Snowed In!

by polysgirl

Steph and Ranger get caught in a blizzard in the Colorado Rockies. Warning: Adult content.

Challenge #: January (Let It Snow)
Author: Lindsay (polysgirl)
Title: Snowed In
Rating: R

Spoilers/Warnings: through TS. WARNING: Adult content, smut, snow-related violence, and more adult content!

Many, many thanks to Stayce for helping me pick at, edit, reword, rethink, pull apart, and in general turn this into a postable work. It kind of ran away from me at first :)

And the standard disclaimer: I own nothing, except the house and Whisper. Pffft. I still haven't managed to sink my claws into Ranger, sadly.

000000000000000000

SNOWED IN

I was jarred awake as Ranger's Turbo jerked and slid. "What the hell was that?" I asked.

"Snow drift." Ranger answered. "Go back to sleep."

Nuh uh. I looked out the window. It was almost impossible to see anything but grey and white. I was used to Jersey winters. They were mild, not much to matter. Snow was usually a few inches, made everything slippery, and caused accidents, only to melt into dirty slush. This... This wasn't snow, this was something else. Ranger had the windshield wipers going on strong, and we were crawling down the highway. I couldn't see the lines dividing the highway, or the highway at all. For all I knew, we could have been driving in the ditches. I looked over at Ranger. His mouth was a tight line and there were wrinkles around his eyes. I'd noticed, over the last nine weeks, that he got those wrinkles when he was worried. It was Ranger's version of being tense.

We were somewhere in Sticksville, Colorado. Sticksville is what I nicknamed pretty well the entire portion of the state I've been in - because it was, like, the middle of no where. Right now, we were in the mountains, and if this was a real snow flurry, well, I never wanted to see one in Jersey. And, of course, it just figures that we'd have to be driving home in this... whatever the hell it was!

"Just a blizzard, Babe."

"Just? You can't see the front of the car!" The man is insane. He'd be better off to pull over and wait it out.

"Could be days." He ESP'd, and lapsed back into his zone, driving as securely as he could. The radio was on, whisper soft in the background, citing storm warnings for high winds, and blowing and drifting snow. Huh.

We were on our way back from an assignment. Yeah, as in one of Rangeman's assignments. It surprised me that he asked me along to help him. Half the time I can't even bring in my own, easy skips, without Ranger's help. Part of me was glad I came with him, and part of me felt out of balance. I looked out at the swirling snow and sighed inwardly, as Ranger navigated another snowdrift. I had knocked on his office door that day and he had motioned me in, while he was on a phone call.

"Yes."

"I can be there tomorrow."

"No."

"Yes."

"Actually, I have my own partner."

"Yes."

"Her name's Stephanie."

Conversation was not Ranger's strong suit. Mostly, he just didn't do it. When he hung up the phone, I had raised my eyebrow at him. He told me he had a proposition for me. That he had to go to Colorado on business, but he needed a partner. I had asked if they had one for him, and he said they had one in mind, but that he disagreed with their choice. Then he asked me to go with him.

Pretty sure my jaw hit the ground then, I mused, as the Porsche skidded sideways slightly. Ranger skillfully straightened it out and I went back to my thoughts. I had protested instantly - I didn't have the training! But Ranger wanted me, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then he had uttered the magic words. Please. Well hell. I'd just gone through a very nasty breakup with Morelli. He made it clear that my career, my friends, and my lifestyle meant that I wasn't good enough for him. He didn't want ME, he wanted an image of me that he created - another woman in my body. I'd been hurt, so I hurt him back. He walked, his parting words telling me that unless I changed, I would never be relationship material for anyone. It was loud, public, and insulting. My mother was having fits. That was enough to make me glad for the excuse to ditch Trenton for a while. But I did definitely wonder if ditching Trenton with Batman was really the right choice?

Well sure, I thought as I stared out past the rhythmic motion of the windshield wipers. I mean, he hadn't touched me through the entire five weeks. We drove from Trenton in his Turbo. We shared a room, a bed, stolen kisses...but he never let it get any farther. This was good. I needed time, and I think he knew that too. I didn't want him to think that he got me be default, because then he couldn't back out, claiming he was just my second choice.

