CJ watched Josh accept the birthday wishes, and noticed that something seemed off. But, he was wearing a strong mask, and no one else was asking about it. She wasn’t about to ask about it, since she was having an off month it seemed, and she wasn’t in any state of mind to console someone.
She sighed and looked out over her drink at the rest of the crowd. When she saw Leo, she felt her cheeks burn. She didn’t even know where to begin to describe how she was feeling; it was a mixture of fury, fear, sadness, disappointment, and shame, and it was directed at him and herself.
He looked back at her, beyond President Bartlett and Toby, his eyes unreadable. His body seemed more relaxed, but CJ didn’t care. She had never felt more awful, and he was as calm as he had ever been. She glanced down at her drink, and shrugged, then slamming the rest of the wine back.
“Carol,” CJ had started walking towards her assistant, waving her empty glass.
“Yes, CJ?”
She managed a smile. “I’m going to head back to the office. Don’t worry,” she added. “Stay and enjoy the party. I’m not exactly in a festive mood.”
Carol smiled back. She knew about what had happened, how worthless CJ had felt as a person when Leo wouldn’t listen to her, and how embarrassed she had been after she had given her statement. Being in the Mural Room with him wasn’t helping. She needed to get away---as far away as she was allowed for the time being.
“I’ll check on you later,” the brunette smiled. “Go rest.”
“Thanks,” CJ pushed her bangs out of her eyes, and moved through the crowd carefully until she reached the door, and once she was through it, she bolted for the safety of her office. She shut her door, and slipped onto the sofa, where she curled up around a pillow. Her eyes closed and she shut the world around her out.
~*~
“Ben,” CJ said softly when she heard commotion outside her office. “Hang on.”
“Leo,” Carol spoke loudly, firmly. “You can’t go in there. CJ didn’t want to be disturbed!”
Leo’s gruff voice could be heard next. CJ winced at the sound. “I don’t care. Something’s come up.”
“Leo! No, please—”
“Carol, I swear—”
She was against the door, blocking him. CJ could hear her talking much more clearly. “Let me go in, and tell her you’re here... she’s been busy.”
The brunette scooted inside, closing the door and leaning against it. CJ looked at her, from her position behind her desk, the phone in her hands. She mouthed: “Ben.”
“Ohh,” Carol’s face lit up with recognition. Then, her expression fell. She pointed at the door. “Leo needs to speak with you.”
CJ shook her head, putting Carol in an awkward, impossible position. She turned her chair and focused back on Ben’s incredible voice. “Sorry, Ben, I was distracted.”
“Work?”
“What else,” she replied wryly.
He chuckled. “I saw your briefings today.”
“Don’t go there,” CJ shot back. “I didn’t call you back, finally, to get another lecture.”
Ben responded. “Fine. I just— I was surprised.”
“Yeah, me, too,” she huffed.
Carol slipped out, finally. After some escalating yelling, Leo barged in. He was still yelling. “Carol, I don’t care! CJ! Get off that phone now!”
CJ winced and turned, still listening to Ben’s commentary. Leo’s eyes were hot, and she could see that he wasn’t joking. But, she wasn’t about to give in. She shook her head, and turned the chair around again, blatantly ignoring him. He growled.
“Troubles in paradise?” Ben asked, sounding amused.
“You have no idea,” she muttered back. “Hey, if an ogre rips the phone out of my hand any time soon, I’m really sorry, and I’ll call you back.”
He laughed softly. “Yeah, no problem. Are you using me just to piss off whoever that is?”
“Well,” she laughed despite the situation. “Yes, but I do enjoy talking with you, too.”
“That’s always nice to hear,” he responded, his deep, radio voice dropping into a husky whisper. She sighed, and crossed her legs. “Sounds like you need a vacation, you know.”
She chuckled. “That won’t happen anytime soon.” She could hear Leo behind her, waiting as patiently as possible, so she thought she’d try to irritate him just a little bit more. “Hey, Leo, think I can have next weekend off?”
The next thing she heard was a loud growl. Leo stalked in front of her, and grabbed the phone of her hand. He slammed it into its cradle. CJ tried to stand up, but he refused to move. With a growl of her own, she stood up, pushing him out of her way.
