~*~Tasha~*~ BACK-UP: "Fragile Hearts" NC-17 (Seq.to Fragile Ground)

Moderator's note: This thread is a back-up of the fic which Tasha posted and is no longer retrievable.

You can find its prequel, Fragile Ground, HERE.

Fragile Hearts - Chapter 1
By ~*~Tasha~*~

Story Summary: (Enitre Fic will be Rated from T – MA) *PG - NC17* Sequel to my one chapter fiction called Fragile Ground. This picks up the same night that Fragile Ground ended. Lex now has more than an inkling why Chloe never had a serious boyfriend, and he is kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. Chloe is tired of Lana’s games. This will continue through an alternate Season 5 starting off from this episode on.

Chapter Summary: This chapter picks up at the end of the story Fragile Ground. Chloe left Lex's mansion, and she headed back to her dorm room. The first of many confrontations with Lana occurs, and Chloe takes some action to separate herself from Lana and Lex.

Author's Note: I don't how much of Season 5 will be the same from the origins of this story on. I can tell you right now that we will NOT have to deal with Lexana scenes. Ugh. My focus will be on Chloe and Lex, what happens with those others they interact with, and what happens between them.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

<HR>

"Stupid ..." Chloe Sullivan slammed the door of her dorm room. "Arrogant ..." She threw her purse onto her desk. "Spoiled ..." She didn't care about the items she misplaced with the force she used to toss her purse. "Prick!"

Chloe collapsed onto the side of her bed and wept. She managed to rein in the majority of her emotions, except anger, during the drive from Lex's mansion back to the city. In the safety of her dorm room, she allowed the barriers to drop, and she lost herself in her tears of pain and longing.

Chloe's shoulders shook, and her sobs echoed through the modest sized room. She cursed the day she met Lex Luthor and Lana Lang. She fell back on her bed with her eyes closed. Eventually pure exhaustion took over, and she fell asleep with the tears still falling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lana Lang opened the door of their bathroom carefully and quietly. When Chloe arrived, Lana had just stepped from the shower. The sound of Chloe’s sobs hastened Lana to get dressed. She worried about what her friend was so upset about.

Lana stopped cold. Chloe’s voice, filled with curses towards Lex Luthor and herself, reached her ears. ‘Okay, maybe it isn’t a good idea for me to go out there. If she’s mad at Lex and I, she probably doesn’t want to see me right now.’

Lana closed the lid of the toilet and sat on top of it. She had no idea how long she sat there. She had no way to gauge how long it was before the sound of Chloe’s cries subsided.

Lana peeked out into the room. She breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Chloe must finally be asleep.’ Carefully she snuck out of the bathroom, grabbed an overnight back she’d kept prepared while she dated Clark, and decided to spend the night with a friend down the hall.

Lana hoped that by the time Chloe returned from her classes the next day Chloe would feel better. ‘I’ll just make sure to drop by the room when she shouldn’t be there.’

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At noon the next day Lana was confident she could return to her own dorm room. Chloe had a 12-2 pm class. It was one of Chloe’s favorites. She looked forward to it every week. She doubted Chloe would miss that class for any reason.

Lana was positive their room would be empty. So, she was shocked to find her dorm room door wide open, and some boxes were stacked outside of it. She snuck up on the doorway and peeked in like a prowler. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

The mess in the room rivaled the wake of one of Kansas’ infamous tornadoes. Clothes, books and other personal objects that belonged to Chloe were strewn about the room. Some items were sticking out of unsealed boxes, and other items were on the floor.

Lana gasped at the pile on her own bed. Clothes and other items Chloe had previously borrowed from her were at the end of the bed. The bulk of her bed was covered with various mementos, trinkets, and other gifts she’d given to Chloe over the years. A few pictures of the two of them together were tossed on top of the pile. ‘What the heck is going on?’

Chloe looked up from the box she finished sealing when she heard noise from the doorway. “Good, you’re back,” She said with a clipped voice. She marked the top of the box with its contents and sat it on top of another box near the door.

“Chloe, what’s going on?” Lana turned confused eyes on her best friend. Sure Chloe was upset about Lex, but Lana figured Chloe would be calm by now. She always got past her anger at Lana before.

Chloe picked up a pad of paper off her desk. She tore off two sheets. “What’s going on is the simple fact that I’m moving out. I thought the packed boxes would be an obvious sign.” She handed the two sheets to Lana.

Lana read the papers. The first page appeared to be a detailed list of expenses for money Lana borrowed from Chloe or was responsible to pay for utilities used. The second page listed off all the items Lana destroyed or borrowed without returning and a note from Chloe about the return of or repayment for the items.

Chloe turned back to her packing after she handed Lana the notes. When she woke up that morning, she realized two things. One, Lana’s bed was not slept in, and she refused to contemplate where Lana spent the night. Two, she’d had enough. She was through dealing with the backstabbing and lies from her “friends”.

“Ch … Chloe …” Lana half stuttered. This was not a normal Chloe response to any situation. “Where are you going?”

“As far away from you as I can get?” Chloe glared over at Lana.

“Why?” Lana asked. It scared her to see a side of Chloe that was so cold. The woman always seemed warm and loyal, even if she was as blunt as hell at times.

“Why?” Chloe laughed. ‘The little tramp has to ask why?’ She huffed. “Your innocent act isn’t going to work on me anymore, Princess. You’ve stabbed me in the back for the last time.”

“But Chloe,” Lana talked as she moved closer to Chloe, “There isn’t anything between Lex and I.” She hoped that she could reason with Chloe. It wasn’t that Lana didn’t plan on getting closer to Lex, but she wasn’t lying by saying nothing was going on yet.

Chloe spun around quickly. “Don’t you dare say his name to me!” She pointed a finger at Lana. “I was there yesterday to see you two. I know what the little poor me look in your eyes meant. You knew how I felt about Lex and you were trying to lay out your little charms on him in our dorm room. You didn’t even try to hide it!”

Lana’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. So what if I was?” She put her hands on her hips defiantly. “Lex didn’t seem to mind. I just about had him when you interrupted.”

“You devious little bitch!” Chloe slapped Lana across the face with a hard strike. “You won’t be happy until you’ve had every man that anyone else wants. Everything and everyone has to revolve around Lana Lang. Well, I’m through with that, not happening anymore.”

“How dare you?” Lana tried to hit Chloe, but Chloe moved out of the way too quickly. The force of Lana’s forward momentum had her hitting the wall instead.

While Lana tried to recover from the impact with the wall, Chloe continued to talk, “I know you’re hurt Lana, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to rip other people’s hearts out.” She added another box to the done pile. “I don’t know why I ever thought you were someone I could trust.”

Lana advanced on Chloe’s back when she turned away from Lana. She was ready to kick Chloe’s legs out from under her, but a voice at the doorway stopped her.

“Hey Chloe, I have the truck downstairs. Are you ready to …” The young sandy blonde man stopped talking after he noticed Lana’s presence. “Um, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Don’t worry about it, Jimmy.” Chloe pointed to the stacks of boxes on the inside and outside of the room. “These are all ready. I didn’t get everything quite finished.”

“That’s fine. I can help once I get these loaded.” The shy man scuffed his foot back and forth. “That is if you’ve already packed … you know. I don’t think I can do that.”

Chloe tried to keep the chuckle from escaping her lips. James “Jimmy” Connors was a sweet man, but he was shy about certain subjects. “Don’t worry, Jimmy.” She reached up and patted him on the shoulder. No one would ever believe that a man who won a football scholarship to college could be so shy, but he was. “I took care of those first.” She winked at him.

“Good.” Jimmy motioned behind him. “I’ll just grab these and start taking them down.”

“Thanks, Jimmy.” Chloe waited until Jimmy was out of hearing range before she faced off with Lana again. “I want you to stay away from me Lana, and keep your little boy toy out of my path as well.” Her gaze focused on Lana in anger. “I never did forget what you told me two years ago about not trusting me. I should have gotten a clue about your personality then.”

Lana frowned. “You can’t hold that against me. First off, something weird was going on when I said that. Secondly, 2 years have passed since then.”

“Time means nothing for true feelings, Lana.” Chloe packed her backpack and duffle back with all the school books she’d need. She contacted all of her professors earlier in the morning to arrange for her absence today and tomorrow. “You only confide in me when its convenient, or no one else will listen to your dribble.”

Lana decided another tactic than anger was in order. She fell back on her tried and proven method of persuasion. She started to cry. “I had no idea how cruel you could be, Chloe.” She sniffled for effect. “You know how hurt I’ve been lately, and you are only adding to it. I can’t believe you’re leaving me too just because I wanted to be friends with Lex.”

Chloe snapped around to face Lana. “You left me the moment you hit on Lex. Friendship my ass! I don’t give a damn if it hurts you because I won’t put up with your lying and backstabbing shit anymore.”

“He’ll never be yours, Chloe.” Lana’s eyes turned steely, and the tears were gone. “You weren’t meek enough for Clark, and you are definitely not sexy enough for Lex.” She stood with her hands on her hips.

“If Lex is stupid enough to let your skanky self into his bed, then I don’t want to touch him anyways.” Chloe growled out her words. “Come near me Lana, and you’ll meet the end of my pen. I know enough about your indiscretions to bury you so far that you’d never see your way out.”

“Lex won’t let you touch me, Chloe. I’ll make sure of it.” Lana pushed past Chloe. “We’ll make sure you disappear.” She stormed out of the dorm room. Anyone in the hallway stepped as far out of Lana’s path as they could. She looked like she was spitting fire mad.

Chloe panted from the release of adrenaline. She gripped the back of her desk chair and attempted to steady herself. She hoped it was a long time before she came face to face with Lana Lang again. She was afraid of what she might do to Lana now that the blinders were off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 2 of Fragile Hearts *PG-13, language*
*
Fragile Hearts - Chapter 2
By ~*~Tasha~*~


Chapter Summary: *PG-13, language* Lex is at his mansion thinking about what Chloe said and what he said to Chloe the same night of Chloe's visit. Will Lana be able to reach him the next day after Chloe moves out of their dorm room? What will Lex do now with the knowledge he'd gained from his conversation with Chloe?

Author's Note: Some of Season 5 will be paralleled as this story continues, but I'm sure you will find that most of it is irrelevant or drastically changed. There will be NO Lexana in this story. Also if you are a huge Lana fan, thinking her pure or nice, you won’t like my portrayal of her. Just warning you.

Author's Note #2: I was asked in a review if the Jimmy is this story was the one that was talked about on Smallville as a summer fling for Chloe between seasons. No, this Jimmy is not related at all. He is just a fellow freshman she met in one of her journalism classes.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Time seemed like it froze Lex Luthor's spirit in a never-ending replay of his argument with Chloe Sullivan. He hadn't moved from his place on the floor for at least a half hour after she left the mansion. Even later, he still hadn't moved all that far from the "scene of the crime". He sat at his desk with an empty glass in his hand.

The image of Chloe's face when Lex threw out his last jab about her relationships ran by him again. How could he have been so cruel? There was no excuse that he could use to justify his actions. The comment hadn't stemmed from business competition or even a justified hatred against Chloe. She'd never given him a real reason to hate her. Anything she did to him after Lionel Luthor's trial was a reaction to the way he had been aloof and rude to her.

Chloe lashed out at him tonight because of Lana Lang, and all of the angers and jealousy he felt knowing Chloe had to know Clark Kent's secret poured into every two-edged remark that he made. Lana was supposed to be the love of Clark's life, but he was positive that Lana didn't know Clark's secret. What did that day about Clark's relationship with Chloe? It told his jealous mind that Chloe had to mean more to Clark than Lana. He'd assumed that meant that Chloe was still in love with Clark Kent.

Lex unstopped the crystal decanter of alcohol that had become a permanent fixture on his desk the last year and a half. He tipped it over to refill his tumbler with plenty of the amber liquid. He wished the numbing effects of the alcohol could erase the memory of seeing Chloe fight back tears before she left.

Last year's quest to discover the secrets of the caves and Clark Kent's secret still seemed to consume him. The caves were a more distant memory than the latter. All he wanted to do was get revenge against Clark for thinking so little of him in the first place. He had no real interest in Lana Lang, but Clark assumed that Lex was trying to horde in on the woman Clark loved.

'Why the Hell would I do that when I spent so much time trying to get those two together in the first place?' Lex wasn't stupid enough to not realize that Lana was part of the reason that Clark wouldn't trust him or be a friend with him anymore. Another reason was the efforts of Lionel Luthor that made it appear that Lex was doing things behind Clark's back.

So now Lex sat alone in his family's ancestral home, empty and confused. He wiped his lips on the edge of the arm of his long sleeved dress shirt. When would he learn that revenge would never bring him peace? During his brush with death a short while ago, he'd seen his mother again. Was this one of the other things she warned him about? Did the blood on his hands start with the death of his own redemption?

