Chapter Nine: Sweat
I’ve still got your face painted on my heart
Drawn upon my soul
Etched upon my memory, baby
And I got your kiss still
Burning on my lips
The touch of your fingertips
~The Cult
Henry, Denali National Park
The other side of the bedroom door
The night was filled with distant animal sounds, softly snoring dogs, and the rustle of bedding from the other room. Lights in vibrant purples, deep greens, and true blues swirled above him in a sensual, beckoning slither.
He could still smell the lavender of her bath soap, hours after she’d gone ahead to bed. He knew she wasn’t sleeping as the sound of her tossing and turning reached his preternatural ears. The heady scent of her arousal was just as bad, drifting in from under her door to torture him without mercy.
All night, his teasing touches and promising looks had flustered her. He could hear the increased beat of her heart, the way her breath caught in her throat. His quick grope of her firm backside had done him no favors, though he got to see her glare at him. She responded to him, whether she knew it or not. Her body was telling a hundred little truths every second.
Twice now he had gone to her door, intent on shoving her onto the bed and taking her until she couldn’t move. Twice, he’d turned back, unwilling to crawl. He wanted her so badly it hurt. Mental images of her flesh against his, panting, sweating, groaning, and begging were worse than any form of torture.
Logan’s ears caught the sound of feet on the floor. Small, soft footsteps were padding toward her door. He was off the sofa in an instant, standing in her living room to wait. If she came to him, he’d show her exactly how animal he could be. He’d make her body scream for more.
The doorknob twisted and he remained motionless, waiting. Her long, lean silhouette appeared in the doorway and his body wound even tighter. She stood proud, her chin tilted upward as though expecting to be turned away.
Was she fuckin’ insane?
His cock sprang to life when he caught sight of her unruly white hair. Her hand was toying with the edge of his shirt. His shirt, which she had left unbuttoned. From his place in the living room, he could see a wealth of that dark flesh unhindered by undergarments.
Logan crossed the room in two strides. When he was close enough, he wrapped one hand behind her neck, lost in the silken white locks, and yanked her to his chest. Their lips met in fevered, hungry kisses as he backed her into the bedroom.
Ororo groaned softly under his oral assault, her body melting into his until he could feel the buzz of her flesh against his. Itching hands traveled from her back to her waist, opening the shirt further. She tore her mouth from his to moan his name as he caressed the flat plain of her belly.
Her hands fumbled with the tie of his sweats, but he concentrated on her breasts. He massaged them both in his hands, rolling already taut nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Unable to resist, he quickly slid one hand down, cupping the wet juncture of her thighs.
His forehead fell against hers as he parted her folds. She was so damned responsive, how was any man to resist?
“We do not have to do this,” she whispered. Ororo’s words brought him to a low growl as her hands dipped into his sweats.
Those fantastic hands encircled his hardening cock, making him jerk his hips forward for more. That same telltale hum to her skin was driving him mad. He slipped a finger inside of her, grinning wolfishly when she rose on her tiptoes and panted his name.
“Ya want me ta leave?”
“Up to you,” was the breathy reply.
“Probably shouldn’t do this,” he replied, daring her to turn him away.
“Probably not.” Her hands tightened and stroked in time with his fingers inside her.
“I probably shouldn’t push ya back on this bed an’ touch ya everywhere ya need ta be touched.”
She whimpered slightly. “I should not let you.”
“Ya want me to, though, don’t ya?”
“Goddess, yes.”
His mouth covered hers again, letting her searing kiss rip through him. She shrugged out of his shirt, leaving that entire, glorious body bare to him. His hands left her body quickly, letting her fall back onto the bed while he divested himself of his confining sweat pants.
She scooted back on the bed toward the headboard, the window bathing her in the glow of the Northern Lights. His eyes feasted on her illuminated form. Her endless legs shifted on the soft cotton sheets. Irresistible dark skin called to him. As he crawled to her on the bed, he grasped her ankles. Hands traveled the smooth contours of her legs until he reached her hips.
They did fit in his hands. Smirking to himself, he flattened Ororo to the bed, her lips meeting his as they entwined bodies. Her full, firm breasts pressed against his chest until he could feel the maddening beat of her heart. She was alive under him, her skin’s strange buzz rising until it was nearly audible.
His tongue fought with hers, exploring her mouth as his hands continued to trace her lean curves. Her hands were on his shoulders, pulling him closer and scoring his rapid healing flesh. Those impossibly long legs wrapped around his thighs. She tugged him closer, the flex of her thighs bringing his hard cock in contact with her wet core.
