By the Light of Day

Ground Rule Number One: No staying at Lex's place past nine o'clock.

Oh yeah, like they couldn't 'do it' in the daylight.

Ground Rule Number Two: Hudson must spend time with her other friends, i.e., Pete and Lana.

Luckily, Lana thinks Hudson and Lex's relationship is romantic. She'll gladly sacrifice her time with her friend to allow the two 'star-crossed lovers' time to spend together.

Ground Rule Number Three: If her parents think Hudson is spending too much time with Lex and neglecting her friends and chores, there will be a discussion and, very likely, the relationship won't be allowed to continue.

See solution to Rule Number Two.

Ground Rule Number Four: Hudson must be open to talking about her relationship with Lex with her parents. If they feel she is hiding anything or being dishonest, see consequences of Ground Rule Number Three.

Hudson hadn't figured out a way around this one yet, considering how easily her parents could read her facial expressions. So far, she was able to keep the really embarrassing stuff for her mom's ears only. She wondered if her mom then told her dad later because, for the past few weeks, every time she tried talking to him, he never seemed able to look her in the eye. Hmmmm.

Ground Rule Number Five: Hudson's parents reserve the right to call a halt to the relationship at anytime if they feel it is becoming detrimental to Hudson's emotional well-being. Lex agreed with this.

Blah, blah, blah. Over her dead body.

Hudson explained these rules and the current situation around the household to Chloe during their monthly scheduled phone call while she spent the summer at her internship in Metropolis.

"So, like, Lex is okay with all of this?" Chloe asked curiously. "I mean, don't you think, at his age, he should find all of this kind of weird and constraining?"

Snorting into the phone, Hudson flopped onto her bed, laying with her head hanging backwards over the edge, staring at her image in the mirror across the room. "You know Lex. He has this whole thing about wanting my parents to accept and respect him. When they discussed the rules with him, they wouldn't allow me in the room. I had to go do chores until they called me in. Then they were all laughing and chummy when it was over. It was kind of scary. Later, Lex told me that it would be best if we followed the guidelines they set down and it wasn't really all that bad. Yada, yada, yada. I bend a rule, he puts it firmly back in place. Sometimes I wonder if I'm dating Lex Luthor, or Mr. Rogers."

"Oooh. That's a frightening image." Chloe took a moment to eat some chips, crunching into the receiver. "So tell me the more exciting things. Like what you and Lex do when you are alone. Have you 'you know' yet?"

Hudson giggled. "Chloe! Like I would tell you if we had!"

"You so would! Who else could you tell?? Pete would kill Lex and Lana would pass out."

Hudson snorted again as she twirled the phone cord around her fingers. "Well, for your information, we haven't done 'it' yet. Lex says there are too many responsibilities that go along with sex and when I'm ready to tell my dad I want to go on the Pill, then we can talk about it."

Chloe laughed. "Dude, your dad would fly into a fit of apoplexy!"

"I know." Hudson sighed. "So I told Lex he had a point. I figure I'll just wear him down. He's twenty-two. He's got to want sex. I mean, we're fooling around and all but it isn't the actual, honest-to-god thing. So I'll keep asking and eventually point out that as long as he's got a condom handy, why not?"

"You are so out of your league."

"Oh, bite me."

Her friend munched extra loudly on a chip. "Can't. My mouth is full."

"And disgusting. Stop eating on the phone. My mother would smack you."

"Good thing she isn't here then." There was a rustling of a bag as Chloe set the chips away. "So, tell me, what does the ever-magnificent Lex Luthor look like naked? Impressive? Or not so much?"

"Christ, Chloe."

"Seriously, these are the important things. So, spill."

Sighing, Hudson gnawed on a finger nail for a moment.

"Well. ?"

"Umm. to tell you the truth, I don't know. The lights are always off."

"Is this his handicap or yours?"

"Oh, totally mine!" Hudson admitted. "I go beet-red and get all squirmy. But he just has this way of looking at me. " She sighed. "I get nervous."

