Chapter Eight: Hopeless Addiction

** Heads up! This chapter becomes NSFW**

Nora's eyes fluttered open slowly to see yellow sunlight peeking through the blinds in an otherwise dark room. She took in a deep breath a stretched beneath a blanket that had been placed over her. The soft bedding smelled like him. The realization of where she must be came rushing over her and she sat straight up. She glanced around to see the desk with the big chair, the wardrobe, the purple coat hanging over the bed post. She was alone in Joker's room. Moving the covers aside, she saw that her shoes had been taken off but she was still wearing her scrubs. She sighed and laid back into the pillows. With her eyes closed, a big smile formed across her face and she bit her bottom lip. He kissed me. The whole time she had been torturing herself over her infatuation, it turned out that he might feel the same way.

Images from the night before ran through her head. They were laying in the bed, Nora on her back with Joker propped on his hands over top of her, leaning in to allow her mouth to dance with his. That night it felt like he'd put his lips and tongue on every inch of exposed skin over her neck as she put her head back to give him free access to it all, squirming with pleasure beneath him and running her fingers through his hair. He was never forceful, his touch was voracious but also gentle somehow. Nora was a bit surprised by this but then again, she never allowed herself to guess what his affections would be like. It was painful for her, she thought it was impossible. But it was possible and he was fantastic at it. Nora had never gotten so much pleasure from simply kissing. There was a swell of desire that was finally released from them both, freely flowing over them as they kissed each other for what felt like hours. She must have fallen asleep at some point. She sighed again and opened her eyes. Where is he? Nora sat up again and slid out of the bed to put her shoes on. She listened for a moment but didn't hear anything. But after taking only a few steps, the door to the room opened and she stopped.

Joker stepped into the room with a glass of water in his hand. Once he saw Nora standing there, a grin came over his face as he walked toward her, setting the glass on the desk without taking his eyes off of hers. He took her face in his hands and brought her lips to his for a deep, passionate kiss. Nora melted in his hands and closed her eyes. He tasted like mint.

He gently pulled back from the kiss and licked his lips before popping them and saying, "Mmmhm, still deli-cious." She smiled and started to giggle, making Joker's grin stretch wider.

"Mornin', doll," he said, moving his hands from her face and handing her the glass from the desk.

She took it and replied, "Morning, J. Thank you," before taking a sip of cold water.

Joker suddenly let out a high pitched giggle as he looked at her. Her face reflected her confusion before he wordlessly took the glass and placed it back down on the desk to lead her to the bathroom by her hand. He turned her shoulders toward the mirror to reveal the faded red and white paint spread all over her neck, making Nora chuckle.

"Sorry, doll. Couldn't help myself," he said.

"It's quite alright," she replied, still smiling.

He took a towel from the edge of the sink and ran it under the water. Then he stood in front of her and tilted her chin up with his fingers. Goosebumps rose up all over Nora's skin as he brought the towel to her neck, wiping away the makeup with a swipe of the cool cloth, before putting his warm mouth in its place. Her jaw fell open and she gasped, closing her eyes. He repeated the action all over her neck until he reached the last patch of skin where he lightly brought it between his teeth before pulling away and rubbing the towel across her neck once more. Nora slowed her breathing and opened her eyes to see Joker looking at her with eyes heavy-lidded. He ran his hand along her jaw and stepped back.

He stared at her as his chest quickly rose and fell and he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, giving Nora a surge of tingles in her lower stomach. He closed his eyes and tensed his jaw muscles for a moment, like he was trying to restrain himself.

His eyes opened and in a deep voice he said, "You, my dear, are addic-tive. You and I are gonna have to, uh, continue this laterr."

She looked back at him through her lashes and nodded slowly, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. Joker made a low growling sound and flashed her a seductive smile, causing Nora's heart to flutter in her chest. He took her hand in his and said, "Take your time, doll, then meet me downstairs," before letting it go and leaving the bathroom to head back out the door.

All Nora could do was nod her head again, lost for words as she recovered from the flood of endorphins taking over her brain. She wanted more. If she was addictive, then he must be heroin and she was hooked. Another huge grin stretched across her face when she thought about what he just said. He wanted more too. Once she came down from her high, she used the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. Then she ran her fingers through her hair before making her way to the door out to the warehouse. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.

