That meant that someone was trying to break in. Or, as he found out when he rolled over, someone was trying to break out.

"Melissa!" he yelled. Why would she try to leave without him?

"Son of a bitch! Get your stinking hands off me, Summers!" Logan heard as he rounded the corner of the house to find Melissa and Scott struggling in front of the back gate.

"You sound just like Logan. I think you spent too much time in his company over the years."

"I suggest you do as the lady says and do it now, Cyclops."

"Why should I? Last time I checked, I was team leader. You do as I say not the other way around."

"Only on missions, One-eye. Now unhand her."

"Fine. My wife's givin' me dirty looks, anyway." Scott said as he pushed Melissa away from him and into Logan.

"She shouldn't be your wife." Logan mumbled.

"I don't believe you!" Melissa shoved Logan but he didn't budge. "You treat me like you want something more but you also do your damnedest to let the whole world know that you have feelings for Jean! I'm not going to stay here and watch you make a fool of yourself over a married woman," she said as she tried to walk around him.

"You're jealous! There's nothing going on between me and Jean," he said for what felt like the millionth time as he grabbed her arm as she passed.

"Of course I'm no..." her 'not' was covered up by his kiss.

Logan couldn't remember feeling this way about a woman before. She was everything to him in that moment. As he deepened the kiss, he wondered why she was trying to leave him and if she'd let this turn into something more.

"Lucy needs me," she said as he kissed the underside of her neck.

"Fine. Just give me five minutes and I'll be ready."

"No, Logan. I have to go alone."

"No way, Doll face. I'm not letting you outta my sight ever again."

"That's not nice, Logan. Please... Don't... Stop."

"Which is it? Don't stop, or stop?" as soon as the question left his mouth he regretted it. He was pretty sure that Melissa would chose to walk away. Finding her trying to leave was all it should have taken for him to realize that she didn't really want him.

"Don't stop. That feels so good." He loved the way her breath broke when he nibbled her earlobe.

"Just to be safe, you are saying you want to have sex with me, right?"

"You must be kidding. Are you trying to sober me up? Of course I want to have sex with you! But, dammit, Logan! Lucy needs me. Please let me go into the city." She cried as she pounded her fists against his chest.

"No. I told you. You're not going anywhere near that wacko without me."

"I can't take you with me. It'll ruin everything. You have to trust me."

"You want my trust? Then tell me what in the hell's goin' on!" Logan yelled as he shoved Melissa away from him.

"I don't...."

"And don't try to deny it. I know you've been lying ta me since you walked into Harry's last month. Now spill."

"Alright. I have been lying, but with good reason. Is there somewhere we can go to be alone? This is really something I'd rather you heard alone first."

"Fine. Meet me in the stables in ten minutes. You do know how to ride, don't ya?"

"Yeah, I know how to ride," she sniffed as she turned her back and began to walk away.

"Ten minutes!" Logan shouted at her back.

"Jean, can I talk to you for a minute?" Melissa asked as she entered the older woman's study.

"Sure. But don't you have to meet Logan?"

"Not for," Melissa checked her watch "seven more minutes."

"Would you like something to drink?" Jean asked as she directed Melissa to take the chair across from her.

"No. I'm fine, thank you."

As the room filled with an awkward silence Jean studied the young woman before her. She had lovely black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail at the back of her head, the most beautiful skin Jean had ever seen and blue eyes so light in color as to be almost colorless. Jean also admired Melissa's sense of style, wishing she could be as carefree in her choice of clothes. The hip hugging boot cut jeans and midriff baring shirt would just look silly on her boyish body, but on Melissa they hugged every curve and showed them all to perfection. No wonder Logan couldn't get her out of his mind. The woman was stunning.

"What would you like to talk about?"

"I'm going to be telling Logan something he might not like hearing and I was wondering if maybe... you'd..." Melissa sighed. Why was this so hard? she wondered. Just ask the damn question. "know how best to tell him. You know the man he is today. All I know is the man he was twelve years ago."

"Just tell it straight. Don't apologize for anything that you did. Logan tries to hide it, but he really is a very loving and forgiving man. Give him a chance. May I ask what you're going to tell him?"

