A/N: Wow, thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed, from the bottom of my heart! Thank you also to my anonymous reviewers: Jenn, Maria, Nara, Tasha, xxJokersgirlxx, anonymous, and Censes!
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman.
Enjoy!
Her fingers closed around the soft fabric of his tie.
Jerking him closer, she fought to rise above the searing torrent flooding her veins, feeling for all the world like a woman who had stepped once more into the sunshine after years in the dark. It was bright, hot, and painful, her skin roasting beneath his wandering hands, fingertips scorching her skin where they brushed her arms, her neck.
Her lips ached from his teeth, and dear god, she wished he would stop but the firm grip on his tie pulled him closer nonetheless. He tasted of gunpowder and blood, the coppery tang mixing with the acrid smoke like mustard gas and roses, with what she would know anywhere as Jack just beneath the surface. She craved the small bursts of the familiar, tantalizing reminders of the man with the passionate kiss and achingly clever tongue. She had known his mouth so well, knew just where to touch and how to tease, but the sensation was barely recognizable to her now. The soft flesh of his cheeks was anything but smooth, as pitted and rutted as the outside had been to her fingertips. It was surreal, horrifying but begging her to explore, and, by the way he growled and pressed against her, she figured he had found hers too.
The scars were everything and nothing, just like they had always been.
She felt like she was on the precipice, about to tumble in, his tongue sweeping across to give brief respite from the bites and drawing her ever forward. His kiss had always been intense, bordering on violent, but it hadn't been like this.
Anna knew what she wanted to do.
Not bothering to break the kiss, she crouched to the ground, wrenching him down with her by the lead on his neck. She reached for the rope with her free hand, marveling at how easily he followed her direction when he wanted to, content to revel in the abrupt pain. Her arm went through the loop and she rose once more, her fingers deftly flicking open one of the blades and holding it against his throat.
Breathing erratic, she broke away, meeting his gaze through his half-closed lashes, greasy hair tumbling across his forehead. She blinked; for a moment, he almost looked like Jack.
"You will…" Anna stopped and took a breath, a warm flush beginning low in her stomach as she took in the way his body responded. "You will do what I say. Is that clear?"
His only response was to press closer into the blade, his breathing quickening at the sensation. Reflexively she began to reduce the pressure, her old precautions coming to life, and his eyes flashed in protest.
She resisted the urge to grin, seeing an opportunity. "Not yet." Guiding him with both the blade and a well-placed hand on his stomach, she forced him backwards to the bed, uncaring if the position was uncomfortable. Sending him backward with a terse shove, he landed awkwardly and paused, silently compelling her to make another move.
"Move back and lie flat." With a quirk of a grin, he remained still, dark eyes glittering as he challenged her to hurt him. Prove it.
Wouldn't want to disappoint, she figured, an idea entering her head.
Stepping quickly to the side of the bed, she deftly tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled, pleasantly surprised as a groan tore from his scarred lips. He edged backwards to the headboard, eyes closed to slits, moving just slow enough to keep her from stopping.
And there he was – her hand commanding his body as she dragged him where he wished to go. A spring of horror bubbling within her, she could barely believe this was happening. He may have been the Joker, but she knew Jack better than anyone.
Unfortunately, it worked the same in both directions.
Wrestling with her pounding heart, she tried to ignore the throbbing beginning just below her stomach, a warm spike sent through her with his every sound. It had been too long, the dullness of drunken one night stands nothing compared to the giddy rush soaring through her brain. Swiftly climbing onto the mattress, she swung her leg over him, purposefully positioning herself above his waist.
His tongue flicked from between his lips as he watched her tear savagely through a length of rope, seizing his wrists and raising them above his head. He was giggling near her ear, her breasts brushing against his chest as she tied him securely to the rungs of the headboard, fire licking her insides at the sight.
A laugh caught between his teeth, he bucked his hips upwards, teasing her with the pressure. "Still your favoritepart. Anna, you haven't changed."
