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(9) Dark Horse – Sleeping At Last (Cover)

*approximately six months ago*

After their initial get together, neither of them saw each other. It was obviously going to be a one-time thing for both of them. After the gala, Clarke was asked to commission so many works of art she felt like she was going to drown in paint. Her art was at such a high demand, what remained of her social life was destroyed.

Lexa, on the other hand, couldn't really get her mind off of the blonde. Initially, she had felt like it was revenge on her part, aimed at Costia. She wanted to spite her girlfriend for all of the hell she'd put Lexa through for the last couple of months. Then she felt guilty and decided to bury her mistake as deeply as she could, alongside of all of the other things she regretted in her life.

Maybe she did donate money to the studio Clarke worked at, but that didn't mean she was caught up on the blonde. No, she shoved her away from her mind and drowned herself in her work.

Clarke's excuse for sleeping with Lexa was the stress and nerves of the gala. She didn't need anything serious and something about Lexa screamed 'not serious' and maybe she had gotten caught up in the moment just a little bit. But that didn't matter because her mind was absorbed with all of the new commissions and popularity of the studio.

But fate had a funny way of working, especially when Clarke scrolled through social media and stumbled upon Lexa's Facebook and personal Instagram account. One thing led to another and Clarke found herself refreshing the page constantly to see if Lexa posted anything. The only things the brunette posted were things about work, community organizations and the occasional national news update.

She found out more about Lexa Woods than she wanted to admit. Lexa was the youngest CEO of such a large business. She was adopted and had worked her way to the top with the help of her adoptive father, who had given her his company after he retired. Lexa was under a lot of scrutiny in the business world because she donated so much money to the community and children. Most big business companies were keeping their eye on her as she was introduced into their society, since she'd only been CEO for about three months.

Clarke found it incredibly endearing to see that Lexa had gone to college and worked so hard to obtain the education she needed, even if her parents had helped her. She was one of rags to riches because of her own desire to succeed and the assistance of her loving adoptive parents.

But Clarke was soon distracted again because a couple of weeks later, she was heading to a commissioner's office. It wasn't odd to be called to their work place, normally clients wanted a piece to liven up their worker's bland surroundings, other times it was just out of pure convenience.

It was a large building, one of the taller ones downtown that had several floors of offices and housed multiple companies. Clarke asked the woman at the front desk what floor the office number she had was on. The receptionist raised both of her eyebrows.

"That's on the top floor, sweetheart," she glanced at Clarke, staring her up and down for a moment disapprovingly. "If you don't know who that is, you're in for a surprise. Good luck."

Clarke didn't understand that, but went with it nonetheless. She knew how rich, business men worked. They were kind of pervy and very cocky, they liked to throw around their money and status while stabbing their 'friends' in the back. She didn't like it, but that was how she paid her bills, so she couldn't really help it. If she could afford to pick and choose who her paintings were sold to, she would.

The elevator ride was long, seeing as how the office took over almost the whole top floor. When the doors opened with a resounding ding, Clarke stepped into a quiet, modern reception area. There was a blonde woman behind the desk, talking quietly into a headset while her fingers tapped away at the keyboard in front of her.

A large, metallic colored sign hung on the wall behind her Woods Inc written in large, bold letters. It was lit up behind the woman in an iridescent pale blue color. Clarke knew where she was almost instantly and her stomach clenched. It took all of her willpower not to cuss the lobby out.

But it was too late to turn back now, the receptionist had caught her eye. She tilted her head up and flashed a pearly white smile. "Hi, how are you?"

"Fine," Clarke tried for a smile back, but knew it ended up looking like a grimace.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Clarke licked her lips, "Yes, my manager told me your boss wanted a commissioned art piece. He sent me here to have a meeting with them."

"Oh! You're here to see Ms. Woods. Let me just double check on the computer," she typed a couple of things into the computer. "Alright, everything seems to be in order, Ms. Griffin. I can take you to Ms. Woods now." She stood and came around the side of the desk.

