“Here! Right here!”
Logan slowed the vehicle and turned off the main road onto the little-used dusty, rock strewn road. Glancing over to the passenger seat, he sighed. Marie was almost bouncing in glee with the dogeared trip book in one hand and the other pointing in the only direction to drive.
Several miles up the road they found the parking lot, if it could be called that anymore, and pulled into the shade of some half-grown Aspens. It could be worse. At least they weren’t stopping at the world’s largest pyrogy. He only was able to talk her out of that because it was some two hundred kilometers out of their way.
She placed the book in the middle console for safekeeping before retrieving her water. “Ready?” she asked, beaming him a brilliant smile.
Opening the door, he stepped out and declared, “It’s gonna rain.”
“Oh, come on, it’ll be…” she saw the raised eyebrow and smiled, “Fine.”
Even the slightest hint that she might say fun brought on a scowl. So far that had been the only thing she did that irritated him, and that meant they were getting along swell. She’d done everything in her power to prolong this trip, including this brief side adventure. It didn’t matter that the clerk at the gas station said nobody stopped here anymore since the fire twenty years back that gutted the forest. All the better to have Logan to herself.
They started up the barest suggestion of a dirt trail with her in the lead. He always let her head these little expeditions and Rogue hoped that despite the grumbling he enjoyed their time together. For over a year now she’d felt him slipping away and had used every excuse she could to keep him at the mansion until she realized she could simply leave with him. He’d been skeptical at first, but she left him no choice.
Since the first day, she had tried hard to stay upbeat and have a good attitude. Nothing would get her a ticket back to the mansion faster than being a drag on his road trip. One grump was enough, and she’d let him do all he wanted. She was secretly glad they got along so well, even if it had taken some adjustment to his way of doing things. A pleasant smile covered a lot of frustration and embarrassment.
A waterfall. All this for an F’n waterfall. The things Logan did for her. Good thing Summers wasn’t here or Logan would never hear the end of how he was going soft.
It was no surprise to him he had a soft spot for Marie. Hell, he’d let her talk him into staying at the mansion for a solid year. Before that, he’d used every lame excuse that came up to delay his inevitable departure. Not that he would tell her, but he’d been relieved when she’d decided to come with him.
He’d had a few misgivings about her coming along. Most of them dealt with his ability to keep her happy with his meandering ways, but those worries were easily solved by letting her do some side trips. Though he always made sure to complain so she wouldn’t suspect that he didn’t mind any of these hikes in the least. In fact, she’d taken to traveling like she was born to it, took to life on the road like a queen, and he hadn’t made it easy on her.
Looking about, he appreciated the power of nature as it worked to reclaim the scorched areas. Something else worth notice was the sight directly in front of him. Marie had stripped off the oversized hoodie and was down to her sports bra. This was the one with the zipper he’d been wanting to investigate exactly how much pressure it could handle.
Shaking his head at the recurring thought, his eyes traveled further down her back, following a slight trickle of sweat. It stopped at the waistband of her joggers. She wore those damn things everywhere, called them comfy. All he could see was the way they hugged her curves and left him wanting. Cursing himself he averted his eyes, he was simply lusting after her now. And that was no way to approach the relationship he wanted with her.
If he wanted to be a bastard, he could blame it all on her. Shortly after they started this trip, she’d taken up his habit of walking around the motel room in next to nothing. Skimpy panties and matching bras graced her curves every morning as they got ready for the day. At night she wore a threadbare nightshirt that her breasts strained against as they swayed with her every move. The shirt was just long enough to give the illusion that she wore nothing underneath it and left him hard with need all night.
But in reality, the blame was all his. He’d known a long time what his feelings for her were and that she was the bright spot in his life. Summers had joked once that she was a real-life Pollyanna, and that was something coming from a man that literally and figuratively looked at the world through rose-colored glasses.
Logan only knew that she gave him hope in this world. A fresh pair of eyes to see the good in it beyond an aged whiskey and a cigar. She added warmth to his life that had been missing for far too long and he selfishly wanted to keep her close. At the same time, he was leery of telling her how he felt, that saying something might change their relationship and not for the better.
Rogue came to a halt at the edge of a small series of pools in the stream they’d been following for some distance. It was a beautiful setting with the little pools cascading into one another and wildflowers scattered about. Just beyond, in the boulders, was the waterfall, tumbling down from several dozen feet above and falling like rain on the boulders at the bottom. The distant rumble of thunder only added to the scene.
