It was safe where Logan was. Nothing could hurt him. As long as he stayed where he was, no one could hurt him. Marie was still gone, but at least in his mind she was still there with him. She would still hold, still touch him and still press kisses to his face and shoulders. In his mind Marie was still there to love him. And, at that moment, the warm place in his mind was so much better than reality.
“Logan!”
Logan refused to believe it when he heard Marie’s voice. He had heard her voice so many times over the past few days and it had never been her. Logan wasn’t going to fall for it again. He wasn’t going to believe that the voice he was hearing was Marie when it obviously wasn’t. Logan wasn’t going to risk it not being Marie until he was absolutely sure.
“Logan? Sugah, can ya hear me? Logan, Ah need ya t’ blink yer eyes. Somethin’. Anythin’. Come on, Logan, yer scarin’ me. Please let me know that ya can hear me.”
There was a body pressed up against his now. A warm body that fit so well against his. It felt like Marie. So much so that Logan was almost willing to believe that it was her. He couldn’t yet. It would kill him if he went back onto to find out that it wasn’t her. So Logan decided that he would play it safe. At least until he knew for a fact that it was Marie.
“Please don’t do this, Logan.”
It wasn’t her! It didn’t matter that she was crying, it wasn’t her. It wasn’t his Marie.
“Logan, please. Ah’m right here, Logan. Ah’m right here. An’ Ah’m not goin’ anywhere. Ah’m not gonna leave ya, Logan, Ah swear. Ah love ya so much. Please just blink yer eyes or hug me. Do somethin’ fer me. That’s all Ah’m askin’, sugah. Just let me know yer still here with me.”
Maybe... maybe it was her. It could be his Marie. He was almost willing to believe that it was his Marie. Still, he had doubts. There was no way that he could be completely sure that it was Marie and Logan wasn’t willing to take that chance. For all he knew, it could be a trick. They could just be messing with his head so that they could hurt him some more. The only defense Logan had against them was staying right where he was.
“Ah know that ya can hear me, Logan. An’ that it’s probably real peaceful where ya are now, but Ah need ya t’ come back t’ me. ‘Cause Ah need ya right now. So much. Yer what keeps me strong, what keeps me sane. Yer the reason Ah fight. An’ if yer not here, Ah don’t know if Ah can fight. So please come back t’ me, sugah. Ah’m beggin ya.”
The Marie that existed in his mind was smiling at him. Without any words, she was letting him know that it was safe for him to trust the voice he was hearing.
Still, Logan was unsure. Even if Marie really was there with him there was no way to be sure that she was the body that he could feel pressed up against him. For all he knew it was Mystique taunting him. He wouldn’t put it past her. Mystique would hurt him then throw it in Marie’s face. Logan didn’t want to hurt Marie any more than she had been.
Logan still wanted to believe....
“Please come back t’ me! Ah can’t do this without ya!”
There was no way that Mystique would have been able to fake such anguish. She was too cold for that. The emotions belonged purely to Marie. It was Marie that had been crying and holding him so tightly. It was Marie whose breath he could feel brushing against his skin. Marie had found a way to get to him and they were together.
For how long, Logan didn’t know or care. All that mattered was that he was with Marie.
Forcing his limbs to respond, Logan slowly wrapped his arms about Marie’s waist. It took a lot of effort to make his limbs move the way he wanted. He had to claw his way out of the haze that his mind was contained in so that he could get back to Marie. As much as he wanted to get back to Marie, there was still a part of his mind that refused to believe that Marie was really there. He had become happy where he was. It was safe in his mind. Nothing could hurt him there and he always had Marie with him.
Back in the real world, Marie could be taken away from him.
“Please, Logan. Ah’m right here. Let me see some life in those beautiful eyes o’ yers.”
It took every ounce of will power he possessed, but Logan was able to make his eyes blink once. He knew it worked because he heard Marie squeal and felt her arms tighten around his shoulders.
“Oh Gawd! Logan, ya blinked! Yer all right!” Marie shrieked, pressing kisses all over his face and shoulders. “Ya blinked! Ya blinked! Ah can’t believe it!”
“‘Ri....” Logan moaned, working his mouth to form the words.
“That’s right, Logan. It’s me. It’s Marie,” she confirmed, pulling back enough so that Logan could see her face.
