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Chapter Eight: Full House
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Logan always hated this part of the professor's weekly meetings. Mission briefings and tactical discussions were one thing, but listening to Charles and Scott discuss the content of the school's curriculum was another thing entirely.
Math is math for fuck's sake. Just teach the little dirt bags what they need to know and move on already.
On the far side of the room, Jean caught Logan's stray thought and hid a smile behind her coffee cup. She could tell Charles had caught it too. He never stopped speaking and his voice inflection never changed, but his mouth quirked slightly at the corner for one overlong moment. After so many years in training with him, Jean knew most of his 'tells'. He'd been as amused by the remark as she had. In all honesty, she felt much the same way Logan did. Her mind lingered on the thought briefly, but quickly turned to other things. Catching stray thoughts was a way of life for a telepath. It was nothing new and certainly nothing to get overly excited about. It hadn't even been juicy. The idea of catching one of Logan's juicier thoughts made her shiver. Jean took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she attempted to return her attention to the discussion.
Logan's eyes moved over the room. All of the alpha team was here in various positions of repose. Charles was behind his teak desk with an earnest expression on his face and a forgotten cup of tea growing cold on its saucer at his elbow. One Eye was in a chair off to the right, leaning forward in deep discussion with Charles. Hank was sitting in a large sturdy chair across from Charles, equally engrossed in the discussion. Slightly less interested was Storm, who was perched gracefully on the window seat. Next to her, Gambit had tipped his chair back on two legs and was staring lazily at the ceiling.
On the far wall, Jean was sitting alone at a small table with a mountain of paperwork beside her and a pen poised over a fresh sheet of paper. She was sitting somewhat stiffly with her glasses perched gracefully on her nose and her hair twisted up prettily. She looked every inch the calm collected doctor, but Logan wasn't fooled. He knew that underneath her carefully cultured exterior she was every bit the animal he was. His eyes traveled down her body. Under that damnable lab coat she had on, she was dressed in red. Red for him. Logan's eyes flicked to Scott.
What a waste.
Scott hadn't even looked her way once. He hadn't let his eyes linger over the amount of leg her skirt revealed. Oh, it wasn't trashy. Logan was all too familiar with that kind of woman. Somehow, it was more exciting than the shortest skirt he'd seen, simply because he had to use his imagination to fill in the rest... and he very much liked the image of despoiling the oh-so-proper Jean Grey. Well, that and she was dangling one shoe off her toes. He could see the sexy arch of her instep and every time she idly bounced her foot, it made the muscles of her legs flex. Logan grit his teeth. God, how he wanted to watch those legs flex around his hips.
The bouncing stopped instantly.
Logan almost laughed aloud. He wasn't completely sure if Red had picked up on his thoughts or not, but it was an interesting coincidence she chose that exact moment to stop that deliciously torturous movement. He knew he hadn't been projecting this time. She'd have had to be listening - intently.
Naughty, naughty, Red.
He smiled inwardly as her heartbeat picked up slightly, giving her away. Yup, she was definitely listening. Logan relaxed a little more into his usual chair in the darkest corner of the room. Not too close, and not too far from the others, with a wall at his back and a clear line of sight to the door. Just the way he liked it. Old habits die hard. His eyes swung back to Jean. She might have stopped bouncing her foot, but she'd left the shoe dangling sexily off her toes. An invitation to play, perhaps? Maybe this meeting wasn't going to be so goddamn boring after all.
Logan understood why they all needed to be here even though not all of them taught classes. This was about more than just school. They were shaping the next generation of fighters. Someday these kids would fight at their side. Who knew what little detail might be important later on? If their combined knowledge and experience could teach these kids something that could make the difference between life and death down the line - well, that was something worth sitting through these meetings for.
Unfortunately, that knowledge didn't alleviate his current boredom. While he agreed with Charles about that aspect of the kids' education, he had limits... and listening to One Eye and Hank debate the finer points of calculus and geometry was simply too much. Not that he couldn't follow the discussion, he simply chose not to. He listened to the conversation with half an ear on the off chance there was something meaningful he might be able to add, but his attention shifted in a much more interesting and far more pleasurable direction.
Jean.
The corner of his mouth turned up when he realized her mind was similarly drifting. While she seemed to be listening intently, he noticed the pen she 'held' in her fingers was actually suspended telekinetically and the point was subtly drilling into the glossy surface of the table. Suddenly aware of his eyes on her, Jean swallowed an embarrassed smile at being caught daydreaming and carefully set the pen flat on the desk. Her thumb absentmindedly worried over the small hole the nib had dug into the lacquered tabletop as a slight blush touched her cheeks.
Jean squirmed a little under Logan's intense gaze. Except for work related issues, they hadn't spoken since the incident in the kitchen three weeks ago. A vivid memory of his powerful, aroused body pressed up intimately against her back flashed through her mind and her body reacted predictably, like it always did. Instinctively, she reinforced her shields. Her desire for Logan wasn't something she wanted to share with Charles.
She felt a tingle of desire begin to build low in her belly and she pressed her legs together, as if that could somehow stop the wet rush of arousal forming between them. Shielding might keep it from Charles, but she knew it was futile to attempt to hide it from Logan. She risked a glance in his direction and could tell by his satisfied smirk he'd caught the subtle shift in her scent. God, how she hated her body for betraying her like that and how she hated the fact that he could not only tell she wanted him but that he always made sure she knew he knew it.
Cocky bastard.
Amusement flitted briefly through Logan's consciousness like the flash of sunlight off a silver lure. Charles paused briefly and glanced at Logan for a long moment before returning to the conversation - no doubt wondering what Logan had found amusing about postulating theorems.
