“Fascinating,” he whispered. “Well, it seems that we have something in common,” he murmured.
They sat there together silently for a long time. She hoped that he would say something first, and finally he did. “I guess I don’t need to ask you if you have someone special in your life,” he said, “since you have just told me that you are still looking for your Darcy.”
She looked up at him and he was smiling. I just found him! she thought, but she said, “Oh, I guess I’ve been pretty busy at school, and I haven’t spent too much time looking for him.” She laughed quietly, thinking of Paul and his unsuccessful attempt to date her.
“How much longer will you be here?” he asked, suddenly serious.
“We’re going home in a few days.”
“Oh,” he said, obvious disappointment in his voice, and her heart skipped a beat.
She kept her eyes on him, wondering if she would ever get used to his amazing looks. She would have loved to tell him that all she wanted to do was stay with him forever. She knew that in a few days she would have to leave him and go back home. School was starting in three weeks.
“Can I phone you?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “I’d like that very much.” She gave him her number and smiled blissfully.
“Will I see you again tomorrow?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she murmured, lost in thought.
“Same place, same time?” he asked, chuckling.
“Yes, yes,” she said, and this time she watched him walk away. His walk was so graceful and seamless, his body so perfect. When he looked back at her and smiled, she wanted to run after him and have him hold her in his arms again, but all she could do was watch him walk away.
When he was out of sight, she folded up her towel and walked slowly back to her car. Her mind was full of him, going over every word he had said to her. She could hear his voice in her head and feel the warmth of his eyes.
When she got home her mum told her that she had a message from Eva.
“Her mum was in an accident, darling,” she said. “She’s going to be all right, but Eva sounds pretty upset.”
“Oh! What happened?” Arielle asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. She ran up the stairs, shouting back over her shoulder. “I’ll call her!” Then she went into her room and closed the door behind her.
Eva picked up the phone on the first ring, her voice distressed and agitated.
“Eva, I heard about your mum. I’m really sorry, what happened?”
“Thanks for calling, Arielle,” Eva said. “We are still in Alnmouth, and she’s going to be okay. But what really upset me is the fact that I had a vision of the accident, and I was not able to get her on the phone before it happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“I tried to call her, but she had left her mobile at home. I could have prevented it, but I couldn’t reach her,” she said, and started to cry.
“Oh Eva, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Arielle said, “but it’s not your fault, and it sounds like your mum will be fine.”
“Oh, Arielle, you’re right,” Eva said with a sigh, and she stopped sobbing. “I’ve been blaming myself. The doctor said Mummy will be in the hospital for the next two weeks, but when she goes home she’ll be perfectly fine. I feel so bad that she has to go through all this.”
“Stay strong, Eva,” Arielle said. “I know that she’s in the right place to become healthy again. Is there anything you want me to do?”
“No, not really,” Eva said, sniffing and blowing her nose discreetly. “I was just lonely and I needed to talk to you. Thank you so much for being there.”
“Eva, you know you can call me any time,” Arielle said. “I love you, and I’ll be praying for your mum.”
“I love you too, Arielle. I’ll see you soon.”
After Arielle had taken a shower she went down to take a walk in the garden to try to clear her mind before dinner. It was a warm, clear night, and the sky was full of bright stars. Arielle loved looking up at the constellations, it gave her such a sense of wonder at the size of the universe. The sight of the sky full of stars created a magical sensation for her because she knew that what she was seeing was an original experience of her very own, nothing like what any other person might be seeing, even if they were looking at the same sky. A light breeze blew across her face making her smile.
Well, she thought to herself. Tomorrow is going to be the fourth day I’ll see Sebastian, and I can’t wait. She was wondering where he lived and if he lived alone. What type of work did he do? Did he have family or friends he spent time with? What did he enjoy doing with his free time? All these questions flooded her mind and she had no answers for any of them. She realized that after all the hours they had spent talking, she actually knew very little about him. She knew that he was someone who awakened feelings in her she never ever knew she had. He was her Darcy! This thought filled her body with exhilaration. She hugged herself in excitement and shivered. When she lay in bed that night, she closed her eyes and thought about the next day, smiling.
In the morning, the closer she got to the beach, the more eager she felt. She parked her car in the place she had the previous days, but Sebastian wasn’t waiting for her this time. At first she tried to tell herself that maybe she was just a little bit early, and that surely he would be there soon. But as ten minutes turned to twenty and then thirty, she had to admit that it didn’t look as if he was going to come.
She was so disappointed. She took her beach towel and walked over toward the cove where they had been the day before and sat down. By then it was midday and he was still not there. She started to get worried and by the afternoon she was totally consumed with dreadful thoughts. Maybe Sebastian did have a serious girlfriend. Maybe he was not interested in her at all. Maybe the last three days had just been a short, beautiful, but foolish dream. Tears filled her eyes and her heart felt an empty ache, a physical churning, as if it would break. How could she have been such a fool? To think that he would feel the same way she had in the three short days that they had known each other. How could someone like him fall for someone like her?