"Freak. Did you ever think he looks at you like that because he likes looking at you?"

"Well. yeah. But that doesn't make it any easier."

"You're such a basket case." A beep sounded over the phone. "Shit, that's probably Louis. He's taking me down to Crown Center today. I'm going to talk to the stores about the recent shoplifting issues! Talk to you later, babes!"

"Sure. Bye, Chloe."

Hudson hung up the phone and rolled onto her stomach, staring ahead at the mirror, wondering if what Chloe said was true. Did Lex like looking at her? She couldn't possibly imagine why. After all, she'd seen Victoria - way too much of Victoria when Jeff attempted to drown her - and they looked nothing alike. For one, Hudson didn't have Victoria's boobs and likely never would. Not without a little help. She would also have to be cut off at the knees to be the right height, wear a padded ass and develop a British accent.

None of the above were likely to happen any time soon. Hell.

The phone rang, starting Hudson from her reverie. She climbed onto her knees and swept it off the hook. "Kent residence."

"Hey, beautiful."

"Lex!" She tried not to bounce. "I thought you were in meetings all week?"

"We finished the last one up today early, so I thought I'd call and see if you were busy. I could always call back."

She could feel his smile over the phone. "Don't be a brat. That's my job." She scurried off the bed and over to window where she searched the yard for her parents. There they were, gardening. "I just have to change out of my work clothes and tell mom and dad, then I'll be right over, okay?"

"See you soon."

The phone clicked.

Grinning at Lex's inability to say goodbye, Hudson placed the receiver back in its cradle and then hurried over to her closet to find something to wear. She was never like this before - worrying about how she looked. But with Lex, she found she always wanted to please him and impress him. It was difficult; according to both Chloe and Lana, Hudson had absolutely no taste in clothing whatsoever. Well, what could she say? Most of her life, except for the odd holiday, she'd spent in jeans and t-shirts, sweatshirts or flannel. Hudson had no idea what style of skirt looked best with what shirt and coordinating accessories. A few weeks ago, Lana came over for the afternoon and carefully coordinated all of her clothes together in the closet, so all Hudson had to do was reach in and grab the hangers that were tied together to know what went with what. She'd die of embarrassment if Lex ever knew.

Reaching in, she searched through her skirts, finally deciding on a combo that included a little denim miniskirt and baby doll t-shirt in blue and white that Lana helped her pick out from one of the boutiques in town. Hudson sped through a shower, dressed, and slipped on her white Keds before exiting the house to the garden.

"I'm going to Lex's," she called out as she made her way past the gate.

"Just one minute." Jonathan stood up, garden hoe in one hand. "I thought Lex was in meetings all week?"

Hudson leaned over the fence and nodded. "He is. But he got out early today and just called."

Her mom peered around the red rose bush. "Ask him if he'd like to come over for dinner tonight. I'm making his favorite - chicken and stuffing."

"Okay. See ya!" Hudson flashed them both a quick wave of her hand before speeding toward the woods.

She'd timed it before. With the time it took to speed through a shower, change, talk to her parents and then run the three miles to the Luthor estate, it matched the exact amount of time it took to simply get in the car and drive straight to the castle. Slowing as she reached the gates, Hudson finally stopped and bent down to tie a shoelace that came undone before walking up to the guardhouse. As usual, Lex's guard was dozing. She grinned, tempted to wake and tease him, but decided to leave the old man to his rest and, watching carefully to make certain he didn't awaken, she bent two of the bars apart, slipped through and quickly put them back in place.

Whistling as she walked along the curved drive, Hudson found she couldn't quite keep the bounce out of her step that afternoon, what with the sun shining as brightly as it was and the birds singing loudly in the trees and the fact that Lex was home early. The establishment of LexCorp seemed to take up all of Lex's time lately, making him much busier than he'd been when he simply worked for his father. Now, they only saw one another in the evenings when he wasn't busy and on weekends when he wasn't running to Metropolis on business and checking on Lionel. It sucked. Hudson tried not to say anything, tried not to whine and pout about it to Lex because she knew how important this was to him but still, she couldn't help but feel slightly neglected sometimes. She supposed that was what she should expect when dating a guy who owned a business.

