Disclaimer: See chapter one.

AN: the song is, of course, Halo by Beyonce. I don't own that, either.

Chapter Eight

Max and Logan worked on their plans through the day, with only a short break for lunch. Much to her displeasure, it was take out rather than the usual fare at Logan's.

He apologized for that, claiming he'd not had much time to stock the kitchen, much less cook a proper meal. It did little to appease her. Logan had spent the rest of the day feeling her stare on the back of his neck.

After a shower and a short nap they'd decided on the next place to visit, a trendy club on the industrial district, famous for being exclusive and very expensive. This lead to a short but very heated argument about Max's wardrobe, or lack thereof. She had come prepared for the usual, B&E, snooping and ass kicking, and when Logan pointed out that her usual leather outfits were not going to cut it she snapped. Half an hour and many angry words later Logan had finally convinced her to go out and buy an outfit for the occasion. Max was about to argue, when he told her she might as well get a few more things while she was there, as they didn't know how long it would take them to complete the mission.

Max spent an hour in a boutique, purchasing a couple of outfits for the mission. She might not use skirts regularly, but she had done so on occasion; the few times she had, she had borrowed them from her roommate. Kendra had told Max once that it was a crime not to use skirts more often with legs like hers. Max decided to git it a try.

She then spent another two hours going from shop to shop, browsing for something more to her liking. In the end she treated herself to new leather pants and jacket – since her favorites had suffered considerable water damage – a couple of sweaters and several shirts and tops and a couple of jeans and cargo pants. To her delight, she'd also found a couple of pre-pulse, steel-toed combat boots in her size. Her last stop had her smiling all the way back to the safe house: she had bought matching set of silk bra and panties, complete with stockings and a garter, all in blood red with purple trimmings.

Logan liked how she looked in red, after all...

By 8 PM Max was hungry and cranky. She had hoped that Logan would've done the smart thing and stoked the pantry, or at least bought enough to make her dinner.

Instead, she had returned to find him still sitting in front of his computer, the dirty coffee cup and empty bag of crackers the only indication he'd even moved. When he told her to take a shower and get dressed Max had given him a dirty look, but had complied.

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Logan had spent most of the day working on the case, but as the day waned his mind was filled by images of a dazzling smile, a pair of beautiful brown eyes and the woman they belonged to. Try as he might he couldn't get his attention back on the game. After reading the same report for the fifth time he gave up. Seeing as Max was foremost in his mind he decided to do something about it.

It had been a while since he had courted a woman, years in fact. He had been considered quite the ladies man in college, and he knew he still had the skills; he had used them several times in the last three years to get information from witnesses and contacts. But the idea of using those tricks on Max made him uneasy.

In part because he knew Max would see right through it, and laugh in his face – if he was lucky. But mostly he didn't want to use what was mainly tricks to get laid on someone he cared for as deeply as he did for Max. He didn't want to get laid...well, not just that. He had spent many hours, many nights sitting in the dark in front of his large window thinking about Max and their relationship. One thing he had came to accept was that he cared deeply for her, cared enough to let her go to Canada with her 'brother', rather than risk anything happening to her.

After she had returned, he had been giddy with joy. Seeing her in her stolen dress the night of Bennet's wedding had only made it easier to face the truth. He had not been lying when he told her she was the most beautiful woman in attendance; he had just omitted the fact that to him, she was the most beautiful woman everywhere, all the time.

He had not paid much attention to her at the reception, but he had noticed the open stares of admiration, jealousy and lust she'd garnered. He'd heard the comments, too. As he went through his routine before going to bed, he had realized that the comments he had hated were not those about her age or beauty, crude as they were, but the ones that painted her as an ignorant, vapid gold digger: everyone could see she was young and gorgeous, but her inner beauty, intelligence and strength of character were beyond the narrow minded idiots at the party. He had accepted then the fact that he wasn't just physically attracted to her, she was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman.

The next step had been to admit he wanted her, body, mind and soul.

Between this little epiphany and the very real pain on his foot, he had barely been able to sleep.

