"I think I’m actually thinking quite clearly," he replied, nonplussed even in the face of her biting sarcasm. "Although I *completely* understand why you might find the notion ludicrous….."

She tipped her head to the side and crossed her arms. "Really?"

"Um-hmmm." He glanced in his side view mirror and then smoothly maneuvered the car into the passing lane. "You just don’t realize all the advantages my place has over that motel."

One of Alexis’s eyes narrowed, lit with a fire usually seen when she was decimating an opposing counsel. "Have you considered the DISADVANTAGE of the fact that Taggert won’t know where the H*LL I AM??!!"

Jax’s smile was pure masculine superiority. "That’s why God invented cell phones, my dear," he crooned, reaching into his jacket pocket. He glanced down just long enough to press the power button and then handed it to Alexis. "The good lieutenant told you he’d leave his cell on. Since I’m sure you know the number, just give him a call and tell him there’s been a change in plans."

Alexis took the cell phone when Jax handed it to her but remained incredulous. "And exactly WHAT were those advantages to staying with you again?" She smiled flippantly, tossing a hand nonchalantly in the air. "I think I need you to remind me, because they just seem to have FLOWN right out the window, along with my COMMON SENSE!" she growled, lacing her voice with sarcasm at the end.

"Well, for starters, you’d be much *safer* at my place," Jax announced cavalierly. After signaling, he changed lanes and pointed at the road sign. "Our exit is just a half a mile ahead."

"Safer? At your place?" Alexis folded her arms, cell phone still in hand. "Isn’t that what the Big Bad Wolf told Red Riding Hood?"

"I’ll forgive you that one, Lexie," Jax grinned. "Only because you’ve had a long, awful day." He tipped his head, speaking like an instructor lecturing a class. "But you see, I also understand that you’re a woman who needs cold, hard evidence. And, since you’ve never been to my place before…….."

Alexis arched one eyebrow at him. "Oh, do go on….." she crooned condescendingly. "Enlighten me, please!"

The car slowed considerably as Jax exited the highway. "Well, for one thing, as soon as I moved into my condo, I had a state-of-the-art security system installed."

"Because you *expected* to provide temporary housing to assistant district attorneys who have to hide out from hit men?"

"Nooooo…….." Jax’s voice dipped and then rose with "you-can-harass-me-all-you-want-but-I’m-not-gonna-bite" patience. "I did it because I bought some really nice paintings for the condo and I don’t want them stolen." He grinned somewhat sheepishly, then spun the steering wheel with one hand as they made a right turn. "I always did have a weakness for Jackson Pollack, you know."

"Jackson Pollack originals……" Alexis shrugged her shoulders in concession. "Not exactly something I’d see Lady Jane hanging in the dining room," she quipped, laughing softly.

"You’re right about that." He flipped on the turn signal before turning into a long driveway. "I have a feeling Mum would have a heart attack if she ever saw the way I’ve decorated the place."

Alexis peered into the darkness, trying to hide the way her jaw dropped when large steel and glass buildings rose in the distance before them. "So this …… state of the art system……" She cleared her throat to hide her discomfort when she saw a large chain link fence and a guard house appear in front of them. "Don’t you think you might have gone a little *overboard* on it?" she choked, gesturing towards the checkpoint.

"Oh, this?" Jax pulled up to the guardhouse and then pressed the button to roll down his window. "Nah……..this is standard for the complex. I didn’t have anything to do with it. But it IS another reason why I’ll feel a lot better with you *here* than at some NoTell Motel." He grinned broadly when the officer leaned out of the guardhouse. "Evenin’, Hank."

"Good evening, Mr. Jacks." The guard nodded, then quickly made a note on a clipboard next to the telephone inside.

"Hank, this is Alexis Davis," Jax said matter-of-factly. She waggled long fingers at him in greeting when the guard gave her a toothy grin. "She’s having some furnace difficulties at her house, so she’ll be staying with me until further notice." He draped his left hand lazily over the steering wheel while keeping a firm grip on the four-on-the-floor gear shift with the right. "Would you please make a note that NOBODY is to be allowed through the gate to visit either Miss Davis or myself without MY express verbal approval? INCLUDING members of my family?"

"Consider it done, Mr. Jacks," Hank nodded, making a note on his clipboard again. "I’ll give Rico a head’s up about it, too."

"Thanks, Hank….." Jax tipped two fingers to his forehead to salute the guard. Alexis heard a low humming noise and then, as the gate swung open, Jax slowly rolled the expensive car through it onto the grounds.