As was her usual route, Hudson entered the house through the back kitchen door. The room was empty so she figured either Dodd was out shopping or had the day off. Then again, sometimes the guy just disappeared. He was weird that way. Hudson figured there was something really mysterious going on with him but whenever she asked Lex, he would just flash her that secretive little grin of his and change the subject. Sometimes, visiting the castle was like stepping into your very own 'Dark Shadows' episode.

Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, Hudson continued her way through the kitchen, into the hall and up the stairs to the second floor. The repairs on the castle had been finished for over two weeks now but she was still surprised by the changes Lex requested the construction crew to make throughout the halls and in the study. She kept thinking he had an ulterior motive other than aesthetics - like maybe his father wouldn't like them. Taking a bite out of her apple, Hudson rounded the corner into the study where Lex was sitting behind his desk, on the phone, a familiar sight since the foundation of LexCorp.

Hudson moved behind the desk, leaning over to give him a kiss on his cheek as he glanced up at her with the quirk of a smile, silent as the person on the other end of the line spoke. She turned to walk over to the pool table but Lex caught her hand and pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arm securely around her waist. She squirmed a little until he tightened his grip. Giving up, Hudson leaned against him and munched on her apple.

"I understand that, Mr. Gibson," Lex replied to the man on the phone. "The point is, LexCorp is willing to offer five percent less than LuthorCorp is currently charging you per shipment. What I want in return is for LexCorp fertilizer products to be exclusively sold by your chain throughout the Midwest. "

Boring. Lex always got so caught up in talking, literally, about crap. Hudson laid her head back against his shoulder and stared up at the ceiling as she took another bite of her apple. She felt Lex poke her in the stomach and turned to glare at him. With her look, he pointed at her apple and his ear and then the phone. Hudson stuck her tongue out at him. Lex snatched the apple out of her hand.

"Hey!" With her protest, Lex flashed her one of those looks - the one that clearly told her to shut up. Hudson folded her arms over her chest and pouted.

"Thank you, Mr. Gibson. I'll have my distribution department get into contact with you regarding the contract." Lex nodded once against the phone, as if the man could see. "Thank you, sir. You do the same." Flipping the phone closed, Lex turned his head to look at Hudson. "Must you be a brat?"

"You're the one who invited me over here. Then you're on the phone. Talking about crap. I thought you were done with work for the day?"

"I was." Lex tossed the phone onto the desk before taking a bite of her apple.

"Hey. That's mine."

"Funny. I get the feeling you took it from my kitchen."

"Yeah, well it came from my farm."

"The farm belongs to your parents." Lex took another bite before holding it up to her mouth.

Frowning at him once, Hudson leaned forward to take a small bite from what was left. Grinning at her, Lex tossed the core into the garbage under his desk then pulled her close and pressed his nose into her hair. He sniffed.

"Your hair's damp. It smells good."

"I took a shower before you called," she replied, giggling when his breath tickled her ear. Her hair usually dried after a fast run but apparently it hadn't done so completely.

"Mmmm. You should have waited - taken a shower with me."

Hudson turned to stare at him, wide-eyed.

Lex grinned. "I'm kidding, Hudson."

"And you call me a tease." She sighed and poked him in the ribs. "Mom wants you to come over for dinner. She's making chicken, just for you."

Hugging Hudson tightly, Lex kissed her cheek before nudging her off of his lap and standing with her. "Sounds good." He squeezed her arm before moving away, toward the wet bar. "Did you drive over?"

"Ummm, dad was going in to town so I caught a ride with him." Hudson leaned over his desk while she watched Lex pull two bottles of Ty Nant from the small, hidden refrigerator. His black slacks tightened across his ass as he moved. She looked around for something to drop so that she could see it again.

