"You wanna do the honors, darlin'?" Logan gestured to the doors and saw Jean nod once before his enhanced senses picked up the sound of the bolt sliding home. He grinned wickedly and took a single menacing step forward, his body taut and primed for combat.
Jean held up her hand for him to stop and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you mind?" She pointed to the silent stereo. "This room isn't soundproof."
He nodded. "The louder the better, Red." She had a point. It was a good idea to use the music to drown out any sounds they might make. Loud music wouldn't draw attention like shouts of rage or the distinctive thud of flesh impacting flesh. Logan knew instinctively that once they started this, there would be no stopping it. Interruptions could be... dangerous. He had absolutely no intention of stopping until one of them had forced the other into submission.
Logan watched with interest as the compact machine attached to Jean's discarded headphones snapped open and the small silver disc inside rose effortlessly into the air. She shot him a naughty smile. That was all the warning he got. The hovering sliver of silver shot across the room directly towards him. Logan fought the urge to duck and instead crossed his arms over his chest resolutely. He'd bled before. If she cut him with it, so what? He'd heal. Make no mistake, it would sting like a bitch, but he'd be damned if he'd give her the satisfaction of watching him flinch.
Her bluff called, Jean smirked and shot him a cheeky wink as she slowed the rocketing disc - marginally - and allowed it to graze high up on the inside of his left thigh as it passed between his legs on its way to the stereo. A few seconds later, the overwhelming sound of gritty, angry rock and roll filled the room. He could almost feel the beat pulsing against his sweaty, heated skin.
Logan deliberately caught her eye before he slid one powerful hand between his legs and rubbed his long, blunt fingers over the exact spot she'd brushed with the disc. He bared his teeth at her, but the lust burning in his eyes had nothing to do with blood.
"C'mon, darlin'. We both know you'd rather feel this-" he cupped himself roughly, "With somethin' other than a piece of flyin' plastic." He gave the sizable bulge under the exquisite black silk one last stroke for good measure before dropping his hand and slowly advancing on her.
Jean ignored the hot wave of desire she felt as she watched Logan's strong sure fingers slide over that damn black silk. "Good Lord, your arrogance is unbelievable."
"Maybe." He grunted in amusement. "But I still don't hear you disagreein' with me." Logan smirked knowingly as she huffed under her breath in frustration.
Jean grit her teeth. He was right, but that cocky confident attitude of his grated on her, which was in no small part due to the fact she found herself immensely attracted to it. Walking backwards, she rolled her eyes at him. She might want him, but she sure as hell wasn't going to make this easy for him, and she had absolutely no intention of losing this fight.
Her eyes raked his body and she licked her lips appreciatively, ignoring his low growl as she taunted him. "So, is this where you tell me you're the best at what you do?"
His nostrils flared, aware she was talking about more than just fighting. He leered at her and advanced on her again. "No, darlin'. This is where I show ya."
Jean couldn't help the shiver that ran through her body at the heat in his words and at the solid confidence with which he spoke them. She'd always envied that about him. Envied his confidence, envied the way he was so unapologetic about what he liked... and what he wanted. Or rather, who he wanted. She envied the ease with which he gave himself over to the wildness inside of him and she wanted to taste it for herself.
Hell, she wanted more than a simple taste of the wildness that ran in him. She wanted to gorge herself on it, on him. She wanted to throw every rule, every shred of carefully learned etiquette aside and give in to the answering wildness she felt thrumming in her own veins. She reached out with her mind, brushing it against his and she shuddered at the primal animal signature that was uniquely Logan. It was different tonight, more intense, more dangerous. His physical bearing was different too, more masculine, more aggressive than he'd ever been with her before... and for Logan, that was saying a lot.
Suddenly she understood what had changed. Human intelligence sparkled in his dark eyes and it was clear the man in him was still in control, but she was very aware that the Wolverine was no longer muzzled. Jean felt a hot stick of fear. She knew what he could do, had seen what he was capable of... and for the first time, the Wolverine wasn't on her side. She'd faced Logan lots of times in training, but he was always in control. The stern teacher. The knowledgeable mercenary. The wise sensei. He was a lot of things, but he was never this-- this animal. A wild thing, dangerously aroused, bent on one thing and one thing alone.
