PREVIOUSLY...
“I’d have faked that we were sharing a moment of passion! Don’t you have the least bit of imagination? Or don’t you know what it is to have a ‘moment of passion?’ Not that I’d expect you to. After all, who would sleep with you?”
With her final words, something inside him snapped. He stormed in her direction, grabbing her shoulders and, before she could stop him, his lips claimed hers. He’d planned to pull back immediately, to ask her if that was what she meant - along with some witty comment about ‘faking it.’ But then his lips were on hers and, after a moment of shock, he realized that she was responding, fisting her hands in his shirt as her lips began to move under his.
Oh, yes. Without his consciously commanding them to do it, Clark’s hands left her shoulders, slipping down to wrap around her, pulling her to him. He groaned when, even as their kiss deepened, he felt her hands inside the open edges of his torn shirt.**AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Nine
* * * * * * * * *
“Oh, no,” Clark groaned. “I assaulted you.”
“Hey, I assaulted you first. I tore your shirt open.”
“Still...”
Her fingers on his lips ended what he’d been about to say. “It was just a kiss, Clark.”
“Yeah, but what a kiss,” Clark said, thinking back once again.
“What a kiss,” Lois echoed as she remembered that moment.
**There was nothing subtle about the kiss. It was passionate, powerful and demanding a response. How dare he... The thought trailed off when she realized that he was not the only one kissing. She was kissing him with the same desperate hunger that he was showing her. Searching out his mouth. Responding to his taste. Needing more. Damn, the man knew how to kiss!
As her hands slid up the hard muscles of his chest, she felt his hands slip lower, over the rounded curves of her buttocks before pulling her closer. Her form fitting evening dress did nothing to prevent her from feeling every inch of his body, pressing hard against her as her hands tangled in his hair.
What the hell did she think she was doing? She jumped back, breathing heavily.
They stood there staring at each other in disbelief for a long moment, both panting for breath, and then her hand, as if acting of its own volition, came up, slapping him hard across the cheek. Barely registering the sting in her hand, she found herself racing towards the door as fast as her trembling legs would carry her. She didn’t look back until she was several blocks away from his apartment.
Finally, her pace slowed and then stopped. She stood on the sidewalk, bent over slightly as she steadied herself against a nearby building, shaking her still stinging hand.
“What the hell was that?” she asked herself in disbelief. In spite of the fact that he was an arrogant bastard, in spite of the fact that he’d betrayed her more than once, in spite of the fact that she hated him, and every man who was exactly like him, never had she experienced quite that intense a loss of control or that much desire.
Damn, Lucy was right. She needed to date more. Obviously, it had just been too long since she’d been with a man. Otherwise, there was no way he would have been able to get to her like that. In fact, he was probably sitting in his apartment, gloating over the way he’d forced her to respond.
Well, never again. She’d find a way to get even with Clark Kent if it was the last thing she ever did.**“I get the feeling that you really didn’t like me,” Clark said wistfully. “And let me tell you, I wasn’t sitting in my apartment gloating. I was pretty much wrecked.”
Lois’ eyes met his, silently apologizing when she saw the slightly lost look in his eyes. She cleared her throat. This wasn’t getting Vicky back. “Okay, so... what’s next?”
Right. “Uhh... Well, I guess the obvious question is whether we managed to stop the Toasters.”
“Right,” Lois said, trying to focus her thoughts back on the subject at hand. “I can’t seem to remember what happened then. So why don’t we take a look, see what stories we eventually posted about the Toasters?”
Clark nodded and the room fell silent as they turned their attention back to their respective computers.
“Yes!” Lois said a moment later before looking over at Clark.
“I take it you got the story?”
She nodded. “What about you?”
He shook his head. “I got the story of the capture of the Toasters, but nothing about Toni Taylor. So do you remember how you got the story? After all, things didn’t unfold exactly as they did in our reality.”
“If I recall correctly, after I left your apartment, I decided to go back to the Metro Club. I thought maybe I could sneak in, take a look around. You know, see if there was any compromising paperwork lying around.”
“Lo-is,” Clark groaned.
“Don’t worry, Clark. I didn’t actually get around to breaking in. Toni Taylor was just leaving so I followed her.”
“Her meeting with the Toasters?”
Lois nodded. “The only thing I can’t quite figure out is how the Toasters were caught without Superman.”
