Kinky
By: vangiekitty
Logan/Jean pairing
R-NC-17
Disclaimer: not mine, just borrowing

It was a soft, summer twilight and the gardens behind the X-mansion in upstate New York were in full bloom. It was a very unkempt garden, allowed to run wild as Nature intended. It was just the kind of place Logan liked- not too artificial or tampered with. He had come out for a walk after dinner, planning to maybe smoke a cigar in the fresh air and just enjoy the sounds of night coming- hushed and graceful and full of peace.

He kicked his worn and comfortable boots through the long grass feeling a pleasant kind of melancholy and watching the sun set behind the hills as everything faded into purple shadows. Suddenly he stopped as something caught and held his attention, distracting him from all the rampant natural beauty.

A soft wind rustled in the large oak trees ahead of him and crickets chirped quietly but above all the natural sounds, Logan's mutant-keen ears detected something no one else would have noticed- the sound of very quiet sobbing. He made his way towards the sound cautiously, and as he got closer he noticed the faint scent a human body gives off when in acute distress above the smell of the wildflowers and grass. Logan shook his head- someone was very upset for him to be able to detect it at such a distance. He frowned, who could it be? Probably one of the teenagers from the school- upset over affairs of the heart. Logan almost turned to leave- he didn't need to get involved in any of that crap- especially if the person crying was one of the teenaged girls. But there was a familiar quality to the scent that stopped him from leaving just yet.

Logan lifted his head slightly and scented the air again- there- it was so familiar. He took a step closer and suddenly knew. That sweet, fresh scent with a hint of feminine musky undertone couldn't be anyone but Jean. She smelled like she was in deep distress and to judge from the sobbing he heard, it seemed as if her heart must be breaking. Without thinking about any possible consequences, Logan walked quickly but quietly to the small copse of trees where the sounds were emanating from, stopping just short of pushing the branches apart to see what the problem was.

What stopped him was another odor in the air. Bland and ever so slightly sour- Logan wrinkled his nose. It was Scott, the fearless leader and he didn't smell upset in the least. Maybe smug- if smug had a smell. Logan had never been able to see what Jean or anyone else, for that matter, saw in the man. But then he couldn't explain the whole smell thing to anyone. And besides, it wasn't just the way Scott smelled (although Logan was the only one who could really smell it) that made him unpleasant. It was his whole holier-than-thou attitude that really got under Logan's skin.

Logan didn't have to listen very carefully to understand the conversation taking place. It sounded like he had come in on the tail end of it anyway. Scott and Jean were talking in hushed, intense voices but their words were clear enough to his enhanced hearing.

"There's no use crying about it, Jean. I'm sorry but I just can't stay with someone who has such...different ideas about these things. I'm sorry but it's obvious I'll never be able to satisfy your...desires." The last word was spoken with a hint of derision and more than a trace of disgust.

"Scott, please. Can't we just forget about it? Forget I ever said it?" Jean's voice was broken, pleading. "I can't believe you want to call it quits over such a little thing. We've been together so long..."

"It's not a little thing to me." Scott's voice cut her off abruptly. "And you know this isn't the first time we've had a discussion of this kind. I think it's pretty evident you have some tastes that I clearly don't share. In fact, the word deviant comes to mind. I'm sorry Jean, I'm just not willing to go down that path." His voice sounded more self-righteous than ever which caused Logan to grit his teeth. Whatever Jean had said or done she didn't deserve this little prick talking to her like that. Only respect for Jean's privacy kept him from storming through the stand of trees and giving One Eye a punch in the mouth.

"I'm not asking you to walk down any path. I'm just asking you to reconsider this decision. Scott- think of everything we've shared, all the things we've been through over the years and yet we've stuck together..."

"There's nothing further to consider," Scott said coldly. "And you know this is just the tip of the iceberg, Jean. This has been coming for a long time and you're a fool if you didn't realize it. I'm sorry if it caught you off guard but I can't really believe you didn't realize how I felt- how I've been feeling for a long time."

"How could I know when you never told me?" Jean asked, anguish in her voice even as she struggled to maintain a calm, even tone. "You've always shielded your thoughts and feelings so strongly from me there was no way for me to know. If you'd just open up a little..."

"Look, it just proves how far apart we've grown lately. That I could be so dissatisfied with our relationship and you didn't even notice. And then you asked me to do... that. Well Jean, it's just the last straw. I'm sorry but there's nothing else to talk about. I'll get my things moved out of the room as soon as I can. I'm sure we can still maintain a professional working relationship."

"Scott, I just can't believe you feel this way- I won't accept it." Jean's voice held an edge of desperation.

"Fine, I didn't want to have to do it this way but you've forced me. Read my mind, Jean. Go on...do it."

"I...Scott..."

"Come one, you're always complaining that I shield so much from you- well this time I won't. So go ahead Jean, read my mind and find out what I really feel about us- about you and your...suggestions."

There was silence for a moment and Logan pictured Jean holding both delicate hands on either side of Scott's skull, the way she had when she read his own mind and closing her beautiful eyes to concentrate. After a minute he heard a hurt gasp.

"That can't be true. You don't...don't really see me that way, do you?" Jean's voice was so filled with shock and hurt that Logan could taste it, a bitter sharp tang, in the back of his own throat.

"You said yourself many times that the mind doesn't lie. It can't Jean."

"But...but I'm not that way at all. Not really Scott- I swear. You've misunderstood..."

"Then let's end the misunderstandings right now, alright? I never wanted to hurt you, Jean. I want to end this on a friendly note and I'm sure we can, right?"

"Right." Logan heard her say listlessly.

"I'll always consider you as one of my dearest friends Jean. I'm sorry it didn't work out between us." The tone of Scott's voice belied his words- it was cold and unforgiving as a block of ice.

"I...I guess you'll be wanting this back then?" Logan heard a slight sound and grimaced, guessing that Jean was taking off the engagement ring Scott had given her two years ago. He pictured her in his mind's eye, holding out the round gold band with it's small, heart shaped diamond to Scott.

"Well, not really. What would I do with it?" Scott asked callously. "Why don't you just keep it- you know- as a memento of our time together. Alright?"

"Alright," Jean answered dully.

"Well..." Scott sounded eager to be away from the scene he had created. "I'd better get going. I've...uh...got a lot of packing to do. I'll try to get most of it tonight, Jean and whatever's left I'll get in the morning."

"Alright." She said again. Logan frowned- Jean almost sounded like she was in shock. Then again, he reckoned she probably was. Scott was being a total ass and from the sound of things Jean was caught completely off guard.

"Goodbye then." Logan heard Scott turn and hid quickly in the nearby branches as the other man passed only a yard away from him, evidently headed back towards the mansion. There was a sour, self-righteous look on Scott's face but also a kind of malicious smugness. Obviously he had wanted to hurt Jean and just as obviously he had succeeded. Logan was itching to go after him and teach him a lesson in how to treat a lady but he restrained himself- from the sound of things Jean had been through all the trauma she could take for a while.

"Oh God..." Logan heard Jean moan softly. The sounds of her sobbing, which had stopped for a moment when she was trying to reason with Scott now intensified and she smelled more distressed than ever. Unable to stand there doing nothing anymore, but not wanting to startle her too much, Logan parted the trees quietly and walked over to sit beside her on the soft grass.

Jean was crumpled in a heap, lying face down in a clump of wildflowers, her shoulders shaking violently with the force of her sobs. Logan wanted in the worst way to go to her, gather her into his arms and hold her until she stopped crying but he just couldn't. He didn't want to push her at a time like this.

Though he'd wanted Jean from the first time he saw her and smelled her fresh, musky fragrance, Logan had always known she was off limits. From the moment he'd jumped off her exam table and locked his arm around her throat he wanted nothing else but to throw her on the floor and have her- her scent affected him that strongly- so strongly in fact that Logan had made himself release her quickly that first time and get away before he gave in to his animal instincts. It was like nothing Logan had ever smelled- a little like jasmine mixed with vanilla and warm honey with just a teasing hint of wild musk swirled in- it was enough to drive him crazy. But overlaying that fresh, lovely smell was another scent- bland and sour. Logan couldn't understand it until he met Scott and everything became clear. It was the scent of another male marking Jean and Logan could read it as easily as anyone else could read a 'No Trespassing, Private Property' sign. It didn't keep him from flirting with Jean or goading Scott but it did keep him from trying too much more although he never quite gave up.

What kept him hoping wasn't anything overt. In fact, Jean went out of her way to play the happy fiancé with Scott any time Logan was around. Kissing, holding hands, snuggling relentlessly- the list went on and on. It got to where Logan wondered if she was trying to convince him or herself that she was truly happy with Scott. He wondered if she had any idea that her little displays didn't fool him at all.

Logan wasn't fooled for several reasons. First, there was the way she looked at him. He'd caught her on more than one occasion staring at him across a crowded room- had felt her eyes on his back and had turned around in time to catch her. She would inevitably drop her eyes quickly, a faint flush appearing on her cheeks as she turned back to Scott or whoever she was with and pretend that nothing had happened. But Logan had caught her looking too many times and what he saw in her eyes mirrored what he felt in his own when he looked at her- longing-want-need. He knew a woman didn't look at you that way unless she wanted you and Jean wanted him weather she admitted it out loud or not.

The second way Logan knew the wanting between them was mutual was the way Jean clammed up whenever he got her alone. It didn't happen very often, Logan had an idea that Jean maneuvered hard to keep it from happening more often than it did but when they did chance to be the last or first two people in a room she got suddenly quiet and shy and his keen hearing could detect the way her heart began to race. Logan knew you just don't get so damn nervous around someone if they don't mean something to you. At first, when he flirted so outrageously with her, she would make some excuse and leave as quickly as possible. Lately, he had tried to tone it down some. He didn't really want to make her uncomfortable- he just wanted her so badly that it was hard to hide. But in the previous few weeks when he had talked quietly to her, like one friend to another, without flirting or teasing she had begun to stay longer when they happened to find themselves together. Logan even thought she might have sought him out on purpose once or twice which made him feel hopeful that eventually there might be something there she would be willing to acknowledge to herself and eventually to him. It was a slow kind of progress but definitely better than nothing at all.

The third and most overwhelming factor that kept Logan hoping and waiting for Jean was her scent. It was a factor that no one else without his mutation could have understood or appreciated but to Logan it was the most important and damning piece of evidence of all. Jean always smelled good to him although he had learned to control himself around her. At first, whenever he was in the same space with her he was in a constant state of arousal. Later he learned to distract himself so he wasn't always getting a hard-on the minute she walked in the room. It was difficult, however and made more difficult by the fact that Jean's scent changed when she got around him. Oh, she always smelled good, but when she got around Logan she began to smell more than good- she began to smell hot.

Logan had tested his theory on several occasions with a little judicious spying. He could be animal quiet when he wanted to be and it wasn't hard to find a time and a place when Jean was alone or simply didn't know he was around. Logan could tell the difference in her scent immediately. He had wondered if the change in her body chemistry could be attributed to anyone else but himself- to Scott for instance. Yet he had never smelled that hot smell on Jean except when she knew he was near her. On several, rather infrequent occasions he could smell sex on her and knew she and Scott had been going it but that was entirely different. Even when Logan could smell Scott on her the strongest- that bland, sour order overlaying her own sharper, sweeter scent, he never smelled the heat on her until he made his own presence known.

The minute he walked openly into a room and greeted her or even just caught her eye, Jean's scent began to change. It went from sweet and light to dark and musky- the scent of a woman aroused- in heat- he thought when he finally realized it was for him that her body was reacting. Logan saw Jean shifting uncomfortably at such times and knew she was getting wet- wet for him. How could he help becoming aroused in turn, knowing how he affected her? Her body was putting out powerful sexual signals that were hard to ignore, especially for someone with Logan's mutation.

The fact that Jean's body reacted to him weather she wanted to or not spoke volumes to Logan and that, more than anything else kept him hoping. As he got to know her better he realized he didn't just want her for her body either. She was a beautiful, courageous, intelligent woman- incredibly talented and extremely loyal or she wouldn't have stuck to ole' One Eye all these years. Definitely a woman worth waiting for. Now it seemed that her relationship with Scott had taken a turn for the worse so maybe the waiting would be over sooner than expected.

