Sakura was breathless. Darce. Her Darce was kissing her. Her heart was trembling with love, yet she was so confused. How could she love Darce when he was supposed to be her brother? Albeit not blood relation. Albeit an adopted one. Could this be wrong? This kissing? This passionate embrace?
Darcy moved his lips and gave her little kisses along the nape of her neck. Sakura groaned softly and sighed breathlessly. Was this it? The beginning of lovemaking? Darce. My Darce. He’d come back to her. He’d said he had never hated her. Never!
She was glad and felt so wonderful.
Darcy knew he made her feel good, and he was pleased. Yes, he’d make her feel even more wonderful than this—when the time was right.
Finally, he got control of himself again. God, he thought. He had never lost control of himself before. Ever! But with her, with Sakura, he could very well lose everything, and he couldn’t have cared less. He wanted her that much. He loved her that much.
He moved his lips to her ear and whispered softly, “I’m not sorry I kissed you, Sakura.”
The warmth of his breath against her skin caused a rush of beautiful sensation through her, and her body went weak in response.
He continued. “Just so you know, that wasn’t a brotherly kiss either because I never, ever think of you as my sister.” He slowly moved back, his mauve-gray eyes—dark and full of passion—on her. Then he stood up. “Come,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “We should start heading back.”
Sakura found herself clinging to him because she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stand up properly after the kiss. She took a deep breath and said, her voice trembling, “It’s okay. You go on ahead. I have to do some more photo shoots.”
Darcy smiled at her. It was a very handsome smile that caused Sakura’s heart to flutter.
“Then I’m staying with you,” he said, grabbing for her satchel.
On the other side of the woods, Sebastian felt the dreadful pain suffocating him. He felt as though the world had just collapsed around him, leaving him alone and tormented. He fisted his hands as his heart continued to bang against his chest, ready to burst out of his being, killing him on the spot. His head spinning and his world dark, he turned on his heel and started heading back.
Sakura was trying her best to persuade Darcy to leave, but he wouldn’t budge. Hence they spent another hour together in the woods, her taking photos and him following her around. Then Darcy decided he’d be the photographer instead and took the camera from her.
“Darce?” Sakura was shocked.
He chuckled, holding the camera up to his eyes. “You’re my model. Now pose.”
Sakura scowled at him. “I’m not pretty enough to be a model.”
He cocked his head to one side. He wasn’t surprised that she never thought of herself beautiful. No, she was a beauty all right—both on the inside and out. And she was the woman he was in love with.
Without further ado, he clicked the shutter button.
“Darce!” she shrieked.
He laughed and continued clicking. Click! Click! Click! Click!
Sakura reached out to get her camera, but Darcy only laughed. Then when she wasn’t prepared, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her so damn passionately and wildly that Sakura had to cling onto him for dear life. What Sakura didn’t know was that Darcy was taking photos of them kissing, with the camera in his hand extended out at a good distance.
When he moved his head back, he stroked her cheek with his thumb, his eyes glowing with love as he gazed at her. She didn’t know it, but Sakura herself was gazing at him, her eyes large.
Click! Click! Click! The camera continued to record.
Then she laughed. Sakura never thought she could be this happy with Darce—her dear Darce. Then suddenly her happiness was snatched away from her as she realized this couldn’t be. This couldn’t last. The reason? Because Darcy was her adopted brother. Because Alaina was his twin, and she would never ever accept this.
Oh, God! She didn’t want to hurt herself any more than she’d already been hurt. Even more so, she didn’t want to hurt Darcy. She never ever wanted to hurt him.
She cleared her throat and said, “I think we should be getting back now.”
He smiled sadly. “Yes,” he said.
Sakura turned and headed toward the road. Darcy watched her go, a sad expression on his face. Quickly he opened the camera, took out the memory stick, and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans.
“Are you coming?” She turned back to look at him.
Darcy looked up. “Yeah,” he said and rushed up to her. He took her hand in his and led her back home.
