“Good morning,” Akira greeted, the moment Sakura opened her eyes.

“Morning,” Sakura replied softly, blinking a few times to adjust to the morning light that streamed in through the double glass doors. She turned over to lie on her left side as she eyed Akira. She noted that the other girl looked outstandingly perky so early in the day, which was unlike her. Sakura wondered if she were hyped up for work.

“Are you excited?” Akira asked, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s going to be your first job as a model, right? Well, technically, you were a model when we did the runway back in New York, but that’s beside the point.”

Still feeling a little tired, Sakura yawned as she rubbed her eyes. “Technically, yes, I was a model back then, but this is still officially my first day working as a model. To be honest, I’m both scared and worried.”

And she was definitely not excited. Far from it. Instantly, the thought that she might muck up everything made her whole body shake in trepidation and her mind to become fully alert.

Akira waved aside Sakura’s concern as she got out of bed. “It’s always a bit frightening the first time. I’m sure by day two, you’ll get used to it, so don’t worry your pretty head over it. Besides, Jane will be there to help.”

Sakura wasn’t sure if she actually had a pretty head, and yes, she agreed that at least Jane was there to help if she needed support. They had been good friends for a solid year anyway.

She sat up straight as she eyed Jane’s bed, wondering where her friend was.

“Where’s Jane?” she asked after noting that she didn’t hear any noise from the bathroom, which meant she wasn’t in there using the facilities.

Akira was currently standing at the foot of her bed, stretching. She raised her hands high and stood on tiptoes at the same time, stretching out her whole body. “Already up and gone to get things ready. I bet she’s at the hotel by now.”

“But it’s only six in the morning.”

Akira nodded. “She said she had a lot of things to do before we arrive. She’s going to be real busy for the next two days. As for us, we must be at work by seven-thirty sharp. Also, makeup will take at least two hours before we can actually start shooting. You want to use the bathroom first?”

Sakura nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Okay,” Akira said, and hastily hopped back into bed. She made herself comfortable and then sighed in pleasure as she closed her eyes. “I can have another twenty minutes of bliss.”

Sakura chuckled. “Go for it.” She was sure the woman had come to bed late last night, after the party. Then she wondered if Akira had been dancing with Nicolas. She hoped so, because so far, there seemed to be sparks between those two.

She thought they’d make a wonderful couple. Yes, Nicolas was a bit strict, domineering, demanding, and so much more. But that was just Nicolas. After all, he was the eldest Princeton brother and held a lot of responsibilities as the CEO of Princeton Group, their multibillion-dollar company that owned hotels, restaurants, and malls across America. But of course, Sakura knew for sure that Akira, with her go-getter attitude, could handle Nicolas just fine. If they were to be in a relationship, it would always be interesting.

Suddenly, she chuckled, remembering Akira boldly kissing Nicolas during the four-legged race yesterday. If she could do that to win a game, the girl would surely be able to do much more in a relationship.

“What are you giggling about?” Akira asked curiously.

Hiding her smile as she busied herself finding a pair of jeans, Sakura said, “I thought you were sleeping.”

“Not sleeping. Resting.” Akira corrected her. “So what is so amusing?”

Sakura obviously couldn’t tell the other girl that she was thinking about her and Nicolas as a couple, could she? Instead, she asked, “I don’t need to wear any makeup, right?”

“No, you don’t.”

“Okay,” Sakura said. “Then I’ll just put on some moisturizer. All right, I should be done within fifteen minutes.”

Akira waved. “Take your time.”

Sakura went into the bathroom then and quickly took a shower. Once she was done, she donned a pair of skinny jeans and a white T-shirt and applied some moisturizer to her face and balm to her lips. Returning to the bedroom exactly fifteen minutes later, she announced, “I’m done.”

Akira turned over and said softly, “That was quick.”

Sakura chuckled with amusement. “All right, I’m going to get some breakfast now. See you downstairs soon, then?”

Akira nodded. “Sure.”

Sakura left the room as Akira was getting out of bed for the second time. As she walked along the corridor, heading toward the stairs, she was so deep in thought that she didn’t see Sebastian, who had just left his room as well, coming toward her. Thus, she walked straight into his arms.

Sebastian found it rather adorable and took the opportunity to embrace her right there in the hallway. He swiftly gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead before she realized what was happening.

