Marie ran into Logan in the garage. There was something about the way he held himself that made her look twice. He seemed a little different; perhaps touch more animated than usual. She could see a crack or two in his normal stoic reserve. "What's that look for, sugar?"

He wasn't surprised she'd noticed it. She'd always read him better than anyone.

"Order's in at the lumberyard. Took a couple of weeks because they had to special order the hickory, but we're good to go. Big thick slab. I'm on my way to pick it up now. You comin'?"

"Sure." He knew she'd say yes. She loved to escape with him, even if it was just for the afternoon. "Is it far?"

"'Bout an hour. Just on the other side of Pawling."

"Just let me grab my purse."

He rolled his eyes. "Just get in the truck, baby. You don't need it."

"No way. I've had it drilled into me by the best, sugar. Even if you're sitting next to the biggest badass you know, you don't ever put yourself in the position to be stranded without cash." He huffed because he was the one who'd taught her that. "Or tampons," she added just to watch him shake his head.

Sometimes he wondered if it was her life's mission to drive him completely demented. She seemed to accomplish it with very little effort.

"Fine. Go. But I'm gonna leave your cute ass here if it takes more'n five minutes."

She sprinted away and was back before he'd finished unhooking the bike trailer from the hitch. He opened the door for her and she climbed inside the truck with a quiet smile.

"What?"

"It seems like every time I'm in a truck with you, we're heading north." She scooted across the bench seat to press herself up against his side. He settled his arm around her. They were still taking things painfully slow, but she rarely passed up a chance to cuddle up next to him. "Maybe we'll make it all the way to Anchorage one of these days."

"What's in Anchorage?"

Her eyes glittered. "Adventure."

He snorted. "Not enough of that 'round here for ya?"

"Not that kind of adventure. The you-and-me kind of adventure, sugar."

"Oh. Heh." He gave that some thought. "Maybe this summer. Mosta the kids'll be back home. House'll be mostly done by then. It'd be a good time."

"No," she said quietly.

"No?"

"No. It has to be when there's snow. Like — like before." She squeezed his hand, stroking his knuckles and forearm absently. He knew she liked the way they felt. The solid heaviness seemed to both settle and excite her. "Only this time you wear your seatbelt and the black leather brigade doesn't come and pull us away before things have a chance to get interesting."

"Works for me, darlin'."

"Does it?"

His face softened and he pressed a kiss against her temple. "Yeah. It sounds good. Sounds real good."

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if fate hadn't intervened and we'd just kept on driving?"

He nodded. The words were tight, though. Pipedreams and guilty pleasures. Heavy on the guilt. And the pleasure. "No Sabretooth. No Magneto…" he kept it on the lighter side.

"No Jean." She said quietly.

So much for the lighter side. They still hadn't talked about Jean and he knew she was still carrying some deep hurt about how that had played out.

"No Bobby."

"No Alkali Lake."

"No Cure." He'd been hurt by her choices, too.

They both fell silent. There was a lot still there under the surface. Places they hadn't yet gone. Things they hadn't worked out or worked through. Everything was still new and fragile but Logan felt like they needed to work through the physical stuff, bond her to him that way first, before they took on some of the thornier conversations.

"I was just wondering if you ever played 'what if'. That's all. As strange as it sounds, I wouldn't wish away anything that's brought us here to what's happening right now. Just — just so you know that." Her smile was soft and genuine. "But sometimes I really do like the 'what ifs'."

"Me too." He squeezed her leg and left his hand on her thigh.

Each lost in thought, they drove in silence for a while until Marie's eyes fell on a road sign advertising a new flavored coffee; Southern Pecan Pie. She snickered.

"What?"

"Southern Pecan Pie? I think they've got your number."

"Damn straight." He chuckled. "Hey, that reminds me of somethin'."

"Oral sex?"

He snorted.

"No. Well. Sort of."

"Oh? I'm all ears now. Lay it on me."

"After what happened on the deck the other day, hearin' what we did, I was thinkin' on whatcha said about listenin', so I gave the audio thing a try."

"What audio thing?"

"That thing you said you liked. Listenin' to people gettin' off with each other."

A blush spread across her face and down her neck. He followed it with his eyes.

"Umm…"

"Don't be embarrassed, darlin'."

"Why not?" She tried for casual. It would have worked except her voice was about two octaves too high.

"'Cause it got me off real good too. I can see why ya like it."

