Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone reading this story and I assure you that no, I am not gonna drop it, I will continue it till the end, as long as there are people out there reading it. Thanks again!


6

"How typical of humans...

Your eyes are clouded so you cannot see......

Even though the truth is always within you..."

~ Vampire Princess Miyu

______________________

The fire was dancing on top of the cobalt blue and bronze fireplace glass crystals, illuminating the contours of the glass and creating a reflective brilliance that was mesmerizing the senses. Radiating its warmth around, the Windsor fireplace with the arched insert and the splendid marble surround, proclaiming the grandeur of the Victorian Empire, dominated imposingly the perfectly round room in the eastern turret of the mansion. Ironically enough, its faithful admirers were the only ones contemning its vital heat. For their cold bodies had long ago forsaken the warmness.

Kal El dragged his blasé gaze from the heavy , wooden carved candlesticks defining a smaller, imaginable circle around them , to the black masked female vampires wrestling bare chest before them. There was a time that he would succumb himself in that sensual dancing wrestle , but tonight his mind had kept wandering away from the mansion; Metropolis' city lights had somehow become his ultimate lure.

Occasionally though, Lana's charming laughter would penetrate through the web of his thoughts.

"Now fetch me that sapphire cushion over there..."

A young male rose slowly his head from her feet and welcomed his mistress' command with a grin. Dressed in nothing more than a pair of loose pants and a Gothic spiked collar firmly around his neck, he walked on all fours to the direction Lana had leisurely pointed. Passing through the larger cushions scattered around the floor, he had almost reached the object of her desire when the chain attached to his choker, ruthlessly halted his eagerness.

Lana let another mischievous chuckle echo in the room.

Always a faithful servant, the vampire managed to beat his painful restraints and , imitating perfectly a dog slave, he soon crawled back with his sapphire loot hanging from his sharp teeth. Adopting a sympathetic look, Lana softly caressed the man's chin before taking the cushion from him and carelessly throwing it behind the sofa she was comfortably sprawled.

"I changed my mind...I think that ruby red one will match better with the color of my nails."

"Come on Lana, give your pet a rest." Kal stretched his arms at his comfortable end. His black shirt was unbuttoned, exposing the rhythmic flexing of his chiseled stomach to the cool air. Narrowing momentarily her almond eyes at him, the exotic brunette pursed playfully her full lips.

"I think that master Kal here is a bit jealous, boy." She cast an impish smile as a new, devilish idea lighted up her mind and slightly ducked her head, mouthing soft whispers to her slave boy's ear. Kal lifted a curious eye brow at the sight of the young man suddenly approaching. He was moving slowly, much like Nefertiti when targeting her prey, and he had that familiar blaze in his depths that Kal knew well. He took a moment to brush himself against Kal's boots and then his hands started stroking their way up the handsome vampire's thighs.

Oh, she was evil.

Kal chuckled amused before stopping the young man's hands the moment they started unbuckling his belt, knowing that, all the while, Lana's hungry eyes hadn't missed a single move.

"Save your saliva, I am not in the mood for Newborns tonight."

A light pull on his chain, and the slave boy was gratefully back at the mercy of his lustful owner. Lana lifted her bronze leg, allowing the smoothness of her bare foot to stroke her servant's startled face. He instantly took the hint, and began a stimulating lick game on her toes, greedily flicking and swirling his tongue around her velvet flesh.

Kal El leaned his head back, his face meeting the glorious mirror that was covering every single inch of the round ceiling. His eyes traveled from the interlaced foliate and the gilded flower motifs at its edges, to the center of its glassy surface; there, where the reflection of a white tiger was wandering alone among candlesticks and cushions in an empty and silent room. They could fool all the mirrors in the world...all of them, but the very ones in their own shelter, which were always there to reflect life and bitterly remind them they had long ago relinquished that privilege.

Sensing a subtle disturbance in the air, he turned on his left only to see Lana making her way to him, crouching like a hyena. She placed a soft palm on his hard chest, lightly trailing her nails downwards as she cocked a suggestive eyebrow at him.

"Then what's on the menu for tonight, Kal? An elder maybe?" Without waiting for an answer, she leaned down and started planting feathery kisses all the way down the thin hairline on his belly, before it disappeared below the mystery of his pants.

"I guess the fact I might be already satiated slips your...damn Lana!" he suddenly hissed, throwing his head backwards and shutting his eyes in pure ecstasy. "I've told you many times to not do that."

Licking the bloody droplets off her lips, Lana let her fingertips caress the fresh bite just below his navel. "How can I resist when you are so delicious?"

