Ahh, I wanted this to be longer/more hardcore, but I haven't slept in quite some time and it just wouldn't fit. I like this idea a lot though.
The council meeting had dragged on for hours already, and it didn't look like it would be wrapping up anytime soon. Tenzin had just been sighing over the expectation that he wouldn't be home until after his family was asleep, so when the page slipped into the room to announce an urgent call from his wife it was a welcome interruption. Tarrlok returned to his speech, but nodded graciously as Tenzin stood and moved away to take the phone the man carried.
The page bowed and backed away as he said, "Pema, what's the matter?"
"Nothing much, really. It isn't important. I just wanted to let you know that those silk sheets I ordered from Ba Sing Se arrived this afternoon."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "Oh? Because I-"
"The children went to sleep early, and I've just been lying here in bed. I can't get enough of it. There's really nothing like the feeling of silk against skin."
He paused for a moment before he spoke. "Is that so?"
"The only way it could be better would be if a certain someone was here with me."
"Pema, I'm in a meeting-"
"They're in the room with you? They can hear you? Then you had better be careful just what you say."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that if you can't be here with me, I'm going to have to entertain myself. You should make sure the others don't have any reason to suspect you."
If there had been a moment to cut her off, this would have been it. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. When he glanced over his shoulder at the table where the other council members sat, he couldn't tell if he was imagining the way they all seemed to quickly turn away when he looked at them. By the time he'd gotten control of himself, it was too late.
"Tenzin," she murmured, "You could be the one touching me right now." He could just barely hear the whisper of shifting fabric, but the way her breath caught was unmistakable. She didn't say much after that point, but listening to every little noise and gasp was pure agony. She never had been able to stay quiet in bed, but it was his little secret. He was the one who could make her cry out. He should have been the one there, coaxing those little stifled whimpers out of her.
He had just enough control of himself to remember that he was supposed to be talking and managed to sprinkle the imaginary conversation with periodic 'Oh?'s and 'I see.'s. It was so hard to stand there with a calm face when he knew what it meant when her breath sped up like that. He could just imagine the flush spreading over her skin as she moved against him. It was torture to stand there and listen without reacting. She cried his name as she came.
She was still taking deep, shuddering breaths when Tenzin made up his mind. "Yes, I understand completely and I'm sure the others will as well. I'll be home as soon as I possibly can." The last thing he heard as he hung up the phone was Pema's laughter. He turned to the council and bowed deeply. "I must apologize, but my youngest daughter has a fever and has been calling for me. I'm afraid that I must go to her." He barely waited for their startled agreement before he turned and headed for the door at a pace too fast to be strictly called a walk. There was a woman lying on silk sheets waiting for him.