Fused lips broke apart to groan in unison. Logan’s hand came up to cup her breast again. He growled low in his throat when she squeezed his backside, forcing him to slide along her center.
“Logan…” Her whimpered cry came after he latched onto the tender flesh of her throat.
She arched her chest into his, mewling for more.
“Yeah, baby?” He nipped at her pulse point then licked his way to her ear.
“This is not why I wanted you in Alaska.”
Suddenly confused, he brought his head up, staring down at her with a frown. Immediately, he noticed the barely-concealed smile and her mischievous eyes. He cracked a quick grin.
“Sure, it ain’t,” he teased, cupping her chin to kiss her again.
His toes curled with the passion she put into that kiss. The already frantic beat of his heart double timed, taking his breath away. Her buzzing hands came up from his backside to wriggle between them.
“Christ, ‘Ro.” He panted against her lips as she began to stroke him.
Logan put his weight on his arms so he could rear up. Letting her guide him, he found her entrance with little trouble. It was difficult to keep from simply slamming home, but he wanted to savor this. Inch by torturous inch, he buried himself inside of her.
He watched her face, his hands fisting in the sheets to the point of pain. Her beautiful mouth fell open, the expression one of bliss. Logan gritted his teeth, sweat suddenly pouring from his flesh. It was only after he was inside of her completely that he realized the room’s temperature had skyrocketed.
A glance out of the window revealed a clear sky, the snow on the truck was melting rapidly. His smirk became more than a little smug and he rocked his hips into her.
The smirk quickly left his face. It might have been the strange buzz of her skin, but being inside Ororo was amazing. He dug his toes into the bed, arching sharply into her. The feel of her skin, the scent of her, the sound of her passion-thick voice was driving him wild.
Gritting his teeth against the animal inside of him, he collected both of her wrists and pushed them toward the headboard. He leaned down to lick the sweat from her upper lip when she opened her desire-clouded eyes.
“Better hang on.”
Her answer was a roll of her hips and hearty groan. Logan buried his hands in her hair, hearing her hands slam against the headboard. His pace immediately switched from languid to racing. Her legs fell from his waist.
“Let me…”
Unsure what she wanted, he leaned back slightly. A feral grin crossed his features when she hooked each knee over one of his shoulders. The position made him release her hair for balance, but he was able to thrust harder, faster as per her panted demands.
Ororo’s hands made the wood of her headboard groan, but she was still begging for more. Logan gripped the pillow, letting his head fall back as he pushed into her again and again. It wasn’t enough. For one, terrifying moment, he thought there might never be enough of this woman.
As if to override his traitorous mind, he flattered her knees to her chest, never stopping his borderline violent thrusts to kiss her again. Her hands raked through his hair, scraping his scalp in a way that sent shivers down his spine.
He reared back up, grunting with every forceful thrust as she groaned his name. He might have whimpered hers, but it was lost in the tide of sensation. Logan wanted to remember this. How he felt inside her, how she felt, sounded. The scratch of her nails made him growl again, which had her clamping down harder on his cock.
She was close to the edge, gasping for breath as her hips pumped like pistons. Logan dropped Ororo’s legs, flattening their bodies together so he could kiss her again. Sweat flesh glided easily even as the bed springs squeaked with the force of their coupling.
Logan worked a hand between them when the tightening in his balls became too much to ignore. He found her wet, swollen clit and flicked his fingers over it quickly.
“Can’t…hold on.” He grunted to his lover, shuddering when she scraped her nails over his shoulders.
“Neither can I,” came the panted response as she rocked against him.
Seconds later she screamed his name, turning her head into the pillow to muffle the sound. Logan’s masculine pride was squashed as he arched sharply, cursing at the ceiling when his head snapped back. Orgasm ripped through him, making him jerk and spasm against her. He spilled inside her, nearly tearing the sheets with the force of his grip.
“Mother of God!” he cried as he shivered. Logan buried his face in the crook of her neck, his arms threatening to drop him right on top of her.
Ororo seemed to go limp under him, collapsing against the pillows. As he tried to catch his breath, Logan noted the room’s temperature dropped sharply. His gasping lover closed her eyes as she lay against the pillow.
An overwhelming, tender feeling shot through him as he stared down at her sweat-slicked face. Leaning on one elbow, he reached up to brush wet strands of hair from her brow. Without thinking, he kissed her temple tenderly.
