Tony heard the sound of a cell phone ringing and stirred. Slowly awareness of his surroundings penetrated his drowsy consciousness. He found his limbs pleasantly entangled with Kate's, her body propped against his. He attempted to free an arm to reach his cell phone, thankful he'd thought to charge it at the office. Flipping it open, he spoke quietly,
Where are you? Gibbs' voice barked at him.
Gibbs, what time is it? We don't have an alarm clock here. The weak light filtering through the window told him it was still early.
0500. Let's go; we have properties to search. Impatience began to creep into the older man's voice.
Boss, it's Saturday, Kate's still asleep and I really don't want to wake her. Do we need to start this early?
There was a pause before the team leader answered. Fine, but only because Kate needs the rest. Try to make it soon, the voice growled as the connection was severed.
Closing the phone, Tony tossed it toward the pile of clothes. Then he kissed the forehead of the woman wrapped around him and grinned when she wriggled closer, despite the heat.
= = = = = = =
Gibbs tossed the phone on his desk and sighed. Knowing his partners were together was still a little unsettling. Admittedly, they'd been nothing but professional on the job and shifting his long-held beliefs wasn't easy. But there was a buzzing along his nerves; he needed the team here, ready to go. Tony's protectiveness only underlined his feeling of anarchy within the group. The nagging feeling he had with these properties was like some cancer slowly devouring his calm assuredness. This case had done nothing but upset the finely crafted balance of his team from the very beginning, why should he be surprised that it had finally wrapped its evil fingers around his sanity. Angrily, he snatched at the cup of coffee on his desk, hunting for peace in the dark brown liquid, begging it to restore the world around him to working order from the chaos it had become.
Minutes later he tossed the empty cup in the trash, the cheap cardboard having failed to grant his wish. He turned to his paperwork to be as prepared as humanly possible for Emily Pederson's properties.
= = = = = = = =
Kate stretched and hummed in sybaritic delight. Not even the pain in her side or the heat in the room could take away the indescribably wonderful sensations skittering through her, radiating from all the places where she was so intimately tangled with Tony. She found waking up with him this way to be more erotic than any foreplay and she wanted him; wanted to start off the day sharing a private magic with him.
She shifted her head to reach his lips for a good morning kiss and found him watching her. She'd seen desire and hunger in his eyes before, looks he'd cast at other women. The expression she saw darkening his eyes now was far more primal, more possessive and it made her breathless. Her lips parted as his mouth claimed hers, and the twinge she felt in her belly had nothing to do with cracked ribs. She matched his desire, but quickly realized Tony was limiting himself to soft kisses and gentle caresses.
Gentle was the last thing she wanted. She had waged a bloody war with her demons and emerging victorious she'd found the most precious gift of all. Love. She felt truly alive for the first time in years, too alive to let another minute slip through her fingers. If that meant begging for what she needed now, she'd beg. Low-voiced words of pleading tumbled incoherently from her lips as her fingers danced ever faster over his exquisitely muscled body. He resisted her briefly, but her passion trounced his caution in their sensual tug-of-war. She felt his wild hunger growing in the kisses nipping at her shoulders. She fed it with fingernails scoring his back. She moaned and pleaded, touching him everywhere, urging him on; he answered in a velvet whisper, erotic words of promise, responding to her increasing frenzy with his own. Without warning she found herself crashing wildly along the ride she'd pleaded for, Tony unmistakably sharing the sensations singing through her veins. Panting from the exertion, he captured her lips immediately, as if needing her kiss more than oxygen.
She could not bear for the moment to end; she wrapped her arms around him and linked her legs firmly around his, too steeped in the pleasure of the feel of him to let go. Unintentionally, the whispered words that echoed her heart's emotion escaped her lips. God, I love you, Tony.
Suddenly she felt her lips, cheeks and neck sprinkled with little teasing kisses as long fingers ran tantalizingly down her side. After a moment, she felt him nibble on her ear before caressing it with a warm whisper. I love you too, Kate. Gently he rolled them over so he could look her in the eye.
Now that's what I call a good morning! How are you feeling, Love?
Kate smiled. In no particular order: hot, sweaty, somewhat sore and extremely satisfied.
He laughed and kissed her again. I think we can probably deal with those. Shall we see about a shower? He reluctantly disentangled himself from her and climbed out of bed, helping her to her feet.
You know this could get to be a habit, DiNozzo. She teased the naked man in front of her.
What's that?
Sharing a bed and a shower with you. We seem to be doing it quite often.
So we do. He cocked his head and looked at her. Does it bother you?
With that body? No, I don't mind at all. You're a lot of fun to snuggle and shower with. She grinned impudently at him, stepping close enough to press her body against his. She laughed when saw him actually blush.
Drawing her into the shower in the darkened bathroom, he changed the subject. You know, we weren't very responsible this morning.
Responsible? What do you mean... Oh! Kate gave herself a mental headslap. It was all his fault for being so damn hot! No, that wasn't fair, it was her body, she should be paying more attention. Well, there are some psychiatrists might speculate that one or the other of us wants me to be pregnant.
Interesting theory. Do you think it's true? Tony was washing her carefully, ever mindful of her ribs.
Right now, I don't know what to think. That was the truth. Everything about this relationship with him was new for Kate. She'd never fallen so quickly and so deeply for someone as she had for Tony. It was almost as if this were too perfect and that frightened her slightly. Perfect things had never lasted long in her life; she hoped desperately that Tony would be the exception.
I think we should finish up in the shower then. Gibbs called earlier; he's anxious to start searching those properties today. Tony shifted positions with her and stifled a groan as she began to scrub him, clearly enjoying the feel of his soap-slicked body in her hands. Of course, we may be here quite a while longer. He gave her a sexy grin.
Much as I might like to agree, we'd better not keep Gibbs waiting. Besides, I want this miserable case closed and off my desk, too.
Finishing up their shower, they dressed and checked the warming fridge for breakfast. Tony shook his head at the contents that would soon be spoiled, then laughed as a thought occurred to him.
What's so funny? Kate looked over at him.
I was just thinking about all the stuff that's going to spoil. His eyes were sparkling with pure amusement.
Okay, I'll bite. What's so funny about that?
Got an idea how we might save some of it.
Gathering the items they felt they would need for a day of property searches and the bags of food they hoped to salvage, they headed out into yet another sun-baked morning.
