A/N: Thank you so much for all the follows/favorites! Also to inperfection for the review!
To say Delilah wasn't shaken by her encounter with The Joker would be an absolute lie. She'd have to be half crazy not to be. After all, he was The Joker. She could still feel the heat of his breath on her ear as he whispered those words — 'And I always get what I want.' Right after that he had told Frost to take her home. What did he mean by that anyway? What exactly did he want from her? Donovan had once warned her about him, saying that he had seen him with a lot of girls before. However, it was always the same — he would play with them for awhile but then they would lose their new toy glow and he would cast them off. When she had asked what would happen to them, he had said he didn't know. He would never see any of them again. Honestly, that didn't really mean much because if he had 'dumped' them they may not want to show their faces back at the club anyhow.
Delilah mentally cursed herself for in a way defending The Joker, but she couldn't help it. She had a habit of thinking rationally and she didn't like to jump to conclusions. She had to see things for herself. Of course, lately she had seen way more than she had wanted. Shaking her head, she slid a hand up her bedroom wall, flipping the light on and freezing when she saw she had yet another gift from Joker.
She chewed on her lip as she stepped over to her bed. Hands on her hips, she stared down suspiciously at the silver box before reaching down to check the card attached. Handwritten letters were scratched onto the smooth paper in dark green ink. 'I'll be requiring your services outside of the club. Be downstairs and ready to go at 8 pm tomorrow evening.' Tossing the paper aside, she placed her hands on either side of the box, lifting the lid to reveal purple tissue paper. Her fingers pulled back the tissue paper and her heart nearly stopped.
"Oh, dear God," she breathed. After examining the contents, she replaced the lid and sat the box on her dresser, not wanting to think about tomorrow. Changing into some pajama shorts and a tank top, she climbed into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
She wasn't able to put off thinking about it for long though. Sunshine crept in through her blinds, stirring her from her blissful sleep. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, they landed on the silver box. Groaning, she flopped back onto her pillow. What on earth could he need her other than serving drinks? After about an hour of laying in bed pondering what the answer could be, she finally pulled herself from bed to jump into the shower. She spent the rest of the day relaxing and preparing for the night — both mentally and physically — and before she knew it, it was 7:50 pm. Five minutes later, she was outside waiting for her ride and sure enough, a limo pulled up to her building. 8:00 on the dot. Frost emerged from the driver's seat, buttoning his suit jacket as he came around to open the door. She had expected to climb in, but was instead met by Joker jumping out.
Holding his hands out in front of himself, he looked her over as if he was appreciating a painting in a museum. "What a vision," his voice rumbled in his chest.
Delilah shifted uncomfortably in the gift he had left for her — a white chiffon gown with a sweetheart neckline decorated with sparkling rhinestones and a full length flowing skirt with a slit that almost reached her hip. She was glad she had a nice pair of white lace panties because she had a feeling it was going to be hard to keep them from showing a little. He had also provided her with a pair of simple silver strappy heels, a diamond necklace that probably cost more than most cars and a bracelet to match. This was probably the nicest and most expensive outfit she had ever seen, let alone worn, and she was more than uncomfortable. Having no control over what she wore was one of the scariest things for her and she knew the Joker knew it too.
"What's wrong, sweet Delilah?" he hummed. "Don't like the gifts?"
"They're beautiful. Thank you," she smiled politely.
"But?" His fingers grazed her chocolate hair that she had braided into a half updo.
"It's just not what I'm used to wearing," she shrugged.
"Pushing your limits, dearie." He smirked as he helped her into the car, "Pushing your limits."
Joker climbed in after her, sitting opposite her. Once the car was rolling down the street, she drew up some courage to ask about what he had planned. "So, um, what 'services' am I providing tonight?"
"Curious, are we?" he gave a humored smile.
"It would just be nice to know what is expected of me so I don't disappoint," she replied, shifting under his stare.
"I just need you to sit and look pretty." His fingers tapped on his cane. "We're meeting a business partner of mine at his club and I want you to do what you do best. Sit and listen to his men. Then report to me if you hear anything… fishy." He drew out the last syllable.
