When the girls reached the ground floor, the brothers were still there waiting for them. Conrad grinned like an idiot. Nicolas nodded appreciatively. Logan whistled. Tristan winked. Hayden said, "Not bad." And Sebastian and Darcy had impassive expressions on their faces.
Sakura wasn't pleased the brothers had to be there, witnessing her awkwardly descending the stairs in her heels and short skirt.
"What do you think, Conrad?" Lauren asked. "Doesn't she look great? I wore that dress on my sixteenth birthday. Do you remember? But it fits her perfectly."
"Yes, it's beautiful," Conrad said, his eyes on Sakura.
"Do you really remember me wearing that on my sixteenth birthday back in New York?" Lauren asked.
Conrad chuckled uneasily, remembering no such thing.
Darcy turned on his heel and headed toward the drawing room to join everyone else. Sebastian turned and left as well.
"Come on," Lauren said to Conrad. "It's time."
It was jam-packed with guests in the drawing room, and Mr. Simpson gave a speech for his daughter's eighteenth birthday. When the cake was brought in, a chorus of "Happy Birthday" followed. Lauren blew out the candles that stood on top of the biggest, grandest cake Sakura had ever seen. So that was what Mrs. Simpson had splashed her money on—the cake!
"Sorry, I'm late."
Sakura turned to see Mark Chatsworth smiling at her. "Hey," she said. "Where have you been?"
Mark said, "At the lab. You look great."
"Thanks," she replied. "Want some cake?"
"Sure."
Some twenty minutes later, James came over to his sons, wondering why they were looking so serious at a party. When he turned to observe the object of their interest, he couldn't help but smile in amusement.
"Who's he?" Conrad asked.
"Mark," James said. "Dr. Mark Chatsworth."
"Are they dating?" Logan asked.
"Not that I know of," James said honestly.
This was followed by sighs of relief from Logan and Conrad.
"I'll introduce him," James announced and led his sons toward Mark and Sakura, knowing they were dying to know who Mark was in relation to Sakura.
"I don't trust that guy," Conrad whispered to Sebastian.
"Why not? He's a doctor." Nicolas chuckled from behind.
"Oh, shut up," Conrad snapped.
"Sakura?" James said the moment he was beside her. "A new dress?"
Sakura turned and gave her adopted father a grand smile. "Accident," she said. "And your sons are to blame." She stared at the brothers, who looked as though they were ready to pick a fight with Mark.
"Really?" James asked and turned to his sons. "Which one of you is responsible?"
"Me," Conrad said without hesitation.
"In that case, I believe you owe Sakura. How about repaying her by volunteering for Dr. Chatsworth's research?"
"Oh. That's great," Mark said. "And they are?"
"My sons," James said. "Nicolas, I believe, is the same age as you."
Nicolas shook hands with Mark—tightly. He also made sure his hand was on the top, which pleased his brothers mightily.
"Logan." James nodded to Logan. "Tristan, Sebastian, and Conrad." Then he nodded toward his other sons. "Hayden and Darcy."
Mark shook hands with all of them, pleased. "Are you all volunteering for my research?"
When the brothers nodded, Mark clasped his hands together and said, "Why don't we go to the lab now? I'm quite eager to—"
"But you haven't had lunch yet," Sakura cut in.
None of the brothers had lunch yet either, and they were quite upset she didn't notice—especially Conrad.
"Besides," she added, "it's rude to leave a party without saying farewell to the hosts."
Mark chuckled. "All right. We'll eat first."
Sakura turned on her heel and headed toward the buffet station on the other side of the room. She'd do anything to delay going to the lab with the brothers.
She had to take their blood, and the thought didn't sit well with her. She was an expert at venipuncture, having had experience working as a lab scientist, and as part of the job description, she had to bleed patients. It was just that now she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do a proper job simply because it was the brothers.
It was an hour later when Sakura reluctantly wished Lauren a happy birthday and told the girl she had to leave. She found herself sitting in the back seat by herself while Conrad sat in the front next to Mark, who was driving. Meanwhile, the rest of the brothers were in the other cars trailing behind them.
To say she was uncomfortable being surrounded by eight men in the elevator was an understatement. She held her breath until they got out, and by then her lungs were starving for oxygen and her body was aching because she'd been so tense.
