“I was more surprised than you were. I absolutely had no idea how she became an immortal; I knew nothing about the Veneti society or my mother’s involvement. I guess I can understand why she didn’t find it important enough to talk about any of it to Loren or myself. As immortals, we have absolutely no need of the amulet protection or the power book,” he said with a soft chuckle. “So what are you looking for in that book?”
“I’m not sure. Mostly, just curious. ”
“Well then, why don’t you let my mother help you? She’ll teach you everything you want to know about the powers held in that little book.” He put down the paper, stood up, walked around the counter, and stopped directly behind her. Leaning down, he pressed his lips on the back of her neck. Her nerves leapt; she sucked a tight breath as she felt the heat spreading across her flesh. Lifting her chin, she stared up into his eyes. He held her gaze and his lips slowly curved to that amazing smile.
“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered. Sliding her hand into his she drew enough breath to keep herself from falling apart.
“Tomorrow will be another grueling day in Chemistry.”
“I’m sure you’ll endure,” he said, chuckling.
While getting ready for bed, an unwelcome twinge ran through her mind, and her heart sank as she latched onto one horrible name: Annabel. “I wonder when Annabel will decide to come for me again?” she asked Sebastian. A ghost of a frown flickered on his face. “Arielle you have to stop thinking about Annabel.”
She humphed. “Easy for you to say.” She couldn’t let her thoughts run wild, but the truth was clear. Annabel was coming for her. It was not if she would be coming, but when. She vividly recalled their last meeting at the university parking lot. Eva had been there to protect her. Venom dripped from Annabel’s bloody lips when she’d said. “I’m coming back for you and I’ll kill you, you miserable human.” Arielle didn’t miss the deadly promise that flashed in Annabel’s eyes. Her mouth twisted at the thought and she bit back a groan. There would have to be a final confrontation, but when? This was a sheer nightmare and there was no end in sight.
In bed Sebastian drew her in his arms, and pressed his lips to her nape. She stared into the blackness, and inhaled his sweet immortal scent. Enveloped in the sanctuary of his embrace, all tension fell away, and relief slid through her. She sensed his smile, as sleep drifted in and pulled her down.
A sneak peek at the fifth book in the Immortal Rapture Series, Arielle Immortal Journey
THE DAY DAWNED cool and clear, perfect weather for Brighton and beautiful for horseback riding. Arielle didn’t have to work hard to lure Sebastian—her own Mr. Darcy—into an afternoon ride. As was normal, her thoughts swirled around her lover and their life together while her eyes enjoyed the scenery. Only four days had passed since the revelations about Professor Allworth’s involvement in the Veneti society and their interest in Arielle’s magical amulet, but little actually changed in Arielle and Sebastian’s daily routine.
Every morning, Sebastian and his business partner Troy left for the office and returned home around mid-afternoon. Then Sebastian spent time reading the paper or watching the telly while Arielle completed her homework. As the sun set, the couple enjoyed time together by walking the beach and discussing their plans for the future. Once home, Sebastian accompanied her as she ate dinner, and the discussed news about school and their friends. Sometimes, Arielle chitchatted nonstop, drawing a laugh from her love.
However, the merry mood always dispersed late in the evenings when he and Troy conferenced regarding work. The two immortals spoke in their strange, fast speech that made it impossible for a human like Arielle to understand. However, she couldn’t miss Sebastian’s facial expressions throughout the calls. Though she wondered each evening what upset him, Arielle didn’t want to ask, because as soon as he hung up, she again became the center of his attention. Her beautiful man would take her to bed, making her writhe in his arms and causing her to forget any thoughts or concerns she had.
Each morning when he left, though, she was reminded that she had never visited Sebastian’s office. In her mind, she had created an image of this enormous building located in the middle of London. His business completely intrigued her. She wanted to know what his secretary looked like, what kind of people worked for him, and what he did when he was there. As the horses stepped onto the beach, Arielle decided she was going to surprise him one day with an unexpected visit. She shook her head imperceptibly and smiled as she considered how surprised he would be when she entered his office unannounced.
