A/N: Just so there's no confusion, assume for the purposes of this story that Lionel has moved back to Metropolis.
Chapter Three: Trapped
"This room used to house my father's antique collection," Lex told Chloe, drawing her attention back to him. "Swords, maces, things like that. Most of it got trashed in that incident with the Palmer boy, and I finally had an excuse to get rid of it all."
"I'm surprised" she grinned at him. "I would've thought you'd be fond of the trappings of war."
"Not hanging on the walls," he told her. "Usually when you have such a visible display of weaponry, it's to disguise the fact that you have no actual power behind it," he smirked. "Can I get you anything?" he asked abruptly, changing the subject as he opened one of the bottles of water he kept stocked. "Water, coffee?"
"Coffee . . . damn!" Noticing Lex's curious look, Chloe rolled her eyes at herself. "I left my latte in my car," she explained.
"Would you like another?" he offered, amused.
"No, that's ok. Let's just get on with the interview."
The excited energy was fairly radiating out of her, and Lex couldn't help but chuckle. He watched as she sat on the brown leather couch and opened up her bag, pulling out a small tape recorder, a pen and a pad of paper. She checked the recorder before turning it on and placing it on the table in front of her, then looked at him expectantly.
'Time to test the waters,' Lex thought. With a panther-like grace he strode over and, rather than sit in one of the chairs as Chloe was expecting, settled himself next to her at the end of the sofa. He pulled one leg up so that he was turned to face her, his arm leaning casually on the back of the couch and his knee inches away from her leg. When she turned, her legs mirroring his, their knees brushed and her skin tingled at the contact. About to suggest that he sit at a slightly more professional distance, she caught the challenge in his eyes and clamped her mouth shut. Now it was amusement that sparkled in his gaze.
"Fire away," he smirked, and took a pull from his bottle of water. So he wanted to play it that way, did he? All right then.
"Mr. Luthor," she began, "what is your response to the FDA report on the new drug Lex Corp. has been developing?" Lex smirked a bit at her question and set his bottle down on the table.
"That report has not yet been published, Ms. Sullivan." His retaliation with her own formal name was not lost on her, and she returned the smirk he gave her. "As I'm sure you'll understand, I can't possibly comment on a report I haven't read yet."
"Oh, please, Lex," she scoffed, unaware that she had returned to a more informal address. "If I can get my hands on the report, I'm sure you can." She brushed back an errant strand of hair as her eyes glittered playfully. "In fact, I'll bet that if I were to boot up that computer over there, I'd find a copy saved to disk." Lex grinned.
"Well, if I had to speculate," he emphasized, "I would guess that the report will confirm the existence of very few side-effects, all of which are quite normal in an allergy pill of this type. This news would be about what we were expecting when we sent it in for approval. That's really all I can say until I read the official report." She nodded, jotted down a few notes, then looked back up at him. 'Time to try a different track,' she thought.
"You've been seen around town lately with Alicia Raynes, daughter of Senator Allison Raynes." The strand of hair had fallen forward again and was once more brushed back from her face by an impatient hand.
"Bucking for a column in the society pages, Chloe?" Lex smirked to hide his surprise at the subject change. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Think of it as human interest. So would you care to comment on the status of your relationship with her?" Lex caught a hint of jealousy in her voice and tamped down a smug smile.
"Alicia and I are friends and business acquaintances, nothing more," he told her smoothly. She nodded thoughtfully.
"Would that business have anything to do with the proposal Lex Corp. is trying to push through Senate appropriations?"
"And what proposal would that be?"
"According to what I've found out, it has something to do with a military contract to develop a new truth serum many are referring to as 'The Green-Eyed Monster.' Anything you'd care to add?"
Lex blinked once, but otherwise managed to hide his surprise. How the hell had she found out about that contract? He had spent countless man-hours and even more money to make sure that no information about it leaked to the press. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for the girl sitting in front of him. Chloe Sullivan was going to be a formidable force one day, when she got the recognition that her talent for unearthing the truth deserved. For now he really had no reason to hide except for the fact that he didn't want his competitors—his father in particular—to get their hands on the formula.
"I'm afraid that's sensitive material. No comment." Her eyes narrowed.
"What about the rumors that your allergy pill is almost identical to the developed serum, its sole difference being the addition of ground-up meteor rocks? Any comment on that?" Now he was beginning to understand. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face.
"Still chasing those meteor stories I see." Her expression, in contrast to his, was earnest.
"I'm serious, Lex. You saw the effects the meteor rocks had on people here in Smallville," she told him. "They're dangerous."
That same strand of hair was back in her face, and before she could brush it back again Lex reached out and tucked it behind her ear. As he did so, his fingers brushed against her jaw and trailed down to her neck. Her skin was unbelievably soft, and her pulse pounded beneath his fingertips. He found himself gazing at her lips, wondering if they, too, were as soft as they looked. He looked up at her wide, surprised eyes.
"I don't want to hurt anyone, Chloe."
