Two Days Earlier
Logan eased shut the front door of the mansion of Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters as quietly as possible. At just past two in the morning, he didn't want to risk waking any of the students or staff as he returned from his visit to the bar. Despite the vast quantities of whiskey he'd consumed this evening, he barely felt the effects of alcohol as he made his way up the stairs. After the briefing with Charles and the other team members earlier this afternoon, he'd very much wished he could just get blindingly drunk like any other poor bastard out there. Though he knew why he was going on this particular mission, it didn't mean he had to like it. He'd been experimented on before, had some notion of what they might expect if they ran into any danger. But still. Fucking labs.
There was a small amount of light coming from the hallway at the top of the landing, but he hardly needed it with his advanced sight. Suddenly, the sounds of distress met his ears and he froze, his foot just reaching the top step. He'd noticed no signs of a danger when he returned on his motorcycle. He sniffed, trying to detect the presence of any potential threats. Amid the various scents of students, teachers, wood polish, and food, Logan detected her. He let out a loud huff of relief as he realized there was no immediate threat to the school or its inhabitants. He could always pick her out of a crowd, no matter how many people were there.
Making his way along the corridor reserved for teachers and staff, he found her room and put his ear against the door, straining again for any further signs of distress. Muffled cries and the sound of tossing and turning, then, "No. No!"
Genuinely worried now, Logan reached for the door knob and was mildly surprised to find it locked. Without hesitation, he unleashed one claw, inserted it through the locking mechanism destroying it with a quick twist, and strode inside Marie's bedroom.
He inhaled deeply. Every inch of the place smelled like her. And he allowed himself to admit just how much he liked that.
He turned his attention to her bed, where he found her turning restlessly, tangled in her bed sheets, muttering and jerking her head from side to side. He went to touch her shoulder to wake her, but noted she was wearing a simple white camisole that left her shoulders and arms bare. Shuddering slightly as he noted the shape of her breasts pressed against the semi-transparent material, he forced himself to ignore the bolt of arousal that ran through him and look at her face. Though she had managed to achieve some control over her power over the last several years, he wasn't sure if that control extended to an unconscious, nightmare-having Rogue. Instead he opted to reach out to one entangled thigh and shook gently. "C'mon kid. Wake up. You're havin' a nightmare."
A strange sense of déjà vu overcame him as he realized she had likely done something very similar when she found him in the throws of a flashback seven years ago. Of course, that had ended with his adamantium claws buried to the hilt in her right chest. He glanced down at her again, and as expected, found no signs of scars from that encounter. She'd healed without a mark, thanks to her mutation's ability to absorb his healing factor.
No signs of waking, and she muttered another louder, "No!" Logan shook her again, slightly rougher this time. He didn't like this. He could smell her fear and it put him on edge. "Kid, wake up. I'm here. Nothin's gonna hurt you."
Without warning, she bolted upright and let out a harsh roar and punched him square in the jaw.
"Shit," he said, touching the tender spot. "Nice left hook, kid."
"Holy shit. Logan?" She shook her left hand, rubbing the knuckles where they'd made contact with his face. "What are - what are you doing in here?" Her eyes were wide and blinking rapidly as she raked over his form, and her breathing was ragged.
"Aside from getting punched in the face?" Even in the dark, he noticed a slight blush appear on her face. "I just got in. Heard you moanin' in here. Thought something was wrong." Poor choice of words, he thought looking at the blush grow deeper. Maybe he should have said 'crying' instead. Moaning had - other connotations. Suddenly, he was picturing just what other connotations were associated with the word, and he felt himself growing painfully erect within his jeans.
"Ah," she said, her breathing slowing somewhat. "Well. I'm okay. It was just a nightmare." She looked up at him, bringing her knees up to hug them into her chest. "One of yours, in fact."
He jerked his head up, startled out of the direction his thoughts had been taking and stared at her. "The lab?"
She nodded.
"Fuck, kid. I'm sorry." Though it had been seven years since he'd transferred his powers to her to prevent her from dying on Liberty Island, he knew she still had some of his memories and instincts that rose to the surface on occasion. Like tonight. He sat on the bed next to her and she scooted away so she wasn't touching him. "I thought you had some control?"
