CHAPTER SIX

"Come in," Selina called out at the twin knocks at her door the next morning.

Placing a section of her hair between the hot plates of the straightener, she clamped and then dragged down slowly, glancing up to see Bruce enter her room with two thermos mugs of java in his hands.

"Hey," he greeted softly, depositing hers on the vanity in front of her and then sipping from his. He studied her in the mirror.

"Thank you," she said, sipping from the hot liquid with her free hand.

Isis sniffed at his shoe then scampered off. "Can I help with anything?" he asked as he watched her streak off.

"Is what I'm wearing okay?"

She'd decided on purple slacks and a white blouse. A simple Everyday Jane business casual attire. He wore grey slacks and a black turtleneck, black thick-rimmed glasses hanging from his breast pocket. Average Joe.

"Yeah."

"Do you know how to work a hair straightener?" she asked, wondering if she'd have time to revive her face a little from the pallidness of waking early.

He looked at the contraption quizzically, depositing his cup next to hers. "Doesn't seem that difficult," he said, grasping the straightener gingerly.

She shrugged. "Just time-consuming." Grateful for the extra pair of hands, she handed it to him. "Thanks. I'm gonna do my makeup in the meantime."

"You look fine without," he said absently, already at work on her hair.

"Nothing crazy," she assured, reaching for her moisturizer. As she worked the cream into her face, she caught his eyes in the mirror. She realized then that he was in her room, sharing a fairly private moment with her, and it felt.. just fine. As if they'd done this a thousand times before when really they hadn't.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked, curious. She'd been lulled to sleep by the dulled patter of the shower next door.

Bruce cleared his throat, averting his gaze. "I - uh… It took me a while to…" Awkwardly he nodded down at himself.

"Oh."

"Mm." He picked a new section of hair, putting in a suspicious amount of concentration into his task, then blew a breath, confirming her suspicion that the conversation was a little too raw for his liking. "I'd rather talk about anything else right now," he mumbled with a self-deprecating wince.

"Okay," she trailed off, rubbing a concealer stick beneath her eyes before blurring it. "When did we get married?"

He blinked, momentarily jolted, and then it was gone as he looked back at her hair. "Last summer."

"Our names?"

He thought for a moment, gently dragging the iron down her hair. "Thomas and Mary Kane," he offered at length.

Selina paused from spreading foundation on her face. "My mom…"

"If you want," he added carefully. "It helps to have memorable names."

Sighing, Selina waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine." Then frowned. "Thomas? Kane?"

He smiled. "My middle name… also my dad's name. And my mother's maiden name."

"I didn't know that," Selina said softly, cocking her head. Smiling, she applied some blush. "Why can't we have kids?"

He furrowed his brow. "I'm sterile, I guess."

Selina felt like she was grilling him, but she rather enjoyed learning about her alter ego. "How did we meet?"

He stared at her thoroughly as he finished straightening her hair. "Some… dating app?"

Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Selina shook her head. "No. Through family," she decided, which was partly true after all. "Where do we live and how'd we hear about the orphanage?"

"We live in Blackpoint, north of here. We're visiting family for a birthday. They mentioned the orphanage when we talked about our struggle," he said decisively, then stepped back to let her stand. "Ready?" he asked as she did, pulling from her thermos.

"Mhm." Selina unplugged the straightener and slid on a plain headband, pushing her hair away from her face.

His eyes suddenly darkened. "For the record, I don't like this. You, coming."

Selina sidled into him with a raised brow in warning. "We had a deal," she reminded him.

"Yes."

She continued. "And I can take care of myself if things go south."

"I know," he replied, "but…"

She kissed him, stopping his goddamned white knight train of thought. God, he'd always been like this. Overprotective. "We had a deal," she said again slowly against his mouth, and he growled in frustration.

"Mary goes."

He sighed. "Mary goes," he agreed.

#

Selina watched the approaching orphanage with a rising foreboding. After all, it'd been years since Child Services had stuck her in a dank room inside the gargoyle-ridden monstrosity. Now it looked even more ancient, riddled with evidence of faulty maintenance. The chimney was falling apart. A window on the attic level had been shot with a gun or stone, unrepaired. The forest green accent paint on the front door and window frames was cracked, peeling badly.

