Arielle Immortal Seduction (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 2) Read online

  Arielle nodded. “All I want to do is to get into the shower and wash his hands off of me,” she murmured.

  And indeed, as soon as she got home she headed straight for the shower where she used a whole bar of soap and scraped her skin raw. She let the hot water run over her skin for a long time. The heat lessened the pain and she felt a little better as she came out of the shower. But her jaw dropped when she looked at her naked body in the full-length mirror. There were dark bruises all over her face and body. She looked as if she had been run over by a bus.

  Completely exhausted, she fell into bed, but every time she closed her eyes she would see Matt’s wild face and his filthy smile.

  Lying there in the dark, she started to cry again, her head full of terrible thoughts.

  Chapter 3

  IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED, Arielle had a hard time accepting that her body was just as clean and pure as it had been before the attack, even though she had not been raped. She was glad that Sebastian hadn’t called during this time. There would have been no way that she could have hid the torment she was going through from him. She knew he would be able to sense her anguish. He did text her several times, and she was able to reply to his texts carefully, hiding her sadness.

  A few days after the attack, Gabrielle and Eva called to ask if she needed some company, and Arielle was happy to have them come over. She needed to talk and they were the perfect listeners. They were her sisters. They sat together in her bedroom and Arielle started to talk slowly, expressing the way she felt. This would be the first time she would talk to her friends about her commitment to abstinence.

  “I’m still a virgin,” she muttered. Looking down, she clasped her hands on her lap. Silence followed that felt endless. Arielle searched for the right words to continue with her story. She finally stood up and started to pace uncomfortably. Then, she stopped and turned to face her two best friends, regarding them warmly. “You see, I’ve been waiting for true love and fireworks,” she said. “Somehow, even though there was no penetration from that filthy jerk, I feel so dirty. I feel like I’m spoiled. I still feel his disgusting hands and body touching me, and it makes me sick all over again.”

  Gabrielle and Eva listened sympathetically, but there was really nothing they, or anyone else, could do to make Arielle feel better. She would have to work this out on her own, and they knew that she didn’t lack courage. She would emerge out of this terrible mishap, stronger and more secure.

  It was late in the afternoon when Arielle’s friends left. They were consumed by gloom, knowing how their best friend was suffering.

  In the first few days after the attack, she cried for hours at a time and slept nearly the rest of the time. She knew she was tormented from shock, but her friends and her parents feared she was falling into a deep depression. She didn’t want to go anywhere or visit anyone, and she was pleased to know her friends didn’t expect anything from her. Her parents found a therapist for her and she went each day for a one-hour session. Still, Matt had become a ghastly nightmare that wouldn’t go away. He haunted her dreams every night, often with flashbacks of the attack, and she would wake up crying in a cold sweat. She stopped going to classes because she didn’t want to face anyone, and she didn’t want to discuss the details of the incident.

  Her mother was wonderful during this time. She took tender care of Arielle and never brought up the incident unless her daughter did.

  One Saturday morning three weeks after the attack, she woke up tired. Her mum came into her room with a smile on her face.

  “Can I make you something to eat, darling?” she asked, as she pulled the drapes back and let the sun pour into the room. Arielle smiled and reached out for a hug.

  “Thanks, Mum, but I’m really not hungry right now. Maybe a little later.” She got out of bed and into the shower while her mother picked up around the room.

  The water felt invigorating as it flowed over her aching body. Stepping out of the shower, she took a towel and wrapped it around her hair. She grabbed another towel and quickly dried herself.

  Turning toward the full-length mirror, she frowned at the girl looking back at her. She could still see the bruises, the cuts on her lips, and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. She closed her eyes and grimaced as a gradual shudder surged through her body. Sebastian’s face filled her thoughts and her heart thudded uncomfortably. How would he react to this episode? Would he go looking for Matt? She searched for an answer but there was none. Her shoulders slumped. She squeezed her eyes tight against the sting that was growing behind her eyelids.

  “Arielle, are you finished?” Her mother’s voice startled her. “Do you need help?”

  Glumly she stifled her anguish and feigned calm, masking the misery that cloaked her existence. “No, thank you, Mummy, I’ll be out shortly.”

  She picked up the hairdryer and switching it on, she proceeded to dry her hair. Tears pooled in her eyes and she swallowed hard. Oh how she wished Sebastian had been here, and that all this was nothing but a bad dream. Touching the corner of the towel to her eyes, she wiped a few runaway tears.

  “Where’s Daddy?” she asked, emerging out of the bathroom.

  “He’s in the family room. He didn’t want to bother you. He came in several times while you were sleeping to make sure you were all right. He is really worried about you, and very angry about the whole thing. Arielle, this is the second time you have been seriously hurt within a month. You can’t imagine how that grieves us.”

  “I’m sorry, Mother. The last thing I want to do is worry you and Daddy.”

  Her mother gave her a quick hug and left the room. Arielle lay in bed and closed her eyes. How was she going to tell Sebastian what had happened? What if he went after Matt? He would kill him. She didn’t care if Matt was dead or alive, but she didn’t want Sebastian involved in any trouble. There was less than a month left before he would be home. What if her bruises didn’t go away before he returned? How would she ever explain them to him? What if he didn’t want her after this? What if he thought that she had brought it on herself?

