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"What are you doing?" he asked his brother.
"I need a drink," Darcy replied. "Going down to swim?"
"Yeah." Sebastian nodded. "See you there?"
Darcy opened himself a bottle of cool water and nodded. "In a minute," he said.
"Race?" Sebastian suggested. Since they'd moved here a year ago, this was their way of bonding. A good race in the pool. Sometimes their other brothers would join them. Mostly, however, it was between the two. Sebastian admitted Darcy was getter stronger and faster now, and it was getting harder to win as well. As of last week, they were about neck to neck, which was a good challenge, Sebastian thought, pleased.
After taking a big gulp of his water, Darcy said, "Sure."
Sebastian nodded and then left. He took the stairs down to the third floor, knowing he'd get the pool to himself for at least a couple minutes until Darcy turned up.
He was wrong, however. As he slipped in through the door, he heard splashing. Sosuke? No. It couldn't be, because Sosuke never came down this early. He usually came down around six, when Nicolas came down as well. Who could it be?
He strode along the length of the corridor and then around the corner before coming into the pool area. At the entryway, he saw a slim body just sliding into the water. He couldn't pull his gaze away as he watched that exquisite figure gliding through the water so perfectly. She was a beautiful creature; that was for sure. As he came farther and stood right at the edge of the pool, he continued to watch her. He was amazed she didn't even come up to take a breath of air. She continued to stay underwater, gliding her way across the long length of the pool.
What the hell am I doing? he asked himself and shook his head. No woman had ever been able to capture his attention so completely, except of course for Sakura.
The thought of her brought forward a lump in his throat. God! When would he be able to see her again? When would she be able to accept them into her lives once again?
In anguish, he took a deep breath and powerfully dived into the water.
On the other side of the pool, Sakura's head popped out off the water as Sebastian dived in. Slowly, she walked up the steps that would lead her out of the pool. At the top, she gathered her hair to one side of her shoulders and squeezed out the excess water.
She turned to look over her shoulder. There, she saw a powerful body swimming like a fish underwater. He was strong and beautiful to watch, she thought in awe. And dammit. She'd thought she would have the place to herself for at least an hour. No longer wanting to be there, she turned back and continued to dry her hair.
Sebastian came up to the surface at that moment. Again, he eyed the beauty on the other side, marveling over her slim, long legs as she bent to pick up a small towel on the floor. He could clearly see her rear end, and it was sexually arousing. He admitted she was exquisite, and he wanted to pull her into his arms and make love to her.
That was a stupid notion, of course. His heart was for Sakura, and no other woman would do. Determined to extinguish the burning heat suddenly prominent within his being, he dipped his head underwater again to shut the strange beauty from his mind.
With the small towel in her hands, busy patting herself dry, Sakura once again turned to look at that wonderfully powerful body in the water. A quivering sigh escaped her lips, and before she thought further she rushed from her spot. As she paced along the length of the room, however, her eyes were still on that amazing body gliding through water, never once coming up for breath. It was too bad, though, she had reached the exit by the time he popped his head out.
She turned and was gone from the place as Sebastian turned his head to take another look at her, missing her by mere milliseconds.
*
Darcy took another big gulp of water before heading out the door of the kitchen. As he was passing the living area, Beth said, "Ah, morning, Master Darcy. Going out for a swim, are we?"
Darcy nodded and was about to leave when Beth said, "I phoned Ned yesterday after Master Conrad complained to me he couldn't get in contact with that brother of mine."
Darcy raised his brows. "And?"
"Well, I phoned him, you see. Apparently, he's in L.A. at the moment. Business trip."
Darcy released a depressed sigh. "So us meeting Sakura isn't going to be anytime soon."
Beth pulled a guilty face. "I'm afraid so."
"All right," he said. "I'll tell my brothers. We'll come up with a plan."
Darcy was just at the door when Beth commented, "Better come up with a plan soon, because I heard you boys are doing that photoshoot thing in Hawaii and Sakura is one of the female models, isn't she? She'd be shocked seeing you boys there, if you know what I mean."
