Chapter 14

It was the next day, and Bruce insisted on taking 'Madeline' out to dinner. It was a smaller place, but still classy. He had the limo pick her up at the hotel, where she was waiting in the lobby for him. He went in to bring her out, and found her sitting by herself patiently, but she looked up when she saw him and gave him a shy smile. Bruce saw that she was rather beautiful. Her brown hair was wavy and hanging down and loose around her shoulders. She was wearing a simple dark chocolate-colored cocktail dress that came three inches above the knee with matching ankle-strap stilettos. She had a gold bracelet around her left wrist and gold studs in her ears. Her honey-brown eyes lit up brightly when he held his hand out for her.

"You look lovely," he said, smiling. Madeline smiled and blushed slightly.

"Thank you," she said softly. "...You do too." She blushed a little deeper at the effeminate remark, but Bruce offered her his arm and led her to the limo.

The ride to the restaurant was on the whole uneventful. Madeline mostly looked out the window with her hands in her lap and her fingers every so often twitching. Bruce pegged it off as nervousness and smiled at her shyness. This was the reason he had picked the smaller restaurant, because he knew that it would be quieter with less people in it.

Finally, they arrived and Bruce helped Madeline out of the car and led her up to the doors. She was quiet as he gave his name and reservation information and they were both sat at a table in a dimmed corner. Madeline looked around, taking in the dim lighting that brought the polished wood and terra cotta flooring to an earthy luminance. She blended in nicely with the atmosphere, Bruce noticed. Soft Italian music played in the background, adding on to the pleasant, calming atmosphere.

"I take it you like it?" Bruce asked the Lady as she looked around. Madeline nodded.

"...It's lovely," she finally said after looking back at him. "And quiet...I like that. Thank you for bringing me here." Bruce gave her a smile as the waiter came up and asked for drinks. Bruce ordered the wine for the both of them, but Madeline interjected.

"I...dont drink," she said gently. "I would be happy with any kind of fruit juice, if you have any..." The waiter smiled at her shyness and said that he had come cranberry, and left it at that.

"Twenty-two and you dont drink?" Bruce asked, humored. Madeline shook her head.

"It's...a personal thing," she replied, and left it at that. As did Bruce.

"Anything you would like to eat? They serve mostly Italian here." He watched as Madeline picked up her menu.

"Is there anything that doesnt have a lot of cheeses?" she asked, scanning down. "I'm lactose intolerant." Bruce scanned over his menu.

"...The minestrone soup is filling, and doesnt have any dairy," he replied. Madeline smiled.

"Good choice, thank you, Mister Wayne," she said, folding her menu and putting her hands in her lap. A small silence ran between the two for a few moments before Madeline let out a small sigh. Bruce noticed.

"...Is there anything wrong?" he asked. Madeline blushed a little deeper.

"There is," she said, bringing her hands up to fold them over the table. "...Father...hasnt been entirely honest with you in his endeavors...or his intentions as to coming here." Bruce arched a brow.

"Oh?" He paused. "...What do you mean?" Madeline looked him in the eye before shifting her gaze away.

"Father didnt come here for the sole intention of business," she replied. "He also came here with the intention of...the heart..." She paused. "...He wants me to be married."

"...Ah," Bruce said, getting it. He shifted slightly. "...Married to...?"

"Yes, you," Madeline replied, then bit her lip. "...And I wanted to let you know...it's wrong of him to trick you like this...into spending time with me..." Her voice grew soft, and Bruce spoke up.

"Dont get me wrong," he said. "I find you a very...nice...pretty, intelligent girl. I really do. But...it's not...marriage I'm looking for." Madeline nodded.

"I've heard," she replied. "Have to keep up the 'billionaire playboy' image, dont we?" Bruce felt his face warm ever-so-slightly.

"...It's an image and image only," he said. "...There was...once...someone I loved dearly. But she's gone. I dont think I'll ever get over her. And I mean absolutely no offense to you." Madeline raised her head and shook it.

