“What a treasure you possess.” Stefan turned from the door and addressed Jessica.

“Thank you. I know.” With a wave, she invited him to return to his seat on the sofa. Jessica smiled knowingly when Stefan raised an eyebrow in surprise. His gaze swept the room, silently emphasizing the fact that they were now alone.

“I was certain that my welcome in your home would have ended with your young daughter's departure,” he said.

Jessica sat down in the loveseat and considered Stefan's statement. “Normally you would be right,” she began. “But Bonnie saw something in you, so . . .”

She also had seen something in Stefan Cassadine. Something different from the arrogant, controlling, manipulative, and almost frustratingly charming man she had introduced herself to in the Port Charles Police Station. At that unguarded moment when Bonnie had entrusted him with her affection, Jessica saw in Stefan a wounded heart.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Impulsively, the beautiful lawyer extended the invitation. Now that she had been privy to the side of his personality that Stefan Cassadine kept hidden, Jessica felt like she was finally on equal ground.

The invitation to dinner had taken him by surprise. Jessica downplayed her abilities as a cook, but nonetheless moved about the kitchen with the ease of one accustomed to doing so. Boldly she challenged him to participate in the meal's preparation, and Stefan found himself chopping carrots as she prepared the meat.

Totally focused on the task at hand, he looked up at one point to find the mocha beauty staring in amusement at his single-mindedness. A warm flush, which Jessica mistook as embarrassment, heated his neck. Stefan knew that it was reaction; the heat felt between man and woman, the electricity sparked between two destined lovers, the primal passion of lion to lioness.

It was obvious to him that Jessica felt in control of the evening. He knew that she had observed the lowering of his guard with her young daughter. No doubt she imagined him to be safer somehow. His lips curled in a half-smile. Soon enough she would realize her mistake.

Now he leaned against the door of the brightly lit kitchen watching Jessica pull plates from the overhead cabinets. The smooth material of her slacks was pulled across her shapely rear end as she stretched to reach upward.

His body recalled with a jolt how perfectly Jessica's body had fit against his that night in Lucinda Walsh's pool. She had begun to choke as a result of Stefan surfacing directly beneath her as she swam. As he held her lithe body against his, the water molded them together as one. And he became aroused then, as he was now.

“I don't imagine that you find yourself in this situation often. ” Jessica's laughing voice interrupted his perusal of her body.

“Which situation would that be?” Aroused by her presence? Stefan wryly acknowledged to himself that such a condition was all too frequent of late.

Jessica teased him gently. “In a kitchen, doing manual labor.” She paused to extend the plates to him. “I have to admit, you did very well.”

Stefan pushed himself away from the doorjamb and moved over to where she stood holding the two plates. He advanced until she was backed up against the counter, and the plates pressed against his chest. “I am glad my skills here please you.” His voice was raspy and deep. “Shall we move on to the room in which I am best?”

BACK | NEXT