Part Two
The X-Men are the property of Marvel Comics and are used here without their
permission.
Rated NC-17 for graphic sexual content, both consensual and non-consensual, as
well as for violence and offensive language. If you are under the legal age for
this sort of thing, then GET OUT!
.
"Ungh," the girl moaned as she woke. She lifted her head, one hand going to her
jaw as she looked around the small cabin. The man was gone. She touched the cuts
on her chest gingerly before pulling her shirt down over her breasts. They
weren't much more than scratches, and had already stopped bleeding. And unless
he had dressed her, she didn't think he had carried through on his obvious
intentions. It would be the first time since she was fourteen that a man had
caught her and not raped her. Even her father.... She shoved the thought away.
She knew it wasn't his fault. Her stepmother had had the right of it. She was a
Jezebel, a wicked woman. Men simply couldn't resist her. It was why she was
living up here in the first place.
She pulled her coat on. He couldn't be allowed to die because there was
something wrong with her. She decided that she would bring him back to the cabin
and, when the need for her body came on him again, she wouldn't resist.
She picked up the bearskin and opened the door. His tracks were rapidly filling
in with new snow, but he hadn't made any effort to hide them. He never dreamed
that she would try to come after him.
He was shivering uncontrollably, his healing factor no protection from the cold.
Even with the rabbit skins tightly wrapped around them, his feet had rapidly
become numb. His hands, tucked into his armpits, weren't much better. The cold
wind caused his eyes to tear, and the salty drops froze on his cheeks.
He stumbled and fell, and discovered that he didn't have the energy to get up
again. He idly wondered if his healing factor would kick back in when his body
thawed out next spring. He kinda doubted it. At least the girl was safe. He
rolled over to his back and watched the snow fall through the trees. It was
beautiful. He could think of worse ways to die. Finally, his eyes drifted shut
and he slept, expecting never to wake.
After several hours of plodding through the snow she found him. He lay on his
back, one hand on his chest, the other arm at his side. Snow had begun to build
up over him. He looked peaceful. She knelt beside him and shook him with one
small hand.
"C'mon, buddy. Wake up." She sighed. "Come on! I don't think I can carry you
again. Please, wake up!" She shook him again, harder this time, and he blearily
opened his eyes. She nearly sobbed in relief.
"Jubilee?" he asked, the single word was slurred.
"No," she answered, shaking him yet again when his eyes slipped closed once
more. "Wake up!" He opened his eyes again, blinking and trying to clear them.
His nostrils flared as he recognized her.
"Darlin', you gotta get away from me."
"Its not your fault," she said, soothingly. "Come back with me."
"Its always the man's fault when he rapes a woman, darlin'. Now get away from me
before I try it again."
"It isn't rape if the woman says yes," she said, thinking 'and never if its me'.
"Now get up," she continued. "I'm freezin' my tail off out here. I just want to
go home and get warm again." Slowly, with the girl prodding and goading him, he
got to his feet. She wrapped the bearskin around him and, supporting him as much
as she could, she led him back to the cabin.
She got him onto the bed and turned to build up the fire. He was barely
conscious when she pulled the rabbit skins from his feet, chaffing the nearly
frozen flesh until he moaned with pain. She undid the lacing on the shirt he
wore, and pushed it from his shoulders. Then she tugged the jeans from his body.
The boxers he wore followed. She quickly peeled out of her clothes and lay down
next to him, pulling the bearskin over them both, sharing her body heat with him
as they both shivered, the heat from the fire slowly penetrating them as they
lay together on the bed.
She woke before he did and lay with her head on his chest, listening to his
heart beat. His arm was around her shoulders, holding her close. She tried not
to flinch away from the contact. So much of her bare skin was touching his. She
wondered what it would feel like to have sex without being raped, and was
surprised to find her nipples growing hard as they were tickled by the thick mat
of hair on his chest. The heat between her thighs caused her to unconsciously
press against him. His heartbeat quickened as he reached up with his free hand
and caressed her cheek, suddenly and completely awake.
"Flamin' hell, girl, what are you doin'?"
