Falling For Sakura (Falling For Sakura Trilogy, #1) (11 page)

He spotted Sakura in a small office on the other side of the lab. He headed for her, and once there he
saw she’d put on a lab coat and had her long hair tied back into a ponytail.

He knocked on the door.

She turned.

He almost forgot how to breathe once his eyes met hers. She looked really sophisticate
d and professional in her lab coat.
Not to mention as sexy as hell.

He swallowed.
And then he remembered how to breathe properly.

“You’ve finished your questionnaires
, then?” she asked.

He cleared his
throat, which had gone dry all of a sudden. “Yeah.”

“Sit down.”

He didn’t move. More specifically, he didn’t hear her. He was too busy looking at her.

Sakura cocked her head to on
e side, wondering what was wrong with him. “Sebastian?” she asked.

Sebastian blinked. It was the first time she
’d called him by his name, and it caused his blood to tingle deliciously.

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of needles,” she said.

He was offended. “I’m not afraid of needles.”

“Then why didn’t you sit down like I told you to?”

“I was busy—” He stopped short. He
couldn’t possibly tell her he was too busy looking at her and that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Then why don’t you sit down?”
she suggested.

He nodded and went to sit down on the comfy chair, his lar
ge frame overpowering the sofa.

“Which arm?” she asked.

“Whichever,” he replied, watching her.

Sakura bit her lip and told her heart to stop beating so fast. It was only Sebastian, for God’s sake. He was her adopted brother
. Nothing more. But why was her heart beating so fast, and why were her hands shaking?

She came round to look at his arm
up close. Her fingers gently touched against the skin of his forearm, feeling for his vein.

Sebastian suddenly stopped breathing for a second. When he breathed again, his heart was beating so fast he thought he
wasn’t going to make it. He could smell her wonderful scent—the very same one from when he’d first met her—and it made his head swim in delight. He could feel the heat of her body against his, and his whole being stirred in pleasure.

“You have good veins,” she said.

Sebastian could feel the warmth of her breath fanning over his skin, which sent pleasure rushing through his body.

“I won’t have any problem at all,” she continued—more to reassure herself than him
, of course.

She stood up straight and prepared the tubes and needle. She wiped his skin clean with an alcohol swipe and then put a tourniquet around his arm. She told him to fist his hand to pump out the vein. He did as he was told, all the time watching her closely.

Sakura felt quite nervous by the fact that he was always looking at her. She didn’t know why, but she had the feeling he’d done that before when they were children. There was something in the way he was staring at her that made her nervous. Something that stirred her on the inside, making her restless.

“This will hurt a bit,” she said, leaning down toward him
, and then she slowly inserted the sharp needle through his skin and into to his vein.

He didn’t even flinch. In fact, it didn’t look like he felt the needle going into his skin at
all as he sat there watching her.

Sakura hoped
he was only staring at her because he didn’t want to see the needle, like most people do, and so he concentrated his attention on something else. But it would have been nice if it was the painting on the wall or the rubbish bin to the side or, even better yet, the computer screen in the corner of the room… not her face.

She quick
ly and steadily inserted a tube. Sebastian’s blood easily rushed out from the needle and spurted into the tightly vacuumed tube.

As
this was happening, Sebastian was staring at Sakura’s thick, dark lashes that were curved upward at just the right angle that enhanced her eyes. Then he moved his eyes down to her lips—plump, luscious lips ready to be kissed and sucked.

Sebastian unconsciously closed his eyes, feeling his blood stirring knowingly—almost painfully. His fingers itched to tou
ch, to feel those soft ruby lips. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at her chest. Since she was leaning toward him, and the fact that she was wearing that stupid doll-like strapless dress that barely covered her upper portion, he had a very good view of her lovely, round breasts thrusting out toward him, almost begging him to fondle, to kiss, and to—

I can’t
take this anymore,
he thought and scowled darkly, his whole body fully alert with desire.

“Are we done yet?” he asked none too gently.

Sakura glanced up at him and their eyes met. He stared at her for a moment, lost in the depth of the brown.

