Postcards From The Edge

Logan made one last futile attempt to call Marie before checking out of the motel, but wasn’t surprised when he got the machine again. He decided not to forewarn her that he was on his way back for fear that she’d disappear on him. Mapquest had indicated the 2700-kilometer journey should take approximately thirty-one hours, but Logan was hoping to cut that time considerably with Scott’s modified bike. He crossed the border into North Dakota and started to make his way east, stopping only to refuel the bike and himself. He planned on being able to knock on or knock down Marie’s door sometime within the next twenty-four hours.

Weary, even for him – twenty-one hours later he was within fifty miles of his goal. Seeing the sign for the exit that was his connection to Westchester, Logan took the exit that would lead him into the city instead. He had something he wanted to pick up before going to the mansion and throwing himself shamelessly on Marie’s mercy – something he’d hoped would help show her that despite his incredibly asinine mistake – she was *the one*.

At the store on Fifth Avenue he spent a solid hour carefully choosing just the right expression of his commitment. After handing over a considerable chunk of his fight earnings he placed the small velvet box in the inside pocket of his leather jacket – the pocket closest to his heart – it seemed considerably appropriate. He was now less than an hour away from ‘do or die’ time.


As he pulled into the driveway, Logan could hear the rapid pounding of his heartbeat – he’d never been more nervous in his entire remembered life. If Marie rejected him he was just going straight to Scott and insult the man so that he’d get blasted with enough force that his healing factor couldn’t ‘fix’ it.

Upon entering the house the first person Logan encountered was Ororo, who fixed him with a ‘you’ve got a lot of nerve’ look.

“Don’t take advice, do you?” she snapped as she stood there with her arms folded across her chest and defiantly blocking his way.

{Guess I know who ‘Sock Puppet’ is.}

“Get outta my way, ‘Ro. I ain’t telling ya twice,” he warned in a low growl.

Realizing that the tough approach wasn’t going to work on Logan, or even faze him for a moment, Ororo changed tactics.

“Logan, please, don’t do this,” Ororo started to say.

“Do what? All I want to do is talk to her,” Logan said a little calmer.

“And say what? She looked like you, therefore you should be flattered.”

Logan already understood that excuse was weak, but hearing it out loud made it seem all the more insulting. He’d really fucked up, he knew it and he also accepted that just acknowledging it and apologizing wasn’t going to be sufficient.

“I appreciate your supporting Rogue and wishing to protect her, but can you at least let us try and work this out between the two of us?”

Ororo seemed to stand down at that and said, “Okay, but you’d better make one hell of an effort.”

“No worries there,” he replied, “Where is she?”

“In her room,” she told him as she stepped aside to let him pass.

As Logan moved past her, he turned and said, “I do love her, ‘Ro.”

“I know you do, or I’d have blasted you into the next county with a bolt of lightening that would’ve made the one I unleashed on Toad look like a mild zap.”

A ghost of a smile flickered across Logan’s face as he bounded up the main staircase, two steps at a time. It wasn’t until he was standing in front of Marie’s door that he hesitated. He offered up a silent prayer to a God he’d long abandoned that he be empowered with the ability to say, if not the absolute perfect thing, then at least nothing that would make the situation any worse. He knew he couldn’t live without her – well, technically he could, he just didn’t want to have to. Knocking on the door lightly, he sucked in his breath and heard his heartbeat thrumming erratically.

Marie opened the door. Her hair was piled up loosely on her head with tendrils framing her face and she was wearing a white cotton sundress. To complete the ethereal picture the sunlight streaming in from the French doors on the far side of the room caused an angelic halo effect to surround her. She looked so beautiful that Logan wanted to fall at her feet, sobbing and begging for her forgiveness. Then he wanted to sweep her up in his arms, carry her over to the bed and erase the memory of what he’d done.

“Marie,” he said in a gasp of air, as he finally released the breath he’en hen holding.

She just stood there quietly, her eyes glistening as they filled with tears.

