island in the distance. Suddenly, he felt an odd thump in his chest, as if there were something on the island that made him pause, and he wondered why.

  Not long after, the luxury yacht, the Lady Elizabeth, came into the harbor of St. Joseph Island, and soon they were ready to drive home to Princeton Mansion, which was located on the other side of the island, about twenty-five minutes’ drive from town.

  The brothers decided to split up into the two out of the three Mercedes-Benz they’d brought along in the yacht. Tara and Alaina, on the other hand, decided they’d stay in town and do some shopping before driving home.

  Once they were out of the busy, tourist-infested town, they pretty much had the road to themselves, and Tristan being Tristan went over the speed limit and, just to annoy Sebastian, dangerously overtook his brother.

  “He’s being bloody childish,” Sebastian said under his breath.

  “He wants to annoy you—again,” Nicolas commented matter-of-factly, his attention on his tablet.

  “Tell me when we get home.” Conrad informed them before closing his eyes and making himself comfortable on the back seat, resting his head on Darcy’s shoulder.

  Darcy grunted and shoved him back. “Oi, find another pillow.”

  Conrad pulled a face, made himself comfortable on the other side, and closed his eyes again.

  Sebastian frowned when both Tristan and Logan waved at him, urging him to try to overtake them if he could.

  “There they go again,” Darcy said, shaking his head.

  Sebastian wasn’t taking it and had the urge to give them the finger but managed to control himself. Then just when he thought it wouldn’t get any more annoying, Tristan honked at him five times, waking up Conrad, who also got very annoyed.

  “I think I want to kill him now,” Conrad muttered, glaring at the car in front of them.

  “Stay calm now. There’s no need to be childish,” Nicolas said, typing away on his tablet.

  “I see trouble coming,” Darcy murmured under his breath, knowing very well how Sebastian would respond to the challenge.

  On cue, Sebastian felt adrenaline rushing in his blood. He stomped his foot on the accelerator. He quickly changed lanes and overtook the black car in front of them with ease. When he saw the shocked look on Tristan’s face, Sebastian smiled with satisfaction and sped up even more. He laughed, knowing very well he had left his brothers in his dust once again.

  “Good job, Seb.” Conrad chuckled.

  “You guys still haven’t grown up,” Nicolas said under his breath.

  “Better slow down, Seb,” Darcy said, noting they were going way too fast.

  A split second later, it happened. The car turned a corner onto a narrow road, which was covered by thick woods on both sides. Before he knew it, Sebastian quickly stepped on the brake, his heart pounding with dread as the car headed straight toward the person who suddenly materialized as if out of the blue onto the middle of the road.

  “Holy shit!” Conrad shrieked.

  “Watch out!” Darcy shouted.

  THREE:

  Darcy Princeton, Prince of Darkness

  Sakura knew she had a fifty-fifty chance of living or dying once she saw the car heading straight at her. Before she had time to react, she felt herself smashing against hard metal and flying back, landing on the road. She had a moment of sheer panic, wondering if she’d live, when Toby ran to her and started barking at her and licking her hand with concern.

  Sakura stared up at the sky through her hair covering her face, wondering if she was dead already. Her head was spinning out of control. She closed her eyes, trying to get her bearings back.

  The brothers rushed out of the car, their stomachs flipping in dread.

  Holy shit! Sebastian wondered if he had just killed someone. He knew, however, that he’d stopped the car just in time. If he hit her at all, it was probably only slightly, which would have caused her to fall back like so.

  When he saw the slender body lying there motionless, his stomach flipped again. He rushed toward her.

  “Oh shit!” Conrad shrieked in dismay. “You hit a girl.”

  “I’m calling the ambulance.” Nicolas dug into his backpack, searching for his cell phone.

  “Are you all right?” Sebastian shouted, his voice hoarse, his heart pounding hard.

  Darcy growled. “What do you think? You bloody hit her, for Christ’s sake!”

  Just then the black car drew up behind them, followed by, “Hey, what’s the holdup?” from Tristan.

  “Accident!” Conrad shouted back.

  “What the hell!” Logan muttered as they all got out of the car.

  Sakura stroked her hair back from her face and managed to sit up. Toby jumped into her lap and asked her with his eyes if she was all right.

  “I’m fine, Toby,” she said, patting his head in reassurance. The dog whimpered at her and licked her hand.

