Arielle Immortal Quickening (19 page)

“You must eat something before we go.”

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, trying and cool off the nerves in her body that his touch had jolted awake in a crashing heat wave. He pulled back giving her room to reach the table, but the smile of deep satisfaction on his face didn’t escape her. She knew he loved the power he held over her. He could turn her world upside down with just one finger, and she was fine with that.

“Thank you for breakfast,” she said with a smile. She took a piece of toast from the plate and bit into it, chewed, and swallowed.

“Mmm…it’s awfully good; where did you learn how to cook?” she asked, amused, before breaking into a blissful laugh. He joined in as she put the rest of the toast in her mouth and held it between her teeth while reaching into the fridge to pour a glass of milk.

Soon, they were on the way to school. His gaze swept over her and his lips curved up to that so familiar smile. He took her hand and placed it on his thigh and held it there by putting his hand on top of hers.

“Maybe you were right,” he said. “Maybe we should turn around and go back home. It’ll be nearly impossible to sit next to you and not be able to touch you.” She laughed quietly with him, but she kept her eyes on the road without responding to his comment. She could see the buildings of the university spread across the land in the near distance. She could see the tall residence buildings reaching towards the gray morning sky. Her thoughts went to Gabby, and she tensed, sighing softly. He felt her tension and pressed her hand, nothing escaped this amazing immortal.

“What is it?” he asked softly. She pursed her lips and turned to gaze at him. His eyes were luminous but curious.

“I was thinking about Gabby and….” She trailed off, feeling a bit stressed.

“What about Gabrielle?” he pressed on, keeping his eyes on her instead of on the road. He always scared her when he did that, but somehow he could drive extremely well even with his eyes closed. She dragged in a deep breath.

“It’ll be extremely strange without Gabby at school,” she said, her words barely audible. “This will be the first time since primary school that we are not going to be together.” She bit her lower lip and smiled bitterly.

“Arielle, you can visit with Gabrielle after class. She is fine!” he said softly. “She’ll be back in class before you know it.” He pressed her hand again with certainty. He was right, and she needed to snap out of this trivial mood.

The first day back was surreal. They didn’t need to have to worry about setting the tone for the rest of the semester. They already knew each professor’s course expectations and their standards. The only excitement was seeing and being with their friends. The accident was pretty much the center of discussion, but everyone was extremely pleased that the outcome was good. Gabrielle and Troy were awfully missed, but they would be back in a couple weeks.

Chapter 15

A
rielle was aware that school was boring Sebastian to death. But each day she watched him attend classes and take a seat next to her attentively, joyfully, without complaining. She loved him deeply, but she found that type of action disconcerting. Five centuries of matriculating would become dismal. She begged him to skip the last semester, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

She was his remedy, his compulsion, and she provided him with a sense of ease that was overpowering. He wanted to protect her and make sure that she was safe.

Arielle wasn’t sure if she should feel pleased or unhappy about all the attention, but she didn’t try very hard to change his mind. His presence was like the air she needed to be able to breathe. She was exultant to know that he was there only for her. There was nothing in this world that could compare to the feeling of walking through campus next to a man like Sebastian with their fingers intertwined. They had this special connection that ignited passion between them. Every day she rode a perpetual merry-go-round made out of Sebastian’s emotions, feelings that tantalized her and filled her with gentleness, thoughtfulness, passion, and adoration.

She was the envy of many females around campus who didn’t try to hide their feelings. A few times, his admirers were so blatant in their attention that they begged Sebastian for a date in front of Arielle, as though she were invisible. If he hadn’t dismissed each proposal politely while making it obvious that Arielle was his only love, she may have become jealous.

This last semester she was taking chemistry, design & technology, biological science, and physics. She was finished with the other courses that were required for her Bachelor’s degree.

Second period was Physics with professor Mayfield. He was one of her most favorite professors, and she enjoyed his sessions immensely. She walked with Sebastian through the auditorium doors and paused, trying to locate two seats together. She wanted to sit next to Sebastian; unfortunately, nearly every seat was taken. She gazed up at him and pressed her lips together filled with anxiety. He smiled, and she frowned in response. They would have to sit not only in separate seats but also in separate rows. She wasn’t happy at all, and she didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. Sebastian leaned closer, and she heard his velvety voice filled with mirth.

“If you didn’t take your time in bed this morning, this could have end up a little differently.”

“I don’t regret a moment of it,” she muttered. She knew he was right, but she wasn’t going to admit it. She leaned closer to him. “I love being in bed with you,” she added, squeezing his hand. They climbed the steps of the auditorium and found an aisle seat next to Danielle. She was one of their dear friends Damien Sander’s girlfriend.

“You take this seat,” Sebastian said, and she nodded.

“Sebastian, Arielle!” They heard a low voice and looking up they saw two more of their friends—Alex Durand and Robert Gibson—waving a few rows higher, motioning to Sebastian to take the vacant seat next to them. She waved back with a smile, and Sebastian nodded in agreement. Just before he walked away, he lifted his hand up to trail the side of her face with his warm fingers. Her skin blushed with excitement, and she pressed her lips together, knowing that she was going to miss holding his hand through the class. He smiled softly, gazing over her face. “Miss me!” She sighed as she watched him walk up a few steps and take a seat next to Alex. She turned around and sunk quite unhappy onto her seat.

“He is a real knock out!” she heard a woman in the row behind her say.

“Yea! He is pretty hot!” another voice whispered. Arielle pressed her lips together in anger, or maybe jealousy.

“Hi, Arielle,” Danielle’s voice had a pleasant tone.