"Nothing I don't want to do," she answered simply. She combed through the hair
on his chest with her fingers, gently touching his nipples before her hand slid
down his belly. His breathing grew ragged as she traced abstract shapes across
the muscles of his abdomen. He ran his hand down her back to the curved flesh of
her hip, stroking her, teasing her with his fingertips. With his other hand, he
tipped her chin up so he could reach her mouth with his. His tongue caressed her
lips and she parted them for him. She tasted sweeter than before, her desire
adding to the flavor of her mouth.
Sliding down further, her hand brushed the head of his engorged member, causing
him to groan into her mouth. She took it in her hand, innocently exploring the
size and shape of him, wanting to know everything she could before he,
inevitably, lost control and took her.
He pulled her hard against his hip, her thigh over his, the warm, moist center
of her pressed against him. He stroked the tender flesh of her throat, running
his hand down between her breasts, regretfully touching the cuts he had
inflicted. He cupped her breast, teasing the hard nipple with his thumb and
forefinger, even as he deepened the kiss. She turned, pressing her body against
him as he ran his hand across her back, touching the first hint of a curve at
the top of her buttocks, it was her turn to moan with pleasure. She pulled her
leg up over him, her thigh nudging his testicles as she began to stroke him in
earnest, causing him to grunt and break their kiss, grinding his teeth to
maintain control.
"Its okay," she whispered. "Just let go and ... and fuck me." Her soft words
tickled his ear maddeningly.
"What... what's yer name, darlin'?" he gasped.
"It doesn't matter. Just pretend I'm who you want me to be."
The faces of his desires flashed through his mind. Heather Hudson, Jean Grey,
and many others, even poor lost Mariko.
"No," he said. "No fantasies, darlin'. I want to be with you," he told her
truthfully. She smiled at him.
"Just call me Jezebel."
"I'm Logan, darlin'."
"Hi, Logan."
"H'lo, Jezebel." She silenced him with another kiss. He reached down and gently
pulled her hand from his cock, guiding it back up his chest. She looked at him
questioningly until he shifted her so that she lay on top of him, her legs
straddling his hips, her breasts pressed into his chest. Her pussy lips were
spread, and the shaft of his cock rested between them, the head of it rubbing
against her belly. She moved carefully, sliding it back and forth between her
lips, without taking him into her body. He could feel her clit rubbing against
the sensitive underside of his shaft. She sat up a little, her hands on his
chest. He released her hip with one hand and reached up to play with her breasts
for a moment. He leaned forward and took one nipple into his mouth. She gasped.
She slid forward until the head of his manhood was pressed against her opening.
Then she slowly, slowly pushed down, taking him into her at her own pace. It
took all his control to let her take her time. He wanted to roll her over onto
her back and fuck her mercilessly. He groaned when his balls finally rested
against her, his entire length encased within her hot, wet, tight sheath. His
hands were almost tight enough to bruise her hips where he held her. She began
to rock back and forth, sliding his cock in and out of her slowly. She leaned
forward, her breasts barely touching his chest, and ran her tongue across his
lips. He opened his mouth to her and she pressed her lips to his, her tongue
flicking in and out of his mouth even as she moved her hips faster. Her clit was
rubbing against his pelvic bone and he could feel her body contracting on his
hard shaft as she neared orgasm. The sensation was driving him mad, and seemed
to last forever.
"Oh!" she cried as she came, throwing her head back, and driving him even deeper
into her, squeezing him brutally. He nearly came right then, but he didn't want
this to end too quickly. She lay gasping against his chest for a moment, before
resuming her undulating motions. He was still hard within her. She kissed his
throat, nipping at the flesh below his jaw.
"Unh," he groaned as she moved her hips faster, sliding him in and out of her.
He ran his hands along her back, stroking the back of her neck and clutching at
her hips to slow her motions as he neared climax. She bent over him and suddenly
took his nipple into her mouth, sucking hard at the sensitive flesh. The
sensation broke the last of his control and he came, his hips bucking, lifting
her completely from the bed, his seed shooting hot and powerful into her most
receptive body. She came again, milking him for every drop of his precious
fluid.
She lay atop him for a long time, her head on his shoulder, her forehead against
his cheek. His penis, though flaccid, was still within her. Neither of them
wanted to break the connection.
"Mmmmmm," she said. "That was very nice. I didn't know it could feel so good."
"Sex is supposed to feel good, darlin'."
