Chapter 13

Ric stood outside her door breathing heavily wondering how he ended up on her doorstep two hours early. He couldn't remember passing the courthouse, or the hospital, or his brother's place. But he knew he passed them, otherwise he wouldn't be standing at her door. It was 6 miles between his place and hers and his legs should be burning from his run. But surprisingly they weren't. In fact, he felt like he could run 6 more. What thoughts consumed him so much that he became unaware of his surroundings? The answer was in the reason he now stood hesitantly in front of her door. She did. The touch of her skin in his dreams… her lips teasing him, her laughter, the way her legs entwined with his, or wrapped around him as they drove each other over the edge into a freefall of ecstasy. He felt the heat building once again and quickly jerked his thoughts away from his dreams once again… the same dreams that landed him in a cold shower only an hour before. There was no question of how he found himself on her doorstep two hours early. But how was he going to explain it to her; because it was no longer a question of 'if' he would knock, but how long it would take him to build up enough courage. He took a deep breath and raising his hand… knocked softly.

--------------

The knock startled her. Her thoughts, ardent… prurient… her cheeks infused with the scarlet hue of guilty pleasure stolen from within the soft delight of his jacket. Standing quickly she looked down at the coat now hanging loosely around her then back toward the door, loathe to separate herself from its hold on her. Who could be so thoughtless as to call so early in the morning? She asked herself with irritation. 'There's only one that would be so brazen, Alexis. Well, maybe two!' she spoke aloud as she thought of the only other person in Port Charles who possessed such audacity. But something deep inside whispered seductively. It was Ric standing outside her door… waiting. 'Question is do you want to answer or pretend you're still asleep?' she asked softly. Taking a few hesitant steps toward the door the heaviness of the leather moving around her drew her to a sudden stop. 'Real smart, Alexis. Just what kind of lunatic would he think you to be if he saw you wearing his jacket at this hour of the morning. Her musings brought a deeper hue of embarrassment to her cheeks as she quickly slipped it off and threw it back on the chair then readjusted her robe to make sure she was completely covered.

--------------
Standing there shifting from side to side, waiting for her to answer the door, fear suddenly assailed him. What if when he saw her and there was nothing inside… nothing that made him want to pursue the dreams and emotions that forced him into that cold shower? What if his attraction to her wasn't so pure after all… that as much as he hated to entertain the idea… maybe he was attracted to her because of what she once shared with his brother? He didn't want to betray the trust that was building between them. But here he was– standing outside her door having just knocked lightly on the door. Maybe she didn't hear it and he'd be safe. He could just jog back home and come back later. No harm done. Turning slightly to leave he stopped. The desire to see her again crept upon him. Why was it so important to see her now? Taking a deep breath he turned back to her door and tried to envision her… where she was in the apartment… what she might be doing. Was she bending over Kristina once again just watching her sleep as he had caught her doing on more than one occasion. 'I NEED to see her.' His mind screamed. He needed to see her early in the morning before she was able to don her protective suit of armor and the unshakable voice of strong unrelenting determination. He wanted to once again take in the aroma of her home – popcorn, perfume and baby powder. He wanted to see the woman… the soft… beautiful… warm hearted… exciting and so very desirable woman he knew she instantly buried beneath a mountain of betrayal and pain anytime someone got too close… no matter their intention.

--------------

She reached for the door and before her hand grasped the cold handle she stopped. Her thoughts going back to how many times his face had interrupted her early morning quiet time. Everywhere she looked now she could see him in her home. Playing with Kristina in the floor… sitting with her having lunch… sharing a cup of coffee… putting Kristina to bed and kissing her tenderly… holding her as she helplessly stood vigil over a healing child… leaning against the railing of her balcony, arms crossed against a lean broad chest as he argued case law… strong shoulders… caring eyes… the warmth of a soft kiss against her cheek… his charm and kindness during a difficult time. And most especially the way he looked at her when he thought her unaware. Ric wanted so much more from her than she was ready for; which brought her back to the present; again flushed with her own inability to control her traitorous heart, mind and body. What could he want so early in the morning? Or could she possibly have given him the wrong time to arrive?

