The Ambassador’s daughter didn’t dare turn down Logan Kite’s invitation for a dance. Her mother was little-miss-perfect that way. Every event had the socializing part of the evening, then dinner, followed by a trip to either the small or large ballroom for some old-fashioned dancing. Emily hated the last part and she hadn’t had a chance to sit down and take a break. Aaron hadn’t exactly been alone either and it was starting to grate on her nerves. She wanted to dance with her date, not with everyone else.
It didn’t help that her first partner, the twenty-five-year-old son of a senator, had definitely tried to feel her up, and her second, a fifty-year-old congressman from Virginia, had roving hands. In fact, all it did was make her want to reaffirm her status with Aaron. And then Logan had asked for his dance and Emily knew she was between a rock and a hard place.
The last time she’d seen Logan, she’d been working. His mother was nice enough and sat on a few committees and things with hers, but his father wasn’t. A shrewd businessman, Eric Kite was well-known for his young secretaries and his after-hours fun with them. Logan was, or had been until Katrina Stark, a chip off the old block. From his smirk, Emily could tell that Logan had gone back to his pre-Katrina days.
“I was so glad to see you could make it,” he said as his hand took hers. The other wrapped around her back, forcing her into intimate contact with him. “Though I was disappointed you brought a date.”
“So sad for you,” Emily replied sarcastically as she easily stepped into the dance.
He put on the perfect face of sad gratitude. “I’m so glad you found Kitty’s killer.”
Emily resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Her nickname was ‘Kitty’? She wasn’t exactly surprised. “It’s what we do.”
Logan nodded slowly. “I’m eternally grateful.”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Drop the bullshit.”
“Me? Bullshit?” Logan asked innocently. “That hurts. Just like your accusations hurt. Make it up to me?”
The glint in his eye told Emily that the way he was hoping she’d make it up to him was not by simply sending flowers. “You’re dreaming.”
“I thought the ambassador’s daughter was supposed to be accommodating,” he said salaciously.
“She’s also an American citizen with rights, not to mention an FBI agent,” she hissed back, the smile on her face betraying the anger she was feeling. Why on earth did every man feel like they had the right, almost the obligation, to proposition her?
“Mind if I cut in?”
Emily made a mental note to buy her brother a fantastic Christmas present for his excellent timing. Logan looked less than happy that he’d been interrupted. Emily wanted to laugh in his face as she allowed Christopher to lead her away.
“You owe me,” he said with a smile.
“I know,” she answered. “And I thank you to the ends of the earth.”
“You looked like you were going to slap him,” Chris teased.
Emily rolled her eyes. “He was my last straw. There’s only so much a girl can take before she starts to just lose it.”
“If it makes you feel any better, that date of yours hasn’t taken his eyes off of you all night.”
“He’s protective,” she replied with a blush.
“But proprietary, which is both a blessing and a curse,” Chris relented. “I have to remember that when I go home tonight, I’m going home with Charlie, or I’d have punched at least one of the men here by now.”
“He knows how this works.”
“He held his own with Mother and Dad,” he agreed. “Which, considering Mother, is pretty impressive.”
“He’s met Mother before. He was her security detail.”
Chris’ eyebrow went up. “An older man.”
“Don’t even,” she scolded. “You know exactly who Aaron Hotchner is.”
“FBI BAU unit chief, worked his way through the ranks starting in the Seattle office. New divorcee from wife, Haley with one son, Jack. Rumours say he got too wrapped up in his job for his family, though I’m sure you’d argue otherwise.”
“I would.”
“Worked Mother’s security detail before segueing into the FBI, though I don’t remember much about him. You met him at work when he became your unit chief. Tell me, how does the rest of the team feel about you banging your boss?”
“That would require me to be banging him,” Emily said sweetly. She and her brother had always been close, a result of travelling for years and the painful process of making new friends everywhere they went. But he drove her batty when it came to her love life. This seemed like it wasn’t going to be an exception. This would be the second time they went into this.
“I give you twenty-four hours,” Chris said. “You guys have chemistry, I’ll give you that much.”
Emily was blushing. “We’re going slow?”
“Everyone says that,” Chris said with a roll of his eyes.
“You said it yourself, there’s more at stake this time.”
