A Drunken Man's Words
by SexisFan

chapter 9

As the sound of the puppy's padding walk faded, Alexis laid back on her pillow again. With a tight, nervous smile she turned toward Sonny. Suddenly she felt very self-conscious. It didn't make sense. Alexis was the last person on earth to welcome spontaneity. She was the queen of rational planning. But for some reason, being with Sonny was so much easier when it snuck up on her, like the night of his drunken pass. And tonight, when he unexpectedly slipped into her bed.

But now, it was different. Now, whatever was about to happen she would be walking into willingly and level headed. It was how she did most things, so why was it so hard for her to be with Sonny this way?

Of course she knew the answer. She wanted this so much, but she knew it shouldn't happen. Her rational mind told her what a mistake it would be, and so in order to give herself over to something she knew she shouldn't want she needed to be off-balance, caught off guard, not responsible for her actions. To be with Sonny purposefully - it was just too hard.

Alexis tensed as Sonny reached up to stroke her face. Wordlessly he ran a soft fingertip across her brow, tracing the ridges of her frown lines.

"Alexis," he whispered softly. "I only came in here to hold you. Nothing else has to happen," he assured her.

Alexis gazed up into his dark eyes and tried to swallow the lump growing in her throat. Who in the world would ever believe that mobster Sonny Corinthos could be so sensitive?

As a tiny tear slipped from the corner of her eye, Sonny gathered Alexis into his arms and held her close to his heart. Settling back on his pillow, he lifted his hand to trail his fingers through the soft length of her hair.

Alexis relaxed against him, resting her head on the hollow of his chest while he stroked her head. Safe in the haven of Sonny's arms, she closed her eyes and let the comfort of his presence wash over her. Outside, the storm continued unabated. The wind roared around the little cottage, pounding rain against the plywood covering the windows. Occasional gusts shrieked through the air, intensifying the force driving the precipitation so that the raindrops hit like gunfire against the side of the house.

The energy of the hurricane was like nothing Alexis had ever known before. Closing her eyes, she let the sounds of the hurricane take her mind back to the beach where she'd stood at the top of the dunes and faced the fury of the storm. The raw power had been frightening, but somehow strangely alluring, too. She felt her pulse quicken as she recalled the exhilaration she'd experienced. Terrifying beauty. That's what she had seen while watching the wind whip against the churning sea. Suddenly Alexis' mind was filled with the image of Sonny's face by firelight. Terrifying beauty is what she also had seen in his dark eyes as he leaned in to kiss her that first time. His desire that night, and tonight, had been as wild and potent as the winds howling outside. But if Sonny's desire was as wild as the wind, the desire he stirred in her was as powerful and terrifying as the ocean's pounding waves.

Alexis' breathing grew shallow at the image of Sonny's passion joining with her desire, unleashing an energy of uncontrollable power. Longing to feel the intoxication again of such terrifying beauty, Alexis let her hand slowly drift across the taut plane of Sonny's stomach. Lightheaded from a mixture of fear and excitement, she let her fingertips search out the waistband of his silk boxers. Lightly, she drew her fingers along that edge where the cool fabric met the warmth of his skin.

Alexis gasped when Sonny's hand quickly moved to cover hers, stopping her subtle exploration.

"Alexis," he whispered hoarsely, "you can't touch me like that if we're drawing the line at cuddling tonight."

Alexis swallowed hard, but said nothing. After a deep breath to steel her nerves, she lifted her head from his chest. Slowly, she lowered her lips to the valley where her cheek had lain and gently placed a kiss there. Sonny's sharp intake of breath encouraged her to seek out the dark circle of his nipple, where she dropped a more possessive kiss. Sonny moaned, his grip on her hand growing slack as his attention was diverted by Alexis' kisses. Slipping her hand free of his grasp, she trailed her fingertips lightly up his belly to his chest, finally tracing the outline of his other nipple.

The arm curved 'round her shoulders pulled Alexis closer as Sonny's fingers twined in her hair, cradling her head as she trailed kisses along his shoulder to his neck, then across the line of his jaw. Reaching his chin, Alexis placed a final kiss on that stubbly peak.

Sonny lay with his eyes closed, breathing raggedly through slightly parted lips as he allowed Alexis to determine what would happen with them this night. He knew what he wanted, but he needed her to know that she wanted it, too.

Alexis looked down at his face, so dark and handsome. It was a face that some feared, a face that few trusted. And it was a face that she loved.

Alexis bent her head closer to him, letting her mouth hover so close to his that their breath mingled. Then tenderly, tantalizingly, she let the tip of her tongue sneak toward his lower lip. With the lightest of touches, she swept her tongue across Sonny's lip, eliciting a moan from him that melted her to her core.

Alexis drew his lower lip gently between her teeth, igniting a hunger Sonny struggled to contain. He didn't want to push her, didn't want to scare her with the depth of his passion. Yet he couldn't resist slipping tender fingers underneath the hem of Alexis' pajama top to trace her bared spine, relishing the shiver his touch produced in her.

Growing bolder in her pursuit to draw out the power of Sonny's passion, Alexis reversed the trail of her kisses, moving past his neck, down his chest and over the firmness of his belly to his naval. Reaching her hand downward, she slipped her fingers under the hem of his shorts, softly scraping her fingernails across the sensitive skin of his inner thigh.

Sonny moaned and arched his hips upward as Alexis slid the tip of her tongue along his belly, just at the waistband of his boxers. Both of Sonny's hands, now, buried their fingers in her hair as he gently held her head. Alexis smiled to herself at his response. 'If you like that,' she thought. . .Alexis reached for Sonny's other leg, slipping her hand underneath the silk of his boxers to slide her palm up the plane of his hip. Shifting her body slightly, she repeated the move on his opposite leg so that her hands held his bare hips while she continued to tease her tongue along his stomach. Sonny's moan grew louder as he tilted his hips upward.

