Chapter Four
Dance with Me
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The silhouette of a tall man leaned against the concrete wall cloaked in shadows, playfully shuffling a deck of cards between his hands. His red smouldering gaze was fixed on her, unnerving her with its intensity. She swallowed hard suddenly very conscious of her awkward stance and racing pulse.
"Show yahself!" She demanded in attempt to mask her insecurity.
The man chuckled.
"Y' sure about dat, chère?" He drawled in a low masculine voice which made her skin crawl with unbidden pleasure. It was a Cajun accent, she knew without thinking, he came from Louisiana.
"Ah'm not gonna play any games with ya. Show yahself." She gritted.
Like magic his deck of playing cards suddenly disappeared. Pushing himself off the wall he sauntered out of the shadows, confident like a cat on the prowl, and equally dangerous.
When the golden sunlight hit his features Rogue couldn't help but gasp in awe.
He was at least a head taller than her, richly muscled but not in a stocky way like Scott, no, more lithe and dangerous, with every muscle placed there for a reason. The black combat suit he wore was tight enough to reveal a broad chiseled chest, half hidden by the worn brown trench coat which swiveled in the wind. The fading sunlight played on his hair making it look more copper than brown, and the half long bangs caressed his angular yet masculine face. The red eyes were like embers in pitch black darkness, capturing her with its intensity. His mouth curled up in a devilish grin at her reaction and he practically oozed with cocky self-confidence and sex appeal.
Rogue swallowed hard.
"Dat's too bad, petite, Gambit always liked playin' games." He purred, his ruby eyes twinkling in amusement. A cat must have gotten her tongue because she was utterly unable to reply. It only made his grin grow wider.
"See somethin' y' like, chère?"
Finally Rogue snapped out of her daze, scowling. The self-assured southerner was seldom thrown out of the loop like she was now, and to have been so by this cocky Cajun didn't make her feel any good at all. A well known anger started bubbling in her stomach.
"Not lahkely, Swamp rat!" She retorted with a passion and clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened. He chuckled at her outburst.
"Swamp rat?" He mused while taking out a package of cigarettes from his trench coat. With practiced ease he took one out and tapped a finger at the end of it. A faint red glow appeared before the cigarette was lit and he took a deep drag. "Already pickin' nicknames, chère?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Ah ain't. Just statin' facts." She snapped. "Apparently Magneto must've been very desperate if he thought a Cajun from the stinky swamps would suffice. Or maybe the ol' buckethead have gone a bit loose in the head nowadays. That would certainly explain everything."
She had hoped that her insult would put him in place, or at least shaken up his confidence a bit since he thought she would fall head over heels for him at first glance, which, she hadn't. Though she admitted she had felt a bit… intrigued when she first saw him, but that was all thrown out of the window when his cocky demeanour was revealed.
But he surprised her again when he threw his head back and laughed at her insult. Rogue stared at him utterly flabbergasted. Clearly her rudeness hadn't affected him in any negative way at all, on the contrary, he seemed rather amused by her. Amused.
"Feisty." His beautiful eyes danced with mirth as he slid closer to her. "But Gambit has always liked that in a femme." He purred in a husky voice. Rogue blinked. Did he just talk in third person?
"Are yah for real?" She asked incredulously.
"Care t' find out, chère?" His tone playful, rich with suggestions and innuendos. He was close enough for Rogue to smell the spicy scent of his cologne, leather, smoke and something so enticing she shuddered.
What the hell was wrong with her? She had never been so entranced by a man she just met. Hell, she hadn't been entranced by any man she'd ever met.
The embers of his eyes suddenly began to swirl in a hypnotizing way and to her great surprise she felt her tensed nerves starting to relax under his gaze. His eyes were locked with hers, and soon her world shrank and was solely made by those black and red wonders. She sighed softly as all the anxiety disappeared. Thoughts of Magneto and enemies all but disappeared, replaced by those alluring eyes. A small smile was tugging her lips.
