Chapter 30
A Tormented Love
Once she was in her room alone, she breathed a sigh of relief. Living with seven men was too much for her, she decided.
She dug her hand in her satchel and took out the pieces of papers Ned had given her. Thank God none of them saw the contents. Of course she knew they didn’t care anyway, but she didn’t want people to know what she was up to. It was her business after all.
She put the papers on the study desk and then went to shower. Fifteen minutes later when she came back out, she was wearing her cotton pajama shirt and shorts, her long hair fresh and clean though still slightly damp because she couldn’t be bothered with drying it properly, and her skin was soft and smooth after she moisturized herself with lotion. She actually felt rather tired and in fact was ready for bed when she spotted the pair of recently cleaned socks that Darcy had put on her feet yesterday morning back at the pool. Suddenly, her heart fluttered within her chest. Darcy! Should she go and return those to him now?
She picked up the pair of socks and poked her head out the door. Coast clear, she thought and rushed across the corridor to Darcy’s room. She lightly knocked, hoping like hell he wasn’t in. That way she could just drop the socks off and run back to her own room ASAP, and he would be none the wiser.
A few seconds later when there was no sound, she tried the door. It wasn’t locked. She turned the knob and slipped in.
She wasn’t surprised at all to see that his room was meticulously clean and tidy. She knew Darcy allowed no one to enter his room, nor did he ever allow the maid to clean it either. His room was his sanctuary, his private haven, and of course Sakura didn’t want to get caught red-handed. He’d probably get so pissed with her that he might just—
She paused. What would he do now that he was a grown man if he were to catch her in his room? She didn’t know and didn’t want to think about it and hence turned to inspect his room instead.
The design was very masculine with a muted gray color scheme. The large king-size bed sat to one side while the study desk and chair, very modern and sleek, sat near the window. If the person who sat in that very comfy chair there decided to lift his head, he would see the lovely view of the pond outside. Sakura cocked her head to one side, wondering if he’d seen her many times on the dragon bridge.
On top of the desk was his laptop and digital drawing gear. She wondered if he did digital art. Then she swore at herself. Of course he did. After all, he was one of the best game creators and designers for his and Hayden’s gaming company.
Then something caught her attention. It was a gigantic digital art poster on one side of the wall. She caught her breath, truly amazed at the artwork. To say it was fantastic was an understatement. It took her breath away the moment she set her eyes on it.
It was set in a fantasy world with a gothic castle and a cherry tree in full bloom in the background. However, what really fascinated her was the central picture of the dark knight and a fair maiden. The pair caused her insides to shiver with something akin to pleasure and delight.
The knight was in gothic fantasy, medieval war clothing, had long, sinful black hair, which was tied back, and had one hand holding a dangerous-looking long, kickass sword that gave her the impression he’d use it to slay any monsters that dared to come his way. The other of his long, masculine hands was embracing the beyond-beautiful maiden.
Sakura could only stare, wondering if any woman in existence could compare to this exquisite beauty in the poster. She had long black hair, her skin petal white, and her lips a ruby-red color. She wore a fantasy-type medieval gown the color of azure with gold trimming which seemed to enhance her beauty even more. Her long hair flowed down to her waist, and her slender arms embraced the knight, her face soft with love as she gazed up at him.
Sakura’s breathing suddenly became short and fast. She was lost in a different world as she continued to stare at the poster.
Suddenly, the door opened and Sakura gasped in fright, twisting herself around to witness Darcy coming in.
The moment Darcy closed the door and raised her head, he could only stare in shocked surprise to see his adopted sister in his bedroom. His heart began to thump loud in his chest, like an African drum beating under the moonlight. He gazed at her, taking in the wild hair, the soft skin, the bare legs, and the bright eyes. Holy shit! She is hot. There were butterflies within the pit of his stomach and his body ached with longing.
They continued to stare at each other in silence, totally surprised and totally lost as to what to do.
“Is he in?” Conrad’s voice traveled to them from outside the bedroom door. Then a triple knock followed.
Sakura gasped. She realized Conrad was about to come in.
“He’s not in,” they heard Hayden mutter. “And why do you want to see Darcy’s new project? He’s still working on it.”
“Just want a peek,” Conrad said. “You did say he printed out some of the artwork, didn’t you? And you did approve him to continue, so I want to see since I’m going to be your beta tester. Besides, it was your bloody fault. If you hadn’t told me there was a character that looks exactly like me, then I wouldn’t have been so curious.”
Suddenly the doorknob wriggled.
Darcy took action. He grabbed the surprised Sakura by the arm and pulled her along with him toward the walk-in closet. He shoved the door open and hastily nudged her in.
Sakura gasped when she found him in the closet with her. Then she watched him hastily close the door behind him. She tried to breathe normally, but it was so difficult with him literally squishing her against the wall. Oh God! She could feel him—the whole length of his person against her—his long, muscular legs, his firm chest, his chin on the top of her head, his warm breath on her, and yes, even that private part of his as well. She blushed in the darkness and nibbled her lower lip with nervousness.
Darcy too felt her—all of her—against him, and it brought forward a wonderful pleasure in his being. He gazed down at her in the darkness, wanting to do more to her than he was allowed. Oh, God! She was so soft against him, and her subtle breasts were squished up against his muscular chest. Shit!
“Darcy?” Conrad’s voice came through to them. A moment later, “He’s not in.” They heard the brothers coming into the room, their feet loud on the floor. Then they heard Hayden’s voice saying, “He’s probably at the pool, fantasizing about his characters again.”
Conrad laughed. “That means we have plenty of time to sneak around.”