Disclaimer: JE owns them. I do not.

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Third Time's a Charm

~oOo~

Chapter 1: Ranger Asks For a Favor
Stephanie's POV

Four months, twelve days, and sixteen hours since I last "got busy" with a man, as Lula liked to put it. Not that I was counting or anything. My last memory of sex with Joe was...wistful, I supposed. It had been kind of a last hurrah on both our parts. We'd known we were over, but a history like ours was a little bit hard to get past. But I had. And now, I was waiting patiently, or as patiently as I could possibly get, for Ranger to finally step up and make a move.

He'd promised me that if Joe ever left my bed for long enough, he'd move in on me. But again, almost eighteen weeks had gone by and we hadn't made much progress. I contemplated our "relationship" as I stalked around getting dressed to go meet Lula and Connie for doughnuts and FTA files. My body hummed as I thought about seeing Ranger at the office, knowing he had the uncanny ability to show up shortly after I did. And I hoped with everything I had that he would drag me into the alley and kiss me senseless as he normally did.

Ranger and I had had sexual tension between us almost from the very beginning. Ever since Joe and I broke up, Ranger had kept me wound up tighter than a drum. When I sensed him coming into the room, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as always, but now, I immediately soaked my panties. It was a good thing that I did my own laundry or my mother might have thought I was wetting the bed again, which I hadn't done since I was five.

Just the thought of Ranger made my nipples pucker tight as I pulled up the curb at the bonds office and got out, hauling the box of doughnuts with me.

"Skinny-ass white girl, look at you today! You be lookin' all kinds of fine in that skirt," Lula nearly shouted as I opened the door to the office. "Connie, look at Steph!"

"Why, Stephanie, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were hoping to run into someone special," Connie said, chuckling.

"Who me? No, no, can't think who that would be," I said, smiling. Then I felt it. The electricity seemed to crackle and there was the familiar rise of the hair on the back of my neck just before a warm, strong hand reached up to splay gently across my lower back.

"Good morning, ladies. Babe," Ranger murmured. "Any files for me today, Connie?"

"Here ya go," Connie said as she swallowed the bite of doughnut she'd just taken. "Here, Steph, take yours, too."

Ranger leaned down, his lips lightly brushing the top of my ear, and whispered, "Could I see you outside, Babe?"

The girls sighed as I flashed them a bright smile and went out the door. Ranger grabbed my hand lightly and pulled me with him. I stuck my files in my bag as he tossed his into the truck before pulling me around the corner into the alley.

Suddenly, Ranger's hands were on my hips, spinning me around and pinning me to the bricks behind me, his lips crashing into mine as if by some magical force. I brought my hands up and fisted them through his long hair, holding on for dear life as his lips moved their way down my neck to my collarbone. His right hand ran down my side, gliding over my hip to my knee and then slowly back up as he kissed his way back to my mouth. When his tongue snaked out to catch mine, his hand grabbed my leg, pulling it up around him. My skirt rode up high, and my incredibly wet panties began to rub against the bulge in his jeans.

I moaned into Ranger's mouth, gasping for air as his lips left mine and moved to my ear.

"I have a job for you, Babe, if you're interested."

"A-A job?" I gasped, barely able to catch my breath. Damn the man. How he could turn it on and off like that was unexplainable.

"Distraction."

I tried to lower my leg, but he held firm, pushing his hips a bit harder to me.

"Raaaanger. God! I can't think when we're like this!" He made a move away, and I moved my hands quickly to cup his firm ass, pulling him back against me. "I didn't say I didn't like it," I clarified with a giggle.

"Tonight, Babe. I'll be by your place at six with dinner and we can talk about the job for tonight." And with that, he gently lowered my leg, placed a hard, quick kiss to my lips, and then was around the corner and in his truck before I could catch my breath.

Oh hell, I loved that man, but if my stupid job didn't kill me, he would most certainly be the death of me! I straightened my clothes, walked back to the door of the office, and knocked, motioning to Lula that it was time to go. I waved at Connie before moving around and climbing into the black Explorer, the latest of the vehicles that Ranger had loaned me after my last car exploded. How he trusted me with his cars, I had no idea. I always swear it's never my fault, but I normally get blamed anyway...even though Ranger never blames me.

~oOo~

As I drove home later that evening, I felt quite proud of myself. Not only had I managed to stay clean while picking up three FTAs, I'd lasted another day without an exploding vehicle. Might just be a record this time, I thought, grinning to myself. I let myself into my apartment, still grinning wildly, and when I turned to close and lock the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a warm body pressed up against my back. I gasped loudly and then felt the arms go around my waist, pulling me to him.

