The Bed You Make - Chapter 3b
Dara cinched up the belt of her silk robe and sighed. The pulsating jets of Stefan's shower were unlike anything she had ever experienced. She would have liked to enjoy it longer, but the specter of her new husband's return loomed large in the back of her mind.
The bathroom door opened and the object of her thoughts entered uninvited. “It is a good thing that I had already finished showering, isn't it?”
“I anticipated that you would be through.” Stefan raised an eyebrow. “In truth, I expected to find you already fully clothed for tonight's outing.”
“I considered it,” Dara admitted candidly. “But I realized that in the long run it would be better for everyone involved if I simply laid down some ground rules for you to follow.”
Stefan's mouth quirked into a half-smile. “Everyone involved…” he repeated. “There is only you and I.”
“Then you should have no problem complying, should you?”
“Spoken like a true Cassadine bride. And hence, the nature of my earlier errand. I realized,” Stefan opened his right hand, “that I had been remiss in my attentions.” In his palm was an antique medallion and simple chain. “May I?” Stefan gestured toward Dara's neck. “It is tradition.”
Dara pulled aside the silken material, more fully exposing her neck. Stefan stepped behind her and gently placed the chain about her neck. The antique medallion nestled comfortably within the valley of her breasts. Its warmth surprised Dara. She had steeled herself for cold contact.
“Whose medallion are you wearing?” Dara turned to face Stefan.
“I am sorry?”
“You gave me your medallion to wear,” she explained patiently. Dara reached out and tapped the antique medallion just visible beneath Stefan's white shirt. “So whose medallion is this?”
Stefan countered Dara's question with one of his own. “What leads you to believe that you wear my medallion?”
“It's still warm,” Dara readily replied. “And based upon your earlier explanation about why my things had been moved to this suite, well… it wasn't much of a guess.”
~ ‘…because you are my wife.' ~
Stefan filed away their exchange for study at a later time. Dara's insight where he was concerned caught him just a bit by surprise. It intrigued Stefan as well.
The challenge to stay several steps ahead of his bride grew greater with every new aspect that she revealed, Stefan realized.
