Only With You
- Chapter 9 - Staking a Claim -
"So..." Jethro started as he navigated the streets back towards the lodge.
"We go to dinner, you go have your drink with Russ, I'll talk with the team," Jenny planned out.
"Do me a favor."
"Hm?"
"Don't go anywhere without Duke," he warned carefully.
"They be insane to go after us here."
"Let's not underestimate them shall we?"
"Fine." Dinner was as uneventful as it had been the night before and they mingled afterwards till Jenny noticed Jethro head to the bar. She decided to take Duke outside for a quick walk and then to come back in. After her walk she decided it wouldn't hurt to go for a swim and so she did, finding the pool deserted, except for McGee who came by every ten minutes. The swimming relaxed her and she got out after a good hour. As she stood to go back to their room she felt a sudden feeling of dread. She studied her surroundings carefully but found nothing out of place and so brushed it off until it became worse as she climbed the stairs to her room. She recognized the feeling clearly, she'd had the same bad feeling before their op in the Czech Republic, when they'd sent Tony and Ziva undercover, and when she'd been in the White House, the day of the explosion. That alone prompted her to not ignore the feelings, she would go back to her room, grab her gun, and find Jethro. She was just about to place her key in the lock when she heard a noise in the hallway. She glanced down and found McGee.
"Ma'am, I think you may want to come to the bar," he suggested. She watched him confused for a second as to why he wouldn't drop the act, but figured it would be safer to stay in role.
"Can this not wait five minutes?" Jenny questioned.
"I believe your husband needs assistance." She tried to figure out the underlying message; she knew Jethro would never drink till he was intoxicated if he was still working, so she knew there had to be something else. She nodded and followed McGee down to the bar, where she felt her heart freeze mid-beat. Lynna was sitting a little to close to Jethro for comfort, clearly hanging on his every word. Jethro in his defense appeared to be looking for a way out but he wasn't trying hard enough in Jenny's opinion. I told him a man did not write that note, she thought irritated. She should have known that Lynna would try this, after the questions in the car, Lynna's subtle interest; it was all starting to click. Lynna was a very good-looking woman, leggy, tall, beautiful hair, well portioned and did not look a day over thirty-five, which Jenny inferred mean there was probably lots of surgery involved. Jenny on the other hand, knew she probably looked her age, a job she spent 24/7 working at, would do that to a woman. It was not inconceivable that a normal man might lose interest, but Jenny knew Gibbs was far from normal. Apparently I haven't been territorial enough, she thought as she spotted a few other woman not involved in the retreat looking him over. That can be fixed. She rose to her full height, walked casually through the bar, up to where Jethro was sitting. He hadn't noticed her yet, or if he had he gave no outward appearance. She would use that to her advantage as well.
"Jethro..." she called gently, tapping his shoulder.
---
Jethro did not like this situation. He had come into the bar expecting to meet Russ but had found Lynna. He briefly wondered where her husband might be but than decided he probably didn't want to know. It hadn't taken him long to piece together that Lynna had sent the note and tricked him, proving Jenny knew what she was talking about when she had mentioned the note was not written by a man. He didn't like that either. He was sure he could handle it, but an hour later, Lynna was slowly inching closer and he was trying to find a way to get out of it. He almost wished he hadn't told McGee to follow Jenny's movement, because than he would have been able to get her. He had repeatedly told Lynna that he needed to be going, that his wife would wonder and it became obvious she didn't care. She had her mind set on one thing, and he was determined not to give in to it.
"Jethro..." the sensual voice and the gentle tap to his shoulder were enough to make him gulp quickly, because he knew he would have a lot of explaining to do, if she'd jump to conclusions. However when he turned his head to meet her eyes, noticing the hidden amusement and he determined that she was here to rescue him for a change, although he wasn't sure he would like her methods. "I was waiting...."
"I...uh got held up," he stuttered. Her voice in that tone should be a criminal offense. It didn't help that he was intimately familiar with that tone and that even if it had been close to nine years since he'd last heard it for real, meant very little when he heard it in his dreams. He felt her hand trail down his back and tried very hard not to make a sound.
"Lynna you don't mind if I steal my husband away."
"We were talking," Lynna countered looking a bit puzzled. "Didn't Russ tell you?"
"Haven't seen him, I was waiting for Jethro at the pool," she lied effortlessly, but not liking the implications. A thousand scenarios had formed in her head, the most obvious being Russ distracting her while Lynna convinced Jethro of things. "You said one drink Jethro..."
"I know, I know," he agreed immediately hopping this was his out, choosing to ponder the fact that Jenny was supposed to be with Russ, later. "Didn't stop you from going for a swim."
