Crave

This was low. This was beyond low, even for him. Of all the strings he could've pulled - Guilt, annoyance, money, power… Babs.

But no… He used this one.

He clenched his fists as he leaned back in his chair, ignoring the concerned looks from Raven across his desk as they listened to Mr. Wilson's voice drone on over the intercom.

"As a sign of good faith to our client, you will be attending his benefit tonight as representatives of our company."

Jason licked his lips, disapprovingly. "This is all last minute, we don't have time-"

"That's why the two of you are free to take the afternoon off to get ready for this evening."

"Surely, we could give them a sizeable donation to their charity-"

"What a brilliant idea, Jason. Along with your attendance, you will be writing a reasonable check to Future Farmers of America as a gift to Mr. Kent for whom the benefit is held."

Jason growled. There was no way he was getting out of this. Fuck.

"Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, Mr. Wilson," he heard Raven answer, tentatively.

He grimaced. Not only was he subjected to the media circus but she was too, and he didn't want that for her. He barely wanted it for himself.

"Very good, Miss Roth. And you, Jason?"

He rolled his jaw, searching his brain for the words to talk them out of it but nothing came to mind. Letting out an audible sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and his index finger and rolled his tongue, the words tasting bitter before they even fell out of his mouth. "Yes… Mr. Wilson."

"Good," Mr. Wilson said with a sense of finality. "As I said, feel free to take the rest of the afternoon to prepare. Remember you are representing this company this evening and I will see both of you in my office for our usual meeting on Monday."

"Yes, sir," they both answered before Jason stood up and pressed the button on the intercom, ending the call.

He growled loudly as he turned away to his window, looking out at the view of the city. He clenched his fists and pressed them against the wooden sill with an awful scowl across his face and a heavy load on his back.

He didn't want this. He didn't want this case and he certainly didn't want the attention that it was sure to bring him. Anything that had anything to do with his family was sure to be in the the public eye and he knew it. And so did He.

"That smug bastard…" he murmured to himself as he tried to mentally process being in the limelight again, completely aware of Raven's tentative approach towards him. He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the tundra of questions he was sure she wanted to ask.

Since the day they got the case, they had been skirting around the topic of their familial ties to it, growing silent and looking away whenever they got too close to breaking through the surface to the soft, sensitive bits inside. Just like touching at work, family was off the table… But that was quickly going to change, he knew.

The scent of her cherry and vanilla shampoo tingled his senses as she came near, settling against the sill beside him. Even with his eyes closed, he knew she was chewing on her velvety pink lips, trying to select her questions carefully.

"I know family is off the table," she spoke softly, as if she was approaching something wild and dangerous. "But as your partner, I would like to know what I'm walking into."

He rolled his tongue in his mouth, not liking how careful she was being with him at the present moment. As if he was some sort of bomb that was bound to go off at the slightest wrong move. His jaw tightened and he opened his eyes, looking out into the world beyond the window again.

"You're walking into the life of the Wayne family," he said slowly through tight lips, his mind traveling back in time. "You're walking into flashing cameras and reporters and fake smiles of people all trying to get something from you, wanting your money, wanting your contacts, wanting to be with you or wanting to be you, and never being sure if they actually like you for you or what you can do for them. You're walking into a place of egos and false identities and masks and illusion."

He cringed, thinking about all the attention he received over the years, deserved or undeserved, and how much he hated every single second of it. But more so, he hated what it did to his family.

"So basically," he heard her say, seeing her move a little closer to him, her arm brush just slightly against his. "I'm entering showbiz."

A small chuckle left his throat, lifting his head to look at her smirking down at him. A warm light filled his stomach and spread, chasing away the shadows around him. It was… strange, how easily she seemed to do that. "That's a way of thinking about it, yes."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Her smirk widened as she gave a one shouldered shrug, leaning back on her palms against the wood. "I mean, it's awful and the idea of it sounds like my literal hell…"

He laughed at her little jab at herself, and she smiled, inching her hand closer to his. "But it's not so bad."

"Yeah, well," he sighed off his fits of laughter, moving slightly closer to her, craving to feel her again in every sense of the word. Even though he had her several times last night, his desire for her never waned. If anything, it grew stronger with every encounter. His fingers stretched out and splayed across her knuckles, caressing them slightly. "Maybe it won't be with you there."

