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Chapter 31
Sakura & the Prince of Hearts
Sebastian was waiting patiently in the pool for Sakura to turn up for their first swimming lesson. Unfortunately for him, his brothers decided to tag along to watch the show. First it was Tristan who arrived, already in his swimming gear and heading straight to the pool.
“What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked, his voice cold as he watched his brother taking off his shirt and throwing it to the marble floor.
“Thought I’d take a swim. After all, I have nothing better to do,” Tristan replied lightly, then jumped into the pool. Sebastian scowled as Tristan proceeded to swim around.
Logan turned up a second later. “Such a nice day for a swim, isn’t it?” Then he jumped into the pool as well, diving deep under and popping up at the surface, all wet and shaking his thick hair like a dog.
Darcy came in and slammed the door shut, muttering to himself. “Why does it have to be Sebastian who has to teach her?” He sounded pissed and tired. He was tired because he hadn’t been able to get to sleep last night after Sakura had left his room. He was pissed because his body was aching for her.
“Because he’s the best swimmer out of all of us,” Nicolas said behind him.
Darcy ignored Nicolas and climbed up the ladder to the diving platform above.
“And you? What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked.
“Practicing my somersault,” Darcy shouted down. “Or you can’t tell?”
Sebastian really couldn’t do much at this point as Nicolas proceeded to grab the remote control and open the skylight above, letting bright morning light into the indoor pool area. Then he pushed the button to open the glass wall as well to let in the warm spring air.
“Ah, that’s better,” he said, making himself comfortable on the settee. Then he turned on his tablet.
A moment later, Hayden and Conrad rushed in and jumped into the pool. Sebastian wouldn’t be surprised if his student decided to run in the opposite direction after she’d taken one look at the pool area. He shook his head. This was going to be a very long lesson indeed.
At this time in her room, Sakura tugged the robe securely around her and took a deep breath. No more running now, she told herself. She had to learn how to swim. With a determined look on her face, she patted Toby on the head. The dog encouraged her with a friendly bark.
“Thanks, Toby,” she said and walked out the door.
She knew Sebastian was very punctual with his appointment, so she made sure she was fifteen minutes early. After all, she didn’t want him to get pissed with her for wasting his time. There was also the fact that she wanted to be in the pool before he arrived so he wouldn’t witness her in a swimsuit half-naked, which she felt rather uncomfortable in.
Her plan, however, came crashing down on her the moment she stepped into the pool area. She wasn’t alone as she’d expected to be because there were seven men, six in the pool and one on the settee. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves tremendously, swimming around and playing tag like kids.
Conrad waved at her. “Hey, you’re here,” he called out.
Sakura stood frozen in her spot, her heart pumping out of control. Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! This was ridiculous. She wanted to turn around and run.
Conrad climbed up from the pool and came over to her. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand.
“Conrad,” she began uncertainly. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Swimming,” he said. He was about to pull her forward when she snapped her hand back.
“No, I mean—I’m fine. I mean, erm—”
“Do you want to learn or not?” Sebastian asked from the distance.
Sakura blushed. Of course she did, but she didn’t want to take lessons when there were so many of them around. After all, she didn’t want to make an ass of herself in front of them.
“Of course I do,” she said, walking toward them.
Conrad came running after her, and once he was by the edge of the pool, he did a good flip before diving in.
“Show off,” Darcy said under his breath.
Sakura stood frozen by the pool, wondering if she should get in or not. They all seemed to be watching her. Even Nicolas, who had his tablet in front of him, was eyeing her from afar. Why were they watching her as if they were waiting for her to do something?
She took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping her feet into the water. It was warm, and she sighed in relief. At least she wouldn’t freeze to death.
She proceed to slide forward and then—
“Err,” Tristan began from the other side. “You’re not going to take off your robe?”
She stopped in time before the robe got wet. “Huh?” She looked down at herself and blushed again. Oh, God! How stupid of her.
She stood, then untied her robe. That was when she felt as though something wasn’t right. She glanced up and saw all seven of them watching her. She blinked. She blushed. They looked away and pretended to be busy doing whatever they were pretending to be doing.
She took the opportunity and quickly slipped the robe off her body. She, however, wasn’t fast enough at getting into the pool because the brothers were watching her again. There were a lot of gasps the moment the robe hit the floor.
Sakura was wearing a one-piece black-and-white swimsuit, fitting her body to perfection, showing off her slender legs and the shape of her small waist and gorgeous breasts. With her hair formed into a secured bun at the top of her head, she looked absolutely to die for.
Oh, the brothers had seen hot babes in swimsuits all right, but none of those hot babes were Sakura, and this one definitely hit the right spot.
The moment she realized they were watching her again, she quickly sat on the side of the pool and slid in. Only she was in such haste to be in the pool that she had forgotten she didn’t know how to swim. She found herself sinking right to the bottom of the deep pool and couldn’t get back up. She was fighting with all her might but just couldn’t seem to get herself back to the surface.
There I go, she thought. She’d die drowning because she was embarrassed seven men were looking at her. How pathetic is that?
The brothers all sucked in their breath again, this time from fright because they knew she was drowning. Sebastian got to her in two seconds flat, his powerful arms propelling and pushing him to her. He dived deep to the bottom, wrapped one strong arm about the small of her back, hugged her to him, and pulled her up.
The moment she was lifted out of the water, Sakura sucked air into her starved lungs, and at the same time she swung her arms around Sebastian’s neck, drawing herself against him.
“You okay?” he asked.
She was breathing heavily and managed to nod. She looked around behind her and saw the brothers still watching her. She blushed, totally embarrassed.
“Why does it have to be Sebastian?” Conrad muttered to himself.
“Because he’s the fastest,” Nicolas supplied logically.
Sakura tightened her arms around Sebastian’s neck, unaware that he was watching her intently and that he was pulling her even closer to him now. She said to the brothers, “Do all of you have to be here?”
“What do you mean? We’re here to help you learn,” Conrad said.
“I can teach her by myself,” Sebastian put in. “And Sakura doesn’t need you watching her every move. Can’t you tell she’s embarrassed?”
Sakura bit her lip. That was exactly what she wanted to tell them. God, drowning right in front of them was bad enough. She really didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of seven men.
Nicolas switched off the tablet screen and stood up. “All right. I’m going to play pool. Anyone care to join me?” He left his invitation hanging in the air and walked to the door.
Logan sighed and pulled himself out from the water. “Coming.” He followed Nicolas to the door.
Tristan shook his head and swam toward Sebast
ian and Sakura. He said softly behind Sakura, “Come to me if he’s a lousy teacher. I’ll teach you how to swim properly.” He patted her cheek and then climbed out.
Darcy got up and silently walked away, too. As he was heading to the door, he turned his head and glanced back at her. Sakura caught his eyes and felt her heart fluttering. Her body became stiff in Sebastian’s arms. She licked her lips and watched him go.
Hayden chuckled and shook his head. He hooked one arm over Conrad’s shoulders and dragged the youngest brother out of the pool.
