Title: The Last Seduction
Author: MindyH
Part III
Kate's hand is on his leg and it's driving him crazy. Actually, she's been driving him crazy all night. He's not sure how much more of it he can stand. She's gonna kill him if she keeps this up.
First, it was the dancing. Just one dance, she'd said, as a birthday treat. He'd tried to refuse, but truthfully, Gibbs liked to dance. There was something so simple and sensual about holding a beautiful woman in a slow dance -- hands and hips and breaths and heartbeats in sync.
What was not to like? It was basically foreplay with clothes on. And Gibbs liked foreplay -- especially these days when play of any kind was an extreme rarity for him.
And this had been Katie Todd asking him to dance, Katie Todd in his arms, pressed against his chest, moving with his body. Resistance was futile.
She'd been a juicy little temptation parading around his office and the back of his ravenous mind for years.
He'd spent much of that time secretly tracing and memorizing her delicate curves and finest features. He even had favorites -- like the little nook where her ass turned into her thigh. Or the inviting dip between her breasts – that was an obvious one.
He'd actually spent hours contemplating the freckle on her neck. It drove him nuts just thinking about it, wondering what it might taste like. At first, he pondered whether the little mark on her pale flesh was actually a freckle or a mole. But a mole just sounded unattractive. And there was nothing about Katie Todd that Gibbs found unattractive.
Nevertheless, the morning after their strangely unsettling and intensely thrilling dance together he was still telling himself that they could keep things on a professional and amicable basis. He'd planned the surprise for her birthday, still believing that they were just coworkers socializing for a day.
That notion lasted until about two seconds after she opened the door. There was something about a woman in pajamas that bewitched Gibbs. There was something about Katie Todd with bedhead that rendered him stupid.
She was usually so professional, so orderly and impeccable. It never ceased to thrill him to see her hair all mussed and askew. Any innocent or impersonal thoughts he had left lingering in his sex-starved brain went flying out the window when she threw herself into his arms, in her soft flannel pjs.
That's when she started with the kissing. That first little touch in her apartment; then the three she planted on him while they were on the boat. Nothing had ever tested his self-control more. He could spend an eternity discovering her mouth.
Those kisses -- those three indescribable, incredible, seductive kisses. The first, languid and breathy. The second, sweet and warm. And the last, impassioned and hungry and utterly uncontrollable.
That third kiss, he knows, is going to become a cherished fantasy for him from now on. His Captain Katie drenched in sunlight, hair fluttering on the breeze, on a cramped boat, on glittering waves, on a gorgeous day, kissing him senseless. It's the sort of memory that keeps an old man sane and warm when he is alone and decrepit.
He kissed her back. Despite his hesitancy, he couldn't help but kiss her back. He doesn't know a man alive that could've resisted her. Although, he did succeed in not throwing her to the deck or ripping off her clothes or making wild, passionate love to her. So maybe, he's stronger than he thinks.
But, now she starts with the touching – all night, little strokes here and there, her hand brushing his or resting on his arm. And he knows his prized self-control is slipping and he's not sure he's going to last the night without doing at least one of those things to her. He just hopes he can wait until they are out of the restaurant.
He glances across at her, scrutinizing her profile as she sits demurely in her chair and chats blithely with her buddy from the Secret Service. Meanwhile, beneath the tablecloth, her hand lazily strokes his knee. She laughs at something the other man has said, then turns to meet his steady gaze, her eyes alight with mirth and buried anticipation.
They are both on edge from a full day's incessant flirtation. He can't really blame her for teasing him, he muses, as she turns back to her conversation with Ed, from her previous agency. Especially after the stunt he pulled at her apartment.
Really, he would've been much safer just dropping Kate off and going home to work on his boat. He knew if he accepted her invitation to dinner, he would be accepting much more as well. He would be inviting more of her delightful little seduction games, he would be expecting more of that tantalizing pleasure that they'd indulged in while aboard the May December.
But he couldn't help himself. He was sick of being safe. He was sick of being alone. He was sick of self-doubt and abstinence and cynicism and regret.
And there was Katie Todd curled up beside him, all sleepy and sweet and adorable, looking at him like… – he can't even put words to the way she looks at him, the way she makes him feel.
In that moment, when he'd looked at her, he wanted to give her everything, protect her and hold her, and make her as happy for the rest of her life as she had been on her birthday. So, despite all the reasons not to, he'd said yes, he'd take her to the dinner.
