Marie stretched, or at least, tried to. A wall of muscle confronted her right hand, and her legs were still entwined with someone else’s. She smiled, opening her eyes to look at the man sharing her bed.
Logan’s eyes were closed but he growled softly when she ran her hand over his chest, the sound coming dangerously close to a purr. She smiled even more, placing a tender kiss on his shoulder before nipping lightly at the bare flesh.
He turned a little, his arm slipping around her waist to hold her as he nuzzled into her hair. “God, you smell good.” He moved so his mouth was against the curve of her neck, his tongue darting out to lick her skin. He groaned in approval, shifting so that he could trail hot, opened mouth kisses down over her collarbone towards her breasts. The kisses turned into licks and bites, his chest rumbling with a low growl as he heard her moan. “Taste pretty good, too.”
Marie sighed, her hands moving to tangle in Logan’s disheveled hair. What that man could do with his tongue was just pure deliciousness, and to wake up to it first thing in the morning—heaven. She let out another moan, her back arching as he bit her nipple before soothing it with his tongue. He moved to concentrate on her other breast, and she felt the desire coil tight in the pit of her stomach. The inside of her thighs were already slick with her excitement, and Logan’s continual growls let her know he was all too aware of the fact.
He moved back up her body, capturing her mouth. His tongue moved over hers in slow, velvety strokes and she arched up against him. Her swollen and tender nipples rubbed against his hard chest and it sent a shiver through her body.
Her full lips were swollen, and she was panting by the time the kiss ended. “Well, you feel pretty good.” To emphasize her point, a hand slipped between their bodies and she gave his fast-hardening cock a stroke.
Logan caught her hand, stilling her motions. “You wanna be sure you’re ready to follow through, darlin’ before doing something like that.”
She shifted her head, meeting his heated gaze with one of her own. “I’m always ready to follow through, sugar.”
She stared at him, waiting for his hand to move. She stroked him again, smiling when his hips jerked. Her gaze lowered, and she watched as her hand slid up and down his hard length. His ragged breath was warm against her skin. He let out a groan when she increased the pressure, whispered encouragements tumbling from his lips. She wasn’t doing a single thing wrong, and he wanted her to know that. Her skilled hand already had him teetering on the edge, and he hissed out a breath and closed his eyes to ward off the climax. He wasn’t ready, not yet.
A hard won moment later, he opened them to find her chocolate eyes staring up at him, full of curiosity. “Why fight it, sugar? I want you to come for me.”
He groaned again, clenching his jaw. It was a long moment before he spoke. His voice was low, and husky. “So do I, darlin’. But I want to be inside you when I do.”
Her hand stilled its motion, her other hand stroking the side of his face. She raised her head so her mouth could meet his, her tongue pushing past his lips. She released his cock, both hands gripping fistfuls of his hair as the kiss turned hungry. She hooked a leg around his, her sex brushing against his length. He groaned into her mouth, his hand moving to grip her thigh as playful nudges rapidly became preliminary thrusts. She broke the kiss and gasped, her body already starting to tremble and pulse with need. “Wait.”
Logan pulled back. “Is something wrong?”
Marie shook her head, smiling. “No, no. Everything’s perfect, Logan. I just have to do something first, okay? I’m sorry, it’s a shitty moment to stop, but I promise I’ll come right back to bed.” She kissed him when she saw his doubtful look, one of her hands moving down over his back to squeeze his ass. “Trust me.” He nodded and reluctantly let her out of his embrace. She turned back to look at him as she moved to stand, an eyebrow arched in amusement. “I don’t have to tell you not to go anywhere, right?”
Logan grunted as she disentangled herself from him. “Not until you’re ready to relocate to my room.”
His hazel eyes followed her every move, and he saw the blush start to blossom in her cheeks. He chuckled quietly, his gaze sliding down her body to admire her naked form. She opened a drawer in her desk, taking out a blister pack. He watched her pop out a pill before grabbing the bottle of water sitting on her desk.
“Headache?”
She shook her head, swallowing the pill with some water. “No. Protection.”
He raised an eyebrow looking at her. Her body language was suggesting he should know what he meant, and the coin suddenly dropped. He felt guilt wash over him. “Jesus, Marie, I’m sorry. I never meant to—“
She hushed him, quickly making her way back over to him. She took his face between her hands as she knelt on the bed. She kissed his brow, smiling at him in reassurance. “Logan, it was never a problem. I’ve been on it since John. It was always an extra backup in case anything went wrong. With my skin, we never had a choice in whether or not a condom got used. But even that is never foolproof, so I decided to take an extra precaution.”