“You both wanted to take your time to make sure jumping each other wasn’t a bad idea? Since when do you stop and consider?”
“Ouch,” Emily said, pressing the hand that was previously resting on her shoulder over her heart.
Chris chuckled. “It was a good decision.”
“We thought so too,” she replied with a sassy smile.
“Cute.” He paused for a moment. “You really mean this, don’t you? You’re in this for the long haul.”
“I am,” she agreed softly. “Though I’m not sure I made a logical choice in that.”
“You can’t help who you fall in love with,” Chris nodded.
Emily sighed. “I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say I love him just yet,” she said honestly.
“Well, you’re both well on your way there. I’ve met some of your significant others and none of them have ever looked at you like he does when he thinks his family and Mother isn’t looking.”
She knew she was bright red. It warmed her heart to know that they were both on the same page, though they hadn’t talked about it. It sounded like they were both heading down the same path and the fact that Chris had picked up on it made her feel a little bit more secure in the relationship.
And at the moment, Emily wasn’t sure how secure either of them were. She was nervous, not because her mother had hissed that they’d talk about her relationship choice later, not because his parents had been so enthusiastic about it, and not even for the usual insecurities that came with the relationship. On the contrary, this need for reassurance seemed to be based on their time apart. They hadn’t had a song together since arriving and it was starting to grate on Emily’s nerves. If Chris was right, it was starting to grate on Aaron’s too.
She’d kept an eye on him throughout the night, at least when her attention wasn’t focused on ensuring she kept her dignity intact. The girls he’d danced with were sophisticated, elegant, more of Haley’s style than hers. They were the ones that would have dinner on the table by seven, the soccer moms that would take the kids wherever they needed to go. She worked and she worked hard. Emily Prentiss wasn’t one to just leave things be, and it had gotten her into the BAU. It wasn’t that she wasn’t proud of her achievements, it was that they were better suited for him.
With her, there were no guarantees. She was a nerd, a complete and utter nerd and though up to that point he hadn’t minded “ he could carry on a Star Trek conversation as well as the next person, not to mention his own knowledge of obscure literature “ but there was something to be said when they discussed serial killers or the mental stability of a murderer in the morning paper over coffee.
Then there was the complications of their working relationship. She wanted him, she liked him, that was certain, but the insecure part of her was sure that when Aaron got a better offer, when something came around where he had the opportunity to dispose of baggage like the work problem, he would jump at the chance. He and Haley had managed that perfect family life for a time, putting icing on the cake when Jack had come into the picture. And she was sure he’d be able to find it at her mother’s party.
“Hey, you’re going into that dark place again,” Chris said, bringing her attention out of her thoughts.
Emily smiled. He’d nicknamed her head ‘the dark place’ because as children she was the one to overanalyze everything. Chris had been blessed with the ability to go with the flow. Emily had been blessed with a sharp intellect. “Just thinking.”
“Uh huh, and it’s going to get you in trouble one day.” He waited a beat. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“What do you mean?” Sometimes Emily wondered if she or Chris should have been the profiler.
“The girls that are here aren’t his type. Too many of them are airheads for him to want them, especially as a second wife.”
“Which one of us analyzes behaviour for a living again?” Emily teased, voicing her earlier thoughts.
“Eh, you know how to get into a criminal’s brain, but when it comes to anything personal, you can’t read squat,” Chris responded.
Emily had to give him that. “One day, I’m going to start paying you for all of the free advice I get.”
“I’ll just put it on your tab,’ he joked as the song came to a close. “Now I shall drop you off at your date and hunt down my wife. Your relationship insecurities are rubbing off on me.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and let him lead the way. Aaron caught her up in his arms as the beginning chords of the next song came on, pulling her as close as he could. She went more than willingly, wrapping her arm around his neck and tucking their entwined hands between their chests. He felt fantastic and smelled even better, especially with the underlying scent of sweat. Emily felt her body respond, to his proximity, to her insecurities and nuzzled his neck just slightly. She had to admit to surprise when the muscles in his neck clenched and his breath caught.
When she raised her head she understood why. Aaron’s eyes had gone dark, darker than they usually were and Emily could see the passionate possession in their depths. She made a mental note to send Chris some sort of gift for his perceptive guess and made a concrete decision. “Let’s get out of here.”