A Thief in the Night

Rogue was dreaming. It was a pleasant dream. She felt the soothing motion of someone rubbing her back in little circles. Strong fingers caressing her bare skin. Warm hands, touching her without gloves. She didn't want to wake up. It was such a nice dream. The hands moved over her back and up her shoulders, thumbs dug into her muscles, relaxing them and smoothing away tension. The fingers kneaded her neck and shoulders with a slow, sensuous rhythm that had her arching, involuntarily. She could feel every inch of her skin surrounded by warm, softness.


The hands rubbed down Rogue's sore arms and back up. Fingertips trailed deliciously down her spine to her tailbone and palms flattened over her buttocks, then slid firmly down her legs. She could feel an annoying throbbing in her head. She wanted it to stop so she could just enjoy her dream until her alarm clock went off. Something pricked at her unconsciousness and she realized something was wrong. She opened her eyes and the hands stilled. Then she started screaming.


Wanda Maximoff was reading a book when she heard the soft swish of fabric behind her. She turned and leapt to her feet. Gambit stood in front of her window. It was barely open a crack, but she didn't bother to wonder how he'd entered her room so stealthily. It was what he did.


"If my father catches you here, he'll kill you." She said, raising a brow. If he'd been there to injure her, he wouldn't have been waiting for her notice him. He looked slightly unsteady on his feet. "Are you hurt?"


"Non, Chere, nothing to worry yo pretty head about." He said. Wanda rolled her eyes.


"You fucking men and your stupid invincibility complexes." She got up and closed her bedroom door. She was in an apartment that her father owned in lower Manhattan. It was one of his safe houses. It wasn't as safe as he'd have liked. "You can't even admit when you're hurt." She went into the adjoining bathroom and took a bottle of aspirin from the medicine cabinet and handed Gambit 2 pills along with a glass of water. "But if you sneak up on me again with no warning, I'll flatten you like a recycled can."


"Point taken, Chere." He replied. "Just came fo some answers." When she narrowed her eyes at him, He swallowed the aspirin and sat down in the chair she'd vacated. He allowed her to stand higher than he was so she would feel a little more in control. He kept his impatience at bay and began talking. "Alvers been re-captured. Drugged in his hotel room." He paused as this soaked in. "No sign of anyone else."


"Pietro." Wanda said with a sigh and sat on the coffee table across from him. "It was only a matter of time before Dad had him do something like this."


"He hurt some friends of mine, an he took one hostage." His knuckles whitened and Wanda regarded him carefully. Their friendship was precarious at best, and neither shared much about their personal lives, but she had her suspicions.


"He took Rogue, didn't he?"


"From right in front of me." The man growled. "An I know how he feel bout' her. Don like de idea of her bein wit him when we can't find him."


"I won't sell him out to the X-men." She said, standing up and turning away. "Just because I don't approve of the way he does things sometimes, I won't let them take him away."


"Not workin' fo de X-Men." He said. "Jus wan her back." He stood and turned her around to face him. She was wavering; he could feel it. "He killed a scientist an he took one of their own, Chere. Don tink dey gonna be too happy. Yo brother, he's fast, but he can't get away from dem all."


"If I help you, you have to promise not to turn him over to them." Wanda's eyes were filled with worry for her twin. "And you can't kill him." He nodded but she turned away, her mind warring over the possibilities of her brother's hatred or his imprisonment or death. Gambit tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips.


"Gonna be okay. He can't stay mad at you any more den you can at him." Tears streamed down her face but she told him where Pietro's safe house was. He was gone in moments and Wanda sat, crying in her chair. He might not forgive her this time.

Rogue sat up and pulled a blanket over herself. She lay naked on a large bed and was feeling very vulnerable. Her fingers didn't want to grip the soft fabric of the bedspread. Her head still throbbed and she was dizzy. The face before her came into sharp focus.


"Pietro, you bastard." She said, angrily. "Where are my friends?"


"I left them in the garage." He replied. He was sitting at the foot of the bed. He wore a pair of black pants and a dark gray t-shirt. His eyes were bold as they moved over her exposed skin. "Your friend, Kitty is quite a little alleycat." He said with a chuckle. "She looked about ready to tear my head off."


"Ah know the feeling." Rogue replied"You"You already got your eyes full, so Ah guess Ah don't mind kicking your ass in the buff if Ah have to." She didn't drop the blanket but she slapped at his hand when her reached for her foot. She was startled when his skin touched hers and she felt no familiar jolt of power as her mutation kicked in. She froze in fascination as his fingers trailed over the top of her foot and underneath. She jerked away involuntarily when he tickled her arch. "How did you do that?" She asked.


"With this." Pietro replied. He reached for her other foot and pulled it roughly from under the blanket. She struggled to stay upright and keep the blanket covering her. He lifted her foot high and she noticed the band around her ankle. It was made of thick leather and she didn't see a buckle anywhere. "It inhibits a mutation and in your case," he gave her foot another tug and she fell backwards. She felt his hand slide up her leg, "allows me to touch you with no danger."
Rogue scrambled to back away from him.


"Why try it out on me?" She asked. He shrugged nonchalantly. "There must be more dangerous people than me out there." She knew why he'd picked her. The fact that she was naked in his bed made things pretty obvious.


"I thought you, of all people, would appreciate what I'm doing." He said. "Did you like the massage?"


"So you did that with no gloves, then?" Rogue asked. She shook her head to try and dispel some of her dizziness. "Did you drug me or something?"


