What You Don't Know...

Thanks all for the kind words. I tried to get this update out in a timely manner, but it was recently called to my attention that going less slow than I usually go doesn't mean I'm going fast. So thanks for your patience. :)

Chapter Eleven


Chloe always wondered about her past. Amnesia did that to a person. But every once and a while something would happen that would push her thoughts beyond the normal “what was my favorite movie” and more into the realm of “what the hell was up with my life?!” Sneaking through the hallways of the massive mansion she called home, Chloe was fairly certain that this was one of those moments.

It wasn’t her furtive actions that gave her pause – she had good reason for her skulking. No; it was the almost unbearable thrill that her little covert missions gave her.

The sharp sounds of footfalls on the pristine wood floors alerted her to the approach of one of the various staff members and Chloe quickly stepped into a random room to conceal her presence. And there it was again; the burst of adrenaline that flooded her system as she pressed her ear tightly to the door, waiting for the steps to pass her by.

And she had to admit that she liked it. The slinking, the dodging; the rush she got being Covert Chloe was somewhat electrifying…and a little embarrassing given the nature of her “mission”.

Moving once again through the corridors, she could see her objective through the open doorway before her. Carefully she took in her surroundings. She saw no one in her line of sight, but still paused a few moments more. When the silence confirmed her observations, she dashed across the last of the open space separating her from her goal.

She made it. Chloe gave a small sigh of relief as she slipped through the narrow door, closing it behind her, before turning to survey her bounty. No matter how wealthy her husband might be, she knew that his true riches were there, laid out on the heavy shelves that lined the walls. Her eyes raced across the bright, multicolored packages before landing on the feature for the day.

Nutter Butters.

Yesterday had been mangoes, the day prior was Oreos, and the one before that, peanut brittle. And so it had been for the past three weeks as Chloe snuck down to the kitchen at least once a day to liberate a new delight. At times a sinfully expensive foreign delicacy and at others something as pedestrian as chunky peanut butter, each item consumed represented more than a tempting treat; it was one of the many small ways in which Chloe was relearning who she was regardless of her memory’s timetable.

She knew to most people it would seem like such a minor thing, but in the complete and utter void that was her past it was sometimes the missing minutiae that was the hardest to take. Losing the knowledge of her husband, her family, it was definitely difficult. But losing things like her favorite color, song, food - things so intrinsic to who she was, was for some reason a hundred times worse. While Lex’s presence confirmed the reality of her marriage, the inability to establish so few concrete facts about herself left her feeling almost non-existent, as if these tiny details had, in some ways, given her substance. And so, as with the rest of her memories, she sought to do something about the situation. Thus the covert treks to the kitchen.

Not that she had to creep like a thief through her own house. However, she had a feeling that Lex was getting suspicious of her various fact finding missions. There was no denying that the man was brilliant and Chloe knew that her days of slipping her active attempts at wellness under his radar were fast coming to an end.

Although, honestly, his awareness wouldn’t stop her. It was her mind, and her life she was dealing with. And though she had carefully considered all of the expert advice she was given, Chloe knew that, in the end, she would do what she considered best and not even what was sure to be an unpleasant confrontation with her husband would deter her.

And so the experiments began. It wasn’t that she had no knowledge of the foods she sampled. She knew what chocolate chip cookies were; understood, intellectually, the existence of an artichoke heart. It’s just that she had no recollection of any personal experience that told her how much she had enjoyed partaking of these things. But she had to acknowledge, at least to herself, that her plan wasn’t the rousing success that she’d hoped for.

Unfortunately, all she’d actually learned was that she really liked food. So far, instead of discerning a definite preference that she could call her own, Chloe found that every few days she’d find some new fare elbowing its way to the top of her list. In fact, at that point in time, she had already discovered twenty-three different foods that she was sure were her favorite until a new one came along and dumped her back at square one…delicious square one.

