JE owns all the rights to anything or anyone familiar.
Big thanks To Margaret and LilyGhost for letting me bounce ideas off them.
Beta is still on vacation so apologies for errors.
Ranger's chest was bare and glistened with beads of water from his swim in the Pacific. The black boardshorts he was wearing were riding precariously low on his hips and he was standing so close to her she could smell the salty scent of the ocean on his skin. The potent combination was making it very difficult for her to hold a thought in her head.
His chestnut eyes, darkened to the deepest pools of brown, held her gaze with a dizzying amount of heat and left no question about his intentions. She swallowed hard and tried to take a step back but her feet were apparently frozen in the sand.
"You should have come in with me." He tunneled his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it off his forehead. "The water is warm."
"Sharks," she managed to say even though her throat felt very, very dry.
The corners of his lips gave a slight twitch. "Sometimes land predators are even more dangerous," he said softly and closed the already miniscule distance between them. "How was your nap?" A hand settled on her hip and his thumb brushed across the exposed skin between the bottom of her shirt and the top of the sarong tied at her waist.
"What?" Her brain ceased to function properly when his hands were on her so answering questions was a near impossibility.
A smile widened over his face; he knew exactly what he was doing. "Aloha Babe," he whispered and then kissed the sun-tanned skin of her shoulder.
"Ranger." Somewhere in the back of her mind – way, way back - she knew this was a bad idea and her voice was full of objection but she couldn't seem to move away from his touch.
As his lips skittered across her collarbone, stopping briefly at the hollow of her throat where his tongue dipped in for a taste, she completely forgot what it was she was protesting.
When his mouth covered hers and both hands skimmed the span of her spine, down over the round curve of her butt and then pulled her against the hard length of his body, she also forgot they were supposed to be staking out Simon Ruguzzi; a skip who'd managed to avoid capture for over three years.
Ranger's skillful fingers inched their way up and under her stretchy tank top, and the tender warmth of his skin on hers sent tingles of pleasure racing up her backbone. Before she even realized it, she was raising her arms and he was peeling the fabric from her body.
She hadn't worn a bra so when he gathered her back in his arms, her bare breasts pressed into his naked chest and a distinctive fire pooled low in her stomach, spinning and swirling until it settled with a slow pulse between her thighs.
"Ranger," she said again but now the tone was one of urgency and undeniable desire. He drew her tongue back to his, cutting off any further words as he bent slightly at the knees and lifted her by the waist, carefully concealing her exposed chest from any potentially curious eyes on the semi-private beach. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs came around his hips as he carried her ten steps to the patio of their beachfront cottage.
He balanced her weight with one arm as he pushed open the sliding glass door of the master suite and only after slowly lowering her to her feet, did he break the kiss that had them both taking short ragged breaths.
"Stephanie," he breathed, touching his forehead to hers. He was asking permission for what she'd been denying him since the second he set foot on the island. She'd tried very hard to keep it professional between them, only touching him when they were in public playing the part of husband and wife and then shutting herself in the second bedroom at night – not that the pitiful lock on the door would've kept him out if he'd made any effort to enter –but her walls of willpower could only hold out for so long and Ranger knew exactly where to apply pressure to get them to crumble into a pile of dust.
He ran his hands over the sensitive sides of her torso, letting his thumbs skim over the edges of her breasts as they traveled to her waist. "Babe?" He questioned with a little more insistent and when he bent his head and swiped his tongue over a nipple, she felt the last of her resistance turn to ash.
She reached for the strings hanging just below his bellybutton and deftly untied the knot before peeling open the Velcro fly. Her fingers barely touched the velvety skin surrounding his rock-hard erection as she tugged down on the flaps, but he inhaled sharply at the graze and jerked slightly in her hands.