Raven pressed her lips together, failing miserably to keep herself from smiling, while a blush rose to her cheeks. He grinned and leaned his forehead down to press against hers.

He knew he was pressing his luck. They weren't supposed to touch at work, but lord, he fucking craved her and to keep away felt like sin. This part of the separation wasn't going to last for long, he knew. Not when the taste of her still lingered on his tongue and echoes of her moans still whispered in his ears from nights past. No, it wouldn't last long at all.

He watched her eyes flutter closed and her teeth slide out to capture her bottom lip, as if she was restraining herself from something but never backing away. "Jason…"

"Yes, Little Bird?" He whispered, sliding his hand from hers to her thigh.

"We're at work," she said pointedly through her teeth.

"Doesn't that make this all the more exciting?" He grinned, tracing circles on the top of her thighs, slowly moving to the bottom of her skirt.

"Mm, Jason," she groaned, and he almost broke his resolve. "Don't make this anymore difficult and complicated than it already is."

She wanted him too… Good.

"Have you met us? We're the very definition of difficult and complicated," he chuckled, his hand reaching the bottom of her skirt and sliding up to her flesh there. "What's one more complication?"

She hummed as his hand crawled further up her skirt, playing with the sensitive flesh at the top of her stockings. Her lips parted and hips bucked slightly, and he grinned.

Not very long at all…

His nose nudged hers as he leaned in to capture those succulent lips when her hand grabbed his wrist and her eyes flew open. Pushing his hand off her, she stood up and squared her shoulders at him, the prim and proper authoritarian Miss Roth returning back to her body.

"Not at work," she said with a determined finality, straightening out her gray skirt. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find a dress for this evening."

With a tight press of her lips, Raven turned on her heel to walk out but not before his hand caught her wrist and pulled her back.

"Jason," she warned.

"Tonight," he spoke, lowly and dangerously. "The minute I get you alone, I'm going to spread your legs and have my way with you. Against the wall, on the floor, wherever I can get my hands on you… And I will not care if people are nearby because I will be too busy fucking you and making you come over and over and over again."

A flicker of lust danced in her eyes at his words, her lips parting and the formidable Miss Roth melted back into his Little Bird. He grinned at how easily he effected her. Just as easily as she effected him.

"Go to the boutique on the corner sixth and Jump," he said, letting go of her wrist and leaning back against the windowsill. "Give them my name and they'll set you up nicely for a good price."

She arched her brow. "Taken that many girls there?"

He rolled his eyes. Damn rumors… "The Wayne's have invested in various shops in town, including the one that Babs frequents for when she needs to dress for occasions such as tonight."

Her cheeks reddened. "Oh."

"I'll give them a call and tell them you're on your way so they can get set up for you. That way you'll get in and out faster," he dug his hands into his pockets, deciding not to address her embarrassment for jumping to conclusions. "Should you need anything else, give me a call. I'll see what I can do."

She nodded. "Oh, well…thank you."

"Not a problem," he shrugged. "Pick you up around seven?"

"Uh," she blinked, surprised by the offer. "Sure."

"Good," he nodded. "See you then."

Raven have a small smile and nodded her head before turning away from him towards the door.

"Oh, and Miss Roth?"

"Yes, Mr. Todd?" She sighed, turning back to him.

He licked his lips. "Be sure to bring an extra pair of underwear tonight."

He almost laughed out loud at her suddenly flushed face.

Putting the final touches on her lips with a stroke of her brush, she sighed, looking herself over in the mirror and wondering if she choose the right dress.

It was almost seven and she was feeling kind of… Nervous. Nervous about the media circus that surrounded his family, nervous about being surrounded by over a hundred people but most of all nervous that she was going to meet his family tonight. It didn't matter to her that they were the Wayne family, one of the most famous families in the country, but that it was his family.

Even though she knew she was going as a representative of her company and that she was, by no means, his date for the evening and that this between them wasn't classified as a relationship… It was still nerve-wracking to meet the parents of the person she was currently sleeping with!

She took a deep breath as she looked her dress over, running her hands over the navy blue velvet fabric on her hips. It was a simple dress. A simple strapless sweetheart neckline that cinched perfectly at her waist with a lighter metal blue belt wrapped around her. The fabric clung to her hips till it reached the slit at her mid thigh, cascading down to the floor and pooled at the floor like gorgeous blue waterfalls of velvet.