She nodded, "I do. But I'm not sure I'm really in charge right now. Feelin' a little shaky."
"I don't blame you. Those nightmares are shit." She nodded at his words and he could hear her heartbeat slowing a bit from the panicky rhythm when he first found her.
"Wanna talk about it, kid?" He told himself he was just making sure she was okay. It certainly didn't have anything to do with him wanting so stay here next to her, drinking in the delicious smell of her, or taking in the sight of much, much more skin than he was used to seeing on her. The Wolverine within him was growling his approval. Yes, comfort, mate. Logan shook off the thought with a growing amount of difficulty.
"Nah. You know the deal. Men in goggles, that horrible underwater tank. The men in uniform, celebrating with that goddamn champagne. Same shit as usual."
"Shit. Today's briefing probably didn't help any."
She nodded again. "Yeah, the thought of going to investigate this lab must have brought it on." She shuddered very slightly, but he felt it and throwing caution to the wind, put his arm around her, his hand resting on her bare upper arm. He was still wearing his leather jacket so there was no direct skin contact other than his hand.
"Careful, I don't want to hurt you."
He felt her tense at the contact. "Look kid, you can't hurt me, remember? And even if you do, I'll heal up in no time." He started moving the hand on her shoulder in small circles, willing her to relax.
She sighed and leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder taking in the smell of him. Leather jacket, cigars, some whiskey, and something else wild. Something male and powerful. She liked it and felt a rush of arousal flood her body. She felt like she hadn't smelled him up close in years. And with a slight shock, she realized that was probably true. He was often away from the mansion on more dangerous missions, and she'd been at college for four of the past seven years. Marie had really only started seeing him more frequently just six short months ago, after she'd officially been made a senior member of the team.
After graduating from college, she'd come back to the mansion to help teach and to complete some more schooling of her own. More martial arts and fighting classes, more intelligence training, even aviation classes to learn to fly the jet. Mr. Summers-Scott, she mentally corrected herself, had been training her on the more advanced features of flying the new Blackbird.
The Mutant Registration Act had been stalled in legislation for years, but now it seemed as though it was gaining momentum again. Tension was once more rising amongst mutants and humans, and as a result her training intensity had increased as well. She'd been out with the senior team several times now, and was feeling less and less like a former student, and more like an integral part of the X-Men.
She inhaled his scent again and settled more firmly against him. He felt warm and strong, and made her feel comfortable, despite the negligible amount of clothing she had on. He was right, she couldn't hurt him. She was in total control of her skin right now, and she could touch as much as she wanted to. The thought of touching Logan's skin deepened her arousal and she enjoyed the liquid heat that was spreading through her. She remembered how attractive she found him the very first time she laid eyes on him. His back was to her in the cage. One arm clutching the chain link fence, chest heaving. He'd made an impression on her that started as hero-worship and grown into friendship and mutual respect.
He couldn't help but notice the smell of her arousal. It was intoxicating, and it made him hungry for a taste of her. He inhaled deeply and let the heady scent of her fill his lunges. Just a kid, she's just a kid, Logan told himself. The Wolverine growled his denial. She was twenty-four. She hadn't been a kid in years. He just hadn't been around to see her grow up. The thought of an all grown-up Marie sent his imagination into a wild overdrive where they were doing all kinds of very grown-up things together. Fuck. Was it just because he hadn't had a woman in awhile? Was that it? No. I want her.
"Are you nervous?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled from where her face was pressed into his chest.
He jerked, wondering if she'd somehow been reading his thoughts. Then he realized she was probably talking about the upcoming mission to investigate a lab that was rumored to be experimenting on mutants. "No. It's just a simple scouting mission. Just gathering intel. We'll be fine."
"Logan," she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I'm scared. Something about the labs - it makes me cringe inside. Makes me feel sick."
He stared back into her face, and turned her shoulders so she was facing him head on. Her legs had become untangled from the sheets and he tried not to notice how very high her silk sleep shorts had ridden. "I would never let anything happen to you. I'll take care of you," he ground out the last five words, emotion filling his voice as he remembered the last time he'd said them to her. On the train right before Magneto had ripped it apart in search of Rogue. He wondered if she remembered too. He'd almost failed her that time.
"Promise?" She responded, smiling.