The warehouse was bright with morning light and it was much cooler than yesterday. A few men were loading weapons into duffel bags, looking up at Nora as she descended the stairs toward them. She recognized some of them from the night before when they played poker. Shit, this is awkward. Her eyes anxiously scanned the room for Joker's painted face. Instead she saw Enigma approaching her, he looked pretty hung over.

"Ah, good mornin', doc," he said, rubbing his forehead.

A small smile formed on her face and she replied, "Hi, Enigma. You feeling ok?"

He wrinkled his nose and pinched its bridge with his fingers as he replied, "Oh I'm ok, just payin' for all those shots last night. Almost wish I could take my eyeballs out my head for a bit, you know? I'll be alright though, boss just told be to bring you outside when you come down."

"Oh ok," she said, feeling a twinge of nervous butterflies.

Enigma lead her to a different side door on the other side of the main room. The two of them stepped out into the sunshine causing Enigma to squint before pulling a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and putting them on to shield his eyes. Nora blinked to adjust to their bright surroundings and saw Joker walking toward them over the gravel, his hair looking particularly green in the sunlight. The back of her neck tingled when she saw him.

"Ahhh there she is," he purred with a smile. "We have ourselves an in-teresting development this morning, doll."

Nora held back her desire to bring her lips to that smile and replied, "Oh, um, what is it?"

He gestured for her to follow him. They walked toward the sound of gulls, past a stack of shipping containers, to reach an isolated dock on the Gotham River. A few men stood at the edge of the dock, looking into the water, then turning to watch Nora and Joker as they approached, Enigma not far behind. The bearded man, Tiny, from the poker game the night before stepped toward them. "Doc, Boss," he said as he nodded to them.

"Tiny here stumble upon this, uh, speci-men moments ago," Joker said. Nora stepped forward to look over the edge of the river bank to see a body floating in the water. Shit! She gasped and took a step back.

Joker put a hand on her shoulder and pointed at the body, "Tha-t belonged to a fellow we knew as Mac. He was skilled in obtaining firearms. As you can see, he has met his demise." A man standing nearby with a bottle of liquor in his hand poured some on the ground before taking a swig and passing it to the others.

Nora nodded and said, "I'm sorry."

Joker nodded back and replied, "Well doc, can you tell us how long our friend here has been dead?"

She widened her eyes and looked at Joker. She did post mortem exams in vet school but not since then. She did remember the basic principles, though. However, she obviously never dealt with a human. But a corpse is a corpse, so she might be able to tell. Alright, detach yourself from the fact that it's a man and have a look. A side effect of having medical training of any sort is the ability to disconnect from one's emotions and get the job done.

She furrowed her brow and said, "I'll try."

A few of the men hopped down into the shallow water and lifted the water-logged body up onto the dock. Nora looked to Joker, feeling more nervous by the second as her heart raced. He put a finger up before reaching into his pocket to pull out a surgical mask and a pair of gloves. She felt some slight relief and gave him a small smile, looking into his eyes as he handed them to her. He licked his lips and returned the gaze for a moment. Nora hoped the men around them couldn't sense the pull between them that they were both resisting. She put her hands into the gloves then covered her nose and mouth with the mask, looping the elastic ties over her ears. She took a deep, shaky breath before slowly approaching the dripping corpse.

The cause of death was rather obvious as there was a large, open bullet hole in the middle of the forehead. Nora carefully knelt down and leaned over to look at the face. The eyelids were fixed open, showing cloudy corneas. Ok, so at least two hours ago. She scanned her eyes over the surface of the body. The exposed skin was discolored as well, pale in some places and splotchy in others from blood pooling in the tissue. That takes a while to happen, probably four hours. Using two fingers, she lightly touched the skin. It was cold but it had been in the water so temperature wasn't going to be reliable. Then she gently reached out to try to open the jaw. It was stuck shut like a vice. Rigor mortis has at least begun to set in, it usually starts at the face and moves down. Alright, so animals reach complete rigor after about four to six hours, depending on their size. She touched one the hands and tried to bend the fingers with no success. Then her hands gripped the ankles, unable to flex those either. Assuming his weight was at least doubled compared to an animal, complete rigor should take about twelve hours. All of the muscles had locked into flexion after calcium flowed in, no energy reserves available after death to release them. This lasts up to a few days until the muscles start to decompose and release. She pulled up the shirt a bit to lightly press on the tissue of abdomen. No bloating yet, that starts after about a day.