His shorts fell to the floor and he searched her face for any doubt as he stepped out of them. Finding none, he covered her mouth with his while he walked her backwards to the king-sized bed. The back of her knees hit the edge and she lowered herself to the mattress, pulling him down with her. He took his time removing her skirt, kissing every inch of skin he exposed until he stripped it off of her and tossed it to the floor. After he used his teeth to remove her panties and licked a burning path back up her legs, he settled between her spread thighs, heavy and hard.
Stephanie hissed out his name as he buried himself as deep inside her as he could possibly go.
They made love well into the night, only stopping briefly to refuel with a room service delivered dinner. When they finally fell asleep it was nearing dawn and just before Stephanie drifted off, she acknowledged the dam was broken and it would take a miracle for her to stay out of his bed for the remainder of their time in Hawaii.
As expected, the next three days continued on in much the same vein. They ate, they slept, and they ravished each other. They explored the island and they explored each other's bodies. Neither one brought up the fact they had yet to complete the job they'd both sworn to get done before heading back to Trenton.
On the second to the last night before she was scheduled to return home, Stephanie mentioned the reason they were there. "Maybe we should look for The Rug tomorrow."
Ranger lifted his head from her neck where he'd been kissing a trail toward her mouth. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why? Isn't he the reason you flew all the way here?"
"No," he said and sucked on her collarbone.
"No?" she echoed.
"No. I came all this way so I could watch you walk around in a bikini."
She raised an eyebrow. "Every time I put on my bikini, you take it right back off."
He flashed what she liked to call his wolf grin. "Turns out I prefer you out of it more than in it."
"Ranger," she chastised and he let out a little chuckle before pressing his lips to hers.
"We have plenty of time, Steph."
"No we don't. My return ticket is for Saturday. That's in two days."
"Or," he said, kissing her again, "I can buy you a new ticket, you can stay here with me in this bed for another week and let me do this whenever I want." His tongue darted out to take a taste of her protruding nipple.
She arched into his mouth and pressed her lips together in a fine line. Another week in completely blissful paradise with Ranger? Who in their right mind would turn that down?
Her eyes closed briefly at the gentle sucking. "And Ruguzzi?"
Ranger bit down lightly, making her gasp and then propped up on his elbow, resting his head in his palm.
"We'll pick him up on the way to the airport next weekend."
"Pick him up?" Stephanie trailed her fingers over his pectoral muscles and smiled when they twitched under her touch. "We don't even know where he is."
"We don't?"
She narrowed her eyes, not liking where this was going. "Well I certainly don't."
Ranger let out a small sigh. He'd hoped to avoid this conversation until the last possible second. "He and Tootie are in a bungalow on the other side of the resort."
"And you know this because…"
"I've had a team on them since a day after we checked in."
"What?" Stephanie sat up abruptly, dislodging him from her side and stared at him incredulously. "You brought a team with you? Then why have we been pretending to be a married couple? What the hell has this week been about?"
He fell back on the pillows, linked his hands behind his head and tried not to smile. She was so fucking cute when she got all riled up. "I didn't bring a team; I know a guy here that owed me a favor but wasn't sure he couldn't get a crew together in time. We were plan B. After I got word he could accommodate me, I decided I could really use a vacation since I couldn't remember the last time I took one. And since I was already here with my beautiful wife, who looks better out of a bikini than she does in one, I thought we should just enjoy it."
She knew she should be mad that he didn't tell her but staring down at his naked body that fit so well and moved so perfectly with hers and seeing the totally relaxed and sated look on his face, that wasn't going to happen.
Stephanie smacked him on the chest. "I am not your wife!"
He grabbed her left hand and kissed the base of the third finger. "You're wearing my ring, Babe."
She held out her hand and examined the engagement ring's center stone, crafted of four princess-cut stones disguising it as a single larger solitaire. It was framed by round diamonds that extended down either side of the shank and a matching double wedding band completed the set. It the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen - but it was fake. Wasn't it?
She cut her eyes to his face and found his sparkling with mischief. "Holy shit. Is this thing real?"
