After a week, Marie and Logan were beginning to get a schedule worked out. Kurt and Scott had stayed for four days before driving down to Vancouver, leaving Logan and Marie alone once again. Marie welcomed the chance for them to be alone together. It meant they could have sex elsewhere besides the bathtub.
It also meant not having to put up with Scott’s not so subtle attempts to keep them apart. So now instead of having Scott sit between them on the couch, they could lay sprawled out on the couch wrapped in each other’s arms. It was even better that first night when they were alone again. It took Marie forever to get her brothers to leave, but, when they did, Logan and Marie were able to relax to their heart’s content.
Which was how they both ended up sprawled in front of the fireplace on a huge mattress of blankets. Marie had more than enough to make a thick mattress. There was even a blanket left over to cover themselves with once they sweat that covered their bodies began to cool.
Still a little woozy from the pain medication, Logan’s eyes were very droopy after the third time. The drugs did wonders for the pain, though. Judging from the blissful expression on his face, he wasn’t feeling much of it. Or, if he was, he was simply ignoring it.
“They’re not gonna come back, are they?” Logan murmured, pulling Marie tighter against him.
Marie turned her head and placed a kiss on Logan’s bare chest. “Nope. We’re on our own from now on. It’s gonna be no one but the two o’ us from now on.”
Logan grinned broadly, his fingers dancing up and down over Marie’s hips. “Good ‘cause I’m sick of trying to share you with your brother. The guy’s pretty damn protective.”
“Yeah, Scooter’s like that,” Marie agreed, snuggling closer to him. “Ya learn t’ get used t’ it after a while. Ah pretty much just ignore him most o’ the time.”
“And I’ll be doing a lot of that now that he’s gone,” Logan said with a yawn.
Marie lifted her head to see Logan’s face and couldn’t keep the smile from her face at what she saw. It was like looking at a work of art. Logan’s eyes were closed, allowing his dark lashes to rest against his cheeks. The corners of his lips were curved upwards in a slight smile. While Marie had been kissing him earlier, she had shoved his sweat damp hair from his face, leaning his face completely open. Best of all, the fire reflected off the sweat that still covered his skin, making him appear to glow. It made him look like a bronze statue until he shifted, turning his head towards her.
“No starin’. Time to sleep,” Logan grumbled, reaching a hand out towards her.
Marie took his hand readily and sunk back down next to him. “What happens if Ah’m not sleepy?”
Logan wrapped his arm around her, holding her down. “Then you’re just gonna have to get used to it ‘cause we’re going to sleep. End of discussion.”
Marie started giggling and pressed a kiss to the underside of Logan’s chin. “But Ah’m more than ready t’ go at it again.”
“No more,” Logan pleaded with a shake of his head. “Once my ribs are all better I’ll go with ya all night long. My ribs just can’t take anymore right now.”
“Ah, poor baby,” Marie murmured, raising herself up to press kisses against his cheeks. “Ya absolutely sure ya can’t go again?”
Moaning loudly, Logan grasped onto Marie’s hips to hold her in place. “No more teasing. Sleep now, evil woman.”
“Ya know ya love me,” Marie teased, hoping that Logan wouldn’t catch on to the fact that she was already hopelessly in love with him.
It hadn’t been very hard for her to fall in love with him. Despite being a little rough around the edges, Logan was unbelievably sweet and tender. The mornings he woke up nightmare-free, with a sleepy smile on his face, Logan looked like a completely innocent. Like he had never known anything bad in his entire life.
The times he woke up from the nightmares was a completely different story. Even if he didn’t wake up screaming and crying out, Marie could still tell that he had a nightmare because his eyes would be haunted. When that would happen, Marie would simply wrap her arms around him and hold him close They wouldn’t say anything, simply hold each other for as long as Logan needed to be held.
When he was hopped up on pain pills, Logan was especially cuddly. It would take Scott forever to get them out of bed those mornings. Now that Scott was gone, though, they would be able to stay in bed as long as they wanted. Marie planned on taking full advantage of that.
Provided, of course, they ever left the front of the fireplace.
“Logan, ya awake?” Marie whispered, lightly trailing her fingers up and down his stomach.
Marie got no answer from Logan. She lifted her head and peered up and his face. A slow smile appeared on her face when she saw the peaceful expression on his.
Logan was down for the count.
Nothing short of World War Three or a sudden movement once the pain pills wore off would wake him up now.
With a roll of her eyes, Marie lowered her head back down onto Logan’s chest. She settled down and got herself nice and comfortable before drifting off to sleep. It was an easy thing to do with Logan’s chest for a pillow. It was only a few minutes before Marie was sound asleep.