Sherry, the lab assistant working under Mark, greeted them as they came in. She was quite shocked to see the Princeton brothers. She blushed profusely when they smiled at her, and her hands shook uncontrollably when she handed them each a questionnaire sheet.
"What's this for?" Logan asked.
"Your well-being questionnaires," Sherry replied, blushing again. "It's the standard. Take your time. I'm here to help if you need any. When you're done, Sakura will take your blood."
The brothers got down to it, answering questions about their diet, medications (if they had any), daily routine, and exercise regime. Tristan and Logan, as usual, treated it like a competition and raced through the questionnaires. But it was Sebastian who finished first and headed out of the reception area to the lab behind. Tristan muttered under his breath as he watched his brother go. Nicolas put his pen down and chuckled.
Once he stepped into the laboratory area, Sebastian was taken aback by the scene before him. There were machines running tests everywhere, some as big and as long as the length of the whole room and connected together like trains. There was quite a few staff on the floor, working.
He spotted Sakura in an office on the other side of the lab. He noted she had on a lab coat and her long hair tied back into a ponytail.
He gave the opened door a rap. When she turned to him, he widened his eyes. She looked damn sophisticated and professional in her lab coat. Not to mention sexy as hell.
"You've finished your questionnaires?" she asked.
He cleared his throat, which had gone dry suddenly. "Uh, yeah."
"Then please take a seat."
He didn't move.
"Sebastian?"
It was the first time she'd called him by his name, and it made his heart sing.
"Hm?"
"Are you afraid of needles," she said, a slight smile on her lips, her eyes twinkling.
That slight smirk and the humorous glint in those beautiful eyes were pleasing to look at. He chuckled. "Afraid of needles? Me?"
"There's no need to be embarrassed. Lots of people are afraid of needles," she said.
He gracefully moved and made himself comfortable on the chair she indicated.
"Which arm do you prefer?" she asked.
"You choose," he replied easily, his eyes on her.
Taking in a deep breath, Sakura told herself to calm down. It was only Sebastian. He was her adopted brother. Nothing more.
She looked at his arm up close, her fingers gently touching his skin feeling for the vein.
"You have good veins," she said, her face so close, Sebastian could feel the warmth of her breath fanning over his skin. "I won't have any problem," she continued—more to reassure herself than him.
She straightened and prepared the tubes and needle. She wiped his skin clean with an alcohol swab and then put a tourniquet around his arm.
That nervousness didn't go away, as she had hoped. The fact that he had his eyes intensely on her didn't help. Oddly enough, she had the feeling he'd done that before when they were children. There was something in the way he was looking at her that made her restless.
"This will hurt a bit," she said and then inserted the tip of the needle into his skin to his vein.
Sebastian didn't flinch. In fact, he didn't even feel the needle. His mind was preoccupied with her.
Sakura steadily inserted a tube, and Sebastian's blood rushed out into the tightly vacuumed tube.
As this was happening, Sebastian drifted his gaze from her thick lashes to her lips—plump, luscious lips ready to be kissed and sucked. He unconsciously closed his eyes, feeling his blood stirring knowingly—almost painfully. His fingers itched to touch, to feel those soft lips. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at her chest.
Since she was leaning toward him, and the fact that she was wearing that doll-like strapless dress that barely covered her upper portion, he had a very good view of her lovely breasts thrusting out toward him, almost begging him to fondle, to kiss, and to—
I can't take this anymore, he thought and scowled darkly, his body fully alert with desire.
"Are we done yet?" He growled out.
Sakura glanced up at him and their eyes locked. She quickly glanced away, her stomach flipping and her heart pounding. "Nearly there," she whispered, her throat dry.
After taking another tube, she undid the tourniquet, loosening it around his arm. Then she took the needle out, and at the same time, placed a cotton bud on the injured spot. "Hold this please," she said.
Sebastian pressed his finger on the cotton bud while Sakura labeled the tubes with his name and date of birth.
He noticed and said, "You know my birthdate?"
She gave him an amused smile and said, "Bet you don't know mine." Then she added under her breath, the smirk gone, "I don't even know my real date of birth."
