Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle

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Chapter Fifty-Five: Interlude

…our hero and heroine take a much needed breather after all of their recent activities and adventures.

By the time Max and Logan arrived back in Seattle it was early morning. They rode up to the Penthouse in silence.

As soon as they were inside, Logan headed for his computer room to check on his messages, while Max decided she definitely needed a shower before anything else. She came out wrapped in a thick terrycloth robe and found Logan sitting where she had left him, at his computer.

"The world waited two days, it couldn't wait another couple of hours?" she quizzed him.

"Huh? Oh." Logan looked up sheepishly. "I guess it could." He ran his eyes over Max. "You look comfortable."

"Not to mention clean. That chlorine from the pool had my hair feeling like straw." Max grimaced.

Logan smiled at her mention of the pool. "It was your idea to take that swim."

Max flushed slightly, "Next time remind me to go easy on the champagne."

"But you were so cute." Logan teased. "Shall I tell you all the ways you're cute? You're cute when you drink too much champagne, you're cute when you get mad at me, you're cute when you're tearing my clothes off of me. And you're really cute when you're screaming out my name as I …"

Max's hand was over his mouth. "Stop."

He pulled her hand away. "At least I'm not reciting your cutenesses out in public," he reminded her.

Max had no answer for that. Logan laughed softly and couldn't resist pulling her down onto his lap.

He kissed her softly. "Did I mention that you're at your cutest when I manage to make you speechless and you just look at me with those big brown eyes of yours?"

Max wasn't sure what was going on, but this was a different Logan than the one she thought she knew. She couldn't put her finger on what the difference was, but it was there in the way he was looking at her and in his kiss, which was more affectionate then passionate. She felt off balance and unsure of how to deal with him in this mood.

Suddenly she also felt extremely tired. No wonder. She hadn't slept in several days, not to mention that going through heat always seemed to leave her exhausted afterwards. She smothered a yawn. "I need some sleep."

Logan rose, still holding her, and started toward his bedroom.

"Logan, where are you going?" Max asked.

"You said you needed some sleep." He kept walking. When he reached his room he deposited her on his bed. "I'm gonna take a quick shower, don't wait up for me." With that he was gone into the bathroom, leaving Max lying there on his bed. She shrugged and pulled down the bedclothes, snuggling into the fresh clean sheets and soft pillow. By the time Logan emerged she was fast asleep, her hair spread out over his pillows. He smiled at the sight and then climbed in next to her. Max murmured as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, but she didn't wake up. Logan smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep with his arms full of Max.

When Max opened her eyes several hours later it took her a minute to register where she was. Logan had rolled onto his back and one arm was wrapped around her. She was lying curled against him, with a hand resting on his chest. She lifted her head slightly to see that he was still fast asleep, snoring slightly. He looked different in sleep, younger and somehow vulnerable. That slight arrogance that he carried without even seeming to know it was there, was missing. Max liked his arrogance, but she liked seeing him this way as well.

She lay there for a few moments, content to watch him and wondering if he really had been different just before they fell asleep, or if she had been imagining it in her state of exhaustion. Logan stirred slightly as she watched, and muttered something unintelligible. Unable to resist, Max reached up and touched his lips with her finger, a butterfly touch.

Logan's eyes snapped open at her touch and she found herself caught in his blue gaze. She started to pull away but his arm tightened around her.

"Morning, Logan." She gave in and settled back against him.

"Morning, Max." His smile was sleepy.

They were silent as each took the others measure and silently wondered what came next. Logan felt warm and relaxed and lazy as he lay there with Max next to him. Max was similarly content. Neither one wanted to move.

"S'pose we should get up." Max offered half-heartedly.

"Probably." Logan made no move to do so. Instead he reached over with his free arm and began to softly play with Max's hair.

Max sighed and closed her eyes again, letting herself drift back off into oblivion. Her last conscious thought was to wonder about this new side of Logan and how long it was going to last.

End of Chapter Fifty-Five…TBC…