Ranger's voice was low when he spoke near my ear. "Babe. You need to be more aware of your surroundings."

I pushed my hips back, grinding myself gently on him until he grasped my hair, tilting my head back so he could attack my lips.

He moved his mouth to my ear, his tongue flicking in once and causing my body to tremble, before nearly whispering, "Mmm, not now Babe. We have to eat and plan for tonight."

I gave a frustrated groan, pulling myself out from under his arm and heading to the kitchen. I saw a Pino's sack on the counter and flashed my version of a two hundred-watt grateful smile. I grabbed a Coke and a bottle of water from the fridge, tossed him the water, and then took the dinner sack and my Coke to the couch.

Ranger opened his mouth to talk and I growled, "I didn't have much lunch, so if you're smart, you'll wait until I've had a bite before you talk."

He laughed quietly, giving me his own mega-watt smile, and then grabbed the salad and fork from the bag while I dug into the meatball sub he'd brought me. Within minutes, I'd finished most of the sandwich and half of the Coke, finally setting them on the coffee table and leaning back, feeling quite relaxed.

"So, the job tonight. You said a distraction?"

"Three, actually."

I squawked. "Three? In one night? Are you nuts?"

"Babe."

I closed my eyes at the sound of his amused tone, took a deep breath, and then looked at him to make sure he wasn't kidding. "Seriously, three? Just tonight?"

"Unavoidable, unfortunately. The first two are simple 'in-and-out-in-ten-minutes' type of jobs."

"Okay... And the third?" I questioned.

He gave me that half smile that I'd fallen in love with and said, "A little more involved. Shouldn't be dangerous, though. Just more time consuming. I'll be your partner on that one."

Hmm, partner? Could be interesting... "Partner?" I asked expectantly.

"Babe."

"Ranger." I laughed to myself. Two could play that game. When he didn't respond, I sighed. "Okay, who's up first?"

"At eight, we'll meet Tank, Santos, Hal, and Bobby at Indigo, one of the newest nightclubs in town. The skip is Gary Ross. Thirty-five years old. Got pulled in for flashing a couple of joggers in the park. Seems he can't quite hold his liquor."

"Why is this a RangeMan case? Simple flasher. Not a high bond right?" I was confused.

"High enough. The joggers were fifteen."

"Oh," I muttered.

"Lester and I will be in the club as customers when you come in, Tank and Bobby will be outside, and Hal will be behind the bar. You just go in and do what you do so well—lead him out front, and Tank and Bobby will grab him."

"Simple enough," I said, stretching my legs out in front of me on the couch and turning sideways to face him.

"You're killing me, Babe," Ranger said, his voice sounding strained as his eyes wandered up my legs to the edge of my short skirt.

"Not now, Batman." I grinned. "Who's second?"

"John Smith."

I giggled. "Seriously? Who really names their kid John Smith?"

He smirked, his lips curling up slightly. "Johnny was a bad boy. Got caught with enough marijuana to supply half the city. Same thing applies at Eternity tonight as it did at Indigo. In and out, no problem."

I waited for the other shoe to drop. Ranger was acting fairly casual, but I could see the tension in his shoulders, and his blank face came down as he prepared to tell me about the third skip.

"C'mon, Batman. Spill," I said gently as I scooted over closer to him.

He put his arms out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me up on his lap so I was facing sideways. "Ben Nichols. He's...a little more dangerous." He tightened his hold on my waist slightly. "You won't have to worry. I'll be right beside you every minute."

"Ranger, you're kind of scaring me. Just tell me. What did he do? And how are you going to be there beside me?"

"He's charged with rape and assault."

I whimpered softly, causing his lips to move to the spot below my jaw.

"I got you, Babe. Let me finish, and then if you don't want to do this, I'll find another way."

I nodded, croaking out, "Sorry."

"Babe," he murmured. "No need to apologize. Mr. Nichols likes to watch couples get very close—on the dance floor and off. He watches them while they dance and while they get close at a table. Then he gets close to them and attempts to engage them in a threesome."

My eyes widened. "Oh... So you and I..." My voice trailed off as I shivered, my panties dampening at the thought.

"Yes, you and I will go in as a couple and try to gain his interest. We'll most likely need to spend at least a couple of hours there. Like I said, I won't leave your side the whole time. I won't put you in danger, Babe."

"Oh, Ranger, I know. I'm always safe with you." I straightened my shoulders, gave him a soft kiss on the lips, and stared off across the room.

