Title: The Last Seduction

Author: Mindy

See Part One for details.

Part II

When she hears Gibbs knock at her door exactly an hour later, she is not ready. She is on her hands and knees, scrounging around her wardrobe for a lost shoe. She groans in frustration, getting to her feet and nearly tripping over her long, satin robe.

Since the minute she'd flown back in the door, still high on Jethro Gibbs, everything had gone wrong.

She showered quickly, washing from her body the residual sea spray. But then, a large stain had somehow materialized on the hem of the new dress she'd planned to wear; forcing her to chose another one. She couldn't find the shoes she wanted to wear, remembering suddenly that Abby had borrowed them for her latest court appearance.

She dropped an earring down the bathroom drain, poked her eye with mascara and ripped two nails, trying to hastily yank the price tags off some lavish underwear, which finally she had half an excuse to wear.

Meanwhile, the phone had been ringing every five minutes with friends and family wanting to wish her a happy birthday and recap the past thirty years of her life. After a polite interval of chatting with each, she had to excuse herself and tell them she had a celebratory dinner to attend.

She'd just gotten off the phone with her great aunt who, while she was ferreting around her wardrobe for a decent pair of evening shoes, was supplying her with the stats on a handsome, young doctor that she'd recently met while in hospital. Kate refrained for as long as she could, before blurting out that, in fact, a tall, strong, gorgeous man was picking her up that very night to take her to her birthday dinner.

As she rushes to answer the tall, strong and gorgeous man knocking at her door, Kate catches her harried reflection in the hall mirror and realizes she still has curlers in her hair. She rolls her eyes, hearing Gibbs knock again, somewhat impatiently. She really hadn't expected him to be back on time – he must have broken every road rule in the book in order to make it. Not that that should surprise her.

"Coming!" she calls, continuing down the hallway.

She'd wanted to look absolutely perfect for this. By the time he returned, she'd wanted to look her very best for him. After all, this was a date with Jethro Gibbs -- at least, she thinks it's a date. She's not really sure. She hasn't had time to mull it over. All she knows is -- this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Her gut is vibrating, her head is spinning, her heart is humming.

Checking that her robe is not gaping anywhere, she pulls open the door to see Gibbs standing on her threshold, clean-shaven and well groomed. As promised, he has changed the white shirt he was wearing during the day to a fresh, crisp, black one. His hair is brushed back neatly and his face shows the aftereffects of the sun they both received today. The effect is striking and her eyes linger a little too long over him.

"You're not dressed," he points out, blankly, stepping inside.

Kate shakes herself. "I'll only take a minute, I promise…" she mumbles, closing the door and trying to scuttle away before he gets a good look at her.

But Gibbs grabs her arm, pulling her back to face him as he examines the colored, velcro rollers in her hair. She hates the things but she had to do something to tame the mess that the sea wind had made of her.

He stares at her incredulously. "You look like an alien," he tells her matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Gibbs," she mutters sarcastically, rolling her eyes and turning to leave again.

His grip on her arm increases, tugging her back again and, this time, even closer. She finds herself in his arms, her chest brushing his as his arms loosely encircle her waist. Her hands land on his arms without permission and she gazes up at him in surprise.

"Oka-ay," he amends, dipping his head and meeting her eyes: "…a very cute alien."

She smiles a little, her heart jumping into her throat. It feels incredible to be held so close to him, to feel his body through just a thin layer of clothing. But she cannot play a love scene with the man she has adored for years while she looks and feels like a clown.

Gibbs still has a mystified expression on his face as he reverts to studying her head full of rollers. "What the hell are those things?" he asks, poking a finger at one.

She purses her lips and bats his hand away. "They make me pretty," she retorts, attempting to free herself from his hold.

"No, they don't," he replies flatly, just as she succeeds in slipping out of his arms.

With her back to him, she falters momentarily, her eyes dropping to the floor. She feels her heart sink a little and her vanity smash into tiny pieces at her feet. She's relieved that he can't see her face fall.

She'd wanted to look perfect for him. She'd wanted Gibbs' eyes to light up with admiration and desire. She'd wanted to feel beautiful in his eyes. And -- she admits it -- curlers or not, she wants her boss to think she's pretty.

"I'll just, ah…" she mumbles fadedly, without looking back at him: "I won't take long."

She starts to move away again, heading for her bedroom, but is surprised when Gibbs' hands land tentatively on her shoulders. He gently draws her backwards and she feels him sidle up close behind her. His heat and his bulk are electrifying against her back and his breath brushes her neck as he leans down to whisper in her ear.

"I don't think that these weird little things," he tells her slowly and she can feel his eyes roving up over her trapped hair: "…have anything to do with it," he finishes, his lips brushing against her ear.

She feels his gaze wander down the side of her face, tracing her neck and plunging into her cleavage. Her eyes slip closed and she sways lightly on her feet. They stand locked in position for a moment, both enjoying the current that passes between their enraptured bodies.

Then, she feels Gibbs move, his head lowering and his lips hovering over her flushed skin. With her hair up in the rollers, her neck and shoulder tingle with vulnerability and sensitivity. Each millimeter longs for his attention.

