The Bed You Make,
Chapter 2, concluded
“You must excuse me,” Stefan turned to his new bride and said. “There is a matter that I must attend to.”
“Is it something I should concern myself with?” Dara asked.
“No. I do not believe so. But should circumstances dictate it, I shall discuss the matter when I return.” Stefan paused at the door. “You may make use of the facilities while I am absent.”
‘Perhaps you will be much more at ease then.' Dara heard her new husband's implied words as clearly as if he had spoken them aloud. “I will, thank you,” she replied calmly.
Dara waited to move until she could no longer hear the steady rhythm of Stefan's footsteps on the stone floor of Wyndemere. She quickly gathered her things, retreated to the bathroom and promptly froze. If she thought the shower and tub in the suite across the hall were amazing, then Stefan's bathroom was positively jawdropping.
Along the left wall of the bathroom was a marble-encased soaking tub large enough to house several people. Dara quickly abandoned that line of thought and allowed her gaze to sweep around the rest of the room. Large, masculine, marble topped cabinets rested just beneath an unbroken expanse of highly polished mirrors that were visible from any angle in the room. The entire design flowed seamlessly into the bank of clear glass shower panels to her right.
Dara carefully placed her things on the marble countertop, opened the clear glass shower door and turned the nearest handle. Immediately, hot water flowed from the showerhead. Dara played with the dial and the water alternated from a soft, fine mist to a hard, pounding spray. How in the world, she marveled, did they manage that in a place like Wyndemere? It was all marble and stone, after all. Dara shook off her amazement. Minutes were passing and she had not begun to prepare for the night ahead.
An unexpected discovery halted the beautiful attorney in her tracks once again. There was no way to lock the bathroom door. Dara looked back over her shoulder at the clear glass of the shower. If it weren't for the fact that the smaller shower across the hall was also enclosed in glass, Dara would have sworn that Stefan had deliberately arranged her current situation.
Dara gently bit her lower lip. She could not hesitate indefinitely; she had to make a decision quickly. With a sigh, Dara began to remove her clothing. After a few furtive glances toward the bathroom door, she squared her shoulders and decided to take the chance that her new husband was at heart the decent gentleman Dara believed he could be.