Chapter Sixteen

I awoke the next morning feeling something warm, and hard under my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up and was horrified to find that in the middle of the night I curled myself around the Joker like a kitten. His arm was curled around me and when I looked up at his face, I discovered that even in his sleep he had a grin.

I decided that the best thing to possibly do was to get out of this situation before he woke up and had new ammunition to use against me. I tried to be as slow and quiet as I could to slip out from under the blankets, but, I felt his arm tighten against my body and pull me back to his chest.

"And where do you think you're going, Princess?" he asked as his eyes opened. "It is way too early to wake up, none of my men will even be awake."

"I, uh," smooth. His lips curled in his signature smile.

"Well, since we're both awake we may as well make the most of it." He whispered in my ear before he rolled us over; me to my back and him settled on top of me.

"What are you doing," I squeaked out. He let out his very sexy chuckle.

"What do you think, darlin'," he said as he started kissing my neck, I had to hold back a moan.

He stopped kissing my neck and put his forehead against mine. His rough hand started creeping up my shirt, resting on my stomach. He started leaning down towards my lips, just as he got to a breaths width away, there was a pounding at the door. The moment was lost and the Joker was none too pleased.

He took his hand from under my shirt and stormed to the door throwing it open.

"Someone better be dead or dying!" he screamed as he pinned the poor goon against the wall by his throat.

"Sir, please, I have news." The goon gasped.

"Welllllll," the Joker said loosening his grip.

"Word is that Wayne is refusing to do business with Lao, he's sending Fox to tell him the deal is off." The goon said as Joker let him go.

"Not surprised, Wayne is a goody to shoes, too good to do business with that fool." Joker said as he shook his head. "Now leave, WE need to get ready." He shut the door and walked over to me.

He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me up beside him, he sighed. He looked me in the eye and brought my hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss to it, causing heat to shoot straight from it to the rest of my body. He must have saw a change in my demeanor and smiled.

"Now, we have a lot to do today so I would get dressed." He said dropping my hand and walking away to the closet. "Also I would wear my colors, that should make the statement clear." He said pulling out his trademark suit and walked towards the bathroom.

"But, why and what statement?" I said coming out of my stupor.

"That you, little princess, are mine." He said closing the door and my mouth dropped.

******A little while later********

"And this is the storeroom where all the weapons and explosives are. You would do best if you didn't come in here without me." The Joker said leading me into a huge room that was filled to the brim with weapons.

"I don't think I would ever want to; I like my limbs." I said going into the middle of the room and just looked around. "How did you get all of these, some are military grade weapons."

"Well, I am the Clown Prince of Crime, Princess." He said leaning against a box that said 'dynamite'. "Come, I want to show you where we'll be training."

I looked at him in confusion and I saw that he put his ungloved hand out to me. I hesitated before I grabbed it, without the glove I felt every callous and the divots from where he must have nicked himself with his knife. He led me down the stairs and into another huge room and my mouth dropped again for the second time that day.

I let his hand drop and I walked over to the professional grade punching bag. Through my captivity with the Joker I missed the training that I tried to keep up with. I heard him let out his sexy chuckle and I turned to face him.

"You know normal girls would want flowers, chocolates, and sweet poems, but, it seems like to get to you, one just has to give you a gym." He said walking towards me. "Now your hand to hand seems to be a bit rusty, but, we'll get you back to speed. Then we'll move to weapons."

"I don't get it, why are you doing this? Why me, why the training, hell why am I even alive?" I asked. "I just don't understand."

"Easy, you are not just another toy to me, not just another captive. I have been watching you for years, princess, years." He said walking towards me and grabbing the back of my neck and my lower back. "Now I have a question, what the hell are you doing to me." He muttered before his lips crashed against mine.

I was in shock; the Joker was kissing me again. I hesitated for a moment before the flood gates of every emotion I had for this man unleashed into the kiss. Once he felt my surrender, he deepened the kiss and I felt myself being led to the wall.

Soon I was pinned between him and the unyielding wall and he grabbed the back of my legs and wrapped them around his waist. This brought me up to his eye level and we looked in each other's eyes. That's when I realized why he was familiar, why I recognized the bear, why I was so attracted to him. He was the scared boy alone in a hospital bed that my uncle took me to see and who I gave a simple card and teddy bear to.

"Jack, is that you?"

A/N: There is no excuse for me not keeping with my promise I made earlier this summer. Life just got in the way and between visiting family in different states, planning a wedding, and work I have had no time whatsoever to work on this and for that I am so so so so sorry. I hope this chapter made up for my absence a little bit though.