Fan Fiction ❯ Passion ❯ Surprise ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: I do not own Batman Beyond or any of its characters. Lora and all of her idiosyncrasies belong to me, however. And yes, that includes any new, er, positions I may introduce the reader to! (That's a joke, of course. I highly doubt I can think of anything new to the world of sex. Ever read the Kama Sutra? I've seen things in that book that I didn't know two humans could do, and frankly, some of those things I'd never want to do! Can you say OUCH?)

This story contains strong sexual content (and I'll be getting to more of it shortly), so please do not read this if you are under the age of 18…And now that I've gotten all of my stupid obligations out of the way, on with the story!!!

Terry stared at the door in stunned disbelief. He couldn't believe it. She'd actually slammed the door in his face. In his face! That couldn't be good. He glanced down at himself, but nothing appeared to be out of place. Maybe she didn't like the color black, or khakis weren't to her taste. He reached up and found his hair to be in perfect order, and he was sure nothing was on his face or between his teeth. What the hell was the deal? Women loved him. All women. They had since he was about sixteen, and he'd grown accustomed to female adoration. The idea that any woman might not find him attractive was foreign to him. It wasn't that he was arrogant about it, it was just fact. That's how it'd been for a good deal of his life. It would figure that the one woman he desperately wanted to impress would be unaffected by him.

He considered knocking again, but what would he say when she answered? That he would give her a free welcome to the neighborhood fuck anytime she wanted? And that seconds, thirds, and so on would be free as well? And of course, he'd insist on giving them to her, to prove he was a generous, eager to please type of neighbor. Even though he was tempted to knock, he knew he wouldn't. Only an idiot wouldn't get the message she'd sent by closing the door on him. If he knocked now, he'd look like a jackass. She'd think he was too stupid to take a hint. Then again, maybe she wasn't giving him a hint. She'd seemed nice enough. It was possible she was just busy and didn't have time to socialize at the moment, since she'd just recently moved in and no doubt had a lot of unpacking to do.

Maybe if he gave her a little time, she'd come around. He'd just try again in a day or two. Maybe after he'd made love to her on Thursday, because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to behave himself around her, if it was before he got the chance to be inside her again. His dick was rock hard and throbbing right now, still enthralled by having been in the presence of the woman. He had an incredible urge to kick her door in, toss her over his shoulder, carry her upstairs, and fuck her senseless. He wanted her to come so many times she wouldn't be able to form a coherent thought, just respond to the sensation of being in his arms. He had the uneasy feeling he was in trouble, but he blissfully ignored it.

This little introduction had not turned out well. He wasn't sure why Lora seemed so disinterested in plain old Terry, er, Allen he corrected himself. It was an unexpected drawback. He wanted to get her involved in his normal side of life as quickly as possible, before any of his enemies noticed Batman's nightly visits to her. So far there'd been only one, but he knew there would be many more. As many as she'd allow. At least Batman was welcome in her arms, and bed, and beautiful body…His penis twitched, as if irritated with his cowardice and the way he'd handled things, and he absently reached down and adjusted himself in the khakis. With a sigh of resignation, he slowly walked back to his Mercedes, and set off for Wayne Manor. His eyes returned to the rearview mirror a dozen times as he drove away, until Donovan Hall was gone from his line of sight.

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Lora leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she'd actually slammed the door in that lovely man's face! What the hell was wrong with her? True, he might have been an assassin working for Maximus, but she didn't think so. His eyes had seemed so pure, so full of life. The eyes of an assassin were almost always dead, since their emotions were slowly smothered beneath the grim, violent ways of their life. And even if he had turned out to be dangerous, Dane was less then fifteen feet away with two guns drawn. Not to mention the fact that she was armed, herself, and knew how to handle a gun with a decent amount of proficiency.

It was amazing how her mind remembered all these little details, now that she was no longer standing face to face with that gorgeous creature. The only thing she'd been able to think of was flight. Her attraction to him had been overwhelming, and damned frightening. She'd never been drawn to two men simultaneously, and while she knew most women had probably dealt with such a thing before, she had not. Terry was sexy in a dark, mysterious way. Allen was hypnotic with his uncomplicated sexual magnetism and magnificent body. Both men were too intoxicating for her peace of mind.

She dimly heard the sound of Allen's car taking off, and Dane stepped into sight, holstering his guns. "He's gone."

Lora glared at him, and Dane grinned, taking in her stiff posture and trembling body. His smile widened as he walked closer to her. "That was sure smooth of you, the way you handled yourself with that guy. I've never seen a woman devour a man with her eyes before, but you did it. The way you looked at his mouth made ME sweat! And when you shook his hand, I could feel the electricity where I was hiding. He wanted you, as much as you wanted him, and you both knew it. Nice move slamming the door in his face. If he hasn't already figured out for himself that women are crazy, he knows it now."

