(Nine)

Kimble slid off the bench, climbing over Vanessa almost rudely in his haste. He took Raul's hand and they disappeared up the stairs, Raul waving his arms about expansively as he showed off the upper deck.

Vanessa watched them go, stunned she had been passed over so quickly, that event was rare enough to mark on the calender. She turned on Remy in indignant irritation and punched his arm. "I thought you said he would be with us!"

Remy just laughed, rubbing his shoulder. "Je suis de'sole, 'Nessa. Kimble's the kind of guy who likes ta keep 'is options open." He ducked as she smacked at him some more. "'Don' worry, chere. No need for you to go 'ungry if you don' want to," he said, sliding his hand between her thighs, feeling the slinky sheerness of her stockings. She laughed, appeased now by his amorous attention towards her, and pulled him closer.

Vanessa was pleasantly surprised. She knew Remy was going out with Rogue and had been for some time. He brought Rogue by the Club once but Vanessa hadn't been impressed. She was aware of Rogue's inability to touch and wondered why Gambit put up with it. Guess he's given up, she thought happily to herself, kissing him as Kimble became an afterthought. Fine by me. She pulled back and took Gambit's hand, leading him away from the table. It was time to find a more private place.

She took him up to the second level and down a long narrow hallway. She stopped in front of one of the doors and slid a tiny key out from her black lace bra. She held it up to his face like a carrot for the donkey.

"What's dat, chere."

"Me and Raul, we have an understanding."

"An' dat is?"

"I tell all my hundreds of friends to come to his club and he gives me my own office."

"Y' own office?" Remy looked around him, but they had stopped in front of a Ladies room with an Out of Order sign on the door.

"Oh, it's good enough for you and me, don't you worry," she promised and unlocked the door, shutting it tight behind them. Remy strode in casually, sliding his glasses down to look over a very disheveled mess of a room. The mirror was broken and there was no way one of the two miserable toilets was ever going to flush again. The sinks were thick with dust and he wondered if any of them worked.

"Lemmie guess. 'E use dis as an excuse not to fix up de place?"

"If it was clean, we'd be interrupted," she said, wiping clean a spot on the vanity and climbing up, pulling him in between her legs. "And that is something... I ...definitely ...don't... want," she finished, kissing him in between words and sliding the cheesy sunglasses from his face. She had always loved the look of him and wanted to see his eyes.

"An what do you want, mon petite fille?" he asked, his voice little more than a husky whisper. He was wound up tight and starting to tremble slightly at the thought of her. He hadn't been with another woman in a long time.

"What do I want? Hmm... let me see...How about you start with your tongue and work your way down?"

"Hmm... Whatever de lady wants, she gets," he replied, ever obedient, and kissed her slowly, taking his time to savor her heat and taste.

They got carried away quickly and he was forced to shrug off his coat and open his shirt and tie, already feeling too warm. He was beyond wound now and somewhere else. The smell of her and the feel of her bare skin was almost too much after months of sacrificing his love of touching for his love for Rogue. He was a man who lived for sensory input, he loved to touch, to taste, to experience all of the woman he was with. He felt flushed and almost high and when he opened his eyes to look at her again, he saw her shine glowing shimmery and bright. It hung about her body like a ghostly halo, flickering in invitation and wanting him near. He swallowed heavily, not sure what it meant that he was seeing this now, but not quite willing to stop.

"You okay, lover?" she asked. He hadn't realized he was staring. Her shine was intoxicating.

"Oui, chere. Jus' been a real long time."

He slid her tight dress up over her hips and fingered her dainty lace panties. These women, so silly. Why even bother? he teased himself as he pulled the tiny garment off of her and tossed it aside. He liked the look of her garters and stockings and so left them alone. She tugged on his pants and soon he had quite the pile of fine men's wear on the floor. She pulled him close, wanting him, but he paused.

"Hold up dere, fille. Lemmie get my little 'elper first," he said, reaching for his coat and taking out a small blue package. In his long relationship with Rogue, wearing a condom was second nature to him.

She grabbed his wrist. "You don't need that."

" 'Ey 'Nessa, dis de modern age. I don' wanna give you no trouble."

"I had my tubes tied last year."

"You ain't got no kids, why you do dat?"

"Because I'm rich and I don't want any." She kissed him again. "I'm clean, don't worry. I get tested all the time and you're the only one I would do this for."

Gambit let the packet fall on his pile of clothes and thought on it no more. She could have given him no greater gift. He went back to where he had left off and before he knew it, was feasting on this gorgeous woman, getting higher by the moment. Having no restrictions in touching now, he was eager to explore her to the fullest and was happy to indulge in some of the more intimate forms of foreplay he had had to forsake for Rogue. He was a good lover and knew he did these things well. Vanessa certainly agreed, her moans and soft cries of happiness were answer enough.