But Logan was no fool. He knew he didn't want Jean on the rebound- that kind of relationship never lasted. And when he got her, he wanted to have her for life. He wouldn't be foolish enough to throw away a treasure like Jean as Scott seemed to have done. No, he would wait and give her time to heal. Maybe they could actually get to be friends. Maybe she would let him help her heal- it hurt Logan's heart to see her sobbing as she was now- hurt him deeply and woke a murderous rage against the man who had caused her pain. But killing Scott would do nobody any good although he certainly deserved it- at least in Logan's book. No, the best thing he could do right now was just sit quietly and wait for Jean to notice him. Maybe she would feel like talking or maybe not. Either way, Logan intended to let her know he was there if she needed him.

As he waited for her crying to slow down a little, Logan couldn't help wondering what the conversation he'd overheard had been about. What could Jean have possibly asked Scott to do that made him react the way he had? Knowing what a straight-laced, control freak Scott was, Logan suspected it might have been something sexual. He was betting that the fearless leader wasn't exactly the most experimental kind of guy in the world. What could Jean have asked for? Whips and chains? Handcuffs and leather? Spankings? What? Whatever it was it seemed that it had upset Scott greatly. Depraved was a pretty strong word. Then again, maybe he had been looking for an excuse to end the relationship. Who knew? Logan shrugged to himself and turned his attention back to Jean whose sobs seemed to be tapering off into hiccups and sighs. As if finally sensing his presence, she raised her head and looked directly at him.

-----

"Logan." She seemed surprised to see him and Logan could well believe she hadn't noticed him until now- he had been very quiet approaching and she had been much too absorbed in her own private misery.

"Hi Darlin'," he said gently. "I heard noises and decided to come investigate. Hope you don't mind. You sounded so upset I was worried."

"How much did you hear?" she asked quietly, wiping her eyes and sitting up. Logan could see that she was trying to pull herself together- apparently she didn't want to appear weak in front of him. He wished she trusted him enough to show her true emotions to him and he hoped she wouldn't be upset when she knew he'd heard part of her conversation with Scott.

"Just the very end of it, I think," he admitted. "Right before Scott left. Sorry, Jean, I didn't mean to eves drop it's just that I heard you cryin'..."

"No, that's OK, Logan. Pretty much everyone's going to know about it soon anyway. It...it was nice of you to be concerned. So, I guess you know that Scott...broke it off with me."

Logan shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I got that from what I heard. Sorry, Darlin'."

Jean sighed heavily.

"He said this was coming for a long time and the more I think about it the more I guess he's right."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked curiously. "I don't mean to pry but you and Scott always seemed so...I dunno, content together." He was thinking of the endless display of PDA she had always put on with Scott whenever he was around. Had it all been fake- for his benefit only?

"Yeah, you'd get that impression, wouldn't you?" Jean asked bitterly. "Anyone would. I put so much time and effort into trying to make everyone- myself included- believe that Scott and I were the perfect couple." she sighed again. "I guess he's right- I should have seen it coming."

"How could you?" Logan asked reasonably. He hated to see her being so down on herself and looking so damn sad.

"Oh...there were signs." Jean was sitting cross-legged in the tall grass about a yard from him. Now she looked up briefly at Logan and then down again at her own hands. She was holding the diamond ring and twisting it restlessly between her fingers. Abruptly she shoved it into the pocket of her shorts.

"Scott's been very...distant for the last few months. And there hasn't been any...well, passion in our relationship for a long time, you know?"

Logan, of course, had no idea. But thinking back he did realize that he hadn't smelled the odor of sex on her in a long time. Scott must have cut her off sexually. He shook his head silently. That kind of deprivation would be hard on a woman of Jean's hot temperament- very hard indeed.

"I mean," Jean shook her head and silent tears began to run down her face again. "I mean, I was just trying to find a way to put a little spark back in our relationship. Rekindle the flame. It's what all those stupid women's magazines tell you to do. I thought Scott would be happy. I thought it might make him...want me again." She began to sob again and this time Logan wasn't able to overcome his instinct to go to her.

Awkwardly at first, he put one arm around her. Jean tensed up when he first touched her and Logan though he had made a big mistake- pushed too hard too fast. Then, suddenly, she was in his arms- practically in his lap- with her head buried in his shoulder sobbing as if her heart would break.

"Oh, Jeanie, Darlin', I'm so sorry." He whispered roughly, daring to raise one hand and stroke her shining red hair. It was every bit as soft as he had remembered and he couldn't help loving the feel of her in his arms despite the circumstances that brought it about. "It's alright, Darlin'." He told her. "Everything's gonna be alright."

Jean cried for a while and then her sobs tapered off again. She remained in his arms, however, for which Logan was grateful. Her scent was so filled with misery and her emotions so raw that he didn't want to let her go until he though she was feeling a little better. He wished he could cheer her up somehow.

"Oh, Logan." She sighed, allowing herself to go almost limp in his arms. "I'm sorry I'm being such an idiot. It's just that when Scott brought me out here tonight I though he was willing to...to try something different. And I thought, 'how romantic- making love in the twilight, under the stars...' And when we got out here I found out that all he wanted was to tell me it was over. What an idiot I was. I should have know- should have seen the signs."

"But if One Eye's not gonna tell you anything how can you, Darlin'?" Logan asked reasonably, hating the way she kept acting like everything was all her fault.

"Not just signs in Scott- signs in myself, Logan." She told him softly, still cuddled in his lap with her head resting against his chest. "It's just...well, I haven't had emotions for Scott- not like I used to have anyway- for a long time. But we'd been through so much together. I was just being stubborn- I didn't want to give up. It's stupid to be so upset when we've been growing apart for so long. But... it still just hurts so much."

"Of course it does, Darlin'." Logan stroked her hair soothingly. He couldn't believe she was letting him hold her so long but he wasn't about to complain. He would hold her as long as she permitted him too- forever if he could. Her sweet, musky fragrance muted with her sorrow but still very noticeable- (to him at least)- surrounded him and he wished he could give in to the temptation to kiss her. But this wasn't the time or the place.

"Still," she shifted a little and gave a self deprecating little laugh. "It seems like a stupid thing to break up over in the end. I always knew Scott was straight laced but I thought if I got up the nerve to talk to him about it- present some options, some new ideas, that he might loosen up."

"So, you wanted to try something new and Cyke wasn't up for it," Logan stated. Again he wondered what in the world Jean had suggested. He wished there was some way to find out but he wouldn't dream of asking her and he was pretty sure she wouldn't volunteer such personal information.

"Yes. I don't really want to go into detail about it though. It's...kind of embarrassing," Jean mumbled. She seemed suddenly to realize that she was still laying against his side in the warm circle of his arms and discussing the intimate details of her love life of the lack thereof and became uncomfortable at once.

"Listen, Logan, thanks for being so sweet and listening to me howl but maybe I've taken up enough of your time." She muttered, sliding out of his arms as quickly as she could. Logan let her go with a feeling of deep regret. Who knew when he'd ever get to hold her again?

"Don't be silly, Darlin'. That's what friends are for," he told her, trying to keep his tone light. Jean turned to look at him and her face softened a little from the rigid look of embarrassment she had worn the moment before.

"I guess you're right. You know Logan, I want to apologize to you. In the past I've...well, I've avoided you somewhat. Because of how you made me...I mean how Scott acted whenever you two got together." She blushed a little and Logan guessed she had been about to say something else and stopped herself at the last minute. "I see now I was just being stupid," she continued, glancing up at him a little shyly. "I hope I haven't given you the impression I don't like you. Because, well, I do...a lot," she added in a rush. Logan was amused. Even now she couldn't admit the obvious physical attraction between them. But at least she was trying.

"I like you too, Jean," he said as gently as he could, striving to keep any innuendo out of his voice.

"I hope we can be friends- good friends if you want to, that is."

"Nothing would make me happier, Darlin'," he told her gravely. 'Except being lovers,' he added- but silently to himself. All things in time. He had to give her time.

"And thanks for not laughing at my problems," she continued.

"Why would I laugh?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, you have to admit, it's pretty silly. I mean, Scott dumping me on my ass because he thinks I'm too kinky."

Logan began to smile a little but tried to hide it.

"See!" Jean exclaimed with mock outrage. "You do think it's funny."

"Well, when ya put it that way..." Logan grinned and Jean smiled back, just a little. "But actually, I wasn't laughin' at your...situation, Darlin'. I was just thinkin' about a joke I heard once. What you said just reminded me of it."

"What? Now you have to tell me. I have to know," Jean said, that little smile still playing around the corners of her mouth.

"It's pretty crude," Logan warned her.

"And? So? Spill it, Logan. I have to hear it now, stop teasing me and just tell it."

"Alright- but remember, you asked for it." Logan cleared his throat, took a quick look at Jean and began.

"Guy walks into a bar," he began. Jean groaned.

"Not one of those!"

"Yep, one of those. And it gets worse if you'll just listen, Red."

"All right, I'm all ears," she sighed. Logan thought that from where he was sitting she looked like she was all full breasts and long legs and silky, wild red hair but he kept that to himself and continued the joke doggedly.

"So, a guy walks into a bar," he continued. "He walks in and he sees a nice lookin' lady sittin' at the bar lookin' very down in the mouth. So he goes over and offers ta buy her a drink.

"He says to her, 'Can I buy you a beer 'cause you look like I feel tonight.'

"And she sighs and says, 'Oh yes. I feel terrible tonight 'cause my husband just left me for being too kinky.'" Logan cast a sidelong look at Jean to see how she was taking it but she didn't seem upset so he continued.

"So the man brightens up and says to her, 'Hey, we got a lot in common. My wife just kicked me out because I'm too kinky.' So the lady looks him up and down and he's a pretty nice lookin' guy so she leans over and whispers in his ear, 'Hey, seeing that we got so much in common, how about if you come back with me to my place and we'll just do what comes naturally.'

'Ok,' the guy agrees.

So they go back to her house and she goes in the bedroom. Says for him to make himself at home while she slips into something a little more comfortable."

Logan grinned at Jean who was totally into the joke by now, waiting for the punch-line.

"So the lady goes into her bedroom and gets on her dominatrix outfit. You know, the black leather thigh high boots and the leather lace up corset and the crotch less panties...oopse, sorry Darlin', didn't mean ta get so graphic," Logan apologized.

"That's...um...alright." Jean said, her face getting a little pink in the soft dusky light. Logan wondered if he had hit on any of her fantasies, wondered if he would ever find out. He bit his lip and continued the joke.

"So the lady gets all dressed up and grabs her whip and handcuffs and goes out to tha living room but as she goes out the guy is leaving out the front door. And she says, 'Hey, wait a minute, baby- I thought we were gonna get kinky together.' And he says, " Logan paused dramatically before delivering the punch-line.

"He says, 'Look, lady- I already screwed your dog and took a crap in your purse. Now I am outta here.'"

Jean tried not to smile at first but then collapsed in a gale of giggles. "That's...that's really crude, Logan," she accused him, still laughing so hard tears were leaking out of her beautiful eyes. Logan was glad he had been able to take that look of hangdog misery off her face for a while. Scott certainly wasn't worth such emotion.

"As promised. Can't say I didn't try ta warn ya, Red. But you get the point, right? I mean- there's kinky and then there's kinky. I mean- I don't know what you suggested ta Scott but I hope you won't let the way he acted make you feel bad about yourself."

Jean grew a little more serious and turned shy again. "Thanks, Logan. I guess I'm not quite as bad as the man in your joke." She grinned a little at him, looking up through her hair like a little girl as she did so. "I mean, I haven't felt the need to use my handbag for anything other than the usual purposes recently."

Logan laughed. "Yeah, and I'm sure you're keepin' your...animal instincts under control too, right?" he grinned at her but Jean suddenly went pale.

"Um, yeah. No problems there." She smiled weakly at him and Logan thought she smelled embarrassed, but why? What could he have said to make her upset all at once? He would bet his life that Jean wasn't interested in the bestiality aspect of the joke, so why did she just get so quiet when he mentioned animal instincts? It didn't make sense. He wondered again if he would ever find out.

The night was closing quickly around them and Jean was getting on her feet to leave. Still pondering, Logan did the same.

