A short chapter, but I know you were all eager to see what happened next...

Black Hat continued to hold Lita even after she'd fallen asleep. He just couldn't bring himself to move from this position. The two of them snuggled comfortably in her bed, his arms wrapped around her soft, lovely body; her head nestled into his chest.

He'd never felt so at peace.

It was hard to believe how they had come to be like this. A year ago, he'd been more or less content with his villainous existence, even if occasionally bored. He had spent many sleepless nights aimlessly searching for a way to pass the time. He'd never thought the simple act of holding her and watching her sleep could be enough to keep him enraptured throughout the night.

He had almost forgotten that they were both naked. Almost.

That part was even more difficult to believe. Beings had declared their affection for Black Hat before, not just Dementia. Monster that he was, people with dark desires found him charismatic. He'd experimented with a few of those beings, for no other interest than to appease his curiosity. But never had he lain with someone he adored to this high of a degree.

Even so, Lita's willingness had truly astonished him. She'd teased him before, as he had her. He had taken it for playful banter or a way to distract him during their sparring matches. But from her eager response to their first kiss, he could tell that she too had been holding back her feelings for quite a while. He wondered if it had been as torturous for her as it had been for him.

Whatever had been the cause for this miracle, Black Hat decided not to question it. He just listened to the delicate snores of the beauty beside him, one claw combing through the hair that at some point had come out of its ponytail, the other lightly tracing the scratches he'd made on her back.

Before things had escalated last night, Lita had insisted that there be no biting, but hadn't objected to any other sort of roughness. He'd been pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn't exactly a lamb in bed either, enough to suggest that this wasn't her first time. If he wasn't a fast healer, he'd have similar scratches on him right now. The possessive side of him looked upon those marks with pride that he had claimed her as his own. The part that cared for her wellbeing, however, didn't like the idea that he had hurt her, even though she hadn't complained. Regardless, he vowed to be gentler next time.

Next time. That was never a thought that had crossed Black Hat's mind after performing an act like this. But he was thinking about what they could do differently, other places they could touch, other forms he could take…

The demon shook his head, knowing that they had work to do in the morning, and the others would grow suspicious if the two of them were mysteriously absent for the day. Although maybe afterwards… Could he wait that long?

It was like the first time he'd murdered someone. Once he tried something he enjoyed, he couldn't get enough of it. Only instead of doing it with some random victim, he imagined doing it with her and only her.

Black Hat had broken his biggest rule ever. And yet, he found he didn't care, for the person he treasured above anyone else was his. It was one thing owning her soul, but to be granted the honor of possessing the rest of her instilled more joy in him than possessing all the riches in the world, which he practically did.

But he would be patient. For now, he would let his beloved rest. It had been one hell of a night for both of them, and he imagined she would have questions when she awoke.

A few minutes before her alarm would ring, Black Hat left a chaste kiss on her forehead before reluctantly prying his arms from around her. Sliding quietly out of the bed, he looked down at the shreds of clothing littering the floor. He smirked at how eager they'd both been to get undressed. Snapping his fingers, he magically reassembled Lita's pajamas and had them appear on her person. Another snap put him in his usual attire. The third teleported him out of the room.

His first thought was to destroy all the camera footage documenting last night's events before anyone else could see it.

Lita's bed smelled different, and felt warmer somehow. Like a campfire. The next thing she noticed as she switched off the alarm on her phone and sat up was that her hair had come undone. Her body ached, a stinging sensation in her back and arms, and a stiffness between her legs.

Yawning, she crawled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. As she stripped for the shower, she saw the scratches on her arms. Not remembering how they'd gotten there, Lita examined herself in the mirror. Upon turning, she discovered several more scratches on her back. They weren't deep, but she would have to disinfect them so they wouldn't become scars. They were grouped into sets of four, resembling claw marks.

Then the events of last night came rushing back to her like a forgotten dream. Black Hat had come to her room—in a nightgown and cap, no less—had kissed her, declared his affection for her and…and…

Shit. She'd really done it. She'd slept with her boss. Slept with a demon. Slept with Black Hat! Lita really should've felt ashamed, but wasn't. Just at a loss for what this meant.

