Author's note: The following chapter is the reason this story was given a 'mature' rating. Although acts of intimacy have been previously described, certain parts of this chapter are especially explicit. Let the reader use his or her own discretion before choosing to read further.

Also, please be aware that this is the final installment for We Meet Again, but fear not, Heather and Gil will be back soon in a new work titled Origins. Writing has already begun and posting will begin as soon as edits are underway.

No Man is an Island; except unto Himself

Scene one

She fed him a steak for lunch; steak with a baked potato, green beans, homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers. He sat at the bar in her roomy kitchen stuffed full from the excellently prepared meal; and happy. He tried, but could not recall the last time he felt as content as he felt at that moment. He was also sleepy. He had worked all night; gotten off shift and come directly to her house, because he hadn't seen or heard from her in exactly one week and the memory of the kiss they had shared that day at his townhouse was starting to haunt his mind. He'd needed sleep but he'd needed to see her more. He'd witnessed the scene Allison created when her grandfather had tried to force her to leave here without her customary good-bye hug. Then, after a brief discussion, Heather had led him upstairs to her bedroom.

To say that he was satisfied was a wild understatement. The first time they were together he was surprised and thrilled that she had let him take the lead; let him dominate the encounter. He could recall being somewhat nervous about it in the beginning; could recall hoping that he would do nothing to displease or disappoint her, but she had been more than willing to comply with any act he'd initiated. He now knew with complete certainty, that what had happened on their first passionate encounter would live in his memory for the rest of his days. No matter what happened, or didn't happen, between them from this point forward; he had that memory. It was theirs and theirs alone. After they were both spent, he'd fallen asleep only to wake three hours later and find their naked bodies entwined. She had woken also to find him reminiscing about their earlier passion and initiated a second delightful romp. Afterward she had been in a playful mood and had teased him; wickedly withholding information about her plans for the upcoming week.

Now he sat, both his body and his hunger sated, in her kitchen, looking at her on the opposite side of the bar. He was sleepy, after all the fun he'd engaged in this morning followed by such a heavy meal it was only natural; especially after working all night. He couldn't make himself get up from his seat though. He didn't want to get dressed and leave. He wanted to stay right where he was and go on being content and satisfied. He knew if he stepped out her front door the world would come rushing up and steal his peace and contentment. As he thought these thoughts he became aware that she was looking at him too. Actually she was more than looking at him. She was studying him intently. She was reading his mind again he thought a split second before she spoke.

"You don't have to go Gil. You're more than welcome to stay, but I have things to do today. Why don't you go up stairs and shower and sleep? You can have my bed. Do you have to work tonight? If so what time shall I wake you?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to wear out my welcome. No I don't work tonight."

"Let's try something; shall we? She smiled her 'cat that ate the canary' smile as she stood and leaned across the bar. She kissed him tenderly, and when the kissed ended after several long seconds she shook her head and said, "Nope, not much chance you'll wear your welcome thin today. Since you don't have to get up for work; sleep until you feel like getting up. I'll be here when you wake. You'll find everything you could possibly need in the bathroom upstairs; go on up have a nice shower. If you need anything just use the intercom system, it beats having to search the whole house."

She collected their plates and turned toward the sink. He sat watching her rinse dishes for a moment, and then walked around the end of the bar, and came to a stop behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him as he kissed her neck. "Thank you." He said simply.

"Um hmm." she hummed in response.

"Can I ask you something Heather?"

She hummed her reply again, "Hmm?"

"What's happening next week in D.C.?"

She bowed he head slightly and chuckled softly. "Still thinking about my date; are you? Well relax; it's time for the annual Marine Corps. Father/Daughter Dance. Dad and I used to go each year. We started when I was a little girl. We've missed it for a few years now. It's time we did it again."

"You're going to D.C. with your father?" He tried to sound anger with her, but couldn't quite pull it off. Instead, he wound up laughing at himself for being bothered when he had assumed that she was seeing someone.

"Actually I'm meeting him there. He has to fly over there the day after tomorrow on Corps. business."

Grissom was still laughing at himself as he said, "You could have just told me you were meeting your dad. You know; as opposed to some unnamed 'amazing man.' Do you have any idea what I thought?"

She lifted her head and gazed up at him with an evil gleam in her green eyes. "I know precisely what you thought, and it's not as if I lied. My father is an amazing man." She chuckled softly.

"Oh you wretched woman! You did that on purpose!'' He accused while trying unsuccessfully not to continue laughing.

Her only reply was a self-amused smile.

He grumbled, "I'm going upstairs for a shower now. See if you can stay out of trouble while I sleep; will you?"

As he delivered those instructions he swatted her smartly on the backside and then turned and left the kitchen. As he made his way toward the stairs, she called after him laughing;

"If my getting into trouble provokes that kind of response, then I'll have to see what other mischief I can get into Gil."

Scene two

Grissom pushed open the door to the master bath and let out a low whistle of amazement as he took in the sight before him. The color scheme was mixture of attractive shades of pale green. There was marble and brushed nickel everywhere he looked. He knew that this bathroom had not come with the house at the time of purchase. There was simply too much of her in this room to assume anything other than she'd had the master bath done to her exact desires. Heather had spent a fortune on the remodeling of this room to get it the way it was now.

