The Rules of Enmity: NC17

[zelda]

Disclaimer:
I own nothing; this is purely entertainment.

This is about the ways two people punish each other and themselves.

"Show me." The words gave Lex a tingle of both dread and excitement. He hadn't known she was there, but the voice in his ear was unmistakable. He shifted slightly and saw the blonde head behind his shoulder in the reflection of the stainless steel doors in front of him. There were at least five other people in the elevator with them, but it didn't matter, rules were rules.

Ignoring the covert looks of curiosity from the other passengers, Lex placed his briefcase on the floor and unbuttoned his suit jacket. Then he carefully removed the gold stickpin in his tie and flipped the expensive silk over his shoulder. He began unbuttoning his shirt, starting with the third from the top, and finished when he could comfortably part the edges of the garment enough to reveal a patch of his bare chest.

Lex paid no attention to the horrified gasp of the elderly woman standing next to him. She was looking at his reflection in the doors.

"'Fraid I can't see that," came the coy remark behind his shoulder. The smugness in her voice made the corners of his lips twitch. "You know the rules," she prompted.

Lex turned around and faced all of his fellow occupants of the elevator car, and was relieved not to recognize any of them. Still holding the edges of his shirt apart, he looked down at Chloe Sullivan. She wore her hair up in a french twist, and looked professional and sharp in a navy suit with low-heels that kept her a good four inches shorter than he was. He met her cool gaze through the blue-tinted glasses she wore and she smiled.

"Can you see it now or do you need to get closer?" he asked. He was certain that everyone had an unobstructed view of the couple of inches of naked, Luthor chest that bore, in simple, blue script "Chloe"; just under his left pectoral muscle.

"I can see it fine, thanks." She nodded at his shoulder. "Nice tie."

Lex took his time re-buttoning his shirt and adjusting the violet silk tie. There was no point in hurrying now; everyone had had a free show. With his very noticeable, bald countenance, it was pretty likely that at least one person recognized him. He'd managed to keep the tattoo a secret from most of the general public until now, but in Metropolis, in the middle of a court case, it was unlikely that news of a woman's name tattooed near his heart would go undocumented.

But rules, as she'd said, were rules, and he couldn't refuse.

He was glad that the elevator was going to the top floor and he was buttoned back up before the doors opened again. As he stepped out onto the office floors, he noted that Chloe didn't follow. She must have been on the elevator with the sole purpose of playing show-and-tell. Well, she re-started their little game, so be it. He could be just as strict with the rules of enmity.
*
Chloe left the building with a smile on her face. Granted, she’d have to be careful to avoid him over the next few weeks, but since she was working more in the evenings and overnights, she didn’t think it would be difficult. She checked her watch and decided that she had time for a cup of coffee before her court appearance. She was giving testimony in a divorce case; not one of her favorite things to do. As a private detective, it went with the territory; but working for one of the upscale agencies in the city, she rarely had to chase wayward spouses.

McEvoy and McEvoy was a private investigation firm run by a husband and wife team of former police Detectives. They often worked with the Metropolis P.D. and their clientele list was impressive. The C.E.O. of a large company, who regularly hired the firm to do in-depth background checks on employees and clients, was in the middle of a messy divorce and had asked Chloe, as a professional courtesy, to follow her husband around.

Chloe had agreed since the client was a friend of hers. Sheri Benson and Chloe had become friends through mutual acquaintances and the acquisition of Sheri’s business had given Chloe a lot of credibility in her firm. The two women, though about ten years apart in age, had developed a rapport over their common love of obscure cinema. Since their jobs were completely different, as well as their lifestyles, they found each other’s company to be quite refreshing.

Chloe entered the designated courtroom and made brief eye contact with Sheri. The fortyish woman was tall, with a handsome, strong face that wouldn’t win any pageants, but aged very well. Chloe was happy to be her friend’s ace-in-the-hole, but sad that it had to be under such a painful and uncomfortable moment.

“How do you feel?” Chloe asked, accepting the glass of wine that their waiter brought them. She and Sheri were seated in a fine restaurant, at a well-placed table in the center of the room. As a woman, Sheri was under more personal scrutiny than any men in her position; she took it in stride but tonight she seemed a little upset. Chloe noted the signs that would have been well-hidden from anyone who didn’t know her.

“Well, there’s the huge feeling of relief that it’s finally over,” Sheri admitted, lifting her glass in a slender, dark hand. “I mean, how many women can drop two-hundred pounds in one day?” She smiled thinly. “I’m just a little smothered by my sudden freedom.” She lifted her own glass in a toast. “To new beginnings, and ending feuds.” Chloe clinked her glass to her friend’s and was lifting it to her lips when she heard a familiar voice over her shoulder.

“Good advice, if you can get her to take it.” Chloe froze as Lex Luthor strolled past, following the maitre’d to his own table. He was seated facing her and Sheri turned slightly in her seat to look at him.

“You two know each other?” She jerked her head behind them.

“We’ve known each other for many years,” Chloe said, not looking at Lex. He wasn’t quite within earshot if she kept her voice a little low. “Back from my days in Smallville.”

“That’s right.” Sheri cocked her head to the side. “He ran a plant there for a couple of years before his father died. Then he came here.”

“Do you know everything about everybody?” Chloe took a large swallow of the fruity wine. The waiter returned and took their dinner orders. It was going to be a long meal.

“It benefits me to keep up with the other power players in the city, Darling.” She raised an ebony brow. “Especially the sharks.”

“You say that as if he were somehow different than all of the other rich, powerful, unscrupulous men in this city.”

“If you know him, then I don’t have to tell you that he is different.” Suddenly looking a little more cheerful, Sheri leaned forward eagerly. “So, did you two have a torrid affair? Maybe some kind of kinky little cornfield rendez-vous?”

“You have a sick and twisted imagination,” Chloe said. Sheri just wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously.

“That’s not a denial I’m hearing.”

“Then listen close,” Chloe said with a little smile of her own. “Cause we didn’t and wouldn’t, and won’t.”

“Just asking, cause there was some definite tension in that little shared moment of yours.” She turned her head slightly and smiled at Lex who nodded his head in what would be considered a greeting of equals. While Sheri was still looking at him, he turned his gaze back to Chloe’s averted face and started to smolder. “There is some serious history going on there, you’d better spill.”

“Well,” Chloe started. “I suppose you might as well know, people may start asking questions now that I’ve thrown down the gauntlet.”

“What is going on?” Her dark eyes were bright, “You’re killing me with the suspense.”

“It all started back in Smallville.” Chloe rested her chin in her hand wearily. “Before Lex left, we’d had a sort of…alliance.” She sighed. “It’s complicated, really. We weren’t exactly friends, and sometimes, we really felt like enemies, but we had a common goal at one point and had a mutually beneficial partnership. He needed something from me and I needed something from him.” Seeing the look on her friend’s face she added, “Not that.”

Chloe glanced up when Lex was joined by an attractive couple dressed for business. She didn’t want to catch his gaze so she stared at her glass. “Well, things got a little rough for my dad and me after Lex fired him and Lionel Luthor blacklisted him to get back at me for something I didn’t do.” The statement came out in a rush, like ripping off a band-aid. We were struggling when I went into college, and Dad had to move. He eventually got a job working night security for a warehouse just outside of town.” Her stomach twisted as she thought back to her father, taking the worst shift in a horrible job so that he could be close to her.

“Is that were he was working when…” Sheri’s face smoothed into a sympathetic expression. “When he was shot?”

“Yeah,” Chloe said. “Lex had promised that he’d protect us from his father, but he couldn’t. He just blew us off and wouldn’t even give Dad his old job back. He just stood there while we lost our house; I had to sell my car, and go into enormous debt for an education.”

“So I know why you hate him, but why did he give you such a dirty look.”

“At my father’s funeral, he showed up,” Chloe said. She closed her eyes and could almost smell the soggy ground in the graveyard.

“Chloe, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for your loss.” It had stopped raining just before Lex had shown up. Chloe didn’t look at him, just at the coffin and the empty chairs around her. There hadn’t been many people at the service. They’d all gone home when it had rained, but Chloe just sat, letting the cold water run over her, soaking the white blouse and dark suit she wore. The coffin was being lowered into the ground now, per her father’s request, no one but she would be present for the actual burial.

“Go away, Lex.” The silence was filled with the low hum of the hydraulics that lowered Gabe Sullivan into the ground. The ground made noise, even where there weren’t any feet. It was a passive squishing sound of water soaking into the earth and releasing the blades of grass with a nearly inaudible sound that she’d always thought sounded like the crispy rice cereal she used to eat. Snap. Crackle. Pop.

“I spoke to the funeral director and I’ve paid the bill.” She snapped her head around so fast, she felt a small pop in her neck. “I thought it was the least I could do.” His expression was tight, maybe a little pained, but controlled. Chloe got out of her seat and flung her wet arms at him, seizing his lapels in her fists. She pulled herself up onto her toes and he automatically held her shoulders.

“Leave it to a Luthor to do the least,” she hissed in his face. “The least you could’ve done was keep your word, the least you could’ve done was give him a job, the least you could’ve done was give him a fucking recommendation.” She stretched herself up till her lips were close to his ear. “This is your fault!” she shouted. “You dropped us when you decided that you didn’t want your father to go back to prison and brought him back into your house.” She shook him violently, causing him to slip in his expensive dress shoes. Chloe took the opening and practically threw him into the mud, landing on top of him.

“Chloe, stop.” He took her wrists and pulled them from his collar. She was sobbing now.

”I hate you so much just for who you are and how you live.” She punched at him ineffectually with her trapped arms. Lex sat up in the mud and the skies opened up with tears of their own and rain fell again in windy sheets, punishing the two people on the ground. He trapped her against his chest while she cried and cursed. Then he forced her to stand and they were seated in his limousine.

Chloe took his handkerchief and looked out the window as they passed the cruddy houses that lined the streets in the bad side of town. She couldn’t even bury her father in a nice spot. It was too expensive to ship his remains back to Smallville.

“I’m not in the habit of doing this, but is there anything I can do?”

“Stop the car.” Her voice was quiet and she was focused on something outside. Lex ordered the driver to halt and Chloe grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the car. Seeing nothing but her own rage and need to cause pain, she asked him to do something that he’d have refused on any other day.

“Is it about the pain?”

“Yes,” She replied, watching him take off his shirt. “I want you to remember me and pain you caused me at least twice a day. I want you to have to explain what you did to the women you take to bed.” She shrugged. “Or, you can lie about it and know that I’m making you do it.” The artist got to work and was done in about fifteen minutes.” Chloe walked out of the tattoo parlor and away from the limo. She walked for several blocks before hailing a cab to take her back to the college campus.

“Wow, you made him tattoo your name on his chest?” Sheri was staring at her with an open mouth. Their food had arrived, unnoticed. “That’s insane. I can’t believe he actually did it.”

“Truthfully, I think I caught him in a weak moment and he accepted it as a kind of penance.” She shrugged, there’s a little more to it than that.” Before explaining any more, she excused herself to go to the ladies room. She needed a moment to compose herself. When she walked out, he was standing there. She looked around, there was a man talking on a payphone in the narrow hallway behind them. She was slightly relieved, if they’d been alone, it could have been worse. He was smiling at her.

“I showed you mine, now show me yours.”

[lexchloe]

:eek: Glad you decided to write this fic. Very interesting start. Really want to see where this one goes. More soon please.

[suspension of disbelief]

ummm....got my attention....

[fussy_wuzzy]

Ooh great start!!! I'm looking forward to your next update.

[Baily007]

That was some start! I can't wait to read more!

[fanette]

it s excellent
go on

[Shy Butterfly]

Great start! You really need to continue!

[Kit Merlot]

Alright, a new fic by Zelda--Awesome!

This story already has me intrigued--please continue :grin3:

[dreamingincolor]

wow I really hate lex right now lol

[buddyfozzy]

Wow!! What a start! I can't wait to see what Chloe has to show.

[hfce]

Wow :P and we are off. Sheesh I can see why but wow. More please....


Hope ;)

[sparrow]

Interesting...I love the tension...write again soon.

[Gaia]

HAhahahahahaahha! This is really good!!!!!
Update soon !
:D

[Krysia]

WOW. This is a neat begining. I love the idea of the tattoos and the fact that Lexes is right under his heart speaks volumes [ is Chloes close to her heart as well? Is it his name?] I wonder what he tells aout it to women he has sex with. Do they even have the courage to ask him about it? Does he answer? Have I said how much I love the tattoos yet? :)
Even through there is so mch pain, right now, I still hope for a happy Chlexy ending.
Please write more soon.

[starmoon]

that was great please update soon, i want to know what kind of tattoo and were she put it.

[Yarvarni]

What where and when do we get to read about it??????!!!!

[star del mar]

Well alright then...I didn't see that coming at all, lol. It's kind of twisted but yet it makes sense, it's something permanent that Lex will always have to look at and know why it's there. Very interesting, I can't wait to read more.

Steph*

[autumngold]

Very intriguing beginning to your story!! I can't wait to see what Chloe has!! I really hope, however, that they don't try to hurt each other too much!! I love happy endings!!

[Christy January]

Where's hers and what's the story behind it?! I must know, I'm literally dying of suspense here. Do you really want that on your conscience?

[Lily]

Great start... can't wait for more!
-Lily

[Tehzo]

That was really interesting. A great beginning!


"Show me." The words gave Lex a tingle of both dread and excitement. He hadn't known she was there, but the voice in his ear was unmistakable. He shifted slightly and saw the blonde head behind his shoulder in the reflection of the stainless steel doors in front of him. There were at least five other people in the elevator with them, but it didn't matter, rules were rules. This gave me the impression that what ever was going on between Chloe and Lex was a game, partially competitive and partially playful. I really liked this beginning. There were no explanations, it just started from the middle of something. This made me need to read more to find out what was going on. That's not always the case. The way you wrote and placed it was intriguing.


She was giving testimony in a divorce case; not one of her favorite things to do. As a private detective, it went with the territory; but working for one of the upscale agencies in the city, she rarely had to chase wayward spouses. I love the investigative reporter in Chloe but it's always interesting to read her having a different profession.


“Yeah,” Chloe said. “Lex had promised that he’d protect us from his father, but he couldn’t. He just blew us off and wouldn’t even give Dad his old job back. He just stood there while we lost our house; I had to sell my car, and go into enormous debt for an education.” This was a surprise. At the beginning I thought that this game of theirs wasn't very serious. But I loved this surprise. I really enjoy it when writers give their readers the unexpected, something unique. It makes the fic more memorable, and your fic certainly made a wonderful first impression. Of course I love when Chloe and Lex get along and are in love. But it's so much more interesting to see them start off, and continue on for a while, as being adversaries. I really liked how they weren't extremely cruel to each other, yet also not very sympathetic towards each other.

Hope the next update comes soon!...*scrunches eyes tightly and hopes strongly*

[leik2]

You got me, what happens next?

[zelda]

Chloe didn’t bother to sulk or argue. This particular rule had been one of her own, so she had no right to complain. She unbuttoned her blazer and pulled it off her shoulders. Lex reached out gallantly in a silent offer to hold it for her. She shoved it into his hands and tugged the hem of her white blouse from the waistband of her skirt. Turning around, she bunched the cotton up her ribcage and slid her hand up her back, lifting the back of the garment above the fastening to her bra.

The man who’d been speaking on the phone had stopped talking and was staring openly. Chloe glared at him and he turned away.

"Chloe?" Dropping her shirt and turning around, Chloe faced Sheri and took her jacket from Lex’s hand. She shouldered past him to leave and he bent down as she passed.

"Always a pleasure."

Not looking at Sheri, or anyone else, she returned to the table and picked up her purse. Digging out a handful of cash, she dropped her share of the bill next to her plate and tugged her blazer back on.

"Chloe, what’s going on?" Sheri appeared at her elbow. "If you don’t tell me now, I’ll just drag it out of you later."

"Later, then." Chloe left the restaurant quickly and hailed a cab, knowing it would take a few minutes for Sheri to settle up her half of the bill and she wanted a head start.

Sitting in the back of the cab, Chloe cursed herself. Why had she done it? Why had she decided to wave a red flag in front of Lex like that? She’d seen him heading for the elevator just as she’d been leaving and stepped inside to intercept. She hadn’t even thought about it, just slipped inside and waited to make her move. She hadn’t seen him in months and he’d left her alone. Now she was digging up old drama with him.

Chloe paid the driver when he dropped her off at her apartment building and ran inside. Her adrenaline was pumping from anxiety and embarrassment; her hands shook when she slid her keys into the lock. Once she was inside her apartment, she breathed out slowly, trying to calm her nerves.

She hadn’t looked at it in a long time. She caught glimpses in the mirror every now and then, but she didn’t really look at it. Shedding her shoes, stockings and skirt; she walked to the bedroom.
Chloe stood in front of her full-length mirror and started to unbutton her shirt when the buzzer announced a visitor. She walked out to the intercom and pressed the button. "Who is it?"

"Chloe, let me in." Sheri’s voice was worried. Chloe buzzed her in and opened the door when she heard the sound of her shoes clipping down the hallway. Her friend walked in and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? I saw him follow you to the bathroom; did Lex do something?"

That was a loaded question.

"The story didn’t end with Lex getting the tattoo," she said, walking to the fridge and taking out a bottle of water. She offered it to Sheri who accepted. "I need to show you something." She rubbed a hand over her face and closed her eyes for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Just bear with me." Chloe was wearing just the dress shirt and her underwear. She turned her back on her friend and unbuttoned it before dropping it off her shoulders and down to her waist.

"Oh my." Sheri stepped forward involuntarily and reached out to touch Chloe’s skin with the tip of a fingernail. "Hang on, I’m going to turn on a lamp." With better light, she saw the pale purple script. Beautiful letters ghosted along the curve of Chloe’s spine, spelling out ‘Alexander’. The tattoo started from the corner of her right shoulder blade and ended at her waist.

"Can I get dressed now?" Sheri stood upright quickly.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to seem insensitive, It’s just…" she gestured to Chloe’s back, "there."

"Yeah." Walking to her room, Chloe snagged a terrycloth robe and pulled it on, tossing her shirt in the hamper. "I don’t usually strip for my friends, I just thought seeing it might be easier."

"So what happened to bring this development about?"

"Well, kind of the same thing as with Lex." Chloe sat on the couch and Sheri joined her. "It’s a penance for me, same as for him."

"Penance for what?"

"I killed his brother." Seeing Sheri’s look of horror, she corrected herself. "Not literally, but I was still responsible."

"Talk, I’ll make some coffee."

"Might want to make it Martinis. I won’t be sleeping tonight anyway."

*

Lex sat in his apartment, sipping his Scotch. He’d finished dinner with his companions and then gone home alone. He looked out the large window at the city lights twinkling below. It was nearly Two AM and most of the residential and business buildings were dark. His eyes went to a particular spot, south of his own building and he stared. He couldn’t see her apartment, of course, it was too far away and too many taller buildings obscured the view. But he looked in the direction and wondered if she could feel his stare. He hoped that she could. He hoped that she could feel it burning into her back like the needle that had cut a swath down her spine and spelled out her humility in delicate purple letters.

The scotch tasted bitter on Lex’s tongue, but he swallowed it without a wince and closed his eyes. The moon was bright tonight, it would shine in Chloe’s bedroom window where she might be lying awake right now, unable to rest with the weight of his thoughts. He smiled to himself. She’d cast the gauntlet, she always did, and he always found a way to turn things around. Lex told himself that she invited the misery and guilt. If she’d just managed to get over Lucas’ death, she wouldn’t be so bothered by him.

Lucas. Bastard son. Half-brother. Weak link. Chloe should have known better. Lucas was never as strong; never as resourceful. Lex had protected him and tried to help him erase his past, but Lucas made a few mistakes and they came back to haunt him in the form of Chloe Sullivan. The irony was how similar their situations were; Chloe’s and his own. She’d been trying to bring him down, but Lucas had fallen instead. Literally. Off a balcony in a Los Angeles hotel; looked like an accident. No one believed it.

He thought about the beginning of their bond. The day of her father’s funeral. Rain was so dismal and emotional. It was so dramatic. Movies used it to produce emotions from the audience; intensity of a romance in the rain, the sensuality of water dripping down a person’s skin. The way hair, if you had it, plastered against the skull. There was something so raw and natural about being wet. There she’d been, sitting in it, watching a box that held the body of her father being lowered into the ground.

The rain had stopped for a moment and Lex had gotten out of the car, hoping to convince her to leave. He didn’t know why he was exposing himself to possible litigation by expressing guilt. Instead he just offered condolences and then she’d attacked him. Lex didn’t feel a lot of guilt these days. The rush of success and the challenge of power kept him occupied. His conscience didn’t have a lot of elbow room. But something about a girl watching her father sink into the ground made him accept her punishment.

Lex swallowed another mouthful of scotch, letting the burn in his belly remind him of the feeling in his gut when she’d told him that she hated him for being who he was. He didn’t like to think about her eliciting such a strong emotion from him, and he wouldn’t put a name to it; but for some reason he’d found sympathy inside. Maybe because he’d buried his own father. He’d known better than to bring it up as a comparison. Lionel Luthor and Gabe Sullivan. There was no comparison.

Lex had sat in a dirty chair and let a disreputable man put Chloe’s name on his chest. He’d felt the needle scratching his skin and watched her, memorizing the almost greedy look on her face as she absorbed his pain. Then Lucas had died...because of Chloe. And he’d seen the favor returned. To her credit, she hadn’t made much noise.

Chloe had straddled the same chair, holding the back of her shirt up with one hand and staring straight ahead. Lex had chosen to pace back and forth, alternately watching the ink applied to her skin, and her face while it was being done. He hadn’t asked her to bare her breasts for the artist. Somehow that would have been taking things too far. He’d still never really seen them; only a glimpse of a darkened nipple through a wet silk shirt. A tiny, distracting glimpse while her wet legs had slithered around him, her fists delivering ineffective blows to him. She hadn’t hurt him then, but she learned how.

[nicole]

oh please write more, i beg you. you cant stop there

[lexchloe]

Wow, great update. The plot thickens and I'm hooked. More soon please.

[fussy_wuzzy]

Wow!!! I really didn't see that coming. I'm dying to know what it is exactly that Chloe did.

[Shy Butterfly]

It's getting really interesting. Please continue!

[dreamingincolor]

wow wonder how so learned to hurt lex, and why did she kill lucas? This is a fascinating story......

[Yarvarni]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sydsvaughn]

I'm hooked... so please, write more! I want to know what happened ... how they deal ... and I miss Lucas. Already. *sniff*

SaraC

[Via]

That's what I'd call promising ... I hope we'll get an update soon, I can't wait, I think I'm gonna love thise story.

[hfce]

Wow that was very interesting. I would so love how Chloe was the cause of Lucas death. The fact that she got that tatoo is just :P


Hope ;)

[Kit Merlot]

A very intense chapter--What exactly happened with Lucas? More as soon as possible--OKAY?

[autumngold]

I feel so sorry for Lucas!! And I really wish that Chloe and Lex didn't hate each other!! I don't see how they will ever be able to get over the pain they caused each other!! Please update your story soon!!

[star del mar]

First of all...God that must have hurt! I should now and even I had to shiver at that. Another great chapter, they're both kind of twisted in this story and yet it makes sense. They're just trying to get back at each other, but they ways things are looking it's going to escalate quickly...what a mess. I can't wait to read more!!

Steph*

[zelda]

"So what happened to Lucas?" Sheri had taken her shoes off and was curled up with her second martini on Chloe’s couch.

"Lots of things, really," Chloe stalled. "But what I did pushed him over the edge."

"There was never any indication that his death was anything but an accident." The lovely woman sipped her drink. She had the constitution of someone twice her weight. She’d once told Chloe that while it wasn’t necessary in her line of work, it had certainly helped on occasion that she could drink all of her vice-presidents under the table. "It just looked like a broken latch on the balcony."

Lucas had been staying in a hotel converted from an old mansion. The curved staircase made it nearly impossible to move furniture upstairs so a pulley system had been used in the old days to get beds and couches to the second and third floor. The balcony had a latch and gate so that the pieces could be moved in and out through the large, glass doors. Lucas had been on the third story and had apparently been drinking. Witnesses said he’d been standing out on the balcony, watching a lawn party until it broke up. Then, he’d apparently leaned back against the gate, which gave way, and fallen to the patio.

"The landing wasn’t caught on video, but the balcony was visible to the security cameras." Chloe shuddered delicately. "I’ve seen it." She recalled the black and white film that Lex had forced her to watch. She’d seen Lucas drinking and pacing and standing above a crowd of people. He’d never looked at the camera, but she saw his face clearly. He’d looked…relieved; even a little impatient, as if waiting for the party to break up. His movements had been casual, but the fact that he’d finished his drink, gone back inside and put on his suit jacket before walking back out to the balcony and leaning, ever so casually, against it.

"You’re sure it was suicide?"

"Lex showed me a letter that Lucas wrote, it arrived a few days after he died. It didn’t say anything specific, but it was enough to know he was saying goodbye."

"What happened?" It was a nicer way of saying ‘What did you do to him?’

"I stumbled across something in my research, when I was still a reporter," she began. "It was barely a breath of scandal, but since I hated Lex so much I dropped everything and pursued it like a damned terrier after a rat." She laughed, as bitter as the gin she drank. "I’d been following up on a lead that linked Lex to an upscale call service."

"Hookers?"

"Really high priced business. Makes the Hollywood Madams look like Singapore street-walkers."

"Makes? You mean it’s still in business?"

"Oldest profession in the world won’t be taken down by one reporter." Chloe went to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chocolate-chip cookies. "Anyway, I was looking at anything I could find to discredit Lex. Timing was crucial in this because Luthorcorp had a couple of sensitive projects up in the air at the time." She chewed her cookie guiltily. "I got careless, just plowed into it so fast that I missed a few key points. The information I was going on involved Lex’s penthouse outside of the city, it was the taxi service used by the workers that clued me in. I went to take pictures for a few nights of the arrivals and departures used by this company. Then I hunted down names of all the people who went in and out.

"Eventually I found my story, and I even managed to sneak into the building and get photos of the workers going to the apartment." She leaned forward. "The story was even juicier than I could have possibly hoped for."

"You’re killing me here."

"The hookers were men."

"Oh my God," Sheri’s mouth dropped open. "Lex is gay?"

"No," Chloe replied. "I was so focused on the workers that I never bothered to actually verify that it was actually Lex in the suite."

"Oh," Sheri said, realization dawning on her. "It was Lucas using his brother’s suite?"

"Yeah, and I managed to get a beautiful shot of him greeting one of the men with a big kiss. It was what every trashy tabloid reporter dreams of."

"You’re not trashy."

"That’s just it. I went from investigative reporting to muckraking. I didn’t care about my reputation, or my career, I just wanted to hurt Lex. Then Lucas saw me and I ran."

"I don’t remember any Gay scandal when Lucas died."

"I sat on it for a few days, waiting for Lex to approach me. I developed the film myself, I didn’t want anyone to see them before I had a chance to drop a bomb. Eventually I heard from him. All he said was ‘Please don’t do it, Chloe.’ But I just hung up on him. I gave the pictures to the Inquisitor, not the Planet." She drained her glass and nearly choked on the lump forming in her throat. "I can remember sitting here, watching t.v., I was practically humming with self-satisfaction when I saw the story. Lucas was dead."

"How did Lex find out about your involvement?"

"Lucas must have told him." The downstairs buzzer sounded, startling Chloe off the couch. She’d been cleaning her oven. She walked to the door and pressed the button.

"Let me in." It had been Lex’s voice; she knew he’d come eventually.

"What brings you-" Her remark was cut off by Lex’s hand encircling her throat. He practically lifted her off her feet and dragged her backwards toward the couch. Unable to speak, Chloe clawed at his hand when he slammed her into the cushions. His face was a mask of cold rage.

"You sit right there and don’t you move." She hadn’t noticed that he’d been carrying something in his hand. He just went to her VCR and put a tape in. Chloe started to get up. "Get up from that seat, and I swear I’ll knock your teeth in." It was the first time Lex had ever made a threat like that. Not that she hadn’t been threatened by him before, he’d even tried to kill her. But this was a different animal altogether. He pressed play and stood to one side, watching her while she watched the screen.

"Is that Lucas?"

"Don’t you speak his name." She watched, a little nauseous, when she saw Lucas’ last moments on the screen.

"Lex, I’m sorry about your brother, but his death was an accident." She was feeling her stomach twist painfully. She shouldn’t feel guilty for the story. Not for his family.

"Read this." He took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and threw it at her. "It arrived the day after he died."

The contents of the letter were simple; Lucas apologized for not telling him, wrote that he loved his brother, and that he was going to drop off the radar. Those were his exact words. ‘Drop off the radar.’

Chloe understood. She read the letter again and felt her hands go numb. It was a goodbye letter, dated the day before he died.

"You didn’t know about him?"

"No, he didn’t even feel like he could trust his own brother." Lex paced away from her, then back. "He was just trying to be happy, in his own way. And now he’s dead because of you." His words struck a defensive cord in Chloe. She buried her guilt under the anger.

"I didn’t know he was going to do it, Lex," she said. "And I can kill the story." She crossed to the phone but he snagged her arm.

"Story’s already dead. I had feelers out the second Lucas came to me. He didn’t tell me who else was in the pictures."

"I wondered why I hadn’t seen it in the papers." She jerked her arm out of his grasp. "So why did he do it?"

"He couldn’t face me."

"I’m sorry Lex. For you loss."