Had last night been a fluke? A one-night stand? Black Hat certainly felt something for her, but…he hadn't been there when she'd awoken. Had he already gotten his fill of her? Or…could they possibly do it again? Were they in a relationship now? She couldn't tell anyone about this, that much was obvious.

Or had she been played for a fool? If so, Black Hat was the cruelest being alive. After all, he knew about her demisexuality. Didn't he realize how much last night meant to her?

Lita took a deep breath. Next time they were alone together, she would confront him and demand he tell her what she was to him. Because if this had been a one-time thing, she would have every reason to distance herself emotionally from him and just go back to the professional relationship they'd shared before.

Unless she was pregnant. Oh hell, could that happen?! Her hand went to her stomach in panic. In the spontaneity of it all, she hadn't thought to ask about protection! Did demons carry STDs?! Was she carrying the Antichrist?! Was some parasitic creature going to come bursting out of her stomach?!

"Okay, now you're just being ridiculous," Lita muttered, cradling her head in her hands. "If there was any danger in this, he would've told you, right?"

She paused. No. No, he wouldn't.

"J-Just calm down," she said to herself as she walked into the shower. "Just clean yourself off, find him and talk to him. You're both adults. You can talk!"

But as she let the cold water fall onto her skin, she couldn't help but recall all the places he had touched her last night with those long, sharp, threatening claws. And how much she had liked it.

Still in half a daze, Lita came to breakfast in a turtle neck. The others were already at the table. It must've been Dementia's turn to cook this morning, because Flug and 5.0.5. were eating cereal while Dementia was scarfing down a bowl of…some icky black mush. Lita poured herself some Cocoa Puffs, skipping the milk, before joining them.

"What kept ya, kid?" Dementia asked, slamming down her bowl for a moment. "Catch some extra z's this morning?"

Lita nodded slowly, afraid to look anyone in the eye as she shakily took a spoonful of cereal. She feared if she did, they would know what she had done. What would they think of her? Dementia would go ballistic, Flug would be mortified, and 5.0.5.…well, he was probably too innocent to even know about this sort of thing.

It was a good thing Black Hat never dined with them. Lita wasn't sure she was ready to face him just yet.

She was just three spoonfuls into her cereal when she heard sniffing. Turning, she found Dementia suddenly next to her, pressing her nose into her hair.

"What are you doing?" Lita said, shooing her away.

"You smell," the mutant said, cocking her head suspiciously, "different today."

Lita pretended to focus on her bowl. "M-Might be my new shampoo."

"Nah, that's not it." She leaned in towards the smaller woman's neck, inhaling deeply. "Barbeque, brimstone, rotten eggs, you kinda smell like…" She recoiled. "Black Hat?"

Lita glanced around in panic. Now the guys were staring at her curiously. She had to come up with a lie quick.

"He, uh, let me use his shampoo!"

Dementia narrowed her eyes. "He doesn't have any hair."

Lita forced a laugh. "Did I say shampoo? I meant body wash!"

Flug tilted his head. "Why would the boss lend you his—?"

"I was out, okay?!" She slammed down her spoon. "He was there, I asked! A man can lend a woman his body wash, it's not weird!" She looked around for a subject change and spotted the fruit bowl in the center of the table. "Híjole, I could go for a peach right now!"

As she reached for a peach, her sleeve went up slightly, revealing the fresh incisions decorating her wrist.

"Where'd you get those scratches?" Flug asked in concern.

Forgetting about the peach, Lita retracted her hand. "Punishment! For, uh…stealing the boss' body wash!"

The scientist stared at her. "I thought you said he lent it to you?"

Her cheeks flushed red. "Okay, so I stole it! Like villains do! Why you asking so many weird questions?"

She made a mental note to work on her lying techniques.

"Hang on," Dementia said with a growl. "You were in Black Hat's bathroom?"

"Uh…" Lita snapped her head towards the doorway. "Boss, when did you get here?"

Everyone turned towards the doorway, allowing Lita to snatch up her bowl and slip out the back door before anyone caught on. She finished her breakfast in the bathroom where no one would disturb her.

After breakfast, Lita had been assigned to assist Flug in the lab. It made her a little glad to see that Black Hat had listened to her concerns the other night. At the very least, he was being less overprotective in letting her return to her usual tasks. It made her wonder if he truly did care for her.

