All familiar characters belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine. Warnings for a little bit of language and smut.
We all have our vices, crosses to bear, or things we can't live without. And I'm no exception. I'm currently looking at all three of mine. Stephanie Plum has been a pain in my ass, the most loyal of friends, and the woman I've been lusting after from day one. Being in close proximity to her while she's in this outfit - which hardly covers the areas I know better than my own body - is doing nothing to lessen that lust. Only a public lewdness charge and an awkward phone call from my mother were keeping my hands where they are and not up the skirt of Steph's dress where they'd prefer to be.
"Do you see him?" I heard Steph ask, forcing me to take my eyes off the skin showing two inches above her nipples and really try to give a fuck about the job I'd asked her to be part of.
"Not yet, but I'm seeing a whole hell of a lot of other things more appealing than Padelleki's face," I told Stephanie, moving my heated stare down to her legs, left bare tonight as well.
The 'dress' Stephanie's wearing is ice blue, too short for anyone to see her in except me, and the criss-crossed section under her breasts were pushing them up to a distracting degree. It had a lingerie look to it which immediately got me thinking of getting Stephanie into the nearest bedroom. It'd have to be her apartment, I decided. Mine is twenty minutes too far away.
"He just walked in," Steph said a minute later, leaning in close and giving me an even better view of her chest.
Yeah, her apartment it is. Stephanie can fight me on my motives all she wants, but tonight is happening one way or another. I've been more patient with her than I've ever been towards something I want, but even I have limits. And that dress - and the woman wearing it - has pushed me past them. But before I could secure Stephanie, I had to get rid of the guy we came here to arrest.
Nathan Padelleki, although young, is quickly climbing the drug distribution ladder. He's average in every way and tries to make up for it with expensive cars, beautiful women, and designer clothes. All paid for with money used to ruin - or end - lives. I don't think he'd get his own hands dirty if he wanted to off someone, but I wasn't letting Stephanie near him unless I was with her just in case. She's the attraction tonight, not the one taking the skip down. That's why I'm here. That, and I needed a legitimate excuse to spend time with Stephanie that wouldn't freak either of us out.
What I have with Stephanie is the closest thing to a relationship I've had, and I'm bound to fuck it up at some point, which would mean losing someone I care about more than I thought it was possible to. This cat and mouse game we've been playing is far easier than dealing with the issues we both have regarding commitment. Stephanie doesn't want to be tied down any more than I do, and right now this works for us ... as long as Morelli - and any other guy interested - stays the fuck away from her. That's another reason why I'm here tonight instead of just setting Stephanie up at the bar and waiting outside. I wanted to make it extremely clear to any guy in her vicinity that I'm the only one getting her out of that dress tonight.
After cutting my eyes to Padelleki, I knew I'd made the right decision. His eyes were already glued to Steph's cleavage, and I decided in that moment that this might be her last distraction job. Thankfully, I had no time to question why someone looking at her the way Nathan is had me ready to put a bullet in his head instead of just arresting him and calling it a night.
Padelleki shrugged off the escort he'd come in with and made a beeline for Stephanie, clearly thinking that his wallet will interest her more than I do.
"Ranger, calm down," Steph whispered, before Padelleki reached us.
"I'm very calm, Babe."
Deadly so.
"No, you're not," she argued quickly. "You've been practically shooting off sparks ever since this guy walked in. Do you have a history with him that you didn't tell me about?"
Little did Stephanie know that this is solely about my history with her, nothing else.
"No," was all I told her.
"What's going on, Ranger?" She asked, her eyes darting from me to Nathan.
"Later," I said, as Padelleki approached us and flashed a smile at Stephanie.
Those veneers were also bought recently. The blinding smile he directed Stephanie's way didn't take away from the oiliness of it. I watched as Steph moved her body subtly away from Nathan's and even closer to mine, making my own predatory smile appear. Not because I'm in hunt mode for a skip, but more that I'm about to defend what's mine. And whether Steph admits to it or not, we both know she is. That movement proved it. Stephanie feels safe with me beside her, she loves me even if she won't admit that either, and she'll be with me tonight if I apply just the right amount of pressure.
I'll be doing a lot of things to Stephanie tonight, and all that is standing in my way is this asshole attempting to hit on my woman right in front of me. This will be a quick capture, and only a painless one if Padelleki keeps his mouth shut and stays well out of Stephanie's breathing space.