Sakura quickly glanced away, her stomach flipping and her heart pounding. “Nearly done,” she whispered, her throat dry.

After taking another tube, she undid the tourniquet, loosening it around his arm and then slowly took the needle out and at the same time, placing a cotton bud on the injured spot. “Hold this,” she told him.

Sebastian pressed his finger on the cotton bud while Sakura
labeled the tubes with his name and date of birth.

He
noticed and said, “You know my birthdate?”

She gave him a smile and said, “Bet you don’t know mine.” Then she added
, “I don’t even know my
real
date of birth.”

Sebastian saw the look on her face he
’d seen so many times when they were children. He suddenly felt that protectiveness over her again. It nearly broke his heart, and he had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms. Just as quickly, he realized that was a stupid thing to want to do, and so he abruptly got up, leaving the room in haste, which confused the hell out of Sakura.

“Okay. Leave,
” she said. “I’m not begging you to stay.”

Just then
, Conrad barged in and eagerly took the seat. “I’m ready,” he said, offering his arm for Sakura. Nicolas, Tristan, Hayden, Logan, and Darcy were behind him, waiting by the door. Nicolas didn’t miss Sebastian’s sudden bad mood as he walked out.

Sakura couldn’t help but laugh at Conrad
’s eagerness, which of course pleased Conrad mightily. Nicolas, on the other hand, thought the youngest of the brothers was the first to break into Sakura’s heart and wondered if he’d be the first to steal it as well.

Sebastian and
Logan weren’t pleased, however.

“It’s going to hurt just a little,” Sakura said, and before she could pick up the needle, she was being pulled around and found herself facing Sebastian’s wall of hard chest. She blinked, looked
up, and saw him looking down at her—not her face, but her chest—which she minded very much.

She also minded very much that he was so close to her and the fact that he was touching her again—
without her permission
.

The brothers were all watching Sebastian with in
terest, wondering what he was doing. Sebastian didn’t give a hoot that it was inappropriate for him to be doing this, however, and he pulled Sakura’s lab coat tight across her front, covering her exposed chest from prying eyes. Then he buttoned the coat up for her—one by one—very slowly, all the way to her collar.

As he was doing this, Conrad blinked several times, confused. Nicola
s secretly smiled as he immediately knew why Sebastian was in such a foul mood. Logan and Tristan shook their heads, knowing very well they were going to miss out on a very good view. Darcy scoffed. And Hayden chuckled.

Sakura wasn’t pleased that Sebastian was suddenly acting as if he was her real brother and worried about what she looked like wearing such a
revealing outfit. She took a step back and glared at him once he was done.

“Hurry up,” he said and strode
out the door again.

“I’ll take my ti
me, thank you very much,” she replied through gritted teeth and swore she’d make him sorry for humiliating her in front of his brothers.

A
nd indeed, she did take her time as she slowly and meticulously bled the rest of the brothers. Conrad closed one eye and sneaked a peek with another as Sakura inserted the sharp needle into his skin. He jumped and gasped, which caused Sakura to giggle at his reaction. That of course pleased Conrad nicely, and he was indeed rather sorry that the process finished all too soon. Tristan was the manly one. He sat and relaxed back as he watched her work, his eyes always on her pretty face, a nice smile playing about his lips.

“Are w
e done already?” he asked, a look of displeasure written on his face, disappointed that the procedure ended all too soon.

“Did you want me to take
another tube?” She teased.

“No
, you’re not,” Logan said from behind. “I’ve been waiting for ages already. Now scoot!” He pulled Tristan by the arm and shoved his brother from the chair.

“Just hu
rry up, will you!” Sebastian called out. His voice was thoroughly impatient.

Sakura pulled a face as she prepared another set of equipment.

“She’ll be taking her time,” Logan replied. “Isn’t that right, Sakura? Take your time, my sweet. I don’t want you to rush such a delicate job.”

Sakura chuckled. “Of course not.”

“See?” Logan nodded to his brother to tell them he was right. “Our dear sister agrees.”

