Not An Addict
28th March 2003, 07:10
Title: What a Girl Wants
Author: Not An Addict
Rating: PG-13
Category: General/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Lex
Spoilers: Drone
Summary: Peggy’s birthday fic—Chloe’s quest for a story leads to something else entirely. (I know—it sounds like every other story out there. I don’t do summaries. So sue me.)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Smallville, its characters, the song ‘What a Girl Wants’, Brittany Spears, the word ‘taco’, or anything that could be considered remotely cool. And even if I said that I did, honestly people—I had to scrounge for enough change to buy a soda. Do you really think you’d get anything from me if you sued?
Author’s Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEGGY! *does the birthday dance* I know, I didn’t include all of the lyrics, but song fics just aren’t my thing. This was the best I could come up with. ^_^ Hope you enjoy it anyway. Feedback pretty please, you wonderful people!
‘Oh good Lord, he’s in a towel.’ Though she fought against it, Chloe could feel her mouth going dry as her heart began to race, beating so loudly she was afraid her “client” was going to hear it. ‘How did I ever think I was going to get through this?’ She took a deep breath. If she stalled much longer he was going to start getting suspicious, and if he saw her face this whole thing would be over before it began. ‘Oh no, he’s about to look up. Ok, Chloe, you have officially run out of options.’
“Is everything—” Lex cut off when he felt the masseuse begin to knead at the muscles in his shoulder. He let his head drop once more onto the round headrest of the massage table, overcome by the pleasure that was spreading through him, radiating out from the touch of small, soft female hands. A moment later he mentally shook himself. This wasn’t that kind of a massage parlor, and if he didn’t stop this train of thought soon, the situation was going to become extremely embarrassing. “What did you say your name was?”
“Sheena.” ‘Sheena?’ she thought in disgust, berating herself for not coming prepared with a pseudonym. She continued on her mental tirade, trying to distract herself from the feeling of Lex’s smooth skin beneath her hands. The way his muscles warmed at her touch and gave with gentle resistance to the pressure she applied. The . . . ‘Stop it!’
That voice. There was something about that voice that tickled at the back of Lex’s memory. Something familiar about . . . ‘Oh God, that feels good.’ Despite his better intentions, Lex found himself surrendering to the sensations humming through his skin. The girl’s hands were moving up and down his back, pausing every so often to rub softly with a pressure that had him melting into the table. ‘”Lex Luthor Dissolves Into Liquid State”; I can see the headlines now. Headlines . . .’ With that thought something finally clicked in his brain, and the owner of the voice came to him in a flash.
“Chloe??” Chloe jumped back when Lex’s head shot up off of the table, answering his incredulous look with a sheepish smile.
“Hey Lex.”
“Chloe, what the hell . . . what are you doing here?” Lex asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he pulled the towel tighter around himself. ‘Great, now I have the memory of her touch to add to my dreams. That’ll make facing her easier,’ he thought sarcastically. As Chloe was about to speak he raised his hand, forestalling her answer. “No, you can tell me in a minute. First, turn around.” She shot him a confused, suspicious look.
“Why?” He smirked.
“Well, Chloe, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly dressed. I’d like to remedy that as soon as possible.”
‘Right, because there’s a possibility that I haven’t noticed that he’s just wearing a towel. That all of that skin is exposed, all those muscles . . . snap out of it, Chloe! He’s just trying to unsettle you.’ Her arms crossing in front of her, she raised a single mocking eyebrow.
“So? What makes you think you have anything I haven’t seen before?” Lex’s eyes flashed briefly at the challenge before a look of calm indifference settled over his face. He shrugged and moved to throw off the towel; Chloe’s eyes widened and she spun around hastily, her face burning. A victorious smirk curled up Lex’s mouth and he retrieved his clothes from the drawer provided for them, tugging them on as quickly as he could.
“So . . . Sheena?” Lex’s smirk grew when he saw Chloe’s shoulders stiffen in affront. “Shouldn’t you be living in the jungle with a name like that?”
“Have you ever tried to walk down the streets of Gotham without getting mugged?” she shot back. “If this city doesn't qualify as a concrete jungle then they need to rethink the phrase.” Lex's chuckle sounded behind her and Chloe threw caution to the wind and turned around, trying to ignore her wave of disappointment that he was already fully dressed.
“And why are you risking your life here in the jungle instead of basking in the summer sun back in Smallville?" Lex asked as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. He was caught off-guard by an image of Chloe lying stretched out on the ground, relaxing as sunlight warmed her naked body. Another sharp snap of lust hit him unexpectedly; he forced it back and tried to concentrate on what Chloe was saying.
“First off—I don't bask.” She gestured to her pale skin. “Basking leads to broiling, leads to lobster-red Chloe. Secondly, with all of the meteor mutants we have running around Smallville I'd be risking my life just as much if I stayed at home. At least with a mugger you know you won't have to deal with anything any weirder than a gun.”
“You obviously haven't been in Gotham that long,” Lex grinned. “And you still haven't answered my question.”
