Bruce spots the little cat ears first. Selina Kyle is tall enough that the top of her head sticks out from the sea of well-coiffed hairstyles. She's dancing with an elderly gentleman who hides his anticipation for how this evening will end for him almost as well as he tries to hide the tan line on his ring finger - that is to say, not at all. An easy mark, Bruce thinks. An obvious mark.
Too obvious.
Selina looks over her partner's shoulder and locks eyes with Bruce. Somehow, she doesn't look surprised to see him there.
Bruce puts a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Mind if I cut in?"
The man sputters and protests, but when he realizes that neither Bruce nor Selina are paying attention to him, he backs off and Bruce takes his place.
"Ms. Kyle."
"Mr. Wayne."
"Been expecting me?"
She fingers the pearls around her neck.
"Once I got a good look at your security system, I pegged you as paranoid, but I admit I didn't expect trackers on jewelry."
"Yet here we are. Why didn't you disable the tracker?"
"Why didn't you call the police?"
They're at an impasse, until Selina shrugs.
"All work and no play makes – "
"Jack a dull boy," finishes Bruce.
They smile faintly at each other.
"Have dinner with me," he says.
She smirks.
"You invite everyone who steals from you to dinner?"
"Only the ones who succeed. It doesn't happen often."
"Bruce Wayne the international playboy. I'm not some big-breasted, small-brained model. Since when do you play with women like me?"
The music picks up in tempo, and Bruce quickens their steps. He twirls Selina.
"The manufacturer said that my safe was uncrackable. I could use your help picking out a better one."
"So a business meeting."
Bruce shrugs. "I like to mix business with pleasure. Talk tricks of the trade."
The music reaches a crescendo, and Bruce dips Selina. A few bystanders applaud the move, and the song ends.
Selina reaches out and slides a slender finger down his cheek, under his chin, stopping at his collar.
"What does a rich boy like you know about turning tricks?" she breathes. Her fingers lightly play with his tie.
"More than you'd expect."
Selina raises an eyebrow.
"You said that I succeeded. Does that mean I get to keep the pearls?"
He reaches out and unclasps the pearls from her neck. The pearls slide off her neck into his hands.
"These pearls do look better on you then they did in my safe...But I still can't let you keep them."
Selina pouts.
"Come to dinner and maybe you can get another opportunity to steal these," he says, dangling the pearls before putting them into a pocket.
"I make my own opportunities," she says.
Selina leans forward and unexpectedly, roughly, kisses him. As she pulls away, she bites his lower lip, hard enough to hurt but not enough to break the skin.
"The game is afoot, Mr. Wayne," she whispers, her breath hot on his ear.
She turns around and starts to walk away.
"How about that dinner?" Bruce calls after her.
"I'll let you know," she tossed back at him.
Well, that was the most erotically charged exchange he'd had in years.
Part of himself cringed; in his solitude, he'd suppressed sexual desire. Before Rachel's death, he'd indulged himself here and there; nowhere near the playboy persona he'd adopted, but he was no monk either and even someone as highly disciplined as himself needed an occasional release. With Rachel gone, there hadn't been anyone he was interested in that way.
But dancing with Selina had felt good; the kiss had felt great. For the first time in years, Bruce felt something other than the grief or numbness that plagued him; a flicker of lust, a touch of life. Selina was beautiful, but more than that, she was intriguing and unexpected. Not just anyone would have been able to penetrate his security the way she had. How had she done it? How had she cracked the safe? Why had she lifted his fingerprints? He was looking forward to finding out.
He watched Selina leave and decided to follow her example. He slowly walks towards the valet; the dancing had irritated his leg. Despite maintaining a vigorous workout routine, he was out of shape when it came to dancing. He thinks he should rectify that. Selina is a fine partner to tangle with.
He pats his jacket pocket, looking for his ticket slip, but it seems to have disappeared.
"I must have lost my ticket." he says to the valet.
The valet shifts uncomfortably.
"Your wife said you were taking a cab home, sir."
"My wife?"
The game was really afoot now.
Bruce knew that Selina knew that he knew that she knew the Lamborghini had a GPS tracker, yet she had taken it anyway. Once the GPS tracker had stopped moving, at an address in Old Town, he contemplates fetching it himself, but it is late and anyway, anyone without the key would have a really hard time stealing that car.
The next day, he watches, amused, as the tracker shows the car making its way to locations as random as a McDonalds, grocery store, and high society club. Later in the day, after a brief stop back at the Old Town address, which he assumes is her home, the tracker makes its way downtown and stops. Bruce chuckles when he realizes what Selina has in mind. He checks the address, changes into something nicer than sweatpants, and calls a taxi rather than having Alfred sneak him looks at him from the driver's seat.
The taxi lets him off at Anouk, a three-star Michelin French restaurant. Of course, she picked a restaurant that was incredibly difficult to get a reservation at, even if you tried four months in advance. Not that he had trouble getting reservations – at least back when his playboy persona required him to.
As he approaches, the maître d' rushes over.
"Mr. Wayne, so good to see you! Your guest has already arrived."
Turns out he still doesn't have trouble getting reservations.
