A Man After Her Own Heart - Chapter Seven
A/N: Still rated R for language. For anyone unsure, "macking" is a term usually used to describe making out (i.e. "So, I was totally mackin' on this chick the other night, and, dude, it turns out she's, like, sixteen!" Or something similar). LOL!! I hope that clears up any questions. This will end with the next chapter. Review if you feel like it. They are appreciated.
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Val lay on her side with her knees bent and her arms drawn to her chest. The cocoon of pillows and blankets was marvelous, but as she slowly awoke, Val became aware of a warm, solid presence behind her, pressed close to her back. She groggily noticed that there was an arm flung across her waist and she immediately blushed. Waking up together was a first and all of a sudden she felt shy. As she carefully tried to disengage, she heard a low growl as his arm tightened its hold and pulled her back towards a hard chest.
"Where do you think you're going?" Logan rumbled sleepily.
Val sighed drowsily. They hadn't gotten much rest the night before. She'd never made it back to her own room last night and she worried that Annie might be upset.
"Do you know what time it is?" she asked, still trying to wriggle out of his embrace.
Logan's room was still shrouded in darkness, the first dim lights of dawn just beginning to peek in through the curtains. "Early," he mumbled, holding her warm body close.
"Exactly," she said firmly, trying to disentangle herself. The more she woke up the more she needed to get the hell out of there. "I should get back to my room before anyone gets up."
"Or you could stay and not give a shit what anybody thinks," he suggested, sleep thick in his voice.
"What are you talking about?" she asked impatiently as she finally used all her strength and pulled away from him, only to have him surprise her with his cat-like reflexes. He had her pinned under him in seconds. It only took her another half second to realize that they were both still very naked.
"Doesn't this feel right to you?" he asked, now fully awake, too.
"Feeling right and being right aren't always the same thing," she began. She wasn't the queen of relationships but the few failed ones she could look back on made her cautious about getting involved in anything new.
"I'm not sure I follow that logic," Logan said with a chuckle and a chin scratch.
"All I'm saying is that complications are not going to make it easier when we part ways," she explained slowly, unable to meet his eyes.
Logan sighed. "I guess you're right. I'll be leaving here soon anyway."
Her head snapped up. "You will?" she asked softly.
"Uh huh," he affirmed, straddling her legs with his own. "Going back up to Canada, make sure that base of Magneto's is definitely gone."
"Oh. Well, good," she said with what she hoped was a firm nod. "I think that's a good idea. I hope you have a safe trip."
"While we're both still here, though.." He trailed off and lowered his head to where her throat met her shoulder and dropped a kiss there. He made a path with his mouth down to her collarbone and back up again before the kisses turned rough and he scraped his teeth across her smooth skin.
Lifting his head, Logan noted with satisfaction that Val's eyes were now closed, her mouth was hanging slightly ajar, and her breathing had sped up.
Drawing his lips into a satisfied grin, he waited for her to realize he'd stopped. When she opened her eyes a few seconds later and saw his smug approval, her eyes darkened and she flung him across the room and into the wall opposite.
"Bastard," she snapped.
"I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain my mother would take offense to that comment," he remarked playfully as he stood up and made his way back to the bed.
She was already up and rummaging around for something to put on. Finding the tee shirt he'd been wearing last night, she slipped it over her head and tugged at the hem, wishing it were a little longer. It only just barely covered her tush. It smelled of him, though, and she liked that.
The room was still mostly dark and Val was thankful for the shadows. Logan dropped heavily onto the mattress and watched her look around for the jeans she'd been wearing the night before. "It doesn't have to be this way, you know," he said conversationally as he enjoyed the view of her partially exposed bottom.
"What way?" she asked distractedly as she continued to search for her clothes.
"Whatever way this is."
She turned to look at him and caught him staring at her ass. "Hey," she said, "my eyes are up here."
He grinned at her and crossed the bed on all fours until he was kneeling on it in front of her. "I can't admire the goods?"
This elicited a small chuckle, and she softened a little. "As long as you look with your eyes and not your hands, you can look at whatever you want. Now help me find my clothes."
Logan sighed heavily and produced the jeans she'd been wearing last night.
Val took them before asking, "And what about my underwear?"
"Lost," he said with a firm nod.
"Hand 'em over," she demanded.
"I swear I don't have them," he said with his hands raised palms facing her.
"I think you're lying," Val said with narrowed eyes.
"I think you should let it go," Logan said determinedly.
Rolling her eyes, Val pulled on the jeans sans underwear. "I'm leaving before it gets any lighter."
"See ya 'round," he said with a small wave.
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Creeping back to her own room, Val cursed herself for not asking him for directions before she'd left. Wait, that potted plant looked familiar. And wasn't that.? Yes, that picture on the wall is the same picture hanging opposite her door. Happily, Val eased open the door and found Annie asleep with the bedside lamp still burning.
"Where've you been?" she asked, waking immediately.
"I'm sorry, honey," Val apologized. "I lost track of time. I ran into Logan and we ended up.talking for a few hours and then I guess I fell asleep," she said sheepishly.
"Uh huh," replied Annie, totally not buying the story.
"I did!" Val insisted.
"Okay," allowed Annie. "If 'talking' is what you kids are calling it these days."
"Hey!" protested Val.
Annie sat up in bed and stared at Val. "Are you forgetting that I can read your mind? When you didn't come back last night I tracked you down with my telepathy."
Val sank onto the bed. "I'm sorry. I.I don't know what to say. I didn't mean for it to happen, he just.."
"Please," said Annie with a wave of her hand. "You don't have to explain. He's hot."
Blushing, Val said, "Aren't you a little young to be noticing things like that?"
"Oh, come on. I'm going to be fourteen in two months. In my grade alone we had two girls get pregnant this year and in my entire school there were five single mothers."
"What happened to innocence?" asked Val desperately.
"Doesn't exist anymore," replied Annie with altogether too much cynicism.
Shaking her head, Val acknowledged, "Okay, fine. But I should have let you know where I was. I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay. I'm sitting in on classes today and then I'm meeting with the professor to talk about my powers. So you'll have the whole day to.keep talking to him if you want," Annie said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
"Ew!" Val gasped. "Stop it!"
"Why?"
"Because it's weird. You're way too young to be talking like that no matter how many teen moms you knew back on the farm."
Annie rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, but he is hot."
Shaking her head, Val threw a pillow at Annie said, "I'm gonna shower. This conversation better be over when I'm done."
