(no subject)
Epilogue
Chloe woke up hot and uncomfortable.
She was barely on the verge of waking, and so she wasn’t conscious enough to work out any details of her situation. But she was burning up, sweating beneath the covers, and it felt like a heavy weight was draped over her side.
She moaned and tried to stretch out, hoping some of the heat would lessen with a change of position.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t stretch. The unknown weight had trapped her, and she was starting to realize that it was the source of most of the insufferable heat.
Trying to pry her eyes open, she squirmed beneath the weight. Finally figured out that it was Lex.
He’d been spooning her when they'd gone to sleep last night, and he must not have rolled over afterwards the way he normally did.
Instead, he’d sort of rolled on top of her. She was still lying on her side, but Lex was almost draped on top of her.
And Lex’s body was ridiculously hot.
Chloe’s back was damp where it was pressed up against Lex’s chest, and the skin of her legs was clinging to the skin of Lex's.
As she became more lucid, she realized something else. Part of her discomfort was caused by something other than the heat and weight. It was caused by something hard against her ass.
“Lex,” she mumbled, wriggling in an attempt to escape her imprisonment. “Lex, roll over.”
Lex grunted-obviously still asleep-and instinctively pushed his pelvis into her butt.
“Lex,” Chloe grumbled, very voice clearer and louder now, “Lex, your cock is poking me in the ass.”
“Sorry,” Lex muttered vaguely, his arm tightening around her belly uncomfortably, holding her trapped against his heat. “Nice ass.”
Chloe would have snickered had she not been so uncomfortable. It wasn’t often she was awake before Lex, and even less often that she was more lucid. “Lex,” she snapped sharply-mostly just to wake him up. She punctuated the word with a hard pump of her hips back against him.
“Huh,” he huffed in a muffled voice. His warm, pliant body tensed slightly behind her, and she knew he’d finally woken up.
“Would you mind taking your hard-on over to your side of the bed?” she asked grumpily. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“Oh.” Lex still sounded half-asleep, but he managed to roll away from her. “Should have told me.”
Feeling a delicious sense of freedom, Chloe pushed down the bedcovers, letting the cool air of the room waft over her hot skin. Her back was sore, so she tried to stretch it. But it didn’t help much. She still felt stiff and irritable and clunky.
“Y’right?” Lex mumbled, his voice no longer right at her ear.
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Just hot and stiff. What time is it?” There were two clocks in the room, but Chloe was far too lazy to turn her head enough to look at one of them.
“Six-thirty,” Lex replied. “You were supposed to sleep in today.”
“I am,” Chloe replied. “I’m not moving for another two hours at least.” Feeling cooler now, she pulled up the bedcovers. Realized something else. “Except I have to pee.”
“That’s unfortunate.” She could feel Lex shifting on the mattress beside her, even though she wasn’t looking in his direction. Then he added, “I, however, have misfortunes of my own.”
Chloe huffed. “It’s not my fault you always wake up hard.”
“Not always,” Lex corrected. He was obviously fully awake now, and his voice was cool and natural. “But I would have thought, since I’m not working today and we were intending to sleep in, that this is one morning when we could actually do something about my unfortunate condition.”
“I’m not sure I’m in the mood,” Chloe countered. She was a wearing a cotton chemise, and she pulled it down to cover her hips-which were a little rounder than they had been seven months ago. “I have conditions of my own. And I have to pee.”
“Believe it or not,” Lex drawled from his side of the bed. “There is a fairly simple solution to that dilemma.”
Chloe gave an anguished groan at the thought, but she managed to roll off the bed and heave herself into a standing position. Then she padded clumsily to the bathroom in her bare feet.
When she returned to bed a few minutes later, she crawled back under the covers and gave a contented sigh. Gloried in the feel of being awake in bed in the morning but not having any pressing reason to get up.
It was Saturday, but Lex often worked on Saturday mornings. And, because he wasn’t going to work today, it felt almost like a holiday.
“Now that your pressing need is taken care of,” Lex suggested, “We could consider doing something about mine.”
“I have to think about it,” Chloe replied, closing her eyes and wishing she could fall right back to sleep. “To see if I’m in the mood.”
“All right,” Lex murmured resignedly.
So Chloe thought about it. Thought about making love to Lex. About letting him tease her into arousal and then slid his cock inside her. About letting him fuck her until she was thrashing and screaming with pleasure.
Chloe thought about it so much and so vividly that, ten minutes later, she was really turned on.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly, hoping Lex hadn’t gone back to sleep. “I’m in the mood.”
Lex was still awake. As soon as she spoke, he rolled back over, fitting his naked body against her back. He tucked one of his arms under her shoulder until he was holding her in an embrace. Then he used his other arm to stroke her breasts, belly, and thighs-sliding his palm over the thin fabric of her chemise.
This time, the feel of his hard cock against her ass wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, every time she felt it rub against her, she inner muscles clenched instinctively, as if she were trying to pull him inside her.
She was flushed and heated again-this time with erotic urgency-when Lex slipped a hand between her legs. His lips were working on the side of her neck, mouthing at the delicate skin there. Then his fingers nudged her thighs apart and slipped between the folds of her intimate flesh.
Chloe gasped as she felt his finger slide into her wet, pulsing channel. She squirmed her hips against his pelvis, trying to get any friction she could.
Then Lex pushed her chemise up until it was bunched around her waist and bent her forward a little to give himself better access.
She felt his cock pushing against her entrance. She whimpered a little in anticipation. Then felt the hard substance of his erection start to penetrate her.
“Yeah,” she breathed, when he’d buried himself inside her. Straightening up so she could feel the whole length of his body against hers, she sighed, “Yeah, Lex. So good.”
“Hmm,” Lex agreed throatily, his free hand brushing over her lush curves until it stroked its way down to her throbbing clit. “Good.”
Chloe whimpered again when she felt two of his fingers rubbing little circles over her clit. The rich pressure of an orgasm began to develop at her center. “Just like that,” she whispered, starting to pump her hips back against him, seeking a rhythm.
Lex pulled his pelvis back and stroked into her, nudging her legs apart a little more. His breath was hot and rushed at her ear, mingling into the texture of Chloe's own gasps.
Chloe moaned in deep pleasure and waited for his next thrust. Lifted her upper thigh up some more, wanting to feel him as much as she could.
He thrust again, and Chloe bumped her ass back against him, unable to hold herself still.
Then he initiated a steady, leisurely pattern, working her over with his hand and thrusting into her from behind. Soon Chloe was writhing and gasping and fumbling for something to hold onto. Her orgasm was swelling up quickly, and she was babbling out silly combinations of the words, “Yes,” “Fuck,” and “Lex.”
Lex had been alternating between nuzzling her hair and mouthing her neck, but suddenly she felt his teeth close down on the skin at her jaw.
The slight pain was enough to push her over the edge, and she came, trapped in the pleasurable friction between his fingers on her clit and his cock inside her.
She froze as the waves of pleasure washed over her. Then she pumped against him clumsily, trying to draw out the spasming contractions.
As her channel tightened ruthlessly around him, Lex gave a hoarse grunt and started thrusting harder and faster.
His thrusts were almost excruciating: the friction so powerful against her sensitive flesh.
He kept massaging her swollen clit, and Chloe couldn’t stop making mewling noises-her entire body felt so incredibly good. She was panting desperately now, and she could hear that Lex was too.
Then he started grunting, and his motion became less controlled, more urgent, almost wild.
“Yeah, Lex,” Chloe urged breathlessly. “Yeah, yeah, good. Lex, come.”
Lex was losing the precise massage of her clit, but he kept pushing into it with his fingers, generating deep pleasure that all seemed to coalesce somewhere below her belly.
His grunting was rhythmic and erotic, and Chloe felt herself instinctively responding, with breathless, matching grunts of “Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh.”
Until she came again, the tension breaking inside of her as she convulsed frantically, grabbing behind her to claw at Lex’s bare hip.
Lex pelvis jerked a few last times. And he bit out, “Chloe,” then “Love.” Then he came too, his release pulsing through both his body and hers.
Lex was breathing in fast, thick pants against her neck when Chloe finally felt herself come down. Her body was washed with sated relaxation, and she stretched out again, feeling drowsy and warm and content.
One of Lex’s hands had settled on her belly, and Chloe’s covered it there. Then she turned her head so he could kiss her.
“Best morning I’ve had in a long time,” Lex murmured.
She smiled. “Me too. You should skip work more often.”
Lex’s only response was to kiss her again.
They lay together for a long time, until Lex’s softened cock eventually slipped out of her channel, and Chloe could feel the moisture from their coupling leaking out between her thighs.
She squirmed uncomfortably but refrained from complaining.
For some reason, Lex tended to get offended when she grumbled about the ickiness of his sperm.
Eventually, she said, “We should check on Gabrielle. She’s probably awake by now.”
“Hmm,” Lex murmured noncommittally.
“I’d hate to think the poor little pumpkin was standing pathetically at the gate, waiting to get out.”
“I’m sure we’d have heard about it if she was,” Lex replied blandly. His hand was idly caressing the tight skin of her belly.
