Superman for Sale, Chapter 7
Title: Superman for Sale
Author: D.M. Wyatt
Pairing: Clark/Other (implied), Clark/Lex
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Physical and Emotional TC, graphic descriptions of adult sexual content, BD/SM, future fic, post rift
Spoilers: None
Summary for this chapter: Lex wakes a very angry Clark.
Part 7 of 15 or so...
Previous parts here:
First Part, Second Part, Third Part, Fourth Part, Fifth Part, Sixth Part
Thanks to danceswithgary for the cover!
~:::~
Even though he hadn't been asleep that long, only five hours, Lex woke probably more refreshed than he had in a long, long time. He looked over at the reason.
It was only 4am, but he could see Clark in the dim light from the buildings in downtown Metropolis. Clark had rolled over onto his left side and faced Lex. He'd kicked the covers off and Clark's legs were drawn up. His mouth was slack and he snored slightly, there was even a bit of drool dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.
For some reason Lex found it endearing and he smiled warmly at the sleeping man. He burned to touch Clark, kiss him so long and deeply that the drool wouldn't matter, but held off. He wouldn't break his promise.
Lex heaved a sad, regretful sigh and climbed out of bed. He pulled the covers up to Clark's chest. Superman made a slight, happy sound as he pulled the covers up in his sleep and snuggled down into the pillows.
Sudden feelings of love and desire overwhelmed Lex, he longed to have Clark make happy sounds in his sleep as they snuggled together in bed. He wanted to touch Clark so badly, Lex brushed the curls from the other man's eyes even before he had even realized he had even made the decision to.
He heaved another sad, regretful sigh and pulled on a robe. He went in to work in his office. He wanted to work a few hours before he took a shower.
~:::~
Lex waited to actually wake Clark until after he'd showered and dressed. He could smell the cook's work in the kitchen, making breakfast for two this time. He smiled at the thought as he gently touched the stone to wake Clark up.
It took him a minute to stir but his eyes fluttered open and then looked momentarily confused, like he'd forgotten where he was. Lex saw the instant when he remembered. His eyes became hard and cold and he turned to look right at Lex. The fury he saw in those eyes was frightening in its intensity.
Lex tried to still his heart, now going a million miles a minute and tried to act calm as Clark slowly got out of bed and stood. He looked enormous and angry.
Very. Very. Angry.
Clark took the several steps to stand in front of Lex. His eyes were as hard as Lex had ever seen and his voice had dropped nearly an octave in tone and was as coldly menacing as Lex had ever heard Clark speak. "Luthor, you will stop doing that or I will leave."
Lex hoped he didn't sound as scared as he was. He knew exactly what Clark meant, but he decided to act as innocent as possible. "Stop doing what?"
Clark growled, actually growled. "Make me fall asleep. I wasn't sleepy, I had slept all day yesterday and most of last week."
Lex lamely offered, "It was for the best, you'd had a tough week."
Clark roared in frustration, his voice so loud it rattled the windows in their panes. "I'm a superhero, Lex. I always have a tough week! You can't just make me go to sleep just like I was some kind of toy you want to put away for the night."
"It was late, what would you have done? You had agreed that you weren't going to patrol..."
"Oh, I don't know, Lex... Maybe open up the paper and see what's been going on in the world? Watch CNN... Maybe try to get ideas for stories or, God forbid, maybe check my damn email."
Lex was shocked, he'd never heard Clark swear before, not even such mild swear words. Clark was breathing hard and his face was hard and his body almost seemed to expand so that he seemed huge. Lex felt intimidated and that was something he'd never felt with Clark before. His stomach twisted when he realized how angry he'd made Clark. He felt an uncharacteristic blush color his cheeks.
He took a step back and replied quietly, "I'm sorry, Clark. I won't do it again."
Clark blinked.
He seemed wary and looked at Lex as if he didn't believe him. "You promise?"
"I said I won't, so I won't... I didn't realize how it would make you feel."
Clark looked skeptical. "You don't care how I feel. Not really."
"Yes, I do. I care very much."
"If you cared that much, you should let me go right now."
"You're not going to get off that easy."
Clark scowled and stalked off to the bathroom. Lex called to his back, "Cook has breakfast almost ready, so I'll see you out in the kitchen."
