DISCLAIMER:
Pryde and Wisdom, the X-men and Excalibur all are trademarks of Marvel Comics. This story is an unauthorized work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or profits from these characters. But this story is copyright to me.

WARNING:
THERE IS EXPLICIT SEX IN THIS SECTION. I marked this clearly in the individual section header. The sex is graphic, but all loving and consensual (and not that much worse than a typical romance novel). If reading sex scenes like that would offend you, please don't read this.

If you want to comment, send email to <luba@lubakmetyk.net>

Part 3 Reminiscences

They had gotten out of Dream Nails successfully, with information on Black Air's alien research program, and were heading back to Muir Island. Their growing mutual attraction during the mission was now acknowledged, and there finally appeared to be an opportunity to act upon it without interruption.

Kitty found the first-aid kit and handed it to Pete before getting into the pilot's seat. She took off quickly, keeping a careful eye out for the return of those helicopters. He cleaned the drying blood off his face, deciding that, luckily, none of his assorted cuts and bruises seemed to be major problems.

As soon as they were well clear of the area, she put the plane on autopilot and moved to the back of the plane, where the passenger area offered more comfortable seating and where an inadvertent move wouldn't hit an instrument or control. Wisdom quickly joined her there, taking off his coat in the warm interior of the Runner and dropping it on the floor.

Their first kiss was even better than Kitty had been anticipating ever since the guards burst in on them when she was hacking into the Black Air computer system. Pete pulled her up out of the seat, took her place, and pulled her back down onto his lap.

Kitty wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again, deciding that her childish crush on Colossus had had no relation to the real thing whatsoever. Not only did it really help if the other party participated enthusiastically, which Peter never had in the few times she'd tried to kiss him, but somehow Wisdom just felt different to her, more alive, more electric, than anyone else she'd ever touched.

Pete's lips were pushing at hers, opening her lips so that his tongue could enter her mouth and find hers. She responded so quickly and so strongly, bringing her tongue to meet and wind around his, that Pete wasn't aware of her initial surprise. That kiss seemed to go on forever, as Kitty revelled in the new sensations, but she slowly regained notice of other things Pete was doing to her.

Wisdom held her tight to him with one arm while running his other hand over her body. In the beginning, he just stroked her back, her hair, her face, her leg, but then he moved on to caressing more sensitive areas, like her breasts. The gloves and belt were easy to take off, but then he was fumbling with the rest of her outfit while mumbling "How the bloody hell do you get this thing off?"

Kitty was more than willing to continue further, but she couldn't help being nervous, and apparently her uncertainty caused her body to tense. Noticing this, Pete stopped after a short time, pulling away and looking at her quizzically.

"Somethin' wrong, Pryde?"

"No, of course not..." She tried to pull him back into their embrace, but he held back and continued to study her. Afraid she had somehow inadvertently spoilt things and determined to get him to resume their lovemaking, she reached up to begin taking off her costume, but Pete caught her hands and held them.

"Wait just one bloody minute... Is this by any chance your first time? Is that what the problem is?"

Every part of her he could see went fiery red with embarrassment, as she looked away. Almost immediately, however, Kitty looked back at him defiantly. "If I said yes, would you stop? Does it really matter to you?"

Pete put his arms back around her, but he didn't immediately resume his aggressive foreplay. He just rubbed his cheek against her soft hair as he held her close again. "No. I'll stop, if you tell me to stop. But I'm not a bloody saint, and I'm not a bloody idiot. I still can't believe you're interested but, if you are, I ain't about to give up the best thing that's ever come to me."

As she realized he wasn't backing off, just slowing down in an effort to make her more comfortable, Kitty started relaxing again. She nestled down into his arms confidingly, willing to let him set the pace as long as they ended up where she wanted to go.

Wisdom paused to kiss her again, deep and long enough to reassure her he was fully committed to pursuing their new relationship, then continued

"But, yes, of course it matters. I don't think your first time should be a quick roll in the back of a plane -- you rate a lot better than that. Besides, I ain't exactly prepared..."

That confused Kitty for a moment. "What do you mean, Pete? You sure seemed ready and eager a minute ago..."

