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Chapter 18
Hayden Princeton, Prince of Rebel
The brothers had decided that Sakura was in great danger where Richard Collins was concerned after all. The man was a flirt—even worse than Tristan—and they knew he had his sights set on Sakura the moment he laid eyes on her. He looked like he’d just seen an angel descending from heaven.
Yes, the brothers decided they no longer liked Richard very much. Not that they had ever liked him very much before anyway. They’d always considered him a bit of an oddball and rather fishy. Of course, after they’d seen how he hugged Sakura for a bit too long and how he had his arms around her as if she belonged to him, and of all things gave her a peck on her left cheek? That was the final straw. Their expressions were fouler than the northern storm that was raiding the Scottish sea as they watched Richard taking advantage of their Sakura. Sebastian was all but ready to pull the man away from the helpless girl and throw him into the ocean. Darcy was thinking of giving him a good knock to the face.
“How are you, my dear Sakura?” Richard said, his voice rather too charming for the brothers’ liking.
Darcy narrowed his eyes dangerously at Richard. Conrad gritted his teeth in annoyance.
“Richard, you haven’t changed a bit,” Sakura said, all but being squeezed in Richard’s arms. She chuckled uncomfortably and blushed intensely. She surely hoped the brothers weren’t watching them. One glance in their direction, however, told her a different story. They looked as though they were ready for war.
“And you have changed a lot since I last saw you,” Richard remarked. “What? Since you were sixteen? Look at you now, all grown up.” He said the last sentence so softly and so sensually, as though he were caressing every single word with his tongue.
The brothers noticed this, and it bothered the hell out of them—especially Tristan, who scowled darkly. He decided that Richard had improved his flirting technique, and he didn’t like that, especially when used on Sakura.
Sakura cocked her head to one side in thought. “Yes. It’s been a rather a long time, hasn’t it?”
Nicolas decided the hug was long enough and interrupted them. “Richard, long time no see,” he said. He extended his hand so Richard had no choice but to move away from Sakura to do the manly, friendly handshake.
“Nicolas,” Richard responded. “Man, it’s been a long time.” Then he turned to wave at the other six brothers who all gave him a cold greeting. He turned back to Sakura. He was about to give her another peck on the cheek when Sebastian saved her by pulling her to his side.
“Come on, let’s get going,” he said, leading her away.
Sakura was pleased she was saved from the embarrassment of getting another peck on the cheek she didn’t want. She looked up to Sebastian and gave him an appreciative smile.
Sebastian decided to return her smile with a cold scowl and said none too gently, “Stay away from him.”
She returned his scowl and muttered, “Why are you telling me what to do?”
“Because I’m your brother,” he replied with a no-nonsense tone of voice.
Annoyed at how he was treating her, she shrugged her arms free from his tight grasp to tell him she wasn’t pleased with his behavior. Then she stomped past the brothers and headed straight to Mary, who was busy hugging and kissing her fiancé, Peter, as if she hadn’t seen him for centuries.
“What did you say to her?” Tristan asked, interested.
“She’s totally pissed,” Hayden added with amusement.
“I told her to stay away from Richard,” Sebastian replied. “Did I do something wrong?”
Tristan laughed at his brother’s naïveté. Really, he thought, Sebastian needed to hang around women more to understand their behavior. Nicolas nodded, telling Sebastian that he did indeed do something wrong. Darcy, however, agreed with Sebastian and said, “You did the right thing.”
Richard came up behind them as they started heading toward the car. “So what are all my cousins up to these days?”
“The usual,” Nicolas said.
“Man, I still can’t believe Sakura has grown up so much,” he said. “Can still remember her when she was a teenager. She was so quiet and shy you didn’t even know she was in the same room.”
Sebastian thought that wasn’t true. Yes, she’d been rather quiet and painfully shy when she was young, but he’d always noticed her. She’d always been there, quietly observing them, quietly going about her business. But Sebastian didn’t know why he’d forgotten all about her for those past years. Perhaps it was because he’d never seen her again since she left for boarding school. Of course, he’d also been busy with studies at high school and then university. Not to mention friends, work, and the occasional girls who came and went. Her existence just kind of faded out of his mind.
“Took us a while to bring her out of her shell.” Richard continued.
“You brought her out of her shell?” Conrad asked, appalled.
“Yep.” Richard confirmed. “We did. Mary, Katherine, and I. My three little darlings, out and about doing all sorts of mischief. Mind you, I had to look after them. Sakura has always been my favorite. Once she’s out of her shell, she’s the most difficult to control. So much spirit in her and very wild too. I’ve been waiting for so long for her to grow up.” He chuckled. “And now she has. I think she’s ready.”
The brothers didn’t like what Richard was implying. Their cousin was waiting for Sakura to grow up so he could what?
Sebastian had a good idea what Richard wanted and decided the cousin would have to get over his dead body first to get Sakura.
“What are you implying?” Conrad, being the one who always took the bull by the horns, asked straight out. “You want to date her or something?”
Richard laughed. “Uh-ho! Is that brotherly concern I hear?”
Nicolas nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Naturally,” he said. “We are her brothers, after all.”
“Come on, guys, I’m your cousin here,” Richard said.
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about her welfare?” Darcy asked. “You can’t date her. She’s your cousin.”
“Yes,” Logan said. “Incest, my cousin, incest.”
“But she’s not related to me at all,” Richard argued.
Hayden said coldly, “Still wrong, Richard, very wrong.”
“No hard feelings, cousin.” Tristan slapped Richard on the shoulder so hard that the man nearly went sprawling to the ground. Then the seven brothers all walked ahead, leaving Richard standing there looking rather confused about the whole situation.
Sakura, who was standing on the other side, wondered how they were going to get home with only two cars when there were now eleven of them. Then she decided perhaps she should ring home and tell Daddy James they needed a lift. Or perhaps she could wait and go up to the house with Katherine when her friend finished work at the café.
Mary saw her dilemma and said, “Well, that means one of you will have to stay behind or else ride in the trunk. Who’s volunteering?”
“It’s okay,” Sakura said. “I’ll stay with Katherine. She’s coming up to the house this evening to try on the dress. I’ll come up with her.”
“Are you sure?” Mary asked.
“No,” Hayden put in. “I have my motorbike at the yacht. So there’s no need to argue who’s staying behind.”
“Then that should work out,” Mary said.
It was decided then, and Sebastian took Sakura by the elbow before Richard had the chance. “Come on,” he said, leading her to their car.
“Wait!” Richard said. “I haven’t seen Sakura for ages.” He put both his hands on her shoulders and steered her toward Mary’s car. “Young lady, you’re coming with us.”
Conrad would have none of it, however, and said, “We can all catch up when we get home.” He brushed Richard’s hands aside and steered Sakura toward their car. “Mind what you’re touching,” he said.
“What is wro
ng with you guys today?” Mary asked. “Maybe it’s the coffee she made them,” she muttered to herself. “Did she put something in it?”