After he had regained his legs he'd began to consider the possibility of having a real, serious relationship with Max. He knew all the risks of getting involved with a coworker, let alone the dozen complications each would bring into the mix. But even after factoring in Eyes Only, Manticore and a certain over-bearing sibling and his less-than-brotherly feelings, he still wanted to try, wanted to make it work with Max.

He knew Max hadn't really had many serious relationships, Logan doubted she'd ever been in love before. He knew he loved her, lover her as she hadn't loved any woman before, not even Valerie. He just didn't know how to prove it to her, how to show the depth of his feelings to a woman who showed none. He was reasonably certain she cared for him as more than just a friend, he'd seen interest and admiration on her eyes, and what he thought to be desire, too.

His problem was that so far, his two attempts at seduction had ended up with Max tricked in front of a mirror and more recently, shoved rudely out the door. He needed to show her he'd changed, that he wasn't the cocky, arrogant man she'd know so briefly before the shooting, nor the distant man that had casually thrown her out before she'd even finished her dinner. Add to this the fact that she was still pissed with him, as evidenced with her short-tempered outburst of earlier that day and he was at a loss. He decided to do things the old-fashioned way; dinner and then dancing. Maybe a little flirting.

For the first time in years, Eyes Only and Logan Cale had the same goal in mind.

That fact was also lost to him.

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Max took her time in the shower.

She had decided that if Logan wasn't going to pay attention to her, she was gonna have to make sure to let him know she didn't like being ignored. As far as she was concerned, he had started things back at his place, she was just making the next move.

With that in mind she dressed to kill. Literally.

She wore her new underwear, with a knee-long black skirt, cut on the side to allow her to move, a sleeveless dark purple top that left most of her stomach exposed and matching black shoes with two-inch heels. She added a little eye shadow and bright red lipstick. Her new leather jacket completed her outfit. She checked herself on the mirror before leaving the bedroom.

If Logan didn't react to this, she would just throw him in bed and jump his bones.

It turned out she didn't have to worry. When Logan saw her standing there, leaning casually against the wall he stopped mid sentence and gasped for air. It took him a few tries before he could stammer a compliment. Max fought the urge to push him back into his chair, straddle him and give him a real reason to gasp for air. She settled for a smug smirk.

That would do. For now.

************************

Logan had seen beautiful women before. Many women, many times, in fact.

None of them had prepared him for the dark goddess smirking at him. He had always found Max beautiful, in her cat suit, in her messenger outfit, in her bike leathers, always. But the woman standing in front of him exuded sensuality and menace in a way he couldn't really explain. There was only one word he could think of to describe her.

She was perfect.

It took him a few moments to remember to breath, and another few to close his mouth and try to utter some woefully inadequate compliment. By the smug smile she gave him he guessed that was exactly what she had aimed for. She made him think about the proverbial cat about to eat the bird. He certainly couldn't object to be that bird.

Clearing his throat, he tried to gain some control of the situation.

"Ah, Max...I thought..."

"Yes, Logan?" Her smile grew wider, as she sauntered over to him. "You thought...?"

"Yes. I thought that since we don't have anything for a proper dinner here, and we're going to have a long night ahead of us you might like to go out to dinner?"

Max put a hand on her hip, and tapped her full lips with a newly-manicured finger. He noticed absently that her fingernails matched her lipstick color.

"Hmm...go out to dinner? Let me think. I don't know, Logan. A girl has to have some standards, you know? I've become accustomed to a certain quality, and I'm not sure if you can find something to fit my taste here..."

Logan blushed at the oblique compliment, and smiled at her. Max was in a good mood, and he would do anything in his power to keep her happy.

He really, really liked this side of Max.

"Well, now that you mention it, there's this little French bistro I know. The food is excellent, I'm sure you'll love it."

"We'll see. But the wine better be pre-pulse. And I expect dessert, too; something sinful and chocolaty."

" 'Chocolaty', is it?" he asked with a smile.

"Less smiling, more walking. A girl's gotta eat."

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Logan had been right – not that she was going to tell him that, of course – dinner had been amazing. Almost as good as his usual culinary miracles. The restaurant had no menu, you picked the wine for each course and dinner was served around those choices.