  Sebastian sighed in relief when he heard she sp
oke, not to him but to the dog.

  “Are you all right?” he asked again, thinking she hadn’t heard him the first time. When she didn’t respond, he wrapped his hand around her soft, slender arm to get her attention.

  Sakura felt tingles of sensations rushing through her being, and she shivered at the alienated feelings. She held her breath as he continued to ask her questions she didn’t want to answer.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  What the hell do you think? She wanted to shout at him. You nearly killed me with your reckless driving.

  “I’m fine,” she replied none too gently.

  Darcy, who was on the other side, felt the odd, furious thumping of his heart the moment he heard her voice. Calm down, you old beast, he told his heart. Why was his heart beating so hard and fast? Why was the girl’s voice so oddly familiar?

  Curious, he glanced in their victim’s direction, hoping seeing her would put him at ease, hoping it would explain the reason his heart was behaving so abnormally all of a sudden.

  He only glimpsed her long hair and the side of her slender form as the majority of her person was blocked by Sebastian’s large frame.

  Darcy couldn’t help himself. His legs moved without his command. He found himself by her side in an instant, opposite Sebastian. He said, “Are you sure you’re not hurt? Let me see.”

  The voice! Oh gosh! The voice! Sakura had the feeling she’d heard that voice before. Only now it was deeper and manlier and caused her stomach to flip and her heart to race.

  She lifted her head and came face-to-face with a handsome young man with raven-black hair and mauve-gray eyes. Sakura held her breath as she stared at Darcy, drowning herself in the depth of the unique color that once had looked at her with affection.

  Darcy felt his body go rigid, his heart skipped a couple of beats, and he just stopped breathing altogether for a couple of seconds the moment he saw the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty that was their victim. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She literally took his breath away, and indeed, he found it hard to find his breath again. Suddenly he felt the world swimming around him as he continued to gaze at her. Something deep within him stirred, inching its way from within the locked chains that kept it imprisoned, preventing it from ever escaping.

  Then it happened. A soft, gentle voice echoed in his head. Darce! My dear Darce!

  That voice! Whose voice is that? Why did it call to me? Why was it referring to me as “My dear Darce?”

  Darcy didn’t have any answers to these burning questions swirling within his head as he began to feel himself tense.

  Under his intense gaze, Sakura felt the heat rising steadily within her. Involuntarily, she trembled and quickly glanced away—only to meet Sebastian’s eyes. Instantly, she was lost in the azure color.

  Sebastian too was holding his breath as he stared at her, and his heart seemed to have stopped beating all of a sudden.

  Holy shit! was his first thought as he gazed at the woman he almost killed. She is a beautiful creature, all right. With the blackest hair, the palest skin, and the darkest eyes that seemed to draw him into their mysterious depths. She was so damn beautiful it knocked the wind out of him, and he found he couldn’t stop staring, didn’t want to stop staring.

  “Sebastian!” Nicolas called out. “Is she all right?”

  Sebastian finally managed to get his wits back and uttered, “I… I think so.”

  Sakura drew her arm away from Sebastian’s grasp and looked away, feeling his intense stare was beginning to unnerve her. She was hoping he’d walk away and leave her alone when the man gave her a fright by touching her again. He was in fact closer to her now. She could feel his warm breath against her skin and the heat of his large, masculine body against her small, soft one. In response, her body began to shiver.

  She pushed him away, causing him to fall on his backside in surprise. Tristan laughed from the distance, and Sebastian gritted his teeth, knowing his brother was enjoying his embarrassment.

  “I’m only trying to help,” he said to her.

  “Are you hurt anywhere?” Darcy queried, his eyes still on her. “No broken bones?”

  Sakura turned her attention to Darcy and instantly felt her heart do another somersault. Any moment now, she thought, he’d recognized her. Any moment now, he’d remember who she was. The thought didn’t sit well with her.

  “How’s that ambulance going, Nicolas?” Conrad asked his eldest brother, who was apparently still searching for his cell phone.

  “It’s in here somewhere,” Nicolas muttered under his breath.

  “If it were a serious accident,” Conrad said, “she would have died by now.”

  Nicolas frowned. “What about your cell phone?”

  “I’m fine. No need to call for an ambulance,” Sakura said loudly.

  “Are you sure?” Sebastian asked, moving his face even closer to her now.

