When Giovanna reached Antonius, he was ready for her. He raised his hands and grabbed her by the throat as if his hand was a pair of pliers and threw her against the wall. This time the sound of broken bones made the hair on the back of Ian’s neck rise.
It was an unbelievable sight, but she pushed away from the wall and rushed toward Antonius with fire in her eyes. She threw a hard blow to his face and he jerked back, gasping. Blood spurted out of his nose and he found himself in the same fog as before.
A loud shriek of satisfaction escaped her lips and she got ready to go after Antonius, to finish what she had started. But she was shocked to find herself flying back and hit the same wall a second time with such force that she screamed from agony and pain.
She had absolutely no idea what had hit her. Opening her eyes she saw Troy standing between her and Antonius. She was angry beyond belief and consumed with evil as smoke rose from her body. Still trying to shake off the pain she was in, trying to understand how many people she had to deal with, knowing there was no help, she felt desperate.
It was at that moment that Sebastian’s voice came out clear and hard.
“What are you doing in my house, and how are you getting in?” he demanded. Giovanna didn’t reply. She was still staring between Troy and Antonius with hatred in her eyes.
“You do understand that this is the end of the line for you. So tell me, what are you doing here?” Sebastian asked more calmly. He stalked towards her, along with Antonius and Troy. She backed up against the wall and remained silent. Her eyes were fixed on Antonius, and she saw the venom that was present in his eyes. The naked evil and wickedness that consumed her was exposed. She looked shocked for a split second, her eyes full of terror. Sebastian grabbed her hands, holding them still as Antonius put his hands around her throat and started squeezing with all the immortal power he possessed.
She desperately tried to get her hands loose from Sebastian’s steel grip, but it was to no avail. It was but a second before they heard a clear snap and her head became separated from her body. Then, her body became the center of a lightning storm. The lights went out for a few seconds, and it felt as if a huge electrical storm hit the room.
Ian gasped in horror, unfamiliar with the phenomenon accompanying an immortal’s death by another immortal.
“What was that?” he whispered close to Sebastian’s ear, eyes wide open.
“It’s the immortal Quickening,” Sebastian murmured. “Antonius will now receive all the power and knowledge Giovanna possessed because he took her life. That’s the immortal way.”
The two young men who had been in the room with Giovanna were in shock. Silence fell in the room like a death curtain. The two young men looked at Antonius. He walked over to them and they backed off, eyes filled with terror.
His voice was very clear. “I have nothing against you,” he said. “However, you need to provide us with some information if you don’t want to meet the same fate as Giovanna. There are nine of us and two of you. I’m sure you can do the math and understand the predicament you are in.”
They both nodded gravely without saying a word and moved away slowly until their backs hit the armoire. They glanced around fearfully and winced when they saw a row of hard expressions facing them. One of the boy’s lips moved but no words came out.
Sebastian’s face was rigid. “How did you get in here, and what are you doing here?”
“I’m Gaillard and this is my friend Caius,” one of them said, his voice quivery. “We were asked to come here and party with Giovanna and her friends—Annabel, Julia, and Paola.”
At the sound of the names, Sebastian gasped, and an explicit oath escaped his lips. “Do you know why Giovanna was here? I need the truth,” he said, his voice icy cold.
Fear coursed through Gaillard and Caius, and they braced themselves against what was to come. Sebastian’s next statement took them by surprise.
“Tell us what is going on and you can leave and go back to Italy. If not, you are not going anywhere.”
Caius and Gaillard stiffened at his words and swallowed hard. Caius cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said, “We heard Annabel and Giovanna talking about luring some girl to the cemetery and burying her alive. We don’t know who the girl is or her name, but she has some kind of power where she can’t be touched by immortals, so they needed to have her trapped and buried at the old cemetery.” He looked around uncomfortably and noticed fury emanating from every single face in front of him. His throat went dry, but he continued, “Giovanna was good at killing people without being caught, so she was the one planning the whole thing for Annabel,” he concluded.
“Where is the passage into this room?”
Gaillard pushed away from the dresser and walked over to the wall by the fireplace where he pushed against a spot with his finger. The fireplace opened, creating a door to a dark passage.
Ian let out a long whistle, his eyes squinting hard to see the spot on the wall, but there was nothing there that would appear to be a pin or secret button. The guys remained still, watching Caius and Gaillard, while Ian moved closer and ran his fingers over the spot that Gaillard had pushed. It was smooth as silk, but when he peered closer he saw a light gray dot. A person would have had to be right on top of it to be able to see it. Very clever! he thought.
“Do you know where Annabel is?” he heard Sebastian’s hard voice asking, and he moved away from the wall.
“She’s in Spain with Paola and Julia for a couple of days. They will be coming back on Monday,” Gaius offered.
Sebastian was quiet for a long time. The two young men looked desperately around at all the others, quite obviously wondering what would happen next.
“Do you know of any other passages in this house? Have you used any other passages?” Sebastian insisted.
“No, this is the only one we’ve ever used.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Three months,” they replied simultaneously.
There was a collective gasp in the room.
Sebastian’s eyes widened and his face took on a grim expression.
