Read The Mortal One (The Mortal One Series) for Free Online Page A

and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
    I shivered slightly and nodded. It was an easy response, though it shouldn’t have been. I watched how casually he leaned against the stone wall and every part of my body screamed with a different reaction. I wanted to get to know him and learn everything about him and run screaming in the opposite direction at the same time.
    “There’s a small trattoria on Vellutini ,” he teased into my ear. “I will meet you there at eight tomorrow.”
    Before I could agree, he was gone. There was no sign of him down the road as if he vanished out of thin air. I rubbed my arms and let out a deep breath. I walked into the hotel slightly wide-eyed and made my way up to my room.
    I needed to make sense of everything that transpired, though I couldn’t get a grasp on any of it. First vampires existed, then they didn’t, and now they do again. Without a doubt, they exist.
    Niccolò was absolutely terrifying, yet in a heart-stopping, exhilarating sort of way. He was attractive in every sense of the word and he made me weak in the knees at the very thought of him. The way he could read every single thought which was in my head was more than nerve-wracking. Most importantly, he was a vampire. He was an actual immortal, blood-drinking vampire who let me live.
    Every part of me throbbed with an intensity that craved his touch. My head hit the pillow but sleep was the last thing on my mind.

Chapter 4
     
    I WOKE LATE in the morning uncertain if everything I went through last night was real. The smarter part of my mind convinced me that it was all a dream. If that was the case, why did my turtleneck smell like honeysuckle? No, Niccolò was real. I was also sure he wasn’t going to kill me – not yet, anyways.
    My trip was almost over. Five days from now, I was supposed to get on a plane and leave all this behind. As it was right now, there was no way that was going to happen. Leave Niccolò, the very thing that had always kept me going? I needed more time.
    The airlines could move my flight. More time in Italy…that’s exactly what I needed. I had to find out more about Niccolò.
    My stomach growled and it took me a few minutes to remember the last time I had eaten anything. It was almost noon. I was meeting Niccolò at eight. He might not show up, but I wanted to make sure to be at the bistro on time regardless.
     
    ***
     
    The massive stone bridge stood before me and beckoned me to cross it. With my messenger bag slid over my shoulders, I started weaving in and out of the pedestrian traffic standing around it. The jewelry shops fought to take over the entire path and the sales people were pushy with their strands of gold in my face and requests for me to step inside. I ignored them and finally made it into South Centro, near Tornabuoni, where the buildings stood tall with all its posh clothing stores.
    Mannequins stood behind the glass windows in all the latest fashions. Some were too short for my liking and others were too daring. Then a black skirt caught my eye and called out to me. I was going broke and getting tired of the same outfits in my suitcase.
    The prices were high. Without even going inside, I knew that they were more than what I could afford. I still had a little money left, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t resist the urge to go inside to see what mysteries the stores held.
    Leather and lace. Tempting…so very tempting. Every rack had a different combination of black leather, white leather, black lace…. The European sizes had me lost so I held a few up to my figure in the mirror to my right and took a few to try on. A sales clerk was in the back but it sounded like she was fighting with a boyfriend on the phone and I didn’t want to interrupt.
    A black leather skirt hugged my hips as I stared at my reflection. The slit in the back was daring but not slutty. The tag almost gave me a heart attack but it had been a while since I’d splurged on anything for