Sakura blinked. “Seb... Sebastian?”

He chuckled and then said, “Good morning.”

Sakura licked her lips. “Good morning. Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

Sebastian cocked his head to one side. “You’re rather absentminded today, aren’t you?”

She stammered, “Well, that’s because I’m nervous.”

It was then he realized what she meant. “About the photo shoot?”

She nodded. “It’s my first time, after all.”

As if to make her feel at ease, he patted her head and said, “It’s my first time, too.”

“But you have all the confidence in the world. I bet you’re looking forward to it.”

She wasn’t wrong on that part. He and his brothers had been looking forward to it since the day they had agreed to Mr. Tachibana’s proposal back in New York.

“Oi! The love birds over there, stop being lovey-dovey so early in the morning,” Conrad directed toward them.

Sakura poked her head around to see not only Conrad, but Darcy and Hayden as well, exiting their rooms.

“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted, with a bright smile.

Conrad came over and deliberately stole Sakura from Sebastian by gently pulling her away from him and into his arms.

“Good morning, Sakura,” he said. “Did you have a good night’s sleep? What time did you leave the party last night? I didn’t see you at all. Did you even come down? Are you nervous about work? Was that why you stayed away? Or were you sick again? I mean, yesterday was very hot, so I thought you might be sick from the heat.”

Sakura chuckled. “One question at a time, please, Conrad. And yes, I did have a good night’s sleep. I went to bed early after I left the party. I was there. What about you? I bet you had a good time yesterday evening, right? There were a lot of girls surrounding you and your brothers.”

They all were heading down the stairs now as she asked those questions, and Conrad replied, “Yep. It was awesome yesterday. Mr. Tachibana and Miss Ruka did a good job at organizing the event. Everybody had a good time.”

Hayden said, “Were you jealous of those girls, Sakura? That they stole us away from you.”

Sakura tried to hide her smile, but couldn’t. “No. I enjoyed watching you brothers being swarmed with admirers. It was funny how you tried to get away, but couldn’t. It was rather entertaining.”

Sebastian said, “So, you enjoyed seeing us being tortured?”

“I didn’t know it was torture to be surrounded by beautiful admirers,” Sakura retorted innocently.

Darcy said, “It was hell.”

Sakura commented, “I bet Tristan and Logan liked it, though.”

They were on the ground floor landing now, and were heading toward the dining room when they saw Daddy James and Nicolas coming in from outside. Both were in their running gear of shorts and T-shirts. They must have been out jogging together.

“Good morning,” Sakura said to both men.

Daddy James came and gave her a peck on the forehead. “Morning,” he greeted.

Nicolas said, “Better go and get some breakfast. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

Hayden said, “Half an hour is plenty of time.”

Conrad nodded. “What about you? You haven’t even showered yet. Don’t tell me you’re going to show up without a shower and with stinky sweat everywhere. Akira would make a fuss and kick you out of the van, I’m sure. She has complained to me that you stink of sweat ever since we arrived here.”

Nicolas didn’t like Conrad’s comment and frowned darkly. He pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose as he said, “Don’t be stupid. Of course I won’t go like this. Who in their right mind would?” With that, he headed up the stairs.

Sakura thought he seemed rather pissed.

Daddy James drew Sakura’s attention away from Nicolas. “Good luck with work today.” He even winked at her. Then he was gone as well.

Conrad said, “How come he only said that to you?”

Sakura shrugged. “He knows I’m nervous about it.”

“Are you?” Conrad asked. “How come? It’s only a photo shoot, isn’t it?”

If only it was really just a photo shoot and nothing more, like taking photos of landscapes and nature.

Hayden said, “Come on. Let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

Everyone headed toward the dining room then, and heartily enjoyed their morning meal. By the time Akira, Tristan, and Logan made their overdue appearances, they only had ten minutes before departure.

It was seven thirty exactly when the group—Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, Sebastian, Hayden, Darcy, Conrad, Sosuke, Akira, and Sakura—arrived onsite, which was the Princeton Group Hotel and Resort in Honolulu, not far from where their holiday mansion resided. Jane met them at the foyer and hurriedly ushered everyone into the elevator so as to not waste any time.

As the door dinged shut, she began her speech. “We’re going be on the nineteenth floor today. Men and women have separate makeup rooms. Once we’re ready for you, we’ll come and get you. Just so you all know what’s going to happen, I’ll brief you on our schedule now.”