"Do you want it to be?"
"Would you be serious, please?"
He kissed the ring again and then slowly sucked her entire finger into his mouth. "I'm always serious." His eyes turned a telling ebony as he gave her pinky the same treatment.
Stephanie drew in a breath and her eyes fluttered closed. "Ranger."
"The diamonds are real, if that's what you mean." He began kissing his way up her arm and gently tugged her to him until her body was draped over his. She felt his hard length pressing into her stomach and was beginning to not care about their conversation.
"You didn't have some weird ritual performed while I slept that means we're legally married did you?"
He stretched his arms out sliding his hands behind her knees and bringing her legs to rest on either side of his thighs. She sat up, straddling him with her palms on his chest. "Would that be so horrible?" He asked and then lifted her just enough to be able to glide into her wet and waiting center.
Her head tipped back on a moan of pure pleasure. "No," she breathed. "Not completely horrible." His fingers dug into her hips as he helped guide her into a rhythm that quickly plunged them over the edge into a breath stealing climax.
"Stay another week with me, Steph," he whispered as she collapsed onto his chest and nuzzled her face in his neck.
"Okay," she agreed instantly and couldn't help wondering what it would be like to actually be married to Ranger. If it was anything like the past few days, she would be a very, very lucky lady.
"Aloha Babe," he mumbled, his voice thick with fatigue as his arms squeezed tighter around her. She was thinking about that word when she fell asleep in the circle of his embrace.
####
Ranger was in the shower when their standing order for breakfast arrived so Stephanie slipped on the button down dress shirt he'd discarded onto the overstuffed lounge chair and padded out to open the door for the delivery.
"Aloha Mrs. Manoso. Would you like it on the patio again?"
"Sure," she replied, and held the door so the attendant could wheel in the cart.
While he laid out the spread on the patio table, she hovered around watching and waiting to tip him.
"Such different choices," the man commented as he uncovered her cinnamon French toast and then set out Ranger's whole wheat bagel and light cream cheese, ending with a bowl of fresh fruit he placed between the two plates.
"Yeah. He's hot but he doesn't know much about food."
He laughed and gestured to the cart. "Coffee and pomegranate juice are here. Let us know if you desire anything else."
"Thank you and we will." She handed over the tip and he gave a little bow before departing with, "Mahalo and Aloha."
Aloha. There was that word again. She'd learned from an enthusiastic flight attendant on the flight over that it could mean many different things in the Hawaiian culture - affection, peace, compassion-but mostly it was used as hello and goodbye, and sometimes, as I love you.
Ranger had been saying it to her frequently over the past week and she wondered which incarnation he meant when the word flowed off his tongue.
She heard the shower cut off and turned to head to the bedroom when another knock sounded on the door. Thinking they probably forgot Ranger's wheatgrass or flaxseed or some other healthy shit, she pulled open the door and came face to face with a smiling Joe Morelli.
Only one word repeated silently in her mind. Fuck.
She hadn't even thought of Joe in several days and although she had originally invited him to join her for the free Hawaiian vacation, she'd been secretly happy he'd had to work and now he was literally the last person she wanted to be standing in front of her.
"Hi Cupcake," he greeted and pressed a kiss to her cheek before moving into the foyer. He was dressed in his usual uniform of jeans, a faded blue t-shirt and a pair of worn cross trainers. In his hand was a small duffle bag and he dropped it onto the tile floor as he passed by her.
"Joe," she breathed, trying hard not to panic as she was sure he was the last person Ranger wanted to see as well. "Wh-wh-what are you doing here?"
"Caught a break in my case and got it wrapped up early. I felt bad you were here by yourself so I hopped on a plane to surprise you. This place is pretty fancy," he said, moving into the living room. He spun in a slow circle, taking in the amenities. "Damn, is that the ocean right there?" He was heading for the patio where there was breakfast set out. Breakfast for two.