He'd driven like a maniac, cut off or pissed off half of the population of DC to make it back to her place in time. All he could think about was seeing her again, touching her again. As he drove, it occurred to him that he'd given very little back to her, shown no indication of how he felt about her.
Truthfully, he wasn't really sure how he felt. He never expected, at his age, to feel something for a woman he never had before. In spite of his advanced age and marital record, whatever was developing between him and his young subordinate was nothing he'd experienced before. And knowing that threw him slightly off-balance.
But he put great faith in Kate Todd. He'd recognized a quality about her from the very beginning. She was fiercely loyal, remarkably perceptive, extremely kind. And she cared for him – he'd known it for a long time.
She was not out to break his heart. Even though he knows she could so easily destroy him, absolutely shatter him. But, even if she did -- which he seriously doubted -- he knew it would be completely worth it. He knew she was worth the risk.
The only question left to him, was – what the hell was he waiting for?
In his car, on his way back to her, he began to imagine what his life might be like if he allowed her in it. He wouldn't miss his old lifestyle one bit.
He'd gladly trade long hours working on his boat, with late nights in her bed. He would happily exchange scotch and sawdust for sparkling eyes and quiet laughter. He would happily replace waking up every morning with a constant caffeine hangover for waking up beside that gorgeous woman and kissing her awake.
In fact, nothing would make him happier than to trade utter loneliness for Katie Todd.
It pleased him that she answered the door looking slightly undone, looking only partly ready. It seemed to him like a glimpse of the future he'd been imagining. He wanted to see her like this – with bedhead, or roller-hair, dressed in pajamas or robe -- or, perhaps… just a sheer bed sheet.
He wanted to see the side of her that no one else did, he wanted to be the only one to witness the secret Kate Todd.
She'd felt so good in his arms and he could tell that she was surprised by his bolder, more assured behavior. He couldn't help but tease her a little, enjoy the way she responded to his touch and his kiss, pay back some of the torment he'd been suffering all day.
Two could play this game, he thought, and he was finally ready to join her team.
In the restaurant, while the others chat about them, Kate deliberately slips her hand higher up his leg, her fingertips caressing the inside of his thigh through his pants. He sucks in a breath, leaning back in his chair.
Suppressing an evil little smile, she picks up her wineglass, sipping delicately. She turns to examine him over the rim for a long moment, then returns to her conversation, entirely unconcerned by his torment.
Squirming uncomfortably, he stretches his arm out over the back of her chair and looks down at her hand in his lap. It looks small against his thick leg, pale against his pants. He wonders if she's truly aware of the effect she's having on him, if she understands the intensity of just that one hand, resting on that one particular spot.
He follows the line of her arm up to her shoulder, takes another long look at her lavishly tousled hair and sumptuously ruby lips and then drops his gaze down over her slender body.
Kate always looks beautiful – even in a flack vest and NCIS cap, she looks beautiful. But how she looks tonight is the stuff that dreams are made of. Wicked, seductive, erotic, exhilarating dreams.
Gibbs has always liked the color red. He developed a proclivity for redheaded women early on in his dating life. But after a while, he realized it was not the color itself that attracted him. He was attracted to a woman with fire, with passion, with deep power. Kate may not have the hair color to match but she has that mysterious fire that he loves, that he falls for and gets lost in.
The burgundy of the dress suits her, the material hugging her sweet frame like an obsessive lover. Its fragile texture makes him want to twist his hands in the silk and see if it rips under the strain. Earlier, he got an unexpected glimpse of what she's hiding underneath.
He hadn't meant to walk in while she was dressing. He supposes now that he should've cleared his throat or walked louder or called out. He really hadn't seen much though – just a glimpse of red underwear, a flash of round ass and creamy thigh, before the dress fell down to cover her body.
There were appetizing little bits of her thrown all over the room, and the air smelled sweet and feminine. He'd never been in her bedroom, but he hopes to visit again very, very soon.
From across the table, Kate's brother-in-law asks him a question and he returns from his trance to reply. Apart from the obvious torture, the evening has been very enjoyable. The small group is agreeable, the food impressive and the wine exceptional.
Kate got a few surprised looks when she turned up with him in tow – especially from her sister. But she simply held on tight to his hand and introduced him to the table. It didn't escape his notice that she made no mention of their working relationship.
They are so far from their professional territory now that to try to go back would be farcical and redundant. Not to mention disappointing. The sexual tension is so close to erupting that he'd be fool to back away now.
