Joseph – Chapter 9
[i]Chloe woke with a start and looked at the other side of the bed seeing it empty. Their second day together was blissfully lazy. She remembered Lex arriving at the ferry drop off with his hands full. Directing the man behind him, they walked to the small hidden beach location on the natural park end of the island.
She wondered the amount of money Lex must have bribed the owner with to set up on the private location that was surrounded by nothing but palms and crystal blue water. They spent the entire day under one tree and watched schools of fish swim by in the shallow water.
Occasionally she would lift the edge of her hat and see him holding the pen in his mouth as he worked. She knew he couldn't have gone the entire time without doing something. He was still Lex Luthor, as much as she wanted him to just take up the title beach bum. She buried herself further into her current novel but briefly got to run after the contents of one of his folders when he even fell asleep in the afternoon breeze.
He had cooked that night for them. The food was perfect, the slightly stronger breeze blew through the little apartment that made the night more perfect. She even smiled at her landlord innocently as Lex pulled her back into the small living room and shut the door after the sun went down.
She had never imagined three days earlier that his appearance in Don's bar would have led to her being happier than she had been. She remembered hearing his voice made her nervous that he may have brought Smallville's problems with him. Even as he closed the doors and shutters that opened out to Magnil's place last night, she didn't picture it.
Lex took her hand and traced his fingers up her arm as he whispered, "What do you want Chloe?"
She remembered hesitating as her words and her thoughts wouldn't agree on how to handle his loaded question. She closed her eyes and felt his hands continue to stay in G rated spots on her body. She could only feel herself walk backwards to the bed until she remembered seeing his chest from inside the billowing shirt hanging off his body over her.
Burying his face into her neck, he whispered, "Tell me to stop." Chloe's eyes squeezed shut as she let out a gasp, feeling his hands guide gently down the middle of her chest.
"Don't stop," she gasped as his lips grazed her collarbone. In the back of her mind last night after they made love, she wanted to desperately ask him when the last time he had taken things so slow. He wasn't exactly the lovemaking type she thought. His sexual encounters were more like automatic. Yet, last night they played and teased for hours before finally her body couldn't take anymore.
Looking around on the floor for her clothes, she couldn't even find where he had popped her panties off to. She remembered them sailing across the living room though. Pulling the light blanket from the end of the bed, she wrapped up and went out on the porch.
Plodding to the balcony, she saw a chair change direction slightly followed by a lone hand come out from the other side of the doorway. Taking his hand, she sat down and smiled over at him. "Hey."
"Sleep well?"
Chloe laughed and covered her mouth. "Sleep? What was that? Like two hours."
"I didn't hear you complaining last night," Lex drolled as he ran his hand through her hair. His briefcase sat next to him, which he noticed she looked at. "Don't worry – I can't even make myself open it this morning. I actually wanted to go check out the fort here and the nature preserve. Get up and stretch our legs today, at least before the rain blows in."
He looked up at the clouds that had gathered the night before. He thought he even remembered the faint sounds of thunder in the background, but couldn't tell if it was really thunder or the small bed shaking in the little apartment.
Chloe lifted the cup of already poured coffee to her lips and shook her head. "I've lived here and haven't even explored the area." Lex smiled over at her and got up, brushing past her to see what he brought to change into from the day before. Lifting the end of the blanket up, he lifted one eyebrow at seeing her still bare.
"You may need to find your underwear first."
************
Lex put his hand out for Chloe as they made it up the steeper of the small climbs in the hiking trails that the island was known for. Chloe wanted to laugh when she saw Lex finally appear from the bathroom several hours earlier in windshorts and hiking shoes. It was a surreal moment that the billionaire was going to go hiking.
Now, though, she wasn't laughing. She had in the past hour managed to smack herself in the face with a tree branch and lose her footing, sliding down part of a rocky trail.
She looked up over the top of the peak they had walked to and sat down next to Lex. "How's your knee?"
