Warm. That was the first thing which registered in his brain. He was somewhere very warm. And soft. He was lying on something soft and there was something very warm and soft pressed against his side. The warm, soft thing smelled flowery. He couldn’t figure out the name of the flower or even how he knew that it was a flower. Only that it was.
The warm soft thing next to him moved suddenly and he tensed., unsure of what was happening.
“You wakin’ up?” the soft warm thing asked. The soft warm thing sounded female, her voice just as soft as her body. Her hand was on the side of his face, stroking it gently.
The tenderness shocked him. He wasn’t used to that. He didn’t know what he was used to, but that wasn’t it. All that he could actively recall was being cold.... Being chased.... Shouts.... Pain.... He began to tremble as the memories flashed though his mind. There was nothing very concrete that he could pull up. Just quick flashes that passed faster than he could follow. He tried to, but his frazzled mind couldn’t grasp ahold of a single one.
Whimpering slightly, he turned his face into the soft, warm female’s hand. He wanted to feel something soft and warm then to chase away all the bad stuff.
The soft warm female shifted and so did the thing he was lying on. For a second he thought that she was going to leave him. For some reason that he couldn’t comprehend, he didn’t want her to go. He hadn’t even seen her yet, but the thought of her going away still unnerved him. He must have whimpered again because she made a series of shushing noises and continued to stroke his hair and face with her gentle fingers. He allowed her touch to comfort him, his entire body relaxing.
“It’s all right. Nothin’ can hurt ya here,” she whispered, her breath warm against his skin. “Yer safe here with me.”
Desperate to see the face of the soft, warm female who was being so kind to him, he forced his tired eyes to open. He wanted to know what she looked like. To see her face and be able to replace it with the angry faces that clouded his thoughts.
The first thing that he saw were her eyes.
They were very round and dark and had the same softness that her body possessed. He could have stared at her eyes forever. He felt so completely safe at that moment. For some reason that he couldn’t comprehend or figure out, he wasn’t scared of her. Her eyes were too soft to be malicious. Her eyes were the only part of her face that he focused on. All that he wanted to focus on. She had a peacefulness and a calmness that he craved.
“It’s nice ta see those beautiful eyes o’ yers,” she whispered, smiling brightly now that she noticed his eyes were open. “Ya had me very worried fer a while there. Ah was beginning t’ think that ya weren’t goin’ t’ wake up.”
“Eeerr aaaeeeeeeaa....”
He could see the concern shining bright in her eyes at his gurgling response. “Ya should prob’ly take it easy. Ya half near froze ta death out there. Mah name’s Marie, by the way. Marie Fraser. You got a name?”
That gave him pause. He furrowed his brows, searching through the mass of confusion that was his mind. It was such a mass of confusion that he could barely pull two thoughts together. There was nothing concrete. Nothing except terrifying images and extreme feelings of pain and fear.
Logan.
That name entered his trail of thought suddenly, catching him completely off guard.
It’s time for us to begin, Logan.. We’ll see you when it’s over....
As the harsh, angry words echoed in his mind, he began to shake once again. His fear, both past and present, confirmed the words that he heard spoken in his mind.
He was Logan.
When he opened his mouth to tell Marie what his name was, all that came out was an unorganized slew of sounds that he knew didn’t resemble words. Trying again, all that his throat was able to produce was a pitiful growl that was more of a whine than anything threatening.
“Messed up yer throat, didn’t they?” Marie suggested, her fingers sliding down to the side of his neck.
Knowing that the only answer he could give that she would understand would be a nod, Logan did just that. He nodded slightly, keeping his face pressed against her palm. He had no clue who “they” were, but he knew that they were the reason he couldn’t speak clearly any more. They were also the ones who had most likely destroyed his memory.
“Do you have any idea who did this to you?” Marie asked, her hand gently massaging his throat.
Logan arched his neck, a loud purr rumbling from deep within his chest. Marie seemed surprised to hear him purring, but didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she smiled at him and continued to run her hand up and down his throat in a soothing motion.
“Ah don’t know ‘bout ya, but Ah could go for somethin’ ta eat,” Marie suggested, removing her hand from his throat to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.
Logan didn’t even pause to consider before nodding his head. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had eaten, but he had a feeling that it would do away with the aching feeling in the pit of his stomach. Marie seemed please to hear him say that. Her smile got even bigger and she quickly sat up.
The sight of her pale, slim back had Logan instantly transfixed. He could see the outline of her muscles as the flexed beneath her almost white skin. There were straps of black cloth that fastened in different places, but Logan was more concerned with the lines of her muscles. He tried to lift a hand to trace the lines with his index finger, but Marie stood up before he could raise his arm from the bed.
“Ah don’t have any clothes that’d fit ya right now. Ah’ll hafta run inta town later t’day,” Marie told him as she pulled a pair of jeans up over her narrow hips. She put a large, black sweater on next, hiding her elegant back from his view. Logan whined when she did that, catching Marie’s attention right away. She spun around quickly, staring at him with wide eyes. “Is somethin’ wrong? Are ya all right?”
Letting his eyes fall shut, Logan nodded his head. The bed shifted under him and he felt Marie’s hand on his cheek again. He smiled slightly at her touch, moaning at the tender caress.
“Careful, sugah. Ya almost froze out there in the snow,” Marie said softly, her eyes full of concern.
“Aaaccckkk uuu,” Logan whined in an attempt to thank her for what she was doing to him.
As though Marie could understand what he had said, Marie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Yer welcome. It’s not like Ah coulda left ya out there in the snow.”
Marie helped Logan to his feet. He felt lightheaded and very unsteady on his feet. Logan kept a firm grip on Marie’s arm as she led him down the stairs. He nearly fell on more than one occasion, but Marie’s hand on his stomach helped to steady him. Logan was surprised she could hold him up with her tiny frame.
By the time they got to the kitchen, Logan could feel his legs beginning to shake from the strain of remaining standing. He felt winded and collapsed gratefully into the chair Marie pulled out for him.
“Ah think Ah shoulda left ya upstairs an’ brought the food up t’ ya,” Marie said as she walked away from the table and towards the other side of the kitchen.
Even though she couldn’t see him, Logan shook his head. He tried to tell her that he wouldn’t have wanted to stay up there by himself, but all that Marie heard was the garbled noises that passed as speech.
“Ya should prob’ly let yer throat rest fer a while. It may help it,” Marie told him as she came back with a tall glass with an orange liquid in it. She set it down in front of him and wrapped his fingers around it, letting him know that it was for him. After his failed attempt to drink it himself, she helped to steady his hand as he brought the glass to his mouth. “Does yer throat hurt when ya swallow?”
Logan shook his head, his eyes never leaving her face. Logan slowly lifted his free hand to her face. The limb felt like it was weighed down by lead, but he was eventually able to raise it high enough to cup the side of her face. He could feel the corners of his lips quirking upward at the feel of her soft skin against his callused palm.
“Y’ know, Ah normally wouldn’t let strangers inta mah house like this. Ah wasn’t raised like this,” Marie told him honestly, covering the hand on her cheek with one of his own. “Course there’s not many people livin’ up here. Ah’m one o’ the few. That means ya were brought up here fer a reason. Ah can only pray that yer not a bad person an’ that yer not gonna hurt me.”
Logan shook his head vehemently, a shocked look on his face. “Never hurt you. Saved me from them,” Logan mouthed, not wanting Marie to be afraid of him.
Marie cocked her head to the side. “Who’s ‘them’?”
It was at that moment that Logan realized he had no clue who “they” were.