She swallowed, watching him carefully. “John and I… I mean, my skin was never a problem. It never stopped us from having sex. And even though more often than not, I was the one naked—it’s not the same as being able to touch like this.” She placed her palm flat against his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath the warm muscle.
“John was always covered. His hands were always in gloves, his clothing always on. And our mouths were always separated by scarves.” She blinked rapidly, suddenly realising she’d been lost in memory. She knew she needed to think about John, but right now, she couldn’t. Not while her body still sang with Logan’s touch. Not when his dark eyes were watching her, the familiar lust and new love haunted by an old apprehension. The expectation of being hurt.
She had to explain. How special he was. How miraculous they were together. How different it was to everything that had gone before.
“I always wanted you, Logan. Any way I could have had you. But you would never allow it, and now, I’m thankful you made me wait. Because we can have this,” she said slowly, wanting to understand it was more than skin, more than touch. “Being with you… having you inside me with no barriers at all… I can be the mate that you need, Logan, be that animal. I can feel you come and feel it trickle down my legs and smell you all over me and its so fucking elemental and natural and right ... I never want to have sex with a condom again.” She shrugged, giving him a guilty smile. “I should have told you before. I want to feel everything I can. I don’t know if you’ll ever fully understand what you’ve given me. What you’ve let me experience. Let me become.” The hand that had trailed down his chest started to move over the hard ridges of his abdomen. “I never want a barrier between us. Not physical, not mental. Not even moral,” she said, looking straight into his eyes. “I want us to do everything, feel everything. Try everything that you want to. That I want to.”
He could hear the growl in his throat as the animal rose to her words. Her fingers moved south and his cock leapt to meet them, the guilt that had haunted him a moment ago banished by her honesty, and her desire. Any other woman, he would have doubted, disbelieved. This woman – his woman – had proven herself over and over. She wanted this, wanted him. Good, bad and even the ugly soul underneath. Logan fought the need to fuck her into the floor, and struggled for composure. There were things she needed to hear, too.
“I want that too, Marie. Everything,” his mouth went dry at the prospect, and he forced himself to stop there. Suggestions could wait. “Marie, I…” he trailed off, not really sure how to articulate the swirl of desire and need and love. He combed his fingers through her platinum streak before cupping her chin and tilting her face so she was looking at him. “Before you, I never would have thought to have sex without a condom… All those women I’ve fucked,” he cleared his throat, “it was nothing more than fulfilling a base need. Pretty much just something I did after fighting to blow off steam, and I thought as much about them as I did the guys in the ring,” he shrugged. “As long as they didn’t smell too bad, I didn’t care one iota whether they had any diseases or were gonna get pregnant or whatever … I’d be gone the next day, anyway.” He drew in a long breath, amazed to find he was trembling. Scared, even.
“With you, it was like … I was on overload. My brain wasn’t involved, it was just want, and need. And l .. love.” A stutter. One little word was so fucking scary he’d developed a stutter. Logan growled and ploughed on. “So, sorry if I was an asshole. Sorry I forgot about a condom. No one has ever made me forget anything before, even for a moment. But you … I just wanted to eat you alive, or drink you all up or something. Like a starving man in the desert.” A breath. In. Out. You can do this. “You called yourself the untouchable girl, but you let people touch you, let people in. I never did. Before you, no one had ever touched me. Not in any way that didn’t involve sucking my cock or getting me off. Not in any way that counted.” He stopped, looked embarrassed, and then shrugged. “So, I want that, too. I want us to be able to do it all together, and feel everything. No barriers. Emotional or physical.” He released her chin, and lowered his hands to stroke along delicate collarbones before his hands fell lower. “And we’re gonna spend some quality time demolishing those moral ones, too,” he promised, pushing her breasts high and together before dropping his head to torture the already abraded nipples with quick flicks of his tongue.
Marie groaned, unsure whether it was pain or pleasure building. “I think the time for talking is over, don’t you?” She pulled back when she felt him still, and then release her. “What?”
He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “Just while we’re clearing the air, I think I should probably tell you that I’ll be training Match—Allerdyce.”
Her eyebrows rose a little in surprise. “Why?”
“I offered to do whatever I could to make amends for what happened. His first choice wasn’t something in my power to give.”