With her coveted cookies safely in her possession, Chloe was about to exit the pantry when she was stopped in her tracks by the growing sound of voices outside the door. With a silent curse she realized that it was Friday; the day that various deliveries of fresh produce, meats, and cheeses were delivered by what she was sure were the most exclusive of local merchants.

Having no choice but to wait them out Chloe couldn’t help but listen in. She needed no trials or testing to confirm that she was nosy.

“…and then they showed his helicopter landing.”

The rustle of boxes being opened briefly interrupted.

“You know, I’ve heard a lot of things about the Luthors – some of them not so nice, if you know what I mean. But seeing him just walk into that lab and take the place of those hostages…well, I certainly won’t be tarring him with his father’s brush again any time soon.”

In the silence of the small room the sound of Chloe’s pounding heart was deafening as the import of the man’s words washed over her. Minor pursuits forgotten, she threw open the door, ignoring the panicked expression on Mrs. Whitehead’s face, and rushed towards the bewildered delivery man who hastily stepped back from the wild-eyed blonde.

“Tell me what happened.”

Hands lifted in supplication, he looked over to the elderly lady for some clue as to what the agitated young woman wanted. His attention was brought abruptly back as he felt the fisting of hands in his shirt combined with a surprisingly strong shake for such a petite person.

“My husband! What happened to Lex?”

Understanding and no small amount of sympathy dawned in the man’s eyes as he realized that the woman in front of him was Mrs. Luthor. He hadn’t realized that the young tycoon had a wife, but then he hardly kept up with Metropolis’ high society. Wondering how the police could be so cruel as to not contact her in this type of situation, he prepared to offer all that he knew.

“Well, ma’am, a few hours ago –”

“That will be enough. You can go now, John.”

As head of the Luthor household staff, Conrad Haines radiated an undeniable sense of authority. And John Hutchins, as a simple delivery man who depended on his job to support his family, responded to it immediately. Besides, he thought, news of this type would be better left broken by someone who actually new the shaken woman before him.

By the tone of his voice Chloe knew that Haines had the news she sought and so she paid no attention as the other man departed.

“First you’re going to tell me what’s happened to my husband, and later we’ll discuss with the fact that no one saw fit to inform me that there was even a situation to begin with.”

“Mrs. Luthor,” he began placatingly “I really think it would be best if we waited for Mr. Luthor’s return.”

“Can you promise me that will happen?” she snarled.

The silence that met her harsh question was all the answer she needed. Pushing her way past the unaccommodating man, Chloe headed for the one place that she knew would provide the information for which she was becoming desperate.

The doors of Lex’s office opened easily, but the large mahogany armoire containing the house’s only television was locked. Intellectually Chloe could appreciate the precaution. Although, outside of trying to glean random facts about herself, she’d been very good about the doctors’ dictates, and regardless of the fact that she was routinely checked on by the staff, she knew that Lex’s near paranoia concerning her recovery would lead him to take such preventative measures. Not that those measures would stop her.

“Mrs. Luthor, please–”

“Give me the key.”

Bright eyes flashing with a fierce determination he wouldn’t have imagined from the normally sweet natured woman, her cold, hard tone cut his plea short and it was only his knowledge of the ruthlessness of the Luthor’s reputation that prompted his answer.

“I’m sorry; I don’t have it.”

Chloe didn’t know if Haines was lying or whether Lex truly hadn’t entrusted the man with the key. Both possibilities seemed equally probable, but neither mattered. She didn’t have time for his reticence.

A quick glance around the large room yielded what she needed and, walking over to the fireplace, Chloe grabbed the heavy iron poker. Ignoring the shocked and vaguely horrified look on the older man’s face, Chloe calmly moved back to the large cabinet and proceeded to beat it repeatedly until the wood cracked beneath her resolute blows.