Kal El shook his head before her stiltedly innocent pout and smiled as he watched her leaning in , his juicy lips being her only destination.

"We are missing something."

With their thirst interrupted before reaching each other's source, Kal and Lana instantly turned their fraught faces towards Alexander. He had been staring blankly at the voluptuous bodies of the two young women wrestling and groaning all along, his mind storm-tossed within a welter of schemes and fears. Occasionally, his leather gloved hand would clench his dragon head rod. It originally belonged to Lionel Luthor, an ancient heirloom, with a horrific head of a dragon and two rocks, one green, one red, serving as its lurid eyes. And for some inexplicable reason, Kal El had always hated it.

"Lex..."

"We are missing something from the first murder. There was no relation between the women, but still he...or they...left us a message in the cemetery."

"I had personally searched the place, Lex." Kal El sat up. By his side, Lana had lost any meaning of interest in him, her attention now fully drawn to her husband's worried expression. "If there was something written, anything at all, I would have noticed it."

"It is there I say...It was right before our eyes, but we could not see it. We were warned before, only we never paid attention." Alexander's pupils dilated under the weight of the trance he had dived in. Indifferent to the relaxing massage a beautiful blond was offering him, he was mentally following the monotonous repeat of the same unsettling thoughts.

"Our men can always look more into it, my love. Just say the word."

"We are only two nights before the New Moon, Lana. The whole mansion is pretty busy with preparations, and tomorrow Davis arrives with the European brotherhood. We cannot set everyone into alarm and have this damn usurper dig his claws into our affairs."

"You can always count on me, Lex, you know that." Kal El looked straight into his friend's eyes , the sound of his voice suddenly stern and absolute. " If our mystery person has left another message in the Claiborne college, I will pick every damn rock until I find it."

Slowly, Lana walked up to Alexander. A single glowering glance at the blond vampire was enough for that last one to slavishly give up her ministrations, and the Luthor she was, Lana possessively placed her own hands on Alexander's broad shoulders, beginning the massage anew.

"Yes, Lex. Let Kal deal with the case while we are getting ready for the Baptism. As for Davis, I doubt he'll stay for long, it's been a while since I last saw him but I don't think he changes his habits that easily."

"A while?" Kal frowned at her. "You spent the whole summer in France, guest at his ancient shrines and you never saw him?"

Lana swallowed uneasily, but it was Alexander's calm voice that rushed to the explanation. "Davis was traveling in Asia Minor at the time, in a mystic quest few of us knew. I guess I never really told you because it was unimportant for our own business here or there. Ask him and he will deny it himself." Alexander finished nonchalantly , placing a soft kiss on his wife's hand which had briefly got stone-still on his shoulder.

Kal El nodded slowly but his gaze still remained nailed on them. There was something...he couldn't really place it, but for a second there he had felt it; a cold draft faintly running through his body...a slight anomaly in their deadly atmosphere...a brief change in the glimpses they exchanged, so indiscernible, that Kal started wondering if he had imagined it. Either way, he chose to discharge himself from even more stressful thoughts and stood up, buttoning his shirt in the process.

"Where are you going?"

"Downtown..."

"You have a reason to be downtown tonight?" Lex insisted making it hard for Kal to maintain his apathetic mien.

"No, not really...just seeking out some fun in those sties humans call clubs."

"And since when did you find spending time with pigs more entertaining than staying here with us?" Lana scorned.

"Oh aren't you the greedy one, Mrs Luthor?" he laughed, effectively turning the tables. "Since...never. I will come back later, till then you have an horde of male and female pets to keep your holes warm, what else do you need?" he audaciously retorted, causing Alexander's chuckle to drum in their ears. Kal El winked at both and leisurely walked out the room, leaving nothing but his manly scent lingering behind.

As soon as he left, Alexander's laughter died out abruptly. Turning his face up, he found Lana looking down at him, her eyes mirroring his own suspicions.

_____________

"Fuck, the telephone."

Lois' head emerged underneath a pile of various clothes, her disheveled hair betraying her unequal struggle. At least if she had been having wild sex, her current condition would have a point...she mused. But everything was scattered on the floor and the huge, carton boxes around weren't helping one bit in her finding the end of the string....in this particular case, the phone device she had connected just the other day and which was currently lying forgotten somewhere in the chaos of her living room.

