Title:  Hearts & Bones
Author: m.jules

Disclaimer: Not mine.  Marvel’s.  At least I don’t have to give credit to Fox – this is Evolution-verse!  (Although…does that mean I have to answer to the WB?)  And once again, I find myself stealing from Paul Simon.  I swear, I’d marry that man just for the way he uses words.
Summary:  “The arc of a love affair.”  (Which is a nice way of saying, PWVLP.  – porn with very little plot.)
Rating: NC-17

Author’s Notes:  Rogue’s accent in the Evolution series is very pronounced – enough to warrant phonetic spelling of her speech.  (“Ah” as opposed to “I”, etc.)  However, as this promises to be a rather long fic and phoneticized spelling can become tedious if one is forced to read a lot of it, I’ve opted to leave it out, for the most part, except to indicate when she’s showing strong emotion.

Dedications:  For Karen and J. Marie, who fed my Evolution obsession.  For Taryn, just because.  For Nadine, because this is getting started on her birthday, and because she makes the BEST pictures.  For Terri and Andrea, because they’ve perfected the fine art of flattery.  ;)  For Jen/FLa, because she’s still one of my best friends and this whole X-Men fixation is her fault in the first place.  And for the entire DDFH list, without whose support and encouragement I never would have finished any of my X-Men fiction, much less shared it with anyone.

xXxXxXx

 

“You take two bodies and you twirl them into one

Their hearts and their bones

And they won’t come undone.”

 

--“Hearts & Bones,” Paul Simon

 

xXxXxXx

 

Tangled

 

 

She’d known for a long time that she loved him, but she’d loved him for longer than she’d known.  It hadn’t started out as anything romantic – just a deep feeling of kinship.  Two lost souls, wandering through the high desert air.  It was inevitable, really, that they would eventually wander together.

 

He was haunted by what he couldn’t remember; she, by what she couldn’t forget.  They both woke from nightmares that were at once strange and familiar… images that felt like memories but couldn’t be summoned in the light of day.  It was to be expected that they would discover the comfort inherent in waking with each other.

 

They had become friends, but not too close.  Afraid of what they knew they couldn’t stop, they at least endeavored to delay it.  A necessary distance was kept for the time being, as their public existence exposed them to more scrutiny than they felt they could safely deflect.  After all, she was still a child in years if not in mind, and he was, in name, her teacher.

 

But now, with mutant-human relations taking a turn for the worse, with the Professor commanding everyone into hiding for the sake of their lives, they wondered if anyone would notice if their touches began to linger a little longer or their smiles turn more teasing. 

 

When the sirens began wailing in the middle of the night, she was the first one he woke.  He had not slept; the scent of fear had been in the air all day and he kept watch over her sleeping form.  Ororo, Hank, and the Professor took the other students; his priority was the girl, his soul mate, with a spirit as shocking as her hair.  He couldn’t keep a small smile from curling his lips as he touched her hip lightly – nothing overtly inappropriate, but delivered with the ease and intimacy of a long-time lover.

 

It was a bold touch, and she smiled her acceptance of it, placing her hand over his as she sat up, blinking blearily and shaking her head against the unruly bangs that fell into her face.

 

“Wake up, darlin’,” he whispered.  “We’ve gotta get out of here.”

 

“The others?” she whispered back, reaching out to touch his hair lightly with her bare fingertips.

 

“Charles and the others’ve got ‘em.”  His breath caught as she twirled a few strands of his hair around her finger, and he left unsaid what was in his heart – And I’ve got you. “We’re splitting up.”

“Where are we goin’?”

“Anyplace you got in mind?”

 

Nodding, she continued running her fingers lightly through his hair.  “Why don’t we ride through the night, wake up down in Mexico?  I’ve never been there.”

 

He chuckled, reluctantly pulling away from her caress to prompt her from the bed and into her clothes and shoes.  “Darlin’, it’s gonna take us longer than one night to get there.”

 

She paused in her dressing, one shoulder bare in the glaring searchlights outside her window, her eyes gleaming with mischief.  “I was kinda hopin’ for more than one night,” she confessed with deceptive shyness.

