Black Satin

Six

The door slammed open, startling me in the midst of my paperwork. Billy was home... but it seemed like his mood had only gone downhill since this morning.

"Billy?" I called, standing. I could hear him rifling through the alcohol cabinet, so I headed that direction. I rounded the corner just in time to see him downing a glass of something.

"Billy," I said again.

At the sound of my voice, his gaze snapped to me. None too gently, he set the now-empty glass down and prowled over to me. He took my face in both his hands and kissed me in a dizzying way.

"Billy," I whispered, letting myself lean into him. "What's going on?"

He didn't seem interested in answering me just yet. Instead, he pressed tender kisses along my jaw and my pulse point, running his fingers through my hair.

Rarely was he this gentle... he had to be extremely happy about something.

"She knows..." he finally murmured. "She found out, and I don't have to pretend anymore..."

I gasped softly and pulled him closer.

"You're all mine again..."

"All yours."

---

Billy held her close as they lay there together on the couch, absently playing with her hair.

"So what now, Billy?" he heard her murmur. "Now that she knows... Now that Frank knows..."

"They can't touch me. Everything is set up just the way we want it."

(Y/N) hummed thoughtfully, tracing her fingertips over his chest.

"Madani's going to come after you with everything she has. She might figure out we're together."

"Let her," Billy said. "You can play dumb if she contacts you directly. There's no evidence of any kind that you were involved or even knew about anything I'm doing. No one will ever be able to connect you to the dirty work."

"I almost hope she does contact me..." (Y/N) said. "It's about time I had a turn to put on a performance."

Billy watched her with a small smile. He constantly found himself in awe of this woman he had managed to snare. Going to the gala that night had turned out to be one of the best decisions he'd ever made. And to think, he almost hadn't gone... Someday he'd have to thank Curtis for telling him to be polite and at least make an appearance.

The thought of his (Y/N) staring Dinah Madani in the face, knowing all that she knew, and playing the part of the innocent, cheated-on girlfriend made him smirk. He'd gladly let Madani think he was a horrible cheater on top of everything else if it meant she'd sympathize with (Y/N) enough to throw her suspicions out the window.

"I almost hope so too..." he said. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Soon, this would all be over... and maybe then, Billy could devote even more attention to his love for (Y/N)... maybe even with a band of silver or gold.

Just a few more loose ends, and they'd be free.