Chapter Seven: Something There

Lex gripped her hips tightly and groaned. Her naked body straddled his and was moving in rich, slow circles, leaning back till he was almost out, and then sliding forward so far that his eyes rolled back in his head.

He moved his hands up to grasp her breasts, his fingers pinching her brown nipples gently. She moaned, and looked down at him, her eyes liquid and half closed in bliss. Lex felt disconnected to the rest of the world, and all he knew was this moment, inside her, warm and wet and only for him.

She stopped and pulled herself off of him, crying out at the loss and rolled over onto her back. He followed, slipping his hands under her hips to lift her as he slid inside. He moved in the same slow way, wringing every possible drop of pleasure from her body. She reached out for him, and he gave in to her embrace, his body flush with hers. Their mouths met in a deep kiss, greedy and passionate as their bodies rocked together in a quickening rhythm.

Finally, he began to shudder. He came hard inside her, and she was warm, and he was cold and he knew something was wrong . . .

Lex opened his eyes and after taking a moment to remember where in the hell he was, he groaned. He looked over at her to make sure that she was still asleep, and then got up to shower. Somewhere, the Sandman was having a big fucking laugh today.

Har-de-har-har.

Chloe Sullivan arrived back in Smallville on June 28. He had several people following Chloe during her "vacation" in the Yukon. After being released from the hospital, she stayed in a hotel in Whitehorse.

Though she was watched 24/7, there were several times when she simply vanished for several days, only to return without ever having to leave her room. Lex did have the report of a drunken man who swore to have seen a flash of light, and a great wind come and carry her away.

As intriguing as that story was, it couldn't possibly be true. Still, photographers stayed on the ready, never capturing more than what looked like lens flares.

As soon as word got around that she was home, Lana rushed right out to see her. She no longer required a driver to take her, so Lex had to rely on reports from the security detail that followed her. She stayed at Gabe Sullivan's house for over three hours, and then returned to the mansion. After that, she was even more aloof then usual. She smiled at Lex and was polite, but didn't hang around him for too long.

He managed to wait until dinner to ask about it. "So, how is Chloe?" he asked. Lana looked up from her soup, and shrugged a little. "She's okay. Her Dad got a new job in Metropolis, so they'll be moving there in a few weeks."

"Well, at least you'll still be able to visit her since you'll be working there too."

"Yeah," she said, going back to her soup. Lex watched her with curiosity and wondered what the change was. What the hell did Chloe tell her that was screwing things up so badly?

"You seem kind of down," Lex began cautiously. "Is anything else bothering you?"

Lana stopped stirring, and set her spoon down. "No, not really." She looked up at Lex, and then sighed. "She was just confused as to why I'm here, and I don't feel like I had a good enough answer."

"You didn't tell her anything about the police did you?"

"No, of course not."

He wanted to ask her what exactly she did say, but he didn't want to be pushy. "Well I guess you being here is really only as unusual as her being gone for a whole month without contacting you." Lana flinched at that, and Lex was instantly sorry for saying it.

"I'm sorry," he said, and she waved it away. "No, you're right. I asked her why she didn't call, at least to tell me that she was okay, and she said that there were no phones where she was."

She paused for a moment, and then said, "Are there phones in the Yukon?"

"There are pretty much phones everywhere Lana. She must have just gotten busy with something. Maybe a boyfriend?"

"If she had a boyfriend though, why wouldn't she tell me about it?"

"Maybe because it's new, and she's not sure how she feels about it yet." Lana looked down at her bowl of soup, but Lex could still see the slight blush to her cheeks. Apparently that explanation did suffice.

Lex drove into Pleasant Meadows and was pleased to see so many people outside enjoying the day. Pleasant Meadows was the only Luthorcorp housing subdivision in Smallville so far, but since it was such an obvious success, plans were being made for another.

Gabe Sullivan lived in a beige colored, two-story corner house, and sure enough there was a big red FOR SALE sign staked in the yard. After being fired from his position as Plant Manager at Lexcorp, he would have lost his house if it weren't for Lex pulling strings to get him a job in Grandville. The commute wasn't too bad, and he and Chloe stayed in Pleasant Meadows. It's a good thing Lionel had blown up the safe house instead of this one.

Lex walked up and rang the bell. "I've got it," shouted Chloe from inside. She opened the door, and couldn't hide her displeasure at seeing Lex there. "Hello Chloe."

"Hey," she said. Lex waited a moment before asking, "Mind if I come inside?" She held the door open wider, and Lex walked into the familiar receiving room. He'd been here several times before to talk to Gabe, and also to talk to Chloe when she was helping him to put his father in jail. He'd saved her life when Lionel wanted her dead, but apparently that didn't matter much.

"So, I guess it's good to be home after such an extended vacation." He strolled into the empty livingroom and looked at the family pictures covering the walls. There were several of Chloe and her Dad, and also a few of her Mom. A picture of Lana caught his eye, and he laughed a little to himself at the sight of her and Chloe covered in food. They had obviously just had a food fight, and were laughing hysterically when the picture was snapped.

"Yeah, it's comforting to see that some things never change," Chloe said pointedly.

He turned back to her. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know. You manipulating Lana." She was such an angry girl.

"You mean, because she's living with me now? I don't see how her wanting to stay with me is manipulation at all."