Darcy frowned darkly over this dilemma. He knew Beth was perfectly correct in that regard. Sakura hadn't yet known he and his brothers were the male models for Mr. Tachibana. Perhaps the sooner she found out, the better. After all, they didn't want her to run from them again, and of course, working together when there was tension and misunderstanding beneath wasn't a good way to get the job done.
"Yes, of course," he said and then left.
He took the stairs down to the third floor, taking two steps at a time. He was deep in thought when through his peripheral vision, a girl walked around the corner. He stopped, turned, and just stared.
In the distance and in the dimly lit corridor, he saw a slim female figure. She seemed oddly familiar, and he found himself drawn to her.
I'm going mad! I'm bloody going mad! he thought to himself. Nonetheless, he rushed after her. God! I'm going mad. But for God's sake! I want to be sure.
He paced as his heart beat loud and fast in his chest. He wanted to be sure he wasn't just hallucinating like Conrad had with Toby.
He came around the corner and stopped. She was gone, just like that. Where did she go?
"You're going crazy, Darcy," he said to himself and turned on his heel.
He came into the pool area a minute later. He climbed up to the diving platform, and a moment later, he dived, did a perfect flip in midair, and then slid into the water cleanly, without a splash of water anywhere.
When he came up again, he noted Sebastian was watching him.
"Beth told me Ned is in L.A. at the moment," was his greeting.
"Bloody hell," Sebastian replied.
"Still want to race?" Darcy asked.
Sebastian's answer was him slipping back into the water. The brothers had a good race, and by the time they finished, both were puffing with exertion. Of course, Sebastian won, by a mere half second. It was then Nicolas and Sosuke walked in, and the men did their laps across the pool. The four did another race. This time, Darcy won, followed by Sebastian in second place, Nicolas in third, and Sosuke last.
By quarter to seven, they left the pool, as more people were coming for their morning swim.
Back at the penthouse, Beth was just finishing preparing the brothers' breakfast. After their showers and dressing in their expensive, powerful suits, Nicolas, Sebastian, and Darcy joined their other brothers.
"It's a lovely spring morning, boys," Beth said. Breakfast outside, how about that?"
"Perfect, Beth," Sebastian said, heading out the door with his brothers.
Tristan, Logan, Hayden, and Conrad were already there, enjoying their breakfast of bacon and eggs, hot toast, fresh fruits, and cereal.
"Reminds me of St. Joseph Island," Conrad said.
"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "I miss home." Of course, not that New York City wasn't home, but St. Joseph Island to them was home, a place where all the goods and the bads happened.
The brothers enjoyed their meal in quietness when the smell of beautiful ground coffee reached them. Conrad was the first to react. He frowned and then rushed off his seat to hang his head over the balcony.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hayden shouted at his brother.
"For Christ's sake!" Tristan muttered loudly. "Get your head back in before you fall, Conrad."
Conrad turned back to
his brothers. "Can't you smell it?"
"What the hell is he on about now?" Logan asked. "First, it's Toby and now it's a smell?"
"The coffee!" Conrad shouted. "It smells like Sakura's.
The brothers just shook their heads, and Tristan stood. He stalked over to Conrad, pulled the brother by the shoulder, and hauled him back. He was about to scold him when the scent caressed his nostrils and he blinked.
"Shit! That smells delicious," he said.
Conrad glared at him. "See?"
At this point, Logan was there as well and sniffed the air. "Wow! That smells a lot like Sakura's coffee."
"Maybe a new cafe has just opened across the street," Tristan suggested logically. "Yeah, should check it out."
"Are you telling me my coffee isn't drinkable?" Beth demanded at the door, hands on hips.
Tristan managed to look guilty. "No, of course not, Beth." He rushed back to his seat and took a sip of Beth's bland coffee. He managed not to pull a face and even did a mmm sound.
Beth looked heavenward and came over with a plate of extra bacons and eggs. The brothers continued their breakfast, and by seven thirty, they were done and on the elevator. On the second floor, the door dinged and Sosuke joined them.
