Chapter 14

Mike waited almost ten minutes before he headed out in search of Abby. He saw her and Cynthia standing together, Gibbs watching over them both even though he was pretending to look at the window. "Abby!" Mike started to say, noticing how Gibbs was right at his side. "Back off, Rover."

Seeing a situation that could possibly blow up, Abby gave Cynthia a quick hug and a promise to call when things cooled down and went over to where Mike and Jet were standing. Stopping next to Gibbs, she looked to Mike and said, "Easy Mike. I think there's been enough turmoil tonight, don't you? Can't we just back off for a little while?"

"He doesn't need to guard you like I'm an enemy, Abby," Mike ground out, watching Cynthia waving at Abby. The elevator dinged and a man pushing a cart was admitted.

"He doesn't have much experience with you not being an enemy, does he, Mike? The only really recent interaction with him, you busted his face. I'd think you'd be satisfied that he felt that protective about me. I'll be safe with him, when I go undercover. I trust him, Mike, and I wish you could feel the same."

Mike grunted, refusing to answer Abby, refusing to give either of them the satisfaction. He was feeling ganged up on from within the agency. "I'm going back to the conference room. Meet me there."

"Mike, don't do that. Don't go feeling persecuted. Can't you just ... let it go? Just this once? For me?"

"Fine," Mike muttered, sighing. "Don't like him, Abby. Don't like him at all." He couldn't help saying that, letting Abby know his stance hadn't changed.

"I know, Mike. I know. But you did once. And for me, can you at least pretend to respect him while the agencies are working together? I don't know why, but he means a lot to me. Almost as much as you do, you big turd," she teased him, and punched him in the shoulder.

Mike shrugged. "Maybe, Girlie, maybe." If anyone could get him to get along with the dirt bag, it'd be her. But he wouldn't cave easily. That wasn't his nature.

"Well, that's more than I expected, but not as much as I'd hoped. So, it's pretty even then." Abby gave him a quick hug then, not liking that they were uncomfortable together or that the situation they were all in had put them at odds with each other.

He patted her back. "Go to the conference room, Girlie. I'll be there in a bit." He gave the man a stern look. "And don't let anyone get anything up on ya." That said, he made his way back to his desk where he ran a search on Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He wanted the man's entire military career at hand before he went any further and so much as a minor infraction would be reported to Tom Morrow. Mike was not going to allow Abby to be in the clutches of anyone less than completely honorable.

Jet watched the woman struggling with splitting the food and went over to help, grabbing one of the trays. "How are you splitting this?" he asked her.

"Oh ... Abby? Can you call McGee? He said he and Tony and Doctor Mallard and Ziva are eating in Autopsy. If you could take one of the trays each and set them on a desk, that would be wonderful. Thank you," Cynthia said, surprised that the man was so willing to help.

"No problem, Cynth," Abby called out as she walked away from Mike's retreating form. Picking up her phone, she hit the speed dial for Tim's cell.

Gibbs helped the woman divide the food and gave her a small smile. At least this one didn't seem so hostile toward him. "Do you want me to take that back to the conference room? I'm sure you've had a long day."

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you. They'll pick up the cart in the morning." Cynthia turned to look at Abby. "Night, Abby. Call me..."

Waving at her friend, she mouthed, "As soon as I can, your number's the first."

"Alone again," Gibbs said, leering, but she was on the phone. He shook his head, amused despite the ache lodged deep in his groin.

Closing off her phone with a click, she turned to him. Abby blushed a little when she saw the look on his face. "Yes, I guess we are," she said, smiling, a bit unsure of what to say.

"Want you," he told her quietly. "You're coming undercover with me. We're going to be together. As partners in and out of bed. You ready for that?" He was, in a way that he hadn't thought he'd ever be after Shannon ... or in the many years since.

She stood in front of him, peering into his eyes. "I want you too, Jet. And I'm ready, for inside and out. Granted, I'll need some more training ... outside that is," she said, her blush deepening. "To make sure that I'm on the same page as you. But the question remains, are you ready? I'm not like most girls."

"Good, because I'm nothing like any man you've met before." He brushed her hair back, stroking her temple with a thumb. "I'm more intense and more dangerous than anyone in your past."

His touch sent tremors through her body, making her want to play with fire, to play with his danger and intensity. Whispering, she said, "Promise?"

He pinned her against the wall again, grinding his hips against hers. "That's a promise, Abby. You're damn right that's a promise." His mouth found her neck and he nuzzled it. "You got rid of a tattoo? Why'd you tattoo your neck?"

"G ... good," she stammered out, moaning as she felt his erection press into her. The heat between them was something she'd never felt before. And while she may seem out of her league, out of her realm of experience, Abby was having too delicious of a time learning.

Gasping as his mouth moved over her neck, a spot that never failed to make her knees weak, she said, "Yeah, it didn't seem like it would fit into the crowd I was supposed to blend into. My neck? Because I didn't think the spiderweb would look good anywhere else." She knew her explanations didn't make any sense. But how could she be expected to when she felt like his touch, his mouth on her skin, could make her climax in that instant. Hell, he could probably just whisper her name and she would.

He chuckled, mouth wandering over her neck slowly, taking his time with her rapid pulse. "You didn't think about career limitations or anything like that at the time, beautiful?"

He smoothed his hands over her hips, angling her body against his for extra friction. "Not a teenager, but you make me feel like one, Abby." He was dangerously out of control. There wasn't time for this. It was such a bad idea, but he couldn't keep his hands off her.

"If my career would be affected or limited more by what I looked like than the job I did, it wouldn't be a career or an employer I would consider being a part of." She arched against his hips as he pulled her against him. Pressing her hands to the muscles of his back, she moaned, "Definitely not a teenager. God, you don't feel like a teenager."

"What do I feel like, Abby?" She was pliant against him, molding to his body perfectly, melting against him in a way that felt so damn right. And when they came together—soon—it would be amazing. This went beyond pure male/female attraction and into something deeper and more elemental. His soul craved her.

"Hard. Hot. Power. Delicious." Moving against him, she sought some kind of relief. She needed him, needed to feel him hard and naked under her hands, driving against her. Pushing her head against him, she moved his face closer to hers, her lips playing along the edges of his. "I need you, Jet. Soon. I need you please."

"I know. Trust me, I'm ready for you, but we can't do this here. As it is..." He shook his head, focusing and forcing a little distance between her. "We keep doing this, keep teasing each other. It isn't going to ease the attraction or arousal between us. Just make us ache harder." He glanced down at his pants and gave her a shrug, smirking when her eyes tracked down his body as well. "See?"

"I don't know if I'm able to ache any harder for you, Jet. I really don't. Anything more and I'll explode. If you're trying to make it worse, you're doing a great job. Because right now, all I can think about is unzipping your pants and releasing what you're not doing a very good job of hiding."

"We keep dodging bullets. Don't want to be shown on video to all." His damn knees went weak when she talked about releasing him. "And when I lose control we'll be in a bigger mess."

He had to be the stronger one here. He had to be the one to maintain control. "Soon," he said, his voice twisted and distorted with his need. "Soon ... Let's get in there and get it over with so that we can be together and feed this need."

"I think I'm going to enjoy it when you lose control. But for now, we'll temper the explosion. But then later..." she tempted, leaving the later up for interpretation. Gesturing, she said, "After you, sir. You first," since she was the one still pinned to the wall by his eyes.

He chuckled, nodding and deep breathing for a few seconds. He had to tamp down his reactions or else he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything but her.

~~