Bruce takes in Selina as he sits down across from her: straight hair down, understated diamond studs, and a red halter top dress that exposed most of her lovely pale back.
"Ms. Kyle. Enjoying the car?" Bruce asks.
"Sure makes errands a lot more fun," says Selina.
A waiter comes by and prepares to hand them menus, but Bruce brushes the menus away.
"We'll have whatever Chef Blouin would like to prepare, and whatever wine Mr. Müller suggests accompanying," says Bruce.
"It's rude to decide what your dining partner will be having," Selina playfully admonished.
"It's rude to steal your dining partner's car, yet here we are," said Bruce.
Dinner goes surprisingly well. He sticks with topics of no substance. They trade flirtatious barbs until the first course arrives and then transition into amusing stories of Bruce clashing with Wayne Enterprises' board members. By the time dessert shows up, he's coaxed Selina into telling him the about how she got a job as a secretary at a prominent legal firm into order to steal...
"A boar head trophy?"
Selina cackles.
"Yeah, when my client left the firm, it was on bad terms, and he wanted to stick it to the partner who got him kicked out. He offered me a ridiculous sum of money to take away the man's pride and joy, and who was I to say no?"
She sips her wine. Bruce notices that Selina has been partaking just as much alcohol as him tonight – that is to say, very little. He's made an art out of nursing a glass for hours, and apparently so has she.
"Have you ever considering going legit?" he asks.
Selina's lips tighten. Apparently, he's touched a nerve.
"You don't get to judge me because you were born in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor," she says coolly.
"Actually, I was born in the Regency Room," he says without thinking. He internally winces once he realizes how douchey that sounds. He opens his mouth to apologize, but Selina is already on the defensive.
"I started off doing what I had to. Once you've done what you had to, they'll never let you do what you want to," she snaps.
"Start fresh," he says.
"There's no fresh start in today's world. Any twelve-year-old with a cell phone could find out what you did. Everything we do is collated and quantified. Everything sticks. We are the sum of our mistakes."
"Or our achievements," he points out.
"The mistakes stick better. Trust me," says Selina.
"And you think that justifies stealing?" he asks.
"I take what I need to from those who have more than enough. I don't stand on the shoulders of people with less."
Bruce realizes he's started an argument that he's most assuredly going to lose. He waits another minute to see if Selina has anything left in her, but she remains silent.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I actually don't mean to judge you. We all have our reasons."
She looks him in the eye. He must pass muster because her body relaxes.
He changes the subject.
"I still need some suggestions for a new safe."
Selina smirks.
"In exchange for what?"
Bruce leans in.
"What do you want, Ms. Kyle?"
She frowns.
"Nothing you can give me, Mr. Wayne."
"Try me," he counters. "Being a billionaire gets me a surprising amount of access to things."
She shrugs.
"You paid for dinner, so I guess that's a fair exchange."
"Okay, so what do you have in mind?"
"No, not here. I have to see the place again."
"You've already studied and seen my place in detail."
"Yeah, but that was to steal from it. I need to look at it from another angle this time."
Bruce thinks that this is a load of bullshit, but he's been enjoying himself and doesn't want the night to end yet. After settling the bill, he puts his hand out, palm up, to Selina, looks her in the eye, and waits. Selina sighs.
"Can't I keep it just a little longer?"
Bruce keeps his hand out and his eye contact steady until Selina drops the Lamborghini keys into his palm.
"Thank you."
It's late when he pulls into the driveway at Wayne Manor, but the light is still on in Alfred's bedroom. Bruce isn't interested in fending Alfred off, so as they exit the car, he tells her his plan to avoid Alfred.
"You'll need to go in through the back door. Once I get into the house, wait ten minutes and I'll have the security disabled so you can get in."
He turns to lock the car.
"Don't bother," Selina breezily says. "I can get in just fine."
"It'll be faster if –" he turns around. She's gone.
"So that's what that feels like," he mutters to himself.
Ten minutes later, he makes it to the sitting room. He switches on the light to find Selina perched on the arm of one of the sheet-covered couches.
"I see you had no trouble finding the place," he says.
She hops off the couch.
"I never forget a layout."
The room is huge, but she manages to brush against him as she walks to the safe in question.
"This is a decent safe, but I wouldn't describe it as 'uncrackable.' Your best bet is the Sentry SFW123GYC with a custom frame."
Bruce half listens as she explains her reasoning behind her selection and the best location for such a safe. But mostly his attention is on curve of her jaw, the way the light shines on her hair, her long legs, and her tempting lips. He thinks about walking over, throwing his arm around her, and pulling her in for a long kiss. But he senses that Selina wouldn't appreciate it; from the few interactions they've had so far, he can see that she likes to have control of the situation. He can appreciate that.
"Any other security questions, Mr. Wayne?"
What's the key to your heart? is on the tip of his tongue.
What has gotten into him? He's got much better lines than that. Instead, he says, "You're very knowledgeable on the subject. Thanks for the lesson."
There's a long awkward pause. Bruce knows which direction he'd like this evening to go in, but Selina is incredibly hard to read. She's flirtatious as hell, but Bruce can tell it's a front she uses to throw people off. Bruce decides to play it safe.