"Impressive." Alexis nodded, her lips pursed in genuine approval. Then she raised a questioning eyebrow at Jax. "You’re even going to put your FAMILY through the screening process? Even the almighty John Jacks?"

"I figure the LAST person you need to see right now is any other member of the Jacks family, ESPECIALLY my father!" When Jax turned to her in the dark confines of the small car and gave her a wink, Alexis’s insides suddenly turned to warm jello. "And don’t worry your pretty little head that any of them will have their feelings hurt by that. I think they already figured out that this place is MY private property when I refused to give anyone else a spare key except Lady Jane!"

He pulled up to one of the high rise buildings and the glass doors swung open. A burly uniformed guard sprinted towards the car, opening the passenger door as soon as it came to a stop. He extended a hand to assist Alexis out of the low-slung car’s seat. She barely had time to take a breath before Jax was at her side, a protective hand at the small of her back. He ushered her through the glass doors and the large atrium of the building, decorated with plush velvet couches and tall indoor flora. She managed to glimpse a panel of closed circuit televisions at a main reception desk before Jax led her to a bank of elevators.

"I take it that was Rico," she said, a thin smile curving her lips as she peered over her shoulder in the direction of the doors. Jax nodded but didn’t elaborate, watching intently until the elevator in front of them chimed softly and the doors slid open. "He doesn’t say much, does he?" Alexis asked as they got on.

"Let’s just say the condo managers didn’t hire the man for his conversational skills," Jax replied. He stabbed his finger several times at one of the top buttons on the panel, then propped his hands on his hips. "I…uh…..well, I don’t really know the man that well. I haven’t been living here full time for that long."

"Ahhh, yes……I remember." Alexis nodded. "To escape the wedding madness at the house."

"Exactly." He tapped his toe impatiently as the elevator slowly rose to the upper floors. "And before that, whenever it wasn’t absolutely necessary that I be in Port Charles, I spent a lot of my time Malibu."

"Malibu……" Alexis breathed the word softly as the elevator doors slid open before them. What little color was coming back to her cheeks drained slowly out. "You still…….." She swallowed hard, memories of whispered hopes and dreams about the property there coming back full force. She would have bet a year’s salary that once he left to search for Brenda, he would have gotten rid of *their* little piece of paradise. "You kept the beach property?"

"Yeah." Jax nodded, then held a hand out towards the first door on the left in the long hallway. "I hired that architect, the one you always told me would be perfect for the job……" A faint blush rose to his cheeks, which he masked by quickly looking down at the floor and digging in his pocket for his key. "Well anyway, they wrapped up construction about eight months ago." He unlocked the door, then reached inside to turn on some lights as Alexis preceded him through the portal. "I’ve got some photos in the den that I can show you later……." He tossed his keys on a side table, then raked his fingers through his hair self-consciously. "If you’d really like to see them, that is."

Alexis’s upper teeth peeked out to worry her lower lip as she smiled faintly. "Yeah – I think I’d like that," she replied in a husky whisper. Fifteen seconds of highly-charged silence later, she looked around the condo and smiled broadly. "Nice place you’ve got here."

"Thanks." Jax pressed his lips together, his head bobbing like one of those cheap football player dolls they sell at discount stores. He let out a long breath, then abruptly rubbed his face with both hands to regain some composure. "Look, why don’t you just tell me Taggert’s cell phone number and I’ll call him?" He shrugged off his jacket, tossing it onto the couch. "I’m sure there’s nothing you’d like better than to just take a hot shower and relax." His hands found a home once again in the pockets of his jeans as he suddenly found himself awkward and tongue-tied. "And since coming here was MY idea, there’s no reason YOU should have to suffer through all of the lieutenant’s profanities."

"You’re right." She smiled weakly, every bone in her body suddenly clamoring for attention. "A shower does sound pretty wonderful right now."

"Good. Good." Jax visibly startled and then skittered towards a darkened hallway. "The guest bedroom is the last door down there on the right……" He gestured with a hand as Alexis trudged slowly in that direction. "It’s got an adjoining bathroom….." He frowned suddenly, placing a hand over his mouth. "I THINK there are clean towels in there. If not, there’s a linen closet just inside, and there should be some extra shampoo and soap in there….."

