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Suddenly, they all dived into the water. Splash! From Sakura’s vantage point, she noted that Sebastian had the strongest start, his body hitting the water the farthest, followed by Darcy and then Hayden. Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, and Conrad dived in at about the same distance. Then they were on—head to head—their powerful arms propelling them forward, stroking alternately, their strong feet kicking along.
Sebastian was the first to reach the other end of the pool. He flipped around, kicked his powerful legs against the wall of the pool, and then swam toward the other direction. Darcy wasn’t far behind him, followed by Hayden, Logan, Tristan, Nicolas, and then Conrad. They did another three turns, all in breathtaking pace—neck to neck. Suddenly, Conrad stopped. Sakura panicked because she thought he was drowning. She watched him climbing out of the pool. He seemed to be having trouble breathing.
“I can’t go on any longer,” he puffed out. He was starving for air, and his chest was heaving with exertion. “Sorry, Sakura,” he managed.
Sakura nodded her head and gave him a smile. Conrad nodded back, and then they both turned their attention to watch the intense race that was still going.
A few seconds later, Nicolas climbed out. He wasn’t at all breathless. He said, “I can’t see a damn thing. I need my glasses.”
Conrad gave him his glasses, and after he’d safely put them back on the bridge of his nose, Nicolas sat down and watched the race with interest.
At this time, Sebastian was still in the lead, and Darcy wasn’t far behind him. They only had another lap to go, and then it’d be over. Sakura watched, her stomach flipping and her whole body tense with anticipation. She didn’t know why she was so anxious. Perhaps she was in the competition as well. Although, to be honest, she didn’t really care which of the brothers won.
Then it was the final lap, and Darcy and Sebastian were now side by side, hea
d on. Suddenly, Sebastian increased his power and propelled himself harder and faster. Darcy must have felt it and increased his power, too. Then in a split second, Sebastian reached the end first, followed by Darcy. Hayden wasn’t far behind and Tristan after that. Logan was the last to finish, by a mere five seconds.
Sakura was amazed as she stood there breathless. What an experience, she thought. It was something she’d never expected to see, to feel. God, she felt as though she were with them, swimming along, feeling the power and the adrenaline. Then when they’d reached the end, she stopped breathing completely.
“I can’t believe I’m last,” Logan muttered under his breath.
Tristan, Logan, and Hayden climbed out of the pool, and they all lay down on the marble floor, trying to catch their breath. Sebastian, however, wasn’t even breathless. His face showed it was nothing to him.
Nicolas said, “He didn’t do his best.”
Sakura was confused as she stared wide-eyed at Sebastian’s powerful, handsome body climbing out of the pool. Her whole being trembled with longing. She didn’t understand why, but she yearned to be close to him. She wanted to run her fingers along the length of his toned muscles, to feel his wet, smooth skin against her fingertips. Her insides ached, and she had to control the tremor that seemed to rise within her. Oh, God, fire. There was fire within her that was burning and refusing to die down until…
Sebastian caught her eyes as he stroked back his wet hair. He noticed the look on her face and swallowed hard. Shit, he thought longingly. Holy shit! He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Did she know she was staring at him that way, that she was practically ogling him with desire?
Conrad’s words penetrated Sakura’s muffled mind. “He isn’t usually that slow.”
“Why the hell did you do that?” Darcy shouted from the pool.
Sebastian glanced away, knowing very well his body had willingly responded to his adopted sister’s intense stare, to what those beautiful eyes of hers were implying. He distracted himself from her by saying, “What? I won, didn’t I?”
“You were mocking us, Sebastian,” Logan said none too gently. “What? Because you didn’t want to make a fool out of us in front of Sakura? Oh, thanks a lot, dear brother.”
Sebastian wasn’t listening to them. His mind was elsewhere. God, how was he going to deal with this forbidden blaze of desire he was obviously having toward his adopted sister? And it seemed, whether she knew it or not or whether she liked it or not, she too was beginning to feel the same way toward him.
He came up to her, standing mere inches from her, his massive height easily towering over her form.
Sakura gasped involuntarily the moment he stopped in front of her. She gazed up at him and caught her breath. He was truly an amazing specimen. His face was gorgeous, and those azure eyes of his penetrated deep into her soul.
Because she couldn’t handle how intensely he was staring, she dropped her gaze and found herself gawking at his massive chest instead. So smooth and still wet. She itched to touch him. Oh, God! What was wrong with her? She shut her eyes, telling herself to stop being so stupid.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring at his abs. The heat! Oh, God! The heat within her body.
Sebastian cleared his throat. He said to her, sounding more like a growl than anything, “Monday morning, ten o’clock sharp, we begin our lessons.” Then he turned on his heel and walked out the door.
Sakura stared after him, confused. “What happened? I don’t understand?” she whispered to herself.
Nicolas said, “If he were to put in all his effort like he used to, he would have finished before any of us even got halfway.”
Sakura wasn’t referring to that. She was referring to her own response to seeing Sebastian in such a state.
“Right,” she said, nodding her head but still confused.
“Oh well,” Tristan said. “I did try my best.” He got up and walked to the door. “It’s shower time.”
One by one the brothers headed out the door.
Sakura turned her attention to Darcy, who was just getting himself out of the pool. She noted that his toned, muscular body was wet, beads of water kissing his smooth skin. As he stood up, he stroked back his dark hair, and incidentally, his eyes met hers. Her breath caught at the back of her throat as he gazed at her. Her heart began to race and her fingers tingled. Her whole body buzzed with a warm sensation, and she felt lightheaded all of a sudden.
“You should go and have lunch,” he said. “You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
Sakura cleared her throat. “Yes, I will later.”
He nodded at her and then left.
Conrad came up to her and asked, “So what are you going to do this afternoon?”
“I have to fix my dress,” Sakura said without thinking, her mind still on Darcy.
“I’ll help,” Conrad announced.
She chuckled. “How?”
“Dunno. But I’ll help.”
“I’m meeting up with Beth, Katherine, and Mary later. They’re here to see how I got on with the dress. I’ll have to tell them about what happened.”
“Are you?”
Sakura laughed uncomfortably. “To the dress. Don’t worry. I’m not about to spread rumors about your sisters attacking me. See ya later,” she said, heading out the door.
Conrad had a sad look on his face as he watched her go.
