Banner By: Kyra_And_Co
Chapter 6
‘The Billionaire and His Wife’
John Caffrey made his way down the hallway of his penthouse and turned into his study, shutting the door quietly behind him. It had been one month and three weeks since his wife was taken from the Art Benefit and at first he’d been too prideful to do what the kidnappers told him to and keep things quiet.
So he’d gone to every media outlet possible and told them his story…well most of it anyway. He went to his desk and unfolded the ransom note…the real one, not the one he gave to the police. He sighed and plopped down in his desk chair in front of his computer.
John’s family had spent years attempting to make a breakthrough that would put Medtronic Industries on the map and eight months ago he’d succeeded. Not his grandfather, not his Father…but him. He’d spent hours each day in the labs with their top scientists perfecting their neurological implant technology.
John had been able to take military grade implant technology and create an entirely new prototype; Optogenetic brain implants. It had been in the testing stages when his wife was kidnapped. He’d been creating the technology to show case to the military, as a neuroweapon for the United States.
All neural implants work by delivering measured doses of electrical stimulation via a thin electrode surgically inserted through a small hole in a person’s skull, with its tip implanted in a localized brain area, but John and his scientists had developed a way to stimulate neurons using light rather than electricity.
It was tricky and there were several compounds and gene’s that needed to be introduced into the person’s system before it would work, but once that was done, the implant would essentially be able to override or block any neurological signals a person has and replace them with new ones.
It could turn a regular soldier into a super soldier…someone who didn’t fear guns, bombs, or anything remotely dangerous. You could completely take away an individual’s fear factor with a press of a button or a signal sent.
Had he been able to present it to the United States Government he would have made a fortune, but he’d put a stop to the testing when he received the note. John’s eyes once again traced over the words. Whoever these people were, they had somehow found out about his little project and they wanted the prototype.
Jean Paul Deverox, had spent the past few weeks begging him to just give in to their demands. Apparently the same people who had taken his wife had taken Jean Paul’s as well and they’d made it clear that no one’s wives would be returned until they’d had everything they’d asked for.
John sucked in a deep breath, eyes once again straying to his computer as he reached forward and pressed a few buttons. His email came up and shaky hands opened his most recent email. He clicked on the link and a video feed popped up showing two men dressed completely in black and his wife sitting in a chair between them.
She looked terrified, tired, and he could see a few bruises on her arms, meaning she’d attempted to fight them off at some point. The video wasn’t long…four minutes and fifteen seconds…the longest of his life. When he heard her scream he squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn’t need to watch it again, they’d made their message clear. If he didn’t comply with their demands in the next week…the video they sent would be the last time he’d ever see Maria. He swallowed hard before opening his eyes and reaching for the phone on his desk.
He glanced at the card on his desk and dialed the number, three rings later Jean Paul picked up and John’s voice was reserved as he spoke, “I’ll do it…it’s going to take a few days to get everything together. Have you contacted Lex Luthor? Do we know if he’s going to go along with their demands?”
“He is…we are meeting up two days from now, can I count on you to be there with what they’ve asked for?”
John pursed his lips, “I’ll be there…”
“Then it is done.”
John nodded though he knew Jean Paul couldn’t see him. “It’s done.” The line went dead shortly after and he hung up the phone before leaning back in his seat and sighing. Taking a moment to weigh the cost of his decision. He was about to give up the single most promising piece of technology he’d ever helped create…
He’d known Maria since they were twelve years old…and he’d been in love with her since they were sixteen. Any accomplishment he achieved without her by his side wasn’t an accomplishment at all. So he’d reserved himself to his fate, just hoping that the men who took his wife kept their word.
_______
Victor stood at the hub of Watchtower, grin firmly planted on his face as he watched the video feeds on the monitor. It had taken them two days to put their plan into motion. The announcement of Oliver and Chloe’s marriage had gone out in this morning’s edition of The Planet and the city had been buzzing ever since.
At least seven reporters had already attempted to access Metropolis’s public records to procure a copy of their marriage license to find out when and where their marriage had taken place. Oliver’s call on faking all the paperwork was a good one.
He pressed the power button on his com, voice light as he spoke. “Arrow, Tower, come in what’s your twenty?”
A frustrated sigh reverberated in his ear before Oliver’s voice crackled to life and he glanced up into the camera in his living room with a frown. “Victor…you know what my twenty is…you can see me. Why are you being annoying?”
Victor chuckled, “I can’t find Chloe…and her com isn’t linked up.” He watched as Oliver plopped down on the couch in his penthouse and started flipping through a magazine as he spoke, “She’s in the bathroom getting ready. Are we all set?”
Victor shifted to another set of monitors where he was tapping into the video feed of the underground garage of Oliver’s building and then over to the images of their cars where he’d had Bart place camera’s. “Yeah, everything looks good, when do you two plan on making your first appearance as a married couple?”
Oliver tossed the magazine he was glossing over onto the coffee table and glanced around the apartment briefly. Bart had spent the past two days helping Chloe move her things from the Talon apartment to his place and it was still slightly odd seeing signs of her all over his apartment.
Not bad…just different. He and Chloe had sat down and talked about how they were going to handle things when it came to their marriage since people couldn’t know that they weren’t really a couple. It had been decided that if they were going to do this they’d be doing it all the way.
She would follow his lead when it came to public displays of affection and instead of setting up the guest room for her, she’d agreed to share his room with him to keep up appearances in case press or the kidnappers somehow managed to find their way into his penthouse, which was another reason why there were cameras in every room.
He sighed focusing on Victor’s question, “I’m taking her out for dinner if she ever comes out of the bathroom…nothing too big tonight, but we have a full schedule for the rest of the week. Things that will put us out there and in front of a lot of people. So hopefully that will help.”
Victor nodded, “Sounds good.” He studied Oliver through the video feed and grinned at the obvious nervousness in the other man’s demeanor. He spoke softly a hint of humor in his voice. “You know…you shouldn’t be nervous…it’s just Chloe.”
Oliver paused, his body tensing as he shifted on the chair and pursed his lips. “I’m not nervous…look Vic why don’t you just stick to watching the feeds and leave everything else to me okay?” He hadn’t meant for his voice to be so sharp, but the truth was, he was slightly unsure of the situation he and Chloe were in.
Sure he’d been all for it in the beginning, but now with all of her stuff around him and the prospect of sharing a bed with her, Oliver realized that he was slightly more attracted to Chloe physically then he thought he was, which could prove to be a problem come tonight.
Victor had just started to tell him to calm down when he heard Chloe’s heels clicking against the floor of the hallway. He stood quickly right as she came into view. She gave him a hesitant smile as his eyes roamed over her body taking in the black slinky dress she wore.
The sleeveless strap ran over one shoulder, ruffles adoring the top, as the black material hung loosely on the rest of her body, but still managed to hug her curves. He swallowed hard when his eyes reached her heels before jerking back up to her face.
She flushed as she watched him give her a once over, voice soft as she spoke. “Is this okay? You said we were going to dinner, but you never said where…and I wasn’t sure what kind of dress code it was…” Her voice trailed off as he shook himself out of his thoughts and grinned moving forward and lifting her hand to his lips, placing a light kiss against it making her shiver slightly.
“It’s perfect, you look gorgeous…are you cold?” She scrunched her nose, and attempted to calm her frantically beating heart. Tonight would mark the first night she stayed with Oliver in his apartment…in his bed. “A little.” He nodded and moved to the closet to grab her jacket as she picked up her purse from the counter.
He held out her jacket for her and she let him help her slip it on. When she turned back around he was holding out her com to her. She frowned and took it. “Is everything okay?” He nodded, “Yeah, it’s just Victor. He’s gonna be keeping tabs on us while we’re out.”