“Oh, right,” Clark said. “I remember that. I was taking an early morning flight... back from the Arctic,” Clark added, causing Lois to smile knowingly at him. “Anyway, I spotted the Toasters and... I sort of darted a blast of freezing breath in their direction. It held them until the police arrived.”
“I remember now,” Lois said. “The police concluded that their weapons had malfunctioned or something. Freezing them instead of burning them.”
“Okay, so where does that leave us?” Clark asked, leaning back in his chair.
Lois let out a breath. “I don’t know. I mean, we know a little bit more about our relationship, but it still doesn’t answer what originally happened when you came to the Planet - or how we fix it. It also doesn’t explain what Perry, or even Jimmy really, have against you.”
Clark let out a breath. “One thing I still don’t understand. In our reality, I would never have had the nerve to kiss you like that. So what would cause me to do it when we weren’t even friends?”
“It’s simple, Clark. It’s all about consequences.”
“I don’t understand.”
“In our reality, you had to work with me the next day. We were partners and friends. You were trying to gain my trust. And I suspect you had hopes that if you played your cards right, someday we might become more than partners.”
“So...?”
“Well, in this reality, we didn’t work together. We weren’t friends.”
“So this was the only chance I had? The big, dramatic gesture.”
“Something like that.”
Clark thought about that for a moment before nodding. Lois had serious trust issues when they had first met. He hadn’t wanted to do anything to destroy her trust in him - or to destroy the friendship that was slowly beginning to develop. She was right. It was all about consequences. Taking big risks were all that he had in this reality. Still, he had to wonder how it would all sort itself out. After all, they knew from his folks that he hadn’t married Lois in this altered reality.
So where did that leave them?
“Clark, are you still with me?”
He shook off the funk he was suddenly feeling. “Yeah. So... what’s next?”
“Well, we still have to take a look at that file Jimmy brought us about Dr. Hamilton.”
Clark nodded, reaching across the table to pick up the file.
Lois leaned back in her chair, simply watching as he sped-read through it. “So?” she asked once he had finished.
“Apparently, Dr. Hamilton left Star Labs in order to work on creating a hologram generator machine.”
Lois’ eyebrows rose. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. Anything else? Does that mean he never resurrected Bonnie and Clyde and friends?”
“No. Apparently, he did that too - after he decided that a hologram generator device was not possible. But creating the hologram generator was the reason he left Star Labs earlier than normal.”
“So then Jefferson Cole was still the one to invent the hologram generator?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, but there’s nothing in this file that tells us if such a device was ever invented in this altered reality. It only tells us that Dr. Hamilton didn’t create it.”
Lois let out a breath. “I don’t suppose it matters. After all, either way, it doesn’t tell us why you didn’t get the job at the Planet.”
Clark shook his head.
“So... we keep at it.”
“After lunch,” Clark said.
“Clark...”
“I need a break, Lois. I suspect you do too. And we still have those sandwiches Mom made us back at my apartment.”
Lois nodded. He was right. She wasn’t all that hungry. But it had been a pretty intense few hours. A break to clear their heads would do them good.
Besides... She glanced at Clark, remembering the sad look in Clark’s eyes when she’d told him how she’d felt about him after their first kiss - or what had been their first kiss in this altered reality. Maybe it was time to remind him that she didn’t really hate him. Besides, she realized suddenly, she needed to remind herself that she didn’t really hate him. And a little physical exercise might help clear their minds, because something told her they still had a lot of work to do if they were going to get this mess straightened out. A brief trip back to his apartment seemed like just what the doctor ordered.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois had been having problems concentrating since they’d returned from their ‘lunch’ break. The sandwiches from Martha had remained untouched. So had the brownies. They had been much too busy with other, more pleasurable, pursuits.
Oh yeah. She sighed. Their lunchtime activities had definitely displaced the odd feelings of disdain she’d felt for Clark when they’d been remembering their altered past. She’d definitely have to keep that ‘remedy’ in mind during the rest of their investigation.
Ironically, the best part of their ‘lunch break’ had been when Clark had carefully kissed the stretch marks on her stomach - a byproduct of giving birth. At first, she’d been confused by his careful attention to that detail of her body. It was the one difference in her body in recent years - and not one she particularly appreciated. But she did now. Boy, did she ever. She would never complain about them again.