She wasn't really that bad with housekeeping. In fact, her tries in tiding up everything had been pretty descent. Well, the previous days at least. That afternoon, her rest stuff had arrived from Star City, packed in big boxes that her cousin had specially taken care of. The pressure of being a jobless reporter on the one hand, the whining of being the ex of Oliver-the playboy-Queen on the other, and Chloe Sullivan had realized that her feisty cousin would never really return to pick up any of her left belongings, unless someone kidnapped her , dragged her all the way back to her luxurious apartment and forced her - as if that was ever possible - to gather her stuff one by one. And even then, Lois' mind would most likely focus on how to get an interview from her dauntless abductor than anything else.

After recruiting every available neighbor to help her lift everything up to her apartment, Lois realized this was not going to be an easy job , especially since her spirits had been low enough the whole morning. With the unpacking of the first box, she was already wondering why she kept throwing her money on stuff she never used or clothes she hardly ever wore. At an outburst of supererogation, she had decided to open all boxes and determine combinationally where would go what. Twice the operation "Goodwife Lane" , as she mockingly called her household endeavors, had been interrupted by her astute brainstorming of theories on the murders' cases, and soon the floor of the small flat ended up flooded with every bigger or smaller detail of her life.

With this and that, the whole house shake-up seemed to be going on for ages, and its undoubted peak occurred when , overestimating her observation skills, she loaded herself with a huge pile of clothes, moving them to her bedroom altogether...until her foot unexpectedly met the fluffy body of a teddy bear, relic of a childhood she couldn't even fathom why she kept dragging along with her, and , next thing she knew, the phone was ringing and she was too damn busy saluting the floor.

"Where the heck are you, you stupid device?"

Truth was that this whole stress expanded way beyond her afternoon adventures. After four days of continuous research, ever since her visit at the Claiborne College, she was facing a wall with the phrase "Dead end" painted fadelessly on its bricks. Every possible scenario she and Jimmy had come up with, had eventually led them in vicious circles. Three times she had found herself on the verge of calling Chloe and three times she had withheld herself while forming the blond's number, because the General's voice was hollering from some dusty corner of her mind to stop being the weakest link all over again. However her nerves kept treading on a thin line, and in the end, the young photographer had become their only recipient , the moment he had called that morning to inform her he wouldn't stop by due to tons of work at the Daily Planet. In retrospect, it was finally obvious to her that it wasn't Jimmy's fault if he still had a life while her own was currently scattered before her on the cold floor. But this realization was doing a poor job in cooling off her emotional strain and every little buzz around had started hassling her microcosm beyond imagination. Like the nagging ring of her phone that moment.

"Shit, can you just shut up for a second, I will find you!" she complained to no one while crawling and rummaging through her things. However, it looked like the phone had decided to comply with her wishes and its annoying sound chose to gave its place to the answering machine, the exact moment she was discovering it under a set of sleeping pillows.

"It's me Lois..."

And suddenly, even Hell froze.

"I guess you are not home...or, if my unanswered calls to your cellphone are any indication, maybe you are there right now and just not picking it up....It's ok, I mean...I understand you don't want to talk to me ....yet, I hope....And it's alright, really...it's alright, I don't expect you to suddenly forget everything and come back to me with open arms...my call has nothing to do with us really, it just has to do with...well, you....I am worrying about you Lois, even if you don't believe so...if you don't want as a man, then as a friend. You mean a lot to me, you always did, you always will...And I guess what I am trying to say is that I have been sitting on burning coal ever since you disappeared in the middle of the night. I know you want your career in the Planet back, and I wholeheartedly want you to get it, but please...don't outdo yourself in the process...And anything you might need, you know, to help you settle, you know where to find me...Well, this message will end soon and I guess..you won't pick it up, so...I know you probably curse at me right now, and you are right, whatever you say...just ...just take care."

In the middle of her life's remnants, Lois was left rigid , staring blankly at her empty hands. Time seemed to have slowed down on purpose and everything around her gradually adopted a darker shade, as if the countless lights of a theater were fading the one after the other, leaving her alone under the spotlight , ready for her soliloquy of misery. Fate had just found her writhing body and had taken at her its final, best shot. God had humor that day.

She stayed like that, motionless and hollow for a while, until she felt rage filling the void inside her and tears welling up her eyes.

"Go sell your lies to Dinah, you asshole!" she cried out, tossing towards the phone device a cup, that was unlucky enough to be in front her within that mess. See watched silently , as if in slow motion, the fine porcelain missing its target and violently getting shattered on the floor. The route she had followed would get her nowhere. How could she possibly find all the pieces in those mystery puzzles she was dealing with, if she couldn't even collect the pieces of herself first?

She needed air. All these tears and cliché drama just weren't her style. Her day had been distressful enough so far, she wouldn't spend the night now too among four walls, whimpering over just a blond guy who was trying to settle his childhood issues by playing with arrows. She needed fresh air and she needed it now. And if it was escorted by a good amount of booze, she certainly wouldn't say "no".