"JAX!" He didn’t even notice that she had come close enough to lay a flat hand on his chest, generating tingly sparks wherever flesh met flesh. "Take a breath!" Alexis smiled tiredly. "Rambling is *my* MO, remember?" She nodded once, letting out a determined breath. "Compared to the Comfort Inn, at this point ANYTHING will feel like the Taj Mahal." Her lashes brushed the dark hollows beneath her eyes as they drooped once, then again. "I just…..well, I hope you know how much I appreciate this." Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes. "And everything you did for Stefan and I tonight……"

He nodded once, briskly. "I do, Lexie." Jax leaned forward to place a tender – but not too quick – kiss on her forehead. She saw his chest shudder as he drew a shaky breath and pointed over his shoulder towards the kitchen. "If you’re hungry, I think I can whip up an omelette or something."

Alexis cupped the side of his face tenderly. "That sounds great." She smiled again, tilted her head up and down in a gentle motion, and then walked away from him down the hall towards her room.

Jax waited until she disappeared through the door to let out a long breath, bending over at the waist to grip his knees. Just the thought of the woman he loved more than anything else in the world in HIS condo, in HIS shower, was enough to send a rush of desire roaring in his veins. It was a full thirty seconds before he straightened again, turned, and went to the kitchen, muttering to himself about going straight to heaven when he died – because he was already suffering through h*ll here on earth

######

"Mmmmm……something smells terrific."

Jax turned with a start at the sound of Alexis’s voice. Perspiration beaded on his back when he saw her, clad in one of his old navy velour robes. As his eyes raked her form, from the top of her still-damp hair to the tips of her bare toes, passion went racing on a fast track to parts due south of his belt.

Feeling his gaze like a hot embrace, Alexis froze in place, suddenly aware of the awkwardness of the situation. "I…..uh……" She glanced down at the robe. "Well, I really didn’t want to put my clothes back on, and I found this in the guest closet, so I thought……"

"Fine……that’s, uh, FINE!" Jax turned back to the skillet he was tending on the stove, shaking it briskly. "I guess we should have stopped back by your house on the way here and picked up some things for you….."

She briskly rubbed her hair with a fluffy white bath sheet that hung around her neck. "Tomorrow’s soon enough……." A bright pink blush rose to her cheeks. "If I can just borrow one of your old shirts or something to sleep in tonight……"

"Fine." Jax almost dropped the pan when he made a show of transferring the omelette to a plate. He made the mistake of looking into her eyes as he turned. "You always DID look better in ‘em than I did….."

Just the sight of her, tousled and damp, her eyes smoky with a combination of confusion and need, made him instantly hot and hard. Fighting the overwhelming need to be close to him, Alexis’s eyes abruptly widened in mock horror. "You’re not going to make me drink one of those disgusting health shake concoctions with that, are you?"

A shock of blonde hair fell across his forehead as he smiled endearingly. "I think I can manage to find some orange juice….." Jax set the plate on the table, then went to the refrigerator and paused before opening the door. "Unless you’d rather have some instant coffee?"

"Juice is fine." Alexis took a seat, propping her elbows on the table and knitting her fingers under her chin as Jax got them both glasses and poured the juice. When he sat down opposite her, she picked up her fork and daintily cut off a section of the omelette. "Was Taggert very angry about the change in plans?" she asked, a false conversational lightness in her voice.

"Let’s just say he didn’t exactly burn any virgin ears," Jax smirked. He took a bit of his own omelette, then pointed his fork at hers. "Is that OK for you?"

"Fine." She smiled broadly, then her shoulders slumped as she gave up all pretense of being comfortable in the situation. "Jax……" She took a deep breath and reached out a hand to lay it on his wrist. "When I came out of the house tonight and you were on my porch…..." She tried to continue but her voice wavered with emotion. "Why were you there? Just when I needed you most?"

His jaw clenched as he set down his fork deliberately next to his plate. "I couldn’t leave things the way they were between us this afternoon, Lexie….." Turbulence swirled in his eyes as he raised them to meet hers. "I wanted to make sure you were alright, especially after…….well, after everything that "came out" in our little discussion." Suddenly, one golden eyebrow arched in mild alarm. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just…….." She sat back in her chair, lowering her eyes self-consciously as she toyed with her fork. "Well, it was just such a coincidence, that you would show up out of the clear blue……"

"Alexis……" Jax tipped his head forward, his eyes filled with shocked understanding. "You don’t think that *I* had anything to do with what happened to your furnace, do you?"

"Nooo……." She looked him dead in the eye, the perennial somber prosecutor now. "But you might have been trying to cover up for someone who did….."

