Not Fast Enough

"How long do you plan on keeping me tied up, Lex?"

Smirking, Lex Luthor stopped in front of the bed, looking down at Clark Kent laid out in a black sea of silk sheets. Swift fingers moved to tickle large, bare feet, and grinned wildly at the resulting yelp.

"Lex!" Clark's face was bright red, stunning in it's flustered beauty. Lex walked over to the side of the bed to run a slim finger down the side of a smooth, twitching cheek.

"It's all right, Clark." Lex said calmly. "Just get some rest, and when I come home tonight, I'll more than make it up to you."

Clark's face lost all of it's color, the blood draining from it rapidly. Gold skin turned alabaster, and the change was startling. "You can't honestly think I'm just going to lay here, tied up...all day long."

A small flame of apologetic regret was stamped out promptly. Lex templed his fingers beneath his mouth, bowing his head slightly as if lost in thought. Not moving his head, he looked up to see green eyes huge in a pale face. Clark looked shocked, and dismayed, and slightly betrayed, and Lex sighed heavily.

"Think of it as a game, Clark."

Clark growled, cheeks blooming pink.

'Ahh. That's better.' Lex thought cheerfully. "Come on, Clark. You suggested this."

A full, rosy mouth fell open, "It was a joke, Lex. A JOKE."

"Nevertheless." Lex ran a hand across Clark's perfect chest, fingers sliding around in a random pattern to toy with nipples...traipsing across skin to delve into a very sweet belly button. "I can't say that I won't enjoy knowing you're in my bed, thinking about me all day."

"Thinking of ways to murder you, maybe." Clark hissed, his eyes flaring.

Lex adjusted his pants.

"I can come home for lunch."

Muscles rippled beneath golden skin as Clark arched up, his entire body jostling the bed. "I can break these any time I want to." He muttered, looking up at the shackles clasped around his wrists.

Lex nodded, leaned down, and smiled. A mere breath from Clark's lips, and his smile was huge. He bit into his lower lip, eyelids sliding down to narrow his vision. "I know."

He brushed a dry, barely-there kiss across a huffing, pouting mouth. Forcing himself to walk out the door, he called over his shoulder, "But, you won't."

Somehow, he managed to wait until he was in the elevator before breaking out into breathless laughter at the howl of outrage that had shook the walls as he left.

~~~~~~

Six minutes after Lex had left, Clark's frustration drained away, leaving him bored and hungry.

Oh sure, Lex had fed him. Pancakes with strawberries, Clark remembered with a wistful smile... But, there was no way he was staying attached to this bed all morning. Giving an experimental tug at the chain, he felt out the give in the metal, and sighed. He would have to break the chains, no doubt about that.

Flicking his arms forward, he snapped the links of the chains, and pinched his fingers together to break the cuffs still attached around his wrists. No big deal; he could always run out to the store and buy a new set before Lex got back. He'd tried welding the last set back together, but Lex had known instantly,

Going into the store that sold the restraints never failed to leave him flustered and blushing, though, and he wasn't really looking forward to that. The clerk always gave him a weird look.

Throwing on some clothes, a gleeful thought flashed through his mind. Revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge. Thinking carefully as to what he wanted to do, he wandered around the bedroom, stopping when he bumped into Lex's slightly opened armoire. Slipping a finger into the crack, he drew the door open, and his eyes lit up. He nearly choked on the laughter bubbling up in his throat.

A quick, spot-weld on the chains would have to do for now. He had to build himself up to go face Mr. Weird-Guy down at the 'chain store' before he could actually go. He took a deep, calming breath and attached the chains back to the bed posts.

Zipping around the apartment, he found everything else that he needed; he ran down to Lex's office at top speed, carefully. He placed items here and there, and laid out the unmistakable clues to infuriate his lover. With a grin, he zipped over past Lex, who was still on phone...oblivious to his presence with his speed masking him, and he slid his lips over the back of the older man's neck before speeding back out, snickering noiselessly as tears ran down his cheeks.

~~~~~~

Lex felt something brush the back of his neck, and looked up, suspiciously.

"Clark?"

