A Little Tenderness part 3 Author: vangiekitty A little Tenderness, part 3, vangiekitty’s version Logan pushed into the darkened room, for Remy had turned off all the lights. Looking across the room, his night vision adjusting instantly, Logan saw the lanky young man lying on his back on the bed, wearing only a pair of tight old jeans. The faded denim caressed the lean curves of the Cajun’s body and Logan could almost feel the soft, washed-out fabric against his fingertips. Auburn hair fell in loose waves across a pale forehead and lay along Remy’s slender, arching neck. A single shaft of moonlight fell from a half shaded window across the smooth, nearly hairless chest. Only a fine halo of silky threads encircled the small, tender nipples and a trail of the same led down the flat stomach to disappear into Remy’s faded jeans. Allowing himself to appreciate the site of another man’s body for the first time, Logan had to admit that Remy was beautiful in a purely masculine way he had never let himself notice before. The younger man’s body was lanky, yet well cut though he was by no means as muscular as Logan himself. Remy’s skin was pale from lack of sun, yet beautifully smooth and silky looking. Logan found himself wondering what it would be like to run one callused palm down those lean flanks and to caress those tiny pink nubs, to feel them harden under his hand… Abruptly, Logan realized he was still standing in the doorway with one hand on the knob, drinking in the site of the Remy’s body and not saying anything. Remy seemed to be waiting for him to make the next move. He lay, utterly passive and the beautiful, red-on-black demon eyes blinked slowly at him in the semi-darkness like a cat’s eyes, inviting Logan to enter or leave- whichever he chose. Logan knew he wanted to accept the mute invitation made by his friend and team- mate’s eyes though he wasn’t sure what it would lead to. The kiss they had shared earlier had proved to him that he wanted to know the slender young man on the bed better. In what way, he wasn’t yet sure. He stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind him and slowly approached the bed. Remy’s heart was still racing, but he tried to lay perfectly still and appear relaxed. Logan’s intense scrutiny made him a little uncomfortable, however. What was the man thinking? Remy was keeping his charm barriers high and tight so that not even the slightest bit of charm power leaked out. He wanted Logan to come to him of his own accord, not because he was coerced by the empathic ability. “What y’ want, cher?” he asked softly. Logan shook his head briefly, as if to clear it. “I hardly know, kid,” he confessed in a confused tone. “Just wanted ta come in and see ya a while, I guess.” Remy scooted over to one side of the bed and motioned Logan over. “Plenty of room, mon ami,” he whispered, “Come on over.” Logan walked slowly over and sat on the side of the bed he had indicated. Logan was, Remy noted, wearing jeans and an old flannel shirt that looked like it had been through the washer countless times. Sitting as close as he was, Remy could just catch a whiff of the warm, masculine scent that emanated from the dark, compactly muscular man. Remy tried desperately to reign in his hopes and desires but he couldn’t help thinking how soft the flannel would feel against his bare chest if only Logan would hug him, would hold him again. He longed to feel those large, strong hands stroke his back and caress their warmth into his shoulders and spine. His back arched, just a bit, with involuntary longing at the thought. Watching that tiny, erotic motion, Logan opened his mouth to speak, though he hardly knew what he was going to say. “I…uh, I been thinkin’ ‘bout this afternoon, Remy,” he said, slowly, carefully weighing his words. “It’s got me… um, kinda confused ta say the least.” Confused? Wonderful, Remy wasn’t sure if he should be hopeful or not. “Why?” he asked simply in a low, non-threatening tone. “Well, Hell, kid! If I knew that I wouldn’t be confused!” Logan exploded angrily. Hearing his tone Remy scooted away from the other man hastily. A pissed-off Wolverine was not someone he wanted to get too close to. The barely contained violence in the man was like the carbonation in a can of Coke, waiting to spew out and foam over and he didn’t want to be the one who shook up this particular can! “Hey kid, come back over here,” Logan said in a carefully calmer tone. He could tell he had scared the young man who had been savagely abused so often in his youth and he hated the hurt, hunted look that had come into the beautiful red-on-black eyes. “I didn’t mean ta