Sweet Surrender - Chapter 14
(Day Seven - con't)
"Chloe?" Enrique inquired softly from the guest room doorway.
"He hates me," she replied dejectedly, tossing her things haphazardly into her cases.
"One doesn't fall out of love within the matter of hours, Chloe," he reassured her soothingly. She had obviously heard Lex's earlier comment of not wishing to deal with her and had taken it to heart.
"Lex can," she responded dismally, pausing briefly to wipe a stray tear from under her eye. "He's more than capable of detaching himself, watch me try my damnedest to make up for how I hurt him, only to walk away like I never meant anything to him at all."
Enrique couldn't dispute Chloe's point. Lex was indeed capable of such a thing if pushed hard enough, or hurt deeply enough, and it had been many a year since he had seen Lex hit the bottle like he had the evening before. The only consoling fact on Chloe's part was that she had stayed instead of leaving as she had threatened. That she stayed with Lex himself had soothed his hurt more than Chloe would ever know.
"Would you like some breakfast before you leave?"
"No thanks, Enrique," she replied in a low voice, not bothering to look up at him. "I honestly think it would be better if I just left."
"Nothing I said meant anything to you, then?"
"Everything you said meant something. But it's too late. He closed himself off from me."
"You can still make amends, Chloe."
Chloe stopped her packing and slowly turned to face the servant. "How am I supposed to make amends? He didn't even want me near him this morning!"
"It will take time, but possibly not as much as you may think."
"That's the problem, I don't have time. Everything has its order with Lex, everything has its synchronicity, and I put things so out of sync that I'm not sure that there's anything I could do to ever amend it."
"You realize that once you leave the mansion you can never return."
"I'm more than well aware of that fact."
"Everything you have accomplished these past few days will be for naught."
"I know, but I can't stay where I'm not wanted," she replied with a sniffle. Zipping her cases closed she hauled them from the mattress to stand before Enrique, all packed and ready to go.
Enrique stepped further into the room, his expression pleading her to change her mind. "After all that has occurred, you have no understanding how much he wants you with him. He is not as cold and inhuman as you deem him capable, Chloe."
She met his pleading eyes, a hopelessness in her own. "He can be, Enrique. He can be so cold and unfeeling that it'll make you regret ever caring for him in the first place. I can't watch that happen, it would hurt too much."
"Then I won't stand in your way," he conceded, squaring his shoulders as his professional impassiveness settled over him. "Would you like me to take your bags to your car, Miss Sullivan?"
She blinked at the sudden change in him, then resigned to accept his detached formality. "Yes, thank you," she whispered in response, trying to hold back her tears. 'If it hurts this much with Enrique, it's going to be torture saying goodbye to Lex.' She thought as the servant took her bags from her and entered the hall.
"Where is Lex, Enrique? I won't just leave without telling him goodbye."
The man's stride had faltered slightly before coming to a stop. 'Yes, she would want to see him one last time.' he thought to himself. "He is in his office," he replied over his shoulder, not wishing to look at her directly.
XxXxX
"Do you need something?" Lex asked without raising his head from his papers.
"I was hoping that we could talk."
"There's nothing to talk about," he stated, looking up to meet her gaze with steely eyes. "I told you how I felt, and you didn't want to hear it. It'll be business as usual between us, Chloe, no harm done."
"No harm done? Are you lying to me or yourself?" she asked, stepping closer to the desk. "I refuse to believe that..."
"You can refuse to believe all you want, Chloe." He interrupted. "You can leave and break our agreement too, if that's what you want. Or you can stay and rummage through my entire mansion in search of old letters and useless items from my past," he paused, realizing that he was beginning to shout. "But I should warn you that the decision you make right now will effect you for the rest of your life."
"Is that a threat, Lex?" she asked with some incredulousness. "Are you suggesting that something will happen to me if I walk out that door right now?!"
"I'm saying something worse could happen if you stay." He got up and walked around the desk to stop close to her, and leaned closer still to whisper in her ear. "Are you willing to risk that, Chloe?"
Chills ran down her spine at his breath on her neck, his whispered words, the huskiness of his voice. She turned to confront him further only to catch him leaving the room.
"Lex!" she called after him, moving to catch him in the hall. "Lex, wait just a minute!"
"Not now, Chloe," he called back over his shoulder. "I have a two o'clock meeting to attend to." Reaching a private side office, he turned to face Chloe once more. "Ah, and just for the record, I appreciate you sleeping with me last night, though next time a blanket would be more than enough to keep me warm." He smirked at her as he closed the door in her face.
"You son of a bitch!" she yelled, pushing the door open before it closed all the way. "You are 'not' getting out of this conversation that easily!"
