The Immortal Greek by Monica La Porta Read Free Book Online

recollection of the steps she had taken to be there. She couldn’t even remember telling the driver her address or paying him the fare to the Appian Way. The cab left and she stared at the façade of her home, a two-story building she had bought a few decades earlier. She had altered the structure and internally united the two apartments to have one single-family home, a luxury in Rome where people lived in small apartments. Being an immortal and being able to accumulate money had its advantages.
    At her door, she leaned against the wooden surface and let her tears fall. Her house was her sanctuary, the only place where she could be herself without having to prove how good she was to anybody.
    “Ravenna?” Karl’s voice came muffled from the other side of the door.
    The voice of her fiancé was the last thing she wanted to hear at the moment. His sight, as she opened the door and looked inside, was even less welcome. Once, she had loved this immortal’s thoughtfulness and all the little things he did for her. He had proposed to her at the base of the Eiffel Tower after he had treated her with a surprise trip to France. Now, she hadn’t even asked him if he wanted to go on a vacation with her. She had just informed him of her plans.
    “Love, you look so tired.” He studied her a moment longer, then walked to her and took her in his arms, leaving a trail of kisses all over her head, without noticing she was standing still. “Let me take care of you. I’ll run a bath and we can cuddle afterward.”
    Only when she turned her head away from his lips searching for hers did he stop and give her a good look. “What is it, baby?”
    She hated pet names. Ravenna was a strong name and she owned it. “How did you know I didn’t leave?”
    “Samuel was looking for you and called me when you didn’t answer your cell.” She must have made a face, because Karl raised his hands and added, “I’m in your contact list.”
    “Sorry. I’m just tired.”
    “Then let me help you relax.” He grabbed her by the elbows and turned her so she had her back to him. He started massaging her shoulders. “You’re so tense.”
    She managed to free herself without slapping his hands out of the way and headed for the kitchen, where she found a whole meal in the making. Fruit peels and cores were scattered all over the counter by the sink. Fresh-squeezed orange juice filled the transparent jug to the rim and had spilled over. Egg shells were inside the sink. An attempted crepe lay half burned inside the non-stick pan. A metal spatula was casually laying too close for comfort to the pan. Ravenna sighed out loud.
    “Don’t worry about the mess. I was expecting you to come back later and I planned to have everything clean by then.” He hugged her from behind, nuzzling her neck with his nose. “Maybe I can find a way to make you forget about your morning.” His lips brushed the spot under her ear, his right hand shooting up to cup her breast.
    “Karl, not now.” She was getting angrier by the moment and he didn’t seem to read her vibes.
    A second hand traveled down to the hem of her skirt, his fingers creeping under it and tracing circles on her thigh. “But I know what’s best for you, baby.”
    She put a hand over his and stopped him from getting any closer to her panties. “I said not now.”
    “Baby—” He finally released her and walked away from her, frustration all over his face.
    With a name evoking ravens and darkness, Ravenna resented the pet name “baby” more than anything else he could have thought of. “I’m tired, and if you would have called me beforehand, I would’ve told you this wasn’t a great time to stop by.” She gave the kitchen another look, then headed toward her bathroom, where she intended to take a long bath. “Listen, let’s talk later.”
    Karl stood by the kitchen table, rearranging the plates. “I guess we can take a nap together, if that’s what you want.”
    Ravenna stopped at the