Total, utter dominance.
And he'd never ever looked at her like that. Hell, nobody had ever looked at her like that. Like she was a plate of ribs and he was the carnivore intent of sucking every single bone clean. Like he wanted to feast on her until he'd devoured every last bite and then lick his fingers with relish afterwards. His eyes burned with a predatory light and he stared hotly at her with dark intensity, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
Her brows drew together as conflicting emotions warred within her. Her blood sang in her veins, rushing fierce and hot with the desire to fight him. The Phoenix clawed at her insides, demanding she engage the animal she saw looking out of Logan's glittering eyes and sensed prowling along the edge of his consciousness. He was the only one here who was a true challenge. The only one the beast inside her recognized as an equal. The desire to try to force him to submit, to make him acknowledge her dominance, was so strong she could almost taste it.
At the same time, another part of her responded to his overwhelming masculinity in an entirely different way. Female responded to male instinctively, and on the most base level, she wanted nothing more than for him to be powerful enough to claim her. To cover her slender body with his larger, heavier one and make her his. To be strong enough to beat her at her own game so she could give in to the cloying heat between them without regret, secure in the knowledge he'd won the right to take her as he pleased.
That knowledge was distinctly unsettling. Her eyes narrowed. Well, nature could take a flying fuck. Jean had no intention of going down without a fight - or of acknowledging his dominance... Unless, of course, he could prove to her he'd earned it by putting her in her place. Jean ignored the sharp spike of arousal that niggling little thought caused and snorted inwardly. He was more than welcome to try.
She circled him warily. Watching. Waiting. He knew from experience she rarely made the first move. She would, on occasion, attack first physically, but she rarely used her 'gifts' offensively and then only after she'd failed physically to repel an attack. Logan hoped to change that tonight... among other things. Dropping into a fighting crouch, he bared his teeth and growled at her.
She raised an appreciative eyebrow. "You really are an animal, aren't you." It was an observation, not a question.
"What'd I tell you, darlin'? Like recognizes like." He chuckled darkly and stalked closer.
"So you keep telling me." She danced within reach and retreated playfully before she bared her teeth and gave him a mocking growl of her own.
In the blink of an eye, his entire demeanor changed. He licked his lips suggestively and pinned her with an intense stare. "Enough playin'."
He struck first, a swift clean blow she easily blocked, as he'd intended. Once engaged, they began trading blows in earnest, each of them blocking as many as they connected. Both of them were aware the real fight hadn't yet started. They were still teasing, still feeling each other out, still having a little fun before things got ugly... and they both knew it would.
Like any seasoned fighter, Logan knew waging an effective mental battle was just as important, if not more so, than landing enough physical blows to fell the opponent, and he knew just what buttons to press to get to Jean. Oh, she'd been in plenty of fights, but never one in which the attack was not only personal, but sexual in nature.
She was far too comfortable, too firm in her belief that she could anticipate anything he might do simply because they'd sparred before, and because she'd seen him fight at her side in battle. Time to change that misconception. He adjusted his body so the next time flesh met flesh, his hands lingered in a way that was something more than a failed hold, but yet something not quite a sexual overture.
It had the desired results.
He could see the look of confusion on her face as she stiffened and whirled away. He let her go, purposefully trying to keep her mentally off balance. The next time they clashed, his touch was far less ambiguous. He moved in close, forcing her to acknowledge his physical presence. He knew in close quarters he was intimidating, especially to women, and he used it to his advantage now. He also knew at this range, she'd be able to feel the heat of his skin, smell his warm musky scent as well as register the bulge pressed firmly to her hip as she struggled against him.
It felt strange fighting with an erection - a first for Logan - but he wasn't surprised by his body's reaction. The true fight hadn't yet started, and this 'playing' with Jean was more or less equivalent to the sexual roughhousing that was a prelude to the harder, grittier sex he sometimes enjoyed. He'd always liked sex with a rough, raw edge to it. Foreplay and fighting. That's what this was. Definitely rougher than usual as he wasn't in the habit of striking his bedmates, but then again, he'd never fought like this with someone he was attracted to before.
