Rogue’s hand trembled on the doorknob. She had suspected for a while, but until that moment there was no proof. The sounds coming from the other side of the door, the familiar voices, confirmed everything. Her fingers tightened around the cool metal briefly. For a moment she considered barging in and interrupting them. A particularly loud shout followed by silence stopped her in her tracks, however. There was no point in confronting them after the fact. All of the drama of the moment would be missing, and she desperately needed the drama to distract her bruised ego. Vaguely aware that her heart, which should have been broken, was untouched, she let her fingers relax and slip away.

Stepping back, Rogue glared darkly at the wooden door glowing softly in the late afternoon light streaming in through the hall window. She needed to think, to plan, now that the heat of the moment had passed. She turned abruptly on her heel, her long dark hair whipping around her, the white strands around her face emphasizing her cold eyes and the thin set of her lips. The rage she felt sustained her, allowed the little corner of hurt to be pushed aside for the time being. She strode quickly down the hall to find someplace quiet to seethe and think, practically ran down the stairs, and then crashed into a hard body. Familiar hands grabbed her arms, their strength all that kept her from tumbling to the wood floor.

“Rogue?” He put a wealth of questions into that one word. Why the hell wasn’t she watching where she was going? What was wrong? Was she going to confide in him as she had so often found herself doing since his return from Japan?

Rogue considered trying to play off her clumsiness, but she knew he would smell the lie on her. Besides, she could use his advice in this situation as long as she could bear to tell him the details. That shouldn’t be too hard, she thought, since over the past few months she had confessed more troubling news than this to him, like the slow return of her mutation. Theoretically it shouldn’t be difficult to tell him about the betrayal she had just discovered. When she opened her mouth, eyes fastened to the dark gray of his T-shirt, nothing came out at first, though. Two more tries and swallows around the sudden lump in her throat allowed her to croak out, “Bobby.”

A low growl from the man still holding her upright brought her gaze up to meet his. The concern in his hazel eyes warmed the chill that had settled in her soul, but that was almost worse. It allowed the hurt to come into focus so that tears threatened to well up in her eyes when Logan asked, “What did Iceboy do now?”

Logan knew she’d been having some problems with her boyfriend ever since she started regaining her powers. It was one of the things she talked to him about when she joined him on the patrols he took around the school grounds each evening. His advice was always sound, and for a while it seemed to be helping, but that was at an end. Now Rogue needed help of a different sort. She wanted revenge on Bobby before she ended things with him once and for all. Logan was just the right person to help her figure out how to get what she wanted, but first she would have to get up the nerve to confess her discovery. Even thinking about telling him in such an open environment was embarrassing.

“Not here. Are you headed out?” It was a little early for a patrol. She drew in a deep breath as Logan studied her, but he seemed to realize that she didn’t want the possibility of an audience for what she had to tell him, especially not one composed mostly of their students. He nodded slowly.

“I was about to take a walk.” That was Logan-code for his unofficial patrols. He hated admitting that they were more necessity than leisure.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Never have before, kid.”

Rogue hid the annoyance that flashed through her at hearing his usual nickname by dropping her eyes from his as he let her go. Together they walked down the hall and out onto the back terrace. Their steps echoed on the worn stone as they crossed to the shallow steps that led down to the lawn.

Rogue finally spoke again when they were about a fifty feet from the mansion. “I went to find Bobby after I let out my last American History class. I thought maybe we could go get dinner somewhere else, spend time together, you know?” This part she could talk about easily. What came next was much harder. “I got to his door and I heard…”

“What?” His voice was low, encouraging but with that edge of violence that told her he was on her side against whatever she faced.

Rogue took a breath to steady herself once more, trying to draw on that cold anger to get past the stuttering. She still couldn’t look at Logan, couldn’t bear the thought that he would pity her.

“I heard him having sex with someone. I think it was Kitty,” she whispered in a rush. Saying it out loud was easier than she expected, and it brought back the anger full force. Logan’s growl encouraged her to continue more loudly. “That fucking asshole is cheating on me, and the worst part s that I don’t know how long it’s been going on! My advanced class gets out late a few times a week. What if…” She didn’t want to finish the thought.

