CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Once she'd be persuaded onto the dance floor, it seemed that Alexis couldn't find her way off of it. First Ned, then Nikolas, then it seemed as though her dance card had been magically filled. As the hours passed, so did several glasses of champagne. Several dance partners, and it was a small shock that Alexis realized that so much time had passed and even more surprising, that she was actually having fun.
The music changed to a decidedly Latin beat; her current partner was man she'd done business for, a prominent businessman named Mason Lane. He was dark haired and dark eyed, and Alexis could half-way convince herself that she didn't find him attractive because of a very superficial resemblance to another dark haired, dark eyed man whose eyes burned intensely into hers and had stolen her heart. He was smiling and laughing for no reason at all…and when she asked him why, he replied that it was only the pleasure of her company that made the dance so enjoyable. He insisted on dancing with her in the Latin manner, even going so far as to dip her, but she found herself not minding. The music was in her veins now, as well as the champagne, and she laughed aloud as he whirled her about the dance floor. Encouraged by her response, he spun her out from him and back again, this time pulling her far too close, but for some reason, none of that mattered. When she didn't protest, he swung her away from him again.
Instead of swinging back into Mason's arms, another hand took hers and drew her in the opposite direction, away from her partner. The unexpected turn left Alexis disoriented and for a moment the room seemed to whirl around on it's own axis. But the strong arm around her waist steadied her even as the hand holding hers tightened its grip. Then a pair of sable-dark eyes were gazing laughingly into hers.
"What are you doing, Sonny?" Alexis demanded, even as Sonny deftly maneuvered her deeper into the crowd. Before she could react, a stunned Mason was quickly lost to view.
"It looks like I'm dancing, Alexis." His arm tightened around her waist to hold her close. "Wanna join me?"
"I don't know if I do." But her body did, it knew what it wanted. Without conscious thought, her body began moving in sync with his. Sonny saw that too and his smile widened. As he did, the music slowed; the lights blurred down to a gentle darkened aqua, reminiscent of ocean waves and tropical nights. The liquid notes of a Spanish guitar filled the air, followed closely by a throbbing bass line. Despite herself, the music slid deeper into her veins… and wrapped itself around her heart.
"Sure you do…C'mon"...he said in
his best little boy coaxing voice…"C'mon, Alexis." He leaned in close enough so
that his breath tickled her cheek. "Live dangerously."
She smiled tentatively. "Seems I've heard that somewhere before."
Her body did fit naturally with his, and they danced smoothly and silently together. The dim lights made the people around them little more than slow moving shifting shadows and it was as though they were all alone in a sea of shifting shadows. Sonny's eyes caught Alexis' and held them and is was as though nothing else existed around them. They moved together to the sway of the music like it was the most natural thing in the world, and it was just as natural that when the music ended that Sonny turned and led her through a pair of nearby French double doors. Sonny closed the doors behind them, then loosed a tie to one side of the doors that caused a pair of sheer drapes to drift down and cover them. Now the music was muted, and beyond the half sheer fabric, the crowd and the club proper could still be seen, but dimly, as though through a dream.
There was a table close at hand, draped with a velvet tablecloth, it was carefully set: a bottle nestled in a silver bucket, alongside a small covered dish, all of it embraced by a wreath of gardenias. Sonny smiled as he gestured at the bottle. "Unless you've had too much tonight."
Alexis shook her head, pretending to a casualness she didn't feel. "I could handle another glass." She glanced her way, willing her gaze away from Sonny. It was all too easy to get caught up watching him as he moved about. Another set of doors lay at the opposite end of the room and Alexis wandered over to them. There was a garden beyond, cloaked in deep blue shadows. Alexis stared out the glassed doors into the darkness, not trusting herself to speak. After all, what in the world would she say?
Sonny came up behind her. She knew it without turning, felt the heat of his body and the scent of him. She shivered and it wasn't just from the chill in the room. Unexpectedly she felt the warmth of Sonny's jacket as he slipped it over her shoulders. His hands lingered on her shoulders for a moment. "This is going to be an open-air dining area when the weather permits." He flipped a switch and in the gardens beyond, a fountain sprang into life, sending cascades of water into the air, subtly colored by lights in its base. He handed Alexis her glass. A shiver passed through her as their fingers touched.
"Are you cold?" Before she could answer, Sonny was draping his jacket over her bare shoulders. His fingers lingered as they brushed against her skin. She snuggled into it instinctively, savoring the scent of him that clung to it. Alexis smiled and sipped at her glass.
"Rum?"
