Chapter Fifty-Five: Magic Tricks

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The game was at an end when Darren lost to Gus. He'd started with a good hand but apparently, according to the Joker, he was just a bad player. Even if he'd gotten the best cards of the deck, his skills lost him two packs of cigarettes—won by Gus, who celebrated by getting beer with the guys. With Joker and Allegra's permission (For he asked both at the same time), he and the other guys went for the celebration; as they left in the van, Gus told Darren he'd buy him a round because even losers needed to have a good time.

Allegra sat in the bedroom, ruffling her hands through her hair, preparing for bed, when Joker came through the doorway. Seeing her, Joker sent her a flash of a provocative grin. Allegra looked at him curiously when he held the deck of cards they'd used earlier.

"Still in a gaming mood?" asked Allegra.

"Hardly a time when I'm not," he returned.

Allegra began to pull her shirt over her head when Joker caught her wrists in his one hand, smiling down at her. He stood directly in front of Allegra; her eyes looked at him reproachfully.

"How 'bout we play a game of our own?" Joker questioned.

"All you need is a top hat and a shiny nickel then you'd sound like one of the rip-off carnies at the circus," Allegra replied smoothly which made Joker laugh a little. He clicked his tongue, hopping on the bed like an excited five-year-old on Christmas morning. Allegra found this rather impressive—she forgot sometimes how agile he could be.

His energy made her smile so she turned with her knees bent to her side. The purple jacket was on a rack downstairs, and given his slender appeal and the toned strength underneath, Allegra eyed him in the suit. It just spoke levels of his fashion senses and humor.

"I don't care what we play as long as it's not Monopoly."

"Taking over the board with ridiculous hotel stacking prices and Get-Out-Of-Jail cards doesn't tickle your fancy?" Joker questioned, smiling at her with obvious amusement.

"Top hats and nickels," reminded Allegra and Joker laughed at her again.

"You're a strange girl, Bunny."

"So says you." Allegra returned.

He crossed his legs like a fashionable Indian.

"How about a magic trick?" Joker asked her.

"No pencils." Allegra returned. "Or pens."

"I'm not a one-trick pony, Beautiful. I will never do the same trick twice, unless it builds." Joker told her plainly.

Allegra eyed him suspiciously, but her smile of intrigue deceived any sign of attempting coyness. Her voice hinted her humor when she stated, "I'm seeing a top hat and a nickel."

"Bear with me, Darling." Joker insisted, his voice taking on a deeper volume in his tone. Allegra practically felt it vibrate with a sense of showmanship.

She nodded for him to continue. Joker placed a card flat on his right palm. She watched it idly, eyes carrying a sense of wonder. Even if she didn't know the trick, or what he'd do, she appreciated his enthusiasm. With his left hand, he placed it over the card in his right palm, and rubbed his hands together twice as though he was washing his hands, then opened them dramatically. The card had disappeared. Allegra smiled.

"It's going to fall out of my vagina, isn't it?"

Joker burst out laughing, caught off guard by her comment. However, he gained a sense of control, shaking his head: "You are too much, Allegra." He held out his right hand, and with a snatch of the air, the card appeared horizontally between his middle and index finger.

Allegra chuckled: "Huh, that was no where near my vagina."

Joker giggled again at her comment. Evidently though, he wasn't finished with the trick. Allegra watched him tear the card in half, then fourths then in eighths. He must have done the trick several times in the past for his eyes needn't ever glance at his hands to see if he was doing it right; it provided him the luxury of constantly watching Allegra, who was avidly pleased with the simple process of the trick.

He gathered the pieces in cupped hands and within the gap provided by the connection of his thumbs, he blew. When he opened his right hand. There, in the center of his palm, was a single silver band. Allegra glanced at it curiously—two things: How did he do that, and what was it for.

"That's one hell of a magic trick."

"It is," agreed Joker. "Although I am a bit disappointed that you're impressed."

"Why do you say that?" asked Allegra. "You've never sought my amusement before."

"That's true," said Joker as though this really wasn't the point, "but I had a whole act planned in any case you weren't."

"What was the act?" asked Allegra as Joker placed the silver band on her left ring finger.

"Splitting you into halves with a handsaw." Joker replied—he sounded way too serious to be kidding but it made Allegra smile just the same.

"Was that a magic trick meant for my vagina?" Allegra asked, laughing.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Bunny." Joker stated.

Allegra shrugged—forever knowing her mind bathed in it on a regular day basis, especially when she was around him. She glanced at her left hand, looking at the ring with an intricate smile Joker hadn't seen on her face before.

