I will prepare and some day my chance will come —Abraham Lincoln


Chapter 3

Chloe moved her body away from him and towards the computer. Walking over to the desk, she bent over the keyboard and began to type quickly. She then inserted a disk and saved the files to it while printing a hard copy for Oliver. When she was done, she didn't look at him, but began to collect her belongings and put on her coat.

"You're leaving? Ollie asked quietly. He watched her hurried movements with disappointment. How could she possibly think that he was speaking about Lois? Had he really acted that into her? When Ollie thought back to those months he had dated her cousin, he only felt relief that they were over. At the time he had even made excuses as to why he seemed to go away for long periods of time. But it was only after he examined his feelings for Chloe that he realized why he seemed to leave Lois as often as possible.

"The job is done," Chloe replied. She lifted her left eyebrow. "Is there something else that I missed?"

Oliver knew that he couldn't just let her walk away. This was his chance, and he had to make her understand how he really felt.

Oliver walked over to her slowly, his every step echoing on the floor. He could hear her heavy breathing as he neared her, and it made him try to steady his own. When he stood right in front of her, Ollie took off the bag she had slung on her shoulder and put his hands gently on her hips, drawing her close to him.

He could feel her heated breath on his neck. "It wasn't Lois I was talking about." He bent his head so his lips were right by her ear. "It was you. You're the one, Chloe. I knew it the moment I met you." He lifted his head and let his eyes connect with hers so she could see the sincerity of his words.

Chloe looked at him in shock. She had no idea what to think or feel. She felt as though the wind was rushing in her ears, and everything she was seeing and hearing was in a haze. Oliver's eyes were still locked on hers, and Chloe felt as though he could see everything she felt. As if he could see the crush she had on him when she first met him, and the jealousy that she had felt when he had shown up for Thanksgiving but her own boyfriend had been gone. As if he could see the way she had sometimes wondered what he looked like without his clothes and what it was like to be naked with him. As if he could see the lust she now felt and her desperate desire to have him kiss her. As if he could see the hope she felt at his statement, and the regret in the fact that she must refuse him because of Lois.

Lois. How could she have forgotten for even a moment? Her cousin would never forgive her for this. If there was one thing Lois was good at it was holding a grudge, and Chloe knew that she was still incredibly bitter about Oliver and all that had happened with him. Chloe knew that she needed to take a step back from the situation, to politely refuse Oliver, but she couldn't seem to make her body move. His hands were still on her hips and his thumbs were tracing circular patterns on her hipbones. His face was close to hers, and his breathing was mingling with her own, and she couldn't think as Lois slipped from her mind.

"We've wasted so much time, Chloe," Oliver said his skin so close to her own. Chloe closed her eyes, savoring the heat of his body as he moved closer. It had been so long since she had simply been held, and much longer since she had been held by a handsome man who was telling her how much he wanted her. "I don't want to waste anymore. I will never know where I finally got the courage to do this, but I am glad I did. I want to be with you, Watchtower. I think about you all the time." His lips were so close to the lobe of her ear that Chloe felt shivers down her spine.

"What do you think about?" Chloe gasped out.

"Everything," He whispered. "I think about your skin, how it feels so soft and smells faintly of vanilla. I think about your lips and what they would feel like against mine, and that leads me to all my ponderings about kissing you. God, Chloe. I spend more time think about that than any other thing."

Chloe's lips quirked, but he could not see. "Somehow I doubt that."

Oliver smiled at the wry tone in her voice. "It's true," he replied. "I won't lie, I do think about sex and, more importantly, sex with you, but I think about kissing you more. I want nothing more than to kiss you."

Chloe pulled her face back so she could see him. "Well, what are you waiting—?"

Oliver groaned and ducked his head, cutting her off. He pressed his lips gently against hers at first, trying to get the measure of her mouth. He had wanted to take it slow, and make her moan with pleasure but he found he couldn't wait any longer. Soon his mouth was moving against hers heatedly while his tongue mated with hers.