--------------

So just how was he going to explain his sudden appearance at her door so early in the morning? He couldn't tell her he just wanted to look at her again – reassure himself that his attraction to her was real and not built upon a shaky foundation of misguided hate and retribution. He again remembered his thoughts as he passed landmark after landmark on the run that led him to her door. When he left home he was so sure that if he looked at her – really looked – he'd know. He would know in his heart that his intentions were honorable… pure… noble. Now he was once again filled with doubt. It wasn't just a matter of whether he loved her or not. The one fact that he was sure of was that he cared for her – cared so much that he couldn't dream of hurting her intentionally. And turning up on her door so early… it wouldn't sit well with her no matter what the excuse was. He turned to go and winced as the sound of a lock being turned suddenly filled the silence of the hall. He hesitated before finally turning around to meet her gaze.

--------------

Reaching for the door she straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath to calm the chaos of reluctant eager anticipation. She opened the door slightly and peered out. He was facing the opposite direction as if to leave. She noticed his soaked shirt and the ends of his hair curling with the sweat that was slowly making its way in droplets down his neck. Her palms itched to run her fingers through those curls and lay them down, to pull the shirt from his body and warm the chill he must be feeling. She jumped as he suddenly turned and met her flustered gaze. Opening the door wider, she leaned against the doorframe trying to settle a look of indifference on her face. Not an easy feat to accomplish considering how adorable he looked.

It would have been almost comical if they weren't trying so hard to keep each other from catching the slightest hint of unease. Trying to maintain a face of friendly care – both fighting to hide how stunned and unsure they felt at not knowing how to react to such early morning contact.

He was stunned at how beautiful she looked. She was freshly bathed… her face flushed, he suspected from the heat of her bath. Her scent reaching through the air to tantalize and tease him. The silk covering her body and clinging to her in the most delectable places. Standing there looking at her, Ric felt his heat begin to rise… all his doubts and fears left somewhere in the recesses of his mind. Her quiet husky voice took hold of his lungs and pulled them relentlessly up into his throat choking back any response he may have been able to coherently return.

"You're early."

He looked down at the floor unable to meet her eyes for one more second lest he give away the reaction his body was having at being so close to her. Swallowing the unease and embarrassment he felt at being unable to restrain himself he shrugged sheepishly.

"I know." His voice sounded weak and he paused to mentally deal with his errant thoughts and reactions to seeing her so intimately attired. "I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. As you can see…" He spread out his arms and looked down at his running pants. "I'm not dressed for court." He chuckled nervously again and leaned toward her conspiratorially. "But then, neither are you counselor," he said teasing her.

Reflexively, she quickly pulled her robe tighter and slid her hands up to the lapels closing the gap that scarcely exposed her body to his sight. She followed the path his eyes took and bit back the gasp of curious shock, as his eyes grew darker with unveiled desire, only serving to further entice her already heated skin.

Noticing her discomfort, Ric relented and put away his tendency to allow humor to get him through difficult or tense situations. He suddenly caught sight of his jacket lying across her chair and jumped at the chance to provide himself with a plausible excuse for disturbing her so early. "I thought I'd take advantage of the sunrise and go running. I got a little chilled and realized I'd forgotten my jacket last night."

"Oh," she gasped. "Of course, it's right here."

She turned and reaching for it nervously jerked it toward her inadvertently causing the chair to fall over from the force of her action. As it fell, the arm caught her on the shin and she cried out at the pain that shot through her leg.

Ric rushed in and shoved the chair away from her with his foot, his arms catching her around the waist as she bent to try and massage the pain away.

"Are you alright, Alexis."

"Yes." She groaned with thinly veiled anger. How could she be so stupid? He must think her a total clutz! Her hands lifted to close around his to pry herself from his hold, but he tightened his hold and firmly led her to the sofa.

"Relax, Alexis. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I didn't think you were."

"Okay, so let me reassure you that I don't intend to seduce you this morning either."

Her face flushed hotter at his words as she tried desperately to hide the effect of them in her eyes and across her cheeks. "I didn't expect that either, Ric Lansing. And stop trying to embarrass me into doing what you want me to do. I'm fine. It was nothing."

"Sit down, Alexis and let me take a look. If it helps just imagine I'm your good buddy Jax just trying to make sure that you didn't hurt yourself too badly."