The room was empty, and his voice echoed in the big space of his office. Gray-blue eyes continued to search the room, an odd sensation trickling down his spine.

After several moments of pointless looking, he finally turned his face down to his work, only to see a Polaroid photo of Clark from his 'personal collection'. One of his favorites, of Clark half-asleep, lying on his stomach, with his face turned to face the camera. There was a lazy smile on his face, and one sparkling green eyes was peeking out. Yes, a wonderful, arousing picture. Definitely, a favorite.

And, it was lying on his desk among spreadsheets and file-folders.

Raising an eyebrow, he reached into a drawer for a slim, dark remote control and raised it to the wall, pressing the center button.

A television slid down from the ceiling, and flicked on, displaying a clear, precise picture.

Of Clark, laying on the bed, with his hands chained to the posts. His eyes were lolling around the room, innocently, and he appeared to be whistling.

Lex tried, and failed, to hold back a grin, and had to wait several moments before reaching for his phone and pressing a code in for the loudspeaker in his penthouse master bedroom.

"Nice, Clark. Very nice."

Green eyes snapped over to the camera, wide with shock so false it was absurd.

"I'll just have to keep this screen up all day, I suppose." Lex said thoughtfully, biting back a chuckle at the look of panic that crossed Clark's pretty face.

And, then, he saw the shift. The shift in that beautiful face that he'd seen so many times, and he felt the collar of his shirt tighten around his neck.

"Clark...don't do anything-"

He watched, sighing, as Clark stared into the camera and his face sharpened, eyes narrowed. An odd, wavering brightness filled the screen and then nothing. Static and snow, and Lex shook his head.

He lost more cameras that way...

Taking a deep breath, he moved to get up, jerking back when he realized his foot was chained to his desk.

"Damn it....CLARK!"

~~~~~~

Clark heard the scream, and laughed. Served him right. He moved into the kitchen, grabbing a cold pancake from the refrigerator. Stuffing it in his mouth, he reached for the syrup and leaned back, pouring a large dollop in with the half-chewed pancake. He was still chewing, reaching for the container of milk that Lex had brought out from Smallville every other day just for him, when he heard the elevator ding, and turned towards it with a mischievous smile.

The sharp, burning pain that spread through his body was a shock, and he fell to the floor, writhing as he felt his blood boil in his veins.

"No." He was grunting in pain, clutching his body tight into a ball on the chilled tiles as dark, shining shoes came into his line of view. "Please, don't-"

The last thing he saw was a foot coming towards his face.

~~~~~~

It took Lex several minutes, picking at the lock around his ankle with his sterling silver letter opener, before he realized he had the master key in his pocket.

He'd been chained with his own cuffs. Sighing, he sat back in the chair. The laugh rose in his chest, along with admiration for Clark's gumption. He was laughing all the time, any more, and the feeling was a welcome one. He felt the emptiness in his life being filled, and the darkness wasn't so heavy any more.

Standing now, he snatched up the remote off of his desk top and tossed it in the air, catching it playfully; he switched the security channel to view the penthouse living room. Hopefully, Clark hadn't fizzled all of his cameras.

The screen was blank for a moment, only a shot of his empty living room, full of light and beautifully designed. Then, the camera picked up the arched back of an unknown man bent over something. Too thin and awkward to be Clark. The intruder was moving backwards, dragging something heavy. Lex's hand shot out to his phone, barking out orders for his security team to get up to his penthouse...NOW.

The heavy package the man was hauling, was moving now, and a long, tanned arm slipped out of it's confines, smacking down heavily on the floor.

Lex was running for the private elevator in his office before the arm had hit the floor.

Waiting for the door to open. Waiting for the door to close. Waiting for the elevator to rise. Not fast enough.

Lex swallowed down the all-too familiar fear, and refused to give in to it. He pushed a series of buttons in the panel of the elevator and reached in as it slid open, revealing a set of small, efficient tranquilizer guns. Pulling one out, he stood to the side of the elevator, sucking in a breath as the metallic doors slid quietly open to the back hallway that led to the dining room. Jogging out silently, he crouched behind a column in between the dining room and the foyer. His ears were picking up a faint scraping noise and long, odd-sounding squeaks. Heavy breathing and grunts.