Gritting her teeth, she fought the gasp working its way up her throat, the heat through his trousers playing havoc with her head. Without thinking, she backhanded him, too light to do great damage but enough to knock his head to the side. He only laughed wildly at the blow, gasping for air as his hips slowed, the muscles in his arms taut beneath the skin.
"You've gotten quite a mouth. And that just… won't do." Her mouth tightening, she delivered another blow for good measure, his ecstatic cackling racing like wildfire down to her core. No wonder he loved the Batman so much, she could only imagine the power in those fists.
At one time she would have never dared hit him like that, but he only seemed to enjoy it, rising up to meet her touch as she unwound his tie and methodically unbuttoned his shirt. One of the knives poised between her knuckles, it dragged across his chest as she worked her way down, a thin rivulet of blood following in its wake. She swallowed thickly at the sight of it, horror warring with desire inside her head, yet he didn't seem to care with his eyes closed in bliss.
Had she actually missed this?
Yes…Yes, she had, if her body had anything to say about it.
The last button pulling free, she peeled away the hexagonal silk, grinding into him as a low groan left his lips. Positioning the blade's tip just above the waist of his trousers, she applied a little pressure, practically seeing the flames ripping through him. Anna could read his body with ease, in tune with every thrust and shift, an understanding born of practice. It didn't take much practice to understand the heat throbbing against her thigh, however, his body almost shaking as she drew the blade to his side, ignoring the maelstrom of horror and desire to lightly push the knife into his flesh.
Mouth opening, he lifted from the mattress, his body rubbing her in ways that tore gasps from her throat. His voice was barely above a growl, a harsh desperation coloring the words. "Harder… do it… harder… I want you to do it, I want you to do it…"
She was sickened by the way his body welcomed the knife, half wanting to retch. Jack simply had to learn he couldn't get everything he wanted.
Her fingers slick with blood, she removed the knife just as it seemed she would thrust further, wondering why in hell his expressions sent lightning through her body. Anna watched as he moaned in protest, pulling roughly at the bonds securing his hands above his head. His eyes flickered open, the blaze contained within them spreading rapidly through her limbs.
Tsking, she lightly ran her fingers over his chest, alternating between the sting of her nails and the soft pads of her fingertips. Unable to resist the opportunity, she kept her tone disinterested and level, a harsh contrast to the slow burning between her legs.
"This new life of yours not giving youeverythingyou wanted? And I thought you were smarter than that, Jack.… " The blade danced over the strong muscles of his chest, languidly making its way to his stomach once more. Damn, he had really kept in shape. "… Seems you haven't changed either."
Anna had to admit, she was surprised the fantasy hadn't died. Most of hers had even before the divorce.
"But, lucky for you…" Tightly grasping the blade, she slipped it between the buttons of his pants, a thrill running through her as she felt him grow harder. A clean slice through the thread and the buttons fell harmlessly to the side, blood pumping loud in her ears as he shuddered beneath her. "… I'm willing to overlook that."
Leaving the knife on his chest, she deftly left his hips and dropped to the floor, ignoring his stare as it raked across her form. Quickly dropping her jeans, she clung tightly to the other knife, wondering if she would actually have the self-control to go through with her plan. Whatever he was saying she tuned him out, sparing only a glance over her shoulder. His gaze was raw, it hurt to return it, and so she focused anywhere but him, her body humming impatiently as she reclaimed her position.
"So… where were we?" Flicking open the shredded front of his trousers with the knife's tip, she shifted and rolled her hips, growing wet at the desire so apparent in his normally guarded eyes. He spurred her on with murmured pleas, knife point digging once more into his stomach, held lazily in her hand. Tugging both trousers and boxers down his hips, she couldn't help but grin, thousands of memories rushing through her head.
Gripping him firmly, she gave him a few slow strokes, his eyes rolling back into his head. Smooth and slick, she continued her careful ministrations, increasing her speed as his breathing grew sharper. This was the part she had always loved, seeing him happy, seeing the fruit of her labors – she supposed some small part of her still did.
