Marie was naked. Marie was naked and wet. Marie was naked and wet and in the shower. Not such a strange thing if she were by herself. Granted, it was her second shower that day, but that wasn’t the odd part.
The odd part was that Logan was in the shower with her.
One would think that she would be completely terrified of Logan after seeing what she had seen. He had nine inch metal claws that extended from his knuckles. Plus he was healing a lot faster than he should have which meant only one thing. Logan was a mutant. For some reason, that didn’t make her look at him any different than she had when they had been eating soup in her kitchen.
“Next time ya get all freaked out, d’ ya think ya could not go runnin’ out inta the snow?” Marie murmured as she began to massage her vanilla scented shampoo into Logan’s thick, dark hair. “All ya’ll really accomplish is gettin’ yerself sick.”
Logan nodded, pressing his forehead against her shoulder. Smiling softly, Marie pressed a kiss to Logan’s shoulder and she began to knead the tight muscles at the back of his neck. When she felt him trembling, Marie only held him tighter, her small arms encircling his broad shoulders.
“Just relax, sugah. Everythin’ is all right. Ah’m not goin’ anywhere,” Marie promised him, tilting her body so that she could peer up at his face.
Logan straightened slightly, a ghost of a smile on his face. “Thh-ann... ank... yy...oou.”
Marie grinned at him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Yer more than welcome, sugah.”
“Nn... nooo h-h-haaate?”
Shocked by his words, Marie’s eyes widened. “How could Ah hate ya fer somethin’ that ya had nothin’ ta do with, Logan? Ah hardly doubt that ya’d let anyone stick those pieces o’ metal in yer hands. So no, Ah don’t hate ya, Logan. Not by a long shot.”
The smile that Logan gave her then was so sweet and tender that it nearly broke Marie’s heart. Logan looked like a child at that moment. Completely innocent. Marie couldn’t understand how someone could possibly hurt Logan the way he had been hurt. So what if Logan was a mutant. Just because he was born different didn’t give them any right to hurt Logan so much.
“Ya ready t’ get outta the shower now, sugah?” Marie asked as she tilted Logan’s head back to wash the shampoo from his hair.
Logan shook his head slightly. “Stt-staa-ayy.”
“Ya wanna stay in here? No problem, sugah. We can stay in here long as ya want,” Marie assured him. “Ah’m in no rush. Though Ah should warn ya that the water heater might not hold out much longer.”
Logan didn’t seem to care much about that. He simply held her, pressing her slender body as close to his as possible. He was like a big, cuddly cat. It didn’t half surprise Marie when he began purring a short while later.
“Ah take it that yer feelin’ better now,” Marie murmured, her lips brushing against his ear as she spoke.
Logan nodded, but said nothing. He just continued to hold her, his fingers dancing up and down her back in a slow rhythm. Marie moaned as he continued his feather light massage and arched against him. This was, by far, the most sensual thing she had ever experienced. Everything about Logan oozed an animalistic sensuality. Helpless as he was, that sensuality was still present.
“Come on, Logan, the water’s startin’ ta get cold. We should get out ‘fore ya start gettin’ cold again,” Marie whispered, burying her fingers in Logan’s hair as she spoke.
Logan moaned, clutching at her tighter. Even without the use of words, his message came across loud and clear.
“Ah’m not goin’’ anywhere, Logan. We’re just gettin’ outta the shower. That’s it,” Marie told him, never removing her arms from about him.
Feeling Logan nod, Marie reached over to turn the fosset off before pulling back the shower curtain. She shivered at the rush of cold air, holding Logan a moment longer than necessary before stepping out of the shower and onto her dark green bathmat. Wrapping a matching towel around her body, Marie reached over to help Logan from the shower.
As he stood in front of her, Marie scrubbed his hair dry thoroughly before moving onto the rest of his body. Logan stood silently the entire time, never uttering a single sound. The only time Marie felt the least bit out of sorts was as she wrapped the towel around his waist, deftly avoiding the part of his anatomy that needed... avoiding.
“`Fore Ah ferget, Ah think yer in need o’ a shave,” Marie said, steering Logan back towards the toilet seat. She sat him down then reached for the bag that she had brought in before she heard Logan crying out upstairs. “Now as much as Ah’d like t’ shave those mutton chops off ya, they seem ta suit ya. So Ah’ll just leave ‘em be fer now and deal with yer chin. All right?”