Marie knew without asking what John’s first choice would have been. And Logan was right—it wasn’t for him to say yes, or no. He was watching her, waiting for some sort of reaction. The truth was, she wasn’t really sure what she was feeling. The man she had always wanted, the man she loved was in her bed. Inside her body, even. She didn’t want more than that. But the man she had loved, the man that had made her feel wanted, was back in her life, and now she would have to deal with that.
Her body started to react as thoughts strayed towards the cell, and what it had been like to have both Logan and John there. Both wanting her. Both reacting to her. She saw Logan’s nostrils flare, saw his pupils dilate. Her scent was laced with arousal. Well, increased arousal. There was no hiding it from him.
“You’re not the only animal, Logan. I love you, but I loved him once. And fuck it, he still turns me on. And together ...” she didn’t finish the sentence, but her scent had changed again. From aroused to aching for satisfaction. Nipples hard, hand drifting south, eyes glazed. “Sometimes you have to just let go, Logan. Let go of ‘I should’ and go with ‘I want’. ‘I need.’”
He watched her, as she slid further into that persona, that woman who was unafraid to be an animal. To fuck like an animal. “So, Marie. Question is, what do you need?”
Her eyes had started to drift shut as her fingers circled her clit. At his question, they snapped open, chocolate eyes meeting hazel, her pupils huge with arousal and honesty. Her bottom lip caught in her teeth, and a naughty smile formed as her body continued to move to the rhythm of her own pleasure.
“Everything. Both of you… I’d never do it without you, sugar. I’m not interested in a night alone with John.” Shudders had begun to wrack her body, but she wasn’t interested in coming alone, either. She withdrew wet fingers and offered them to him, climbing on to him and sinking down with a grateful moan as his tongue cleaned each finger in turn. She could feel him, inside her, his cock kissing every inch of her inner walls, and the sensation made her want to bite, to howl. Her tongue darted out in quick movements, licking at his jugular, laving it, and if there were teethmarks, so be it. “I want it to be like in the cell. The three of us again.”
He turned his head, meeting her mouth for a kiss, but one that used teeth and tongue and was careless of pain and tenderness, wanting only to possess, to own. To battle with an equal, knowing both would claim the victory. Their bodies had already begun the wild ride, his hips bucking upwards as hers slammed down, the impact juddering through human and adamantium bones alike. He felt engulfed by the hotness and wetness of her, the clench of her inner muscles driving him beyond mere pleasure into a spiral of feeling he had never known existed. But it was her wild, sweet soul that was driving him towards bliss; the realisation that this woman, this animal, was his equal. His mate. And she wanted to play.
He wondered if Allerdyce was up for the game.
*
John Allerdyce stood looking down into the Danger Room as Logan started his class. Hidden from view in the control room, he could still hear everything being said.
“You lot need to start getting your act together as a team. Drake, Pryde—no more cutting off escape routes of your teammates. And Drake, I seriously hope you’ve been working on your aim. I don’t want Colossus being frozen again.”
John couldn’t contain the smirk as he heard Logan berate his former best friend. He wasn’t above indulging his petty hatred. Not after what had happened at Alcatraz. And not when he still resented Marie’s need to maintain the charade of going out with the ice prick when they had been together.
It was true that John had made no move to force her to change things. He had still wanted her—still fucked her—when she had been with Drake.
He looked down at the group, eyes narrowing and a sneer forming as he watched Logan and Marie. He could tell they were lovers. Oh, they were maintaining their professionalism, but there were still signs. Still giveaways.
His gaze flicked over the rest of the group. Did they know? Did Bobby know? Did he know Logan was fucking Marie just like John had?
John looked back at Marie. Did she know he was watching? Had Logan told her about the deal? About his first choice? Her hands moved, and she clasped them behind her head as she stretched. To anyone else it would have looked like she was just unlocking her spine. Loosening up.
But he saw it for it was. She had made sure he had an optimum view of her breasts. Even if she didn’t know exactly where he was, that stretch was acknowledgement of his presence.
The movement made him think about that last night in the cell. Her luscious tits in his face, her hooded gaze locked with his…
Did that mean she was open to his proposal? He looked at Logan, noting the way the older man was purposely ignoring Marie’s movements. His face betrayed nothing, and John had to wonder what the Wolverine was thinking.
*
Logan had seen the stretch out of the corner of his eyes. Marie was teasing the fire starter. Giving him a taster. A reminder. A signal.