Turning to smile at Logan, she was glad she was already flushed from the exertion of the hike or the way he was staring at her would make her blush stand out. “See, this was worth the walk,” she said.
He shrugged with a sound that passed for agreement, though his eyes never strayed from her to the scenery. His posture was more uptight than she’d seen but a few times since they’d left the mansion. Glancing around, she wondered if there was a hidden danger lurking about that she hadn’t picked up on. When he finally returned the smile she relaxed and had the distinct impression he was about to say something. The moment passed and even though she wanted to dangle her feet in the water; she thought it best to leave before her meandering tested his limits.
She had gotten rather good at reading his moods. The current one was akin to frustration, and she was unsure of the cause. The hike hadn’t been far, with only the humidity making it less than pleasant than it could have been. Maybe it was the impending rain that even she could smell now.
Taking a last look around she tried to think of something to say that would make him smile but in the end mumbled “lovely” which he nodded at. “Ready to go?” she finally asked.
“Lead the way,” he answered, stepping to the side.
They hadn’t gone halfway down the trail when the first raindrops hit, blown in from some clouds in the distance. A few more fell, and she heard his grunt of displeasure as they came out of the narrow gulch into the open. She couldn’t resist teasing him, “Think you’ll melt, Sugar?”
“Nope, but you might,” he responded.
With a laugh, she glanced back at him. He tilted his head to the west and the wall of rain coming their direction. There was no escaping it as the wind drove the rain in under the small tree they took refuge under. It didn’t last even five minutes but soaked them clear through.
As soon as the rain stopped, they trudged toward the vehicle next to the trail. Even at the side, they were quickly covered in mud. The trail itself had turned into a small stream and unless they wanted to hop from boulder to boulder further out, their choice was the sodden grass and mud.
The sun peeked out for a few minutes, accompanied by sprinkles. “Oh, look a rainbow,” Marie said, pointing to the sky.
Logan snorted at her. Knee deep in mud, soaked to the bone, and she was enchanted by a rainbow. There was no end to her finding a bright side to almost everything they did. He could hardly wait to hear it when they had to slog through the parking lot that was sure to be a mud pit by now.
It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, and they crossed it in relatively good condition. The mud still covered their shoes and lower legs, but not too thick. He unlocked the pickup when they got close enough, and she lifted the rear glass and let the tailgate down.
He stood back watching as she leaned over the tailgate, reaching for her bag with her ass in the air. “Move and I’ll get it,” he told her.
“No, I’ve almost got it,” she puffed out, fingers grasping near the strap.
She would never reach it that way, but he hated to say anything as he liked watching her wiggle her ass around. He’d been tempted more than once to slap it when she passed by in her underwear every morning. There was something about the thought of having her soft flesh under his hand that made him hard.
The strap was at Rogue’s fingertips, and she’d swear he put it out of reach when he packed the back of the truck every morning. She smiled at herself. She was happy to let him take care of the luggage. He was good at organizing it. In the past, she’d taken enough weekend trips with Kitty and Jubilee to know throwing it all in was no way to travel.
A sharp slap of a firm hand to her butt cheek interrupted her thoughts. Not hard enough to hurt, but good enough to leave a pleasant tingle. She slowly let a breath out and stopped straining for the bag. “Finally,” she said and then went for broke. “I wasn’t sure how much longer you would make me continue.”
That hadn’t been her purpose with today’s activities, but all the prancing around half-naked in front of him had to get results sometime. She thanked the heavens above that he’d done something because she was beginning to think this road trip was going to be a blow to her self esteem.
Turning around, she half sat on the tailgate. He had an eyebrow cocked at her and ground out, “Marie.”
Her big innocent eyes were topped off with a playful shrug. Logan closed what little space there was between them and growled. Her brow furrowed, and she began to ramble, “I mean, I’d hoped after all these years we’d finally find the perfect time-”
“Shut up,” he mumbled. Her lip trembled ever so slightly and he leaned down for a kiss. There were a few seconds before she responded, then she did so wholeheartedly.
