Chapter 7


Somehow they managed to get lost for a good portion of the afternoon. A hike through the local park did wonders, and she enjoyed the diversion as she chased him through the trees. They simply enjoyed the day in one another's company, trying to blot out the events of the last few days. After all, the call had been given for them to take time away from the mansion, and that light tingle in the back of Logan's skull reassured him that she was only a thought away.

Hours passed, and Logan stopped to call in once or twice to Betsy Braddock. She reassured them that Cerebro detected nothing wrong. A hint of amusement to her voice told him that she knew well what was brewing between him and Jubilee, but she was a willing accomplice.

"Take care of her luv. I'll cover for you if you need it," said Psilock. "Just have fun, and don't come back TOO late…"

"Uh huh, yeah," he chuckled.

"Don't forget about that Friendly's up the way in West Chester, after you finish playing Tarzan and Jane," said Psilock with a mental chuckle.

"Will do… an' gimmie a heads up if anybody's got any ideas about huntin' for me or the girl…"

"Count on me, luv," said Betsy. "Now go get her some ice cream already!"


Much later, it was just after sundown. They had completed their hike, and were simply enjoying a snack. Since they had skipped dinner due to a late lunch, Logan had grabbed himself a burger with the works and extra fries to chase the Turkey hill he'd seen Jubilee smuggle into his glove compartment.

"Drink up, I stole this from Jean's liquor cabinet!" she laughed as she rattled the bottle.

"Hope yer not expectin' t' help me drink that," he groaned.

"Do I look stupid or what? Getting' drunk's majorly boring. Nothing more stupid then a bunch of dweebs puking their guts out and acting like dumbasses. Its way more fun to sit back and play MST3K with the drinkers making total asses out of themselves, doncha think?" Jubilee chuckled.

"Yer sayin' ya want to see me get wasted so you'll get a kick outta it?" he teased.

"Don't you DARE think that," she squealed as she threw a piece of ice at him. "No way, I mean for those of us without some mondo healing factor!"

"Well alcohol's not the only addictive substance, it just so happens that it's one of the few that ya gotta be 21 to enjoy… but chocolate an' caffeine on the other hand…" he winked at her, nodding toward her plastic bowl of ice cream.

"Hey, you've got YOUR cholesterol clogging goodness, and I've got mine, so lay off," she said, smacking his hand that reached for her spoon to sneak a bit of her dessert…"

"I'll trade ya the rest of these fries for a bite of that…"

"It doesn't go with beer, silly… pukorama…" she teased. "You swigging the beers when I got you the good stuff…"

"I'm working my way up, thank you very much, Jube," he chuckled back.

Jubilee's eyes closed with bliss when she ate a spoonful of chocolate fudge drizzled over the soft serve ice cream. "Man I majorly NEEDED this…" she hummed in pleasure.

He knocked back a sip of beer, and agreed. They had pulled up to a small clearing overlooking the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Above them spread a star filled sky, the ribbon of the Milky Way undulating like a huge backbone of milk. Few lights washed out those of the heavens, and Jubilee sighed with pleasure at each mouthful of cold goodness.

"Too bad we're too far south t' see the aurora borealis," he murmured, biting off a piece of slim Jim and chewing it thoughtfully. His idea of a snack was dried jerky or some other thing involving lots of protein. Considering how much energy he used up in a fight, it was not surprising.

"I know, it would be majorly awesome to see," Jubilee nodded. Seeing the goose bumps on her leg, he tossed the blanket over her lap.

"Can't have ya freezing to death," he joked. "Ya sure you don't want me to put the top on?"

"What, and spoil the view? No way, Wolverine!"

"Ya know it wouldn't KILL ya to call me by my name once in a while," he said.

"Well when you stop calling me kid, I'll stop calling you Wolvie… deal?" she teased.

"All right, Jubilation…"

"Ugh, you are AWFUL!" she squealed, throwing a few candy sprinkles at him.

"Hey, I just VACUUMED this thing!" he protested, lifting his hands to fend off her assault. "You win… Jubilee… but remember, it's Logan to my friends…"

"That's going to be a hard habit to break… W… I mean Logan," she said. "Just like when Professor X tried to get Scott to call him Charles…"

"Shoulda tried calling him Chuck," Logan laughed, picking sprinkles up off the seats and then stopping. "That's a good sound…"

"What? Me slurping ice cream and stuffing my face?" she asked, with ice cream dribbling down her chin.

