Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Four ~*~*

Chloe shivered involuntarily in the bitingly cold night air, instinctively rubbing her hands together for warmth. "Okay, okay, last question - I swear." Her hazel eyes twinkled in the light of the dimly lit side walk as she turned to confront Lex. "He-Man, or She-Ra?" She giggled outrageously, urged on by the irritated but faintly adoring look on Lex's face.

They had finally succeeded in dragging themselves out of the Talon, where they had been lojacked to each other for what had seemed like hours, talking about anything and everything; but to Chloe it had seemed more like a lifetime. Her life before Lex's wonderful entrance in her own personal sand box seemed but a distant dream, foreign in its very Lex-less state.

Forever more Chloe knew that she would only be referring to two phases in her life - pre-Lex and during-Lex.

She steadfastly refused to think of a possible third phase - post-Lex. She didn't need any of that unique brand of non-cheer right now.

"Chloe." Lex said despite his mock exasperation, playfully shaking her shoulders. "I'm a man."

"That's mildly obvious." Chloe smirked, her appreciative eyes roving down the length of his body, appreciating the way that his well-tailored pants wrapped around his slender though well-built lower half-body. Within the dim recesses of her mind, the part that was still functioning in the company of this man, she wondered at her new-found confidence and brashness. She would never have said anything resembling what she had just said to anyone else; that she felt comfortable enough with him in such a short space of time spoke volumes for their instinctive connection.

Lex valiantly ignored her obvious look. "I'm a man," he continued despite Chloe's now not-so-subtle tittering, "naturally I wanted to be He-Man." He sighed in martyr-like fashion, although Chloe was observant enough to see a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

God the man even had sexy lips. She would probably stake her house on the certainty that Lex was sexy ... all over.

Wow, she was officially a lunatic. The newly crowned maniacal president of the Lex Luthor Appreciation Society, who incidentally, lived somewhere south of what she liked to call the gutter.

Not that noticing the overall sexiness of Lex was crazy or anything, or even from her current perspective, all that unusual. It was just that this shouldn't have been happening to Chloe Sullivan. Chloe wasn't anyone's idea of a good country girl, or any sort of good girl in general, but she hoped that she had some integrity and morals which would allow her to occasionally be high moral ground girl. But now ... what had happened to her? She was this animalistic almost-growling girl panting at the very sexy feet of Lex Luthor. Although panting ... feet ...

Okay, she really had to get her mind out of the gutter this instant.

"I'm sorry Lex. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just ..." Despite her profession, she let out a crystal peal of laughter that rang clearly in the cool night air, "I just can't imagine you playing with action figures. You must have been so cute." She emphasised by giving his hand an abrupt squeeze, then letting out another hearty laugh.

His playful swagger came back with full force. "And I'm not cute now?" He asked snidely, wiggling his brows for emphasis.

Chloe suddenly danced whimsically away from him, spinning a few times as she grinned insanely. She felt inexplicably light. She had just had a wonderful night, with a wonderful, sexy-as-hell man and she wanted to dance. Because this couldn't last, this state of perfection and contentment that now permeated her being. She felt like swirling around and around until she felt like hurling, wanted something to make her stop feeling this way - feeling that Lex Luthor was the only guy in the world for her, and that she was nothing without him. She was afraid of the way he made her feel, so strong and carefree yet so cared for - she wanted to somehow spin it out of herself.

But she didn't want this night to end.

Chloe spun until she felt herself growing dizzy, her head spinning in confusion. "You're not cute." She said at last, panting from the intense burst of exercise. "You're gorgeous." His eyes lit up, a spark of fire that kindled to visibly grow white-hot. "And you're obviously insane," she added daringly, "because you like me."

Lex quickly caught up to her and wrapped her roughly in his arms, his eyes intensely peering into hers. Chloe's breath caught at the suddenness of his movement, combining with the cold night air to leave her breathless and panting from exertion.

His lips were inches away from hers, his breath almost searing her skin with its warmth. "Well then, I must be insane." He leaned in almost desperately, catching Chloe completely by surprise by the passion he now unleashed onto her. Not that she had gotten used to the whole being kissed by Lex thing as yet - could a girl ever get used to it?

The question seemed strangely academic, given the fact that at this very instant, his mouth was plundering hers like they were the last two people on the face of the planet, and if Lex hadn't been gripping Chloe with such surprising force, she would have been sprawled on the side walk even now. To say that she was surprised and a whole lot scared was just the tip of the very large iceberg of her emotions.

He pulled away as suddenly as he had kissed her, leaving Chloe confused and gasping from a curious mixture of excitement and oxygen deprivation. She was slightly comforted by the fact that he looked as stunned and amazed as she felt; because she would have been officially freaked out if he had just done that and had a sane person reason for it. Her mind was awhirl with a million questions all vying to be asked, so she said the only thing she could legitimately say in her position.

"Wow." Chloe breathed, as she brought her fingers to her slightly swollen lips, pursing them carefully together. She looked up at him, a half-pleading expression in her eyes. "What was that?"

Lex shrugged mutely, his pale blue eyes still reeling from his actions. He took several deep breaths before venturing a reply. "I think ... I think you're starting to grow on me."

Chloe scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What, like a particularly blonde kind of fungus?"

He grinned, dispelling the tension that had erupted with his passionate kiss. "Ah - no. What I meant was," He leaned into her, pressing his body tightly against hers as he enveloped her in his arms, "it'd be great if you could stick around."

Chloe stared quizzically into the empty space in front of her, before nuzzling into the crook of his neck and trying to puzzle out his meaning. He was saying much less than what he was feeling, she was sure of it. "I'm not going anywhere." She whispered, a frown momentarily crossing her face in confusion.

Lex just hugged her tightly in reply.

(c) September 2002