“Do you think Gabby will win this discussion?” Arielle asked, with her eyes still closed.
“I’m sure Troy will make sure she does win, after he has a little fun with her. And he’ll be sure to make it up to her when we get back,” Sebastian snorted, getting her full attention.
“Oh, really, how?”
Sebastian chuckled, nuzzling her hair once again, but said nothing.
Arielle lifted her head and gazed into his eyes, brushing her lips against his suggestively. “How is he going to make it up to her?” she breathed against his lips, and she heard his sharp intake of air.
“Don’t do that in here,” he scolded her teasingly. “You’re getting me excited and I will not be held responsible for my actions.”
Her eyes widened and she pulled back. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His next move left her breathless. He moved her over to his side and she suddenly found herself sitting between his thighs, with his arms holding her tightly against him.
“Don’t tempt me,” he groaned quietly in her ear, his voice deadly serious.
Arielle opened her mouth, but closed it again, putting a halt to anything she wanted to say. She shifted back to sit fully on the seat, and then she froze abruptly. His excitement was now digging hard into her back and she knew he was serious.
“Oh,” she breathed and tried to ease forward.
“Stop moving,” he hissed.
Arielle looked back over her shoulder and noticed that Sebastian’s expression had gone tight, his lips in a straight line, his jaw tense, as if he were fighting some invisible war. Slumping back against the headrest, he closed his eyes as he battled the desire that was burning every muscle in his body. He struggled to rein in the compulsion her closeness was generating. Arielle clasped his hands and pressed them softly. His eyes sprang open, green against blue, a mesmerizing mix of colors. She looked… so beautiful. Pulling his hands away from her grip, he snaked them around her, and pulled her close.
“Are you all right?” she asked softly.
“Yes… yes… I… um… I’m fine,” he finally said.
She drew in a breath and smiled, knowing exactly what war Sebastian was fighting. She hesitated for a moment longer and opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it again as her mobile rang, startling her.
She sat up, and digging into the pocket of her jeans, she fished it out. She looked at the screen and saw Paul’s name. “Hey, Paul,” she said joyfully as she pressed the answer button, “How are you? Where are you?”
“I’m back in Brighton and just wondering where everyone is,” he said.
“Well, Troy proposed to Gabrielle last week, and we all decided to spend some time before classes started in the South of France, to celebrate all three engagements.” She slipped off of Sebastian’s lap and took her seat next to him as she listened to Paul’s response. They chatted for a bit longer, and then she hung up.
“Where did Paul go?” Sebastian asked when Arielle was off the phone.
“He was in Cairo with his parents and some friends of theirs.”
“He’s going to be surprised with all the changes that have taken place,” Gabrielle called out from the front seat, putting an end to her conversation with Troy. “I love Paul, he is just a great friend.”
“I feel the same way,” Eva said. Arielle nodded in agreement. Sebastian pressed Arielle’s hand and her gaze snapped back to his beautiful face.
Her eyebrow furrowed quizzically, but before Sebastian could speak, Gabby asked again, “What did he say?”
“Oh, he just wanted to know where we were. He’s back from his holiday and tried to get ahold of us.” Her gaze was still trapped in Sebastian’s.
“What?” she whispered.
“You know how I feel when you think of other guys,” he said in a barely audible voice.
“Don’t be silly,” she said, giving him a scolding look softened with a smile. “Paul was out with Loren, and he wanted us to know that he is just crazy about her.”
“I wonder why Loren hasn’t called me to talk to me about that,” Sebastian said.
“I don’t know, but I’m glad she told me. It shows that she considers me family.”
Sebastian humphed. He looked at her and frowned slightly. Arielle met his gaze firmly and saw a glimmer of reaction cross the green of his eyes.
“Hmm, are you jealous?”
Sebastian looked at her and feigned a frown. After a long pause, he drew a breath and gazed deep into her eyes. “I used to be her confidant,” he said.
Arielle smiled sweetly and ran her thumb across his bottom lip. Sebastian sucked in a breath, and his eyes bored into hers and slowly lowered to her lips. Her breath seized at the lust of his gaze. She wanted to lean over and kiss his gorgeous lips, but she controlled the urge.
“I’m sure you’re still her confidante, but there are some things that are easier to be discussed between girls,” she managed to say.
“I hope she’s not making a mistake again.”
Arielle frowned. “Again?”
Sebastian leaned closer. “I told you before that Loren seems to fall in love with every guy she finds fascinating. At least for a little while, and then she moves on to the next.”
“How interesting.”
“How so?” Sebastian insisted.
“I seem to remember someone saying that same thing about you,” she said, and bit down on her bottom lip, recalling Savanna’s words at her birthday party.
Sebastian grimaced and inwardly frowned, knowing exactly what Arielle was referring to. She felt his sharp gaze and immediately she regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She lifted her eyes to his and, leaning in, she pressed her lips against his. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she said apologetically.
His eyes softened, and reaching over he pulled her into his arms, kissing her hard and passionately.