Chloe just stared at him, unable to say anything in the face of his intent gaze. Her heart was hammering, the beat of it pounding against his fingertips on her neck. How was it possible for such a simple touch to affect her like this? She barely had time to register the passion that suddenly flared in his eyes before his lips were on hers.
The kiss was soft at first, his lips brushing against hers, testing, then more insistent. His hand was cupping her neck now, pulling her closer, and her eyes fluttered closed. Her mind was in turmoil, swimming with the sensations of the kiss, torn between thoughts of pushing him away and climbing on top of him. Finally, her body made the decision that her brain wouldn't and she began to respond to the kiss, her hands moving to Lex's chest, unconsciously kneading the muscles there.
She tasted better than he could ever have imagined. The flavor of her mouth, the heat of her silky skin beneath his hand, her tentative response—all of it was acting like a drug on his system. 'More,' was his only thought. He had to have more.
With a tilt of his head he changed the angle of the kiss, and his tongue probed gently at the seam of her lips. She opened for him with a breathless moan, heating his blood even further. His tongue began a heated exploration of her mouth, coaxing hers into doing the same. Her hands slid to his shoulders a moment before she broke away to gasp for breath. Although Lex needed oxygen as desperately as she did, he needed the taste of her more. His lips moved to her jaw, trailing light kisses along the same path his fingers had taken earlier. A surge of pure male satisfaction swept through him at the whimper Chloe gave as he licked at the vein throbbing in her neck.
"Lex," she breathed, her voice breaking on his name as he sucked insistently on the spot. One of his hands had moved to her hip now, gently and rhythmically squeezing as the other hand held onto her side, tantalizingly close to her breast. A part of her mind was trying desperately to say something, but she wasn't quite sure what. The pad of paper on her lap tumbled to the ground, and she remembered.
"Lex," she managed to gasp out, her voice lacking any real conviction. "The interview . . . we still have to finish . . ." Her fingers dug harder into his shoulders as he scraped his teeth along her neck, and she dimly wondered how she had come to be practically in his lap without realizing it. Lex's mouth moved to her ear.
"Forget the interview," he urged her, the husky pitch of his voice making her shudder. He sucked gently on her earlobe, and his fingers flexed on her hip in the same rhythm. "It's not important now. You're here."
His words snapped Chloe out of the pleasurable haze she had been in and brought her hurtling back down to earth. She shoved at his shoulders, breaking the contact between his lips and her skin.
"What do you mean it's not important now?" Lex couldn't stop his wince, and her eyes widened in understanding.
"Chloe," he began, but cut off when she jerked herself away from his touch, snatching up her still-running tape recorder and switching it off almost violently. She stood and started stuffing her things into her bag.
"God, I can't believe this. I'm so freaking stupid. You never wanted to give me an interview, you just wanted to get me here so you could—" She broke off, unable to complete the thought. With a quick, jerking motion she slung her bag over her shoulder, glaring down at him. "What, was your bimbo of the moment held up at the manicurist? Had to find a last-minute replacement?"
"No." Lex stood up and grasped her arms, dropping his hands again at her warning look. "Chloe, please, it wasn't like that—"
"You know what? I don't care what it was like. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better places to be. Just stay the hell away from me." And with that she turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Shit!"
Lex ran a hand over his head, his jaw clenching as he tried to calm down. He hadn't meant to kiss her like that, not so soon, and he sure as hell hadn't meant to say what he had. She'd had every right to be angry with him; actually, he was surprised she hadn't just slapped him. His eyes fell on the bottle of water sitting on the table and he smirked—he was going to need something a hell of a lot stronger than that. A few quick strides and he was at the liquor cabinet; he poured himself a scotch and downed it in one swallow. He licked his lips and his eyes closed as the taste of scotch and Chloe hit his system. He hoped that Matthew's claim wasn't unfounded, because he got the feeling that if Chloe made it off his property, she was never speaking to him again.
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The halls of the manor echoed with the sound of Chloe's boots hitting the floor in quick, angry strides. She wrenched open the front door and started down the steps, her mind so preoccupied with her anger that she barely noticed the heavy gray rain clouds rolling in. She was angry at Lex for luring her there under false pretenses. She was angry with herself, for being stupid enough to fall for it. And she was angry at the part of herself that wanted to say to hell with this righteous indignation and go back to kissing Lex.
God, it had been better than she'd dreamed it would be, and Chloe prided herself on having a particularly potent imagination. But the way his lips and hands had felt on her skin, the thrill of having all of his concentration focused on her, had been phenomenal. Chloe had kissed guys before; she had had them touch and caress her far more intimately than what had just happened on the couch. Somehow, however, that comparatively chaste kiss had been more breathtaking than anything else she had ever done, and a big part of her wanted to go back to it.
She looked up from her internal debate and was surprised to see her car sitting in the circle drive. The 'interview' hadn't taken that long. She climbed in and tried to start it—the engine came to life without a whisper of protest. Her anger boiled to the surface again. If she found out that Lex had done something to her car just so she would accept a ride home from him, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.