 

He closed his eyes briefly, biting back a low moan.  “Get your things,” he commanded hoarsely.  “We’ll go to Mexico if you wanna.”

 

“I wanna.”

Then her hand – in a soft glove this time – was on his cheek and he opened his eyes to see her smiling up at him, her shirt only loosely tied around her small body, her shoes in her other hand.  Turning his head, he placed a lingering kiss on her palm.  “Let’s go,” he rasped, and she nodded, her eyes blazing with a heat best left unexplored for the moment.

 

***

 

Entwined

 

 

Logan had worried about her falling off the first time she fell asleep on the bike, her arms wrapped firmly around his waist, her thighs cradling his hips, her face snuggled between his broad shoulders.  But her grip had never loosened as she stayed curled around him all the way through Ohio and Indiana, and when the sun started coming up over the horizon, he felt her shift and moan into his shirt.

 

“Where are we?” she wanted to know, nuzzling his spin sleepily.  Even with his sensitive hearing, he had a hard time understanding her over the roar of the bike, so he pulled to the side of the deserted country road they were traveling and killed the engine.  He glanced at the gas gauge and cringed.  They were going to have to stop soon.  His bike got better mileage than anyone would expect out of a motorcycle, and he supposed he shouldn’t complain.

“Southern Indiana,” he answered.  “Almost to Illinois.  We’ve been drivin’ for about eleven hours now.”

“Umph,” she groaned, gingerly dismounting the bike and stretching her long legs.  She bent over and placed her hands on her knees, arching her back to pop her spine, and he watched her hungrily.  Her slender body had a lithe, athletic grace that made him think of a dancer or a gymnast.  He smiled, remembering the way she’d been in his martial arts classes.  He knew the kind of agility she was capable of.  Blinking, he shook himself mentally and began to follow her lead, climbing off the bike.

The hitch of pain and stiffness in his legs caught him by surprise and he grunted, grateful for the distraction.  His mind had been about to run away with him… and while he was sure that she wanted him as much as he wanted her, he wasn’t about to have their first time be on the side of the road.

 

“Gawd,” Rogue drawled, wincing.  “Mah legs are killin’ me!”

 

Logan chuckled.  Her accent was thick normally, but when she was whining, it just got even worse.  But God help him, she was even cute when she whined.

 

“It ain’t so bad,” he countered, sauntering over to her.  Truth be told, he was still working the kinks out of his body, but his healing factor was catching up with him pretty quickly. 

 

“Yeah, well, some of us ain’t got healin’ factors,” she griped, pulling one of her legs up backwards until her foot touched her shoulder.  His eyes got a little wide as he watched her, balancing on one foot, in that precarious position.  No human being should have the right to be that naturally limber.  As a result of a mutation, maybe… but not just because. 

 

Sighing, she released that leg and repeated the procedure with the other.  Clearing his throat, he rumbled, “All better now?”

 

Returning her balance to both feet she rolled her head and whimpered.  “Not really,” she sighed.  “I got a crick in my neck.”

 

Without even thinking what he was doing, he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.  She sighed gratefully and leaned into him.  He squeezed her shoulders lightly and she shrugged them into his hands, encouraging him.  Trying to control his breathing and ignore the slight increase in both their pulses, he pressed his thumbs hard into the jointure of her neck and shoulders… and felt his pants get a size smaller when she moaned deeply.

 

Gritting his teeth, he kept up the massage, trying to ignore the way she was melting under his hands like butter and making breathy little noises of bliss.  “Harder,” she breathed, and he groaned, obliging.  He thought he must be hurting her, but her head lolled back to rest against his shoulder and he saw that her face was flushed pink with pleasure.  He felt the growl beginning deep in his chest and did his best to restrain it, without much success.

 

“God, Logan,” she groaned, her voice hitching, “that feels so good…”

He growled again, his hands clenching on her shoulders as he leaned forward to nuzzle her hair, breathing in her scent.  She hummed her approval and pressed herself backwards, asking for contact.  He obliged, running his hands down her arms, feeling the leather of his driving gloves rasp over the bare skin at her wrists as he crossed them over her waist and pulled her back into him, pressing her ass against his hips and curling his arms around her shoulders.  He could smell the arousal on her and was doing his best to keep his body under some semblance of control.

