(no subject)
Chapter Six
Anna was getting hyper.
Chloe could see the signs. The girl's cheeks were getting rosier and rosier, and she was starting to squirm in her seat, giggling and occasionally hugging herself, as if she just couldn't contain her excitement.
It wasn’t surprising. Both of the girls had been thrilled that Lois had come over to hang out with them this evening, for what they’d unofficially dubbed their “family night.” They dedicated at least one evening a week to be spent together, and the girls were young enough to still be excited about such a thing.
The last three months had gone well. For the first month after their problems over the summer, Lex had been so loving and attentive that Chloe had actually started to feel a little smothered. But he’d gradually eased back into a natural routine, balancing work, family, and his other ventures in a way that seemed to be working for all of them. They still relied on his schedule for time spent at home, and Chloe could tell that he was committed to it, since occasionally this month he’d had to really stretch in order to keep the requisite dinners at home. And Chloe was starting to feel secure that-although it wouldn’t always be perfect-they’d arrived at a satisfying compromise.
Tonight, Lex was in one of his rare laughing moods, and, as he sat beside her on the sofa, his eyes were warm, and his husky chuckle and teasing drawl lingered pleasantly in the room. This would be another reason that Anna was starting to get overly excited. Her daddy wasn’t usually this outwardly happy and affectionate, and both she and Gabrielle were obviously reveling in the experience.
Anna’s giggling became a little shrill and uncontrolled as Chloe and Lois had a mock argument about Lois’s attempt to blatantly cheat at UNO, and Chloe hoped the girl’s hyperness wouldn’t plunge her into a crash later on.
They were playing UNO, since it was one of the few games that the kids could understand and the adults could mostly tolerate. Anna was down to two cards, and she was flailing them around in her little hands so wildly that they were clearly visible for anyone who wanted to look. They all pretended not to see them, however, as it came around to Anna’s turn again.
She was too young to play very well on her own, so Lex-in addition to taking care of his own cards-kept leaning over and murmuring suggestions in her ear about what to do next. So, as Anna’s turn arrived, she and Lex conferred in focused secrecy.
Then Anna slowly reached over to place one of her two cards on the discard pile-a red seven on a blue seven-and she screamed “UNO” at the top of her voice as soon as she released her hold on the card.
Gabrielle, who’d been paying close attention in the hope of catching Anna before she said “Uno,” scowled and peered at her own three cards, her competitive nature obviously rearing up at her sister’s good luck.
Lois reached over and tugged on Gabrielle’s red ponytail. “So, Lizzie, how is school?” she asked.
Lois still was committed to calling Gabrielle “Lizzie,” as a shortened form of the girl’s middle name that was intended primarily to annoy Lex and Chloe.
“Fine,” Gabrielle told her seriously, her big, blue-gray eyes shifting over to Aunt Lois. “My teacher is nice, and I’m the best at reading in the class.” Before this claim-which Chloe proudly knew to be the truth-could be lauded, Gabrielle continued with a look at somber aggrievement. “But there’s a boy named Justin who sits behind me. And he’s mean to me all the time.”
Chloe’s mouth quirked, since she knew all about Justin and was pretty sure she understood what motivated all his teasing. But Lex, to Chloe’s surprise, must not have heard about Gabrielle’s woes with the cute, little boy who pulled her hair and chased her around the playground.
“What?” Lex demanded, leaning forward and tensing up beside Chloe. “Who’s mean to you?”
Chloe put her hand on Lex’s knee in a calming gesture, amused at his irrational protectiveness.
“Justin,” Gabrielle explained with her characteristic earnestness. She was sitting on her knees on the floor, and she shifted restlessly as she spoke. “All the other girls like him, but he’s mean to me. He makes fun of my red hair and says I have freckles!”
Gabrielle did have a few freckles that came out when she spent time in the sun-fainting dusting the fair skin of her nose and cheeks. Chloe thought they were adorable.
“Well,” Lex pronounced. “Clearly the boy is an idiot.” Before Chloe could chide Lex for this blunt remark, he continued, “Your hair is absolutely beautiful.”
Chloe knew how much Lex adored Gabrielle's red-gold hair, which was so long now it fell down her back. Of course, Lex wasn't the one who usually had to comb all the tangles out.
Gabrielle squirmed appreciatively, but Anna’s little mouth started turning down in concern.
Seeing this, Lex went on, “Just like Anna’s.” He tugged gently on a piece of Anna’s blond hair, making the girl giggle again.
“Your daddy used to have red hair too,” Chloe told Gabrielle comfortingly, trying not to snicker when Lex narrowed his eyes. No matter how much he loved Gabrielle's hair, he never liked to be reminded of his own. “Not many people have such pretty red hair, and a lot of people really want it.”
“I guess,” Gabrielle mumbled, pulling her long ponytail around so she could peer at the shiny waves. “But freckles?” Her voice pitched upward on the last word, in very clear outrage at such an indignity.
Stifling a chuckle, Chloe said gravely, “Daddy used to have a few freckles too.”
“I what?” Lex demanded, turning to stare at his wife indignantly at this unmotivated, unexpected attack.
Chloe gave him a silent, significant look, which made Lex slump back against the couch and say, “Nothing's wrong with having freckles. They make you look even prettier.”
When Gabrielle relaxed and smiled at this affirmation, Lex slanted an unpleasant look at Chloe from the corner of his eye. His grumpiness at such a silly thing made Chloe so mushy that she had to lean over and give him a soft, wet kiss on the side of his jaw.
“Hey,” Lois objected. “None of that. There are kids present.”
Anna was still proudly holding her one card, but at this comment she declared to all and sundry, “Daddy kisses Mommy a lot.”
Looking maliciously thrilled at this lead-in, Lois encouraged the girl to go on by saying, “Really? He kisses her a lot?”
Anna nodded matter-of-factly. “Yes. A lot. Especially when they go to bed.”
Lex let out a stifled grunt, and Chloe’s eyes widened with horrified fascination as she listened to her daughter continue with innocent frankness.
“And sometimes they make noises,” Anna confided to Lois. “Once, I was scared because it sounded like Mommy was crying, but Gabby said that it was all right because it wasn’t sad crying and Mommy cries like that a lot before she goes to sleep.”
Chloe blushed beet red, and Lex slouched further down on the couch and muttered, “That’s it. We’re sound-proofing the bedroom.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes at her sister, and Lois was visibly shaking with amusement. “So you never thought about going to check on them to make sure they were all right?”
Anna’s little face twisted slightly. “I wanted to, but Daddy doesn’t like it when we come see them in bed.” She leaned over and whispered loudly to Lois, “Daddy doesn’t wear any jammies.”
Chloe choked on a burst of laughter, and Lois chortled gleefully. Lex cleared his throat and gritted out, “Lois, it’s been your turn to play now for five minutes.”
“So this boy Justin,” Lex continued, obviously intent on changing the subject as Lois focused on her cards again. “He just teases you about your hair? He’s not mean to you in any other way, is he?”
Gabrielle sighed resignedly. “He’s mean about everything. He chases me and he laughs at me when I get mad at him. And he said I was dumb because I don’t really know where babies come from.”
Lex jerked a little beside Chloe, and even Chloe’s mouth dropped open at this. “What now?” she asked. “I haven’t heard about this.”
Gabrielle scowled, as if she were picturing the boy in question. “He said I didn’t really know, but I do know. I said that babies come from a mommy’s belly, because that’s where Anna came from.”
