CJ wasn’t sure when it was decided that she would be the only one to accompany the President on his overseas trip. Or for that matter who decided. That was just another in a long line of meetings she had been absent from. And now she found herself in New Delhi with the President.

So far the trip was going well. The Indian Prime Minister seemed to warm to President Bartlet and they had chatted for hours about chess and American literature. Neither subject one which CJ knew anything about and she had taken Toby‘s advice and enjoyed a little downtime. Before she had left, Toby had jokingly told her to enjoy herself and go shopping, teasing her about spring fashions and an appropriate gift for him. Which is why CJ found herself with the American Ambassador’s wife wandering the local bazaar.

The previous evening there had been a state dinner in their honor and today the President was tied up in diplomatic meetings. CJ hovered at the doorway watching the proceedings and him.

Since Christmas things had been too hectic, too crazy, to even discuss the kiss. Not that she was sure she wanted to. The whole censure thing had pretty much closed him off to all of them, and she especially missed their late night conversations. The State of the Union had rebuilt the fragile cohesion of the senior staff but there still seemed a long way to go with the Administration.

The President had aged. They all had in some way, but his was more noticeable. A few more lines around his eyes, his temples streaked more heavily with grey and his step was heavier. Even as he talked with the foreign minister, his hands waving as he became more impassioned, he looked weary. When she had tuned out the topic had been defense spending; now she expected it was economics, or some other subject he knew more than he should about.

Jed stopped talking. The conversation was going nowhere and by the bored look on CJ’s face, he had gone way off topic. Sighing he focused his attention on the small Indian Minister beside him. “Look it’s late, and I have another appointment. Maybe your staff can talk to my staff,” Jed suggested. Which was how it was usually done when Leo didn’t get a stupid ass idea in his head. “CJ.”

CJ shook herself out of her thoughts and returned her attention to the room. “Mr. President?”

“We need to get back to the hotel for our next appointment.”

CJ was silent for a second, contemplating when he had ever remembered an appointment independently. Realizing his desire to leave, she slipped back into Press Secretary mode. “I’ll check on the car, Sir.”

She was waiting with the limo when the President appeared on the government steps a few minutes later. She waited as he shook hands with the minister and climbed in. Finally the Secret Service indicated it was time to leave and CJ settled herself beside him.

“Quick thinking, Claudia Jean,” Jed commended, turning in his seat to look at her.

“Yes Sir. But we don’t have a thing, do we?” she asked hesitantly.

Jed shook his head and gave her a sheepish smile. “I just couldn’t stick two more hours of that. But now you come to mention it, why don’t you have dinner with me?”

CJ started to refuse, ready to cite endless reasons why she couldn’t, but he was staring at her so intently, his blue eyes giving her every indication that he would fight her. Then of course there was also the chance he would order her, so instead she found herself saying yes.

Jed stifled the grin and elation. It had been four days and Leo had packed his schedule pretty tightly leaving no time to himself. Now he had a few hours, alone with CJ. And he was more than going to make the most of it.

“I need to make some calls,” he admitted. “So feel free to change, freshen up and join me in half an hour.”

******

CJ closed the door to her suite behind her and threw her purse on the bed. It was obvious that the evening was going to be difficult. Six months ago she had told him there could never be anything between them and at Christmas she had wavered. In truth she wasn’t sure if her being alone with him was going to make her relent completely. It was only the knowledge that in three months he hadn’t mentioned them or even pushed her on the subject that eased her concerns.

After standing under the shower for ten minutes, debating in her head how crazy it was, CJ stepped out and rummaged through the closet. The only thing left that hadn’t been worn was a low backed sundress, the color of her skin. It gave the illusion she was naked and she had packed it on a whim, loving the way it made her feel confident and sultry.

Finishing it of with strappy sandals she closed the door behind her and took the elevator up to the Presidential Suite.

The agent on duty rapped hard on the door and the agent inside showed her in. He immediately excused himself and CJ found herself alone in the main room of the suite.

The small dining table had been set for two, topped off with candles and elegant china, and moved as close to the window as security would allow.

CJ paced the length of the room somewhat nervously, her hands clasping and unclasping at her sides. If there had been any doubt before about being alone with him, it had increased tenfold since she had found herself alone in his suite.

Four minutes later Jed appeared in the doorway to his bedroom. “You look lovely Claudia Jean,” he said his voice catching.

CJ blushed unconsciously and turned to look at him. “Thank you, Sir.”

“CJ,” he warned. “It’s Jed.”

“Sir.”

“It’s dinner between two friends.”

There was a knock at the door and on Jed’s cue an agent pushed a trolley into the room. Standing it beside the table he left again.

“I ordered for us. I hope you don’t mind.”

CJ shook her head and briefly wondered if he was trying to seduce her. And if so how much seducing it would actually take to have her falling into his arms.

“Wine for you,” he said, handing her a glass of Chardonnay and dropping the bottle in to the ice bucket. “And a nice cold Kingfisher for me.”

