Arielle Immortal Awakening (20 page)

He sat back on the bed, picked up his mobile phone, and pressed her number.

Her phone rang before she was even awake.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Arielle! Did I wake you up?”

“No,” she lied.

“What were you doing?” he asked softly and eagerly.

“I was lying here just thinking of you,” she said with a chuckle.

“I was doing the same thing, so I thought I should call you.”

“I’m so happy to hear your voice first thing in the morning.”

“How would you like to spend the day with the man who loves you more than you could ever dream of?”

“I would like that very much, but he hasn’t called yet. I’m waiting for his call,” she said and burst out laughing. He joined in, and they laughed together happily.

“What time do you want me to pick you up?”

“How about in a couple of hours? I need to take a shower, have some breakfast, and get ready. How about around eleven? Is that good?”

“I am not sure I can wait that long, but I guess I will just have to make it until then,” he said.

Before he hung up he whispered, “Miss me.”

Chapter 16

S
he was halfway into the shower when the phone in the flat rang and she ran to pick it up. It was Gabrielle.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I’m with Troy and I won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

“Does Eva have plans for the whole weekend too?” Arielle asked, trying not to sound too concerned about the response. But she was really hoping the answer would be yes.

“Yes, she is spending the weekend with her mum, and she has a date for tonight. I don’t know the details. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Gabrielle said, giggling.

“A date? Eva? Are you sure?”

“Well, like I said, I’ve no details. But that’s what she said.”

“Now that I think about it, she called me and told me she needed to talk to me about something, but we never got around to it,” Arielle said. “Do you think she found a new guy?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure will find out,” Gabby said.

“All right, Gabby, I’ll see you later.” Arielle hung up the phone and smiled, thinking of Eva’s refrain every time she and Gabby talked about guys. She always had such a serious look on her face, and she always repeated the same words over and over again:
“I don’t have a love life. There’s nobody here for me. I will die an old maid.”

Arielle laughed out loud now, thinking about her friend as she tried to pick out a nice outfit for her date with Sebastian. She wanted to look really special. After all, this would be their first official date. She smiled to herself, feeling utterly pleased. She took a warm shower, and she was getting ready to dry her hair when she heard the doorbell and ran to open the door. There he stood, more beautiful than ever. His magnificent lips were curved up into that amazing smile that drove her right out of her mind! He was devastatingly handsome, and for a moment once again she was speechless.

“Good morning! Am I too early?” he asked.

Her eyes were full of excitement, and without hesitation she reached toward him and pulled him inside.

“No, not at all, I’m almost rea…”

But before she could finish her sentence she was in his arms. His body felt warm and all she wanted to do was stay right where they were and let him kiss her for hours. She could never get tired of his soft, exciting lips. She had dreamed about them, she had dreamed about every part of him. And now it was real! “Do you know how hard it is for me to be away from you?” he whispered, his lips still touching hers. She swallowed hard and kissed him back.

“Your hair is dripping wet and you look so
beautiful
,” he said, reaching up and pushing her hair away from her face. “Are your roommates here?”

“Not right now. They are both away for the weekend,” she said. She invited him to follow her and wait in her room while she was getting ready.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m very sure,” she said, tugging on his shirt, amused by his hesitation. He followed her to her room. She proceeded to blow-dry her hair and brush her teeth as he looked around the room.

“It’s lovely,” he said as he moved to the window and gazed out.

“Not a great view!” she laughed. Her window looked into a courtyard surrounded by flats.

“It’s not that bad. It’s a college atmosphere, you shouldn’t expect too much,” he said. “Have you moved all your stuff?”

“I’ve moved most of my music, clothes, and books. I still have a lot at home, but I’m not sure if I’ll bring everything here. I do spend quite a lot of time at home as well. The flat is very close to the house, so if I need something I can always just go get it.”

She finished brushing her hair, and as she came out of the bathroom she saw him bending over and picking up the book that was still lying open on the bed. He looked up at her, a wide grin on his face.

“
Pride and Prejudice?
It would seem to me that you must know this book by heart by now.”

“I do, but I still love it. I like to read it every now and then.”

“So, have you found your Darcy?” he asked her, glancing at her with a sweet, shy smile.

She walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and looked straight into his eyes even though she knew the reaction that would create for her. Her heart stopped as she pressed her mouth on the curve of his lips. She wanted to breathe in his scent, taste him as deeply as she could. Heat was radiating off of him and her heart picked up speed. He leaned closer, brushing his lips against her ear, and she found herself struggling to breathe. She flinched as she felt her body nearly overriding her mind, and she pulled back. “You don’t have to ask me anymore,” she said. “I know you can read my mind, so you know that I have.”

“Arielle, I need to hear it from your lips.”

“I missed you,” she murmured.

“Show me,” he whispered.

All the emotions that she had tried to keep in check up until now burst out of her as she pulled him closer, pressing her lips against his sensuous lips down the side of his neck, back up to his gorgeous mouth until she couldn’t breathe anymore. Sebastian ached with desire for her and it took all of his strength to resist the urge to tear her clothes off.

“Mmmm!” he moaned. His kiss became more and more passionate until suddenly he pulled away.

“I think we’d better be going,” he said, “before I lose control of myself.”

They went outside and he held the car door open for her. She got in, thrilled with the thought of spending the whole day with this beautiful man.

He drove to Hove Park, where he parked close to the beach.