Waiting. Waiting, as heard the ringing of the elevator in the front of the penthouse.

"Shit!"

The man was upset, and Lex remained close to the floor, inching behind a set of chairs, towards where the man was dragging Clark's weakened body towards an opened window. There were black and blue ropes, pulleys. He was obviously set to repel down the side of the building.

Lex raised his gun, taking in a breath and letting it out slowly, aiming carefully and waiting for the elevator's to spring open.

The sound of the door sliding open had the man jumping around in surprise, and Lex pulled the trigger, a cold smile crossing his face when a miniscule dart lodged itself in a gasping throat. Shot again, setting another dart to settle next to the first.

As the man fell down to his knees, clutching at his throat and pulling the tiny, propelled injections out of his neck, Lex stood over him, shooting three more times, consecutively, into the man's chest.

When he settled, unconscious, onto the floor, Lex signaled for his security team to come in and restrain the man...take him down to the basement for...holding.

Not sparing another look at the vaguely familiar face, he moved over to where Clark was stirring, his sea-green eyes hazy and clouded.

"Lex?" His voice was so weak.

"Where is it, Clark?" Lex's hands were frantic, moving over his lover's body. Searching pockets, and finding nothing, began ripping the clothes from his body. Tugging and pulling, pushing Clark's heavy body to the side and over, to inch down possibly contaminated clothing.

He heard Clark's breath huff out in a loud hiss, and he settled across his chest, taking the precious face in his hands. Slapped lightly at pale, green-tinged cheeks.

"Clark. Clark! Where's the meteor? Where's is it? Clark!"

He saw it, then, the tiny bullet hole on the side of Clark's body, almost underneath his arm. There was a powdery, glowing green trail mixing with blood as it slid down onto his back, and Lex bit back the panic and nausea.

"Clark, baby, I'm just going to get this out. You're going to be fine."

Noticing two security guards, still standing at the ready, behind him, he snapped out for someone to hand him a knife. When the both complied, he grabbed the two knives and then turned his head, snarling.

"Now, get out."

Waiting again. For the doors to slide shut, and he immediately pushed Clark's arm up, wincing with empathy at the moan that fell from plush, beautiful lips. He slipped a quick kiss across them, murmuring softly.

"Hold on, baby." He flipped a knife open and bent over the wound. A sweaty hand rubbed across his pants, drying the palm, then rose to swipe wet drops away from his face. "Okay. Just hold on."

The knife slid in and he felt the hard clink as the knife clicked against the bullet. He moved the knife around the bullet, carefully, edging in past it. Taking the second knife, he pushed in on the opposite side of the wound. Like tweezers, he carefully pulled the bullet out, stopping to push occasionally from the bottom with the first knife, until the tiny, mangled piece of metal and meteor rock was out and in the palm of his hand. He ran to the bathroom, pulling a lead box out from underneath the counter, and slid the bullet inside. Slammed the lid down, and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Clark was shivering when he got back, and he rolled him fully onto his side, just as he threw up. Green flecked bile poured out of him, and Lex rubbed his back softly.

"That's it, Clark. Get it all out." He uncapped the alcohol, shutting his eyes in anguish at the pain he knew Clark would feel, and thanked every deity he could think of that Clark was still unconscious.

He gritted his teeth, and poured the alcohol into the wound. Holding a firm hand against Clark's spasming side, he worked a finger into the hole, continuing to steadily pour the alcohol. Scraped out the bits of meteor, wincing when his finger came out. The nail was dark underneath the ridge with blood and bits of green. Four or five more times, he did this, until a cotton swab came out clean...no traces of meteor rock.

Rising off the floor, he dragged Clark's body over to the window, flinging all of the drapes open in the room.

Sunshine slashed over Clark's body in warm waves, and he could see a green vapor rising out of the wound. Watched, with amazed, grateful eyes, as the gaping hole slowly closed, healed.

Clark's eyes remained shut, but his chest was rising and falling steadily, and Lex laid his head upon it, listening to the steady beating.