There was a sunken tub with whirl pool jets that Grissom could swear was big enough to park a small car in, a long vanity facing a well lit mirror that ran the length of one wall, numerous drawers and cabinets, the toilet, an in-wall heater to keep the room cozy on cold desert nights, and a walk-in shower that was bigger than his entire downstairs bathroom.

He peeked into the shower. There were three mounted shower heads on one wall, a separate hand-held shower head that hung alone on the wall opposite the other three. He noticed a small hard plastic stepstool on the floor under the hand-held shower attachment and thought instantly of Allison. The hand-held one had undoubtedly been installed recently to accommodate the small toddler. There was a bench seat build into one of the tile walls, and lighting that could be adjusted according to preference. He stepped out of the shower and adjusted the corresponding switches and dials for the lights inside and shook his head in amusement as he thought to himself. Oh Heather; mood lighting; in the shower! He laughed aloud when he discovered a niche in the wall just outside the shower that was just big enough to hold a small CD player/radio. He switched on the CD player and soft, romantic-sounding, classical music gently filled the air.

Well she certainly knows how to live, he thought.

Next he opened her medicine cabinet and found exactly what he'd expected to find in a woman's medicine cabinet; soap, aspirin, deodorant, tampons, razor, etc. He closed the door and opened a drawer in the vanity; wondering what was wrong with him. The only time he ever snooped through other people's bathrooms was when he was collecting evidence. In that drawer he found an insulin kit and nothing more He closed it and moved on. In the next drawer he found dental floss, a new tube of tooth paste and several unopened toothbrushes. He took one and opened it and then brushed his teeth using the tooth paste that was already on the counter in the stand next to her battery operated tooth brush, and a child-size one that was pink and had a red haired mermaid on it. He peeled off his boxers and folded them over an empty towel rack and then opened a moderate size cabinet looking for fresh towels and wash clothes. What he found though was a series of small neat shelves inside holding various bottles of perfumes. Most of them looked as if they hadn't been touched more than once. There was one though that was nearly empty. He picked it up and removed the cap and inhaled. It was her scent. He studied the bottle and made a mental note of the name then put it away. In the bottom of the cabinet below the shelves with all the sampled, but not used perfumes, he found a man's shaving kit complete with shaving brush, foam, aftershave, scissors, and a nice electric razor, in addition to a very sharp old-fashioned straight razor.

It was clear to him, after closer inspection, that the kit hadn't been used. It didn't belong to someone in particular; it was just there to be used. He looked in the mirror and decided to pull out the scissors and trim his beard a bit. Afterward he cleaned up after himself put the kit away, and opened another door.

This time he found thick fluffy white towels and washcloths; took one of each and headed for the shower. The shower was divine; hot, steamy, and the water pressure was just hard enough to almost hurt.

When he stepped out again; patting himself dry he was surprised to find his boxers mysteriously missing from the once-again empty towel rack. Next to the towel rack, a fluffy, white, large, bathrobe hung on a hook. The robe hadn't been there when he had gotten into the shower. The wall heater was on too; switched to the low setting.

He wrapped the towel around his hips and walked to the bedroom looking at the spot on the floor where he remember dropping his clothes earlier that morning. They were gone too. She had come in and picked up his clothes while he was showering and he hadn't even noticed.

Damn... she moves like a cat,

He turned to face the bed, and realized that the sheets had been changed. The comforter was turned down for him.

Damn, is this a dominion or a five star hotel?

He found the intercom console, and pushed the button labeled 'kitchen.' "Heather?" he waited…no answer. He got the same result with 'solarium' and struck gold with 'front parlor.'

"Yes Gil?" came her reply after a few seconds.

"Where are my clothes?'

He could hear the faint hint of amusement in her voice when it came back through the speaker. "I assume you wore those to work last night. They are in the washer now. They'll be clean and fresh by the time you get up. Go to sleep Gil.

"Okay." It seemed he had no choice but to do as she said. He dropped his damp towel, climbed into her bed and slept.

Scene three

He woke to find himself sprawled flat on his back in the center of her bed. The room was dimly lit by a single oil lamp across the room from the bed. Night had fallen. He looked for a clock. There wasn't one to be found anywhere in the room.

Odd; how does she know what time it is if she wakes up in the middle of the night, or any other time for that matter?

As he wondered this he scanned the room; there was a bottle of water sitting within his reach on her bedside table. He touched it and found it cool. She'd put it there only recently. He sat up and took a drink, then continued his observation of his surroundings.

He saw his clothes washed, dried, and hung neatly on a hanger on the hook on the back of her closet door. His socks and boxers waited from him in the seat of a chair not far from the bed. His shoes were tucked under the same chair. There was writing on the vanity mirror across the room.