The television, as always, was tuned to a twenty-four hour news station. And, while Chloe was gratified to be getting the full story, her chest was painfully tight as the large caption at the bottom of the screen proclaimed “LuthorCorp Hostage Crisis”. Turning up the volume, she listened as the broadcaster’s voice echoed in the stillness of the room.

“We’re now entering hour three of this terrible hostage situation. It was shortly after noon that the police were notified of gunfire at Addison Laboratories, a subsidiary of LuthorCorp.

Reports from those who had safely evacuated the facility were that ex-employee, Alan Milford, had entered the building heavily armed and made his way to his former work station where he barricaded himself and eleven staff members in one of the labs.

Shortly after, LuthorCorp CEO Lex Luthor arrived on scene.”

A short clip of Lex exiting his corporate helicopter was shown and Chloe’s heart clenched harder at the sight of his strong, resolved form. Pushing down her fast overwhelming sense of anxiety she tried to focus on the continuing story.

“At approximately 1:00 pm, the gunman communicated his single demand to the police – He would release all hostages in exchange for Lex Luthor.”

Chloe knew what was coming next; she knew and, collapsing into the nearest chair, she tried to hold back a terrified sob as her worst fears were confirmed.

“Sources within the police department have informed us that the idea was immediately rejected by officials on the scene despite Luthor’s apparent willingness to meet the demand. But calls from both the Mayor and Governor, whose campaigns were heavily financed with LuthorCorp donations, overruled the decision and Mr. Luthor was given authorization to enter the building. The eleven original hostages were released within minutes, sustaining only minor injuries from the initial conflict.

The picture of Lex walking without hesitation into the hands of a clearly deranged and violent criminal was in no way offset for Chloe by the sight of the people his actions had saved. Feeling sick as she watched the station cut back to a live view of the building, Chloe was on the verge of demanding access to a car when a barrage of loud burst that, despite her amnesia, she clearly recognized as gunfire, broke through the droning of the station’s correspondent.

Momentarily unable to breathe, Chloe could do nothing but sit frozen, waiting to learn if her life as she knew it had just been taken from her.

Chapter Twelve


Back in his helicopter, this time on his way home, Lex listened to the hypnotic hum of the blades above him and tried to fight the pull of exhaustion. The adrenaline rush that had sustained him throughout the extreme trials of the day had finally dissipated leaving a crashing sensation that he knew all too well from his imperiled days in Smallville.

Then there had been the call from Haines, explaining that Chloe had violently commandeered the television in his

office and saw most of the coverage only pulling herself away upon seeing him actually entering the helicopter and it subsequently leaving the ground.

Lex wasn’t sure what to make of that particular development. The first thing he’d done was obtain a copy of the coverage for the channel she had been watching. As he had suspected there was nothing in the broadcast that would be of any danger to his plans with Chloe. There had been enough sensationalism in the day’s actual events for them to have little need to resort to endless speculation about his personal life or a recitation of ancient scandals. Not that those things wouldn’t raise their heads in the sleazier publications in the weeks to follow, but they certainly hadn’t been pressing enough to warrant inclusion in the earlier airings.

What had caught him off guard was the odd sense of relief upon hearing that Chloe had been exposed to most of the story.

Despite the Luthor stoicism, Lex was man enough to admit that, while he didn’t overly worry about dying, actual circumstances in which that was a distinct possibility bothered him. Though the press might never think to suggest it, he was only human. When his personal security team had burst into the lab in which he was being held and bullets had begun hurling through the air, he hadn’t cowered. He’d kept his cool and let his men do the job that they were trained to do without either unnecessary heroics or frantic attempts to escape. He had, unfortunately, been at the center enough life threatening circumstances to handle himself with enviable aplomb.

But they were still traumatic.

Yet, in the midst of the turbulent aftermath, there was an unfamiliar warmth in Lex at the thought of having someone to go home to who would help soothe away the day’s distress. And although his relationship with Chloe wasn’t physically intimate, they shared an emotional connection that he was no longer able to deny.