It was only then that he allowed himself to cover his face with a shaky hand and scream noiselessly into his palm.

~~~~~~

Lex awoke to a hand shaking his shoulder, gently. His bare head slid across a sweaty chest, and he raised up, looking into tired, shining green eyes. The room was fairly dark, and Clark's skin seemed to glow in the sparse light.

"Lex?"

Shuddering, Lex leaned forward, covering the trembling mouth with his own.

"Clark." He moved his mouth off to the side, licking a quick stripe across a silky cheek. Comforted himself momentarily with a taste of Clark.

A large, warm hand found it's way onto his naked scalp, and he nestled into it. Relaxed.

He noticed the sweat beaded on Clark's body, some of the droplets glowing with a suspicious greenish tone. He raised himself up off the floor, and held out a hand, bracing himself as he helped Clark lift himself into a wobbly standing position.

"C'mon. We need to get you into a shower, Clark." They walked into the bathroom together, slowly. Lex flicked on the light, and helped Clark sit down on the closed lid of the commode. Walking over to the shower, he moved his arm inside the large stall to twist the water on. Maneuvered the temperature until it was a pleasant heat, just below too-hot.

Went back to Clark, whose head was drooping...chin resting against his chest. Exhausted. He looked exhausted.

Shaking his head softly, Lex placed steady hands on Clark's wrists and raised them up to his waist, encouraging him to hold onto him. They made it into the shower, clumsily, and Clark braced himself up against a wall with Lex's hand supporting and strong against his chest.

"Your clothes." Clark whispered. His voice sounded torn, and Lex winced.

He looked down at himself, at the clothes drenched and clinging to his body. Shrugging, he began to pull at the ruined fabrics, letting them fall with a noisy plop to the floor of the shower.

Completely naked, now, he adjusted the shower head to spray across the top of Clark's chest, washing away the sweat and poison. Clark moved his head forward, drenching his hair in the falling water. Lifted his face to the spray and let his lips fall open, rinsing his mouth in the warmth.

Lex got out, dripping water across the floor and shivering, and retrieved Clark's toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. Coated the brush with the paste, and moved back into the shower, sliding the door shut behind him with a cautious hand.

He let the water wet the brush before raising it to Clark's mouth with an inquiring eyebrow arched high on his forehead.

Smiled, when Clark grinned and opened wide for him. He moved the brush over teeth and gums, moving the brush back in forth, in tiny circles. Watched as steamy water washed foam away from his chin. Clark's hand closed over his, moving the brush more deliberately, and he watched him clean his tongue and shivered.

"You keep scaring me."

Clark rinsed his mouth again, and sighed into the spray. "I promise you, it's not intentional."

Lex sighed and stepped into him, sighing as the water sluiced across his back. He looked into a face that was pinking up, seemingly soaking in the rosy-gold color that was so 'normal' for him. Couldn't resist reaching up to pull a dripping head down to his. Sighed into Clark's mouth, and dipped inside, moved beyond the flavor of mint to seek Clark's unique sweetness.

Clark was smiling against his mouth and he moved back to look at the beauty of it. Returned the smile with one of his own, and relaxed against strong arms and warm water.

"Thank you for taking care of me." Clark whispered.

"I always will."

~~~~~~

Once he had Clark safe in bed, and deeply asleep, Lex carefully disentangled himself from the pleasant web of long limbs that had draped themselves over him. He stood and looked over the softly snoring man, and brushed a feathery kiss over a still-too-warm forehead.

He left the room, stopping to give strict orders to his security team that NO one was to enter...or leave the penthouse. Stepping into the elevator, he pushed in the private code to the basement, and unbuttoned the wrist cuffs of his shirt, rolling them up to his elbows. He ran a hand over his scalp, and twisted his head around at the neck, sighing at the light pops that snapped out.

When the doors opened, he stepped out, walking down a darkened hallway to a closed, heavy door. Looking up into the camera, he waited perhaps, 3 seconds before a soft hiss and the door snapped open.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.


~~~~~
Sorry to leave it like this, but I had to have a cliffy. lol. I hope you're enjoying this. The last part will be up as soon as I can get it out. :-)
~Morgan