"No you’re not." He walked to the VCR and took the tape out. "You’re thrilled that you’ve been able to hurt me like this."

"I wasn’t trying-"

"Bullshit!" He turned to her with an accusatory finger pointed at her chest. "You blame me for your father’s death, so you decided to take away my only family."

"I didn’t plan for Lucas to die, Lex. I had no way of knowing that this would happen."

"What did you think? That he’s become a gay rights activist?" He flung his arms out. "We’re Luthors! We’re not allowed to be gay, sick, hurt, victims…" He trailed off. "We’re not like the rest of you."

"You think I’m somehow entitled to suffer because I’m not a Luthor?" Chloe’s rage boiled up. "You think you shouldn’t be attacked because of the ‘poor little rich boy’ story? You ass!" She got in his face. Her father had died and now his memory was being trashed because Lex considered him 'common'. She was too angry to stop her next words. "Now you know how it feels. Now you understand what happens to the rest of us."

The look Lex gave her was on the edge of homicidal.

"You think this makes us even?" Before Chloe could answer, Lex took her arm and pulled her out the door of her apartment. He practically threw her in the elevator and restrained her from getting out until they reached the lobby. Then he manhandled her into his limo and gave the driver a street address. "You’re right, Chloe, our situations are very similar here." He was looking out the window when they pulled up to the curb. "The results will be the same." He turned to look at her, the pain and grief in his gaze finally touched her through the anger. "You owe me this."

"And you just did it?" Sheri was beyond stunned.
"When I saw how hurt he was, I stopped being mad. I’d let my temper get the better of me in the apartment, and I’d let the worst part of my nature push me into taking the photos in the first place." She poured herself another drink. "That’s when I quit reporting. It may seem odd that I went right back into snooping, but it was the only thing I was really good at, and feeling a little bit lower seemed to fit. I made a living with people’s infidelity and lies. Just in a seedier way."

"Do you really see it that way?"

"As a reporter, I wrote just as many stories exposing the good in people as I did the bad. Now all I see is the ugliness. It just seemed appropriate."

"If you don’t mind me asking," Sheri ventured. "Why did you pull up your shirt at the restaurant?"

"Another long story, but to put it in a nutshell, the animosity wasn’t erased between us. The history is too long for that. But we spent years going back and forth with random pranks and general troublemaking."

"Sounds healthy."

"It just snowballed."

"I can tell."

"Well, it went from doing negative things to just the opposite."

"You can’t tell me you became friends."

"No, but I ended up with an opportunity to save Lex’s ass once. He was being hassled by a woman who claimed that he sexually harassed her. I managed to get her to drop the suit against him with no payout."

"How?"

"I found information regarding a similar suit filed when she was a teenager, two of them, in fact, suing schools claiming that her teachers were approaching her inappropriately."

"So she was a scam artist?"

Chloe paused. She chose her next words carefully. Or at least, as carefully as she could given the amount of alcohol she’d consumed.

"I don’t know for certain," she said. "I figured she probably was, but I paid a lot of people a lot of money to give me the dirt on a juvenile. Everyone believed her on both earlier cases."

"She was really beautiful." Sheri was sharp. "I’ve known someone like that. She really did get harassed a lot, men couldn’t seem to stop themselves from acting like asses around her."

"Either way, I approached her and gave her the information I’d gathered. Since it wasn’t an arrest record, and her parents had been the ones filing suit, it could have been damaging."

"I’m surprised that Lex’s people didn’t find this."

"They probably would have, and it would have gone to court, and she might have lost. But the damage would have been done. I just got there faster."

"Why did you help him?"

Chloe had asked herself the same question countless times. Why had she helped him? Why did she feel the need to have him in her debt instead of at her throat? Maybe it gave her more satisfaction to have his gratitude, however resentful. Maybe she wanted a to throw him off a bit, either way, it had made her feel more alive than she’d been in months to walk into his office and give him the news.

Lex had been beyond skeptical. But she’d timed it just right and his lawyer called while she was sitting in his expensive, leather chair. The way his gaze had darted to her in surprise while he listened to his lawyer on the phone gave her such a surge of adrenaline that she’d had the shakes afterward.

"Why did you do that?" he’d asked. He stared at her quietly, she could practically hear him thinking that their war was over. That she’d finally broken down and offered a truce. It had been so satisfying to stand up and smile at him.

"From now on, whenever I ask, you have to show it to me." She’d relished the expression on his face darken to something that wasn’t anger, wasn’t amusement, but somewhere in between. Either way, he’d accepted her challenge.

"What made you do that?"

"It’s twisted, and wrong; it makes no sense that two people, normally sane, have this need to play stupid games with each other. But I do need it. Or I did." She rubbed a hand over her eyes and felt a slight sting where a little bit of gin was left on her fingers. She let it burn and blinked away the moisture. "It escalated with him backing off a guy I dated who’d started to stalk me. He demanded to see mine whenever we met. The rules of enmity were laid out like this: Only the first person to see the other could ask, no one could refuse, and no explanations were to be given to anyone about the ‘arrangement’."

"You’re right, it is twisted."

"I don’t deny it."

"Did it ever get any worse?" Sheri watched her friend closely and when Chloe wouldn’t look at her she prodded. "You’ve got to tell me now; I’m here for the long haul."

"He made the next move after a couple of months of show and tell. We don’t usually run in the same circles so he’d have to come looking for me and vice versa for a fix."

"How did he kick it up?"

"I was offered this job." She giggled. "Go figure. I keep him out of trouble and he goes and brings me to the attention of my future employers."

"Why did you take it?"

"I didn’t know till I was working there a week. Then this big bouquet of flowers gets delivered to my desk with a note from him. It reads: ‘Hope you like the new job; when we’re alone, I get to touch it.’"

"You could’ve quit."

"Oh, but that would be backing down, and I couldn’t do that," Chloe said, dryly. "No, I felt the need to keep pushing things till I could arrange the upper hand."

"Did it involve anything illegal?"

"Nope, I just got him a little revenge."

"He doesn’t do that himself these days?"

"Not the way I can. I still have plenty of contacts in the journalistic world. Actually took two personal days and went digging up the business world history and found the one guy who probably hated him as much as I did. He’d been a thorn in Lex’s side for years. And a pretty sharp one at that."

"Who?"

"Randall White."

"That was you?"

"That was me."

Randall White had been a southern gentleman with political aspirations and a hatred of Lex Luthor that stemmed from his former dealings with Lionel. It was probably the fact that Lex , himself, had done very little to antagonize the man that Chloe had chosen him. If he’d had a real beef with the bald millionaire, maybe she’d have left him alone. But then, she’d almost believed the woman with the sexual harassment suit.

Chloe had been inspired by some of her old research. Randall White’s name had come up several times when she’d been digging frantically for dirt on Lionel Luthor in high school. Though she hadn’t recalled immediately what their connection had been, when she came across his name in connection with his criticism of Luthorcorp’s business practices, she’d made an immediate connection.

White had known Lionel as a young man, and the man’s history was now as pristine as a professional cleaning crew could make it. He hadn’t, however, counted on a teenage reporter having kept all of her research fastidiously organized since before his political aspirations came to fruition and he’d felt the need to cover his tracks.

"Lionel Luthor left him holding the bag when they had a business together. There was some insider trading suspected but nothing was proven. White had been the source in the company who’d told Lionel to sell his stock. When the Luthor legal team was done, even the deal White cut with the D.A. for immunity didn’t help. His name was kept out of it as part of the agreement, but he was still out of a job and Lionel was smelling like a rose."

"How’d you get the name?"

"I got lucky. I wasn’t the first person to go digging into the past. I came across someone who’d kept court documents and employment records. It just came down to records of his geographic location during the trial. Hotel receipts paid for by the D.A.’s office, phone calls between White and Lionel, all stuff that was almost meaningless until someone with an anal retentive attention to detail and an obsessive drive could put it all together."

"So you had the name of the informant, but what about the person who gathered the info."

"He was murdered a few weeks after I talked to him. A lot of his information was passed to me as the sole record, and I kept it to myself. But after White had his past cleaned up a little, and Lionel Luthor was dead, he went forward with his own agenda."

"You went to a lot of trouble."

"I’m not proud of it now, but at the time, I was excited about the challenge. It really took my mind off how unhappy I was."

"Now we get to the root of things." Sheri reached for a cookie. "I’m glad I didn’t have to say it."

"I might have been twisted and a basket case some of the time, but I still knew what I was doing."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of years. Then I started seeing a counselor because I couldn’t sleep. I knew that this game was beyond unhealthy. I was punishing myself by pushing Lex to try to hurt me. My own guilt over my responsibility for my father’s situation."

"I know you put Lionel Luthor behind bars…for a little while, but how does that make you responsible for doing your civic duty."

"My relationship with Lionel started out as a partnership. I betrayed a friend because of my own hurt feelings. He might have preyed on my weaker moments, but I still made the choice. Then it was almost impossible to get out."


"Smallville sounds like a pretty dangerous town."

"You don’t know the half of it."

"You’re a girl with a lot of secrets, why share them now?"

"I made a huge mistake when I pushed Lex back into the game today." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Or yesterday." It was nearly Three AM. "I’d managed to get myself out of the sick addiction to the humiliation cycle but the compulsion was too much. And now that it’s my turn again, all I can do is think about how I’m going to ambush him next, and what he might to to up the stakes."

"Walk away, Sullivan. It’s cost you a lot already. You don’t need your sanity to add to the pile."

"Might be too late."

A/N:Okay, this was the disclosure chapter. All the history is out there, coming soon...touchy feely moments...literally.

[lexchloe]

Wow!!! So much pain coming off the both of them. I'm actually really intruiged by this twisted version of their relationship and I can't wait to see what Chloe does next. More please.

[Via]

It's been a long time since I read a story as interesting as this one. Hope you'll post next chapter soon.

[TheDragonLady]

Oooh. Dragon loves this story. And wants more updates...

[fussy_wuzzy]

Wow!!! That was intense. Great update!

[Lily]

I'm totally loving this story! Great update, can't wait for the next one.
-Lily

[Yarvarni]

i am so loving tis neverending cycle fo two people who can[t seem to stop themselves from harming one another

[BellaMR]

I'm loving this story so far and can't wait for the touchy-feely moments to come.

[Kit Merlot]

This was an intense chapter. Chloe and Lex each blame the other for a death in their family, but neither is directly responsible for the death, though.

BRILLIANT! :grin3:

[star del mar]

Wow, the explanation for their reason to get the tattoos was a lot more involved then I would have thought. It was an awesome chapter! It was great to see how they both reacted in those moments. Now I can't wait to see what else happens...maybe they can find a way to start moving on. I can't wait for another update!

Steph*

[June]

I've been reading this since you've put this up, and I have to apologize profusely for not feedback until now. It's a wonderful story, and the relationship and history you've handled well. It's complex and original, something i've come to expect from you, and I can't wait until the next chapter.



"Walk away, Sullivan. It’s cost you a lot already. You don’t need your sanity to add to the pile."

"Might be too late."


I really, really like sheri. And I thought that was such an awesome way to end the chapter.

*waiting for more, patiently as possible*

[hfce]

Chloe and Lex are two twisted sick people. If they get together they will drive eachother to the crazy house. No way would it work.


Hope ;)

[squeezumstang]

heh, heh, she promised us touchy feely bits!!!
way cool. more please.

[autumngold]

Thank you so much for explaining Chloe and Lex's past!! I really hurt for Lex and Chloe!! I hope that you will be able to make everything better soon!! You're so good at that in your stories!! Post again soon please!! :)

[Willower]

This is very dark...in a good way. I like it alot. Wanting to inflict pain to ease your own is a natural feeling, and adds to the reality of the characters. I just hope Chloe and Lex can find solace in loving each other instead of hurting each other. Nice job.

[Christy January]

A/N:Okay, this was the disclosure chapter. All the history is out there, coming soon...touchy feely moments...literally.

Promise?

[sydsvaughn]

Intense and intriguing and well ... I can't wait for more! Now that the past is out there... I say let the games begin. (hopefully, the touchy feely kind)

SaraC

[oropheria]

This is twisted and sad and wrong... in the very best possible way. You're the first person I've ever seen acknowledge that there are rules to enmity as well as love. I haven't done anything this extreme, but there is one guy I still can't speak to in public. I guess everyone has had, at some point, that one person that makes them crazy in a less shiny happy sense than 'love - it makes you do the wacky'. But it's still a strong connection, maybe unbreakable. I really enjoy the depth and immediacy of your writing and the confessional aspect of telling Sheri, but doesn't that violate one of the rules? Or is it only 'Thou Shalt Tell No One... While It's Going On'? Looking forward to more!

[Blaire023]

this whole story is just mindblowing.

it's believable, the way you've set up their past, but it's mindblowing just the same.

definitely going to be on the lookout for updates.

[zelda]

A/N:Okay it's finals week and I'm sitting for state licensing exams so this might be it for a couple of days. Thanks for all the feedbackMorning came way to early for Chloe. She never slept very well when she drank a lot. Something about the alcohol in her system kept her from deep sleep. She just woke up feeling dehydrated and tired but unable to stay in bed any longer. She opened a bottle of water from the fridge and drank half the contents so fast that the chill made her teeth hurt. She ran her tongue over them and headed for the bathroom to brush the sticky, wooly feeling from them.

A slug of mouthwash later, she put on a pot of coffee and eyed Sheri’s sleeping form on her couch. While she waited for the coffee to brew she grabbed the paper from her doormat before one of her neighbors could steal it; then she took a quick shower, feeling a little fresher, but no more awake than when she’d opened her sticky eyes.

Sheri was stirring on the couch. Chloe deposited another bottle of water in front of her and a pair of yoga pants and long-sleeved jersey; workout clothes would be the only things to fit her friend. The tall, black woman was much leaner thanks to good genes and a strict exercise regime. Sheri mumbled something incoherent and headed into the bathroom with the water and clothing. Ten minutes later, she emerged with a towel on her head.

"I can’t believe how insensitive I was to you last night," Chloe said, putting a plate on her breakfast bar. "The whole plan was for me to be there for you, and I turned it into something all about me."

"Choe, the last thing I wanted was to dwell on that horrible train wreck of a marriage," Sheri said, accepting a Mickey Mouse-shaped pancake and a pile of fluffy eggs. "I think you managed the impossible. You made me completely forget about that philandering asshole, so don’t apologize." She reached for a coffee mug from the mug tree that sat on the counter. She pulled a second one for Chloe and started pouring coffee. She presented Chloe with the white mug that read: ‘I am master of my Domain’ and kept the one for herself that was black with red, gothic script. It read: ‘Virgins, the other white meat’. Chloe had been famous for her mug collection at the Daily Planet. She was infamous at McEvoy and McEvoy.

Chloe hopped on a stool opposite her friend and they ate in silence. Chloe cleared the dishes and Sheri cleaned up the living room.

"So what are you going to do now?" Chloe asked, as Sheri settled herself on the couch. "Have you thought about dating again?"

"I’ve thought about dating, but I won’t consider it for a little while. I can use the divorce as an excuse for a while. The truth is, I’ve been over Manny since the second I found out about the infidelity. The betrayal hurts, and the lies, but I just feel like I want to be selfish with my time." She cocked her lovely head to one side. "Know what I mean? I just don’t want to have to take another person into consideration every time I make plans. I just want a little break from that for now." She sighed and leaned back, sipping the last of her coffee. "That male escort service is still in operation, right?"

"I can make a few calls," Chloe said with a grin. "I’m sure they’ve got someone your style."

"Get me an Italian, I hear they’ve got big cocks." Chloe immediately experienced the intense pain and discomfort of passing coffee through the sinus passages. She wiped her face and watering eyes as she tried not to inhale any more of the hot beverage. She couldn’t however, stop laughing at the deadpan look on Sheri’s face.

"God, if you can keep a straight face like that all the time, no wonder you’re CEO."

"Gotta have a good poker face when you’re in this business."

"Well, if you change your mind about actually dating someone, I do have a friend at work who’s a pretty special guy." She grinned. "He’s got a great personality."

"Right, so how fat and bald is he?" They both laughed and Chloe assured her friend that the man in question, Sandino Rios, was quite attractive and charming. "I’ll think about it."

After Sheri left, Chloe turned on her computer and logged onto her office network. She was able to work from home sometimes. Since a lot of detective work didn’t require more than a high-speed connection. Of the few cases she was working on, one was a fairly simple skip trace that wouldn’t require too many of her abused brain cells.

Around noon, Chloe got hungry and ordered Chinese food. It was her traditional hangover fare and was usually followed by a nice nap. Once the alcohol was absorbed by grease, she could usually get some decent sleep. The delivery boy buzzed downstairs and she unlocked the door, fishing some cash out of her wallet. She went to the door when he knocked and glanced through the peephole. Yup, delivery guy.

"Hey, thanks," she said, reaching for the fragrant paper sack. She held out some cash to him but he waved it away.

"It’s on him," the young man said, jerking his thumb to a spot beside the door. Lex leaned into view. He’d been standing with his back against the wall beside her door, just out of her line of sight. He kept his shoulder and head rested on the wall and just pivoted his body around. The pose was deliberately sloppy and lazy. He eyed her fluffy bathrobe and slippers.

"You’re so fucking sexy I can’t stand it," he said, with a lascivious once-over with his eyes. "Beat it, kid, I’m making time with a lady." He handed the boy a hundred-dollar bill and the boy practically ran down the hallway. Chloe glared at him, still clutching the paper sack and her unused cash. Perking up, Lex stood up straight, leaving his affected laziness and smiled. "I just wanted to see how the other half handles a hangover."

"So go about a block down the street and buy the winos a cup of coffee." Chloe started to shut the door but he stuck his foot out to stop it.

"Ah ah," he said, shaking his head. "Unless you want to do this out here." Chloe sighed and turned away, walking back to the bar and setting down the sack containing her sustenance.

"Nice place you’ve got here, bigger than the last one." He looked over the hardwood floors, simple, yet feminine furnishings and lack of any miniature porcelain dolls. "At least you’re not a girl who collects Hummel figurines."

"Got a problem with them?"

"I dated a girl once who had several generations of them. I think I got knick knack poisoning from her."

Chloe wanted to laugh at him, he really was funny with his dry witty humor, but she reminded herself that she hated him.

Chloe pulled a plate down from the cupboard and tore open the bag, sitting down on one of the barstools. She pulled out her won ton soup and pu pu platter for two. She loved appetizers and always ordered enough for leftovers.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, picking up her chopsticks. "Why the early morning ambush?"

"You know why I’m here."

"I know you plan to do your best to make an old habit feel new this time." She picked up a piece of pork from her friend rice. "It never does."

"Then why did you start this back up again?"

"I was in a self-destructive mood," she replied, blandly. Perhaps if she acted like the game didn’t interest her anymore, he’d go away.

She didn’t hear Lex move at first, she could see his reflection in her stainless steel fridge. A blurred, dark shape; one that stood still. Then he moved forward. She felt his breath first, it ruffled the now-dry strands of hair behind her ear. She forgot, sometimes, how tall he was. Not a giant among men, but at six feet, he was a good half-foot taller than she was.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve touched you." His voice was rougher than usual and Chloe wondered if she’d made a mistake in trying to intimidate him with indifference.

"It," she corrected. "A long time since you’ve touched ‘it’."

"It’s part of you," he said. She felt the warmth from his body through his clothes now. "I’m part of you." He placed his hands on either side of her. "Why do you make me do this? You could make it easy on yourself, you know." She felt the tip of his nose nuzzle her behind the ear. "Why did you come find me yesterday?" His lips brushed her skin and her nipples tightened involuntarily. "Why make me come to you like this?"

"You have a choice, Luthor, you always did." Her comment spoke to more than his arrival today. "I’m not making you do anything."

"I want to see it." Chloe sighed and pulled the front of her robe up so that the back could fall down but she could keep her breasts covered. "Why do we do this to each other?" His voice was whisper-soft and it tickled down her spine. It wasn’t the first time he’d used his mouth to touch her, but somehow, today was different. "Why do you allow a man who hates you to touch you so intimately?" He ran his moist lips down each letter, depositing a kiss on each one. Chloe counted until he reached the bottom.

"You’re done now." She jerked her robe back up and continued to eat.

"I’m just beginning."

"Why do you do it?" She asked, not turning around. "Why do you want to touch a woman you hate?"

Hands fell on her shoulders and fingers gently smoothed the robe. Then the hands moved around her ribcage and tightened, holding her still while he pressed up against her.

"We might hate each other, my dear," he said, pushing his hips against her bottom. "But I’d still like to fuck you."

Chloe could feel his erection through his pants and her robe. His mouth closed on her earlobe and she felt herself leaning back, involuntarily. Lex’s hands moved around to her front and pushed between her thighs, searching till he found bare skin.

"I don’t want you."

"Like Hell." Lex’s fingers found her and her arms wouldn’t move. He stroked her boldly, and unexpectedly, Chloe found herself responding quickly to him. He was moving against his hand and feeling his arms around her in a warm embrace. Her breath wasn’t coming fast enough and she felt like she was being smothered. She opened her mouth when she came, but wasn’t able to make a noise as she convulsed.

The fingers were gone; Chloe opened her eyes and pulled her face out of the sofa cushion. She stopped her hips from rubbing against the pillow she’d been laying on. A noise interrupted her and the tumbled, guiltily from the couch. It was the buzzer for downstairs. She pressed the button and her Chinese food was delivered…without incident.

Chloe ate a little but put most of her feast in the fridge, her appetite was gone and she was tired from her lack of sleep the previous night. The twenty-minute nap just hadn’t cut it. She changed into a sports bra and pajama bottoms and crawled into bed. She could work as late into the night as she needed to; the internet was always open but she needed rest before her brain took her on another unwanted detour into her darker subconscious.

Chloe stared at the ceiling and used some breathing exercises from her yoga class to try and relax. She needed to clear her mind and not think about Lex. Instead she thought back to the advice she’d had from group session with other young people suffering with grief. No two stories were the same, but they all shared a common bond, not just the grief, but guilt. Everyone felt responsible in some way for their situation. One young woman had begun cutting herself in order to feel physical pain instead of the emotional. She’d left a cigarette burning that had fallen into a trash can and turned into a blaze that killed her younger sister. When asked why she wanted the pain, she said, "I deserve it." Chloe knew how she felt.

Somehow, telling Sheri made Chloe feel better; perhaps breaking one of the rules was a step in the right direction. She didn’t want to think about her perverted dream about Lex. Fantasizing wasn’t a new thing for her, she’d only casually dated over the last two years and nothing serious had come from any of it. She rolled her eyes and laughed at her situation.

"God," she said out loud. "I’m so hard up that my body is taking drastic action without my brain getting in on it." She’d had erotic dreams before, but generally she didn’t pleasure herself in her sleep. "I need to get another vibrator…or a man." She’d thrown out her old vibrator when it had fallen from the top of her armoir and the motor had broken. It wasn’t exactly on her list of priorities so, deciding to forgo her nap, she hopped back on the internet and decided to look online for a likely replacement. She sighed at her lonely situation, a Friday afternoon spent looking for vibrators online.

It was raining again. Lex saw the droplets through the warm haze that cloaked him in dampness. She knelt in the grass, weeping. The grave was still covered in fresh earth, no sod had been lain yet. Chloe’s blonde hair was plastered to her face and neck, her mascara and eyeliner ran down her cheeks, making her eyes stand out, unnaturally green. She stood up and hugged herself, nearly bent double, her hands, dirty from burying her father.

"Please," he heard himself say. "Let me help."

"It’s too late for that. He’s already underground." Her voice was broken, cracked. She took off her jacket and wiped her hands with it, holding them out to let the rain wash away the filth. "It won’t wash away." She was angry and scrubbed at her arms, flinging the coat from her. She had the same, silk blouse on and now she smeared her dirty hands on it too. The dirt looked reddish brown, the color of dried blood.

The rain became cold and mixed with Chloe’s tears; Lex was drawn to her and held her arms.

"Let me help you, now."

"You can’t help me." She pushed away from him but he held fast. She began to push and fight him, but her feet couldn’t find purchase on the slippery ground. He clutched her to his chest and took her sobs into himself, feeling his own chest begin to heave. No, he didn’t want this pain. She clung to him, desperately and he clenched his fingers in the thin, wet silk. Such a small barrier between them. Something so thin that kept his hands from her skin, where she needed him. Where he needed to touch her.

Lex woke with a start. It was morning and he was still sitting in the armchair, looking out the window. He glanced at is watch, just after Six. He got up to take a shower and realized, to his dismay, that he was fully erect and rather uncomfortable. Deciding that the matter should be dealt with appropriately, he went into the bedroom.

Shelley, his girlfriend, slept soundly in his large bed. She’d gone to sleep before him and apparently hadn’t woken yet. He’d wake her with a little surprise.

Lex crawled over the top of the bed spread, unfastening his pants. He drew the sheets down to Shelley’s slim waist. She had light, ash brown hair, and gray eyes. She’d be plain without artful streaks in her hair and careful makeup. She also had a toned, athletic, and surgically altered body that was perfect for Lex’s purposes. As he lowered the sheet, he caught sight of something on her lower back. Being careful not to wake her, he leaned over and looked close in the dim light. It was a bite. A human bite, little more than a hickey, but it wasn’t in a place where Lex had touched her recently.

Loosing the urge to touch her, he took a shower instead, not needing cold water since the sight in his bed had taken the desire from him. He dried off and pulled on a bathrobe. His bathroom mirror was heated so it never fogged up; he looked at his reflection in the mirror eolhC, He only saw the name backwards or upside down which was fine with him; he doubted that she saw his name at all.

Lex traced the letters with a fingertip and remembered a time when Chloe had been feeling particularly mischievous and had carried around an iced latte for twenty minutes before catching him alone in a hallway. With a huge smile she’d demanded her pound of flesh and applied an icy hand to it, practically making him yelp. Her thumb had brushed his nipple and he was certain that he’d be able to cut glass with it. She’d grinned and scampered away, only to leave town to find a bail jumper for three weeks before he could exact his revenge.

Lex smiled as he remembered ambushing Chloe in her own office at work. He’d actually hidden behind a plant so that she wouldn’t see him until he could shut the door behind them. The look on her face had been well worth the wait when she’d seen him holding a plastic bag labeled "Chemical ice pack". Amonium nitrate and water, once mixed, produced a chemical reaction that made them extremely cold. His hand was almost numb but her hiss of discomfort made it worth it when he spread his fingers under her shirt on her warm skin. He chuckled to himself now. Those had been good times. Sick and twisted ones, but good nonetheless.

Chloe’s phone rang and she picked it up, seeing the words ‘private caller’ on her caller ID. If it was a sales person, she’d just hang up.

"Hello?"

"What’s the going rate these days?" She recognized Lex’s voice.

"You’d better be talking about my hourly rate for McEvoy and McEvoy." He chuckled softly.

"Why? Is there something else you charge money for?"

"What do you want, Luthor?"

"Such manners."

"I could make you contact me through the office. I don’t usually take calls initiating business at home. It’s against policy."

"You don’t moonlight?"

"Too much of a possibility of conflict of interest. What if a wife hires me and her husband is already a client of one of the other detectives? See how that might end up badly in court."

"I see. But if I wanted to hire you, I would need to go through your bosses first?"

"What’s the deal? I can consult without approval, but if I’m taking a job, I have to file protocol before any official action is taken. It’s in my contract."

"I see."

"So who do you want me to follow?"

"My girlfriend. She’s fucking someone else and I want to find out who. However, once you’ve discovered this person’s identity, I want it kept quiet."

"Why?"

"I have a reputation to uphold. If word gets out that my girlfriend is sneaking around on me, it looks bad. Sexist or not, if a man’s libido is in question, his business skills are right behind it."

"Why call me? You must have others on your payroll."

"I can’t trust them."

"And you trust me?" she scoffed. "Why?"

"You’re better than anyone at sniffing out bullshit, and besides, you hate me. You have no reason to sugarcoat the truth. And I want it all."

"I agree, but call my bosses in the morning to work out a fee. Then we’ll meet-"

"Today, I want to meet today. Can you tell your bosses that you’re schmoozing a client. I’m sure they’ll allow it."

"When and where?"

"Doc Proper’s. One hour, and wear some kind of disguise. I can’t have you recognized."

"Okay."

"Just like that?"

"I spy on people for a living, I use disguises all the time. Where will you be, I’ll come find you."

"As far to the back as I can get."

"See you there." Chloe broke the connection and chewed her lip thoughtfully. "It’s not personal," she said out loud. "It’s business."

Next...Chloe's big disguise.

[sultrystorm]

very original! i can't wait for you to update!

[Krysia]

Wow. I love this story and I love how with every chapter it gets better and better. I read a chapter and think there is no way it can get any better and you always surprise me because it does :) Great job! I love the fact that Chloes fantasy was more sexual and Lexes was more emotional. I like to get into characters heads to find out what it is that they want. Thank you for allowing me to do that.

[suspension of disbelief]

Next...Chloe's big disguise.


wonders what would it be....

[lexchloe]

great chapter. From what both their subconscious' have shown us Chloe and lex don't seem to hate eachother as much as they think they do. Very interesting, can't wait for the next one.

[autumngold]

Good luck on your exams!! You are so nice to post one more chapter before you have to take your tests!! Can't wait for your next update!! :) Hint, Hint!! ;)

[fussy_wuzzy]

Wow. That was some great writing. I loved every bit of it. :blinkkiss

[Blaire023]

yay, i just read this last night and already an update.

and yes, i just took my finals yesterday and am now experiencing my brain deflating due to the fact that it know i don't have to remember anything from the last 4 months.

