A/N: You know what? You guys are all awesome! I appreciate every review y'all've given me like you wouldn't believe. :) This is part four of fifteen. About this point I got sick of messing with Logan and Max's minds... so consider the rest of this basically what *I* want to see happen. LOL! Oh, the story is all still there... but I went my own shipper friendly way. :P Face it, I'm incapable of writing for any length of time without making it smut. LOL Ah, well, it's all safe for a while yet... just shipper friendly. :P
Just as a side note regarding tomorrow night's posting (Saturday, Dec. 1), it may be a bit later than normal as I'm going to get a new puppy tomorrow night, and the little mutt is an hour out of town. By the time I get off work, pick up my best and the kids, go get the puppy, get us all home, introduce Logan-pup to my 3 y/o dog, Maq, among the rest of my zoo, AND get settled in with our new addition... it's gonna be late. LOL I do, however, promise, that no matter how late it may be, part five will be posted at some point tomorrow night. :P
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P
They're not mine; I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P
Towards The Sunset
Part Four: You and What Army?
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
Max stood outside Logan's door for long moments, contemplating her decision to return. She hadn't called to inform Logan about the explosion at Crash, instead she'd made sure her peeps were okay and got Sketchy home safely. Now, two hours later, she wondered if Logan had had enough time to cool down. She wasn't looking forward to continuing their conversation, especially since she still had little to no grip on why she was so afraid to just give in and try like Logan wanted. Thing was, being able to touch meant being able to kiss, kissing meant making love, making love meant commitment, at least to Logan. They'd gone through this runaround for over a year, then everything was put on the back burner to find a cure, and now Max found herself wanting the runaround back again. At least when they were playing at hiding their emotions, they had some measure of safety. The kisses during her last virus free heat in Seattle, however, destroyed their safety buffer. Max didn't deny the fact she wanted to fall into Logan's arms and let him make all the bad things go away, even if it was for only a short while. She didn't deny that she wanted his kisses and his touch almost more than her fear was able to withstand. She also couldn't deny that her fear of hurting him was overwhelming her.
//But isn't that what you're doing right now?//
She bowed her head, resting against the doorframe, as she had to admit her conscience was right. She was hurting Logan by pushing him away, by not letting him touch the future he'd been so easily able to see. She was hurting herself at the same time. Her fingers came up to rub her head, stroking her flesh in a vain attempt to ease the pain that burned within. She was going to walk through those doors and she knew Logan would look up, his eyes asking her questions that she couldn't yet answer to even herself. She only hoped he had enough strength to trust her and let her work through her issues; all she needed was a little more time.
Max drew in a deep breath, forcing her face into a calm neutral expression as she quietly picked the lock on his door and stepped inside. She raised her eyebrow as she peeked into the kitchen and realized their dinner dishes were still soaking. A few steps further revealed that he wasn't in the living room. With a shrug, Max altered her direction and headed for the computer room. Sure enough, he sat in front of his monitors, his long fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed out an email. Resisting the urge to peek over her shoulder, Max leaned on the doorframe and watched him for a few quiet moments.
//Please, Logan. Just give me time. I won't leave you again.//
"Knock, knock."
Logan didn't turn; his only acknowledgement of her arrival was the pause in his typing for a brief moment, before the endless clicking of the keyboard resumed. "Max. Didn't expect you back this evening."
"Yeah, well, something came up. Or should I say down?"
He sighed and swiveled in his chair, his eyes betraying no emotion as he regarded her. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she nodded, shifting uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny as he regarded her potentially ruined clothing. "As in Crash."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Crash as in something crashed down, or Crash as in the club?"
"Both. Bomb took out a wall at the club when I stopped in to see the peeps."
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah. No major injuries, 'n all the peeps were in the back room anyway, except for Sketchy. Moron dumped a pitcher of beer on me." Max glanced down at her clothing ruefully. "You mind if I grab a shower?"
He shrugged. "You know your way around. I'll see if my informants have come up with anything while you're occupied."
"Yeah. Great." Max turned on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom, pulling her shirt over her head as she walked.
She purposely took a long time in the shower, allowing the exceedingly hot water to sluice down her body and ease away the tension that was knotting her muscles. When the water began to run cold, Max turned off the taps and stepped into one of Logan's soft towels. She glanced down at her beer soaked clothing with distain before making her way into his bedroom. If she searched long enough, she'd no doubt she'd be able to come up with something of her own to wear, but she found his clothing remarkably more comfortable. So, a quick search of his room turned up an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants that if she turned down the waistband managed to remain on her tiny hips.
