Chlex Fanfic: Orchestrato, Chapter 11
Hi y'all! Thought you might appreciate some Chlexy goodness. Please pardon any typos/mistakes; I'm half-asleep already. :-)
Enjoy!
Title: Orchestrato
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlex
Rating: PG-13 *but not for much longer!*
Warnings: Some chronology-shifting with the events of Episode 4.1 (Gone)
Timeline: Safehouse Summer of Love, End of Season 3/Beginning of 4
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Lex inexplicably bonds with Chloe whilst keeping her survival a secret from the world
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Previously: “So… what else do you like about me?”
Chapter 11
The question was out before Lex could stop himself. But the wine must have significantly loosened her inhibitions, because she answered without hesitation.
“The way you always knock on the door to my room and await my permission to enter always lifts my spirits.”
Lex blinked. Not what he’d expected. “Huh?”
“Seriously. I mean, you hardly need authorisation to enter a room that’s in your own home, but aside from the one time when you came to bust me out of the safehouse, you always knock. I find your manners refreshing.” She paused and smiled. “It makes a pleasant change from Clark who just barges into places all the time.”
“Ah, very true,” he chuckled. “Got it. Anything else?”
She gave him a sultry smile. “How you somehow manage to look so damn fine with absolutely no hair on your head,” she murmured, lifting her hand to stroke it.
Jesus. Electricity seared along his veins as her fingertips traversed his scalp; unbeknownst to her, she’d just caressed his most potent erogenous zone. A sharp stab of arousal pooled in his groin, causing his cock to stiffen painfully, and he almost sobbed both with relief and frustration when she took her hand away and began babbling about something else.
It was interesting, how she kept finding opportunities to touch him. Interesting…and endearing, he realised. Most women he encountered were either business executives or fortune hunters, and they certainly didn’t go straight for his hairless head at the earliest opportunity. In fact, many a time he’d noticed that women actively avoiding either touching it, or looking at it.
Chloe, however, was the complete opposite. She was clearly entranced with his smooth pate, almost as if she’d entertained thoughts of touching it but had never quite worked up the nerve to ask. Like most people, she had probably considered it rude to bring it up and therefore ignored it. He could see it now: Nice to meet you, Lex. So how d’you lose your hair? It wasn’t exactly a great conversation-starter.
But nothing highlighted his unique differences like direct avoidance, so her appreciation of him was refreshing, like a fresh cool spring bubbling up from the ground on a warm summer day. For the first time in his life, Lex felt like he was being adored for whom he was, warts and all.
“Oh - and how you pretend to be this tough, mysterious, big bad heir to the Luthor dynasty; but in reality, you’re a big ol’ softie,” she went on, poking him playfully in the ribs.
“Don’t tell anyone,” he warned with a grin. “I have a rep to protect.”
“My lips are sealed,” she whispered. She lifted her index finger and placed it against her lips, and her other hand dropped to his thigh and gave a reassuring squeeze.
More currents of electricity surged through him, and distant warning bells clanged in his head. This was dangerous. The music, the s’mores, the crackling fire…everything suddenly seemed way, way too intimate. It didn’t help his cause that he’d plied her with alcohol, so she was more susceptible to him than even she was probably aware of.
He needed to break the sexual tension in the air - and fast.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” were the first words that came out of his mouth. Damn it, his mind should not be computing Chloe and bed in the same thought process. The images it evoked of her writhing naked beneath his silken sheets---
“I’ll go…when you play me something I can sleep to,” she murmured, snuggling into his side. “Something from your native heritage, I think.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know any Scottish lullabies,” he said apologetically. “The best I can give you is the Braveheart theme.”
She sighed and smiled. “I’ll take it.”
***
For the Love of a Princess. It was a piece Lex knew well.
Chloe leaned against his arm and closed her eyes as he played the mellow tune. After the first few bars she hummed along softly, losing herself in the music.
“I wish I could play,” she said wistfully.
“I could teach you.”
She cracked open one eye and snorted. “Not in one night, you couldn’t.”
His eyes twinkled. “You’d be surprised.”
She grinned. “You’re that good, huh?”
“You tell me.”
Before she could react, he lifted her slightly and slid her over his lap to his left side. The smooth, warm skin on the back of her thighs made contact with his lap briefly, and again he had to pull the breaks on his natural impulses.
Pushing it, his mind warned.
She gasped. “What are you-?”
“I need you on my left side,” he explained. “You’re going to play the accompanying chords for the next piece.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
“It’s a simple melody; I’m sure you’ll have no trouble picking it up.”
“But I’ve never played before in my life!” she exclaimed.