On the other side of the coffee table, Anna echoed happily, “Babies come from mommy’s belly.”
Gabrielle looked up at Lex pleadingly. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”
Lex nodded. “That’s exactly right. And don’t let any whiny boy tell you differently.”
Looking a little relieved, Gabrielle sat back on her heels. “I’ll tell him that my Daddy told me I was right. He said . . .” She hesitated. Looked almost guilty. “He said that they came from . . .” She peered around, as if testing her audience. Then whispered, “Fucking.”
Chloe choked on a wave of shock, and Lex made an angry growling noise in his throat. Once again putting her hand on her husband’s knee to keep him from channeling anger toward a six-year-old boy, Chloe prompted, “And what did you say to that, Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle’s eyes were wide and earnest. “I said that wasn’t a nice word to say because Mommy always tells Aunt Lois to be quiet when she says it.”
“Excellent answer,” Lex assured her, obviously reining in his indignation at the idea of anyone putting such ideas into his innocent daughter's head. “Don’t worry about what this boy tells you. It sounds like he’s just trying to act smarter than he is.”
Gabrielle scratched her nose and asked faintly, “But what did he mean by that, Daddy?”
Lex was starting to look visibly uncomfortable. “Nothing for you to worry about, sweetie.”
Gabrielle wasn’t looking entirely convinced by her father's non-answer, but Chloe took pity on poor Lex and changed the course of the conversation. “Did Justin say anything else, pumpkin?”
“No,” Gabrielle mumbled. “He just laughed at me again. He always laughs at me.”
“Well, you should laugh at him back,” Chloe suggested. “We don’t let people like that push us around or make us feel bad about ourselves.”
“Sounds to me like this Justin boy has the hots for you, Lizzie,” Lois put in shamelessly.
“Lois,” Chloe gasped, reaching over to hit her cousin on the shoulder. No one was going to have "the hots" for her six-year-old daughter.
“I mean,” Lois extemporized, “It sounds like he might kind of like you.”
Gabrielle looked absolutely outraged at the very idea. “He does not. He’s mean to me.”
“Boys are mean to girls they like all the time.”
“Why?” Anna breathed, gazing up a Lois in awe.
Lois shrugged. “Boys are always scared of being rejected, so they pretend not to care, even when they do.” She slanted a look over at Lex. “Even your Daddy did that, when he first started to like your Mommy.”
Feeling Lex bristling beside her, Chloe put her arms around him and pressed a kiss into the side of his neck. Lex relaxed and adjusted his arm to pull her even closer. “I think the best idea,” he said to Gabrielle, “Is just to ignore Justin. I’m sure some of the other boys are nicer than he is.”
Gabrielle sighed. “Some are. But some are mean to me too.” She darted a quick look up at Lex, and then dropped her eyes back down to her hands. “Davy said that . . .”
When her voice trailed off, Lex’s gruff voice prompted, “Did this Davy say something that was mean to you too?”
Chloe shook her head resignedly. If Lex was this defensive about six-year-old childish teasing, then she dreaded the thought of how he would act when the girls were teenagers and the boys started to channel their “liking” in alternate ways.
Her poor daughters might never date at all.
“He said that you . . .” She swallowed hard, looked very uncomfortable. “He said that you wanted to . . . to kill Superman.”
Chloe felt something lurch in her chest-the sudden pang coming to her completely unexpectedly.
Lex was rigid beside her as he murmured thickly, “He said that about me?”
Gabrielle nodded. “He said that you hated Superman and you wanted to kill him. And that you were a bad man because Superman is the best hero in the world.” Gabrielle’s eyes were pleading as she added, “I told him that Superman must be bad because my Daddy wasn’t bad at all. Do you really want to kill Superman?”
Anna had been listening attentively and her face started to crumple as she echoed, “Daddy wants to kill Supeman?”
“No,” Lex insisted, leaning forward so he could meet his daughters’ eyes. “I don’t want to kill Superman.”
Chloe met Lois’s eyes over the table, and there was something hard and aching in the look they exchanged.
“Listen to me,” Lex continued intently. “This is important.” When he clearly had the attention of both girls, he went on, “Sometimes two people don’t agree on things. But that doesn’t mean that one of them is good and one of them is bad. Do you remember when you and Gabrielle were arguing about where to go last Saturday?”
“We had a big fight,” Anna intoned.
“I know.” Lex’s face was utterly serious. “You both wanted to have fun, but you had different ideas on how to have fun. Neither of you was wrong. You just disagreed. That’s sometimes the way it works for adults too. Both Superman and I want what’s best for Metropolis. But we don’t always agree on what that is. You don’t have to think that Superman is bad, just because you know that he disagrees with me. He helps a lot of people. It’s good to help people.”
“Daddy helps people too,” Anna said happily, patting her father on the shin.
Lex smiled slightly. “I hope so.”
Chloe was feeling unexpectedly poignant and emotional, so she shook her head quickly and said, “Superman is a good man, pumpkin, so you don’t have to tell people that he’s bad. But Daddy is a good man too. We know it, even if not everyone realizes it. I’m so proud of you for sticking up for Daddy.”
A smile broke out on Gabrielle’s face, a full, bright, joyful one that almost looked like Chloe’s smile. “Daddy is the best in the world,” she declared.
“Daddy is the best,” Anna agreed, nodding her blonde head resolvedly.
Lex’s expression was stiff and awkward, but Chloe knew it was because he was feeling mushy and vulnerable. Feeling a surge of affection, she squeezed her husband in her arms and murmured huskily, “Daddy is definitely the best.”
Lois cleared her throat. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet and diplomatic through what must have been an awkward conversation for her. Chloe still didn’t know whether Lois knew of her long-time boyfriend’s alternate identity or not, and Chloe was never planning to ask her. Lois and Clark were happy, and that’s all Chloe needed to know.
“Well,” Lois said, “I believe we have a game to play.”
They’d started UNO up again, and had come around to Lex’s turn when his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID and then murmured, “Excuse me. I need to take it.”
He pulled out of Chloe’s arms, flipped open the phone, and walked to the other side of the room as he talked.
The females exchanged glances over the cards. Chloe’s gut had dropped in disappointment, but she was determined to be calm and mature about this. Lex had been so good lately about spending time with them. Occasionally, work would have to pull him away, sometimes when they were all having fun together. It was his job. It was who he was. And she wasn’t going to complain if it was unavoidable.
She listened to the low murmurs of his voice, and the pitch of them affirmed her first suspicion, that something important was going on.
He was going to have to leave.
When Chloe saw that Anna’s lips were starting to wobble dangerously, she forced a smile and said bracingly, “Now, we know that sometimes Daddy gets called away on emergencies. We aren’t going to make him feel bad about it, are we?”
Anna shook her head, although she was clearly on the verge of tears. Gabrielle exhaled slowly, obviously just as disappointed as her sister. But she said bravely, “We’ll be good. Daddy can’t help it.”
Chloe felt like hugging her sweet girls, but she was distracted by the sound of Lex’s voice.
“I’m serious,” Lex said, his voice a little louder. “I have plans that can’t be broken, and I don’t need to be there tonight.”
Chloe’s heart started to race in excitement and growing hope. She couldn’t believe it, but it sounded like . . .
