Chapter 19

Just as Misao got out of the bedroom where she and Chloe had made last minute adjustments to their costumes, one of the members of the security team approached her and bowed. When he righted himself again, she nodded as a signal for him to speak. He whispered low so that others would not hear. Misao's eyes grew wide and she smiled slightly and thanked the man before she hurried off in the direction of the party. She spotted Aoshi as she crossed the exposed walkway of the second level and – as quickly as her kimono would allow – she made her way to him.

"Aoshi-sama," Misao called discreetly as she tipped her head close to him as she neared him.

Aoshi glanced down, noticed her eyes alight with mischief and smirked. "So he's here."

His cousin nodded. "The guards just spotted him at the lobby."

"Predictable fool," he murmured with a low chuckle. "Arigatou, Misao. You may go now."

The woman bowed respectfully and bustled off to look for Sanosuke. He glanced at the entrance as his smirk grew. Oh, Luthor-san, you're not going to see this one coming.

Chloe stood in front of the mirror with a mild frown upon her face. It wasn't that she didn't like the costume – or the hair extensions and the temporary hair colour she had; it was just that it was so uncharacteristic of her to wear such a – well skimpy thing. Misao had gone ahead with a kimono that almost matched the one that Chloe had, somewhat sceptical about leaving her alone. The Japanese woman made her swear that she would go to the party soon and threatened to – as she picked up in the movies – 'open a can of whoop-ass'. Of course they laughed about it, but there was that seriousness to it as well.

Chloe had only been alone for about ten minutes since they arrived at the building; five minutes since the party started and people began to stream in steadily. She could hear the volume of the voices outside and down the stairs to the main congregation area. Certainly, there would be others that would be wearing things more revealing than what she had, but the fact was that what she was wearing would definitely draw people's attention.

But they don't know you… Something moved inside her. It was anticipation; a giddiness. They didn't know her… she could be anyone… her true skin tone was hidden beneath the more olive colour that Hidori (bless the man for his efficiency despite the last minute nature of her coming) had barked to add on and her hazel eyes were hidden behind light brown contacts – again at Hidori's demand. She couldn't even recognize herself. A smile spread on her lips. She was entitled to a little fun, wasn't she? With her will and determination steeled, she glanced at the watch. Ten minutes since the crowds have been trickling in. Well, better late than never, she thought. She moved away from the mirror and headed for the door.

Taking in a deep breath, she turned the knob and opened it, the voices growing louder as the barrier was removed. "My name is… Inara…" she said to herself with an added accent… yes that went well with her costume…

Lex glanced at his watch. He was just on time. Feeling confident, he looked about once again, searching for the outfit Chloe was wearing. It didn't take long before his eyes rested upon Chloe's form; he recognized the blue kimono and light obi around her waist instantly. He was impressed by just how authentic she looked now that she had the black wig and white make-up… he frowned, however, when she turned so that he had a view of her side profile. There was something off about her; something he couldn't quite place that made her seem… unlike her. That couldn't be, he told himself as he watched her from afar. He distinctly remembered her leaving with that exact costume on. What was it that didn't seem right?

She doesn't glow, a voice cried in the back of his mind. And that was true. Her presence wasn't as luminous as it had been when she barged in earlier that evening. Maybe it was the costume, make-up and wig combo… maybe her true aura was hidden behind this cover he saw.

Lex kept his distance from her, but his eyes constantly on her – how she moved (yes, that gait is familiar… yet it doesn't look right… must be the restricting clothes), where she looked and to whom she spoke with. His frown turned into a full scowl when her eyes (they looked brighter… perhaps it's the light?) swivelled to a man and turned dreamy. He took a swift look at who it was and felt his hands clench as he noticed it was Sagara-san. The man was dressed in white pants, black shoes, an open white top where the inside section was lined with black, and a red bandanna around his head. Lex was further angered when he noted the man wrap a sure arm around her waist and anchor her against his body before he swooped down to capture her lips in what looked like a searing kiss. The young Luthor saw her place a hand against his chest and almost rejoiced, believing she would push him away. His eyes grew wide, however, when he saw her grab the open shirt and pull the man with brown spiky hair closer to her for hotter kiss.

