Arielle Immortal Journey (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 5) (35 page)

Sebastian seemed to only have eyes for the girls that were
hanging off of his arms. He remained still for a few seconds more as he took inventory of the huge ballroom. He bent down and kissed one of the two girls, and then he whispered something in her ear that made her blush. He then let her go, and pulled the other to the dance floor. He
encircled her with his arms, and pulled her as close to him as her
gown
would allow. She was a very beautiful girl with long blond hair.
Sebastian stood much taller than she, but she kept looking up into his eyes and Arielle could see her lips moving. Sebastian held that amazing smile on his face and somewhere in the middle of the dance
they locked lips. Arielle stiffened. She was consumed by jealousy
and a stormy sensation of rage. Her heart started to hammer in her chest. She bit her lower lip so hard that she felt excruciating pain, and she let out a low cry making Brandon turn and look at her. She avoided his gaze, terrified that her eyes would reveal her emotions.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes, sorry,” she said nervously. Eva noticed and drew Brandon into a conversation to cover for Arielle. Sebastian was unaware of her
existence, and she couldn’t possibly expect him to do anything to
make her anxiety go away. He moved to the music, and whatever he was
whispering into the girl’s ear kept her giggling. Arielle stood alone watching the silly girl move into him with obvious pleasure. She
dragged
a long, anxious breath and her lips twitched.
Oh, my God,
Arielle
thought.
I never realized how much this was going to hurt.
The pressure under her skin was building up, and she kept swallowing hard while fighting the heaving sensation that choked her. Her heartbeat picked up and she could hear the roaring of the blood rushing through her veins.
I’m not going to make it,
she thought. She closed her eyes and felt the
sting behind her eyelids.
Oh no! Oh no! God, please don’t let me fall
apart, don’t let me cry.

“Arielle, what’s wrong?”

Arielle’s eyes flew open and she came face to face with Gabrielle. “What is it? You look absolutely horrible.”

Arielle pointed toward the dance floor where Sebastian and the blond hair girl seemed to have eyes only for each other. Gabby’s eyes went wide, and then turning back she pulled Arielle closer. She took
her hands and pressed them softly. Arielle heard her think that she
could only imagine how her friend felt. It would rip her heart out if
Troy were the guy on the dance floor.

“Arielle, this is not the Sebastian you know. Can you try and separate the two different men in your head?”

“I’m trying,” she groaned, pursing her lips together.

“Well, you’re doing a bloody lousy job,” Gabby whispered.

Arielle blinked because her statement was absolutely true. She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it because Gabby was on a roll.

“You don’t exist in this century, Arielle. He hasn’t met you. He
doesn’t know you. And he’s a man, a gorgeous man at that. So, what do you bloody expect from him? Do you expect him to move
through the next five hundred years without a woman until he meets you?”

Arielle winced at Gabby’s words. “Are you trying to comfort
me? Or make fun of me?” she asked, a bit shocked.

“I love you, Arielle, I am trying to tell you that you are the only person here that can change the direction of your thoughts and enjoy your time.”

Arielle nodded again and forced a smile. Gabrielle draped her
arm
around Arielle’s shoulders. Leaning even closer, she whispered, “It is
the
bloody sixteenth century, Arielle, that’s pretty incredible you must
admit.”

Arielle nodded in agreement. She needed to rein in her thoughts
and enjoy her birthday gift with her best friends. Looking up at
Gabby she smiled softly. “I’m okay now, Gabby. I will try.”

They walked back to where Eva and Brandon were still talking and joined in the conversation. Arielle’s gaze drifted over to the
dance floor
once again, and her mind wandered aimlessly. She couldn’t see
much
difference between the man she was looking at right now and the man that was waiting for her back home. He was beautiful, tall, and
had an amazing body. His facial features were flawless, and his sandy hair was attractively ruffled. He had a boyish kind of look she thought as
she watched him try to brush his hair out of his eyes unsuccessfully. She wasn’t close enough to see his eyes, but she was sure they were the most beautiful emerald color in the whole world. He was absolutely perfect.

Oh, my God,
she thought.
I loved him deeply,
and that’s the reason this is such an excruciatingly painful experience.
It was hard to avert her gaze from him. Her jealousy increased, and she swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth. She was startled as strong fingers wrapped around her wrist.

“Are you looking for me?” she heard Gaston’s voice again. She looked back at him but avoided meeting his gaze. There was a strong
sexual undertone in his voice. He pulled her into his arms and she
recoiled. Arielle thought that Gaston was stunning, and if Sebastian
weren’t the only man in her life, she would be thrilled to be in his arms. Her concern was the fact that he was an immortal and she
knew the powers he possessed. It was apparent to her that Gaston was after
something but what? She looked away from his gaze, refusing to make direct contact. He pulled her to the dance floor and she
followed. She wanted to be close to where Sebastian was dancing. Soon enough,
Gaston’s cheek was brushing against hers. The amazing smell of his immortal scent made her miss Sebastian even more. The thought made her bite her lower lip hard enough that she got a faint taste of
blood.

“Are you all right?” Gaston asked softly.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you, just a bit tired,” she said keeping her eyes away from his face.

“You have the most amazing blue eyes I have ever seen, so
please
don’t keep your head down.” She felt his hot breath brushing the
side
of her face, but she kept her eyes closed as she repeated to herself
over and over again,
I must endure…I must endure…

Chapter 26

ALL SHE WANTED
was for the music to stop so that she could get
away from Gaston. She was already planning her next move. She would decline his next request to dance by using the lame excuse of either being too tired or not feeling well. She was still in deep
thought when she was startled by Gaston’s strong voice.