 

His face was still buried in her hair when she rolled her hips lightly, pressing into his erection that was getting harder by the second.  “God, Rogue,” he breathed, and she turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes.  Her own were aflame, and he knew his matched.  Her lips parted, and her tongue came out to lick them as her gaze flickered to his mouth.

 

Tightening his arms convulsively around her and bucking his hips into her, he commanded breathlessly, “Do that again.”

 

With a seductive smile, she obliged, dragging her tongue over the full flesh of her lower lip slowly and deliberately.  Quickly, before she could flinch away, he lowered his head and flicked his tongue out.  It brushed across the tip of hers and they both gasped at the brief but powerful transfer of power through the connection.

 

“Ya shouldn’ta done that, Logan,” she rebuked him quietly, her eyes turning slightly sad as she watched him recover from the pull. 

 

“I’m fine,” he told her honestly.  The contact hadn’t been long enough to do more than send a mild electric shock through his system.  “Feel better now?”

 

She grinned at him, a light blush rising to her cheeks and the look of want flickering back through her eyes.  “Only a little,” she teased.  “Now I’m achin’ in…other places.”

 

Groaning, he lowered his head to her shoulder and breathed deeply a couple of times to keep from undressing her right there on the roadside.  “Not here, darlin’,” he rasped.  “Not right now.” 

Pressing her ass firmly into his erection, she leaned up to his ear and whispered, “Soon, though.”

 

He cupped her lightly through her pants and nodded his agreement.  “Soon.”

 

***

 

Twirled

 

 

“Logan, you need to sleep.”

“I’ve slept.”

 

“When?”

 

“Little Rock.”

 

Sighing, she squeezed her arms tighter around his waist and kissed the back of his shoulder.  “Sleepin’ with your eyes open on the back of a motorcycle don’t count, baby,” she informed him.

 

He shivered, both at her kiss and her endearment, and gripped the handlebars tighter.  He didn’t want to tell her that he didn’t dare stop at a hotel because they’d be sharing a room – no way was he letting her out of his sight for a second – and once he climbed into bed with her, he really didn’t want to have to get out for another five years or so.  And they needed to keep moving.

 

“I’ll live.”

 

“Logan – one day you’re healin’ factor’s gonna get sick and tired of the abuse you keep heapin’ on it and it’s gonna up and leave ya.”

 

He chuckled, bringing his left hand in to cradle both of hers where they were clenched over his stomach.  “Don’t worry about me, darlin’.  We’re gonna make it.”

 

They were nearly to Dallas, and from there, Logan figured it was just about a day’s ride to Piedras Negras, right over the border.  Once they were in Mexico, they could breathe easy.  People didn’t care about mutants in Mexico; of course, they didn’t care about them in Canada either.  Toronto had been just a hop, skip and jump from New York, and at least Canadians spoke English… but Rogue had wanted to see Mexico.  He smiled a little.  Probably closer to her native climate, he guessed.  Little Mississippi girl like her… she was always the first one to bundle up in the winter and the last one to lose any layers in the spring.

People attributed it to her mutation, but he knew differently.  He’d seen her pulling on four pairs of socks in front of the fireplace one Christmas and knew that she had begged the Professor for an electric blanket for her bed.  The asked-for gift, however, had shown up on the foot of her bed the very next morning, and when she thanked the Professor for it, Charles had furrowed his brow in confusion and answered, “Well, Rogue, to be quite honest, I had not yet acquired one for you.  While I was intending to fulfill your request, that blanket is not from me.”

 

She had never found out who it really was from, but Logan had smiled every time he’d come into her room to check on her and found the blanket turned on, wrapped securely around her little body.

 

Just like he wanted to be.  Dammit.  Maybe they were going to have to stop soon after all.

“After we get through Dallas, baby.  We’ll find a small town somewhere and stop, okay?”

 

“All right, Logan,” she agreed, linking his fingers with hers and squeezing.  “I just want you to be all right, you know?”

 

“I know, baby,” he nodded, bringing her gloved hand to his lips to kiss her fingers.  “You too.”