Logan was quiet for a moment. “So what are you going to do about it?”

She shook her head. “I can’t stay with him anymore, but I’m not sure how to break it off either. Do I make it loud? Do I give him the cold shoulder and just end it quietly?” She shrugged fitfully. The bitterness in her heart had leaked into her voice. She glanced at Logan and saw his frown as he stared out into the trees surrounding them. It gave her the courage to add. “Beyond that, I want him to suffer. I think I even want that before I break up with him.”

He nodded slowly. “I get that. Sometimes you need to get revenge on someone when they hurt you,” he said. “The answers to your problems depend on what you want to get out of it, I think. Do you want everyone to know what a sack of shit he is? Do you want to hurt his pride or hurt him physically? Doesn’t sound like you want a clean break, whatever you do, so ending things quietly probably won’t give you the satisfaction that you want.”

Rogue considered what he said silently for a few minutes, letting the late afternoon sun soak into her through the thin layers of her shirt and wishing that she dared to wear short sleeves once more. It would have been comforting to be able to have that one bit of normalcy in her otherwise fucked up life. That was no longer an option, though, and in the end she didn’t really miss being “normal” as much as she had once thought she would if her mutation returned. There was a certain strength in being what she was, having the ability she did, and just then she needed all of the strength she could get. She dragged her mind away from its normal brooding to the current problem, and her eyes fell on Logan’s profile as he walked and brooded beside her. An idea blossomed in her mind, but she had no idea if he would go along with it.

A tight knot of something—excitement?—gathered in the pit of her stomach as she worked up the nerve to say the words out loud. How much worse could her life get, anyway? If he said no, she’d be no worse off than she already was. If he said yes, at the very least she’d have a lot of fun if certain reports were true. It was something that she had fantasized about as a young teenager, and now she might be able to see how close reality could come to her fantasies.

In the end the words spilled from her lips in a rush, almost without her participation. “You know what would make Bobby just livid, not to mention give me some really great satisfaction and closure over the whole fucking mess?”

He turned to her, that eyebrow of his raised. A strange glint lingered in his eyes, giving her hope. “What’s that?”

She smiled, a slow thin smile meant to show him that her goals were still pure and unsullied, as far as revenge went. “If he found me having sex with someone else in public—well, not where the kids would see, but somewhere the rest of the X-Men couldn’t miss. It would have to be just the right person, though,” she mused, allowing her smile to grow just a bit sadistic.

Logan appeared to be considering it seriously, which Rogue found encouraging.

“Yeah, that could work both for hurting him and ending things with a bang, so to speak. But who are you going to convince to go along with your plan?”

That glint she had noticed was deeper, so she felt confident enough to raise her own eyebrows and drawl out, “How about you? Up for some fun, sugar?”

He stopped dead in his tracks, and for one sickening moment Rogue thought she had miscalculated. Then he smiled, an evil one to match her own. “For you, darlin’? Anything. I’ve been thinking of ways to get around that skin of yours ever since you started complaining that Iceboy wasn’t man enough to even try. I couldn’t help myself. I’d like to see which ones will work in practice as well as theory, you know?”

Rogue couldn’t believe that she heard him right at first, and then she had to restrain herself from dancing happily around him in circles. She settled for raising her gloved hand to his cheek instead. “I knew I could count on you,” she purred, satisfaction causing her voice to drop seductively in a way she hadn’t even known it could. Certainly Bobby had never produced a reaction like that.

Logan grabbed her hand and twined his fingers through hers briefly. “So, when are we going to do this?”

Rogue tipped her head sideways in thought for a moment. “Well, the next general meeting is tonight. Does that give you enough time to get your…precautions in place? I figured that the briefing room table would be a good place to start.”

He nodded slowly as he pulled their joined hands down so that they could continue their walk, more of a stroll now. “Although I do have one condition, since the discovery is going to be such a public one,” he commented in an off-hand way.

She shot him a confused look, but his final comment made her shiver.

“If neither of us finishes because of the interruption, but especially you, we’re going to have a second session another time. I don’t leave a woman unsatisfied—in any way.”

The rest of the patrol continued in very agreeable silence.

