Chlex Fanfic: Orchestrato, Chapter 10
Title: Orchestrato
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlex
Rating: R-ish; beginning to head into NC-17 territory ;-)
Warnings: Some chronology-shifting with the events of Episode 4.1 (Gone)
Timeline: Safehouse Summer of Love, End of Season 3/Beginning of 4
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Lex inexplicably bonds with Chloe whilst keeping her survival a secret from the world
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Awesome banner by ctbn60. Love ya, Carol! :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 10
“Now I know why they call them s’mores,” Lex muttered. “It’s impossible to stop eating them once you’ve started.”
Chloe giggled and placed another one close to his mouth. “I’m surprised you went without them for so long. Why didn’t you ever try them out before now?”
“I didn’t think I’d enjoy them,” he replied lamely. “Besides, it’s no fun doing things like this on your own.” He opened his mouth and accepted the morsel she offered.
She shrugged. “I guess. Lucky for you that I’m here, huh?”
She had no idea. “I have to admit, the room does brighten up when you walk into it,” he said with a smile.
She reached out to gently cup his jaw, and instinctively he turned towards her palm. Her fingers were warm and soft, and when her thumb brushed his bottom lip, his mouth automatically parted. A vision of himself catching her thumb between his teeth and stroking it with his tongue surfaced in his mind…
“Had a few crumbs there,” she said lightly.
Reality returned to him with the force of a dull thud. He cleared his throat, desperately trying to keep his body under control.
“Of course. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Can I get you something to drink?” She got to her feet and padded over to his liquor cabinet, where she paused and perused the labels on display.
“There’s a nice Aszú somewhere in there that’ll go great with this,” he suggested, absently playing a gentle tune.
She snorted. “I’m not even going to pretend to know what that is.”
“It’s a vintage dessert wine, third from the left.”
“Right. What did you call it again?”
“Tokaji Aszúeszencia Essencia.”
“That’s not what you said earlier, show-off,” she murmured. Her fingers skimmed lightly over the bottles, searching for the right one. “What year?”
“1940 vintage year, Crown Estates of Hungary-”
“Got it.” She pulled it off the shelf and held it up for him to see; he confirmed with a brief nod, and she returned to his side with the bottle, a corkscrew and two glasses.
“I’ve never had dessert wine before,” she admitted as he opened the bottle. “Thanks for letting me have some.”
“You think I’d sit here and guzzle it all by myself?” he said, and tut-tutted. “I’m not that selfish, Chloe. Besides, drinking alone is no fun, either.”
The cork popped, and he titled a moderate quantity of the rich amber liquid into both glasses, then handed one to her and raised his. “Cheers.”
“To victory,” she declared, and took a cautious sip from her glass. “Mmm…sweet. I like it.”
“You might want to pace yourself,” he warned as she took a more generous sip. “The last thing you need at your age is a hangover.”
“It was just a sip,” she retorted. “I’m not a baby, Lex; no need to treat me like one.”
“I’m not; but you’re under eighteen, so I need to be the responsible adult here,” he replied. A responsible adult who was allowing a minor he was lusting after to indulge in underage drinking, his conscience supplied. Nice one, Lex. What other vices are you going to introduce her to tonight?
“You’re not that much older than me,” she pointed out, as if reading his thoughts.
“Some would consider eight years a bit of an age gap,” he replied. “And the difference in our ages means I’d be criminally liable if anyone knew I was letting you drink.”
“I don’t see any cops here,” she said as she demurely traced the rim of the bottle with one finger. “And I won’t tell if you won’t. So…any chance of a top-up?”
He tried to give her a stern look, but she engaged him with a challenging stare until he smiled and shook his head. “Go on, then. Just half a glass.”
A triumphant smile lit up her face and she carefully poured herself a refill. Her bangs fell forward, delicately framing her face, and his fingers itched to sweep it off her brow.
He dragged his thoughts away from the direction they were veering in and forced his mind onto more mundane matters.
“Any chance of more s’mores?” he asked.
“Any chance of more music?” she countered with a smile.