Her note read:

G. ~ If you get up and I am gone, I had to go get A. There's a conflict in J's schedule and he needs me to pick her up. There's fresh lemonade in the fridge; help yourself. I'll be back soon. ~H

He got up; slipped into his boxers and went to the mirror to inspect it more closely. He found a red dry erase marker on top of her vanity and grinned.

Smart. All she has to do is wipe it away. No worries I'd miss it either.

He looked at his watch and was mildly shocked to see that it was nearly six-thirty. He dressed quickly, minus his socks and shoes, and grabbed his phone and pager from the top of her dresser.

He wasn't surprised to find both turned off. This wasn't the first time he'd slept here. She had a habit of removing potential distractions he noticed, and then he wondered if that was why there was no clock in this room. He felt undressed without his watch, pager and cell phone, but maybe she felt that the same objects hindered her in some way. As he mulled this over in his mind, he marveled at how comfortable he felt here in this house, and headed for the stairs.

When he reached the ground floor he stood still, and listened hard. He could here the faint giggle of a happy little girl coming from the direction of the kitchen. He headed that way and when he reached the archway that led into the room he stood still and watched what was happening for a moment.

Heather stood facing the bar and was vigorously whipping a spoon through some white substance in a glass bowl. Whatever the stuff was it was turning red with each whip of the spoon.

He inhaled and realized that the heavy, sweet aroma of cake filled the room. Allison sat cross-legged on top of the bar, not two feet from a row of three unfrosted cakes that were cooling on wire racks. Each of the cakes was the color of bubble gum.

The girl was watching the bowl in front of her grandmother. "Not right Nana. Wrong color; I want pink." Heather stopped whipping what he now assumed had to be frosting for the pink cake. She set her spoon aside, and brushed her bangs off her forehead with the back of her hand before gently patting the girl's face. This act made him take note of the fact that Heather's hair was pulled up off the back of her neck, and pinned to the top of her head; probably more to keep it out of the way than because of the temperature in the room. It was cool in here. Obviously the oven had been off for a while now.

"I know, Honey. I'm working on it; some patience please."

"Okay Nana."

"What color is this?" Heather asked pointing into the bowl.

"Red." Allison answered quickly and with complete certainty in her voice as she nodded her head for emphasis.

"That's my girl." Heather declared with a proud smile. "Now watch this." Heather spooned more white frosting into that bowl from another bowl that was sitting under a tall electric mixer on the countertop to her right. She started whipping the frosting again and the color in the bowl gradually became less red. She stopped again and picked up a small bottle of food coloring that was red and added one small drops very carefully. She took hold of the spoon again and the color in the bowl softened quickly as she resumed the whipping process.

After another minute, Heather picked up the food coloring again and Allison said. "I do it; I help."

"Okay Honey, but you have to be very careful. If you put in too much it will turn dark red again."

"I don't want red." She shook her head hard.

Heather set the bowl aside and went to a cabinet across the room, saying over her shoulder," Sit still okay Allison."

Grissom grinned as he watched the girl lean over a bit from her place in the center of the bar, and peek at the floor. She then sat up very straight and very still for moment before she declared, "I not fall off Nana."

Heather returned to her spot with a small saucer in her hand. "Here Honey; let's practice on this saucer first." She held the saucer and offered the small bottle to her granddaughter. "See if you can get just one drop out, don't squeeze too hard."

The girl tentatively tried, and nothing happened.

"You can squeeze the bottle harder than that Honey."

Next she squeezed too hard and a tiny river of red splashed onto the saucer.

"Uh oh." She said realizing her own mistake, and looking frustrated.

"You can do it Baby; try again" Heather coaxed.

She did and this time she got only two drops out of the bottle. She frowned and screwed up her little face and concentrated really hard and when she tried again she got only one drop from the bottle.

Allison grinned up at Heather, as she moved the saucer out of their way and placed the bowl of frosting between them again.

"Go ahead; one drop." Heather encouraged.

Out came the look of concentration again as Allison held the bottle over the bowl of frosting. One drop fell from the bottle as Grissom watched holding his breath. He knew enough to understand that this was an important moment to the child. She was trying to accomplish something new with her small, still uncoordinated, hands and she wanted it to go well.

Heather took the bottle from her and set it safely out of reach so it wouldn't be accidentally spilled. "Let's see if that will work okay." Heather began by folding in s bit more white frosting before she started to whip the bowls contents once again. After a few long moments she held the bowl out for Allison to look into.

"Now…what color is that kiddo?"

"Pink!" She squealed with delight.

"Perfectly pink!" Heather confirmed. "What do you say; we frost this cake?"

"Yes Nana!"

As he watched Heather placed one layer of cake on top of a large cake stand that was sitting on top of a 'Lazy Susan' turntable. She applied a thin layer of frosting to the top of the cake only, then carefully stacked another layer of cake on top of that one and repeated the process. When she frosted the top of the finally layer of cake and began to add frosting to the sides, Allison looked around, catching sight of him, and announced, "Nana, he waked up."

Heather looked up from her work and smiled at him. Her eyes traveled the full length of his body twice over, and when her eyes returned to his, and he saw lust igniting in their depths before she spoke.