CJ sipped the wine and watched as Jed took a long swallow of beer. “You look like you needed that,” she commented dryly.

“Do you know what India’s main industries are?” he asked, sliding a chair out and motioning for her to sit.

CJ blinked at the sudden businesslike tone but swallowed and matched it with her own. “Agriculture,” CJ offered, smirking as she sat down. “Rice, wheat, tea and rubber. Also textiles, coal and steel.” She waited a beat. “But you wanted to answer that yourself.”

“Yeah, but I’ll get over it.”

CJ toyed with her wine glass. “Just not yet.” It sounded too sincere, too familiar under the circumstances and she winced.

“The country is 3,287,000 square kilometers.” Jed lifted the gilded silver lids off the various dishes. “Excuse the fork marks, that’s where Ron tasted the food.” He grinned and waved a dish of rice before her. “Population 968 million.”

CJ groaned inwardly as she helped herself to the various aromatic dishes.

“Only ten per cent of the country still has forest.”

“Was I invited here to be punished for something?” CJ asked quietly.

Jed lowered his naan bread to his plate. “No. I’ve been reading up. And I thought I would share it with you.”

“The standing ovation at the Stock Exchange was a surprise, Sir.” CJ didn’t really need to hear anymore and it obvious from the President’s face he had plenty more in reserve.

Jed glanced at her over his glass of beer. “We’re injecting capital into the country. They love me. How’s dinner?”

“Hot and spicy.”

“Like you?” he teased, lowering his gaze.

CJ’s eyes lit up as she watched him. He looked vulnerable and slightly afraid of her reaction.

“I’m more like the dessert,” she said quietly. “Sweet and juicy.”

“Anyways,” Jed continued, his voice slightly higher pitched. “Four percent of the forest is protected within the National Parks and Reserves. They have the right idea, you know. In the past few decades the government has improved its environmental management and established 350 parks, sanctuaries and reserves.”

He smiled and rolled up his sleeves. “What do you think Toby would say if I threw the idea in my campaign?”

CJ sipped her wine before reaching for the bottle. “Considering he thinks you’re about to fire him, probably nothing,” CJ offered candidly.

“Maybe we should come back and visit the parks next year.”

CJ’s eyes rolled at the mere suggestion of a group tour and the fact that she had obviously hit a nerve with talk of Toby.

Licking her lips, she pondered her next words carefully. “There is one place I would like to go.”

“Really?” his head fell onto his hands as he watched her across the table.

“It’s called Khajuraho.”

“The name rings a bell.”

CJ grinned as she took a lengthy sip of her wine. “It’s a village in the plains of Madhya Pradesh. Mostly temples and statues.”

Jed shook his head. It sounded deathly boring, even to a history buff like himself.

“The temples are all about sex. There are stone figures of asparas or celestial maidens. Apparently they look rather like pin ups. And knowing your love of fifties movie stars.” She paused to watch him take a deep swallow. “There are also Mithuna. All around are erotic figures running through the Kama Sutra.”

“It doesn’t sound like somewhere I’d be allowed to go,” he replied regretfully. His pulse raced momentarily as he wondered how much of the Kama Sutra she knew. “I forgot. I have a present for you.”

Jed jumped to his feet and disappeared into the bedroom.

CJ stood hesitantly, picking up her wine, and walked after him.

Jed re-emerged as she reached the door. He held out the saffron tissue covered parcel and she struggled to take it while keeping her glass from tipping over.

Finally Jed took her wine glass.

CJ glanced up at him, her face glowing as she fingered the paper. “Thank you.”

“Open it.”

Gently CJ lifted one layer after another off the gift and smiled as her fingers brushed the sea foam colored fabric. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a sari. You’ll need to figure out how to put it on, but I thought you’d like it.” He shrugged and gazed up at her enraptured.

“You mean you don’t know?” she teased lightly, hoping to break the tension.

“Claudia Jean,” he warned.

“Sorry,” she muttered, holding the sari close to her.

They stared at each other as the electrical current filled the room. Jed wanted her and for once he wasn’t about to hide it. His eyes turned a piercing blue as he lowered the glass to the dresser and took a step closer to her.

For Jed, CJ’s presence had made the trip so much easier to bear. It hadn’t been planned but everyone else had needed to stay behind at the last minute and he had gladly accepted Leo’s suggestion that CJ should go.

CJ knew the best thing to do was to excuse herself and go back to her room. The man who she had so unwittingly fallen in love with was giving her every signal that here and now he wanted her.

CJ moved away from him to place her gift on the sofa. As she went to turn back around, his arms encircled her waist.

“Mr. President,” she gasped, but her heart wasn’t in fighting him. All of the reasons why this was such a bad idea still existed; it was only the risks of getting caught that had disappeared.

“CJ?” he whispered against her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice catching as his fingers brushed her stomach.

“I need you.” His lips moved their way up her shoulder and across her collarbone. “I miss you.” Pushing her hair to one side he kissed her throat. “I want you.”

