Arielle Immortal Journey (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 5) (19 page)

“I’m really happy to hear you say that because you must know who Loren really is.” Arielle studied his face closely. “Loren is an…immortal,” she said, speaking slowly and clearly, emphasizing the last word.

A mixture of fright, amazement, and apprehension appeared on Paul's face. He was frozen in place. His beautiful blue eyes had turned dark and murky. He stared at their hands, still intertwined on the counter top. He finally pulled his hands back, and looked around the room thoughtfully. He ran his hand petulantly through his hair,
and then stared at Arielle’s face, eyes in high alert, body rigid, face
grim.

“That’s absurd!” It was all that he could say. Arielle, Eva, and Gabrielle remained absolutely still. They wanted to give him time to absorb Arielle’s words. Although Paul was quiet his body and facial expression spoke volumes.

Gabrielle’s voice startled Paul, but he kept his gaze on something in the distance, refusing to make direct eye contact with Gabrielle.

“Paul, please listen. You do know that we three love you like a brother. We would never do anything to hurt you. Do you at least believe that?”

Paul’s eyes turned and rested on Gabrielle’s face. His emotions seemed to shift from distress to uneasiness.

“Of course I believe you,” he said, and pressed his hand against his forehead.

“Paul, listen to me, please,” Gabrielle said in a firm voice. “Loren is an immortal. She is an awesome girl that loves you immensely, but she has eternal life.” His gentle look immediately changed to that of horror.

“She’s a vampire!” he shrieked. All three girls choked back a
laugh and rolled their eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“A vampire?” he screamed this time.

“Come on, Paul!” Arielle said, holding back laughter. “There are no such creatures as vampires.”

“Then, what are you saying?”

Arielle took advantage of his shock to continue. “Let me make this very clear, Loren is not a vampire. She is a girl that will live for eternity. She possesses amazing gifts that you and I will never have.”

Paul’s face went pale like an artist’s palette wiped clean after a
painting session. She knew that he was in shock by the look of
disbelief frozen on his face. Arielle took another deep breath and looked over at Gabrielle and Eva who were sitting quietly watching them. They both smiled at her with an approving look on their faces, and so she pressed on.

“Paul, we just can’t pretend that Loren is like you and me
because
she isn’t, and you had to find out the truth sooner or later.” Paul looked at her and there was a faraway look in his eyes. She knew
that look, she had seen it before on herself as well as on Gabrielle and Eva. He was
disoriented and unable to comprehend the meaning of her words.
She
could see fine lines of distress covering his forehead. He kept
rubbing his hands together nervously.

“How do you know?” he whispered.

“She is Sebastian’s sister…and Sebastian is an immortal,” Arielle said calmly. He winced at the unexpected statement.

“Sebastian!” his jaw dropped. His eyes fastened on her face. The disbelief in his voice startled even her.

“Yes,” she replied firmly.

“Does everyone know that?” he asked, astonishment plain on his face as he looked around.

“No, and this isn’t something we should divulge. However,
there are a few more immortals here, and they are people that you know and love.”

Paul stood up and started to pace nervously, face drawn with anxiety. He finally stopped and shaking he head he gazed deep into Arielle’s eyes.

“Like who?” he asked, his voice barely audible.

Arielle remained silent as she desperately searched for words that would make this revelation easier to swallow. Paul stood still
and waited. His eyes assessed the girls as if trying to decipher their thoughts. He finally turned back to Arielle. “Like who?” he insisted keenly.

“Like… like…” Arielle stumbled over her words.
“Like…Troy… Eva…Ian…” her voice trailed as she delivered each name in a slow, worrisome voice.

“Eva!” he shrieked. “Ian! Troy!” He gasped.

“Yes,” Arielle said. Paul got up and walked to the study. The three girls exchanged glances and then followed.

“I suppose you’re all going to explain what the hell is going on
here,” Paul said, watching the three of them, begging them with his eyes to give him something to hold onto, to tell him something that
made sense. The women all took a seat. Arielle began the story of how she learned the truth about Sebastian, making sure not to skip over any detail. She proceeded to explain how Gabrielle came to learn about Troy, and eventually turned to the horrible accident that changed the lives of Eva and Ian forever.

Paul's face paled the more Arielle talked. He was clearly fighting an urge to throw up. He rose to his feet again and walked in front of the huge window. He stared out toward the ocean and took deep breaths. For several minutes, he merely stood there with his hands in his pockets. Gabrielle, Eva, and Arielle remained quiet, waiting.

Before long, Paul spun around, his expression dark. Through clenched teeth, he said, “So, we’re dealing with people that aren’t
human, that never die, and other than that, you’re telling me they are normal. Come on, be real!”

“Careful, Paul, I’m one of those people, and I’m right here.” Eva sounded upset. Paul averted his gaze away from her.

“I’m sorry, Eva,” he mumbled apologetically, but he would not meet her eyes. He stared off in the distance for a few moments, and then suddenly he snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked at Eva. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just shocked by the whole thing. I hope you understand, this isn’t an easy thing to swallow. It’s actually quite astonishing.”

“Yes, I do understand. We have all been at the place you’re at right now. I understand completely.”

Paul smiled, his expression changing to one of relief. “I’ve been thrust into an entirely unusual and scary area. I’m not sure how I can process something like this.”

