Since Deeks didn't have to be at the club until later in the day, they decided to go to his cover apartment to plan for the next stage. As she drove, Kensi considered her conversation with Nell.

She'd initially kissed Deeks in a moment of impulsiveness and a desire to throw him off-guard. Yet, if she was honest with herself, she'd wanted to experience his lips on hers again, which Kensi had avoided examining fully. It would be easy to explain away by her obvious physical attraction and their close proximity in such a charged environment, but she'd be lying to herself.

Deeks was irreverent and unpredictable and annoying, and somehow, she still liked him. It had been so long since she'd found a guy who could verbally spar with her and didn't find it intimidating. If anything, he seemed to enjoy it as much as she did. Underneath it all, was his obvious kindness, which made him all the more attractive.

She had an all-out, blushing—at—the—sight—of—him crush.

"Damn you, Nell," Kensi sighed. "Why couldn't you just let me lie to myself in peace."

Worst of all, now she'd be sitting on the very couch she'd made out with Deeks on while she attempted to have a professional discussion. Hell, they'd thrown professional out the window days ago. Pulling her SUV into a free spot alongside the curb across from Wyler's apartment, Kensi inhaled deeply, and sternly told herself she could not make out with Deeks.

With that in mind, Kensi got out, meeting Deeks at the front door.

"Everything ok?" he asked as he unlocked the door, gesturing for her to go in before him. He gave her a brief, searching look. "You seemed occupied when you came out of the boat shed.

"I was just thinking about the best way to catch our killer," she answered, wondering how he could read her so easily.

"Ok. I'm going to grab some drinks. You make yourself comfortable. What can I get you?"

"Water's fine."

He started to walk out of the room, then ducked back in. "Just so you know, I wouldn't recommend looking in the side table." With that, he winked, leaving Kensi to silently cursed him.

For all she knew, the only thing in Deeks' table was a spare lighter, but just the implication of something illicit had her flushing slightly and insanely curious.

Coming back a minute later, Deeks returned with two glasses of water and set a bowl of pretzels on the coffee table before sitting on the other side of the couch.

"So, did you look?" he asked, and Kensi spluttered out an outraged noise.

"Of course not. Unlike some people, I have an ounce of respect for boundaries and self-control," she told him.

Deeks shrugged. "Didn't stop you from pawing through my clothes that first night."

"That's because I thought you were a criminal." She took a sip of her water to stop herself from engaging in more banter. She was trying to avoid this.

"That's unfortunate. A healthy dose of nosiness is essential in any cop. Of course, maybe they didn't teach that at your fancy federal academy."

"Oh, FLETC would blow LAPD out of the water," Kensi snapped back, automatically leaning towards him. "You wouldn't survive FLETC for a day."

"Yet somehow I still caught you rifling through said drawers and clocked you within minutes of seeing you at the club."

"You're impossible."

"I think the correct response is touché." He grinned at her, his eyes bright with mischief.

"How about we get back on track?" Kensi requested, tamping down the little thrill she felt.

"If you insist." Ruffling his hair, he leaned back against his couch cushion. "So obviously, we need to find a way to draw the killer out," he started, pausing to take a swallow of water. "I think the best bet is for me to let it slip that I know something. If I tell the right guys, it will spread fast."

"Are you sure it won't be too suspicious?" Kensi worried.

"I think I can spin it so it seems natural enough," he assured her with a smug little smile.

"Well, it would help if I actually knew what you were doing beforehand. You know, to actually support you."

Deeks huffed out a laugh, his smile turning a little self-deprecating. "After spending so long working along and depending on no one but myself 90% of the time, sometimes I forget that I actually have a partner for a change. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I can't imagine what it must be like not having a team to fall back on," she said. She felt an unexpected wave of compassion for him. "Although as you probably noticed, I'm not always that great at giving up authority."

"You're improving," Deeks teased, leaning towards her. "I mean you haven't tried to kill me this entire time. Which I can't say for all of my former partners."

"Oh, what high praise." She reached out intending to lightly smack Deeks' shoulder, but he moved forward at the same moment, and her hand landed squarely on his chest. They both froze, Deeks' eyes wide in obvious surprise. Kensi found herself leaning even closer to him, closing her eyes as she inhaled, her senses overwhelmed with him. His soft, natural scent, like the ocean, the warmth radiating off his body, the soft fabric of his shirt and firm muscle beneath that. She felt Deeks breathe brushed across her face and she licked her bottom lip.

"Kensi." Deeks' voice broke her out of her trance and she jerked back, eyes springing open, breathing as heavily as though she'd just chased a suspect. He stared back at her, looking just as dazed as she felt. He blinked a couple times as Kensi shifted back half a foot.

"We, uh, we should probably talk about that," Deeks said, recovering more quickly than her. His eyes glinted with a hint of arousal and once again, humor.

"No. No, we don't," she said quickly.

"It'll be much less distracting if we get it out of our systems," he continued, and now she knew he was teasing her. She ignored him, grabbing a notepad off the table.

"We have to plan what you're going to say tonight. Now, I think you should definitely wear a comm to be safe."

"Would that make you happy?" Sitting back again, Deeks regarded her with his head lightly propped on his fist.

"It would make me more comfortable," she responded.

"Then I'll do it."

She blinked, a little surprised at the lack of fight.

"I also think you should sit right in front tonight," he added. "You know for safety purposes." He winked. "Hope you remembered to stop at an ATM, because you're going to need a lot of dollar bills."

A/N: Kensi doesn't know yet that she's already a lost cause when it comes to Deeks.