Chapter Ten

Grissom hurried from Sara's apartment and Jim Brass's presence. He didn't want to talk about Heather. He refused to talk about Heather, and Brass had no right to bring her up. One thing had nothing to do with the other. He tried to focus on getting home to change clothes when his cell alerted him that he was needed at a scene. A quick step in and out of his apartment and he was on his way again.

Working the case with Catherine was something he hadn't been in the habit of doing since their team split, but given that it gave him the opportunity to be somewhere that he wouldn't run into Sophia, it was an added benefit. The fact that he faced Brass a lot throughout the next twenty-four hours was a bit distressing though. He could see that the man was still obviously upset with him, but Grissom tried to push past it. He didn't need to worry about Brass's problems with him. He'd get over it soon enough.

Working the case with Catherine was something he hadn't been in the habit of doing lately, since their team split, but given that it gave him the opportunity to be somewhere that he wouldn't run into Sophia, it was an added benefit. The fact that he faced Brass a lot throughout the next twenty-four hours was a bit distressing though. He could see that the man was still obviously upset with him, but Grissom tried to push past it. He didn't need to worry about Brass's problems with him. He'd get over it soon enough.

He had fully expected to run into Sara at some point through the night, but he only managed to glimpse into the layout room to see her working with Catherine once–and they seemed to be gossiping among themselves and didn't even notice him. Their paths didn't cross at all after that as they both worked a double–he in the field for the first shift and in the lab during his second shift; and she in the lab at first, then in court the second.

He went straight home that day, prepared to take a shower and go to bed, but he no sooner got inside his apartment than the dimness of it seemed suffocating. He went into the kitchen and started making tea, then waited for the water to get hot. He was becoming increasingly inpatient as he leaned against the kitchen sink. His mind kept returning him to the day before when he was experiencing the most intimate interaction he could remember having. He finally decided that he wasn't going to get any relaxation at this rate, so he pulled out his cell and speed-dialed Sara's number.

"Sara Sidle," came a tired response from the other end.

"Hey," he said simply as the sound of her voice eased the frustration he was feeling.

"Hey," she answered, clearly recognizing his voice.

"I-um–noticed that you got your car back. Does the trunk lock now?"

"Yes, it does," she said with a smile in her voice.

"Will you be sending me the bill?" He smiled back.

"I don't know yet. Maybe. But then maybe I can hire you to do some little chores for me and you can work off the expense."

"Little" chores?" He asked with a raised brow, and he heard her giggle.

"No," she said slowly and in a very sultry voice. "Definitely not "little."

"What are you doing?"

"Almost climbing into bed. What about you?"

"The same thing–but. . ."

She waited for him to continue, but he suddenly felt a bit awkward asking her to come over. She would probably feel he only wanted to use her for sex and he didn't want her to feel insulted.

"Griss?"

"Yes, Sara."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"Yes," he breathed with relief. "I–I was–uh–I–I'd like you to spend the rest of the day with me. I–know you're tired. So am I. We can simply sleep if you want to. I–just. . ."

"Griss?"

"Yes, Sara?"

"You're rambling. Give me half an hour to gather some clothes for tonight, and I'll be there."

Grissom looked around his kitchen, wondering what, exactly, he could throw together that would even remotely resemble a vegetarian dish. He tried to recall what she would order whenever she would go out for breakfast with the gang but his mind was coming up blank. Out of shear frustration, he picked up a take-out menu and ordered an all vegetable pizza and was told that it should be there within half an hour. He went into his bathroom for a quick shower, then got dressed in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He was just coming back into his living room when someone knocked on his door and he went to retrieve the pizza from the delivery boy. He heard someone else walking up the hall and glanced up to see Sara coming toward him with a small backpack slung over one shoulder. Her jacket was opened, exposing a short top that ended only an inch below her breasts. Her bare midriff screamed to be noticed as she approached him with her sweat pants hanging low on her hips and rolled midway up her calves. He was about to give her a greeting when the delivery boy turned and let out an unsuppressed moan of appreciation.

"Wow," escaped the boy's lips before he turned to look at Grissom. "She can't be coming "here."

Grissom just looked at the boy, not knowing how to respond, but Sara took that option out of his hands when she overheard the boy and moved between them. She wrapped her arms around Grissom's neck and kissed him deeply, then let her hands slide down over his chest. Grissom was so dumbstruck that he had trouble holding the pizza box with one hand as his other automatically came to rest on her waist.