“What do you want to do with these guys?” Pier asked him.
“Let them go. They don’t know anything more. I can read their minds, and I’m sure they didn’t have any part in Annabel’s atrocious plans.”
“I hope you realize how lucky you are that we found you,” Girardus said to the two young men, who were looking guardedly relieved. “She would have used you for her own pleasure, and once she’d had enough of you she would have killed you. That is how she manages her affairs.”
The two young men shot a look at each other. “We had no part in her plans,” Caius said, looking sincere.
“Stay away from Annabel, and never say a word about what you saw here today. Can you do that?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes. We’ll leave for Italy today and don’t worry, we won’t come back.” Caius said, his voice a bit shaky.
“Annabel is just as evil as Giovanna was,” Sebastian murmured as he walked to the fireplace and peered at the dark opening. “Where is the end point to this passage?” he asked, looking over at the two young men.
“The cemetery,” Caius replied quickly.
“Show them the front door, Troy, and let them go,” Sebastian said, his voice even as he began to mark the mechanism for the passage in the room with a piece of chalk.
“Well, let’s go find the rest of the passages,” he said to the rest of his friends. “At least we know we won’t have any interference until Monday.”
It didn’t take them long before they had found all the passages and marked them so that someone could come in and seal them. They traced each passageway and found that they all led to the same mausoleum at the cemetery. Sebastian could not believe how quickly the first part of the plan was accomplished and the wonderful outcome. He was beaming and so was Antonius, who felt enormous relief at having finally avenged his brother’s death.
When they all got
back to the main house they decided to take a little time for themselves. When the girls came back they planned to go out and celebrate their accomplishment. The atmosphere was jubilant, and they were loudly exchanging stories as Antonius whistled an old tune, making them laugh. He looked very content. Ian glanced around the room and chuckled inwardly, shaking his head. The library was really a huge room but somehow it seemed smaller now as eight tall immortals occupied a lot of space, while moving around to talk with each other. His thoughts were interrupted by a joyous voice.
“Where are the beautiful girls you keep telling us about?” Girardus asked with a smile. “All I can see are your ugly faces around here.”
“They’re at the beach. They should be home shortly,” said Troy.
Sebastian was quiet, thinking about the next day’s work. He was going to have to arrange for someone to come in and seal every passage and disable every mechanism to make the house secure.
The second part of his plan was to hide at the cemetery and wait for Annabel and the other two to arrive on Monday. Then, they would trap them in the mausoleum. He was beyond happy thinking about this part of the plan. He was exuberant. He was also aching for Arielle, and he smiled as the image of her face filled his mind.
Twilight was upon them. The guys were still gathered in the library talking and enjoying a glass of salve while Ian held a large beer in his hand. The sounds of car doors shutting outside made them stop talking and look toward the door. Soon, happy, girlish laughter filled their ears, making them smile, and three beautiful girls stood at the doorway, dressed in their little bikinis. The guys stood unmoving in their places as loud whistles filled the room from Antonius and Jacques. Gabrielle, Eva, and Arielle stood at the door in shock, unable to believe their eyes. The room was filled with stunning-looking guys, all of them with sensuous smiles on their magnificent faces.
“Wow,” said Gabrielle, a little louder than she meant to. “Look at all of them. They are beautiful!” And they were all magnificent, each one gorgeous in his own unique way. They had an elegant, overpowering presence as they all stood together and gazed at the three women. Jacques was especially striking, with mysterious violet eyes. Even Ian, who was “just” a normal human being, was gorgeous. He had an undeniable perfection of face and body and exquisitely beautiful green eyes. For the girls looking into that room full of masculine beauty, it seemed like heaven.
Antonius stepped forward first and said, eyes wide open. “Let me see if I can get it right.” He pointed with his finger. “Gabrielle, Arielle, and Eva. Did I get your names right?”
“How did you know?” Eva said, looking at him quizzically.
“Well, Gabrielle, you have light brown hair and green eyes. Arielle, you have the brown hair and blue eyes. Eva, you are the blonde with the blue eyes, right?”
“I don’t remember giving you that much information,” said Troy with complete certainty.
“Oh, yes you did, and I never forget details about girls,” Antonius laughed, and everyone laughed along with him.
The introductions were warm, with hugs and smiles shared around. Jacques, Jon, and Girard took the girls by the hands eagerly and Dedier said, “Troy, Ian, Sebastian, why don’t you guys sit this one out and we’ll take the girls and go out dancing. What do you say?”
“Not on your life,” said Sebastian. He pulled Arielle into his arms and held her tight against his chest. “I know you guys better than that,” he added, softening his remark with a smile. Troy’s friends could not say enough about Gabrielle and Arielle, and they all thought Eva was a true beauty. They all agreed to meet around eight o’clock and go dancing.
When the door closed behind them, Arielle fell into Sebastian’s arms and kissed him tenderly. “I missed you so much, and I couldn’t wait to be with you. I worried about you. What happened?”
In a few words, Sebastian explained what had taken place, and her eyes grew wide with horror.
“Oh, my gosh! Are you serious? That sounds horrible. Did Ian witness you killing that woman?”
