by Alexia Praks
Chapter 13
Warm Embraces
Sakura collapsed onto her bed once she got into her room. She sighed in exhaustion and could still feel her body trembling from the encounter.
Oh, God! She couldn’t believe she’d just stood up to Tara. She knew she was no longer afraid of people, of what they thought of her, or of her displeasing them. But to see Tara again right in the face and fighting with words with her was truly an experience.
She touched her chest, feeling the hard thumping of her beating heart. Toby barked to get her attention. She sat up and leaned to face him up close. “So,” she said, “you don’t like her much, do you?”
“Woof,” was Toby’s reply.
“Hum, thought so,” she said, nodding. Then she cocked her head to one side. “Tara!”
Toby barked aggressively and growled.
“Alaina!”
Again, Toby barked aggressively and growled.
Sakura had to laugh. “Good boy.” And then to test the little dog even further, she said, “Nicolas!”
Toby gave her a friendly bark and then stuck his tongue out.
“Huh?” She cocked her head to the other side, confused. “Sebastian!”
Woof! Woof! Followed by tongue stuck out, and he licked her cheek.
“Conrad!”
Woof! Woof! Followed by a roll over and little legs wiggling in midair.
“Darcy.”
Toby rolled over, sat up straight, and gave her the wettest lick on her cheek ever.
“Ew!” Sakura laughed and rubbed his tummy. “You’re weird today.” When she noted that the dog had enough tickling, she got up and said, “Right, I’m going to change out of this stupid dress. And you, mister…” She patted his head. “Stay out of trouble and stay away from Tara and Alaina. Understand?”
Toby gave her an understanding bark.
“Good,” she said as she got off the bed and headed toward the bathroom.
Woof! Toby gave her another bark to get her attention. She turned to him and saw he was gazing at the door.
“All right,” she said, unlocking the door and leaving it slightly ajar. “I’ll leave the door open for you, but make sure you don’t go and annoy Tara and Alaina, okay? You know they don’t like you.”
The dog barked again.
“All right,” she said.
The dog ran over to his basket and made himself comfortable, afterward closing his eyes. Sakura headed into the bathroom, filled the tub with warm water, and poured in some lavender essential oil to help calm her nerves and relax her tense muscles. Then, after stripping herself naked, she hopped into the tub and thoroughly enjoyed her long bath, nearly dozing off at times. It was a while later when she realized she had to get out because it was getting dark and dinner was just around the corner. She didn’t want to be late for dinner, and Daddy James might think she was avoiding her adopted brothers once again.
She put on a pair of black skinny jeans and a simple white T-shirt. After moisturizing her face with night cream and blow-drying her hair, she headed out, wondering where Toby could have gone off to since he wasn’t in his basket. She was pretty sure he hadn’t gone far because she could hear him barking quite clearly within the house.
She headed down the stairs to the first floor, noting that the barking was getting louder. As she was crossing the long corridor, she realized it was coming from within the library—hers and Toby’s favorite place in the house, especially in winter when she read to him out loud. Toby seemed to enjoy her soothing voice as she read to him near the fireplace and him snuggling cozily on her lap. This time, however, she surely hoped he wasn’t munching on books since she wasn’t with him.
“Toby?” she called out softly as she opened the door.
No reply.
She moved in a little farther, narrowing her eyes against the bright glaring evening light that entered the enormous room via the floor-to-ceiling window from the west side of the house. She blinked a couple of times to get used to the lighting, and that was when she saw Toby with Conrad. The dog was lying on the floor, and Conrad was rubbing his tummy. They were having a good time, all right, and oddly enough, Sakura found that quite pleasing. Toby must really like Conrad to allow the brother to touch him. Normally, he wouldn’t let just anyone touch him unless he knew he was safe with that person.
“Toby?” she called out again. The dog heard her immediately, his ears pricking up. He rolled himself up to his feet and barked her a happy greeting.
Sakura took another step forward, pleased to see he wasn’t munching on books. Because she wasn’t paying any attention to her surroundings and only had eyes on her dog, she tripped on a pair of feet and fell forward, free-styling toward the floor. Luckily, she didn’t land on the hard floor and turn herself into a young corpse. Instead, she landed on a large, long, lean body.
