Title: The Last Seduction

Author: MindyH

See Part One for full details.

Please Note: This is NOT the FULL version of this story. For those mature enough and wanting to access the adult chapters of this story, they are now up! Please head to the NCIS Fanfiction Archive. (I'm sorry for the wait, I had trouble posting on the site for some reason).

If you do not know the site, click on my name at the top of this page, then click on my homepage and it will take you directly there. Not all of my stories are there but all the adult ones are. Thanks again to all who have read and responded and to all those who've been waiting for this story. I posted as fast as possible and I truly appreciate your enthusiasm and your patience.

Merry Christmas to all! M.

-x-

Part VI

Gibbs can't believe his own luck. He can't believe how quickly a man's life can change.

On Friday night, he slow-danced with a sad and drunk colleague, and went home alone to his empty bed where he'd dreamt only of her for too many lonely nights to recall. On Sunday evening, he sits between the legs of his beautiful new lover, gazing out at the calm waves as a cool breeze blows and the first stars appear in the twilit sky.

There really should have been some sort of warning, he muses as he strokes her knee; some sort of sign that everything was about to cave in around them. It took him completely by surprise – but then, Kate Todd always had. She's been a shock to his universe from the very beginning.

Maybe, he thinks, they had both lived with the accumulated desire and disappointment for so long that they'd finally and simply reached an inevitable breaking point. All they'd needed was the slightest reason to submit. And Kate's birthday provided that reason -- an excuse to give and receive, to be close, to be honest.

He woke up this morning with his arms full of Katie, overflowing with woman. His chest swelled just thinking about it. He'd dreamt of it. But nothing could ever have prepared him for how sweet the reality could actually be.

She was just there, all soft and mussed and radiant and stunning. Everything about her took his breath away. For a long time, he just lay with her, in her bed, the sheets reeking of man and woman united, her body curled contently against his as his eyes roved over her face and form, captivated, still curious and deeply fond.

As the sun rose higher through the windows and the world began to revolve again, he turned his eyes on their surroundings, noting the chaotic mess of her bedroom, the clothes on the floor, the ajar wardrobe, the open tub of cream and the uncapped perfume bottle on her bureau. It was all very fascinating, this peek into the secret world of Kate Todd.

With a soft kiss on her forehead, he slipped out of bed to investigate a little more. His muscles ached as he headed down the hall to the kitchen. After poking around a little, he managed to locate mugs and start some coffee. While it began to percolate, he wandered about quietly, looking at the photos in her living room.

On the mantle above the small fireplace, there were various pictures of her family; a portrait of her parents, her sister with her hubby and new baby, and Kate with what looked like a grandmother. He picked up an older image, laughing under his breath.

It showed a young Kate, about twelve years old, in a football jersey much too big for her, her long, dark hair in a messy ponytail. She was sandwiched between three big boys with unruly dark hair and all of them were covered in mud, wearing enormous, mischievous grins.

Kate, with the ball tucked under arm, had the same glimmer of spirit in her eyes, the same outrageous courage in her face that he'd first felt so bewitched by. She had probably been born brave, he thought to himself.

On a bookshelf opposite the mantle, above a picture of Kate with the President, was one of him and her, which he'd never seen before. He smirked, liking the fact that he ranked above the leader of the free world – at least in Kate's eyes.

The photo could've been taken at any one of countless crime scenes that they'd visited in the past few years. But he had a feeling it was a fairly recent shot – the level of comfort that was plainly obvious between them hinted at a long association.

They were both wearing NCIS issue jackets and caps. He had his hands on his hips and his head bent towards her as he spoke to her. Kate had a hand on the brim of her hat, and a slight smile on her lips as she held his gaze.

It seemed inconceivable to him that she'd been under his nose all this time. It seemed extraordinary that he'd lived so much of his life without her in it. He could never have known that meeting her would change him so dramatically, and that his life's existence up until then was somehow less, somehow vaguely inadequate.

But, staring at the photo of them, he'd suddenly felt complete, satisfied -- at peace. And, soon, he wanted to place a similar photo on his own mantle. A pure and intimate image of him with this woman, to show the world and remind himself of his own luck. But he wanted that professional guise gone and he wanted her smile to be unimpeded.

Still deep in thought, he'd headed for the shower, feeling unwashed and uncouth in her orderly living room. But he hadn't been standing under the spray long, still enjoying the presence of Kate all around him, when he felt her slip inside the bathroom. She joined him in the narrow cubicle and they showered together. He washed her precious skin and then hauled his wet, little nymph back to bed to seduce her as thoroughly as he had been seduced by her the night before.

Making love with Kate was about as beautiful experience as he's ever had in this world. He's never waited so long for a woman. He's never wanted someone so long and so much. And, as such, he's never known someone as deeply and completely as he knows Kate.

To discover this other side of the woman he's known professionally for years was thrilling and fascinating and touching. They were both, in turn, both predator and prey. It was a wonderful, decadent, momentous game.

He never imagined she'd be so…..so sexy. She was alternately, a sex kitten, a young girl, a femme fatale and a glorious goddess. He's not sure which he loves most.