"Got it," she nodded, not looking forward to the night at all. Not one bit. Being in one of his business partner's clubs meant she would be surrounded by criminals, which wasn't usually a highlight of her days but was becoming more and more common.
The outside of the building was dark, but a warm orange glow emanated from the script sign above the door reading 'Vincenzzo's'. Frost pulled the car to a stop in front of the building, opening the door for Joker and Delilah.
"Remember what I said," Joker said in his husky voice, holding his arm out for her to take.
The two walked towards the door and Joker smirked as he felt her unconsciously cling tighter onto his arm as they stepped inside. It was extremely ironic that the most dangerous guy in the room made her feel safer.
"Ah! Mr. J!" A Herculean man with brown hair tied back in a ponytail exclaimed as he approached them with open arms, but before he could wrap either of them into a strong hug he caught himself. Joker didn't like to shake hands and he sure as hell didn't hug business partners. Clapping his heavily ringed hands together, he jumped into business. "Boss, is waiting for you in the back."
"Straight to the point," Joker cracked his neck. "I like that." To Delilah, he pointed to a table against the wall where he knew she would easily be able to hear the others in the bar. "Why don't you wait for daddy over there? Half a moment." He flashed a silver grin at her before disappearing behind a large red door at the back.
Perching herself up on a barstool, she tapped her fingers lazily on the table in attempt to appear bored and absent-minded. There weren't too many people in the club and most were talking about women and money. A couple were even comparing their size of their guns. If it's not one thing, it's another, she thought. Every single person in the club was packing. That fact made her even more nervous than before and she found herself wishing Mr. J would come back. Nearly thirty minutes had passed and she was about convinced she wasn't going to hear anything at all when something caught her attention.
"Yeah, and one of his own men is how we got the information," a short, heavier set man bellowed as he threw back a pint of beer, making a couple of his friends roar with laughter.
"No one can be on top forever," another added. "It's our turn now." The men clinked their glasses in a toast.
All the laughter and bar talk quieted to a low hum as another voice boomed over the rest. "Stay! Have a drink. In celebration of our new deal, eh?"
Delilah turned to see a bald, thickset man with hooded eyes walking with Joker to where she sat waiting. He waved his arm, gesturing to the surroundings. "If not that, then to celebrate the opening of the new place with me." Everything about this man screamed Italian mob boss. His pinstripe shirt was unbuttoned to reveal numerous gold chains hanging amongst a mass of dark chest hair. Not a single finger wasn't adorned with chunky gold rings.
"One, Yakavetta. I'm a busy man," Joker agreed, sitting onto the barstool next to Delilah and resting his hands on his cane. Yakavetta shouted an order of drinks to the bartender before taking a seat across from them. His eyes lit up as they found the woman sitting at Joker's side.
"This your new lady, Joker?" Yakavetta's eyes glided over her, making her skin crawl.
Joker was still, but yet managed a raspy response. "This stunning little lamb is Delilah. She's on my payroll."
"Another dancer, eh?" Yakavetta nodded in approval.
"Bartender," she corrected and Joker shot her a quick look out of the corner of his eye.
"Mmm. Shame. I definitely would be stopping into Grin and Bare It more if I knew you;d be on the stage." Yakavetta took her hand, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Keeping his eyes on her, he addressed Joker, "Where do you keep finding these pretty little things, Mr. J?"
Delilah seemed to be the only one at the table who noticed Joker's heavy breathing and darkened eyes that burned into Yakavetta. Trying to avoid any outburst that may or may not happen, she jumped in to answer for him. "I was actually a visitor at his club when he found me."
"You know, Yakavetta," Joker started, seeming to have regained a bit of his calmness. "I'll have to catch a drink with you another time. It's time me and the lovely lady take our leave."
"Whatever you say," Yakavetta shrugged, getting up from the table along with them.
Joker's arm appeared in front of her and she gladly took it, feeling the sense of safety and comfort that she had been looking for in the past forty-five minutes. "Shall we?"
She let him lead her back to the car where Frost was leaning back waiting for their return. "Well?" Joker tapped his hand on the other atop his cane.
Delilah's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Well what?"
"What did the little angel pick up?" he hissed.