“I know I’ve been a complete bastard who doesn’t deserve another chance – I know that. But I’m asking for one anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“I made a mistake. I’m not gonna make excuses or try and rationalize it. I’m just gonna say that I’m sorry – so very, very sorry, Marie. And whatever I have to do to set things right between us, I’ll do it – just tell me what I gotta do.”

Marie thought she’d be prepared to see him again, that her wounded pride would give her the strength to tell him to go to hell, but with him actually standing there before her, looking so remorseful, she found her resolve weakening. The tears were flowing freely now and Logan moved to wipe them away, but Marie backed up a couple of steps and ran her own hand over one cheek.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, then continued, “This was not the way I had your big homecoming planned. You were supposed to come back, sweep me off my feet, y mey me over to the bed and finally make love to me. We weren’t supposed to be having an awkward moment at this particular point. Damn you for screwing it all up.”

“We coul wit with Plan A and talk later,” Logan said with a small smile.

Marie looked at him standing there ~ all sexy and rumpled ~ and she was tempted. Oh God how she was tempted. She’d been fantasizing about this man since the moment she’d first laid eyes on him ~ half-naked ~ in Laughlin City and here he stood offering to make all those fantasies come true. She tried bringing the thoughts of how he’d betrayed her to the forefront, but images of them writhing together in ecstasy kept attempting to squeeze them out. The memories of how he’d satisfied other women also chose a highly inappropriate time to resurface. Marie closed her eyes in frustration, as if that would help push back the erotic visuals swirling through the confusion.

Logan noted the change in her scent from anger to arousal, but tamped down the urge to take advantage of that knowledge. He was bound and determined to let her set the pace for this reunion. He realized that he deserved to be left dangling for a while, but he was still hoping her baser instincts would win the internal battle he knew she was currently waging.

{Please God, just let her jump me now and punish me later.}

“I love you, Logan and I wanna get past this. I do,” she started to say and Logan saw his opportunity.

He took two steps towards her and gathered her against him. Instinctively she snuggled against him as he wrapped his powerful arms around her – enveloping her in his touch. She was finally where she’d dreamed of being and it felt so amazing to hear the thrumming of his heartbeat in her ear and feel the solid warmth of his chest beneath her cheek.

“Then we’ll work it out. Together,” he said as he tilted her chin up and leaned down.

When she didn’t attempt to push away from him, he brushed his lips lightly over hers. He was pleasantly surprised when she leaned into him and kissed him back. Bolstered by this, Logan put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her to him for another kiss. His tongue came out just enough for the tip to lick at the seam of her lips, which she parted and soon the kiss deepened. Logan took that as a good sign and swept her up into his arms and kicking the door shut he began walking them over to the bed.

“Stop!” Marie said, breaking the spell of the moment, “We can’t do this. It’s not going to magically solve our problems, Logan.”

Logan reluctantly put her back down and sorrowfully said, “I know.”

“I’ve made some room for your stuff,” Marie said unexpectedly.

Puzzled, Logan asked, “You want me to stay here – with you?”

She’d left the spaces she’d set aside, perhaps unconsciously knowing that eventually he’d need them – that she’d need him to use them.

“We can’t exactly work things out if you’re on the other side of the mansion in the guest wing,” Marie answered quietly as she looked down at her foot that was tracing circles in the rug and then glanced back up at him through long sooty lashes.

She wanted to work things out and Logan sent a small prayer of thanks skyward.

Quickly, before she changed her mind Logan began unpacking – happily noting that she’d made room for his stuff in the bathroom, dresser and closet. Marie sat on the edge of the bed watching him intently as he claimed the spaces she’d made for him.

Determined not to have sex with him until they’d suitably cleared the air, Marie wondered how long she’d be able to hold out while sharing a room ~ especially a bed ~ with him.

