The Bed You Make
Chapter 33, concluded
A single blink of his emerald eyes was all the reaction Stefan gave to Dara's revelation that he was the subject of her nightmare. "Please, explain."
Dara was too tired, jet-lagged and depressed to evade the request. "I was feeling badly about what happened with Alex and told you so. I asked you if just once we could interact as two human beings and not the chess master and his pawn."
"I was unwilling to do so?" Stefan's face did not reveal what he thought of Dara's characterization of their relationship.
"Actually," Dara smiled wanly, "you were very nice about it all. You held me and let me fall asleep." She paused. "And then you gutted me. To discover my secrets."
Dara wasn't prepared for Stefan's grave response. "I am sorry," he offered.
"For what?" She tried to laugh off his apology. "It was just a bad dream."
"I am sorry that, even unconscious, you believe me incapable of simple human kindness," he explained.
Dara shook her head. "I don't believe that. Or I wouldn't have felt so betr-" She trailed off rather than finish her sentence. Still, the word hung in the air as plainly as if she'd finished uttering it.
"Nonetheless, allow me to make amends for my behavior – however imagined." Stefan pulled back the covers, a clear invitation for Dara to return to bed.
Dara hesitated. "What about those scratches? You really need to put something on them or they'll be painful and red tomorrow."
Stefan's gaze was steady. "I am unlikely to perish from their effects before the morning," he replied. "And waiting until morning to treat them will have the added benefit of providing the servants fodder for their gossip concerning our first night in Greece as man and wife. They will be pleased to know the newest Cassadine bride feels such passion for her husband," he wryly teased her.
Despite the burning of her ears, Dara laughed softly. She climbed into bed and lay quietly while Stefan reached back and turned off the bedside lamp. Dara could not help the automatic stiffening of her body when he reached out in the darkness and pulled her back against him until they were spooned. It was a move eerily like the dream. "Here," Stefan said. He threaded his fingers with hers. "You may hold on to my hand for safekeeping."