Plans for revenge were all well and good in the heat of the moment, but Rogue discovered that the old saying, “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” did not apply when the scheme involved sex. Sex with a man she’d fantasized over as a teenager, at that. Hell, if she were being honest with herself, she’d never stopped fantasizing about Logan. She thought about his large hands when her own, the only skin she’d felt in almost a decade, slid down her stomach to provide her with the satisfaction her boyfriend couldn’t. When the need for release grew too strong she imagined his mouth nuzzling where only her fingers had ventured, those lips that were the perfect mixture of firm and full as far as she could remember from the brief moments when they were pressed to her forehead on top of the Statue of Liberty. Try as she might to force her wandering mind to include Bobby in her mental playground, his pale blue eyes all too often turned into a warm hazel.

Those years of fantasizing would culminate in less than an hour, and Rogue’s stomach was suddenly full of knots. Any nervousness she had felt when proposing her revenge to Logan had magnified once they parted outside the back door closest to the stairs that led X-Men’s living quarters. She had gone to the kitchen to help with dinner, while he…well, she supposed he was getting whatever he thought was needed to help him take her virginity.

The thought caused her breath to catch in her throat, and the knot in her stomach grew to mammoth proportions making her regret the small amount of pot roast she’d managed to choke down while avoiding everyone’s eyes as loud conversations tumbled around her. Her quick steps up towards her room faltered slightly, but she managed to find the resolve to continue. Heart hammering, she fumbled with her doorknob a few times before finally twisting it open. Once the solid wood had closed behind her, she rested the back of her head against it and sighed.

What was she doing? Why hadn’t she just suggested that she and Logan have a heavy make-out session in front of Bobby’s room? What in the world had possessed her to blurt out one of her deepest fantasies, and why in the world had he agreed?

Knowing that it was too late to back out now, Rogue forced herself to move across the room to the closet where her wardrobe was jammed so tightly she almost couldn’t distinguish one piece from another. She rummaged around until she found a loose knee-length black skirt and almost sheer green blouse she saved for special occasions. A trip to her dresser produced a black camisole, green thong panties with a matching garter belt, and sheer stockings. She tried not to think as she jumped into a quick hot shower, carefully keeping her long hair piled on top of her head so that it wouldn’t get wet. A washed body and two shaved legs later, she stepped out and dried off with the waiting towel.

After applying a thin layer of moisturizer to her pale skin, she pulled the silky camisole over her head. The blouse followed, and then she hesitated with the thong in her hands before tossing it to the side. She was sure that Logan would have to keep his pants mostly on anyway, and it’s not like that little scrap of silk was going to be much protection for him. Better to leave them off than worry about where they might disappear to. Instead she slipped on the garter belt and then slid the stockings onto each leg, making sure to secure them properly just at the top of her thighs. She shimmied into the skirt and then spent a few minutes brushing out her hair until it shone in waves around her shoulders. She happened to know that Logan preferred little to no make-up on a woman when he had a choice, so she simply applied some eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.

A quick glance at the small heart-shaped clock on the wall next to the bathroom door informed Rogue that she had forty-five minutes until the briefing was scheduled to begin. She hurried out into her bedroom and found the three-inch black stiletto heels she rarely bothered with. Jamming her feet into them, she grabbed black satin gloves and a sheer black scarf to wrap around her neck, rushed to her door and threw it open. If she hadn’t been staring straight ahead with slightly wild eyes, she would have collided with Logan for the second time in one day.

That wicked gleam returned to his eyes as she stood staring at him. She watched his eyes graze down her body and then back up. The heat caused her to shiver and drop her gloves and scarf from numb fingers when their eyes met once more. One side of his mouth quirked up in what was probably the sexiest grin in history as he reached down and picked them up off the floor.

“I think these are yours, darlin’.” His husky voice deepened just a little as he pressed the gloves and scarf back into her hand, his own shielded by leather so soft she actually forgot to flinch away from the touch.

“Mmm…yeah.” Rogue couldn’t achieve anything more coherent than that as she pulled on first one glove then another even while their eyes remained locked together. The scarf was still dangling from her hands when he chuckled and grabbed it, stuffing it into the back pocket of his dark jeans.

“Let me,” he whispered as he reached around and closed her door.

