Title: Connecting

Author: Pari

Date written: 2/17/09

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story and this story is meant to entertain, not to infringe.

Chapter One

He had been sitting at his desk going over some paper work when the phone rang. He glanced at his watch wondering who would be calling at such a late hour and then snatched up the phone. "Yeah,"

"Hey Sonny, this is John Zacharra." The voice spoke through the phone.

"Do you know what time it is?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I was hoping I could speak with Claudia."

"Well, it's 1:30 in the morning and she went to bed hours ago, so…"

"Yeah it's just that…when there's a pretty bad storm going on outside, she…just trust me she wouldn't be able to asleep." John stated not wanting to indulge to the man he still perceived to be 'The Enemy' that his sister was afraid of thunder and lightning.

"Why, is she afraid of storms?" Sonny asked and there was a long pause. "Look I'm not gonna use it against her, I'm just curious."

"Yeah she's terrified of thunder and lightning thanks to our good old dad." John answered and Sonny rolled his eyes and shook his head a bit. He couldn't understand how a man could be so sadistic to his daughter. He wondered what Anthony had done 'this time' to torture Claudia, and as if reading his thoughts Johnny replied. "Our father use to lock Claudia outside in one of the greenhouses whenever there was a real bad storm. The greenhouses were all glass so it didn't block out the sounds of thunder or the flashes of lightning. I was 4 at the time so Claudia was 6. So now she's deathly scared of storms and I usually sit with her until they pass."

"Your father is one twisted son-of-a-bitch." Sonny said slightly angered.

"Believe me I know. Anyway since Claudia's living with you now it makes it impossible for me to be with her so I figured I'd call her."

"Well, I'm heading up to bed now I'll let her know you called and she can call you back."

"Thanks and could you not mention anything about her being scared, she'd kill me if she knew I told you…"

"She won't hear it from me." After a brief goodbye Sonny hung the phone up. He then sat for a few seconds thinking and then stood with a sigh and made his way to the stairs. As he ascended the stairs the lights flickered and then cut out completely. In the dark he made his way to Claudia's bedroom door standing outside contemplating if he should knock or just walk in. He decided to knock as he entered. He stuck his head in first and looked to the bed a quick flash of light showed him that it was empty. "Claudia?" He called out as he fully entered the room. He moved further into the room to the closed bathroom door. He knocked on the door as he called out for her again, "Claudia you in there." He only got silence in reply. He turned to leave thinking maybe she had gone to the kitchen down the back stairs, when another flash of light showed the white sheet peeking from beneath the closet door. He moved to the closet and slowly opened the door, and found Claudia wrapped in a sheet cowering in the far corner of the closet. "Claudia?" Sonny called out to her and she jumped slightly at hearing him, and looked up at him with wet tear filled eyes, which she quickly wiped at. "Hey, you Ok?" Sonny asked as he crouched inside the closet in front of Claudia.

"Yeah," She answered as she blew out a frustrated breath and turned her head from his gaze. "I suppose you find this funny, big bad Claudia Zacharra scared of a thunder storm."

"No," He paused and then added. "I don't think you're that big or bad, least not as big and bad as you like to think you are." He said with a smirk and she couldn't help but to chuckle at his words, which garnered a full smile from Sonny. "You plan on sleeping in here all night?"

"No, just until the lights come back on, and before you ask I'm not afraid of the dark I just don't like lightning." She stated and he simply nodded.

"Well the lights may not come back on tonight, so why don't you…you know? " He struggled with the words a bit before finally saying, "Come out and come stay in my bedroom for the night." He offered as he looked down at his foot, trying to avoid her question eyes.

"Are you finally inviting me to the martial bed, dear husband?" She asked jokingly and invoked another smile and a shake of the head from Sonny.

"I'm trying to be nice here but if you want to sleep in the closet," He replied as he began to stand. Claudia shot her hand out and grasped his arm.

"I'm kidding, sorry it was a bad joke. If the offer still stands…" He simply nodded his head. "Thank you." She said and began to stand with Sonny's help, who steadied her as she stood.

He lay in the bed and watched her as she paced the floor, jumping each time the thunder boomed outside. She would then go peek through the large dark drapes that Sonny had drawn closed, and would quickly close them again at the first flash of lightning.

"It's still really bad out there, how long do you think it will last?" She asked as she turned to face the over sized bed. She was able to see sonny's face clearly because he had lit candles through out the room in the hopes that having light would calm her nerves a bit.

"I don't know but why are you torturing yourself, just come to bed and try to get some sleep." Sonny replied as he pulled back the covers and held them up for her to crawl into the bed. She stood hesitant for a moment until a very loud clap of thunder shook the room. She then rushed to the bed and hopped beneath the covers.

"I need my brother," She mumbled out mainly speaking to herself, though Sonny clearly heard her.

