Rogue sat quietly in the chair opposite Professor Xavier, once again letting others decide her fate. School, her parents, Magneto, and now these three men. It was as if the course of her life was always out of her hands, just when she thought she'd taken control it was once again wrenched from her.

Running away had ended in her imminent demise from Magneto, only to be saved by the X-Men. When she thought she'd had a plan for the future after graduation, someone tried to abduct her from the mall. It was only Jubilee's knowledge of the workings of a mall and their security that put a stop to that. Now she wasn't even safe on the grounds of the Xavier Institute as armed men had breached the school's defenses to take her during an early morning walk.

The X-Men themselves had called in someone else to protect her while they got to the bottom of who would want her and for what. At the very least she might be able to leave her room with a personal bodyguard, maybe even eat lunch with her friends again.

"Not here," the man said. Rogue hadn't been able to get a good look at him and good manners dictated she couldn't full-on stare. She was left with sideways glances, that only let her know he was a solid wall of muscle topped with crazy hair.

Professor Xavier gave the man his patient smile over the top of his steepled hands. "Surely-"

"No," he said cutting him off with a firm, final answer. Rogue had never heard anyone cut off the Professor, it was simply a fact of life at the mansion that one was to listen to what Xavier had to say. What kind of man was this that not only interrupted the Professor but did so with confidence.

Forgetting her manners, she gave him her full attention. He was just as tall as Mr. Summers but not as slim. Something about him made her think of an apex predator that few would want to tangle with. Yet she also felt because of that position he should have more than a few battle scars.

"I have to agree with Wolverine, Sir," Mr. Summers finally chimed in. Rogue swiveled her head toward Mr. Summers. This was a day to remember because she'd never known Mr. Summers to disagree with the Professor. "Without their presences things can return to normal and allow us time to sort this out."

Professor Xavier was obviously thinking this over as he studied both men carefully. "When will you leave and where will you go?"

Just like that, her future was decided for her with no consideration of how she might feel about any of it. Though anything had to be better than confinement she was currently experiencing.

The man, Wolverine...where had she heard that before, grunted; actually grunted at the Professor in response. "Better if you don't know, Chuck."

Rogue tried to hide her shock. No one addressed Professor Xavier like he was a common man or one of her dad's drinking buddies. She was able to close her mouth relatively quickly so she didn't look like a complete moron when he changed his focus to her.

"Time to pack, Kid." He had the most intense hazel eyes she had ever seen. When she didn't move he raised an eyebrow at her that made her stomach do flip-flops.

She glanced at the Professor for permission to be dismissed, he nodded and she stood to leave. Turning she came face to face with Wolverine's chest. He really was a wall of muscle with broad shoulders and she quickly scurried around him out of the office.

~*~

Logan stood outside the kid's room, giving her some privacy to pack her essentials. He made a few calls putting into motion the tentative plans he'd made when Chuck first contacted him. He didn't normally take bodyguard gigs, but Chuck said he'd consider it a personal favor.

They'd sent over her file so he'd know everything they did, which wasn't much. Runaway that got caught up in Magneto's world domination business over a year ago. Her mutation was the absorption of other people's memories and abilities with only limited success at controlling it in the last year. So far she didn't appear to be angry or rebellious, just an average teenager.

Rogue was the name she'd picked for herself, beyond that there was no more background. Her accent put her somewhere from the deep South, her manners were old money. She hadn't trained for any of the low-level teams and Logan knew Chuck had everyone trained. He wondered if that was her choice or theirs.

A girl in a bright yellow jacket eyed him wearily as she slid past him into the room. He let her go, her smell was all over the room and one of the three beds. This was the perfect opportunity for him to find out how compliant Rogue was going to be in this operation.

"Who's mister scary badass?" Jubilee asked, popping her gum.

Rogue glanced out into the hall before dumping her bag of toiletries into the duffle. Badass, sure; scary, not in broad daylight in the dormitory hall. Though she would admit given the right circumstances he would be dangerous. "Oh, he's here to pick me up."

"Prof approve this?" Jubes was always inquisitive. Some might call it nosy, but with her constant talking, she knew how to get more information out of people than they wanted to give.

"Of course, he arranged it." Rogue sighed she knew when her friend was probing for information. She didn't like fibbing to her but thought it might be necessary for this situation and Jubes wouldn't be satisfied until she received an answer. "Different training or something."

