Eye of the Beholder

Author's Notes II: Just a bit of a reminder, Amanda has been through a very traumatic experience both mentally and physically and as such, she's very needy right now. As she gets better, she will return to her former self, but things like that take time. Thanks to my reviewers: Cougar, Toast and Capt_Davy_Jones_Lover.

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Her lips explore his face while she wiggles her bottom further down his torso so that she's partially laying down on top of him and he groans. He fights Beast for dominance while her fingers ghost over his arms, chest and whatever else they can reach and he's fairly sure that he'll be needing a nice padded room when this is over. She finds his earlobe and immediately starts sucking on it causing him to reach for the headboard, scrabbling to gain purchase on it.

“I am so not explaining why there are scratches in your friend's oak headboard,” she chuckles before she gently bites his lobe.

“I'll buy him a new one,” he moans as she starts to work on his neck.

He makes noises he wasn't even aware he was capable of as she squirms down his body a bit more so that her moist heat is close enough that he can feel it through the silk of his boxers and she uses her teeth to drive him to the brink of insanity. He's almost certain his heart is going to explode right out of his chest as she continues to torment him and he swears he can hear her snickering at him. He briefly wonders why he's getting so worked up so quickly and then he's given a rude reminder.

MATE! Beast screams, pushing for dominance. CUBS! MATE! MATE! MATE!

“Hush, you,” he quietly grumbles and she pauses in her exploration of his chest.

“Excuse me?” she asks, confusion and a hint of anger in her voice.

“Not you, Beast,” he hastily explains. “It wants to take over and mate with you so it can have cubs. It's getting quite insistent too, I might add. Perhaps moving things along would be best.”

“Yes, perhaps it would,” she slyly purrs and he just knows she's up to no good.

A moment later he feels her fingertips finding his nipples hidden deep in his fur and he gasps, never realizing how sensitive they are. With no warning, her lips and tongue latches onto one of those sensitive buds causing him to arch his back right off of the bed and she holds on like a bronco rider. After getting over the shock, he lets his body fall back down onto the bed, causing the bed to groan in protest and he's gasping for air like a fish out of water.

He pants while she sucks and teases that little blue spot of flesh and he's not sure if he's relieved or disappointed when she finally lets it go. When the second nipple gets the same treatment, he instinctively grabs the back of her head, holding her in place. She has to struggle a bit, but she finally manages to get out of his grip and then sits up on his stomach.

“Am I hurting you?” she asks, worry tingeing her words.

“No,” he gasps, trying to keep Beast at bay.

“Did I do something you didn't like?” she questions in concern as his hands try to stroke her.

“Oh my stars and garters no!” he quickly assures her.

“Then get your hands back where they belong or I'm going to tie them to the headboard,” she orders with a growl.

His hands return to their previous position so fast she's surprised that they don't break the sound barrier. She finally slides off of him and he huffs in disappointment, not bothering to hide his pout. However a moment later her fingers are gently exploring his belly and he moans with his need while his hard cock bounces in anticipation.

“Now where was I?” she purrs as a finger slips under the elastic band of his boxers. “Oh yes, I was working on driving you insane.”

“Amanda...,” he starts to warn.

He can't finish his sentence as her fingers stroke him from his hip to the inner part of his upper thigh and his pelvis instinctively curves forward. She begins nuzzling his abdomen until she finds his belly button and he all but loses control as she starts concentrate on that part of his body. He can't help but whimper when more of her fingers start playing under with the band of his shorts and his legs start to twitch with his pent up energy.

“Amanda, please,” he begs while Beast starts screaming to mate again.

“'Please' what?” she asks coyly as her hand slides down to his leg and then starts to work its way up the leg hole, never touching his aching manhood.

“Please make love to me,” he gasps as the back of her fingers grazes his sack and he nearly loses it.

“I guess these will have to go then,” she purrs while those torturous digits start to tug on his waistband.

In a move that leaves her speechless, he uses his feet, considerable strength and incredible flexibility to get the blasted thing off of his person.

“Wow,” she murmurs as he settles back down onto the bed. “I've seen contortionists with less flexibility.”