"Nope, you laughing," Logan answered, grabbing a napkin and wiping at the ice cream.

"Hey, I can clean up after myself," she swatted his hand away.

"Sorry, force 'o habit…" he said as he chuckled. Jubilee yawned behind her hand.

"Guess I'm more tiered then I thought," she yawned again.

"You could lay down in the back… I got a sleeping bag…"

"I don't' wanna go back just yet… I mean it's so peaceful out here, I can almost forget…"

"Then we won't. We'll stay out here as long as you wanna… I left Psilocke a mental cue, she knows where t' find us if they need us…" Logan said, unclipping his belt. "Now, ya want me to roll out that sleeping bag for ya?"

"Only if you show me some of the constellations that I should remember but conveniently forgot… it's one thing to find 'em on a star chart, but it's way majorly different when it's the REAL sky…" Jubilee said, tossing her trash into the Q mart bag with Logan's beer can. He unclipped her seat belt, and leapt out to go around and open the door for her. She handed him the blanket, and he went to the back to fold the rear seat down and make enough room.

Within minutes he had spread the double sleeping bag over the entire rear, and helped Jubilee to sit, propped against some pillows he had stashed there. Taking the cooler, he pulled it alongside, and left the tailgate down to give her enough legroom. Jubilee shivered, and he pulled the blanket over both of them. Her yellow coat wasn't warm enough but the old sweatshirt he had given her was.

"Share some of the warmth will ya?" she teased as she held the blanket up. Logan slid under it, rubbing her arms. She chattered her teeth dramatically, and settled with her head against his chest. He unzipped his jacket to share some of his trapped warmth, and lay back with his arm slid around her shoulders.

That brought the top of her hair right under his nose. He inhaled the scents, and resisted the temptation to run his fingers through her hair. Not just yet. She settled down comfortably and leaned back with his muscular arm supporting her neck. Even with the sleeping bag, she shifted and was best off laying on one side with her bare legs pressed up to his denim clad ones. Against her cheek the flannel of his shirt was warm, and she began to feel his body heat, considerable, converting into her shivering body. Strange for a man with a metal skeleton how he radiated much heat. Yet no so strange upon further thought, because some metals conducted heat VERY well.

"Ya warm enough, Jube?" he asked resorting to a nickname that wasn't childish, but endearing.

"Yep, all snug like," she murmured, drawing her knees up and causing him to reposition himself again. A light wind ruffled her hair and she shivered against him. Logan glanced down at starlight gleaming in her dark eyes, and then quickly overhead so she wouldn't catch him staring. Jubilee must have done the same because he felt her body suddenly shift. One hand slipped out and pointed to Virgo.

"I know that's Virgo… and that over there… is the great square… looks like a baseball diamond…"

"You said you didn't remember anything," Logan teased her. "So now that yer memory's working, what's THAT?"

"Duh, that's Mars… and that's Jupiter… and I know that's Sagittarius… and that's Orion… anybody can see that…"

"Mmm, very good," he nodded, and she heard a rumbling through his chest that indicated contentment. Jubilee didn't' question it, rather she derived comfort from it. For they had sometimes watched movies together when she was younger, and she had fallen asleep against his chest on occasion. Then she'd wake up, tucked into her bed in her own room, and sometimes he'd been asleep on a chair at her bedside. Or else she would know he must have carried her there, even though her door was shut and he was long gone. The chair by her bedside was still there as a silent reminder. Sometimes Gambit had occupied that chair too, when Logan couldn't be there.

Remy and Logan were her knights in shining armor. Always more than friends, and almost brothers. She loved both, but that love grew into something that frightened her. Not as a father, but as something else. Respected mentors, like having a crush on your teacher. Professor X was her father figure and Scott to some extent. While Jean was like her mother. Ororo and Rogue were more like sisters, and she hardly knew psilocke well enough to have any such impressions. Maybe it was because Ororo was single that she turned to Jean and Scott like the parents she had long ago.

Seeing his aquiline profile in the scant light of the stars, Jubilee knew that he was always something she could rely upon. The eyes of a child had given way to those of a young woman who saw him as something more, and she couldn't help but sniffle. He would think she was silly, that she was just lonely and wanting to be around him because Gambit and Bobby were taken. That kiss he had given her was merely borne of his inner animal side, and he was surely just being polite. Once it sank in that she was far too young, the dating would come to a crashing hault one day.