"Bloody h*ll!!" He threw his hands up in the air as he rose from the table to pace a small circle near the refrigerator. "Now you want to blame THIS on Jerry, too?"

"I’m sorry, Jax!" she cried, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she rocked back in the chair. "But while I was taking my shower, it just kept running through my mind!" When he snorted in exasperation again, her lips puckered with annoyance. "After all, Jerry DID live with Bobbie in that old brownstone of hers before they were married, which means he would have had the opportunity to become familiar with heating systems……"

"Jerry!!??" Jax’s laugh rang with incredulity. "You’re accusing my *brother*, the man who can’t tell a flat head wrench from a band saw, of knowing his way around a furnace?" He ruffled his hair with his fingers. "For God’s sake, Alexis, Jerry can’t even program his own d*mn VCR!! I SERIOUSLY doubt that he’s gotten into the intricacies of HVAC in his spare time!!"

"Well, you can’t blame me for considering him as a suspect," Alexis groused. She stared down at her plate and angrily stabbed another forkful of omelette.

Silence hung heavy in the small kitchen until Jax spoke softly. "Actually……..there may be a kernel of truth in what you just said before."

Alexis’s eyes flared rose in disbelief. "You mean you’re actually conceding the fact that Jerry could have tried to kill me?"

"Noooo……" Jax sank back into his chair, his face grim . "I’m talking about what you said about BOBBIE…….." When she put her fork back down on her plate to listen, he went on. "After living in that old brownstone for that long, she’d know a lot about furnaces." He sighed. "Before Jerry came along, I don’t think she exactly had a lot of money to always call the repairman when something broke down."

Alexis nodded thoughtfully. "And she has a good excuse to want me dead – particularly if I find enough evidence to put her husband behind bars for the rest of his life."

"But see, that’s what I just don’t get….." Jax chose his words carefully, avoiding mentioning the fact that he KNEW Bobbie didn’t have an alibi for the night Chloe was murdered. "OK – let’s assume that Bobbie found out that Chloe was pregnant. She would have been crushed – especially after she had tried so hard to give Jerry a child but still couldn’t. Added to the fact that she was *already* furious to find out that he had had another affair."

"Agreed." Alexis took another bite of omelette and gestured for Jax to go on.

"So then why would Bobbie care if Jerry spent the rest of his life in prison, especially for something he DIDN’T do? Wouldn’t she be in *favor* of you convicting him, just so she could get some kind of perverse retaliation out of it?" Jax sat back, pursing his lips in bafflement. "It all sounds like one of those "movie of the week" plots to me. A wife’s perfect revenge on a cheating husband."

"But you forget," Alexis countered, pointing her fork at Jax, "that if Jerry goes to jail, Bobbie’s gravy train is derailed, potentially for a LONG time." She shook her head firmly, gesturing with her fork. "No, Bobbie is NOTHING without Jerry’s prominence. She would rather see him get away with murder than punish him for his infidelity and consequently lose her social standing."

"So you’re willing to admit that it’s POSSIBLE that Bobbie is trying to kill you?" Jax asked hopefully.

"Bobbie……..or your father."

Jax chuckled softly. "Now THERE’S a picture! John Jacks, crawling around on his hands and knees punching holes in a furnace pipe with an ice pick!"

"Oh, I have no doubts that HE didn’t do it." She leaned toward Jax confidentially. "Your father wouldn’t be stupid to get his OWN hands dirty on something like this." Alexis’s mouth thinned to a straight line. "I think you and I both know that your father wouldn’t hesitate to hire someone to kill me."

Jax nodded bleakly. "And we both ALSO know that dad has high expectancies for Jerry’s political career – while will be shot to h*ll if he goes to prison for murder."

"Exactly."

There it was again – born out of mutual professional respect and renewed camaraderie. That sizzling familiarity in the air that invariably led to more physical kinds of intimacy. And when he saw Alexis shift uncomfortably on her chair and toy with her plate, Jax knew that she felt it too. "You know," he said abruptly, rising from his chair, "it’s getting really late." He took her plate to carry it with his to the sink. "After the day we’ve both had, I don’t think either one of us is probably thinking too clearly at this point." He turned back to her, gripping the edge of the sink behind him for dear life so he wouldn’t reach out for her. "Why don’t we continue this in the morning……"

"Jax….." Alexis rose slowly from her chair. "There was something else I kept thinking about in the shower tonight." He held his breath as she walked slowly towards him. "I realized that I have to be realistic about Stefan……" She choked, looked down at her feet, and then back up at him with moist eyes. "…..about the fact that he might not ever wake up……"

"Alexis……"

"…..or that he might not be the same mentally when he does." She inhaled deeply, rubbing the back of her neck where it met her shoulder. "I know you told me this afternoon that I should ask my brother about what kept us apart all this time……" Alexis reached out for Jax when he tried to pull away from her. "But now, there’s a strong possibility that Stefan may never be able to tell me."

