Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. That's why I work for a living.
Chapter 28
Sara choked on the food in her mouth and reached for her wine glass. Taking a sip, she cleared her throat and asked hoarsely, "What?" Her eyes were wide with shock.
"Tell me about Hank." Grissom studied her face before adding, "I know it's old news but that seems to be the theme tonight."
"There's not much to tell. What do you want to know?"
"What happened? I know you dated him but why did you break up?" Grissom had a pretty good idea but he wanted to hear Sara's story.
"Well, for the record, Gerard had it wrong. We weren't having a relationship when he thought we were." Sara paused. "Are you sure you want to get into this?"
"I'm sure. I promise not to behave like an ass afterward." Grissom smiled at her and put another bite in his mouth.
Sara avoided his gaze and said, "Well, we were just friends. I mean, I thought he was cute and he was fun but there was no…no…"
"Spark?" Grissom supplied.
"Yeah. Anyway, after you told me to get a life, for about the hundredth time, I started going out with a group of people I knew from work, a couple of uniforms, paramedics, girls and guys. Hank just happened to be one of those people. After a while, I would go to a movie with him or out to eat but still nothing physical. Then Gerard made a big deal out of the bra. And we got raked over the coals at trial. And, on top of everything else, you started to ignore me completely. You wouldn't work with me. You barely spoke to me. Oh hell, you know the story." Sara took a long drink of wine before continuing.
"One day, I had had enough. I'm not even sure what triggered it. I decided that I was going to move on." Sara shrugged. "So, I slept with Hank; I used him, to try to get you out of my head…out of my heart. It didn't work." She met Grissom's steady gaze with one of her own.
"Good," Grissom interjected, making her smile.
Taking another bite, she chewed and swallowed before saying, "Do you remember that case where the elderly woman drove her car into a restaurant so that her grandson could have money for college?" When Grissom nodded Sara continued, "Hank was one of the people who got hurt. Another of the victims was his girlfriend."
"Oh honey," he murmured.
"It's not like he even told me. I went to her apartment to follow up and saw a picture of the two of them. When she saw me looking at it she started…gushing about her boyfriend and the great vacation they had been on. How the accident had forced them to cancel the one they had planned. And you know the funny part, I never let her know. Me, Miss Passion, Miss Emotionally Unstable, I never let on that I had slept with the 'love of her life' a couple of days before that."
"That had to hurt." Grissom's eyes showed that he remembered what it was like to be betrayed.
"At first it did. But I realized I was much more embarrassed than hurt. I also figured it was no less than I deserved. I mean, I had used him and it was only fair that he used me too." Sara shrugged and gave Grissom a tight smile. "But you want to know the best part? He was afraid I would tell her and she would leave him." Sara's face was flushed, not from the wine but from embarrassment. "I just still can't believe that I was so stupid. But you live and you learn." Sara sighed before saying, "Now you know the story of Hank."
"Thank you," Grissom said.
"For what?" Sara asked.
"For telling me. For trusting me."
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Grissom opened the door to their suite and stood back, letting Sara precede him into the room. He shrugged out of his jacket and started loosening his tie as he pushed the door closed. Taking a look around, he noticed the dim lights and the champagne on ice beside the loveseat.
"I'm going to change. My feet are killing me." Sara said, heading for the bedroom. When she opened the door she drew up short. The lights were low, music was playing softly in the background, the bed was turned down and rose petals were scattered over the sheets. Turning back to look at Grissom, she asked, "Did you do this?"
With an innocent look, he asked, "Do what?"
"Oh, Gil, you are too much." With a grin, Sara walked back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you."
"It doesn't come close to what you deserve." Grissom pulled her against his chest, nuzzling her hair, inhaling her scent.
Sara tilted her head and found his lips with hers. "There's never been anyone else. You know that don't you?"
"Yeah, I know. My life began the moment I first heard your voice." He moved his head slightly and kissed her until he felt her melt against him as her bones turned liquid. Dragging his lips across her cheek and placing a kiss behind her ear, he whispered, "Champagne?"
Sara's voice was ragged. "Let's save it for tomorrow. Right now I just want you."
Grissom pulled her in tighter, pressing her long length against him. "God, Sara, do you know what you do to me?" When she playfully shook her head he began to whisper all the ways she turned him on, punctuating each statement with a kiss to her cheek or neck or shoulder. When she captured his face between her hands and pulled his mouth to hers they were both a little breathless.
Sara let her fingers trail down his face and neck until her hands rested on his chest. Pulling her lips from his, she grasped his tie and tugged him after her toward the bedroom. "I've never made love on a bed of roses. It just seems so…so decadent."
They stopped beside the bed and Grissom said, "I want to see you naked with those rose petals all around you." His voice was rough with longing.