"Hi; come on in. We're making cake. You want to lick the spoon?" She asked offering him the spoon she had been whipping frosting with and gave him a wicked wink

He accepted the spoon and said "Yes, I can see you're making cake. What's the occasion?" He asked while scraping frosting off the end of the spoon with his index finger and sampling it. It tasted like strawberries.

He winked back at Heather thinking he'd like to lick strawberry frosting off something other than this spoon, but didn't dare to say it because there was a small child staring up at him from her place on the bar.

One look into Heather's green eyes told him that he didn't need to say a word. She knew exactly what he was thinking; as usual. He got lost in his thoughts for a second until a small voice interrupted his delicious daydream.

"It's my birthday." Allison announced.

He looked at her first, then at Heather. "Today is?"

Heather clarified, "No it's tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow Mr. Gristom. I get castle cake, and me and Nana are gonna go ride the horses before my party. I get presents too!" She informed him with enthusiasm.

He smiled looking down at the happy girl." Is Grissom hard to say?"

She frowned at him. "I did it wrong?"

"That's okay Sweetheart. Don't worry about it. You can call me Gil if that's easier for you."

She cocked her head to one side thinking about this bit of news and then she looked to her grandmother for approval.

"It's okay if he says it is Honey." Heather assured her while still applying frosting to the cake.

"Okay Mr. Gil." She chimed happily.

He laughed. "Good. Now…tell me what castle cake is."

Allison looked at him in astonishment. "Castle cake." She said as if any idiot knew about it, and waving both hands toward the cake her grandmother was frosting.

Heather chuckled at the exclamation and at the confused look on his face. "Oh Allie, Honey, something tells me that Mr. Gil hasn't spent a lot of time looking at little girl's birthday cakes." To him she said, "When we get through here, this three layer cake will look like a castle."

"A pink castle." Allison stated as if Heather had forgotten a very important detail.

"A perfectly pink castle." Heather clarified; indulging her granddaughter.

"That cake is going to look like a castle?" he asked somewhat skeptical. "A pink castle," he added after catching sight of the stern look Allison gave him.

The girl rewarded his correction with a brilliant happy smile and Heather nodded affirmatively.

He looked at the cake. It looked like….well, like three tall layers of rectangular pink cake. How it was ever going to look like a castle he didn't know, but he thought it would be best not to say so in front of Allison. "Okay, this… I've got to see." He announced.

"Pull up a seat and prepare to be amazed." Heather flirted; glancing up from her task, smiling at him, and enjoying the silent desire between the two of them.

He sat down on a bar stool to watch and caught Allison gazing at the frosting covered spoon that he was neglecting. He smiled and handed it to her and she beamed. "Thank you Mr. Gil."

"Enjoy it for me." he said.

She nodded as she enthusiastically licked frosting straight off the end of the spoon.

Heather laughed at Allison as the girl accidentally smeared pink frosting on the tip of her nose and then went cross-eyed trying to see the smudge, wiped it away, and licked her fingers. "I predict a sugar rush and a very hyper little girl in about half an hour. Her grandfather is going to just love you for that Gil." She said with mild sarcasm.

He shot her a questioning look.

"He'll be here in forty-five minutes to pick her up, and by then that sugar will have kicked in and she will be hyper. He's got a tough night ahead of him"

She finished frosting the cake, then set it aside and began tidying up some of the mess; putting away what she no longer needed, washing dishes quickly and taking out what Grissom guessed was a bag of cake decorating tools. She also opened a cabinet and brought out a box of 'Milk Duds ' candies and a box of ice cream cones.

She smiled seductively at him as she coved the bowl that still held a moderate amount of pink frosting with plastic wrap and walked across the kitchen with it; setting it out of the way on a different section of countertop.

She took the nearly licked-clean spoon away from her granddaughter and rinsed it in the sink before pulling up a barstool and sitting down. She pulled the cake back to its former position in front of her, gave it a thoughtful look for a moment, and then she set to work. She laid out in neat rows, odd shaped plastic bags and fastened metal tips to the end of each bag.

Both Grissom and Allison were fascinated and watched quietly.

She smiled at her captive audience and began to place heaping spoonfuls of the remaining white frosting from the mixer into each bag. Grissom picked up the frosting bag closest to him and looked at the tip she had secured. "Different tips make different designs." She explained. "Didn't your mother ever bake you a birthday cake?"

"Yes, but the ones that were decorated when I was child, came from the bakery."

"Oh, so you never got to help decorate your own cake then?" she frowned. "That's sad. I helped my mother make mine. After she died, Nana Zoë took over for her. Zoë and I always made hers together. Now it's Allison's turn to experience it. I have these great, warm, wacky memories of cake decorating days."

Grissom shrugged, "We have other traditions. Yours sound like they must have been delightful though."

"They were; and still are." she said pausing in her task to reach out and pat Allison affectionately.

He and Allison watched her as she began to outline the edges of the cake, and when she finished that particular task, she began to 'draw' doors and windows on the sides of the cake. She opened the box of candies and gave a few to Allison.