Beneath the table, Kate's hand squeezes his thigh and he almost groans aloud. Quickly, his larger hand clamps down over hers, in a warning, while he nods weakly at whatever the others are discussing.
He hides his face in his wineglass, taking a huge sip. He hopes they are not going to ask his opinion again because he's fast loosing higher brain function.
Luckily, two waiters arrive with a fresh batch a food, distracting the others at their table. Kate turns to him coolly, glancing down at his hand covering hers in his lap. He leans closer to her, keeping his voice low so that the others can't hear.
"Kate," he murmurs, urgently: "do you know what you're doing?"
She blinks languidly, then casts a quick glance about at her friends, making sure no one is paying attention to them. Leaning right into him, her warm cheek hovers next to his, her sweet perfume steals up into his nostrils and her lush mouth brushes against his ear when she answers.
"Gibbs," she whispers and gives his leg another insistent squeeze: "…I want you."
He practically jumps in his seat. She pulls back and stares at him, her eyes glittering and her lips moist. He clears his throat, glancing about them as his grip on her hand increases.
"Move that hand any higher, Katie," he responds, his voice ominous and strained, his eyes flaring fervidly: "and you're gonna find out exactly how much I want you."
Her eyes widen and she gulps. Then, slowly, she retracts her hand and sits back in her chair, stunned and embarrassed. Her chest is rising and falling deeply, as her hands tangle together in her lap and her eyes stare unfocusedly at her plate.
He studies her face, wondering if he's gone a bit too far. But what did she expect, he wonders darkly. Despite how he might sometimes come across, he was not made of steel or stone. Still, now that her unendurably sweet touch is gone, he almost wishes it back again.
"Kate?" asks her sister.
"Huh?" she blinks, raising her head suddenly.
"More wine?" Sarah prompts.
"Oh," Kate shakes her head, a nervous smile breaking out over her face: "--uh huh. No, no wine. I'm good."
"Jethro?" she offers next, flashing a sly grin that tells him that she's not entirely oblivious to what is happening across the table from her. He would expect nothing less from any sibling of Kate's.
"You look like you could use another drink," she purrs, shooting a look at her sister.
"You're very right," he nods, pushing his glass across the table to be refilled.
As he watches the red liquid pour into his glass, the hand dangling from Kate's chair moves to her bare upper arm and he starts drawing small circles on her skin with just his thumb. Picking up his wine and taking a big sip, he turns to look at her, watching an almost imperceptible shiver run down her body in response to his slight touch.
Slowly, she turns back to look at him, her eyes displaying such an overpowering fusion of longing and desire and entreaty that she almost knocks the wind right out of his chest.
He stares at her for a moment and everything surrounding them disappears. For the first time, he realizes that his Katie wants this just as much as he does. She may even have wanted this for as long as he has and has been in just as much pain over their secret pattern of denial and fear.
He never meant to be the chief arsonist, but, bit by bit, everything today has incinerated that prolonged and exhaustive pattern. It's now a mere vapor lingering in the fiery air that envelops them. Somehow, all of a sudden, they are both free of its suffocating restriction.
He smiles at her cautiously, feeling relief wash over his frame like a crashing wave. Then he scoots back and stands up from his chair. He's got to see her for a moment, they've got a few very important points to settle.
He's determined to wipe that desperate look off her face and assure her that tonight, as far as he's concerned, neither of them will be going to bed alone.
"Excuse me, everyone," he murmurs politely, standing behind his chair and addressing the table: "I think I just saw someone I know."
He gives Kate a pointed look as he tucks in the chair and heads in the direction of some total stranger, hoping that she will understand what he's doing. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he quickly rounds the corner, spotting a little nook near the bathrooms that's shrouded by pot pants and a tall screen. Making sure that no one's looking, he ducks behind the screen and waits to see if Kate will follow his lead.
Letting out a big breath, he stalks back and forth in the little alcove, rolling his shoulders a few times and feeling some of his body's tension dissipate. He adjusts his jeans, which were fast becoming too tight for comfort and peers between the leaves for any sign of Kate.
The light doesn't reach far into the corner, so a minute later, when she walks by, searching for him in the other direction, she doesn't see him, lurking in the shrubbery.
He puts out a hand, yanking her into his little sanctuary and she stumbles slightly, her shoulder brushing his chest.
"What are you doing?" she hisses, gaping up at him, surprised and confused.
"What are you doing?" he counters, glowering down at her: "You're killin' me out there."