"Well, thank you again, Logan," she said a little awkwardly. "You've been so kind. Thanks for being there for me."

"Anytime, Darlin'," Logan answered easily. "You want ta walk back to the house now?"

"If...if you don't mind I'd like to be alone for a little while," Jean told him softly. "I just want to watch the stars come out and try to sort out my feelings a little more before I go back. And...I want to give Scott plenty of time to get his things. I don't want to have another scene- you know?"

"Sure, I understand," Logan told her. "But Jeanie, try not ta fret about it too much. I know it's hard but he just isn't worth it."

Jean smiled wanly. "I know you never liked Scott. But I think he's just doing what we should have done a long time ago. I won't say it doesn't hurt- it hurts like hell. But there's just the tiniest bit of relief mixed in with the hurt that makes it more bearable- you know?"

"I'm glad you feel like that," Logan told her. "I hate ta see ya beatin' yourself up over this- over something that's not even your fault, Jeanie."

Jean's face became grave suddenly and she sighed. "It's at least half my fault and probably more, Logan. I should never have pushed Scott- should never have suggested...what I suggested. But I'm a big girl. I'll pay for my own mistakes." She waved a hand at him when he would have protested what she said. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. In fact, I feel almost a hundred percent better than I did before you showed up. Thanks again, Logan. I can't tell you how much your being there for me means to me."

"Anytime, Jeanie," he said again. Giving in for a brief moment to his instincts, he drew her close to him in the quiet darkness and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Be well, Darlin'." He said and was gone, leaving Jean to touch her forehead softly and look after him with an unreadable look in her eyes.

-----

The next few weeks saw a tentative but determined growth in the friendship Jean had proposed to him in the soft, summer twilight. She never left a room anymore when he came into it, instead, she stayed to talk. And Logan was positive now that Jean was seeking him out on purpose occasionally and he returned the favor. Once or twice he even sat in on some of her classes- she taught Biology to the younger mutants. But he had to stop that when it became apparent that his presence disrupted her train of thought too much for her to teach really effectively. She stuttered and stammered and blushed red with confusion when she looked up and saw him watching her from the back of her classroom. He decided it would be better to keep out of her class.

Even though they were rapidly becoming good friends, Jean's scent never stopped affecting Logan and his presence where ever she was apparently never stopped affecting her. Logan could still smell her getting hot whenever he came near and he knew she wanted him the same way he wanted her although she was obviously still trying to ignore his effect on her. Out of respect for her, Logan tried to act as though nothing was happening as well although sometimes after spending a few hours with her talking or just being in the same room, he felt a deep sense of frustration. How could she go on ignoring the obvious chemistry between them? Logan knew she was still getting over Scott who was taking a month's vacation somewhere downstate to 'clear his head' so he didn't try to rush her. But at night she was all he could think about and he couldn't help wondering what was holding her back, when would she acknowledge the heat between them with her mind as well as her body?

Because even though Jean continued to treat him like a friend, Logan noticed when she was in a room with him, she began to make excuses to be near him- to touch him. She might lightly stroke his arm to emphasize a point she was making or just play with his hair a little for fun, casual touching, the way girls do with each other. But Logan was not another girl and each separate touch of her body to his enflamed him a little more until he began to feel ragged with desire for her. He began to wonder how much longer he could keep this masquerade up. Still, he was willing to try for Jean's sake.

One morning after about a month of having Jean's 'friendship' Logan was working out in the mansion's gym, attempting to alleviate some of his desire and frustration by pumping iron. After doing curls, squats and bench presses for nearly two hours he finally felt sore enough to go take a shower. Stripping off his white t-shirt and leaving it on the weight bench, he hit the men's locker room and let the steaming water pound into his skull.

"Give her time," he muttered to himself, feeling the hot water sluice over his sore muscles and tense body. "Got to give her time." It was only after the shower when he was getting dressed that Logan realized he was missing his shirt.

"Damn," he muttered. "Must've left it on the bench."

Upon reentering the gym to get his shirt wearing only his tight, faded Levis and heavy black boots, Logan was surprised to hear Latin sounding music and see Jean and Storm trying to dance at the far end of the gym. He leaned against the far wall and watched them for a while, enjoying the way Jean's ass swayed to the music.

"Look," she was saying to Storm. "Let me try the guy's part. Now I think it's back and forth...like this see?" Jean had one hand on her friend's waist and both girls were concentrating so intently on their footing that she didn't even notice Logan watching them until he laughed out loud after watching their fumbling attempts for five minutes or so.

"Logan?" Jean looked startled and a little embarrassed the way you do when someone catches you doing something mildly ridiculous.

"What is so funny?" Storm wanted to know, arching one white eyebrow in his direction as Logan strolled towards them. "Jean is trying to teach me to dance."

"Well she's doin' it all wrong," Logan told them, with a large, feral grin.

"Oh, and you can do better?" Jean asked, a bit miffed at his criticism. Logan grinned.
"Sure can, Darlin'. Here, you're trying ta Salsa, right?"

"Well, yes," Jean admitted. "I've only seen it done once but Storm and I were thinking of taking some lessons so I thought I'd try to show her what I saw."

"Well, you're going about it all wrong. Grinning slightly at Storm as he took Jean's hand, he asked, "Mind if I cut in?"

"Not at all." Storm relinquished her friend's hand and stood back against the wall to watch Logan's demonstration.

"Now, if you don't mind Darlin', I'll take the guy's part this time," he told Jean. He placed one large hand firmly on her waist and took her right hand in his. "Put yer other hand on my shoulder." Jean did so, a little hesitantly. Feeling the heat of her body so near his bare skin made Logan want her even more and he was sure it was affecting her as well but if she could ignore it so could he. He concentrated grimly on giving his lesson.
  
 "Now, the Salsa is actually an eight beat rhythm. The man, that's me, Darlin'," he grinned at her. "The man leads. On the first four counts I'll be stepping forward with my right foot and you'll be stepping back with your left. Then on the last four counts I'll be stepping back with my left and you'll be stepping forwards with your right. Understand? Here, let me show you. One-two-three..."

They practiced a little until Jean could do the basic step and Logan couldn't help noticing her scent getting hot as he held her in his arms. Moving to the music and holding her close was as intimate a situation as he'd ever been in with her. Dancing, he'd often thought, was a lot like making love. The rhythm between two people, the connection of their bodies... Jean's breathing and heart rate both speeded up considerably but she had fixed a determined smile on her face that said she was trying to ignore the attraction between them and just be good friends as always. Her reaction to the situation aggravated Logan and suddenly, with no warning he dipped her, bending her as far backwards as possible and holding her there, forcing her to rely on the strength of his arms to keep her balance, to keep her from falling. Jean gasped and let out a breathless little scream.

"Logan! You scared me- don't let me fall!" she implored, grasping his bare shoulders and digging her fingernails into his flesh in fright. Logan wished he could feel her nails digging into his back under other circumstances.

"I'll never let ya fall, Darlin'," he told her softly, holding her bent back against his muscular forearm a minute more and staring deeply into her eyes before bringing her back up.

"I believe you," she whispered and for just a moment Logan saw something in her eyes- a spark of acknowledgement of the feelings between them. If Storm hadn't been there watching he might have pressed Jean harder- made her admit out loud that she wanted him the way he wanted her. But it wasn't the time or the place- it never was- he thought in frustration. He and Jean remained staring into each other's eyes silently until Storm cleared her throat, breaking the spell.

"Actually, Logan, Jean and I were going to go out tonight to a club in the city that has Latin dancing until midnight. Since you seem to know so much about it why don't you accompany us?" Storm asked as Logan slowly released Jean and she reluctantly stopped touching him.

"That would be my pleasure. What time tonight?" Logan asked her.

"We thought we'd go at nine. I've heard it doesn't really get going strong until ten or so," Jean told him. "If you'd like to come we'd be pleased to have you."

"Then I'll meet you at the front door at nine, Darlin'." Logan smiled. "I'll be there with bells on." Jean smiled back at him.

"Bells are not necessary but I believe shirts are required," Storm told him, pointedly eyeing his bare chest covered in it's thick mat of wiry black hair.

"Oh, sorry about that. I was workin' out and I think I left my shirt somewhere in here when I went ta take a shower," Logan explained. "Don't worry, I'll dress appropriately tonight." He spoke to Storm but had eyes only for Jean. She was so flushed and beautiful after their dance and her scent was so hot in the air he couldn't look at anything or anyone else. Jean was shyly meeting his gaze, almost as if she couldn't stand the intensity of it.

"That's fine then. I have to go take care of some things," Storm said. "I'll see you both tonight. Rolling her eyes at the way Jean and Logan couldn't stop looking at each other she left the room. Logan barely noticed her go.

"So." Jean was the first to break eye contact and she began nervously fiddling with the CD player, shutting off the music and gathering the CD's she'd brought as she talked. "How do you know so much about dancing?" she asked, trying not to met his eyes again.

"Don't know," Logan admitted. His past was a constant source of mystery to him and when he thought of it, he never would have suspected he knew how to dance. But when he heard the music the knowledge just came without warning or invitation to the forefront of his brain. "I just do."

"I'm sorry." Jean seemed to sense his confusion and the pain that went with it- seemed to understand this was another part of his clouded past. "I didn't know it was like that." Stepping forward, she reached up tentatively and placed one hand to the side of his face sympathetically.

"'S alright, Darlin'. There's a lot of things I don't know about myself," Logan answered, thinking that all he really knew lately was how much he wanted her. Her hand was so soft on his cheek, her scent was intoxicating. The heat must have showed in his eyes because Jean suddenly dropped her hands and stepped back uneasily.

"Well, I'll see you tonight, Logan. It...it'll be fun," she said, confusion and longing thick in her voice. Logan felt frustrated, why wouldn't she drop the act and admit how she felt?

"See ya tonight," he said shortly and turned abruptly, exiting the gym without his shirt, leaving Jean to stare after him.

-----

That night Logan got ready for the club, wondering idly what he should wear. He was pretty sure his usual t-shirt and jeans wouldn't do but he didn't have much else in the way of a wardrobe. He'd never been much of a clotheshorse. Finally he settled on a pair of black dress pants and his one and only white dress shirt. No tie though, he'd be damned if he'd ever wear a tie, even to look good for Jean.

Waiting at the front door of the mansion for her and eyeing his watch, Logan wondered what was taking the girls so much time. Probably still primping in front of the mirror... A sudden scent wafted his way and he looked up to see Jean descending the main staircase towards him. Storm was nowhere in sight but he wouldn't have noticed her even if she had been.

Jean was lovely, more than lovely- gorgeous. She wore a sparkly deep blue dress that shimmered and hugged her curves lovingly as she stepped down the stairs. It was simple yet elegant with a loose v-neck and spaghetti straps and it fell to just above her knees. Logan noticed that it had a slit- a long slit up the left side and as Jean walked she flashed one smooth, creamy thigh with each step she took. She wore strappy high heels on her feet and no pantyhose. Her toenails were painted a deep crimson and a little silver toe ring winked at him in the dim light of the mansion's entryway. Logan loved attention to detail and every part of Jean looked absolutely delectable tonight. He wanted fiercely to kiss her, to breath in her scent and controlled himself with an effort.

"God, Darlin'- you're beautiful," he told her as she reached the foot of the stairs and greeted him.

"Oh, thank you Logan. You don't look half bad yourself." She cast him an appraising glance and seemed to like what she saw, then tossed her head and her silky, auburn hair shifted becomingly from one shoulder to the other and gave Logan another whiff of her beautiful scent. "I...I hope you don't mind but it's just you and me tonight. Storm came down with a sudden headache. Do you still want to go?"

"Hell yes, Darlin'. Of course I wanna go. You look good enough to eat, I wouldn't miss a night on the town with you for anything." Logan wondered briefly if Storm's 'headache' was reality or convenient fiction but right then he didn't give a damn. A night out alone with Jean was exactly what he wanted. Maybe she would loosen up a little- maybe even acknowledge their mutual attraction.

"Thanks, Logan. I was hoping you'd say that. That you wanted to still go, I mean." She smiled nervously. "Well, shall we?"

Logan offered her his arm wordlessly and she took it. Her scent was filling his nose and brain with desire too intensely for him to talk and she seemed too nervous to make conversation so the ride into the city was a fairly silent one, although filled with tension.