"Put them where door knobs are supposed to be, Honey." She instructed quietly as she spun the cake slowly on the wheel. Allison found a door and looked at the candy in her hand. After a moment's thought she carefully pressed it into the frosting in the right place and then clapped her hands when Heather nodded and winked at her. They repeated the process for each door, and then Heather selected a bag of frosting and 'wrote' on top of the cake.

Allison observed carefully and wanted to know, "What's that?"

"It says 'Happy Birthday Allison'." Heather informed her.

The girl looked hard at the writing, "Show me Allison."

Heather indicated which word was her name, and she cocked her head and studied the word closely. After a quiet moment she nodded her approval of what she saw and Heather smiled at her.

Next Heather opened the box of ice cream cones and took out several. She spooned a small amount of frosting into each cone and then quickly inverted it and set it down on top of the cake. Grissom grinned as ice cream cones became castle turrets. She ran a ribbon of frosting around the base of each one and dotted the points of the cones with a spot of frosting.

Next she scooped Allison carefully down from the countertop, and instructed her, "Go upstairs and get me some of the people from inside your 'Little People' castle. We can use them to decorate and after the party we can wash the frosting off and you can play with them again"

Allison bolted from the room with Heather calling out, "Walk up the stairs please!"

He heard the thump of her little feet slow to a more suitable pace. Heather grinned at him and shook her head. She walked around the end of the bar coming up close, stopping right in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "Hi." She whispered.

He grinned and whispered "Hi" back.

"I planned to do all this tomorrow, but the kink in Jerome's plans threw a kink into mine. Sorry."

"No apologies necessary. I'm having fun."

She studied him for a moment and when she decided he wasn't placating her, she kissed him; long, slow, tender and sweet. "We'll have a different kind of fun later." she promised as she ended the kiss and they heard the tell-tale sounds of Allison's impending speedy return. They could faintly hear her small feet pounding the floor overhead and when she slowed her pace suddenly. Grissom guessed she'd reached the stairs. Heather stepped to a place beside his stool as she stared at the ceiling, and let one of her hands come to rest gently at the back of his neck. They both listened and wondered why the girl had slowed down as much as she had. The sound of her footsteps had slowed too much, and they could hear an occasional banging noise. The moment she reached the first floor they knew it, because she took off running again as fast as her feet would carry her amid a loud noise Grissom couldn't identify.

She stood in the kitchen archway in no time at all, and they both realized what had slowed her down so much on her descent. She hadn't brought down just the toys from inside her castle, but the entire castle. Grissom looked at the thing in amazement that she hadn't toppled down the stairs trying to carry it. It was plastic, had a handle for carrying it on top, and it was nearly as tall as she was. He could see her ankles and feet, and he could see her from the nose up. That was it; the rest of her was hidden from view behind the toy, and with every step that she took, her knees banged against the side of the castle.

She set it down with a light thud right at Grissom's feet and said. "Help me," looking up at him with big eyes. He didn't understand what she wanted, so he glanced at Heather.

"The latches that hold the case together," she said pointing, "She can fasten them herself but once they are done, she has a hard time getting them undone."

Grissom tried the first latch and understood why the little girl needed his help; it locked down tightly. After he had all the latches undone, and it took a moment because Allison had to point out a few to him, she pulled the toy open and he could see inside.

He now could understand why she had carried the whole thing down. She had used it as a carrying case. All kinds of toys spilled out onto the floor; including some he was sure didn't come with the castle; like a toy race car and a worn out looking teddy bear.

She sorted through the mess until she found, a pint sized princess, a prince, a knight in armor, a tiny toy cannon, a stage coach, two toy horses, and a dragon. She handed all these things to Heather, and then without asking she climbed up into Grissom's lap to supervise what happened next.

Grissom was shocked that she clearly felt at ease climbing up onto his lap, but he decided to go with the flow. Heather smiled her approval of this as she walked back around the bar to her seat, and faced them once again.

"Okay Honey where do you want to put all this stuff." Heather wanted to know.

"On top." Allison declared.

"You can't put horses on top of a castle." Grissom told her. "The dragon, maybe, but not the horses."

She turned her little face up to his without turning around on his lap; putting the top of her head against his chest, she smiled a sweet upside down smile, and then she boldly announced, "Uh huh, can too! It's my birthday, my cake, and my castle. I put my horse on top if I want! Huh Nana?

"It's your cake; you put the horses anywhere you like." Heather sided with her and laughed.

Allison set about putting all the toys on top of her cake, and the scampered down to retrieve something else and climbed back up again. Sitting on her knees in his lap she leaned over the cake and dropped the toy race car right in the center of the roof of the pink castle cake and then glanced up at Grissom to see his reaction.

He grinned at her and announced, "That is the most awesome birthday cake I've ever seen."

She bounced on his lap; then turned and hugged him hard. With her face nuzzled into his neck; she said, "You come to my party, help me eat the castle. Bring your big dog Hank. I miss him. He can eat cake too."

He looked to Heather.

"The party starts at four. If you come and then you have to leave that's okay. She'll be too busy playing to mind, but if you don't show at all it'll hurt her."

He nodded in response to Heather's comment and rubbed Allison's back.

