“I’m sorry, daddy, I miss our walks and talks just as much,” she said and looked down at her hands despondently. Her father stopped walking and turned to face her. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at him.
“I’m very proud of you, and all that you've accomplished. Your mother and I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter,” he said, teary.
“Thanks daddy, I love you both so very much and I want you to know that I couldn’t have asked for better parents,” she said and embraced him warmly. She pulled back and gazed deep into his eyes. “You'll always be my number one man.”
“And you, my number one girl,” he said and stroked her cheek lovingly. “I think you made an excellent choice with Sebastian. He's a wonderful young man with an amazing future and he seems to love you so very much.”
“I know, daddy, and I love him just as much. He's so good to me. I guess I’m a very lucky girl,” she laughed happily and he laughed with her. Her mother called them for lunch. She put her hand through his arm and they walked back to the house.
***
It was the day before Gabrielle’s wedding and Arielle watched her emotional friend, who was full of excitement, animated and trying not to fall apart from happiness. Arielle was caught up in that excitement, as she knew how close her own wedding day drew.
Gabby’s wedding gown was one of the two Arielle fell in love with and she absolutely adored it. It was an ivory strapless gown of silk and satin, adorned with Venice lace. The bodice was fitted, embroidered with jewels and flowers, while a silk sash wrapped exquisitely around the waist. The skirt flared beautifully outward, giving it a dramatic look. She also chose a long train with a wonderful veil, capturing a 16th century look.
Arielle, Eva, and Loren’s dresses were strapless, light taupe, brocaded with silver trim. The soft silk fabric had a raised design and the silver trim looked like metallic threads. They looked like they were from another era and that’s exactly the theme Gabby chose to honor Troy, the man who changed her life for centuries to come. What Arielle loved about these dresses was the 16th century style that was appealing to the immortal boys.
It was now the morning of, and everyone was filled with excitement.
The wedding was very similar to Eva’s, with a few small differences. The people standing in front of the vicar at the altar were Gabrielle and Troy but the rest of the players were pretty much the same.
She remembered vividly Sebastian revealing to her how he felt when he saw her coming down the aisle in Eva’s wedding. She couldn’t help gazing into his gorgeous eyes while walking down the aisle this time around. He was watching her intently with a brilliant smile on his beautiful face and knowing what he was thinking made her shiver with excitement. She smiled wide and he moved his lips letting her know that he loved her. Gabrielle and Troy’s vows were so beautiful they made Arielle well up with tears, and Eva, unable to cry any longer, smiled, filled with joy.
The reception was incredible and the music fantastic. They all danced throughout the night and had a wonderful time. It was around two in the morning when they left the county club and Arielle couldn’t help taking a careful look around while keeping close to Sebastian. He understood her anxiety and held her tight against his body, providing the security she needed, but there was no sign of Annabel or Gaston this time.
Gabrielle and Troy were leaving for Italy the very next morning. They would make a short stop at Troy’s estate and from there fly to Sydney. Their final destination was the exotic Islands in the south Pacific. Gosh that'd be just amazing, Arielle thought as Sebastian held the door of the car open for her and she slipped in the passenger seat. Her thoughts were full of Sebastian and eager to get home and be in his arms with no worries at all. He pulled in the garage and using his incredible speed he was already standing outside her door holding it open for her. The next few moments were a complete fog. All she remembered was stepping out of the car and the next thing she was in their bed totally undressed, enfolded in his arms.
“What a feeling!” She heard him moan in excitement as his hands traveled eagerly all over her body touching every inch, every grain of her until he stopped and pressed at her most sensitive spot making her grown with hunger for him.
How did I stay away from this for more than three weeks, I’ll never understand, Sebastian thought and pressed his lips together in wonder.
“I’m sure you knew what was coming, didn’t you?” he whispered, totally out of breath while gazing into her beautiful sapphire eyes.
“I’m not sure that I know what you’re referring to,” she replied with amusement, while gasping for air. Her body burned, her skin shivered, her muscles tightened and she wanted more and more. His tongue pushed tenderly her lips apart, landing in her mouth and she tasted that amazing immortal scent. The kiss started soft and tender and deepened to a passionate, eager, hungry kiss that took her breath away. His arms locked around her hips and he pulled her underneath him, as he shifted eagerly pushing her thighs apart, making her writhe in his arms unable to wait any longer. She bowed her hips upward, wanting to take him in but he wasn’t ready; he pulled back, making her wait, driving her crazy. After his three weeks of rejections she'd become obsessive with her unlimited wants of this beautiful man. She just couldn’t get enough of him.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, and all she could hear was his soft chuckle.
“Is there something you want?” he murmured, voice totally amused.
“Mmmm…please Sebastian, why are you doing this?”
“Because, I want you begging for me. I don’t want to be the one acting so eagerly each and every time we make love,” he murmured, and laughed, as he lowered himself slowly on her eager, soft, beautiful body. He hauled in a deep breath, and pressing fervently entered her with a hard push and she cried out in sheer ecstasy. His movements sent hot waves through her veins and she was unable to consider any other thoughts, except for the fact that she wanted more. Her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him further in, and he growled in bliss as the rhythm picked up bringing tears to her eyes. She felt encircled in a warm blanket of ecstasy that took her mind in higher levels of pleasure.