"I mean, you little innocent, I didn't think to stick a rubber in me pocket when we left for London. I wasn't really expectin' to need one..." Pete grinned at her, squeezing her tightly. "And I didn't see any in the med kit, I'll have to twit Wagner an' Braddock about that sometime..."

"Oh..." Kitty blushed again, bright scarlet. "You mean a condom..."

"Yeah. I ain't worried about any bugs in either of us, mind you, what with all the soddin' physicals that bloody MacTaggart witch insisted on running on all of us when we got back from Genosha. But I don't want to 'urt you, ever, and that includes not taking a chance of getting you knocked up 'cos my body got ahead o' my brain..."

Kitty was squirming a little where she sat in his lap, embarassed at the unexpected turn the conversation had taken, but touched and warmed by his concern for her. "Well, actually, Moira's had me on the pill for quite a while... just to regulate my system, you know, what with all the physical activity and stress and traveling and all..." Her voice trailed off uncertainly. This wasn't something she'd ever imagined discussing, in any of her many romantic and vaguely erotic fantasies and daydreams.

Pete figured teasing her any more would just make her even more nervous. He raised a hand to brush a few stray strands off her flushed face, enjoying the softness of her skin and the silky feel of her hair, then kissed her again, her mouth opening to welcome him and her body melting against his. "Ok, so we'd be safe, even without the rubber. But I still vote we wait. There ain't any really nice, big, flat, soft spot in this crate here, and I don't want to be rushed, either. How much longer will the flight be?"

She got up off his lap reluctantly, and went up front to check the instruments. "Only about five more minutes, unless we stop somewhere..."

He had followed her up front. Coming up behind her, he put his arms around her again. She leaned back into his embrace, enjoying the feeling of his hard, wiry body pressed against hers. "No, let's just go back to the island. Then we'll have as long as we want, I promise..."

Wisdom had relaxed slightly, smiling reminiscently as Kitty recalled their trip back to Muir Island from Dream Nails. Now, however, the troubled look was back in his eyes and he let go of her hand. "So, what's your point, Pryde? I should have backed off way back then?"

Boy, those recent comments from the Professor, Storm and the others really had rankled. Kitty had thought she was starting to get through to him, but apparently she still had a long way to go. She got up from the bed, motioning Pete to remain, and went over to the table to get his half-finished drink.

She handed him the glass, and Pete took several thirsty swallows, with a low-voiced "Thanks". Kitty went into the bathroom next, washed herself off quickly, wet a towel in cold water, and came back to the bed with it. Pete had finished off the drink, and set the glass down on the bedside table. She settled back down next to him, and began rubbing his sweat-soaked skin with the damp cloth. He lay back, enjoying the cool moisture, turning over to let her get to both sides, then stretching out with a sigh. She dropped the towel on the night-table, and reached out to recapture his hand, bringing it up to her mouth for a kiss before replying "No, of course that's not my point. Are you going to listen, or not?"

He pulled his hand away again but, when Kitty started to protest, he reached over to pat her, saying "Hang on just a sec..." He got up in turn, and started rummaging through the pile of clothes on the floor. He found his cigarettes and lit one, dropping the pack down on the bedside table. He took his glass over to the cabinet, got out another glass, and fixed two fresh drinks. He brought them over to the bed and handed her one of the glasses as he lay down again. He took a few more swallows of his fresh drink before setting the glass down and turning to face her. She sipped at her drink, then set it down.

Pete reached over to touch her face and hair, then held her hand again. "Ok, I'm listenin'..."

Well, at least he seemed to be relaxing more and more, Kitty reassured herself, as she continued "When we got back to the island..."

When they got back to Muir Island, they were planning to head directly to Kitty's room, since Pete joked that seeing the mess in his quarters would scare her off him before he had a chance to demonstrate why she should keep him. Of course, it didn't work out that way.

They ran into Brian, Meggan and Kurt as they came into the building. Kitty and Pete just had a second to stop holding hands and move apart, as they heard the ongoing conversation in the hallway when they opened the door. The cuts and bruises on Wisdom's face and the dried blood on his clothes were enough to tell the others something had gone wrong. Meggan went off to fetch Moira. Brian mostly wanted to know if the Runner had shown any problems, but Kurt demanded to know everything that had happened.

By unspoken mutual agreement, both Kitty and Pete kept any mention of personal incidents or feelings out of the story. It wasn't that they were ashamed of anything, their feelings just seemed too new and too private to share with anyone yet.