“Of course,” Rogue murmured, and she was sure they both knew she wasn’t just talking about the door.

Logan twined his fingers around hers and tugged, pulling her along beside him as he headed for the elevator. Rogue felt just a little light-headed when she realized this was actually going to happen. Every sense was heightened. She heard the rasp of his jeans as they rubbed together with each step, the swish of her skirt and clack of her heels on the hardwood floor. The scent of his skin caressed her, a mixture of musk and cigar smoke that should have been off-putting but was more arousing with each moment she spent in his presence.

The elevator door opened silently when he pressed the hidden button, and they stepped inside together. His intoxicating scent grew more pronounced, and Rogue couldn’t stop herself from rubbing her thumb along his index finger. His eyes glinted down at her, darker than she could ever recall and slightly dangerous. She licked her lips and drew in deep breaths to try and calm the hormones raging through her. No one had ever made her feel like this, not even Logan when she was deep in the throes of her girlhood crush on him. This was raw, unadulterated passion, and it set her nerves on edge in the most pleasant way possible.

In less than a minute they reached the basement level and the elevator door opened once more. Rogue allowed him to lead her out and down the hall towards the empty, dark briefing room. The lights came on automatically when they entered, and he pulled her into the corner farthest from the door. Without realizing how it happened, he trapped her against one wall with a gentle shove, his body blocking her view of the rest of the room as he gazed down at her.

Logan lifted a hand and traced a finger along her jaw. “You’re sure about this?” It was like him to offer her a chance to back out, but there was no way that was happening now. This wasn’t even about Bobby anymore. If Rogue didn’t get her hands on Logan soon, she was pretty sure the world would come grinding to a catastrophic end.

With that in mind, she twined her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him closer. “Shut up and kiss me, sugar,” she muttered with a saucy little smile.

Logan’s eyes lit, and faster than she thought possible he pulled out her silk scarf and laid it over her lips. His mouth followed, hot and so very sweet. Rogue slid one foot up his leg, drawing his body closer to hers as their mouths devoured each other through the thin silk. His hands seemed to take on a very purposeful life of their own, running up and down her back and kneading the flesh beneath her blouse. Each stroke sent waves of pleasure shooting through her, molten lava that threatened to consume them both.

Rogue let her own hands wander, exploring the firm muscles of his shoulders and arms, his chest and abdomen. Something inside her howled in victory when she heard him growl and pull her somehow closer, molding her body to his in a way that restricted the movement of her hands but making her very aware that he was enjoying himself. She rolled her hips, reveling in the feel of him hard and needing her as much as she needed him.

Logan’s hands shot to her ass, cupping each cheek firmly as he lifted her. Rogue felt him turn, although she no longer cared why. Vaguely she registered when he set her down on the edge of the briefing table and pressed between her legs. There was no way she could miss the way one of his hands snuck between them, though, no matter how hot his kisses made her. His fingers trailed down the top of her thigh and then slipped underneath her skirt, rubbing her bare skin in small circles as they trailed closer to the wet center of her.

Rogue moaned into his mouth when he touched her, rubbing through silk and leather in a way that seemed to make both vanish. Her nails dug into his shoulders, and she pressed up against his fingers frantically. He pressed against one spot and suddenly Rogue’s world imploded. She yelled his name as she came.

He pressed softer kisses to her lips as she came down from her sexual high, causing her to moan again. Suddenly he pulled away slightly and gave a small growl.

“We’re about to be interrupted, darlin’. How do you want to play this?”

Rogue was tempted to tell him to keep going no matter who came into the room, but then a small bit of good sense returned to her. She drew in a deep breath, still pressed up against him, and muttered, “Damn,” as she pulled the scarf from her mouth.

Shaking his head, he gave her a little grin. “So we’re done for now?”

She met his eyes and grinned back, her eyes still heated. “For now. Don’t think I’m forgetting our agreement though, Logan.”

He ran a finger along her cheek. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Logan pulled her off the table and let her decide how much she was going to straighten her clothes—which wasn’t much. She also didn’t leave his side as he sat in one of the big leather chairs, instead leaning against the arm and smiling down at him with a hand on his shoulder. They were back to playing the game, but Rogue knew that she’d started something here that went far beyond one friend helping another.

