It was like having a ringside seat for a train wreck…and watching said horror take place in slow motion.

As she watched the people mill about, laughing and mingling, prudent thought dictated she turn away from such impending carnage, if for no other reason than to extend the basic act of sympathy to the soon-to-be grievously injured party. Yet an all-too-familiar inner demon – one fueled by a mixture of both perverse delight and morbid curiosity – bade her not to avert her gaze. Yet, any plans she may have had to bear witness to the impending theater of pain were derailed as the sound of a most hypnotic baritone held her positively enraptured.

“Should I be jealous, Beloved?” Stefan Cassadine’s voice held the faintest trace of mirth as he beheld the glint of mischief still dancing in his wife’s eyes; she was seated at his desk, her slender fingers furiously rapping out a rhythm against the keys of her laptop. “Something, and not of my doing, is undoubtedly responsible for that smile of pure, unadulterated satisfaction that now adorns your visage.”

His emerald gaze washing over Faith, with an economy of motion Stefan closed the distance between them and rounded his desk. No sooner had he come to rest behind Faith, placing his strong, well-manicured hands atop her slender shoulders, than with the click of several keys she had closed out the series of screens she’d been working from and powered off the custom-designed notebook, all in less than five seconds.

“It is nothing you need be concerned with, Dear Heart.” Smiling as she rose from the desk, Faith was all too willing to surrender herself to the confines of her husband’s embrace. The last several days had been more hectic than normal for them both; it seemed as if they only encountered each other as of late when turning in for bed at night and rising in the morning. As it were, the hour was nearing nine p.m.; if this night proved to be anything like the ones preceding it, Faith dared not hope her husband’s evening would conclude before midnight. Still, if only for several stolen minutes, she cherished time alone with her Dear Heart.

Her smile, so warm and inviting, was a thing of matchless beauty to Stefan, rivaling even the power of her mesmerizing baby blue orbs, which never failed to still his breath. It was not the cordial, formal “smile” reserved for dealings with the Cassadine clan as a whole; nor was it the soft, oftentimes playful smile she bestowed upon those in the immediate family. No. This smile was his and his alone. It represented that side, that part of his Beloved she expressed to and shared with no one but him. That smile, much like the amazing, maddening, resilient woman to whom it belonged, was and would always be his true sanctuary.

Stefan quirked a curious brow as he removed his suit coat, then stepped away to drape it across the nearby chaise lounge. “Would this ‘nothing’ by chance have anything to do with Sabryn’s early morning visit from a few days ago?”

“Inquire all you wish, Dear Heart,” Faith said. Her laughter sang to him, serving to further enchant him. “I shall never tell!”

“So you say now, Beloved.” First his gaze darkened, then his voice dropped dangerously low; both acts made all the more enticing to Faith by the small feral smile that began to etch its way across his marvelous mouth. Slowly, his gaze riveted to Faith’s the entire time as he made his way back to her Stefan began to undo the French cuffs of his tailored dress shirt. “But I have ways—all pleasurable; some. . .intensely so—of making you talk, Beloved.” The only sound that could be heard in the suite was that of Stefan’s monogrammed cuff links as he precisely deposited first one then the other atop the mahogany desktop. Smoothly, Stefan encircled his arms about Faith, expertly turning her in his embrace so that seconds later she had the press of his taut, toned frame against the back of hers.

Faith could only sigh with blessed contentment, her body reverberating from the frisson that commenced upon hearing his words. They had been married four years yet times such as this, she marveled, made it seem as if they were but mere days into matrimony. She loved and desired him as strongly now as she did the moment she realized he was “It” for her, or the moment she said “I do.”

“Then by all means, my Dearest Heart.” As she allowed her body to relax against Stefan’s, Faith’s smile was equal parts challenge and anticipation. A mirror image of her husband’s. “Please, do your best.”

“I would never deign to bring before you anything less, Beloved.” Stefan’s mouth danced along the side of Faith’s throat. “Never.”

*ding* *ding* *ding* Just as Faith was poised to turn in Stefan’s embrace, fully intent on showing him her appreciation for the loving albeit torturous attention he had given to her throat, the melodic series of chimes from her laptop halted her actions. Holding up a slender finger, she silently requested her husband’s compliance.

