Title: Forbidden Dream

Author: Lady K – LadyK255@yahoo.com

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A short little Lex/Chloe story that just wouldn't leave my head until I wrote it.

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Smallville or its characters. I'd just like to spend some time there on my next vacation.

Feedback: Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Please let me know what you think!

**********

Forbidden Dream

Her soft voice asked, "You want some help with that, Lex?" Chloe took a step closer, slowly reaching for his tie and loosening it for him. She tugged on it, sliding it from the collar of his purple shirt, and let it drop to the floor. Her hands caressed his chest, gliding over his muscles. Her hands paused in their travels, gripping his shirt and ripping it open. Buttons bounced in all directions, scattering across the wood floor. She pulled his head down to her level and their lips met. After a minute she pulled back, trailing kisses down his chest, past his navel--

The alarm went off, snapping him from his dream. Lex reached over and slapped the button on his alarm clock to shut off the insistent beeping. He sat up, wiping the sweat from his brow with a shaky hand, and wondered where the hell that came from. He stumbled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He turned on the water and stepped into the shower, letting the ice cold water do its work.

Lex walked into his study, glancing around the room before he sat at his desk. A while later, he looked up from his computer to see his father sweep into the room. "Hi, dad. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"You kicked my people out again. Didn't we already go over this?" He walked over to the table and poured himself a drink before turning back to Lex and continuing. "I thought I had made myself perfectly clear. You report to them and they report to me. Is that too difficult for you to comprehend, Lex?"

"Yeah, did you want to explain that again for me?"

"Aah, Lex," he sighed, his voice full of disgust, "you're trying my patience." He picked up the cue ball sitting on the pool table, rolling it idly in his hand. He watched Lex as he pushed his chair away from his desk to stand and then turn his back to him to stare out the window. "I'm still waiting to look over your latest reports. You haven't uploaded them yet."

Lex continued to stare out the window. "I've been busy."

"Still trying to figure out what happened with that car of yours?" He paused as Lex shifted to face him. "Oh yes, Lex. I know you've hired experts, trying to figure out what happened the day of your accident."

Lex glared at him, pursing his lips. How the hell did he find that out?

"You should know by now that there isn't much that I don't know about." Lionel sneered at his only son. "For example, I've also heard that the truck drivers are grumbling about going on strike. You better take care of that before it becomes a problem. I'd hate to see the Smallville division's profits plummet just because you couldn't get your shipments to the distributors on time. I'd be so…disappointed."

Lionel returned the cue ball to the pool table and headed for the door. He stopped, pausing for a moment without bothering to turn around. "Oh, and get that information I asked for uploaded by tomorrow."

Lex watched his father as he swept from the room. He grabbed a blue bottle off his desk and enjoyed the sound of breaking glass when it met the far wall.

**********

Lex walked into The Beanery, a stack of paperwork under each arm. He plopped both stacks onto a table near the back of the room and slid into the vacant seat. He glanced around the room, seeing that the place was only about half full. That was fine with him. It would be quieter that way. Zoe came over and he gave her his order. As she was walking away, he picked up the top folder and began to read. He barely looked up from his papers when she came back and placed his cup on the table in front of him.

He sipped his coffee, going over yet more reports from the plant. Sometimes it felt like there was no end to the stupid paperwork. Of course, it didn't help that he'd been so distracted lately. His father had been right about that. He sat down his cup and reached for a different stack of folders, bumping the adjoining pile and knocking it to the floor. They landed with a thump that turned into a swooshing scatter as some of the folders opened and papers slid across the floor. He ground his teeth. Would this day never end? He heard some footsteps approach but didn't bother looking up from retrieving his mess. He heard a voice, and it belonged to Chloe.

"You want some help with that, Lex?" She smiled, bending down and picking up some of the scattered folders.

Lex froze, hearing those same exact words repeating in his head over and over. It was just too much. "Yeah, thanks," he mumbled. He felt the blood rush to his face and just knew the tips of his ears were turning a bright pink. Damn. If only he could get that image of Chloe from his dream out of his head. He swallowed, pulling together the remnants of his sanity, and reminded himself how that kind of love could get him arrested.

He smiled at Chloe, long years of practice enabling him to bury his true feelings. He accepted the folders she held out to him and reached across the table to retrieve the rest of his papers. "I've gotta go. I just remembered an important phone call that I was supposed to return earlier." He turned to leave.

"Ok, Lex. See you around." Chloe watched Lex as he bumped into Clark on the way out of the coffee shop.

"Hey, Lex." Clark rested his hand on Lex's shoulder to steady him. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, great." He backed away from Clark and headed out the door. "I've just gotta run." He spun and hurried out the door.

Clark shook his head for a moment. Sometimes he wondered why he tried to figure out what went on inside that bald head. He headed down and joined Chloe at her table.

"What's up with Lex?" he asked Chloe. "When I ran into him, I heard him mumbling something about love and getting arrested, but couldn't quite make it out."

"I don't know. I'm not sure, but I thought he looked a little flushed, too." She paused for a sip of coffee. "That's not like him at all."

"Weird, huh? He usually has such a poker face and you have no idea what he's thinking. He seemed a little…I guess you could say uptight…when I bumped into him."

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he was just a little embarrassed over being such a klutz, although it didn't seem like such a big thing to me. Everyone has accidents once in a while. Now wait, what did you say about getting arrested?"

**********

Lex rested his head on his steering wheel, those words still repeating in his head.