Thirty minutes later, Lois Lane was getting a seat before the counter of an Irish bar, only two blocks away from her flat. The night sky outside was ready to put on its rainy costume, but that didn't dishearten her at all. If anything, the chill was both invigorating her and making her appreciate more the cosiness inside the bar. She watched as the bartender putt off his cigarette, before coming her way and the sudden need to get back to her old habits drilled through her will power more than ever.

"What should I get you, babe?"

"A Guinness, and fire for the cigarette you are gonna offer me."

"Straight and forward, I like it" the man winked , opening his Marlboro packet to her, before fetching her the precious stout. Lois grinned and put a cigarette between her lips, when...

"Don't you pity your lungs at all?"

...she was rudely interrupted and... the familiar velvet voice... the same mesmerizing emerald gems... the boyish cheeks engulfing the most dazzling smile she had ever set eyes upon...the tempting college look, completed by a white, turtleneck sweater this time...the sophisticated glasses...the unruly , raven hair...and.....and what the heck was he doing there?

Swallowing her original shock, Lois smiled and shamelessly sized him up and down.

"If that line could work on me, I suppose I would have already followed it, don't you think?"

"Perhaps...or perhaps you just needed to hear it from the right lips."

Kal's saucy remark unavoidably caused her eyes to fall on his inviting mouth. Those succulent , massive lips would surely be the death of her.

"And what makes you think yours are the right ones?" she lightly cleared her throat.

"People call it 'hunch'....you are a reporter, you know about such stuff." he winked at her and took a generous sip from his own beer. Even the sight of him gulping down his lager was too sexy for her eyes to witness, and Lois rushed to put the cigarette back in her mouth and light it up, just to keep herself from turning to a wildcat and attacking him right then and there.

"It's a shame really, to start it all over again when you had quited" he shrugged but still cast a brief glance at her, smiling inwardly.

"What?" for the second time Lois dropped the cigarette off her mouth and remained dumbfounded.."How do you..."

"...know about it? Easy guess, Mrs Lane. I 've been in your apartment , a regular smoker would have at least one ashtray around...and for some reason, you don't look like the type of girl to make the floor her ash pot."

"You're quite the observant, aren't you, Mr Kent?" she teased, trying to hide her marvel at him.

"Among other things..." His husky voice made Lois instinctively bite down her lower cherry lip, a tantalizing motion that his fevered eyes boldly followed all the way. He hadn't mistaken, she was frisky tonight.

Cocking an eyebrow at his brassiness, Lois toyed the cigarette between her fingers. "This bar is teeming with smoke, in the way I see it we are both already passive smokers. Why do you want me so much to drop that cigarette?"

"So, does that mean it matters what I want ?" Kal turned fully towards her, his green orbs piercing through her with their intensity, reaching her bare soul and setting it on fire. Lois gasped. This full of innuendos game was too much and too out of the blue for her to handle it. She had underestimated that college boy and now time was calling her to change tactics.

"You know what.." she finally said , cutting the cigarette in two with a simple motion of her fingers.." I am not gonna smoke tonight...only cause you managed to interrupt me twice, preventing me from lighting this cigarette up. No man has ever done that before, so I give you that." Lois admitted and flashed him an enchanting smile.

Kal mirrored her expression, gracing her with a playful and genial grin. "Well, I fulfilled my good Samaritan's action for the night, I guess it's time for me to leave."

His joke evoked her artless laughter and Kal couldn't help but worship the way her face was instantly brightened up, putting to shame even the most glorious light. Lois' mirth was still making her hazels glow, even when her laughter faded, and they spent a second that could be mistaken for ages, just drowning in each other's gaze.

"So Clark...they say third time's the charm.." she paused to taste her beer, " and truth is we keep bumping on each other quite a lot, don't you think?"

"Maybe it's fate.." he kidded

"Cute, but I never believed in fates, destinies and the like. We carve our own path in the world, we guide our lives wherever we decide."

"Then, you have considered me your stalker?"

"You said you are a lot of things, your words, not mine." It was very subtle, but the sexual provocation was there; in the way she was trailing off her last words every time..in the way she was deviously glancing at him while sipping her drink... and all this untold flirtation was urging him to act like his college facade would never dare to. He needed to tighten the reins and drop down his dark, manly confidence before it exposed him past remedy.

"I finally rented a flat a few blocks away from here, so I was out looking for a low key bar to enjoy a beer. This city is flooded with noisy night clubs."

"Tell me about it...so, we are gonna be neighbors, interesting."