They had switched Gabrielle’s crib out for a toddler bed a few weeks ago, as they were approaching her second birthday, and the transition had gone remarkably well. But they’d installed a baby gate at the door of her bedroom, so she wouldn’t be able to roam around the whole penthouse during the night.
“Please?” Chloe wheedled. “It’s almost seven-thirty. She usually gets up before seven.”
Lex grumbled under his breath, but he rolled over, pulled himself out of bed, grabbed a pair of trousers, put them on, then paced out of the room toward Gabrielle’s nursery.
Chloe decided she had to pee again, so she ran to the bathroom as quickly as she could. Peed and then cleaned herself up a little. Managed to get back in bed before Lex returned-so he wouldn’t know she'd gotten up anyway, despite her insistence on his being the one to check on their daughter.
Shortly, Lex returned to the bedroom. Left the door open, but got back into bed in his trousers. Scooted over to spoon Chloe again from behind. “She’s fine.”
“She was awake?”
“Yes,” he replied. “She’d gotten out of bed and was playing very happily by herself. She had all her stuffed rabbits lined up in rows on the floor. In fact, she looked rather peeved when I interrupted her fun.”
Chloe snickered. “I guess it’s a good sign that she knows how to amuse herself. How was her diaper?”
“Wet,” Lex replied, draping his arm around her again. “The first thing she did was announce that she had ‘gone peepee’ in her diaper. And then she glared at me as if it were my fault.”
They had started toilet-training recently, and Gabrielle was therefore intensely fascinated with her peeing and pooping schedule.
Chloe giggled. “Poor Lex. Gets blamed for everything.”
Lex leaned his head forward so he could mouth the sensitive spot just under her ear. “The injustice is appalling,” he murmured huskily, the vibrations sending shivers down her spine.
“What is she doing now?”
“Playing with her rabbits. I told her to come find us when she’s done.”
Chloe felt an unavoidable thread of worry. She shifted a little. “Maybe I should go . . .”
“She’s fine,” Lex insisted. “Her bedroom is child-proofed, or we wouldn’t leave her there alone at night. Right?”
“Right,” Chloe mumbled in agreement.
Lex stroked his hand over her belly. Mouthed her just under the ear again. “We should enjoy the peace and quiet.”
Chloe smiled and nestled back into his body. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I suppose. For a few minutes, at least. I’m sure she’ll get bored pretty soon anyway.”
“I thought you weren’t going to get out of bed until 8:30,” Lex drawled, his lips against her skin and his mouth taking on that husky tone that Chloe knew very well. “That plan sounded like a good idea to me.”
She chuckled and reached up to pat his cheek. “Sweetie, I think we’ve had all of that kind of fun that we’re going to have this morning. Gabrielle’s going to barge in at any moment.”
Lex exhaled resignedly. “I wasn’t suggesting anything. It’s not like I’m constantly trying to jump you, you know.”
Snickering, she wriggled her butt against his groin. “How disappointing. And here I thought I’ve been looking so irresistibly . . . voluptuous for the last few months.”
She could feel Lex smiling against her hair. “Voluptuous doesn’t even come close.”
Chloe shivered again.
“Mommy,” a little voice came from the hall.
Lex released another resigned sigh.
“Mommy,” Gabrielle called again. Then a little redheaded girl appeared in the doorway, with messy hair, bare feet, and wearing a lavender, cotton nightgown.
“Good morning, pumpkin,” Chloe told her daughter with a smile as Gabrielle padded over toward the bed. “Are you done playing with your bunnies?”
“Yes. G’mornin,” Gabrielle replied seriously. Her blue-gray eyes were wide and round. “Daddy is hugging Mommy?”
“Yes,” Lex affirmed calmly, his arm still draped over Chloe’s waist. “I was hugging your mommy.”
“Sist’ is sleeping?” Gabrielle pursued, staring at the curve of Chloe’s belly.
“Yes,” Chloe responded, her hand moving to the large swell of her stomach. “Your sister is sleeping. In two months, you’ll be able to see her sleeping.”
Gabrielle nodded intently. “Sist’ sleeps.”
“Are you ready for breakfast?” Lex asked.
Gabrielle’s little forehead wrinkled for a moment. Then she pronounced, “Gab goes peepee.”
“Did you already go peepee?” Chloe asked. “Or do you need to go peepee.”
“Gab needs go peepee,” she explained earnestly.
Nodding encouragingly, Chloe replied, “Okay. You better go sit on your potty then. Do you want any help?”
Gabrielle shook her head and stuck out her chin. “Gab peepees by herself.”
“Then you’d better hurry,” Lex suggested.
With another sober nod, Gabrielle turned around and scampered toward the bathroom in the hall.
Chuckling, Chloe stretched one more time and then pulled her cumbersome body out of bed with a last groan. “I better check on her,” she said. “And you can go start to make me some pancakes.”
Lex arched one eyebrow. “Pancakes, is it? And you’re expecting me to make them?”
How he managed to look smug and sophisticated, while lying sprawled half-naked on a rumpled bed, Chloe would never know. “Of course,” she informed him. “I’m in a delicate condition.” She rubbed her belly, which was large and awkward and anything but delicate. “And you make the best pancakes.”
He shook his head with a fond smile, and Chloe went to find Gabrielle in the bathroom.
The toddler was sitting on the tiny child’s toilet that Lex had insisted on having installed in the bathroom next to the normal-sized one. The miniature toilet made Chloe giggle every time she saw it, but it certainly was very convenient to not have to empty out a standard potty chair.
“Did you peepee?” Chloe asked, glancing in the mirror and almost whimpering at the sight she beheld-tangled hair, red face, and huge, ungainly body. She was surprised that Lex had been brave enough to want to make love to her earlier.
“Yes,” Gabrielle said, frowning and nodding her head.
Chloe’s brows drew together. “Then you need to get up and flush.”
Gabrielle shook her little head. “Gab goes poopoo too.”
This piece of news, of course, deserved great praise. So Chloe gushed appropriately and then waited until her daughter was done. After they’d flushed and dutifully washed their hands, Chloe kissed Gabrielle on the cheek and said, “Now you can go tell your daddy.”
Chloe never got tired of watching the polished, urbane billionaire respond to this sort of news.
Chloe followed her daughter into the kitchen, where they found Lex.
He wasn’t, however, making pancakes. He was lounging in a chair with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He had put on a white T-shirt, but he still wasn’t wearing shoes or socks.
Gabrielle ran over to him excitedly and hugged his leg. “Gab goes poopoo on the potty. Gab goes poopoo on the potty,” she declared, her rosy face crinkling with her grin.
Lex lowered his newspaper and looked down at her. “Well, that is a very impressive achievement. Good job.”
Gabrielle giggled up at him. “Up!” she demanded, raising her arms toward him.
With a half-smile, Lex pulled the little girl up into his lap, where she shifted around until her cheek was pressed up against his chest.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Chloe warned them, frowning in Lex’s direction as she poured herself some juice. “Your daddy still has to make us some pancakes.”
Gabrielle squealed with joy at this announcement, but immediately got distracted. She started pulling on Lex’s T-shirt. “Daddy shirt,” she pronounced, staring at the fabric in her hands.
“Excellent observation,” Lex replied, smoothing down a few of the kinks in his daughter’s red-gold hair. “That is indeed my shirt.”
Gabrielle was frowning as she kept yanking on the T-shirt. “Daddy shirt. Bye bye,” she insisted, as if she were frustrated by Lex’s denseness in failing to understand her meaning.
Lex glanced over at Chloe, giving her a look of silent questioning. Then he pulled Gabrielle’s little fingers off of his shirt. “I suppose it’s not the most attractive thing I own,” he murmured. “But I think I’m going to keep my shirt on.”
Chloe snickered. “I could be wrong, but I think she’s wondering where the rest of your shirt is. You’re usually wearing a suit and tie for breakfast.”
Lex looked enlightened. “I see,” he said, gazing down at Gabrielle. “I’m staying home with you and your mommy today.”
Gabrielle shook her head and let out a dramatic sigh. Leaned her cheek against his chest, her fingers fisting the fabric of his shirt again. “Daddy goes bye bye.”
Lex looked nonplussed. And Chloe laughed out loud. Met Lex’s eyes warmly. “That should tell you something. If your own daughter can’t believe you’re staying home.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if he were slightly annoyed by her teasing. But his frown didn’t last long. Gabrielle pulled herself up and pulled on his chin until he smiled.
“Daddy make cancakes?”
Lex pulled his daughter into a brief hug. “Cancakes are far beyond my skill,” he replied, setting Gabrielle on the floor and standing up. “But I guess I can muddle through the making of pancakes.”
This announcement was met by a loud squeal of joy, this time coming from Gabrielle and Chloe both.
Lex started the pancakes, muttering about females ganging up on him. And how it was only going to get worse when the third one arrived.
* * *
Chloe slowly lowered herself down onto the sofa in the family room, sighing loudly and relaxing against the cushions. She’d forgotten what it was like to be this pregnant-how awkward doing the simplest maneuvers became.
“It’s not your fault,” she murmured softly, looking down at the swell of her belly. “It’s just that hauling you around everywhere really wears me out. But I'm really glad that you're here.”