Nathan made a move to pick up Steph's hand as he introduced himself, and something in me snapped. Steph had my senses - and body - wound so tight, my control is misdirected. I've been working hard at not taking Stephanie right there on the barstool she's sitting on, so keeping my emotions in check when it came to someone other than me mentally fucking her is nearing impossible.
"Are you hitting on my woman?" I asked Padelleki.
"Ummm ..." Steph said, uneasily.
She had already sensed the change in me, she just didn't know what caused it.
"Don't worry, Babe," I told her.
And I let her decide if I meant not to worry about me killing the skip, or calling her my woman.
"Is this guy bothering you?" Padelleki asked Stephanie.
"Yes," she told him, then gave me a playful smile, "but he's allowed to, since he's my boyfriend and all."
Just for a second, I saw through the jealous haze and acknowledged my unusual behavior with a slight grin aimed at her.
Did I want to be Stephanie's 'boyfriend'? I definitely want to be her something, but I never appreciated labels being attached to me.
"You lookin' to trade up?" Nathan asked Steph. "He may have muscles and a pretty face, but I can make your every wish come true."
Stephanie choked on her sip of wine and I had to fight another grin. Shit like that won't work on Stephanie. She isn't a fairy tale kind of woman, nor would she trust a man offering her one. That's why she hasn't booted me out of her life. What we have isn't perfect, or even simple, but it's as real as it gets.
"No thanks," Steph told him. "I'm happy with what I have now."
Truth or lie? Both could apply.
Padelleki took a roll of hundreds from his pocket and started counting them off in front of Stephanie in a pathetic, but humorous, attempt to impress her.
"You sure?" He asked, separating a large chunk of the money and holding it up to her.
"Yes," Stephanie told him. "I'm not for sale."
"You'd better not be implying what I think you're implying," I said to the prick, my tone low and threatening.
I didn't like the idea of a man offering to pay Stephanie for her services any more than she did.
Padelleki shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time a woman's changed her mind when the right amount of cash is put in her hand."
Steph's eyes narrowed. "Well, I'm not one of those women. Carlos, hit him," she told me, purposely not using a name he'd recognize. "No one calls me a whore and gets away with it."
"Outside," I said to him, taking the opening Steph gave me.
Padelleki was moving too slow in my opinion, so I grabbed his collar and all but shoved him out the front door of the building.
"If you don't want anything broken inside your place," I heard Steph tell the bartender, "I suggest you give us a minute alone outside.
Standard bar etiquette dictates that if you hit on somebody's girlfriend, you can expect to be facing him alone if the boyfriend comes after you. Stephanie and I will now have a few minutes to get Padelleki loaded up and out of here before anyone gets curious.
When Steph came out behind us, she immediately took back her order.
"Ranger, don't hit him," she told me, "even if he does deserve it."
That is too bad, because I really want to punch the fucker ... repeatedly.
"Ranger?" Padelleki asked. "You called him Carlos inside."
"Yep, I did. Meet Carlos Manoso ... aka Ranger," she informed him.
"Ranger Manoso? Oh fuck," Padelleki said, realizing just how close he is to dying tonight.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," Steph told him. "Lucky for you, Ranger sometimes listens to me. If you do exactly what I say, he probably won't kill you for propositioning me."
"He wouldn't kill me for that," Nathan said. "It was an honest mistake. I mean that dress ..."
He is wrong about that. I would've killed him five minutes ago just for looking at Stephanie the way he had. But because she's here witnessing everything I do, I had to settle for option number two and just make him think he's going to die.
I put my Glock to the back of Padelleki's head. "It would be smart to stop talking now before I give you a brand new hole in your head for shit to leak out of."
I would have had him on the ground and cuffed already if I'd been alone, but watching Steph in action is its own turn-on. I heard Steph sigh next to me before she addressed Padelleki again.
"Just put your hands behind your back so I can cuff you, and then we'll give you a nice ride to the police station. If you ignore me and put up a fight, you'll be going to the hospital instead of the TPD. How much you piss Ranger off will determine if you get there by ambulance or meat wagon."
Damn she's hot when she takes charge like that. If I hadn't already made up my mind that I'm having her tonight, that alone would have convinced me.
Both Padelleki and I behaved ourselves on the way to the station. And I stayed professional with Stephanie up until I followed her to her apartment after we left the cop shop. I did a thorough sweep of her place and I could feel her watching me as I slowly relocked her door while remaining on this side of it. The deadbolt clicked back into place, and the sound of the chain being slid where it belonged was loud in the otherwise silent apartment. Steph knew exactly what this meant ... that I'm spending the night here with her. Her lips were parted, probably about to say something, but I was on her faster than her words could come out.