“Oh.” She turned towards the camera as she placed the com in her ear and pressed the power button before waving, “Hey Vic.” his voice floated through the com in her ear and she could tell he was smiling as he spoke, “Hey Tower. We’re all clear you guys are good to go.”
Oliver nodded as he held out an arm to Chloe. She took it hesitantly as he led her to the elevator. She watched the doors slide shut behind them and as it jerked to a start, and the numbers on the elevator started getting lower, she suddenly had the overwhelming urge to run in the opposite direction.
She drew her arm away from him and started pressing buttons frantically looking for the emergency stop buttons and wondering why she couldn’t find it. Oliver’s eyes widened as he reached out for her hands, “Chloe what are you doing?”
She shook her head, voice frantic as she tried to speak between deep breaths. “We can’t do this…I can’t do this.” Oliver put a hand to his com as he gripped Chloe’s arm pulling her away from the buttons on the elevator, “Victor kill the power on the elevator please before we start stopping at every floor.”
Seconds later they came to a stop as he gripped her shoulders and spoke softly, “Chloe…what’s wrong? I thought we talked about this…we’ve got a plan.” She swallowed hard and glanced up at him, tears in her eyes.
“I know that. But I was wrong…every time you touch me…I flinch…I know you’ve noticed…how am I supposed to convince a room full of people we’re madly in love when I can’t even convince myself…they’ll never believe it and when we can’t help Lana it will be all my fault. Dinah was the better choice…I just…”
She trailed off not wanting to tell Oliver how long it had been since a man touched her in any way that wasn’t a friendly hug. Even after she’d married Jimmy with Doomsday and everything else they’d never even had a honeymoon and she hasn’t been with anyone since.
She was so accustomed to the lack of human contact that she no longer knew how to react when someone did reach out to her. She needed to reacquaint herself with being physically connected with another person she just wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Oliver studied Chloe’s face for a few minutes and pursed his lips. He rubbed her arms lightly trying to ease the tension that had settled in her body as he spoke quietly, “Chloe…we can’t turn back now…the announcements already been made…the teams in place. Just tell me what I can do to make this easier.”
She pondered his words before straightening up and nodding as she spoke tone professional, “We should practice.” A startled expression crossed his face as he glanced at the camera in the elevator and back at Chloe before letting out a nervous chuckle. “Practice?”
She nodded suddenly feeling more confident in her decision. She’d been freaking out because kissing Oliver for the first time in front of a ton of people made her stomach drop, but if she knew what it was like and what to expect she was almost positive she could pull this off.
“Yeah, I mean obviously we’re going to have to kiss and seem you know couplely…so we should practice. That way we’re not uncomfortable kissing for the first time in front of a bunch of strangers and it doesn’t come off all awkward and weird.”
He opened and closed his mouth a few times before arching an eyebrow in her direction the hint of a smirk forming on his lips, “Let me get this straight…you want to practice kissing…in the elevator before we go downstairs.”
Chloe nodded. “Yes, I think it would be beneficial, we should have thought of this sooner…so let’s go…kiss me.”
Oliver opened his mouth and he heard a low laugh in his ear. He frowned at Victor’s amusement and spoke into his com, “Shut up, this isn’t funny.” Chloe crossed her hands over her chest and raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Oliver shook his head, “Not you…Victor. I forgot to shut off my com.” He clicked it off so he could no longer hear Victor taking pleasure in his discomfort, but he knew the younger man was still watching through the video feed. Oliver sighed, “You’re serious aren’t you?”
She nodded and smirked slightly, “What’s the matter Queen…chicken?” His lip twitched and he took a step closer to her which automatically made her take a step in the opposite direction her back bumping into the railing. A wicked grin slipped onto his face, his body moving toward her like that of a predator and Chloe was suddenly rethinking her taunting words.
She gulped slightly, heart slamming against her chest as he wrapped an arm behind her body pulling her slightly closer to him. He glanced down on her and one of her hands gripped his arm as their eyes met. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke, his hand reaching out to brush a stray curl behind her ear, “Oliver…”
“Relax Chloe…” His hand on her back rubbed comforting circles there making her body calm slightly as his palm came up from her neck and cupped her cheek, thumb brushing underneath her eye as he leaned in slowly giving her time to pull away from him if she wanted to.
Chloe’s mouth parted slightly, but before she could say anything else his lips were on hers. Warm and soft, yet demanding as he coaxed her mouth to respond to his. Her arms found their way around his neck as he moved pressing her back against the elevator wall, while deepening the kiss.
Chloe couldn’t help the moan that left her throat, as she felt his tongue lightly caressing hers. Fire shot through her body, her grip on him tightening. Victor’s eyes bulged out of his head as he watched them through the elevator’s video feed.
What in the world had he just missed. Sure he and the team stuck them in this mission together to move along the slow paced mating dance that they’d been participating in, but he hadn’t thought it would be that easy. He pressed a few buttons and glanced towards video feed from the lobby.
The ground floor was full of paparazzi and Victor was pretty sure Oliver had sent out the anonymous tip letting them know that the ‘Queens’ would be heading out tonight. He typed in a code to the elevators electrical grid, causing it to start moving once again.
He stared at Chloe and Oliver lips still locked together and grinned. Looked like they were too busy to notice. He was sure they’d realize it as soon as the doors opened. Oliver broke apart from Chloe long enough to take a deep breath before his lips were molding against hers again.
He could feel her pressing her body against his as he slid his hand down to her lower back, a light groan leaving his throat as her hands threaded through the hair on the back of his neck. If he’d known kissing Chloe Sullivan would be like this…he’d have done it a long time ago.
He felt one of her hands curl into the front of his shirt and right as he slid his hand slightly further south barely touching the curve of her ass, the elevator doors slid open several flashes going off around them. Oliver frowned, pulling back from her noticing the doorman attempting to keep the paparazzi out of the elevator.
Chloe’s eyes widened as a light flush settled on her cheeks and she hid her face in Oliver’s neck, “Oh my god…I can’t believe Victor didn’t tell us he started the elevator back up.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before taking her hand, facing the crowd with a fake smile, and leaning down by her ear whispering to her, “I can. Come on…just follow my lead until we get to the car and don’t forget to smile.”
She nodded as the doorman held the door open with an apologetic look on his face, “Sorry Mr. Queen, they pushed through…there are a lot of them, I can call the police if you’d like.” Oliver waved him off, “It’s fine Joe, thanks though.”
He ushered Chloe into the lobby, hand at the small of her back as he made sure to keep her close, stopping every once and a while to pose and smile for some photos. A few people were shouting for a quote as they walked by and Oliver chuckled as he pulled Chloe to his side. “Call and schedule an appointment with my office if you want an interview.”
His voice grew slightly louder so everyone in the lobby could hear him, his tone stern, but not mean. “Now if you’ll all excuse us, my wife and I have dinner reservations…” A small path cleared and Oliver nodded as he guided Chloe to his car that had been brought around for them by the valet. He thanked and tipped the younger man before pulling the door open for Chloe.
She got in and he shut the door before moving around to the other side, getting in, and pulling away from the building. Oliver glanced at Chloe out of the corner of his eye and cleared his throat. “So…that was…” he struggled with a word to describe everything he was feeling, but failed.
Chloe grinned and turned, voice light, “Interesting?” He laughed lightly, “Yeah I guess interesting fits.” He swallowed hard, eyes back on the road. “Look…about the elevator.” Chloe felt her heartbeat speed up at the thought of what had just happened in the elevator.
