Sonny sighed quietly as he closed Alexis' door behind him. He watched as she walked to her desk, eyes deliberately avoiding his. Didn't she know him better than this by now? He did nothing that he did not want to do and she knew that as well as he. And he'd wanted everything that had just happened…maybe not as soon as she did, but now that he was here, just as much as she did. He said the same to her back.

Standing in front of the desk,  she pretended to look at the papers there. In fact, she barely registered them. Every fiber of her being screamed its knowledge of Sonny's presence in the room. She could feel him, standing there by the door, sense the cadence of his breathing, feel his eyes boring deep into her. She fought not to turn. If she did, if she looked into his eyes, she'd be lost.
"Sonny, have you seen Carly today?" The sudden silence told her how well she'd hit the mark. In spite of herself, inside, she crumbled. Just a little bit.

         Sonny was stunned into sudden speechlessness. Carly was the last thing on his mind at the moment. At the moment, he was thinking of dark sun-shaded eyes gazing down into his, of the thrill that had shot through him as something in his heart had struggled to be born as he'd gazed upwards into Alexis' eyes and seen her heart there, his for the taking, of the moment Alexis' lips had first touched his.

His silence spoke volumes. Closed off, stone-faced Sonny Corinthos. The man who gave nothing away to anyone. Well, she knew the truth. Of course, he'd seen her. More than likely Carly had done one of her I'll-just-drop-in-because-I-can drive-bys and, as always, the sparks had flown between them. Even if he hadn't seen her, it was clear Carly was still very much in Sonny's thoughts. She remembered what Jax had told her. Alexis gently disentangled herself mentally from Sonny's hold. "She did ask you to the club opening, didn't she?"

 "Yeah, she did, and I agreed to come, but…" He didn't know how to explain himself. Explaining himself was not something Sonny was familiar with. In his life, explanations were pretty much unnecessary. Carly needed her hand held; she was like a little girl in so many ways. They were over. The divorce was final. He hadn't thought it would hurt to show his approval that she was moving on with her life. But he didn't know how to explain all of that to Carly, let alone to Alexis.

         His answer only served to solidify things for Alexis; the only way to protect her heart and keep their friendship intact was to disengage first. The truth would hurt, Oh God, how it hurt – She felt something inside her splinter --  but it was the best thing for both of them. "Tell the truth, Sonny. That kiss had nothing to do with me. It was...was something to pass the time. To fill a void. Carly's gone but not forgotten."

"Alexis." Sonny nearly growled in frustration. He knew exactly what she was doing – and why. The walls were going back up. "Alexis…listen to me…"  Too late…she was on a roll.

"It's so obvious you are still in love with your wife. It's okay, I understand it. It was ---is -- one of those grand passions. It had to be, otherwise who could understand why the two of your clicked the way that you so obviously did. I saw it in your eyes; I even saw it in hers, even when the two of you drove each other insane, even though you could scream from the frustration and the consequences that her unthinking acts put you in time and time again. It was plain. You loved her. You still do. And you miss her and it hurts." She shrugged. "So you were lonely, and …what just happened – just happened. It's not your fault -- I don't blame you. What's a little kiss between…friends?" More than she would ever admit.

"Alexis!" His voice was sharp enough to cut her off. "Before you ran out on me, I said that whatever I say right now, you'd find a way to rationalize it. Some things can't be rationalized, Alexis. What happened between us can't be analyzed or explained rationally. It just happened. Maybe because it was supposed to."

"And maybe it wasn't!" Alexis said, still not trusting herself to speak these words while looking in his eyes. She was too afraid that he would see through her, tear the veils of her heart asunder too easily.

"Wasn't it?" His voice, still so sweet, deep and intense that it pierced straight to her heart, sounded from directly behind her.

Alexis spun around. She knew him well enough that a part of her couldn't help but acknowledge the truth that he was speaking. But there was still a small core of her mind that had to protect her heart no matter what. Those walls had been too long in the making and would not fall so easily. Not even for Sonny, the master thief that had stolen her heart from her without even trying. But it was too late; Sonny already had her in his arms. "You know me better than anyone else in the world. So you should know, I don't say what I don't mean, and I don't do anything I don't want to. You need to go slow; that's fine. I can deal with that. We'll go as slow as we need to. But there's something happening here between us, and together  we're going figure out what the hell it is."

His hands slid down her arms, to capture her wrists, at the same time, Sonny pulled her to him, capturing her lips in a hungry kiss that left no doubts to his desire. Now that he had tasted her once, he was only hungry for more. He wanted -- no needed --  to savor her once again…His mouth swooped down over hers, hard, demanding a response from her. And just as quickly, his mouth gentled on hers and that left her without the will to resist him. Alexis' lips parted under his insistent pressure, allowed his tongue to seek her own. For a breathless moment, all she could feel was the heated warmth of him melting into her. His hands had moved from her wrists to her hands, fingers intertwining themselves with her. They stroked and teased at her flesh, as though unable to get enough of touching her. His thumbs, brushed across her palms…. God, just the feel of his flesh against her in this simplest of touches had a power all their own and she shivered helplessly in response.

Then Sonny was stepping back from her. Her eyes fluttered open to find his eyes still locked on hers. Alexis was left breathless and trembling. If he could do that to her with just a kiss… she leaned against her desk for support, hands gripping the edges tightly. Her legs simply refused to hold her without help. 

"Let me put this in terms you'll understand. Consider that my opening statement, Councilor; if it helps, think of this as an impending merger and acquisition. The terms, at the moment, are up to you. But negotiations are in play." He paused. "But remember, I'm usually not a very patient man."

         Alexis was at a pure loss for words. Her heart was still thundering and her mind was still dazed by the intensity of his kiss. She shook her head. This could not be happening. It couldn't…


         "I'm not a patient man," he continued. Sonny surprised her by reaching for her hand. "Except when the stakes are high enough. And this time, they are. Let me spell this out very clearly. I own ten casinos scattered all over the Caribbean. But, as a rule, I never gamble in them. Gambling's a sucker bet. That's because the odds are with the House and not the player….But not this time. This time, what's at stake is your heart…and mine. And this is about the greatest gamble there ever is." He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed her knuckles against his mouth. Neither one of them could doubt the trail of fire and heat and desire left in the wake of his touch, no matter how hard either one of them tried to hide it. Sonny wasn't; his eyes blazed into hers, letting his desire show. Alexis drew in a sharp breath, in spite of her resolve and she could only look at him helplessly as his eyes darkened in response and his mouth curved into a small smile. He wasn't angry with her. He understood.  "Are you game, Councilor?"

         When she still didn't answer, Sonny just smiled at her, even as his eyes held hers captive. "Life's a gamble, Alexis. But only if you choose to take chances.. Are you willing to take a chance on me? Because I'm ready to take a chance on you. And I'm betting we can beat the odds.  Sonny leaned in and brushed his lips against hers and then turned and walked to the door, drawing her with him as he walked to the door. "You know me well enough. Once I decide that I want something, I go after it. And I usually get what I want." Sonny opened the door, then turned back to her a final time. "Sleep on that. We'll  … talk… some more – later."

         Stepping across the threshold, he released her and the last glimpse Alexis had before he closed the door was of his dark eyes locked on hers. She knew he meant every word of that. Sonny rarely said anything he didn't mean. Correction. Never. He never said anything he didn't mean.

Alexis didn't know whether to be thrilled or terrified.