He cleared his throat, returning his mind to the training session. “Today we’re going to split up into two teams and play against each other. I’m in charge of the first team. Tin man and Shadowcat, you’re both with me. Lee, you gotta learn to trust your instincts, so I’m letting you head up the second team.”
Logan’s gaze swept over them. “The goal is to recover top secret files from a computer within this compound,” he explained, stabbing at a location on the virtual map that had appeared at his command. “Use whatever strategies you want, just work as a team. There’ll be a little resistance in the form of soldiers, as well as the opposing team, so stay alert.” He started moving to one side of the DR, motioning for his team to follow. “Let’s do this.”
Marie let herself admire Logan’s retreating backside for a moment. He really did look damn good in that leather uniform. She smiled to herself, thinking about how much fun it was going to be to get him out of it.
She heard Jubilee give a little squeak beside her, and turned to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Jubes, it’ll be fine. How many covert trips to the mall have you planned? This’ll be a cinch.”
Jubilee’s smile was still a little shaky, but her voice came out confident as she gave her team orders. “Okay, so Wolvie’s team has all the strength—big surprise there. It just means we gotta make sure we out smart them…”
Twenty minutes later, Marie was dripping with perspiration. Moving past the soldiers, as well as Colossus had been quite a task, but she’d made it. Now all she had to do was get into the compound. She silently cursed Logan and his obsession with military battlefields. She could hear Pete’s heavy footsteps behind her and turned in time to see Bobby creating a thin layer of ice over the ground in the hopes that Pete would lose his footing. She didn’t bother looking, not when Angel came up behind her.
“Just relax.”
She gave him a nod, hooking her hands around his neck as he scooped her up. Jubilee gave them the signal as she blinded a few soldiers. Marie struggled to contain the excitement she felt as Warren took to the air. It was definitely a rush.
Logan looked up as Angel and Marie flew overhead. He frowned, turning in time to see Colossus get back on his feet. “Rasputin, get your metal ass over here,” he barked.
Pete knew what Logan wanted without being told. He easily lifted Logan off the ground before spinning around a couple of times to gain momentum, and releasing him. Logan sailed through the air, claws popping as he landed on the roof of the compound. He grinned as soldiers started to surround him.
Five soldiers against Logan and his adamantium claws wasn’t much of a contest, and he easily dispatched them. It worried him that Marie and Angel hadn’t made any kind of move against him yet. He stood still, head cocked to the side as he listened intently for any sign of movement.
Marie watched Logan, holding a finger to her lips when she heard Warren suck in a breath in preparation of speech. It was only when Logan was distracted by a second wave of soldiers that she spoke. “I’ll handle Logan, you get into the warehouse and grab the target.”
“But—”
She smiled briefly at his look of concern. “I got it, Angel.”
He nodded, immediately taking to the sky. The movement had caught Logan’s attention, his claws still dripping with the blood of his latest victims. Marie took a deep breath, settling her nerves and jumping to her feet.
“You really think you can stop me?” Logan asked her as he quickly closed the gap between them.
Marie shrugged, settling herself into a defensive position. She knew his moves almost as well as she knew her own, but even she was realistic enough to know that if he really wanted to—he’d take her out quicker than she could take her glove off. “It’s worth trying, sugar.”
He grinned, raising an eyebrow in a silent signal. They traded equal blows, no one ever really taking control of the fight. She wondered what was holding him back, and tried not to smile when realization dawned.
“I seem to recall some big fire and brimstone speech you gave about personal issues getting in the way of training. But, isn’t that what you’re doing now?”
Logan growled, not liking the fact that she could see through him that easily. “You really want me to stop holding back?”
Marie raised her eyebrow, a wicked smile curving her lips. “Didn’t we go over that this morning?”
Logan’s behavior changed so quickly she couldn’t block his fist as it connected with her stomach. She was thrown off balance, landing with a solid thump. She reached out blindly, keeping her eyes on Logan as her hand closed around one of the soldier’s firearms. Without even thinking she had the safety off and was aiming at Logan’s head. The shot was enough to put him down, and buy her some time. She knew from previous experience that his healing factor would eventually push the bullet from his skull, but in the meantime she had to make sure that Warren could recover those top secret files.
*
John listened as Logan congratulated everyone. He arched an eyebrow, begrudgingly admitting that they had all been fairly impressive. He stayed watching as the group began to disband, his attention focused on the two people yet to make a move.
Logan and Marie.