She’d never been kissed like that…it had practically left her weak in the knees and she was certain had Oliver not been guiding her around the hallway she surely would have slid right to the ground. And if she felt like that from just a kiss…she could only imagine what doing anything else with him would be like.
But as always here came the inevitable, we’re just friend’s speech and since she didn’t particularly feel like hearing that one again she figured it would be best to beat him to the punch. Even if his kiss had awakened something inside her she hadn’t ever remembered feeling. Chloe cleared her throat and waved him off before he could finish his sentence.
“Oliver it’s fine. We’re friends…and I told you I wanted practice. This is a good thing. It might have been slightly embarrassing getting caught mid lip-lock, but it looked real and I have no doubt we’ll be gracing several tabloid covers, which is what we wanted. So it all worked out for the best.”
He nodded not meeting her eyes as his heart clenched at her words. Of course the kiss wasn’t real…he’d been kidding himself to think she felt anything…but a part of him had hoped that maybe she did. He licked his lips, moistening them lightly before glancing at her briefly with a crooked smile.
“True, so we’re good…no more freaking out?”
She grinned and leaned back against the seat before placing her left hand against his. “No, no more freak outs. You’re my best friend Oliver, I should have realized this wouldn’t be weird. It’s just…been a long time since I’ve been close with someone and I think I was worried I wouldn’t be convincing. But we’re good.”
He glanced down at her palm over his, the diamond glinting on her finger as he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently before bringing their hands down and entwining their fingers together. “Good. So do you remember that new Thai place you were dying to try…”
_______
Clark glanced down at the donut in his hand and licked his lips. He was starving. It had been a long day and between the buzz that Chloe and Oliver were creating with their ‘marriage’ and he used that term loosely, and the thirty some odd crimes he’d stopped today, he was looking forward to finally having two minutes to himself to enjoy his donut.
He’d just brought it to his lips when a newspaper was tossed onto his desk in front of him, startling him and causing him to blink a few times before glancing up. Lois stood there arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him. He groaned slightly and shifted in his seat as he looked between his girlfriend and his donut.
“Is something wrong Lois?”
She arched an eyebrow and motioned to the paper she’d tossed at him, “No, I’ve got a lead and I was hoping maybe you could take that to headquarters and give it to Victor.” Clark arched an eyebrow and glanced at the paper.
It was the Daily Planet addition from this morning, but under the photo of Oliver and Chloe, written in black marker was ‘They’re next…look deeper, it isn’t what it seems…the kidnappings are connected.’ He frowned as he looked up at his girlfriend.
“Where did you get this?”
Lois rolled her eyes as she sat down turning on her computer. “I had a meeting with my anonymous source today.” Clark’s eyes widened at her words and he leaned in as he spoke. “Are you kidding me? You met with a source involving the kidnapping cases, the same kidnappers who knocked you and Chloe out a week ago and you didn’t think maybe you should tell me about that?”
Lois sighed. This was exactly why she hadn’t told him. Clark was always over reacting when it came to her, besides she’d been instructed to come alone and if Clark had known he undoubtedly would have followed her and she couldn’t risk it. Not when Lana’s life was a stake.
“Because you would have gone all crazy boyfriend on me and tried to stop me from going.”
“Lois--”
She shook her head, eyes on her inbox as she spoke, “Nope, I don’t want to hear it. I know you guys are doing your superhero thing, but obviously there’s someone deep in whatever is going on who no longer wants to be a part of their crazy kidnapping scheme and for some reason that person has chosen to contact me. If it can help me find out more about where Lana is or who took her then I’m not backing down and you’re just going to have to deal with that Smallville.”
When he didn’t say anything she glanced up and caught sight of the affectionate look on his face. He gave her a small smile and she grinned back at him, “What?”
He shook his head, got up and moved over to her bending down and placing a kiss against the side of her head before squatting down in front of her, meeting her eyes. “Nothing…I just don’t think I tell you enough how much I love you.”
Lois’s face softened. “I love you too…now hurry up and go drop that off to Victor so you and I can go home and I can show you just how much I love you..” Her arms wound around his neck as she leaned down pressing her lips against his.
He cupped her cheek and returned the kiss before breaking away, grin on his lips. “Yes ma’am.” He winked before grabbing the folder and speeding off. The minute she was sure Clark was gone she turned back to her computer, opened her most recent email which was from Chloe and clicked on the link.
It was after seven and most people had gone home for a the day a while ago. Now there were just interns, and basement dwellers hanging around the perfect time for Lois to check out what her cousin had sent her. With Chloe participating in the latest mission instead of running it behind the scenes she’d given Lois all the information she’d been able to get her hands on while working with Lex.
Now it was up to her to wade through it and see if there was anything useful to the team. She glanced at the clock on her computer. Clark would be back soon. She’d have to save the files to her E-drive and take it back to the farm with her. As she placed the drive into her computer and started copying the files over, something on the screen caught her eyes and she frowned.
There was a gust of wind and then Clarks hand was on her back, “You ready to head out Lo’?” She glanced up right as the computer beeped signaling that her transfer had completed. She took her E-drive out and nodded while standing and grabbing her jacket.
“Yup, ready when you are.” She buttoned up, tossed her drive in her purse and grinned at her boyfriend. “We taking the Kent express?” He pulled her into his arms placing a small kiss against her neck before lifting her effortlessly into his arms.
“We are.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and scrunched her nose, “Well then get moving Smallville…up up and away…” Without another word they were gone, chair spinning from the force of the wind left behind.
_______
A.C. tossed back another chip as he walked through the double doors plastic bag in hand. “Got Chinese!” Victor glanced up from the computer relief on his face as the other man made his way over to the consol and the make shift table that they’d thrown together.
He put the bag down and Victor immediately rummaged through it. “You’re a lifesaver man. I’m starving.” A.C. frowned and glanced around the room as he sat in the chair across from Victor and plopped another chip in his mouth, “Where’s Bart? Isn’t he supposed to be here keeping you company until Dinah relives you?”
He nodded as he pulled out a paper plate spooning out some chicken, broccoli and rice. “Yeah, but Clark stopped by with a lead that Lois found and I wanted to dig into it a little more so I asked Bart to run out and do some recon on the other two men whose wives were taken.”
A.C. nodded, “Makes sense…” Victor leaned back in his chair as he grabbed a plastic fork before pulling a piece of broccoli into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before pointing at A.C. with his utensil. “Oh also Clark wants to know if someone can shadow Lois since she insists on looking into the kidnappings. He’s going to slip a GPS device somewhere on her person so we can track her. I told him we’d set up a schedule.”
A.C. chuckled, “Dude I swear we’re on babysitting detail more than we save the world…it’s nuts. Between Chloe and Lois…those two are handfuls and yet they’re also probably the most resourceful women I’ve ever met. It’s weird…”
He shook his head as he tossed the empty bag of chips in the garbage and grabbed a plate before doling out food for himself as he spoke. “Speaking of Chloe how are things going with her and Oliver? Everything good so far?”
Victor smirked and motioned towards the monitors where he was able to tap into the security cameras at the restaurant they were currently eating at. “There’s no sound, but they seem to be having a good time. Chloe freaked out in the beginning, but then Oliver planted one on her and apparently all was right with the world.”
A.C.’s eyes bugged out of his head as his fork froze a couple of inches from his mouth. “They kissed? Dude…what happened?” Victor shrugged. “Nothing. I think they talked about it in the car, but they had their coms off so I couldn’t hear anything. But from what I saw it looks like Chloe brushed it off and Oliver wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
A.C. grinned. “She would blow it off. All the Queen charm in the world wouldn’t have an effect on her. She’s like immune to his…Oliver-ness.” Victor arched an eyebrow at the other man. “His Oliver-ness?”