Grabbing his brush off his dresser, Max made her way back into the computer room, perching herself on the top of a desk as she began to brush out her hair. "Any word?"
He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow; she met his gaze solidly until he shrugged. "Not really. None of my informants are answering the call for information." He grimaced. "I can't put my finger on it, but I can't shake the feeling that this is personal. Someone's coming after you, Max, but I've got no leads on who."
Max sniffed, finally pulling her still damp hair back into a ponytail. "Well, I wish they'd bring it on and get it over with. This playing with bombs shit is gettin' old."
He nodded, pushing away from the desk. "They're not trying very hard are they?"
She laughed slightly. "Pretty pathetic if you ask me. 'Course they may just be trying to get my attention, y'know?"
"Yeah, which means this is going to get worse before it gets better unless we can figure out who's behind it."
Max frowned suddenly. "What if it's not me they're after? I mean you were at the apartment too, and you have started hangin' at Crash with the blonde a lot lately."
"Doesn't make sense, though. Why rattle your apartment and not mine, then? And if they do know who I am, why haven't they said anything?"
She shrugged. "Maybe they're calling me out to get to you, I dunno. Not everything's about Manticore, Logan."
"I didn't say it was." He shifted in his chair and cast her an angry glance. "Why are you on me so hard tonight, anyway?"
"I'm not."
"Bullshit, Max, you've jumped on everything I've said and done all night."
"Oh, please. I'm not the one who sulked for two hours because I was late for dinner." Her jaw set tightly, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I wasn't sulking." Logan frowned as he found the tables turned. "I was a little disappointed. It wasn't anything big."
"Great, so for the rest of our lives you're gonna get all pissy whenever you're 'a little disappointed'? How old did you say you were? 5?"
"You want to talk about acting like a child?" Logan got to his feet and walked over to Max, standing so close his breath burned across her skin. "You're afraid of falling in love with me. You had the virus as an excuse to stay away for a few months but now that it's gone you're trying to run again. So, yeah, I was disappointed, and yeah, maybe I didn't do such a good job of covering it, but I'm not going to stand here and let you destroy everything I've wanted since the day I met you."
Max flinched at his words, but narrowed her eyes, glaring at him with seething anger. "Yeah, 'n what're you going to do about it, Logan?"
"Anything I can." His fingers locked into her hair before she had a chance to react and he pulled her to him, his lips meeting hers in a harsh kiss. Her eyes flashed astonishment as Logan's lips moved over hers ruthlessly, pressing her, urging her for a response. Heat flared through her body and she whimpered slightly before relaxing into the kiss. Her hands found his shoulders, holding onto him as he pressed closer, his fingers easing out of her hair as his lips gentled. She felt his touch move down her back, his fingers stroking away the tension that had rebuilt inside her as he pulled back a few inches and met her gaze. He smiled down at her, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes before moving down again. His second touch wasn't a complete nuclear meltdown kiss, not like the ones they'd shared in the past. It was the sweetest, most devastatingly gentle kiss Max's had ever shared with anyone. He brushed his lips across hers tenderly, reveling in the feel of her at last willing touch. His tongue pressed against her, pleading with her, and finally, feeling the last tiny bit of resistance flee from her body, she parted her lips for him.
Logan's tongue swept into Max's mouth and his groan was lost as her taste assaulted his senses. Their few kisses in the past had engrained her scent and flavor into his mind, and as his tongue searched out every hidden recess of her mouth, the familiarity overwhelmed him as even from a mere kiss he was overcome with the feeling of coming home. Her knees parted and Logan stepped in closer, her heat warming his own body even through their layers of clothing. Max whimpered softly, one leg wrapping around his waist as her fingers wound into his short hair and Logan found himself with an abrupt lack of oxygen. Her body arched against him as her tongue waged a sensual battle with his own and his arms slipped down her body to cup her behind.
When air became an issue, Logan pulled away, gasping for one brief moment before returning his mouth to her skin, kissing her jaw, her ear, her neck, loving the way she whimpered and moaned beneath him. Her hands slid down his body, clutching at his sweater and pulling it from his pants. His gasp was audible as her cool fingers slid up the sensitive flesh of his back, tracing his spine as at last Logan allowed his mouth to leave her body.