After a pause, Lex went on, “I know it’s important, but Jackson can handle it.” Another pause, longer this time. “Listen to me. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, Jackson is in charge. Tell him that this is what I’ve been training him for, and that I’m sure he won’t let me down.”
Chloe gulped. Felt like she wanted to scream and cry and laugh hysterically and hug someone all at once.
Lex flipped his phone closed and came back over to the couch. Took his seat and looked around questioningly at the four pairs of female eyes that were staring at him. “What?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling. “I thought we were in the middle of a game.”
Gabrielle giggled in relief, and Anna squealed and hugged herself. Chloe leaned over and stroked Lex’s smooth scalp. Gave him a long, soft kiss on the side of his mouth.
Lois laughed out loud. “I have got to hang out with you more often. You guys are a hoot. Getting so excited over the littlest things.”
Two minutes later, Anna won the game.
* * *
Later that evening, after Lois had left and the girls were in bed, Chloe went up to her office loft to gloat over the complete manuscript of her book. The book she’d finally finished yesterday.
It was silly, she was sure, but she felt like reveling in the sense of accomplishment a little more. She felt like she’d accomplished a lot over the last few months in terms of her family-as a wife and a mother. But this was a different feeling of accomplishment, and one she hadn’t thought she’d experience again.
The book she’d written was good. The best one she’d written. Intelligent and emotional and observant and snarky. And, in writing it, she’d felt like she’d really found the Chloe-ness inside her that she’d thought for a while she’d lost completely.
She was so caught up in her feelings of pride and completion that she didn’t hear Lex approach until he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“Hi,” he said huskily, skimming her ear with his lips.
“Hi, yourself,” she replied, smiling fondly and snuggling back against his warm body.
“I finished reading your book.”
Chloe turned her head back to look at him. “Already?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “Already. I couldn’t put it down. It was fabulous.”
Sighing contentedly, Chloe felt like melting away. Lex’s opinion meant so much to her that she’d actually been nervous when she’d given it to him to read for the first time. “Well," she murmured, reaching up and back so she could caress his neck, “You’re a little biased, I’d say.”
“I’m a lot biased,” he agreed, bending neck so he could mouth the pulse in her throat. “But I’m also a very good reader. And the book is brilliant. The best one you’ve written.”
Chloe actually wriggled in delight. “Thanks. I thought it might be too.”
She turned around in his arms then, so she could embrace him for real. They just hugged for a minute, pressing their bodies together as Chloe buried her face in his expensive-smelling shirt. Then she tilted her head back and he took the lips she offered him. The kiss was long and leisurely and tender, and it made Chloe feel even more like she was about to melt away.
When their mouths finally parted, she breathed, “Thanks for sticking around tonight. I know it must have been hard for you to give up control enough to not be there for whatever happened.”
Lex gave a half-shrug, his arms still draped loosely around her waist. “It wasn’t that hard.”
He was minimizing the choice he made, but Chloe knew it hadn’t been minor. Lex’s nature clung to everything as tightly as he could-needing control and resisting giving it up to anyone else. Particularly in business.
It meant something that he’d made himself do so tonight. For them.
But, since clearly he didn’t want to make a big deal about it, Chloe accepted his parry. Her fingertips gently rubbing circles on the back of his neck, she murmured, “Shall we go to bed early this evening?”
Lex’s lips twitched. “Only if we agree to keep the volume down. I’m a little disconcerted by being heard down the hall.”
Chloe chuckled. “All right. You won’t hear a peep out of me. I’ll just lay there like I don’t even notice you.”
Frowning and rolling his eyes, Lex replied, “We’re definitely sound-proofing the bedroom.”
Giving him a quick kiss, Chloe pulled away. “Until then, I’ll do my best to suppress my blissful cries of ecstasy.” She held her hand out to him. “Let’s go.”
Lex took her hand and started walking down with her. But he said, “Would it be all right if call Carlotta first? I’d just like an update on . . .”
Chloe didn’t make him finish. “Of course. I’ll be waiting in bed.” With a teasing look, she added, “Say hi to her for me.”
Lex laughed appreciatively, and they parted in the middle of the hallway, Lex going to his office and Chloe heading toward their bedroom.
She felt another little thrill of accomplishment when she thought of Carlotta, although this one was almost three months old now.
A week after her conversation with Lex about Carlotta, Chloe had taken the girls to visit Lex in his office again. He’d called her that morning to tell her that he was going to have to work very late that evening, but he’d suggested that maybe they could have lunch together. So Lex had ordered sandwiches in, and Chloe had taken the girls to LuthorCorp headquarters so they could have a makeshift picnic on the floor of Lex’s office.
The girls had been delighted. And, after she’d finished eating, Chloe had slipped out to talk to Carlotta.
The receptionist hadn’t been at her desk, but Chloe had found her in the woman’s restroom.
Carlotta had given her a patronizing look as she’d tried to brush past Chloe on her way out.
Chloe hadn’t let her escape.
Blocking access to the door, Chloe had smiled determinedly and said, “I think you and I need to have a little chat.”
Carlotta had arched her perfect eyebrows. “Do we? About what?”
“I think you know what it’s about,” Chloe had replied coolly.
“Do I?”
Chloe had rolled her eyes. “Do we have to go through this pretense? It will be so much easier if we’re honest with each other. You don’t like me. That much is clear. I’ve never done anything to you, but you’ve decided you resent me for some reason and thus feel compelled to treat me accordingly.”
Carlotta’s dark eyes had widened in feigned innocence. “Have I ever been rude to you, Mrs. Luthor? If so, I . . .”
“Oh, don’t bother. We both know what I’m talking about. I’m neither blind nor immune to undercurrents. But I’m telling you right now that it’s going to stop.”
Carlotta had pressed her lips together. “I suppose this means that I won’t be keeping my job.”
Chloe had shaken her head with an impatient look. “That’s not what this means. I could easily have whined to Lex about you, and I assure you he would have done something about it without blinking an eye. But that would be petty and spiteful, and it’s not who I am.” At Carlotta’s expression, Chloe had remembered that old saying about how treating one’s enemies kindly was like heaping coal upon their heads. Chloe was starting to understand what that meant now.
She had gone on, “I don’t need a man-even my husband-to fight my battles for me. I realize I have more power in this situation than you do, given that Lex is my husband and he loves me. But I have no need to use that against you.” She’d taken a step closer when she’d seen that Carlotta was speechless. “Lex does love me. My daughters and I are the most important things in the world to him. You should know that. It doesn’t matter to me whether you like it or not. It doesn’t matter to me whether you like me or not. What matters is that you’re going to treat me with common courtesy and at least a modicum of respect.”
When Carlotta had opened her mouth, as if she would object, Chloe spoke over her. “Real respect. Not thinly disguised disdain. You aren’t going to act like I’m imposing on Lex’s time. You are going to make sure he gets my messages and that I get all of his. And, when my children are present, you are going to treat them kindly. You are going to do all of that. If not because I’m the wife of your employer, then because I’m a decent, intelligent woman who has never done anything to deserve your contempt.”
Carlotta’s darkly lipsticked lips had fallen open as she stared in shock at Chloe. And then she’d muttered, “All right.” And hurried out of the bathroom as fast as her high heels could carry her.
Since then, Carlotta had always been subdued and respectful around Chloe. She’d gone out of her way to be particularly polite to Chloe and the girls, and-while Chloe was sure she wasn’t Carlotta’s favorite person and that the receptionist’s behavior was prompted at least in part by intimidation-Chloe had no more complaints about the woman.
