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Chapter 4:
Jubilee had been tossing and turning in bed for what seemed like forever. She finally gave up and rolled to a sitting position. She had heard Logan leave a few hours ago to head into town and hadn't been able to fall back asleep afterwards. She stretched and stood up before looking longingly back at the bed. It was so much softer than what she was used to—normally a sagging mattress on the floor of some junkie's apartment. She wished she could sleep. Pouting, she shuffled out to the living area, checking to be sure the fire didn't need more wood. She opened the refrigerator door, but nothing seemed appealing. Grumpily, she plopped down onto the couch to stare aimlessly for a while.
Idly she began to think about what it meant to be trying to get back to "normal." (As if she'd ever been normal.) She shook her head. What would she do? Stay here at the cabin? Go back to the XMen or the Jean Gray school or to Raizo? Would she strike out on her own—and if she did that, what would be the purpose behind it.
She thought about what Logan had said the night before and thought about all of the people who had been part of her life, who had had an impact on her. She pushed her hair back and sighed. She'd done nothing useful for the past few years, and she doubt any of them would be very impressed with her. In fact, she was sure they'd be disappointed.
Frustrated, she pushed off the couch and looked around the room. It was mostly empty. After a moment's thought, she pushed the couch toward the far wall and edged the table closer to the sink, creating a wide open space in the middle of the room. She had to work off some of this energy, and something she had loved before was gymnastics. Taking a deep breath, she took a couple skipping steps and attempted a simple handspring…and ended up landing hard on her side when she hit a bad angle and her wrist gave out.
Groaning, she rolled over onto her back and rubbed her shoulder. Being a vampire had certainly allowed her to remain strong, lithe, and limber, but it sure the hell hadn't helped her remain coordinated. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she made a face. Perhaps there was something to the saying "Use it or lose it." The pain had already faded from her shoulder, so she got to her feet again and looked back across the expanse of the room, taking a moment to rotate her neck and arms and to stretch the muscles in her legs. Then she tried to simple cartwheel. She managed it, even if it was a little wobbly. Grinning at the small victory, she tried to imagine what her high school gymnastics coach would say at her poor performance. She laughed out loud, imagining his pinched face scowling at her. Well, that just meant she'd have to do a lot of practicing. Feeling truly excited about something for the first time in a decade, she launched herself forward again.
Logan scowled against the bright sun as he approached the easy-to-miss turn to the cabin. It had been a rough morning, starting out with a flat tire about twenty miles from town and ending with a four figure bill at the town's only boutique. He felt crowded, as wedged as he was on the bench seat. The rest of the space on the seat and the passenger's side floor board was covered in packages. He'd made the mistake of taking Jubilee's list to one of the few stores in the small town, and handing it to the sales woman. He'd asked for "this stuff and any other essentials a lady would need" and then left. When he'd come back from hitting the grocery store, getting fuel for the truck and for the generator that powered the cabin's appliances, and a few other errands, he'd been shocked at the total at the bottom of the sales slip as well as the mountain of packages that had been already neatly wrapped and waiting for him. He'd sighed and signed the slip without comment before beginning to toss the packages into the cabin of the truck, not wanting to lose anything out of the open bed during the long drive home.
Money wasn't an issue, but it was a damned inconvenience to have all of this crap taking up space. What he had first been resigned to at the start of the drive home was now a major irritation. He opened his window and turned his head to breathe in the fresh air as he turned up what passed for a road. Everything smelled like flowers or perfume. Grumpily, he leaned down to shift the truck into four wheel drive as he bounced over rocks, occasionally getting smacked by a dislodged bag or box.
By the time he pulled up in front of the cabin, he was ready to toss the entire mess out into the snow. Taking a deep fresh of the frigid, crisp air, he reminded himself of what they really symbolized: Jubilee's return to the world of the living. He shook his head. It would be worth it, but he would never again make the mistake of handing a list over to a woman and telling her price wasn't an issue. He loaded his arms up with packages and headed toward the cabin, leaving the door open to the truck. He dumped one arm's worth of bags on the porch so that he could open the door.
As he took one step inside, he dropped the bags and lowered into a crouch, his claws sliding free in a soft SNKTT sound. It looked like a fight had taken place. Something made of brown glass was broken on one side of the room, one book shelf sat at an odd angle with its contents spilled on the floor in front of it, and the furniture was pushed haphazardly out of the way. When he spotted Jubilee sleeping quietly on the couch, he stood up in confusion. Apparently there was no danger, but what the hell had she been doing? Sighing, he picked the bags back up and took them to the bedroom, not being quiet about dumping them on the bed. When he came back out, he noticed she'd just rolled over and turned her back to him and the brightness spilling through the doorway. He grunted and made several more trips back and forth between the truck and the bedroom. When he was finished, he shut the door, mopped up the melting snow from his boots, and set them in front of the fire to warm.