"I smell burning, Babe. What's on your mind?"

I laughed. "Just being a woman. Wondering what I should wear tonight."

"Taken care of, Babe. It's on the bed. Go take a shower and get dressed."

I started to get up, but his arms tightened around me again, one hand moving up to the back of my neck and pulling me in close until his lips met mine. He kissed me hard, sucking my lower lip into his mouth and biting gently before allowing it to slide out. Then he set me on my feet.

I turned and glared at him, breathless for a minute.

"Babe?"

"How do you do that? How can that not affect you?" I asked argumentatively, feeling the heat still pooling in my lower belly.

He growled low in his chest, reached for my hand, and then pulled it down to his lap. I heard a squeak and realized it had come from me when I felt the throbbing of his obvious erection straining at his jeans. My hand automatically tried to grasp him through his clothes, wanting to feel more.

"Dios mio!" Ranger cried out, quickly moving my hand. "Not now. No time." He looked up at me slyly from under his lashes. "But if you're good, maybe later." He winked and then gave me a light shove toward the bedroom.

~oOo~

I jumped in the shower without bothering to look at the items on the bed. I took a nearly Ranger-speed shower, sadly exchanging the Bulgari I'd "procured" from Ranger's bathroom for the strawberry shampoo and shower gel I normally wore for a distraction. As soon as I was done, I hopped out, wrapped a towel around my body, and grabbed another for my hair. I opened the door and stepped out into the bedroom without looking up until I heard his breath catch.

Ranger was sitting on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. "Dios, Babe. You're killing me."

I rolled my eyes. He hopped up and came over to me quickly, his face coming down in front of mine and his tongue snaking out to catch a drop a drop of water that was threatening to fall down between my breasts. My legs nearly folded out from under me, turning into jelly. He held me firmly in his grasp so I wouldn't fall and kissed his way up my chest to my neck and from there to my lips before finally letting me go. I stumbled to the bed to sit before I fell to the floor.

Looking at me quickly, I saw his eyes darken with desire even further than they'd already been, and then he grabbed the bag he'd evidently brought for himself and disappeared into the bathroom for his turn at the shower. I quickly pulled on a robe and grabbed my comb to start taming my crazy hair.

Seven minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Ranger stepped out, dressed in tight black jeans and an even tighter black T-shirt. He had a gold chain around his neck, hidden under his shirt, and a diamond stud in one ear. Hot damn. He was so fucking gorgeous, I could just eat him up.

"Babe," he chuckled.

"Stupid ESP." I ducked past him to quickly dry my hair and then turned around to finally look at the clothes he'd brought.

I was surprised. We weren't playing Skanky Distraction tonight. Nor were we playing Corporate Skanky. The dress that was laid out on my bed was short, even by my standards, but it was beautiful. I quickly grabbed the new black lace thong from beside the dress, loving the feel of the lace on my newly waxed bottom—thank you Lula for going to the spa with me yesterday!

I pulled the dress carefully over my head. It was black and fell to about four inches above my knee. It had a flirty hem that flowed away from my body, giving it lots of movement, spaghetti straps attached with gold hardware, and a built-in bra that would be fine holding up my sadly too-small breasts. The scoop neckline showed just the right amount of cleavage without looking trashy.

I smiled softly at him, raising up to whisper in his ear, "Thanks, Batman," before moving quickly to press a gentle kiss on his lips. Then I turned and headed back to the bathroom.

As quickly as I could, I finished my hair, choosing to leave it down in soft curls. I didn't bother arguing with myself when my inner voice taunted that I'd left it down because that was the way Ranger liked it. I put on the perfect amount of makeup and then grabbed my lipstick and powder to put in the new black clutch that was still on the bed beside my latest pair of black FMPs.

When I turned around and left the bathroom, I again heard Ranger gasp quietly and then he said, "I knew it would look good. You are truly beautiful, querida."

Taking my hand, he led me to the living room. He quickly went to the kitchen counter and picked up the tiny mic and tape he'd brought with him. I felt my nipples pucker hard when he turned around and began walking slowly back toward me, giving me the wolf-grin that only Ranger could perfect.

"Now, let's get you wired up," he murmured huskily.

If he only knew how wired I already was...

"Babe," he said in a low voice, a sparkle shining in his eyes as his lips turned upwards.

"Oh, shit, I said that out loud, didn't I?" I growled.

Suddenly, everything in me stopped as his hands slipped under the top of my dress. I closed my eyes, giving myself over to the feelings of his hands on me.