[hfce]

This story is getting so good. I so can't wait until they meet again.


Hope ;)

[Kit Merlot]

Yes, Zelda, good luck on your exams :grin3:

About this chapter, very intense moments between Lex and Chloe--they just can't stay away from each other. can they?

[Lily]

Love this story... very intense. Keep up the fabulous work!
-Lily

[hippiez]

What else can I say? Update more please!

[Via]

I feel stupid always posting the same review :p : that was great, write some more as soon as you can :)

[BellaMR]

I'm intrigued by Chloe's disguise. Can't wait to find out what it is.

By the way, thank you for sparing us the Lex and Shelley moment. I was worried for a moment.

[Willower]

This one's getting good! Can't wait until they both realize that they can work through their pain...together! Sex doesn't heal all wounds, but it heals about 97% of them :D

[star del mar]

That was a quite a chapter! I still can't wrap my head around how seriously twisted this "relationship" is but it's interesting, and I got soooo excited to see the beginnings of smut only to be thwarted by the fact that it was a freaking dream!! What a mess, I can't wait to read more!

Steph*

[squash]

Damn this relationship is twisted! But that doesn't stop me from loving to read about it! Ha. You've really done a wonderful job with a really unique story and I'm quite curious to see how this is all going to play out.

Good stuff. More please:)

[hateSmallvilleLoveChlex2]

Emosewa!!! Update!

That is all.

[sydsvaughn]

I'm liking this more and more ... please, update soon because I want to see the Chlex interaction... and her disguise!

SaraC

[squeezumstang]

that was seriously hot. i'm melting over here.

[starmoon]

that was great please update soon and i can't wait for chloe and lex to get together.

[zelda]

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sorry about the delay. More to come soon, I just wanted to get this first part out of the way.

Lex had been waiting nearly forty-five minutes at Doc Proper’s. A Cajun man who was reputed to be a witch doctor ran the bar. No one knew his real name; he just went by Doc, or Doc Proper. Chloe was an hour late. Lex knew because he’d been fifteen minutes late. He’d wanted her to be waiting for him. Just one more little manipulation to add to the list. The bar was a little crowded, but no one was paying any attention to him. The music was always hot on a Friday night; and so was the crowd.

The smoke that permeated the lounge wasn’t from cigarettes; it was from the food. Doc didn’t allow smoking in the public areas. Rather progressive for a man rumored to practice Sangria; he said that tobacco smoke ruined the taste of the gumbo. Lex had ordered a drink when he first arrived and now he was on his second glass of scotch. His phone vibrated and he saw that he’d received a text message. He read it: You were late. A friend is at the bar. He’ll find you.

Shit. Lex didn’t want to talk to a representative, he wanted to talk to Chloe. He sent a message back: Where are you? She must have been waiting because she replied immediately: Close.

Lex got up casually and picked up his drink. He sauntered towards the bar; casual, not overtly searching the surrounding faces. Whoever was there would undoubtedly be a stranger. He wove his way past a couple of college girls who were giggling like teenagers. At a closer look, he wondered if they were old enough to be in there. Shaking his head, he slid into an empty spot and put his drink down. He leaned an elbow casually on the black walnut bar and glanced at the stage; just a guy watching the band. He even tapped his fingers a little to the music.

Lex was getting a little impatient and thought about sending another message when the bartender set another scotch in front of him.

"I didn’t order this."

"Be from dat guy," the woman answered is her thick accent. Like the rest of the staff, she was a girl from the bayou. Black hair, dusky skin, and dark, sexy eyes. Creole to the core. She raised an eyebrow as she looked over his expensive suit and dark, violet shirt. She pointed to a young man across the bar. Lex met a pair of piercing, blue eyes. The man looked like he was in his early twenties with a stylishly trimmed moustache and goatee. He raised a glass of white wine in a silent toast. He held his pinky out and sipped his drink with a slightly feminine tilt to his wrist. "Y’all have a nice evenin’ now," the bartender said with a grin.

"Christ!" Either Chloe sent a friend who had a sense of humor, or he was getting hit on by some college boy. The young man was walking around the bar now, and Lex had a sudden urge to run. Instead, he leaned into the bar and waited, wondering if he was giving some weird, gay signal by turning his back on the man. He could hear a low voice saying "Excuse me." To a few people who moved out of the way. Then a pair of arms clad in a navy blue jacket rested beside his. Lex kept his cool. "You a friend of Chloe’s?"

"I guess you could say that." Lex turned quickly and met the man’s gaze. He didn’t recognize the blue eyes, but he knew the twinkle in them all too well.

"Chloe?" Lex couldn’t help it, he looked down at the front of her shirt. She was wearing a very nice suit but her breasts were not to be seen. "Where could you possibly hide them?" She didn’t even ask what he was talking about, just rolled her eyes and headed for the dance floor. "Wait." Lex caught her arm. "Near the back, I am not going to get a reputation for being gay."

"Relax, Butch," she said. "I didn’t say we had to dance, I’m just heading for a table." They sat at a little round table and Lex glanced underneath it. Chloe was taller than usual, still a little shorter than he was, but not so short as to draw attention. The cut of the pants concealed the thick sole of her shoes. It had to be tailored for her or it wouldn’t have worked.

"Where did you get the outfit?"

"A trade off with a costume designer. I helped her out, she does my disguises." She waved her hand under his nose. "Stop staring at my chest or people will start thinking you are gay. She leaned back casually and assumed a vaguely masculine pose. Her shirt was blue and it matched her eyes.

"Contact lenses?"

"Yes."

"Beard?"

"Yak hair, used in movies." She sipped her wine and he noticed a man’s ring on her pinky. "You didn’t want to be seen with Chloe Sullivan, so I don’t think anyone will make that connection."

"Sooo," he drawled slowly. "Where are they?" He managed to keep his gaze on her face. A darkened brow raised in annoyance.

"We are not going to discuss my breasts at the table. You said this was business, so talk. What makes you think your lady is cheating, and what do you want me to do about it that I couldn’t do through the agency?"

"Did you tell them you were coming here?"

"I didn’t tell them where, but I mentioned that I had a skittish client that wanted to make an inquiry."

"No name?"

"Nope." When his eyes strayed to her chest she sighed. "Jesus, Lex; they’re under a corset, and padded all around to make everything look smooth under the shirt." She shifted her shoulders. "And rather uncomfortable right now so let’s get this over with; I’d like to get them home and set them free sometime tonight."

"It’s just that you look so…" he trailed off. "Gay."

"I’m still a woman and a little too prone to acting feminine. I’ve been coached enough to get by, but if I try to play it straight, it just looks too fake."

Lex reached out automatically with a finger to try and poke at the padding. His hand was rudely slapped away. "You’re straight, remember. If anyone asks, I’m just a potential client. You have gay clients don’t you?"

"Sure." Lex shook himself out of his stupor. "I guess I was expecting you to be a tall, leggy, brunette."

"Right, ‘cause then you wouldn’t be distracted at all."

"Fair enough." Lex sat back and sipped his scotch. "It was a bite."

"What?"

"The reason I know Shelley is with another guy. She has a bite on her lower back." He paused. "Obviously, a human one."

"And you don’t bite?" She managed not to smile.

"I remember the spots well, and that wasn’t one of them."

"Fine, so what do you want? Someone to tail her? Check on recent purchases? Break into her apartment?"

"You do that?"

"I didn’t say that’s what we do, I asked what you wanted." Chloe was all business. "I don’t usually do the infidelity cases anymore. I’m a little more high-tech."

"You did one for your friend."

"Professional courtesy. She didn’t want a stranger to be getting personal pictures of her husband. She trusted me to be discreet, and I was."

"Discreet is what I want."

"Charlie is the cheating guy. He’s practically invisible. He’s probably what you want."

"I want you." Lex’s words brought Chloe back to the dream she’d had earlier. She was glad she’d worn a little bronzer to cover her naturally fair skin. She felt her neck get hot and knew she’d be blushing. "I told you why on the phone."

"Doesn’t mean I’d be the best choice." Her voice was soft, serious. "Whatever else I am in my business, I’m always a professional, and I’m not the best at tailing cheaters."

"With a gift for disguises, even just a few, you’d be able to nail her. She’s not bright enough to see through it."

"I don’t doubt that, Lex. You didn’t see through it."

"I did when you spoke." He looked away and sipped his scotch. "She’ll definitely know a man when she sees one." He flicked his eyes back to her. "And when she doesn’t."

"I’ll keep my cross-dressing to crowds."

"Does that mean you’re agreeing?"

"We don’t have a deal just yet. Call my office on Monday and we’ll set up something official. Tonight was a free consultation." She finished her wine and got up from the table. "Good evening."

"Why did you choose this particular get up?" He looked her up and down.

"Quite frankly, because I didn’t think you’d ask me to show you anything if I was dressed as a man."

"You think I’d ask a strange woman to show me her tattoo when I’m trying to avoid looking like a philanderer?"

"Something tells me you might not have been able to resist it." She turned and started to step onto the dance floor.

"Show me." She turned and looked at him. His gaze was cold, not amused. He was angry that she’d predicted him and now was willing to risk a scene. She cocked her head to the side, as if thinking about it for a moment.

"No." Then she turned on her heel and walked carefully through the throng of dancers to the rest rooms. She had her hand on the door to the men’s room when she felt herself pushed past it, towards the exit at the end of the hall. The grip on her arm was firm and she didn’t have to look behind her to know who it was. It was always Lex.

[Krysia]

:rofl: I just couldn't stop laughing at the image of Lex being all flustered because a guy was hiting on him in a bar. And I would just love to see his face when he realized it was Chloe. And than his preocupation with her breast ,masterful. Great clifhanger at the end it looks like the next chapter will be hot [ crosses her fingers]

[autumngold]

Excellent chapter!! I love how distracted Chloe made Lex!! :) I'm proud of Chloe for telling Lex "No", but it doesn't look like it worked!! Thanks for the update!! Please, please post more soon!!

[lexchloe]

hee hee that was great. Loved her disguise and Lex's preoccupation with where her assets were. Can't wait for more.

[zelda]

A/N: Okay work was really slow so I just kept writing.

*Warning* this chapter contains some violence.

Chloe put up an arm just in time to catch the handle to the exit door before being shoved into it. When they were outside in the alley behind the club, she jerked her arm out of his grasp.

"What’s the matter with you?" She rubbed her arm. "I don’t just let people drag me off into back alleys." She reached out to catch the door before it closed but Lex slammed it shut, nearly catching her fingers. She pulled them back just in time. His jaw was clenched and she saw a muscle jump near the joint. "I meant it, Lex. You can’t just go hauling me off into the corner when you want some time alone."

"Don’t flatter yourself," he snapped. "I just want what’s mine."

Chloe stiffened her spine and placed her hand on her hip in a very feminine gesture. He wondered how he could have ever mistaken her for male. Even without breasts.

"I can’t imagine anything I have that’s yours."

"About six inches down your back. It belongs to me and I want to see it." He looked around them. "In fact, I think I’d like to touch it." He spat the words out in a very hostile manner. Chloe looked closely at his face in the dim light from above the door. He looked serious.

"No." His lips tightened and he started to move forward. She placed a hand on his chest. "You asked me here for a business meeting and I came as a business courtesy. Now you think you can bully your way into getting what you want because I decided not to play tonight?"

"You can’t say no." He reached up and yanked the sticky facial hair from her skin. She winced like it hurt and brought a hand up. "Not to the game."

"Oh, I think I just did." Her feet hurt from the shoes and she was definitely cranky. Now she was itching for a fight. "I realize that you must feel a little emasculated because your girlfriend is going somewhere else for sex," she said in a patronizing tone. "And I’m sure you want to feel like you’re in control over something. But that something will never be me." She stepped forward and stuck her finger in his face. "I humor our little game when it suits me, but if you cross the line like this again my sense of humor is going to evaporate very quickly." There; she’d asserted herself now and issued her little threat. She’d stood up to Lex and felt better for it. He said nothing, just stared at her. Then she turned to leave. Next she was against the wall with his hands on either side of her.

"I didn’t ask you to show it to me," he hissed, trapping Chloe between his arms. "I told you to do it." He glanced up at the short, brown wig that covered her blonde hair. He smoothed a hand up her forehead and pushed the wig back. It tugged at the hairpins she’d used to secure it to her head but gave way, taking a few golden strands with it. Chloe winced and placed her palms against his chest.

"Not funny, Lex." Her heart was hammering in her breast. She’d been afraid of him a few times, but this was different. He was different. He ran his hand up the back of her neck and to her forehead, rubbing her hair in the opposite direction, messing it up. As usual, she couldn’t stop her mouth. "If you wanted my wig so much, you could’ve just asked."

Lex spun Chloe around so fast she skinned her knuckles on the brick wall, trying to keep her balance. She let out a startled gasp when he yanked her shirt out of her trousers and pushed the back of it up, along with her jacket. She felt the night air between the laces of the corset; it was cool on her damp skin. She started to push away from the wall, but Lex planted a hand between her shoulders.

"Don’t move." The click of metal on metal had Chloe freezing in place. She knew the sound of a switchblade when she heard it. It didn’t touch her skin, and she only felt a slight pressure of the laces being pulled tight before the whole garment loosened and dropped to the ground in front of her. With her naked skin exposed to Lex, in the darkness of the alley, she was more than afraid. She was terrified. Then the blade clicked shut and she felt his warm breath on her ear. "Tonight, I don’t think I’m going to use my hands. Situation calls for a little something else."

Chloe remembered the dream and wondered if he was going to use his mouth. Then she heard the rasp of his zipper.

"Oh God. No Lex." She didn’t shout, she didn’t cry, she just spoke the words and pushed away from the wall. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned against her. Puffs of warm air parted the hair at the back of her neck. "Lex, please. Don’t do this." She heard the desperation in her own voice. He must have heard it too because he released her and stepped back. Chloe didn’t wait to see his expression, she just turned and ran, leaving the corset on the ground. She got to the sidewalk and heard his voice.

"Chloe, I’m sorry." He sounded like he was in pain, and she turned automatically. She stood under the streetlight and the dark alley was almost completely in shadow. She saw nothing but dark shapes and the stoop under the door where the small light illuminated it weakly. She couldn’t see Lex; but she saw the darkness, she saw the shadows, and she understood how much danger she’d been in. Without another glance, she walked back into the club where it was crowded and noisy and called a cab. She stood next to the bouncer and ignored his curious looks.

Lex stood in the alley, breathing hard and trying to straighten out his thoughts. Then he picked up the corset, damp from Chloe’s sweat and started walking. He’d walked at least a block before he opened up his phone and called his driver to pick him up. He twisted the padded fabric in his hands, trying to stop them from shaking. When the limo pulled up, he ordered the driver to take him home. He knew Shelley wouldn’t be there. She’d made some excuse about going out with her friends. He held a bundle of false hair in one hand and part of a costume in another. When the car pulled up to his building, he got out and went upstairs.

Lex showered and dried off. When he came out of the bathroom, he saw the wig, facial hair, and corset sitting on his bed. He approached them; some of the lacing had fallen onto the floor. It had been cut into short strands that didn’t stay in the garment. He sat down on the mattress and touched the fabric. He could smell Chloe on it, but it only served to remind him of what he’d nearly done. He’d only meant to scare her a little; to keep her in the game with him.

"What the fuck did I do?" He leaned forward and pressed his fists into his eyes. He’d acted like a jackass. No, he’d acted like something much worse. How had it come to this? When she’d made her little comment in the club about him not being able to resist her unless she’d dressed as a man, he’d taken it as a challenge. She’d been saying he wasn’t confident enough in his own sexuality risk being mistaken for gay. He was known for his womanizing, and there was enough public knowledge of his personal life to quell any rumors. It wasn’t a need to prove anything to Chloe. It was something else.

The look she’d had in her eye when she’d said no to him. It was a look of finality, like she was closing a book on him. If she didn’t participate in the game anymore…Lex had always known that the game would end. In fact, he’d sensed it in the restaurant. The urge to keep her in his life again was what had driven him to call her. He didn’t care who Shelley was fucking. He was curious, but usually he’d just wake her up and boot her to the curb. Not literally, of course. He didn’t raise his hand to women. He didn’t bully them. He didn’t need to. He’d never needed to force anyone to…play with him.

Need. It was a word Lex hated. He didn’t like what it implied. Lex wanted things, he didn’t need them. Chloe, in the length of time it took to say one word, had taken something from him that he needed. Their game, it was a connection to her, it was an excuse to keep their contact and an excuse to choose to interact with each other. If she was letting that go, she didn’t need him anymore. But he needed her. He needed the focus of his hate and malice. She was a safety net. A deserving outlet for his dark side. He didn’t know who he was kidding. He didn’t even have a light side anymore. No one ever said Lex Luthor was a nice guy, or a good man. Hell, they didn’t even say he was fair, or strong, or even smart. He was clever, cunning, ruthless, and a fucking animal when it came to business.

In Lex’s personal life, he’d been just as relentless in his pursuit of women. He chased, he caught, he dated or fucked, then he released. Chloe, at least, hadn’t made him feel guilty about what he dished out. She seemed to welcome it. The same way he did. Now that had turned him into something monstrous. He’d pushed her around, physically, and held her against her will. He’d forced her against a wall and cut off her clothing. Lex wasn’t like that. He didn’t do those things unless he was playing some bedroom game with a kinky girlfriend or lover. There was a line, and he’d crossed it. She’d been right about that. He was sick with the knowledge that he’d been about to touch her unwilling flesh with his penis. Why? To make her sorry? To make her angry? All he’d done was make her genuinely afraid of him. He’d never wanted that.

Lex got up and paced his bedroom. He needed to talk to Chloe. He had to say something to her to make her…forgive him. He thought briefly about another tattoo, but her name was the only thing he could think of and it was already there. He thought about sending her a gift, but that would be way too creepy.

*
Chloe undressed slowly, making certain that her windows were covered. She loosened her necktie and removed it, then she unbuttoned the shirt. Her hair was flat and away from her face. Without the wig and facial hair, she just looked like the lesbian who was in her Women’s Studies class in college. The girl who dressed like a man and dared, with open hostility, anyone to ask her why she did it. Wearing disguises had always been a pleasure for Chloe. She liked to pretend, for a little while, that she was someone else. It made her life seem a little more real to her, oddly enough. As herself, she still felt like she was playing house; pretending to be a private detective in her apartment in the city. When she was in disguise, she felt a little more like she was doing a job. It didn’t make sense when she tried to explain it to people, but it just felt better.

Lex had shown her, tonight, that she was still playing at being grown up. Her disguise that had made her feel a little powerful, felt silly when it was lying on the ground. He’d stripped away her facade and reminded her about fear. He was a shark. She was a stupid little salmon. Now she looked at the skin that was peeking out between the edges of the shirt; paler than her face and neck. Breasts sore from the corset, nipples a little red from being chafed by the starched shirt. Without the fabric to thicken her waist to a more masculine silhouette, the trousers hung low on her hips, the lace of her panties stuck out above the belt.

Lex had changed her, made her afraid of him. Made her afraid of herself because one of the feelings that he’d aroused in her during their argument, was a feeling she didn’t want to think about. She also didn’t want to think about the fluttering in her belly when she’d felt his hand on her arm in the hallway. The way he’d staked his claim on her flesh had been unexpected, but it had quickened her heartbeat. She’d pushed him, a little angry, very curious; and he’d responded with more than she could handle.

It had been stupid. Chloe had wanted Lex to chase her, like a little boy on the playground. Well, she got her wish in spades. Now she undressed and put on her pajamas. She put away her men’s suit neatly and climbed into bed. The cotton sheets brushed against her sore knuckles and she looked at them. Lex’s strength surprised her. She’d known he was strong enough, she just hadn’t expected it to be so unrestrained. With her. He’d cut away her clothes, stripped away her disguise and made her vulnerable to his rage. When she’d realized how he was about to touch her, she’d come out of shock and begged. Why? Because she was in over her head. He could have hurt her if he’d wanted to. She should have walked away a long time ago. Tonight was more than a wake-up call. It was an intervention.

[lexchloe]

Wow, as if things were not intense enough, you've knocked it up a peg. Great update, really interested to see where they go from this point.

[suspension of disbelief]

wow, yes that was intense!!

[fussy_wuzzy]

Wow, great chapter. I wonder how Lex is planning to make this up to Chloe.

[welshy]

wow that was amazing, I hope there's going to be more

[TwirlWriter]

Holy crap this is just INTENSE! You've got me hooked!

[BellaMR]

This was a very powerful chapter. I wonder where they can go from here. Both of them seem a little terrified by what happened in the alley. I'll pray for more slow days at work so you can update more.

[Kit Merlot]

Zelda, two wonderful updates :grin3:

I'm actually stunned after reading this last chapter. The connection between Chloe and Lex almost frightens me--WELL DONE!

[hfce]

I agree with everyone here wow. There is no way they can get together after this. I just dont see it. :puppydog:

[Krysia]

I wonder what Lex will do now? And I wonder how they will interact from now on. I figured that Chloe will still investigate his girlfriend either because she would want to seem profesional with Lex or because he will go over her head to her boss and request her on the case [ he is a Luthor after all and they do get what they want]. I don't see him letting her go so easily. Wonderful insight into Lexes psyche, about him not really needing anythig before , because of who he is. And I just love the visual of him being a part of the shadows in the alley. Just WOW!

[Yarvarni]

woah!

[Willower]

that was very raw and emotional. again, i love these characters because they aren't perfect and they keep screwing each other. speaking of screwing...can we get some more of it please? great update btw.

[star del mar]

Wow, those were two really great chapters. This story is incredibly dark but it deals with so many human emotions and you write about it beautifully, every feeling is conveyed realistically. Lex just brought things to a whole new level and it amazed me to see him become so needy and to express it in such a violent way. I know that they were in the game together but I can't help but feel bad for Chloe and sympathize with her confusion. I can't wait to read more!

Steph*

[starmoon]

please write more this story is so good. i hope they work everything out.

[sydsvaughn]

Intense is good ... I'm intrigued as to where this will go next!

SaraC

[autumngold]

I'm so glad that Lex let Chloe go!! I was really frightened for her there!! I'm glad that Lex is realizing that he wants to keep Chloe in his life, even though he thinks it's just because he hates her!! Intense update!! I can't wait to read more of this story!!

[campbti]

Wow, I don't have words, I think the blood is still rushing to my head. The last two chapters were amazing. I love the way you are telling this story. I am glad that you explained Lex's regret, because while I like a dark Lex, I don't want a psychopath. I hope he will find a way to keep her in his life and that she will realize she wants to be there. Maybe helping him with the cheating girlfriend will be enough connection for now...
More updates soon, please...

[seraphic]

Omg that was... I can't seem to find the words to describe it!! More updates please

[hateSmallvilleLoveChlex2]

Holy crap!!!!! That was... intense, emosewa, powerful....!!!

Just wow.

It would have been interesting (and still would) to see what the reaction would have been if one of them had had their tatoo removed. I don't think there is even much of a scar with the improvements in lasers.

[zelda]

Chloe stepped onto the fifth floor of a twenty-five-story building, in downtown Metropolis. The fifth floor was McEvoy and McEvoy. As far as detective agencies went, it was probably the best in the city. Chloe liked working for an agency with a good reputation, like McEvoy, but today didn’t feel right to her. She was here because of Lex and their game. When she’d asked Shannon McEvoy about her hiring, the older woman had been diplomatic. She’d known better than to lie to someone who worked for her as a private detective. She told her that Lex knew her husband and that he’d mentioned Chloe’s name in connection with some superb research and said that she’d showed real promise at an early age.

Shannon’s husband, John, had looked her up and made some inquiries, she’d been working for a less-reputable firm then. Her reputation held up to a little discreet check, and they’d made her a better offer. Chloe knew she did good work. Her dogged attention to detail, and true gift for seeing through bullshit had driven her upward through the ranks and she now had her own office. She’d dressed casually in a heather gray suit and violet top. Her hair fell in soft waves that she knew made her look too young, but clients came looking for her so she didn’t have to dress like an old lady anymore. She’d been surprised at how many people expected unshaven men in dirty trench coats. You didn’t make a good private anything if you looked like a cliché.

"Good morning," Chloe said, greeting the receptionist. She walked into her office and booted up her computer. She wanted to bury herself in paper trails today. Usually she was climbing the walls looking for a little action on the street, but now she wasn’t in the mood. Her phone buzzed around Eleven and she answered it. "This is Chloe."

"Hey, are you going to be free in about an hour?" It was Sheri’s voice on the phone, and a welcome one. Chloe turned away from her desk and since she didn’t have a window, she looked at her framed print of Andrew Wyeth’s ‘Christina’s World’.

"Yeah, you want to get lunch?"

"I’ll pick something up and meet you in your office. It looks like rain so there’s no sense in going out."

"Sounds good." Chloe really needed to talk to her friend. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but talking would help. "I’ll see you at noon." She turned back around and saw Lex standing in the doorway. She jumped when she saw him and dropped the phone, missing its cradle and fumbling to catch it. He moved forward automatically and bent to pick it up from the carpet. She drew back when he got close. He paused, then picked up the phone and set it in its proper place.

"Hi." He looked calm.

Chloe didn’t say anything. She knew she was doing the big-eyed-stare, but couldn’t seem to blink. Lex rubbed his nose thoughtfully and looked around him. The office wasn’t large, but it had four walls and door as opposed to the little cubicles with short walls that gave the illusion of privacy only if one was seated. "I wanted to talk to you." He started forward and Chloe jumped out of her seat, backing up.

"Look, I’m sorry about Friday night." She said, stumbling on her chair; she caught herself on the wall. Lex came around the desk. "I didn’t mean to push you," she finished. He paused; she looked frightened, as if she was afraid he’d harm her in her office. But why wouldn’t she be afraid? After his brutal handling of her in the alley, of course she was afraid.

"I’m not going to hurt you, Chloe." He put his palms out in a calming gesture. She didn’t look like she trusted him. "You don’t have anything to apologize for, I do."

"You could’ve called." She’d found her voice but it was much softer than she’d have liked.

Lex sighed and decided to try a different tactic. "You like Wyeth?" He pointed to the print. Chloe nodded mutely, but she managed to blink. "I always liked ‘The Master Bedroom’." He spoke of a watercolor featuring a dog sleeping on the master bed. He smiled. "I went to Maine to see the places he’d painted. It was even nicer in person." Chloe seemed to relax a little bit.

"I can’t imagine anything being better than the humble simplicity of his work." She still had her back against the wall, but she no longer looked like she was about to jump out the window to get away.

"It is." He smiled a little, then sobered.. "I don’t know why my bad side came out last night." He shook his head, regret etched on his face. The expression wasn’t one Chloe was used to seeing. Zero consequences, zero regrets had been his motto at one time. "This isn’t a way of making you responsible for my actions, and don’t take it as any kind of threat," he began. "But you bring out the worst in me."

"Well," she said, quietly. "You activate my fight or flight response, so I guess we’re even." She watched warily as Lex turned around and closed the door behind him, giving them a little more privacy than she felt they needed.

"When I was in college," he began, placing his hands in his pockets. "There were some guys who were a bit abusive to their girlfriends. Sometimes it was just being a bully, other times there were bruises involved." He leaned against her desk, keeping his back to her. "I never wanted to be like that. I never wanted to be one of those guys who would go to the jewelry store, or send flowers because I’d crossed the line, over and over again." He looked at the photos on her walls, some from college, with her cousin, some from high school with Clark and Pete. And one amusing photo of her with Lana drinking coffee at the Talon. "I never wanted to feel the need to buy back the affection of a woman because I’d hurt her." He shrugged. "I’ve never claimed to be the most devoted, or sensitive of husbands, or lovers, but I never considered myself to be physically abusive. I always drew the line." He turned to her. "Except with you."

"What happened last night?" Chloe asked, quietly.

"I don’t know for certain, but when I went home, my first instinct was to make some kind of gesture to make up for…what happened." She raised an eyebrow. "But I just kept seeing those women and the fear." He placed his palms on her desk and leaned forward a little. "Last night wasn’t the first time I’ve lost it with you."

"I remember," Chloe said. "The day you came to my apartment after…after Lucas died." She remembered him holding her by the throat and threatening to knock out her teeth.

"Strange things happened in Smallville, things that, for whatever reason, excused my actions against most people. But when I left that place, I gained a little more control over almost every aspect of my life." He paused, looking her in the eye. "Except you."

"What happened?"

"Losing Lucas was something I didn’t handle well."

"Losing my father was the worst. If I remember correctly, I think that’s the only time I erupted in violence with anyone who wasn’t actively trying to kill me."

"It wasn’t that bad," Lex joked. "You had on a very distracting ensemble." She wasn’t amused by his quip. "I’ve made enemies and done some pretty unscrupulous things to get what I want, that included using a teenager to put my father in jail." He stood up and took a deep breath. "I’m sorry I didn’t do more for you two." He was serious. "I’m sorry I hurt you ad scared you last night. It’s unreal to me, how far I let things go. But an apology seems inappropriate, Chloe." He waited for her to speak.

"So you’re taking it back?" She looked confused and a little defensive.

"No, I’m just telling you that I know it isn’t enough."

TBC :I know it's just a short one, but I'm working out the mechanics of the next part and wanted to get an update posted.

[hfce]

Ack! :eek: it was to short. I want more :beg: it was good though. :D


Hope :)

[LarkLuthor]

More! This is such an intense fic... I need more!

