CH 17

Gia awoke to find herself wrapped up Nikolas’ arms; she smiled and cuddled up even closer to him. She had slept so well last night, like she did whenever she slept with Nikolas. They just held each other the whole night; their nude body’s pressed together as they slept. Gia lifted her head from his chest and looked at his sleeping face, he looked so peaceful. She reached up and with the soft touch of her hand. She caressed his face lovingly. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found a man like him; he was like no man she had ever been with. He was so loving and caring, but yet so passionate and intense. The two times that they had made love, it was spectacular and it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The thought of having him almost scared her. She had never felt like this with anyone before and she was so afraid of loosing it, like Seth did with Mark. She looked at his face closely, she knew he was about to wake soon, and her heart sped in anticipation.

Nikolas opened his eyes to see Gia looking at him intently. “Hey.” He said with a shy grin, amazed that this beautiful woman was in his bed looking at him with desire in her eyes. “Hey yourself.” Gia replied smiling at him. “What are you thinking about?” Nik asked reaching his hand out to lightly run it up the softness of her bare shoulder. “You, and how lucky I am that you finally gave into me, I thought it would never happen.” Gia said with a slight laugh. Nik’s eyes saddened and he looked into her eyes seriously. “Gia, I wanted you from the moment I saw you, when I brought you up here to my bed the night you came to town. I remember thinking that you were most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. I’m so sorry that I was such and idiot before, I just never knew it could be like this.” Nik said as he ran his fingers through her braids. Gia leaned in and kissed his lips, softly at first but passion quickly took over and Gia opened her mouth to Nik’s tongue, welcoming the familiar taste as she viciously sucked on it. She pulled back quickly causing him to gasp. “I have to get dressed.” She stated. “Why?” Nik moaned as she pulled her body away from his causing him to feel cold without her warm skin pressed up against his. He watched as her magnificent nude body strode past him and headed for the bathroom. “Gia why do you need to get dressed?” He repeated, his voice rising slightly so that he could be heard from his spot on the bed. Gia leaned her body so that she was peaking behind the wall. “Because Ned called the other day and I start my job today so I need to get ready to go to work.” Gia said. “What? He did?” Nik asked. “Yep, so you need to get ready too, we’re working on the same project, isn’t that great?” Gia said smiling. “Uh yeah great.” Nik said smiling back. His smile faded as soon as she disappeared behind the wall again. Nik wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle working with Gia.

Seth smiled brightly at his best friend who came bounding down the stairs in short black, silk Asian style dress and a pair of black clogs on her feet. Her long braids were pulled back in a loose bun held together with two black chopsticks. As she neared him, he could see that she had on a very subtle amount of makeup, here eyes were lightly covered with a soft dark blue color and she had lip-gloss on her lips. “Hey beautiful, where are you headed today?” He asked excepting the kiss she offered when she reached him. “It’s my first day at L&B today and I want to make a good impression. Seth!” Gia said distracted. “What?” He asked a little shocked. “What are you eating?” Gia questioned as he quickly brought his hands behind his back, hiding what he was holding. “Nothing.” Seth said with a sly grin. “Don’t give me that, show me what you have.” Gia demanded. Seth nodded his head slowly and glanced around quickly before holding out the handful of Red Vine’s he had. Gia’s mouth dropped. “Candy for breakfast? And where on earth did you find those in this house? Nikolas has a no junk food policy and trust me I’ve searched the place.” Gia said, her voice rising slightly. “Shh, I smuggled it in OK? I was going nuts!” Seth exclaimed. Gia broke into a smile. “I’m telling.” She said in a childish voice as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She started to open her mouth to yell but Seth put his hand over it to block any sound from coming out. “I’ll share.” He said in a hopeful tone. Gia’s mouth grew into a wide grin under his hands. “Deal.” She said when he let go. He smiled and handed her half. They sat down and ate their candy, Gia waiting for Nik to finish with his shower. He wanted her to join him but she insisted that that would take too long and she wanted to get to L&B on time. There was a knocking on the door and Gia went to go answer it. She opened the door to find an attractive older man in a gray suit on the other end. “What’s going on here?” He demanded. Gia frowned at the disapproving look on his face. “What’s with the attitude Mr.? I don’t even know who you are or why you’re here.” She asked confused, giving him back just as much attitude as he was giving her.