Lora slowly straightened away from the door, a tiny, evil smile on her lips. Dane noticed her dark look and paused, wondering what it could mean. An instant later, his eyes widened in horror, and he made a dash for the stairs. Lora watched him move, toying with him for a moment, before sweetly calling out, "Oh, Dane, since you so thoughtfully decided to show yourself, you can be useful. Carry the rest of the boxes of my clothes upstairs, please."

Dane's shoulders hunched, and he paused with one foot on the stairs. He glanced at the upstairs with longing, and Lora snapped, "Dane!"

He jumped a little and then, with a groan, turned around and marched over to where Lora had left her boxes of clothes. He easily lifted one box with each hand, glared at her in male outrage at having been reduced to the level of a pack animal, and then stormed up the stairs. Lora was torn between laughing at his childish behavior, and feeling annoyed by the ease with which he carried her boxes. Sometimes being a woman was so trying! Then again, she'd rather die then be a man. Loud, insufferable brutes…Although, they were so very edible at times, she thoughtfully admitted to herself.

She decided to forgive Dane for being born with naturally superior physical strength, since she was distracted by her own odd behavior. She hadn't been nice to that delicious young man. Not at all. She owed him an apology. He said he worked for Mr. Wayne. She could pay her neighbor a visit and do two things at one time: see if Allen had been telling the truth, and offer him an apology. She went upstairs and found Dane standing in the hall outside of her room, a look of horror on his face. She frowned at him, wondering what was wrong, but when she went into her room, nothing was amiss. It was exactly as she'd left it.

"What happened here?" he asked, his voice hushed.

Lora rolled her eyes as she realized he was terrified of the mess she'd created in her room. The man could stare down the barrel of a gun without breaking a sweat, but give him one scene of domestic disarray and he went to pieces. "I did. Now, just put the boxes in the hall. I've decided to go out for a bit and I'll see to unpacking them later."

"Where are you going?" Dane asked as he stacked the two boxes up against a wall, his face curious.

"Out," she snapped, putting a hand on her door to close it enough so that she could change.

Dane smirked at her, his expression smug. "I see. Chasing after the young buck?"

Lora leaned her head around the door and hissed, "Not that it's any of your business, but I do happen to feel bad about slamming the door in his face. Plus, I've never met Mr. Wayne, although I've certainly heard of him. It would be pleasant to meet him."

"And jump his assistant," Dane laughed.

At which point Lora smiled and said, "Oh, Dane, don't you have another six boxes to bring up?"

He scowled and crossed his arms like a pouting child.

Lora continued to smile. "If you don't bring them up here by the time I get back, I'll make you unpack them, as well."

Dane's eyes widened in fear, the idea of rifling through that many boxes of clothes was more then he could bear. He turned and sped down the stairs, Lora's laughter ringing out behind him.

Lora then turned her attention to the serious task of dressing to visit Mr. Wayne.

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Bruce was tired. Then again, he had been for the last few years. Time was running out for him. He could feel it. No one lived forever, not even the superheroes. Hell, as Batman, he'd never really gotten to live at all. His life had been encompassed by his desire for vengeance and justice, and even now, in his old age, he was still seeing to it that the guilty were made to pay. Terry was his legacy, the child he'd never had. Although the boy was headstrong and arrogant, he was slowly learning to temper his decisions with logic, rather then shooting first. It had taken years of constant harping and endless hours of training, but in the end, Terry was developing into a skilled, shrewd fighter, the childish boy in him giving way to the serious nature that the life of crime fighting forced one to develop. Bruce was winning.

He watched his student run through a grueling set of sparring sessions, where multiple robots were shooting at him from all directions. Terry was using their line of sight against them, baiting them into shooting one another instead of him. It was a simple maneuver, but then again, crooks tended to be simple minded. A few were geniuses, such as Mr.Freeze or, in his own mad way, the Joker. But the vast majority were dimwitted thugs, easy to outsmart and quick tempered. The training robots had been programmed with human level intelligence equivalent to the average street scum.

A faint beeping on the computer alerted Bruce to the presence of someone at the front gate, and Ace II gave a low growl of warning. Bruce typed in a command on the keyboard, and a view of the visitor popped up. It was a young woman in a bright red BMW, and Bruce frowned as he briefly wondered if anyone bought American vehicles anymore. Shaking his head at such a whimsical thought, he stared at the image of the woman for a moment, trying to identify her, but nothing came to mind. She was a stranger. He punched in a few words onto the computer and it quickly ran through the Gotham city files. Within seconds it pulled up a matching profile. The woman's name was Lora Carlton, wife of the famed inventor Maximus Carlton. She was his new neighbor. He had no idea what she was doing there, but he had a hunch she meant no harm. Probably doing something sweet and womanly like being friendly and introducing herself.

