Immortality Stolen (The Mortal One Series Book 2)

by Shannon Bell

It was sweet of him to comfort me, even though I was pretty sure he would love to have Nico out of the picture entirely. “Thanks,” I said. “Now get out so I can get into my pajamas, lay here and pretend to go to sleep.”

  “I could stay around for a while if you want me to,” he offered.

  “I think we both know that’s a bad idea,” I said.

  He stared at me for a moment without saying anything. His gaze was making me uneasy and a little weak at the knees. Had things been different and had I not been married to Nico, I might have acted on what was between us. And Olivier knew it. That’s what made this so hard.

  “Your heart is racing,” he whispered, coming a little closer to me without touching.

  I didn’t know what to say. If I admitted that it was because of what he did to me, I would be betraying Nico and giving him a green light. If I lied, he would know it. I was screwed either way.

  “I need to get to bed,” I said, quickly getting off of the bed. I walked past him and held the door open. “Good night.”

  He bowed his head and took the hint. “Good night.”

  I shut the door and walked over to my luggage to find some pajamas. Everything was messed up from the flight but I found a satin tank top and capris to change into. I grabbed my toiletries and headed into the bathroom, cleaning up and brushing my teeth. By the time I had done all of that, the idea of sleep was finally reaching the surface.

  I heard the door to my hotel room open and rushed out to find out who had opened it.

  “What are you doing in here?” I asked as Olivier walked in. He didn’t say anything. He kept walking towards me. I bumped against the window behind me, my backside pressing against the glass in an effort to make room for him.

  “We’re going to settle this right now,” he said.

  “Settle what?”

  And that’s when he kissed me. His full lips pressed against mine. He swept my hair up in his hands and cradled the back of my head as he continued to kiss me. Before I could stop him, my mouth opened, curious to what he tasted like. He used the opportunity to do some tasting of his own.

  “You,” I breathed, trying to push him away, “can’t be here.”

  He didn’t allow me to push him away. He pressed his mouth into the nook between my neck and shoulder, kissing me, licking my skin.

  “Tell me you’re not enjoying this,” he said.

  “Olivier, stop. You really can’t be here.”

  He paused, but still didn’t back away. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I was quiet for longer than I should have been. My body was pulsing with need. I wasn’t sure if it was a generic need of wanting sex since it had been nearly a week outside of Nico’s bed or it was a need of wanting to be with Olivier.

  Olivier took my silence as a sign to resume kissing the nape of my neck. His fingers flicked my tank top straps down, showing off more skin for him to explore. I let out a moan before I could stop it from escaping.

  “Dylan,” he whispered.

  “Hmmmm?” My head was spinning out of control. Every touch was sending shivers down my body and I couldn’t seem to pull together the strength to resist.

  He grabbed my hips and guided me towards the edge of the bed. As the mattress caught me behind the knees, propelling me backwards, it was the wake-up call that I needed.

  “We need to stop.” It was a barely audible request and it wasn’t all too convincing.

  “No, we don’t.” His cool to the touch fingertips danced across my bare shoulders and started down towards my breasts. My nipples were hard and craved some attention.

  I wanted my hands free to push him off or explore his muscular body, I wasn’t too sure which, but his one hand had both of my arms pinned above my head. It was hotter than hell but it needed to stop.

  I sighed, deciding that it couldn’t happen. “Yes, we need to stop.”

  “He won’t know. We won’t tell him. We’re in Berlin, he’s in Florence. It can be this once. We both want this.” His fingers rested on the elastic waistband of my capris. The area between my legs was throbbing and he knew it. “Let me do this for you,” he whispered, kissing along my jaw line.

  Fuck. How could it be this easy and this hard at the same time? He was right. Nico wasn’t here and he wouldn’t know. But I couldn’t do this. I was married now. And not to the man in front of me, ready to provide me with all of the pleasure my body was craving. There was that part of me that was ready to rationalize and say I never asked to get married and that I deserved this. It was the other part of me that won over.

  “No. I’m saying no. Final answer.” I sat up on the bed and pulled the straps of my tank back onto my shoulders. I took a deep breath and cupped my hands over my mouth.

  Olivier nodded. He didn’t push the issue and I was thankful for that. “Okay, Dylan. I’m going back to my room next door. If you change your mind, you know where I’m at.”

  “Good night.”

  “Sweet dreams,” he said and walked out the door to my hotel room. I could tell that he was just as excited about what happened as I was and it made it that much harder. He was a gentleman about it. He didn’t push me to do something I didn’t want to do and that earned him a lot of points.

  I got up, locked the hotel room door with the deadbolt and laid across the bed. That was too close for comfort.

  My body was damp with sweat and I was wet, knowing that I was more ready for what could have happened than I would have otherwise wanted to admit. This sucked. My husband was in another country and the man in the room next to me was someone I couldn’t have.

  My hand slid down my body and before I knew it, it was inside my panties, taking care of what needed to be done. I had to work on it longer than normal and that’s because I was used to Nico taking care of me. It didn’t help that my body knew I could have had a man doing the work instead of my fingers. Finally, my body shook and I let out a frustrated scream as I brought myself to orgasm.