She looked over at Sebastian. He was watching her carefully, his gaze locked on hers and eyes inviting her to speak her mind.
“What are you thinking?” he asked curiously.
She snorted. “About you, of course. Do I ever think about anything else?”
“I’m happy to hear that. But you look perplexed, so what are you really thinking about?” he asked again, a light smile touching his lips.
“Oh…” her voice trailed. There was a long pause. “I was thinking about the telephone calls you have been making to Troy for the past three nights,” she said, meeting his gaze. Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her.
“What about the calls?” he asked, surprised.
Arielle cleared her throat. “Sebastian, you look agitated during those discussions. I do hope that everything at work is going well,” she said, keeping her expression as calm as possible.
Sebastian moved his horse closer to hers, met her gaze, and held it. “Arielle, why do you feel that you can’t ask me about something that’s bothering you? Have I ever given you a reason to think that you can’t?” He smiled gently.
“No, you haven’t, but I don’t like to intrude in your private affairs.” She returned his smile.
“You’re going to be my wife. I can’t read your mind while you wear the amulet, and we don’t have private affairs,” he said, his voice low and velvety soft. He studied her face carefully while waiting for her reply.
She drew in a breath. “Okay then, what’s going on at work that has you so worried?”
Sebastian’s brows furrowed. He paused for a short moment. Arielle flicked him a quizzical glance.
“Do I look worried?”
“No, not now, but during those calls, you do look anxious,” she answered firmly.
“Hmm, I didn’t realize that, I’m sorry. We have had a few issues at the office with a security breach,” he said and frowned.
“There…you are doing it again,” she accused, pointing at his face.
“What?”
“You’re frowning.”
Sebastian blinked in surprise. He looked uncomfortable and shifted lightly on the saddle. “Sorry,” he said.
“Do you have a spy inside the company?” she asked, her eyes sweeping over him.
“No, no, we don’t believe that we do. We took care of that problem last year. This has something to do with our company systems.”
“Oh…” her voice trailed again. “What are you doing about that?”
“Well, we are very close to a solution.”
“I hope this solution doesn’t include you leaving the country like you did last year,” she admitted worriedly.
Sebastian appeared to notice her uneasiness. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
“How are you going to fix it?”
“Our engineers have developed, and are ready to introduce, new security products that can be used globally. We are previewing the designs this week, and hopefully, we’ll approve their development and distribution.” Sebastian’s excitement about the new products was evident. Arielle relaxed, and as they started to ride again, she was drawn into his enthusiasm. She enjoyed listening to him discussing the details.
By the time they reached the stables, the sun was slowly disappearing below the horizon, painting the surrounding sky with an intense orange and red glow. Sebastian helped her off her horse and pulled her into his embrace. He held her for a very lon
g time.
“I love you, Arielle; please don’t worry.”
Arielle reached up and cupped his face with both hands. She pulled him down to her for a searing kiss. His arms locked about her, and he drew her flush against him. She moaned softly, and the kiss grew more demanding. Sebastian finally lifted his head reluctantly and hauled in a deep breath.
“Let’s go home, baby,” he whispered against her lips. “We don’t want to make a scene in front of the stable boys, do we now?”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. She nodded in agreement, a wide smile spreading across her face. She took a quick look around. Several young men were moving about the grounds, but nobody was looking their way.
She grinned and, standing on her tippy toes, pressed another quick kiss on his lips. “Nobody is looking,” she said, pulling out of his arms.
He nodded in agreement and reached out to clasp her hand. “Let’s go,” he said softly and led her towards the car.
On the way home, he held her hand as she whined about having to go to school without him.
“It’s only for this week, love,” he said, clearly happy that she was missing him.
She humphed and mumbled something inaudible. He glanced at her and their gaze locked. “I’ll try to survive without you,” she said gloomily, wondering what he was thinking.
Sebastian’s happy laughter was contagious. Arielle had to admit that it had been a wonderful afternoon.
