Chapter Seven: Back to the Pool Table
The library was only dimly lit when Chloe returned hours later, worried about Lex. He had been locked away in there since her father had left, leaving only to deliver her another offering of food around dinnertime. Even then, however, he didn't stay to banter—only gazed at her for a moment, a tender, determined look on his face, before turning to leave again. Now she was bearding the lion in the den, as it were, and was determined not to leave without finding out what was wrong with him.
She took a seat in front of the desk where he sat hunched over, his concentration fixed on the documents in front of him. Waiting would be the name of the game here, and though she had never relished sitting quietly, she knew that she would draw more answers from Lex with silence than with questions. So she sat and waited for Lex to emerge from the world he had immersed himself in.
He knew she was there. Even as he scoured the papers Gabe had given him, searching with single-minded determination for a way out of this damn halt that had been put on his plant, he was aware of her the instant she entered the room, knew the moment she sat down in front of him. Now he waited for her to speak, to question, to insist that he tell her what was going on.
But she was silent.
Finally, having made no progress despite his hopes, Lex sat back and looked up to see Chloe staring at him. The thirst for answers was clear in her eyes, but there was patience there as well, patience enough to wait for him to tell her in his own way. His lips quirked and he ran a hand over his face before leaning forward, arms resting on the desk.
"The plant's been shut down," he told her, taking in the confusion and curiosity that overtook her features. She leaned slightly forward as well.
"Why? What happened?"
"Your father." Her confusion mounted. "As safety coordinator, he has the authority to shut the plant down if he determines that there's a significant safety risk." He smirked. "Apparently, Lex Luthor holding his daughter captive qualifies as a significant risk."
"You mean my father shut down the plant because I'm stuck here? He wouldn't do that, there are too many people who need those jobs to just shut it down." Lex raised his eyebrows.
"He didn't seem overly concerned about that when he spoke to me this afternoon. He told me that the plant is staying closed until I let you go."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him the truth—there's no way to reverse the situation now. I can't let you out."
"Isn't there any other way to keep the plant open?"
"I've spent the past seven hours trying to find another way to stop this from happening, but there's nothing I can do. The contract is explicit; there's no way out of it." Frustration was ripe in his voice now. "Your father is well within his rights to shut production down if he assesses a risk, and there's no way for me to prove that there isn't a risk without going through with the inspection."
Chloe nodded slowly, considering. When her eyes came back to his, they held an expression that Lex couldn't read.
"And if you could?" she asked suddenly. He seemed confused by her question, so she continued. "If you could let me out, Lex, would you?" Lex sat back in his chair, his face solemn.
"I wish there were an easy answer to that, Chloe. I'd love to be able to say that I would never put my own desires above the well-being of so many people; but when the choice is between letting you leave and keeping you here with me . . ." He sighed, and his expression was almost apologetic. "I don't know if I could give you up. That may be extraordinarily selfish, but it's the truth. I love you, Chloe. I may have gone about it the wrong way, but now that I've gotten you here, I don't want to let you go."
Chloe didn't know how to respond. She wasn't sure she believed Lex and his claim that he loved her, but her heart beat faster at the words despite her doubt.
"I think I'm going to go to bed." She stood suddenly; she could feel her feelings showing on her face and covered as best she could with a sunny smile. "It's been a long day considering I didn't really do anything." Even as she spoke she was edging out of the room, trying to put some distance between herself and her uncomfortable emotions. She could think about it in her room, where she wouldn't have to face that unnerving gaze of his. "Good night, Lex." She walked quickly towards her room, feeling like a coward, but feeling somewhat steadier.
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"Stop working, Lex. It's time for lunch."
"Lunch?" he asked, his eyes fixed to his computer monitor. Despite having worked for days with no success, he was still searching for a way to open the plant back up.
"Well, either a really late lunch or a fairly early dinner. Depends on how you look at it."
Lex glanced up to see Chloe standing in front of his desk, nearly bouncing with restrained energy. When he saw what she held in front of her, his mouth curled into an amused smirk as he leaned back in his chair.
"It isn't every day I'm accosted in my office by Little Red Riding Hood. What's the occasion?" Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Ok, I'll give you the picnic basket reference, but I'm wearing a red shirt, not a red cloak. I hardly fit the character description. Honestly, Lex, I thought you had a better memory for detail than that," she teased. "As for the occasion, you've been holed up in here for three days. You said yourself that there's nothing you can do about the plant closing, and if you haven't figured out a way by now you're probably not going to. So, I am making it my mission to get you away from this dead-end task you've given yourself."
"And you think you can do that with a picnic?"