This feeling frightened him, but he was unable to get his mind out of the post-coital haze she’d brought him to. Logan trailed more soft kisses over her face, making her smile softly. He settled between her thighs, keeping them interlocked while he touched her.
It startled him when he realized Ororo’s humming hands were lightly smoothing over his shoulders and down his arms. She leaned into his soft attentions, the noise in the back of her throat sounding curiously like a purr.
When she shifted her hips and turned her head, he groaned and kissed her in the same breath. Already, he was stirring for another bout with her. She raised one delicate brow and grinned, rocking her hips against him.
“Did you not get enough?” She batted those long lashes at him coyly.
With a lopsided grin, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent of her sweaty flesh. He could feel her heart begin to hammer again as he hardened inside her. The room became overly warm again, which made his grin widen.
Raising his lips to her ear, he tugged on her earlobe with his teeth before growling.
“Roll over.”
~**~
Ororo watched the familiar attendants stock her small blue plane with various supplies her customers had ordered from town. They had been more than happy to fulfill her last minute orders, glad to see she was home safe and sound.
It was her first job since the abduction. Slowly, she was regaining normalcy to her life, though the search for answers would likely take more time. She stretched her arms over her head in the early morning sunset, popping the stiff bones in her neck at the same time. Logan had worried about her sore muscles, but she’d just smiled at him, saying it was a good sort of pain.
His ego had inflated considerably.
She tried to not think about him as she completed her work. There were no tender promises or words of love. Respect and trust, yes. Hot, steamy, “are those my panties on the ceiling fan” sex, definitely. But there wasn’t room in his life for more and Ororo wasn’t keen on sharing hers. It was what it was, that would be the end of it.
The morning had not been so different from the others they shared. They made small talk over breakfast, cleaned up and went on with their day. Kenny’s call that she could take a work order had cut everything short. Though Logan wasn’t happy leaving her alone, she assured him that she would be surrounded by people when not in the air. He’d grumbled about it, but remained in the cottage.
A shrill chirp made Ororo end her catlike stretch to fish her cellular phone out of the light backpack she carried. The slender device had seen much use in the last few months, though very few had the number.
“Munroe.”
“Hey.”
A bright smile broke out on her face at the sound of Logan’s voice. Ororo refused to dwell on it.
“How did you get this number?” She questioned, turning her back on the workers.
“Well, I called Mary’s “ her number’s on the fridge “ but she wasn’t home. So I called the Lodge, then Kenny, and then the Sheriff’s office where she was makin’ a delivery.”
Ororo rolled her eyes, her smile widening. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the tenacity of a pit bull?”
His answering grin was audible. “Usually it’s “stubborn bastard”.”
“I was trying to be kind.”
“Uh-huh.” She heard the sharp exhale of cigar smoke.
“So,” Ororo said as the workers finished loading the cargo. “What do you want?”
“I gotta want somethin’ ta track ya down?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip to hold back a chuckle.
“Wench,” he teased. “Anyway, I’ve gotta head into Henry for a while. Kenny said somethin’ bout needin’ a few hands fer some construction the other night, thought I’d lend a hand.”
“Very generous of you.” Ororo wondered why his helping her friends made her heart skip.
“He’s the one payin’ me,” Logan replied. “Oh, an’ Mary wants me ta look at her carburetor. That old truck is dyin’ fast.”
Caught between gratitude and a twinge of jealousy, Ororo nodded. “All right. I should be back in Henry around five. A few deliveries are out in the boondocks.”
“You’ll be all right?” The concern in his voice made her flush again.
“I’ll be fine, Mother.” She chuckled, hopping into the cockpit of her plane and signing a few of the forms quickly. “Now get off my phone so I can get to work.”
“Be careful. You’ve got my number.”
“That I do,” she practically purred.
There was a short pause before Logan growled through the line. “Yer gonna pay fer that one, girl.”
“Ooh,” she cooed. “Promises, promises.”
Ororo hurriedly switched the phone off, giggling to herself as she set it back into the backpack. He really was something different. Logan had gone through all that trouble just to tell her he was going out for a while?
She didn’t want to, but that undeniably feminine side of her secretly hoped he had wanted to hear her voice.
Shaking herself, Ororo went through her usual preflight check before pushing the plane into the sky. She had precious minutes before she lost the light, which wasn’t completely dangerous. She knew the sky around here, could manipulate weather patterns if she needed to. But she did love Alaskan sunsets.