Too soon, Lex was back beside her, handing her a bottle. "So tell me what you've been up to today?" He unscrewed the cap on his and took a drink.

It was impossible to concentrate on anything whenever Lex drank from those damn bottles around her. All Hudson could do was stare. And think about the things he did to her in the dark. And then turn a bright, brilliant red. He was watching her right now, while she was watching him, and he continued to tip the bottle back, grinning a little against the rim. Bastard.

"Er. just a little work around the farm. And I talked to Chloe."

"Is she still enjoying Metropolis?" He set the bottle on the desk and folded his arms.

Hudson still hadn't touched her own water. "Yeah. She likes working at the Planet a lot. She seems. happier in the city. It makes me sad."

Lex leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Don't be. Gabe seems extremely enthusiastic about sticking it out with LexCorp. She'll be back and she'll be very happy to be with her best friend again. I promise."

"I guess." She moved a little to stand in front of Lex, then wrapped her arms around his waist and rested against him. "I have missed you this week, you know."

"I should hope so," Lex quipped.

Hudson lifted her head to look up at him. "Did you miss me?"

"I suppose. " He jumped when she poked him in the ribs. "All right, all right. Of course I missed you. Especially the whining. And the poking."

"I think I'm going home now."

Lex snatched Hudson's hand as she moved away from him, pulling her quickly back against him. He buried his face against her neck and nibbled at the skin lightly. "You're terribly fun to tease," he told her before moving his mouth up to her ear.

"And you're terribly mean," Hudson replied with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Sighing in contentment, she stared out the window as his tongue tickled her ear. After a moment, she asked, "Lex?

"Hmmmm."

"Do you like big boobs?"

"They have their uses."

She didn't know how to respond to that. Frowning a little, she tried again. "Do you prefer women with big boobs?"

Lex shrugged against her. "Like I said, they have their uses." There was a pause and he finally pulled away from her ear to look at her. "What's with the questions?"

Hudson dropped her gaze to the floor, finger tracing the line of buttons along his dress shirt. "I just. well, Victoria was really pretty and had this great figure and everything and I can't help but wonder. "

"I see." Lex took her hands in his and stepped away from the desk, tugging her along with him. "Come here."

"Where are we going?"

Lex didn't answer as he led her out of the study, down the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom. Once she moved inside behind him, he closed the door, flashed her a quick smile and led her over to the full length free- standing mirror in the corner. He set her in front of him, his hands moving upwards to rest on her shoulders. Gently he moved her hair back behind her neck, fingers brushing lightly over her skin. Looking up, his eyes met hers in the glass.

"What do you see?"

She shrugged and made a face at her reflection. "I don't know. Me, I guess. The same person I see all of the time."

"And what about you isn't beautiful?" Lex asked, running an index finger along her jawline. "Your extremely kissable lips?" He traced the edge of her mouth. "The way your upper lip curls just slightly is sexy beyond reasoning. A man just looks at your mouth and imagines. "

Hudson felt her face grow warm, watching in the mirror even as her skin reddened. Oh, he imagines her doing that? Wow. She couldn't possibly. well, maybe she could. There had to be courage in there somewhere. But Lex still had an issue with letting her have any manner of control when they were together. If he wanted to be touched, then he let her touch him. Otherwise, most of their time together was spent with him teaching her new ways to feel absolutely everything. It was both frustrating and wonderful.

"And what about your eyes?" He touched the edge of her lashes. "Green, blue, clear and open. Sometimes I think they're looking right through me. And when we're together, and I touch you just right. " His hand dropped down to her waist before moving back up slowly, grazing over her breasts. "They darken, just like they are now, and you drop your eyelids a little and look up at me. And I know, in that moment, that you're Mine."

Her eyes widened a little with his words and she was unable to tear her gaze away from his in the mirror. His reflection smiled at her before he bent his head to kiss her neck.