She'd run away at the first opportunity after realizing her mom wasn't coming to take her home. Days later.

She remembered the stern woman who booked her in, disgust written all over her face. Another mouth to feed… The damn girl couldn't keep her legs closed again…

"You okay?" Bruce asked suddenly, squeezing her hand.

Her cries echoed back at her. My mom's not a slut! She's coming back for me, you'll see! See, she did, in the end. Years later. To use her. To use Bruce.

"I'm fine," she muttered as he drove them slowly past the open gate in his least ostentatious car, a Lincoln Continental. Well-off, but not overly so.

Realization struck him then, hard as a bat to the face, as he glanced at her. "Dammit, that's why you made the deal, isn't it."

"Yeah," she rasped. "Yeah, I know this place."

He parked the car with a grunt, sitting still, and then turned to her, shaking his head. "Shit. This changes things."

Selina rolled her eyes. "It does not."

"You ran away," he guessed, because of course she did. She met him on the streets all those years ago. If she hadn't run away then she would have been safely ensconced in the girls' dormitory and not witnessed his parents' murder. "How long did you last?"

"A week. Give or take."

"Why?" He reached out, brushing a lock of hair off her cheek, and cast his eyes down. "Nevermind, I know why." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose under his eyeglasses. "Don't withhold information from me again, Selina. Please."

At that moment a curtain in the room she knew to be the administration office moved, and she forced a pleasant smile on, turning back to him. "Sure, Thomas. Let's go?"

Selina climbed out of the car before he could kill the engine, and took his arm when he reached her. They hadn't yet reached the top of the stairs before the front door creaked open, revealing a heavily permed white-haired woman whom Selina vaguely recognized as the surly marm from all those years ago. Back then she'd had darker hair.

She fisted her hands to keep from scratching the old hag's eyes out.

Bruce squeezed back.

"Mr and Mrs Kane!" the old hag exclaimed warmly. "Welcome to our humble establishment. My name is Denise Woolsworth. I'm the Director here. May I take your coats?"

Selina felt like an automaton as she and Bruce handed over their thick coverings. Nothing had changed. "Where are the kids?" she heard Bruce ask conversationally, his gaze taking in their surroundings inquiringly. "In school?"

Mrs Woolsworth smiled thinly. "You must not be from around here, Mr Kane. The district school blew up years ago. We teach the children in-house now. They're in class currently." She clasped her hands behind her back. "Now, this is very sudden. Your relative called yesterday saying you'd be interested in adopting one of our pupils… May I ask why?" she asked, her eyes darting between Bruce and Selina sharply.

Selina met the hag's prying gaze with an unctuously patented smile. "We've been trying to conceive, but despite our prayers we'll never be blessed," she said, smiling sadly at Bruce when he brought their joined hands to his lips.

"I'm afraid I'm sterile," he explained, on point.

"Ah," the matron hummed, nodding knowingly. "Such a pity. A young lad like you. It must have been hard news to take, to admit defeat. And you, Mrs Kane, of course."

"It was…" Selina cleared her throat. "Difficult. But perhaps…" She inhaled tremulously. "Perhaps our family doesn't need to be…"

Bruce laced an arm around her gently, quelling her. "What Mary's trying to say is we think we can build a good family for a kid who isn't fortunate enough to have one. We'd like to be parents despite my shortcomings."

The hateful hag had been following their exchange closely, gazing at them inscrutably. Selina held her breath and felt Bruce's body go rigid against her. Had they laid it on too thick as to be unbelievable? Would she turn them away on the spot?

Mrs Woolsworth finally spoke, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. "I see. May I ask why the suddenness? Are there not orphanages in… Blackpoint, wasn't it?"

"There are," Bruce replied graciously, "and we've started visiting the one there and even began the paperwork process, but we were incredibly moved by the news of the serial murders of those poor orphans' parents."