"How long are you going to be gone? There's that summer sale coming up." Leave it to Jubes to center things around shopping.

"Not sure," Rogue replied, which was the truth, she hadn't made any inquiries into this. "Probably until I don't need you to save me from a fake mall cop."

"Ah chica, that's just one of my many talents put to good use," she said walking over to check out what was being packed. From her facial expression, Rogue knew she hadn't packed anything fashionable. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have any opportunities to dress up, blending in would be more important.

Rogue gave Jubes a quick hug. "Ya' know I appreciate it, right?"

"No problemo. What are friends for." Jubes answered returning the hug. "Where you headed? Cause you aren't going to fit in except the middle of nowhere with what your packing."

"Timbuktu?" Rogue stated questioningly. No wonder everyone else made her decisions for her, she couldn't even be bothered to find out enough details to make choices on her own.

"Africa?" Jubes questioned, grabbing a couple of items from the closet and adding them to the duffle.

"Okay, so not there," Rogue said with a smile. She doubted it but then again it looked like anything was possible with Wolverine.

~*~

"Here?" Rogue asked skeptically. This wasn't a possibility that she'd considered. The hotel didn't exactly look safe, she couldn't imagine him wanting them to hide out in this place long term.

"For tonight." This was the first time Logan had sensed any apprehension from her. He'd begun to believe that her time as a runaway was short-lived and she hadn't spent any real-time on the streets. "We'll be fine."

She looked over at him and had no doubt he would be perfectly fine, her on the other hand... The long two weeks she'd spent on her own, she'd been lucky. This life, the people walking around, she wouldn't have survived here.

Would he make sure she was safe? "Will I?"

Those big brown eyes were full of misgivings, she needed reassurance that he would take care of her. "I promise."

Nodding, she picked up her duffle and followed him. She told herself it had something to do with the confidence he exuded. The promises he made weren't the empty platitudes she'd heard all her life. When Wolverine made a promise, she got the feeling he did everything in his power to keep it.

He paid cash to some creepy guy behind a thick glass window. The man handed him a key and they climbed the stairs to the third floor. Rogue was so busy trying not to touch anything that she didn't see the man in the hall until they were almost on top of him.

Her sharp intake of breath warned Logan that she knew exactly who Victor was. Logan grabbed for her wrist to steady her as she began to back away. She scuttled behind him, holding his hand tightly. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and into his back.

Creed started laughing, he knew the girl was panicking and he was enjoying it. Logan had told Victor to stay clear of Magneto's plan but the money had been too good at the time. He'd heard later what the plan had been and that when the X-Men moved in Cyke had blown Victor off the Statue of Liberty. Sometimes Creed had to learn his lessons the hard way.

"Thought you were gonna miss the party, Jimmy," Victor said, scratching his bare chest and eyeing Rogue.

Logan frowned, "Just be ready early." He unlocked the door next to Creed's as a woman entered the hall on the other end.

Rogue peeked around Logan to see what was going on. A woman about her own height and build was wobbling down the hall carrying an ice bucket. She stopped beside Sabretooth and squinted then shook her head as if to clear it. Rogue could smell cheap booze and the bleach used to make lighter streaks in her long, shaggy brown hair.

"Friends," Sabretooth told the woman.

She smiled and waved at them, Sabretooth let her into his room. "...party with us?"

"No, babe," he answered her, spanking her hard as she passed.

"Too bad we could-" her words were muted by the slam of the door.

"Rogue loosened her grip on Wolverine's hand as they entered the room. There were two beds the size of her single at Xavier's and he pointed to the one away from the door as hers. She had no clue how he was going to fit himself in either one to sleep, but maybe that was the point.

"Leaving early in the morning, if you want to shower best do it now," he mentioned, hooking a thumb to the closet-sized bathroom.

One glance and she was positive she would be fine going without, maybe she could make it without peeing too. Instead, she found a place to put her bag that wasn't on the floor and laid down on the bed to watch TV. The set only got two channels and after a bit, she followed Wolverine's example and tried to sleep.

Logan let her sleep in as late as possible, he knew she wasn't going to take a shower. He'd used worse facilities but a day without wouldn't hurt her any. She needed the sleep more as it wasn't until late in the night Victor and the woman concluded their very loud sex romp.

He knocked on Creed's door on their way out, he was paying Victor enough to have his ass out in the next ten. While they waited he tossed Rogue some beef jerky and bottled water. "We'll get something else the first gas stop."

