Then he said, “Go straight to the bedroom at the end of the hall. Take off your clothes. I will meet you there. Do not lie down.”

My stomach dropped. Oh, wow, this was really happening. Typical Dawn. I hadn’t thought beyond the part where I reversed our power dynamic the best I could.

Seeing my hesitation, Victor’s eyes flashed with malicious triumph.

Okay, nope. I refused to let this domineering bastard bask in my fear. Self-doubt be gone.

I smirked and gave my shoulders a big-ass shrug. “Alright. I’ll meet you upstairs.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. Just strutted up the stairs, following his instructions. But on my terms.

I easily found the room he mentioned. It was the only one with an open door. Obviously a master, it was almost as large as the suite at Victor’s apartment in Japan. So big, I had a feeling they’d paid a contractor to knock out a wall or something to fit the large bed and mini-living room, complete with a couch and a winged back chair, which sat next to a brick fireplace framed in elegant white plaster.

This room also looked like it could easily win a feature in that Suburban Dreams mag, except for one thing. A mirror covered one entire wall. What the hell?

Usually, I’m not a huge fan of getting naked in front of mirrors. There seemed to be a law that every dressing room on the globe had to feature harsh overhead beams that highlighted every fat dimple, stretchmark, and wobbly line of cellulite.

But the light in this room was good. Soft and flattering. I stripped off my clothes and left them in a pile on the floor.

Then I waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Old thought patterns from high school began to swirl around my head. Maybe he no longer wanted me that way. Maybe the curves I’d learned to flaunt over the last four years turned him off. Maybe he’d only sent me up here to play more of his fucked up mind games, and he wasn’t even planning to join me? Plus, I was getting cold…

I was thinking of putting back on some clothes and going downstairs to see if he was still there when he appeared behind me in the mirror. Like a ghost. Or a vampire.

A completely naked ghost or vampire.