  She sighed, longing for reassurance that Sebastian still loved her, and laughed ruefully at the irony of her saving herself for marriage and then almost losing her virginity to a rapist. I’m going to have to rethink my decision to abstain from sex with Sebastian pretty seriously, she thought. I mean what’s the point of it? Don’t we truly love each other?

  She was engulfed with intense anger and anxiety, something she had never felt before. It was like everything was her fault. She could have and should have just walked away from Matt, never even spoken to him at all. Maybe that would have kept him away from her. Hadn’t she sensed from the beginning that he was nothing but trouble? What had she been thinking?

  She sighed. This would never have happened if Sebastian had been here. She needed to hear his beautiful voice. She didn’t want him to know about what had happened to her, but she was dying to see him.

  Every day, she checked her bruises and counted the days until he would return. Time was passing slowly and the bruises were getting lighter, but they were still visible. Arielle’s pain was much better, but she still didn’t want to get out of bed, or go anywhere or see anyone anytime soon.

  Her friends came over to visit often and she was happy to see each of them. She asked Eva to bring her the necklace from her jewelry box.

  “Is there a special meaning to that necklace?”

  “I know it’ll sound silly, but Sebastian says it’s a good luck charm that protects the wearer from evil,” she said and chuckled. She knew that Eva believed in that sort of thing and inwardly smiled to see Eva look relieved when she put it back on.

  “Why did you ever take this off then,” Eva chided her gently, “if Sebastian told you to keep it on at all times?”

  “I know, I know, I took it off just to take a shower. I never imagined anything like this was going to happen to me in our flat. I’m just so thankful you came back when you did,” she said smiling and
gave Eva a big hug. “And thank you, Troy, too, for all you did for me.”

  “It was nothing,” he whispered in her ear.

  “This is the second time you saved me,” she said. “I owe you big time!”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll collect,” he chuckled. Arielle knew exactly what he meant. Troy was going to need her help when it was time to tell Gabrielle about his immortality.

  Arielle asked her friends not to talk about what happened, and they promised to keep her secret. She didn’t want everyone at school to know what she had gone through.

  Matt’s parents posted bail for him, but campus police advised the faculty and campus security that he wasn’t permitted back on school grounds. There was a court order for him to stay away from Arielle, but she felt certain that this part of her life would not be over until after Matt’s court appearance, which was set for the following month, and where she would have to testify.

  She was dreading the day, horrified that Sebastian would learn the details of the attack. She was sure he would be there in the courtroom, and she didn’t want to think of what he might do. How am I going to explain this to him? she thought, her heart filled with agony.

  When she finally returned to school it was difficult to concentrate on routine activities. She continued to stay at home with her parents, and she couldn’t go back to the flat after what had happened there, at least not yet. Her friends understood, and nothing more was said about that.

  One day, Sebastian called to let her know there had been some additional complications that would further delay his return.

  “I’ll try to call as soon as I can. I love you, baby.”

  “I love you, too,” she replied, this time without any complaints.

  “Miss me, Arielle,” he said and the line went dead. It was the first time she hadn’t tried to keep him on the phone.

  She didn’t like the idea of being away from him for this long, but she was glad that the additional delay would give her more time to recover from the attack. She knew the next few weeks would go quickly and that her studies would consume a lot of her time. She had no desire to go out, and she didn’t want to be around people at all. She feared she might not be able to trust even people that she had known for a long time anymore.

  One afternoon, she decided to take a book and sit in her favorite spot in the garden. She had read Rebecca before, but it was one of her favorite books, so she decided to read it again. She felt sympathy for the second Mrs. De Winter and the passionate love she had for Maximilian. As she walked under the trees and down the walkway into the garden, she could smell the freesia. Its fragrance made her smile.

  The air was clean, the birds were singing, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. She loved this garden so much. It was her private paradise. As she turned a corner, she was surprised to find her father sleeping on one of the chairs, the newspaper open on his chest. He looked tired, and his face was a bit pale.

  She went close to him and his breathing was soft and normal, so she let him sleep. She sat down close to him and opened her book. When it began to grow dark, she woke him up.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked, startled.

  “I’m not sure,” she smiled. “But it has been a while, and you have been sleeping peacefully.”

  “How are you, Arielle? Your eyes look red and swollen, have you been crying again?”

  “Yes, I have. I can’t help it, Daddy.”

  “I’m worried about you, but I know you are strong. You’ll come out of this soon,” he encouraged her.

  “I wish Sebastian was here,” she sighed. “I know I would feel better if he were here. On the other hand, I don’t want him to know what happened.”

  “If you love him you’ll have to tell him,” her father said with a sympathetic look.

  “No! No, Daddy, he may do something, and I don’t want him to get into any trouble for me. Anyway, everything turned out fine. Except for my ego being bruised,” she added with a rueful smile.

  “Arielle, this goes beyond damage to your ego. Think about it, think about what you have been through. This guy is a criminal and he has to pay for his crime.”