"That's for the pizza," Sara told Grissom.

"I'm the one who brought it," the boy blurted out.

Sara moved around behind Grissom and lay her chin on his shoulder as she looked at the boy. She slid her hands around his waist and up his chest. "But you can't make me scream like he can."

The boy sniffed with indignation and turned down the hall, leaving Sara to grab the pizza box from Grissom and take it inside. Grissom turned around and entered the room with her, watching as she removed her jacket then sat the pizza on a small table in front of the sofa.

"Was that necessary?" Grissom asked with a raised brow as he looked down at her as she perched on the arm of his sofa.

"The little shit deserved worse than that. Imagine him thinking he could even compete with you."

"It didn't help that you walked up to him half-dressed."

Sara smiled up at him as she removed her sneakers, leaving only her socks on that were folded down around her ankles, then turned on the arm until she was resting both of her feet on the cushions. "Half dressed? I am not half dressed. And if that little creep can get that excited from a woman twice his age wearing sweat pants, then he needs to go work off some of his testosterone."

"I think that's what he had in mind. Anyway–it's not the sweat pants that he was looking at. Where are your clothes?"

"In my backpack. You "did" call me just as I was getting into bed. I didn't want to change again, so I just came over like this."

"Next time warn me and I'll pick up the pizza myself and I won't have to deal with some delivery boy's overactive fantasies."

"Dressed like that?" She looked at him with a smirk. "I know where you ordered the pizza–and there are two women built like Jane Mansfield who would be all over you before you had time to place your order."

"Jealous?" He sighed, finally taking a seat and opening the box.

"I told you before–everyone has a jealousy gene." She looked at the pizza as she slid down on the cushion next to him. "I didn't know you liked vegetarian pizza. I thought you liked pepperoni and sausage."

"I'll adjust."

"Do you have anything to drink?"

He pointed to a bottle of Diet Pepsi he had on an end table and she reached for it, pulling her sweat pants tighter as she moved and giving him an adequate view of her tight butt. He leaned back against the sofa and watched her as she opened the soda and sat it on the edge of the table in front of them, then reached for a slice of pizza. He silently watched her take a bite of the food before looking back at him, then smiled gently as she chewed.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" He asked quietly, not really knowing if he said it out loud or just thought it to himself.

She started laughing at him and covered her mouth with a napkin. He merely gave her one of his raised eyebrow looks that said she should be reprimanded.

"Beautiful," she giggled. "Right. An old, ratty pajama top that I used to wear when I was a teenager, rolled up sweat pants, ankle socks, my hair pulled up in a sloppy ponytail and my mouth full of pizza. I must be a real gem."

"You "are" a real gem," he told her, still not talking very loudly.

"Do you want my slice of pizza? Is that what you're after? Because I can hand you a slice and you won't even have to compliment me for it."

He simply looked at her and she seemed to melt with a smile so sweet that he felt as if he were having a vision of some heavenly body. She got to her feet and moved to stand in front of him, then moved forward until she was straddling his thighs. She placed her feet on the sofa, near his back so that her knees were raised and she held the pizza in front of herself. He knew there were no intentions of seduction on her part, but her gesture of familiarity and earthiness of her posture absolutely enchanted him.

"Here," she said as she leaned forward and held the slice of pizza for him to take a bite. He complied, then lay his head back against the sofa again as he chewed it. His fingers found their way to the midriff that had been teasing him since her arrival, holding onto her sides and letting his thumbs gently stroke the soft skin. He continued to watch her as she took an interest in the pizza again, then looked back at him. "You're not really hungry, are you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, still watching her through lazy eyes.

"Then we'll put this in the refrigerator and eat it when we wake up tonight." She moved off of his lap and took the pizza to the kitchen, then returned to find him standing near the sofa, waiting for her.

