The alarm clock blared through the stillness of the early morning. Elizabeth groaned as she reached over to turn it off. She collapsed back into her pillow and sighed.
"Morning, babe," Henry said, sleep still laced in his voice. She rolled over and grinned. He was awfully cute when he was groggy and shirtless.
"Hey," she breathed. He cupped her face in his hand, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone with a tenderness that made her heart skip a beat.
"It's Friday," he said.
"It is Friday," she agreed.
Henry propped himself up on his elbow so he could run his hand down her side and rub her hip. "Maybe if you get out early, we can continue where we let off last night?" Last night, when they had quite the steamy make out that amounted to nothing because they were both exhausted.
Elizabeth laughed airily. "Of course. I think I have a pretty easy day today, just the press conference this morning and a few meetings in the afternoon. If there are no international crises, I should be home by 3."
Henry leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I look forward to it."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her husband's cheesiness and wondered how he still found her attractive after all those years, but she'd be lying if she said that there weren't a part of her already excited for that evening.
They both got up and began their morning routines. It wasn't until she was applying the finishing touches of her makeup that she saw it.
Oh.
Oh dear.
Was that... a hickey?
Any other day, Elizabeth would have found it incredibly hot that her husband had marked her as his, but she had a press conference first thing.
"Henry," Elizabeth scolded. "Look at what you've done!"
He smirked when he saw the dark purple blemish on her neck. "Couldn't help it, babe."
She tried to glare at him, but her eyes sparkled with lust. He covered the sensitive spot with his lips, sucking gently, and chuckled when her breathing hitched. "Do you need to borrow a scarf?"
"Probably," Elizabeth said as she dabbed concealer on the area. The makeup helped marginally, but the bruise was still visible. She corrected herself: "Definitely."
Henry went to the closet and retrieved a scarf. He tied it around her neck and fixed the edges so the mark was hidden. He gave her a thumbs up, and they walked down stairs.
"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," Jason greeted them, not looking up from his phone.
"Good morning, Jace," Elizabeth said. "Did Stevie already leave?"
"Yeah, she had to go in early today." He looked up from his electronic world briefly. "Mom? Isn't that one of Dad's scarves?"
"Yes. It is. I thought it went well with my outfit."
"I guess... but isn't it supposed to be like 80 today?" His eyebrows crinkled.
"It's always cooler in the morning," Henry offered.
The teen looked between his parents, suspicious of something. "Oookay. Well, on that note, I'm off to school, and I'll be home late because I'm eating dinner at Piper's. Love you."
"Bye, we love you!" Henry called.
Elizabeth's work phone rang, and she picked it up. "Okay, Blake. I'm leaving now. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Bye." She hung up and pecked her husband on the lips. "Love you, babe."
"Love you too. See you this evening," Henry said with a wink. Elizabeth blushed and headed off to work.
The press conference went quite smoothly, and the rest of the day was progressing as scheduled until there was a knock on the Secretary's door. After self-consciously adjusting her scarf, Elizabeth called, "Come in."
Daisy entered the office calmly and quietly, uncharacteristically closing the door behind her. There was an odd expression on her face, one that Elizabeth couldn't quite read. Was it sadness? Fear? Pity? It set all the alarm bells off in Elizabeth's head. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Daisy? Is everything alright?"
"I..." she hesitated. She sat in one of the chair in front of the desk and took a breath. "I was going to ask you the same question."
Elizabeth gave her a questioning smile. "I'm fine, thank you."
"How is your husband?"
"If this is about another affair rumor, then I can assure you—"
"It's not that," Daisy stopped her. "It's something else."
"Okay?"
"It was from a popular but generally misinformed gossip sight, but with the gravity of the subject, I'd rather be safe than sorry. There was an article published this morning about the press conference that claims you're in an abusive relationship and there's a photo of you with bruises on your neck and I wanted to check that you're okay and if you aren't, I want you to know that we're always here for you and I'm sure DS can help you."
"Daisy, no." Elizabeth shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, but I can assure you that that isn't the case. Henry would never hurt me. Or anyone, for that matter."
"You haven't taken your scarf off all day."
Elizabeth froze. "The thing is, Daisy..."
"Ma'am, I've looked up to you and Henry and I can honestly say that as a woman, I'm really worried about you." That was what broke Elizabeth's resolve. Her staff had the right to know that she was in a healthy marriage, that she was safe with Henry. She slowly undid the knot of her scarf, blood rushing to her cheeks as she exposed the blemish on her throat.
Daisy's eyebrows shot up as almost comical realization spread across her face. "Is that a..."
"Hickey? Yes. It is."
"Oh," she said. "I see."
"Anything else?" Elizabeth asked in an attempt to appear professional despite a very obvious love bite showing.
"No. That's it. Have a good day." And with that, Daisy slipped out of the office.
At exactly 3:02, Elizabeth stepped into her house. Henry approached her, a silly grin on his face.
"Hey, babe," he whispered as he pushed her against the door and covered her mouth with his. Elizabeth sank into the kiss, tugging his hair and pulling him closer.
"Hey," she murmured when he pulled away. Her husband was a vision. His pupils were dark and full of love with a hint of lust. His hair was a mess from where she had been gripping it. His shirt clung to his shoulders and chest in all the right places, a delicious outline of the musculature she knew lay beneath.
Elizabeth cleared her throat, suddenly serious, and said, "We need to talk."
Henry blinked, confused. "Why? What's wrong?"
"I had a press conference today," Elizabeth said. He nodded, the bemused look still on his face. She continued, "Someone took a picture of my hickey and wrote an article about how I'm in an abusive relationship."
Henry snorted. "That's incredibly awkward. Did you clear that up?"
"Yeah, but Henry, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. That means you can't give me anymore hickeys," she said in complete seriousness. He hummed in acknowledgment and took a step closer, his lips brushing along her throat.
"Henry, I'm not kidding," Elizabeth insisted. "No more— ohh." The rest of her sentence was lost to a moan as Henry sucked on her collarbone.
"What was that, babe?"
"Mm? Oh, nothing. Just don't stop."
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