This was not going to end well. Stephanie ran a shaky hand through her hair. Might as well get it over with. "Listen, Joe..."
He spun around and grinned at her. "You're looking pretty good, Steph. You got a nice tan going and this outfit is fucking sexy." He raked his eyes the full length of her body and she consciously tried to tug the tails of the shirt down to cover more of her thighs.
Joe took the two steps separating them and reached for her. "The boys have missed you," he said in his most sultry voice and flicked one of the buttons open.
"Joe," she tried again but couldn't seem to figure out what else to say.
"Wait a second." He took a step back and the corners of his mouth turned down in a deep frown. "Where did you get this shirt?"
She opened her mouth but Ranger answered from the doorway of the bedroom. "It's mine."
Shit, shit and double shit. He was leaning on the jamb with his arms crossed over his chest and clad only in a pair of sweatpants. He had a look on his face that Stephanie had only seen a handful of times. Bad things usually followed that look. Things like blood and stitches and broken bones.
"What the fuck, Stephanie?" Joe bit out, whipping his head back to her after glaring at Ranger with his own nasty expression.
"It's not what you think," she said stupidly. Isn't that what everyone says when the get caught cheating? Although technically she wasn't cheating since she and Joe hadn't officially committed to each other, but it might have been implied.
"Oh really?" Joe was unconvinced. "Because it looks a lot like you invited me on a vacation and when I couldn't get away you called your backup plan - per usual. It also looks a lot like you're wearing his shirt and probably nothing else and since he's standing there half naked with a smug look on his face I am guessing he's spent the last week balls deep inside you. Is that not it? Because that is exactly what I think has been going on."
Stephanie held up her hand in a useless attempt to slow his anger. "You need to calm down, Joe. I will go get dressed and we can talk about this rationally."
She realized a second too late she'd held up her left hand. The one with the wedding ring on it.
Joe's rage filled eyes zeroed in on the ring and then he cut them to the platinum band shining bright against the caramel skin of Ranger's finger.
"Jesus Christ. You married that asshole?" He grabbed her hand, squeezing the fingers tightly together until she thought they would break under his grip.
"You're hurting me, Joe," she managed to say without screaming out in pain.
Ranger had moved into the room and was at Joe's back. "Let her go, Morelli." His tone left no recourse and if he didn't release her, Stephanie knew it would get ugly very fast.
Joe let go immediately and spun on his heel. His fist connected with Ranger's cheek with a quick and vicious punch.
The hits came fast and furious after that. Stephanie was screaming at them to stop but they were oblivious to her presence, banging around the room and destroying everything in their path while they tried to kill each other.
When Ranger's fist crashed into Joe's nose with a sickening crunch, Stephanie ran to the bedroom and right for her bag. She quickly dug around until she found her stun gun and cuffs and then went back to the brawl. The two aggressive alpha males were rolling around on the floor, still throwing punches even though they were both covered with blood and rapidly developing bruises. She tried one more time to get them to stop without resorting to the alternative measure cradled in her palm.
They ignored her and rolled into the coffee table. Ranger ended up on top of Joe and Stephanie crouched down and applied the prongs of the stun gun to the back of his neck. He quit moving immediately and then she did the same thing to Joe.
"Shit," she muttered out loud and quickly handcuffed them together. They were already starting to stir so she bolted to the bedroom, locked herself inside and quickly got dressed. After pulling on pants and sliding her feet into her sandals, she heard them moving around and pressed her ear to the door.
"Christ! Get the fuck off me," Joe demanded.
"I would love nothing more, but as you can see, we're handcuffed together, you fucking prick."
Stephanie covered her mouth with a hand and tried to figure out what to do. They obviously hadn't calmed down very much and now they were going to be mad at her on top of everything else. Her eyes darted to the sliding glass door. She could make a run for it, but the only place to go from this side of the cottage was the ocean. Actually, that might be perfect. She could drown herself. That would be preferable to facing the two angry men in the other room.
