-1WARNING: This chapter is rated M, and is intended only for those over 18.

Horatio blindly reached over to the stove and groped for the pan handle. Not wanting to burn himself, he opened one eye and found it, removing the pan before the contents were too burnt to salvage. Now that dinner was temporarily on hold, he switched the burner off and turned all of his attention back to Calleigh, who, by this point, realized exactly what he had been up to.

"I thought…you wanted…to let it burn," she said between kisses.

He leaned back and gave her a devilish grin. "Mmmm…I changed my mind. I have a feeling I'm going to have quite the appetite later tonight."

Just before he leaned back in, she whispered, "You're bad."

"I know. You bring out the worst in me." He caught the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss as he began to devour her lips. His fingers caressed her sides; his thumbs, her stomach as he slowly moved his hands higher, enjoying the way her muscles tensed as his fingers skimmed over them.

The feel of her hands tugging at his shirt made him both eager and nervous. It had been a couple of years since he'd last been with a woman, but there was no one else he wanted to be with. Not now. Not ever. But that only made him even more nervous. He wanted to be able to give her everything, and in his condition, he wasn't sure that he could.

As soon as his shirt was free from his pants, Calleigh's hands went to work beneath it. Her nails grazed lightly over his chest, causing him to shudder. Even if he'd wanted to stop things, it was far too late; he was completely at her mercy.

Moving her hands around to his back, Calleigh accidentally bumped against his bandage, unintentionally tugging at his wound. Horatio groaned but not in pleasure. Mortified, she froze, her eyes going wide. "Oh my god, Horatio, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" He took a slow breath, giving her a sheepish grin, and kissed her forehead.

"I'm okay," he admitted, though his face still bore a hint of pain.

Calleigh sighed and dropped her forehead to his chest, immediately getting wrapped up in his arms. "I just killed the moment, didn't I?"

He caught her chin and lifted it, giving her a sweet smile. "Sweetheart, you did nothing of the sort. It would probably be better for both of us if you generally avoided that area for the time being." He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips, teasing the sensitive spot in the center of her palm with his tongue, exactly the way he had the night before. Calleigh moaned quietly. "However," his voice grew deeper, "if you keep this up, in a few minutes I doubt I'll be feeling anything but you."

She gripped his shirt tightly with her free hand as his tongue continued its assault on her palm. Taking a deep breath, she tried to clear her mind, if only for a moment. "Would it be easier for you if we did this somewhere other than the kitchen?"

"What do you mean?" he whispered distractedly as he brushed his lips along the inside of her index finger and lightly sucked on the tip of it.

Calleigh swallowed hard. He was making it nearly impossible for her to focus. "Do you honestly want do to this standing? Do you think you…can?"

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Not only did he not have the strength, but he sincerely doubted either of them would enjoy it as much as they'd like. Besides, Calleigh deserved better than the kitchen. "No," he said, answering both questions. "I don't. You deserve to be loved, Cal, to be made love to in a way you never have. And I want to be the one to do it, if you'll let me."

She answered him, but not with words. Her kiss was initially tender but quickly became passionate. "Then how about we take this upstairs?" she whispered.

Feeling rather breathless, he nodded slowly. "Okay," was all he uttered. Truthfully, he would have gone wherever she wanted. In his mind this was about her more than anything else, and whatever she wanted he would give her if it was within his power. "Lead on."

Calleigh took a step back, reached for his belt and started tugging him toward the stairs. Horatio inhaled slowly and let her pull him. The seductive look she was giving wasn't making it easy to be patient. Climbing the stairs this way was going to seem like an eternity. The trek would be hell, but the reward that awaited him would be heaven.

They finally reached the end of the hallway, where Calleigh paused. "Your place or mine?"

Horatio couldn't respond for a moment. He was far too distracted by her bottom lip, which she happened to be biting at the moment. "Um…" He swallowed hard. "I think I've got the bigger bed," he said with a soft chuckle.

With a slight raise of her eyebrow, she pulled him into his bedroom and stopped when she felt her calves bump into the side of the bed. He wanted to take his time with her and enjoy every curve, every line, every inch of her, but patience was quickly becoming a problem.

Again he slid his hands beneath her shirt and caressed her back as he leaned in to kiss her. He simply couldn't get enough of her lips. His fingers found the back of her bra, but he waited, not wanting to seem as though he was in a hurry, and flattened his palm on her spine.

His kisses left her breathless and Calleigh had to pull away for air. Taking advantage of the brief separation, she lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. Tilting his head at her, he took his time, letting his eyes roam up and down. Cupping the side of her breast, he slowly lowered his head and lightly nipped at the skin just above her bra. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and leaned her head back, whispering his name in pleasure. Horatio grinned, loving the sound of his name on her lips.

Her chest heaving, Calleigh grabbed at the hem of his shirt and began pulling upwards. He felt the tug and leaned up just long enough for her to remove his shirt. Instantly he moved his lips to her neck, smiling when he heard her gasp.

As he leaned forward, she began to lean back and reached behind her for the bed. Finding it, she lowered herself onto it and started scooting back, moving very slowly. Horatio put his left knee on the edge of the bed, then one hand, then the other, and smoothly began crawling across the bed after her. His jeans were quickly becoming a source of discomfort, but he pushed the thought from his mind and focused his attention on her.

Pulling up until he was nearly sitting on his feet, he reached for the waistband of her shorts, catching her. Either way he'd win. If she stopped moving, he had her, but if she continued scooting away, she'd have to leave her shorts behind to do it. Calleigh grinned up at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. She decided to let him have both. Taking matters into her own hands, she stopped moving across the bed and lifted her hips, making it easy for him to remove her shorts.