  Shit! He could smell her—wildflowers and honeysuckle and something else. Something sweet. It tickled something nice and warm within his being. He loved it.

  “Yes. I’m fine, thanks,” she said firmly.

  “No, I don’t think you’re fine until you’re checked thoroughly,” Sebastian commented, and without her consent, he scooped her into his strong arms.

  Sakura was shocked. In fact, she was outraged. Oh my gosh! He touched her! Without her consent!

  “What are you doing?” she snapped at him. “Put me down this instant!”

  Sebastian was so taken aback by her burst of outrage that he didn’t know what to do. The other brothers, who had gathered behind Sebastian, looked at one another. This was new, all right. Any other girl would have been over the moon if Sebastian were to pick her up like that. But not this one. This one demanded he put her down—immediately! What was even more odd was the fact that Sebastian had willingly scooped her into his arm, which of course made the brothers suspicious—especially Tristan. They moved around to get a better look at their victim.

  Sebastian let go of her and stood up. He didn’t know what to do since she had rejected his offer to help. He didn’t want to touch her without her permission, nor did he want to walk away and leave her sitting there. Then he sensed his brothers gathering around him, and when their victim finally raised her face to them, he heard Tristan suck in his breath and say, “Holy smokes!”

  Like moths attracted to a flame, the rest of the brothers saw the most enticing image they’d ever seen. This was, of course, instantly followed by sharp inhalations. Sebastian wanted to hide the poor girl—who he thought was too pretty for her own good—from his brothers’ prying eyes.

  Sakura didn’t like the fact that she had not only two of the Princeton brothers but all seven of them to deal with. Sebastian was still staring at her as if God himself had just descended from heaven. Nicolas looked so shocked to see a woman and a dog in the middle of nowhere that he couldn’t speak. Tristan, Logan, Hayden, and Conrad just gawked at her as though they were watching a really interesting movie. And Darcy? Her heart jolted within her chest as she met his gaze again. Those eyes—so intense—were on her. She felt her body quivering and quickly glanced away.

  Fully conscious of her predicament, she hugged Toby even tighter against her chest, unaware that in doing so she was enriching the men’s experience of her beauty—with her sitting in such a position that the hem of her dress rested high on her thighs, showing off her slender legs. Not to mention the thin straps of her dress that had fallen down her arms, the material barely covering her breasts and hinting at just how beautiful they could be if she were naked.

  Sebastian had had enough. He couldn’t take it anymore, with his brothers enjoying the poor girl in such a dire situation. He bent down to help her, his hand touching her arm once again. She gasped and pushed him away.

  The brothers watched in shocked surprise because no female had ever pushed Sebastian away. Girls flocked to him—as they did to all his brothers. It was the Princeton charm, not to mention the mere fact that
they were very good-looking. Women found them hot and would do anything to date them; even just getting close to them was a dream come true. But it was odd indeed that this young woman—yes, this very pretty young woman—was pushing Sebastian away. Did she not find him attractive? Or any of them for that matter?

  Toby chose that moment to bark a friendly greeting to the intruders, sensing the seven men were only trying to help his poor master. Then, without ever consulting with Sakura whatsoever, he jumped out of her arms and into Sebastian’s.

  “Hey.” Sebastian chuckled. “You’re a friendly one, aren’t you?” Then he glanced up, eyeing Sakura, who looked rather upset about the whole thing. “Unlike your owner.”

  Sakura noted that his eyes were glinting at her, which caused her heart to beat faster. She quickly looked away and began to gather her stuff that had flown out of her bag.

  As she was doing this, they simply stood there and watched her. It wasn’t the fact that they were heartless and didn’t want to help, but it was because what they saw was preventing their male brains from performing their functions properly.

  Sakura was bending over on her knees as she was gathering her camera, notebook, sketchbook, and coloring pencils. They could clearly see the enticing view of her cleavage, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then, once she was done, Sakura tossed back her tresses, seemingly in slow motion. It was like she was one of those very beautiful models in the hair commercials Tara longed to do.

  The men couldn’t seem to breathe properly again for a few more seconds after that.

  Slowly, Sakura managed to get up and stood straight, her body sore all over.

  She just couldn’t believe it. None of these men helped her stand. Not when they had been younger, after they played tricks on her, and not even now. The thought brought forward a rush of anger, and she saw red.