Clarke's eyes were instantly drawn to the tight black dress and the long, tanned legs accentuated by a pair of simple, glossy black heels. This woman had a body that any other girl would kill for, a body that Clarke really appreciated.

Her hips swayed attractively as she led Clarke down a side hallway and the blonde trailed lazily to admire. She smirked, allowing herself a moment to relax and not freak herself out. She hadn't seen Lexa in months and the memories of social media stalking her were at the forefront of her mind.

"Here we are, Ms. Griffin," The secretary stepped to the side, gesturing to a set of opaque glass doors with the name Alexandria Woods CEO in a white, calligraphy over it.

Clarke hesitantly grabbed the cool metal handle, feeling as though all of the heat was leaving her body, even though her hands were sweating profusely. This was ridiculous, there was no reason for her to feel so nervous. They slept together. Once. As strangers. They could be professional.

With a deep, steading breath to calm her nerves, she pushed the door open.

The executive office was scarcely furnished. A sleek, modern black desk sat near the floor to ceiling window on the far side of the room. It was wide and rectangular, with a black couch in one corner, for a more leisure meeting with a white fur rug underneath a glass coffee table. A wooden filing cabinet was specially fitted along the left wall, closed and neat, housing countless documents any CEO would need.

It was fancy and bland compared to Clarke's taste. She'd always loved bright colors and a little bit of chaos in her life. It made things interesting. This was the office of a perfectionist and even though Clarke didn't know Lexa well, she hadn't pegged her as a perfectionist.

Speaking of the gorgeous brunette, once Clarke was finished gawking at her surroundings, her jaw nearly hit the floor. Lexa had been dressed in a suit at the gala and Clarke had taken her time getting her out of it. But seeing this woman in her element, she looked like someone who shouldn't be messed with.

She was behind her best, jacket slung over the back of the seat and her crisp, white sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her forearms were on prominent display as she flourished a quick signature on a document set before her. Her hair was down and cascading over her shoulder in dark waves.

Positively edible, Clarke thought, unable to keep her initial thoughts censored. But she mentally slapped herself afterward, don't be an idiot, this is serious. This is business.

Lexa glanced up, her eyebrows raising in mild surprise as her eyes fell upon Clarke. But she managed to keep a relatively straight face.

"Clarke," she greeted, "nice to see you again." Her voice stayed calm, as if she were greeting a business partner amicably and not a woman she slept with. "You may leave us, Tristan."

Clarke hadn't even realized the secretary was still standing in the doorway, all of her senses seemed to be taken over by the one and only Lexa Woods. The Lexa Woods who had called her here, and who looked incredibly fuckable right about now.

Stop it, Clarke, she berated herself, taking a deep breath once again. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling underdressed compared to the other two women in the room.

"Of course, Ms. Woods," Tristan left the two alone. Clarke really wanted to call her back.

"Have a seat, Clarke," Lexa said, drawing the artist's attention back to her. There was a knowing smirk playing on her lips, "Don't stand there looking like a deer caught in the headlights. This is business."

"Unexpected business," Clarke moved slowly towards the set of chairs opposite Lexa's desk before sitting down. She perched on the edge, her back straight and fingers clutching at the leather messenger bag on her shoulder. She had brought some sketching supplies with her, as was her usual process.

Lexa pushed aside her documents, deliberately. Every move she made was deliberate, slow and completely flawless. She interlaced her fingers together and leaned forward on her forearms. Clarke noticed that her nails were perfectly trimmed, short and buffed until they shined. Everything about this girl was flawless, she would know, she'd seen it.

She licked her lips then bit the lower one, staring at Clarke intently. It felt like she wanted to say something important, like she was debating something before she opened her mouth, "Clarke, I—" she paused, "I want you to do a painting for me."

