Eye of the Beholder

Author’s Notes: Thank you blue_lioness, onewing and Capt_Davy_Jones_Lover for your reviews. The next chapter should be…interesting.

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“I take it that means you approve,” she says as she turns around and he can feel the air leave his lungs in a rush as he sees the front of her dress.

“Sir?” the coat attendant calls, trying to get Hank’s attention.

“Perhaps, I’d better take care of this,” she suggests with a smug smile as she pulls her cloak out of his nerveless fingers and hands it to the attendant, taking the claim ticket when she does. “Where to now?”

“D-d-d-dining room,” he stammers as he continues to stare at the dress.

The plunging V neckline gives more than a hint of her breasts so much so that he’s mesmerized and the diamond shaped rhinestone embellishment just below and between her breasts holds his eyes there. The fitted bodice shows off her every curve and the flowing skirt goes down into a small train, making the outfit elegant and sexy at the same time. But the back with its crisscrossed straps and three more of those rhinestone embellishments leaves him panting to find out how hard it would be to get her out of that dress.

When he shows no sign of moving, she gently takes his arm and leads him out of the group of people waiting to check their own outer garments. She follows the crowd across the Entrance Hall to the Cross Hall where they encounter security checking the lady’s handbags, checking everyone’s IDs and then being herded through metal detectors. Once they’re past the check point, they follow the throng to the State Dining Room.

By the time they’re met at the entrance of the dinning room by a man with a clipboard, Hank has managed to regain enough of his composure to tell him who they are. The man checks his list and then a young woman in a server’s uniform shows them to their seats. Hank holds a seat for Amanda, but she barely even notices as she admires the decorations hung around the immense room.

“I don’t care to think how much it cost to decorate this place,” she quietly says as she finally sits down.

“Nothing compared to heating it for the winter,” he softly replies as he takes the seat to her left and she looks at him a bit funny.

“Any particular reason you’re putting yourself in the line of fire?” she asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“I was unaware your elbow was a deadly weapon,” he teases while she purses her lips at him and heaven help him but he wants to kiss those lips. “I’d much rather you spent the evening rubbing elbows with me than someone who might misunderstand, especially with that dress.”

“I’m glad you remembered,” she tells him as she lays one of her hands on top of his and then gives him a sly smile. “I take it you like the dress.”

“That dress should come with a warning label,” he says as he returns her mischievous look.

“Oh?” she questions with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, it should say, ‘Caution: May cause men to run into inanimate objects when worn’,” he tells her and she chuckles.

“I didn’t see you running into anything,” she points out.

“That’s because you were on my arm and guiding me,” he replies. “I’ve seen plenty of other men who weren’t so lucky. At least two will be dealing with headaches from the pillars they ran into and I don’t care to think how many men are going to get an ear full from their wives later this evening.”

“But you still haven’t told me whether or not you like the dress,” she states as she runs her manicured and painted nails over the back of his hand.

“Wait until we get back to the hotel and then I’ll show you exactly how much I like that dress,” he purrs in her ear as he captures the hand that’s tormenting him.

She can feel every hair on her body stand up on end as goose bumps form everywhere and the sensation of her nipples hardening causes a heat to start growing between her legs. He softly chuckles as he gently rubs his nose against her ear and then inhales deeply, taking in her scent. A shiver runs down her spine and it takes everything she has not to jump him right then and there.

“Two can play the teasing game, my dear,” he rumbles low in his throat and she gives him a challenging look.

Before either one of them can misbehave any further, more people are shown to the table they’re sitting at and soon they’re too busy with introductions and getting acquainted with their dining companions to be bad. Though an occasional hand does slip under the table to give gentle caresses to the other’s thigh causing the recipient to have to catch the miscreant hand as discretely as possible. By the time the President arrives, they’re both a little light headed and they both have some trouble standing as the most powerful man in the country walks into the room.

Fortunately, dinner is served shortly after the President seats himself and then they are too busy trying to eat without elbowing each other to tease. Not that her being too busy with her food is helping him any as he watches her out of the corner of his eye. All that lovely pale skin, bared for all the world to see, just begging to be kissed and nibbled on and he can’t touch any of it.

It doesn’t help that Beast is whining and panting in the back of his mind, spinning him images of what she might or might not be wearing under that frock. It takes every bit of control he has over his primal self to not growl when she laughs at another man’s joke. By the time dinner is over, he’s not sure what he ate and most of his blood seems to be pooling in his crotch.

As the last course is cleared away, he closes his eyes briefly and firmly plants an image of Logan in a skort in his mind’s eye causing Beast to go into fits. Once he’s sure he has control of his libido again, he opens his eyes and finds Amanda looking at him.

“Are you alright?” she quietly asks, leaning towards him and giving him a better view down her dress.