"You're perfect that way you are, Hudson," he told her gently. "Far more so than Victoria could ever dream of being. Your smile alone outshines anything she had to offer."

"But I'm. " Unable to think of the appropriate words, Hudson swept her arms out in front of her to indicate her whole body. "Dad refers to me as all arms and legs and no idea how to use any of them. Victoria was. well, soft and round - with big boobs!"

Lex raised an eyebrow as he lifted his head back up to look at her. "Do you trust me?"

She shifted a little. "Yeah."

Staring at her reflection just a moment longer, Lex slid his hands to her waist, grasping the edge of her t-shirt. "Are you certain?"

What was he up to? Hudson gnawed on her lower lip for a moment as she watched his fingers in the mirror, which were now slowly caressing her stomach. She finally nodded. "Yeah. I'm certain."

Hesitating only a moment longer, Lex pulled her t-shirt up, waiting while she lifted her arms for him, before tugging it over her head and tossing it to the chair next to the dresser.

Returning his attention to Hudson, he placed his hands back at her bare waist and met her eyes. "You don't look like all arms and legs to me," he commented, kissing the edge of her ear. "In fact, I see a slim waist with an adorable belly that pouches out just a little - "

"It does not!" Hudson protested.

"It so does!" Lex chuckled, poking a finger against her abdomen. "And it's perfect, Angel. I always want to kiss it, always want to lick it. " His palm rested over her stomach, just below her navel.

Hudson wriggled back against him when she felt his other hand move along her spine up to the closures of her bra. She turned her head quickly to look back at him as he worked at the hooks. "Lex!" The sun was pouring in from the window and. well, there was no hiding, no shadows to conceal.

"I thought you said you trusted me." His fingers stilled for a moment as he watched her eyes.

"I do. I. " She didn't understand what her problem was. Shame? What difference would the light really make? She was the same person that she was in the dark and he'd certainly touched every part of her in his explorations. She knew she needed to take this step and stop being such a big baby.

"I don't want to scare you," Lex told her softly, his fingers stroking her back. "This is up to you. "

That did it. Hudson met his gaze. "I'm not scared."

Watching her just a little longer, Lex nodded once and finished with the hooks before slipping her bra from her shoulders and laying it beside her top on the chair. She watched him closely as his hands moved to her upper arms where he stroked her skin soothingly. She couldn't look at herself in the mirror because that was too. okay, sure. She stared at herself when she got out of the shower and stuff but this was different. Lex was here now. And he was looking at her, too.

"Hudson."

"Hmmm?" Her eyes lifted to the ceiling, over to the wall on her left, the carpet to her right. She felt Lex squeeze her arms lightly.

"I want you to look in the mirror."

She did. At him.

Lex smiled. "Look at yourself."

Giving a long-suffering sigh, Hudson did as he told her, and it took everything inside of her not to squirm and look away. She watched in silence as Lex's hands moved from her arms, around her, to cup her breasts, cradling each in his palms, the pads of his thumbs moving lightly against her skin. Hudson pressed back against him, as if she might be able to escape the mirror and everything it was showing her.

"You have perfect breasts," he told her, warm breath caressing her ear. "See how they fit in my hands? And they're perfectly colored. A line of dark here," he traced the outline of an areola with his fingertip, "Lighter here," his finger moved inwards, circling the area, "And dark here, in the center." His fingertip flicked over her nipple, which tightened instantly and ached. "It's like nature's own bull's-eye, instructing me where to latch on. "

Hudson was warm all over - from the immediate flush that appeared over her skin with his words. Lex's smile grew, then he moved around her, just so he could lean his head down and capture a nipple between his lips. Nature's own bulls-eye, indeed. He suckled intently, gaze flickering up to her once and Hudson thought she wasn't going to be able to stand on her own anymore. She grasped his shoulders and her gaze drifted to the mirror, just out of curiosity.

It wasn't like she was looking at herself anymore - that was someone else.

