CALLEN'S POV:
Later that evening, after discussing the aspects of our undercover operation with Gibbs and trying to silently communicate to Agent DiNozzo that Livy was taken, she and I headed back to the hotel. Both of us were worn out from the busyness of the day and Livy dozed in the car as I drove through the crowded city streets.
"How about we just order some room service tonight?" she suggested. "You know, on the agency."
I grinned over at her. "Sounds like a plan to me, baby." Even as I smiled, I was thinking about the way Agent DiNozzo had been undressing her with his eyes and the way the two of them had talked about the good times during their training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. I wanted to step in front of Livy and declare that she was mine for everyone to hear, but it wasn't professional and Gibbs had that damn rule about never dating a co-worker. I was willing to bet that the rule was even more strict when it came to dating one of your team members when you were the team leader!
"Is everything okay, G?" Livy asked me, reaching over and putting her hand on my arm.
"Yeah," I replied too quickly. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, you sort of gave DiNozzo the 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' look and you were slightly tense the whole time we were at NCIS. Are you sure something isn't wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, Livy. I promise you," I assured her, mentally head-slapping myself for lying to the woman I…cared about strongly.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew I loved her, even though we had only known each other for a short time. She seemed to predict my every move, which was something no one else could do, even Sam, who had been my partner for many years. She was simply, yet extremely complex. There was so much I had to learn about her, but I wanted to learn it. I craved knowledge of everything about her.
OLIVIA'S POV:
I wasn't blind, even though I had to wear strong prescription contacts. Callen despised Tony. Callen loathed Tony. I had seen it from the minute I realized that my old friend worked with Gibbs now.
There had never been anything between Tony and myself, but he had flirted with me, like he did with every mildly-attractive woman he met. We had been good friends, but never anything more. We lost contact with one another soon after leaving FLETC and I assumed I would never see him again. And, even though it was good to reconnect with Tony, I still knew inside myself that the strong feelings I was developing for G went far beyond any stupid crush I might have ever had for Tony.
The way I felt about G confused me terribly. I had always been a fairly reserved person and I had never had a serious relationship in my life. Once my team had been killed, I had become even more private. Somehow, G Callen had broken through all the walls I had put up before I even realized it. How had I fallen in love in just over a week? Could love at first sight actually happen?
When we got out of the car at the hotel, I stopped Callen and held his hands in mine. "G, if you're jealous of Tony, then you need to get over it," I insisted.
"How did you kn—" Callen stopped suddenly, realizing that he had admitted to being jealous.
I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, clasping my hands at the back of his neck. "G Callen, I have only eyes for you," I promised him. "No man—not Tony DiNozzo, not George Clooney can make me forget what I feel about you. Get that through that thick skull of yours."
G smiled down at me and pulled me closer to his body. "I believe you, Livy. I'm sorry if I got a little angry when DiNozzo was checking you out. I already think of you as mine. Does that scare you?"
A shiver ran from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. "On the contrary, Callen. It makes me happy."
Right there in the parking lot, we kissed as if there were no tomorrow.
CALLEN'S POV:
After ordering a quick supper in our room, both Livy and I got ready for bed and she climbed under the sheets with me without any questions. It was blatantly obvious that she was going to stay on her edge of the mattress all night long.
"Livy, I promise I'm not going to try anything," I assured her. "You don't have to sleep on the very edge all night. You'll fall off."
"I don't want to tempt you, or me," she replied. "It's better if I stay on my side and you on yours."
"Okay. Well can we at least hold hand?" I wanted to know. "It feels strange to be this close to you and not touching you."
"Okay," she finally relented as she reached out underneath the covers and slipped her hand into mine.
"Livy, tell me something that I don't know about you," I told her.
"Hmm…"she thought for a minute. "Well, I usually have a midnight snack—every night. It's usually chocolate too."
I laughed at her honest confession. She would be the type of girl to eat chocolate in the middle of the night. "Tell me something else. I get tonight and you get tomorrow night, deal?"
"Sounds good." Livy squeezed my hang tightly and inched just a little closer to me. "Something else…well, I sing really, really loud when I'm alone."
"What do you sing?" I pressed, rolling over onto my side so that I could see her expressions better through the darkness of the room. She did likewise and we were face-to-face in the big bed.
"Mostly Taylor Swift. Other than that, just a lot of country. I like happy music."
Hesitantly, I reached out with my other hand and brushed my fingertips along her cheek, savoring the feel of her soft skin against the rough calluses on my hand. Livy's breath caught and her eyes closed unconsciously.
"You're…not…helping," she breathed, placing her hand on top of mine. I could feel her breath on my palm as she tried to steady her trembling lips.
"I'm sorry," I replied, pulling my hand away reluctantly.
"How about we compromise?" Livy asked, propping up on one elbow. "I'll snuggle with you, as long as you don't try to pull anything sneaky."
"Deal," I agreed.
Sighing in mock irritation, Livy scooted closer to me and turned so that her back was against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and let out a deep breath.
Long into the night, we continued talking, me asking questions and her telling me the answers.
OLIVIA'S POV:
I awoke in the middle of the night with a start and a gasp. I was cold and my source of warmth had vanished quite suddenly.
"Callen!" I exclaimed, sitting up straight in the bed.
He was standing at the window, staring out at the city, the moonlight reflecting off his bare chest. "I'm right here," he told me quietly.
Slowly, I crawled out of bed and walked over to him. "What's wrong, G?" I wanted to know, putting my hand on his arm gently. "Nightmares?" I guessed.
"How did you know?" Callen asked, turning to look at me.
"Because I have them every now and then, too," I replied. "I had them every night after the bombing, but they've gotten less frequent over time."
G nodded silently, returning his gaze to the view of the White House in the distance. I leaned my head against his arm softly and slipped my hand into his.
"Callen, come back to bed," I pleaded after a few minutes. "I'm right here for you and I'm not going anywhere.
G leaned down and kissed me feverishly, with an intensity I had never felt before. "You better not!" He whispered when he pulled away.
So, what do you think? Sorry it has taken me so long to post, but with the Christmas season upon us, I'm uber busy with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Please review! Thanks!