Kitty tried to keep the account short, citing Wisdom's injuries as the reason. However, when Kurt heard that Black Air was involved somehow with the Phalanx and the Brood, not to mention the Hellfire Club, he went into full leader mode and wanted all the details he could get, immediately if not sooner, complaining she should have reported in from the plane on the way back. Kurt was appalled by her description of the Uncreated, an alien race they had never encountered before, and concerned about the potential danger those aliens represented to life on earth if loose.

Moira was much more interested in hearing about Wisdom's encounter with Shrine, particularly about the Blood Eagle virus Black Air had created. While Kurt kept questioning Kitty, she dragged Pete off to her lab for an examination, telling him he looked like something the cat wouldn't bother dragging in, and hoping she could recover some of the virus from his system for study.

While confirming that he had sustained no major damage and collecting a large number of assorted tissue and fluid samples for later analysis, Moira treated Wisdom to a lengthy harangue on dragging Kitty into his problems. She also wondered audibly why he'd bothered returning to the island at all instead of going off to join his dubious friends, as she'd been expecting and hoping he'd do ever since they got back from Genosha.

Pete had a hard time dodging Moira's repeated questions about exactly how he had been primed for the virus' attack. The incidents Shrine had pulled out of his memories were all intensely personal and painful, and MacTaggart was the last person he wanted to know such things about him. Wisdom also had no intentions at all of sharing with Moira his growing long-term disillusionment with Black Air's methods and goals, or his current probable persona-non-grata status with them given his recent activities at Dream Nails (not to mention that earlier assassination attempt in London).

When Kitty had tried to follow Moira and Pete, Kurt had detained her. He and Brian kept returning to the question of why she had accompanied Wisdom instead of simply dropping him off in London and being rid of him, as Brian had expected. Kitty had to explain how at first she wanted to keep an eye on Pete because she didn't trust him. She fudged over later events by saying she went along to satisfy her growing curiosity about Black Air's activities, rather than admitting she wanted to help and protect Pete because she was growing to care about him.

Just as Kitty was hoping to get away from the inquisition, Kurt insisted she come to the communications suite and repeat the entire story for the Professor. Some of the X-men had encountered the Brood years ago, while Kurt and Kitty had been active members, and all of them had recently battled the Phalanx together. It turned out that the Professor had just heard about the Uncreated from Lilandra, about their attack upon the Shi'ar empire and their defeat by the Starjammers. There was also a lot of speculation on the possible relationship between the Hellfire Club in London, which appeared to have some connection with Black Air, and the Club in New York, which the X-men had fought repeatedly over the years.

Moira joined them after a while, which led in turn to a prolonged discussion on the Blood Eagle virus, its possible uses and potential countermeasures. Pete didn't come into the communications room with her and, when Kitty asked about him, Moira just shrugged and said he was ok and she'd sent him off with a flea in his ear. The long-distance conference with Westchester seemed to last for hours, and Kitty finally escaped only by pleading exhaustion.

Kitty quickly checked the med lab, just in case, and some of the other common living areas, all of which were empty, and then headed to her room, expecting Pete would be waiting for her there. They had had no real opportunity to talk together since they had first been intercepted on their return to the island, but they had been planning to retire to her room when they first arrived. However, he wasn't in her room, and there wasn't any sign he had been.

Kitty dug around frantically in her closet and dresser, trying to find something she could change into that would seem, well, enticing (not to mention grown-up). About all she could find besides jeans, sweats and teeshirts were some nice, warm flannel nightgowns and some nice, cool cotton sleepshirts. Somehow, that wasn't quite the image she wanted to project. Muffling a curse, she shoved everything back in any which way. Then, with a silent apology, she went through some boxes of Rachel's stuff. The problem there wasn't finding something revealing, it was finding something Kitty wouldn't feel too ridiculous in.

Lockheed joined her where she knelt on the floor surrounded by Rachel's clothes, sniffing at the discarded piles and warbling softly at the familiar, long-absent scent and feel of Rachel in her belongings. Going through her friend's things made Kitty wish yet again that she had Rachel, or maybe Illyana, to talk to right now, to help her decide if what was happening between her and Pete was a good thing or not.

