Note: Hey all—thank you so very much for all the wonderful feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying this as much I as I am writing it. This chpt is all Clois. So…hope you enjoy. I'll get to back to the plot in the next one. Would LOVE to hear what you think!!

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Chapter 13

Lois Lane never knew the power of a kiss.

She never knew the force of a heartbeat. The hunger of a soul. Or the meaning of utter loneliness, and overwhelming completeness. Instantly, and all in the same moment.

Until Clark Kent.

Millions of fantastic colors exploded behind tightly closed eyes as velvet lips claimed hers in a kiss so bold, so fiercely passionate, the intensity of it rocked her to her core. One whimper of surrender and she was his. She didn't even struggle. Reflexively, her arms circled Clark's neck. Holding on for support. Holding on for dear life. Lois eagerly opened up to the sweep of Clark's tongue along the seam of her lips. One plunge into the depths of her mouth and she felt her entire body melt into a willing, pliable mass of flesh.

Lois Lane sank into him like he was her favorite dream.

And he caught her, knowing she was his…

Nothing.

Kissing Lois was absolutely nothing like Clark Kent imagined it would be.

And he had imagined it…repeatedly and often. In the depths of secret dreams. In the heart of vulnerability. In those waking moments when delicious fantasy is pulled into harsh reality. It had been her lips he devoured. Her body he clung to. Her eyes that pulled him under.

He knew that now. And he waved that knowledge like a banner of triumph.

It wasn't as if they hadn't kissed before. They had. And it had left him with a sense of breathless wonder that he had ignored for years. After all, that kiss wasn't meant for him. That kiss was between Lois and her masked hero. And the other time? They were both the eager, but helpless victims of Red-K laced lipstick.

But this? This was different.

This was them.

And they were beyond anything he'd ever known.

They were explosive. They were magnificent. They…were real.

Mere lips weren't enough. Her body, pressed so tightly against his, couldn't quench it. His thirst. His hunger. How or when he could never tell, but black leather gloves were discarded. Not one more agonizing second. He couldn't not touch her any longer. Not feel her warmth. Not capture in his hands the light that was Lois. Let her energy seep into him.

And take him over.

Scorching touches seared his fingerprints into her skin, marking her. Savage kisses catapulted her into another stratosphere, branding her. Reverberating moans and sighs rocked her, zapping her willpower. Steeling her to meet him kiss for kiss. Echoing emotions she'd long been trying to hide.

Clark was on sensation overload. Every breath, he breathed in her delicious, tantalizing scent. Sweet, spicy. Delicate, bold. Each nuance made his knees weak. Every helpless moan in response to his caresses shot straight to the center of his being, urging him on and hardening his body. The taste of her was intoxicating. Overpowering. Irresistible. Making him drunk with desire and dizzy with insatiable hunger.

It was more than a physical act. More than heated fingers brushing against skin, igniting sparks deep inside. More than the sensations deliciously zipping across every nerve. More then soft, pliable lips in a fierce battle to give. To take.

To fade into each other until there was no ending, no beginning.

It was the opening of sealed doors. The shattering of stubborn walls. Souls were coming face to face. Hearts, aligning with lightening speed. Dreams of what could be winking at each other as insecurities gave way to passion. Bodies, colliding with electric energy…

Breaking their deep, frantic kisses to gulp in much needed air, Clark's thundering heart skidded to a stop. Their ragged breathing filled his ears as a vision of Lois's flushed face danced before him. Lips swollen and red, eyes clouded with passion and bright with exhilaration, one truth etched in the planes of her beautiful face.

His voice was raspy with untapped desire. And full of profound confidence.

"You did lie."

Confused, dazed, Lois blinked up at him. "What?"

"You do love me."

If possible, her breathing increased. Panic gripped her. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to feel. Or want. Or need. And he certainly wasn't supposed to see her do it. Or hold her while she did. Be the reason for it all.

She instantly stiffened and tried to pull away.

Without effort, Clark's steel tight grip held her in place. His gentle eyes softly caressed her features. "You do. You can deny it all you want, and believe me I look forward to you trying, but…" A smile lit his eyes as his soft fingers brushed along her heated, flushed cheeks. His voice filled with awe. "…you do...love me."

Lois swallowed hard, unable to speak. Unable to deny his words. Or confirm them. Unable to hide.

Suddenly, Clark's expression tightened and his head snapped to the side. "Shh." Instantly on alert, he gently pushed her back down into the chair. "Someone's coming. Stay."

With that command, he fused their lips once more in a solid kiss of possession then quickly moved to the door, fiddled with the handle then disappeared into a shadowy corner to wait. Arms casually crossed. Completely in control.

