Chapter Sixteen: Closer
You’re the hope that moves me
To courage again
You’re the love that rescues me
When the cold winds rage
And it’s so amazin’
Cause that’s just how you are
~LeeAnn Rimes
Ororo backed Logan into the room that Papa Jean had given them, taking his Stetson from his head. Her lips fused to his, a demand for more, as she kicked the door closed behind them.
It was nearing dawn, the pair of them having seen Gambit was taken care of and ensuring Prita was all right back at the mansion. Jean-Luc had insisted they remain for a day or two, taking a much-welcome break from the rigors of fighting for mutant rights. The Assassins had been dealt with, there would be retribution, but most were confident that it would be aimed at Papa Jean himself.
The estate was alive with the Thieves returning from their nocturnal missions, many of them gathering in the wide meal hall or parlors to look over their pilfered items and talking about the night’s events. Logan had been roped into a brief conversation on the merits of lock picking when Ororo came from Papa Jean’s office to fetch him. She’d given him one look, which seemed to convey her interest in something meant for two. A beat after their eyes met, he’d hastily excused them from the room and nearly dragged her upstairs.
However, she was unwilling to allow him dominance here. This was her ‘turf’ and she would control things. Something akin to the Alpha Female persona overtook her, demanding that she affirm her claim on him. Ororo had pushed him easily against the wall, claiming his lips as her hands roamed over his body.
Logan had played the voice of reason, growling out that they should continue somewhere more private as she suckled the flesh of his neck. It had taken some doing, but they had managed to find their way to the bedroom without tearing one another’s clothing off.
She put the Stetson on her head, moving away from Logan. He stalked her, as a predator would its prey. She gave him a naughty smile, her hands going to the buttons of her too-tight shirt. Logan licked his lips, his eyes flashing hungrily as her fingers made quick work of the buttons.
“Yer drivin’ me nuts, ‘Ro,” he growled, sniffing the air. Whatever scent he caught made him groan.
“That was the idea,” she retorted in a husky tone that betrayed her want. “Did you enjoy watching me tonight? The steel and leather?”
“Yeah,” he grunted, coming a little closer. “Cool. Dangerous. Sexy.”
His dark eyes were on hers as she opened her top. The missing bra was obviously a surprise to her aroused lover. While she shrugged out of it, he tore his own shirt over his head, his gaze traveling down her breasts and past her flat belly.
“You wanted me.”
“Fuckin’ right. I want ya. Now.”
Desire flared to life again inside her at the demand in his tone. She had to remind herself that she was not only taunting Logan, but the beast he held in check as well. Something about that brought her racing heart to a thundering rhythm. Perhaps it was the ferocity in his gaze, the underlying love she could see there, but the more she looked at him, the more the ache inside her built. There was no other like Logan and no matter how hard the road behind and before them was, nothing could change that.
“Stay.” She commanded him with the air of a goddess, halting his slow progression.
Keeping his Stetson on her head, she dropped her hands to her belly. Languid movements brought her fingers to the clasp of her trousers, which she flipped open with the deftness of a thief. His eyes were on her hands as she smoothed them over the butter-soft leather covering her thighs.
Ororo sat on the edge of the enormous four-poster bed, letting her knees come apart wantonly. This was not wholly like her, but returning to this place where she had been entirely free released some of the restrictions she normally carried with her. Wind and hail pelted the estate around them. At least in the Bayou freak storms were common. No one would guess at what the weather witch was up to.
Keeping her gaze on the restrained lover in the center of the room, Ororo lifted the leg of her pants, finding the zipper of her boots. She worked it down slowly, taking the worn leather boot off in a pace she knew was pushing the limits.
The other boot came next, followed by her socks. Ororo let her hands go to her knees, where she parted them even further before standing. Logan was all but whimpering, but he remained where she’d instructed. The sizable bulge in his jeans told her she did not have much more time before he broke free.
It was what she wanted. This deadly side of her was begging to embrace the Wolverine completely. She loved him, with all of her heart, but that did not mean they could not enjoy something that was purely pleasure for pleasure’s sake.