He took a look around the room again and sighed before collapsing into his worn leather armchair. He'd only been gone for about six hours, and that had just been because he'd had to wait for them to refill the enormous propane tank. The room was trashed enough that it would take at least that much time to put it back to rights. Like hell he was doing it. He leaned his head back on the back of the chair, not bothering to move when he heard the squeak of couch cushions as she stirred. "It's so nice of you to wake up after I lugged in all of your new crap," he grouched.
Jubilee just yawned and stretched in response. "I've always had excellent timing," she replied before swinging around so that her feet rested on the stone floor. He just grunted, and she pushed herself to her feet and then dragged the couch back into place.
"What the hell were ya doing?" He asked, still not lifting his head or opening his eyes.
"Exercising," she said. When he grunted again, this time in question, she continued, "It's been so long since I've done anything, I thought a little practice would be a good idea. You wouldn't believe how clumsy you get when you don't keep up with things." He grunted again, this time in agreement, so she continued speaking as she moved back to the kitchen to put the table back in its proper place. "I could barely do a cartwheel when I woke up, but I'm doing some awesome things so far. I managed a couple half twists, but no aerials yet. I'll keep working."
Using vampire speed, she moved back to the book shelf to right it and reshelf the books. At the machine-gun-like sound of the books being replaced, his head popped up to watch her blurring figure as she continued cleaning up the room. When she neared the pile of broken glass, she veered away from it to head to the fridge, pulling out a beer and bringing it to him. She peeled off the cap with a fang before handing it to him.
He raised an eyebrow, "Trying to bribe me for breaking my stuff?"
She grinned and then tried to look sheepish, "I'm sorry. It really was an accident."
He grunted again and took a long drink before asking, "What was it?"
She made a face, "Some ugly statue of a naked pregnant lady."
He chuckled, "I won't tell 'Ro you said that. It was some African goddess." When she looked horrified, he amended, "If you broke anything, I'm glad it was that." He took another drink and pretended to shudder, "The thing was just downright disturbing." He grinned at her and pointed the bottle in her direction, "And you don't be telling her I said that."
She smiled and moved to get a broom to clean it up. As she found a small dustpan under the sink, she promised, "It will be our secret. How was town?" As she cleaned up the mess and dumped the shards in the trash, he scowled and began to relay his trip. Once he mentioned the packages, she quickly moved into the bedroom and squealed in delight. He felt his mouth stretch into a wide grin, thinking the long, cramped, smelly ride had definitely been worth it.
"I can't believe how much you bought!" She yelled over the sound of crunching bags and tearing paper.
He finished off the beer and stood to retrieve another, "I told ya the lady picked it all out. If I'd done it myself, you'd probably only have what was on the list." She started laughing, and he turned to glance through the doorway as he flipped off the cap with a claw. "What's so funny?" he asked as he peered into the room and promptly turned a shade of red.
Jubilee held up a fuchsia colored teddy with dangling garter straps. "Yeah," she said between giggles, "I think it's pretty clear you didn't do the shopping."
He composed himself and shook his head at her, not even sure where to start with a response to that. Instead, he said, "I'm gonna go finish unloadin' my truck while you play dress up."
She smiled and turned away to continue digging through the clothing on the bed. "Sounds good," she said, already forgetting about him and lost in the excitement of the new items. There was nothing like piles and piles of clothes with tags still on them to make a mall rat happy.
As he went outside, he was still chuckling.
Hours later, after Jubilee had gone through all of the clothes and had dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a loose light blue poncho top, complete with matching blue socks (with little yellow ducks on them), they sat together, watching the fire. Logan had just finished a meal of fresh steak and was rolling a toothpick around his mouth as he half-reclined on the couch. He looked meaningfully at her feet and commented, "It seems like the lady who got yer clothes together couldn't decide if you were ten or thirty between them and the lingerie."
Jubilee snorted from her spot in the leather armchair and held one foot up in the air, wiggling her toes. "I think they're adorable," she paused and wiggled her eyebrows at him, "and sexy of course. Or do you think they make me look seventeen?" She blinked lashes coated in mascara at him.
He grinned and pretended to give her a once over. She had applied makeup and styled her hair into soft curls. Finally, he rolled the toothpick to the other side of his mouth and grunted, "No. At least twenty-three today. Could be older depending on the makeup."
She grinned and put her foot back down, turning back to enjoy the heat of the flames. The quiet was comfortable. Logan reached up to use the toothpick on a particularly stubborn piece of meat stuck in his tooth when he noticed that Jubilee wasn't looking at the fire anymore, but instead she was staring at him. He raised an eyebrow, and when she didn't respond, he snapped a finger in her direction.
She jumped as if startled and blinked her eyes a few times. He raised a dark eyebrow again, "What's up, kid?"
