A Man After Her Own Heart – Chapter Six

A/N:  I hate when stories are left unfinished so I'm going to finish this up shortly, but I've lost quite a bit of inspiration.  For those of you who are reading and enjoying and leaving reviews, I really appreciate it.  This chapter is rated R for language and macking.

~~

The Blackbird landed under the basketball court almost twenty minutes later.  Annie awoke with a just a little prompting from Val. 

"Are we there?" she asked sleepily.

"I think so," affirmed Val.  The girls stood and waited for Storm to lower the ramp.  Logan had gone with Cyclops to remove the prisoners from the hold.

As they de-planed and followed Storm through the subbasements of the mansion, Val was not only taken aback at the extensive underground hallways and rooms, but by the obvious planning that had gone into the building and the wealth that it must have taken to create such a structure.  "This is a school?" she wondered aloud.

"Yes and no," replied Ororo with a smile.  "The Professor will explain everything."

She led them to an elevator, which took them to the main floor and Val was again taken aback at the opulence surrounding them.  As she took in their surroundings, Storm led them to a pair of doors where she knocked twice and then entered. 

Val and Annie followed her inside where they were greeted by an older man in a motorized wheel chair.

~~

Later, after meeting with the professor and deciding to stay a few days, they were given a tour, the end of which left them at a room they could share while they stayed at the mansion.

"Should Annie decide to stay on permanently, she'll be given a room in the student's wing and be assigned a roommate," the professor explained.  "Until then, I think you'll both be quite comfortable here."

The room was sumptuous compared to Val's little house in Montana.  There were two double beds separated by a nightstand, two dressers, an armoire that contained a television set and radio with cd player, a closet and a bathroom.

"Thanks," replied Val sincerely.

"Dinner is at six so you have a few hours to relax.  I'll send someone up to show you the way when the time comes," he finished before leaving them.

Annie and Val looked at each other.    

"Pretty cool, huh?" asked Annie as she lugged her suitcase onto the bed nearest the window.

Val put her bag on the bed by the door and said, "So far.  It's hard to believe, though.  I mean, we're at a school for people like us."

"I know," agreed Annie.  "Although," she continued, "I didn't know there was an 'us' until today."  She sat on the bed and studied Val.

"Now you know," replied Val with a shrug.  "We're both freaks."

"Shut up!" laughed Annie  "We're not freaks, we're just…what was the work the professor used?  Evolved," she finished with a firm nod of her head.

"Well, we're in the minority and that makes us freaks to the rest of society," countered Val pensively.

"Is that why you left?" asked Annie.

"It's why I was sent away," Val explained shortly.

"No way," Annie said with a disbelieving shake of her head.

"Way," Val said as she flopped onto her bed, arms spread above her head.  It was nice to be able to relax.

"Dad?"

"Yeah," Val answered.

"Damn."

"Yeah," repeated Val.

"Why'd you come back?" 

"If you can read my mind, you probably already know."

"I want to hear you say it," declared Annie.

Val sighed.  "Okay.  Dad was getting nervous about your powers and he wanted me to take you back to Montana with me.  For good."

Annie blanched at Val's blunt words, but nodded and said, "I know.  I kept hoping that he'd change his mind, but…."

"You really wanted to stay there?"  It was Val's turn to raise her eyebrows in disbelief.

"No, but…it was home, you know?  It's the only place I've ever lived.  And now I'm here."  Annie's voice caught a little, but she held herself together and shook her head again trying to take it all in.

"But I'm here, too," reminded Val softly.  "And you don't have to stay if you don't like it.  We can hit the rode tomorrow if you want," she promised softly.

Annie nodded but it didn't make her feel any better.  The reality of the trip was starting to hit her and she felt a little strange.  She would never see her parents again…because that's how they wanted it. 

"You okay?" Val could see the impact of the day starting to take effect.

Annie nodded and drew her knees up to her chest.  "Tell me about your powers."

~~

By the time the knock at the door came to tell them dinner was served, Val had told Annie everything that had ever happened to her, including the incident at college her disastrous marriage, and her rescue of Logan.  The only thing she'd left out was the night spent with Logan.  Since it wasn't exactly a PG-13 story, Val thought it was better left a mystery.  Annie, if she telepathically knew anything, didn't let on.

They had both showered and changed when they heard the knock and Annie bounded over to the door with seemingly unbridled enthusiasm.  She pulled it open to reveal Logan, in jeans and white tee shirt.

"Hey, Professor Logan," she said with a smile. 

"Now that we're here you can drop the professor.  Just call me Logan," he said looking passed Annie to Val who was doing her best to ignore the flutter in her stomach. 

"Okay," Annie replied.  "So, is your room as nice as ours?  It's almost like staying a hotel don't you think?"

Annie continued the chatter until they reached the dining room and Logan left them to eat with Professor Xavier.  Val tried not to care.

Dinner was fine.  They got to know each other better and throughout, the professor introduced them to passing students.  By the time dinner was over, Annie had become fast friends with some of the other girls her age. 