Definitely not what she wanted to say, Clarke knew, but it was straight to the point. The room was beginning to feel stifling to the flustered blonde, she didn't know how to deal with it. Getting out of there as soon as possible would be a great start.

"Sure," she managed, barely able to formulate a response, let alone the snarky one she had thought of. "What were you thinking of?"

"I want to liven up my office. Make it a little…warmer, you could say." Lexa leaned backwards, folding her hands into her lap and taking a good look at her surroundings. "This space isn't really all that appealing. Sometimes it makes me want to fall asleep." Lexa chuckled softly and rolled her eyes.

The sound of Lexa's laugh and the sight of her warm smile eased some of the tension in Clarke's shoulders. The blonde found herself leaning back in her seat and smiling back. "Yeah, it didn't feel like you when I walked in."

Lexa's smile fell and she stared past Clarke towards the door, "Yeah, my COO designed the layout. She would be here but she's busy with other matters."

"Shouldn't the CEO be dealing with the more pressing matters?"

Lexa rolled her eyes, "What's the fun in that? You have a COO to do things you don't actually want to do."

"Ouch, poor girl." Clarke grinned and watched as Lexa stretched. She seemed to be more at ease as they fell into a familiar banter.

"Not really," Lexa shrugged.

"Anyway," Clarke began, "what is it that you want me to paint for you."

"Oh!" Lexa jumped a little and rolled her chair backwards. She opened up one of the drawers behind her desk and fished out a picture. "This is a view from my favorite place."

Clarke leaned forward to get a better view of the photo. It was sunset and the perspective was from just above the tree line, the light sending the branches into a blurred shadow. It was difficult to see the details of the surroundings, but it wasn't hard to tell this was taken from a balcony. The railing was a mahogany color, tinged red and there was a well maintained yard a few stories below, leading straight into the dense forest beyond.

"Where is this?"

"My family's vacation house in Maine. I want you to paint it for me."

"Based off of this photo?" Clarke pointed to it, raising an eyebrow dubiously. It insulted Clarke. Lexa just wanted to her recreate a photo she'd taken by painting it.

"This, yes, but I also want you to liven up my office space. Paintings, drawings, photos. Make it interesting," Lexa nodded, "This one is purely personal." When she didn't earn an immediate respond, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

"You want me to paint you something you can just as easily take a picture of. Why?"

Lexa glanced away, staring at something past Clarke's head and clenched her jaw. Something was clearly going through the brunette's head that Clarke didn't understand. Finally, after a long moment of tense silence Lexa spoke, "I spent most of my time with my dad there. He's been feeling sick recently and it's really had me thinking about what's going to happen when…you know. I want something that makes me think about our time together. If you accept my offer, I will set up a time for you to meet with him and get to know him. You can ask me questions about our relationship."

Clarke frowned, even more confused than before. "Why me?"

The CEO huffed and leaned back in her chair, "I've witnessed your art, and you're amazing with details and fusing emotion into your work. I want something that makes me feel."

"I see," Clarke licked her dry lips and rubbed the palms of her hands over her jeans. She didn't know if she wanted to delve into this project, but she needed the money. "I'll have to think about that. But for now, I know I can accept painting for your business. I can bring it up at our next meeting."

Lexa's eyebrows rose in surprise. She wasn't sure why she was so shocked. She had assumed Clarke wouldn't want to invest in Lexa's personal life, seeing as they had a past. But she hadn't outright denied the request. "I can deal with that."

Instead of continuing down the path of Lexa's father, the brunette slid the picture back into her desk drawer. The woman began throwing out ideas of what Clarke could do to make the workspace more welcoming. They discussed sketches, paintings and detailed drawings. Eventually, Clarke even withdrew her sketching equipment and began making rough outlines of what they were talking about.

It was easy speaking with Lexa. They worked well together, their minds worked in the same way. They spoke constantly, going over ideas and throwing away bad ones. It wasn't until Tristan was opening the office door tentatively that they realized time had flown by.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Woods, but your 12:30 is here," she murmured quietly, only leaning halfway into the room.