“One more month,” he murmured gasping as he pulled back out making her gasp in shock.
“Where are you going?” she cried out desperately, as she wrapped her arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him back in, but before she could finish the though he plunged right back in with a loud growl bringing both of them to an exquisite climax, as tears of pleasure rolled down her face.
“Is this going to be an eternity for us?” she asked.
“Yep, this is exactly what our life is going to be for eternity…” he licked the tears off her face with a smile.
“I love the salty taste of your tears,” he murmured and ran his tongue over his lips wanting to take every bit of that taste in his mouth.
Arielle’s mind was in a fog as she was still folded in the aftermath of their amazing encounter. Her thoughts ran wild and a smile lifted her lips.
Why am I the lucky person he chose to love? I just can’t make any sense of it. He's the most amazing, the most beautiful, the most incredible man on this earth. I know I’m not special and I’m not as stunning as the immortal girls who would die to have him by their side, so why me? Nothing makes sense to me, but I’m willing to ride this train as far as it will take me since I’m irrevocably in love with him.
He watched her in wonder and before she had a chance to move he'd unclipped her necklace and gazed into her eyes, reading her very soul.
“I just couldn’t stand not knowing what you were thinking.” His lips curved up into that beautiful smile and a blinding brilliance crossed his eyes.
“Arielle…how many times do I have to tell you there’s no other person out there who would ever make me feel the way you do? It’s like our souls were looking for each other, and they finally met, and nothing is going to keep them apart. I love you, baby, I need
your eyes to get my energy, I need your touch to feel whole and I need you to make my body feel like a real man should feel.” He clipped the necklace back on, and gathered her in his arms, as they laid next to each other in utter bliss. “Thank you for loving me,” he whispered softly in her ear, as they drifted off to sleep.
***
It seemed awfully quiet without Gabrielle home, but Loren, Eva, and Arielle spent a lot of time shopping and getting ready for Arielle’s wedding day. The weather was warm but they still seemed to get the usual amount of rainy days that brought a little melancholy in everyone’s day.
In Arielle’s case, Sebastian kept her happy at all times with his wonderful attitude. They kept up with their evening walks on the beach even after a rainy day. They were now only three weeks away from their wedding day and they both were on edge. The funny part was listening to Sebastian going on and on about having to be away from her for a whole week. He did actually sound exactly like Troy and Ian, just like a little boy with a temper issue. It was one of those evenings when they were taking a walk on the beach that he stopped and, gazing in her eyes, smiled softly.
“I think the idea of brides and grooms being apart the week before the wedding is utterly silly,” he said, for the millionth time, and she laughed, reaching up to meet his lips in a blissful kiss.
“Well, you'll have to live with that, as you have no choice at all,” she said, with an indulging smile. He pulled her tighter against him while his eyes stared deep into her soul.
“I guess you forgot with whom you're dealing,” he whispered through the kiss. A wide smile spread across his face. “I can take you away, somewhere on the other side of the world and marry you. You wouldn’t be able to prevent me from doing that no matter how hard you tried. What do you think about that?”
His eyes searched hers for an answer and she broke into a hearty laugh, knowing he was right. She threw her arms around his neck and their lips met passionately, reassuring him that she was ready to follow him to end of the earth.
They walked for a couple of hours holding hands, fingers intertwined, hearts filled with delight in silence. It was in that silence that she recalled the Lanes parking lot incident and repressed a reaction to the cold chill that ran down her spine. It'd been well over three weeks since Gaston popped unexpectedly into her life. She'd successfully blocked every thought about the incident by staying extremely busy. She helped Gabrielle with the last details of her wedding and she was pleased to see that Gabby’s wedding day was absolutely faultless. Once Gabby left for her honeymoon, Arielle concentrated on the last minute items for her own wedding that was less than a month away.
Tonight the long, quiet, blissful walk with Sebastian unexpectedly brought back every unpleasant moment of that day. A rush of thoughts came blasting in like a roaring river in a rainstorm. Instinctively her hands moved up and covered her ears. She pressed hard, trying to prevent the noise from painfully pounding her temples. Loren’s words kept hammering her thoughts now. “You must tell Sebastian! You must tell Sebastian! He has the right to know!” Gaston’s compelling was something she'd prefer to conceal from Sebastian because she didn’t know how to explain that part. This would make him angry. She was afraid of his reaction and what he might decide to do about Gaston.
She hadn’t finished her last thought and was startled by Sebastian’s hands reaching around her neck. She heard the snap of the clasp and saw the necklace fall into Sebastian’s hands.
“You’ve been distracted for over a half an hour. Is there something bothering you, baby?” he asked, his voice soft.
She felt the weight of his gaze and stopped walking. He turned her to face him, gathered her in his arms and bending his head, kissed her gently at first and then the kiss deepened to a more passionate, more scorching kiss that spread wild desire though every nerve and muscle in their bodies. The want was so palatable that she gasped and he moaned still tangled in that embrace and kiss.