She lightly ran her hand over the small spot that was an interesting mix of red, brown, black, and blue. That would bean attractive bruising addition to any more bikini shots. She would definitely photoshop that out. "It's bruising."
Lex leaned over and kissed right above it, still causing a slight twitch from Chloe. "We could go back."
"No, it's just a scrape. You and I both know I have been through a lot more crap than a bruise." She leaned against Lex's shoulder and closed her eyes. The wind was a lot stronger than the last couple of days and even the smaller boats in between the two islands had issues trying to maneuver through the channels.
"It's clouding up quick today. At least it will be cooler somewhat for the last day." Lex glanced over at Chloe as she gazed out over the view of St. Thomas from where they sat. He could feel her grip on his arm increase when he dropped the words last day. He told her earlier in the morning as she got dressed that it was only a weekend but he would definitely be back.
Truthfully, he wanted to take her back with him, or at least know she was safe in his place. As much as he loved it here, he couldn't stay, but it was getting harder and harder to leave her alone again. He hoped sitting on top of the small island would slow the day down, if he didn't look at work, it would just disappear and no one would ask about where Lex Luthor was.
"What are you thinking?"
Turning his head, he kissed the top of her baseball cap. "How I could convince you to come back to Smallville with me." Chloe pulled her head up and looked at him. Nodding, she leaned back on her hands and glanced up at the sky.
"No, this is my home." She pulled her legs into her and rocked back and forth. Lex watched her seemingly retreat into the strange position as if she was trying to hide something. She had her reasons to leave, to explore, but he knew there were still parts of her that longed to get back to the hustle.
"If not Smallville, how about Metropolis?" He glanced over and Chloe barely acknowledged him. She didn't want to think he was actually trying to do what he was. She was not Lana or Clark or anyone else that rolled over to Lex's whims, no matter how many times she had called his name the night before. "I'll buy the Daily Planet for you. Make you the headline reporter and your annoying investigating of me incredibly easy."
"How about you move here?" She glanced at him. "Come on, rich people play here all the time while making billion dollar deals." She eyed him as he somewhat nodded, thinking about the place he already had. He hadn't even been there yet. He had it modified to run corporate meetings out of. The idea wasn't foreign to him. The plan of breaking the news to her, though, was.
He gazed over at her face as she adjusted her hat. He hadn't felt so attached to someone in a long time. They had both been through so much together, good and bad, and he had trouble picturing his leaving her. Biting the inside of his lip, he let the matter drop as he felt raindrops hitting him in the leg.
Chloe took his hand and they continued walking under the cover of the tropical tree canopy. They occasionally felt drops of rain that seeped through the leaves and struck them on random body parts. Crack of thunder became louder and distinctly closer together as the winds picked up and blew the rain from the trees down upon them.
Pulling her hood up, she glanced over at Lex and noticed he had steadily been moving faster as the storm seemed to bear down on their little location. The ground started to become slippery and she was sure she was going to stumble again. "We have to slow down."
"Just a little further," Lex barely got out before Chloe's foot slipped out from under her and Lex threw an arm under hers before she tumbled to the ground. "Are you ok?" he almost had to yell over the rumbling of the rain and wind through the trees.
"I hit my ankle," he barely could hear her cry as she pulled on his arm to stand up. Leaning against his body, she wrapped an arm around and hobbled as well as she could the other fourth of a mile back to the house.
She cornered the entrance to the Magnil's driveway and saw the main house completely boarded up, including the car covered and tied. "Come on. I'm sure she's fine." Lex pulled Chloe's body into his and lifted her injured body up the stairs to her place without putting weight on her foot.
Unlocking the door, he settled Chloe into the couch and propped her foot up on the living room table. It was swollen but not broken since she had stood on it for moments coming over the last ridge.
Chloe watched as Lex pulled against the wind and jammed the shutters to her place shut and locked. Some vacation it turned out to be for the billionaire having to do his own work she thought. "Turn on the TV or the radio!"