"Well, I did need a nice, small flat downtown to shelter my celibacy. This was the reason I was originally interested in yours too."

"What's more interesting is that MetU is not gonna be exactly out of your door...." she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"I would worry about that, if I was the train or bus type of guy. Luckily, I am old enough to have my own tool. Looks can be deceiving, I know." he smirked and gulped down the last drops of his beer.

Lois waved at the bartender. "So what is this college boy drinking?"

"McFarland....Guess I like them deep red and heady."

Lois wet her lips. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the barman standing opposite to them, right behind the counter, but she never bothered to avert her gaze from the enthralling male specimen before her. "Keep the beers coming, we have a long night ahead."

Almost two hours later, Lois was starting to realize that alcohol and Clark Kent formed a lethal combination. A year of the finest champagne next to Oliver, and she already felt as if she had forgotten how to drink her favorite lager without getting tipsy. And he...oh he was a magnet. He would force her into captivity with the stunning pearls that formed his smile, then use his eloquence to free her spirits and make her feel special, only to ravish her all over again with one single azure glance upon her defenseless frame. It hadn't slipped her attention either that, despite her bad mood, the young man before her had effortlessly elicited the merrier side of herself. Between their laughter and verbal games, she would secretly spy on him running a hand through his hair, always leaving it more ruffled than before, or instinctively pushing back his glasses using his middle finger...little details that, underneath all his mysterious sexiness, revealed a tender side she could learn to adore. She couldn't help but think that her whole torment during that day worthed it, if those two careless hours of bliss were to be its conclusion.

Of course, at some point within those two hours, the original reason Lois was out drinking her night away, had unavoidably come up.

"Dump him" Kal blurted out.

"Too late, you come second and sweaty , Clark. I already did that." She gulped down her remaining beer, feeling the alcohol cooling her throat.

"No I mean like really dump him, Lois. Dump every thought of him, every memory that hurts. Kick him out of your mind, just like you kicked him our of your life."

"You make it sound like it's a matter of a simple decision."

"Well, isn't? You were the one that was saying we guide our lives wherever we decide. So, guide yours away from him." he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Keep smiling like this, and you might convince me." A lonely twinkle danced in her irises but she turned quickly to the bartender , depriving Kal of its shine. "Two more beers!"

"Why do you want to get me drunk, Mrs Lane?" he teased, a sultry tone coloring his voice.

"So, does that mean it matters what I want?" she impishly returned his remark, letting the tip of her tongue briefly slide over her teeth. It was just an instant, but still enough to send forbidden signals all the way to Kal's crotch. Feeling his veins bursting with need, he locked his emeralds with her hazels, balancing his options.

"The pool table back left just became available...in the mood for some eight-ball?"

Lois blinked and glanced perplexed over his shoulder, towards a pool table far behind him which indeed had just been abandoned by its previous gamers.

"Uhm...do you have a pair of eyes on your back too or something?"

"I have only one pair of eyes , Lois....and it hasn't left you all night."

Once again, Lois was left thunder-struck by his sauciness, embracing the sudden stillness around them. The sexual tension would undoubtedly turn to her perpetual torture, if he kept devouring her with his intense look. There was only one way out for Lois through every awkwardness, and that was her disarming sense of humor.

"So, come on, let's get this game started already...because if we sit more here and talk about my love life, I can see the damsel in distress popping out of me and that would be borderline surreal. But hey, I'll blame the Irish!" she smartly sneaked past him, without waiting for an answer.

Kal leaned over the billiards cloth, quickly setting the rack.

"Stripes or solids?" . When he got no answer, he looked over his shoulder only to find Lois openly checking out his firm rear. "Enjoying the view?"

"I am just thinking what a pity it is that I will have to kick that in Eight-ball." she cracked a placid smile. The only way to stop getting caught off guard by his bold remarks, was to craftily provoke him first and that was a plan she was determined to stick to at all costs.

Kal arched his eyebrow, visibly amused. "You know words aren't enough, beating me requires also actions."

"Then I suggest you watch me. Stripes. And the rack's all yours to break it."

"Ladies first"

"Oh please, Clark. You just can't wait to see me leaning over the table too, can you? Don't worry, you'll get plenty of that once I start pocketing my balls. But let's see what you worth first..."

Kal chuckled , shaking his head. Chalking his cue, he concentrated and , without wasting time, he broke the rack sending already a few solid balls into their pockets. Moving to the other side of the table, he struck again , and in a rare show of virtuosity, he managed to clear the table off the solids , leaving the eight-ball at the edge of its pocket. It took only a third, light push by his cue and the first round was already history.