"But you said that the doctor was optimistic!" Jax argued. He knew where her logic was leading, and this was one fight he couldn’t afford to lose. "Just because you’re tired and it’s been one h*ll of a day, you can’t give up hope that things won’t be the same as they were before!"

"Jax, things will NEVER be the same as they were before!" Alexis pleaded, catching Jax’s hands in hers. "Not after you opened the door to the truth for me this afternoon!"

He felt his world tilting on its axis. Had Pandora’s box really still been shut just twenty-four hours earlier? "Alexis," he sighed, squeezing her hands in return, "I told you this afternoon – it’s not *my* truth to tell. It’s Stefan’s place to do it."

Tears sparkled in her eyes. "Jax……you said earlier that you came by the house because you couldn’t leave things hanging ….. the way they were between us." She gently disengaged her hands from his, backing away from him, putting some distance between them. "Don’t you see that until I know the truth, things will NEVER be good between us again?"

"And that’s why I came!" He ruffled his hair with his fingers. "Because I thought that Stefan had probably told you, and I wanted to make sure you were alright!"

"But now he NEVER may be able to tell me, Jax!" Alexis sobbed. She furiously swiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "YOU’RE the only one besides your father who knows this awful secret!" She inhaled shakily, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Don’t you see that I have a RIGHT to know what it is? Especially if it’s so damning that it could ruin my career?"

Jax’s inner turmoil was written all over his face. As Alexis watched, his stance went from stubbornly determined to weary concession. Whoever had tried to kill her, putting Stefan into a coma for God knew how long, had left him virtually no other choice. The secret was out there, hovering – lingering like some predatory beast, just waiting to take Alexis down in a moment of unsuspecting weakness. Jax couldn’t let his father have that kind of power over her anymore – not with Stefan facing an uncertain future.

He pressed his lips together, nodded once, and then pulled her over to the table again, still holding her hands. "How much do you know about your birth father?" he asked, slipping into a chair as she did the same.

"Stefan’s father? Mikkos Cassadine?" Her sable eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Only a little." She sighed. "According to what Stefan told me, he was a man who decided early in life that you could never be too rich or too powerful." One side of her mouth rose in a wry quirk. "Stefan’s older brother, Stavros, was a lot like Mikkos. That was a big part of the reason why Stefan left the family fold in Greece and struck out on his own. He couldn’t stand being around either one of them."

"So Stefan left his family behind ….. AND his family’s wealth, right?"

"Right. Mikkos disowned Stefan." Alexis shook her head. "I think that’s why it was so easy for me to get close to him once we finally met. We were so much alike, being Mikkos Cassadine’s throwaways and all."

"Soooo….. Mikkos cut Stefan off from the bottomless pit of the Cassadine estate." When Alexis nodded, Jax took a deep breath. "But didn’t it ever strike you as odd that your brother STILL managed to amass such a vast fortune in America so quickly?"

She looked taken back momentarily. "Stefan’s really good at managing his investments," Alexis explained. A weak smile brought the corners of her mouth up. "Maybe if he had given Chloe’s Uncle Herbert some lessons in trading stocks online, her company wouldn’t have gone under!"

"Ummm-hmmmm……" Jax’s eyes narrowed. "And you think that Stefan managed to build THAT big of an empire just by having a good eye for stocks? And all of it BEFORE his mugging?" he continued, "Since we both know that when it came paying for all of that expensive equipment and rehab, he didn’t even seem to blink an eye."

The color slowly drained out of Alexis’s face. "I don’t think I like the direction you’re going here, Jax……"

He exhaled slowly, rubbed his face with both hands, and then looked at her tenderly. "Lexie, the reason Stefan managed to build up such a fortune so quickly is that he launders money for the mob."

"No." She swallowed hard, her eyes still locked with Jax’s. "I don’t believe you."

"It’s true, Alexis." He reached out for her hands but she pulled them away, shrinking back against her chair. "Stefan has been working with Sonny Corinthos for over ten years."