CJ tried to stifle the moan deep in her throat and it came out as a whimper.

“Can’t we just accept that for one night this is what we both want-no interruptions, no long term decisions to make?”

CJ turned in his arms, ready to tell him that it wasn’t possible, that he was still President and still married.

Instead his hand found its way to the back of her neck and he tugged her down for a kiss. His tongue sliding along her bottom lip was all it took to make her forget, at least for a few hours.

Her hands draped across his shoulders as her lips parted, accepting his tongue and giving into his demanding kiss. It was all too familiar, the softness of his lips, his hands trailing through her hair and the feelings coursing through her body.

“Jed,” she managed to whimper as his lips broke away from hers for air.

“Ssh,” he whispered, his lips working their way along her jaw line. “I want you.”

He pulled back from her for a fraction of a second and gazed up at her hopefully. “But I’m not going to force you.”

Even as the words left his lips she knew that it was going to happen, that they had run out of excuses and arguments. Tonight was what they had been leading up to for over a year.

Her hand glided down his body and she felt for his hand at her waist. Eyes locked and fingers entwined, she inhaled sharply, waiting to see what would happen next.

Jed took a single step back towards the bedroom and tugged her hand gently.

CJ followed confidently.

As they crossed the threshold between the main room and bedroom, Jed closed the door behind them.

The room was taken up by the bed, a large ornately carved canopy bed. The red drapes had been pulled and someone had already turned down the covers, leaving a handful of petals on each pillow. The rest of the furniture was just as ornate in rosewood but CJ’s eyes were firmly fixed on the bed.

Each step Jed took towards the bed he glanced back at her, his eyes requesting permission that it was all right.

CJ grinned unconsciously and shook her head.

“What?”

“I was wondering what the protocol is, when . . .”

“You’re about to make love with a President?” he finished, raising an eyebrow. “That is what we’re about to do.”

CJ smiled and toed out of her sandals. Even without them she was a good few inches taller. Gently she climbed onto the bed and knelt before him. Her hands rested on his chest for the briefest of seconds before she moved them up and crossed them behind his neck. It was she who initiated the kiss and deepened it as he moaned.

The lovemaking that followed was slow and gentle. They undressed each other in silence as hands explored previously untouched skin.

A moment of awkwardness followed as Jed dug into his wash bag for a condom and briefly remembered when he had put it there.

CJ’s eyes fluttered closed as he kissed his way down her body, pausing over her stomach.

Her own fingernails ran down his back, ever careful not to mark.

As he entered her in one fluid movement, CJ opened her eyes and forgot that he was President and married. Something in the way they allowed themselves to feel and remember everything told CJ that this was going to be a onetime thing.

Jed’s breathing deepened as he braced himself on his elbows and controlled his thrusts, gentle and light then deep and frantic as she moaned and shuddered above him. Her first orgasm took him by surprise and his eyes widened as he watched her chest rise and fall in excitement.

Her eyes opened as he began to move inside her once more. This time she pulled him closer, deeper to her and rocked her hips as they both reached the point where they crashed into climax, him first, her following closely behind.

Jed collapsed on top of her, his hands searching for and entwining with hers.

As they lay spent, breathing labored, neither spoke, ever fearful of reality colliding with the private world he wanted to maintain.

Eventually CJ brushed his hair from his cheek and sighed. Her voice when it came was quiet and businesslike. She realized that she had to leave, the impossibility of staying, and the fact that however much he loved her, he loved Abbey and the guilt, would be too much. “I should go. We have an early start.”

He didn’t argue with her, merely rolled over and watched her dress.

CJ stepped into the dress and pulled the straps over her arms, carefully avoiding looking at Jed. She located her sandals and stepped into them. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“We have a meeting with the Prime Minister at ten. She has some gifts for me,” he announced grinning.

Her eyes darted to his face briefly before she walked away. CJ made it as far as the door before his voice stopped her.

“CJ, you’ve forgotten something.”

She stopped and spun around, her face masked in confusion.

Grabbing an oversized robe from the chair beside the bed, he pulled it on and padded over to her. “Yes, you have.” His hand cupped her face as he brought his lips up to hers. The kiss was tender and he barely brushed her lips. His eyes communicated more than he ever had in words and a brief smile flashed across CJ’s face. Whatever he would feel later, at that precise moment there was no guilt or recriminations.

“Don’t forget your present,” he said, running his knuckles down her cheek.

“Thank you.” She didn’t need to say what for.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Jed called after her, watching as she picked up the sari and walked silently to the door. “Don’t be late.”

CJ turned, her hand on the doorknob and smiled, her head to one side.

It was the same pose that had made his heart flutter the day he met her but now that it was reserved only for him, it made him blush.

After she had left, Jed sat back on the bed, his fingers picking her hair from the pillow as he remembered what they had just done. He had broken a vow and been unfaithful.

Guilt soon set in and once more he struggled to sleep.

The End

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