“What is so important, Leo, that it can’t wait until *morning*?” She motioned to the phone. “I was having a private phone call. Private. In my private time.” When he didn’t respond, opting to glare at her from his position against her wall, she pushed: “What? Did I misrepresent the White House again? Do you need to humiliate me on the global stage again?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “CJ, knock it off.”
“Knock it off,” she repeated softly, contemplating his words. When he nodded, she raised her eyebrows and shouted. “Knock it off?! Do you know what you did to me today?!”
“CJ, for crying out loud,” he pushed, his voice tense. “You made a mistake, and we had to fix it.”
She actually thought about crying; her eyes started to water, but she refused to let him see her cry. “No, I did not make a mistake, Leo. You made a mistake. You sent me in there with some half-assed quote that you knew wouldn’t fly.“ Her arms had been waving around furiously, but she slowed their movements. “We joke about the press, but they aren’t stupid!”
“I told you to—”
“Stick to my guns, but you know, next time,” she cocked her head to the side. “When you do the briefing, and you get stuck between a rock, a hard place, and a harder place, let’s see how you handle it!”
Leo’s face softened a little, but it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted him out of her office if he wasn’t going to say anything remotely nice.
“I want you to get out,” she said softly.
“CJ—”
She shook her head and put a hand up. “We’re not working together tonight. It can wait until tomorrow.”
Leo didn’t move from his spot against the wall. “The whole staff’s staying tonight. We have—”
“I don’t care. Out. I’m not spinning anything tonight.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I can fire you, you know.”
Her voice started to get louder. “Fine! Go ahead! Let’s see how you get along without me in the middle of whatever important crisis it is.” She paused, and then asked: “Are we giving out clean coal?”
“CJ,” he growled. “I swear...”
“You swear what?” she moved closer, daring him with her eyes to finish that sentence.
Leo’s eyes widened as she loomed over him, but he didn’t lose much footing. “If you don’t drop this awful conversation we’re having, and get to work with the others, you might find yourself out of a job.”
“And you might find yourself without a Press Secretary, and that wouldn’t look good right now,” she said back.
“Christ, woman! What do you want from me!?”
She sighed. “I used to consider you a friend, up until today.” She watched his face; it softened more. “You tossed me out there with the weakest line I’ve ever heard, and then punished me when your brilliant plan didn’t work.” She shrugged. “Did you even care for a split second?”
“I have a lot on my mind, in case you haven’t noticed,” he shot back.
“Who hasn’t lately?” She yelled back, forgetting how close they were.
He winced at the volume of her voice. “Warn me next time, okay?”
She growled, but said nothing. Watching him, she noticed how large his pupils had grown, and how his breathing was more uneven. Despite those changes, he looked calmer, and she was getting restless. She wanted to go home and take a nice bath to relax. She did not want to be having this conversation, or yelling match, with him.
Leo brought a hand up; at first CJ flinched. Her instincts kicked in, and she didn’t know what the hand was being raised for. He frowned. “I’m not going to hit you,” his voice was flat, and she couldn’t tell what he was feeling.
“No?”
“I don’t exactly get off on hitting women,” he said pointedly.
She bit her lip, contemplated saying what was on the tip of her tongue, and then let the words fly from her mouth. “No, you just like sending them into impossible situations.”
“Perhaps.”
His hand was moving again. When it touched her cheek, very lightly, she shivered despite herself. She should have had more control than that, she silently scolded herself. When he leaned up on the balls of his feet, his face getting closer to hers, she backed up.
“CJ?”
She shook her head. “What were you going to do? Kiss it and make it better?”
“CJ,” he frowned, avoiding her eyes.
Blushing, she realised that he really had been about to kiss her. She hated that the first major change in their friendship stemmed from a fight; she didn’t want it to be about fighting. She and Ben fought a lot near the end of their last... fling. It hadn’t been pretty.
“I can’t let you kiss me,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Why not?”
She threw her hands up in frustration. “And then this entire argument would be forgotten, and you’d go off thinking you’ve done nothing wrong!”
