The Mortal One (The Mortal One Series) (6 page)

I nodded, not trusting my voice.
Everything is fine. Just having dinner with a vampire, that’s all.
I reached over and broke off a piece of bread from the basket on the table to pop it in my mouth.

He smiled as my head cleared enough for him to read my thoughts. This was a convenient way to communicate, I had to admit. Dangerous, but convenient. I just had to watch what I was thinking about, which was harder than imaginable.

As dinner, or more appropriately,
my
dinner, arrived, I glanced over at him when I could smell the amount of garlic permeating from my dish. I raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

“Have as much as you like.”

“Really?”

“If it bothered me, I’d have to move to a different country. Old wives’ tale.”

It made me wonder what other speculations I’d read over the years were just old wives’ tales. As my plate of pasta sat in front of me, I realized how hungry I actually was and started eating, acutely aware that the man across from me was watching every bite I took.

We left the restaurant and as we headed down the street, he guided me in the direction he wanted us to walk.

“Have you been to the Giardino di Boboli yet?”

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“We’ll head that way. It’s my favorite spot in all of Italy.”

We entered the Boboli Gardens through an entrance just past Palazzo Pitti. My heart was beating recklessly fast as I hesitated blurting out all my questions at once. We walked past one couple as they headed to the exit and then we were alone. Shrubs surrounded our path and an ornate stone fountain gurgled water in front of us. It was the only sound to be heard.

The gardens were dimly lit, the most light concentrated around the statues throughout. A few birds chirped in the distance and the air grew a little cooler as the wind blew from the Northeast. We walked into the large expanse of the gardens, where several different paths stemmed off from where we stood. Tall cypress trees lined the paths and carved out the walkway we chose. Closer to us were perfectly geometric shrubs. Greenery was everywhere around us as we ascended a large hill which, as we continued to climb it, was taking the breath out of me.

We reached the top of the hill where I walked around, looked at the statues and tried to make out the building in the background, Fort Belvedere. Nico stood quiet, taking in the view of the gardens, seeming to focus on things I could not see. He turned to me after a moment. “I used to come here as a mortal, too. It was my mother’s favorite place as well.”

“Really?” I asked in shock that he was sharing personal details without being asked, especially of his mortal life. We sat on a small cement bench in view of a greenish body of water, a retention pond of sorts with a beautiful fountain of Neptune in the middle.

He was silent for a moment. “I don’t think I’ve actually ever told anyone that before. She loved the gardens so much, it’s how she named me. The man who designed the gardens was named Niccolò Tribolo. The gardens were for the wife of the grand duke of Tuscany, one of the Medici men.”

I smiled at him, getting a strong sense of humanity about him and enjoying hearing about his history and human life. Just when I was about to ask how he ended up with this fate, he let out an audible sigh and shook his head as if to push those memories out of his head.

“On to you. You have questions.” He made it a statement, as though he could see my mind trying to form sense of my thousands of questions.

I nodded.

“Okay,” he said with a grin. “Ask.”

“Really?” I took a seat on the edge of the bench across from a huge statue, which looked like the head of Michelangelo’s David.

“I might not answer them, but you can certainly ask.” He leaned against the statue and watched me.

I smiled back and looked around to make sure we were alone, “All right. Well, how long have you been a vampire?”

He laughed at my secrecy. “A very long time. I was turned into what I am now back in 1747, in Firenze, err Florence, just after the reign of the Medici family. I was thirty and will forever be so.” He made this into an equal questioning. “And you, Dylan, how old are you?”

I stared at him curiously for a moment before answering. “Twenty-eight.” I thought about what he’d said. He’s been a vampire longer than the United States has been a country. The knowledge of that seemed overwhelming. “Wait, how did you not know how old I was? You seem to know everything else!”

He smiled. “I only know if you think about it.”

“Oh.” I thought about my next question, wondering how many he was going to let me ask. “Can you go out in the daylight?”

He shook his head. “No. I haven’t seen a sunrise since I was mortal, though I still remember what it looks like. It was bright pink. Funny how it works,” he commented, recollecting. “You have more questions, don’t you?”

I nodded. I felt like I was interviewing him or something. I did change my flights just so I could have this opportunity, though, so I went for it. “What about sleeping? Do you sleep?”

He stretched out his arms and let out a theatrical yawn. “Yes, during the day. And no, not in a coffin. But I don’t dream,” he added.

“Really?”

“Which part surprises you? Is it that I don’t sleep in a coffin or that I don’t dream?”

I thought about it for a minute. “Both, I guess. I can’t imagine not dreaming, though. I mean, it’s weird.”

He laughed out loud this time. “Not dreaming is the weird thing about tonight? Dylan, you amaze me.”

I stared at him, not knowing what to say.

“You’ve got to get these vampire stereotypes out of your head. I’ve read the books and seen the movies, too. Hollywood’s got it all wrong.”

“They do?” I asked. “Like what?

“Well, I can tell you I certainly don’t sparkle if I go out in the sun,” he commented while rolling his eyes.

It made me laugh because I knew which movie he was referring to. “No, I didn’t think that you would. So then tell me, where
do
you sleep?”

“Out there. Come.” Nico turned suddenly, putting his arm around me. He led me out of the gardens and kept his gaze focused straight ahead as we walked at a brisk pace up the stairs of Palazzo Pitti.

I looked at him, not sure if I should be scared or not. We reached the top and overlooked the greater part of Oltrarno and he pointed at nothing in particular, though the sight was breathtaking. To think my hotel was just minutes from here and I hadn’t seen any of this yet.