She continued to stare at her reflection, wondering at the sudden dilation of her pupils and the rosy tint to her skin that was actually flattering. Her nipples were tight little buds on her breasts that Lex continued to tease with hands and mouth. He dropped to his knees, hands at her waist, tongue trailing over her stomach, between her breasts, beneath her breasts, everywhere. Hudson just clung to him, staring in the mirror, watching her body react to every little touch, every breath. She trembled a little and his grip on her waist tightened, holding her in place before his hands moved in, releasing the button on her shorts. Hudson couldn't imagine protesting at that moment, couldn't have gotten the words past her mouth if she wanted to. She was too fascinated by the image in the mirror - Lex kneeling at her feet, worshipping her body.

Laughter bubbled inside of her at the thought but she somehow squelched it. Lex would never worship her - but he was doing a damn fine job of faking it. Was she supposed to explain this to her mother as well? Well see, mom, he stripped me down in front of the mirror and had me watch while he had his way with me. It was really quite. exciting.

Lex lifted her feet, one at a time, slipping off her shoes before removing skirt and panties, and Hudson had no idea when he'd managed to strip her completely. Perhaps she'd been too wrapped up in her musings. But there she was, naked as the day she was born. And there was Lex, pressing his lips against her belly, hands cupping her ass to pull her closer, mouth moving downward until his face was buried in her curls -

"Lex. "

She meant to say it much more strongly, but instead, it came out as a whisper. One caught in perplexed awe. Hudson gasped as his tongue found her clit and she couldn't stop staring, couldn't look away from the mirror as her legs trembled and her mouth dropped open, various sounds of whimpers issuing from her throat. She wanted to dig her nails into something, grasp on to some concrete or something until it crumbled in her hands, but there was only Lex, and so she held his shoulders gently, concentrating on her reflection.

One of Lex's hands moved up over her stomach, cupping and caressing a breast, fondling the nipple while his tongue continued to send her senses soaring. His free hand moved away from her ass, between her legs, his thumbs pushing up into her folds where it slowly stroked back and forth.

Hudson's eyes fell closed. She couldn't watch anymore because she didn't care. She didn't care what she looked like or what Lex thought she looked like - all that mattered was how he was making her feel. How his tongue became more insistent as her cries grew louder and her knees shook; his hand slipped from her breast to grasp her hip, holding her in place, moving her against him, as his thumb pressed deeper.

The sounds she made were louder now, and Hudson didn't care about that either. She whimpered and she begged and she whispered Lex's name over and over again until she felt it hit her - that magnificent moment where everything seemed to go black and every molecule inside of her seemed to explode. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her stomach was filled with a million maniac butterflies and her bones all turned to jelly and she was crying. Or maybe praying. She could never tell which.

When the world began to make sense again, Hudson realized that Lex was holding her against him. She had somehow ended up on the floor beside him, and his arms were around her and he was kissing her temple and she could feel his smile against her skin. Turning her head to look in the mirror, she caught his gaze and found her own smile appearing.

"You seem awfully pleased with yourself," she murmured, finding it strange that she didn't mind that he was still fully clothed, and she wasn't.

"I think I have the right to be after that," he replied smugly, fingers moving through her hair. He laid his head against hers, watching their reflections in the mirror. "I never want you to compare yourself to another woman again. Is that understood?"

Hudson nodded, moving her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. "And what about you? I think you're wearing entirely too much clothing." She reached for a button.

Lex laughed and caught her hand. "I don't think so." He smiled at her when she glared and nodded toward the clock, signaling that they would have to head to the farm soon. "Why don't we save that for another day?"

Hudson continued to pout as Lex reached for her clothes and helped her to dress.

'Save that for another day'.

She was already plotting how to get him out of meetings early tomorrow. It was only right that she got to see him by daylight as well. After all, turn about was fair play.

Then again, Hudson knew that plenty of afternoons lay ahead of them. Especially now that she realized the truth - Lex Luthor thought she was beautiful. And she didn't need to hide anymore.