Simple, sexy, and sophisticated. Possibly appropriate.

She sighed again before turning around to see her dog watching her carefully on her bed. "Well, what do you think?"

Atticus lifted his head with a lick of his jowls and a wag of his tail as if he was saying that he approved of the ensemble.

"I like it too," she nodded, turning her head to look back at the mirror. Her eyes stopped at lower backside and she perked an eyebrow. Despite knowing that it didn't matter and that she would hate herself for asking it, she couldn't help but murmur the question: "Do you think he'll like it?"

As if on queue, there was a knock on the door, causing Atticus to bark and leap at the door in excitement.

She blinked as she looked around for her clutch and earrings before rushing to the door. "Atticus, calm down! Just a second!" She called out, shoving an earring through her earlobe and doing it to the other one.

She walked over to the mirror by the door, putting the other earring and quickly straightening herself and making sure the concealer on her chest and neck still covered every bite mark he made on her skin as she looked on. Figuring that it was the best it was going to get, she took a deep breath.

Here we go…

With a small lick of her lips, she pulled Atticus away from the door by his collar and opened the door.

And good lord, he looked good dressed in a perfectly tailored, designer, all black suit and tie with a red satin pocket square peaking out. His hair was slicked back and parted, the gray in his hair peeking out and calling to her like a siren's song. Dark thoughts of running her fingers through his perfect hair as he pleasured her swirled in her mind, her tongue darted out slightly as she dragged her eyes up the length of him before meeting his eyes. It was then she realized that he too was checking her out, and by the dark and dangerous glint in his eyes, he liked what he saw.

"Mr. Todd?" She asked, a teasing smile playing at her dark red lips as he snapped out of whatever fantasy he was playing in his head. "Are we ready to go?"

The slow grin that made a fire rise in her belly spread across his face as he regarded her. "Forgive me, Miss Roth. Your beauty is so stunning, I couldn't help but stand here and… Admire you."

The way he said 'admire' almost made her drag him in by his collar and let him have his way with her right then and there. She swallowed as she tried to keep her cool. "You look quite handsome yourself, Mr. Todd.'

If handsome meant drop dead sexy, then yes, he was quite handsome.

"Thank you, Miss Roth," he smiled before offering his arm. "Shall we?"

She smiled, nudging her dog back and ordering him to be good before grabbing her shawl from the coat rack and shutting the door. She smiled at him as she took his arm and let him escort her out of the building.

She tried not to blush as they walked, feeling his eyes burning her as they walked. She was thankful for the curtain of hair that blocked her vision so that she wouldn't actually see him staring and that maybe he didn't see how flushed she was getting.

Stepping outside, her eyes widened at the black Bentley (complete with chauffeur) that awaited them.

"Our chariot awaits," she heard him murmur to, and she turned her head to see him grinning down at her.

She knew the Wayne's were ridiculously wealthy. But seeing exactly how wealthy they were -more specifically, how wealthy he was, was quite a different story. Taking in another deep breath, they continued to walk towards the car.

The older gentleman at the car opened the door for them. "Master Todd. Miss Roth, good evening."

"Alfred," Jason regarded.

"Good evening," she nodded back with a polite smile, slowly sliding into the car, quickly followed by Jason.

The door shut behind him and his lips were on her neck and she gasped. His hand found her inner thigh and began to massage the flesh there, setting her skin on fire in a matter of seconds. She bit her lip to hold back her moan as he inched his hand higher.

"Oh, Little Bird," he whispered into her skin, kissing it lightly. "Why do you torture me this way?"

"Master Todd," Alfred authoritarian voice called as he climbed into the front seat and looking into the rearview mirror at him with disapproving eyes. "We do not grope and feel up ladies in the backseat of a car like two horny teenagers who do not know any better. So I suggest you refrain from it."

She heard Jason growl as he pulled his lips and hand away from her skin, glaring at the old man. "Fine."

Raven blinked, another layer of a blush coating her skin as the car started and began to pull away. Just as she was calming down, Jason lips met her ear with a hiss.

"I hope you brought that extra pair. Because when I get you alone, I'm going to fuck you until you scream for me… And then, I'll keep on going."

Her eyes widened and she whipped her head to met his eyes. Dark, dangerous, and promising. She gulped as her grip on her clutch tightened, happy that she did remember to bring an extra pair.