“Enjoyin’ yerself?” Marie murmured as she straddled his waist, continuing her slow grind against his lap.
Logan growled and clutched tightly at her hips. “I could show you just how much I’m enjoying myself if you really want me to.”
Grinning broadly, Marie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Just sit tight a little longer an’ Ah’ll finish the dance fer ya back in our room.”
Once she was sure that Logan was calm, Marie slid off his lap and continued with her dance. She met up with Jubilee in the centre of the room and began a routine that would have put a group of exotic dancers to shame. Granted, they kept her clothes on, but their moves made it look like they’d been doing it for years.
Marie was having a blast. She could feel Logan’s eyes on her the entire time and imagined that she was dancing only for him. It wasn’t very difficult considering she could faintly hear his growl above the sound of the music whenever she got too close to one of the other males there. The other guys heard this too and quickly learned to back off.
It was only after Remy had tackled John for getting a little too “friendly” with Jubilee that someone got the guts to try something with Marie. Just like every other red blooded male, the sight of a fight caught Logan’s attention immediately and he was off to join the crowd. With a roll of her eyes, Marie spun around on her spiked heel and headed towards the refreshment table to get something to drink. She was about halfway there she felt arms around her that she knew right away didn’t belong to Logan.
“Ah highly suggest that ya get yer hands off o’ me ‘fore Logan sees what yer doin’. He won’t take too kindly ta me bein’ manhandled,” Marie suggested casually, knowing that it was only an intoxicated friend and not wanting him to get pummeled because he couldn’t hold his alcohol.
“Woff guy dozzen hafta know,” the man slurred, his grip on her waist tightening fractionally.
“Well considerin’ he’s just on the other side o’ the room, Ah think he’ll notice,” Marie said rationally, fumbling to get the hands off her.
The grip tightened even more and Marie found herself pulled flush against the warm, insistent and highly aroused body. It was at that point that Marie began to panic. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. All of the guys in the room were her friends. Her friends weren’t supposed to be doing this to her.
Marie’s panic rose as she realized that she didn’t know all of the men at the bachelor party. Two of Bobby’s brothers had flown in for the nuptials. She remembered one of them eyeing her up while she and Jubilee performed their dance. His leers had made her skin crawl.
“LO-mmbffbbb....”
When the sweaty hand clamped down over her mouth tears sprang instantly to Marie’s eyes. It had all taken a sudden turn for the worse. Marie tried struggling, but the drunk man refused to let her go. If anything, her struggles were turning him on more.
“I really don’t see why you waste your time with that disgusting mutant,” the man hiss in her ear, revealing that he wasn’t as drunk as Marie had originally thought. “The man’s practically an ape.”
Marie whimpered, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. At the feel of his tongue on the side of her throat she began to sob in earnest. It was wet and slimy and felt nothing like Logan’s tongue when it traveled the same journey.
“I’ll pleasure you a lot more than that mutie,” he informed her as he nibbled on her ear lobe.
Something inside of Marie snapped then. The little switch that she normally kept in the OFF position flew back into ON position. His hand dropped from her mouth almost immediately and Marie let out a piercing scream. Images flashed through her mind as she sucked up the man’s energy. Flashes of her and what he wanted to do. It made Marie sob even more. The bastard had wanted to turn the beautiful thing she shared with Logan into something dirty and disgusting. He wanted to tie her up and hurt her and do many awful things to her simply because of who she was.
What she was.
The first thing that Marie saw when her eyes fluttered open was Logan’s tearstained face. She was lying in their bed, being cradled lovingly in his arms. For a moment, Marie thought that it had all been an awful dream. The mocking laugh in her mind told her otherwise. With a sob, Marie curled in on herself, trying to hide herself from everything. Even from Logan.
“I’m so sorry, Marie. I should have been paying more attention to you,” Logan moaned, the pain evident in his voice as he wrapped his body protectively around hers. “I shouldn’t have let that happen. God, to think I spent all that time watching a fucking fight!”
“That was the whole point,” Marie said quietly, her voice muffled by the thick blanket of her hair.
Logan brushed the hair away from her face, staring at her intently. “What are yout alking about, Marie? How could you possibly know what he had planned?”
