Carla led Bruce into the bedroom by the ends of his fingers like a dog on a lead, only the tables turned as soon as he kicked the door closed behind him with his heel, picking her up by the waist and throwing her down onto the bed as if she were nothing but a feather.

There was barely a second between feeling the mattress beneath her and being grabbed by her ankles and pulled to the edge of the bed, her dress pooling at her hips and exposing the tops of her thighs. Bruce dropped down onto one knee, gentle fingers tracing across the tops of her shins before he rest both of her legs across his shoulders, his lips breathing heavily on her inner thighs.

His kisses were light and airy on her skin while his hands held her legs in place. He dragged his lips further up her body, kissing across the tops of her thighs until he caught the lace of her underwear between his teeth, tugging it down sharply before pulling her panties off the rest of the way with one hand, tossing them to the floor.

Bruce's kisses travelled across her hips, his hands squeezing above her knees as he kept her legs over his shoulders, slowly edging himself closer to meeting her core. When he finally gave in, he grinned at the whimper she made and the way her nails instantly sank through his hair, clawing in desperation and need.

Carla closed her eyes and gripped the sheets with her free hand, holding Bruce's face as close to her body as she could. She bucked her hips against his mouth, breathing ragged as his tongue traced circles across her warmth.

He loosened his grip on one of her thighs and grazed his fingers across her stomach before pushing between her legs, one finger slipping inside of her before he brought his lips back down to her most sensitive spot.

Bruce grinned at the way he felt her thighs tighten around his shoulders, his jaw clenching for a brief moment while he composed himself, shaking away the premature urge to cave in too soon. She tasted even sweeter than he'd imagined, coating his tongue and his lips in a taste so rich even he could never afford it.

He was addicted, without a shadow of a doubt.

"C'mere," she panted, her hand slipping from his hair to beneath his chin, pulling him up from her.

He glanced up with parted lips and dark eyes, watching the way her chest rose and fell far quicker than he'd ever seen before, though looked straight past her body and into her lucid eyes.

He did as he was told, though kept two fingers working inside of her while he leant over her body and kissed her lips, melting at the way she seemed so desperate to get a taste for herself.

Carla's head was empty as she felt Bruce continue to pleasure her, though she managed to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way before grabbing harshly at the waistband of his trousers, pulling his body down on top of hers.

He tossed his shirt onto the floor and was impressed at how she'd somehow managed to unbuckle his belt, standing up for a moment to kick off his trousers and discard them by his feet. Bruce didn't say a word while he stood there, watching Carla rise up onto her knees and pull her dress over her head, letting the fabric fall from her fingertips onto the bedsheets beside her.

His lips were parted and breathing heavy as he stared at her, eyes carving across every inch of skin, every freckle and every scar, the curve of her waist and of her tits, his fists clenching at his sides in agony.

Her hair was a mess and her lipstick smudged, but Bruce was sure that he'd never been as attracted to anybody in his life as he was to her right then. He felt Carla's eyes scour his body the same way he'd done to her, tensing beneath the dark gaze that lingered on his arms and his chest, down his abs and the v-lines leading past his Calvin Kleins.

"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to fuck me, Mr Wayne?"

His mind turned red once again and he knelt on the bed in front of her, taking her face softly into his hands and kissing her lips slowly, her body pressing against his. When he felt her moan against his lips, he slipped a hand across her waist and laid her down on the bed, grabbing both of her wrists and pinning her hands above her head.

Carla was breathless and her eyes wild with lust-filled sparkle, a sultry grin curving on her lips that Bruce masked with another kiss, trailing his affection across her jaw and down her neck before meeting her tits. He teased her with one hand, using the other to keep her hands pinned down against the mattress while his teeth grazed across the valley of her chest and at her nipples.

Letting his tongue swipe across her core once more, Bruce finally decided he'd had enough of waiting. He hovered above her with one hand wrapped around her wrists, the other he used to tug down his boxers just enough to be able to press against the inside of her thigh, watching as her lashes fluttered at the sensation of him being so close to her.

Carla's teeth sank into her lip as she smirked up at him, the sight of her devilishly dark eyes being all he needed to push inside of her finally, jaw tightening and brows furrowing as he deepened the stroke.

Carla's jaw dropped and her moan was elongated and high, like any words or thoughts had been blown out of her head and all she could do was feel him. Bruce fucked her slowly at first, inching himself inside of her and revelling in how tight she was around him, how perfect she felt and how he was certain that he'd found heaven.

"Bruce," she whispered, her voice pulling his eyes open to look down at her, no longer smiling, but demanding instead, "I like it hard."

He said nothing, giving her exactly what she wanted and then some. He eventually let go of her wrists, desperate to feel the scratches of her sharp nails across his shoulders while he fucked her relentlessly. Carla held a hand to his chest and wrapped the other around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair while he grit his teeth in tense pleasure.

He hauled her legs over his shoulders and leant down to kiss her, no resistance from her body as he somehow pushed even deeper inside of her, a low moan of his name melting into his lips.

When Bruce watched Carla's hand fall from his chest and trail down across her body to touch herself, he lost his mind entirely. He was convinced he'd be gone any second, though he was a gentleman beneath it all, and somehow managed to slow his breaths and lock himself down while Carla edged closer.

"Bruce..."

His name sounded like heaven falling from her lips and he kissed up the silk that she sang, sweat falling from his face across her neck and chest, their lips never apart for longer than it took to breathe.

