Elizabeth sat in the middle of the bed surrounded by briefs. It had been a shit day and the evening was just more of the same. If she wanted to reflect on it, she would tell herself that she was just in a bad mood and the things that happened tonight normally wouldn't have bothered her in the least, maybe she was hormonal. She groaned. She hated it when that came up. The last thing she wanted to do at this point was admit the she might be affected by her monthly cycle. Men, worldwide, would have a field day with that.
She threw her head back against the headboard and reached out patting the bedding, looking for her phone. Elizabeth picked it up and checked the date. "Fuck," she muttered. She'd probably start her period in three or four days, which meant she'd be in Brussels at the World Trade Summit. "Jetlag and that," she muttered. Sometimes being a woman sucked.
Henry walked in, and out of the corner of her eye, she watched him appraise her, trying to get a read on her current mood. He probably thought she was hormonal after her blow up in the kitchen at all of them about picking up after themselves and taking their fucking laundry upstairs. "I'm still pissed," she said, her tone even. Without saying a word, Henry moved to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Elizabeth pushed the brief off her lap and tossed her glasses on the bed. She'd been looking at the same page for ten minutes and hadn't read a word. It was time to call it quits. Maybe she'd get up early tomorrow and finish it. She grunted. That was unlikely. She'd glance at it on the way to work and try to get some of the others in over lunch. Just the thought weighed heavily on her.
Henry emerged in his t-shirt and boxers and set up shop on the chaise. She wondered why he didn't get in bed, but surveying the binders stacked up all over it, Elizabeth decided that he didn't want to approach the topic of her moving her stuff. She gave in to the fact that she wasn't going to get anything accomplished and started shoving the folders and binders into her briefcase.
When the bed was clear, Elizabeth scooted down a bit to rest her head on the pillows and closed her eyes. She didn't see Henry move, but felt his movement and seconds later the bed dipped under his weight, his hand trailing up her bare leg. "Don't," she murmured, eyes still closed, the stress of the day still coursing through her veins.
"Why not?' he asked. "You need to relax." She sighed in resignation, but sucked in a sharp breath when his lips touched the inside of her thigh. Henry chuckled and shifted his weight to straddle her legs. They both heard the snap of her glasses break in two under the weight of Henry's knee. Elizabeth's eyes shot open and she caught Henry's expression as he cringed, knowing that he had accidentally broken her favorite red reading glasses.
Suddenly, the entire day was more than Elizabeth could take and all of her emotions came spilling out of her eyes. She wasn't typically a crier and the fact that she was crying over something so dumb propelled her even further into the abyss. "Damnit," she breathed out. "I hate it when I get like this." She felt Henry climb off her and heard the glasses hit the side of the trash can across the room. She opened her eyes as the other half clattered in. "Good shot," she mumbled, causing Henry to chuckle.
"I'm sorry about your glasses. You can use mine tomorrow and I'll pick up another pair for you."
"I've got more. It's not even about that," Elizabeth sighed. "It's just been a really bad day. I'm just in a bad mood." She swiped at her eyes, ridding herself of her tears.
"We need to fix that," Henry said and suddenly he had his arm banded around Elizabeth's waist hauling her down the bed so she lay flat. He pulled his hand out from under her and his fingertips ghosted her side, coming to rest on her hip.
She sucked her breath in sharply, keenly aware of the goosebumps that covered her torso. "And how do you propose to fix my bad mood, Dr. McCord?" she asked.
He grinned wickedly and his stare was putting all of her senses on high alert. "I'm going to fuck it out of you." His lips were on hers, hard and demanding, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, stealing her breath. She accepted the onslaught as her stress switched over to longing, then arousal. Henry felt the switch and pulled back and shifted his weight off of her.
He was surprised when she rolled off the bed and stood in front of the him. She pulled the clip from her hair, letting it fall, just shy of her shoulders. She gave him a smirk before tugging her tee over her head, exposing her bare breasts. Then she pushed her shorts down past her hips, letting them fall to the floor. Crawling into the middle of the bed, she flopped down on her back and gave Henry a piercing look, arching her eyebrows. "You have your work cut out for you."
"I love a challenge," Henry murmured, plotting his actions. He grinned and made his move which caused her to moan loudly. "Oh, babe, this is going to be fun."
Half an hour later, Elizabeth lay upside down in the bed. Her chest was heaving and her legs still involuntarily twitching. Henry snuggled up next to her looking like the cat that ate the canary. "How's your mood now?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Elizabeth turned to look at him, her thoughts still a little scrambled.
"That's what I thought," he smirked, kissing her cheek. He climbed off the bed and picked up her clothes, handing them back to her. She pulled them on and climbed in between the sheets. "Tomorrow will be better babe." He pulled her in close.
"Sorry I was so bitchy tonight," she mumbled, on the verge of sleep.
"You were a little crazed," Henry agreed. She threw an elbow playfully into his side.
"But if I get rewarded like this every time, there's not much reason to stop," she said. Elizabeth felt him smile against her shoulder.
"Goodnight beautiful, and I am sorry about your glasses."
"It's not a big deal, really." She kissed the hand she held. "Goodnight handsome." Clutching his hand to her chest, Elizabeth fell asleep dreaming of better tomorrows.
AN: a mobazan27 prompt. Broken red reading glasses. Reviews are appreciated.