Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (6 page)

“The dress…the face…the eyes…” he murmured and grimaced painfully. He raked his fingers through his hair several times, and
turning
his attention back to Arielle, he pinned her with his dark gaze. “The
eyes…the eyes…the eyes…” he repeated over and over again. The darkness in his expression made Arielle recoil.
What in
bloody hell is going on with Sebastian?

A stony silence fell between them.

Suddenly, everything in his mind came to a screeching halt. He closed his eyes and focused on an image dominating a sheet of paper
from his memory book. He swayed slowly back and forth. The page
was releasing a powerful image that made his jaw clench and a
strong
sensation surge from the pit of his stomach. It was the vivid image of a
beautiful girl adorned in a gorgeous blue gown, a girl with a porcelain face and the most exquisite blue eyes standing in the middle of a ballroom.

Sebastian drew deep breaths, filling his lungs with gulps of air. His eyes snapped open, and Arielle was completely startled as he moved swiftly toward her with immortal speed. She gasped out loud
as their
bodies touched. His jaw dropped, his eyes flickered, and his face paled. He looked down at her with astonishment. She watched him carefully and tried to step away, but her back was already against
the window.

She hauled in a deep breath and whispered, “Sebastian, please stop it.”

“Arielle…Arielle Young,” he whispered and drew in a raspy
breath. Arielle’s eyes widened, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip.

“I told you…I’ll never forget your eyes.” He paused, searching her face. “You promised, but you never came back.” He winced after the last statement. He looked through her then as if she was not even
there. He was talking to a ghost. “You lied,” he continued. “You
never came back.”

He moved closer, pressing her against the window. “I remember your words. Let me see. What was it that you said?” He tapped his bottom lip with his index finger several times. “’Try to be happy as
the world is full of undeniable beauty and filled with awe and wonder.’ Isn’t that what you said?”

The tone of his voice was barely audible. Arielle remained silent, giving him time to overcome his shock.

“Do you know that I persistently looked for you for several
years
after you left?” he asked, pain flashing through his beautiful eyes.
She
flinched. Suddenly, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her hard against his amazing body, making her shiver from her head to her toes.

“I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you. Arielle, you broke my heart...you broke my heart…” he stammered and pressed his lips
together. Arielle appeared horrified.

“How can this be possible?” he asked, watching her carefully as if he was having difficulty recognizing who she really was.

She finally found her voice and cradled his face in her hands as she brushed her lips against his. “Sebastian! Please look at me. I’m right here; please look at me!” Her voice was breaking as tears trickled down her face.

Sebastian paused and shook his head, trying to get his thoughts out of a deep haze. He looked right though her and frowned.

“Arielle, I’m having a very vivid recollection and a hard time understanding how this can be possible. Your eyes are unmistakably
part
of an intense memory from five hundred years ago, part of a
memory I have been trying to regain ever since I first laid eyes on you on that beach. How could that possibly be real?” He pressed his hands over hers where they still cradled his face. “What’s wrong with me?”

He let her go, and turning around, he walked on the other side of
the room. He slumped down onto the big recliner, exhaling in aggravation. His fingers drummed on the top of the armrests. He
finally laid his head
in his hands and sighed deeply. In his mind, nothing was making sense. Arielle fell on her knees in front of him and took his hands, lifting his face to hers.

“Sebastian, listen to me. I’m the Arielle Young that you met back in the fifteen hundreds in your parents' ballroom in Calais.” His body stiffened.

“But…how? I don’t understand.” His voice sounded soft and troubled. “You…you are a mortal.”

“I’m also the Arielle that you fell in love with in St. Jean de Luz. I love you, Sebastian. This whole thing started as a thrilling birthday gift from Eva and Gabrielle, and it’s turning out to be major anxiety for you. I came home dressed in this beautiful gown to surprise you because something extraordinary happened to me today, and now I wish I had never done it.”

“What are you saying?”

“Let me explain.”

He looked at her with curiosity. She started to spill the details about the adventure. “An hour or so ago, we didn’t go to the contest at the sorority house.”

“Where did you go?” he asked, eyebrows arched.

“I found out that Eva, as an immortal, has an extraordinary gift,
and that gift is being able to
travel through time.
” She emphasized the last three words. His body stiffened again, and his lips tightened. Sebastian's eyes narrowed. He pinched the tip of his nose and lifted
his other hand to run his fingers through his hair.

“What are you saying?” His gaze fixed on hers.

“My birthday gift from Eva and Gabrielle was to travel through time back to the fifteen hundreds at Calais and attend one of your family’s galas.” His jaw dropped.

“And so we did. I met your wonderful parents and your brothers, Anton and Marcus, in the flesh. I danced with both of them; isn’t that amazing?” Sebastian heard the excitement in her
voice but did not
share in it. “The main purpose of the gift was for me to meet your human side and to see your beautiful face when you were just twenty years old. It was the most extraordinary birthday gift.” She rested her head on his lap. “You were just as dashing and every bit
as gorgeous as you are now. I saw girls falling all over you. I was tortured watching you hold those girls and lock lips with them while dancing. My heart
was torn, and I found it almost impossible to watch, but I had to
remain quiet. It was a short time until our eyes met, and everything changed from that moment on.” She hauled in a harsh breath and held it. He remained quiet for a long time. Finally, he spoke.
“Arielle….”