"Yeah. Yeah, I promise."
Her eyes darkened and she drew in a harsh breath as she noticed the ferocity of his gaze. Then, without warning, he brought his hand to the back of her head and kissed her, savagely. Tasting her sweetness and the last remnants of her fear, he found it was quickly replaced by the taste of her desire. After a moment's hesitation, she met him just as fiercely, matching his passion with each kiss. He licked the corner of her lips then bit her bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. She groaned and the sound of it sent fire pounding through his veins. The Wolverine within him was thrashing, growling, begging to be released. But he couldn't let it out. Not yet. It was too soon.
He moved his other hand down the smooth line of her neck to cup one full breast. He growled as the smell of her arousal thickened in the air around him, and he thumbed her nipple through the cotton of her camisole.
Marie could feel herself spinning. Oh god, this was happening. The roughness of Logan's stubble as he rubbed his jaw down her neck made her shiver. It was like he was marking her, rubbing his scent on her. She arched her back, offering herself to him. He made a wild sound as he grabbed her hips and dragged her onto his lap so she was straddling him. The hard feel of his arousal against her core sent another
wave of pleasure, even stronger this time, coursing through her body. He bent his head down to suckle her nipple through the camisole, his breath hot against her. Marie moaned, and he smiled to himself at the sound. This. This was exactly what he thought of before when he said he heard her moaning.
She rocked her hips. Once. Twice. And he bit her lightly on the breast in response. She sucked in her breath and he lifted his head to taste her again. Their tongues met and the flavor of Marie filled his senses. Her hands were on his chest, pushing down the sleeves of his leather jacket and he obliged her by ripping off the jacket and tossing it to the floor. Their lips met again and she ground against the hard ridge in his jeans, her breath catching. Ah, fuck, Logan thought as he smelled her wetness. He should really stop this soon. It was too fast. But maybe, he groaned as she bent her head forward to lick the side of his neck, maybe just another minute.
Marie worked her lips down the column of his neck, tasting the salt of his skin. When she got to the collar of his shirt, she brought her hands up to start unbuttoning it. Logan let out low growl and brought his hands up to cup her ass and grind her into him. She could feel her wetness seeping through her sleep shorts, could smell herself and it only made her hunger for more. She was losing her control and began to feel frantic as Logan ground himself against her.
"Fuck, Marie."
He said her name. The world was suddenly spinning and she was overwhelmed by the surge of lust and possessiveness she felt. With a shock, she noticed the pull of Logan's skin against hers, everywhere they touched. And she jumped off him, horrified at her lack of restraint. She'd almost lost her entire focus. She felt her defenses slam back up as she tried to calm down and regain control.
He was breathing hard and staring intensely at her. She rubbed her hand over her lips, still feeling the burn of his lips against hers. Several silent moments passed. "I'm sorry," she said.
"For what," he snarled back.
"I lost control."
"I shouldn't have kissed you," he rasped out.
She sobered, instantly. She had been referring to her losing control over her power. She felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her. He regretted touching her. She was just some kid. An idiot who'd had her first taste of real desire and arousal and had rubbed up against him like some cat in heat. She felt instantly humiliated and moved away from him.
"You're right. You should leave now. It's late."
He looked at her, still breathing hard, his face unreadable. He bent to pick up his leather jacket on the way out and managed not to slam the door on his way out.
Fuck. That was not how he'd wanted that to end. Logan was furious with himself. For pushing her too fast, and at the stupid-ass comment he'd made about not wanting to kiss her.
He stalked back down the hall and passed a surprised Iceman who was just coming up the stairs, bowl of ice cream in hand. He smirked at Bobby as he realized which room Logan had just come from. It gave him more than a smidgeon of satisfaction to note the jealous look on the kid's face. Though he and Rogue hadn't been in a relationship in years, it irritated Logan more than slightly to know that Bobby had experienced Marie's kisses before he had. Had touched her before he had. He ground his teeth together, snarling and stalked past Bobby, down the stairs and out the front door. He had to get the scent and taste of Marie out of his system before their mission. He had a promise to keep, and he needed a clear head to do it.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hmm...something happened two days ago. What could it be?
Chapter End Notes:
Hope you liked that bit ;) Hoping to have Chapter 3 up by the end of the week!