“I'm fighting a Beast that wants cubs, so please don't dawdle,” he warns as Beast has another tantrum.

“Yes, I guess I do have my work cut out for me, don't I?” she teases while

Her fingers pet his his hips, just avoiding that throbbing, leaking member and he has to control himself and Beast even more. Before he can warn her that he can only hold Beast back for so long, he feels her fingertip gently swipe over the tip of his erection. He groans with his need, nearly at the end of his rope and he barely notices her shudder beside him.

“Are you all right?” he asks in concern.

“That's going to take some getting used to,” she replies as another tremor shakes her body.

“What will?” he inquires.

“The...uh...stuff, that was coming out of your..um...,” she stammers and he can just imagine her blushing.

“The pre-cum?” he questions as he fights back a knowing smile.

“Yeah, that,” she grumbles.

“Well, it's not really meant for human consumption, now is it?” he teases, unable to hide his grin.

“No, I suppose it isn't,” she replies, a hint of danger in her voice and he opens his mouth to tease her further.

“Gah!” is the most coherent thing he can say as her fingers start stroking and caressing that hardened piece of flesh and the sensitive sack beneath it.

“Is there something you wanted to say?” she asks, the minx now fully back in control.

“C-c-c-condom,” he stammers and she leans over until they're nose to nose.

“As my love commands,” she whispers just before planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

Before he can even think about trying to deepen that buss, she slips away from him. He clamps his jaws shut to keep from groaning again and he's barely aware of the sound of a paper bag opening. He tries to concentrate on keeping Beast under control while she empties the contents onto the bed.

“Hmm,” she hums when she opens the box of condoms.

“'Hmm'?” he queries worriedly. “Why 'hmm'?”

“We're down to the last condom,” she tells him as she tosses the now empty box onto the nightstand.

“I'll get more after the stores open,” he promises her in a slightly strained voice. “Amanda, please...”

She leans over and gently kisses him again as she opens the little packet. Soon the prophylactic is being rolled down his length and he lets out a strangled moan while Beast shrieks in protest. When she starts spreading the lube along his erection he forces his head back into the pillow, grits his teeth and balls his hands into fists as he fights Beast for control.

“Amanda, please,” he pleads with a strangled voice.

Her hand stills its movements, but doesn't release him as the lube bottle is tossed off to the side. With a minor amount of difficulty, she finally manages to straddle his hips and he groans as she hovers above him. It takes her a few moments to get perfectly balanced while Beast continues to howl to mate for cubs, but before he can completely lose his mind, she finally sheaths him in her moist heat.

They both moan at the feeling of him fully ensconced inside of her and he's not sure who's trembling harder, but he wouldn't be surprised if the entire room was vibrating at this point. A moment later, he can feel her left hand in the middle of his chest with her weight leaning into it and it takes him a second to realize she's bracing herself.

Slowly she starts moving up and down and he tries not to whimper at the tortuously sedate pace she's going. It's not helping his sanity that Beast is going mad trying to take control and he wants nothing more than take over the love making himself, but he knows can't risk hurting her. With every ounce of self control that he's learned over the years, he lets her continue even when she moves wrong and he slips out of her.

A while later, he's back inside her and she leans forward with her hand on his chest again as she start to ride him. He tries to match her movements, but they're too erratic and he ends up sliding out once more. With a puff of frustration, she sits back and puts him back in.

Blaming himself, he keeps as still as he can as she starts moving again. She rides him as best she can, but the combination of her inexperience and her injuries slightly offsetting her balance means he keeps popping out. She's nearly in tears from the frustration and he doesn't need his eyes to know that she's about ready to give up.

Without thinking about it, he easily frees his hands from their fetters and grabs her hip in one hand while he takes a hold of his cock in the other. He gets himself inside of her, moves his hands up to her waist where he knows there's less bruising and then digs his heels into the bed. Without so much as a 'by your leave', he begins pushing his hips up into her.

She lets out an inarticulate cry as his powerful thrusts start driving her to the edge. She leans more of her weight onto his chest while he continues to pound into her heat. The noises the two of them are making are nearly deafening, but they don't care as they race towards oblivion.