The liquor did nothing to ease the pain in his heart and soul. It was funny how many people thought Lex Luthor had no heart and barely a soul. If they only realized just how much heart he had, they would use it to their advantage. Lionel Luthor had seen a glimpse into where his son's heart lay during the trial and before it. It was another reason that Lex distanced himself so far from Chloe last year after the trial. He wouldn't give his father a chance to take away anyone else that he loved.

In the end it seemed that it had been Lex's own actions that took Chloe away from him. He closed his eyes tightly. Her words repeated in his head like a mantra, 'The man I love no longer exists. It seems you killed him.' He slammed his empty fist down onto his desk in frustration.

"Was it worth it?" A voice that sounded similarly like his own sounded from next to Lex Luthor.

Lex Luthor looked up into his own face, dressed exactly as he was. He blinked once and then again. "What the Hell?"

The other Luthor rested his thigh against Lex's desk. He propped one cheek of his butt on top of the desk, and his clasped hands rested in his lap. "Was it worth it, Lex?"

"I have no idea who the hell you are, but you'd better explain yourself." Lex reached for his desk drawer where he stowed away another smaller pistol than the bigger one he kept in a box on his desk. The last time he saw himself anywhere other than a mirror, was not a good memory. He wasn't going to let anyone try to steal his life from him.

An amused Lex Luthor tutted at the Lex Luthor at his desk. "I know where you keep your little guns and toys, Lex Luthor." He reached over a stunned Lex and pulled the gun from the drawer. He twirled it around in his fingers like a toy. "You can't hide anything from yourself. Of course you keep trying to."

'I'm losing it.' Lex rubbed his hand over his face. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on top of the desk, and rested his head in his hands.

"Stop brooding." Alexander hopped off the desk. "It really doesn't suit you."

Lex looked up into his own eyes. "If I just ignore you, you'll go away," He said out loud. He should know better than to drink as much alcohol as he had in the last two hours.

"You should be happy that you are talking to me instead of Luthor." Alexander leaned over, and he put his face right in Lex's. "You've gotten into enough trouble with him in the driver seat." He stood up, clucked his tongue and shook his head. "I'm hoping that my presence means you are at least willing to listen to some sense this time."

"Go away," Lex muttered. "I have enough shit to deal with without hallucinations getting in the way."

"Hmmm, it seems that a pity party is in the works as well, is it now Lex?" Alexander sighed. "Luthor really needs to lay off the synapses. I'm going to ground him from mission control for a while. Knowing the stubborn ass, I'll have to lock him out."

"Oh God," Lex looked up at the ceiling. "Chloe cursed me, didn't she? She decided I needed to pay for it all?" He threw his hands up. "It wouldn't be the first time we've had witches in this town."

Alexander laughed hard. It sounded a little bit strange to Lex's ears. A memory of the last time he'd truly laughed came to mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(A year and a half before in a special safe house during Chloe's seclusion)

"Lex!" Chloe jumped up off the couch. She ran to him and hugged him hard. She didn't care how eager she sounded at seeing his face. She was going stir crazy without any contact with the outside world. She was used to always being connected to everything via a phone or the Internet. They were afraid that Lionel Luthor would be able to track most devices. So, she'd been relegated to doing word searches by hand and reading books. ‘Being dead sucks.’

Lex groaned from the force of Chloe's attack on him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her. The more he told himself that he should distance himself from Chloe Sullivan, the less he seemed to take that advice. It was a chance for him to even be here, but he had to see her at least every few weeks. "Easy there Chloe. If I go back with bruises, someone might notice." He worried about her all the time, and it was becoming harder to keep up the façade of her death.

Chloe stepped back only far enough to look into Lex's eyes. She rolled her own eyes at him. "They will chalk it up to some kinky encounter with your latest bimbo conquest."

Lex raised a brow. "Why Miss Sullivan, are you implying that you are my latest bimbo conquest?" He teased her.

"Sorry, wrong hair color," Chloe teased Lex right back. She playfully slapped Lex on the chest. "Besides my IQ is too high for the common bimbo status of most of your girlfriends, Luthor."

"You wound me, Chloe." Lex covered his heart in a mock gesture as if he'd been shot. "I'm of a mind to turn around and take this lovely bag with me."

"NO!" Chloe squealed. "If you take that bag away, I will never forgive you."

Chloe's voice almost sounded like a whimper, and Lex relented. He ended her torture and handed the bag full of new books and mind puzzles to her. "Here you go. Don't say I never did anything for you."

"Thank you, Lex." Chloe flung her arms around Lex's neck. She kissed his lips briefly. "You are a god."

"So, I've been told," Lex quipped, "Glad you finally noticed."

Chloe rolled her eyes again. "You are so full of yourself, Luthor." She blushed a moment later at the thought, 'But I'd rather I was full of you, Lex.' She quickly looked away and plopped herself back on the couch of her small room. She made sure the journal she’d been writing in before Lex’s arrival was carefully tucked under the seat cushion.

Lex wondered what caused the redness to rise in Chloe's cheeks. She looked so adorable when she blushed. 'She looks so beautiful in her little shorts outfit. When did she get so curvy, or have I been blind?' He straightened his back, and he adjusted the uncomfortable acknowledgement from his groin towards Chloe's blush while she was turned away from him.

Chloe looked up into Lex's eyes. She tilted her head to the side a little as she contemplated what the look on his face meant. Once she went to Lex for his help in dealing with Lionel Luthor, she'd learned even more about the elusive Lex Luthor. His face's subtle expression changes told her more than his words ever could. The more time she spent with him, the better she thought she was at reading those mood changes. She patted the empty space on the couch next to her.

"Don't mind if I do." Lex shrugged his arms out of the calf-length duster that he wore. It was large enough for him to hide the bags under without looking obvious when he went for his visits to Chloe. She'd commented one time on how much she loved the feel of the leather during one of his first visits. He never thought about it too hard, but he knew that was one reason why he wore it for every visit instead of the practicality that it hid the bags well.

"So tell me about the ongoing saga that is Clark Kent and Lana Lang." Chloe smirked. "It's been 3 weeks since your last visit, and I'm going through withdrawals."

Lex looked at Chloe and laughed hard. "You're kidding right?"

"Nope. It's the only soap opera I've got, and I can only get a fix every few weeks." Chloe poked Lex in the chest. "So ... spill ... how are they screwing up this time?"

Lex laughed even harder. God he loved this young woman. She was just what the doctor ordered for his wounded heart and soul. The thought was so casual and natural in his mind that he didn't seriously think about the slip of his thoughts until way later after his visit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're far away, Lex," Alexander knew what memory had crossed his own mind. "She really did know how to get the fire burning without even trying, didn't she?" He sighed. "Always a little spit fire, that one."

Lex nodded and hung his head. It was one of the things that he loved the most about Chloe. She wasn't flighty and transparent. She was a strong woman with ideals and a firm backbone. True, those qualities often came head to head with his own stubbornness, but he admired her forthright attitude.

"She's the only one you’ve truly relaxed around since Helen, wasn't she?" Alexander further stoked the fires of Lex's thoughts.

Lex gritted his teeth at the mention of the traitorous bitch that he'd been fool enough to fall for.

"Then again, not even Helen saw you at a more vulnerable point than Chloe did," Alexander prodded himself further. "Yet, she still stood by you even against Clark for a while. Chloe never judged you based on what others said, not until you proved them right by acting like an ass."

"I don't need a lecture from you," Lex ground out.

"Apparently, you do." Alexander shook his head back and forth. "Look what your quest for revenge has done, Lex. You've lost one of the only good things in your life. So, I ask you again. Was it worth it, Lex?"

"No," Lex choked on the words. "No, it wasn't."

"I'm glad to hear you finally acknowledge that, Lex." Alexander smiled. "Now the next question is what are you going to do about fixing this mess?"

"I don't know." Lex sighed. "I really don't know."

To anyone outside of Lex Luthor's own mind, nothing was amiss. The master of the house was merely passed out on his desk, sleeping it off. To Lex Luthor's mind, he'd had quite a conversation and revelation with the warmer side of his mind in the form of a dream.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(The next morning at Lex's mansion. Takes place at the same time that Lana and Chloe are arguing at their dorm room)

Lex groaned. His head felt like someone was hammering nails into it. He rubbed his temples and lifted his head off the desk. He gazed around the empty room. What he realized now was a dream from the night before came back to him full force. "Chloe!"

The moment Lex jumped up from his chair he regretted it. He pushed a button on his phone, "Enrique, it's one of those days. Drop it off in my bedroom."

A short but polite, "Right away, Mr. Luthor," answered Lex's request.

Lex moved a lot more slowly towards the door into the hall. He made his way up to his bedroom to take a shower. He had a mission for the day. He only hoped that he succeeded.

A couple hours later, Lex sped down the road to get to Metropolis. He hoped that Chloe would listen to what he had to say. He still wasn't sure what he'd be able to say to get back in her good graces. Right now anything was worth it to have her friendship again, if nothing else. He darted in and out of traffic. He was a man determined, a man with a goal ... winning back the beautiful and fiery Chloe Sullivan.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lana Lang cursed at her luck. She was stuck behind a harvester on a one-lane road near Smallville. 'If he'd just move over a little bit I could get by.' She beeped her horn a few times. 'Come on. Move over.' She needed to get to Lex's place as soon as possible.

Lana wanted Chloe to pay, and she thought that she had the trump card that would get Lex Luthor to be putty in her hands. She would offer herself to him in exchange for his cooperation with Chloe. No man could resist Lana Lang when she gave him a taste of her body. She refused to acknowledge that Clark had left her even after having her in his bed. She chalked it up to his own stupidity, not a rejection of her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Chloe and Lana's dorm after both have left)

The door to Chloe and Lana's dorm was unlocked. "Strange," Lex said out loud. No one answered when he knocked. He'd tried the doorknob on the chance that maybe they just didn't hear the knock. He was surprised to find the door unlocked.

Lex stepped into the room cautiously. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. "What the Hell happened here?"

A voice from the hall answered his outspoken question, "Some big fight from what I heard."

Lex snapped around to face the origin of the voice. "Are they all right?" No blood seemed to be able to be seen, but that didn't mean anything.

"Yeah," The vapid brunette from next door to Chloe and Lana answered. She twirled the lollipop in her mouth around. She pulled it out and curled her tongue around the confection before she sucked it back into her mouth. She knew exactly who was standing in the empty room. She let her eyes roam over Lex Luthor from head to toe.

Lex rolled his eyes at the woman's obvious attempts to arouse him. He felt nothing, and that in itself surprised him. There was only one woman he wanted to see go down on a sucker like that and hopefully not just a lollipop. "Do you know where they are?"

The brunette shrugged. "Don't know," She said. "I know that the blonde moved out. She was furious about some guy the other one was making the moves on." She sighed. "That blonde was throwing stuff around in here since 7 a.m."

'7 am?' Lex knew that Chloe was not a morning person. She must have been really ticked off to start moving that early in the morning. "I'm sure it was quite an inconvenience to you." He tried to be polite, but he really wished that the woman would disappear.

The brunette strolled into Lana and Chloe's dorm room. "Care to make it up to me, sexy?" She reached out to trail a finger down his chest. She gasped when Lex grabbed her hand and pushed her out the door.

"I'd rather you go away." Lex slammed the door in the woman's face and locked it. He turned back around to survey the room again. The more he looked the room over, the more he noticed that everything that belonged to Chloe was gone.

Lex walked over to the heap of belongings on one bed. He recognized a lot of them as birthday presents from Lana to Chloe. 'I wonder if I will have a box waiting on my doorstep when I get home.' He frowned. 'She's cutting ties.' He'd seen the signs before. He'd done it himself a time or two.

A particular photo on top of the pile caught Lex's attention. He picked it up. Several others fell from the pile when he displaced the one. He gathered several of them in hands, but a particular one remained on top of the pile.

Lex clutched the top photo in his hand. He remembered when it was taken. It was one of the few times Lana, Clark, Chloe and he were all smiles. It had been some impromptu get together at the Talon. The four of them were huddled together with their arms around each other in a pose for the camera.

Lex sat down on the stripped down bed that he knew was Chloe's. He ran his fingertips over the top of the photo in an outline over her face. Nothing remained in the room that was Chloe's except for the pictures.

'Where are you, Chloe? Where have you gone?' All of his resolve was gone. He was lost, and he didn't know where to go to next.

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Chapter 3 of Fragile Hearts *PG*
*
Fragile Hearts - Chapter 3
By ~*~Tasha~*~



Chapter Summary: Chloe finishes moving in. Jimmy has some other things to do, but he promises to meet Chloe at a club later that night. Lex is on the hunt, looking for Chloe. Lana sets herself up in Lex's bedroom at the mansion, waiting for him to return. Lionel pays Lex a visit.

Author's Note: The lyrics to the song "Precious" by Depeche Mode will be added in the story at the club. The lyrics themselves will be in italics.