  “Well, he’s been expelled from school and he has been indicted for attempted rape. He’s out on bail because of his parents, but he’ll pay for what he did. He’s a crazy person, and I just want to forget about the whole thing. I want Sebastian to stay out of it. Please, Daddy, don’t say anything to him.”

  “All right, I won’t. However, if he ever finds out what happened, he’ll wonder why you kept it a secret from him. I’m just playing devil’s advocate,” he said, looking at her sympathetically and then adding, “I know you’ll do the right thing.”

  It was really getting dark now, and she got up and helped him get out of his chair. He looked a little weak to her and he was walking slowly. She couldn’t remember her father ever looking so weak before. When they got to the house he gave her a kiss and whispered, “I love you, Arielle. You are my little girl and I’m so proud that you are my daughter.”

  Arielle held him tight and her eyes welled up with tears. She was so happy this wonderful man was her father. She smiled as she helped him go upstairs. Then, she went into the kitchen to talk to her mother.

  “Mum, is Daddy all right?”

  “I think so, darling, why do you ask?”

  “He just looks a little bit pale, and he seems really tired.”

  “He is on a new medication the doctor gave him for not sleeping very well. I’m afraid it makes him sleepy all the time,” she sighed.

  “Well, I’ll keep an eye on him while I’m here, but I want you to promise me to keep an eye on him when I go back to the flat,” she said.

  “All right, Arielle,” she said with a smile. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’ll watch out for him.”

  Three weeks had gone by since the attack and Arielle started to feel a little more comfortable with herself, her surroundings, and her friends. She was ready now to move back to the flat, and her friends spent a lot of time there with her.

  She got text messages from Sebastian almost every day now, and she replied from wherever she was. Some of his text messages were pretty sexy and they made her smile with excitement. She knew he couldn’t wait to see her and she felt the same way.

  Paul persuaded her to go to the cinema with him several times, and helped her regain her old self. She had tried very hard to put bad thoughts behind her and move on with her life, the life that she loved and the life she was determined to embrace.

  One evening about a month and a half following the attack, Arielle and her friends were all at the flat watching the telly. Suddenly, Matt’s name was all over the screen. Stony silence fell in the room and she felt a chill move down her backbone as the anchorwoman’s words filled the room.

  “A young man’s lifeless body was found behind an apartment building at Brighton University, following the rape of a college student. His name was Matt Winston and he had a court case coming up next month for the attempted rape of another college student. The cause of death was strangulation, but the police couldn’t find any clues or fingerprints at the location.”

  The silence was deafening. Arielle’s friends were not surprised when she finally said, “Yes! That’s justice. He’s never going to hurt anyone ever again,” and was overcome by a nervous, wrenching sob. She looked around at her friends through the hands that were covering her face, and could see satisfaction in their faces as well, but it seemed to her that there was something beyond satisfaction showing in Troy’s face.

  With this news, Arielle felt her worries wash away. She didn’t have to worry about the trial anymore. She smiled with contentment as multiple feelings swirled in her head. She felt deep sympathy for Matt’s last victim, who hadn’t been able to escape his vicious attack, and renewed gratitude and relief that her friends had been able to prevent her own rape.

  She knew Troy and Sebastian talked often on the phone, so she had asked Troy to pr
omise her he wouldn’t say a word to Sebastian about Matt. She wanted to tell him when she was ready to talk about it and not before. Troy promised her he wouldn’t say a word.

  I really do love Troy, she thought. He’s such a great guy, and he has been there for me in two very difficult situations. He’s like my knight in shiny armor, she thought, chuckling to herself.

  One night, about a week after the news about Matt had broken, the three flatmates decided to spend some time together just talking. They opened a couple of bottles of wine and sat in the living room to discuss their love lives. They hadn’t had the chance to be alone and just talk since the beginning of the last term. Eva went first.

  “Ian has changed my life. My whole world revolves around him,” she gushed. “I never want to be apart from him, ever.” Then she chuckled happily. “He’s the perfect boyfriend! He loves me, he takes care of me, and he makes me happy. What else is there to ask for?” she concluded, exuberance in her voice.

  “So, what’s next?” Arielle asked.

  “I don’t know, but I sure would like a ring,” Eva laughed, and they all laughed with her.

  Next, it was Gabrielle’s turn.

  “Troy is absolutely perfect,” she said, her face filled with excitement. Then with a serious voice she added, “All I want to do is tear his clothes off every time I’m near him.” She looked at her friends and burst out laughing. It was a funny statement coming from Gabby, who normally never talked about her sexual cravings.

  “I know what you mean,” Eva added with an arch smile and a giggle.

  Arielle looked at both of them. “I’m sure Ian and Troy feel pretty much the same way about you,” she smiled.

  “What about you, Arielle?” Gabrielle asked.

  “Well, I’ve already told both of you how I feel about Sebastian,” Arielle said. “He’s an amazing boyfriend. He’s thoughtful, warm, generous, and pretty incredible in every way. I know I’ve been waiting for him all my life, and from what he tells me, he seems to feel pretty much the same way about me. I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now.”