"Was this what you were doing all this morning?" asked Allegra.

"That was only a five minute trip."

"It didn't take long?" she inquired, curious.

"Only twenty minutes."

"I thought you said 'five'."

Joker smiled at her plainly, saying, "Five to get the ring: Twenty to convince Mr. Sinhouse that his silver bullets would mean very...uh little to his shop if its owner had died tonight."

"It took your silver tongue twenty minutes to convince him to do what you asked?" Allegra asked, a little surprised. "You might be going soft, Hubby." She giggled when he scowled at the way she addressed him.

"Don't call me that," Joker addressed calmly, but the irritation was there.

"Sorry...Puddin'." Allegra smirked when he shuddered.

"I want a divorce." Joker stated.

"I don't."

"You have no choice."

"I don't know," said Allegra, unable to keep a serious tone for her laugh was surfacing, "I have a damn good lawyer."

Joker leaned into her, disarming her with a kiss. To her pleasure, it was the familiar rough one that made her insides bubble with immediate excitement.

"Consider him barred."

"We don't need people to get hurt."

"But what if I want," said Joker, moving Allegra on her back so he was on top of her, "is for people to get hurt."

Allegra's legs were on the side of his, even then, she wanted to put him between them. She didn't need to ask—he did that himself. Kissing roughly and never breaking its chime, Joker pulled Allegra's shirt over her head; her arms lifted just for the assistance; after that was over, Allegra moved forward to take off his shirt, vest and tie. Allegra cheated, pulling off his pants and then, standing on the bed, she pulled down her skirt and underwear, tossing them on the floor. She knelt down back on the bed, smiling at him.

"Guess we can always see a marriage counselor."

"You'd waste more time and money with those hacks than you would for a good attorney." Joker stated.

"I want a divorce too, then."

"I've changed my mind."

"You can't just change your mind!" Allegra replied. She let out a small scream when he entangled his hand in her hair, yanking it down so she fell to the comforter on her back. What muffled her scream was his mouth being shoved against hers. Allegra's eyes closed as she moaned when he rubbed his hands over her chest, his palms over her hardened mounds while his fingers tickled her breasts.

"We should think about the children." Allegra told him.

"Fighting me for custody, hm?" Joker returned in mid-kissing.

"We could always have joint custody."

"That's a slick deal." Joker responded.

Meanwhile, during their little debate, Allegra moaned inwardly when his hands traded fondling her breasts for her butt, closing the gap between their bodies. She felt his hard chest against her breasts and that made her smile widely. A hardened part of him poking Allegra just above her own arousal. Never had discussing sole custody become dirty until now.

"Maybe you're right," drawled Joker, "we shouldn't involve the boys—they're much too ignorant for the cruel world; it's fraught with disappointment."

Allegra wrapped her arms around his neck, touching her lips against his cheek. He wasn't surprised but all the same pleased when she kissed his scars with her tongue. Never a point in time was she bored with their texture against her lips. He kissed her identical, faded scar along her left cheek in the same way. He heard her softly moan in his mouth.

"So no divorce..." Allegra uttered. Her breathing was becoming heavy as she felt very wet and ready for him. The constant poking against her thigh was starting to bother the pretty wife.

"Actually, we might have to see other people." Joker stated.

"Oh, look, this game has taken a turn for the worst," Allegra responded sarcastically.

Joker kissed her harder than usual—it wasn't gentle, not a single remote sense of care reigned in it, but lust was its motivation and master. Allegra returned it heatedly, lost in its spell. The conversation was harder to continue when they began a mutual grind below their stomachs.

"Guess I could always find my way back into another man's arms," Allegra uttered but her persuasive tones were dropped when she watched him lick his lips. The habit was a constant tic, but she loved it.

"That would be cheating." Joker reminded her.

"Not if he didn't like it." Allegra pointed out. She grinned knowingly when he gave her a mild gaze. That look he received from her hit home—blood sought its way against the streams right around his pelvic region. He recognized it. She giggled when he laid on his back and she could mount him.

"Do you know what it feels like to be taken advantage by a woman, Killer?" asked Allegra. Her hands moved from his shoulders and down his arms, touching his muscles. Her fingers interlaced with his, bringing them on either side of his head, pinning down his wrists.

"To say the least, Pet, I've never given her a chance." Joker told her placidly. The smoldering look he sent her made Allegra bite her lip.