She was about to be faced with her first test when Logan stripped off to take a shower. It was like watching a teaser trailer for a porno movie. Unlike some men, Logan hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d described his *attributes*. Marie bit down on her bottom lip to stop the gasp from being audible, but judging from the way Logan looked at her she was fairly certain he could easily hear the accelerated beating of her heart and smell the affect he was having on her. If he was going to be in the habit of walking around their suite bare-assed naked all the time, she could promptly kiss her self-control goodbye.

Logan walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open and Marie was sorely tempted to ask if he needed any help washing his back – or anything else. Then she chided herself for her complete lack of willpower at the first glimpse of his dick.

“Aw, shit.” Came his voice from the bathroom. “Hey, Marie – I forgot to bring my shampoo in here with me and I don’t wanna smell like ‘fruit fusion’ – would you do me a favor and grab the bottle of my stuff off the counter, please?”

Marie walked into the bathroom, snagged the bottle he’d requested, opened the glass door and handed it to him – all while trying to keep her saf safely above waist level, which still afforded her a view of his spectacular chest. The chest that was currently covered in little water droplets that she wanted to lick off of him.

“Thanks, baby,” he said politely as he uncapped the bottle and poured a small amount of the shampoo into his palm.

With one last lingering look, Marie re-closed the glass door, quickly retreated from the steam-filled room, and collapsed on her bed shaking and breathing hard.

In the shower Logan was formulating a plan he’d dubbed ‘Operation Tempt Marie’. He knew it was wrong to use sex as a weapon in this little battle, but he was completely out of any other ideas. Going back to square one and doing the mating dance seemed kind of ridiculous in light of the e-mails and especially the phone calls. It wasn’t like they could pretend they hadn’t happened.

Fresh from the shower and without benefit of even a small towel wrapped around his waist, he camt oft of the bathroom and leisurely strolled over to the closet to get some clean clothes. Marie was sitting on the bed, now dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt with ‘Angel’ spelled out in rhinestones, casually flipping through a magazine. She flicked her eyes in his direction.

{Brilliant idea, Marie – setting yourself up to be treated to a daily viewing of ‘Masterpenis Theatre’.}

She gave Logan a small smile and pretended to be reabsorbed in her reading material, while trying to will her body not to betray her.

Logan tugged on a pair of clean jeans, but decided to forego the shirt. He parked himself next to her on the bed and tried not to smirk at the knowledge that she was radiating an overwhelming pheromonal response to his bare-chested presence.

“You wanna talk or what?” he asked.

Marie was suddenly grateful that his gift was healing and not telepathy or he would’ve known that staring at his magnificent chest, she was tempted to answer ‘or what’.

“The fact that she was *me* didn’t make it okay,” she managed to say instead, hoping that cutting right to the chase would sufficiently distract her from the pleasure of ogling Logan’s chest.

Logan noticed the change in her scent from arousal to anguish.

“I know that, Marie and I’d never insult you by asking you to buy that excuse,” he said sincerely.

“So where does that leave us?”

“That’s up to you,” Logan responded, hoping he hadn’t just stupidly backed himself into a corner.

“I said I wanted to work things out – I just don’t know how. God, this is so awkward,” she murmured, the uncertainty plainly evident in her voice.

Logan reached out to tuck a strand of platinum behind her ear and said, “Let’s just take things slowly – one day at a time, okay?”

Marie nodded her acceptance of that plan and Logan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.


For dinner they ordered a pizza. When Marie went down to retrieve it from the deliveryman, she explained to everyone she encountered that Logan didn’t feel like socializing just yet, which not surprisingly didn’t shock anyone. Ororo asked her if she was okay and Marie offered her a reassuring yes.

“Dinner is served,” she proclaimed as she re-entered her room, “There’s some Molson’s in the mini-fridge over by the desk.”

Logan cocked an eyebrow at her as he headed toward the fridge.

“Scott bought it. Don’t panic – it’s not like I used a fake I.D. or something.”

“Good. I don’t want you acquiring any bad habits.”

“Aren’t you a bad habit?” Marie asked teasingly as she plunked herself down on the bed.