Clark didn't even pause or look around, he just slammed the door to the bathroom. Lex thought about going after him but the lock engaged with a definitive click. Clark hadn't given him any choice in the matter, unless he wanted to try to find something that would break a solid oak, lead-lined door.
He scowled, turned on his heel and left.
~:::~
Clark fumed as he showered. He wasn't going to let Lex turn him into some sort of play thing he can turn off and on whenever he wanted. Thinking about Lex turning him on, reminded him of the other problem with this situation. His ever present need, he wasn't sure how he was going to handle this for the next month. He couldn't walk around half-hard half the time, and painfully hard the rest.
It frustrated him that it flared up at inconvenient moments without him wanting it to.
He swore under his breath as he avoided touching himself. It was a close thing, he needed relief, but he knew if he started going there, that it'd be harder to resist the urge to...
He refused to give Lex the satisfaction.
Clark ground his teeth and wondered how it was possible that he was going to last another 29 days.
~:::~
Thinking of his mother seemed to help the desire stay within manageable levels, so Clark managed to finish showering without touching himself, although judicious use of his own personal supply of arctic cold air helped too.
He closed the door as he left the bathroom and hoped Lex wouldn't find the frost on the mirror before it evaporated.
He strode out to the kitchen and paused at the door. Lex sat at the breakfast bar and beamed at him with a silly look on his face. The cook, a short, round faced older woman, looked perplexed as she looked at the two of them staring at each other. Lex didn't bother introducing Clark to the cook so Clark took it upon himself.
He walked toward the woman and held out his hand as he smiled. "Hello, my name is Clark Kent." He shook her hand tenderly as he clasped it between both of his.
She replied in a mild Irish brogue and she dipped down in a brief curtsy, "I'm Mrs. O'Hara."
Clark gave her his most gorgeous smile, "I'm so pleased to meet you." He looked at the wonderful meal she was close to finishing up, omelets, hash browns and bacon. "I can't believe you cooked all this... It smells wonderful."
She actually blushed and smiled shyly in response, completely charmed. "I hope you enjoy it."
"I'm sure I will, Mrs. O'Hara." His voice deep and sensuous, Clark's tone had made that seemingly innocent statement say so much more than the words really meant, like the rotund little woman might find him next to her in bed if she played her cards right. Her cheeks turned a bright pink. He glanced over at Lex who scowled back.
She almost squeaked, "I hope you enjoy it, son..." She glared at Lex. "Mr. Luthor didn't say what a charming young man you were."
Clark turned to Lex, his eyes in mocked shocked surprise. "Really?"
"Yes, I was surprised. He seemed to think you a rather horrid man, the way he used to talk. So much so that I was shocked to my core that he invited yourself to stay the whole thirty days..."
"He said I was horrid, did he?"
"Well, he didn't say those exact words, mind, but the implication was certainly there." She gave Lex another glare, "It apparently is an undeserved comment, to boot." She turned back to finishing up breakfast.
Lex glared at Clark as he sat down at the breakfast bar. Mrs. O'Hara slid Clark a plate with a rather elaborate looking ham and cheese omelet with crispy hash browns and chewy bacon. Everything was just the way Clark liked them. She smiled warmly at him, only sparing a cold glance at Lex, before she placed a large cup of black coffee and a large glass of orange juice to one side of his plate. He glanced at Lex's seafood omelet, crisp bacon, lightly done hash browns, grapefruit juice, and creamed coffee and scowled.
Lex had apparently somehow learned Clark's preferences in breakfast foods.
He ignored anything Lex had to say and didn't say word to Lex either, but made sure that Mrs. O'Hara knew he thought that the meal was excellent and the coffee was superb. She actually beamed at him when he said it rivaled his own mother's cooking.
Clark hadn't been lying; he ate every crumb and had several cups of coffee.
When he was done eating, he got up without a word to Lex and took his coffee into the small bedroom Lex had turned into his office. He checked his email, over 1300 new ones in the week since he'd been gone, for any new leads he might want to try and take a look at before he got into the office. He sighed as he read a few that seemed interesting.
So much to do.
Clark smirked. Super powers sometimes came in very handy, even for mild-mannered reporters. He could easily check up on a few of those leads on his way to work.
Back in the kitchen, Clark ignored Lex who still sat at the counter, but he had his laptop open. Clark rinsed the coffee cup he'd used and placed it in the dishwasher.