Horatio chuckled softly and, once her shorts were out of the way, leaned over her on all fours. Calleigh's hands went to work on his chest and stomach, stroking, caressing and setting his nerves on fire. He rumbled into her mouth, deepening the kiss. He gasped when her hand brushed over the front of his jeans as she blindly searched for his belt. Calleigh grinned at the sound he made, not to mention the increasingly growing bulge she'd unintentionally, though not disappointingly, felt through his jeans.

Horatio lowered himself onto his elbows, his body hovering only inches above hers, the heat between them building rapidly. Putting all of his weight on his left arm freed his right hand to explore. Brushing his thumb over the top of her bra, he kissed her jaw, her neck, her collar bone, gradually moving down her body.

Before he was out of reach, Calleigh succeeded in unbuckling his belt and unfastening the button on his jeans. Horatio paused. Having her hands that close to him without actually touching him was driving him insane.

As Calleigh dragged her nails up the center of his back, what little remained of Horatio's patience snapped. Pretending that he still had some sense of control, he tried to make it seem as though he wasn't in a hurry to get out of his jeans. The way her fingers lingered over the ticklish spot on his ribs wasn't making things any easier. He swallowed hard and lifted his hips, pushing his jeans to his knees before kicking them off the rest of the way.

His boxers couldn't hide what his jeans had been able to. As he leaned back over her, he saw the slight look of amusement in Calleigh's eyes. "My my. Impatient, are we?"

Horatio turned a bright shade of red, but his embarrassment was fleeting. She distracted him with a kiss that took his breath away. Sliding his hands beneath her back, he carefully rolled to his back, taking her with him. She kept most of her weight off the injured side of his body, though she was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on what not to do.

Horatio brought his hand around between their bodies, sliding his fingers down her stomach and beneath her underwear. He paused for a moment, kissed down the side of her neck, and began stroking her. Calleigh shuddered and let out a soft cry, arching her back into him. He gradually increased the speed and pressure of his fingers before removing his hand altogether. She was more than ready, and if she was going over the edge, he was determined to not only be the one to take her there, but he wanted to go over with her.

Calleigh didn't know how long she could keep going this way. Horatio grinned, seeing that he wasn't the only one quickly losing control. He slid his hand up the center of her back and, within just a few seconds, unhooked her bra. She leaned back, enabling him to slip the bra straps down her shoulders and toss it to the floor.

He cupped her breasts and brushed his thumbs over her taut nipples. He'd allowed himself to imagine what she looked like, but his imagination hadn't been able to do her justice. He sucked gently on her breasts, paying them equal attention. Based on the sounds coming from her, he wasn't the only one enjoying this.

As if reading each other's minds, Calleigh slipped out of her underwear, Horatio out of his boxers. Gripping her hip and back tightly, he rolled again. On his elbows over her, he brushed her hair from her face and tilted his head at her. "I love you, Calleigh, and it's not just the hormones talking." Sweetly he kissed her cheek.

"I wish I had something better to say than, 'I love you too'," she replied, giving him a sheepish smile. The next thing she saw was something she had never seen before. Horatio beamed at her, a smile that, to her, was brighter than the sun.

"There is nothing better than that."

"Okay," she grinned. "I love you too."

He positioned himself between her legs and stroked her shoulders. His eyes asked for her permission, and with a soft nod she responded. Giving her a deep and passionate kiss, he eased into her, pausing half way in to let her adjust to him. Calleigh arched her back into him and dug her nails into his shoulders. He groaned deeply and, feeling her begin to relax, inched deeper, watching her reactions change as he moved inside her. He had been wrong. This wasn't heaven. It was better.

They made love slowly, taking their time enjoying each other's bodies. Horatio realized that with a subtle shift of his hips he could make her cry out in absolute pleasure, and with a sweep of his fingers down her spine he could relax her almost instantly.

He had never been with a woman like her. The last woman he'd been with had been Marisol, and though love-making between them had been sweet and tender it had lacked something, something which he couldn't put his finger on until now. They hadn't needed each other the way he and Calleigh now did. Being with her at last was like finding the final piece of the puzzle of himself that he didn't even know he had been missing.

The closer he drew to climax, the more he felt, and along with the feelings of pleasure came a few sharp pains in his side. He ignored them, however, determined to allow nothing to get in the way of giving her as much pleasure as possible.

Calleigh shuddered beneath him again and tightened against him. He threw his head back and groaned in pleasure, her move setting off his own release as he drove deeply into her a few final times. They clung to each other, as if for their very lives, as they rode out wave upon wave of pleasure.

Knowing his trembling arms couldn't hold him much longer, Horatio rolled to his side, pulling her over with him. Calleigh's chest heaved as she gasped for air, finally catching her breath moments later. He tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear and pressed his forehead to hers. "Do you mean to tell me," he panted, "that that's…what I've been missing out on…all these years?" Calleigh blushed for perhaps the first time in several days, but said nothing. He smiled sweetly and gave her a soft kiss.

The ache returned to his stomach, attempting to punish him for his over-exertion, but he didn't mind. It was more than worth it. Pulling her head to his chest, he rolled onto his back and let his tired muscles relax.

Then an odd thought struck him. In trying to make him suffer, The Ghost had actually done him a favor. He realized if he hadn't been shot, he wouldn't be lying there with the love of his life, feeling like the happiest man alive.