“I’m fine, my dear,” he assures her. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’ve been fairly quiet all through dinner and you keep watching me,” she replies softly. “Rather intensely I might add.”

“You’re wearing that dress and you’re surprised that I’m watching you?” he asks with a raised eyebrow and he can see her cheeks starting to turn red.

She’s saved from answering by the President standing and everyone rising as well. After assisting her to stand, Hank offers his arm which she gratefully takes with a smile. A short time later, they’re filing out of the State Dining Room down the Cross Hall and into the East Room.

They find that just like the other rooms and the Halls, this huge room is also decorated for the holidays. At the far end is a raised stage with bleachers for a choir on one side and seats with music stands on the other. Row after row of chairs stretch from the stage all the way to the back of the room and people slowly file into the room, taking their seats. Shortly after everyone is seated, the holiday concert begins and with no table to hide their actions, Hank and Amanda must behave themselves.

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About an hour and a half later the concert ends to grateful applause and after the performers leave the stage, people start to leave their seats. Amanda excuses herself to go in search of the bathrooms, which she finds easily enough and attends to her needs. While returning to the East Room she passes a group of women who immediately fall silent upon seeing her and she has no doubt in her mind who the subject of their conversation was.

“Good evening, ladies,” Amanda greets as she walks past them while they stare at her.

“Miss Simon,” one of the women calls, the most senior of the lot.

“Yes?” Amanda responds, pausing for a moment.

“We were wondering what it is about the Ambassador that attracts you to him,” the woman says.

“He likes Twinkies,” Amanda replies and with that, she turns and walks off.

She can hear them furiously whispering and she has to smile to herself as she leaves them behind. She returns to the East Room to find that the chairs have been mostly cleared out of the way; some tables have been set up around the edges of the room and for the most part, people are mingling. Finding Hank isn’t a problem and she steps up to him just as a server arrives with a tray with snifters of cognac, which they both decline.

He wraps his left arm around her waist and introduces her to the people he’s talking to. She remains quiet for the most part, adding to the conversation when she deems it necessary or when asked a question. Not that she can really concentrate on what’s going on with his thumb gently rubbing circles on her lower back and slowly driving her crazy. By the time they work their way over to the President, she’s about ready to drag Hank off to a nice little closet and have her way with him.

“Hank! Good to see you again,” the President greets warmly, shaking Hank’s hand vigorously.

“Good to see you too, sir,” Hank says with a genuine smile. “Mr. President, may I introduce Miss Amanda Simon.”

“Of course, Miss Simon,” the President says with the same warmth as he shakes her hand. “Amazing what you did for that Song girl. Everyone was so sure she’d be found guilty.”

“It was a clear case of self defense,” Amanda points out as the President releases her hand. “It was just a matter of getting a jury that didn’t hate mutants more than anything.”

“Still, outstanding work, my dear,” the President assures her and she feels Hank pull her a little bit closer to him.

“Thank you, sir,” she replies as she gratefully leans against Hank.

“So, Hank, I was talking to the prime minister of Australia the other day and he believes they’ve found a way to deal with out of control mutants,” the President states. “I’d really like you to go and have a look. See if it’s something that can be adapted here. That is, if you don’t mind”

“Of course not, it would be my honor to see what program they have in place,” Hank replies.

“Good, you’ll leave right after the New Year,” the President tells him just as someone taps him on the shoulder for his attention.

The President turns and faces the person behind him and then walks off with him with barely another glance at the couple he had been talking too. He never sees the look of shock on Hank’s face or the cold mask on Amanda’s. They stand there for several moments in stunned silence as they try to comprehend what’s just happened.

“Shall we leave?” he softly asks.

“Yes, please,” she quietly answers.

They make their way through the room, stopping occasionally to exchange pleasantries with people Hank knows, but excusing themselves after a few minutes. They go back down the hallway and into the Entrance Hall that’s practically empty. They head over to the coat check area and Hank starts searching his pockets, a look of worry coming across his face until she pulls the claim ticket out of her bag, looking rather proud of herself.

“Sneaky little minx,” he whispers in her ear and a shiver runs straight down her spine.

“Well, someone had to be coherent and it certainly wasn’t you,” she smugly tells him.

He softly growls next to her ear and then he snickers as he sees goose bumps forming all over her arms and shoulders.

“Beast,” she softly snarls back at him.

“Not yet I’m not,” he purrs quietly.

Before she can retaliate, their outer garments are brought out and Hank takes them from the lady. He helps her into her cloak despite Beast’s roars of protest and then shrugs his own coat on. He steers her towards the exit with his hand on the small of her back while she finishes putting her gloves back on. The car is quickly retrieved and soon they’re on their way back to the hotel in silence.

“Are you alright?” he asks as she stares out the side window.

“How long do these diplomatic trips usually take?” she quietly questions.

