Tim paused at the bathroom door. Drat he hadn't brought any clean clothes in with him. He had been too distracted thinking about Ziva to consider what he was going to wear when he came OUT of the bathroom. Who was he kidding? He was still distracted by Ziva.

Part of him wished she had come into the bathroom while he was in there, slipping through the steam, like a sleek water nymph, shedding her clothes as she came. He would welcome her into his strong arms with a kiss. Then again with their feelings still so high and no lifeguard to interrupt them as they explored each others bodies they might well have ended up having sex on the bathroom floor and to hell with the cold tiles.

Stretched out on the floor amid a flurry of towels and abandoned clothes as they urgently demanded the touch of the other. His larger body pinning her smaller one to the floor as she opened herself to him….

Oh Tim…

Oh Ziva…

Suddenly the thought of Tony listening to the recording of the two of them having sex together for the first time and playing it over and over for the hilarity of the entire Operation Sourdough team sent chills through him. It was better than a splash of cold water over him. It was an ice cold Tsunami destroying all in its path. The rampant desire which had been surging through his veins vanished with a howl at the reality.

To fake sex while undercover was one thing but to actually have sex with your partner while everyone was listening? While it was recorded? While they trained their infra red cameras on them? Took bets on how long it took for them to….Oh my God!

The endless scuttlebutt, the knowing looks, the smirks and giggling in the hallway. It could turn up on the FBI Christmas Party's Best of the Year screening! He wouldn't be able to look anyone in the eye afterwards knowing that they knew. How could he go back to work with defensive Ziva on one side of the bullpen and a grinning Tony on the other?

He could hear Tony now…..

"And here is where the McPorn gets really good!"

Oh Ziva…

Tim shuddered. Ok this was good. This was what he needed to get through the next few days. Ziva could be as seductive as she wanted. It wasn't her fault. She couldn't help being beautiful and desirable. She could be covered in mud and still make his heart stop. But now he was safe. She could suck his toes for all he cared and he would NOT have sex with her. She could chase him around their room and he would stay strong as long as he kept that horrendous image in his mind.

"Oh seriously you have to come and listen to this! Bow Chika Wow Wow. I should have pop corn. Not that it's going to take long! I mean it is McGee!"

He would have to remember to thank Tony at some stage when all this was over.

Right. Well he wasn't going to put his cold wet swim trucks back on so a towel was going to have to do.

*******************************************************************

"How about a nice dinner at Siroccos downstairs Damita? You could wear one of your lovely new dresses?"

Ziva slowly turned her head from the intense stare she was burning into the ceiling to her left towards the person speaking to her.

Tim smiled down at her from where he stood beside the bed. Damp. Flushed . Wearing just a towel around his waist.

Ziva's fingers twitched for the towel and instead she turned slowly back up to stare at the ceiling for a moment before replying. The smooth, cold, white, blank ceiling. The lovely, pale, naked, long lashed ceiling.

"Oh that's sounds wonderful Toby"

Ziva grit her teeth. She was a professional. Besides she shouldn't be thinking about mauling sweet McGee. He was her friend. For some reason being undercover together had sparked a rather intense chemistry between them. But it happened sometimes. It was just the intensity and the novelty of it. That's all. It would wear off and they would go back to work and everything would go back to normal.

Normal was good. Normal was peaceful and ordinary. Normal was also lonely and quiet when she was alone at night with her thoughts. But no one needed to know about that.

No normal was good.

Besides McGee seemed to be handling it ok. There were no weird looks or stuttering mumbles. She couldn't tell if he was still blushing as he seemed to be flushed all over from his hot shower.

Wait his HOT shower? What she hadn't even heated his blood that much that he needed a cool one? Ziva thought back to the kiss and the touch of his hands on her body. She was sure he had responded the same way she had. Fine. Well if he could handle it then so could she. She had been going undercover while he was still at MIT. SHE was the experienced one.

