Postcards From The Edge

A few days later:

Any residual concerns that Marie might’ve had about Logan’s remorse regarding his lapse of judgment with Mystique were no longer an issue. In the end his simple, but sincere apology and her calm acceptance of it was all that had been necessary. They were leaving the past where it belonged….behind them. It was time to make new memories.

Logan had gotten into the habit of sneaking out of their room first thing in the morning to ‘surprise’ Marie by getting them breakfast. Usually she’d be awake by the time he returned, but would pretend to still be asleep – from the rhythm of her heartbeat, Logan knew she was faking, but went along with the charade.

{That better be all you ever fake with me, darlin’.}

Their little routine had him setting the tray down on the bed and leaning over to kiss her – at which point she’d crack open first one eye, then the other, sit up and do her best ‘Sleeping Beauty awakened by a kiss from her Prince Charming’ yawn and stretch act. Logan smiled at the fact that everything she did he found totally adorable. He’d never found anyone adorable before – there were so many firsts with Marie and he was thoroughly enjoying every one of them. If this kept up, he thought, he’d have to give up his long-standing membership in the Growly Badasses Association and – dammit – just when he was almost qualified for their Hall of Fame, too.

On the tray this morning instead of the usual two mugs of coffee, there was a carafe and two cups turned upside down on their saucers. Marie sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist, and went to reach for one when Logan put his hand on her wrist to stop her.

“Marie, I have something I wanna say to you,” Logan started to say, trying not to be distracted by the thin little tank top stretched enticingly over her breasts.

“I can’t have my coffee while you’re talking?” Marie asked.

“No,” he said, tamping down the urge to stroke his thumb over one of her nipples.

Now Marie was genuinely perplexed, but she pulled her hand back and set it in her lap.

“I kinda got this whole speech planned. I rehearsed it in the shower and everything, so just hear me out and then you can have your coffee, okay?”

Marie simply nodded her understanding.

Logan cleared his throat and then swallowed hard.

“Marie, I want you to know that you’re like one of those extra powerful flashlights in the black hole that useta be my life. Everything good about it now can be traced right back to you. You couldn’t be more perfect to me if I’d special ordered you from someplace. I’m sorry it took being away from you to realize that, but I ain’t ever gonna leave you again.”

Logan then handed her the cup and saucer. If Marie was stunned by his words, she was even more surprised when she lifted the cup to reveal a circle of baguette diamonds set in platinum sitting on the saucer.

“Marie, will you marry me and be mine forever?”

Marie started crying, set the cup and saucer down, threw her arms around Logan and pressed kisses to his left cheek.

“I take it that means yes?” he asked as he hugged her to him nice and tightly.

Marie pushed back from him and wiped at her eyes with the corner of the sheet. Suddenly she looked very pensive – her brow furrowed and she chewed on her bottom lip in a sign Logan knew meant she was contemplating something of substantial importance.

“So…..we’re finally gonna make love, right?” she asked tentatively.

Logan let out a clipped laugh, then replied, “Oh yeah.”

Marie held out her left hand and said, “Okay, then.”

Logan picked up the band, slipped it on her ring finger and then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips.

“The lady at the jewelry store said this is an eternity band, which seemed more appropriate than a regular engagement ring – ’cause I want it to mean it’s you and me for all eternity.”

Marie’s eyes welled up again. “Oh, Logan.”

Logan leaned in to kiss her tenderly and the coffee was momentarily forgotten as they spent the next few minutes nibbling on each other.

“Can we rehearse for the honeymoon?” Marie asked shyly, a faint hint of pink coloring her ivory cheeks.

“Sure you don’t wanna wait until the official night?” Logan found himself asking as he put the breakfast tray on the nightstand.

“I’m sure I wanna be with you and I don’t need a piece of paper and a minister first,” she replied – her eyes reflecting both sincerity and heat.

“I just want it to be perfect for you, Marie,” he said as he tucked a strand of wayward platinum behind her ear.

“It’ll be with you ….how could it be anything but perfect?” she replied as she returned the gesture by sweeping her fingers through his hair as he put his arms around her.

The smile that played on her mouth just begged for a kiss, so Logan leaned down and tenderly placed his lips against hers. He felt Marie relax in his arms even as her mouth pressed tighter against his. It seemed as if they both always forgot to breathe whenever they were caught up in moments like these, because they each took large gulps of air when they finally parted. Logan looked at Marie ~ her eyes dreamily glazed with a mixture of contentment and desire ~ and his heart filled with happiness that someone so pure could want someone like him. Maybe, just maybe, God hadn’t abandoned him after all and would at last grant him the peace he’d been desperately seeking for so long.

Logan dusted the face of his earthbound angel with delicate kisses and let out a low throaty moan when she sighed his name. He ghosted his lips along her jawline and up to her ear, where he whispered, “Love you.” And was rewarded when she responded, “Love you, too.”

