Emerald (The Silvia Saga Book 1)

by Jenna Lee

  Harlan is the first one through the door.

  “What the hell happened? Someone better start talking,” Harlan demands. Looking between Jolie and me.

  We stand there not saying a word. I mentally tell Jolie to shut her mouth and keep Harlan sweating for a little while longer. Jolie can’t take it anymore and breaks our silence.

  “Dara, was a superstar. She smashed it today,” Jolie tells the guys, not giving away too much.

  “By the looks of that couch she sure as fuck smashed it. That’s for sure,” Oliver pipes up.

  I laugh at his observation, with the guys nodding in agreement. All except for Harlan, who shakes his head in return. Seriously, he needed to take a chill pill and chill the hell out. He was way too serious with everything, I need to find a way to make him take a step back. That would be my new mission from now on. Make Harlan not so serious. It was going to be one hell of a mission, probably the hardest one of my life so far.

  I shake my head, looking straight at him, to relay that I think he is being ridiculous.

  Blair pushes past the guys and comes up to me. He embraces me in a tight hug and whispers in my ear, “I am so proud of you, Princess. You have no idea.” Luckily Blair can’t see my face right now. He would be seeing a hint of pink.

  I am so blessed to have Blair in my life. He was just the sweetest, always made me feel like I was worth something. Oliver comes up next.

  He gives me a head knuckle, messing up my hair. “Good job knuckle head. I can’t wait to see you fuck some shit up. That would be totally hot,” he mutters into my ear.

  This has me blushing even more. God, Oliver, tone it down please. He always knew what buttons to press, leaving me all hot and bothered. I shake my head trying to rid it of these thoughts. I couldn’t be having these thoughts about Oliver and Blair.

  I catch Declan staring at me and I look up toward him. He smiles and winks at me, telling me he’s super proud of me. That has my belly doing backflips. To get that emotion from Declan, means the world to me. He is starting to open up to me. Every day I get to know him more and more, and I am loving it.

  I continue to stare at them all, admiring them together. After who knows how long, Jolie grabs my arm and pulls me away.

  “Come on, you must be exhausted after today’s training. Let’s get some dinner.” Jolie drags me up the stairs as I continue looking toward the guys, until they are out of view.

  “I can walk on my own Jolie. No need to drag me,” I admit, pulling my hand out of her grasp. I was not in the mood to be touched right now. I am suddenly drained of energy. All I want to do is eat and have a nice warm bath.

  As if realising my sudden mood change, Jolie nods her head in understanding. We walk into the kitchen and the most delish smell comes to my nose. Anna is dishing up dinner, right on time.

  “How are my beautiful girls? Exhausted, I bet?” Anna asks as she dishes up our plates. I nod in agreement too exhausted to use words.

  Jolie speaks for us both, “Yes mother, Dara is exhausted. You should have seen her today. She did so well,” Jolie says proudly to her mother. We both grab our plates and say our thanks.

  “That’s wonderful news. Although I am not that surprised. I knew you would do great. It is your destiny after all, my dear Dara,” Anna says sweetly.

  She makes me blush. The guys join us shortly after. Dinner continues with the normal chatter. I stay silent throughout. Not because I don’t want to talk, I just physically had no energy to form words.

  I excuse myself after I finish dinner. I clean my dishes and head up to my bedroom. The bath is calling my name. I feel bad for leaving so abruptly, but I just couldn’t be around anyone any longer. My body was exhausted, and it couldn’t hold itself up any longer. I fill up the large bath, adding a beautiful scented liquid. The bubbles form and I sigh, allowing the scent to envelope me. I don’t bother locking the door, thinking no one will bother coming in.

  I quickly undress and step into the bath. My body relaxes instantly. I close my eyes and relax deeper into the scented water. I am startled awake by a knock on the bathroom door. I quickly sit up, realising I dozed off. By now, the bubbles are long gone, and the water is cold. The door barges open to a mortified looking Blair entering the room. I try my hardest to cover up all of my parts, but I’m sure he got an eyeful before I managed to.