Nora stood and faced the group watching her from the river bank. "I think he died maybe twelve to twenty four hours ago," she said.

Joker looked down at the body and nodded. Tiny and the other men then heaved the body onto a tarp to carry it off toward the shipping containers.

"We'll bury him after dark," Enigma told Nora. She nodded her head, removing her gloves and mask.

Joker's arm wrapped around her shoulders and he said, "Thanks, doll," leading her back to the warehouse.

They stepped out of the bright sunlight and back into the cool warehouse where Joker brought Nora to sit down at a table. He sat across from her and folded his fingers together on the table top, watching her as he remained silent for over a minute. What is he waiting for? She stared back and sighed.

"Are you going to ask who killed him?" Joker asked suddenly.

She shifted in her seat and replied, "I wasn't sure if that was my business."

"Mmm well, as a member of our uh happy little family, you deserve to know what it is we do here," he said, then waited for her response.

He never ceased to surprise her. Why did he trust her to tell her details about his operation? Did she really deserve to know? She didn't know what else to say other than, "I do?"

He tilted his chin down and nodded slowly as he replied, "You dooo." His tongue darted out over his lip and he said, "I have some, uh, unfinished business with my pal, Sal."

This was another name Nora had heard on the news. "Salvatore Maroni?" she asked.

Joker grinned, "So sharp! Indeed, my dear. Gotham's last man standing on the Mob's front lines."

"I thought he died in a car accident," Nora said.

"Ahhhh well that is what Gotham's finest would like you to bel-ieve. Mister Maroni is alive and well," he told her. "Those Mob chumps are the worst kind of criminals. Almost as bad as uh, the Batman."

This was the first time Nora hear Joker mention Batman. He had gone off the grid after Harvey Dent's death and if anyone knew anything about his whereabouts, there was no way that information would be made public. Batman was the whole reason Joker turned Gotham upside down in the first place. Wasn't he?

"Batman? A criminal?" she asked.

Joker giggled loudly and leaned back in his chair, "Ohhhh yes. Batman, a criminal. A self-righteous vigilante taking the so-called law into his own hands to try to control things that are not mean-t to be controllled. The Batman was no martyr, but a fool with one useless rule."

Nora never really liked Batman, he did seem kind of smug, but she never thought of him as a criminal before. Well you're a criminal too, Joker.

"What do you mean by worst kind of criminal?" she asked.

Joker smiled and licked the inside of his lip. He seemed to be enjoying the conversation quite a bit. "Ahhh well again we come to the topic of controlll. The Mob is all about control. Just. Like. Batman. They hide behind their money, an illu-sion of power. No money, no power. It's not about money, they're useless. Money has its place, yes. But a better criminal can take what they want withou-t money, things that can't be bought."

Nora nodded and said, "I understand." Now that Batman was out of the picture, the Mob was next.

"Of course you do. You're no fool, Nora," he leaned in to say. "So Maroni catches wind of little old Joker comin' after him and he tries to cut me off from my fire power. Mmmm well, Sal mustn't know I prefer knives," he snarled. Nora was starting to feel intimidated listening to Joker talk about his feud with the Mob. She hadn't forgotten that Joker was a murderer, she wasn't stupid, but his eyes got darker when he talked about it and that made her nervous.

But as soon as he got close to her, those feelings dissolved. Joker had leaned in so close that his nose nearly touched hers. She felt the heat of his breath as his lips hovered in front of hers and she closed her eyes, her skin prickling with goosebumps. It felt like some beast within him was tamed by her closeness, all of his anger washed away by lust. He took a deep breath in through his nose, as if taking in her scent, and sat back down in his chair slowly as Nora opened her eyes.

He blinked slowly and stretched his neck before he said, "As much as I ha-te to cut this meeting of ours short, doll. I have some, uh, complications to deal with."

She brought herself back down to Earth and replied, "Um, yeah. That's ok." Fuck, you're so awkward, Nora.

