CH 7 - A Beautiful Surprise

He did not remember much of the walk back to their crude little sanctuary, except in fragments. Too much had happened too soon. The faces of the wandering man and the lost woman lingered in his mind, ghosts in his memory and phantoms somewhere out there in the scouring wasteland. Knowing he could not help them was a weight he had to carry. Yet neither of those was the true burden he brought back with him.

In war, Logan had killed. For duty, for his country, to protect those he had served with, or sworn to protect. Yet he had never hated the enemy or felt any pleasure to see them fall. Until today.

Today’s work of violent retribution had produced a savage joy that had yet to fade away. His flesh vibrated with a savage high that had yet to fade away. He felt no guilt or remorse. The two Incubi had been evil. Death had been a mercy they did not deserve, but it was one Logan had been more than happy to deliver.

For the first time since waking up in Grandfather Bear’s forest clearing, Logan felt in control of some small part of his life. He had the power of life and death in his hands. It felt good, like the first hit of a powerful drug.

That he was capable of gleeful brutality was terrifying.

He looked up to see Beauty watching him with her unreadable, golden cat eyes. Logan saw no judgment there, no second-guessing, and for that, he was both grateful and envious.

Sitting there in their crude, little shelter, Logan decided at that moment that he had never seen anything as pure of purpose as her. Intelligence without the baggage of doubt, sexual with no concept of guilt, strong and beautiful without shame. Beauty was all of these things.

“You are remarkable.” He said. “Did you know that?”

She tilted her head, then pointed at his crotch and her open mouth.

His response was gentle but firm. “No.” Logan shook his head. “Not this time.”

Beauty closed her mouth and tilted her head the other way. Logan could see in her eyes that she was trying to process his meaning. He moved closer and gently took her hand. She looked down but did not try to pull away.

Logan looked into her eyes. “Beauty, today I saw a side of myself that I never knew was there.” He shook his head. “I can’t let that be who I am. I cannot let this place re-define me and take away my humanity. If that ever happens, then I will be lost and Maeve wins.”

He smiled and touched her hand. “I am more than that. You and I, we can be more. I have to believe that, Beauty. Even in this horrid place, surrounded by such ugliness and evil, there has to be something more. Something ... beautiful.”

Slowly, he leaned in close, closer. Logan kissed her, no more than a feather-soft brush of lips. A gentle exploration and invitation. “That’s called a kiss.” He smiled and squeezed her hand. “What do you think?”

After a moment, her eyes lit up. Beauty looked positively gleeful as she leaned in and kissed him back. Her lips were soft, curious, and eager. Gently, they explored this new sensation together. Logan cupped her face in his hands, stroking his thumbs down her cheeks, tracing the line of her jaw. The demon softly sighed in pleasure. Her hands rose to caress his arms and shoulders.

His tongue entered her mouth. Beauty paused, as if processing this new sensation, then responded with enthusiasm. Their tongues danced together.

Logan leaned his weight into her. Ever so gently, he laid her back on the ground. His weight pressed down on her. Beauty’s breasts were soft pillows between them. Hands roamed across soft flesh and hard muscle. Logan lay between her legs, feeling the warmth of her core against the stiff bulge in his pants. He moved, rubbing against her. Beauty groaned and writhed against him.

Logan broke away from her lips. “I’m going to make you feel good this time,” he smiled.

He began kissing his way down her body. At the junction of her neck and shoulder. Across her collar bone. Over the top of her breasts. Down her ribs. And then back up to lick and kiss at the tender skin beneath those soft globes. His hands trailed over her slim belly, tapered waist, and the soft swell of her hips.

Her nipples, so pert and such a beautiful shade of purple, begged for attention. Logan was happy to oblige, taking one, then the other between his lips, tracing his tongue over the pebbled surface of her aureoles, alternating between the soft pressure of his lips and the gentle nip of teeth.

Logan’s lips and tongue moved across the fullness of her breasts. Beauty squirmed beneath him, breathing heavily. His hand drifted downward, over her belly, down between her legs. Fingers brushed against intense, silken heat, hotter than any human woman Logan had ever known.