He felt her arch her back against him, one hand on her hip and the other above her head, bedsheets screwed up inside a tight fist. Her breathing echoed in his ears and he felt her kisses loosen, moans pitching higher and her nails clawing deeper at his skin until he felt her come around him.

"Good girl."

It took less than five seconds for Bruce to come undone inside of her, finishing with slow, hard strokes that had him breathless until he collapsed beside her, grabbing her face for a lasting kiss.

Neither of them said anything to the other that night. They made love without any meaningful words for the next two hours, falling asleep somewhere around one o'clock in the morning.

When dawn broke through the gaps in the curtains, Carla had never felt so refreshed in her life. The sun pierced through her eyelids and she blinked away the brightness, wincing at the light and turning over onto her other side.

Bruce was lying on his back, hands interlinked behind his head and the covers pushed down to his waist, eyes still closed. Carla wasn't sure what to say to him, they hadn't really said anything since they'd stepped foot into that bedroom last night but now, the sun had risen and things had changed.

She hesitated for a moment before slipping out of bed. With light fingers she picked up Bruce's shirt from the floor and hung it across her shoulders, fixing just one button at the middle before peering out of the window and watching the sunlight glisten on the river in the distance.

"Morning."

"Jesus Christ!" Carla leapt on her feet and turned around with wide eyes, "I thought you were still asleep."

Bruce propped himself up on one elbow and tousled his hair, laughing to himself as he watched Carla shake away the fright he'd given her.

"Wide awake," he said, "You sleep good?"

"Yes, actually. Did you?"

He sighed loudly and stretched his arms out, "Like a baby. Are you free this evening? I think it's about time we went on that second date."

Carla looked at him with a blank expression, "I'm busy tonight."

He clicked his tongue, "Ah, I see how it is. No strings attached, huh?"

"It's none of your business, but if you must know," Carla stood with her hands on her hips at the foot of the bed, "I'm flying to Italy on Monday. I have some errands to run this weekend, some work to get in order before I go."

It was obvious that Bruce was only teasing Carla but the way she defended herself against his toying accusation admittedly made him happy.

"I've not been to Italy in a while."

"Just because we fucked doesn't mean you can invite yourself on vacation with me, Bruce," She glared at him before grabbing a brush and combing out the tangles in her dark hair, "I'm taking a shower."

"Can't invite myself to come on vacation with you, got it. Can I invite myself to take a shower with you instead?"

She said nothing, her eyes falling across his shoulders and his arms, remembering every inch of his body and how it felt against her own. Carla looked back up at him, shrugging her shoulders before walking out of the bedroom and across the hall.

Bruce wasted no time in following her.

The sun was shining when they finally walked out of the apartment building onto the street and Carla pulled out a pair of black sunglasses from her purse, sliding them over her eyes and flicking her hair over one shoulder.

"Where are you heading?"

A car had just pulled up at the curb, all black windows and the same license plate Carla recognised from once upon a time. Bruce was stood next to her in last nights clothes, though he'd taken the liberty of steaming his shirt at least while Carla got ready.

"None of your business."

He laughed and they took a few steps together, Carla branching off to the right.

"I'll call you," he called out, pulling open the door to the car that was waiting for him as she continued to walk away.

"Goodbye, Bruce."

The Iceberg Lounge was relatively quiet that Saturday morning, except for the few regular faces that she recognised and still didn't know the names of. Men in suits lounged on leather couches with full drinks and girls stumbled down the stairs in high heels and messy makeup, though Carla turned a blind eye to them all.

Carmine Falcone might as well have been waiting for her even though her visit that morning wasn't planned. He was sat in a shirt and tie at his usual table, a hot pot of coffee in front of him instead of scotch and a croissant sat untouched beside the mug.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Doctor?"

He spoke loudly with a smile as she approached him, ignoring the stares from the few other patrons and sitting down opposite him, whipping off her sunglasses and pursing her lips.

"Was it you? Last night, the gunman, was that your doing?"

It hadn't even been twenty four hours since the incident had taken place, but Carla would've been stupid to think that word hadn't travelled. Carmine had vultures prying in every corner of Gotham and so it would've been more ridiculous to assume that he didn't know about what had happened the night before.

Carmine pushed his tongue into his cheek, the smile behind his eyes disappearing, "No, it wasn't me. I wouldn't hurt a hair on your fuckin' head, Carla, you know that."

She breathed out through her nose and clenched her jaw, saying nothing.

"Look, you keep up your end of the bargain and send my boys to Arkham instead of County, and I'll keep up mine. You'll be safe-"

"Safe? What about the Joker throwing me off a roof? Or Sal Maroni's men damn near shooting me in the head? Where was your safety then?"

Carmine's face softened for a brief moment, a sliver of guilt washing across his eyes before the darkness hardened his features again and the same familiar wrath settled back in.

"Has it happened again? No. Like I said, you keep up your end, and I'll keep up mine. Nobody wants to see anybody on our side get hurt, not even the little Prince of Gotham. But don't test me."

Carla swallowed, eyes heavy as she stared at Carmine from across the table. She wasn't afraid of him, but knew better than to call his bluff, especially at the expense of a life that wasn't her own.

Carmine laughed darkly, "Your boyfriend can fight, I'll give him that. Found that gunman myself this morning in a bad way. Worse now though, his body's floating around the Narrows."

"Bruce Wayne is not my boyfriend," Carla mumbled, rolling her eyes with a frustrated exhale.

"But you care about him," his eyes narrowed, as if he could see straight into her mind, "And you don't tend to care about anybody, do you? So you know what that tells me?"

Carla tilted her head, "What?"

"That everybody has something to lose, even women like you."