She predicted on that day he'd probably pat her on the head and give her a kiss on the cheek or the forehead and laugh. Tears dripped down her cheeks, and she tried to turn her head away so he wouldn't see her cry. Wolverine smelled the chemicals released from her tears, and swallowed hard. A million contradictions were going through his mind, and he wondered if he dared cross the line that he had established. She was eighteen, a young woman. Would he destroy a long-standing friendship out of fear of loneliness?

"Jube… Jubilee, you comfortable enough?" he rasped, clearing his throat.

"Um, you didn't bring any caffein free sodas did ya?"

"Hang on, I'll grab one from the cooler," he said, shifting out from under her. Jubilee turned on her side and rested her head on a bent elbow. Cans clattered and ice sloshed while Logan wrapped himself partly around to the front seat. Minutes later he swung back into view with two cans, and handed one to her. Force of habit caused the extension of a claw to slip through the pull tab and jerk the can open.

"Dude they don't make pull tabs like that anymore," she teased, submersing her doubts in humor.

"Don't matter, still a bitch to open any other way," he murmured, handing her opened can of caffeine free Diet coke to her. She gulped the soda, difficult to do on account of the lump that gathered in her throat. Logan set the can in the crook of his knee while he rearranged the pillows he'd shoved into the back. Scooting backwards he sat with his back braced up partways, and motioned to her.

"I'm okay," she said quickly.

"C'mon, you're a lousy liar," he teased, and she cursed inwardly. "Sit up here closer a bit so I can make sure you're warm enough… humor a guy will ya?"

Perhaps he did sense her doubt, and Jubilee slid over, sitting in the V of his thighs, so her back was braced against his sturdy chest. He tugged the blanket over both of them till it was just under her chin, and slid his arms around to hold the beer in one hand while the other traced through her hair. This forced Jubilee to brace her head against his mid chest, and receive increasing amounts of body warmth. That skeleton of his WAS acting like a heat storage element. Had to be the explanation why he was always so warm when she was freezing to death.

Jubilee did not feel like talking, so she simply lay there to glance up at the ribbon of Milky Way overhead. Logan seemed content simply to share the silence, because he was busying himself with burying his nose in her hair and inhaling her scent. She couldn't help but giggle despite her pensive mood because it tickled her scalp. His other hand that did not hold the beer can traced through and picked up strands of her hair then let them drop.

Logan's mind wandered yet again, feeling the softness of her hair that was common to many asian women. Long, silky, straight and smooth. Though ethnically chinese, Jubilee poessed some caucasian traits like blue eyes. They had started out a brown, but as her power increased, they shifted to a vivid sapphire blue that stunned them all. Evident of her power increase, they had simply accepted it and moved on. Yet it made her all the more alluring.

Khesara had been little more than Jubilee's age. He had gotten close to her, but time was too short to go past the tentative kisses they had shared. Unlike some would think, Logan did have more of a discriminating approach when it came to pursuing women. Granted when the urge to mate struck, he found a willing partner in a one-night stand, or an old girlfriend. Even Mystique had been obliging at times; meeting him in secret and sharing comfort from their mutual need for someone else. He was always kind and gentle to her, not like Sabretooth had been, and she found comfort in him.

Yet after what Mystique did to Rogue, he wanted to kick himself. Dammit, how could he be so stupid? Nevertheless there were others he knew from Harry's and the other associations he had. Jubilee he had sometimes smelled the scent of young dates on, and wasn't sure how to take it. Especially the few times he had visited the Massachusetts academy to smell the guy named Everett on her, or Angelo. While he had been reassured in some way that she had been well treated, something always confused him.

Jubilee squeezed her eyes shut after she saw a shooting star streak and flash into nonexistence. Again the reality of Professor X and the almost destruction of the world came crashing in, and she shivered against Wolverine. He felt her shifting against him so she was sitting partly on his lap. This allowed her to turn her face towards his so she could look up into his eyes before pressing one cheek to his chest and resting the flat of her hand against his shirt. The urge to let go as she had before was strong, and since nobody else was here to see, she felt safe enough to let tears seep into his shirt. Logan turned over, and stroked them away with one finger. This action removed the last bar on the door she clamped on her emotions, and she broke down completely.

Suddenly that kiss was not so inappropriate, and she felt reassurance that this was no game. It had caused them to reevaluate where they stood, and how much they could be to one another. Logan wanted more, and he sensed that now was a more appropriate time and place to determine her response. Not in the heat of the moment, but in his own element, the woods and nature.