Joker stood and offered her his arm to take. She smiled and took it. He escorted her to the side door and outside to the waiting black car. Q was behind the wheel and Enigma in the passenger seat. Joker opened the rear door for her. Then his arm suddenly flew up to grip the top of the car, blocking her from getting in. He leaned in so his lips brushed against her ear, sending tingles down her back, and he said in a deep voice, "I'll be seeing you soon, doll." She nodded slowly and they shared a seductive gaze as he stepped back and she lowered herself into the car.

Nora closed the door and took a deep breath, keeping her eyes down, trying to control her arousal in front of Q and Enigma. The car started and an awkward silence as thick as smoke hung over the three of them. Nora looked at the seat next to her to see that they had brought her medical bag for her and it had a roll of cash sticking out of the pocket. She smiled at it. Despite how he felt about money, he always made sure he paid her. She started thinking about what Joker told her, about the Mob and about Batman. It was true that Batman caused a lot of trouble. She heard rumors he brought more corruption to the Gotham police force. And just before his disappearance, Gotham Tonight covered numerous stories on inspired groups of other vigilantes he inspired to take to the streets, leaving a terrible mess behind. But the Mob was something she didn't know much about other than the little she'd heard on the news, it wasn't discussed much for obvious reasons.

A question came to her mind and Nora disrupted the silence, "How does he know Maroni killed that man?"

Enigma snapped out of his trance, staring out the windshield, and thought for a moment before replying, "Mac was in Maroni's neck of the woods yesterday doing business. Boss and a few guys, you met Dome, they was keeping Maroni's men busy but he must've still found out about the deal. Mac was meeting his supplier for some more guns and ammo sometime during when you said he died. It had to have been Sal. He left the body to send us a message, I'm sayin'."

Nora didn't respond, she just watched the buildings go by outside the window. She knew these men were dangerous so she had planned to keep her distance but now she was getting a closer glimpse into their world than she ever thought possible.

"I hate those mother fuckers," Q suddenly said. "My family owned a jewelry shop at the edge of the Narrows when I was little. That piece of shit Falcone gave my pop such a hard time, he never let him refuse his so called protection. I know he killed my father over some fuckin money. Now Maroni runnin' things just as bad so I joined Joker's crew to teach that bitch a lesson."

Enigma nodded and said, "Q here got a personal vendetta with the Mob. Me, I been in and out of jail for petty shit. They treated me like a fuckin' animal for non-violent crimes. Now I can't get a job. Gotham cops owe me half my life and I 'aint gonna live by their bullshit rules."

She didn't know what to say. Nora felt privileged to have never had any trouble with the law. For most people in the Narrows it was an unavoidable part of life, just from trying to get by.

"I-I'm so sorry, guys," she eventually replied.

Enigma looked at her through the rearview mirror, "It's alright, doc. We're still here."

She thought for a second and said, "Can I buy you guys breakfast?"

She saw Q's smile in the mirror. "Shit yeah, doc. I'm starvin'."

They stopped at a mom and pop diner in Nora's neighborhood. The three of them sharing a booth certainly earned a few curious looks as they laughed and talked. Nora told them a bit more about herself as they ate their omelets and drank coffee. She talked about being a veterinarian, the gratification it brought her as well as the challenges. They talked about their families. Her mother passed away when she was a kid and she lost her father to cancer a year ago. She didn't have any siblings. They talked about Joker, calling him "J" to avoid unwanted attention.

"I never seen him act the way he does when he's around ya, Nora," said Enigma.

She blushed and stammered, "O-oh? Uh, well I did save his life."

The two men chuckled and Enigma replied, "Ah yeah I'm sure that's it," winking at her.

Nora must have had her embarrassment written all over her face as he said, "Relax, doc. You gotta know ladies don't really hang around our crew. I seen him around women once or twice but he's never paid them any attention. I never seen him give anyone as much attention as you. Plus you don't look away as soon as you see his scars. You're crazy, girl, I love it."

She sighed and took a sip of her warm coffee, trying to hide her smile behind the mug, looking down at the table. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah doc, really," said Q.