"Babe." Ranger said softly, a hint of tension in his voice, interrupting my thoughts. He reached down, unclipped his phone from his belt, and tossed it to me. I barely caught it. I glanced out the window and noticed that the snow seemed thicker. "Dial 3. Ask Tank if we can use his place, and if he figures we can get to it."

I raised an eyebrow but flipped his phone open and speed dialed 3. It rang twice, and Tank answered.

"Talk."

"Geez, you even answer to Ranger that way?" Was out of my mouth before I remembered I was talking to TANK. Tank scared me. Ranger made a slight choking sound beside me. Pretty sure Tank didn't scare him, though.

"Steph? Is something wrong?" Tank ignored my comment completely, zeroing in instantly on the fact that the wrong person was on the other end of Ranger's phone.

"Not really. We're driving through some sort of sick version of snow flurries. Ranger wants to know if he can use your place and if you figure we can get to it." I repeated almost word for word. I wasn't entirely sure what Ranger meant by Tank's place, so...

"Yes, and I'll phone Jacob to make sure you can get through. Weather reports are bad. Tell Ranger to be careful. And tell him to check in with Whisper."

"Will do." I told him. I tipped my face towards Ranger. "Tank says weather reports are bad, be careful. And check in with Whisper."

"And Steph?" Tank's voice floated through the phone, his tone darkening.

"Yeah?" Now I think I need to worry.

"It's called a Blizzard, and I answer the phone that way to everyone." He growled, and disconnected. Huh. He hung up on me. Basically.

I flipped Ranger's phone shut and turned it over and over in my hand, speculating. "So..." I started. "Tank's 3rd on your priority list. Who are one and two?"

Ranger was silent. Right, nevermind, Man of Mystery, don't ask questions. I mentally slapped myself, and moved to hand his phone back. "Dial them." He suggested quietly, never taking his eyes from the road.

Now that was an opportunity that was impossible to resist. I flipped his phone open and dialed 1. It rang four times, and clicked to voicemail. "Hi, you've reached Stephanie." I flipped the phone shut before my machine finished it's thing, and glanced at him. He was fully focused on the road ahead of us. I shrugged and flipped his phone open again. I eyed the number two. I wondered who it would be. Julie, maybe? Celia? His mom?

I spent about five minutes playing guessing games in my head, and then I dialed 2 to see which answer was right. It rang once, and my cell phone started to ring. "Shit." I sighed, and flipped it shut to answer my phone. "Hello?" There was silence on the other end. I closed my phone and dropped it in my lap, and opened Ranger's phone to dial 2 again.

It rang once. And my phone started to ring. I narrowed my eyes. Someone was sabotaging this. I left Ranger's phone open and flipped mine up. "What?" I asked. There was silence on the other end again. This was definitely creepy. I stuck Ranger's phone to my other ear and was met with silence there too. I flipped both shut and stared at them.

Did that mean...? I checked the call history on my phone. Geez, why didn't I check the first time it rang?

"Both my numbers are before Tank?" I asked.

"Easiest numbers to press when the words vehicle and explosion come across the scanners."

I narrowed my eyes, and saw him grin a full 200 watt Ranger-grin. The tease. I was first in his world. The ball of warmth started in my stomach and spread through my entire body.

"So how much further?" I asked. It was only four, but it started to feel like darkness would settle anytime. And we couldn't see more than twenty feet in front of us. It was disconcerting.

"Not much." Ranger said, and lapsed back into silence. He wasn't in his zone, I could tell. His attention was fully on the road, and he eased off the gas again as the Porsche jerked through a drift, spraying snow up past my window. I could feel my hands start to tremble. Ranger reached out, gave my hand a quick squeeze, and then brought his back to the wheel. I leaned my head back against the headrest and tried to relax. I trusted him. He'd get us there safely.

Ranger let off the gas so the car could coast, and flipped his left turn signal on. A couple minutes later he very carefully started braking.

"Fuck." Ranger cursed softly. We had just turned onto a narrow road that didn't even looked like a road - there was no line between the deep drifting snow and the ditches. Just snow.