WARNING: I'm not nice with Lana in this fic, and I do not paint her in a pretty light in this chapter. Be forewarned.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Chloe's new apartment)

Chloe Sullivan slapped her palms together a few times to remove the dust from them. She surveyed her surroundings. The little apartment wasn't much, but it would be good enough for her. The location was close enough to campus for an easy commute. It wasn't too far away from the Daily Planet where she worked, and it wasn't too expensive either.

The best thing about the apartment was the fact that she'd finally regain her privacy. Having Lana Lang live with her had been nerve wracking. None of their class schedules matched, and their lifestyles were on different ends of the spectrum. When Chloe needed to study, Lana wanted to chat or blast her music.

Chloe wasn't a prude, but she always hoped that Lana would start treating her with more respect. 'Maybe I shouldn't have set my standards so high.' She snorted at the thought. When Lana needed to study or sleep, Chloe usually left the room. She also plugged in her head phones to help keep her music from disturbing Lana. Lana never tried to do anything like that, and Chloe was sick and tired of hearing all about poor Lana and her troubles.

Jimmy Connors carried a stack of broken down boxes out of the kitchen. "You still need to go grocery shopping, Chloe. You've got your basic crackers, Mac and Cheese, bread, and hot chocolate mix. You need milk, and other stuff." He opened the front closet and stacked the broken down boxes in there in case Chloe needed them again.

Chloe nodded. "Thanks Jimmy, are ..."

"Oh," Jimmy interjected, "I made sure you have plenty of coffee too. The pot is set up on an automatic timer for tomorrow."

"Ah yes, a bright spot in my day." Chloe laughed hard. "It's scary that you already know me so well."

"I assure you it's an act of self-preservation on my part since I'm in your classes tomorrow." Jimmy had met Chloe in a deductive journalism class at Met U on the first day of the semester. They hit it off well as friends, but he knew what Chloe was like if she didn't get enough caffeine especially in the morning.

Chloe playfully punched Jimmy in the upper arm. "Jerk. There was a lot more than not getting my morning java fix that had me cranky that day."

"Yeah I know." Jimmy pulled Chloe into his arms and hugged her. "It obviously didn't get better since you ended up moving out."

"Even worse." Chloe let herself bury her face in Jimmy's chest and cry. "I'm afraid that he's already fallen for her little act."

"Give Luthor some credit, Chloe." Jimmy tilted Chloe's chin upwards to look at him. "That scene you walked in on could have meant any number of things."

"You didn't hear her after you left, Jimmy." Chloe shivered in Jimmy's arms.

"Did she threaten you?" Jimmy was a mild tempered guy, but he was protective of his friends.

"Yes," Chloe said with a gulp. "She said that she would get Lex to make me disappear." She choked. "She was serious, Jimmy. I know Lex can do it too."

"What makes you think he will want to? You two were friends once." Jimmy tried to reason with Chloe. "Heck, he protected your life like it was his own against Lionel Luthor."

"He needed something from me then." Chloe pushed away from Jimmy. She sat down on the couch. One of the nice things about apartments near the college, some came furnished. She'd paid a little more for a furnished one, but it was worth it. "He hasn't treated me like a friend for quite some time. I doubt that he trusts anyone like that anymore."

"There is part of your answer, Chloe." Jimmy smiled. "He isn't going to just trust every word Lana speaks. He'll at least try to get the facts first, or at the very least see you face to face."

"I hope you're right, Jimmy." Chloe sighed. "I really don't want to involve the one person who could protect me from Lex and make him hate Lex even more."

"I know enough about you Chloe to know that I shouldn't ask what or who you mean. So, I'll let it go for now." Jimmy walked over to Chloe. "Just remember that I'm your friend too, and I will do whatever I can to stand by you."

Jimmy handed Chloe a brightly colored business card. "Show that to the doorman at that club tonight around 9, and it will get you in." He rested his hand on Chloe's shoulder. "I have to get to the rest of my classes, but I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Okay." Chloe smiled. "It probably isn't a good idea to be alone here tonight anyways."

"I'd never let you miss our regular date night anyways." Jimmy ruffled Chloe's hair.

"You know just how to cheer me up." Chloe's smile widened. "Oh, and make sure to tell Charles that I appreciate him letting me sublet for now."

"He wasn't using it anymore." Jimmy grinned. "He’s slept elsewhere more than he has here for months. See you tonight." He headed for the door, waved, and closed the door behind him.

'Now, how to occupy myself for the next 4 hours.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lex's penthouse apartment/office in Metropolis)

"Then you aren't looking hard enough!" Lex slammed the phone back into its cradle with almost enough force to break it. He turned around in his chair to face the window. He always preferred the natural lighting from the outside when he worked. Though a large chunk of his work schedule was spent at night, he soaked up every bit of sun he could gather during the day.

After a brief stop off at the housing office of Metropolis University, Lex hightailed it to his penthouse apartment. He'd spent the better part of the last 3 hours calling various contacts in an attempt to locate Chloe Sullivan.

"Why is it that when I want to teach someone a lesson, they can find them without a problem?" Lex growled in frustration. "Now that I really want to find her for something else, they have no leads?"

"Evil is always easier to accomplish than good, Lex." Lionel Luthor stood casually in the door to Lex's apartment office.

"How did you get in here?" Lex jumped out of his chair. "Does my privacy mean nothing to you?"

"You aren't being very private about your dealings, Lex." Lionel stepped further into the room. "The whole town should know by now that you are on the hunt for Chloe Sullivan."

Lex confronted his father. He stopped Lionel before he'd made his way halfway across the room. "I don't need you butting into my private matters."

"What do you need the good Miss Sullivan for, Lex?" Lionel had been gathering information on his son's research and dealings with Milton Fine. The more he found, the more worried he was over his son's new obsession. He didn’t want to see Chloe get mixed up in whatever Fine had planned.

"That's my affair, not yours!" Lex poked a finger at Lionel's chest. "You stay away from her."

"Affair is it?" Lionel smirked. "I doubt Miss Sullivan would give you the time of day considering that you have been pursuing Miss Lang."

Lex wiped a hand down his face. "You are too nosey for your own good, Dad." He turned away and walked back to his desk. "I can only plead temporary insanity in Lana's case, and I'm not having an affair with either of them."

"As you said, it's none of my business, but might I offer a word of advice?" Lionel cautiously questioned Lex. They never had a good relationship, and it only got worse over time. Sometimes they would progress a little closer, and other times their own natures got in the way of that closeness. They were both set in their ways, and Lionel was afraid that Lex was going to follow his "old man" into places that he hoped Lex would never go. ‘I wasted too many of my years in the darkness.’

"Seeing as I've exhausted all other options," Lex spoke as he pushed a couple files into his desk drawer, "It can't hurt." He plopped back down in his chair. He hated showing any weakness in his father's presence, but he had to admit that there was something a bit different about Lionel Luthor since he regained his sanity after the meteor shower.

"Why not seek her out yourself, Lex?" Lionel offered his tidbit of wisdom. "Wouldn't it look better to Miss Sullivan if it was you that found her and not one of your informants?"

"In a city this size, it could take forever." Lex huffed. Was his father going crazy again?

"The best things in life are worth the effort it takes to gain them." Lionel had known love once upon a time. Though most would never think him capable of it, he did love Lex's mother dearly. When she died, he died right along with her.

Lex contemplated what his father said. Was it possible for him to find Chloe without all his resources? Where would he even begin? He started to think of all the places that Lana mentioned Chloe liked to go. He also tried to sort out in his mind places that Chloe would go that no one else would think to look for her at.

Lionel was a smart man. He knew how to read people, even when they tried to hide from him. He saw things that others would never see, and he saw things that the people themselves did not realize. One such thing was the connection between Chloe Sullivan and his son.

Together the pair was a formidable force that rose against him for a common goal. Lionel's reasoning for wanting Chloe Sullivan dead at the time was not simply because of her testimony that she could give or the facts she'd uncovered. He'd seen the different glances and looks on Lex's face in various pictures from his hired help that watched Lex at the time when Chloe was around. He knew that Chloe Sullivan's death would cause Lex a great amount of pain and grief. At that time, that was Lionel’s goal … to ruin his son.

No matter how hard he tried, Lex was not able to hide everything from Lionel that year. He knew that Chloe Sullivan meant something to his son. She seemed to annoy him and spar with him verbally, but Lionel figured that was part of the appeal to Lex. She was fierce, thorough, driven and loyal. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in, no matter who it was against. Those were some of the qualities that he admired about Chloe Sullivan, himself.

The pictures Lionel acquired revealed how fiercely Lex felt about Chloe. The fact that Lex pushed Chloe Sullivan away later on was immaterial to how Lex truly felt. He determined that it was a part of his son's new defense mechanisms to keep from allowing someone close again like he had with Helen Bryce. The harder Lex pushed Chloe away, the more secure Lionel was in the knowledge that Chloe was the one his son desired.

"I could try a couple of the new clubs in town," Lex said out loud. He remembered seeing some flyers posted around campus. He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair, draped it over his arm, and headed towards the door. "After you." He motioned his hand in front of him.

Lionel nodded. “It’s a good place to start, son.” He grinned inwardly. No matter what Lex thought of him, he knew how to read his son quite well by now. He knew that look in his eye. He had no doubts that Lex wouldn't stop searching until he found Chloe Sullivan.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Luthor Mansion in Smallville)

Lana paced around the study. She pushed the intercom button on Lex's desk.

"Yes, Miss Lang?" The butler knew that Lex Luthor had not returned to the mansion yet, and he couldn't get the Lang woman to leave. She'd insisted that she wait in Lex's study for him to return even though Enrique had no idea when his master would be back.

"Has Lex called to say when he is returning?" Lana whined into the intercom.

"No, Miss Lang." Enrique rolled his eyes freely because he was not in the presence of anyone else. "I am not aware of when Mr. Luthor will be returning home."

"All right." Lana pulled her finger away from the button. "I'm just going to go exploring. I’ll see what he hides in this mammoth place." She left the study. As she walked down the hall, she opened every door to see what was inside. After she climbed one set of stairs, she found a few bedrooms.

Lana eagerly rifled through the closets and drawers of each bedroom. She was bored, and a bored Lana was a devilishly curious one. She oh'd and ah'd in the closet of one of the guest rooms. "Wow." She walked over to a full-length mirror and held the pink satin and lace teddy up to her frame. "This must be one of Lex's treats for his women."

An idea struck Lana. She searched back in the drawer until she found other pieces to accent the teddy. They still had tags on them. So, she knew they were clean.

"If this is what Lex likes, then this is what Lex will get." Lana smirked. "I'll have him eating out of my hand before the night's over, and he'll give me anything that I want."

Lana ran into the attached bathroom. She laid her clothing choices on the sink, filled up the tub and slipped down into the tub for a soak. She wanted to be sure that she was perfect for when Lex arrived.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(The Oasis Club, Downtown Metropolis)

Chloe nursed the virgin margarita in front of her. She looked down at her watch again. It was already 9:15 pm. It wasn't like Jimmy to be late. She sighed and tried to enjoy the music and atmosphere of the club.

The Oasis club attempted to give the citizens of Metropolis a place of warmth and fun. There was a beach resort theme with pictures of various sandy vacation spots all over the walls. The lights were kept up brighter than most nightclubs. The club wasn't a place to hide. It was a place to be seen.

Precious and Fragile things need special handling.
My God what have we done to you?

We always try to share, the tenderest of care.
Now look what we have put you through.

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken,
Left us so brittle. There was so little left to give.

Lex Luthor walked into the club. His eyes immediately started to search the insides for the woman he was looking for. After a trip back to the Metropolis University housing office, he gathered one of each flyer that was there concerning entertainment. He was checking each one out. If he didn’t find her by the last one, he’d go through them again.

Lex thought for sure that Chloe would be in one of the darker or risqué clubs. It would have been easy for her to hide in one of them. He was pretty positive that she was still mad. He reasoned that if she was mad enough to move out of her dorm room, then she wasn't going to forget what she saw too easily. He would have a lot of making up to do, if she would let him get close enough to her to do it.

The music of the club flowed through Lex's mind, and the lyrics piqued his interest. His eyes continued their search while he listened.

Angel with silver wings, shouldn't know suffering.
I wish I could take the pain for you.

If God has a master plan that only He understands.
I hope it's yours eyes, he's seeing through.

Lex's heart jumped when he located Chloe at a table along one of the walls. He walked towards her more determined to talk to her than when he left the mansion.

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken,
Left us so brittle. There was so little left to give.

Chloe closed her eyes, and she let the music seep through her. Some of it seemed to fit her mood so well. She never figured out why Lex pushed her away during her senior year. Just when she thought he truly trusted her, he'd thrown her aside. Now, she felt broken inside. Putting her back together wouldn’t be easier either because she had a large missing piece that only one person could fill.

Lex stopped in front of Chloe's table. It pained him to see the weariness in her face and the tension in her body. He knew it was his fault for putting it there.

I pray you learn to trust
Have faith in both of us,
And keep room in your heart for two.