The retort was out of her mouth before she could think twice. "I don't know, Ric. Jax was pretty good with his hands when he was motivated." She realized her mistake when she saw Ric's expression change. For the briefest of moments she saw how much she hurt him and she was ashamed of herself for being so callous to a man who had been nothing but supportive to her over the past few weeks. She reached out and touched his cheek bringing his eyes up to meet hers.

"I'm sorry, Ric. That was uncalled for."

He tried valiantly to ignore the green queasiness of jealously in the pit of his stomach. "No. It's fine. I know you two are close. It's fine… he probably would know how best to help."

His voice held the smallest bit of a quiver and Alexis couldn't let it go. She needed to make him see that she really was sorry for her careless words. "Ric?"

"Yeah."

"Would you let go of my leg, please? It's fine. There will probably be a bruise, but that will be the extent of the damage. I'm much more concerned with you right now."

He stood and turned toward the door but stopped as he felt her hand slide into his. A memory of their first kiss assailed him. She was drunk… he was laying groundwork… As the memory flashed across his mind, his guilt rose and took hold of him once again. He stepped back away from her as she rose from the sofa to stand beside him. Feeling her hand steal up to caress his cheek he jumped away from her as though her touch burned him. Just as she witnessed the result of her careless words moments before, Ric saw how much his response to her touch hurt her. Not knowing what else to do to try and explain his reaction, he reached for her and pulled her roughly into his arms. "Don't, Alexis. It wasn't you. I've been fighting demons all morning and I didn't want them to come in here with me, but they did and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to jump like that, but something is going on inside me that I'm fighting to understand with every bit of logic and feeling that I possess. Please believe me, it wasn't you. It's me. I don't know what I'm doing anymore or where I stand or if I have a place… if it's me that wants this so much or that other guy." So consumed with trying to undo the damage he caused, Ric was unaware of just how much of his personal thoughts he was opening up to her.

The confused and emotion driven words that poured from his mouth startled her and she finally understood that Ric was in trouble and didn't know how to ask for help or even if he was inclined to ask. Whether he wanted it or not, Alexis felt it was her responsibility as part of his new 'family' to press for further explanation. Taking his hand she sat down pulling him with her.

"Sit down, Ric. We need to talk."

Suddenly becoming aware of the position he put her in, he tried desperately to shift her thoughts away from him.

"You're right, Alexis. We need to talk. But not this morning! In fact, this is not doing you any good. You have a full day ahead of you and you have to be strong and in control without any distractions. You have to be at your very best. Today is too important for us to let anything get between you and the result we are depending on. So, I tell you what. Let's draw up a verbal contract right now."

She looked at him skeptically. "A verbal contract, Ric? Whatever it is that you're trying to do in an attempt to divert my thoughts, it won't work."

"That is not what I am doing, Alexis. I agree that there are a few things that I should discuss with you, but I'm just not ready. And as much as I would like to sit here with you and pick your brain about a few things, this is not the right time. So, I propose that we set aside some time after you get done with your objectives for the day. How does that sound?"

She smiled reluctantly. "It sounds like you are trying to placate me into seeing things your way. And because today is so important to all three of us, I'm going to allow you to get away with it."

He grinned charmingly. "And since it's so rare that you give in to me I'll just say thank you and leave it at that."

She laughed. "Just don't make the mistake of thinking I'm going to forget this little verbal contract you've set in place, Ric Lansing. I may be a lot of things, but forgetful is not one of them."

"I understand completely. And I promise not to renege on my promise."

"Fine. Now, since it's too late for you to go home, get washed up and come back in time to pick up Kristina before I have to leave, would you like a cup of coffee?"

He frowned at the suggestion and she chuckled. "It's okay, Ric. I followed the directions that you left taped to the cabinet to the letter and since I've already had one cup and it didn't kill me, I think you're safe."

"You followed my directions?" He asked skeptically.

"To the letter." She assured him.

"Well… okay. I'll try one then." He replied trying to hide his smile.

"Well, don't kill yourself with the effort on my account." She retorted trying to stiffle her laughter.

Taking her hand he pulled her toward the kitchen finally unable to withhold his laughter any longer. They entered the kitchen laughing together… companionably.

Moments later they were sitting at the table, each a little uncomfortable with the silence… each not knowing what to say to fill the silence. They weren't accustomed to impromptu personal chit chat. Their conversations were mostly centered around work and, of late, Kristina. A sweet smell of jasmine tickled Ric's nose and he inhaled discreetly. Her whole body seemed to be bathed in it and he was beginning to lose control again.