“I have faith in you.” He played the opening notes of another song and glanced across at her. “Have you heard this song before?”
Chloe smiled in recognition. “I love that tune. The Piano’s one of my favourite movies.”
“The Heart Asks Pleasure First,” he confirmed. “Ready to play with me?”
She gulped. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just put your fingers over mine, and keep playing when I take my hand away,” he instructed.
She did as he asked, her fingers resting tentatively over his as he played the keys in a repetitive sequence. After a while, he carefully extricated his hand from beneath hers and listed as she continued to play the same tune unaided.
“It’s perfect,” he confirmed. “See? Told you I could teach you in less than a day.”
She smiled, still playing. “So when do you join in?”
He moved his right hand and played out the main melody on the higher keys. The notes combined with Chloe’s chords, and together they made music as if they’d been playing together for years. Lex glanced at the young woman at his side, smiling at the little crease in her forehead as she concentrated on the unfamiliar task.
He was enjoying this way too much.
The warning bell in his head rang again, this time louder than ever. He could no longer ignore the direction he and Chloe were headed in if he allowed this…this thing they had going on was allowed to continue. The sexual tension between them was fast approaching critical levels. The entire left side of her body was pressed against his, and try though he did, he just couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the creamy skin of her thighs.
Arousal simmered through him, and he tried in vain to swallow past his suddenly dry throat. The atmosphere was growing increasingly intimate, and his usual restraint had been loosened both by the alcohol and the intoxicating aura of the woman by his side. All the mental roadblocks he’d erected were crumbling fast, and not even the potential threat to his life from the effects of physical intimacy was enough to stop him wanting her. If he didn’t get away from her now, he wouldn’t be able to.
At some point in the midst of his musings he’d stopped playing, as had she. Her right hand slowly moved away from the piano and rested lightly on his left thigh, and she lifted her head to stare at him with a heavy-lidded gaze. Instinctively he leaned towards her, their faces so close together he could feel the warm, fragrant breath from her mouth tingling his lips.
“It’s getting late,” he murmured. “We should go to bed.”
“Yes,” she whispered breathily. “We should.”
***
There was no mistaking her intent now. Lex didn’t know whether it was down the wine, the atmosphere, or both, but all traces of Chloe’s usual reserve and shyness were gone. She wanted him, and she wasn’t afraid to let him know about it.
She tightened her hand on his thigh, giving his flesh a gentle squeeze. Slowly she inched her palm upward, heading towards very dangerous territory.
With a shaky hand, he slammed the lid down on the piano keys with a hard thud, startling her. Before she could react, he’d gotten to his feet and pushed the piano stool back.
“Lex-?”
“Goodnight, Chloe.”
She blinked. “But-but I-”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
He turned and headed for the stairs, deliberately keeping his back to her lest she catch sight of the massive erection in his pants. Eventually he got to his room and slammed the door behind him, shuddering uncontrollably.
He slumped against the door and took deep breaths to bring his body back under control. Despite the copious amounts of medication he’d downed tonight already, his heart throbbed painfully as a result of his accelerated blood flow; he knew he’d pushed things too far. Quickly he tore off his clothes and headed straight into the shower, setting the water temperature as low as it could go.
After an agonising five minutes under the cold spray, Lex began to feel more normal. He shut off the water, slipped into his silk pyjamas, and then climbed wearily into bed.
He wondered what Chloe was up to; poor girl must probably think she’d offended him by making a move on him, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He simply needed them both to keep a clear head for the trial, which was only two days away now. Once his father was behind bars, and he’d found a permanent cure for his life-threatening condition, then he would make his intentions known to Chloe - preferably before she’d had a chance to find her way back into Clark’s clutches.
His eyelids drooped, and he was about dropping off to sleep when his bedroom door creaked slightly.
Immediately he sprang upright and was reaching for the gun in his nightstand when he saw Chloe’s familiar silhouette framed in the doorway. “Lex?” she whispered.
“Chloe?” He turned on the bedside lamp, and suddenly the room was bathed in soft light. “Chloe, what is it?”
She swallowed nervously. “I, um…I thought you might like some company,” she said softly.
And as he watched, she pulled at the sash of her robe and shrugged it off her shoulders. The garment pooled at her feet, leaving her completely naked.
***
Chapter 12…
PS: If you’re interested in listening to the songs Lex was playing and others that inspired my muse when writing the chapter, you can listen to them here:
For the Love of a Princess [Braveheart]
The Heart Asks Pleasure First [The Piano]
If You’re Not the One [classical piano rendition]
If You’re Not the One [original with lyrics]
(...though I'm sure most of you will want to pelt me with soft fruit after that cliffie!) ;-)
Enjoy!