Chloe was aware of Lex the moment he crossed the room to get to her. She’d been attuned to his presence for a long time. She didn’t know the exact moment she started being aware of him any time he entered the room, but his scent and presence were unmistakable to her now. They were engrained in her mind deeper than anything and anyone she’d ever known.

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken,
Left us so brittle. There was so little left to give.

“Chloe?” Lex’s voice came out softer than he intended. He said her name a little louder when she didn’t acknowledge him, “Chloe?”

“I heard you the first time, Luthor.” Chloe opened her eyes. She stared at Lex in pain and anger. She was angry at herself for still feeling pain at seeing Lex. “Come to deliver your ultimatum to me in person, Mr. Luthor?”

Lex blinked. “Ultimatum?”

“The one from Lana of course.” Chloe sighed in exasperation. “Your leave my girlfriend alone, or I’ll make you disappear speech. Ring a bell?”

The venom in Chloe’s voice made Lex frown. The intent of her words struck him at a deeper level than their usual verbal judo. He felt each word was like the jab of a dagger into his flesh. “I haven’t seen Lana since yesterday in your dorm room, or should I say your former dorm room?”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed in anger. She doubted Lex was telling the truth. She wouldn’t allow herself to be set up for hurt again. How would he know about her leaving the dorms if he hadn’t talked to Lana already? “You’re slipping, Luthor. There is no way you could know about my move unless you talked to Lana.”

“Did you stop to think that maybe I went by your dorm room to find you?”

“No because I doubt that would be the reason you’d be coming to my dorm anyways.” Chloe rolled her eyes. How stupid did Lex think she was?

“Chloe, I did come by to find you.” Lex sat down across from Chloe. He didn’t want to be standing above her. He wanted to be at her level. They needed to be on an even ground in symbolism and actuality.

“Whatever,” Chloe said annoyed. “I’d appreciate it if you would leave my table, Mr. Luthor. I’m expecting someone, and I don’t think he’d be happy to see you here.” She knew that wasn’t entirely true, but she was expecting someone.

“Chloe, please.” Lex reached across the table. He rested his hand lightly on top of Chloe’s. “Please talk to me.” He hated the pleading tone in his voice, and he wouldn’t have allowed that much emotion to show through with anyone else but her.

Chloe gulped hard. Her hand shook a little under Lex’s, and the sound of his voice warred with the vision she saw of him and Lana. Lex was a manipulative man, but she’d never seen him use that kind of a voice to get his way. “Lex, I …”

“Am I interrupting something?” Jimmy stood tall next to the table. He crossed his arms over his chest.

Chloe pulled her hand out from underneath Lex’s quickly.

A brunette man as tall as Jimmy walked up alongside Jimmy after Chloe’s hand was back in her lap. He practically drooled when he looked at Lex Luthor. “Oh please tell me that is an early birthday present, Jimmy.” He tugged on Jimmy’s arm, but he pointed at Lex.

Chloe had to stifle a chuckle behind her hand. Lex looked absolutely scared once the man’s words registered with his brain. She’d never seen that petrified look on his face before.

Jimmy tugged on Chloe’s arm. “May I speak to you for a moment in private, Chloe. Charles you can keep Mr. Luthor company.”

Chloe stood up. She started to follow Jimmy, but she turned around to say something to Charles, “Be careful, Charles. He bites, but he does have a soft spot for brunettes.”

“Ooooo … even better.” Charles grinned. After his brain stopped drooling, he realized that the man across from him was the person Chloe talked to them about. ‘That doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun with Mr. Luthor.’ He grinned at Lex. “So, what’s your pleasure tonight, cutie? I’m sure I can accommodate you.”

Chloe laughed as she walked away. She hadn’t laughed like that in a while, and the horror-stricken look on Lex’s face was one she’d remember for years to come.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*PG-13/R* Chapter 4 of Fragile Hearts
*
Fragile Hearts - Chapter 4
By ~*~Tasha~*~

Chapter Summary: *PG-13/R* This chapter picks up right where Chapter 3 left off. Charles has some "fun" with Lex. Lex watched Jimmy and Chloe very closely. Jimmy and Chloe have a bit of a chat, and Jimmy gets an idea to prove his point to Chloe.

WARNING: I'm not nice with Lana in this story. Be forewarned.

Author’s Note: Maria and Enrique are names that I have seen used several times for some of the staff at the Luthor Mansion. I thought they sounded like very good names. I do not know the real names of Luthor’s staff, and I apologize to any of the author’s who feel that I have used these names unfairly.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(The Oasis Club, Metropolis)

Chloe was still chuckling, even as Jimmy dragged her away from the table. "Charles is going to give Lex a heart attack." She held her side. People were starting to stare at her oddly.

Jimmy turned Chloe around to face him. He faced in the direction of the table where Charles and Lex sat. He wanted to be sure that he could see everything Luthor was doing, and he wanted to make sure Lex could see only Jimmy's face and the back of Chloe's head. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you steaming mad at him a few hours ago?" His tone wasn't harsh, but he was concerned for Chloe.

"Yes, and I didn't invite him to sit there," Chloe explained. "He came into the club and walked over to me. I really didn't let him get very far with the explanations before you showed up."

"You didn't seem like you were trying to discourage too vehemently, dear." Jimmy saw Charles try to reach for Lex's hand and Lex jump back against the wall on his side of the table. Jimmy snorted in laughter. "Although I think that Charles is getting a little payback for you."

Chloe tried to turn around, but Jimmy kept her facing him with a hand on her arm. "Aw, come on. I want to see it Jimmy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Across the room Lex's eyes narrowed. He had no idea who the guy was talking to Chloe, but he didn't like the familiarity that he seemed to share with her. Between trying to dodge Charles' advances and trying to see what was going on with the guy with Chloe, he was getting ticked off.

"Sugar, frown lines are not good for that soft skin of yours," Charles teased. He patted the top of Lex's hand.

'Shit,' Lex thought to himself. He wanted to rip Jimmy's hand off of Chloe's arm. He started to stand up from the table.

Charles put a hand on Lex's arm. "I don't think you are wanted over there right now, Sugar. Might as well sit your butt back down." He was thoroughly enjoying getting under Lex’s skin with his actions.

Lex growled. He snatched his arm back and rested his hands in his lap to avoid being in touching range of Charles. "Who is he?"

Charles wasn't sure how much information to give the infamous Lex Luthor. Depending on when you talked to Chloe, Lex was either the center of her universe or the devil's right hand man. He wasn't sure how much to trust the man. "He is someone who is dear to Chloe. He was there for her when you all abandoned her."

"I didn't abandon her. She assumed something that wasn't true." Lex growled.

Charles rested his elbows on the table and shook his head. "That little chickadee doesn't just jump to crazy conclusions. She must have had some basis for her doubts, and you broke her heart."

Lex sighed. He wasn't about to get into the story with the man across from him, but he hated sitting there doing nothing. He turned his full attention back to Jimmy and Chloe.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jimmy grinned wider. He delighted in the angry look on Lex's face. 'He's jealous,' He thought to himself. 'This deserves further exploration.'

Chloe raised a curious brow at Jimmy's expression. "What is going on in that mind of yours?"

"Oh, just something I'm toying with." Jimmy chuckled. "You are positive that he doesn't feel anything for you, right?"

"Well, if he feels something for me, he sure has a funny way of showing it." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Knowing that Lex goes after what he wants, I'd have to say no, he doesn't feel anything for me."

"What if I could prove you completely wrong?"

"By legal means?" Chloe teased. "No drugs, Jimmy. God only knows what residual things he already has in his system from his youth."

"Very funny, Chloe." Jimmy ran his hand up and down Chloe's arm. He tossed a glance over Chloe's shoulder at Lex. "You know I don't mess with that garbage."

"Hey, with the people I've known ... you have to give those kinds of warnings." Chloe frowned. She shivered at the memory of just how scary her life was when she was trying to get away from Lionel Luthor.

"Do you trust me, Chloe?" Jimmy asked. He brought his other hand up to rub up and down both of Chloe's arms from wrist to shoulder. He grinned inwardly at the smoke he practically saw pouring out of the normally stoic Luthor heir.

"I do, but if you are trying to get Lex jealous, it won't work." Chloe shook her head back and forth. "Lex was probably playing those kinds of games when he was barely into puberty."

"Let me be the judge of that." Jimmy hoped that Charles would understand his next actions. He was positive that he would, but if not he could have Chloe help him explain.

Chloe's brow creased. "You're scaring me Jimmy. I know you don't like girls."

"A kiss is a kiss my friend." Before Chloe could protest, Jimmy pulled her very close to him and planted a kiss on her. He let his arms wrap around her back and caress up and down it. He deepened the kiss and made sure that Lex got a nice side view of the two of them kissing.

"THAT'S IT!" A voice roared over the music and noise in the nightclub. Lex jumped out of his chair. No one was stopping him from getting to Chloe this time. He stomped over to Jimmy and Chloe.

Charles looked at Jimmy with his mouth wide open. For a moment he felt anger and jealousy himself. Then, he realized what his boyfriend was attempting to do. He relaxed and decided to enjoy the fireworks show that was about to happen.

Lex Luthor was furious. How could Chloe tell him what she did at the mansion and then be kissing someone else like that so soon? He ripped Chloe out of Jimmy's arms. He pulled her behind him, drew back, and let a punch land solidly on Jimmy's jaw.

Jimmy's head snapped back. He'd been prepared for the blow. So, he was able to reduce the force of it by allowing his head to already be moving back when the punch hit.

"Lex!" Chloe screamed. She tried to push past Lex, but he fought her back. "Jimmy! Are you all right?"

Charles had already made his way next to his boyfriend. He ran his fingers through Jimmy's hair soothing him. He helped his boyfriend up to face Lex. "My precious one." He started placing little kisses up and down Jimmy's reddened jaw. "So brave."

"See I told you, Chloe." Jimmy moved his jaw back and forth. "Jealous. He's practically spitting fire." He pointed at Lex.

Chloe panted behind Lex. She was mortified that Lex hit one of her best friends. She didn't know whether to be happy that Lex was so jealous or angry that he thought he could punch someone for kissing her. "I can't believe you did that, Luthor."

"And I'll do it again if he touches you." Lex panted. He tried to reign in his temper. The stress of spending the entire day looking for Chloe was at its breaking point. "No one touches you like that but me!"

"Oh, and when did you decide this?" Chloe put her hands on her hips. "Was it before or after you fucked Lana?" She asked harshly and turned Lex to face her.

"We are not having this conversation in a public place." Lex looked around for the exit. Once he located the exit, he pulled Chloe towards the exit.

Jimmy and Charles laughed. They enjoyed watching the billionaire dragging the spitfire out of the club. Jimmy looked at Charles lovingly. "We good?"

"Yes, but give a guy a little warning next time. I almost thought you'd switched sides of the fence," Charles answered.

"Never Charlie. I'm all yours." Jimmy wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. He headed over to the previously vacated table. "Although I might have to take another day off to move Chloe again."

Charles laughed. "If all goes well. I wish I could be a fly on the wall near those two right now."

"I don't think you do. You'd have to watch out for fists flying that could squish you."

Charlie and Jimmy shared in the moment with laughter. They determined to enjoy the rest of the night together. They hoped that Lex and Chloe would get things talked about between them. They were rooting for Chloe to get what they knew she deserved ... the man she loved.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Alexander Joseph Luthor," Chloe ground out through gritted teeth while Lex pulled her out of the club. "If you don't explain yourself right now, I'm going to scream for ..."

Chloe's words were cut off and swallowed by Lex's mouth. Lex wrapped his arms around Chloe's body. One hand on her mid-back pressed Chloe tighter to him. His other hand lingered at her waist.

Chloe fought against Lex for only a couple seconds before her brain shut down, and her body took over. One hand latched onto Lex's arm as if in fear that he would vanish into thin air. Her other hand lazily lingered at the base of Lex's neck.

Lex's skin tingled where Chloe's fingers touched his neck. His tongue flickered out along her lower lip seeking entrance within.

Chloe parted her lips enough to suckle Lex's tongue into her mouth. Lex's tongue danced along hers. It caressed underneath her tongue, over it, and even lingered along the roof of her mouth. She curled her tongue, which blanketed his agile appendage within the curl like a cock slowly thrusting in and out of the womb.

Lex jerked and moaned deeply. His hips rocked against Chloe's lower half, and his hardening cock ground into her clothed sex. He turned them around in the alley and pushed Chloe up against the outer wall of the club.

'Oh my gosh,' Chloe thought to herself. Her heart raced faster. 'He's kissing me. He's really kissing me.' Her nails raked up and down Lex's back and neck, drawing a tortured groan from Lex's lips.

Lex wanted to devour Chloe whole. A part of him wanted to hide her away from all men in the world, to keep her as his alone to see. Another part of him rejoiced so loudly that he wanted to brag to every man he saw that she was his with Chloe on his arm.

Both of them were torn from their passionate embrace by several hoots and whistles. It seemed that some of the club's patrons followed them out into the alley to witness the fallout or fireworks after the spectacle inside.