We drove for what felt like hours, Ranger navigating drifts, covering the entire road. Occasionally, he swore. The car would hit a drift, pull, and he'd straighten it as snow flew up and over the roof, coating the windows. Twice we stopped to brush the snow off, so we could see. I'm pretty sure that we were intimately acquainted with every inch of the road. It was still daylight, thank goodness, but it was still an incredible sight to see sheets of white arc up from the tires of the car and land against the window, or sail smoothly over the roof to land on the other side. Then, Ranger started to slow again, and took another left. A few drifts later, we were parking in front of a house. It looked to be a decent size, but not overly big, and no lights were on. Through the sheets of snow, it was only really a shadow.

Ranger cut the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. It took him two tries.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Just not used to the road conditions, Babe." he said softly, and reached out to unbuckle my seatbelt. "Come on."

We got out and Ranger grabbed both suitcases. We trudged carefully to the deck, bowed against the wind, and ducked under the shelter of the overhang. Ranger put the suitcases down and went to head off the deck again. I grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the key to the house."

"Where is it?"

"There's a shed about 300 feet that way." Ranger pointed. I squinted into the snow but couldn't see even an outline. It was dusk, now, and between that and the thick snowfall, I could barely see my finger if I touched it to my nose.

"You get into my apartment without a key all the time. You're not going out there." I ordered. I really didn't think I wanted him to leave me here alone. He could get lost out there. Ranger looked at me for a long minute, and nodded. He went back to the car - at least we could kind of see that - and pulled his kit out of the console. A few minutes later we were stomping our shoes in the house, before kicking them off.

Ranger shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up, before turning left and padding into a large, open room. He flicked a switch and the room lit with a soft glow. It was large and roomy with hard wood flooring, throw rugs, and black leather furniture. He walked over to the french doors and bay windows, and flicked another switch. The faint cast of an outside light made an appearance. Then, he checked a box by the stone fireplace, and set about starting a fire.

I decided against snooping - this wasn't the batcave, afterall, just Tank's house - and sat down on the couch. Ranger finished making the fire, stood, and looked at me. He raised an eyebrow.

"Comfortable?"

"Yep." I told him. The corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile, and he tipped his head at me before heading out of the room.

"Hungry?" He called to me from the other room. When am I not hungry? I got up and padded after him.

Later that night, the fire flickered to our right as we sat in relative darkness, looking out the window at the swirling snow. It was beautiful, shining under the yard light, but it's peaceful descent was interrupted by the wind, blowing it violently so that it swirled in circles, never able to fully settle. "Now that we're not driving in it, it's beautiful." I commented. I was even enjoying the violence of the storm, because we were snugged up tight in the house, able to admire the force of it without interacting with it. I felt Ranger's head nod against the top of mine, and his arms tightened around me. We had turned out the lights in the house and were sitting, snuggled together on the couch, our only light the one outside that allowed us to watch the snow dance, and the firelight shimmering, casting everything in a soft glow.

"Babe." Ranger whispered against my ear. I was sitting between his legs, his arms wrapped around me and his chin resting on my shoulder as we watched the snow fall. He turned his face into mine and traced my ear with his tongue. I shiverred involuntarily, then gasped as he moved a finger under my shirt to circle my belly button. I turned my head and met his eyes. I knew mine were wide, I could feel desire coursing through my body and it was returned in his gaze.

"Ranger?" I asked. My voice came out in a husky breath. Shit. That made me sound...Oh hell.

"Babe." He whispered again as his lips touched mine. He kissed me softly, gently, light little nibbles that I could barely feel, at first. Then he deepened the kiss, tracing my lips with his tongue before slipping into my mouth and exploring every inch. He splayed his hand across my belly, and up over my ribs, lightly brushing the underside of my breasts. I moaned despite myself and pressed my lips tighter to Ranger's, my tongue mating with his. His groan was barely audible and he shifted us, capturing me in his arms and standing in a lithe, catlike motion. He moved across the room, dragging a blanket along with us.

