Aaron heard the "click, click, click" down the hall and he froze. He knew exactly who was coming. The door to his office flew open and Lorraine sauntered in.
He crossed his arm defensively. "Well if it isn't the devil herself."
She smiled at him, her lips curling upward like the Cheshire cat. "Oh please, I did you a favor."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"I've got some paperwork for you." Lorraine sat down on the corner of his desk and it took every ounce of his willpower not to shove the old bat off.
"You could have left it with my secretary."
She slid a small file folder of paperwork across his desk. "This is a little more . . .personal."
Aaron hated that it had piqued his interest. He opened the folder and quickly read over the papers. "A CUSTODY AGREEMENT!?"
"You're about to be the second most powerful man in the country. I thought you could use some protection."
"Protection? The only person I need protection from is you!" he spat.
She chuckled. "Oh My! Becoming a father has made you so emotional! It's just a legality really. I had the lawyers draw up some paperwork for you. A standard custody agreement, a child support plan that will go all the way up until the little brat turns eighteen. Of course there's some paternity paperwork that's going to need to be handled to make it all legally binding, but I'm sure Emily. . ."
"YOU KEEP EMILY'S NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!" He shoved the envelope off the desk, sending papers flying.
Lorraine stood up, adjusting her skirt. "Aaron! How do you say it. . . muy caliente!"
Aaron crouched down, stabbing his finger angrily in Lorraine's face. "You listen to me, and listen well because I never want to see your face again. You will not talk to or about Emily, or my daughter. You have no jurisdiction over my personal life, and if you ever try to threaten my family again, I will ruin this whole campaign for you" He slammed his hands against the wall, pinning Lorraine to the wall. "Do you understand?"
The intercom on Aaron's desk buzzed. Lorraine smirked once again.``You will do nothing. I hold your and Kirkman's whole political campaign by the balls and we both know it. Now you answer your call, and look over that paperwork when you get the chance." She slipped out from under his arm, and sashayed out the door unphased.
Aaron sat down at his desk and sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. The intercom buzzed once again and Aaron answered.
"Miss Rhodes is here to see you." Alexis, his secretary said.
Aaron's heart jumped into his throat, choking him. Emily. Emily was here to see him. "Give me about two minutes and then let her come in." He choked out.
He jumped up frantically grabbing up the paperwork he had sent flying around the room. He quickly threw them into the folder and tossed the folder to the far end of his desk. He eased down into his chair and tried to appear relaxed.
Emily knocked softly.
"Come in!" He called, suddenly frozen to his chair, his muscles forgetting how to cooperate.
Emily poked her head in shyly. "Are you busy?"
Aaron forced himself to stand up. "No please. I always have time for you."
She slowly entered the room, nervously pulling her sleeves down over her hands. "We need to talk."
"Emily I should have stopped the moment I realized what Lorraine was doing. You and Elena mean everything to me. I mean it . . . I. . . "
She held up her hand. "No, it was me. I overreacted."
"You had every reason to overreact."
She walked closer to his desk. "I jumped the gun. . . I. . ."
He smiled. "You better watch saying gun in the white house."
Emily smirked, suddenly feeling much more at ease. She glanced over at the corner of his desk, where sure enough just as Seth had said, behind a scorpion paperweight, was a picture of him and her. She nodded towards it. "I have the same picture in my night stand."
This caused him to smile. "It made coming into this office every day worthwhile."
She bit her lip. "I shouldn't have left. I was scared. . .I. . . we. . ."
Aaron nodded. "Yeah. . . we. . . I should. . . "
Emily glanced up at him. Their eyes met, words tied up in a moment of stillness. Emily turned her head, brushing off the heated tension rising between them, pretending to be engrossed in the artwork on the wall. Aaron struted over to her, and grabbed her face, pulling his lips to hers. He couldn't help himself. The only thing that mattered to him, was touching her. As their lips met, electricity rippled across her skin. His smell, rich oak, peppered with dark amber notes filled her nose, shutting down every instinct, every part of her brain that was screaming not to do this. This reckless behavior made her feel more alive than she had in a long time. She was good at playing cool, full of logic and feigned detachment, but she had ached for his touch ever since their last entanglement. His hands slid under her shirt, his fingertips gliding across her soft skin. His body was absolutely buzzing, his hands fumbling with excitement as they faltered with the delicate clasps of her bra.
