(no subject)
Chapter Five
Both Chloe and Lex were too tired to do anything except fall into bed and go to sleep.
After their long discussion that afternoon beside the lake, it felt like something had resolved itself between them-releasing much of the angst and tension of the last week. Drained and exhausted in the wake of it, they got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Lex rolled over to spoon her from behind, but by then Chloe was already half-asleep.
Five minutes later, Lex was asleep as well.
Several hours later, however, in the middle of the night, Chloe woke up to realize she was lying on top of Lex, clutching him in vague need and rubbing her body against him.
Hot and befuddled, she managed to pry open her eyes enough to see that he was awake beneath her in the dark. “Wha-“ she mumbled, still too groggy to orient herself.
“I think you were dreaming,” Lex murmured, his voice thick the way it only was when he was emotional or . . . aroused.
Chloe blinked, trying to clear her mind. He was right. She had been dreaming. Dreaming something fuzzy and unspecified, but something that had been clearly erotic. Her body had responded, and that must have been why she was clutching and rubbing so urgently against Lex. “Oh,” she said.
Lex wrapped his arms around her and turned them over until they were both on their sides, facing each other. “It must have been some dream,” he breathed, brushing his lips across her mouth. He was more awake then Chloe was, but he too seemed to be caught up in some kind of warm, drowsy haze. “Since it managed to turn me on too.”
Since she was still kind of squirming against him, she soon felt the proof of his words. He was erect, and his body was tight and heated. And Chloe, still not fully awake, unconsciously twined her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his kiss.
It felt warm, safe, natural, right. And finding each other in the middle of the night like this didn’t require any deep thinking or soul-searching. He was so dear, so familiar, so hard and strong and loved. She held on to him, feeling the knot unclench in her belly as he murmured wordless endearments as he kissed her.
She let him turn her over, part her legs, bury his hard length in her body. The world still felt like a vague, blurry dream, so she let her body act purely on instinct. He moved with shallow, needy thrusts, and the solid substance of him inside her, his hot, intense panting against her skin, the weight of his body above hers, all felt deliciously right.
She was too close to sleep to concentrate enough to reach orgasm, and frankly she didn’t really care. She just wanted to feel him, to hold him, to have him between her legs, and the breathless sounds she was making were from very real pleasure, even though she wasn’t going to come.
He was kissing her again when his hips started to jerk in tight spasms. Then his neck twitched, forcing his mouth away from hers. But he made a guttural groan of pleasure against the skin of her jaw as his body shuddered out his release.
His heated, sated body was heavy on her for a moment, but then he turned them back to their sides, his cock still sheathed inside her. They held each other as both of them relaxed, and Chloe fell asleep again before she remembered Lex ever pulling out of her.
* * *
Lex had to leave early the next morning in order to get to work in Metropolis.
By the end of the day, Chloe was ready to go back home too.
* * *
A week later, Chloe took both of her daughters by the hand and led them into an elevator at LuthorCorp headquarters downtown.
It was the first time the girls had been in this building, the first time they'd ever visited their father at work. At the moment, they appeared torn between nervousness and excitement, which was exactly how Chloe was feeling herself.
The last week had gone well, after Chloe and the girls returned to Metropolis, and the whole family had been particularly loving and happy. Chloe, of course, hadn’t expected anything else. Lex was far more attentive than normal-with her and with the girls-and he’d been home every evening by dinner time and hadn’t even gone into his office in the penthouse to work some more in the evenings, as had been his usual habit. The girls were thrilled to have him back and to have their family together again, and Chloe herself had been on kind of an exhausted high, after the stress of the previous month.
But she knew this particular state of affairs wasn’t going to last indefinitely. Which is why she was glad that she and Lex had a plan for making sure things didn’t fall apart again the way they had before. This week, Lex had been far exceeding his schedule for time at home, but later-when he got absorbed in work again-she knew they would both be glad to have some sort of plan in place to structure and address the needs of all of them.
Lex had even agreed to go to marriage counseling with Chloe. Not because their marriage was seriously in danger of dissolving, but in order to keep open the lines of communication and for a weekly reminder to not fall back into their old habits.
After the first counseling session on Thursday, Chloe realized that digging into all of their issues was going to be as hard for her as it was for Lex. But she thought--she hoped--it would be worth it.
Chloe was also in the process of turning the loft space in the penthouse into a personal office for her. She’d always tried to work on her writing in one of the family areas or in Lex’s office, but she’d decided she needed a space of her own. Once she’d set her own office up at home, she was planning to spend at least a couple of hours every morning “at work”-designating specific time for her writing instead of just fitting it in whenever. Sarah, the girls’ nanny, was going to take care of them during these hours, and Chloe was only to be disturbed in cases of emergency. She would then have all afternoon with the girls, and in that way she hoped to balance being a mother with having her own career and expectations.
Gabrielle was going to be starting school pretty soon anyway, and in another year so would Anna. Once they were gone for much of the day, Chloe was going to need something constructive to do with her days anyway.
She was satisfied with the arrangements she and Lex had made, and she thought-as long as they all kept working on it-things would definitely improve for their family.
One of the ideas she'd had before she went home was for the girls to visit Lex at his office, so they would have some context in which to place Lex’s work, instead of thinking of it as some vague, mysterious burden on their lives.
Chloe tried not to make a big deal about it when she mentioned the visit to the girls, since she wanted to keep it low-key and casual. But-since it was something they had never done before-the outing somehow became a big deal without her intending it to be.
They’d planned the visit for this Tuesday, since Lex had the morning free of meetings and would be able to show them around. So the girls talked about their impending visit all weekend, speculating endlessly about what they would see, who they would meet, what they would ask, and how they would act. Anna had woken up at five o’clock that morning because she was so excited about visiting Daddy at work.