The stricken look on her face sent an arrow straight through Jax’s heart. It was just as bad as he always knew it would be – the hurt, the disappointment, the loss of faith in her "perfect" older brother. She rose slowly from her chair, shaking her head. "That’s impossible. Stefan would *never* get involved with something illegal." Her chest heaved as she drew a shaky breath. "You mean to tell me that your father came up with this hare-brained story about my brother out of the clear blue…….. and you BELIEVED him?"

"He had names…….dates……..transaction amounts, Alexis." Jax licked his lips, pain at her distress evident in his eyes. "Like I said before, my father is relentless when it comes to finding something that will give him the ultimate control over a situation. No doubt he paid a pretty penny for information like this about Stefan. I’m sure for the price it cost him, John Jacks would DEMAND accuracy."

"I just………" Alexis chewed on her lower lip, abruptly spinning around to pace a small circle in Jax’s kitchen. "I can’t believe my brother would ever do something like that," she murmured, tapping her knuckle against her lips while propping her other hand on her hip. "He just…….." She stopped, thinking aloud. "Stefan is the most excruciatingly honorable man I know." Her eyes suddenly widened and she turned back to Jax. "Unless maybe…….maybe he was only involved with the mob for a little while!" She started to pace again, excited with the hypothesis she was explaining. "And then he realized what a mistake it was, and he got out!" She stopped again and held her hands out to Jax in a "that’s it!" gesture.

"I wish it was that simple, love," Jax whispered. He rose slowly, taking her hands down to hold them in his. "Apparently Stefan DID realize that it was a mistake working with Sonny. He DID try to get out." He saw the tears form in the corners of her eyes as the light of understanding dawned. "That was no random mugging that put him in a wheelchair, Lexie. When he found out that your brother was trying to break off their business relationship, Sonny Corinthos put out a contract on Stefan."

"Nooo……" Her voice trailed off in a keening sob.

"Apparently Sonny didn’t order him killed because Stefan was too vital to his continued financial well-being. It was just a warning……." Jax dropped his eyes. "I guess the message was that if he didn’t continue to launder money for him, something like that would happen to YOU next."

"It’s not……." Alexis placed her fingertips over her lips as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I can’t…….." Jax shifted his hands to support her weight as her knees buckled.

"This is why I didn’t call you after I got back from Europe, Alexis," Jax crooned. "My father threatened to take the information to Dara Jenson if I contacted you in any fashion." He wrapped his arms around her as she crumbled into a heap on his kitchen floor. "I had to protect you from the pain……..and the disappointment……."

"If it’s true……." She suddenly choked, pulling herself upright a little in her crouched position on the floor. "Then I’ll have to turn Stefan over to the authorities." Her eyes suddenly brightened and she brushed her tears away. "But maybe it’s not! Maybe there some good reason! Like maybe he was working undercover for the government or something!"

Jax’s face fell. "Alexis….."

"I *refuse* to believe it, Jax!" She surprised him when she scrambled away from his arms towards the chair. "I WON’T believe it until I hear it from Stefan! From my brother’s OWN lips!"

"Fair enough." Jax pursed his lips in consideration, then pressed his palms together as he rose from his crouched position on the floor. "I said from the beginning that I thought you should hear it from Stefan first."

"Right." She propped an elbow on the table, placing her clenched fist against her trembling lips. "Because if he *doesn’t* deny it…….if it IS true…….I just……." When a single tear coursed down her cheek and trickled onto her lap, Jax’s heart contracted painfully. "Stefan is all I’ve got, Jax," she whispered. More tears made their way to her cheeks. "If I lose him…….I’ll be so alone…….."

"You’ll NEVER be alone, Alexis!" His words came out on an anguished sigh as he pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. "I left you once, but I’ll never do it again," Jax murmured, tracing a gentle finger over the contours of her face.

"Love me, Jax," Alexis whispered hungrily. Her body shaped itself to his, her arms wrapping around his neck in a desperate embrace. "I need you so much ……"

"I’ll always love you, Alexis!" In one motion, Jax swept her up into his arms, cradling her against his body as he quickly spun and strode into the hallway towards his bedroom. She buried her face against his broad chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind, an obnoxious little voice told her that this was probably a mistake – that making love with Jax after the emotional roller-coaster of a day she had had was an irrational, impulsive move that she would regret by morning’s light. But when she found herself in his bedroom, standing toe to toe with the man she had never stopped loving, reason and logic flew out the window.