"No, smart-ass," she grinned at him. "I know that I can distract you with a picnic, because I'm not taking no for an answer. Come on, Lex, you've been working too hard." And he had been. He had been working for three days straight, only stopping to eat or sleep. But still, every day like clockwork, he would bring her a meal, always her favorite foods and always with a single red rose. Now she wanted to do something for him. "Please Lex? Have a picnic with me." Lex smirked at that and glanced out the window.
"Well, if you hadn't noticed, Little Red," he started, grinning when she rolled her eyes at his continued reference, "we seem to be in the middle of Smallville's wet season. Not exactly picnic weather." Chloe just shrugged and turned away.
"Who said we were going outside?" she shot over her shoulder. Lex raised a single eyebrow and watched as she walked to the center of the room. She set the basket on the ground and pulled out a checkered cloth that he would never have guessed would be anywhere in his house. As she spread the blanket over the carpet, Lex chuckled and stood, moving over to the basket.
"Here, let me help," he offered, both eyebrows shooting up when she swatted his hand away with a good-natured glare.
"I'm in a good mood, Lex, not stupid. If you think I'm letting you get your hands on this food so that you can give it to me, you're in serious need of mental help."
"Hey, now," Lex replied, his offended look ruined by the smile he couldn't quite suppress. "You're supposed to be innocent and naïve and blindly accept the wolf's help." Chloe sighed dramatically, but was equally unable to hide her grin.
"I never knew you had such a fairy tale fetish, Lex. Now," she pointed at a corner of the blanket, "sit down and let me finish."
So he did, watching Chloe as she arranged the food in the middle of the cloth. Her movements weren't fluttering, as many women's would have been; instead, she moved with a self-assured efficiency that he couldn't help but find oddly arousing. He found his gaze once again tracing the lines of her body, drinking in each curve and plane with thirsty eyes. Women were not foreign creatures to him, and he had seen countless variations of them in countless different ways. Women in clothes designed to entice, to stimulate, clothes that clung or draped or hugged their bodies, leaving little doubt as to what was beneath. As he watched Chloe he wondered how, even now in worn jeans and a simple, sleeveless red shirt, she could seem infinitely more enticing than any other woman he had ever seen. Finally, everything was arranged to Chloe's satisfaction.
"Here we are," she said with satisfaction, settling down across the food from Lex and smiling brightly. "One rainy day picnic, a la Chloe." Lex looked at the food set before him and picked up a bright green apple.
"My favorite," he grinned, teeth flashing as he bit into the fruit.
"I know." Chloe smirked at his questioning look. "You're not the only one who can pay attention to what someone eats." At his skeptical glance her smirk turned into a grin. "Or maybe I just asked around with the people who work here. Either way, same result."
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Lex suddenly put down his food and stood up. As he walked to his desk he heard Chloe's exasperated sigh behind him.
"I swear, Lex, if this picnic is ruined because I had to tie you down to get you to stop working, you're going to seriously regret it," she told him, only half teasing.
"Well, as intriguing as I find the idea of you tying me up, Chloe, it'll have to wait for another time," Lex smirked, returning to the blanket. He handed her a flat, rectangular velvet box. "I was going to give this to you later, but now seems like a better time."
Chloe looked down at the box in her hands, an apprehensive knot tying itself in her stomach. She opened it and saw what she had expected: a bracelet, a glittering row of diamonds, winking up at her like stars from the black velvet they rested on. Damn it, once she could handle, but this was really pushing it. Tamping down a growing tide of anger, she snapped the box shut again and held it out to Lex.
"I don't want this," she said, forcing her tone to come out calm and even. When Lex only looked confused, she tossed the box onto the ground in front of him.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Something wrong? Yes, there's something wrong," she bit off, her anger rising despite her efforts to control it. "I'm not going to be bought off, Lex. You can't just toss some pretty jewelry at me and expect me to suddenly be willing to go along with whatever you've decided you want to do with my life."
"I'm not trying to buy you off, Chloe." He was frustrated and bewildered at the same time, a combination that didn't sit particularly well with him. "I'm trying to show you I care about you."
"And you think some pretty trinket's going to do that? You can't make someone like you with a few jewels."
"I'd have to say that my experience would disprove that theory."
"What, you mean women like Victoria? Come on, Lex, how many of them were actually interested in you?" Her anger pushed the words out, but as soon as she had spoken them her eyes went wide with shock and she clasped a hand over her mouth. "Lex . . . Lex I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—" She stopped when he held up a hand.
"Yes you did," he said, remarkably calm. "And you're right. The women I dated weren't interested in me as much as they were in my bank account." He picked up her hand, holding it gently and looking into her eyes while she tried to ignore the fact that he said 'dated' and not 'date'. "But just because I give you something nice doesn't mean I think you're like them, Chloe. I got you jewelry because I thought it would make you smile. But if it doesn't," he shrugged and grinned at her, "I'll just have to give you something else." She was able to relax at that for all of about two seconds before his grin changed to a playfully seductive smile. "So what do you want from me, Chloe?"