A.C. rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his egg roll and swallowed. “You know what I mean. When’s Dinah supposed to be coming?”
“Right about now fish stick.”
They turned in their seats catching sight of the tall brunette, as she pulled her jacket off and tossed it on the desk before walking towards the monitors. “How’d the first day of surveillance go?” She glanced over at all the monitors running different programs.
Victor shrugged “It went fine. Nothing too exciting.” A.C. studied her movements before speaking. “Why are you wearing your wig? And I thought we were past the name calling phase of our relationship.” She turned with a smirk on her face as she made her way over to him and planted herself on his lap.
“It was said affectionately and I’m wearing my wig because I’m not suited up. You know that…now give me a bite of your egg roll.” A.C. rolled his eyes at Victor, but handed the egg roll to Dinah, “Woman…so damn demanding.”
Victor chuckled as he finished the last of his food and stood, tossing his plate in the garbage. “I hear ya man. Alright guys…I’m gonna head out for the night. Call me if you need anything and keep an eye on all the video feeds not just the ones Chloe and Oliver are in.”
Dinah nodded as A.C. saluted him, “You got it…have a good night Vic.” He waved before heading out the door. They watched him go before A.C. moved in lips inches from Dinah’s. He frowned when he wound up kissing her hand that she’d placed between them.
He raised an eyebrow as she pushed herself off his lap, “Oh no you don’t…we’ve got a job to do…mission first, making out later.” He groaned and shifted in his chair. “I was just giving you a kiss hello.” She shrugged and she plopped down in front of the monitor. “Save it for later.”
He pouted slightly as he brought the last bite of his egg roll to his mouth. It looked like the fun he’d been planning wouldn’t be happening any time soon. Oliver and Chloe better appreciate the things he gave up for the cause…stupid surveillance.
_______
Chloe chuckled as she slapped Oliver lightly with her purse. “You’re horrible.” He laughed lightly and grinned as he leaned against the elevator. “Oh don’t act like you don’t enjoy it.” She smiled and shook her head. They’d gotten through dinner without much awkwardness and only had a few press related incidents.
Surprisingly the night had gone well and she’d wound up having a really great time with him. Chloe had forgotten what it was like to just go out and have dinner with a guy, no expectations. And the friendship that she’d built with Oliver over the past few years had helped make the night comfortable.
They’d ordered their dinner and spent a good two and a half hours just talking and eating. She’d told him some silly stories about her childhood and he’d reciprocated with some of his own. They stayed away from anything too serious and kept things light.
Throughout the night she’d come to realize that while she was very reserved in the touches she gave him, Oliver was the opposite. He lavished attention on her both physically and emotionally and she’d found herself wondering if that’s the way he was in an actual relationship or if it was strictly for the benefit of whoever was watching them.
The elevator dinged and when the doors slid open he motioned for her to go first. She stepped into the apartment her stomach fluttering with nerves as she realized the night was coming to an end and soon they’d be heading to bed…together.
He helped her with her jacket and hung it on the coat rack as she balanced a hand against his shoulder while she kicked off her heels. Oliver smirked and she arched an eyebrow he nodded to her heels, “You going to leave them there?”
She tried not to smirk as she moved away from him walking backwards. “Why, does that bother you Mr. Anal retentive?” He shook his head as he shrugged off his jacket and hanging it next to hers. “Not at all, just curious.”
“Mmm…” She lifted a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn, but completely unsuccessful. He tilted his head to the side as he watched her. “You tired?” She gave him a sheepish smile, “Sorry…I don’t usually tired this early, but it’s been a long day.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean…” He paused before giving her an easy smile. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed…I’m just going to check in with the guys and lock everything up.” She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay…I’ll see you in a couple of minutes?”
Oliver nodded, giving her arm a squeeze before taking out his phone and moving down the hallway to his office. She watched him go and took a deep breath before walking towards his bedroom. She pushed opened the door and went straight to the dresser taking off her jewelry and then pulling open one of the drawers he’d cleared out for her.
She bit her lip unsure of what would be appropriate sleepwear in this type of situation. Did the wife of a billionaire where boxers and a t-shirt to bed? Or was it more silky lingerie or just flat out nothing because the second one wasn’t even an option.
A frightening thought crossed her mind. What if Oliver slept in the nude? She licked her lips at the thought of his naked body before shaking her head and grabbing the first thing she saw in the drawer which happened to be a black cotton spaghetti strap nightgown.
She shut the drawer and moved into the bathroom, which was one of the only place they hadn’t put any camera’s. Chloe washed the make-up from her face before pulling off her dress and bra, and tossing the nightgown over her head.
She glanced at herself in the mirror giving herself a small pep talk before taking one last deep breath and pushing the bathroom door open. She dropped her dress into the hamper and stood there staring at Oliver’s bed unsure of what to do.
There was a light knock on the door before his voice broke her out of her thoughts, “Chloe…are you done getting changed?” She cleared her throat, voice more calm then she was actually feeling, “Yeah I’m good.” He pushed open the door the light from the small lamp near the bed casting a dim glow on the room.
Oliver wet his lips as he took her in. She wasn’t wearing anything significantly special, no make-up or sexy lingerie, but he couldn’t remember her ever looking more enticing then she did at the moment. He shut the door behind him and pursed his lips. “You okay?”
She nodded quickly and gave him a small smile, “Yeah, I just…I didn’t know which side was yours so I just thought I’d wait until you got here.” He chuckled lightly as he scratched the back of his head before pointing to the bed. “I usually sleep on the left…but if that’s where you sleep I can take the right, it’s not a big deal.”
Chloe shook her head, “No actually I sleep on the right…well normally I wind up somewhere in the middle, but that’s beside the point.” Oliver smiled as he turned towards the dresser and started to unbutton his shirt, “Ahh I see, so should I expect an assault in my sleep Mrs. Queen?”
Her head jerked up at his words and their eyes met through the mirror as he pulled his shirt off and chucked it across the room into the laundry basket. Her eyes traveled the expanse of his back before once again meeting his.
He arched an eyebrow and she gave him half a smile, “No…I think you’re safe.” He nodded as his hands dropped to his pants and suddenly the comfort level in the room dropped. Chloe bit the inside of her cheek and turned away from him moving to the bathroom and shutting the light leaving only the glow from the balcony in his bedroom to light their way.
She walked back over to the bed and worked on pulling the covers and sheets back while trying not to think about the half naked god shaped man less than fifteen feet from her.
Oliver made his wave over to the bed a couple of minutes later and she glanced over at him. He was wearing a pair of plaid pants low on his hips and nothing else. She sucked in a deep breath and they stood there watching each other closely.
Finally Oliver broke the silence, his voice low. “Chloe…if you aren’t comfortable with this I can go sleep in the guest room. It’s fine.” She shook herself out of her stupor as shifted lifting a knee up to the bed and climbing in. “No…it’s okay. We’re both adults…and more importantly we’re friends. I trust you Oliver…this is only a big deal if we make it one.”
He nodded and gave her a small smile, “You’re right.” He watched her settled herself into his bed before getting in beside her. They shifted for a few minutes before Chloe settled in lying on her side facing him and Oliver settled on his back arms behind his head.
And even though there was enough space between them to possibly fit another body, the tension in the room was thick. Chloe let out a small sigh and Oliver turned his head in her direction in question, but before he could ask what was wrong her soft voice floated through the quiet room. “Goodnight Oliver.”
