Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7) (26 page)

She reached up and stroked the side of his face, and let her fingers slide along the length of his jaw. “I love you, too.”

“So what was so strange?”

“There was a guy in the auditorium that kept staring at me. I have never seen him before and it scared me.”

“And what is so strange about that? I see a lot of guys staring at you.”

“Well, his stare was intense. I was sure that he was closing in on me while on our way out of the auditorium. I really felt that he was reaching for me when I fell into your arms.”

“I didn’t see anyone reaching for you,” he said.

“Well…” her voice trailed. “That’s what so strange. One minute he is right behind me and then the next he is gone.”

“Well, don’t worry about him any longer. I’m here now and he’s probably upset that you are with me,” he whispered with a chuckle.

“I suppose you’re right. I don’t understand why I’m always so jumpy.”

“Arielle, you have every right to be. There are people out there that want to hurt you, because they know that you are the only person in the world than means everything to me, and I mean everything.” He flinched as if a bad image passed across his eyes. “I have made a mess of your life, and I’m going to fix it. I will take care of those issues, and you’ll never have to worry about anything but how you can spend every moment of your life with me.”

She squeezed his hand and smiled. They were now at the parking lot, and their friends waved as they climbed into their cars.

“Let’s go home, baby,” Sebastian said and held the door open for her.

“How did your meeting go?” Arielle asked breaking the silence.

“It went well. We will meet together again on Wednesday next week when all the guys are in town.”

“So they are coming, just as they did in St. Jean de Luz?”

“Yes, all.”

“Is Christian going to join you?”

“Yes, it will be a total of eleven of us.”

“Oh my! Eleven immortals? Are you taking on an army?”

“Well, we are not sure how many we have to face. But I have a strong feeling that they are many.”

The rest of the drive was quiet. Arielle let her fears wash away, happy to be sitting next to man that meant more to her than anything else on this earth or in any other universe for that matter. She chuckled inwardly and turned her eyes to scan the busy streets. The windows were down and the cool air whipped through her thin blouse sending a shiver across her body.

“Are you cold?” Sebastian asked, reaching over and taking her hand in his. “Did you bring a jacket?”

She turned to look at him and smiled. His jaw and mouth were set in a soft line, waiting for her answer.

“No, I didn’t bring one. It was quite warm when we left the house. But I’m all right.”

Sebastian remained unconvinced. He reached up and with his fingers he felt the material. “This material is way too thin,” he said. He reached in the back of the car, grabbed his coat jacket, and handed it to her. “Please put this on.”

Arielle was happy to slip her arms into Sebastian’s jacket. It smelled just like his immortal sweet scent and she felt as if she was engulfed in his embrace. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“It feels like when I’m in your arms,” she said giggling.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“That’s a great thing,” she murmured with a throaty voice, as unexpected desire spreads across her muscles.

The amulet on her neck prevented Sebastian from reading her thoughts, but he was very sure what she’s thinking. “You heard Dr. McKenna. You have to wait.”

“But, Sebastian! I’m fine. I need you.”

He sighed deeply, and shook his head in denial. “No.”

“It’s my body and I say yes,” she spats out mulishly.

Sebastian responded with raised eyebrows. “Oh! I thought it was my body, too,” he said his voice amused.

“Sebastian, I’m not joking. I’ve waited for two weeks now. I am not going to wait any longer.”

Sebastian chuckled inwardly and remained silent. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes once again. She would have to make her move on him as soon as they reached the door. She wasn’t going to let him stop her this time. She smiled pleased with her decision. She had no regrets for choosing to spend her life with Sebastian no matter how many angry immortals or humans she had to face because of him.

At the house, he helped her out of the car, and held her against his warm body. “Now, what were you saying about being in my arms?” he chuckled. His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her even closer. His mouth came down on hers and their lips melded together and their tongues fell into a sensuous dance. He leaned over and deepened the kiss leaving her breathless. The kiss was filled with pure passion and desire. His long strong fingers moved firmly across her body and stroke her senses alive. Her skin burned with desire and her knees gave in.

He finally broke the kiss and took a step back. “Oh, no…no…no… Not on your life, Gaulle. You are not going to stop now,” Arielle growled. She moved into him with incredible passion. Her hands weaved into his hair and pulled him down firmly until her lips found his and the kiss turned scorching hot. Sebastian groaned into her mouth in defeat, and his tongue pressed her lips apart and he delved into the softness of her mouth. Arielle arched her body, pressing her full length against his. Heat coursed through him and he knew he was not going to stay strong. When they finally broke apart he took her hand and drew her across the threshold. There he swung her around once again and his mouth came down on hers with barely controlled ravenousness. Swiftly, he leaned down and scooped her into his arms, moving with impatient strides toward the bedroom. “Let’s go finish what you started.”

Arielle blinked at his intense gaze. “I started?” she began to say.

Sebastian chuckled and, bending down, he muted her words.

Chapter 18

SEBASTIAN’S HUGE OFFICE
seldom appeared so full, and even more seldom so animated, as it did Wednesday morning. Eleven incredible immortal men and two striking immortal women occupied the vast space, standing around, waiting, with rigid expressions on their beautiful faces. They all knew why they were there and what they needed to do, but they were missing the rules of engagement.

Tension was high. Hard faces were staring intently at Sebastian waiting for his instructions. They all exchanged glances of understanding. They were there to help Sebastian rid of a major difficulty in his life and they seemed like warriors ready to go to battle. The resolve and the immense energy inside the room seemed to infect Ian. This was going to be the first time he was taking part in such an enormous and complicated conflict since he became an immortal. Sebastian scanned the room and noticed the resolve on each face. But he also knew that he needed to lay out a comprehensive plan.