“I'm visiting my Benji.” Lex's jaw clenched at the soft look that crept across Chloe's face when she spoke, but betrayed no other outward signs of the jealousy that gripped him. He raised a single eyebrow.
“Benji?”
“Yep,” she grinned. “My cousin Benjamin. We grew up together in Metropolis, until his family moved here.” She gave a fondly mocking sigh. “He was like the brother I never wanted. And he's probably expecting me back soon, so I'd better be going. I'll see you around, Mr. Luthor.” As fast as she moved, though, she wasn't quite fast enough, and before she could reach for the doorknob Lex had braced one palm against the door, holding it closed.
“Nice try, Miss Sullivan.” Chloe could feel Lex standing right behind her, and her heart began to race at his proximity. She felt him lean down until he was close enough to speak lowly in her ear. “But you’re not leaving until you tell me what you’re doing here.”
Chloe turned and found herself nearly nose-to-chest with Lex; he stepped back swiftly and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She had always found Lex disarmingly attractive, with his powerful confidence and expensive, tailored clothes. But now that she knew just what was under those clothes, it was all she could do not to simply jump him where he stood.
“I told you, I’m visiting my cousin.” Lex smirked.
“Try again.” Chloe looked at him for a moment and let out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, fine! I’ll tell you. If you must know, I’m working on a story—”
“You’re doing an exposé on massage parlors?”
“Ha ha. Your dry wit amazes me. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I’m working on a story about the bidding war that your father is involved in.” Lex’s forehead creased.
“The bidding war with Wayne Enterprises?”
“Right. Well, I wanted to do a fair and balanced article; so, since I’d already gotten information on Luthor Corp—” Seeing that Lex was about to speak, Chloe held up her hand. “Don’t ask how I got that information unless you really want to know the answer, Lex.” As Lex made no further move to speak, she continued. “I thought it was only fair to get the same kind of information from Wayne Enterprises. But I swear, Bruce Wayne gives new meaning to the phrase ‘business paranoia.’ The second he decides he wants a secret kept, security is already in place, and there’s no way you’re going to get any information.”
“And what does any of this have to do with you being here?” Lex demanded.
“I’m getting there! Jeez, keep your pants on.” Chloe flushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth and, trying to ignore Lex’s smirk, continued. “My friend Alissa works here, and we were talking the other day about how what I really needed was an interview with him. And to my surprise, whom does she have for a client the very next day but Mr. Bruce Wayne himself. So, I figured I’d pull a Karrie Castle: show up in place of his regular masseuse and coax an interview out of him.” Lex blinked, sidetracked for a moment by Chloe’s statement.
“How did you find out about that?” Chloe slanted him a mocking glance.
“Journalism’s a small pond, Lex. Word gets around.”
“So you thought you’d show up, give Bruce a rub down, and get him to confess all of his deep, dark secrets?” Though he struggled to keep the bite out of his voice Lex could tell by Chloe’s stiffening posture that he hadn’t been completely successful. But when it came to women, Bruce’s reputation made Lex look like a Boy Scout. The thought of Chloe being in a private room with the man, touching Bruce as she had been touching him, made his blood boil with a possessive and protective rage. Chloe’s eyes snapped as she answered.
“Well that was the plan, though I have to give you points for making it sound much cruder than it actually would have been. But it didn’t quite work out; imagine my surprise when instead of Bruce Wayne, you were the one on the table.”
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . Bruce Wayne has a bit of a reputation where women are concerned. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt, Chloe.”
“It’s ok. I guess I should be used to the big brother reaction by now with the way Clark behaves every time I mention a guy.” She offered him a small grin and continued, keeping him from revealing that his reaction had been anything but brotherly. “So why are you here, Lex?” The grin he gave her was warm, and charmed a larger one out of her.
“Bruce was kind enough to give me his appointment for today.” Chloe’s eyes widened.
“What? You know Bruce Wayne?” His grin changed to a smirk.
“That’s why I’m in Gotham. I’m helping him in his bid against Luthor Corp. See, Chloe,” he teased, “there was no need for you to go to all this trouble. You could’ve just come to me for an interview.”
“Yeah, because you’re always so forthcoming with information,” she scoffed. Lex’s expression turned serious, and Chloe was surprised to see that he looked sincere.
“I would be for you, Chloe.”
The tension in the room was suddenly noticeable as both of them simply stared at each other for a long moment. Chloe felt herself being drawn towards Lex; she stopped herself before she actually stepped forward and grinned at him.
“Can I quote you on that?” As quickly as that, the tension that had been strung between them was broken. After another moment Chloe spoke again. “Well, I really do have to get going—Benji will worry about me if I’m gone too long.” Lex nodded.
“I’ll walk you out.” His hand moved to the small of her back as he opened the door for her, small gentlemanly gestures that practically had her melting. When he saw her glance in both directions before walking out into the hallway he bit back a smirk. “Something wrong?” Chloe glanced over her shoulder at him.
“The only reason I was able to get in here is because Alissa let me take over her appointment. If I get caught back here she’s going to get into a lot of trouble, and I don’t want her to get fired because of me.” No sooner had the words been spoken, however, than voices sounded from around the corner, getting continually closer. Chloe’s eyes widened in panic. “Oh crap! I have to hide.” And without checking to see where it led, she opened the first door she came to and slipped inside.