The large front doors were opened by an anxious Haines, but Lex merely handed over his coat and addressed his own concern. “Where is my wife?”

“In the office sir, but–”

Whatever he was going to say was lost to Lex as a small blur hurled towards him and he found himself with a sobbing blonde buried in his arms. Whatever he had been expecting upon his homecoming, this hadn’t been it. Despite her emotional reaction to her first nightmare, his image of Chloe had always been that of the hardened, intrepid reporter who scoffed at danger. Even her amnesia had been accepted with what he considered her characteristic optimism and determination to triumph over adversity. Of course, those situations had always involved peril to herself. He’d never really stopped to consider how she handled the possibility of harm to those she cared for. He’d never really had a reason to until that moment.

“Chloe; hush honey, its okay.”

And as quickly as she’d appeared in his arms she pulled back, and the warm embrace was replaced with a flurry of desperate blows. A release of emotion as opposed to an agent of any real pain, Lex stood quietly as Chloe poured out her fear.

“Okay? Okay!” Her eyes shot green fire as she spit the words at him. “What were you thinking? He could have killed you!”

Lex watched as his steward edged his way out of the foyer and Chloe’s cries died down as she buried her face in her hands. At a loss of how to best handle such an excess of emotion, Lex stepped forward, placing comforting hands on her shaking shoulders.

Chloe’s wet gaze met his as she moved to grasp his shirt, pulling closer to his touch.

“You could have died.”

His breath caught at her words. She was afraid, was crying, for him. She was so distraught at the very thought of him being hurt that she was trembling with it. And that, more than the danger, more than the adrenaline, shook Lex to his very core.

In only his time as a young child so briefly under his mother’s wing had he known the pleasure of having someone care for him so much that his state well being was imperative to their happiness. And, in the years since his her death, it was a feeling he’d steadily been convinced that he’d never know again.

But there it was – Chloe’s anguish, so naked and raw that it couldn’t be anything other than real. His head reeled and his heart clenched at the flood of sensations for which he’d secretly craved so long. Lost as he was in the new awareness, he was unprepared for the shift of Chloe’s body as her hands rose to caress his face and draw his lips down to hers.

Her mouth, warm and soft beneath his own, stripped away his shock and stress and bathed his strained nerves in the tenderness of her kiss. As her tongue slipped over his lower lip, tentatively searching out his own, Lex lost all sense of past or future and gave himself over to this one exquisite moment that had so effortlessly captured him.

Chloe moaned as her advance was met and answered as Lex’s tongue moved to tangle with her own and then push forward to the warm recess beyond. More than anything, the taste of him, that intimate connection to him, began to convince her that he was actually there, in her arms, alive and safe.

But it wasn’t enough. Chloe needed to be closer; much, much closer. She needed to touch him, to hold him, to take him in and make him a part of her. She understood the reason that Lex had kept a modicum of physical distance between them; knew that he was being considerate of all she’d suffered. But this suffering was worse. Every day that passed saw the space between them grow from a blessing to a burden, and almost losing him had brought that fact into startling clarity.

As she had waited through each agonizing minute to see if Lex would live or die, Chloe finally realized that her life didn’t have to end because her memories had. Fate had given her a second chance to fall in love with her husband once again and she was tired of wasting that miracle.

The smooth silk of his shirt was cool against her hands as they slid down to free the material from his pants only to journey upwards over his heated flesh. Her whisper soft touch grazed along the firm muscle of his stomach before drawing the fabric with her to explore the counters of his chest.

The deep, guttural groan that rumbled through Lex brought them both momentarily back to reality. Stunned at far he’d let things go, Lex caught Chloe’s hands in his and gently interrupted their caress. He swallowed heavily at both the loss of her warm touch and in regret for what he had to say.

“Chloe, we can’t –”

Surprise halted his words as Chloe tugged a hand free and pressed a finger to his lips.