Bruce glanced at his apprentice and then gave a heart felt sigh of suffering. He was too old for niceties anymore. He really didn't want to walk the extreme distance to the front door to greet the woman, but there was no help for it. She could undoubtedly see Terry's car from the gate and knew someone was home. Although Bruce was growing miserly in his old age, he was still from a generation that treated women with respect. There was no question of him letting her in. Anything else would be horribly rude. And since Terry was busy training, that meant he was going to have to answer the door.

"Come on, boy," he said to Ace II, slowly rising from his chair. He put the unlocking code into the computer and the front gate opened, allowing the woman to drive up to the house.

The big black dog whined and leaned up against Bruce's legs, giving the old man support. The pair slowly made their way out of the Bat Cave and to the front door. Just as they entered the main hall, he heard a light, delicate knock. Ace II barked, but his ears were forward, indicating he sensed no malice from the guest. Bruce relaxed a bit, having learned to trust his dog's instincts when it came to people. Animals had an uncanny way of sensing evil.

Bruce opened the door and paused for a moment as a pair of brilliant brown eyes met his gaze head on. There was intelligence and pain in those eyes, and Bruce sensed she was something of a kindred spirit. She'd known the darker side of life somehow, and it had left its mark on her. He liked her on sight.

"Hello," he said, his voice grating with the effects of age. "May I help you?'

The woman stared at him for a moment, and he sensed she was taking his measure. Her expression was strangely grave for one so young, and he felt as if she were looking into his very soul. Then she smiled, and laughter lit her eyes, banishing all traces of darkness. "Hi there. I'm Lora Carlton, your new neighbor. I thought I'd stop by and say hello, since you're the only neighbor I have for miles. It's so very secluded out here, but that is why I liked it… Oh, yes, I almost forgot. I have another reason for being here, too. A friend of yours came to see me this morning, and I'm afraid I was terribly rude to him, so I'm also here to apologize to him."

Bruce stared at her, trying to absorb all of what she'd said. The young woman had no discernible accent, thank god, or Bruce might have stood there for hours mulling over the words she'd spoken. She radiated energy, and it came out in her speech, because she'd somehow managed to string everything into one long sentence, and it took him a moment to sort it all out. He finally smiled, realizing she was being friendly, and quite surprised that Terry had bothered to stop by and meet his new neighbor.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Bruce mumbled, moving back a bit. "Please, won't you come in?"

Lora smiled at him and then walked into the house, pausing to give Ace II a scratch behind the ears. The big dog sighed in bliss, causing the young woman to laugh and then place a brief kiss on the animal's head. Bruce closed the door and eyed her for a moment, taking in the spectacular body and breath taking face, and he revised his earlier thought. He could see exactly why Terry had stopped by to meet Lora, he thought wryly. He was old, but he was neither blind nor dead.

At that moment, Ace II decided to give the girl a great big kiss, and Bruce snapped, "Down, Ace, before you drown her."

Lora laughed and said, "It's ok, I can wash my face later, you know. That IS what soap was invented for. I love dogs."

Bruce smiled at her, infected by her good humor. "Name's Bruce Wayne," he said, holding his hand out to her. When Lora placed her hand in his, he bent over it and kissed it in a gallant gesture. "I'm sorry to say I've never met your husband, I hear he's a brilliant man. But I'm more then compensated by meeting you in his stead."

Lora frowned at mention of her husband, and Bruce immediately noticed the sadness and anger that went through her eyes. He suddenly recalled hearing something about a separation, and he felt like kicking himself. Nice job, old fool, he thought.

"Uh, I'll go get my assistant," he said, hurrying to cover his blunder.

Lora looked up quickly, and he saw a hint of anxiety mingled with anticipation in her eyes. So, the girl liked Terry. Or at least found him interesting. Hmm… As a rule, Bruce was no matchmaker, but-

"Bruce, where did you run off to?" Terry shouted, rounding the corner unexpectedly.

Bruce's first thought was that Terry might still be in the Batman uniform, and he started to move so that Lora's line of sight would be blocked, but he noticed Terry was wearing his street clothes and quickly thanked god for small favors. "I'm saying hello to my new neighbor."

"Your new neighbor?" Terry echoed, coming completely into view. His eyes immediately flew to Lora and widened in shock, and he seemed to freeze in place.

Lora smiled at him sweetly and said, "Hello again, Mr. McGinnis."