Her fingers worked back up the leather of her pants, removing the thin knife she’d concealed in the waistband some time ago. She removed it, tossing the elegant blade toward the wall, where it imbedded perfectly.
“’Ro…yer pushin’ it, darlin’,” he warned, his growl sending gooseflesh racing over her flesh.
“I know,” she taunted in reply, working the zipper of her pants down.
Bending at the waist, she worked her pants over her hips and backside, then down her thighs and calves until they pooled at her feet. The delicate lace of her black panties followed and she sat back on the bed wearing nothing, save for Logan’s hat.
Obviously, the image she presented proved too much for her bare-chested lover.
Logan sprang across the room with surprising agility. He flattened her to the bed, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that scorched from the outside in. Passion raged between them as hands groped for bare flesh. Ororo arched her body into Logan’s, whimpering his name as he took her pulse point into his mouth.
He reared up a moment later, kicking his boots away impatiently and working the denim of his jeans down his legs as though he were on fire. She panted and writhed beneath him, crooning in ecstasy when she found nothing but bare flesh on hers.
Logan’s mouth played a symphony along her heated skin. He took each of her breasts with his perfect lips, licking and suckling anything he could reach. Ororo thrashed against the pillows, his Stetson falling forward until it nearly covered her eyes. His hands found purchase on the back of her thighs, kneading the dark flesh with greedy hands.
“I don’t deserve ya,” he groaned against the skin of her belly.
“Do not say that,” she countered even as a gentle bite above her navel brought a hiss from her lips.
Ororo pushed at his shoulders, urging him to lie back before she exploded. He obliged quickly, letting her straddle his thighs. She brought a hand up, adjusting the Stetson on her head so she could see, though her eyes were shrouded by shadow. She felt his cock against her belly and bit back a groan.
“Now that’s fuckin’ hot,” Logan growled, taking her hips in his hands.
“That was the idea,” she murmured, rocking against his erection with a low moan.
“I need ya,” he grunted, arching his hips toward her. “I need to be inside.”
“Yes, my love,” Ororo replied, leaning forward to take his lips in another heated kiss.
She let his hands guide her, lifting and adjusting until she could feel the heat of his cock against her slick entrance. Want so deep and forceful it was almost terrifying erupted inside her. She had never wanted someone this way, never knew what it was like to embrace the darker side of herself and encourage that release in another.
With Logan, even the most bracing of acts seemed impossibly easy.
All thought halted when he pulled her down, sliding inside of her easily. Clutching the Stetson on her head, Ororo cried out, arching her back as she took in all of him. Once he was buried to the hilt, his hands bruising her hips, she leaned forward again.
Ororo watched his face through hooded eyes as she began to move. Lifting her body only to thrust back onto him, she set an immediate and frenzied pace. Logan’s head fell back against the pillows, his breath coming in short gasps that matched her own. She rode him hard, fast, exactly as she’d always dreamed of in her deepest fantasies. There was something unbridled and carnal between them, something more primitive and aching than anything before.
She felt his hands leave her hips as she continued to move, taking him deeper and deeper inside of her with every thrust. His fingers kneaded the flesh of her breasts, twisting her nipples in turn. She whimpered at his attentions, then cried out when he quickly shifted. One of his talented hands wiggled between them, circling her clit even as she slammed back onto his cock with ever-rising haste.
Bracing her hands on his chest, Ororo moved faster, her climax building in her belly. Thought was gone as they raced toward completion together, the sound of the headboard slamming against the wall mingling with flesh striking wet flesh. Sweat soon slicked over them both, making it easier to slide against one another.
“Come on, baby,” Logan grunted. “Go over. Come with me.”
As though on command, Ororo’s eyes slammed shut, lights erupting behind her lids as she rode to bliss. Her body trembled as white-hot heat raced through her. She heard Logan cry her name, his body going stiff beneath hers.
Through the aftershocks of her climax, she whispered his name, then collapsed across his chest. Panting, she felt the world spin around her, the only anchor in sight being the hard, sweaty body under hers. She felt him take the Stetson from her head and glanced up at him somewhat sheepishly.
“Aw,” he groaned, giving her a sexy, sated smile. “Don’t go all shy on me. That was definitely good for me.”
