What a cliffie lol
Can't wait to know what's gonna happen next![]()
What a cliffie lol
Can't wait to know what's gonna happen next![]()
Malu
A/N: Thanks Malu, sorry that it took so long to update.
Chapter Thirteen
Lex smirked.
He closed the door behind himself and strode into the centre of the room.
He watched her as she tried to remain composed, every second of his silence causing the adrenaline to rise up in her a little more.
How should he play this? There were so many possibilities. He could tell her that he was on to her. Or accuse her. Or say nothing and just stare at her waiting for her to give something away.
“No”, he replied calmly, opting for another option. “this is not the bathroom”.
“Oh”.
He actually smiled at her response. He had to admit that he couldn’t think of an appropriate one either. There really didn’t seem to be anyway of getting around the fact that she had been snooping around in his father’s office.
The question of whether or not he was going to let her in on the fact that he knew she had stolen a document was still in the air. He was inclined to think that he would not, however tempting the idea was. It might prove useful later. Whilst Lex pondered these matters, he was met with silence.
Chloe stood there, just as he did. It was a Mexican stand off and yet she tried to look calm, assured, and not as if she wanted to throw up. She was not entirely successful. Whatever else he knew about her - or still had yet to learn - she had been exposed to politics and games of one-upmanship before; she knew all of the steps and rules even if she hadn’t perfected the dance yet.
“Is there something that I can help you with?” He enquired mildly as he drew closer to her.
“No, I don’t think so”, Chloe remained where she was, although it looked like an effort.
He didn’t say anything and she continued, “Why would there be?”
Lex allowed himself a small smile. He was winning if she was talking more than necessary. It was a sign of being nervous.
“You tell me. You seemed a little distracted when you left”, he took a large step towards her, the corner of his mouth turning up snidely, “So distracted, in fact, that you appear to have mistaken my father’s office and filing cabinet in particular - for the ladies’ restrooms”.
“I was confused”, came her only response, spoken in a tone of boredom.
“Clearly. Are you unwell perhaps?” Lex crossed his arms, “Or do you have something on your mind?”
She didn’t respond, verbally at least. She merely quirked an eyebrow at him. She was transforming into a Luthor with startling rapidity.
“Chloe”, he prompted her in a low growl.
“I am perhaps a little ...” Her chest swelled so much that she couldn’t get any more words out.
“A little what? Chloe Sullivan”, he let her surname slip. A calculated move.
“Chloe Luthor”, she corrected him, her green eyes filling with terror which she tried to suppress, “my surname is Luthor”.
“Of course it is ... Now”, he closed the gap between them. He caressed her cheek gently as he stared at her. “Tell me what is wrong”.
“No -”
“No, don’t tell me that it is nothing”, his silken purr, swirled around her in a caress. “Don’t lie to me”. His course was decided and he channelled every deceptive fibre of his being into the delivery of this one line: “I want to help you.”
“I don’t need any help”, she articulated through trembling lips.
“Don’t lie to me. I can see your distress”, he drew so close to her that he could see the flecks of gold around her irises. “Sense it”, his hot breath caressed her cheek. “Almost taste it”, he licked his lips. He began to circle her with predatory grace,
He observed her shiver and the goosebumps as they raised on her creamy skin. No amount of acting ability could disguise those signs of fear.
“I know what it is like to be in my father’s clutches”, he came back to stand in front of her. Face to face. “Let me help you”.
She stared at him, with large tremulous green eyes. “I ...”
He moved even closer, she retreated but he did not stop. He pressed her gently into the cabinet from which she had stolen his father’s document.
She was on the verge of breaking - he could sense it. It was a skill. Along with the patrician nose, all Luthors inherited blood lust, the scent for weakness and the need to exploit it. Lex suppressed a wicked grin, and maintained a sweet, concerned expression as he moved even closer to her. As a child deprived of love and comfort he knew the power of contact, in all of its forms.
His hot breath caressed her trembling visage. His even hotter hand was placed on her shoulder. The heat of his body seared her through her dress.
