"Babe," I said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Ranger, you scared the living shit out of me." She placed a hand to her heart. She turned back to her laptop and powered it down, then focused back on me. "You know, you could knock on that thing that stands right there. It's an opening in the wall and it's called a door?"

I chuckled and she sighed. "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah," I took the seat at the dining room table across from her. "I need you to do a distraction. The bond is pretty high but not too dangerous, and I wouldn't normally bring you in, but you're the only that has the assets to do it."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to sweet talk me, I'll do it." She mumbled.

"Good to know," I said with a smile and passed her the file.

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

I just nodded.

She sighed. "You're going to owe me big this time."

I slowly smiled, wondering how I would she would want me to repay her. She blushed.

"Same fee?" She asked.

I shook my head and she looked confused. "This is a special case. You deserve hazard pay. Ten percent extra."

She rolled her eyes again. "I thought only your guys got hazard pay."

"You're my girl." I said without thinking. Her eyes widened.

"I n…need to get r…ready." She stuttered. She tripped over herself a few times to get to her bedroom.

You're my girl? What, was I in high school? I put my head in my hands. No wonder I don't talk around her. Everything I say is either cheesy or stupid. And that one was both. Way to go, Manoso. Just one more thing she can hold over your head.

I heard the shower start to run. Today, she had a little trouble with her skip, but still got her man today. I wish she knew how proud of her I was.

And that's when I heard it. A small moan. It was so small that I didn't think I heard it at first. Until I heard the next one.

And the next one.

Dios.

I could tell she was trying to hold back her moans, but it wasn't working. A rush of blood went down to my other head.

When she was finished (with everything), she turned off the shower and padded back to her bedroom. She had forgotten that I was still here and walked out in just her towel. She caught my eye and blushed even more.

That's when the door opened.

"Hey Cupcake. Ranger." Joe said as he walked through the door. Stephanie leaped a little at the sound of his voice.

"Jesus, Joe."

"I needed a quick shower." When she didn't protest, he kissed her cheek and headed towards the bathroom.

I felt relief from Joe's interruption. It let some of the blood go back to the first head. So it was true. They were still together. I felt my heart sink at the thought. I thought that maybe this could've been my chance to sweep her off her feet. No more Pino's dates, 'the boys miss you' calls, or griping about her job and the fact that she won't become a housewife. Stephanie was too beautiful of a person to be trapped in that kind of lifestyle. With us, there wouldn't be any pressure. If she wanted to be married, I'd find a justice of the peace as soon as possible. If she decided she needed to be a mother, then I'd more than willingly be the father of her children. If she just wanted to live at Haywood, her apartment, or at my home, then we'd move. I'd do anything to make her happy.

"Great, what else can go wrong?" She mumbled. I pretended like I didn't hear her. "Jesus, Joe, hurry up will you?"

"Shut your piehole!" He yelled back.

She sat down on the recently vacated chair and crossed her arms.

"Babe," I said, placing my hand on her cheek. She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. God, she looked so beautiful.

Joe came out of the bathroom then.

He took one look at us and continued to the door. "Carry on." He said.

I raised an eyebrow at Stephanie.

"He was coming from work and this is closer than going all the way back to his house. He's got some date tonight."

They weren't together? My heart lifted again. She leaned in closer to me and unconsciously licked her lips. I mentally groaned.

She sighed. "I need to get ready."

I grinned at her. She blushed again. She got up and once again disappeared into her bedroom. When she came back out, it was hard to keep my eyes off of her. She had a skirt that barely covered her ass. I bet that when she bent over, nirvana would be showing. Her shirt wasn't any better. It was a blood red halter and had a v-neck that went almost to her navel, barely covering her breasts. The back was tied with one string covering her entire back. She had black FMP's and recently fucked hair to complete the outfit.

"Is it good?" She asked nervously.

Good? There was no word to describe how she looked. Instead of saying anything, I smirked and brought her close to me, letting her feel my reaction. She blushed again and I chuckled.

"Come on, Babe." I said, kissing her head.

We were sitting outside the bar in the Porsche and I leaned into her. Staring into her eyes, I delicately lifted her shirt and placed the wire under her right breast. Okay, I may have copped a little bit of a feel and her eyes closed, her breathing hitching ever so slightly.

"Think of me," I said as I nipped at her earlobe. "I know this one will be harder than the other skips. No matter what, I'm proud of you, Babe."

She pulled back and smiled at me. I switched the mike on.

"All ready, boss." Lester said.