A smirk curled up the corners of Lex’s mouth and he followed, his pace much more leisurely. He turned the door’s latch handle, forced to give a forceful tug when the door stuck slightly. Slipping inside into the clouds of steam, he glanced around and found Chloe pressed against the wall behind the door. The smirk still on his face, Lex raised an eyebrow at her.
“Far be it from me to judge another’s escape plan, but you might want to reconsider hiding in the sauna.”
“Shh! Look, either leave or come in here with me, but either way shut up!” Lex’s smirk turned to a frown.
“I’m not going to leave you hiding in a sauna, Chloe.”
“Then shut up, get in here, and close the door!” With that she grabbed his shirtsleeve and tugged him farther into the steamy room, shoving the door closed as quickly and as hard as she could.
“Chloe, don’t—” But it was too late; the door was shut. In two quick strides he crossed to the door and tried the handle, but it was no use. It was stuck. Lex cursed swiftly, succinctly, glaring at the wooden door. Chloe looked at him questioningly and he let out an irritated sigh. “The door’s swelled with all this moisture. It’s stuck.” He saw her eyes widen.
“Stuck?” As though she didn’t believe him, she moved to the door and tried it herself, pulling and tugging but to no avail.
“Lord only knows why they even installed a wooden door in here,” Lex grumbled. “It looks like we’re stuck in here for a while.”
“Ok,” Chloe breathed, doing her best to remain calm, to remember details. She glanced around the room and noticed that the steam was coming from vents placed high and low on the walls. Her hair was already beginning to plaster itself to her head; she lifted one hand to swipe at the strands sticking to her face. “Ok. I think I saw some kind of timer outside the door. It must be on some kind of a cycle or something; so we’ll just wait for it to run through, it’ll cool down again, the door will shrink back down, and we can get out of here.”
“Great,” Lex muttered. The heat was rising noticeably—although that could be due in part to the fact that he was trapped alone in a hot room with the subject of some of his more X-rated dreams. He could see the sweat beginning to form on her skin; his mind was immediately filled with a variety of other ways he could get her to work up a sweat. An image of Chloe flashed into his head, beads of perspiration clinging to her naked skin as she rode him to mind-shattering release. He blinked rapidly, clearing the image from his brain. It was definitely getting hotter.
Chloe watched out of the corner of her eyes as Lex stalked across the room. Ok, so maybe closing the door hadn’t been her brightest idea, but she wasn’t going to be responsible for getting her friend fired. Besides, it wouldn’t be so bad. So they would get a little hot. It could be worse. A movement from Lex caught her eye, and despite the moisture hanging in the air she could feel her mouth go dry when he removed his jacket and flung it on one of the wooden risers that ran along the walls. He sat down next to it and loosened several of the buttons on his shirt, the pale silk already wilted and clinging to his skin. A strip of his chest was visible through the gap in the fabric, and Chloe felt her heart speed up at the sight.
‘Well, I guess that answers the question of whether or not he’s bald everywhere,’ she mused, barely aware that she was staring. ‘Or maybe it doesn’t. I guess to be completely sure I’d have to see him—” She cut herself off from that train of thought as her body heat rose once again. ‘God, I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.’ The heat she was feeling was beginning to overwhelm her, and without a further thought she began to peel off her shirt.
Lex caught sight of what Chloe was doing and froze in place. No, no this was too much. There was no way he was going to be able to restrain himself if he ended up trapped with a half-naked Chloe. Just as he was opening his mouth, prepared to shout at her to stop, she lifted the material over her head and he noticed the camisole tank top she wore underneath. A small sigh escaped him, but whether it was one of relief or disappointment he couldn’t say.
The minutes ticked by and the steam continued to pump into the room, uncaring of the two inside. Chloe had never been good at keeping still; she slowly paced back and forth across the small area, envious of Lex’s ability to simply sit, looking as calm and composed as if he were presiding over a board meeting. Without realizing it Chloe began to hum under her breath; soon the humming turned to singing and she was pulled from her thoughts by Lex’s voice.
“What is that you’re singing?”
Chloe started, the sound of Lex’s voice startling loud after the previous silence. When she realized what she had been doing she rolled her eyes at herself with an annoyed groan.
“It’s ‘What a Girl Wants’.” At Lex’s disbelieving glance, Chloe rolled her eyes again. “It’s stuck in my head—Lana’s been playing it practically non-stop since she and Clark finally got together.” Lex’s eyebrows rose.
“So they finally did it, eh?”
“About two weeks ago,” Chloe confirmed. She squirmed a bit as Lex’s gaze filled with a quiet concern, along with something else she couldn’t quite read.
“Are you ok with that?” Chloe sighed and sat down on the bench next to him. After a moment of thought, she nodded.