To Rogue’s delight, Bobby and Kitty were the ones who entered the briefing room then. A small, spiteful part of her wondered if they’d planned on using it for the same purposes she and Logan just had, since they were smiling until they saw that the room was occupied. Both couples stared at each other for several seconds, Rogue and Logan with self-satisfied and lazy smiles, Bobby and Kitty in shock. Bobby’s face quickly went red with anger, an interesting development for someone who controlled ice. His blue eyes flicked down to Rogue’s hand on Logan’s arm. She sighed deeply and then removed it slowly, allowing her fingers to caress the muscles she’d only dreamed about one more time before she slid into the seat next to him.

 

It came as no surprise to her when Bobby stalked around to the seat beside her while Kitty sat as far across the table from the three of them as possible. It did surprise Rogue a little that he made no effort to call her and Logan out on why they’d been meeting in the semi-dark briefing room. Instead, they all sat in tense silence until the other X-Men began to trickle in.

Rogue amused herself as the meeting droned on by slipping off one shoe and running her toes up and down Logan’s leg. He barely contained the growl she knew was dying to break free, and they shared a passionate glance. The others faded from Rogue’s awareness for a few moments as she allowed herself to drown in the warm hazel of his eyes. She barely managed to pull her attention back to the meeting in time to catch a question from Ororo, who had noticed her distraction. She blushed at the way the older woman’s eyebrows rose when she glanced back and forth between Rogue and Logan.

“Sure, ‘Ro,” Rogue murmured in response to her request that she go along with Hank to pick up a new student in the wilds of West Virginia.

“Maybe you two should take—“ Ororo began.

“I’ll go.” Everyone’s eyes swung around to stare at Logan, including Rogue’s. He never volunteered for a pick up mission. Action? All the time. Danger? Always! But a routine mission? Never.

Rogue glanced to her right and managed to catch the scowl Bobby shot Logan. She looked straight forward and slipped her stiletto back on. Satisfaction warmed her in a way Bobby’s touch never had—but it didn’t come close to the inferno Logan was able to build in her with the mere brush of a finger. The thought sent a shiver down her spine, and Logan let out the ghost of a chuckle. He could probably smell the fresh wave of her arousal. She lifted her chin and set her mouth in a straight line, determined not to allow anything to distract her now that there was the prospect of a mission.

The briefing ended sooner than Rogue expected. The others filed out, Ororo and Hank with their heads together about some gardening project, Jubilee flirting with the new arrival, Remy, as they practically floated out the door. On one hand, Rogue thought Bobby and Kitty would follow. On the other, Rogue knew his temper. He might wait until there wasn’t anyone else around to see, but then he would explode. She’d had more than a few examples of that in the past.

As a precaution, Rogue stood and moved to put the chair between her and Bobby. That brought her conveniently next to Logan, who was also on his feet. He laid a hand on her back in encouragement but didn’t try to step in front of her. She appreciated his support and that he knew this was a fight she could only finish herself.

Apparently Bobby intended to go at it with Logan and Kitty still in the room. As soon as the voices of the other X-Men stopped echoing in the hall, he rose and rounded on Rogue. She kept her back straight and her jutted up, aware that she had the moral high ground in this particular battle. She had never done more than look at another guy before that day.

“What the hell is this, Rogue?” Bobby yelled, gesturing between her and Logan.

Rogue narrowed her eyes and gave him a feral grin. “What the hell is this, Bobby?” she mocked him, mimicking his own motion but with him and Kitty as the target. Kitty stepped back, looking as if she wished she was anywhere else. She wouldn’t even look Rogue in the eye.

Before Bobby could reply, Rogue continued, “You know, maybe things weren’t so great with us and all, but you could have at least had the decency to break up with me before fucking someone else.”

Bobby’s eyes widened and his face turned red, while Kitty literally melted through the wall she had pressed herself against. It looked like she wasn’t going to stay for the fight after all. Good riddance.

“I-I don’t know what you –“ Bobby tried to deny, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rogue raised her eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Logan. “Oh, so that wasn’t you and Kitty I heard slapping skin together earlier in your room? My mistake. It probably wasn’t you yelling Kitty’s name, either, and she must have been with some other ‘Bobby’,” Rogue continued scathingly.