Lark

[lexchloe]

Great update. It's a little scary that Lex can't be as controled or know where to draw the line when it comes to Chloe. I'm not sure if that's a good thing but I'm interested to see how this progresses. More soon please.

[star del mar]

Ok so it was a little short but it was a great update!! I'm glad that Lex went to go see Chloe first to apologize, instead of dragging things out and maybe making it worse. Of course saying sorry about something like that isn't enough but he's making the effort even if he still has such a deep animosity for her. I can't wait to see what Chloe is thinking about this apology, update again soon!

Steph*

[autumngold]

I'm so glad that Chloe and Lex are at least talking!! Thank goodness they both realize that they're in the wrong!! How will they be able to make it up to each other? Thanks for the great update!! I can't wait for your next chapter!! :)

[BellaMR]

You are such a tease. Ignoring the shortness, though, it was a great chapter. Of course, it just left me salivating for more, so please update.

[FroggyJump]

Top Writing. The opening sentence seems to fit the story so far, so perfectly. The power that I read into the reinitiating of the game was exciting. Zelda, you described the picture well and I was drawn into a slow motion image of Lex’s reveal.
Sheri is a nice support system. Seems like the type of friend you would want.
First flashback scene
“I want you to remember me and pain you caused me at least twice a day. I want you to have to explain what you did to the women you take to bed.” She shrugged. “Or, you can lie about it and know that I’m making you do it.” I think that is an amazing statement, the amount of pain, which could cause this reaction from someone to want to mark someone for life. I think you opened this story perfectly.

The positioning of their tattoos is interesting; both, in places that are intimate. Their choice of penance to me is a better form then some. It is not repetitive, so the meaning will not become just something else you have to do. The majority of the time a person will reflect on what a tattoo means each time; perhaps, thinking of something new.

What a lesson to learn for Chloe. The flashbacks are great. The way that Lex was aggressive and emotional was good to read. After reading her reaction to Lex’s venting was annoying. She had such an impulsive reaction that it was hard to find sympathy for her rant. So that was a good piece of writing.

It was nice to see that even in all the seriousness that they were able to find some way to be light about their game.

When I read the description of Chloe’s disguise I saw the drag king from , and she was sexy. I love that Lex was so intrigued by how Chloe could hide breast. This power pull was good to see. I was happy to see that Chloe was able to get the courage to say no.

This was a good chapter. Rules are rules, and Chloe did start up the game. Your writing in this would have to be my favorite so far. This gave an insight into how each character struggles with the twisted power they have with each other. I think Chloe’s thoughts at the end were right.

Even though he said it wasn't an apology he beared a few things that made it all so sweet.

I love this story because the characters are who they are and you don't have them get to down on themselves. Zelda, you know how to leave it and not fluff which is great to read. Hope you are able to post more soon.

[starmoon]

i love this story and i am glad that lex said he was sorry but he is also right that it is not enough.

[zelda]

"Lex, I’m beyond confused about why you’re here." She nervously slid her own hands into her trouser pockets. "You hate me, so why apologize at all?"

"Because I’m not that kind of man." He walked around the desk and took her gently by the arms. "I don’t pull knives on women, I don’t shove them around and cut off their clothes." He felt her stiffen under his touch and released her. "I don’t threaten with physical violence and throw them around their apartments. I can’t really tell you why I did any of that."

Chloe stepped back, uncomfortable at his closeness. She didn’t know how to take his admission.

"Be honest, Lex," she said. "What were you going to do to me?" He looked really uncomfortable, she was oddly relieved at his embarrassment. "Last night, while we were alone in the alley."

"I was-I was going to touch the tattoo."

"You said you weren’t going to use your hands, and you unzipped your pants." She backed up a step. "Were you just going to touch me with…it?"

"Yeah." His answer was quick. Short.

"Was that all you were planning to do?"

"I didn’t plan anything, Chloe," Lex said. "It’s kind of a blur from the moment you said no, when you walked away from the table."

"Is that what set you off?"

"I don’t know. I think so." He turned around and started to walk away, then he moved back. "I didn’t want to do anything to hurt you. I just remember wanting to make some stupid, macho gesture to gain some kind of control." He was upset, Chloe could see the pulse in his neck jumping. He reached for her with his hands but clenched them into fists and drew them back. "I have no idea why I did it."

"I don’t believe you." There was an edge to Chloe’s voice. "Lex, even though I was scared the day you came to my apartment, I could at least understand that grief and anger were making you act differently. I know I did when my father died." She took a bold step forward. "I write off nearly everything that happened in Smallville with friends because it was pretty common for people to act oddly. So, you got a Mulligan for trying to kill Clark and me in your lab, and you got one for Lucas because I attacked you under the same circumstances. But I want answers, Lex. Because if I can’t get them, I need to think about pressing charges."

"You’d never win," Lex said, automatically. Then his face fell. "There I go again," he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Why can’t I act normal around you?"

"You hate me."

"Well, Yeah. But it’s not like you’re in an exclusive club. I’ve hated people over the years without losing my mind like this."

"Okay," she said, with exaggerated helpfulness. "You really hate me."

"No kidding; we’ve been used to this for years, it’s become comfortable, familiar even. But it doesn’t explain or excuse what happened."

"Hazard a guess."

"It was the ‘no’ that set me off." He said. "When you said it so casually, like it didn’t matter, I felt really angry. You’d just challenged me by saying I wasn’t man enough to demand to see it while you were dressed like a guy. Then it was like you were refusing my attempts at reclaiming it."

"Why would that make you nuts."

"Because you weren’t following the rules." He looked really frustrated and started pacing. "I was thinking that you’d ambushed me in the elevator, starting this whole thing and getting me all worked up for another match, then you just yanked it away again, like you could just drop the game."

"What do you mean by ‘worked up’?"

"Just that…the game. It…you know."

"No," she said, crossing her arms over her breasts. "I don’t."

"It’s a challenge, like any other game. And I guess I wanted to play it some more."

"And I took it away so you decided to try your hand at a little deviant behavior." She was angry. "You’re not the first guy I’ve dated who tried to use sex as some kind of weapon." She covered her mouth with her hand when she realized what she’d said.

"Did someone hurt…" he trailed off. "Did you say ‘Dated’?"

"I didn’t mean it like that," Chloe backpedaled. "I probably meant the same thing you did by ‘Worked up’."

They stared at each other in silence. A knock on the door interrupted them. Relieved at the distraction, Chloe called out. "Come in." Lex backed away from her quickly and faced the door. Sheri stepped in holding a paper sack with one hand.

"Hi, I know I’m a little early, but I had to get out of the office." She looked at Lex. "I can come back if it’s a bad time."

"No," Chloe said, quickly. "We were just finishing up here." She turned to Lex. "Call my bosses if you want to set up something official, but I can take the case if you want." She hadn’t decided until the moment the words came out of her mouth that she was going to help him. She just knew that they needed things resolved.

Lex looked like he wanted to protest but pressed his lips together in a tight line and just nodded. He left without another word and Sheri waited until he’d closed the door behind him before speaking.

"What was that all about?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Chloe promptly ducked as a bag of corn chips came sailing at her.

"You’d better do some talking, cupcake, cause I got an apple, some blueberry pie, and both are going to start flyin’ if you don’t start talkin’." She waited. Chloe looked trapped, but stayed quiet. "The tension in this room was so tight, I almost ran smack into it." She put her free hand on a lean hip. "Can you imagine the guilt if I got a black eye from it?"

Chloe finally laughed at the mental picture of someone being injured by tension in the air. She picked up the bag of chips from the floor and gestured to the chair across from her. Sheri sat down and started pulling out sandwiches. Chloe went to the break room for a couple of soft drinks from the machine.

"Well, we had an…argument the other night," she began. "Lex came by and was trying to apologize. He’s just not very good at it."

"So you’re working for him now?"

"I don’t know, he might not ask the big wigs about me taking the case. That’s really up to him."

*

Lex requested a meeting with the McEvoys but when he found out that they’d both left the building for a meeting, he impatiently requested a meeting with whoever was in charge. He was led to an office and introduced to Amelia Farrel, the vice-president. He explained what he wanted and she recommended the same man Chloe had. He requested Chloe specifically and gave no explanation. He did, however, say that Chloe had met with him as a personal courtesy but had insisted that she speak to her bosses. Amelia agreed and they agreed on the fees and policies.

Lex was not to come to the building again if he didn’t want anyone to know that he’d hired them. He was not to acknowledge Chloe in public, nor was he to contact her unless it was an emergency. She would contact him through a wireless phone he carried that had a digital scrambler. He left without talking to Chloe again, and managed not to look towards her door when he left. He wondered if she was talking about him to her friend.

Lex went to his lawyer’s office next and they conferred on their ongoing case. Lex’s company was in the middle of a legal battle over a patent for some satellite tracking software that had been invented by one of the company’s engineers. The man had signed a contract that insisted Luthorcorp owned anything he developed while working for them. He’d quit his job and come up with the product only a few short weeks later. The contract specified that the company owned even products developed in the man’s spare time.

The engineer, Dr. Robert Tanner, had tried to hide his identity when he’d applied for the patent, but Lex’s people had been watching the man and he’d been caught. They needed solid evidence of his research that could be dated for the eight months he’d worked for Lex. It wasn’t easy, but the technology was worth Billions in future contracts and other inventions used in conjunction.

Tanner was a greedy snake, but then, so was Lex and he’d been in the business longer than the young engineer had.

Lex wondered if he wasn’t just pulling in another distraction that he didn’t need. Chloe was an odd complication in his life. She was a goofy little wrench in his proverbial gears and he could never label her correctly, friend, enemy, partner. A few things she’d said in the office had given him food for thought. First, was her automatic acceptance of is hatred. He didn’t like giving up control over his emotions to anyone by hating them. It was like they took something from him. And to have her address them so casually troubled him. Next was her mention of other men using sex as a weapon. He wondered what she’d meant by it; but her categorizing him with ‘boyfriends’ was what disturbed him most. He’d never really thought about the intimacy of their relationship. But when he thought about it, he was closer to her than he’d been to any of his wives or girlfriends. She knew him far better.

[lexchloe]

Great update. Interesting that Lex couldn't really explain why he did what he did and that Chloe let out that Freudian slip about dating with regards to him. I know they keep saying they hate eachother but I'm thinking it goes beyond that. Can't wait for more.

[hfce]

Interesting development between those two. After last night season finale. I saw a visual of Lex out of control with Chloe. You story came at a perfect time.


Hope :)

[star del mar]

great update, it was good to see that they talked and even though I love Lex I'm glad that Chloe didn't just forgive him for everything...it's something that's they're going to have to work at. I can't wait to read more!

Steph*

[buffiy18]

Great update! I just started reading this fic after your last update. This story is intense. The tatoo thing is quite unique and I love how Chloe's is purple. This is a very interesting game they are playing. I am glad that Lex told Chloe a little bit more then "I don't know" as an explination of why he attached her in the ally. I really liked his chain of thoughts right after he did it. And again I liked Lex's toughts at the end of this chapter. I really like how you write Lex and his thoughts, so obviously I would like to see more of that in the future chapters, especially what his thoughts are about being chategorized as a "boyfriend". This fic has potential to be addictive... :)

[Kit Merlot]

I just got caught up on the two chapters I missed, and Zelda, I love what you are doing with this story.

I like that Chloe and Lex both realize that they are in a destructive pattern, but they can't seem to stop themselves.

And I wonder, was Chloe in an physically abusive relationship? Or did something happen to her working as a P.I.?

So many questions :grin3: Please continue soon!

[zelda]

By Wednesday afternoon, Chloe was following Shelley around as the woman shopped and had lunch with friends. Shelley was pretty much what Chloe expected. She was tall, with brown hair and eyes. So was Chloe; at least, today. She wore a brown, layered wig that had golden highlights in it. It was expensive, and fell past her shoulders in gentle waves. She had brown contacts in and wore heels that brought her up to 5’7". Okay, so she wasn’t that tall, but she was taller than usual.

Chloe also had a blazer that could be reversed to be either dark red, or brown tweed. She wore jeans and a simple sweater. She’d worn the jacket on it’s red side out first, tailing from a distance. When Shelley went to a matinee with a young man, Chloe reversed the jacket and sat two rows behind them. The movie was dull, so she kept her eyes on the couple in front of her. They sat with an easy familiarity, but didn’t touch or kiss each other. She waited until the movie was over and left first, standing in the hallway and getting her camera ready. The digital camera was hidden in her purse and could be used while one pretended to look for something.

The man looked fairly unremarkable, but something nagged at Chloe’s gut. The feeling was fleeting and so she just followed until Shelley went back to Lex’s penthouse. She made her notes on her laptop and waited outside until Lex came home, then she discreetly left. She hated the sitting and waiting part of the job.

The next three days passed in a similar fashion; Chloe noted some of the same faces and habits. Shelley’s schedule had been given to her by Lex and she stuck to it with few exceptions. Fairly habitual, reasonably predictable. Yoga, swimming on Mondays and Thursdays followed by a trip to a smoothie bar with her regular partner, a small, Thai woman with long hair. On Wednesdays, this same woman attended a kick-boxing class with Shelley at nine AM. They belonged to an upscale gym that catered to people who didn’t work the regular weekly shifts, or at all. She sent the pictures to Lex’s office email and called him twice a week with updates. He remained business-like in their conversations.

Midway through the second week, Chloe had the pattern down to a science and could often anticipate Shelley’s moved before she made them. She stayed at a distance, only venturing close enough occasionally to eavesdrop if a man was talking to her mark. Something odd happened on Thursday morning when Shelley came in for her kick-boxing class. She was alone and looked upset. Chloe, who had procured a membership, joined the class. Since it was for beginners, and aerobic rather than skilled, she didn’t get hassled. She made a note to include her membership on her expense report.

Shelley’s eyes looked a little red-rimmed and she nodded dully when Chloe asked if she could take the punching bag next to hers. She wore no wig, and little make-up. Since she’d never met Shelley before, she wouldn’t be recognized.

"I don’t mean to pry," she asked, as Shelley sniffled loudly for the twelfth time. "But do you need a tissue?" She kept her features calm and friendly.

"Sure." Shelley accepted a few tissues from Chloe and blew her nose delicately. They stopped briefly and Chloe took the opening.

"Are you alright?"

"I’ll be okay," Shelley replied, as tears welled up in her eyes. ‘Thanks." She turned her face away and punched her bag even harder than before. Chloe kicked and punched her own, feeling the burn in her muscles that told her she needed to work out more often. When the class ended, she took an extra moment to re-tie her shoelace and waited for Shelley to leave. Instead of the juice bar, Shelley went to the sauna. Chloe followed and undressed, wrapping a towel around herself.

"Hi," she said, when she sat down in the warm room across from Shelley. She left it at that. She didn’t want to seem too eager to be friendly.

"Hi, and thanks again," the other woman replied. "I’m Shelley."

"Jane." They were close enough that Chloe stuck out her hand and the other woman shook it. "I just started coming here a week ago."

"I didn’t think I’d seen you around much. What do you do?" It was a common question for the city’s wealthy residents.

"I work for an ad agency," she replied. It was her usual cover. There were a few dummy agencies set up with phone numbers and answering services for the agency. It helped to promote credibility. She shuddered delicately. "It gets so competitive there I need this class to help get my aggression out." She crossed her arms over her chest. "That, and I picture my ex on the bag and Pow!" She punched her palm with her fist.

"Bad break up?" Shelley looked curious, but also eager, like she wanted to say something.

"You could say that, but then, what break-ups are easy?"

"Good point." Shelley didn’t mention any relationships, but the two women chatted easily about other things. Finally, she said, "I usually get smoothies with my friend, but she and I aren’t speaking, right now." Her face pinched a little and she blinked away a tear. "Care to join me?"

Chloe agreed and they both showered and changed before heading over to the juice bar and sitting down with fruit smoothies. Shelley had black raspberry, Chloe chose strawberry banana. It was pretty good, but it wasn’t coffee. They were sitting at a table by the street when a familiar form walked in. Keeping her posture relaxed, she pretended not to notice the approaching man until he was standing beside their table.

"I thought I saw you," Lex said, smiling down at Shelley. The brunette beamed up at him and stood, embracing him, tightly.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, kissing him full on the mouth. "I’m so glad to see you." Chloe thought she actually sounded believable. "I’ve just had an awful morning."

"Why?" Lex didn’t look at Chloe.

"Katie and I had a huge fight and I’m not speaking to her ever again." The vulnerable tone in her voice sounded hurt, dramatic. "But I have a new kick-boxing partner. This is my new friend, Jane." She gestured and Chloe stood, feeling her thigh muscles protest. Sitting down had been a mistake. She was stiffening up. Trying to hide a wince, she stuck out her hand.

"Jane Sullivan."

"Lex Luthor." They shook hands and he smiled with shallow warmth. "Nice to meet you." Then he turned to Shelley. "Can I give you a lift home?"

"Are you finished with work for the day?"

"No, but I took a long lunch, want to join me?" He turned to Chloe. "Please join us, Jane."

"I’d love, to, but I’ve got a presentation to work on," she replied. "It was nice meeting you, Lex. I’ll see you in class, Shelley."

Lex watched his girlfriend do the woman-thing with Chloe. Where they both reached out and touched each other’s lower backs as they passed. Women didn’t shake hands like Men, they did girly touchy tings. And Chloe was doing them with Shelley already. He didn’t know if he liked it or not. He was facing the door and saw her moving stiffly. He smiled, apparently she threw herself into her work with gusto. He’d been getting antsy with few updates and had sought out Shelley himself, hoping to spot Chloe in one of her disguises. Instead, they’d been sipping smoothies, as thick as thieves, it seemed.

He went to a restaurant with Shelley and she told him, in boring detail, about her fight with her best friend. He half-listened, not particularly interested. He’d expected his girlfriend to make some kind of excuse to not go with him. It would have made sense if she were seeing someone. Maybe they weren’t seeing each other today. After lunch he went back to the office, saying he’d be home late. He’d been trying to come home later and pretend to be too tired for sex. He also knew her cycles and she’d be starting her period in a few days. She was rarely in the mood to fool around during that week so he’d be safe.

Chloe went home and made dinner. She wondered what Lex and Shelley had eaten. It was probably better than the pasta and meat sauce she was having tonight. She had her second-shift assistant watching Shelley. Now that she’d made contact, she’d need an additional pair of eyes to tail the woman. Shelley might be the type who remembered faces. Groaning at her protesting muscles, she ran a hot bath. She’d been about to get in when her cell phone rang.

"Hey, it’s me."

"This better be an emergency," Chloe grumbled. "Is your line secure?"

"Yeah," Lex answered. "So why were you all cozy with Shelley today?"

"She looked upset and since you didn’t mention any problems, I thought I’d talk to her. If she’d had a fight with her other boyfriend, she might open up a little to a stranger."

"I didn’t know you went to that gym."

"I got a membership when I started tailing her. It’s going on your bill, by the way."

"How’s that working out for you?"

"My legs are killing me?"

"You’re the one who decided to do the kick-boxing." Lex sounded like he was smiling. "Apparently you’re a little out of shape."

"Fuck you."

"Not tonight, I have plans."

"Why are you calling?"

"Because Shelley and I will be attending a party in two weeks, I’d like you to be there. Knowing Shelley, the guy she’s seeing is someone we both know. She’s an opportunist by nature, she wouldn’t go looking for a lover. They’d come to her."

"What kind of party?"

"Charity ball. I’ll see that you get an invitation."

"Let me email you my current…credentials." She paused. "Send two, I’ll look out of place if I don’t bring an escort." She could practically hear Lex’s facial expression. The silence that followed her statement held his disapproval. "Don’t worry, He’ll be calling me Jane too. Now don’t you forget to do it."

"Fine."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, that’s it." They both paused. "Uh, goodnight."

"Right, you too."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Chloe soaked in her bath and pondered the sudden awkwardness of ending the conversation. Somehow, talking at night, when she wasn’t in her office, felt much more…intimate; or at least friendly. Saying goodnight, a common courtesy, was so foreign to them they were never courteous. She knew that Lex had felt it too by the way he’d hesitated. She practiced introducing herself as Jane Sullivan. It would be far too easy to say her own name when she’d be introduced to many people at the party. A slip-up could be disastrous if Shelley heard her. There was no way she wouldn’t find it odd that her friend bore the name etched on her boyfriend’s chest. And that she’d lied about it.

[star del mar]

Great update! So high five to Chloe for making contact with Shelley, I don't know where you're going with it but I think it would be really strange if they became friends. Chloe doesn't seem the type because she takes her work so seriously but we'll see what happens at the ball, I can't wait!

Steph*

[lexchloe]

Great update. Love Chloe being all stealthy. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I get the feeling that there's more to the best friend break-up than meets the eye. Also liked the slight wierdness when they ended their call (which I noticed only came up after she said she'd bring a date. Hmmmm, interesting) Can't wait for more.

[Kit Merlot]

Great update!

I love seeing Chloe in P.I. mode, and Lex seems to enjoy it as well--how awesome is that? :grin3:

I kind of feel sorry for Shelley a little, because she's got both Chloe and Lex watching her--the poor girl doesn't stand a chance.

[hfce]

Interesting development here. Something tells me that Shelly is with a girl and not a man. I wonder... ;)


Hope :)

[Yarvarni]

Shelley doesn't stand a chance against these two!

[BellaMR]

Great update. Watch out Shelley...you goin' down.

[starmoon]

perfect i can't wait to find out more please update soon.

[DKR]

This is a truly unique and interesting story. I'm having suspicions that Shelly's best friend may not be just her best friend. I also noticed that when Shelly introduced Chloe to Lex she introduced her as Chloe and not Jane. Is she on to her or was that just an editing mistake? Anway this is a great story and I can't wait to see it develop.

[kukla47]

Not to be a nit pick... but did you mean Jane or Chloe here -------->



"Katie and I had a huge fight and I’m not speaking to her ever again." The vulnerable tone in her voice sounded hurt, dramatic. "But I have a new kick-boxing partner. This is my new friend, Chloe." She gestured and Chloe stood, feeling her thigh muscles protest. Sitting down had been a mistake. She was stiffening up. Trying to hide a wince, she stuck out her hand.

"Jane Sullivan."


& did I mention that the story is great so far

ETA: I just noticed that the person that posted above me noticed the same thing sry about the re post

[autumngold]

I love that Lex and Chloe are starting to get along better!! I think I've figured out who Shelley's significant other is!! :) Can't wait to find out if I'm right!! ;) Thanks for the update!! Can't wait to read more!!

[meg20]

Started to resd this fic a few days ago and since having time problems I just finished the last posted chap now. Liked it so far and would like to have more. I also have my own suspicions about Shelley's significant other, well we'll see right.
Update soon!!!!

[Krysia]

I was just watching reruns of Friends and than something hit me. What if Shelleys affair is with her gym partner? The girl she had the fight with. I would love to see Lexes raction to that ;)
As you can see I am a bit obsessed with the story so...update. Please!!!!

[jaxie926]

I just found the story and I'm hooked!!!

PLEASE update soon!

[zelda]

Chloe woke early in the morning and groaned when she tried to roll over. Her thighs were stiff and sore from the workout the previous night. She slowly made her way to the bathroom, but when it came time to perform the usually simple task of sitting on the toilet, she found herself unable to bear her weight, with her legs bent at the knee, with any kind of accuracy and nearly fell off the seat. Squealing in pain and distress, she straightened herself and debated spending the rest of her day right where she was. Eventually deciding that the bathtub was a slightly more dignified place to be, she used her towel rack for support and dragged herself upward to a standing position.

Chloe looked mournfully at her pajama bottoms, lying in a pool around her ankles. How she wished they were up around her hips right now. She sighed; the simplest tasks would be agony this morning. Chloe opted to shuffle them off rather than attempt to bend at the waist and pull them back up and risk her hamstrings. Donning a robe, she began running water in the tub again, as hot as she could stand and returned to the kitchen for coffee. She popped a couple of asprin in her mouth and swallowed them dry while she waited for her coffee pot to fill. She rolled her shoulders experimentally and stretched, trying to locate and diagnose all of her aches and pains. Her lower back and legs were probably in the worst shape; followed closely by her shoulders. Her stomach, calves, and arms weren’t hurting too much; she did work out regularly, but not high impact.

Chloe’s usual fitness regime revolved around Yoga, Pilates, and jogging. She’d used totally different muscles in her kick-boxing class. She’d need some serious drugs to get her through the next one since she’d claimed to have taken it before. After a long bath, and more asprin, she typed and printed out her cover as Jane Sullivan and her notes on the week she’d spent following Shelley. She also called her office to speak to the person in charge of cover story support. A young man with a slight southern drawl took her information and forwarded her to a new voicemail message that she recorded with her false name and department.

Chloe called Lex and left him a message. He called back around Ten-Thirty, while she was getting dressed.

"Hello?"

"It’s me." Lex’s voice sounded casual, light. He wasn’t alone. "Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Josh." He was keeping his tone friendly, as if speaking to a colleague. She’d have to keep her voice low in case he was close enough to whomever he was with that they’d be able to hear that she wasn’t male.

"You’re welcome," Chloe replied, dryly. "I’ll make this quick. I have some forms to fax over to you. Will you be near your machine?"

"I’m afraid I didn’t get that memo," he replied, carefully. She guessed he wasn’t in his office. "I’ll be downtown in about an hour, will you be at the office?"

"I’m home, I’ll be here all day."

"Great, I’ll stop in and we can go over it."

"An hour."

"Yes, thanks." Lex broke the connection and snapped his phone shut. He looked around his empty office and wondered if he should’ve made some background noise. As soon as he’d seen Chloe’s number on his caller ID, he decided that he needed to talk to her, face-to-face. The words had slipped out so easily; she wouldn’t ask to many questions if she thought he couldn’t answer them. He tapped the phone against his lips thoughtfully. He wondered why he’d felt he had to lie in order to see her. It wasn’t like he didn’t have an excuse; but perhaps it was the idea of preferring to see her in person as opposed to doing their communication through other mediums.

Chloe dressed slowly and carefully in loose, cotton trousers and a soft, blue jersey. She padded, barefoot, to the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee. Sipping it, she fought the urge to clean up her kitchen. It was just Lex; it wasn’t even like he was going to stay long. She got up and folded her chenille throw blanket over the back of the couch and straightened the pillows. She cursed herself. Why did she care that he was coming over? She should be brushing the floor with olive oil, or pre-selecting the bottle of water that she’d offer him as a courtesy…and spitting in it.

Chloe reminded herself that Lex had never been to this apartment. The dream she’d had about him had temporarily impaired her memory. She glanced at one of the throw pillows guiltily; the one she’d been intimate with in her sleep. She left the living room and made her bed, groaning slightly as her muscles began to protest again. Her bath had relaxed her, but until she stretched properly and got her blood flowing, she’d just be stiff and sore. She hated pain, it was distracting, like when she had cramps.

Since Shelley was at work, she was a make-up artist for a soap opera, Chloe didn’t need to watch her. Sets were usually closed during the days that the actors were filming and a stranger there would look suspicious. Sometimes a detective needed to prioritize discretion over close scrutiny. Lex knew this and seemed confident that if necessary, he could pay someone at the studio to tell him if Shelley had done anything suspicious. Her phone rang and she answered it.

"It’s me again."

"That was quick." Chloe glanced at the clock above her stove. He wasn’t supposed to arrive for Forty minutes. "Did you free up your fax?"

"No, I slipped off to the men’s room, but I’ll be finishing here earlier than planned. I skipped breakfast so I’m grabbing a sandwich at a deli a couple of blocks away, can I bring you something Kosher?"

"Are you going to Bornstein’s?"

"Yeah."

"Pretty good hummus, but I was going to order Chinese." She paused. "I can order extra."

"Sure." Lex’s voice sounded just as careful as she had been. "I’ll be there soon."

"Right." Chloe just hung up the phone, she wouldn’t say goodbye. It was too normal. What they were…just didn’t fall into that category. She compromised with herself, she hadn’t said goodbye, so she’d clean up her kitchen. He was a client, after all. She ordered her regular pu pu platter for two, but this time she just wouldn’t have leftovers. She wasn’t certain if the delivery boy would get there before Lex, and she had a sudden, horrified thought. She had inadvertently re-created her dream. She moved to sit down on the couch but thought better of it. Things had ended oddly for her and her pillow. She didn’t need a reminder.

After tidying up a little, Chloe decided that she needed to look professional and spread the printouts on her coffee table. She added a tablet and pen for a finishing touch. She’d just pretend she’d been examining her identity and the notes she’d been taking on Shelley. It couldn’t hurt.

A knock sounded at the door and Chloe pulled her hair up into a lop-sided ponytail. She schooled her features into distracted interest. And opened the door and greeted the delivery boy. She held out her money with a slight tremor in her hand and her heart skipped when he took it and handed her change. She tipped him and went back inside, swinging the door shut behind her. She set down the bag on her countertop and reached for a couple of glasses from the cupboard. She was turning around to place them on the counter when she heard another, sudden knock. She missed the counter and dropped the glasses on her tile floor.

Letting out a yelp when they smashed, sending little sparkling shards scattering around her feet, Chloe was surprised when the door flew open and Lex charged through.

"You yelled, are you alright?"

"I dropped glasses."

"I thought you were being attacked or something."

"By my drink?" Her sarcasm was automatic.

"I didn’t realize it was just your clumsy-ass handling," he said, kicking the door shut behind him. "Won’t make the mistake of coming to help again."