Before I knew it he had spread the blanket across the floor in front of the fireplace, and was laying me gently down on it. He stood back up and grabbed a throw-pillow off of the couch, and knelt to place it under my head. He rocked back on his heels, looking down at me, his eyes dark with desire. "It's time." He told me, repeating his words from the one night we'd been together before this. But this time, they meant so much more. He settled beside me on his side, spreading his hand over my ribcage and capturing my lips in a searing kiss.

Without breaking the kiss, he shifted, rolling onto me, his hips pressing mine into the floor, his weight on his elbows as he cradled my head in his hands. I brought my arms up around his neck, threading my fingers through his hair and pressing my hands into his head, holding him to me. We kissed, long, hot kisses interspersed with short, gentle ones covering the entirety of each other's faces as the firelight flickered over us. Ranger sat up, straddling me, and once again spread his hands on my belly, travelling up, my shirt sliding up with them. Before I realized what was happening, Ranger had me half naked, and was moving down to my jeans, trailing hot kisses along his way.

He lifted my hips and slid my jeans down, taking my panties with them. As he slid them off, he trailed kisses down the inside of one leg as he exposed the skin. From my thigh, down to the inside of my knee, along my calf and ankle, his mouth blazed a trail of heat. He tugged, and my leg came free. He slipped my sock off and kissed the arch of my foot before giving the same attention to the other foot, and kissing his way back up that leg. He stopped against my inner thigh, bit gently, and moved towards the promised land. I arched up against his mouth, at the same time squirming away.

"Ranger. No. You too." I gasped. I didn't want him there yet. I wanted him naked with me. He looked up at me, and flashed a wolf grin before moving back up and claiming my lips. My hands moved to his lower back, and I started working his shirt up. He broke the kiss long enough to pull the shirt over his head, and then crushed his lips to mine again, thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth, and his pelvis against mine. I whimpered into the kiss and he growled his approval.

As he broke away and went to move off, I caught his lower lip in my teeth, nipping it gently, pulling him back down to me. Then, I slipped my tongue into his mouth, running it along his teeth before sliding in further and dancing with his tongue. I ran my fingertips down his ribs, his back, smooth mocha skin that shiverred under my touch. I was amazed at the power I had over this man. I loved that I could make him quiver with so little a touch. I trailed a finger along the waistband of his cargos, finally zeroing in on the belt buckle. I wanted... needed to feel him against me. All of him.

"Easy Tiger." He said against my lips, stilling my hand. I frantically pulled his hand off of mine and went back to the buckle, finally getting it undone and slipping my hand inside the waistband to try and slide his cargos off of his hips. "Babe. Steph." He groaned, then kissed me again as I finally met my goal. I was just coherent enough to note that he was, indeed, commando, when he pressed his now naked hips into mine heat shot through me and my body arched off the floor.

He growled his approval, then trailed kisses down my jawline, neck, shoulder, and down. He paused over my breasts, his tongue hot as he laved my nipple. I arched against him, seeking more, and he gave in to my demand and increased the pressure of his mouth. And oh, the things this man can do with his mouth. He kissed my stomach, slowly making his way lower. He dipped his tongue into my belly button and I writhed under him, then he moved lower still, and I lost all conscious thought.

He was moving back up my body, kissing my chin, and then my cheek, as I came back down to earth. "Ranger." I panted.

"Carlos." He said against my lips, before kissing me deeply. He shifted to settle fully against me.

"Carlos!" I gasped, moving against him, seeking him. "I need-"

"What do you need?" he asked me, his voice raspy, his breathing heavy.

"I need-" I cut myself off again, trying to find that oh so perfect pressure.

"This?" he asked, moving slightly until he was pressed against me, seeking entrance.

"Yes!"

He kissed me, quick and hard, as he started to slide inside me. Then, with barely the tip of him inside, he stopped.

"No." I moaned, thrusting my hips towards him, trying to bring him in deeper. He stilled my movements with a hand, and I opened my eyes to look at him. He was staring at me, his eyes dark pools, intent and focussed. One hand was fisted in my hair, the other splayed across my hip, preventing me from moving.