"Yes, well that water was cold, I was going to come tell you to skip the pool and come back to the room, I thought we could try out the tub," she told him sweetly making sure Lynna had a full view of her hand tracing his arm. She watched Lynna glare slightly; things were obviously not going to her plan, though she apparently wasn't ready to abort completely. Want more do you need a neon flashing light? Jenny was slowly getting more and more irritated and thus her movements were becoming more and more possessive.
Jethro on the other hand was convinced the temperature had been turned way up. He was sure she was doing it on purpose and he was pretty sure the tub invitation was nothing more than a way to get Lynna to leave them, but he could tell it wasn't working. Both women were determined to have their own way in this and he knew what happened when Jenny felt threatened, she went on offense. And if the way her hand was tracing his arm was any indication, she was almost ready to go in for the kill. He wasn't sure what the kill would be, she wasn't as easy to read as he let on, but he was pretty sure he was going to be an active participant in the kill shot. He felt her shift her weight so she was leaning against him slightly. He knew he was going to have to come up with an answer to the invitation.
"The tub takes a long while to fill, maybe you should start the water Jenny," Lynna tried, being a little too obvious that she wanted the red head gone. "I'll send him along when we're done, he was regaling me with tales of his service." Jethro cringed, especially as he felt Jenny apply pressure to his neck and her breath suspiciously close to his ear.
"He is a very good story teller," Jenny agreed, before leaning closer as Lynna formed some kind of retort. "Don't read to much into this," Jenny whispered, before pulling away.
"He is a good story-teller, but I'm sure you've heard them all," Lynna baited.
"Be careful or he'll talk your ear off," Jenny laughed. Lynna's eyes narrowed, she was running out of ideas to get rid of the redhead. "Give Lynna's ears a break Jethro," Jenny teased him, placing one hand on his cheek in what may have been seen as patronizing, but Lynna quickly saw it was not. She watched angrily as Jenny leaned into her husband and pressed her lips to his, coaxing a kiss full of passion out of him.
Jethro had been listening intently trying to find a way to intervene in the conversation when he felt Jenny's hand press to his cheek gently. It didn't take him long to realize that she had gotten much closer and the look in her eye as she conversed with the other woman made him realize that kill shot was here. That however did not prepare him for what she did next. He heard her say something about giving someone's ears a break, but he was too focused on her closeness. He was taken completely by surprise as she pressed her lips against his softly, gently, with a hint of passion. As he got over his initial surprise, he felt her tongue gently trace his lips and he gave her the entrance she sought. The kiss turned much more passionate in that moment, and he was fully aware that she had long passed making her point when she finally eased off slightly. She pulled back far too soon for his taste and he had half a mind to pull her back, when he realized they were still sitting in the bar and Lynna was trying to hide her impersonation of a goldfish.
Jenny tried to slow down the pacing of her heart and control her breathing. It was supposed to be a gentle kiss, one with just enough passion to make it obvious he was taken. She had forgotten the one tiny thing about kissing him that she should have remembered. It was a match, a match that often lit an explosion, and she should have known that even with the nine years of lack of kisses, that it wouldn't have changed. She spared a glance at Jethro to try and determine his thoughts but his eyes were still glazed over a bit and she realized he was not coherence enough to form thoughts. She met Lynna's eyes and couldn't hide the tiny smirk at the anger she saw lurking there. Take that.
"Well I should..." Lynna began.
"Lynna!" Russ's voice called through the bar.
"Oh Russ, darling, I was just talking with Jenny and Jethro." Jenny had felt Jethro come out of his passion haze the second Russ's voice had reached them. She not surprisingly felt him tighten his grip on the hand that had fallen to her waist.
"So I see," he said, and Jethro could recognize the anger simmering below the surface. He felt his own anger rise as he noticed the other man's eyes trace Jenny's figure. He could feel Jenny tense beside him and knew it was time to go.
"Well I think we'll go try out that tub," he gestured to the server at the other end. "Timothy isn't it?"
"Yes sir?"
"Bring a bottle of bourbon by 1408," Jethro said.
"Right away sir," McGee answered and knew when he got there, he would have to ditch the security disk he was current holding. Gibbs is going to kill me if he finds out.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Jenny said to the other couple. "Good night."
"Good night," they answered almost robotically. Jethro kept his arm around her as they walked back to their room; they opened their door but were surprised to not find Duke waiting.
"Jethro...where's Duke?" She questioned.
"Wasn't he with you?"
"I brought him back before I went swimming, I was going to let him out again, but then McGee came by, I didn't even get to change." Jethro noticed the bathroom door closed in the bedroom, and signaled her to be quiet and step back. She did as instructed her level as he opened the door. A mass came flying out and it was Jenny who realized who had Gibbs pined to the ground. "Duke down!" She ordered and the dog quickly stopped barring his teeth realizing that his mistress wasn't in any danger. He moved licking Gibbs' face as an apology before trotting over to Jenny's form and sitting in front of her. "Are you okay?"