"I'll be here Allison; I'll bring Hank along too." He assured her.

"It'll be out back at the stables." Heather said. "The party won't be anything huge; just me, Jerome, and three of her playmates."

He nodded and then said, "Wait, the stables are here? This morning when Jerome motioned them, I didn't realize they were on the property."

"They are about a half mile from the back door." She smiled at his surprised expression.

"This place is bigger than I thought then."

"Not much bigger, the fence behind the stable marks the east property line." She said as she began tidying up again.

Before he could respond the door bell sounded, and he heard a familiar male voice call out. "Heather, it's just me."

"We're in the kitchen." She called back.

Seconds later Jerome Kessler stepped into view in the kitchen archway. "Hi there June bug." The man said eyeing first his granddaughter, and then Grissom, whose lap she was still in. "Are you ready to go?"

Allison kissed Grissom's cheek and scampered off his lap before he had time to respond. She ran around the counter and Heather scooped her up hugging her tightly. She kissed the child's forehead and asked, "Who loves you?" as she walked across the room to hand her to her grandfather.

"You do!" Allison exclaimed happily.

"That's right; I do." Heather assured the girl. To Kessler she said," She ate a sandwich about two hours ago so she'll be hungry again soon. She also sampled a serving of frosting with Mr. Grissom's help. So don't be surprised if she gets a bit hyper tonight from all the sugar. Her bag is in the foyer ready to go."

The man took hold of the child, but held her out away from his suit. He grimaced, "She's a bit sticky Heather."

Heather wet a clean cloth from one of the drawers beside the sink and went to stand beside them. "Hand." She prompted Allison. The child stuck out a hand, and let herself be tended to. They repeated the process for the other hand, and then her face and neck as Grissom looked on.

Allison insisted on showing off her cake to her grandfather and after a few moments of praising the cake. They left, leaving Heather and he alone together. He watched her clean up the last of the cake decorating mess. He picked up all the toys at his feet and stowed them back in the castle and locked it closed. Then, he moved it to a corner of the room and returned to his seat. As he sat down, she was wiping the counters and bar top with a damp cloth, and when she finished she sat down opposite him and pitched the cloth into the sink before smiling at him.

"She's wonderful." He said, referring to Allison.

"She's her mother." Heather said with a nod of her head.

"She's you." He corrected her.

She was quiet, simply enjoying the sight of him for a long beat, before she asked, "You want some supper?"

He pursed his lips in thoughtful consideration for one brief instant before slowly shaking his head. "I want you." He said getting to his feet and rounding the bar.

He kissed her mouth hard, as he freed her hair from its pins and felt it tumble over his hands and through his fingers. She melted into his greedy kiss and tangled her own fingers in the curls at the back of his head. She arched her back and hips rubbing against him, and the desire he'd been fighting down while Allison was present roared to life in a very noticeable way. She moaned into their kiss as she felt his erection press against her lower abdomen.

He tore his mouth from hers and looked her over. She was barefooted and standing on her toes; as she pressed against him. She was wearing a loose-fitting red top that hung down to her mid thigh and a pair of black form-fitting knit leggings. He wondered what was underneath her clothes. It's probably satin, or silk. He mused and began to unfasten the buttons of the top; eager to find out. He placed his hands inside the collar and she closed her eyes as he eased the soft fabric over her shoulders, baring her from the waist up.

He had been wrong. She wore no bra at all, and he felt a low rumble rise in his throat. Hed growled at the sight of her bare breasts. He cupped both in his hands and flicked a thumb over each nipple. His mouth watered when they went hard in response to his touch. He lowered his head and caressed the right nipple with his lips and felt her tremble. He slowly parted his lips prolonging the act; teasing her. He stalled until he felt her press herself against his mouth; silently asking for more from him. He drew her firm nipple into his mouth sucked lightly against her warm flesh and felt a shiver run through her. He let go of that nipple and decided to give its twin a different treatment He pulled her left nipple into his mouth quickly, not teasing at all the second time around. He ran the top of his rough tongue, over her sensitive flesh, and then sucked hard. She gasped aloud and dug her fingernails into the back of his neck as her body shuddered violently against his. He lifted his face to look at her, placing his thumb where his mouth had been, and massaging her slowly. One look at her face told him she was already very near to a climax. He'd either have to hurry his along: or bring her to pleasure first and then catch up later. He decided on the latter rather than the former.

He kept his thumb on her breast working slow easy circles to keep her stimulated without pushing her over the edge. He kissed her mouth lightly, and then lowered himself to his knees. She sensed the change in his position and opened her eyes to look down into his. Heather gave him a look that made fire shoot threw his groin and for a moment he thought he was going to climax from the look alone. He took his hand from her breast and slipped both his thumbs inside the waistband of her leggings at either hip and gently lowered them. Her satin panties matched the color of the shirt that now lay on the floor. He lowered the leggings to her ankles and felt her hands at his shoulders as she stepped out of them. He tossed them aside and peeled her panties away quickly but instead of tossing them aside after she stepped out of them, he rose to his feet again, and when she arched an eyebrow in question of his next act, he slipped them into his pants pocket.

