Disclaimer: I do no own the Stephanie Plum or any other of the brilliant characters. I love the series and wish I could meet JE one day!
Author's Note: This story was based on another fic that I've written for the Hunger Games. The original was inspired by a Harry Potter fic so this, then, is too. I don't have anything against Joe/Steph pairings but I don't think that they could have truly got along forever. I prefer Steph fics to be written in 1st person, but I wrote this in 3rd, so that the same plot could be applied. I hope you enjoy this one-shot. :) Though in all fairness, it's most likely gonna turn into something much much longer.
***ZRS***
Dreaming Of Innocent Lust: Prologue/Intro/Basic Lead-In
By ZRS aka Chech
Stephanie. There she lay on her bed. Unsuspecting of the world around her. Unaware of the presence of another shadow in the room. Her shirt had ridden up and her now her flat stomach was on display and on show. The man that had entered her room trailed his gaze over her exposed skin, his intense, ebony eyes, in themselves licking a path over her youthful flesh.
His stance was as a cat's, quiet and deadly, but far from menacing, simply alluringly calm and controlled. He had pondered over the woman before him for years now. They had been through so much together. Together, he knew that the were perfect, and when they were apart, he knew that part of him was missing. Recently, a part of him had been missing a great deal more.
But he had brushed her off, repeatedly. He knew, deep down, that he must stop. He was only hurting her and himself. He could not bring himself to face her, not until now.
Across the room, he noticed that Stephanie was moving, her hand reaching up to rub her neck, something, he had noted, she did, both awake and asleep, whenever he was near. She would rub her skin to get rid of the tingle, the same one he always felt in her presence. He always noticed the small movements she made and how she reacted to anything and everything. Most importantly though; his touch.
He had never asked about the tingle that Steph would get. He was sure that he was right, not just because he once overheard her cursing her reaction, not just because he also felt it, but because he could just sense it. He never made an effort to rub his tingly sensation away, though. He always found it pleasant and calming. No doubt Steph felt it in a tickling way, but in her eyes, it was clear that she still liked having it. The two of them were most certainly destined for each other.
Up until a few days ago, she had always tried to never go too far with him. She knew that he had always told her that they could never be together. She had had one fantastic night with him. For that one night, he had been her amazing lover, but the next morning, he had shaken her off like a whore and just left, telling her to fix her relationship with her on again-of again boyfriend.
Of course, there was nothing else to do. She always tried to tell herself that Ranger would change. That he would no longer push her back to Joe. But now she was breaking. In her sleep, she would be tormented by him making sweet love to her and waking up, knowing that he would never come after her. Not even now, now that she had decidedly broken up, for the last and final time with Joe. Not even when the rumours of Joe hitting her once or twice came out.
Ranger had been gone for a while now. A month at most. He had gone to Miami because the were short on men there. An explosion had left a lot of body parts in plaster and slings, so men were forbidden from field-work.
Lester had gone too, leaving Tank and Bobby to man Trenton. Lester could see that Ranger had not only transferred himself to help, but also, to get away. Steph's relationship with both Joe, and Ranger, had been taking it's toll. Ranger would let his guard slip more often than Lester had ever seen, and most of the time, his eyes looked pained and filled with sorrow.
Steph had turned over, still deeply asleep, not yet dreaming. Ranger had always been scared about how she couldn't hear intruders. While he was away, the fear had only increased, and it was one of many, all of which stemmed from her protection, and the need to improve it. When Ranger looked over at Steph, all he could think about was finally breaking down in front of her, and telling her the truth. Hoping, now that she had the pieces of his heart, that she would treasure them, and not crush them into dust. He knew damn well that he had betrayed her trust and her honour. For that, he knew he deserved a far worse punishment than death.
It was then that he noticed exactly what she was doing. He had watched her tumble and struggle with her bedding during the night, all too often for someone who technically had no right to watch her sleep at night, imagining how sweet it would be, to just make love to her, right there, in her sleep.
Her hand fumbled with her panties, pushing them down her legs. Ranger, who was looking on ahead made the sudden realization that his jeans were much too tight for that sort of situation. His eyes filled with lust, leaving hardly any of his ebony iris on show. He stood paralysed, watching hungrily and intently latching onto the beautiful woman before him. He would have moved closer to her, but he just couldn't. His feet were rooted to the floor and he felt hot. Not just sweaty, adrenaline hot, but like his whole body was combusting under his skin.
Eventually, Stephanie's feet finally kicked the little strip of fabric, that Victoria's Secret called a thong, onto the floor. Ranger made an oath to collect them, when and if, he ever left her room. Her hands travelled down her body once more, arching up into them, causing her tight shirt to ride up even more.
Her hands passed her breasts, cascading down over her belly and slipping in between her own, musk-covered folds. She opened her mouth, sighing, moaning and groaning and her own touches. And that was when he heard it. It was clear what she said, intentionally or not. But Ranger couldn't believe it. He though … that after everything … that he would never have the chance of the honour to hear it. And then … there it was again … His name.
It was clear she was dreaming, and Ranger liked what she was dreaming about. When she awoke, there would definitely be a great deal to talk about and discuss. But for now, Ranger finally plucked up the strength to push one shaky foot forward and take a step. Moving in closer and closer …
***ZRS***
Author's Note: Sorry; I know it's short. The next chapter was supposed to be the whole thing, but I know that I'll probably cave in and write another 2 chapters at least. Enjoy! And please review, you know I always appreciate it.