Marie nodded and took a deep breath, determined to get the words out before she lost her nerve. She wasn't worried Logan would judge her. He had a colorful past and was surprisingly understanding about most things; fender benders, misdemeanors, errors in judgment that generally ended in phone calls in the wee hours of the morning asking for advice - and on rare occasions - help. Hell, he was the kind of man who'd probably take a whispered confession that she'd killed someone in stride, with a nod and a grimace and a: Here's whatcha do, kid... While this wasn't remotely as serious, it was difficult to talk about all the same.

"It all kinda started because I wanted to watch the game tonight. I went down early to the lounge to see if the TV was free since almost everyone was still on the field trip with Hank and 'Ro and I walked in on Jubes and Remy gettin' hot and heavy on the couch."

Jubilee had been straddling his lap with her back to Marie, and Remy's mouth had been busy on her neck, nipping and kissing and murmuring heated little fragments of broken French that made Jubilee moan and clutch him closer. His hands were moving rhythmically under her long skirt and they were both rocking a little. Neither of them had noticed her standing at the edge of the doorway with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.

Logan nodded, wanting to encourage her to go on without interrupting the flow.

"They were oblivious and I should have left as soon as I noticed them, but then I remembered what we were talking about by the bonfire that night — about watching — and I..." A blush swept down her cheeks and neck, her lip caught in her teeth as she hesitated.

"You watch a bit?"

She nodded, looking away.

"You like it, baby?" His voice was soft and husky, a growl lurking just under the surface.

Marie nodded again, flushing deeper. "Yes and no. The idea, yeah. But it was Jubes and that was weird, so I closed my eyes after a few seconds... but I didn't leave." God, her mother was right. She was going to Hell.

Logan smiled at her loyalty to her friend — and at her naïveté. "Then what?"

"Then breathing. Little murmurs that weren't quite words. Wet kissin' noises. The creak of the leather as they shifted... and then he made this sound," she shuddered. The memory was powerful and she felt her body throb and her nipples pull up tightly as gooseflesh rose on her arms. She tried not to think about Logan possibly noticing her reaction.

"What kinda sound?"

"A soft grunt and a chuff of air. It was deep and sexy, but quiet. Almost involuntary. Raw. I felt that sound over my whole body. It made me instantly—" she stopped abruptly, shuddering again and looked away, embarrassed.

She didn't have to finish that thought. He knew what it had made her do because it had just happened again. The scent of her desire filled his head, tickling along his skin. She'd grown wetter, softer, more open. In response, he'd grown harder, thicker and more firm. There was a certain symmetry there that was difficult not to appreciate. Or act upon.

He was also aware it was the sound itself and not the man who'd made the sound that had affected her so deeply; definitely a good thing for Gambit's overall longevity. It made him wonder what kind of reaction she might have to a man she actually had feelings for. He tucked that thought away for later.

"Was she on top?"

Marie nodded, wondering how he knew that. "She was when I closed my eyes, yeah. Straddling his lap." Her voice was a whisper. "Why?"

He shrugged casually, but a dark fire was burning in his eyes. "That's the kinda sound a man can't help but make when a woman sits down on him and takes him in deep, darlin'."

Hot and tight and creamy, a sudden plunge that envelops her lover so fast that he can't quite stop himself. A slick clasp that's so good, so much and so deep that it all but forces that sound out as he nudges her cervix and she tightens up all around him. It was different when a man was on top, controlling that first thrust into the slick, glossy heat. Sometimes he still made noise, but it wasn't usually torn from him in quite the same way.

All the air seemed to have been sucked from the room. Marie was suddenly sweaty and shaky, not quite sure where to rest her gaze. Logan didn't seem to have that problem. He was staring at her intently, those predatory eyes of his missing nothing.

"Oh..."

He smiled. "You get caught?"

"Yeah. I mean, I think Remy felt me rather than heard or saw me."

"What?"

"Jubes says she's pretty sure he's an empath, so I guess maybe he felt what that sound did to me." She'd wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. She kind of did now a little too.

"Hmph." Logan was no longer amused. He could feel a growl building. An empath? A lot of things suddenly made much more sense now. Fuck Remy for keeping that from the team. It had been a couple of years now and this was the first he'd heard of that particular gift. Slippery little motherfucker. Always had an angle and a different story for anyone foolish enough to ask.

"Yeah. I know, right? Then he said something incredibly dirty that I won't repeat. I thought he was talking to Jubes at first, but when I opened my eyes, he was looking at me. Right at me. But still kissin' on her. I don't think she even realized." Marie supposed he could have been talking to both of them. The erotic, crudely muttered patois could have applied to either of them, but the smug little leer that accompanied it said it was just for her.

"Fucker." It was more a growl and less a word.

"You're not gonna offer to go kick his ass?" she teased at the black look on his face.

