Tease

Title: Tease (5/??)
Author: Dani Shafer
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from CSI.
Feedback: DaniMarieShafer@aol.com
Pairingck/Sck/Sara
Rating: NC-17 (For mentions of crime scene nasties and sexual situations)
Summary: Sexual tension can take you a long way. How long will it take before Nick and Sara admit how they really feel?

AN: Huge thank you to Heather who beta'd this. Thank you oooooohhhhhh soooooo much :)


{Part 5}

They all worked in near silence, all submersed in the case as they meticulously gathered the evidence. Rebecca had been taken to the hospital for the small gash on the side of her head and the three CSI's were left to themselves. Warrick had said nothing about the obvious tear stricken look on Nick's face; the other man's shoulders drooped in fatigue and defeat. Sara looked pissed as hell, her lips held tight together as she huffed to her self. He was almost afraid to leave them alone together, not knowing what had transpired out side. If he knew Sara, he guessed it couldn't have been pleasant.

It was in the wee hours of mornihat hat they went back to the lab; all wearing weary looks as they marched towards the DNA lab. Doc Robbins had sent a page letting Warrick and Nick know he was ready for them, as Sara was left to piece together the clues that were left behind. Everyone stayed clear from Sara, her fists still balled at her sides as she completely immersed herself into the case. It was pretty cut and dry. They had blood and semen DNA, fingerprints and shoe tracks to link their guy with the case. Brass was out right now looking for him.

It was approaching the end of shift when Nick's phone went off, causing Sara to jump at the noise. Her heart was thumping against her chest, her lungs taking a few deep breaths to calm her self. He looked to her in apology as he flipped it open.

"Stokes." He answered turning his back on Sara as soon as he heard the Texas drawl on the other end of the phone.

Sara could only hear half of the conversation, but it was enough to make her blood begin to boil once more. Nick hadn't so much as even looked at her after her little outburst. Not that she could blame him. She was feeling increasingly guilty, and was working up her nerve to apologize. She was about to invite him to breakfast after shift so they could talk about things.

"Oh hey Becca. I'm glad your alright, uh huh... um yeah I can pick you up. You need a place to stay? Yeah you can crash with me for a couple of days until your parents get here. Okay I'll be there soon. Take care."

He hung up the phone, his eyes closed as he turned towards Sara. He didn't need to see her facr evr even hear her uneven breathing to know she was upset. Warrick took this as his cue to leave; he re did didn't need to be involved in the middle of their drama. He was going to see if Catherine needed any more help in closing up their case. They had caught their suspect about an hour ago, and Grissom was getting a confession from him right at that moment.

"Sara, she has no where else to go. She's scared and I have an extra bedroom." He supplied before she even had a chance to open her mouth.

He opened his eyes with a pained look buried deep in them. He didn't want to fight with her; things were still so new and fragile. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, things he wanted to show her.

"Whatever." She said, her tone belying the fake look of approval on her face. She was far from okay with the situation and he knew it.

"What does that mean?" He asked in confusion. He was tired, angry, upset and more than agitated. Neither had slept the day before and the emotional shock value of this case alone was enough to make even Grissom cringe. It was determined that Rachael had been raped before and after death.

"It means whatever, Nick. I have work to do, I'm just gonna stay here and finish up." She walked around the lab table before sitting down, choosing to completely ignore his presence.

Loose hairs of dark brown silk hung in front of her eyes as she furrowed her brow in concentration. "Sara." He shook his head, "You need sleep. Come with me, please? I need you. There is nothing more we can do on this case and you know it. We got him Sara." He said softly.

"Well lucky for you Becca will be there. If you don't mind I want to organize this." She turned her body away from his, ignoring the tears that were stinging her eyes.

It was for the best, she knew she had to push him away before she got hurt. She was already in love with him, her heart breaking the instant she saw the woman from his past leap into his arms. If he wanted to play hero to his ex-girlfriend she wasn't going to stop him.

"Your car is at my place." He said simply, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew there was no arguing with her when she was like this; too submerged in a case, too lost in her own feelings, and too shut off emotionally.

"I'll find someone to give me a ride. I'm a big girl and I'm more than capable of taking care of my self…or did we forget that?" She looked up into his eyes, her own completely cold and withdrawn.

Nick felt a wave of sadness wash over him. "If that's what you want. You know where to find me." He walked out of the lab, his hands buried in his pockets as he contemplated how in the hell he was going to fix what he had just done.

****

Sara tossed the wad of money at the cab driver, her legs weary and unstable as she gave an embarrassed glance towards Nick’s house. This was the last place on earth she wanted to be. In their h to to get to work this morning, Sara had left her keys somewhere in Nick's apartment, where she had no idea. She groaned, not even wanting to pull up the images of his naked body, the way his lips felt on her skin. She shivered.

It had been the single most passionate thing she had ever experienced. She cracked a small smile; if you count all the times they had made love it had certainly not been singular. He was an amazing lover; skilled and dedicated. She had never let herself go like that before, had never trusted another person to see deep inside of her soul. It had been breath defying to say the least.

She shook her head, willing Nick's perfect tanned body out of her head, the taste of his salty skin out of her mouth. She had realized about two hours after Nick had left that she didn't have her keys. She had planned to just stay at work, wrap up the rest of the evidence that she was processing and see if Grissom needed any help. She had been ordered; more like almost physically picked up and removed, by Grissom, to leave. She was told to go refresh and come back after she hatenaten, slept and showered.