“You know, I really am.” Her voice lowered slightly as she sang softly, “Every night, he'll be giving his love to just one girl . . . one girl . . . one.” She lifted her eyes back to his and offered a small grin. “I finally realized that . . . well, even if Clark and I had ever gotten together . . .” she shook her head. “I never would have been the only one. Lana would have always come first. And maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Her eyes turned strong, certain. “But I finally figured out that I deserve better than that.” Lex took in her appearance, saw her strength, her wit, her beauty—everything that attracted him so much to her—and smirked.
“You certainly do.”
“Damn right,” Chloe agreed with a decisive nod. Her face softened again and she turned her eyes away. “Still, I wish . . .”
Like a rock you waited so patiently
While I got it together
While I figured it out
I only looked but I never touched
'Cause in my heart was a picture of us:
Holding hands, making plans
And it's lucky for me
You understand
She grinned at herself. “I guess I always kind of hoped there was someone out there like that for me.”
“What if there is?”
“Yeah right,” she laughed. “I’m sure there’s some perfect guy out there, just waiting for me to get over my crush on Clark, waiting to—” Her eyes locked with his again, and what she saw there made her pause. She licked her suddenly dry lips, her gaze questioning. “Lex?”
He said nothing but leaned in towards her, moving slowly, giving her every opportunity to turn away. She didn’t, only watched in fascination as he drew closer, her eyes flitting down to his lips. And then those lips were on hers, pressing gently at first, brushing and nibbling until she thought she would melt from the agonizingly soft pleasure. Her hands crept up his chest and she leaned forward, encouraging him to deepen the kiss.
Lex was fighting with everything he had to keep the kiss gentle, but small things kept getting by his notice, like his hands that were gripping her waist, pulling her closer, his tongue gently stroking over her bottom lip again and again. Chloe’s lips parted, and before he realized it he had accepted her unspoken invitation and slipped into her mouth, his tongue stroking and teasing hers. He hadn’t meant to go this far, had only wanted to show her how he felt; but the taste of her was intoxicating, and his grip on his control was slippery at best. When he felt her arms wind around his neck, heard her small moan of pleasure, his intentions flew out the window.
The kiss changed from warm to hot in an instant, and Chloe welcomed the heat even as she urged for more. She finally had what she had been dreaming of for months, only to find that the reality was immeasurably better than the fantasy. She tangled her tongue with Lex’s, giving him back stroke for stroke. His arms were wrapped around her waist now, pulling her still closer to him; his hands snaked underneath her thin top, tracing small circles on the skin of her back. Her own hands began stroking the nape of his neck, mindlessly seeking as much contact as possible.
Chloe’s body felt incredible against his, even better than he could have possibly imagined. Everything about her was smooth and soft and hot, and he was so immersed in that heat that he almost didn’t notice the cooling temperature of the room. It vaguely filtered into his consciousness, along with the realization that they were still in a public place, and no matter how appealing the thought, now was not the time to lean Chloe back and show her just exactly what she had been missing wasting all of that time on Clark Kent.
Reluctantly, Lex softened the kiss and drew back, unable to suppress a swell of masculine pride at the small, protesting whimper Chloe gave and the glazed, confused look in her eyes. One hand left her waist to smooth the hair back from her face, and his heart expanded when she leaned into his touch. He waited anxiously for Chloe to say something, his gaze filled with silent questions. Finally her eyes focused and she gave him a blindingly bright smile.
“Well if I’d known cheesy lyrics would get that kind of a response, I would have memorized some Brittany Spears’ songs a long time ago.” Lex let out a short burst of laughter at her comment, but sobered again at her next question. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“I wanted you to be sure about what you wanted. I wouldn’t have enjoyed seeing you with Clark, but if that’s what you wanted . . .” He trailed off, leaving the rest of the thought unsaid. She shot him a sly grin.
“So what if I decide now that I’d be better off with someone else?” Lex leaned down to whisper in her ear, smirking at the shiver of arousal that his voice caused.
“I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me,” Chloe replied, her voice just slightly unsteady. Lex untangled himself and stood up; he picked up their discarded garments and handed her shirt to her.
“The room’s been cooling off for a while; we should check to see if the door is unstuck.” He slipped on his jacket as Chloe replaced her shirt and they crossed to the door. They glanced at each other, and then Lex grabbed hold of the handle and turned. A couple of short, hard tugs later the door jerked open and they stepped out of the sauna into the much cooler air of the hallway. Chloe shivered slightly and Lex’s arm immediately wrapped around her waist, securing her against his side as they walked from the building.
“You know,” she said in a thoughtful voice as she pressed into his warmth, “I never did get any information for my story.” She heard Lex groan softly.
“You’re already thinking of a new plan, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” she grinned.
“Well then.” Suddenly she found herself spun around, Lex’s strong arms holding her against his chest as she lifted her chin to take in his smirk. “I suppose I’ll just have to keep you close to make sure you don’t get into any trouble.” A matching smirk curled up her lips as she repeated her earlier sentiments.
“Sounds like a good deal to me.”
Their lips met and once again Chloe found herself lost in his kiss, amazed that she had, finally, gotten just what she wanted.
And I'm thanking you for bein’ there for me...
What a girl wants, what a girl needs,
Whatever keeps me in your arms.