"Ops, looks like the game ended already..." He looked down at her , loving every second of her stupefied expression..."Sorry, Lois, you were saying?"

Swallowing down her hurt ego, Lois still succeeded in appearing nonchalant. "Better deflate your head, cause your luck won't last long...Just wait till I warm up."

Taking turns, they succumbed themselves into a merciless competition, enjoying to the maximum mainly each other's heated reactions, rather than the game itself. In reality, they had managed to translate the sexual blaze that was engulfing them, into an endless pool game which, through their personal kaleidoscopes, had adopted the shape of an erotic dance they were both too unwilling to face directly. The rounds were flying by, sealing their almost equal skills and, at the same time, declaring their inner desire to possess one another, even if that happened only on the billiards cloth. But although Kal was slightly better, life had taught Lois to burn the white flags than raise them and always take no prisoners.

With alcohol's influence her biggest ally, she stretched her arms a bit and leaned over the pool table , effectively exposing the rich valley of her breasts. At the other side of the table, Kal missed.

Lowering his head, he laughed at how easily he had fallen a fool of the oldest female trick. Slightly lifting up his gaze, he glued his eyes on hers, taking in her wanton behavior , escorted by her wide grin screaming absolute satisfaction.

"You are playing dirty, Lois."

"Really? I assumed you loved dirty gaming."

Kal was not the only horny bull in the arena though, and soon Lois' assets stimulated the appetite of more lower brains.

"Hey sugar, dump that stupid four-eyes and come lean over my table too...I keep something for you to work with, alright" a rough man barked from a nearby table , his crude manners causing his gang to burst into howls of laughter.

Kal was about to intervene, but Lois' mouth was proved more capable. "Have you ever had a cue up your ass, pal? Try being funny again and I'll make sure you'll experience the thrill."

A new series of laughters filled the bar, as Lois scored off the rude guy. Kal stared amazed at the scene that had just unreeled before him. This woman had balls and her untamed nature was scandalizing his senses on new levels. Keeping up her lofty mien, Lois had meanwhile come to his side of the table.

"I suppose it's my turn now...May I?"

Kal took a step back, allowing her all the space in the world to make her shot. However, she chose to stand right before him and, playfully bitting down her lip, she bent over the table , bringing her perfect, denim clad buttocks, an inch away Kal's tormented crotch.

Oh that was too much even for an immortal body.

Kal El stood spell-bound behind her. His mind had stopped registering whatever was taking place on the pool table and his bewildered eyes were freely roaming on Lois' tight jeans. He kept struggling against his urges , as they were shamelessly ordering him to surrender into the temptation her luscious curves had poisoned him with. His palms remained open around her ass , unwilling to give in and, at the same time, unable to withdraw and he curled his fingers in a futile attempt to shield her flesh against his own claws. It was just so unbelievably easy for him to break all rules, keep her bent and claim her body right then and there, despite the many witnesses around. It wouldn't be the first time he would satisfy his sexual cravings in front of a cheering crowd after all. If only she had the slightest idea with whom she was trying to toy.

And yet, there was this unknown part of him that, against all odds, was right now denying his inner beast its freedom. For her. For Lois Lane.

"Another ball in and Lois Lane strikes again! Go me!" Lois' triumphant cheers abruptly cut the chains of his trance. Walking away from him, she finally allowed him some space to breathe and compose himself. She was willing to continue her mind-blowing game on him, he could tell by the sparkle dancing in her eyes. But Kal El had just decided that two could take that ride.

It didn't take long for Lois to miss and Kal's turn to rise again. She turned her back at the pool table and leaned against it , patiently awaiting his move.

And he made it.

Effortlessly, he surprised her by lifting her slightly up and placing her better on the table.

"What...what do you think you're doing?"

Ignoring her question, he parted her knees and brassily stepped between them. Encircling her waist with his left arm, his hand found the cue held in his right one, and he leaned in.

"You can't possibly ... how on earth...you have no view ..." her alerted whispers came out muffled. He was just too close for her mind to build a coherent sentence.

"I have the perfect view." he breathed out, keeping his eyes locked with hers. And he struck.

One by one , Lois heard the balls falling into their rightful pockets. She slightly turned her head towards the pool table, only to confirm the miracle , giving Kal the chance to shut his eyes and inhale the intoxicant aroma emanating from both her hair and neck.

"Where did you learn to play like that? Among the Latin scripts and the history books?"

"Exactly where you learned to play like that too....among the articles and the obituaries."

He nuzzled her nose with his own, searching deep inside her irises. And when Lois' only respond was to gasp, he huskily whispered again...

"Wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah....just...just let me get my jacket."

Lois slipped off the table and walked over to the bar counter to gather her stuff, trying all the while to control her beaming face so as to not explode in excitement. Kal's restless gaze tailed behind her , when his sensitive hearing picked up a rather unpleasant conversation.

"Can you believe this shit? Chicks like that hanging around with dickheads like him."

"That college moron? I'll make him pee his pants in no time...then I can take care of that bitch and her big mouth."

"Better hurry up , Johnny, they are ready to hit the road."

"Oh shut up, I'll go take a piss first, that beer needs to get out. They ain't gonna go far."

"All set." Kal was greeted by Lois' smile, as she looked up at him with a renewed eagerness.

"I have my car right outside. Mind waiting for me though, I need to visit the men's room. Nature's calling." he shot her an apologetic look. But the sudden blush coloring his cheeks was too cute for words and Lois playfully punched his arm, urging him to go.

Zipping himself up, the rough man that had interlaced himself in a quarrel with Lois, moved whistling towards the single sink. With his bladder unloaded and his mind still driven by booze, he could already feel the juicy lips of the rebellious gal enveloping his member and he just couldn't wait to teach her audacity a lesson. He proudly applauded his reflection in the mirror, ducked his head to splash some water and lifted up his gaze again. Only this time, he found not just one, but two faces staring back at him.

"Hello, Johnny boy"

"Holy shit!"

The man named Johnny almost yelped at the sight of the grim face smiling sardonically at him. For an instant, it was as if most of its features were inexplicably shadowed, while lurid fires darted out the sockets where the eyes should be, and if it wasn't for the white turtleneck and the familiar glasses, Johnny would assume he had met his maker beforehand. Turning around, he came face to face with Kal's grin and rage overflowed him.

" Well isn't this the four-eyes loser...What are you laughing at, shithead?"

Kal remained apathetic to the insults and, if anything, his evil grin grew wider.

"Did you hear me, you moron? Get lost or I'll wipe that grin off your pretty face myself."

"I am wondering..." Kal thought aloud , maintaining his poisonous smile and thus, tossing Johnny's anger on new levels , "have you learned your manners in a cave?"

"Oh that's it, you were asking for it." the other man barked , suddenly taking out a butterfly blade. "You're just making my work easy with you, before I get your bitch and make her scream."

Not wasting time, Johnny forcefully attacked but Kal easily grabbed his wrist , halting his advance. With one swift move, he turned the small dagger around, stabbing viciously Johnny's palm. At the same time, Kal hushed the punk's painful screams with his hand, and he shoved him towards the toilet wall, pinning him there.

"Shuuussshhhh...don't...make...a sound."

Johnny's eyes jumped frantically from the fiery blaze inside Kal's orbs, to the fresh blood running down his hand, and back at his sadistic assaulter. Realizing he had no other option, he obeyed , fiercely moving up and down his head in an unwilling nod. Kal violently pulled out the blade and Johnny had to bite down his lips hard, in an attempt to muffle his cries. Putting a distance between him and the other man, Kal brought the small dagger to his mouth, and showily licked the crimson drops off the blade.

"Your blood tastes just as awfully as you stink." Kal scoffed, sending the butterfly blade to hit the tiled floor.

Pressing the deep wound in his palm, Johnny stared at him petrified, not quite believing his eyes. "Jesus Christ...."

"Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...." Kal shook his head and sighed. "Why all the scums like you always remember him only when you shit your pants?"

"Look man...I don't know what kind of freak you are, but in these streets? You just got yourself totally screwed..."

In the blink of an eye, Kal was all over him again , his fingers clenching Johnny's throat like vice. "Really? I am scared now, terrified."

"Li..listen..." the lock on his flesh, making his voice come out hoarse and muffled.."if...if it's about the...the bitch, I never even..tou-touched her ...so why..why don't you leave me a...alone and go to..Hell?"

"Hell..." Kal chuckled , the man's fear feeding his spirit ..."I'll say it once, and you better grave it in your memory, Johnny boy. In this world, for you, I ... am... the Devil...And if you ever touch a single hair from that girl's head , or even dare to spell her name wrong, I am gonna make your life...my Hell."

In a last horrific performance, Kal El's eyes blazed crimson and, for the first time, he exposed his fangs only one breath away Johnny's frozen expression. Releasing him from his firm grip, he watched amused as Johnny's back slid down the tiled wall shivering, with his pale face marked forever by the horror of knowing.

Untroubled, Kal El walked away from the men's room and soon, the calm but mysterious Clark Kent was greeting Lois close to the bar's exit.