He chooses the perfect spot, laying a soft, wet, open-mouthed kiss on the back of her neck, just left of her spine. She whimpers softly, feeling her head loll and her knees weaken.

"Hmm… Very…" he murmurs softly, his fingers brushing aside a few stray wisps at the nape of her neck. He presses closer to her from behind, his voice distant: "…very…" He leans in and deposits another hot kiss, a little longer, a little lower, right on the spot where her neck becomes her shoulder: "…very pretty," he finishes in a raspy voice.

She swallows her burgeoning arousal and her heart rate picks up exponentially. She hasn't felt this excited in years. Truthfully, she's not sure that she's ever experienced this level of excitement. She's not sure what do to with herself.

She's not sure whether to stand still and see how far Gibbs takes this. Or whether to turn in his arms and reciprocate with a few carefully placed kisses of her own. A part of her still wants to rush to her room and finish getting ready so that she doesn't feel quite so vulnerable. While another much stronger part just wants to rip that black shirt off his body and guide him to her bed.

"Kate…?" Gibbs murmurs in her ear, after a long moment.

"Hmmm?" she sighs, opening her eyes dreamily and beginning to float back to earth.

He runs the back of a finger down the side of her neck very slowly, watching its progress with rapt eyes: "I think you should get dressed," he tells her, still in that quiet, seductive tone.

"Hm?" she questions vaguely, turning and gazing up at him from over her shoulder.

One corner of his mouth lifts as his eyes drop to trace her parted lips. His hands smooth from her shoulders down her arms to her elbows and slowly, back again. The heat of his palms makes her feel like she is melting from within.

"We'll be late for your dinner," he reminds her, shifting on his feet and withdrawing slightly.

She nods dumbly then heads towards her bedroom, her body still thrumming with sensation. As she faces the mirror in her bedroom and absently pulls the rollers out of her hair, arranging the curls in a carefully mussed style, her usual clarity and sense begins to return.

Perhaps it is time to up the stakes, she thinks to herself. Initially, her efforts at seducing her boss were undecided and unfocused. Actually, she had been a little concerned about scaring him off.

She knew when it came to personal matters and particularly matters of the heart, Gibbs was cautious, insecure and somewhat inept. Her secret desire had had a long time to percolate and her younger heart was strong and whole and full, waiting for him.

But now, Gibbs seemed to be not just following her lead, but plotting a seduction of his own. The very thought flooded her with passion and confidence, trepidation and abandon. It was time to meet him halfway and see how far they wanted to take this.

Finishing with her hair, she leans in to double check her makeup, running one finger beneath the pout of her bottom lip, liberally painted and glossed. Then giving herself a quick spray of perfume, she strides over to her bed where her dress is laid out. Shucking off her robe and throwing it over the bedspread, she slips the red material over her head, pulls it into place and fastens the zipper.

Hastily, she peers under the bed for her still missing shoe while simultaneously putting on the one she has found and adjusting the straps. She only wore them last night, she sulks, hopping around her room and trying to locate its pair, it's got to be somewhere close.

Turning around, she notices Gibbs standing in the doorway. He raps on the frame uncertainly, giving her a deliberate once over with his blue eyes as she stands amid the chaos of her room, strewn with clothes and lingerie and footwear. She has no idea how long he'd been standing there, or whether he'd just arrived, but an embarrassed flush rises to her cheeks.

"Thought you might need this…" he murmurs, holding up her fugitive shoe: "Didn't mean to…" he waves his hand once, indicating his accidental intrusion.

"Oh, um…" she shakes her head, looking at the carpet as she hobbles over to him. "…thanks," she says softly, taking the shoe from his hand and making a mental note to close her bedroom door in the future when there are gorgeous men wandering around her apartment.

She puts a hand on Gibbs' arm, balancing herself as she slips the other shoe onto her foot. His hand reaches out to grasp her elbow to help her balance. She straightens, lowering her foot to the floor and flicking her hair out of her eyes.

She stares at him for a long moment, her eyebrows furrowed and her brain repeating the same question. "How long were you standing there?" she finally asks, a little suspicious.

One corner of his mouth turns slowly upwards in a wicked, smug smirk and his eyes twinkle as he leans in to kiss her, lightly. "Very -- very pretty…" he murmurs roughly against her mouth, then disappears down the hallway again.

Kate is left blinking and panting in her doorway. She has now had Jethro Gibbs in her bedroom. That's about as close to heaven as she may ever get – especially considering her current train of thought.

It's definitely time for her to up the stakes and follow through on her seduction of her boss, she muses. It is time to claim her piece of heaven on earth.

As she stuffs lip-gloss and money and keys into her evening bag, she catches her flushed reflection in the mirror, her eyes glowing with determination, her mouth open with lust. Taking a calming breath, she surveys her finished appearance momentarily, smoothing her hands down over her hips and straightening her shoulders.

Jethro Gibbs won't know what hit him, she promises herself. The man has no idea how much trouble he's in. And, possibly-- she adds nervously as she breezes out the door -- neither does she.

TBC…