Kitty had a strong feeling that Ororo definitely would not approve. Storm, like most of the X-men, still thought of her as her Kitten, the innocent young girl who had lived at the mansion during her early teens. Ororo seemed oblivious to the passage of time since the Morlock massacre, to Kitty's growing up and away during her time with Excalibur. Also, just as Xavier himself, Storm felt strongly about not letting personal matters or feelings interfere with functioning as an X-man, as witness her own dilatory and distant relation with Forge. Kitty thought that Ororo probably expected Kitty and Colossus to get back together someday like a nice, traditional fairy tale, but she also thought that Storm might be just as happy if that reunion were indefinitely postponed, to keep their duties to the X-men their highest priority.

However, sitting there surrounded by Rachel's things, Kitty felt she could hear Ray encouraging her to go for it. Most of the X-men believed that Rachel avoided relationships in the present because of all the traumas she had undergone. However, Kitty had enough memories from her experience with the adult Kate Pryde to realize that Rachel's aloofness was mostly because she had loved Franklin Richards so much in her own time before coming back in time and losing him, although she'd never discussed it with Rachel. And Illyana had certainly not been one to believe in following the rules or playing it safe, she would have approved of Wisdom just because no one else did. Illyana might have hoped Kitty and her brother would get back together someday, but she had known better than anyone how deeply Peter's actions had disillusioned Kitty, and had watched them growing apart over a long time period. Illyana had wanted Kitty to be happy, with her brother or without him.

Most of Rachel's outfits were even more outlandish than Kitty had remembered, but she did manage to find a beautiful slip and matching wrap, short and low-cut, apparently never worn, a bit on the conservative side for Ray but quite daring enough for Kitty. She also found matching panties but, after a lengthy internal debate with herself about modesty vs convincing Pete she was serious about this, she elected to skip those.

Kitty studied herself in the mirror, and was surprised at how well the lingerie fit, and how sensuous the clinging silk and lace made her feel. She started redoing her usual minimal make-up but, after she had jabbed herself twice in the eye with the mascara, she looked at the way her hands were shaking and figured she'd better quit or she'd most likely just end up looking like a clown, or worse. She brushed her hair until it floated in a brown cloud around her, dabbed on some perfume, and decided that was the best she could do.

After changing, she puttered around her room for a while, wondering if she had somehow misunderstood. Her earlier nervousness was starting to come back, strongly. Kitty didn't want to go back out and get caught by any of her team-mates, especially the way she was dressed, but she really needed to be with Pete before she went from simple nervousness to either sheer panic or total paralysis.

Lockheed hissed at her in disapproval from where he'd been watching her fidget around the room from one of his customary perches, on top of her bookcase. "Thanks for that encouragement, dragon," she muttered at him. "Look, just stay here and behave yourself, ok?"

Deciding that waiting any longer wouldn't help any, Kitty went into the hallway and down to Pete's room. Considering herself lucky she hadn't run into anyone on the way, she didn't want to press her luck by knocking and calling out, so she just phased through the door and into his room.

The first thing she noticed was that he really had made an exceptional mess in his room, especially with the relatively short time he'd been there, and the few possessions he had along. Dirty glasses, empty bottles, overflowing ashtrays and wastebaskets, and more cigarette ashes in dirty dishes. The bed was unmade, and clothes were scattered all around.

Pete was slouched in one of the armchairs, surrounded by a grey miasma of cigarette smoke. There was a bottle on the table next to his chair, and he had a drink in one hand, swirling the liquor around slowly and looking down into its depths. She had come in so quietly he didn't notice her at first. Kitty stood there for a minute, trying to decide how best to get his attention. But she must have made some kind of noise, because he suddenly looked up. When he did register her presence, he set the drink down and made an effort to sit up straighter in the chair.

She took several hesitant steps forward and stopped again. Part of her wanted to run to him, crawl into his lap, wrap her arms around him and kiss him, picking up where they had left off in the plane. Another part wondered if she had misinterpreted everything that had happened earlier, why he wasn't getting up to come to her and hold her in his arms like before, whether she was making a complete fool of herself.

Kitty almost turned around and bolted from the room in a funk. But, just before she did, Wisdom reached out his hand to her in an odd, tentative gesture, as if he sensed her preparing to leave and wanted to stop her, but wasn't sure whether to or how to. That aborted little movement was enough to make up Kitty's mind for her.