"Need a ride home?"
"Nope," says Selina. Before he can ask how she'll be getting home, she has the window open.
"Thanks for dinner," she says, before back-flipping out the window.
Such a show-off. He can do back-flips too, but it's not like he can tell anyone about it.
He wonders if he'll ever see her again.
He gets ready for bed, and before he slides under the covers, a thought strikes him. He opens his nightstand drawer, where he'd put the pearl necklace the night before when he got home – he hadn't seen the point of putting it back in his "uncrackable" safe.
The pearls are gone.
He pulls up the GPS tracker on his smartphone and sees the pearls making their way from Wayne Manor. She hasn't disabled the tracker – again.
He smiles.
For three days, the pearls stay put at her apartment. On the third night though, the pearls are on the move. He watches the GPS tracker until the pearls stop at one of the newer restaurants in town, an Ethiopian place called Dabo.
Alfred raises an eyebrow when he sees Bruce leaving.
"Going out three times in a one week, Master Wayne? Whatever has come over you?"
"Looking into that fingerprint issue," he says. It's not a lie – he does need to find out why Selina took his prints, but until he gains her confidence, he doubts she'll tell him.
Yeah, that's the reason they need to go out to dinner again.
At Dabo, Selina is making a show of perusing a menu when he slides into the chair across from her.
"Ms. Kyle."
She drops the menu and puts her hand to her throat.
"Mr. Wayne. What a coincidence."
She's wearing a navy-blue sundress, and of course, the pearls.
"You look lovely," says Bruce.
Selina looks surprised.
"Thanks."
After they order food, Selina picks up their conversation about safes.
"So, have you gotten a new safe yet?"
"I did. Great suggestions, by the way, except for your specs on how to program the keypad. Apparently, that method has a well-known bug."
Selina grins.
"A girl's gotta try."
Bruce loves her grin. It's the most real expression he's seen on her face, her pleasure in the game she's playing open and sincere.
Dinner passes by all too quickly for Bruce, and before he knows it, they've finished dessert.
Reluctantly, he reaches across the table and unclasps the pearls from her neck. Her neck is soft and warm, and he wants to kiss her shoulder. But Selina's body language gives him no clues as how to proceed, and like before, he plays it safe. He rises, thanks her for the company, and departs.
When he gets back home, instead of putting the pearls in his new and improved safe, he tucks them back into his nightstand dresser. She's stolen the pearls twice now, and he's hoping the third time is the charm.
He makes a nightly ritual of checking the nightstand drawer to see if the pearls are there. For a week, they remain, and he fears he's made the wrong move. But one night, the pearls disappear again, and the next night, the GPS tracker shows them at what turns out to be a tiny cute Italian restaurant quite appropriately named Il Buco. She's waiting for him in a satin slip dress nearly the same shade of cream as the pearls around her neck.
"Ms. Kyle. What a coincidence," he says before she can.
"We have to stop meeting like this," she says.
"Do we?" says Bruce, meeting her eyes as he sits down.
Selina is momentarily silent, thinking about how to interpret his remark. She decides to not take it seriously and laughs.
After digging into antipasti, Bruce decides to ask a personal question. He's getting a bit tired of the polite conversation, and he only has so many amusing stories.
"So, what's a typical day like for you?" he asks.
Selina narrows her eyes.
"Why do you ask?" she says coolly.
"Just making conversation. I don't know many cat burglars."
"You first," she says. "I don't know many billionaires."
Bruce stops to think about it.
"Get up, work out, check the news, keep up to date on what's going on with Wayne Enterprises, familiarize myself with the largest projects, send my feedback."
Selina snorts.
"What happened to you? You haven't made the tabloids in ages since you burned your house down."
Bruce rubs his bad leg and thinks of Rachel, Harvey, and Batman.
"I guess I grew up."
The urge to tell her is nearly unbearable. He's only ever discussed that side of his life with Alfred or Lucius. And deep down he knows that if he will ever have a chance of a relationship with anyone else, he has to tell them about Batman. He guesses that is part of the reason why he's so hung up on Rachel. She knew, and he trusted her. Is Selina trustworthy? How do you even figure that sort of thing out?
"And you?" he asks Selina.
"Wake up, scan the news to see if I get mentioned, run errands, meet with clients and associates, scheme, and wait until dark to enact my nefarious plans."
She tucks in her chin, steeples her hands together, and cackles.
"I'd love to see you in action."
"Thought you disapproved of burglary."
"Nothing illegal like that. Take me on a break-in to Wayne Manor, show me how it's done."
"Why are you so interested in breaking and entering?"
"Everyone needs a hobby."
Selina narrows her eyes.
"What do you want from me?" she asks curtly.
Bruce meets her eyes.
"I just thought it sounded like fun."
They stare at each other, an awkward silence overtaking them. Bruce is tempted by the insane thought of diving across the table and kissing her. He resists. The moment passes and Selina relaxes.
"Your place is too easy at this point."
Bruce grins.
"I'll beef up the security."
"You are one hell of a strange billionaire. Don't you get your kicks skydiving or something?"
"Been there, done that."
"Is that how you hurt your leg?"