Chloe did her best to remain calm and matter-of-fact about the outing, but the truth was her stomach was a little jittery when it was time to get the girls ready to go. She wanted the girls to enjoy the visit to LuthorCorp. And she wanted them to behave themselves and not embarrass Lex at work. And she wanted Lex to be happy for them to be there-while he had readily agreed to her suggestion, sometimes she wondered whether he would have preferred to separate his work and family life-so she was hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be awkward or uncomfortable for Lex.
So, despite herself, this visit had taken on a certain significance. Which made her a rather nervous about its success.
When Anna declared she wanted to wear her favorite purple polka dot sundress to visit Daddy’s work, Chloe saw no reason why she should object. Then Gabrielle, of course, decided she needed to look just as pretty, so she had put on a cute blue dress with a white collar and scalloped hem. Chloe spent several minutes combing out the tangles in their hair, so that Anna’s gold hair and Gabrielle’s red-gold hair would fall in pretty, shiny waves around their shoulders. Then, at the last minute, Chloe decided that she looked kind of sloppy next to her pretty little girls, so she went to change quickly into a long casual skirt and a flattering, sleeveless green top.
When they were finally ready to go, the girls were squirming with nerves and excitement and starting to get a little snippy.
Chloe had given them a brief lecture about being good, not fighting, and being polite to everyone they met, as the driver took them over to LuthorCorp headquarters. But Chloe’s belly was still doing flip-flops as she led them through the lobby and over to the elevators.
When Chloe pushed the button for the top floor, Anna’s huge, round eyes got even wider. “Daddy’s all the way up there? Does he work in a penthouse?”
Chloe tried not to chuckle about the fact that her four year old daughter automatically associated the highest floor of a building with a penthouse. She smiled down at Anna. “No. But his office is on the top floor.”
“Daddy’s the boss of the whole company,” Gabrielle informed her little sister. “Bosses get to be on the top floor.”
“Oh!” Anna’s mouth was now as round as her eyes in response to this piece of wisdom.
They stood in silence while the elevator ascended, and-as the lit numbers progressed-Anna edged closer and closer to Chloe, as if she were starting to get nervous.
Chloe wasn’t surprised-since Anna had always been initially shy in strange situations-but she didn’t want this to feel like some sort of unnatural experience for her daughters, so she tried to distract Anna by saying, “Your flower looks really pretty.”
Anna looked down at the little pot she was carrying, in which was growing an African violet with deep purple blooms. Almost a year ago, Chloe and Anna had started the plant from a leaf cutting one afternoon when Anna was upset because Gabrielle had gone to play with a friend. Anna had hovered over the plant for months, waiting for the leaf to root and then helping Chloe pot it and water it. Finally, just last month, it had started to bloom at last, to Anna’s endless delight. Chloe knew how precious the little plant was to her daughter.
Anna was going to give it to Lex today to keep in his office.
“It has five flowers,” Anna pronounced, holding the small pot carefully with both hands. Her fair eyebrows drew together as she added worriedly, “One of them got messed up.”
“It’s beautiful,” Chloe assured her, stroking the soft blonde hair. “Daddy will love it.”
Gabrielle had been peering at the pot intently. “You can’t see the messed up one,” she declared. “The leaves block it.”
While Anna relaxed at her sister’s affirmation, Chloe smiled at Gabrielle in appreciation of the encouragement.
By that time, the elevator had reached the right floor, and the doors slid open smoothly, leading to the sleek, luxurious executive offices of LuthorCorp.
Gabrielle had grown quiet as the doors opened, and now she straightened her little shoulders, holding herself as proudly and gracefully as royalty. Chloe figured she was probably a little nervous as well, but the girl would never admit it. Simply stepped out into the hall, her long hair a red-gold fall down her back.
Chloe started to move off the elevator too, but then she recognized that Anna had edged behind her legs.
“It’s okay,” Chloe encouraged, trying to draw her younger daughter out. “We’re going to see Daddy.”
Anna peeked out. Seemed intimidated by the polished, unfamiliar surroundings of the impersonal office building and didn’t budge.
Gabrielle had turned around at the delay. “Aren’t you going to give Daddy your flower?” she prodded, her unchildish composure revealing none of the hesitance she might feel.
Anna clutched the flower pot to her chest and stared up at Chloe with pleading eyes.
With a sigh, Chloe gently nudged Anna forward. “Sweetie, there’s nothing to be scared of. This is where Daddy works. He’s waiting to see us.” She stretched her hand out toward Anna and waited for the little girl to take it.
Anna had just tucked the pot against her side so she could hold it snugly with one arm and taken Chloe’s hand when three men in business suits approached the elevator, giving Chloe and the girls impatient looks.
Chloe shot them an annoyed expression in return, partly because of their obvious arrogance and partly because their appearance seemed to have startled Anna even more.
Anna was like Chloe in a lot of ways, but Chloe had never been this shy as a child.
Anna must have gotten it from Lex.
Finally, Anna consented to move forward, and Chloe started with her daughters down the hall toward Lex’s office, feeling ridiculously nervous herself.
She was just taking her daughters to visit their father. A perfectly natural and normal occurrence. She wasn’t sure how this had turned into such a significant trip.
When they reached Lex’s suite of offices, Chloe sighed resignedly as she realized that they’d have to be greeted by Lex’s receptionist.
Chloe hated the woman. Most of the hatred was irrational, since the woman had never overtly offended or insulted Chloe. But she was one of those sleek, perfectly coifed brunettes that always made Chloe feel like a sloppy, clumsy plebian. And the woman always sounded faintly impatient when Chloe called or visited, as if Chloe was intruding on Lex’s time. And more than once Chloe had recognized the woman acting as if she had a special attachment to Lex, because of the nature of her job-as if she were wordlessly implying that Lex’s work life was more important than his home life, and thus she was more essential to Lex than Chloe was.