When his hands reached for the hem of her tank top she made no move to stop him, so he peeled it off and tossed it aside. He took a moment to simply gaze at the beautiful sight revealed to him before deciding that something was missing.

“There’s something I wantcha to wear,” he said as he slid off the bed.

Marie was puzzled because Logan had never wanted to play ‘dress-up’ before.

He walked over to the dresser, retrieved something and returned to the bed. Sitting down he opened his hand to reveal his tag. Marie smiled in acknowledgement – he wanted her to wear the tag, it was the symbol that marked her as his. She took it from him and slipped the chain over her head, letting the slice of adamantium drop to nestle between her breasts.

“That’s a much better backdrop for it than my chest,” he said admiringly.

“Not in my opinion,” she replied as she reached out and feathered her hand through his chest hair.

Logan let out a small sigh. The slightest touch from her was far more arousing than anything any fight groupie had ever done to him. Then again, all Marie had to do was sweep her eyes over him with a look that was equal parts curiosity and longing for him to get hard. A look she was tossing his way right now as a matter of fact. He tamped down the urge to push her down and claim her hard – no matter what her heart rate and scent were telling him. There would be plenty of opportunities for hard and fast, but for now – for their first time together – it had to be gentle. He’d have to attempt something he hadn’t bothered to do in the last fifteen years his memory stretched back – be genuinely tender.

He cupped her chin in his hand and stroked his thumb over her lips, then leaned down and kissed the left edge of her mouth. Marie closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh as he lightly trailed his lips over to the other corner of her mouth. Although he could happily spend an inordinate amount of jus just on her luscious mouth, there were other areas of interest he yearned to taste. He gently pushed her back against the pillows then reached over to the breakfast tray, dipped his finger into the jam jar, dabbed a little of the strawberry sweetness onto one of her nipples, and leaned down to lick it off.

“Oh God,” Marie moaned as he swirled his tongue over the jam-covered bud.

“So sweet,” Logan murmured as he repeated the action with her other nipple.

Marie’s panties dampened and Logan immediately registered the change in her scent. He swept the sheet aside and trailed a path of delicate kisses down her stomach, but instead of going straight for the obvious he nudged her legs apart and pressed kisses to the inside of her thighs while stroking the backs of her knees. As he alternated from one thigh to the other several times he let his nose brush over her moist panties in the faintest of tickling caresses, which he knew was driving her crazy. On the next pass however, he pushed the cotton fabric aside and swept his tongue over her. God, she tasted so sweet. She let out a strangled gasp and came instantly. The taste of her was inflaming him and he eased her panties aside a little more so that he’d have better access. He leaned back down – licking and sucking with an intensity that quickly brought her to orgasm again. It was as she vibrated against his mouth that he realized he wasn’t being as gentle with her as he’d promised himself. He sat up and scrubbed a hand across his face.

“Sorry, baby,” he panted as he willed himself to calm down.

Marie was puzzled. He’d just made her come twice and he was apologizing? Logan noted the quizzical look on her face and decided he’d better explain.

“I said I was gonna be gentle with you, then I go and attack you like I just escaped from prison. I’m sorry, Marie,” he said as he ran his hand caressingly over her temple and down the side of her face.

“I’ve turned you into a lust-crazed sex fiend? Sounds complimentary to me,” she replied as she leaned into his gentle touch.

Logan actually blushed at that. No woman had ever been able to elicit the reactions from him that Marie was constantly garnering. He’d had sexual urges over the years, of course, but no one had ever affected him the way she did. There’d never been anyone prior to her that he’d truly wanted to make love to. He’d done really graphic things with women in the past – fucked them, rutted like an animal in heat, but he’d rarely bothered with all the details like foreplay and slow, heated kisses. It had usually been a simple case of get in, get off and get out. And names? He could barely conjure up their faces once he’d moved on, let alone their names. It had just been safer that way. He’d rarely been alone, but he’d always been lonely. With the emotional walls he’d built up over the years, Logan figured it would take dynamite to eventually knock them down, but in the end all it took was the unconditional adoration of a stowaway for them to crumble.

“I’ve never loved anyone before to wanna take my time and make it perfect,” Logan confessed.

“Logan,” she said, her eyes filled with tears, “it already is.”

Logan leaned down and kissed her, gently at first and then with more insistence – the intensity and passion building quickly, until it consumed them both. Their past experiences were equally limited, so they were learning together and it was all kinds of wonderful.