She turned and smiled, truly pleased to see her. She was a real sweetheart. They had become friends during their first year at the university.

“Hi, Danielle, how are you?”

“Fine,” she replied with a soft smile.

“How are you getting along with Damien?”

“Oh, pretty well, we decided to live together. We rented a flat very close to campus, this way we can walk to class and save money on gas,” she said.

“That sounds great!” Arielle looked back, meeting Sebastian’s gaze, and she felt herself lured toward his warmth. She sent him a wishful smile in return and settled back into her seat. This was going to be a very long session.

“Did you see the new professor?” Danielle voice broke her out of her reverie.

“What?” She averted her gaze swiftly down to the platform in total shock. She narrowed her eyes and racked her fingers through her hair.

“Who is he?”

“I don’t know; he must be professor Mayfield’s replacement,” Danielle said.

“What do you mean replacement?” Her eyes widened, revealing surprise. “What happened to professor Mayfield?”

“I heard that he was in a serious accident during our summer break, and he will not be teaching the rest of this year,” Danielle confided.

“Oh…” Arielle’s expression went blank, and she pursed her lips. “Crap!” Quickly she fished her phone out of her pocket and text Sebastian.

“OMG. Did you hear that Professor Mayfield had an accident?!”

“Yes.” he texted back.

“How did you know?”

“I heard Danielle telling you ;).”

Arielle snorted, realizing the idiocy of her question. Sebastian’s immortal hearing traveled at a subluminal velocity. He could hear a pin drop on the grass. She turned meeting his gaze. His head cocked to the side, his hand rubbing his chin, and a playful smirk on his beautiful lips.
Will I ever be able to have a private conversation with someone? Of course not!
Not as long as Sebastian was around. She frowned and turned back to face the platform.

She wasn’t very good with changes, and she certainly was not happy about this change. She took a deep breath, jaw clenched, and pushed her hair off her face. Her thoughts were drifting into unfamiliar territory. This was one of the most important classes this semester, and it was critical that she had a good rapport with the professor. How could see do that with someone she had never met before, especially if he didn’t know anything about her or her qualifications.

She was startled by Danielle’s exclamation.

“Jeez! Arielle! Let me see your ring! Gosh it’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed with a low gasp. She reached over and gently pulled Arielle’s hand closer to take a better look at her engagement ring.

“That’s some kind of a rock,” she exclaimed. “It sure looks very expensive.”

Arielle eyed her ring and winced. She pulled her hand away from Danielle’s and placed it on her lap. “Don’t talk about that,” she said sternly. “I don’t care about the monetary value of the ring.” Danielle didn’t seem to be affected by the harshness in Arielle’s voice. There were certain things that got under Arielle’s skin, and placing monetary worth on an item was one of them. She didn’t like to talk or even think about Sebastian’s wealth. “It’s the meaning behind the ring, not the price,” she muttered, trying to soften the severity in her voice.

“I agree,” Danielle asserted. “But you have to admit that this diamond is too darn large!”

Arielle shot a thankful glance at Danielle and concentrated on the new Professor. He was still busy looking down and shuffling papers. Her mind wondered aimlessly for a few minutes. Sebastian’s face brought her thoughts to a screeching hold. She couldn’t help the brilliant smile that split her face. A smoldering heat traveled like fire across her body, and she tried to control her breathing. How in the world could he have such an astounding affect on her even when he wasn’t near? She closed her eyes and her lips kicked up into a dazzling smile. Danielle’s voice startled her.

“When is the big day?”

Arielle scoffed…she was sure that Sebastian was listening to every single word of their conversation. That was one of his immortal gifts.
I’ll never able to have a private conversation as long as Sebastian is somewhere in the vicinity,
she thought. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her back. She turned and smiled at Danielle, giving her a vague reply.

“We haven’t set a date,” she said. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she focused at the tall posture of the man that was facing away from them and wondered what he actually looked like. He was holding a book in his left hand, and he was still busy flipping through the pages. She was sure that he was waiting for everyone to settle down before he addressed the class.

“Did you notice the changes on Professor Mayfield’s desk?” Arielle’s eyes followed where Danielle was pointing to the desk at the corner of the platform. Normally, the surface of Mayfield’s desk would be cluttered with physics books, articles, and loose papers that covered every available surface, towering centimeters above the desk in places. But that was not the case today. This desk was perfectly organized, not a single item out of place. Several books were stacked perfectly, one on top of the other, and no loose papers were anywhere to be seen.

A large book was open at the top of the podium, and the stranger continued to stand with his back to the classroom. He didn’t have white hair like Professor Mayfield, and he didn’t wear a suit. This man was much taller, quite muscular, and dressed in casual attire. He looked more like one of the students than a professor. By the time she finished her thoughts, he had succeeded in completely filling the slate with formulas, mathematical expressions of physical concepts, and symbols.

Leaning forward, she waited to finally see their new professor. When he turned to face them, she was taken aback. He was quite young, in his mid-thirties, and very handsome. His hair was black, falling carelessly over his forehead. His gentle features complemented his full mouth, bowed perfectly in the center. One thing was certain; she hadn’t seen him anytime during her four years here.

Though she had long ago adjusted to the perfection of immortal features, she found herself admitting that he was handsome for a professor. The light at the podium reflected his eyes when he shifted ever so slightly and looked up at the auditorium. She was sitting close enough to notice that they were deep, deep blue with a definite appeal that was very hard to ignore. She thought she stared at him for a very long time, and she had some difficulty listening to his instructions.