It was a test of his control not to do more. Not to say more. For he wanted to press her but knew better. She was on the verge of cracking. He just had to give it time, a few more seconds and ... He almost smirked as he watched as her eyes grew even wider and more scared and he felt a surge of male protectiveness bubble up in him. She was amazing. He suspected that she was trying to manipulate him in spite of her position.
He narrowed his eyes. She could have her few seconds of diversion but he would crack her. She knew it too. The only sound was that of her anxious breath. He made an internal wager with himself, she would break within two minutes. That was when he heard it. Footsteps.
Her breathing accelerated even further and she scrambled against him to flee but he held her fast. The footsteps continued, definitely heading in their direction. Chloe’s breathing stopped and he could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
“Tell me Chloe”, he whispered, hoping that the urgency would spur her into making a confession.
The footsteps grew yet louder. “Let me go Lex”, she pleaded, no manipulation in her fear this time. She was panicking, her eyes fixed on the door to the office just in time to see it swing open.
“Chloe? Lex?” Lionel regarded them, “What’s ... Oh my God, Chloe”.
Lionel rushed forwards as Chloe’s eyes closed and her head lolled back as far as it the cabinet would allow. Then all of the strength seemed to drain from her body.
~*~
“Are you certain that you are well, my darling?”
“Yes, Lionel I am fine. I was just a little ...” Chloe trailed off as she stared up at the faces of the two men who were hovering above her. They were so alike in many ways. Their eyes. Their presence. Something about the set of their jaws. They were both handsome, seductive, dangerous men who were more than capable of tearing her apart.
“A little what, darling?” Lionel asked, crouching down next to the chaise longe upon which she lay reclined.
“Um”, she shook her head, as if confused, “nothing. I just need some fresh air”.
She was going to need to come up with a good excuse, but she could put it off for a few hours or at least give herself time to regroup if she could just ... She tried to get up but was prevented by Lionel’s taking her hands in his hot, possessive grasp. Without being overtly hostile, he kept her in place effectively. Just like his son. They both radiated heat. It must be a DNA problem. Possibly it came from being related to the devil.
Chloe’s eyes travelled between father and son. Lex stood erect, towering over her, his eyed fixed on her. Concern mixed with amusement in those green orbs. She couldn’t believe that he was actually concerned about her, that was unthinkable. He also probably suspected what had caused her to ‘faint’. She could feel her cheeks burning.
She turned her attention back to her husband. In her fright, she had only just realised that Lionel had actually given up the position of ‘power’, to kneel next to her. She wasn’t sure what that meant.
“What’s wrong darling?” Lionel stroked the backs of her hands.
The heat from her cheeks travelled down her neck and her breath quickened. This was ridiculous. It was as if she were in a bloody Harlequin romance novel. It was also a dead give away that she was up to something.
“Keep calm, keep calm”, she told herself. More than just her own survival rested on this. “Nothing”, she slipped one shaking hand from his grasp and stroked his cheek.
“You promise?” Lionel inquired in a velvety voice.
“I promise, I’m just feeling a little faint. A few minutes to freshen up and a breath of fresh-air and I will be as right as rain”, she assured him.
“If you are sure”, he stood back up, without releasing her hands.
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. As she rose to her feet, she suffered a touch of dizziness but that could have been due to blood circulation. Or the looks that the Luthor males were giving her. Almost definitely one or the other.
For several seconds they just stood there, all staring at each other.
“Chloe?” Lionel inquired, his brows furrowing in concern.
“May I?” She indicated the direction behind him that he and his son were blocking, where the ensuite was located.
“Oh yes, of course”, Lionel stepped to the side and placed a hand on her lower back to escort her to the door.
Once she was inside she closed the door with relief and retrieved the piece of paper. Thank God it was still there. She tucked it back away more securely, feeling instantly less petrified but still shaky. She washed her hands and splashed some cold water on her face.
She would have to be more careful. Her brain was already kicking into overdrive, she would have to find somewhere to hide the paper as soon as she got home; if Lionel ever saw it in her position it would have been more than just her own neck on the chopping block. There had to be some way out of this, that was when something occurred to her. She was about to take it out and use her phone to copy it and then destroy the page, when Lionel called out, “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute”, she replied, hoping that the pounding of her heart couldn't be heard through the door. She didn’t trust his concern. It had sounded more like a warning. One that she didn’t dare disobey.
