Sooo... they're back! Ranger and Rachel that is. If you don't know who I'm talking about then you should check out "Ranger UnMasked", my first FanFic.

Just so we're clear before starting, I want to mention a few things:

This is NOT a "Babe" story. My Fics are completely "Cupcake" friendly, especially since Ranger is already married in my world.

The character of Rachel is a major player in my Fics – she's Ranger's wife.

The story this time will be heavy with BOTH couples, so if you like Ranger's character in general, you might really enjoy his pairing with Rachel.

See #1 – again, this is NOT a "Babe" friendly story, Stephanie is ultimately going to end up with Morelli.

This story, unlike "Ranger UnMasked", will be told by two POVs; Stephanie's and Rachel's. You might get a little Joe or Ranger here and there, but mostly when you see 'RPOV' it'll be Rachel you're hearing, unless I specifically tell you it's Ranger.

As always, Janet Evanovich owns her characters, I'm just playing with them. I hope to take you on another fun and fantastic journey! Enjoy! ~ Maia

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"You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you." ~ Frederick Buechner

SPOV

He won't answer the phone. I've been trying for three weeks and I can't get him to answer the damn phone! Tanks says that he's fine, that he's taking some much needed R&R and that I should probably leave him alone for a while, but... how? He's never not returned my calls. It's like he's dropped off the face of the earth, turned his back on his life in Jersey, and on me!

Apparently he's left RangeMan, and my safety, in Tank's capable hands. And while I'm grateful that I still have his second in command in my corner, I want Ranger. I want my friend back. Just knowing he was always going to be there if I needed him was comforting. Yeah, he laughed at me more than he let on, but that was okay. We're friends, or at least I thought we were.

R&R... shit, those are their initials, for crying out loud! How gay is that?

There's so much explaining he still needs to do, so many things he hasn't answered for. Doesn't he know that? Doesn't he realize he's left me hanging? Is it possible he could just walk away? Could Ranger really leave Jersey? Leave me here? Alone?

Well, not alone really. I still have Morelli, but... he's on the right side of the law and sometimes a girl needs a man on the wrong side, if you know what I mean.

That high paid bimbo his wife has screening her calls won't tell me where they live and Google won't cough anything up either. Guess I've been trumped by the missus.

And back to that, why didn't he tell me he was married? Still married, to be exact. I thought we had something special, something... more. Sure he's never really been open about his personal life, but I'd always understood that he'd thought enough of me to tell me the truth. At least about something as important as a wife!

He'd better answer his stupid cell phone soon or I'm gonna hike my ass down to Dallas and yank his sorry you-know-what out of whatever hole he's crawled into. He may not be mine anymore, but there are parts of him I still own, parts she can't touch or take away.

At least I hope she can't, anyway...

RPOV

I floated leisurely on my stomach on an inflatable raft in our pool. My skin was hot to the touch and tingled a little. That meant I was working on a fairly good burn, which was fine by me. Moving my arms lazily in the water, I paddled nowhere and enjoyed the warm sun and luscious air, thinking again that Ranger was crazy to even suggest I'd survive in a cooler climate.

Smiling to myself, I snuggled deeper into the warm pocket of my raft and thought, this is my cup of tea. I didn't want to move or be moved anytime soon and didn't understand why I hadn't discovered this guilty pleasure sooner. Out in the distance I heard a seagull cry out, but it didn't faze me. Nor did the splash from his dive or subsequent ripple of water disrupt my new found bliss.

His cold hands on my heated back did though.

"Hey," I mumbled sleepily as Ranger pressed his cool lips against my warm shoulders.

"You're burning."

"Tell me something I don't already know." I replied, eyes still closed. I felt him tug my raft through the water and fought back minutely by paddling my arms in the other direction. "If you're going to make me get out, I'll cry."

"Wouldn't want that, would we?"

I heard him hop out of the pool, flashed him a sleepy smile when I bothered to turn my head his way. He looked like a chocolate bunny, one I wanted to lick from head to toe. For all the pinkness I was rewarded in the sun, Ranger tanned, deeply.