Clarke's smile died on her lips as their bubble was popped and reality sank back in. This was Lexa Woods, the woman she'd had a one night stand with and wasn't very sure where she stood. This was a woman who had her a muddled mess in seconds. She blinked and nodded, "Alright, I should get going."

The artist scrambled for her things, shoving them into her back because suddenly she couldn't get out of their fast enough.

Lexa stood just as abruptly as she had, "Thank you, Tristan," she nodded towards the younger girl, "you can go."

Once Tristan was gone, Lexa's piercing gaze returned to the scrambling blonde before her. "Thank you for meeting with me today, Clarke. I enjoyed our brainstorming session." She held her right hand out and smoothed her shirt down with the other.

"Me too," Clarke smiled thinly and briefly squeezed Lexa's hand. "When should we set up another appointment?"

Lexa cleared her throat and reached towards the corner of her desk, grabbing a business card and a pen before flipping it over and hurriedly writing something down. She did it so quickly it was as if she was trying to do it before she could tell herself not to. Once she finished, she held it between her fingers in Clarke's direction, "Call or text me when you're available and I'll make the time."

Clarke took the card, flipping it over to find an unfamiliar number written on the back in Lexa's script. She could only assume it was her personal number. "Alright, I will."

She turned to leave and as her fingers came in contact with the metal door handle Lexa's voice echoed behind her, "It was good seeing you again." Clarke didn't turn. She couldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened the door.

"You too," she called back before allowing the door to click shut softly and continued back down the hallway. Her heart was beating harshly in her chest again as she reentered the reception area.

Tristan was seated behind her desk again and smiled at Clarke when she noticed her, "Did you have a good meeting?"

"Yes," Clarke nodded, "it was very productive."

"That's great," Tristan smiled even wider before her eyes moved to the waiting area. A bald man sat there, dressed in a tailored black suit, pressed and wrinkle free. "Mr. Kepa, you may go ahead, Ms. Woods is expecting you."

Clarke's eyes met those of the no-nonsense man before her. His eyes bore disapproving holes into her head and his jaw clenched as they passed each other. The blonde frowned, unsure of why she was receiving this sort of judgement when she didn't even know him.

She tried to pay it no mind, seeing as she was already caught up on the CEO a couple of offices back. Instead, she kept walking, entering the elevator quickly and letting out a relieved breath when it closed and she was alone.

"Lexa, who was that girl?"

Those were Titus's first when he entered her office, as if it was his business. He always had a way of overstepping his bounds. Lexa tried to withhold the anger from her voice, but it still came out as a growl. "That is none of your business, Titus. Why did you need to see me?"

"Lexa, you know how I feel about your extracurricular activities—"

The brunette stood, having replaced her blazer and rolled her sleeves back down to her wrists. Titus was one of her dad's dearest friends, one of his most trusted advisors next to Costia's family. Once the two of them had gotten together, their families had gotten along swimmingly.

"I don't care how you feel, Titus," she growled again, "Your job is to advise, so do that."

"I advise," He gave her a pointed look, "that you sever whatever you are doing with that girl."

Lexa rolled her eyes and laced her fingers together least she strangle the man, "That's none of your business as I said before. So let's discuss why you're actually here, please. Keep my personal life out of it."

It was a bad idea for Lexa to give Clarke her personal number. Lexa had made a lot of bad decisions once Clarke had entered her life. But it took Clarke nearly five days to get back in touch with Lexa. She wasn't sure why she had waited so long, but she also wasn't sure why she had called in the first place.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Clarke," she blurted after a moment. She wasn't sure if she should call the woman Lexa or Ms. Woods or what would be the most appropriate.

"Oh, Clarke," Lexa hummed. "I didn't think you would call me."

"I know, I've been busy with other projects, I apologize," Clarke lied. In all honesty, Kane had pushed her and pushed her to the point that she had broken. Lexa was offering her a lot of money and she needed it. Not that she didn't have a substantial income as it was, but this would really help.