In fact, over the last few weeks, Chloe had made a concerted effort to actually be friendly. And slowly Carlotta seemed to be reciprocating. It wasn’t like they would ever be best friends, but all in all Chloe was pleased with the progression of the relationship.
In fact, Chloe was ridiculously proud of herself for the way she’d handled it.
After getting ready for bed and pulling on a purple chemise, Chloe crawled under the covers, chuckling to herself as she wondered whether Lex had actually told Carlotta that Chloe had said hi.
Twenty minutes later, Lex came into the bedroom. He went to the bathroom and then came out again, taking off his clothes as he filled Chloe in on his business situation.
Then he got in bed-not wearing any pajamas, as Anna had pointed out earlier-spooning up behind Chloe.
“Are you sure you didn’t need to go in?” Chloe affirmed, feeling her body already react to Lex’s closeness, after her mushy feelings earlier. “I’d feel guilty if I thought you were neglecting something important.”
“It’s nothing so important that I can’t deal with it tomorrow morning,” Lex promised, one hand skimming over her curves through the thin cotton of her chemise. His voice growing husky next to her ear, he added, “And, let me assure you, that I’d much rather be in bed with you than working.”
Chloe smiled and pressed her body back against his, loving how the hard planes of his body felt against her softer one. “Good.”
He nuzzled the hollow of her neck, pushing her hair out of the way. And his hand strayed up to the swell of her breast, chafing her hardening nipple with his palm.
Sighing in pleasure, Chloe arched against him, trying to get as much sensation as she could. But, after a moment, she asked something she’d been wondering all day. “Lex? Do you know what today is?”
She hadn’t been sure she was going to bring the subject up at all. Not until she’d actually spoken the words.
“Hmm?” Lex mumbled, his mouth busy nibbling her bare shoulder. “It’s Friday, isn’t it?”
Chloe huffed out a breathless laugh, feeling a wet warmth gathering between her legs despite the silly fluttering of her heart. “Yes, but I mean today. The date. Do you know what it is?”
She could feel Lex’s erection growing against her ass, and she couldn’t help but shift against it. He was mouthing her skin hungrily, possessively, and his one hand was still fondling her breasts while the other had edged under her body and moved lower to rub against her groin through her chemise. “Well,” he said, his voice deliciously thick. “I know I haven’t forgotten your birthday because I’ve already made plans for it.”
Chloe squirmed at the sensations from his hands, mouth, and body behind her, and in anticipation of his plans for her birthday, which was coming up very soon. But she wasn’t going to be distracted, now that she’d brought the topic up. “Not my birthday,” she murmured, moving her hand down to cover his and pushing against it to get a good rhythm against her clit.
“Well, it’s not your time of the month,” Lex replied, pushing his erection purposefully against her. “Because that was . . .”
Chloe choked, half in laughter, half in pleasure as Lex tweaked one of her sensitive nipples. “Never mind,” she said resignedly. “It’s not important.”
She relaxed and just enjoyed his touch, telling herself that there was no reason to feel disappointed that he didn’t know what she was talking about.
She shouldn’t have expected him too. It was the kind of thing that a woman might pay attention to, but it wasn’t something most men would even consider. It didn’t mean it wasn’t important to him.
Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a little pang in her heart.
“Chloe,” Lex said hoarsely, his body hot and tight as he wrapped himself around her from behind. His mouth against her hair, he continued, “How can you even ask? Of course, I know what today is.”
Something melted again in Chloe’s chest, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. His face was only a breath away from hers. “Really?” she whispered.
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “Of course. Seven years. I’m going to try to get out to the cemetary in Smallville tomorrow if I have enough time.”
Chloe felt another kind of pang in her heart. It was so easy for her to forget that, on the day Gabrielle had been conceived, Lex had also buried his father.
Seven years ago today.
“I can go with you if you want,” she offered softly, reaching behind her to stroke his warm cheek.
“No,” he responded. “I like to go alone.” Giving her a quick kiss on her cheekbone, he added, “But thanks.”
He still never talked about his father. And she didn’t expect him to ever do so.
Before the shift in mood could distract them from their arousal, Lex edge a hand between her legs, parting her thighs enough for him to slide a finger inside her, spilling the moisture that had collected there.
She bent forward a little to give him better access as he held his cock in place at her entrance and then thrust himself home.
She gasped as he filled her. Then gasped again as he gathered her tightly in his arms, pulling her upper body back against his chest.
“It seems strange,” he murmured, his voice like raw silk in her ear, “To be so devastatingly grateful for a leaking condom.” He drew his pelvis back slightly, then pushed forward again, sliding his cock deliciousness with the motion. “But I am. Baby, I hope you know how much.”
Chloe was pumping her hips back against his thrusts, feeling sheltered and cherished and hot and exhilarated all at once. His arms were all the way around her, and she was clutching at his forearms, needing to touch him in any way she could. “Yeah,” she gasped. “I know. Me too. Me too. Me too.” Her babbling had fallen into the rhythmic cadence of his thrusting.
He made a rough, gravelly sound that sent exquisite vibrations running through her. He must be low on stamina tonight because he lowered one of his hands down to bunch up the fabric of her chemise enough for him to find her clit. Rubbing it in firm circles, he rasped, “If not for the . . . ineffective condom . . .”
He stopped to suck in a harsh breath, and Chloe started to whimper as his massage of her clit produced a spiraling pressure deep in her belly.
“Then no us. No girls. Nothing.” Lex was on the verge of wordlessness, his thrusting becoming less controlled and more primitive.
“I know,” Chloe panted, trapped between the lush sensations of his hand on her clit and his cock inside her.
She could barely stand to think about what her life would have been without that random encounter with Lex in the cemetery in Smallville seven years ago. Could barely think of anything at the moment, as her pleasure started coiling even tighter.
With another guttural sound, Lex leaned over and bit down on her shoulder, the sharp pain sending a jolt of hot sensation to the climax building inside her.
“I love you, Lex,” Chloe gasped shrilly, feeling something so powerful that she needed to say it, needed to shape it with words.
Lex grunted something that sounded like “love.” He was far gone now, his pelvis bumping jerkily against her ass.
She was almost there herself. Felt so much that was so hard to say. “I love you,” she huffed out, the muscles in her belly and thighs growing deeply tense. She was shaking now, the rich pressure on the edge of erupting. But she kept gasping, “Love you. Love you. Scotch you.”
She wasn’t sure how the last had slipped out, but it seemed natural, inevitable, and she didn’t have the mental power to reflect much on the silliness anyway. The world was starting to dissolve into waves of intense heat and pleasure.
Lex made a burst of raw sound-maybe amusement or feeling or pleasure or need or all of them at once. “Me too,” he grunted, his hips starting to convulse. “Me too.”
There was more to say. More to feel. More to express about this experience: this moment, this evening, these last three months, the last seven years of their lives.
But she couldn’t. Couldn’t do anything but whimper helplessly as Lex’s body and his love pushed her into climax.
He came after her with a hoarse exclamation, the spasms of their release mingling, lingering, and then fading into soft, wordless peace.
They didn’t say anything afterwards. Stayed tangled together-hot and damp and drowsily complete.
And Chloe knew-she knew-that the shape of their love, their daughters, their family, their lives, had somehow grown beyond the limits of expression.
But that it wasn’t nameless anymore.