He tried to take his time, tried to make sure she was good and ready for him, but he couldn't help the urgency that was building up inside of him. He took her on the vanity, listening to her moans in his ear and hardly able to contain himself. The first plunge into her body almost undid him and he couldn't stop the tremor that rocked him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had unprotected sex and the fullness of the contact sent him reeling.

Remy was a young man, but he lived those years hard and to the fullest. He learned at an early age what he liked, and the only thing he liked better than pulling off that impossible score was women. He had lost his virginity very young to a much older woman who found in him a ready and quick student. He learned fast how best to please and it seemed to show in how he carried himself and was always playing around flirtatiously. He was ruggedly handsome and attracted many women of all kinds. He used it to his fullest advantage, charming his way through scores of them and loving every minute of it. He was a slut and could have cared less. He loved the way they smelled, they laughed and best of all, the way they loved. He was especially attracted to women who knew how to laugh and live their lives well like Vanessa. He was also very careful only to play with those who wouldn't demand any more than he had to give. He wasn't a tease and didn't use women frivolously, but the only time he was ever faithful with one girl was with Rogue and those times when she set him free like this, he romped and played with the best of them, carefree and reckless.

Now, back in the decrepit, broken down ladies' room at Raul's, Gambit was on fire. Vanessa's shine was blasting into him and soon her heartbeat as well. He was getting high off of this magnificent, glorious woman and he knew it. He realized what was going on now, Vanessa's shine was telling him something, whispering its secrets just out of earshot in a slow sensual form of dirty talk that was driving him crazy. He understood now that Kimble had done something to him when they had shared files, giving him more than just a reliable knowledge of Siskan. A door had been opened in his mind. It might have already existed - he lived for sensuality and was already in tune to the moods of others - but Kimble had kicked that bitch wide open now. Kimble had changed him somehow, done something wonderful and fine to him and it was oh so good...so good...

Vanessa laughed as Remy climaxed with a loud cry and a frightful shudder, making the vanity shake beneath her. Her head touched back against the mirror as he shook and shook, shivering for all he was worth as he cried out again and again.

Gambit was reeling. It was impossible what he was feeling. It took a moment for the rush to fade, but finally he lay still and gasping on top of her, hardly able to hold himself up from crushing her. He felt a little faint and grey around the edges, but in a fully satisfying way. "Je suis de'sole, mon jolie. Dat was a bit fast. Sorry," he wheezed, breathless. He could feel the backwash of her happiness creeping into his mind just it had from Kimble in the memory files and knew sex would never be the same for him again, Kimble had seen to that.

No wonder Kimble's so lost wit'out it, he thought to himself as he tried to catch his breath. Bringing Kimble here was the best thing he could have done for his friend...and himself as well. Should 'ave done dis a long time ago...

"It's okay, lover. The night is still young," Vanessa said, accepting his apology and brushing his hair back from his beautiful ruby red eyes. She wasn't blind to how hard he had climaxed and was more than a little flattered. "I know you'll make it up to me, won't you?"

Remy grinned, shivering from her caress. "D'accorde, chere. Whatever de lady wants."

Vanessa laughed again, making him tremble from the sound of it. Gambit shrugged and went to it, pleasantly buzzed now from her shine and never more grateful to be alive than he was at that moment. There was nothing he loved more than this, a happy woman. He was the giver of pleasure and the appreciative receiver of her wonderful love and happiness vibrations as they came into him again and again, feeding his spirit as they did Kimble's.

(break)

Kimble gasped as the last of his orgasmic shivers left him. He lay against his lover, overwhelmed by what he was feeling. Most of it was relief. He still had his gift, his magic. He had been so afraid it would be gone because he had been broken. He had felt Raul's love and acceptance wash over him during their loveplay and it left him breathless and warm. He lay his head against Raul's chest, not wanting the sound of his heartbeat to fade too soon, and laughed softly as Raul petted him and sent some more affectionate vibrations his way. Kimble was high and satisfied in a way his hands alone would never have been able to achieve. His head was quiet and calm, free of all troublesome thoughts as if someone had come in and wiped him clean with a huge white brush. All he knew was an endless great white bliss.

Kimble pulled away after a few more minutes of gentle cuddling and sat up on the edge of the bed. He looked out of the sliding glass door and into the night. Raul's penthouse suite was high and very private. The slider was open, letting in a fresh stream of wonderful fresh air. He felt wonderful and tingly all over. Alive. Three years. Three fucking years since he'd had this wonderful sensation of release. No, not since Siska, he realized, which meant it was even longer than that - sixty years or more. The thought made him a little sad. So much wasted time. Well, no more. He couldn't wait to feel it again.

Raul sat up and came close, unable to stop touching this wonderful morsel Remy had so thoughtfully brought him. He untied Kimble's hair and let it fall loose around his shoulders. He ran his hands through the long black hair, feeling its softness. He had never known a man with hair so long, it reached Kimble's waist. He heard Kimble growl softly with contentment at the attention and loved the sound of it.