She smiles, ever so slightly smug. "I thought it was obvious what I was doing, Gibbs," she murmurs, lowering her eyes. She reaches out, tentatively slipping her arms around his body and shifting in closer. "….I'm trying to seduce you," she whispers candidly, staring up at him with her deep, coffee eyes.
His mouth tugs upwards at the edges as he regards her intently for a moment. "You've been doing that for years," he murmurs, lightly stroking her cheek with one finger: "What makes tonight any different?"
"Well, I guess…" she muses, biting her lip nervously and letting her gaze sweep over his chest: "tonight," she tells him softly: "I'm actually trying to."
He hums slightly, sliding his hands down around her waist and drawing her into him more fully: "You're doing a damn fine job of it," he rumbles warmly.
"Well, thank you," she sighs, smiling in relief and smoothing her hands up his back: "I'm glad you approve…."
"Oh, I approve…" he mutters, ducking his head to capture her lips: "I really…really approve."
Their mouths melt and meld again as the overpowering heat they share explodes once more. Every time he kisses her is more exciting. Every time, a little more passion, a little more heat and little more feeling seeps out of him and into her.
He backs up a little and lets his body fall back against the wall. He feels Kate follow, stepping forward between his legs, not allowing their mouths to disengage. She brings her hands up to his face, switching angles and tugging at his lips hungrily with her own. A moan escapes her throat as he sucks on her lower lip and boldly moves his hands down to cup her ass through the slippery silk. He squeezes and she gasps, breaking away and opening her eyes to look at him.
"Kate…" he murmurs in dazed agony.
"Yeah…?" she replies, her eyes focused on his mouth.
She has that druggy look again that he beheld earlier in her apartment when he moved so close and kissed her neck. It speaks to him of sex and surrender, trust and love. He'd do anything to keep that look as his own. He'd do anything to see that look everyday for the rest of his life.
His whole body is throbbing for her. He can't take any more suspense. He was seduced by her long ago – but he never actually knew it until today.
Everything seems to have come to a head so fast. Maybe they should be trying to think reasonably about this, consider the consequences of their behavior. They've both been in similar situations; they both know that this particular brand of impulsive can get people into huge trouble. And the last thing he wants is for her to wake up tomorrow morning and tell him she made a mistake.
"Kate, are you sure you want this?" he puffs, closing his eyes briefly and trying to contain himself.
No matter how she answers, he's pretty sure he's going to die of extreme arousal very soon. He feels her stir against his body, pressing closer than breath. Her hands rove purposefully over his chest as her lips reach up to graze his left ear.
"Gibbs, I'll tell you want I want," she murmurs, confident and seductive. "I want…" she sighs and deliberately presses her hips into his: "your hands…on my body…" Her hands skate down between their bodies to caress his stomach, making his flesh twitch beneath his shirt: "I want," she continues: "my mouth on your body.…"
She takes a deep breath, switching sides to accost his other ear. He takes the opportunity to squeeze her ass and bury his face in her neck. His eyes are still closed tightly, drinking in the giddying scent of her skin and imaging exactly what she's telling him.
"I want every inch of your skin… touching every inch of mine," she breathes, beginning to place a series of whisper-soft kisses down his neck. "I want to kiss you…" she adds, squirming against him restlessly as he begins a similar sequence of kisses over her neck in return: "in every way known to mankind." She moans darkly and stretches her neck as he nibbles his way up to her ear.
Placing her hands on his face, she pulls him up to meet her gaze. "I want to wake up naked with you," she pants, her gaze openly caressing his face: "Tomorrow," she finishes quietly, her eyes warm and resolute.
"Is that clear enough for you, Gibbs?" she questions smoothly: "Seductive enough for you?"
He bobs his head slowly, waiting for his voice to return. "Just about," he croaks, staring down at her face with enthralled eyes.
She kisses him, teasingly light, and he responds by pulling her body against him, with both hands on her round ass. He grins wolfishly as he lets her feel the stiff promise between his legs.
Kate gasps ecstatically, her eyes slipping shut: "Oh, yes, I want that too…."
"All yours…" he grimaces, dropping his head backwards in pleasurable pain.
A door bangs, two women exit the bathrooms and walk past their concealed grove, chatting quietly. Regretfully, he lifts his hands to the safer territory of her shoulders and lets his head ease forward again, his brow resting hot against hers.
"Tell me we can get out of here soon," he groans, under his breath.