She nodded and took a bite of the jerky. "Who's he to you?"

"Victor? Half-brother." He caught her worried look but he knew there wasn't anything he could say to make up for Victor's part in her past trauma.

"I don't like him," she finally said.

"I don't care for him most of the time either," he admitted.

"Then why?" she was completely confused now.

Their differences over the years had grown too great to be easily covered over. It all came down to one thing for Logan, "He's useful once in a while."

After a few minutes, she asked, "Jimmy?" He sighed and tried to relax into the seat, she could tell he didn't like to wait when they could already be on the move. "You're not a Jimmy or a James, are you?"

"Maybe a lifetime ago, but I haven't been as long as I can remember." He smiled, if nothing else she was perceptive.

"So just Wolverine?"

"No," he grunted with amusement. "That's leftover from my X-Men days. Call me Logan."

Her eyes widened as who he was dawned on her and his smile broadened. There were obviously still stories about him floating about the school after almost a decade. He had some fond memories but he'd left before they all went bad and that was fine with him.

She looked up when he started the engine, Sabertooth and the woman were walking to the vehicle down the way. The SUV was vaguely similar to theirs and the two were dressed somewhat the same as Logan and Rogue.

"They won't pass for us for long," she commented.

He shrugged as he backed out of the parking spot. "Only need to be a distraction. If my guess is right, Victor will be in Atlantic City by evening. Living it up off room service until he gets bored or someone discovers his credit card is stolen. By then..." he trailed off with a smile.

"It will take those that might be following us time to unravel it and our trail will be cold," she finished for him.

"Smart girl," he said with approval.

She wasn't feeling so smart lately. Oh sure, she could put the pieces of a puzzle together but rarely in time to be helpful. Maybe that was something they taught the X-Men and they had seen she wasn't good enough at it to train. Whatever the reason it seemed to make her merely an observer of her life and not an active participant.

They rode in silence for at least an hour with Creed keeping pace behind them. Soon they would be turning west and the second vehicle would go on to wherever Creed fancied. Logan was already watching for the exit when the other SUV sped up parallel to them honking the horn to get their attention.

Logan didn't bother to look, he knew what Creed was doing. He didn't need to see him getting a blowjob as he sped down the interstate. Rogue, on the other hand, hadn't dealt with the other man enough to understand. She lifted herself up, craning her neck to see what Creed wanted, only to turn beet red a moment later.

"I really hate that man," she said as he sped away into the distance. It wasn't a feeling Logan cared to talk her out of. Some gut-level instincts were better off left in place.

Somewhere between St. Louis and Kansas City Logan decided that they'd better stop for the night. He could drive straight through but Rogue was intent on staying awake with him. It would do no good to get to their destination and draw unwanted attention because she looked like a zombie.

Pulling off the interstate at one of the little mom and pop motels that had seen better days, he paid cash for the only room left. The room was definitely better than the one in New York City, at least there was a good bed he could stretch out on. In no time at all, she'd showered and curled up in bed fast asleep.

Morning came fast, but with a decent night's sleep and a solid breakfast, Rogue was feeling good again. He'd already told her they'd arrive at the safe house that evening so she endured another day of endless miles. Watching the next state sign come and go she finally asked, "Colorado? Like Denver or something?"

"Or something." She sighed at his answer. It wasn't like he'd allowed her to bring a phone to call someone and give the location away. There hadn't even been time to miss Jubes and Kitty yet. Give her a week or so and she'd want to know what they were up to.

In the end, they didn't even go near Denver but passed through one of the smaller cities without stopping. At some lonely turn off between mountain passes, they headed north. The byway wound through the mountains. There were a couple groupings of houses now and again but for the most part only trees and boulders.

Rogue had plenty of time to think and realized that she was going to be in an isolated location with a man she barely knew, for who knew how long. If she put all the puzzle pieces together she still didn't know what to make of it. The Professor and Mr. Summers wouldn't send her with someone they didn't trust. Also, his behavior toward her, though at times gruff, was gentlemanly at the least. They'd shared hotel rooms and he'd always made sure she had privacy and never did anything inappropriate.

He was professional to the core, and besides being able to scare people off with a single look, he hadn't done anything to indicate he was protecting her. Well, besides that first night when he shielded her from Sabretooth's lecherous glare. Or was there more? He was always alert, always watching and if she meshed it with all the rumors she could remember, she wasn't going to notice him protecting her because it was second nature to him. He was constantly analyzing their surroundings while she just bumbled her way around.