"To think of what they've gone through…" Selina added, shaking her head sadly. "Could we perhaps meet the children? You see, I feel a certain kinship to them. My parents died when I was very young, right in front of my eyes, in a senseless murder. I've never been the same."

Sorry, Bruce, she thought, clasping her hand on his as his hold tightened on her waist.

"You'll understand why we came here, Mrs Woolsworth," Bruce intoned hopefully.

The hag's lips thinned. "Senseless murders abound in this city, Mrs Kane," she said dryly, and then sighed. "Tell you what, I'll pull them out of class. You'll speak to them in the refectory. Please, that way." She gestured to a large room with several tables.

#

Selina sat at a table, watching Bruce wander towards the back, checking over their kitchen equipment. It looked clean enough, but then again she remembered being assigned to kitchen cleaning chores after every meal; much of the cleaning was done in-house, to teach them life skills.

As he kept wandering, Selina stood back up, coming to his side. "What are you thinking?"

He glanced over in surprise. "How'd you know?"

She chuckled. "You were doing the quiet and alone thing," she teased softly.

He crossed his arms, one bicep touching her. "I'm thinking she was pretty reluctant to let us see them. What do you remember about her?"

"She's in the wrong line of work considering she hates kids." At his sideways look she went on. "When Child Services dropped me off she was… rude to me. To all of us."

"Alfred," Bruce whispered. "Mrs Woolsworth. What's her story?"

The butler's voice came at them through their earpiece. "60 years old. Miscarriage in 1980. Inherited the family business shortly afterwards. Business debts off the chart, sir, but it gets regular donations."

"From whom?"

"Quite aboveboard, actually."

"So she's clean," he said, almost as surprised as Selina felt. He shrugged, helpless.

Selina furrowed her brow. "What the story about her miscarriage?"

"Let's see…" She heard clacks at a computer from the butler's side. "Oh, dear. A prolapsed uterus and various complications during surgery. She could never carry again." Selina found herself clutching at her soured belly in sympathy. Then the butler spoke words that made so much sense. "And then the boyfriend left her."

Selina stared out at the kitchen for what felt like forever. She heard Bruce thank Alfred and then felt him sit on the Formica counter by her side. Just looking at her. "She's not evil," she managed to whisper after a while. "Just… incredibly damaged."

Bruce nodded slowly, acknowledging her discovery. "But that wouldn't explain her reluctance to let us meet the kids." He scratched his bristly chin. "We'll have to dig more. We'll come after dark," he finished on a whisper, as voices began approaching in the hall just beyond the refectory. He pushed off the counter as Selina turned.

"Mr and Mrs Kane," the director announced with a knock. She then ushered a series of kids of varying ages inside the room. "I will be in my office if you need me."

And then Bruce and Selina were face-to-face with a dozen curious kids.

"Please," Bruce said awkwardly to the group of them, ever the polite host. "Have a seat."

#

"Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the children, Mrs Woolsworth," Bruce said, shaking the woman's hand as Selina shrugged into her coat. "We'll discuss and let you know if we decide to move forward." He turned, grasping Selina's hand as they exited the old orphanage.

"Safe trip," the woman called before closing the door on the cold.

They got in the car quietly, and Bruce drove quietly for a few minutes, thinking again. "You're doing it again," Selina teased.

"They didn't see or hear anything," he mused aloud unhappily.

"They all looked wary of you though," she pointed out. "You sure you didn't go on a crazy bender and get amnesia?"

He glared at her for even suggesting the joke. "No. I have a code. I never kill."

Selina frowned. "Not even in self-defence?" she asked doubtfully.

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "I never want to kill again. Besides, this happened before I came back," he pointed out, gesturing at the home and the newest wave of orphans within.

"Should've led with that, Bruce, jeez." She sobered as he removed his glasses at a red light, rubbing his eyes. "You okay?"

"They were my dad's," he replied, tossing them into the console. "Not particularly strong, but doesn't feel great."

Selina sighed. "You should've just bought some non-prescription ones," she chided. "Hell, you could buy an entire eyewear store."

He grunted. "This was last-minute, remember?"