He finally pulled back and, inhaling deeply, cupped her face with his hands and bored through her eyes. Arielle gasped aloud and her brain went into panic mode. She was totally unprepared to discuss the details. All she could think about was Gaston’s compelling actions that made her succumb to his embrace and the passionate kiss that was now creating this alarming anxiety.
Sebastian’s gaze grew intense and a shocking expression spread across his face. His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing to slits, hands clenching to fists, and a loud growl of rage escaping his tight lips.
“When were you planning on telling me about this?” he roared wrathfully.
The tone of his voice set Arielle a few steps back, while their gazes remained locked. His lips were pulled back in rage, he broke the embrace and drop his hands to his side. He moved back, creating a bigger distance between them. His expression was that of pain, mistrust. and agony.
“You made out with him?” he asked, screaming in utter disbelief. Arielle froze in place. Her body started to quiver. She sent a quick glance his direction and quickly averted her gaze down to her feet. She tried to speak but nothing came out of her mouth. She heard him haul a deep breath and his cold voice sheared through her skin, bringing prickling tears to her eyes.
“So?” he screamed again. “What have you to say for yourself?”
Arielle remained silent through his ranting and yelling, stunned by his reaction. She finally hauled all the strength she could unearth and resisting the urge to just stomp away, she moved forward and halted a hair’s-breath from him. She lifted her face and her eyes scanned his face. Defiance locked her jaw, as she felt anger surging through her body.
“You always ask me to trust you,” she said bitterly. Her face was flushed and hot tears of anger streamed down her cheeks. “Where's your trust in me?” she said through clenched teeth. “Or have you set rules that apply to you and are different for me?” Her gaze held his and his look was that of shock.
“What are you saying?” he asked, confused. “Arielle! I saw clearly what happened in your eyes. You can’t deny any of it.”
Arielle met his gaze again and pressed her lips together in exasperation. She looked out toward the ocean and hauled in a deep breath. Silence stretched and she finally turned to face him, face full of defiance. “I’m not trying to deny anything,” she spit out the words. “And no…no…no…” she screamed in fury. “You didn’t see what happened. All you did see was what you chose to see and then you exploded in anger like a child,” she accused.
Sebastian pulled back in stunned shock and flinched at her anger.
“Arielle, I saw you in his embrace, and you didn’t look like you were fighting your way out of it or the kiss, you were fully engaged, face filled with anticipation,” he growled. His face was stretched with anxiety, teeth clenched. He put his hands against his eyes and pressed hard, trying to erase the vision of Arielle and Gaston intertwined in a loving embrace. A barely audible curse escaped his lips and she winced. She waited until he was quiet then reached for him overwhelmed with unclear emotions about his reaction. Her gaze was fixed on his face, as he abruptly pulled back. He looked down still clenching her necklace tightly in his hand. He was lost in thought as he bounced the necklace back and forth from one hand to the other. Time stretched, as she waited patiently for his next move, he finally drew a deep breath, resolve in his emerald eyes.
Moving fast, he gripped Arielle’s hand, pulled it close and holding it open, dropped the necklace in it and pressed her fingers softly to close around it. Then he flashed a quick glance at her one last time, and turning around, stomped away like a spoiled child.
Arielle threw her hands up in the air and let out an exasperated breath. She was feeling a surge of fury spreading across her nerves; she looked around at the empty beach and slumped down onto the sand. She pulled her knees tightly up to her chest, hands braced around them. She sighed and dropped her head down. Her thoughts reeled and fear hung over her. He was leaving her and she was sure this time it would be for good. He told her once
that if he thought that she didn’t love him any longer he would disappear. Tears blinded her and frustration surfaced.
“I thought you trusted me, but you’re a liar.”She whimpered aloud without realizing it and groaned bitterly. She didn’t fathom that Sebastian heard every word she said even though he was almost home. He stopped in his tracks just before he crossed the threshold and heard her quiet whisper once again.
“You only saw a small part, your anger about Gaston blinded your vision. I guess you don’t love me enough...” she said talking to herself aloud. His muscles tightened at those words and his chest clenched. “Sebastian!” she cried. His breath caught at the sadness in her voice. “I was right after all,” she said again. “You were just a dream! Gaston succeeded without having to lift a finger,” she sighed bitterly and sobbed.
She sat there for what it seemed to be centuries. She finally stood, wiped her eyes, and decided to go home. It was now twilight and the water looked dark and uninviting. She turned with a heavy heart and gasped as she fell right into his arms.
“Sebastian!” she exclaimed. “Sebastian! I thought you were gone.”
“I was, but I heard what you said,” he murmured. “I’m not a liar Arielle, and if I didn’t see what really happened, I’d like to see it now.” His eyes narrowed, voice compelling. She gazed up and their eyes locked.
Chapter 11
“OKAY THEN, I WANT you to see everything that took place, not just the embrace or the kiss,” she whispered.
She remained silent while he bored into her eyes and she recalled every detail about her meeting with Gaston. It had been a while and they were still standing, their bodies a hair’s-breath apart in a stunned silence. She watched intently as his expression changed slowly from anger and fury to remorse, to apology, to the “forgive me” look.
Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) Page 14