Without warning Lex snaked his arm around her waist as soon as she cleared the open door. Pulling her backwards, he half turned her in his arms and stepped forward until she was backed against the wall. With precise movements he leaned towards her, keeping his body mere inches from touching hers.
"You're the one who is packed and ready to leave, Chloe." He reached his hand up to gently caress the side of her face, brushing a wayward lock of hair from her eyes. "But I'm willing to let you go." Dropping his hand from her face and backing away from her. "Our contract is officially null and void as of right now." He crossed the small room to lounge on the leather sofa. "Do yourself a favor and go back to Gotham. Go back to your job, your friends, and don't ever come to me again."
"Fine, Lex. If that's the way you want it," she replied bitterly to hide the hurt in her voice. "I'll even make it easier for you. Once I walk out that front door, you don't ever have to worry about me so much as 'think' of you ever again."
"Would you be willing to put that in writing?" he smirked across the room at her.
"Fuck you!"
She stormed from the small office, slammed the door behind her, and briskly walked down the hall towards the front door. She didn't quite make it outside before her tears began falling down her face, but she was past anyone who would've seen them and once she got into her car it didn't matter. She peeled the rental in the driveway, making the tires kick up stones and dust, giving her an added guarantee that no one saw her crying while she drove away from the mansion.
XxXxX
He laid on the couch for an indiscernible time, trying to convince himself to just let her go. She didn't want him, at least not enough to compromise himself and go after her. Her seeming shows of affection and concern were based on a friendship that she felt obligated to partake in more so than wanted. Her attraction to him, though obvious in his eyes, wasn't enough to disregard the Luthor name and try to make any semblance of a relationship. In fact, as far as Lex was concerned, it was the possibility of a relationship that had her packed and running for the door. He briefly wondered if it was his name or him personally she didn't want to commit to.
'Let her go,' he thought with finality. He didn't need her double standards. He didn't want her if she only gave a part of herself to him. It wouldn't work between them anyway. She was too head strong, too ambitious, to independent and self sufficient. She didn't need him for anything.
Then why did he feel as though his life was draining from his body, knowing she was getting further and further out of his reach while he sat and did nothing?
'Because I love her,' he answered his own hypothetical question.
With his mind made up, he rose from the sofa, straightened his shirt, and left the small office. Reaching the front hall, he removed a set of keys from the hook and went into the den to retrieve his wallet.
"Are you going after her, sir?"
Lex straightened his back and turned to face his inquisitor while slipping his wallet into the pocket of his slacks.
"Since when do you ask me of my intentions, Enrique?"
"Forgive me. I was merely curious."
Lex regarded the older man thoughtfully before answering. "I have no intention of going after her, if that quells your curiosity. Though now I'm curious as to why you would question me in the first place."
After a moment of consideration, Enrique gave his own reply. "I am sure you are aware that Miss Sullivan had heard our conversation earlier this morning, giving her the assumption that it would be impossible for her to amend her rash decision of last evening. I had naturally assumed you would consider this as her reason for leaving and wish to correct her misunderstanding."
"Why are you pushing her on me?" he asked heatedly, advancing on his man servant. "What the hell is it about her that makes you insubordinate to me after all these years?" he stopped two feet before his servant. "Tell me why I shouldn't fire you right now for daring to question me!"
Enrique held his ground. His shoulders squared proudly, his chin raised but not arrogantly so, and he met Lex's gaze with surety. "Because I know that she would have stayed if there had been the slightest reason presented to her."
Lex narrowed his eyes almost into slits. "There was nothing slight about what I offered her to stay. I want to know why you'd put your job on the line for her. Or do you honestly doubt that I would terminate your service?"
"I have no doubt that you would, sir. I also have no doubt that there has been a mistake made this morning, and it is up to you to correct it."
"See?" Lex chuckled. "That's where you're wrong, Enrique. There were no mistakes made this morning, things played out exactly as they should." He turned towards the hall and headed for the door.
"That is not how you felt when she was nestled by your side." He dared to counter.
"She is NOT by my side!" he shouted angrily, spinning around to face the man who opposed him. "Nor will she ever be!" he took a deep calming breath to control his emotions. After a moment he spoke, his voice was controlled and precise. "I suggest you return to your assigned duties, Enrique, and 'never' mention her to me again if you wish to remain under my employment."
XxXxX
Lex was still fuming as he drove down the road towards town. He couldn't believe how insubordinate Enrique had become in the past few days. How dare he behave so defiantly!
Realizing he was traveling at a hundred and twenty miles per hour, Lex eased his foot off the gas pedal and slipped the car into a lower gear. As he drove past a small wooded area, the glint of metal reflecting the sun caught him in the eye. Checking the rear view mirror, he saw the rental car that Chloe had been driving in the ditch with the front end smashed into a tree.