After their third round of coffee, Nora paid the check, despite Q and Enigma's insistence that they should split it. She said goodbye to the men and got out of the car outside of her apartment building, her medical bag on her shoulder. As soon as the elevator doors shut, a wide grin pulled at her cheeks and started to giggle. Her life had been turned upside down by a man who spends his time in creepy clown make up, terrorizing Mob bosses, cops, and whoever else he pleased, plus anyone who gets in the way, and she couldn't have been happier about it. She was going to see him again soon. But how soon?

She unlocked her door and dropped her bag down to greet Bowie. After topping off the cat's food bowl, Nora stepped into her bedroom. Ohhh a shower sounds great. The steamy water ran down her skin and she sighed as the past day's grime was washed away. She stepped out of the shower to get dressed in fresh clothes and she started to daydream. She remembered touching Joker that night she treated his wound. She was so nervous then but now that's all she wanted to do. She remembered what his bare chest looked like and she shivered, feeling a tingling between her legs. Fuck, I gotta go do something else. Nora left her apartment to take a walk and decided to go to the shopping district. It was a nice day and a lot of other people were out. She got a funny feeling thinking about how no one around her had any idea that the ordinary woman in front of them made out with the Joker last night and she chuckled to herself. After a bit of window shopping she stopped into a book store. Browsing the shelves, she came across a medical reference section. While looking through the titles on the spines, a thick textbook caught her eye. "Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine." She reached for it and thumbed through its pages, coming across the section on thoracentesis. She smiled and shut the book, then heading for the cashier to purchase it.

Once she got home, she made herself some tea and sat down at her little kitchen table with the book. Becoming immersed in its content, she read about local nerve blocks, wound closure, burn care, ocular trauma, injuries to tendons of the hand and before she knew it, dusk had turned the sky a bright red outside her window. It was quiet except for the occasional car rolling past on the street below. Nora stretched to turn on a lamp and continued reading until the color drained from the sky, leaving it dark. Suddenly, the sound of a knock on her door echoed through the apartment. She turned to the clock on the stove. 10:06 pm. She got a little nervous. Maybe it was Joker but she figured he was busy. What if someone from the Mob wanted to hurt her for working for him? Could they even know who she was? Another knock. Her heart pounded and she tip toed her bare feet across the floor. Damn that fucking landlord for installing doors without peepholes in fucking Gotham. She quietly stood at the door. You're paranoid, Nora, it's probably Leann.

She took a deep breath and cracked open the door to see a purple coat. Her breath hitched in her throat and she flung the door wide open. Joker's hands came up to hold both sides of her face as he crashed his lips into hers. The two stumbled back into the apartment, attached at the lips. She was consumed by his kiss as she shut the door and locked it behind them. Joker shrugged his coat off to let it fall to the floor along with his gloves, his mouth never breaking contact with hers. They stood for a moment in the hall, just inside the door, savoring the restored connection between them and they could feel each other's hearts pounding in their chests that were pressed together. Nora laced her fingers into his hair as Joker ran his hands down her sides, causing her to groan softly. His hands felt amazing. She felt his lips curl into a smile against hers and she did the same. Then he brought his hands back to her face and pulled away from the kiss to look her in the eyes. He had that same look in his as he did the night before, soft but hungry. Nora grinned and took him by the hand to lead him to her bedroom. He chuckled and followed her willingly.

Once they were in the room, she turned to him and he swiftly scooped Nora off her feet, bridal style, to carry her to the bed and drop her on her back onto the mattress, prompting a fit of giggles from them both. Joker hurriedly kicked his shoes off to pounce on top of her and bring his lips back to hers. She brought her hands up to hold his face and pulled him closer, her thumbs brushing against his scars. A low groan rumbled from his throat. Then Nora felt his fingertips graze the skin of her abdomen, just under the bottom of her shirt, to start to pull it up and she took a sharp breath in. Joker stopped suddenly at the sound, but then she put his hand back at her bare side and tugged at the bottom of her t-shirt to pull it off over her head, leaving her just in her black bra from the waist up. He kept his eyes on hers for a moment before letting them travel down her chest. He lingered for a moment, then suddenly lowered his mouth to her neck to gently suck at her skin. He and moved his way down to her chest where he left no exposed skin untouched by his lips and tongue. Nora's jaw dropped and she moaned softly, causing Joker to quicken his pace before stopping to bring his lips back to hers. She responded by bringing her fingers to his tie to loosen it, then down the buttons of his waistcoat. Breathing heavily, he leaned back on his bent knees on either side of Nora to then unbutton his shirt and toss the garments to the floor. They stared at each other for a moment and Nora reached out to touch his chest before they resumed their passionate kissing, their bodies pressed against together to feel each other's warm skin.