“Goodnight Chloe.” But he didn’t close his eyes. How could he? Chloe Sullivan was lying next to him in his bed and all he could think about was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body against his. Oliver let out a mental groan. He was never going to get any sleep tonight…
‘The Billionaire and His Wife’
John Caffrey made his way down the hallway of his penthouse and turned into his study, shutting the door quietly behind him. It had been one month and three weeks since his wife was taken from the Art Benefit and at first he’d been too prideful to do what the kidnappers told him to and keep things quiet.
So he’d gone to every media outlet possible and told them his story…well most of it anyway. He went to his desk and unfolded the ransom note…the real one, not the one he gave to the police. He sighed and plopped down in his desk chair in front of his computer.
John’s family had spent years attempting to make a breakthrough that would put Medtronic Industries on the map and eight months ago he’d succeeded. Not his grandfather, not his Father…but him. He’d spent hours each day in the labs with their top scientists perfecting their neurological implant technology.
John had been able to take military grade implant technology and create an entirely new prototype; Optogenetic brain implants. It had been in the testing stages when his wife was kidnapped. He’d been creating the technology to show case to the military, as a neuroweapon for the United States.
All neural implants work by delivering measured doses of electrical stimulation via a thin electrode surgically inserted through a small hole in a person’s skull, with its tip implanted in a localized brain area, but John and his scientists had developed a way to stimulate neurons using light rather than electricity.
It was tricky and there were several compounds and gene’s that needed to be introduced into the person’s system before it would work, but once that was done, the implant would essentially be able to override or block any neurological signals a person has and replace them with new ones.
It could turn a regular soldier into a super soldier…someone who didn’t fear guns, bombs, or anything remotely dangerous. You could completely take away an individual’s fear factor with a press of a button or a signal sent.
Had he been able to present it to the United States Government he would have made a fortune, but he’d put a stop to the testing when he received the note. John’s eyes once again traced over the words. Whoever these people were, they had somehow found out about his little project and they wanted the prototype.
Jean Paul Deverox, had spent the past few weeks begging him to just give in to their demands. Apparently the same people who had taken his wife had taken Jean Paul’s as well and they’d made it clear that no one’s wives would be returned until they’d had everything they’d asked for.
John sucked in a deep breath, eyes once again straying to his computer as he reached forward and pressed a few buttons. His email came up and shaky hands opened his most recent email. He clicked on the link and a video feed popped up showing two men dressed completely in black and his wife sitting in a chair between them.
She looked terrified, tired, and he could see a few bruises on her arms, meaning she’d attempted to fight them off at some point. The video wasn’t long…four minutes and fifteen seconds…the longest of his life. When he heard her scream he squeezed his eyes shut.
He didn’t need to watch it again, they’d made their message clear. If he didn’t comply with their demands in the next week…the video they sent would be the last time he’d ever see Maria. He swallowed hard before opening his eyes and reaching for the phone on his desk.
He glanced at the card on his desk and dialed the number, three rings later Jean Paul picked up and John’s voice was reserved as he spoke, “I’ll do it…it’s going to take a few days to get everything together. Have you contacted Lex Luthor? Do we know if he’s going to go along with their demands?”
“He is…we are meeting up two days from now, can I count on you to be there with what they’ve asked for?”
John pursed his lips, “I’ll be there…”
“Then it is done.”
John nodded though he knew Jean Paul couldn’t see him. “It’s done.” The line went dead shortly after and he hung up the phone before leaning back in his seat and sighing. Taking a moment to weigh the cost of his decision. He was about to give up the single most promising piece of technology he’d ever helped create…
He’d known Maria since they were twelve years old…and he’d been in love with her since they were sixteen. Any accomplishment he achieved without her by his side wasn’t an accomplishment at all. So he’d reserved himself to his fate, just hoping that the men who took his wife kept their word.
Victor stood at the hub of Watchtower, grin firmly planted on his face as he watched the video feeds on the monitor. It had taken them two days to put their plan into motion. The announcement of Oliver and Chloe’s marriage had gone out in this morning’s edition of The Planet and the city had been buzzing ever since.
At least seven reporters had already attempted to access Metropolis’s public records to procure a copy of their marriage license to find out when and where their marriage had taken place. Oliver’s call on faking all the paperwork was a good one.
He pressed the power button on his com, voice light as he spoke. “Arrow, Tower, come in what’s your twenty?”
A frustrated sigh reverberated in his ear before Oliver’s voice crackled to life and he glanced up into the camera in his living room with a frown. “Victor…you know what my twenty is…you can see me. Why are you being annoying?”
Victor chuckled, “I can’t find Chloe…and her com isn’t linked up.” He watched as Oliver plopped down on the couch in his penthouse and started flipping through a magazine as he spoke, “She’s in the bathroom getting ready. Are we all set?”
Victor shifted to another set of monitors where he was tapping into the video feed of the underground garage of Oliver’s building and then over to the images of their cars where he’d had Bart place camera’s. “Yeah, everything looks good, when do you two plan on making your first appearance as a married couple?”
Oliver tossed the magazine he was glossing over onto the coffee table and glanced around the apartment briefly. Bart had spent the past two days helping Chloe move her things from the Talon apartment to his place and it was still slightly odd seeing signs of her all over his apartment.
Not bad…just different. He and Chloe had sat down and talked about how they were going to handle things when it came to their marriage since people couldn’t know that they weren’t really a couple. It had been decided that if they were going to do this they’d be doing it all the way.
She would follow his lead when it came to public displays of affection and instead of setting up the guest room for her, she’d agreed to share his room with him to keep up appearances in case press or the kidnappers somehow managed to find their way into his penthouse, which was another reason why there were cameras in every room.
He sighed focusing on Victor’s question, “I’m taking her out for dinner if she ever comes out of the bathroom…nothing too big tonight, but we have a full schedule for the rest of the week. Things that will put us out there and in front of a lot of people. So hopefully that will help.”
Victor nodded, “Sounds good.” He studied Oliver through the video feed and grinned at the obvious nervousness in the other man’s demeanor. He spoke softly a hint of humor in his voice. “You know…you shouldn’t be nervous…it’s just Chloe.”
Oliver paused, his body tensing as he shifted on the chair and pursed his lips. “I’m not nervous…look Vic why don’t you just stick to watching the feeds and leave everything else to me okay?” He hadn’t meant for his voice to be so sharp, but the truth was, he was slightly unsure of the situation he and Chloe were in.
Sure he’d been all for it in the beginning, but now with all of her stuff around him and the prospect of sharing a bed with her, Oliver realized that he was slightly more attracted to Chloe physically then he thought he was, which could prove to be a problem come tonight.
Victor had just started to tell him to calm down when he heard Chloe’s heels clicking against the floor of the hallway. He stood quickly right as she came into view. She gave him a hesitant smile as his eyes roamed over her body taking in the black slinky dress she wore.
The sleeveless strap ran over one shoulder, ruffles adoring the top, as the black material hung loosely on the rest of her body, but still managed to hug her curves. He swallowed hard when his eyes reached her heels before jerking back up to her face.
She flushed as she watched him give her a once over, voice soft as she spoke. “Is this okay? You said we were going to dinner, but you never said where…and I wasn’t sure what kind of dress code it was…” Her voice trailed off as he shook himself out of his thoughts and grinned moving forward and lifting her hand to his lips, placing a light kiss against it making her shiver slightly.
“It’s perfect, you look gorgeous…are you cold?” She scrunched her nose, and attempted to calm her frantically beating heart. Tonight would mark the first night she stayed with Oliver in his apartment…in his bed. “A little.” He nodded and moved to the closet to grab her jacket as she picked up her purse from the counter.
He held out her jacket for her and she let him help her slip it on. When she turned back around he was holding out her com to her. She frowned and took it. “Is everything okay?” He nodded, “Yeah, it’s just Victor. He’s gonna be keeping tabs on us while we’re out.”