“Okay. Maybe just one bad habit,” he said with a playful wink as he pulled out a beer for himself and a soda for her.

Logan sat down on the bed, opened the pizza box and then exclaimed, “Fucking idiots forgot half the pepperoni.”

“No they didn’t. I ordered it that way. I don’t eat meat.”

“Oh gee, that’s too bad,” he said as he tossed her a naughty look.

Marie lightly smacked him, “God Logan, you’re so bad.”

“What? I meant that I can’t take you out for a nice steak dinner. What were you thinking about, miss mind-in-the-gutter?”

Marie blushed a deep shade of pink – even though they both knew what Logan had really meant with that comment – it still embarrassed her that he knew what she was thinking. She grabbed a slice of pizza and started chewing. Logan had inhaled his first slice and was halfway through his second before Marie had even taken her third bite.

“Remind me to keep my fingers out of your way when you’re grazing.”

Logan just made a grunting noise, polished off the crust and reached for his third slice.

After the pizza had been demolished with Logan not only eating his share but several slices of Marie’s half, they settled in to watch television. Flipping through the channels and bypassing the decorating and cooking shows, Logan landed on a hockey game on ESPN and looked at Marie expectantly.

Marie rolled her eyes and said, “Okay. I guess I can read a book.”

“Why don’t you watch it with me? I can teach you the rules,” Logan offered.

“What rules? A minute after the ref blows his whistle it deteriorates into a fist fight.”

“Yeah!” Logan growled.

“You’re such a caveman. Why can’t you enjoy a nice calm sport, like golf?”

“Because if I wanted to commit suicide there are faster methods than being slowly bored to death. Do you know why the announcers whisper? It’s ‘cause they don’t wanna wake up the spectators.”

“Scott plays golf.”

“Which proves my point exactly. Golf, the sport of poindexters everywhere.”

“Scott’s pretty cool once you get to know him.”

“I doubt that. This house is full of nerds and he’s their king.”

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Marie announced as she scooted off the bed and headed toward the bathroom.

“Need any help washing your back….or ‘er, maybe some other parts?”

“I think I can handle it. Watch your fight – I meant hockey game,” she replied as she lifted off her t-shirt just as she crossed the threshold into the bathroom.

The door was open so Logan could see her as she wiggled out of her jeans. She reached behind her to unhook her bra and pulled it off, giving him a flash of creamy pink-tipped breasts and then noticing that he was watching her, she gave a little wave before kicking the door shut. Logan closed his mouth. He’d memorized the image of her breasts from the picture she’d e-mailed him, but seeing them in person, if only for a fraction of a moment, was something else entirely. He turned his attention back to the game, but he tried to think of a valid excuse to join her. Suddenly he had an idea, leapt off the bed and had his jeans undone by the time he entered the bathroom. Marie was still waiting for the water in the shower to heat up and gasped as Logan just walked in and went straight over to the toilet.

“Beer just shot right through me,” he said in way of an explanation.

Marie crossed her arms over her breasts and fixed him with an ‘Oh sure’ look, but he just smileightightly at her as he raked his eyes over her body. Then when he was done and re-zipped he spent an inordinate amount of time washing his hands all the while watching her in the mirror. With one last lingering look and a heavy sigh he finally walked back into the bedroom.

When Marie finished her shower she came out wrapped in a large fluffy mocha-colored towel, retrieved a couple of items from a dresser drawer and then much to Logan’s disappointment, returned to the bathroom. She poked her head around the door and told him that she had to dry her hair, so she was going to shut the door so the noise of the dryer wouldn’t disturb him.

“Why don’t you come out here and I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“You wanna play beautician?”

“Don’t women love to have someone play with their hair?”

She came back into the room now dressed in a pair of plum-colored panties and a silver gray tank top and Logan drank in the sight of her.