"Yea, yea I'm fine." he saw her about to discipline Duke, but stopped her. "Don't Jenny, he did what he was trained to, good boy Duke."
"Jethro he could have..."
"He's supposed to protect you from everything, I don't want him confused. It wasn't even bad, he just pushed me down," Jethro explained. He walked over and pet Duke gently, the dog seemed glad for the attention. "Yes you're a good boy."
"You could probably use that bath now, though," Jenny commented.
"I'm not that old."
"No, you smell like dog drool," she countered walking back into the main room.
"You could join me, tub is awfully big for one person," he called. She peaked her head back in.
"You know I was joking about that," she stated.
"I wasn't," he responded ready to coax her into it when he heard the knock. Jenny answered the door relieved to find McGee. "McGee," he called to the younger boy and quickly watched him pull his eyes of Jenny's form.
"Boss, brought the bourbon, and all of the stuff they sent me, nothing new except that they found out Christine Colmen has an alibi for all of the murders."
"So she didn't do it," Jenny concluded.
"No ma'am," McGee agreed.
"Tell Abby good work," Gibbs said and McGee nodded leaving. Jenny shut and locked the door. "So about that bath?"
"In your dreams, Jethro," she teased going to pour a glass of the bourbon. He caught her by her arm, snagged the bottle from her hand and took it into the bathroom. "I was going to drink that."
"You want it? Come and get it," he challenged. He turned on the water and waited for the tub to fill, when he turned he found Jenny standing in the doorway. He held the bottle out, shaking it slightly. "Come on Jenny..."
"You don't want me to try."
"Why not?"
"You're not going to like the outcome," she assured. He doubted that, but as he checked the water progress he found she had disappeared. "Call me when it's full." He decided to stay put as he heard he rustle through her bag. Whatever this out come was, he was sure he was going to enjoy it, a lot. Twenty minutes later he was satisfied with the water level.
"Jenny?" he called.
"Be in, in a minute," she responded. He stripped and slid in to the warm water letting it soak in and ease the pain in his bones. He closed his eyes, one hand tightly grasping the bottle of bourbon. A minute later he heard her steps on the tile and he blinked open. She had dimmed the lights and was wearing a fluffy robe from the hotel closet as she came in. He turned his head to take in the view, waiting for her to take of the robe. She turned away from him and did hanging up the robe. However he was not treated to the sight of her bare back. She was still wearing her bath suit, and not even a bikini she might have worn years ago, a plain old one piece, that while it still clang to her curves, it hid a whole lot of skin. Not fair, he pouted.
"Nice suit."
"I like it too," she agreed, slipping in to the far side of the tube. He hated this tub; it was too big. He was also very aware that her eyes had not drifted below his neck. Damn self control, he vowed to make it crumble as he had once before. "Can I have the bottle?"
"You're all the way over there, it's a long reach," he complained, making an effort of passing her the bottle. She leaned forward barely and snatched it from his hands.
"Keep complaining and I'll dump rose smelling bath salts in here," she threatened.
"You wouldn't!" She smiled and took a drink for them bottle. "You could use a glass..."
"You didn't complain about my germs an hour ago," she reminded.
"Give me a reason not to."
"Oh no, not falling for that one," she said catching on. "Matter of fact think I'll leave you to your bath, I love this shower."
"You would," he huffed; he had heard about showers like this, that they existed in spas, and that all the jets were soothing. Frankly, they just blocked his view. Join her? Don't join her? "Can I join you?"
"You're asking permission?"
"Yes..." he replied hesitantly. He certainly didn't want to force her into anything she wasn't ready for, but at the same time he wasn't sure he possessed that kind of control.
"If you behave."
"You sure you don't want to enjoy the tub?"
"Very." He entered the shower only to find her still in the damn bathing suit.
"You're going to get soap in your suit," he remarked. He let one hand fall on her waist and just rest there gently.
"The suit will survive." He raised one hand and tugged on her hair lightly. "Jethro?"
"Hm?" He answered trying to figure out how to convince her to loose the suit.
"Why did you kiss me back?" His hand fell from her hair to her shoulder and pressed gently.
"Did you think I wouldn't?" He countered. She rolled her eyes at him.
"You can't answer a question with a question." He pressed a little bit more on her shoulder backing her up slightly.
"Answer mine."
"Not till you give me an answer." He watched the fire settle into her eyes, the fire that told him she was gearing for an argument, one that had potential complications given their attire, or lack of attire. She had not moved her hands or her arms, they rested at her side, where as he tightened his grip.
