Author's note:

So, if I don't repeat it often enough – I love you, I love you and once again I love you! Thank you all for your reviews, thanks all those who followed or favourited this story, I'm overwhelmed with your reactions and I know I won't be able to express my gratitude enough. :)

To Debbie – I just love to write these seducing scenes, that's why it reminds you Sleepover in the Hammock, I guess. But it's only wonderful for me to know you really enjoy my stories. I can promise you that the outcome will be satisfying. ;) Thank you so much!

To Celine Krause – You said it perfectly! Abandon the luck because you'll get more eventually. Because that's right, she'll give in, that's for sure but I want her to be sure about it, and I want Tony to take his time because he has fun with it after all. The final result will be really worth it, I can promise that. True Christmas present. :D

To mishka – thank you so much! I hope you'll like the rest as well. :)

To Azucar – you're welcome for the shout out, you definitely deserve it because I'm truly honoured to have you as a reader. As for cliffhangers – I'm not entirely done with them, I think you can expect few... :D Sure, I can promise to you that Ziva will know very well what is about to happen before the towel slips off... ;) Thank you again and hopefully – enjoy the rest of the story!

You will all soon see what I'm trying to achieve and why – because as I said on the beginning – this story is about love, not just giving in to the temptation. Luckily, I have here all of you, the amazing group of readers, who are able to bear with me and are glad for my descriptive writing. For which I'm entirely grateful because I truly want to take my time because it really takes more than few words, touches and kisses to let them to yield. I truly promise that the agonizing waiting is worth it. :)

So, what I promised you in the last A/N – a kiss? Or kisses? Well, people – here you go! Sit down, read and hopefully enjoy! :) I hope I got it all right, if not, I'm sorry. I have one of the craziest and most exciting weekends of my life behind me so it's visible. :D I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of experiences...

Disclaimer:

I do not own NCIS or the characters.

Towel – Chapter 4

*** WHERE WE LEFT OFF ***

When he didn't move and continued to stare at her with an expression of utter disbelief and didn't make any step away from her, she stopped clutching the towel and raised her left hand to put it on his chest. She had it in mind to give him a little push, just to stress her request because it looked that he needed some. She didn't know why he was suddenly so perplexed, but she really needed to put some distance between them, otherwise she couldn't be responsible for her actions.

But before she could finish her intention, and since he was still faster than her, she suddenly found herself roughly pinned to the door as he grabbed even the second hand and put it above her head as well while his body pressed onto her own. She gave out a whimper in delight and gasp in surprise as she looked confusedly into his eyes that were flaming with anger and lust.

"I'm not joking." He growled dangerously, giving her crystal clear sign that what he had done so far hadn't been some kind of a joke. He was serious, completely serious, and his plans with her had to be more than obvious.

*** AND NOW WE CONTINUE ***

He knew something was holding her back, but she couldn't hide how much she wanted him, too. So, he wasn't exactly alone in his craving. She enjoyed it, he could see that, and now feel that because their bodies finally had direct contact. The erratic beating of her heart was from the excitement, not fear, and the way she was breathing heavily testified about the anticipation, not uncertainty.

That was why he wanted her to realize that she was fighting a losing battle. He wanted her to become aware of her own desire so she could stop with the resistance and finally give in. So, he loosened the grip he had on her hands, giving her a great chance to break free out of it, kick him or somehow injure him and, thus, to stop him. He still didn't want to make the impression that he was pushing her into something. He wanted her to know that there was always the possibility of some escape.

But she couldn't bring herself to do anything, even though she felt that her hands were able to free themselves out of his grip. It completely stunned her how amazingly their bodies fit together like a damn good jigsaw. With their forms moulded to each other, she just wasn't able to react. The only thing that came into her mind was that she could stay like that forever.

Her eyes followed the orders of her libido and slipped down on his lips, showing him the signal that she expected him to kiss her. She didn't see his small, triumphant smile as she lifted her eyes back up to look into his. She shivered when she saw he did the same thing, but he added a more lustful sparkle into it than her. She was losing in the depths of his eyes, feeling suddenly powerless.

And in that moment, as her instinct for self-preservation started to work, her brain kicked back in and she again began to perceive what was happening. All she could think about was that she needed to stop him because if he kissed her, it would be her undoing. She could stand his proximity, his touches, his gaze and everything else he might do to try seduce her, but she couldn't cope with a kiss. It was his greatest weapon. Not even his piercing stare could compare to it.