"I know what you're after Lex. You only want to hurt her. Use her up and throw her away." She glared at Lex, but before he could reply, in walked Gabe with a hand towel thrown casually over his shoulder.

"Mr. Luthor," he said, sounding shocked. Lex walked over to him and shook his hand. "Hey, Gabe. How are you doing?"

"Not too bad," he said smiling.

"I hear you're leaving Smallville?"

"Yeah, I got a job as manger in a factory in Metropolis, so we're going to move back pretty soon. Better pay, and I'll get to be close to Chloe when she starts MetU in the Fall." He smiled at Chloe proudly, and despite the stick in her ass, she smiled back.

"Well good for you. It's nice to see things looking so well. You'll have to let us know when the house warming party is. Lana and I will come." He took a sidelong glance at Chloe as he said that and didn't miss the roll of her eyes. Gabe though, was pleased.

"We sure will. If you'll excuse me though, I've got some food that I have to attend to." They shook hands again, and said their goodbyes. Lex smiled innocently at Chloe and walked back to her front door. He looked back to say, "Make sure you send the invitation to the mansion. You remember the address right?"

Lex was smiling on his way out to the car.

When he found her, Lana was doing sketches on the veranda outside of the ballroom. From here, she had a good view of the Italian Garden, and could see part of the tract of land she planned to put her pond. He looked over her shoulder, and saw that she was drawing a humped bridge, which crossed the pond to a gazebo on the water.

"Why a humped bridge?" Lex asked. Lana jumped a little, having been very lost in her drawing.

"Makes it hard for the evil spirits to cross."

"Ahh," he said with a grin. He sat down next to her, and looked out over the property. In the late afternoon sun, the riot of colors in the gardens were much deeper. Trees were still blossoming, and the Irises he had planted when she first came back from Paris, were in full bloom.

"Lana," he started. She looked up at him and seeing that he was serious, put her pencil down. "Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you about my father."

She seemed relieved that he wasn't bringing up that other big pink elephant. "What about him?"

"He's being discharged from Belle Reeve, and I have to figure out what to do with him."

"Is he okay?"

"He seems to be."

"And you want to bring him here, right?"

He sighed and looked away. "I need to be able to keep an eye on him, and I can do it best if he's here."

"You sound like you don't trust him."

"I don't."

"Keep your enemies closer?" she asked with a small smile. "He's your father Lex. This is where he should be."

"Lana," he said. "You don't know what he's capable of." She looked down and said nothing. "If he does or says anything to you that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me."

"Okay," she agreed.

It was after five o'clock when Lionel arrived. He was greeted with the usual fanfare, and ensconced back in the guest house he had been living in prior to his most recent departure. Lex walked up to the house with that old feeling of trepidation that he always felt when confronting his father. Somehow, meetings like this always made him feel like a ten year old again.

He walked past the Daffodils on either side of the steps, and knocked on the door. Lionel answered wearing a robe, toweling his hair dry. "Lex," he said, opening the door wider. "Come on in."

The guest house was small but very comfortable. Rich woods, dark greens and golden browns accented the decor, and books covered nearly every surface.

Lex seated himself on a sofa, and Lionel sat in the arm chair opposite.

"So, how does it feel to be home?" Lex asked.

Lionel laughed a little and laid the towel in his lap. His hair looked like it had been in a hurricane. "Always good to be home son." He reached out for a comb and began to tackle the mess on his head.

"I think everything is the way you left it. They changed your sheets and aired the place out, but all of your things are still where you last put them."

"Yes, I noticed that. One might even assume that you missed me a little." He smirked at his son, and stood to peer into a mirror. He combed his hair straight back, and looked at Lex in the reflection. "So, I see other things have changed since I've been away."

"You mean Lana?"

Lionel laughed as he reseated himself. "That is what I meant, yes. I'm surprised actually. How did you manage to make her stay?"

Lex felt the old defenses rise up, and he proceeded guardedly. "She stayed because she wanted to."

Lionel smirked again, and Lex got to the point of his visit. "She doesn't know about you threatening to send her to the police, and I want to keep it that way. And if you want to stay here, you will keep your mouth shut about Genevieve as well."

"You mean about her murder?"

"I mean about everything. You go dumb, or my generosity is over. I don't care what happens to you, but Lana is important to me and I won't let anyone, not even you, harm her."

He stood to leave, and when he reached for the door, Lionel said, "Thanks for letting me know where I rank, son."

Somehow Lex was always the bad guy.

The conversation with his father left Lex feeling edgy for the rest of the day. It was nice knowing that he would have Lana at night, even if she wasn't quite so available to him in the day. As frustrated as he was becoming with their celibacy torture test, he was equally glad to have that connection with her.

From reading her journal, he knew that she was a virgin and so he understood her apprehension. As much as he wanted her, no woman had ever scared him as much as she did. He was constantly fearful of saying or doing the wrong thing, and even at night when she wrapped her body around his, he felt afraid of making too bold a move.

Little by little though, he inched further. Where he started off feeling lucky that she slept a foot away from him, now he held her close to him. His hands roamed freely over her back and down the length of her arms, tangled in her hair and were even now balancing on the curve of her hip.

He kissed the back of her shoulder, and moved his hand up to her belly. He could tell she had awakened, because she leaned into him, letting her legs rub up against his. They settled in for sleep, but before he drifted off, Lana took his hand and drew it up to her chest, holding it in her own above her heart.