scare ya off like that. I’ve just never had feelings like this before for… um, for another man, I guess. It kinda scares me a little, ya know?” But Remy remained distrustfully on the far side of the bed from Logan. “I’m sorry, mon ami, but I been hurt more dan once by confused, scared men. Maybe y’ better leave if y’ too confused t’ know how y’feel,” he said in a soft voice. Better by far to risk Logan’s wrath now than halfway through a love-making session which he suddenly decided was unnatural or perverse. Logan had been willing to kiss him, certainly. But how much farther would he be willing to stretch his normally heterosexual desires and views? Remy wasn’t sure if he dared to find out though part of him, the part that had been willing to risk even rape from the older man in order to receive his comfort and tenderness earlier, longed to explore the possibilities. Logan’s breath gusted out in a huge sigh and he ran one hand distractedly through his dark, wild hair. “Look, I’m sorry, Remy.” He said as gently as he could. “I know ya been hurt before but I promise you it won’t be like that. I’m just trying ta get my mind around the fact that I… I want you, I guess. I been ridin’ around all afternoon on my Harley, just tryin’ ta think things through.” Logan moved carefully, inching a little closer to the frightened young man who was drawn up on the other side of the bed. “But every thought I had, Remy, just came back ta you. The way it felt to hold you… the way your mouth felt against mine.” He shook his head. “I kept tellin’ myself, I’m not that way, guys don’t turn me on. But…” His voice trailed away. Remy had partially relaxed and he looked curiously at the suddenly silent man who sat beside him. “But?” he prompted gently. “But, well, that’s just not true anymore, I guess,” he said in a hushed voice. “Remy, I just… I just want ta be with you. I’ve seen the way ya been wanderin’around lost since ya got back from Antarctica. I can see the pain an’ emptiness in yer eyes, the way ya look so… ” he searched for a word, “So haunted, so betrayed.” Logan shook his head saddened. “It’s the reason I came ta talk to ya in the first place today. But I realized that it’s more than wantin’ to wipe that hurt look out of yer eyes. I want ta protect ya from ever bein’ hurt again. I don’t understand these feelin’s I’m havin’, but I want ta try and find out what’s goin’ on. Want ta see if there’s a chance anything could come of ‘em, ya know?” He sighed. “But I know I’m comin’ on awful strong and just cause I got feelin’s fer you doesn’t mean you got the same feelin’s for me.” He shook his head in disgust at his own ignorance. “Geez kid, I’m just so sorry. No wonder yer scared of me. Here I come, pushin’ inta yer room and declarin’ my… whatever ya call it, love, lust, I dunno. And ya probably think I’m gonna hold ya down and hurt ya. But Remy,” his eyes were earnest, “it’s not like that with me. I’d never, never hurt ya. I’m sorry if I assumed too much. I guess I better go now.” He started to rise from the bed but a slender, long-fingered thief’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Non, Logan. Stay,” Remy said softly. “Y’ mean what y’ say ‘bout protectin’ me? “Bout not wantin’ ta see me hurt n’ more?” “Course I do, kid! I… I want ta be here for ya. Always,” Logan stated firmly. “An’ y’ mean what y’ say ‘bout wantin’ t’ explore y’ feelings? De feelin’s ‘tween you an’ me?” Remy asked almost shyly, in a lower voice. Logan’s gaze was heated as he replied, “*Very* serious, Remy. I just… I feel like I want ya so bad right now. At first I tried ta tell myself it was yer charm power.” “Non, mon ami! Been keepin’ it walled off ‘cept for that little bit this afternoon when y’ asked me t’ let it go.” Remy protested. “I know that, Remy. That’s why I went ridin’ around. I wanted ta get away from the mansion and away from yer influence and see if I still felt tha same.” He reached up and gently caressed the soft hand that still lay on his shoulder. “After a couple o’ hours, I had ta admit, it isn’t you. It’s me. I want you. Want ta kiss ya some more and prob’ly do a whole lot more than that.I just wasn’t sure how ya felt about me. That’s why I came ta see ya t’night. Ta see how ya feel, what ya think about all this.” Logan waved a hand vaguely, indicating the two of them sitting close together on the bed. “To see if you can trust me,” he added in a lower tone. The heat from the Cajun’s hand on his shoulder was coursing through him like wild-fire. He wanted the younger man so much, it was like a low-grade fever in his blood. But he had to know how Remy felt. The slender young man had