"I've had sex before, but never like this," she shrugged, her position giving
the gesture an odd feel. "There's something wrong with me. Men can't resist the
urge to screw me, even if I don't want to. Or maybe especially if I don't want
to. You're the first I've decided to want."
"How old are you, darlin'?"
"Why?" she responded, suddenly defensive.
"Just curious."
"I turned eighteen last summer," she answered slowly.
"How long you been up here?" he asked, stroking her hair, his other hand on her
back.
"Three years. I stopped going into town two years ago. It was just too
dangerous. The men all want... well, you know what they want," she said with a
suggestive wiggle of her hips. His body responded, beginning to grow hard again.
"But the women were worse. It was like they hated me on sight. Some of them
attacked me, and I haven't been back."
"When did this all start?" he asked, trying to ignore the demands of his body.
"I was fourteen. My ... my dad was the first. He ... he got this crazy look in
eyes, and he grabbed me, and ..." her tears slipped down her cheek and across
his shoulder. He cradled her gently. "When he realized what he'd done, he shot
himself." She shuddered. He was dismayed to find his excitement growing as she
spoke of being raped by her father.
"It kept getting worse over the next year. At first, a guy had to be around me
for a while before it started, but then all I had to do was be in the same room
with somebody, and they were all over me. My stepmom threw me out, and after a
cop helped six guys rape me, and then tried to shoot me so I couldn't tell, I
ran up here. I found this cabin an' kinda fixed it up. I've been here ever
since."
"Six. At once?" His chest felt tight. He didn't want to share this woman with
anyone.
"Six plus the cop. No, they kinda took turns. It hurt." She shifted back,
sliding herself all the way down on his throbbing member. He groaned and grabbed
her legs, pulling her knees up beside his hips.
"Does this hurt?"
"No. It feels nice."
"Good." He caressed her thighs and ran his hands lightly across her belly,
reaching up to gently squeeze her breasts while she moved up and down on him.
She had risen nearly to her knees, and he was just barely inside her when he
suddenly sat up and pushed her to her back. She squeaked in surprise and had to
struggle to suppress her fear as he lowered himself onto her. She spread her
thighs wide to accommodate him as he entered her. He kissed her again, keeping
most of his weight off of her and on his elbows.
She wrapped her legs around him, her heels pressing into the backs of his
thighs, pulling him deeper with each slow thrust. His belly rubbed against hers,
his thick hair tickling her. Her hard nipples barely touched his chest as he
moved above her. She arched her back and he slid his hands beneath her, holding
her up against him. His mouth once again sought her throat. Moaning, she pushed
her head back, allowing him the access they both craved. She felt his teeth and
she clutched at his shoulders, shuddering with the power of the orgasm which
crashed through her body. He thrust into her savagely, no longer in control of
the demands of his body.
She came again and then again before he flooded her with his seed. They lay
together, gasping as the last of his cum spurted into her already overflowing
pussy. He rested his forehead against her shoulder for a moment, waiting for his
heartbeat and breathing to return to something close to normal. Gradually, she
relaxed her hold on him, her heels no longer digging into his thighs, her hands
not clutching his back so tightly. He slipped from her body, and he shifted so
that he lay next to her. Within moments, they both slept.
"I think you may be a mutant darlin'," he said when they woke, suppressing a
recurrence of the passion he'd felt earlier with difficulty.
"Really? Because of ... what I make ... people want to do to me?"
"Yeah. Prob'ly pheromones or somethin'."
"Huh. I've never even met a mutant."
"Ya have now."
"You?"
"Yeah."
"Huh. Is that why you got better after I found you in the snow? I didn't figure
you'd make it."
"Yeah, darlin'. That's why."
"Cool." He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if 'cool' was an appropriate
word.
"I'm hungry, how about you?"
"Starved."
"Lemme up an' I'll get us something ta eat."
She shivered in the cold air of the cabin, quickly pulling her clothes on. He
dressed and put some more wood on the fire while she got some of the deer he had
cut up the day before and put it on the grate to cook.
"How far is it to the nearest town?"
"About six days," she answered slowly. "In good weather."
"I've got some folks I need ta contact, an' I'll see about getting some supplies
for ya then." She nodded, but didn't say anything.
"What's the matter?" She shrugged. "I can't stay here, angel."
"I understand."