Or was this because she had slept with him? Had she become the girl who slept with her boss to get what she wanted out of a job? No, he had listened to her before, and he hadn't asked for any…special favors then. He wasn't the type to hide his selfish intentions, so why should he start hiding them now?

"Lita?" Flug said.

"Hmm?"

"I asked for seven-eighths." He emerged from the unfinished teleportation chamber, holding up a wrench. "This is five-eighths."

"Oh!" Snapping out of her thoughts, Lita reached into the toolbox and pulled out the right size. "Sorry!"

"Are you okay?" Flug asked as they swapped wrenches. "You don't seem like yourself today."

"I'm fine!" she squeaked. "Just, um…didn't get much sleep last night!" That was half-true. "Not like I was, uh, doing anything else or anything! J-Just, uh, insomnia! Yeah! You know how it is!"

The dark circles under her eyes were enough to make her story plausible.

"Do you want to try my sleeping pills?" he offered. "Formulated them myself! Guaranteed to knock you out for a full eight hours of rest!"

Lita knew it would be suspicious if she didn't refuse. "Y-Yeah! Sure! Sounds great! Should really help me—"

"How's the teleportation chamber coming along?"

Upon hearing the gruff voice, Lita squeaked and dropped the five-eighths wrench. She could feel his ever-looming presence behind her.

Flug didn't find her reaction out of the ordinary and responded, "J-Just a few minor adjustments, sir, and we can start the tests!"

Lita could feel Black Hat's eye burning into her back as he said, "How long until you're finished?"

"At this rate," the scientist said, turning back to the machine, "I'd say about, oh, fifteen minutes?"

"If you don't require Miss Ladrona's assistance," Black Hat said, placing his ungloved claw on her shoulder, causing her to stiffen, "I should like to see her in my office."

The low tone in this request made her scared to turn around and face him. "N-Now?"

"Now. We have…much to discuss."

She shivered as his other claw traced up her spine. It wasn't an unwelcome touch, but it brought back memories of the night before.

Flug turned back to his boss, stunned to see him touching Lita in an…unusual way, grinning mischievously as his eye focused on her. The scientist was especially concerned seeing her so nervous and thought for a moment that she might be in trouble. Catching Flug's gaze, Black Hat frowned and quickly retracted his claws.

"N-No," Flug finally replied. "I should be able to—"

"Good." As Black Hat passed by Lita, he whispered in her ear, "Five minutes, Miss Ladrona."

Lita's face went completely red as he slinked out of the lab.

"What'd you do?" Flug asked.

"What?!" She gripped her arms. "W-We didn't do anything! What makes you think we did something?!"

He blinked. "To get in trouble, I mean."

"Oh." She looked away in embarrassment. "N-No. Yes? P-Probably about…the body wash! Yeah, he's still, uh, really mad about that!" She began backing out of the lab. "I should, uh, not keep the boss waiting! I'll, uh, see ya!"

Turning on her heel, she raced out before Flug could grow any more suspicious. She didn't stop until she arrived at the foreboding double doors.

It was clear that Black Hat wanted to talk about last night. What would he say? That it had been a one-time thing? That it had never happened? That he hadn't enjoyed himself? The possible outcomes of the conversation caused her to shiver. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if it turned out she had given herself to a manipulator again.

Determined, Lita squared her shoulders. Whatever he had to say, she would hear him out, and then he would hear her out. She knew how she felt, and it was far too late to hide it from him anymore. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the doors, heard his affirmation to come in, and opened them up.

"Boss?" she called as she stepped inside.

The big red chair was facing towards the window. Assuming he sat there, she approached it.

"B-Boss, I…I know what this is about. And I just want you to know that—"

The doors slammed and Lita yelped as she found herself ensnared from behind by the demon's arms.

"So glad you could come, my dear," Black Hat whispered, running his claws up her arms.

Before Lita could get caught up in his tempting touch, she turned her head and said, "Boss, about…about last night—"

"Enjoyed it as much as I did?"

Lita opened her mouth, but paused as he took her hand, raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"That's…" She blushed fiercely. "That's not important!"

"Everyone kept telling me how exhilarating it could be when you meet the right woman," he said as his other claw snaked around her middle, "but I never imagined it could be so fun."