In one fluid motion, Jax pulled off his t-shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He reverently reached down to undo the knot on her robe, then slid his first fingers under the edges to part it just enough so that the inside swells of her breasts glistened in the moonlight that cascaded through the windows. Old insecurities suddenly took hold and Alexis took a breath to ask him if he was sure – if this was just some spur-of-the-moment reaction to her near-death. But then, his lips touched hers and she lost all rational power to speak.

His mouth was sure and firm as it caressed hers with sweet kisses – sensual, demanding, arousing kisses that sent the pit of her stomach into a wild, hot swirl. Her entire body absorbed the sensation of being so close to him. She inhaled his scent, reveled in his heat, his masculinity. When the robe fell open, she pressed her bare breasts against his chest with a low growl of satisfaction that reverberated in her throat.

He didn’t have to urge her to open her mouth for him. She parted her lips to admit him, then met him with a warm brush of her tongue against his. He responded in kind and they began an ancient ritual of pleasuring each other as he once again lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed.

"Alexis……" Jax broke the kiss as he laid her worshipfully on top of the satin comforter. He trailed his lips down the side of her neck, stopping only briefly to suck on her earlobe. Tiny lighting bolts jolted through her and she felt her breasts swell.

"Jax….." She sighed his name just before he claimed her mouth again. He explored all of her, tasting her as though she was some delightful, exotic delicacy. She followed him back and did the same, reveling in the contrast of Jax’s smooth teeth, the soft skin on the inside of his lower lip, his sharp rush of breath when she lightly nipped him there.

Their kisses went on and on, each flick of Jax’s tongue sending a ribbon of fire down Alexis’s belly to the place between her thighs. Then slowly, as he pushed the robe off her shoulders, he broke the kiss and moved his lips down her body, paying tribute to each spot he had missed so much during their enforced separation. He left a score of kisses on the underside of her long, graceful throat. He gently nipped the tender flesh under her upper arms and the sides of her breasts. His tongue plundered the responsive insides of her elbows. Slowly……deliberately…….Jax reacquainted himself with every erogenous spot on Alexis’s body.

He honored her breasts with his gently caressing fingertips and lips. He bathed their peaked crests lovingly, delicately, maddeningly with his tongue until they nearly vibrated. Jax kissed each rib, every plane and ripple of her stomach. He teased her navel with that talented, hedonistic tongue, then repeatedly traced the top of her thighs, relishing in the shallow grooves that funneled towards the center of her heat.

"My beautiful, precious Alexis……" Jax crooned the words softly as his unbridled lips expressed his love for her. "I missed you so much……"

"I missed you too, Jax……." She wound her fingers through his hair as those dangerous, wonderful lips moved closer to her femininity. "But I want to love you back…….." Alexis weakly tried to lift her head to protest. "I want to make it the best for you……..better than it’s ever been before….."

"That’s my Lexie……."His low chuckle turned her body into one giant flame, waiting for his touch to send her into oblivion. "Always the overachiever, aren’t you, hmmmmm?" When he shifted on the bed to kneel between her legs, she tried not to moan too loudly. "But this time is for you, my love," he crooned, his voice choked with barely-controlled passion. "For all the hurt I’ve caused you by staying away."

When Jax gave her the most intimate kiss of all, she had no choice but to yield to the madness and allow him to pleasure her. He licked all of her, then found the tiny point that was the center of her pleasure and loved it until she was shaking. He circled her, surrounded her, brushed against her. Then, when she was so close to her release that she couldn’t even remember to breathe, he used his fingers to gently mimic the act that would follow.

The combination of sensations flung her into a release so incredibly complete she had no control at all. She was vaguely aware of crying out something, perhaps Jax’s name, perhaps just a few unintelligible sounds. She raised her hips and begged him never to stop. He stayed with her, touching her lighter and lighter, drawing every last ounce of pleasure from her.

When she finally came back to some semblance of awareness, Alexis managed to give him a scornful look. "NOW can it be my turn?" she asked breathlessly.

"I thought it just was," Jax answered playfully. His grin was a combination of machismo and desire and eternal devotion as he slid back up her body. They parted only long enough for him to rid himself of his jeans. Then Alexis helped him don protection, using the opportunity to draw a few guttural groans and sighs of pleasure from his lips. He breathed curses and prayers of thanks into her ear as her wet silkiness swallowed all of him, entrapping him in the sweetest haven he had ever known.

As Jax moved inside her, Alexis felt something quicken and she tensed as her release started to build once more. Suddenly, as she drew back her knees, seating him more deeply between her thighs, he opened his eyes to stare down into hers.