The lone woman watched the stain of red and orange on the far off horizon as she piloted her tiny aircraft toward a teeny village just north of Henry. An old couple she adored lived in Opal Falls and they were in desperate need of supplies. When she was done there, she had a few more side trips before heading back to Henry.
It was good to be back at work, no matter how often Logan was slipping into her thoughts. She dropped the supplies with the Gunsers just after noon, turning her plane toward Liberty in the west.
By the time she landed in Liberty, she was exhausted. It had been weeks since she’d worked and last night provided little in the way of sleep. Logan’s healing factor definitely made sex more interesting. He’d taken her four times before she begged for mercy. Then, just before dawn, she woke him for another two rounds.
A stab of anticipatory lust shot through her belly remembering it. The sweat, skin, sounds….everything was etched into her memory. She wanted more, until her body was worn out completely from his attention. It scared her, thinking that she might never have enough.
Guilt already filled her at the mere thought of wanting to keep him for herself, locked away in the wilds of Alaska. He had a life to get back to, after all.
Ororo shook these thoughts away, hopping out of her plane when she spotted Kenny’s elder brother Rob rushing across the field to her. She waved, then beckoned his workers around to the side hatch leading to the cargo hold.
“Hey! God, it’s good to see you, chickie!” Rob enveloped her in a warm hug, kissing her cheek sloppily. “You’re too skinny.”
Ororo laughed, shaking her head. “So I keep hearing. How’re the girls?”
“Lucy and Hannah’s birthday is comin’ up. Dorothy’s pregnant again.”
She immediately wished she hadn’t asked. Torn between joy for her friend and the uncomfortably hurtful reminder of her loss, Ororo smiled as much as she could.
“That, my friend, is wonderful!” Ororo kissed his cheek. “Please, tell her congratulations for me.”
Luckily, Rob did not know here nearly so well as Kenny, so he took her excitement at face value. He continued chatting to her as they unloaded the plane, moving around to help his men. Ororo remained behind, dropping a hand to her belly. It took her several minutes to completely remove the lump in her throat.
Not even Logan could help heal this wound. There would be other reminders as she marched on in age. Friends and families would grow, blossom around her. She, as always, had no choice but to remain apart from all of it.
For the first time since her death, Ororo let herself miss Jean completely. Her dear, wonderful friend would understand. If she were alive, she would have held Ororo in the night, letting her sob her heartbreak without judgment or pity.
Missing Jean only amplified her pain. She had to step away for a moment to collect herself, the sorrow in her heart dwarfing all other things.
“You ok, kiddo?”
At Rob’s cheerful tone, she turned back to him. That practiced calm and adopted good cheer slid over her like a mask.
“Fine. Just tired.”
“Huh,” Rob rubbed his red-bearded chin. “Wanna grab a bite? Get in out of the cold?”
Ororo shook her head. “I have a few more drops and then I must get home.”
“You sure you’re ok to fly, honey?” Concern flooded his soft green eyes. But in that moment, he reminded her so of Jean that she flinched away.
“Yes, of course.” She kissed his cheek. “Tell Dorie I am praying for a boy.”
With no more words between them, Ororo jumped back into her plane. She signed the forms woodenly before soaring back into the air. She kept her tears at bay until she was high above the trees and mountains.
Only then, when she was alone again, did the world weep with her.
~**~
“Give her a go!”
Logan shouted over the propped up hood of Mary’s truck, stepping back to wipe the engine grease from his hands. The girl turned the ignition over. He heard her squeal with delight when the old, beat up Ford roared to life.
When she cut the engine, Logan picked out his tools and dropped the hood back down. Mary came out of the truck, a wide grin on her youthful face. He gave her a wink, sitting back against the railing of Ororo’s porch.
Mary’s truck had completely died on her way home from work. The poor girl wound up alone, in the dark, with only a cellular phone as her weapon. She’d called Logan in a panic, Ororo’s abduction obviously coloring her thoughts. He had gone to get her, towing the old Ford to the nearest place he could think.
What a surprise he’d received when poking around Storm’s garage found him every tool he could ever need.
“You are just too good to be true,” Mary gushed as she hopped onto the rail beside him.
“How’s that?” Logan asked raising a brow in her direction.
“You just are,” she said evasively. “Can I ask a personal question?”
He narrowed his eyes. “How personal?”
“Did you sleep with ‘Roro?”
“That’s pretty damn personal,” he growled in response.
