CHAPTER 29

Lex woke to the sound of knocking. He groaned as he pulled himself up off the couch. He had fallen asleep fully dressed in his office again, soon after total exhaustion had driven him to the sofa just to 'rest for a second'. "Come in." He called, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"You have a guest, Mr. Luthor."

"It's the middle of the night, I'm not accepting visitors at the moment. Please tell my 'guest' that-"

The well-dressed man stood awkwardly in his office, shuffling his foot nervously against the plush carpet as Lex spoke. "Sir, this young woman is very perseverant, I'm not sure how to-"

Mercy burst into the room with a small assortment of maids and housekeepers following at a safe distance, watching in astonishment as she dropped a dirty duffel bag on the floor. "Hey Lex. How's it hanging?"

Lex jumped to his feet and felt the blood rush to his head dizzily. He blinked a few times at the vision before him and carefully arranged a friendly smile on his face. His new guest would be welcomed properly. "Miss Graves, what a delight to see you." He extended his hand to her.

She stared at it for a moment, then raised her line of vision to stare at his face with a strange expression. "Stop trying to smile, you look like a demented shark or something." She walked past him and his extended hand, to snoop blatantly around his desk. "Nice office."

"I try." He drawled blandly, turning his attention to the small group of his employed help hovering in the doorway. "I think I can handle this from here. I'm sorry for the trouble my guest might have caused. Please go about your business." He nodded in apology and closed the door. "Now, Miss Graves, do you mind telling me why, two weeks after you try to steal my briefcase, you come to my penthouse in the middle of the night?"

"You invited me" she explained as if to a child. "So I came. Geez, you really weren't kidding about this place. It's amazing."

"Thank you, Miss Graves."

She looked up from her snooping and smiled lightly at Lex. "Please, call me Mercy."

"Mercy," he locked in contact with the pair of green sparked eyes that had haunted him for years and hid a stumble by sitting himself down on the couch. "Care to have a seat?" She walked over and sat down next to him, hands on her knees as if she was waiting for something. "You have a very interesting name." He examined her face and thought he might have caught her wince slightly. "Fitting I think." He slid across the couch, closer to her, and could feel the energy in the room heighten dramatically. It was as if the air had literally thickened around them. "After all, everyone needs mercy sometimes." She looked at him with that damn eyebrow raised and he had to hold himself back from just kissing her senseless. It would be worth it once he figured her out for good. Once he got Chloe to admit that she had been hiding out as some sort of street urchin. He would do whatever it took to get her to explain why she had felt it necessary to hide in the first place. "I've spent some time thinking about you in these past two weeks. Remembering things. Or rather, remembering a girl I used to know. She thought death followed her. Followed us. But she was always quick to forgive me. Until…until she couldn't anymore. You remind me of her. But you're not her. Are you?" He leaned in and stopped inches away from her mouth. If she wanted to kiss him, he would force her to meet him there and make that last move in.

Her breathing was labored and tight in her chest. He was close, too close. Fighting to open her eyes, she saw Lex watching her expectantly, reading every struggle on her face. "This isn't payment for your hospitality. I'm not your whore." She made each word as harsh as she could, wanting to cut into his cocky veneer and draw blood. She didn't move though, she couldn't bring herself to separate any further from him.

"I never said you were." He conceded reasonably.

"Just covering the bases." She grinned and closed in on him, pressing her lips roughly to his own.

He grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and rubbed it between his fingers as her mouth moved against his. She tightened her grip around his shoulders as if holding him in place. He reluctantly pried his mouth away from hers and held back a chuckle as she gasped for breath. He lifted her face with his hand and softly kissed the faded purple around her eye and the faint green splotch on the bridge of her nose. Brushed his lips over each corner of her mouth and tongued the sharp protruding cheekbones. Kissed down her neck to the center of her throat so he could feel the vibrations of her soft moaning. "Mine," he whispered softly against the warmth of her neck. "I told you I would find you, Chloe."

He felt her throat tense and tremble as she spoke in that deep, gravelly voice he hated and loved because it resonated down through his spine. "Mercy."

"Chloe." He nipped at her neck and moved to whisper it in her ear.

"Mercy." She repeated before grazing his earlobe with her teeth and tugging it down lightly.

"Chloe." He insisted, a little firmer, squeezing his hands around her waist so hard he could feel her body struggle to expand for breath.

"Mercy." She bit his ear harder as she hissed the name.

He growled angrily and pushed her back into the couch before kissing her fiercely. She reciprocated, wrapping denim-clad legs around his waist as the two of them sank into the cushions.

"I have a bed," he gasped.

She pulled away and smiled lopsidedly at him. "Lucky you." She stood on her feet and gestured dramatically for him to take the lead. Lex grabbed her hand tightly in his and led her out of the office.