She took a deep breath, knowing he wasn't going to like it. "Um, well a couple guys were going on about how one of 'someone's' men was turning on them'. I assumed they meant you because they also said 'no one can be on top forever'."
Her heart sped up as she watched his face darken. He glanced up at her and in a split second he was up against her with his hand on her throat. Even though he wasn't applying any pressure, it still scared the hell out of her. "You better be completely honest with me, pet. If you're wrong about this, it could start a war or worse," he growled into her face.
Her body shook under his touch. "That's— That's exactly what I heard."
His eyes fell to her lips as his thumb began to caress the soft skin of her throat. With a groan, he removed his hand and sat upright at her side. The rest of the ride was silent except for the quick tapping as he sent text after text to some of his most trusted men. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
Even though it had been a very busy day at work and she spent most of it cleaning up after Faith, Delilah was glad to be back to her regular duties. She would be absolutely fine if she never had to live through another night like last night. Now she stood over her bathroom sink, trying desperately to scrub out a stain from one of the Joker's signature drinks from her gold skirt. Faith had ran right into Delilah as she was trying to serve a customer his drink, effectively spilling the alcohol all over her. She had apologized profusely but that didn't do a thing to save the skirt. Writing the skirt off as a lost cause, she tossed it onto the counter. It was three in the morning and she just wanted to hit the sack. Plopping face first onto her pillow, she felt something fall down and hit her hand. Not again, she internally complained. Groaning, she turned her head to the side to see a small velvet box sat idly on her bed. Sitting up, she read the note attached, the same dark green ink as before reading 'You did splendid. How about a reward?'. Inside the box, sat a pair of beautiful diamond earrings that sparkled even in the darkness of her room. Okay, that's it. Time to find out how the hell he keeps getting these things in here, she thought as she pulled on a pair of ripped jeans, a floral form-fitting top, and her leather jacket. She had made up her mind, she was going to find the Joker and ask him once and for all. Slipping into a pair of white chucks and tying her hair back in a loose french braid, she was out the door and it wasn't long before she was at the entrance of Grin and Bare It.
The neon green glow was absent, making the building look very eerie in the darkness of the night. She had known that Joker closed the club down for the night to deal with some business, but this was the only place she knew of that he frequented so she had to give it a shot. It was her lucky day. The back door was unlocked and she let herself in.
This is probably my worst idea yet. What in the hell has gotten into me lately? she asked herself. The entire building was dark except for a single light emanating from the Joker's lounge. Mustering up every ounce of courage in her body, she crept toward the door. Giving a gentle knock, she waited. No answer. She didn't know what she had really expected, but what happened next was definitely not on that list. The door jerked open behind her and in one swift motion she was pulled inside and slammed back against the wall. She found herself staring straight into Joker's icy blue eyes, his arm pressed across her chest as he pinned her to the wall. The smell of alcohol hit her hard as he shouted, "What the fuck are you doing here?! I gave you the night off for a reason." He rolled his eyes in annoyance as she stumbled over her words, not being able to form an explanation. "Spit it out!"
"I wanted to ask you something!" she burst, clenching her eyes shut. "But it can wait if you don't want—" Joker's hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Stepping away from her, he paced back and forth in front of her. Her eyes fell to the gun hanging in his hand. "Were— Were you going to shoot me?"
His eyes flashed with anger. "It crossed my mind."
A huge knot tied in her stomach and it just got even worse as he got back up in her face. Using the barrel of the gun, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face, making her shiver. Oh, how he likes it when she shivers…
He holstered his gun and she took that as her chance to ask what she had come here to ask. "How have you been leaving stuff in my apartment?"
Letting out one of his famous laughs, he wiggled his fingers in the air. "A magician never reveals his secrets, bright eyes." Turning away from her, he started toward the couch. His maroon button down was undone and she caught a glimpse of a large 'Joker' tattoo across his lower abdomen. Her curiosity had her wondering what the other tattoos were.
She should've seen that coming. Of course he wouldn't tell her. Why would he? That would ruin his element of surprise and he couldn't be having that. "Well, thanks for the earrings anyway. They're amazing." He didn't seem too interested in her gratitude, but he turned to face her with a look of surprise when she said, "No one has ever given me gifts like that before. Never even gotten flowers from a guy before." She gave a half-hearted chuckle. "I, um, just wanted to let you know that I truly appreciate it."
