CHAPTER 9: Partners Again
THE WATERS EDGE COTTAGE- LOCH LOMOND- SCOTLAND
When Chloe and Lex arrived in Edinburgh a rented Land Rover was already waiting for them on the tarmac. On the plane Lex had told her they weren´t staying in the capital city but heading straight to Loch Lomond, which was around sixty miles away. Iaian Grierson seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth and the only clues that they had were an old photo, Sir Walter Scott´s poem and a few scattered memories which Lex had repressed, and all of them led to the biggest lake in the U.K.
Chloe had left Metropolis in a rush but had made a call to Lois before getting on the jet to tell her she´d be away for a couple of days- she had lied about the destination, of course. The General´s daughter had pressured her for details and the blonde had just told her she needed some time away to finish a story she was working on. Mrs Kahn was a different matter altogether; Chloe was still working hard to show she deserved a second chance and couldn´t run the risk of losing her dream by asking for a leave of absence without providing the editor with a very good excuse. Lex had offered getting her a health certificate to present at the newspaper´s HR´s office, but she´d preferred no to leave any paper trails that might lead back to him.
Although the young woman was leaving the country an heiress to a large fortune, and she was doing it with none other than Lex Luthor, she didn´t feel like sharing the secret with anyone. Chloe told The Planet´s editor she was following the Luthor story and that she´d get something ready for the following week. She had no intention of writing anything about her recent findings or whatever they might discover in Scotland. Miss Kahn´s main concern and the public´s main interest should be Luthorcorp´s shady business and not the heir´s personal life. There´d be a story to write just not that story.
The hotel was a charming 1820´s lochside cottage surrounded by the romantic ambiance and natural beauty provided by its location. Chloe felt a tightening in her chest when they stepped out of the vehicle and she took in the breathtaking landscape. She had never thought of herself as the dreamy romantic-type but- now that she found herself amidst so much beauty in the company of the man she had almost died for and to whom she had almost given her virginity when she was barely seventeen- she discovered she wasn´t so different from the rest of her kind. Stealing a glance at Lex, who was opening the boot to retrieve their luggage, she wondered what he was thinking and told herself she should better stick to what they had come for before she made a foolish mistake.
The cottage was run by a charming middle-aged couple who had travelled around the world and collected antiques and curios that gave the indoors a unique and interesting atmosphere. The smell of the lounge reminded Chloe of Lex´s study in Metropolis´ penthouse, and she couldn´t resist the impulse to close her eyes and take a deep breath to fill her lungs with the clean and wood-perfumed air. The look that she saw in Lex´s blue-grey eyes when her eyelids fluttered open made her heartbeat quicken, and only the owner´s interruption saved her from babbling something stupid to overcome the uncharacteristic butterflies in her stomach. It was preposterous really- two months ago she was barely making ends meet and she couldn´t think of anything that would make her happier than bringing Lex Luthor down. Whereas now, here she was, a rich woman helping Lex Luthor discover his own roots and feeling things for him she had thought dead and buried.
"I´m sorry, Mr Luthor. There´s been an unforgivable mistake," said the middle-aged woman apologetically. "It´s the hunting season and we´ve had more bookings than usual. My daughter had taken a reservation before your assistant called, and she forgot to write it down. We´ve got only a double room available," she explained, rubbing her hands nervously.
"Do you think there might be accommodation elsewhere in Balloch?" asked Lex calmly.
"I´m afraid not. I sent a couple with a child to the Cameron House Hotel and they were given the last room available."
"Lex, we aren´t so far from Glasgow. Maybe we could... " Chloe began, taking pity on the young woman who had forgotten to book them a room.
"I wouldn´t recommend leaving now, madam. There´s a heavy storm brewing and, by the looks of it, it´ll hit soon," the owner of the hotel advised them.
"Chloe, it´d be just for the night. We´ll find some other place tomorrow morning. What d´ you say?"
"The Garden Room´s a double, but we could provide you with a cot and clean linen," the lady told the couple when she saw the fair-haired girl heistate.
"We´ll take it," responded Lex when Chloe nodded her approval at last. Hell, he had survived sleeping in the open for almost three months while stranded on that damn island! He could survive spending a night in the same room as Chloe, right?
"OK. I´ll need your passports then and, while we deal with the check-in with the gentleman, Sherry can take your luggage and show the lady the room," the Briton said with a smile.