She shook her head and turned her gaze back to the fire. He shrugged and grunted, working the toothpick again. He freed the piece of meat and spat it and the toothpick toward the fire. Again, he felt the weight of her gaze on him. He glanced in her direction and noticed she was staring fixedly at him again. He narrowed his eyes, tracing her line of sight to his neck in particular. Releasing an annoyed sigh, he asked, "You hungry or somethin'? All ya gotta do is speak up."
She jumped guiltily again and blinked her eyes a few times. She rubbed her palms against her denim-clad thighs as if her palms were sweaty. She swallowed a few times before saying, "Yeah. I guess I am."
When she didn't move and just stared down at her knees, he prompted her. "You were looking at my neck. Any reason?"
She was quiet for a moment and then shook her head, "Not really."
"It better that way or somethin'?" he asked.
She nodded. He just grunted and waited a few beats before asking, "Why?"
She rubbed at her throat unconsciously. She swallowed again as if her throat was dry before speaking, "It's warmer there, since it's so close to the heart. And it is easier to drink. I mean, it rushes out. You can enjoy the taste more than focusing on sucking." Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. Her gaze rose from her knees to dart in his direction, obviously judging his reaction.
He shrugged and grunted again. There were a few minutes of silence as he considered her words. They he asked, "So why do you always go for the wrist?"
It was her turn to shrug before she paused to think, "I guess it just seems safer that way. And it's a habit. It's always been from a cup or the wrist. The neck…I could lose control."
He grunted again, "Well, at least you don't have to worry about that with me. You could use my neck for a chew toy and it'd heal."
She nodded, and without meaning to, began to watch the slight movement of the skin on his neck that matched his pulse. When she realized what she was doing, she looked away and cleared her throat. She clasped her hands in her lap and explained, "I'm feeling pretty hungry. I think because I used so much energy today. First getting lots of exercise, and then all the excitement with the clothes." She shook her head and smiled wryly, "Plus, I guess I'm getting spoiled. I've not fed this well for years."
He nodded and patted the couch next to him, "Well, dinner's ready."
She tried not to move toward him too eagerly, forcing herself to take her time standing up and to sedately walk toward the couch rather than leap from one place to the other. She sat down next to him and took his arm, her finger running along the blood vessel that showed through the skin.
Logan rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away. He tapped his neck with a finger. "Go ahead," he said in a bored voice, "I don't mind."
She blinked at him for a moment and licked her lips again. "Really?"
He nodded and slid his arm along the back of the couch so that she could kneel next to him. When she was positioned, he felt her fingers tentatively stroke along his neck. He tilted his head back to give her more room, expecting the normal strike of pain. When she struck, it was completely different. The pain was intense at first, but it was so closely followed by a delicious warmth that seemed to spread through his body that he barely registered the pain. He gasped in surprise as a spurt of pleasure flowed after the warmth. This didn't hurt at all; in fact, it felt nice, more than nice. Raw pleasure spilled throughout his body as his brain spun out of control, and he closed his eyes as images assaulted him.
He could see the unconscious form of a man below him, and looked down to see thin fingers painted in a chipped purple polish coated in blood. He brought his fingers to his lips and licked them, feeling a shudder coursing through his body in response. The taste was heavenly….The next image was of trees rushing by. He could feel branches and brambles tearing at him, but he kept running almost as if he were running for his life…. Next, he stumbled out of the woods, a beautiful clearing in front of him, a small cabin located at its center. The front door was open, light spilling out to silhouette the form of a man, of safety….
When he opened his eyes again, he realized that Jubilee had straddled his lap for a better angle and that he'd wrapped his arms around her. One of her hands was fisted in his hair, holding his head stationary; the other was clutching his shoulder tightly. Her thighs were pressed tightly around him as she unconsciously rubbed her body against his. He drew in a hissing breath as she bit again, harder this time, and he felt his body jerk in response to the dark pleasure that spiraled from her mouth to the rest of his body. Of their own accord, his hands traced down her back to her hips to press her more tightly against the part of him that was throbbing in time with his pulse. He heard her moan in his ear and bite down again. His fingers tightened on her hips, and he felt her begin to move them in a small circle against him. When he let out a groan, she suddenly sat upright, her red eyes wide. She had blood dripping down her chin onto the front of her new shirt.
She blinked at him in shock then glanced down to where she was sitting on his lap, he watched her facial expression go from surprise to embarrassment when she realized just how intimate the position was. She sprang from his lap so quickly, that one of her feet got caught on the couch and she toppled backward to the floor. Before he could offer to help her, she had sprung to her feet and backed a few steps away.
"Jubilee…" he began, but she interrupted him.
"Well, I'm bushed. Hate to eat and run, but…I'm gonna hit the sack. Night." With that, she turned and dashed to the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind her.
He let his head fall back against the couch, realizing his heart rate was accelerated and his breath was coming quickly. Slowly, he rolled his head to look at the door that had just closed. What the hell had just happened?