“I haven’t done—” he stopped talking when she crossed her arms. “CJ, please...”
CJ shook her head. “Definitely not. You think, while I’m demanding an apology, I’m just going to let you kiss me?”
“I’ll kiss you, ah, very apologetically,” he suggested, grinning boyishly until he met CJ’s very angry gaze.
“There will be no kissing,” she assured him, wondering how their argument strayed so far off the path CJ had intended to take.
“No?”
She shook her head. “None. What kind of woman do you think I am?”
Leo ventured carefully into an answer. “An angry one?”
“Tell him what’s he’s won...” she muttered under her breath. She stepped away from him, shaking her head again. “Just go, Leo. Whatever it is, it’s going to wait until tomorrow. I’m going home.”
When he grabbed onto her hand, she turned to move away from him, to dislodge her hand from his grip. However, Leo tugged on her, and she spun back. She vibrated in frustration. He smirked, which made her even more angry. By the time his lips ascended to crash with hers, she was visibly shaking.
For a moment, she forgot everything. Leo was kissing her, and she was kissing him back. She could taste coffee, cigarettes, and something sweet. Cake, maybe, she mused for a brief moment. His other hand had reached behind her, tangling in her hair, and when he demanded, she opened her mouth to him. She was wrapped up, heat swirling around her, bringing him closer.
It wasn’t until he moaned her name into her mouth that she became completely aware of what had happened. Her head snapped back, out of his reach. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and met his gaze. His eyes were darker, his cheeks were flushed, his lips were swollen. If she hadn’t been so furious with him, she would have allowed herself to completely admire the vision in front of her.
“That’s not going to happen again.”
“But,” he protested with a desperate whisper that betrayed every notion she had mentally formed about the man. “It was so good. How can you walk away from that?”
She shrugged. “It’s easy. In fact,” she reached for her briefcase and coat that were on one of the nearby chairs. “I’m going to do it now.”
“No!”
CJ had already turned towards the door when she heard him cry out. After a deep breath, she turned to face him. “Leo, I’m not going to stay here, kissing you like nothing’s wrong, when I’m so pissed off at you right now.” She offered him a small smile, but it disappeared as the next words left her lips: “The kiss was great. There might be something there. But—”
“But, what?”
“You didn’t apologise,” she said simply.
“I didn’t... what?”
She glared at him. “You didn’t apologise, Leo. I deserve an apology,” she set the briefcase down to put her coat on.
“How about another kiss?”
“No, Leo!”
He winced. “Okay, okay.” He shuffled his feet, looking down at them. CJ took two tentative steps closer, waiting for the words to come. She watched his cheeks darken, as a deep red hue spread over his face.
“Leo?”
His eyes moved up to hers quickly. “Yah?”
“If you don’t say it... I’m going to leave.”
He nodded stiffly, definitely too uncomfortable in too many ways. She thought about taking pity on him, but then, she decided against it. He didn’t have any sort of mercy on her. She saw no reason to switch to T-ball after a few innings of hard ball. One more step, and she was invading his personal space. He gasped, and watched her carefully.
CJ reached out and put her hand on his neck, letting her fingers slip under his collar. His breath trembled in his throat as she scraped her nail around until it passed under his Adam’s Apple. Leo’s eyes shut tightly, and he licked his lips.
She smirked, and let her finger trail upwards until it scraped under his chin. Carefully, she leaned in, hovering over his lips. He was panting; his hot breath over her mouth was turning her on, but she wasn’t about to tell or show him. He leaned up, and she moved before their lips would meet.
He groaned. CJ smirked. She brought her other hand up, and together, they worked at his tie. The strip of fabric was discarded, tossed over her shoulder to land somewhere behind them. As she worked the buttons of his shirt, his breathing grew raspy; when she slid her hands onto his bare chest, he started moaning.
“Ceej...” he whispered. “Please.”
“We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet,” she joked, her voice low and sultry. She pushed the shirt open, and lifted her head to admire her work. He reached for her, but she swatted his hands away. “No touching.”
“Not fair,” he grumbled.