The Inuit woman held her hands up. “Look, I know you’re like the most dangerous man on the planet, but let me just say…You hurt her, in any way, and they’ll never find your body. Got it?”
Taken aback, Logan leaned to the side, crossing his arms over his dirty t-shirt. Had this little slip of a woman just threatened him? He met the coal-black of her eyes and conceded that if pushed, she likely would murder him. Respect grew for this young woman, this friend of Ororo’s.
“Got it.”
Mary put her hands down, letting her legs swing over the porch railing. “Listen, Wolverine, I love Ororo. She’s a good friend, but how that girl lives with her head up her ass is beyond me.”
He barked out a quick laugh that someone besides him was describing a loved one in such a way.
“Wanna explain that?”
Mary sighed. “She’s so sweet and strong, but inside she’s like a turtle without a shell. So she pushes everyone away until she’s all alone.”
“She didn’t push you away,” Logan pointed out quickly.
“Hah!” Mary chuckled. “She tried, stubborn bitch. But I wouldn’t let her. She’ll try to shove you out, too. Just watch. I don’t know what’s up between you, but if it starts to scare her, she’ll bolt.”
This made Logan frown so deeply it bordered on a scowl. He glanced back up at this pretty young woman and raised a brow. “What would scare her?”
“Oh, the things most women want,” Mary continued as though not even bothering to consider what Ororo would say. “She doesn’t want commitment. Even if she doesn’t think you’re into it, if she starts feeling mushy, she’ll freak out.”
Logan considered this. “Mary?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re really fuckin’ nosy.”
The girl laughed loudly, slapping his shoulder playfully. “I’m serious here! She’s all wise and cool until her feelings start running away with her.”
For a moment, he thought on her words. Ororo did have that open wisdom which made her seem far older than her years. But since he had begun to befriend her here in Henry, he noticed how fragile she really seemed. Had she fled New York because of her bothersome feelings?
Had she truly grieved for Jean? Scott? Charles?
“Yep,” Mary said suddenly.
When he looked up, she was watching him carefully. “Huh?”
“That’s exactly why she left.” The woman smiled sadly. “I know all about the X-Men and her life as one, Wolvie. She took off because she didn’t want to admit how much she was hurting.”
“That’s…” he paused, then muttered. “Something I’d do.”
Mary tapped his nose with her forefinger, making him jump. “Exactly.”
He lapsed into silence, listening to the lonely call of a coyote in the distance. Ororo had been on his mind all day. Unused to being separated from her now, he’d prowled around the house until he remembered Kenny’s work offer.
Low on funds and with plenty of time on his hands, he’d taken the red haired man up on it. Rebuilding an old shed kept his hands busy, but his mind was on her. On last night. On every damn whimper and move of that sinuous body.
Lovers in his life tended to come and go. Like water in outstretched palms, women just didn’t stick around. It wasn’t that he wanted them to or that he was interested in only sex, it was what it was.
Sex was always good, he’d taken to it very naturally for some reason. There were times, though, when a woman would flinch from his rough touch and growled voice. With ‘Ro, however, he’d felt safe enough to let go. Each time he’d taken her, it was thrilling, daring, and deep. The hum of her skin, the smoky laughter that was never mocking…
Sleeping with Ororo was an experience, one Wolverine had never indulged in before. He wanted her again, so badly his hands ached to touch her. That morning he had tried to act natural when all he could do was stare at her in dumbfounded wonder.
He’d been turned on while watching her read the damn paper. She stirred her coffee with one hand, her head tilted to the side to reveal the smooth expanse of her neck as she idly flipped through pages. Logan stood across from her, just staring at her. He felt as though he could just look at her forever.
That scared him shitless.
“That good, eh?” Mary’s teasing voice brought him swiftly back to earth.
“Huh?”
“Oh, boy,” she continued. “I’m glad you waited until I left.”
Logan flashed her a feral, toothy smile. “Ya mighta enjoyed the show.”
The girl flushed almost instantly, fidgeting on the railing. “Man, you’re bad.”
“Most girls like that,” he flirted shamelessly.
“Yeah, too bad I’m not one of them.”
He watched her curiously as she jumped off of the railing, flipping all that long, dark hair over her shoulder.
“Sorry, Stud, but I’ve got a date.”
“Kenny finally find his balls?” Logan taunted as she sashayed toward the truck, whistling a song he didn’t know.
“Be nice, Wolverine. Yes, though. He asked me out this afternoon. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”
Logan’s face instantly took on an innocent mask. “Would I do that?”