"I'm sorry, but I really think Logan should hear it first. Now I've got to run." And with that Melissa sprinted out the door heading for the stables.

Just over ten minutes after their confrontation in front of half the X-men, Melissa came flying around the corner of the stable just as Logan decided to go look for her.

"You're late." He snapped.

"By only a few seconds!" she snapped back.

Logan's eyes narrowed as he stared at her flushed face. He couldn't make up his mind if he should put her over his knee and give her the spanking he never thought to give her twelve years ago or take her to bed and see if there was a way to improve her attitude towards him. For some reason he didn't think either option would improve her attitude as it was at that moment.

She was starting to remind him of the fourteen-year-old girl who had on several occasions managed to make him come very close to losing his temper. There had been many times that he had been tempted to just hand her over to the local authorities and wash his hands of her, but something always made him stay. Even that last day. Despite how angry he was at hearing her say she hated him, he couldn't stay away for long. He'd been gone maybe twenty minutes before something told him to go back for her. But it had been too late. She was gone by the time he got back.

He wondered what would have happened twelve years ago if he'd spanked her instead of slamming out of the room in anger. Could he have made her change her attitude towards him? Somehow, he didn't think so.

There had been something about her even then. He had a hard time picturing himself harming her in anyway. Yes, she probably needed a spanking way back when she'd been nine and had first yelled back at him, but there was no way on earth he could have lifted a finger against her. And she knew it. She knew the power she had over him. He had been wrapped so tightly around her little finger that all she ever had to do was look at him and she'd gotten whatever it was she wanted.

"Need help?" Logan asked as Melissa mounted the horse he'd selected for her to ride.

"What? Didn't think I could do that? You know better than to assume anything about me, Logan." She said coolly.

He was getting tired of that tone in her voice. She'd been using it for the past two weeks. At first he'd thought it had been because he'd decided that she should sleep with him instead of on her own. She didn't seem to care that sleeping next to him kept the nightmares at bay. All he saw and heard was that she didn't want to sleep in the same room with him. But less than twenty minutes ago she had expressed a desire to make love with him. Of course, Scott and Jean were watching, so that could have been for their benefit. But, God, he hoped not. He'd been in a constant state of semi to full arousal ever since seeing her at Harry's. He had to get some relief and soon.

"Let's go." He fairly growled as he leaped atop his own mount.

Logan didn't know it but Melissa's thoughts were very close to his. She was so aroused that she didn't think she'd be able to ride for long without having an orgasm. It had happened before. She wanted Logan so very badly, that she was afraid he could smell her arousal.

Luckily, for them both the ride to the meadow was only five minutes away at a fast trot. As they exited the forest, Melissa looked around at the beautiful wildflowers and emerald green grass. Her photographer's eye saw the meadow as the perfect place for wedding pictures. Before Jerintex decided to turn her world upside down, Melissa had started taking wedding pictures for her friends. Damn Jerintex for not learning his lesson sooner! Why did he have to use Lucy to get her to do this? Of course she knew why. She'd never do what they wanted her to do without some form of coercion.

"Oh, Wolvie, it's beautiful!" Melissa said on a sigh as she tried to forget just for the moment that her sister was in mortal danger from a man that wanted to kill her.

"Thanks. Charlie gave it to me two years ago when it became apparent that I was gonna stay. I'm building a cabin over there." He said as he pointed to the southwest corner of the meadow where a mostly finished cabin stood. "Usually all the team members have to live in the manor house, but Charlie noticed how much I hated living there so he decided to break one of the rules so that I'd stay."

"Wow, I think that's the most you've said to me in the past two weeks." Melissa said sarcastically.

"Alright, that does it!" Logan exclaimed as he leaped off his horse and stalked Melissa where she sat upon hers.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked as her horse nervously pranced away from him.

"I'm doing what I should have done seven weeks ago." He growled as he pulled Melissa from her horse and into his arms.