Marie doubted that Logan really knew what she was talking about, but he nodded anyway. Giving him a reassuring smile, she picked up the bottle of shaving cream and squirted a generous portion into her palm. Logan gave her an odd look when she began slathering it all over his face, but didn’t give any outright protest.
“When yer feelin’ better, Ah’ll teach ya how ta do this yerself,” Marie told him as she searched through the bag for the blades and razor. “Not that Ah don’t mind shavin’ ya, Ah just thought ya’d rather do it yerself, is all.”
Marie didn’t so much as knick him as she cleaned up his face. She gave the mutton chops a little more definition and removed all of the hair from the lower portion of his jaw, his chin and the area above his lips. Logan remained completely still the entire time. He didn’t so much as twitch a finger while she worked. Marie talked softly to him while she worked, but it was obvious that it wasn’t working much.
“Ah’m almost done, sugah,” Marie assured him as she dropped the razor into the sink. “All Ah gotta do is wipe off all o’ this mess on yer face then we’ll be all done.”
Assured that she was done with the razor, Logan relaxed a great deal. He even turned his face into her hand as she wiped away the excess shaving cream with a wash cloth on his right cheek. Once she had him all cleaned up, Marie grinned down at him and pulled Logan off the toilet seat.
“Ah think Ah dropped the bags with yer clothes somewhere near the bottom o’ the stairs,” Marie informed Logan as she stepped out of the bathroom, pulling Logan behind her. “Ah wasn’t sure o’ yer size, so Ah just got what Ah thought would fit ya. We’ll find out if Ah’m right soon enough.”
Marie kept a firm grin on Logan’s hand as she picked up the bags and led Logan back up the stairs to her bedroom. For the first time ever, Marie was beginning to see the good points of having bought a queen size bed. With no other place for Logan to stay, the two of them would have to share a bed. Marie had no real problem with her and Logan sharing a bed aside from the fact that they would be sharing a bed. Marie wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of sharing a bed with a man that she had known for less than a day and who she had met when she found him passed out practically in her back yard. For some reason that she couldn’t comprehend, though, Marie found herself willing to make an exception with Logan.
“Mah mother would kill me if she knew Ah was lettin’ ya stay here with me,” Marie said suddenly as she picked out some clothes for Logan.
“G-gooo...?”
Shocked, Marie spun around so that she was staring at Logan’s retreating form. Before he could reach the stairs, Marie slid in front of him and placed both her hands on his chest. “Ah don’t want ya t’ go anywhere, Logan.”
“Bu-utt ya ssss... saiddd....”
Marie placed her fingers over his lips, shaking her head. “Ah didn’t mean anythin’ by it, Logan. Ah was just talkin’ t’ mahself. Ah don’t want ya goin’ anywhere, Logan. Yer home is here with me fer as long as ya want it ta be.”
Deciding to be non-vocal once again, Logan merely kissed the tips of her fingers which were pressed against his lips.
“All right then. Now that that’s settled, how ‘bout we get ya inta somethin’ a little more warmer than that towel,” Marie said, patting his hip lightly.
Logan nodded his head and followed Marie back towards the bed where she had a pair of boxers, some wool socks, a pair of jeans, a grey thermal shirt and a flannel shirt laid out on the comforter. She had considered getting him a sweater, but Logan didn’t really strike her as the sweater kinda guy. He was more of a jeans and flannel kinda guy.
“Ah hope ya like what Ah bought. Ah wasn’t too sure what t’ get ya, so Ah just bought what Ah thought ya’d look good in,” Marie as she left Logan to get dressed on his own.
Walking over to her dresser, Marie grabbed out all the clothes she would need including the black, satiny bra that she only wore on special occasions. As far as Marie was concerned, meeting Logan was a special occasion. She dressed in complete silence, pulling on a dry pair of jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt. For added warmth, she pulled on her grey sweater jacket that reached just down past her knees and had a hood at the back. After running a brush through her wet hair, Marie turned to find Logan completely dressed as well. Except for one minor detail.
Neither his jeans or his flannel shirt were buttoned up.
“Don’t ya know how t’ work the buttons?” Marie inquired, hoping her cheeks weren’t flaming up as much as she imagined they were.
Logan stared down at his pants and gave them a confused look. He then looked back up at Marie and shook his head.
“Oh dear Lord....” Marie muttered as she walked around the bed to stand in front of Logan. She looked up at his face, trying to keep the embarrassment from showing. “Now ya pay attention t’ what Ah’m doin’, Logan, cause I’m only gonna do this once.”