Soft brushings of his finger were replaced with wet warmth, and she realized they were his lips touching her cheek. Giddy with surprise she gripped his shirt and dared not move for fear it was some insane dream. Especially when she felt rough fingers dragging through her hair and rubbing her scalp, and felt his nose burying into her hair and inhaling deeply. Jubilee dared to turn her mouth around and kiss his cheek, with the intent of finding his mouth in some roundabout way. The tricks that her fellow teenagers used were the only things she had to draw upon. Since he was slowing things down after all, she figured two could play at that game.

He felt her kisses, filled with audacity and the rebellious taste of teenaged angst. Soft lips pursing against the stubble of his cheeks, and fingers sliding up and down his chest towards his angled jaw. Drawing one leg under, he sat up indian style. He shifted Jubilee squarely into his lap, her bottom resting in the pit of his folded legs while her knees hooked over one thigh and his arm cradled her shoulders and head. Now they were face to face Jubilee's eyes could no longer evade his penetrating wild stare. Saying nothing, he instead rumbled in his throat, indicating he liked the soft tentative touches. Jubilee had half expected him to grab her and kiss her hard, groping all over her body like Angelo did. Everett's soft smooches had turned into a deep French kiss that was sloppy. Then she had to endure a tongue poked in her ear like a q-tip, and fake heavy breathing. Or hands that squeezed and tried to overstimulate her. Was he just humoring her?

Sensing Jubilee's trepidation, he cursed at himself and chuckled at her attempts. She was waiting for him to take the initiative. Having played this game a million times, he knew it was now or never, and she needed that reassurance. So he draped his other arm on her shoulder, and slid his hand behind to grasp the nape of her neck in a strong but firm hold, and guide his lips onto hers.

Jubilee's startled gasp was followed with a sigh at the inevitable realization of just who was kissing her. The last doubts evaporated, and her first inclination was to show him she wasn't as inexperienced as one might think. Her fingers slid into his hair, grabbing tightly. Her lips slipped out from under his, and she opened her mouth, trying to do some blasted kiss out of a movie no doubt.

From the way she kissed, he knew she had tasted the lips of other men, of her own age or a bit older. Judging from the way she was letting him lie on top of her, between her knees, she was not afraid of having a man this close, and had no bad sexual experiences, thank God. "Tell me what you want… tell me when t' stop darlin… cause I don't want ya to be scared… I'm not gonna go any further than just two people makin out... it's only first base now."

"I'm not scared…" she whispered, and he groaned as she slid both her legs around one of his.

What the hell were they showing in movies nowadays, he thought to himself and then decided to show her what a real kiss was like. He pulled back slightly to remove his kiss from hers, and then felt her stiffen in fear that she had done something wrong. However he still kept his mouth close to Jubilee's and then turned his head to one side and gave her a slow kiss that burned. Caught again by surprise, she opened her lips to say something, and then felt his mouth claim possession of hers. Hot warmth surged into her mouth and she tasted him for the second time. The sensation almost made her pass out with a tangle of emotions she couldn't identify. A warm wave passed from her lips and awakened a tingling sensation in parts she was embarrassed to admit hungered for him.

Jubilee felt the motion of him turning over, and repositioning her neck and shoulders on the pillow with one hand. His sturdy body eclipsed the heavens when he carefully knelt to one side of her knees and renewed the kiss. Desperately she let him into her mouth and slid her tongue along with his. Logan decreased the force of his kiss and gave possession momentarily to her. Jubilee's lips moved over his, and he tasted bubble gum and a million other things both young and old. The movement of her body momentarily tangled her legs with him, and she for a moment surfaced, gasping and wondering if she should yield control to him again.

So Logan tightened his grip on her, and she opened her eyes wide in shock and fear. Fear that it was just a dream, or that this was but one night in a dozen that his animal instincts were seeking out for solaces. Lightly he trapped her leg with his, and again took hold of her lips, rolling her over so his thighs bracketed hers and held the majority of his weight off of her. Her mouth drank in his kiss, moans desperately reassuring him that she hungered for this, and her entire body arched under his. A full bloom of pheromones erupted over them both, and Logan smelled the confirmation of what he had supposed.

"Omigosh this is so not happening," she panted, as he caressed her smooth cheek.

