Chapter 6: Love And Recon
The first thing Logan saw when he opened his eyes was Max looking at him with love and amusement.
"Sleep well?" she inquired sweetly, unable to keep herself from smoothing down a little piece of his bed-head hairstyle.
"Dreamless," he replied, reaching for her hips, drawing her closer. With a sigh, he scooted down in bed until his head rested on her stomach, so she could toy with his messy hair all she liked. Her belly was warm, soft, and in no way was helping him to wake up.
"What? I didn�t grace your dreamscape?" Max teased softly. She hardly recognized her own voice. Sure, the sarcasm was there, but it was laced with a sappy kind of love she�d only ever mocked in other people. She probably owed Kendra a dozen "I know you told me so" drinks.
"I don�t have to dream about you anymore," Logan murmured, and brushed his lips over her skin in a nuzzling kiss. "You�re here with me, real."
"Mmm."
They remained silent for several long minutes. Logan slowly became more aware of his surroundings. His vision was a little blurry without his glasses, but he knew he was in bed, in his uncle�s cabin, with Max. He replayed the previous night in his mind, remembering Max�s tearful confession and his response. Something about her kiss, which was probably only meant to be a fierce thank you, pushed them both over the edge and caused the general nakedness he was now experiencing. He smiled, unable to keep the goofy grin off his face.
Max felt his whiskers move and looked down to see a little-boy smile on Logan. She had her own reasons to smile. In her experience, sex was something you agreed upon, planned out, and executed with moderate pleasure to both parties. It wasn�t supposed to be this desperate, awkward passion that flooded your senses and turned you into a trembling pile of need. Max felt like the world made a little more sense. They must know something of this consuming desire you could have for another human being. Songs got sung, poems got written and somewhere in the mixed up maze, Max finally understood why the world insisted on mushy cards and black market flowers despite the sacked economy.
"Gotta get up," she said reluctantly, her eyes trained on the window. The sun was already a little high, at least ten a.m. "Embrace the day. Still got recon in town to take care of. Maybe we�ll find a restaurant and you can buy me brunch or something."
Logan mumbled something incoherent and snuggled in a little closer.
"I thought Eyes Only was a morning person," Max teased, trying not to be affected by the way his thumb brushed back and forth over her hipbone.
"Eyes Only was up half the night making love with you," Logan said. He watched the goose bumps appear on Max�s skin. Straight up honesty when she expected a glib answer always affected her. She grew quiet again, so Logan contentedly remained where he was.
"I liked it," Max said after a few minutes. She sounded shy and surprised.
"Me too."
"No, I mean� forget it."
"Not letting you off the hook that easy," Logan stated firmly. "Spill." He didn�t look up, but knew the expression on her face from memory. First she�d roll her eyes and try to just shrug it off, then say "gotta blaze" and take the easy way out. But here, he had his arms around her and wasn�t letting her move.
"I�ve never trusted anyone so completely before," Max said. "Last night goes against everything I ever learned at Manticore. I lost control. Even when I�m in heat and sex is a necessity, not a luxury, I never let go the way I did last night. And the craziest thing is that it wasn�t even a conscious decision, it just sort of happened. One minute I was preparing to launch into the zone and the next minute you made all the rules jump out the window. And I liked it."
"That�s good, right?" Logan said hopefully.
"Hell, yeah!" Max enthused, laughing.
When she stopped laughing, Logan jokingly bragged about his sexual prowess and she pretended to stroke his male ego. It was fun, this non-intense banter thing. But even that new discovery had to end when Max remembered the mission. Not even Logan�s wandering hands could deter her from getting into Terry Harbor and putting some old ghosts to rest. She wiggled out of Logan�s grasp and looked around the room, trying to locate where any of her clothing may have ended up.
"We can come back later and, you know, nap before we go out tonight," Max assured him.
"But you don�t sleep," Logan said, smiling.
"Neither will you," she promised.
*****
Terry Harbor was like all the other fog-shrouded towns along the dilapidated coast, except that this one had industry, and therefore, a little bit more wealth than usual. Residents worked in the paper mill or down at the docks, seeing to the ships that carried the supplies up into Canada or down the coast. Though the University was off-limits, the rest of the town was active and busy. Max and Logan found several brunch options and ended up in a family-run establishment with plenty of locals. They had the disadvantage of being outsiders, but the boon of being new lovers, which translated into any language. Max had to try his waffles and he had to hold the fork, then he sipped out of her orange glass when his got low, then she looked him straight in the eyes and bit down on a fat strawberry that made every cell in his body stand up and salute.
"Newlyweds, eh?" said the waitress with a smile. Logan was still a little stunned, so Max answered for them both.
"Does it show?"
"Just a little," the waitress smiled.
"We couldn�t afford to go anywhere really big for a honeymoon, y�know? So we just planned this trip up the coast. My dad used to work at the University before the Pulse and I wanted to show Logan all my old haunts."
"Well, we now have the new paper mill, which I suggest staying upwind from," the waitress advised. Max leaned forward like she was interested in every piece of tourist advice, sliding her hand across the table to link fingers with Logan. "There�s the office park, that has as close to a mall as we�ll ever get. Oh, and the Forestry service rents bikes and camping gear if you want to do any exploring. It�s really pretty. Most visitors come for the work and stay because of the landscape. The ocean and the forest are about the only things around here the Pulse didn�t destroy."
"I hear that," Max said solemnly. "Is the University open? I didn�t see any cars and I was surprised they hadn�t turned it into a school or a military zone or something."
"Nah, it�s all tied up in litigation so dusty we don�t even know who owns the bricks anymore. It�s a restricted area, though. Because of what happened."
"The massacre," Logan said.
"Not the prettiest history, I admit, but I�m sure you�ll manage to have a fun time," the waitress said with a wink, and left.
"So," Logan whispered. "If you were operation a major drug operation, where would you stash your headquarters."
"Around here? The forest."
"Really? I would have gone with one of the ships."
"No way. You can hide way more in the woods," Max said confidently. "Feel like going on a hike?"
Logan raised one eyebrow and wished his legs were working so he could kick her underneath the table for being a smart-ass.
"Let�s check it out anyway. Just cause you got wheels doesn�t mean you can�t enjoy the same fresh air I can."
"Fresh air? I�m game. Maybe the Forest Service has groomed walking trails. That wouldn�t be a problem unless it got really hilly. Besides, it�s a nice day for a hike."
"True. And if we just happened to get a little lost following our instincts�"
"�We�re just newlyweds looking for a little privacy," Logan finished. "The waitress can back that up."
"Great. It�s a plan."
"You really like having a plan," Logan observed.
"I am the plan," Max shrugged. "We obviously can�t get away with blowing up the chemistry lab, so we�ll have to just steal incriminating evidence and hope that when Eyes Only breaks the story the police aren�t in on the whole operation."
"And leave all those drugs waiting for distribution?"
"I never said that," Max said, giving him a slow grin.
"Let�s go."
