Selina awoke. The shiny pink satin of her short nightie flowed over her body in an ever-lasting caress as she sat up, her silk sheets falling away, revealing the luscious curvature of her flesh to the night. And to one watcher.
Selina strained her eyes, as irritated as any cat with their nap interrupted, to see the intruder. He was shirtless, jeans and workboots covering his lower body, muscles covering all the flesh she could see. Despite that, he'd been stealthy enough to get through her own security system and past her usually keen senses until he was standing at the foot of her bed, arms steepled on her bedposts.
"You picked the exact wrong apartment to break into," she told him. "But I always enjoy seeing a nice set of abs. So why don't you take a hike and we'll call it even?"
"I have a standing invitation, kitten—"
"
Nobody
calls me kitten," Selina cut him off angrily.
He grinned smugly; a familiar expression on an unfamiliar face. "Nobody but me."
Selina canted her head. He looked familiar now too. Those eyes, that stubble. There should've been wrinkles, white hair, but she'd seen enough pictures of Ted Grant in the middle of his title reign to almost recognize this man. "
Ted?
"
"The one and only, kitten."
Selina slipped out of bed, not caring that her nightie rode up over her hips, flashing her pink panties before the hem fell back around her thighs. "What the hell happened to you?"
"I died. Does wonders for the complexion, huh?" Spryly, Ted leapt up onto her footboard. He balanced on it with ease. His body lithe, moving easily, as agile as Selina's was. "Went all peaceful like, in my sleep. And you know how it is with cats. I'm on my next life now. Only this time I get to skip puberty. I'm a regular Joe College again!"
Selina ran her fingers through her short hair, tamping it down into presentability in an unconscious gesture. "And the first thought you had was to interrupt my sleep?"
He smiled widely. Flashing a mouthful of pristine teeth. "That's what I like about you, kitten. Your priorities. Nah, I thought that for the first time since I trained ya, I've got the legs to go all nine rounds. So let's see how much ya remember of the sweet science."
"In the middle of the night?"
Ted jumped down onto the floor in front of her, his dukes swiftly raised. "Isn't that when any cat's got to play?"
He lashed out with a jab—Selina winced back—he checked it before he hit her, but the wind of the blow broke against her face like a taunt.
"C'mon, kitten... protect yourself... don't let the other guy get any cheap shots outta ya!"
Selina's fists jumped up, guarding her face, and she hunched into a boxing stance. Ted jabbed again, not hard. Her defense ate the blows with barely a sting.
"So what's the plan, besides costing me my beauty sleep?" Selina asked.
"Ah, you're the last dame that needs beauty sleep, kitten."
Selina persisted: "Go for the belt again? Try for the JLA? Move to Gotham and show Batman how it's done?"
He gave her a jab that gently caressed her chin, then followed it with a hook that he held in place, still as a statue, an inch under her jaw. "Nah. I'm going to live life, not stay stuck in the past. See what comes. If the Titans want me or if I'm back on the JSA, I'll go where the wind blows me. Only this time I ain't wasting any hours jawing and worrying. Much better to make love to dames."
"No one call it that anymore, Ted," Selina said before launching a barrage, left jabs and right hand counter-punches, all breaking against his defense like waves on the shore.
Ted grinned, like her heartfelt punches were a joke she was telling him. "Sorry. Fucking dames."
Selina put real power into the punches. Ted danced: juking and diving underneath her pistoning fists. "Be careful. You know I was your best student!"
The next punch she threw, Ted caught. Before Selina could do anything with her off-hand, Ted pulled on her arm and twisted her around, catching her in an embrace. Selina sensed his hands down at her midsection, holding her tight, getting a good feel of her satin and the warm skin underneath.
"Yeah, real good," Ted breathed.
He wasn't like any lover Selina had ever known... not even himself. He had the assurance of his old age, but he was not rough. And although he was plenty eager in his youthfulness, there was no rush, no hurry. Only a prolonged anticipation he was keen to savor.