Her heart sped up a bit, but his slightly teasing tone had her own lips curving up in a smirk. She pulled her hand out of his and took a drink of water before answering.
"The rest of my interview," she quipped, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"Is that all? I had something a bit more . . . physical . . . in mind."
"I don't know, Lex," Chloe said, tapping a finger to her lips in mock thoughtfulness. "You're several years older than I am. Are you sure you could keep up?" 'Ok, since when do I have the guts to flirt this openly with Lex? And please, please don't let him notice the double entendre there.' Lex's smile took on a predatory glint.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I could keep up with you, Chloe." 'Damn.' He leaned towards her, passion and playfulness now mingled in his eyes. "I could make you dizzy with pleasure. I could make you forget every other man who's ever been inside you," he said huskily. Chloe's lips quirked up as she pushed past the heat pooling in her body at his words.
"Well, that wouldn't be too hard," she told him dryly, "since I've never experienced that particular sensation before." Realizing what she had just said, Chloe felt her face grow red. Lex looked surprised at first, but soon the predatory gleam was back in his eyes, stronger than it had been before.
"Is that right?" It was more a statement than a question, his voice so low it was practically a purr. A liquid heat was running through her body at the sound, and her mind was scrambling desperately for something, anything, to say.
"I don't think my dad believes it, though." 'There, that threw him off a bit.' Lex raised an eyebrow in question; Chloe gave an impish grin and started piling things back into the basket. "He made me go on birth control pills before I left for college." Lex choked on the drink of water he had just taken.
"He what?" he got out when he regained his breath. Chloe's grin widened.
"I believe his exact words were, 'I know what college life is like. I don't want to know the details of your . . .'" she cleared her throat, "'your sex life, but I'd feel better knowing you were protected. Just in case.'"
"That's an interesting parental theory to have," Lex replied, somehow managing not to laugh.
"Always be prepared," Chloe winked. "Sullivan family motto." She couldn't help but be extremely pleased that she had finally thrown Lex off guard. She stood up and tossed him a smirk over her shoulder as she moved to the pool table. "I think I'll play some pool. Feel up to a game?"
Lex sat for a moment more, composing himself as Chloe selected a cue and set about racking the balls on the table. He had been thrown off by her confession, and he couldn't help but feel that he was now behind in whatever game it was that they were playing. Game . . . a devilish thought occurred to him; he stood and casually selected a cue.
"So you wanna play a game?" he said casually, turning to face her. Suspicion was ripe in her eyes, and his carefully innocent expression was doing nothing to erase it. He smirked a bit. "You know," he continued, picking up the cue ball and holding it thoughtfully, "games are always more fun when you play for stakes." Her eyes narrowed, but an intrigued smile played at the corners of her mouth.
"What kind of stakes?"
"Well let's see," he said, feigning consideration. "They would have to be reasonable, but high enough to make it interesting. Something desired but not easily attained . . ." Still seemingly deep in thought he moved as he spoke, strolling closer to where Chloe was standing. Finally he looked up at her, a calculating look in his eyes. "If you win, we'll finish up the interview. All the questions you want, and no avoidance techniques on my part. I'll answer anything you want to ask me."
Chloe blinked. That sounded too good to be true, and experience had taught her that when something sounded that way, that was usually because it was. A forfeit so massive on his part would require something equally daunting of her if she lost.
"And if you win?" A sensual smirk curled up his lips.
"A kiss."
"A kiss? That's all?"
"That's all," he told her, though the smirk he still wore made her think of a cougar ready to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.
'Sounds like a win/win situation,' that annoying little inner voice commented, and for once she had to agree with it. If she won, she got the interview most reporters only ever dream about, and if she lost she would only owe Lex a kiss, which certainly wouldn't be a hardship. Hardship or not, though, it was a moot point, because she didn't plan on losing. She let her lips curl in a smirk of her own and held out her hand.
"Deal."
He shook the hand she offered, then tossed her the cue ball.
"You break."
She caught his confidant expression as she walked to the end of the table.
"You seem self-assured. You think you're going to win?" He grinned.
"I know I'm going to win," he corrected. Chloe let a smile linger on her face as she lined up her shot.
"'Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.'" She punctuated her statement with a stroke of her cue, scattering the colored balls across the table.
"And she quotes Demosthenes," Lex observed amusedly, lining up his own shot. "Fourteen in the corner." A solid crack sent the ball hurtling into the pocket, and he smirked up at her. "I guess I'm stripes."