THE END
Anna was getting hyper.
Chloe could see the signs. The girl's cheeks were getting rosier and rosier, and she was starting to squirm in her seat, giggling and occasionally hugging herself, as if she just couldn't contain her excitement.
It wasn’t surprising. Both of the girls had been thrilled that Lois had come over to hang out with them this evening, for what they’d unofficially dubbed their “family night.” They dedicated at least one evening a week to be spent together, and the girls were young enough to still be excited about such a thing.
The last three months had gone well. For the first month after their problems over the summer, Lex had been so loving and attentive that Chloe had actually started to feel a little smothered. But he’d gradually eased back into a natural routine, balancing work, family, and his other ventures in a way that seemed to be working for all of them. They still relied on his schedule for time spent at home, and Chloe could tell that he was committed to it, since occasionally this month he’d had to really stretch in order to keep the requisite dinners at home. And Chloe was starting to feel secure that-although it wouldn’t always be perfect-they’d arrived at a satisfying compromise.
Tonight, Lex was in one of his rare laughing moods, and, as he sat beside her on the sofa, his eyes were warm, and his husky chuckle and teasing drawl lingered pleasantly in the room. This would be another reason that Anna was starting to get overly excited. Her daddy wasn’t usually this outwardly happy and affectionate, and both she and Gabrielle were obviously reveling in the experience.
Anna’s giggling became a little shrill and uncontrolled as Chloe and Lois had a mock argument about Lois’s attempt to blatantly cheat at UNO, and Chloe hoped the girl’s hyperness wouldn’t plunge her into a crash later on.
They were playing UNO, since it was one of the few games that the kids could understand and the adults could mostly tolerate. Anna was down to two cards, and she was flailing them around in her little hands so wildly that they were clearly visible for anyone who wanted to look. They all pretended not to see them, however, as it came around to Anna’s turn again.
She was too young to play very well on her own, so Lex-in addition to taking care of his own cards-kept leaning over and murmuring suggestions in her ear about what to do next. So, as Anna’s turn arrived, she and Lex conferred in focused secrecy.
Then Anna slowly reached over to place one of her two cards on the discard pile-a red seven on a blue seven-and she screamed “UNO” at the top of her voice as soon as she released her hold on the card.
Gabrielle, who’d been paying close attention in the hope of catching Anna before she said “Uno,” scowled and peered at her own three cards, her competitive nature obviously rearing up at her sister’s good luck.
Lois reached over and tugged on Gabrielle’s red ponytail. “So, Lizzie, how is school?” she asked.
Lois still was committed to calling Gabrielle “Lizzie,” as a shortened form of the girl’s middle name that was intended primarily to annoy Lex and Chloe.
“Fine,” Gabrielle told her seriously, her big, blue-gray eyes shifting over to Aunt Lois. “My teacher is nice, and I’m the best at reading in the class.” Before this claim-which Chloe proudly knew to be the truth-could be lauded, Gabrielle continued with a look at somber aggrievement. “But there’s a boy named Justin who sits behind me. And he’s mean to me all the time.”
Chloe’s mouth quirked, since she knew all about Justin and was pretty sure she understood what motivated all his teasing. But Lex, to Chloe’s surprise, must not have heard about Gabrielle’s woes with the cute, little boy who pulled her hair and chased her around the playground.
“What?” Lex demanded, leaning forward and tensing up beside Chloe. “Who’s mean to you?”
Chloe put her hand on Lex’s knee in a calming gesture, amused at his irrational protectiveness.
“Justin,” Gabrielle explained with her characteristic earnestness. She was sitting on her knees on the floor, and she shifted restlessly as she spoke. “All the other girls like him, but he’s mean to me. He makes fun of my red hair and says I have freckles!”
Gabrielle did have a few freckles that came out when she spent time in the sun-fainting dusting the fair skin of her nose and cheeks. Chloe thought they were adorable.
“Well,” Lex pronounced. “Clearly the boy is an idiot.” Before Chloe could chide Lex for this blunt remark, he continued, “Your hair is absolutely beautiful.”
Chloe knew how much Lex adored Gabrielle's red-gold hair, which was so long now it fell down her back. Of course, Lex wasn't the one who usually had to comb all the tangles out.
Gabrielle squirmed appreciatively, but Anna’s little mouth started turning down in concern.
Seeing this, Lex went on, “Just like Anna’s.” He tugged gently on a piece of Anna’s blond hair, making the girl giggle again.
“Your daddy used to have red hair too,” Chloe told Gabrielle comfortingly, trying not to snicker when Lex narrowed his eyes. No matter how much he loved Gabrielle's hair, he never liked to be reminded of his own. “Not many people have such pretty red hair, and a lot of people really want it.”
“I guess,” Gabrielle mumbled, pulling her long ponytail around so she could peer at the shiny waves. “But freckles?” Her voice pitched upward on the last word, in very clear outrage at such an indignity.
Stifling a chuckle, Chloe said gravely, “Daddy used to have a few freckles too.”
“I what?” Lex demanded, turning to stare at his wife indignantly at this unmotivated, unexpected attack.
Chloe gave him a silent, significant look, which made Lex slump back against the couch and say, “Nothing's wrong with having freckles. They make you look even prettier.”
When Gabrielle relaxed and smiled at this affirmation, Lex slanted an unpleasant look at Chloe from the corner of his eye. His grumpiness at such a silly thing made Chloe so mushy that she had to lean over and give him a soft, wet kiss on the side of his jaw.
“Hey,” Lois objected. “None of that. There are kids present.”
Anna was still proudly holding her one card, but at this comment she declared to all and sundry, “Daddy kisses Mommy a lot.”
Looking maliciously thrilled at this lead-in, Lois encouraged the girl to go on by saying, “Really? He kisses her a lot?”
Anna nodded matter-of-factly. “Yes. A lot. Especially when they go to bed.”
Lex let out a stifled grunt, and Chloe’s eyes widened with horrified fascination as she listened to her daughter continue with innocent frankness.
“And sometimes they make noises,” Anna confided to Lois. “Once, I was scared because it sounded like Mommy was crying, but Gabby said that it was all right because it wasn’t sad crying and Mommy cries like that a lot before she goes to sleep.”
Chloe blushed beet red, and Lex slouched further down on the couch and muttered, “That’s it. We’re sound-proofing the bedroom.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes at her sister, and Lois was visibly shaking with amusement. “So you never thought about going to check on them to make sure they were all right?”
Anna’s little face twisted slightly. “I wanted to, but Daddy doesn’t like it when we come see them in bed.” She leaned over and whispered loudly to Lois, “Daddy doesn’t wear any jammies.”
Chloe choked on a burst of laughter, and Lois chortled gleefully. Lex cleared his throat and gritted out, “Lois, it’s been your turn to play now for five minutes.”
“So this boy Justin,” Lex continued, obviously intent on changing the subject as Lois focused on her cards again. “He just teases you about your hair? He’s not mean to you in any other way, is he?”
Gabrielle sighed resignedly. “He’s mean about everything. He chases me and he laughs at me when I get mad at him. And he said I was dumb because I don’t really know where babies come from.”
Lex jerked a little beside Chloe, and even Chloe’s mouth dropped open at this. “What now?” she asked. “I haven’t heard about this.”
Gabrielle scowled, as if she were picturing the boy in question. “He said I didn’t really know, but I do know. I said that babies come from a mommy’s belly, because that’s where Anna came from.”
