Keen and Ressler stepped in the elevator, her wearing the cocktail dress Stefan Gregor had sent to the room and Ressler wearing a dark gray fitted suit that Agent Navabi sent over from a local men's boutique. Ressler looked over at her as they waited for the doors to open to the penthouse suite.
She looked beautiful. Even though he would never admit it, the dress Gregor had sent up to the hotel room fit her in all the right places. And his blood began to boil that Gregor had probably thought the same thing when he selected it for her wear. He didn't like the thought of this man, this criminal, admiring his partner. And he would be lying if he said it wasn't more than just him being a Blacklister.
He had become possessive of Keen. And as much as he tried to hide those feelings down deep, they surfaced every now and then. And tonight was definitely one of those times.
He reached over for her hand as soon as the elevator doors opened up and felt her face turn suddenly, startled by his touch.
They entered the party, which already had about 50 guests sipping on champagne and enjoying the views of the Miami harbor. Agent Navabi had eyes on them from a camera she had been able to plant in the room a few hours earlier… just in case anything went awry.
Agent Keen looked over to her left and saw Gregor headed over to them. She squeezed Ressler's hand a bit before letting go.
"Nadine… so glad you could make it", Gregor said while kissing her cheek. "The dress fits you beautifully."
"Thank you so much for the kind gesture. It's gorgeous." Keen noticed Ressler fidget beside her and turned to him.
"Stefan, this is my husband, Daniel."
"Yes, of course. So glad to meet you Daniel." Gregor extended a quick hand to Ressler as he quickly turned his attention back to Liz.
"You are truly a lucky man to have such a beautiful woman by your side."
Fuming with anger at the way Gregor was gazing at his partner, Ressler decided to put his arm around her waist and pull her closer to him.
"Believe me. I know." He softly kissed Liz on the neck and was happy to see the smirk on Gregor's face start to fade.
"Please do enjoy yourselves this evening", he said while turning his attention to the other guests around them. "And Nadine, I do hope you've saved me a dance a little later on this evening."
"Of course, Stefan. I look forward to it."
As the hotel owner walked away, Liz quickly squirmed out of Ressler's arm around her waist and stared viciously at her partner.
"What the hell was that?" She said softly so no one else could hear.
"What am I doing?", he asked incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?"
Liz looked at him, unsure of what he meant.
"We are on this mission together, Liz. A team. Not you going off on your own to seduce Gregor and getting invited to the auction alone. Which is what is going to happen if you continue to flirt with the man."
"You almost sound jealous, Ressler." He scowled at her comment and looked away.
"I'm doing what I have to do. You of all people should understand that", she said under her breath as she walked away from him.
…..
Ressler sat by the bar, playfully shrugging off the advances from an older hotel guest who had taken an interest in talking with him. He watched Liz, who was doing a good job of keeping Gregor's attention for the last hour. Maybe too good of a job.
The five member band started playing a slow song and Ressler watched as Gregor looked over at him while taking her hand and leading her out on the dance floor.
His blood boiled. Gregor was obviously doing his best to piss Ressler off. And even though he didn't want to admit it, it was working. He watched as Liz fell graciously in rhythm with him and saw his hand creep slowly around her waist.
They danced for a few minutes until Ressler observed Gregor's hand start to glide a little lower. It took all of him not to walk over there and punch the man in the face. Instead, he decided to play it cool. They still had a mission to accomplish.
"I think I've watched you both long enough… Mind if I interrupt and have this dance with my wife?" Gregor looked over at Ressler and smiled graciously.
"But of course."
He once again grabbed Liz's hand and kissed it gently.
"Nadine, it's been a pleasure. I hope to see you tomorrow at the auction."
Liz nodded in agreement. "The pleasure was mine, Stefan."
Ressler watched the exchange and waited until Gregor had started to walk away before he took his place dancing with his partner.
She leaned in close to his ear and whispered.
"And that, Ressler, is how you get things done."
When she pulled back, he saw her big goofy smile and had to chuckle himself.
"Liz, I would never doubt any man not be being absolutely and positively entranced by you." She looked up in his eyes and saw no hint of sarcasm.
"I just want you to be safe", he said softly. "That's all I ever want."
She saw the softness in his eyes. The same eyes that had stared back at her in her bed two nights before. She wanted to scream at him. To let him know that she knew he was thinking of putting in transfer papers and leaving her. But she didn't want the moment to end. She didn't want to spoil it with reality.
Ressler felt her step in closer, closing the space between their bodies. She pressed against him slightly and he moved his hand lower on her waist.
"I didn't mean to blow you off the other night", he said quietly. "Liz, I'm sorry. I don't know if that's why you're angry. But I didn't mean to hurt you."
She felt tears forming in her eyes. Not from his words, but from his sentiment. She knew this man. She trusted this man. She couldn't imagine her life without him. Not now.
Ressler saw a tear fall from her face and felt his insides rip to shreds. He didn't care that they were in the middle of the dance floor. He wiped the tear from her face and leaned in to kiss her softly. He felt her hesitation at first as she let go and kissed him back.
He grabbed her tighter and slipped his tongue in her mouth and felt hers do the same in his. He wasn't sure how long they were like this… making out like two hormonal teens in front of a viewing audience at the party. He felt her start to pull back as they both realized they should probably stop this now before they went any further.
He pulled away, breathless, and looked at her. Her eyes seemed confused.
They both sat there for a while staring at each other until they started to notice the faces around them staring and smiling.
And in the midst of the spontaneity of the moment, both agents failed to remember that Agent Navabi had been watching them as well.