He would have gotten to this point eventually...maybe. For some reason part of him wanted this to be perfect, and he fought down the other part that nightly told him to get on with it. In his entire life nothing had been perfect, and those few instances that had had not ended well. He’d wasted time and thankfully she wasn’t holding it against him.
By the time he broke the kiss, she’d given up trying to strip him of his wet shirt and was working on his belt buckle. Her scent was thick and his mind was already deciding the most comfortable position for her in the truck's bed. Most would require quite a bit of undressing, and he didn’t think either of them wanted to wait for that.
Her shoe dropped with a soft plop into the mud below and he felt her foot trying to push off the other one. Lifting her, he placed her in a more secure position on the tailgate, pulling her pants off in one smooth motion at the same time. He finished freeing himself as she worked her muddy pants the rest of the way down her legs.
Damn, this was really going to happen. She bit her lip and leaned back to get a good look at him. Logan was sexy as all get out, even when he looked like a drowned rat. Now the desire in his eyes and the way his body was reacting to her kicked it up a notch.
All her hopes for this trip were coming to fruition. Yet his hands hesitated at her hips and she knew it was because this was her. He always wanted the best for her, and he was probably stalling out on his need for her versus something more suitable than the bed of a pickup truck. Though Rogue wasn’t thinking of wanting things perfect anymore, she only wanted him.
Pulling him in close, she whispered, “I’m not waiting for a motel room.” His answering growl was lost in a kiss.
Any thoughts of delaying this were put to rest, and Logan let her guide him to her entrance. No sooner had he sank into her than she tried to wrap her feet behind his thighs. Taking a deep breath, he studied her a moment. Marie was more beautiful than ever with her wet hair clinging to her face and neck. Her eyes were closed, and she’d clenched her teeth together.
Proceeding cautiously, he set a slow pace that gave her time to make any position adjustments she needed to. He paused when she tried to lay back from where she’d been leaning on her elbows and frowned. “Lose something?” he asked, noticing the way her movement changed how they made contact. When she nodded, he shifted his stance and lifted her hips with his hands to give her the friction she’d lost.
Giving an experimental thrust, Rogue saw a sly smile appear when she moaned. He was hitting all the right spots as he set a steady rhythm again. Her breathing was coming in short pants as the tension built. She pulled him down further for a kiss but couldn’t manage more than a brief one and ended up riding out the pleasure of an orgasm.
In a haze, she watched him; his hands tightly gripped her hips, the tension in his jaw, the hooded eyes staring back at her. She raked her fingers over his bearded cheek and groaned his name. He went still as he filled her.
Balancing himself with a hand on the bed of the truck beside her, he worked his fingers to get the kinks out of his knuckles. She took his hand a second and he looked at her full in the eye and couldn't help but feel a little lighter, he definitely needed a Pollyanna in his life. Gently he lowered her and grabbed the straps for both of their bags, bringing them within her reach. Turning, he pulled up his pants and sat down beside her, laboring to get his boots off.
She was already digging through her bag, pulling out cleaner clothes to put on. The smile on her face made her shine and appear even more beautiful than before. It was infectious and he couldn’t help the small grin that materialized on his lips. Glancing over again, he saw that she was having a terrible time stifling the laugh that was overtaking her. He raised an eyebrow in question.
Wrangling around to get on her clean pants without too much fuss, she bumped his shoulder with hers. “Told you it’d be fun,” she said with a smile.
He snorted, she’d said fine, but he wasn’t going to point that out to her because either way she was right. Quickly he changed and pulled his boots back on and lifted her. “We’ll see about fun at the motel,” he told her as he carried her to the passenger side door.
Leaving the wet, muddy clothes in a heap right inside the tailgate, he closed up the back. He’d found more than a partner for the road, he’d also found a queen of his heart. Now he was resolving to keep it that way.
~*~
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Story Notes:
*puts hand on hip and scrutinizes readers* This was written for a late entry to the OPI summer challenge. Now either I’m going crazy or someone withdrew the prompt. Since I might have already been crazy and the story was finished by the time I realized that, ~you~ are getting it anyway.
Big thank you to my two wonderful betas, RogueLotus and Nebelwerfer42, that have lives of their own but are still generous with their time. Couldn’t do this without you guys.
Big thank you to my two wonderful betas, RogueLotus and Nebelwerfer42, that have lives of their own but are still generous with their time. Couldn’t do this without you guys.