TWENTY-SIX:
Brothers’ Conflict
“Shit! Sebastian, you don’t have to kill me for the ball,” Tristan shouted in the distance.
Sebastian wasn’t paying his brother any attention, though, as he raced to the other side of the court, colliding with Logan and then thrusting Conrad to one side, causing the younger brother to fall. Finally he jumped high and slammed the basketball through the hoop.
Sakura and Darcy came out into the clearing just then and found almost everyone at the basketball court near the house.
“Over here!” Conrad shouted to Richard. “I’m open!”
Sakura was fascinated as Richard threw the ball toward Conrad, but before Conrad could get his hands on it, Sebastian intercepted his brother and caught the ball first. He then dribbled it as he raced to the other side of the court again and threw forcefully. The ball went into the hoop straight on.
“No fair!” Conrad shouted.
“Bloody hell!” Tristan shouted.
“He plays like someone stole his girlfriend,” Logan said to Tristan.
“As if he has one,” Tristan chuckled.
“I heard that!” Sebastian shouted, his face a hard mask. “Quit moaning like an old woman just because you’re losing.”
Logan ignored Sebastian and shouted, “Darcy! You’re back. Join our team and beat the crap out of Sebastian!”
Sebastian turned to Sakura and Darcy at that moment. His eyes were blazing with blue fire, though no one saw it. He fisted his hands, his heart thumping loud and fast.
Richard ran to Sakura and hugged her tight. Darcy scowled darkly. So did his brothers on the other side of the court. Sebastian wanted to punch Richard in the face. Then he decided he’d do that on the court instead since they had a game to finish.
“Richard, you’re suffocating me,” Sakura said. “And you’re very sweaty.”
Richard pulled back and laughed. “We’re losing. Come on, let’s play.”
Sakura chuckled. “Me? What makes you think I want to play?”
“Because I know you want to play,” he said teasingly.
He was right. She did want to play. She hadn’t played basketball with him, Mary, and Katherine for ages. Then she saw Mary talking to Peter on the other side of the court, who had obviously played hard in the game because he was sweating quite a bit.
“Come on, then,” Richard said, pulling her along to the other side.
As she came to Mary, Peter, and the brothers, she noted that both Alaina and Tara were on the sidelines, sitting elegantly and watching the game.
Tara sneered at her. Alaina frowned.
Sakura didn’t give a care about their hateful stares. She kept moving toward Mary.
“All right. We’ve got a new team member,” Richard said to his teammates, who were Tristan, Logan, and Conrad.
“Wait a minute,” Sakura said. “I didn’t say I’d join in.”
Conrad said, “We’re never going to beat them. They have Darcy as well as Sebastian. That’s no fair!”
Tristan cocked his head to one side and said, “How about Richard, you swap with Darcy?”
“Huh?” Richard shook his head. “No.”
Tristan, however, ignored him and shouted to Darcy, “Oi, Darcy, wanna join our team?”
“Good with me!” Sebastian shouted back, his eyes dark on Darcy
.
Darcy was very aware that Sebastian had something against him and was only glad they weren’t going to be in the same team. He ran over to where the other team was. The moment he got there, he said, “Hey,” to Sakura and gave her a handsome smile.
“Hi,” she replied, giving him a lovely smile in return as if she were very glad indeed to see him.
The brothers noticed and were instantly suspicious.
“Did you see that?” Logan asked Tristan quietly.
Tristan nodded. “They’re friendly,” he said in awe.
Conrad frowned at Darcy and instinctively moved closer to Sakura, as if to shield her from Darcy.
“I have to work harder,” Tristan said to himself.
Logan chuckled at Tristan’s statement. “Seems so,” he said, then turned to Richard. “That means you’re now on Sebastian’s team, Richy boy.” He slapped Richard’s shoulder and nudged him to start heading that way.
“I got it,” Richard reluctantly said and ran over to the other side.
