One Look Ch. 05

Once he got dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and rejoined them in the kitchen for coffee, he wasn't too happy to hear that his mother had talked Jamie into going back to her hotel with her for afternoon tea, tough he was glad to see them hitting it off. But knowing his mother the way he did, she'd undoubtedly use the time alone with Jamie to put her on the spot and try to dig for anything she could get on her. And he didn't want Jamie to feel uncomfortable about discussing her past, or the fact that she never actually had a family. Finally, he broke into their conversation and said, "Actually, I wouldn't mind joining you."

Her brow raised skeptically, his mother said, "For afternoon tea? I'd hardy think you'd be interested in sitting around having tea and fancy little petit fours with us, Clark."

Clark shrugged and said, "Why not?"

"Fine, suit yourself," his mother said, "but Jamie and I are dressing for the occasion, so you'll have to wear a suit and tie if want to come along."

If he could protect Jamie from being bombarded by his mother's never-ending questions, he'd wear a suit of armor if he had to, because poor Jamie had no clue just how relentless his mother could be. Not that she was mean spirited, but she had to be the most inquisitive woman he'd ever known.

Since he'd already showered, he left Jamie to get ready, while he got his mother comfortable on a lounge chair out on the terrace, overlooking Victoria harbor, with a nice cold drink, before he went in to change. But the second he stepped into his bedroom, he almost lost his footing. Jamie turned her head when she heard him approaching with all that sexy long blonde hair he loved so much, curling down her back. And dear god, the only thing she was wearing was the most enticing pale mauve lace bra and barely-there thong he'd ever seen. Though somehow, as he managed to regain the ability to walk his eyes never left hers as she slowly licked her lips, flashing him an enticing grin.

Desperate for a feel of her, he walked over as though in a trance and ran a finger along her jaw, trailing it down along her neck, over her delicate collar bone and finally over the swell of her lush breasts beautifully encased in soft mauve lace. And he smiled at how easily he could get her quivering with just a touch of his finger. Feeling himself growing rock hard in his jeans, his heart already pounding, pressing his lips to her neck, he inhaled her scent as he lashed her ear with the heat of his tongue. And damn did she ever smell sweet, especially fresh from the shower. Her soft curves perfectly showcased in such a flattering shade of mauve, that he decided was the perfect match for her fair coloring and her violet eyes, he dropped his head, letting his tongue trace the same slow path over her the perfection of her breasts, dipping low in the valley in between. Groaning deep as she softly whimpered, his shaky hands traced a trail around the edge of her thong that bisected her gorgeous ass so temptingly, and gave her cheeks a good hard squeeze. But what he wanted more than anything was to trace that path with his mouth, part her thighs and sink his tongue deep inside her, and then get her naked and on her back, so he could fully explore every last of inch of her.

Smiling against her flesh, it occurred to him, as his boxers grew uncomfortably tight that he'd wasted his time beating himself off in the shower, with how quickly she could get him aroused, just by having her close. Positive if his mother wasn't outside waiting for them, he'd be peeling off her sexy undies and spreading her open wide on the bed, where he'd be savoring for hours. And if he thought they wouldn't be interrupted, he'd be tempted, because damn, he was already aching for her.

And if he wasn't hard enough, the little minx pushed up on her toes, wrapped her arms around her neck till they were chest to chest, and sank her tongue into his mouth, making him groan even louder, just from the taste of her. She was almost too sweet for words. Cupping the back of her head, he kissed her almost senseless, groaning at the feel of her leg winding desperately around his hip, he could feel the heat of her pussy hot as sin on his thigh, straight through his jeans. Supporting her ass in his hands both of them moaning into the kiss, finally Jamie pulled back, eyes wide, gasping, with her chest heaving. "Oh, god, I just realized, we shouldn't be doing this with your mother waiting, should we?"

Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Great, thanks, Mom." Once again, without even knowing it, she'd managed to kill another perfectly good boner.

Later, sitting together at a white linen-topped table in the elegant high-ceilinged, after tea room, 'The Lobby' of the Peninsula Hotel, partaking in the ritual that was afternoon tea, Clark found himself distracted by the waiter refilling their tea and asking what else they might like. And as the little string quartet struck up, he only caught the tail end of his mother asking Jamie about her background and where she was born. Before he had a chance to intervene, Jamie was admitting that she had no idea who her family was, since she was brought up in foster care.