“If you don’t want me, Lex…if I’m too broken or not enough of the woman you married, you can tell me. You don’t have to make it anything other than what it is.”

Chloe was sure that wasn’t the problem. The way he’d kissed her left little doubt that he wanted her, but she had to ask, needed to be certain that she wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The thought of wanting him when he didn’t want her in return tugged at something just beyond her reach; but she knew, with absolute certainty, that if that were the case she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Fortunately, the emotions so uncharacteristically emblazoned on Lex’s face – shock and appalled disbelief – did much to calm her fears.

“Don’t say that. Don’t even think it.” Agitated hands wrapped tightly round her arms and she could feel the sincerity in the tremor that ran through him as he spoke. “You’re not broken. The memories you lost are just moments of thought, they’re not you; not the things that make you who you are. They’re not important.”

“I know,” she said as she smiled tremulously up at him. “I finally realized that today. If I never recall my past, if I never get back my time with you; it doesn’t matter. Remembering this - us, isn’t necessary because I fallen in love with you all over again.”

Looking down into her tearstained eyes, Lex found himself tumbling headlong into the gold tinged depths and the truth they contained, the same conviction that rang in her voice.

“I love you, Lex Luthor,” she passionately declared. “I love every minute I’m with you. When we talk, when we laugh, when we fight, or when we just sit quietly, because I feel you with me.”

She moved close to him again, and Lex was unable to summon the will to deny her need to be near or his to have her so.

“I love how you tease me when I’m disheartened and comfort me when I’m scared.”

A shaky laugh emerged as her hand gently cupped his cheek.

“I even love when you’re moody and secretive. When you come home all dark and brooding and hiding behind the walls you’ve built. God,” she cried, “I even love those stupid walls because it makes me feel so precious every time you let me in. Let me in now.”

His lips crashed into hers as Lex gathered her fiercely to him. For so many years he’d used hard logic and cold reasoning as weapons against the world. It suited his intellectual nature and insulated him against some small part of the emotional destruction that was inherent in being Lionel Luthor’s son. But a part of him, the part that he hid, that he tried to force away into oblivion, understood that so many of his stratagems and machinations were a tremendous overcompensation brought on by his compulsive need for someone to honestly want him; to love him. The way that Chloe was offering her love to him.

And the overpowering feeling of finding something that had seemed so irreversibly lost crashed like a wave upon him, drowning him in depths of a passion that he couldn’t have begun to battle even if he’d wanted to; even if his greatest of hidden desires wasn’t being fulfilled.

The kiss broke as suddenly as it started and Lex was left wanting and confused as Chloe drew back only to bury her head in his chest. The thought that she didn’t want him, had merely been caught in the moment and had finally come to her senses, speared pain through his very being and left his heart weak and bleeding. Yet what in one instant seemed shattered was in the next healed as the words she sobbed into his chest washed through him and soothed the ragged edges of his soul.

“I could have lost you. Oh God, I love you so much and I could have lost you. And I never would have had the chance to tell you. I wouldn’t have even had the memory of it…of anything.”

Her face lifted and he read a kind of frantic need that he was certain must echo his own.

“Give me new memories, Lex. Don’t leave me with this nothingness where our love should be. I want to know your touch, how it feels when you move inside me. I’m tired of searching for the past. I want to start creating our future.”

For every choice Lex had made in his life there had been a reason, a rationale. Even his reckless and misspent youth had been about more than just wild parties and easy women. For all that it had been a distraction from endless emptiness of his life, it was more than that. It was a way to force his father to notice him, to take an interest. And although it had gotten him exiled to Smallville, it had still been successful. So it had been with all of his ventures – desire combined with purpose.

But standing there with Chloe in his arms begging him to love her, to let her love him, Lex was, for once, at a loss for the fortitude to focus on grand schemes or ulterior motives. The world could go to hell and take all that he’d worked for with it and it wouldn’t turn him from this unrelenting need that could only be sated together.