“This will take but only a few moments, Dear Heart. I promise!”

Upon opening the laptop, Faith pressed the pad of her left thumb against the center panel of the touchpad, executing a series of keystrokes with her free hand. After a few seconds and a quick series of scans of the area (all to the tune of a computerized version of Zapp’s R&B classic Computer Love) the last screen Faith had previously been viewing reappeared onscreen, affording her a brilliantly crisp view of the entire banquet hall of the establishment her software program had been monitoring the past 48 hours.

Meticulous to the point of madness, Faith had checked, double, then triple checked the program she installed to infiltrate and eventually override all the facility’s electrical systems. The melodic chimes was her software’s way of making her aware things were about to “go live”; she had specifically engineered the program to notify her the moment either the audio or visual systems were in use. Gaining access to said systems had been so easy that for the briefest of seconds she wondered if she was about to make her insanely sought-after software (and thus by extension, herself) vulnerable to sabotage. Such was not the case. She soon came to realize she was merely dealing with a security system that was not only pitifully outdated but also embarrassingly inferior in comparison to even the most remedial of programs.

The most critical component of the operation—the placement of data—had already been put in place; the remainder was merely a matter of timing and, most importantly, execution. While it was not exactly the same as tossing a grenade – this particular endeavor required a delicate touch – the end result most certainly would resonate with equal if not exceeding force.

She just had to find the right moment. . .

No sooner had the thought registered than the opportunity presented itself. As Faith watched several couples make their way towards the dance floor she realized there was no time like the present. The targets were within range; this she knew to be true courtesy of the thermal monitoring. She didn’t need them in a specific location; she just needed them there. Again, a series of keystrokes ensued followed by a pop-up menu containing an almost cruelly rhetorical query:

‘Go big, dear heart. . .or go home!’ she mused silently as she hit the “Enter” key.

As she heard the familiar opening strains of piano soon followed by the flawless vocals of songbird Oleta Adams as she sang her lover could reach her by railway, that he could reach her by Trailway, Faith could not prevent the cry of pure delight that tore from her throat.

“Ohhhh, my!”

A more perfect backdrop for what was to transpire could not have been created if she had tried to do so. As she initialized the timer Faith reasoned Fate truly did have a most wicked sense of humor. In less than 240 seconds that would be far truer than any of the players on its stage could even begin to imagine.

It was like having a ringside seat for a train wreck. . .

The desire to give in to morbid curiosity and watch the ‘train wreck’ to come was almost too much to resist. The feel of her husband’s warm breath tickling her ear as he splayed his hand at her abdomen, drawing her against his body and allowing her to feel the unmistakable evidence of his desire for her proved far more impossible to ignore.

Besides, she was recording everything; she could always go back and watch. . .

“Is there something which requires your attention, Beloved?”

“No, Dear Heart. I am merely assisting in ensuring a most important message got delivered. That was a notification of sorts things are about to get underway.”

“Then I would be correct in presuming we shall have no further interruptions. . . for the remainder of the evening?” Stefan’s touch like his voice was pure seduction as he deftly began to unzip the exquisite slate gray Narciso Rodriguez dress, desperate to relieve Faith of the designer garment.

As Faith turned to look over her shoulder at Stefan, a slow, almost incredulous nod of her head brought a smile of supreme satisfaction to Stefan’s face. Rare were the moments when he could say he was able to truly surprise his Beloved. It was almost nine p.m.; his late evening meetings had been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts for his overseas associates. What had been slated to occupy several hours of Stefan’s considerably valuable time was now no more and the head of Cassadine Industries found himself with what amounted to—for a man with as schedule such as his—an entire evening free. And a most desirable mate literally within his reach.

“Thus, it is accurate to conclude your endeavor was successful?” His lips danced lightly along the planes of her shoulder. He paused, unable to resist the sublime feel of her supple flesh against his mouth, and offered up a faint nip of the smooth expanse. His reward was a tremulous sigh that soon gave way to a slow moan.

“As one of my favorite fictional characters is so fond of saying, Dear Heart,” Faith purred, “‘I love it when a plan comes together’!”