Alfred's voice intruded into their ears. "Will you two stop your bickering? I have some news. From the '80s. It turns out Denise Woolsworth's ex-boyfriend, a certain Mr Chris Stone, was in Arkham until recently for child abuse."

"Released?" Bruce asked.

"Murdered," came the correction.

"The hell?" Selina breathed. "Can't be him."

Bruce squinted, hitting the gas as the light turned green. "When? How was he murdered?"

The butler clacked on the computer over their earpieces. "A little over three months ago. His cell, er, exploded. They found a tooth."

Selina clicked her fingers thoughtfully on the console. "I remember the explosion. It was nighttime. I was home. It shook."

Bruce accelerated. "He's alive." He turned to Selina, a spark in his eye. "That's why she was reluctant to even speak to us. She knows. I just need proof. Alfred, did he have any visitors at Arkham over the years?"

Clack, clack. "Just the one. A fellow named Devin Stone. His brother. Last visit was a week before the incident. Has a restraining order from… Denise Woolsworth."

Selina whistled low. "Jesus. What's he done to her?"

"Assault and harassment charges. The assault is dated on the day of her miscarriage and the harassment, er, afterwards."

Selina wanted to kill the son of a bitch. Both of them. "He did that to her. Assaulted her. Made her miscarry. And then the dipshit who impregnated her ditched her, and he came back to harass her?" She marvelled at the scum of the Earth. "Who the hell does that?"

But Bruce was already on another trail. "What's Denise's birthday?"

Selina frowned at the change of subject, but his razor-sharp focus on the road belied a certainty in whatever path his mind had just taken.

"May 31st, 1964, sir. The miscarriage was on September 20th, 1980."

Bruce whooped, tapping the wheel in triumph. "She was sixteen when she became pregnant, Selina. Seventeen when she miscarried."

"Precisely, sir," Alfred said.

Selina's eyes widened as it dawned on her. "You think she's the child abuse case?"

"It would seem so, Miss Kyle. Her father filed the claim. He was later found dead in an alley."

Bruce scratched his chin. "We need to connect the remaining dots," he said soberly. "These kids' parents… it wasn't the work of a child abuser."

Selina frowned, a seed of an idea suddenly blooming in her mind. "What if she knew the fathers were abusing their children?"

"How?" Bruce voiced distantly, but then answered his own question with one to Alfred. "Child Services was already onto them, wasn't it?"

Clack, clack. "Indeed, Master Bruce."

"She must know someone in Child Services," he said, crossing the bridge into the Bristol neighbourhood off-island.

"I'm afraid I can't help you there, sir."

Bruce nodded to himself regardless. "That's fine. That's plenty for now. I'll - we'll - check the orphanage later," he said, throwing an apologetic glance at Selina.

"Lunch for now?" the butler queried.

"Yes."

"Right. Printing our findings. I'm off to the kitchen then."

Selina clicked the communicator off as Bruce did the same, falling into silence. Removing the headband from her head, she rubbed the backs of her ears where it had pressed, causing a headache to form. She sat back, watching Bruce drive with the wintry landscape behind him. The light nicked at the ring on his left hand then, and she began toying with her own absently. "I think they liked you," she murmured. "The kids."

He'd been awkward at first but had eventually played cars with the younger one, a little boy of around 6 years old who seemed content just whooshing around. Selina had played cards with the others, asking them about this or that to get an idea of their states of mind. They'd seemed remarkably resilient and calm, considering everything that had happened to them recently. After a while, Bruce had brought the car kid into the fold, and they'd played another few rounds of cards.

"The goal wasn't to get them to like me," he said at length, throwing her a sidelong glance. "But I think I'll invest."

Selina nodded. She'd known he would, after Mrs Woolsworth's story was cleared up. "That's nice." She sighed. "I guess every child she gets is a reminder of what she lost. What she would have done better with her own."

"Mm," he hummed, pulling up to Wayne Manor. He maneuvered the car to the slope down into the garage below the estate.

"Thanks for this," Selina blurted out suddenly. "It was… cathartic."

