Friends
Written by Amazonia V
Chapter 7:
It couldn't have been possible. Lois Lane shouldn't have been sitting at a classy fine dining restaurant, overlooking shimmering diamonds that were city lights, at eleven at night in a city thousands of miles from home. Certainly she shouldn't have been sitting across from a man so ridiculously handsome she had to fight the urge to glance around to be sure he wasn't talking to someone else.
His wonderful head of dark black hair fluttered around his temples in the steady breeze. It waved a bit, that hair, and caught glints of the light. His face was smooth and narrow with just a hint of hollows in the cheeks. His mouth, mobile and firm, could light into a smile designed to make a woman's pulse flutter.
It certainly worked on hers.
His eyes were framed by thick, dark lashes, arched over by expressive brows. But it was the eyes themselves that captivated her. They were still navy blue ponds, un-rippling water, un-blinking, un-winking, deep pools of evening in which she could lose her soul. And they stayed fixed on hers when she spoke. Not in a probing, uncomfortable way. But an interested one.
She'd had men look at her with interest before. She wasn't ugly, after all, she reminded herself. Next to men like Superman and Hal Jordan, even Miss Universe would feel inadequate. But somehow Bruce Wayne managed to make her feel very different.
She should have been nervous, but she wasn't. Not really. She told herself it was because he was so obviously a gentleman, in both manner and dress. He spoke well, seemed so at ease with himself. The stone-gray business suit fit his tall, muscled form perfectly.
Her father would have approved.
She sipped her second cup of decaf coffee and wondered what generous gift of fate had put him in her path. They were talking of his philanthropic work again, but she didn't mind. It was easier to talk of good deeds than of personal things.
The details of the interviews weren’t something that she needed to talk about with him just now. Being the Features Editor meant that she had a few assistants as staff writers and they were currently doing research even as her Instaport sent them the quick message or so. The final article would, of course, be vetted by Bruce’s impeccable and formidable PR firm.
“Thank you for meeting me and agreeing to this interview. You’re normally known as the most elusive bachelor in town. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much this feature will mean to our readers.”
“You’re very welcome,” Bruce said. “The feature will highlight the work done by Wayne Corp. in the field of sustainable human development. We are extremely conscious of our role and ensure that we adhere to triple bottom line reporting on the Global Reporting Index for Human Development. While we do a lot of charity work and intend to still continue these projects, our focus is on creating livelihoods for people. You know the old saying, Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for the rest of his life.”
He’d ordered a bottle of sparkling mineral water to sip on after dinner and now, he lifted a glass to toast Lois. .
“To winning combinations,” he said.
She nodded and tipped the rim of her coffee cup toward him. Their glassware clinked together and she looked into his eyes as she took another sip. He watched her the entire time, which she thought was interesting. He seemed like someone who was shallow and only concerned about his own needs, but he was definitely paying attention to her. He watched every expression on her face and she felt as if he wanted to make sure she enjoyed herself tonight. That was out of character for the man she’d heard about.
When she returned her cup to its saucer, she smiled at him. “I like this coffee bean. Thank you for recommending it.”
“Well, it has a bite, so I thought it might suit you.”
She had to laugh at the way he said it. She knew she came across as a man-eater when she was in business mode. But tonight she wanted to enjoy the opportunity to just get to know Bruce.
It hadn’t taken long for her to notice that Bruce always deflected the questions she asked about his family or friends. Not that it mattered—she was not known as the sleuth of newsprint for nothing, either her staff or she would get to him.
“Tell me more about yourself,” he asked as he took another sip of mineral water.
She wondered if she knew of any other playboy who never drank alcohol. She’d remember her that for her article.
But she needed to respond to Bruce, so Lois said, “I used to work as a freelance writer earlier. But it’s hard to pay the bills with freelance gigs only, so I transitioned to a Features Columnist position at Business Quarterly. While I was there, I wrote a piece on the Young Presidents Organization – about young guns—men under thirty who were changing and shaping the way businesses were being managed.”
“I know that organization,” Bruce said tersely.
Lois looked at him, “Ah, yes, I recall that you refused to accept their invitation to join them.”
“You’ve done your homework well.”
She agreed pleasantly, thinking back. That article had put her on the map, so to speak, and given her a chance to start fresh. “The Daily Planet called – Perry White himself – and offered me a full-time position as a Features Editor and Staff Reporter. Once I started editing—which is very different from writing—I found that I loved it.”
“As much as writing?” he asked.
She shrugged, but then she decided, why not tell him. “Some days but what I loved about writing was the discovery, digging deeper and asking questions that surprised the people being interviewed. Not in a bad way, but just in a way that pushed them to examine and expand their own responses. I liked that.”
“Surely you still write news?” asked Bruce.
No one ever thought to ask her that, she observed. The truth was there were times when she wrote less than she edited, times when she missed covering the beat.
“Not as much as I’d like to. I earned the position of Chief Reporter after I won the Pulitzer Prize. And I’m still in charge of our entire Features section.”
“Do you like being the boss?” he asked.
“Love it,” she said, with a grin.
She hadn’t realized until she’d gotten into the swing of Special Features that she really loved the competitive nature of her industry. It had also helped her focus on staying healthy. Working in journalism had made her very aware that she had to be fit. So she worked out every day. And just to inspire herself to greater fitness heights, she had tacked a full-size color poster of Wonder Woman onto her refrigerator door. It helped that she couldn’t cook either, mused Lois.
“But enough about me,” Lois continued. “You must be looking at a huge challenge to amalgamate Wayne Property Developers & Investors and Wayne Enterprises. Will you be running the merger? Or will you step down?”
“No, I don’t think I ever will. But I will delegate more. I trust Lucien fully on all aspects of business.”