"I can take care of-OW!" Chloe exclaimed, as she shifted herself into a defensive stance only to feel several sharp, painful jabs in the bottom of her foot. "Shit!" She stumbled back onto her good foot and lifted her heel, looking mournfully at the skin which was reddening in odd patterns around the unevenly shaped shards.

"For God’s sake." Lex moved around the counter and slid his feet along the floor, trying to keep the little daggers from getting under his shoes. Chloe grasped his arm and started to hop forward. "Don’t do that!" He caught her at the waist to hold her still. "Here. Just-don’t move a second." His brow was furrowed in concentration and annoyance. Chloe just stood, bleeding on the floor. As emergencies went, broken glass wasn’t one, till you were barefoot and in poorly maneuverable space. "I’ll head for the couch."

Lex bent down and to Chloe’s surprise, wrapped his arm around the bottom of her buttocks. He tucked her hip against his shoulder and stood, lifting with his legs.

She gasped in surprise at being lifted, caveman-style and carried out of her kitchen. She grasped the back of his jacket and tried not to squirm. Lex took a few steps away from the mess and paused to slide out of his shoes. "Don’t want to trail the glass on your floor."

"Thoughtful," Chloe grunted. His shoulder was digging into her gut.

"You’re welcome." Lex got to the couch and dropped her on her back, keeping her leg with the injured foot up in the air. He took out his handkerchief and started to dab at the blood.

"Ouch, leave it." Chloe tried to pull her foot away but he gave her an annoyed glance and tightened his grip on her ankle. "I can do it! Just don’t mess with-Ow!" She planted her other foot against his chest and shoved, making him stumble back into the coffee table. He reached back and caught his balance but released her leg. She jumped up from the couch and began hopping toward the bathroom.

The escape attempt was about as effective as expected and Lex caught Chloe around the waist with a dramatic "Hah!"

He didn’t let her fall too hard, but straddled her hips and sat on her bottom, facing her feet. He bent her injured foot back and ignored her arms, flailing ineffectually behind him.

"You’re going to splatter me with blood if you don’t stop kicking," He said, calmly. She twisted her head around.

"Is it bleeding a lot?" Lex took the moment of stillness and grasped one of the shards and slipped it out. Chloe hissed with discomfort, but remained still while the pieces of glass were carefully removed from her foot. She drummed her fingers on the floor, absently and rested her chin in her hand. "Are you done yet?"

"Almost," Lex replied. After he removed the last piece, he pressed his handkerchief to her bottom of her foot and got up. "Wait there, I’m going to get something to put on it." He walked to the bathroom and went to the medicine cabinet. He raised an eyebrow at the box of condoms on the shelf. Returning to Chloe who had turned onto her hip, he bent down and applied several adhesive bandages to the damaged areas.

"This has just turned into a great day," she groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, I’m just a little sore from the kickboxing."

"You put up a hell of a fight."

"My survival instincts tend to kick in and I can play through the pain when necessary."

"I was trying to help." Lex stood up and held out his hand to help her up. Chloe pretended not to see it and boosted herself, stiffly, from the floor. She brushed off her hands and went to the broom closet for her broom and dustpan. She swept the floor carefully, hobbling around on the edge of her bad foot. "You can open up the bag if you want," she said. "And my notes on Shelley are there as well as the details of my alias." Her voice had regained its formal stiffness; the quality she reserved for doing business with people she didn’t like.

Lex just went to the bag and tore it open. He took out the folded, paper cartons and set them on the counter. Once Chloe was sweeping debris into the dustpan, he walked around her and found two more glasses. He also brought out two plates and rifled through her drawers till he found the silverware. Now that she wasn’t falling, fighting, or bleeding, Lex noticed how stiffly Chloe was moving.

"So how out of shape were you, anyway?" he asked, blandly.

"Kiss my ass, I’m just not into high impact aerobics."

"Whatever you say, fatty."

"Hey, the only reason you caught me is because I pulled every muscle in my thighs, and I was hopping on one foot."

"So you’re a runner?"

"I didn’t say that, I just said I could outrun you." They were back to safe ground now. "A guy in your position is much more into chasing anyway."

"Maybe we’ll find out sometime who’s faster." He brought two plates to the coffee table, which was thankfully large, and set them down. He returned to the kitchen and poured two glasses of bottled water. "I don’t remember you being a big athlete in high school."

"I was very good in a sprint," she replied, snarkily. "I’ve outrun several of your security men, and even one of those dumb little golf carts you had in the fertilizer plant."

"That’s true," he conceded. "But didn’t you get your ass kicked by those meteor mutants you used to investigate a lot?"

"Well, I usually ended up with the luck of pissing off the ones who didn’t have to be fast. There was a telekinetic who bashed me in the head with a horseshoe." She rubbed her forehead at the memory. "I was shoved into a pool once by a guy who could freeze anything he touched. I did manage to get to the other side pretty quick, but he caught my foot in his little glacier."

"I thought someone tried to drown you once."

"Nope, that was Lana."

"Right."

"Anyway, It’s not like I didn’t learn self-defense; I just try to save the kicking and punching for real emergencies."

"I work out with a bag a couple of times each week."

"And I’ll be laughing when you can’t use your wrists at the age of Fifty-Five because of your crippling arthritis." She smiled brightly. "You’ll have to get your secretary to write your checks for you." She sat beside him on the couch and rested her plate on her knees; she picked up the first set of stapled papers.

"Down to business."

"Of course." She dipped her egg roll in hot mustard and took a bite. She chewed while she held out the paper. "This," she said after swallowing, "is the basics you’ll need to know about Jane Sullivan. I don’t want to give you any more details because you and I aren’t supposed to know each other."

Lex looked over the page. It had her false name, job, and contact information. The next few pages were basic, brief notes with the time of day printed next to each entry. It was the schedule Shelley had followed over the past week. He read it and didn’t note anything unusual. He was tempted to think he’d been wrong, but he knew a human bite when he was one, and he was certain that it hadn’t been put there by him.

"It’s a shame we can’t get someone inside her workplace," he mumbled. "He might be a co-worker."

"Lex, it’s really none of my business," Chloe began. "But why don’t you confront her?"

"Because most of the women I’ve dated have been liars." He cocked his head to one side and looked thoughtful. "In fact I believe all of them have been so far."

"Maybe you should join a monastery," she said, sipping her water. Her sinuses burned from the hot mustard.

"That’s about as likely to happen as me starting to bat for the other team."

"Maybe it’s not a bad idea." She lifted a forkful of rice to her mouth. She pushed a set of photographs toward him next. "These are the most recent, nothing exciting to report." She shrugged. "Most cheaters show some sign of infidelity by now. Unless she thinks you might know." She took another bite of rice. "Have you been… acting differently around her?"

"I’ve stopped fucking her if that’s what you mean."

"It wasn’t…exactly what I was asking, and it was a lot more than I needed to know. What I meant was: are you cold or indifferent to her?" She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "More than usual, that is."

"I’m not an indifferent lover, Chloe."

"Again with the sex talk, Lex?" She pointed her fork at him. "Next you’ll be discussing technique." She swallowed audibly. "Ew, mental picture." She frowned, like she was nauseous. He elbowed her in the ribs.

"Knock it off."

"Too easy," she replied. "Can’t help it."

"Try harder. I can’t imagine that you treat all your clients like this."

"Nope, just you."

Lex sucked a little bit of grease from his middle finger and looked at her. The expression on his face made her stop smirking. He wiped his hands on a napkin and placed his plate on the table. Then he slid back on the couch and crossed an ankle over his knee.

"I wonder," he mused, "how much you like your job." He rested his elbow on the back of the couch and idly picked up one of the throw pillows. He fidgeted with it and Chloe tried not to look as uncomfortable as she felt. Why, she wondered, did he have to pick up that pillow?

"I like it okay most of the time." She glanced away and her gaze fell on a framed photograph displayed on a small table beside her. It was of her sixteenth birthday; it had her dad in it with his arm around her and they were both smiling. Her voice grew unemotional. "Why do you ask?" She picked up her plate, appetite gone, and headed slowly, and stiffly towards the kitchen.

"I just wonder about your voyeuristic tendencies." Lex didn’t appear to catch on to her change in mood. "You managed to get proof of your friend’s husband’s infidelity; that had to be fun."

"I can’t say that watching my friend’s prick of a husband getting a blowjob from his secretary was the highlight of my career. It’s one of the reasons I was glad to get into the more technical aspect of the job." She scraped her food into the trash and placed her plate in the sink. "I have to say that the amusement factor of catching folks in the act lost its appeal pretty quickly."

"Too much of a good thing?"

"Why do you insist on bringing the subject back to sex?"

"Because it’s why I hired you."

Chloe spun around to face him with a startled expression.

"You’d better be speaking figuratively."

"I don’t need to pay for sex, I have plenty of offers." She slapped her hands over her ears.

"Lalalalalalala!" She tried to drown him out. "Can you please stop telling me about your sex life?"

"You mean you’ve never been curious?" He squeezed the pillow. Chloe decided, then and there, that the pillow needed to be ceremoniously burned in order to expel the demons that inhabited it. It was the only solution she was willing to accept that explained the odd occurrences that happened when people came into contact with it.

"Not lately, no."

"But you did at one point?"

"Why do you have such an interest in me knowing the intimate details of your sex life?" She slapped her hands down on the counter in exasperation then turned and hobbled back to the bedroom to get a pair of slippers. Once the cushy footwear was in place, she could walk more easily, but her muscles still protested. She was getting cranky and thought a nap sounded pretty good.

"Somebody’s ready for bed."

"Stop talking about beds!" she snapped. "Right now."

"Or what?" Lex was amused now. He didn’t want to bring up the tattoo after their last incident. But he still wasn’t able to resist the urge to make her uncomfortable. It had become too enjoyable a habit to break. "You’ll throw a tantrum?" He walked towards her slowly, hands in pockets and a small smile on his face.

"What is the matter with you?" She actually looked distressed. "You’re acting like a nut. You don’t just go around telling unwilling listeners about your sex life. It’s…tacky."

"I like to be on top most of the time."

"Ugh!"

"I prefer brunettes with small, perky breasts. I like them to have long legs that can wrap around my waist…or my neck."

"Ick!" Chloe hurried over to the couch and grabbed the pillow. She brought it over to the sink and began fishing through her drawers for her lighter.

"I usually sleep on the left side of the bed and I’m not much for cuddling."

"Not listening." She found the lighter and held the corner of the pillow over the flame.

"What are you doing?" Lex walked over and tried to take the pillow from her but she blocked the sink with her body. "Are you trying to burn the place down?" He tried reaching around her and pressed close. "What is wrong with you?" He finally managed to turn on the sink and douse the smoldering cushion. He turned Chloe around to face him.

"Me? I’m not the one forcing the disgusting details of my sexual exploits onto an unwilling listener!" She waved her hands in his face. "I get it! You still hate me and I still hate you and now we’re finding new ways to make each other nuts." She tried to break away but he held her still. He was too close for comfort. "Lex, let go of me, I really don’t like being here."

"Where?"

"I don’t like being this close to you when you act crazy." There was genuine distress in her face and body language. Lex stopped and looked at her for several heartbeats. He relaxed his grip on her shoulders.

"Are you still afraid of me?"

"A little."

Lex ran his hand down her back and under the hem of her shirt. He heard her quick intake of breath when his fingers brushed her bare skin. "Don’t-" she began.

"Is it because of this?" Chloe couldn’t meet his gaze. He was resting his hips against hers. "Funny how hate is just as passionate as some other emotions we experience." His voice sounded strange. He wasn’t talking to her; he was talking to himself. "Just as powerful, just as distracting."

"Just as destructive," Chloe said, turning her face up to his. Her jaw was set. "Just as painful, and just as likely to disrupt your common sense." He leaned down a little. "I’m trying to stop feeling that way."

Lex snapped back to himself and stepped away from her.

"Tomorrow I’d like you to personally keep an eye on her; she knows I’ll be in important meetings, and she doesn’t work."

"Alright."

"Don’t lose her, and take pictures again." The orders came softly, firmly. Chloe nodded and Lex took his leave. Once he’d shut the door behind him, she lowered herself to the floor. She didn’t move for some time. Partly because her legs hurt, and partly because her higher brain functions were busy keeping her breathing. Lex had come way too close to her and it had unnerved her in a way that was worrisome. She hadn’t punched him, or kicked him or done any of the things she normally would for that situation. She really thought he’d been about to kiss her. Why would he do that? She decided that he had to be playing some new kind of game with her. One that involved confusing her about her own feelings. He’d implied that their passionate hatred was transmuting into something else. It was ridiculous.

[lexchloe]

Another great update. Loved the banter and Lex tormenting Chloe with talk of his sex life, her panic about the pillow and his taking care of her foot for her. There seems to be a lot of tension between them masquerading as something else and I love it!!!

I'm sensing Lex's feelings might be shifting what with him lying just so that he could speak to her face to face and the scene in the kitchen. Can't wait for more.

[BellaMR]

This was a great chapter. I loved that Lex was concerned for Chloe's safety, then took care of her foot. I wonder if the box of condoms he saw made him feel like he had to prove himself against the other men that Chloe's been with.

[fussy_wuzzy]

Excellent! I loved reading the conversation between the two of them.

[meg20]

Excellent update, Lex talking about his sex life was fun. Chloe actually burning the pillow in front of Lex was awesome. Lex taking care of her is so sweet!
Update soon:beg:

[Yarvarni]

chloe burning that pillow was hilarious......

[Kit Merlot]

Man, this update was just excellent!

I like that Chloe was uncomfortable with Lex's teasing--very interesting :grin3:

And I did like that he burst into her apartment to help her--very cool.

[Lily]

Oh how I love this fic... you're a master at the suspence aspect, and I can't wait until they finally give in and we get a little taste of the smut!
-Lily

[hfce]

i wish they would do the hump bunny dance already. Its obvious they both want it. Why not do it and get it out of their system. Sheesh. :rolleyes:

[welshy]

I'm really enjoying this story, I hope there's going to be more :)

[autumngold]

I love how embarrased Chloe got having to listen to Lex talk about his sex life!! But thank goodness she now knows his preferences, that way she won't try to sleep on the left side of the bed!! :) Thanks for the great update!!

[star del mar]

Intresting...Lex is all of sudden being very open, which is weird. I know he's probably trying to unnerve Chloe and it's working. I can't wait to see how Chloe deals with these new "feelings" Great update!!

Steph*

[asharnanae]

oh ho ho!!!! now this is getting very very interesting!!! You have me camping hear untill I get more you know!!

Wonderful chappy!

[showntell]

Fantasic update...loved the "pillow talk"

[LarkLuthor]

Silly people! We have how much intellegence in one room and we can't even figure out we want to make out? *Pfff* And it's not like they haven't been giving each other clues.

Lark

[starmoon]

that was great please update again soon and i hope lex is falling in love with chloe.

[chril1]

i love this lex...and this chloe actually

and now i'm craving chinese and chocolate ice cream, update soon, while i go get the menu.

lea
xxx

[FroggyJump]

Jolly good. Lex's feelings are changing how intriguing, what a sad picture chloe makes in the bathroom. This game is interesting and how Chloe is so guarded with him and yet there seems to be something there. The shift in Lex was good, as with the slight pushing.

[zelda]

A/N: Be prepared for a little more crude humor.


Chloe got up early the next morning and parked her car across the street from Lex’s apartment building. He’d arranged, at her request, for a hotel suite to be rented that looked directly into his windows. She checked in at Five A.M. and brought up her surveillance equipment. She’d needed to sign out most of it from the agency. She didn’t own all of her own snoop equipment. A digital video camera with a zoom lens was linked to her laptop so she could record footage to be played back and cleaned up later.
Lex had arranged for the curtains to be replaced and had taken them down. Chloe thought that for a man who was paying someone a lot of money to find out what was going on with his girlfriend; he was doing a lot of work himself.

Clutching a cup of steaming coffee as a lifeline, Chloe opened her own drapes and set up her tripod. She knew where to look and found the dark window quickly. Everyone else had curtains. At approximately Five-Twenty, a lamp turned on. Chloe turned off all of the lights in the bedroom, where the tripod was set up and pulled the curtains close on either side so that they were open just enough to get the lens through. In the living room, she had a second camera, an older model, 35 mm, that could catch a different angle. She decided to set the video to zoom in on the bedroom and she could use the larger lens on the hand-held camera to take her little portrait shots. It was always a good idea to have a backup.

Chloe rubbed her tired eyes and focused the digital video lens on the one lighted room. She fought the urge to look over her shoulder. She never liked the idea of being caught snooping. The bedroom came into focus and Chloe saw Lex sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. She zoomed in on Shelley’s dark head which appeared to be buried in the pillow. The image that came up on her laptop screen was fairly clear. She wouldn’t be able to read their lips, but she could see enough to read their expressions and body language. She noted in her journal the time she’d begun recording. She settled in for a long day.

The weather was dreary and Chloe hoped that Shelley was planning to stay inside. If not, she would leave the tripod and take the 35mm Nikon with her. Once she had a feed recording from the laptop, she went out to take a few test shots. If she needed something in a hurry, she could have someone pick up the film and have it developed and returned to her in a few hours with the company’s darkroom. She loaded her film in the hand-held camera and pointed it at the window, she groaned with irritation.

Lex was coming out of the bathroom now with a towel knotted loosely around his waist. Shelley wasn’t moving in bed, obviously still sleeping. Lex…there was no other word for it, strutted around the bed and to the window where he stretched out his arms to the sides. Chloe rolled her eyes, but felt a chuckle rise up in her throat. She snapped a few pictures with the Nikon; she could always deny it later. She zoomed in on his chest and snapped a close-up of the tattoo. With the high speed film, it would come out clear, even with him moving around. She move the lens up to his face. He was standing still, now. She guessed that he was looking at the windows in the hotel, looking for her suite. She backed away instinctively and went back to the video.

Lex hadn’t moved but had a hand resting against the window now. Chloe looked at the laptop screen and punched a few buttons, capturing a frame of him standing there and separating it to be cleaned and enhanced for practice. She went back with the Nikon and decided to let him see her, if possible. She moved the curtain slightly and, making certain that Shelley’s face was still turned away, she pressed her purse, with it’s cheerful, yellow stripe, against the window. It took Lex a moment to focus on her, but once he did, he looked back at his sleeping girlfriend then grinned at her.

Chloe smiled back, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see her expressions from there. She raised the camera again, braver, now that there was more distance between them. To her surprise Lex took the opportunity to press his tongue against the window. In spite of herself, she started to laugh. She took pictures, certain that if nothing else came of this investigation, she’d be able to blackmail him. The laughter died in her throat when he let his towel drop to the floor. She didn’t shut her eyes right away, her natural instinct was to look first. Well he certainly had a big…ego. And now she knew why.

Chloe backed away from the window and debated whether or not to turn off the camera, but decided just to peek at the laptop, instead. From the doorway to the bedroom, she could see little detail, but knew Lex had covered himself up. She tried to drive away the heat that rose to her cheeks. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen a man naked before. It had just been awhile. So long ago that the box of condoms in her medicine cabinet had needed dusting. She slapped her forehead with a groan. He’d been in her medicine cabinet. He’d seen the box of condoms! She pressed her fingers into her eye sockets as a fresh headache began to throb there. It was probably why he’d decided to start being aggressive about the sex talk. Then she removed her hands. The timing was right, but why would the sight of a box of condoms make him aggressively sexual with her?

That particular mystery would have to wait for another day. Chloe had a job to do, and she’d do it; no matter how difficult Lex was trying to make it for her. She spun back around to the window. Shelley was awake. Picking up the Nikon again, she hurried back into the living room and raised the camera to her eye. She could see Lex and Shelley talking. Shelley apparently slept naked. She was propped up on an elbow and the sheet had fallen off her breasts.

"Bet the guys at work wish they had my job today," she said to herself. She took a photo of the conversation and zoomed in for a closer shot of Shelley’s face. The woman moved, getting up from the bed and sitting on the edge. Lex was leaning his back against the window and had his arms folded across his chest. His posture was relaxed; hers was stiff. Chloe wondered if he was confronting her. It would be odd, considering how much effort Lex had put into the cloak and dagger investigation.

Shelley’s right hand drifted up from the pile of sheets at her waist and pinched the perky nipple. Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, Shelley was sliding out of the bed wearing only a pair of lace panties. Lex was in the same position and waited while she crawled forward. Snapping a few quick shots, Chloe backed away from the window as soon as she had her "Money Shot" of Shelley beginning to perform oral sex. Then she just went back to the bedroom and checked the digital feed. Convinced that it was running smoothly, she called and ordered breakfast.

Keeping the laptop in her peripheral vision, Chloe tried not to look at what was happening. Lex was paying her to catch the other men that Shelley was allegedly servicing; not him. She didn’t need to get this on video, but she preferred to have a seamless time frame. No stopping and starting that might make the tape look edited. Just pure, unadulterated, smut. She wondered if the actions she saw today were intentional. She could probably sue Lex for sexual harassment since he was deliberately exposing himself in a lewd fashion. She had to chuckle though, the man certainly had a large pair if he was risking being seen by other photographers.

Chloe sat up, quickly. What if she wasn’t the only person spying on them? She paged Charlie, the cheating expert, and waited. A knock at the door signaled her breakfast’s arrival. With surveillance equipment all over the place, she didn’t want someone coming in. "Just a moment," she called out, sweetly. Then she toed off her sneakers, ripped off her shirt and bra and dropped her pants to the floor. Then she grabbed a big towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around herself. Her hair hadn’t been combed yet so she knew she’d look disheveled. She opened the door a crack and the server handed her the bill. She signed it, added a fat tip, and asked the woman to leave it outside the door. "I’ll get it as soon as I throw something on."

This particular hotel prided itself on discretion. Chloe’d let them assume she had company. Lord knew she’d ordered enough food for three people. Her cell phone rang as soon as she fetched the tray and was placing it on the small table in the living room. She picked it up and answered it as she glanced through the camera lens quickly. "Hello-Ewww!"

"Hello to Ewww too." Charlie’s tired voice came back in her ear. Chloe cringed as she tried to erase the image of Lex holding the back of Shelley’s head. She was also glad she couldn’t see the clenching of Lex’s buttocks as he thrust forward. The image was enough, without the tiny details, to scar her corneas for all eternity.

"Thanks for getting back to me so quick, Charlie." She turned away from the window. "I need you to do me a favor, if you can."

"Does is involve me getting’ outa bed?" His voice was rough with sleep, but no less alert for it. "Got company this mornin’."

"Sorry, Charlie, I won’t drag you off some girl you probably picked up at a bar if you’re not interested." Chloe waited, with a little smile on her face. She heard low murmurs in the background.

"Bugger!" He grouched back into the phone. "Where are you?" She gave him the hotel name and room number. "Why din’ you tell me you wanted me to meet you in a hotel, Love?"

"I’m working a case."

"In the Bloody Ritz Metro?" A voice protested in the background again followed by a third voice, also feminine, and very close. Chloe raised her eyebrows when Charlie covered the mouthpiece with his hand and spoke to his "guests" in a voice too low for her to pick up. "Be there in a tick." He disconnected the call and Chloe went back to the window, picking up her pants and pulling them on. Through her camera lens, she saw the bathroom light spilling across the room and Lex wearing a pair of sweatpants. He was standing near the window in the next room and had a hand over his eye, shading them from the light of the fast-rising sun.

Chloe didn’t signal, but ducked away and pulled on a shirt. She wasn’t going to spend her time waving at him. He was paying her for discretion; and now that their target was awake, she didn’t want to risk alerting her. Despite the large salary that Lex heaped on most of his personal employees, there were probably several people who’d have tipped off anyone who asked that Lex Luthor’s windows would be uncovered for a day or two.

Chloe knew from experience; if you had money, someone was always looking for a way to get to you. If you had as much money as Lex, you were an even bigger target. It was too late to bother trying to find another photo sniper, if they’d been after something juicy, they’d already have it by now. Charlie could help her out with another problem. If she had the opportunity, she should warn Lex about the stupidity of showing off in front of an uncovered window; but it would mean mentioning the fact that she’d seen him getting a blow job.

Chloe kept the close to the digital video camera since Shelley was moving around the apartment. Lex left as soon as he was dressed and Chloe watched him leave the building and get into his limo. She watched Shelley walk around the apartment and turn on the television to the early news, sipping coffee from an orange mug. She was still watching, and sipping, when Chloe heard a knock at the door. She walked through the bedroom and looked through the peephole. She could see Charlie’s Adam’s apple through it. Opening the door, she greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning."

"Too bloody early for this," he mumbled, pushing past her and walking straight over to the breakfast tray. His 6’6" frame took up the entire doorway. He wasn’t overly bulky, but in fairly good shape. Charlie didn’t have a last name that Chloe could ever find out. He never gave it, and never carried identification. At a glance, he didn’t look like the kind of man one could describe as "Discreet". When Charlie decided he didn’t want to be noticed, he was invisible. His slightly shaggy, sandy hair and hazel eyes were as nondescript as his features. He claimed to have grown up in London, but didn’t say exactly where. He was attractive, but not drop-dead-gorgeous; he spoke with an accent that supported his claim…most of the time.

Chloe had witnessed, on occasions when Charlie was working a room, or a target, that his voice became more clipped and his accent more polished. Once, he’d managed to drop the accent completely and sound like he was from Southern California. A man of many talents, and even more secrets, Charlie was someone Chloe was glad she worked with, instead of against.

"Thanks for coming over," she said, returning to the window. "I promise I’ll give you a fair cut. The fee on this job’s gonna be pretty good." She poured herself a second cup of coffee from the carafe. Charlie reached out and traced a fingertip down her cheek and along her jaw.

"What if I don’t want money, Love?" She raised an eyebrow. He tapped her nose gently before cupping her face gently in his enormous hand. "What if I want something else for my…fee?"

Smiling brightly Chloe knocked his hand away from her face.

"Nice try, Romeo," she said. "But if you want to attempt seduction, do it when your hand doesn’t smell like your date’s pussy."

Charlie drew his hand back. "I washed it." He lifted his fingers and sniffed. "Hey it don’t smell!" Chloe was laughing.

"Didn’t need to even guess what you’d been doing."

"Well, since I was leaving so early," he said, helping himself to some still-warm pancakes and fruit, "I had to give the birds something to remember me by."

"No details, please." Still chuckling from her trick, she explained her plan to her accomplice. Once Shelley left the apartment, she’d follow and Charlie would follow Lex to find out if there was anyone tailing the billionaire. With the high profile court case, it would make sense to try and get some dirt on him. The Englishman’s eye and instinct for spotting trouble was good.

"So what’ve you got so far this morning?" Charlie asked

"More than I think I ever wanted," she replied. Charlie checked out the footage and whistled.

"Man’s got an impressive pair," he said. "And I ‘aint talkin’ bout that in the figurative sense."

"I managed to look away during most of it." Chloe was used to Charlie’s crude language. In fact, there was something a little bit charming about it. His unearthly charisma kept him from getting slapped, shot, fired, and sued on a regular basis. He rarely meant any harm, and was genuinely likeable.

"I think he’s givin’ you a personal show, Dovey." Charlie returned to the living room. His broad shoulders filled the doorway. He dressed fairly nondescript in beige cargo pants, a navy t-shirt and a brown, canvas duster. He popped a strawberry onto his mouth and chewed. "And might I ask why he’s got your name tattooed across his chest?"

"You might think better of that question." Chloe kept her eye on the window, but her voice had a dangerous quality to it that Charlie understood. He didn’t press the issue. Looks like she’s getting ready to leave," she said. "Show time."

"But I just got comfortable."

"Lex’s meeting gets out in two hours, you’ve got till then."

"Love you!" he said, cheerfully, waving to her as she left.

[fussy_wuzzy]

That was a nice and fun chapter. Great update!!!

[Kit Merlot]

Well, good for Charlie for pointing out the obvious :grin3:

Lex wants Chloe, or at least he wants to play with her. Go ahead, take that to any gutter you want :D

Excellent update!

[lexchloe]

Great update. Lex is really playing up to Chloe isn't he??? They've got this weird flirtation/hate/mating ritual going on and I'm really loving seeing how it's playing out/ Can't wait for the next one.

[chril1]

ooooh i like charlie, and no not just cos he's a londoner

lea
xxx

[BellaMR]

I find it amusing that Chloe thinks of using Lex sticking out his tongue as blackmail, but not him getting a blow job. However, she then shows enough concern for him to be worried about others seeing his show. Chloe is definately getting in deeper.

[Yarvarni]

i am loving Charlie already, reminds me of a chap I used to know way back when...... I want more of him and must have more of CHLEX!!!! Love this story.

[hfce]

For people who claim to hate eachother. They like teasing eachother sexually alot. Yeah right. :rofl:

[meg20]

Loved the update. Lex trying to tease Chloe with sex talk and scenes, absolutely fantastic.
Hope you update soon!!!

[jaxie926]

I love seeing how much deeper Chloe's sunken into Lex's game. She's caring about what happens to him, knows he's playing with her...
The hate/obsession thing they've got going is getting really good... can't wait for more!

[asharnanae]

lovely!!! hehehe, I ador your new character as well, but if only for my sanity, please please please never let him refure to anyone as Pet. I cant stand it!

anyway, other than that perfect!

[star del mar]

That was an awesome update! Everything going on between Chloe and Lex is weird to say the least, their interactions aren't really what fairy tales are made of but still it's intriguing and I can't wait to see how Lex steps up this game they're playing. Update again soon!!

Steph*

[JosiCuervo]

I love this fic. Please update, so I can stop my pissin' and moanin' for a fix...

