AN: Sorry this update has taken forever, I got a little sidetracked with another fanfic. A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review. If it wasn't for you guys and the reviews that kept popping up in my inbox, I wouldn't have re-read this fic and fallen totally in love with it again : )
Chapter 6
Kate stepped out of her shower and into her robe. She quickly wrapped her hair up in a towel and peeked out her bathroom door. She'd been in the shower less than five minutes and Tony was still right where she'd left him, flipping through news channels to see if the case they were supposed to be working on had made the news.
Tony heard the soft click of the bathroom door opening and looked up just in time to see Kate emerge in a fluffy pink robe. He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry, and automatically stood up. He started to towards her, unable to tear his eyes away and amazed that he didn't trip over his tongue, which had to be hanging to the floor.
She smiled at his reaction before ducking into her bedroom, not bothering to close the door. She loved seeing him look at her like that, seeing the heat flash in his eyes as he zeroed in on her like nothing else existed. She heard his footsteps stop right before her door and she couldn't fight the shiver of excitement that raced up her spine.
Tony leaned against the wall outside her open doorway and let his head fall back with a thud. What was he doing? He should have never left the couch, but he hadn't been prepared for the sight of Kate fresh from the shower and snuggled in a robe. A pink robe, no less. He pushed the thought, and the sight that accompanied it, from his mind and reminded himself that they could be in some serious trouble here. They needed to get to work and manage to fool Gibbs, which meant he had to get himself under control.
He turned his mind back to Operation: Fool the Fox. "Gibbs is already going to be pissed that we're late and there's nothing we can say to change that, so I think we should just keep it simple and deal with an angry Gibbs all day. We apologize and tell him whatever story we come up with but we don't try to explain our way out of it, 'cause we know it won't work and it could only end up getting us in trouble."
"Sounds good to me." Kate replied as she finished dressing, a little disappointed that Tony had decided to stay outside even though she knew he hadn't really had a choice. But now that she was fully clothed… "You can come in now."
Tony closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. Kate Todd had just invited him into her bedroom. It was a moment he'd been dreaming about, but he wasn't sure he could survive this. Not when they had to leave so soon. Not when he couldn't touch her. He should turn around and go back to the couch, but he couldn't make his feet move an inch in that direction. He didn't have it in him to say no.
He stepped through the doorway and found her standing with her back to him in front of a floor-length mirror, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. He glanced around the room, his eyes immediately coming to rest on the bed. He remembered her saying once that she slept with a gun under her pillow and he wondered if it was true.
She stole his attention again as she finished her ponytail and moved on to applying makeup. There was something intimate about watching her going through her normal morning ritual, and he liked knowing she was comfortable enough with him to let him see her like this. He watched her apply lip gloss and wanted nothing more than to kiss it off of her. Damn, he needed to get himself under control.
He propped a shoulder against the wall and, feigning a casualness he didn't feel, began coming up with the perfect story to throw Gibbs off the scent. Then Kate winked at him in the mirror and he lost his train of thought. He needed to get back in control, and there were only two ways he could think of to do that. The first, giving in and kissing her when he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop, was not an option unless he wanted Gibbs breaking down the door to find out why they weren't at work. That only left him one option and he smiled in anticipation.
"So Kate, where's this infamous gun you sleep with? 'Cause I can't see it matching your pink pillows, or your pink bedspread, or your pink robe…" He trailed off when she turned around to glare at him, which only made him grin more. "Unless…it's a pink gun!"
"Keep talking and you'll find out." Kate growled, still glaring at him.
He couldn't help but laugh, loving how nothing had really changed between them and they could still carry on their childish banter. He was laughing so hard that he didn't realize what Kate was doing until a pink pillow smacked him in the face. He caught it as it bounced off his head and stared at Kate, who was staring back at him.
They stayed locked in a standoff for all of two seconds before Tony dropped the pillow and lunged towards Kate, who was on the other side of the bed. She shrieked and quickly moved to her left, hoping she could make it around the bed and to the door before he caught her. But he'd anticipated her reaction and quickly changed direction, grabbing her just as she rounded the foot of the bed.
Tony wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up as she giggled, "Tony!" He tumbled them both back onto the bed so she landed on top of him, then flipped them so she was pinned beneath him. She wiggled underneath him, laughing while trying to get away. She got a hand free and pushed against his chest but it was useless. Tony was too strong, too solid. He covered her hand with his own and she stilled, finally realizing the position they were in.
Tony looked down at her, his wolfish grin still in place. "You, my dear Katie, are going to pay for your violent tendencies." That was all the warning she got before his lips descended on hers as he finally gave in to the desire he'd been fighting since he saw her in that robe.
What started out as slow and soft was quickly becoming more. Tony finally, breathlessly, forced himself to pull away before things got out of hand and even the threat of Gibbs busting through the door wouldn't be enough to make him stop.
Kate was still reeling from the kiss when Tony reluctantly rose, pushing himself up from the bed. He reached down and helped her up. "Who knew that our banter plus a bedroom would be such a great combination?" Tony smiled and quirked an eyebrow, although he was still breathing hard.
"Come on," he pulled her towards the door. "It'd probably be better if we talk out here. You know, remove the temptation." Kate nodded in agreement, allowing him to lead her down the hall to the living room.
"Okay," Tony started once they were sitting on the couch. "We need to figure out what to tell Gibbs, and it needs to be convincing. I was thinking about it before you so beautifully distracted me and I'm just going to keep it simple. I'll tell him the power must have gone off sometime last night and my alarm didn't go off. He'll be pissed, but I'll deal."
Kate nodded. "It should work, since Gibbs probably doesn't know that most alarms have battery backups now or that cell phones have alarms. He probably still uses some ancient wind-up alarm." They both laughed at the expense of their technologically challenged boss.
"Since you told Gibbs I might be sick, I'll just tell him I ate some bad Chinese last night and try not to look too ecstatic today. Although that's probably going to be impossible." They both smiled. This was going to be the hardest acting job to pull off, but they both knew failure was not an option.
"Maybe I should give you a ride to work, since you aren't feeling well." Tony tried to keep a straight, sincere face, fighting the grin that was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Kate laughed at his attempt. She knew she should probably drive herself to look a little less guilty, but she really wanted to spend the few extra minutes alone with him before work and the rest of the team intruded. "That sounds like a very sweet gesture, Tony. But you better be careful. Gibbs might wonder why you suddenly started acting like a nice guy."
She stuck her tongue out at him and started for the door, hearing her laughing behind him. She picked up her bag next to the door and turned to reach for the doorknob only to find a very solid body blocking her way.
"I'm hurt, Kate." His eyes sparkled mischievously as he leaned closer so he could whisper suggestively in her ear. "You have no idea how good I can be." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips as he pulled away and opened the door, gesturing for her to go first.
She did so without thinking and felt his hand settle in the small of her back as he closed the door behind them and guided her out to the car. His words, which sounded more like a promise to her, kept bouncing around in her brain. She couldn't wait until after work. If she even managed to survive until then.
a/n: Do they have a chance at pulling this off or will Gibbs, or maybe Abby, catch on to them? Can they both survive the day without spontaneously combusting from the heat between them? What exactly are their plans for after work? ; )