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Chapter 33
Snow & the Prince of Darkness
“Snow,” the word formed softly between Darcy’s lips as he gazed down at Sakura from where he was on the top tree branch. She looked just like Snow White lying there under the cherry tree.
He’d come here to get away from everyone, to be alone, to think, to ease his desire and passion for his adopted sister. Then once he found the tree, he thought it was a perfect spot for him. He’d been sitting on the third branch, hiding amongst the cloud of pink flowers, thinking about Sakura. He’d almost fallen asleep when she had announced her presence with her soft footsteps and the clicks of her camera. He hoped she wouldn’t capture him amongst the cherry blossoms in her photos. Then when she sat down and fell asleep, he admired her. Here he had her all to himself. Here he could watch her forever—at least until she woke up.
He climbed down the tree and moved gently and quietly toward her so he wouldn’t wake her. He came to sit beside her. Dear Lord, he thought, she looks so innocent and beautiful. He couldn’t help himself and brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek.
She groaned.
His stomach flipped.
“Snow needs to be woken up with a kiss,” he whispered. Then before he could stop himself, he gently touched his lips to hers. She was soft and warm against him. She groaned again, and Darcy couldn’t stop himself from kissing her more passionately as he brushed his tongue against her slightly parted lips. He dug his fingers deep into her thick hair, marveling at her sweetness.
Oh shit! He wanted her. The thought of last night came to him in full force.
Darcy stopped himself from going any further and moved back just in time when Sakura fluttered her eyes open. She gazed at him, their faces so close to each other that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. She blinked.
“Darce?” she whispered softly.
Darcy had forgotten that his fingers were still at the nape of her neck, holding her there when he’d kissed her. He hastily moved his hand back to his side and rested his back against the tree trunk, his heart banging furiously within his chest.
Sakura sat up properly, blushing. She couldn’t believe he’d witnessed her sleeping in the woods alone. How embarrassing. Then again, he wasn’t supposed to be here. This was her turf.
“I love this tree,” he said quietly.
She nodded. “Me too. I planted it when I was little with Ned’s help.”
He turned to her. “You did?”
She didn’t reply, and he knew it was uncomfortable for her to talk to him about her childhood. He cleared his throat and said awkwardly, “Sakura, I never hated you.”
She caught her breath, her heart thumping hard and fast.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you,” he said, referring to that incident at the tree house and later when he’d pretended she never existed. God! He needed to get this off his chest. He needed to tell her how he felt.
“I was young and stupid. I shouldn’t have been so horrible to you. I didn’t know you hadn’t done anything wrong. I’m sorry. I never hated you. You were my Snow and will always be my Snow.”
He couldn’t stop himself and pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. Sakura felt her whole body trembling and her heart somersaulting within her chest.
Darcy snuggled his face against the nape of her neck, breathing in her wildflower scent. She smelled beautiful, and it stirred his insides pleasantly.
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise. I won’t ever hurt you again. I won’t let anybody or anything hurt you again.”
“Darce,” Sakura whispered.
Darcy moved back, his hand cupping her face. “I hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
Sakura gave him a weak smile. “It did hurt, but that was a long time ago. We were but kids. We’re both grown up now so—”
“So?” he asked, brushing his thumb gently across his cheek.
“So you’re forgiven,” she said, giving him a smile.
Darcy’s heart did a triple somersault. “You’re going to forgive me just like that?” he asked to make sure she had really forgiven him.
She nodded, chuckling softly.
Darcy’s face became serious and dark as he gazed at her, his mind made up. “I’m going to kiss you, Sakura.”
Sakura gasped, and before she had time to think, he leaned his face forward and took her lips. This time he had both his hands at the nape of her neck, his fingers digging deep into her hair as he passionately kissed her.
Sakura was shocked into stillness. Her heart thumped loudly within her chest, her stomach flipped, and her whole body melted in his embrace. Her head was spinning out of control as she felt Darcy’s lips against hers, his tongue caressing her soft flesh erotically.
She caught her breath at the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss. She gasped. Darcy took the opportunity and plunged his tongue into her sweet mouth. He explored her with a wild passion, causing her world to spin with delight.
Sakura responded by clinging to him, weak and lightheaded, her body trembling with a beautiful sensation.
When Darcy moved back, his eyes were dark with passion. God! He wanted her. He needed her. He loved her. But he must stop. He didn’t want to hurt her.