She shivered slightly when he pulled away, adding only inches between them as he softly stroked her hair. He waited as her eyes began to clear and her body relaxed before he smiled. "Was that so bad?" His voice was teasing and his fingers continued soft caresses over her face and throat.
She drew in a shaky breath, casting her eyes downward as she attempted to avoid his gaze. He chuckled softly, running one finger under her chin to raise her line of sight to his own. Her eyes shone regret, but not for the kisses, rather for her earlier fear, and Max made no motion to move away. She shrugged, finally meeting his gaze with a small smile. "Not bad at all."
Logan released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and lowered his head until he was resting against her neck, holding her tightly against his chest. "You're infuriating, you know that?"
"You're not a barrel of laughs yourself, Logan." She laughed lightly as she pushed him back, quickly scanning his body for any signs of infection. Her mind was telling her that he was fine, that she'd just spent the last five minutes being thoroughly explored by the man she loved most and nothing had fallen on either of their heads, but her heart still needed to be sure. Her fingers traced his forehead finding no sign of fever before they moved down to his throat to be sure his breathing was normal. She smiled up at him as he stood straight, inviting her exploration to continue, so she moved her hands to his chest, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she felt and listened to his strong heart beat. When she opened her eyes, they had a wicked glint in their dark depths, and Logan shivered as her lips curved into an evil smile.
His teeth closed around his lower lip as her slow exploration of his body continued, her legs keeping him trapped between them as if he'd ever try to escape. Her fingers teased his stomach with light strokes as she lifted his shirt away from his body. It hit the floor in an unceremonious pile and Max flicked her tongue over her lips as she gazed at his naked chest. A low growl built in the back of her throat as her fingers found the soft hair that decorated his body, learning the feel of each muscle that flexed compulsively under her touch. She raised an eyebrow as he shivered when her fingers trailed over one of his sensitive flat nipples. Loving the sounds that slipped out of his throat, Max repeated the action on his other nipple before teasing them both at the same time. She moved slowly, slipping her hands away as her warm lips took over, suckling him lightly. Her teeth and tongue pulled a long groan from between his lips, but it wasn't until his hands found her shoulders for support that she pulled away.
Logan clutched at Max's shoulders when her fingers began moving lower, stopping teasingly at the waistband of his pants as she softly chewed on her lip. Neither of them, however, was surprised when the phone began to ring.
Max looked up at Logan and gave him a small shrug, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Murphy's Law."
"Want to bet it's not good news either?" He shook his head as he drew in a deep breath and reached for the phone.
End Part Four: You and What Army?
Just as a side note regarding tomorrow night's posting (Saturday, Dec. 1), it may be a bit later than normal as I'm going to get a new puppy tomorrow night, and the little mutt is an hour out of town. By the time I get off work, pick up my best and the kids, go get the puppy, get us all home, introduce Logan-pup to my 3 y/o dog, Maq, among the rest of my zoo, AND get settled in with our new addition... it's gonna be late. LOL I do, however, promise, that no matter how late it may be, part five will be posted at some point tomorrow night. :P
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P
They're not mine; I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P
Towards The Sunset
Part Four: You and What Army?
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
Max stood outside Logan's door for long moments, contemplating her decision to return. She hadn't called to inform Logan about the explosion at Crash, instead she'd made sure her peeps were okay and got Sketchy home safely. Now, two hours later, she wondered if Logan had had enough time to cool down. She wasn't looking forward to continuing their conversation, especially since she still had little to no grip on why she was so afraid to just give in and try like Logan wanted. Thing was, being able to touch meant being able to kiss, kissing meant making love, making love meant commitment, at least to Logan. They'd gone through this runaround for over a year, then everything was put on the back burner to find a cure, and now Max found herself wanting the runaround back again. At least when they were playing at hiding their emotions, they had some measure of safety. The kisses during her last virus free heat in Seattle, however, destroyed their safety buffer. Max didn't deny the fact she wanted to fall into Logan's arms and let him make all the bad things go away, even if it was for only a short while. She didn't deny that she wanted his kisses and his touch almost more than her fear was able to withstand. She also couldn't deny that her fear of hurting him was overwhelming her.
//But isn't that what you're doing right now?//
She bowed her head, resting against the doorframe, as she had to admit her conscience was right. She was hurting Logan by pushing him away, by not letting him touch the future he'd been so easily able to see. She was hurting herself at the same time. Her fingers came up to rub her head, stroking her flesh in a vain attempt to ease the pain that burned within. She was going to walk through those doors and she knew Logan would look up, his eyes asking her questions that she couldn't yet answer to even herself. She only hoped he had enough strength to trust her and let her work through her issues; all she needed was a little more time.