"Something like that."
"Sure you can keep up with a bum leg?"
"I've been keeping up with you so far, haven't I?"
"I suppose."
Selina sits quietly for a minute, thinking it over.
"Why not?" she says eventually. "I can always use the practice."
Bruce feels a shiver of excitement. Not that breaking into a building is particularly a challenge, but it's been years since he's done anything like that, and he's never done it with anyone by his side before.
"So what will we need?" he asks.
The break-in goes remarkably well. Selina shows up in a black leather catsuit, and if the break-in hadn't succeeded, he still would have had a fantastic evening watching the way her ass moved under the leather.
He is admittedly jealous not to have his own get-up. His Bat armor is out of the question, and unnecessary to boot, so all he has is dark jeans, a black sweater, and a ski mask.
He lets Selina take the lead, pretending that he has little to no experience with such illegal activities. He sees how much Selina enjoys taking the lead in their little operation.
There are a few moments when things get a bit dicey, but through luck, a lot of improvisation, and some giggling, they make it into the manor, with nary a peep from the security system. Bruce finds himself thinking this is the best date he's ever been on. Yeah, he's a strange one.
They enter through his bedroom window. Selina finishes closing the window when they suddenly hear footsteps approaching.
"Alfred," he whispers into her ear.
The room is pitch black, but Bruce knows the footprint well enough to grab Selina and pull her into the closet without bumping against any furniture. He closes the closet doors just before the light flicks on.
His arms are still around Selina. This is the closest he's ever been to her. God, her hair smells good. He leans in to smell it better through his mask, and his lips can't help themselves; they land on Selina's neck and start kissing their way up. He feels her heartbeat beneath his lips. She doesn't stop him; rather, she tilts her neck back to give him better access.
He pushes her hair back to nuzzle behind her ear, and starts peppering kisses down her jawline. His mouth hovers dangerously near hers, and then somehow they're kissing, their heads awkwardly twisted. The kiss deepens, and he pulls Selina's body around to face him. One of Bruce's hands somehow end up on her glorious leather-clad ass, while he grips her hair with the other. Selina's hands squeeze his shoulders tightly. They're nearly at the same height thanks to her killer stilettos, which cuts down on neck aches and allows Bruce to keep his mouth right where he wants it indefinitely.
The more feverish their kisses get, the harder his cock gets. His bed is a few feet away; he wonders whether he should just pick her up and continue the party there. He wants to peel off the tight leather and put his mouth on every inch of her pale skin.
Abruptly, he realizes the room is silent and dark again. He reluctantly takes his mouth and hands off of her to open the closet doors and flick the light back on. Her hair is beautifully mussed, and her lips wet and slightly swollen.
She blinks a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light. Her eyes dart between Bruce and the bed, and she nervously backs toward the window.
Bruce lets her take back her physical space.
"So now that we're in, what shall we steal?" he says, trying to lighten the mood. That makes Selina smile.
"Oh, I think you know what I'm walking out with," she says, touching her neck.
"I wouldn't be so sure, Ms. Kyle," he says.
He walks to a corner and pulls the cover off a box-shaped item with a flourish, revealing a safe.
"You see, while I was procuring your suggestion, I came across the latest 'uncrackable' safe, and I said to myself that Selina Kyle must have had beginner's luck when it came to her first break-in at Wayne Manor."
Selina grins, cracks her knuckles, and tosses her hair.
"Try me," she says.
"The fingerprint job, I was hired by a guy named Daggett. I don't know what he wanted with the fingerprints."
Selina randomly blurts this information at the end of dinner one night.
"Just out of curiosity, how much did he offer you for the job?" Bruce asks.
Selina is silent for a while.
"He told me he could give me a clean slate. I'm a sucker. There's no such thing."
"Why do you want that?"
"Like I said, Mr. Wayne, once you get into this, they'll never let you do what you want again."
"And what do you want?"
Selina shrugs.
She starts to get up from the table.
"Well, I guess it's been nice knowing you."
Bruce catches her arm.
"Where are you going?"
"You got what you wanted, didn't you?"
Bruce is confused.
"And what did I want?"
"You wanted information on why I took the prints. I gotta hand it to you, you're a patient man. Just wear me down until I spilled the beans. It's not like he paid me. At least I'm getting wined and dined with you."
Bruce chuckles.
"Ms. Kyle, I think you've misunderstood my intentions."
"You didn't want the information?"
"No, I did. I figured you'd let me know sooner or later."
"Then what did you want from me?"
"I enjoy having dinner with you," he says simply.
"That's all?"
He flashes his most charming grin at her, takes her hand and kisses it.
"Oh, I want much more, but I'm a patient man."
"And after that?"
"More of the same."
"I don't understand you, Mr. Wayne."
"What don't you understand?"
"What does a guy like you want with a girl like me?"
"I just want to see you smile at me."
She shrugs it off.
"You're a fucking billionaire. I'm a thief. This does not add up."
"Maybe I like the bad girls."
"Not according to your past track record."
"My past doesn't dictate my future," he says, and takes her hand. "And it doesn't have to dictate yours either."