“Like you know what the word ‘fair’ means,” she shot back, her hands reaching for the buckle on his belt. He lurched when her fingers brushed his stomach, hips moving forward to find more contact. She chuckled, breaking from his belt, to cup his growing erection through his pants. He whimpered. CJ’s eyes widened when the sound escaped his lips, stunning her temporarily. Her brain, still struggling to be logical, reminded her that their situation probably wasn’t one of the best for either of them to be in; but, she wanted to make him pay, and he wanted to kiss her—this seemed like a suitable compromise.
He whimpered again, the sound losing it’s shock factor but still affecting her. “Just let me...”
“Apologise?” She finished for him, her voice hopeful.
“I was going to say ‘touch you.’”
She shook her head. “You’re not understanding. Let me make this clear. There will be no touching, no having of me in any way...”
“You’re killing me.”
“Torturing, punishing... killing,” she teased, ending with a low, throaty chuckle. “Same thing.” Her hand slid up to rest on his stomach. “Now, if at any time, you decide that perhaps you’d like this to stop, just say the safety words.”
He blinked. “Safety words?”
“’I’m sorry, Claudia Jean,’” she replied. “Hell, you don’t even have to use my full name. You don’t even have to say any part of my name.” She paused and looked down at him. “I know you don’t use those words often, but, they might save you tonight.”
Leo gulped, considering her words. CJ watched him carefully, and when he nodded, she touched him again. She made the decision that while she could open him up, torture him, taste him, kill him, she wasn’t ready to open herself up for him. He had hurt her; she needed to heal before she exposed herself to him.
Her hands made quick work of his belt. His hands tensed, flexing into fists before relaxing again. She looked him over and then at the belt. With a frown, she decided the leather wouldn’t work, so she told him to stay where he was.
The tie had been on the sofa. She snatched it up quickly, and returned to him. At his back, she reached for his hands. He struggled, but she was quick, and before he could react, she had effectively tied his arms behind his back.
“Don’t move, again.”
He grunted. “I’m not going to walk out of here like this.”
“Well, you never know,” she said on a sigh, quickly moving from him to lock the door. Satisfied with the doorknob’s click, she returned to him.
Her hands ran over his bare chest, her fingers pinching his nipples lightly, making him groan. She almost laughed at the situation, Leo tied up in her office, being punished... she wasn’t overly dominant in the bedroom, and she knew this would require strength on her part, but at the same time, she reasoned that it wasn’t her bedroom—or anyone else’s—and she had a goal to reach.
Rather gracefully, she reached over him, grabbing the cord to her blinds. He sighed when he heard them slide to the window sill. She patted his cheek, and then let her hands trail downwards.
He sighed when she started unfastening his pants. CJ grinned, bending down in front of him, looking up at his face for any reaction to her endeavors. Slowly, she began a manual exploration of the skin his underwear didn’t cover, letting her fingertips run over his thighs before digging her nails into the flesh, and making flushed trails down his legs. He groaned loudly and his body swayed, but she didn’t stop. After creating an intricate trail on his right leg, she moved to an exploration of the fabric covering a very prominent bulge. She used one finger to trace along the lines of the fabric, and then the shape of the hardened flesh.
Leo’s eyes popped open and they gazed at each other. He shuddered when she repeated her actions without breaking eye contact. “CJ!”
She only smiled, before applying a little more pressure and following the same trail. He shuddered again. Slowly, she let her hand slide forward until it made contact with his stomach, and then she dipped underneath the waistband. Painstakingly slowly, she brushed the skin just under the elastic with feather light touches all the way around his front.
When she hooked her fingers into the shorts and pulled them down slowly, he shivered. She saw the tiny goosebumps rising on his legs, and she chuckled. Instead of bringing her hands back up to him, she started kissing along his legs, over the skinny welts on his left thigh, the same process on the right. Then, she kissed his hip, and moved inwards.
His moans turned into streams of constant mumbling: too much, too little, too slow, too fast. Each time he cried out, she would simply smile and remind him in her sweetest voice that he could stop it at any time.
Leo was getting close; CJ was getting frustrated. He hadn’t apologised yet, and she was beginning to wonder if he ever would. Maybe he was too far gone for that, she pondered sadly, while she took inventory of the tricks she had yet to try.