His mouth curled up in a smug grin and suddenly he materialized right in front of her, with such a swift fleeting movement she had barely seen him move. He was in her personal space, far too close, but for some reason her mind had clouded and she ignored the usual warning signals in her head ringing like fire alarms at his closeness.
Without thinking of the consequences she pressed up against his body, meeting his gaze with a detached smile. Oddly enough she enjoyed the feel of him against her, even though all the layers of cloth dampened the feel a bit. One arm snaked around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer, while his other hand reached towards her face.
She blinked, her smile slowly evaporating.
His bare hand. Towards her uncovered skin.
Reality crashed down on her, shattering the moment into a million pieces. She recoiled from his hold, jerking back faster than a snake.
Too close.
Back off!
Stay away!!
She practically hissed at him.
"Don't touch meh!"
He frowned, apparently confused by her sudden mood swing. She had crouched a little as if she was ready for an attack at any moment. Her body tingled with pumping adrenaline and her eyes almost glowed with a passionate anger.
"Ah don't know why yah're here but whatever it is, Ah'm here tah stop yah." She said in a low dangerous tone while glaring at him. He scoffed.
"So y' 'part o' the X-men den, I presume." He wasn't smiling anymore, and his eyes weren't focused on her. With a flick of his finger he discarded his burn out cigarette and searched his pockets after another one. Rogue also noticed that he didn't speak in third person anymore, but rather adopted the normal first person basis.
"Yes." She answered curtly.
"Met some of y' other members few days ago. Wasn't exactly impressed, t'ought the X-men would prove much more o' a challenge than dat."
"That's 'cause yah met our juniors, dumbass!" She gritted, her anger flaring again.
"And y' de real deal?" He asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow. Rogue raged inside at his underlying insults, but she didn't want to show him that so she unclenched her jaw and tried to relax her features.
"Ah'm the elite, pretty boy." She stated proudly with a hint of arrogance.
"Really?" He drawled, with his devilish grin playing on his lips again. He slightly tilted his head as his eyes racked over her body in such a sinful way it felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. With effort she managed to remain unaffected on the outside, but inside she was all in knots of anger and disgust. How dare he, she seethed.
"Yah don't believe me?" She asked while trying to hold the anger off her voice. "Then let me show yah." So Ah can wipe that annoyin' smirk of yah face.
With a sigh he murmured incoherently, "J'avais espéré que nous pourrions sauter cette partie." and then added aloud with a smirk, "Don't worry, chère, Gambit won't hurt y'."
"Worry 'bout yahself, Cajun." She spat and then leaped at him.
She surprised him with her speed and power behind her first attack and it cost him a square hit right in the jaw. But to his credit he managed to gain his composure fast enough to dodge her low kick, sweeping towards his legs.
What followed was an array of swift punches and agile kicks from Rogue's part while he eloquently managed to block and parry all her offensives. But he never took a strike at her, he was content with watching her work up a sweat while he kept evading her.
Rogue was seething. She knew he had done something to her before he had tried to touch her, she just knew because she never let her guard down to anyone. He had hypnotized her somehow, stripped down her defences with a single look of those smouldering eyes. Only the thought of have been exposed, naked, to someone like that made her shiver in rage. Adding that he was now underestimating her fighting skills was only fuel to her fire. Apparently he thought he could get out of this battle by just evading her, and she had every intention to prove him wrong. If he wanted to win it was going to be by defeating her, and she wasn't about to lose without a fight.
The anger she felt spread through her veins like a fire, spurring her attacks to become quicker and stronger. His defence however remained intact and she feverously looked for an opening. She tried to come at him from every possible angle, trying to find his weak point.
Every defence has a crack in it, all you need to do is find it and pry it open.
The words rang in her head and she doubled her efforts. There must be something, she thought with a hint of dawning desperation. Something.