"Mine." he whispered, before sliding the rest of the way into me in one long, agonizingly slow movement. His eyes never left mine as he withdrew, and then thrust into me again, and his hand moved up my body to join the one in my hair. "Mine." he repeated. I dug my fingers into his shoulders as he claimed my mouth again, and held on to him as I drowned in a sea of sensation.

He rolled to the side afterwards, and cradled me into his body. The only sounds in the room was our labored breathing and the crackling of the fire. My body was trembling in the aftermath and Ranger tightened his hold on me. I realized, through the haze of afterglow, that he was just as affected as I was. He was trembling, too.

We must have dozed, because my next conscious thought was that the fire was almost out. I was still tangled up with Ranger, and I snuggled closer to him, stealing his body heat to ward off the chill in the air. He made a small, contented noise and tightened on arm around me, while his other hand gently caressed my back and shoulders. We stayed like this, in silence, for a while. I snuggled into him and explored his body with my hands, enjoying the way I was affecting him.

"Dios, Babe." He groaned, his voice strained. "Let's go to bed." He untangled us - I really wasn't much help, and then got us both to our feet. He gathered all of our clothes and tucked them under his arm, before taking my hand. "Come on." He said.

"Wait. I can't walk through Tank's house naked!"

"Babe." Ranger gave his head a barely visible shake, and tugged me along through the house, down a hall, and into the bedroom. Inside was a big king-sized bed, night stands, a chest of drawers, a single chair, and our suitcases. I made a beeline for the suitcases and my pajamas.

"What're you doing?" Ranger asked, coming up behind me and pulling me to him. I squeaked and squirmed away as I felt him harden against me.

"Getting pajamas."

"You don't need them. Come on." he snaked his arm against my stomach and walked backwards towards the bed, pulling me with him.

"Um..." I pulled away again and turned to face him. "I don't know if I'm comfortable being...intimate...in Tank's bed." I stuttered. Ranger shook his head slightly, and his lips curled upwards in amusement.

"Babe. We were intimate on his living room floor. Is there really a difference?"

"He's mad at me about the phone thing. I don't want to push it." I said reasonably.

"Babe." Ranger shook his head. "He was messing with you."

"If he was, he's dead. I've got mercenary tricks on my side now." I grumbled. Yeah, ok, so about my only mercenary trick was the one where I could wrap one very specific mercenary man around my finger. And that specific man was NOT Tank. And the one in question probably only let me because it suited his purposes. But it sounded good. Ranger shook his head ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth turned up in a hint of a smile, the one that he always wore when he was amused. Then he stepped into me, and kissed me again. He wrangled us on to the bed, but I managed to twist so that I landed on top of him.

I flashed him a wolf grin of my own, and started to work my way down his body. "My turn." I told him, and bit his chest. Ranger hissed, and allowed me a few more minutes of exploration before he flipped me onto my back and covered my body with his.

"Not this time, Babe." He trailed a finger down the side of my face, then lowered his head and kissed me again, his tongue sliding into my mouth and tangling with mine. Ranger was magic, and pretty soon we could have been on Tank's couch with him sitting across from us and I wouldn't have cared.

I woke up the next morning much the same as I had every morning for the last month - draped on top of Ranger, our bodies a tangle of arms and legs. I made a happy noise and burrowed my face into his neck, before the difference I had been vaguely aware of sunk in. We had no clothes on. No silk boxers for Ranger, no shorts and tank top for me. His arms tightened around my back, and he trailed a fingertip up my spine, making me shiver.

"You sore?" he whispered in my ear. I squirmed against him, testing, and felt him twitch.

"Mm... nope." I sighed into his neck.

Ranger disentangled us enough to take my head and bring it up so I was staring down into his face. He looked at me, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Ok, so I was sore. We'd only spent half the night testing our physical endurance.

"Not that sore." I told him, and wiggled against him again for good measure. I watched his eyes darken and grinned. I was feeling mischevious.

"Don't start something you can't finish." He warned me, swatting me on the ass.

"Hey! I resent that! You're the one who won't let ME play." I told him. Twice the night before, I tried to tease, torment, and explore him, and twice he had put a stop to it the moment he was in danger of losing control, flipping me underneath him and taking over. I started to untangle myself and crawl out of bed. "I need to buy a couple of sets of handcuffs." I grumbled, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I shrieked when Ranger's arm snaked out and hauled me back on top of him.