 

***

 

Interlaced

 

 

They ended up stopping in Meridian, Texas, several hours outside of Dallas, on the other side of Lake Whitney.  Rogue had smiled at the name, and when he asked why, she simply said, “It reminds me of someplace I used ta know, back home.”

 

He hadn’t pried, and they’d chosen a low-budget hotel room on the far side of town for the night.  Rogue had waited outside with the bike while Logan secured their room, then followed him in with much moaning and groaning.

“Ah swear, Logan,” she complained, “Sleepin’ on a bike may be cozy, but it ain’t  happenin’ much more, got it?”

 

He nodded silently, feeling a little guilty.  Sure, he was fine sleeping sitting up while Rogue took over driving for a couple of hours – even if he didn’t really sleep, just allowed himself to relax a little – but she needed better.  She deserved better.

 

“Sorry,” he muttered gruffly, and she paused at the door to the bathroom, studying him. 

 

“Don’t beat yahself up over it, Logan,” she told him softly, and he raised his eyes to meet hers.  “Everythin’s fine.”

 

He nodded, attempting a tight smile, and her lips quirked in acknowledgment before she went into the bathroom and shut the door.  He glanced around the room, realizing for the first time that all they had was the few clothes they’d managed to stuff into their respective packs.  They were going to need supplies soon, and he cringed, automatically calculating how much money they were going to have left if they kept staying in hotels – even cheap ones like this.  He figured it was going to be tight, but they could make it. 

 

He laid back on the room’s one bed, stretching his arms over his head and staring up at the ceiling.  His mind was filled with the little details of their escape… like the fact that he had to carry cash because he couldn’t afford to leave an electronic trail with the credit cards… and that checking into hotels under aliases was getting harder to do since the clerks had started asking for ID.  He’d gotten lucky here, but he remembered hearing one of the older kids at the institute complaining about it some months back.

 

He closed his eyes in deference to the exhaustion that claimed his mind even as his body fought it back, and then immediately opened them again when he heard the shower start up in the bathroom.  A slight shudder ran through his body at the mental image that presented itself to him unbidden: Rogue stepping out of her clothes and into the shower, her pale, slender body relaxing under the hot spray.

 

His breath caught in his throat as his vivid imagination added a slight pink flush to her skin as the water heated up, his mind running over the imagined curves of her body.  He paused at her breasts, wondering momentarily what color her nipples were, and then skimmed lower, over her impossibly flat belly, to her amazingly long legs.  No girl her age should be allowed to have legs that long and tantalizing.

 

The reminder of her age finally snapped him back to reality and he chastised himself.  He knew he’d already crossed the point of no return with her out by the road in Indiana, but he figured he owed it to her to take it slow, and fantasizing about her in the shower wasn’t going to help.  Grimacing, he rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow, willing sleep to come and take him.

 

***

 

Indelible

 

 

Rogue swallowed a gasp as the scalding water suddenly lost most of its heat, sending a chill through her body.  Muttering a curse, she turned off the water as quickly as she could and stepped out, scrubbing the standard issue rough white towel over her skin.  She picked up the clothes on the floor of the bathroom and wrinkled her nose.  No way was she putting them back on.  She’d just have to go out into the room and dig through her pack to see which of her back-up outfits was the cleanest.  She really needed to do laundry soon.

 

After vigorously rubbing her hair, she wrapped the towel around her torso and sauntered out into the room, calling out, “Don’t look, Wolverine.”  Which, she admitted, was a joke.  She’d love for him to look.

 

When she didn’t hear the leering response she’d expected, she glanced around the room, her eyes finally falling on his still form on the bed.  He was on his stomach, and his back rose and fell with his deep, even breaths.  She took a moment to just watch him, running her eyes over his slender hips, his strong back, and his broad, muscular shoulders that stretched his black t-shirt obscenely tight.  His black denims hugged his ass spectacularly, but she couldn’t help noticing the way they smoothed over his thighs and calves as well.  She’d never particularly noticed a man’s legs before, but his were beautiful, strong, and gracefully powerful.