She crouched and then leapt into the air, flipping right above him, landing on the other side soundlessly. Without missing a beat she attacked him from behind, putting all her power into that one punch. He moved so fast she only saw a flash of his arm before her punch was parried, missing its target. Damn it, she thought, clenching her jaw in frustration. Gaining her composure she resumed her raiment of attacks. Punch; block, kick; parry, evade.
Suddenly she was struck by an idea, a brilliant idea but just as dangerous if it didn't work. But she was determined to win no matter what, so she was willing to take the gamble.
Slowly she edged closer to him, trying not to look too suspicious, while making her attacks at a shorter distance. If he was too far away it wasn't going to work. When he suddenly was only a few inches away she crouched down as if she was going to take a sweep at his legs once again. He quickly caught was she was about to do and leapt into the air to dodge her. Yes!, she triumphed. At the last second she changed her attack, bracing herself from the ground with her hands, and lunged at him, feet first. Being in the air he had no chance to evade, and the kick connected hard to his chest sending him flying. With a bang he landed hard on the ground a few feet away, causing a large cloud of dust to rise towards the sky.
A jubilant feeling surged through her, making her grin at her success. That's for underestimating me!
The man slowly got up to his feet, his expression coloured with dawning respect as he looked at her, a hand absently rubbing the place where she had hit him.
About tahme.
"Rule number one; never underestimate yah opponent." She told him with a serious expression. "Rule number two, never underestimate me. Ah don't appreciate being taken lightly, been through too much shit to be. Yah might not take this seriously, but Ah do, and Ah'll fight with everything Ah've got to win."
His face was unreadable as he met her sharp stare. It looked like he was seeing her for the first time, she could feel the difference. She didn't move during his examination, keeping her stiff pose, straight back and slightly raised chin. Suddenly the corner of his mouth curled up into a half smile.
"I did underestimate y', which clearly was a mistake. Y' are a good fighter I grant y' dat, not many have succeeded to slip through my guard. I'm impressed." He admitted with a slight bow. "Je promets, I won't do the same mistake again."
He fished something out of his pockets, something metallic and cylindrical. With a twirl the cylinder grew into a full length bo staff, and he twisted it masterfully around him. Stopping in a battle position, he grinned at her.
»Psylocke« She called in her mind. The psyche moved forward and with a slight tap, the ninja's power became hers. Her hand started to glow a furious red as the powers activated, and with a flash of light the glow grew into a telekinetic katana.
"Let's dance then, shall we?" Rogue returned his grin with a smirk of her own.
They clashed in a swirl of dust, matching each other's speed. Her katana sliced through the air in livid flash of light, and his bo staff met her strikes, returning them with a few of his own equally aggressive. They danced fervently, testing each other, trying to find the other's limits and weaknesses. It was beautiful and Rogue loved every moment of it. He was finally taking her serious, and he held nothing back. Every strike she parried jarred through her whole body at the sheer strength of it.
He was a master with his weapon and Rogue had a hard time keeping up. His staff stopped every one of her strikes while just as swiftly attacking her with the other end. But she withstood and poured every ounce of her speed and skill into the battle. She tried another trick at him but he saw through it and evaded the trap with swift turn, making his trench coat swirl around him. He's learnt his lesson then, she mused.
He suddenly stopped with a safe distance from her. Like magic, three playing cards appeared in his hand coming from seemingly nowhere.
What's he up to now? She wondered and frowned.
The cards started to glow red.
Oh that can't be good.
With an elegant twist of his wrist he threw them at her, the cards cutting through the air at an alarming speed. Reflexively she dodged but as the cards connected with the ground a large explosion erupted, making her flying through the air. The harsh landing made her lose focus and her katana vanished. Her ears were ringing from the loud bang, but she had managed to escape with only a few scrapes and scratches.
She groaned and coughed as her lungs were filled with the dusty air. A low chuckle reached her ears and she looked over at the man. Amusement was playing on his face and he was shuffling another deck of cards.