"You want to be handcuffed?" He asked me. "That can be arranged."

"No!" I squealed, and tried to squirm away. "Handcuff YOU!" I wiggled again, trying to get free of his grasp. He wasn't letting me. In one swift move he flipped us and slid his tongue into my mouth. And I was gone. I'm so easy.

"Mmmm." I mumbled as we came back into awareness later that morning. "Can I?"

"Can you what, Babe?" Ranger asked, his voice soft and husky.

"Handcuff you?"

I felt him chuckle, a low vibration in his chest. "Maybe later." He kissed my forehead. "Right now we should get up and clean up. I need to get some wood." He kissed me one more time before getting out of bed and motioning me to join him. We showered together before heading towards the kitchen. A glance out the window assured me that it was still snowing, and still snowing heavily, although the wind seemed to have died down.

"Gotta go get wood, Babe." Ranger said after he got a pot of coffee brewing. He headed to the entry closet and started digging out warm clothes. I joined him in hopes of finding something my size. He looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

"I've never seen this much snow. I want to go out in it." I told him.

Ranger raised an eyebrow at me, and shook his head before tossing me a snowsuit. We got dressed, and Ranger pulled a wool hat over my head before pointing me towards a pair of snow boots, and handing me gloves. We trudged out into the cold, snowy day.

I stopped in the deep snow a little ways away from the house, marvelling at it. It was practically up to my waist. Bob could drown in this stuff, I thought. Ranger didn't stop with me, he just kept slogging through the snow, dragging a yellow sled behind him towards the woodpile, on the other side of the yard. I looked down at the snow, and back up at Ranger's retreating back, and had an evil, nasty thought. I remembered that he left his guns in the house, so I was safe.

I bent down and formed a nice, good-sized, solid snow ball. Then I stood, aimed, and launched it. It was a perfect throw and caught Ranger smack between his shoulder blades. He spun around, and stared at me. I was aiming for an innocent look but there was no way I could wipe the grin off of my face.

"Babe." He looked at me, disbelief in his voice and written across his face. Stephanie, One. Ranger, goose-egg. Ha! I smiled sweetly at him and he shook his head before turning and continuing towards the wood pile. I made my way deeper into the ocean of white, and dropped to make a snow angel. I sank halfway to China in the process, and wrecked half the angel trying to get out. Damn, I sighed, looking down at my imperfect creation. Oh well, I thought, and moved over a few feet to try again. This time I managed to get up and out of the angel without ruining it. I stepped back a bit and surveyed my angel. She was perfect.

I was debating the merits of hauling ass back to the house to get my camera and take a picture of it, when I found myself flying through the air. I sqeaked as I landed in a spray of snow, Ranger's body firmly on top of me. I tensed immediately. "What? What's wrong?" I whispered urgently.

"This is war." He informed me. Ohhh..Shit. This was about the snowball.

"It was only a-" I started to protest, when he dumped a mitful of freezing cold snow on my face, and shoved off of me. Oh yeah, the war was definitely on. I scrambled to my feet and leapt at him in a tackle nowhere near as graceful as his, and we rolled together in the snow, each vying for the top position. I managed to scoop some wet snow down Ranger's shirt, and he hissed at the cold against his skin before rolling on top of me and snagging my hat off in the process. My head hit the snow and I felt steam coming off of it as it contacted cold. I threw more snow in his face, and he paused for a minute, before an evil grin flashed across his face. Uh Oh. I didn't have time to react before my shirt was as snow filled as his was. Oh no way.

I heaved up and managed to flip our positions. I pinned him as best I could underneath my body and grabbed a mitful of snow. He was stronger than I was though, and rolled us AGAIN. He pinned me with his shoulders, and grabbed at more snow. I still had my mitful in one hand. My other hand pulled at his waistband, but just as I started to dump the snow down his pants, he hissed and attacked, grabbing my arms and pinning them above my head. "I win." He said darkly, then claimed my lips with his.