He noticed his mother didn't take long to digest that, before she asked, "But haven't you ever been curious to learn where you came from, and know who your family is?"

Looking around, wishing he had something to gag his mother with, when he tried to speak up, Jamie interrupted and said, "No, it's okay, Clark. To be honest, I have thought of it before, but with my luck I'd find that I have a family that wished I would have stayed out of their gene pool. A few girls I knew in foster care managed to reunite with their birth mothers, and both times it wasn't the Hallmark moment they'd hoped for. It turned out that one of their moms was heavily into drugs, and the other one told her, as nice as it was to meet her, she had a life that couldn't include the result of an unplanned pregnancy, and basically said she never wanted to see her again."

Either prospect made Clark ache for her. Imagining Jamie being hurt like that was so far removed from anything he ever wanted for her, so he told her, "Then just don't do it. Your life's good right now, isn't it?" Then he grinned. "And now that you've got me, what else do you need?"

Jamie's eyes warmed on him when he said that, and reaching for his hand she gave it a squeeze. He was right about one thing; he was definitely all she'd ever need. And to think when they met on the plane, she thought it would be nothing more than a fling.

But after talking for a while to his mother about Clark's fascinating family tree, that included French, Italian, English and Scottish ancestry that apparently she'd researched for years, got Jamie thinking that it might be nice to even know where her people were from, even if she never attempted to find her parents.

And when his mother said, "You know if you ever do want to know about your background, a lot of people have discovered who they are using those DNA kits you can send away for in the mail. So that's something to consider. And that way, no one would ever know you'd looked into your family, except you."

Though she had considered the idea before, hearing his mother explain how far back she'd been able to trace their family, did have her curious again about her own background. Finally she nodded her head and said, "You know, maybe I will. Naturally I've always been curious, but the idea of being able to discover who I am without having to contact my family would be a safer way to do it. And then if I ever decide that I do want to know more about them, and contact them, the choice would be mine."

Clark squeezed her hand and whispered into her ear, "Whatever you decide, just remember, I'll be right there with you, and you won't be alone."

Jamie pressed a kiss to his cheek, so grateful to have found someone like him. And when she looked over at his mother smiling at them, she smiled back, thrilled now to have gotten a chance to meet her, too.

After they'd finished enjoying the surprisingly filling afternoon tea of savory little sandwiches, a variety of delectable sweets and scones with clotted cream and jam and pot after pot of tea, Victoria walked them outside to say goodbye.

Once she'd hugged and soundly kissed them both, his mother reminded Clark that Saturday was the ball she always attended in aid of children with disabilities. Smiling at Jamie, she said, "And you and I, my dear, will have to go shopping for gowns. And I'm sure we'll find something that will suit you perfectly, with a shape like yours. Hong Kong has to be the best place in the world for woman like me who loves to shop."

Though Jamie nodded in agreement, she was confused, since it was the first she'd heard of it, but imagined that Clark would explain it to her once they were alone.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to meet you, Victoria," she told her, pressing one last kiss to her cheek. And she meant it too, since his mother was just so warm and friendly, that she couldn't believe that they'd only just met, she already felt so close to her.

His mother grinned, and said, "And it's been an absolute delight to meet you, my dear."

As their car pulled up to in front of the hotel to bring them back through the Cross Harbour Tunnel to his flat on Hong Kong Island, Victoria pulled her son aside and quickly whispered into his ear, "I wouldn't let this one go, if I were you. I think she's perfect for you, Clark, and you'll never meet anyone sweeter."

Giving his mother a sly grin, he said, "Believe me, Mom, I know."

"So..."

"When the times right, I think I'm going to ask for her hand."

His mother clutched her chest and said, "Oh, my goodness, how wonderful. You couldn't have chosen a nicer girl to marry. I really like her, and you've got my blessing." Then, grinning from ear to hear, Victoria bent and waved goodbye one last time to Jamie already seated and waiting for Clark in the back of his limo.

Later that night, Clark decided that one of the nicest things in the world had to be feel of Jamie's warm, soft body, naked and tucked in nice and tight against his. And he knew that if she kept on running her tongue along the contours of his chest, and playing with his nipples, they'd soon be doing a lot more than cuddling in bed.