But not before she felt Logan’s lips brush against her forehead in a sleepy kiss.
Of course, Boris, being Boris, was right on time when it came to waking them up the next morning. Marie was in the middle of an amazing dream involving Logan, a tropical beach and sex in the surf when she was assaulted by Boris’s large tongue lapping at her cheek. Whimpering loudly, Marie shoved at Boris’s face, pushing him away from her.
“All right, Boris, Ah’m awake,” Marie mumbled, draping an arm across her face. “Give me a few minutes t’ get Logan on the couch an’ give him his pain pills then we’ll go fer our jog.”
Satisfied that he would get to go for his morning jog, Boris padded towards the front door to take up his post while he waited for her.
Lifting herself up on her elbows, Marie reached over and lightly began shaking Logan’s shoulders. “Time t’ wake up, loverboy. Boris is waitin’ fer his walk.”
“Go ‘way,” Logan mumbled, turning his head in the other direction. “Sleep time. No waking up.”
Marie rolled her eyes and pressed kisses along the curve of his jaw. “Logan,” she wheedled. “It’s time t’ wake up.... Rise an’ shine, sleepin’ beauty.”
“Leave me alone,” Logan grumbled, shifting still closer to the fire.
“Stop actin’ like a baby, Logan, an’ wake up. Boris an’ Ah are goin’ fer our jog so Ah need t’ get ya t’ the couch,” Marie informed him, rising to a seated position. From this vantage point, she could tell that Logan was wide awake and merely feigning sleep. “All right, ya big luggard, open yer eyes. Ah know yer awake so ya might as well open yer eyes.... Will ya quit actin’ like a baby, Logan.”
“I’m not acting like a baby, I’m trying to sleep,” Logan muttered, opening one eye a tiny crack. “You’re supposed to be letting me sleep.”
Marie arched an eyebrow. “That so? How come Ah hafta get up while yer allowed t’ sleep? It don’t seem very fair to me.”
Logan grinned up at her impishly, his entire face lighting up. “I’m comfortable, though. And once you’re gone I’m only gonna fall asleep again so I might as well just stay here and sleep.”
“Yer awful, Logan,” Marie said with a smirk, wrapping a blanket around herself to cover her nakedness. “But yer still gettin’ up. Ah’m gonna get ya onta the couch then Ah’m gonna give ya yer pain killers ‘fore Ah leave with Boris.”
“What if I were to tell you that I’m perfectly all right and don’t need any pain killers?” Logan asked, carefully rolling onto his side and shifting himself into a seated position. With Marie’s help, and only a few grunts and groans, he was on his feet and hobbling towards the couch.
Once Marie had him settled, she pulled an afghan over his lap before she bounced into the kitchen for the bottle of painkillers which sat on the window sill. Grabbing two of them and a glass of water, Marie went back into the living room where Logan was still in the process of getting himself situated. She waited for him to finish fidgeting before sitting down next to him.
“I don’t want any pills,” Logan insisted, his eyes trained on her cupped hand. “I’m perfectly all right. No pain whatsoever.”
“Then take a deep breath,” Marie said calmly.
All that got her was a glare from Logan who reluctantly held out his hand. Bypassing the hand, Marie slipped a hand behind his head, pulling his face towards hers. Intrigued, Logan willingly leaned forward, wondering what she had on her mind. Logan kissed her deeply, his lips parting readily against her probing tongue. He was more than a little surprised when she unrolled her tongue and deposited the two pills in his mouth.
Pulling back, Marie pressed another quick kiss to his top lip and held the glass up for him. “Sip?”
Logan could only stare at her in shock, so Marie held the cup to his lips, waiting for him to take a sip. Logan’s mouth opened again and he allowed the water to drip into his mouth, drinking it and the pills down.
“How come you’ve never done this before?” Logan demanded with a pout.
Marie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “‘Cause ya’ve never been such a baby ‘bout havin’ t’ take yer pills. So Ah thought Ah’d make it worth yer while.”
“If I’d known you’d done this, I would have complained sooner,” Logan told her, sinking back into the pillows.
Patting Logan on the leg, Marie rose from the couch and headed upstairs to put some clothes on. As much as she loved seeing Logan naked and that he loved seeing her naked, Marie knew that she’d be more than a little cold jogging in the nude. It was getting late in the year too which meant she’d have to wear layers of clothing in order to stay warm.
