Sakura glanced from one brother to another, confused. Good God! She was only here to ask for one favor and now look at where it got her. She didn’t like it one bit that they were fighting over who got to be her swimming instructor. She stood up and was about to say something when Hayden said loudly, “Logan has a point.”
“All ri
ght, we’ll toss a coin.” Tristan suggested.
“No!” Conrad put in. “I’ll be Sakura’s teacher.”
“How about a bet?” Tristan suggested again.
“How about a race?” Sebastian put in.
The brothers stopped arguing and looked at Sebastian, their faces impassive.
“Four hundred meters, freestyle,” he said in a challenging voice.
Conrad looked as though he were about to die. Nicolas frowned. Tristan slumped back in his chair. Logan groaned loudly. Hayden shook his head and chuckled. Darcy said calmly, “You’re on.”
Sebastian nodded and turned his attention to his other brothers. “Well?”
Tristan waved at him to just go ahead and shoot him.
Conrad said, “It’s not fair. I wish I’d trained to swim professionally.”
Hayden said, “I’m in.”
Nicolas got up from his chair and headed out the door. “Let’s go, then.”
Sakura was lost. What were they on about? Why were they competing to be her swimming instructor?
One by one, the brothers got off their chairs and headed out the door. Tristan came to stand behind her, put both his hands on her shoulders, and said very closely to her ear, “Let’s go. The race is about to begin.”
Sakura blinked. “But—”
“Don’t argue now. You know we don’t like to be kept waiting,” Tristan said, pulling her out of her chair.
Sakura reluctantly followed them out of the dining room door, and only moments later she found herself in the pool area with seven grown men.
She shrieked and nearly ran from the scene when she saw Sebastian pulling off his T-shirt. Her heart thumped so loudly in her chest and her stomach flipped so hard she thought she was going to die of a heart attack.
Oh my gosh! Sebastian looked amazing with just his jeans on. His muscles were toned and well shaped, not to mention his six-pack. Sakura had heard of women who liked to look at men, especially at their abs, and sigh with that odd feeling in the pit of their stomachs. She thought that type of thing would never ever happen to her, but she was wrong. She was feeling it right now. Her body felt all tingly, and her breathing became a bit labored.
She saw Sebastian looking at her in that strange way of his again. She bit her lip and hastily looked away, only to see Darcy taking off his shirt, too.
Compared to Sebastian, Darcy wasn’t as bulky, though his muscles were as toned and well-defined as Sebastian’s. His abs were very prominent and caused Sakura’s breath to catch at the back of her throat.
Oh God! Another hot, shirtless man.
Then Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, Hayden, and, of course, Conrad all took off their shirts. Oh, God, she thought. She hoped they weren’t going to go totally naked in front of her. She was about to run away to save herself from the embarrassment of seeing seven hot men naked when Tristan caught her by the shoulders and said cheekily, “How about a kiss for good luck?”
Sakura blushed. “I’m not kissing anybody, and what are you guys doing anyway? I’ve already asked Sebastian to be my swimming instructor.”
“Ah,” Nicolas said, taking off his glasses. “It’s already been decided.” He gave her a grin.
Sakura gasped. Oh gosh! Nicolas looked so different without his glasses. He looked very handsome. His eyes, though perhaps he couldn’t see properly, had that twinkle in them.
“If you guys keep doing this, I’ll ask Richard to teach me instead,” she said loudly, almost in sheer panic. She was panicking because she was surrounded with seven very good-looking, shirtless men who were about to take off their jeans. Breathe, Sakura, breathe, she told herself.
The brothers weren’t listening to her. Sebastian jumped into the pool with his jeans still on, followed by Conrad and Hayden.
Sebastian said loudly, “Richard is a lousy swimmer.”
“Yes, he is indeed,” Logan said, shoving Tristan to the side. “Now then,” he said, leading Sakura by the wrist to the seat near the pool. “You just sit here and enjoy the race, eh?”
Sakura didn’t want any part in their competition and was about to run when Logan chuckled and said, “You know it makes no difference whether you want us to race or not. It’s just us brothers. When we want something we like, we compete for it. And it doesn’t matter if we know we’re going to lose. We’ll still give it our best shot. So just sit there and enjoy the race. There’s a good girl.”
When he saw Sakura wasn’t going to argue, he stood up and jumped into the pool.
Darcy was watching her and noted her feet were pale and turned almost purple. He took off his socks and came over to her.
“Darcy?” Sakura voiced, surprised to find him kneeling before her.
Darcy picked up her left foot and pulled his sock on it. “Your feet are freezing cold,” he said, his warm palms on her skin.
Sakura bit her lower lip as he pulled the other one on her other foot. His touch was gentle, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest.
Darcy glanced up at that moment, and their eyes locked. His heart started to thunder within his chest, and he couldn’t tear his gaze from her.
Sakura bit her lip and blinked, her whole being quivering warmly at his intense stare. Then she also felt the brothers watching them. She looked up, and sure enough, they were.
“I wish I was wearing socks,” Conrad said.
Darcy got up, and with his jeans still on, jumped into the water. Suddenly it was like a real race as the brothers all climbed back out and took their positions.
“On my count,” Nicolas said. The brothers nodded and got themselves ready.
Sakura felt her heart start to thump faster. Her body tensed and stiffened as she waited patiently.
“One,” Nicolas said loudly. The brothers bent forward.
God, Sakura thought, they look like professional swimmers with their tall, lean bodies all bending like so, ready to throw themselves into the water and start the race.
“Two,” Nicolas said.
Sakura gritted her teeth and perched up on the seat, her heart pounding.
“Go!”