There was some static and Lexa's muffled voice saying something to someone before she was back, "Sorry, it was Tristan. And there is no reason to apologize, I know you needed time to think."

"About that," Clarke mulled, staring at the wall across from her. She had painted her room when she'd first moved in, most likely ruining it for any future residence, but she hadn't cared. She'd been meticulous about the pale green and vines growing up along the accent wall. It was full of nature and reminded her of the times her father had taken her camping. The other three were dark, with galaxies and stars painted in detail along the landscape. "I was thinking we could set up another appointment to meet face to face."

"How about lunch next Tuesday?"

Clarke's heart skipped a beat, a part of her instantly thinking date but she tamped that idea down quickly. "Alright. What time?"

"What time is good for you?" One thing that Clarke didn't know was that Lexa was grinning. She looked like a love struck teenager sitting there and spinning her chair lazily behind her desk. A hot stab of wrongness stabbed through her gut, but it was weaker than the feeling of rightness that washed over her. She could ignore the guilt for now.

"1:00?"

"That sounds good with me, Clarke. I'll see you then."

"Bye, Ms. Woods." Clarke rubbed a hand over her face.

"Call me Lexa, Clarke."

"Lexa. Bye," she muttered.

"Bye," Lexa responded before hanging up the phone. Just as Costia opened the door and began ranting about business numbers and invoices that she needed to sign.

Tuesday came all too quickly for Clarke but not fast enough for Lexa. They met at a gourmet sandwich restaurant in Midtown. Lexa had already placed her order by the time Clarke showed up, as she was always early for every appointment she made.

"Hi," Clarke smiled as she approached. She was dressed in loose partial-button down red shirt rolled up at the elbows and pair of black pants. The color complimented her pale skin and she looked absolutely beautiful.

Lexa stood and smoothed her jacket, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Have a seat."

Today she was dressed in a navy blue suit, her shirt a pale blue with a deep blue tie to match. She looked quite dapper to Clarke, her hair tumbling over one shoulder in slick waves of brown.

They both sat and stared at each other for a moment before a server came over. Clarke placed her order quickly, having figured out what she would want before coming as to not look or feel stupid.

"So have you thought over my offer?" the brunette asked.

Even if they were in a much more public setting, she still managed to command the room. She looked imposing and confident and very, very attractive. It intimidated Clarke a little, but she knew they were on more equal ground here rather than Lexa's office but she didn't feel more comfortable. If anything, being out in public made it harder to keep this strictly business.

"Yes," Clarke nodded and laced her fingers together, "to be completely honest, I want to keep this strictly business. But my manager, Marcus Kane doesn't want me passing up this offer. He's convinced me to do the personal project as well as the business one. So I accept."

Lexa smiled, one of those half, amused and knowing smiles that didn't show any teeth. It was rather sexy. But what about Lexa Woods wasn't maddeningly attractive? "As I seem to remember, Marcus Kane is a very convincing man."

"Yeah," Clarke chuckled and sipped at the water Lexa had taken the liberty of ordering for her before she'd shown up. "He said to keep you satisfied by any means necessary." She nearly choked on her own water at the insinuation, "I didn't mean, I just—you're a—I don't mean to—"

Lexa smiled soothingly and leaned forward, placing her hand over the blonde's. "We should probably talk about that."

Clarke shook her head and cleared her throat of the icy liquid that had tried to kill her. She would much be dead than deal with this anyway. "That's not necessary."

"Yes it is, Clarke," and the way she said her name had Clarke melting instantly. It wasn't far. "We're going to be working in close proximity to each other an undetermined amount of time. Having baggage between us isn't going to help that."

They were saved from having that conversation by their server, who brought their food and set it down on their table. Clarke asked for several things to drag out the guy's stay by asking questions before finally letting him go and retrieve the sauces she'd asked for. She hoped he would be back for they got too deep into the conversation.