Every time Sebastian and Troy couldn’t go to class, Arielle rode with her best friend Gabrielle. The two of them spent lunchtime pouring over books at the cafeteria pavilion with their group of friends. Afterwards, she visited the library with Gabby and Eva to research information for their classes. Today, Arielle used the time alone with her best friends to catch them up on her visit to Olivia’s house. When she revealed that Professor Colt Allworth had saved the life of Sebastian’s mom Olivia Dillon when she was still mortal, they looked stunned. The three women sat close to one another and discussed all she had learned from Olivia about the secret society.
“Are you going to one of the meetings with her?” Gabby asked, her eyes full of interest. Arielle struggled hard to keep a straight face, seeing the eagerness in Gabby’s eyes.
Before she had a chance to open her mouth, she heard Eva reply briskly, “Of course, she will. She has to learn how to use the spells in the book; it’s very important, right, Arielle?”
“Yes, I have agreed to attend the next meeting with Olivia, and I’m quite excited about it,” she said, glancing between Gabby and Eva.
“Well, there you are!” Eva said excitingly.
“Is that the little black book with spells and magic?” Gabby asked.
“None other,” Eva said, staring at Gabby. “I remember how eager you were to find out about my books and spells back in secondary school. Do you remember that?” Eva asked and smiled. Arielle thought that she must be reliving memories of her best friend’s curiosity about magic.
Gabby frowned. She didn’t look happy about the situation at all. Arielle saw a sudden mental image of Marcus flash in Gabrielle's mind and felt her fear. He had been the boyfriend from hell for Gabby and her friend's lips trembled. In that moment, Arielle wished she could not read the minds of some people.
“What’s got you all upset?” Eva asked, gazing at Gabby.
“I— I don’t know,” she said looking down at her hands. “The thing is, I seem to remember all the bad outcomes of practicing spells, and it just gives me the creeps.”
“Gabby, this book has everything to do with protecting Arielle from that crazy immortal who is trying to kill her,” Eva said. There was a lengthy pause.
Gabby looked over at Arielle and said, worryingly, “Fine, but I don’t want you to do anything that might put you in danger.”
“I’ll be all right,” said Arielle with a soft smile. She reached over and gave Gabrielle a warm hug. She knew that Gabby was worried about her, and so was Eva. She loved them both so much. She glanced down at her watch and realized that they had been there for a while. She stood up, closed the book in front of her, and chuckled softly. “Well, we didn’t get much done today.”
“We sure didn’t,” Gabby said. “Troy will be home soon, and I want to be there, if you know what I mean.” She muffled a chuckle.
“We know exactly what you mean,” Eva grinned, glancing at Arielle to share her amusement. They picked up their books, put them in their book bags, and walked out quietly. The weather had turned cloudy, and the sky looked like rain. A cool breeze blew across their faces and they looked at each other with blissful smiles.
“I guess I’ll go find Ian, so we can go home.” Eva said as she started to walk toward the exit.
“Where is he?” Arielle asked.
“When I go to the library to do my research, he attends a discussion forum once a week with other medical students,” Eva replied.
“Oh! That sounds really interesting. I didn’t know he was doing that,” Arielle said. Turning her attention to Gabby, she asked, “Why don’t you go with Ian? I thought you guys took the same classes?”
“I really don’t have any interest in the forum discussions,” she said, holding a soft smile. “I like to interact with Troy rather than the other students.” She remained quiet while Arielle and Eva watched her carefully, and she finally broke out into hearty laughter. The three of them laughed wholeheartedly. The hilarity was addicting and brought tears to the eyes of Arielle and Gabrielle. When they finally stopped, Eva was watching them with a wretched look on her face. She reached over and ran her fingers across Gabby and Arielle faces, dabbing the tears on their cheeks.
“Thanks to my immortality, I’ll never be able to do this again,” she said softly, looking despondent. “I used to enjoy a good cry now and then.” Her voice sounded choked, causing Arielle and Gabby to give her a warm hug so she knew that they felt her pain.
