Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle

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Chapter Thirty:   Afterthoughts and Foreplay

Dealing with the revelations…sort of…

Max turned from closing her door and surveyed the shambles in her bedroom. Fortunately, the destruction was limited to drawers being emptied and clothing from her closet being tossed on the floor.  It was clearly designed to give the appearance of a hasty search for valuables by a common burglar. She spent some time getting her clothing back in order, and then wandered to her window to look out over the dark city.

The mask had come off tonight and she felt like she had finally seen Logan for what he really was. He most definitely was not a fairy tale prince come to sweep the fairytale princess off of her feet. He was a complicated man. A man with a dark side that she hadn't guessed was there. Eyes Only was a legend, known for his dedication to his cause as well as for his rumored ruthlessness in achieving his goals. Reconciling the Logan she thought she knew, with the man she was just learning about wasn't an easy task.

Max realized that she was married to a man she didn't know at all. At the same time she was wildly attracted to him physically. She knew he felt the same attraction to her. What she didn't know was what else he felt or, more importantly, what he would allow himself to feel for her. Eyes Only couldn't allow himself the normalities of life. She laughed to herself. In that they were well matched.

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Logan straightened his room and got ready for bed mechanically, scarcely paying attention to what he was doing.  His picture of Max had undergone a 180 degree turn in the space of one evening, and his mind was still processing the pieces of the puzzle.

Rather than an innocent young woman, the helpless victim of a misdirected governmental program, she was something more than human. He had never seen anyone move like she had and he suspected there was much about her that he had yet to discover. Max had hidden depths and he suspected some of them might turn out to be dark indeed. Despite that, he knew that she had an innate goodness about her. There might be darkness but he didn't feel any evil. And the attraction between them continued to grow and strengthen. The kiss tonight had added another dimension, one he was afraid to look at too closely.

The reality of his marriage to her hit him suddenly. His original plan had been to set her up somewhere where she would be safe and able to live a normal life. He wasn't so sure now that there was such a place. Rumors of what he had heard about the powers behind Project Manticore and their obsession with the program had reached him after he had first heard of it. They weren't going to stop looking for Max until they found her. No matter where he might hide her. He couldn't see a way to let her out of his sight or protection anytime soon. But that meant that the marriage would have to stand. With all of the complications he could now envision coming out of it.  He briefly wished that Max had been a male or at least not such a specimen of female perfection.

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When Max left her bedroom the next morning, the smell of frying bacon and the scent of freshly brewed coffee, hit her nostrils and drew her like a magnet to the kitchen. Logan was just finishing up taking the bacon off of the stove. He looked up when he saw her and flashed her one of his patented smiles. "Morning. I hope you're hungry."

Max smiled back, "Starving." The memory of their kiss the night before and the feelings it had evoked, had her feeling almost shy around him. Unconsciously her gaze lingered on his lips as she remembered how they had felt last night. When she looked up, Logan was watching her, and she felt a blush rising in her cheeks at the knowing look in his eyes,

He didn't say anything more though, and she busied herself pouring coffee for both of them as he brought plates filled with golden omelets and the bacon over to the table. By the time they sat down to eat she felt more in control.

"Matt Sung called this morning to say that our friends are safely in custody. He's made sure they'll be where they can see the Eyes Only broadcast this morning. He figures that'll have them begging to tell what they know in order to avoid going down with Ratburn."

"You mean Ratburn's rats are about to flee the sinking ship?" Max quipped and Logan laughed. For a moment they both enjoyed the simple pleasures of good food and comfortable companionship, forgetting about the complications of their respective lives.

All too soon breakfast was over and the dishes were cleared. They looked at each other, both knowing that they needed to talk, but neither wanting to open up the can of worms.

Logan cleared his throat to begin, but to his relief the apartment door opened and Bling entered. Logan turned to say good morning and stopped in shock. The normally robust and healthy Bling looked exhausted.  He could have sworn he was looking at someone suffering from a major hangover but this was Bling.

"Don't even ask." Bling said to him.

"I was only going to ask what truck ran you over last night." Logan observed mildly. He heard a choked gasp next to him and turned to look at Max in puzzlement. There was an air of suppressed amusement about her, and when he looked back a Bling he detected almost a look of pleading in his eyes as he gazed at Max.

"Oh I don't think it was a truck, Logan." Max observed blithely. "Was it Bling?" she asked him sweetly. "Is that a blonde hair I see on your shirt?"

Bling muttered something unintelligible and headed off to the computer room. Logan started to follow, but was stopped by Max. "I don't think you should bother him too much right now, Logan. In fact it might be a nice gesture to give him the day off."

Logan looked down at her hand where it lay on his arm. Unbidden, memories of those small delicate fingers easily disposing of a thug twice her weight ran through his mind. Juxtaposed were memories of those same fingers running delicately through his hair and tracing his face as he kissed her on the floor of a shed. Thoughts of the shed led to memories of his trashed car which led to a sudden realization.

"Max. How have you been getting around the last couple of days?" he asked her suspiciously.

Max looked at him guiltily. She had been wondering when he would connect the dots.

"On my bike."

"On your what?"

"My motorcycle. You saw it the other night. It was parked next to the car." She tried for matter of fact innocence.

"Where did you get a motorcycle?"

"I bought it." Her chin went up defiantly.

"Did it ever occur to you that riding around alone on a motorcycle might not be the smartest move in the present circumstances?" He didn't know why he was suddenly angry with her, although part of him suspected he was using it as a distraction from things he didn't want to face just yet.

"You mean it might be more dangerous than coming home to goons with guns pointing at me?" She threw back. She wasn't exactly sure how or why they were suddenly fighting, but maybe it was a good thing.  Safer.

"I'm heading out." Bling interrupted. "Logan you owe me a day off and I think I'm gonna take it. Mistake coming in today. My head can't take you two right now. I'll leave you to your foreplay. Have fun kids."

The door closed behind him.  Logan and Max stood staring at each other, Bling's last words ringing in both of their ears.

End of Chapter Thirty…TBC

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