Logan turned his attention to Sakura. “Ready?”
“I’m not playing,” Sakura said, moving back a step. “Go find someone else. What about Mary?”
Mary laughed from behind. “I’d love to, but my wedding is in five days, my dear friend, and Peter won’t tolerate any accidents.”
“You’re expecting an accident on the court?” Sakura asked.
“From the looks of things,” Mary said.
“Sebastian is ready to kill everyone,” Tristan said. “Even his team members.”
“He’d better not touch Peter,” Mary said, “or he’ll have me to answer to.”
“Oi!” Sebastian called out, frowning darkly from the other side. “Are we playing or not?”
“Yeah!” Tristan shouted back.
Sakura noted that all of the men on the other team—Nicolas, Sebastian, Hayden, Richard, and Peter—were taking off their shirts. Holy shit! She blinked and tried to breathe as normally as she could.
She noted that Tara and Alaina were giggling on the other side of the court. They were obviously enjoying the view.
“All right, let’s go,” Tristan said, taking off his shirt too.
Sakura wondered what was going on when Darcy and Logan took off their shirts as well.
Conrad said, “Show off!” And he, too, disrobed.
Tristan turned to her. “And you.”
Sakura glared at him. “Not me, and I’m not playing.”
“Oh, come on.” Mary chuckled. “Remember how we used to play back at the farm? You always beat us despite your small frame.”
Tristan laughed. “Is that so? Now don’t disappoint me, Sakura. Come help me beat the crap out of them.”
Sakura mumbled under her breath. “Fine. If we win, you owe me. Both of you.”
Mary laughed. “Not me, just Tristan. I’m voting for Sebastian and his team since Peter’s there.”
Sakura sighed.
“Oi!” Sebastian shouted impatiently.
“Coming,” Tristan yelled back and pulled Sakura along with him onto the court.
Sebastian, Nicolas, and Hayden stared in shocked surprise to see Sakura with them.
“What the hell?” Sebastian growled.
“Sakura is our team member,” Tristan announced.
“She can’t play,” Sebastian said coldly. “Sakura, go back to the sideline. Tristan, find someone else or you forfeit.”
Tristan laughed. “Forfeit! No way in hell.”
Darcy, who now stood beside Sakura, asked, “Why can’t she play?” His eyes were intense on his brother. Their stances indicated they were ready for a fight.
“Sakura knows how to play,” Richard put in. “She’s very good at it.”
Sebastian glared at Darcy, and he had the urge to punch his brother in the face. That sneaky bastard, he thought. Just because he’d kissed her didn’t mean they were a couple and that he had to defend her.
Sakura wasn’t happy with the way Sebastian was talking to her. To show him that she wasn’t going to back out, she stood her ground and said, “I’m playing.”
Sebastian gritted his teeth and stared at her long and hard. Darcy, feeling protective over Sakura, clasped his hand over hers. Sebastian noticed and nearly exploded.
“Let’s start!” he snapped.
For the first half of the game, Sebastian and Darcy were at each other’s throats. They were neck to neck, intercepting and stealing the ball from one another and throwing it into the hoop. It was like they were at war playing basketball. It was like they were the only two people on court, and everyone else were just bystanders.
Nicolas shook his head and knew those two had a score to settle, though he had no idea what the reason was. Then when he noticed both brothers constantly kept checking up on Sakura to see whether she was all right, he knew.
When halftime was over, the teams were even. Sebastian refused to lose and told his team members to step up. Nicolas chuckled and wondered if it was really the game Sebastian wanted to win or Sakura.
It was the second half of the game that Tristan’s team started losing because Sebastian was even more aggressive, and it seemed the rest of his teammates decided to join in the aggression.
Sakura wondered how they were going to win with Sebastian, Hayden, Nicolas, Richard, and Peter being such good players. Not to mention they were very tall. They kept stealing the ball from her.