Rogue needed to change. She might not have heightened senses or healing like he did, if all the stories were to be believed, however, she wasn't even using any of her normal senses. She would need to start being more observant and try to hone those skills. The first step would be to watch him and gain a few clues into what he was looking at, what he was listening for.

Maybe she hadn't fibbed to Jubilee after all. Rogue resolved to use this as her own personal training session. Wolverine might not teach her to fight, but she would use this opportunity to learn to be more aware of her surroundings. She no longer wanted to be playing catch up with her life, she wanted to try being proactive for once.

Somewhere along the dirt road to the remote property, Logan noticed a subtle change in his companion. Was it how she held her head a little higher? Or that she seemed more alert? Whatever it was she appeared to have made a decision and that was always a good thing.

Two weeks they'd been at this remote cabin. Rogue had followed him everywhere, looking where he did, stopping to listen when he did. She'd quickly learned to quiet herself. Logan was an apex predator because he acted like one. She would never attain his level, she had to be realistic about that, but she could stop being the boulder crashing and careening down the side of the mountain.

Her only problem was that she began to enjoy following him a little too much. They were outside often and in the warm afternoons, she liked to watch him make his way through the forest, senses working, muscles flexing. She liked to try to be as quiet as she could and be observant so he would flash her that approving smile that made a warmth radiate through her body.

Numerous times she reminded herself to not get attached, to not look at him as anything more than a bodyguard. But she failed at it often, wishing his smile was approving in a different way. Or hoping to feel that growl of his reverberate through her body. Worst of all were the dreams, their images stayed in her mind and made her flush from the memory during the daylight hours.

When they weren't outside, they were in the cabin. It was small, almost too comfortable for the two of them. Logan rarely remained idle, if he wasn't working on something he was reading. There was a decent selection of books and magazines that had accumulated over the years and she went for a set of scientific magazines. He'd raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't want to read something that appealed to her. She wanted to broaden her horizons or at least say that she tried.

Over meals, they discussed other topics and she found him to be a wealth of knowledge. This perturbed her more than anything. No wonder she had no control over her life, she wasn't using a fraction of her brain. True he had more than a few years on her but still she'd always let things go in one ear and out the other to get through the day. Yet she needed to do more than that now. She wanted to do more than just get through life and she couldn't do that if she didn't even store information. She might never use it but one never knew when it could come in handy.

Logan found this assignment to be a big change from any protection detail he'd ever handled. Usually, the person involved wasn't interested in anything he said or did. Some of them could barely be bothered to comply with orders designed to keep them safe.

Rogue was different and he found himself enjoying her company. So much so that he knew if they weren't forced together he would still choose to spend time with her. He got the feeling it was much the same for her and that was concerning.

At first, her interest seemed to be based purely on curiosity, possibly the desire to learn. But the last few days that curiosity had changed. She watched him constantly, even when he was simply reading. He'd also begun to pick up on other signs of interest in him that ranged toward a sexual nature.

The sexual interest didn't make him uncomfortable in the least, he understood that side of human nature, he'd be more surprised if there wasn't some level of attraction. He found her attractive and knew under different circumstances he might try to woo her. However, the circumstances weren't different and he'd taken on this assignment to protect her, not to bed her. He refused to mix business and pleasure no matter how badly his instincts told him that it wouldn't hurt this one time.

“So you’ll teach me?” Rogue looked up from her cereal bowl. “To fight?”
“Is that what you’ve been working up to?” Logan was amused. After all her beating around the bush, she’d finally gotten to the heart of what she wanted to ask. Though he had learned that she never seriously trained due to a series of setbacks early on that had eroded her confidence and some of the team’s. Instead, she’d focused on learning to control her mutation, which was only marginally successful.

“Yes. Will you?” She had those big, hopeful eyes fixed on him. He’d already found that he had difficulty resisting her, and that look only made it worse.

“No,” he answered, watching her hope fizzle. “But I’ll teach you self-defense.”

“What?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion. She wanted to know how to fight not to run away, she already knew how to do that.

He got up from the table, taking her bowl with him to the kitchen sink. “You need to learn to protect yourself before anything else.” 

“Okay.” She felt the hope rise again, at least he would teach her a useful skill. That was a start.