She came up the rest of the way to him, and reached out to take his hand. He still sat there, looking at her, but his hand tightened on hers. Kitty smiled at him and said "I thought we had a date back at my place, but if you prefer yours, that's fine with me..."

Wisdom got up suddenly and jerked his hand free. Walking away a short distance and looking away from her, he said "I looked for you... I thought you changed your mind, you were avoiding me by stayin' with the others..."

"I kept trying to get away, but I couldn't tell them why, and anyway you could have joined us."

"Not bloody likely, after MacTaggart's sermon, not to mention everyone asking why you bothered bringin' me back..." Still not looking at her, he continued "I heard you tellin' the others you only went with me to keep an eye on me, because you didn't trust me... Did you bring me back here just so you all could keep an eye on me?"

Oops, Kitty thought, she hadn't thought about the chance of his overhearing, especially that part. "Well, what did you expect, I was going to tell them I went with you because I was falling in love with you and wanted to be with you? I kinda thought I should tell you that first, but if you really think I should go tell the others instead..." Her voice trailed off, as she realized what she had just blurted out.

Wisdom had turned around now, but was still keeping his distance. Staring intently at her, he asked "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you falling in love with me?"

Kitty could feel herself blushing furiously, and her desire to bolt returned stronger than before. Taking a deep breath, she started to turn away, saying "Could we just forget this whole thing, please? Or would you rather I just die of mortification right here on the spot?"

Before she could turn away, however, Pete had covered the distance between them and taken her in his arms, and was kissing her. Kitty stiffened again momentarily in startlement, but then mentally kicked herself to relax, this was what she had wanted all along. As he continued to hold her and kiss her, she could feel the warmth from his chest and arms through the thin silk much more than she had been able to through her costume on the plane, and feel his legs pressed against hers. He had slipped one arm under the wrap and that hand was caressing her bare back above the low-cut slip. Her arms were around his back, her hands running up and down from his waist to his shoulders. That bulge in the front of his pants that she had first felt pushing against her buttocks in the plane was now pressing into her in an even more sensitive place, and recreating that same feeling of combined anticipation and trepidation she had had then. Yes, this was very definitely what she wanted.

Wisdom lifted his mouth from hers and said, smiling "So, you still want to forget this whole thing? Or die right now, and miss this great opportunity? It took us a while, but we're finally alone, for as long as we want, in a nice comfortable bedroom... messy but comfortable..." Kitty figured those were not meant to be serious questions, since he immediately sealed her mouth with his again before she could answer.

She was tugging up at the bottom of his shirt, trying to get to his bare skin. He let go of her to remove first his tie, then his shirt. Reaching out to her again, Pete put his hands on Kitty's shoulders, under the silk wrap, pushing it off her as he ran his hands down her arms. He pulled her against his bare chest, kissing her neck and her shoulder and the tops of her breasts above the low-cut slip, and then reached down to run one hand up her leg under the short bottom of the slip until he was cupping her bare bottom.

Wisdom grinned at her again when she jerked back in surprise at that intimate touch, taking a moment to run his gaze over Kitty appreciatively and observing "Nice outfit... definitely easier to get in and out of than your fightin' clothes, and easier to get me hands under, too... but maybe not quite what I would have figured your style..."

Kitty was getting really tired of blushing all the time, and she wondered if Pete meant to make fun of her trying to dress, or undress in this case, to attract him. Wearing one of Rachel's outfits didn't give her Ray's body or Ray's confidence. Sensing he'd made her self-conscious again, even though he wasn't sure exactly how or why, Pete hugged her to him, hard, and kissed her again, then leaned back again and assured her "You look fantastic... You feel fantastic, too..."

He led her over to the armchair and, setting himself down, pulled her onto his lap. "Now, where were we, before we got sidetracked?"

Kitty looked at him in surprise, and asked "Aren't we going to go to bed?"

Pete nuzzled at her neck, his persistent stubble tickling her skin. He was running one hand up and down her bare leg, his fingers brushing the softer skin on the inside of her thigh, then coming up under the slip to caress her hip. His other hand reached around her back to cup her breast, fingers rubbing at the nipple through the thin silk. He rocked back for a minute, and asked her "Why the rush? Ain't you enjoyin' this?"

