by Alexia Praks
“Hi,” he said, strolling across the bridge toward her.
“Hi,” she replied uncertainly, cocking her head to one side. “What—what are you doing here?”
He stopped only inches from her—his tall, masculine body overpowering her small frame. Sakura took a step back, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest.
Up close and at this time of the night, under the bright moonlight and with the pink glow of cherry blossoms around them, Sebastian realized that she looked even more alluring than ever with her black hair, flawless skin, luscious lips, and brown eyes.
Sebastian reluctantly moved his gaze away from her breathtaking face to look at his surroundings.
“It’s beautiful here,” he said, noting the bright cherry blossoms that hung so low they almost touched the glassy water of the pond, the bright moon in the distance, and of course Sakura herself standing there before him. She blended into the scenery perfectly, almost as if she were a part of them, born within them.
“What about you?” he asked. “What are you doing here this late at night?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she murmured softly. “I always come here when I can’t sleep.”
She reached over to pick a branch containing a few flowers and then gave it to him. Sebastian glanced at her, and when he saw she nodded, he reached his hand out to her. As he took the branch, his fingers brushed hers.
Sakura sucked in her breath and hastily moved her hand back. “Smell it,” she said.
He brought it to his nose and inhaled—his eyes on her. Then his pupils dilated at the sweet scent rushing into his being. It was then he realized it was the same sweet scent he’d smelled on her that first time they’d met at the road.
“It’s nice, right?” she asked.
He nodded. “So what does it mean?” he asked, snapping the flowers from the long, thick branches. “Sakura.” He moved closer to her.
Sakura sucked in her breath and became tense. She could feel the heat of his body radiating to her. Suddenly she felt all warm and tingly and lightheaded.
He chuckled, and Sakura tilted her head back to look at him, noting his hair was glowing like white gold and his face shadowy dark under the moonlight.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t bite.” He reached out and stroked her hair back—gently. Then he inserted the flower on the side of her left ear. “There. It looks perfect on you.”
Sakura blushed and cast her eyes downward. “Err, thanks, I think,” she said, frowning, her stomach fluttering intensely.
“So what does it mean?”
“What?” She looked up at him again, confused.
“Your name,” he said. “Sakura. You said it means cherry blossom.”
“Oh.” She wanted to take a step back to get some space between them, but it seemed her legs were too weak to move. “Yes, it means cherry blossom in Japanese.”
“And?”
She wondered why he thought her explanation wasn’t enough. She noted that he was waiting for her to elaborate on her answer. She cleared her throat, fully aware of his closeness and the fact that her heart was pounding hard within her chest.
Well, he wanted the long answer after all, and so he’d get one whether he liked it or not. Not that he could blame her after that, of course.
“In Japanese,” she began, “sakura symbolizes the transience of life—the extreme beauty and quick death, which in turn represents our own immortality. Our life could be taken away just like that, like in the olden days when sakura also represents the life of a samurai, ready to be sacrificed for his master in a blink of an eye. It’s the Buddhist teaching of mono no aware.”
“What does that mean?”
She cocked her head to one side, wondering why he was asking her so many questions. Why he wanted to know. Why he was so interested.
“Mono no aware in Buddhist teachings means that one should be aware of the transience of things. Once you realize that, you appreciate it more, and it evokes within you a gentle sadness once they’re gone.”
“That’s very poetic,” Sebastian said softly, his warm breath fanning the top of her head.
“Not very poetic at all. It’s the truth,” she said.
“So I should learn to appreciate and love the things I cherish most before it’s too late?” he queried.
She nodded her head. “Yes. You should.”
“What other meanings does it have?”
She widened her eyes at him.
He chuckled. “Surely if the Japanese really love these sakura…” He said the word so softly and so gently that it caused Sakura’s stomach to flutter deliciously. “Then there has to be more than one meaning.”
Sakura cleared her throat and tried to concentrate. “It also means hope, a new beginning.”
They both stood there, motionless, as the breeze and cherry blossoms danced around them. Suddenly, Sebastian moved fast. Sakura felt his hands cupping her face—gently. She held her breath as she gazed up at him, her heart pounding away like some noisy steam train.
Sebastian moved his face closer to hers. They were almost nose to nose and lips to lips when he said, “Then let this be a new beginning for us, Sakura.”
Sakura blinked, confused, lost, and totally not in control of her own mind right now. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she think? What did he mean? Oh, Lord! His lips were so sensual. And those sky-blue eyes of his.
She could feel the heat rising within her womanhood, and she softly groaned.
“I apologize for my incompetence in protecting you when we were younger,” he said. “But from now on, I will never let anyone or anything hurt you ever again.”
Sakura stared up at him, long and hard. Suddenly she was in full control of her mind once again, and that was when everything about the younger Sebastian Princeton flashed before her eyes.
He had always been there, hadn’t he? Always somewhere in the close distance, not presenting himself before her, but had always been there nonetheless. He’d secretly helped her, hadn’t he? Hadn’t it been he who had stood there watching her crying in the distance after she’d had that horrible nightmare? Hadn’t it been he who had called upon Daddy James to come and comfort her?