Chloe checked herself over dried her face and hands and then headed out.
~*~
“I know that they talk about marital togetherness Dad, but you might want to let her pee in peace”, Lex commented dryly from where he was reclining on the sofa, still warm from where Chloe had been lying.
Lionel turned around slowly to face his son. “You are showing a rather marked degree of interest in my marriage”.
Lex remained silent.
“Or rather”, he took a step towards the impertinent pup, “in my wife”.
Lex raised an eyebrow.
“What were you discussing so intently?” Lionel strode forwards until he was looming over his son.
“I am not supposed to be conversing with my dear mother-in-law?” Lex inquired conversationally.
“Not at all. You know that my family is the most important thing in the world to me. In fact, I find the concept of martial bliss and dutiful son positively delightful”, he allowed himself a wry smile, “but I must confess that it seems a little odd to me to come upon you both together. Like that. Seeing as you hate her”, with these last words were spoken in a light tone yet his eyes grew dark.
“Hate is a strong word”. Lex observed his father as if he were a play which did not interest him particularly.
“Luthors have strong emotions”, Lionel reminded him. “And if I remember correctly you were taking a business call”.
“Quite true”, Lex accepted. His father loomed a little further. This amused his son and he considered allowing him his moment of authority, as there wasn’t really anything to be gained by antagonising him but then could not resist. Lex stood up apparently nonchalantly and completely oblivious to the fact that it forced his father backwards and off kilter. He hid a smirk as he strode over to the liquor cabinet and helped himself to a measure of scotch.
“Make yourself at home, son”, Lionel did not exactly snap, but he was not as cool and calm as he would have wished.
“Thank-you father”, Lex replied, turning back around with a glass in his hand. He took a restorative sip. “Would you care for some?”
“Of my own liquor?” He inquired with only mild, and entirely feigned, surprised. “No thank-you son but how kind of you to ask”.
“Not at all”, Lex replied with equal politeness.
“So”, Lionel sauntered over to his son, “Are you going to give me an explanation?”
“An explanation? With regards to what exactly?” Lex seemed genuinely bemused and Lionel slightly infuriated.
“Why were you in here pressing my wife into the cabinet rather than dealing with business matters?” There was a slight edge to Lionel’s voice this time.
“Ah so that’s what’s got your panties in a wad”, Lex smirked.
“I don’t wear panties”, his father responded straight-faced.
Lex wrinkled his nose. “1) I didn’t need to know that. 2) You are far too old to be going commando at your age Dad”.
“A man who avoids the question”, Lionel began one of his favourite platitudes but was cut off by his offspring reminding him of another.
“A man who displays anger ...” He didn’t feel the need to finish it. They both knew it off by heart. “Does it really bother you so much that I was alone with your wife? Why might that be? She is your young bride. Devoted to you. What possible reason could you have for being nervous?” He couldn't help his wicked smirk.
Lionel placed his hand on his firstborn’s shoulder in an oddly fatherly gesture. His tone matched as he advised, “Don’t compete with me boy. You know from the past that you never win”.
Lex’s smile did not falter. “Very true.” He thought of riling his father up, the temptation was very nearly overwhelming but he remembered the feel of Chloe in his arms as he had carried her over to the chaise longe. She had been soft, warm, substantial and had smelled divine. If he made Lionel angry, he might take it out on his new wife who was clearly in above her head.
“I went outside to answer the phone call. I was coming down to my office - which is next to yours - from some privacy whilst discussing business matters with our clients. Chloe was heading to the bathroom (obviously lost). We noticed that your office door was open so I went in to investigate. Chloe followed me in here - in spite of my telling her to stay back”.
“That sounds like Chloe”, Lionel interrupted with a laugh.
“I don’t know her well enough to comment”, but he got the feeling that that might be accurate. “No one was in here. But I think that the excitement was too much for her. She looked faint and then you entered ...” His voice wasn’t too loud, certainly not suspiciously so, but Chloe should be able to hear enough to corroborate his version of events.
“I have that effect on women”, his father noted smugly.