With another long exhale, she stretched out on the couch. Two more months and she’d have another baby. It was thrilling and terrifying both. And sometimes she couldn’t believe it was really happening.
This pregnancy had been a little easier. She’d been sick a lot during the first trimester, but she’d been able to handle it better. And there was something reassuring about going through a pregnancy again, this time having Lex with her completely. There was actually a lot about being pregnant that she liked.
But she decided that two kids would probably be enough.
For her, anyway. She still wasn’t sure whether Lex had secretly wanted a boy. If he had, then he might want to try again in a couple of years.
Chloe wasn't yet sure what she thought about that idea.
She had just put Gabrielle down for her nap, and Lex had gone into his home office to “make some calls.” Which of course meant that he was cheating: working on a day that he’d claimed he was taking off.
Chloe hadn’t complained too much. The three of them had had a good morning together and then had had a picnic lunch in the rooftop garden. If Lex felt obliged to work a couple of hours while Gabrielle was napping, Chloe wasn’t going to make a big deal about it. He was at least trying, which meant a lot for someone as obsessed with work as Lex was.
Besides, Chloe could use a little nap herself. Being pregnant was exhausting.
She needed to work on her manuscript a bit more before she submitted the final copy to her editor. But she didn’t have the energy at the moment, and the thought of facing all of those pages of writing made her more exhausted than ever.
Chloe had quit her job at the newspaper around the time she’d gotten pregnant again. The day after her last day at work, she had sat down at her computer and started to write.
She hadn’t been sure about what she was going to write, but she needed to do something. And there just weren’t any jobs that appealed to her-except being a legitimate reporter, which was now out of the question.
So she’d started writing the first thing she thought of, and four months later she’d completed a book. It was half-satiric-novel and half-exposé of contemporary journalism, and she’d used her experiences on both sides of the press-both reporting and being a target of the paparazzi-to inform the humor of the narrative and reflect on the truth underlying it.
After working with Lex’s lawyers to make sure what she’d written was safe from possible litigation, in case anyone happened to recognize themselves beneath the ironic portraits of her characters, Chloe shopped around for a publisher.
It hadn’t been hard. She knew she was fortunate. Her fame in association with Lex made finding a publisher easy. People were fascinated with Lex Luthor. And they would want to buy the book his longtime girlfriend had written purely out of curiosity.
But Chloe hoped they would actually like the book too.
She’d gotten good feedback from those in the publishing industry who had read it, praising her for the intelligence of her observations on the culture of journalism and the wit of her “snarky” voice.
Her unsympathetic main character was inspired by one Mary Carlyle, and Chloe planned to send the woman an autographed copy of the book as soon as it came into print.
It was a long time coming, but Chloe could finally look forward to getting her revenge on the woman who’d exposed her and her daughter to public scrutiny-and then tried to do even more than that, by lying to Chloe about those pictures of Lex and the supermodel.
The gesture wasn’t dramatic or particularly confrontational, and it certainly wouldn’t ruin Mary Carlyle’s life, but the subtlety of it made it all the more satisfying to Chloe.
She'd channeled a lot of her resentment into writing her main character.
But Chloe had tried to do more with her words than simply mock the paparazzi; she’d also needed to express something real, something serious. Completely the final chapters of her book had turned into a kind of mourning-for her dreams, her ambition, her need to uncover the truth and the near impossibility of ever doing so.
Chloe was proud of her book. And was glad it was going to be published. She even had a few ideas for other books she might write next, assuming this could turn into a possible career.
But it wasn’t the same. She wasn’t a journalist. Wasn’t doing what she’d always dreamed of doing, what she still wanted so much to do.
And she hadn’t yet fully recovered from that loss.
She felt a little clench in her chest every time she saw a newspaper. Knew she’d never be part of that world again-at least, not unless her life rearranged itself.
Which wasn’t likely to happen.
Chloe was happy: with Lex, with Gabrielle, with their other daughter she was carrying, with her life. Chloe was more than happy.
But even marrying a handsome billionaire couldn’t transform the real world into a place where every dream could come true.
As it happened, none of Chloe’s dreams had come true. She’d just ended up with a life she’d never dreamed of.
Chloe idly stroked her large belly and adjusted herself on the couch. Wondered if Lex was still working, but was too lazy to get up to check.
She loved being a mother, and she loved being at home more with Gabrielle, ever since she’d quit her job. But sometimes she felt like a big, lazy slob who never left the house.
Most of the time, it was easier not to go out much with Gabrielle. Because, when they did, they would sometimes have pictures of them printed in the gossip pages or the tabloids. Just last month, someone from the Inquisitor had caught Chloe at a local diner in a very unflattering shirt, stuffing her face with a hamburger. The caption had questioned the amount of weight she’d put on during her pregnancy.
Lex had been furious and had raged about it for days. But Chloe had shrugged it off. Tried not to care. But had been privately humiliated and had stayed home a lot in the weeks that followed.
It was simply part of the life that was somehow now hers. At least Gabrielle seemed to be untouched by publicity thus far, being too young to be aware of it. There was no use in Chloe's complaining about it. She and Lex just worked around it as much as possible.
She wasn’t a celebrity, but she had to live her life at least in part in the public eye.
And she wasn’t a reporter anymore.
She never expressed any regret over the loss of her career. She knew Lex already felt guilty enough about it, and she wouldn’t make him feel any worse. Yes, it was because of Lex-because of who and what he was-that she’d had to make this sacrifice.
But so many of the good things she had in her life now were also because of Lex.
Lounging on the couch, tired and pregnant, Chloe knew she was happy. Three years ago, she would never have dreamed that this kind of life would ever have satisfied her.
Sometimes she could barely wrap her mind around it.
As she was mulling over the irony, she dozed off for about a half-hour. Woke up feeling better, except that she now needed to pee.
Which meant she had to heave herself up.
After she went to the bathroom, she went to find Lex, deciding he’d worked for long enough this afternoon. When she peeked into his office, she saw he was on the phone. He was rubbing his forehead, his eyes closed, and was talking very intently.
Chloe knew he was involved in certain projects that he’d never tell her about-situations that were either dangerous, top secret, or morally dubious-and sometimes she stayed awake all night worrying about him. But he usually dealt with that kind of business at his work office, and-if he ever started a conversation at home that he didn’t want her to hear-he would always close and lock the office door.
So Chloe knew that, even though he looked stressed at the moment, this conversation wasn’t private. So she walked into his office and flopped down on the leather loveseat against the wall.
Hoped her presence would be a reminder that he wasn’t supposed to be working today.
Lex glanced up and gave her a distracted smile, then focused on his phone call again. Chloe didn’t pay much attention, since the conversation was made up of numbers and locations that meant absolutely nothing to her.
When Lex finally hung up the phone ten minutes later, he leaned back in his desk chair and closed his eyes. “You all right?” he murmured.
Chloe snorted. He’d once again started up that refrain-that particular repeated question-after she became pregnant the second time, and he couldn’t seem to give it up, no matter how much she chided him about it.
“No,” she quipped. “I had a stroke in the other room and decided to stroll in here to tell you about it.”
Lex curled up the side of his mouth. “Nice.” He rubbed a hand over his scalp, and Chloe noticed lines of worry around his eyes.
Feeling a swell of tenderness, Chloe resisted the urge to go cradle him. Instead, she shook her head. “You’re not supposed to be stressed out today.”
“I’m not stressed,” Lex lied, forcing his face to relax.
“Yes, you are,” Chloe countered coolly. “Don’t try to lie to me. You’re supposed to be taking the day off.”
“You and Gabrielle were napping.” He stood up and stretched out his back. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Well,” Chloe murmured, slanting him a look that might have been alluring if she hadn’t felt like a sloppy, blonde hippopotamus. “You could have napped with me.”
Lex gave her a predatory smile, a familiar hot look smoldering in his eyes, evidently not noticing or not caring about her less than alluring appearance. “I thought you were genuinely going to nap. Had I known you had something else in mind . . .” He moved over toward the loveseat.
Chloe snickered. “I didn’t. I actually wanted to nap. But you could have napped with me.”
He lowered himself next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. “I don’t nap.”
“Well, you should,” she huffed. “A couple of naps a week would be good for you. Even brilliant masterminds need a little relaxation. You’re far too driven and obsessive.” Despite her sharp tone, she nestled against him, snuggling into his warm, hard body.
Lex chuckled and tightened his arm around her. “Not me. I’m just a simple family man, hopelessly bullied by the women in his life.”
This time, Chloe chuckled. “Yeah, right.” She stroked his chest, feeling the hard planes and ridges beneath his shirt. “Baby, nothing about you is simple.”
Lex kissed her hair and didn’t respond.
She wasn’t surprised. Despite everything, Lex still didn’t have an easy time making himself vulnerable and wasn’t quick to open up, even with her.
She squeezed his side and whispered, “I used to think you were cold and heartless, and everyone else in the world still does.” Looking up at him with soft eyes, she added, “We’re the only ones who get to know you for real. Me and Gabrielle. And her sister, who I suppose will eventually have a name.”
Lex kept one arm around her and reached the other arm over until his palm was curved over the crest of her belly. Drawled, “Just don’t let the news get around that I actually have a heart.” He paused for a beat. “Bad for business.”