“You should be,” he murmured. They dropped the subject of Paul and Loren and enjoyed the ride back home.
That night, Arielle woke a couple of times, unsettled by an obscure dream. She knew that she was in some unspecified danger, but she didn’t know how to protect herself. She couldn’t help thinking about Annabel, and a gripping fear took over her. She managed to sit upright, pressed her lips together, and wrapped her arms around her body, trying to stop her teeth from rattling. Panic was growing at an alarming speed, and she couldn’t breathe past the lump that was wedged tightly in her throat.
Sebastian woke up and stared at her in sheer shock. He gathered her in his arms, but she couldn’t stop from shaking.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he murmured, but Arielle didn’t have the strength to reply. He turned the night light on and looked at her terrified expression in disbelief.
“My God, Arielle, you look awful! What’s wrong?” He waited patiently for her to find her voice.
“Annabel,” was all she could manage.
He jumped out of bed and brought a towel over to her. “You are completely wet, I think you need to get in the shower. Can you do that?”
She nodded. He picked her up and carried her into the shower. He held her in his arms while he turned the hot water on and let it run over both of them until he could feel her relaxing a bit. He held her close as she looked into his eyes.
“Arielle, I’m here, baby. How could you ever think that I would let anything happen to you?” She just clung to him, trying to conquer her fear. Seconds turned into minutes and time ticked by slowly while they hung onto each other. Finally, he looked down at her face and saw that her expression had started to relax. He turned the water off, wrapped her in a large bath towel, and carried her to bed.
Arielle drew a deep breath and moved closer to his warm body, and his arms enveloped her protectively. He held her tight until her breathing slowed, and she fell deeply asleep. Sebastian’s lips curved into a smile. She was so beautiful. Pleasure surged through his body as he gathered her even closer and closed his eyes. She was
his—his to love, his to protect.
They did a lot of exploring during the next week. One day, they found an old house on the other end of St. Jean de Luz. It looked almost as old as the Gaulle residence, but this one was open to visitors. Arielle had the strange feeling that Sebastian was familiar with the family. However, he said nothing to the others, and she didn’t ask him anything in front of them.
This house was like a medieval castle, built at the edge of a cliff clearly of Norman design. The beauty of the bay was before them, and they could hear the gentle whisper of the water as it washed against the rocks. The house towered above the sea like a gigantic rectangle of gray stone. There was a strange sense of arrogance that seemed to hang in the air, and you could not help but feel it as you stood in the courtyard.
The house looked like a fortress that could withstand the sea and the weather that battered against the walls through the centuries. Blue velvet curtains hung at every window, and the view from inside was as breathtaking as it was outside. The cliffs looked scary and uninviting, and the smell of the sea filled the rooms, as did the gentle whisper of the sea. Intricate chandeliers were filled with real candles, and you could close your eyes and imagine how the candle glow would brighten the darkness during the long winter nights. The beautiful furniture was exquisitely arranged.
“You don’t seem to enjoy being in this house,” Arielle whispered to Sebastian.
“I don’t,” he said.
“Did you know the owners?”
“I did. I didn’t like him then, and I don’t like him now.”
“He is an immortal?” she asked, eyes wide open.
“Yes, but he doesn’t live here anymore.
“Oh…” her voice trailed. “Is this the man that stole your father’s property?”
Sebastian nodded. “I detest everything about this house.”
Arielle said no more. She knew that he was thinking about their earlier conversation. She remembered the pain in his eyes and how much it hurt him to talk about it.
He shook away the bad thoughts, and clasping Arielle’s hand, walked toward the car. “So, what do you think of this side of St Jean de Luz?” Sebastian asked the others.
“It’s one of the most enchanted places I’ve ever seen,” said Troy. “Thanks so much for bringing us here!” As they all agreed enthusiastically with Troy, Sebastian looked happy again.
The rest of the time flew by, with days spent at the beach, in the village, horseback riding, exploring the area, and having one superb meal after another. Sebastian and Arielle were blissfully happy. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be with him forever. He was so tender and so loving, all she wanted to do was love him back. He was her dream come true, her Mr. Darcy! And wonderfully enough, they hadn’t had another sighting of Annabel.
When they had been there for six days, Arielle decided to stay home one day and read her book while the others went horseback riding. Sebastian didn’t miss the contemplative expression on her face and the way her fingers brushed her necklace.
“Are you sure, baby?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“Yes, go ahead. I’ll be all right, I’m just a little tired.”
Sebastian went to look for Mrs. Wilson. She was in the kitchen looking over the dinner menu.
“Sebastian, what is it?”
“We are going horseback riding and Arielle has decided to stay home. Please keep an eye on her, will you?” he said, giving her a meaningful look.
“Don’t worry, Sebastian, I’ll look after her,” she smiled.
Chapter 6
ARIELLE TOOK HER BOOK AND HER JOURNAL and made her way to the garden. She sat on the wooden bench under a tree and let her gaze drink in the beauty of the view around her. Her lips curved in pleasure as her mind absorbed the stillness in the air. She watched several singing birds make their way between the trees. Her eyes followed the beautiful butterflies that lingered over the myriad colorful blooms.