Lexa grabbed her utensils after taking off her jacket and rolling up her shirt sleeves. Her sandwich was a messy turkey BLT and she definitely didn't want to get it on her clothing. "Clarke—"

"We don't need to talk about it, Lexa. It happened, it's over. We were both drunk and stressed from work. There's nothing to explain."

"Fine."

"Really?" Clarke paused, realized that Lexa had given up so easily but suspicious that there was more to it.

"Really. So have you thought anymore about designs?" Lexa cut into her sandwich and took a bite.

Lexa was great at changing the subject and Clarke was great at compartmentalizing her feelings and adapting quickly. They were both also very stubborn, which led to denial that the almost conversation they'd had didn't even exist. Their food was quickly finished and Clarke pulled her sketchbook out as they got deeper into the conversation.

"You need more color," Clarke stated as she pulled out the pack of colored pencils she had. "Maybe something abstract that'll draw attention." She went to work, turning to a fresh sheet of paper and playing with different designs.

Lexa watch, transfixed with the way Clarke's wrist flicked with ease, somehow managing to create such coherent sketches in moments. The CEO could hardly draw a stick figure, let alone do anything remotely like Clarke did. That was one of the reasons why she was so captivated by the blonde, her artwork. Initially it had been her pieces at the gala. Thought provoking and abstract works mixed with landscapes. The blonde was multitalented and beautiful to boot.

"You're really good at this," Lexa commented after a moment.

"That's why you're paying me to do it, Woods," Clarke shot back, her hand never slowing and her eyes never leaving the paper.

Lexa chuckled and watched the blonde work.

They sat there for a good hour and a half, fifteen minutes into Lexa's next meeting with Titus. They talked about work and going to school. Sticking to small talk and a little bit of politics until Clarke realized Lexa was insanely educated on the subject and she couldn't even begin to shine a light to her knowledge.

Lexa paid for their meals, insisting that it was her duty as she had invited her to a business lunch. They walked out together and wandered down the bustling sidewalk for a good minute discussing the colorful abstract Clarke would be working on. It was going to be the center piece of all six of the works she did.

The brunette watched Clarke, her hands moving and eyes bright as she spoke about her passion. She wished she had that sort of passion for her business, but really, it was purely her desire to make her parents happy. A bubbling appreciate and attraction for Clarke overwhelmed her senses and made it impossible to think.

Lexa grabbed Clarke's forearm in the middle of the busy street and pulled her close before she could think about it. Their bodies pressed flush together and Lexa noticed the confusion and surprise register on the blonde's face before she pressed their lips together in a kiss that caused every nerve in her body to fry.

It took her a moment to realize what was going on but when she did, she couldn't resist the soft, sweet lips that she didn't realize she'd been missing. Clarke's fingers tangled in Lexa's hair and she kissed her back equally as fervent.

Tanned fingers clutched at firm hips and a flimsy pink top. The New Yorkers on the street continued to bustle on past as if they weren't even there. The city was desensitized to a lot of things, more focused on getting to work and going about their business to each other. Two women making out in the middle of the crowded sidewalk didn't cause anyone to bat an eye unless they got in someone's way.

Neither of them wanted to pull away because they would have to talk about whatever this was. But eventually, their lungs burned and Lexa tore her lips away from Clarke's. They stared at each other, pupils blown and breathing erratic. Their foreheads pressed together and they clung to each other like their lives depended on it.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Lexa panted, rubbing distracting circles into Clarke's hipbone over her jeans.

Clarke couldn't think straight. Her body was on fire and she wanted Lexa more than she had ever wanted anyone in her entire life. She needed her more than she had ever needed anyone in her life. She couldn't help the next words that came out of her mouth, "Yes."

Her first mistake had been sleeping with Lexa the first time.

The second had been taking her personal phone number.

The third was saying that one word.

Everything spiraled out of control after that.