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Jane cleared her throat and then began her briefing. “The first session is going to be Nicolas with Tara and Alaina, followed by Nicolas with Akira and then Nicolas with Sakura.”

Hayden said, “Sounds like Nicolas is getting all the girls.”

“And so early in the morning, too,” Logan added cheekily. “Can you handle that much pressure, Nicolas?”

Everyone laughed at this comment, except Nicolas himself. “It’s what Mr. Tachibana wanted. I have nothing to do with how he arranges things. And of course I can handle it. It’s a job.”

“Yeah, we know you can handle it,” Tristan said. “You must have talked to Mr. Tachibana about getting all the girls, you sly bastard.”

Nicolas nudged his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose as he said, “Don’t lump me in with you, Tristan.”

At this point, Sakura suddenly wondered if any of the brothers had talked to Mr. Tachibana about how they wanted the photo shoot to be done and who they wanted and didn’t want to be paired with. Perhaps not.

Then it’d be up to the mercy of Mr. Tachibana to arrange their pairings, and Sakura prayed she didn’t have to be grouped with either Tara or Alaina or both at the same time. That would be her worst nightmare, hell for sure, and she wasn’t even sure if she’d be strong enough to endure it. The very thought made her stomach flutter in dread.

Jane continued. “Then it’s Sosuke and Alaina, followed by Sosuke and Sakura and then Tristan and Logan with Sakura.”

At this point, Logan put his hand up. “Wait. Why is it Tristan and me with Sakura? Do I get to have the photo shoot with Sakura alone at all?”

Jane said, “I’m sorry, but that’s how Mr. Tachibana planned the shoot.”

“Damn,” Logan muttered under his breath in disappointment.

Tristan said, “To be honest, bro, I don’t mind sharing Sakura with you. We’ll have some awesome times together. It’s a threesome!”

Suddenly, Logan’s eyes brightened like a pair of stars. “A threesome sounds amazing.”

Sakura nearly choked on her breath. “That sounds a bit weird coming from you both.”

Akira chuckled in amusement. “Yes. Very weird.”

The underlying implication of a threesome made Jane blush. Considering the fact that she had just been introduced into the world of Yaoi by the fujoshi Akira, especially where one of the hot trends was sibling love, this only fueled her imagination.

Somehow managing to stay composed in this circumstance, Jane continued with the briefing as the elevator door dinged open on the nineteenth floor and the group started walking out.

“After that, it will be Logan and Tristan with Alaina and Tara.”

Tristan said, “Oh, I didn’t know Logan and I would be having photos with that pair of mean girls.”

Logan chuckled. “Be professional, Tristan. This is work.”

Mean girls indeed. Sakura suddenly wondered if either Sebastian or Darcy were going to be slotted with Tara or Alaina. If they did, would they refuse to work and make a fuss? Though, she doubted they’d go that far. They were mature and professional after all. Would she make a fuss if she were to be paired with the two girls?

“Then it’s Sebastian with Sakura,” Jane said, which drew Sakura’s attention from her thoughts about Tara and Alaina.

So, she was to be slotted with Sebastian. Suddenly, she wondered what the setting and scene were supposed to be. Loving? Flirty? Or simply professional?

It was then Tristan interrupted. “Just wondering. What’s the setting for that one?”

“Setting?” Jane flicked her gaze to her paper for a moment. “It’ll be an elegant living room setting.”

“And the tone?” Tristan prodded.

Jane shrugged. “That will be up to Mr. Tachibana when the time comes. He doesn’t tell me these things.”

“Oh.” Tristan looked disappointed.

Logan asked, “What about our setting?”

“Yours will be at the bar across the restaurant.”

Logan nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

“Next...” Jane continued. “It will be Hayden with Sakura and then Hayden with Tara and Akira.”

At this point, Sakura was sure Mr. Tachibana was making full use of her. She also knew without a doubt that she was going to be dead tired by the end of the day, considering she was going to be in most of the pairings.

“After that...” Jane continued, as they passed a horde of staff busy with their jobs setting things up. “It will be Darcy and Sakura’s turn and then Conrad, together with Sakura and Akira. In the evening, when the sun is setting, there’s going to be a group shoot in the restaurant.”