Her eyes fell on the huge fountain that occupied the very center of this amazing garden and made it a piece of heaven. She narrowed her eyes against the brightness of the sunlight that illuminated the water with its beams, turning it into a million sparkling diamonds and sending them to disappear, along with the sun’s rays, into the fountain basin. She closed her eyes, letting her ears enjoy the soothing sound of the flowing water. She smiled.
Turning her attention to the books in her arms, she decided to first write a few pages in her diary. It had been a long time since she had done that. This morning seemed to be the perfect time, with everyone out of the house. She set her novel on the bench and, opening her diary to a blank page, she drew a pen out of her pocket. Crossing her right leg over her left, she used her knee to support the open journal as the pen started to glide along the empty page. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was waving gently in the breeze, and her thoughts started to formulate on paper.
June 10
St Jean de Luz
I have missed talking with you. You have been my trustworthy friend for as long as I can remember. The last time we spoke was December of last year, right after Sebastian came home from New Zealand. I have thought about sitting down and putting my thoughts into your pages, but this year, school has been very challenging for me. And then there is Sebastian! What can I say about the man of my dreams, the man that turned my world upside down and has stolen my heart and soul? I’m absolutely crazy about him. I don’t seem to be able to want anything more than to spend every waking moment with Sebastian. There are so many things that I want to say, things that have changed my life in every way possible. Nothing is the same as it used to be. Most of the changes are great, and then some are quite bad.
I want to talk about the good things first. My life has become an unbelievable dream. Sebastian is the most amazing man, and I love him with every fiber of my being. I have fallen into the habit of not wanting to think about anything else in my life beyond him. He has consumed my life with his existence, and the funny thing is that he does not even try to. He proposed last Christmas Eve, and now I have a beautiful ring on my finger to remind me every single moment of every day that I belong to him, and that I am smack in the middle of this amazing dream. We haven’t set a date, even though Sebastian wants to get married right now, but I’m thinking it will be sometime next year after I’m finished with school.
Right now, we are on our summer break following the completion of the first semester in our senior year. Happiness has come for Eva and Gabby as well. They are both engaged to two wonderful guys that have become good friends with Sebastian. Even Paul has found his true love, in Sebastian’s sister, and that is even more amazing. I love them both dearly.
Sebastian and I bought our dream home by the ocean and we just love it. Being with him is not the kind of life I am used to. I feel like one of these days I will wake up and everything that I have come to love will disappear in a cloud of dust. I am overwhelmed with a mixture of feelings. Feelings of completion, fulfillment, contentment, and then suddenly a horrible feeling that all I have is a dream, and it creeps inside of me and bleeds into my bones and shatters my world.
I am not sure how I was the lucky one to capture Sebastian’s love. It is hard to believe that his heart doesn’t beat any longer because he is the most thoughtful and the most giving person I know. There is almost nothing in this world that I want more than I want him.
My father is doing well, but I can see that he is getting tired a lot more often than he used to. He and my mother took a trip to Africa, and they had a lot of fun.
But oh, dear diary, believe me, all has not been great. Annabel has discovered that Sebastian and I are truly in love and she has gathered an army of her crazy immortal friends to terrify me. They have tried to kill me three times now, and two out of the three times I got badly hurt. I know she is not going to stop trying to kill me. What she and the other women really want is for Sebastian to be miserable for eternity, however long that is.
Sometim
es, I do think about having children, but I know that being with Sebastian, it is something that I will have to live without. The thought does make me sad, but it is outweighed by the thought of being without Sebastian. I can’t imagine a moment of my life without him, because I can’t breathe without him. Sebastian is what I want, who I want. There are many times that I imagine my home filled with children that look exactly as beautiful as he does, and it makes me happy and sad at the same time.
Arielle stopped writing for a moment. Her lips lifted wistfully and her gaze lingered over the lines in her journal for a long moment, as she was lost in thought, lost in his image.
Well, we are back at St. Jean for the summer holiday with Eva, Gabby, Troy, and Ian. It is so wonderful being here with Sebastian, and being part of his amazing home and his amazing family history. The thought that this castle is now mine, it’s not something I can fathom. It will take a long time to believe that any of his vast riches have anything to do with me. All I want is him and him alone.
His touch is like electricity, it hits every nerve in my body, making me want a lot more than his touch. I don’t ever remember being this way, and by that I mean having this kind of need for a man’s touch, or a man’s love. I want to get lost in his arms, and I want our lovemaking to last for hours. Every time we make love I feel like together we are in a totally different universe, one in which no other person exists, just me and Sebastian alone. How crazy is that?
Well, we have a few days left and then we are on our way back to Brighton for the last semester. Oh, I did forget to tell you that Annabel did show up for a short moment again when we went horseback riding, and she did succeed in frightening me, but we have not seen her since. I do hope that this was the last time for a very long time.
Arielle Immortal Passion (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 3) Page 7