And I'm thanking you for being there for me.
Author: Not An Addict
Rating: PG-13
Category: General/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Lex
Spoilers: Drone
Summary: Peggy’s birthday fic—Chloe’s quest for a story leads to something else entirely. (I know—it sounds like every other story out there. I don’t do summaries. So sue me.)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Smallville, its characters, the song ‘What a Girl Wants’, Brittany Spears, the word ‘taco’, or anything that could be considered remotely cool. And even if I said that I did, honestly people—I had to scrounge for enough change to buy a soda. Do you really think you’d get anything from me if you sued?
Author’s Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEGGY! *does the birthday dance* I know, I didn’t include all of the lyrics, but song fics just aren’t my thing. This was the best I could come up with. ^_^ Hope you enjoy it anyway. Feedback pretty please, you wonderful people!
‘Oh good Lord, he’s in a towel.’ Though she fought against it, Chloe could feel her mouth going dry as her heart began to race, beating so loudly she was afraid her “client” was going to hear it. ‘How did I ever think I was going to get through this?’ She took a deep breath. If she stalled much longer he was going to start getting suspicious, and if he saw her face this whole thing would be over before it began. ‘Oh no, he’s about to look up. Ok, Chloe, you have officially run out of options.’
“Is everything—” Lex cut off when he felt the masseuse begin to knead at the muscles in his shoulder. He let his head drop once more onto the round headrest of the massage table, overcome by the pleasure that was spreading through him, radiating out from the touch of small, soft female hands. A moment later he mentally shook himself. This wasn’t that kind of a massage parlor, and if he didn’t stop this train of thought soon, the situation was going to become extremely embarrassing. “What did you say your name was?”
“Sheena.” ‘Sheena?’ she thought in disgust, berating herself for not coming prepared with a pseudonym. She continued on her mental tirade, trying to distract herself from the feeling of Lex’s smooth skin beneath her hands. The way his muscles warmed at her touch and gave with gentle resistance to the pressure she applied. The . . . ‘Stop it!’
That voice. There was something about that voice that tickled at the back of Lex’s memory. Something familiar about . . . ‘Oh God, that feels good.’ Despite his better intentions, Lex found himself surrendering to the sensations humming through his skin. The girl’s hands were moving up and down his back, pausing every so often to rub softly with a pressure that had him melting into the table. ‘”Lex Luthor Dissolves Into Liquid State”; I can see the headlines now. Headlines . . .’ With that thought something finally clicked in his brain, and the owner of the voice came to him in a flash.
“Chloe??” Chloe jumped back when Lex’s head shot up off of the table, answering his incredulous look with a sheepish smile.
“Hey Lex.”
“Chloe, what the hell . . . what are you doing here?” Lex asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he pulled the towel tighter around himself. ‘Great, now I have the memory of her touch to add to my dreams. That’ll make facing her easier,’ he thought sarcastically. As Chloe was about to speak he raised his hand, forestalling her answer. “No, you can tell me in a minute. First, turn around.” She shot him a confused, suspicious look.
“Why?” He smirked.
“Well, Chloe, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly dressed. I’d like to remedy that as soon as possible.”
‘Right, because there’s a possibility that I haven’t noticed that he’s just wearing a towel. That all of that skin is exposed, all those muscles . . . snap out of it, Chloe! He’s just trying to unsettle you.’ Her arms crossing in front of her, she raised a single mocking eyebrow.
“So? What makes you think you have anything I haven’t seen before?” Lex’s eyes flashed briefly at the challenge before a look of calm indifference settled over his face. He shrugged and moved to throw off the towel; Chloe’s eyes widened and she spun around hastily, her face burning. A victorious smirk curled up Lex’s mouth and he retrieved his clothes from the drawer provided for them, tugging them on as quickly as he could.
“So . . . Sheena?” Lex’s smirk grew when he saw Chloe’s shoulders stiffen in affront. “Shouldn’t you be living in the jungle with a name like that?”
“Have you ever tried to walk down the streets of Gotham without getting mugged?” she shot back. “If this city doesn't qualify as a concrete jungle then they need to rethink the phrase.” Lex's chuckle sounded behind her and Chloe threw caution to the wind and turned around, trying to ignore her wave of disappointment that he was already fully dressed.
“And why are you risking your life here in the jungle instead of basking in the summer sun back in Smallville?" Lex asked as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. He was caught off-guard by an image of Chloe lying stretched out on the ground, relaxing as sunlight warmed her naked body. Another sharp snap of lust hit him unexpectedly; he forced it back and tried to concentrate on what Chloe was saying.
“First off—I don't bask.” She gestured to her pale skin. “Basking leads to broiling, leads to lobster-red Chloe. Secondly, with all of the meteor mutants we have running around Smallville I'd be risking my life just as much if I stayed at home. At least with a mugger you know you won't have to deal with anything any weirder than a gun.”
“You obviously haven't been in Gotham that long,” Lex grinned. “And you still haven't answered my question.”
“I'm visiting my Benji.” Lex's jaw clenched at the soft look that crept across Chloe's face when she spoke, but betrayed no other outward signs of the jealousy that gripped him. He raised a single eyebrow.
