Disclaimer: It's been a year; hopefully by now everybody knows CSI: Miami does not belong to me.

Laeta's Author's Note: I'm changing my note for this chapter solely because I need to tell everybody something. You're in for a major treat this chapter and the next. This chapter is my first collaboration in CSI: Miami. Marianne, you know how long this fic has been in the works, and thank you, thank you, thank you for your patience. I won't say a word about the scene because it just speaks for itselfl

Marianne's A/N: Laeta, as you know, I have wanted to work on a story with you ever since I read 'What He Lacked.' That the opportunity came to fruition is an honor to me. You see, your writing continually sets a standard I strive to meet in my own work. I am delighted and humbled to be a small part of this wonderful story. Thank you for the chance, dahling. You are a gifted writer, and, more importantly, a friend I treasure.

Summary: If anything, the moment for turning back was six months ago when he gave her the choice to meet him for dinner. For him, his choice had been made the moment he walked up to Calleigh in the club.

Rating: R

Archive(s): Evidence of Things Unseen, Lonely Road, mine. Anybody else, email me; I like to go visiting.

Pairing(s): Horatio/Calleigh

Spoiler(s): None that I'm aware of.

Must read Nights Under the Full Jazz Moon first.

***** ***** *****

Title: Full Moon Promises

Author: Laeta & Marianne
Email: ladylaeta@yahoo.com


Chapter 4: Elemental Synchrony

Horatio followed Calleigh on a path he had taken many times. Past the living room and rarely used dining room, they walked to the end of the hall. There was a mirror, which gave the illusion that the hallway was longer than actuality, which hid the door to Horatio's bedroom. Up the curved flight of stairs, Horatio and Calleigh stood in a familiar room, lit by the swollen sun's red hues and by the pale streams of the moon's reflection.

The room, itself, was the length of the house with a broad window at one end and balcony doors at the other. The walls were a deep brown, almost chocolaty, in coloring. Four floor lamps, in all the corners, lit the room in warm textures when Horatio flicked the switch. There was a natural wood floor laid under their feet; the polish and wax did nothing to hide the wear but that lent charm to the inviting room.

The furniture was dark wood - a long, low bureau, a beautifully ornate table for two and matching chairs, a soft armchair, and the bed. The bureau ran along the length of the nearest wall, accentuating the depth of the room. The tables and chairs set hugged the window and made a quaint spot for chess. The armchair sat by a corner lamp near the balcony doors. To its right was a bookcase, of the same wood, that was custom build and was filled to the brim with books. Candles decorated its top as well as dusty picture frames and a well-worn sketch pad.

Then there was the bed. Calleigh would have preferred it to be canopied, particularly in this lovely setting, but it boasted a large headboard. However, its charm was enhanced by the bench placed at its foot. At one time, the covers would have been ivory, but now it was a dusty charcoal color.

She had been inside many, many times before, but it felt like the first time for Horatio.

So he asked, "Are you feeling as nervous as I am, sweetheart?"

Calleigh turned in the middle of the room to face where he stood just inside the door. He clearly saw the amusement, and he realized it had been there since they left for the restaurant. Then, suddenly, nothing mattered anymore except her, beside him, when he awoke the following morning.

He reached inwards to the burning fire of passion that he effortlessly banked for two years until that dance in the club, which changed everything. Ever since, it took all his control simply to contain it in anticipation of this first night. The fire breathed confidence back into Horatio, made him wonder why he doubted himself and Calleigh's presence in the here and now.

If anything, the moment for turning back was six months ago when he gave her the choice to meet him for dinner. For him, his choice had been made the moment he walked up to Calleigh in the club.

She must have seen the fire's leap into his eyes; that was the only explanation she ever gave him for knowing when he was about to go beyond some inborn restraint. Then, she gave him the greatest gift of all - she gave herself to the fire burning inside of him:

"What do you want me to do?"

Horatio merely pointed to the balcony doors.

Calleigh laughed. "That's a real subtle way of telling me that it's going to get hot in here, Handsome."

He did not trust himself to respond. Instead, he let his wry chuckle loose and began to light the candles scattered throughout the room. She leaned, meanwhile, against the door jam, the night breeze lifting strands of hair as it flew through the room.

"Fire and water. You and me."

She walked up to him when he finished and gave her a questioning look. Hooking her arms around his neck, she let him take her weight.

"You don't even realize it, do you?" She leaned to speak into his ear. "Listen."

It took an effort to quiet the roar of his blood's flow through his body and the crackle of the fire in his soul. When he did, he heard the constant crash of the waves upon the shore; a sound he heard all his life that filled the silence of his home - before Calleigh's presence wanted the job.

As he turned to look outside to the open ocean, Horatio saw the fickle light of the myriad of candles. He eased Calleigh gently away from his body.

What he saw was the same amusement that pervaded her psyche throughout the evening.

"Fire and water, sweetheart?"

"Horatio, don't play dumb. It doesn't become you very well."

He laughed at her words, then lifted her completely off her feet and swung her in an exhilarating twirl.

"You win, my Pisces lover."

It took only seconds for her to melt at his words. He now supported all of her weight as her knees buckled before she managed to lock her joints together.

She pushed him away and glared at him. He received her message loud and clear: "That was not fair."

The appearance of a devilish gleam shining in her eyes was all the preparation time he had to throw up his defenses. They crumbled like dust when Calleigh stepped close and watched her hands as she ran light fingertips upward, from his abdomen to his chest. They were surprisingly delicate, her long, creamy fingertips, gliding against his skin, skin warmed by a thick, pounding pulse. Heat radiated through the air. It shimmered, wrapping itself around them in a tight, intimate cocoon.

"Fire and water, Horatio," she echoed his words, barely a murmur of sound that lifted the air between them. "But your fire won't hurt me. It will simply burn you into my soul. A branding of sorts. Ours alone."

Her hips moved against his body in an erotic flash of memory from their first night at the club. This time, he felt no hesitation in her body. She was warm against him, loose as water in her movements. Motions designed to drive a man to the brink and never return. This, at last, was their moment of physical and emotional reckoning. A full awakening to the heart as his self-imposed twenty-four hour sand glass expired.

And a lifetime replaced it.


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© RK 05.Jan.2004
© Marmo 14.Jan.2004