Chapter 23
She let out her tenth sigh of the night as she checked her alarm clock.
It was four o'clock in the morning. The marathon was now entering its fifth hour. Five hours of tossing and turning in her bed her mind racing, trying to process everything that had happened. Somehow it seemed to get stuck on one particular moment of the evening. She groaned lightly as a warm wave of pleasure spread through her at the memory.
'You're not going anywhere, Lois Lane!' She ordered her body.
She couldn't do this. What about Chloe? It would kill her.
The fact that she knew deep inside she didn't regret anything only made her feel worse.
Frustrated, she buried her face in her pillow sharply inhaling the scent.
The thought came to her that this was probably how junkies felt and her fix was sleeping on the couch just one floor under her.
He sat up abruptly on the couch. He couldn't sleep, how could he with her heartbeat pounding in his ears, her breathing interrupting his thoughts, her smell clinging to his shirt.
It felt like he was losing his mind.
Standing up he began a determined stride toward the staircase, but like it had happened numerous times before that night he faltered at the bottom of the stairs.
'Just go back to the couch!' He commanded out loud in the vain hope that it would subdue the urge to run upstairs and storm into her room.
It didn't.
He nervously tapped his fingers together, fisting his hands and releasing countless times while he paced around.
For five hours he hadn't been able to slow down his frantic heartbeat or even out his breathing. He didn't think it was possible but this was even worse than that night at the lodge.
Damn! Why did his mind have to bring up that memory?
It only made it worse.
Letting out a growl he buried his face in his hands.
He pressed his fingers hard into his temples as if trying to bring to a halt the turmoil inside. He failed.
It was official - he was hooked on her.
She couldn't take it. Just one more hit. Just one more time and then that was it.
Flinging the bed sheets off of her she got up and limped out of the room.
Clark's eyes snapped to the top of the stairs when his hearing picked up on the sound of a door opening. He was at the top of the staircase in an instant.
He gulped at the sight of her standing at the end of the hall – she wore his shirt, just his shirt, leaving her toned legs exposed.
They stood there, frozen at opposite sides of the corridor, eyes locked, both flushed and drawing harsh pants.
And eternity passed by and then she took a tentative step forward and he was on her in under a second.
Their lips crashed together, her hands furiously clawing at his arms and shoulder as she frantically climbed up his body wrapping her legs around him while he lifted her clear off the floor and slammed her against the nearest wall.
They moved frenziedly against each other, roughly tugging and pulling at each others clothes in a desperate attempt to increase the contact. Tongues eagerly probed, battling out the frustration that had built up over the last few days.
He pushed his hips against hers, groaning into her mouth when she responded by hungrily biting his lower lip.
Tightening his hold on her he pushed them off the wall and stumbled his way into the bedroom.
The two crashed onto the mattress with a loud thud. Her fingers abandoned his back to erratically reach for the buttons of his shirt, but she was too out of it to be bothered with them when they refused to come undone. Gripping at the fabric she tore it open and ripped it off of him in one sharp movement.
He thrust his pelvis against hers, letting her feel him hard against her centre. Another rough shove and she was achingly arching her back off the mattress, tearing her mouth away from his in the process.
Her breath hitched in her throat when she looked up at him to meet his glassy stare.
Even in the hue lit room he could see the red tinting her cheeks, her lips were large and puffy from his greedy kisses. She never looked more beautiful than at that moment, laying underneath him, shallow gasps causing her chest to rise and fall at an irregular rhythm.
Tentatively, he bent down and softly brushed his lips over hers once… twice, as if asking for permission; the gentle touch heightening the overload of sensations in her gut, her last grasp off self control breaking.
Manically she hooked her hand on the nape of his neck and forced him down for another bruising kiss, resuming their passionate battle.
She dug her heel into the back of his thigh to push up against him, her fingers fisting into his hair as her tongue assaulting his mouth.
It seemed that no matter how much she tried he was still not close enough. She needed more… more.
Clark's brow furrowed as something slowly crept into his mindless haze. Gradually he was able to identify Shelby's bark.
Why was he barking?
As he was harshly brought back to reality he became aware of the brightness filtering through his closed lids. Reluctantly opening his eyes he saw that the previously darkened room was now lit up by a harsh light coming from window. It took a few seconds for his mind to register it as headlights of a car.