“Benji?”
“Yep,” she grinned. “My cousin Benjamin. We grew up together in Metropolis, until his family moved here.” She gave a fondly mocking sigh. “He was like the brother I never wanted. And he's probably expecting me back soon, so I'd better be going. I'll see you around, Mr. Luthor.” As fast as she moved, though, she wasn't quite fast enough, and before she could reach for the doorknob Lex had braced one palm against the door, holding it closed.
“Nice try, Miss Sullivan.” Chloe could feel Lex standing right behind her, and her heart began to race at his proximity. She felt him lean down until he was close enough to speak lowly in her ear. “But you’re not leaving until you tell me what you’re doing here.”
Chloe turned and found herself nearly nose-to-chest with Lex; he stepped back swiftly and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She had always found Lex disarmingly attractive, with his powerful confidence and expensive, tailored clothes. But now that she knew just what was under those clothes, it was all she could do not to simply jump him where he stood.
“I told you, I’m visiting my cousin.” Lex smirked.
“Try again.” Chloe looked at him for a moment and let out a frustrated sigh.
“Fine, fine! I’ll tell you. If you must know, I’m working on a story—”
“You’re doing an exposé on massage parlors?”
“Ha ha. Your dry wit amazes me. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I’m working on a story about the bidding war that your father is involved in.” Lex’s forehead creased.
“The bidding war with Wayne Enterprises?”
“Right. Well, I wanted to do a fair and balanced article; so, since I’d already gotten information on Luthor Corp—” Seeing that Lex was about to speak, Chloe held up her hand. “Don’t ask how I got that information unless you really want to know the answer, Lex.” As Lex made no further move to speak, she continued. “I thought it was only fair to get the same kind of information from Wayne Enterprises. But I swear, Bruce Wayne gives new meaning to the phrase ‘business paranoia.’ The second he decides he wants a secret kept, security is already in place, and there’s no way you’re going to get any information.”
“And what does any of this have to do with you being here?” Lex demanded.
“I’m getting there! Jeez, keep your pants on.” Chloe flushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth and, trying to ignore Lex’s smirk, continued. “My friend Alissa works here, and we were talking the other day about how what I really needed was an interview with him. And to my surprise, whom does she have for a client the very next day but Mr. Bruce Wayne himself. So, I figured I’d pull a Karrie Castle: show up in place of his regular masseuse and coax an interview out of him.” Lex blinked, sidetracked for a moment by Chloe’s statement.
“How did you find out about that?” Chloe slanted him a mocking glance.
“Journalism’s a small pond, Lex. Word gets around.”
“So you thought you’d show up, give Bruce a rub down, and get him to confess all of his deep, dark secrets?” Though he struggled to keep the bite out of his voice Lex could tell by Chloe’s stiffening posture that he hadn’t been completely successful. But when it came to women, Bruce’s reputation made Lex look like a Boy Scout. The thought of Chloe being in a private room with the man, touching Bruce as she had been touching him, made his blood boil with a possessive and protective rage. Chloe’s eyes snapped as she answered.
“Well that was the plan, though I have to give you points for making it sound much cruder than it actually would have been. But it didn’t quite work out; imagine my surprise when instead of Bruce Wayne, you were the one on the table.”
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . Bruce Wayne has a bit of a reputation where women are concerned. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt, Chloe.”
“It’s ok. I guess I should be used to the big brother reaction by now with the way Clark behaves every time I mention a guy.” She offered him a small grin and continued, keeping him from revealing that his reaction had been anything but brotherly. “So why are you here, Lex?” The grin he gave her was warm, and charmed a larger one out of her.
“Bruce was kind enough to give me his appointment for today.” Chloe’s eyes widened.
“What? You know Bruce Wayne?” His grin changed to a smirk.
“That’s why I’m in Gotham. I’m helping him in his bid against Luthor Corp. See, Chloe,” he teased, “there was no need for you to go to all this trouble. You could’ve just come to me for an interview.”
“Yeah, because you’re always so forthcoming with information,” she scoffed. Lex’s expression turned serious, and Chloe was surprised to see that he looked sincere.
“I would be for you, Chloe.”
The tension in the room was suddenly noticeable as both of them simply stared at each other for a long moment. Chloe felt herself being drawn towards Lex; she stopped herself before she actually stepped forward and grinned at him.
“Can I quote you on that?” As quickly as that, the tension that had been strung between them was broken. After another moment Chloe spoke again. “Well, I really do have to get going—Benji will worry about me if I’m gone too long.” Lex nodded.
“I’ll walk you out.” His hand moved to the small of her back as he opened the door for her, small gentlemanly gestures that practically had her melting. When he saw her glance in both directions before walking out into the hallway he bit back a smirk. “Something wrong?” Chloe glanced over her shoulder at him.
“The only reason I was able to get in here is because Alissa let me take over her appointment. If I get caught back here she’s going to get into a lot of trouble, and I don’t want her to get fired because of me.” No sooner had the words been spoken, however, than voices sounded from around the corner, getting continually closer. Chloe’s eyes widened in panic. “Oh crap! I have to hide.” And without checking to see where it led, she opened the first door she came to and slipped inside.