Chloe and Lex stared at each other. Both of them fought to return some much needed oxygen to their lungs.

Lex saw the moment Chloe's lust fogged mind started to clear. He hurriedly burst out, "I never slept with Lana, Chloe. I promise you that. No plan is worth that kind of encounter with her."

"And just what plan is that?" Chloe regarded Lex carefully. Her heart twittered to an erratic beat from the memory of Lex's kisses, but she did not want to be one of Lex's little conquests. It would be better to never feel his touch than to know what it felt like and be abandoned by him.

"First off, could we please go somewhere more private before I bare my soul?" Lex sighed. He was worried that Chloe would turn heel and run after he said what he needed to say. He would rather be somewhere more private to prevent even more humiliation. Clark was still Chloe's best friend, and Lex had no doubts that Chloe would be pissed at Lex for what he was trying to do to Clark.

"The last time you tried to take me somewhere less public, we ended up lip-locked against an alley wall," Chloe said in a mocking tone. "I'm not so sure that it's safe to be alone with you." She thought to herself, 'I know that it's not safe for me to be alone with him. After that kiss, I'm afraid I'll rip his clothes off as soon as we are out of the public eye.'

"Even if I promised to behave?" The teasing tone in Lex's voice added more emphasis to the smirk on his face.

"Behaving for you, Lex, is still naughty to most people," Chloe teased. She'd missed their verbal snark sessions with each other. She liked talking to Clark and Lois, but no one stirred her mind and heart like Lex Luthor. From the first time she met him in the Torch's office, she enjoyed their honest banter.

"All right," Lex sighed. "I admit that I deserve that, but please Chloe. Give me a chance to explain."

"Am I going to get mad by what you are going to tell me?"

Lex's gaze wandered to the ground. "Probably, but I can't change the past now." Lex looked back up at Chloe. "I had a bit of a wake up call last night after you left."

"I hope they left their number. That way you can call them back to keep you on the right track." Chloe smiled snarkily.

"How can I prove to you that I'm serious?" Lex asked.

Chloe closed the last bit of distance between them. "How did you get here?"

"The limo. Why?" Lex wondered what was on Chloe's mind.

"Send him home, and I'll drive you to somewhere more private." Chloe offered Lex an olive branch. It took some of the control out of Lex Luthor's hands, and she knew that he always liked to be in control. If she was going to have to trust him, he would have to trust her.

Lex flipped his cell phone open. He dialed a few numbers and waited for the other end to be picked up. "Kevin, that will be all for tonight." There was a pause while the voice on the other end spoke. "Yes, I am positive. Miss Sullivan will see me home." He hung up the phone and looked over at Chloe with trepidation. "Lead the way."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Luthor Castle/Mansion in Smallville, Lex's Bedroom)

Lana flipped through another magazine that she found in one of the guest rooms. She'd already gone through 6 others while she waited for Lex to return. 'I wonder where he went.' She tried to tell herself that he was out on business, but something nagged at the back of her mind.

"I don't know how they expect women to wear these things." Lana pulled at the lace that covered her sex. Her lips itched, especially since she'd spent time shaving and trimming a neat little triangle just above her clit. "I guess they don't expect them to be on for very long."

Lana threw the mostly unread magazine down on the bed. "He'd better get here soon. Lana Lang does not wait forever for any man, not even Lex Luthor." She crossed her arms over her chest in a pout. "I do have other places I could be right now."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Luthor Castle/Mansion in Smallville, Downstairs Kitchen)

Maria, one of the mansion's full-time maids, waltzed into the kitchen. "I can not believe the nerve of that woman." She plopped down into one of the chairs around the servant's table there. "She's ensconced herself in the Master's bedroom like she is the Queen of Sheba!"

Enrique inhaled sharply. 'This is not good. The Master will be furious.' He had been privy to many of Lex Luthor's dalliances with the opposite sex. He knew the difference between when his Master was playing with a female and when he was truly interested in her. Miss Lang was nothing but a plaything and stepping stone. "Maria, the Master did say that Miss Lang had permission to enter."

"I doubt that he meant his private chambers," Maria argued. "That Bryce woman wasn't even allowed in his private bedroom!" She yelled. "Don't tell me that you did not notice that he took to sleeping in another room with that woman. I doubt she even realized that wasn't Master Lex's real bedroom."

"That is beside the point, Maria." Enrique had a fondness for the usually soft tempered maid. He was afraid that Maria was going to upset Miss Lang, and even if the woman was a temporary diversion for his master, Maria might get fired. He wanted to avoid that. "We will simply warn the Master when he arrives. I'm positive that he will handle the situation as necessary."

Maria sighed. "You are right, Enrique." She frowned. "I wish he would find someone that he could trust again. Do you remember that young blonde woman who used to stop by? They spent a great deal of time talking."

"Ah, yes, Miss Sullivan?" Enrique smiled. He'd admired the girl's fire when talking with Lex or Lionel Luthor. She did not allow herself to be walked on, but she also had a tender heart. Her motivations were usually for her friend's and family's benefit. Of course if an interesting story grabbed her, she was pretty diligent until she found the answers she sought. He found it interesting that a reporter could get so close to the Luthor’s in the first place. "She came by last night to give the Master a piece of her mind."

"She did?" Maria looked up at Enrique, hopeful that maybe some sense had been smacked into their boss.

"Yes, he was quite unnerved after she left." Enrique nodded. He was not one to gossip about his employer, but he trusted Maria. It was only the two of them in the kitchen. "I had to bring him that special remedy this morning that you created for him."

"Hmmm, interesting." Maria smiled. "She affected him enough to make him drink that much?" Her smile widened. "Maybe there is hope for the Master yet."

"Time will tell, Maria." Enrique removed a steaming teakettle from the burner. He fixed a pot of tea and poured both of them a cup. "I think that we should stay up to keep an eye on Miss Lang. Hopefully we can catch the Master before he heads to his room. I'll take first watch."

"A wise idea, Enrique." Maria sipped from her teacup. The pair enjoyed their cups of tea in silent companionship. They both had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Ch 5 - 6/14/06* Fragile Hearts *R/NC-17* (Sequel to Fragile Ground)
*
PG-13 Version of this Chapter can be found HERE.
Fragile Hearts - Chapter 5
By ~*~Tasha~*~

Chapter Summary: *R/NC-17* Chloe and Lex head to Chloe's apartment for Lex to explain. Other fun things are going to be happening at Chloe's apartment. {Grins} Lana will be left alone at Lex's mansion until the next day.

WARNING: I'm not nice with Lana in this story. Be forewarned.

Author's Note: This is the first sensual scene that I've written that did not involve a vampire and a supernatural human (vampire slayer). I know that might not make a different to some, but there is a certain feral quality to that kind of sensual scene. I hope that I have been able to convey the passion and fire between Lex and Chloe without going out of the bounds of all human intimacy.

Author’s Note #2: The quote at the end of this chapter is from Lucy Maud Montgomery or Kevin Sullivan from the Anne of Avonlea series. I don’t know if the quote was in LMM’s actual book or only on the mini series.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Chloe's Apartment, Metropolis)

"You really didn't leave Metropolis?" Lex questioned when they pulled up to an apartment complex not too far from the club.

"Nope, I wasn't leaving college behind." Chloe put her car into park. "Only you and Lana."

Lex sighed. "Did you use a different name?" He looked over at Chloe. The beam from the streetlight next to the curb made her face glow. "I tried searching for where you'd gone, all day."

Chloe pulled her keys from the ignition. "Actually I subletted from Charles."

"Is he the guy that kissed you?"

Chloe chuckled. "Nope, he's the one that wanted you for a birthday present."

Lex groaned. "That was a cruel thing to do to a guy without any warning, Chloe."

"I know," Chloe teased. "We shouldn't have gotten Charles' hopes up."

"You know what I meant." Lex growled.

"Of course I do, but that little bit of payback was nothing close to what you deserve." Chloe got out of the car, locked her door and shut it. She walked around the front of the car to the curb.

Lex watched Chloe move. He quickly divested himself of his seatbelt and got out of the car. Following Chloe's lead he locked and shut the door. Then, he walked over next to her.

"I wasn't expecting you to find me, Lex." Chloe walked between two buildings then down a little hallway to her door. "I honestly didn't expect you to even try."

"After what you told me last night?" Lex questioned. He waited at the door while Chloe unlocked her apartment. "Did you really think me so heartless?"

Chloe turned around and raised a brow at Lex. "Do you honestly want me to answer that question after what you said to me about my relationships?"

Lex raked his hand down over his face with a sigh. "I see your point."

Chloe pushed open the door. "My humble home." She stepped through the door way, tossed her coat on a living room chair, and dumped her purse and keys on a table near the door. "I'd offer you something to drink, but all I have is coffee. My friends are afraid of what I'm like without my morning java fix."

"I'd say they know you pretty well then Chloe." Lex laughed. "You could take on the nastiest of meteor freaks with no problem on a no coffee day."

"Hey!" Chloe huffed. "I'll have you know that I can handle myself just fine for a little ..." She saw the disbelieving look and knowing smirk on Lex's face. "Okay, so I need my caffeine. It isn't a crime."

"No, it isn't a crime." Lex motioned towards the couch to see if it would be all right for them to sit down. "There are a lot of vices out there that are much worse."

"You should know," Chloe muttered.

"Ouch, below the belt but not undeserved."

"So, what is this all consuming plan of yours that involved you making mushy faces at Lana." Chloe cringed at the mere thought of Lex and Lana making googily eyes at each other.

"A lot of it you aren't going to like to hear Chloe." Lex sat down. He rested his elbows on his knees. "Please promise me that you will hear me out until the end of it?"

"All I can promise is that I'll try."

Lex nodded. It was the best he could hope for at the moment. "Well, a lot of it started when I realized that Clark was hiding something major from me ..."

Lex spent the next couple hours explaining to Chloe how frustrated he'd become the last couple years with knowing that Clark was hiding something from him. He explained how much it hurt to know that the young man he considered his best friend had to be lying to him.

Chloe was furious when Lex explained about how he used getting close to Lana last year to gain knowledge about the elements and the caves. After all that Lex had done to try to get Clark and Lana together, it was stupid to go against that. She asked Lex how he could have thought Clark would trust him when Clark saw him making moves on Lana.

Lex explained that at that point he didn't care anymore. He doubted that Clark would trust him anymore anyways. He was tired of not knowing why he survived so many accidents and what it was Clark was hiding from him. He explained what happened with Lana and Mrs. Teague, and he had to pause the story long enough for Chloe to collect herself.

Chloe's hands shook over the death of Mrs. Teague. She knew that Lana's actions were in self-defense, but it scared her to think of how easily something like that was covered up in the press. A wicked woman was dead, and very few people knew the real truth behind her death.

Lex apologized for his actions at his mansion and then dragging Chloe to the caves during the meteor storm. He said that even though he was at the end of his rope and snapped, he never should have been so forceful with her. He told Chloe that as soon as he found out where she was, he dropped everything to come get her. He told her that he was going to apologize to her then, but when he heard Clark's name as the first thing out of her mouth it hardened his heart again to remain quiet.

Chloe had tears in her eyes. She could tell how much pain the memories were for Lex to bring back up. She reached across the couch and held Lex's hand in hers while he continued to fill her in on the Senate race, what his mother told him when he "died", and his luring of Lana closer to him when he found out that Clark hurt her again.

"I'll admit that I told Clark he was stupid for letting his fears get in the way of him and Lana being together, but what did you hope to accomplish by pursuing her?" Chloe asked.

"I wanted to make him mad enough to come after me," Lex said honestly. "I wanted him to let his guard down long enough that he couldn't hide whatever it was he's been hiding anymore."

"You are a smart man, Lex Luthor, but sometimes you are really stupid." Chloe shook her head. "This isn't the way to get Clark to tell you anything."

Lex stood up. He was frustrated. He ran his hand over his bald head as if he was running his fingers through non-existent hair. "He didn't trust me when he had no reason not to, and it's driving me crazy! I'm tired of the games with him."

"He isn't going to trust you if you keep going behind his back with Lana and Milton Fine."

Lex rolled his eyes heavenward. "Of course you'd know about Milton Fine. You know all of Clark's little secrets."

"Lex, please don't be like that." Chloe stood up. She placed a hand on his arm. "I take my word very seriously, and I gave it to Clark." She turned his face to look at her. "Don't you think I realize how much easier my life would be if I just told certain people about Clark's secret?"

Lex sighed. He contemplated Chloe's words. One of the things he loved about her was her integrity and honesty. How could he hate her for not giving away Clark's secret when it was one of the reasons he loved her?

"I could have helped Lana to understand how much Clark loves her and just wants to protect her, even from himself," Chloe spoke softly but loud enough for Lex to hear. "I could have told you that day in the caves and kept you from hating me when all I wanted to do is stay wrapped in your arms during that horrible meteor storm."