Chloe burrowed against him-as much as she could with her enormous, awkward belly. “Your settling down with me and Gabrielle must have been a great shock to everyone who didn't believe you could ever fall in love. Poor Mary Carlyle has lost half of her stories now that you don’t date a different woman every week.”
“I didn’t really date them,” Lex murmured. “I just occasionally fuc-“
“Hey,” Chloe objected, putting a protective hand on her stomach. “Language.”
Lex frowned. “I seem to recall your using the same language repeatedly only this morning.”
Chloe’s brows drew together, experiencing an intuitive resistance to this injustice. “I certainly did not. I’ve gotten really good at watching my mouth.”
“You don’t remember?” Lex asked huskily. “I think I’m insulted. Let me refresh your memory.”
His hand slipped down over the curve of her belly and then cupped her groin over the thin fabric of her pants.
Chloe shivered and remembered when her language restraint had slipped a little this morning. She actually blushed. “Oh,” she mumbled. “Well, that doesn’t count. You can’t expect a woman to totally control her tongue when she’s in the throes of passion. Sometimes unexpected words accidentally slip out.”
Lex chuckled again, his warm breath blowing against her hair. “Is that right?”
Shifting beside him, Chloe felt a few initial tingles of arousal. “And I seem to recall your using the same language in bed on more than one occasion yourself.”
“I suppose it’s possible. We have been having a lot of sex lately,” Lex admitted, his hand stroking over the swell of her breasts.
Chloe tilted her face up to kiss him. “That’s just the pregnancy hormones. It has nothing to do with you.”
Lex's lips twitched. “Of course not.”
They kissed for a few minutes, and Chloe was really starting to get into it. Lex’s tongue was busy in her mouth, and she was caressing the tight skin of his scalp.
When a little voice came from a few feet away, “Daddy is kissing Mommy?”
Lex tensed up in surprise, and Chloe released her breath in a loud gust. Then she slumped against Lex’s body, giggling softly into his neck.
“Yes,” Lex replied gently, turning his head to look down at Gabrielle. “I was kissing your mommy. And she was kissing me.”
Chloe straightened up a little, although Lex’s arm remained draped around her. She turned toward her daughter, who was standing in front of the loveseat with tangled red hair, bare feet, a wrinkled shirt, and green pants with one leg hiked up to her knee. She was holding her favorite stuffed bunny-the first one Lex had bought for her in Geneva.
“Did you finish your nap?” Chloe asked, thinking her daughter still looked half-asleep.
“Yes,” Gabrielle replied, nodding seriously. She stepped over and raised her arms up toward Lex. “Up.”
With a fond smile, Lex pulled her up onto his lap, so that both she and Chloe were nestled against him. Gabrielle tilted her face up and puckered up her tiny lips. “Kiss!” she demanded.
Lex dutifully leaned over and gave her a little kiss. Then stroked her fine, messy hair.
Gabrielle grinned up at her father and patted his cheek, until she got distracted by something else. “Mommy, kiss,” she insisted, peering up at Chloe.
Chloe pulled up the warm little body and gave her daughter a kiss too. “Mommy loves you, pumpkin. Lots and lots.”
Gabrielle sighed contentedly and snuggled against Chloe’s large belly. “Lots,” she breathed. After a moment, she turned back to Lex with a wide-eyed, questioning look.
“I love you too,” Lex assured her with a half-smile.
Gabrielle relaxed again, still sitting on Lex’s lap but leaning against Chloe. “Lots and lots,” she mumbled vaguely, closing her eyes with a sigh.
In just a minute, she’d fallen back to sleep.
With an affectionate smile, Chloe glanced over at Lex’s face. He was gazing down at Gabrielle, and Chloe caught a fleeting look in his eyes that was so deep, so tender, that it almost took her breath away.
Shifting carefully, so she could get herself into a comfortable position without disturbing Gabrielle, Chloe leaned against Lex and asked softly, “Are you disappointed that we’re not having a boy this time?”
Lex darted a surprised look over at her. “Of course not. Why would I be?”
Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. But a lot of men really want to have a son.”
Lex shook his head and arched one eyebrow. “Believe it or not, I’ve never had visions of going out in the backyard to play ball with a son.”
She chuckled. Idly stroked Gabrielle’s back. “I suppose not. But maybe . . .” She swallowed. Decided she might as well get it said now. “But maybe you’ve had visions of raising a son to take your place at LuthorCorp.”
Lex stared at her quietly for a moment-an odd look flickering beneath the steady gaze. Until finally, he murmured, “I haven’t.”
She believed him. Realized suddenly that Lex was secretly scared of having a son, of somehow unintentionally becoming the kind of father that his own father had been to him.
She knew he wouldn’t be. Wished she could convince him of that. But some fears were too deeply rooted to be dissuaded by anything except experience.
“I’m happy with my girls,” Lex added, glancing back down at Gabrielle and brushing a strand of red-gold hair off of her rosy face.
“Good,” Chloe replied simply, the slight tension easing in her chest. “Me too. Very happy.”
“Are you?” Lex asked unexpectedly, slanting a quick, observant look over at her face.
Chloe just blinked at him, stunned he could even ask such a thing.
“I mean, with everything,” Lex clarified, his voice sounding a little diffident. “Your . . . job situation . . . and everything.”
And then Chloe understood what he was asking. Was pleased she could relieve his anxiety. “Yes,” she assured him, meeting his blue-gray eyes. “I am. I still miss it. And this isn’t what I’d expected from my life. But we can be incredibly happy without having everything.”
Lex smiled faintly. Nodded. Didn’t say anything.
But Chloe knew that she’d answered one of his lingering worries. Was so glad she was able to do so.
She turned her head and pressed a kiss onto his chest, which was the only part of him she could really reach. “And you? Are you happy?”
Lex gave her an impatient look, as if he couldn’t believe she’d asked such a ridiculous question. But then he admitted, “Happier than I deserve.” Before she could object to this characteristic piece of insecurity, he’d continued, “But I’d be happier if you would marry me.”
Chloe jerked in surprise. Then stroked Gabrielle’s hair to ease her daughter back to sleep. Looked up and gaped at Lex. “You act like you’ve asked me before. This is the first I’m hearing about this.”
Lex shrugged. “I know that, from the very beginning, you claimed you never wanted to marry me, and you’ve never brought up the possibility since, so I just assumed . . .”
Chloe snorted. “Idiot. A lot has changed since I said that. And if you weren’t such a close-mouthed, secretive assho-, poopoo-head, then you would have managed to give me a few hints that you were even thinking about marriage.”
She glared up at him, wondering if he’d ever get to the point when he’d be able to easily tell her what he was thinking.
Lex looked slightly sheepish, although he’d chuckled at her choice of derogative. But, after a minute of her glaring at him, he raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do you have an answer for me?”
Chloe felt a flood of deep joy rising up in her chest. But she huffed, “Well, you haven’t really bothered to ask me yet.”
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Lex gritted out, “Will you marry me?”
Chloe scowled and stuck out her chin, to prove that she wasn’t happy about his assumptions. “Yes.”
They glared at each other for a moment until they both broke into soft, affectionate laughter. Lex adjusted Gabrielle in his lap, so that the sleeping child wasn’t pressing into Chloe’s belly.
Then Chloe grabbed Lex’s left hand. Played with his slim, strong fingers. Imagined a wedding band on his ring finger and felt a powerful surge of ownership at the visual.
Lex Luthor would be her husband. She actually shivered from the possessive thrill of it.
Snuggling against him, she knew that he was just as excited and pleased about the marriage as she was, although he hadn’t said anything and his face was passive, only his eyes reflecting his joy.
“We’ll have to elope,” she murmured. “I don’t want to mess with all the publicity.”
Lex nodded and tightened his arm around her. “Sounds good to me.”
“The only people I’d like to be there are Lois, and my Dad . . . and Stella, I guess, since the two of them are inseparable now.” A few months ago, Gabe and Stella had started dating, and Chloe had rarely seen her father as happy. “Anyone else that you want to be there?” she added.
“Just Gabrielle,” Lex said mildly.
Chloe snorted and gave her daughter a gentle squeeze. “Well, of course, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle squirmed. “Es,” she mumbled, her little eyelids lifting up just barely.
Chuckling, Chloe forced herself not to squeeze her daughter again. “Shh,” she whispered, “You can go back to sleep.”
Gabrielle mumbled a few more incoherent words and then relaxed again, having shifted over more into Lex’s arms now.
“So when should we get married?” Lex asked, attempting to hide his own excitement by acting business-like and practical.
“Next weekend?” Chloe suggested, feeling the overpowering need for an outlet for her love and exhilaration, and wondering if Gabrielle would keep sleeping long enough for Chloe and Lex to spend a little time alone in their bedroom.
Lex smiled. The rare, warm, full smile that always made her belly clench.
That smile was Chloe's answer.
She knew that she and Lex were going to get married next weekend. The next step in a future that wasn’t perfect, a future that was completely unexpected, but was actually the future both of them wanted.
The final, fitting irony of Chloe's life.
And, snuggled on the loveseat with her family, Chloe realized something else.
Even if the dreams she’d had in Smallville had miraculously come true, they couldn’t have made her happier than this.