She was peering at him from beneath the bangs that hung loosely down her forehead. She covered her mouth to try and hide the chuckle that was threatening to betray her. It was useless.

"What?" Ric asked grinning at her attempt to contain her laughter.

"It's just that…. I'm just not used to you… you know, without your clothes on."

He smiled and bit his lower lip enjoying her highly suggestive yet unguarded words.

Alexis realized her error and quickly tried to cover. "I mean… I mean without a business suit - wearing other clothes, in other words. Not looking so… official." Mortified, she ducked her head as for the umpteenth time that morning a blush stole across her face. "I'll shut up now."

Ric laughed.

"No, no, no. I know what you mean. I've never seen you quite so…. " He raised his eyebrows flirting a little while admiring the silk robe that clung to each tender curve.

She pushed at the hair piled haphazardly on her head and smoothed down the silk of her robe.

"I just treated myself to a good soak this morning. I had a hard time sleeping too – anxious about my meeting this morning and everything. Kristina was asleep. So I indulged a little."

He smiled, looked down and scratched is head nervously suddenly aware that she was being less than forthright about her uneasy night. But she was being more open with him and he felt it only right that he return the favor by opening a part of himself to her. But he was ill prepared for his own lack of attention to words. "I had a dream about you last night," he replied and suddenly remembering what the thought of his unbridled erotic dreams did to his body gingerly shifted in his chair and covered his lap with his napkin.

"Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare?" she asked facetiously with a teasing smile.

"No," he laughed and quickly began to invent a story that would take his mind off the growing problem hiding beneath his napkin. "It wasn't, actually. You sort of blasted into my office and demanded I drop all the charges against your client. You were really mad at me."

"Certainly sounds like it was a nightmare. So, uh, who was the client?"

"You were representing yourself – which, by the way, you should know better."

"Hey, it wasn't my dream." She interjected zealously. "So just what was the charge anyway?"

A silly old song immediately erupted in his head, Love in the first degree. He shook it off with a chuckle.

"Shoplifting."

"Shoplifting?" she asked in disbelief.

"Apparently you'd stolen something. I can't remember what it was. Silly dream."

"That is a definite understatement."

Silence again - but no longer an uncomfortable silence. Each wondered what the other was thinking about

Alexis pointed toward the kitchen. "Would you like another cup?"

Looking at his watch Ric shook his head. "No. Really. In fact, you should probably think about getting dressed and ready to go while I look in on Kristina. It's getting late."

"You're right… which is getting to be a rather irritating habit lately." She laughed. "Just make yourself at home and I'll go get ready."

She started toward her room and reaching the hallway she lay her hand against the cool wall and looked back over her shoulder when she heard his quiet voice.

"Alexis?"

Her eyes met his.

He smiled with genuine affection. "You're beautiful in the morning."

He raised his hand to wave her on as though his words were the most natural thing in the world to send her on her way. She smiled at him then turned and retreated to her bedroom closing the door softly behind her. Leaning against it she wrapped her arms around herself and let his soft words fall around her again. She felt each one of them lay claim to her heart and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she pushed herself away from the door. It was time to begin the ritual that would change her from Alexis Davis, the woman who needed to love and be loved; to Alexis Davis, the woman who would stand against any storm to protect what was hers.

Turning around Ric walked to the desk and reached down to push the chair back into place and picked up his jacket that again lay casually across the back of the chair. He grinned as the scent of jasmine drifted up to entice his senses. Bringing the jacket up to his nose he breathed deeply. There was no mistaking the scent. She had enticed him all morning with it. His grin widened. She'd worn his coat sometime during the night or morning. He couldn't contain the joy he felt at being unintentionally introduced to such an intimate moment between Alexis and her body's awareness of him. Shaking himself free of her hold on his thoughts he grounded himself in the realities of the day. While Alexis was out tending to the legalities and assurance of maintaining full custody of her daughter, it was Ric's job to take care of Kristina and see that no harm came to her while in his care. It was a job that he took more seriously than he did his position as District Attorney. Alexis was counting on him to come through for her. And he wasn't about to let her down. Not this time… not ever again.