been hurt before; he might be unable or unwilling to entrust himself to Logan’s hands, even for the promise of love. He waited tensely to see what the Cajun would decide. Remy didn’t answer in words. Instead, he curved his body around Logan’s until he was facing him and nearly in his lap as he had been earlier that afternoon. Slowly, almost delicately, he leaned up and brushed Logan’s lips with his, his half-lidded eyes filled with love and submission to the older man above him. “I trust y’, mon amour,” he breathed softly into Logan’s ear, the warm breath sending shivers of hot desire through the man he pressed against. “Y’ can do what y’ want w’ me. Even if y’ did want t’ hurt me a little, I don’ mind. Rather be hit you than kissed by anyone else, non?” Looking into the beautiful demon eyes Logan was overwhelmed by the complete love and trust he saw despite the fear that still lurked there. He understood what the younger man was saying to him. Remy trusted him not to hurt him intentionally. Remy understood, having been hurt by men in the past, that sometimes pain was a part of sexual pleasure and the younger man was giving him permission to make love to him without worrying about the damage he might inflict. Taking the younger man in his arms Logan marveled at how accepting Remy was of the fact that he might be hurt. What must he have been through to be this willing to give himself to another, knowing it might hurt, just for a little tenderness… a little affection? His heart went out to the young man, lying so soft and willing in his arms. He vowed to himself that he would never betray this trust, would never hurt Remy as he had been hurt in the past. “Thanks, kid.” He murmured, caressing the smooth, bare back that felt like silk gliding under his callused palms. “But I’m not lookin’ for a guilt-free fuck. I don’t want ta just get off an’ leave ya. I want ta be sure ya get what you need too. Only you’ll have ta help me ‘cause I’m new at this.” In answer, Remy once again pressed his mouth to Logan’s and this time he parted his lips to taste his lover more fully. The kiss grew in intensity as Logan slipped his tongue insistently into Remy’s mouth, loving the hot, willing way the younger man offered his body so eagerly. A part of him, the raging feral part that was always so near the surface, wanted to ravage the young man. Wanted to take Remy up on his offer of pain, to spread the beautiful, submissive young body beneath him and tear into it. But Remy had been used and abused like this before and Logan wanted this time to be different. He had never had sex with a man before, had never even considered it before today and he supposed that if he had ever happened to think about what went on during a gay sexual encounter, he would have assumed it was a rough affair with a lot of thrusting and deep penetration. But Remy had had enough roughness to last his whole life and just because he offered to let Logan take him as roughly as he pleased was no reason to hurt him further. With effort, Logan pushed down the predatory instincts that Remy’s delicious submission aroused in him. He felt very deeply for the younger man; perhaps even loved him. He wanted to give him a sexual experience that didn’t make him cringe with terror and pain. There would be plenty of time for a harder, more passionate kind of loving later, when the Cajun no longer feared him. Right now, he just wanted to make love to the beautiful young man he held so tenderly in his arms. “I want ta make love with ya Remy,” he whispered softly. “Want ta make ya feel good again, show ya it doesn’t have ta be painful or rough… ” “Oh, Logan,” Remy moaned in a soft, broken voice. “It’s enough jus’ t’ be wit’ y’, mon amour. Y’ don’ have ta hold back f’ my sake. Want y’ t’ enjoy y’self…” “Ya think the only way I can enjoy myself is by hurting you?” demanded Logan, staring into the red-black eyes. The eyes filled with hurt and sorrow at the memories of past humiliation and pain. “Dat’s jus’ how it’s always been before, cher,” Remy admitted softly. “Don’ want ta lose y’. I told y’, do anyt’ing ya want t’ me. Just… ” He blinked once and a single, silvery tear ran down one pale cheek. “Just don’ leave me, please,” he finished. “I’m not gonna hurt ya and I’m not gonna leave ya when this is done.” Logan rubbed the bare back soothingly and kissed away the glistening tear gently. He tasted Remy’s doubt and fear in the salty drop and he wanted to prove the truth of his words. “Lay back and let me show ya, Remy,” he commanded. Obediently, the young man did as he was told and Logan’s hands and mouth went to work on the lean young body.