[ambrosine]

Wow, this story is ...hot. That is the perfect word to describe it- can't wait for more!

[autumngold]

As much as I love Chloe and Lex together, I have to tell you that I just love Charlie!! :) What a cutie!! I like how Chloe and him get along!! Thanks for the great update!! I can't wait to find out what's going to happen next!!

[LarkLuthor]

How'd I miss this update? :confused: Oh, well I'm here now...and ready to beg for more!
Great update. Lex is really playing up to Chloe isn't he??? They've got this weird flirtation/hate/mating ritual going on and I'm really loving seeing how it's playing out/ Can't wait for the next one.Hear, Hear! The man is definately acting a lot more primal than his usual behavior...it's a wonder they haven't figured it out yet...

Lark

[nicole]

oh my god you have to keep writing i cant possibly wait to know what happens!

[gizelle]

interesting and dark...more please

[zelda]

Chloe followed Shelley as close as she dared, which was, unfortunately, not close enough to eavesdrop on her side of telephone conversations. Deciding to take a risk, Chloe pulled out her own cell phone and entered a ladies’ gown shop. She started speaking into the phone, loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to draw too much attention to herself. She started glancing idly at a few of the dresses on the racks. Her gamble paid off and after a few moments, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"Jane?" Shelley’s voice held a note of surprise and pleasure. "I thought that was you." She smiled brightly and Chloe smiled back.

"Shelley, how are you." She hung up on her nonexistent call and turned to face her mark. "I didn’t see you there." They did the arm-touchy-thing of two new acquaintances. They made brief small talk and Chloe gestured to the rack of gowns that were way too expensive for her to ever afford. "Are you shopping for an occasion?"

"Yes," the other woman replied. "I’ve got this charity thing coming up and I needed something new."

"Same here," Chloe said, rolling her eyes. "I don’t mind going to the events, but sometimes I feel like such a hypocrite. I mean, my firm sends me to this Gala to raise money for research into diseases, and I’m all for the cause; but I’ll be working on making new contacts on my boss’ orders." She shrugged. "I know they couldn’t care less about the causes to which they give their money, and most of the people there probably don’t either. Just an excuse to schmooze and show off for each other."

"I know," Shelley agreed. "I used to head up a non-profit organization and every event was an excuse for the rich people to show off jewelry, cars and flash a bunch of cash." She returned to the rack. "But this one’s supposed to have a really good band playing, and I heard that a few actors are going to be there." Her eyes lit up and Chloe smiled back, feigning interest.

"Which event are you going to?"

"The one at the Statton Center." Chloe managed to look surprised and delighted before exclaiming that she was going to it as well. "Are you going with a co-worker?"

"A friend of mine is escorting me for the night." She rolled her eyes. "My emergency date." Then she elbowed Shelley gently. "You’ll have a pretty classy date, yourself."

"Yeah, Lex always looks good dressed up," she agreed. "And he does know everybody." She frowned. "I can’t get over his ability to remember ever face and every name and several important little details about their personal lives and business."

"Probably an important trait for the head of a company." Chloe tried on a couple of cocktail dresses but opted to purchase only a beaded clutch, which would go with a dress she already owned. Shelley purchased a dark rose-colored sheath that showed off her lean, lithe form. Chloe was a little envious. She’d never be tall and though she was in pretty good shape, a few extra pounds didn’t hide well on a frame that wasn’t willowy and statuesque.

Shelley invited Chloe out for coffee and they’d chatted amiably for close to an hour when a familiar face entered the shop.

"Shell, glad I found you." A man came over to their table, the same man whom Chloe had seen attending a movie with Shelley during her first week following the woman. He looked at Chloe curiously. "Um, hi. I’m Matt." He was about 5’9", attractive and well built. Shelley rose to her feet and reached out a hand, touching his arm in a familiar way.

"Matt, this is my friend, Jane. Jane this is Matt." She didn’t elaborate with any details. But Chloe hardly expected her to blurt out "This is the man I’m having an affair with. Come take pictures of us."

"Nice to meet you," Chloe said, holding out her hand. Matt grasped it briefly but his attention stayed on Shelley.

"I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to talk to you about something. Can I steal you for a moment?" Shelley bit her lip and looked at Chloe.

"Jane, would you excuse us for just a moment?" She started to get up but Chloe put out her hand. This was exactly the opportunity she needed.

"Don’t get up, I’ll just run to the ladies’ room." She set her purse down on her seat. "Watch my purse for me, would you?" She sipped off to the bathroom and waited a few minutes. She washed her hands and walked out. The two were in some intense conversation and she decided not to interrupt. Instead she stood in line at the counter. The line was long and for that, she was grateful for the first time. She bought a bagel and kept an eye on her table until Matt kissed Shelley briefly on the cheek and left the coffee shop.

Returning to the table, she affected concern. "I hope everything’s alright."

"Yeah," Shelley said, distracted. "I just…" she trailed off.

"I don’t mean to pry," Chloe prodded, "and I know we’ve just met, but is there anything I can do to help?" She lay her fingers gently on the other woman’s arm. She kept her expression concerned and she pushed her shoulders back to keep her posture open. Shelley blinked at her for a moment, then smiled warmly.

"That’s really sweet, Jane." She sighed heavily. "It’s just that Lex and I have a few communication issues. Basically, he doesn’t talk to me." She looked a little annoyed. "He talks at me, and he listens to what I say, but he doesn’t try to…Get me."

"Is Matt a friend of his?"

"No, he’s mine. We hang out sometimes when I need to be with someone who understands me." Chloe nodded. "Do you know what I’m talking about?"

"In my romantic life, the men who’ve made an effort to ‘Get me’ have been using a more literal meaning." Shelley looked at her, confused. "Uh, this sounds a little like a Lifetime Movie, but I dated a few guys in Highschool who actually tried to kill me." She put out her hand quickly to stop the flow of questions that inevitably followed that statement. "I’m not someone who goes looking for the ‘bad boy’ types. In both of these cases, the guys had done something illegal and I just ended up finding out about it."

"So they just tried to kill you?"

"One tried to dump me and my friend off a Dam, the other…well, there was a chainsaw involved."

"Omigod! To have one person try and kill you is bad enough to get over, but two separate guys!" Shelley was horrified and sympathetic. Chloe didn’t bother to explain the ‘buried alive’ incident, or the ‘exploding house’ fiasco, nor did she bring up the man with the metal arms, the pyrotechnic teacher, the email-provokings of her friends and neighbors, and especially Lex’s attempt to crush her and Clark.

"Well, I guess you could say I have bad luck finding the right friends and lovers." Chloe sipped her coffee. "I guess I lead a charmed life."

"So you’re not dating anyone now?"

"Too dangerous," she joked. Then she shook her head. "I kinda swore off guys after the last one. My judgement always seems skewed when it comes to the opposite sex. I just seem to pick losers so I’m happier without the company of men for now." She brushed off the heaviness of the moment with a wave of her hand. "Enough about my tales of woe," she smiled at Shelley. "So, your man doesn’t understand you, what do you want to do about it? You’re a modern woman, you’re lovely, intelligent, healthy, and vital." She ticked off the items as she listed them. "Do you want to talk to Lex about how you feel? Do you want to dump him? Do you want to run off to Rome for a "Business trip"; she made quotes with her fingers, "and meet some Mediterranean hottie for some good lovin’?"

"I think option ‘C’ is a good idea."

The two women picked up their bags and headed for the door. "Lex doesn’t ‘get me’ in more ways than one," Shelley mumbled into her coffee cup. Chloe shifted her purse uncomfortably. "I don’t mean to bore you with the details of my intimate life."

"It’s only fair that I listen now," Chloe said, kindly. "After all, you know about my dysfunctions. And I can assure you that my past relationships have left me with some, shall we say, hang-ups."

"Well, Lex is certainly enthusiastic." She paused slightly. "He’d kill me if he knew I was saying this to anyone. God he takes his privacy to insane levels." She let her breath out in a huff. "Okay, so Lex has skill, he puts effort into it, and his stamina is really good too."

"Sounds great," Chloe chuckled. "Can I take him for a test drive?"

"He’s just…not what I want." Chloe had been unprepared for Shelley to say that. Nearly every woman in the city wanted Lex Luthor. Shelley’s straightforward confession made Chloe feel guilty. The woman was obviously troubled about the situation. Probably couldn’t talk to anyone close to her about her innermost thoughts. That’s why people made friends at the gym, or the coffee shop, or wherever they socialized with strangers. For all Shelley knew, ‘Jane’ had no demands on her, no connection to her job, and no solid connection to her friends and family.

Human nature made the Private Detective job a little bit easier. People wanted to confess their sins. They just didn’t want the confession to affect their lives.

"Is there someone else you’d rather be with?" She phrased the question carefully, to avoid any accusation.

"There is someone. Lex would be so upset if he found out, and I don’t want to upset him; or hurt him."

"Of course you don’t." Chloe placed a hand on Shelley’s shoulder, comforting her. "I know you don’t want to hurt anybody."

"My life became so complicated."

"You have no idea," Chloe mumbled. To Shelley, she said, "I know what it’s like for things to jump out of your hands, but let’s take this a step at a time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, start with what you don’t want. Eliminate that and we’ll get to the goodies."

The women talked for the better part of an hour before Chloe’s phone beeped at her. She had a text message from Charlie.

"Got to run?" Shelley asked, looking a little calmer than she had earlier.

"Unfortunately, yes. I’ve got a late meeting tomorrow with a client and my boss was going to give me the details about the past projects we’ve worked on." Lies came so easily to her; but the wildest stories she’d told that day had been true. She wasn’t certain which was more disturbing. "I’ll have to miss next class, but I’ll be there the time after that," she said, before flagging down a cab. Once inside the dirty auto, she read the message. It was brief:

"Meet me in the suite at Three. You were right."

Chloe made her way back to the hotel and went upstairs. It was almost One O’Clock so the suite was empty and quiet; a perfect time for a cat nap. She hadn’t wanted to leave Shelley, but with what she’d heard today, she figured it was enough for now. Besides, Lex had bigger problems to worry about. She pulled off her pants and crawled under the covers of the large bed in just her t-shirt and panties. She set the alarm clock for Two forty-five and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The first sound Chloe heard as she dragged herself up from sleep was the odd click and whir of a tape recorder. It was very close to her head.

"Okay, so Lex has skill, he puts effort into it, and his stamina is really good too."

"Sounds great. Can I take him for a test drive?" She opened one eye. A hand was holding a small tape player near her pillow. More buttons clicking, then the voices again: "Sounds great. Can I take him for a test drive?" Click. Whir and click again. "Sounds great. Can I take him for a test drive?"

"Where did you get that?"

"Your purse." Lex’s face appeared next to hers on the pillow. The bed was King-sized with a high quality mattress, the kind that didn’t disturb a sleeper when another person got on the bed. He lay on his back, holding the player and smiling up at the ceiling. "I loved the way your voice gets a little deeper when you ask my girlfriend if you can take me." He shivered dramatically. "It just gave me goose bumps." He rolled onto his side and propped his elbow up and rested his temple against his knuckles. "Tell me, Jane," he said softly, trailing his fingers up the blankets. "How did you feel when my girlfriend told you about my skills as a lover?"

"Nauseated."

A/N: Smut coming soon...

[zabu]

And you've got to stop there. I wanna know what happend and you implided there is gonna be smut. Okay missy, come back and update this kick.

[JosiCuervo]

"Tell me, Jane," he said softly, trailing his fingers up the blankets. "How did you feel when my girlfriend told you about my skills as a lover?"
"Nauseated."


This made me :rofl:


A/N: Smut coming soon...

:yeahbaby: WooHoo!!! Music to my ears!! Great chapter, Zelda!! :blinkkiss

[Kit Merlot]

Great update, Zelda!

I love Lex teasing Chloe with her own tape recorded words, but I am a bit concerned. Charlie's meeting Chloe at the suite at 3 o'clock. I wouldn't want him walking in on them... :D

But to get back to the mystery--does this mean that someone is following Lex?

Update soon, okay?

[LarkLuthor]

Heehee! Great update! You even made me feel sorry for the little idiot and I hate Lex's bimbos...any woman that would intentionally put herself in that kind of situation...But I degresss...

LOVED the last line! Serves him right for sneaking in when she was sleeping...

UPDATE SOON! I beg of you!

Lark

[meg20]

Lovely update, Lex playing one sentence over and over again to Chloe was:rofl:
Update really soon!!!

[chril1]

lex is my lovely darling dollface

oooh tummy tingles

lol, more!

lea
xxx

[fussy_wuzzy]

That last part was just too funny. Great update! :D

[hfce]

You are so mean. How can you stop there? :P It was a great update but I want to know who she is seeing and some smut. ;)


Hope ;)

[buffiy18]

Wow... I loved that chapter... especially the end with Lex coming into the hotel room... I guess he didn't hear the rest of the tape or I doubt he would be some excited... or maybe he did and he wants to prove himself?

Again a great chapter with just enough of all the story lines going on. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Willower]

i'm probably gonna get shot for this, but i kinda like shelley. i know she's cheating on lex and all but you've made out to be an ok person. she should just dump lex do he and chloe can get on with the inevitable. great update btw, i'm starting to get hooked to this one.

[asharnanae]

heheheheheeh!! Now that was evil!! LOVED IT!! classy too.

more please!

[Yarvarni]

i'm kinda feeling a little sorry for shelley now.....

[showntell]

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this story...

Yes Lex is a bit intimidating and has a few boundary issues...but obviously he is just a bit confused about his feelings for Chloe and is trying to work them out Lex-style.

Silly boy

Chloe is also confused, you can tell that really she is liking the connection they have even though she can't seem to work out why they are so drawn to eachother.

The tone is great...dark and playful and intriguing too! Keep it up! I'm impressed that you have managed to turn Shelley in to a sympathetic charactic with more depth than is usually given to the Lex's 'girlfriends'..I even feel sorry for her and think she will be hurt when she finds out Chloe has been spying on her...

Enough of that! What about that smut that was promise...

[BellaMR]

When you say smut coming soon, do you mean in the next chapter? Hopefully Chlex smut to be percise. Although if Lex is being followed, now might not be the best time for this little romp. Should he shake his tail first?
I'm sorry to say that I kind of like Shelly to . . . well at least I don't hate her. I'll have to see hoe the rest of the conversation went.

[lexchloe]

Great update. Actually feel a little sorry for Shelley but I do think she could easily get herself out of this by breaking up with Lex rather than trying to lead a double life. Liking the hints of Chlex and the promise of Chlexy smut. Can't wait for more.

[bunnylyn33]

My mother has always said don't listen to other people's conversation because you might hear something you don't like.

"I loved the way your voice gets a little deeper when you ask my girlfriend if you can take me." He shivered dramatically. "It just gave me goose bumps."

Obviously Lex never heard this before.

I like Shelly, too. She knows that Lex is not the one for her and she doesn't want to hurt his feelings.

[starmoon]

great update but i must have more and the ending so far is very funny.

[star del mar]

you can't stop there! Damn though, Chloe got the low down without even really prying, Shelley made her job much easier...but I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet. And as for waking up with a sexy Lex Luthor in my bed, well I'll just dream and wait for the smut :D Great update!

Steph*

[zelda]

"Oh, come on. You can’t mean that." Lex was being playful, but Chloe didn’t like him snooping through her things.

"Right, because a man who can’t keep his lady from straying is the type I want to experiment with." Instead of being angry, he looked pensive.

"I do wonder, you know." He flopped onto his back, laced his fingers behind his head and crossed his ankles. "If she was so complimentary about my efforts and skills, why does she want someone else."

"I don’t know, Lex," Chloe said, annoyed because he was wearing shoes on her bed, annoyed because she was stuck under the covers due to her state of undress, and annoyed that Lex had the gall to get into bed with her. "Proabably because you’ve got an ugly dick."

"What?" Lex sat up so quickly that Chloe flinched. "I’ll have you know that I get plenty of compliments."

"You’re not just a fountain of unsolicited information, Lex. You’re a veritable fire hose." She glanced around her for a blanket or something to hold over herself.

"People would pay good money to know about the stuff I’m telling you for free." Lex sounded a little defensive.

"People have paid money for this info."

"Well, I won’t deny that I’ve been a poster boy in the past for indiscreet behavior. But those days are far behind me."

"This from the guy who gave the entire Upper East side a free show."

"So you were watching?" His tone was sly and Chloe realized he’d been baiting her to bring up his nudity. "All I can say is that I’m not the only one with skills."

"Lex, I kinda wanted to finish my nap before Three." She glanced at the clock. It was Two-Thirty.

"Don’t let me stop you." Lex settled back and replaced his hands behind his head. "I’ll try to be quiet."

"I wanted some alone time."

"In a hotel room?" He looked incredulous. "Nobody gets a free hotel room and doesn’t invite people over for a little fun and games."

"Like I said," she snapped. "I’m waiting for Three O’Clock."

"Oooooh. Got some hot stud coming for you?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "I’ll just bet you do." He was goading her. "Let me give the neighbors a little preview of the next few hours." Lex hopped to his feet and stood over Chloe on the mattress. She eyed him as he settled himself in a wide stance. She started to open her mouth but he held out his hand for silence. Closing his eyes, he counted softly to ten. Then he started bouncing very slightly on the balls of his feet. The bed was barely moving and Chloe was confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh, all in good time." He started bouncing faster; now Chloe could feel her own body beginning to rock with his weight. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she realized what he was doing.

"I can’t believe you’re doing this." She clenched her jaw and vowed not to lose her temper. She didn’t want to get out of bed and let him see her in her panties, and she didn’t want to tell him to leave because of modesty.

"Ooooooh, yeah." His voice was low at first. Then he started making some moaning sounds and bouncing faster and deeper on the mattress. Chloe braced her hands to keep from moving but Lex was increasing his pace and it was getting more difficult. "Yeah, baby! Yeah!" His voice rose in volume, but he was grunting the words. Chloe shut her eyes. The shaking got worse and so did the sounds. Now he was jumping up and down and moaning loudly. She couldn’t believe this was the same man who valued discretion in nearly every aspect of his life now. Had he gone mad?

"Lex!" She snapped.

"That’s it! Say my name Baby!" he gasped. Chloe decided to ditch her modesty and she tried to reach for his leg. He jumped out of reach and kept bouncing. "Oh yeah! Just like that! Come on, Who’s your Daddy?"

"You son of a bitch! Get off."

"Just push your legs up a little higher, Baby and I will." He was jumping really high now and the bed was starting to thud against the wall.

"Get out of here you filthy dog!"

"You want it doggy-style. You got it. Just turn around and-Ohhh Yeah!" Chloe threw off the covers and jumped to her feet. Lex grabbed her arms and started bouncing with her. She couldn’t get her balance but tried to push him off the mattress.

"Knock it off or I start screaming ‘rape’." Her voice was serious, her expression was furious.

"Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!" Lex pounded the last three words into the mattress before collapsing with overly exaggerated gasps.

"What is wrong with you?" Choloe whispered. "You’ve been acting like a nut lately." He just gazed up at her, a dreamy expression on his face. Tugging her shirt down, ineffectively. Chloe remained standing. "I want some answers, Lex. I’ve taken a lot on faith but my patience is wearing thin."

"Hmmm. Daisies." Chloe dropped to a sitting position and placed a pillow over her lap to cover her panties that were covered in the little flowers.

He slapped her hip smartly and Chloe reacted and slapped his face. Hard. Lex was so startled that he jumped up, rubbing his cheek. "Jesus, Chloe."

"I’m sorry, It was just instinct." She stood up and reached for him. He brushed her hands away.

"Violence?"

"With you, Yes." He dropped his hand and she placed her own palm on his cheek. "Anyway you slapped me first."

"It was just a joke."

"On what planet is it okay to act like you do and not expect a reaction."

"I’m sorry." Lex sounded honest for once. He sounded like himself, not the oddball nutcase Chloe had been dealing with the last few days. She smiled at him gently and leaned forward. She’d meant for things to be a little more okay between them. The kiss was supposed to be a gesture of goodwill and a little bit of an apology. Her lips touched his gently and for a heartbeat, Lex stood still. In the next, she was pulled tight against him and his mouth was ravaging hers.

Chloe found herself locked in an iron embrace that she wasn’t trying to fight. In fact, she was gripping Lex’s shoulders just as tightly as he held her. She kissed him back, her tongue sliding against his; roughly tasting him. He bit and sucked at her lips and tongue, using his teeth on her. He turned them around and leaned Chloe against the wall, pressing her into it. His mouth left hers and he dragged his teeth over her jaw and throat while his hands squeezed her waist tightly before pushing her shirt up to fondle one, full breast.

Chloe could feel the heat from Lex’s hand through the thin cotton of her bra. He pushed it up impatiently and rubbed his rough palm over her nipple till it was a tight, aching, point. The sensation was so intense she couldn’t hold back the moan that came out. Lex bent his knees and pressed his hips against hers, twisting downward to take her other nipple into his mouth. He sucked hard enough to make her gasp, then grasped her thighs and stood up straight. He pulled her legs up around his hips and ground hard into her center.

Chloe nearly came right then. Her loins throbbed with the rush of blood and she arched her back, trying to retain contact with the stiff ridge that poked at her. It had been so long since anyone had aroused her like this. And never this fast. He’d been right, she thought in one tiny part of her brain. Anger did transmute into something else; passions drove them to one thing. Now it seemed not only natural to be scrambling to stay in close contact with Lex, it was unavoidable. He let go of her nipple and covered her mouth again. He spoke no coherent words, just little noises in his throat like her. They were speaking their own language and communications were definitely open.

Chloe urged Lex with little whimpers and he answered her is gasps. She felt heavy pressure against her entrance when he hit just the right angle. She desperately wanted them to not have any layers of clothing between them. She needed him inside her. Needed it more than she’d ever needed breath, or drink, or food. She couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, couldn’t smell or taste anything but him. His urgency engulfed her and she tightened her legs around his hips and tore at the front of his shirt, pushing it and his jacket down his shoulders so she could taste his skin. She bit his shoulder and laved her tongue up the side of his neck. She sucked his earlobe into her mouth and fastened her teeth onto it.

Lex thrust again, rubbing his trouser-clad erection against her cotton panties. He started moving quickly, giving and taking friction from her. His skin was damp with perspiration and her hands slipped on his shoulders. He grappled awkwardly, trying to keep her from falling. Chloe attacked his mouth; she was breathless, aroused and famished. No man’s touch had ignited her like this. Something beyond physical was happening to them, but she couldn’t stop to analyze it now; she was too close to release. She arched again, trying to get that perfect angle. Lex leaned in and gave another thrust against her. She needed just a little bit more from him and her small cry of frustration spurred him on.

"Hold onto me," he whispered harshly. She obeyed, tightening her arms and legs around him. Her face was buried in his neck, she was afraid to open her eyes and look at him. He hoisted her up a little higher so he could reach his zipper. Her legs were trembling around him with tension and adrenaline. Once his zipper was down, he stilled for a few precious seconds to take out his erection, then his lips went to work on Chloe’s neck. "Almost there." He shifted his weight again and jerked the back of her panties down her hips, just far enough to reach her.

Cool air brushed Chloe’s bottom and she felt the heat of him as the tip of his penis touched her. She was wet and Lex bathed the swollen head in her moisture. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Pounding so loud that it sounded like someone at the door. Her head cleared as she and Lex realized in the same moment, that someone was knocking on the door to the suite.

"Chloe, Love. You in there?" Clearing her throat quickly she answered Charlie's query.

"Just a second. I’ll be right there." Lex was lowering her legs and she stood shakily, clinging to him for support. He was panting and planted his hands on the wall beside her head to catch his own breath. "Bathroom," she whispered. Then she ducked under his arm and pulled up her underwear. She grabbed a clean pair of jeans from her bag and tugged them on quickly. Lex had thrown the deadbolt so Charlie’s key hadn’t let him in. She opened the door and smiled.

"What happened to you?"

"I had to do a lot of running around today so I took a nap and was about to take a shower when you came upstairs."

"Didn’t you get my message?"

"Yeah, I just lost track of time."

"Are you alright?" He ran a hand over her rumpled hair. "You look flushed." He turned his head when they both heard the sound of the toilet being flushed. She thought quickly.

"Lex came by to see if there were any new developments. I got some tape on Shelley and wanted him to hear it," she explained. Lex appeared at the doorway, looking composed with his shirt buttoned and his jacket straightened. He didn’t have any hair to get mussed so she supposed it helped.

"Who’s this?" Lex asked.

"Uh, Lex this is Charlie. Charlie, Lex Luthor." Charlie stuck out his hand and Lex crossed the room to shake it.

"You were just talking about my case?" There was a tiny edge of accusation there. "Something I should know about?"

"I asked Charlie to come in to help me with some tailing when I was occupied with Shelley." Charlie just nodded briefly. He was letting Chloe take the lead with Lex.

"You follow people around a lot?" He raised an eyebrow. The taller man just nodded with the barest of smiles. "I guess I wouldn’t imagine you being very…effective at blending in. Particularly when you’re trying not to be noticed." Chloe felt a rush of heat to her face and jumped in before Charlie could answer.

"Well, you didn’t seem to notice him all day, and he was following you."

"You had me followed?"

"Maybe I’d better come back in a few minutes so you can yell at each other or, whatever." His implication was clear. He knew they were having a spat of a personal nature and didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it.

"How long were you tailing me?" Lex turned to the Englishman. "From when till when?"

"You got out of your meeting in your office building and I stayed on you till you came back here an hour ago." He glanced at the little blonde. "Chloe can fill you in on the ‘Whys’." He took off his jacket and went to the window.

"Why did you have me followed?"

"It wasn’t you I sent him after. You were sort of the bait." Chloe shook her head and planted her fists on her hips. "It occurred to me today that with that court case going on, and your high profile, you might not have been the only one to think of hiring an extra set of eyes and ears." Lex blinked and she could tell he was mulling over this information.

"And?"

"I was right. Charlie asked me to meet him back here and that’s why I left Shelley at the coffee shop. I had a lot on her already, but I thought it was more important to find out who was following you."

"An that’s where I come in." Charlie stepped forward and held out an envelope. "I needed till three so I could get to the darkroom at work and get these developed."

"We have our own photo lab in order to guarantee privacy," Chloe said. "You’d be surprised how many people would steal photos to sell to a newspaper to make a buck. If it’s juicy enough, they can ruin the prints they give back to the client and keep the real ones for themselves."

Lex was flipping quickly through the photographs. His brow was furrowed with concern.

"You were there all day and I didn’t see you?"

"I’ve been doing this for a while," Charlie said, vaguely. "Do you recognize the man in the jogging suit?" He pointed to one particular snapshot. Chloe stepped in to look closer.

"No," Lex said. Charlie and Chloe exchanged a look. "You two know him?"

"Yeah, he works for another firm. He also does freelance for newspapers; Name's Bobby...something." Charlie clucked his tongue. "Not real picky on his clients, and not above breaking the anti-stalking laws to get his pictures if you know what I mean."

"Tell us what you saw," Chloe prompted.

"I picked you up as soon as you left the building. I kept back a little bit and spotted our friend, Bobby strolling along. I got the first picture then, but I had to hang back a bit since he’d probably be as likely as anyone to spot another tail."

"Who do you think hired him?"

"Could be anyone who wants information on you," Chloe said. Then she bit her lip. "Could be he’s looking for something else too."

"Like what?"

"Maybe he’s wanting to catch you with your pants down." That sobered Lex even more. "That stunt you pulled this morning probably didn’t help if he’s been watching you awhile."

"I think you should get back to your apartment and start acting like a normal, average Joe." Charlie offered a solution. "I’ll watch the building while you leave and beep you if I see him."

"Just tell me where he is and I’ll have my men pick him up."

"Wait here, Chloe, I don’t want your picture getting’ splashed all over the front page," Charlie said, tweaking her chin. "It’ll ruin the job and make it pointless for Mr. Luthor to catch his own lady if he’s seen in a hotel with someone else."

"Just call me when the coast is clear," she said.

"I’ll come up, myself. That way anyone who might be still watching will see us leaving together." He walked to the door. "See you in a bit."

The door shut firmly behind him and Chloe held her breath. She turned to Lex but he spoke before she could.

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner that I was being followed?" She couldn’t read his expression and his voice was soft.

"Lex, you woke me up and started making trouble as soon as I opened my eyes. I got a little distracted after that."

"Distracted?" He raised his eyebrows. "Is that what we’re calling it these days?"

"Well, I think someone shouting and jumping up and down on my bed is a little distracting," she said, folding her arms over her breasts. "What do you want to do about Shelley?"

"I’ve got other things on my mind right now," he replied. "The tape is a start, I’m not going to confront her till I’m sure that I’m not going to end up on the front page of the rag magazines."

"It was a big risk to prance in front of an uncovered window, Lex. I won’t sugarcoat that." She sat down on the couch. "Since you’re a business man, and not a movie star, it’s less likely that someone from your decorator’s office called up the magazines and said: ‘Lex Luthor’s shades are going to be down, want to go take some pictures?’" What she said made sense, and she could see him mulling the information over in his head.

"Charlie’s seen the video?"

"Lex, he works with me, it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. And besides, you knew I was taping it, I can’t go erasing time on the digital recorder without it looking suspicious." He nodded so she went on carefully. "Lex, you’ve been acting really crazy lately. What’s really going on with you?"

"How have I been acting crazy?"

"Just irrationally; you’re a cautious man and you’re taking huge risks over your girlfriend’s infidelity." She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "But you act like you don’t care about her."

