CHAPTER 12: One again
Chloe woke up as the first light of sunrise filtered into her bedroom to find Lex´s warm body spooning her naked form from behind. She turned her head a little to look at him and smiled contentedly when she felt his arm tighten around her waist possessively. If anyone had told her four months before that she would wake up a sated woman in the arms of her lover, and that those arms would be Lex´s, she would have sent them to have their minds examined.
Memories of the previous night came rushing to her mind as she snuggled closer to him and the faint perfume of vanilla on his skin invaded her nostrils, making her blush. Lex had been totally in control the first time, completely focused on her pleasure. He had been gentle and loving, giving her body time to adjust to his. Chloe couldn´t help but admire his restraint; the fact that he could be so selfless in the act of love-making when he was used to getting his way in almost everything made her love him even more.
From the moment Lex had entered the bedroom- which had been her sanctuary for two months- he had worshipped Chloe´s body with his eyes, his mouth and his hands. He had used his gravelly voice to whisper endearments against her feverish skin and kissed that particular spot behind her ear which made her heartbeat quicken, while his fingertips rediscovered the contours and indentures he had memorised like Braille that summer. His gentle hands had played her like the most exquisite of instruments and his mouth had poured honey into her ears, bringing her to a shattering orgasm with his clothes still on.
Chloe would later thank the billionaire´s presence of mind when it came to preparing her for the moment their bodies would become one; she had been so tight that, if she hadn´t known she´d carried their child, she´d have sworn she was still a virgin.
Being enveloped in Chloe´s warmth after so long had been the hardest test of restraint for Lex, who had almost lost it when her body had welcomed him for the first time that night and immediately climaxed once again. It had taken Lex all his self-control to let her savour the overwhelming assault of the senses without giving way to his own desires- he had felt the urge to move when he felt the sweet pulsing glove around him, but he wanted her body to reacquaint itself with his before letting himself go.
¨Lex, ¨she moaned, wrapping her legs around him and catching her breath when she felt him more deeply.
¨Easy, love, ¨he murmured, sliding his hands along her thighs to make her slacken the hold around his hips. ¨I don´t want to hurt you, ¨he added, brushing his lips with hers and coaxing her mouth open to distract her while he started a gentle rocking motion. ¨You´re lovely, ¨he said throatily as her body imitated his and Chloe´s eyes glazed. ¨I´m sorry, ¨he slowed down as she started to cry.
¨Don´t stop, ¨she choked, tightening her hold on him and urging him on. ¨Let go, Lex. ¨
¨I can´t, ¨he swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt his own control reach the end of the tether.
¨Don´t fight it, Lex, ¨she replied with tears rolling down her cheeks.
¨You´re crying, Chloe, ¨he murmured with a tremor in his voice, wiping away two big teardrops with his thumbs. ¨This is why I wanted to wait before coming up. ¨
¨You aren´t hurting me, Lex, you clod head... it´s just that... I´ve never thought... it´d feel this way, ¨she smiled dreamily.
¨Is that good? ¨he asked with the ghost of a smile.
¨Keep doing that and you´ll know just how much... ¨she responded breathlessly, ¨now. ¨
Lex cradled her soft curveswith trembling hands as his seed filled the beloved womb which had nestled the fruit of their love, and his mouth swallowed the vocalisation of her sweet release.
¨Love you, ¨she croaked, boring her green eyes into him. ¨Don´t, ¨she told him pleadingly when he moved to leave her warmth. ¨Not yet. ¨
¨Chloe...¨he responded with bright eyes, ¨I... ¨
¨You don´t need to say it... I know, ¨she smiled warmly, pressing a kiss on the palm of his hand.
¨You may know it but... I want to say it. I´ve never said it before, not even then... I couldn´t ... I didn´t know how... ¨he stammered overwhelmed by emotion.
¨I´m sure you showed me without having to resort to words, Lex. ¨
¨You need to hear them, Chloe... just as much as I need to say them... I love you, Chloe Sullivan, ¨he said emotionally. ¨And I´ll do whatever it takes to show you how much. ¨
Warmth spread all over Chloe in the early morning when Lex stirred behind her and she felt his mouth press a soft kiss on her pulse.
¨Good morning, ¨he murmured as she turned her face slightly towards him and he brushed his lips with hers.
¨Good morning, ¨she answered breathless and deepened the kiss.
¨Chloe, ¨he moaned when she started a trail of kisses from his jaw all the way down to his navel. ¨God, now you see why I insisted on coming to this wing, ¨he added, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her up until her naked breasts rested on his torso.
¨It´s your fault, Lex. You shouldn´t be so irresistible, ¨she smiled, looking into his stormy blue-grey eyes and seeing the corners of his mouth tilt up.
¨We should be getting up. Bruce must be already downstairs, and... ¨started Lex.
¨He´ll understand, Lex. He´s not clueless like Clark, ¨she cut him off, resting her head on his chest.
¨OK, just a couple of minutes, but then I really have to go downstairs, Chloe, ¨he responded throatily, threading his fingers through her silky blond hair.
¨OK, ¨ she said wistfully and her eyes welled up with tears.
¨Chloe, ¨he called her gently.
¨It´s all right, Lex, ¨she repeated with a catch in her voice.
¨Chloe, look at me, ¨he insisted, cupping her face in both hands. ¨You know there´s nothing in this world I´d love more than to stay here with you, but there are things that need to be done. ¨
¨I know, ¨she croaked as two tears rolled down her cheeks. ¨It´s just that... ¨she stifled a sob. ¨I don´t want to lose you when I´ve just found you again. ¨
¨You won´t lose me, Chloe, ¨he said matter-of-factly. ¨I promise you there´ll be more nights like last night. And hopefully, next time you´ll be wearing my ring, ¨he said boring his eyes into her and wiping her tears away.