"Keep helping me with my business deals and there'll be many, many more to come," he said, waving his hands in the air theatrically and Delilah grew quiet, silently wishing it had been more than just the business deal. It would've meant even more to her… even though it was from him.
Grabbing a half empty glass of whiskey he had been drinking before her arrival and threw back the rest of the glass's contents. Delilah turned and reached a hand out towards the door, but his hand appeared on her wrist, stopping her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I just figured you wanted to be alone. I'm just going to go home and get some sleep."
"Quite the contrary. I could use a little… distraction," he rasped. Returning to the bar, he poured a generous glass of bourbon and handed it out to her, but she just shook her head.
"No, thank you. I don't drink."
"Tonight… you do," he stated, pushing the glass into her hand. "Let's see if we can get you to take a walk on the dark side for a night." Biting her lip, she took a seat on the couch, knowing she shouldn't piss him off. A wide humored grin spread on his face as she played his little game. "Tell me about your parents."
Oh, here we go, she thought. Chugging the entire glass of bourbon, she hoped it would get her through this uncomfortable topic.
"Easy there, angel. I won't be carrying you home tonight," he warned, sitting on the arm of the chair across from her.
Staring out the window to the bar down below, she said, "My parents were killed when I was very little."
"How?"
"Home invasion. My parents woke to the sound of glass breaking downstairs. My grandmother said that it had been at least three men. Luckily, my parents had hidden me in a hidden storage area we had in our bench. I heard everything. The screams. My father fighting to try to protect my mother. The gunshots. The sound of his lifeless body thudding on the hardwood floor." Delilah wiped a tear away as it hit her cheek. "But that wasn't even the worst part." Joker sat attentively, taking in every detail of her miserable life story. "The worst part was that the bench had a iron grating on the front. The holes just big enough for me to see out of. My mother had landed right in front of the bench. I laid there for nearly two hours staring into my mother's dead eyes with her head sitting in the pool of her own blood." Delilah grimaced as the image invaded her mind.
"Go on." Joker took her empty glass from her, filling it once more as she continued her story.
"I went to live with my grandma after that. Everything was great, but when I was nineteen she suffered a fatal heart attack. After that I was alone. I had been left enough money to take care of all the funeral costs, but that was about it. I've been bouncing around ever since. Just me." Her life had been a lonely one and maybe that was why she was afraid to get close to anyone. The fear of losing loved ones was always in the back of her mind.
"No lovers to pass the time? Ease the pain?" he questioned. He actually seemed genuinely interested in everything she was telling him.
"There was this one guy, but he didn't exactly ease the pain in my life. Just exasperated it," she shook her head, hating that her ex had been brought up. All she ever wanted to do was forget about him entirely. Not giving Mr. J a chance to press the subject, she changed it completely. "What exactly do you expect from me?"
"Expect from you?" he narrowed his eyes on her as if it was a stupid question.
"Aside from serving up some excellent drinks — What am I here?"
"Hmm." He brought a finger to his lips. "Well, that depends."
"On?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
If we can get this pesky innocence out of the way and get to the real fun. You start accepting the darkness that dwells deep inside of you and maybe you'll have a place in my ranks."
"And what if I say no?" she asked a bit more seductively than she had intended.
"No one denies me. Remember,"he paused, pushing up from the arm of the chair. "I always get what I want."
She was unnerved by the way his stare was making her feel, sending heat waves through her to her core. "I'll keep that in mind." Rising to her feet, she sat the glass down on the bar and headed for the door. "I'm just going to walk home. I'm really tired and I don't want to oversleep."
"Not before I try something." he growled.
She stopped, slowly facing him just in time for him to wrap his hand around the back of her neck and pull her into a kiss. Delilah was surprised at first, completely taken off guard, but she couldn't deny the fact that she enjoyed it. It wasn't long before she was kissing him back, allowing him to deepen the kiss as his other hand wrapped itself into her hair. His kisses were rough, but full of passion and desire. This was turning into quite a surprising night…
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