Heat was surging through Chloe's body, she had never felt anything like this before. She had some great kisses in her life, but this on erased all of those from her mind. She forgot her first kiss with Clark, and hell, all the rest of them too. Jimmy's eager, but inexperienced, kisses also melted from her mind and all she was left with was Oliver. Every part of her body was singing, and she had the desperate desire to wrap her legs around his waist.

Oliver pulled away for breath. "Oh God, Chloe," He whispered. He cupped her face gently in his hands. His thumbs gently traced over her reddened lips in a gentle soothing motion. "I always thought it would be like this. We should have done this a long time ago."

Chloe stiffened in that moment, his words like a bucket of ice water. There was a reason they had never done this before, and that reason was her cousin. Chloe felt like the worst kind of betrayer in that moment. She pulled away from Oliver, turning her back so she would not have to see his intense and passionate eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Chloe answered in a shaky voice. "There is a reason we never did this before, Oliver. You and I both know why."

"Lois." Oliver's invocation of her name echoed in the vast penthouse.

Chloe nodded her head, still not looking at him. God, what was wrong with her? Her body was still shaking from his passionate kisses and her blood was still racing through her body, making her feel more alive than she ever had before.

"Chloe…look at me," Oliver commanded quietly.

Chloe turned around, compelled by the sound of his voice.

Oliver moved forward and tried to reach out for her. Chloe shied away from his touch, and he let his hand to fall to his side. Oliver put his hands in his pockets and looked at her through his lashes, his eyes lowered. "Chloe, I didn't kiss you as a way to get back at Lois."

"I didn't think you did," Chloe said.

"Then what's wrong?" Oliver looked at her in frustration. How was it she was so unaffected? That kiss had been one of the best of his life and yet Chloe was standing there looking collected and unfazed. Was it possible that she didn't feel anything for him?

"I can't do this to Lois," Chloe said. "She is not just my cousin, Oliver, she is more like my sister. I would never betray her like this."

Oliver laughed harshly. "You think you are protecting her feelings? Chloe, Lois doesn't care about me in the slightest. I had barely left before she climbed into her new editor's bed. You shouldn't feel as though you need to protect her, I promise you she does not care."

"You only say that because you do not know her," Chloe replied, shaking her head. "Lois feels things deeply; she just keeps them close to the vest. She would be devastated if she found out about us." She was looking at him so earnestly, Oliver felt his heart clench.

He then shook his head and looked at Chloe. "You are confusing Lois with who you want her to be and who she really is." He reached out his hand again and this time Chloe did not flinch away. "You are so good, Chloe. It is no wonder that you want to believe in the best in people, but I think you have been around Clark too long. Not everyone has the same set of morals that you do."

Chloe looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Oliver shook his head. "It doesn't matter, not really." Oliver wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her all about how Lois had moved on so quickly, and how he suspected that one of the major reasons she had been dating him was for his money, but he didn't. It was rare that a reporter like Chloe still had faith in those she loved. Oliver didn't want to be the one to take that away from her. So instead he said, "I just wish that I had met you first. That moment I saw you for the first time was like coming to life after years asleep. I always went after girls like Lois, never wanting more, but then you came along and I suddenly knew how much I was missing out on."

"I felt the same," Chloe confessed. "I had spent so long obsessing over Clark that I forgot what it was like to really see someone. I mean really see someone. And then I saw you and it was like the blinders were suddenly removed." Chloe blushed at her confession.

"Chloe," Oliver whispered reverently. He lowered his head and once again claimed her lips with his. And Chloe was once again wrapped up in his arms and lost to the passion of his kisses. Oliver pulled Chloe's coat from her body and she anchored her arms around his neck.

They were so involved in each other that neither of them heard the arrival of the elevator.


A/N: Hmmm, who do you think it is? Don't forget to review!