When they walked into the club the exotic beat of the music throbbed in the air and matched the pulse of Logan's blood. Jean was so beautiful tonight, he had barely been able to keep his eyes off her in order to drive. She'd sprayed on some light, floral fragrance but he barely noticed it under her own hot scent. She walked in front of him onto the dance floor and he noticed that the dress was cut low- very low in back. Almost low enough for him to see the creamy swell of her rounded buttocks. Logan moaned to himself- he loved a woman with a heart shaped ass. An ass like the one that was currently swaying in front of him as Jean pushed through the crowd.

Jean found a relatively clear place on the floor and turned to him, Logan took her in his arms, placing his hand on the swell of her hip and brushing the dip of her smooth, lower back with his fingers possessively.

"Remember what I taught you, Darlin'?" he asked her, raising his voice a little above the loud thump of the music.

"I think so, Logan. I'll try, anyway," she answered with a smile. Leaning into him she tried to follow his lead but it soon became obvious to Logan that either she was too nervous to be graceful or she had forgotten everything he'd so recently taught her. He was betting on the former.

"Ya know," he said, wincing a little after the third time she had stepped on his toes. "The Salsa is kind of a difficult dance for a beginner. What's say we do the merengue instead?"

"Is that easier?" Jean asked him. "I'm sorry I'm so clumsy tonight, Logan. I don't know what's wrong with me."

'I do,' he thought but didn't say. Being this close to her was hard on him but it was clearly just as hard on her. He wondered if she knew how much he wanted to rip that little nothing of a dress right off her and take her right there. Trying to push his thoughts aside her replied,

"Yes, the merengue is just a simple side to side step, basically you just move your hips to the music and you don't have to concentrate on counting so much. Look, I'll show you..." Taking her hand in his and putting his other hand on the curve of her hip once more he caught the thumping beat of the Latin music and tried to demonstrate.

Jean tried to follow him but it became clear to Logan after a minute that she just wasn't getting it.

"I'm sorry..." she started to say when he stopped but she broke off quickly when Logan abruptly spun her around and pulled her ass back to his pelvis, placing both large hands on her hips.

"You've gotta feel the music, Darlin'," he growled in her ear. Jean simply wasn't catching the beat and this was the only way he could think of to teach her. "Now just move with me for a while and feel my hands on your hips, leading you."

"Al...alright Logan." He heard her gasp as he began to move to the music again, taking her along with him. At first, it seemed like a success, Jean was finally getting the beat and Logan was pleased. They swayed to the rapid, Latin beat completely in sink, their bodies attuned to each other. Of course Logan took pleasure in the feel of her soft ass against his pelvis but he was concentrating hard on teaching her to merengue and trying to ignore the sensation. He might have succeeded if not for the change in Jean.

Logan wasn't sure exactly when her scent began to change but suddenly it filled his senses with heat. Jean had been hot before they began dancing, hell, she got hot every time they were in the same room together but this...this was an entirely new level of desire. Her scent went from tantalizing to something he could barely describe, even to himself. He had never smelled her so hot before- it was almost as though she had suddenly literally gone into heat like some kind of female animal. Logan became aware that Jean's hands were rubbing over his own, larger ones which still firmly gripped her hips and she had lost the beat entirely and was grinding back against him, pressing her ass into his crotch and panting. Damn, something in this situation was clearly making her hotter than she'd ever been, at least around him but Logan couldn't quite figure out what.

But though his brain couldn't understand the reason for her heat, his body had no problem in reacting to it. Her sudden, intense desire enflamed him and he became acutely conscious that he was harder than a rock. He knew Jean must be able to feel his cock, now straining against the seems of his pants and pressing into her firm ass but she continued to grind provocatively against him as though she liked it. 'Damn' he swore to himself. If she didn't stop it he was going to throw her down right here on the dance floor and fuck her senseless. He doubted anyone would notice- the club was so crowded and dim and he knew he wouldn't care if they did. He wanted her so badly already that he couldn't possibly stand this assault on his senses. Her hot smell, her beautiful dress and silky hair brushing his face, her soft ass pressing against him- grinding against him...

Abruptly, Logan pulled away from her and put some distance between them. Jean stumbled and nearly fell, then turned to face him. Even in the darkness, Logan could see that her pupils were dilated with desire and she was still breathing heavily. She started to go to him, stopped and ran a shaky hand through her wild red hair. Slowly, she began to come back to herself and Logan saw her eyes fill with shame and self-disgust.

"Darlin', what the hell was that?" he couldn't help asking. He would have like to be more specific but he couldn't think how to phrase the question without being too blunt.

"I...uh..." Jean's beautiful eyes filled with confusion at his question. "I just...lost the beat. Lost it completely." Her eyes begged with him to just accept her explanation and drop the subject. She looked so upset, almost as though she might cry and Logan smelled that she was very ashamed of herself. Her natural scent went from hot to muted so quickly her almost wondered if he had imagined the incident. But no, there was no way he could have- it had been one of the most erotic experiences of his life- too bad she seemed so unwilling to discuss it. He saw that she looked ready to cry and decided to just let it go.

"Alright, Darlin'" he growled. "So ya lost the beat, it happens. Don't be so hard on yerself." He hoped she understood what he was really saying- 'I know how you feel and I feel the same way- it's nothing to be ashamed of.' But if she got it, she didn't say so, just hung her head and refused to meet his eyes.

"I guess I'm no good at Latin dancing at all, Logan," she murmured. "I...maybe we should go home now." Logan couldn't have heard her over the thump of the music if he hadn't had enhanced hearing. He hated to end their first night out together like this though, with shame and guilt. He simply couldn't understand why Jean was acting the way she was. She refused to verbally acknowledge the heat between them but when she physically acknowledged it, the admission seemed to cause her pain and deep distress. Why did she feel she couldn't let herself love him, want him as he wanted her?

Logan took her hand in his, wanting to tell her that everything would be alright and they should try again when the current song ended and there was silence in the club. Logan looked at his watch, it was 12:10 and he remembered that Jean had said the club had Latin dancing only until midnight.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our Latin night is now officially over," someone, probably the DJ, said over the PA system. "If you enjoyed it, we invite you to come back again every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night from 9 till 12. Now if you'd like to stay, the rest of the night is devoted to Jazz. Get ready to enjoy the vocal stylings of Ms. Jane Monahan and please enjoy the rest of your stay with us."

The lights dimmed even further leaving the club very dim indeed although Logan could still see perfectly well thanks to his mutant enhanced eyesight. A small spotlight came on and highlighted an equally small stage holding only a drummer, pianist and bass player with a single microphone in the center of the platform. Into the spotlight stepped a tall, dark haired woman with pale skin and red lips. She thanked the audience for the smattering of applause she received and the small band behind her began a slow melody.

Logan looked around and saw that other couples were beginning to slow dance and he pulled the still miserable Jean to him and whispered in her ear,

"Hey, Jeannie, let's not leave just yet. How about one more dance before we end the night, OK?" Mutely, Jean nodded her head and Logan drew her close in his arms and held her as they swayed to the slower, more intimate rhythm. Her heart rate had slowed and her scent was muted with sorrow so Logan felt perfectly able to have her so close. He was fairly certain he wouldn't react to her the way he had moments before when she had gotten so inexplicably excited for reasons he still couldn't figure out. After a minute the dark haired woman on stage began singing and Logan felt Jean's arms lock around his neck and her head dip onto his shoulder although she still tried to maintain a certain distance between their bodies as they both listened and danced.

"I've had bad dreams too many times,
To think that they don't mean much anymore," the woman crooned. Her voice was smoky and dark, Logan couldn't help feeling that it matched his mood completely.

"Fine times have gone, and left my sad home.
Friends go once cared, just walk out my door."

Jean stirred against him restlessly and Logan became aware she was listening, really listening to the lyrics too. Did they make her think of Scott, walking out on her the way he had? Was she afraid that he, Logan would do the same if she made herself too vulnerable?

"I've been alone too many times
To think that you could come back again.
I've heard you talk- she's crazy to stay...
But this love hurts me so, I don't care what you say."

Jean stirred against him again and Logan could smell tears on her, salty and bitter. He wished not for the first time that he had a little of her gift of telepathy so he could understand what was hurting her so much and try to comfort her. But he couldn't read her mind so he did the only thing he knew how to- held her tightly and let her cry there on the dance floor. Up on the tiny stage the dark haired, smoky voiced singer had reached the chorus of the song. She wailed soulfully into a musical climax as they listened, swaying in the darkness.

"Love has no pride when I call out your name-
Love has no pride when there's no one but myself to blame.
Oh, I'd do anything to see you again...
Yes, I'd do anything just to see you again."

Jean muffled a sob against his shoulder and Logan stroked her long dark red hair to comfort her. The song hit home with him, stung his raw nerves and he wondered if it affected Jean as well. 'Oh Jeanie,' he thought sadly, 'What's standing between us? Is it fear of getting hurt again that keeps you from me? Am I really waiting for you to get over Scott or am I waiting for you to come to me on your own and admit you want me the way I want you? This song is so true- Love has no pride. I'd have no pride at all Darlin' in askin' you to have me if only I knew you were ready. When are you gonna be ready to see what's between us?' He sighed into her hair, his warm breath stirring the small hairs on the nape of her neck. He wanted this woman in his arms so much, loved her so much despite all the confusions and contradictions. If only he could feel sure she felt the same- if only she'd overcome her fear and let him know she wanted him too. He'd never felt farther from her although he was holding her close in his arms, still swaying slightly to the music with her tears wetting his only good dress shirt.

After the song ended the singer started a slightly more upbeat number and Jean got quieter in his arms. Logan determined that she had stopped crying and he whispered softly in her ear,

"Hey Darlin', what do ya say we go home now, alright?"

"Alright," Jean whispered back, her voice still thick with tears. She seemed reluctant to let him go at first but he gently pulled her arms from around his neck and, taking her hand, he led her through the dark club to the door.

In the car Jean still seemed miserable and silent and Logan didn't feel much like talking either. She blotted her eyes with a small pack of tissues she produced from her equally small purse and they rode home in silence.

-----

Jean avoided him for a few days after the dance club incident and Logan began to think that he would never get another chance to talk to her and straighten things out. Only one thing kept him hoping. Jean's scent when he walked into a room still got hot and needful- if anything it was more intense than it had been before their 'dancing lesson'. Smelling like that, Logan reasoned, she couldn't ignore him forever. So he hung back and didn't press her- let her come to him in her own time. Eventually, she did.

"Logan..." He was sitting at the kitchen table eating the breakfast of champions- steak and eggs and perusing the paper when he heard her tentative voice one morning almost a week after they'd gone out to the club.

"Yeah, Darlin'?" he asked, remaining seated and keeping his eyes on the paper. She could damn well sit down at the table with him if she wanted to talk- Logan wanted her badly but he wasn't desperate- yet.

"I..." she sat reluctantly across the table from him, arms crossed on her chest hands cradling her elbows. "I wanted to apologize for the other night."

"Don't know what ya mean," Logan answered carefully, still not looking up. "So ya lost the beat- no big thing. I thought ya didn't do bad for a first time dancer." He was trying to be polite and avoid causing her further pain although he really wanted to confront her. He pushed the impulse down- he loved this woman and didn't want to hurt her. She would come around when she was ready...eventually.

"Logan, you know that's not what I mean..."

"What do ya mean then, Jeanie?" he asked, at last looking up from the paper and catching her eyes firmly with his own. She was wearing a red shirt, the same dark ember color as her hair and a cautious expression on her beautiful face.

"I mean the way I...I don't know, lost control. While you were trying to teach me to merengue," she said, her face scarlet. She looked ashamed and miserable and as much as Logan wanted to make her confront the wanting between them, he was afraid that if he pushed it too hard at this point he might push Jean entirely away.

"Darlin', do you really want to talk about this now?" he asked gently, still holding her eyes with his own.

"No..." she whispered, so low he could barely hear it. "It's just that I didn't want to lose your friendship over something so...something like that. Lately, well, it seems like you've been avoiding me."

"No more than you've been avoindin' me, Jeanie," he pointed out.

