NCIS: Best Shots

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Desire Walks On

Stand at the window

Pull back the lace

I feel the night wind on my face

All that I long for all that I crave

Am I master?

Am I slave?

A lone figure stood framed by light that shone through the window, appearing to be black against the pale silvery light. Her hand came up and pushed aside the curtain. Ziva David tilted her head up slightly and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the cool night wind on her skin.

Unbidden, an image of Tony DiNozzo flashed in her mind and along with it came emotions so tangled that she knew she would never figure them out. Could she control her feelings, or was she their slave?

Ooh the night's so still

I feel the lovers out in the hills

The breathing of young girls lying in bed

Visons of love in their heads

Desire walks on

Desire walks on

Ziva took a deep breath again, noticing the stillness of the night. She imagined lovers curled up together on a hill out under the sky, staring up at the stars and sharing secrets and love. If she listened hard, she could hear the breathing of the teenage girl next door as she lay in bed, no doubt visions of love and tenderness dancing in her head.

Why couldn't Ziva have that, if desire truely walked on?

A beautiful boy gazed in a pool

His eyes looking back like jewels

The call of the mirror too strong to resist

The call of the water

The call of a kiss

Desire walks on

Desire walks on

Tony gazed down at his reflection in the water, his hands gripping the sides of the counter. He was slightly surprised at the way his eyes stood out, the green-gray orbs reminding him of jadestone—of jewels.

He'd always known he was good-looking, and for reasons neither he nor his coworkers understood, he somehow always managed to turn his job into a personal dating service. But at the moment the call of the mirror was too strong to resist. Or maybe it was something else . . . the call of a kiss.

Don't be ridiculous, DiNozzo, he told himself. It's not like you want to see Ziva or anything . . . Dang it. Stop jinxing yourself. It's not as if desire walks on. He frowned. Where'd that come from? Not that it mattered, when he was thinking about his beautiful partner.

(Desire walks on

It wants to be held, possessed

It wants consumation

It moves on obsessed

Bloodstream through pipes

Singing in the wires

Heat, motion, control

Desire walks on)

This is nuts, Tony thought as he made his way to Ziva's apartment. What am I doing? But the desire to be with her was too strong to fight. If he tried, it would only urge him on, obsessed. Desire was like a creature with a mind of its own. It wanted to be possessed, consumed, held on to. Left unchecked, it fanned passionate fires, leaving them to blaze of control. It could set your blood on fire, singing in the wires.

As much as Tony's mind was screaming to turn back, that if he kept going he would break one of Gibbs's most important rules, that this was so wrong, he couldn't go back.

Even if he had twenty minutes to change his mind.

Oooh yeah

You got me yearning yearning yearning

Oooh yeah

Stand at the window

The world is so still

Calling you back by force of will

Where did you go?

I don't know why

Too much longing inside

You wrapped me in nighttime sexual disguise

I was the love in your eyes

Now you took me over

My innocence cracked

You own my passion

I want you

I want you back

Glancing out her window, Ziva saw the headlights of a very familiar Mustang coming up her street. Yearning filled her, so strong that it terrified her. The world suddenly seemed still, as if time had slowed. Which was crazy.

The Mustang stopped a few houses down. Its headlights went dark and a lone figure stepped out. Even in the dark, Ziva knew who it was.

Tony, she thought, feeling a small spark of joy that made her eyes sting. How wierd was that?

While she'd been lost in her thoughts, Tony had vanished.

Where'd he go? Ziva thought in confusion. She didn't even know why he was here in the first place. Unless he was hoping to get lucky.

Yeah, never gonna happen.

The knocking at her door proved her wrong.

Ziva whirled around, almost afraid to answer it. Steeling her nerves, she forced herself to go open the door.

"Ziva, it's Tony. Open up."

Her hand tightened around the doorknob, twisted, and pulled it back, opening the door to reveal her partner. She said, "Tony, what—exactly—are you doing here?" The Israeli was proud of the way her voice didn't betray her longing deep inside.

He stepped forward, and she closed the door behind him. Tony faced her, his expression undreadable. There was a pause as he formed his thoughts into coherent sentences. At last, he said, "I honestly don't know, Ziva. I guess . . . I guess I have to talk to you. What I feel for you, it scares me. I mean, Kate was like a sister and I did love Jeanne, but . . ." He paced and raked his fingers through his hair, a frustrated noise in his throat. Then, before she could react, he pulled her to him and slashed his mouth across hers.

This was more than just a kiss. Heat flooded her and stole her breath. She wanted even more than this.

Tony finally broke away. He wouldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to show you. If you want me to, I'll—"

"Stay." The word left her lips before she knew she'd spoken it.

He hesitated, considering his options. "All right."

There was no way she'd thought she'd be able to sleep, but Ziva found it came easily after he took her over. Going back to the way it was before was now no longer an option. But then, maybe it never had been.

Desire walks on

Desire walks on

Desire walks on and on and on

Oh yeah

Desire walks on