"Where is the goddamn key?" Joe grumbled.
"I'm guessing with Stephanie," Ranger answered.
"Don't you have a spare?"
"Yes," Ranger ground out and Stephanie could picture his clenched jaw, "but it's in there with her."
"Great. Just fucking great. You broke my nose, asshole."
"You're lucky that's all I broke."
"Christ," Joe said again and Stephanie took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She was going to have to go out there because this was Ranger and he'd find a way out of the cuffs soon enough. She tied her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed her handbag and a shirt and shoes for Ranger and opened the door.
They were sitting side by side on the couch and looked up in unison when she entered the room. "This is how it's going to go," she said before they could open their mouths. "I will remove the cuffs if you promise to not fight anymore. Do I have your word?" She held up the key and they shared a look before nodding, again in unison.
Against her better judgment, she released them from the cuffs and Ranger stood immediately, stalking across the room to get a considerable distance away from Joe. Probably so he didn't snap his neck.
"Stephanie," Joe tried, but she held up her hand again. This time the right one.
"No. I'm not sorry I did it and I don't want to talk about any of this right now because I am too furious to even think about it. You both need medical attention so we are going to get into the car and I will drive you to the hospital and then we'll have a discussion when you're not covered in blood. Let's go." She turned and headed for the door, not waiting for a response.
It was a full five minutes before they joined her in the car. Ranger had on the shirt and shoes she'd grabbed but he'd exchanged the sweats for a pair of jeans and Joe was wearing a fresh t-shirt and holding a towel to his face.
They got in and Stephanie took off. The ride was completely silent and no one spoke until they were inside the hospital and waiting for someone to see them.
"I'm going to get some coffee," Stephanie said and left them sitting in the waiting room. And then she exited through a side entrance near the vending machine and drove directly to the airport.
"She's not coming back, is she?" Morelli asked after a half an hour. His voice sounded off because of the broken nose and he was breathing only through his mouth.
"No," Ranger confirmed.
"Shit," he said and slumped down in the plastic chair.
"You two – this way." A stern looking nursed waved to them to follow her. She led them down a long corridor and settled them into a room with a bed and three chairs similar to those in the waiting room. "Have a seat." She gestured to the chairs and the two men did as instructed.
"So…" she began. "How did these injuries occur?"
"Fell down some stairs," Joe lied.
"Two flights," Ranger added.
"I see," the nurse said, not believing their bullshit for a second. "I wonder where you came across fist shaped stairs. That cut will need a few stiches," she said to Ranger and then addressed Joe. "And I'll set your nose but it's going to be swollen for a few days."
They didn't comment so she took their vitals and then left to get more supplies. Neither of them said a thing while they got stitched and patched and only after they were done and outside waiting for their respective rides –Joe a cab and Ranger one of the team members staking out the skip-did they speak to each other.
The words came from Joe and Ranger turned to look at him with his blank face firmly in place.
"This was probably a long time coming."
Ranger let out a small bark of mirthless laughter and then Joe asked, "Are you really married?"
He thought about lying, but it would be easy enough to find out the truth. "No. Stephanie spotted The Rug and called me in for backup. We had to pretend to be married to get into the private resort."
"The Rug? No shit?"
"That's right."
"But you still ended up fucking. Was that part of the cover too?"
Ranger shot him a look and then turned away without responding. He was not having that conversation. Several minutes went by before Joe spoke again.
"Are you in love with her?"
"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?"
"I want to hear you say it. Are you in love with her?"
Ranger cut his eyes away and stared down the road, willing the black SUV to appear. He didn't owe the man a goddamn thing but if their positions were reversed, he would probably be asking the same of him.
"Yes. I'm in love with her."
Joe sighed and pushed his black hair off his forehead. "She was mine, man. Why couldn't you keep your greedy paws off of her?"