Chloe clicked on the remote to the television and saw the scroll across the television. "After gaining speed and strength over the abnormally warm waters this year, hurricane Joseph took an unexpected turn around seven last night and is bearing down on the US and British Virgin Islands. 53 minutes ago, the hurricane center in Miami, Florida reported that Joseph was upgraded to a category 2 storm. Although this means only moderate flooding issues, VI residents are encouraged to seek shelter in a sturdy brick or mortar building away from possible impact surges."
Chloe glanced over at Lex while he wiped the soaking rain from the outer bands off his face. "Guess you may get to stay another day." Lex put his arm around her and kissed her neck before readjusting the ice pack on her ankle. He pulled her into him and ran his hand up and down her arm while watching the television images of the waves blowing in from the bands already hitting the islands.
Chloe jumped in his arms when the shutter across the room blew open against the archaic lock. "We should try to get to somewhere safe." Chloe nodded and attempted to put some things together to go over to the other house she assumed. "Lex!" she screamed at him when he disappeared over to Magnil's place and beat on the door before finding the note flapping against the paper clip on the inside of the mailbox.
'Keys are in the car. Meet us at Fort Segarra or go somewhere safe and sturdy. DO NOT stay in the house. Magnil.'
Opening the door to her house, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "How's the house holding up?"
"We've got the shutters pulled all around and the outside systems locked down and covered sir. As requested we already stocked the wine cellar and cooler and have enough diesel stored for two weeks. Are you planning on making the trek?" Lex hunkered down in the corner of Magnil's house trying to hear man with the thick accent on the other end of the line.
"We're at her place right now, which is not going to make it. She's injured and we are going to try to get the car through. Look for us in about 30 minutes. Sit he power still on?"
"Yes sir, but probably not for long. I must go air; the maid is having a time getting the rest of the lawn furniture tied down." Lex heard the phone click and beat his head against the wall in Magnil's foyer. This was not the way he wanted to explain himself. Shoving the phone back in his pocket, he ran back across the yard and up the stairs to see Chloe sitting in front of his and her bag and some small provisions.
"I couldn't think of anything else. Magnil?"
"She's gone already but it didn't say where. She left the car for us to get to a safe location." Chloe hobbled across the living room and grabbed her bag. Lex threw the other bags over the opposite shoulder before grabbing her around the waist to help her down the stairs. The wind already pressed her against him and the rain soaked both of them through to the skin.
Starting the car, he looked over at her and pulled her into him. "You really didn't want me to leave, did you?" he tried to joke. Chloe wrapped her hand around his neck and slid her tongue almost forcefully down his throat. Feeling the intensity of the kiss, he returned the savage act, feeling her pulling on him tighter.
He pushed against her and started the car, "hold that thought." Looking behind him, he pulled out of the driveway and headed to the other end of the small island.
"Lex, the fort is the other way."
"It's probably overrun with locals and those that caught the last ferry from St Thomas. Chloe," he paused as they drove slowly past the Sprat Estates sign. He watched her eyes follow the sign until it was out of sight before taking another breath. "Chloe, what's going on here?"
Chloe glanced over at him and wrinkled up her face in confusion, "Umm, we're driving around in a private neighborhood in a hurricane, and I'm injured. What the hell kind of question is that?!"
"No, I mean…"
"Lex! Watch the damn road!" she screamed as the palms fell from the trees lining the best paved road on the island and barely missed taking out the windshield. "Look, I don't know, but we could talk about it when you fucking turn around and go back to For…"
Chloe's mouth dropped as she watched a man in a bright rain slicker hand crank the iron gate back between the two pillars. Turning to Lex, she saw his face. He turned a paler shade of his collected self and sadly looked over at her. "This wasn't the way I wanted to…"
"You fucking asshole," she whispered as they pulled into the garage of the home and she stared at the Porsche parked in the slot next to them.
She felt Lex try to comfort her as she stiffened her arm and stared out the opposite window. The garage door dropped and the sound of the winds and rains seemed to cease. Hurricane Joseph was right outside, but Typhoon Chloe was about to blow.
TBC