Heather smiled, trembled slightly, and waited, He held her gaze as he slid one hand between her thighs a few inches south of where he wanted to be. He lightly tapped the inside of one thigh with his palm, and she understood the unspoken command and widened the gap between her legs for him. He slowly eased his hand upward, making her wait for his touch. When she tried to hurry him along by lowering her body slightly he removed his hand and looked at her sternly.

"No, you will wait. Is that understood?"

She frowned, but did not argue. He waited looking at her; demanding more of an answer. She nodded slowly.

"Good." He said reaching out and caressing her face as he stepped away.

Her gaze followed him as he walked across the kitchen and picked up the bowl of pink strawberry flavored frosting. He turned; coming back to her slowly. He watched her stare at the bowl in his hand and saw a small shudder of anticipation pass through her body. He set the bowl on the counter that was to her back, and removed the plastic wrap. He dipped his finger into the bowl, and scooped out a small amount.

Grissom watched her watching him and when he licked the frosting off his fingertip, she licked her lips. He placed the same fingertip back in the bowl and drew out a much smaller amount of frosting the second time. Next, he placed that same fingertip against her bottom lip and smeared the tiny bit of frosting gently across the lip still swallow by his earlier kiss.

She waited patiently for him to finish; enjoying the feel of his touch against her mouth. When he stopped; she waited still. He smiled his approval, and nodded. She slowly licked her bottom lip savoring the small sweet taste.

"No more for you." he declared. "My plans tonight don't include a trip to the emergency room."

"That's nice to know, Gil"

"Be quiet Heather; unless you are told otherwise." He ordered without raising his voice above a whisper.

She looked him in the eye, not out of defiance, but to show him that she understood the rule and would comply, and then slowly nodded her head.

"Very good; I trust you will behave if I continue now."

She nodded silently, and to reward her compliance he dipped two fingers into the bowl, and then placing the same two fingers in the hollow between her breasts; he 'painted' the flesh over her breastbone and licked the frosting away slowly. Next, he smeared generous amounts of frosting to each breast, and stared at her for a long beat; drawing out the anticipation he saw in her eyes. As he had done before, he teased the right breast, moving slowly; deliberately. Once he had slowly removed all the frosting there; intentionally pushing her closer to climax but holding back enough that a small whimper of frustration escaped her, He went for the left breast with greed. He licked roughly, sucked hard, and bit with just enough force to make her cry out. Her knees gave way, but he was quick; wrapping an arm around her and cupping her ass to keep her standing. He held her gaze and waited for her to steady herself, and she did so quickly. He let go of her and set about smearing more frosting on her body; this time in a straight line down her torso to her navel and slightly beyond. He knelt again and moving from the bottom up, he licked it all away slowly, flicking his tongue against her now and again to tease her. Each time he back tracked over the slight curve of her belly, he felt her try not to squirm under the caress of his mouth.

"What; tell me. Do you like that?" He asked looking up for a moment.

"Yes Gil; very much, but your beard tickles." She shrugged.

He smiled, "Do you want me to stop?"

Her eyes went wide at the thought and she vigorously shook her head, "No."

He smiled again; lightly kissed her belly, and then flicked his tongue into her belly button.

Heather moaned with both pleasure and frustration at the slow pace he was taking. He eased a hand between her thighs again and felt her tense slightly, this time restraining her urge to hurry him along. He caressed the top of one thigh softly; to tease her again and she groaned in response looking down into his eyes.

He held her gaze as he moved his hand up; lightly trailing two fingers along the warm flesh that he wanted to taste next. His touch intensified the flash of desire in her eyes, but for a moment he only touched her. He wanted to make this last as long as possible for both of them. He watched her eyes and when he knew it was the right time he pushed those two fingers into her hot wet center. Her breath caught in her throat and then came rushing out with a low moan. He began to stoke his fingers inside her; teasing her clit and feeling her response intensify. He pinched her clit lightly and when she whimpered the stiff shaft between his legs twitched. He pinched harder and she broke eye contact as her head rolled back on her shoulders. Grissom increased the pressure of his fingers, taking his penetration slowly from gentle to rough. Heather tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled with one hand. The other hand found his shoulder and she dug her finger nails in; trying to restrain her response to the stimulation his touch was providing. She began to tremble uncontrollably, and he slid his fingers nearly out of her and when she cried out in complaint he thrust them back in hard and deep. She arched into his touch, clamped down hard and let go. Her body shuddered and rolled against his fingers and palm as the climax rocked her body hard and he placed his free hand against her abdomen and pressed her back against the counter to steady her. He kept the other hand where it was until he felt her loosen her grip on his fingers, and even after the intensity of her grip lessened she still twitched and trembled involuntarily. He stayed and stoked her again gently until her head came forward again and she smiled at him placing both her hands on his shoulders for support as she started to kneel in front of him.

"No." He saw her halt immediately and stare down at him more intently, waiting for further instruction. "I'm not finished yet Heather. You stay where you are."

