Arielle Immortal Passion by Lilian Roberts

sleep. The next thing she heard was Sebastian’s velvety voice. “Arielle, what happened, baby?”
    She opened her eyes and met his warm gaze. Reaching up, she tried to pull him close to her, and as she did, she felt a sharp pain shooting right through her chest. She let out a soft cry and sank back on the mattress. Sebastian climbed up on the bed and knelt right next to her. The worried look on his face filled Arielle with anxiety, and tears welled up in her eyes. It was obvious that Mr. Struthers and Mrs. Wilson had informed Sebastian about the situation in the garden, and about Arielle’s injuries.
    “Did you talk to Mr. Struthers and Mrs. Wilson?” she whispered.
    “Yes, I did, but they are clueless. How did you hurt yourself? And where?”
    Sebastian has a strong suspicion that Annabel was somehow involved. There was no other explanation for the vast destruction in the garden. He wanted to hear the details from Arielle.
    “I have some scrapes and a few bruises,” she murmured.
    “Let me see, baby.”
    “It was Annabel,” she whispered.
    A deep crease formed on his forehead, and he shook his head angrily. Yes, he knew it, it all made complete sense, the damaged tree, and the vast wreckage in the garden that Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Struthers hadn’t been able to explain.
    “She told me she was going to kill me. She tried,” she said, pointing to her arms and legs. “But the necklace stopped her.” Sebastian looked deeply upset as his eyes took in the bruises and the bloody scrapes on Arielle’s body.
    “Tell me exactly what happened, Arielle.”
    Arielle drew in a quivering breath, and, in a few words, she explained what had taken place. Sebastian watched her with great concern and, as she spoke, Arielle saw an expression on his face that she had never seen before. His lips were pulled back and his teeth ground together as his face took on a look of outrage and fury.
    As she spoke, he got out of bed and began pacing back and forth without saying a word.
    “Sebastian, please stop pacing, you are making me dizzy.”
    “I hate her. She’s avoiding me, but I’ll hunt her down, that’s a promise. What did she say exactly?”
    Jolted by the memory of Annabel’s presence, and the speed with which she had moved toward her, Arielle flinched. Sebastian was by her side before she had a chance to utter a single word. He framed her face with his hands and pressed his lips on hers, gently.
    “I am so sorry, Arielle. It’s my fault you are in pain. I should never have left you alone.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t be with me all the time.” She quivered at the memory of Annabel’s hands against her chest. “Sebastian,” she said with awe, “Annabel lifted me off that bench as if I was made out of paper.” She groaned angrily, pressing her lips tightly together at the memory. She grimaced, but she knew she wouldn’t allow Annabel to destroy her dreams. “I’m sure the necklace shocked her into dropping me just before I saw her flying back. Her hands were on fire!” she said. She paused, replaying the horrible vision in her mind. “It was an amazing sight. I hit the ground hard, that’s how I hurt myself.”
    She stopped talking for a moment and gazed into his beautiful eyes, so full of tenderness and concern for her. “I’ll have to face her someday, and I’m willing to do that. Just because I’m human it doesn’t mean I’m completely helpless,” she added, giving him a reproachful look.
    He laughed, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her close. “You really are something, you know that?”
    Arielle closed her eyes, happy to feel his body against hers. He was warm, and soft, and she was glad he was there with her. “Did you have a nice time with everyone?”
    “Yes, it was great, but we missed you. Or I should say, I missed you, badly. I don’t do very well when I’m away from you. Eva kept asking to come back sooner, but it wasn’t easy to turn around. I asked her if