Hi all, so sorry about the delay with this one. I felt the story was dragging a little and I needed to get it to a place where it could move. I hope you're still reading and I hope you like it.
By the way, at the beginning of this chapter, I'm sort of channeling Alexis from2000. She was always going at it with Ned. And I have to believe that if Ned turned her on, Jason would do so doubly. So, without further ado; here's the next chapter.
Jason tried hard to remember the speech he prepared on his drive home from the warehouse. He intended to tell Alexis that he loved her, to assure her that he always would and he didn't want anyone else. Unfortunately, his thoughts were leaving his brain at an alarming pace, due in large part to the assault Alexis was making on his abdomen.
They'd barely made it to their bedroom before Alexis had him out of his sweater and his t-shirt. Now, in between kisses, she smiled and said, "I can't believe you said, 'you ached for me.' No one has ever ached for me. I mean, I've been called a pain before, but this is all so new."
He laughed; still unable to believe a woman could be so skilled at foreplay while managing to talk a mile a minute. The problem was they weren't talking about what they needed to talk about: Claudia, the hit on him, Michael's accident, Sam, etc.
She pushed him backward toward the bed and began working on his pants. He knew he had to stop her now or he wouldn't be able to formulate a sentence for at least another hour. "Alexis, we need to talk."
"So talk." She pulled the belt from his pants.
"I'm a little distracted." As he sat up, he marveled at the level of concentration displayed her face as she worked on the top button of his jeans. He lifted her chin with his hand so she would meet his eyes. "I want you to know I didn't say those things just so I could get you back in bed."
"Gee, that's a relief." She deadpanned causing him to let out a laugh. She kissed his neck. "I'll be right back. Nature calls." She hopped up from the bed and made her way toward their bathroom.
"I meant what I said." He called out toward the bathroom.
"Um-hmm," she called back. "You usually do."
Suddenly, he found himself feeling increasingly frustrated. Words were her friend, not his. Typically, she used too many. Now, when he needed to speak, Alexis didn't want to listen. He called out, "When we argued, you told me to go back to Sam. Alexis, I don't want to be with Sam or Elizabeth or anybody else. I love you," he paused before he added, "I always will."
"That's a relief," Alexis called out before she appeared wearing a sheer teddy that left very little imagination. "I'd hate to think I went through all this trouble for nothing."
He managed to utter only one word, "Damn."
She climbed onto his lap, straddling him in the process. Pressing her lips to his neck, she purred, "You still want to talk?"
He traced the tender skin that was outlined by bodice of her teddy. "You don't play fair."
"No one ever said I did. That's why I'm a lawyer," she said, before he felt her tongue against his neck. At the same time, he felt her nails skim his back. As always, she smelled amazing. It was too much for him to take. He moved his hands up beneath the soft silk of her lingerie.
She released a soft moan. "I thought you wanted to talk."
He smiled. "Words are overrated," he said, then captured her mouth in an intense kiss before turning her onto her back.
Later that evening, as he watched Alexis sleep, he wondered how it happened that he had everything he wanted and with Alexis, no less. His territory was stable, he was in love with his wife and he had a son, two beautiful stepdaughters...technically three stepdaughters and a baby on the way. As an added bonus his wife made him the envy of the other bosses. Because it appeared she'd stopped being the DA to be with him, the heads of the other families thought he was the man. They also thought she still had connections within the DA's office. He smiled to himself as he wished she did. He sat on the bed and placed a soft kiss at her shoulder to wake her.
"Hey," her voice graveled as she rubbed her eyes. He could tell the instant she noticed he was fully dressed. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, Sonny and I are taking the girls to dinner." He brushed her hair from her face with his fingertips.
She poked out her lip in a mock pout. "Without me? Why?"
"So, they know how a woman should be treated…and never fall for a guy like Ric."
"Touché." She rolled her eyes, and then mussed his hair. "I got it right the third time around, didn't I?"
"Good point." He kissed her then stroked her hair, gently. "We'll be at Kelly's…By the way, Sam called and she's on her way over." Alexis stared at him with a blank expression. He knew she wouldn't be thrilled with the surprise. "I thought you might want to tell her about the baby…since other people know." He placed his hand on the cotton sheet over her belly. He knew she'd be furious that he was blindsiding her, but he also knew the fallout between she and Sam would be worse if Sam heard about the baby from someone else.