All of this Chloe had picked up from vibes and innuendo alone, and it was never obvious or pronounced enough to complain to Lex about it. But she knew feminine territorial instinct when she was faced with it, and the damned, gorgeous receptionist had always acted like Chloe was intruding on her territory.
Chloe, who was married to Lex and who had given birth to his children.
It always made Chloe want to claw the perfect make-up off of the woman’s high-cheek-boned face.
As Chloe approached the desk with the girls, the receptionist raised her dark, arched eyebrows and inquired, “May I help you?”
At the sound of this cool disinterest, Anna’s hand started trembling in Chloe’s, causing Chloe to bristle in repressed annoyance at the woman, who wasn’t just talking down to her but was also distressing her already nervous daughter.
Chloe was about to reply with a cool set-down of her own when Gabrielle-who had always been more intuitive than someone her age should be and must have recognized the condescending attitude-stuck out her little chin and announced, “We’ve come to see Daddy.”
Then she stared at the woman with blue-gray eyes as unwavering as Lex at his best.
Chloe was ridiculously proud of her little girl.
Before the receptionist could reply, Chloe slanted her a speaking look and said, “I’m sure he told you we were coming.”
“Hmm,” the woman murmured, likely to avoid affirming this fact. Then she tapped her long, manicured nails on her desk and said coolly, “I’m afraid Mr. Luthor is occupied at the moment. He’ll be with you presently.”
Chloe tightened her lips when she noticed that Anna’s mouth started to wobble slightly as she looked up at her mother in confusion. She was too young to understand the undercurrents in this conversation. She only understood that her daddy was too busy to greet her.
Clearing her throat, Chloe murmured, “Why don’t you just let him know we’re here?” When the woman opened her mouth to object, Chloe spoke over her, “Now. He’ll want to know immediately.”
The receptionist looked displeased, but she didn’t argue. Just moved from behind her desk, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked toward Lex’s closed office door.
Before she got there, the door swung open, and Lex appeared, his body turned toward the man he was still talking to. Then the other man moved out of the office as well-an affluent middle-aged man with thinning hair and an authoritative air. They seemed to be at the tail end of a conversation and were talking in low, tense tones.
“No,” Lex pronounced, his voice one that brooked no dispute. “The answer is still no. You won’t change my mind.” He was in full business mode, and he hadn’t yet noticed that his family was present.
“You’re making a mistake,” the man replied, obviously angry and only barely holding onto the pretense of courtesy. “If you would just . . .”
“No.” Lex’s cold voice carried across the room, although he still wasn’t speaking very loudly. “You'll do well to leave it at that. I appreciate your coming in.”
Chloe would never-never-want to be on the receiving end of that particular look from Lex Luthor. At the moment, he was the man she rarely saw in their relationship: icy, impenetrable, ruthless, and utterly controlled.
The man she’d thought he was before she’d gotten to know him for real.
Chloe was a little nervous about her daughters seeing Lex in this hard, cold persona, but there was nothing to do about it now. She held onto Anna’s hand and glanced down at Gabrielle, who was watching her father with quiet focus.
The man Lex was talking to mumbled out a response and then turned around, muttering under his breath in annoyance as he brushed past Chloe and the girls.
It was only then that Lex saw they were standing there.
His expression looked blank for a moment, as if he were startled by their appearance and was having some trouble processing the shift in dynamic. But then he smiled warmly and walked toward them. “You’re here,” he said, stating the obvious in what Chloe was sure was a way to acknowledge his pleasure at their presence. With a quick glance at his receptionist, Lex added, “I should have been notified immediately.”
As absurd and petty as it was-given that she was his wife of four years-Chloe had to try very hard not to gloat to the receptionist.
But then she was distracted by what was far more important. Lex’s face had softened, although not as much as it did when he was safely at home, and he reached out a hand for Gabrielle. “Did you want to come see my office?”
Chloe saw Gabrielle take a deep breath, but she moved forward without hesitation to take her dad’s hand. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded her head in affirmation.
Then Lex turned toward Anna. “You too?” he asked, his lips softening even more.
Anna had been leaning against Chloe’s legs clingingly, but she nodded her head too. “Yes, please,” she whispered, as if they were in a library and she needed to be quiet.
Chloe saw that Lex registered the little potted violet in Anna’s hands, and she could see the question shape itself on his lips. Catching his eye, she shook her head slightly and nodded toward the office.
Anna would be more comfortable in the office, and Chloe was pretty sure that Lex would be too.
Besides, Chloe didn’t want the snotty receptionist to witness the sweet gesture of Anna's giving Lex the precious flower.
They all traipsed into Lex’s office, and he closed the door behind them.
The girls were staring around at awe at Lex’s huge, luxurious office. They were used to expensive furnishing and well-appointed surroundings, but-even by their standards-Lex’s office was somewhat imposing.
Lex barely seemed to notice their preoccupation. He squatted down, so he was on Anna’s level. “What do you have there?” he asked, gesturing toward the flower in her hand.
Anna blinked a couple of times. Then she thrust out the pot toward him. “It’s a present.”
Lex carefully accepted the pot, studying the dark green leaves and delicate purple blooms. “This is for me?”
Anna nodded solemnly, causing a wave of gold hair to bounce around her face. “Yes. For Daddy.”
“Is this the violet you planted and took care of yourself?” Lex already knew the answer to that, but Chloe understood why he was asking it now.
Anna nodded again. “Yes. I took care of it forever.”
“Are you sure you want me to have it?” Lex verified. “Or I could keep it at home so you could see it more often.”
Frowning, Anna shook her head and restlessly swirled her full skirt around her legs. “It’s for Daddy’s office. To make it pretty.”
Chloe couldn’t help but smile in fond affection.