She sat there, unable to move, and tried to reason with herself. She reminded herself that she really didn’t know him at all. Finally, she decided it was time to get up and make her way home. As she began to move, she felt the weight of sadness overwhelming her.
“Hello there!” a familiar voice said. All the bad thoughts that had been flooding her head disappeared the moment she heard his voice. She spun around and it took all the strength she had to keep from running to him and throwing her arms around his beautiful body.
She smiled a wide smile that made it completely clear that his presence was the only thing she had been waiting for that whole day.
“I’m so sorry for being late,” he said. “Something came up and I couldn’t get away.” He sighed as his gaze fixed on her. “Did you miss me?” he whispered.
Yes! she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she just nodded.
He walked right up to her with that amazing smile, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close. The hot sensation that rippled through Sebastian stirred him painfully and he pulled her even closer. Arielle stopped breathing.
He tried desperately to suppress his eager desire, but that was difficult; he was utterly captivated by her very existence. “I couldn’t wait to see you again,” he murmured eagerly.
He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face toward his, his eyes piercing straight through her eyes, and there it was again. She could feel her heart hammering, pulverizing her chest, so loudly that she was sure he could hear it.
Before she could move, his lips brushed against the side of her face, down her neck and across her collarbone, leaving a hot sensation in its path. Her head fell back, her eyes closed, and as he stopped at the hollow of her throat she stopped breathing and she heard him moan softly. His hand pulled her head toward him and his lips moved against her
s with a desire that was more powerful than anything she had ever known. She returned his kiss with the same passion, and she felt completely and utterly happy.
“I know that the time I have spent with you is very short and not enough to come to any conclusions,” he said. “However, I’m pretty sure that I’ve been looking for you all my life.” He lowered his voice and stared into her eyes without dazzling her, and she was thankful for that. She still couldn’t help thinking that he was a figment of her imagination. He couldn’t possibly be real. Could he? He certainly didn’t look real. Nobody she had ever seen before was even half as handsome as he was. Please don’t go away, she thought to herself, her pulse still pounding her veins.
“I’m not going anywhere, Arielle,” he murmured.
She pressed her lips together, feeling extremely stressed and embarrassed. She didn’t realize that she had said those words out loud again. He was watching her carefully.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said in a low voice, barely audible. How could she ever make this work? The following week they were leaving for Brighton, and in three weeks school would start. But she knew she had to see him again.
“Sebastian,” she said. “My parents are having an adieu party this Sunday for all their friends, and I would like to invite you to be my date…if that’s something you would like to do.” His arms pulled her tighter against his body. He bent down and covered her lips softly one more time and accepted her invitation without moving his lips away from hers.
It was late at night when he finally walked her to her car. He opened the door for her but he didn’t let her get in. Instead he leaned against the car and pulled her close. She was happy to fall into his arms again, and his kiss made her weak and she stopped breathing. He kissed her deeply, and her mind lost all connection to reality. I should really have more restraint, she thought, and chuckled thinking about it, but it was too late. He already knew she couldn’t stand being away from him.
She didn’t want to let go of him, and she didn’t want the magical moment to end, but she also knew that if she didn’t get home sometime soon her father would come looking for her.
“Arielle,” she heard him saying, “I have to take care of some personal business, and I’ll not be here for the next two days. But I’ll be back in time for your party.”
Her face fell, her lips pressed together, and a cold feeling came over her. She didn’t like the idea of not seeing him for two whole days. It seemed that the whole purpose of her being there now was so that she could be close to him. What would she ever do while he was gone? This is crazy, she thought. She had only known him for four days! Why should his absence be so upsetting to her?
He noticed the change in her and whispered, “I’ll be back before you know it.”
His lips brushed softly against her ear and she shivered. He moved his lips slowly, softly, and when he reached her lips the kiss turned hot and fervent. Her knees buckled, and if not for his tight embrace she would have dropped to the ground. He chuckled as he steadied her within his arms. He seemed reluctant to let her go, but eventually he did.
“Please think of me, and try to miss me.”
Try to miss him? What a silly statement, she thought. She missed him already and he wasn’t even gone yet.
She drove away with a heavy heart. She wasn’t happy about not being able to see him for the next two days, but he was coming back. And he was coming to their party! These thoughts made her smile with a sense of contentment deeper and more perfect than any she had ever known.
When she got home she found her parents sitting at the dinner table, engaged in a pleasant conversation. As she entered the room they both looked up and smiled.
“Hi, pumpkin,” her father said happily.
“Hi, Daddy,” Arielle replied, walking over to him and planting a kiss on his forehead.
“Did you have a nice time?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you, Daddy, it was great!”
Her mother straightened in her chair and asked, “Are you going to eat dinner with us?”
“No thank you, Mummy, I’m not very hungry.” She walked around the table and gave her mother a hug.