Jean caught the glance and barely held back her laughter. She'd been the recipient of many such looks from Charles over the years as she'd been learning to control her thoughts. She also knew Logan had incredibly strong shields - when he chose to use them. She felt his mind close to Charles but oddly enough not to her. The unspoken invitation was impossible to resist. Her silvery laughter floated through his mind along with a single word. {Busted.}
Logan shifted slightly in the chair and crossed his arms over his wide chest. Jean could feel his mental chuckle. {Considerin' some of the thoughts I have about you, darlin', he's lucky all he caught was a little amusement.}
There was more feminine laughter before the voice in his head grew serious. {Charles is a rock, Logan. I think it would take more than a dirty little fantasy to shake him.}
{And I think that would depend on if he was listenin' to the fantasies the man has 'boutcha or the ones the animal has.} Logan suppressed a grin at her indignant mental gasp. {'Course, the animal doesn't really think. Not like a man. He just wants.} He paused a second. {And, darlin'? The kinda things the animal wants oughta shake anyone, even you.} Hell, they still shook him sometimes.
Logan felt her erotic mental shiver at his words and smiled. {And look again, Jeannie. I know what Chuck did for ya-} He knew Charles had found Jean in an asylum and had taught her to control her own mind before she went mad. {He might be your rock, Red, but Slim there is the real rock. He's the one Chuck's used as the foundation for all this.}
Jean was silent a moment while she considered his words. {If Charles isn't the rock, then who is he?} This conversation had definitely taken an interesting turn.
{That's easy, Red. He's the dreamer.}
Her voice was dry. {And if he's the dreamer, who are we?} She knew Logan was a deep thinker, but he so rarely shared his thoughts with anyone. She found herself fascinated by his view of their group dynamic... and she could sense something deeper in his thoughts, something that compelled her to keep playing this dangerous little game - even though she knew she shouldn't.
Logan managed to keep the smile from his face but a feral light lit his eyes. {You and me? We're the predators, darlin'.} God, he was enjoying this. This mental game of cat and mouse with her was enormously satisfying and this conversation was heading in just the direction he wanted. He wondered if she knew where he was going with this. She probably did. She might play at being innocent, but she was incredibly intelligent. It was part of what made these little games so damn challenging - and so much fun.
Logan could almost hear her mental snort before she recovered her poise. {There's no denying you're one, Logan. I, however, am a doctor.}
{Don't delude yourself, Red. You're every bit the animal I am. The only difference is that I let it out and you keep it hidden.} He was silent a moment, taking pleasure in the build up. God, he loved their games. {You shouldn't do that, darlin'. Denyin' it will only make it that much more hungry when it does get out... and it will eventually, we both know it - but then again, I like seein' you that way, all wild and hungry for it-}
{I am NOT an animal!} His mind bloomed red with the desperate anger in her words. Red, the color of rage, of blood... of passion. Jean was furious and aroused. It was a dangerous, intoxicating mixture. For both of them.
{Like recognizes like, darlin', and I can taste the wildness in you.}
The conversation had shifted from math to history and Storm had joined in. Jean made a few pertinent remarks before her attention turned back to Logan. He could feel both her arousal and her anger buzzing just underneath her consciousness.
It drove her crazy that he thought he knew more about her than she did herself. Hell, he didn't even know who he was. Who was he to tell her anything? {Dammit, Logan. Why does everything with you have to be about control?}
{Maybe it's not. Maybe it's about bein' out of control, Red.}
{Don't push me, Logan. Remember what happened the last time?} She deliberately brought up the incident in the kitchen in hopes anger would cause him to back off a little and give her some much needed mental distance. She should have known better. Unfortunately, her traitorous body reacted to the erotic memory as it always did and she felt his satisfaction seep hotly through his thoughts.
He smirked. {Seems I remember you movin' with me to the rhythm I showed you just fine, darlin'.} Logan paused watching as she put her coffee cup down with the overly precise motions of a person barely hanging on to her anger. He decided to push her a little. What could she possibly do to him here? {Does he ever take you like that? From behind, like an animal?} Logan doubted it. Scott seemed like the kind of man who was much more comfortable making love than fucking wildly. No, he definitely wouldn't like giving up that much control. {I bet he doesn't... and that you wish he would.}
Logan noticed her knuckles were white on the pen. He could tell she just needed one more little push and he knew just what buttons to press. {I know you wish I would.} His dark laughter echoed in her mind. He could feel her anger spike hotly, followed swiftly by a sharp stab of guilt. Oh yeah, she'd definitely thought about it. More than once. He knew he should stop there, but the Wolverine had never been particularly good at restraint, especially where Jean was concerned. She alone had the power to push him too far and, God, he hated her for it but he loved the challenge she presented to him.
He was angry with himself, unwilling to show her she inspired anything more than lust in him. This time when he spoke he was deliberately crude, both because he wanted to shock her and because he was furious that she had the power to make him feel anything at all. {I can smell you from here, Red. I know that between those long beautiful legs of yours, you're wet. Slick. Ready. Desperate for me to fuc-}
The link between them snapped shut abruptly and color bloomed high on her cheeks. Heh. Gotcha, darlin'. Logan's intense arousal was overshadowed by the hot rush of satisfaction he always felt whenever he won one of their little games.
The blush faded from Jean's cheeks and her eyes flashed dangerously. He might have won this particular battle, but he hadn't won the war. Not by a long shot. He thought himself safe. 'What could I possibly do to him here', indeed. The meeting was far from over. She had time. She knew he wouldn't back down, he wouldn't retreat, and he certainly wouldn't be expecting her to take the offensive. A naughty little smile touched her lips. Oh yes, she was going to thoroughly enjoy watching him squirm.
He might be the victor in all things physical, but he should know better than to play mind games with a telepath.