"Don't be an idiot, this is wonderful... But I thought... You said it didn't matter..." Her voice trailed off again, as she couldn't think of any way to ask him what she wanted.

"No, I said it did matter. Because I want to be sure your first time is special, just like you are." Pete tightened the arm he had wrapped around her waist, and then continued "Listen and learn, grasshopper... ("Not another lecture, not now", she groaned.) There are lots of ways of makin' love -- fast and slow, rough and gentle, straight and kinky, standing up or sitting or lying down, in bed or on planes or in all kinds of other places... We'll try them all, and decide what we like best... But I'm an old-fashioned bloke, I want your first time to be slow, and easy... I want you to enjoy it, to enjoy us... It'll hurt some, I can't help that, but the longer you warm up the easier it'll be, I hope... And I want to go slow for me too, to have time to enjoy you..."

He held her to him with the arm he had around her back, while he reached over with his other hand to pick up his abandoned drink and take a few swallows. Setting the drink back down, he reached up to stroke her face and slip his hand around her neck so he could kiss her again, running his tongue into and around her mouth for a long time as his fingers continued to tease her nipple. If she had thought about it ahead of time, Kitty would have expected the lingering taste of the liquor in his mouth and on his tongue to be a turnoff, especially combined with the smell of cigarette smoke in his hair and clothes, an odor which she normally disliked. Instead, she found the scent and the taste of him combining with the feel of his body into a unique flavor that she welcomed and wanted because it now meant Pete to her.

"You really think I need that much warming up?" Kitty asked him as he returned to kissing her neck and the tops of her breasts above the slip. She gasped and arched her back as he ran his hand inside the silk to caress her, feeling his warm, roughened palm stroking her bare breasts. Pushing the slip down to her waist, he leaned over and took the erect nipples in his mouth, first one side and then the other. Pete licked at and sucked on her nipples for some time, as his hand supported each breast in position for his attentions. Her breasts were small and firm, and he thought to himself that they fit his hand perfectly.

Wisdom couldn't resist the tempting idea that had popped into his mind at her last question. He leaned back from Kitty a little, reveling in the look of her flushed face and tousled hair, and replied "Y're right, y'know, maybe you need some coolin' down, instead..." He reached over and dipped his fingers into his drink, then wiped the liquid off on her nipples. She gasped again, this time at the cool feel of the liquid evaporating off her skin. Pete watched in delight as her nipples crinkled up even more, then licked off the remaining drops of liquor as he returned to sucking her breasts at the same time he resumed running his hand in long smooth strokes gliding over her leg and hip and buttock.

Kitty was squirming around in his lap now, the slip riding up high on her hips. "You're doin' remarkably well, for a beginner..." Pete chuckled, as he reached down and pulled the slip up and over her head, dropping it on the floor, leaving her naked. He ran his hands up and down her bare back and buttocks, over her hips, and around to caress her breasts again, then ran one hand down her stomach and between her legs as he held her with his other arm. He felt her legs opening to welcome his touch, and thought to himself that she was indeed warming up nicely. Then he slipped one arm under her legs and the other around her back, and stood up with her in his arms.

Pete carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently. She was lying on her side, her legs slightly bent. She looked so vulnerable lying there, a beautiful child-woman. His eyes lingered lovingly on her naked body, then he lowered his body down on hers, full-length, kissing her deeply. Kitty thrust up against him in reflex. Then he lifted up on his hands and knees. She started to rise up to follow him, but he pushed her shoulders back down on the bed, murmuring "Just relax, lay back, let me do all the work this time..." Pete started kissing her down her body again, starting up at her neck, down the valley between her breasts and further down to her stomach, lingering once again on sucking her breasts.

She held him to her, running her hands up and down his back. Wisdom reveled in her touch, in the taut, silky feel of her firmly muscled body, the electric softness of her skin, the warmth and fullness of her lips. He wanted her so much he ached. He had never thought he could feel that way about anyone. And he wondered if she felt the same way about him.