“And I as well,” Ororo replied, kissing his chest. “That was…wonderful.”
“I have got to bring ya down here more often,” her love teased, putting the hat on the nightstand. “Yer very…forceful round here.”
She giggled somewhat girlishly, leaning up to kiss his lips. They groaned in unison when their bodies disengaged, leaving her with a slightly empty feeling.
“Papa Jean used to say ‘You’ve got the body of a siren, the smarts of a scholar and the soul of a thief, girl. You’ve just got to remember that you can be all three at once.”
“Huh,” Logan grunted sleepily. “Man’s got a point.”
“Shut up,” Ororo chuckled, drawing the blankets up around them. “Sleep.”
“I love ya, ‘Ro,” he whispered as they tucked in, the day’s events finally catching up with them.
“I love you, Logan,” her whisper was lost as she drifted off into a happy, sated slumber.
~**~
Ororo sat with Gambit and Rogue in the gardens to the south of the estate, enjoying a few well-earned comforts. Logan had vanished with Papa Jean just after breakfast, though no one knew where they had gone. It pleased the white-haired mutant to see her future husband bonding “ for lack of a better term “ with her mentor and friend.
She lifted her face to the bright, beautiful Louisiana afternoon, waiting as her two young friends absorbed all she told them. They had demanded an explanation as to Logan and Ororo’s closeness as soon as Remy was released from the healers’ care. She had given in to their demands easily, explaining how their sudden departure had brought the two closer.
Rogue, clad in her body stocking and a warm sundress, was shaking her head in confusion, while a battered but coping Remy blinked. Wanting to giggle at their complete shock, she shrugged one shoulder, looking back at them as the birds chirped happily above.
“Petite,” Gambit began. “Dat a bit faster dan Marie an’ Remy expect.”
“You expected something?” Ororo questioned her best friend, raising a white brow.
“Well,” he said somewhat bashfully. “Maybe a little.”
“Oh, honestly, Gambit,” Rogue cut in with her Southern drawl. “We were kinda hopin’ ya’d wise up. But…engaged?”
Ororo did chuckle at the slightly excited squeal to her friend’s voice. “Yes, engaged.”
“What bout all dat abfall wit Jean?”
Giving Remy a bit of a glare, she nodded. “If you are asking if the betrayal still hurts, it does. Somewhat. I love him, Gambit.”
Her friend sighed, wincing as he touched at his broken ribs. Rogue immediately looked alarmed, but he calmed his young love with a gentle smile.
“Oui,” he said softly. “Gambit understan’ love, petite. Jus’ worried for you.”
A small, soft smile crossed Ororo’s lips and she reached across the table to squeeze his bandaged hand gently.
“There is no reason to worry, not any longer,” she soothed him. “Logan will always take good care of me, darling.”
“Ah know,” Rogue said with her everlasting cheer. “He takes care of anythin’ he loves. An’ he definitely loves ya, Stormy.”
Her eyes immediately narrowed. “Stormy?”
“Sorry!” Rogue giggled girlishly. “Ah can’t help it! All I heard while we were on the boat was “Stormy”!”
“I am not amused, Remy.” Storm told them both frostily.
For some reason, they both erupted into cheerful laughter that matched the wonderful New Orleans sunlight. Try as she might to hold it back, Ororo gave in to her own amusement. Everything was just right, for the moment. She missed her darling daughter, and perhaps her presence was the only missing ingredient, but for the moment, there was happiness.
When her friends calmed from their sudden laughter, Rogue nudged her love and said something in broken French. Gambit smiled indulgently and repeated the phrase perfectly. Rogue scrunched her nose in that determined way, trying to say the words properly.
She failed again, but Gambit continued for several minutes until she was able to grasp the phrase. Ororo picked it out as ‘The cat is under the chair’. It was a common way to teach the language. She remembered it from Gambit’s teachings. For some reason, the dedication Rogue was showing to learn her beloved’s language struck Storm was amazingly tender.
Watching them, she settled back against the wrought iron chair, sipping her tea while enjoying the day and watching the couple. She knew, more than anyone, that they were in for a long, hard road. But she knew her best friend, when he dedicated himself to someone or something, he went for it with his whole heart. Rogue would never be left wanting for love or affection, her mutation be damned.