Logic fled, knowing that it could not prevail, and desire rushed to fill the void , and Lex let one dream briefly go to grasp, for just a moment, another far more precious. And before good sense could hope to rally, Lex swept Chloe up into his arms a made for the stairs.

Chapter Thirteen


As the last of their clothing fluttered to the floor, Lex was met with an immutable truth - Chloe Sullivan was breathtaking.

Not in the trite or banal manner with which the phrase was all too often used. No; as Lex gazed at the lush curves and tempting hollows laid out before him, the air momentarily caught in his chest. Her tousled hair spread out across the pillow, and the contrast of the golden waves and ivory flesh against the dark silk of the sheets was mesmerizing.

Under his heated stare Chloe could feel her skin pinken and couldn‘t prevent a brief moment of hesitation from whispering through her mind. It wasn’t Lex she doubted. She wanted him so badly, knew that this was right. It was herself. Deep inside Chloe worried that, with no memory of their previous times together, she wouldn’t know what Lex expected, what he liked, what gave him pleasure. She worried that she would disappoint him.

“Chloe?”

A small sigh escaped her as her arms moved without thought to cover herself. She hated feeling neurotic and took that as a good sign that she most likely wasn’t, in general, overly dramatic. In fact, the more she thought about it the more she realized just how foolish she was being.

Whatever else Lex was - friend, husband, entrepreneur - he was, first and foremost, a man. A man who was currently pressing a very flattering hardness against her thigh. There was no questioning that he wanted her, and as for learning what he liked, well, she could cite that as her extremely valid reason for ample practice.

“I’m sorry,” her lips curved wryly. “I’m blowing it, aren’t I?”

Seeing that the storm had passed, Lex’s own smile tilted in response. “You could be,” he replied suggestively.

Shaking with laughter she reached up and pulled Lex down, winding her arms around him and whispering into his ear, “God, I love you.”

As her voice penetrated the sensual fog created by the crush of her breasts against his chest, Lex couldn’t prevent the small roll of his hips as humor fled and intensity returned in response to her words; to her utter belief in them.

Crushing her mouth under his, Lex swallowed Chloe’s low moan as his hand slipped between them to palm her breast. Long fingers skillfully found the tightening nipple and gently tugged it into a peak. His lips left hers to trail soft, reverent kisses across her jaw and down her neck until finally they met and replaced his fingers, drawing the taught nub into the warmth of his mouth.

Chloe’s hands flew to Lex’s head, wanting to prolong the sensations he was creating. She was almost glad that she had no personal memory of this as every touch, no matter how brief, how slight, was overwhelming in its newness and fervor. Her small sound of discontent as he pulled away ended in breathy gasp of pleasure as Lex merely moved to lavish her other breast in equal measure.

Lex increased the suction of his mouth at the erotic sounds that spilled from Chloe’s lips. Every murmur urged him onward and he savored the sweet sounds of her ardor. Her responses, so honest and genuine, were unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his years of ill fated romances with woman who wanted so many things, but never just him.

Tasting a path over the smooth planes of her stomach, he reached the silky curls at the juncture of her thighs and paused to look up at her. Seeing the stark anticipation swallow any trepidation she was still harboring was all the encouragement he needed as he gently opened her legs and settled between them.

The scent of her arousal hung heavy in the air and he breathed deep the proof of her need for him. Drawn like a magnet to the moist heat before him, Lex placed a tender kiss upon her before sweeping his tongue across her. His harsh groan rivaled hers as her taste, hot and tangy, burst through him.

Chloe’s hips rose up to meet the steady thrusts he was making, and Lex was forced to grasp them and anchor them to the bed to prevent their movement from disrupting such a thoroughly enjoyable past time. Her frenetic motions gave him momentary pause to wonder if it was simply the absence of any specific memory of sex that made her so hyper sensitive to his ministrations, or whether it had been so long since Chloe had enjoyed such attentions.