"You know, Cook can do that."
Clark frowned at Lex. "Her name is Mrs. O'Hara and I don't need her to do something for me that I can easily do. She's your employee, not a slave..." Clark crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at Lex. "Although, I guess that's a distinction you're not good at making, is it? Not realizing when someone in your life isn't there to do for you whatever it is that strikes your fancy."
Lex scowled at Clark, but the fury that had made the other man feel had obviously done the trick. The fingers were gone and he felt sure that he could probably make it through the day without having to use his superbreath. He smirked at Lex as he turned to go get his coat.
Lex's cold voice called to his back, "Just be here for dinner, Clark. Your card key for the elevator is on the table in the entry away." He gave her name particular emphasis, "By the way, Mrs. O'Hara serves dinner promptly at seven."
~:::~
Clark got an ear full from Lois as soon as he stepped into the office. She berated him for being ill, pretending for Jimmy's benefit that she thought he had really been sick. His mother's cover for him was that he'd been sick and had been back in Smallville recuperating in bed. He'd spent most of the day trudging through his emails and making phone calls and had finished up work well before seven.
The restraint on his wrist was still there and bothered him. He caught himself rubbing his left wrist multiple times during the day without even realizing it.
He wanted to delay going back to the penthouse for as long as possible. He patrolled, making sure to visibly hover over some of the more crime ridden areas of town so he could let the criminal element know he was back, but he was actually disappointed when nothing happened that required his attention.
He was angry at himself when he realized that he actually wanted someone to be mugged or be in danger of being hit by a bus just so he could put off going back to Lex's. He heaved a heavy sigh and made his way back to the penthouse. He decided to go back and land on the balcony in the suit. He figured it would annoy Lex, and he was right.
When Clark strolled into the dining room 15 minutes late for dinner in his uniform, if looks could have killed invulnerable Kryptonians, Clark would have dropped dead on the spot. He felt oddly satisfied by the other man's ire and smirked at Lex as he sat down for dinner. Lex was alone.
Clark suspected Mrs. O'Hara had already left because his plate had a cover and the rest of the penthouse was dark. His former best friend removed the cover from his plate and scowled at Clark.
"If you can't manage to come home on time, can you at least change before you sit down to eat?"
Clark badly faked an innocent tone, "Oh, does my uniform bother you?"
Lex glowered and his voice was ice cold. "You know it does."
"I'm comfortable in it, why shouldn't I wear it?"
"Do you often wear your costume-?"
Clark interrupted tersely, "It's a uniform."
Lex, having apparently some difficulty controlling his rising anger, continued speaking very slowly. It made Clark oddly happy to piss off Lex this much. "Do you often wear your uniform when eating dinner in your apartment?"
Clark narrowed his eyes, he wanted to lie but didn't. "No."
"Then your reasoning to wear it now seems suspect."
"There's no one to see me here, Lex. I live in a fifth floor walkup surrounded on every side by taller buildings. This penthouse is on the top floor of the tallest building in a twenty block radius, I might as well be in the fortress." He smiled a smug smile as he picked up a napkin to place on his knee. "There is no chance of anyone seeing Superman eating dinner with you."
It was only when Clark heard a gasp from the doorway that he realized that Mrs. O'Hara hadn't actually left. Clark turned to see her about to drop the open wine bottle in her hands.
He sped to her and caught both her, and the bottle, just before she fell in a faint to the marble floor of the dining room.
~:::~
Lex was annoyed. More than annoyed, he was angry with Clark. Furious.
He frowned at Clark as he tried to revive Mrs. O'Hara. He had clearly been embarrassed that his antics while wearing his uniform had startled the woman so much she'd collapsed in fright at the very sight.
While Lex may not be the best boss Mrs. O'Hara ever had, he often referred to her simply as 'cook,' but he sincerely appreciated her work. She was one of the finest cooks in the city and he paid her very well to make him fresh meals 5 days a week and to cook up meals for the other two that only required him to heat them up. He would be very, very disappointed if the fright that Clark had caused Mrs. O'Hara meant she would leave his employ.
He looked at her pale face as Clark, who now wore his Clark-uniform of a rumpled, off the rack suit and his thick framed eye glasses, tried to bring her around. He held a cold compress to her forehead with one hand as he gently patted her hand with the other. Clark looked up at Lex, abashed and ashamed.