“How did you build up Wayne Corp?” she asked. He was more open when she asked him about business. That was another interesting note that she mentally tucked away to examine later.
“It’s my own company. As you probably already know, my father started a small medical research company with two patents. I took it over when I was young and with the help of a trusted team, made it into the success it is today. There’s a certain sense of pride of doing that comes with that.”
Bruce felt a sense of wonder on admitting that. He had not even shared that feeling with Alfred or Dick.
Lois nodded. “I’d heard you took over the company from your father’s advisors who were running it for you.”
“Indeed. I was looking for something to do after college.”
“Did you bum around Europe?” she asked. She couldn’t see that. Bruce didn’t seem like the type of man who would be able to just drift.
“No. I spent a few years travelling the world – places like Nepal, India, Japan, Egypt, Switzerland fascinated me. I spent many years learning many different things. Mostly to do with physical fitness. I left the company in the hands of men my father had trusted. When my father’s chief advisor wanted to retire, I jumped at the challenge it represented.”
She thought about that. About what it said about Bruce that he was the kind of man who could take a few years off to do training in physical fitness. That was tough work. Not the kind of stuff she would have expected Bruce Wayne to do.
“I guess that’s a good thing,” she said.
He signaled the waiter and asked for the check. She took her platinum card from her wallet, intending to pay for the evening, but he gave her a look that made her put it back.
“I have an expense account and this isn’t a date,” she said.
“Who said?”
Bruce found that behind the slim-fitting clothes, Lois was a very interesting woman. He wanted to know more about her. He wouldn’t have minded spending more time talking to her. He liked her insights and the way she looked at him.
Which is why he had first gotten the all-clear from Clark. No man in his right mind, not even the Batman, wanted Superman mad at him.
For such a long time, Bruce had felt as if he were a hollow shell of a man. A man who had only two dimensions: business and fighting crime. Sometimes it was only one dimension – fighting crime, keeping innocent people safe. But with Lois…well, she made him wonder if he had been wrong to keep such a distance between himself and others.
Or maybe this was just the first blush of attraction—that potent combination of lust and intrigue. She was a mystery to him. A woman unlike others he’d met and seduced.
In her, there was a sort of innocence—she seemed to be aware of her appeal to the opposite sex but she handled it well. Men stared at her as she preceded him out of the restaurant, but she ignored their looks. He glared at one man who stared too long and then put his hand on the small of her back.
She was with him.
He was glad that he’d thought to confirm that The Daily Planet should do articles on him to publicize the philanthropic work that Wayne Corp was doing. That would give him a reason to keep in touch with her.
He was going to ask her out again—that was a given. He needed to have her in his bed. He wanted to see if her mysteries would be solved by having sex. He’d found in the past that the appeal of a lot of the women he’d dated vanished after he’d bedded them. He hoped that it wouldn’t be the same with Lois. And yet a part of him believed that it would be. That she’d be like every other relationship in his life. He was used to expecting nothing from them.
“Why are you helping me walk out of the restaurant?” she asked.
“So every man in the place knows that you are with me.”
“Am I with you, Bruce?”
“Yes, you are.”
“Just for tonight?”
“No. I want to have you by my side again. I have to go to a fund raising dinner next Thursday evening. Would you like to accompany me?”
They stepped out into the February evening. It was damp and chilly and Lois shivered. If they had a different kind of relationship, he would have wrapped his arm around her. But then, he thought, to hell with that. He put his arm over her shoulder and drew her against the curve of his body. She shuddered and looked up at him.
He read the same desire in her expression that he’d been battling all night. Her eyes revealed that she was thinking of him as a man—not an interviewee—and he knew that he wanted to keep that interest alive.
With the gentle pressure of his arm on her shoulder, he steered her down the street to where his limousine was parked. When they got to his car, she stopped and turned, trapped between his body and his vehicle.
“What do you want from me?” she asked. Her voice was soft and low. There was none of the confident executive that he’d met earlier this evening. Instead, there was a woman who showed him a hint of vulnerability. And that touched him.
He brushed the softer emotions aside—he didn’t like them. He touched the rounded apples of her cheeks, ran his finger over that arch down toward her ear. “Right now I want a kiss.”
“Just one?” she asked. She licked her lips, a slow sensual movement of her tongue that made him groan inside. Her tongue was delicate and pink and he wanted to feel it on his skin. He wanted her to taste him the same way. And he needed to taste her in return.
With those full lips and her sexy smile…What would she taste like?
“To start,” he said.
He traced the line of her neck with his fingertip and along the hairline of her high ponytail where her hair met her skin. She shivered a little and licked her lips again. Then she leaned toward him, not close enough that their bodies brushed, but closer.
He kept his light touch on her face. Just taking his time. All the best things in life took time. He’d never gone for instant gratification, but this time he was tempted to. He made himself wait, though. Patience always paid off.
He traced the vee at the top of her blouse. Her breasts were large, full and he didn’t come close to touching them, but he wanted to. Instead, he contented himself with the soft tender skin of her chest, that area exposed by her blouse.
Then he leaned toward her and she tipped her head back and went up on her toes. He looked down into her upturned face. Her eyes were half closed and he had that momentary surge of lust that always assailed him when he was close to tasting a new woman.
She put her hands on his shoulders as he hesitated, drawing out the moment, and lifted herself even higher so that he felt the brush of her warm breath against his mouth. But he pulled back.
He would decide when they had their first kiss. He would set the tone and the timbre of the embrace. And he wanted to make sure that Lois knew he was in charge.
Starting where he’d first touched her with his finger, he followed the same path with his lips, caressing his way with nibbling kisses to her ear.
He blew gently into her ear. “Do you want me?”
“Yes…”
“Good.”