"It is so, darlin'. Only question is, should I stop… cause if ya don't want this… I won't hate ya for it…" he growled softly. "I don't want ya to think that ya haveta go along just cause I kissed ya…"

"God no," she panted back. "I never though… I mean I never thought you'd kiss me like Scott kisses Jean…"

"Don't be embarrassed sayin' that," he shushed her. "Ya probably know I can sense when someone's on th' level or not… and I know what you're body's tellin' me that ya feel. Only thing is do ya want me to be with ya like this… or not? Cause I don't wanna lose ya as a friend if ya decide differently…"

"I would never stop caring about you, you know that Wolvie… I mean… god Logan… I've wanted you so bad but I never thought you'd actually feel the same way that I…" she trailed off, and he wiped away the next crop of tears. "I mean it isn't just cause ya know I'm lonely or scared is it?"

"Darlin, it ain't that at all," Logan breathed, his voice even deeper and raspier than usual. "I just wanna be sure that we're doin' th' right thing. Cause even if this don't work out, I'll still always be here for ya…"

"I don't need another friend… I've got plenty… just for once I want…" she choked. Logan let her initiate this kiss, quivering with hunger, and then added his own touches derived from years of knowing from a woman's body signs just how she would like to be kissed. Her arms around his neck tightly twined and her steady pull down as her knees parted slightly was unmistakable. However he did not want to overwhelm her, so he had to wait for the right moment to stop without discouraging them both.

"I think we're gonna have to stop soon… or else we'll be messing with the rules… I don't wanna take you yet…"

"I want to wait, Wolverine…" she nodded. "I actually sorta kinda like this for a change… it's comfy…"

"Glad ya like it… cause even though I can smell that ya want more, I can't bring myself to push it. It feels too damn good to rush it…"

"Like eating a hot fudge sundae… you look forward to it all day, and then when you slowly eat it, you don't gobble it," she whispered, kissing his ear and then rubbing his neck. Logan purred lightly in her ear and kissed it softly.

"That okay by ya? Wanna keep this slow an' right…"

"Mmm definitely, cause it will be SOO worth the wait," she nodded. "But I don't want to go home… I want to…"

"What darlin…?" he asked, panting as he regained control of his body. Silently he prayed that she would get the gist and work with him on maintaining his standards of decency.

"Sleep with you under the stars?" she suggested.

"Now that sounds more like what we should do… at this point. That okay by you, darlin?" Logan asked.

"Mmm hmm… " she nodded. "Sleep together but not SLEEP together…"

"That's the idea," he said as he kissed her.

With a flurry of motion he unzipped the sleeping bag, and urged her to get settled while he made sure that everything was secure. Despite her desire he fastened the top to protect them, and keep any nosey people out before sliding into the bag next to her. He had removed his boots, and she kept her shoes on. Overtop the sleeping bag he threw the wool blanket, and pillowed his head and shoulders on one of the two pillows. Jubilee opted to lie on top of him because the reduction in layers under them was enough to make her feel stiff and sore. He kissed her gently as she tangled her legs lightly with his, and buried her head in his chest. Safe and protected she yielded to sleep, and he followed soon afterwards.


"Damn birds," Jubilee mumbled, hearing a cacophony of chirps. Forgetting where she was, she wondered if she had left the window open again, because it was cold. Her breath misted just before her face, and her neck was stiff, not to mention her arm was falling asleep under her body. Light flickered strobiscopically before her bleary eyes, and she blinked and scrubbed with the hand that wasn't asleep to get the sand out.

Tree leaves passed before bright sunbeams. No wonder. Nothing between her and the elements except the trees, and a sleeping bag. Nevertheless she was incredibly warm, and suffering no ill effects except the darn birds chirping nonstop. Just as effective as an alarm clock. Resisting the urge to let a stray paff stop them, she lifted her head. Then let it drop because she did not want to leave his side.

Wolverine asleep on his back arms binding her there and making it extremely difficult to move. Whether the weight of his adamantium reinforced bones or his considerable strength, she was trapped. Not that she MINDED, but she would have to wake up sometime and respond to urges that could not be put off. The odd sensation of sleeping in one's clothes befell her, and she chuckled. Sleeping under the stars. Jubilee blinked awake, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Underneath her he was snoring lightly, head turned to one side, and she lay in the trench created by his arm over her body, lying alongside of his.