Ranger slid his hands into his pockets, kept his gaze straight ahead and tried not to think about the fact he'd used the past tense. "I think you're a decent guy, Morelli, and pretty good cop but you're an idiot where Stephanie is concerned. If she was yours, truly yours, and you wanted to keep it that way, you never would have let me get close to her. Maybe you should think about that."
Joe didn't respond so Ranger thought maybe he was thinking about it. He believed every word he'd said. If he really loved Stephanie and wanted to keep her, he would have made more of an effort in every aspect of their relationship. That he hadn't was very telling, at least to Ranger it was. Joe and Stephanie seemed to be totally oblivious to the fact. He looked at his watch and silently cursed. How long did it actually take to drive the thirty miles from the resort? He felt like he'd been standing there for hours.
A cab came rumbling up the road and stopped under the archway of the entrance of the hospital. Thank God, Ranger thought. And good riddance, Morelli.
Joe stepped off the curb and opened the door of the cab. He turned and looked at Ranger before getting in. "Have you ever told her?"
Again, Ranger didn't owe him anything but he found himself answering anyway. "No."
"Maybe you should think about that," Joe repeated and slid into the back seat of the cab.
Ranger watched it drive away until the taillights were no long visible.
####
"Well, when is the next flight?" An impatient Stephanie demanded of the exasperated ticketing agent at the airport. "I need to get the hell off this island." She looked over her shoulder for the tenth time, expecting to see an angry Joe or Ranger, or both, heading her way.
"The next flight to New Jersey departs in two hours, but it's completely booked. The first available seat is on the 4:30 flight."
"Damn." Stephanie looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the computer terminals. That was nearly five hours away, but what option did she have? She would just have to hide in the bathroom like the coward she was until it started boarding.
"Okay, get me on that one."
Boarding pass in hand, she turned to look for the closest available restroom and almost ran right into Joe.
"Going somewhere, Cupcake?"
She gasped and clutched at her chest. He'd scared the crap out of her. She winced internally at the black eye and bandage across his nose. His knuckles were cut and bruised and she thought he was probably lucky Ranger hadn't killed him.
Swallowing hard, she straightened her spine and stood her ground. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live," he said.
"I was afraid you were going to kill each other."
"I was trying. Is that why you stun-gunned us?"
"I was hoping that wouldn't come up."
Damn it. She could always make him smile. "It was probably the best option." He glanced down at the boarding pass in her fist. "Running away?"
She bit her bottom lip and blew out a sigh. "Yes."
Joe considered the worried expression on her face and caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger out of the corner of his eye. Granted, a lot had just gone on, but he thought she'd have taken it off since she was basically ditching her faux husband and high-tailing it out of dodge. "You should stay," he finally said.
"That's not a good idea."
"Sure it is. Besides, I 'm leaving so you're free to fuck your fake husband all you want without interference from me."
"Jesus, Joe." She shook her head and looked away but not before he caught the tears beginning to gather. "I didn't purposely try to hurt you."
Shit. He hated when she cried. And he was letting his bruised ego run his mouth. "I know. Shit, I'm sorry. I'm just pissed. I thought we were trying to work things out so I lost my mind when I saw him come out of the bedroom without a goddamn shirt on."
"I didn't plan it," she said and a single tear escaped and raced down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb and gave her a sad smile.
"I know, Steph. Look, this was inevitable. I think we both know whatever this is between us was bound to end eventually. Neither one of us could ever commit fully and after this much time, that should have been a pretty big clue it was never going to work out."
"When did you have this epiphany," she asked.
"About an hour ago. After a very large fist smashed the shit out of my nose."
She winced visibly this time and gently touched his cheek. "I'm sorry you got hurt."
He shrugged. "That was my own fault. But I got in some good shots too. He has a few stiches in his face."
Stephanie rolled her eyes and it made him smile. "I think you should stay, Stephanie. You and Ranger have some things you should probably talk about."