Kate smiles. "Don't you want dessert?" she coos, peering up at him coyly.
"Yes," he tells her pointedly, pulling back and looking her in the eye: "I do." He has a healthy hankering for some red underwear and young flesh – that will be sweet enough for him.
"We've waited this long…" she muses, her voice shivery: "would another hour hurt?"
He grunts, sullenly: "Easy for you to say."
"Think of," she looks to one side, slipping her arms up around his neck: "…think of Fornell."
"Humph," he hums, running his eyes over her neck and down into the enticing dip of her cleavage: "Bit hard to think of anything right now except your red underwear."
She gasps appalled, her eyes glinting petulantly: "Gibbs! You saw! You--!"
He's pretty sure she was about to call him a pig, but he stops her mouth with another kiss, heated and purposeful. His hands tangle in her thick hair as he tips her head to one side and slips his tongue into her mouth. He draws the air from her lungs into his, drinking the nectar of her mouth and her startled cries. He can feel her soft breasts crushed against his chest, her hips nestled into his aching pelvis and her arms clinging tightly to his neck.
It feels incredible. He can't get enough of her. He can't imagine a better feeling than this but he's pretty sure that later tonight they will discover several.
He breaks their kiss, and Kate tries to follow his mouth greedily, her eyes still closed in passion.
"Then again…" she swallows erratically, opening her hazy eyes and panting softly: "we could be at my place in twenty minutes."
He grins slightly and leans in to whisper in her ear. "Katie…?" he drawls, teasingly.
"What?" she whines, wriggling impatiently.
"Think of…. think of Tony," he mutters smugly and pulls back to look at her.
"Oh! Ew," she comments twistedly, slapping his shoulder lightly.
She quickly rights herself, giving him a little push on the chest with both hands, before she turns on her heel and stalks away. Gibbs chuckles, slumped against the wall, his head bobbing lazily.
"You coming?" she asks, turning back to him as she's about to slip out into the main area of the restaurant again.
He takes a cleansing breath: "In a minute," he nods.
She runs her eyes down over him, one delicate eyebrow arched: "Okay…."
"You better.… freshen up," he warns her lowly.
The effects of their fondling and kissing might be more obvious on his anatomy but if she returns to the table looking like that, there's going to be no doubt in anyone's mind what they were doing together.
Kate touches a hand to her flushed cheek and runs her fingers over her smudged, swollen lips. Then smiling shyly, she steps through the pot plants and heads down the corridor to the ladies room.
He tries not to watch. He tries not to covet the way her hips swing beneath the red silk. He tries to think of something – anything – that's not tempting or pretty or exciting or even vaguely sexual.
He tests Kate's suggestion of Tobias Fornell -- but whenever he thinks of Fornell, he thinks of meeting Kate. He can't help but recall her eyes glinting up at him ferociously, her hand sealing over his in a firm handshake, or her delicate shape as she lay outstretched and vulnerable on that sofa.
Giving himself a mental headslap, he dismisses that train of thought and attempts to locate another to distract him. After a few minutes of recalling Ducky's meat puzzle, he feels calmer and cooler and sufficiently deflated to return to the table. He glances down at himself, tugging at his clothes and making sure he's presentable. Then he heads back, with a deliberate stride and takes his seat, apologizing for his absence and rejoining the conversation.
A few minutes later, Kate returns from the bathroom, looking like her usual composed self. She slips one hand over his shoulder and glances down at him warmly as she sinks into her seat.
The other guests are polite enough to ignore their obvious impropriety. Sarah is the only one who sends her sister a slightly bewildered, slightly amused look.
Shortly, an elaborately decorated cake arrives at their table, glowing with candles, and the waitstaff join with their party in singing 'Happy Birthday' to Kate. Kate beams, looking slightly abashed, then blows out the thirty candles with one big breath.
As the others clap, Gibbs steals a hand over to rest on her leg and lightly strokes her thigh. Kate meets his eyes momentarily, her smaller hand finding his beneath the tabletop as his fingers give her a playful squeeze.
While the heat and the tension is still present, both are now far more at ease with the other and the direction they are heading in tonight. It's taken a long time for them to make it to this place; and, hopefully, thinks Gibbs, the remainder of the journey will prove effortless and highly enjoyable.
As her hand lies on top of his, keeping him firmly in place, Kate plucks a creamed cherry off the top of her birthday cake, popping it into her mouth with a giggle of delight.
TBC…