On the other side of the coffee table, Anna echoed happily, “Babies come from mommy’s belly.”
Gabrielle looked up at Lex pleadingly. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”
Lex nodded. “That’s exactly right. And don’t let any whiny boy tell you differently.”
Looking a little relieved, Gabrielle sat back on her heels. “I’ll tell him that my Daddy told me I was right. He said . . .” She hesitated. Looked almost guilty. “He said that they came from . . .” She peered around, as if testing her audience. Then whispered, “Fucking.”
Chloe choked on a wave of shock, and Lex made an angry growling noise in his throat. Once again putting her hand on her husband’s knee to keep him from channeling anger toward a six-year-old boy, Chloe prompted, “And what did you say to that, Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle’s eyes were wide and earnest. “I said that wasn’t a nice word to say because Mommy always tells Aunt Lois to be quiet when she says it.”
“Excellent answer,” Lex assured her, obviously reining in his indignation at the idea of anyone putting such ideas into his innocent daughter's head. “Don’t worry about what this boy tells you. It sounds like he’s just trying to act smarter than he is.”
Gabrielle scratched her nose and asked faintly, “But what did he mean by that, Daddy?”
Lex was starting to look visibly uncomfortable. “Nothing for you to worry about, sweetie.”
Gabrielle wasn’t looking entirely convinced by her father's non-answer, but Chloe took pity on poor Lex and changed the course of the conversation. “Did Justin say anything else, pumpkin?”
“No,” Gabrielle mumbled. “He just laughed at me again. He always laughs at me.”
“Well, you should laugh at him back,” Chloe suggested. “We don’t let people like that push us around or make us feel bad about ourselves.”
“Sounds to me like this Justin boy has the hots for you, Lizzie,” Lois put in shamelessly.
“Lois,” Chloe gasped, reaching over to hit her cousin on the shoulder. No one was going to have "the hots" for her six-year-old daughter.
“I mean,” Lois extemporized, “It sounds like he might kind of like you.”
Gabrielle looked absolutely outraged at the very idea. “He does not. He’s mean to me.”
“Boys are mean to girls they like all the time.”
“Why?” Anna breathed, gazing up a Lois in awe.
Lois shrugged. “Boys are always scared of being rejected, so they pretend not to care, even when they do.” She slanted a look over at Lex. “Even your Daddy did that, when he first started to like your Mommy.”
Feeling Lex bristling beside her, Chloe put her arms around him and pressed a kiss into the side of his neck. Lex relaxed and adjusted his arm to pull her even closer. “I think the best idea,” he said to Gabrielle, “Is just to ignore Justin. I’m sure some of the other boys are nicer than he is.”
Gabrielle sighed. “Some are. But some are mean to me too.” She darted a quick look up at Lex, and then dropped her eyes back down to her hands. “Davy said that . . .”
When her voice trailed off, Lex’s gruff voice prompted, “Did this Davy say something that was mean to you too?”
Chloe shook her head resignedly. If Lex was this defensive about six-year-old childish teasing, then she dreaded the thought of how he would act when the girls were teenagers and the boys started to channel their “liking” in alternate ways.
Her poor daughters might never date at all.
“He said that you . . .” She swallowed hard, looked very uncomfortable. “He said that you wanted to . . . to kill Superman.”
Chloe felt something lurch in her chest-the sudden pang coming to her completely unexpectedly.
Lex was rigid beside her as he murmured thickly, “He said that about me?”
Gabrielle nodded. “He said that you hated Superman and you wanted to kill him. And that you were a bad man because Superman is the best hero in the world.” Gabrielle’s eyes were pleading as she added, “I told him that Superman must be bad because my Daddy wasn’t bad at all. Do you really want to kill Superman?”
Anna had been listening attentively and her face started to crumple as she echoed, “Daddy wants to kill Supeman?”
“No,” Lex insisted, leaning forward so he could meet his daughters’ eyes. “I don’t want to kill Superman.”
Chloe met Lois’s eyes over the table, and there was something hard and aching in the look they exchanged.
“Listen to me,” Lex continued intently. “This is important.” When he clearly had the attention of both girls, he went on, “Sometimes two people don’t agree on things. But that doesn’t mean that one of them is good and one of them is bad. Do you remember when you and Gabrielle were arguing about where to go last Saturday?”
“We had a big fight,” Anna intoned.
“I know.” Lex’s face was utterly serious. “You both wanted to have fun, but you had different ideas on how to have fun. Neither of you was wrong. You just disagreed. That’s sometimes the way it works for adults too. Both Superman and I want what’s best for Metropolis. But we don’t always agree on what that is. You don’t have to think that Superman is bad, just because you know that he disagrees with me. He helps a lot of people. It’s good to help people.”
“Daddy helps people too,” Anna said happily, patting her father on the shin.
Lex smiled slightly. “I hope so.”
Chloe was feeling unexpectedly poignant and emotional, so she shook her head quickly and said, “Superman is a good man, pumpkin, so you don’t have to tell people that he’s bad. But Daddy is a good man too. We know it, even if not everyone realizes it. I’m so proud of you for sticking up for Daddy.”
A smile broke out on Gabrielle’s face, a full, bright, joyful one that almost looked like Chloe’s smile. “Daddy is the best in the world,” she declared.
“Daddy is the best,” Anna agreed, nodding her blonde head resolvedly.
Lex’s expression was stiff and awkward, but Chloe knew it was because he was feeling mushy and vulnerable. Feeling a surge of affection, she squeezed her husband in her arms and murmured huskily, “Daddy is definitely the best.”
Lois cleared her throat. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet and diplomatic through what must have been an awkward conversation for her. Chloe still didn’t know whether Lois knew of her long-time boyfriend’s alternate identity or not, and Chloe was never planning to ask her. Lois and Clark were happy, and that’s all Chloe needed to know.
“Well,” Lois said, “I believe we have a game to play.”
They’d started UNO up again, and had come around to Lex’s turn when his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID and then murmured, “Excuse me. I need to take it.”
He pulled out of Chloe’s arms, flipped open the phone, and walked to the other side of the room as he talked.
The females exchanged glances over the cards. Chloe’s gut had dropped in disappointment, but she was determined to be calm and mature about this. Lex had been so good lately about spending time with them. Occasionally, work would have to pull him away, sometimes when they were all having fun together. It was his job. It was who he was. And she wasn’t going to complain if it was unavoidable.
She listened to the low murmurs of his voice, and the pitch of them affirmed her first suspicion, that something important was going on.
He was going to have to leave.
When Chloe saw that Anna’s lips were starting to wobble dangerously, she forced a smile and said bracingly, “Now, we know that sometimes Daddy gets called away on emergencies. We aren’t going to make him feel bad about it, are we?”
Anna shook her head, although she was clearly on the verge of tears. Gabrielle exhaled slowly, obviously just as disappointed as her sister. But she said bravely, “We’ll be good. Daddy can’t help it.”
Chloe felt like hugging her sweet girls, but she was distracted by the sound of Lex’s voice.
“I’m serious,” Lex said, his voice a little louder. “I have plans that can’t be broken, and I don’t need to be there tonight.”
Chloe’s heart started to race in excitement and growing hope. She couldn’t believe it, but it sounded like . . .