When she’d questioned him about the unusual behavior, he’d pointed out that it proved she’d still given birth to Vicky. But how was that possible? How had her body remained the same when it was quite obvious that Vicky was gone?
It was an important piece of the puzzle that was this new reality, but still, she couldn’t find a way to put the pieces together. Were they in an alternate reality? That didn’t seem likely, given that they were getting these altered memories. Still, how did it all fit together?
But now Lois was having problems keeping her mind on her research as she kept looking across at Clark, lost in the new memories they had created over the lunch hour. In fact, she was feeling so languid that she hadn’t even cared that Clark was the one who had scooped the next big story. After all, who cared about smart kids? Not that Perry had felt that way at the time.
He had been livid. Perry had definitely reminded them that The Star was nothing more than an annoying little puppy, snapping at their heels. And although the quality of writing had not improved, it seemed that they had one new reporter who was beginning to get the stories.
For a moment, Lois had wondered if that was what Perry had against Clark. But as quickly as the thought had come, she dismissed the notion. Perry wasn’t petty. He wouldn’t hold it against Clark that he had scooped the Daily Planet. He’d be mad at his reporters for allowing it to happen.
Besides, in this reality, the smart kids hadn’t been her story. Clark was the one who had been all gung-ho to pursue the story about the smart kids in their reality. So the fact that in this reality Eduardo had pursued the story for the Daily Planet didn’t surprise Lois. Nor did the fact that Clark had scooped Eduardo. Eduardo was a decent enough reporter, but he didn’t have enough imagination to get a story like that one.
Besides, it was difficult to feel too bad when she discovered that she had broken the story about the leak at the Lexcor Nuclear Facility. It had been causing a heat wave in Metropolis that seemed to have all the scientists stumped. It wasn’t until she had come up with the idea of comparing areas where the heat was greatest that she’d discovered the leak.
She scrolled down, looking for the next story on her computer and instantly groaned when she saw the headline. ‘Couple Reunited! Love Wins Out!’
“What’s wrong?” Clark asked, looking up from his research.
When she simply pointed at the screen, he rose from his seat and came over.
“The pheromone incident,” Clark said. “I wonder how that played out?”
“I remember how it played out,” Lois said, burying her head in her hands.
“Lois?”
She looked up at him. “Well, the newsroom was being used as a backdrop for a photo shoot to advertise some new perfume. Miranda showed up and sprayed half the newsroom so that everyone fell loony-tunes in love, and you weren’t there for me to throw myself at so...”
“So...?” Clark said. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you threw yourself at someone like Ralph, did you?”
“Clark! There has to be a little bit of animal magnetism there in the first place for it to have any effect! And you think I’d throw myself at Ralph?”
“Luthor,” he said, his face going pale.
“No. Not Lex, either. Although...” Her voice became much more contemplative. “...since I didn’t fall for him in either reality when I was under the influence of the pheromone spray, what does that tell you?” She looked at Clark before burying her head in her hands once again. “I was such a fool, Clark. How could I have ever agreed to marry him?”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Clark said, taking a seat beside her and rubbing his hand reassuringly over her back. “You didn’t marry him. That’s the important thing.”
“Didn’t I?” she asked, raising her head once again. “Can you promise me that, Clark? In our reality, I didn’t marry him because I kept thinking about you. What happened here? What if I’m Mrs. Lex Luthor? Didn’t that thought even occur to you?” She hadn’t meant to tell him quite that bluntly, but... well, it was out there now. If he was completely disgusted with her for marrying Lex, it wasn’t as if there was anything she could do to stop it. Still, she had to bite her lower lip to keep her chin from trembling.
Clark sat there for a moment. “How long have you been worrying about this?” he asked. “Oh, wait. I know. You mentioned the possibility that you might be married first thing this morning, but... Have you been worrying about this all day?” At her look, he continued. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want it to be true, Clark.”
Clark jumped to his feet and marched towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Lois asked.
But he simply opened the door and bellowed Jimmy’s name.
“What are you doing, Clark?” Lois hissed.
“We’re finding out if you married Luthor.”
“What are you going to say to Jimmy?”
He simply held up a finger to silence her as Jimmy appeared in the doorway, not seeming exactly happy about being summoned - especially by Clark. Still, Clark ignored the look he was given and simply gestured the younger man into the room.