She was covered in sweat, smiling broadly as she pushed her hair out of her face. Strands were coming loose from her ponytail, and John thought of the other times she had looked that way. They had been under very different circumstances.
Logan pulled her towards him and John watched as they kissed. A combination of jealously and sadness welled inside him. He had never seen them kiss before, and somewhere in the back of his mind he equated the act with the knowledge that what the couple had, really did run deeper than just rough sex in a cell.
He turned his back on the scene, no longer wishing to witness the passionate embrace. While watching them fuck had become bearable, almost arousing, it was different when they kissed. A kiss didn’t leave him so hot that his own orgasm was the only thing that counted. A kiss made him hurt in places he didn’t want to admit existed.
*
Marie ran her palm over the rough bark and smiled at the feel of the tree trunk. And the memories it conjured up. After she’d left Logan in the DR, her intention had been to seek out John and talk to him. Only she found that she wasn’t quite ready. She still needed time.
“Remember the first time you joined us? I thought Jubilee was never going to be able to convince you to sit down.”
Not that that had ever meant anything to John. Marie didn’t turn to look at him, her attention fixed on the tree. “Truth be told, I’m not so sure it was her that convinced me.”
He was next to her now, his blue eyes watching her. “No?”
She shook her head, her smile fading a little. “No. I think it was more the look a certain pyrokinetic gave me.” She dropped her hand from the tree. “But don’t tell Jubes that.”
John smirked when she finally looked at him, moving in close to her as he leaned against the trunk. He was pleased when she made no move to put space back between them. “I seem to recall a few other things I convinced you to do under this tree, too.” His pupils dilated as she flushed. It still didn’t take much for him to react to her. The way her tongue darted out to wet her lips had his body tightening. “If I remember correctly, one of the first times I groped you happened here with Drake just a few meters away. You were so responsive, even when I was touching you through fabric.” His smirk vanished. “God, I miss the feel of you.”
She broke eye contact, her gaze back on the tree. “Don’t.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t what?”
When she looked back at him, there was anger in her eyes. “You fucking left me, John. So don’t start talking, or acting like nothing’s changed. You left me, you asshole.”
He sneered. “Yeah well it’s not exactly like you’ve been lacking any male attention in my absence. You never did tell me how long it was before Logan replaced me. Does Bobby know? Does he know how much his precious Marie enjoys fucking around?”
His head snapped back as Marie slapped him. “How dare you,” she seethed. “Logan hasn’t replaced you. When you left, I tried to make things work with Bobby. You left a fucking hole inside me. It’s taken a long time to mend it.” She took a breath, looking away towards the mansion. “We broke up after he came back from Alcatraz. Seems I’m not the only one capable of ‘fucking around’ as you so eloquently put it.”
“Who?”
She turned to look at him. “What?”
He straightened up. “Who’d he dump you for?”
She shrugged. “Does it matter?”
He nodded. “No one could possibly be better than you. I just want to know how shitty his taste really is.”
Marie couldn’t help smiling at his use of the word ‘shitty’. “Kitty.”
Disgust was immediately reflected in his expression. “Figures.”
They fell into silence and Marie lowered herself onto the ground, sitting against the trunk.
“I left because I found a man, and a cause I could believe in. That I wanted to fight for. Not because of you. I never wanted to leave you.”
She turned to look at him as he sat beside her. He winced at the pain it caused his leg, but didn’t complain. “But you still did.”
He sighed. “But I still did.”
“You never gave me a reason to hope, John. Not one letter, or phone call. Not one goddamn reason.”
“I know, Roguey. It’s the only thing I’ve ever regretted. I just thought…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I thought.”
“You’re a fucking bastard, you know that right?”
He nodded, a lopsided grin forming. “Yeah, I know.”
She held his gaze, searching his blue eyes. “But the answer is still yes.” She held up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “But not right now. I’m not ready. Logan and I are new, and we’re still exploring each other. I don’t want anyone’s scent but his. I don’t want anyone’s taste but his. And you and me probably need to step back for a bit.” She got to her feet. “But soon—before you go, before we go—we’ll say goodbye. Properly. Once and for all. And very, very slowly,” she promised, eyes hot.
And the prospect floated in front of him like an unconditional pardon, a release from the tortured past. Forgiveness. Resolution. Hot, hot sex with Marie. Maybe Logan would just watch. Maybe the Wolverine could be chained up long enough to let them have their goodbye. Maybe John could convince himself that was all he wanted.
Maybe.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Jaq and Jenn for the beta work.