Title: Orchestrato
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlex
Rating: PG-13 *but not for much longer!*
Warnings: Some chronology-shifting with the events of Episode 4.1 (Gone)
Timeline: Safehouse Summer of Love, End of Season 3/Beginning of 4
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Lex inexplicably bonds with Chloe whilst keeping her survival a secret from the world
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Previously: “So… what else do you like about me?”
Chapter 11
The question was out before Lex could stop himself. But the wine must have significantly loosened her inhibitions, because she answered without hesitation.
“The way you always knock on the door to my room and await my permission to enter always lifts my spirits.”
Lex blinked. Not what he’d expected. “Huh?”
“Seriously. I mean, you hardly need authorisation to enter a room that’s in your own home, but aside from the one time when you came to bust me out of the safehouse, you always knock. I find your manners refreshing.” She paused and smiled. “It makes a pleasant change from Clark who just barges into places all the time.”
“Ah, very true,” he chuckled. “Got it. Anything else?”
She gave him a sultry smile. “How you somehow manage to look so damn fine with absolutely no hair on your head,” she murmured, lifting her hand to stroke it.
Jesus. Electricity seared along his veins as her fingertips traversed his scalp; unbeknownst to her, she’d just caressed his most potent erogenous zone. A sharp stab of arousal pooled in his groin, causing his cock to stiffen painfully, and he almost sobbed both with relief and frustration when she took her hand away and began babbling about something else.
It was interesting, how she kept finding opportunities to touch him. Interesting…and endearing, he realised. Most women he encountered were either business executives or fortune hunters, and they certainly didn’t go straight for his hairless head at the earliest opportunity. In fact, many a time he’d noticed that women actively avoiding either touching it, or looking at it.
Chloe, however, was the complete opposite. She was clearly entranced with his smooth pate, almost as if she’d entertained thoughts of touching it but had never quite worked up the nerve to ask. Like most people, she had probably considered it rude to bring it up and therefore ignored it. He could see it now: Nice to meet you, Lex. So how d’you lose your hair? It wasn’t exactly a great conversation-starter.
But nothing highlighted his unique differences like direct avoidance, so her appreciation of him was refreshing, like a fresh cool spring bubbling up from the ground on a warm summer day. For the first time in his life, Lex felt like he was being adored for whom he was, warts and all.
“Oh - and how you pretend to be this tough, mysterious, big bad heir to the Luthor dynasty; but in reality, you’re a big ol’ softie,” she went on, poking him playfully in the ribs.
“Don’t tell anyone,” he warned with a grin. “I have a rep to protect.”
“My lips are sealed,” she whispered. She lifted her index finger and placed it against her lips, and her other hand dropped to his thigh and gave a reassuring squeeze.
More currents of electricity surged through him, and distant warning bells clanged in his head. This was dangerous. The music, the s’mores, the crackling fire…everything suddenly seemed way, way too intimate. It didn’t help his cause that he’d plied her with alcohol, so she was more susceptible to him than even she was probably aware of.
He needed to break the sexual tension in the air - and fast.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” were the first words that came out of his mouth. Damn it, his mind should not be computing Chloe and bed in the same thought process. The images it evoked of her writhing naked beneath his silken sheets---
“I’ll go…when you play me something I can sleep to,” she murmured, snuggling into his side. “Something from your native heritage, I think.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know any Scottish lullabies,” he said apologetically. “The best I can give you is the Braveheart theme.”
She sighed and smiled. “I’ll take it.”
***
For the Love of a Princess. It was a piece Lex knew well.
Chloe leaned against his arm and closed her eyes as he played the mellow tune. After the first few bars she hummed along softly, losing herself in the music.
“I wish I could play,” she said wistfully.
“I could teach you.”
She cracked open one eye and snorted. “Not in one night, you couldn’t.”
His eyes twinkled. “You’d be surprised.”
She grinned. “You’re that good, huh?”
“You tell me.”
Before she could react, he lifted her slightly and slid her over his lap to his left side. The smooth, warm skin on the back of her thighs made contact with his lap briefly, and again he had to pull the breaks on his natural impulses.
Pushing it, his mind warned.
She gasped. “What are you-?”
“I need you on my left side,” he explained. “You’re going to play the accompanying chords for the next piece.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
“It’s a simple melody; I’m sure you’ll have no trouble picking it up.”
“But I’ve never played before in my life!” she exclaimed.
“I have faith in you.” He played the opening notes of another song and glanced across at her. “Have you heard this song before?”