"Actually he called right before I came to your room, I was coming up to tell you. It was just 30 minutes ago so he might still be up if you wanted to call him back."

"I'm not calling him back," She looked at him as if he were a mad man. "Don't you know you can be struck by lightning if you're talking on the phone during an electrical storm?"

"Fine don't call him back I really don't care one way or the other." At that moment another loud boom filled the room just as a strong gust of wind pushed the bedroom's balcony doors opened.

"Ahh!" Claudia screamed as she balled up against the headboard of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face against her knees. Sonny quickly jumped from the bed and hurried to the doors, closing them securely and locking them. He then moved back to the bed. He settled beside Claudia who had begun rocking herself and softly crying.

"Hey," Sonny called out to her gently as he reached out and touched her head, she flinched from his touch but he didn't back off, but instead brushed her long dark hair from her face. "Hey look at me," He coaxed and she slowly lifted her red eyes to look at him. "It's just a storm, it can't hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you ok?" She sniffled and nodded her head. "For better or worse whether we like it or not, we're married. You're my wife and I promise you I will never let anything or anyone hurt you." He declared as he cupped her face in his hands. She searched his eyes and he knew she was seeking the sincerity and honesty of his words, and something compelled him to lean in and capture her lips with his own. A shock went through them and it felt like they both had been hit with one of the bolts flashing outside.

The kiss deepened as they clung to each other and their tongues dueled for dominance much as they themselves did in their everyday lives. After a moment the need for air pulled them apart, and this allowed a part of Sonny's brain to scream out a warning about the dangerous path he was headed down. But one look into her lust filled eyes and kiss swollen lips he decided he didn't care, and he recaptured her lips.

He moved his hands from her face using one to hold his weight above her as he laid them back against the pillows. While he ran his other hand from her bare leg up her thigh, pulling up the white satin nightgown she wore. Her hands weren't idle as she raked one hand through his hair and wrapped it around the back of his neck, holding him to her and the kiss. Her other hand she scraped down his chest. He tugged at her gown once it reached her backside and she hastily lifted up a bit to allow him to continue to pull the gown up and over her head. He pulled back a bit to pull the gown completely from her body and she raised her arms to oblige him. He briefly let his hungry eyes appreciate her firm breast and their pink pebble like nipples, before he bent and captured one between his teeth and sucked it into his mouth.

Claudia gave a soft cry of pleasure as she clutched the back of Sonny's head with both of her hands and arched her back and threw her head back against the pillows. Sonny greedily suckled her breast moving from one to the other as if unable to decide which tasted better. Still using one hand to hold his weight he moved the free one to cup her hot mound, using the fingers to rub between its lips and across its hardened clit. Claudia strangled a moan as she bit into her bottom lip. Sonny then slid his fingers underneath the elastic waist of her white satin panties, and quickly buried a finger deep within her folds.

"God," Claudia half gasped, half screamed out loud as she bucked wildly against Sonny's hand. With their arousal nearly over taking them, they both desperately pulled at each other; Sonny yanking and tearing off her flimsy panties, while Claudia yanked down Sonny's black silk boxers. Neither one was in the mood for anymore foreplay, nor allowed themselves to think of this as anything romantic or gentle. So it was pure primal, raw need, and desire that caused Sonny to surge forward and plow forcefully into Claudia's core. "Ahhh!," She cried out at the burning sensation caused by his entry but her scream quickly turned to moans of pleasure as she began to buck upward to meet him thrust for thrust. They spent the rest of the night getting acquainted with each other's bodies and discovering each others most pleasurable spots.

He hadn't slept but he had always been able to function with little or no sleep. After Claudia had drifted off he had gotten up to watch the sunrise. Now he sat drinking from the fresh pot of coffee that Milo had brought him, while watching Claudia sleep. He thought she looked beautiful with her black hair spilling over the white pillows. She looked so peaceful and innocent he thought and then he had to chuckle at the thought, because he knew first hand how dangerous she could be. His thoughts were interrupted when his bedroom door opened.

"Sonny," A feminine voice called out and he stood from his chair just as Kate's face appeared through the door.

"Kate, what are you doing here?" Sonny asked in a hushed tone as he walked to where she stood by the door.

"I needed to speak with you about..." Her words ended when her eyes landed on the tousled bed, and the woman who lay tangled in the sheets. "Sorry, I didn't know you had company." She spat out as she turned to glare at sonny, who gently grabbed her arm and maneuvered her back out into the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind them.

"You should have called first," Sonny said and Kate crossed her arms across her chest defensively.

"Really, since when do I have to set an appointment to see you? You've always said I was welcome here anytime."

'"You are but you can't just walk into my bedroom. I am married now and you have to show a little respect to my wife."

"You mean your whore, Sonny." Kate said angrily.