Puff!
Sakura was breathless and sprawling on top of a rather comfortable, warm, masculine being below her.
“Oh shit!” Conrad shouted, rushing over to her.
Nicolas got up and hastily looked at what damage his long legs had done.
“Get off her, Sebastian!” Conrad shouted.
Sakura opened her eyes and looked up to see a pair of blue eyes watching her. Her heart missed a beat and started up again—very fast. Oh, God! She could feel his warm, hard body beneath her. She wanted to die.
“Get off her,” Conrad shouted again, standing before them.
Sebastian, still a bit dazed that a soft female body suddenly landed on him, wondered how he could get himself off Sakura when it was she who was on top of him. But then again, she felt just right where she was, as though she belonged there. He didn’t feel the need to remove her from her current position. Not to mention the fact that her face was only inches from his. They were nose to nose and lips to lips; they could be kissing.
God, he thought, she has beautiful skin. She looked so fresh and innocent without any makeup on, and it stirred something deep within his being. Something that made him want to protect her, like he’d wanted to do all those years ago but had been too afraid to do so.
“Sakura,” Nicolas said. “I’m sorry my feet got in the way. Now, maybe you should get off Sebastian.”
Sakura blinked and then hastily pushed herself up, her cheeks red. However, she didn’t have time to remove herself completely from Sebastian when Toby jumped into her arms and started barking happily, as if inviting her to play with them.
Sakura sat there on Sebastian’s rock-hard belly, saddling him like a horse as Toby continued to hyperactively bark in her arms. God, she could feel the firmness of his six-pack abs beneath her woman’s place, and suddenly her insides were heating up and turning into mush. Her whole body was quivering with reactions.
Sebastian too could feel the heat that was radiating from her body to his and hastily moved up slightly so as to ease her from him. It was, after all, getting rather too comfortable for his liking, and he knew he was stepping on dangerous ground. He certainly didn’t want to be turned on by his adopted sister—and in the presence of his brothers too.
His action, however, backfired. The movement caused Sakura’s little bottom to slide down his tummy and land right on his crotch.
“Shit!” Sebastian swore under his breath, almost breathless at the contact.
“Ah!” Conrad pulled at his hair as if he were going crazy at seeing them in such an uncalled-for position. “Toby! What the hell are you doing! Sebastian! Get off Sakura right now!”
Sebastian could only close his eyes and rub his fingers and thumb against his forehead as he tried very hard to control himself from the massive buildup of desire coursing through his body.
“Shut up, Conrad. You’re giving me a headache with your shouting,” he snapped lowly.
Shit! Shit! Shit! If she were to move herself up and down him, or even worse, wiggle her cute bottom while she was on top of him, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to control himself any lon
ger, and his pride and joy would surely make its appearance.
Nicolas laughed. He couldn’t help himself. Then to help ease the situation, he scooped Sakura into his strong arms and gently lifted her up and away from Sebastian.
Once Sakura landed on her feet on the soft carpet, she finally managed to calm Toby down. She gave Nicolas an appreciative smile before noting the dark scowl Sebastian wore on his face. She knew he was upset she’d landed on him. She also knew he really disliked her, and this encounter must have really pissed him off.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to fall on you. It was an accident.”
Sebastian watched her standing there above him, his heart pumping irrationally. He really wanted to pull her back down and perhaps even roll her over so she’d be beneath him. Then he’d kiss her hard on her luscious lips and take that cute T-shirt off her so he could witness her beautiful naked body. Then he’d kiss those amazing breasts of hers and then—
Then she rushed away and out the door, leaving Sebastian lying there, wanting and craving what he was forbidden to have.
“Oh, God!” Sakura whispered under her breath the moment she’d gotten out of the library. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the door, wondering in mortification if her adopted brothers thought she was some sort of stupid ninny.
What was wrong with her? Why didn’t she get up the moment she’d landed on top of Sebastian? And furthermore, she’d even sat on top of him. On top of him! On top of his firm, six-pack that she could so feel beneath her.