"I didn't know she was still here..."
"You could have asked, or even looked. You're the one with x-ray vision."
Clark glared back at Lex, looking at him over the glasses that had slipped down his nose. "You're the one with lead lined walls."
Lex arched an eyebrow. "You're the one with super hearing."
"Which requires concentration to focus, but that's beside the point..."
"What is the point, then, Clark?"
Clark opened his mouth, as if to answer, and then closed it again. His only answer was another glare and he then went back to ministering to Mrs. O'Hara who appeared to be coming around. Lex was relieved. At least he wasn't going to lose the best cook he's ever had by her dying of fright.
The Man of Steel was anything but as he spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically tremulous. "Mrs. O'Hara, are you okay?"
She looked at him, confused and then showed relief. "Oh, Mr. Kent... I'm so glad to see you; there was that awful Superman here. I was worried for your safety."
Clark was shocked. "Why? Why should you worry?"
"He's such an awful man. I was afraid he'd done something to you."
Lex was amused as Clark tried to cover. He was so cute when he got flustered. "Superman is... is my friend. He's not... awful and he wouldn't hurt me. How can you think that he would?" Clark shifted his weight and shot a quick glance at Lex as he pulled at his tie. Lex was curious at the look Clark gave him.
His eyes were dark and a blush had started. Clark turned back to the still pale woman, concern for her overshadowing whatever his worry was as she continued. "Oh, but he's awful. He's always such a bother to Mr. Luthor, causing him all sorts of worry and even destroying his property. It's a wonder he's not been locked up, the devil. It's likely only because there isn't a jail that could hold him, which is rather convenient for the man."
Lex could barely contain his chuckle as he watched Clark try to come up with a reply to that. He decided to rescue him. "He's not that bad, Mrs. O'Hara. Superman and I have recently come to an understanding. You may see him around here from time to time."
"Really, sir? I can't abide the thought, he's such an awful man. A tyrant even, if you please, Mr. Luthor. You said so yourself many times."
Clark turned to Lex and glared, he simply smirked in return. "He used to be such an awful man, really, but I think he and I may have finally become friends, Mrs. O'Hara. That's why he was here. We were chatting, reaffirming our new friendship, until Mr. Kent finally got home from work."
"If he's such a good friend, where is he now? I don't see him..."
Lex looked expectantly at Clark. He tried to cover, as he blushed and stammered, "He... he ha... had to go, Mrs. O'Hara... an emergency."
Lex smiled as he helped arrange to get Mrs. O'Hara home safely. Mercy called up the limo so Mrs. O'Hara wouldn't have to hail a cab.
Even as Mrs. O'Hara had told them both that she'd be okay, Clark still looked regretful so Lex couldn't stay mad at him for long. Especially since Mrs. O'Hara said she wasn't worried at all about Superman anymore since he and Mr. Luthor had become friends.
She'd also assured him that she would be coming back in the morning to fix the "young sirs," as she called them, something hot to eat. She inquired what time Clark needed to be off to the office, he'd informed her that he had an early morning press conference that he needed to attend, so he'd need to leave early.
She smiled warmly at him and said she'd be back first thing. When she was gone, Lex reheated their meal while Clark brooded on the sofa. When he walked back into the living room to announce that the meal was ready, Clark snapped at Lex, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
Lex laughed. "You are so cute when you're flustered, I can now see why Lois is always so hard on you."
"Don't bring Lois into this. You knew Mrs. O'Hara was here. You should have said something..."
"You didn't give me the chance." Clark scowled at him and Lex simply shrugged. "Come on, Clark. Dinner's ready."
~:::~
It hadn't really hurt anything to heat up the meal in the microwave, the meal was still delicious. They ate in silence and would only glance at one another occasionally.
After dinner, Clark went to work in his office after mumbling something about getting some work done. So, Lex went to work in his.
Lex worked for hours on his laptop, checking the surveillance video from time to time to see if Clark really was working and he was true to his word. He occasionally made phone calls, sometimes heated ones (Lex wondered if he should tap the phone or add audio to the video-only feed of the security camera system), but then Clark would go back to his typing on his computer.