“Yes, baby?” She lifted her head to look at him.

“I remember,” he said, “I now remember.”

“I’m here now, so please don’t be mad.”

“Why Arielle Young? Why not use your real name?”

“Eva said we couldn’t use anything or take anything with us that
could represent the present. I thought it would be fun to pick the last
name from a book I read last month. We were to show up as three
sisters
from Hampshire on a holiday, and we decided to use the name
Young.”
She smiled softly, but he was gasping for air. He thought the whole
thing sounded crazy.

“Sebastian, my desire for you in the garden was real, and so was
my passion. When I promised that I would see you again, I didn’t lie because I was coming home to you. And here I am.” He was completely still, trying to pick up his jaw off the floor and find his
voice again. “So,
now you know,” she said, searching his face. Leaning in, she pressed her lips against his with hunger. She then lifted her hands and unclasped her necklace, giving him access to her thoughts. She gazed
into his eyes. “Look and see for yourself, a glimpse of my adventure.”

Sebastian immediately felt that Arielle was captivated by his emotional reaction. He eagerly scanned her mind, retrieving snapshots of her
birthday adventure from her memory. She was sure that he could sense
the vividness of the events. The gift of seeing his parents and his brothers
once again elicited a feeling in him beyond words. These were unique
and distinctive experiences for Arielle, but they deeply affected Sebastian. His mood shifted between blissfulness, wretchedness, and apprehensiveness. If he were able to cry, he would have. A little while
later, he lowered his gaze and took deep breaths. He remained still for a very long time.

Chapter 5

THE NEXT FEW SECONDS
were a flash in Arielle’s mind. She was suddenly swept off her feet and into Sebastian's arms, and then her lips were being crushed beneath his with a stormy urge. Arielle was stunned. She gasped for air. He lifted his head and gazed deep into her eyes. He groaned.

“I love you, baby.” He sighed deeply as he pulled her even
closer
into his embrace. “You look amazing in that beautiful gown.” He chuckled blissfully. “I fell for you five hundred years ago in Calais and again with the same intensity at St. Jean de Luz. Instinctively, I
have
been looking for you throughout the centuries. When I set eyes on
you at the beach, I searched desperately in my mind to explain the familiarity of your eyes. Now I understand all of it. It has always
been you, baby, and nobody else.” His smile broadened.

Arielle gazed in wonder. She could see a stream of emotion
crossing his eyes. “What?” she asked.

“You’re in deep trouble, little girl,” he purred.

Arielle squeezed her eyes shut and giggled ecstatically.

He laid her on the bed and looked down at her with a wide
smile.
“You look amazing. What am I going to do with you?”

Anticipation filled her senses. Here she was alone in her
bedroom
with the most stunning man in the world, and he was all for her alone. She reached up, placing her hand at the nape of his neck. She pulled him down to her hungrily. All the eagerness, all the desire
that had
been building inside of her while in Calais, was now bursting out
like a
volcano, spilling scorching heat all over her body. Sebastian sensed
her heated desire when she circled his lip line with her tongue,
landing inside his mouth and tasting the sweetness of his immortal scent. His arms moved impatiently and held her to him.

“Will you help me get out of this dress?”

“No, I think I want to keep you like this for a little while longer. I want to simply enjoy the sight. I want to fill the void that consumed me as I watched the carriage pulling away from my parents’ home,
taking you away from me. How incredibly wild is this?” He shook
his head in disbelief.

Arielle blinked with great reluctance. “How long is that going to take?” she begged.

“Why?” he chuckled. “Are you going somewhere?” She heard
mirth in his voice.

“Maybe,” she replied and grinned.

“Might as well forget any plans you have for this evening,
because I am going to keep you with me,” he said. He chuckled and pressed
her softly onto the mattress. Sebastian lowered his head and took her mouth in a sizzling kiss. Arielle bowed upward, trying to get closer to
his body. The kiss deepened. The passion in the kiss spun her into
oblivion. It wasn’t long before he had her out of the dress and the
feel of his skin against hers shattered her senses.

His hands ran over every curve of her body. She moved into him,
sending ripples of heat where they touched. She heard his heavy
gasping as their bodies merged and her own moans with every touch. They
made love with unusual urgency, unbelievable desire fueling every
kiss. They finally lay back in each other’s arms completely spent,
utterly
satisfied. Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled softly. Arielle rested
her head on his chest and sighed.

“I love you, Arielle,” he murmured.

“I know, I know,” Arielle said, ruffling his hair.

“And how do you feel about me?” he asked, voice filled with amusement. She paused and looked up, meeting his eyes. She was trapped in his deep emerald gaze that sent her heart thrashing passionately.

“Sebastian, I adore you! But at the same time I’m scared to
death,” she said and pressed her lips together.

Sebastian shifted uncomfortably. He sat up and leaning on one elbow, he looked down at her quizzically. “Scared of what?”

Arielle pressed her eyes shut and sighed deeply.

“What is it, baby?” Sebastian observed her anxiously.

“I feel like I’m living in a lucid dream and suddenly I will wake up, and everything will be gone, including you.” Her eyes reflected a stormy tension.

Sebastian lay back down. He pulled her into his strong embrace.

“Arielle, look at me, baby. I’m here, I’m real, and I’m deeply in
love with you. This isn’t a dream.”