On auto pilot, Lois placed her hands behind her back and lined her legs up with those of the chair, giving the allusion of capture. Her gaze slipped to the source of the all the electricity still hanging in the air. And realized he was only half of the reason. Her face flushed at the memory of their explosive reunion.

Clark winked at her approvingly from his hiding place.

Her lips still burned. Her body hummed and shivered. Her heart was thudding against her rib cage. Strung as tight as a bow, with one more touch, just one more, she would fly apart and shatter.

This was insane.

She was in the clutches of a lunatic, one that wanted Clark's head if not his life, and all she wanted to do was catapult herself into Clark's arms and finish what they started. Danger be damned. The suit would be the first thing to go. There hadn't been enough skin for her to touch. Enough of Clark for her to devour…

She squeezed her eyes shut against the images.

"I want more of you too."

At Clark's heated whisper, Lois' eyes snapped open to see Clark's burning with intensity. Her chest hitched. Her heart stopped. Seconds passed. They stared at each other silently, eyes doing what hands could not. Then a minute. Lois felt the blood in her veins start to simmer. Her temperature rise.

Completely, gloriously insane…

The door swung open to reveal the oaf that had originally captured her.

He'd made it halfway to her before she noticed them. The black gloves on the floor, only a few feet away. The guard noticed them at the same time. He reached for his gun.

Then hit the floor with a thud.

Lois jumped in surprise, her eyes wide. She hadn't even seen or heard him move. Her stunned gaze shifted to a fully engaged Clark, who was now lifting a two hundred ninety-something solid wall of muscle with one-handed ease. Turning his attention to Lois, he nodded. "I need the chair."

Lois vacated the space in a daze. Clark placed the guard in the seat and made quick work of tying him up with tension wire he'd somehow found in a whirlwind of black. Once he'd secured the guard, Clark grabbed the discarded gloves, turned to Lois and reached out his hand.

Lois shrank back, warily eyeing his proffered hand. One touch. No matter how innocent. That's all it would take. Her voice quivered with desire. With need. With fear. "Don't you dare touch me."

Eyes sparkling, his lips tilted knowingly. He was still as affected by their reunion as she clearly was. He was nearly giddy, in fact. And as delicious as it had been, he needed to focus on the task at hand. If they ever hoped to escape in tact to finish what they began, physical distance was a necessity.

At least for now.

He dropped his hand. "You're right. Now's not the time. We can pick up where we left off later. Once you're safe."

Her gaze, instantly on fire, snapped up to meet his. "There will be no later. Because…this…us…is not happening." More incensed by the presumption than anything else, she was instantly defiant. As a matter of principle. Because even though she said the words, she couldn't quite remember why it couldn't happen, when it clearly had. Or why she shouldn't even want it to.

Clark didn't have a plan. When he entered the room, he hadn't intended on kissing Lois. Hadn't thought he'd declare himself. Or his feelings. Or try in any way to claim her. Despite taunting Bruce, Clark understood the decision she made to marry him. And if for no other reason than Bruce himself, Clark respected it.

Any plans he had were for after. When she was safe. When they could talk. When he could explain and reason with her. And tell her how much he loved her.

Then there she was.

Tied up. Helpless. And begging for Bruce to help her stop Lex. To help her save him. To save Clark. He heard the desperation in her voice. And understood it. Because it had been the same desperation in his only an hour before. And when she tilted her beautiful, pleading face upward…

All rational thought left him.

And his heart took control.

He had expected resistance. Hell, he'd expected a slap to the face or a knee to the groin. But when Lois returned his passion with unparalleled zeal...

It was a good thing she was resisting now.

Clark chuckled suddenly as he shrugged and moved toward the door, tossing his assessment over his shoulder. "Lois, us already has."

"But…"

He checked the both sides of the hallway through the small glass window before turning back to her, hands on his hips. "Oh. And by the way, your fiancé sends his love."

Lois gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes widened in horror. She'd forgotten all about Bruce. From the second she'd looked into Clark's eyes. Guilt ripped through her expression. "Oh, God. Bruce."

"I admit he's impressive, but don't you think you're going a bit far?" Clark quipped as he moved past her to the other side of the room. Staring up at what appeared to be the ceiling, he gauged the distance and size of the windows high on the wall. There were four. Reachable, but small. And then there was a fifth…

Lois spun to face him, her thoughts on overload. Her emotions beginning a harsh, painful battle. Her reaction in overcompensation mode. "Where is he? And why are you wearing the Batsuit?" Hands on hips, her accusation sharpened. "Clark, what did you do to him?"

"Ok. Starting backwards…" Clark turned to face his accuser. He raised a finger and wagged in denial. "…I didn't do anything to him." His gaze shifted almost guiltily as he shrugged. "Well, not much anyway." He glanced down at the Batsuit, his face scrunching up in disgust. "And I'm only the wearing this god-awful contraption because he made it a condition of my participation in this little adventure of ours. As for where…" His lips twisted in quick, quiet contemplation. "…let's just say he's…close."