{Damn she’s fucking beautiful. What the hell was I doing wasting my time with a substitute?}

He spread his legs apart and motioned for her to sit between them. She plugged the hairdryer into the wall socket and then complied – handing him the dryer as she made herself comfortable. Logan turned the small appliance on and began directing the stream of hot air over her hair. Instead of using a hairbrush, he ran his fingers through the long strands as they dried. Marie made soft little sighing noises as Logan continued to finger comb the silky curtain. When her hair was sufficiently dry, he turned the dryer off and set it down beside him as she leaned back against the solid wall of his bare chest and placed her h on on his thighs. Logan massaged her head and temples with the pads of his fingers then slid his hands down her neck and onto her shoulders. Marie sighed contently and tipped her head back against his collarbone, her heart rate told him that she was totally relaxed.

His hands slipped a little lower, while her hands began a slow circular massaging motion on his thighs. His fingertips circled her nipples and she let out a low moan as they peaked under the feathery touch. While one hand continued to glide back and forth across her breasts, the other trailed down to her stomach – massaging it tenderly for a few minutes before descending lower. Logan played with the top edge of her panties and then casually slid his fingers under the cotton material. She dug her hands into his thighs as he heard her breath hitch and smelled her arousal kick up a notch, so he continued his downward motion, combing through the soft curls until he reached her ‘pleasure button’, which he rubbed gently. Marie arched her hips into his touch and he applied a little more pressure until he was rewarded with a gasping moan as she climaxed and bathed his fingers with her essence. As she turned to liquid in his arms, he removed his fingers and brought them to his mouth to taste her. As expected, she tasted delicious – like sweet cream, and he licked his fingers clean.

Marie was still bonelessly slumped against him and Logan realized she was exhausted, so he pulled back the comforter and sheet and laid her down gently. She was already sound asleep when Logan slipped from the bed to go into the bathroom to jerk off. After giving himself the much-needed release, he changed into a pair of boxers and slid back under the comforter. He gathered her sleeping form against him spoon-style and listening to her even breathing, was asleep himself in a matter of moments.


The next morning Marie was the first to wake up. She sat up, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and glanced at the warm body next to her. Logan was on his back still asleep, the sheet low enough to expose his muscular chest that was rising and falling at a steady pace. Marie just sat there staring – memorizing the pattern of the dark hair that fanned across his pecs and then trailed down his stomach to swirl in a circle around his navel.

She curiously lifted the sheet to discover that he was wearing a pair of black cotton boxers and even though they weren’t particularly tight she could still clearly see the outline of his cock under the thin material. Brazenly she reached over and brushed her fingers over the prominent bulge unaware that Logan had woken up and was watching her with great interest. He saw her eyes get wider and her mouth fall open in a silent gasp as he became erect under her touch. Watching him lengthen and expand she sensed he was now awake, so she took her hand away and glanced up towards his face.

“Don’t stop,” he moaned.

“Can I see it?” she asked without any trace of embarrassment.

“Sure,” he replied immediately.

She took a hold of the waistband of the boxers and tugged them down until he sprang free. It was like a work of art – a modern sculpture – and she studied it visually for a while before running curious, exploring fingers over it as he twitched beneath her touch. Then she did something Logan definitely wasn’t expecting – she leaned down and kissed the head. He got even harder as she planted soft kisses all the way down the shaft then slid her tongue along it on the return trip. When she swirled her tongue around the head and then sucked on it experimentally Logan knew he was only moments from achieving nirvana.

“Marie,” he warned in a low growl, but it was too late and he erupted in her mouth.

“Did I do that okay?” she asked earnestly.

{Christ, how can she look so fucking innocent when she just sucked me off?}

“You did it perfectly, baby. Better than I expected,” he replied, then jokingly asked, “You haven’t been practicing on anyone have you?”

“Does Professor Xavier count if he never ‘rose’ to the occasion?” Marie teased.

“You really are pushing for that spanking we’ve discussed, aren’t you?”

“You’ll just have to save that for later. I’m supposed to be going to the mall with Kitty and Jubes this morning to pick out a gift for the Professor’s birthday, so I need to get ready.”