 

She felt a rush of warmth through her body, sensitizing her nipples against the rough towel and settling in a rush of wetness between her legs.  Without making a conscious decision, she dropped the towel and sauntered over to him.  Climbing onto the bed, she was just settling astride his ass when he woke with a grunt, attempting to turn over.  Pinning his shoulders with her hands and pressing herself down against his denim-covered ass, she drawled, “Jus’ lie still, sugah.  I gotcha.”

 

The sound that answered her was somewhere between a moan and a growl, and she smiled, massaging his back and shoulders through his shirt as she rocked wantonly against his hips.  After a few moments, he rolled over, careful not disturb her more than necessary, and she stilled, straddling an impressive erection, her small hands running light patterns over his chest.  His eyes widened with surprise and lust as they ran over her naked form, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

 

He caught her hands with his own glove-encased ones and looked into her eyes, rumbling deep in his chest.  She felt the vibrations all the way up through her arms and her eyes fluttered closed with the sensation.  “Rogue,” he murmured, and she felt all the air rush out of her lungs in a harsh sigh of lust.

 

“Yes,” she answered his non-question breathlessly, beginning to gently ride him, the harsh denim of his jeans pressing up into her and making her crazy.   

 

He groaned, closing his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, it was to find her staring at him with unapologetic want in her gaze.  Silently, he ran his hands up over her thighs and hips to her stomach, brushing the skin there with butterfly-softness before cupping her breasts gently.  She moaned and leaned into his touch, and he squeezed the flesh, his hips beginning to rise to meet hers.

 

She took her lip between her teeth and scraped her fingernails over his nipples.  He hissed with pleasure and the heat in her eyes kicked up a couple of notches, which he hadn’t thought possible.  She swayed above him, the pleasure intense, but wanting more… she thrust her hips downward more forcefully and was rewarded with a light pinch of her nipples.  She dimly heard his growly whimper as her right hand trailed down over his stomach to slip between their bodies, pressing against his erection and her clit at the same time.

 

Before she knew what was happening, his larger hand joined hers, the slick leather sliding over her wet folds and tangling with her fingers.  “Logan!” she exclaimed breathlessly.  “Oh, God, Logan…”

 

Her body responded to him without inhibition, and her heart was startlingly full.  She felt as if she were about to fly apart into a million pieces and all because the emotion filling her was bigger than she was… too much for her to contain.

 

“Logan,” she begged desperately. He slid a finger deep inside her, curling it gently in a ‘come hither’ motion and she let out a short scream.

 

“Rogue,” he rasped in a tone just as frantic as her own.  “C’mon, baby… Oh, God, c’mon…”

 

She whimpered wordlessly, the rocking of her hips becoming harsh and demanding as he matched her rhythm with his hands and his body.  “Shit,” she hissed between clenched teeth, growling with the passion and effort.

 

He growled back, and she felt the electricity sparkling upward through her body from where their joined hands caressed her, exploding in her brain.  “Logan!” she cried, and he roared as his hips thrust upward sharply, finding his own release a moment later, while she was still coming down.

 

She collapsed against him, her wet hair plastered to her face and soaking through Logan’s shirt as she shuddered with the aftershocks.  She whimpered softly in satisfaction, and he cupped the back of her head with the hand that wasn’t still trapped between their trembling bodies.

 

She felt sleep creeping into her mind and body as he cradled her carefully and kissed the top of her head.  She wasn’t sure, but just before she dropped off completely, she thought she heard him whisper, “I love you.”

 

***

 

Intermingled

 

She awoke to a pounding on the door and sat up quickly, clutching the sheet to her naked body.  Logan, freshly showered and in clean jeans, crouched in a fighting stance at the end of the bed, claws out, watching the doorway intently.  He spared her a fleeting glance and a quiet, “Ssh,” before turning his attention back to the pounding.

 

“Come on outta there, you mutie freak!” a loud male voice called, and Rogue rolled her eyes in exasperation.  Stupid people.  Quietly, she slid out of bed and dug some clothes out of her pack, dressing quickly and lacing up her boots.  Shoving everything else back in, she zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder, checking to make sure nothing of Logan’s was lying out in the room.  She grabbed one of his t-shirts and tossed it onto the bed within his line of vision.  He nodded slightly in acknowledgment but made no move to put it on.  Satisfied that they wouldn’t be leaving anything behind, she stood behind him and waited to see what would happen next.