"Is that it?" His face was stony. "You want to know if I love Shelley?"

"I want to know why your behavior is so unpredictable."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you’re taking it out on me," she burst out. "You’ve dragged me into your drama as a prop, or an accomplice. Things have always been volatile between us and now you’ve made things even more complicated."

"If I remember correctly, you kissed me first." Chloe’s face flushed to the roots of her hair. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I was talking about hiring me. You complicated things by bringing our issues into my work. And my work into your issues."

"You didn’t answer my question."

"You haven’t answered mine. And I asked first."

"I gave you the reasons for hiring you before. I don’t know why I was abusive to you in the bar. I’ve stopped asking about the tattoo. I thought that was doing better." He put his hands in his pockets. "Now your turn."

Chloe was saved from answering by the beeping of her cell phone. It was a message from Charlie telling them where Lex’s shadow was waiting.

"Two blocks up on the corner of West Ave. and Congress St." She showed him the message. "Tell your men what he was wearing."

"This conversation isn’t over." He pulled out his own phone and headed for the door. Chloe looked away when he walked past but he wrapped an arm around her waist and jerked her forward with a gasp. He crushed his mouth to hers in a fierce, hard kiss. His tongue speared through her lips, demanding her taste. Still suffering the affects of her earlier arousal, she arched into him automatically. He released her so quickly that she stumbled back and he walked out the door without another word.

[Krysia]

Uuu and the plot thickens. I wonder who has Lex tailed and why [ and did they caught his show and do they have pictures. If so can I get copies? ;)]
The smut was just Hot! I loved how they almost slept together. i loved the interactions between them and i loved the way Lex was acting almost teenagelike. Plus I'm kinda hoping he will be jealous of Charlie .
Great story!
:respect:

[ambrosine]

-giggles- Lex is funny in this fic. I love how you write him and make him so unpredictable. Chloe is just....sexy as hell. I love Shelley, which I'm not sure if that is what you intended, but I do. This fic is a masterpiece, I LOVE it. :hug:

[showntell]

This fic just gets better and better!

I think Chloe is going to have to face some difficult questions from Charlie.

Chemistry between Lex and Chloe is great. Even when he is acting all crazy like a teenager....I think the Shelley investigation is going to end soon...Although I wouldn't mind knowing what else was on that tape.

[Willower]

Whoa! That was hott right at the end and the whole thing was too funny. I like this loopy, fancy-free Lex. He's crakin' me up. I'm also curious to know who's having him followed. Is it Shelley?!? Because I just think it would be funny if she was. It would show that there relationship is founded on a mutual mistrust, thus further validating the hooking up of Lex and Chloe. Great update. I look forward to reading more!

[Kit Merlot]

This was am awesome update!

The Lex/Chloe interactions are very amusing, and I love that Chloe is starting to realize that all of their anger and hostility, is their version of foreplay :grin3:

And the plot thickens with Lex being the one getting investigated.

Continuing good job on this story!

[welshy]

That was an amazing update, the Chloe/Lex was great and I :wub: Charlie. I hope you update soon

[meg20]

It was so :rofl: Thickening plot, some smut and lot's of fun, a great combination.
Update soon!!!

[LarkLuthor]

Hehe...Chloe sure got a big clue about what's really going on between them... I really can't tell from what you've got so far if Lex knows what he's doing and why...

Update soon!

Lark

[asharnanae]

Rrrow!!! man now thats was tasty hot!!! I like the direction of this!!! MORE!!!

[Yarvarni]

i love this outrageous man-child Lex waivers between in this fic. I am so happy to see he and Chloe beginning to get into the nuts and bolts of their issues.

[jaxie926]

i am so desperately LOVING this story please please please keep going!! i cannot wait to see where you're going to take the plot now.!

[campbti]

That was such an excellent update. I am so glad that they are finally realizing their attraction. Love Charlie too, can't wait to see what the added complication is.

[autumngold]

I feel bad for Lex, he's trying so hard to make Chloe notice him, want him!! I love him bouncing on the bed!! I feel so sorry for Shelley though!! I hope she doesn't find out how Chloe/Jane was using her!! It really seems like she needs a friend!! Thanks for the wonderful updates!! This is a great story!!

[BellaMR]

Lex is acting so crazy. I wonder if its just his feelings for Chloe or if something else is going on. I loved their time together. I think they need more time alone to talk about their issues. I can't wait to find out why Lex is being followed.

[TheDragonLady]

I love Shelley, which I'm not sure if that is what you intended, but I do.
Moi aussi!

[hfce]

First :rofl: on Lex acting crazy and pretending to have sex with Chloe. And :drool2: on almost having sex with Chloe and this :bang: for Charlie interrupting. But it has gotten very interesting how out of control Lex seems to be with Chloe and not really caring about the consequences. Chloe seems to bring out the erratic uncontrolled Lex. I can't wait to see why that guy is following him.


Hope :)

[chril1]

-giggles- Lex is funny in this fic. I love how you write him and make him so unpredictable. Chloe is just....sexy as hell. I love Shelley, which I'm not sure if that is what you intended, but I do. This fic is a masterpiece, I LOVE it.

^^^^ yeah, pretty much what i wanted to say

lea
xxx

[JosiCuervo]

Ohhhhhh...I can't believe Charlie interrupted the lovely, lovely smut....please try it again soon, without the interruption...Great update!

[starmoon]

please update soon i can't wait for more and that was so sexy keep up the good work.

[Christy January]

*Slaps Charlie in the back of the head and shoves him back out the door.*

Now let them get back down to business. :D

[FroggyJump]

That was funny, Lex pretending to have sex with Chloe. Great last move on Lex's part what a way to leave a girl. Good to see that not all commonsense has left the building, standing naked in front of a window when you are a famous tycoon is not the smartest thing in the world. Good picture though of Lex Luthor licking a window like a child.
I like Charlie's entrance, welcomed character. He is a nice light piece of the fic. Hope he sticks around for a bit maybe stir things up with Lex.

[star del mar]

Oh God, they were so close!! But I was enjoying the smut that we did get, it was very fierce...I think that's a good word for it and it was lovely, I was egging them on and then Charlie had to come in and ruin it!! It's ok though, I'm liking the Charlie character so far. I can't wait to see what else develops, so far it's very interesting. Update again soon!

Steph*

[LarkLuthor]

It's been a week...the one-week-after ban on begging outrageously is over...

PLEASE UPDATE SOON! plleeessseee! I need some more of this very emotionally messed up fic...

Lark

[meg20]

Please can we have a nice update! *batting eyelashes and doing puppy dog look*

[LarkLuthor]

*organizes a circle of those on the thread to chant towards the author*

"update update update update update update update update"

And....now you're probably sorry I ever discovered this fic...but I love it to death so, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a little nusance about updating quickly...feel free to try to swat me away but I don't guarenty it'll work...

Lark

[ambrosine]

*organizes a circle of those on the thread to chant towards the author*

"update update update update update update update update"

And....now you're probably sorry I ever discovered this fic...but I love it to death so, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a little nusance about updating quickly...feel free to try to swat me away but I don't guarenty it'll work...

Lark

Yeah, gonna have to agree with Lark- you must update. I'll go crazy without sexy, spy chloe or oddball, teenage-ish lex, and all the other endearing but amusing characters! Please . MORE! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Kit Merlot]

Zelda, please come back and update--SOON :D

[zelda]

When three days passed without any photographs surfacing of Lex and his naked window romp, Chloe was relieved. She went through another painful kick boxing class and the merciful sauna soak afterward; Shelley seemed a little more cheerful than she’d been in the coffee shop. They chatted idly about the upcoming charity ball and Chloe was glad she’d made certain that Charlie would be free to be her escort. Two pairs of eyes would be better than one. She’d also had to stop herself several times from asking Shelley directly about her relationship with Lex. Experience had taught her that most people volunteer the information when they let their guard down.

Shelley wasn’t talking as much about personal information, but Chloe didn’t press. They parted ways after their juice smoothies and Chloe decided to walk to McEvoy and McEvoy. When she was several blocks from the gym, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. The sensation that someone was watching her. She took a few deep breaths and started paying closer attention to her surroundings. When she stopped to fuss with her hair in the shiny window of a boutique she spotted her tail.

As a woman who was used to spotting odd behavior disguised as ordinary, Chloe had developed an instinct for spotting trouble. It was partly a survival trait. In her job, she trained herself to unconsciously recognize patterns of behavior, or clothing, or movement. Today, the street reflected in the shop window showed her a crowd of people who passed inspection; and one who did not. A flash of black caught her eye. A tight t-shirt with a bold, white pattern on the front looked familiar. Dropping her purse as an excuse to stay where she was, Chloe tried to prod her recent memory till she realized she’d seen the t-shirt at the smoothie bar, a newspaper stand, and now hovering around a corner.

The wearer of the shirt was young, probably not very good at tailing professionals, with a goatee and baseball cap. She pulled out her phone and called Charlie.

"’Lo?"

"It’s me, where are you?"

"Darkroom, you?"

"Couple of blocks away, got a tail."

"I’ll be in the lobby in about three minutes, go past and I’ll pick him up."

"Thanks, this is getting weird when we start picking up company."

"What’s he wearin’?"

"Black shirt, baseball cap, beard." There was a slight pause and Charlie’s voice lowered to a purr.

"What are you wearing?"

"Sweaty workout clothes and sneakers." She couldn’t help but chuckle a little at his sigh of disappointment.

"You can’t ever make it fun, can you, Love. You want me to grab him?"

"Yes. I want some answers this time."

Lex had been less-than successful with the man who’d been following him. Smiling his smug little smile, Bobby had given them no information and demanded his release. Lex hadn’t dared to keep the man for longer than his own security company’s legal discretion allowed. The last thing he needed was a lawsuit to add to the one he was already fighting.

Chloe dabbed on a little lip gloss and continued to walk along the street. When she passed a vendor at the corner before her building, she paused briefly and bought a bottle of water. She didn’t even look at her own building as she went past. If Charlie said he’d be there, he’d be there. She crossed the next street and fought the urge to look over her shoulder. On a crowded street it would be tough for anyone not to notice two men tussling so she kept walking, acting as bait till she got to a more secluded spot. She was about to venture another glance in the reflection of another window when she spotted a familiar car.

Lex’s silver Porsche was sliding into the curb, parking illegally, right in front of her. She paused to squat down and re-tie her shoe. Keeping her gaze on the ground, she heard the whirring of the automatic window lowering.

"I know you’re there." The familiar voice was filled with annoyance. Chloe glanced behind her, quickly and saw the man in the black shirt squinting at Lex’s car. He was closer than before, and caught her eye when he looked at her. She was busted. He was going to bolt. Chloe stood up quickly.

"Get out of here, now." She snapped and pointed to the man backing away from her. She saw a familiar form coming up close behind them. "My wallet!" she said loudly. "You took my wallet." She heard tires screech away from the curb and watched as Charlie followed her lead.

"I got him, Ma’am," Charlie said in a very good Southern accent. He muscled the man over to the nearest wall. "We’ll get yer stuff back." He held the man immobile. Chloe slipped her wallet carefully out of her bag and went over to him. She shuffled close, pretending outrage and dropped the wallet on the ground. Then she bent and picked it up, waving it in the man’s face.

"Come with us now, or we’ll get you arrested," Charlie growled.

"No prints on that," the man said, smugly.

"Beat cops don’t carry the kits, so they won’t look for that till after you’re processed. It’ll put you behind schedule at least." She smiled at him. He sneered back. They’d drawn a small crowd.

"Do you want me to call the police, Honey?" asked an older lady. Chloe gave her a relieved look.

"I’ve got my phone, thanks. They’ll be here shortly." She walked to the street and hailed a cab. When one stopped at the curb, she opened the back door. Charlie, Chloe, and their newest friend were in the backseat in a matter of seconds. The few people who’d stopped to watch looked startled. She gave the driver a $20.00 bill and Charlie barked out an address. He had a hand clapped over their prisoner’s mouth. The driver didn’t even blink; he even pulled into the alley beside the building without being asked. Chloe gave him an extra tip. Charlie had the man handcuffed and a hand clamped securely on the back of his neck.

"Now don’t make any sounds, cause I don’t want to have to carry any deadweight up the lift." Charlie left it up to the man to guess if he was implying that he’d knock him unconscious or worse. Either way, he stopped struggling. They walked through the lobby with Charlie’s coat draped over their prisoner’s shoulders to hide his hands. When they were in the elevator, Charlie spoke again. "We’ll be asking you some questions, Mate, and we’ll let you go to tell your employer whatever you want after that." He gave his neck a squeeze. "We have ways of verifying your story, and if we don’t get satisfactory answers, we just won’t let you go."

"You can’t do that?"

"I have soundproof walls and a big closet. I can do whatever the fuck I want." He tossed a key chain with a single, silver key to Chloe who opened the door. They shoved their man through and closed the door. The man fell to his knees and Chloe pulled of the jacket and went for the wallet he had in his back pocket. She pulled it out as Charlie gently helped the man to his feet. "Ain’t it just like a woman," he said, jovially, brushing off their guest’s clothes. "Bird’s got you on your knees and she goes right for your cash." He gestured to a wooden chair. "’Ave a seat, Man."

Chloe opened the wallet and glanced at the driver’s license. The identification was for the state of Iowa, and if she hadn’t studied, she wouldn’t have known it was fake.

"Fake id," she said, "for Andrew Bishop." Then she pulled out his credit cards. "Score!" she said, triumphantly. "Platinum American Express card with the name Andrew Tanner on it." She fanned herself with the card and swayed over to him. "Doctor Tanner, I presume?" She batted her eyelashes at him. "Or would you be using these for expenses?" The man looked away. She went through the rest of his wallet and found several other credit cards, a library membership, and a photograph of their prisoner with a gray-haired man. The photo looked to be a few years old at least. Narrowing her eyes, she noted that the fake id indicated the man’s age to be Twenty-one. She doubted if he was more than Nineteen. "You’re his son." She didn’t phrase it as a question, but as a statement.

"What else he got?" Charlie asked. Chloe patted him down and found a phone in the pocket of his cargo pants, an id for the new company he worked for, and a tiny, black box. "What’s that?"

"Trouble," Chloe answered. Then she ran out the door. "I’ll be right back." She raced down the stairs and out the front door, drawing a few stares. When she hit the street she broke into a sprint and cleared three blocks before she slowed down. She hailed a cab and when it pulled up, she opened the back door and leaned in. "How much to get to the airport?" The driver told her and she bit her lip, as if considering it, and dropped the box under the seat. "Thanks, I’ll pass."

Once the cab pulled away from the curb, Chloe made her way slowly back towards the apartment building. If anyone were tracking the box, they’d go all over the city. When she returned to the apartment, the young Mr. Tanner looked surly. Charlie was grinning. "What’s the good news?"

"He was sent by his father after we made Bobby yesterday."

"So why’s he following me?"

"Bobby was up even earlier than you, Darling, and saw you going into the hotel. He recognized you from McEvoy’s."

"So he sends a pro to follow Luthor, then an amateur to follow me?" She shook her head. "Doesn’t make much sense."

"’Less he’s got someone else onto Luthor now and you were an afterthought."

"Secret’s out now that I work for Lex. But what was he looking for by following him in the first place?" she wondered aloud. She paced the living room and glanced around her. She realized it was the first time she’d seen Charlie’s apartment. "This is your place?" Charlie nodded with a grin; it was surprisingly tasteful. He dressed like a bum, most of the time, but Chloe glanced at his furniture and realized that the couch and chairs in the living room were easily worth a couple Thousand dollars. "I’m going to call Lex," she said, strolling towards the kitchen.

"You’re going to snoop, Love," Charlie called back. She heard him speak to Andrew in a low voice. "Can’t wait to go through all your stuff; second your back is turned Mate. Take it from me, they’re all trouble."

Chloe knew what Charlie was doing. He’d establish a rapport with little comments to try and gain a common ground by using Chloe as the ‘enemy’. He’d also use threats and intimidation in case the man would be more likely to open up to her instead. She flipped open her phone and called Lex. He answered immediately.

"The Hell is going on?" He sounded angry. "What happened on the street?"

"Just so you know," she replied. "You’re probably being followed. Tanner’s behind it. I caught his son following me."

"You sure?"

"What’s the good doctor look like?" she asked. Lex described the man in the photograph with their captive. "Yeah, I’m sure."

"Where is he now?"

"Never mind that. Just go about your business; we’re probably blown as far as your lawsuit, but don’t call me, or drive past my apartment, in case no one thought to mention to your girlfriend that she’s being followed. We need to be careful for the next few days till we figure out what he’s doing."

"This super spy shit is getting on my nerves."

"You hired the Private Detective."

"A move I’m beginning to regret."

"Sorry." She was about to hang up but she heard him speak again.

"Chloe."

"Yes," she said, after a pause.

"We still need to talk." He waited. She didn’t answer. "Chloe?"

"I’m here."

"The charity ball is coming up soon. I’d also like to get some answers by that night."

"I’ll see what I can do. And I’ll contact you next." She sighed. "Just wait till you hear from me and I’ll clear this up. The fact that two Private Eyes have been hired could be coincidental, but I’ll find out what Shelley has to do with our guy."

"Wouldn’t be the first time a woman came to my bed with a business agenda."

"Right." She didn’t know what else to say so she hung up. Taking the opportunity to look around, since Charlie would assume she was doing it anyway, Chloe opened a few cupboards. He had a collection of gleaming, stainless steel pots and pans, neatly arranged silverware drawers with the letter ‘D’ engraved on the utensils. She raised her eyebrows as she opened the fridge.

"Bring me a beer while you’re in there." Charlie’s voice was mocking annoyance. She smiled and picked up a cold bottle. She also got one for herself and a plate of cold, marinated chicken.

"Want a sandwich?"

"Bloody Hell, Woman!" he bellowed. "What’re you getting’ into now?"

"Your chicken." There was a slight pause.

"Alright then. No tomatoes, extra herb mayonnaise, and make one for our young friend here."

A/N: Yeah, I know, getting heavy on the intrigue. But more smut soon.

[Willower]

mmm the thick plottens

[lexchloe]

Loved the last two updates. Things are definately heating up between Chloe and Lex. Really curious to know why both Lex and Chloe are being tailed. Can't wait to see what the guy reveals and for Chloe and Lex's talk. More sson please.

[Kit Merlot]

OKay, so both Chloe and Lex are being followed--very intriguing.

I wonder if Chloe is being followed because of her personal involvement with Lex or is it strictly business related.

Great update, Zelda!

[hfce]

:rofl: I just love all the intrigued in this story. Its like the old tv series Hart to Hart the husband and wife duo team except its Charlie and Chloe. If I didnt like Chlex so much together I think they would make a funny couple. :rofl: I can't wait to see why they are both being followed.


Hope :)

[BellaMR]

Great update. I can't wait to see where this is going.

[showntell]

" I’ll see what I can do. And I’ll contact you next." She sighed

Hmmm...I have noticed that Chloe is always the one that makes the first move in this relationship. The tattoo, the game and the kiss in the hotel room.

I wonder if she even realises and I wonder what she will do next? I wouldn't be suprised if she keeps avoiding "the talk" with Lex only to turn around and jump his bones.

Love this tasty little update...but I'm greedy and I want more!

[JosiCuervo]

A/N: Yeah, I know, getting heavy on the intrigue. But more smut soon.

Ahhhh...music to my ears... :yeahbaby:

I love this fic. Very intriguing. Please update soon and I won't object to a plethora of Chlexy nekkid goodness. :hankpank:

~Erica ;)

[star del mar]

I really do love Charlie, he's just too funny. I like the fact that Chloe can call him and in a minute he's all ready to go for espionage :D Great update and I CANNOT wait until their talk...and the smut, lol.

Steph*

[meg20]

Very intriguing, can't wait to find out why Chloe and Lex are being followed. Also waiting for the smut part!~
Update soon:beg:

[vardaquareien]

How exactly have I missed this fic until now? :shocked: Oh well, at least I finally discovered it! Gotta say it's absolutely brilliant. Really unique idea and I love the fabulously interesting and twisted relationship between Chloe & Lex. The furthur intrigue surrounding the plot is also drawing me in...I have no clue what's going on but it's really got me intrigued! I can't wait for more of this fic (and especially the promised smut :yeahbaby: )

[starmoon]

great update please continue and i can't wait for chloe and lex to get together.

[ambrosine]

This fic is so great...I wish there was more of it for me to read right now :blinkkiss

I'm just wondering..when are the tatoos gonna come back into the story...or are you done with the Chloe/Lex mindgames for now?

Anyways, great job so far. Can't wait for the next installment! :D

[chril1]

smut you say???? good for me

lea
xxx

[deia]

Ok where is my asthma medicine?...oh wait I don’t have asthma medicines do you know why? Because I DON’T HAVE ASTHMA!!! Which leads me to the next question….whose fault is it that I’m gasping and panting then, hum? HUM? Yeah you got that right! Now hurry your cute lil ass back here and bring another chapter so I can go on having an excuse to get a doctor’s notice and call in sick!
BTW great job hon'!!!

[arkakitty]

Love it, how the plot develops. Please update :)

[Fuschia]

This is a fiction that I'm falling in love with.

At first it started out looking very dark and angsty, then you very smoothly changed it to a lighter perspective.

I can't really say much in criticism about this, except that it could... ya know use some more smut :D Just a little- er a lot will do.

[zelda]

Chloe’s phone rang as she was walking into her apartment building. She glanced at the phone number; it looked vaguely familiar. She answered.

"Jane, it’s Shelley." Chloe nearly dropped the phone when she heard the other girl’s voice. "From the gym."

"I know who you are." The voice on the other line was upset. "Shelley, what’s wrong?"

"God, I know I don’t know you very well, but you’d mentioned that you weren’t doing anything tonight and I wondered if you might be able to meet me for a drink?’ She sniffled loudly.

"Sure, Where are you?" Chloe was a little worried.

"Um, I’m at my apartment right now, but could you meet me downtown at Doc Propers, It’s on-"

"I know the place. I’ll be there," she said. "Just give me a little time to shower and change."

"Good idea. I could freshen up a little too." Shelley paused. "Um, thanks. I’ll-I’ll see you there."

Chloe ran up the stairs to her apartment and jumped into the shower. When she got out, she saw that Lex had called. She tried to call him back but got his voicemail. Leaving a message not to call her until she contacted him, she hung up, threw on a pair of jeans and a sparkly shirt and pinned up her wet hair. She hailed a cab and did a quick make-up job in the back seat with the help of a lighted compact. The sun was just setting and Metropolis was slowing down for the night.

Doc Proper’s didn’t have the usual crowds that it brought in on the weekends, but for a Wednesday night, it still did good business. Chloe glanced around for Shelley and gave her ID to the bouncer. She got her hand stamped and put her driver’s license in a small, hidden pocket of her clutch. She went for the careless glamour look. Her hair in its wet, French twist paired with her dark jeans and a brown, silk tank top with sequins. On her feet were little, strappy, brown sandals with a high heel and she carried a bronze, vintage beaded handbag; not too bad for a three minute change.

She went to the bar and found two seats. She placed her bag on the second seat and hooked her ankle around the leg so it couldn’t be pulled away. She ordered an apple martini and glanced around the bar. No faces she immediately recognized, which was a relief. The last thing she needed was for someone to mention her real name in front of Shelley. The bartender brought her drink and she opted to pay cash instead of running a tab; too easy for someone to see her name on her reciept. She’d just have to eat the expense of getting a depressed girlfriend drunk. Or rather…drink the expense.

Chloe had finished half of her drink when she felt the warm breath of another human on her bare shoulder.

"Didn’t I see you here last week?" She turned and looked into the gaze of an attractive man in his early Forties. He smiled at her. She smiled back, politely.

"I didn’t come here, last week. It couldn’t have been me." He didn’t look surprised, or disappointed.

"I don’t know why I thought I could’ve mistaken you for someone else," he said, sitting on the edge of the seat she was saving for Shelley. When he realized he was sitting on her bag, he got up, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I guess you’re saving this seat for someone."

"I am. But thank you for your company." She didn’t like to be a bitch to men unless she had to. There wasn’t anything offensive about his approach, and he hadn’t tried to touch her. He was just a guy trying to hit on her. She could handle that any day of the week. She caught sight of Shelley and waved. "My friend is here, excuse me." She got up and met Shelley halfway across the room. "Hey." The other woman looked beautiful, but unhappy.

"Can we try the patio?" Shelley’s voice was rough. The patio had its own bar and had only a few people eating dinner at one of the tables. The cool air felt good after the heat from indoors. Chloe sipped at her martini and Shelley ordered raspberry vodka on the rocks. Her breath indicated that it wasn’t her first drink of the evening.

"Do you want to get a snack, or something?" Chloe offered. "I don’t want you to feel ill in the morning."

"I don’t think food will help that." Shelley tossed the little straw that came with the drink and took a big gulp. She looked miserable and Chloe felt a stab of guilt. She reached out and placed her hand on the woman’s arm.

"Tell me what happened." She tugged her over to a quiet corner of the patio. "Did something happen tonight with Lex?" Shelley nodded. "Did you two break up?" Another nod. "Was it about the other person you mentioned?" She shook her head. "Did you have a big fight?"

"No, Lex doesn’t fight." Chloe had to contain a snort. "He’s always so civil when we have ‘discussions’ she said, making quote signs in the air. "He said he is very fond of me, but he thinks it might be a good idea to ease off a little. Spend more time apart."

"Ouch." Chloe winced. "I’ve heard that before, it’s never fun to have someone tell you they want to see less of you." A certain dark-haired farm boy came to mind suddenly.

"The thing is, I’m okay with seeing less of Lex. It’s not like he’s really emotionally available anyway. We spend time together; we go places in public together. He listens when I talk, and occasionally he’ll open up about something if I ask; but I always had the feeling that he was holding back."

"What made you so upset?"

"It’s just the whole ego thing." A fat tear spilled over her eye and her lips started to tremble. "It’s so stupid, because I don’t even love him, but I’m just…my pride hurts, Jane. I’ve been rejected several times recently and it’s just adding up."

"What happened before Lex?" Chloe didn’t bother to bring any recording equipment with her. She didn’t feel like she would need it, and now, she’d have felt guilty with it. "Did something happen-"

"You said once," Shelley interrupted, "that you knew what it was like for a relationship to jump out of your hands." Chloe bit her bottom lip and glanced away. "How did you deal with that? I mean, when did you know it was out of hand? What was the turning point?"

Opting to leave the meteor rocks out of the conversation, Chloe gestured to a small table with two chairs. Shelley sat and Chloe went to the bar for another apple martini and ordered some appetizers. Thought the other girl might not mind a hangover in the morning, she knew that she would need to be functional.

"We met through a mutual friend," Chloe began. "His name is Jake and as the cliché goes, he seemed like a really nice guy at first." Shelley looked interested. "The friend who introduced us was someone I worked with when I first moved here to the city. I was in college and didn’t have much time to devote to looking for dates. When Jake asked me out, I refused at first, just out of a time constraint."

"Was he persistent?"

"Politely persistent, and very charming. I also trusted the girl who introduced us which was a mistake."

"Did she know he was a jerk?"

"I’ll get to that, but eventually he wore me down and we went out. He was interesting and funny, and I had a great time. He was so cute when he asked if I thought I might be able to make time for him occasionally." She smiled bitterly at the memory. "I was so flattered that he liked me so much right away. He wasn’t pushy or anything, but he was focused."

"Like he had no other interests but you, right?"

"Yeah, like that. And we went out a few more times and he was a law student and took me to a couple of high society cocktail parties. I was flattered when he told me that he liked having a date who could hold an intelligent conversation. I felt like he really understood me."

"What happened?"


"We got a little more serious." Chloe looked away, a little embarrassed.

"You started sleeping together?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good at first. He stayed attentive, and we went away for a long weekend to the coast. I felt so grown up." She felt the tingling in her nose that she knew meant that tears would be coming. "I had lost my Dad the year before, and I didn’t have any family to introduce him to, so I introduced him to my two best friends from high school. They were both guys." She didn’t mention the names since Lex might have mentioned Clark Kent to Shelley in the past. It wasn’t a common enough name that she would risk the other girl remembering it.

"Were they hot?" Shelley grinned.

"Yeah, both of them. And Jake could see how attached I was to them. On the way home from dinner with the guys, he was really quiet. He’d been drinking and could get a little rowdy at times. We went back to his place and he was acting all moody." She shivered at the memory.

"You know, Pete’s in law school too. His mom’s a judge, I’m surprised you haven’t met before." Chloe took off her shoes and stockings. She sat on the bed and looked into the bathroom where Jake was removing his tie in front of the mirror. He made a noncommittal noise in his throat. "Jake, are you feeling alright?" She went to the bathroom door and reached out to him. He shrugged off her arm and removed his shirt.
"Oh, I’m just fine," he said, sarcastically. Rolling her eyes, Chloe turned away.

"Whatever," she said. His mood would wear off by morning, but till then he’d be impossible to talk to. He grabbed her arm and jerked her back toward him. She let out a gasp as her hip hit the side of the porcelain sink.

"Don’t walk away from me," he snarled. She pushed at his chest.

"You’re the one who didn’t want to talk, " she snapped, taking the bait. "You said you were fine and you won’t talk to me. It’s like talking to a wall when you get like this so I didn’t see the point." She pushed his hand away and rubbed her hip. "And that’s the only time I don’t clean your clock for manhandling me." She swept him with a blistering look. "Next time you think to use your hands to express yourself, it had better be a more pleasant emotion.""What happened?" Shelley asked. "Did he hit you?" Chloe paused as their food and her second drink arrived. They waited until the waitress had left. "Jane, if you don’t want to talk about this, it’s okay." Chloe downed the martini in front of her in to big gulps.