Mary was still laughing when she got into her truck and drove away. She honked, waving out of the window as she steered her truck toward town. Logan outwardly smirked once she was gone.
His talk with Kenny had gone well, then. All through the morning of working on the storage shed had given Logan plenty of time to badger the younger man into bucking up to ask the pretty woman out. From Ororo’s admissions and his own observations at the bar the other night, the man seriously needed to find some courage.
Hell, maybe he’d even get laid.
Logan headed back into the house after putting the tools away. He noted that it was getting a little warmer as the winter began to fade. What would this tiny cottage look like in the spring and summer, when grass replaced snow? He was willing to bet that the river would thaw quickly, reflecting the mountains with perfect clarity.
Ororo’s home line was ringing when he got into the house, so he vaulted over the slumbering dogs to grab for the cordless. Andine looked at him with a lazily opened eye, then rested her head back on Eliar’s neck.
“Yeah?”
“Logan.”
“Shit. What the hell are ya doin’? Callin’ here? Ya don’t she don’t know.”
“I apologize, Wolverine, but it was unavoidable. Your cellular has been off for hours.”
Frowning at Xavier’s words, he reached into his back pocket to retrieve the phone. He snarled when he found the battery had died at some point. Worried that ‘Ro had been unable to reach him for a time, he tossed it onto the counter.
“Ok, ya win that round,” Logan continued, looking over his shoulder in case Ororo showed up. “What’s up?”
His mentor sighed heavily, bringing a chilling dread to Logan’s heart. Something was wrong.
“Is it Hank? Rogue? Peter? What, damn it?”
Fist met linoleum hard enough to leave a dent in the counter.
“Relax, Logan, they are all fine,” Charles soothed instantly. “But Betsy Braddok was abducted last night.”
Logan’s heart fell to his feet. “Bets.”
“I am so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Logan.” His friend’s voice was filled with worry and sadness that Logan could feel across the miles. “She was speaking with Warren when it happened. She managed to describe her attackers before they overwhelmed her.”
“Wait, just wait a damn minute, Chuck,” Logan cut in. “Isn’t she in London? With her brother?”
“They found Brian in his library, unconscious. Apparently, whomever came for Betsy had come for her alone.”
“Fuck,” Logan swore violently.
Warren had been talking to her. Logan felt for his young friend deeply. In the last year, when Elizabeth returned to the X-Men, Angel and Psylocke had something like love at first sight. Logan watched them in complete awe as they fell in love. It was like something out of the movies.
He envied it.
“How’s Angel?”
“Destroyed,” Charles replied honestly. “He had just warned her that those responsible for Ororo’s abduction might be coming for others.”
“Was it them?” Wolverine demanded on a snarl. “Did those bastards take Psylocke?”
A long, weighted pause stretched between them. Logan knew, before Charles spoke again, that it was true. They had to find Betsy. Now. Before the same evil that harmed Ororo took her as well.
“It seems so, from the description Psylocke gave to Warren.”
“Chuck, I’m gonna find these assholes,” he said vehemently. “I’m gonna find ‘em an’ I won’t be leavin’ anyone alive.”
“I know. And I am sending over all the information we have from Brian and Warren via email.”
“Ya got my report, right?”
“Yes, last night. My poor Ororo.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty bro--”
Logan had turned mid-sentence, finding the woman in question standing in the open doorway. The dogs, usually going insane over their mistress’ return, were dead silent.
He did not have to wonder how much she heard, for it was written all over her beautiful face. Rage, betrayal, and stone-cold hurt were painted clear as day on the features he knew by heart. For a long, endless moment, he couldn’t even breathe.
She came at him slowly, one hand reaching out. He pulled the phone from his ear as Charles called his name, handing it to her without a word. Storm brought it to her ear, listened for scarcely a heartbeat before clicking it off.
The mutant known as Wolverine, one of the most dangerous men on the planet, was completely speechless. Tears flooded the woman’s eyes as she looked up at him, even as thunder cracked in the distance and rain fell heavily around the cottage.
He wanted to explain, to tell her why he had kept something so important from her. He needed to hold her, to make her understand he was only trying to protect her. But he found himself unable to even utter her name.
Her chin tilted defiantly and in a single moment, she became the cold, hard X-Woman he had first met years ago. Her voice was steady, not hinting to the emotion he could see churning in her eyes and reflected in the heavens.
“Get out.”