A short time later, both had to admit that they had underestimated the other. Lex had conveniently forgotten how much pool people invariably picked up in college, and Chloe had just as conveniently overlooked the significance of the fact that Lex owned a pool table. 'Nice observational skills there, Chloe,' she thought irritably. Still, if the odds weren't skewed in her favor, no more were they skewed favorably for Lex. The two of them were fairly evenly matched, and now it was down to which one of them could sink the 8 ball.
Lex observed Chloe as she lined up a shot, her brow creased in concentration. Her desire for the promised interview was a palpable thing, almost as if some invisible spirit were whispering in her ear, driving her on. But just as she was determined to win, so was Lex. He hid his smirk as she missed her shot and circled the table, examining angles and judging distances. Finally he bent, and one powerful stroke sent the black ball flying, banking against the side of the table before shooting straight into the side pocket. Smiling in satisfaction, Lex glanced up at Chloe to see her leaning against the table, an uncharacteristic pout on her face. It was so adorably out of place that it almost moved Lex to tell her she could have her interview.
Almost.
Lex rounded the table, his eyes never leaving Chloe's. As he neared, Chloe realized too late that she hadn't taken into account the full consequences of a kiss from Lex. Now her senses were fairly screaming at the danger walking towards her, but her beleaguered brain was unable to come up with a reasonable excuse to get her out of this predicament. He was in front of her now, taking the cue she had forgotten she was holding and leaning both of the sticks against the wall. When he turned back to her desire was clear on his face, but it was joined by something else, something that Chloe couldn't begin to define.
Lex didn't even bother to try to sort out his emotions as he stepped closer to Chloe. With her so close to him her scent filled his head, making it spin. He reached out and toyed with the ruffled bit of fabric at her shoulders, letting the backs of his fingers brush against her skin. One hand moved down to linger at her waist, marveling at the heat of her body, while the other stayed at her shoulder, barely touching her. Finally, unable to wait any longer, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.
It was a skillful kiss, the kiss of an experienced man putting his knowledge to full use. His lips danced slowly, sensuously over hers; now lightly brushing, now pressing gently. Her lips molded beneath his like willing clay, and a languid heat spread throughout her body, radiating from the magic Lex was working with his mouth. The hand at her shoulder moved to cup her neck, his fingers brushing over her nape in practiced strokes that had her melting even more. When he brushed his tongue over her bottom lip she opened for him without hesitation and her hands moved to his chest, feeling the racing of his heartbeat that was so at odds with the ease of his kiss. His tongue probed gently in her mouth, drawing a moan from her as she rubbed her own against it.
Never breaking the kiss, Lex leaned her back onto the pool table, the hand at her neck moving to stroke over her hair. Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck, unsure if her lightheadedness was from a need for air or from Lex, and uncaring either way. She had to fight back a whimper of protest when the kiss gradually lightened and Lex slowly drew away. They stayed there, faces millimeters apart, both of them panting for breath. 'Just a kiss,' he had said, and that was all he would take without a sign from Chloe. He stared down into her eyes, fully green now with passion, and she read his resolve there. With a small grin, she leaned up and nipped gently at his bottom lip.
Well hell, if that wasn't a sign he didn't know what was.
Their mouths came together again, hotter this time and hungrier, their kiss more intense but just as deep. His hand at her head was fisted in her hair now, holding her in place as he slowly ravaged her mouth. Her own hands traveled down, tugging his crisp dress shirt free from the waist of his pants and slipping beneath to stroke the smooth skin of his back. He groaned at the contact and moved his hand up from her waist to cover her breast, kneading the flesh there so that sparks of fire shot through her. She moaned and arched into his hand just as an insistent voice began to clear its throat. Chloe froze, and Lex dropped his forehead against hers in frustration before reluctantly climbing off of her, holding out his hand to help her down. Once her feet were on the ground again she took a moment smoothing out her clothes, her face nearly as red as her shirt.
"I'm . . . I think . . . my room. I'm just going to go to my room. I'll see you later, Lex," she mumbled before all but running from the room. Lex sighed and ran a hand over his eyes before turning to his butler, once again standing stoically just inside the room.
"Yes?" Lex asked wearily.
"Beg your pardon, Mr. Luthor, but there's a Matthew James to see you." Lex gave a mirthless laugh and shook his head in resignation before gesturing resignedly with his hand.
"Send him up. And William," he added as the man turned to leave. William turned apprehensively to meet Lex's irritated expression. "You might want to seriously consider working on your timing."
TBC . . .
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A/N: I know, I'm mean, aren't I? To all of you wondering when I'm gonna bring the smut, don't worry—it's comin' back in the next chapter.