Arielle Immortal Awakening (10 page)

“Yes, I try to come here every day,” she said.

“Well, maybe I’ll see you again, then,” he said. His voice was mesmerizing and had the effect of setting off waves of passion in her every time he spoke.

“Maybe…” she said, thinking,
What in the world is wrong with me? Why can’t I just tell him that I’m dying to see him again?”

But she didn’t.

How she wished that he had asked her to stay! But he just stood there and watched her get into her car and drive away. She looked in her rearview mirror, thinking that this had to be a dream. No real person could be as beautiful as he was, but he was still standing there, watching her until she couldn’t see him any longer.

“Oh my God!” she said aloud, suddenly. She had forgotten to ask his name! She was pretty disappointed about that. All she knew was the vision of his beautiful existence, but she had no name to call him by.

Arielle had the strong feeling that she had found the man of her dreams. She wanted him so much, she felt she would give anything to keep him for the rest of her life. He was her private magical vision, her desire like none other, the man she had been waiting for! How could someone so beautiful, so unbelievably gorgeous, exist in real life? She tried to control her thoughts, and she felt that she was not really herself any longer, but someone living in a dream.

She went to bed that night barely able to sleep and kept looking at the clock, waiting for morning to arrive so that she could run down to the beach and hopefully see him again. Finally she fell asleep, but her dreams were nothing like she thought they should have been. She dreamed about him, but instead of dreaming about the desire to be with him in her dreams, she was afraid - in fact, nearly petrified - by his existence. She was trying to run away from him. She wasn’t able to move while he was gaining on her, and she was terrified.

She woke up trembling, her heart was racing, and her camisole was drenched in sweat. She sat up in bed and tried to remember the details of her dream, but she couldn’t. She felt fear and shivered all over while a cold feeling ran through her body. How strange it all was!

She shook her head as she laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

“How strange,”
she mumbled again. Why in the world would she have such a dreadful dream following the magical time she had had with the most beautiful person she had ever seen? Eventually she drifted back to sleep, and when she opened her eyes her room was full of sunlight.

Chapter 9

N
ow that she was awake all she wanted to do was to be close to him. She picked up a croissant on her way out the door, and drove to the same spot where she had parked yesterday. She was praying that he would be there. Sure enough, when she opened the door of her car, there he stood, waiting for her, lips curved into a mesmerizing smile. Could this be real?

He looked glorious! He looked so beautiful she wanted to touch him to make sure he was not a mirage. She smiled at him, avoiding looking directly into his eyes, remembering her reaction from yesterday. His beautiful lips were once again curved into that magnificent smile of his. Heat surged through her veins, and it was as if, for Arielle, the whole rest of the world disappeared.

“Good morning,” he said in that soft, mind-blowing voice. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” she lied. “I slept quite well, thank you. And what about you?”

“No, not so well,” he replied.

They walked together down to the same cove where they had met yesterday. This time he sat next to her on her beach towel.

“I thought about you all night,” he said. Then he added, “I can’t believe that after all these years and after all the time I’ve spent on this beach and in this town, this is the first time I’ve laid eyes on you. What a waste of time!”

She smiled, pleased, and thought of how embarrassing it would be to tell him how she had felt in the short time she had spent with him yesterday.

They fell to talking easily. But she had to find out his name before she forgot to ask again. Just at the moment she was thinking this, she was completely startled to hear him say, “My name is Sebastian, Sebastian Gaulle.”

It sounded precisely as if he were answering the question in her mind; but how would he know what her question even was?

Sebastian! What a beautiful name
, she thought to herself.

By now she was wondering if there was anything about Sebastian that she wouldn’t like. She wanted to find out a few things about him, and she had to do it before the day was over. She didn’t want to leave him again without knowing anything more about him.

“I think you said you are here a large part of the year,” she said. “Is this your holiday place as well?”

“I live here most of the time, but not always,” he replied.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven,” he said with a muffled chuckle, “And no, I’m not married,” he added.

She looked startled.

“I sensed this would have been your next question, am I right?” He was smiling again, his smile lighting up his beautiful face.

“No, I don’t think I was going to…” she started to say. Then suddenly she realized that he was right. That
was
going to be her very next question. All of a sudden her heart began to race. Was he able to read her mind? “
No, that can’t be possible
, she thought to herself. She smiled, thinking it had to be just a lucky guess on his part.

“So, you are twenty years old?” he asked in his mesmerizing voice.

“Yes,” she replied. “But I’m going to be twenty-one in a couple of months.”

“Are you in school?”

“Yes, I attend the University of Brighton. I’ve one semester left of my junior year, and I’m really looking forward to next year.”

“Try to enjoy your time in the university,” he said thoughtfully. “I think life becomes a little more complicated once you’re out of school.”

“Well, I’ve one more year to go before I’m out of school,” she laughed happily.

