Mistletoe and Wine – The Sequel: Afterglow
By Amanda Hawthorn and Anansay

SPOILERS: None
SUMMARY: After Grissom proposes, they celebrate in the only way a couple in love does.  ;)
DISCLAIMER: We do not own these characters.  We only wish we did.
RATING: NC-17

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Warmth spread around Sara’s body as she sat silently watching the crackling fire in the fireplace. The glowing embers lit up her face, casting a shimmer of orange and red that set her face aglow. Her gaze traveled down to her left hand, the sparkling diamond on her finger catching the light of the fire. Spreading her fingers, she gazed down at the tiny sparkles that lit up her eyes, and smiled.

“It looks good on you,” Grissom whispered softly into her ear as he came to sit on the floor beside her. Holding out a glass of wine for her and wrapped his arm around her body, pulling her closer to him.

Sara’s eyes drank in the beauty of the man who had captured her heart so long ago and held it a willing prisoner within him. Placing her glass on the floor beside her, she turned to stoke his arm with the tips of her fingers, delighted when he gasped a shuddered breath in response.

Leaning in closer, her hands began their sweet exploration, becoming bolder with their teasing and stroking. Finding her way inside his shirt, she raked her nails gently over his chest until Grissom sighed in soft surrender.

“Sara…” he whispered, his voice caught somewhere between a gasp and a moan as he angled his neck to give her better access to his skin. “Honey…I…”

“Shhh,” she whispered, taking the wine glass from his hand before it fell to the floor. “We only have one more night here before we have to head home, let’s not waste it.”

Grissom opened his mouth to speak, but found the words wouldn’t do justice to everything that flowed in him because of this woman; who had managed to break down all of his past defenses, replacing them with her undying love and affection.  And he thanked whoever was listening for this second chance at happiness.

Moving onto her knees, Sara turned to face him. She placed a hand on either of his thighs and pushed down gently.  He read her request and straightened his legs. Lifting a leg over his, Sara moved closer so that she was straddled across his thighs, increasing the heat that was building up between them.

Pulling her hands from under his shirt, she leaned forward to release the buttons one by one, kissing her way down his exposed skin until his shirt lay open.

Sara allowed her eyes to roam freely over his chest, marveling at the heretofore off-limit territory of touching Gil Grissom in such an intimate manner, and to have him reciprocate with sincere candour.  It was enough to send her heart fluttering over the edge of sanity and into a realm of such wanton passion. 

She took a jittery breath and glanced up into his eyes, those molten midnight blue eyes that bespoke of such passion and such compassion.  Her heart soared to new heights and she found it suddenly difficult to breathe, what with her fantasies having materialized into something much more than she’d ever imagined. 

With gentle slowness, she brought her hands up along his chest, feeling the muscles tensing beneath heated flesh until she reached his shoulders and then pushed the fabric over and down his arms.  The fire lent a golden cast to his skin, which only served to enhance an already sensual mood.

Shaking the material from his body, he discarded the shirt to drop down behind him, freeing his hands. His eyes met hers in an intoxicating gaze, sparking the simmering embers of passion that smoldered within him. Slowly, moving forward, he slid his hands up her arms until he came to the soft skin of her cheeks to frame her face in his hands.

Unable to resist the attraction between them, Sara lowered her head, keeping her movements deliberately slow until she was a breath away from his face. Her eyes focused on his lips, aching to feel them against her own. She could feel the tension swirling around them, creating a vortex of passion that crackled between their heated bodies. Capturing his eyes with her own, she moved in closer, desperate to seal her lips to his.

Grissom swallowed as she descended upon him, unconsciously licking his lips in anticipation. Every kiss, every touch only intensified his feelings for her. She drove him over the edge of rationality, offering herself to him freely time and time again. And he accepted what she offered, opening his heart for her more and more every time she loved him.

As she closed the distance between them, Sara found his lips with her own, sealing them together in a slow and sensual kiss, so full of all that which had bound her to him for so long. Her hands slid back up his chest as she opened her mouth to run her tongue along his bottom lip, silently begging for entry. He willingly obliged, opening for her as his fingers moved to her back, tracing the outline of her bra beneath her shirt. He felt her shiver beneath his touch, delighted with her body’s response to his gentle ministrations.

Sara deepened their kiss, her tongue dueling with his in an erotic dance. She dragged her nails over his skin, opening her fingers to feel more of him. His heated flesh causing the last of her self control to slip away as she threaded her fingers up into his hair to hold his head possessively, unwilling to release him from her passionate restraints. She felt his hands slip from her back to roam enticingly over her stomach, seeking her bare skin beneath her shirt. Moving backwards slightly, she gave him the access he craved, falling into his kiss as his warm hands slid up her torso, releasing the buttons of her shirt in his wake.

Soon their naked bodies were fused together as they moved against each other, the sweat between them allowing their bodies to slide against each other with heightened sensibility. With lips licking and hands caressing, they soon found themselves on the floor before the fire, its heat only adding to their own. 