“It depends what they’re willing to show me and how much of it they’re willing to show,” he answers. “It could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, maybe even a month.”

“I nearly went nuts not seeing you for three weeks and you were only a few blocks away,” she softly admits. “I don’t care to think about how loony I’ll be if you’re gone a whole month.”

“I must admit I wasn’t doing much better these past few weeks,” he confesses. “I used to look forward to these missions because it was something new, a break from the routine. I must say I’m not looking forward to going on this one especially since Australia is in the middle of its summer right now.”

“What’s the season got to do with it?” she inquires.

“I’m going to shed like mad,” he grumbles.

She nods so he knows she heard him, but falls silent once more. They get to the hotel a short time later and she’s still lost in thought as they make their way to the elevators. By the time they get to their floor, he’s pretty sure any chance of a romantic liaison has been shot to hell and he heads for his room as soon as she’s got her door open.

“Hank?” she calls, stopping him in his tracks. “Aren’t you coming in?”

He pauses as he turns to look into those questioning green eyes and it takes everything he has to keep Beast from taking over.

“If I go into your room, I won’t be coming out until morning,” he warns her while they stand there in the hallway, her door only a few inches open.

“I know,” she softly replies.

“I will make love to you,” he tells her as he steps closer to her.

“I know,” she responds a little shakily and he can see her trembling.

“I will try and make you forget that any other man has ever touched you,” he states as he takes that final step to be next to her.

“I know,” she repeats and then swallows convulsively. “That’s what I want.”

He places his hand flat against the door and pushes it all the way open. She quietly turns and leads him inside, the sound of her cloak and dress sliding against the floor the only noise. He softly closes the door behind them and when he turns around he sees her standing near the bed, chewing on her bottom lip.

“If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand,” he says as he moves closer and sees she’s still shaking.

“No, it’s just…,” she starts, not quite able to meet his eyes.

“What?” he prompts when she doesn’t continue after several seconds.

“It’s just that, I haven’t really been impressed with what I’ve experienced before,” she finishes, finally looking at him. “I don’t want to be disappointed again.”

“I have no intention of leaving that bed until you are completely and thoroughly sated,” he states, his blue eyes staring back at her, daring her to challenge his promise.

“I intend to hold you to that,” she tells him as she reaches up and caresses his cheek.

“As long as that’s not the only thing you’re going to hold to me,” he purrs as he pulls her against him and staring eye to eye. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve noticed that your shoes bring you to my height.”

“I was wondering when you were going to notice that,” she snickers. “But then, you did seem to be staring down a lot tonight.”

“I wonder why,” he playfully growls as one of his hands slips past the opening of her cloak and slides around her waist.

She starts to laugh but is stopped short when his lips land on hers and all coherent thinking stops. She lets out a moan when their tongues touch and he holds her even closer while his other hand cradles the back of her head. It’s not until the demand for oxygen forces them apart does he unwillingly relinquish her lips.

His lips start to work across her jaw to her ear and neck and she’s pretty sure that her brain has turned to mush. The smell of her arousal has Beast straining to take over and Hank manages to keep it in check, but only just. As he’s nibbling on her neck, the hand that was holding her head in place goes in search of the clasp holding her cloak shut.

“Oh God, Hank,” she whimpers as he nuzzles her ear.

He lets out a sound that distinctly sounds a lot like a purr in response.

“Hank,” she calls again and tries to push away.

He growls a warning this time as he holds her even tighter and she can barely breathe.

“Hank, where are the…um…?” she tries to asks, though thinking is very difficult at this point.

“Where are what?” he demands, not happy about being stopped.

“The, um, birth control…things,” she stammers, feeling the blood rushing to her face.

“They’re in my room,” he answers as he releases her and takes a step back. “Wait here, I’ll go get them.”

Before she can respond, he turns and heads for the doors joining their rooms. He opens the first door and goes to push the second door open only to be stopped in his tracks. He lets out a frustrated growl that makes her gasp in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” she inquires.

“The maid shut the door,” he snarls as he takes his room key out of his pocket. “Wait right there.”

Before she can huff about being ordered to stay like a dog, he’s out the door and opening his own room door. Just as her door is clicking shut, he’s back through the conjoining doors with a brown paper bag in his hand.

“I think you just broke the land speed record,” she jokes, very surprised by how quickly he moved.

“Imagine how much faster I could have gone with my shoes off,” he tells her as he puts the bag on the night stand. “Now, where was I?”

Before she can respond, she’s back in his arms and his lips are on hers, making any more thinking impossible.

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Here’s a link to the dress I’ve tried to describe: http://edressme(dot)com/dresses6019(dot)html Here’s the cloak: http://www(dot)cloaksofireland(dot)com/West%20Cork(dot)htm I think people can figure out how to fix those.