"I really am callous, aren't I Chloe?" Lex drew Chloe into his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head and hugged her. "I didn't stop to think about how hard it was for you not to say anything. I thought you were just Clark's little yes girl because of your crush on him."

"That crush was over a long time ago, Lex." Chloe looked up into Lex's eyes with small tears in her own. "I truly stopped caring for Clark in that way the summer you kept me in hiding."

"But your senior year ..."

"Was the only thing I could do to feel even remotely sane when you pushed me away as if I didn't exist to you anymore." The pain in Chloe's voice made it waver. "It turned out that I was just delusional all around to think that anyone would ever care for me like that." She lowered her gaze from his.

"Chloe, don't say that." Lex tilted Chloe's chin up with two fingers. "Please forgive me for my part in making you feel that way because it isn't true. You are a remarkable and beautiful woman. You deserve much better than Clark or I."

"I don't want better or worse." Chloe kissed the tips of Lex's fingers. "I don’t want anything but you, Lex. You're all I've wanted for a long time."

Lex lowered his head to sample the sweetness that he knew he would taste on Chloe's soft lips. He trailed the tip of his tongue over her lips and pierced the tip between her lips.

Chloe moaned. 'That man sure knows how to kiss,' She thought to herself. One hand wrapped around the back of Lex's neck, and she held him there. She lightly scratched her fingernails up the back of his neck and over his scalp. The moan from Lex's lips encouraged her to continue the caress until he lifted her off the floor and turned her in the direction of her bedroom.

Lex moaned deeply into Chloe's mouth. Their tongues dueled and danced around each other's mouths, and their hearts raced. He thought he would melt into a puddle of mush after the first time Chloe paid attention to his sensitive scalp. Her continued caresses were driving him crazy. No one had ever spent much time on his head. He wasn't sure if they were afraid to touch it, or if they just thought it wouldn't be an erogenous zone without hair.

Chloe pulled back from their kiss, panting. "I should call Charles and Jimmy to let them know I'm all right." She tried to catch her breath and pull her cell phone out of the pocket of her pants.

Lex clasped his hand over Chloe's. "Do you really need to talk to them right now?" He nipped her lower lip in-between his teeth playfully.

Chloe casually slipped her hand out from under Lex's. "Well unless you want Charles coming in here during the middle of the night and see you naked, I think it would be a wise idea."

Lex shivered. He let Chloe slide down his body until her feet rested back on the floor. "Okay, you win. I'll just wait for you in there." He pointed at the bedroom.

"Good idea." Chloe laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Chloe?" Jimmy answered his cell phone on the second ring. The caller ID told him who was calling before he picked it up.

"Not intentionally, Jimmy." Chloe tried to calm her friend down. "Lex and I have been talking for the last few hours."

"Is that what they call sticking your tongue down each other's throats?"

"How did you know about that?"

Jimmy laughed. "Some of your alley audience came back inside chatting up a storm about you two."

"We're at my apartment now, and I can assure you that we've spent the last 2 hours talking." Chloe wasn't about to let Jimmy know that talking was not on the menu once she got off the phone. "We had a lot to talk about."

"Have you two kissed and made up?" Jimmy asked with a hint of teasing and hopefulness in his voice.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Chloe blushed. She was pretty open minded about relationships, but usually she didn't have any sexual encounters to share with the group.

"I think that's Chloe speak for he's still apologizing," Jimmy teased.

"Maybe. If I can get off the phone with you," Chloe teased back. "I was worried about you and Charles breaking down the door if I didn't call."

"You were about ten minutes away from that, missy." Jimmy frowned. "If I hadn't heard people talking about you leaving in a car like yours, I would have been ringing your cell phone off the hook for the last 2 hours."

"Thank you for caring so much, Jimmy." Chloe was grateful to have a friend who looked out for her but didn't step in to take over her life. She loved Clark like a brother, but he treated everyone like he knew what was best for them. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation she'd have to have with Clark about Lex. She was going to ignore any thoughts about that tonight.

"That's what friends are for. Now go finish making up with that stud of a bald man."

"Yes, Sir," Chloe mocked. "Happy to do so."

"Good night, Chloe."

"Good night, Jimmy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe turned her phone off. She'd already talked to her dad 2 days ago. She wasn't scheduled to call him again until late tomorrow. She was increasingly glad that she hadn't called to tell him about her move. It would have been hard to explain to her protective father later why she forgave Lex.

During the time that Gabe Sullivan had spent as the plant manager for Lex in Smallville, he grew to respect the younger Luthor. A lot of things changed when they all got tangled up with Lionel Luthor. Gabe didn't want to blame Lex for what happened, but he also didn't want to have anything to do with the Luthor family any more. It was going to take some fancy talking to get Chloe's father to give Lex a chance again.

"You're safe from any ..." Chloe stopped talking after she emerged into an empty bedroom. A flickering glow played at the bottom of the attached bathroom's door. She heard the sound of water running, but it didn't sound like the sink.

"Lex?" Chloe slowly turned the knob on the bathroom door. It wasn't locked. So, she twisted the knob further and pushed on the door a little. "Lex?" She called out again.

"Come in, Chloe," Lex lured Chloe into the bathroom with his voice. He was sitting in a small chair next to a large garden tub in one corner of the bathroom. The tub was halfway full with water and lilac scented bubbles already. Lex's sleeves were rolled up past his elbow.

"Wow, what's this for, Lex?" Chloe stared at the bubbles. She inhaled deeply to enjoy the lilac scent of her favorite bubble bath.

"I figured that since you packed and moved in the same day, you could probably use some pampering." Lex smiled warmly. He motioned to the tub. "Your spa awaits you."

Chloe smiled. "That is so sweet, Lex." She walked over to the tub, dunked her hand under the water to test the temperature and stood up again. "Who knew that the great Lex Luthor had a romantic side?"

"Only you will ever truly see it, Chloe." Lex stood up. He picked up his suit jacket off the sink and started to walk out of the bathroom.

Chloe grabbed the back of Lex's shirt and turned him around. She smirked at him. "If you think that you are leaving this bathroom before scrubbing my back, you're crazy."

Lex gulped. "Um, okay." He dropped his suit jacket. "I'll just turn around until you're in." He closed his eyes. All he wanted to do right now was wrap a naked Chloe in his arms and worship her body with his hands and lips.

"Lex," Chloe stood up on her tip toes and whispered in his ear, "Open your eyes."

Lex opened his eyes. He gasped at the desire and love that he say radiated in Chloe's gaze. He gulped again. "Are you sure?" He answered her unspoken statement. He thought their actions earlier might have been in the heat of the moment, and he wanted to be sure that she wanted to be with him in that way.

"More than anything, Lex." Chloe caressed Lex's cheek with her cupped hand. "Just promise me that this is more than a one night stand, Lex."

"You could never be a one night stand, Chloe." Lex ran his fingers through Chloe's short hair. He tangled his fingertips in the hair at the back of her neck.

"Unfortunately that isn't true." Chloe sighed. Between her Sophomore and Junior year in High School she had a brief fling with someone in Metropolis. She never enjoyed an orgasm from him. The boy had been driven only to reach his own pleasures. It had hurt like Hell to have sex with him the one time, but she really hoped that with Lex it would be different.

Lex frowned. Logic told him that Chloe wasn't a virgin, but he hated the thought of anyone else touching her. The idea that someone else had sampled Chloe's sensuality and left her made him even more upset. "Who is he?" He prayed that it wasn't Clark.

"No, I'm not giving you his name." Chloe saw the pain cover Lex's face. She wasn't going to give in to Lex's jealousy. She also wasn't going to let him think that Clark was her first either. She knew that was what he was thinking. "No, it wasn't Clark either."

Lex let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Thank you." He loosened his grip on her arms a little bit. "I know I have no right to but,"

Chloe placed two fingers on Lex's lips to shush him. "I understand Lex. I honestly do. Do you think it didn't hurt when I watched those women hang on your arm? I know what happened at the end of those dates."

"I'm sorry, Chloe." Lex sighed.

"Shh ... They don't exist anymore." Chloe smiled. "Now there is just you and I." She trailed her fingers down Lex's button up shirt. She slowly made her way down the shirt unbuttoning each button she came across.

Lex watched Chloe's fingers. His breath hitched a time or two when her fingertips made contact with his overheated skin. The steam from the bath water permeated into their clothing, and pebbles of perspiration dotted both of their faces.

Chloe pushed Lex's shirt open once she'd reached the end of the buttons. She pulled the bottom edge out of his pants. She absentmindedly licked her lips. Her fingernails scratched lightly across Lex's collarbone and down over his nipples. She grinned at Lex's response. 'I see that these aren't just sensitive for women.'

Lex groaned and shivered. Chloe wasn't the first that a woman had touched him, but it felt like she was. He watched Chloe concentrate on her task. Every reaction and emotion on her face was fresh and new just for him. He reveled in that knowledge.

Chloe's actions and reactions were genuine. This wasn't a game to her. She truly loved Lex, and she wanted to show him just how much. She hoped that she wasn't a disappointment to him. She started to frown, and her hands stopped moving.

"What's wrong, Chloe?" Lex wiped the sweat from Chloe's face with his fingers.

"Lex, I don't really know what to do." Chloe's frown deepened. "I've hardly ... It was just the one time."

"Nothing you do to me could be bad or wrong, Chloe." Lex smiled at Chloe. "Just your touch alone burns me." He leaned down and captured Chloe's lips with his own.

Chloe melted into Lex's embrace. She returned his kisses with equal fervor and desire. She pressed herself tighter against Lex's chest. Her shirt clung to her skin, and her nipples ached from the scratching of her bra against the pebbling points.

Lex trailed kisses across Chloe's jaw and down the side of her neck. He suckled the salty skin past his lips and rolled his tongue over it. He lowered his head farther down while his fingers worked on removing the obstacle of Chloe's shirt from his path.

Chloe wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pressed his head tighter to her skin. She arched against his mouth and moaned, "God, Lex."

"Now now," Lex teased. He paused for a moment to whisper in her ear, "Let's not bring other men into our bedroom." He reaffirmed his attack on Chloe's neck and shoulder without the hindrance of her shirt.

"Technically it's the bathroom, but who am I to quibble." Chloe groaned further. She gasped the moment Lex's lips wrapped around her lace covered breast.

Lex slipped one hand behind Chloe to snap the clasps of her bra open and free. He danced his fingers along her skin back to the front to pull the straps down her shoulders and off.

"Lex!" Chloe called out. One breast was engulfed in the heat of Lex's mouth while the other was fondled by the strength of his hand. She couldn't stop herself from rubbing her clothed sex along Lex's leg in response to his caresses.

Lex growled. 'She's going to kill me. I swear I'm going to blow on the spot.' He had to abandon Chloe’s breast with his hand to lift her up. He firmly placed Chloe on his knee and worked at the fastenings of her jeans.

Chloe's hands weren't idle as she unhooked and unzipped Lex's dress pants. She delved her hand eagerly into the silky fabric of his boxers and caressed his hardening length with her fingers. She pushed the waist down with one hand until she lifted her foot to push them the rest of the way down. Her hand gripped Lex's cock in full strokes from base to tip to find the rhythm she wanted.

Lex thought he'd die while Chloe squirmed on his knee. He felt the heat that radiated from her sex onto his exposed skin after Chloe removed his pants. He turned them around and pressed Chloe’s back up against the bathroom door. He kicked her pants away from them and moaned when the wet cloth of her underwear rubbed up against him again. “Chloe, please.”

Chloe grinned. She felt a strong sense of feminine pride that she’d been able to reduce Lex Luthor to two word sentences. Although she was fearful that her knowledge was lacking, she ached to taste Lex.

Lex’s whimpers at the loss of Chloe’s breast in his mouth were replaced by moans. He wrapped both of his hands in Chloe’s hair as she kissed down his chest and abdomen.

Chloe tentatively brushed her mouth along the side of Lex’s cock. It bobbed and twitched next to her. When she licked her lips, the tip of her tongue grazed the head, and she was rewarded with a deep groan from Lex.

Lex forced his hands to remain still in Chloe’s hair. He believed that she wasn’t lying about her experience, and he didn’t want to push her too hard to do anything. He was afraid that if he moved at all he would force his cock into her mouth to relieve some of the ache he felt. He didn’t want to hurt her.

Chloe flickered her tongue along the head. She moved her head back a moment. ‘Hmmm, not too bad.’ The taste of his pre-cum hit her tongue, and she wasn’t appalled by it. She leaned in again and allowed her lips to circle the head fully. She teased the tip of her tongue against the slit, and she was rewarded with more of the slightly sweetened clear liquid.

Lex beat his head against the bathroom door, a reverse of their earlier position. “Chloe …”

Chloe hummed in delight around Lex’s cock, slipping the shaft a little further into her mouth before she pulled back. She slowly worked his cock in and out of her mouth in little steps. Each time her lips descended, another part of his cock disappeared into the depths of her mouth. She finally reached her limit with a little choke when the head hit the back of her mouth.