As soon as he set eyes on Marie’s face, Logan felt tears fill his eyes. It really was her. It was Marie. Now that he was fully alert, he could not only see her, but he could also smell her distinctive scent. Without another word, he leaned forward and buried his face against her throat, inhaling her intoxicating scent. It was an exotic combination that was pure Marie.
“Thank Gawd,” Marie murmured, running her fingers through his hair and along the back of his neck. “Ya were scaring the life outta me. Don’t ever do that again.”
Logan didn’t say anything. He just held onto her, refusing to let go. He didn’t want to let her go ever again. He didn’t care what happened to him, he wasn’t going to let Marie go ever again.
“I held onto it,” Logan murmured, raising his face to hers once again. “I held onto it as long as I could. I held onto it all, but it still hurt. It hurt so much so I just tuned it all out. I stayed where I could remember you and no one could stop me.”
Marie pressed her lips against his, lightly sucking on his lower lip. “Ah’m not gonna let ya ferget anymore,” Marie murmured as she began pressing kisses along his jaw and neck.
As her lips continued a path down his chest, Logan rolled onto his back, pulling Marie tight against his chest. Cupping her face in his hands, Logan drew her back up his body. He stared intently at her face for a few moments before pulling her face back down and capturing her lips in an intense kiss that held every emotion that he’d kept inside him for as long as he’d been stuck in that room. He just poured it all out, willing Marie to see everything that had been going on in his head. To know how much he’d wanted to hold her, to touch her, how much he had wanted to lose himself in her.
“Oh, Logan,” Marie murmured, smiling down at him.
Without another word, Marie returned to her path of kisses that was slowly making its way further down his chest. Logan allowed himself to rely purely on his senses, relishing the feel of Marie’s lips against his skin. He wanted to make sure that he remembered it all.
As Marie’s tongue dipped into his navel, Logan couldn’t contain the grin that appeared on his face. He began squirming, unable to keep his body still as his sweat pants suddenly became too tight. He craned his neck back, moaning Marie’s name like a mantra.
“Ah’m right here, sugah,” Marie said softly as she pressed a kiss just above the waistband of his pants.
Logan’s mind finally caught up with what his body was feeling and he instantly began reaching for Marie’s shoulders. “No. No. Marie, get up here. You shouldn’t do this. Too good. Please don’t. No.”
Marie looked up at him, grinning and shaking her head. “Ah wanna do this, Logan. Ah really do. So ya just sit tight an’ enjoy it.”
Logan tried to protest more, but Marie slowly eased his pants down and he lost all hold of rational thought. All that he could feel was Marie’s hand running over his body, gently encircling his throbbing member.
“Marie!” Logan gasped out as Marie took the head into her mouth. His entire body felt like it was on fire. He was tingling all over, struggling to keep his hips from thrusting automatically.
Removing her lips from the tip of his erection, Marie began pressing a series of kisses along the under side. Logan felt himself spinning out of control, his body functioning on pure sensation.
“Oh God.... Marie! I love.... Love so.... so much.... Marie!”
Logan’s entire body was trembling when Marie took him back in her mouth. Her delicate fingers encircled the base of his erection, slowly running her fist up to meet her lips before beginning the downstroke. At some point that he was not sure of, Logan had begun growling deep in the back of his throat.
Suddenly, Logan felt his balls tightening. He knew that he was about to come and began reaching for Marie’s shoulders, trying to pull her up.
“Marie, please. Can’t... can’t hold....”
Marie shook her head and continued what she was doing. She focused all her attention on the slit on the very tip and Logan knew that he couldn’t hold on any longer. He tried to pull her away, but Marie only sucked harder. Before Logan could stop himself he felt himself falling apart piece by piece.
The next thing Logan knew, he was being held in Marie He was wrapped in her arms, his head pillowed on her breasts.
“Thank you,” Logan murmured, pressing a soft kiss against her throat.
Marie brushed her lips against his forehead, squeezing his arm lightly. “Y’ looked like ya needed it. Ya’ve been through hell these past couple days ‘cause o’ me. So Ah thought that Ah’d make it better.”
Logan shook his head and snuggled deeper into Marie’s arms. “You don’t have to make anything better. I have you here and that’s all I wanted. I got to hold you again. Something I thought I’d never get to do again.”
“Ah’m not letting ya go ever again so ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout that,” Marie told him, running her hand up and down his back. “Yer safe now.”