"You want an answer?" She nodded feeling his one hand leave her waist and grasp her chin, holding her eyes level with his, while his other arm went behind her head. "Okay." He leaned down and devoured her lips with his, kissing her hard putting all his thoughts into it. His hand fell from her chin to her neck caressing it softly as he felt both her arms wrap around his neck as she began to kiss him back. He resisted as long as he could but it wasn't long before he had slid a finger underneath the strap to her suit. As he traced the skin just under the material he felt her breath catch. He watched the red flush creep across her skin, loving the way she looked in that moment. He let go of her lips, allowing his to trace down her neck, giving her the chance to breathe. He felt her breath next to his ear.
"Good answer," she replied before kissing him again, leaving butterfly kisses all over his face. The kissing became more urgent and both of them realized that a shower was probably not the best idea for this and so the kisses slowed before stopping all together, him resting his forehead against hers as they caught their breath.
"Jenny."
"Hm?"
"Think Duke can sleep in the lounge tonight?" She chuckled, feeling the brief awkwardness slip away.
"He might not be too happy with that."
"He'll live," Jethro assured. He traced the strap again and felt her shift slightly. "Promise I won't touch." He turned her around and gently eased the strap down one shoulder. He got both straps down and she pulled her arms through them, freeing herself. He pushed the suit down her hips gently, being careful to stay away from her certain parts and she stepped out of it. He let her turn around enjoying the sight of parts of her, he hadn't seen in years. He left his hands safely on her waist, squeezing it slightly to get her to look at him. She looked up almost shyly and he was surprised by it, but not to badly, he leaned in again and brushed her lips with his. "You haven't changed a bit."
"I thought we agreed to skip that," she retorted feeling suddenly relieved. He chuckled against her lips, the sound vibrating through his chest into hers. "We better get out before the water goes cold."
"Hm mm," he murmured kissing her neck gently, licking the droplets of water of her skin. He loved the way her pulse accelerated under his lips. "You haven't washed your hair."
"Later." He let go of her stepping out and grabbing a towel, wrapping it around him before grabbing another and wrapping it around her. They dried off and moved toward the bedroom. Jenny stopped him at the doorway to the bedroom. "Stay put." He did as told confused, but watched her lure Duke out of the room. "No crying Duke, stay." The dog settled on the ground right outside the door and Jenny shut it. She then stepped closer to the nights stand and signaled for him to be silent, he hadn't made any other sounds but watched as she pulled the phone up and revealed a bug. She picked up the recording device and he watched her place on the phone in the lounge.
"You wired the room?"
"I didn't, McGee did. Didn't think you'd want DiNozzo to have a live feed."
"There a camera?" he inquired. Jenny pointed at the bookshelf, he picked up the album and placed it in front of the book with the camera in it. When he looked she was standing near the bed and he wandered over to her, carefully peeling away the towel.
---
McGee was sitting in his room debating how to get out of the current mess he found himself in. He finally opened his laptop and found Abby starring back at him. He sent her a message and activated his web cam so she could see him.
"McGee! You were supposed to check in an hour ago!"
"Sorry, Gibbs told me to watch the Director, she had to go rescues Gibbs."
"What? What happened?" Abby demanded. McGee sent the video footage to the lab and watched Abby pull it up.
"Oh Probie you are so dead, if Gibbs finds out!"
"Tony!" he gasped. "Abby what is Tony doing there?"
"Ziva's here to, we're monitoring the case of course, MTAC was busy."
"Tony don't pick on McGee."
"McGee you are a lucky devil," Tony sighed. "What is she wearing underneath that?"
"Uh a swimsuit."
"You're kidding?" Tony questioned.
"Tony!" Ziva slapped him. "Do not continue with that thought."
"McGee didn't you wire their room?" Abby asked.
"Yea why isn't' it working?"
"No she moved the one in the bedroom to the lounge."
"There was a camera."
"Blocked," Tony grumbled. "Wait...hear that..."
"Jenny..."
"Duke no whining," Jenny was heard scolding.
"Wonder why the dog was whining?" McGee asked the others.
"Probably the noise from the bedroom, think she's quiet?" Tony inquired.
"You don't want to know Tony," Ziva responded. "McGee did you not put a camera in the lounge as well."
"I did!" McGee powered the camera and it relayed images of Jenny walking in her robe near the phone. He watched her place a suitcase over it.
"No more interruptions," Jenny said sweetly. She glared towards the camera and made the cut signal look before disappearing the bedroom door closing.
"Not fair," Abby complained. "Well I'll make copies of this..."
"Abby!" McGee protested.
"You weren't paying attention, someone was watching them from the side, plus Tony wants to know if he won the bet."
"What bet?"
"Probie bet you a hundred she frenched him." McGee groaned.