"I don't belong to anyone, J." I clenched my jaw, thinking about how preposterous it was that he was under the impression that I belonged to him!
"Oh, but you do. You might not realize it Cara, but you're mine. And I don't particularly like sharing." He chuckled and stood up, walking towards me. I nervously backed up until I felt my back press against the wall, making another shiver run through me. He kept walking until he had me cornered, his eyes staring into mine.
"I don't know where you got that idea, but you're wrong. I'm not an object that you can own. I'm not one of your little toys," I spat, getting a bit bolder.
"Careful how you talk to me, Cara." He placed his hands on the wall beside me, utterly boxing me in and giving me nowhere to go. I clutched my towel tighter, afraid that it might fall. He leaned in, so close that our noses were nearly touching. My head started swimming and I realized that I wasn't breathing. I couldn't breathe with him standing so close.
"I told you," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice steady, "you don't own me."
"And yet you act so tense when I'm this close to you. It's okay to admit it, doll. I see you staring all the time." His eyes glanced down at my lips, and for one, fleeting moment, it seemed like he was going to kiss me. Even more worrisome, I wanted him to kiss me. My heart was racing in my chest and my lips were tingling, but just as I started to lean in he pulled away, laughing maniacally.
"See you around, princess." With that he left, shutting the door behind him, and I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. I stared blankly ahead, wondering what had come over me just now. Was I really about to kiss the Joker?! And why did I feel upset that he'd left before I could do so?
This place must be really screwing with my mind. I shook my head angrily and dropped my towel, hurriedly getting dressed before the Joker could barge in again. I got a sudden burst of courage and decided that I would confront him. I would march down those stairs and demand to know what his problem was and why he kept toying with my emotions. I wanted to know why he was really keeping me here, and I wouldn't accept any of the bullshit that he wanted to spout about merely being "interested" in me. I wasn't some object to be ogled. I was a human being, and I expected to be treated as such!
I marched down the stairs, my expression set and my hands clenched into fists. I started talking as soon as I rounded the corner of the stairwell.
"Listen J, I don't know what you're trying to get at, but I've had enough of your silly gam--" I stopped talking when I spotted the two henchmen from before standing by the front door, guns over their shoulders. Dennis and Colin. I instantly blushed in embarrassment when I realized they were staring at me. "Oh, you're not J..." I mumbled, letting out a deep breath of disappointment. The one on the left, Dennis or Colin, I didn't know which, let out a deep chuckle.
"Of course we're not. Boss went on a run with the guys, left us here to watch you," the one that laughed said. Right. Of course he did.
"Oh... okay then. Sorry I interrupted." I awkwardly turned around and walked back upstairs, cursing myself for how careless I'd been. I should've known I couldn't just walk downstairs and start making demands to the Joker himself. This would require a lot more planning, and it would require him being in a good mood, something that rarely ever happened.
I laid on my bed for what felt like hours, running through different scenarios in my head. How would I be able to talk to the Joker while keeping him in one place? Anytime I asked him a question that would lead into a deeper conversation he seemed to find an excuse to run off or excuse himself, or even change the subject so he wouldn't have to talk about it.
I heard the front door open downstairs and assumed that Joker was home. Not that I had anything to say to him. I stubbornly remained in bed, listening idly to the voices and conversations being carried out downstairs. I sat up a bit when I heard my name mentioned. It sounded like the guy who had spoken to me earlier when I came downstairs to talk to J, though I couldn't be certain. I strained my ears, trying to hear what they were saying about me, but I didn't have any luck. I could only hear faint laughter and indistinguishable words being tossed back and forth.
I heard the door open and shut again, and then all was quiet. Until I heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. They paused outside my room, and I prayed that he would just ignore me and go into his room and leave me alone. No such luck.
The door handle turned and the door swung open, revealing a very disheveled Joker. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone and his hair wasn't as neatly combed back as it usually was. Worst of all, his shoulder was bloodstained. Again.
"Yeah, so, I might have torn open my stitches," he admitted, leaning up against the doorframe. I sighed and hopped off the bed, feeling annoyed at him until I realized that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to talk to him.
"Okay, go lay down and I'll be right there." I dashed into my bathroom where I'd put the first aid kit after stitching him up the first time, and then I made my way into his room. He was already laying on the bed, his shirt on the floor and his pale tattooed chest rising and falling rhythmically with every breath he took. I couldn't help but stop and stare for a moment.
"Well, you comin doc, or what?" He smirked at me, and I found that I no longer cared if he caught me staring. From what he said, he already knew I stared all the time. What was the harm in continuing to do it if he already knew?
I sat on the bed beside him and saw that he had indeed tore his stitches, and blood was flowing freely from the wound in his shoulder. I shook my head in disappointment and mopped up some of the blood with a towel before I threaded the needle.
"So Dennis told me you wanted to talk to me," Joker stated with a knowing smile. I blushed, internally cursing Dennis.
"It was nothing," I mumbled, finishing threading the needle and preparing to stitch him up.