  A few minutes later, I heard a knock at the door. I took a deep breath, went to the bathroom, brushed my hair, washed my hands, and opened the door. Olivier was standing there with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I offered to take care of that for you.”

  My face burned. Shit. Of course he heard that.

  “Go away,” I started to close the door.

  “Wait,” he said, pressing the door open with a soft laugh. “We do have to talk about tomorrow morning and during the day.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tomorrow evening, after sunset, I’ll take us to the airport. You will go to Florence and I will go back to Paris.”

  “Right,” I nodded.

  “During the day, I will be asleep under the covers. The curtains look thick enough. I will put a ‘do not disturb’ on the door but I need you to make sure that sign stays on the door.”

  “Got it,” I said.

  “What are your plans during the day?” He asked. “I worry about you exploring the city on your own.”

  “I was thinking of walking around this area and then maybe catching one of the hop on/hop off buses around the city. That seems pretty safe. It seems a shame to miss out on seeing the city since I’m here.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Do you want me to call Christoph to see if he has any mortals that he can send along with you?”

  I shook my head. “No, thank you. I think I can manage on my own.” Who knew what kind of favor he would request after that. No, I would do just fine by myself in the city.

  “Okay.” He looked out the window and then grinned at me. “There is some time before I have to go down if you want me take care of you.” He glanced down, where I was standing in my panties.

  I hadn’t even realized that I answered the door in my panties until he stood there like a teenager, staring at me in them. His gaze made me hot and wet all over again. I had to get him out of my room before I did something that I
would regret. “Good night, Olivier,” I said.

  “Good night, Dylan,” he said walking out of my room, humor in his voice.

  Chapter 10

  I DIDN’T WAKE up until about ten in the morning. Even after waking up naturally, I was tired. After a quick shower, I had a little more energy but was anxious to get to the coffee shop that was across the street.

  Right outside of the shop, a man was selling tickets to the red double decker bus that went all over the city. He was all too quick to sell me a ticket and printed out a little receipt on his printer for me, explaining how I would use it as he went along.

  I climbed up the narrow stairway of the bus to get to the top where it was open and the view was better. There were already a few tourists scattered across the top with maps in their laps and ear buds shoved into their ears.

  Grabbing my own pack of ear buds from the basket, I prepared for listening to the tour guide in English. I found a spot by the window so it would be easy to take decent photos when the bus stopped at each of the locations on the tour. The windows were filthy and made no sense because it was an open-air second deck. It just made it that much harder to photograph along the way. Photos would either look dirty or require me to stand and reach way above the window to capture anything of interest.

  There were a few times I popped off the bus to see what was going on. The TV tower was the highest point in the city, but when I saw how long the wait was, I changed my mind about going to the top. Apparently it was better to pre-purchase online to avoid the wait. A new bus came around every twenty minutes, so I had some time to kill. I got myself a bottle of water and looked through the gift shops.

  “I can get you into the TV tower if you want,” a man said to me, coming up behind me as I looked at the postcard carousel.

  The voice sounded creepy and it made me freeze for a moment. “No, thank you,” I said, walking to the other side of the walkway.

  He followed. “It’s no problem. I’d be happy to do it for a gorgeous American like yourself. Just look at those blue eyes. Stunning.”

  I shook my head and thought about stepping inside the gift shop, but didn’t want to feel trapped. “I don’t have time, thank you.”

  “Oh come on. Are you scared of the elevator ride? I’ll hold your hand, beautiful.”

  “The lady said no.” A strong voice that sounded slightly familiar sounded behind me.

  I turned around to see Gregorio walking my way.

  The man took one look at Gregorio and took off running in the opposite direction.

  “Hi, thanks,” I said awkwardly.

  “It’s no problem. Dylan, right?” He asked.

  I nodded. He caught my glance as I tried to see where the creep made off to.

  “Don’t worry about him. There are simply men who like to prey on tourists, particularly American tourists. My guess is he would have tried to get your wallet off of you while up in the elevator.”

  “Oh. Great city,” I commented dryly.

  “Will you be joining us in Paris? It should be quite a show.” He was very cocky, but I guess if you’re one of the few necromancers in Europe, you can be.

  “Yes, I’ll be coming up from Florence with Nico,” I said.

  “He is the sovereign of Florence?” Gregorio asked.

  I shook my head. “Second in command. He will be the stand-in sovereign of Paris while he is there.”

  Gregorio looked impressed. “He is the one who has marked you?”

  I nodded, not sure of what I should divulge.

  “I’ve never met a mortal that has the privilege of running with so many vampires. It is not common what they are allowing you to do.”

  “Oh?” I asked.

  “It is one thing to be marked by one, but they are possessive creatures by nature. They are powerful and used to being able to get what they want.” He was very serious as he spoke. “Have you had lunch?”

  “Um, no?” I asked, caught off guard by his quick change of subject.

  “There’s some great food around Alexanderplatz. It’s a busy area and we can talk openly. Would you accompany me?”