"No, I completely understand," she said, looking at him. "...I know how that is. When I was younger...I fell in love with a boy that did chores for my family. And he loved me, and not for my wealth. He would leave me a flower on my bedroom doorstep every day, and tell me that as soon as he had enough money, he would buy a house and marry me." Her gentle nostalgic smile vanished. "...Father didnt approve. He said that I deserved better..." She brought her folded hands to her chin. "...He sent me away to boarding school, and on my second year, my knight died. I still dont know how...but he loved me...and I loved him." She shook her head. "Then I made the stupid mistake of intoxicating myself to the point where I had meaningless sex with some boy from a local pub...I vowed never to drink again...or love another..."

Bruce felt his heart clench for the girl in front of him, who he could tell was near tears. He pulled his kerchief out of his pocket and offered it to her, and she took it and dabbed at her eyes.

"I'm...I'm so sorry," she apologized. "...It's of no concern to you..." She handed Bruce back his kerchief just as the waiter came back with their drinks. After they had thanked him and he left, Bruce gave her a gentle smile.

"It's alright," he said. "I understand. It's obvious that neither of us are here looking for love...so..." He raised his glass. "Here's to friendship, at least..." Madeline smiled back the best she could and raised hers likewise.

"To friendship," she said. She sipped her cranberry juice. "...To avoid another heartbreak, at least," she added. "...Let's just humor Father for the time being?"

Bruce nodded and summoned the waiter over to take their food orders, though as he looked at Madeline smile with child-like shyness at the man, he couldnt help but feel something akin to companionship with the young Lady.

Just as the Joker had hoped for, Bruce Wayne was quite taken with the presumed Lady Elloway. For the next week, the billionaire had taken 'Madeline' to every high-class joint in Gotham, from museums to restaurants. They had even made the tabloids under the title "Could She Be the One?"--the Joker had laughed his ass off when he saw that one. Each night--often late--Dolly would come back and the tightly-held masquerade of 'Madeline' would drop off as though it were a tangible mask. She would give a full report, then grab the remote with the serious need to dull down the sophistication she had been subjected to the whole day prior.

At the end of each day for that whole week, the Joker had listened to her report, looking for a sign--any sign--of possible intimacy between Bruce Wayne and who he thought to be Madeline, but the closest that came to it was a slight hold of the hands while walking and him leading her through doors and crowds by the small of her back. Other than that, nada. And this made him bite his thumbnail as he stared into space thinking. If he was to successfully capture Bruce Wayne for hostage, then the billionaire's defenses had to be lowered completely.

After day number eight had come and gone, and Dolly herself had gone off to sleep--in the warehouse this time because she said the city noise outside the hotel was keeping her awake--the Joker finally had the epiphany. He made a phone call, then left a note on Dolly's bedside table telling her to call the day off for Bruce.

Dolly came in about an hour later, the note in hand and a questioning look on her face. The Joker didnt seem to notice. "...Why did I call off for the day?" she asked. The Joker smirked and tossed the newest tabloid--entitled "Future Mrs. Wayne?"--on the table in front of him.

"This is why," he replied, grinning. "It's not just the pretty sight the paparazzi are capturing, it's the chemistry between Bruce Wayne and Madeline." He leaned back in his chair. "Bruce is lowering his defenses, I can see it. He's letting you in. Now all you have to do is tear down that wall and snatch his heart right out of his ribcage." He paused at the pretty mental picture, then continued. "Get him into bed, and it'll be over like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

Dolly scoffed and plopped down in a chair across from him. "Not likely," she replied. "His 'one true love' is dead, and he wont go past touching my back or holding my hand. He's rock solid about that girl he loved." The Joker put on a faux-thoughtful face.

"That is a dilemma," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny vial of clear liquid with a hint of pink coloring. Dolly arched a brow.

"What's that?" she asked. The Joker held the vial between his thumb and forefinger and sifted it side-to-side.

"A very slow-acting aphrodisiac," he replied. "It takes about four hours for the full effects to kick in, but after four hours is up, Bruce Wayne will most likely mount the closest person he can find." He looked pointedly at Dolly. "And you have to be that person."