---

Two - no, three weeks? Rogue couldn’t even remember anymore. They’d taken to practicing outside in the mornings before it became too hot. Thankfully, he’d found several locations where the ground wasn’t hard or full of rocks. It didn’t make sense at first as they practiced all sorts of things that didn’t appear to go together. Truthfully, the only reason she didn’t complain was that the training drew them closer physically.

After a while, she noticed she wasn’t hitting the ground as often and not from his lack of trying to put her there. Then came the day when she evaded his grasp and slipped from his hold on her. It wasn’t much, not against Logan, but against a regular man it would be a start.

The next time she let it go to her head and promptly ended up on her back. She sighed, and he raised an eyebrow but offered a hand up. That’s what she got for letting her ego get ahead of her skills. 

Rogue took his hand, but instead of letting him help her up, she decided to try a maneuver he’d used on her before. She hooked her foot behind his ankle and jerked hard. He truly was an unmovable mountain of muscle, she thought as he chuckled at her. 

Giving a small tug she acquiesced, and he hauled her to her feet. “Not bad, but it needs some work,” he commented. At her dejected look, he continued, “Would it make you feel better if I went down to give you a false sense of superiority?”

Her mouth twisted a little. “Maybe,” she replied sullenly.

He could see she didn’t believe it and was glad she was making an effort to go beyond the basics he was teaching her. They could call it a day and give her a break, but that wouldn’t further her survival skills and that was his ultimate goal. 

“Can you get out of this?” he asked, tightening his grip on her forearm. He stayed quiet as she analyzed the situation. 

She made a few half-hearted attempts, trying out stomping on his foot and kicking his leg. He let her work through all the obvious attacks even she knew would not work. With a huff, she stared at him in frustration, but he wasn’t letting her off the hook. 

“I want to do one of those… jab thingies,” she said making a motion with her free hand. “But you’ve got my good arm.” 

Logan smiled at her, “There is no good arm, only the one you use more often.”

Closing her eyes to his patronizing look, she took a deep breath and thought about what she wanted to do. She’d already given away the jab so that would be useless. A hand thingie came to her mind next, and she mentally cursed herself. It wasn’t a thingie; it had a name like all the moves they’d done and if she was going to change her ways; she needed to make the complete change. 

Rogue knew her best chance was to fake him out. Not that she would, but someone not attuned to her or with super senses might be fooled. Forming the jab with her hand, she shifted her feet into a better position and started for a point on his lower chest. Mid-way, she flattened her hand out and made a knife strike to his collarbone. 

It was awkward and unpracticed and she’d been right; she saw the moment he knew what she was attempting. Saw the uptick of a lip into a smile as he let her proceed and though it was nowhere near the worst hit he’d ever taken, he wasn’t quite the solid mountain she’d made him out to be in her mind. 

“You flinched,” she crowed triumphantly. “I did it.” Remembering her ego lesson from earlier, she added, “I might have a chance against a mall cop.”

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Logan brought up another accomplishment she’d overlooked. “That’s not all,” he said, glancing down where they still held onto each other. 

Her brow furrowed and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head, trying to calculate the time. “Fifteen minutes,” he finally told her. 

They’d had a discussion when he first began training her about her control. She’d talked as if it was a fact of life that she would never be able to touch others. That was when he insisted that she quit wearing layers and those gloves. The reason was two-fold; the layers in summer made her stick out and if she acted like she’d never have control, then she wouldn’t.

Within seconds she got out of his handhold even though he hadn’t loosened his grip. What he didn’t see coming this morning was her throwing herself at him in a massive hug. He knew immediately he’d made a mistake. 

Her body molded to his, fitting perfectly, hitting all the right notes. He needed to put an end to this minor celebration before either of them got a stupid idea stuck in their head. She pulled back slightly, and he turned his head to tell her they should get back to work. 

The words never left his mouth as a kiss that was meant for his sideburn landed haphazardly on his lips. Not a perfect match, but good enough to surprise them both. Her scent subtly changed to attraction. The same scent he’d been catching more and more often that was getting hard to ignore. 

When her lips softened, forming a proper kiss, his body rushed to respond. His mind was mere seconds behind and he dropped her like a hot potato. “Got work to do,” he grunted out. 

Rogue stumbled backward as he broke the embrace. Turning, she found her balance and starting spot, using the extra moment to figure out what went wrong. 