Enjoying the sight of my husband before me, his hot, chiseled and wet body moving lithely by the pools edge, I purred. "You should relax in a bathing suit more often, bud." Running his fingers through his wet hair, Ranger turned my way and shot me a devilish grin, it's affect causing my insides to liquefy. "When was the last time you took a vacation anyway?" I questioned and gracefully turned my body over on the raft, my toes the only thing holding me poolside.

"Couldn't tell you," he replied absently as he poured sunscreen into his hand. Then turning back towards me in the pool, he grinned from ear to ear. "Sweetie... you lost your top."

I returned the smile, wrinkled my nose cutely. "I didn't lose it."

"Well," he said slipping back into the water, sunscreen in hand. "You're back is toasted. You'll pay for that later on." I shrugged. "How about I make sure the same doesn't happen to the front?"

"You just want to touch me." I accused. He said nothing as he started smoothing the sunscreen all over my chest and stomach, taking a little extra time on the chest area.

After I was greased and pliant in his hands, he bent his head and took one hardened nipple in his mouth. The moan slipping from my lips fueled his fire and his hands started to magically move over my body. "Think we could manage this on the raft?"

As his mouth trailed down toward my bikini bottom, he whispered. "Not likely," and I grinned. So he couldn't do everything.

"Guess that means I have to get – " The words caught in my throat as he slipped his fingers under the thin material of my suit. "Wet." I gasped.

"Oh, I'm hoping so." He replied with a grin then pulled me into the pool.

I screamed in shock when the cold water hit my body, enveloping me. Flinging myself back up towards the surface, I reached out and grabbed Ranger by the back of the neck, pulling him under the water with me. Our mouths met as our limbs entangled, molding us together as we floated.

There was nothing purer than the love I felt for Ranger. It'd been growing over the last couple of weeks, doubling in size, if that was even possible. Where a little over a month ago I'd felt a huge void in my life, there was now fulfillment, peace. My husband, with his love, had filled all of the empty spaces, made me feel whole and complete again.

After we'd finally decided to selfishly slip off together, the rest had fallen into place rather quickly. I left RangeMan Dallas and the clean up of Bucky's case in Kathleen's hands. The only time we'd left our quiet reverie had been to attend the Buckmeister's funeral. Going had brought some closure, soothed some of the wounds still fresh on the surface. I knew that in time I'd get over Bucky's death and the professional hit I took during his chase. No FTA had ever hit me as hard as Bucky had, and in time I'd find the answers surrounding his death. Now just wasn't that time.

Jersey was being run by Tank and Ranger's Merry Men. If my husband checked in with his branch of the business, I never knew about it. As far as I was concerned, his cell was shut off and I hadn't once seen him sit in front of a computer. He'd meant it back in the motel when he'd told me he'd do just about anything to keep us together, had more than proven that in the days and weeks following our time in Lumberton.

No one questioned, balked or fussed a bit once we'd announced we were running away, alone. Well, we weren't exactly running away, per say. We could easily be found if you knew where to look or had the right connections. Disturbing us might come at a cost though. Ranger and I were serious about being left alone. Needless to say, everyone who mattered knew where we were and most were happy that we'd stopped to finally give our relationship the time and care it needed. We were determined to make things work this time. The rest of the world be damned.

I was giggling when we finally broke through the surface. I had my hand slipped inside Ranger's swim trunks, his prize possession in my palm. We were just barely getting into it when a sound poolside grabbed my attention. Squeezing Ranger's prize a mite fiercely, the smile vanished from my face. "Rachel," he groaned wiggling slightly in pain. "You might wanna –"

"Plum," I said through clenched teeth.

Ranger wiggled himself out of my grasp, his expression one of confusion when his eyes met mine. Turning his head he followed the direction of my murderous gaze and froze where he was. "Steph? What the…" he trailed off.

"My sentiments exactly." I grumbled and moved out of his arms...

Let me know what you think! Comments are ALWAYS welcome!