Sara looked up into the eyes of her lover and her heart caught in her throat at the raw power of the emotions she saw swirling in the depths of them.  He was staring at with such intensity, holding himself above her.  Time stopped as she allowed herself the moment to stare so openly and with all the adoration she’d held inside, letting it all come out for him to see and know.  Then he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers, just a simple gentle touch, but its softness sent her heart into spasms of love.  With such an innocent touch he could arouse in her mountains of pleasure, it was a wonder she could still think clearly on a daily basis with what this man could do to her when they were alone.  His power over her came from somewhere not of this earth, from another plane of existence, its very core of being of something that at times Sara thought she could barely hold within her, that it would come gushing out like some fountain of perpetual passion. 

She returned his kiss and brought it to new levels, deeper and yet higher at the same time, splurging within the moment that she could touch this man and hold him to her and love him with everything she had.  And to be loved by him in return. 

With his body settled on hers he watched her face as he eased himself in, enjoying the play of emotions that swept over her features as she clung to him, desperately trying to keep her own eyes open.  When he was firmly sheathed within her folds he began to move, to rock his hips against hers and then his eyes closed.  It was like coming home, like enfolding oneself in the arms of a grand lover, submitting everything to them and letting them take it all.  No more worries, no more pain, just an overwhelming feeling of complete and utter acceptance.

She moved with him, carrying them both along the journey, bypassing all the walls and all the barriers to that one place where time and space ceased to exist, where matter became abstract and feelings superceded all that existed. 

Soft groans filled the room as they approached the deep chasm that ached to draw them enticingly over the edge, urging them on with every thrust, every gasp. Lifting her legs, Sara drew him deeper into her body, reveling in the feel of his throbbing member bringing her to teeter dangerously close to exploding. Arching her back, her fingers raked over his skin, desperately seeking the release she craved.

Grissom’s lips found her neck, licking the soft flesh that glistened in the firelight. Her soft groans urged him on, increasing his rhythm as she silently begged for him to complete her. Knowing she was close, he kissed her enticingly, licking his way up to her jaw before shifting slightly to pull the soft lobe of her ear into his mouth. She flexed her fingers, pulling his body closer to her as he thrust himself deeper, earning a guttural moan of pleasure to escape from her lips.

One of her hands left his burning skin to fall backwards above her head. Using one hand, she pushed against the couch, increasing her rhythm, and meeting his thrusts with equal force. Throwing his head back, Grissom groaned her name, only to bury his head into her neck once again. Raking a hand up over her body, he opened his fingers and captured her breast, her taut nipple grazing his palm. He Squeezed the soft mound gently, and drew himself closer to her, feeling her walls starting to pulsate around his shaft.

      The pressure started in his balls as they began to tighten.  He could feel it coming, could feel his body beginning to shake with exertion.  His eyes closed and he dropped himself to hold on beneath Sara’s shoulders as her own body spasmed beneath his, her back arching and her legs pulling him into her with such fervor as her nails dug into his back. The crescendo, which had begun only moments before like a tidal wave pulling everything back, came tumbling over them, a veritable force of nature taking over.  Sara’s head flung back and a harsh guttural sound erupted from her throat, her body spasming around him.  He tried to keep his own head buried in her neck but it was yanked back by some unknown force and when he felt his seed explode within her, her name exploded from his lips, a calling out to all that was alive that this woman, who had stolen his heart and then his mind now had his soul in her possession.  He was hers, in every way that mattered and in those that didn’t. 

Sara completed him in ways that he never knew needed completion.  She added that extra dimension to his being that allowed him to feel like his days of mindless searching were finally at an end and then only thing left was to simply sit back and enjoy life from then on.  It was pure bliss. 

They came down from their ethereal ride through the stars and rested against each other as their breathing slowed and their hearts relaxed.  The flames cavorted on the logs, lovers of light creating their own luminescence and sending tiny sparks to dance in the air before disappearing completely.  Their glistening skin reflected the light and absorbed the heat as Grissom tugged a blanket down from the couch and covered their spent bodies. With Sara’s head resting on his arm and her back pressed into him, he saw the ring on her finger glowing with frosty brilliance.  It was just a rock really, but its worth was made boundless when it was given and accepted in the spirit of love. 

A soft sigh escaped Sara’s throat, her contentment soaking into the body of the man she loved, who was nestled behind her. Soon they would return back to reality, their work taking precedence over their stolen moments and secret glances. Trailing a hand down his arm (and) joining with his hand, she laced their fingers together. He held her tighter, a whispered “I love you” finding it’s way into her ear. She kissed his arm, the only place she could reach without disturbing them.  Closing her eyes, she squeezed his fingers, her whispered words of love causing him to burrow closer to her body. As they slipped into a peaceful slumber, cocooned in their own heavenly embrace, they left the outside world behind.