When they parted to catch their breath, Logan trailed a path of butterfly kisses down onto Marie’s throat to where her pulse throbbed wildly. Restraining the urge to bite her, he slid his tongue over her and then sucked the creamy skin just enough to cause a faint mark. It saddened him that she’d never be able to mark him in a similar fashion, that he’d never be able to show the world he was the ‘property of Rogue’. He’d attempted to get a tattoo while in Canada, her name inscribed over his heart, but his healing factor had interfered with that plan. As he’d filled out the release forms, they’d asked him if he was currently taking antibiotics, explaining that the medication would identify the ink as an infection and act accordingly. Knowing his healing factor served as a natural antibiotic, Logan had to abandon the idea of branding himself. Soon, however, they’d be exchanging wedding bands and that would serve as notice to the world that he was quite happily taken.

Taken. Logan laughed inwardly at the irony of that word. The one Jeannie had used – that Marie was taken with him. He thought about what he’d replied, how he’d hoped Jeannie’s ego would let her believe he’d want her and not what she considered a mere child. When in truth he’d wanted Marie from the moment he’d laid eyes on her in Laughlin City – legalities and morals be damned. He’d tried to ignore the primal instinct that screamed ‘Mine’ whenever he looked at her or thought about her when she wasn’t in sight. It had become a mantra that echoed in his brain, that she was meant to be his and by the same token he was meant to be hers. He had no idea how everyone felt about their relationship, as they’d more or less sequestered themselves away from the other residents since his return – not that he actually cared when it came right down to it. Marie was number one on his priority list and everyone else on the planet was a distant second.

Logan gave himself a mental shake – this was not the time for his thoughts to be sidetracked. He looked down at the angelic young woman who was gazing up at him with a mixture of adoration and pure lust and his heart skipped a beat. Just then she brought his hand to her mouth, placed a kiss in his palm and raising sparkling eyes to his, softly said, “Make love to me.”

Standing up he quickly divested himself of the sweat pants he’d put on to go get their breakfast and sat back down again. Marie reached for the band of her panties, when Logan put his hands on her wrists to stop her.

“I wanna take them offa you,” he said huskily.

Marie let out a whimper and pulled her hands back as his fingers grasped the edge and he began sliding the damp fabric down. After they’d been summarily tossed aside, Logan began a teasing massage of Marie’s legs – starting at her ankles and working his way up, agonizingly slow. Caressing the inside of her thighs he gave her a seductive grin as he eased her legs apart. Marie was breathing hard as the moisture pooled between her legs and she trembled in anticipation.

Logan brushed his fingers over the damp heat at the juncture of her legs and Marie almost came apart at just that gesture.

“Logan,” she gasped, “please.”

He moved to trail a path of kisses up her body – determined to indulge in a suitable amount of foreplay, but Marie wrapped her hands around his biceps and gave a tug to pull him up towards her.

“No more waiting,” she implored, her eyes pleading as much as her voice.

Logan moved to position himself in the cradle of her thighs knowing she was beyond ready for him. Marie reached down between them and wrapped her small hand around his thick shaft to guide him into her.

“I love you,” he declared as he entered her.

“I love you, too,” she replied as she raised her hip mee meet his initial thrust.

If it was supposed to hurt the first time, Marie was too lost in the moment to notice – all she felt was a sense of peace at finally having Logan inside her. Theouthouths locked together in a searing kiss as their hands glided over heated skin – seeking touch, such delicious touch. Neither one of them could verbalize a coherent thought – soft groans and whimpers were the only audible sounds as they moved together as one. If it wasn’t for the sharp contrast of his darker, hairer body compared to her pale, smooth one it would’ve been difficult to tell where Logan ended and Marie began.

After establishing a rhythm and getting comfortable with each other they moved around into different positions – Logan had rolled them over so that Marie was now on top riding him with abandon. Then he sat up so that she was still impaled on him, but sitting in his lap with her legs wrapped around his back. He enveloped her in his arms, sliding his hands over the soft skin of her back, breathing in the scent of her pureness, and he wondered how he’d ever considered Mystique was an acceptable substitute. He’d never make that mistake again. Marie had not merely touched his body, she’d touched his soul and from now on his heart, soul, and most importantly, his body belonged only to her.

He leaned down and pressed tender kisses along one shoulder, up onto her neck and chin then claimed her mouth for another slow, wet kiss. Then he lowered her down so that he was once again on top and rocked into her with deep strokes. It was her turn to lick at his neck and breathe in his scent; to her he smelled like the forest after a cleansing rain. He felt her clench around him as the orgasm washed over her and he finally released his tightly held grip on his own climax and exploded into her.

“Oh my God that was amazing,” Marie moaned as she tried to catch her breath, “Is it always like that?”

“It’s never been like that for me – ever,” Logan replied, then added, “Guess that’s the difference when you’re in love.”

Marie gave him the best smile he’d ever seen on anyone and after returning the favor with an equally dazzling smile, he buried his face in her neck and sighed contentedly. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “Mine.”


~* The End *~