Oh, God! He couldn’t help himself. He had loved her for too long. He’d hidden his passion and desire for her, and now the feeling was too overwhelming for him to control. Hence instead of stopping Darcy moved himself close to her so she was between him and the tree. His face was so close to hers that they were forehead to forehead, nose to nose, and lips to lips. He kissed her again, pouring out all of his passion for her, showing her just how much he loved her.
Sakura was breathless. Darce. Her Darce was kissing her. Her heart was trembling with love, yet she was so confused. How could she love Darce when he was supposed to be her brother? Albeit not blood relation. Albeit an adopted one. Could this be wrong? This kissing? This passionate embrace?
Darcy moved his lips and gave her little kisses along the nape of her neck. Sakura groaned softly and sighed breathlessly. Was this it? The beginning of lovemaking? Darce. My Darce. He’d come back to her. He’d said he had never hated her. Never!
She was glad and felt so wonderful.
Darcy knew he made her feel good, and he was pleased. Yes, he’d make her feel even more wonderful than this—when the time was right.
Finally, he got control of himself again. God, he thought. He had never lost control of himself before. Ever! But with her, with Sakura, he could very well lose everything, and he couldn’t have cared less. He wanted her that much. He loved her that much.
He moved his lips to her ear and whispered softly, “I’m not sorry I kissed you, Sakura.”
The warmth of his breath against her skin caused a rush of beautiful sensation through her, and her body went weak in response.
He continued. “Just so you know, that wasn’t a brotherly kiss either because I never, ever think of you as my sister.” He slowly moved back, his mauve-gray eyes—dark and full of passion—on her. Then he stood up. “Come,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “We should start heading back.”
Sakura found herself clinging to him because she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stand up properly after the kiss. She took a deep breath and said, her voice trembling, “It’s okay. You go on ahead. I have to do some more photo shoots.”
Darcy smiled at her. It was a very handsome smile that caused Sakura’s heart to flutter.
“Then I’m staying with you,” he said, grabbing for her satchel.
On the other side of the woods, Sebastian felt the dreadful pain suffocating him. He felt as though the world had just collapsed around him, leaving him alone and tormented. He fisted his hands as his heart continued to bang against his chest, ready to burst out of his being, killing him on the spot. His head spinning and his world dark, he turned on his heel and started heading back.
Sakura was trying her best to persuade Darcy to
leave, but he wouldn’t budge. Hence they spent another hour together in the woods, her taking photos and him following her around. Then Darcy decided he’d be the photographer instead and took the camera from her.
“Darce?” Sakura was shocked.
He chuckled, holding the camera up to his eyes. “You’re my model. Now pose.”
Sakura scowled at him. “I’m not pretty enough to be a model.”
He cocked his head to one side. He wasn’t surprised that she never thought of herself beautiful. No, she was a beauty all right—both on the inside and out. And she was the woman he was in love with.
Without further ado, he clicked the shutter button.
“Darce!” she shrieked.
He laughed and continued clicking. Click! Click! Click! Click!
Sakura reached out to get her camera, but Darcy only laughed. Then when she wasn’t prepared, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her so damn passionately and wildly that Sakura had to cling onto him for dear life. What Sakura didn’t know was that Darcy was taking photos of them kissing, with the camera in his hand extended out at a good distance.
When he moved his head back, he stroked her cheek with his thumb, his eyes glowing with love as he gazed at her. She didn’t know it, but Sakura herself was gazing at him, her eyes large.
Click! Click! Click! The camera continued to record.
Then she laughed. Sakura never thought she could be this happy with Darce—her dear Darce. Then suddenly her happiness was snatched away from her as she realized this couldn’t be. This couldn’t last. The reason? Because Darcy was her adopted brother. Because Alaina was his twin, and she would never ever accept this.
Oh, God! She didn’t want to hurt herself any more than she’d already been hurt. Even more so, she didn’t want to hurt Darcy. She never ever wanted to hurt him.
She cleared her throat and said, “I think we should be getting back now.”
He smiled sadly. “Yes,” he said.
Sakura turned and headed toward the road. Darcy watched her go, a sad expression on his face. Quickly he opened the camera, took out the memory stick, and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans.
“Are you coming?” She turned back to look at him.
Darcy looked up. “Yeah,” he said and rushed up to her. He took her hand in his and led her back home.
