The Bed You Make,
Chapter 1, concluded

Gathering her shaken composure, Dara stalked angrily into one of the suite's enormous walk-in closets. As luck would have it, she had chosen her new husband's closet. Row after row of finely tailored suits in variations of black and gray filled the wooden hangers. Perfectly pressed dress shirts in complimentary neutral hues hung alongside the suits. The only traces of color in Stefan's wardrobe were provided by the subtle flecks that dotted his assortment of muted neckties.

Perfect camouflage, Dara thought. By design, Stefan dressed to blend into the background. Strangers tended to relax their guard around him after a while. Because his body was so still, they made the dangerous assumption that Stefan's mind was, also. He did not fidget; he made no unnecessary movements. In fact, most of the time Stefan Cassadine looked as though he were in the middle of having his portrait painted for one of the austere paintings that hung in the Great Hall of Wyndemere.

What in the world had she gotten herself into? Dara closed her eyes and let her forehead rest gently against the black suit hanging before her. She inhaled, and the barest trace of her new husband's rich masculine scent teased Dara's senses. “My god,” she breathed aloud as she gathered up a handful of linen and pressed it to her nose once more, “the man even smells dangerous!”

Tiny hairs on the back of Dara's neck suddenly stood on end. The beautiful attorney whirled around and found herself nose-to-nose, again, with the subject of her thoughts. “Make some noise, would you?” The exasperated outcry was Dara's attempt to mask her embarrassment at being found in such curious circumstances.

“It was not my intention to startle you.” Though his expression was somber, Stefan's amusement was clearly visible. “I merely wondered what my closet could possess that would hold your interest for such a lengthy period. You have been in here some time, now.”

‘Let's see…I tried to make an angry exit, got lost in your closet and then got distracted by thoughts of you.' Yeah, well there was no way she would provide Stefan with that little nugget of ammunition against her, no matter how true it was. Stefan currently held the upper hand – and the home field advantage – in their situation. If she was to survive the experience with her soul intact, she needed to begin leveling the playing field. “I thought some of my things might have been put in here,” Dara hedged. “They weren't, so I will just go and check the other closet.”

home | Chapter 2