Max drew in a deep breath, forcing her face into a calm neutral expression as she quietly picked the lock on his door and stepped inside. She raised her eyebrow as she peeked into the kitchen and realized their dinner dishes were still soaking. A few steps further revealed that he wasn't in the living room. With a shrug, Max altered her direction and headed for the computer room. Sure enough, he sat in front of his monitors, his long fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed out an email. Resisting the urge to peek over her shoulder, Max leaned on the doorframe and watched him for a few quiet moments.
//Please, Logan. Just give me time. I won't leave you again.//
"Knock, knock."
Logan didn't turn; his only acknowledgement of her arrival was the pause in his typing for a brief moment, before the endless clicking of the keyboard resumed. "Max. Didn't expect you back this evening."
"Yeah, well, something came up. Or should I say down?"
He sighed and swiveled in his chair, his eyes betraying no emotion as he regarded her. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she nodded, shifting uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny as he regarded her potentially ruined clothing. "As in Crash."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Crash as in something crashed down, or Crash as in the club?"
"Both. Bomb took out a wall at the club when I stopped in to see the peeps."
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah. No major injuries, 'n all the peeps were in the back room anyway, except for Sketchy. Moron dumped a pitcher of beer on me." Max glanced down at her clothing ruefully. "You mind if I grab a shower?"
He shrugged. "You know your way around. I'll see if my informants have come up with anything while you're occupied."
"Yeah. Great." Max turned on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom, pulling her shirt over her head as she walked.
She purposely took a long time in the shower, allowing the exceedingly hot water to sluice down her body and ease away the tension that was knotting her muscles. When the water began to run cold, Max turned off the taps and stepped into one of Logan's soft towels. She glanced down at her beer soaked clothing with distain before making her way into his bedroom. If she searched long enough, she'd no doubt she'd be able to come up with something of her own to wear, but she found his clothing remarkably more comfortable. So, a quick search of his room turned up an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants that if she turned down the waistband managed to remain on her tiny hips.
Grabbing his brush off his dresser, Max made her way back into the computer room, perching herself on the top of a desk as she began to brush out her hair. "Any word?"
He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow; she met his gaze solidly until he shrugged. "Not really. None of my informants are answering the call for information." He grimaced. "I can't put my finger on it, but I can't shake the feeling that this is personal. Someone's coming after you, Max, but I've got no leads on who."
Max sniffed, finally pulling her still damp hair back into a ponytail. "Well, I wish they'd bring it on and get it over with. This playing with bombs shit is gettin' old."
He nodded, pushing away from the desk. "They're not trying very hard are they?"
She laughed slightly. "Pretty pathetic if you ask me. 'Course they may just be trying to get my attention, y'know?"
"Yeah, which means this is going to get worse before it gets better unless we can figure out who's behind it."
Max frowned suddenly. "What if it's not me they're after? I mean you were at the apartment too, and you have started hangin' at Crash with the blonde a lot lately."
"Doesn't make sense, though. Why rattle your apartment and not mine, then? And if they do know who I am, why haven't they said anything?"
She shrugged. "Maybe they're calling me out to get to you, I dunno. Not everything's about Manticore, Logan."
"I didn't say it was." He shifted in his chair and cast her an angry glance. "Why are you on me so hard tonight, anyway?"
"I'm not."
"Bullshit, Max, you've jumped on everything I've said and done all night."
"Oh, please. I'm not the one who sulked for two hours because I was late for dinner." Her jaw set tightly, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I wasn't sulking." Logan frowned as he found the tables turned. "I was a little disappointed. It wasn't anything big."
"Great, so for the rest of our lives you're gonna get all pissy whenever you're 'a little disappointed'? How old did you say you were? 5?"
"You want to talk about acting like a child?" Logan got to his feet and walked over to Max, standing so close his breath burned across her skin. "You're afraid of falling in love with me. You had the virus as an excuse to stay away for a few months but now that it's gone you're trying to run again. So, yeah, I was disappointed, and yeah, maybe I didn't do such a good job of covering it, but I'm not going to stand here and let you destroy everything I've wanted since the day I met you."
Max flinched at his words, but narrowed her eyes, glaring at him with seething anger. "Yeah, 'n what're you going to do about it, Logan?"