A smirk curled up the corners of Lex’s mouth and he followed, his pace much more leisurely. He turned the door’s latch handle, forced to give a forceful tug when the door stuck slightly. Slipping inside into the clouds of steam, he glanced around and found Chloe pressed against the wall behind the door. The smirk still on his face, Lex raised an eyebrow at her.
“Far be it from me to judge another’s escape plan, but you might want to reconsider hiding in the sauna.”
“Shh! Look, either leave or come in here with me, but either way shut up!” Lex’s smirk turned to a frown.
“I’m not going to leave you hiding in a sauna, Chloe.”
“Then shut up, get in here, and close the door!” With that she grabbed his shirtsleeve and tugged him farther into the steamy room, shoving the door closed as quickly and as hard as she could.
“Chloe, don’t—” But it was too late; the door was shut. In two quick strides he crossed to the door and tried the handle, but it was no use. It was stuck. Lex cursed swiftly, succinctly, glaring at the wooden door. Chloe looked at him questioningly and he let out an irritated sigh. “The door’s swelled with all this moisture. It’s stuck.” He saw her eyes widen.
“Stuck?” As though she didn’t believe him, she moved to the door and tried it herself, pulling and tugging but to no avail.
“Lord only knows why they even installed a wooden door in here,” Lex grumbled. “It looks like we’re stuck in here for a while.”
“Ok,” Chloe breathed, doing her best to remain calm, to remember details. She glanced around the room and noticed that the steam was coming from vents placed high and low on the walls. Her hair was already beginning to plaster itself to her head; she lifted one hand to swipe at the strands sticking to her face. “Ok. I think I saw some kind of timer outside the door. It must be on some kind of a cycle or something; so we’ll just wait for it to run through, it’ll cool down again, the door will shrink back down, and we can get out of here.”
“Great,” Lex muttered. The heat was rising noticeably—although that could be due in part to the fact that he was trapped alone in a hot room with the subject of some of his more X-rated dreams. He could see the sweat beginning to form on her skin; his mind was immediately filled with a variety of other ways he could get her to work up a sweat. An image of Chloe flashed into his head, beads of perspiration clinging to her naked skin as she rode him to mind-shattering release. He blinked rapidly, clearing the image from his brain. It was definitely getting hotter.
Chloe watched out of the corner of her eyes as Lex stalked across the room. Ok, so maybe closing the door hadn’t been her brightest idea, but she wasn’t going to be responsible for getting her friend fired. Besides, it wouldn’t be so bad. So they would get a little hot. It could be worse. A movement from Lex caught her eye, and despite the moisture hanging in the air she could feel her mouth go dry when he removed his jacket and flung it on one of the wooden risers that ran along the walls. He sat down next to it and loosened several of the buttons on his shirt, the pale silk already wilted and clinging to his skin. A strip of his chest was visible through the gap in the fabric, and Chloe felt her heart speed up at the sight.
‘Well, I guess that answers the question of whether or not he’s bald everywhere,’ she mused, barely aware that she was staring. ‘Or maybe it doesn’t. I guess to be completely sure I’d have to see him—” She cut herself off from that train of thought as her body heat rose once again. ‘God, I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.’ The heat she was feeling was beginning to overwhelm her, and without a further thought she began to peel off her shirt.
Lex caught sight of what Chloe was doing and froze in place. No, no this was too much. There was no way he was going to be able to restrain himself if he ended up trapped with a half-naked Chloe. Just as he was opening his mouth, prepared to shout at her to stop, she lifted the material over her head and he noticed the camisole tank top she wore underneath. A small sigh escaped him, but whether it was one of relief or disappointment he couldn’t say.
The minutes ticked by and the steam continued to pump into the room, uncaring of the two inside. Chloe had never been good at keeping still; she slowly paced back and forth across the small area, envious of Lex’s ability to simply sit, looking as calm and composed as if he were presiding over a board meeting. Without realizing it Chloe began to hum under her breath; soon the humming turned to singing and she was pulled from her thoughts by Lex’s voice.
“What is that you’re singing?”
Chloe started, the sound of Lex’s voice startling loud after the previous silence. When she realized what she had been doing she rolled her eyes at herself with an annoyed groan.
“It’s ‘What a Girl Wants’.” At Lex’s disbelieving glance, Chloe rolled her eyes again. “It’s stuck in my head—Lana’s been playing it practically non-stop since she and Clark finally got together.” Lex’s eyebrows rose.
“So they finally did it, eh?”
“About two weeks ago,” Chloe confirmed. She squirmed a bit as Lex’s gaze filled with a quiet concern, along with something else she couldn’t quite read.
“Are you ok with that?” Chloe sighed and sat down on the bench next to him. After a moment of thought, she nodded.
