A/N: Just a reminder — I do have that Polyvore link on my profile for this story if you want to see Delilah's costume. :) I made the image from a model so it's exactly as I pictured her. :) Thanks and enjoy!

Eight

—

Waking up alone the next morning didn't exactly come as a surprise to Delilah. Sitting up, she held the black satin sheets to her chest, covering her form as she glanced down at the indentations next to her from where Mr. J had laid. Rubbing her cold fingers on her forehead, she felt a flush of embarrassment as she let images of the previous flash through her mind. She was definitely acting like someone she didn't recognize lately. Had she seriously agreed to stay and be a member of the Joker's group? It all seemed like it had just been a dream. But no, this was the reality and it was hitting her hard. Shy little Delilah from Star City… in league with the Joker. What had she signed up for?

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she felt something odd on the bottoms of her feet as she padded towards the bathroom. Buttons. That's right, she thought to herself as she remembered having had popped off the buttons of J's shirt. Groaning in embarrassment at her out of character behavior, she shut the door to the bathroom, ready for a hot shower.

Turning the shower on, she took a moment to examine her side. It seemed to have held up nicely despite her night with Joker. The room quickly fogged up from the heat of the water, clouding up the glass of the shower. As if it had been a secret message, the fog on the glass had revealed scribbles that Joker must have written in on the door with his finger. Just two little letters over and over again, mimicking his own tattoo — 'HA HA'. Smirking, she stepped in, letting the heat of the water distract her from pondering on Joker's sanity too long.

It wasn't long before she finished up and was reaching for the lavish white towel she had hung on the side of the shower glass. Wrapping it around herself, she stepped up to the sink and rubbed her hand on the mirror to clear just enough fog away to be able to see herself. After brushing her teeth, she runs her fingers through the tangles of her hair as she returns to the bedroom, stopping short. Right on the foot of the bed is a deep purple box with a silver and lime bow.

There was no question of who it was from, but she did wonder why he didn't stick around. Sliding the lid from the box, she grabbed the small card and glanced past to the delicate lace that was lying beneath it. The card simply read 'I take care of what's mine' in what she recognized to be Joker's handwriting. Tossing it onto the bed next to the box, she carefully lifted the dress free from the confines of the box.

Delilah's breath caught in her chest. The dress was extravagant and elegant. It was completely white lace with a jewel detailed waistline, capped sleeves and a bracelet to match. Biting her lips, she looked down at the shoes remaining in the box. They were each adorned with a rose gold and diamond angel wing that wrapped around the front of her foot. She didn't think she would ever get used to this kind of thing. This wasn't how she was used to living. The most expensive thing that had ever been in her closet prior to this was merely eighty bucks. As if that wasn't enough, there were two more items left in the box — a white lace masquerade mask and a pair of angel wings. Shaking her head, she let out a heavy sigh and began to get ready.

Every time they would go out, they were driven around in the black BMW with Frost behind the wheel so imagine her surprise when she stepped outside to find Mr. J leaning back against his purple Lamborghini with silver grin plastered on his face. His eyes slid over her form as she closed the distance between them, moving from her long tan legs to her curve of her waist, from her full soft lips to her eyes that stared back at him from behind the mask. She had pulled her hair back into an elegant low bun, letting tendrils fall loosely around her face.

Pulling the door open for her, he gestured for her to climb in. "Sugar…"

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly, careful to take her seat as gracefully as possible. Somehow she felt that if she had stumbled into the car, Joker wouldn't have let her hear the end of it.

The car shifted slightly as he took his place behind the wheel. Smirking over at her, he brought the car to life. "Buckle up, baby."

She didn't hesitate for a second. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that his driving wasn't going to be as controlled as Frost's and she was absolutely right. The sped down the streets of Gotham, weaving in and out of traffic before the other driver's could realize who had even flown past. "Wh- Where is Frost?"

"He's already at the party. Went ahead to make sure the place was secure."

"Next question: where are we going?" Delilah clutched at the handle on the car door, trying not to think about all the painful possibilities of what could happen if he dodged a car just a second too late.

"Halloween Party," he groaned, clearly not liking the idea of having to go. "One of the new mob bosses that's joined our forces was throwing it. He insisted that I make an appearance."

Delilah nodded, not wanting to press for too much info. Plausible deniability— That was the name of the game.

"Bastard just wants to kiss my ass," Joker growled.

"You don't like him?"

"He's all brawn. Got shorted on the brains." Joker not once took his eyes from the road as he spoke to her. "Leaders should be intelligent, imaginative, and resourceful. None of which are qualities that dear Marcel possesses."

"In other words, they should be just like you."