But none of her previous attempts to stop him had worked. She had tried to play it at it being nothing, she had tried to threaten him, she had tried to escape and she had even tried to downplay it. But he was still in front of her, driving her crazy because he didn't retreat even a bit. The only way that remained was to beg – to finally stop playing grown-up girl who can take care of herself and admit that she was too weak to stop him by any other way and, thereby, to concede that she wanted him as much as he wanted her, but there were reasons why they couldn't do it.

She bit her lip and whimpered inwardly when he began to lean in for a kiss, checking her eyes for assurance that her hesitance wasn't just a trap and she didn't want just to distract him. When he reached her nose, he couldn't resist and nuzzled it a bit, closing his eyes and smiling widely, sensing as she parted her lips and breathed out because her hot breath fanned his cheek.

He opened his eyes again and focused on the appetizing mouth of hers, knowing that all he had to do to finally feel her lips on his after such a long time was to close the millimetre gap between them and claim it. Ziva closed her eyes as she fought the battle against her libido that wanted so much to lean in and do the first step, and her brain that warned her how great mistake it would be.

"Tony, please, don't do this." She finally pleaded him a bit plaintively as an imperceptible sob escaped her mouth. She didn't feel like crying but the tension inside her chest made her to look like that.

He pulled away a bit to look at her, feeling amused with her unrelenting endeavour to escape the inevitable. He couldn't take it as an attempt to stop him because she had a lot more choices to do that. And yet, she didn't choose any of them. So, even though something was preventing her from giving in, there was also something that held her back from putting an end to this.

"Why?" He asked her, wanting to hear some compelling reason as to why he should stop. For assurance, he pressed his body against hers more closely, his ears catching her helpless, yet sexy, whimper.

Ziva opened her mouth to reply immediately, but she found herself at a loss of words. Sure, she knew what the reasons why they shouldn't cross the line were, but by that she would admit that they were the only things that were holding her back. Otherwise, she would have been in his arms already. And to be honest, she wasn't even sure whether she was ready for some serious conversation about them and their relationship.

So, it was probably safer to trivialize everything again. To gently show him that they were supposed to be responsible and that they should think about the real purpose of their presence in this hotel, which was Jimmy's wedding. The dinner was going to start soon, and they really didn't have enough time to seriously talk or to give in to the temptation. It could bring them only trouble when the others might start to search for them.

"Because this is not the right time, nor the right place to..." She began to tell him that the timing wasn't the best (if she ignored the fact she was wearing just a towel so the timing, in his opinion, was actually very great), and that they were in the hotel, which wasn't the most romantic place on Earth, and if she was supposed to give in, she wanted it to happen on some place that would be only theirs.

But she couldn't finish her thought because he just clicked with his tongue, getting tired with her, and closed the remaining distance between them, stopping her mid-sentence and making her whimper as his mouth swallowed hers. He drank, at first, from her full, delicious lips, sucking in the taste of hers that he was so familiar with. But it was a long time ago when he'd had the chance to kiss her. So to finally feel it again was heavenly.

She was too stunned to make him stop. So when he moved with his lips and started kissing her at full throttle, no other thought than to respond even cross her mind. Her brain didn't stop working, but it was suppressed by more powerful force, and that was his kiss. His amazingly and completely breathtaking kiss that made her to feel like if she was soaring in the sky.

Her legs couldn't hold her in the standing position, but the way he was pinning her to the door was enough, so she just let herself be pressed there, actually leaning against the solid material for support. Their lips moved in harmonious sync against each other as they both enjoyed the lip lock on maximum. This was the kiss they wanted to experience since the last time they had kissed and, the desire had become even stronger over the last few months.

It was seventh heaven that made them both breathless. The forbidden fruit they had decided to eat regardless of the consequences, because he just loved the way she moaned everytime he moved with his lips and she couldn't help the moans since his mouth was able to do miracles with her body. The warmth in her belly was spreading across her body, through her veins, and, judging by the way he was groaning into her mouth here and there, she guessed he felt the same.

Tony couldn't think even though he knew he had lost control over himself for a while there. But his desire to kiss her was so strong and so endless that it was getting unbearable for him. He just needed to feel her live body, to feel how she responded to him as he dared to speed up the rapidity of his kissing her, totally eating her up and not caring about anything.

Since his hands still gripped hers, he accepted her open palms and intertwined their fingers, still holding their now-joined hands above her head against the door. They were sweating as the lust and desire for each other scrambled on the surface and the body heat between them could cause a fire. It seemed that neither of them wanted to stop the kiss.