He felt his body move forward and probably would have gone on to yank the two away from each other when the voices about him ebbed and finally come to a complete silence. He noticed they were all looking in the same direction and, being curious as to what had everyone gawking and silent, he, too, turned his head – and felt his throat constrict.

There just at the foot of the steps was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. A tanned olive tone and deep brown eyes that he could feel himself become mesmerized. Her hair was a dark brown and swept up in a high and long ponytail. He felt his mouth water at the amount of skin that was exposed. She wore what looked like one piece of cloth that looped around her neck, just covered her breasts and joined at her back. By the way she stood – her weight shifted to one side the gauzy material she wore; mere black strips down her lower half – did little to conceal the shapely legs of the woman.

There was something familiar about her form; the way she held herself; when he looked back into her eyes – the way they were shaped, he knew instantly who he was looking at… and glared back at Shinomori, who now was looking at him. There was a smug look upon his face. Lex could feel his teeth grind against each other even though it went unnoticed to the rest of the crowd – who was too entranced by the woman the he came to this party for. Suddenly not liking the way that the men were looking suggestively at her, he made it his business to be the first to move and walked swiftly towards her.

She in turn noticed the movement and turned her head towards him. As he came to her, she raked her eyes over his form and, upon bringing her contact-lens-covered eyes, she raise an appreciative brow. Had it not been for his great ability to keep what he felt inside, he would have probably faltered in his steps. Trying to look casual, he came to a stop just a meter away from her and tipped his hat enough for her not to notice his bald head. At this, everyone began to go about their previous activities, though a little distractedly.

"Ma'am," he greeted in a fake Texan drawl.

"Sir," she answered back in an equally false Arabic accent.

"As cheesy as this sounds, I have to admit that I couldn't help but introduce myself to the only woman here who was able to capture my attention so wholly." He held out a hand for hers, which she gave most demurely. Lex bent down and brushed his covered lips over her knuckles. Silently, he cursed himself for picking such a thick piece of material to cover his face, but he was appreciative of the tiny shiver that he noticed ran through her body.

"Could I know the name of the man who had the guts to be the first to approach me?" she questioned with a steady accent and voice. Lex found the sultry tone she used such an arousing thing that he almost couldn't find his voice to answer her.

"Just call me Al, ma'am," he answered, grinning profusely underneath the bandanna concealing it as he righted himself once again.

She in turn chuckled. "Such a simple, weak name for a sophisticated and obviously strong man." Once again, she trailed her eyes down his body.

They still held hands and for a moment seemed content to observe each other. It was he who broke the silence that had settled between them. "You still haven't told me who you are." He watched her expectantly, almost sure that she would slip up and tell him who she really was.

"My name is Inara," she lied smoothly.

He was surprised that she would actually say this… or perhaps he was more disappointed. Inside, he had hoped she would have recognized him… or perhaps she knew it was him, but was convinced that he didn't know who she was in turn like he made it seem like she didn't know who he was… damn, it sounded very confusing in his head…

"That's a beautiful name… very fitting as you truly seem to be 'heaven-sent.'"

"I'll excuse your second bout of blatant cheesiness for your apparent knowledge of the Arabic language."

"Pardon me," another voice interrupted suddenly, causing the two to stop eyeing each other. There was a man dressed up as an old British detective smiling arrogantly at 'Inara'. "I was hoping that you would be so kind as to –"

"I don't know what in tarnation you're trying to pull, barging so damn rudely into our conversation, but I suggest you pick a better time to try your useless moves on this woman," Lex growled in his Southern accent, stepping between the insipid man and 'Inara'.

"And if I don't?" the detective challenged, holding his chin up defiantly in the air.

Lex leaned close to the man's face with a frosty look in his grey depths. "I'll make sure that you won't be able to reproduce – much less have sex ever again."

"What makes you think you can even accomplish that?" came the haughty question, thought there was a trickle of fear evident now.

"It's a wonder what money and power can do… and you better believe I've got lots of both." Leaning back to a straight position, Lex spat, "No leave us."

Pursing his lips, the detective tried to scrape up whatever dignity he had left and turned to move back into the crowd. 'Inara' looked quite amused with the whole situation and kept her eyes trained on Lex. When he glanced back at her, there was something in her eye – a glint; a spark – that told him she was, in fact aroused by his display of possessiveness.