The idea of her with another man made his stomach clench and so he tuned out that choice in favor of another, far more satisfying explanation - maybe it was being with him specifically that made her so ravenous for his touch.

And that thought made him ache with hardness and he couldn’t wait a second more to be inside of her. Sliding up over her body, scorching flesh against flesh, he settled above her, his firm length pulsing against her. Looking down into her flushed and radiant face, Lex found himself hesitating. The trauma of his earlier ordeal, the soul soothing confession of her love, and the heady intoxication of her body so ripe and ready for his own combined to making stopping a near impossibility. But he wondered if maybe-

“Lex, please.”

And with that achingly heartfelt plea he was done in and he plunged deep inside her. She was like liquid fire as she tightened around him and he longed to sink further into her. He stilled himself instead, unsure of her readiness to proceed and loathe to cause her any pain.

Chloe, however, had no such concerns and arched her hips forward until Lex slid into her fully. Her eyes slammed shut as she felt herself stretch to accommodate his not unimpressive size. But it was more than worth the small discomfort as, for the first time since her accident, she truly felt whole.

At Chloe’s clear sign of readiness, Lex could no longer hold back and began to move within her. Setting a slow and steady rhythm, he allowed all of his misgivings to slide away as he sought to ensure the return of the limitless pleasure she was giving. Slightly shifting the angle of his thrusts, Lex was rewarded with a sharp cry from Chloe and he felt her hands grab his hips and urge him faster.

She buried her face in his shoulder as, suddenly, the sensations assailing her, lifting her higher and higher, crested, leaving her hanging for a dazzling eternity in a bliss so intense that everything faded save for the feel of him filling her and the raw strains of her voice.

“Love you. I love you.”

That was all it took to send Lex, too, falling over the edge as spasms of ecstasy rocked through him. His arms could no longer hold him above her and he collapsed, careful to land to the side of her before gathering her in his arms and pulling her flush against him.

The exhaustion of the day had clearly taken its toll on her as she managed only a brief yet blinding smile as she snuggled into him and her heavy lids slid closed. As Lex was about to join her he heard her words of love whispered once more across his chest before her breathing deepened and evened out and sleep, which had been poised to envelope him, slipped from his grasp.

He’d just made love to Chloe Sullivan. Chloe Sullivan, not Luthor. Not his wife, not even his friend. But now most definitely his lover.

He’d never meant for things to go so far, to become so serious. Of course he’d known that what his original plans had been, affording them the greatest of leeways, ethically dubious. But it hadn’t been irreparable. Sure, it would have garnered Chloe’s enmity for all time, but it wouldn’t have broken her. She was too strong for that. But this…

She’d said she loved him. And she’d meant it. From every fiber of her being Chloe had radiated love for him. And though it might damn him to hell to admit it, he couldn’t bring himself to regret that fact.

Taking advantage of her injuries, the lies, the deceptions, all of it he could find it somewhere in him to repent. But knowing that a woman as amazing, as wonderful and giving as Chloe could honestly care for him, love him; he just couldn’t bring himself to lament such an extraordinary gift. It had been too long since someone, anyone, had loved him and he hadn’t honestly been certain that he was still able to inspire that emotion.

The heat from the soft body curled into him was drugging and sleep was once again tugging at his mind as the twists and turns of his thoughts wore him down. As his eyes closed he resolved that morning would see some kind of change. For all that Lex knew that he was a bastard, he’d never considered himself a sadist. Although Clark’s secret still eluded him, he had a number of new leads to follow, and while he could use the analogy of a soldier’s battle wounds to justify Chloe’s kidnapping, there was little that would possibly excuse him using her in such a personal manner.

But those were issues for the new day. And, knowing that nothing could be accomplished that night, Lex allowed himself to enjoy the twining of their bodies; the closeness of a women who truly cared for him. Remorse was for the morning; this night was meant for peace.


tbc