“Wouldn’t you rather stay here in bed with me?” Logan asked, “I’ll make it worth your while.” He promised with a smirk and a lift of one eyebrow.

“As tempting as that may be, I’ve already made a commitment, so you’re out of luck.”

“Well, at least let me return the favor, for you know….”

Marie blushed a deep shade of red and started to scoot off the bed when Logan grabbed her by the waist and yanked her back toward him. He flipped her over onto her back and straddled her legs.

“Come on. I promise you’ll enjoy it,” he said as he reached for the band of her panties.

Marie put her hand on his wrist, but the grip was loose enough that Logan knew it was a merely a perfunctory gesture and not one meant to actually stop him. He quickly relieved her of the plum-colored scrap of material and nudged her legs apart. Before she had a chance to change her mind he ran his tongue over her and was pleased when she relaxed and let her legs fall open wider. He licked at her as she bucked against his mouth until she whimpered his name and climaxed in a little gush of wetness.

Logan crawled up her vibrating body and whispered in her ear, “Hurry home and we’ll play some more.”

He noted the satisfied smile on her face then he triumphantly stood up and walked into the bathroom.

{Game, set, and match – Logan.}


When Marie returned from the mall and inquired if anyonew new Logan’s present location she was directed to the gym. She found him there – alone – lifting weights, dressed in just a pair of black shorts. Sashaying over to him she swung one leg over the bench and straddled him so that she was perched on his thighs.

“Find what you needed?” Logan asked.

“I have now,” M rep replied saucily.

Logan gave her a grin as he slid his hands up her bare legs and under the short denim skirt where he massaged circles on her inner thighs. Apart from the erect nipples visible through her white cotton shirt he could smell her arousal and ran his thumb over the front of her panties for confirmation. Marie gave a little shiver and then let out a gasp as he pushed aside the cotton fabric and touched her. Pressing her hands against his chest she leaned forward and crushed her mouth to his and slid her tongue into his mouth just as he put one long finger inside of her. He added a second finger as his thumb tickled her swollen clit, which made her moan into his mouth. A few strokes later she peaked and then collapsed against his chest. When she’d recovered she sat up and gave him a naughty smile before sliding down his body and pulling down the black shorts. Soon Logan was the one moaning and then peaking.

When they got back to their room Logan went to take a shower and was pleasantly surprised when Marie joined him. They soaped each other up and even washed each other’s hair. Logan had to fight the urge to lift Marie up, wrap her legs around him and take her up against the tile wall. Later after he’d dried her hair they laid on the bed naked watching a hockey game. It amazed Logan that Marie had no inhibitions about being naked around him or seeing him naked either – despite the fact that he had a constant hard-on. They were lying on a pile of pillows with Marie snuggled into Logan’s side – one of her legs swung over his – when she began stroking his cock. Logan glanced down to find that her eyes were still focused on the television as she casually caressed him. The one hand of his that had been resting on her hip now began a light stroking action of its own. Marie let out a low sigh and her hand moved down to cup his balls, which made Logan spring off the bed, leaving her perplexed.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you like that?”

“I liked that a little too much, Marie,” Logan replied, “I gotta go take a cold shower. A really cold shower.”

Marie sunk back against the mountain of pillows deep in thought. What the hell was she doing? By making Logan wait, punishing him for his transgression with Mystique, she was, in effect, also penalizing herself. She’d more or less forgiven him the moment she’d invited him into her bed that first night and they’d been doingt abt about everything short of actual penetration lovemaking. They both knew they’d end up making love, so she had to ask herself why she was playing this stupid teasing game with him and why he was going along with it.

{Because he loves you enough to let you set the ground rules, that’s why.}

Marie realized that Logan was displaying the proverbial patience of a saint, but also understood that his control was hanging by a precarious thread. And the bottom line was that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She scooted off the bed, put on silk robe and went into the bathroom. Opening the glass shower door she found Logan with his head hung down letting the ice-cold water sluice over him.

Turning off the water, she said, “Get outta there and come and make love to me.”