Control Freak
by Sexis Fan

"Okay, Sonny. Let's get down to business."

Alexis had said those words to him a thousand times before. Why did they suddenly sound, this time, like an invitation to some monkey business? Kristina. It was all her fault. Flighty, New Age, overly romantic young girl. That's what she is. Alexis in love with him. Ridiculous. Wasn't it?

But ever since her sister had uttered those words, nothing had been the same. Sonny found himself watching Alexis closely for signs that Kristina's words carried even a grain of truth. Sure, Alexis cared for him. She was his friend. An unlikely friend in many ways. And a more unlikely lover. Lover? The word sprang to his mind, dragging with it a mental image of Alexis in her lingerie.

Damned that Eddie's Angel photograph. He'd told her back then that he'd never thought of her as the lingerie-wearing surprising-boyfriend type. Which wasn't exactly true. From the day he'd met her, he wondered what more there was to Alexis Davis, and he was always certain that there was more. The expensive suits didn't hide her sexuality as much as she probably hoped they did. He understood that a woman in a man's profession might feel the need to subdue her sexuality in order to be taken seriously. But Sonny saw glimpses of that sexual nature in the passion she displayed in her arguments, and the power she wore so comfortably in the courtroom or the PCPD. Alexis was a force, and Sonny had no doubt that her passionate power emanated from a core of femininity that could rock a man's world. The Eddie's Angel picture only confirmed that belief. And while he'd teased her about it, thrilling to the blush it brought to her smooth cheeks, the idea of freeing the Angel from her Armani had grown increasingly intoxicating. Especially since Kristina had turned his world upside down with a few simple words. Words that could open the door to a place he'd never fully allowed himself to imagine entering.

"Sonny? Hello? Have you heard a word I've said?" Alexis waved a finely boned, exquisitely manicured hand before his face. Her perfume beckoned to him from the pulse point on her wrist. Such a spot for a kiss, he thought.

"Fine, I'll just come back when you're ready to get on with it."

Did she just say she wants to get it on? No, of course not.

"Um, sorry, 'Lexis. My mind was somewhere else." In your bed, savoring the taste of your skin as my tongue flicks along the silky underside of your wrist. Damn. Did it again.

"I hope you're thinking about your position," she admonished, turning her back toward him as she bowed slightly to open her briefcase.

Position? MY position? What did she mean by that? Sonny's eyes swept over the curve of her hips. Positions, huh? Just what positions might Alexis. . . Damn! Stop it, Sonny. Get a grip, man.

"Sonny, why are you staring at me like that?" Alexis was facing him now, her hands planted firmly on those fine hips. Sonny blinked, dumbly.

Alexis sighed impatiently. "Do I have a second head sprouting, or something?"

No, he thought, but I do. Damn. Did it again. Gotta stop thinking like that. Sonny shifted uncomfortably, suddenly self-conscious about the drape of his slacks.

"Okay, fine. Let's just do this in the morning. Obviously. . ."

"No!" His hand shot out and grasped her elbow before he had time to process the impulse or censor his tongue. "Don't go," he whispered hoarsely.

Alexis looked at him with a quizzical expression. Her brow knit and questions leapt into her soft, chocolate eyes. She must think I'm insane, he chided himself.

"Look, I just need a few minutes to get focused. Let me make some coffee, and you get comfortable. Then we'll do this thing." Yeah, I'd like to do it all right. Do it all night. I'd like to - sh*t! He had to stop this.

"I'll be right back," Sonny choked out as he turned and half ran to the kitchen. Smooth, Corinthos. Real smooth. What in the hell is wrong with you? Okay. Coffee. Just think coffee. Water running. Yes, cold water. Cold is good. Okay. Coffee grounds. Strong and pungent. Yes, that's it. Wake that brain up. A couple of cups. Some steam. Steam? NO! Coffee, coffee, coffee. Breathe, Corinthos. Two cups, black. This will work. Now, down to business. Back into the living room, now. Good. Keep your eyes on the coffee. Don't look up into her eyes. Just keep focused on - those legs! Good God, when did she grow those damned legs? Keeping his eyes down should have been safe for him. And it was. Til he spied the smooth leather of Alexis' Italian pumps slipped lightly over small feet that led to enticingly crossed ankles just below shapely calves directly under knees that slid into the barest glimpse of what were obviously luscious thighs caressed by the skirt now stretched just the tiniest bit by her semi-seated position against the edge of his desk. Whew. And above those thighs. . .