It had never been quite like this, though. The Wolverine had never been this close to the surface when he was so intensely aroused. Mixing sexual arousal with violence was incredibly dangerous where the Wolverine was concerned. So much so, he avoided mixing the two at all costs - until tonight, that is. The man in him could clearly negotiate the fine line between rough sex and actual violence. In truth, it was a line he particularly enjoyed walking, but the Wolverine was hardly as discerning. For him there was no line, there was only a blur. Logan knew he was playing with fire, not only because he liked what he and Jean were doing, but because he had no experience controlling the Wolverine in a situation that was charged just as heavily with sex as it was with violence.
He let her struggle against him a moment more before he allowed her to break his hold. He grinned at her sharp intake of breath as she realized he had absolutely no qualms about attacking her in an obviously sexual manner. At first, Jean was a little surprised. He might be gruff and crude on occasion, but she'd never figured him as someone who got off on attacking women sexually. She grimaced when she became aware he was not only escalating what she'd started with the disc earlier, but that she'd enjoyed that sexually charged assault on him as much as he was clearly finding pleasure in pushing her now.
Her eyes narrowed and she grinned wickedly as she decided to return the favor the next time his body was within her reach. He wasn't the only one capable of waging an effective mental war. She was taken completely by surprise when the next time her body came within his reach, he caught her in his powerful grip and threw her to the mat, following her down so he could pin her under his formidable weight.
It was a dangerous move for both of them. He didn't know how she'd react to such an overtly sexual attack and he wasn't at all sure if he'd be able to control the Wolverine's instinctive drive to claim the female he wanted, given their respective positions and the sexual heat smoldering between them. This little game was quickly getting out of control. Lingering touches with the sole purpose of provoking her were one thing. Pinning a combative, aroused female under him was quite another.
She thrashed under his considerable weight and he felt her sweat slicked skin slide hotly against his. Unnnh, fuck. His eyes squeezed shut and shuddered hard. He liked this too much. The Wolverine snarled in agreement.
He growled roughly against her ear as she tried to free herself from his iron grip. It felt good - on more levels than he would have liked. {That's it, darlin'. That's it. Fight me.} Even as his words rasped into her mind, he fought against his own violent, primal nature as he felt her bucking under him. She might be fighting him tooth and nail, but scents didn't lie. She wanted him. He could smell it on her and the tighter he held her, the thicker the scent grew, until he was dizzy with it.
Jean struggled wildly under him until she realized she was only inflaming him further. She felt raw, naked desire spike within him as the Wolverine fought to take control from the man. She could sense the shift in him. He wasn't playing anymore. He caught her hands and held them immobile above her head. Jean could feel the thick solid length of his erection grinding against her flat belly as he fought to get between her legs. He forced himself between her thighs and settled his substantial bulk squarely against her groin.
For a moment, she was overwhelmed by a hot wave of fear until she realized just how much power this position afforded her. Suddenly she understood that for Logan, this wasn't about sexual gratification, it was simply about provoking a desired response from his opponent. If it had been just about sex, he'd have had them both naked by now. He might be hanging on to his control by a thin frayed thread, but it was clear to her that he was in control. The Wolverine wouldn't be nearly so restrained. She licked her full red lips and met his eyes. This was going to be fun.
{Enjoying yourself?} She purred the words into his mind.
He could feel her arousal buzzing through their shared link and he could feel a touch of fear as well, but even more prominent was the heady sense of power bleeding from her mind to his. It only excited him more. He grinned down at her supine form and grunted.
{You tell me, darlin'.} He knew she could feel his intense arousal - both physically and mentally. Between their sweaty bodies, his full heavy flesh throbbed and each time it did, he could feel the silk between them grow a little more damp. Fuck, he wanted her. He knew she could feel the moist telltale circle through the thin silk, just as he knew she was aware it had nothing to do with sweat and everything to do with want.
{That was a mistake.} Her cocky mental laughter accompanied the dry words.