Just thinking about it now made her blush with embarrassment, and she hugged Toby tighter against her chest.
“What’s the matter, sweet Sakura?”
Sakura flashed her eyes open to see Tristan smiling at her—that flirty smile of his that any girl found most irresistible. His face was also only inches from hers. She could feel his warm breath on her skin.
She licked her dry lips and stammered, “No… nothing. I… I was just looking for Toby.”
Tristan cocked his head to one side, not believing her one tiny bit. “You’re blushing, Sakura. Why? Has one of my brothers harassed you?”
“I… I said it was nothing,” she muttered, her cheeks flaming hot. Then, before he could ask her any more questions, she hastily moved to the side, away from him, and rushed off with Toby in her arms.
Tristan watched her go, grinning knowingly. He cocked his head to one side, wondering which one of his brothers was responsible for his adopted sister’s weird reaction.
Ah! She was blushing. A pretty blush, he thought. And her eyes, the deep-brown color, were exceptionally bright this evening. Not to mention the lips. They were full and very red as though they were ready to be kissed.
Tristan opened the library’s door then and came to witness a most interesting scene. Conrad, who was standing, was shouting aggressively at Sebastian, who was lying down on the floor.
“I told you to get off her!” he muttered.
Sebastian wasn’t listening to his brother, though. He was dealing with his own wee problem. He had to dampen his hot, burning desire within him that had just been awakened by his adopted sister, who, he had no doubt, hadn’t a clue what she’d done.
“Shut up!” Sebastian said. “My head is aching.” No! he thought. That was a complete lie. His head wasn’t aching. His body was.
Nicolas was chuckling away enthusiastically, and when his eyes met Tristan’s, he gave his brother a wink.
Oh, God! Tristan thought. It was Sebastian who was responsible. That bastard!
Tristan stalked in and demanded, “Did you harass Sakura?”
Sebastian took one look at his brother and moaned under his breath, “Not you, too.”
Sakura, who was heading back up the stairs, gritted her teeth in annoyance. God! She just couldn’t get away from them, could she? But how could she when there were seven of them and they were all living under the same roof.
Once she was sure she’d calmed down, she let Toby go. The dog landed on his feet on the stairs. He cocked his head to one side as he stared up at her, wondering what was bothering his master.
Sakura sighed. “Why are you playing with them, Toby?” she asked. “I told you before, they’re not our friends. I’ll let it go this time but not again, you hear?”
Toby stuck out his tongue and jumped about in his spot excitedly.
“You’re a bit weird since they’ve arrived, you know. What’s wrong with you?”
But then again, she too was being a bit weird. Well, at least her body was doing weird stuff anyway. Her heart seemed to race a lot lately. It was the brothers’ fault, of course, since it had started happening that first day they’d met on the road.
“Good,” Conrad said from the distance. “Tristan will teach him a lesson. I told him to get off her, but he wouldn’t.”
Sakura froze in her spot. Good God! She didn’t want to see them again so soon. She was still too embarrassed from the incident in the library and hadn’t mentally prepared herself yet.
She heard Nicolas chuckling. “I’m more worried that Sebastian will bash Tristan’s face in.”
“Oh, yeah. Me, too,” Conrad muttered. “But he wouldn’t. They’re brothers after all.”
“Yes,” Nicolas replied.
Still on the stairs, Sakura knew she had to get away. They were just around the corner now and were getting closer. Thus she had no choice but to run up the remaining steps and then turn the corner. She was in such a rush that she didn’t watch where she was going and literally ran into someone—smashing her slight body against a firm, masculine one.
She gasped and felt herself falling backward. Suddenly a pair of strong, powerful arms wrapped themselves around the small of her waist to prevent her from falling. She hastily responded by wrapping her arms around the person’s neck. This was followed by their bodies twisting around together as if they were dancing, and then she felt herself falling backward again in another direction… and then thud.
The pain was most unbearable this time, as the heavy body was on top of her. She tried to breathe, but it was difficult, as she felt as though she were being squeezed like a pancake. She had to admit, however, that even though the huge body on top of her was hard and heavy, the feeling wasn’t at all unpleasant and was rather warm.