"Li- Val," Annie said, catching herself with an awkward laugh, "I'm gonna go see what their rooms look like, okay?  Do you mind?"

"No, it's okay.  Have fun and make sure you're able to find your way back to the room," teased Val.

She watched Annie leave and she smiled, happy that her sister was fitting in so quickly.  Her thoughts were interrupted by the professor.  "It looks like she'll get along very well, here," he commented kindly.

Val turned her gaze from Annie's retreating figure to the professor's lined face.  He looked so kind and willing to help her.  "Yes," she replied.  "It does."

"Is your room comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied with a nervous smile.  She was unused to being around all these people and still less used to having someone's attention fully focused on herself.

"Excellent," replied Charles as he wheeled toward the doors.  She followed him and they parted ways at the elevator, she heading back up to the third floor, he wanting to check on some of his students in the library.

When the elevator doors opened, Val got out and looked up and down the hallway.  It didn't look right.  Maybe she'd gotten off on the wrong floor.  Tentatively making her way to the right, she studied the walls and closed doors hoping something familiar would jump out at her.  They all looked the same, though.

Frustrated she spun around to make her way back to the elevator and almost crashed into Logan.  "Gah!" she shouted.  Then, recovering, she punched him in the arm and shouted, "What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me?  You scared me to death!"

Putting a hand to her chest in an effort to calm her heart down, Val leaned against the wall for support.

"Sorry, I thought you heard me coming," Logan apologized with a smile as he massaged the spot on his upper arm that she'd attacked.

"How could I hear you coming if you don't make any noise when you move?" she asked impatiently.

"I make noise," he argued.

"No you don't!"  Val was completely unnerved by his presence.  "You're like a ninja or something."

Logan cocked his head to one side and acknowledged, "I am pretty stealthy."

"Oh, shut up," she snapped.  "What are you doing here anyway?"

"On my way to my room," he said simply with a nod of his head to one of the nearby doors.

"Oh," Val said, trying to hide her interest.  No!  Trying to not be interested.  "Your room is near here?"

Resting a hand on the wall near her head, Logan leaned into her before responding in a low voice, "Uh huh."

Her mouth felt dry and she licked her lips.  His eyes followed the movement and he smiled a little.  He was way too close, she decided.  Val closed her eyes in an effort to block him from view, but then she immediately noticed how good he smelled and her eyes flew open. 

"Wanna see it?" he asked.

She was confused.  They were in a well-lit hallway for Heaven's sake.  He couldn't be serious.  "What?"

"My room?  It's right here.  Wanna see it?"

"Oh…oh, right," she said, stumbling for words and blushing.

"What did you think I meant?" he asked with a friendly leer.

"Nothing!" she cried, hating her high-pitched squeak of a voice.  

"You've got a dirty mind," Logan scolded her softly and with a slow smile.  Val stared into his dark eyes and wished she were anywhere but there.  She had the strength to push him away but not the willpower.

"No I don't," she protested weakly.

"Yes, you do, but it's okay.  I like that in a woman," he said before leaned into her and running his tongue up the side of her earlobe.  She had to lock her knees in order to keep them from buckling.

"Jesus," she whispered as her stomach did flip-flops.

"So does that mean you wanna see it?" he rumbled into her ear.

Val tried to shrug, tried to act like it didn't matter to her.  Logan noticed and smiled.  He'd make her pay for that. 

Still balanced on one hand he took his other hand and settled it on her hip, gently kneading the soft flesh under her clothing.  His own clothing had become uncomfortably tight but he pressed on.  Hopefully it would not be in vain.  She sighed as he continued to work her earlobe and neck.

"Logan," she rasped.  "Someone could…I mean…shouldn't we…." She trailed off unable to finish her thought.  Her body was responding to his ministrations and she couldn't deny it.  She instinctively arched her back to press herself closer to his warmth.

"Shouldn't we what?" he asked innocently as he moved to rediscover the other side of her neck.

"I…I…think maybe…." Val gasped as her insides continued to flutter about.  She felt the familiar warmth of arousal and she wriggled her legs against his.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked noting the change in her scent right away and loving it. 

"No…not necessarily," she admitted as her fingers found the hard surface of his chest.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked, still trying to play innocent.

"I just think that maybe we should – " Logan cut her off with his mouth and she returned the kiss hungrily.  Forcing one hand into his hair and allowing the other to trail down his chest, she kissed him hungrily.

He responded in kind, pulling her cotton top out of the waistband of her jeans and touching the heated skin of her stomach and back gently, but then more urgently. 

"Logan," she breathed in between hot kisses.

"What?" he grated out.

"Maybe we should go into your room," Val suggested not caring anymore what that meant; she was drunk on him.

"You think?"

"Yes," she cried desperately.

"What's the magic word?" he asked evil smile.

"Are you serious?" she asked frantically trying to absorb everything about him.

"Yeah," he ground out in between kisses.

Breathlessly, Val moaned softly against his mouth, "Please."

Grinning, Logan stepped back and pushed her through the door to his room, noting, "All you had to do was ask."