Trying to put the whole thing from her mind, Chloe stepped on the accelerator and sped towards the gate. As she neared it, however, a strange thing happened: the closer she got, the slower her car went. No matter how hard she pushed on the gas, her speed steadily slowed until finally she was just barely rolling along. When she reached the open gate there was a slight jolt, as if she had run into a slightly springy wall. Her brow furrowed in confusion, she floored the accelerator. She could feel the resistance as the car tried to move forward, blocked by some kind of invisible barrier. A moment passed as she tried to gather her frantically rushing thoughts; finally she turned off the car and got out, walking cautiously towards the exit. Sure enough, when she was parallel with the front of her car, she came up against a solid wall of air. She placed both hands against it and pushed with all her might, but whatever it was, it was immovable.
"What the hell?" she muttered.
Her eyes fell on the fence that stretched out to either side of the gate. The first raindrops started to fall as she stalked over, hoping that she might be able to slip through the bars. Testing, she stretched out a hand; sure enough, whatever force was holding her in extended along the fence, as well. Panic started to mix with her anger now and she stood there in the rain, desperately trying to think logically. Maybe it didn't extend all the way around the property. She didn't hold out much hope for that, but she damn well wasn't going to give up without finding out. Mustering all the bravado she could, Chloe set off across the grass, trying to fight the feeling that she was well and truly trapped.
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Matthew whistled as the butler showed him into the room.
"Nice," he nodded in approval. He saw Lex sitting on a soft-looking brown leather couch, staring at nothing in particular. "Where's Chloe?"
"She left," Lex responded, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I hope, for your sake, that she didn't go far."
"Don't worry," Matthew smirked as he walked over to the fireplace. "The barrier goes along the perimeter of your property here. If I know Chloe, she's checking for cracks in the wall."
"Will she find any?" Matthew smiled.
"No." After a few moments he found the gas knob and started a blaze.
"A bit late in the year for that, don't you think?" Lex's voice sounded from behind him. Matthew turned and shrugged, grinning.
"Brooding's always better with a fire. Besides, I have a feeling Chloe's gonna need it when she comes back in."
"Why would Chloe need a fire?" Lex asked, perplexed.
"It's raining. Don't you ever look out the window, Mr. Luthor?"
"Lex." Now it was Matthew's turn to be perplexed.
"What?" Lex smirked.
"You've helped me abduct a fair maiden—I think that puts us on a first-name basis." Matthew chuckled at that and moved to one of the chairs.
"So what did you do that made her leave?" At the look Lex gave him Matthew rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You sitting here brooding, plus no Chloe, adds up to you did something that pissed her off and she stormed out. So what was it?" Lex sighed and ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"I kissed her." Matthew frowned.
"You kissed her, and she got pissed and left?" he clarified. "I got the impression that she liked you," he said, confused.
"No, she didn't seem to have a problem with the kissing." Lex's lips curved at the memory of Chloe's response. "It was when I said that the interview we had been in the middle of was unimportant that she got upset." Matthew winced.
"So she figured out the interview ruse. Didn't take it well?" Lex shot him a withering look.
"She was less than pleased," he said dryly.
"I'm surprised you didn't get slapped."
"Luthor!" Chloe's enraged voice rang out from the hall, and the sound of her footsteps grew steadily louder as she approached the study. Lex turned to Matthew.
"Well, the day is young yet."
Chloe flung open the door, bursting into the room like a small blonde tornado. Lex shot up off of the couch and she began stalking over to him, dripping wet and incensed.
"All right, Lex, whatever you did to have me doing a mime impression out there, I want it undone, now."
"God, Chloe, you're soaked."
"Yeah, walking around in a downpour will do that to you," she snapped.
Heedless of her tone, Lex pulled a blanket from beneath the table and wrapped her up in it before leading her to the fire. Chloe tried to protest, but the rain had been surprisingly cold and she was shivering. The warm blanket and the blazing fire felt like heaven, and although she refused to admit it, Lex's hands rubbing her arms through the blanket were doing more than their fair share to melt her. She gazed up at him and the tears she had fought against since she had stormed out finally began to fall.
"Is this about the story, Lex? Did I hit on something that you don't want me to know? Is that why you've trapped me here?"
"No, Chloe," Lex whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "This isn't about the story. It was never about the story."
"Then why?"
She was pleading with him, begging for him to let her understand. But now, faced with her tearful confrontation, he found he couldn't speak the words. Instead he gathered her in his arms and leaned down to brush his lips over her tears. Her eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her eyelids, sweeping away the moisture there. She drew in a shaky breath and leaned towards him before she could stop herself. When he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead her eyes opened again, imploring.
"Lex, I mean it. Whatever you've done, please, undo it."
"Lex didn't do it." She turned towards the voice, finally seeing Matthew there, standing and looking at her nervously. "I did."
Chloe looked from Matthew to Lex and back again, a knot lodged in her stomach. Whatever they were about to tell her, she had the sinking feeling that it wasn't going to be good news.
'Damn,' she thought. 'I knew I should have stayed in Metropolis.'
TBC . . .
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