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"Did you really want to be just Dom?" Stella asked quickly. God, she was insane.
"Yes, I did," he replied. "I wanted to kiss a mysterious woman and not worry about being who I am for one fucking night."
"I have an idea. Do you trust me?" If they got caught, she would be in so much trouble, she would probably be run out of Venice.
"Yes," Dom said without hesitation.
"Then get ready to move." Dom's hand took hers as Stella raised her fingers and shut her eyes.
She rarely touched her magic. It was forbidden for someone in her position, but she wasn't Stella Vianello tonight. She snapped her fingers, the magic racing out of her and blowing the lights out in the ballroom.
"Don't let go," Stella said and pulled him into the noisy crowd.
* * *
Stella had seen the discreet door in the ballroom's antechamber earlier in the evening. She always liked having an escape route planned in case a night got too wild or too boring.
As everyone hurried to other parts of the palazzo, she opened the servant's passage door and pulled Dom inside, closing them in darkness. He dragged her against him and kissed her quickly.
"You are full of surprises," he said.
"We aren't out yet," Stella replied, a little breathless and stunned by the kiss. In the dim light, she could make out the winding staircase. "Would you like to go up or down?"
"They'll expect us to go down to the exits, so…up?" Dom said uncertainly. "Be careful in those heels."
"I'm sure a gentleman like you will catch me if I fall."
Dom rested a large, steadying hand on the small of her back. "I have you,misteriosa."
Stella held one hand to the stone wall as they slowly climbed the stairs up two floors. She opened a door on the fourth floor and peeped out into the corridor.
"No one is around," she whispered. They crept out into the hall, the plush velvet runners silencing their foot falls.
"Looks like I'm going to get you in that bedroom after all," Dom said, opening the nearest door.
"Aren't you lucky?" Stella replied, following him inside.
The room was dimly lit by the moonlight coming through the glass doors overlooking the canal. It wasn't a bedroom but some kind of sunroom with chaise lounges and coffee tables.
"Let's hope your babysitter is too occupied with the exiting crowds to think to look up here."
"You are diabolical, and I love it," Dom said with a dazzling smile. "Do you do this kind of thing often?"
"Sneak about other people's palazzos? Sure, when the occasion calls for it. I didn't even have a real invite to this party."
Dom laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not surprised. But then, why come?"
"Because it's fun to go where you're not supposed to. Really, Dom, you have got to learn how to live a little…" Stella trailed off as she heard voices in the hall. She crept back to the door and peeked outside.
A man was coming down the hall, checking each room as he went, the band of the Aladoro colors around his arm.
"Cazzo!Someone's coming. Get on your knees."
"What?" Dom asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"Do you trust me or not?" Stella demanded, pulling the slides out of her hair and mussing it before sitting down on the chaise lounge.
"Here, knees! Now!" Dom didn't question her, just slid to the carpet in front of her.
