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."