Once she was dressed in her usual jogging attire, Marie grabbed a pair of sweats for Logan before heading back down the stairs. She found him in exactly the same position she’d left him except that his eyes were closed now.
“Ah told ya no sleepin’,” Marie called, stomping loudly down the last few steps.
Logan moaned and forced his eyes open, glaring at Marie even though there was a hint of a smile on his face. “I want to sleep. Leave me alone.”
“Yer not sleepin’, Logan. Yer gonna put these sweats on an’ stay awake long enough fer me t’ go fer mah jog,” Marie informed him, making her way to the couch and pulling the afghan off of his lower body.
Logan let out a startled yelp, but didn’t protest as Marie situated herself under his legs. While he remained in a seated position, Marie worked the pants up his legs and over his narrow hips. Logan shifted a bit to get comfortable after all the shuffling he’d done while Marie was helping him with the sweats.
“There, now ya won’t freeze yer valuables,” Marie smirked, patting his upper thigh. “Now Ah’d better get goin’ ‘fore Boris starts gettin’ impatient. Ah’ll be back with breakfast so ya just sit there an’ watch some TV till Ah get back an’ try not t’ fall asleep.”
That was their routine for the first week, at least. It was always the same argument. Logan never wanted to take his pills, insisting that he was all right. Marie knew that he wasn’t, but humoured him by giving him the pills in the form of a kiss. That always pacified Logan and he would quit protesting long enough for Marie and Boris to head out on their jog. Marie would always come back with breakfast and the two of them would eat together before Marie went off to work on her book.
While she was working, Logan would immerse himself in the many history books that Marie had around the house. He would read through them, cover to cover, absorbing all of the information they contained. Marie could not believe how entranced Logan was by the books. The more she thought about it, though, the more sense it made to her. Logan had no past. No history. All that he had was the past six months. It made perfect sense to Marie that Logan would want to know as much about what he’d forgotten as possible.
Logan sped through the books and was soon onto the other books that Marie had in her house. Books on mythology and different countries throughout the world. She’d bought them as research for her books and Logan simply loved them. It was impossible for Marie to tear him away from them at times.
After the first week, when Logan was able to get around on his own once again, those books began appearing all over the cabin. Unable to stick to one book at a time, Logan had books stashed all over the cabin, going from one to another at a whim. Every flat surface was home to some type of a book.
When a book on ancient Roman history appeared under her pillow, Marie rolled her eyes and stuck the book under his pillow, giving Logan a taste of his own medicine.
After a month of living together, Marie and Logan were like two peas in a pod. Logan’s ribs had healed almost completely, allowing him to accompany Marie on her morning jogs with Boris. People in the small town soon got used to seeing the two of them together. Martha fell in love with Logan straight away and he soon became her pet. She had his breakfast waiting for him every morning and would always make sure that there was a piece of pie waiting for him when he and Marie left. She even helped him get a job at the local gas station, repairing cars and trucks, something Logan found he had a natural gift for.
“Ah’m real glad ya got beat up by those pricks,” Marie told Logan one morning as he was pulling on his sneakers.
Logan grinned up at her, the smile lighting his entire face. He leaned forward and brushed a kiss against Marie’s stomach. “I’m real glad I did, too. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, Marie, and I don’t wanna lost that.”
“Yer not gonna ‘cause Ah’m not gonna let it happen. Yer mine t’ keep,” Marie informed him, leaning down to capture his lips in an intense kiss that would have evolved into more had Boris not shoved himself against Logan’s chest, knocking him off balance.
“All right, Boris, I get the point. We’re going now,” Logan assured the dog as he shuffled to his feet. He stood up carefully, fully aware that his ribs weren’t completely healed and not wanting to be stuck in the brace again. Opening the door, he held it out for Marie. “After you, my lady.”
Marie rolled her eyes, swatting him on the stomach as she passed. “Ah really shouldn’t be lettin’ ya read those books. They’re corruptin’ ya.”
“No they haven’t,” Logan said with a sad smile. “They’re giving me back something I lost. I’m glad to have it back. Thank you for that.”
Marie grabbed hold of his hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of his palm. “Ya don’t hafta thank me fer anythin’. All Ah do is put up with the books lyin’ all over the place. Though Ah’d really appreciate it if ya wouldn’t leave them in the middle o’ a doorway late at night. Ah’d rather not fall an break mah neck.”
“Sorry,” Logan said with a sheepish smile as he pulled Marie into his arms. “I promise I’ll behave from now on.”
An impatient bark from Boris separated them once again then the three of them started off on their morning jog to Martha’s.