“You know, I really am.” Her voice lowered slightly as she sang softly, “Every night, he'll be giving his love to just one girl . . . one girl . . . one.” She lifted her eyes back to his and offered a small grin. “I finally realized that . . . well, even if Clark and I had ever gotten together . . .” she shook her head. “I never would have been the only one. Lana would have always come first. And maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Her eyes turned strong, certain. “But I finally figured out that I deserve better than that.” Lex took in her appearance, saw her strength, her wit, her beauty—everything that attracted him so much to her—and smirked.
“You certainly do.”
“Damn right,” Chloe agreed with a decisive nod. Her face softened again and she turned her eyes away. “Still, I wish . . .”
Like a rock you waited so patiently
While I got it together
While I figured it out
I only looked but I never touched
'Cause in my heart was a picture of us:
Holding hands, making plans
And it's lucky for me
You understand
She grinned at herself. “I guess I always kind of hoped there was someone out there like that for me.”
“What if there is?”
“Yeah right,” she laughed. “I’m sure there’s some perfect guy out there, just waiting for me to get over my crush on Clark, waiting to—” Her eyes locked with his again, and what she saw there made her pause. She licked her suddenly dry lips, her gaze questioning. “Lex?”
He said nothing but leaned in towards her, moving slowly, giving her every opportunity to turn away. She didn’t, only watched in fascination as he drew closer, her eyes flitting down to his lips. And then those lips were on hers, pressing gently at first, brushing and nibbling until she thought she would melt from the agonizingly soft pleasure. Her hands crept up his chest and she leaned forward, encouraging him to deepen the kiss.
Lex was fighting with everything he had to keep the kiss gentle, but small things kept getting by his notice, like his hands that were gripping her waist, pulling her closer, his tongue gently stroking over her bottom lip again and again. Chloe’s lips parted, and before he realized it he had accepted her unspoken invitation and slipped into her mouth, his tongue stroking and teasing hers. He hadn’t meant to go this far, had only wanted to show her how he felt; but the taste of her was intoxicating, and his grip on his control was slippery at best. When he felt her arms wind around his neck, heard her small moan of pleasure, his intentions flew out the window.
The kiss changed from warm to hot in an instant, and Chloe welcomed the heat even as she urged for more. She finally had what she had been dreaming of for months, only to find that the reality was immeasurably better than the fantasy. She tangled her tongue with Lex’s, giving him back stroke for stroke. His arms were wrapped around her waist now, pulling her still closer to him; his hands snaked underneath her thin top, tracing small circles on the skin of her back. Her own hands began stroking the nape of his neck, mindlessly seeking as much contact as possible.
Chloe’s body felt incredible against his, even better than he could have possibly imagined. Everything about her was smooth and soft and hot, and he was so immersed in that heat that he almost didn’t notice the cooling temperature of the room. It vaguely filtered into his consciousness, along with the realization that they were still in a public place, and no matter how appealing the thought, now was not the time to lean Chloe back and show her just exactly what she had been missing wasting all of that time on Clark Kent.
Reluctantly, Lex softened the kiss and drew back, unable to suppress a swell of masculine pride at the small, protesting whimper Chloe gave and the glazed, confused look in her eyes. One hand left her waist to smooth the hair back from her face, and his heart expanded when she leaned into his touch. He waited anxiously for Chloe to say something, his gaze filled with silent questions. Finally her eyes focused and she gave him a blindingly bright smile.
“Well if I’d known cheesy lyrics would get that kind of a response, I would have memorized some Brittany Spears’ songs a long time ago.” Lex let out a short burst of laughter at her comment, but sobered again at her next question. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“I wanted you to be sure about what you wanted. I wouldn’t have enjoyed seeing you with Clark, but if that’s what you wanted . . .” He trailed off, leaving the rest of the thought unsaid. She shot him a sly grin.
“So what if I decide now that I’d be better off with someone else?” Lex leaned down to whisper in her ear, smirking at the shiver of arousal that his voice caused.
“I’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me,” Chloe replied, her voice just slightly unsteady. Lex untangled himself and stood up; he picked up their discarded garments and handed her shirt to her.
“The room’s been cooling off for a while; we should check to see if the door is unstuck.” He slipped on his jacket as Chloe replaced her shirt and they crossed to the door. They glanced at each other, and then Lex grabbed hold of the handle and turned. A couple of short, hard tugs later the door jerked open and they stepped out of the sauna into the much cooler air of the hallway. Chloe shivered slightly and Lex’s arm immediately wrapped around her waist, securing her against his side as they walked from the building.
“You know,” she said in a thoughtful voice as she pressed into his warmth, “I never did get any information for my story.” She heard Lex groan softly.
“You’re already thinking of a new plan, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” she grinned.
“Well then.” Suddenly she found herself spun around, Lex’s strong arms holding her against his chest as she lifted her chin to take in his smirk. “I suppose I’ll just have to keep you close to make sure you don’t get into any trouble.” A matching smirk curled up her lips as she repeated her earlier sentiments.
“Sounds like a good deal to me.”
Their lips met and once again Chloe found herself lost in his kiss, amazed that she had, finally, gotten just what she wanted.
And I'm thanking you for bein’ there for me...
What a girl wants, what a girl needs,
Whatever keeps me in your arms.
And I'm thanking you for being there for me.