CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
         all work and no play...


         Alexis was contemplating her wardrobe, such as it was… Kristina had packed for her, just a second suit, a pair of her comfortable jeans and some tops. How should she dress for this celebration? She didn't have…what should she call it...island wear? She'd noticed some of the hotel guests, all those women in flowery things….  I don't DO flowery… Alexis thought to herself. She could feel  herself beginning to panic… I'm on an island, about to go to a party with Sonny…there's going to be dancing under the stars… and moonlight and ocean waves and tropical breezes… he's going to look at me and what is he going to see??  She glanced at the door that connected their suites.

"Maybe if I hide under the bed, and refuse to answer my door, he'll think I hijacked the jet and headed back to good old Port Chuck." Alexis muttered out loud. "He'll never miss me."

         "With the security I have, you'd never make it past the gate." Sonny said from the doorway. He crossed the room to her. "and as for not missing you…. you've got to be kidding." To emphasize his words, Sonny leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. "You've definitely got to be kidding." He said again, just before his lips came down on hers again.

His kiss gently possessed Alexis, leaving her breathless. When she could speak again, she almost stammered. "It's just that I don't know what to wear… and we have a little more than an hour to get ready."

"I kind of figured that was what you were thinking; that's why I'm here." Sonny shook his head, grinning. "Relax Alexis, we're in the islands…time isn't an issue here; all you have to do is relax… but I know just how hard that is for you, Councilor."   Alexis swung a mock punch at his head; Sonny caught it and trailed another soft kiss across her knuckles. There was a knock at the door. "Let me get that." He said, and called out permission to whoever was at the door.

One of his bodyguards opened the door and a virtual small army of young women swarmed into the room, all converging on Alexis. Her eyes widened as she realized what they wanted. Several were holding garments over their arms, while others were setting up tray and tables with selections of cosmetics and fragrances. Sonny was of course, looking very pleased with himself.

Sonny led her to a chair someone had placed in the center of the room and sat her down. He cleared his throat and the whirlwind around Alexis stilled. He spoke the words in Spanish first and then repeated his words in English, for Alexis' sake.  "Anything that Ms. Davis wants is hers. No expense is to be spared. See to her every whim."

He bent down and whispered in her ear. "These are Marisol's and Esteban's nieces. When I sent down my request to housekeeping, Marisol overheard and insisted…. And as far as your every whim…that goes doubly for you."  His hands slid unconsciously over her shoulders and began a slow massaging of just the right spots with his fingertips that made Alexis want to just melt right there in the chair. "Enjoy this."

"She will, Senor Corinthos." Marisol Ramirez said as she entered the room. "I can guarantee it."

Sonny gave Alexis' shoulders a final squeeze and caress before walking over to Marisol and taking her hand. He raised it to his lips, bowing slightly over it. "Then I shall leave my beautiful attorney in your more than capable hands." With a final wink at Alexis, he disappeared.

As soon as he was gone, Marisol took charge. She called out to one of her nieces. "A drink for the senorita Davis. She has had a long and difficult afternoon." She smiled at Alexis, acknowledging the war of words they'd engaged in not so very long ago… "Just the thing for such thirsty work such as we have done today." She laughed at the expression that suddenly passed over Alexis' face. "A rum daiquiri, the recipe for which I've concocted myself… very light on the rum, very heavy on the juices…extremely revitalizing… just the thing you need, I think." She raised her voice. "You girls, stop your chattering and take yourself off for a few minutes… you can run the senorita a bath, bring her some fresh flowers for her room." She rattled off a list of things to do. The drinks were prepared for them quickly and very soon Alexis found herself sitting with the other woman in a comfortable silence. Their chairs faced the terrace and the late afternoon sun streamed through the open French doors along with the scents of the tropics and the sound of the ocean so very near… Alexis felt herself actually relaixing, quarter inch by quarter inch.

         "Don't I have to start getting ready?" Alexis asked.

"Relax…You do not have to do anything. There will be time for you to soak in the water for a moment and rest yourself. The festival tonight will be a long one. And the senor will not mind waiting." The calculating look was back in Marisol's eyes, but with a different aim in mind this time…her eyes traveling up and down her critically. "I am just thinking of how to do you."


         "Do me?" Alexis asked, a little shocked.

"For you, no frills and ruffles, I am thinking. This is not your way." Before Alexis could speak, the older woman continued. "But you are not on the mainland. Today you were the lawyer, tonight you will be the woman." She continued to scrutinize Alexis…. "Blue? No? A soft pink perhaps…"

Marisol paused to gaze at the sky that was westering towards evening… "No…I have it… red. The color of the setting sun as it sets the ocean aflame."

"Red isn't usually my color…" Alexis said and laughed. "I'm more a grey and navy kind of gal."

"Cool, earthy colors… yes, I can see that in you. Solid, dependable, like Mother Earth. Even better… all the more reason for you to wear the red tonight. Fire belongs to the earth as well, do you not know this? It may be buried deep below the surface, but here in the islands, it is very much closer to the surface than elsewhere in the world, closer indeed, than one may think. How else are the islands created, after all?"
 

 Somehow, what Marisol was saying began to suddenly make sense to Alexis. Deep down, the Cassidine fires still burned in her. She'd spent a lifetime banking those fires and keeping them under strict control…it didn't mean that they'd been extinguished totally. Being around Sonny had made her aware of them, aware of the passions that she usually kept checked and buried away from the world….like she hadn't been aware of them in a very, very long time.

"You are also in the islands…and night is coming. The fires burn in you, I can see that in your eyes… they are not so far down beneath the surface as you have thought, no? Especially around the Senor...he brings this out in you…or perhaps you haven't yet allowed this, hm? In control, always…this is you… is it not?"

"The senor pays me very well for my - control. It is why he values my council…. It is why I'm here. I'm his lawyer…"

"Nonsense… and you think that is the only reason you are here with him? You are here with a muy macho man… the Senor Corinthos. He comes here many time, sometimes alone, sometimes not. Many women here have looked on him with longing and desire, but this is the first time I have seen with a woman worthy of his attentions. Before this, nothing but pretty little girls have been on his arm, and of them I've seen enough of. But you, you are a true woman, one worthy of the term…one worthy of him."

          Marisol tossed her head back and finished her drink… Alexis, feeling suddenly just a little bit restless at her words, drained her glass, enjoying the sweet fruity rum slipped down her throat. Marisol took both of the glasses and sat them aside. "I have seen the pair you make, much like Esteban and I… he is the tempered coolness to my heat. But for you two, it is different. It is the opposite."

That much was true. She was the calming influence that kept Sonny from losing his cool so many times. How had Marisol known this from a simple meeting. Flustered by the truth, Alexis drained her glass. Tonight could be different…if she wanted it… Did she want it? What did she want?
        

Marisol took her glass and set them both down; she clapped her hands sharply, summoning her troops. Before they got to work, Marisol turned to Alexis. Seeing the recognition on Alexis' face, her own burst into a triumphant grin.

"Ice to his fire, I am thinking. But tonight… you will be the flame."