Melrose strained to see the road in front of her. A flash of lightning struck the ground and she screamed. The lightning flash seemed to leave an eerie shadow in its wake. Melrose blinked a couple of times, but the shadow failed to disappear. It seemed as if something or someone was walking alongside the road. Melrose slowed to nearly a stop to get a closer look. She stopped her car but the shadow seemed to disappear into the woods. Melrose drove at a snail’s pace and the road soon began to curve. As she made her way through the twisting turns the shadow seemed to reappear. Determined to know if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if the shadow was real, Melrose decided to follow it.

The shadow seemed to follow the road and Melrose had become so preoccupied with following it that she missed her final turn and drove onward into the darkness. She gasped when she realized that she was driving down a private drive. She stopped her car and stared at the mansion in front of her. It was both gloomy and elegant at the same time.

******

Melrose thought the man was rather handsome, though quite a bit older than she. He wore leather pants that oddly matched the leather furniture in the room. A crisp white dress shirt fit him perfectly and the thin material allowed Melrose a glimpse of the man’s tanned skin. As her eyes moved upward she could see the man’s dark nipples through the sheer material. Melrose had a thing for men’s chests and this man’s chest with its nipples forming perfect peaks made her mouth water.

The man crossed his arms over his chest, and Melrose instantly looked up to meet his eyes. Had he caught her staring? He smiled at Melrose but his smile was not genuine. Melrose could see that it had been forced, or was it sinister?

******

Charles sat up and then he realized the reason for the look of shock on young Melrose’s face. He immediately put his hand to the left side of his face and turned his back to Melrose.