“Oh.” She turned towards the camera as she placed the com in her ear and pressed the power button before waving, “Hey Vic.” his voice floated through the com in her ear and she could tell he was smiling as he spoke, “Hey Tower. We’re all clear you guys are good to go.”
Oliver nodded as he held out an arm to Chloe. She took it hesitantly as he led her to the elevator. She watched the doors slide shut behind them and as it jerked to a start, and the numbers on the elevator started getting lower, she suddenly had the overwhelming urge to run in the opposite direction.
She drew her arm away from him and started pressing buttons frantically looking for the emergency stop buttons and wondering why she couldn’t find it. Oliver’s eyes widened as he reached out for her hands, “Chloe what are you doing?”
She shook her head, voice frantic as she tried to speak between deep breaths. “We can’t do this…I can’t do this.” Oliver put a hand to his com as he gripped Chloe’s arm pulling her away from the buttons on the elevator, “Victor kill the power on the elevator please before we start stopping at every floor.”
Seconds later they came to a stop as he gripped her shoulders and spoke softly, “Chloe…what’s wrong? I thought we talked about this…we’ve got a plan.” She swallowed hard and glanced up at him, tears in her eyes.
“I know that. But I was wrong…every time you touch me…I flinch…I know you’ve noticed…how am I supposed to convince a room full of people we’re madly in love when I can’t even convince myself…they’ll never believe it and when we can’t help Lana it will be all my fault. Dinah was the better choice…I just…”
She trailed off not wanting to tell Oliver how long it had been since a man touched her in any way that wasn’t a friendly hug. Even after she’d married Jimmy with Doomsday and everything else they’d never even had a honeymoon and she hasn’t been with anyone since.
She was so accustomed to the lack of human contact that she no longer knew how to react when someone did reach out to her. She needed to reacquaint herself with being physically connected with another person she just wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Oliver studied Chloe’s face for a few minutes and pursed his lips. He rubbed her arms lightly trying to ease the tension that had settled in her body as he spoke quietly, “Chloe…we can’t turn back now…the announcements already been made…the teams in place. Just tell me what I can do to make this easier.”
She pondered his words before straightening up and nodding as she spoke tone professional, “We should practice.” A startled expression crossed his face as he glanced at the camera in the elevator and back at Chloe before letting out a nervous chuckle. “Practice?”
She nodded suddenly feeling more confident in her decision. She’d been freaking out because kissing Oliver for the first time in front of a ton of people made her stomach drop, but if she knew what it was like and what to expect she was almost positive she could pull this off.
“Yeah, I mean obviously we’re going to have to kiss and seem you know couplely…so we should practice. That way we’re not uncomfortable kissing for the first time in front of a bunch of strangers and it doesn’t come off all awkward and weird.”
He opened and closed his mouth a few times before arching an eyebrow in her direction the hint of a smirk forming on his lips, “Let me get this straight…you want to practice kissing…in the elevator before we go downstairs.”
Chloe nodded. “Yes, I think it would be beneficial, we should have thought of this sooner…so let’s go…kiss me.”
Oliver opened his mouth and he heard a low laugh in his ear. He frowned at Victor’s amusement and spoke into his com, “Shut up, this isn’t funny.” Chloe crossed her hands over her chest and raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Oliver shook his head, “Not you…Victor. I forgot to shut off my com.” He clicked it off so he could no longer hear Victor taking pleasure in his discomfort, but he knew the younger man was still watching through the video feed. Oliver sighed, “You’re serious aren’t you?”
She nodded and smirked slightly, “What’s the matter Queen…chicken?” His lip twitched and he took a step closer to her which automatically made her take a step in the opposite direction her back bumping into the railing. A wicked grin slipped onto his face, his body moving toward her like that of a predator and Chloe was suddenly rethinking her taunting words.
She gulped slightly, heart slamming against her chest as he wrapped an arm behind her body pulling her slightly closer to him. He glanced down on her and one of her hands gripped his arm as their eyes met. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke, his hand reaching out to brush a stray curl behind her ear, “Oliver…”
“Relax Chloe…” His hand on her back rubbed comforting circles there making her body calm slightly as his palm came up from her neck and cupped her cheek, thumb brushing underneath her eye as he leaned in slowly giving her time to pull away from him if she wanted to.
Chloe’s mouth parted slightly, but before she could say anything else his lips were on hers. Warm and soft, yet demanding as he coaxed her mouth to respond to his. Her arms found their way around his neck as he moved pressing her back against the elevator wall, while deepening the kiss.
Chloe couldn’t help the moan that left her throat, as she felt his tongue lightly caressing hers. Fire shot through her body, her grip on him tightening. Victor’s eyes bulged out of his head as he watched them through the elevator’s video feed.
What in the world had he just missed. Sure he and the team stuck them in this mission together to move along the slow paced mating dance that they’d been participating in, but he hadn’t thought it would be that easy. He pressed a few buttons and glanced towards video feed from the lobby.
The ground floor was full of paparazzi and Victor was pretty sure Oliver had sent out the anonymous tip letting them know that the ‘Queens’ would be heading out tonight. He typed in a code to the elevators electrical grid, causing it to start moving once again.
He stared at Chloe and Oliver lips still locked together and grinned. Looked like they were too busy to notice. He was sure they’d realize it as soon as the doors opened. Oliver broke apart from Chloe long enough to take a deep breath before his lips were molding against hers again.
He could feel her pressing her body against his as he slid his hand down to her lower back, a light groan leaving his throat as her hands threaded through the hair on the back of his neck. If he’d known kissing Chloe Sullivan would be like this…he’d have done it a long time ago.
He felt one of her hands curl into the front of his shirt and right as he slid his hand slightly further south barely touching the curve of her ass, the elevator doors slid open several flashes going off around them. Oliver frowned, pulling back from her noticing the doorman attempting to keep the paparazzi out of the elevator.
Chloe’s eyes widened as a light flush settled on her cheeks and she hid her face in Oliver’s neck, “Oh my god…I can’t believe Victor didn’t tell us he started the elevator back up.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before taking her hand, facing the crowd with a fake smile, and leaning down by her ear whispering to her, “I can. Come on…just follow my lead until we get to the car and don’t forget to smile.”
She nodded as the doorman held the door open with an apologetic look on his face, “Sorry Mr. Queen, they pushed through…there are a lot of them, I can call the police if you’d like.” Oliver waved him off, “It’s fine Joe, thanks though.”
He ushered Chloe into the lobby, hand at the small of her back as he made sure to keep her close, stopping every once and a while to pose and smile for some photos. A few people were shouting for a quote as they walked by and Oliver chuckled as he pulled Chloe to his side. “Call and schedule an appointment with my office if you want an interview.”
His voice grew slightly louder so everyone in the lobby could hear him, his tone stern, but not mean. “Now if you’ll all excuse us, my wife and I have dinner reservations…” A small path cleared and Oliver nodded as he guided Chloe to his car that had been brought around for them by the valet. He thanked and tipped the younger man before pulling the door open for Chloe.
She got in and he shut the door before moving around to the other side, getting in, and pulling away from the building. Oliver glanced at Chloe out of the corner of his eye and cleared his throat. “So…that was…” he struggled with a word to describe everything he was feeling, but failed.
Chloe grinned and turned, voice light, “Interesting?” He laughed lightly, “Yeah I guess interesting fits.” He swallowed hard, eyes back on the road. “Look…about the elevator.” Chloe felt her heartbeat speed up at the thought of what had just happened in the elevator.
