Chapter 8
Tess sat across from Lex with Oliver sitting protectively next to her. Lana, the wiser one of the group, stood behind Lex, providing a more calming influence to their tightly focused energy.
Tess was nervous - extremely nervous - of creating more tension between the lifelong rivals. She had a death grip on Oliver's hand and her stomach was in knots.
"Tess, you're cutting off my circulation," Oliver said and she let go immediately.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He stretched out his fingers. "It's okay." He paused. "Someone say something."
"How's the pregnancy going?" Lex asked.
"Say something else," Oliver replied.
Tess sucked in a breath.
"You're stressing her," Lex said to Oliver.
"Hey," Lana intervened. "Why don't you both take a 10 minute break from each other and if you can't do that for Tess, why don't you try and bond over something else you have in common - your shared hatred for Lionel? You do have that in common. Focus on something else besides the war you two have and give Tess a break."
Oliver sighed, looking at Lex. "I can do that."
"So can I."
Oliver looked at Tess, caressing her face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good," she said, still in mild discomfort from the stress.
"You want some tea? I can get you some tea," Lex offered.
"I'll get her some," Lana agreed.
"Make it Sweet Oolong," Lex told her.
Oliver drew in a sharp breath at his statement.
"What?" Lex asked as Lana went to order room service.
"Oliver," Tess whispered, placing a hand on his.
"What did I say?" Lex asked genuinely.
"Nothing," Tess assured him. When Lex kept questioning eyes on her, she told him, "You knew I like that type of tea, that's all."
"Don't worry about it," Oliver said. "I like Chateau Blanc."
"Want some?" Lex asked.
"Maybe in a bit," he replied casually.
Tess smiled a little. Oliver leaned over to her.
"Are we just supposed to keep talking?" he whispered to her.
"I don't know what to say yet," she whispered back.
"Tess?"
Tess looked up to see Lana carrying a cup of tea.
"You didn't have to bring me that yourself," she said, opening her hands to take it off the beautiful tray.
"It's my pleasure," she smiled.
Lana walked back over and placed a loving hand on Lex's shoulder.
"We're really glad you came, Tess," Lana said. "Even if you can only stay a few minutes, we hope you'll come back."
We? Oliver thought.
"And you let me know if you need anything," Lex told her. "And I know," he said to Oliver, "…that you're providing everything she needs. I understand that. But if I can do anything," he forced himself to say, "…just tell me. I'm here."
Tess nodded gratefully and squeezed Oliver's hand. "Thank you, I will."
Tess took a few more sips of tea and then graciously thanked them both again. When she and Oliver had left the suite, she felt relief that it was over, but also relief that she'd done it.
"Thanks for doing that with me," she said to him.
He kissed her forehead.
"Let me take you home."
XxX
"That went well," Lana reassured him, torn between comforting him and the memories of Lex's actions against her.
Lex nodded. "I know. I know it did. But she's going to look at me, you're all going to look at me and never forget."
Lana shook her head. "No, I spent years pushing you away from me, ridding myself of you, but I don't hate you and I still know what I feel when you're around me. And the difference between then and now is that none of us have to make a choice. Not you, not me, and not Tess."
"I'm so sorry," he said to her. "I'm so sorry for all of it. The control I needed over you. The law can't touch me for long…but that doesn't mean that's the only way to receive retribution. And if there's one thing I can be grateful for, it's that I can still see light in you."
She didn't feel light. She never felt any light that he claimed to be drawn towards, but if she'd ever had any, she certainly felt drained of it after Smallville-and not just because of him. Clark, despite her built-up heroic image of him, had actually wiped her free of much of her idealistic fantasies, possibly even more so than Lex had.
But Clark was often the one who was disappointed in her and when she didn't turn out to be what he believed in. However, Lex was the one who saw something in her that made him believe in her when she didn't believe in herself. And even after absolute destruction in her life, he still saw that.
She felt strong but tired, although he looked at her like she was unshattered and bright, like she'd never been broken. She remembered as she stared at him why she would lie in his arms even before the nights of passion. She remembered that he could rebuild her and keep her sure of that beauty without any falseness, and in exchange she could love him with the legacy of pain that came with him.
He reached out to touch her hair. The long locks were no longer there. Instead he felt her shorter, more mature curls in his masculine fingers. Her eyes lowered when he stepped closer, staring at his chest, waiting for him to see her as she was now and want her just as badly. Her long fingers gripped onto his ever-formal jacket and pushed it from his body, sliding her mouth up against his jaw. He whispered her name and she answered, nodding against his face as his fingers began unbuttoning her blouse.
She inhaled quickly, surprised as the sparks coursed down her stomach as he did so.
"You're the only woman I ever wanted," he whispered as his mouth began tracing the skin of her neck.
He peeled off her blouse and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. "Do you still love me?" she asked him, slowly pulling him back towards the bed.
His hands stroked her back as she braced a hand for their swift impact against the sheets.
"My love for you is more than anything else."
To Be Continued