"Nobody."

Her eyes crinkled with the frown. "What?"

He favored her with a particularly deep caress. "There’s been nobody else for me since I left you that night, Alexis. And there never will. I love you, and nothing will ever change that!"

"Ohhhh, Jax……" She wrapped her arms around his neck, driving herself into the tingling he created. "I love you, too….." As he stiffened and called out her name, Alexis’s body began to convulse around him, pulsing rhythmically as the climax filled her.

When cooling perspiration sent chills racing over their bodies, Jax eased them both under the coverlet of his bed. He rolled to his side, spooning her from behind, and they slept, finally together again and at peace.

*~*~*~*

The soft calling of birds outside Jax’s bedroom window drew Alexis out of a deep sleep. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, then felt Jax’s body heat behind her. Her lips curved into a smile of pure feline satisfaction. Making love with Jax had always been wonderful, but the night before, they had made some kind of special connection – as if losing each other, almost permanently, made them treasure their reunion even more.

When her glance rested on the small digital clock on the nightstand, Alexis stifled a gasp. It was well past nine o’clock – Monday morning. Dara was probably ready to send out half of the PCPD looking for her, especially if Taggert had told her what happened the day before. Then again, perhaps if Taggert told Dara where Alexis was spending the night, her boss wouldn’t be *quite* as surprised at her failure to appear in the office.

Thoughts of Dara and job obligations made Alexis sigh softly. She glanced over her shoulder at Jax, who was still sleeping soundly. Delicately, she pulled away from his embrace and swung her legs out of the bed, smiling at the small flash of pain between her thighs. Even though she winced when she got up and slipped into Jax’s robe, she knew that her muscles would eventually recover from the extraordinary exercise they had gotten the night before.

As she made her way out of Jax’s bedroom and towards the kitchen, there were two things on Alexis’s mind – coffee, and a telephone. She efficiently moved between the cabinets, putting grounds into the coffeemaker and then adding water. When the fragrant liquid started to drip into the pot, she padded softly back down the hallway towards the guest bedroom.

She closed the door behind her, intending first to take a quick shower, and then to call Dara. After what had happened the night before, Alexis knew that the best course of action was to ask her boss to assign another prosecutor to Chloe’s case. Being involved with Jax again was *definitely* a conflict of interest, particularly if he intended to defend Jerry against murder charges she might be prosecuting. As she went into the bathroom to start the shower running, she told herself that she wasn’t abandoning Chloe, or letting her best friend’s killer get away with it. She would still keep her finger on the pulse of the investigation – still make sure that it didn’t get bogged down in bureaucratic red tape somewhere on some poor, overworked junior DA’s desk. But now that Jax was back in her life and in her bed, risking that all just for the sake of her job seemed utterly preposterous.

She was about to shed the robe and step into the shower when she remembered that she would need something clean to put on. Alexis tiptoed quietly back into the guest bedroom to roll back the closet door. She smiled broadly when she spotted a few of Jax’s old dress shirts. Grabbing one, she whirled and was about to skip back to the shower when something bulky toppled out of the back of the closet floor. She muttered a choice obscenity when she lightly stubbed her toe on the dark, cumbersome object. She carefully picked her way around it, limping slightly, moving to one of the end tables to switch on a small lamp.

When she turned back and saw what probably gave her a bruised digit, Alexis frowned. It was a dark red brocade tote bag, with large round wooden handles. It looked familiar, but for the moment, she couldn’t recall where she had seen it. As she drew closer to the bag, she saw that something had cascaded out of it as it fell from back of the closet. She bent down, squinting at the object, then abruptly straightened, clapping her hand over her mouth to stifle her anguished cry.

Caked with mud and grass, a pair of man’s shoes lay half in, half out of the bag. They were black, patent leather, slip-on style shoes. A dark red stain was clearly visible on the lining inside one of them. As tears ran down Alexis’s cheeks, she saw the label inside the shoes – size ten and a half, Pierre Cardin.

Alexis’s tears turned to red hot anger when she saw a small "JJ" monogrammed inside the shoes. She sank to the floor, quietly sobbing with understanding. The man she loved more than anything else in the world – the man who had just spent the night making love to her, promising to never keep anything from her again – was hiding (probably on strict orders from his father) the proof that his brother had killed Chloe Morgan.

To be continued……….

Music credit: "My Sacrifice," by Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp, sung by Creed on the CD, "Weathered"