Chloe woke up hot and uncomfortable.
She was barely on the verge of waking, and so she wasn’t conscious enough to work out any details of her situation. But she was burning up, sweating beneath the covers, and it felt like a heavy weight was draped over her side.
She moaned and tried to stretch out, hoping some of the heat would lessen with a change of position.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t stretch. The unknown weight had trapped her, and she was starting to realize that it was the source of most of the insufferable heat.
Trying to pry her eyes open, she squirmed beneath the weight. Finally figured out that it was Lex.
He’d been spooning her when they'd gone to sleep last night, and he must not have rolled over afterwards the way he normally did.
Instead, he’d sort of rolled on top of her. She was still lying on her side, but Lex was almost draped on top of her.
And Lex’s body was ridiculously hot.
Chloe’s back was damp where it was pressed up against Lex’s chest, and the skin of her legs was clinging to the skin of Lex's.
As she became more lucid, she realized something else. Part of her discomfort was caused by something other than the heat and weight. It was caused by something hard against her ass.
“Lex,” she mumbled, wriggling in an attempt to escape her imprisonment. “Lex, roll over.”
Lex grunted-obviously still asleep-and instinctively pushed his pelvis into her butt.
“Lex,” Chloe grumbled, very voice clearer and louder now, “Lex, your cock is poking me in the ass.”
“Sorry,” Lex muttered vaguely, his arm tightening around her belly uncomfortably, holding her trapped against his heat. “Nice ass.”
Chloe would have snickered had she not been so uncomfortable. It wasn’t often she was awake before Lex, and even less often that she was more lucid. “Lex,” she snapped sharply-mostly just to wake him up. She punctuated the word with a hard pump of her hips back against him.
“Huh,” he huffed in a muffled voice. His warm, pliant body tensed slightly behind her, and she knew he’d finally woken up.
“Would you mind taking your hard-on over to your side of the bed?” she asked grumpily. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“Oh.” Lex still sounded half-asleep, but he managed to roll away from her. “Should have told me.”
Feeling a delicious sense of freedom, Chloe pushed down the bedcovers, letting the cool air of the room waft over her hot skin. Her back was sore, so she tried to stretch it. But it didn’t help much. She still felt stiff and irritable and clunky.
“Y’right?” Lex mumbled, his voice no longer right at her ear.
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Just hot and stiff. What time is it?” There were two clocks in the room, but Chloe was far too lazy to turn her head enough to look at one of them.
“Six-thirty,” Lex replied. “You were supposed to sleep in today.”
“I am,” Chloe replied. “I’m not moving for another two hours at least.” Feeling cooler now, she pulled up the bedcovers. Realized something else. “Except I have to pee.”
“That’s unfortunate.” She could feel Lex shifting on the mattress beside her, even though she wasn’t looking in his direction. Then he added, “I, however, have misfortunes of my own.”
Chloe huffed. “It’s not my fault you always wake up hard.”
“Not always,” Lex corrected. He was obviously fully awake now, and his voice was cool and natural. “But I would have thought, since I’m not working today and we were intending to sleep in, that this is one morning when we could actually do something about my unfortunate condition.”
“I’m not sure I’m in the mood,” Chloe countered. She was a wearing a cotton chemise, and she pulled it down to cover her hips-which were a little rounder than they had been seven months ago. “I have conditions of my own. And I have to pee.”
“Believe it or not,” Lex drawled from his side of the bed. “There is a fairly simple solution to that dilemma.”
Chloe gave an anguished groan at the thought, but she managed to roll off the bed and heave herself into a standing position. Then she padded clumsily to the bathroom in her bare feet.
When she returned to bed a few minutes later, she crawled back under the covers and gave a contented sigh. Gloried in the feel of being awake in bed in the morning but not having any pressing reason to get up.
It was Saturday, but Lex often worked on Saturday mornings. And, because he wasn’t going to work today, it felt almost like a holiday.
“Now that your pressing need is taken care of,” Lex suggested, “We could consider doing something about mine.”
“I have to think about it,” Chloe replied, closing her eyes and wishing she could fall right back to sleep. “To see if I’m in the mood.”
“All right,” Lex murmured resignedly.
So Chloe thought about it. Thought about making love to Lex. About letting him tease her into arousal and then slid his cock inside her. About letting him fuck her until she was thrashing and screaming with pleasure.
Chloe thought about it so much and so vividly that, ten minutes later, she was really turned on.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly, hoping Lex hadn’t gone back to sleep. “I’m in the mood.”
Lex was still awake. As soon as she spoke, he rolled back over, fitting his naked body against her back. He tucked one of his arms under her shoulder until he was holding her in an embrace. Then he used his other arm to stroke her breasts, belly, and thighs-sliding his palm over the thin fabric of her chemise.
This time, the feel of his hard cock against her ass wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, every time she felt it rub against her, she inner muscles clenched instinctively, as if she were trying to pull him inside her.
She was flushed and heated again-this time with erotic urgency-when Lex slipped a hand between her legs. His lips were working on the side of her neck, mouthing at the delicate skin there. Then his fingers nudged her thighs apart and slipped between the folds of her intimate flesh.
Chloe gasped as she felt his finger slide into her wet, pulsing channel. She squirmed her hips against his pelvis, trying to get any friction she could.
Then Lex pushed her chemise up until it was bunched around her waist and bent her forward a little to give himself better access.
She felt his cock pushing against her entrance. She whimpered a little in anticipation. Then felt the hard substance of his erection start to penetrate her.
“Yeah,” she breathed, when he’d buried himself inside her. Straightening up so she could feel the whole length of his body against hers, she sighed, “Yeah, Lex. So good.”
“Hmm,” Lex agreed throatily, his free hand brushing over her lush curves until it stroked its way down to her throbbing clit. “Good.”
Chloe whimpered again when she felt two of his fingers rubbing little circles over her clit. The rich pressure of an orgasm began to develop at her center. “Just like that,” she whispered, starting to pump her hips back against him, seeking a rhythm.
Lex pulled his pelvis back and stroked into her, nudging her legs apart a little more. His breath was hot and rushed at her ear, mingling into the texture of Chloe's own gasps.
Chloe moaned in deep pleasure and waited for his next thrust. Lifted her upper thigh up some more, wanting to feel him as much as she could.
He thrust again, and Chloe bumped her ass back against him, unable to hold herself still.
Then he initiated a steady, leisurely pattern, working her over with his hand and thrusting into her from behind. Soon Chloe was writhing and gasping and fumbling for something to hold onto. Her orgasm was swelling up quickly, and she was babbling out silly combinations of the words, “Yes,” “Fuck,” and “Lex.”
Lex had been alternating between nuzzling her hair and mouthing her neck, but suddenly she felt his teeth close down on the skin at her jaw.
The slight pain was enough to push her over the edge, and she came, trapped in the pleasurable friction between his fingers on her clit and his cock inside her.
She froze as the waves of pleasure washed over her. Then she pumped against him clumsily, trying to draw out the spasming contractions.
As her channel tightened ruthlessly around him, Lex gave a hoarse grunt and started thrusting harder and faster.
His thrusts were almost excruciating: the friction so powerful against her sensitive flesh.
He kept massaging her swollen clit, and Chloe couldn’t stop making mewling noises-her entire body felt so incredibly good. She was panting desperately now, and she could hear that Lex was too.
Then he started grunting, and his motion became less controlled, more urgent, almost wild.
“Yeah, Lex,” Chloe urged breathlessly. “Yeah, yeah, good. Lex, come.”
Lex was losing the precise massage of her clit, but he kept pushing into it with his fingers, generating deep pleasure that all seemed to coalesce somewhere below her belly.
His grunting was rhythmic and erotic, and Chloe felt herself instinctively responding, with breathless, matching grunts of “Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh.”
Until she came again, the tension breaking inside of her as she convulsed frantically, grabbing behind her to claw at Lex’s bare hip.
Lex pelvis jerked a few last times. And he bit out, “Chloe,” then “Love.” Then he came too, his release pulsing through both his body and hers.
Lex was breathing in fast, thick pants against her neck when Chloe finally felt herself come down. Her body was washed with sated relaxation, and she stretched out again, feeling drowsy and warm and content.
One of Lex’s hands had settled on her belly, and Chloe’s covered it there. Then she turned her head so he could kiss her.
“Best morning I’ve had in a long time,” Lex murmured.
She smiled. “Me too. You should skip work more often.”
Lex’s only response was to kiss her again.
They lay together for a long time, until Lex’s softened cock eventually slipped out of her channel, and Chloe could feel the moisture from their coupling leaking out between her thighs.
She squirmed uncomfortably but refrained from complaining.
For some reason, Lex tended to get offended when she grumbled about the ickiness of his sperm.
Eventually, she said, “We should check on Gabrielle. She’s probably awake by now.”
“Hmm,” Lex murmured noncommittally.
“I’d hate to think the poor little pumpkin was standing pathetically at the gate, waiting to get out.”
“I’m sure we’d have heard about it if she was,” Lex replied blandly. His hand was idly caressing the tight skin of her belly.