The car slowed as he glanced at her, and then he turned into its empty spot and killed the engine. They got out in silence, something strange and heavy tugging at her. The twirp of the town car trilled behind them as they left the garage, ascending up to the main floor and then the second floor, still in silence.

"Hang on," Selina said when they reached his room. She pulled his mother's ring off her finger with a twist, offering it back to him. "Here."

Bruce looked down at what she proffered for a moment as though of a mind that it could bite him, yet finally, he accepted it. "Right."

"I promise I didn't pry any diamonds loose," she joked awkwardly, attempting to alleviate the heaviness that seemed to cloy around them.

He kissed her, slowly, one hand in her loosened straight hair, and then released her, just as slowly. It was a blurred impact, and she came out of it reeling, feeling like she'd lost the thread of what she'd been saying. She sucked in a breath. "What's that for?"

"To thank you," he replied, gesturing to his closed fist with the ring in it. "It was cathartic, too."

Selina smiled tremulously, then pointed back to her room. "I should…"

But she found she couldn't move. Bruce's eyes were on her, a pregnant silence hanging like a lull between them. Last night's memory snaked a tendril into her belly, rearing up with surprising strength. She suddenly found it hard to swallow.

"Lunch should be ready soon," she managed to force out.

"I'm having mine in my room," Bruce said, completely still, and she thought he looked uncannily like a poised wild cat, biding its time.

Selina lost the battle with her willpower as desire hooked into her, flooding her cheeks. "Would you like company?"

#

Selina was used to invading privacies to steal priceless treasures. But this was different. Bruce had left her in his room on a long kiss and, since then, she'd been wandering the master bedroom, touching this or that gingerly. A book here. A watch there. Gold cufflinks. A tie. His cane. Another book. A glass of water. His parents' rings. She felt like she was intruding.

She approached the window. The grounds glimmered untouched below. Further, frozen trees swayed in the arctic wind, their branches threatening to crack under the heavy weight of thick ice.

Thud.

Whipping around, Selina faced Bruce, his arms laden with steaming plates at the door he'd just closed with his foot. He paused there, seeming to study her against the backdrop, then came over, setting the plates on the table by her. Slowly she felt his arms encircle her loosely, allowing her at any moment to slip out. Bolt.

She didn't.

He gathered her fully then, watching the world outside with her, swaying with the trees.

"This is nice," Selina whispered contentedly, sinking back into his warmth and the smell of his cologne. He brushed his mouth against her temple, drawing tingles from her delicate skin. "That's nicer."

His lips travelled to her ear, brushing her lobe. "You smell nice." And then he captured her lips just as gently when she turned in his arms. "Taste nicer," he added.

Brushing her tongue against his, she sighed, sliding her hands under his turtleneck to encounter the warm skin beneath. "Bruce?"

"Mm?"

"It's not late anymore."

A deep breath stretched the wool over his chest. "What are you saying?" he asked, his half-lidded eyes darting between hers.

Selina splayed her fingers across his chest, enjoying the breadth of him, and bit her lip at what she was about to say. "I heard you in the shower last night," she said. "Take me back."

Something in him snapped.

He pulled his wool sweater off in one fluid movement over his head. It fell to the floor behind him, already forgotten, and he captured her lips again like a man who desperately needed air to breathe. He undid her blouse, his fingers missing their goals frequently in his eagerness, but still he persevered. Selina chuckled as he grunted in annoyance at her and at the offending buttons.

Finally, finally, he freed her, her white bra peeking out at him. "You wore nothing last night," he pointed out almost disappointedly, caressing the satin softly.

"I wasn't wearing a white blouse last night," she replied wryly, enjoying watching him touch her as if she were a porcelain doll. "Now, about that shower…" she started, backing away to unzip her slacks and backing up some more when he began following her.

Selina turned as she reached the bathroom tiles, pulling her pants and underwear down in one swift tug that sent a groan careening from Bruce's throat right down her spine. He caught up to her from behind, covering her hands as she began working on the clasp of her bra.

"Let me."