  As soon as he sees me, he politely covers his eyes and turns around. “Shit, I am so sorry, Dara. I had no idea where you were, or that you would be doing this. I wanted to check on you since you were so exhausted at dinner,” he explains. The poor guy is beet-red from embarrassment.

  I let him die of embarrassment a little while longer before asking, “Can you please grab me a towel?”

  I am still standing naked in the bath tub, when I hear his breathing begin to quicken. He turns around in search of a towel, still covering his eyes, not wanting to be rude.

  “You know Blair, it’s okay to open your eyes now. It’s not like you haven’t seen it all, just moments ago,” I can’t believe I was just that bold to say that to him.

  He seems to ignore my advice grabbing a towel and handing it to me with his eyes still covered with his hands. He takes a step away from me and I quickly dry off, putting the towel around my hair as I step out of the bath. I slowly walk up to him. Taking his hands in mine, I remove them from his eyes forcing them to meet mine.

  His pupils are dilated, making me weak at my knees. “See Blair, the view isn’t so bad is it?” I ask, as I do a little twirl for him.

  He gulps and rubs his hand along the back of his head. He is so awkward right now and I’m making it so much worse for him. I snicker to myself, as I take his hand in mine. I can’t believe what comes out of my mouth next.

  “Do you like what you see, Blair?” I ask, as I take his hand and place it on my neck, and slowly drag it down my body.

  I run his hand past my breasts, stopping there for a moment, then continuing down. I let go once I hit my belly button, leaving him in control and seeing what he will do with his open invitation. I have no idea where this will lead. I don’t know if I am the only one who has these feelings. I was feeling bold and I think I was about to find out.

  Finally, I look up and he is staring right into my eyes, as if asking for permission. I mentally tell him yes, and wait to see what he does next. He removes his hand and I lower my eyes in embarrassment. Of course, he doesn’t want me. He sees me like a sister, nothing more.

  I feel his hand on my cheek as he lifts my head up. My eyes meet his and time stops as he talks into my mind. Of course, I have feelings for you, Dara. Much more than a sisterly love. You mean so much to me, Princess. More than you will ever know. He lowers his head, his lips only inches from mine and I close the distance between us.

  The moment our lips meet, electricity goes through my whole body. From my head all the way down to my toes. The moment our tongues touch I taste spearmint and ginger. A weird combination, but surprisingly, I love it. I deepen the kiss and he opens his mouth moving his tongue around mine. We are full-on making-out now and, my god, if it isn’t the best make-out session of my life. I am beyond turned on right now.

  I feel my towel slip from my hair and fall to the ground. Right now, I couldn’t care less as Blair pulls back for a moment, looking down at my bare body.

  “My god, Dara. You are so incredibly beautiful. Inside and out.” He continues to stare at my body, and I just stand there letting him.

  Enjoying the look in his eyes as he takes everything in. Never in my life has someone looked at me like that. I grab a hold of his hair and pull his lips back to mine. He is slow and sweet as he kisses me, just like I imagined Blair to be.

  Someone clears their throat, making Blair and I instantly pull apart. I look past Blair to see Oliver standing in the doorway, totally checking me out. That’s when I look down and remember that I am still very much naked right now. I return my gaze to him. Fuck, his pupils are so dilated right
now.

  “Well, well. What have you two been up to in here, huh? Why am I missing out on all the fun? Not fair, brother,” he teases.

  Blair is still standing in front of me and by the looks of him, he is very embarrassed to get caught. “I know exactly what you two were getting up to. I have been standing here watching for the last five minutes. Fuck, it was hot watching you two. But bro, let me show you how to kiss a girl as bad-arse as our Dara.” He doesn’t give me a second to move away.

  Oliver grabs a hold of my head tightly and crashes his lips down on mine, hungrily tasting every inch of my mouth. He tastes of fresh mint. The complete opposite to Blair, where Blair is sweet and gentle, Oliver is hot and greedy. Fuck me, could they both get any sexier right now? Oliver moans into my mouth, telling me they both just heard my thoughts. Fuck, I should have blocked that out right then. Oh well, fuck it, l am very much living in the moment right now. All too soon Oliver pulls away, wearing a huge grin on his face. “And that bro, is how it’s done,” he cockily says to Blair. He spanks my naked arse and walks out the door. Blair quickly runs out behind him, looking embarrassed as hell.