Sakura said, “That sounds exhausting already.”

Conrad chuckled. “For you it is. I can chill until the end of the day.”

Darcy nodded in agreement since his turn didn’t come until the afternoon.

After the briefing, Jane showed everyone to their respective makeup rooms, which were directly opposite each other across the corridor.

Before they parted ways, Jane said, “If you need anything, just tell me. I’m here to help.”

Sakura thought Jane was very energetic today, and she was certainly professional and very confident in her organizing skills, ensuring that the staff members were doing their jobs to the best of their ability and the models were well taken care of.

“See you later, darling sis,” Logan said before the brothers, along with Sosuke, headed into the men’s makeup room.

Sakura chuckled as she waved at them.

Once she and Akira stepped foot into the women’s room, Sakura noticed that both Tara and Alaina were already there getting dolled up. They were being attended to by four makeup artists.

Avoiding eye contact with them, Sakura headed toward the empty chairs, along with Akira. Thank God Akira took the seat closest to Tara, which left Sakura on the far right nearest the window. She silently thanked Akira since she wanted to make as little contact with both Tara and Alaina as possible.

Jane, who suddenly appeared at the door, said to the makeup artists, “We can start on Akira and Sakura now. Though, we need to make sure Akira is done first because she is scheduled before Sakura. Okay?”

The makeup artists nodded in understanding.

For the next hour and a half, Sakura found herself sitting there while at least two women worked on her hair and face. By the time she was done and was allowed to stand, she found that her bottom was numb, her back was stiff, and her neck and shoulders sore. She groaned, which drew both Tara’s and Alaina’s attention. She ignored their frowns as she moved her body about.

Akira chuckled and suggested, “Go for a little walk. It’ll help with the stiffness.”

Sakura nodded. “I’ll do that.”

Tara, who was doing something on her cell the whole time, snorted and said, “What an amateur. I can’t believe Mr. Tachibana hired somebody so short and not even a model. I’m sure the magazine is going to fail miserably.”

Alaina didn’t say anything as she continued to read her fashion magazine. In fact, she was ignoring everyone in the room entirely. For that whole hour and a half Sakura was there with them, she had not heard Alaina talking to Tara once and wondered what was going on. Usually, the two would chat and gossip nonstop, and if Sakura happened to be around, they’d pick on her. But not today, and it nagged at Sakura because she knew something was up.

Akira said loudly, “Sounds like somebody is jealous.”

It was then that Jane turned up and called out for both Tara and Alaina. “Are you two done? It’s time to go. Fifteen minutes.”

Tara and Alaina, along with two of the makeup artists, left the room a moment later with Jane, which unsurprisingly made the atmosphere lighter, brighter, and of course, easier for Sakura to breathe.

Akira leaned toward her and asked, “Is something wrong with those two? Usually, they’re like this, aren’t they?” She entwined two fingers to indicate what she meant, which was best buddies.

Sakura shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Kay, one of the two makeup artists who was still left behind and currently working on Akira’s hair, said, “Apparently, they’re on bad terms.”

Sakura blinked. Tara and Alaina on bad terms? That just seemed impossible.

The other one, Keri, said, “They don’t even speak to each other anymore. It’s that bad.”

Sakura absorbed this information silently, wondering if that had anything to do with the argument Alaina had with Daddy James yesterday.

It was fifteen minutes later when Jane appeared again, this time to fetch Akira for wardrobe. The two makeup artists left with Akira to help.

Alone, Sakura walked about the room to stretch her legs, at the same time trying to calm her nerves by humming to herself. Now and again, her eyes would drift off to gaze at the beautiful scenery before her, which stretched across the horizon of the sea. Her worries would be forgotten as she smiled, enjoying the exquisite sight.

“Well, hello there.” Sebastian’s voice came to her, and Sakura jumped in surprise.

She turned away from the window to see the man leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, a handsome grin on his face.

The moment she turned, Sebastian’s breath was momentarily snatched away as he stared at her.

Sakura asked, “Sebastian?”

At the call of his name, he managed to regain his senses. At that moment, when Sakura had turned to look at him, the sight of her had taken his breath away; she was so exquisitely beautiful. This very vision of her reminded him of when he had first met her again, as adults back on St. Joseph Island, when the brothers had returned home for their cousin Mary’s wedding.