F*ck! Wait, now there's an idea. No! Stop, stop, stop. Sonny, you have to stop this.

"Sonny, you have to stop this." Alexis' concerned voice echoed his thoughts, jarring him to attention and nearly sending the coffee cups shattering to the floor.

"What?" His heart leapt to his throat. She was onto his lewd line of thought. But how?

"You have to stop this," Alexis repeated, her attention focused on the documents in her left hand. In her right, she held her glasses, removed so that she could nibble on the end of the earpiece. Had she always done that when she was in her attorney zone? He may as well have not even been the room as far as she was concerned. He could have been anyone, any client, and it wouldn't have mattered. Somehow that idea bothered him even more than her miles of legs had. How could his presence be nothing to her when hers was making him insane? It wasn't fair.

"It just isn't fair," she repeated as if reading his thoughts.

"What?" Damn, he wished she'd stop voicing his thoughts. It was too unsettling. Was she reading his mind?

Alexis lifted her eyes to his. "Can't you say anything else?" she asked dryly.

"What?" His mind was in neutral. Were they talking about something?

"Apparently not." The corners of her mouth turned up almost imperceptibly.

She was amused by his lack of cool, and that bothered him, too. He didn't like this kind of turnabout. Usually he was the one making her feel all flustered. Now she was rattling him and didn't even have to try, he was no longer in control. Control. That's it. Need to take control.

"You stand there much longer and that will be iced coffee by the time we drink it," Alexis remarked with a nod toward the quickly cooling cups of brew still in his hands.

Damn. Control. Got to get some control here. Sonny set the cups of coffee on the far end of the desk.

"Forget the coffee, Alexis." Sonny smoothly slid up to her side, making sure that his shoulder was just barely touching hers. He nodded toward the papers in her hand. "Let's take this from the top."

Top. That was some top she was wearing. Blouse actually. She'd shed her suit jacket while he'd been in the kitchen and in doing so had uncovered the whisper of silk underneath. Peering over her shoulder, pretending to read the document in her hand, Sonny was instead focused on the fact that the two uppermost tiny, pearl-like buttons were undone, allowing a peek at the pulse point beating just above her delicate collarbone. Sonny's fingertips itched. If only one more little button came undone, he could admire her. . .

"Assets. That's what you want to look at, Sonny."

Sonny nearly swallowed his tongue. Damn. He really wished she'd stop doing that! Think, Corinthos. Focus man! Time to take control. For real, this time. He would not allow himself to imagine Alexis blouse in a silken puddle next to the sexy heels at the ends of those luscious legs.

Shit.

Sonny let out a deep breath. Time for some good old fashioned Corinthos cool. First thing was to buy a few seconds to get his head straight.

"Wait a minute, Alexis."

Next thing was to even the playing field a bit. That meant that his suit jacket had to go. There now, that wasn't so hard, he thought as he slipped the expensive fabric from his shoulders and deposited it across the back of his desk chair. Sonny noticed a flicker of something in her expression as he turned back toward her. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it gave him the encouragement he needed for the next step. Gaining the advantage.

"Let me get ready for you, counselor." The sultry words were followed by a flirtatious, dimpled smile as he reached for the buttons on his own shirt. There was that flicker again, this time in her eyes. Sonny kept his gaze on her face as he undid first the top button at the neck. When he unfastened a second button, Alexis quickly shifted her attention to the papers in her hand. Sonny felt the first glow of self-satisfaction. He was gaining the upper hand. For good measure, he opened a third button with a slight flourish.

Alexis shifted a bit against the edge of the desk. Uncrossing and re-crossing her ankles, she almost unknowingly cost Sonny what little advantage he'd just gained. But before his mind could take him where he wished he could be with her, Sonny took the next step. Sliding up close to her against the edge of the desk, he settled next to her, his legs extended parallel with hers. As his hip and upper leg made the barest contact with hers, he started unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt. Rolling up the sleeves in practiced nonchalance, he leaned close to her ear and crooned, "Okay, counselor. I'm all yours. Show me your stuff."

Alexis gave a choking little cough as she again squirmed just the tiniest bit. Yep. He was getting to her, he congratulated himself.