"Take your time, Chloe. I´ll wait here while you freshen up," Lex told her when she picked up her bag.
Three-quarters of an hour later a recently-showered and changed Chloe stepped in the Guest Lounge to find Lex relaxing in an armchair and sipping a pre-dinner complimentary sherry. It never ceased to amaze her how composed and unruffled he always looked- to the casual observer he wasn´t a man who had just arrived from a transatlantic trip after spending four hellish days and discovering he´d never been who he thought he was. Nobody else but her and Clark knew the billionaire had been in a coma and brought back to life by her magic touch either. Lex was anything but a regular guy.
"Better?" asked Lex with a small smile when she sat down on the sofa near his seat.
"I feel human again," she responded in a similar fashion.
"Chloe," he murmured as he leant forward.
"I left you a clean bath towel, a bar of soap and a new toothbrush at the foot of the bed," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Go ahead, Lex. Don´t take long, though, if you want to taste the local cuisine because by the time you get to the dining-room I might have eaten your serving and mine. I´m starving!" she laughed, trying to put off whatever discussion he had on his mind.
"OK," he smirked, taking the hint." At least save me a piece of Butterscotch and Chocolate Tart."
"Butterscotch and Chocolate Tart?" she cocked an eyebrow.
"I had a look at the menu while you were away. I thought that´d be the kind of dessert Chloe Sullivan would order. Was I right?"
"Does it come with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the side?" she asked, her mouth already watering.
"It can be as decadent as you want," he said seductively, and Chloe thanked Scotland´s cold weather for the green cardigan that concealed the sudden goose pimples on her skin.
The hotel´s chef lived up to Lex´s expectations. The Escalopes of Salmon with an Avocado and Tomato Compote in a Basil Sauce were superb; the ingredients were first-quality and the fish was freshly-caught. Chloe seemed to enjoy his choice and launched on a hilarious account of a fishing trip she had shared with Lois and Uncle Sam for her fifteenth birthday. Lex listened to her attentively and found himself laughing a few times.
"You should do that more often," she said after the waitress removed their empty plates.
"What´s that?" he responded, taking the bottle of Cuvée Dom Perignon and filling both their flutes again.
"Laugh," she replied, dropping her eyes to see him pour more champagne in her glass. "I think I´ve had enough for tonight," she added, putting a hand on top of the flute.
"There´s still that sinful Butterscotch and Chocolate Tart. The beverage won´t go to your head, I promise; you´ve got a full stomach."
"Are you suggesting I´ve eaten like a pig?" quipped the reporter.
"There´s nothing of a pig in you, Miss Sullivan; I can assure you," he said smugly.
"I think I´ll have to run a few laps around the lake in the rain to burn all the calories I´ve ingested tonight," she laughed, rubbing her stomach and wondering if her cheeks hadn´t turned pink like a stupid schoolgirl´s.
Lex thought there were other more pleasurable ways he could think of to achieve just the same goal, but reminded himself that wasn´t the reason he´d asked her to come along. It was hard to forget they weren´t two newly-weds on their honeymoon when he was sharing a candle-lit dinner with the woman he´d loved for seven years and thought could never be his.
"Are you going to finish that?" she asked, cleaning her fork and eying the piece of tart he´d left on his plate.
"Greedy, aren´t we?" he smirked, pushing the dish towards her.
"This is Heaven, Lex, " she moaned, savouring the dessert in her mouth.
"It certainly seems that way," he responded with a velvety voice as her hazel-green eyes met his." We should ask for two cups of strong black coffee, don´t you think?" he added, feeling the sexual tension between them.
Chloe had dreaded the moment the time came for them to go to their room, even though Lex had been nothing but a gentleman in their rapport. True, their banter had been interspersed with sexual innuendo like the one they used to share over coffee at The Beanery and later at The Talon before Lionel Luthor had poisoned their budding romance with his lies and Lex had hurt her with his scathing remarks and his obsession to know Clark´s secret. However, she knew he´d never pressure her into doing anything she didn´t feel prepared for. Lex Luthor might be a predator and know how to charm a woman with his charisma and his intelligence, but he wasn´t the kind to force his attentions on an unwilling partner. All this she knew and, still, she was trembling like a leaf.