She sat up on her elbows. "Jason," she sighed loudly, "I was going to tell Sam when the time was right."
"In the birthing room?" He watched as she managed a slight smile, releasing a dimple in the process. Instinctively, he poked his finger in the space left by her dimple. "Don't you want to give her the present you bought her in Italy?"
"You really think I should do everything at once?"
It always caught him off-guard when Alexis asked his opinion. She did it regularly enough, but it was one of the little things that reminded him they were married. "I think you should do whatever you want, but she'll love it and know how much you were thinking about her."
"Fine, but if she tells me she hates me or makes me feel horribly guilty about being as happy as I am; I'm holding you responsible for cheering me up."
"Deal." He kissed her tenderly on the mouth before heading to Sonny's.
At Kelly's, Kristina and Molly were granted their every wish by the three men they kept wrapped around their pinkies: Jason, Sonny and Mike. Kristina sat next to Grandpa Mike and Molly sat on Sonny's lap…as usual. Jason could tell Mike and Sonny enjoyed the gushy looks they received from women who entered the restaurant. Jason was content to see the smile on his girls' faces. During the meal, he kept finding himself wondering how things were going with Alexis and Sam. Although, their relationship had always been tumultuous, he'd seen enough to know they both loved each other.
"Earth to Jason," Mike teased. He focused on the older man's kind face. Mike smiled and asked, "Where were you just then?"
"Probably thinking about 3 a.m. feedings," Sonny teased.
"You and Alexis?" Mike raised an eyebrow. He nodded, which was enough of an affirmation for Mike. "Congratulations, Jason." The older man extended his hand across the table. Mike began to tease Jason about sleepless nights, poopy diapers and all of the other joys of a new baby. Jason laughed politely, not having the heart to remind them that he'd done it all before with Michael, before he was "Sonny's son."
Perfectly on cue with his thoughts about Michael, Claudia walked into Kelly's. Worse yet, she had none other than Ric Lansing on her arm.
"Well, well, well…would you look what we have here," Ric snarked to Claudia. "Sonny and Jason finally found a way to play Mommy and Daddy without having Alexis in the way."
"Knock it off, Ric," Jason's voice was calm, but firm. He noticed the way Kristina shifted in her chair at Ric's words. Molly clung tightly to Sonny. Sometimes it seemed more like Sonny was her father than Ric. It would have been easier if he was. He, Sonny and Alexis had worked into a comfortable groove with the girls. Ric was a different story.
For the most part, he and Alexis had been able to keep Ric's tantrums to a minimum by making sure either he or Max handled Molly's weekend custody arrangements. Still, there were days like today where they encountered Ric by chance and worse yet, when he was with someone he wanted to impress.
"Hiya Sunshine," he felt Claudia place her hands on his shoulders. "How come you haven't been by to see the site of our new business?" He noticed Sonny's blank expression at the news of his partnership with Claudia. He was sure his former mentor would have some questions for him later. It would be an unwelcome conversation, particularly now that Jason knew Claudia's part in Michael's shooting.
"It's your business…I'm just the silent partner."
Ric began to laugh, "Sounds very much like my marriage to Alexis. She went about her business being in love with my brother and I stayed in our marriage silently hoping she might change her mind…but you should she only has room for one hero in her life and that's…"
Jason cut him off, "Not in front of the girls, Ric." He stood up and discreetly snatched Ric by the arm to another part of the restaurant.
"What?" Ric plastered an innocent look on his face. "I thought you might want to know what's in store for you before Alexis makes it clear that she's only able to truly love Sonny. She'll tell you she loves you, make love to you, let you play daddy to her children. In fact, if you're lucky, she may even give you one of your own…she's very fertile, you know."
Before he could stop himself, Jason had Ric by his throat against the wall. "Not a word about my wife. Do you understand? I'm not Sonny and personally, I think Molly has enough men in her life that love her, so I won't have a problem if you disappear. Do you understand?"
Ric managed to nod above Jason's clinched fingers.
"Now take Claudia and get out of here."
Jason walked calmly back to the table. He swatted at Kristina's ponytail, which caused her to giggle and the he kissed Molly's forehead before he finally sat. A few minutes later, Ric stopped by the table. He said goodbye to the girls before he walked very close to where Jason was sitting.
"This isn't over Jason."
Without moving a muscle Jason whispered, "Count on it."