Alexis was pleased and surprised all at once.
"You like rum." Sonny said. "I
remember one night when you liked it very much."
"And
you just had to remind me of that." She said dryly.
"You
were cute." One eyebrow arched at her and the dimples flashed in full effect.
"Cute?"
"Sure.
Dancing in the fountain, letting your hair down. I saw a side of Alexis Davis
that I'd never seen before."
Alexis turned back to the gardens, her face suddenly flaming hot as she blushed with the memory of that night. "And the gods willing, you'll never see her again."
The soft brush of flower petals caressed
her cheek. Sonny had come up behind her and brushed the gardenia down from her
cheek to the long lean curve of her throat. "I liked her. I want to get to know
all the sides of Alexis Davis." He began to let the soft blossom glide back up
along the side of her throat and down again in a gentle rhythm. "Inside… outside, all sides…."
Alexis turned to face him, all too
conscious of the gardenia's path along her skin. Sonny drew the gardenia across
the soft line of her jaw and let it slowly, sensuously slip down… it brushed
against her, petal soft, whisper soft, heart-beat soft. It brushed against her
collarbone and came to rest at the pulse point at her throat and lingered
there, like a silken kiss.
"How
sweet. Am I interrupting?"
****
Carly's
voice was filled with a mix of fury and satisfaction. She stood in the doorway,
looking over the scene. Her eyes blazed
as she took in the scene – the bottle of rum, the flowers and the intimacy of
the moment. "Well, well, it seems I am interrupting." She stepped into the room. "Excuse me, but
this part of the club is still closed. Which means nobody should be here…" Her
eyes went straight to Alexis as she finished her sentence then deliberately
turned away, dismissing her. "I was
looking for you, Sonny. To tell you that AJ just walked into the club. With
Courtney."
Sonny
stiffened in anger. Alexis wasn't surprised at his reaction as he walked,
stiff-backed and swift with fury, with barely a single glance in her direction
from the room. Alexis understood…where Courtney was concerned; Sonny's
reactions had been over the top since he'd discovered the existence of his
younger sister. But his caring, as genuine as it had been since he'd learned
about her, was a dangerous thing. As competent and cool-headed as Sonny might
be in business, when it came to Courtney, he lost control. She'd already talked
him down from taking any heavy handed actions involving Courtney more than
once. With AJ present, it was fuel poured on the fire. Alexis shook her head
slightly. She'd better hurry and make sure something didn't happen tonight.
Alexis moved towards the door, but as
she passed Carly, the younger woman grabbed her by the arm. "Stay out of it,
Alexis. This is family business for Sonny. Which means you got no business
here, Alexis." Carly sneered at her "I told you earlier, I knew why you came
tonight, to sniff behind Sonny."
Alexis
looked down at Carly's hand on her own. When she raised her eyes back up to
Carly, her dark eyes held a glint in them that Carly had never seen before.
Without thinking, she let her arm go. "Why don't you tend to your business,
Carly, and I'll tend to mine." Alexis said; a sliver of steel had crept into
her voice, one that Carly had never heard before. She flushed as she realized
that Alexis had frightened her, but tried to cover it up with a show of bravado.
"Sonny is my business, not yours."
Alexis had held her tongue time and time before, for Sonny's sake. Ordinarily, Alexis wouldn't bother to get into a battle of words with Carly. To engage in a battle of wits with this woman was an unfair battle and Alexis knew that Carly simply wasn't worth her time or energy. But suddenly, she was tired of letting this bratty little harpy get away with her incessant insults and rude innuendoes. "That was true, once upon a time, Carly. But not anymore. Not after you betrayed Sonny. Your marriage is over. He threw you out of the penthouse and out of his life. You're not Mrs. Corinthos anymore. I know that because I drew up the papers myself."
"And I bet you couldn't get them filed
quick enough. I called it from the beginning…you were always after Sonny. And
now you think you got him."
"You're
exhibiting your normal lack of judgment, Carly. You were wrong then, about
Sonny and I."
"And
now?" Carly challenged.
"Now
is my business. And Sonny's. But not yours." Her words stunned Carly
into silence and for once, an argument with her was all worth it. Carly didn't
have an answer -- and to see her
speechless was priceless. Her mouth closed and opened more than once, and she
looked like a fish out of water as she fumbled for words that wouldn't come.
Finally, Carly gave up. She turned around and furiously stomped out of the room. Alexis watched her leave before heading for the door slowly. She paused by the table and let her fingers run along the petals of the gardenias left on the table. Then she walked into the main club area.