The weekend arrived without Arielle’s concern of crossing paths with Professor Allworth being realized. Sebastian would be attending class with her again come Monday, so the girls happily welcomed the end of the week.
Friday and Saturday evening, the group of friends watched a couple of new films, visited some new restaurants, and stopped at their favorite nightclub to enjoy the music. Sebastian and Arielle strolled together on the beach, holding hands and discussing plans for the future. She was so in love with this stunningly beautiful man that each and every time they were together she prayed for time to stop.
On Sunday morning, Sebastian planned a game of golf with Troy at the country club. He left the bed early but not before making sure his beautiful girl was happy and sated. Arielle went back to sleep and didn’t wake up until noon. She climbed out of bed slowly and took time to enjoy a light breakfast after taking a warm leisurely shower.
It was a beautiful sunny day, so she decided to traipse through her private haven: the garden. A thin jacket warmed her as she walked outside. A light breeze brushed across her face, and her lips curved up blissfully. She breathed deeply, filling her nostrils with the salty scent of the ocean. Every nerve in her body thrummed with joy. She took a seat under her favorite English oak and placed her journal on her lap, letting the pen glide over the empty pages.
September 30th
Hello once again, my silent friend. There is so much going on in my head, and in my life, that I wanted to sit down and put my thoughts on your pages before I start forgetting some of the important things. It seems that my palette is never blank. There is always something lurking around the corner.
Gabrielle came out of the hospital and moved back with her parents. Troy was quite unhappy, because he wanted her at home with him. He acted like a spoiled child. Gabrielle needed help due to her injuries, and her mother was the best choice until Gabby could do things for herself.
Ian and Eva came back from their recuperating--or should I say life-altering?--holiday in Italy. I nearly choked when I saw them walk off the plane. They looked stunning: flawless feature
s, amazing bodies, and seamless walks. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them. On the outside, they are different from the old Eva and Ian. However, I know that inside nothing has changed. They are exactly the same two people that I adore. I know that it will take time to get used to their immortal looks, but I’m willing to wait. I often wonder how long it will take for our lives to get back to normal following that horrible accident.
Colt Allworth is our new chemistry professor. I was quite concerned about him because of his weird reaction to the amulet I wear as a necklace. As it turns out, he is a close acquaintance of Olivia Dillon and a member of Olivia’s secret society. He is very familiar with the list that holds the names of the true keepers of important things such as the amulet and the little black books. My name wasn’t on that list, and it gave him great concern as to how I acquired it. He now knows that it was a gift from Olivia, and we have a friendly understanding.
And, oh…my…gosh… I can’t forget to tell you about Annabel. She showed up at my campus parking lot on a day that Sebastian didn’t attend classes with me. Eva was with me, and the moment their eyes locked, I thought the earth’s axis tilted. Eva was furious. She had sworn to make Annabel pay for trying to kill us at St. Jean. I was happy that most of the students had left the parking lot, because I knew it was going to be bad. And it was. Annabel was caught by surprise, unable to understand the changes in Eva’s powers. It was a bloody fight that left me dumbstruck and Annabel horrified. She was a bloody mess when she left. Eva prevailed, and Annabel was lucky to be alive. We knew that she would heal in a short time, so Eva was ready for her, but she didn’t come back. I hate living with the fear of her showing up unexpectedly and trying to kill me, but I accepted the burden when I fell in love with Sebastian.
Arielle closed the journal. Her eyes wandered across the ocean as she listened to the waves crest in silence. Standing slowly, she started to walk back toward the house. She enjoyed each step she took in her private utopia. The splendor of the garden took her breath away. The fragrance of the winter flowers soothed her senses, and she smiled wide. Once inside, she picked up her mobile and rang Gabrielle and Eva to make plans for the afternoon. The guys would be late coming back from golf. There was no reason for the girls to wait around, Arielle thought.
Arielle Immortal Quickening (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 4) Page 24