He invites her to take advantage of the swimming pool at Wayne Manor one sunny afternoon. It's his first time seeing her in the daytime. He's maintained a swimming schedule throughout his retreat from the world; it's easy on the joints. He realizes he's been neglecting his swims since he met Selina, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Maybe a third bird too; he's not vain, but he knows the effect his half-naked body dripping with water has on the majority of the female population. Maybe it won't have exactly the same effect on Selina, but he can't imagine it won't leave her wanting more at least.
What he hadn't taken into consideration was the effect her half-naked body would have on him. He's hard the second she drops her towel and he sees the white string bikini. His swim trunks don't conceal much - her eyes drop and stay there. Bruce lets her get a good look.
"See anything you like?" he asks.
Selina slowly walks over to him and runs her finger down his chest...and then shoves him into the pool. Caught off guard, he goes down with a shout and a big splash. He surfaces, gasping and pushing his hair out of his eyes.
"Yes," she says with a self satisfied smirk. She turns to go sit in a pool chair.
"Not so fast," says Bruce and before she can move too far away, he hoists himself up out of the water, grabs her ankle, and drags her towards him. Selina screams and tries to wrest her ankle back, and then there's a second splash.
"Not so nice," groans Selina when she surfaces.
"Don't dish it out if you can't take it."
"Who said I can't take it?"
Bruce pulls her to him and kisses her. Selina slides her hands down his chest and doesn't resist. He presses her against the side of the pool and they kiss hungrily. He runs a hand down her back and squeezes her beautifully exposed ass cheeks. Selina offers up no resistance, so he slides his hand back up and starts undoing her top. He undoes the strings behind her neck, and her bikini top falls, exposing her breasts. Bruce desperately wants to break the kiss to get a good look, but he doesn't want to stop kissing her - last time he stopped, it broke the spell. So he settles for taking both hands and kneading her breasts.
Selina makes a noise deep in her throat and leans into his hands. Bruce is considering his next step without taking his mouth off of hers when Alfred appears.
Damn Alfred.
At first, Alfred had been supportive of him seeing Selina. Anything that got Bruce out of the house was a good thing in his eyes. But once Alfred saw Selina was more than just a passing fancy, he took a decidedly different attitude.
"Master Wayne, aren't you taking this a bit too far? I know she's the first woman you've gone out with in years, and I applaud her for getting you out of your funk, but that doesn't mean there aren't more suitable women for you."
Bruce doesn't really want to have this conversation with Alfred, but Alfred is helping him test out a new leg brace and thus he is a captive audience
"Define suitable," Bruce says wearily.
"At a bare minimum, not engaged in criminal activities."
"By that definition, I'm not a suitable date either," Bruce says.
"Batman was for a just cause. This is different."
"Alfred, I'm not going to argue about it. I'm seeing Ms. Kyle and that's that."
"As you wish, Master Wayne," says Alfred in a voice that indicates this is not the end of the discussion.
Since that conversation, Alfred has mostly stayed out of the way when Selina is over, but today Bruce is betting Alfred saw them kissing from the window and wanted to put a stop to it.
"Master Wayne, I thought you and your guest might enjoy some refreshments," Alfred announces as if he hasn't just cock blocked Bruce.
Selina's body tenses up. Bruce very slowly removes his mouth from hers.
"Thank you, Alfred," he says between gritted teeth. Selina is already retying her top.
"Always glad to be of service," Alfred says, so politely it grates on his nerves. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
Bruce loses his patience.
"Alfred…" he growls.
Alfred goes on talking.
"Alfred!"
Alfred glares at him.
Bruce glares back.
It's a stand off.
Alfred finally backs down.
"Do be careful not to track water into the house, Master Wayne, I've just had the floors waxed," Alfred says as a parting shot.
Once Alfred is gone, Bruce flops back into the water and floats on his back.
Selina swims over to him.
"Do you always let your butler fuck around with you like that?" Selina asks.
"Yes," he sighs, and puts his arm over his face, ostensibly to shield it from the sun but also because goddamn, he's embarrassed. Alfred is treating him like a fucking teenager.
"Why? Anyone else would have fired him."
"Because… he raised me after my parents died."
"Oh," says Selina. "So… Daddy doesn't like me?"
"Alfred has his own ideas about how I should live my life."
"And how does he think you should live your life?" asks Selina quietly.
"It doesn't really matter to me," says Bruce. "I know what I want."
"Which is…"
Selina looks far too somber, so Bruce splashes her, and of course she has to splash him back, and then it's a full blown water fight that Selina wins by getting out of the pool and cannon balling right next to him.
Later, as they relax and dry off in the sun, Bruce remembers her question.
"Would you be interested in taking on Wayne Enterprises as a client?" he asks.
Selina frowns.
"I'm doing just fine with my regular clients."
"A while back, you implied you wanted out. This could be a good route to that."
Selina's lips tighten.
"You offer lucrative contracts to all your girlfriends?" she asks caustically.
"You consider yourself my girlfriend?" he casually inquires.
Selina's face goes red. First time making her speechless. Score for Bruce.
"First of all, I don't have that authority. My recommendation holds a lot of water, but the final decision goes through the appropriate department. Second, I recognize a good resource when I see one. I've seen your work firsthand. You are excellent at what you do."
