Susan, thank you very much for the insight and offer to help. I purposefully don't spend much time on the rape/Lois' mental state because it's actually not the story I wanted to tell. I just sort of needed Lex to assault her because it's the only way I could conceivably see sex happening between them.
Glad you liked the little details - it was actually kind of fun to hack into Lex's head for that scene. I've always thought that maybe the pheromone spray got the ball rolling with him noticing Lois/her beauty. Then it just became about conquest. He continues to go after her (in my mind) even after he's lost her because he just hates to lose.
I adored writing the stuff between Lois and Clark. It's actually one of the first scenes that came to mind when I first got the idea for this story. I think Lois does learn very early on in their relationship that she can trust Clark - the way she clings to him and begs him not to leave after being strangled in Witness, for example. It's always fun for me to see moments like that, so having her go directly to Clark in this story felt like a natural fit for me.
Glad you are enjoying the story thus far!