“Look at him go,” Tristan said behind Sakura as they watched Sebastian expertly throwing the ball into the hoop once again.
“That’s it!” she said, walking back to Mary.
On the other side, Tara and Alaina laughed.
“How stupid. A girl playing basketball with men,” Alaina said.
“Serves her right,” Tara said.
Sebastian watched her heading back to the sideline, glad. He was glad she wasn’t playing anymore. Glad that she wasn’t there to torment his mind and his heart. Yes, now his heart could slow down its beating, even just for a bit.
On the other side, Sakura asked Mary, “Can I borrow your hair tie?”
Mary laughed. “Sure.” She pulled her hair tie and gave it to Sakura.
Sakura pulled her shirt off as Mary laughed. “You’re getting serious.”
“We’re losing,” Sakura said. “And I’m not losing to the likes of that man.”
“Which man?” Mary asked.
Sakura didn’t answer. She was now only wearing her white tank top and super skinny jeans. She breathed a sigh of relief because her body was covered with sweat. She pulled her hair back and formed it into a loose bun at the top of her head. She didn’t know she looked rather fetching with her skin glistening with sweat, her cheeks blushed a perfect pink color, her lips dark red, and her eyes bright with determination.
Mary hid a smile. Gosh, Richard was going to have a hard time concentrating again, like always when they’d played basketball.
Mary wasn’t wrong. Richard swallowed hard the moment Sakura returned to court. Conrad blinked and then couldn’t stop staring. Tristan and Logan chuckled and eyed each other. They suddenly realized there was a possibility they could win the game.
Sebastian wasn’t pleased, and his scowl darkened. Hayden whistled. Peter grinned. Nicolas took his glasses off the bridge of his nose, gave the lenses a good rub, and put them back on again.
Darcy felt his stomach flip. Suddenly, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her again until they were both breathless.
Sakura stood in the middle of the court, her hands on her hips.
“Are we playing?” she asked no one in particular.
Sebastian wanted to lift her over his shoulder and take her away—where, he didn’t know. Just away from here, and he wanted to kiss the hell out of her because at the moment she was taunting him with her exquisite beauty. Then the image of her kissing Darcy back in woods flashed in his mind, and he saw red. He gritted his teeth and growled, “Let’s go!”
The game continued, and Sakura
somehow found that the men weren’t as tough as she thought they’d been. Even Nicolas was toning down his aggression. But not Sebastian. He was still as hostile as ever.
Conrad threw the ball at her. Sakura caught it. Sebastian materialized before her as if out of nowhere. She knew he was going to take the ball from her. Not this time, though. She twisted and jumped. Sebastian wrapped his arms around her waist and got his legs twisted against her. The ball fell from her hands. Sebastian tightened his arms around her, and they both fell down, rolling together across the court.
They came to stop on the other side, Sebastian on top of her.
Sakura could feel his manly strength above her. She could feel his naked skin, warm and sweaty, against her palms. She fluttered her eyes open to see his face close to hers, his eyes watching her intently.
“Are you all right?” Nicolas asked from above, his voice loud with concern.
“Get off her, Sebastian,” Conrad said, pulling Sebastian back.
Sebastian sat back and watched her. Sakura tried to sit up, but pain shot through her ankle. She gasped.
“You sprained your ankle?” Tristan asked.
Darcy rushed over and came to support her from behind. “You okay?” he asked with concern.
“I’m all right,” she replied brokenly, giving him a reassuring smile.
“Bloody hell!” Sebastian grunted, and without further ado, he scooped her in his arms. Before anyone could say anything, he carried her back to the house.
“Game over, then?” Logan said to no one.
“Game over,” Tristan said. “We lost.”
“Shit!” Logan swore.
Darcy watched Sebastian go, his eyes dark.
On the other side of the court, Tara gritted her teeth and wanted to scream. “Bitch!” she hissed under her breath.
Falling For Sakura (Falling For Sakura Trilogy, #1) Page 27