Sniffling, Marie burrowed her head against Logan’s chest. “Ya know how Ah told ya that mah power sucks energy from people? Well Ah get their memories at th’ same time. Ah saw in his head. He dared Johnny t’ do that dance with Jubes cause Bobby told him how jealous Remy gets when someone goes near Jubes.”
“Marie....”
“He wanted to fuck a mutant, Logan! That’s what this was all about!” Marie sobbed into Logan’s t-shirt. “The only reason he agreed to come to the wedding cause it meant he could fuck a mutant! He doesn’t care about Bobby!”
Logan clutched at her even tighter then and Marie could feel the rage rolling off him in waves. “I’m gonna kill that bastard. Scum like him shouldn’t be walking around.”
Marie shook her head, her arms slipping around Logan’s waist. “Ah don’t want ya doin’ anythin’ stupid, Logan. It’s better just ta ferget it happened.”
Logan’s hand went to her cheek, gently tilting her face upwards. His face was deadly serious, but Marie could also sense a great amount of tenderness. “He hurt you, Marie. That’s not something I’m going to forget. Never.”
“It’s bad enough Ah’ve got him in mah head,” Marie sobbed, her features screwing up in pain. “It hurt so much, Logan. Ah just wanna ferget.”
Logan held her tightly as she burst into tears. He smoothed his fingers through her hair, along her back, whispering softly in her ear. Marie focused on Logan and nothing else. He was her strength. She tried to tell him that but ended up crying harder each time she opened her mouth.
Marie started to cry harder as thoughts that weren’t her own. She saw herself through his eyes. She saw every dark and disgusting fantasy that he had about her while he watched her dancing with Jubilee. Watched as he approached her, stalking her like a predator.
Marie felt dirty.
Disgusting.
With a mangled cry, Marie shoved Logan away and scrambled out of the bed. In an act that greatly resembled what Logan had done following his first nightmare, Marie bolted for the far corner. She crouched into a ball, sobbing into her knees. It was only then that she realized Logan had changed her into her sweats and a tanktop. It made her feel a little better knowing that she was covered up.
“It’s not your fault, darlin’,” Logan insisted as he gathered her up in his arms. “He’s a bastard who doesn’t deserve to be near another human.”
“But Ah’m not human. Ah’m a mutie freak!” Marie sobbed, leaning into his arms. “That’s why he wanted me!”
Logan held her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re not a freak, Marie. You are the most amazing person that I know. No one else would have done for me what you’ve done. If that bastard wasn’t already in a coma, I would have put him in one myself.”
“But Ah feel so dirty,” Marie cried, grabbing onto Logan’s arm which was wrapped around her shoulder and pressing her cheek against his bare arm. “He touched me the way Ah’ve only let you touch me.”
“Then do to me what you did to him,” Logan said suddenly.
Marie’s head shot up, her eyes going wide. “Ah can’t do that, Logan. Ah’d never fergive mahself if Ah hurt ya!”
Logan cupped her face in his hands, pressing her forehead against his. “You won’t hurt me, Marie. I trust you more than I trust myself. You won’t hurt me. Please, Marie, let me do this for you.”
Marie shook her head, the tears continuing to fall. “Ah can’t risk it, Logan. Ah won’t risk yer life like that. What happens if somethin’ goes wrong? Ah won’t do it, Logan.”
“It’s worth it to me, Marie,” Logan insisted, his dark eyes staring deeply into hers. “If it means I can replace all those awful thoughts with good ones, I’ll do it. You’ve done so much for me, Marie. Let me help you.”
“Logan....”
Logan pressed his thumb over her lips. “Do it, Marie. Please. Let me be in your mind. Let me help you like you’ve helped me.”
Too broken emotionally to protest any longer, Marie nodded her head slightly. “Just remember that Ah love ya, Logan.”
“I love you too, Marie,” Logan whispered, kissing her lips lightly.
Before he could pull away, Marie flipped the switch. She felt a sudden rush of energy. She felt happiness, love, trust. Logan felt so much for her. All of it good. All of the awful things he had made her feel started to fade away as she saw herself through Logan’s eyes.
Logan!
Hearing him gasping for breath, Marie jerked away. She pressed a hand to her mouth as tears began to fall once again. Logan lay in a heap, his head resting on her lap. He continued to gasp in breaths of air, his body twitching slightly.
Professor! Ya need t’ come! Ah did somethin’ awful!