Chapter 3 – Coming Together

"This--this was what made life: a moment of quiet, the water falling in the fountain, the girl's voice...a moment of captured beauty. He who is truly wise will never permit such moments to escape."
-- Roger Bannister

He didn't expect her to meet him. He didn't even expect her to talk to him again. He had been sitting at the bar, nursing his Budweiser and berating himself for his actions earlier. When would he learn? When would he finally wake up and realize he could be happy, if only he could get over his own crippling inhibitions? It was while he was mentally punishing himself that she sat at the stool next to him and ordered her own bottle of amber comfort.

He turned his head and let a small, relieved smile form. "You came."

She twisted the bottle in her hand. "Yeah I did."

And here it was, the moment he had dreaded. That awkward moment where he would normally shut down, change the subject and avoid anything that was too personal. The tactic was so familiar to him, yet now as she sat next to him in a bar far away from the fluorescent lab lights, he realized he didn't want to avoid her any longer. In fact he never wanted to avoid her again. The realization shocked him, but at the same time it strengthened his resolve. The time for distancing himself from her was over.

"Would you like to find a table?" he asked, hoping to gain a little privacy.

"Sure"

They got up and took their drinks to a booth that was half in the shadows, out of the way enough to give a sense of seclusion. She sat across from him and took a swig from her bottle.

"Sara, I want to apologize again about earlier."

Sara smiled sarcastically. "You already apologized Griss. It's okay, I get it."

Grissom smiled as he took a fortifying swig of his beer. "I know I apologized earlier Sara, but I need you to understand the reason why I apologized."

"I understand completely Grissom. You let yourself go, it wasn't something you were planning and you regret it. There's not much to get."

Grissom sighed. "I don't regret kissing you Sara. How can one regret something they have been wanting for years?"

Almost choking on her beer, she stared at him, eyes wide. "What?"

"I wasn't apologizing for the act of kissing you…I was apologizing for the timing." When she didn't say anything he continued. "I never meant for our first kiss to be in a public pool. It's not something that should be on display for everyone to see."

"So what are you saying? If we were alone…"

"I wouldn't have stopped." He continued for her.

There was a silence that followed that would have been awkward had it not been for the pleasurable buzz caused by the few beers they both consumed.

Sara was silent as she contemplated what he had confessed to her, Grissom was silent as he wondered if telling her the truth was a mistake.

"So now what do we do?" she asked, waiving off the waiter who had asked if she wanted a re-fill.

"I don't know. There are plenty of things I would like to do, but it's not always about what I want is it?"

Sara blushed a little as he fixed his gaze on her. He couldn't explain his sudden disregard for his previous inhibitions. He knew it wasn't the alcohol, he'd only had two beers, and he highly doubted it was the stress of the last case, being so far from Vegas had allowed him to calm down. Maybe that was it. They were away from work, away from prying eyes and loose lips of the lab. Here in this hotel, across the street from what was sure to be an enjoyable day, he could be himself. He could forget all of his reasons for not being with her, all of his meaningless excuses.

"What do you want Sara?"

She seemed taken aback by the question but recovered with lightning speed. "You don't want to know the answer to that question Griss."

She was evading the question. He let a small smirk to form. "Maybe I do."

She started peeling the label from her bottle, frowning as she considered what to say. "I should think that by now it would be obvious what I want."

He sucked in a breath. She raised her eyes up in a challenge. The smirk left his face as he saw the smoldering desire that was blatant in her expression.

"Us guys can be somewhat…dense…sometimes." He swallowed and refocused before continuing. "So I ask again, what do you want Ms. Sidle?"

"I want…to stop playing this silly game. I want to wake up tomorrow morning wrapped in your warm embrace, sated and bone weary after a long night of lovemaking."

His jaw twitched, his heart sped up and the blood rushed south, making him slightly uncomfortable sitting in the confined space of the booth. He wanted nothing more than to grab her hand, take her back up to the room and give her exactly what she wanted. But what would happen later?

"What happens when we get back to Vegas?" Grissom asked, his beer all but forgotten.

Sara stared at him. "I couldn't tell you. I can't say that I would be fine if you wanted to forget anything ever happened. I want more than that."

Grissom smiled. It was just what he wanted to hear, what he needed to hear. If something happened between them it would have to be all or nothing. There was no halfway when it came to Sara Sidle.

He didn't have to say anything to her, his eyes conveyed the fact that he agreed with her, shared her feelings.

