Logan stepped back into the room and swung the door shut behind him, lips still parted in a scowl as he rubbed his knuckles.
Marie continued to hold the covers protectively over herself, trying to calm her racing heart. She did the only thing she knew to do when faced with an angry man: she curled her knees up to her chest and backed up into the headboard, trying to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible.
I’m not here. Don’t look at me. I’m nothing. I’m nobody. Don’t look at me, she begged.
But it was useless. His eyes swung around to meet hers, and she flinched away, closing her eyes tightly and waiting for the blow to come—
“Honey? You’re shiverin’.” His voice was as calm and gentle as she’d ever heard it.
Marie opened her eyes to look at him as he crossed the room in a few quick strides. She tried to be compliant when he pulled her into his arms, but her body remained rigid with fear.
Bitch! Try that again and see what happens—I’ll fuckin’ kill you!
Why? What did I do? Marie wondered frantically, before she realized that the voice was only in her mind. Just a memory.
Some other voice said boredly, Memories can’t hurt you, stupid.
Oh, but they could. She let out a shaky breath. She needed to calm down. Logan was going to think she was nuts or something.
But Logan was—smelling her? He nosed through her hair, inhaling deeply. “It’s alright, Marie.” He folded her up tightly in his embrace. “I wouldn’t let him get you. You saw. You saw. Won’t let him scare you again, baby.”
Confused by Logan’s words, she tried to find her voice. “I . . . I don’t think he was trying to . . .“
Logan tightened his arms around her even more. His voice came out strained. “I know. Shit. I know. I—I didn’t mean to scare you, baby. I didn’t mean to. Just—gimme a chance to explain. You have to know I won’t hurt you, even . . . when I’m like that. I’m sorry. Please quit shiverin’. That just breaks my heart right there, darlin’.”
Marie felt her own eyes nearly tear up at the raw pain in his voice. Without any conscious thought, she found herself bringing his hand to her lips and kissing his knuckles tenderly. They didn’t appear to be hurt, but she knew as well as anyone that wounds could linger in the mind long after they disappeared from the body. Something had made him angry enough to throttle that other man just for looking at her, and somehow it had to do with the pain in his fists, and he just had to be some sort of mutant, didn’t he? That much she could tell.
“Rrrrrrgh,” Logan sighed, nuzzling deeper into her hair.
His sigh gradually turned into an even more animalistic rumble, but she just kept going, kissing each of his knuckles and massaging his hands. Whatever he was going to explain, it could wait. Right now he needed this. She could give him this.
“You have nice hands.” They were big, she noticed, but not clumsy or rough. Though she knew her fear was as irrational as his anger, her own silk-gloved fingers still trembled against his.
It didn’t help that she would have to go see the true object of her fears later today. She curled herself even further into Logan’s body, if it was at all possible, and tried her best not to think about that.
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