 

“C’mon out or I’ll break down the door!” the voice threatened, and Rogue noted with satisfaction that Logan was already wearing his boots.  That would save them precious time when they made a run for it.  The pounding paused and they spared each other anxious glances until another voice was heard outside.

 

“Mike, are you sure he’s a mutie?  I don’t want you bustin’ up my hotel for no reason.”

 

“I seen him on the news, Frank.  I ain’t wrong.”

 

“All right, Mike.  All right. But let’s go get the key from the office, ‘kay?  I still don’t want you bustin’ up my hotel.”

 

Rogue heard them moving away and turned her eyes to Logan’s, silently asking.  He caught her look and nodded.  “They’re both gone,” he rumbled.  “Let’s beat it, kid.”  He yanked on his shirt over his head and peeked out the door.  She grabbed his leather jacket and her gloves, holding the jacket out to him.  He took it without looking back, and she gasped as his bare fingers brushed hers… without effect.

 

“Coast is clear,” he said, seemingly unaware of the phenomenon.  “Run!”

 

Rogue shoved the information to the back of her head – now was not the time to be having revelations about her mutation – and did just that, easily keeping up with him as he dragged her behind him, his hand wrapped around her cloth-covered wrist.

 

He straddled the bike and kicked it to life and she leaped on behind him, clutching his waist tightly and plastering herself to his back.  She hid her grin in his leather-covered back as they roared out of the parking lot and onto the road.

 

***

 

Inseparable

 

Several hours later, Logan pulled the bike over to the side of the road and idled the engine.  Rogue, who had not quite been asleep but had been dozing lightly, picked her head up from his back and looked around curiously.

 

“What is it?” she wanted to know, and he leaned to the side so that she could see the bridge they were about to cross.

 

“That’s the Rio Grande,” he told her.  “We’re in Eagle Pass, Texas right now… but when we cross that bridge, we’ll be in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.”

“Wow,” she said quietly.  “Ah had no idea we were so close!”

 

Logan nodded.  “We’ll have to keep moving, of course.  Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass are so close that they have an agreement – fugitives can’t hide out across the border – but we’re there.”

 

“Ah can’t believe it,” she giggled, and he found himself grinning at her enthusiasm.  “Well what’re ya waitin’ for?  Let’s go!”

 

She locked her arms around his waist again and rested her chin on his shoulder, smiling as they roared across the Eagle Pass Bridge into Mexico.  They took it slow through the downtown, Logan smiling as Rogue excitedly pointed out all the little shops.  He noticed that her interest in the leatherworking shops was quiet but intense and smirked to himself.

 

They finally decided that they’d get a place to stay for the night in one of the town’s two hotels.  Logan watched Rogue’s eyes light up at the question, “Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express, darlin’?” and chuckled.  His laughter died with her answer, though.

 

“Well… despite the name, I think the Express.”

 

“Why?  And what do you mean, despite the name?” he asked as they pulled up in front of the hotel and killed the engine on the bike.

 

“Well… I just mean… y’know, ‘express’ doesn’t sound exactly, um, thorough… but… we’d be able to afford more nights there.”  Her eyes as they met his were at once shy and mischievous, and he turned away from her as he felt the air leave his lungs in a rush. 

 

His response fed her boldness, and she leaned forward, sliding her body up his back, whispering in his ear, “Ah told you Ah wanted more than one night.”  When her tongue flickered out to taste the edge of his earlobe, he shuddered at the sensation and struggled to breathe.

 

It took him about fifteen seconds to realize that he’d felt no pull when she’d touched him, and he twisted around as far as he could on the bike, looking at her with wide, surprised eyes.  “How…?”

 

“Ah dunno,” she shrugged, blushing a little.  “Ah just noticed, when we were runnin’ from the hotel, that ya accident’ly touched meh an’ it didn’t hurt.”

 

He couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his face that was at once hungry and ridiculously happy.  An equally delirious smile answered him and he leaned up, crushing his mouth to hers.  She kissed him back for a half-second before she pushed him away.  Half-growling, half-whining, Logan frowned fiercely at her before he realized what she was doing.  Carefully balancing herself with her hands on his shoulders, she climbed around him until she was in front of him on the bike, her knees touching his, facing him.