"No, ya don't," he said, turning her towards him. "Its dangerous for you if I
stay. Creed'll be lookin' fer me, and I don't want ta lead him here. I don't
want ta lead him ta you. And then, o' course, there's the danger I pose to ya. I
could'a killed you yesterday, girl. I nearly raped you."
"You don't have to worry about that. I told you, its not rape if a woman says
yes, and I'll always say yes."
"It is if she doesn't mean it." She didn't answer. "Listen, my friends might be
able to help you. Once I've settled with Creed, I'll bring 'em back here, if ya
want."
"Fine." She didn't sound very confident and he drew her into the circle of his
arms.
"It'll be okay, darlin'. I promise." They sat in front of the fire and waited
for the meat to cook. They didn't speak. It just didn't seem necessary.
After they had eaten, he went back out to gather more wood. He found a downed
tree about a mile from the cabin. It looked like she had chipped at it with her
broken hatchet, but she hadn't made much headway. The wood was well seasoned.
The tree had been down for a while. Using his claws, he cut the trunk into
manageable pieces and dragged several of them back to the cabin. He cut the wood
into pieces small enough to fit the fireplace, and stacked it at the side of the
cabin, where it would be mostly protected from the weather.
He knocked on the door before entering. He didn't want to startle her again. She
had more of the venison roasting on the fire. She'd boiled some of the meat as
well, creating a rich broth. She pressed the cup, filled with the broth, into
his hands as soon as he'd shut the door behind him.
He took off the borrowed coat and hung it on the peg, then sipped the hot broth.
She sat, cross-legged, on the low bed. She pulled the bearskin into her lap and
began to work at it with a sharpened antler.
"What are you doin', darlin'?"
"Finishing up your coat. You'll need it tomorrow, when you leave." He watched
her in silence, sipping the hot liquid and absorbing the heat from the fire.
"How'd you bring down a bear?" he asked finally.
"I didn't," she said. "Yogi here was a corpse when I found him last spring. The
meat was bad, but I managed to salvage his hide. Made a nice blanket. Should
make a warm coat." She looked up at him and smiled. "And you'd dern well better
wear it, too. I'm tired of hauling your half frozen carcass all over the
landscape." He laughed.
"All right, darlin'. I'll wear it."
"Here, try it on." He handed her the nearly empty cup and took the bearskin from
her. "You'll have to pull it on over your head. I didn't have time for buttons."
He put it on.
She viewed her handiwork critically.
"I guess it'll have to do," she pronounced, her hands on her hips.
"It'll do fine." She tugged at the seams, testing their strength. He stroked her
cheek and she flinched.
"Sorry, darlin'," he said with regret.
"No, its okay. I'm just not used to being ... touched, without being ... hurt,
you know?" He touched her cheek, just above the angry bruise he had inflicted
upon her.
"I know. I'll never hurt you again." He wanted to pull her against him, to kiss
her and feel her respond to his touch. He turned away from her and took off the
coat. It was suddenly much too warm in the cabin for it's weight.
"Are you hungry?" she asked him after an uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah," he answered, trying without much success to keep his mind off her slim
body. She took the meat from the grate and divided it with her broken hatchet,
giving him the much larger share. He protested.
"Look, just take it, okay? You'll need it more than I do when you leave." She
wouldn't meet his eyes. She knew he had to go, but she wasn't looking forward to
being alone again. She took her portion, balanced awkwardly on a chipped bowl,
and sat down on the bed. He sat on the floor near the fire, as far from her as
the little cabin would allow.
They ate in silence. He kept his eyes carefully on the food. At last, she
sighed.
"The town's kinda south and east of here, mostly south as the crow flies, but
you hafta dodge the lake. Its probably frozen, but my dad ... my dad always
warned me not to trust the ice. The lake's spring fed."
"Sounds like good advice."
"Yeah," she shook her head. "He was always full of good advice. He also told me
not to go on a hike without enough supplies for at least three days longer than
you were plannin' on bein' gone, so I put some of the meat on to smoke so you
can carry it with you. You can have the water skin too. I won't really need it
before spring, and I can make another one by then."
"You won't need to, darlin'. I'll come back for you before then."
"Whatever," she said as she got to her feet. She took his plate from him and put
it next to the fire. He knew she'd scour it with ashes later. He stood and
turned her towards him, his hands gentle on her arms.