His mouth twitched. "Don't need to. You're more than capable of that if you wanna." She flushed with pride. "Besides, I never announce an ass kickin'. Plausible deniability for you. No premeditation for me. And a black eye and a bruised jaw for any dirty bastards who should keep their fuckin' eyes and filthy mouths to themselves." He was only half kidding. He and the Cajun were going to have words. Definitely.

"I appreciate it, sugar, but if I thought he deserved it, I'd have given it to him with both barrels. It's on me too. I stayed when I should have bailed."

"Nah. S'on them. Goin' at it in public implies a certain invitation to look."

"Did it for you?" His eyes flicked to up to hers. "With the barmaid?"

Well, now. He hadn't expected that. He shrugged. "I didn't mind it."

"Didn't mind it or liked it?"

He thought about that. "Both. Either." He had the sense she was testing him, feeling him out. Seeing how honest he would be with her. "I liked her eyes on me, yeah." She caught the subtle, smug lift of his lips. "She liked it real good too." Especially after he'd winked at her over his shoulder and positioned his body to invite a closer look. "I put on a good show." He knew women responded to that raw predatory power and he was not above using it to his advantage when it suited him.

She seemed to consider that.

"Is your offer still open?" He had to hear how fast her heart was beating.

Heat rolled through him. "Now which offer would that be, darlin'?" He had no intention of making this easy for her.

"You and me. Watching. Somewhere swanky."

Not a half bad attempt. She'd at least held his eyes.

"Not good enough. If you can't even say the words when it's just us alone, you'd probably be too shy to enjoy yourself there like you should," he said honestly. "It's okay if you are, kid. Ain't no shame in that. It ain't for everyone." He wanted it to be for her though. Wanted it so bad he could feel his blood burning.

"This place have a name?"

"The Red Door."

She leaned forward and put her hand on his forearm. Even through his flannel shirt she could feel the latent power in him and his unique musculature under her fingertips, warm and solid. She wet her lips and took a deep breath.

"Logan, sugar? I want you to take me to The Red Door. I want to sit with you and watch n'listen to people makin' each other feel good — really good, not just an act. I want to drink a little too much and laugh too loud and probably ask you a million embarrassing questions. I want to feel a little scared and a lot excited and maybe more than a little turned on. I want to see you a little turned on too." His eyes widened slightly at that. "I want to laugh and talk and just have fun, and I want to do all of that sitting next you, feeling safe and... normal, like any other person out for a good time, even if I'm blushing like crazy."

Goddamn.

"I like it when ya blush." It was real. Honest. She didn't playact with him because she didn't yet know how. She was a world away from the jaded, cynical women he usually passed an evening with, and he knew there was only a small window of time where she'd be this way; standing at the edge of embracing her strength as a woman, on the precipice of sexuality and experience, not yet fully aware of the power she would find there and its effect on men.

"So if any of that sounds good, I'd like to go with you... If you want."

"I want." And he did. More than ever, because damn if her little speech hadn't blown his hair back. He clearly needed to adjust his idea of 'not ready'.

Her eyes met his, her gaze unwavering. "Is that along the lines of what you expect from the night?"

"I don't expect anythin', darlin'. I just want ya to be comfortable and have a good time."

"Is- is that the real truth?" There was something in his eyes, something dark and glinting that hinted otherwise. She wasn't wrong to ask and that she recognized it made him feel a little better about making the offer to take her to begin with.

"I hope you can be open to it. Show a little skin. Feel easy about it. Take the night as it comes, seein' what lights your fire and what don't. I won't lie. I like gettin' to be the man sittin' with ya while you're figurin' those things out. There's somethin' there that really does it for me." His teeth flashed. "But then I've always been a possessive bastard when it comesta you." She'd felt like his from the moment she yelled out to him in that shitty bar in Laughlin City. "Watchin' somethin' hot. Gettin' hot. Watchin' you get hot. Drinkin' and laughin' and havin' a good time? All of that sounds real good, darlin'. You'll be safe with me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Just like that? You took longer decidin' what kinda beer you wanted tonight."

She laughed. "Just like that. I've been thinking about it for a while now."

"I guess it's unanimous then." There was a slow smile tugging at his lips.

"Definitely." Her eyes glittered with mischief as she looked him up and down. "Two thumbs and one third appendage way, way up, sugar."

"Jesus, kid," he muttered, running a hand through his hair with a rough laugh. "I don't mind ya lookin', but you don't call a man on it unless you're prepared for him to do the same."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I'll remember that... for next time," she said, giving him a saucy wink as she watched him adjust himself and sit back with another slice. She might have even waggled her eyebrows and blown him a cheeky kiss.

Marie was still in there, but the Rogue? The Rogue was definitely growing on him.

Up next: Dust in the Wind. Logan and Marie share an intimate moment in the woods.