“Good night!” she said softly, smiling at both of them. She felt an urge to run upstairs but she calmly walked to the fridge, picked up a cold bottle of water and climbed the stairs slowly.
After she had taken a shower and gotten ready for bed she realized that she had been unable to wipe the smile of blissfulness off her face. Heat coursed through her veins as she remembered his lips moving against hers with hunger and passion. She walked across the room, took her journal out of the dresser, and climbed into bed. She held the pen in her hand and closed her eyes, wanting to bring back into her mind every vivid moment, to feel his embrace and feel the warmth of his lips on hers. She took a deep breath and sighed. Warmth enveloped her as the pen started to glide across the empty page.
August 2
I must admit that I never expected tonight to reveal emotions that have become so palpable in the last three days. I can hardly comprehend the excitement and the sensation that Sebastian has unleashed in my life. I’m very sure that I have found the man that fits the imprint in my mind. He’s perfect, he’s beautiful, and unbelievably sexy. I’ve found my Darcy, and I’m falling in love. I can still sense his sensuous lips on mine and I can feel the warmth of his embrace.
I was afraid that I might never experience such a feeling, but when he comes near me, my whole body quivers with excitement. I never had emotions that could rock me to my very core. His touch makes my heart pound in my chest, and his emerald eyes make me breathless. I feel a million butterflies invade my stomach when he talks to me. I’m so happy to be alive and I can’t imagine even one moment of my life without him. I know he is “the one,” I can feel it in my bones. I want to be with him every moment of the day, and I feel empty and miserable every time we separate. My heart will never be the same again. I want to share my life with him with a need that tears at me. I have leaped into this amazing feeling with both feet and now I must find out what lies beyond.
Arielle put down the pen and closed her journal. She slipped it under her pillow and lay down. Sebastian’s touch had roused a seductive desire in her that was so profound she nearly shuddered. Then sleep claimed her in the midst of her wild thoughts.
Chapter 10
AS SEBASTIAN STOOD and watched Arielle drive away, loneliness consumed him. He didn’t move at all until her car was completely out of sight. His head was spinning, and he was totally overwhelmed with excitement.
Her body was so magnificent, and he could still taste her sensuous lips. He didn’t want to tell her that he had been watching her lying on that beach for two months before he finally found the strength to approach her. He didn’t want to tell her that he was completely mesmerized by her very existence.
Just the thought of holding her in his arms filled him with a feeling of complete exhilaration. His body burned with anticipation just looking into her eyes. Obsession.
He chuckled at the thought of the confusion that had spread across her beautiful face when he had released on her all of his dazzling power. Arielle was a completely open book in his eyes. He could read every thought she had, and he was elated to find out that she wanted him. In fact, she was crazy about him, and his body ached for her.
For centuries he had walked the earth looking for the girl of his dreams. He had waited for so long that he was starting to believe that it would never happen for him, and now it had. She was the girl he wanted to be with for eternity. He felt a warm feeling taking him over as he turned and walked to his car.
It was getting dark and the streets were empty. The weather was damp and he could feel a light mist. He pressed on the gas pedal and before long the lights of the town disappeared in his rearview mirror. As he pulled into the garage he knew that this was going to be a long night.
He had an early flight for London the next morning, but tha
t was not his biggest concern. In his mind he was trying to resolve a couple of important issues that he was facing. He knew he had to tell Arielle who he was – and what he was. This seemed to be an impossible task. What if she didn’t accept the truth and just walked away?
The other issue was Annabel. She was his major nightmare for as far back as he could remember. He had married her in 1577, but it was an arranged marriage and it was a disaster from the start. The annulment was final in 1579, but Annabel had never accepted the separation. She was furious about Sebastian’s rejection of her and had vowed revenge.
She never interfered in the short, unimportant affairs he had been involved in through the years. And there had been quite a few of those. There were a couple of women he had dated centuries ago for longer periods of time – Savanna for three years and Julia for almost five years – but to Sebastian they were just affairs, nothing more. To Savanna and Julia, it was more serious. They had been in love with Sebastian. When he moved on, they were both bitter and in the mood for revenge.
As the years passed, the importance of getting Annabel completely out of his life was never on the top of his list. But the picture had changed a couple of months ago, when he had noticed Arielle lying on the beach.
At first he thought she was just another beautiful girl, but every day he found himself being drawn to the same spot on the beach, only to watch her from a distance. A strange awareness began to take over his whole existence, and he was completely unfamiliar with this new sensation. She was like a magnet that kept pulling him toward her, and he had no power to resist. He spent nights lying awake, trying to understand what was happening to him. He remembered the day she hadn’t shown up and the sharp pain that swept through his bones when he thought she might not return again. He was completely confused by this, not being able to accept the simple fact that he was anxious because he didn’t know where she was, and he had an unbelievably strong urge to see her.
Arielle Immortal Awakening (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 1) Page 10