After a pause, Lex went on, “I know it’s important, but Jackson can handle it.” Another pause, longer this time. “Listen to me. I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, Jackson is in charge. Tell him that this is what I’ve been training him for, and that I’m sure he won’t let me down.”
Chloe gulped. Felt like she wanted to scream and cry and laugh hysterically and hug someone all at once.
Lex flipped his phone closed and came back over to the couch. Took his seat and looked around questioningly at the four pairs of female eyes that were staring at him. “What?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling. “I thought we were in the middle of a game.”
Gabrielle giggled in relief, and Anna squealed and hugged herself. Chloe leaned over and stroked Lex’s smooth scalp. Gave him a long, soft kiss on the side of his mouth.
Lois laughed out loud. “I have got to hang out with you more often. You guys are a hoot. Getting so excited over the littlest things.”
Two minutes later, Anna won the game.
* * *
Later that evening, after Lois had left and the girls were in bed, Chloe went up to her office loft to gloat over the complete manuscript of her book. The book she’d finally finished yesterday.
It was silly, she was sure, but she felt like reveling in the sense of accomplishment a little more. She felt like she’d accomplished a lot over the last few months in terms of her family-as a wife and a mother. But this was a different feeling of accomplishment, and one she hadn’t thought she’d experience again.
The book she’d written was good. The best one she’d written. Intelligent and emotional and observant and snarky. And, in writing it, she’d felt like she’d really found the Chloe-ness inside her that she’d thought for a while she’d lost completely.
She was so caught up in her feelings of pride and completion that she didn’t hear Lex approach until he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“Hi,” he said huskily, skimming her ear with his lips.
“Hi, yourself,” she replied, smiling fondly and snuggling back against his warm body.
“I finished reading your book.”
Chloe turned her head back to look at him. “Already?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “Already. I couldn’t put it down. It was fabulous.”
Sighing contentedly, Chloe felt like melting away. Lex’s opinion meant so much to her that she’d actually been nervous when she’d given it to him to read for the first time. “Well," she murmured, reaching up and back so she could caress his neck, “You’re a little biased, I’d say.”
“I’m a lot biased,” he agreed, bending neck so he could mouth the pulse in her throat. “But I’m also a very good reader. And the book is brilliant. The best one you’ve written.”
Chloe actually wriggled in delight. “Thanks. I thought it might be too.”
She turned around in his arms then, so she could embrace him for real. They just hugged for a minute, pressing their bodies together as Chloe buried her face in his expensive-smelling shirt. Then she tilted her head back and he took the lips she offered him. The kiss was long and leisurely and tender, and it made Chloe feel even more like she was about to melt away.
When their mouths finally parted, she breathed, “Thanks for sticking around tonight. I know it must have been hard for you to give up control enough to not be there for whatever happened.”
Lex gave a half-shrug, his arms still draped loosely around her waist. “It wasn’t that hard.”
He was minimizing the choice he made, but Chloe knew it hadn’t been minor. Lex’s nature clung to everything as tightly as he could-needing control and resisting giving it up to anyone else. Particularly in business.
It meant something that he’d made himself do so tonight. For them.
But, since clearly he didn’t want to make a big deal about it, Chloe accepted his parry. Her fingertips gently rubbing circles on the back of his neck, she murmured, “Shall we go to bed early this evening?”
Lex’s lips twitched. “Only if we agree to keep the volume down. I’m a little disconcerted by being heard down the hall.”
Chloe chuckled. “All right. You won’t hear a peep out of me. I’ll just lay there like I don’t even notice you.”
Frowning and rolling his eyes, Lex replied, “We’re definitely sound-proofing the bedroom.”
Giving him a quick kiss, Chloe pulled away. “Until then, I’ll do my best to suppress my blissful cries of ecstasy.” She held her hand out to him. “Let’s go.”
Lex took her hand and started walking down with her. But he said, “Would it be all right if call Carlotta first? I’d just like an update on . . .”
Chloe didn’t make him finish. “Of course. I’ll be waiting in bed.” With a teasing look, she added, “Say hi to her for me.”
Lex laughed appreciatively, and they parted in the middle of the hallway, Lex going to his office and Chloe heading toward their bedroom.
She felt another little thrill of accomplishment when she thought of Carlotta, although this one was almost three months old now.
A week after her conversation with Lex about Carlotta, Chloe had taken the girls to visit Lex in his office again. He’d called her that morning to tell her that he was going to have to work very late that evening, but he’d suggested that maybe they could have lunch together. So Lex had ordered sandwiches in, and Chloe had taken the girls to LuthorCorp headquarters so they could have a makeshift picnic on the floor of Lex’s office.
The girls had been delighted. And, after she’d finished eating, Chloe had slipped out to talk to Carlotta.
The receptionist hadn’t been at her desk, but Chloe had found her in the woman’s restroom.
Carlotta had given her a patronizing look as she’d tried to brush past Chloe on her way out.
Chloe hadn’t let her escape.
Blocking access to the door, Chloe had smiled determinedly and said, “I think you and I need to have a little chat.”
Carlotta had arched her perfect eyebrows. “Do we? About what?”
“I think you know what it’s about,” Chloe had replied coolly.
“Do I?”
Chloe had rolled her eyes. “Do we have to go through this pretense? It will be so much easier if we’re honest with each other. You don’t like me. That much is clear. I’ve never done anything to you, but you’ve decided you resent me for some reason and thus feel compelled to treat me accordingly.”
Carlotta’s dark eyes had widened in feigned innocence. “Have I ever been rude to you, Mrs. Luthor? If so, I . . .”
“Oh, don’t bother. We both know what I’m talking about. I’m neither blind nor immune to undercurrents. But I’m telling you right now that it’s going to stop.”
Carlotta had pressed her lips together. “I suppose this means that I won’t be keeping my job.”
Chloe had shaken her head with an impatient look. “That’s not what this means. I could easily have whined to Lex about you, and I assure you he would have done something about it without blinking an eye. But that would be petty and spiteful, and it’s not who I am.” At Carlotta’s expression, Chloe had remembered that old saying about how treating one’s enemies kindly was like heaping coal upon their heads. Chloe was starting to understand what that meant now.
She had gone on, “I don’t need a man-even my husband-to fight my battles for me. I realize I have more power in this situation than you do, given that Lex is my husband and he loves me. But I have no need to use that against you.” She’d taken a step closer when she’d seen that Carlotta was speechless. “Lex does love me. My daughters and I are the most important things in the world to him. You should know that. It doesn’t matter to me whether you like it or not. It doesn’t matter to me whether you like me or not. What matters is that you’re going to treat me with common courtesy and at least a modicum of respect.”
When Carlotta had opened her mouth, as if she would object, Chloe spoke over her. “Real respect. Not thinly disguised disdain. You aren’t going to act like I’m imposing on Lex’s time. You are going to make sure he gets my messages and that I get all of his. And, when my children are present, you are going to treat them kindly. You are going to do all of that. If not because I’m the wife of your employer, then because I’m a decent, intelligent woman who has never done anything to deserve your contempt.”
Carlotta’s darkly lipsticked lips had fallen open as she stared in shock at Chloe. And then she’d muttered, “All right.” And hurried out of the bathroom as fast as her high heels could carry her.
Since then, Carlotta had always been subdued and respectful around Chloe. She’d gone out of her way to be particularly polite to Chloe and the girls, and-while Chloe was sure she wasn’t Carlotta’s favorite person and that the receptionist’s behavior was prompted at least in part by intimidation-Chloe had no more complaints about the woman.