"Alexis, please. . ." Sonny moaned softly.

When he could take no more, Sonny reached down and hooked his hands under Alexis' arms. Physically dragging her up the length of his body, he brought her lips to his. Rolling her over onto her back, he took possession of her mouth totally and completely. Alexis gasped as Sonny's kiss drew the breath from her lungs. Just as she was certain she would faint dead away, Sonny pulled back, trailing kisses across her cheek, then down her jaw and along the elegant length of her throat. His tongue tickled along her collarbone, heading for the valley between her breasts.

But Sonny was just as determined to drive Alexis insane with wanting. Encouraged by her response, Sonny slipped his hand under her pajama top, drawing his fingers lightly across the soft skin of Alexis' tummy. Little by little he let his touch drift upward, toward the swell of her breast. Tauntingly, he stroked first one side then the other of her fullness, avoiding the most sensitive tip, which now ached for his touch. Sonny then let his caress slide downward, away from her breast, across her stomach, to the waistband of her pajama bottoms. Sonny shifted his body, trailing kisses along the path blazed by his gentle fingers. Tickling his tongue across her abdomen, Sonny slid his hand along the curve of Alexis' hip.

"Sonny. . ." she moaned with ragged breath.

Needing to feel her skin against his, Sonny hooked the waistband of her bottoms with his fingers and peeled them from her body. Alexis raised her hips instinctively to assist him. Driven into the depths of his passion by Alexis' response, Sonny moved to cover her body with his. Eager to possess her mouth again, he wasted no time in capturing her lips with his own. Sonny devoured her like a man starved. As his tongue probed the recesses of her mouth, his hips shifted so that his muscled length fully covered her.

"Sonny," she whispered hotly into her ear. "Talk to me in Spanish."

Sonny obliged, and in between his hot, demanding kisses he whispered his desire to her in words whose meanings she could not translate. But the passion and urgency of his rapidly flowing phrases was unmistakable, driving her to a frenzy of needing and want.

"Please," she begged, as the emptiness inside her became intolerable. "Make me yours."

Sonny didn't hesitate to oblige.

"Oh, yes," she moaned, starting to move against him.

Sonny answered with a flood of Spanish just before his mouth claimed hers.

Alexis clung to Sonny, unconsciously dragging her nails across his back. She couldn't tell if the roaring in her ears was the sound of the hurricane still pounding the little cottage, or the rush of her own blood as Sonny made love to her.

Sonny's hands slipped underneath her back, curving up to grasp her shoulders and brace her body against his passionate assault. With erotic whispers of Spanish against her ear, Sonny drove them both to the edge of ecstasy and beyond. As the waves of pleasure slowly ebbed from their bodies, they lay together silently for several minutes. Sonny, lightheaded from the exertion, sprawled on top of her as if paralyzed.

Alexis lay beneath his weight, luxuriating in the feel of him. Slowly, gently, she stroked her palms across the sweat slicked skin of his bare back. She smiled as she listened to him struggle to control his ragged breathing.

Gradually, Sonny felt his jellied muscles regain some of their capacity for movement. Rolling onto his back, Sonny drew Alexis to him, enfolding her in his strong arms. There seemed to be no words fitting enough for what they'd just shared, so as if by silent, mutual agreement neither spoke. Instead, they lay together in intimate embrace, listening as the storm outside raged in a futile attempt to mimic the power they'd unlashed with their passion.

********

Alexis had no idea how long she had lain awake in Sonny's arms, listening to the soft sounds of his contented sleep. She wasn't certain, even, if she'd gotten any sleep herself. She supposed she had, since the storm outside had quieted at some point and she was only now noticing.

Rain still fell, but with a gently pitter patter rather than the rapid pelting that had sounded so much like the gunfire which had almost taken Sonny's life that awful Christmas Eve. The winds had slowed. And a soft gray light was beginning to nudge away the blackness of the night.

Silently, Alexis slipped from the bed, being very careful not to waken her bed-mate. Slowly, she slid the bedroom door open and tip-toed out of the room. She hesitated to close the door completely behind her, fearing that the sound of the latch catching would rouse Sonny. Leaving the door stand open just a crack, Alexis turned and headed for the living room.

Beau heard her soft approach just seconds after Quincy did. Two pairs of eyes, one a soft brown and the other a deep blue, turned toward her as she entered the room.

"Morning," Beau greeted in a whisper, smiling up at her as he lifted Quincy from his chest and rose from his position on his back on the couch. Sitting upright he motioned to the vacated cushions. "Have a seat," he offered, setting Quincy down on the couch next to him.

Alexis sat without hesitation and welcomed her little dog into her lap. "Have you been up all night?" she asked Beau.

"Yep," the blonde man nodded. "Been keeping an eye on the storm and listening to the radio bulletins, just in case," he answered.

Alexis nodded.

"You're up early," Beau noted, gallantly not voicing the fact that he hadn't expected to see either her or Sonny for many more hours.

"I couldn't sleep," Alexis replied dejectedly.

Beau wasn't quite sure what to say. He hadn't thought she'd have been sleeping, but he hadn't thought she'd be out of bed at the crack of dawn either. He was still trying to form a response when tears suddenly began to flow down Alexis' cheeks.

Beau reached out a hand, placing a consoling touch on her shoulder. "Alexis," he breathed, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Alexis leaned into his comforting presence, laying her head on his shoulder and allowing his arm to slide around her, drawing her into a gentle embrace. Choking back the deepest of her sobs, Alexis answered, "I've just made the biggest mistake of my life," she wept.

Inside a bedroom grown quiet in the wake of the departing storm, Sonny's heart broke at her words.

chapter 10