“Hey.”
Turning at the familiar greeting, Ororo smiled at her lover brightly. The sight of his Stetson brought desire thudding through her veins, but she lifted her face for a chaste kiss at Logan’s approach.
“Damn, Rogue,” he grunted, amusement turning his lips up at the corners. “Yer French sucks.”
“Mon ami!” Gambit said with a sigh. “Dat not helpful.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Logan kissed Rogue’s hair and patted Gambit on the back gently. “Whatcha doin’?”
“I am having a marvelous time watching these two and drinking good Cajun tea,” Ororo offered as he turned to sit beside her. “Where did you rush off to?”
“Who me?” Logan shot her a very fake look of complete innocence. “No where.”
“I smell a liar, mon chou,” Gambit raised a brow, nudging Ororo gently.
“Hrmm,” she nodded, affixing a long stare to her lover. “As do I.”
“Uh-oh,” Rogue giggled again. “Ah think Logan’s in trouble.”
“Hey, yer s’posed to be on my side, girl!” Logan chided his friend, putting an arm over the back of Storm’s chair.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his warm arm behind her. He smelled of cigars and leather, a scent that was wholly Logan. He continued trading barbs with Rogue for a moment. When Ororo opened her eyes, she met Gambit’s red stare, noting the small, sweet smile on his handsome face.
He understood her weakness for Logan and likely encouraged it. Winking in reply, she turned to her lover as he touched her bare shoulder to gain her attention.
“Papa Jean took me to the French Quarter,” he said slyly, using Jean-Luc’s common nickname for the first time.
“Oh?” Ororo said, her interest apparently obvious as he chuckled.
“Yeah,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I did some shoppin’ for the whole gettin’ married thing.”
Ororo gasped as he removed a small, black box from his pocket. Rogue and Gambit both gasped as well, then seemingly held their breath.
“Guess what this is,” Logan teased, tossing the box into the air.
“Mine!” Ororo said, making a grab for the box. “Gimme!”
“Aw, mon ami,” Gambit chuckled. “Ya done reduced her to a girl!”
Heedless to the heckling at her expense, Ororo plucked the box from Logan’s hand and flipped it open quickly. Her eyes went wide as she stared in surprise at the square-cut solitaire diamond, flanked by two oval shaped sapphires.
Ororo jumped up, tossing her chair recklessly onto the ground. She squealed “ really and truly squealed “ as she took the diamond from the box and held it up to the glinting light. Completely unaware that the other three were staring at her, she did a little dance in place, holding the beautiful ring close to her face.
“Thank God I didn’t worry bout makin’ up something romantic fer this moment,” Logan teased. “I think I created a monster.”
Hearing his voice, Ororo turned to him and without warning, leapt into his lap. Her skirt flew up to her thighs as she straddled him. Winding her arms about his neck, she placed a very noisy kiss to his smiling lips.
“It is beautiful,” she whispered breathlessly against his mouth. “I love you.”
The rumble of his laughter was felt against her chest as she rained kisses onto his cheeks and lips, not caring if the other two were making gagging noises behind them.
“Did ya read the inscription?”
“What inscription?” She blinked and pulled back, holding on to his shoulder to keep from falling off of his lap.
“If ya’d be calm an’ cool, I coulda told ya,” he taunted her playfully. “Look.”
Turning the yellow gold band over in her fingers, she read aloud from the beautiful French script. “Mon coeur, mon amour, mon épouse.”
“You like it?” he asked quietly.
“Come on!” Rogue pouted, though Ororo did not turn to her. “Say it in English for the French-impaired.”
“My heart, my love, my wife,” Gambit said softly.
“Oh!” the younger girl sounded teary. “That’s beautiful.”
Ororo could not look from Logan’s handsome face, emotions shining from his ebony eyes. She silently handed him the ring, letting him take up her left hand. He slid the lovely diamond and sapphire ring onto her finger, kissing her hand when he finished.
“Official, then?” he grunted quietly.
“Oh, yes,” she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck again. “I am going to marry you.”
