Disclaimer is back in Chapter 1.
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
Chapter 20
Tony stared down at his food in dismay, but picked up his chopsticks with determination.
"Remind me again why I said yes to Japanese?" He mildly complained.
"Because," Ziva replied, expertly plying the chopsticks and popping a tidbit of salmon into her mouth. "I get to do this."
She stretched out her feet and rested them in Tony's lap.
"And, we get our own private booth."
Tony gulped.
"Uh, Ziva, I was serious when I said no strings…"
Ziva popped up on to her hands and knees. She crawled over to Tony. Reaching out, she used her chopsticks to grab one of his California rolls. Dipping it in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture, she held it up to his mouth.
Gingerly, Tony accepted it, somehow finding it erotic to have Ziva feeding him.
"I know what you said Tony." Ziva confirmed. "But maybe I want strings."
He blinked. And blinked again. And blinked again.
"Did you know, for instance, Tony, that I find wasabi to be a turn-around?" She asked.
"Turn on, Ziva…it's a turn on." He whispered harshly.
"Oh, you find it to be one as well?" Ziva smiled sweetly as she brought her mouth up to his.
Just before their lips touched, Tony realized he'd been tricked into that little English lesson. He grabbed Ziva by her arms.
"Just what game are you playing here, Ziva?" He asked angrily.
It was Ziva's turn to blink.
"No game." She said. "I thought that you were interested in me and..."
"I am, Ziva, I won't lie about that. But I'm not about to be some toy of yours."
Ziva frowned.
"Toy? This coming from you! Tony 'I-can-get-any-girl' DiNozzo? It's okay for you to do this to a woman, but if you think she's using you it's not okay. Talk about your double standards!"
Ziva pushed herself away from Tony and returned to her spot. Her appetite was gone, but she played with her food.
"Hey, those women know what they're getting into."
"Oh really? Do they think they're just in it for bed sport? What if they're looking for something more?"
"Then they're with the wrong guy."
"And how exactly do they know this?"
"Uh.."
"Do you walk up to them and say, 'Hi, I'm Tony and I'm looking for a non-committal relationship. Interested?'"
"Not exactly."
"Precisely my point."
"And why can't you commit, Tony?"
"I haven't found the right woman." Tony paused. "Well, that's not exactly true. I think I might have found her."
Ziva closed her eyes in pain. Okay, that hurt. Tony just confessed to being in love with a woman…another woman…another woman that wasn't her. That was pain.
"So why are you here?" She whispered, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.
"Because I'm trying to figure out if she is the right woman." Tony whispered his confession, close to her face.
Ziva's brown eyes popped open. In her attempt to hide her pain, Tony had crawled closer to her.
"Ziva, I'm about to do something that I've never done before." He said quietly.
"Really? What's that?" Ziva whispered in return.
"Tell a woman that I'm about to kiss her."
"You haven't said that before?"
"No, I just go in and…"
"Tony, kiss me."
Leaning forward and balancing on two knees and one hand, Tony tilted Ziva's mouth towards his. She tasted spicy…the wasabi…and salty…soy sauce…and…
He tasted of soy sauce and wasabi…the spicy salty flavour turning her on. He tasted of…
Them.
Ziva leaned back, taking Tony with her. He deepened the kiss, suddenly throwing down the gauntlet. He challenged her to match him, thrust for thrust, parry for parry, stroke for stroke. Lying on top of her, he slid one hand into her hair, again reveling in its softness. She arched into him, moaning softly.
"Is everything to your satisfaction in here?" A voice called out.
"Oh yeah." Tony thought, swimming in the sensations of Ziva arching beneath him.
"Hello?"
They stilled, regaining their boundaries. They were in a Japanese restaurant for crying out loud! Making out like teenagers in a Japanese restaurant.
A soft knock came on the door of the private booth.
"Yes?" Ziva called out. "We're fine."
Tony slowly retreated back to his seat, his brown eyes never leaving Ziva.
"Could we get some sake in here?" He called out. "And some cold water…really cold."
Ziva blushed and looked down at her plate.
She had a new appreciation for Japanese restaurants.
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
Gibbs leaned away from the table in utter satisfaction.
"That was amazing." He commented, gently placing his utensils on the very empty plate.
Roxane smiled at thank you.
"Smart, beautiful, funny, strong, helpful and can cook…you sure you're not taken?"
"Still questioning my marital status, Special Agent Gibbs?" Roxane raised a blonde eyebrow.
"Just confirming my intel."
"Ah, so you have checked up on me."
Gibbs silence spoke volumes.
"Read anything of interest?" Roxane asked standing and starting to stack the plates.
Gibbs helped her clear the table and bring the dishes into the kitchen.
"I was thinking that I'd rather hear about you from you…instead of an electronic biography."
"Straight from the horse's mouth?" Roxane grinned.
"And what a mouth." Gibbs remarked, without thinking.
Roxane stared at him, amused at the slip.
"Must be the wine." Gibbs commented as he held up the second empty bottle.
"Another dead soldier." Roxane said softly.
Gibbs leaned over Roxane and grabbed the plates. He started to load the dishwasher, pausing after loading the china.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
Roxane shook her head.
"Nope. I find you can tell a lot about a person on how he loads a dishwasher."
Gibbs looked down at his handiwork.
"Yours, for instance, says organized, methodical, controlled. Do you ever lose that control, Gibbs?"