Chloe smiled in recognition. “I love that tune. The Piano’s one of my favourite movies.”
“The Heart Asks Pleasure First,” he confirmed. “Ready to play with me?”
She gulped. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just put your fingers over mine, and keep playing when I take my hand away,” he instructed.
She did as he asked, her fingers resting tentatively over his as he played the keys in a repetitive sequence. After a while, he carefully extricated his hand from beneath hers and listed as she continued to play the same tune unaided.
“It’s perfect,” he confirmed. “See? Told you I could teach you in less than a day.”
She smiled, still playing. “So when do you join in?”
He moved his right hand and played out the main melody on the higher keys. The notes combined with Chloe’s chords, and together they made music as if they’d been playing together for years. Lex glanced at the young woman at his side, smiling at the little crease in her forehead as she concentrated on the unfamiliar task.
He was enjoying this way too much.
The warning bell in his head rang again, this time louder than ever. He could no longer ignore the direction he and Chloe were headed in if he allowed this…this thing they had going on was allowed to continue. The sexual tension between them was fast approaching critical levels. The entire left side of her body was pressed against his, and try though he did, he just couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the creamy skin of her thighs.
Arousal simmered through him, and he tried in vain to swallow past his suddenly dry throat. The atmosphere was growing increasingly intimate, and his usual restraint had been loosened both by the alcohol and the intoxicating aura of the woman by his side. All the mental roadblocks he’d erected were crumbling fast, and not even the potential threat to his life from the effects of physical intimacy was enough to stop him wanting her. If he didn’t get away from her now, he wouldn’t be able to.
At some point in the midst of his musings he’d stopped playing, as had she. Her right hand slowly moved away from the piano and rested lightly on his left thigh, and she lifted her head to stare at him with a heavy-lidded gaze. Instinctively he leaned towards her, their faces so close together he could feel the warm, fragrant breath from her mouth tingling his lips.
“It’s getting late,” he murmured. “We should go to bed.”
“Yes,” she whispered breathily. “We should.”
***
There was no mistaking her intent now. Lex didn’t know whether it was down the wine, the atmosphere, or both, but all traces of Chloe’s usual reserve and shyness were gone. She wanted him, and she wasn’t afraid to let him know about it.
She tightened her hand on his thigh, giving his flesh a gentle squeeze. Slowly she inched her palm upward, heading towards very dangerous territory.
With a shaky hand, he slammed the lid down on the piano keys with a hard thud, startling her. Before she could react, he’d gotten to his feet and pushed the piano stool back.
“Lex-?”
“Goodnight, Chloe.”
She blinked. “But-but I-”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
He turned and headed for the stairs, deliberately keeping his back to her lest she catch sight of the massive erection in his pants. Eventually he got to his room and slammed the door behind him, shuddering uncontrollably.
He slumped against the door and took deep breaths to bring his body back under control. Despite the copious amounts of medication he’d downed tonight already, his heart throbbed painfully as a result of his accelerated blood flow; he knew he’d pushed things too far. Quickly he tore off his clothes and headed straight into the shower, setting the water temperature as low as it could go.
After an agonising five minutes under the cold spray, Lex began to feel more normal. He shut off the water, slipped into his silk pyjamas, and then climbed wearily into bed.
He wondered what Chloe was up to; poor girl must probably think she’d offended him by making a move on him, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He simply needed them both to keep a clear head for the trial, which was only two days away now. Once his father was behind bars, and he’d found a permanent cure for his life-threatening condition, then he would make his intentions known to Chloe - preferably before she’d had a chance to find her way back into Clark’s clutches.
His eyelids drooped, and he was about dropping off to sleep when his bedroom door creaked slightly.
Immediately he sprang upright and was reaching for the gun in his nightstand when he saw Chloe’s familiar silhouette framed in the doorway. “Lex?” she whispered.
“Chloe?” He turned on the bedside lamp, and suddenly the room was bathed in soft light. “Chloe, what is it?”
She swallowed nervously. “I, um…I thought you might like some company,” she said softly.
And as he watched, she pulled at the sash of her robe and shrugged it off her shoulders. The garment pooled at her feet, leaving her completely naked.
***
Chapter 12…
PS: If you’re interested in listening to the songs Lex was playing and others that inspired my muse when writing the chapter, you can listen to them here:
For the Love of a Princess [Braveheart]
The Heart Asks Pleasure First [The Piano]
If You’re Not the One [classical piano rendition]
If You’re Not the One [original with lyrics]
(...though I'm sure most of you will want to pelt me with soft fruit after that cliffie!) ;-)