Lex didn’t smile, but his expression no longer had a trace of the cold, ruthless businessman as he said, “Thank you. I’ve never seen a more beautiful flower.” Then he stood up and looked around the office. “Where should I put it?”
Now that her special duty was completed, Anna was starting to relax. She turned a full circle in the middle of the floor and then pointed to a low table near the wall of windows. “There.”
They all went over to see the grand placement of the violet on the table. It looked small and incongruous on the sleek expanse of the polished wood, but they all declared it was perfect.
Gabrielle had been half-watching the transference of the plant, but she was now staring out the huge window at the endless stretch of cityscape. “Can you see the whole city from here?” she breathed.
Lex went over to stand next to her. “We can see a lot of it,” he acknowledged. Turning Gabrielle slightly, he pointed out, “And if you look closely, just over there, you can see home. Our building is way back there. Do you see it?”
Anna came running over so she could see the penthouse too, and they all peered until everyone had recognized it.
Gabrielle gazed up at Lex inscrutably. “Do you ever look at it sometimes? When you’re here and we’re there?”
Chloe glanced over at her husband curiously, wondering if he ever did.
Lex’s expression was characteristically unrevealing when he murmured, “Sometimes I do.”
Anna, who had satisfied herself on the sight of their home, had started running around the office checking out random details. When she approached Lex’s huge office chair, she gasped, “Does Daddy sit here?”
With a half-smile, Lex answered, “I do. Would you like to try it out?”
This seemed to delight Anna, and she spent about three minutes trying to climb up into the chair. She wouldn’t accept any help, but because the chair was on wheels, she had some trouble pulling herself up. Finally, Lex came over to hold the chair steady, and Anna was able to situate herself in the chair.
She looked tiny against the black leather, and her purple polka dot skirt was hiked up around her bare legs, which were dangling down from the tall seat. She seemed very pleased with herself, however, and she squealed in delight when Lex rolled her over to sit in front of his desk.
Gabrielle was still staring out the window, and something about her preoccupation made Chloe wonder what she was thinking. To distract her, Chloe asked cheerfully, “Didn’t you have something to give Daddy too, Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle twitched slightly, as if she’d been startled. But she nodded her head and pulled a small framed photograph out of the little purse she was carrying that matched her blue dress. Handing it to Lex, she explained, “I painted the frame myself. Mommy gave me the picture.”
It was a snapshot Chloe had taken of the girls one afternoon. They both were grinning as widely as they could, and they’d looked particularly pretty and happy in it.
Lex accepted the framed picture, studying it with a surprised smile. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Gabrielle nodded. “That way, you can think about us while you’re here.”
Something flickered briefly across Lex’s face before he leaned over to kiss Gabrielle on the forehead. “I think about you while I’m here all the time. But now I can look at this picture when I do. Should I put it with my other pictures?” He gestured over to a bookcase on the opposite wall, on which were situated several pictures of his family.
One of the photos had been taken by Lois six years ago, of Chloe sitting in a rocking chair in the nursery of her old apartment, holding up a smiling, three-month-old Gabrielle.
Gabrielle thought about this earnestly for a minute or two, but she finally concluded, "It doesn't match the other pictures." This was undoubtedly true, since the childishly painted frame contrasted strongly with the expensive, polished frames of the other photos. "Can you put it next to Anna's flower?"
"Of course," Lex agreed. He set the frame next to the potted violet, and the two objects looked woefully out of place in cool, professional setting. But something about the sight of them made Chloe feel strangely satisfied, as if their daughters had now marked their place here in Lex’s office.
Now that the ceremonies were over, no one seemed to know what to do. Anna was still swinging her legs in Lex’s desk chair and Gabrielle wandered idly around the room inspecting things.
Chloe and Lex exchanged speaking looks, but neither seemed to have anything to say.
After a few minutes, Lex led them out of the office and took them on a tour of the whole floor, introducing the girls to a few of the people they encountered, although Chloe noticed he didn’t initiate introductions with everyone.
Chloe vaguely wondered how Lex had made the choice about whom to introduce his girls to.
Eventually, they ended up in the executive conference room, since Gabrielle wanted to see where Lex had his meetings.
They all took a seat around the large, polished table. Stared at each other.
After a minute, Chloe had to repress an amused chuckle over the serious looks Lex and the girls were giving each other.
“Didn’t you have some questions for Daddy?” Chloe prompted, wanting to make sure they did everything they could to take the mystery out of Lex’s work. And the girls had been discussing various questions they wanted to ask Lex on this memorable outing for the last two days.
“Oh,” Gabrielle murmured. She shifted a little, as if she was suddenly uncomfortable, but she continued without a long pause, “What do you do when you’re here at work?”
Lex seemed to be considering her question thoughtfully. “Sometimes I’m in meetings. And sometimes I talk on the phone. And sometimes I work on the computer. And sometimes I go to other places to see how the different parts of the company are running.”
“Are you really the boss of everything?” Anna breathed, staring at her father in wonder.
“Well,” Lex allowed. “I’m the boss of LuthorCorp, yes.”
“Does everyone always obey everything you say?” Gabrielle pursued.
Lex’s mouth twitched. “Usually they do.”
“Because Daddy is the boss,” Anna intoned wisely.
Nodding, Lex agreed, “Because I’m the boss.”
“Do you like it better here than at home?” Gabrielle asked suddenly, rocking slightly in her chair and twirling a piece of hair around her fingers.
Lex shook his head gravely. “No. I like it better at home. This is a good place and I like to keep everything in order, but I like to be with you, Anna, and Mommy more.”
His words were utterly convincing. Chloe was even convinced.
The girls both seemed to accept his words as the absolute truth. Because Gabrielle didn’t pursue the subject.
Then Anna asked, with wide, blue eyes, “Daddy, are you the boss of the whole world?”
Lex chuckled. “Not yet.”