Jack strained at the ropes holding him, her body on his thighs holding him in place. "On the… the…" His head jerked in the direction of the dresser, unable to quite catch his breath as she kept time with the knife on his thigh. "Nails and long… spikes."
Briefly she considered threatening to shove one of them up his ass if he kept talking, but decided against it with a flicker of a smile. Etching a small 'A' into the skin, she shook her head, wondering what he would say when he saw. "Absolutely not."
Not giving him time to request further, she stopped her attentions, rising onto her knees and slowly lowering herself onto him.
Biting her lips, she heard her own pleasure in his voice, a soft cry of surprise and satisfaction that she was dying to capture with her mouth. His green-tinged curls shook as he began to rock with her, cursing madly with what remained of his breath, muttering exactly what he wanted in the foulest language she had ever heard. She shivered to hear him, responding violently in kind, not caring if it made any sense for the heady pressure building within her.
Grabbing onto the headboard, she leaned forward, dark hair hanging and forming a curtain between them and the world. She squeezed his sides with her knees, hips meeting hips and driving spires of pleasure through her core. Closing her eyes, she could barely suck air into her lungs, almost forgetting to breathe as each thrust slid roughly in and out.
A hand breaking away from the headboard, she let it fall to his chest. Her eyes snapped open at the dull wetness of it, swathes of crimson stretching across her flushed skin, the gashes trickling blood as his heart pounded faster. Barely thinking, Anna made to move her hand.
"Don't." A gasp.
Oddly persuaded by his tone, she pressed further into the wounds, repulsed by the little springs of scarlet that frothed over her tender fingers. Jack didn't have to say a word, and she doubted she would have let him.
Through the haze clouding her mind, she was sorry to see it have to end.
Close, he was so close, her nails digging into his flesh as he lifted further from the mattress. A minute more and he would finish, and dear God, she knew she would too.
On three.
One… Two…
Three.
Pulling back her arm, she caught him in the jaw, her fist breaking his rhythm as he collapsed in shock. Anna was barely able to think, fingers fumbling with the knife as it slid open with a hiss, metal gleaming in the lamplight. Holding it to his throat, she swallowed a groan, feeling him inside her and wishing it could stay that way.
"I'm going to stop…" She spoke thickly, unable to ignore the thin trail of sweat slipping languorously down the curve of his face. "And when I do, I'm not going to untie you, Jack. You can call for your men, but they'll –" Bracing herself against his form, she rode out his struggling, shock and fury slowly replacing the eagerness she had seen before. "They'll see you… like this… and even if you kill them, for that one moment, you won't be God to them. You won't be the Joker. You'll be Jack. You'll be like the people you torture and show for fun. You'll be like me, bound, suffering, and pleading. And you're going to get to see every minute of it."
Placing her hand on his stomach, she began to rise.
His laughter sliced cleanly to the bone.
Of all things, he was laughing at this, as if he wasn't about to be humiliated and dragged down to humanity's level, left in agony so close yet so far as she never allowed him to come.
A high, shrill, insane laughter.
"Keep laughing, I'm sure you think it helps." She didn't want to do this; didn't he see that she had to? Anna didn't want to be drawn into his games forever, not like he had promised. She wanted Jack, she wanted her husband, not this cackling, insane –
His tone was almost unrecognizable, his eyes brimming with fury and despair. "You just don't getit do you? You think this all has an end? You think you can what, shame me, hmm, and I'll let you go? Change my purpose? Stop fighting it. We are who. We. Are. And you, Anna…."
Growling, he held her eyes, and she was dimly aware of the promise he had made to her in her attorney's presence. A promise to reunite them in ways neither law nor man could ever break, an intertwining of their very minds.
"You are just like me."
A/N: Wow, sorry this has taken so long! I hope you enjoyed it...
And by the way, SHE WON'T END UP JOINING HIM! Just thought I should make that clear :)
PLEASE REVIEW!