A short eternity later, she's screaming her release with him roaring his own a moment later. She collapses onto him as if all of the bones in her body have been turned to mush. He gladly holds her trembling form to him even though his arms barely want to move and he couldn't be happier about it.

When he feels his softened member slide out of her, he reluctantly shifts her onto the bed with great care and then carefully removes her scarf from his eyes. She grumbles as he moves away and he leans over to kiss her forehead.

“I'll be back in a moment, love,” he softly assures her before going off to deal with the used condom.

He carefully checks to make sure that the rubber is completely intact and gives a sigh of relief that there are no holes or tears. Beast, of course, is less than pleased if the growls and hisses are anything to go by and Hank just chuckles at it. With a smile firmly planted on his face, he returns to the bedroom and his lovely lady.

“What are you so smug about?” she asks, a smile tugging at her own lips.

“The condom was fully intact when I removed it,” he happily tells her.

“Don't we want all of the condoms to be like that when we're done with them?” she inquires as he climbs into the bed with her.

“Yes, but more so now that you're ovulating,” he replies while he lies down.

“I majored in law, Hank, not biology,” she reminds him, snuggling up to him.

“If we were to have unprotected sex right now, you would stand a very good chance of getting pregnant,” he says as he pulls the covers over the two of them.

“Ok, that would be bad,” she agrees while she lays her head down on his shoulder.

NO! Beast shouts. WANT CUBS!

“Beast disagrees with us,” he chuckles. “Fortunately, the votes are 2-1 against having cubs. We win by majority vote.”

She laughs and he's not sure he's ever heard a more wonderful sound.

“I haven't heard you laugh since we played Scrabble,” he sighs as he nuzzles her hair. “It's good to hear it again.”

“I guess I haven't had a lot to laugh about the past few days,” she murmurs while she tries to bury her face into his fur.

He kisses the top of her head and holds her as close as he dares as she starts to tremble. He whispers how much he loves her as she rides the latest emotional roller coaster and he patiently waits. When the trembling finally ends, he loosens his grip on her slightly, but still keeps her safely in his arms.

“Might I ask for some clarification of some of the things you told me last night?” he asks.

“I suppose,” she mutters and he can hear by the tone of her voice that she's not thrilled with the idea.

“The treatment that saved Annie's life, what exactly did they do?” he questions.

“I'm not sure what exactly they did, but I can tell you what I saw,” she answers softly and her body violently shudders before she continues. “We were at the hospital when they did the procedure and Dad was supposed to be watching me, but he got distracted by the TV they had set up in the waiting room. I guess I decided I wanted to see Annie, so I walked to her room by myself. They had her strapped down to the bed and there were needles in both of her arms with tubing that had blood going out of her body from one arm, through some machine and then back into the other arm. I remember her crying and screaming and I found out later they couldn't knock her out since it wouldn't do any good since they were pumping the blood out of her and they didn't want the medicine messing up what the machine was doing.”

“Do have any idea what the machine did?” he inquires a few moments after her trembling calms down again.

“No,” she whispers. “I do know that it was never approved for use by the government.”

“It's the treatment that caused her to become a mutant though,” he states.

“Yes, otherwise she would have been a carrier like me,” she replies. “If I ever do have children, they stand a very good chance of being mutants.”

“If I'm the father, I'd say the chance becomes a guarantee,” he points out.

“Let's not rush things, shall we?” she squeaks worriedly.

“Not to worry, my love,” he chuckles, nuzzling her hair again. “I'm in no rush to become a father.”

“Easy for you to say,” she mutters grumpily. “Men can have kids well into their nineties, but a woman is given only a certain amount of time before the well runs dry. And if you listen to my mother, my well is already starting to get a bit low.”

“Fortunately for us, it's not up to her,” he replies.

“Yeah, but she doesn't have your number on speed dial or your email address,” she retorts with a humph.

“Yes, well, I'm sure I'll get my fair share once my mother finds out you're coming for Easter,” he sighs and he can feel her smiling. “No need to be so smug.”

“I didn't say a thing,” she replies, but he can hear the laughter in her voice.