"You flatter me, sweet cheeks. But no one is like me…"

Delilah smiled to herself, knowing this was absolutely true. She had never met anyone like him before. Looking back over at him, a realization came over her. "J, where's your costume?"

"I don't need one, angel. I think my general appearance is costume enough," he replied, stealing a glance over at her. "Besides, haven't you ever noticed how terrified everyone gets when I walk in a room." He cackled with laughter as they arrived at their destination.

Frost was there waiting for them. Joker threw the Lamborghini's keys to him for him to deal with as Joker held his arm out for Delilah to link with hers. Sure enough as they stepped across the threshold, they were met with stares of a mix of fear, curiosity, desire and jealousy. It was a bit too much to handle. "J?" she murmured to him. She instinctively tightened her grip on his arm. Amongst the crowd, she could've worn she caught a glimpse of a familiar face, but it was gone before she could investigate any further.

"Just ignore them. I do. Everyone just wants what I have. Power. Money. A delectable woman on my arm." He paused and his eyes bore into hers. "Just remember… you're mine."

Delilah's lips pulled up into a soft smile. "I know."

"Good," he said in a low voice as he searched the area for a seat. They found a loveseat at the edge of the dance floor. It was occupied by a young 'vampire' couple who looked rather out of place considering this was a party full of criminals; However, they were gone in an instant once they saw that the Joker was heading their way.

"Ah, now would you look at that," J smiled wide. "A seat just cleared for us. How lucky." He clapped his hands together and the two took a seat. Joker slung his arm around her shoulder, holding tight against him as they watched the other party goers.

Delilah wouldn't lie — She felt a little bit of an awkward tension between the two of them and she was pretty sure she was the only one who noticed. If it hadn't been for the buttons on the floor when she woke up she would've wondered if last night had even happened. Business as usual, she thought to herself as she stared out at the dance floor.

"Don't even think about it, Delilah," he spoke in a warning tone. "It's not going to happen."

Shaking her head in confusion, she asked, "What isn't going to happen?"

"I saw the way you were staring out at those fools dancing around the room. Unless you're going out there by yourself. There won't be any dancing tonight."

Delilah merely shrugged. It hadn't crossed her mind, but she did feel a tad disappointed. She definitely wouldn't have denied him if he had asked her to dance with him. "So you're not a dancer, huh?"

Joker leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath tickling her skin as he said, "Well, some may say what we did last night was a sort of dance." He smiled wickedly as Delilah's cheeks turned a shade of pink. There's that awkwardness again, rearing it's big ugly head…

The pink hadn't even begun to leave her cheeks as Frost stepped up to them, as professional looking as ever. "Sir, Marcel is requesting to meet with you. Wants to introduce some of the guys to you."

"Sorry, doll. Duty calls." Joker pushed up from the loveseat, buttoning up his suit jacket as he followed after Frost.

And now I'm here at this big party all alone. Awesome, she thought. Trying her best to not look as lame as she felt, she crossed her hands on her legs that were crossed in front of her and stared down at the lace of her dress. Suddenly there was a hand in her view.

"Care to dance?"

Her eyes trailed up from the hand up to the same familiar face she thought she had seen earlier. Her eyes brightened as a smile spread across her face. "Donovan?!"

She slid her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet. Despite how happy she was to see him, her face fell as she took in the long scar that spanned the left side of his face from his forehead to the middle of his cheek. "What on earth happened? Are you okay? Where did you go?"

"Easy," he laughed guiding her out to the dance floor. Placing her hand in his, he brought her other to his shoulder before placing his own down on her waist.

Fear crept into her eyes as she scanned the area for any sign of that electric green hair she had become oh so familiar with. J would not be happy if he saw who she was with right now. "So? Are you going to tell me what happened or what?"

"Care to tell me what you're doing here with him?" Donovan asked. She knew he was avoiding having to answer her, but she wasn't letting him off that easy. She would just have to come back to it. "I've heard that you've been staying with him for awhile."

His frustration was evident in his tone, and yet his eyes didn't show any signs of anger toward her. "I, um— had an accident and he helped me get better. There was this doctor and— wait… How did you know I have been staying with him?"

"I have my ways, Delilah," Donovan answered and when she cocked her eyebrow at him he sighed. "I have had some guys I know keeping an eye on you. You know… to make sure you're safe."

"So you're having them spy on me?"

"Not necessarily. Don't be mad," he hurried. "I just needed to make sure nothing happened to you. I knew that the boss had shown some interest in you." Every once in awhile his eyes would dart around the room, keeping watch. "I don't want you to fall into his trap. I just don't want to be too late. He is a psychopath, Delilah. He doesn't care for anyone but himself."