He took her hand and walked with her to his bedroom then, motioned toward his bed and she crawled across the mattress and slipped beneath the sheet. He continued to watch her–for some reason not being able to get enough of the sight of her, and yet he was in no hurry to do anything other than sleep with her in his arms. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and heard her intake of breath, bringing his eyes back to her to see how she was watching him. He couldn't stop the small smile when he realized she was staring at him, evidently liking the sight of him dressed only in jeans. He unbuttoned them, then lowered the zipper and pushed them down and kicked them off, leaving his boxer/briefs in place then lifted the sheet and got in bed next to her. He felt completely exhausted and yet, he couldn't find the rest that he wanted. He looked over at her, seeing how she was trying to get comfortable and he turned on his side to face her. She lay on her stomach with her head turned his way and he knew he needed to touch her. His hand slid over her exposed back, then up, beneath her short top. She let a soft moan escape as he stroked her skin and soon she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I want you," he said as he stared at her.

She looked up at him and gave him that smile wasn't exactly her mega-watt smile that he loved, but a softer smile that held a soft glow around her. She's been looking at him with that smile a lot these past few days, and it never ceased to amaze him how quickly it affected him. It always left him with a longing that was indescribable; the need to hold her and completely dominate her so she knew that she belonged to him and no one else.

"I know," she said quietly as she reached up and touched his bearded cheek.

"And how would you know that? Especially lying all the way over there?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes." She moved onto her side and slid closer to him. "They're beautiful, ya know. And when you give me that look, I have no doubt that you want me–right then–right there."

"Then I think you ought to come right now–right here."

She sighed, or was it a moan, he wasn't sure, he only knew that the sound went directly to his groin. She moved herself again until she was partially leaning over him and he rolled onto his back as he continued watching her.

"I'm here," she whispered as she dipped her head and kissed his lips.

He reached for her waist and slid his fingers up inside of her top, pushing it upward until she lifted her head and allowed him to remove it completely. But she went back to his lips, teasing them with little kisses and lingering caresses from her tongue. He let his hands further their exploration as he was now sliding his hands down from her hips, pressing the sweat pants down over her bottom where he felt the lace of a thong riding up from her luscious cheeks. She got to her knees as she moved her kiss down farther until she was kissing the top of his chest and she turned her body so that he could reach her legs more easily. This gave him the opportunity to push her sweat pants down her thighs, and by the time her tongue and lips were tasting his stomach, he was lifting her legs one at a time so he could remove the pants completely, taking her socks off with them. Her hands were roaming over his skin, making it tingle everywhere they went. She traced them down over his hips as she continued to kiss his abdomen, then let her fingers trace their way to his thighs.

This time he didn't stop her when she pressed his boxer/briefs down to let his erection free; he merely lifted his hips and allowed her to push them down on his legs. He anticipated her next movements, wanting nothing more than to have her take him with that beautiful mouth of hers. She didn't disappoint him as she pulled him up to her lips and let her tongue slide over his tip, making him buck against her in his initial reaction. He tried to regain his control as she lovingly let her tongue slide along his length then took as much of him as she was capable into her mouth. He reached for any area of her that he could find and with one hand let his fingers slide through the hair on her head, and with the other let the sensation of her lace thong (that he now saw was red) wash over him as he alternated between sliding it between his fingers and gliding his hand over the tightly rounded orbs of her buttocks. He made no attempt to retaliate and give her any release and she made to attempt to encourage him to do so. She was merely satisfying him in a way that showed her adoration toward him. He could control himself for quite a while, letting the sensations of her sucking and licking crash through him in exquisite waves. When he could no longer control himself and started rushing toward his final release, he held his head back on his pillow and arched toward her. His hips were moving in a rhythm that pleased him the most, and yet wasn't too rough for her. And when his release finally came, he growled her name before collapsing, completely drained. His heart was beating so hard and fast he wasn't sure it wouldn't pound right through his chest and when he finally looked down at Sara again, he watched her take the final drop of what he had to offer, then slowly sit up until she was sitting on her feet next to him. She ran the back of her hand over her lips in such a erotic display of sensuality that he couldn't stop himself from reaching for her and pulling her down until she was lying halfway on top of him again. He slid his fingers through her hair as he held her to him and rolled until she was on her back. His mouth devoured hers, a hunger so desperate that it almost frightened him. Finally, he had to break free for air and in so doing, she gave him another one of her soft smiles.

"What did I do to deserve you?" He whispered to her as she looked into his eyes.

"I don't know. But keep doing it, okay?"

He smiled a real smile at her this time and this made her chuckle, then put her arms around him and pull him down with his head resting on her chest where she stroked his hair until he fell into a fitful sleep.