Lex hit the brakes hard, causing his car to fishtail with the unexpected command to stop. Throwing it into reverse, he burned rubber backwards to the crash site. A chill went down his spine when he saw Chloe's unconscious form behind the steering wheel.
He couldn't get the driver's side door open, so he rushed around to the passenger side and climbed in. Checking first for a pulse, relief blinded him of all other thought except that she was alive. He removed the seatbelt and gently checked for any obvious injuries. Finding none, he gently placed his arm around her back, pausing when she moaned.
"Chloe?"
XxXxX
She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, his blue eyes filled with concern. She smiled warmly and snaked her hand around the back of his neck to pull him closer. Assaulting his mouth with hers hungrily, she licked at his bottom lip, then nipped at it gently, chuckling softly when his breath caught in his throat. She cupped both sides of his face with her palms, pulling him to her as she positioned herself on his lap to meet his lips demandingly.
"Chloe," he muttered against her mouth, trying to pull back for a breath.
"Don't leave me like this, Lex," she whispered, her breathing rushed and uneven. "Don't think," she added, gently pulling on his bottom lip with her teeth. "Just feel." Her hand slid between their bodies, undoing his pants button with a flick of her fingers, then unzipped the zipper.
He shifted his hips under her weight, giving her more room to work her hand between his skin and pants. He clasped her ass fully with his hands, his fingers digging into the soft flesh under her skirt when she fully took hold of him.
"Chloe," he breathed again against the onslaught of her mouth. "Move the seat back."
She groaned in protest, but knew it was a good idea. With her left hand she reached behind her, between his legs, and found the handle to release the seat. He pushed the seat back as far as it would go and stretched his legs, giving them a little more room.
Chloe's hand returned to him to start working on the buttons of his shirt, reveling in the feel of his skin under both her hands.
He ran his hand along her skin from her ass to her thigh, then slipped his fingers between her thighs. She cried out and threw her head back at the feel of his probing fingers. Her hips grinded against his hand, moaning incoherently. Her grip on him tightened, her hand moving in rhythm with her hips. He grabbed her by the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair to pull her face down to seize her mouth.
His tongue delved deeply, licking, searching, probing the inside of her mouth in a heated frenzy. She met his onslaught with heated vigor. "Lex," she moaned, his name indiscernible within the sound from her throat. But he knew it was his name, recognized it from so many times before.
He took her thighs firmly in his grasp to position her better over his hips. She moaned with pleasure as she found herself neatly placed above him. Her head tipped to the side, her lips and teeth played with the skin at his neck, her tongue licked along the vein as she eased down on him.
She breathed in slowly and deeply at the feel of him filling her. His hands gripped her hips, trying to urge her to take it slow, but she was so hot and ready for him that he lost the will to prolong it and gave in to the burning desire, driving her harder and faster until they were both consumed in a frenzy that had only one release.
Her outcry was joined by his guttural yell before they locked together, unmoving. Their heads were thrown back, eyes closed, and they clung to each other savagely enough to leave marks on one another. He sagged under her, closing his mouth and swallowing hard, to get the dryness from his throat. With closed eyes, she collapsed atop of him, her head rested limply at his shoulder, her breathing erratic as she licked at her own dry lips.
"Chloe," Lex addressed softly. "Chloe, come on, wake up."
Her eyes fluttered open to see him looking down at her, his blue eyes filled with concerned apprehension. She smiled up at him warmly, feeling his arms cradling her body against him.
"I love you, Lex," she said, her voice sounding hoarse from a dry throat. She snaked her hand around to the back of his head to urge it down to meet her lips. Kissing him languidly, her tongue flitted over his bottom lip before she pulled back and, once again, lost consciousness.
Lex had responded to her unexpected kiss, thrilled by her admission. His blood had run cold when he had seen her car in the ditch. He had rushed to the vehicle to find her slumped over and unconscious. At that moment, he knew without a doubt, that he could never let her go.
He had checked her carefully for injuries. She had a small bruise on her forehead from the steering wheel, but otherwise seemed unharmed. After carrying her from the car, he held her close against his chest, and had tried to wake her up.
Her reaction to seeing him, though not unwelcome, had been a surprise, especially after the words they had shared before she left the mansion earlier.
"I'm taking you to the hospital." He gathered her in his arms and gently placed her in the passenger seat of his Ferrari. After making sure she was strapped in and wouldn't fall over, he noticed her left hand was clenched tight, a small spot of blood between her knuckles. Gently prying open her fingers he found the earrings he had given her. She had been holding them so tightly they had pricked the skin of her hand.
"You would never think of me again, Hmm, Chloe?"