Alternative

(4/7)

Gibbs glanced at his watch, surprised to find that they’d been at the restaurant for over a half hour. The evening so far has been much less painful than he’d originally thought it would be.

His date’s hand sat comfortably on his thigh as they both joined in on the current discussion at their table. His fingers brushed her shoulder every time she moved because of the way his arm curled around her and rested on the back of her chair, her skin intoxicating him with its softness on contact. He was unexpectedly relaxed, and had easily slipped back into his old role as they all reminisced over long forgotten or embarrassing stories.

He didn't know what he'd been so worried about.

Ziva had stayed quiet most of the time, taking the chance to observe Gibbs‘ friends. David was only a few years younger than her boss, still well built and healthy, brown hair and eyes, the complete opposite of what she’d expected him to be; almost like an older version of Tony. A fact that both disturbed and intrigued her.

Shelia wasn’t actually half bad either. Her long, curly, copper hair hung halfway down her back, her green eyes and a small veil of freckles that lay over her nose making her seem more youthful than she actually was. Her hand had remained over her husband Ryan’s the entire time; an older man with graying, dirty blonde hair, and other than a few comments here and there, he’d remained quite stoic. He seemed nice enough, though.

David turned to Gibbs during a lull in the conversation just as everyone had finished their salads, a glass of red wine swirling gently in his hand. “So, Jethro, how in the hell have you been?”

She could practically feel him smiling as his thumb traced little circles on her arm while he answered. “I’ve been good.”

“Not working too much I hope?” Shelia added.

He shook his head good naturedly. “As much as I have to.”

She turned to Ziva, looking a little tipsy as she leaned closer like she was going to share a secret with her. “That’s what I had the most trouble with. Jethro is so dedicated to his work, it took an arm and a leg just to get him to take the weekends off. I hope you‘re managing that better than I did.”

“I have to admit. It does help a great deal that we work together.” Ziva smirked. “I can drag him out of the office if I have to, whether he likes it or not. I could take him down if necessary.”

The table laughed at the picture that had been drawn, and she turned to him letting her lips brush over his as a tinge of pink settled on his cheeks.

“She could too.” Gibbs assured. “You think she’s kidding, but she’s one of the few people that could actually give me a run for my money.”

They’re chuckling slowly faded, the looks on their faces giving away their confusion.

“She,” David pointed to Ziva, unbelievably. “could win in a fight against you?”

Gibbs nodded, and she felt insects, not quite remembering which one was the common term, fluttering around inside her at his simple compliment.

The silence was thick in their corner of the room and she realized that they were waiting for her to speak. “I’m a trained Mossad Officer.” She clarified. “I specialized in interrogation, defusing bombs, and hand to hand combat.”

“Wow,” David said after a few seconds, almost drooling. “that is so hot.”

Ziva chuckled as he received a Gibbs slap on the back of the head and automatically apologized to her. “It’s quite flattering really.” She assured him sincerely, before quietly adding. “And, I thought Jethro was the only one who liked that about me…”

Ryan and his wife repressed chuckles as David’s eyes widened, and Gibbs began choking on the wine he’d just taken a sip of.

He glared at her and she smiled sweetly back at him; acting as if she hadn’t just admitted that her ‘ninja’ skills turned him on, and that she was the purest thing in the world. Lucky for her, before Gibbs could get her back, their food arrived and she was safe.

For now.

--------------------

About three quarters of the way through dessert, and coincidentally the huge piece of chocolate cake that she’d been sharing with Gibbs, Ziva jumped when she felt his palm rest lightly on her knee under the table.

What is he doing? She asked herself.

Ziva looked to him for any indication that he recognized what was going on, but he gave none and kept talking to the other men about some sport that she knew little about, like nothing was happening.

His fingertips began creeping higher along her leg, pulling up the hem of her dress as he went. Her breathing heightened; eyes shutting of their own violation.

It was completely inappropriate, she knew that. But, should she stop him?

This is Gibbs I’m talking about here. He’s my boss! Her inner voice tried to reason.

Yeah, he’s her boss alright. The one who was making her cringe in pleasure as he deftly caressed the soft skin on her inner thigh, conveniently just out of sight in a public place. She should push him away, and normally she would have the second he’d gotten near her. But, the tingling sensations that he was creating just from a simple touch- well, it was too much to ignore.

Tony was always telling her that she should loosen up, take a chance. Now, was as good a time as ever to start.

She sighed. I can’t believe I’m going to do this.

After cracking open one eye and nervously checking around the table to make sure that no one was watching, Ziva shifted slightly in her seat and let her legs fall open as much as she dared without drawing any unwanted attention. She felt Gibbs’ ministrations pause momentarily before he slowly slid his hand the last few inches up her thigh.

She bit her bottom lip as his thumb traced the edge of her panties, a swell of excitement flooding her. Her hips jerked when he casually let a finger dance across the wet material before slipping under it, slowly making passes over her sensitive folds.

This was so much better than she thought it would be.

He slid further into her, moving up and down her slit before circling her clit, not quite touching it but just close enough to make her squirm. His pressure increased over time, finally swiping over the little nub in an almost ruthless rhythm, and she was beginning to find it hard to bite back all of her moans and whimpers of pleasure.

It felt like she was on fire. All of her muscles were tense and on the verge of shaking. She desperately wanted something inside of her, but knew that was unlikely to happen. Some sounds and repetitive movements were just too hard to hide.

She was getting closer; her pleasure just about peaked, and suddenly his hand disappeared.

Her eyes popped open almost comically in disappointment just in time to see him smirk cunningly in her direction before standing.

“Gotta visit the head.” He glancing around the table before looking pointedly at her, and tipping his head subtly toward what she figured were the restrooms. “I’ll be right back.”

Ziva’s jaw dropped. Had he really just done that?

She watched him as he walked away, his hips swaggering slightly, and waited a few minutes before taking a chance and ‘accidentally’ spilling some of her water on her dress.

She shrieked in surprise, putting all of her acting skills to work as Shelia leaned over and tried to help her dab the wet spot with a napkin. The woman did more harm than anything else, rubbing it in rather than sopping it up. Leaving Ziva with only an ounce of hope that the woman would stop so that she could slip away.

Oh, that was cold! She screamed in her head. He better have been hinting what I think he was hinting, or I’m going to kill him!

“You know, honey,” The older woman said, drawing her from her thoughts. “I think the hand dryer in the bathroom will clear that right up for you.”

“It’s worth a shot.” Ziva smiled thankfully and stood. “I won’t be long.”

Just before she turned to leave she could have sworn she saw Shelia wink at her. “Take as long as you need.”

To Be Continued…