A dark scowl from Sebastian greeted him. Hayden looked
heavenward. Conrad was confused why Sebastian was so pissed. Tristan chuckled. Nicolas shook his head. And Darcy looked as impassive as ever.

When the needle
went in, Logan kept his face straight and even rewarded her with one of his charming, handsome smiles for not hurting him too much. Sakura was pleased indeed that when it was Hayden’s and then Nicolas’s turn they were being very nice and polite as they simply sat there quietly while she did her job. Once they were done, she sighed with relief and thought it wasn’t so bad after all. Her joy, however, didn’t last long when Nicolas finally got out of the chair and he said, “And lastly, our Darcy.”

Sakura nearly dropped the test tube she held in her hand. She swallowed and suddenly felt her whole body
go tense. She saw Darcy take the seat and nearly stop breathing altogether.

Was it just her
, or was the room suddenly very hot?
Calm down, Sakura. Just calm down
—she told herself.
It’s only Darcy, your adopted brother.

With her mind still on the man sitting near her, s
he prepared the needle and was about to jab it into his skin when she realized something wasn’t right.
Holy Mother of Jesus!
She nearly forgot to clean his arm.

She put the needle down
, picked up the alcohol swipe, and turned to him. Honest to God, she really did try not to look at him, but she couldn’t help herself. She glanced up and her eyes met his. Instantly, she was drawn into the deep pool of the mauve-gray color. Her heart, of its own accord, pounded like it had no tomorrow.

Darcy held his breath
as he gazed at her, taking in the exotic beauty who had stolen his interest since they’d met again yesterday after so many years. Then it all came back to him—the light scent of cherry blossom, the warmth of her breath, and the delicious sensations within his being when she was near.
And that kiss in his dream last night?
It was from her when they’d been children. That realization knocked the wind out of him, and he felt as though he couldn’t breathe.

Breathe, Darcy, breathe
!
the voice in his head shouted at him.

Sakura quickly look
ed away, feeling her heart aching within her chest because of the way he was looking at her. This wasn’t the same Darcy she’d known back in childhood. This Darcy hated her. This Darcy was disgusted with her. And she had to keep that in mind and stay as far away from him as possible. Thus she turned her attention to bleeding him instead.

She made quick work of i
t and was indeed very glad it was finally over. Hence when Mark was busy giving the brothers a tour around the lab and going to extreme lengths to explain why his research was so important, even showing them how the analyzers worked, Sakura hid in the bathroom, freshened up, and tried her best to regain her composure before coming back out to face the brothers once again.

C
onfrontation

Sakura tried not to breathe
—or move, for that matter—since she was being squeezed in the back seat like a sandwich between Logan and Conrad. Honestly, she thought, why did she have to return home with them? Why couldn’t Mark have dropped her off? Why had Mary taken her car away without telling her?
Why, oh why?

She pulled Sebastian’
s large jacket—the one he had unceremoniously dumped on her person the moment she’d taken off her lab coat back at the lab—across her front tighter. Then she folded her arms across her chest, trying to relax. But how could she relax when Conrad kept staring at her and giving that dazzling smile of his? To be honest, she found it rather funny since he reminded her so much of Toby when the dog was trying to please her. She wondered if Conrad was trying to do the same thing.

“Sakura,” he began, “what interesting things have you been doing?”

Sakura wanted him to stop bothering her and thus gave him a good scowl.

“Stop frowning, my sweet Sakura,” Logan said, which welcomed a quick suspicious glance from Sebastian through the rearview mirror. “You’ll get wrinkles.”

Her frown darkened. “I haven’t been doing anything interesting, apart from the usual,” she said. After all, why would they be interested in her life now when they’d never given a damn before? So she kept her mouth shut even though Conrad was quite persistent in his endeavor to make conversation with her.

“Gi
ve it a rest, Conrad,” Nicolas said abruptly. “She’s tired.”

“Yes
,” Sebastian added. “It has been a long day.”

Conrad stopped his questioning then, and Sakura sighed with relief.