Now was not the time to bask in a small success though. He had to push forward, if only to give himself some breathing room. He couldn't afford to lose any ground to an errant mental image of Alexis nibbling his neck instead of the tip of her eyeglass earpiece.

Damn.

Moving quickly to dispel that potent picture, Sonny placed a hand on the desk behind her, as if propping himself up while leaning in to scan the documents she held. He made sure that his shoulder pressed into hers and that his arm came to rest against the length of her spine as he did so. Take that, he thought to himself.

Alexis worked her mouth against the eyeglasses with just a hint more vigor. Smiling, Sonny reached with his free hand to cover hers holding the glasses. Gently, he began to loosen the glasses from the soft grip of her fingers. Whispering seductively against her ear again, he asked, "You hungry, 'Lexis?"

Sonny was certain he heard a soft gasp pass her luscious lips. Just the effect he'd hoped to have, he gloated to himself. Yes, he was back on top. On top. In a flash his mind was flooded with the picture of his body covering Alexis', the both of them cocooned in satin while Alexis gasped against his hungry mouth.

Damn! Sonny wasn't sure how many seconds he was lost in that fantasy before realizing that he still held Alexis' delicate hand in his. But it was apparently long enough to add a ragged edge to Alexis' breathing. Apparently his little lapse hadn't cost him very much in the way of an advantage, since Alexis seemed to have lost some a bit of cool herself. Slipping the eyeglasses from Alexis' slackened grasp, Sonny put them to rest on the far end of the desk next to the cups of now-cold coffee.

Advance, man, he encouraged himself. And with the last traces of his fantasy image still haunting his imagination, he took his own advice.

"Okay, counselor," he began with feigned innocence. "Tell me what position I need to take."

The double entendre hit its mark with precision, the evidence being the tinge of pink spreading along Alexis' cheekbones.

Alexis cleared her throat before attempting to speak. "Partnerships like this can be very risky, Sonny."

"Mmmm-hmmm. Risky," he purred, pleased that her voice sounded a little shaky.

Alexis peered harder at the papers in her hand and continued. "You want to make sure that you have a position of power."

"I want to stay on top?" he asked, tilting his head so that he could look deeply into her eyes.

Alexis looked up and blinked rapidly. "Um, yes. So to speak," she stammered.

"On top is good," Sonny maintained his mock seriousness, continuing to hold her gaze. "But the top can get tiring after a while. What if I let my partner 'on top' after a while?" He couldn't suppress the sly grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth when he saw Alexis swallow, hard.

"Well, you - you would - you'd make yourself - vul - vulnerable."

"Oh." He dropped his attention from her eyes to her mouth. "And vulnerable is risky. Right?" Sonny leaned just a little closer as he replied in a half whisper. With the slightest increase in pressure, he pressed his thigh a tad more firmly against hers.

Alexis drew back just the tiniest bit, but succeeded only in pressing herself more firmly against his arm behind her.

"Umm, right," she finally responded. Then tearing her gaze from where it had fallen on his mouth, Alexis dipped her head and stared much too intently at the documents she held. "You want to minimize your risk," she continued in her most lawyerly fashion.

Sonny slid his hand a little farther along the desk, shifting his body slightly so that his shoulder was behind, rather than beside, hers. He leaned into her, his chest pressing into her back and his chin nearly resting on her shoulder blade.

"I'm a little confused about something, though," he offered, a question in his voice.

"What?" Alexis barely breathed the word.

Sonny dropped his free hand onto his leg closest to hers, letting his fingertips 'accidentally' brush the surface of the skirt stretched over her thighs. "Doesn't taking a risk make for a higher payoff?" he asked, the words rolling from his tongue with obvious innuendo.

Alexis stiffened and Sonny wondered silently if he'd gone too far.

"That depends," Alexis replied, businesslike. "Risk can be an acceptable price for a higher payoff in some cases."

"What kinds of cases?" In spite of her stilted response, Sonny decided to take his own risk and let his fingers trail more obviously toward the hem of her skirt.

Alexis watched his hand breathlessly.

"'Lexi?" Sonny's voice softly nudged her, as if out of a trance, priming her reply.

"It, um - it depends on what kinds of assets are involved in the partnership, for one thing," she answered quickly.

"Well, how do you assess my assets?" Sonny's warm breath carried the question to her ear while his fingers finally slipped over the hem of her skirt, grazing the smooth skin of her upper leg.

Alexis seemed to melt back into him just a little, losing come of her earlier stiffness.