He could feel her spreading her legs again, responding to the warmth beginning to spread from deep in her center. Things were going so well Pete was really tempted to jump ahead to the inevitable conclusion. But he reminded himself that perhaps the reason that things were going so well because he was trying so very hard to be careful and sensitive and go very slowly and gently, so maybe he'd better continue the same approach. He thought to himself that it was fortunate for him that Kitty didn't have any experience, because that meant she really didn't know how to speed things up. He was enjoying her responses and her disjointed comments urging him on, but that wasn't quite enough to make him lose control.

Kitty felt Pete lifting himself off her again. Waiting impatiently to see what would happen next, she was surprised to hear him telling her turn over. He straddled her legs as he stroked and kneaded her back, a massage that aroused her more than it relaxed her, then lay down upon her to bury his face in the silky scented mass of her hair, and to kiss and lick her shoulders and back, always moving downward. As he got down to her waist, he again sat back. Pete kissed the back of each of her legs in turn, starting behind her knees and moving up, which tickled and made her giggle and squirm again. He massaged her buttocks, small and firm like her breasts, noting how well they fit his hands also. Pete kissed her buttocks lightly and quickly, afraid she might be shocked or upset by more serious attention there, promising himself he'd return to that area in a future session and resolve that concern, sometime very soon.

Pete slapped Kitty on her bottom lightly, and told her to turn over again. He leaned down to run his tongue around her navel, and felt her spreading her legs again, still in unconscious response. He pushed her legs up and apart, and sat back on his heels between them to leave a trail of kisses up her inner thighs. He pushed her legs further apart and licked at and sucked on her lower lips, thrusting his tongue in deep within her, finding and licking at her clitoris, learning the flavor of her. As he'd worried about her reaction to his kissing her buttocks, Pete wondered briefly if Kitty would accept this oral sex or be turned off by it, but he quickly discovered he needn't have worried. She was writhing and panting at his touch, grasping at his hair, all she could reach, twisting around and attempting to draw him even closer to her.

Wisdom pulled free, got up and quickly shed the rest of his clothes. Kitty had cried out a wordless complaint when he released her and stood up, but when she saw what he was doing, she smiled in anticipation. But then her eyes widened as she got her first look at him naked and aroused, and he saw her body tense, trying to imagine what would happen next.

Seeing him hesitate as she flinched, Kitty held out her arms to him and pleaded "Please, Pete, I need you to come hold me, love me..."

Wisdom couldn't hold back any longer, couldn't resist Kitty's proffered body or her pleading words. He had done all he knew to make her ready. Again, he lowered his body down on hers, but now with nothing left as a barrier between them. He slid one arm under her back to hold her to him and kissed her again, first her mouth, then her breasts. Still sucking on one breast, he reached down to spread her legs apart further, and then pushed his finger up into her, causing her to cry out. She was open and wet inside, and began moving on his finger as he thrust it into her in a slow and even rhythm. He pulled his hand away and, as she arched up to maintain that contact, thrust himself into her with a deep-throated groan. Kitty cried out again, calling Pete's name, clutching at his arms as he braced himself above her. She was tense again, bearing him within her but wincing at the stretching, the penetration.

He paused to whisper to her "I love you, Kitty..." Hearing him through the pain, Kitty wrapped her arms around him tightly, kissing him, holding him to her. She wanted him close still, despite her discomfort. She had known what to expect, from books, from movies, from stories. And Pete had warned her it would hurt, and assured her that would pass, and she trusted and believed him.

She was so hot, so tight on him that Wisdom wanted to drive into her with all his might, but he took a deep breath, and began moving in her as slowly as he could, a few additional low groans escaping him as he worked to keep himself under control. His patient efforts were rewarded as Kitty began to move with him, wrapping her legs around him and urging him on to a faster rhythm. As he tried to maintain his slow strokes, Kitty's own movements became increasingly more frantic. Pete had dreamed of Kitty in orgasm, but had not dared hope he could succeed in bringing her off on her first time. Now, he found the reality even more exciting than his dream, and could relax and let himself go, to climax almost immediately with her.

They lay entangled for a brief time, both sweaty and sticky. Wisdom was exhausted and tempted to just fall asleep, but he wanted to finish as he'd begun, trying to take proper care of Kitty. He rolled off her, pausing to kiss her lightly as she reached after him, saying "Hang on just a sec..." He went into the bathroom and washed himself off, and came back to the bed with a wet facecloth. He wiped Kitty down with the damp cloth, watching with pleasure as she turned and stretched to enjoy the cool moisture on her hot skin. Pete threw the towel in a corner and got back into bed, taking Kitty back in his arms. She cuddled up to him, kissing him, murmuring "I love you, Pete Wisdom" as they drifted off to sleep.