Joker peppered kisses down her neck, chest and then her abdomen, tracing her figure with his hands as he went. She breathed heavily and grabbed hold of his hair. He stopped at her waistband and shifted his eyes up to meet hers. Nora smiled and nodded her head. A grin stretched over his face and he slowly unbuttoned her jeans to pull them down, then throw them onto the floor with the rest of their clothing. He sat up to look down at her body, now only in her undergarments. A lustful growl preceded a ravenous attack on her abdomen with his mouth, making her giggle.

Joker lifted his lips from her skin and said, "Hello, doll."

Nora laughed and softly replied, "Hi, J."

He looked at her with half-lidded eyes and propped himself on his side next to her to run his hand up her thigh. She raised her hips in response to his touch as it got closer to her pelvis and he brought his lips back to hers. Then she felt his fingers gently pass over the fabric of her panties and she couldn't help but moan loudly.

"Mmmm, now that's what I like to hear," he growled in a deep voice.

Nora had certainly been touched there previously but it never felt that way before and he barely touched her. Her heart pounded with tingles passing through her. She grabbed his face and sat up to kiss him deeply, running her tongue along his lip, eliciting a shiver from him. He slid a hand around her back to unhook her bra as she placed her hands on his waistband to unbutton his pants. They separated for a moment for her to shrug her bra off her shoulders and toss it to the side. He stopped for a moment and looked into her eyes again before looking down at her breasts. He took a deep breath as he stared at them before he wrapped his arms around her to bring her chest to his as he gently bit down on her neck after brushing her hair to the side. Then he proceeded to lay her down on her back and knelt over top of her, putting his mouth to her chest. Nora gasped and gripped his shoulders when his tongue ran across her nipple. He continued to caress her chest with his mouth as he slid his hand under the waist of her panties. She closed her eyes and moaned when his fingertips made contact with her most sensitive area. Then he took his hand and placed it on her hip where he hooked his thumb under the fabric of her panties and slid it down it to gently expose her sex. His mouth replaced his finger tips to taste her and Nora bucked her hips, moaning louder, encouraging him to continue. She threw her head back into the pillows, unable to keep still as he began to devour her. No one's mouth ever felt as good as his.

Moments after his tongue made contact with her little bundle of nerves, a burst of color flashed over her vision and she gripped the bed sheets in her fists as her back arched and she cried out in pleasure. Joker gripped her hips, keeping his face between her legs as she panted and rode out her orgasm. Once she came down from her high, she fluttered her eyes open and looked at him, his hands still at her hips and his chin resting on her public bone. They grinned at each other and he launched himself up to meet her lips with his. The Joker just gave me an orgasm... As they kissed each other, Nora pulled at the waist of his pants to slide it down and free his member. He groaned loudly when her fingers grazed his erection. Then she kept her lips locked with his as she guided it to her entrance and pulled the thin fabric of her panties to the side to give him access. Their kiss stopped to look into each other's eyes as he gently entered her, eliciting a gasp from them both. A series of moans escaped their open mouths when he began to thrust. They made no effort to keep quiet, connected at their waists, and drowning in pleasure. Joker took both sides of her face in his hands, propping himself on his elbows, and brought his mouth to the side of her neck, at the sensitive skin just below her ear. This sent Nora over the edge once again and she arched her back, bringing Joker along with her. Their release was simultaneous, each one's breath and movement synchronized with the other's. Once their panting died down a bit, he withdrew from her to fall onto his back next to her. She rolled to her side to face him as he blew air out from between lips and she caught her breath too. Their eyes met and he put his hand behind her head to bring it forward for a kiss on her forehead.

"Well that was fan-tas-tic," he said with a smile and Nora giggled, resting her head on his shoulder.

Song for this chapter: Bedroom Hymns by Florence + The Machine