"I know and I'm sorry, Logan. I just feel so...confused sometimes when you're close...when I'm near...sometimes," she ended lamely. It was the closest she had yet come to admitting how she felt around him and Logan felt hopeful- it was better than nothing.

"Listen, Red," he murmured, reaching out and uncrossing her arms so he could hold her small hand between both of his larger ones. "You don't have ta talk about it. The feelin's mutual." He felt her hand shiver in his own and her scent crept up a notch at his intimate touch. She dropped her eyes and began tapping the nails of her free hand nervously against the tabletop.

"It's just that when Scott left me he said some things... well, it's just been hard to get over, Logan. Sometimes I think I won't ever get over the things he said- what he showed me." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she tried to pull her hand away from his. Logan held her firmly, letting her feel his strength- his need.

"I understand," he said, caressing her palm with his callused fingertips.

"I don't think you do," Jean replied. "You couldn't and anyway I...I wouldn't want you to."

Logan raised one eyebrow and looked at her, confused. That was a strange statement- why should Jean not want him to understand her? She tried again unsuccessfully to pull her hand away.

"Logan, I'm going through a hard time right now and I could use some support. Please, can't we just be friends?" Her eyes pleaded with him to understand but it was her body Logan was prepared to listen to.

"So...friends. Ya still just want to be friends," he said, his tone low and dangerous. "Are ya sure about that, Red?" He raised her hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss in the center of her palm, making sure she could feel his warm breath tickle her and his coarse whiskers scratch her sensitive skin a little as he did so.

Jean's heart stuttered in her chest, Logan heard it. And her breath caught in her throat for just an instant. Her scent leaped to another level of desire and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. Logan knew he was getting to her. He kept his lips against her palm, kissing her again, then slid his mouth down to the warm pulse points of her wrist. He could feel her heart pounding a frantic rhythm under his lips until she finally tried to pull her hand away again- this time he let her.

"Just friends," she gasped, almost panted. "That's all I can offer you Logan. Can you understand that?" She cradled the palm he had released in her other hand gingerly, as though he had burned her with his kisses.

 "I wish I could, Darlin'. I'll try." Logan was once again mystified by her actions. Her body clearly said she wanted him as badly as he wanted her, yet she was putting him off again. Why? Maybe she was trying to tell him it was just too soon after her break up with Scott. But he recognized once more that if he pushed too hard he would loose her completely. So he was willing to wait- for now.

"Thank you, Logan. I have to go. Have to teach class in ten minutes." And she was gone, still flushed with need and leaving him in pretty much the same state. Logan shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his erection digging into his thigh at an unnatural angle- held in place by too tight, confining jeans. Damnit! What was wrong with her anyway? Fine, Jean wanted to just be friends, he could do that for her- up to a point. Logan promised himself he would leave it alone and just be the good friend she seemed to want him to be until she came to him on her own- no matter how long it took. But as he shifted again in the hard kitchen chair, his steak forgotten and his eggs long gone cold, he hoped it wouldn't take too long. He needed her- God, he certainly did.

-----

Logan continued to play the good friend for several days after their talk until things calmed down somewhat. He could tell at first that Jean was forcing herself to stay in a room whenever he walked in but gradually things got a little easier and she began talking to him more naturally, the way she had before they went dancing. Logan still smelled her heat but he didn't acknowledge it any more than she did. She would come to him when she was ready. He refused to force the issue and risk loosing her forever. He could be patient when he had too, although sometimes he almost had to grit his teeth and force himself. Her scent was so hot- so needy. It wasn't easy being around her but it was worse being away.

One day about a month after their talk in the kitchen he walked into the lounge to catch some TV and saw Jean sitting on the couch already. Her back was to him and no one else was in the room but she didn't appear to be watching the TV screen, which was muted anyway. Instead, she was looking down at her lap. Was she reading a book? Logan wondered, she was very still and smelled like pain-a sharp scent, like rubbing alcohol. He became immediately concerned- what was wrong? Walking around the couch he sat down beside her and saw clearly at last that both her hands were bandaged. So that was the source of the pain smell. He relaxed a little.

"Hey Jeanie, what happened?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Huh?" She seemed startled to see him and he realized she had been thinking hard about something.

"Your hands." He indicated the bulky gauze bandages which covered both palms and most of her fingers. "What happened?"

"Oh. Just a little incident in the chemistry lab this morning with a Bunsen burner and one of the kids who can't quite control his power yet," she explained, motioning with her hands ruefully.

"How bad is it?" Logan asked, still eyeing her hands, remembering how soft her palms were when he'd kissed her there during their last serious conversation.

"Third degree burns. Hank says they'll heal in a couple of days. He put some of his own special salve on them. It's really not as bad as it looks. Although..." she winced a little. "It is a bit painful."

Logan frowned, hating to see her in pain. "Damn kid's a menace," he said gruffly, longing to take her hands in his to examine the bandages more closely and not quite daring.

"No, he's just inexperienced. Imagine what would have happened to him if this had happened at a regular high school instead of here." Jean pointed out. "He would certainly be expelled- he might even be seriously hurt for what amounts to an innocent accident. No Logan, it's better this way."

"You're right, I guess, Jeanie. I just hate ta see you in pain." Logan frowned again. The pain smell was fairly sharp- he knew her hands hurt no matter what she might say.

"It's really not that bad," she said. "Actually, the pain isn't what bothers me the most."

"What is it then?" Logan wanted to help her in anyway he could. What could be bothering her more than the pain?

"Well, it's just...Hank said the bandages have to be kept dry. So, OK, I can take a bath and be careful not to get them wet. It's not really a problem although I prefer showers. It's just that I need to wash my hair. I generally wash it ever other day so it doesn't get too dry. I washed it the day before yesterday and I was planning to wash it tonight and use a deep conditioning treatment, you know? I just...I can't stand not to have clean hair. It's a pet peeve of mine." She shook her glossy spill of auburn hair over one shoulder and sighed. Logan reflected that it looked beautiful and perfectly clean to him but the idea of not washing it was clearly getting to Jean. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Well, I guess I could help you out. If you want me too, that is," he offered. Jean looked at him sharply.

"How do you mean, Logan?" she asked, her voice sounding suspicious.

"Hey, don't get the wrong idea, Red. I'm not offerin' ta take a shower with you or anything." Not that he wouldn't love to do just that. Just the thought of her smooth, naked skin, slick with soap under his hands... Logan shook his head to clear the thought from his head.

"I just meant that I could wash your hair for you. In the sink. The little corner sink in the kitchen has one of those spray attachments, right?"

"Yes, I think it does," she relied cautiously.

"Well then, it should be easy enough. C'mon, Red. Let me help ya. I promise not ta get soap in your eyes." He grinned charmingly at her.

"You...you really wouldn't mind?" she asked hesitantly, clearly wanting to take him up on his offer but unsure if he really meant it.

"Hell, no I don't mind. Why would I? I'm sure you'd do the same for me, right? Isn't that what friends are for, helping each other out?"

"Well, when you put it that way...and if you really don't mind..."

"C'mon Darlin', let's go get your stuff." Logan let Jean lead the way to her room and he followed her inside for the first time to help carry her hair care products.

Inside the room, Logan was pleased to note that all signs of Scott had been completely eradicated. The room was furnished in Jean's own, quiet taste with a Persian rug on the floor and a soft looking down comforter in deep royal blue on the large, four poster bed. A small, overstuffed tan leather loveseat faced a fireplace at one end of the room with a silky throw over the back. Quiet prints hung on the walls along with a few pictures done in oil that looked hand painted. One in particular caught Logan's eye and he stopped to admire it. In it, a mostly naked woman was tied in some way to a stone pillar. There were chains around both wrists but she wasn't trying to get away. There was something coming for her in the distance- Logan couldn't make out quite what because the perspective of the picture wouldn't let him see it clearly but it seemed to be something big. The look on the girls face was masterfully done- caught somewhere between agony and anticipation.

"Wow, this is really good. Where'd ya get this, Jeanie?" he asked, coming to a complete stop in front of the picture to admire it better.

"I didn't get it anywhere," she answered. Logan looked away from the painting for a moment to eye her quizzically. "I...I painted it myself." She admitted shyly and somewhat hesitantly.

"Oh? What's it of?" Logan tried to ask casually. He hadn't even know that she painted but he sensed that this painting meant something personal to her although he couldn't tell what.

"It's supposed to depict a sacrifice to the Minetaur. It was a Greek myth." She explained. "The Minetaur was a monster- half man, half beast. He had a man's body with a bull's head, to be exact. I believe the legend goes that he was imprisoned on the isle of Crete. He had superhuman strength and was very dangerous but since his mother was a goddess the king of Crete wasn't able to kill him. Instead, they had to appease him with virgin sacrifices. This is a picture of a girl being sacrificed. She is waiting for the Minetaur- he's coming for her. Just here- see?" She pointed the part of the picture he hadn't been able to quite make out. "I wasn't sure how well I could paint the Minetaur so I fudged it a little and concentrated on the girl," Jean admitted.

"Doesn't look like she's tryin' too hard ta get away," Logan remarked, still staring hard at the painting.

"Why should she bother? She's completely helpless and she knows there's nothing she can do. The Minetaur is going to come and do anything he wants with her and there's nothing she can do to stop him or protect herself. It's her destiny." Jean's voice was low and breathy and Logan suddenly realized her scent had changed. When they'd first entered the room she'd smelled mainly of pain. But in the short time they'd been standing here in front of the painting while she explained it to him, her scent had gone from normal to hot to very hot. Something was turning her on and Logan didn't think it was just his proximity to her. He considered the painting again, why had Jean painted it?

"What will he do with her?" he asked, carefully, trying to understand without breaking her mood.

"Who knows. Ravish her. Defile her in unspeakable ways, probably." Jean's voice was still low and a little dreamy as though this were something she'd thought about a lot. Her cheeks were flushed and her pupils dilated.

"Will she..." Logan searched for a word. "Enjoy that?" he asked, keeping his gaze fixed mostly on the painting but watching Jean out of the corner of his eye to see how she'd react to his question.

"Even if she does it won't be her fault. No one could blame her if she feels pleasure from what he does to her- she's helpless, a sacrifice. That's the whole point of the painting." Jean seemed almost to snap out of a trance suddenly and realize what she was saying about her artwork. Her scent inched down a notch and got an embarrassed tang to it. Obviously she felt she'd said too much. "Well, we'd better get moving, Logan. It usually takes me a while to wash and condition my hair and I don't want to keep you up all night."

"Alright. But I like your painting, Jeanie. Like it a lot. Didn't even know you painted."

Jean blushed. "Oh, well- it's just a hobby I picked up to try and work out some tension. I'm glad you like it. Scott always hated this one."

'I just bet he did,' Logan thought. The painting was too raw- too thick with sexual longing to be anything but threatening to a straight laced, uptight prick like Scott.

"It's beautiful, Red. He didn't know what he was talkin' about," Logan said gruffly. Jean blushed in pleasure.

"Well, thank you Logan. It's nice of you to say so. Scott never liked most of the things I painted, actually. He said that for a modern woman and a feminist I certainly painted women in desperate and terrible situations."

"What- are a lot of them..." Logan made a vague gesture to indicate the theme of the painting- the half naked woman bound and helpless and the approaching monster. "A lot of them along this line?" he asked. Jean smiled.

"Maybe sometime I'll show you the rest."

"I'd like that- a lot. You know what I like most about this one? The way you got that look on the girl's face. It's almost like she wants ta meet the monster. Ya know, if she had red hair, she'd look almost exactly like you, Red." Logan looked closely again at the expression of fearful anticipation which Jean had captured so well. Jean looked a little embarrassed.

"Yes, well. I think that's a coincidence. I certainly didn't mean for her to look like me," she replied, dodging the idea that the girl wanted the monster to take her. "We'd better get started, Logan. Don't you think?"

Logan realized that she wanted to stop discussing the painting and he was willing to move along but at the same time he couldn't get it out of his head. He had a feeling now that he was close to understanding what Jean had asked of Scott that he wasn't willing to provide. Very close.

"OK, Jeanie. Lead the way to yer bathroom and let's collect your shampoo so we can get started," he remarked. He needed to get out of her room anyway- the scent of her was everywhere and it was hard to remain unaroused, especially as hot as she'd been a minute ago.