Bobby’s arms dropped to his sides, hands clenched into fists that began to ice over. “Look, Rogue,” he started.

“Can it, Icepop. Can’t you see that the lady knows what everyone else in this damn school has guessed? You’re just lucky your little secret didn’t get out before now.” Logan’s growl was impressive and, if Rogue was being honest with herself, sexy as hell.

Bobby’s eyes swung to where Logan stood behind her. “So you’re just going to pick up where I left off, huh?” he taunted unwisely.

Rogue ran her gaze up and down Bobby, taking in the decent but leanly muscled frame, angry blue eyes and curly blond hair. He still looked like such a child. Why she hadn’t seen that sooner, she had no idea. It was time to rectify her mistake once and for all.

“Bobby, honey, Logan doesn’t need to do that. He sets records you could never hope to achieve just by being in the same room with me. You could take some lessons.” She smiled, a cold, rage-filled upturn of her lips that barely earned the name. “Why don’t we just agree that the two of us ‘don’t suit’ and leave it at that? After all, things could get nasty around here if we were all fighting, couldn’t it?”

Bobby’s mouth had dropped open as Rogue delivered her little speech. She didn’t wait for a response. Instead, she swept by him and out the door, allowing her hips to sway with a sass she’d almost forgotten she possessed. Logan’s hand stayed on the small of her back the whole time, proving that he’d read her intentions correctly and was ready to play his part in her dramatic exit.

They were all the way down the hall and standing in front of the elevator door before either spoke. “That was quite a show, darlin’,” Logan murmured, his lips close to the nape of her neck.

“You approve?”

“Oh, yeah. The little prick got what was coming to him. Of course, he’ll have Kitty to nurse his wounded ego, once he can find her.”

Rogue let out a relieved laugh. “She can have him. I have my own plans.”

“Oh?” She could feel the heat of Logan’s mouth, almost but not quite touching her skin.

“Mmmmm, careful, sugar,” she purred even as the elevator door opened. She stepped forward, and he followed, his hand now caressing her back.

“What if I don’t want to be careful?”

Rogue spun around. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she told him seriously, all traces of flirtation gone.

“You won’t.” He sounded so sure. She wished she could be as well.

“How do you know?”

“Because you care. Even when you don’t want to, you care. So we can play with the danger, have fun with it, and it will be okay. And one day, you’ll figure out how to turn that power of yours off on your own instead of using a damn drug, and then…well, the sky’s the limit for you, I guess.” He glanced down and away. She realized that he thought she’d lose interest, now that the game was done.

“What if I don’t want the sky, now or some other time? What if I just want someone who wants me no matter what?” She held her breath, unsure of his answer.

Logan’s eyes flashed to hers, and she saw the raw beast in there that she knew so well. He hid it, oh he did, but she knew that part of him as well as she knew her own mind. The Wolverine wanted it all, wanted everything, even though the man wasn’t sure that anyone would be willing to take on someone like him. In that they were a matching pair. He had his internal monster, while she had her external one.

The elevator doors opened then, cutting off any reply he might have made. Rogue felt disappointed when he stepped out into the hall until he held his hand out to her. She let her fingers slide over his again, reveling in the sensation as they locked together. Eyes still on each other, they headed through the quiet hallway and towards the stairs. Rogue blessed the fact that most of the kids were in bed or headed that way. The curious looks were beginning to embarrass her as it was.

The walk to the teacher’s corridor was shorter than she expected. She couldn’t tell if anticipation or anxiety made it seem that way. Probably both. Logan pulled her to a stop outside of his room.

“You’re sure?” he asked again.

Rogue huffed. “You know, Logan, if I didn’t know better from very recent experience, I’d say you didn’t want me.” She pressed up against him, hips to chest, and untangled her hand from his so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. “I’m. Sure. I want to be in your bed, and I very much want to feel as good as I did just a little while ago…and more.” She grinned up at him.

“You asked for it, darlin’,” he growled playfully, lifting her suddenly an tossing her over his shoulder. She bit her lip to keep from shrieking even as he pushed open his door and closed it firmly behind them.