She’d never been kissed like that…it had practically left her weak in the knees and she was certain had Oliver not been guiding her around the hallway she surely would have slid right to the ground. And if she felt like that from just a kiss…she could only imagine what doing anything else with him would be like.
But as always here came the inevitable, we’re just friend’s speech and since she didn’t particularly feel like hearing that one again she figured it would be best to beat him to the punch. Even if his kiss had awakened something inside her she hadn’t ever remembered feeling. Chloe cleared her throat and waved him off before he could finish his sentence.
“Oliver it’s fine. We’re friends…and I told you I wanted practice. This is a good thing. It might have been slightly embarrassing getting caught mid lip-lock, but it looked real and I have no doubt we’ll be gracing several tabloid covers, which is what we wanted. So it all worked out for the best.”
He nodded not meeting her eyes as his heart clenched at her words. Of course the kiss wasn’t real…he’d been kidding himself to think she felt anything…but a part of him had hoped that maybe she did. He licked his lips, moistening them lightly before glancing at her briefly with a crooked smile.
“True, so we’re good…no more freaking out?”
She grinned and leaned back against the seat before placing her left hand against his. “No, no more freak outs. You’re my best friend Oliver, I should have realized this wouldn’t be weird. It’s just…been a long time since I’ve been close with someone and I think I was worried I wouldn’t be convincing. But we’re good.”
He glanced down at her palm over his, the diamond glinting on her finger as he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles gently before bringing their hands down and entwining their fingers together. “Good. So do you remember that new Thai place you were dying to try…”
Clark glanced down at the donut in his hand and licked his lips. He was starving. It had been a long day and between the buzz that Chloe and Oliver were creating with their ‘marriage’ and he used that term loosely, and the thirty some odd crimes he’d stopped today, he was looking forward to finally having two minutes to himself to enjoy his donut.
He’d just brought it to his lips when a newspaper was tossed onto his desk in front of him, startling him and causing him to blink a few times before glancing up. Lois stood there arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him. He groaned slightly and shifted in his seat as he looked between his girlfriend and his donut.
“Is something wrong Lois?”
She arched an eyebrow and motioned to the paper she’d tossed at him, “No, I’ve got a lead and I was hoping maybe you could take that to headquarters and give it to Victor.” Clark arched an eyebrow and glanced at the paper.
It was the Daily Planet addition from this morning, but under the photo of Oliver and Chloe, written in black marker was ‘They’re next…look deeper, it isn’t what it seems…the kidnappings are connected.’ He frowned as he looked up at his girlfriend.
“Where did you get this?”
Lois rolled her eyes as she sat down turning on her computer. “I had a meeting with my anonymous source today.” Clark’s eyes widened at her words and he leaned in as he spoke. “Are you kidding me? You met with a source involving the kidnapping cases, the same kidnappers who knocked you and Chloe out a week ago and you didn’t think maybe you should tell me about that?”
Lois sighed. This was exactly why she hadn’t told him. Clark was always over reacting when it came to her, besides she’d been instructed to come alone and if Clark had known he undoubtedly would have followed her and she couldn’t risk it. Not when Lana’s life was a stake.
“Because you would have gone all crazy boyfriend on me and tried to stop me from going.”
“Lois--”
She shook her head, eyes on her inbox as she spoke, “Nope, I don’t want to hear it. I know you guys are doing your superhero thing, but obviously there’s someone deep in whatever is going on who no longer wants to be a part of their crazy kidnapping scheme and for some reason that person has chosen to contact me. If it can help me find out more about where Lana is or who took her then I’m not backing down and you’re just going to have to deal with that Smallville.”
When he didn’t say anything she glanced up and caught sight of the affectionate look on his face. He gave her a small smile and she grinned back at him, “What?”
He shook his head, got up and moved over to her bending down and placing a kiss against the side of her head before squatting down in front of her, meeting her eyes. “Nothing…I just don’t think I tell you enough how much I love you.”
Lois’s face softened. “I love you too…now hurry up and go drop that off to Victor so you and I can go home and I can show you just how much I love you..” Her arms wound around his neck as she leaned down pressing her lips against his.
He cupped her cheek and returned the kiss before breaking away, grin on his lips. “Yes ma’am.” He winked before grabbing the folder and speeding off. The minute she was sure Clark was gone she turned back to her computer, opened her most recent email which was from Chloe and clicked on the link.
It was after seven and most people had gone home for a the day a while ago. Now there were just interns, and basement dwellers hanging around the perfect time for Lois to check out what her cousin had sent her. With Chloe participating in the latest mission instead of running it behind the scenes she’d given Lois all the information she’d been able to get her hands on while working with Lex.
Now it was up to her to wade through it and see if there was anything useful to the team. She glanced at the clock on her computer. Clark would be back soon. She’d have to save the files to her E-drive and take it back to the farm with her. As she placed the drive into her computer and started copying the files over, something on the screen caught her eyes and she frowned.
There was a gust of wind and then Clarks hand was on her back, “You ready to head out Lo’?” She glanced up right as the computer beeped signaling that her transfer had completed. She took her E-drive out and nodded while standing and grabbing her jacket.
“Yup, ready when you are.” She buttoned up, tossed her drive in her purse and grinned at her boyfriend. “We taking the Kent express?” He pulled her into his arms placing a small kiss against her neck before lifting her effortlessly into his arms.
“We are.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and scrunched her nose, “Well then get moving Smallville…up up and away…” Without another word they were gone, chair spinning from the force of the wind left behind.
A.C. tossed back another chip as he walked through the double doors plastic bag in hand. “Got Chinese!” Victor glanced up from the computer relief on his face as the other man made his way over to the consol and the make shift table that they’d thrown together.
He put the bag down and Victor immediately rummaged through it. “You’re a lifesaver man. I’m starving.” A.C. frowned and glanced around the room as he sat in the chair across from Victor and plopped another chip in his mouth, “Where’s Bart? Isn’t he supposed to be here keeping you company until Dinah relives you?”
He nodded as he pulled out a paper plate spooning out some chicken, broccoli and rice. “Yeah, but Clark stopped by with a lead that Lois found and I wanted to dig into it a little more so I asked Bart to run out and do some recon on the other two men whose wives were taken.”
A.C. nodded, “Makes sense…” Victor leaned back in his chair as he grabbed a plastic fork before pulling a piece of broccoli into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before pointing at A.C. with his utensil. “Oh also Clark wants to know if someone can shadow Lois since she insists on looking into the kidnappings. He’s going to slip a GPS device somewhere on her person so we can track her. I told him we’d set up a schedule.”
A.C. chuckled, “Dude I swear we’re on babysitting detail more than we save the world…it’s nuts. Between Chloe and Lois…those two are handfuls and yet they’re also probably the most resourceful women I’ve ever met. It’s weird…”
He shook his head as he tossed the empty bag of chips in the garbage and grabbed a plate before doling out food for himself as he spoke. “Speaking of Chloe how are things going with her and Oliver? Everything good so far?”
Victor smirked and motioned towards the monitors where he was able to tap into the security cameras at the restaurant they were currently eating at. “There’s no sound, but they seem to be having a good time. Chloe freaked out in the beginning, but then Oliver planted one on her and apparently all was right with the world.”
A.C.’s eyes bugged out of his head as his fork froze a couple of inches from his mouth. “They kissed? Dude…what happened?” Victor shrugged. “Nothing. I think they talked about it in the car, but they had their coms off so I couldn’t hear anything. But from what I saw it looks like Chloe brushed it off and Oliver wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
A.C. grinned. “She would blow it off. All the Queen charm in the world wouldn’t have an effect on her. She’s like immune to his…Oliver-ness.” Victor arched an eyebrow at the other man. “His Oliver-ness?”