Logan had chosen a Chilean Chardonnay for the entrée, an Argentinian Malbec for the main course and a sweet Madeira for dessert. All pre-pulse or course.

The first course consisted of tomato and basil soup, and a platter of raw oysters. Max asked him his opinion about the oyster's aphrodisiac properties. He had been expecting that since the waiter set the platter down, and calmly told her he really didn't know, since he had never had needed help in that area. Max just lifted an eyebrow and hid her smile in her wine glass.

Next came huge rib-eye steaks, with a side of steamed vegetables. Max had no comments about the dish, she was too busy eating.

For dessert, the waiter brought them a huge thing that was, as far as Logan could tell, a huge, hot brownie with ice cream, hot chocolate fudge and even more chocolate and diced fruit on top. It was meant to be shared, but the chef obviously had never cooked for an X-5; he'd taken a few spoonfuls for appearance's sake, but after Max started glowering at him he gave up.

All things considered, it was one of the best nights of his life. And it was just starting.

The club they were checking out was only ten blocks away, so they decided to walk. Logan was reminded of their first late night stroll, when he had tracked Max down at Crash. Unlike that night, this time neither felt the need to say anything, they just walked in comfortable silence.

When they arrived at the club Logan cringed at the block-long queue, but as he prepared to wait in line, as he had done the last few nights Max shot him an amused smirk and sauntered toward the door. Logan followed, curious as to what was on her mind. He had tried bribery, had tried charming his way in, all to no avail.

Max just flashed a smile, shared a few words with the doorman, and was promptly waved in. He just smiled in amazement and followed her inside.

'Only Max...'

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The club wasn't really her style, but it was alright.

The drinks were hideously expensive but were not watered down and the liquor was first rate, the lights were low, and the music was just loud enough that they had to lean into each other ear to talk.

'Hey, bonus!'

Logan had staked a small booth near the bar, where the music wasn't as loud while she did a quick recon of the place, checking all the exits and the position of all the cameras, in case she had to do something...drastic. By the time she returned to the booth Logan had ordered drinks for them; an imported beer for her, with a name that sounded like Sketchy puking outside Crash and a scotch for himself. Max had downed almost a third of her beer before she'd noticed the taste.

It actually had a taste, for starters. It was also a lot stronger that her usual drink at Crash.

They drank slowly and checked the place discreetly for a while, before max started to feel restless, the music making her body hum to it's beat. Logan noticed, and motioned for her go ahead. Max only hesitated a moment before winding her way into the mass of bodies on the main floor. She would enjoy herself alone for now, make a rich boy or two cry and then she would drag Logan to dance with her.

She had time.

After almost an hour of frenzied dancing Max made her way back to Logan. Even though she had been having a great time, she'd never lost sight of him. Several women had sat on her seat, and tried to start a conversation with Logan, had offered to buy him drinks, but he just smiled and refused politely. He also managed to keep an eye on her, and judging by his angry scowl he was less than thrilled with the many men that tried to hit on her. When she started dancing with one guy, just for fun of course, she could feel his stare. Max considered for a moment to let the guy grope her, or even give him a kiss or two, see what he'd do, but she found the idea distasteful. Damn the man, she couldn't even enjoy teasing losers anymore!

For a moment she felt pissed, and a little scared. She'd never had any trouble turning away men, had never really gone for the usual dance to pick up guys, nor had she really been interested. Besides a few lapses in control while in heat, and a couple really bad mistakes, like that loser Darren, her sex life was more of a theoretical concept. Not to say she had no experience, but she'd wasn't Kendra, either. She just preferred to spend her time hanging with her peeps.

Still, she did appreciate a good looking man, and had no trouble toying with them, if she was in the mood. But now every last one she met was just not good enough. Then she looked back at Logan.

Now, that was hot. Not just physically, the man had the brains and personality to match.

And judging by the looks he was giving her, he thought so too.

Max smiled at him as she reached the booth, and took his hand, dragging him into the dance floor. She thought he would complain, make excuses because of his legs. He just smiled and followed. Logan danced a little stiffly, but well enough not to make a spectacle of himself. Max, now...