It was obvious they had both found the impromptu kiss nice. His body reacted just as much as hers had. She didn’t see the problem until she remembered one of his rules. They weren’t written down anywhere, and he hadn’t directly spoken of them. Probably more like guidelines to make these jobs run smoother. 

Never get involved in the personal lives of clients. He’d already stretched some of his rules and she knew part of that was because of Xavier and partly because he liked her. This was the first hint that his feelings might go deeper than friendly. For a pro like Logan, that could be a problem. 

With a sigh, she turned back toward him. Now was not the time to hash this out. His demeanor had changed, and she knew to shift back to work mode. They would get nowhere discussing it today. 

Rogue stared at the scientific journal in her hand. Apparently, there was someone else in the world besides Dr. McCoy that found genetics fascinating. It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand what the author was writing about, but unlike Dr. McCoy who had humility, this person thought so highly of himself that it seeped into the article. She might need to check and make sure her eyes hadn’t rolled out of her head. 
Putting the magazine down on the end table, she glanced over at Logan. The old unobservant Rogue would have thought he was completely engrossed in the book he had. However, she’d quickly learned that his senses were still tuned into the surroundings. Not just her and the room, but everything outside for some distance. 

Right now he had an amused smile on his face and an eyebrow raised in her direction. Early on she’d been restless because she didn’t have her phone to entertain her during downtimes. She’d adjusted, and no longer minded the quiet and had found other things to occupy her time. This evening though, she wanted to discuss the kiss from earlier in the day. She also knew he would most likely dismiss the notion that something had happened between them. 

Since a sanctimonious puff piece wasn’t holding her attention, she needed to find a topic of conversation he would be willing to engage in. “Why’d you leave the X-Men?”

“It was time,” he answered without looking up. She huffed, and he laid down his book. “Helped Chuck train his first X-Men. Lasted longer than I thought it would. When it became apparent that we were never going to see eye to eye on how to conduct missions, I thought it best to part ways.” 

“Before you got kicked out?” She was pretty sure no one ever got kicked out, but from the stories she’d heard, Wolverine would be the one to make it happen. 

“No, Darlin’. I left of my own free will,” he said with a smile. “Chuck and I are still on good terms or he wouldn’t have called me in on this.”

That was one rumor down, but she had another that intrigued her more. “I heard you lusted after Ms. Grey and tried to break up her and Mr. Summers.” Everyone loved a good love triangle, though she didn’t see Logan as a home-wrecking type. 

He stared at her for a second before breaking out in a laugh. “The only thing Scooter and I fought over was the stick up his ass.”

At her wide eyes, he realized she’d never heard anyone talk about Cyke in that manner. She probably only heard glowing reports of his behavior and his godlike status as a leader. It might surprise her to know he was once as green as she was, only a little too cocky for his own good. 

Knocking the X-Men legends down a peg or two could wait for another day. Since she wanted to talk, maybe he could get some information out of her. “What kind of name is Rogue?”

“When I left home, I wanted a name that seemed independent and fearless.” She sighed, “Didn’t quite turn out that way.”

“What’s your real name?” he asked, not expecting an answer. 

Pausing for a moment, she smiled at him coyly, “Marie.”

“Marie.” He liked the way it rolled off his tongue, and he squashed the thought that followed. Her scent changed subtly at the tone he used. Ignoring that change had worked up to now, and he’d stick with a winning plan because he was on a job and that would not be happening.

Besides, he had some news that would pour cold water on any thoughts that didn’t deal with her safety. “Victor will be here in a few days.”

“What?” she squeaked out. 

He didn’t miss the way she gripped the arm of the couch or her scent switching suddenly to anxious. “He has some information that might bring this to a head.”

Her hand loosened some on the couch and he could see that she was trying to calm herself. He gave her a moment to collect herself as he got up for a beer. She would need to work on being less on edge around Victor. Taking a swig of his beer he told her, “Two things Victor likes,” he began making sure he had her attention. “People panicking and their fear of him.” 

From what little she remembered of her interactions with him and others, those things did seem to bring him some delight. That smile he’d had in the hotel before they left New York only appeared when she’d panicked. It was unnerving even now. “Will he leave me alone if I don’t show it,” she asked with a bit of hope.

“Victor never leaves anyone alone,” he added thinking of the favored nickname for himself still being used after all these years. “But it will help.”