“I thought we could take a walk,” he said. He reached over and gently pushed a wisp of hair away from her eyes.

“Yes, I love the beach,” she said.

They walked quietly along the beach holding hands. Their feet dug into the warm sand and they felt perfectly content. The sun was bright, and a light breeze touched their faces. The waves rolled softly, folded, and broke with a light murmur, kissing the warm sand. The beach extended for a few long miles down the road, and they couldn’t see the end of it.

After a little while they found a spot on the beach that looked private and they sat down. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“Arielle,” he said, “we must talk about Annabel. And we have to do it today because I am leaving tomorrow. I need to talk to you about her, and then there will be no more secrets.”

“Well, I can’t say that this is my favorite subject,” she said. “But I do need to know what she’s doing in your life and why you can’t make her go away.”

Sebastian sighed a deep sigh. Then he took her hands in his, sighing again.

“The reason I missed your parents’ party is that I needed to be in London,” he said. “I wanted to meet with the woman who has been my mother since I lost my own parents centuries ago. Her name is Olivia Dillon and she is a very powerful woman. She has the answers to my problems almost all the time. She is helping me now to find a way to get rid of Annabel forever.”

“Your mother lives in London?” she exclaimed.

“No, she lives in Canterbury, not far from Brighton.”

“That is incredible! How come you never told me about her before?”

“It never came up before now,” he said. Then he looked at her seriously, adding, “The situation with Annabel is very dangerous, Arielle. She will try to hurt you if she finds out about us, and she will find out sooner or later.”

“What do you mean, hurt me?” Arielle asked nervously. She felt a sudden rush of fear course though her body. Immediately Eva’s words of warning came back to her and her face grew tense. She could hear Eva’s words again clearly, as if she were standing right next to her. “You are in grave danger,” she had said. Oh my God she was right! Maybe Annabel was the woman that Eva had been seeing in her visions.

How was she going to deal with this? How was she going to fight an immortal? She was just a mere mortal with no special powers, no ability to protect herself from someone like Annabel.

As he continued to speak, Sebastian’s words only compounded her fear.

“She is willing to seriously hurt anyone who becomes part of my life,” he said. “She vowed to do that when our annulment went through.”

“Sebastian, you’re scaring me,” she said. Her voice was calm but her head was full of anxious thoughts.

“You need to take this seriously,” he replied. “I have always been aware of Annabel’s fury and her promise to hurt any person that I fall in love with. But I have never felt true love for any woman until I met you. Now I’m very worried, and I have to do all I can to keep you safe. Olivia suggested a solution that seems to be the best idea for now,” he added.

“Oh? And what is that?”

“She is the owner of a very special necklace — it has extraordinary powers — and she is giving it to you,” he said. “You will have to wear it at all times.”

As he spoke, he handed her a small black pouch, which she took with a wondering mind. The necklace inside was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen. The blue stone was magnificent and the chain shimmered like sparkling sunlight. She smiled with pleasure and asked him to put it around her neck.

“Is this really going to protect me?” she asked. “How exactly does it work?”

“The stone is very powerful,” Sebastian replied. “It belonged to an Egyptian pharaoh centuries ago. It was known to keep evil spells away from the owner of the necklace, and now that is you. Everything you need to know is in this little black book,” he said, handing her the book. “You’ll need to keep it in a safe place. This is not something you can play around with.”

Arielle nodded solemnly as he spoke. Of course she was completely aware of spell books and their powers because of Eva’s interest in the occult.

“Please make sure you never take this necklace off while you are away from me,” Sebastian said. “When you wear it Annabel is weak and she can’t touch you.”

She was silent for a long moment as he watched her anxiously, waiting for her reaction. She ran her fingers over the necklace and assured him that it would stay on her neck for as long as he wanted her to wear it. Then, without a word, he pulled her into his arms again and kissed her tenderly.

“I love you, Arielle,” he whispered. “I’m not sure how I will be able to live without you for the next few months. I’ll call you and I’ll try to visit as often as I can. And next year, I’ll move here.”

“Move here?”

He laughed out loud, thinking how crazy it was for him to attend college yet again, just to be near her, but he didn’t say anything. He just pushed her softly down onto the sand and laid his head on top of her chest.

With his beautiful body next to hers she closed her eyes, feeling his warmth, his love, and his sizzling touch. She ran her fingers through his beautiful hair, and as she did, she felt as though they were becoming one body and one soul. They stayed on the beach for hours like that, just holding each other, not wanting to move. But finally it was time to break the silence.

“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” she asked.

“At 2:00.”

“I want to come with you,” she said. “I’ll drive you to the airport.”

“If that’s what you want, then that is what we will do,” he murmured, nestling even closer to her.

It was late when they finally decided to stand up. The feel of his body against hers made her tremble. Waves of heat shot through her: she wrapped her arms around his neck and their lips met with fervor. She was afraid that if she closed her eyes he might just disappear. She didn’t want him to leave the next day; she was so afraid something might happen, that he would never come back.

Reading her thoughts, he pulled her even closer, wanting to reassure her that everything was going to be all right.

“What are you thinking, Arielle?” he asked with a low chuckle.

“Sebastian, why do you keep asking?”

“Tell me what you’re thinking. I want to hear you say it.”

So she told him about her fears. He smiled wide. “There is nothing on this earth that will keep me away from you, Arielle. Not now, not ever. All I want is to be with you. But we both have to sort through several things before we can be together, don’t you agree?”