Chapter 25

"Thank you for having us over, y'all," said Greg cheerily, as he prepared to leave.

"Yeah, thanks Grissom. Thanks Catherine. It was a great dinner," said Nick, who would have to send Greg home.

Catherine was stunned that they thanked her as well. They shouldn't. She blushed a bit as she bade them a good night.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal, you two. Good night," said Brass, leaving.

Sara looked vaguely unhappy. Warrick read her expression and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, Sara," he whispered in her ear.

Turning to his host, he said "Been a pleasure, Gris. You should host more. You guys throw a great party." Warrick also smiled at Catherine.

He practically pulled Sara along.

"Uh, thanks Grissom," was all Sara could say.

Warrick had steered her out the door and into his car within seconds.

Sara was annoyed.

"Why'd you grab me like that?" she hissed to Warrick, as he got in the car.

Warrick simply sighed, saying "It was time to go, Sar."

They drove to Sara's place in silence.

Grissom heaved a sigh of relief as he shut the door on his last guests.

"Tired?" he asked the strawberry-blonde, who was still standing in the hallway.

"Quite," answered Catherine with a shy smile. She realized that Grissom had not bothered to correct his guests when they had thanked her as well. It made her feel supremely happy for some reason.

"Care for a last glass of wine?" asked Grissom, spying the last opened bottle.

"Okay," agreed Catherine softly.

This was dangerous ground. They were alone together. They had already drunk some wine. Not that much, but enough that Catherine was feeling comfortably relaxed and languid. Lindsay had been put to bed some time ago. The little girl had been exhausted.

But tonight was still not over. Catherine had allowed herself to enjoy the night. So what could another glass of wine hurt? She ignored the part of her mind that protested. It was just another glass of wine.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, as he poured her a glass of wine.

Catherine stretched out slowly, draping herself over one end of the couch. She was quite unconscious of the alluring view she presented. Grissom watched her as she closed her eyes for a bit.

She was dressed in a simple, sleeveless emerald-green dress. Her hair had been pinned up but now many tendrils had escaped to frame her face softly. She held the glass of wine loosely. On her face was an expression of contented bliss.

Grissom's mind and body instinctively reacted to this spectacular view of his personal goddess. He knew that it was probably not a wise course of action to do what he wanted to do. It was still the wrong time and there were so many unresolved things between them. But he was tired of waiting. He wanted her so very badly.

Grissom remembered the last time he had held her in his arms. He ached to do so again. Living with her had only intensified that ache. It had been amplified beyond measure by her close proximity every single day.

He moved towards her purposefully. He kneeled down by her side. Catherine had yet to open her eyes. He grasped the wine-glass that she held in her hand. He removed it from her grasp to place it somewhere else.

At the contact, Catherine's eyes snapped open. She found herself only inches away from Grissom's face. His eyes were smouldering pools of desire and need. Her barriers were down and there was no way to erect them right now, she was mesmerized.

She watched as his eyes drew nearer and told of his passion and love for her. Grissom leaned in nearer and nearer. Closing the gap between them one tiny centimetre at a time. It was sweet torture. Catherine could not look away from his intense gaze.

At this point, she didn't want to. The passion between them was undeniable. It had been sublimated for so long and now emerged with a vengeance. The very air they breathed crackled with electricity. Closer, yet still closer.

Grissom stopped, just when his lips nearly touched hers. Catherine gave a small whimper. She was now uncaring of anything else. She needed him to kiss her. But he was ever the gentleman. He had to be sure.

"Cath," he breathed.

Catherine moved in and captured his lips with hers. She pulled him closer, onto her. She needed to feel him so desperately.

The moment their lips met, there was no turning back. Grissom had somehow known this and had held back just before kissing her, to allow her to refuse. What he didn't know was that there was no way Catherine could have refused. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, with an insatiable yearning and desperation.

Their kisses and caresses varied in character as they held each other for the first time in so long. Their kisses changed from soft and sweet to hard, needy and passionate kisses alternating between the myriad of emotions coursing through their bodies. It had never been simple with them. Everything was so complicated.

But tonight, no matter how complicated, they drew strength from each other. As they loved each other, they revisited their past and explored their future. Barriers were down, every unrelenting emotion surfacing in the intimacy of their physical union. Would they be able to survive the consequences tomorrow?