"Okay, I'm sending her in." I smiled at Stephanie. "Go get 'em tiger."

She nodded and got out of the car. Yep, I was right. All the way to Nirvana. I groaned when the door shut. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. This was any skip, at any bar, and we're doing our job.

Later I'll fuck her silly.

Giving her two minutes to get into place, I got out of the car and followed her inside. Tank and Hal were going to be guarding the door while Bobby, Lester and I were on the inside. Lester had been excited all week for this distraction. He said it was his dream to see Stephanie hit on a woman. I took him down on the mats and he didn't bring it up again.

The skip, Darlene Gianni, was arrested for gun running and possession. It will be nice to get her off the streets. However, she only went for tall, beautiful blue eyed brunettes. Stephanie was our only option.

Lester, behind the bar, gave her one shot of tequila and then she was switched to virgin margaritas. I gave her the liquid courage that she would need.

When I saw Lester point Stephanie in the right direction, I knew it was game time.

She sighed and plopped down next to Darlene. "Life sucks." She said.

"Rough day?"

"The worst. My girlfriend is over there dancing with another woman." I could hear her pouting.

"How awful!"

Even lesbians knew how to band together. I saw Stephanie give her a once over, like she was interested.

"My name is Rina." She said.

"Darlene." The skip took Stephanie's hand and held it a little too long. My fist clenched.

"Whoa, bossman, calm down. I saw that from over here." Lester said.

"Shut it, Santos."

Over the next few minutes, I saw Stephanie flirting with the skip and she didn't look as uncomfortable as she did at the beginning of the night.

A half an hour later, they were on the move.

"Heading your way, Tank." Bobby said.

"Copy," he replied.

Bobby and I followed behind them and I saw Stephanie starting to lag behind, getting ready for the arrest.

"Darlene Gianni, you're under arrest for violating your bond. You need to come with us right now." Tank's voice boomed.

There was a little bit of a tussle, but in the end, Hal zapped her and they got her cuffed.

"Good job everyone. Santos, stay here and man the bar."

"What? Why?"

"They're down a bar tender. It's the least you can do."

He groaned and I heard Stephanie giggle. I winked at her. I pulled her into my side. "Let's get out of here, Babe."

She nodded and we walked back to the car. I sneaked my hand back up her shirt and she gasped as I pulled the wire gently from her skin. I tossed it to Tank.

"Night guys," he said with a big grin on her face.

Stephanie waved and I gave him a small nod.

We drove silently to her apartment, and I checked it for any intrusions. When I found it clear, I holstered my gun and turned back to her. She sighed.

"It's not what you think."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I had a kink in my neck. From stress or tension or something."

I smiled slightly at her. She was talking about earlier and it was a kink. "Need a massage?"

She looked out the window. I could tell she was blushing. Again.

"Babe, if you don't stop blushing, I'll give you something to blush about."

She didn't reply and blushed harder. I decided for her and dragged her to the bed.

"Lay down and take off your shirt." She stared at me. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

She must have been feeling the liquid courage because instead of rolling onto her stomach and undoing the ties, she kept her eyes on me as she undid the ties, breasts perfectly in view. I almost said screw the massage and fuck her right now. I swallowed and rolled her onto her stomach. I straddled her, making sure to keep the bulk of my weight off of her. She moaned under my touch, as I kneaded all the knots out of her back and shoulders. She sank further into the mattress.

When I was done, I rolled her over and she smiled at me. "Thank you." She said. I nodded at her.

This was the perfect moment to tell her everything that I wanted. That I wanted her.

But I didn't.

I was a coward.

I got off the bed and started to tug on my boots. When I got to the door, I heard her small voice.

"Where are you going?"

I turned to look at her. "I have meetings in the morning, Babe. I'll call you."

"Oh." She said, looking at the blanket that now covered the top half of her body. She looked like she was having a conversation internally. I turned back around.

"Stay." She said quietly.

"What?" I wasn't even sure I heard her right.

"Stay." She said more confidently.

I looked at her. She got up from the bed and came over to wear I was standing. She stood on her tip toes and kissed me. I kissed her back with all of the unsaid words, hoping she would understand. I pulled away and saw all the emotions in her eyes as they fleeted past.

She kissed me up to my ear. "Stay," she said again, lightly nipping my ear. "Stay and make love to me."

"Babe," I groaned and leaned down to kiss her hard on the mouth. I picked her up and brought her back to the bed. She whimpered when I moved my mouth down her neck. My hands reached down and pulled her skirt off as she reached for the snap of my cargos. I rolled over and pulled my clothes off while she removed her shoes and she climbed on top of me. I growled.