 

His growl turned possessive and wickedly delighted and he pulled her forward, grabbing her ass and positioning her long legs on either side of his hips.  In that position, she swayed slightly above him, and he reached up to cup her face.  He paused as he noticed the leather driving gloves he wore.  Impatiently he tore them off with his teeth, dropping them carelessly into her lap, and pulled her head down to his.

 

Her lips parted on a gasp and he pulled her lower lip into his mouth, sucking gently and pressing his tongue against the soft flesh.  She whimpered and he released her lip, allowing her to shift the kiss and press her mouth against his tentatively.  He was surprised at her hesitancy – she’d been so bold in their other encounters – but her uncertainty as she shyly pushed her warm, wet tongue into his mouth sent flames licking up his body and he moaned, one hand tightening convulsively on her ass, the other wrapping her hair firmly around his fingers.

 

She grew more confident, exploring his mouth, licking along the edges of his teeth, sliding her hands into his hair and massaging his scalp, and he lost himself in the kiss, feeling his body responding to her.

 

She pulled back, gasping for air, her chest heaving, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling brightly.  “Logan.”  She said his name like a benediction, a smile curling up her lips.

 

“I want you,” he confessed raggedly.

 

Her smile turned dreamy and her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned forward to nuzzle his face, trailing her lips lightly over his cheekbone, just beneath his eye.  “Let’s get a room, huh?” she suggested hoarsely.

 

Kissing her quickly, harshly, Logan rumbled his agreement and pulled her off the bike with him, stalking into the lobby of the hotel.  “Give us a room,” he demanded gruffly of the clerk.  Rogue hid a giggle and he glowered at her darkly.  She only winked and pinched his ass.  Fortunately for Logan and everyone else in the hotel, the clerk spoke enough English to book them into a room, sliding the keycard over the counter quickly as Logan slapped the money down on the counter.

 

“Como se llaman ustedes?” the clerk inquired shakily, and Rogue winked at him.

 

“We’ll call down later and tell ya,” she promised cheekily as Logan dragged her up to the room at a breakneck speed.

 

“Much later,” Logan threw over his shoulder as they bounded up the stairs two at a time.

 

He shoved the keycard into the slot so forcefully that the little light blinked angrily at him in a glaring red.  He growled and popped the claws, prepared to argue with the lock.  Smiling slyly, Rogue slide between him and the offending door, removing the card and gently sliding it back in.  The light blinked a smiling green and she opened the door effortlessly.

 

Logan’s hands gripped her hips as he propelled her through the door – not that she needed the encouragement – and she laughed breathlessly as he kicked the door shut behind them forcefully and nibbled on her neck.

 

“In a hurry, sugah?” she purred, and he answered by growling and running his tongue from her shoulder up her neck to just below her ear.

 

“What do you think,” he breathed against her damp skin, making her shiver.

 

“I think we’re both wearin’ too many clothes,” she stated decisively, turning and falling onto the bed, pulling him down with her and pulling his t-shirt out of his jeans.  He returned the favor, relieving her of her cute little wrap-around sweater that always tempted him with its off-the-shoulder neckline.  She’d lost the tank top she wore underneath it some ways back, the victim of too much time on the road with no Laundromat.

 

They sighed as their bare chests met, and Rogue went for his jeans.  He shucked them quickly, kicking his boots off as well, before reaching for hers.  She wriggled up higher onto the bed while she kicked her boots off, her motions helping him slide the denim down her long legs.

 

He looked up at her hungrily, her slim little body completely naked, since her underwear had been relegated to the packs permanently in deference to comfort and need for washing.  She hummed in anticipation, reaching out for him and beckoning him up her body.  He responded, angling his head down to kiss her with a gentle desperation that made his heart hurt.

 

“I love you, Logan,” she whispered as they parted, then blushed brightly and looked away from him. 

 

“I know,” he answered gently, brushing the backs of his knuckles against her face.  She met his eyes again, both shy and sultry.  The combination was enough to kill him, he thought.  “I love you, too.  A lot.”