"Listen, boss." Before his claw could reach her chest, she snatched it up. "I know I…I know I didn't…" She stepped out of his hold, yet he continued to hold her hand captive. "I'm not the kind of girl who has…one-night stands with her boss and—"

She squeaked as he yanked her hand, pulling her into his chest.

"Who said anything about a one-night stand?" Black Hat whispered as he cupped her chin.

Lita blinked up at him. "Wait. You…wanna do it again?"

Nodding, he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Mmm-hmm."

She watched in bewilderment as he kissed the inside of her palm. "H-Here? Now?"

The lid fell over his eye as he looked at her. "Is that a problem?"

She gulped as his lips moved from her hand to her wrist. "N-No, I… Hold on!" She wrenched her hand away. "B-Before you start anything, I…I gotta know…"

Her head lowered. "Are you…are you doing this to…I don't know, manipulate me, or…do you…do you really want this?"

"Oh, believe me," Black Hat spoke softly, threading his talons into her ponytail. "I want this."

She rested her hands on his chest, only now noticing that he'd removed his trench coat. As he continued to stroke her hair, her finger traced his tie, tempted to tug on it. Her other hand moved along his shirt, remembering the muscles that lay beneath.

"And something tells me," he said with a chuckle, "you want it as well."

Shaking her head, Lita pushed herself as far back as she could, but Black Hat's hold on her was tight.

"You're a villain," she said flatly. "You make a living off cheating others. So how…how do I know you're not doing the same with me? How do I know you're not lying right now?"

Black Hat frowned. "You don't. But there's one thing you can guarantee as the truth." His claw returned to her face, gently caressing her cheek. "I like you, Adelita. A lot. And last night," he said as he drew her face closer to his, "was the most fun I've had in eons."

Her breath became heavy as his lips brushed against hers. "It was…fun for me too."

She didn't protest as his lips moved down to her throat, one talon pulling down on her turtle neck. "You've done it before, I could tell."

She nodded slowly. "Paulo and I had…been together a while."

The kissing stopped a moment and Lita worried that she had killed the mood.

"But," she said, sliding her hands onto his shoulders, "he had nothing on you, boss."

Chuckling, Black Hat whispered in her ear, "Wasn't as interesting, was he?"

Lita smirked. "Must be the shapeshifting."

Returning his lips to hers, Black Hat pulled her tighter against him. Shit, why does he have to be such a good kisser?!

"So you really…?" Lita tried to say between kisses. "Am I…? Do you…?"

"Yes, yes, yes," he moaned against her lips. "Yes to everything."

She would've been content with that answer, but then her eye caught the security camera in the corner.

"Wait!" she exclaimed as she backed away. "The cameras!"

Just then, the camera burst into flames.

"What cameras?" Black Hat said, pulling her back into the kiss.

"I'm not…" She struggled to get a word in. "I'm not gonna…end up carrying the Antichrist, am I?"

He laughed at that. "One, I told you to stop comparing me to Satan. Two, as far as I know, I'm infertile."

She blinked. "As far as you—?"

He cut her off with another kiss. But she wasn't done with him.

"Just so you know," she said, shoving his face away with her hand, "if anything does come out of this, I'm gonna hold you responsible!"

"Why waste time thinking about the future, querida?" Black Hat said, sliding his claw under her shirt and up her back. "When something beautiful is happening in the here and now?"

Lita stood frozen as he ran his claw along her spine. For a moment, Black Hat worried that he may have pushed too far.

Then she closed her eyes and whispered, "Could you…could you do that again?"

He cocked his head. "Do what, my dear?"

She beamed. "Say…say something in Spanish? Your voice sounds…really husky like that."

With a chuckle, Black Hat brought her closer and whispered, "Me gustas mucho, mi cariño. Estás para comerte."

The meaning behind that phrase and the way it was said caused Lita to lose all control. "Yo también, mi amor."

The language had the same effect on Black Hat. Crashing his lips into hers, he scooped her up, her legs instantly wrapping around his hips as he carried her. With one arm, he effortlessly cleared his desk and lay her on top.

Neither of them knew where this was going. But in this moment, when the two of them were happy in each other's embrace, neither of them cared.

Don't forget this is rated T.

Google those Spanish phrases at your own expense.