He reached into the shower, turning on taps, and soon a rainfall began dripping down in the glass and tile encasement. Selina's belly clenched in remembrance of the sound echoed in her bedroom. Then his fingers were back, damp, unclasping her bra, and his palms came around, warmth covering her breasts. Reverent. Like last night.

"Selina… god…"

It was such a beautiful sound, to hear him like that. Dark and unctuous. Like a prayer answered.

Selina wanted to stay in his arms like this forever, but the inviting shower compelled her. His hands fell away as she turned, and she watched the haze in his eyes deepen and she backed away brazenly into the shower stall, in full view of him.

"You coming?" she asked, shivering in pleasure as the hot drizzle fell over her flesh.

His slacks were off in no time, briefs along. Bruce came in, collected her, and moaned in her mouth as he pressed up against her, seemingly content for the moment to just hold her until… oh.

A swimming dizziness made her grasp his hair for support as he crouched, first pressing his lips and then closing his mouth clear around one of her breasts. His tongue stroked her leisurely, tasting and discovering every ridge of her areola, drawing a keening mewl from deep within her throat. Suddenly she found herself against cool tile, his lips on her temple again.

"I imagined you last night," he said, his voice delightfully thickened by desire. "Here. I imagined you like this."

"How do I compare?" she asked breathlessly, guiding his face level to hers.

He exhaled, his breath raising condensation fog around them. "Better," he said vehemently. "So much better."

Allowing her to trade places with him, Bruce leaned back against the wall, watching her as she reached for a bar of soap and began lathering herself, somewhat for show. "What else did you imagine?" she asked, studying his face as her hands slid over her skin.

His eyes followed her movements closely. "Oh, you know… something like that," he replied, his hand moving up and down his shaft slowly. Unrepentant.

She usually wasn't this thorough while washing, her circumstances usually forcing her to merely towel herself clean with cold water, but Selina felt incredible power in the effect she seemed to have on him, and she wanted to see more. Lathering shampoo into her hair next, she watched his eyes travel her stretched length, burning trails where he'd never travelled before.

"And then?" she prompted, sighing as the hot water sluiced onto her scalp as she rinsed.

He pushed off, the breath exploding out of him. She fully expected… something else. "Time out." He reached for the soap and began washing himself clinically, with short, jabbed movements, his eyes closed with a deep frown and his jaw set painfully.

Selina stole the bar from him, and watched as his eyes popped open in alarm. "Nuh uh," she uttered at him. "I imagined you in here, too." Sudsing her hands, Selina set the bar down and then slid her palms over his skin, feeling his muscles tauten under her digits. Next she palmed his cock, drawing a shaky exhale from him. She held his gaze, loving the loss of control she saw there. The slight moan as she stroked him. His eyes rolling in the back of his head as she cupped his testicles.

Once rinsed, she pressed against him, seeking his mouth. He latched on with gusto, drinking her in. There was an urgency in him. Molten lava in her veins. She didn't feel close enough, which was madness because she felt fused to him in a way she'd never felt before.

An overwhelming sense of blooming rushed through her as his hand slid gently between them, finding her moist flesh. The contact was an obliterating sensation, wrenching a strangled sigh from her that was swallowed into his greedy kiss that echoed the sound she'd just made. He slid tantalizingly against her labia a few times before retreating, encircling his arms around her again as she caught her breath.

Then he shut the taps almost mechanically, stepped out, and grabbed towels.

Selina stood dumbstruck as he wrapped his hips, hiding his straining erection, and stepped out. Suddenly she felt as cold as if she were standing outdoors.

But then he held the glass door open for her, and he swallowed thickly. "Come."

She covered up, frowning curiously as she followed him out of the warmth and into the cooler air of his bedroom. There he pulled her in against him, kissed her, and rested his forehead against hers a moment, his panting breaths slowly levelling.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked, searching his eyes.

"Because I didn't want to."

His logic made no sense to her. Reaching up, Selina cradled his face. "I don't want you to," she whispered into his ear.

He shuddered. "Selina." He said it like a warning. Like a prayer.

"This feels nice," she said, dropping her towel and pulling him in for another kiss.