"Just a mild tranquilizer to make you more relaxed. And a little something for the headache." He reached up and felt the back of her head till his fingers found the bump he'd left when he's knocked her out.


"You knocked me over the head and dragged me back to your cave?" Her expression was incredulous, but she didn't move away from his touch, it was too pleasant. Logic told her that the euphoric feeling she was experiencing was due to the drugs, and Pietro did not turn her on.


"That's Sabretooth's way of getting women." He replied. "I prefer a penthouse apartment, silk sheets and a massage." He gestured grandly to the beautiful room that was well lit with soft lights and candles.


"Ah'm still here against my will." She said, sliding off the bed, pulling one of the sheets out from under him with a mighty tug. They *were* silk, and the way they felt was pretty amazing. She wrapped it around her like a toga and Pietro just chuckled from his place on the comforter, now slightly askew. She paced around the room, looking for any sign of her clothes.WherWhere are we?" She asked, stumbling into a chair. She was definitely unsteady on her feet. She tied the sheet firmly around herself and squared her posture.


"Still in New York. You haven't been out for too long."


"Long enough for you to have a good grope." She muttered to herself. "Is the bracelet how you kept Xavier from finding you?" She asked. He nodded and held out his own ankle where she saw another band, like hers. They were kind of large and bulky, but not altogether uncomfortable.


"They'll give us some privacy for a while."


"Ah don't want any privacy with you, Pietro." She said. He got up and walked to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she clumsily tried to push them away. He rubbed her upper arms with his palms and she closed her eyes with an involuntary sigh.


"You like that, don't you?" He asked, leaning close and brushing his lips over her forehead. She put her hand up against his chest and started to push at him, but her eyes remained closed and she found herself moving with the rubbing of his hands. She swayed slightly and lost her balance. He held her up and her eyes fluttered open.


"Ah can't do this." She said, her voice trembling. She fought to stay on her feet and her fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt. Pietro pushed her down into the chair and pulled the garment over his head. When she tried to regain her feet, she held out a defensive hand that made contact with flesh. She recoiled immediately, but he gripped her wrist and pressed her hand to his chest. In spite of herself, Rogue flexed her fingers carefully and felt his smooth skin over the hard muscles of his chest. He was warm and solid. When she pressed her nails against him, she felt a small shiver go through him and a thread of pleasure shot through her at the novelty of feeling his reaction to her touch.


Another warm wave of euphoria washed over her and she tried to fight it off. Pietro's hand flattened over hers and she felt his heartbeat beneath her palm. Just the touch of human skin against her own was enough to bring another sigh to her lips. She turned away from him, and closed her eyes, willing back the tears that welled beneath her lids. She didn't fight him when he moved her hand down his chest to his belly, and around his waist as he stepped closer. He knelt down before her and she felt his breath against her neck just before his lips touched her sensitive flesh.


Gambit went to the address Wanda had given him, and used sleeping gas on the doorman. He was in too much of a hurry to finesse his way in. He went up to the top floor and out onto the fire escape. He climbed carefully around to the balcand and dropped lightly in front of the window. He lookn thn the windows but it was difficult to see. He moved to the next window and was more successful. It was the bedroom, and he saw Rogue, stumble into a chair. Pietro was there, too, and he wasn't hurting her, but she looked unsteady and drunk. A ball of anger tightened in his stomach as he watched Pietro touch her and put her bare hands on his own flesh.


Gambit didn't know how the man was doing it, but he had to remind himself that he'd promised Wanda he wouldn't kill him. He saw his beautiful Rogue try and push away, then turn from him. She allowed him to touch her and didn't fight. When Pietro leaned in and kissed her neck, he spotted the sparkle of a single tear roll down her cheek. Then she opened her eyes and their gazes met.


Rogue spotted the shadow outside the window and was grateful that the drug kept her muscles relaxed. Pietro's lips were on her ear but she dared not move or push him away just yet. She knew the still shadow was watching them and she silently mouthed the name of her lover. 'Remy.' Pietro was whispering something to her and she focused on what he was saying. She would have to play the willing partner for now. The drug fogged her mind and she almost laughed at the cruel irony that put the one woman who had the least experience in seduction, in a position to try and use her body for distraction and guile.


"How long will the anklet work?" She whispered, slipping her arms around his neck. "Does it run on batteries?" Her words came out a little slurred. Pietro chuckled.


"I'll have plenty of time." He said. "The battery should last for a few weeks."


"Why me?" She asked. His lips stilled on her throat and he looked her in the eye. "Why all that risk?"


"Because you can't be touched." He replied. "Because you can't be close to anyone and because I like having things that no one else can." He slid his hands over her shoulders and moved them down her front. His fingers loosened the sheet at her shoulder and she closed her eyes as the satin slid over her sensitive skin. It dropped to her waist and she opened her eyes and looked over Pietro's shoulder. She didn't see the shadow on the balcony and wondered if she'd imagined it. Pietro's warm hands cupped her breasts and he moved his thumb over her stiff nipples. She was ashamed of the way her body responded to his touch.


"Stop." She said, pushing him away slightly and trying to stand, clutching the sheet to her. He rose with her and pulled her flush against him. She felt his erection prodding her in the belly and turned her face away from him. He grasped her face in his hands and held it still.


"I want to be the only one to touch you." He said and lowered his lips toward hers.


"Tink de lady said, no." Drawled a voice from the corner of the room. "Betta listen."