“God! CJ!” Leo gasped, when CJ brought him up to the edge of pleasure and threatened to push him over. She chuckled, and tried again, pushing harder, using more hand and more tongue. She was rewarded with a yelp, and then she sat back and watched him.
He panted for much needed oxygen, his body trembling excitedly. “Yes, Leo?”
“You... you... gotta stop... can’t keep up.”
CJ leaned forward, and blew a steady stream of oxygen over his wet, burning skin. He groaned loudly, and his body lurched forward. Slowly, she stood up, steadying him on her hands. He felt feverish.
He watched her, and when she was upright, their eyes met comfortably. His eyelids fluttered when one of her hands slid back down, to continue teasing him. Before she knew it, they had settled into a slow rhythm, his hips moving forwards and backwards into her hand. And, true to form, when his breathing grew too ragged, she pulled her hand away.
Leo’s eyes popped open. CJ really wanted to kiss him, but she refrained, making sure her body stayed rooted in its position.
“CJ?”
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him quite seriously. “Yes?”
“You’re killing me.”
With a roll of her eyes, she dropped her head and started nibbling along his neck and shoulders. “Wrong words,” she muttered between biting and sucking.
“Okay, okay...” he started to talk again when she reached his left nipple with her mouth. “CJ, I’m...” She lifted her head a tiny bit and watched him, taking the flesh that was between her teeth with her. The movement over that sensitive bud, combined with CJ’s wandering hand, made him groan. “Oh, god, CJ, I’m sorry.”
She pushed. “Sorry for what?”
She returned her eyes to his chest, not ready for such vulnerable contact, and roamed over to the right side of his chest.
He gasped when she bit him. “I’m sorry for how I treated you today.”
CJ released him and looked up. “Say it again.”
“CJ!” She punished him with a slap on his chest. She almost shoved him, but decided that that was an accident she didn’t want to inflict on him. “Oh, fine. I’m sorry for how I treated you. Happy?”
She glared at him. “Happy? Happy?! What makes you think that makes me happy?”
While speaking, she had stepped back from him, breaking their contact. He looked at her. “Are you leaving?”
“I’m considering it,” she replied honestly.
“Please...”
“Please what?” She inquired as calmly as she could manage. “Please finish you off?”
“Sort of...”
She growled and then pounced, deciding to end it so she could go home. With his hands still very securely tied behind his back, she dropped down to the ground, and with her hands and mouth she worked him back into that state of frenzy he had once been in. She sucked, licked, and kneaded him until he was teetering on the edge.
Seriously contemplating a quick exit, she looked up at him, and saw him watching her. His dark eyes kept her in place, until she pushed too much, and sent him head first and flying into a powerful orgasm that made him yell and shake.
She straightened herself up, cleaned him, and then stood. When she untied his wrists, he turned and reached for her.
CJ knew she should resist, but he was holding onto her hand and his other hand was sliding up her neck to cup her cheek. Before she knew it, he was kissing her. This kiss was different; it was sweet and soft, it made her want to melt into his arms and never leave him again. Her body was already on fire, and the kiss only made the flames higher and hotter.
He pulled back. CJ sighed and looked at him when she regained control of her body. “I’m going to head home now.”
“Now?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s late.”
“CJ... I meant it, you know,” he said with a shoulder shrug, blushing a little.
She offered him a tiny smile, her way of saying all hasn’t been lost. “I guess. I’m tired, and you still have work... and—”
“Come home with me,” he offered, voice hinting at his desperation.
CJ shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t. I mean... I’ve already... I’m not usually like this, Leo, so if you could just let me go, and come back tomorrow feeling a little better, I’d appreciate it.”
“Do we get to talk tomorrow?”
“Talk about what? How I sexually harassed you?” She asked softly. Before he could respond, she continued. “Thanks for the apology. I hope you meant it... you hurt me today.”
“CJ...”
She had already picked her briefcase up again. He pulled his pants up, and started redressing himself. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”
“Wait,” he demanded, crossing the small room. “CJ, please, wait.”
CJ smiled sadly. “Goodnight, Leo.”
The End!
