When Grace steps out of the elevator, she is surprised and a little annoyed to find Craig waiting at her front door. He's sitting with his back against the wall, his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms steepled between his knees. He doesn't look amused either as she stalks past him and jams her key in the lock.
"Where have you been?" He pushes himself up from the floor and follows her into the penthouse. "I've been waiting here for over an hour."
"Excuse me?" She throws her purse on the sofa and kicks her impossibly high heels off.
"I want to know where you've been," he demands uncomfortably.
"Since when did I start having to give you an account of my movements?" Grace snaps irritably as she moves across to the liquor cabinet.
"Since I was worried about you!" Craig loosens his tie and slips off the dark jacket that is suddenly constricting him. "I was at the service and I saw you leave with Stefano DiMera. It didn't exactly make me confident for your safety."
"Craig." She turns around, a condescending smile on her lips. "Really, I *don't* need your protection, okay?"
"Well, you need somebody's." He walks over to her and stands behind her as she mixes her martini. "If you're doing something as foolhardy as getting in a car with DiMera."
"Stefano won't hurt me," she turns around, the surprise written all over her face.
"That's not what your family seems to think," Craig is a little bemused by her glibness when it comes to Stefano. He has some idea of the tragedy that has befallen Marlena's family because of DiMera and he can't reconcile that with her certitude that Stefano will not hurt her. "There was pandemonium when you left the church." He is feeling uncomfortably hot in the stuffy apartment and he can feel the trickle of sweat as it runs down his back.
"So you thought you'd play hero," Grace returns sarcastically. "How sweet. Of course, if I *had* been in danger, sitting in front of my apartment was going to be the *perfect* means of rescuing me." She takes a sip of her drink and smiles with acid sweetness. "My white knight."
"Jesus Marlena!" She is walking past him, but he grips her upper arm and spins her around so that she is facing him. "I *care* about you. I was worried. Is that so bad?"
"I don't need a keeper, Craig." Her words are crisp, the irritation showing clearly on her taut face. "I can look after myself."
"I didn't say you can't," Craig's eyes soften as he looks at her. "I just wanted to help if I could, I know it must have been a hard day for you."
"Oh, spare me the sympathy, will you?" Grace rolls her eyes. "Honey, you and I both know that the only thing you're concerned about is whether or not you can get into my knickers tonight." She takes another sip from her glass, rolling the icy liquid around her tongue as she waits for his reply.
"Dammit, that's *not* true Marlena," he argues, his face red. With any other woman, her accusation would probably be more than true. But not her. Somehow Marlena is quite different.
"Well, it should be." Her lips twist into a sensual smile as she takes another sip of her martini.
"Marlena, I didn't come here to get you into bed." He's a little disconcerted by her apparent and sudden change of mood. "It's not like that. That's not how I feel about you any more."
"You don't want to sleep with me?" She looks confused and a little offended. "No, no, that's not what I meant!" He throws his hands in the air. "God Marlena, I can't think about anything *else* all day long. I can?t stop thinking about you, about what you feel like...."
"Well, good." Grace places her glass on the mirrored surface of the open liquor cabinet and lifts her fingers to the zip at the side of her dress. "Why don't we put your fantasies to good use then?" Her lips part and Craig squirms silently as he sees her tongue slides along the inside of her lower lips ever so slowly. She unzips her dress gradually and lets the straps slip from her tanned shoulders. The garment slithers to the ground, leaving Grace in some very revealing black lingerie.
"Marlena!" Craig isn't quite sure whether he wants to back away from her, or throw her down on the sofa and ravish her. "We just buried your ex-husband this afternoon. Don't you think this is a little... ah..." He's not quite sure what word his is looking for as he gets distracted by the way her breasts are rising and falling under the expensive black bustier.
"Inappropriate?" Grace arches her eyebrows with a smile that bespeaks wickedness. "Absolutely. But that's what makes it so much *fun*." She nears him and reaches out for his tie, hooking one finger around the neck so that she can loosen it.
"But Roman..." he's finding it a little difficult to breathe with her so close, but still, he is a little confused with her seeming lack of concern for the death of a man she was married to, not so many years ago. It seems at odds with everything he knows about her.