“Minx,” he grumbles and he has to remind himself to behave as she silently snickers beside him.

After a while, she settles down and he can feel her relaxing beside him.

“I'm a bit perplexed about something,” he says as he gently starts to rub her back.

“What's that?” she asks, barely conscious as he large warm hand makes her relax.

“I can understand your dislike for Charles since he forced you to hold still, but Jean was usually very gentle when it came to needles,” he states.

He's quite ready for her to start shaking or crying or both, but he's rather surprised when she suddenly sits up and holds her left hand out to him as if she wants him to shake it.

“Congratulations, sir, you've finally met the person whom she first got to practice on,” she retorts a bit heatedly.

“Oh, dear,” he moans in remorse as he pulls her back into his arms. “Why would Charles have her do such a thing?”

“Well, it wasn't like they were expecting to have to draw blood when they got there,” she reminds him. “I think it was just an opportunity that he took advantage of and I kind of like to think that he took my threat seriously about me pushing him down the stairs if he laid a hand on me. But it's more likely that he was just getting back at me for saying it.”

“Charles wasn't that petty,” he tells her and she sits up, moving away from him.

“You weren't there,” she snaps as she turns her back on him.

“You're right, I wasn't, I'm sorry,” he replies contritely as he sits up and scoots up behind her.

“At least she had the decency to apologize every time she missed the vein,” she grumbles while he pulls her back into his arms.

“I'm sorry you had to go through that,” he responds sadly as he holds her close and she leans against him. “What did you do after they had the sample?”

“He released me and I ran off into the woods,” she answers as she twists around enough to bury her face into his his fur. “By the time I came home, they had taken Annie to New York with them. I'm surprised that you never saw Annie while she was there.”

“I was in college sixteen years ago and either returned to my parents' place or the mansion only during the holidays,” he tells her. “That would have been about the time that Jean started to learn medicine too. I must say that I do find it rather disquieting that Charles had her practice on someone who didn't have an advanced healing factor.”

“Can we talk about something else now? Please?” she begs, her body starting to tremble again.

“Of course. Might I ask why you had packed that rather tantalizing little outfit you were wearing earlier?” he asks as he gently strokes her hair. “I find it hard to believe that you would wear it at your parent's home.”

“It was supposed to be worn last Saturday night, but after our fight, I was too tired to remember I had even brought it,” she sighs. “I could wear it for you later, if you like.”

“How about we discuss breakfast?” he suggests after glancing at the clock.

“And that would be a big 'no',” she mutters as she rubs her face into his fur. “I'd rather sleep.”

“If you wish to catch a bit more shut eye, then by all means, please rest,” he replies while he moves away from her. “As for you wearing that little nightie, I would love to see you in it, but only after your bruises heal. I don't need any more reminders of how I failed to protect you.”

“Aren't you staying?” she asks as he gets out of the bed.

“I'm afraid the bed is a rather dangerous place for both of us to be right now,” he answers and she gives him a funny look.

“Why? Is it suddenly going to grow teeth and claws?” she questions while trying to hold back a snicker.

“Think about it, my love,” he says as he looks down at her and gently strokes her cheek with his fingers. “You and me in the same bed, our current state of dress, a Beast that wants cubs and no condoms in the house.”

“On second thought, breakfast sounds really good right now,” she states as she quickly stands up.

“I thought you'd agree,” he chuckles while he goes off to in search of his boxers.

“Besides, you'll need your strength for when you get back from the store,” she teases as she starts to get redressed.

“Oh?” he queries, reclaiming his shorts from the top of the curtain rod.

“I fully intend to take advantage of the fact that virtually no one knows we're out here,” she purrs as she comes up behind him and wraps her arms around his middle and he looks over his shoulder at her. “I highly recommend getting a much bigger box of condoms this time.”

“You're going to be the death of me, woman,” he moans, feeling his blood starting towards his nether regions.

“Well, if I am, at least you'll die with a smile on your face,” she chuckles as she slips away, grabs her clothes and exits the room.

“A grin that would be worthy of the Cheshire Cat, too,” he quietly laughs with a shake of his head and then he starts to get dressed.