Once they got back to Princeton Mansion twenty minutes later, Sakura quickly escaped from the car and rushed into the house. She was promptly greeted by the hyperactive Toby, who raced toward her with his wee, short legs.

Sakura laughed and bent down
to pick him up. “You miss me?” she said.

Toby barked excitedly and licked her cheek.

“Huh!” a voice expressed from the drawing room. “Finally, somebody shut that stupid dog up.”

Sakura froze and automatically hugged Toby against h
er chest protectively. “It’s okay, Toby,” she said to the dog and quickly headed across the corridor toward the stairs.

When she thought she would escape unscathed, Tara emerged from the drawing room.

Sakura wasn’t surprised to see that Tara was still as beautiful as ever with her platinum-blond hair, tanned skin, and tall, lean figure.

Tara
immediately spotted Sebastian standing by the door looking very handsome indeed in Calvin Klein jeans and a blue formal shirt. She wondered where he’d been and without inviting her along, too. Then she noticed Nicolas, Logan, and Conrad standing beside Sebastian, all dressed semi-formal as well.

“Hey, where have you guys been?” she asked, pouting her lips akin to that of a little girl being denied candy. “Should have invited me.”

Tristan, Hayden, and Darcy happened to walk through the doorway at that moment. Tristan was laughing about something, and Hayden was giving Tristan a friendly punch on the arm. Darcy just shook his head at his brothers. Of course, they’d been talking about women again and the best method to get them in the mood for sex.

They all came to a complete stop at the corridor when they noticed their brothers were still standing there awkwardly. Darcy wondered why and knew instantly once he had spotted Tara before them, standing there as if she
were posing for a photo shoot for some hot magazine.

Tara
’s eyes lit up the moment she spotted Darcy, though he didn’t give her any indication he appreciated her presence. Sakura, on the other hand, chose that moment to leave quietly. If only Toby didn’t bark, however, then she would have been gone without anyone noticing her. But the dog did bark, and Tara finally turned her attention to Sakura.

Tara stared at
her for a long moment, as if trying to recollect who she was. Then her eyes seemed to blaze with blue fire, and her hands fisted tightly at her sides.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she asked straight out, her voice tight. “I thought you were long gone. So what? You’re here to destroy
our
family again? Who invited you here?”

The brothers held their breath at the sarcastic statements fired at Sakura. The scene suddenly took them back to their childhood when Tara had unleashed her temper on little
Sakura, who hadn’t been able to do anything except endure the bullying and then run away to hide and cry. This reminder, of course, made the brothers really worried because they no longer wanted to simply stand by and watch passively, ignoring the whole situation as if nothing had happened.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes dangerously. Nicolas pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose—an
gesture the brothers knew very well—which meant a serious action was about to be taking place. Darcy scowled and fisted his hands tightly by his sides. Hayden’s, Tristan’s, and Logan’s faces became serious. Conrad, who’d never encountered this faceoff between Sakura and Tara before, was very shocked at Tara’s despicable tone of voice toward Sakura.

“That’s not very nice, Tara
,” Conrad said loudly.

Tara ignored him and continued glaring at Sakura.

Sakura cocked her head to one side and then gave Tara a lovely fake smile. With her voice soft and calm, she said, “I believe I live here. This is, after all, my home. And I am, after all, a Princeton.”

This
, of course, surprised the brothers beyond belief as they stared at her with something akin to shock. Little Sakura, after all, had never answered back. She’d just run away and cried.

Tara narrowed her eyes and shouted, “Like hell you live here! Princeton? Bullshit! You’re not a Princeton. You don’t even know your real last name. You’re full of bullshit!”

In response to Tara’s outrageous yell, Toby barked aggressively, which caused Tara to stumble back with fright. Toby kept barking and barking and then growled at Tara, who swore at him in anger.

“Shut up, you stupid dog! Shut up!”
she screamed. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“That’s enough, Tara!” Nicolas’
s deep, commanding voice echoed through out the hallway.