She looked so beautiful. Her hair still had that fucked look, but now it was true. Her beautiful blue eyes were darker and slightly unfocused and her lips were thoroughly kissed and slightly parted. Her body blushed as I raked my eyes up and down her gorgeous body.

My hands caressed up her sides and to her breasts. She moaned and arched into my hands as I teased and rubbed her nipples.

And then I was inside her. I had never felt anything like what I feel for Stephanie. She does something for me that no other woman does. She's my perfect woman, from the tip of her curly haired head to her toes. I want to worship her like the temple she is. She gasped as I filled and stretched her. God, she feels amazing. I groaned at the feeling of her hot, wet and ready for me.

Feeling her distracted, I rolled her onto her back. She smiled up at me and wrapped her legs around my waist, signaling to me that she was ready. I slowly pushed in and out of her as I watched her face for the pleasure she was feeling. I increased the tempo when her hips started to meet mine, and she arched her back to allow me to slide in deeper. We both groaned at the new feeling and I moved my hand down and gently massaged her clit in small circles. She arched her back even more and moaned loudly. I placed kisses up and down her neck, moaning as she tightened and then exploded with orgasm, crying out my name. Just as she finished her first, I allowed my orgasm and she went over again, digging her nails into my back.

As we came down from our high, I rolled onto my back with Stephanie on top. She sighed contently and put her head on my chest, her right leg and arm resting across my body. Wrapping my arms around her, I waited for her to fall asleep before succumbing to sleep as well.

When I woke the next morning, Stephanie was still asleep. I traced circles up and down her spine and put my face in her hair, breathing in the scent that is uniquely Stephanie. She moaned softly, snuggled closer, but didn't wake. This was the perfect moment.

That is, until my cell vibrated. I gently placed her back onto the mattress and grabbed my cargoes.

"Yo," I said, gently shutting the door behind me.

"Man, where are you?" Tank's voice boomed. "We have that meeting in half an hour."

Damn, only Stephanie would make me forget my job. I sighed. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I snapped the phone shut and scrubbed a hand over my face. Sighing again, I opened the door to the bedroom.

And a pair of beautiful blue eyes stared back at me.

"I thought you left." She whispered.

"I have to go," I say. "I'm late for a client meeting."

"Oh," she replied, clearly disappointed.

I shrugged on my shirt and boots. "I'll see you later, Babe."

"Yeah, okay," she tried to smile at me. Tried, being the key word.

I made it to the stairwell before I stopped. Her face was haunting me and I couldn't concentrate. Christ, she was so beautiful, laying there and waiting for me. And I brush her off, like a casual fuck.

Like the last time.

Shit.

I treated her just like I did with the DeChooch deal.

I slammed my hand on the wall. I wondered what she saw in me. I treat her like a whore and yet, somewhere deep in her heart, she loves me. At least after last night, I believe she loves me. After that night, I promised myself I wouldn't treat her like that again. But here I was, treating her like shit, when she needed to be treasured.

The sound of my phone brought me out of my musings. "Ranger? Are you coming?" Tank asked.

"Handle it yourself. I'm offline." I turned off my phone and literally ran to her apartment. When I got back, she was still in bed.

"R..Ranger!" She said, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

I cupped her face into my hand and stroked my thumb over her cheek. "Babe, I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"A few minutes ago, I left. I barely had my shoes on and ran. I'm sorry I treated you like that."

"It's okay," she said, not looking at me.

"No, it's not! Don't you see? I love you and I treated you like trash!"

"You…You love me?"

"Of course I do! You're perfect. And I keep saying stupid shit and doing things that make you think that you're not. You may think that you're unworthy, but I'm the unworthy one. You're the light to my darkness. You make me smile, and think and feel things that I haven't felt in years. I love you and if you'll have me, I'll be the best boyfriend, lover, friend, husband, father, whatever. Just…just don't leave me."

She started to giggle.

Great, maybe she didn't love me. "What?" I asked cautiously.

"Why would I leave? This is my apartment." She giggled.

I blinked at her. Was she joking or serious? I couldn't tell. With a small giggle, she shook her head and grabbed onto my shoulders, pulling me on top of her.

"I love you too. Always have. You make me smile, and think and feel things I never want to stop feeling. I'll be the best girlfriend, lover, friend, wife, mother, whatever. Just stay with me forever."

"Forever?"

She nodded.

"I think that's just long enough." We smiled and I leaned down to kiss her.

Someday…forever…was finally here.