But he pressed a hand to her chest, preventing her. "A few days ago you wanted nothing to do with me," he said softly. "And I understood. I got it. I fucked up. I think -"

"Stop thinking," Selina grunted, surprising even herself with the strength of her frustration. "Did this feel right?" she countered, kissing him bruisingly. As she spoke next, she pulled away past him to his regally-dressed bed, and sat on it, her legs spread just so. "You missed ten years of this, Bruce. You sure you want to waste more time? Because I don't want to."

There. Her piece was said and she was laid bare, literally and figuratively, anxiously awaiting his response. Honestly, she felt sure he'd send her out. Too soon, he'd say, a tortured longing in his eyes, and she'd feel like shit for the next however long. A goddamned slut. For daring to want him. For daring to envision she could forgive him and everything would be okay.

But then he moved, and she was suddenly hitched further up his bed.

"Hi," she breathed, awed at the beauty of him poised above her, wild eyes and flushed face inches from her. "Welcome back." She scratched a nipple lightly, her fingers dancing over the hairs of his chest. Then she reached the towel at his hips, and tugged it off, sighing as he sank to rest onto the vee of her thighs.

He looked down at where they touched, a shuddering breath wracking him, and then swallowed, looking up. "I don't have condoms," he strangled out.

A beat passed where something hurtled to a standstill within her, but then she captured his lips. "That's fine," she breathed, cradling his tense jaw. "Lick me."

His eyes flared at her suggestion. The hand that had touched her before now ventured there again, and he groaned at the plump, slick flesh he found. "God," he murmured, pumping himself a few times with her juices. The ecstasy she witnessed was incredible to behold. Then he drew open-mouthed kisses down her body, finally reaching her apex.

Selina melted on a mute cry, her toes curling and her fingers clutching the sheets as his mouth found her. "Yes…"

He tasted her leisurely, stroking between her folds and kissing and licking and nibbling. Pleasure curled up deep in her belly, rising and ebbing with every softly rasping pass of his tongue, every gentle pull of his lips. She sighed and moaned at the ceiling, and found herself cradling him to her, a throbbing need rising within her as she rocked gently against his mouth to find her peak.

And finally she crested, whimpering into the rapture, and he held on tight to lap her up until her thrashing ebbed down to mere delicious aftershocks.

Selina pressed her thighs together as he crawled back up her body. She captured his lips as he lay against her with wonder in his eyes. "Thank you," she breathed, feeling every part of her as… alive, and warm. "That was amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm," she hummed contentedly, her fingers dancing on his skin, and then his cock, and then encircling it. Ten years… she could have had so much all this time... "I loved it."

"I'm glad."

"Now you…" she trailed off, studying his face. "What would you like?"

As she stroked slowly up and down his shaft, Bruce held her gaze, biting his lip. "This is fine," he grated.

Selina raised a dubious brow. "Fine?"

"Good," he corrected.

"Good?"

He groaned. "Suck me," he finally relented, his eyes darkening with lust.

Selina leaned over across him, capturing the tip of him into her mouth, and licked the drops of pre-cum that touched her tongue.

Bruce relaxed, sinking a hand onto the small of her back in a caress, and she felt the heat of his palm on her skin, quivers barely restraining his body.

She stroked his length broadly with her tongue, revelling in the hissing breath she heard him take behind her. Shivers ran down her spine at the sound. As she took him fully into her mouth he began rolling his hips, deepening her slow motions with shallow thrusts.

"Oh God," he moaned thickly. "Feels so good."

Selina responded with a lazy plunge down his shaft, another lament falling out of him. She gently cupped his testicles, and he tightened his hold on her waist. If she looked back she imagined his head would be thrown back in rapture. So she did, and it was, and his eyes sought her at the loss, but then she went back to his cock and she heard the soft thud as his head hit the pillow again.

"I'm close," he exhaled raggedly, the hand resting on her now digging, trembling. As he gently fucked her mouth with barely leashed abandon, Selina breathed in the sensuous musk of sex in the air, and heard only the infinitesimal noises Bruce made as she took him in.