"I think you're in very good shape - I mean, your assets look good - I mean. . ." Alexis' fumbling answer was cut off by a tiny gasp as Sonny's fingers slipped under the edge of her skirt and started searing a path along her thigh.

"Mmmm." His response was a half-moan as Alexis' head tipped back just enough to make contact with his shoulder.

"But your po-potential partner's assets. . ."

"Appear to be magnificent," Sonny whispered against her neck. How could she even pretend to focus on business, he wondered, as his touch continued along her leg, hitching up the fabric of her skirt.

Alexis squirmed slightly before pulling herself together into full - well, three-quarters - lawyer mode.

"As your attorney, however, I have to advise a full examination of all assets involved," she replied in her coolest, most legal sounding voice.

But all it took was a single, "Reeeaaaaallllllly" drawled against the bare skin of her neck to undo her.

Alexis sat, frozen, as Sonny lifted his hand from the desk and wrapped his arm around her to reach for the documents now forgotten in her hand. Sonny slipped the papers from her grasp, then slowly let them flutter to the floor. With his hand now emptied, he placed his palm firmly just above her waist, his thumb coming to rest on her side, just where the curve of her breast began to rise.

"A full examination of assets?" he whispered.

Alexis nodded. "Before any merger. . ."

"Mmmmm. . ." Sonny dropped a soft kiss on the curve of her neck. One of Alexis' hands gripped the edge of the desk, as if for support.

"Full disclosure. . ."

"Mmm-hmm. . ." Another fluttering kiss was placed on her neck. Alexis moaned softly, letting her other hand fall to land on Sonny's leg, just above the knee.

"Must be initiated. . ."

"Mmmmmmm. . ." A third kiss landed on her neck as Sonny lifted his hand from her leg, reaching upward to trace his fingers along the line of her jaw. Trailing his touch downward along her throat, he lifted his mouth to place a soft kiss on her ear lobe. Her fingertips curled into his thigh in response.

"How soon should this disclosure be initiated?" he breathed against her ear.

"Immediately!" Alexis sighed, laying her head more firmly back against his shoulder.

Sonny's fingers slid from her throat, past the pulse point above her collarbone, to the tiniest of pearl-like buttons on her blouse. Deftly, his slender fingers unfastened first one, then two of the closures. Relieved of the tension, the silk parted for him, revealing the soft lavender lace cupping Alexis' 'assets'. Sonny watched the rise and fall of her chest become more pronounced as he trailed soft fingertips along the edge of the lace, skimming the sensitive skin now straining for release.

Sonny felt her hand slide slowly up his leg, on an intercept course for his assets.

"Lexi?" he whispered.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and turned slightly, enough to let her peer into the warm chocolate of his eyes. Sonny gazed back, searching for any sign of hesitancy on her part. But he saw none. Instead, he saw the fire of passion burning not for an argument over some point of law, but now for him.

Sonny licked his lower lip just as she instinctively did the same. It would be the source of many jesting arguments in the future, but the truth was that neither of them would ever know which had started their first kiss. It seemed just as natural as breathing - more natural, in fact - for them to move together in the first tentative brush of lips. Soft fluttering quickly blossomed into playful nibbling which almost instantly erupted into flames of desire, too long held in check and now allowed to burn freely. Mouths searched, tongues probed and hands roamed in detailed inventory of the merchandise and equipment brought to the partnership. Silk, lace and his 'n hers Armani fell to the marble floor piece by piece as full disclosure was attained.

Sonny pulled back from a steamy kiss, lifting his hands to cup Alexis' face. Tilting her head to raise her eyes to his, he offered her his sexiest dimpled grin.

"Counselor?" he asked.

"Client?" she responded, raggedly.

"Do you deem the assets worthy of the risks?" he teased.

"Very worthy," she replied, stepping closer to press her hips forward into his.

Sonny moaned and bent his head for a quick kiss. Looking down at her through half-closed lids he smiled that sexiest smile once more.

"Then how 'bout we put this merger to bed?" he offered with a nod toward the stairs.

"Just what I was about to advise," Alexis smiled back at him.

"Damn," Sonny growled in that way that only he could, "You're gooooooood."

As many times as he had said those words to her over the years, he'd never known how true they were. But he found out. In the end, Sonny decided two things. The payoff was definitely worth the risk. And control is highly over-rated.