"Just take it off already" She growled, tossing her blouse over her head. Her phone rang in her purse, which had been tossed into the corner, both of them paying it no attention.
Aaron unhooked her bra, breathing a ragged sigh of relief. He stared in awe, drinking in her exquisite form. Veins ran across her porcelain skin, creating a map across her body. Aaron traced them with his fingertips, gliding carefully across the milky canvas before him.
She grabbed his neck, her fingers grasping at wisps of hair that curled slightly at the nape of his neck and pulled him to her. Her mouth devoured his, happy to be reunited after all these years. Her hands were shaking as she undid his belt, but eagerly tugged his pants off. She started to unbutton his shirt, becoming more impatient with each button angry at the cloth between them. He chuckled and pulled the shirt over his head. Her hands glided down his now bare chest, her fingernails lightly grazing his tan flesh. Her fingers danced down his back, sending a shiver down his spine.
Emily pushed up against him, aching to be closer, knocking him into his desk. He glanced back, swiping everything to the floor. He scooped Emily up, placing her on the desk. Emily's phone rang once again.
Aaron pulled back, the sweet taste of Emily's lips still lingering on his tongue. "Someone really wants to talk to you."
Emily's brow furrowed, her body pouting, begging for more of Aaron's touch. "And someone really wants you. . . me."
His heart beat wildly, not out of fear but what his body wanted. "I've missed you." He replied, pressing his lips against hers once more.
She took his face in both hands, staring into his eyes. "I missed you too."
She brushed her lips across his neck, her warm breath sending chills down his spine. Her mouth worked its way up to his ear lobe, nibbling softly before moving down to his collarbone, setting his skin ablaze where her lips touched.
His hands slid down, pushing her skirt up. His hands grazed up the fleshy landscape of her thigh, sending a breathless moan escaping from Emily's lips.
The intercom buzzed loudly, startling them both. "Sir, General Collins is here for the security briefing."
Aaron cursed silently. Emily kissed him softly. "Let's pretend we didn't hear her."
Aaron nuzzled her neck softly. "I wish I could." He sighed, kissing her once more before pulling apart. He searched the ground for his shirt and tie, scooping up paperwork as he went. Her phone rang again. He glanced at her. "You should get that."
She walked over to her purse, grabbing her blouse as she went. She picked up a file folder that had fallen on top of her purse, straightening the papers that had fallen out. She was getting ready to place them back in the folder when a line caught her eye. Her stomach twisted like a pretzel into big, heavy knots as she read the paperwork. "Child Custody Agreement for minor child Elena Alexandria Rhodes. . ." Emily's chest felt heavy, her vision blurred. She felt as if she had just been slapped in the face. She threw the folder to the ground.
"Em? Em your phone is ringing again." Aaron said,
Emily rolled her eyes. "A custody agreement? A paternity test?"
Aaron sighed. "It's not what you think. . ."
"It's not? Please explain what it is, because to me. . . it looks like you're trying to play me and take away my daughter."
"I didn't. . . it was Lorraine."
"It was Lorraine!? That's your excuse! Aaron, you promised me! You swore you would never take her away from me!"
"I'M NOT TAKING HER AWAY FROM YOU!"
"YOU HAVE A CUSTODY AGREEMENT?! AND A PATERNITY TEST? REALLY? That's low Aaron, even for D.C standards. All that stuff you said about me, about us, you didn't really mean any of it did you?"
Aaron sighed. "I DIDN'T DO IT. LORRAINE GAVE ME THOSE PAPERS THIS MORNING! AND I. . ."
Emily's phone rang once again, breaking Aaron's concentration. "WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THAT THING UP ALREADY?!"
Emily stormed over, yanking up her purse. She grabbed her phone out, making a big show of it. Suddenly, her demeanor changed. Worry spread across her face. Emily pressed the phone up to her ear. "I have fifteen missed calls from Elena's school."
"What's wrong?" Aaron asked, suddenly concerned. He walked over to her, trying to hear the message.
She listened to the voicemail, her face going white as a sheet. She collapsed into Aaron's chest "Aaron. . . Aaron it's Elena. She's had an allergic reaction. She went into anaphylactic shock. They've taken her by ambulance to the hospital."