Chapter Seven-

~~When he felt the sudden, soft give of her body, Remy struggled to check his own answering response. He reminded himself that Rogue was relatively new to this, her body anyways, but that didn't stop his hands from molding her against his chest and hips, and it didn't stop his mouth from enjoying the rich taste of hers. But all his good intentions vanished at the untutored reaction of her body to his, her hands drawing his head down, her lips boldly demanding more- more of this moment, and more of him. She tasted like rain, sweet and fresh and pure- and he couldn't get enough of her, though he could certainly try. He just had to touch her; it was a pressure, a heat. He swallowed her gasp as his hands smoothed down her body, falling deeper the more she opened to him.

  Rogue spread her hands over his chest, then beneath his shirt- at last feeling flesh, muscle and bone, the strength and power of him. The warm scent of spices and cigarette smoke washed over her, his scent, and left her slightly dizzy- making her cling to him all the more. He took his lips from hers long enough to take his shirt off then found her mouth again, rubbing his lips over it. It was impossible to do anything but let him in. The heat and hunger were instant, driving the kiss, bringing an urgency that hadn't existed before. Her head was swimming, drunk on sensation, on him. 'Remy was right, reality is so much better,' Rogue sighed silently before the thoughts were seared from her mind. She needed him, inside her, turning her into something new- not just on the astral plane anymore, but here and now.

 She pressed into him, restlessly running her hands over him in imitation of what he was doing to her, needing to know everything about him and needing him to know everything about her. The heavy thread of trees, the forest, was a cocoon that shut out the world and kept their love safe. There was no sound except the fevered rush of their breathing and the violent roar of their speeding pulses. Her fingers tugged at the waistband of his pants and felt his muscles quiver at the contact. She smiled and Remy took over, shedding the rest of the encumbering garments. And as the moonlight spilled onto her hair, he slowly ran his hands through it, over it, and she closed her eyes at the feel of it.

  The return to gentleness, to tenderness, after the near frenzy that had pushed them was unexpected, and achingly wonderful. Rogue suddenly found it very hard to breathe. She felt the feathery kisses he brushed over her hair before he bent to graze the slope of her shoulder. Once again, his hands were everywhere, barely touching her, just fingertips stroking along her arms, her hips, her waist, her chest. And then she discovered how exquisite agony could be. His mouth followed his hands and she shuddered, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

  She felt the pressure deep inside, clenching and unclenching to the tempo of his mouth, building, layering, soaring. His skin was hot and moist beneath her hands as she clutched at him, certain that if this went on forever it would still end too soon. She knew, in some distant part of her drugged brain, that this was going way too fast- and yet it seemed like nothing to some one who'd been waiting for even the simplest touch all her life. They'd been enemies, and probably didn't know each other as long as some, but they knew each other like it was forever, only better- between the delicious torment of the dreams and this strange bond that let them see into each others' minds, hearts, and souls.

This was long overdue to them both. And hatred ceases through love, as Buddha had said long ago.

~~One last time Remy brought his mouth down on hers, covering her stunned cry when he slipped into her. It was like sinking into fire, all hot and clean and wild. He had known it would be like this- no restraints, no boundaries, nothing and no one but the two of them, soaring higher and higher. In some part of her mind, Rogue suspected that she wouldn't find it so easy to lock her emotions back in their tight, dark compartment. And Remy acknowledged the same suspicion in his own mind. But maybe now neither of them would have to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N- The next chapter is likely gonna be the last, sorry. Rogue and Remy face the team, minor confrontation, and a solution.