Selina, still blushing furiously, avoids his eyes.
"And third of all," he says, reaching out to push her chin up and force her to meet his eyes, "I wouldn't mind if you did consider yourself my girlfriend. Because that's what I want."
He wraps his hand around her head to pull her closer and kisses her. He releases her.
"Look, I won't mention it again, but consider submitting a security proposal to Wayne Enterprises," he says.
"Okay," she says eventually. "I'll consider it."
Bruce understands that she means both the security proposal and the girlfriend title.
"Great," he says, managing to sound casual when all he really wants to do is kiss her until she outright agrees to be his girlfriend. "What should we do for dinner?"
He's in the middle of a board meeting when Selina decides to do that proposal. One minute, he's listening to Fredericks discussing quarterly revenue reports, the next Selina literally drops out of the ceiling and lands more elegantly than she has any right to onto the conference room table.
"Sorry to interrupt," she purrs at the stunned board members, "But Mr. Wayne did invite me to drop in."
Bruce grins like a madman, and before anyone can panic, he stands up and reaches out to help Selina off the table.
After that spectacular entrance, a thorough description of how Selina made it into the building without being detected, and an actual proposal a few days later, Selina has the gig. The contract signing takes place in a western facing conference room with a fantastic view of the sunset. Bruce takes in Selina while she's studying a paper, the backdrop of a golden sun behind her painting her in soft light.
After the meeting has concluded, the others file out of the room, but he remains sitting and gazing at Selina with a slight smile on his lips.
"What?" says Selina.
"You're beautiful," he says.
"…Thanks? What is that, the number one quality you look for in security consultants?"
He smiles more broadly at her confusion, gets up and goes to her. He takes both of her hands in his and pulls her up.
"I like you, Selina," he says quietly. He kisses her hands gently. Selina shifts uncomfortably against him.
"Have dinner with me."
Selina latches on to that statement in an attempt to change the conversation, but he won't let her.
"And not a pearl in sight. What has come over you, Mr. Wayne?"
"You," he says sincerely.
He takes her to Zen, an Asian fusion restaurant, for dinner to celebrate the new security consultant. It's an admittedly sexy place - come late night it turns into a nightclub full of hot young things in skimpy clothing grinding up against each other - really the opposite of zen, he supposes. Back when he maintained the playboy persona, he used to hit this spot up - it was always easy enough to get the paparazzi to snap a few photos of him in scandalous positions with scantily clad women and men, then lose them in the crowds and sneak out the back door alone. There were other nightclubs he could have gone to, but this one rather unexpectedly had an amazing chef who could do downright unnatural things to tofu.
Selina agrees with him.
"I would never have thought this was tofu," she moans as she swallows the last piece.
"I hear he's doing a new preparation these days. We should definitely try it next time we're here," says Bruce.
"And what makes you think that there will be a next time?" Selina says playfully.
"I'm really good at reading palms," he responds earnestly.
She laughs and offers him her hand.
"Read my fortune, Mr. Wayne?"
He takes it and turns her palm up and runs his lips over the creases.
"I see a tall, dark, handsome stranger in your future."
Selina leans forward and whispers: "Is he rich too?"
"Oh yes, rich in wisdom and kindness."
Selina sits back in her seat.
"Eh, wrong kind."
Bruce squeezes her hand.
He traces her heart line with his finger.
"I see a long relationship."
"What kind of relationship?" Selina asks.
"It's hard to tell. Romance, friendship, respect, intellect… it's all jumbled together. And over here," he says, tracing her head line, "I see a breakthrough. I see fear, but also strength."
"That's all very vague."
"It doesn't have to be," he says softly.
He moves on to her sun line.
"I see… family."
She snatches her hand away.
"I'm an orphan too."
"Did you hire a private investigator to look into my background?" she snaps.
"No," he says. "I just know the look."
"Poor little rich orphan," she sneers.
Bruce takes a deep breath to calm himself.
"Why do you lash out when I try to get close to you?"
Selina doesn't respond. He lets the silence sit uncomfortably between them, stretching out as long as necessary. Eventually, she takes a breath and opens her mouth - and there's a piercing shriek in his ear.
"Oh my god, it's Bruce Wayne! I told you I recognized him!" Two gorgeous women approach the table, their perfectly perky and large heaving bosoms barely covered by fabric.
Dammit, just when he was getting somewhere emotionally with her.
Selina gets up.
"Looks like dessert's here. Bon appetit, Mr. Wayne."
She scurries away.
He throws far more than enough cash on the table to cover dinner, somewhat rudely pushes past the chattering girls, and makes his way after Selina, who is heading towards the exit. He hands his car slip to the valet driver, who leaves to fetch the car, and catches up to Selina outside the restaurant.
"What's it going to take for you to take me seriously?" he calls after her retreating back.
Selina stops, but doesn't turn around.
"It wasn't a rhetorical question, Selina."
She turns around.
"What do you want from me?" she spits at him.
"What do you think I want from you?" he responds.
"I don't know," she says.
It's both an irritating and sad answer, as she clearly, willfully, doesn't have a clue.