Lex observed him, almost with pity, this was a battle that the old man was going to lose. He would almost have felt sorry for him ... Had he not known the blighter so well. He imagined that the same thoughts were going through his father’s head at the same moment.
“Darling”, Chloe greeted breezily as she sauntered back into the room.
Lionel lost all interest in his son immediately, turning and wrapping his arms around his wife’s slim wait, drawing her to him, pressing himself into her in a rather vulgar way - at least as far as his son was concerned. Lex was once again impressed by the way that Chloe could - even indirectly - manipulate his father. He had never known anyone else have such power before.
Lex stared at the couple and more particularly at his father. He couldn’t wait until he discovered every other little detail and nuance of the situation. His father was going to lose.
A/N: Okay, all three stories updated now. Time to work on my original Regency romance.
Ohhhh this was good lol
Thanks for another amazing chapter
Malu
Great update, I'm assuming that Gabe was the businessman in the meeting that Chloe was surprised to see. Can't wait to learn why Chloe is in this situation with Lionel
A/N: Thank-you both: Here you go!
Chapter Fourteen
“Sleep well my darling”, Lionel murmured as he kissed his wife’s temple, eliciting a soft sigh from her. He smiled warmly. At least this time she was actually asleep rather than just pretending.
He smirked at the memory of her feigned swoon that morning. It might have been believable had her body not been rigid with her eyes closed so tightly and resolutely that they left faint lines around the corners. He had wanted to stroke her back, tickling her soft flesh, and whisper in her ear playfully that he knew what the little minx was up to, but he had refrained. Just as he did when she tried the same trick at night. The poor thing was adapting. Cinderella tales apparently weren’t all they were made out to be.
Lionel chuckled softly at the thought of himself as the dashing Prince Charming and brushed his lips softly against her again. “Sleep well my love”, he murmured in her ear.
Slowly, hating to leave her, he got up, the sensation in his lower back reminding him that he was no longer strictly speaking what would be called a young man. He stretched and gazed at her. Curled up asleep she was, she looked vulnerable and yet strangely at peace. An expression lacking during her waking hours. He drank in her golden hair, creamy skin, and the hints of sumptuous figure hidden beneath thin layers of silk and felt himself tensing. She was beautiful. She had plagued his thoughts for years and now that he had her, nothing would separate them.
Unaware of his admiration, Chloe snuggled down more deeply into the covers. It had been a long day for her. Her devoted husband could not resist caressing her once more as he mentally tallied up her movements for that day: the meeting, the office break in, her swooning, Lex being his normal self, going out to lunch, and then back to the apartment where she had studiously avoided all of Lionel’s questions while convincing him that she wanted to spend all afternoon in bed with him.
He smirked. No wonder she was now out like a light. He was a little tired himself. In fact, he couldn’t think of anywhere that he would rather be than under the covers with her, but he had other things to do first. He might not have objected to his wife’s seduction attempts in lieu of answers, but that did not mean that he had given up his search for the latter.
With one last backwards glance at the sleeping beauty, Lionel strode into his private office, unlocked and relocked the door and made his way straight over to the computer. He turned it on and a few seconds later was watching his bride breaking into his office and go through his cabinets.
“The little minx”, he smirked to himself. A playful fantasy of surprising tempting thief and exacting due retribution springing into his furtive imagination.
He found himself leaning forwards automatically even as he was clicking the zoom button to try to disgusting which file was in her hand only to be distracted several times by the curve of her skirt.
Finally, just as she began to move in such a way as to give his hidden camera a clear shot of the document in her possession, his son entered. The damned boy always had been a sore disappointment.
Lionel watched as Lex attempted to seduce and intimidate Chloe and felt the urge to smash his fist in his face. This displeased him. Not the thought of harming his son but that he would be tempted to consider such an inelegant solution. Lionel had never been a man of strong emotions, hate and revenge - and now apparently lust - had driven him for years but they had always been cold, hard and ruthless. They had never tempted him to an explosive or hot tempered response. He had always been willing to wait months, years, even decades to get what he wanted. He pursed his lips. He was angry with himself and with Chloe for having this effect on him. He had to get a hold of himself.