“We need to see a copy of Lex Luthor’s marriage certificate,” he told Jimmy.
Lois’ eyebrows rose. Clever. He hadn’t said anything about her - just Luthor.
“Yeah. Sure.” Jimmy walked over to Clark’s computer, sitting down.
Lois instantly tensed. She was right. Obviously, she was right. She had married Lex. After all, Jimmy hadn’t batted an eye at Clark’s request for Lex’s marriage certificate. So he was obviously married. And what did that mean for her and Clark?
After a few short minutes of tense silence, Jimmy lifted his head from the screen. “Is that all?”
Neither Lois nor Clark responded verbally. Instead, both rushed over and began reading over Jimmy’s shoulder.
“Patricia Letinski? Who’s Patricia Letinski?” Lois asked.
“Mrs. Lex Luthor,” Jimmy responded.
“So I didn’t marry Lex,” Lois breathed in relief, not realizing the significance of what she’d said until she saw the look Jimmy gave her in response.
Clark quickly made his way over to the conference room door, closing it.
“You thought you were married to Luthor?” Jimmy asked. “Why would you think something like that?”
“Well, I thought... maybe for a short time... I mean, I knew I wouldn’t have stayed married to him... obviously... but I wondered...” Her voice trailed off in frustration.
“What we’re about to tell you can’t go beyond this room?” Clark began.
“Clark...” Lois interrupted only to be again stopped by her husband. In spite of her gaff, she didn’t think telling Jimmy was a good idea. Still, she complied with his request - hoping he had some magic wand that could undo her mistake.
“Lois is having some...” Clark looked over at Lois’, obviously trying to find the right word. “...gaps in her memory.”
“What...”
“We can’t tell you why,” Clark said immediately. “But it’s all part of what we’re working on.”
“But if she’s having problems with her memory, Perry and I should be helping her. Not you.”
“It has to be Clark,” Lois said. “Sorry, Jimmy. I know this bothers you, but... Please. Just hear him out.” Clark was obviously improvising wildly. Still, after her stupid utterance, they had to tell the kid something. And problems with her memory was certainly better than the truth - that they had gone into the past and, as a result, had changed the present from a place where she was Clark’s wife to one where she was Clark’s enemy. “But... please. Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”
Jimmy hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “So you really thought you’d married Luthor?” Jimmy asked.
“Well...” Lois said, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
“You do mean ‘the’ Lex Luthor? I mean, I’ve got the right Lex Luthor, right?” Jimmy asked. “The billionaire? Rags to riches? The most illusive bachelor in the history of Metropolis? Playboy extraordinaire? You thought he was your husband? Are you okay, Lois? I mean, this sounds like more than just problems with your memory. What would ever make you think you were married to Lex? He always went for the really hot chicks.”
Lois bristled and Clark had to fight back a laugh.
“Well, it could have happened,” Lois pouted.
“He married a princess from Latislan who, by all reports, came with a huge dowry,” Jimmy continued. “And... man, was she hot. Wait! Is that why you asked me about your locker number? Because of these... problems with your memory?”
Lois nodded. “Also... do you have any idea where I live? I keep thinking that I still live on Carter Ave.”
“You haven’t lived on Carter for ages. You live on Regina Street now. You need the address?”
“Yes, Jimmy. Thank you.”
“No problem except...” He looked at Clark before looking back at Lois. “Can I talk to you alone?”
“It’s not...” Lois began before feeling Clark’s hand lightly touch her arm.
“I need a bathroom break anyway,” Clark said, walking towards the door to the conference room.
* * * * * * * * *
Jimmy made sure that Clark was long gone before turning to Lois.
“So what is it, Jimmy?”
“It’s just...” He shifted uncomfortably. “What I saw earlier... With you and Kent...”
Lois let out a breath. “Look, Jimmy, I know you think I’m a traitor, but...”
“I just think with these memory problems you’re having, you don’t remember who Kent is.”
“Oh? So who do you think Kent is?” she asked, hoping he’d give her some clue as to all this anti-Clark sentiment.
“He’s a no-good, back-stabbing, skum-bag who can’t be trusted as far as you can throw him.”
Lois sighed. Not exactly the most helpful response. “Okay, Jimmy, I know you don’t understand this. And believe me, I wish you hadn’t... seen what you saw. But trust me. I know exactly who Clark Kent is.”