Yes, she remembered that, remembered him standing there at the door, a small figure of a boy, watching Daddy James soothe her with his kind words and gentle hands, watching her begging Daddy James to please love her only in secret because she didn’t want her new siblings to hate and hurt her.
Sakura closed her eyes, tears burning within them, threatening to pour out with a vengeance. Her mind flashed back to that day—the day she nearly died.
* * * * *
Water! It was all around her, suffocating her, wanting to kill her.
Her body, small and weak, was washed about in the dangerous, angry whirlpool of water. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t control herself. She wanted to scream for help, but when she opened her mouth, water rushed in and suffocated her. She shook her head, tears burning in her eyes, her heart intense with pain.
She was scared. Her heart raced. Her body ached. And she knew she wouldn’t last. She’d die soon. The water spirit would take her far away. She knew it would please her new brothers and sisters a lot.
She closed her eyes.
She was exhausted and couldn’t fight the water anymore.
Then she stayed still. She felt her small body floating there in the deep ocean, her eyes half-closed. As she sank deeper to the bottomless pit, she glimpsed rays of light flickering beautifully from above. Then she saw a small figure of a boy reaching his hand out for her, the azure eyes large with fear, and his small boyish face pale with dread.
“Sebastian!” she screamed within her mind. “Help me!” she begged, though no sound came out of her mouth.
She reached her hand out to him, but it was to no avail as he too began to struggle in the water. He was drowning. Just like her. He was drowning with her.
Why would he want to save her when he himself was
struggling against the angry sea?
She was tired—so tired.
She closed her eyes and felt herself go.
* * * * *
Sakura fluttered her eyes open, and without her knowing it, tears flowed down her cheeks. She hadn’t known she was crying.
Sebastian moved then, taking her into his arms. His lips were against her forehead, and before he could stop himself, he kissed her there, his firm lips warm against her skin.
Sakura closed her eyes and felt weak and warm inside. Her whole body was trembling with reaction. She hadn’t thought about that day for so long.
When Sebastian took a step back, she tried to breathe normally but found it rather difficult. It was even more difficult to control her mind. She tried, honest to God, she really tried not to think about that day. She needed to clear her mind. She needed to get away.
So instead of accepting his apology and confirming his peace offering by saying either a thank-you or cool, let’s begin anew, she muttered, “Good night,” under her breath and practically ran from him, her whole body shaking.
Sebastian watched her go, wondering if he’d done the right thing by apologizing to her and, God, of all things, kissing her. But surely—hopefully—she understood that it was a brotherly kiss and meant nothing other than that. He’d made sure he kissed her forehead and not her lips as he wanted to, which was of course very tempting indeed.
He stayed there a few more minutes, taking in the beautiful scenery before him and uttering the name “Sakura” under his breath, cherishing it and loving the sound of it between his lips.
When he got back to his room, four of his brothers—Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, and Conrad—were there waiting for him, ready to pound on him. He didn’t know what the hell they were there for. In fact, he pretty much didn’t care and wanted to shoo them all out.
“What were you doing with Sakura by the pond?” Conrad growled at him.
Sebastian had no idea they’d seen him from the house. Then again, it didn’t surprise him because he himself had seen Sakura from his bedroom window.
“Well?” Conrad probed.
Sebastian realized he had to explain himself to his brothers. He didn’t know that they were really interested in what he was doing, or more importantly he didn’t know that any of them were interested in Sakura. And now here he was, competing with these really big, bad, handsome wolves to get the girl.
Sebastian sighed and went to crash himself on the sofa near the hearth.
“Well?” Logan asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“You hugged her, didn’t you?” Tristan scolded darkly.
“I apologized to her,” Sebastian said.
“What the hell for?” Conrad shouted.
Sebastian didn’t bother to explain to young Conrad that it was because of what had happened back in their childhood days. The other brothers, however, understood perfectly.
“Then I should go and apologize as well,” Tristan said. “I was awful to her.”
Nicolas came to put his arm around his brother’s shoulder. “I am too partly to blame. As the eldest brother, I should have done something, but instead I stood by and ignored the whole thing.”
“That means all of us have hurt her in some way. There’s no denying that,” Logan said. “I was utterly cold toward her.”
Conrad had enough. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sakura!” the brothers said in unison.
“Well.” Conrad folded his arms across his chest. “If everyone of you hurt her and wants to apologize, why the hell didn’t you do something about it?”
“Like what?” Logan asked.
“Like, I don’t know,” Conrad muttered. “If it were me, I’d take her shopping. Girls like shopping, right? And presents.” Then he cocked his head to one side. “Shoes? Bags? Clothes?”
“I’ll just go and apologize to her right now,” Tristan announced. “And give her a peace offering—a hug and a kiss.”
He was about to walk out the door when Sebastian jumped up from his seat and pulled his brother back by the collar of his shirt. “Now?” he asked. “It’s bloody midnight. She’s probably asleep.”
“Sebastian’s right,” Nicolas said. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning.”