"I will come back." She only smiled sadly. He pulled her into his arms and held
her there, murmuring into her hair, "I will." She put her arms around him and
clung to him.
"I believe you," she said. But he wasn't sure she did.
She turned her face to him and kissed him. His arms tightened on her as he
returned the kiss with passion, his tongue probing past her parted lips. When
she pulled away, he ground his teeth silently in frustration, trying to maintain
control. He'd promised he wouldn't hurt her, after all, but God, he wanted her!
His breath quickened and he nearly groaned aloud when she pulled her shirt off
over her head and returned to him. She put her arms around his neck, casually
stroking the thick hair on the back of his neck. His hands caressed her bare
back, sliding down to her waist and then inside the loose pants to cup her
buttocks and pull her against him, his manhood demanding access to her body as
though it had a mind of its own. He realized she had loosened the drawstring of
her pants when she pulled the shirt off. He hoped she wanted this as much as he
did. Despite his promise, he didn't know if he could stop.
She shifted her hips, undulating against the hardness straining the fabric of
his jeans. This time he did groan, his mouth seeking hers in a hungry kiss. He
pushed her pants down, and she was bare against him. She kicked out of the pants
without breaking the kiss, and her soft rabbit skin boots followed quickly.
She pulled the lacing out of his shirt, slowly and tantalizingly. When the deer
hide strap pulled free of the last holes, she opened his shirt and pressed
herself against him, her breasts soft against his chest. Her nipples, already
hard, were tickled by the hair on his chest and it was her turn to moan.
He released her mouth and kissed her unbruised cheek. He nipped at her earlobe,
then her throat. Her hands were on his back under the open shirt, holding him
tightly. She pushed the shirt free of his shoulders, and he shrugged out of it,
letting it drop to the floor behind him. She moved her hands to his waist as he
continued to kiss her, moving down her neck to her shoulder, then across and
down to her breast. She pulled at the buttons of his jeans as he greedily seized
her nipple with his mouth, sucking on the hard nub.
She gasped and sagged in his arms, her knees weak with desire. He lowered her to
the bed and shifted his attention to her other breast, he explored her body with
a gentleness belied by the roughness of his hands. She reached into his jeans,
pulling at the elastic of the boxers until she could slide her hand inside and
grasp his throbbing shaft. She stroked him as he continued to suckle her
breasts, each in turn. He lifted his weight from her and helped her to push the
obstruction away. His pants and boxers were binding him at his knees and he
struggled to push them off. She helped with her feet and at last he was free of
the material, the rabbit skins peeled off with his jeans. He moved up between
her thighs as she continued to stroke him. She guided him into her. She was wet,
her own desire lubricating his entrance as he slid his full length into her on
the first thrust. She wrapped her legs around him, lifting her hips to allow him
to penetrate her as deeply as possible. He withdrew until all but the head had
slipped from her heated depths, then slid slowly back into her. She arched her
back, moaning with pleasure, her hands at the small of his back. He did it
again, faster this time.
"Oh, yes! Faster, Logan! Harder!" she begged.
"Whatever you want, darlin'," he whispered into her ear, before taking the lobe
in his teeth once more.
"Ungh! Oh god, yes!" she cried as he slammed into her hard and fast, burying his
length in her body again and again. She cried out wordlessly as she came on him,
her body clamping down on him so hard it was almost painful. Her cum lubricated
them enough that he could keep moving within her while she came. As she relaxed,
he slowed, and then withdrew completely.
"Wh ... what ...?" she asked, gasping.
"Wait an' see," he answered, then kissed her, his mouth hard against hers. He
kissed her chin, then her throat, lingering at the hollow spot between her
collarbones for a moment. He continued to move down her body, kissing and
sucking at her skin, sometimes letting her feel his teeth. She moaned, her hands
in his hair, not sure whether to beg him to stop or scream for him to continue.
He kissed her belly, his tongue probing her navel. She cried out in surprise
when his tongue stroked her clit. Then she moaned with unexpected pleasure as he
sucked and licked the bundle of nerves. He carefully slipped two fingers into
her as she came again, squeezing his fingers tightly. He slowed his
ministrations, allowing her to ease off the orgasm. Her body shuddered as he
withdrew his fingers.