Sebastian saw the look on her face he'd seen so many times when they were children. It nearly broke his heart, and he had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms. Just as quickly, he realized that that was a stupid notion and abruptly stood. He left the room in haste, which confused Sakura.
"Okay? Leave," she said. "I'm not begging you to stay."
Conrad barged in and took the seat. "I'm ready," he said, offering his arm. The other brothers were behind him, waiting by the door. Nicolas didn't miss Sebastian's sudden change in mood as he walked out.
Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at Conrad's eagerness, which pleased Conrad. Nicolas, on the other hand, thought the youngest of the brothers was the first to break into Sakura's heart and wondered if he'd be the first to steal it as well. Tristan and Logan weren't pleased, however.
"It's going to hurt just a little," Sakura said, and before she could pick up the needle, she felt a hand around her arm and found herself facing Sebastian.
The brothers were watching Sebastian with interest, wondering what he was doing. Sebastian didn't give a hoot that it was inappropriate for him to be doing this, however, and he pulled Sakura's lab coat across her front, covering her exposed chest from prying eyes. Then he buttoned the coat up—one by one—very slowly, all the way to her collar.
As he was doing this, Nicolas secretly smiled as he knew why Sebastian was in such a foul mood. Logan and Tristan shook their heads, knowing they were missing out on a very good view.
Sakura wasn't pleased that Sebastian was suddenly acting as if he was her real brother and worried about what she looked like wearing such a revealing outfit. She took a step back and stared at him once he was done.
"Hurry up," he said and strode out the door again.
"I'll take my time, thank you very much," she retorted and swore she'd make him sorry for humiliating her in front of his brothers.
Indeed, she did take her time as she meticulously bled the rest of the brothers. Conrad closed one eye and sneaked a peek with another as Sakura inserted the needle into his skin. He jumped and gasped, which caused Sakura to giggle at his reaction.
Tristan was the manly one. He sat and relaxed back as he watched her work. "Are we done already?" he asked, a look of displeasure written on his face, disappointed that the procedure ended all too soon.
"Did you want me to take another tube?" She teased.
"No, you're not," Logan said. "I've been waiting for ages already. Now scoot!" He pulled Tristan by the arm and moved his brother from the chair.
"Hurry up, will you!" Sebastian called out. His voice was thoroughly impatient.
"She'll be taking her time," Logan replied. "Isn't that right, Sakura? Take your time, my sweet. I don't want you to rush such a delicate job."
Sakura chuckled. "Of course not."
"See?" Logan nodded to his brother to tell them he was right. "Our dear sister agrees." A dark scowl from Sebastian greeted him.
When the needle went in, Logan kept his face straight and even rewarded her with one of his charming smiles for not hurting him too much.
Sakura was pleased that when it was Hayden's and then Nicolas's turn, they were being very nice and polite as they simply sat there quietly while she did her job. Once they were done, she sighed with relief and thought it wasn't so bad after all. Her joy, however, was short-lived when Nicolas finally got out of the chair and he said, "And lastly, Darcy."
She nearly dropped the test tube she held in her hand. As Darcy took the seat, she thought, Is it just me, or is the room suddenly very hot? Calm down, Sakura. Just calm down—she told herself. It's only Darcy, your adopted brother.
With her mind still on the man, she prepared the needle and was about to jab it into his skin when she realized something. She nearly forgot to clean his arm.
She put the needle down and picked up the alcohol swab. Honestly, she did try not to look at him, but she couldn't help herself. She drifted her gaze and their eyes locked. Instantly, she was drawn into the deep pool of the mauve-gray color.
Darcy held his breath, taking in the beauty who had stolen his interest since they'd met again yesterday after so many years. Then it all came back to him—the light scent of cherry blossom, the warmth of her breath, and the delicious sensations when she was near. And that kiss in his dream last night? It was from her when they'd been children.
Sakura felt her heart aching, reminding herself that this wasn't the same Darcy she'd known back in childhood. This Darcy hated her. This Darcy was disgusted with her.
She made quick work of taking his blood and was very glad it was finally over. When Mark was busy giving the brothers a tour around the lab and going to extreme lengths to explain why his research was so important, even showing them how the analyzers worked, Sakura hid in the bathroom, freshened up, and tried her best to regain her composure before coming back out to face the brothers once again.