He started at her blunt question.
Blue eyes stared into blue eyes.
"You know, I was thinking the same thing out by the pool. Your control." He admitted.
"Too scary if I lose mine." Roxane confessed.
"For who?"
A mysterious smile crossed her face, but she remained silent.
"You know, I'm curious if you would take that swim with me now."
"The bathing suit situation hasn't changed, last time I checked." Gibbs replied.
"We don't need no stinkin' bathing suits." Roxane declared. "It's dark, it's a full moon, and my neighbours don't have a view of the pool area. You, me, moonlight, wine…"
"We finished the wine." Gibbs said softly.
Roxane fished out a bottle from the cupboard.
"It's Canadian." She proclaimed.
"Naturally."
"Black cab."
"Never heard of it."
"Trust me."
"In the wine or the pool?"
"Both?"
Realization dawned on Gibbs. What a wonderful way to confirm her hair colour. All in the interest of justice…
"Okay…let's go."
Roxane blinked.
"You said yes?"
"Were you bluffing?" Gibbs countered.
"N...No." She stammered. "I just didn't think that you'd accept."
Gibbs took the wine from her and opened it while Roxane found some clean glasses.
"Come on, let's get you wet." He started to walk out to the patio, stopping at his words.
"If step one is done can we skip ahead to step two?" She joked as she passed him.
He stared at her in shock. She was already w…umm…wow…
Catching up to her by the poolside, he found that she was out of her clothing and down to her nicely matching…umm…wow again.
"Nice colour." He remarked casually.
Roxane looked up and grinned.
"Always loved red lingerie…reminds me of summer days and berries."
A sudden image of her licking a strawberry came into his head. He closed his eyes.
"I hope that water's cold."
"Only one way to find out."
He opened his eyes, to see Roxane standing unashamedly by the pool's edge. Just before she dove in, he caught a quick glimpse of fairness.
"Okay, Jethro, confirmed…she's a natural blonde. You've done your duty. You should go home." His mind ordered him.
He looked down to see a hand tugging on the cuffs of his pants.
"You coming in, Gibbs, or do I need to pull you in?"
"Just, ah, going to pour the wine." He replied, ignoring his mind's screaming protests.
He turned back to the pool to see Roxane floating, staring at the moon and giving him a moment of privacy to remove his own clothing. He wasn't embarrassed by the action or his body, but he did appreciate the semblance of privacy.
Slipping backwards into the pool, he noticed that it was cooler than the air but not too cold.
"Atta boy." Roxane all but purred in his ear.
Okay, she was a silent swimmer and could probably teach a SEAL a thing or two.
He turned to face her.
She leaned backwards and began to move away from him, sculling just below the water's surface.
He mirrored her actions, following her across the water.
Jethro caught up to her in the middle of the pool. They treaded water in unison.
"Look at that moon." Roxane said softly.
He looked up.
"What a beautiful view." She commented.
He looked back at her.
"Yeah, it is."
They continued to float gently in silence.
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
"Thank you for the ride…and supper…and…." Ziva stopped, suddenly feeling unable to communicate.
"I had fun." Tony winced at his choice of words. "I mean, I enjoyed it…us…your company…"
That sat in silence outside Ziva's apartment building.
"Look, Tony." "Uh, Ziva."
"You first."
"Stop it."
"No, you stop it."
Mouths fused together, in a desperate attempt to get them to stop speaking together. Hands grabbed, groped, gripped…and every other action word that started with g.
"Upstairs?" Ziva suggested.
"Run." Tony confirmed.
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
Wrapped up in a fluffy towel, Roxane sipped her wine.
"Not bad." Gibbs remarked. "Tastes like…"
Thoughts of berries flooded his mind again.
Roxane grinned innocently.
"You know, if I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to get me drunk." Gibbs said.
"That's why I suggested you didn't drive here, if you recall."
"I also recall you mentioning facets…I don't think I've seen many facets tonight."
Roxane smiled mischievously at Gibbs, leaning back on the patio chaise.
She stood up and unwrapped her towel.
He blinked, blue eyes widening at the view. Her body, still damp, glistening in the moonlight.
Yup…natural blonde…
She walked over and straddled him. Taking his wine glass from him, she placed in on the table before leaning down close to his face.
"And did you have any particular facet in mind?"
He gulped.
"This…this one's really quite nice…"
The mischievous smile turned into a sly one…plotting…
"If you think this facet is 'nice', you ain't seen nothing yet."
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
She slammed the door behind her and turned to face Tony. He pushed up against the door and started to undo her buttons. Frustrated at the slow progress, she ripped open her own shirt.
Tony stared down.
"Lace." He whispered. "I wondered…"
He looked down and then looked up at Ziva's face, a question in his eyes.
"Yes, matching."
"Dear god, I'm in heaven."
"Not yet." Ziva remarked, dragging his mouth back onto hers.
ncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncisncis
"Silk." Gibbs said softly as he ran a hand up Roxane's thigh. "Your skin is…"
Roxane leaned down, kissing him softly, gently tugging on his lower lip.
He thrust a hand into her damp hair and held her close to him. The other arm snaked around her waist, effectively pinning her against him. She could feel his chest, his hips, his legs, his hardness…all of it and it made her dizzy in anticipation.
"Upstairs?" She suggested.
"Run." He confirmed.