Both Chloe and Lex were too tired to do anything except fall into bed and go to sleep.
After their long discussion that afternoon beside the lake, it felt like something had resolved itself between them-releasing much of the angst and tension of the last week. Drained and exhausted in the wake of it, they got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Lex rolled over to spoon her from behind, but by then Chloe was already half-asleep.
Five minutes later, Lex was asleep as well.
Several hours later, however, in the middle of the night, Chloe woke up to realize she was lying on top of Lex, clutching him in vague need and rubbing her body against him.
Hot and befuddled, she managed to pry open her eyes enough to see that he was awake beneath her in the dark. “Wha-“ she mumbled, still too groggy to orient herself.
“I think you were dreaming,” Lex murmured, his voice thick the way it only was when he was emotional or . . . aroused.
Chloe blinked, trying to clear her mind. He was right. She had been dreaming. Dreaming something fuzzy and unspecified, but something that had been clearly erotic. Her body had responded, and that must have been why she was clutching and rubbing so urgently against Lex. “Oh,” she said.
Lex wrapped his arms around her and turned them over until they were both on their sides, facing each other. “It must have been some dream,” he breathed, brushing his lips across her mouth. He was more awake then Chloe was, but he too seemed to be caught up in some kind of warm, drowsy haze. “Since it managed to turn me on too.”
Since she was still kind of squirming against him, she soon felt the proof of his words. He was erect, and his body was tight and heated. And Chloe, still not fully awake, unconsciously twined her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his kiss.
It felt warm, safe, natural, right. And finding each other in the middle of the night like this didn’t require any deep thinking or soul-searching. He was so dear, so familiar, so hard and strong and loved. She held on to him, feeling the knot unclench in her belly as he murmured wordless endearments as he kissed her.
She let him turn her over, part her legs, bury his hard length in her body. The world still felt like a vague, blurry dream, so she let her body act purely on instinct. He moved with shallow, needy thrusts, and the solid substance of him inside her, his hot, intense panting against her skin, the weight of his body above hers, all felt deliciously right.
She was too close to sleep to concentrate enough to reach orgasm, and frankly she didn’t really care. She just wanted to feel him, to hold him, to have him between her legs, and the breathless sounds she was making were from very real pleasure, even though she wasn’t going to come.
He was kissing her again when his hips started to jerk in tight spasms. Then his neck twitched, forcing his mouth away from hers. But he made a guttural groan of pleasure against the skin of her jaw as his body shuddered out his release.
His heated, sated body was heavy on her for a moment, but then he turned them back to their sides, his cock still sheathed inside her. They held each other as both of them relaxed, and Chloe fell asleep again before she remembered Lex ever pulling out of her.
* * *
Lex had to leave early the next morning in order to get to work in Metropolis.
By the end of the day, Chloe was ready to go back home too.
* * *
A week later, Chloe took both of her daughters by the hand and led them into an elevator at LuthorCorp headquarters downtown.
It was the first time the girls had been in this building, the first time they'd ever visited their father at work. At the moment, they appeared torn between nervousness and excitement, which was exactly how Chloe was feeling herself.
The last week had gone well, after Chloe and the girls returned to Metropolis, and the whole family had been particularly loving and happy. Chloe, of course, hadn’t expected anything else. Lex was far more attentive than normal-with her and with the girls-and he’d been home every evening by dinner time and hadn’t even gone into his office in the penthouse to work some more in the evenings, as had been his usual habit. The girls were thrilled to have him back and to have their family together again, and Chloe herself had been on kind of an exhausted high, after the stress of the previous month.
But she knew this particular state of affairs wasn’t going to last indefinitely. Which is why she was glad that she and Lex had a plan for making sure things didn’t fall apart again the way they had before. This week, Lex had been far exceeding his schedule for time at home, but later-when he got absorbed in work again-she knew they would both be glad to have some sort of plan in place to structure and address the needs of all of them.
Lex had even agreed to go to marriage counseling with Chloe. Not because their marriage was seriously in danger of dissolving, but in order to keep open the lines of communication and for a weekly reminder to not fall back into their old habits.
After the first counseling session on Thursday, Chloe realized that digging into all of their issues was going to be as hard for her as it was for Lex. But she thought--she hoped--it would be worth it.
Chloe was also in the process of turning the loft space in the penthouse into a personal office for her. She’d always tried to work on her writing in one of the family areas or in Lex’s office, but she’d decided she needed a space of her own. Once she’d set her own office up at home, she was planning to spend at least a couple of hours every morning “at work”-designating specific time for her writing instead of just fitting it in whenever. Sarah, the girls’ nanny, was going to take care of them during these hours, and Chloe was only to be disturbed in cases of emergency. She would then have all afternoon with the girls, and in that way she hoped to balance being a mother with having her own career and expectations.
Gabrielle was going to be starting school pretty soon anyway, and in another year so would Anna. Once they were gone for much of the day, Chloe was going to need something constructive to do with her days anyway.
She was satisfied with the arrangements she and Lex had made, and she thought-as long as they all kept working on it-things would definitely improve for their family.
One of the ideas she'd had before she went home was for the girls to visit Lex at his office, so they would have some context in which to place Lex’s work, instead of thinking of it as some vague, mysterious burden on their lives.
Chloe tried not to make a big deal about it when she mentioned the visit to the girls, since she wanted to keep it low-key and casual. But-since it was something they had never done before-the outing somehow became a big deal without her intending it to be.
They’d planned the visit for this Tuesday, since Lex had the morning free of meetings and would be able to show them around. So the girls talked about their impending visit all weekend, speculating endlessly about what they would see, who they would meet, what they would ask, and how they would act. Anna had woken up at five o’clock that morning because she was so excited about visiting Daddy at work.
