Chapter 1 : I've Been Waiting For You

Had I known where I would end up and who I would run into, I never would have set foot in the Peterson house that night.

***

"Mr. Peterson is waiting for you." A maid, who I had never met before, opened the door of the mansion. She looked at me and politely smiled, "Follow me, please."

Carl Peterson, my fiance, and his family had a large house in New Jersey, only forty minutes away from Manhattan. Carl and I were both sophomores at NYU, and since his place wasn't too far away from our university, I'd occasionally stop by to spend time with him.

Earlier, the guard at the gate let me in without a word, probably because everyone knew that I was always welcome in my fiance's home.

As my footsteps echoed in the hall, however, my best friend Jenny's warning echoed in my head. Although I tried to ignore it, it kept coming back.

'I walked in on your fiance kissing another woman in the parking lot of a five star restaurant yesterday.' Jenny's words repeated like they were on a broken record, and I shivered.

I had to remind Jenny that she only saw they from far away and it was likely that it was someone who looked like him.

Carl wasn't the type to be unfaithful like she had said, was he? No, there was no way he was. Even with me, he wouldn't go farther than a kiss or a warm embrace.

He was such a gentleman and didn't entertain other women when he was around them, including my sister Bethany, whom every guy seemed to be attracted to. She was beautiful, sexy, and mature.

Only Carl was different. He said that he loved my kind and innocent personality, and that we were made for each other. Carl was so special to me and he always said I was perfect for him.

I envisioned a long, happy life with him, that's why I had just convinced my family to invest in his new start-up business. I really wanted to support him after how hard he'd been working on it, and he even said that he wanted to build a company that he could pass on to our future children one day.

I loved how he had our future planned out, but if Jenny was indeed telling the truth...

I pushed her words out of my mind as I followed the maid. There wasn't any reason for me to believe Carl wouldn't be faithful to me, and I didn't want that negativity to ruin the moment.

I sent him a message to let him know I'd be over today to hang out before I headed home for the weekend as I wanted to surprise him with the good news: my dad's investment VP had preliminarily agreed to fund Carl's new business!

I had the paperwork with me in my purse and wanted to start his weekend off right. He'd been working so hard lately, he deserved this and even more.

Carl didn't message me back about me coming over, but it seemed that the guard and the maid both knew he was expecting me.

As the maid led me through the long hallways, I realized how confusing the mansion was even though I had been here a few times. I had always thought that it reminded me of a fine arts museum with its cavernous hallways, its marble columns and chiseled busts of famous gods and goddesses.

Sometimes I wondered whether Carl was the only one from his family living in this house. It just seemed awfully big for just one person.

However, I didn't want to pry. I once asked Carl about his parents, but he mentioned he didn't get along well with them. Ever since then, I have avoided the topic.

I walked with the maid up the massive and dark mahogany staircase, hearing our shoes echo on the hardwood steps around us. Suddenly, once we turned through another archway, I felt like something was wrong. This wasn't the wing that I was used to with its dark gray walls and black wainscoting when I visited Carl.

I was usually taken to the west wing, but I was being led to the east: a part of the mansion that Carl had told me to ignore more times than I could count.

My art museum analogy was spot on, as in this wing the walls were full of romantic art pieces that depicted couples intertwined in ways that I had only shamefully fantasized about. They were a bit more…revealing than I was used to, however.

As we walked farther and farther down the hallway, and the windows were replaced by dull wall sconces, I felt a bit unsettled. I swallowed hard and peered at the maid with a polite smile, "Not to be rude, but are you sure he is over on this side?"

"Yes, Mr. Peterson is waiting for you in the room at the end of the corridor." She was so certain that I trusted her over my own feelings. After all, this was Carl's house, he was free to choose whichever room he wanted to stay in.

We reached a dark wooden door that was different from the rest in the home. The maid took a step back and left me alone, excusing herself with a gentle bow.

Although we'd been dating for a while, it wasn't often for me to come over here at a late hour. For some reason, I was a bit nervous, but I told myself it was nonsense.

I'd spend some time with Carl, give him the good news, and head home afterwards like usual.

I turned the shiny brass handle and opened the door.

The room was dimly lit and had a strong fragrance of vanilla and spice candles. I squinted my eyes and waited for them to adjust to the dark room, wondering what Carl had been planning. Was this why he didn't message me back? Because he had a surprise for me?

When my eyes became accustomed to everything, I was stunned by what I saw. This wasn't the surprise I had in mind.

The wallpaper was matte black with embossed fleur-de-lis, and a massive, wooden, crimson 'X' with black leather padding leaning against the far wall grabbed my attention.

My gaze wandered over the lavish furniture with metallic hardware and leather upholstery.

Two types of whips in various shades of red and black hung on the pegs of custom-made, mahogany shelving units along with various types of paddles, bars, restraints, and more.

There were soft-bundled, black, nylon ropes hung on the far wall, framing a classical art piece of two lovers, ready to tie someone up with.

Nothing about this room screamed my fiance.

These items resembled things I had only heard via Jenny's mouth, and seen on her phone in secret. My face started to burn and my heart started to race.

I needed to get out of here.

An unsettling bubbling sensation rose through my stomach and made me want to run far away. This wasn't for my eyes to see.

Suddenly, my heart pounded in my ears as the feeling of someone glancing over my body, surveying and taking note of my every breath and my faintest movement, branded me.

Sweat glistened on my skin and ran down my back as my breathing picked up even more. The room felt like it was spinning, and I knew I wasn't alone. It didn't feel like my fiance was in here though.

It felt darker, more intimidating. Like a predator, stalking, and waiting to pounce on its prey.

"Come," a dark, deep, growling voice suddenly caressed my ears, causing me to jump with a squeak as a low and solid command dropped into the silence, "I've been waiting for you."