A.C. rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his egg roll and swallowed. “You know what I mean. When’s Dinah supposed to be coming?”
“Right about now fish stick.”
They turned in their seats catching sight of the tall brunette, as she pulled her jacket off and tossed it on the desk before walking towards the monitors. “How’d the first day of surveillance go?” She glanced over at all the monitors running different programs.
Victor shrugged “It went fine. Nothing too exciting.” A.C. studied her movements before speaking. “Why are you wearing your wig? And I thought we were past the name calling phase of our relationship.” She turned with a smirk on her face as she made her way over to him and planted herself on his lap.
“It was said affectionately and I’m wearing my wig because I’m not suited up. You know that…now give me a bite of your egg roll.” A.C. rolled his eyes at Victor, but handed the egg roll to Dinah, “Woman…so damn demanding.”
Victor chuckled as he finished the last of his food and stood, tossing his plate in the garbage. “I hear ya man. Alright guys…I’m gonna head out for the night. Call me if you need anything and keep an eye on all the video feeds not just the ones Chloe and Oliver are in.”
Dinah nodded as A.C. saluted him, “You got it…have a good night Vic.” He waved before heading out the door. They watched him go before A.C. moved in lips inches from Dinah’s. He frowned when he wound up kissing her hand that she’d placed between them.
He raised an eyebrow as she pushed herself off his lap, “Oh no you don’t…we’ve got a job to do…mission first, making out later.” He groaned and shifted in his chair. “I was just giving you a kiss hello.” She shrugged and she plopped down in front of the monitor. “Save it for later.”
He pouted slightly as he brought the last bite of his egg roll to his mouth. It looked like the fun he’d been planning wouldn’t be happening any time soon. Oliver and Chloe better appreciate the things he gave up for the cause…stupid surveillance.
Chloe chuckled as she slapped Oliver lightly with her purse. “You’re horrible.” He laughed lightly and grinned as he leaned against the elevator. “Oh don’t act like you don’t enjoy it.” She smiled and shook her head. They’d gotten through dinner without much awkwardness and only had a few press related incidents.
Surprisingly the night had gone well and she’d wound up having a really great time with him. Chloe had forgotten what it was like to just go out and have dinner with a guy, no expectations. And the friendship that she’d built with Oliver over the past few years had helped make the night comfortable.
They’d ordered their dinner and spent a good two and a half hours just talking and eating. She’d told him some silly stories about her childhood and he’d reciprocated with some of his own. They stayed away from anything too serious and kept things light.
Throughout the night she’d come to realize that while she was very reserved in the touches she gave him, Oliver was the opposite. He lavished attention on her both physically and emotionally and she’d found herself wondering if that’s the way he was in an actual relationship or if it was strictly for the benefit of whoever was watching them.
The elevator dinged and when the doors slid open he motioned for her to go first. She stepped into the apartment her stomach fluttering with nerves as she realized the night was coming to an end and soon they’d be heading to bed…together.
He helped her with her jacket and hung it on the coat rack as she balanced a hand against his shoulder while she kicked off her heels. Oliver smirked and she arched an eyebrow he nodded to her heels, “You going to leave them there?”
She tried not to smirk as she moved away from him walking backwards. “Why, does that bother you Mr. Anal retentive?” He shook his head as he shrugged off his jacket and hanging it next to hers. “Not at all, just curious.”
“Mmm…” She lifted a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn, but completely unsuccessful. He tilted his head to the side as he watched her. “You tired?” She gave him a sheepish smile, “Sorry…I don’t usually tired this early, but it’s been a long day.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean…” He paused before giving her an easy smile. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed…I’m just going to check in with the guys and lock everything up.” She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay…I’ll see you in a couple of minutes?”
Oliver nodded, giving her arm a squeeze before taking out his phone and moving down the hallway to his office. She watched him go and took a deep breath before walking towards his bedroom. She pushed opened the door and went straight to the dresser taking off her jewelry and then pulling open one of the drawers he’d cleared out for her.
She bit her lip unsure of what would be appropriate sleepwear in this type of situation. Did the wife of a billionaire where boxers and a t-shirt to bed? Or was it more silky lingerie or just flat out nothing because the second one wasn’t even an option.
A frightening thought crossed her mind. What if Oliver slept in the nude? She licked her lips at the thought of his naked body before shaking her head and grabbing the first thing she saw in the drawer which happened to be a black cotton spaghetti strap nightgown.
She shut the drawer and moved into the bathroom, which was one of the only place they hadn’t put any camera’s. Chloe washed the make-up from her face before pulling off her dress and bra, and tossing the nightgown over her head.
She glanced at herself in the mirror giving herself a small pep talk before taking one last deep breath and pushing the bathroom door open. She dropped her dress into the hamper and stood there staring at Oliver’s bed unsure of what to do.
There was a light knock on the door before his voice broke her out of her thoughts, “Chloe…are you done getting changed?” She cleared her throat, voice more calm then she was actually feeling, “Yeah I’m good.” He pushed open the door the light from the small lamp near the bed casting a dim glow on the room.
Oliver wet his lips as he took her in. She wasn’t wearing anything significantly special, no make-up or sexy lingerie, but he couldn’t remember her ever looking more enticing then she did at the moment. He shut the door behind him and pursed his lips. “You okay?”
She nodded quickly and gave him a small smile, “Yeah, I just…I didn’t know which side was yours so I just thought I’d wait until you got here.” He chuckled lightly as he scratched the back of his head before pointing to the bed. “I usually sleep on the left…but if that’s where you sleep I can take the right, it’s not a big deal.”
Chloe shook her head, “No actually I sleep on the right…well normally I wind up somewhere in the middle, but that’s beside the point.” Oliver smiled as he turned towards the dresser and started to unbutton his shirt, “Ahh I see, so should I expect an assault in my sleep Mrs. Queen?”
Her head jerked up at his words and their eyes met through the mirror as he pulled his shirt off and chucked it across the room into the laundry basket. Her eyes traveled the expanse of his back before once again meeting his.
He arched an eyebrow and she gave him half a smile, “No…I think you’re safe.” He nodded as his hands dropped to his pants and suddenly the comfort level in the room dropped. Chloe bit the inside of her cheek and turned away from him moving to the bathroom and shutting the light leaving only the glow from the balcony in his bedroom to light their way.
She walked back over to the bed and worked on pulling the covers and sheets back while trying not to think about the half naked god shaped man less than fifteen feet from her.
Oliver made his wave over to the bed a couple of minutes later and she glanced over at him. He was wearing a pair of plaid pants low on his hips and nothing else. She sucked in a deep breath and they stood there watching each other closely.
Finally Oliver broke the silence, his voice low. “Chloe…if you aren’t comfortable with this I can go sleep in the guest room. It’s fine.” She shook herself out of her stupor as shifted lifting a knee up to the bed and climbing in. “No…it’s okay. We’re both adults…and more importantly we’re friends. I trust you Oliver…this is only a big deal if we make it one.”
He nodded and gave her a small smile, “You’re right.” He watched her settled herself into his bed before getting in beside her. They shifted for a few minutes before Chloe settled in lying on her side facing him and Oliver settled on his back arms behind his head.
And even though there was enough space between them to possibly fit another body, the tension in the room was thick. Chloe let out a small sigh and Oliver turned his head in her direction in question, but before he could ask what was wrong her soft voice floated through the quiet room. “Goodnight Oliver.”
“Goodnight Chloe.” But he didn’t close his eyes. How could he? Chloe Sullivan was lying next to him in his bed and all he could think about was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body against his. Oliver let out a mental groan. He was never going to get any sleep tonight…
Chapter Seven: In The Light of The Morning
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