“Easy, Chloe,” Lex cooed. “You don’t have to take it all.”

“But it’s so yummy,” Chloe said with a playful innocence and delight.

“Vixen,” Lex snarled.

“I thought there wasn’t anything I could do wrong, Lex?” Chloe pouted playfully.

“Who said you were doing anything wrong?” Lex pulled Chloe up to her feet and kissed her passionately. When they had to break apart to breathe again he said, “But if you keep that up, you aren’t going to have as much fun as I will.”

Chloe laughed. She turned around to look at the tub. “It looks so inviting, but I have a feeling we aren’t going to be using it tonight.”

“I can multi-task, can’t you?” Lex teased. He scooped down and lifted Chloe into his arms.

“Lex!” Chloe squealed. She wasn’t used to anyone carrying her. It wasn’t like she was heavy, but it was a romantic gesture that no one had bestowed on her. She was always the fifth or third wheel. She wasn’t ever the one that was looked on with the passion that Lex was looking at her with now.

Lex set Chloe’s feet back down on the ground next to the tub. He knelt down before Chloe, but his eyes never left hers. He pulled the waistband of her underwear down with his teeth until he reached her knees. Then, his hands removed it the rest of the way.

Chloe fell back onto the ledge of the garden tub. She sat there, unable to hold up her own weight on her wobbly legs anymore.

Lex scooted forward until he was nestled between Chloe’s legs on his knees. He kissed from Chloe’s knee and up her thigh. His lips hovered over the tufts of hair surrounding the most secret of places on a woman. He exhaled, blowing his breath over Chloe’s sex.

Chloe tensed and moaned. The evidence of her desire and need for Lex seeped against her lips, glistening in the candlelight of the room. The breeze across her lips caused a delightful shiver to course through her from head to toe. She grabbed Lex’s head in her hands. “Please, Lex.”

Lex smirked devilishly. He dove for the sweet honey that he would make sure would only be his to sample from now on. He held one thigh in each hand, and his tongue gave a long lick from the bottom of Chloe’s lips to her clit and back down.

Chloe practically fell into the tub when Lex suckled on her tender nubbin. Only a quick grasp of the edge of the ledge kept her from falling in. She arched her back, and her hips pushed forward into Lex’s mouth while she held on.

“Quite responsive aren’t we?” Lex teased. He flickered just the tip of his tongue back and forth over and around Chloe’s clit. “I’d say you are enjoying yourself.” He alternated the teasing with a strong suction of the pliant nubbin into his mouth before he lapped his way back down the lips of her pussy to drink her honey.

“Lex,” Chloe moaned. She bucked against his face and whimpered her need to him. “Please,” She begged him. No one had ever paid this much attention to her pleasure, but she needed to feel him inside of her. She wanted to feel his body against hers. “Need you.”

Lex slid Chloe to the edge of the ledge. As he stood up, he surged forward to bury his cock between her thighs. Although only the head pierced her lips, Lex moaned at the tight heat that surrounded him. He leaned back until his butt hit the chair he’d previously sat on.

Chloe wrapped her arms around Lex’s neck to hold onto him. She straddled his lap, raised herself up a little higher, and then slowly lowered herself until his cock was buried fully within her depths. She slumped forward, resting her forehead against Lex’s, and tried to catch her breath.

Lex ground his teeth together. He hadn’t felt anyone this tight around his cock since his later prep school days. He panted short breaths against Chloe’s neck, and he rocked his hips very slowly at first to keep from hurting her.

Chloe caught up with Lex’s movements, and she countered them. Her legs tightened on either side of him. She tried to move her hips forward when Lex moved closer. She groaned each time he delved into her canal deeper.

They started to thrust harder against each other. Lex’s hands held Chloe in place with one on her back and the other on her butt. He nibbled and suckled any skin that he could find. When Chloe arched high against him he latched onto one of her nipples and twisted it lightly between his teeth.

Chloe screamed out in pleasure. Her body felt like a finely tuned piano that was being played expertly by a concert pianist. Each movement built onto the next and each crescendo spurned the next one higher. Her inner walls fluttered around Lex’s cock, and she felt the burning within her body tear at her.

“So close, Chloe,” Lex grunted. He put both hands on Chloe’s shoulders and pushed her down hard into each of his thrusts upwards. “I love you, Chloe,” He called out when he felt her orgasm rock through her.

“I love you!” Chloe hollered. Her muscles spasmed and contracted around Lex’s cock. The warmth of his seed filling her caused an overlapping orgasm over her first, and she shuddered in his embrace, overwhelmed by all that she was feeling.

Lex continued to pump his hips until his cock had emptied itself completely in Chloe’s womb. His cock even pumped dry spasms into Chloe’s canal for a while after his family jewel’s had given all they had to give.

They shared several quiet moments before Lex’s legs started to ache in their position. “I think that bath would be a good idea for both of us now.”

Chloe chuckled. “You’re probably right. I hope it isn’t too cold now.” She extricated herself from Lex’s lap with a sigh of loss from no longer being connected to him.

Lex stood up shakily. He checked the water. “Not too bad.” He grabbed Chloe’s hand, and they both got into the tub.

Chloe and Lex both groaned when their bodies hit the slightly cooled water. They curled into each other’s arms and enjoyed the closeness of each other’s presence. They lovingly cleaned off all the sweat and outer residue from their lovemaking. Neither of them thought about the fact that no protection was used while they made love. All they cared about was caring for each other.

They shared different parts of themselves with the other one while they soaked and talked in the tub. They knew they had a lot of questions to face tomorrow, but as Lex once read … “Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it. Well, no mistakes in it yet.” He knew that whatever happened, they would face it all together. No one and nothing could make him do anything that might jeopardize his relationship with Chloe now.

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Ch. 6 (NC-17) of Fragile Hearts (COMPLETED STORY)
*
PG-13 Version of this Chapter can be found HERE.
Fragile Hearts - Chapter 6
By ~*~Tasha~*~

Chapter Summary: *R/NC-17* Lionel Luthor arrives at the mansion in Smallville. He sees Lana's car, and goes inside to investigate. Chloe and Lex wake up in her apartment the next morning. They decide to head to Smallville to test out whether Lex's bed is better or not.

WARNING: I'm not nice with Lana in this chapter. She will be demeaned, made fun of, etc in this chapter. Be forewarned.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed over the course of this story. I will be starting the last part of this trilogy called Fragile Bodies soon. I hope that you like how I ended the segment of the Fragile series, and I hope you enjoy what is to come.

Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
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(Luthor Castle/Mansion in Smallville)

Lionel Luthor stepped out of his limousine. "Thank you, Ron." He straightened his suit jacket and buttoned the necessary buttons. "That will be all for now."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," Ron acknowledged his boss.

Lionel leaned in a little closer to his favorite driver's ear. "I'm sure Maria's sister, Monique, could find some pastries for you in the kitchen."

Ron smiled at Lionel's hidden permission. Ron enjoyed visiting with some of the staff members at the castle. Many of them were previously employed with the Luthor family in Metropolis, but they moved with Lex to Smallville. "Thank you, Sir."

Lionel hid a secret smile. "I won't be ready to leave until late tonight at the earliest." He looked up at the beautiful morning sky. "Be able to be reached, but enjoy the rest of your day."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor." Ron was well aware of what being in contact meant. He had a special cell phone for that purpose. He was a little bit surprised at receiving Lionel's permission to leave the castle grounds if he wanted to though. It was a chance that Ron was hoping he could take advantage of. He rushed off in the direction of the servant's entrance to search out Monique.

Lionel Luthor smiled inwardly. Although no one would think it of him, he did have a soft spot for budding romance these days. The time he'd spent possessed by the spirit of Jor-El in the asylum had affected him more than he let on to others. It was one of the main reasons that he was such a changed man the last few months. He doubted that he could ever regain his son's trust, but he hoped that Lex would at least learn to tolerate him.

Lionel was nearly to the castle door when he noticed a car tucked off to the side of the driveway. He walked over towards it and looked at the license plate. It was one that he recognized. 'What is she doing here?' To be sure that Lex was all right, Lionel had him followed the night before. He knew that Lex was still in Metropolis. So what was Lana Lang doing at his son's home while he son wasn't there?

The door of the mansion opened up as soon as Lionel approached it again. Enrique, Lex's faithful butler, stepped aside for the elder Luthor to come in. "Good morning, Mr. Luthor."

"Good morning, Enrique." Lionel smirked at the astonished look on the butler's face. He was positive that the butler thought Lionel was oblivious to the names of the hired help. "Why is Miss Lang here?" He cut right to the heart of the matter.

"She," Enrique gulped. Although he spent most of his life dealing with Luthor's, he always made sure to avoid confrontations with any of them. He was careful about what he said or did in front of them, and he wasn't quite sure how to answer the elder Luthor's question.

"Out with it," Lionel half chuckled, "I won't bite your head off." He smirked. "Especially since I am fairly sure that she was uninvited."

"Yes, Sir," Enrique explained. "Miss Lang showed up yesterday afternoon, but Master Luthor had already left for Metropolis." He straightened his posture as he gained more confidence in his words. "Master Luthor has stated before that Miss Lang has permission to enter, but she would not leave even after I informed her of Master Luthor's absence."

"She can be a persistent young woman." Lionel nodded his head in agreement with Enrique's explanation.

"All vital areas were locked, but I was unable to stop her from entering the Master's private bedchamber." Enrique sighed. "We had been preparing for other things that the Master requested. So, I was unaware of Miss Lang's location until she had already made herself at home there." He held his breath. Lionel Luthor could either fly off the handle at him or be understanding of his position. He hoped it was the latter. "We have kept an eye on her location throughout the night. She has not left the room."

Lionel Luthor patted Enrique on the shoulder. "Quite all right." He looked down the hall towards the staircase. "I think Lex might want to deal with Miss Lang personally anyways." His eyes held a glint of amusement in them. "I think she will be surprised to find out that she is not the Lady of the castle, soon enough."

Enrique's eyes widened. What Lionel said could only mean that Lex Luthor had found himself another girlfriend that he would be bringing home soon. He gulped but kept his face expressionless. He hoped that the next one would be nothing like the last few, including Lana Lang.

"I think you will be pleased with Lex's choice this time." Lionel patted the butler's shoulder again. "She's special."

Knowing that Lionel Luthor approved of his son's choice did nothing to ease the butler's worries. The last few that the elder Luthor approved of had also tried to kill the younger Luthor.

"I will be in my room. Please have a light breakfast tray brought up to me." Lionel headed down the hallway to the staircase. "Monique will know what I prefer."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor." Enrique turned on his heel and headed straight in the direction of the kitchen. This was already turning out to be an interesting day.

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(Chloe's Apartment, Metropolis)

Chloe Sullivan stretched out her arms over her head. She encountered a roadblock before she hit her headboard. The events of the previous night rushed back to her along with a flood of warmth throughout her body. She turned a little in the arms of the man she loved and opened her eyes.

Lex Luthor smiled at Chloe. "Good morning, my love." He smiled brighter. He'd been awake for the last hour, but he couldn't force himself to move away from the beauty of the woman curled in his arms. He hoped that he would have many more years to watch Chloe as she slept. She looked so peaceful and content during those moments of slumber.

"Mmmm ... Good morning to you too, Lex." Chloe leaned up and kissed Lex's lips tenderly. Her body melded against his, and she wrapped her arms around him. "I don't think I've slept that hard in a very long time."

"I'm glad I could tire you out so well." Lex teased.

Chloe playfully slapped the back of Lex's head. "You weren't exactly sleeping softly either. The one time I woke up, you were definitely snoring."

"I do not snore!"

"Oh yes, you do." Chloe teased back. "It sounded like a cute little whimper almost in your sleep."

"Maybe I was just dreaming about you then." Lex planted a trail of kisses down Chloe's neck and across her collarbone.

"It had better be me, or you are going to find yourself with one peeved off girlfriend." Chloe tried to sound firm, but she couldn't stop the moan from escaping her lips at Lex's touch.

"No one will ever enter my heart or my mind again, Chloe." Lex straightened up and looked into Chloe's eyes. "My search is over, Chloe. There is only you from this moment on."

"That is the most wonderful thing that anyone has ever said to me, Lex." Chloe fought back the tears of joy that threatened to spill from her eyes.

"I mean it, Chloe." Lex kissed Chloe's forehead briefly. "I will take however much time I need to ..." He kissed one of her cheeks and then the other. "... To prove to you that I love only you.” He caressed his tongue over Chloe's closed lips and kissed her passionately until their mouths and tongues intertwined in a passionate dance.

Chloe squirmed in Lex's embrace. Her body tingled with excitement and desire. She lightly scratched her fingernails up and down Lex's back. She lifted her hips off the bed high enough to slide her body on top of his. The kiss continued without breaking until Chloe crawled her body up Lex's a short ways and impaled herself on his cock.

"Chloe!" Lex screamed out in unexpected pleasure and joy. He hadn't expected Chloe to be ready again so soon. They'd made love several more times during the night, and he was positive that she was sore. The feeling of her warm heat strangled his cock as it welcomed him home.