But it was necessary to inhale the so much needed oxygen that helped to preserve their life, so Tony drank in her lips for one last long moment and then released them with a soft moan. He felt dizzy, like he had drunk at least half a bottle of whisky, but it was definitely worth it. She was far better than some alcohol, she was able to induce in him something no one could ever before.

He opened his eyes and licked his lips, tasting her on them as he looked at her and saw the effect that the kiss had on her. She banged her head once lightly against the door, feeling completely bedazzled, and, with closed eyes, took a deep breath. The way he had explored her mouth without using his tongue made her wonder how the hell he was able to make her feel like that – so desirous of him and so greedy.

She shook lightly with her head to clear her mind and to make those naughty images disappear as she tried to come up with some intelligible sentence. "We shouldn't be doing this. There are too many..." She began as the reasonable side of her kicked back in and she couldn't just stop thinking about how wrong this kiss was. Although it was amazing, it shouldn't have happened.

"For every reason you can come up with why we shouldn't, I'll tell you at least three other reasons why we should." He whispered huskily, interrupting her train of thoughts and her attempts to stall the inevitable. The primal need for each other was there and they couldn't do anything to stop it.

She opened her eyes swiftly and looked up at him in astonishment. Three other reasons? Damn, she couldn't even remember a stupid single one why they shouldn't continue! Something in her mind was telling her that this wasn't right, that they should do something important before completely giving in, but she couldn't remember for the life of her what exactly it was.

She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to do – he had totally robbed her of her words and ability to come up with something reasonable. She was sure about just one thing – she wanted another kiss. And then another. And what was even worse, at least her brain told her so, she wanted more, she craved for more. She was already so bloody aroused that if he put his hand on the right place, he would know it. All caused by his kiss.

Tony watched the inner struggle in her eyes, not quite believing that he was able to make her feel so confused. It was really a losing battle because he didn't care what was holding her back, and why she still made attempts to stop him without some actual action. Words definitely weren't going to stop him, not when he finally had her in a place where he wanted had her to be in for years. Only if she directly told him to stop and leave, then he would really let her be, because that would mean she was serious. What she had told him so far, however, wasn't convincing enough for him to abandon his plan.

She was torn apart, not knowing which part of her body was suggesting the right decisions, and if he was supposed to step away from her and return back to his room, he wanted her to be one hundred percent sure. That meant just one part of her body had to win. It would be either win for him, as well, or a defeat. But at least he would know where they were standing, now, and how deep the connection in their relationship actually was. He just wanted to know whether there was any chance to convince her about his feelings and show her how wonderful it would be if they made a couple.

And to help her to decide, he opted for another kiss. This time a rather passionate one as he bent down and, without warning or space for her to protest, crashed his lips onto hers and set a pace she was barely able to keep up with. Nevertheless, she responded immediately and completely naturally with fervent vigour, letting him kiss her thoroughly and taste everything that could be tasted.

He finally stopped pinning her hands above her head and let them fall down by her sides and started to gently caress her bare arms. She was glad for it because the blood was almost gone by that time and it took her some time to make her hands work again. She reached for some support, finding it in his biceps, digging her nails in desperation into his muscles.

He, meanwhile, finished the inspection of her arms, currently teasing the rim of the towel with his fingers, but knowing he still wasn't entirely done with her, so it was a bit early to take it off her. She moaned when he ran his forefinger across the upper part of her breasts, tickling her a bit to tease her, and smiling into her mouth when he registered that she wrapped her right leg around his to bring him closer. It was an unconscious action which was exactly what made it so special and amazing.

But then he grabbed her neck and buried his fingers into her hair, making them both to forget about everything around them and just fully pay attention to their make-out session. They only focused on the movement of their lips, to enjoy it and to satisfy each other, leisurely drinking and tasting like if they were in the finest restaurant on Earth, knowing that this was their last meal.

She felt one of his hands stop raking her damp hair and shift on her back as he traced his fingers across her shoulder blade. She raised her hands in unwitting protest but he suddenly changed the angle of the kiss, and she could just try to find something to hold on to keep the passion inside her and not to explode on the spot. She dug her nails into his shirt, grasping it, and through her mind flashed the fantasy she'd had when she had realized what he was wearing – how she tore this black T-shirt off him.

But even this image soon disappeared and only darkness followed when he slipped his hand down her back, going lower and gripping her waist through the thin material of the towel and making her shiver. She moaned deeply in delight when he massaged the skin on her waist and wished that his hand would stuck beneath the towel so she might feel it skin on skin.