My mouth crashed down on hers, stopping all potential conversation. I needed this, needed her, and I wasn't letting her talk herself out of what we both have been wanting. While deepening the kiss, I picked Stephanie up and sat her on her kitchen counter, stepping between her legs. I've always thought the height of it is ideal for a few things I had in mind. Reaching down without letting her lips go, I slid Steph's heels off her feet and let them drop one by one to the floor. Then my hands went to her legs, moving the fabric scrap she called a dress higher up her thighs.
"Jesus, Ranger," Steph panted, when I finally released her mouth. "What the hell has gotten into you tonight?"
"I think the better, and more pressing, question, Babe, is what is getting inside you tonight? And in case I'm being too subtle," I told her, moving her panties out of my way and sliding my fingers into her, "that would be me."
"But ..."
"No buts, Stephanie," I said, leaning forward to kiss her neck while my fingers set a rhythm that her body will soon match. "If you didn't want this to happen, you never would have let me inside your apartment tonight."
I took my hand and mouth away from her body so she'd be able to think clearly and give an honest answer to my question. And I'm not ashamed to say that I also wanted Stephanie to know exactly what she'd be missing if she sent me home.
"Are you scared of me?" I asked her, quietly.
"Tonight?" Steph said, hesitantly. "Yes."
"Enough to want me to go?"
Stephanie thought about that for a beat, but then her legs came around me as she fumbled with my belt buckle.
"No," she told me, reaching both hands into my cargo pants to free me.
That was all she needed to say and do. I pulled the top of her dress down under her breasts so I'd have access to them as I moved, and I took her nipple in my mouth just as I thrust inside her. Our combined explosion happened faster than I would have liked, but it was no less mind-bending. Stephanie had come at least twice and my legs were a little unsteady, so that wasn't bad for the start of what will be a very long night.
"Holy shit," Steph whispered.
"My sentiments exactly, Babe," I told her.
Sex with Stephanie is something I'm sure I'll never tire of. I looked down at her disheveled state with an almost uncomfortable amount of satisfaction. Her mouth was partially open in disbelief, her breasts were out in the open just waiting for my hands or mouth, and we were still locked tightly together, our bodies not ready to release each other. I just had her and I immediately wanted her again. This is the only thing I'm afraid of. My need of this woman's body, friendship, and probably love, if I allow myself to think about her too long.
Fortunately, I didn't have to think about anything except our bodies. Steph shifted, completely gaining my attention. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and lifted her ass off the counter so I'd be the only thing supporting her. The position had me moving even deeper inside her and we both paused to savor the feel of it.
"That was good, Ranger. Really good," Steph murmured in my ear, "but I bet we can do even better in my bed ... with no clothes on at all this time."
I love a woman with a plan. I put her legs around my waist again and took us both down the hall to her bedroom, not questioning why the word love comes up so frequently when I'm near Stephanie.
It was only supposed to have been one night. One. A few hours for both of us to satisfy the craving we have for each other. But as with any unhealthy habit, once you feed it, you automatically want more. And that's why I'm back at Stephanie's apartment not two hours after leaving it, opening her door without knocking, and not really caring if she has plans today. I can't stay away from her and she's never stopped wanting me. Nothing we've done seems to cool the fire between us so we're just going to have to figure out how to give in to each other without getting ourselves hurt.
"Ranger?" Steph said, standing next to the counter I'll never look at the same way again, clearly surprised to see me so soon after I left. "You're back."
"Yes," I told her.
"How come? Isn't this when you usually go out of town, or suddenly become incredibly busy for a week or two?"
"Yes," I said again, letting Stephanie get all her doubts out in the open.
I can't deny the accusations, but I'm smart enough to know not to repeat them.
"But not this time?" Stephanie asked, cautiously.
Steph thinks I can read her mind, but I've just become adept at reading her, and right now her eyes were almost pleading with me. Whether she's hoping I'll stay or will agree to stay away, I'm not entirely sure. It'd be a lot fucking easier for us both if I was able to stay away from her, but I couldn't ...
"Not this time," I said out loud, finishing my internal admission.
I pulled Stephanie's body to mine and kissed her like I'm never leaving again, because this time ... I'm not.