Something snaps inside him, and he shoves her against a wall. He presses his body against hers, letting her feel his hard cock straining through his pants.
"That's funny, because I think I've communicated what I want pretty clearly," says Bruce.
"You want to fuck me. I get it. And a rich asshole like you, you're frustrated when you don't get what you want immediately. I'm probably the first person in your life to put up a challenge in your little games," says Selina.
Bruce laughs, his voice harsh and deep. It's not particularly cold outside, but Selina shivers.
"I don't always get what I want. In fact, I rarely get what I want, and there's rarely anything I want." He kisses her roughly. "Does this seem like someone playing a game?"
Selina murmurs something.
"What did you say?"
"I said, no."
"I do want to fuck you. And if that was all, I would have done it by now." He licks his way up her neck to punctuate the point.
"But it's not all I want. I think you know exactly what I want, and it terrifies you." He lets the words linger for a few seconds.
"I'm done being indirect, I'm done being gentle. Here's how things are going to go. I want you in my bed. You, not those girls. I want you screaming my name, and I want it now."
"Yes," Selina says faintly.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes… Bruce."
God, he loves the sound of his name on her lips. She should call him Bruce more often. No more of this bullshit Mr. Wayne. She should be screaming his name constantly.
With ridiculously perfect timing, his car pulls up.
"Get in the car."
Selina, breathing hard, ducks under his arm and gets into the car. Bruce is both pleased and surprised at her compliance. He shuts the door behind her, gets in, and starts driving.
Thankfully, it's a short drive back to Wayne Manor. They pass the minutes in silence. Bruce parks the car and exits. He open Selina's door for her, takes her by the hand, and leads her towards the mansion. Thanks to the faint moonlight, Bruce can see the outline of her nipples through the thin fabric of her shirt.
He presses her against the front door and kisses her, groping her breast and rubbing her nipple with one hand while searching for his keys with the other. Selina groans and deepens the kiss. He pulls out his keys and breaks the kiss. He attempts to unlock the door but turns the key the wrong way in his haste.
The door opens anyway, and Selina and Bruce nearly fall into the foyer.
"Master Wayne, is everything al –" Alfred's eyes widen and his mouth falls open.
"Not now, Alfred," he says roughly, pulling Selina into the house and up the central staircase. He gets them to the second floor and opens the door to his private rooms. Before he closes the door behind them, he catches a glimpse of Alfred still gaping in shock – Bruce has done some scandalous things in Alfred's presence, but they were always part of the playboy act he'd been putting on. This is the first time he's done something like this as himself.
He locks the door behind them, presses Selina against the wall and kisses her again, this time putting both his hands on her breasts. She moans into his mouth. He moves his mouth down her throat to her shoulder and sucks hard, deliberately leaving a bright red mark that he knows will be visible tomorrow. Selina wraps one leg around him and grinds herself against him. He puts a hand on Selina's ass and presses her against him harder. Selina wraps the other leg around him, and he lifts her up and carries her towards the bed.
He drops both of them on the bed and plants his mouth back on hers. His hands seek out the buttons on her shirt, but his fine motor skills disappear in his urgency, and he ends up yanking both sides of the shirt hard enough that the buttons pop off. Selina makes a sound of distress in her throat, which cuts off once he puts a hand between her legs. He pulls off her skirt along with her panties and tosses them aside. Selina kicks her shoes off, and all she's left in is her bra. His brain is too clouded with desire to attempt to get her bra off, so he leaves it on; her breasts look great anyway. He thinks about undressing himself too, but that is going to take far longer than he wants, so he just unzips his pants and pulls them and his boxers down. He lays on top of her, pulling her legs apart.
Her pussy is wet, hot, and slick, and he slides in smoothly. Selina tries to move her legs, but he maintains his grip and pushes them apart further. Selina moans and hisses something that sounds like "fuck yes."
He wants to enjoy it, take in the feelings and the look on Selina's face and the way the sweat glistens on her body, but it's been so long, and he needs to take her, to make her his. He manages to last three thrusts before his orgasm takes him.
He collapses on top of Selina, gasping for air.
"It's been a while for you, hasn't it?" Selina wryly asks from underneath him.
"Sorry," he manages.
He rolls off of her onto his back, catching his breath. Selina sits up, unhooks her bra, and tosses it aside.
"Why am I the only naked one, Mr. Wayne?"
"Call me Bruce."
Selina looks amused. "You said you wanted to hear me scream your name. Nothing to scream about right now, is there, Mr. Wayne?"
"Good point," says Bruce, and he pushes her back onto the bed and goes to work.
He's ridiculously happy. Despite the rumors swirling around the city of a gathering storm, that he hasn't been able to persuade Selina to stay the night after they make love, that his knee aches, that Alfred is being pissy about Selina.
He's constantly biting his tongue, resisting the urge to tell her that he loves her. At this point, he's fairly confident it'll scare her off. But he's sure of his feelings. He wants to put a ring on her finger and make it official. He wants to get her pregnant and see her belly swell with his unborn child. He wants to spend every last minute on this earth with her in his arms.