Chloe did her best to remain calm and matter-of-fact about the outing, but the truth was her stomach was a little jittery when it was time to get the girls ready to go. She wanted the girls to enjoy the visit to LuthorCorp. And she wanted them to behave themselves and not embarrass Lex at work. And she wanted Lex to be happy for them to be there-while he had readily agreed to her suggestion, sometimes she wondered whether he would have preferred to separate his work and family life-so she was hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be awkward or uncomfortable for Lex.
So, despite herself, this visit had taken on a certain significance. Which made her a rather nervous about its success.
When Anna declared she wanted to wear her favorite purple polka dot sundress to visit Daddy’s work, Chloe saw no reason why she should object. Then Gabrielle, of course, decided she needed to look just as pretty, so she had put on a cute blue dress with a white collar and scalloped hem. Chloe spent several minutes combing out the tangles in their hair, so that Anna’s gold hair and Gabrielle’s red-gold hair would fall in pretty, shiny waves around their shoulders. Then, at the last minute, Chloe decided that she looked kind of sloppy next to her pretty little girls, so she went to change quickly into a long casual skirt and a flattering, sleeveless green top.
When they were finally ready to go, the girls were squirming with nerves and excitement and starting to get a little snippy.
Chloe had given them a brief lecture about being good, not fighting, and being polite to everyone they met, as the driver took them over to LuthorCorp headquarters. But Chloe’s belly was still doing flip-flops as she led them through the lobby and over to the elevators.
When Chloe pushed the button for the top floor, Anna’s huge, round eyes got even wider. “Daddy’s all the way up there? Does he work in a penthouse?”
Chloe tried not to chuckle about the fact that her four year old daughter automatically associated the highest floor of a building with a penthouse. She smiled down at Anna. “No. But his office is on the top floor.”
“Daddy’s the boss of the whole company,” Gabrielle informed her little sister. “Bosses get to be on the top floor.”
“Oh!” Anna’s mouth was now as round as her eyes in response to this piece of wisdom.
They stood in silence while the elevator ascended, and-as the lit numbers progressed-Anna edged closer and closer to Chloe, as if she were starting to get nervous.
Chloe wasn’t surprised-since Anna had always been initially shy in strange situations-but she didn’t want this to feel like some sort of unnatural experience for her daughters, so she tried to distract Anna by saying, “Your flower looks really pretty.”
Anna looked down at the little pot she was carrying, in which was growing an African violet with deep purple blooms. Almost a year ago, Chloe and Anna had started the plant from a leaf cutting one afternoon when Anna was upset because Gabrielle had gone to play with a friend. Anna had hovered over the plant for months, waiting for the leaf to root and then helping Chloe pot it and water it. Finally, just last month, it had started to bloom at last, to Anna’s endless delight. Chloe knew how precious the little plant was to her daughter.
Anna was going to give it to Lex today to keep in his office.
“It has five flowers,” Anna pronounced, holding the small pot carefully with both hands. Her fair eyebrows drew together as she added worriedly, “One of them got messed up.”
“It’s beautiful,” Chloe assured her, stroking the soft blonde hair. “Daddy will love it.”
Gabrielle had been peering at the pot intently. “You can’t see the messed up one,” she declared. “The leaves block it.”
While Anna relaxed at her sister’s affirmation, Chloe smiled at Gabrielle in appreciation of the encouragement.
By that time, the elevator had reached the right floor, and the doors slid open smoothly, leading to the sleek, luxurious executive offices of LuthorCorp.
Gabrielle had grown quiet as the doors opened, and now she straightened her little shoulders, holding herself as proudly and gracefully as royalty. Chloe figured she was probably a little nervous as well, but the girl would never admit it. Simply stepped out into the hall, her long hair a red-gold fall down her back.
Chloe started to move off the elevator too, but then she recognized that Anna had edged behind her legs.
“It’s okay,” Chloe encouraged, trying to draw her younger daughter out. “We’re going to see Daddy.”
Anna peeked out. Seemed intimidated by the polished, unfamiliar surroundings of the impersonal office building and didn’t budge.
Gabrielle had turned around at the delay. “Aren’t you going to give Daddy your flower?” she prodded, her unchildish composure revealing none of the hesitance she might feel.
Anna clutched the flower pot to her chest and stared up at Chloe with pleading eyes.
With a sigh, Chloe gently nudged Anna forward. “Sweetie, there’s nothing to be scared of. This is where Daddy works. He’s waiting to see us.” She stretched her hand out toward Anna and waited for the little girl to take it.
Anna had just tucked the pot against her side so she could hold it snugly with one arm and taken Chloe’s hand when three men in business suits approached the elevator, giving Chloe and the girls impatient looks.
Chloe shot them an annoyed expression in return, partly because of their obvious arrogance and partly because their appearance seemed to have startled Anna even more.
Anna was like Chloe in a lot of ways, but Chloe had never been this shy as a child.
Anna must have gotten it from Lex.
Finally, Anna consented to move forward, and Chloe started with her daughters down the hall toward Lex’s office, feeling ridiculously nervous herself.
She was just taking her daughters to visit their father. A perfectly natural and normal occurrence. She wasn’t sure how this had turned into such a significant trip.
When they reached Lex’s suite of offices, Chloe sighed resignedly as she realized that they’d have to be greeted by Lex’s receptionist.
Chloe hated the woman. Most of the hatred was irrational, since the woman had never overtly offended or insulted Chloe. But she was one of those sleek, perfectly coifed brunettes that always made Chloe feel like a sloppy, clumsy plebian. And the woman always sounded faintly impatient when Chloe called or visited, as if Chloe was intruding on Lex’s time. And more than once Chloe had recognized the woman acting as if she had a special attachment to Lex, because of the nature of her job-as if she were wordlessly implying that Lex’s work life was more important than his home life, and thus she was more essential to Lex than Chloe was.