Chloe levered herself upright with her hands on Lex's chest. She straddled his hips. She tightened her legs and pushed her knees against the bed to rise off his cock. Then, she relaxed and lowered herself back down his stiff member. She felt so full, and her body twitched near to release a lot sooner than she'd anticipated. Her body was super sensitized from the previous night's lovemaking fest.

Lex moaned at the fluttering of Chloe's inner walls around his cock. "Chloe ..." He groaned. He would never tire of this woman, and he knew it was because he truly loved Chloe. He reveled in every new facial expression of pleasure and wonder that crossed Chloe's face. He arched his back and thrust his hips up to meet Chloe's grinding down on him.

Feeling herself nearing orgasm, Chloe reached behind her and cupped Lex's balls in one hand. She rolled the tender globes between her fingertips and alternated with tiny squeezes of pressure. "Lex!" She called out as she neared her peak.

"Yes, Chloe. So good." Lex grunted and pumped his hips up against Chloe's. He reached out and held her waist while he thrust harder into her sopping channel. He released one hand from her waist to tease Chloe's clit. He pinched and twisted the swollen nubbin until he felt Chloe come unglued and spasm all over his cock.

"Lex!" Chloe screamed wantonly into the room. She plummeted over the precipice into a body shaking orgasm. Her body tightened around Lex's cock and pulsed her release with twitching muscles and a rush of her liquid desire over him. She fell forward onto his chest, panting, clutching at him like a lifeline to the present.

Lex pounded his cock into her pussy a few more times in delicious pleasure until he released his gift while he came within her. His cock burst into Chloe several times before it finally subsided. Lex was sure that he had nothing left in him to give long before their lovemaking this morning. He was amazed that Chloe coaxed more out of him.

They both fought to catch their breath. They lay satiated in a warm embrace. Neither one of them wanted to be the first to move away. Both of them wished they could stay like this forever and tell the real world to go away. They weren't allowed that option though as Lex's cell phone started to ring.

"I know it isn't mine," Chloe grumbled into Lex's chest. "I turned mine off last night."

Lex groaned when Chloe slid off of him, and he slid out of her warmth. "I must have forgotten to turn mine off." He reached over the side of the bed and moaned. "Great, it's my father."

"You'd better answer it before he uses the GPS to locate you or something. You know how he is when he wants to talk to you." Chloe teased Lex. Although she was upset at being interrupted in their post coital moment, she knew that she couldn't keep Lex to herself forever.

"Luthor," Lex answered the phone without any indication that he already knew who was on the other side of the line.

"Good morning, Lex." Lionel smirked on his end of the phone call. "At least I'm pretty sure it is for you."

Lex fought back a snort. "What do you need, dad?"

"I'm at the mansion, and I think there is something here that needs your attention."

"Can't it wait?" Lex frowned. "I'm rather busy at the moment."

"Of that, I have no doubt." Lionel half chuckled. "But I think that what you're busy with right now would be a bit upset to find Miss Lana Lang in your bedroom awaiting your return."

"WHAT!?!" Lex sat up in bed quickly. "That isn't even funny, dad."

"No, but it is the truth," Lionel spoke in complete seriousness.

"I want her out of ..." Lex paused as an idea struck him. "No wait. Hold on a moment." He put his hand over the microphone on the phone. "Chloe ... how would you like to get rid of Lana from our lives once and for all?"

"I'd say it was impossible, but I'm game." Chloe wondered just what was going on.

"Good." Lex moved his hand away from the microphone. "Don't disturb her. We'll be there shortly. Contact the helicopter and tell the pilot to meet us at the Luthorcorp building helipad in 45 minutes."

"All right, son. Be careful." Lionel hung up the phone with a devilish smile on his face.

Lex closed his phone to end the call, and he turned to face Chloe. "It seems that sometime between when I left the mansion and this morning, Lana showed up there."

"I told you that she was looking for you." Chloe sat up in bed.

"Well, she never found me while I was there," Lex said. "Anyways, that was my father. He must be at the mansion, and he told me that Lana is there. Seems she has procured my bedroom for her own."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Chloe slipped out of bed. "Stupid bitch. She just can't leave well enough alone." She angrily pulled her robe off the back of her bedroom door.

Lex jumped out of bed. "I didn't invite her there, Chloe." He wrapped his arms around Chloe and turned her around to face him. "I promise you that."

"Then what the hell is she doing in your bed?" Chloe argued back.

"She is assuming something that I've never given credence to," Lex answered honestly.

"I'm sorry." Chloe sighed. "I shouldn't have overreacted."

"You have every right to be upset that another woman is in my bed, but realize that I'm here with you and not with her." Lex rubbed his cheek against Chloe's and kissed her temple softly. "Will you come with me to confront her?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Chloe headed for the bathroom. "Dibs on the shower first."

"We could save time by taking one together." Lex wrapped his hands around Chloe's waist and pulled her back against him.

"Somehow I don't think that we would save time that way." Chloe teased. She slipped out of his grasp, entered the bathroom and closed the door. "Go make sure the coffee started."

Lex laughed. Chloe already knew him too well. That was one of the things that scared him the most about a relationship with the blonde woman. She knew his weaknesses as well as his strengths. She knew him better than anyone else ever had, and that put him in a precarious and dangerous position.

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(Helicopter on the way to Smallville)

"Lex?"

"Yes, Chloe?" Thankfully Lex didn't have to yell too loudly in the helicopter. They both had on a pair of headphones with a microphone attached that was set on a channel for only them to hear.

"I need to ask you to do something, and you aren't going to like it." Chloe looked over at Lex.

"Already asking me to sell my soul, Sullivan?" Lex teased a bit uneasily.

"Hardly, but you might still hate me for it," Chloe said seriously. She took a deep breath and continued. "I need you to tell Clark anything and everything about Milton Fine and your dealings with him."

"What?!?" Lex asked in shock. "I know you know that something is going on, but how can you ask me to do that?"

"Lex, it will go a long way to earning back Clark's trust." Chloe set her hand on Lex's arm. "I have a bad feeling about that guy, and I don't think you realize the danger you might be in."

"Chloe, what I've been working on should only have good effects, not bad." Lex tried to reason with Chloe about why he wanted to keep it a secret. "If someone were to get a hold of the research prematurely, they might be able to turn it into something deadly."

"All the more reason to have someone else protecting it with you." Chloe's brow furrowed, and she nibbled on her lower lip. "I can't tell you how Clark can protect it, but please trust me on this."

"Chloe, you know I trust you, but why would Clark trust me at all now?" Lex spoke with a tinge of fear at making himself that vulnerable to someone who hated him.

"If you give him reason to show that you aren't who he thinks you are, Lex, he will believe." Chloe begged Lex with her voice. "I know it will work."

Lex sighed. "I'll think about it."

"Don't think too long because as soon as we scare Lana off, you know she will run straight to Clark." Chloe tried to keep her reasons viable and not jump off the deep end one way or the other. "Then, neither of us will have much of a chance to convince him."

"He probably won't believe me anyways." Lex sighed. He rubbed his hand down his face and rested his fingers around his chin.

"I think that I know a way to prove to him that you are telling the truth." Chloe grinned. "Because I know where we can get our hands on some of that gas I was exposed to a few years ago."

"What are you talking about?" Lex frowned. "I pulled that project myself after the break in."

"As with many other things, not everything that one part of Luthorcorp is through with disappears from another."

"I'll kill him!" Lex ground his teeth.

"It wasn't your father this time, Lex," Chloe explained. "Neither of you have employed the most honest and trusting of people over the years."

"You know how deadly that stuff is. Why didn't you tell someone about this?" Lex was worried about who else might have died because of the hybrid of Kryptonite gas.

"I only found out about it last week while researching another article." Chloe answered. "I wanted to verify all my facts before I proceeded." She smirked. "I have learned a few things over the years."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Lex chuckled. "I'm glad for that." The pilot held up two fingers towards the back of the helicopter. Lex switched to the different channel.

"We are almost at the mansion, Mr. Luthor. Touch down in 2 minutes."

"All right. Thank you." Lex switched back to the channel he shared with Chloe. "We're almost there. I'll call Clark before we go inside, after we've landed."

Chloe nodded and sighed in relief. "You won't regret it, Lex."

"I hope not."

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(Luthor Castle/Mansion in Smallville, Lex's Bedroom)

Lana Lang opened her eyes. The light from the late morning sun shone through the half pulled curtains. She stretched out on the bed. She was disappointed that Lex hadn't returned last night, but she was sure that he would return soon.

'Men are so easy to manipulate.' Lana grinned. 'You can lead them around by their cocks.' She chuckled. 'Clark was so naïve to believe that I was a virgin. Did he honestly think that I wasn't with a real man before his virgin actions in bed?'

A loud bang on Lex's bedroom door startled Lana out of her thoughts. She clutched the blanket to her chest and screamed when the door burst open and two people fell through it to the floor.

A giggling Chloe laughed harder when she hit the throw rug on Lex's bedroom floor. "Easy there, Tarzan," She teased with her voice and the squirming of her body. "You don't know your own strength."

Lex snarled into Chloe's ear, "Or maybe I did that on purpose my little turtle dove." He laid the sap on thick. Both of them knew that Lana was in the bedroom, and they wanted to play with her a little before they told her to get the heck out of their lives.

Chloe purred. "Ooo ... you know I love it when you get all snarly and growly." She nipped the side of Lex's cheek. "You beast, you."

"Oh my God!" Lana yelled after she finally broke out of her stunned stupor. "What the Hell are you two doing?"

"Did you hear something, Lex?" Chloe squirmed around underneath Lex. She peered around the end of the bedpost and looked up towards the mattress. "Lana?" She acted surprised to see Lana in Lex's bed. She pushed Lex off her.

Lex held back the chuckle over the "force" Chloe used to push him off her. They'd talked about what they were going to do on their drive from Chloe's apartment to the helicopter. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"Lex, you disgusting liar." Chloe slapped Lex. "You said that you weren't sleeping with her."

'Damn, that actually hurt. Maybe that was a warning.' Lex rubbed his mildly sore cheek. "I haven't."

"Then what the Hell is that bimbo doing in your bed," Chloe pointed at Lana, "Wearing that."

"I have no idea." Lex shrugged. "I spent all of yesterday trying to find you in Metropolis." He advanced on Chloe like a predator. "And you know where I spent my night." He growled.

Chloe melted in Lex's embrace, all of her faux anger vanished. She ravaged Lex’s lips with her own.

"Hello? I'm still in the damn room." Lana said with anger and disgust. "This can't be happening."

"Believe it, Lana. This is happening." Chloe turned around in Lex's arm. She faced Lana. "He'll never be yours, and you had better keep your hands away from my man."

"Why? Are you afraid that you aren't woman enough to keep his interest?" Lana regained a bit of her fire. "Afraid of a little competition?"

Lex laughed hard. "The only way that you'd ever be competition to Chloe in my affections is if you were the LAST woman on Earth. Even then, I might not stoop so low ever again."

"But Lex," Lana whined, "I thought we were meant to be together. You acted like ..."

"The key word there is acted," Lex said emphatically. "You were a means to an end, nothing more. Did you honestly think that I'd want sloppy seconds?"

Lana gasped. She was angry and appalled. She advanced on Chloe and Lex. "How dare you!"

"Oh, I dare quite a lot, Lana," Lex answered snidely. "I know that you've opened those dimpled knees for a lot more guys than just Clark."

"That's a lie!"

Chloe snorted at the indignant look on Lana's face. "Should you show her the pictures of her Parisian exploits that you have?"

"You spied on me?" Lana knew she was caught now. "I thought we were friends."

"Apparently you were mistaken." Lex released Chloe. "I want you out of my house and out of our lives."

"Very well spoken, Lex." Chloe grinned up at Lex. "Oh, and a bit of advice," She turned to face Lana again, "Don't get in my way again, Lana. We're on to your games. If you send someone to do your dirty work, we'll still know."

Lex walked behind Lana and pushed her out of his bedroom door. "Good bye, Lana. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." He looked down at her outfit. "By the way, not too shabby on the outfit. Too bad that was a present for Helen that I meant to burn." He slammed the door in Lana's face.

Chloe picked up the phone to the intercom and handed it to Lex. He punched in three numbers on the pad. "Security, please escort Miss Lang off the premises. She is not to be granted return access. Thank you."

"Well that was fun." Chloe grinned.

"Yes, it was." Lex advanced on Chloe with a gleam in his eye. "Now, I believe that I wanted to test the theory that my bed is better to make love in than yours."

"Lead on, beloved. Lead on." Chloe's giggle was muffled by Lex's mouth in a kiss echoed all the newly spoken love that was shared between them.

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(The End of Fragile Hearts ... Last part of the trilogy will be Fragile Bodies)

Still love it!

Is there a third part yet? loved it

Thanks for reposting this

Just reread it and still love it! Thanks for the repost :)