  I am now alone here in my bathroom, butt naked, thinking about what the fuck just happened. I walk over to the sink and splash cold water onto my face. I wonder if am dreaming or if that just seriously happened. Nope, that didn’t help. It really did happen, and if I was being completely honest, it was hot as fuck.

  I slowly make my way into my bedroom and put on some underwear and a tee-shirt. Slipping into bed, I lay there trying to process what just happened moments ago.

  Blair admitted he had feelings for me, but what about Oliver? Was he just jealous? Just showing off to Blair on how to kiss me properly, or did he too have feelings for me that were deeper? I honestly couldn’t answer that for him.

  I was so lost right now. How could I have feelings for not just one twin but both of them and then all of my Warriors? Could I really have a relationship with them all? I know from the conversation we all had yesterday, that everyone was fine with it, but were they really? I still had my doubts.

  I had a million questions that needed answers, but right now my body was exhausted. I hit the pillow and in no time, I was sound asleep with the rhythm of the unanswered questions running through my head.

  Chapter 25

  Dara

  I awaken with a start from another dream of finding the stone. The dream is exactly the same as the other night. It appears I will have this dream every night until it happens in real life. I am not sure that I am ready yet. Something tells me that I need to be ready sooner than I would like. My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door. Blair pokes his head in, asking if he can come in. I nod back at him. I don’t get up out of bed as I honestly can’t be bothered right now. Blair comes over and sits down on my bed.

  He fiddles with his hands and finally looks up at me. “I am sorry about my actions last night, Dara. It was out of character.” I am a bit taken back and hurt by what Blair just said.

  “Sorry? Why would you be sorry? I’m sure you enjoyed it as much as I did…correct me if I am wrong?” I ask. Hoping that I am right, if not, I would be so heartbroken right now.

  He takes a few minutes to respond, “Of course I enjoyed it, Dara. Jesus. I wouldn’t be straight if I didn’t enjoy it. I want to make sure you have no regrets. I wouldn’t want you to think that I took advantage of you, because I really like you. Much more than a sisterly love.” Oh my, could my heart melt even more right now.

  He was worried that I thought he took advantage of me? I was thinking the same thing about me taking advantage of him.

  “Oh Blair, no, I didn’t think you were taking advantage of me. I loved every minute of it and hope that it doesn’t ruin our relationship. I would love to continue getting to know you more and build on what we started yesterday. What do you think, will that be okay with you?” I ask, biting my lower lip, which is a habit of mine when I am nervous. He leaves me sweating for a few moments.

  Finally, he breaks into a huge smile and talks into my mind. I would love that, my Princess. My cheeks instantly heat up from his approval. I so look forward to having some more one-on-one time with my sweet Blair. He leans over and gently kisses my lips, but quickly pulls away and walks to the door. Before he leaves he turns and speaks to me;

  “By the way. Harlan is about to send a search party for you. You will be training with him today,” he says, as he shuts the door behind him.

  Ah, fuck! The day I have been dreading is finally here. Training day with Harlan. This is going to be torture. The torture chamber is definitely getting its name back today. There would be no way I would enjoy any training with Harlan. The bossy dick had it in for me, since day one.

  I lay in bed for another five minutes not rushing to get up, loving the idea of Harlan sweating a little while longer. I get up and stretch out my body. It feels a lot better than I did last night. All of my energy was back. After taking my time in the shower, I finally make my way downstairs.

  I am greeted by Harlan as soon as I step foot in the living room. His arms are crossed, and he is wearing a frown. Oh, great here we go. I try to walk past him to the kitchen, but he blocks my path. I motion for him to start talking to get this over with already, this bitch was hungry and hadn’t had her coffee yet. He better be quick, and it better be worth it.

  “You will be training with me today. Since you are already late we need to start now. Let’s go,” he commands and starts walking toward the training room. Is he for fucking real right now? Does he expect me to run after him like an obedient puppy dog?