Who was-? His mother! His mother was home!
'Not now!' His brain screamed.
He painfully pulled his mouth away from hers to whimper out her name, but she didn't stop, rising up and eagerly sucking at his lip when he tried to pull away.
'Lois…' He repeated a little more forcefully finally managing to beak the kiss.
She stared up at him with confused eyes.
'My mom…' His voice was hoarse and filled with regret.
Suddenly everything came crashing down – Shelby's incessant barking, the cruel headlights, the time, the place.
One minute he was surrounded by her heat the next he was laying on the cold floor as Lois scrambled out of bed.
'You have to get out of here.' He heard her say; his torn shirt being flung against his naked chest and then quickly pulled back as she realised: 'Not that one. It's ruined. Here!'
Getting up, still a bit dazed, he watched as she moved frantically picking a random t-shirt that lay on the chair near the desk and thrust it into his hands as she shoved him out the door and into the hallway.
Her eyes widened in horror when the sound of the front door opening travelled up the stairs and her room became dark once more as the car that had been parked outside drove away.
'Go!' She hissed her order.
Before he had a chance to comply she had him shoved against the nearest hard surface for another crushing kiss.
When she pushed away he could read a myriad of emotions going through her – fear, doubt, exhilaration… lust.
Her bedroom door was slammed in his face before he could react.
The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his daze and he slipped his shirt on just as his mother appeared at the end of the hall.
'Clark?' She whispered.
'Hey…' He cleared his throat. 'Hey, mom.'
'What are you doing up?' She asked when she got close enough.
'I had to go to the bathroom.' His mind quickly supplied greeting his mother with a kiss. 'How was the gala?' He tried to change the focus of the conversation.
'It was nice.'
'Good… well, goodnight.' He hastily ended the conversation, bent down for another kiss and scurried off with a huge grin on his face.
Closing her eyes and catching her breath Lois leaned against the closed door; her pulse raced, her stomach cramped wildly at the onslaught of adrenaline and endorphins coursing through her body.
It was official, she'd fallen for Clark Kent.
Chapter 24
Clark nodded absentmindedly as his mother continued to recount what had happened at last evening's major event at Star City.
He was more than a little distracted but from what little he'd caught she had made quite an impression on the illustrious guests, especially Gotham City's very own millionaire and charming tycoon Bruce Wayne. All thanks to Oliver's protective support.
His eyes darted toward the staircase for the fifth time that morning. He'd heard her when she'd gotten up and had shuffled her way into the bathroom.
That had been fifteen unbearable minutes ago and the water was still running.
'I really think that Mr. Wayne is genuinely interested in helping the project.'
'That's great, mom.' Clark responded mechanically watching his mother slip her purse over her shoulder. 'I'll take care of the dishes.' He offered picking up the breakfast plates off the table and taking them to the sink.
'I'm so excited about this. Oliver has been incredible.' She continued praising the young man, but Mrs. Kent's words drifted into the background when the sound of water falling ceased.
Anxiety stirred in his gut as he tried to map out her movements using the noises that ringed in his ears; his mother's voice transformed into a minute droning noise in the background.
She'd walked around in her room, probably getting dressed and was now limping down the hall toward the staircase. She was coming down!
'Clark?'
'Huh?'
'You seem a bit distracted.'
'Hmm... I'm just a little tired; I didn't get much sleep last night.'
It wasn't a lie. He hadn't slept a wink, not after what had happened.
'Are you sure?'
'Yeah, I'm...' He paused when his eyes met hers while she came down the stairs. '...fine.' He finished with a gulp.
'Lois, you're up early!' Martha noted in surprise.
Nervously Lois averted her gaze from Clark's and met the older woman.
'Good morning, Mrs. Kent.' Turning toward Clark for a second she uttered: 'Smallville.'
'Lois.' He returned never taking his eyes off of her.
She inhaled deeply trying to focus on Martha:
'How was the gala?'
She didn't even register Mrs. Kent's reply; she was too busy trying to keep her breathing even.
They stood on opposite sides of the room, Clark by the sink, Lois leaning against the kitchen table, her nails fidgeting with the edge of the wooden surface. Mrs. Kent was caught right smack in the middle, oblivious to the electricity sparking between the couple. Every once in a while Lois' gaze would drift in his direction only to immediately drop back to the floor.