Nikolas started to come downstairs dressed in only his pants; his shirt was off as he was on his way to the laundry room to retrieve a clean one when he heard a familiar voice. “I’m looking for my nephew Nikolas Cassadine.” Stefan said, his face still hard. Nikolas quickly came down the rest of the way. “Oh hi, I’m..” Gia was about to introduce herself when Nik cut her off. “Hello uncle, uh this is Gia, she’s new to town and she and her friend are staying here for a while until they can find a place of their own.” Nik said. “Oh? And how long would that be?” Stefan asked boldly. “Just for a few more weeks I’m sure, just until they find somewhere to stay uncle.” Nik said with a slight smile. Gia tried to look him in the eyes to see if he was serious, but he kept his eyes off of her, afraid of what he’d see if he looked. When Gia realized he was serious and that he was telling his uncle that she was just a friend, she felt like she could cry, so instead she decided it would be best to leave. Nik was forced to look at her when he heard Gia speak. “Yes don’t worry Mr. Cassadine we’ll be sure to get out of your nephew’s way as soon as we can, I’m sure he doesn’t need any distractions right now since his life is so complicated. But if you’re worried about he and I being involved, don’t be. Nikolas and I are just friends.” Gia said the words with a sarcasm Nikolas was sure she was using to let him know that she was mad. He looked at her face and it killed him to see the hurt in her eyes. His eyes clamped closed briefly as he felt her brush passed him and walk over to Seth.

“Do you want a ride to the club before I go to work?” Gia asked softly. He nodded his head and let her help him up. They walked past Nikolas and his uncle; Gia wouldn’t even look at Nik as she passed. He attempted to reach out and touch her arm as she walked by but she jerked it away and continued to walk to the door, she turned around before opening it. “You have a good day Mr. Cassadine.” Gia said to Stefan before she and Seth walked out. Nikolas flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut.

“Nikolas where is your head? Do you even know these people? You have responsibility’s and this means that you can not have distractions.” Stefan instantly laid into him. “Gia is not a distraction.” Nik said shaking his head stubbornly. Stefan’s eyes widened. “Nikolas please do not patronize me, I am not blind, Gia is a very beautiful young woman and she will be nothing but a distraction for you.” Stefan said. “I won’t let Gia distract me from my responsibility’s uncle, I promise.” Nik said. “Oh well if you’re not distracted then I guess that you are aware that your grandmother has been acting suspicious.” Stefan said. Nik was shocked and he didn’t try to hide it. “What is Helena up to?” He asked. “I’m not sure but she’s been snooping around lately, my guess is to get some kind of leverage on you. Nikolas you know that she will be willing to do anything to get you on her side so that she can have control over the family after you are of age.” Stefan said. “That will never happen.” Nik swore. “I’m confident in that, but you need to stop playing games, I’ve let you live here on your own and you are going to school against my wishes but I will not let you throw everything away for a woman. Now please you need to stay focused and Gia is only going to get in the way of that. I’ll be on top of this Nikolas and if she is not out of your life soon, I will have to take matters into my own hands.” Stefan said heading for the door. Nikolas didn’t know what his uncle was implying but he didn’t want to find out, he slowly nodded his head. “Don’t worry about Gia uncle, I have no intentions on having a relationship with her.” Nik felt like his heart would break as he said the words. “She’s just a friend.” He said softly. “Good, it needs to stay that way.” Nik heard his uncle say before he walked out the door. The moment he heard it close he dropped down on the couch and cried. The thought of loosing Gia after finally realizing how much she mattered to him was devastating. He got up, wiping the tears from his eyes he went to go finish getting dressed; he needed to go find Gia.