“Kinda sounds like a threat.” He waggled his eyebrows in a silly fashion.
Ororo laughed, kissing his lips forcefully. “Perhaps it is.”
~**~
For two days, Ororo and Logan remained in the Bayou with Gambit, Rogue, and the Thieves Guild. She knew her fiancé feared repercussions against the Guild, though he never mentioned it. He and Papa Jean bonded over everything from football to Ororo, so she knew he did not intend to leave until he was satisfied.
It touched her, to think her other family was to be accepted by Logan so easily. With all they had been through, she knew it was a lot to ask of someone. She had thrown a lot at him in a short time. He, however, seemed to take it all in stride. Somehow, Jean-Luc had even talked him into learning about lock picking.
Ororo and Gambit spent the second evening at the estate talking. He revealed his wish to rejoin the X-Men on a more permanent basis. She knew the main reason was Rogue, but accepted the decision nonetheless. Papa Jean had given his consent, with the stipulation that the four of them visit at least twice a year.
Logan had immediately agreed, then roped Jean-Luc into yet another billiard game.
Overjoyed that Gambit would be taking a place at the mansion again, Ororo called the Professor with the news. She also broke it to him that she and Logan intended to marry. For the first time, she heard Charles close to weeping with joy. He told her, on no uncertain terms, that he was happy on both counts and would celebrate upon the quartet’s return.
Now, she and Logan lay on their bed, bags packed and ready to leave in just a few hours time. They had begun hammering out wedding plans, neither of them wanting to wait longer than they had to.
Kitty and Peter’s wedding would come first, as neither wanted to rain on the young couple’s parade. Engagement news stopped at Charles, whom was ordered to hold his tongue until after the ceremony next week.
“Somethin’ small?” Logan questioned at her last comment. “How small?”
“I was thinking,” Ororo murmured, holding her left hand up to admire the lovely ring on her finger. “The X-Men, Papa Jean, and the students.”
“That’s what I had in mind.” He agreed, drawing his thumb up and down the bare flesh of her shoulder. “Maybe we can get the Elf to do the ceremony.”
“He is a priest,” Ororo said thoughtfully. “I want to be married at the mansion. Perhaps by the lake?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Logan’s voice was soft, almost wistful. “Outside? Maybe at dusk?”
“I do love the way you think.” She leaned up to kiss his lips gently. “A church wedding, as Peter and Kitty want, is not us.”
“Nope,” he concurred. “I can’t wait to see Prita in a little dress.”
Ororo chuckled, her heart aching for the little child still in New York. The main reason their visit would be so short was the betrothed couple’s sorrow at their missing child. They wanted to return to her, more than anything.
“Do you think we can teach her how to toss flower petals?”
He laughed softly, squeezing her shoulders. “Yeah, she’s quick.”
Someone knocked on the door a moment later. Logan called at the intruder to come in. Neither of them moved from the bed, too content to lie together.
“Petite? Mon ami?” Gambit poked his still-bruised face into the room. “Rogue ready to go an’ Papa Jean wan’ say goodbye.”
“All right,” Ororo replied, still not moving to get up. “We will be down in a moment.”
When their friend was gone again, Ororo looked to her fiancé and smiled. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Lets go home.”
~**~
Ororo speaks:
Yes, I acted like a very girly girl upon receiving my engagement ring. I do believe I was entitled. I never expected to marry the man I loved. Unlike the disaster with Forge, I knew immediately that I wanted to marry Logan.
In the years that followed that eventful trip to Louisiana, I never removed that ring. It was supposed to be bad luck at a wedding, wearing the ring that way. Not for me. Even as I swelled with child a good time later, I would not remove it.
I cannot skip time so much, though I know I have little left. Logan, Marie, Remy, and I said goodbye to the Thieves and flew home in the small jet. We laughed and talked the entire way, each of us feeling incredibly lucky.
We all prepared for Kitty and Peter’s wedding, though Logan and I were seldom apart with Prita attached to both of our hips. Over the next week, life was blissfully uneventful.
Of course, something had to shake us all up again. It was the first of many surprises that Logan and I would receive during our long marriage.