"Well, it's a little more than shampoo, Logan. I hope you don't mind. Here, I'll show you." Jean led him into her bathroom, which was tastefully done in mint green and lavender. She pulled aside the shower curtain, which was cream with green vines and small pale purple flowers and revealed a veritable army of bottles lined neatly up along the tub's rim.

"What's all this?" Logan asked blankly as Jean began directing him which bottles to take. He was a shampoo guy only. Once in a while he might use conditioner if he had the time and there happened to be a bottle of the stuff wherever he was taking a shower. However, that was a rare occurrence.

"This is shampoo, this is conditioner. This is leave in conditioner and this is mousse for control. And this is the special conditioning treatment I told you about. But we don't have to do that one tonight if you'd rather not," she said anxiously.

"No, no. Why not? After all, looks like we're gonna be puttin' every other damn thing in tha world we can find on yer head. Why skimp?" Logan snorted. "Ya know Red, since we're gonna be in the kitchen I'm sure I can find some salad dressing and catsup ta go in yer hair too." He was grinning while he said it.

"That won't be necessary," she said tartly, trying not to grin back at him. "This will be more than enough, thank you. If you could just carry the bottles and I'll get my hair towel."

"You even got a special towel just for yer hair?" Logan asked incredulously.

"You mean you don't?" Jean replied mockingly, in the same incredulous tone of voice.

"Oh, forget it. Here, I got it all now- it's an armful, alright. Let's go down to tha kitchen and get started. We'll be up all night with this mess."

Down in the kitchen, Logan sat the armful of hair care products by the sink he planned to use and motioned for Jean to get ready.

"That's a pretty nice blouse, Darlin'. You sure you don't mind getting' it wet?" Jean was wearing a pair of snug fitting, charcoal gray slacks which hugged her hips and ass nicely and a white, button down silk shirt. Her red hair looked like fire against the pale, silky material.

"It'll be OK, Logan. Here, I'll tuck the collar in and roll it down a little." She did so quickly while Logan got the water ready. He couldn't help noticing that her shirt now framed a creamy v of cleavage in the front since she had made the necessary modifications. Trying not to look at her breasts, he said, "Well, come see if this is too hot Darlin'. Don't want ta burn ya." Jean leaned in to the sink and put just the tip of one exposed finger into the water's flow. "Careful not ta get the bandages wet." Logan warned. "Is it OK?"

"It's fine. Could even be a little warmer. I like a really hot shower. Makes me feel really clean, you know?"

Logan adjusted the temperature a little accordingly and motioned for her to get closer.

"Now look, it's pretty tight in here," he remarked, indicating the position of the sink which was right up against the wall on one side giving only access from the left. "Gonna be a little bit crowded, hope ya don't mind Red."

"It's fine," Jean answered. "We'd better get started Logan, It's nearly ten o'clock."

"OK, lean over the sink and close yer eyes tight, Darlin'."

"Alright but remember you promised not to get soap in my eyes," she warned.

"Do my best not to," he promised. "Now put yer hands to yer sides, don't want ta get the bandages wet."

Obediently, Jean put her hands to her sides and leaned over the sink, her long red hair falling softly from the exposed and vulnerable looking nape of her neck. The skin of her neck was soft and pale, always hidden from the sun by her long hair and Logan wished he could kiss her there. At first, he had some difficulty maneuvering because the spray nozzle was on the right side of the sink and the hose wasn't very long. He tried standing to Jean's left and reaching around her to spray her hair but the hose wouldn't quite reach. Finally he realized he would have to stand directly behind her in order to wash her hair properly.

"This hose ain't very long, Darlin'," he remarked. "So I'm afraid you'll have ta get a little closer to the sink so I can reach, OK?"

"OK." Jean's voice was muffled and she crouched obligingly closer to the sink. Logan stood directly behind her and reached with long arms to spray her hair with the warm jet of water. He tried to maintain a distance between their bodies to avoid tension although it wasn't easy to ignore the warm proximity of her ass to his crotch. It reminded him a little too much of the time they had gone dancing for comfort.

Jean shivered when the first squirt of warm water bathed her scalp as Logan quickly and thoroughly wet her hair before reaching for the shampoo.

"Says here I should use a 'dime sized drop' of this stuff," he told Jean, reading the directions on the back of the bottle.

"No, that's no good. My hair's too long and thick. I'm afraid you'll have to use considerably more than that," Jean said, still bent over the sink.

"OK." Logan shrugged and poured a large dollop into one palm. He sniffed the stuff appreciatively. It smelled expensive. It was nice- but not as nice as Jean's natural smell. "Here goes, Darlin'," he remarked, rubbing the shampoo between his palms. "Better close yer eyes real tight." Jean squeezed her eyes tightly shut as Logan rubbed the gooey substance into her damp hair. After a minute he made a sound of consternation.

"What's wrong, Logan?" Jean asked, eyes still shut.

"Well, I used more than a dime sized drop- actually a lot more. But I'm beginnin' ta think that maybe I used too much," he admitted. The foam and bubbles on Jean's head kept growing and growing. Logan wasn't quite sure if they were meant to get so big and thick. Jean started to laugh.

"Can I stand up for a minute or will it get in my eyes?" she asked.

"No, should be alright. This stuff's so thick it's like some kinda...I don't know what. Here, let me fix it first." Logan carefully swirled the foam-covered hair up on top of her head and then Jean stood upright and opened her eyes. There was a small window in front of the sink and this late at night with no lights on outside it acted as a mirror. Jean laughed again when she saw her reflection.

"You know what this reminds me of? When I was a kid and my cousins came over to spend the night, we'd wash each other's hair like this so we could make up new hair designs."

"Yeah?" Logan had no idea what little girls did for fun but apparently playing with each other's hair was high on the list.

"Yeah. We'd create elegant up-dos like this one here." She indicated the way he had swirled the hair on top of her head. "And we also did horns and spikes and things."

"Oh." Logan got the idea. "You mean like this?" Plunging his hands into her hair again, he shaped and sculpted until Jean had two large, foamy horns growing out of her head. She laughed delightedly.

"Perfect! My cousin Lorna would be jealous." She grinned at him, their eyes meeting in the reflective surface of the window for a minute. The foamy horns should have made her look ridiculous but Logan couldn't help thinking how beautiful she was. Jean must have read the emotion in his eyes- the longing- because she dropped her own eyes abruptly and a blush spread across her pale cheeks.

"OK, play time's over. Time ta rinse." Logan said at last, trying to break the tension. Jean leaned over the sink again, hands to her sides and let him spray the warm water over her hair until all the foam was gone. Next, he grabbed the conditioner and after consulting Jean, rubbed a silver dollar sized amount into his palms before massaging it into her hair.

He spent a while on the conditioner, it wasn't as foamy as the shampoo and he enjoyed lingering over Jean's hair and running his fingers along her scalp. Without thinking about it, Logan got a little closer to her in order to rub the stuff in thoroughly and once again he found his crotch pressing directly into her ass. He was about to back off when he felt the familiar press of Jean pushing back against him. She wasn't quite grinding against him in the wanton way she had at the dance club but Logan sensed she wasn't far from it either. Her scent rose to him, hot and needful as he pressed against her and he felt himself harden, almost painfully fast in response. Suddenly he wanted her so much he could barely stand it. Right here, leaning over the sink she was in such a vulnerable position... With two or three swift moves he could be buried to the hilt in her warmth. Holding her hips and plunging into her... He needed her so much and her hot scent said she needed him too.

"Logan..." Jean's voice was breathy with wanting and she unthinkingly raised her hands to her head, probably to push the water out of her eyes so she could face him or maybe move away.

"Jeanie, no- your bandages!" Logan exclaimed. Without stopping to think about it, he grabbed both her wrists in one of his large hands and pinned them against her back, rendering her helpless. His crotch still pressed up against her ass hard, he couldn't seem to make himself move. He heard Jean gasp and her arousal spiked even higher. Logan could hear the blood pump in her veins and the rapid flutter of her heart as she panted in front of him. She raised her head as much as she was able and Logan met her eyes in the window again. Her pupils were dilated huge with desire and she was as hot as he'd ever smelled her.

"Logan what...what are you doing to me?" she gasped, writhing back against him, pushing her pelvis back to meet his hardness.

"What do ya want me ta do?" he growled without thinking. He had never wanted any woman this badly and it was all he could do to keep himself from ripping her nicely tailored slacks away and having her right here up against the cold metal of the sink.

"I..." Jean seemed unable to continue, her eyes were hazy with pleasure as he pressed her roughly against the lip of the sink. Something about this situation- maybe their position or maybe just her helplessness to stop him if he decided to take her was arousing Jean beyond anything Logan had ever seen. He had actually popped the claws on his right hand to cut her slacks off while his left fist still gripped both her wrists, holding her in place when slowly, some sanity reasserted itself into his brain. Logan wanted in the worst way to take her and yet he knew it was wrong. She might want him now, for whatever reason, but later she would hate him- would hate herself for her indiscretion. And he wanted more than just a quick fuck with this woman- he wanted forever. Abruptly and with a low moan he retracted his claws and staggered away from her, leaving her panting by the sink, her head in her arms with water soaking into her silk shirt.

Little by little, Jean seemed to come back to herself and the lust left her eyes. She shook her head as if to clear it and then looked in his direction. Logan saw pain and shame fill her beautiful eyes and he knew this time he wouldn't get a second chance.

"Darlin', I'm so sorry..." he began but Jean cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Just go, Logan. Please- I can finish by myself."

"But the bandages..."

"I don't care if the damned bandages get wet," she said, her voice thick with tears of embarrassment. "Please Logan- just go. I...I don't want to cry in front of you again."

"I'm sorry Darlin'. I never meant ta hurt you," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion."

"I know," she whispered but he was already gone, leaving her cold and shivering in the wet silk blouse, water running forgotten in the sink to cry her heart out.

-----

Logan left. It was the only thing he could do, he reasoned. He wanted some time and space between them to think- to clear his head of her confusing, tantalizing scent. He took his bike and went where the road took him. He slept in whatever seedy, fleabag hotel he happened to come to or on the ground by the side of the road if none was near. He was on the run again and he thought that maybe this time he might just keep running.

But his longing for Jean drew him back. He knew he shouldn't return- for some reason event though she wanted him as desperately as he wanted her she refused to admit it. And maybe she never would. It was a bad situation and Logan didn't kid himself that it would get any better. He also didn't kid himself about the reality of what had almost happened in the kitchen while he was washing her hair- he had nearly raped her. Would have if he hadn't found that one last scrap of self-control in the back of his mind that saved him at the last minute. Next time that scrap might not be there and he might do the unthinkable.

Still, despite everything he thought or told himself he just couldn't stay away. Logan decided he would go back and try to talk to Jean- really talk to her and lay it on the line. He had tried waiting for her to come to him and it just wasn't happening. It was time to try the direct approach and confront her. That way if he lost her forever at least he could tell himself that he tried.

It was the hardest thing he'd ever done but Logan turned toward home.

-----

Logan knocked tentatively at the door to Jean's room, a gold box in one hand and uncertainty written large on his face. It had been two months since he'd gone away, leaving Jean to her own devices and he wasn't sure she'd be all that eager to see him again after what had happened last time they had been together. He knocked again, a little louder this time.

"Coming..." he heard Jean say. "Storm is that y..." she broke off abruptly when she saw Logan standing in the doorway with an uncertain look on his face.

"Logan?" she said, blankly, as if uncertain whether she should believe her own eyes. She was dressed in a deep green silk robe that fell to a little past her knees and not much else as far as Logan could see. Her hair was styled differently but still long and beautiful- it looked like the banked embers of a fire in the shadow filled hallway. The coloring of the robe made her skin look creamy and touchable and Logan suppressed a sudden urge to reach out and stroke her exposed neck.

"Logan? What...what are you doing here?" she faltered, still standing in the doorway and clutching the neck of the robe closed with one slender hand.

"Came to talk to ya, Jean," he said seriously. "If you'll let me, that is. Came to apologize too."

"I...I don't know..." she said, shrinking back a little. Logan cursed mentally to himself. Damnit- he must have scared her so badly last time that she no longer trusted him.