Sara used his tie to guide him to the side of the bed. Gently pushing him onto it she stepped back and holding his gaze with her own, she loosened the side zipper on her dress and brushed it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She stepped out of it and pushed it aside. When she stood there in nothing more than a dark pink thong and her heels his eyes flared and a groan escaped his throat. When she bent to remove her shoes, he growled, "Leave them."
Sara's head snapped up in surprise. A slow, sexy smile spread across her face. "Like the shoes, bugman?"
Grissom merely grunted and licked his lips. "Come here."
He took in the differences motherhood and time had made to her body and knew that, if given the chance, he wouldn't undo any of them. She was beautiful. Her hair was still pinned up but strands had escaped to curl around her face. Her neck, in its swan like beauty, begged for his lips. She had strong shoulders and arms that he knew could provide comfort, as well as passion. Her upturned breasts, her slightly rounded tummy and her mile long legs were, in his eyes, perfect. Just the thought of her lips could make him ache with need. But it was her eyes that had captured him. The light in them was for him and him alone.
Sara moved with a grace that most people would never guess she had. In her professional life she was always in a hurry, always on some quest for the truth, and didn't have time to worry about how others perceived her. But right now, at this moment, she wanted this man to know that she was a woman, his woman. She wanted him to look at her with that heat in his gaze – the kind of heat that made her thighs turn to jelly and liquid warmth pool between them. Stopping between his splayed legs, she let her fingers trail up over her belly, skimming her ribs, stopping just shy of her breasts before sliding down to rest at her sides.
Grissom's heart was racing as he stretched out trembling hands and placed them on her hips. Leaning forward he placed a kiss just above her belly button, causing her to gasp and thread her fingers through his hair. Burying his face against her stomach he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Easing his hold, Grissom began placing warm kisses over her torso. He flicked his tongue around her belly button before using it to trace the bottom of her rib cage. He nipped at her hip bones and let his beard tickle the skin at the top of her underwear. He looked up to see Sara's head thrown back, her chest heaving with every breath, her nipples puckered in anticipation. He could smell the musk of her arousal and it fueled his own desire.
Kissing and nipping his way up her body, he stood. Her hands were tangled in his hair and his were splayed over her back molding her to his body until there was no way to know where one ended and the other began. His lips were on hers and their tongues were entwined in an age old dance. Sara slid her arms down until her palms rested on his chest and she pushed against him until there was enough room to reach the buttons on his shirt. She slipped them open, one by one, until she could slide her hands over his bare skin.
Suddenly, Grissom released her and stepped back. Never taking his eyes from her, he began to quickly shed his clothes. Tie, shirt and shoes landed in a heap. He fumbled with his belt until Sara's slender fingers reached out to help him. He caught his thumbs in his waistband and pushed down pants and boxers, leaving him naked before her. His arousal hung full and thick between his muscular thighs. His hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides. Stepping out of his pants and tugging off his socks he advanced until mere inches separated them.
"Take off your panties," he instructed.
Sara pushed her panties as far down as she could before wiggling slightly so they slid to her ankles. He guided her back until she was sitting on the bed. Kneeling before her he lifted first one leg and then the other, removing her shoes and kissing the arch of each foot. He started there and began to make love to her an inch at a time.
Time lost all meaning. There was the slide of his sweat slicked skin against hers. Lips and tongues tasting and tugging until Sara was writhing in helpless need. Fingers searching and finding the center of her need, teasing and stroking until her body clenched in sweet release. The scent of arousal and roses and sweat permeated the air. Words were whispered; silly words, sweet words, lustful words. When he rose up over her, slid into her, she cried. Tears of sheer joy leaked from the corners of her eyes and ran silently down her cheeks. He paused, brushing them away, cradling her face between his hands, kissing her with a tenderness that pulled at her heartstrings.
"I love you Sara, so much." Grissom's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with unshed tears.
Slowly, he began to move; short, easy strokes that brought a smile to her face. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him deeper, holding him to her. Rocking her hips, she urged him on. When she dug her nails into his shoulders he moaned her name. When she whispered harder he began to plunge into her. Sara planted her feet on either side of his hips thrusting up to meet him. Grissom grunted with the effort of each and every stroke. His face was buried in the crook of her neck. Her lips skimmed over every inch of him she could reach.
"Sara, I…oh God! Sara!" Grissom's pushed forward, burying himself in her, pulsing and throbbing in his ecstasy.
Sara, feeling him tense, began to roll her hips creating a friction that had her clinging to him as the most intense sensations she had ever experienced washed over her.
Slowly, Grissom rolled to his side, pulling Sara with him. Nestling her against his chest, he placed gentle kisses on her forehead and cheeks. She raised her head and caught his lips with hers. The kiss was soft and sweet. Running her hand down his cheek, staring into his eyes, Sara smiled.
