Sonny
lay against the headboard of Alexis’ bed, while she was sprawled
across his stomach sleeping deeply and peacefully. He smiled, stroking
the silken strands of her hair where they lay strewn wildly over
his chest. He’d known she needed rest but he’d been selfish,
waking her two times in the night to love her again. But this was
by far the greatest benefit: being able to hold her like this. He
probably had no right to be this happy in the midst of all that
was going on, to take pleasure in her when he was bound to another…but
he couldn’t seem to quell the surge of joy within him.
He was a man of contradictions, he knew. And he also knew that where
he was and what he was doing right now were both wrong…but
in his heart it couldn’t have felt more RIGHT. His fidelity
lay with the person to whom he was emotionally wed…and, right
or wrong, that person was Alexis Davis.
His hands stilled in her hair as she shifted against him and lifted
her face his way. Her eyes opened and stared into his, and a serene
little smile curved her lips.
“Hi,” she said simply, her dimples teasing him.
“Hi, yourself,” he whispered back. “You okay?”
“More than okay, Sonny. Thank you.”
Sonny grinned widely, his own dimples in full effect. He placed
his hands under her arms and slid her body upwards until their faces
were level. “Tell me, Ms. Davis, what exactly are you thanking
me for? And include details.”
She blushed. “Egomaniac. I was being serious.”
“Oh? So was I.”
“I meant,” Alexis said, trying to sound stern but failing,
“that this has been an incredible night…and I thank you.
I know that we both needed comfort. We both needed each other’s
strength. And—and—”
Sonny’s eyes got a strange gleam in them. His brow furrowed
as he tried to fathom what she was really saying. “And? Spit
it out, Lex.”
“And…you don’t have to worry about me making more
of it than it was…or making any demands on you. I know you
love Carly and that you want to make a life with her. Still I’m
grateful that you and I spent this time together.”
Sonny stared at her openmouthed for half a minute. “What are
you thinking in that beautiful head of yours? That this was comfort
sex?”
“Well, yeah…”
“Is that what it was for you?” he demanded, his frown
deepening.
He felt frustrated as hell when she didn’t answer. “Alexis,
damn, can’t a guy have a little afterglow here? We’ve
just shared something so beautiful I don’t even have words
to describe it, and you instantly try to make it less than it was.
In fact, your description just now sounded like…like a summation
to the jury, or somethin’.”
She sighed, resting her chin against his chest. “I didn’t
say that it wasn’t beautiful,” she told him earnestly.
“It was, you know. It always is with you.”
“Then why the hell are you talking as if—as if it’s
a one night stand?”
“Because we both know that’s all it can be. And maybe
if we’d said that to each other the last time…instead
of getting feelings involved…we would have still been friends
these last two years.”
“I got a better theory, Counselor. Maybe if I’d told you
how I felt the last time—how much that night meant to me--we’d
have been a helluva lot more than just friends these last two years.”
Alexis opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. What could she
say to that? She didn’t even want to deal with it. Before she
could formulate a response, she heard someone calling her name.
It sounded like Emily in her sitting room.
“Alexis, are you awake? I—”
Before Alexis could call out a warning, the young woman had pushed
the bedroom door open and had stepped inside only to be stopped
cold by the sight of a naked Sonny in Alexis’ bed. Said naked
man quickly made sure the blankets protected his lover’s modesty
while Emily stared, turned beet red, then turned and tried to escape
only to bump into Nikolas who’d come in behind her.
All three Cassadines promptly exclaimed, “Oh my God.”
The only Corinthos in the room wondered why he hadn’t locked
the bedroom door.