"What are you thinking?" Raul whispered softly.

"I wuz thinkin' I ain't felt this good in a real long time," Kimble replied honestly. His naked body was bathed in moonlight making his bright white skin all the more striking.

Raul had proven to be an excellent choice for Kimble's re-initiation back into the world of love. Raul had been patient and unhurried, taking his time to show off his apartment and pour them some wine. They had chatted just a little bit as they worked their way to Raul's large bedroom, and once there...well, it was like rediscovering Heaven. Kimble was about as high as a poor love starved Siskan could get.

"I want you to come by and see me again," Raul said, kissing Kimble's neck. Kimble's skin had a fine sweet taste to it, unlike anyone else he had ever known. He couldn't get enough of it.

Kimble shivered from the caress, feeling it on a level no normal human could. As an empath, he was privy to just how much Raul was in love with him at this moment. It was sure to pass, but for now he would take it and drink it down. Still, he wanted to be honest with his new friend. "I ain't that free."

Raul pouted just a little, obviously disappointed. "Why's that? Are you married?"

Kimble laughed at the idea. "No, but I'm pretty much stuck where I am. It's complicated." He paused, rubbing his hands. "I ain't gay neither."

"Humph. That's what they all say," Raul teased playfully. Kimble's skill had been much too great for him to believe this was something Kimble didn't do all the time.

"No. I meant it. You jus' beat 'Nessa to the punch is all."

"I don't care about that."

Kimble glanced at Raul, feeling bold. "I don' really looks like this."

"You're a mutant like Remy? That doesn't bother me." Raul paused and gave Kimble a playful smile. "Show me."

"Only if ya promise not ta laughs or screams or nuthin," Kimble joked.

"Okay," Raul promised, intrigued.

Kimble stood slowly and shook his body like a wet dog drying off. His flesh moved over him like a liquid and his body began to change. His movements were graceful, his body in a dance as he spread out his wings and altered his center of gravity when his legs bent crookedly under him, assuming their normal pilot shape. He stepped forward, bathed in moonlight and stretched, flapping his wings a little and flexing his muscles. He felt beautiful here with Raul and it came out in his body posture as he showed himself off.

Raul growled in approval. "You should have showed me this first!" he said with pure admiration, standing up to get a better look. He walked around Kimble, exploring him with his hands. He loved Kimble's new look, he was like a living piece of art. "You're magnificent... Like an angel."

Kimble laughed. "I may be many things, but I ain't no angel."

"You're good enough to be mine," Raul whispered and ran his hands over Kimble's bat like wings, laughing when Kimble shivered with obvious pleasure at the tentative exploration. It inspired Raul to do more and he pressed his body to Kimble's back and hugged him, feeling the hard muscles of Kimble's well defined abdominals. Kimble flexed them as he breathed, craving this man's touch. He sighed as Raul's hands slid lower to caress him more deeply and shivered with renewed passion. Impatient for more, Kimble levitated slightly, bringing Raul up with him. They both laughed as Kimble twisted, playfully dumping his new friend back onto the bed.

"Oh, this is sweet!" Raul purred as Kimble lay back over him using his power to hover gracefully. He was so beautiful, Raul couldn't resist. "Please say you'll see me again. Please!"

"All right," Kimble said slowly, licking his neck. How could he refuse? This was too wonderful for words. "I'll ask Remy ta brings me."

Raul kissed him and shivered. "Love me again, please. Like you did before. I've never felt anything like that ever..." Of course Raul had no idea he had just been ravished by an empath willing to share. If he had known he might not have cared, he was on fire and more than a little giddy himself.

"Only on one condition," Kimble replied, touching him in the all the right places oh so lightly with playful, hungry fingertips. He was an artist at this and didn't think it would take much to persuade Raul to do what he wanted. "Since ya knows I ain't exactly human, I wants ta love ya right. No stupid latex in between. I cain't do nuthin' to ya but make ya shake like the whole house goin' down. I ain't never wore nuthin' like that stupid condom b'fore an' it sucks. I wants ya all the way."

"Whatever you say," Raul said, trembling at the thought of what Kimble had made him feel. No one had ever made him so high, so giddy. Kimble was like an intoxicating new drug and when he felt the flood his mind with that unstoppable rush of ecstacy and heat, he happily lost all control.

Kimble felt Raul slip away into the white cloud of bliss only he could bring and laughed. With the frustrating rubber barrier gone, Kimble could fully experience this lover the way he should and his spirits soared, bringing out another rapturous vocal response from Raul. Kimble was beyond himself with happiness. This is what he was meant to do, the way he was meant to serve. There was no greater joy than this. Oh yes, he wasn't going to forget this any time soon. He owed Remy in way he could never hope to repay.