Disclaimer is back in Chapter 1.
Chapter 19
"I know I'm a bit early but…"
"I thought the traditional greeting was 'hello' or 'hi' or even 'hey there'…."
Gibbs smiled at Roxane's mild rebuke.
"Hey there." He replied.
"Hey there, yourself."
He held up two bottles of wine.
"I wasn't sure what we were having or what you liked or…"
"We're having food and I like anything alcoholic…except tequila. Nasty stuff that."
Roxane stepped to the side, allow Gibbs to enter the house.
"Nice place." He quickly surveyed the room.
Roxane noticed the scan, but chose not to comment.
"Must be a military thing." She mused.
"The white might have warmed up on the way here…"
Roxane took the two bottles.
"Then into the fridge it shall go and then I'll give you the grand tour."
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"How did you find this place?" Gibbs asked as they sat on the back patio, enjoying the cooling air that accompanied the early evening.
"Work. This is actually a company house…comes complete with maid service, lawn care and fully stocked with the essentials." Roxane looked at the pool. "I keep asking them to include Pepe the pool boy, but apparently that will violate some human rights issues."
Roxane surveyed Gibbs, sitting beside her looking very relaxed.
"Don't suppose you'd consider leaving NCIS and becoming my Pepe?"
Gibbs smirked.
"I'm not too good at taking orders."
"Ah, but you haven't heard mine yet."
"True." Gibbs conceded, turning his gaze out to the pool.
"Care for dip?" Roxane smiled.
"I didn't bring…"
"I could make it an order."
"That white's probably chilled by now."
"You're avoiding the subject."
"Yup."
"I'll jump in with you."
"You probably have a bathing suit."
"Not on me…if I swim in what I have now, will you?"
Warning alarms blared in his head.
"Maybe later."
"Ah…that's a no. I recognize the signs."
"I said maybe." Jethro protested mildly.
"The phrases 'maybe later', 'let me think about it' and 'I'll take it under consideration' are all polite ways of declining a suggestion or request." Roxane smiled gently. "I've been in business long enough to know the signs."
"Speaking of business, Ziva told me about the train station."
Roxane paled.
"You're right…she talks too much."
"Talkative isn't exactly a word I would use to describe her." Gibbs countered.
"What did she tell you?"
"Enough. I understand now more about your reaction when we asked you identify the Captain."
Roxane nodded slowly.
"It was like seeing it all again. It was just one body…but I saw everyone. My driver…he was killed. I identified his body." Roxane suddenly felt chilled.
"Did they find the bombers?"
Roxane nodded.
"Eventually. My driver…he was part of the ring…but at the last minute he changed his mind. Tried to warn the people…tried to find me. He must have passed me and was up on the platform. It was rush hour…all those people…"
Gibbs knelt down beside her and held his arms out.
Roxane stiffly accepted his embrace.
"I should start supper." She said coolly.
He noted her control. Ice cold was what Payette had used to describe this woman. Little did she know. He recognized that the control was a wall to protect the world from the emotions raging within. Suddenly he wanted to be behind those walls.
She's still a possible suspect! His mind cried and she left his arms.
He watched her stiff shoulders as she entered the house.
Stifling a sigh, he gave the pool one more glance before following her.
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"So what's your admirer's excuse again?" Tony asked, leaning back in his chair. He tossed a ball up into the air. Caught it. Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. Toss…
Ziva snatched the ball out of the air.
"She is not my admirer. And if you mean her alibi, she was alone…100 percent alone. She doesn't even have any online buddies to confirm her whereabouts."
"You know, my sex angle is sounding more like the motive by the minute." Tony gloated.
A pained look crossed Ziva's face. Tony, sex and angles…faith, but that was causing some very hot and disturbing images!
"Ziva?" Tony asked, staring at her.
"Huh? What? Oh…I was just thinking of angles…"
"Look it was either sex or technology." Tony said seriously. "This was too planned out to be a simple walk-by killing."
"Ugh." Ziva folded her arms on her desk and rested her head on them. She tried to find some focus in the makeshift darkness. Something that would allow her to see this case for what it really was and…
Holy…
Wow…
"Ummm…Tony? What are you doing?" She whispered.
His hands stopped their massage as he leaned down behind her.
"Trying to relax. This will help you and me. You can relax and I can just do this…no thinking required."
"You're good at it." Ziva shifted. "Not thinking, that is."
His hands stilled again.
"Keep that up, Zee-vah, and I'll stop…and you'll only be punishing us both."
His thumbs dug into her shoulder blades.
She moaned.
"You like that, huh?"
"Oh, right there, Tony…right there…harder…"
Tony bit back a groan. Those were some words he longed to hear from her, granted not in this context. But, right now, he'd take what he could get.
The base of his hands pressed into the tender flesh below the blades and made small circles.
Ziva's back arched.
Holy flexible! Tony watched in amazement.
"How about we get out of here…get some supper?" Tony suggested quietly.
Ziva stiffened, her momentarily relaxed body once again tense.
"No strings…I'll even try to behave…promise." Tony whispered. Damn, but he hated having her back to him. He couldn't read her like this.
"If it will help, we'll go dutch." Tony was infuriated that he was practically begging, but he couldn't help himself.
"There is a dutch restaurant in town?" Ziva asked.
"It's a saying…it means, we each pay."
Ziva shrugged off Tony's hands and spun her chair around to face him.
"I accept…but you pay. You invited…you pay."
Tony's face lit up in a smile.
"Awesome! Great! You won't regret this! Man, I know this great little place with dark corners where we can…"
Ziva arched an eyebrow.
"Right…well lit…public…lots of people…" Tony corrected himself.
Ziva gave her teammate a sultry smile as she picked up her bag.
"For supper anyway…you mentioned how much you liked dessert. Perhaps we can find something more to your liking for that…"
Tony's jaw dropped as Ziva headed towards the elevator.