Ziva smiled her eyes alight with mischief. Alright then Timothy if that's the way you want to play it? Let's see how cool you can be when I really pull out all the stops. Ziva disappeared into the bathroom her arms loaded with jewellery, shoes, hair brushes and other paraphernalia.

Ziva David was going to seduce Timothy McGee if it killed her. And she had never failed an assignment.

*******************************************************************

Tim's jaw dropped as Ziva leaned forward, her ample breasts threatening to spill out onto the table and sucked the frothy glob of dessert off his finger. She looked up at him coyly through her thick dark lashes as she slowly seductively slid her warm wet mouth down his finger.

She slowly sat back settling into her chair, licked her bottom lip and smiled at him, wiping the edge of her mouth with her thumb.

"Ummmm creamy"

Tim just stared his mouth still open as Ziva smirked. Uhhhhhhh Houston we have a problem. Tim shifted uncomfortably in his seat and attempted to re boot his brain. It was proving difficult with Ziva sliding her hand up his thigh. Again.

Tim realized his mouth had been open so long it was starting to dry out and he quickly picked up his glass of wine and drank down a large mouthful.

No! Don't get drunk! That's a sure way to end up sleeping with her! Well he would be sleeping with her. Just not SLEEPING with her. They would climb into that big hotel bed with its thick sheets and…aaggghhh. No. Water stick to the water. Water was safe.

No wait water was bad. Ziva should stay away, far far away from water.

Tim couldn't remember why water was bad and he found himself almost panting as his heart rate picked up yet again and he swallowed as Ziva smiled.

"Are you alright baby?"

Ziva pouted giving him a concerned look and dragged her thumb back and forth across the back of his knuckles. She had such tiny hands….warm beautiful hands….

What was Ziva doing? Ok Damita was very demonstrative with her husband but Ziva seemed to have taken it to the level of an Olympic Sport. Tim could feel several looks from other diners as Ziva insisted on feeding him from her plate and kept stroking him and touching him at every opportunity. It had taken him twenty minutes to order the meal he kept getting so distracted.

It hadn't helped that she looked stunning in a glittering green gown that swept over one shoulder leaving the other one bare and plunged down wrapping around her curves to fall softly flaring at her ankles. The color complimented her rich olive skin tone. With her thick dark hair back to the soft curls he adored and swept up onto the top of her head and pinned in place with glittering clips she seemed to shimmer like a distant beautiful mirage to Tim's confused senses.

"Don't worry steamykins. I will make sure you feel wonderful …later"

And Ziva gave him a slow wink as she ran her tongue along the edge of her white front teeth. Tim banged the table with his knee hard making the cutlery rattle as he hastily shifted positions again. This was getting…..uncomfortable.

******************************************************************

"Damn. I've got to say she isn't making it easy on the guy. I don't know if I envy him or pity him taking on a man eater like that"

Jake shook his head as Ziva collected up a drop of condensation off her champagne glass and sucked it off her finger with a smirk causing Tim to whimper softly.

Tony frowned "She's just screwing with Probie because she can. She knows that McGee is a gentleman and no matter what she does he will never take advantage of her."

"Yeah well one day he's going to snap and I wouldn't want to be her when it happens."

"Snap? McGee? Nah. The guys like the poster child for nice guys. Nice Guys that finish last." Tony grinned confidently as he watched the monitors trained on his team mates.

"Oh really? Well fifty bucks says he gives her a run for her money. I bet he's full of surprises."

"You're on Jake. Easiest fifty I will make this year"

Jake grinned back and snapped his earphones back over his head.

"Just remember Tony that your Mr Nice Guy Always Finishes Last just finished a five course, five star meal with a beautiful woman and soon is going to be stripping off and climbing into bed with her. You on the other hand got a cold McDonalds burger for dinner and your working until 2.00am. Are you sure he's not the lucky one?"

*******************************************************************

Tim blinked as the smirking waiter came and dropped off the check. He was full and ever so slightly tipsy. He also yearned just once to have Ziva in his arms again.