“You got it.” He sat down at the keyboard again as she made her way over to the fire with her speared marshmallows. Before long, she was treating him to another shadowy silhouette of the delectable curve of her derriere.
He swallowed hard. God, but she had the most amazing ass he’d ever seen.
“I hope you’re watching,” she murmured silkily.
His eyes almost popped out of his head as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I-what?” he sputtered.
“So you can make these when I’m not here to do it for you,” she clarified.
S’mores. She was talking about s’mores.
“Right,” he finally replied, running a hand through his suddenly tight collar. “Yeah…I’ll probably be less inclined to indulge when I’m on my own. Plus, I think my hands are more attuned to piano keys than roasting sticks.”
He watched the sway of her hips as she returned. “If anyone can make good use of their hands, it’s you,” she purred.
He smiled. “Thanks.”
She held out a s’more. “Here you go.”
He opened his mouth so she could feed him the gooey treat, and noticed a glob of chocolaty marshmallow clinging to her finger. Instinctively Lex sucked her finger into his mouth and licked it away.
Chloe inhaled sharply and stilled, staring at him with wide eyes. He could see sensual awareness in them, and did his best to ignore it, turning his attention to the piano piece he was playing.
She picked up her wine glass and sat down beside him. He glanced down as her nightdress rode up slightly, exposing a generous length of thigh, and an ache immediately began brewing in his groin.
And then she sidled up closer to him so that her left thigh gently pressed against his, and slowly lowered her hand. He gulped and his fingers froze on the keys as her hand descended…
…and rested on top of his own hand.
“Have I ever told you that you have really nice hands?” she murmured, lifting it away from the piano and examining it with an appreciative eye.
Lex couldn’t form an answer. His mind was still reeling with fast-forwarded images of her small hand heading towards the thickening bulge in his lap that was mercifully obscured by the dim light in the room.
He held his breath and mentally counted to ten. God, he really needed to be more in control than this.
“Your fingers are amazing,” she continued, gently running her fingertips down the length of his digits. “Long, well-groomed artist’s fingers. Gentle, but with a touch of hidden strength.” She smiled. “It’s one of the things I like about you.”
His treacherous mind was in hyper-drive, substituting her innocent touch with images of her stroking him in a far more graphic manner. It made him wonder what else she liked about him.
“Thanks,” he finally managed in a low, gravelly voice. “I must remember to tip my manicurist very generously.”
“I respect a man who looks after his hands,” she said. “It’s an indication that he would look after the rest of his body just as keenly.”
His jaw dropped and his brows rose in surprise. Was she coming on to him, or was that just the wine talking?
A dull blush stained her cheeks, and she lowered her gaze to the floor.
“…and now you think I’m thinking about your body,” she said, mortified. “Which I’m not. Really, I’m not.”
He grinned. “No? I’m crushed.”
“I’m sure it’s really nice, though,” she gushed.
His smile widened. “I like to think so.”
She covered her face with her hands. “God, this is embarrassing…”
He chuckled and peeled her hands away. “Think nothing of it,” he reassured her. “For what it’s worth, I’m flattered you like my body. And my hands.”
“You should have been a surgeon, you know,” she said suddenly.
He stilled. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you have the confident, assured fingers of a neurosurgeon,” she replied wistfully. “I think you’d have made a great addition to the medical profession.”
A hazy memory surfaced from his youth. “It’s funny you should say that,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because a career in medicine is actually one of the many things I wanted to do with my life,” he replied. “My father discouraged it, of course.”
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Why? Not prestigious enough?”
“Too philanthropic,” he replied. “According to him, and I quote: ‘We Luthors are in the business of helping ourselves, son; not others’.” He paused for several seconds before returning his hands to the keyboard, playing a simple melody. “I also considered being an artist or a musician, but I didn’t even bother intimating him with that idea.”
She stared at him with empathy in her eyes, and then rested her hand gently on his shoulder. “Hey, it wasn’t a total waste,” she said, smiling. “You still learned to play the piano…and you play it beautifully with those beautiful, beautiful hands.”
“And we’re back to my hands again,” he said, amused. “So…what else do you like about me?”
***
Chapter 11…