Arielle jumped in. “Different yes, but scary...no,” she said
smiling, her thoughts on her miracle man. Arielle looked down at her watch anxiously; it was almost three. Loren would be arriving shortly.
Will
Paul be ready to face her?
she thought to herself. Rising to her feet, she walked up to Paul and taking his hand, she said softly, “Paul,
remember,
we all love each other very much, and we would never purposely
hurt each other, do you agree?”

“Of course” Paul blinked surprised. “I’m astounded that you would even ask that.”

“I’m sorry, Paul,” Arielle said. “I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Eva stood up and paced across the room. She finally stopped in
front of Paul, and peered into his eyes. “I hope all this will never
alter your love for–”

Paul interrupted her mid-sentence by waving his hands in dismissal. “Nothing will ever come between Loren and me. I only
wish she had told me herself.”

“Paul, let me tell you what I know to be the absolute truth,” Arielle said. “Loren is deeply in love with you. She was scared to death that if you found out that she was an immortal you wouldn’t
love her
anymore. Immortals have an amazing ability to will people to do anything they want them to do. Loren could have compelled you to fall in love with her, but that’s not what immortals do when they find their soul mates. They want to be loved for who they are, just as
we all do.”
She ran her tongue over her dry lips, and took a deep breath. She
looked at her friend anxiously, and asked, “Can you understand?”

Chapter 15

PAUL CONSIDERED ARIELLE'S WORDS.
She turned and went back to take a seat next to Gabrielle while Paul watched her silently.
He took a seat behind Sebastian’s desk, shaking his head in
confusion. Leaning forward, he set both his forearms on the desk and clasped his hands together as conflicting emotions ran across his face.

Arielle continued to gaze at him from across the room with an unwavering expression. “Loren has not been able to sleep since the moment you saw her move with her immortal speed at the
restaurant. She wanted badly to be with you, so she tried to get to you as fast as
she could. She wanted to be in your arms, and made a mistake that she regrets. Oh, how I wish you would forget all about immortality and love her for being Loren, a gorgeous girl that happened to be given a gift that she never asked for.” Arielle pursed her lips and forced a smile.

“What do you mean she was given a gift she didn’t ask for?”

“Someone gave the gift of immortality to Loren rather than
letting
her die. It was the same with her parents. They didn’t ask to be
immortals. The choice was made for them, and they have to live with their immortality, and all that comes with it.”

“That’s extraordinary!”

“They really are just like you and me. They fall in love, and they hurt just like we do. There are some differences, but nothing that would interfere with your love and your life together.”

Paul rested his chin in his hands. He gazed at the three girls for a
long moment, eyes narrowed, and when he spoke his voice was
smooth. “So, she’s going to live forever, and what about me?” His question lingered between them.

Finally, Arielle broke the silence. “Gabrielle and I are in the same boat with you, but we both choose to spend every moment we have left on this earth with Sebastian and Troy. I’m sure that our lives would be empty if they were not here.”

Paul listened carefully, his expression still showing confusion, but he nodded slowly in agreement. A soft look spread across his face, and Arielle knew that he was thinking about Loren. He finally
coughed to clear his throat before saying, “I knew there was
something
extraordinary about Loren. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, present company excluded,” he quickly added and chuckled.
The girls laughed with him.

“She’s absolutely incredible in everything she does.” He
snickered as his cheeks flamed.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Arielle said. “We’re familiar with immortal passion.”

“We know that she’s an amazing lover because that’s another immortal gift. And I’m
thankful
for that,” Gabrielle chimed in.

Paul smiled. “Gabrielle, I never thought I’d hear something like that from you,” he noted, feigning disapproval.

Gabrielle’ adopted an expression of mock disappointment. “Well
then, you don’t know me well enough,” she said, lifting her nose up teasingly and letting a wide smile curve her lips. Paul held Gabrielle’s gaze for a long moment and then grinned. He opened his
mouth to say something but he was quickly interrupted.

“We’re fascinating and tireless,” Eva said, bragging a little. Three
heads swiveled in her direction. Arielle was struck by the crisp tone in Eva’s voice. There was a long pause, and suddenly laughter
erupted in the study when they realized that Eva was only jesting with them.

The mood had improved immensely. They all went back into the kitchen to get drinks.

“I have to tell you,” Paul said chuckling, “when I saw Loren coming toward me at the restaurant, I completely freaked out. I
couldn’t understand how someone could move with that kind of speed. She was a blur!” He shook his head in disbelief. “I didn’t pressure her to explain because she told me that she was going to do that today. But wow! I never expected this.”

“I’ve been with Troy for a year now and I still get freaked out when he moves that fast,” Gabrielle said.

“Me too,” Arielle added. She moved closer to Paul and put her arm around him, giving him a friendly squeeze.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Looking into his beautiful blue eyes, she said, “Loren is coming over in a few minutes. She is my sister now, so please–” She didn’t get to finish her statement because Paul waved his arm dismissively.

“Don’t worry, Arielle, Loren is who I want to be with for the rest of my life. I appreciate all that you have done, but I’m okay.” Paul rose to his feet and walked over to Eva. “Eva, I’m horrified to know that you could kill me with your little finger,” he said, awestruck.

“Yes, I could, so don’t tempt me,” Eva said, using the same
superior tone she used to fool them earlier. This time the laughter came more quickly. Eva hugged Paul as Gabrielle and Arielle looked at each other in delight.

“You did great,” Gabrielle whispered in Arielle's ear.

Loren arrived around 3:10, and Paul wanted to be the one to
open
the door. The girls walked into the study to give them privacy, but not before they saw Paul pull her into his arms and initiate a sweltering kiss.