“Then how could you...”
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this. No matter what you may think, Clark is a good man.”
She knew she’d made a mistake almost immediately. The look on Jimmy’s face told her that he was now certain her ‘memory problems’ were about Clark. And although he was right, she didn’t have a clue what Clark might have ‘done’ in this reality, she believed in Clark. She knew it had to be something like her impressions - thinking that Clark had turned her over to EPRAD authorities when he’d just been trying to save her life.
“Okay, so we aren’t going to agree on this,” Lois quickly said. “But... Please. Trust me. I know what I’m doing. But, Jimmy, there’s one thing I’m not quite clear on.” She bit her lip as she considered how to ask this question. Still, it could help them shortcut all of this research so... “When Cla... Kent came to interview for the Daily Planet, what happened?”
“He interviewed for the Planet?” Jimmy asked in return.
* * * * * * * * *
“What did Jimmy want?” Clark asked a few minutes later.
“Didn’t you listen?” When Clark’s eyebrows rose, she instantly rebuked herself. “I’m sorry, Clark. It’s just...” She ran her hand over the tired muscles in her neck. “I just want to get this all straightened out so that things get back to normal. To get back to Vicky. Why can’t we just click our heels together and chant ‘There’s no place like home’ three times?”
He came up behind her, taking over her back massage. “Well, in theory that would get us back to Kansas. Do you want to try it?”
His comment actually managed to bring a small smile to her lips. She tilted her head back and he automatically leaned over to press a soft kiss to her lips.
“Okay, so where were we?”
“Oh, right. I just asked Jimmy what happened when you interviewed here. Thanks for covering for my gaff, by the way.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Still, I think we have to be careful. I don’t think we should let Jimmy know anything more than we have to.”
“I agree. So what did Jimmy say when you asked him about my interview?”
“Sorry. We struck out there. He didn’t even know that you interviewed here.”
“Well, honestly, we don’t actually know that I did interview here. I could have been...” He struggled for a moment. “...interrupted by some disaster that we caused by our trip into the past before I ever made it to the interview.”
“I know. Still, Jimmy says that Perry keeps a file on interviewees - in case he’s looking for someone in the future. Jimmy says he’ll ‘borrow’ it for me.”
“Steal it, you mean.”
“Semantics,” Lois responded with a shrug. “Besides, I’ll put it back - just as soon as we read his notes on you.”
“Assuming there are notes on me. Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?”
“Well, first, I have a question for you. Don’t think I’m not grateful, but... Well, in our reality, I almost married Lex. But Jimmy seemed shocked that I could have even considered myself a contender. I’m just wondering...”
“What was different here?”
She nodded.
“I don’t know. But I’ve always wondered to what extent Luthor’s interest in you was due to Superman.”
Understanding suddenly crossed Lois’ face. “So he might have been interested in me here - like he was before Superman came on the scene. Might have even dated me or wanted to sleep with me. After all, he did have a reputation for dating a lot of women. But the reason he asked me to marry him was because I brought my own dowry - of a sort - in that the tabloids had dubbed me ‘Superman’s girlfriend.’”
“Are you okay?” Clark asked.
“What? Oh, you think I’m going to be upset because Lex wouldn’t have considered me suitable marriage material without Superman being in the picture. No, Clark. Trust me. I’m actually grateful.”
“Really?”
“How could you even doubt it?” she asked, running her hand over his cheek. “I was so scared that without thoughts of you on my wedding... or almost wedding day, I might have actually married him.” She was suddenly struck by another thought. She obviously hadn’t married Lex, but... did that mean she wasn’t married? Damn! Why hadn’t she thought to ask Jimmy about that?
On the other hand, surely Jimmy would have said something if she had been married to someone else. Of course, then again, he might not. After all, she’d qualified her response by saying she knew she would have never stayed married to Lex. On the other hand, surely he would have said something when she asked about her address. Or would he? This was Jimmy, after all.
Still, she really didn’t want to go back and ask Jimmy now if she was married. After all, Jimmy knew too much as it was. Besides, nothing could have been worse than her marrying Lex. If she was married to someone else... like Dan, for instance...
“Lois, did you hear what I said?” Clark asked.
“Hmm? Oh... what?”
“I asked where were we in our research?”