Sebastian remembered once again that he had fallen in love with her that very day, when he had met her along the road leading up to Princeton Mansion on St. Joseph Island. He had come to realize that he loved her in the deepest depths of his soul.

He remembered now that this love had begun when they were children, when Sakura was drowning in the lake and he hadn’t been able to do a thing to save her because he couldn’t swim. That had also been the reason he had taken up swimming competitively, during high school.

Then, after Mary and Peter’s wedding when Sakura had nearly died from Kate’s ambush and almost drowned in the stormy sea off St. Joseph Island; that love grew even deeper. The thought of her in danger, on the verge of losing her life, and of him on the verge of losing her, really roused the fragile emotions within him, frightening him so much that he thought he might just die himself.

Now, the sight of her standing there and gazing out to the ocean, looking all calm and serene, really put his feelings for her into prospective. He, Sebastian Princeton, deeply loved this woman, as he had never loved anyone else in his life. She was everything to him. Everything he held dear; and he vowed to cherish and protect her until his very breath ended.

“Wow,” he said, as he stepped into the room toward her.

Once he was right in front of her, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her forehead, she raised her eyes to look at his face.

“Wow?” she asked. “If you mean the view, then I agree. It’s very nice from here.”

He chuckled as he placed his fingers under her delicate chin. “No, I mean you, silly.”

Sakura pulled a face. “Me? But I’m not even dressed yet. I’m still wearing my T-shirt and jeans.”

“Then,” he said, moving his hand to her exotically bound hair, “you’ll be even more exquisite.”

Sakura chuckled. “Thanks, I guess. And what are you doing with my hair?”

Sebastian, who was currently caressing a striking hair embellishment in the shape of a butterfly, said, “I’m curious as to what this is.”

Sakura wrapped her hand around his wrist to make him stop. “It’s a hair ornament to make me look pretty. Stop messing with my hair. Do you have any idea how long it took for Kay to do this chignon? An hour and a half, you know, and my whole body was sore after sitting for so long. If you mess it up, Kay will be very upset, and I will also be very upset because we’ll have to go through it all over again. Not to mention Mr. Tachibana because then there’ll be a delay.”

Sebastian finally moved his hand away and chuckled as he apologized. “Sorry, but from the look of it, I haven’t ruined anything, yet.”

“Good,” she said. “And why aren’t you dressed?”

“My turn doesn’t come until later,” he said. “Now they’re concentrating on Nicolas, Sosuke, Tristan, and Logan.”

“I see,” she said, nodding.

They were both quiet for a moment. Then Sebastian changed the topic and asked, “Sakura? Yesterday, when Darcy went to get you... Did Darcy mention anything particular?”

Sakura was suddenly curious as to what he was referring to. She cocked her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

Though he was trying not to show it, she noticed he looked a little embarrassed and troubled at the same time. Sebastian? Embarrassed? Troubled? Never, right?

She licked her lips, her mind now flashing back to yesterday when Darcy had come to get her before she joined everyone else to watch the games.

She remembered him apologizing for pressuring her into making her decision. She remembered him kissing her on the forehead. And what else?

She shook her head. “Nothing in particular. I mean, erm... I guess he was a bit on edge the night we arrived, and yesterday morning, he came to apologize. That’s all.”

“And nothing else?” he asked.

Sakura was suddenly suspicious. Then she wondered if Sebastian, too, was insecure about her feelings for him, as Darcy had been.

Wanting to ease his uncertainty, she gently touched his arm and said, “Sebastian, you know I love you, right?” When he nodded, she continued. “And I also love Darcy.”

Again, he nodded. “Yes, I know that. I accept that.”

She sighed as if it pained her to be so selfish as to love two men at the same time, and furthermore, they were brothers.

She said, “To be honest, I have never loved any man before in my life. You and Darcy are the only two so far.”

He intercepted. “And I hope it will always be that way.”

She brushed aside his words. “I know I’m very selfish, Sebastian. But I just can’t help myself. There must be something wrong with me for sure.” She raised her gaze to him again. “What I’m trying to say is, Sebastian, that I love you. Be assured of that. Right now, I just need time to think. I mean, I don’t want to break either of your hearts. That’s for sure. It’ll kill me. I know it will.”

Noticing the emotional tears in her eyes, Sebastian suddenly pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.