"If he doesn't care then why did he save me? Why keep me around?"

Donovan leaned in closer, his nose nearly touching hers. "Don't make the mistake of confusing caring with intrigue." Seeing something over her shoulder, he placed his hands on her face. "Delilah… come with me. We'll head to Central City. I have a friend there that can help protect you."

She was torn. Donovan had been her friend before he disappeared. If he had asked her the same thing back then, she probably would've went with him, but now everything was different. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Donovan, but no. I'm staying. He hasn't hurt me or…" Her eyes fell on the scar. "Did he— Did he do this to you?"

Donovan stepped back from her, staring sadly down at her hands in his. "He doesn't like it when people want something he believes is his for themselves." Before she could fully process what he had just said, he twirled her into the arms of another man and once again Donovan was gone.

"Well, hey there, beautiful. Enjoying the party?" her new dance partner asked.

"Yeah, it's quite nice," she forced a smile. Making an attempt at polite conversation, she asked, "So who are you supposed to be?"

"Bond. James Bond," he winked at her before twirling her arm, making her dress flow majestically around her. "And you… look like you just fell straight from Heaven."

Joker stood fuming as he watched Delilah dancing with one of Marcel's men, laughing at something he had said. She was his. And while the man was keeping his grubby paws to himself, Joker knew what was going through the man's mind. It wasn't hard to tell. Delilah was absolutely gorgeous. The way her smile lit up the room, her eyes shone out from under her mask unintentionally seductive, her smooth skin inviting the touch…

"Marcel," Joker craned his neck towards the man standing just behind him, watching the same scene that Joker was. "Prove you are worthy to remain in my ranks and kill that man that is dancing with my Angel. I want his head on a platter."

"Come on, Mr. J. That's Erik. He's my number two guy," Marcel protested.

"Sacrifices, Marcel. They are the key to success," Joker called back over his shoulder to Marcel as he left to retrieve Delilah.

J didn't say a word about Erik. All he could think about was getting her back to his place. He wanted every bit of her. He needed to have her. She was his and seeing her dancing with that man had really gotten under his skin. He loosened his tie as he watched her leaned down in the middle of his bedroom to loosen the straps of her heels, stepping out of them and proceeding to remove her wings. At first she seemed oblivious to the fact J stalked slowly, hungrily toward her. Raising her gaze, her eyes met his and the first question that ran through her mind was did he see Donovan with her tonight?. However, he backed her up against his desk, entangling his hand into her hair as his lips began their assault on hers. She moaned into his mouth, making him groan as he deepened their kiss. Her hands ran up his chest to his shoulders, holding onto him as he bit at her bottom lip.

Taking a chance with bravery, she let one hand fall down to his hardness that remained concealed in his dress pants. Her touch made a growl rise in his chest and he couldn't wait any longer. He wanted her now. Flipping her over, he pressed her down against the desk, holding her arm against her lower back. Before he could undo his own pants, something hit his ears. Was she crying? Releasing her arm, he flipped her back around to face him and sure enough, tears streaked down her face and she tried unsuccessfully to hide them. What was even more obvious was the shaking. Tremors took her over as she seemed to be in some sort of panic.

"What the hell is wrong?" he eyed her, taking her chin in his fingers to keep her from looking away.

Delilah took a deep breath, trying to regain even a sliver of her composure. "My ex you were asking about, um—… he used to… even if I didn't—" she choked out, not being able to complete a full sentence, but it didn't matter. J knew what she was going to say and his blood began to boil.

"Don't worry, angel. After tonight, you'll forget all about that son of a bitch." His hands slid up her thighs to grip at her hips. His movements were careful and yet still passionate. If Delilah wasn't so into the moment she would've be absolutely shocked by his sudden switch.

Hell, he was even surprised himself. He was never one to care about such things, but for some reason he wanting to make her forget all about that jerk. He wanted to make sure she enjoyed every minute she had with him. Sure he had always loved how he could make her shiver with a simple dark glare, but making her shiver out of pleasure was so, so much more entertaining. They spent most of the night having sex and he flopped back onto the bed. He put so much effort into making sure the asshat that had treated her so badly before was free from her mind — completely replaced by the Clown Prince himself — and it was exhausting.

She laid at his side so peacefully in sleep and an idea popped into his head. Lightbulb. A wicked smile crossed his face as he rose from the bed. Snatching his pants and jacket, he got dressed and pulled out his phone. He was going to have quite the surprise for her tomorrow.

Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long! This is the busiest time of the year for me work-wise so it's been rough trying to balance everything. Thank you so much and I really hope to see some reviews! ;)