“Umm... right.” She quickly pushed her concerns about her marital status to the back of her mind. It didn’t really matter, anyway. Because they were going to get this all straightened out. “Well, we had gotten as far as the pheromone incident, so I suggest we continue. I know that the farther we get from the moment we made the change, the less likely we’re going to jog a memory that will tell us what went wrong so that we can correct it. Still, I don’t really see any other options.”
Clark nodded. “So... you were about to tell me who you seduced when you were under the pheromone compound.”
“Right.” She shifted uncomfortably.
He reached out, taking your hand. “You don’t have to be worried about telling me. I know I wasn’t working at the Daily Planet in this reality so... I’m not going to be mad or anything. I know you couldn’t help what happened.”
Lois looked at him. “It’s just... Well, you know that you weren’t working at the Planet. And... well, you know. I mean, it’s just...” Her voice trailed off.
“Lois, you’re really starting to scare me here. What happened? Did someone hurt you?”
“Not exactly. It’s just... this would be so much easier if...” She took a deep breath. “Okay, well, I guess I should start at the beginning. As far as I can remember, I hadn’t seen you... well, except across a room full of reporters... since we shared that kiss.”
“I can remember thinking afterwards, when you ran off like that, that I’d made a big mistake - but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, even though I hadn’t seen you, I hadn’t stopped thinking about that kiss. Or how I could have responded.”
“So...?”
“Anyway, I was sitting at my desk working, when suddenly, I can remember this warm feeling and suddenly, I felt unexpectedly free - like I could do or be anything. No limitations. No restrictions.”
“No inhibitions,” Clark supplied.
“Anyway, I looked up and Richie was sitting on the corner of my desk, watching me.”
“Well, I guess I realized Richie was attracted to you when he bid a hundred dollars for a date with you at the charity auction when I...” His voice trailed off.
“Had broken up with me ‘for my own good’?” Lois said, completing his thought.
Clark shrugged sheepishly.
“Anyway,” Lois continued, not wanting to get side-tracked, “Richie was sitting on the corner of my desk.”
“And I guess he’s... okay looking.”
“He’s cute,” Lois corrected.
“Okay, so you were attracted to him and he was attracted to you... And you were both obviously without your inhibitions...”
Lois took a deep breath. In spite of Clark’s reassurances that he was okay with this, it was obviously bothering him. Maybe the best way to approach this was just to tell the story as quickly as possible and be done with it.
**“Hey, gorgeous.”
Lois looked up from her computer screen to see Richie seated on the corner of her desk, leaning towards her with a smile.
“Wanta get out of here? Play a little hooky and...” He shrugged. “Maybe see what other trouble we can get into?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
Lois turned around so that she was facing him to find that he was running his eyes hungrily over her body. Was he drooling? She glared at him until he finally rose from her desk, backing away ever so slowly as if suddenly afraid for his safety.
“My love,” he said, pleading for one last chance. “Would you consider running away with me to Paris? I can promise you days filled with adventure and nights filled with passion.”
“What would ever make you think I’d be interested in you? Please! I’d rather sleep with a rat! At least I’d understand when he made squeaking sounds. Nor would I be bothered by his beady little eyes when he mentally undressed me. And the drooling... What’s with the drooling? You got any relatives in the canine family?”**“Ouch,” Clark said, interrupting her story.
“No inhibitions, remember.”
“You give guys enough problems when you have inhibitions,” Clark responded, suddenly looking very much relieved. “So I take it you and Richie didn’t...”
She shook her head. “I guess there wasn’t even a eensy weensy, microscopic part of me that was attracted to him.”
Clark laughed.
“It wasn’t funny. Richie couldn’t look me in the eye for the next year. He’d purposely cross the floor to the other side of the newsroom whenever he saw me coming.”
“Is that what had you so uncomfortable when you first started to tell me this story?”
“No, not exactly. After all, Rich wasn’t the only guy who approached me that day.”
“Oh? Who else was there?”
“Claude,” Lois said, looking through her eyelashes at her husband before focusing on the table in front of her. “I guess Claude was affected by the pheromone compound, too.” She grimaced. “Not that he ever needed to be affected by anything to want to have sex with me.”
Clark drew in a sharp breath. A previous lover. Obviously, unlike Richie, Lois felt some sort of animal magnetism with Claude.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