"Roman Brady is nothing to me." Her voice possesses an unusual coolness. "Not any more. I just want to forget about it, okay? There are much more... *stimulating* things we could be doing." She smiles again as she reaches for her martini and drains the glass.
Craig finds himself battling with his conscience as he watches her. More than ever, he's convinced there is something more than just her break-up with John Black happening here. What it is, he just can't quite pinpoint. Not yet.
~
"But why in the hell would she have gone with the bastard?" Shawn's Irish brogue is exaggerated in times of stress, and this is no exception. "And willingly?"
"I don't know Pop," Bo shrugs uncomfortably. "I think we all know Marlena's not behaving quite like... herself lately."
"Well, there's an understatement," Sami mutters bitterly.
"But to go with Stefano!" Caroline shakes her head and looks over to where John is sitting, his head buried in his hands.
It had taken three of them, Abe, Bo and Shawn to hold John back as he had struggled to go after Stefano and Marlena, threatening to tear the old man's head from his shoulders. And they had no doubt that in the irate mood he was in, that he would try. Austin had left the church to bring Marlena back to her family, but he had only been in time to see the door of Stefano's limousine closing, barricading Marlena's long, slender legs from his view.
When he had returned to the church and informed the family of what he had seen, John's face had gone almost purple with rage as he had cursed Marlena for her newest unusual behavior and Abe had been concerned that he might have to ask Lexie to prepare a sedative. Thankfully, Sami had intervened and somehow talked her step-father into some semblance of calmness. Abe still wasn't quite sure how she had done it, but something in her voice had pierced John's mania and his rage had abated slowly. Now he is sitting in one of the booths away from the family but Abe has absolutely no idea what is going on in his head. Given the violence of John's reaction, he isn't sure he wants to.
"Look, we all know Marlena," Abe lays his hand on the table as he speaks with a soft voice. "And we all know how hard Roman's death has hit her. Coming on top of whatever has happened between her and John..."
"If only he'd tell us exactly what it is, maybe we could help," Hope sighs, brushing the long dark hair from her face.
"I don't know that anyone can help them, Fancy-face, unless they want to help themselves." Bo shrugs uncomfortably. He still hasn't told anyone what happened when he went to see Marlena yesterday, and he's not sure he wants to.
"Well, whatever it is, however Marlena is behaving, she needs our understanding," Caroline says firmly. "And our love."
"She's not exactly doling out a lot of love and understanding in return," Sami's face is dark. "I mean, how could she do that to all of us? At Dad's funeral, how could she *leave* with Stefano, after everything he did to Dad and us? I just don't get it."
There is silence at the table as the family avoids each other's eyes. Their loyalty to Marlena has them not wanting to agree with Sami, but none of them can find an answer to the question she poses. How could Marlena turn to the enemy, now of all times? It just doesn't make sense.
~
"Craig," Grace finishes loosening his tie and draws it from around his neck, dropping it on the floor at his feet. With one hand, she commences unbuttoning his shirt, each button sliding easily from a well-stitched hole. "Don't tell me you don't want me. I know you better than that. I know the dirty little fantasies that play out in your mind." She slides her hands inside his half-open shirt and over his nipples. "So tell me. Tell me what you want me to do to you...."
It is much later that Grace opens her eyes to find Craig looking at her. She is lying in his arms on the sofa and though she is not one for 'cuddling', she is too exhausted to move.
A smile crosses his lips as he watches her golden eyes scour his face.
"What?" she barely moves her lips as she asks.
"Just trying to work you out," his fingers drift gently down her arm.
"Why?" she blinks, a little taken aback. The last thing she wants is for a doctor to start analyzing her. "I mean, what is there to work out?"
"You're a mystery," he murmurs as his fingers cover hers. "You're so devoted to your family and yet you leave them all at the church today. You think nothing of cheating on your husband, yet your wedding pictures are still all over this apartment." He picks up her hand and sees the tell-tale white band of skin where the removal of her wedding ring has denuded her finger. "Do you still love him?"
"And this is your business because...?" she shifts slightly away from him.
He pauses for a moment as though he is assessing the appropriateness of his next comment. Finally he speaks and Grace wishes she hadn't asked. "Because I think I've fallen in love with *you*, Marlena."