"That," she gasped, "was new. Oh. My." He grinned at her. She licked her lips
and smiled. "My turn." She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to his back,
sliding her leg out from under him quickly. She took his rigid shaft in one
hand, pulling gently on the hair around his nipples with the other. She licked
and sucked first one nipple, then the other, all the while stroking him. She
tickled his belly with her fingers and her tongue as she moved ever closer to
the straining organ. He groaned and clutched the rabbit skins on which he lay.
She slid her tongue down his belly to the base of his shaft. Gently cradling his
balls in her hand, she slipped her mouth up his length until she engulfed the
head. Sucking gently, she ran her tongue over the head as she took him into her
mouth. She moved up and down on him, seeming to know instinctively how to please
him. And how to prolong the act. After a timeless eternity, he started to cum.
"Darlin', I'm gonna ..." She put her fingers to his lips, sucking hard on him,
and his cum spurted into her mouth. She kept sucking until the shudders racking
his body ceased and he grew soft in her mouth.
He lay back, trying to catch his breath. He reached up and caressed the back of
her neck, then gasped as she started to suck again. He quickly grew hard again.
Releasing him abruptly, she straddled his hips, sliding him once more into her
tight opening. She moved up and down on him while she rubbed her clit with her
fingers. After only a few strokes the rhythmic pulsing of her body told him she
was about to cum again. He cupped her breasts and flicked her nipples with his
thumbs. She screamed with pleasure, throwing her head back and cumming on him
with a vengeance.
As she began to relax, she realized that he was close to cumming as well, so she
rode him, sliding up and down on him as quickly as she could, until he filled
her once more with his cum.
Staying within her with an effort, he rolled with her so that he was once more
on top. He thrust his pelvis against her, rubbing her clit between them. She
twined her legs tightly about him, her arms around his neck. He kissed her. When
their tongues touched, he felt his cock begin to harden yet again. She moaned as
he grew larger within her, rocking her hips in time with his thrusts. He slid
one hand down her body, past her hip, to the back of her thigh. She writhed with
pleasure at his touch. He released her mouth, moving up to thrust more deeply
into her. She bit his shoulder, hard enough to draw blood, as she came on his
still growing member. He made love to her slowly, letting her stifle her screams
of ecstasy against his shoulder or throat, until he was ready to cum again. It
was with a long, shuddering release, that his cum spurted from him, filling her
pulsing body again. And again. And again. They didn't sleep much that night.
The next morning, she filled a large pouch with smoked venison. She had filled
the water skin with snow and hung it near the fire earlier. She lifted this down
and gave both to him. He slung them across his body, then put on the coat she
had made for him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
"I will come back," he said, his voice rough. She just nodded, then watched him
as he left the cabin, closing the door behind him. She sighed.
After he was gone, she started sorting through her small supply of skins, trying
to find one that would be suitable for a water skin. She didn't expect to see
him again. Once he was out of range, as she thought of it, he probably wouldn't
want anything to do with her. She found a skin that she thought would work, and
set about tying off the holes where the animal's feet had been. A single tear
slipped down her cheek.
It was hard-going through the drifted snow, but Logan forged ahead doggedly. Now
that the storm had passed, he knew Creed would be hunting him. He left as clear
a trail as he could, hoping the psychopath would follow him, and not bother to
stop at the cabin. At one point, he almost went back for the girl, but he
convinced himself that she would be in more danger if she were with him. Fate
would prove him wrong.
It had been three days since Logan had left her. She had sent much of the
remaining venison with him, and she felt that it would be better to save the
rest of the smoked meat for bad weather, or if she were to become ill again. The
new water skin hung next to the fire.
She set her snares some distance from the cabin. The forest creatures had become
wary near her home.
After several hours of patient waiting, she returned to the cabin with a brace
of rabbits. She stopped at the pile of carefully stacked wood and gathered
several pieces to take in with her. The sun was setting and she didn't notice
the tracks in front of the cabin.
She pulled the hide strap to open the door and went inside. She jumped, dropping
the pair of rabbits as the door was slammed behind her. She whirled as a huge
blonde man loomed over her. The firewood dropped, forgotten, as she backed away
from him. He grinned down at her when she hit the wall and could go no further.
"Hello, girlie. Lookin' fer a pal o' mine. Goes by the name o' Logan. You
haven't seen him, have you?" He put his forearm against the wall above her head,
leaning over her menacingly.