"Well now I'm curious, what was it?" He chuckled and I knew I wasn't going to get out of it.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked calmly. He hissed when I poked the needle through his skin, and I wished I could do this at an actual hospital so he wouldn't have to feel any pain. Then again, he was used to pain.
"Because, I find you interesting." The same damn answer he always gave.
"No, I want to know the real reason," I protested, not meeting his gaze and focusing extra hard on the sight of the needle in front of me as I continued to work.
"Oh, Cara, I think you know the reason." He laughed again and I tried not to blush. He was right, there was only one other reason he could have brought me here instead of killing me on the spot or leaving me in Arkham when he escaped.
"I didn't think you of all people would have those kinds of motives," I admitted with a small shrug. I was surprised how professional I sounded. It was probably for the best, after all.
"Of course I do. I'm still human, after all, aren't I?" He raised his eyebrow bone questioningly.
"I'm not quite sure that you are." I finished stitching him up and cut the thread, putting everything neatly back into the first aid kit.
"Cara, give up and look at me already," he groaned in annoyance. I hesitantly raised my gaze to find him staring at me knowingly, the smallest of smirks on his face. "I know what you want, Cara. You don't even have to say it, I can see it in your eyes." He sat up, bringing us face to face yet again.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I turned my head away, pretending to busy myself with closing up the first aid kit and rearranging some of the things inside.
"Oh, but you do, doll." I gasped when I felt him grip my chin and turn my head so I was forced to stare into his eyes. His touch was surprisingly... warm. "Just say the words," he whispered, his gaze landing on my lips for the second time that day. My heart was racing, my mind was blank, and I felt butterflies in my stomach from his touch and the fact that he was shirtless and I was in bed with him.
"I..." I trailed off, not knowing how I could put anything into words with the muddled mess my thoughts were in right now.
"Just... say it." He released his grip on my chin only to trail his fingertips along my jaw, finally resting his hand at the base of my neck. I knew he could feel my pulse racing.
"Kiss me." The two words were short and simple, and I heard them as if someone else had said them. It didn't feel like those words had come out of my mouth, especially in the presence of the Joker. But before I could think anything through, his lips were on mine.
I gasped as soon as I felt him kiss me, but without thinking my arms were around him and I was kissing him back passionately, tangling my fingers in his green hair and glueing his face to mine.
He emitted a low, guttural growl as we continued to kiss, which only turned me on even more and made me never want to stop kissing him. His lips moved in perfect sync with mine, and before I could help myself a moan slipped past my lips. His hands roamed up and down my body, exploring every inch of me as his lips continued to devour mine. My hands trailed down to his chest, feeling his muscles beneath the skin and wishing I could stay in this moment forever.
Joker moved his lips down to my neck, sucking and biting roughly as I tilted my head back in ecstasy.
"Oh, J," I moaned out, my breathing coming in wild gasps as I clutched at his hair, searching for something, anything, to hold on to for support.
"Cara," he whispered against my skin, sighing in satisfaction. His voice saying my name in such a way made a fire ignite deep within me, and all I wanted was more. But the rational part of me knew things were going too far.
"J, mmh God... we should stop." He silenced me by crushing his lips back to mine and giving me hot, open-mouthed kisses filled with want and need.
"You don't really mean that," he whispered against my lips, his voice husky and seductive.
"I-I do..." I pulled away and he followed me, pushing me back against the bed and resting his body on top of mine as he went to work on the other side of my neck, sucking roughly on a spot that made me burn with desire.
"Just...relax." He slid his hand beneath my shirt and caressed my waist, making me arch into him with pleasure. His touch started moving upwards, and that's when I knew we really had to stop.
"Joker...enough." I grabbed his hand in my own and lowered it. I knew he was much stronger than me and could have ignored my requests, but, surprisingly, he listened. He withdrew his hand and sat up a bit so our bodies were no longer pressed together. I almost wished I could take back what I just said. God knows how much I wanted him right now.
We were both breathing hard as we stared into each other's eyes, filled with lust. I was the first to look away in embarrassment.
"I should go," I said finally, breaking the ice between us. But he stayed hovering over me, not letting me move. "J... I should go," I repeated, this time risking a glance at him. He was staring at my neck, his gaze still filled with lust. He reached up and traced a shape on my pale skin, a small smirk on his face. No doubt it was a mark he'd made with his kisses. I continued to stare at him until he finally met my eyes again.
"Let me up, please," I said softly, even though part of me wanted to stay here with him, forever. He eventually sat all the way up, enabling me to get out of the bed and fix my shirt that he'd pushed up above my waist.
"Why don't you stay here with me tonight?" he purred, his voice even more seductive than before. I could barely resist.
"I... I can't... I should go back to my room." I couldn't risk a glance at him, too worried that meeting his gaze would cause me to cave in and go running back into his arms.
"Suit yourself." I let out a sigh of relief and opened his door, but just before I walked out, he spoke up again. "I told you I knew what you wanted, Cara. And like I said, all you had to do was ask." He laughed after that and I walked out, shutting the door behind me. What had I gotten myself into this time?