Sebastian hesitated. He was suddenly overcome with guilt. He hadn’t thought about how that act might have affected Ian, and he hadn’t asked him. He was simply caught in the moment and had forgotten all about Ian being human and how it must have been for him to witness such a scene. Raising his hand, he raked his fingers through his hair and drew in a sharp breath. His expression was tense. He captured her gaze and sighed deeply. “I didn’t think to ask how that affected Ian,” he said regretfully. “I feel absolutely awful.”
Arielle reached up and cupped his face with her hand. “I’m sure that Ian was fine,” she murmured. “He’s a big boy. I wouldn’t worry about that.” Rising on her toes, she pressed her lips against his tenderly. Sebastian wound his arms around her and drew her to him. His lips pressed against hers and the kiss deepened, shattering her reason. Her fingers spread in his hair and she held him to that kiss.
Pleasure coursed though Sebastian’s body and he moaned blissfully. Pulling away from the kiss she looked into his beautiful eyes and smiled. “And what about Monday? I thought we were going home,” she said breathlessly.
“You and your friends are going home, but we will stay here to finish the job.”
“No, you can’t do that,” she started to protest as he bent down and took her mouth again in a searing kiss, leaving her breathless.
“Can you please stop protesting every little thing I say?” he said, lips curving gently.
“Every little thing?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Yes, every little thing,” he chuckled. “Let’s go take a shower,” he said, still laughing, a sexy look in his eyes.
The hot water felt great. His arms locked about her and she pressed herself against his body, tempting him with desire as her passion soared.
“How can you make me want you every time you are near me? I’ll never understand that.” He moaned softly as his hands slid down to her lower back, pulling her even closer to his male hardness. Their bodies were creating a blistering and exultant heat as they touched each other with tenderness, exploring and caressing. As their lips met she writhed with desire. With one hand on her back holding her tight against him, he lifted her and made love to her with a wonderful, slow pace that took them to a victorious climax.
“When are you going to stop taking me to this level?” he gasped.
“I hope never,” she replied, chuckling.
Arielle got out of the shower and grabbed a towel as she started toward the bedroom. Sebastian captured her arm and pulled her back into his arms as their eyes locked. She looked down, knowing what happened every time she looked into his eyes. But he put his finger under her chin and forced her face up toward his, piercing her eyes with his gaze without releasing his dazzling look. A warm sensation coursed through every muscle in her body.
“No dazzling?” she murmured.
“No, no dazzling, I just want to look into your beautiful blue eyes and tell you how happy you make me every day,” he said, the familiar smile curving his sensuous lips. She arched her body toward his, and with her tongue she circled his mouth slowly. Her heart soared and her mouth went dry. His lips parted and he welcomed her tongue into the softness of his mouth. She groaned at the taste of the delicious, sweet immortal scent that always drove her senseless. She caught an eager breath as she moaned with extreme pleasure. His breath held. He pulled her closer and took her lips in a hypnotizing kiss.
“I love you, Arielle, with every fiber of my being,” he said, his voice filled with passion and desire.
“You could never love me as much as I love you,” she said with a chuckle and tried once again to walk into the bedroom. But again he pulled her back into his arms and their eyes met.
“You don’t have the years and the experience I have to love me the same way I love you. You just have to accept that as a true fact.”
She chuckled blissfully and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips.
“Is tha
t a kiss of surrender?” he snorted. She just laughed and stepped back. She turned and walked into the bedroom to pick out an outfit. She couldn’t remember a moment in her life that she hadn’t loved Sebastian. She was sure that she had loved him before she ever set eyes on him. She heard him whistling an old tune as he shaved and she felt warmth surging through her body. A few minutes before eight o’clock, they walked out to meet the others.
Three cars and fifteen minutes later, they ended up at a local club where the fantastic pulsing of music was filling the room, being played by the five-person band on the stage. Complete silence fell around them when they entered the room as every head turned to stare. Arielle, Eva, and Gabrielle were with nine magnificent looking guys, and they knew that there was not a girl in that room that wouldn’t want to be in their shoes at that moment.
Still, Arielle had never seen anything like what happened that night. She, Gabrielle, and Eva would be talking and laughing about it for the next ten years. All the available girls in that place were drawn toward the guys, drawn to their immortal sweetness.
And who could blame them? The guys were stunning, every one of them was dressed to kill and with dazzling smiles. They all had that stunning immortal look, but each one was quite unique, both in style and intellect. What Eva, Gabby, and Arielle found hilarious were the fights that broke out between the girls over which one was going to be with which guy. Tensions flared and ugly words were exchanged between them. It was quite a sight to see.
Sebastian had explained to her at the New Year’s Eve party about immortal men and their desire to be with human girls. Usually, they were not looking for a serious relationship, just fun for the night. Most girls fell head over heels for these guys because of their fantastic looks, but the men usually just used them and left them heartbroken in the morning. I can’t say that I’m really sorry for them! Arielle thought as she watched the girls fight with each other and make a scene. Whatever they got, it would be well deserved.
For Arielle and her friends, there were only three men in the club who made each one’s heart pulsate, and the only three men no one else could have.
Arielle Immortal Passion (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 3) Page 17