He laughed along with her and added, “I’m sure you’ll be excited when you get to the end of the road.”

“Well, I guess I’m anxious to find out what the future holds for me once I’m out of school,” she said. “But right now all I can think of is getting back and finishing the last semester of this year.”

Sebastian seemed to be enjoying the conversation. He kept smiling and nodding, wanting her to go on and on.

“Is Brighton home, or is it just the location of your school?” he asked.

“We live in Brighton.”

He was quiet for a few minutes and then he said. “I’ll not be happy to see you go. Now that I’ve found you I’d really like to get to know you better.” He sighed, a rueful grin on his gorgeous face.

It was getting late and she had to get back home. She didn’t want the day to end but she tried to look calm and cool as she stood up, picked up her beach towel, and started to walk towards her car. He walked with her as he had the day before.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” he asked as he held her car door open for her.

“Yes,” she answered as she slipped into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll see you then,” he said. His voice was warm.

“Okay,” she replied, trying to keep a jubilant smile from taking over her face. What pleasure, to know that this beautiful man wanted to see her again! She looked in her rearview mirror again as she drove off and he had not moved an inch. As before, he stood there watching her until she couldn’t see him anymore.

Back at home, she couldn’t stop thinking of him, not even for a moment. Sebastian was simply the most amazing person she had ever met. She couldn’t wait for the next morning to come so she could run down to the beach and see him again. That night she drifted off to sleep in utter bliss.

The next morning she woke up early and ran downstairs to have breakfast with her parents. She told them she would be spending the day at the beach with friends, and that she might be a little late coming home. She jumped into her car, unable to stand the excitement of what this day would hold for her.

As she arrived at the beach she could see that he was there waiting for her, looking like the most beautiful human being she had ever seen. Once again they walked together to her favorite cove and shared her beach towel.

Their conversation drifted to various subjects, but there was only one thing she wanted to know, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She wanted to ask him if he had anyone special in his life. She was a little embarrassed to ask, so she kept silent, thinking that it would probably come up sooner or later.

Finally he reached over, put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up to face him. His touch was warm and inviting. He stared into her eyes, and it happened all over again. Her body grew hot, her breath halted in her throat, her heart raced, and she stopped breathing. She wondered if she would ever get used to this type of reaction. His lips curved up into a wonderful smile that filled her body with a strange desire.

“So, what were you going to ask me?” he said. “You look like you want to ask me something.”

She was trying to catch her breath. Finally she just came out with it.

“You told me that you aren’t married, but I was wondering if you have someone special in your life,” she murmured shyly.

“No, I don’t have anyone special in my life,” he said “And that has been entirely my choice.”

“What do you mean, entirely your choice?”

He gazed deep into her eyes without dazzling her this time and he took a deep breath before he answered.

“I’ve been looking for that special someone for a very long time,” he said. Then he added, “I want to feel just as Darcy did when he found his special someone in Liz Bennet.”

Arielle was thunderstruck. She couldn’t believe she had heard him right. She pursed her lips and repressed a shocked sound that was ready to burst out of her mouth as she looked back at him, stunned. This was just too coincidental, and it was the second such incident in two days’ time.

She started to get very nervous now. If he could read her mind, then he already knew that she was crazy about him. He knew that she thought it was love at first sight.
Oh God
, she thought to herself,
please don’t let it be true. If he can see inside my head he will know that right now I feel so embarrassed that I would rather die than have him know my thoughts.
Her face must have appeared exactly as she felt because she heard him take a deep breath again and she saw a slight smile on his lips.

Her eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched, and she prepared herself to manage his dazzling gaze before she peered deep into his eyes warily.

His brows slowly rose, inquiringly. “What?” he said, the smile never leaving his face.

“How…why…” she stammered, thoroughly confused.

“How…why…what?” he repeated, that smile now permanently fixed on his magnificent face.

Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at him again. She was still in doubt, but she was almost sure that he could read her mind.

“What made you refer to Darcy and Liz Bennet just now?”

“Why do you ask?” he replied.

Her voice came out firmly now. “Sebastian, I want to know why it is that you brought up Liz Bennet.”

“Well that’s pretty simple to explain,” he said. “It’s because
Pride and Prejudice
is one of my favorite love stories. Someone like Liz Bennet would be the perfect partner for me.”

She stared at him with her eyes stretched wide open, utterly stunned as he continued.

“I want to feel exactly like Darcy did about the girl that I will spend the rest of my life with. Are you familiar with the story?” he asked.

“Am I familiar!” she exclaimed, clapping her hand over her mouth, still in shock. “Sebastian! That is my most favorite story. I’ve read it over and over again. I want to feel the same way Elizabeth did about Darcy. I have turned down numerous requests for dates, because I’ve always been looking for Darcy. I know that’s a bit crazy, but, well, that’s just me.” She was laughing now, not sure why she was saying all those things to him.

“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.”