No he couldn't do that. It was too dangerous. Ziva didn't need a paper clip to kill him she could do it with a single drop of water.

He smiled as he thought of a nice public and very safe solution to his dilemma.

Tim stood and straightened his immaculate black dinner jacket before turning to Ziva and extending his hand to her palm up.

"Damita would you do me the great honor of dancing with me?"

Ziva looked up at Tim in surprise before slowly placing her napkin on the table and slipping her hand into his.

Dance? McGee could dance? She had never seen him dance and had simply assumed he fell into the vast majority of men who preferred to loiter on the edges of any dance floor.

Ziva shimmered as she accompanied Tim to the dance floor in the center of the restaurant and joined several other couples already there. The sultry singer smiled as she watched the newest couple take to the floor, their wedding bands flashing gold in the stage lights. Even she had noticed their obvious affection for each other. It was nice to see in this day and age a married couple so obviously in love with one another. She smiled and selected her next song giving the small band behind her a nod to take her lead. With a slow easy sway she smiled and began to sing the Etta James classic, her rich voice flowing over the dance floor with ease.

At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song

Ziva's heart tripped as she felt Tim slip his hand in hers and run his other hand across her bare shoulder. He shifted his weight slightly onto the balls of his feet and guided her into a slow easy waltz around the floor. Her bare skin tingled under his touch as he slowly pushed her into a slow twirl, her emerald dress flaring around her legs before gently pulling her back into his arms. Ziva tossed her head back and laughed in delight as Tim's eyes sparkled at her joy.


Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue

Ziva yearned to see Tim's expressive eyes free of Toby's blue contacts. His own eyes were so much more beautiful. But she had seen them a thousand times over and she could still see them down to their exact shade as he paused and slowly dipped her towards the floor. She smiled as she felt her dress slide up her thigh and a few of her curls break free of their restraints and tumble down. Tim held her for an instant in a tableau and then pulled her back up and continued the smooth waltz, his eyes never leaving hers. Ziva smiled exhilarated, feeling confident in his strong arms.


My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to

As they grew more confident with each others steps Tim grinned and pulled her closer into his chest and quickly stepped one, twice, three times around. Ziva gasped as it felt like her center of gravity had re positioned itself right above Tim's heart. Her dress swirled around her legs as they twirled under the bright lights mesmerized by the lights in each others eyes.


A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known

Tim smiled down at her as he spun her in his arms confidently across the dance floor. It was the smile she had seen only rarely. It was the one that lit him up from the inside as if he burned with an internal flame just for her. She felt safe and cherished as he cradled her like a delicate bird within the framework of his strong arms. She wasn't smothered or crushed by him instead she was simply free to loose herself in the music of love and joy and longing that soared around them.


Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last……….

As the song finished Tim softly pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment then leaned down and kissed her flushed cheek.

"Thank you …Damita" Tim whispered into her ear while Ziva closed her eyes to savor his warm breath down her neck.

Tim smiled at her and escorted her gracefully off the dance floor while silently thanking his elderly Aunt Ida a thousand times over for insisting he take some ballroom dance classes after he had tripped and loudly fallen at his cousins wedding. She had insisted it would be useful to him and he had been most ungrateful at the time considering only his embarrassment if his friends ever found out. Well judging by the look of bliss on Ziva's face right now Aunt Ida was getting more than a Christmas card from him this year.

Ziva blinked rapidly and smothered the ache that threatened to choke her as she elegantly walked hand in hand with Tim off the dance floor to a smattering of applause from several remaining diners, admiring the handsome couple.

Ziva had wanted to seduce him but instead he had turned the tables on her. Ziva kept her eyes on the floor as she tried to pin up a few loose curls giving herself a moment to compose her rampant fluttering heart. Could it be possible? Was she falling in love with Timothy McGee?

**************************************************************

Jake grinned at Tony

"Ha. Now THAT was easy money. I told you he would have something up his sleeve."

Tony frowned. Who knew McGee could dance? Stupid Probie.