 

“Me too,” she responded, leaning up to nuzzle his face again, kissing the stubble along his jawline and licking at his chin.  “Love you a lot, I mean.  God…a lot.”

 

He captured her lips again and she arched her body up into him, begging for touch, skin-on-skin.  He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, searching out hers and tangling with it, as he brought his hands to cradle her tender breasts.  He almost smiled as he realized he now knew what color they were and involuntarily thrust his hips against her.

 

Her legs fell apart easily and he moved into the cradle she made, trying to keep still as her little hands ran over his broad back and down to squeeze his ass.  “Logan,” she murmured against his mouth and through a rather intense kiss.  “I need you.  Now.”

 

He trailed one hand down over her body to test her readiness and was surprised at how needy her body was.  She was incredibly wet and he could feel her pulse strongly in the sensitive flesh.  “What about…?”

 

“Ah’ve been on the pill since Ah was sixteen,” she assured him, arching her hips upward.  “Irregular periods.”  Another shy smile.  “And I’m clean.”

 

“I never doubted that, darlin’,” he smiled, flicking his tongue out to lick her earlobe delicately as he gently lowered his hips toward her, her tiny hand coming around his hip to guide him in.

 

Rogue whimpered and Logan groaned as he entered her, and he was just a little surprised to find out that he wasn’t the first.  He looked up and met her eyes as he slid all the way in, and she shrugged.  “You’re the first to do it without a barrier,” she told him softly.  “The first one I’ve really felt.”

 

He smiled infinitesimally and kissed her, shaking his head a little.  She knew him far too well.

 

They maintained eye contact as he started moving, her hands clutching his back, his wrapped around her body, propping her up so that she was arched into him, angling her just so.  Her long legs wrapped around his hips, sliding over his ass and legs as she moved with him, leaning up to kiss him hungrily.

 

“God, Logan,” she whispered, her eyes sliding closed in bliss.

 

“Love you,” he grunted as he thrust into her, sweat beginning to dampen his hair as it fell into his face.  “Want you.”  He lowered his head and breathed in the scent of skin, sweat, and sex.  “Need you.”

 

“You too,” she answered, her voice hitching as he slid one hand lower, cupping her ass and helping her meet his rhythm.  She moaned and he slipped his hand around, his fingers wriggling between their bodies to touch her clit, rolling and rubbing it gently.

 

She shrieked in surprise and clenched around him, gritting her teeth as a growl rumbled its way out of her chest and she arched powerfully beneath him.  He roared his response as he jerked erratically, spilling into her, straining to keep his eyes open and focused on her red-flushed face.

 

Panting, they gradually came back to awareness in each other’s arms, covering each other with kisses and words of gratitude and affection.  He rolled off of her slowly, sprawling out on the mattress beside her with exhaustion.  She sighed and shifted positions so that she could stretch out across him, their sweaty skin clinging together.

 

“God, darlin’,” he purred, squeezing her in an embrace and skimming his hands over her rapidly cooling back.

 

“Yep,” she answered smugly, snuggling into him.

 

“You don’t – you don’t regret this do you?” he ventured gruffly.  He didn’t really want to have this conversation at the moment, but the possibility had slammed into him with a sudden urgency and he had to know.

 

“Never,” she answered seriously, punctuating it with a kiss to his chest.  “And Ah’ll be willin’ to prove it to ya in an hour or so… jus’ as soon as Ah’m recovered a little.”

 

“An hour?” he growled, only half-teasing.

 

“Like Ah said before, sugah, some of us ain’t got healin’ factors.”

 

He shook with laughter then, kissing the top of her head and tangling his fingers in her hair.  “All right, darlin’,” he chuckled.  “All right.”

 

She gave a jaw-cracking yawn and sighed, “G’night, Logan.  Love you.”

 

“Night, Rogue,” he grinned, kissing her forehead.  He knew he should tell her he loved her again, answer her, but it was expected.  It was trite.  And it wasn’t what he wanted to say to her anyway.  He lay awake, fighting the delicious drowsiness that crept over him, looking for the words that would express what he felt.  Finally, just as he felt he couldn’t stay awake any longer, it came to him, and he smiled, the words escaping on a breath.

 

“Forever, baby.”

 

xXxXxXx

 

 

THE END