“Everywhere. Nowhere.” He pointed at the whole city and took a seat on the edge of the roof.

“You realize that you, in no way, answered my question,” I remarked defiantly, sitting next to him, extremely aware my shoulder was touching his.

He struggled with his next answer, making a few faces before he decided what to say. “I can’t tell you
exactly
where I sleep. It would be too dangerous for both of us.”

“Hmmm.”

He looked over at me, apologizing with his eyes. He knew it wasn’t the answer I was looking for. Nico watched me for several minutes without saying a word. I held his gaze, not wanting to be the first to turn away.

“Nico.”

He blinked, waiting for me to say what was on my mind. His expression clearly showed he wanted to know where my mind was headed.

“What is this?” It sounded strange, even to me. It was something had been bothering me since we had arrived at the Boboli Gardens and I needed to convince myself without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn’t going to kill me.

“I’m not sure I understand the question,” he said, his eyes focusing on me.

“This, what we’re doing here. I just need to figure things out in my head from yesterday. You aren’t trying to…well…so are we like…friends?” I hesitated on the last words, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Not wanting to sound like a high school girl either, I quickly added, “I just want to make sure you’ve decided not to kill me.”

His lips quivered and I knew he was holding back a laugh as he brushed my cheek with his index finger and leaned in to me. My heart stopped beating. “We can be friends,” he breathed, his lips intensely intimate along my neck. His lips hesitated over my throat. “Or we can be more.”

My nerves kicked into high gear. More? More what? I had to keep reminding myself of what he was. I also had to remind myself to inhale and exhale. He was playing with my emotions. One moment he was charming and the next, well, that was the question. I fought internally with how to respond. I wasn’t even sure if I
could
respond with his mouth so close to me.

“Dylan?” he asked, his breath cold on my skin.

I couldn’t think straight. He could take me right here and I wouldn’t fight him. He could have me and I think I would die with a smile on my face.

“Dylan? Are you okay?”

He pressed his lips to the base of my throat and kissed me, letting his lips linger. They were cold and moist and completely intoxicating. I didn’t want to say anything. I just wanted him to continue with what he was doing.

His lips slid in an upward trail on my neck, planting a small kiss every so often until he reached my ear. I knew he could tell my heart was racing. He kissed right below my earlobe and sent chills across my entire body.

“We could do this all night, if you wish. I struggled for a response, completely convinced that I was going to faint in the next few moments if I couldn’t get some oxygen to my brain.

I gasped and took in enough air to function. I pressed the palms of my hands against his chest and pushed slightly to distance our bodies for a moment so I could think straight. I couldn’t budge him unless he wanted to move, but luckily he got the hint. He backed up and watched me with an intense gaze.

I swallowed hard, hoping to gain my voice back. As much as I wanted him to do whatever he wanted to do to me right now, I needed answers. I needed to make sure he wasn’t going to get carried away and kill me. “What is going through your head right now?” I asked. It was a fair question, since he could read my mind so easily.

“It wasn’t obvious?” he chuckled.

I looked at him in hopes that he would give me a more concrete answer. “Seriously. I mean, how are you attracted to me?”

I couldn’t figure out why this gorgeous creature was interested in me. I had my flaws for sure as I thought about my own physique against his. I had an athletic build with a little meat that gave me some healthy curves. Nico, on the other hand, was lean and muscular, and on an entirely different level of hotness than I was.

“It’s been a long time since I felt the warmth of a mortal. And you -.” His gaze roamed the length of me. “You are so beautiful and so warm.” He saw right through me, reading through my own insecurities. “Being honest about myself would be a deal breaker with anyone, cold-blooded killer and all. Even so, you know what I am and you are still sitting beside me.”

“But,” I interrupted. “How
can
you be around me? What’s different between me and your,” I almost didn’t want to say it, “victims?”

He reached out to me and took one of my hands. “During that night in the alley, the plan was to kill you. I heard the shop owner coming and something changed inside me. Not only could I not let him see who I was but also I knew that I couldn’t risk hurting you, either. As I said the other night, you’re different.”

“Oh.” It was a lame response but it was all I could seem to manage. This was not at all how I imagined my trip going and would never look at my life the same again. I was falling for a vampire. I was terrified of that part of him, but the rest – he was unlike anyone else I’ve ever met – even after omitting the whole blood-drinking, immortal aspects. Nico was different, like he had said about me.

Things definitely couldn’t get any stranger, then something hit me with what he had just said. “What do you mean that the
plan
was to kill me?” My voice became a little louder than it should have.

Nico got up and paced the length of the bridge. “I’ve said too much already. Please, Dylan, do not be angry.”

“Angry? It’s kinda hard not to be. There was a plan to kill me?”

“I am not the only vampire in Florence. I have others I must answer to.” He saw the panic across my face. “Please, you must understand what this means.”

“Go on, then,” I said, trying to stay calm. If he wasn’t the only vampire, how many were there? The panic from yesterday was setting in all over again.

“We are typically lone creatures. However, we do have a hierarchy…a government, if you will, to handle certain situations. I was not the only one who heard your thoughts that evening at the bistro. We had a meeting about whether something should be done about you or not. Truth seekers are usually taken out to prevent learning about us. I volunteered to take care of it.”

I shuddered involuntarily at how he said the last part.
Take care of it
. I didn’t know if I should be completely terrified now or relieved that it was Nico who had volunteered.

“Do they know you let me live?”

He nodded once and seated himself beside me again. “They do. That’s why I was running late this evening. They are not happy about it, but they have given me some choices.” I noticed he didn’t seem happy about it.