¨It´ll be better Bruce brings you back in one piece or else he´ll taste the Irish wrath of a Sullivan, ¨she responded gravely, sitting up on the bed and pulling the sheet off Lex´s body to wrap it around hers. ¨What? ¨she exclaimed, looking at him as she stood next to the bed, clutching the material tightly to stop it from slipping down to the floor.
¨I´ve forgotten how beautiful you look when you get all serious, ¨he said with a smile. ¨And how you can blush and be so modest, while you´re so uninhibited in my arms, ¨he added with a velvety voice.
¨I know what you´re trying to do, Lex, ¨she said, blushing furiously. ¨You´re trying to distract me, but I can´t help worrying when you won´t tell me what it is you and Bruce are doing tonight. ¨
¨I don´t want a repeat of what we´ve been through, Chloe. You should stay out of this.¨
¨I´m already in, Lex. If you´re going after your father, I´ve got a right to know. I want us to be completely honest with each other. ¨
¨I´ll try to do my best, Chloe. But you know there are things I won´t tell you. ¨
¨I´m used to the Luthor secretiveness. I´m not talking about your shady business deals. I´m talking about the things that concern us as a couple. This one is as much business as it´s personal. Lex, ¨she sighed, ¨This thing with your dad´s going to end up badly for one of you. I don´t want you to lose your soul over this, and I don´t want to have to visit your tomb next to Julian´s. ¨
¨I´ve killed people, Chloe, but I won´t murder my dad- if that´s what you´re fearing. I´m not him. I´m not a patricide, ¨he said grimly.
¨Do you think your dad will have any scruples when it comes to you? I´d understand it if you felt tempted to put a bullet in his brain because of everything he´s done to you over the years. ¨
¨I just want justice to be served. Maybe he won´t end up in jail for the murder of his parents, but he´ll pay for what he´s been doing to those inmates. I´m not a hypocrite, Chloe. I may not have had a hand in this project of his, but Ares was as morally questionable as this. There´s a chance I´ll have to serve some time once this is over. I´m part of LuthorCorp´s Board of Directors and, as such, I´m responsible for every decision that´s taken in the name of the corporation. I´m ready for it. The question is... will you be there when I come out? ¨
¨You already know the answer to that, Lex, ¨she choked. ¨We may not agree on many issues, but I still love you. If being apart for a while is the price we´ve got to pay to save the Emily Dinsmores of this world from a monster such as your dad... I´ll stand by you whichever decision you make. ¨
¨Thanks, Chloe. You don´t know what it means to hear you say that, ¨he said throatily as he tugged at her arm to pull her back to bed.
Chloe lay beside him on the mattress with her body facing him and brought a hand up to gently caress his cheek. She felt Lex trace her curves and indentures with loving devotion and, leaning in to meet his mouth in a leisurely kiss, she let him make sweet love to her once again before the alarm clock told them it was time they got dressed for breakfast downstairs.
¨It pleases you, doesn´t it? ¨asked Lex as he fastened the strap of his Napoleon franc watch around his wrist and adjusted his tie in front of the mirror.
¨What pleases me? ¨she responded with a mocking smile he saw reflected in the looking glass.
¨To be able to slip through the cracks of my armour from time to time. To prove that I´m not as unflappable as it seems, ¨he smirked, putting on the cufflinks. ¨You finally got what you wanted from me when you woke up this morning. ¨
¨Well... that´s not exactly true. You haven´t told me what it is you´re doing with Bruce tonight, ¨she responded, locking her green eyes with his. ¨Come on, Lex. You know that if I set my mind to it, I can discover it on my own. The only thing´s you won´t approve of my methods. ¨
¨You´re pushing your luck, Chloe, ¨he said through clenched teeth.
¨I won´t ask you to tell me where you´re going, just to share what you know with me. ¨
¨I can´t tell you where we´re going because I honestly don´t know. We´ll use the tracking devices implanted in the inmates for that. ¨
¨Is your father gathering meteor freaks to create his own army or what? ¨
¨I wish I knew what he wants with them, Chloe. The only thing I know for certain´s that, unlike Ares, his project doesn´t have any government endorsement. It has to be something really
important to him though , to have sacrificed several subjects the night you had Clark remove your implant. ¨
¨Does your dad know about me and my power? ¨she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.
¨We can´t be sure. I hope he didn´t have enough time to get any information out of your mum. That´s one of the reasons I had her taken to 33.1. She was an easy prey at Belle Reve. I won´t lie to you, Chloe, I thought she could be used to rid Smallville of some of its most dangerous threats, but she was also the easiest way to get to you, if my father ever learnt the truth about us. ¨
¨How is she, Lex? ¨she asked with misty eyes.
¨Her doctors are very optimistic, Chloe. The drug my research team has produced will have to be injected on a regular basis. It´s an expensive treatment but I´ve got the means and the disposition to do this for her. As regards tonight... I can´t tell you more, Chloe. You´ll have to trust me. ¨
¨I trust you, Lex. It´s your father I don´t trust. ¨
¨That´s why I´ve got my team and Bruce´s as back-up. We´ll get him, Chloe, ¨he assured her from the doorway.
Chloe heard the click of the door as it shut and she went straight to the dresser for a change of underwear before taking a pair of khakis and a black t-shirt from the wardrobe. She would have a quick shower, go down for breakfast, make some chit-chat with the guest of honour and, once both billionaires had left for Metropolis, she would sneak into the office of the ranch´s administrator to use the internet connection. Fortunately, she still had her kit for break-ins stashed away. She would do as Lex had said- she would stay put- but she´d make sure he had his back properly covered.