They had switched Gabrielle’s crib out for a toddler bed a few weeks ago, as they were approaching her second birthday, and the transition had gone remarkably well. But they’d installed a baby gate at the door of her bedroom, so she wouldn’t be able to roam around the whole penthouse during the night.
“Please?” Chloe wheedled. “It’s almost seven-thirty. She usually gets up before seven.”
Lex grumbled under his breath, but he rolled over, pulled himself out of bed, grabbed a pair of trousers, put them on, then paced out of the room toward Gabrielle’s nursery.
Chloe decided she had to pee again, so she ran to the bathroom as quickly as she could. Peed and then cleaned herself up a little. Managed to get back in bed before Lex returned-so he wouldn’t know she'd gotten up anyway, despite her insistence on his being the one to check on their daughter.
Shortly, Lex returned to the bedroom. Left the door open, but got back into bed in his trousers. Scooted over to spoon Chloe again from behind. “She’s fine.”
“She was awake?”
“Yes,” he replied. “She’d gotten out of bed and was playing very happily by herself. She had all her stuffed rabbits lined up in rows on the floor. In fact, she looked rather peeved when I interrupted her fun.”
Chloe snickered. “I guess it’s a good sign that she knows how to amuse herself. How was her diaper?”
“Wet,” Lex replied, draping his arm around her again. “The first thing she did was announce that she had ‘gone peepee’ in her diaper. And then she glared at me as if it were my fault.”
They had started toilet-training recently, and Gabrielle was therefore intensely fascinated with her peeing and pooping schedule.
Chloe giggled. “Poor Lex. Gets blamed for everything.”
Lex leaned his head forward so he could mouth the sensitive spot just under her ear. “The injustice is appalling,” he murmured huskily, the vibrations sending shivers down her spine.
“What is she doing now?”
“Playing with her rabbits. I told her to come find us when she’s done.”
Chloe felt an unavoidable thread of worry. She shifted a little. “Maybe I should go . . .”
“She’s fine,” Lex insisted. “Her bedroom is child-proofed, or we wouldn’t leave her there alone at night. Right?”
“Right,” Chloe mumbled in agreement.
Lex stroked his hand over her belly. Mouthed her just under the ear again. “We should enjoy the peace and quiet.”
Chloe smiled and nestled back into his body. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I suppose. For a few minutes, at least. I’m sure she’ll get bored pretty soon anyway.”
“I thought you weren’t going to get out of bed until 8:30,” Lex drawled, his lips against her skin and his mouth taking on that husky tone that Chloe knew very well. “That plan sounded like a good idea to me.”
She chuckled and reached up to pat his cheek. “Sweetie, I think we’ve had all of that kind of fun that we’re going to have this morning. Gabrielle’s going to barge in at any moment.”
Lex exhaled resignedly. “I wasn’t suggesting anything. It’s not like I’m constantly trying to jump you, you know.”
Snickering, she wriggled her butt against his groin. “How disappointing. And here I thought I’ve been looking so irresistibly . . . voluptuous for the last few months.”
She could feel Lex smiling against her hair. “Voluptuous doesn’t even come close.”
Chloe shivered again.
“Mommy,” a little voice came from the hall.
Lex released another resigned sigh.
“Mommy,” Gabrielle called again. Then a little redheaded girl appeared in the doorway, with messy hair, bare feet, and wearing a lavender, cotton nightgown.
“Good morning, pumpkin,” Chloe told her daughter with a smile as Gabrielle padded over toward the bed. “Are you done playing with your bunnies?”
“Yes. G’mornin,” Gabrielle replied seriously. Her blue-gray eyes were wide and round. “Daddy is hugging Mommy?”
“Yes,” Lex affirmed calmly, his arm still draped over Chloe’s waist. “I was hugging your mommy.”
“Sist’ is sleeping?” Gabrielle pursued, staring at the curve of Chloe’s belly.
“Yes,” Chloe responded, her hand moving to the large swell of her stomach. “Your sister is sleeping. In two months, you’ll be able to see her sleeping.”
Gabrielle nodded intently. “Sist’ sleeps.”
“Are you ready for breakfast?” Lex asked.
Gabrielle’s little forehead wrinkled for a moment. Then she pronounced, “Gab goes peepee.”
“Did you already go peepee?” Chloe asked. “Or do you need to go peepee.”
“Gab needs go peepee,” she explained earnestly.
Nodding encouragingly, Chloe replied, “Okay. You better go sit on your potty then. Do you want any help?”
Gabrielle shook her head and stuck out her chin. “Gab peepees by herself.”
“Then you’d better hurry,” Lex suggested.
With another sober nod, Gabrielle turned around and scampered toward the bathroom in the hall.
Chuckling, Chloe stretched one more time and then pulled her cumbersome body out of bed with a last groan. “I better check on her,” she said. “And you can go start to make me some pancakes.”
Lex arched one eyebrow. “Pancakes, is it? And you’re expecting me to make them?”
How he managed to look smug and sophisticated, while lying sprawled half-naked on a rumpled bed, Chloe would never know. “Of course,” she informed him. “I’m in a delicate condition.” She rubbed her belly, which was large and awkward and anything but delicate. “And you make the best pancakes.”
He shook his head with a fond smile, and Chloe went to find Gabrielle in the bathroom.
The toddler was sitting on the tiny child’s toilet that Lex had insisted on having installed in the bathroom next to the normal-sized one. The miniature toilet made Chloe giggle every time she saw it, but it certainly was very convenient to not have to empty out a standard potty chair.
“Did you peepee?” Chloe asked, glancing in the mirror and almost whimpering at the sight she beheld-tangled hair, red face, and huge, ungainly body. She was surprised that Lex had been brave enough to want to make love to her earlier.
“Yes,” Gabrielle said, frowning and nodding her head.
Chloe’s brows drew together. “Then you need to get up and flush.”
Gabrielle shook her little head. “Gab goes poopoo too.”
This piece of news, of course, deserved great praise. So Chloe gushed appropriately and then waited until her daughter was done. After they’d flushed and dutifully washed their hands, Chloe kissed Gabrielle on the cheek and said, “Now you can go tell your daddy.”
Chloe never got tired of watching the polished, urbane billionaire respond to this sort of news.
Chloe followed her daughter into the kitchen, where they found Lex.
He wasn’t, however, making pancakes. He was lounging in a chair with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. He had put on a white T-shirt, but he still wasn’t wearing shoes or socks.
Gabrielle ran over to him excitedly and hugged his leg. “Gab goes poopoo on the potty. Gab goes poopoo on the potty,” she declared, her rosy face crinkling with her grin.
Lex lowered his newspaper and looked down at her. “Well, that is a very impressive achievement. Good job.”
Gabrielle giggled up at him. “Up!” she demanded, raising her arms toward him.
With a half-smile, Lex pulled the little girl up into his lap, where she shifted around until her cheek was pressed up against his chest.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Chloe warned them, frowning in Lex’s direction as she poured herself some juice. “Your daddy still has to make us some pancakes.”
Gabrielle squealed with joy at this announcement, but immediately got distracted. She started pulling on Lex’s T-shirt. “Daddy shirt,” she pronounced, staring at the fabric in her hands.
“Excellent observation,” Lex replied, smoothing down a few of the kinks in his daughter’s red-gold hair. “That is indeed my shirt.”
Gabrielle was frowning as she kept yanking on the T-shirt. “Daddy shirt. Bye bye,” she insisted, as if she were frustrated by Lex’s denseness in failing to understand her meaning.
Lex glanced over at Chloe, giving her a look of silent questioning. Then he pulled Gabrielle’s little fingers off of his shirt. “I suppose it’s not the most attractive thing I own,” he murmured. “But I think I’m going to keep my shirt on.”
Chloe snickered. “I could be wrong, but I think she’s wondering where the rest of your shirt is. You’re usually wearing a suit and tie for breakfast.”
Lex looked enlightened. “I see,” he said, gazing down at Gabrielle. “I’m staying home with you and your mommy today.”
Gabrielle shook her head and let out a dramatic sigh. Leaned her cheek against his chest, her fingers fisting the fabric of his shirt again. “Daddy goes bye bye.”
Lex looked nonplussed. And Chloe laughed out loud. Met Lex’s eyes warmly. “That should tell you something. If your own daughter can’t believe you’re staying home.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if he were slightly annoyed by her teasing. But his frown didn’t last long. Gabrielle pulled herself up and pulled on his chin until he smiled.
“Daddy make cancakes?”
Lex pulled his daughter into a brief hug. “Cancakes are far beyond my skill,” he replied, setting Gabrielle on the floor and standing up. “But I guess I can muddle through the making of pancakes.”
This announcement was met by a loud squeal of joy, this time coming from Gabrielle and Chloe both.
Lex started the pancakes, muttering about females ganging up on him. And how it was only going to get worse when the third one arrived.
* * *
Chloe slowly lowered herself down onto the sofa in the family room, sighing loudly and relaxing against the cushions. She’d forgotten what it was like to be this pregnant-how awkward doing the simplest maneuvers became.
“It’s not your fault,” she murmured softly, looking down at the swell of her belly. “It’s just that hauling you around everywhere really wears me out. But I'm really glad that you're here.”
With another long exhale, she stretched out on the couch. Two more months and she’d have another baby. It was thrilling and terrifying both. And sometimes she couldn’t believe it was really happening.