Tipping her chin up, Clark asked her, "So, were you okay with what happened today? I know my mother can be a bit of a pain. She always been so curious, I think she missed her calling and should have been a private investigator."

Sliding her arm across his chest, to tug him closer, Jamie smiled up into his eyes. "It was fine. And I just love your mom. She's so sweet, that I was glad I got to meet her."

Wow. Already she loved her. He imagined that was a good way to start. "I just hope she wasn't making you uncomfortable, dragging up your childhood, that's all."

Though she'd tried not to dwell on the way she grew up, being shuttled from one foster family to the next, till she was finally old enough to live on her own, with him, and now with his mother ,she didn't mind talking about her past, because already it felt like they'd become her family.

And she liked the idea that everything was out in the open and she had nothing to hide and yet they'd still accepted her, just as she was.

But there was still one little secret she'd kept to herself, that she'd been too embarrassed to share with anyone, even him, at least until now. Running her fingers through his dark chest hair, she said, "You want to see something that no one's ever seen?"

Clark looked at her curiously and said, "Sure."

Hopping off the bed, Jamie went to the closet and pulled out her suitcase. Since she'd basically moved in with him, she'd brought most of her things over, having left just a few things back at the hotel - sort of like an insurance policy, just in case she needed to go back there and stay, although she was beginning to think what she and Clark had was pretty solid.

After unzipping her case, she pulled out a ragged looking piece of blue cloth, not much bigger than a face cloth and brought it over to the bed. Carefully hiding it behind her back at first, she told him, "But you have to promise not to laugh when I show you. I've had this for as long as I can remember." Finally she held it out so he could see. "It's actually the only thing I have from my childhood. It's what's left of a blanket someone gave me as a baby, that I've taken from place to place, whenever I was moved, from the time I was tiny, until I finally moved out on my own. It might seem crazy, but it makes me feel good to have this one little thing, this one constant that I've always had in my life. Of course I don't sleep with it anymore, and haven't since I was a kid, but it's comforting just to know that I have it. And you probably think it's weird for a grown woman to be dragging around a scrap of an old blanket, but oddly it makes me feel safe just to know that it's in reach."

She shrugged and waited, wondering what he'd think.

Clark reached out and fingered the worn pale blue cloth, shook his head and said, "I don't think it's strange at all." Then he glanced around the room and gave her a little smile, deciding to share with her, too. "You ever wonder why this one room is so stark, painted plain white, with no other color, when I've got color everywhere else in here?"

She looked around the room then, too. "Actually I had wonder about that. I just thought you might find the neutrality of it kind of soothing."

When he reached for her hand, she crawled back on the bed, bringing her worn scrap of blanket with her. Tugging her close to his side, heaving a breath, he explained it to her. "When I was young, my life was pretty unsettled, too, since my dad's business had us moving from country to country through most of my childhood. It might not have been the same way yours was, but it was still kind of nomadic the way lived moving from place to place, especially for a kid growing up. I think I told you we lived all around the world, and we really did. I think I've lived on pretty much every continent. Though I was lucky enough to have my parents, I'd always get anxious whenever I had to start over again in a new place and new school with new teachers, and all new kids I didn't know, wondering if I'd be lucky enough to make any friends. And being a scrawny kid with glasses, as you can imagine, never made me the most popular kid in school. But the first apartment I can remember living in, in New York as a boy, was all done in white, including my bedroom. And I guess for some reason I'd enjoyed the cool comfort of it being plain and unadorned. Then after we started moving for my father's business, I asked my parents if I could have my bedroom painted white like our old place, and eventually it got be a habit, we'd move and they'd just paint my room white for me without me even asking. And that's always been my one constant, my sanctuary, even if I was getting bullied or singled out at school, I always had the same room to come home to, no matter where we were living, it felt like my own little space. So, I've never changed it. And I don't think it's odd that you carry your blanket." He fingered it, as he smiled into her eyes. "And I'd say we have a lot in common. Both of us were moved around a lot as kids, and though I had my parents, I don't think I ever really felt settled. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, and told her, "At least until now, with you."

Jamie felt herself tearing up, as she hugged him tight to her chest. Seems they were a lot more alike than she knew. But it could be that things might change once she discovered who she really was, though she really hoped not. Not when things were finally so good for both of them...