  “Okay,” I said. Finding out some things from his point of view probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. He was coming across nicer than he did last night. Considering I was apparently prey for the German pickpocket, it would be welcome protection, too.

  We were only a few blocks away, so it only took a few minutes before we were confronted by a huge beer garden as well as a stunning wooden carousel. “This is what I expected Berlin to look like,” I commented as we entered the area.

  He laughed. “You’ve never been to Berlin before?”

  I shook my head. “First time.”

  “And yet you’re wandering the streets alone. Did Olivier not think to allow you a human companion?”

  “He offered to make arrangements, but I declined,” I said.

  “Interesting. Well, there are booths everywhere around here with something different. You can get schnitzel, bratwurst, goulash, and there’s beer in the center there.”

  I nodded. “Alright well let me grab something and I’ll meet you back here at the table,” I said.

  I grabbed a beer from the bar under the pavilion and they handed me a little pink chip. I then headed over to the neighboring pavilion and ordered some goulash served over noodles that smelled amazing. All the vendors spoke in German, so I did a lot of pointing and nodding, hoping I was agreeing to the right things. I had Euros in hand, so that seemed to get me what I wanted.

  Gregorio walked over to the table I sat at with a bratwurst in one hand and a dark beer in the other.

  “What is this?” I asked, holding up the pink chip in my hand.

  “Beer deposit. Since they give you a glass instead of a plastic cup, they want you to return it. When you’re done, bring it up to the bar and they’ll give you two Euro back.”

  “Oh,” I said, setting it down on the picnic table next to my beer. “Good to know.”

  “So you are marked by the second in command in Florence and then accompanying a vampire in Paris around. Why isn’t the one who marked you with you right now?”

  I shrugged. “He needed to be in Florence.”

  “And he trusts you with Olivier?”

  “Yes.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Have you known many vampires?” I asked in between bites of goulash. The flavors were so good I just wanted to keep my head down and keep eating, but what Gregorio had to say was intriguing me.

  “I’ve known a few. Most of them are assholes. I like Olivier, though. Maybe that’s because he used to be a necromancer, but he seems to have a different outlook. He is doing what is right for society, not what is best for him and I can respect that.”

  “You mean about putting the zombies down?”

  Gregorio gestured with his hands. “Among other things, but yes. He didn’t have to find me to put the zombies down. He could have simply let society find out about them or wait for them to drop eventually. He did the honorable thing and sought assistance.”

  I hadn’t thought about it like that, but he was right. Maybe that’s why Costin agreed to help so easily, too.

  “You mentioned that it’s unusual for vampires to do what they are doing with me. What did you mean by that?”

  Gregorio laughed for a moment. “I was wondering when you would ask about that. You are mortal and while you are marked, you are still a risk. There is nothing stopping you from telling someone what you have discovered. Especially right now. It’s daylight and no harm can come to you because they are dead to the world, quite literally.”

  “I guess. But who would believe me? I wouldn’t believe me, that’s for sure.”

  “Are they going to make you one?”

  “Yes.”

  He took a bite of his bratwurst and juice ran down his chin. He took a swig of his beer and grabbed a napkin. “Are you happy about this?”

  I shrugged. He might be the first one to ask this. Everyone
just assumed that I was happy about it. When given the choice between becoming a vampire or becoming dead, I would choose vampire a hundred times over. But was I happy about it? I still didn’t know how to answer it.

  “Interesting.”

  “What is?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer.

  “The situation. They are taking a chance on you and that isn’t normal.” He looked down and I saw him notice the diamond on my left hand. Realization flashed across his face. “You’re married?”

  I nodded.

  “To him?”

  I nodded again.

  “Holy shit. Dylan, you married a vampire?”

  Well gee, when you put it like that. “Yeah, I guess I did. It sounds weird when you say it out loud.”

  “Well someone needs to. You’re a mortal. There are consequences that you may not realize to your actions.”

  “Everything has been fine so far. They have been teaching me about what to expect after the change,” I said, sounding defensive.

  “Remember that I said that they were possessive creatures. I see the way that you and Olivier look at each other and you need to be careful. It could end badly for him, you, or both of you.”

  My eyes widened. Would Nico kill me if he thought I had been unfaithful? Would he kill Olivier if he found out that he kissed me? Oh God. No, Nico loved me. He wouldn’t act impulsively like that. Right?

  Gregorio looked at his watch and then over at me. “I must go. I hope that I didn’t alarm you too much with my words. I tend to say what’s on my mind without thinking about the impact that they may make. I am sure that everything will work out for you. Just know that they are treating you differently than I have seen vampires treat humans in the past. You have earned their trust and that should not be taken lightly.”

  “Thank you for having lunch with me,” I said, wiping my hands with my napkin and balling it up on my plate.

  He took the plate to the trash with his. “Did you want me to walk you back to the hotel or take you anywhere?”

  “I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Take care, Dylan. And don’t forget to bring the pink chip back to the bar.” Gregorio walked out of the pavilion area and across the street.