Finally, finally, he slid one last time home deeply past her lips, and his orgasm hit her tongue in warm gouts. He gripped her, bucking once, twice, three times, and in the silence there was only the rustle of the bedsheets and his guttural grunts as he emptied himself in her mouth.

Selina swallowed when she was sure he'd ended, then circled his still-pulsing head again and pulled gently, drawing a hum from him. "Hang on…" His free hand came under her lips then, and she released him as he squeezed up his shaft, drawing the last trapped bead of semen out. His hand fell away as she licked it off, and then his whole body relaxed under her as if he'd just run a marathon.

"Fuck," he said succinctly, with feeling, and Selina bit back a smile as she looked back to see him shoving a shaking hand through his still-damp hair in astonishment.

"Was this what you imagined?" she asked coquettishly, throwing a leg over his body now to rest astride him, propped up on the barrel of his chest. He positively radiated heat.

He caressed her thigh, her ass. "And then some," he replied, sounding guttural. He reached up, pulling her down to kiss her. "So much more. Thank you."

"Mhm?"

"Mhm," he hummed, his eyes falling closed, his heartbeat slowing beneath her chest.

His belly suddenly growled as she dipped in for another kiss, and she tilted her head at him, chuckling. "Hungry?"

"Mhm."

"Can you speak?"

"Bit dead."

Head cocked, Selina shook her head and tsk'd. "Pity," she teased. "Thought you had stamina?"

"Think I'm having a shocked reaction more than a stamina depletion to be honest."

Laughing, she rolled over, threw on her discarded blouse and then brought back the pasta plates to the bed. She nudged him, then sat against his pillows beside him, digging in. The food had grown cold, but she'd had worse, and she was too famished to care.

With great effort, Bruce finally sat up and claimed the plate she'd set aside for him. He backed up until he too was leaning against his headboard, and then rested his plate in his lap, digging in as well. They ate quietly, side by side. When she'd had enough, Selina set her plate on the nightstand and slid beneath the sheets, studying him from this angle.

Once more, he seemed to be deep in thought, eating his cold pasta like an automaton. His movements were slow, calculated, each bite precise. Part etiquette, part lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Selina asked, genuinely curious.

Bruce looked down as though he'd forgotten she was there. "Just planning our expedition tonight at the orphanage," he said, setting his plate aside after a moment.

Always thinking. Never stopping. "Come here," she sighed, tugging him down beneath the blankets with her. He followed pliantly, and she tangled her legs with his, stealing some of his heat. "What's the plan?" she asked, brushing his hair out of disarray.

He smiled a little at her indulgence, fully in the present once more. "Well, some rest for now, but I want to check the Director's office and her quarters."

"I can do that," Selina offered. "I'm quieter than you. She won't even know I'm there." She frowned. "What about the kids' former homes? They must be contaminated by now."

Bruce shook his head. "I checked them when Gordon first asked me for help, by which time it was already contaminated. Nothing concrete."

"Damn." As Selina bit her cheek, another thought occurred to her. "Speaking of Gordon, does he know you're… you know, Batman?"

"If he does," Bruce mused, sounding nonplussed, "then he's doing a very good job not letting it on." Gordon finding out his secret identity seemed like the least of his worries.

Selina stared at his profile, considering. Would she have eventually figured it out? Gordon seemed to be in regular contact with the Bat, so perhaps she wouldn't have. But she wanted to believe she would have. Especially now that it was so obvious to her: the Batman, appearing right around the return of Gotham's prodigal son, who'd made a name for himself before leaving as the city's protector. The cards all fit… except his assumed cripple role, which was a damned convenient disguise. But even she had managed to see through that mask. He was too damned quick with his cane.

"I think I would have realized who you are, eventually," Selina muttered doggedly.

Bruce hummed, already drifting. "I know…"

#

Author's note:

Heyas, sorry all for the long wait. I must admit I've hit a block on this story but I figured I should post this chapter since I've had it written for months.

This is... pretty much the sexiest thing I've ever written, and it's not my first smutty rodeo. haha