The profit-loss assessments Lex had been reading eventually lost out to watching Clark, so he closed his laptop and just gazed at his house guest as he worked. The reporter was so intent on whatever it was he was working on, it was very appealing. Seeing Clark seem at home in the Penthouse warmed Lex's heart. He smiled at the screen and actually traced the outline of Clark's body affectionately with one finger.
As he did, Clark tugged on his tie, loosening it even more, and unbuttoned several of the buttons of his shirt. Lex could see the neckline of his royal blue suit in the gap Clark had opened between the two sides of his shirt. When Lex realized that Clark looked physically uncomfortable, something he'd never really seen him be before without an obvious cause, he was curious what was behind it.
He wasn't surprised at all when Clark quickly logged out of his computer and headed, at a speed no human could have ever possibly managed, into the small guest bathroom.
Lex was intrigued by what was going on and was determined to get to the bottom of it.
~:::~
After judicious use of his super breath, Clark had gone into Lex's bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his face. He went back into the master bedroom. He was tired and wanted to go to bed.
But mostly he was perplexed.
Dammit, he thought.
Why the hell were the fingers feeling him up when Lex wasn't even in the same room, when Lex couldn't even see him?
He thought he'd finally figured it out. Clark had thought he only felt it when Lex was in the same room with him. It was different than the prickly feeling he felt when he was a captive of the witch, that seemed to happen almost anytime. It had been clearly some weird side-affect of the spell the witch had cast on him. Now, with Lex the phantom fingers touching him all over originally seemed to only happen when Lex was with him.
Getting Lex angry had seemed to be an antidote, he knew that and it had worked several times before, but how could he get Lex to be furious with him when they weren't even in the same room? Maybe there was some other cause... He'd have to try and see if he could figure it out. If he could find the reason, maybe he could come up with a better cure than sub-zero chills.
He sighed and went into the walk-in closet. The closet was huge, almost as big as his room back in his apartment. It was filled with built-in mahogany cabinets and his clothes hung on hangers made of cedar with brass hardware that probably cost more than what hung on them.
He frowned and debated whether he should wear the suit to bed instead of his pajamas. Although it would almost certainly piss Lex off, he decided against it. Although he hadn't lied to Lex about how comfortable the suit was, he never slept in it. He usually wore comfortable cotton flannel and a soft, worn t-shirt.
His skin might be invulnerable, but he still enjoyed the feel of soft things next to his skin. Clark hadn't really liked the slick feel of the silk against his skin, it was too... sensual. Somehow, it only exacerbated the phantom finger feeling.
He pawed through the drawers and looked for his comfortable flannel sleep pants. He wanted to wear his favorite pair that his mother had given him made of dark blue plaid. He got furious when he realized the only sleepwear he could find were just different versions of the silk pajamas he had woken up in.
Clark lost it.
The anger and frustration he felt ever since he'd woken up in Lex's bed all unexpectedly came to a head. The first drawer he broke hadn't been on purpose, he'd just slammed it closed too hard, but the ones he'd broken after that had been broken deliberately and with extreme malice.
He destroyed all the built in cabinets on his side of the walk-in closet. He even pulled his clothes from their hangers because he wanted to break every single ridiculously expensive hanger into a million pieces.
He didn't stop the rampage until every single piece of wood from his side of the closet lay in chips and splinters on the thick maroon carpet. His chest heaved, his hair was wild and the brass accents of the wooden hangers were balled up into tiny bb-sized pellets all over the floor.
He hadn't heard him approach, despite his superhearing, but behind him Lex made a soft sound of surprise. Clark turned to him and resisted a powerful urge to burn him to a crisp with a glance.
"What the hell do you want?"
Lex looked mildly surprised, maybe at the profanity, but there was an undercurrent of anger in other man's voice. "I want to know what the hell you think you're doing."
Clark ignored the question and growled at Lex. "Where are my pajamas?"
Lex pointed at several piles of dark-colored silk. "They're right there and there and there."
"No, Lex. Where are my pajamas? My comfortable, warm and soft, cotton flannel sleep pants. I even have several pairs, yet none of them are here..." He pointed the huge pile of his clothes on the floor. "You brought everything else, even suits that I haven't worn in years, but didn't bring over my pajamas. Why?"
"I don't want any plaid flannel in this house, Clark. Surely you've outgrown that..."