Melissa didn't know what to expect as he swept her up into his embrace and carried her like a child into the cabin. As soon as he kicked the door shut with his foot, he dropped the arm holding her knees and let her body slide slowly and sensuously down his. Before she could do more than take a breath his lips claimed hers in a kiss that stole the very air from her lungs. As his tongue parted her lips and swept the inside of her mouth she thought she'd died and gone to heaven. He tasted of whiskey and tobacco. He smelled of man and horses, cigar smoke and the outdoors. His smell and taste were intoxicating. When he finally lifted his head to stare down into her eyes she could only gulp in air and hang on to him for dear life.

"I'm going to make love with and to you, now. If you don't want to do this say so. Because once I get started I won't be able to stop." He said breathlessly.

"I don't want you to stop, Logan. I love you. Please."

That was all he needed to hear. His mouth crashed down on hers hungrily, demandingly. And she responded just as hungrily. He turned so that her back was pressed against the door. As he ground his body into hers Melissa raised her legs to wrap around his waist so that the bulge in his pants was right where she needed it most.

"Logan, there's something you need to know." She whispered as he kissed his way along her jaw to her ear.

"No talking." He growled.

"But…"

"No buts. I said no talking!"

As his mouth descended to hers once again, Melissa gave a mental shrug. He'd find out soon enough what she wanted to tell him. And then it happened. She felt one of her legs grow cold as she lost control over the quicksilver.

"What's goin' on?" Logan asked feeling the cold as well.

"When I'm distracted I lose control over my visibility."

"Was that what ya wanted to tell me?"

"Sorta. Yeah." She sighed. "Can I tell you the rest now?"

"No. I haven't gotten enough yet." He replied as he pulled her shirt off over her head and made quick work of the front clasp of her bra.

As Logan tested the weight of each of her breasts she couldn't hold back a moan of pleasure. He had a very wicked gleam in his eye as he bent his head to flick first one nipple then the other with the tip of his tongue. Melissa's hands were fisted in his hair and try as she might she couldn't budge him from his slow exploration of her breasts.

"Logan!" his name was a plea.

"Yeah?" he chuckled at her distress.

"Please! I don't think I can take anymore."

"Don't worry Doll face. I'll know when you've had enough." He then lowered her legs from around his waist but kept her pressed to the door so that she wouldn't fall. Melissa was having difficulty breathing. It seemed that every nerve in her body was centered wherever his hands and mouth were. He suckled first one breast and then the other. Then he tormented her further by licking his way down her body only to stop at the top of her jeans and work his way back up.

"No! Logan, please! No more!" she sobbed but he didn't seem inclined to grant her request.

As he kissed his way back down her body his fingers were busy opening the fly of her jeans. Before she knew it she was standing there before him completely naked. "My God you're beautiful." He breathed as he sat back on his heels to look at her. Her breasts were firm and high. The nipples a pale dusty pink and erect from his earlier attentions. Her waist was so small he knew he could wrap both hands around it. As he sat there looking his fill he knew that the battle was lost. This woman meant more to him than anyone ever had. He was never going to let her go. He refused to admit why he felt that way but he did. And no one, not even her, was going to separate them ever again.

"What now?" Melissa finally asked.

Instead of answering her Logan leaned forward and began to taste that most intimate part of her. He used his teeth and tongue and lips to bring her to pleasure. As he felt her thighs begin to quiver in response to the contractions of her inner muscles, he sat back and looked up to see her staring at him. Knowing that Melissa had watched him loving her with his mouth, made his penis grow even harder. He was having a really hard time keeping his inner beast under control. All he could think about was making her his in every sense of the word.

Wordlessly he stood and picked her up to carry her across the room to a blanket he had laid out earlier in the week. After he laid her down on the blanket, Logan stepped back and began to remove his clothes.

When he was dressed in only his boxers he stopped.

"Why'd ya stop?" Melissa asked.

"I… uh… well, I've been told that my size can be a little frightening." He stammered as a flush crept up his neck.

Melissa chuckled. "That's certainly true. But seeing as how I've seen you naked and aroused before, I don't think I'll be scared."

"What!?" Logan was having a hard time grasping what she was saying.

Melissa sighed as she leaned up on her elbows. "When I was ten I got curious. So I snuck into your room and watched." She shrugged.