She repaid the favour as her fingers travelled up his chest, reaching the nape of his neck, playing with his hair there. The pent-up passion which was locked up deep inside her for so long, forced her to wrap her arms around his neck and make him completely swallow her with his kiss as she pulled his head down and changed the angle, taking a charge of the kiss for a while.

She didn't want to give up his marvellous lips, no matter how much her mouth hurt from those rapid movements and how much her lungs screamed for a bit of fresh air. It was like a drug and, moreover, it was so liberating to finally use their mouths this way, because this wasn't part of some undercover assignment or kiss of gratitude or sudden expression of feelings because they were in life or death situation.

This was finally the kiss that was supposed to happen ages ago but they were too reasonable to take such a step forward. Now, when it seemed that their common sense had completely abandoned them, she didn't see any reason why she should give it up. Although, something in the back of her mind was still nudging her that she should give a chance to her brain to explain what exactly was wrong on it.

But how could she resist him when he is making such exciting advances to her? How could she tell him "no" after he looked deeply into her eyes where she saw the desire and need for her and he could see the same in hers? How was she supposed to hold out when his mouth was letting out those persuasive words? Suddenly, her eyes flew open in realization. Talk! That was they were supposed to do before they could give in.

She quickly tore away herself from him, taking a deep breath to suck in the fresh air and, despite the blackness she could see as the aftermath of the kiss, she knew exactly why she put an end to it. They were supposed to talk. She had to know what this meant for him. This wasn't some game anymore, it was getting pretty serious and she needed him to know how much was at stake.

Tony thought that she just needed to refill her lungs with oxygen, so he didn't step away from her and didn't demand why she suddenly cut off the sinfully sweet kiss. "Wow." He whispered through the thick haze that had enveloped him, completely stunned with the way she had taken over the kiss, finally showing him that her want had a similar intensity as his.

"Tony..." She sighed urgently, trying to signal to him that they should talk about this before they would decide whether it was worth the risk to go further. She lifted her head up and emphasized her plea with an imploring gaze because this was very important to her.

Judging by his slightly disappointed stare, she guessed he wasn't somewhat enthused by her hesitance. She could even see the hurt in his face because he thought when she had kissed him back and even later had taken the initiative, that he had won and she had wanted the same thing as he. Apparently, he had been wrong. But he didn't give up so easily. He was sure he wasn't the only one who craved for more. But then, he didn't understand why she was still trying to stop him without distinctly clear request.

He slipped his second hand down from her neck alongside her arm, noticing the obvious tremble of her body as he was doing so. Even the gasp she tried to stifle with a bite on her lip didn't pass unnoticed, and he knew that she still wasn't sure what exactly she wanted. So he used it to his own advantage. "Come on, I can see you want it." He told her, hoping that reactions of her own body would finally convince her enough.

He put his hands securely around her waist and squeezed it, knowing that she was very responsive, so it didn't surprise him when she arched her body and leaned her head against the door behind her to find some support. She breathed out shakily, trying to find some answer to what he had said, but to be honest, her treacherous body was replying for itself.

Tony took it as a sign that she didn't protest and decided to show her that whatever she said didn't match with what her body wanted because it evidently desired him. And he didn't want to retreat when he'd gotten so far. Truth to be told, they had already crossed every boundary that was between them and just to put it back up wasn't exactly what he wished for.

Despite what she might think, he didn't try to seduce her for nothing. He wanted to show her his feelings for her and words, in this case, weren't enough. She wouldn't believe him, not now when he was making advances to her and she would take it as another attempt to get her into the bed. So he had to persist, and when the realization that she didn't have any other choice than to yield dawned on her, he could change the direction and show her that his aim wasn't just casual sex to resolve the sexual tension between them, but that he wanted something on more serious level with her: to make love.

The End of Chapter 4

So, another piece of puzzle - hope you liked it, people! :) I promised you kisses and you got them! We're slowly revealing what is really going here...

I know that the waiting is getting frustrating but I really promise you that every chapter has its meaning, every described detail is important for the development and understanding for the story. So please, bear with me and be patient. ;)

Anyway, for how long do you think Ziva will be able to keep resisting? ;) And will Tony convince her? You'll see that in following chapters! As for the next one – it's coming next Monday, of course, and we'll get to see some of Tonys' persuasion skills... ;) Curious what does it mean? Well, you'll see next week!

Until then - have a nice week everyone, I love you all to the moon and back for all the support, because it means a world to me. :)