In fact, over the last few weeks, Chloe had made a concerted effort to actually be friendly. And slowly Carlotta seemed to be reciprocating. It wasn’t like they would ever be best friends, but all in all Chloe was pleased with the progression of the relationship.
In fact, Chloe was ridiculously proud of herself for the way she’d handled it.
After getting ready for bed and pulling on a purple chemise, Chloe crawled under the covers, chuckling to herself as she wondered whether Lex had actually told Carlotta that Chloe had said hi.
Twenty minutes later, Lex came into the bedroom. He went to the bathroom and then came out again, taking off his clothes as he filled Chloe in on his business situation.
Then he got in bed-not wearing any pajamas, as Anna had pointed out earlier-spooning up behind Chloe.
“Are you sure you didn’t need to go in?” Chloe affirmed, feeling her body already react to Lex’s closeness, after her mushy feelings earlier. “I’d feel guilty if I thought you were neglecting something important.”
“It’s nothing so important that I can’t deal with it tomorrow morning,” Lex promised, one hand skimming over her curves through the thin cotton of her chemise. His voice growing husky next to her ear, he added, “And, let me assure you, that I’d much rather be in bed with you than working.”
Chloe smiled and pressed her body back against his, loving how the hard planes of his body felt against her softer one. “Good.”
He nuzzled the hollow of her neck, pushing her hair out of the way. And his hand strayed up to the swell of her breast, chafing her hardening nipple with his palm.
Sighing in pleasure, Chloe arched against him, trying to get as much sensation as she could. But, after a moment, she asked something she’d been wondering all day. “Lex? Do you know what today is?”
She hadn’t been sure she was going to bring the subject up at all. Not until she’d actually spoken the words.
“Hmm?” Lex mumbled, his mouth busy nibbling her bare shoulder. “It’s Friday, isn’t it?”
Chloe huffed out a breathless laugh, feeling a wet warmth gathering between her legs despite the silly fluttering of her heart. “Yes, but I mean today. The date. Do you know what it is?”
She could feel Lex’s erection growing against her ass, and she couldn’t help but shift against it. He was mouthing her skin hungrily, possessively, and his one hand was still fondling her breasts while the other had edged under her body and moved lower to rub against her groin through her chemise. “Well,” he said, his voice deliciously thick. “I know I haven’t forgotten your birthday because I’ve already made plans for it.”
Chloe squirmed at the sensations from his hands, mouth, and body behind her, and in anticipation of his plans for her birthday, which was coming up very soon. But she wasn’t going to be distracted, now that she’d brought the topic up. “Not my birthday,” she murmured, moving her hand down to cover his and pushing against it to get a good rhythm against her clit.
“Well, it’s not your time of the month,” Lex replied, pushing his erection purposefully against her. “Because that was . . .”
Chloe choked, half in laughter, half in pleasure as Lex tweaked one of her sensitive nipples. “Never mind,” she said resignedly. “It’s not important.”
She relaxed and just enjoyed his touch, telling herself that there was no reason to feel disappointed that he didn’t know what she was talking about.
She shouldn’t have expected him too. It was the kind of thing that a woman might pay attention to, but it wasn’t something most men would even consider. It didn’t mean it wasn’t important to him.
Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a little pang in her heart.
“Chloe,” Lex said hoarsely, his body hot and tight as he wrapped himself around her from behind. His mouth against her hair, he continued, “How can you even ask? Of course, I know what today is.”
Something melted again in Chloe’s chest, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. His face was only a breath away from hers. “Really?” she whispered.
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “Of course. Seven years. I’m going to try to get out to the cemetary in Smallville tomorrow if I have enough time.”
Chloe felt another kind of pang in her heart. It was so easy for her to forget that, on the day Gabrielle had been conceived, Lex had also buried his father.
Seven years ago today.
“I can go with you if you want,” she offered softly, reaching behind her to stroke his warm cheek.
“No,” he responded. “I like to go alone.” Giving her a quick kiss on her cheekbone, he added, “But thanks.”
He still never talked about his father. And she didn’t expect him to ever do so.
Before the shift in mood could distract them from their arousal, Lex edge a hand between her legs, parting her thighs enough for him to slide a finger inside her, spilling the moisture that had collected there.
She bent forward a little to give him better access as he held his cock in place at her entrance and then thrust himself home.
She gasped as he filled her. Then gasped again as he gathered her tightly in his arms, pulling her upper body back against his chest.
“It seems strange,” he murmured, his voice like raw silk in her ear, “To be so devastatingly grateful for a leaking condom.” He drew his pelvis back slightly, then pushed forward again, sliding his cock deliciousness with the motion. “But I am. Baby, I hope you know how much.”
Chloe was pumping her hips back against his thrusts, feeling sheltered and cherished and hot and exhilarated all at once. His arms were all the way around her, and she was clutching at his forearms, needing to touch him in any way she could. “Yeah,” she gasped. “I know. Me too. Me too. Me too.” Her babbling had fallen into the rhythmic cadence of his thrusting.
He made a rough, gravelly sound that sent exquisite vibrations running through her. He must be low on stamina tonight because he lowered one of his hands down to bunch up the fabric of her chemise enough for him to find her clit. Rubbing it in firm circles, he rasped, “If not for the . . . ineffective condom . . .”
He stopped to suck in a harsh breath, and Chloe started to whimper as his massage of her clit produced a spiraling pressure deep in her belly.
“Then no us. No girls. Nothing.” Lex was on the verge of wordlessness, his thrusting becoming less controlled and more primitive.
“I know,” Chloe panted, trapped between the lush sensations of his hand on her clit and his cock inside her.
She could barely stand to think about what her life would have been without that random encounter with Lex in the cemetery in Smallville seven years ago. Could barely think of anything at the moment, as her pleasure started coiling even tighter.
With another guttural sound, Lex leaned over and bit down on her shoulder, the sharp pain sending a jolt of hot sensation to the climax building inside her.
“I love you, Lex,” Chloe gasped shrilly, feeling something so powerful that she needed to say it, needed to shape it with words.
Lex grunted something that sounded like “love.” He was far gone now, his pelvis bumping jerkily against her ass.
She was almost there herself. Felt so much that was so hard to say. “I love you,” she huffed out, the muscles in her belly and thighs growing deeply tense. She was shaking now, the rich pressure on the edge of erupting. But she kept gasping, “Love you. Love you. Scotch you.”
She wasn’t sure how the last had slipped out, but it seemed natural, inevitable, and she didn’t have the mental power to reflect much on the silliness anyway. The world was starting to dissolve into waves of intense heat and pleasure.
Lex made a burst of raw sound-maybe amusement or feeling or pleasure or need or all of them at once. “Me too,” he grunted, his hips starting to convulse. “Me too.”
There was more to say. More to feel. More to express about this experience: this moment, this evening, these last three months, the last seven years of their lives.
But she couldn’t. Couldn’t do anything but whimper helplessly as Lex’s body and his love pushed her into climax.
He came after her with a hoarse exclamation, the spasms of their release mingling, lingering, and then fading into soft, wordless peace.
They didn’t say anything afterwards. Stayed tangled together-hot and damp and drowsily complete.
And Chloe knew-she knew-that the shape of their love, their daughters, their family, their lives, had somehow grown beyond the limits of expression.
But that it wasn’t nameless anymore.
THE END