"Please Jeanie, just give me one more chance. I promise I would never hurt you- Look, I stopped off at Godiva and got your favorite on the way here as a peace offering. You wouldn't want all these luscious chocolate dipped strawberries to melt, now would ya?"

"Well..." Jean gave him a tentative smile, for him or for the strawberries he couldn't tell. "That was very sweet of you, Logan. How did you know chocolate dipped strawberries from Godiva were my favorite?" she asked shyly, opening the door perhaps a little wider.

"Storm told me a long time ago. But she didn't say if you liked milk, white or dark chocolate so I got an assortment." Logan waved the little gold box in front of her nose enticingly and did his best to appear completely harmless- not something that was easy for him.

"Well..." He could see Jean wavering for an instant and then she appeared to give in. "Alright, you can come in, Logan. But just to talk- promise?"

"Just talking- that's all," Logan promised. Jean opened the door of her room and he went inside.

Once inside Logan noticed there was a fire burning in the small fireplace and all the lights were dimmed. Most of the room was in shadows and a thick book and a cup of tea were laid on the side table beside the little tan love seat; Jean had obviously been winding down for the night and getting ready to go to bed.

"Hope I'm not keepin' ya up too late here, Darlin'," Logan said hesitantly, looking at the quiet scene before him. " I just got back in and, well, I had to talk to ya."

"I didn't think you'd ever come back," Jean said softly, seating herself on the love seat and looking up at him with a sad expression on her beautiful face.

"Tried to stay away. Couldn't," Logan said shortly, sitting down awkwardly beside her and trying not to look at her silky skin, painted rose and peach in the glow of the dying fire. "Couldn't get you out of my mind, Darlin'." Jean blushed and said nothing, looking away from him. Logan nearly swore- this was going badly.

"Here," he said, shoving the box of strawberries at her. "Have some."

Jean untied the satin ribbon and opened the little gold box to peer at it's contents.

"So which kind of chocolate do ya like best?" Logan asked, watching her deliberate before choosing a berry.

"Dark. Definitely dark chocolate," Jean replied, picking up a plump and juicy berry with it's rich coating and taking a small, appreciative bite. "Mmmmmm..." she purred softly as the chocolate melted on her tongue and her scent began to rise to Logan. God, he had missed that wild, fresh aroma so much.

"Have one, Logan. I can't possibly eat these all myself," Jean pushed the box back into his hands and Logan picked a berry at random, not noticing which type of chocolate coated it. He bit into it and realized after a moment that it was milk chocolate and pretty good.

"Mmm. This is pretty damn good, Darlin'. I've never been much of a chocolate fan but this stuff could change my mind." Logan popped the rest of the berry into his mouth chewing appreciatively and savoring the taste.

"There's nothing like Godiva," Jean agreed, taking another small bite of her own berry- making it last. Logan reflected that this small talk was getting them nowhere fast. He decided to cut right to the point.

"Look Darlin', much as I love sittin' here eatin' chocolate covered strawberries this isn't exactly what I came for. We need to talk, alright?"

Jean looked upset but nodded her head slowly. Logan cleared his throat.

"First of all I just want to say...to tell ya how sorry I am about last time..." he couldn't think of a good way to put it. "Last time we were together," he finished lamely. "What I did was completely wrong and though I don't in any way deserve it I wish you'd forgive me."

Jean frowned a little a shook her head.

"No, Logan. It's you that needs to forgive me- if you will. I...I'm pretty sure I started it."

"Yeah but I almost finished it," Logan said darkly and he saw Jean blush and her scent became warm. God, but her scent drove him crazy!

"Well then if we agree to share the blame and forgive each other then we can just go back to being friends and forget all about it." She said in a falsely cheerful voice.

"No. I don't want to forget all about it. Jeanie- there's somethin' between us and we can't ignore it anymore." Logan felt anger and frustration welling up inside him- how could Jean sit there looking so beautiful and smelling so hot and deny her emotions for him?

Jean nervously ate the rest of her strawberry, swallowing without seeming to taste it at all.

"Logan, that's silly. We're just good friends. Why don't you just relax and have another strawberry? Try a dark chocolate one this time."

"Don't mind if I do." Logan reached out but instead of taking the box of strawberries she was offering, he took her hand instead, the fingers of which still held traces of dark chocolate from the berry she had been eating.

"What...?" Jean started to say but then Logan lifted her hand to his mouth and began very slowly to lick the chocolate from her fingertips. He tasted the chocolate, sweet and slightly bitter but underneath he tasted the salty tang of her skin, the honey-jasmine-vanilla-musk flavor that was at once and entirely Jean.

"Logan, don't." Jean's voice was unsteady and he noticed that while she verbally protested, she made no move to draw her hand away from his warm mouth.

"God, Darlin', you taste delicious," he told her, his voice deep with desire for her and he felt her shiver convulsively as he drew her small index finger entirely into his mouth.

"Logan, please...you don't know what that does to me," Jean whispered, her voice trembling with desperation and her scent getting hotter by the minute.

"Yes I do, Darlin'- it's doin' exactly what I intend for it to do," he answered, releasing her hands and pulling her into his arms to taste her mouth instead.

At first Jean struggled against him but Logan was having none of it. He intended to kiss her and he damn well was going to do it. He pulled Jean tightly against him, feeling her soft, naked skin under the silky material of her robe. When his mouth found hers she at last stopped fighting him and allowed herself to be kissed. Logan thought her mouth tasted of fresh strawberry and dark chocolate and that delicious other taste that was just Jean. Her full lips parted under his with little urging and then he was loosing himself in her, tasting the inside of her mouth, wet and warm and willing and running his large hands over her smooth back and the silky fall of her hair. Jean was panting against him and her scent was high in the air, urging him to go on and take her but Logan somehow controlled himself and pulled back while he still could.

Logan took his mouth from Jean's and sat back at his end of the couch, leaving her to look at him with hungry, dazed eyes.

"We're not just friends, Jeanie," he told her sternly. "Or at least we can't be anymore. I need more than that from you and you need it too. Don't try to lie to me and say you don't, Darlin'. My nose don't lie- I can smell yer heat every time I walk into a room with you. You want me the way I want you. Don't try to deny it."

"Alright, Logan. I won't deny it," Jean said softly. "You know I want you so there's no use trying to pretend I don't. But just because I want you the way you want me doesn't mean we can just...give in to our wants."

"But why not, Darlin?" Logan asked as reasonably as he could. "Jeanie, you must know it's more than just physical for me. You know I want more than just a quick tumble with you, Darlin'. I love you Jean, to tell the truth, I think I've loved you almost from the first minute I set eyes on you and smelled your beautiful scent. It's never been just about sex for me, although God knows I want you bad enough. It's more or at least, I want a lot more than that with you." He looked earnestly into her eyes while he said it and was startled and disturbed to see Jean's own eyes fill up with tears when he finished his speech.

"I know what you're saying is true, Logan. And...and I feel the same way. But it's just not possible- I can't. I just can't."

"Jeanie, why?" he asked her, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her protectively as she wept quietly. "Why can't you let yourself go? Remember I told you once I'd never let you fall- trust me- tell me what it is. Is it Scott?"

Jean waved her hand in negation and attempted to stop crying long enough to talk.

"No, that is- not directly. He's out of the picture for good Logan. It's just that some of the things he said..."

"I know he hurt you, Darlin'. But I swear I'd never treat you like that."

"I know, Logan. It's just that, well, I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what, Red?" he asked her.

"Afraid that if we did let ourselves get involved I'd...scare you off the same way I did Scott."

"Now what makes you think yer gonna scare me off?" he asked her, smiling playfully. "Nothing you could say or do would make me stop lovin' you, hell, stop needin' you Jeanie."

"You say that now but you'd be disgusted if you knew the truth about me," Jean returned, in a low voice. Slowly she pulled away from him and moved back to her side of the loveseat. Wrapping her arms around herself she sat very still and looked pensively into the flicker of the dying fire.

"What? I doubt that, Darlin'. Doubt it very seriously. What kinda dark secrets do you have anyway? Are ya some kinda mass murderer? Been hidin' tha bodies of yer victims out by the tennis courts for years or somethin'?"

"Logan, please don't make light of this. It's not funny to me."

"Sorry Darlin' but just spit it out, will ya? I can't think of anything that would make me disgusted with you."

Jean turned her head away from him and sighed.

"I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll hate me and then I'll lose your friendship too."

"Red, look at me." Logan took her chin in his hand and gently but firmly turned her to face him. "Nothing you could say or do would make me stop lovin' you. And you'll never lose my friendship either- I promise you that Darlin'. Now will you please just tell me what the problem is so we can clear all this up?"

"I..." Jean seemed to be struggling to get the words out and though Logan still held her chin she dropped her eyes, refusing to look at him while she spoke.

"I have...unnatural desires," she whispered at last. "They turned Scott off and I'm afraid they'll make you hate me too."

Logan let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Now they were getting somewhere, although where exactly he wasn't sure.

"What kind of 'unnatural desires', Darlin'?" he asked gently, trying to catch her eyes again. But he thought he could guess, at least a little.

"It's...too hard to talk about, Logan. Please don't make me..." Jean begged, her eyes threatening to overflow with tears again. Logan saw that this was too hard for her and he had a sudden idea.

"Here, Darlin'," he said in a low, soothing voice. "If it's too hard for you to talk about maybe I can guess." Taking Jean's hips in both hands, he turned her until her back was to him and pulled her up against his body until her soft, silk-covered ass was pressed hard against his crotch as he knelt on the couch behind her. He felt Jean stiffen against him as she realized what he was doing but she made no move to stop him. Almost at once her scent jumped several notches and she began to breath more heavily.

"Is this what you wanted, Darlin?" Logan whispered low and rough into her ear as he slowly ground his hardness into her sensitive flesh. "You wanted to be taken like this- from behind?" He placed a hot, open-mouthed kiss on the sensitive side of her neck and saw her shiver and she moaned a little, in the back of her throat. It was a small, unwilling sound as though Jean didn't want to be turned on by his gestures but couldn't help it.

"Scott said...said it was unnatural- bestial. Doing it like an animal, he called it. He said it was wrong and sick and that I was sick for wanting it," Jean gasped. Logan's hands had found her sensitive breasts now and he was cupping them with only the thin layer of the silk robe between them. Slowly he began to brush his callused fingertips over her hardened nipples.

"Nothin' wrong with lettin' the animal out once in a while, Darlin'," Logan told her, still caressing her body and kissing her neck as he talked. "I enjoy this position quite a lot, myself. It's good for when ya wanta be down and dirty. For when ya just want ta fuck." His words and the motion of his hands on her body seemed to have the desired effect on Jean. She moaned and leaned back into his hands wantonly offering her body to his touch. Suddenly, Logan stopped his caresses and, standing up, he lifted Jean into his arms.

"What... where?" she asked, hazily as he swung her around.

"I'm takin' ya to the bed, Darlin'," Logan told her. "There ain't exactly enough room to do this properly on the couch."

"Alright," Jean whispered as he deposited her on the bed gently.

"On yer hands and knees now, Red," he instructed her as he peeled off his t-shirt and shed his jeans and boots before climbing onto the bed with her.

"I...what are you going to do to me, Logan?" Jean asked, as she had that night at the kitchen sink. She turned her head to look at him and her eyes widened at the size of his cock, thick and throbbing, swollen with desire for her as it swayed in front of his body.

"What do ya want me to do?" Logan challenged her, as he had before. "Go on, Darlin'. Don't be afraid ta ask for what ya want," he urged her gently, his voice a low growl. He crouched behind her, holding his cock in one hand and raised the silk robe up to reveal her naked ass and wet sex as he talked.

"I...I want you to take me, Logan, To...to fuck me," Jean whispered, her face crimson with shame and need. She shivered as she felt the cool air hit her naked flesh and shivered again as she felt Logan's warm hand begin to caress her ass.

"Don't be ashamed of what you want, Darlin'," Logan told her. His large, blunt fingertips roamed down from her ass to explore the soft v between her legs and Jean gave a little cry as he caressed her wet sex and then slipped one thick finger inside her.

"There's nothin' unnatural about needin' ta be fucked," he told her as he gently stroked inside her, still using just one finger to make her moan. God, he loved that sound and the hot scent that went with it. Logan withdrew his finger and sucked it into his mouth, tasting Jean's essence and relishing her delicious and intoxicating scent. He had half a mind to flip her over and eat her pussy right then until she came but Jean moaned again and trembled beneath him and he knew she couldn't wait much longer.