"Watched… what, exactly?"

"You. With different women… and alone."

"And you never said anything? Do you know how wrong that was?" If he didn't calm down soon the mood would be ruined and he'd have to start all over. While bringing her to arousal was certainly no hardship, he didn't think she would allow him near her again so soon after yelling at her for something that happened over twelve years ago.

"What would you have done had you known? Would you have allowed me to continue to watch or would you have started locking your door? Hmmm?"

"I have no idea what I would have done. You never gave me a chance to find out for sure, now did ya? Hmmm?" he mimicked.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "Do you think we could get back to what we were doing?"

In answer to her question, Logan stepped out of his boxers and dropped to his knees beside her. He knew in his gut that he had to go slowly. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done to allow her time to adjust to his passion. He place one hand on her flat belly and stretched his fingers to her pubic bone. "You're so small." He hadn't thought about that.

About how small she was compared to him. Would she be able to take him without pain? He really hoped so. There was no way he could stop now.

As they lay there looking at each other, he realized that she had lost the edge to her passion during their short conversation. So he slipped his fingers down to find her. As he slipped one finger inside she couldn't help the small gasp that passed her lips. He stilled upon hearing that small sound trying to determine if it was from pain or in pleasure.

"No, don't stop. I swear if you do, I'll kill you," she said breathlessly.

"You like that?" he asked. Her response was to lift her hips. "Okay, how about this." He chuckled at the look on her face as he slipped a second finger inside her. She had her head thrown back and was moaning loudly now. Both of her hands were wrapped around his wrist almost as if she were afraid he was going to remove it and walk away. As Logan watched her learning about the pleasures of being a woman, mainly his woman, his inner beast began to purr. It had always seemed to know when Melissa needed the soothing sound. And while she might not be aware of it right now, she did need the familiar sound of him purring to help her stay visible.

As she climaxed for the second time in mere minutes, Logan rolled over on top of her. He spread her thighs with his knees and slowly entered her. She was so small that Logan was afraid he'd hurt her if he went too fast, so he stopped with just the head of his penis inside her.

"What's wrong now?" she asked.

"You're so small. I'm afraid I'll hurt you if I go too fast."

"Of course you'll have to hurt me Logan. I've never done this before."

"Is that the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. Now, please come on inside." Melissa said as she raised her hips to take more of him in.

Logan couldn't hold back any longer. He entered her and stopped when he felt the thin membrane that marked her a virgin. As he fastened his mouth to hers to capture any scream, he withdrew a little and then surged forward until he touched her womb. Melissa did indeed scream when he finally entered her completely, but in pleasure, not pain. As her inner muscles began to massage him, Logan tried to retain control. But it was too much. It was the most wonderful climax he had ever had. He was breathing as harshly as Melissa was when it was over. He dropped his head to rest on her shoulder and waited for his heart to stop pounding.

"Uh, Logan? Do ya think ya could move just a little?"

"Am I crushing you?"

"No, I have a cramp."

"Where?" Logan asked as he rolled off her and sat up.

"Here." Melissa started massaging her upper thigh.

"There. Better?" he asked several minutes later.

"Yeah."

"Good. Start talking."

"Now?" Melissa sat up to frown at him.

"Yeah, now. You got a problem with now?" Logan frowned right back.

"Well, I was feeling kinda content and sleepy." She yawned for good measure.

"Too bad. I brought you here to get the truth and now I want the truth!" he jumped up and began jerking on his jeans.

"Alright, alright. Let me get dressed." But as she stood up to get her clothes, Logan just couldn't keep himself from grabbing her and kissing her. "If you want me to explain you really must stop doing things like that."

"Things like what?" he asked with one of his sneer/smiles.

"Oh, you big oaf! If you'll wait just a few minutes, then if you don't hate me, we can do that again." Melissa chuckled as she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Please let me get dressed then I'll explain everything. I swear."

"Alright." Logan sighed and let her go.

After Melissa had gotten dressed she began to pace.

After several minutes of trying to get her thoughts in order she made the mistake of looking at Logan. He'd only put on his jeans and was sitting in the very spot where they had just made love with his arms braced on his upraised knees.

