‘This must be what it feels like to lie atop a cloud…’

Even straddled by his muscular form while lying nude and face down upon the bed, she could not help but marvel that it was positively criminal how unbelievably plush the custom-built mattress was. It was not as if the bed was unfamiliar to her. On this particular night, however, she seemed to be experiencing it with an appreciation as never before. Then again having the best imported Moroccan oils massaged onto your flesh—from head to toe and all areas in between—could tend to make you feel that way. Who was she kidding? Hell, she could be lying on a bed of nails topped with hot coals, and she would still be in heaven!

Stretching with a grace and sensuousness that was reminiscent of the tawny jungle cats she as of late found herself fascinated by reluctantly the fiery beauty raised her head from the Heirloom Silk Eiderdown pillow. The only thing that made separating her face from its 410-thread count exterior worth it was the incredibly handsome visage smiling back at her.

“Yes?” He knew she found his laugh as intoxicating as his touch, if not more so. “You have a question?”

“Is your Thea feeling okay?”

“Do you mean Sabryn?” His skilled fingers ceased their melodic mastery of her flesh and smoothly buried themselves within the mass of tousled chestnut coils that was her hair. With a firm yet gentle press, he indicated she was to resume her original position.

A nod of her head as she heeded his command, accompanied by a throaty moan in response to his fingers finding a particularly tense spot along her right shoulder blade served in lieu of a reply.

“She is your Thea as well,” Nikolas gently chided Gia.

Even after nearly a year of marriage, Prince Nikolas Mikhail Stavrosovich Cassadine knew the only thing his wife, the former Gia Campbell, still approached with more trepidation than her role as the Princess Cassadine was the prospect of lowering her defenses around his beloved Thea Sabrina. At times, it seemed the demands of supporting endless charities, entertaining royals and dignitaries from all over the globe, not to mention navigating the viper-infested waters that was the extended Cassadine family felt like a day at the beach when compared to dealing with his brash, outspoken Thea.

Much of Gia’s hesitancy, Nikolas knew, stemmed from his deep love for his Thea. What the former model came to find surprising, however, was how fiercely that love was returned. Gia would never forget how her mouth had snapped shut when Nikolas confided in her he was fully aware, save for his immediate family, how the Cassadine family as a whole viewed him as a runner-up of sorts with regards to Sabrina’s affection—and held the same belief about his younger brother Andresj’ when it came to their equally beloved Thea Natasha, family council Alexis Davis Taggert.

Nothing, he assured her, could be farther from the truth.

Just as he and his brother loved their Theas equally so did they their nephews. Neither had a ‘favorite’; Nikolas’ role as Prince, especially in his youth, simply dictated that Alexis spend more time with him. The same held true for a young Andresj’; he and Sabrina possessed similar personalities, thus, to many their bond appeared stronger.

“Yeah, but she loves you,” Gia mumbled into the pillow. “Hey! Ow!” she yelped in response to Nikolas delivering a stinging slap to her behind.

“You know she feels the same about you, Gia,” Nikolas insisted. “She’s just been a bit…distant lately.”

“You think?!” Gia exclaimed, her head jerking up. “She hardly said a word at dinner last night. This morning, we did manage to get “Good morning” out of her but that was it. Tonight’s dinner was just a repeat of the previous evening.” She turned to look back at Nikolas. “Look, I know she said she had a lot on her mind, but she needs to go ahead and handle whatever is bothering her. God knows Cassadines are hard enough to deal with, but moody Cassadines are even worse!”

“Gia…” His voice held the faintest hint of warning, but it was soon lost amid the laughter that ensued as Gia playfully began to thrust her behind up to meet what was now Nikolas’ straining erection. Smoothly he shifted his weight and with the greatest of east flipped the taunting temptress onto her back. “What am I going to do with you?” he chuckled. Of their own volition his hands began to glide along her torso, even as he slowly, sinuously began to stretch out his body along the length of hers. Cupping her breasts, his gaze began to darken as he rolled their pebbled peaks between his thumb and index fingers.

“You keep doing that, and don’t worry, I’ll show you,” she purred, arching into his touch. Parting her thighs, she draped a shapely leg about his waist. “I will gladly show you.”

The rush of a shakily held breath being expelled was the only sound that could be heard in the suite. A perfectly manicured hand’s thumb hovered above the “End” button on the phone’s display screen as the call’s connection blared forth. There was still time to end the call.

“Hello?”

Or maybe not.

“Hi…hi,” the caller finally managed. “I am not calling at a bad time, am I?”

“Nonsense.” The woman’s voice held a melodic quality that seemed to deepen, as if she were smiling when she spoke her next words. “There is never—ever—such a thing where you are concerned.” She could not be certain, but she would wager the substantial family fortune the party on the other end was now smiling.

“How are you?”

“I am well and cannot complain.” A pause ensued; a deliberate attempt by the woman to smooth the sharp edge of concern threatening to lace her next words. “And you? I hope the same is true.”

“Like you…I…cannot complain.”

“That was not an answer…”

“Know what,” she forced a laugh, “you are not going to believe this, but I just looked at the time and didn’t realize how late it is. Again, I am sorry for calling so late. I just needed,” she quickly corrected herself, “I mean, wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. To see how you were.”

“Cher…” There was now no mistaking the warning which vibrated through the lone endearment just uttered. “Enough.” With that simple edict, however fractured or complex their relationship might have been, Celeste Perrault knew her child knew her well enough to comply.

“I am okay, Mama,” Sabrina sighed. “Really.” Her voice trembled; she did not expect hearing her mother’s voice would affect her so. Stunned by the wave of emotion overtaking her, fighting back tears, Sabrina clenched the small smart phone so tightly she feared for a moment she would break it. “I…I have to go now. But we will talk again soon. I promise. Good night.”