"Logan, please... I need it- please!" she all but begged him.

"Alright, Darlin'," he soothed, rubbing her bare ass and reaching down to untie the sash of her robe so that her full breasts hung free in the firelight. "I'm gonna give it to you now. Gonna fuck you, Jeanie and give you what you need. Spread yer legs a little more, Darlin' and give me room ta work." Trembling with desire, Jean did as he asked, spreading her legs as widely as she could and tilting her pelvis towards Logan in mute supplication.

Logan took a moment more to admire her slender body, stretched out in front of him with her soft, rounded ass waving in the air and her wet, open sex inviting him in. Her heavy breasts hung down before her, the ripe nipples inflamed with need and he knew that later he would take the time to thoroughly explore her body with his hands and mouth when her need for penetration wasn't quite so urgent. But for now Jean was moaning softly in an almost distressed way. Logan realized she was waiting in an agony of anticipation and he caressed her back and ass once more before fitting the head of his cock to the entrance of her sex.

Jean jumped and quivered like a nervous horse beneath him as she felt the large, mushroom-shaped head rub against her soft, defenseless sex. Logan sensed her nervousness and stopped for a minute to whisper in her ear.

"Not gonna hurt you, Darlin'," he told her softly. "Just gonna fuck you. I'll be gentle at first and then you can let me know if you need me ta fuck you harder, OK?'

"OK, Logan," she panted. "But will you, I mean, will it...fit?" Logan understood that she was worried about his considerable size and he rubbed her back soothingly once more as he nudged the head into her tight, almost virginal entrance.

"Don't worry, Red," he told her, gritting his teeth with the need to hold off. "You're plenty wet enough to take me. But if you want, we can do it another way. You can be on top and that way you can control how deep I go inside you..."

"No...no," Jean gasped, pressing back against him so that a little more of the head of his cock slipped inside her tight wetness. "I...need you to take me this way, Logan. And I need you deep inside me- as deep as you can get- please." She was nearly sobbing with frustrated desire and Logan realized that she needed this badly and needed it now.

"Alright, Darlin' but let me know if I'm hurtin' you and I'll ease off some," he told her.

"I don't care if you hurt me- just fuck me!" Jean moaned. Logan couldn't wait anymore and he knew she couldn't either. Grasping her hips with both hands he began to push his thick cock into Jean's slippery sex inch by agonizing inch. She cried out and tilted her pelvis further towards him, trying to give him a better angle for penetration as he worked to get into her tightness.

"God, Logan, don't stop!" she moaned as he worked his way inside her, spreading her sex open around his thick shaft. "Put it all the way inside me- deep. I need you deeper inside me."

"I'm getting' there Darlin', it's just that you're so tight," Logan growled as he pressed deeper into her. At last he felt the head of his cock bottom out in her tight sex. Jean moaned as he pressed against the mouth of her womb, as deeply inside her as he could possibly be. She had never felt so full- so open before but although the sensation was frightening it felt unspeakably pleasurable too.

"That feel alright, Darlin'?" Logan asked her, trying not to move any further until he was sure he wasn't hurting her. It was hard to hold still, her sex was like a velvet glove around his shaft squeezing him from all directions.

"Feels so good. Don't stop, Logan. Please!" Jeans moans urged him on and Logan got ready to give her what she truly needed.

"Gonna fuck you now, Darlin'," he told her. "Gonna ride your sweet little pussy hard. Is that what you want?"

"Yes- God, yes!" Jean was moving against him now, thrusting her hips back to impale herself further on his shaft and Logan knew he could give her what she was begging for without hurting her. He grabbed Jean's hips more firmly and held her still so that he could work. Pulling out a little he thrust back in and then began to establish a deep, deliberate rhythm inside her designed to drive her wild. Jean cried out and thrashed beneath him as he rocked inside her body, spreading the wet lips of her sex with every thrust and bumping the mouth of her womb with the head of his cock on every deep stroke.

"Oh, God! Oh, Logan! Fuck me! Fuck me deep!" Jean was crying and begging beneath him and Logan loved to hear her moans and gasps as he gave her what she so desperately needed almost as much as he loved watching his shaft enter her body, slick with her desire for him. He never would have guessed she could be so vocal but he realized that he was fulfilling a fantasy she'd had for a long time simply by taking her in this position. It was a fantasy of his own as well, to have Jean in any position, to feel her wet tightness gripping his cock and hear her voice calling his name and begging him to fuck her harder- fuck her deeper.

Jean seemed close to the edge but Logan still hadn't felt the clenching of her muscles around his shaft that would tell him when she came. Still grinding into her as deeply as he could from behind, Logan reached around and twisted her nipples with both hands. Jean cried out with surprised pleasure but it wasn't until he reached under her and began to rub his fingertips over her hot little clit that she finally began to come.

"Oh, Logan! Oh, that's so good...don't stop! Don't stop!" Jean was crying now, arching her back as the pleasure spiking through her sharply as Logan skewered her on his thick cock, spreading her open and fucking as deeply into her as he could. He could feel the need building inside his balls and he instinctively held her hips harder so that he could bury his cock inside her body at the moment when he came.

"Gonna cum inside you, Red," he groaned, pulling her back onto his shaft. "Gonna fill you up with my cum. That what you want, Darlin'?"

"Yes, fuck me. Fill me up!" Jean cried, still pushing back against him in an effort to get him deeper inside herself.

"Here it comes, Red...Oh God, Jeanie! I love you so much- need you so much, Darlin'!" The words were ripped from him as Logan felt himself pulse into her, filling her tight little sex as full of his seed as he could. This was what they had both wanted- both needed for months. His cock buried inside her filling her up...He groaned as he finished and then, rather than collapsing onto her back he used his firm hold on her hips to roll them both over on their sides with his cock still buried deep inside her body.

"Oh..." Jean was panting with exertion and emotion. "Oh, God, Logan. That was incredible..."

"Glad ya like it, Darlin'. It was a long time comin' but I think it was worth the wait."

"It certainly was. I've been... been wanting you so badly for so long now, Logan. It was such a relief when you finally just...took me."

"I took ya and I'm never lettin' ya go," Logan told her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her neck possessively and Jean sighed happily. After a moment though she stirred in his arms and seemed about to say something.

"Yes, Darlin'?" Logan sensed her hesitancy but he wanted her to feel free to talk to him about anything. Sensing that what she had to say was serious he slowly withdrew from her body. Due to his healing factor he remained hard but the first orgasm had at least taken the edge off. He could hear what Jean had to say now and wait until she was ready to go again. She whimpered a little as she felt him pull out, missing the fullness of having him sheathed in her body.

"Logan, that was wonderful. More than wonderful and I'm grateful you were willing to fulfill my fantasy without, well, without being disgusted." Logan snorted, as if the idea of making love to Jean in any way could disgust him. "But..." she continued, then stopped.

"But?" he prompted her.

"But that's not all. I mean- I didn't tell you everything that I wanted. I mean- the things that Scott thought were really sick- the things that made him leave me." Logan turned her over so that she was lying on her back and he was still propped up on one side so that he could look into her eyes while he talked to her.

"So tell me everything, Red," he urged her quietly. "I think you know by now I'm not gonna be scared off by a little kinkiness." Logan had an idea what she was going to say but he wanted to hear it directly from her, not just guess.

"OK, here goes." Jean blew her breath out in a long sigh. "I have this...recurring fantasy about being tied up to the bed- tied tightly, you know? So that I'm completely helpless. And I know that somewhere in the darkness there's a man- a powerful, frightening, ruthless man and he's coming for me. Coming to do whatever he wants and I won't be able to stop him. I'm naked in the bed and I can't fight him in any way, I can only lay there and let him spread my legs and do whatever he wants..."

"And what does he want?" Logan asked her in a low voice. God but she turned him on. He hadn't though he could get hotter for her but she was making him harder than ever with this little fantasy of hers.

"Different things," Jean said softly. "Sometimes he wants me to suck him and he makes me even though I don't want to. Sometimes he wants to...to taste me. Taste me down there, you know?" Logan nodded and growled deep in his throat as he though again of how much he would enjoy eating her ripe little pussy. "Sometimes..." Jean's voice trailed off for a second but she finally resumed. "Sometimes he just wants to take me. I won't call it rape- that's sick I guess, to want that- but it's close, very close. He gives me no choice, just does what he wants and makes me scream and beg him for more until he's done." Jean shivered against him and Logan knew she was through.

"So this fantasy really gets ya off, huh Darlin'?" he asked, gruffly, running a hand through her lush red hair and trailing his fingers down her back until she shivered.

"God, yes," Jean admitted. "I..." she turned her face away from him as much as she was able so that he couldn't see her eyes. "I come so hard when I fantasize about that," she admitted, her face blushing crimson with shame.

"So you told Cyke about yer little fantasy and that was why he broke up with you?" Logan asked her quietly. Jean nodded against his chest, still not meeting his eyes.

"He said how sick could I be that I'd actually fantasize about being taken by force- being raped," Jean whispered. "I tried to explain that I didn't really want to be raped. I only wanted to pretend but he said it was the same thing. That I was sick. I had approached him at other times about trying other things- other positions like...like we just did. He never wanted to talk about it much and he wasn't very interested but I didn't know he felt so strongly about it until we broke up. He said my fantasy was the straw that broke the camel's back and when he left he let me...let me read him to see he was serious. And Logan, his mind was so dark- so full of...of loathing for me and the things I had asked him to do. It made me feel like I must be a sick and twisted person- a real pervert for wanting those things. And all these months I've been wanting you so badly, wanting to let you into my life and heart and bed but I was so afraid you'd feel the same way Scott did when he heard my fantasy. You don't, do you?" She looked up anxiously at him and Logan caught her chin and kissed her deeply before replying.

"Course not, Darlin'," he told her gently. "There's nothing sick or twisted about you and as for fantasies, I've heard much stranger ones than that. Lots of women want it a little rough sometimes, there's noting wrong with that."

"Honestly?" Jean's voice was hopeful but still a little unbelieving.

"Honestly, Darlin'. You know, you're a telepath and I'm surprised ya haven't looked in other people's minds to find out about this before. I'm pretty sure most people who weren't self-righteous prudes like Scott would think that was a pretty tame fantasy compared to some."

"It doesn't' work quite like that," Jean explained. "When you're a telepath, you spend most of your time shielding, trying to keep other people's thoughts out so you don't go crazy. I'm very good at shielding- it was the first thing Xavier taught me. Only...some people are easier to shield out than others." She turned over a little so she was lying on her side facing Logan.

"You know, almost from the first time I met you I've had trouble shielding my mind from your thoughts. They're so strong- so direct. I kept having these flashes from you- how you felt about me- how you wanted me. I knew you weren't doing it on purpose but still...I couldn't help getting turned on knowing how you felt. And the longer we were in a room together, the more you thought about it and the hotter I got," she confessed.

Logan laughed. "Funny you should say that, Red. See, I think we were creating our own little emotional loop. Because whenever I was near you I couldn't help smelling how hot you were getting and the longer I stayed in a room with you the hotter you got and the more I wanted you. No wonder it's been so hard for us to keep our hands off each other."

Jean wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into the thick mat of hair at his chest. "I'm so glad we gave in to temptation," she sighed happily. "And I'm so glad to know I'm not some kind of a degenerate pervert sex fiend."

Logan snorted. "No, that'd be me, Darlin'," he told her with a smile. "I might even be sick enough to tie you up to the bed and have my way with you some night soon." Jean shivered with anticipation at his words.

"Oh, Logan. Would you really? You wouldn't mind acting out my fantasy with me?"

"Hell no, Darlin'. It would be my pleasure. But right now, since I haven't got any rope handy, I'll have ta make do with what I've got." He rolled her over and straddled her naked body, grasping both her hands and pinning her wrists above her head forcefully. Spreading her legs with one knee he whispered, "Is this how you like it, Jeanie? Want me to make you beg for it until I fuck you again?"

"Oh, God, Logan..." she moaned, instantly aroused by his grip on her arms and the thickness she felt nudging between her legs. "Yes, please..."

Fin