It was something that Rogue could work with. She knew Sabretooth would leave her be while in Logan’s care. He wanted the money the gig brought more than the cheap thrill of messing with her. Even though she doubted she would have to face him, it was always a possibility if she became an X-Man and it would be better to tackle that issue sooner rather than later.

Dr. McCoy had shown her some relaxation techniques when she first began trying out for a spot on one of the teams. Logan had also insisted on some meditation during her training and both of those things would be of use now. It was worth a shot, and she had several days to work on it. The first thing she needed though was a good night’s sleep.

---

Dragging herself from bed, Rogue made her way to the bathroom. Despite her determination, sleep had evaded her. She spent the night tossing and turning, not at all bothered by Sabretooth’s approaching arrival. 

Instead, she’d awaken more than once breathless from a dream featuring Logan. The kiss the previous morning had ignited a fire in her body that wasn’t going to be extinguished by simply ignoring it. Staring in the mirror, she wondered briefly if she could borrow some of his healing because she looked like crap. However, she was afraid her new found control might be lost or worse of all, she would actually know Logan’s feelings for her. 

Best to suck it up and get on with her day. She could smell breakfast and decided to forgo a shower until she was properly caffeinated and her stomach wasn’t growling. After quickly making herself more presentable, she headed for the kitchen. 

To her dismay, Logan appeared well-rested and immaculately groomed. Although that wasn’t completely unusual as he started most days that way. It just rubbed her the wrong way this morning. Even more annoying was the eyebrow he lifted at her.

“Not all of us have healing factors,” she mumbled testily reaching for a mug from the cabinet. 

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle at her attitude. It was kind of cute seeing this side of her. Yet her scent wasn’t cute at all, it was downright bothersome. It was of unfulfilled need and their close proximity didn’t help.

They’d learned to work around each other in the small kitchen. Often they had to reach around one another for something during meal prep. The coffee percolator on the back burner was always a stretch for her and he was giving her as much room as possible while cooking the sausage. 

When she squeezed by him they made contact, not just any contact but the soft round swell of her breast. That desire she’d smelled of roared to the front, making him pause. For her part, she didn’t grab the coffee, instead; she moved back rubbing the now taut nipple against his arm. 

A growl rumbled up through his chest as he turned on her. “Marie,” he ground out, warning himself as much as her. 

A little breathy sound escaped her lips, those full lush lips and her head lifted defiantly, full of that new confidence. Suddenly, he had her in his arms, her lips parting for his tongue.

Just like their daily sparring sessions, she was eager to learn what he had to teach her. She was all too willing and instinctively she moved her body in ways that did nothing to curb his need. He kissed his way down her throat as her fingertips dug into his flesh.

Picking her up, he cradled his hips with her heat. He couldn’t remember a time he’d needed someone so badly. They’d been putting this moment off since arriving and all he could concentrate on was the little noises she was making and her scent. He was so focused on the way she rubbed herself on his denim covered hard-on, her heat making his cock throb painfully, that everything else fell away. She made a pleading noise that sounded like his name seconds before the smoke alarm went off.

Dropping her, he stepped back and pulled the skillet of sausages from the burner. If not for all her training, she would have lost her balance and fell. Rogue’s mind was scrambling to catch up with the turn of events.  

She could see he wanted to pace, but the tiny kitchen wouldn’t allow it. He scrubbed his hands over his face before glancing at her. “This can’t happen,” he said, his voice laden with guilt. Glaring at the smoke alarm, he continued, “I won’t have you hurt because I lost my focus.” 

Nodding in understanding, she watched him stalk from the cabin. He didn’t go far, doing a perimeter check then finding a place within sight for meditation. For a full minute she thought about being melodramatic and throwing a fit, but that didn’t feel right. Certainly not for someone who was in control of herself.

Pouring her coffee, she rescued one of the half-burnt sausage patties from the pan. It was a fitting breakfast after what just took place. She slowly chewed, while climbing on the counter to stop the beeping of the smoke alarm. Sitting down on the counter, she watched him meditate as she ate another sausage. He was right of course, they had completely ignored a possible danger for the needs of the flesh. Not that they would die from burned sausage, but it showed a lack of awareness that could eventually get her killed. 

The one thing she couldn’t get out of her mind as she cleaned up for the day was that he cared about her. His only reason for not finishing what they started was her life hanging in the balance. That could mean he wasn’t opposed to more with her when this mess was all sorted out and that helped keep the fire inside her alive.