The intensity of his feelings scares him a bit sometimes. At the time, he had thought his feelings for Rachel were intense. In hindsight, they had only been the most intense he'd ever had at that point in his life. He'd desired Rachel and wanted her in his bed, but that desire pales in comparison to his need for Selina. He had felt calm and stable in Rachel's presence. But Rachel had wanted Batman retired and laid to rest, and Selina… he thinks Selina would want both sides of him. He feels whole in her presence.
He wants to tell her about Batman. But years of secrecy have sealed his lips, and he doesn't know where to begin.
He worries that keeping the secret will be the downfall of their relationship. Selina does not fully understand his interest in her and tells him so constantly. If she knew all of him, he thinks those fears would be laid to rest.
He worries that telling her will be the downfall of their relationship. That she'll be persuaded once and for all that Bruce just wants to reform her, that she's Batman's charity project.
He pushes his fears away and focuses on their physical relationship. As he's noted through the progression of their relationship, Selina needs things to go slow. He breached her initial emotional defenses and gained enough trust to let him have access to her body, but not to her heart. They're both very physical people; Bruce has to trust that his body is conveying everything he wants to say to her. He thinks that he's making progress; at first, she'd leave almost immediately after they'd finished, but now she's willing to stay and let him hold her for awhile.
He doesn't bother taking the pearls back from her anymore, and she doesn't return them. The way things are going, he hopes she keeps them forever.
After her latest security presentation, he invites Selina back to the office he's taken to calling his own lately. It's nothing fancy, not a particularly great view, tucked away in a quiet corner, but it's private and unobtrusive. One glass wall looks out upon Gotham, two walls are solid, and the fourth wall that contains the door is glass as well.
He shuts and locks the door behind Selina and closes the blinds on the wall of glass.
By the time he turns around, Selina is sitting in his chair behind the desk, legs crossed.
"Why don't you have a better office?" she asks.
Bruce shrugs.
"I have simple needs."
"Liar. This is a twelve-hundred-dollar chair."
"Closer to fifteen probably."
"I actually have simple needs," says Selina.
"Really? Like what?" retorts Bruce.
She leans back and lets her legs fall open.
"Come here and find out," she says.
She's wearing a black skirt suit and the pearls. Her skirt rides up her legs, and he catches a glimpse of dark hair. Fuck, when did she manage to take off her panties? Had she not been wearing panties the entire presentation?
His mouth dry, he manages to continue their repartee.
"I don't know about that," he says. "Aren't there rules about this sort of thing?"
She pulls her skirt up higher. His cock twitches.
"I hear you make the rules around here."
"I don't think I'm in charge right now," he murmurs.
Selina laughs. "Don't make me tell you again."
Bruce waits another beat or two because although he desperately wants to have had his face buried in her pussy like yesterday, he has a reputation of cool confidence to maintain.
He strolls over to the chair and frowns at the floor.
"What?" says Selina.
"I didn't know I was supposed to bring kneepads."
Selina groans. He laughs at her frustration and gets on his knees. He pulls the chair towards him and pushes her skirt up further. He leans in, nearly touching her vulva with his lips, and does nothing but breathe hot air on her. Selina squirms.
"Patience is a virtue," he says.
"Please… Bruce?"
There is no way he can resist her when she says his name like that.
He takes her rock climbing in the mountains, a few hours away from Gotham, because he figures she'll enjoy it and he wants to show off a little in a socially acceptable way for an eccentric billionaire. Rock climbing is an easily explainable hobby. He catches Selina shooting appreciative glances at him as they climb. He's pleased to see how much the sight of his muscular arms at work seems to be doing it for her. He should let her watch him workout sometime - he thinks she'll like that.
They reach the top of the peak. After refueling, they nap for a bit. There's even some cuddling. The air is crisp, the view glorious, and even if it isn't Everest, Bruce feels like he's on top of the world. He props himself up on one arm and watches Selina. She's awake and staring at the sky. She feels her eyes on him and turns to look at him.
"You make me feel so alive, Selina."
Selina blinks at him, considers his words.
"Why, have you been dead?" she asks.
"God, yes," he says, and pulls her close to make love to her under the clear skies.
The shit hits the fan unexpectedly. Lying in bed late one night, relaxing after a strenuous session, the sheets coiled around their naked bodies, Bruce is sleepily kissing his way down Selina's bare back.
Bruce feels at peace, like there is nothing more in the world he could possibly ask for at this moment. A devastatingly beautiful woman in his arms, nothing else on his mind other than toying with the idea of making her come again.
Selina sits up, her back to Bruce, and starts looking for her clothes.
"It's later than I intended to stick around." She sighs. "But you're so good at this."
"Selina, stay." He kisses the bottom of her spine and puts his arms around her waist.
Selina is silent for a long moment, and then it all goes to hell. It's not the first time he's asked her to stay, but for some reason, this time is different.
"Bruce, I'm done. This is over," she snaps.
The tone of her voice wakes him up.
"What?"
She stalks out of the bed and hastily starts dressing.
"You heard what I said."
"Selina, what… why? What is going on?"
He barely remembers anything else after that point, but he does remember sitting on the bed, alone, clutching his head with one hand and the pearls she's left behind with the other.