"Had enough, chérie?" He asked with a smug look.
"Not by a long shot." She retorted and crawled up onto her feet. Her limbs were aching and she was starting to feel weary.
"What are y' gonna do wit'out y' sword?" He asked incredulously.
She didn't respond as she was too busy racking her mind after an appropriate psyche to tap.
»Carol« She finally decided. With closed eyes she felt the small tingles course through her entire body as she was granted the powers of flight, invulnerability and enhanced strength. Her mouth curled up in a smile. Oh, she was gonna have some fun.
She launched into the air, swirling and flipping in joy. How she loved the ability to fly. One of the best powers in the world, she thought cheerfully. The cool evening air rushed past her as she played around in the air, flipping and vaulting while laughing heartedly. Beneath her the Cajun looked at her in shock surprise and something which could be described as a tinge of awe. She lowered herself to the roof, not landing but rather hovering just above him. A smile was playing on her lips.
"Well", he finally said. "Aren't y' full o' surprises."
She chuckled, rather satisfied that she had managed to put that bewildered expression on his face.
"Yah haven't seen it all, swamp rat. Ready for round three?"
"Always ready, chère." He answered and swirled his bo staff masterfully. Rogue snorted and launched herself at him. Her assault was quickly dodged but she swirled around ready for another one.
Carol's powers were one for strength and not speed, so granted she had become a bit slower. But that was well compensated when she was able to punch through walls without adding a scratch to herself. Her only problem was hitting the slimy Cajun though, as he danced around her attacks without effort. Her punches came off and instead she hit the ground with an explosion of dust and pieces of concrete.
With a shrug she continued her onslaught completely unaffected and unscathed.
Another three red glowing cards were thrown at her. She didn't even bother to dodge, and the cards exploded with a loud bang as they hit her in the chest. But the only evidence that they had hit was a slight darkening on her combat suit, other than that she hadn't even blinked.
She grinned wickedly.
"Yah hafta do better than that, Cajun."
Lunging after him she dealt out quick punches and kicks still hovering in the air. He evaded but now it was entirely different reasons than before. He had seen the force behind her attacks and being hit by one of those would most certainly break all the bones in his body.
After several minutes of his constant evading, Rogue was started to get rather annoyed. She had managed to connect a few of her punches but the angle had been awkward and she had been unable to use her full force. The psyches in her head were tiring quickly, and so was she. Her breath came out as harsh pants and her aim was losing its accuracy. Gritting her teethes she kept going.
But it was quite clear that she wouldn't be able to hit him and he was only going to dodge her until she would crumble into exhaustion. And she was very close now, so she made a final decision.
Her last try.
Disengaging from the fight, she tore through the sky flying high above her enemy. His eyes were on her, watching her wearily.
»He's going to dodge your attack. Aim slightly above him and you might make a hit.«
Rogue made a mental nod. This was it. The final attack was going to determine who the winner was and who the loser was. Taking three deep breaths, she launched herself at him, faster than she had ever flown.
Despite the speed of her attack to her the world had suddenly come into slow motion. Every detail was so clear before her eyes, the textures and the sounds and smells. She could see realisation dawn on her targets face as she rapidly came closer. The slight clench of his jaw. The determination that suddenly burned in his eyes. The red glow that started to envelop his metallic bo staff.
Then she knew.
He wasn't going to dodge her.
And she couldn't stop.
The impact was instantaneous, wracking through her whole body, making the bones in her body tremble. His staff had hit her squarely in the abdomen with an explosion, making her ricochet into the wall, breaking through the concrete.
The last of her psyches power seeped out of her, and she was left on her own. Panting, weak and defeated she laid in the crumbles of what once had been a wall. She had lost. Fair and square. Even with all her strength, determination and skill she hadn't managed to best that low level Cajun. It was beyond her how that had happened. She had always been the best, Logan's favourite, the number one. And yet, now she laid there completely spent. Bitter disappointment welled in her stomach and she closed her eyes, trying to hold off the feeling.