With her small form swallowed up in his tight embrace, Sakura savored the moment and wished she could be in his warmth forever.

Sebastian kissed her gently on the forehead and said, “You don’t have to choose, Sakura. You know that. Why make the hard decision when you can make the easy one?”

Sakura raised her face then and frowned at him. “What are you on about? You’re confusing me, Sebastian. If you must know, it’s hard making this decision. After all, I’d be losing one of you.”

He smiled. “I see you need more time to think about it.”

When his lips were about to touch hers, she stopped him in his tracks. “We can’t kiss.”

“Why the hell not?”

She smiled, noting how demanding and impatient he was. “Because I have makeup on, and if you kiss me, my face will be ruined and Keri will not be pleased.”

Sebastian sighed. “Fine. But you owe me a kiss today.”

She raised one brow. “I owe you a kiss? Don’t make me laugh, mister. I do not owe you anything.”

Sebastian shook his blond head. “You owe me a lot of things, young lady. Kisses and more kisses and love. An eternity of love.”

Sebastian had the sudden urge to bury his face in the crook of her neck, and blast it... he didn’t give a damn about ruining her makeup. Hence, he did just that.

He placed one hand behind her perfectly coiffured head and then buried his face in the curve of her slender nape.

Sakura gasped and shrieked, “Sebastian! What are you doing?”

Sebastian didn’t answer. He kissed her there, his lips hot and his tongue seductively licking and stroking, even sucking at her skin until she was breathless.

Sakura found herself clinging to him for dear life as she groaned and her body became weak.

“Oh...” She breathed weakly, her eyes half closed. “Sebastian...”

By the time he terminated his seduction, Sakura was more than a little aroused. Blushing pink from the experience, she snapped, “Now look at what you’ve done. I have a photo shoot with Nicolas soon, and you’re doing this to me. You’re a beast, Sebastian. How could you? My mind is a mess now, and my body...”

She couldn’t say it out loud. There had been many times when this man had purposely seduced and aroused her, and she in turn had simply wanted to let go of convention and give him permission to do wild, sexy things to her—make her moan and scream in pleasure. Indeed, this was one of those times. But of course, she must resist the temptation, as work was very important and she couldn’t afford to mess it up. Thus, she pushed him back by the chest and gave him a good glare.

“We need to keep some distance, Sebastian,” she said. “I’m sure I’m not safe alone with you any longer.”

He chuckled in amusement. “You will always be safe with me. I assure you.”

She stroked her slender fingers about her hair bun as she said, “Not where my virtue is concerned.” She sighed. “Listen, Sebastian.” She raised her eyes to look up at him. When she noted that he was waiting for her to continue, she sighed again.

“Yes?”

She cleared her throat because the passionate fire in his azure eyes made her heart race. Not good. This was not good. He was too handsome and tantalizing for her liking.

She quickly glanced away and said, “You are not allowed to seduce me until I’ve made my decision, all right?”

Sebastian gave her a handsome smile then. “All right,” he said reluctantly. “But please don’t make us wait too long because it’s damned hard keeping our hands away from you.”

Sakura blushed at his words.

A moment later, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed toward the door. “Good luck with the photo shoot.” He even gave her a wink before closing the door behind him.

Once alone, Sakura found herself collapsing on the chair. God, her heart was still racing and her whole body was trembling. She touched her cheeks and found they were hot.

Sebastian was getting brasher with his seduction, Sakura realized. The same could be said of Darcy. That man was also growing more determined.

“Sebastian. Darcy,” she whispered. “What am I going to do?”

It was then that Kay returned, and the moment the woman saw Sakura, she said, “What happened?” with a shocked face.

Sakura went pale. I knew it! Despite her warning, Sebastian must have ruined her hair.

“I’m sorry,” she said, touching her chignon. “Is it that bad?”

Kay rushed over to her and made a big fuss. “It’s bad. This is very bad.” She tipped Sakura’s face to the right and inspected the left of Sakura’s slender neck. She shrieked, “A hickey. It wasn’t there before. I’m sure of it. Now we’ll have to cover it up.”

Sakura blinked. So, it isn’t my hair. “A what?” she asked, surprised.

“A hickey. You know, a love bite.”

Sakura swallowed hard at this revelation as she remembered Sebastian kissing her neck. Had he planned on branding her?

Sebastian!