  If he did, he had another thing coming. Surely, he knows me by now, and knows I don’t follow rules very well, especially his stupid rules. I turn and start walking in the opposite direction toward the kitchen. There is no way I will be starting the day without my breakfast, and of course, my coffee.

  Jolie is still in the kitchen eating at the table. She looks up at me when I enter. She wears a shit-eating grin, which tells me she heard what just happened. I can’t hold in the smirk that forms on my lips. God, it felt good to disobey Harlan. It made me feel all giddy inside, like a bad girl getting into trouble. It did turn me on just a little bit, but Harlan, sure as hell didn’t need to know that little piece of information. That was for my mind only.

  I make myself a coffee and grab an egg and bacon roll that’s sitting on the table. It appears Anna has been up cooking again this morning. Just as I sit down at the table, someone comes storming into the kitchen. I don’t even have to look up to know who it is.

  He clears his throat as if telling me to look up at him. I don’t. I simply sit and continue enjoying my breakfast. He moves closer, getting right in my face. His hand comes out, holding onto my cheek. He lifts my head up to face his. I still keep my eyes casted downwards, not wanting him to win. Yeah, I was competitive as hell.

  “I gave you an order, Dara. You disobeyed me. Please just finish your breakfast and meet me in the training room. I will deal with your rule breaking there,” he says, and walks off without looking back to see if the message got through to me.

  I snicker to myself, I won. I got to eat my breakfast, just like I wanted to. He will now think twice before messing with my morning fuel. This girl needs her food and of course coffee first thing. I look up and Jolie stares me dead in the eye.

  Her cheeky grin is plastered over her face. “You, my girl, have a death wish. I think Harlan has met his match. Good luck to the both of you. May the best man win,” she teases.

  “Oh, I will,” I respond. I would definitely be the winner. I always am. Something tells me that Harlan needed to learn how it felt to lose. And I will be the one to show him. I take my time cleaning up the kitchen and after wasting as much time as I can, I head toward the training room. Here goes nothing. I lift my head high and enter.

  Harlan is on the mat doing all kinds of kicks and punches, looking like an idiot, I might add. I walk over toward
him and stand on the edge of the mat. Waiting for my orders. Harlan ignores me, finishing off his routine. Finally, he looks my way. I catch the shake of his head that he tries to hide from me.

  He walks over and stands in front of me. “Nice of you to join me, Dara,” he says.

  Smart Arse. I push his boundaries by ignoring him and crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Alright, let’s not waste any more time, shall we?” He motions for me to join him on the mat.

  “First off we need to warm up, I want you to run around the perimeter of the whole training room. Not just once, but five times,” Harlan orders.

  I stand there giving him the biggest death stare I can muster. I do not run. Ever. Harlan puts his head in his hands in frustration.

  “Dara, I will not ask you again. If you want to save Silvia you will do as you are told. Am I clear?” he orders.

  I don’t bother answering him, as my response wouldn’t be nice at all. I just keep my head held high and start running around the entire distance of the training centre. After two rounds I am dying. My boobs are hurting. I don’t have a sports bra to wear, and the girls are bouncing around, going crazy, which in return is killing me.

  I see Oliver walk in and he laughs at my expense. I stick my tongue out at him, causing him to blow me a kiss. Of course, he loved me sticking out my tongue. It probably reminded him of our make-out session last night. I am running and thinking about how hot he was, strutting up and claiming my mouth like a hungry dog. Fuck, it was hot. Oliver being here to watch me run gave me the motivation I needed to finish the final three laps.

  As soon as I finish, I collapse onto the mat, exhaustion coming over me. All too quickly Harlan’s body hovers over me.

  “Get up, Dara. As I said, that was just the warm up. Now we are going to get into some routines. I want to teach you how to defend yourself.” I moan out loud, making sure that he hears my frustration.

  Lifting myself up, I keep repeating in my head, “You’re doing this for Silvia. For Silvia, for Silvia, for Silvia. The future of Silvia lies on your shoulders. Don’t disappoint Silvia.”