"Kate, I'm not gonna have this argument with you again, it's pointless." Sonny warned as he shook his head a bit.

"When exactly did you start performing your husbandly duties? I thought you said this marriage was a business arrangement and nothing personal." Sonny couldn't answer. "You know what never mind, I don't want to know. I doesn't matter I just came to return this." She held out the engagement ring Sonny had given to her.

"I gave that to you, you know...it's yours." Sonny said and then held up his hands a bit, unwilling to take the ring.

"You're married now Sonny to another woman, isn't that what you just said? I can't keep an engagement from you. I don't want it." Kate insisted as she shoved the ring closer to him, he took a step back and shook his head again in refusal. Kate turned and placed the ring on a nearby table. "Goodbye Sonny. The next time I need to see you I'll make sure to call first." Kate said and then turned and walked back the way she came. Sonny stood staring after her for a moment and then with a heavy sigh he re-entered the bedroom, where he found Claudia making the bed. She looked up startled.

"Oh I thought you had gone to your office already. I was gonna leave I just wanted to change the sheets and make the bed first." She stated as she hooked the last corner of the bottom sheet under the mattress.

"You don't have to do that. The housekeeper can do it." Sonny said as he moved to the bed.

"I'm capable of making the bed, besides I'm not use to people waiting on; making my bed, doing my laundry."

"You're telling me that the Zacharra household doesn't have maids and butlers?" Sonny asked with a playful grin as he grasped the sheet and began to help her finish the bed.

"No, we had plenty of hired help, but they were ordered by my father to ignore me, and then I was sent to Italy to live with my uncle. He didn't allow the servants to wait on me too much. My uncle did to teach me to be self-reliant my father did it to be cruel." Claudia said as they finished making the bed.

"Exactly how long has Anthony been on this mission to make your life a living hell?" Sonny asked as he grabbed pillows and placed them at the head of the bed, mirroring Claudia's action.

"God, for as long as I can remember. No matter what I did, what I do, I can't seem to get any reaction or emotion from my father, except anger and hatred." She answered with a sadden look in her eyes, which contradicted her nonchalant behavior.

"Do you know why?"

"Oh yes he's constantly telling me why he hates me, I remind him of my mother. My uncle would tell me stories about how my father loved my mother, how he worship the ground she'd walk on. Then she ran off and broke his heart. I'm told that I bare a striking resemblance to her, which has damned me in my father's eyes. All done." She said as she put the last pillow in place. "So uhm, thank you for taking care of me last night." She said coyly as she tucked her hair behind her ears and wrapped her arms around herself.

"It was my pleasure," Sonny replied with a chuckle and she couldn't help but to laugh and roll her eyes a bit.

"OK, well I'll get out of your hair now, let you get dressed." She said as she began to move to the door.

"You're not in my hair, and actually I sent Milo out for some breakfast," Sonny stated and as if on cue there was a knock at the door. Sonny went and opened the door. "Come on in, and put the tray out on the balcony." Milo entered.

"Morning, new Mrs. C." Milo greeted as he moved to the balcony.

"Milo I wish you'd just call me Claudia." Claudia said as she followed Sonny out onto the balcony with Milo. "My goodness we'll never eat all of this food."

"I wasn't sure what you liked so I told Milo to get a variety of things."

"I recommend the eggs Benedict, it's delicious." Milo threw out.

"Thanks, you can go now." Sonny said and Milo gave a nod and then hastily left. "Come on sit and eat." Sonny said as he took a seat at the table.

"I can't believe you got so much food," She said taking the seat across from him.

"Well, like I said I didn't know what you liked besides you need to eat more, put some weight on you." He said teasing, knowing it would get her riled up.

"Excuse me I happen to like my weight thank you very much, and you didn't seem to mind it last night." Claudia said as she tossed one of the napkins on the table at him.

"I'm not saying you don't look good, you look damn good but a little light. That's all I'm saying."

"I don't think so, and don't think you're gonna make me over Mr. Corinthos because that's not gonna happen."

"I'm not trying to make you over, I like you just fine the way you are. I'm just saying if a good wind comes along you might be in some trouble." Sonny said with a smile and then drank some orange juice.

"Wait, did you just say you liked me?" Claudia asked in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, you're all right, for a Zacharra."

"You like me, you like me," She sing-songed.

"Yeah but I don't trust you as far as I can throw… wait I take that back because I think I can toss your scrawny ass pretty far." He said with a chuckle one Claudia match with one of her own.

"That's fine I understand that trust has to be earned, but that goes both ways you know."

"Absolutely but I don't plan on giving you any reason to mistrust me."

"Good to know, and now that we're married I promise that I won't do anything to cause you to mistrust me." She proclaimed and took a sip of orange juice, as her mind briefly flashed an image of Michael.