That was enough to tell her everything she needed to know. "Oh, no. Lex was right. He's here, isn't he? And he's going to give Lex the information on you. Isn't he?" Lois rushed Clark, clearly indignantly. "What, in the name of all that's holy, were the two of you thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know, Lois. Maybe that the woman we happen to adore needed to be rescued from a madman."

Either she didn't hear the confession or she chose to ignore it. Since she was clearly on a heated roll, chances were she missed it altogether.

"You're such an idiot sometimes!" Poking him in the chest repeatedly, Lois hissed at him. "Do you have any idea just how much danger you're in right now? Lex Luthor wants you. He didn't really specify how, but I imagine it involves a lot of pain and ends in a lot of death. And you?" Another vehement poke. "You might as well just walk up to him and say, 'Here...why don't I just make it easy and climb into the coffin for you. And by the way, hand me a dagger while you're at it!'"

An expressive eyebrow rose. That was certainly an interesting reaction. "Why do you think I'm wearing the suit?"

"I don't know. Because every guy in my life seems to have a fetish for leather?" Lois quipped in flippant exasperation.

"I'm protecting my identity." He explained patiently. "At least that's the working theory." There was that smile again. Soft. Knowing. Happy. "Though you certainly didn't waste any time in recognizing me."

"Clark…"

Throwing up his hands in mock surrender, Clark retreated. "I get it. I do. It was the witty banter, right? I swear, I've got to work on controlling that. It gets me every time." Winking at her, Clark moved once more to the door.

Leaving a stunned and exasperated Lois Lane in his wake to ask just one burning, rhetorical question. "Who ARE you?"

Which was, for Lois, a very valid question.

For this was not the Clark Kent she knew.

Or was it?

Maybe it was the suit. The mask that gave him a sense of power and control. Maybe the time apart. The realizations he'd come to. Maybe a whole lot of little things or something as extreme as a kidnapping. Whatever the reason, something had changed him. Something had broken his restraints. Something had stripped away all of his insecurities.

Because the man that had kissed her senseless was…

Bold. Passionate. Confident. Uninhibited. Intense.

Everything she knew Clark Kent could be. Had hoped he would be. Dreamed it, in fact. But never really believed he would be…with her.

What then, had happened? What had she missed? Was it strong enough to last longer than a kiss?

And what could she do to ensure they had enough time together to find out?

Choosing to ignore the obvious intent of her question, Clark dove right in to what could be a real issue. For both of them. "Right. About that." His expression softened apologetically. "I'm sorry, Lois. I'm sorry you found out about me that way. I've wanted to tell you for so long…"

"Clark…" A sense of urgency layered her tone. "…we do not have time for this discussion."

"You're right." His nod was curt. "So, let's get essentials out of the way, shall we?" Without waiting for her answer, Clark launched into an explanation. "I'm an intergalactic traveler from a planet called Krypton. I have super hearing, speed and breath. I'm also super strong and pretty much invulnerable to everything except Kryptonite. Oh. And, uh…" As if it were an afterthought, though both knew it was anything but, Clark's roaming gaze caressed every inch of her face. His smile deepened. "…I happen to think you are the most amazing woman I've ever known."

And with those words, he'd rendered her speechless again.

Lois felt the breath rush out of her. Her knees actually buckled. She blinked up at him in a helpless daze.

Taking quick advantage of that fact, Clark pulled in a deep breath and switched from the pursuer to one being pursued. "Now. Unless you have any major issues with any of that, I think it's time we go."

That last word snapped her out of it.

"Go? Wait." She pulled back on Clark's arm as he turned from her. He turned back, a light smile tugging his lips upward as his gaze dropped to the restraining hand on his arm. Then faded when Bruce Wayne's diamond winked up at him. Determination flashed in her eyes. As strong as her pull to Clark clearly was, she couldn't…wouldn't forget again, the reason an engagement ring circled her finger. "I'm not going anywhere without Bruce."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, that's not really part of the plan."

"What exactly is the plan?" Lois demanded, clearly reinvigorated by Clark's cryptic insistence.

"Too detailed to go into now, but suffice it to say we're leaving."

"But, Clark…"

Her protest was lost in an unexpected swoosh and a helpless squeak as she went from standing her ground to being instantly cradled in strong arms against a solid chest. Her eyes widened when they met his. She nearly forgot her own name. She swallowed hard.

Clark smile down at her knowingly. "Hold on tight…Miss Lane." Her name was a whispered caress against her face. Smile deepening, Clark's eyes sparkled like sun on the water. "I wouldn't want to lose you now."

Tbc…