The crystal clear audio feedback finally gave him something to listen to other than Chloe’s rustling about. The entire thing was quite different from the video provided from his two official cameras and his two most obvious hidden ones. Lex had friends in high places, but evidently not quite high enough, he mused as he leant back his chair.
It was all rather naughty of his son and new wife, he would have to see that they both came by their just deserts.
With this in mind, he returned to his marital bed.
~*~
Chloe sat in the castle pondering her predicament, in the room which Lionel had kindly presented her with upon their return. It was a newly renovated office entire for her own use. It was very sweet of him and she hadn’t been able to find a single bug in it so far, a fact which surprised her more than the gesture.
The notebook in front of her was covered with squiggles and doodles. Some of them were actually meaningful - or at had at least started out that way - but the majority were merely signs that she was agitated.
She and Lionel had been gone for three weeks - an unexpected business trip to Paris having been the reason given for their extended absence. He had been at his most charming, every inch the besotted newlywed. He had taken her to all of the best places, brought her hundreds of thousands of pounds of stuff and treated it like it was their honeymoon. Most girls would have been in heaven, but Chloe had not wanted to leave Kansas.
Every second she got to herself - which had not been many - Chloe had called desperate for news, but to no avail. No one had any good news to share. To make matters worse, Lionel had caught her with her phone in her hands several times, tears dribbling down her cheeks. Thank God he had brought the PMS excuse.
She sighed once again feeling as if they walls were closing in on her. There were so many uncertainties and the number of mysteries in her life seemed to keep on growing. Had the business man had talked? What had happened to the document she had lifted? It had disappeared from where she had stashed it in the apartment within hours, but where was it now? What was happening to everyone she loved?
Chloe stared around the room. The luxurious furnishings and sky high bookcases filled with treasures over which she would normally have drooled more closes resembled a prison. She had to get out of here but had no idea how to, or what would happen if she did.
The now familiar ball in the pit of her stomach gave a terrible clench.
“You look like you are either about to cry or throw up”, a voice came from the doorway, “not exactly what you expect from a woman who had just come back from her honey moon in, Paris, was it?”
Chloe stared at the dashing young billionaire. That door had been closed. And locked. And ... He was holding a key.
“I can access any room in the house I like”, he informed her leaning against the wall with his ankles crossed. “Why, were you doing something?” He quirked his eyebrow up, “Naughty?”
She huffed and snapped her notebook shut, hoping that he hadn’t seen anything incriminating. Or couldn’t decipher it if he had. “No”, she fixed him with what she hoped was a quelling look, “I just prefer my privacy”.
“Touché”, he straightened up and strode into the room, allowing the door to close behind him. “I like my privacy too. Especially when doing something that I shouldn’t”.
She lifted her chin, a fraction of an inch.
“Chloe, is something wrong?” He questioned, concern knitting his brow.
“No, of course not”, she answered, “why anything would be?”
“I don’t know”, his eyes did not waiver from her face, “I haven’t seen you around for a while”.
“Lionel took me on honeymoon”, she replied blandly.
“True”, Lex acknowledged with a nod, “but last time we were together I thought that we had made some progress”.
She didn’t say anything. She only had his word that he had changed that surveillance video and he was the only other person who definitely knew that the she had stolen the file that had now disappeared.
“What did he do to you?” Lex asked gruffly, his hands going into his pockets.
“Nothing. I went on holiday, hardly an arduous undertaking”, Chloe responded tersely, “Your father isn’t a monster”.
“Chloe”, Lex stepped closer to her and inclined on one knee. “I can help you”, he withdrew his hands from his pockets and she observed that they had been clenched into fists. “Whatever it is”, his hands relaxed and he placed a warm palm on her cheek, “I can and will help you”.
His voice and eyes were as warm and gentle as his touch. He had the same ability as Lionel to make you feel as if you were safe and protected even as you looked into the face of the big, bad wolf. It would have been so easy to fall for it.
“I don’t know what you are talking about”, she lied, unconvincingly.
“Maybe this will change your mind”. He withdrew from her and pulled a USB stick out of his pocket, “We could make a good team”.
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