This pregnancy had been a little easier. She’d been sick a lot during the first trimester, but she’d been able to handle it better. And there was something reassuring about going through a pregnancy again, this time having Lex with her completely. There was actually a lot about being pregnant that she liked.
But she decided that two kids would probably be enough.
For her, anyway. She still wasn’t sure whether Lex had secretly wanted a boy. If he had, then he might want to try again in a couple of years.
Chloe wasn't yet sure what she thought about that idea.
She had just put Gabrielle down for her nap, and Lex had gone into his home office to “make some calls.” Which of course meant that he was cheating: working on a day that he’d claimed he was taking off.
Chloe hadn’t complained too much. The three of them had had a good morning together and then had had a picnic lunch in the rooftop garden. If Lex felt obliged to work a couple of hours while Gabrielle was napping, Chloe wasn’t going to make a big deal about it. He was at least trying, which meant a lot for someone as obsessed with work as Lex was.
Besides, Chloe could use a little nap herself. Being pregnant was exhausting.
She needed to work on her manuscript a bit more before she submitted the final copy to her editor. But she didn’t have the energy at the moment, and the thought of facing all of those pages of writing made her more exhausted than ever.
Chloe had quit her job at the newspaper around the time she’d gotten pregnant again. The day after her last day at work, she had sat down at her computer and started to write.
She hadn’t been sure about what she was going to write, but she needed to do something. And there just weren’t any jobs that appealed to her-except being a legitimate reporter, which was now out of the question.
So she’d started writing the first thing she thought of, and four months later she’d completed a book. It was half-satiric-novel and half-exposé of contemporary journalism, and she’d used her experiences on both sides of the press-both reporting and being a target of the paparazzi-to inform the humor of the narrative and reflect on the truth underlying it.
After working with Lex’s lawyers to make sure what she’d written was safe from possible litigation, in case anyone happened to recognize themselves beneath the ironic portraits of her characters, Chloe shopped around for a publisher.
It hadn’t been hard. She knew she was fortunate. Her fame in association with Lex made finding a publisher easy. People were fascinated with Lex Luthor. And they would want to buy the book his longtime girlfriend had written purely out of curiosity.
But Chloe hoped they would actually like the book too.
She’d gotten good feedback from those in the publishing industry who had read it, praising her for the intelligence of her observations on the culture of journalism and the wit of her “snarky” voice.
Her unsympathetic main character was inspired by one Mary Carlyle, and Chloe planned to send the woman an autographed copy of the book as soon as it came into print.
It was a long time coming, but Chloe could finally look forward to getting her revenge on the woman who’d exposed her and her daughter to public scrutiny-and then tried to do even more than that, by lying to Chloe about those pictures of Lex and the supermodel.
The gesture wasn’t dramatic or particularly confrontational, and it certainly wouldn’t ruin Mary Carlyle’s life, but the subtlety of it made it all the more satisfying to Chloe.
She'd channeled a lot of her resentment into writing her main character.
But Chloe had tried to do more with her words than simply mock the paparazzi; she’d also needed to express something real, something serious. Completely the final chapters of her book had turned into a kind of mourning-for her dreams, her ambition, her need to uncover the truth and the near impossibility of ever doing so.
Chloe was proud of her book. And was glad it was going to be published. She even had a few ideas for other books she might write next, assuming this could turn into a possible career.
But it wasn’t the same. She wasn’t a journalist. Wasn’t doing what she’d always dreamed of doing, what she still wanted so much to do.
And she hadn’t yet fully recovered from that loss.
She felt a little clench in her chest every time she saw a newspaper. Knew she’d never be part of that world again-at least, not unless her life rearranged itself.
Which wasn’t likely to happen.
Chloe was happy: with Lex, with Gabrielle, with their other daughter she was carrying, with her life. Chloe was more than happy.
But even marrying a handsome billionaire couldn’t transform the real world into a place where every dream could come true.
As it happened, none of Chloe’s dreams had come true. She’d just ended up with a life she’d never dreamed of.
Chloe idly stroked her large belly and adjusted herself on the couch. Wondered if Lex was still working, but was too lazy to get up to check.
She loved being a mother, and she loved being at home more with Gabrielle, ever since she’d quit her job. But sometimes she felt like a big, lazy slob who never left the house.
Most of the time, it was easier not to go out much with Gabrielle. Because, when they did, they would sometimes have pictures of them printed in the gossip pages or the tabloids. Just last month, someone from the Inquisitor had caught Chloe at a local diner in a very unflattering shirt, stuffing her face with a hamburger. The caption had questioned the amount of weight she’d put on during her pregnancy.
Lex had been furious and had raged about it for days. But Chloe had shrugged it off. Tried not to care. But had been privately humiliated and had stayed home a lot in the weeks that followed.
It was simply part of the life that was somehow now hers. At least Gabrielle seemed to be untouched by publicity thus far, being too young to be aware of it. There was no use in Chloe's complaining about it. She and Lex just worked around it as much as possible.
She wasn’t a celebrity, but she had to live her life at least in part in the public eye.
And she wasn’t a reporter anymore.
She never expressed any regret over the loss of her career. She knew Lex already felt guilty enough about it, and she wouldn’t make him feel any worse. Yes, it was because of Lex-because of who and what he was-that she’d had to make this sacrifice.
But so many of the good things she had in her life now were also because of Lex.
Lounging on the couch, tired and pregnant, Chloe knew she was happy. Three years ago, she would never have dreamed that this kind of life would ever have satisfied her.
Sometimes she could barely wrap her mind around it.
As she was mulling over the irony, she dozed off for about a half-hour. Woke up feeling better, except that she now needed to pee.
Which meant she had to heave herself up.
After she went to the bathroom, she went to find Lex, deciding he’d worked for long enough this afternoon. When she peeked into his office, she saw he was on the phone. He was rubbing his forehead, his eyes closed, and was talking very intently.
Chloe knew he was involved in certain projects that he’d never tell her about-situations that were either dangerous, top secret, or morally dubious-and sometimes she stayed awake all night worrying about him. But he usually dealt with that kind of business at his work office, and-if he ever started a conversation at home that he didn’t want her to hear-he would always close and lock the office door.
So Chloe knew that, even though he looked stressed at the moment, this conversation wasn’t private. So she walked into his office and flopped down on the leather loveseat against the wall.
Hoped her presence would be a reminder that he wasn’t supposed to be working today.
Lex glanced up and gave her a distracted smile, then focused on his phone call again. Chloe didn’t pay much attention, since the conversation was made up of numbers and locations that meant absolutely nothing to her.
When Lex finally hung up the phone ten minutes later, he leaned back in his desk chair and closed his eyes. “You all right?” he murmured.
Chloe snorted. He’d once again started up that refrain-that particular repeated question-after she became pregnant the second time, and he couldn’t seem to give it up, no matter how much she chided him about it.
“No,” she quipped. “I had a stroke in the other room and decided to stroll in here to tell you about it.”
Lex curled up the side of his mouth. “Nice.” He rubbed a hand over his scalp, and Chloe noticed lines of worry around his eyes.
Feeling a swell of tenderness, Chloe resisted the urge to go cradle him. Instead, she shook her head. “You’re not supposed to be stressed out today.”
“I’m not stressed,” Lex lied, forcing his face to relax.
“Yes, you are,” Chloe countered coolly. “Don’t try to lie to me. You’re supposed to be taking the day off.”
“You and Gabrielle were napping.” He stood up and stretched out his back. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Well,” Chloe murmured, slanting him a look that might have been alluring if she hadn’t felt like a sloppy, blonde hippopotamus. “You could have napped with me.”
Lex gave her a predatory smile, a familiar hot look smoldering in his eyes, evidently not noticing or not caring about her less than alluring appearance. “I thought you were genuinely going to nap. Had I known you had something else in mind . . .” He moved over toward the loveseat.
Chloe snickered. “I didn’t. I actually wanted to nap. But you could have napped with me.”
He lowered himself next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side. “I don’t nap.”
“Well, you should,” she huffed. “A couple of naps a week would be good for you. Even brilliant masterminds need a little relaxation. You’re far too driven and obsessive.” Despite her sharp tone, she nestled against him, snuggling into his warm, hard body.
Lex chuckled and tightened his arm around her. “Not me. I’m just a simple family man, hopelessly bullied by the women in his life.”
This time, Chloe chuckled. “Yeah, right.” She stroked his chest, feeling the hard planes and ridges beneath his shirt. “Baby, nothing about you is simple.”
Lex kissed her hair and didn’t respond.
She wasn’t surprised. Despite everything, Lex still didn’t have an easy time making himself vulnerable and wasn’t quick to open up, even with her.
She squeezed his side and whispered, “I used to think you were cold and heartless, and everyone else in the world still does.” Looking up at him with soft eyes, she added, “We’re the only ones who get to know you for real. Me and Gabrielle. And her sister, who I suppose will eventually have a name.”
Lex kept one arm around her and reached the other arm over until his palm was curved over the crest of her belly. Drawled, “Just don’t let the news get around that I actually have a heart.” He paused for a beat. “Bad for business.”
