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confessed.
    My cheeks flushed no matter how hard I worked at getting them not to. “But how is it you can do that without wanting to….”
    “I fed a few minutes before finding you. As long as I feed at least once every two or three days, then anything else is merely sport.” He looked at me curiously, taking a step forward. “Unless you were offering yourself up?” His eyebrows arched, waiting for an invitation.
    “Me? No.” I thought about what he said. “I was going to be sport for you?” Should I be insulted or terrified? My life almost ended at the hands of a vampire.
    “You sound upset.” He seemed amused. “Would you have rather been a meal than recreation?”
    “Well, I don’t know. I guess both would end the same way,” I said. Since he seemed willing to answer a few questions, I kept at it. “Why did you think I was looking for vampires?”
    “You attended the vampire symposium as part of the Transylvanian Society for Dracula. We keep an eye on attendees every year. We are able to know where everyone is headed thanks to people on the inside. When you didn’t return to Florida, you were a target to watch.”
    My mouth dropped. “I went on vacation afterwards.”
    He leaned his arm forward and tapped his cold finger directly on my temple. “Open book, remember? You crossed my path two days ago when you were having dinner at the little bistro on Portinari. You were thinking about vampires and if any were around the city.”
    “I also remember laughing about those ideas. How did you know I was serious?”
    Niccolò smiled at me. “You looked very determined. And you are a truth seeker.”
    Truth seeker. That’s the second time I’ve been called that. Is that what I was?
    “Hmmm.” I yawned involuntarily. I was beginning to feel the time now that I was in no immediate danger. At the very least I hoped to be right about the danger aspect.
    “You’re tired. Would you like me to walk you back to your hotel?”
    I hesitated, not knowing what to say. A vampire wanted to walk with me? I was thoroughly confused. First, he drags me into an alley where I think he’s going to kill me. Then he kisses me. And now he wants to escort me back to my hotel? This was too much for one night.
    “Okay,” I agreed, trying not to sound as dumbfounded as I felt. I did need a little more confirmation in order to be able to sleep tonight. “You’re letting me live?”
    “For now.”
    Comforting.
    He shrugged. A simple gesture told me he didn’t know what else to say. “I am not always the one to make final decisions.”
    Niccolò led me out of the alley and back onto the cobblestone road. No shops were open. Fountains gurgled and loose pebbles clicked under my heels. Otherwise everything had a deafening silence to it. Streetlights at various corners illuminated small patches of our way down the narrow road. Bicycles were parked along the path and we weaved around them to continue past. I stole a few glances at him in an effort to read something out of his expressionless face. I kept up with his pace and let my hands rest in my back pockets.
    I didn’t know what to say to or ask of him. There were many things I wanted to know, but I had no idea where to begin or what my limitations were. It was a thin, imaginary line drawn that I didn’t want to cross. Anything I could say or do could upset him and make me his next meal. As I glanced sideways at him, though, I wasn’t so sure. He was more human than any previous ideas I had about vampires. He stopped when we reached the small hotel I was staying at. Of course he knew where I was staying….
    I looked at him again. I mean, I really looked at him. Will I see you again? The idea of getting to know him seemed like part of my destiny that had to be fulfilled. I couldn’t go home to Florida without getting some questions answered. The regret would be too much. He was a vampire, after all.
    “Do you want to see me again?” He asked softly. He reached towards me