"It is not for you to decide what I've outgrown or not, Lex, and my dad wore plaid nearly every day of his life."
"You are not your father."
"And I'm not going to let you tell me what I should wear and shouldn't wear, Lex. Our agreement didn't include anything about that."
"I will have a say in what you wear in my house, Clark. You look good in silk and I won't have plaid here."
"Do you make all of your houseguests get their wardrobe approved by you, Lex?"
Lex made a scowl as his only answer to that.
"You're treating me like a giant doll you want to play dress up with."
"No, that's not it, Clark. Not at all..."
He didn't want to hear how Lex was going to justify this so he stalked out of the closet toward the sliding glass doors that led out to the balcony. He started to pull off his clothes, but stopped when Lex grabbed his arm.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Back to my apartment to get my favorite pair of plaid flannel sleep pants."
"Oh, no you don't, Clark. You aren't going anywhere."
"I'm not going to sleep in clothes that make me uncomfortable just to make you happy."
"But leaving is against our agreement. You agreed to stay here at night and that you wouldn't go home, not even to pick up a change of clothes."
"Just try to stop me."
Lex arched an eyebrow and gave him a smug smile. "I don't think I have to try too hard." Clark felt the invisible tether tighten around his wrist.
Clark was so angry he felt the heat build up in his eyes. He growled in his frustration and sped back into the closet. He came out seconds later wearing his most faded and worn pair of cotton boxers and a threadbare royal blue t-shirt. Lex frowned at his choice of sleepwear.
He stalked over to where Lex stood and leaned into his personal space. He was a bit surprised when Lex didn't back up, so he used his deepest, most Superman-like voice that he could muster. "I'm going to go out and sleep on the couch and you will not stop me, Luthor."
"No, Clark. You're being a petulant child. You are going to sleep in my bed even if I have to use Kryptonite on you to force you to do it."
The tether started to shorten, but instead of pulling him closer to Lex, it pulled him over to the bed. He fought it, but it was no use. He couldn't stop from being pulled over to the bed. The tether didn't stop shortening until Clark's wrist was inches from the head board. He briefly considered lying down on the floor but, despite his long arms, he thought that the tether was too short to let him.
Lex added smugly, "Go to bed now, Clark. I'll join you in a few minutes."
Clark growled inarticulately at Lex before he climbed into bed, too angry to sleep, but given little choice to try. He pulled up the covers and buried his face in the pillow and tried to forget where he was.
~:::~
It took Lex about fifteen minutes before he was ready to go to bed. He was surprised that when he went back into the bedroom that Clark was sound asleep. He only knew that he wasn't faking because he was snoring softly and his mouth hung open slightly. Clark tugged on his invisible tether in his sleep and made a soft annoyed sound and rolled over onto his side.
Lex smiled. Clark was just so adorable.
Actually, in the end he didn't actually mind Clark's choice of sleepwear. In a way this was better than the expensive silk ones he'd gotten for him. The t-shirt probably hadn't fit Clark since he'd been in high school. It had holes and was tight across his broad chest. Also, the boxers were old and gaped a bit in the front. If Lex lifted the covers, he was sure he could get a good peek but he resisted the temptation.
Lex again set his alarm for early and climbed into bed next to Clark. He snuggled into his pillows and got as close as he could to Clark without actually touching him. Clark had ended up facing Lex and they were so close, Lex could feel the other man's breath on his face.
The soft sounds of Clark's snores, the fever-like warmth of his body and his softly mint-scented breath quickly lulled Lex into a deep, peaceful sleep.
~:::~
Lex was woken in the middle of the night by Clark. The other man, in his sleep, had thrown an arm over Lex's waist. Half-asleep himself, Lex didn't question the comforting weight of Clark's arm. He knew with how angry Clark had gotten that the likelihood Clark would do this while aware and awake was probably pretty slim.
Lex shifted his weight and Clark, still sound asleep, shifted with him and then snuggled his head against Lex's shoulder. Clark mumbled something soft that didn't sound like English and it warmed Lex's heart.
He didn't know what Clark was dreaming about, or who, or why he was apparently speaking Kryptonian, but Lex wanted to stay awake to enjoy it. However, his body had different ideas as feelings of love, affection, comfort and safety lulled him into a deep sleep.
~:::~
Continued....