"It’s okay, I might not be over it completely, but I’m not afraid of it anymore." She sighed and felt the first tear slide down her cheek. "He didn’t hit me, because that would’ve left a mark. In fact, he didn’t leave a single visible bruise on me. It was part of his style. He still considered himself a civilized man. One who left black eyes was trashy, but using intimidation, threats, and force was just a man with power."

"So he…uh." Shelley flipped her hand over in the universal gesture of presenting something left unsaid. She didn’t want to say it either.

"Yeah, and afterwards, he acted like he’d won some kind of argument. Like he’d made a point about something."

"What did you do?"

"I was in shock, I was upset, I went home and crawled into my bed and cried. I called in sick to work and put a chair under my door. When Jake called I hung up the phone on him. He left a message on my voicemail saying he was worried about me; that I shouldn’t have stormed off after our ‘argument’. He was talking really loud and I could hear voices in the background." She wiped away her tears. "I’m sure he told people that we’d fought and I’d taken off so if I decided to press charges, he had people who would say they’d heard him tell his side of the story. He sounded so sincere on the message, but every other time he’d called, he was totally cold." She tilted her empty glass toward the waitress when the woman looked at them inquiringly.

"You think he’d done it before?"

"I know he had. I confronted the friend who’d set us up. She was intimidated by him because she’d heard strange things from his other girlfriends. She wasn’t evil. Just didn’t know how far he would go." She shrugged and traced the im of her empty glass with her finger. "I used to agonize over the conversation that night. What if I’d just walked away instead of getting into a fight. But I wouldn’t have just let something like that go. Even the smallest injustice had to be confronted. I never let things go."

"You ever see him again?"

"From time to time," Chloe answered. "He’s the assistant D.A. now for this county."

"You’re kidding!" Shelley looked incredulous. "Jake Harris?" Chloe nodded, blowing her nose into her napkin. "He seems so nice."

"I know." The next martini was set in front of her but Shelley waved away the offer of another vodka. Chloe sipped more of her drink, belatedly realizing that this was not how she planned things to go tonight.

"God, Jane. I didn’t mean to sound so insensitive." She reached out and took Chloe’s hands. "And here, I was just going to use your bad stories to try and make myself feel better. I didn’t mean to bring up something so awful."

"It’s okay, but to answer your question, the realization didn’t come until after the fight, but in retrospect, some of his habits pointed in that direction, but it was never more than just a feeling so you don’t feel like you can walk away on just a hunch."

"I think that’s what I can relate to best." She took a French fry from the plate between them and munched on it thoughtfully. "I know I should be more upset about Lex, but deep down, I know I’m just being shallow about it." Chloe didn’t speak, but she’d wanted to tell the young woman that she had more depth than the Private Detective, or even her own boyfriend gave her credit for.

"I don’t think you’re being shallow. I don’t know much about Lex, but he doesn’t seem like the warmest guy." Now that was a half-lie. Lex might be cold with most people, but his temper and his passions ran very hot. And she did know him very well. In fact, she hadn’t felt this bad about a job since she’d followed around Sheri’s husband. She decided to quit tomorrow and have someone else reassigned. She could easily say she’d been compromised by another agency and her boss would buy it. She’d still get paid and Charlie would still get paid.

"Thanks, Jane." They paid for their drinks and appetizers and left. Chloe felt both better and worse for their talk; a pleasant buzz numbed the ugly feelings that the night had brought up. They stopped at Jane’s apartment and Chloe sat in the cab while Jane piad her part of the fare. Then she turned to face Chloe. "I’ll still be going to the charity ball with Lex. We’re still each other’s dates for the next few weeks till we run out of things we’ve committed to."

"A lot of trouble being rich and powerful," Chloe said with a smile. Shelley smiled back. "I’ll see you there." Then she got an odd look on her face and leaned forward. Perhaps the drinks or the admission had her feeling vulnerable, but she didn’t move back right away. Shelley kissed her on the mouth, gently, affectionately. Then she moved back and got out of the cab without another word. The driver pulled away from the curb and Chloe stared out the window, still stunned. "Of course," she said, out loud.

The cab was several blocks from Shelley’s apartment when Chloe checked her messages. There were three from Lex, each more agitated than the last. The final message was just him saying "Chloe, come by my apartment as soon as you get this. I don’t care how late it is." Giving the new address to the driver, she deleted all of the messages and called him back.

"Luthor."

"It’s me, I’m a couple of blocks away."

"Ring when you get here," he said, curtly, and hung up. Chloe wanted to throw her phone out the window. She’d had a few drinks, little food, and a few too many jolts to her system to deal with any of the typical Luthor dramatics. Instead, she threw a mini fit in the back seat, trying to throttle her cell phone. She only gained an odd look from the cabbie.

Chloe got out onto the street and steadied herself. Handing some cash to the driver, she blinked the haze out of her eyes. The martinis were still hitting her, even Twenty minutes after she’d stopped drinking. She dialed Lex’s number as she walked into the foyer.

A/N: I know I cut it short, but I wanted to get this posted before i went home. I also wanted to get all of their encounter in one chappie

[JosiCuervo]

:ecstatic: There's a Zelda update!!! :ecstatic:


"It’s okay, I might not be over it completely, but I’m not afraid of it anymore." She sighed and felt the first tear slide down her cheek. "He didn’t hit me, because that would’ve left a mark. In fact, he didn’t leave a single visible bruise on me. It was part of his style. He still considered himself a civilized man. One who left black eyes was trashy, but using intimidation, threats, and force was just a man with power."

"So he…uh." Shelley flipped her hand over in the universal gesture of presenting something left unsaid. She didn’t want to say it either.

"Yeah, and afterwards, he acted like he’d won some kind of argument. Like he’d made a point about something."
:wth: Way to make my stomach lurch. Some people are just twisted… :kill:

"A lot of trouble being rich and powerful," Chloe said with a smile. Shelley smiled back. "I’ll see you there." Then she got an odd look on her face and leaned forward. Perhaps the drinks or the admission had her feeling vulnerable, but she didn’t move back right away. Shelley kissed her on the mouth, gently, affectionately. Then she moved back and got out of the cab without another word. The driver pulled away from the curb and Chloe stared out the window, still stunned. "Of course," she said, out loud.
Chloe got (slightly) macked on by a girl!! WooHoo!! :yeahbaby:

"Ring when you get here," he said, curtly, and hung up. Chloe wanted to throw her phone out the window. She’d had a few drinks, little food, and a few too many jolts to her system to deal with any of the typical Luthor dramatics. Instead, she threw a mini fit in the back seat, trying to throttle her cell phone. She only gained an odd look from the cabbie.
:rofl: That would so be me in that situation. :bang: I get all sorts of weird looks when I throw a :tantrum: in public and I can't count how many phones I've gone through....insurance is a wonderful thing.

Zelda~ Great update. I'm looking forward to the not quite sober Chlex altercation. And if they accidently fall into bed, I will not be offended... :hankpank:

~Erica ;)

[Kit Merlot]

Zelda, this was an excellent update!

I do have a question, though. Is it wrong to want this Jake jackass to suffer for hurting and scaring Chloe when she was so vulnerable after her father's death? Because I want Jake to experience some DEEP hurting.

So, Chloe shares her horrible story, and now Shelley has a crush on her? Damn!

But, I do feel sorry for Shelley--she is completely out of her depth with both Lex and Chloe.

And I'm very much looking forward to the Chlex meeting, and I hope Chloe doesn't pass out before anything good can happen :grin3:

[meg20]

Great update and I thought that something like Shelley being a lesbian might come up. But seriously now I really need the next chapter with lots of Chlex interaction and smut.
Update soon please!!! :grin3:

[lexchloe]

Yay!!! Excellent update. Interesting Shelley/Chloe interaction and revelations. I'm wishing that Lex finds out about Jake and does him some serious damage for what he did to Chloe.


"A lot of trouble being rich and powerful," Chloe said with a smile. Shelley smiled back. "I’ll see you there." Then she got an odd look on her face and leaned forward. Perhaps the drinks or the admission had her feeling vulnerable, but she didn’t move back right away. Shelley kissed her on the mouth, gently, affectionately. Then she moved back and got out of the cab without another word. The driver pulled away from the curb and Chloe stared out the window, still stunned. "Of course," she said, out loud.


Looks like our girl might have figured out shelley's secret. I do hope though that Shelley's not falling for Jane/Chloe because she'll end up getting hurt again if/when the truth comes out. Loved Chloe trying to throttle her phone after talking to Lex (hee hee). Can't wait for the next Chlex interaction (smut filled maybe???:puppydog: ) More, more more soon please.

[BellaMR]

Yay, an update!
First off, I think Lex must definately find out about Jake. Maybe he can show up to the party too and Shelly can mention something about it to Lex. However it happens, pain is in order. Isn't Lex involved in some sort of lawsuit now? Is this guy involved?

Secondly, I wasn't too surprised by Shelly kissing Chloe. I do feel bad for her though because Chloe only has eyes for Lex.

I can't wait for the next chapter. There will be smut, right?

[kimmie]

Great interaction between Chloe and Shelley. Update soon!

Kimmie

[arkakitty]

Ohhh poor Chloe....but what a blow that must be to Lex's ego :)

[Krysia]

"He didn’t hit me, because that would’ve left a mark. In fact, he didn’t leave a single visible bruise on me. It was part of his style. He still considered himself a civilized man. One who left black eyes was trashy, but using intimidation, threats, and force was just a man with power."


That kind of a "man" [ and lets just use the term vaguely] makes me sick. I hope Lex headr the conversation and will take car eof him.
Grr, poor Chloe. I'm glad that she was strong enough to leave him and secure in helf self worth to know it wasn't really about her as a person.
Can't wait for the next chapter, it will have Lex in it, right?

[chril1]

very powerful chapter. good interaction between shelley and chloe, and i can't help but hope that there's a way for them to remain friends after the revelation. poor chloe, with jake-ass, looking back the experiance in the alley with lex must have been hard to forgive.

can't wait for the chlex interaction, i hope chloe lets a few thigs slip, mainly the jake incident, his name, and address.

update soon

lea
xxx

[hfce]

Oh I knew she was into women. Chloe I feel so bad for her. She is caught in the middle. I can't wait to see how her conversation goes with Lex.


Hope ;)

[deia]

great chapter and just like hfce said I'd picked up some vibes from Shelley as well especially when she seemed so torn about her fight with her friend. Anyways keep up the great job and please update soon you cannot put a Chlex moment right under our faces and just leave it at that (ok so you can but you wouldn't be that mean, now would you?) ;)

[vardaquareien]

great chapter and just like hfce said I'd picked up some vibes from Shelley as well especially when she seemed so torn about her fight with her friend.ditto! I think it was Shelley's reaction to the fight with her 'friend' that first tipped me off.

Wonderful chapter. I loved Chloe sharing so intimately about her past - even if the events were horrible. I really hope that Jake comes into this fic somewhere and something...really terrible happens to him! I'm really glad that we got to see something so intimate in Chloe's life. Past incidents help shed light on present reactions. Especially Chloe's terror of Lex back in the alley several chapters ago.

I can't wait to see what Lex is so stressed about. A stressed Lex and a half sloshed Chloe alone together bring up interesting thoughts :yeahbaby: .

[star del mar]

What a great update! I think I would be just as confused as Chloe is. What the hell is going on? Shelley's kissing girls and Lex is agitated, this is great, lol...I can't wait for more!!

Steph*

[BabDreamer]

Oooh, I totally love this fic! Can I brag too and say I kinda had an idea of what was going on with Shelley ever since she got really upset over that argument with her friend? It only got stronger sice the last chapter.

I also feel really bad for Chloe about that Jake guy. What a jerk, can't belive creeps like that get off so easily and still come of looking like they've never done anything wrong!! argh, what an ass!

I'd love to see some Chlex interaction now... please :D please post more soon

[starmoon]

more i must have more or i might die from the wait by the way love the update please continue. i hope lex things get better between chloe and lex.

[showntell]

Great chapter but again no face to face chlex! =(

You were hinting that it would be a long chapter next...right? Maybe some Chlex smut perhaps?

Anyway...I think things are going to get really messy when shelly finds out the truth...including the fact that Lex broke up with her because of Chloe (that's my story and I'm sticking to it)

I wonder if Jake will show his nasty face in this story...I think he will and there will be revenge to be had. The intrigue just keeps coming.

[tracyaching]

There's not much I can say that hasn't been said except this line is absolutely hilarious and brilliant- "I have sound proof walls and a big closet. I can do whatever the f**k I want." Love it! and love this story, please update soon!

[squash]

eeeee i'm squeeling like a little girl... i can't wait for their encounter:) more more more, i want more please

[LarkLuthor]

How'd I miss the update? Oh, things are heating up! I hope you give us more soon!

Bouncing Excitedly, Lark

[zelda]

"Doorman’s expecting you," Lex said by way of answering the phone and hung up again. Chloe squealed in frustration and stomped her foot. With her already precarious balance, she slipped and twisted her ankle. Stopping to rub the offended appendage, she noticed a pair of shiny black shoes in front of her face. She looked up at the doorman. She decided for an outlet to her anger at Lex and smiled widely.

"Hi there, Sugar," she said in a sultry voice. "You’re not Mr. Lincoln…uh, Luthor are you?" She leaned on her good leg and thrust her hip forward. "Cause you’re just adorable." The man had to be at least Sixty years old with a sour face and beady eyes. She chucked him under the chin with her fingertip.

"No, Ma’am," he said, in a slightly offended tone. "I’m instructed to show you into the private elevator."

"Ooooh! A private elevator?" She clapped her hands and bit her pinky nail. "This is evening is looking better and better; I just hope Mr. Linc-Luthor is half as cute as you." She waited until the elevator doors closed and looked at the rounded mirror that sat in front of the security camera. She made a big show of adding lip gloss and pushing her breasts up to the top of her tank. Any man who orders a woman to his apartment and hangs up on her deserved to have people think he had to pay for sex. She swayed out of the elevator when the doors opened, partly because her ankle was sore, and partly for show. Lex’s apartment was the only one on the top floor so she didn’t need directions.

Knowing that the cameras were catching every moment of her approach, Chloe hammed it up, stopping at the door and striking a garishly slutty pose of hips pushed out, legs splayed wide, like she’d seen Paris Hilton do, and knocked. She heard footsteps approach and flicked the strap of her top off one shoulder. She was glad she’d gone with the strapless bra tonight. Lex opened the door and she leaned in.

"Hi, Handsome." She smiled lazily and pushed a breast in his direction. Her back started to cramp while he stared at her with dual expressions of curiosity and annoyance.

"Where the Hell have you been?"

"I came as soon as I got your message." She grinned. He raised an eyebrow.

"What was with the message you left me about not calling you till you called me? I’ve been sitting on some important information."

"Me too." She trailed her fingers over his scalp. He caught her hand roughly. "Blame your girlfriend on the timing."

"You reek of alcohol. And why do you have all that shiny pink junk on your lips?"

"Blame her for that too." Chloe sauntered past him and stepped out of each of her shoes. She slumped over to the bar, now that she was out of sight of the camera. She wiggled her toes in the sheepskin throw rug on the floor under the bar stools.

"So you-Shit! Watch where you leave your shoes." Lex picked up the little heels he’d stumbled over and tossed them behind the couch. "So you’ve been out having a fine little girls night while I’ve been here twiddling my thumbs?"

"Considering you choice in women, Lex, I’d say you’d be better served twiddling something else." Chloe looked at the decanter collection and began grabbing bottles, taking the tops off and sniffing the contents. When she found one that had almost no smell, she decided it was Vodka. "Where’s the ice? I really need a drink."

"You haven’t answered my question."

"You’ve only made accusations, Lex. Ask me something direct and maybe I’ll come up with something."

"I’ll reiterate my first question," he said, crossing the sunken living room to try and take the Vodka decanter away from her. "Where the Hell have you been?"

"Doc Proper’s."

"With Shelley?"

"She called me," Chloe lifted her hands, defensively. "I didn’t make any moves at all." She saw his frown. "By the way, I think I’ve figured out who the culprit is, and its good news and bad news."

"What’s the good news?"

"They’ve…broken it off."

"What’s the bad news?" he asked, then leaned forward.

"She has her eye on someone else." She lifted the decanter out of reach and proceeded to keep Lex from wrestling it from her grasp. He finally gave up the match and flung his arms to the side.

"Are you going to give me the details or not?" he asked. "And why did she tell you all of this?" He took down a glass and removed the top to the ice bucket that was sunken into the bar in a chilled, hidden compartment. He plucked a few cubes from it with metal tongs and placed them in the glass. He handed it to Chloe who poured Vodka over the top of the ice and rooted around in the mini-fridge till she found some orange-mango juice. "I am going to strangle you."

"I know, I’m just having a last drink before you do."

"No, I mean if you don’t tell me."

"You will either way." She stuck her finger in the glass and swirled it around to stir the juice in. She sucked her finger clean and held up the glass. "The person she was seeing is most likely her girlfriend, Katie." She took a big swallow of the drink and watched Lex’s expression. His features appeared frozen and only his eyebrows were higher. "And the person she has her eye on is me."

Lex didn’t strangle Chloe. He took the drink from her hand and downed the contents in one gulp. She poured more vodka into the glass and more juice when he slammed it back onto the bar. He watched only the glass when she poured but picked up her hand and curled three fingers into a fist and used her index finger to stir the glass again. Then he lifted it to his mouth and sucked it like she had. He still didn’t look at her when he downed the second drink.

"Did she tell you this?"

"Which part?"

"That it was Katie…and you?" He stared at the glass, as if the weight of his gaze could shatter the glass. Chloe took a deep breath and tried to clear her thoughts a little.

"Over the course of several conversations, she opened up to me about your relationship. She never indicated that she didn’t care about you, or mention any ulterior motive for being with you. In fact she expressed regret that the two of you didn’t always connect on an emotional or intellectual level." Chloe was proud of herself for keeping her words straight. "That being said, she also indicated that there was someone else in her life that she’d felt she wanted to be with."

"And you think that it was Katie?"

Chloe regurgitated most of the conversation that she and Shelley had engaged in earlier that evening. She left out her own confession but stressed the multiple rejections she’d had.

"Do you remember how upset she was when I met her? She’d just had a falling out with Katie and was really bothered by it, but she never went into much detail about why."

"So because she said she was interested in someone else and because she admitted it to you; you think she’s gay?" Lex was looking defensive.

"Lex, it’s the way she voiced her displeasure. You heard her say on the tape that you had skill, and put in effort, but it just didn't do it for her."

"Maybe that’s not it." He pushed away from the desk. "I’m paying you a lot of money to get me something concrete, and you’re bringing me back speculation." He was getting angry.

Chloe pursed her lips and poured another drink, slowly adding juice, vodka and more ice. She swirled it around in the glass, and took a sip.

"She kissed me, Lex." He turned around. "In the cab. It was a real kiss, not just a friendly one."

"Like with tongue?" he asked.

"A kiss can be serious without tickling the other person’s uvula."

"What the Hell is a Uvula?"

"It’s that little thing that hangs down in the back of your throat."

"Oh." He paused. "But you’re sure it was a real kiss?"

"Even without the tongue, yes, I’m sure. Women are experts in the subtlety of kissing. She might not be my type, but she’s good. I can see why you were jealous." She lifted the drink to her lips but ended up kissing the back of Lex’s hand. He’d placed his palm over the glass and tugged it from her. "You keep stealing my drinks."


"You stole my girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend from what she told me tonight…and no I did not. I’m not into chicks." She rooted around the bar till she came up with more juice and another glass. She made herself a drink with rum this time and they stood in silence while Lex drank her vodka and she mixed a Mai Tai.

"Show me." Lex turned to face her. Chloe rolled her eyes and started to turn around. "No, show me how she kissed you." She shook her head. Lex stepped forward and blocked the narrow opening between his bar and the wall. "Come on, just one little kiss? You did it before."

"Yeah, and I ended up against a wall." Chloe felt her face begin to heat up. "I think I’ll pass."

"I’ll keep my hands behind my back." Lex’s hands disappeared. "You made out with my girlfriend, the least you can do is tell me how she kissed you so I can compare." He looked at her imploringly. "It’s really the fair thing to do."

"I’ll just tell you, Lex," she said, sipping her drink. "She was sitting in the cab with me and we stopped at her apartment, she just leaned forward and kissed me. No tongue, no hands, just lips."

"Like this?" He leaned down, and puckered up. Chloe spread her palm over the lower portion of his face.

"Cut it out, Romeo-Ewww!" She drew back her wet hand. And rubbed it on her pants. "That was gross, and soooo Jr. High." Lex had stuck his tongue out and smeared her hand with saliva. He grinned. "So much for no tongue, now I’m definitely not kissing you."

"I promise, I’ll just be the startled recipient, unwillingly kissed by an aggressive female." His hands reappeared and he set down his glass. He placed his palms flat on the bar and closed his eyes. He turned his face toward her and leaned over. "Just plant one on me, like she did. Nothing more…nothing less."

Chloe bit her bottom lip. He wouldn’t stop bugging her till she did it. She knew she could just leave, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t kissed him before.

"Fine, just keep your eyes closed, and your hands where I can see them." She sighed and thought back to Shelley’s kiss. Then she leaned forward and relaxed her mouth. She pressed her lips softly against Lex’s then puckered slightly, once attached, and exerted a little more pressure, using her lips to push herself away. She paused, for the briefest of moments, as long as she thought Shelley had, and then backed off. "Like that." Lex’s eyes were open, and his hands remained on the bar. He turned his face away from her and gazed at his glass.

"Just like that?"

"Yeah." His forehead wrinkled. "Sorry if that’s bad news."

"Well, she never kissed me like that. So I guess I shouldn’t feel to badly about what happened between us in the hotel."

"I don’t want to talk about that." Chloe scooted around him and moved toward the couch.

"Then tell me something else." She paused. "Tell me how you got her to open up to you so easily. It must have been something besides your considerable charms." He didn’t look playful, or angry, but he did look serious. "You had to open up to her in order for her to let her guard down, and I’m guessing that if she kissed you for the same reason."

"You’re right, Lex," Chloe said, feeling more sober, despite her current drink. "I did open up to her. She was upset and I felt a little guilty about betraying her trust, so I told her about one of my more problematic relationships."

"Are you talking about our honorable District Attorney?" Chloe’s smile left her face. Then she recovered her composure.

"You mean Assistant District Attorney."

"Not for long." Lex approached the couch. "I know you two dated for a while. And I know that you haven’t spoken since; at least not in public."

"I won’t ask how you know about him, because I do this kind of thing for a living, but I want to know why you felt it necessary to go digging into my personal life." She placed her glass on the glass, coffee table with an agitated click. "You invited me in, I never invited you."

"After the…incident in the alley," he began.

"Oh, you mean when you pinned me and cut my clothes off?" Chloe was getting hostile. "That ‘incident’?"

"Yes. When I apologized you said another man had used sex as a weapon and I did some checking. I didn’t think you’d tell me, but I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that someone had hurt you."

"Someone besides you?" She got up off the couch and began hunting for her shoes. "Jealous that someone was taking over your favorite pastime?"

"I’ve stopped trying to hurt you. I haven’t made any attempts in weeks."

"Bullshit." She kicked a fallen throw pillow out of her way. "You couldn’t stop, even if you tried. Where are my shoes?"

"Why don’t you think I can stop?"

"Show me the tattoo!" She wiped away a stray tear and faced him, folding her arms across her breasts. "I want to see it and I want to touch it."

"Fine," Lex said, walking over to her and picking up the pillow. He placed it carefully back on the couch and stood in front of her. "But you’ll have to reveal it yourself." He spread his arms wide and stood, bare inches from her, waiting.

Chloe grabbed the first button and wrestled it out of the hole. Another tear escaped and she sniffled, wiping it away with the back of her hand. They came a little faster and her hands started to tremble with the next button. She managed to unfasten it and had to keep blinking as her vision became obscured. She felt her face crumbling and Lex’s hand came up to hold hers. "You’re probably right, I don’t know if I can stop hurting you, but I’m trying to break the habit." She didn’t look up at him; she turned her gaze to the side and looked at his shoulder instead.

"I don’t know if I can stop goading you. It just feels…I don’t know."

"Good?"

"Sort of."

"I need it." He tipped a finger under her chin and lifted it. He used his thumbs to wipe under her eyes. "I’ve never been able to ask you the one thing I should’ve asked a long time ago. So I push you to keep hurting me instead."

"What?"

"Can you forgive me?" He cupped her face in his large palms. "I didn’t intend for your father to get hurt. I just didn’t care enough about the two of you back then to make an effort because I thought it was more important to look strong in front of my father. It took me a while to figure out what really happened when Dad erased my memories. By that time, you’d already graduated and we had locked horns a few times already." Chloe started to turn away but Lex wrapped his arms around her and held her. "I avoided you because I didn’t want to know what you were doing, or what your father was doing." She pushed away and stumbled barefoot to the door. "Clark and I weren’t speaking so I didn’t have him to remind me either." Lex spoke loudly. "Please, Chloe." She stopped with her hand on the door. "Tell me. If I asked you, could you forgive me?" He watched as Chloe rested her forehead against the door and slammed her fist against it a few times in frustration.

"I can’t get the self-satisfied look on your face out of my head," she replied, speaking to the solid wood. "The look you’ll be wearing after I forgive you and you do something else just to hurt me more."

"What if I begged?" Lex walked to where she was standing and dropped to his knees in front of her. He reached out and placed his hands on her hips. He rubbed his thumbs in the silky material of her top and pushed it up, baring a small strip of skin. He stared at her navel, as if contemplating his next words. "Could you forgive me?" He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against her stomach. His fingers flexed on her hips, tightening and relaxing. He rubbed his face against her, rhythmically, easing up the shirt until more skin was exposed.

Chloe felt more tears running down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the door. Her hands moved up and rested on Lex'’ shoulders. She tried to tell herself to push him away; instead, her arms went around him and she held him close to her. He placed several small kisses on her stomach, then slid his hands up her ribcage as he stood.

"Please don’t devastate me with another game," she said, softly. "I’m just too tired." Lex brushed away her tears and lifted her into his arms. He kissed her on the mouth and walked to the bedroom, carrying her limp body.

[lexchloe]

Woah. Very intense update. Loved the revelation about Shelley and Lex's reaction. It might be an imposition on his part but I like that Lex is interested in Chloe's life and that he put two and two together about their incident and her loser ex. Also found it interesting that whilst he's trying to stop hurting her, he can't stop goading her, almost like he craves some form of reaction from her.


Can you forgive me?" He cupped her face in his large palms. "I didn’t intend for your father to get hurt. I just didn’t care enough about the two of you back then to make an effort because I thought it was more important to look strong in front of my father. It took me a while to figure out what really happened when Dad erased my memories. By that time, you’d already graduated and we had locked horns a few times already." Chloe started to turn away but Lex wrapped his arms around her and held her. "I avoided you because I didn’t want to know what you were doing, or what your father was doing." She pushed away and stumbled barefoot to the door. "Clark and I weren’t speaking so I didn’t have him to remind me either." Lex spoke loudly. "Please, Chloe." She stopped with her hand on the door. "Tell me. If I asked you, could you forgive me?" He watched as Chloe rested her forehead against the door and slammed her fist against it a few times in frustration.

"I can’t get the self-satisfied look on your face out of my head," she replied, speaking to the solid wood. "The look you’ll be wearing after I forgive you and you do something else just to hurt me more."

"What if I begged?" Lex walked to where she was standing and dropped to his knees in front of her. He reached out and placed his hands on her hips. He rubbed his thumbs in the silky material of her top and pushed it up, baring a small strip of skin. He stared at her navel, as if contemplating his next words. "Could you forgive me?" He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against her stomach. His fingers flexed on her hips, tightening and relaxing. He rubbed his face against her, rhythmically, easing up the shirt until more skin was exposed.

Chloe felt more tears running down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the door. Her hands moved up and rested on Lex'’ shoulders. She tried to tell herself to push him away; instead, her arms went around him and she held him close to her. He placed several small kisses on her stomach, then slid his hands up her ribcage as he stood.

"Please don’t devastate me with another game," she said, softly. "I’m just too tired." Lex brushed away her tears and lifted her into his arms. He kissed her on the mouth and walked to the bedroom, carrying her limp body.

This I liked especially. That someone like Lex actually humble himself like this and ask her to forgive him for what happened shows that despite all the animosity she might actually mean something more to him. Really hope this is the start of some kind of healing for both of them over everything. Can't wait for the next part.

[BabDreamer]

Alright. So Chloe is just as perceptive about Shelley as the rest of us, lol :LMAO
And Lex! Actually asking forgiveness, finally. Well, not really asking, but considering it?
Anyway, I could totally picture that scene with him on his knees and his face rubbing her stomach. I loved it. In my mind it totally looks like someone begging forgiveness in a very emotional scene (or maybe it's just because it reminds me of that scene in Friends with Ross and Rachel with him in that same position after what happened when 'they were on a break'). Really intense.
Now I can't wait to see what's gonna happen. I also wonder how they are going to deal with Shelley's reaction. Chloe's involvement even as a friend of Shelley just spells disaster waiting to happen, because it's impossible that Shelley won't find out the truth about Chloe. Can't wait to see what's gonna happen next!