Dolly smiled as she got the plan. "Great," she said. "Just one problem." She leaned back in her own chair. "'Madeline' told Bruce she had slept with one other guy earlier on. And I have never slept with anyone." She leaned forward. "We," she gestured between them, "have a problem there."

The Joker made a soft sound. That did pose a tiny little problem, that it did. He put the vial into a small cushioned box and stood up. "Then let's fix that problem," he replied, walking toward her bedroom. "If it's a non-virgin Brucey will be expecting, a non-virgin Brucey shall receive."

Dolly got what the Joker was saying and sighed. Keeping up this stupid 'Madeline' charade was so fucking bothersome, she thought. She followed the Joker into her room and shut the door behind her, then crossed her arms over her body to grip her shirt and pulled it off, showing no modesty in front of her boss. She knew that he would make use of her body for his own end eventually, and she really didnt care anyway.

As she undressed, the Joker found himself watching her with amusement at her lack of modesty--or giving a damn for that matter. He was undressing himself, thinking about the last time he had gotten laid. Awhile, that was for damn sure. A long damn while. He was simply too busy to partake in pleasures of the flesh--and quite frankly, he really didnt care that much for sex. It was at the very bottom of his priority list, between saving a drowning puppy and putting out a burning church. But he had nothing to do today and 'Madeline' had called in sick or whatever the hell Dolly had thought up, so it was either sex or burn a church and put it out. Sex was less of a hassle.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Dolly stood at the foot of her bed, buck naked and standing there with a 'what now' kind of expression on her face. The Joker eyed her over. This was the Dolly that was kept away from the world...the scarred Dolly. He could see knife scars, burn scars, scrape scars...scars scars scars...his tongue almost ached to lick them, especially that long scar across her stomach from the near-disembowelment...He reached his hands out and pushed her onto her back, then stroked his fingers over the hill and valley flesh, feeling his fingertips tingle from touching them. Scars, to him, were more attractive than breasts in contrast to other men. And she had so...many...to just touch...

His hazed mind from looking at the goldmine of abrasions of the flesh sent the next however-long into short flashes of consciousness. He barely remembered stroking his fingertips over every scar they could find as he crawled between her--also scarred--legs. He hardly registered the shudders she let out when he dipped a fingernail into the scar valleys to touch deeper. He didnt even really remember when he had entered her body, but he did remember a jolt of searing pleasurable pain when ten sharp points tore into his back.

That snapped him into reality a bit more. His body was on fire...and he loved fire...he loved the sensation of things burning...he could feel bodies moving and the fire rising and burning hotter. The pain in his back deepened and dragged down.

He could feel arms wrapping around him and legs pressing into his hips; fingernails making new scars, no doubt.

In and out of full awareness continued; he felt a hand tangle in his hair and pull his head down and he felt his lips press to Dolly's. But there was nothing tender or even passionate about this kiss. It was cold and rough and dominating. Tongues lashed out at each other sharply as hands pressed against the Joker's chest.

In another bubble of awareness, the Joker found himself looking up at Dolly, who had him pinned down by the shoulders with her thumbnails digging into his shoulders, drawing blood. His own fingers found their way to her waist, his fingers stroking along the ends of the scar on her stomach. He hissed through his teeth when she dug her fingernails deeper into his shoulders, and clenched around him hard.

And then it was over.

For how long, he didnt know. It might have been seconds or an hour. He put a hand to his head--which was starting to throb, then looked over to Dolly. And he had to smile.

Apparently, the bedding had been shifted off the bed during the tryst, and in the little shift of awareness, Dolly had bend over to pick up the blanket and wrap it around herself, her back to him, leaving him to find his own source of warmth in the cold warehouse. There had been no lingering sense of connection whatsoever. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

The Joker got up and picked up his clothes to redress. "You are an enigma, Dolls," he muttered to himself with a grin. "...An interesting enigma..." He walked out of her room and shut the door behind him, his fingertips still tingling from touching her scars.

Yeah, more of a lime...--hangs head in shame-- Usually my pr0n is better than that...

The next chapter, Dolly puts the plan into action, then makes a U-turn when she discovers a little secret of Bruce Wayne's.