“Sebastian! Come here and meet the girl of my dreams.” Her eyes flew open and turning she realized that Sebastian was only a
few inches
away from them. Arielle wanted to scream from the excruciating
heartache that was pounding in her head, but she kept quiet.

“Gaston, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all
night.” Sebastian sounded joyful. His voice traveled through every fiber of
Arielle’s body. His voice hit her like a lifeline pulling her out of a
cruel
dream. She watched Sebastian walk slowly towards them, his eyes on Gaston. The girl followed on his heels without letting go of his
hand.

“Well, let me meet this dream girl of yours,” Sebastian said with amusement.

“I’m desperately trying to convince this beautiful girl that I’m the man for her,” Gaston said, his arm snaked around Arielle’s waist making her very uncomfortable. They had stopped dancing, and she knew that Sebastian and the girl were standing in front of them. She kept her eyes to the floor, overtaken by apprehension.

“Bon soir,” she heard his voice say, and felt a warm ripple flow throughout her body. She slowly lifted her head, and her knees
almost gave out when she met his intense gaze. She stared into his familiar
emerald eyes. He was studying her intently, and she thought that
she saw a faint thrilling look cross his eyes.

“Bon soir,” she mumbled. Their eyes remained locked. She tried hard to avert her gaze away from his beautiful face, but she couldn’t. It was like she was frozen in place.

“Sebastian, this is Arielle,” Gaston said smugly. Sebastian
reached out and took her hand, lifting it to his lips.
Oh, God, help me, I’m going to faint right here right now,
she thought and trembled.

“Arielle, this is Sebastian Gaulle.” Arielle barely heard Gaston’s
voice. She smiled awkwardly and finally yanked her eyes away from Sebastian’s face. She pulled her hand away, and he let it go
reluctantly.
She took a deep breath, and she was sure that her sudden move
didn’t escape either one of them.

“Have we met before?” Sebastian asked. His voice came out a little shaky. That wasn’t a question she anticipated. She was
completely taken aback.

“No, I’m sure we’ve never met,” she replied immediately. He remained quiet for several moments assessing her carefully. He
finally looked over at the girl on his side and proceeded to introduce her.

“Gaston, this is Colette, Colette this is Gaston and…Arielle.” Her name rolled slowly out of his beautiful mouth.

“Bon soir,” Colette said with what sounded to Arielle like a frivolous, annoying voice. Colette looked at Gaston playfully but
never looked in
Arielle's direction. Arielle was sure she was judging her brutally
because she was hanging off Sebastian’s arm. She should be there, not that bloody girl.

“Excuse me, but I have to go,” Arielle said, and pulled away
from Gaston. He tried to pull her back, but she moved away quickly.

“Arielle, remember that you owe me one more dance.” She heard Gaston’s amused voice, but she picked up her pace and didn’t look
back. She saw Gabrielle dancing. When she reached the opposite
side, she saw Eva dancing with Brandon. She smiled as she went around a
large column and disappeared from Gaston's and Sebastian’s view. She stood behind a group of young girls who were giggling and
whispering in low voices. She couldn’t help hearing their funny conversation.

She turned her attention to the much younger girl in the group as she sighed deeply. “Sebastian is so gorgeous!” They were ripping hard into the girl that Sebastian was dancing with. Arielle chuckled at their remarks that kept coming one after the other.

“Look at her, she is falling all over him,” said one of them.

“Colette Broussard is cheap, she is after his money,” said another.

“I’d die to be his girl,” the youngest one said again with a deep sigh.

“I wouldn’t care if he had only a penny in the world,” said the girl that was standing closest to Arielle.

Arielle chuckled under her breath. She too wished to be the girl in his arms.

Sebastian was full of life. His beautiful face beamed with joy as
he danced with several girls throughout the night. He seemed to
enjoy his time with each one of them, and she could tell that he was trying to make them all feel special. She was totally mesmerized. She stood there secretly watching him without moving an inch.

Gabrielle and Eva stayed on the dance floor through several
dances. Arielle finally moved away and started to walk around the room again. She looked toward Sebastian’s direction several times, but she didn’t think he was aware of her existence. It was one of those times that he turned and their eyes locked. His gaze was intense, and she was unprepared for a normal reaction. She knew that she was caught watching him, and her cheeks turned the deepest red. Unexpectedly, he looked away somewhere toward the other side of the room as if
she didn’t exist. She was still watching him at a loss for words. He
averted his gaze back to the girl in his arms and then bending down
he locked them in a kiss that felt like a sharp knife going through
Arielle’s heart. She felt moisture in her eyes, and her lower lip
quivered. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through this.

She finally peeled her eyes away and moved towards the other side of the room always aware of his presence. She stopped
underneath a beautiful wreath of flowers and gazed back at the dance floor trying to find Eva or Gabrielle, but she was unsuccessful. She figured that
they were still dancing as there were more men than women in the ballroom. She took another look around, and it didn’t take long
before
their eyes engaged one more time. A very expression overtook
Sebastian’s
face. This time his gaze remained on her for a while longer, and his eyes narrowed to slits. She looked away and pressed her lips
together, but her eyes drifted back in his direction as if a magnet was pulling her
his way. He was watched her carefully. She exhaled slowly and
closed her eyes, trying to imagine the type of conversation she could have with him without revealing her true identity.