All of this Chloe had picked up from vibes and innuendo alone, and it was never obvious or pronounced enough to complain to Lex about it. But she knew feminine territorial instinct when she was faced with it, and the damned, gorgeous receptionist had always acted like Chloe was intruding on her territory.
Chloe, who was married to Lex and who had given birth to his children.
It always made Chloe want to claw the perfect make-up off of the woman’s high-cheek-boned face.
As Chloe approached the desk with the girls, the receptionist raised her dark, arched eyebrows and inquired, “May I help you?”
At the sound of this cool disinterest, Anna’s hand started trembling in Chloe’s, causing Chloe to bristle in repressed annoyance at the woman, who wasn’t just talking down to her but was also distressing her already nervous daughter.
Chloe was about to reply with a cool set-down of her own when Gabrielle-who had always been more intuitive than someone her age should be and must have recognized the condescending attitude-stuck out her little chin and announced, “We’ve come to see Daddy.”
Then she stared at the woman with blue-gray eyes as unwavering as Lex at his best.
Chloe was ridiculously proud of her little girl.
Before the receptionist could reply, Chloe slanted her a speaking look and said, “I’m sure he told you we were coming.”
“Hmm,” the woman murmured, likely to avoid affirming this fact. Then she tapped her long, manicured nails on her desk and said coolly, “I’m afraid Mr. Luthor is occupied at the moment. He’ll be with you presently.”
Chloe tightened her lips when she noticed that Anna’s mouth started to wobble slightly as she looked up at her mother in confusion. She was too young to understand the undercurrents in this conversation. She only understood that her daddy was too busy to greet her.
Clearing her throat, Chloe murmured, “Why don’t you just let him know we’re here?” When the woman opened her mouth to object, Chloe spoke over her, “Now. He’ll want to know immediately.”
The receptionist looked displeased, but she didn’t argue. Just moved from behind her desk, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked toward Lex’s closed office door.
Before she got there, the door swung open, and Lex appeared, his body turned toward the man he was still talking to. Then the other man moved out of the office as well-an affluent middle-aged man with thinning hair and an authoritative air. They seemed to be at the tail end of a conversation and were talking in low, tense tones.
“No,” Lex pronounced, his voice one that brooked no dispute. “The answer is still no. You won’t change my mind.” He was in full business mode, and he hadn’t yet noticed that his family was present.
“You’re making a mistake,” the man replied, obviously angry and only barely holding onto the pretense of courtesy. “If you would just . . .”
“No.” Lex’s cold voice carried across the room, although he still wasn’t speaking very loudly. “You'll do well to leave it at that. I appreciate your coming in.”
Chloe would never-never-want to be on the receiving end of that particular look from Lex Luthor. At the moment, he was the man she rarely saw in their relationship: icy, impenetrable, ruthless, and utterly controlled.
The man she’d thought he was before she’d gotten to know him for real.
Chloe was a little nervous about her daughters seeing Lex in this hard, cold persona, but there was nothing to do about it now. She held onto Anna’s hand and glanced down at Gabrielle, who was watching her father with quiet focus.
The man Lex was talking to mumbled out a response and then turned around, muttering under his breath in annoyance as he brushed past Chloe and the girls.
It was only then that Lex saw they were standing there.
His expression looked blank for a moment, as if he were startled by their appearance and was having some trouble processing the shift in dynamic. But then he smiled warmly and walked toward them. “You’re here,” he said, stating the obvious in what Chloe was sure was a way to acknowledge his pleasure at their presence. With a quick glance at his receptionist, Lex added, “I should have been notified immediately.”
As absurd and petty as it was-given that she was his wife of four years-Chloe had to try very hard not to gloat to the receptionist.
But then she was distracted by what was far more important. Lex’s face had softened, although not as much as it did when he was safely at home, and he reached out a hand for Gabrielle. “Did you want to come see my office?”
Chloe saw Gabrielle take a deep breath, but she moved forward without hesitation to take her dad’s hand. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded her head in affirmation.
Then Lex turned toward Anna. “You too?” he asked, his lips softening even more.
Anna had been leaning against Chloe’s legs clingingly, but she nodded her head too. “Yes, please,” she whispered, as if they were in a library and she needed to be quiet.
Chloe saw that Lex registered the little potted violet in Anna’s hands, and she could see the question shape itself on his lips. Catching his eye, she shook her head slightly and nodded toward the office.
Anna would be more comfortable in the office, and Chloe was pretty sure that Lex would be too.
Besides, Chloe didn’t want the snotty receptionist to witness the sweet gesture of Anna's giving Lex the precious flower.
They all traipsed into Lex’s office, and he closed the door behind them.
The girls were staring around at awe at Lex’s huge, luxurious office. They were used to expensive furnishing and well-appointed surroundings, but-even by their standards-Lex’s office was somewhat imposing.
Lex barely seemed to notice their preoccupation. He squatted down, so he was on Anna’s level. “What do you have there?” he asked, gesturing toward the flower in her hand.
Anna blinked a couple of times. Then she thrust out the pot toward him. “It’s a present.”
Lex carefully accepted the pot, studying the dark green leaves and delicate purple blooms. “This is for me?”
Anna nodded solemnly, causing a wave of gold hair to bounce around her face. “Yes. For Daddy.”
“Is this the violet you planted and took care of yourself?” Lex already knew the answer to that, but Chloe understood why he was asking it now.
Anna nodded again. “Yes. I took care of it forever.”
“Are you sure you want me to have it?” Lex verified. “Or I could keep it at home so you could see it more often.”
Frowning, Anna shook her head and restlessly swirled her full skirt around her legs. “It’s for Daddy’s office. To make it pretty.”
Chloe couldn’t help but smile in fond affection.