A slow melody that hadn't been noticed before rolled over them, somehow bringing to mind the idea of having unadulterated sex. Lex could feel the already tight black pants he wore become considerably tighter and he shifted slight. "I'd ask you to dance," he began. "But I think I'd become rather annoyed with the way that the others would be watching you."

"Well, then why don't we go to the balcony? It's private and I'm certain no one will be there to bother us," she suggested.

Lex smiled underneath the bandanna and held out a hand, which she accepted. Together, they moved towards the balcony across the room, gaining more looks – envious, jealous and speculative – from the crowd. From a distance, Aoshi eyed the two with amusement. Then turning to the man beside him, he whispered a command that was answered with a curt nod before the man moved away. Aoshi watched as the two slipped out to the area he had kept off limits to other guests… for he knew they were bound to head to that area… he noted it was more sooner than later and let out a low chuckle before he diverted his attention to one of his guests that approached to converse with him.

It had started off as just dancing. But Chloe already could feel that there was going to be a lot more than just swaying and staring at each other with fire in their eyes. She felt it when he approached her – when he first spoke to her in that southern drawl. It wasn't quite the drawl that had her; it was the tone; the quality. There was something achingly familiar about it along with the determined steely eyes, but she couldn't quite place it. What she could place, however, was the arousal she felt. She did nothing to hide it. After all, she wasn't Chloe Sullivan tonight. She was Inara, an Arabian dancer.

Her excitement had moved up a notch as she moved close to him with only the pale moonlight and streams of artificial light from the inside to accompany them. The slow sultry music had long since ended and what replaced it was something more racy and upbeat. But her movements along with this man's – Al, though she couldn't help but think his name had to be more sophisticated than that – were just as slow and smooth as it had been for the previous song. Their bodies rubbed close to each other and every so often, her middle would come in contact with his waist, where she found his evident hardness. She would always feel a shiver of anticipation and would always look directly into his eyes when this happened, noting the reigned arousal in the steely colour of his eyes.

Her hands played with the back part of the man's lapels as he in turn massaged the exposed area of her hip. Chloe's head was spiralling and her breaths were coming out in short bursts. This was far too much for her to bear. She needed to –

"May I have the permission to kiss you, ma'am?" he suddenly asked in a low husky voice.

That was the last straw; he was polite enough to ask her for such a thing – no man had every done that for her… "Took you long enough," she murmured, before pulling his head down to hers and pressing her lips against his…

Only to figure out that their mouths were still covered by the material. She let out a little sound of frustration and looked at him desperately. She loved the air of mystery around them – she didn't want to ruin their identities. So she closed her eyes, grasped the two cloth barriers and pushed them down. Her nose and mouth felt free and she smiled coyly before she returned her hands to the back of his neck and brought their lips together again.

She could see flecks of light behind her eyelids at the initial touch of their lips, and moaned in satisfaction at the feel. There was something oddly familiar about it, but that was too far away from her primary thoughts. She felt him move his hands around her middle and draw her body closer to his for more contact between their bodies. He pressed his mouth more brutally against hers before he allowed his tongue to flicker out and taste her. The groan that slid from his throat sent shivers of delight straight through Chloe. She opened her mouth to his probing tongue and they met in a sensual battle. When it was difficult for them to breath they moved slightly away from each other to gain some air before plunging in for more. Chloe unconsciously ground her hips into him, and elicited a wondrous growl from him as he thrust his hips back into her. When she pulled back once more, a name slipped from her mouth in a breathy sigh – one that she hadn't thought she would say at all.

"Lex…"

The man she was with chose to whisper a name at the same time as her. "Chloe."

Something in Chloe froze. Her eyes flew open and she stared disbelievingly at him. "Lex!"

"Yes…"

"Oh my God, Lex!"

"Yes, we've established that already." He smiled at her in a way that held no malice or arrogance.

"But – but you said you weren't going!"

He shrugged. "I changed my mind."

"And – and I –" her hand flew to her mouth and her cheeks burned, but in the dim light it wasn't noticeable.

He in turn was about to speak when there was a sudden crash from inside and an accompaniment of horrified screams. Loud thumping feet could be heard and felt. Both Chloe and Lex turned their heads towards the door to the balcony and said one single word in voices that were filled with fear.

"Remy!"

[to be continued...]