Damn it.
She tried to rise from the ruins when suddenly a male body pinned her down to the ground, holding her wrists securely above her head. Confused, she looked up at her assailant and scowled bitterly when she recognised the Cajun.
"Get off me." She growled. He countered her anger with a mischievous smirk.
"Don't think so, ma chère."
Hell. Apparently he wasn't going to let her go off with the loss without rubbing it in her face. Silently cursing she tried to get out of his hold, squirming and wrenching, anything to make his grip of her come looser. But all she managed was to rub her body hard against his firm muscled frame. It wasn't helping.
"Easy dere, chère. Might be givin' me the wrong idea." He said with a sinful grin, his eyes flaring at the sight of her.
She abruptly stopped, her cheeks suddenly coloured by a fervent blush. Another array of curses went through her mind but she didn't say anything out loud. She was determined though not to be a sore loser. She was going to suck up the loss and walk out of there with her head held high, completely ignoring him. She was going to-
"So tell me, chère. Do I get a price for winning?" He asked. His eyes were filled with innuendos and his tone rich with mirth.
-absolutely not going to let him walk away with that grin on his face.
She stiffened while trying to hold the overwhelming anger at bay.
He had left her an opening, a small window out of this humiliation. Or at least the humiliation of watching him strut away in his arrogance, smiling triumphantly over his victory. It was something she would do anything to miss, and here was her chance. It was an outrageous idea, specially coming from her, but oh how she hated to lose. She had told him before that she was going to do anything to win, and she had planned to do just that.
With effort she forced out what she hoped resembled a flirtatious smile, meeting his ember eyes. He frowned in confusion at her sudden change of mood. Her body had completely relaxed under him, instead of thrashing as she had a second ago and her eyes glinted mischievously.
"Why of course, sugah." She answered sweetly. "Whatevah yah want." She added in a husky voice, deliberately thickening her southern accent. Mentally holding her breath she waited for his response. Flirting was not her on her list of strengths but she hoped she had managed to do something to peak his interest.
Suddenly a triumphant grin tugged the corners of his mouth. A wave of relief crashed over her as the evidence of her small display of seduction had worked was playing on his lips. The reds of his eyes were almost pulsating as he lowered his head to meat hers.
But he surprised her again. She had expected maybe a peck or a smooch for kiss. But this was far from it.
His lips crushed against hers, making her gasp in surprise. Taking the opportunity he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue between her lips while pulling her closer with one hand. It was passionate, and hot, and she almost regretted the moment she started to feel the usual pull of her powers.
Memories flooded her mind, flashes of his past played behind her eyelids.
When his lifeless body slouched against her, she was panting, her cheeks flushed and eyes defocused. Never in her life had someone done anything like it towards her. She was shocked and exhilarated.
Suddenly she heard a buzz through her communicator. Familiar voices filled her ear as Scott and the others called out for her in worried voices. With a sigh she replied she was okay and was on her way. In her mind she carefully pushed all the memories she had stolen from the man, behind one of her many doors and locked it securely.
Gently she pushed his body off of her and stood up, trying to stand as steadily as she could. Her legs were weak but she managed to walk, or maybe half crawl her way back to her team.
With one last look at the unconscious Cajun she exited the roof, thinking about the deadly kiss they had exchanged.
Well, she had warned him.
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French crash course:
Ma chère – My dear
Petite – Little one
Femme – Woman
Chérie – Darling
J'avais espéré que nous pourrions sauter cette partie – I had hoped we could skip this part
Je promets – I promise
A/N : Well, wasn't that a ride? Rogue's quite passionate in this story ain't she? ^^ And Gambit was of course pushing all her buttons. Kinda fun of seeing him affect her so much.
As always I'm completely immune to my own text, have no idea if it was good or bad. Hopefully you enjoyed it.
Reviews are highly appreciated ^^