"Ummm… Well. Okay. You know that some scientists have developed cloning, right?" she asked as she turned away to resume her pacing.

"Yeah. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, I'm the result of all those experiments."

"How so?"

"I'm genetically engineered."

"What?"

"I don't know all the scientific jargon but suffice it to say that I'm genetically related to no one on this planet. Please let me finish before you start in with tons of questions that Hank will want the answers to as well, okay?" she asked as she held up a hand to forestall him from interrupting. "They, one of several groups dedicated to the betterment of mankind, created me from the sub-atomic level up. I'm not sure what my purpose with them would have been, because I was stolen from them when I was just a few days old. The group who stole me was military in their thoughts.

"They were trying to build weapons out of people. They discovered that I had been given an X-gene and was a telepath, which is what they needed. I was being trained to hunt down other mutants and return them for experimentation. I was trained to kill just in case I had to." Melissa paused and looked to see how Logan was taking this news. And was surprised to find that he didn't appear angry, merely interested. She had, of course, expected him to be angry. After all she was telling him that there was a possibility that she'd known he was a mutant from the beginning.

"Okay, so if you have no genetic relatives then how where you born?"

"They had developed an artificial womb and grew me in it."

"How did you end up on that road when you were nine?"

"When I was six they started telling me the life history of some of the mutants I was going to go after and one of the stories was so sad, I just knew I'd never be able to harm that person. So I stopped cooperating with them. I got whipped every time I refused to do anything. Around that time I was given two new 'parents'. That's what they called my handlers, the people in charge of my non-military training. They were tenderhearted people who didn't care if someone was a mutant or not. They would have to clean me up after each beating. The woman would cry for hours and I'd end up comforting her. She decided that I'd had enough and talked her husband into rescuing me. I suppose the higher-ups found out and had the car tampered with."

"But you could have died as well."

"Yeah, well, I'd already broken my conditioning so what did they need with a telepathic mutant that could turn invisible?"

"Is that a mutation of your X-gene?"

"No. It's a biosynthetic gland that was surgically attached to my adrenal gland. That's why when I'm aroused or very angry I have to concentrate to stay visible."

"So the purring helped?" again with the sneer/smile.

"Oh, yeah. That's a sound I really missed. I remember how scared I was that first night and as you held me you started purring. Fell right to sleep."

"Yeah, couldn't get ya to go to sleep any other way for months." Logan grumbled. He might have been able to maintain the 'no one can get under my skin' attitude if they hadn't just been as intimate as two people can be. Melissa saw right through his façade. She knew him better than he knew himself. While he'd had to live twelve years without her presence in his mind, Melissa had had Logan in hers every day. She knew she should probably tell him about their psi-link, but just couldn't do it. If knowing that she had been trained to hunt her own kind hadn't made him angry, then telling him about the link would surely push him over the edge."Okay, enough digressing. What about Lucy and Jerintex?"

"Jerintex works for the military group that raised me. He was sent after me to bring me home. When he confronted me and I kicked his ass, he decided to kidnap Lucy to force the issue. I should have killed him then."

"Yeah, guess ya should have. So, did Summers corner ya while I was gone last week?"

"Nope. I think Charles or Jean told him to back off until you could be present for the tests."

"Alright, then. I guess when we get back to the manor we'll let Hank have his way. I think he's gonna cum in his pants when he hears about your gland."

"Hmmm. Maybe. I think he'll be more interested in how they created me. Logan?" Melissa had stopped pacing and was facing the door.

"What?"

"Are you mad that I didn't tell you any of this twelve years ago?"

"Nope. Although I do wish ya could have trusted me way back then." He replied as he turned her to face him.

"Sorry. I didn't know how you'd take it. I was so scared that you'd just decide to dump me somewhere and never come back. I didn't want to give you a reason to."

"I guess I didn't make that any easier for you. I should have told you that there were times I thought about doing just that, but something always made me stick it out a little longer. It was like a voice in my head telling me that we needed each other."

"We did and we still do." Melissa replied as she pulled his face down for a kiss that made them both forget what they had been talking about and had them returning to the manor just before dark.