"Logan!" Her blush was fierce now, but he hadn't missed the way she'd melted into his side.

"Heh." He knew she liked it. Her scent didn't lie. "It's different than I'm used to. More up here." He tapped his head. "Less physical…. but definitely hot."

"But still good?"

"Hell, yes."

"How many times good?" she teased.

Logan just chuffed. "You know, now you've got me curious. I've never actually tried to see how many times I could go." He'd lived on the edge for a long time. He was a man who liked to push his limits. He'd never tried that one, though.

"Oh, to be a fly on that wall," she mused, only half kidding.

"Open invitation. Any time," he replied, without really thinking about it.

"Really? You'd let me watch that?"

He sensed her shift from playful to serious. She was testing, he knew. "Yeah." There were other things he'd rather do more, but he'd give her that if she wanted it. He watched her blush deepen. "But we both know what'd happen after if you did."

"After?"

He gave her a pointed look. "You know he couldn't have you there like that and not make you his after," he said tightly. Marie was aware Logan had issues with the parts of himself he couldn't control.

"I know."

"I'm not gonna tell ya no, kid. Not anymore. You gotta right to ask for whatever you want. But you needta know he wants things too. So do I. He's not gonna ask nice and I can't promise I always will, either. So you best be sure you're ready for what's at the end of that road before you put us on it, huh?"

"I will."

"Good." He shook his head and then smiled, wanting to lighten the mood, but keep it in the same vein. Logan pulled her closer and rubbed his stubble against her just to feel her shiver. "So what is it about the audio you like, darlin'?"

Marie was quiet. A little uncomfortable but not completely unwilling to answer. Logan was different than anyone else she'd ever met. He didn't seem to have modern notions of propriety or civility, especially when it came to intimacy and sex.

He was a force unto himself. Raw and wild and unpredictable, like the untouched wilderness he loved to lose himself in. He was strong. So strong. There was a timelessness in him that had nothing to do with when he was born and more to do with what lay in his heart. Sometimes Marie thought that it growled from deep inside of him, driving him the way a storm drives the wind before it. Other times it seemed as soft as the beat of a butterfly's wings. He was passionate and uninhibited and he had an openness that was sensual and incredibly endearing, for all its crude candor.

That sense of limitlessness was very compelling to a person who'd been saddled with some very rigid physical limits because of her skin.

"C'mon, baby. It's just us here."

His hand squeezed her thigh again, stroking gently. Rhythmically. She could feel the heat of his heavy palm through her jeans.

"It's because it's up here, like you said." She tapped her temple.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Because if I turn out the lights and crawl into bed with my laptop and my earbuds, if it's just one voice, just a man's voice, then it's almost like I'm not alone."

It was a very intimate revelation and instead of inspiring prurience, it made his chest feel tight. Everything in her sang out, not just for physical touch, but for companionship. She was lonely. It made his heart hurt that all she'd had for so long was a cold bed and the solitary echo of another person's pleasure. He knew how it felt to live at the edge of the light, to never have the warmth and companionship that seemed so effortless for other people because of who and what he was.

"Ah, darlin'." She was killing him.

"I like it best when there's no words. Just sounds." He turned that over in his mind. "You're right. It's mostly up there in my head, mostly mental, but sometimes..."

"Go on," he encouraged when she hesitated.

"Sometimes when it all feels too empty, I bring a toy." He understood she meant her bed as well as her body. "When it's just the sounds and no words, then I can make sounds too and I can be making them with anyone. Anyone I want."

Her words painted a very graphic image and he responded. Strongly.

A low growl vibrated his chest against hers. "This anyone got a name?" He wanted to hear her say it. They'd been dancing around it for months.

"It's always been you, Logan. From the first time I saw you in Laughlin City. Right from then."

The growl got louder. His hand slipped from her thigh to catch her hand. He guided it between his legs and pressed it there. Not rubbing. Not to thrust against. Just to let her know she wasn't alone. She'd affected him profoundly as well, and not just between his thighs. His chest was pounding too.

"Feel what you do to me, baby."

She could feel the heat even through her gloves. It was the first time she'd ever touched him so intimately. He was big and warm and so hard it made her dizzy.

He moved her hand to his chest and she could feel the fierce beating of his heart.

"Since Laughlin?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, kid. Since then."

Up next: Black Velvet. Logan and Marie are back on the deck again, together under the stars. This time, the Wolverine's got something a little different in mind...