Joker raised his head when she met his mouth but she never leaned further down to make the kiss whole. A point of realization crossed him when he felt her wet entrance slowly slide onto him. She was a desirous furnace, but what really drove him to a point of smirking at her proudly was that he couldn't undo his restraints; he'd underestimated her strength.

"You're about to find out." Allegra told him.

What happened next seemed to Joker like a mix between a wet dream and an obstructed sensual nightmare. She moved on him, a well-experienced dominatrix, as her sex began a wet dance on his shaft, a sinful pleasure. Her thighs locked his hips in place, preventing him from movement. Joker watched her from below, aroused by her inhibition—the little minx could be really dominant when she wanted to be!

Her lips parted open in her own dark lust, eyes temporarily rolled back in a heated splendor. She made soft grunts to audible moans as she forced him inside; Joker was momentarily impressed at the clever use of her muscles—every part of her would flex or bend to bring him completely inside of her then off him in seconds' time. He couldn't move, couldn't respond—and that alone was starting to make him hot and bothered.

Joker laughed, "What kind of wife does this to her husband?"

Allegra lowered her lips to his, a fiery kiss brandished against his mouth like he'd never received before. Against his jawbone, Allegra growled seductively: "I'm not your wife."

Joker grinned out of the truth of it, and then moreover because she looked directly at him, eyes lit with fire. Astonishment greeted him in a way he'd never experienced. Her movements on him became quicker, forced—Joker could tell she was on the brink of a release, but Allegra's grip on his wrists were relentless. When her breathing became harder, deduced to quick, sharp intakes and deep pants, Joker found her more attractive in this state than in her vulnerability.

If it hadn't been for the fact that Joker was loving every minute of it, he might have considered branching Allegra's top five skills—one of them was taking advantage of men. If he'd not been enjoying every minute of her paramount, Joker would have defined it as rape. But that was neither here nor there.

Allegra came when he did, her moans incorporated with heavy panting. She let go of his wrists, smiling as the orgasm took hold of her entire being. When he glanced at the spots she'd held him tightly, he noticed there were small deep scratches along his wrists and hands. Allegra got off him, lying on her back.

"I think this marriage could still work." Joker stated after his breath had gained controlled; shortly after, Allegra laughed at this.

(())

Allegra and Joker sat up in bed, late at night. Allegra was fiddling with the deck of cards; she'd play Solitaire, lose, and then stack the cards again only to lose once more. Joker watched her out of his own amusement; he wanted to see how many games she'd play before she'd finally stop. When the twentieth came to pass and Allegra began redoing the game once more.

"You're going to lose again," Joker told her.

"I know." Allegra stated.

"Solitaire must be the cruelest game of them all." Joker said with a resolve.

"Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and gaining the same result but always expecting a different one." Allegra replied smoothly. "I'm attempting the same."

"I repeat: 'You're going to lose again'."

"May be." Allegra agreed. She looked at him after a moment. "I figured out your magic trick."

"You don't say."

"I do." Allegra replied, smirking at him. She placed a card in her right palm, and with her left, rubbed her hands together, opening them after a second—it was gone. Joker snickered. Allegra flicked her wrist, and the card slipped between her middle and index finger. When she tore it in eighths, she placed it in her hands and blew like Joker had done. When she opened her palm, she held out a silver band.

"This is yours." Allegra said. "But it's not made from silver bullets from the Emporium."

"What then?" Joker questioned in turn, placing it on his left hand. It looked odd to him but since the illusion was in order, he found it more than humoring.

"Silver, of course. But I didn't lift it."

"I doubt that." Joker snorted derisively.

"I bought it with the mob's money." Allegra said. She grinned deviously: "But not with your share."

Joker snickered again, but the smile on his face was almost proud.

"You've come a long way from being a simple pocket thief." Joker stated.

Allegra looked at his left hand where the ring now occupied. Joker recognized the look.

"I know that smile." Joker uttered.

"Just the idea that you're married suddenly makes me want you even more." Allegra stated.

"That goes against everything your loyal mind stands for."

Allegra smiled guiltily: "Knowing you, I bet that makes you feel a great deal better about yourself."

Joker nodded. When he saw her roll her eyes, Joker purred, "I didn't think there was a chance to corrupt you any further, but this" (he lifted his hand indicating the ring) "has just proven me wrong." The idea that Allegra, who valued loyalty above all other respectable traits, wanted him more for the fact that he had a wedding ring on currently was a titillating thought. Joker found a kink in Allegra's one socially acceptable standard, and now he'd ruined even that.

That was the best magic trick of all.