"Anything I can." His fingers locked into her hair before she had a chance to react and he pulled her to him, his lips meeting hers in a harsh kiss. Her eyes flashed astonishment as Logan's lips moved over hers ruthlessly, pressing her, urging her for a response. Heat flared through her body and she whimpered slightly before relaxing into the kiss. Her hands found his shoulders, holding onto him as he pressed closer, his fingers easing out of her hair as his lips gentled. She felt his touch move down her back, his fingers stroking away the tension that had rebuilt inside her as he pulled back a few inches and met her gaze. He smiled down at her, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes before moving down again. His second touch wasn't a complete nuclear meltdown kiss, not like the ones they'd shared in the past. It was the sweetest, most devastatingly gentle kiss Max's had ever shared with anyone. He brushed his lips across hers tenderly, reveling in the feel of her at last willing touch. His tongue pressed against her, pleading with her, and finally, feeling the last tiny bit of resistance flee from her body, she parted her lips for him.
Logan's tongue swept into Max's mouth and his groan was lost as her taste assaulted his senses. Their few kisses in the past had engrained her scent and flavor into his mind, and as his tongue searched out every hidden recess of her mouth, the familiarity overwhelmed him as even from a mere kiss he was overcome with the feeling of coming home. Her knees parted and Logan stepped in closer, her heat warming his own body even through their layers of clothing. Max whimpered softly, one leg wrapping around his waist as her fingers wound into his short hair and Logan found himself with an abrupt lack of oxygen. Her body arched against him as her tongue waged a sensual battle with his own and his arms slipped down her body to cup her behind.
When air became an issue, Logan pulled away, gasping for one brief moment before returning his mouth to her skin, kissing her jaw, her ear, her neck, loving the way she whimpered and moaned beneath him. Her hands slid down his body, clutching at his sweater and pulling it from his pants. His gasp was audible as her cool fingers slid up the sensitive flesh of his back, tracing his spine as at last Logan allowed his mouth to leave her body.
She shivered slightly when he pulled away, adding only inches between them as he softly stroked her hair. He waited as her eyes began to clear and her body relaxed before he smiled. "Was that so bad?" His voice was teasing and his fingers continued soft caresses over her face and throat.
She drew in a shaky breath, casting her eyes downward as she attempted to avoid his gaze. He chuckled softly, running one finger under her chin to raise her line of sight to his own. Her eyes shone regret, but not for the kisses, rather for her earlier fear, and Max made no motion to move away. She shrugged, finally meeting his gaze with a small smile. "Not bad at all."
Logan released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and lowered his head until he was resting against her neck, holding her tightly against his chest. "You're infuriating, you know that?"
"You're not a barrel of laughs yourself, Logan." She laughed lightly as she pushed him back, quickly scanning his body for any signs of infection. Her mind was telling her that he was fine, that she'd just spent the last five minutes being thoroughly explored by the man she loved most and nothing had fallen on either of their heads, but her heart still needed to be sure. Her fingers traced his forehead finding no sign of fever before they moved down to his throat to be sure his breathing was normal. She smiled up at him as he stood straight, inviting her exploration to continue, so she moved her hands to his chest, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she felt and listened to his strong heart beat. When she opened her eyes, they had a wicked glint in their dark depths, and Logan shivered as her lips curved into an evil smile.
His teeth closed around his lower lip as her slow exploration of his body continued, her legs keeping him trapped between them as if he'd ever try to escape. Her fingers teased his stomach with light strokes as she lifted his shirt away from his body. It hit the floor in an unceremonious pile and Max flicked her tongue over her lips as she gazed at his naked chest. A low growl built in the back of her throat as her fingers found the soft hair that decorated his body, learning the feel of each muscle that flexed compulsively under her touch. She raised an eyebrow as he shivered when her fingers trailed over one of his sensitive flat nipples. Loving the sounds that slipped out of his throat, Max repeated the action on his other nipple before teasing them both at the same time. She moved slowly, slipping her hands away as her warm lips took over, suckling him lightly. Her teeth and tongue pulled a long groan from between his lips, but it wasn't until his hands found her shoulders for support that she pulled away.
Logan clutched at Max's shoulders when her fingers began moving lower, stopping teasingly at the waistband of his pants as she softly chewed on her lip. Neither of them, however, was surprised when the phone began to ring.
Max looked up at Logan and gave him a small shrug, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Murphy's Law."
"Want to bet it's not good news either?" He shook his head as he drew in a deep breath and reached for the phone.
End Part Four: You and What Army?