Tara gasped in fright and automatically turned to look at Nicolas, confused. For years
, he had never used such tone of voice toward her. In fact, Nicolas, who was very much like his father James, had never used that particular tone of voice toward anyone except for when he was very upset and had to set things in order.

“This is no way to treat your sister,” he sai
d, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“That was mean, Tara
,” Conrad said, his voice cold.

“Your behavior is uncalled for,” Hayden said, folding his arms across his massive chest.

“I concur,” Logan added.

“You’re not pretty when you act like a bitch, Tara
,” Tristan stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura
was completely shocked that the brothers were on her side in this unexpected confrontation. When they were young, they just pretended it never happened.
They’ve changed,
she thought.
They’ve grown
.

Toby
started barking aggressively at Tara again. Sakura stroked his head, telling him to calm down. The dog obeyed her and stopped barking. She turned her attention to Tara and said, “I think binge drinking and sleeping late causes your headache, Tara, not my sweet Toby barking at you.” She walked past Tara toward the stairs and then decided to add, “By the way, you really should lay off those cigarettes and alcohol because they really do give you wrinkles. Not good for a supermodel, don’t you think?” With that, she headed up the stairs without a backward glance.

Toby took the opportunity to growl at Tara once again, telling her to piss off. Sakura couldn’t help but smile at her little dog’s aggressive
behavior. Toby really did protect his master all right, as any good dog should.

The brothers
were speechless. Sakura had grown—
both outside and in
—and now nothing could faze her. Conrad couldn’t help but laugh.

“What the hell are you laughing about?” Tara asked him angrily.

“I think you should stay away from Toby, Tara,” Conrad said. “He doesn’t like you very much. You might get bitten.” With that, he headed into the drawing room.

Tara glared at him as he left, her chest heaving with anger. Then she turned to the other six brothers.

Darcy was able to relax and released his tight fists once he noted Sakura had disappeared from sight up the stairs and was saved from Tara’s further onslaught of bullying.

“Did you see her? The way she behaved?” Tara asked the brothers.

Darcy ignored her outrageous question and headed past her up the stairs. He wasn’t in the mood to interact with a bitch who was half-drunk and harassing her own adopted sister.

Nicolas
frowned at her. “This is a family reunion, Tara. I don’t expect such behavior from you, and I’m sure Dad expects the same. You are still a Princeton, after all, and should behave accordingly.”

Tara bit her lip, her hand
s fisted tight on her hips.
Princeton, my ass
, she thought sourly.
She never considered herself a Princeton. She was only using the name to secure a high life.

“D
on’t do it again,” he warned coldly, nudging his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Tara didn’t reply
as she stood there, fuming.

Nicolas dismissed her by saying, “I need a shower,” and headed up the stairs.

Tristan, Logan, and Hayden all headed into the drawing room. None bothered to pay her any attention. Finally, Tara turned to Sebastian, who looked as though he was ready to murder her. His face was dark, his eyes narrowed, and his stance was tense.

Tara, however, didn’t see it that way. She thought Sebastian was pissed with Sakura’s
behavior. She softened her face and asked, “How did you come back with her? I didn’t even know she lives here. James and Brenda never told me.”

Though she had been adopted by the Princeton
s, Tara had never gotten used to calling James and Brenda Mom and Dad. She hated calling them by those endearments and had refused to submit to their gentle urging. She didn’t care, had never cared, even if it hurt their feelings. For her, Melissa Byrd was her only mom, the woman who had loved her and had sacrificed so much for her to get her this far. Her dad, on the other hand, was someone who had never really existed in her life, and she pretty much didn’t care if he was dead or alive.

“We were at Lauren’s birthday party,” Sebastian said, walking pas
t her, ignoring her. Then, before he disappeared down the corridor, he turned and added, “By the way, you should shower. You stink of alcohol.”

Tara blinked in confusion. She cocked her head to one side, wondering why she had the sudden feeling that every one of the brothers was ignoring her. She watched Sebastian walking away, his face impassive.

* * *

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 just couldn’t believe it. 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 bar
ked 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!”

Wo
of! 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 t
ummy. “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?”