Thanks to my wonderful beta Kristen! More answers ahead; we're back to the prologue... And I swear Tony has never called Lily the right name to her face. Go back and check if you need to.

Chapter 35: Seduction

Tony DiNozzo closed his cell phone and fought down his panic.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what the problem was. He was in a hotel room with a very beautiful woman, who he was definitely attracted to, and all he had to do was detain her. They could watch a movie, or play a drinking game, or just curl up and talk.

Or maybe do something more. Who would ever find out?

Apart from Gibbs, who would probably kill him.

And the Director, who would just plain know.

He loved spending time with sexy women, and he had certainly been spending a lot of time with Lily already. There was something about her. He didn't usually go for redheads; their fiery tempers tended to scare him away. But she was different. She was capable and sassy and smart, and a complete pain in the ass to deal with. If she figured out what was going on, no one could save him.

So far, at least, she didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on.

Lily stood on the balcony and recalled the dream. John hadn't been in it, and he was now out for the count. Tony had been absent as well, which was presumably why LJ had left him with her. Which meant…

Sneaky LJ.

She knew exactly what he was up to, and it didn't fuss her. She enjoyed wrapping men around her little finger. Now it was time to put her efforts to good use.

Poor Tony. She was actually quite fond of him. If things had been different, she might have allowed herself to get closer to him. But she was unavailable. And she knew from experience that it was good to have a contingency plan.

Plastering a seductive smile on her face, she moved into the room and closed the glass doors behind her.

Showtime.

Damn it! Why was she looking at him like that?

If she had tried this a few months, or even days ago, he would have leapt at the chance. Anyone would be insane to turn her down. She was smoking hot! It was going to take a lot of willpower to resist this…

He caught sight of a tendril of auburn hair that had worked its way loose. All he wanted to do was tuck it behind her ear. But he couldn't. He knew just how silky smooth her hair was, and he was afraid that he would lose control if he touched it. He clenched his hands into fists in an attempt to stave off the urge.

"Tony?" she inquired softly. "Is something wrong?"

Her voice was like honey, so sweet. It flowed over him like a tranquil mountain stream –

Stop it!

He swallowed hard before replying. "No, Jenny. Everything's fine."

He knew it was Lily, but he still hadn't been able to assign names. She answered to 'Jenny' anyway. What was the harm?

Her smile was going to blind him if he wasn't careful. "Then what's the problem?"

He remembered the last time those words had been used in an entirely different context… or maybe not so different. He forced himself to relax. She was obviously picking up on his nervousness, and it wouldn't help matters. "I'm just… you know… tired."

Rule Seven. He'd forgotten Rule Seven. Always be specific when you lie.

Actually, it might work to his advantage. She knew the rules, and might have been able to detect the lie if he had launched into a detailed explanation.

She moved closer to him, hardly a breath away. Oh, this was torture! She muttered something that he didn't quite catch, focusing instead on her warm breath on his face. If she didn't move soon, he was going to end up kissing her…

Lily took matters into her own hands and kissed him. Damn he was good. She felt his fingers raking through her hair, trying to remove the pins. This could be fun. Expertly, she began to undo his shirt buttons, just as he pushed her away.

Focus, Lil. Focus.

"We can't do this," he told her, the look on his face saying something very different.

She kissed him again, deeper. He wasn't going to escape now. She removed his shirt and realized just how close he had come to removing hers.

He hit the bed suddenly, and fell backwards in shock. She found herself laughing at his antics. He cut her off when he pulled her onto his lap, and involuntary squeal left her lips before she could censor it.

Tony forced himself to break away when he needed oxygen in his lungs. "We shouldn't be doing this," he tried.

"We're adults, Tony. We can do what we want."

Try as he might, he couldn't think of a comeback for that. He flipped her onto her back and kissed her stomach. She giggled and tried to squirm away.

"You're ticklish," he noted, surprised.

"You didn't think I could be ticklish?" She looked angry; he didn't want to upset a redhead without due cause.

"Well, no, but I couldn't imagine –"

He stopped when he noticed the smirk on her face. "You… You…" He brushed his lips against hers to make up for his transgression.

She deftly flipped him over. Not good.

"Hang on. Gibbs is going to kill me if he –"

"He's just…," she searched for the word, "overprotective. What he doesn't know won't kill him."

"He'll figure it out." The second he sees the big smirk that I'm not going to be able to wipe off my face.

"I'm not going to tell him." He privately suspected that she would happily tell Gibbs all the details just to annoy him.

"I'm supposed to be protecting you." Lamest excuse he'd ever come up with, but her kisses were stealing brain cells.

"I'm a big girl," she retorted, biting the side of his neck carefully.

That was going to leave a mark…

"Handcuffs?"

"What?!" She couldn't be serious!

"Is that going to be a problem?" she teased, snagging his cuffs from the bedside table.

"Err, no, I can do handcuffs." He tried to flip her and worried when he couldn't. She knowledgeably cuffed him to the bed. Well, Gibbs had told him to tie her to the bed if necessary. If it kept her occupied, he could put up with it.

"Never been cuffed before?" she chuckled.

He gave an experimental tug on his bonds. "I could get used to this," he admitted truthfully.

Lily decided to repay his previous actions, kissing down to his belly button. She was highly amused to discover that he was as ticklish as she was.

He yelped and apologized, reminding herself about apologies being signs of weakness. She decided to cut short her charade, and hunted for his shirt. Her knife made short work of a sleeve, and she gagged him with it.

Why had she not bothered to pack the ball gag?

The pillowcases went next, binding his feet to the bedposts. She made sure that he knots were tight; she didn't want him getting loose and alerting LJ.

She allowed herself the luxury of surveying her handiwork.

"Tell Gibbs I said hi," she told him, quirking an eyebrow and momentarily allowing her favorite opponent the privilege of using his chosen name.

She watched as he started to panic, realization dawning. Tamping down on her desire to laugh, she made herself more presentable. She kissed his forehead in apology before heading back towards the balcony, leaving LJ a gift on his own bed.

Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that Tony had finally started to struggle with his bonds. She doubted he'd get free, but she had to applaud the effort.

She looked back over the city again. This time, she was going to end it. Even if it involved putting a bullet through his head.

She swung herself over the side, and shimmied down the drainpipe. He wasn't going to know what hit him.