Now that she had him there, she let go. She danced around him, pressing herself on his back, then shimmering in front of him, running her hands lightly on his chest and back, swaying her hips to the music. After a while, the music stopped for a moment and the fast, frantic song was replaced by a slower one. Max watched as people quickly paired up around them, couples moving slowly in each others arms. She felt a pair of strong hands on her hips, and looked back to find herself staring into Logan's broad chest. Moving her gaze to his face she took in his smile and stepped into his arms, throwing hers around his neck and pressing her body against him, swaying slowly to the music. Soon the song ended and another started.

Despite the fact that Logan took most of her concentration, she was still on 'mission more' and she was well aware of everything around her. After a few moments she became aware of the lyric.

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It hit Max then how fitting those words were for her, for them both. She had spent more than half her life running, hiding her feelings behind walls made of sarcasm and lies. She had never allowed herself to really feel, for fear that it would hurt her. Truth was, she never had met anyone that made the risk worth it. She had never had a friend as good as original Cindy, and she'd never let herself care so deeply for a man before Logan. Oh, she had felt the stirrings of caring for a man beyond simple lust, but she'd always pushed them or just run away.

Until Logan Cale had come into her life, and turned it upside down. She had tried to stay away, tried to ignore her feelings: he was dangerous for her. But he was also the first person to know her, to see beyond her though attitude, talked to the person, comforted the scared child and cared for the woman. He knew most of her dark, deep secrets, and gave her sympathy instead of pity, compassion instead of disgust.

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

She had broken all her rules, ignoring every instinct that told her to run and forget him. She had refused to leave him, had refused to go with Zack, twice. She had kicked her brother's ass in order to run back to him. And it just felt right. He was everything she needed, everything she had expected to find with her siblings. Embracing his hopeless, ridiculous crusade she had found a purpose, a reason to be alive beyond mere existing. With him, she had finally escaped Manticore.

Without thinking Max had brought one hand to caress his face, while the other stroked the hair on the back of his neck. She looked at his eyes, and saw everything she felt mirrored there. Logan moved his hands slowly up her sides, one resting on her shoulder, the other sliding up his arm to the hand touching his face. He rubbed his fingers lightly over the back of her hand before taking it on his and placing soft kisses on her palm. Logan buried his other hand in her thick chestnut hair and closed the distance between them, his gaze moving from her eyes to her lips and back. Their faces inched closer, until their nosed touched. Their eyes met one last time before closing, and then their lips met, softly, tenderly. Later, when their respective friends asked, they would admit that they didn't know who started the kiss. One second they were apart, and the next they were not. To them, it didn't really matter.

That first kiss was followed by another, and then by another.

Soon they were lost in each other. Their bodies pressed together, hands touched, caressed, groped. Max thought nothing could compare to the feeling of his lips on hers, until she felt his tongue touching, probing, and opened her mouth to him. He tasted like fine wine, one flavor giving way to another, overpowering her senses.

And then the small part of her still keeping track of her surroundings heard someone asking for the drugs they were tracking. She growled in frustration; she didn't want to stop, didn't want to let go of him.

But she knew that she had to.

With a sigh, she pushed Logan away gently, and looked at his eyes. She saw a flash of confusion and hurt that he tried to mask, but his eyes, normally bright green, were almost black with lust. Max let out a throaty chuckle. It seemed Mr. Eyes Only was human, after all.

When Logan tried to protest she silenced him with a finger on his lips, and couldn't stop herself from caressing them. She bit her lower lip, moaning slowly. Damn, the man could really kiss!

"Hold that thought, Logan. We have a winner over at the bar. The guy with the red suede jacket. See him?"

Max had turned to look at her target when she felt Logan biting her finger playfully. She turned back to look at him, only to find herself pinned by his stare. She could almost feel his eyes as they roamed her body unashamedly. When he leaned back toward her she held her breath. If he kissed her again she would not stop him. Fuck the mission.

Instead, he whispered in her ear.

"Later, then?"

Max took a deep breath, and touched his face one last time.

"Oh yeah. Later."

Putting on their game faces, Eyes Only and his Field Commander turned and strode toward the bar.

8