 

 

For a moment, Rogue glimpsed the setting sun gilding the bed in the otherwise dark room, a few rays streaming through the heavy brown drapes across the window. She had been in here a few times before, usually when she had to help Logan into bed after a particularly long and painful mission. This was different. Now the bed held her focus in a completely different way.

He didn’t give her time to dwell on those thoughts, or any thoughts, as he let her body slide down his. She felt every inch where their skin met, even through clothing. The fires he had flamed earlier leapt up once more as his skillful fingers caressed her hips through her skirt, digging in with just the right amount of pressure.

“Mmm, I’ve been thinking of getting you in here all afternoon,� he whispered into her shoulder, placing a wet kiss there.

Rogue ran the fingers of one hand through his hair, while the other stroked the hard muscle of his arm. “Oh, really? And what were you going to do once you got me here?� She couldn’t believe that throaty voice was hers.

He growled and into his back pocket while pushing her against the door, not roughly but not gently either. Her scarf from earlier, that she hadn’t even thought about until now, appeared in his hand. She couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to her to wonder what had happened to it, but she sure was glad to see it. He draped the scarf over her nose and mouth, then his lips descended to hers once more while his hands began a new round of explorations, this one more lingering than when they were in the briefing room. His fingers found the sensitive skin of her neck, her aching nipples, and the dip of her stomach, although to her disappointment he didn’t go lower yet. Instead, his hands made the journey over and over, from her hips up to her neck, as if he was trying to memorize every inch.

She had her own exploring to do. Even through her gloves and his clothes, she felt the contours of muscles she’d daydreamed about, on the few occasions when her will weakened and she permitted herself to admire him. She paid special attention to his back. There was something about it, that first glimpse she’d ever had of him, stripped to the waist in that cage about to fight, that made her stomach twist with lust. She wanted to see him like that again, although they couldn’t dare because of her skin. But maybe he’d put on a show for her later. That thought made her even more wet and aching between her legs, somehow.

Logan moved the scarf after a few minutes of plundering her mouth. He grabbed a handful of her hair in one hand while he nudged the scarf down her throat with the other so that his mouth could follow. She wriggled in delight when his lips hit the sensitive skin under her ear, the spot over her collarbone she hadn’t known could even be erotic, and the hollow of her throat. He didn’t stop there, bending down so that his mouth could explore each breast through the thin material of her blouse. Each brush of his tongue, his lips, his teeth, sent her higher towards an edge she’d never come near before, one she hadn’t even known existed. She buried both hands in his hair and let herself ride the sensations, one leg raising as if of its own accord to wrap around his hip and draw him in closer. A quiet mewling sound grew in her throat and exploded out with every pass over her nipples, and somehow she knew that pleased him.

“Thought this was supposed to be about you this time,� she managed to pant out as his pace slowed.

He chuckled darkly and muttered against her skin, “Darlin’, you’re crazy if you think I’m not enjoying every second of watching you break apart in my arms.�

She had to concede that, of course. Even though still she wanted to see him falling into ecstasy because of her, she knew she would get just as much pleasure from watching it happen as she did from her own orgasms. And she knew they would be powerful with him, if earlier was any indication.

“Still, it’s definitely your turn,� she murmured now that she had some of her breath back. She pushed at his shoulders, and he let her slide back down to the ground, although his hands kept running up and down her body in ways that made it difficult for her to concentrate on her next move.

“Bed,� she ordered, eyes narrowed to let him know she wasn’t going to let him get away with that tactic. She meant business--well, sort of. The smile that curled the corner of her lips up was all about the pleasure she felt determined to give him.

Logan obeyed, backing up but drawing her with him by the hips until the back of his legs bumped into the bed frame. She allowed her smile to grow smug as she pushed again and he willingly sat.

“My turn.�

His eyes widened and nostrils flared as she allowed her hands to retrace their earlier paths while she stood between his spread thighs, her scarf draped off on the bed beside him. Inches of creamy but deadly skin were at eye level with him, guaranteeing that he’d stay in place--well, almost. She knew better than to trust that too much.