She opened her eyes to see mauve-gray eyes watching her. She caught her breath at the back of her throat as Darcy whispered, “You walked into me.”
She blushed and said, “You’re squishing me.”
Darcy didn’t move, just stayed on top of her and gazed down at her. His heart was beating so fast that his chest was aching—aching with familiar angst and familiar delight because she was in his arms. She smelled beautiful too, of lavender, and it caused his senses to float with wonder.
She was warm and soft under him, begging him to do more than just lie still on top of her. He wanted to kiss her, like he’d always wanted to kiss her and take her into his arms when they were children, even after he’d started to believe the lies Alaina and Tara told him about her. Even after that awful incident at the tree house when he thought Sakura had wanted to kill Alaina and he hated her so much and treated her so badly, he had still wanted her. He hated himself for that. Hated himself for falling in love with the girl who’d wanted to kill his twin sister.
“Why aren’t you getting up?” she asked. “I’m going to be a pancake soon if you don’t move.”
He couldn’t help himself and smiled at her. Yes, it was both painful and pleasurable to be with her. The feelings that had tormented him a long time ago were now returning with a vengeance.
Darcy’s smile was so beautiful that Sakura’s heart skipped three times and then began to race hard. She blinked and licked her lips, wondering why he was smiling at her. She knew he still had a grudge against her since that awful incident years ago at the tree house. That was why he’d never talked to her again and had treated her so coldly. She’d never blamed him for that, of course, know
ing very well that he was just being very protective of his sister.
“Your arms,” he said logically, not at all displeased that her soft arms were wrapping around him like a lover’s.
Sakura widened her eyes in shock when she realized she was hugging him tight. She hastily removed her arms and looked away, her cheeks even redder now.
Darcy didn’t want to move. In fact, he liked being in that position on top of her. He could feel her soft body beneath his, and it was making his being respond with desire. Her face, fresh and beautiful, was only inches from his, and he knew he could kiss her if wanted to. But he knew he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Because it was wrong. Very wrong.
Slowly—reluctantly—he moved back.
Sakura breathed in relief, and before she could bring herself to stand up properly, she felt Darcy’s arm around the small of her waist, pulling her to him. Their bodies were so close to each other that they might fuse as they stood up together.
Standing there with Sakura in his arms, Darcy was hurting himself. He knew he was leading himself down a dangerous path that he shouldn’t take, but it was just too damn tempting. He wanted to kiss her. No! He not only wanted to kiss her, but he wanted her to forgive him for doubting her innocence. He wanted her to forgive him of his horrible treatment toward her when they’d been children. He wanted her and her forgiveness so bad that it hurt inside.
“Darcy, what are you doing?” Conrad asked from the distance.
Sakura hastily moved away from Darcy, blushing profusely.
Darcy gritted his teeth and shut his eyes for a moment to regain control of his emotions. Yes, he needed to appear cool and in control in front of his brothers. He didn’t want to show his brothers just how fragile he was emotionally, especially where this young woman was concerned. After all, he’d never shown his brothers anything other than the cool, collected, and arrogant Darcy who didn’t give a shit what everyone else thought of him.
Once he’d gained control of himself, he turned calmly to Conrad and Nicolas, who were watching him, waiting for his answers.
“She fell,” he said. Then before they could ask him any more questions, which he knew they wouldn’t anyway, he reluctantly removed his arm from Sakura’s waist and then walked away toward the stairs.
Sakura watched Darcy go. She was relieved that he didn’t growl at her for running into him. She was also relieved that, for the first time, he had smiled at her. Perhaps, just perhaps, he’d forgiven her.
“You fell again?” Conrad asked Sakura. “You should be careful.”
“I’m a bit clumsy today,” she said. “I think we should go to dinner.” With that, she walked past them toward the stairs as well, Toby trotting after her happily.
“Wait for me.” Conrad chuckled, rushing after her.
Nicolas cocked his head to one side as he watched them go. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes narrowed. “Darcy,” he said. “You’re letting down your guard, brother.”