However, his brief absence had somehow disturbed the magnetic influence he had on Lois , giving her time to reason the whole situation. She had admitted to herself that, however attracted to Clark she was, he still hadn't stopped being a man she barely knew one week. And well, the truth was that she hadn't originally planned that night out, and , that said , there were already important stuff for her to settle early in the morning. Suddenly , the whole idea to continue the fun elsewhere, sounded pretty impulsive for her to follow, while the rain was hollering outside.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah..about that..." she chewed on her lip nervously..."I actually kinda changed my mind, Clark. I think it would be better if I just headed home. I've got loads to deal with early tomorrow, since I only recently moved in as well, and...as much as the booze running through my veins yells at me at the moment what a party pooper I am, my head also spins a little..."

"It's ok, Lois. If you prefer returning home now, then home it is." he nodded with understanding. "Come, I will drop you there."

"Clark, my flat is only two blocks away, you don't have to..."

"Have you checked the weather outside? Do you really want to get a shower too, apart returning home?" he teased, earning her own smirk. "Seriously Lois, my car is just outside, and you are on my way, since I am only few minutes from here too."

Lois Lane didn't really need further persuasion. It had already cost her enough to turn down the possibilities that a night with him could promise her, so she gladly jumped in his Mustang as soon as they stormed out the Irish bar and into the medley of the nocturnal downpour.

"You have equipped it nicely...." she remarked , smoothly trailing her fingertips on the car's wooden interior. Her eyes didn't delay in falling on the additional cd player. "May I?"

"Yes, all yours..." Kal started the engine the moment Lois put the first track into play. "I personally put together that cd, it includes some of my favorite songs." Lois heard him adding, as she rested her head on the glass, allowing the power ballad inside and the rainy scenery outside, to enrapture her.

Whatever magic there was though, lasted only a few minutes, since soon Lois' building made its unwelcome appearance. Kal switched off the engine and kept his gaze nailed at the obscure road before him , waiting for the sound of the car's door to stir him back in a reality without her. But that sound never came, and Kal slowly turned his head to the right, only to find Lois intensely staring at him.

Maybe because the ravaging rain outside was isolating them from the world, intensifying their proximity...maybe because their passion's tumult could finally flourish in the silence of the car rather than at any buzzing bar...or maybe just cause the time of separation is always the darkest hour...but the moment they crossed their glances, all past and future deserted their meaning, and the heat of the moment came howling to set their souls on fire.

As the drops fondled the front glass, they reflected like tiny black spots on his half lightened face, gracing him with a mysterious aura that somehow called her name. His inviting lips leaned in , barely brushing against her own and their now mixed breaths , created an unprecedented warmth that stroked every inch of their smooth skins. Her finger traced his strong yet enigmatic jaw, and when his own hand settled on the base of her velvet neck, Lois eyes fluttered shut, preparing her to surrender to the ultimate , erotic exhilaration.

And then, the next music track started.

The first notes of an eerie melody, strangely familiar, caressed the already electrified air. Recent memories were aroused from their hides in the back of Lois' mind. That instrumental music...the so well known...that haunting sound...the so familiar...the mysterious rustle of leaves in the cemetery.... the bizarre wail of the winds in the alley near the morgue... the song in the cd....the man whistling...the man whistling.

Awareness rocked its drums tremendously inside her mind and, suddenly, Lois understood.

Her eyes opened wide, and the pounding of her heart threatened to tear down its recesses, burst out of her body and blazon abroad its terror. She immediately pulled back, meeting his eyes full of questions, hoping to find in them the proof that would leave this sudden revelation unconfirmed....but for a brief second , his gaze got derailed , unwillingly lying on the one and only music source. And her fears started dancing anew.

"I...I am sorry, I can't...I...I have to go now, it's getting late and...and I really have to go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes I am...Have a good night."

She almost fled from the car in panic, striving to keep her gait at normal pace. But as soon as she turned her face away, her palm rushed to cover her mouth, hushing deep within her the screams that craved to storm out her lungs.

Kal El watched her walking away from him and his face darkened. He was no fool, he knew well that the unlucky moment Lois listened to the song - his song - she instantly connected all the dots , forming the thread that led up to him. He could smell it in her female scent; there was now fear in her soul, fear of him.

It was time to change strategy, because on the spur of the moment, Clark Kent had sold away all his privileges in Lois' heart. Taking off his glasses, Kal El held them outside the window , under the ruthless rain. His jaw muscles contracted and , at the same time, his pair of glasses was getting crushed inside his palm. Not wasting any time, the storm swept the shivers away from the naked road.

The show was officially over.