He had forgotten what an intense experience it was to be in bed with someone he truly cared about. He'd forgotten how intimate it was to say that you loved someone while joined with them bodily. He hadn't felt that connection with another in a long, long time. When Kate whispered that she loved him, an arrow had pierced his heart – and he knows he may never recover from the wound.

It had been her idea to take the May December out again. They'd been sitting at the kitchen table, eating a very late breakfast, and she used the eyes on him – those cute, pleading eyes he was such a victim of. She'd added the voice, for equal measure, that coaxing, feminine tone she knew he had no choice but to fall for. He made her convince him, just for fun. And she did – she'd slithered onto his lap and kissed him so sweet, then whispered that she wanted to make love to him on the deck of a boat in the middle of the ocean.

She had to know that he couldn't refuse her. She had to know that what she was suggesting was his number one fantasy of all time -- with her as the obvious star. He couldn't think of anything he wanted more. He couldn't conceive of anything more sexy.

The boat was still locked up in his garage, so they left within an hour to retrieve her and head for the coast. He needs to return her today but he's sure it won't be a problem if they're a little late.

It's been another beautiful day, full of free-flowing kisses and promising touches and heated whispers. He's been watching his Kate wander around in little white shorts and a bikini top all day. He's watched her slather her sweet skin with sun lotion and peer at him from under the brim of an enormous sun hat. He got to wear the captain's hat today. Neither of them have broached the subject of what will happen the next day at work when they must revert to their usual roles and he becomes her boss again. To be honest, he's not that worried. Maybe he should be, with his previous experience mixing professional and personal. Or maybe, they will be just fine, taking things one day at a time, a step at a time, together.

He knows the subject is on Kate's mind as well, as she sits behind him, snuggled in close. They are seated on the cabin, Kate perched a little higher than him on the skylight, her legs spread either side of his body, her arms loosely draped about his shoulders and her chin nestled against his temple. He leans back into her soft body, his head on her shoulder, his hands on her knees.

The boat is anchored in place, bobbing gently on the waves. And the last of the day is disappearing before their eyes as they sit in silence, gazing out over the bow, huddled against the cooling sea air.

"I wish," she murmurs after a long hush: "we could just keep on sailing." She kisses his brow and sighs: "Right into the sunset," she mutters distantly.

He watches the far horizon where the golden sky meets the sapphire sea. "We can," he replies quietly, his hand keeping up the leisurely stroking of her left knee: "One day."

Kate smiles against his hair. "When?…" she hums, in an indulgent tone. She doesn't think he's serious.

"When I finish my boat," he nods, his voice lazy and pensive: "She'll be comfortable enough for two. We can take her on a trip for her maiden voyage."

Kate pokes her head over his shoulder to look at his face: "Are you serious?" she asks skeptically.

He turns his head to look at her incredulous face. "I'm always serious when I talk about boats," he tells her, deadpan.

Kate shakes her head slightly and smiles at him, her eyes gleaming with mirth. "So…" she murmurs dreamily, her arms winding around his neck a little tighter: "where will you take me?"

He slips one hand up her bent leg, from her knee to her upper thigh, his fingers brushing under the hem of her cute little shorts. His other hand captures one of hers, interlocking their fingers and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

Kate leans closer to him, biting her lip and searching his eyes. He smiles up at her as the wind blows her hair over her face for a moment. She flicks it out of the way and raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"Well, maybe, I can find some secluded little island…" he muses, his eyes roving warmly over her sun-kissed face: "where you can throw me down on the sand and seduce me all over again."

"Or vice versa," Kate responds, swiftly, tipping her head at him: "You could throw me down and seduce me again," she suggests impishly.

He gives her hand another kiss and grins: "Can't we do both?"

She giggles, low and throaty, her nose nuzzling behind his ear, her eyelashes brushing his cheek. Her free hand skims through his hair absently as she turns back to the view, her face lifted into the breeze.

"How long will it take us to complete your boat?" she asks lightly.

The corners of his mouth turn up. He caught that 'we' – however deliberate or unconscious it was. He likes it. He likes the assumption it entails. He likes the intimacy it suggests.

And he especially likes the image of his new lover, his sweet seductress, his longtime dream girl in his basement, her little hands working on his boat, her soft body wrapped up in one of his over-sized shirts. Talk about fantasy becoming reality. He's always wanted to make love to her under his boat, against his boat, in his boat. He's pretty sure Kate won't have any objections.

"Hm, let's see…" he sighs, slipping one hand behind her neck and pulling her mouth down to his.

He kisses her, deep and slow, their tongues rolling around in each other's mouths. He feels her smile against his lips and melt into his back. Her fingers start to work on his shirt buttons as she shifts closer to him from behind. Pulling back a little, he returns her smile, his eyes intent on hers.

"Why don't we aim for your Thirty-first…?" he concludes softly.

Her smile increases. She nods eagerly, slips a hand into his shirt and kisses him again. He moves up, turning around with his open mouth still pinned to hers and pressing her onto her back on the cool deck. His warm flesh covers hers and she embraces him as their bodies tangle intimately once more under the deep blue, starlit sky.

END.