"Would you like to accompany me back to the room?" the underlying question was not lost on Sara, her wide grin a sure sign of that.

"Yes I would."

Grissom stood, laying down some money on the table and held his hand out to Sara. She took it, causing him to grin.

The elevator seemed to take forever as they stood side-by-side, slightly awkward with the knowledge that they would finally surrender to this old attraction.

When the elevator stopped on their floor, Grissom hastened to get to their room, his hand clutching the card key. Reaching their door, he turned to Sara. "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to regret anything."

"I'm sure Gil."

He almost lost it right then and there, hearing her say his name like that. With a groan he slid the card key in the lock, opened the door and pulled Sara in with him. As soon as the door was closed he pushed her against the wall, pressing his body close to her as he blindly kissed her. He could feel her hands weaving through his hair, pulling his head closer to her as she opened her lips to him. He gratefully slipped his tongue past her teeth, deepening the kiss as his hands came to rest on her hips. His heart was hammering in his chest, his breathing becoming shallow as he let his hands wander under her shirt.

Letting his lips trail to her jaw line, he skimmed his hands over the warm skin of her back. When they reached her bra he didn't hesitate in unclasping it, eagerly slipping the straps off her shoulders. Her body was now flush against his, her pelvis grinding almost painfully against his pulsing erection. In a sudden move he brought his hands from under her shirt and gripped her butt, hauling her up and against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her the few steps to the nearest bed.

Setting her back on her feet, he held her away from him just long enough to slip the shirt over her head; the bra came with it, leaving her nude from the waist up. The sight before him made him shiver. Here she stood, her breasts and smooth skin exposed and ready for the taking. His hands moved of their own accord, traveling over her shoulders, down her collarbone and finally cupping the soft swell of each breast. She sighed and began pulling his shirt out of his pants. His thumbs rubbed over her taut nipples, causing her to shudder and close her eyes. Soon her hands were on his bare skin, under the cotton of his shirt and he suddenly felt as if he were on fire. He raised his arms up as she pulled his shirt over his head. They stood inches apart, their bodies not quite touching as they took each other in.

Sara's hands wandered over his chest, down his abdomen and back up again until her arms were wrapped around his neck pulling him closer. The shock of skin on skin made them both gasp as their lips met.

Time seemed to stand still as she unzipped his jeans, sliding them over his hips to land in a heap on the floor, along with her pants and their shoes. They both fell back onto the bed, a jumble of limbs, a chorus of sighs and moans as they explored each other's bodies. They took their time, both realizing that they had waited too long to rush things.

For a long time the only thing that could be heard were wet kisses and the occasional moan. When he told her to turn over she was confused, but confusion quickly turned to delight as he covered her back with feather light kisses, taking his time to make sure every inch of her skin had received his full attention. He grinned as he moved his bearded jaw over her pert ass, occasionally nipping the sensitive skin. She was shivering by the time he turned her back over and removed his boxers, her underwear having been tossed away long ago.

He kissed his way over her stomach to her breasts, taking time to suck on each nipple until she was writhing beneath him, thrashing her head back and forth. She didn't say anything and neither did he as he slowly pushed himself inside of her. Their eyes locked until he was completely sheathed in her wet heat. For a moment they just looked at each other, absolutely awed that this moment had finally arrived. And then everything broke loose, the desire, the passion, all of the frustration that had built up.

He moved inside her, coming in and out with sure, strong thrusts. His moans were muffled into her neck, her sighs audible in the dark room. Her fingers raked down his back, leaving angry, red marks in their wake. His hands slid under her back and up to her shoulders, gripping them as he increased his speed. His moans became grunts; her sighs became labored moans as he came into her with enough force to make even the bed groan beneath them.

He could feel the wave he was riding begin to crest. Pulling his face away from her neck, he looked down at her and could tell from her partially opened mouth and stormy eyes that she too was close.

Bringing his lips to hers, he kissed her with a fierceness he didn't know he possessed. With her legs wrapped tight around his waist and her hands tangled in his hair, she cried his name out, crashing over the edge as he wrenched his mouth from hers just in time to growl her name before he too fell into oblivion.

The last thing he remembered before drifting into a peaceful slumber was the feel of her fingers, softly stroking the moist skin of his back.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Big thanx to Dara.

I'm kinda proud of the smut in this chapter, but as always there is room for improvement. So please review and tell me what you think, good or bad.

Thank you.