"I doubt he wants me within fifty feet of him right now."
"You're wrong, believe me."
"What are you saying?"
Joe shook his head and then exhaled softly. "I'm going to ask you the same question I asked him. Are you in love with him?"
Her eyes widened in complete shock. "You asked him that? What did he say?"
Joe shook his head again. "You first," he said. "Are you in love with him?"
She bit her bottom lip, debating the answer, although he already knew as he had with Ranger, he wanted to hear her say it.
"Yes," she finally whispered.
Joe nodded. "You should talk to him. Trust me."
"Joe…"
"Don't. It's doesn't matter anymore. I'm going back to Jersey where all I have to deal with is normal things like a dog who eats my shoes on a regular basis and criminals who want to kill each other and leave the bodies all over Trenton. Every day normal stuff."
Stephanie gave him a hint of a smile. "There is a flight at 4:30."
"Good." He pulled her into an unexpected hug and held her tightly for a few seconds before whispering in her ear, "Be happy, Steph."
And then he was gone.
###
She used the key card to let herself into the cottage and could only hope he'd cooled off enough not to shoot her on sight. The living room was a disaster and she dreaded the repair bill from the hotel. Ranger wasn't in the room, or in the bedroom, and she was about give up and call his phone when she saw a foot dangling over the end of a lounge chair out on the patio.
She dropped her handbag on the bed and took a breath before opening the sliding door. Ranger was stretched out in the chair with his head back, his eyes closed and he had an ice pack resting on his cheek. She lifted it off and pressed her lips softly to the stiches below his eye.
"Babe," He said but didn't open his eyes. "You stun-gunned me on the back of my neck."
"I couldn't think of anything else and I was afraid one of you would end up dead."
He opened his eyes and peered up at her. "It was pretty ballsy, considering what you were up against."
"Was that a compliment?"
Ranger grinned at her and the tension eased from her shoulders. That was his real smile so he couldn't be too mad.
"I thought you'd be halfway to Trenton by now."
"I tried but there aren't any flights until later."
He reached out and circled her wrist with his hand and tugged her down onto his lap. "How much time do we have?"
Stephanie pulled her legs up and curled into his chest, stretching her arm across his abdomen. "That depends."
"On what?"
"Someone told me that we probably have some things to say to each other."
"Did you run into Morelli at the airport?"
"Yes. Do we have things to say?" She tilted her head up so she could see his battered face.
They locked eyes and for a full minute, he said nothing. Then softly, reverently, he said, "Aloha, Babe."
Stephanie smiled. The question of which definition he meant when he uttered those words was answered unequivocally.
"Aloha, Ranger," she replied. He bent his head and kissed her and she snuggled further into his chest.
"Are we staying?" He asked a while later while he twisted her wedding band around her finger. He wasn't surprised to discover he really wanted to make it a legal ring, and soon.
"I want to," she said. "This week has been amazing...but what happens when we go back to real life next week?"
Ranger shifted in the chair, adjusting them so he could see her eyes when they talked. "Did you finish things with Morelli?"
"Yes," she nodded. "It's over. It should have been over a long time ago."
He wanted to say, no shit, but he knew part of the reason she'd been hanging on to Joe was because of him. "Good. Then when we get home you're going to move into Rangeman with me."
"Is that right?"
"Yes, he said simply.
Stephanie found the thought didn't completely freak her out. In fact she almost wanted to go home early, just to start packing. Almost. Another week in Hawaii with Ranger in various states of undress was too much to pass up. Suddenly in a teasing mood, she arched a brow and said, "What about the Batcave? You know I still haven't seen it."
"The Batcave is forever, Babe."
"I thought that's what we were talking about."
A slow, happy smile spread across his face at the thought of forever with Stephanie. "Yes," he said softly. "It certainly is."
Aloha everyone! I hope those of you in scary cold places are keeping warm...maybe reading about Ranger in Hawaii will help. ;)