Chloe burrowed against him-as much as she could with her enormous, awkward belly. “Your settling down with me and Gabrielle must have been a great shock to everyone who didn't believe you could ever fall in love. Poor Mary Carlyle has lost half of her stories now that you don’t date a different woman every week.”
“I didn’t really date them,” Lex murmured. “I just occasionally fuc-“
“Hey,” Chloe objected, putting a protective hand on her stomach. “Language.”
Lex frowned. “I seem to recall your using the same language repeatedly only this morning.”
Chloe’s brows drew together, experiencing an intuitive resistance to this injustice. “I certainly did not. I’ve gotten really good at watching my mouth.”
“You don’t remember?” Lex asked huskily. “I think I’m insulted. Let me refresh your memory.”
His hand slipped down over the curve of her belly and then cupped her groin over the thin fabric of her pants.
Chloe shivered and remembered when her language restraint had slipped a little this morning. She actually blushed. “Oh,” she mumbled. “Well, that doesn’t count. You can’t expect a woman to totally control her tongue when she’s in the throes of passion. Sometimes unexpected words accidentally slip out.”
Lex chuckled again, his warm breath blowing against her hair. “Is that right?”
Shifting beside him, Chloe felt a few initial tingles of arousal. “And I seem to recall your using the same language in bed on more than one occasion yourself.”
“I suppose it’s possible. We have been having a lot of sex lately,” Lex admitted, his hand stroking over the swell of her breasts.
Chloe tilted her face up to kiss him. “That’s just the pregnancy hormones. It has nothing to do with you.”
Lex's lips twitched. “Of course not.”
They kissed for a few minutes, and Chloe was really starting to get into it. Lex’s tongue was busy in her mouth, and she was caressing the tight skin of his scalp.
When a little voice came from a few feet away, “Daddy is kissing Mommy?”
Lex tensed up in surprise, and Chloe released her breath in a loud gust. Then she slumped against Lex’s body, giggling softly into his neck.
“Yes,” Lex replied gently, turning his head to look down at Gabrielle. “I was kissing your mommy. And she was kissing me.”
Chloe straightened up a little, although Lex’s arm remained draped around her. She turned toward her daughter, who was standing in front of the loveseat with tangled red hair, bare feet, a wrinkled shirt, and green pants with one leg hiked up to her knee. She was holding her favorite stuffed bunny-the first one Lex had bought for her in Geneva.
“Did you finish your nap?” Chloe asked, thinking her daughter still looked half-asleep.
“Yes,” Gabrielle replied, nodding seriously. She stepped over and raised her arms up toward Lex. “Up.”
With a fond smile, Lex pulled her up onto his lap, so that both she and Chloe were nestled against him. Gabrielle tilted her face up and puckered up her tiny lips. “Kiss!” she demanded.
Lex dutifully leaned over and gave her a little kiss. Then stroked her fine, messy hair.
Gabrielle grinned up at her father and patted his cheek, until she got distracted by something else. “Mommy, kiss,” she insisted, peering up at Chloe.
Chloe pulled up the warm little body and gave her daughter a kiss too. “Mommy loves you, pumpkin. Lots and lots.”
Gabrielle sighed contentedly and snuggled against Chloe’s large belly. “Lots,” she breathed. After a moment, she turned back to Lex with a wide-eyed, questioning look.
“I love you too,” Lex assured her with a half-smile.
Gabrielle relaxed again, still sitting on Lex’s lap but leaning against Chloe. “Lots and lots,” she mumbled vaguely, closing her eyes with a sigh.
In just a minute, she’d fallen back to sleep.
With an affectionate smile, Chloe glanced over at Lex’s face. He was gazing down at Gabrielle, and Chloe caught a fleeting look in his eyes that was so deep, so tender, that it almost took her breath away.
Shifting carefully, so she could get herself into a comfortable position without disturbing Gabrielle, Chloe leaned against Lex and asked softly, “Are you disappointed that we’re not having a boy this time?”
Lex darted a surprised look over at her. “Of course not. Why would I be?”
Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. But a lot of men really want to have a son.”
Lex shook his head and arched one eyebrow. “Believe it or not, I’ve never had visions of going out in the backyard to play ball with a son.”
She chuckled. Idly stroked Gabrielle’s back. “I suppose not. But maybe . . .” She swallowed. Decided she might as well get it said now. “But maybe you’ve had visions of raising a son to take your place at LuthorCorp.”
Lex stared at her quietly for a moment-an odd look flickering beneath the steady gaze. Until finally, he murmured, “I haven’t.”
She believed him. Realized suddenly that Lex was secretly scared of having a son, of somehow unintentionally becoming the kind of father that his own father had been to him.
She knew he wouldn’t be. Wished she could convince him of that. But some fears were too deeply rooted to be dissuaded by anything except experience.
“I’m happy with my girls,” Lex added, glancing back down at Gabrielle and brushing a strand of red-gold hair off of her rosy face.
“Good,” Chloe replied simply, the slight tension easing in her chest. “Me too. Very happy.”
“Are you?” Lex asked unexpectedly, slanting a quick, observant look over at her face.
Chloe just blinked at him, stunned he could even ask such a thing.
“I mean, with everything,” Lex clarified, his voice sounding a little diffident. “Your . . . job situation . . . and everything.”
And then Chloe understood what he was asking. Was pleased she could relieve his anxiety. “Yes,” she assured him, meeting his blue-gray eyes. “I am. I still miss it. And this isn’t what I’d expected from my life. But we can be incredibly happy without having everything.”
Lex smiled faintly. Nodded. Didn’t say anything.
But Chloe knew that she’d answered one of his lingering worries. Was so glad she was able to do so.
She turned her head and pressed a kiss onto his chest, which was the only part of him she could really reach. “And you? Are you happy?”
Lex gave her an impatient look, as if he couldn’t believe she’d asked such a ridiculous question. But then he admitted, “Happier than I deserve.” Before she could object to this characteristic piece of insecurity, he’d continued, “But I’d be happier if you would marry me.”
Chloe jerked in surprise. Then stroked Gabrielle’s hair to ease her daughter back to sleep. Looked up and gaped at Lex. “You act like you’ve asked me before. This is the first I’m hearing about this.”
Lex shrugged. “I know that, from the very beginning, you claimed you never wanted to marry me, and you’ve never brought up the possibility since, so I just assumed . . .”
Chloe snorted. “Idiot. A lot has changed since I said that. And if you weren’t such a close-mouthed, secretive assho-, poopoo-head, then you would have managed to give me a few hints that you were even thinking about marriage.”
She glared up at him, wondering if he’d ever get to the point when he’d be able to easily tell her what he was thinking.
Lex looked slightly sheepish, although he’d chuckled at her choice of derogative. But, after a minute of her glaring at him, he raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do you have an answer for me?”
Chloe felt a flood of deep joy rising up in her chest. But she huffed, “Well, you haven’t really bothered to ask me yet.”
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Lex gritted out, “Will you marry me?”
Chloe scowled and stuck out her chin, to prove that she wasn’t happy about his assumptions. “Yes.”
They glared at each other for a moment until they both broke into soft, affectionate laughter. Lex adjusted Gabrielle in his lap, so that the sleeping child wasn’t pressing into Chloe’s belly.
Then Chloe grabbed Lex’s left hand. Played with his slim, strong fingers. Imagined a wedding band on his ring finger and felt a powerful surge of ownership at the visual.
Lex Luthor would be her husband. She actually shivered from the possessive thrill of it.
Snuggling against him, she knew that he was just as excited and pleased about the marriage as she was, although he hadn’t said anything and his face was passive, only his eyes reflecting his joy.
“We’ll have to elope,” she murmured. “I don’t want to mess with all the publicity.”
Lex nodded and tightened his arm around her. “Sounds good to me.”
“The only people I’d like to be there are Lois, and my Dad . . . and Stella, I guess, since the two of them are inseparable now.” A few months ago, Gabe and Stella had started dating, and Chloe had rarely seen her father as happy. “Anyone else that you want to be there?” she added.
“Just Gabrielle,” Lex said mildly.
Chloe snorted and gave her daughter a gentle squeeze. “Well, of course, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle squirmed. “Es,” she mumbled, her little eyelids lifting up just barely.
Chuckling, Chloe forced herself not to squeeze her daughter again. “Shh,” she whispered, “You can go back to sleep.”
Gabrielle mumbled a few more incoherent words and then relaxed again, having shifted over more into Lex’s arms now.
“So when should we get married?” Lex asked, attempting to hide his own excitement by acting business-like and practical.
“Next weekend?” Chloe suggested, feeling the overpowering need for an outlet for her love and exhilaration, and wondering if Gabrielle would keep sleeping long enough for Chloe and Lex to spend a little time alone in their bedroom.
Lex smiled. The rare, warm, full smile that always made her belly clench.
That smile was Chloe's answer.
She knew that she and Lex were going to get married next weekend. The next step in a future that wasn’t perfect, a future that was completely unexpected, but was actually the future both of them wanted.
The final, fitting irony of Chloe's life.
And, snuggled on the loveseat with her family, Chloe realized something else.
Even if the dreams she’d had in Smallville had miraculously come true, they couldn’t have made her happier than this.