He walked up to his desk and retrieved the brown envelope that contained the CD with the details on the Russian Mafia organization. He then swung around and sauntered to the center of the room to face his friends. His lips lifted briefly and his jaw set. He had spent nearly a month displaying a patience he didn’t have. He wanted this over with. He looked down at the envelope and then up again. “Before I present this documentation,” he said, and topped at the top of his desk, “I want to thank you for coming once again to support me as you all did in St. Jean de Luz. This however, will be very different than going after immortals. It will be an easy task for us, but it requires precise timing of execution at all the locations. This particular organization is spread across the world with central locations in all the continents.”

A low long whistle slipped from Antonius lips. “How many continents are we talking about?” he asked.

“Almost all of them,” Sebastian replied. “I need to abolish this nightmare from the face of the earth. I want to eliminate the entire organization that has devoted so much time to destroying me and those that I love. The best way to succeed is to hit all central locations at the same time, and I couldn’t possibly do that without you, no matter how fast I can move. Once we destroy their central locations, we can concentrate on the final clean up with the low rank criminals. Attacking their significant command posts will create chaos, and they will lose communication with their leaders. ”

Sebastian scanned the room and noticed that all his friends were nodding in agreement. He motioned for everyone to take a seat while he walked back to his desk and pressed a button on a small device, and at the far wall of the room, a large screen dropped from the ceiling. He then pressed another button and dark shades lowered, covering all the windows, turning the room completely dark. Darkness was not an issue for the immortals. Their vision was perfect in the night as it was in the daylight. He then took a seat and slipped the disc in the computer. He pointed a remote at the screen and clicked. A large figure of a stocky man with thick brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a shrewd expression on his face covered the screen.

“This is Nikola Vasilovitch, the top man of the organization and my daily nightmare. He only answers to the Prime Minister. However, that does not mean that Nikola keeps him abreast to all of his dirty undertakings. I’m also sure that the Prime Minister has no idea that Nikola is after my company or the reasons behind it. In my research, I found out that Nikola is a selfish man, and there is a motive behind everything he does. And that motive is always to achieve his goals, which will only profit him. He has to be taken out.”

The next image was that of a tall, handsome man with sandy hair and green eyes. “This is Rainer Heinrich. He reports directly to Nikola. I’m not sure how I can describe this man. From all the movies I have watched, all the conversations I have heard, and all the researched I have done, he provides a confusing profile. He portrays the hardened criminal that he should be; however, his actions and directives to his people contradict that portrait. He is always pressing the point of not killing the people they are after. He actually demands that his people do not harm anyone in their captivity. Things do not always turn the way he wants them, but his demeanor has me puzzled. If it was not for Rainer, I’m sure that Arielle would have been raped and badly abused by those goons while in their captivity. I’ll be the one dealing with Rainer as well.”

Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated, and shook his head, dismissing his bothersome thoughts. He then pressed the forward arrow and two other men appeared on the screen. “These two are Rainer’s right hand men, Larue Legrand and Hahn Dussel. They are the experts in decoding top-secret documents, invading computer privacy, extortion, and manipulation. They have numerous kills under their belts. They are unethical, heinous, and heartless killers. Since I’ll be taking on the St. Petersburg command center, I’ll be dealing with those two as well.”

Sebastian took a long breath. “Now I’m going to show you photos of all the men that hold leading command locations in each country and share information on each one of them.” He continued flipping through images on the screen, giving his friends clear views of the people they would have to eliminate.

“The reason I want you to see their faces is that I don’t want innocent people to die. They have employees at those locations that are completely unaware of their filthy undertakings. They are just employees used to mask a corrupt business. I don’t want those people killed.” Sebastian emphasized the last words. “Before we leave this room, each one of you will receive a folder that contains all the pertinent information that you’ll need. The folder will contain details on each one of the men that will be targeted along with their photos.”

Next, a huge world map covered the screen. Red dots appeared over the cities that were to be part of this invasion. The immortals scanned the map, making mental notes of the locations. The cities seem to be spread across six continents, and included Berlin, Paris, New York, Cairo, Ankara, Athens, Brussels, Toronto, Tokyo, Sydney, Milan, Rio and St. Petersburg.

“Wow! They are spread across the globe,” Pier noted.

“Yes, they are,” Sebastian agreed. “That’s why I need your help.” He rose to his feet and pressed a button on his desk. The shades came up, and bright daylight flooded the room. He leaned over the desk, picked up an arm full of folders, and brought them back dropping them onto the large table in the middle of the sitting area. “My private investigators prepared and provided these folders,” he said pointing at the small pile on the table. “I need for you to discuss and chose what city you wish to handle. Then take the folder for that country. Please make sure you go over them tonight. You will find accurate details of the daily schedule for every command leader, their right hand men, and the people that carry out their dirty work. There are also details of the offices they occupy in those buildings. My investigators did an incredible job in providing all this information.”

“Yes, it sounds like they did a remarkable job,” Troy said, as they all inched closer to the table.

An animated discussion began, and soon enough, they had all agreed as to what country and what city they were going to handle. They picked up the folders and walked back to their seats. The folder for St. Petersburg was left on the table for Sebastian. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as his gaze swept over his friend’s faces. He let out a long breath, and crossed the room once again to reach his desk. His calm exterior didn’t fool his friends, they sensed the anxiety, and the eagerness to see this endeavor come to an end.