Martha glanced at her watch.
'I better hurry or I'll be late. But I'll call you later to work on the details for the New Year's Eve party.
New Year's Eve party? Oh right, she had been in charge of planning the event which was to take place at the Talon for the last three weeks. She'd completely forgotten about it. God, did he have to look at her like that?! His mother was in the room with them! How was she supposed to think straight under that stare? She could barely breathe, let alone form a coherent thought.
'Sure.' She was able to pull the word out of her constricted lungs.
'I'm off. Lunch is in the fridge.' She announced leaning in to kiss her son on the forehead.
'I'll be back later.'
Taking her car keys from the counter she left the house through the backdoor.
This was it. They were alone.
Their eyes met.
Clark's heart pounded furiously in his chest, he could almost feel his blood rushing through her veins.
'Hey...' She finally spoke.
'Hey...' He repeated; a goofy grin twisting his lips as he took a step forward.
She tentatively mirrored his action.
'So... hmm...' She began nervously shaking her wet bangs out of her eyes when she came to stand just a few inches from him.
'Yeah...' He gasped out; she was so close, all he could think about was reaching for her.
'About... yesterday...'
God, this was hard! It actually hurt to push out the words.
He waited; anxiety and exhilaration tearing through his chest clashing for dominance.
Clark's eyes dropped to the find her hand fiddling with the sleeve of her turtleneck sweater. Lois' gaze followed his and she forced her fingers to remain still.
She froze when she saw his hand moving towards hers.
If he touched her... she wouldn't be able to stop. She should back away. She should, but she didn't. Instead she held her breath as his index finger grazed over hers. Soon he was holding her hand in his, his thumbs sluggishly drawing circles over her soft skin.
Her eyelids dropped slightly under his touch.
'Smallville... we need to...' She faltered when she looked up and he was staring down at her with large darkened eyes.
Before she knew it his hand had travelled up to her wrist, giving it a quick tug and causing her to limply stumble into his chest.
This was helping...
She could feel his breath on her face as he leaned in closer. It sent a chill down to her stomach.
'Wait!'
'I can't.' His voice was deep and rough.
She was so close to giving in; she could feel her resolve wavering.
She needed to shake herself out of this thrall he had her under.
Setting her hand firmly on his chest she stepped back and inhaled sharply. That had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done.
He staggered when she fell out of reach.
'We need to talk.' She spoke as steadily as she could.
'Talk. Right.' He nodded trying to silence the voice that urged him to simply snatch her into his arms and put an end to the raw craving inside.
She was right, absolutely right. They needed to talk.
They remained silent, neither knowing where to start.
After twenty excruciating seconds she blurted with a nervous laugh:
'This is crazy. You and me? I mean... It's crazy!'
Oh-oh, this wasn't good.
'It's not crazy.' He interrupted her before she began one of her rants.
'We can't stand each other!' She pointed out exasperated.
'We seemed to get along quite well last night.' He countered.
Her eyes widened at his boldness. Since when was Clark bold?
'Tha-that was... that was... different.'
'Different how?!'
'Just different.'
Seeing the look on his face she let her shoulders drop in defeat before resuming:
'So we're a little attracted to each other.' She tried to reason.
He closed the gap between them and Lois felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
'A little?' He said in a low voice unable to ignore the obvious electricity coursing through him at her proximity.
She took a step back as she corrected herself:
'A lot.'
Confusion and uncertainty swarmed her brain.
'Maybe it's an after effect of-'
'Don't start, Lois!' He immediately cut her off. 'You know perfectly well this has nothing to do with that. Why won't you just admit it?'
'Admit what?'
'That there is something between us.'
She let out a frustrated sigh. She couldn't believe she was going to say it:
'And what if there is?'
His heart skipped a beat. Had she just admitted there was something?
'We can't do this...' She shook her head.
'Why not?!' He demanded.
'Why not?' She repeated. 'It would never work. We're too different. We're constantly bickering and getting on each other's nerves. We fight all the time over the most ridiculous things and-'
He tried to take a step towards her but her hand instantly came up to keep him at bay.
'Just stay there. I-I can't think straight when you're too close.'
'Lois, just let go...'
'Let go? Let go?! Well, tell me this - what about Chloe?'
'What about Chloe?'
Lois froze at the familiar voice coming from behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know it belonged to her cousin.