She’d never done this before, but she had enough memories from enough people to be sure that she could improvise well enough. She gave him a small smile and slowly droppe to her knees. Unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, she wasn’t at all surprised to find that he wasn’t wearing underwear. He wasn’t the type, thank goodness.

She pulled out his already-erect cock and licked her lips. Unable to take her eyes off it, she groped to the side for the scarf, and he helpfully handed it to her. She draped it over him and then bent for her first taste, a delicate swirl of her tongue just around the tip to get started. At his growl she opened her mouth and took as much in as possible. She worked her hand on him as well, stroking up and down while she lavished attention on the rest. The feeling that she was in control as she sucked, licked, and stroked could become addicting.

All too soon, he began to throb into her mouth and under her hands, his fingers buried in her hair while he moaned out her name. Her real name, to her surprise.

“Marie!�

She hadn’t even realized he remembered, she thought in a daze as she rocked back on her heals and admired her handiwork. The scarf was completely ruined, or at least could use a good washing. That was when she realized that there wasn’t a lot more that they could do without it.

Or so she thought. She barely felt his hands on her upper arms before he was tossing her onto the bed and leaning over her.

“Logan!� She cautioned, putting a hand on his chest. He grinned at her.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. But we’re only getting started.�

That’s when he reached into his nightstand and pulled out a thin handkerchief, the sort of thing she couldn’t have imagined him owning but was very grateful that he did. His hands bunched her skirt up around her thighs, his hands lingering over the tops of her stockings.

“These are so hot,� he told her, running his fingertips along the edges with a touch delicate enough that it sent her squirming underneath him.

“Logan!� This time, it was a demand.

He chuckled and continued pushing her skirt up until it bunched around her waist. Then he laid the handkerchief between her thighs and bent down. If she’d thought his fingers were talented, she thought his tongue must be god-touched. There was no way he should be able to make it feel so good against her clit through the cloth, but he did. Oh, man, he did.

As she shuddered through her second orgasm of the day, she was barely aware that he knelt back on the bed and reached into his back pocket once more. She did hear the rip of the foil, though, and the thought both excited and frightened her a little. There was something she hadn’t told him, although she doubted he’d mind.

And of course, he beat her too it, even as he used one claw to rip a hole in the handkerchief he lifted off of her. “Have much experience with this, darlin’?�

She wanted to groan because, of course, he’d know. He could probably smell it or something. “Unless you count my battery-operated boyfriend? Not really.� Better to be honest with him, especially at this stage.

He made a sound of satisfaction that caused her to want to smack him, just a little, but at the same time it was so sexy that she squirmed a little hearing it.

“We’ll take care of that,� he told her, then he pushed her until she rolled over onto her side and draped the handkerchief across her bare ass.

She briefly wondered if it wouldn’t be better to be able to see what was going on, but his hands on her hips and the feeling of him nudging against her most intimate flesh drove out what was left of her thoughts. He was definitely larger than the toy she sometimes used to find relief, and she could feel him stretching and filling her slowly, so slowly that it was going to drive her completely insane. She pushed back suddenly, so that he was firmly and completely inside of her. She heard the sound of his indrawn breath and felt his forehead drop to her shoulder for a moment before he began to move.

Finding the rhythm took a few moments, but soon they moved together, the sensations more than Rogue had ever hoped to experience. It was so much more satisfying with a partner, feeling real flesh inside, arms cradling her against his body. She came twice more from the friction, and again one more time when one of his hands wandered between her thighs while the other played with a breast, pinching and twisting at the nipple. Then she felt him shudder behind her and give three quick, short thrusts along with a growl that sparked yet another orgasm.

They were both breathing hard as she came down for the final time. He was still wedged between her thighs, both arms wrapped tight around her, face buried in her hair. She enjoyed the feeling that gave her, of being complete for the first time somehow.

Eventually he stirred, but it was only to lift his head to speak.

“You know you’re not leaving here anytime soon, right?� His raspy voice sent shivers down her spine in a good way.

“I’m not?�

“No. I haven’t gotten my fill of you, Marie.�

Again with that name. It made her think that maybe…

“And when you do?�

“I don’t think I ever will.�

The quiet words were all she needed to hear. She snuggled back against him and smiled.

“Well, looks like I’m not leaving, then.