"Well, Pryde, that's a great bedtime story... just about put me to sleep..." Wisdom was stretched out comfortably now, on his side, one hand supporting his head, the other running casually over Kitty's body wherever he could reach easily. She was pleased to see his troubled look had faded as she reminisced.

"I do pride myself on my bedtime fairy tales, thank you very much... The point is, Pete, can you tell me which particular part of that time you think you took advantage of me? I came to you, I wanted you, just as much as you wanted me. The only difference was your experience. You knew exactly what it was you wanted, maybe I didn't. But I wanted you just as much after we were done as I did before..."

"Yeah, you sure did, considerin' how we stayed in bed and, y'know, did it over and over next day." He leered at her. She blushed, and punched him in the side lightly.

Kitty continued, in a more serious tone, "In fact, with the benefit of my current, much greater experience, all thanks to you, of course, I'd say you do the exact opposite. You always try so hard to make sure that I'm satisfied, that I'm happy... You should sometimes let me worry about satisfying you for a change. I wouldn't mind that, I'd like to do that for you. Remember the grasshopper lesson you read me back then? You told me that there were lots of different ways of making love, and that we'd try all of them. Maybe we should add 'selfish' to your list. It's ok for you to sometimes be a little selfish or needy, like just now..."

"Come on, Pryde, I need you all the time... That's the problem..."

"I don't see that as a problem." She smiled, snuggling closer to him. "And I hope we never solve that problem."

"It is if it makes me do dumb things," he answered seriously, "because I'm afraid of losin' you, to the X-men, to that lurking Russian."

"You are a dummy, if you're still worried about that..." The resulting kiss put a halt to conversation for quite a few minutes, but Pete couldn't give up his anxiety easily.

"So, are you going to obey Xavier? Can you disobey him, even if you want to?" Normally, Pete would trust Kitty implicitly in any situation, trust her judgement, her self-confidence, her abilities, but he still had horrible visions of Xavier using his mental powers to coerce Kitty into obeying him.

Kitty was amused at his continued concern. He was far more worried about her confronting one elder, crippled man, than he'd ever been worried about her in fights against seemingly overwhelming odds. Of course, Xavier was arguably one of the most powerful men on earth, but he was supposedly also her teacher and mentor. "Hey, after going up against characters like Loki or the Beyonder, the Professor isn't that intimidating."

Every time Pete thought he'd gotten the conversation under control, it took another unexpected twist. "Loki?"

"You know, Thor's brother, the Norse god of evil... well, the god of trickery and deceit, really... up in Asgard..." Kitty had no idea whether Pete knew anything about Norse mythology.

"You faced a god?" Pete propped himself up on an elbow to give her a skeptical look. He knew Kitty had lived through an amazing number of incredible experiences in an unbelievably short time, he really did, but she still managed to surprise him with the things she'd drop in casual conversation.

"You betcha... See, he'd kidnapped Storm, back when she lost her powers, and bewitched her and wanted to make her the new goddess of thunder, in Thor's place, you know, so he could take over Asgard, and the New Mutants went to rescue her, and the X-men went to rescue the New Mutants... Well, it's another long story, I'll tell you the whole thing some other time..." It was getting really late, and Kitty had no intention of beginning another history lesson.

"Loki. Right..." Pete was looking stunned again. "Who was that other guy you mentioned... No, never mind, I don't really want to know. The important thing is, what do we do now? The X-men are your friends, your family... I'll go along with whatever you want." Pete held Kitty cradled in his arms, both of them exhausted from the long day but unable to sleep until some resolution was reached.

"I guess I'll have another session with the Professor tomorrow, and see if I can get through to him. If not, then we'll leave, because there would be no point in staying. We'd both be miserable, but with no gain. We can go back to Muir Island, ahead of the others, or maybe take a trip by ourselves someplace. The important thing is, we'll be together."

And, with that answer, Pete Wisdom could fall asleep content.

Continued in Part 4 Confrontations
Early the next day, it's Kitty vs Xavier, round 2, and Pete vs Storm