Chapter 7

One Year Earlier

They jumped and twisted, flipped and swung across the glittering city, she leading, he following. It was their way, their dance, their strange flirtation. They craved nights like this, physical exertion fueling heady arousal as they used Gotham as their playground. Even now, after two years of this cat and bat across the rooftops, the giddiness of mutual attraction sent their pulses into overdrive and directed shivers through various parts of their anatomies whenever they crossed paths.

The diamond tennis bracelet tucked safely between her breasts held no real interest for her. There was a profit to be made from fencing it, but her reasons for stealing it were two-fold. One: To keep her skills sharp, and; Two: To get his attention. Pulling a high-profile job and then dodging his attempts to apprehend her was a high unlike any other.

For his part, though he'd never admit it, he looked forward to nights like this. Catching her crawling out of some duct work or doing a swan dive out the window of an "impenetrable" building; watching the delight run through her limbs as she floated from ledge to gutter to flag pole; it stirred a yearning deep within him, a yearning that excited him in ways he barely understood.

"I know you can do better than that," she taunted as she did a somersault off the First National Bank building. Gripping his cape in his fists, he followed, the smallest smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Landing lightly, she shot him a look that ran down his spine and wrapped around the most primal part of his being. Drizzle fell from the sky, coating every surface, turning the grit on the concrete to a slick mixture of oil and grime. She would come close, close enough that his fingers almost brushed her body, and then jump backwards when he went to grab her. The kicks and punches they threw weren't intended to harm - this was a mutually unacknowledged game to them. This was fun.

Cracking her whip half an inch from his nose as she dodged a batarang, she tried to jump to another rooftop. The slick surface betrayed her usually sure-footing and she slipped. He saw his chance. Strong arms wrapped around her waist as he tackled her. The sky opened as they tumbled across the roof, heavy sheets of rain descending like judgment onto the embattled city.

They wrestled for dominance as they rolled through the accumulating water, limbs and breath entangled. When they stilled, she was straddling him, her claws at his throat and his arms pinned beneath her knees.

"Oooh, look what I caught," she said, dragging a claw across his chin, scratching him just enough to give him a sick jolt of pleasure.

"Stop this," he said, surprising himself with his detached, authoritative tone. He certainly didn't feel detached or authoritative. He felt out of control. He felt excited.

"Why? You're exactly where I want you." She leaned down, her lips full and promising as she got closer.

"You could have caught me a dozen times tonight, but you prolonged it. Drew it out. Because you like it. Because it's fun. Because you want this right here," she said, indicating their positioning.

He grunted a wordless reply but he didn't move. She was right. He let her straddle him in the dark because he liked it. Craved it. Needed it.

Driven by her pathological need to see how far she could push him, to see how far she could push them - she took his hand and brought it to her throat, looping his finger through the silver circle on the end of her zipper.

"One little pull. That's all it'll take." Teasing, she sat up and leaned back just enough to cause the zipper to slide down a few teeth.

Her eyes dared him. It wouldn't take any effort at all and she'd be exposed to him, rivulets of rain rolling down her heated skin. It took all the willpower he possessed to stop his hand from pulling the zipper down.

"Too shy?" she asked, gripping his hand. He detected a slight tremble in her fingers as she pushed his hand down, her suit opening as it went. Rain pattered on the roof, the soft roar drowning out the sound of their pounding hearts and their accelerated breathing.

She moved back as he sat up, her knees on either side of his hips. Releasing the zipper, they sat motionless for a long, tense moment before he fisted the fabric of her suit and pulled it from her shoulders. Rain dripped from his cowl as he pushed the fabric aside, her skin breaking out in gooseflesh in the night air. The Bat had left him. He was nothing more than a man alone with a woman in the dark.

Their lips met. The kiss gaining intensity as they abandoned themselves to it, as they allowed themselves to forget who and what they were and just exist in the rain.

They kissed long and deep, bodies pressed together, tongues dancing. Subconsciously, she moved her hips against him as his teeth nipped at her neck, tongue darting out to taste the salty dampness of her skin. Her breath came in short staccato gasps as he kissed her through her bra, his gloved fingers gripping her hips as she bucked against him.

The cups of her bra were pushed aside, the diamond tennis bracelet falling to the roof. Neither noticed. Soft moans filled the air as he sucked on her erect nipples. What they were doing, where they were doing it - none of it mattered. He was so hard for her. The armored protection her wore only accentuated his need to feel her. To feel her, to be inside her, if he could have that - have the sweet friction of their bodies, the scent of them mingling with the rain as her muscles gripped his most sensitive area - he'd never want anything again.

She searched for the clasp or button that would free him from his suit and finally give them both what they'd wanted since the moment they met. To have him inside her, filling every part of her, driving her to the edge as he thrust against her, it's all she wanted. It's all she ever wanted. Her body quivered with need as they dry humped like teenagers in the backseat of a car.

Intellectually, they knew they couldn't have anything outside this moment. They couldn't have anything other than this hot, heavy, moment, their bodies pressed together as bruises bloomed when hands gripped too hard. They couldn't allow themselves to feel. Couldn't indulge in oxytocin-induced fantasies of lazy mornings in bed and nights cuddling in front of a fireplace. That wasn't for people like them. So they would take what they could, seal off their hearts and give each other the only thing they could share - their bodies.

"Yes. Oh, God, yes," she whispered as he flipped her onto her back and pulled the rest of her suit down to her knees. He grunted in agreement against her slender neck and his hand dropped between them to free himself.

He kissed her hard as he fumbled with his suit. Her head spun, body shaking with need and desire. Seconds before he was finally free, sirens sounded in the distance.

He froze.

The Bat returned as the wailing sirens plunged him back into the cold reality of his life. He wasn't just a man anymore. He had a job. A mission. Catwoman felt him tense and she pulled back to look into his face. His mouth was a hard line, the slack of pleasure and desire gone, his shoulders shaking as he fought to get his body back under control.

"We...we can't," he managed as he rose to his knees.

"Right," she said quietly, her body aching with unfulfilled need. She slid away from him as she pulled her clothes back on. They both got back to their feet.

"I-" he said, his voice uncertain.

"I know," she said. She grabbed her whip and jumped from the roof, never looking back. He didn't follow.

Less than 24 hours later, Selina Kyle left Gotham City.