Sara closed her eyes, walking slowly towards the door, wishing she could just climb into her Tahoe without having to actually go inside of his house. She really did feel bad for the way she had acted, the things that she had said. She groaned to herself, knowing that she owed him an apology… or twelve. He had said that he needed her, and she had denied him.

She knocked almost hesitantly at the door, her knuckles rapping against the wood. She waited impatiently, contemplating if it was possible to fall asleep while standing. She was about to find out when the door opened slowly, a small crack and a hint of auburn hair before it opened all the way up.

Sara stood speechless for a moment. She knew she was gaping, her eyes most likely bulging, but she couldn't help the shock that was frying her nerves. She knew Rebecca would be there, but somehow she didn't expect to see her. The "Becca" from before was now dressed in what she recalled as Nick's favorite Texas sweater, her long brown and red strands of hair laying damp and messy against the forest green cotton.

Her long smooth tanned legs were peeking out from under a hint of plaid boxers, the cotton shorts almost completely covered by the sweater. Nicks familiar scent came barreling towards her, his beautiful masculine scent tainted by her.

"Can I help you?" She asked hesitantly, her hand self-consciously moving to her neck that was painted in a ring of bluish bruises.

It took Sara a full minute of just staring with her mouth open. "Is Nick here?" She finally found her voice. She had a hard time keeping the bitterness out of her tone, but she was sure by the faltering look on the woman's face that she had been unsuccessful.

The brunette gave Sara a brief once over, looking at her in scrutinizing detail before she answered, a false smile on her face. "He ran to the store... said he was going to make me breakfast. He's a really good cook you know, always has beee she should be right back if you want to come back later."

Much to Sara's disgust, her accent seemed to hit full force as she turned on the charm, the glimpse of blinding white teeth almost too much for her to handle in one sitting.

"Well I really just came by to pick up my keys. See that's my SUV, I left them here yesterday. I really I just want to go home and get some sleep. Do you mind if I come in for a second and find them?" Her tone was too tired and drained of emotion for her to properly put the other woman in her place.

The girl nodded with a roll of her eyes, opening the door to let her in as she stepped out of the way. "You do look a little... frazzled?" She suggested as she walked back to the couch, tucking her long legs under her butt.

"Yeah well that's what happens when you work with no sleep the day before." Sara shot back, not even trying to sound friendly any more.

Becca watched as the girl whom she knew nothing about started searching around for her keys. The girl looked somewhat familiar but she couldn't place it. "Hey wait a sec!" She said as it hit her all of a sudden, Nick's description, the long hours, leaving her keys behind, "You're Sara, right?" How could she have not seen it right away? Maybe it was her own lack of tiredness catching up with her.

Sara was on her way down the hallway, towards his bedroom, when she heard her name. She turned just in time to see Nick stroll through the door, two large brown grocery bags balanced in his arms as he shut the door with his leg. He couldn't help the small smile he felt pull at the corner of his lips; she had come back. Before Sara could answer, Nick answered for her. "Rebecca meet Sara, Sara meet Rebecca." He placed the bags on the counter and made his way towards Sara, who was standing stiffly in the hallway, looking like she was about to fall over.

"Ah, so is the famous Sara I've heard all about for the last hour. I wanted to thank you for helping... with my sister and all…I didn't recognize you when you first came... I was a bit out of it." She gave a smile, suddenly feeling really bad for the way she treated her. She really had no idea who the girl was when she first showed up. She figured that Nick was just being his usual playboy self.

"You talked about me?" She asked in a small voice, her eyes suddenly looking hop and and lost.

Nick closed the distance between them, taking her thin frame into his arms, burring his head into her neck as he inhaled her scent deeply. He let the exhaustion of the night leave his body, nothing mattering except the girl in his arms. Sara hesitated for only a second before she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, her hands clutching at the back of his shirt.

They were both sniffling by the time they pulled apart, Sara looking slightly embarrassed. "Look Nick I'm sor...." She was cut off by his thick finger pressing against her lips, his eyes telling her that she didn't have anything to be sorry for.

"No need." He removed his finger from her lips, replacing them with his mouth as he kissed her softly.

Sara sighed, letting the feel of him surround her in warmth. She had felt cold all night long, the nagging chill running up her spine as she tried to warm herself with hot coffee and warm clothes. Nothing had worked.

"Sara why don't you go lay down, I'm just gonna get Becca situated then I'll be right in. You look like you're about to fall asleep." He stroked her face, his eyes locking with hers.

"I should go home, I came to get my keys…and…she needs you more than I do." She said softly. If she was honest with herself she wanted nothing more than to spoon up against his body, and feel the bare heat of his skin against her own. She wanted to loose her self in his embrace.

"You're not driving Sara. Go get in bed, I'll be there in a couple of seconds. Besides, I need you here." He ordered, turning her body and lightly shoving her way towards the bedroom.

Sara glanced towards Rebecca, who was looking at them with a touch of sadness in her eyes, obviously remembering something. "I guess we'll have a chance to meet later." Both girls gave a small smile as Sara opened the door to the bedroom with a groan then a soft click as it closed behind her.

They really had done a number on the bedroom. She couldn't help but smile as she peeled off her shirt, walking as she stripped herself of her pants. She climbed into the large bed, clad only in a pair of black thong panties and a matching bra. Sara sighed as she pulled the blankets up from the floor, his scent surrounding her as she closed her eyes and snuggled against his pillow. Sleep pulled at her almost instantaneously, her eyes fluttering as she began to dream of a day she wished that she could have forgotten.

TBC...