Sebastian saw the look in Nicolas’s eyes and said, “You’re not going to give her kisses, are you?”
“Why not?” Tristan put in. “You kissed her.”
“On the forehead,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth. “It was a brotherly kiss. I am, after all, her adopted brother.”
“Yes.” Tristan teased him. “We shall give Sakura brotherly kisses and hugs tomorrow.”
“Like hell you will!” Sebastian snapped. “Now get out of my room.”
“Night, bro.” Tristan chuckled. And one by one, the brothers left his room, leaving Sebastian alone and wondering how the hell he was going to keep his brothers away from Sakura. How the hell was he going to protect her from them? And then he wondered at just how the hell he was going to protect her from himself.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 16
Cake Flavor? Sakura, Please!
Baby-blue eyes glared at her accusingly, and that pretty face scrunched with disgust.
“You can’t steal Darcy from me!” nine-year-old Alaina hissed.
Ten-year-old Sakura looked down at Alaina’s small hands that were squeezing hers so tight it was painful. She wanted to tell the girl to stop hurting her and let her go, but Alaina only sneered at her.
“You want me to let you go?” Alaina asked sarcastically, her head cocked to one side, her eyes narrowed darkly.
“Let her go! Let her go!” Ten-year-old Tara’s voice echoed all around her, singing and laughing merrily. “Let her fall. Let her fall.”
“I’m letting you go,” Alaina said. “So go and die.”
Very slowly, Sakura watched in horror as Alaina unwrapped her hands. “No!” she screamed, watching Alaina as she slowly fell backward from the tree house, her small body flying down toward the ground as if she were falling from a cliff edge down to the angry sea below.
Sakura screamed, her eyes wide with fear, as Alaina was about to hit the hard ground below. Suddenly, it was Sakura who felt her own body falling—down, down, and down.
Splash!
The hungry water was everywhere around her, engulfing her, wanting to eat her alive. She struggled and tried to scream for help. She was dying, and she knew she couldn’t do anything about it.
Blue eyes. A pair of beautiful, sky-blue eyes were watching her. A boy’s hands were reaching out for her.
“Sakura!” he seemed to be shouting. His voice, however, was muffed by the water as his hands desperately reached out for her.
“Sebastian!”
Sakura woke up with a start, her body hot and sweating and her lips chanting Sebastian’s name. Her heart pounded hard within her chest, and her head was spinning out of control.
She closed her eyes again, told herself to calm down because it was only a dream. No! A nightmare. A long-ago nightmare she thought she’d forgotten, but in fact it had lain dormant deep within her mind.
She turned on her side and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. She kept seeing those blue eyes, wide with fear, as they stared at her.
“Sebastian,” she said under her breath as she gazed at the bright moon that shone through her opened curtain. She touched her hand to her chest where she felt the pounding of her heart. “Why?” she whispered. “Why would you sacrifice your life to save me?”
Soon she closed her eyes again and returned to sleep. This time though there was no nightmare.
The next morning, Sakura felt like a zombie. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t know she’d reached the dining room.
“Good morning.” Conrad greeted her the moment she stepped through the door. In fact, she didn’t even have time to take a seat when he instantly had his strong arms around her person and gave her a really tight
hug.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
Sakura wanted to tell him of course not. She had a nightmare, if he wanted to know the details. But instead she watched in horror as Conrad moved his face toward her, his lips coming down fast toward her forehead. She closed her eyes, wondering what Conrad wanted to do, when she felt strong hands around her slender arms and then a hard, swift pull of her body, releasing her from Conrad’s hug.
She found herself in Darcy’s arms, his hands tight around her, her face only inches from his massive chest. She could feel his body heat radiating, causing her to feel warm and dizzy at the same time. She tilted her face to look at him and saw he was gazing down at her, his eyes deep and intense. She felt her tummy flutter and her head started to spin. Perhaps it resulted from her tiredness due to her lack of sleep last night. Well, at least she hoped that was the reason, not Darcy’s presence.
Without knowing it, her knees weakened and she lost her stance. Darcy swiftly tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to him. His lips were warm near her forehead as he asked, “You’re unwell?”
“Sakura, are you all right?” Conrad queried with concern.
Sakura wanted to tell him she couldn’t sleep a wink because she’d been up all night thinking about many random things but especially about that nightmare and Sebastian and his kiss last night.
She managed to get hold of herself and shook her head to tell them she was fine. When she glanced over at the large dining table, she noted all the brothers were there, sporting rather concerned looks on their faces, which confused her. Shouldn’t they be pleased she was suffering?
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Tristan asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “I’m very sure.” She moved away from Darcy’s arms and came to sit down at the end of the table as far away from the brothers as possible. Conrad would have none of it, however, and dragged her around the table to sit next to him and Darcy.
“What would you like, my dear sister?” Conrad asked, and Tristan nearly fell off his chair. Sebastian flashed Conrad a watch what you’re saying look. Though Conrad had seen it, he decided to ignore it and hid a smile. Tristan laughed, and Nicolas, Logan, and Hayden watched the scene before them with interest.