Lex didn’t smile, but his expression no longer had a trace of the cold, ruthless businessman as he said, “Thank you. I’ve never seen a more beautiful flower.” Then he stood up and looked around the office. “Where should I put it?”
Now that her special duty was completed, Anna was starting to relax. She turned a full circle in the middle of the floor and then pointed to a low table near the wall of windows. “There.”
They all went over to see the grand placement of the violet on the table. It looked small and incongruous on the sleek expanse of the polished wood, but they all declared it was perfect.
Gabrielle had been half-watching the transference of the plant, but she was now staring out the huge window at the endless stretch of cityscape. “Can you see the whole city from here?” she breathed.
Lex went over to stand next to her. “We can see a lot of it,” he acknowledged. Turning Gabrielle slightly, he pointed out, “And if you look closely, just over there, you can see home. Our building is way back there. Do you see it?”
Anna came running over so she could see the penthouse too, and they all peered until everyone had recognized it.
Gabrielle gazed up at Lex inscrutably. “Do you ever look at it sometimes? When you’re here and we’re there?”
Chloe glanced over at her husband curiously, wondering if he ever did.
Lex’s expression was characteristically unrevealing when he murmured, “Sometimes I do.”
Anna, who had satisfied herself on the sight of their home, had started running around the office checking out random details. When she approached Lex’s huge office chair, she gasped, “Does Daddy sit here?”
With a half-smile, Lex answered, “I do. Would you like to try it out?”
This seemed to delight Anna, and she spent about three minutes trying to climb up into the chair. She wouldn’t accept any help, but because the chair was on wheels, she had some trouble pulling herself up. Finally, Lex came over to hold the chair steady, and Anna was able to situate herself in the chair.
She looked tiny against the black leather, and her purple polka dot skirt was hiked up around her bare legs, which were dangling down from the tall seat. She seemed very pleased with herself, however, and she squealed in delight when Lex rolled her over to sit in front of his desk.
Gabrielle was still staring out the window, and something about her preoccupation made Chloe wonder what she was thinking. To distract her, Chloe asked cheerfully, “Didn’t you have something to give Daddy too, Gabrielle?”
Gabrielle twitched slightly, as if she’d been startled. But she nodded her head and pulled a small framed photograph out of the little purse she was carrying that matched her blue dress. Handing it to Lex, she explained, “I painted the frame myself. Mommy gave me the picture.”
It was a snapshot Chloe had taken of the girls one afternoon. They both were grinning as widely as they could, and they’d looked particularly pretty and happy in it.
Lex accepted the framed picture, studying it with a surprised smile. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Gabrielle nodded. “That way, you can think about us while you’re here.”
Something flickered briefly across Lex’s face before he leaned over to kiss Gabrielle on the forehead. “I think about you while I’m here all the time. But now I can look at this picture when I do. Should I put it with my other pictures?” He gestured over to a bookcase on the opposite wall, on which were situated several pictures of his family.
One of the photos had been taken by Lois six years ago, of Chloe sitting in a rocking chair in the nursery of her old apartment, holding up a smiling, three-month-old Gabrielle.
Gabrielle thought about this earnestly for a minute or two, but she finally concluded, "It doesn't match the other pictures." This was undoubtedly true, since the childishly painted frame contrasted strongly with the expensive, polished frames of the other photos. "Can you put it next to Anna's flower?"
"Of course," Lex agreed. He set the frame next to the potted violet, and the two objects looked woefully out of place in cool, professional setting. But something about the sight of them made Chloe feel strangely satisfied, as if their daughters had now marked their place here in Lex’s office.
Now that the ceremonies were over, no one seemed to know what to do. Anna was still swinging her legs in Lex’s desk chair and Gabrielle wandered idly around the room inspecting things.
Chloe and Lex exchanged speaking looks, but neither seemed to have anything to say.
After a few minutes, Lex led them out of the office and took them on a tour of the whole floor, introducing the girls to a few of the people they encountered, although Chloe noticed he didn’t initiate introductions with everyone.
Chloe vaguely wondered how Lex had made the choice about whom to introduce his girls to.
Eventually, they ended up in the executive conference room, since Gabrielle wanted to see where Lex had his meetings.
They all took a seat around the large, polished table. Stared at each other.
After a minute, Chloe had to repress an amused chuckle over the serious looks Lex and the girls were giving each other.
“Didn’t you have some questions for Daddy?” Chloe prompted, wanting to make sure they did everything they could to take the mystery out of Lex’s work. And the girls had been discussing various questions they wanted to ask Lex on this memorable outing for the last two days.
“Oh,” Gabrielle murmured. She shifted a little, as if she was suddenly uncomfortable, but she continued without a long pause, “What do you do when you’re here at work?”
Lex seemed to be considering her question thoughtfully. “Sometimes I’m in meetings. And sometimes I talk on the phone. And sometimes I work on the computer. And sometimes I go to other places to see how the different parts of the company are running.”
“Are you really the boss of everything?” Anna breathed, staring at her father in wonder.
“Well,” Lex allowed. “I’m the boss of LuthorCorp, yes.”
“Does everyone always obey everything you say?” Gabrielle pursued.
Lex’s mouth twitched. “Usually they do.”
“Because Daddy is the boss,” Anna intoned wisely.
Nodding, Lex agreed, “Because I’m the boss.”
“Do you like it better here than at home?” Gabrielle asked suddenly, rocking slightly in her chair and twirling a piece of hair around her fingers.
Lex shook his head gravely. “No. I like it better at home. This is a good place and I like to keep everything in order, but I like to be with you, Anna, and Mommy more.”
His words were utterly convincing. Chloe was even convinced.
The girls both seemed to accept his words as the absolute truth. Because Gabrielle didn’t pursue the subject.
Then Anna asked, with wide, blue eyes, “Daddy, are you the boss of the whole world?”
Lex chuckled. “Not yet.”