"Hey, wake up… dude, wake up…" she urged. He snorted and frowned, tightening his grip and pulled her flat against his chest. Terrific. Who the heck could get to her with a three hundred pound living weapon and human radiator watching over her? Why had he not awakened yet, she wondered. Unless he was just playing a game to see what she'd do. Squirming she managed to slide up enough in his one arm and turn so her chest was flat against his. His breath hit her in the face when he mumbled and lay with his head turned towards her. Could he be any more obvious, she chuckled, and leaned to kiss his chin, and then everywhere but his lips. As she expected his arm roughly tugged her body up so her lips contacted his, and she was caught in a rather nice kiss.

Thank God he didn't taste nasty. Morning breath was the absolute worst, and she felt the merging of mouths as he gave her a good morning that made her melt and forget that they had done nothing but fall asleep platonically. For once she did not give a damn. That comfortable familiarity superceded any need for physical satiation, and she realized another thing. If she had to wait three years or ten to be with him in the biblical sense, she didn't give a care. This was more than she'd ever hoped and it was far more than enough to know that he had chosen her.

Jubilee lay across him when he repositioned her, and simply enjoyed long lingering kisses. Nothing more satisfying than just memorizing the way he held her, or the way his lips moved over hers with a balance of gentleness and firmness that nobody to date had duplicated. That was it. She was forever spoiled on kisses thanks to him, because it did not get any better than this. After surfacing for breath, she lay her head just under his chin, and enjoyed just being held. Cheesy as hell, but considering whom she was with…

"Sweet," she murmured. "But so totally predictable… like it was SO totally obvious you were faking me out…"

"Don't hear ya complaining… was wondering when you'd get the nerve t' give me a proper good morning…" he chuckled, smirking down at her.

"Don't make me smack you," she wagged her finger at him.

"If you stop with the whole 'dude wake up' routine, I might let ya go for a moment," he raised an eyebrow. "Cripes, you should know my name by now…"

"And what would you do if I didn't, 'dude'," she teased.

"You're finally getting back at me for callin' ya 'kid' all those years, is that it?" he laughed. "I'm onta yer little game now… and while I got yer attention, we got to get some more things straight…"

"Such as?"

"First, no more of this Wolvie, or Wolverine stuff. It's Logan when we're in civvies. An second… don't be afraid t' greet a man properly when he wakes up… and third…"

"Yes?" she chuckled, groaning.

"I'll havta think of that once I get some coffee into me…" he murmured.

"Don't suppose you brought any along, did ya?" jubilee chuckled.

"Some water in the thermos, but it's cold an I didn't build a fire… and it's that instant stuff ya don't much care for…"

"Watch an' learn," she said as he let her go, and she sat up. She grabbed the thermos, and snagged the jar of instant coffee from the cardboard box to his immediate left. She'd noticed it the night before, realizing it contained a few groceries that he kept in the jeep for spur of the moment side trips. Between her hands she heated the cup with some water to boiling, and then tipped some of the instant coffee into it, swirling it.

"Here you go, one cup of hot java, courtesy of Jubilee, X woman supreme," she smirked, shoving it into his hand. "Like duh… did you forget?"

"Actually no," he smirked, and sipped it gratefully. While he preferred milk and sugar, black and strong worked in a pinch. He handed it to her, and then sat up and stretched while she took a swig and let the caffeine do its work. She shoved it back into his hands and tried to stretch her own body with a few modified gymnastics stretches to work out the kinks. However his hands rubbing the back of her neck helped as she sat on his lap. He reached around to grab the pop tarts out of the grocery box and throw a package at her. Her whoop of delight at something so simple make him shake his head and roll his eyes overdramatically when she ripped open the foil and started paffing them between gloved hands to heat them tot he right temperature.

"Want?' she mumbled through a mouthful.

"No thanks, I got other plans…" he chuckled, and she saw the hostess powdered donuts he tore into. Not with the claws, but soon he was dropping powdered sugar all over the back of his jeep as he devoured at least three.

"Don't usually see ya go after the donuts," she said, looking at him with powdered sugar covering his chin and shirt. She took a napkin and dusted him off as he watched her in amusement.

"I'd go catch a few for the morning, but we're almost an hour's hike from the damn stream… and I figured I didn't wanna get up an' leave ya by yer lonesome wondered where I'd schlepped off to… considering ya look kinda cute asleep in the back of my Jeep Cherokee…"

"You trying to butter me up or something, huh?" she asked.

"Maybe a little more of that Jubilee special blend a' Joe?" he said. "Make with the paffs an'…"

"You got it… since you asked me so nicely," she chuckled. Leaning up she caught his lips in an impulsive kiss, and Logan threw his arm around to crush her momentarily close.