He raised an eyebrow at her. {That so?}
She quoted one of the rules he'd taught her in training back at him. {Never show the enemy your weak spot.}
He caught her gaze and chuckled. {It's only a weak spot if you can't defend it, darlin'.} His words were low, tinged with amusement and male indulgence.
{Wanna bet?}
Without warning, she circled her hips under his, intensifying the exquisite pressure on the sensitive underside of his erection as she trapped it between her pubic bone and the taut muscles of his stomach. His breath hissed through his clenched teeth as she tortured his aching flesh with tight hard circles of her hips. The pleasure he felt at the erotically agonizing friction was intensified as she pressed her open mouth to his neck and ran her tongue up his throat to that shivery spot just behind his ear. Distracted for a brief moment by the pleasure spiking between his legs, he was taken by surprise when she grabbed his ear in her small even teeth and bit down hard.
{Fuck!}
With a violent jerk of her hips, she unseated him and when he let go of her hands to get a better grip on her, she released her painful hold on his ear and managed to avoid his grasping hands as she quickly scrambled to her feet. He was half a second behind her, growling the whole way up. At least now he wouldn't have to contend with the awkward mechanics of fighting with an erection. The fading pain in his ear and the unexpected nature of her attack had ended that quickly enough.
Adrenaline was flowing hotly within her and he could tell when she licked his blood from her full lower lip, instead of wiping it off with her hand, that she was truly feeling the fight for the first time. She'd gotten a small taste of victory and she wanted more. She wanted to win badly enough to do just about anything. Now was the time to push her. She needed to learn to use her 'gifts' offensively, but more to the point, he wanted to unmask the true Jean. The Wolverine wouldn't settle for anything less.
Not now.
Logan wiped the blood from his already healed ear and nodded to her. {First blood to you, darlin'.}
This time he attacked aggressively, landing blow after blow, trying to push her into responding to him with the violence he knew she was capable of. He could feel it building, burning just under her controlled exterior, but she was still holding back. He hit her again. {You're stronger than this. C'mon. Fight me.} His words roared in her mind.
{I am!} Her chest heaved with the force of her exertions.
He wove under her outstretched arm and landed another heavy blow to her upper back. Air rushed from her lungs and she whirled around, eyes flashing angrily as she sucked in a painful breath. He snarled at her and attacked again. {This is chicken shit, Red.} He grunted as he took a kick to his midsection. {You could be the best fighter we have. You could crush a man's windpipe with a thought, explode his heart in his chest, collapse a goddamn lung if you wanted to.}
Logan ducked as she swung wide and took a swift punch to the jaw when he tried to sweep her legs. {Fuck, Red, you could kill with a thought - or worse - turn 'em on each other before they ever even touched you. Wrap Toad's tongue around Magneto's scrawny neck and squeeze the fuckin' life outta him.} Another solid hit landed, forcing a soft grunt from her lips. {You could be that, but you're not. You're a goddamn liability to the team. Weak. Helpless. Pathetic.} He punctuated each word with a blow designed to hurt, but not do any serious damage. Not yet.
Their mental link was buzzing with her anger. He fed off it, becoming even more violent as he tried to provoke her into using her 'gifts' to attack him. The animal in him was screaming for her - for the real Jean. For a real challenge... not this mockery. He tried a different tactic.
{How many of us haveta fall before you get your shit together, huh?} Her face was red with rage as she struck out at him and missed again. {C'mon, Red, fight me.} This time he aimed a punch at her midsection designed to put her down hard if she didn't use her 'gifts' to deflect it or block it altogether.
His fist connected solidly and she went down gasping. He was already moving, preparing to hit her again. {Get the fuck, up!} He snarled the words in her mind and felt nothing but black rage bleeding back at him. As the dead space formed around her, he had a split second of warning before she focused her power and pushed it outward.
Logan was expecting to be thrown across the room like a rag doll. He was taken completely by surprise when she delivered the mental equivalent of a swift, nasty kick to the balls. He went down just as hard as she had a moment ago. Her mental laughter rang loudly in his head as he cupped his hand protectively around his aching groin and snarled a curse at her. He might have been glad to finally force the response he wanted from her, but nobody kicked him in the balls and got away with it. She was going to pay for that.
Dearly.