She gazed into his eyes for a moment more with no reply, and the quietly nodded. He slipped his hand free and reached for the bowl on the counter. He brought the bowl to the floor beside him. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his intention became clear to her, but Grissom did not look up as he dipped his fingers back into the bowl. He took a good sized dollop of frosting and held it up, pausing to let her think about what was going to happen.

She closed her eyes and hummed in anticipation of ecstasy even before he touched her, but the moment she felt frosting touch the delicate place between her thighs her eyes flew open.

Grissom gently rubbed the frosting into place and watched her face as he did so. She whimpered and licked her lips, waiting for the feel of his mouth against her. He took his hand away, and moved his mouth nearer, and she shivered when she felt his breath against her. He caressed her with his lips; slowly, with a feather light touch, and after a few long seconds of this she could no longer resist the urge to buck her hips against his mouth. He did not scold her this time. Instead, he put his hands on her hips and helped her angle them just right for the most pleasure. The first time she felt his tongue her head rolled back onto her shoulders again and she cried out as a shudder rolled through her.

He put his tongue to good use and licked away all the sticky frosting as slowly as he possibly could, but he was loosing the will go on prolonging his own pleasure. He wanted her; needed her.

When there was no longer any frosting between his rough tongue, and her tender flesh, he flicked his tongue over her clit and the pulled it between his lips rolling his tongue behind it, and sucking hard enough to make her shudder again, grind against his hungry mouth, and let go of a scream that sent a bolt of raging desire through him that was too strong to ignore. He rose to his feet unbuckling his belt.

She slapped his hands away from his pants and finished the task for him roughly; pulling his belt free of his pants in one fluid movement, and tossing it to the floor. She pulled at his button and zipper with wild desire in her eyes. Once she had both open she reached into his boxers; found what she wanted; pulled him free of both his boxers and slacks and rubbed tenderly once before she smiled a devious smile and squeezed his balls so hard his vision blurred and he thought he'd release right then.

His chest heaved as he struggled to maintain control for just a little longer. He yanked her hands away groaning and turned around pulling her with him away from the counter. Moving forward fast, he pushed her backward across the room until her back hit the tall cabinet that served as her pantry. She reached out and popped open the first few buttons on his shirt and then pulled it over his head and threw it across the room. He picked her up off the floor and growled into her neck as he felt her legs wrap around him. Pinning her flat against the cabinet, he thrust into her hard and deep. She didn't mind the rough treatment in the least; she was more than ready and he slid in easily thanks to her previous climax. She bucked against him, wild with passion; meeting his every thrust with one of her own. She had played alone happily when he'd wanted to dominate until this point. Now her submissive role was forgotten; she gave as good as she got, putting all of her power into their union. Grissom let her, and did the same himself. He got lost in their rhythm.

He heard a sound he did not recognize at first, but he soon realized that the animal-like noise he heard was coming from him. He heard himself growl, and then swear as she clamped down around his shaft and sunk her nails into his back. Her release caused his and he forgot everything in the world except for the sensation of her hot wet sex wrapped tightly around his own.

He had no idea how long they stayed there afterward. Awareness of time escaped him. It could have been forty-five seconds or forty-five minutes, but when he became aware of the world around him again Heather's lower lip was trickling blood for the second time that day.

"You make a habit of biting down every time?" he asked her while gently pressing his thumb to the sore lip.

"No, not every time, only when it's really good," she whispered in his ear as she nudged her hips against his for emphasis of her point. She was still pressed up against the cabinet doors; with her legs wrapped his hips.

In appreciation of her compliment he squeezed her backside playfully before he set her on her feet and he said. "Glad to oblige you, but try not to do that too often. I don't entirely like the idea of you bleeding."

She arched an eyebrow, looked up into his eyes and smiled knowingly, "But, you don't entirely dislike it either."

He did not argue with what she said; he couldn't, but he frowned because she was right.

She smiled and caressed his cheek gently. "Don't worry about it Gil. It's perfectly okay, and if it really bothers you that much that I do it. Then, instead, next time I'll just bite you back." He nodded and rested his face in her hair, and then her words registered in his mind.

"Wait. What? You'll bite me back?"

In reply she nodded her chin toward a spot just below her left collar bone. He looked and was completely shocked to see a bite mark there that was rapidly bruising.

"Good Lord! I did that?"

She laughed at him. "You are the only one here Darling.

He shook his head trying to recall exactly when he'd done it; he couldn't. She was reading his mind again though and she supplied the answer he was searching for.

"It was right before you came Gil." She smiled. "I knew you weren't aware you did it. That's why I didn't bite back in return."

He frowned again. "I didn't want to hurt you Heather."

"Are you sure about that one?" She asked smiling patiently. "You once told me that you know who you are Gil, and I refrained from comment for two reasons. One, you believed what you said was true; and two; you weren't ready to hear differently. But, now I think it's time… I think it's time you ask yourself why you are so comfortable here with me when you are so uncomfortable in most of all the other places you spend your life. You don't have to answer that out loud; just think about it for a while… and don't worry about biting me. If you do anything I don't like; I do know how to say stop."