There's something happening between us, and together, we're going to figure out what the hell it is…"
His mouth on hers. Had she ever really ever been
kissed before? Not like this, not with lips that were all at once hard and
demanding, then swiftly gentling and tender… not with kisses that burned their
way into her soul and implanted themselves on all of her senses…. All of her
fantasies had come nowhere close to reality. Sonny tasted like …like a fresh
brewed cup of espresso. Dark. Strong, and a hint of sweetness underneath.
Lying in her bed, Alexis floated
somewhere between sleeping and wakefulness, letting the kiss replay itself
behind her closed eyelids, reliving the touch of Sonny's lips against her own.
A phantom river of desire coursed from her lips and spiraled downwards into her
body, leaving behind an all too real ache. A few moments more, she told
herself, just another minute then she'd wake up and banish these treacherous
thoughts from her consciousness.
Was this why Carly fought so hard not to be banished from Sonny's life?
Alexis's memories surfaced. She
remembered going to se Sonny after he'd been released from jail, and the look
on Sonny's face when she'd questioned him about his wife's whereabouts….then
the total the shock she'd felt when the realization hit her that it had been
Carly that had betrayed Sonny to the FBI. In her mind's eye, she saw the
younger woman screaming and banging at the penthouse door.
"Sonny…you didn't have to change the
locks…Sonny!!…" Carly's agonized cry echoed in her ears… In that moment, she'd
pitied Carly. How could she have ever thought that trying to force Sonny into
the witness protection program had ever been an option? This was
supposedly the man that she loved and she hadn't understood this most basic
thing about him? That his word, his sense of honor, his pride, his sense of self
would never allow him to betray those he'd given his word and honor to?
Even I knew that much, Alexis thought to herself. And all we were, were
friends. Even as her mind dwelled on that word - friends – her body betrayed her as images of his Sonny's arms
close about her, of his damnable and eloquent kisses replayed itself once
more. She sighed. Why did she allow
herself to indulge in these infantile schoolgirl actions? That's all it was,
she told herself sternly. She'd never had the chance to indulge in them when
she was a teenager, Helena and Stavros had seen to that. So now her mind
decided to play adolescent tricks on her? It was all just pitiful, really. What
would Helena say...no what would she sneer and disparage and belittle - if she could see her now?
The thought of her deviant
family tree brought Alexis into full wakefulness. It was just as well; as her
body stretched against the cool sheets, the phone rang.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, yourself."
"Sleeping in this morning?"
"I needed the rest." She didn't volunteer the information that she'd spent the
greater portion of the night tossing and turning. She had to get that man out
of her mind, or else there were going to be plenty of sleepless nights in her
future.
"Corinthos working you overtime again? Just because his life is empty, doesn't
give him the right to impose himself on you all hours of the day and night."
"Jax, no one was imposing on me, believe me. Your concern, as always, is
touching." Alexis deftly changed the subject. "Now, was there something
specific that you called me about?"
"Just to ask you if you were coming to the club opening?"
"What is this, a preemptive strike?" Alexis shifted
into a more comfortable position against her pillows.
"With your brilliant legal mind, how else could I possible win? I figured if
you're planning to say no, this would give me the entire day to change your
mind."
"Well, since you've caught me at a
disadvantage, and my mind is not functioning at one hundred percent capacity at
the present time, I'll say yes." This solved several problems all at once. Jax
would see that she was not tied to Sonny at the hip. Maybe that was a lesson
Sonny needed to learn as well. And maybe it would quiet Kristina too. One could
only hope.
"Yes?" Jax's voice was incredulous, but he was quick to hide his surprise.
"Don't worry about a thing; I'll make
all of the arrangements."
Alexis sighed. "I suppose I can always claim
diminished capacity at a later date, but yes. I and Kristina will be happy to
be your guests at the club opening."
***
She got through the day, somehow, with a minimum of Sonny. Sometimes that was a
good thing…. Thankfully, he'd been out of the penthouse most of the day, and
the day she spent working at home had been blessedly uneventful.
But there were papers that she needed his final
sign-off on because of last-minute revisions before they could be messengered
out and there was no more putting it off. They had to go out tonight. Business
was business, and pleasure was….not Sonny, she scolded her suddenly wayward
thoughts.
Kristina came bustling through the door, a whirlwind of excitement. She carried
an armload of bags and packages. Johnny, obviously recruited from his usual
hallway post, carried another armful. Alexis smiled up at her, then gave Johnny
her condolences in an open grin. He smiled ruefully and patiently followed
Kristina as she chattered her way into the living room. The news this morning
that Alexis would go with her to the club had sent her little sister into
overdrive. Despite her own misgivings, it was easy enough to see that
Kristina's enthusiasm was more than enough for the two of them.
"Alexis, it's already time to get ready. You'd
think you could put those boring papers away for one night, at least."
"These boring papers, young lady, are what pays for
the roof over our heads, so don't be so quick to disparage them so lightly."
She laughed as Kristina made a face at her, sticking out her tongue as she
deposited her bags onto the couch and began rummaging through them. "Well, the
first thing I'm going to do is run you a bath with some special aromatherapy
oils that I just picked up fresh." Triumphantly she came up with a small bag.
"Now you can allow their cleansing
essences to just- just wipe away all those work vibrations. That should give
you enough time to finish up what you're doing and be done for the night. And
hurry…Jax and his club awaits!"
Before she could answer, Kristina ran upstairs. Alexis sighed aloud.
"Something troubling you, Ms. Davis?"
Alexis turned in surprise. "No, Johnny. Just work."
"So you're going to the club opening tonight?"
Was there a thread of disapproval in his voice? Alexis thought so for a
moment, but couldn't be sure….."Yes," Alexis
said dryly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Johnny was a smart man. Sonny barely tolerated
idiots in his presence. She was sure that he caught her sarcasm. But like any
good bodyguard, his face remained perfectly immobile. Surely she was mistaken
about the hint of a smile that had twitched at his lips.
"Not with Mr. Corinthos?"
"Not with Mr. Corinthos." Definitely not. He was
going to be there for his ex-wife. She was going there…for herself. Alexis
didn't realize that she'd straightened her shoulders as the thought went
through her mind. Unconsciously, she tossed her hair back from her face and a
sparkle of defiance flashed into her eyes. "No, not with Mr. Corinthos."
"His loss."
"You think?"
"I know."
The absolute certainty in the bodyguard's voice startled Alexis. Before she could react to that, Johnny was turning back towards the door. "You deserve more than this, but I hope you have a wonderful evening, Ms. Davis."
"Thank you, Johnny." She said, more than a little taken
aback at his comment. The door closed behind him silently. After a moment spent
staring after him, Alexis shook her head. She looked down at the papers still
in her hand. She needed Sonny's signature on these final revisions in the very
much immediate future in order for them to be express mailed out before ten,
but suddenly she decided they could wait a bit. And so could he. She tossed the
papers onto the desk. Time to think of herself first, for a change.
"Kristina, you wouldn't have happened to have picked up any gardenia oil?" she
called as she headed towards the stairs.