He was kissing the daylights out of me. I squirmed underneath him, trying to feel him through our snow suits, an impossible task. I moaned under his kiss, his hands still holding mine prisoner above my head. He shifted slightly so that he could take both of my hands in one of his, and his other trailed along towards my waist. I kissed him back, and was almost totally lost when he suddenly broke the kiss and reared up, looking down at me, his breathing as ragged as my own. Then, he dumped an entire truckload of snow on me, on my face, down my shirt, enough that it fell down through the snowsuit into my pants. I shrieked at the cold, as it hit my overheating body, and Ranger pushed to his feet.

I laid there in shock for a minute, before launching myself at him again. "Bastard!" I shouted, taking us down into snow once again, giggling as we rolled everywhere, throwing snow and kissing and attacking in play.

We were still going strong when a large shadow fell over us. Ranger was in the middle of kissing me senseless, again, and we didn't even notice until someone cleared their throat, loudly. We jumped, both of us, and Ranger rolled off me, lying on his back breathing hard, staring up at the new person. I squinted up as well.

"Geez. Thought someone broke in." A girl, sitting bareback on a big brown horse, stated.

"Just me." Ranger said. "Was going to check in with you this afternoon." He scrambled in the snow to find footing and got to his feet, reaching down and pulling me up with him. My hair was a soaking wet nest, and it dripped down my back.

"Who's this?" The girl asked.

"Stephanie."

"Girlfriend? Wife? Fiance?" The woman was relentless.

"Whisper." Ranger warned.

"Mistress? Oh Geez. Ricky, please don't tell me you've stooped that low."

"You make me regret ever letting you find out my full name, Mouth." Ranger told her. I was still smarting over the mistress remark. Did I LOOK like a slut? "Stephanie is a co-worker." He told her.

"Looks like more than a co-worker to me. Do you know how long Orion and I stood here watching you two?"

"Mouth." Ranger narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'll phone Tanky. He'll tell me." She humphed. No doubt he would, too, I thought. "How is Tanky?" She jumped subjects quickly.

"Good. Misses you. Come down off that horse and tie him up. We'll go in for coffee." Ranger told her. He turned me towards the house and I walked along beside the horse, as Whisper rode to the deck. Ranger went off for the firewood that had been his purpose in coming out anyhow. Somehow it got forgotten before he got halfway to the pile. Hm...wonder how that happened.

Whisper tied her horse loosely to the railing, and told him to stay. Then we both headed into the house.

"He won't get loose?" I asked, looking back at the horse.

"He's trained to ground tie. He won't move until I go get him." She said, and didn't offer any more conversation. I snooped through Tank's kitchen and pulled out coffee mugs in an uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to say to the younger woman, and she didn't seem to have any desire to talk to me. She got the sugar out and placed it on the counter, then leaned against it, surveying the kitchen.

The sliding door in the living room opened, and we heard Ranger toss an armload of wood in the box, then three more, before it closed again. When he didn't come in right away, I sat at the table and waited. Guess he was going for another sled-load.

"So what are you and Ranger?" The girl named Whisper finally asked me.

I debated how to answer that. I wasn't sure what we were. Things had changed last night, that's for sure. And playful Ranger, in the snow - that was new too. "We're kind of still figuring that out." I finally told her.

"What's he to you?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I sensed a threat there, and I didn't like the implication I thought might be behind it.

"What is he to you? Financial security?"

"He's my best friend." I said, shortly. I wasn't giving her more than that. It wasn't any of her business.

The door slid open again and more wood was thrown into the box. A minute later, Ranger came in the front door, bringing a blast of cold air with him. I shivered, and got up to pour the coffee. Once the coffee was on the table I dumped four heaping spoonfuls of sugar into mine. "What?" I said, when Ranger gave me a pointed look.

"That stuff'll kill ya, Babe." he told me, kissing the top of my head before sitting down beside me. Whisper added a spoonful and a half of sugar, not heaping, into her cup and Ranger shook his head at her too.

"At least I'm having sugar with my coffee, not coffee with my sugar." she rolled her eyes. Ranger had just covered my hand with his, and he squeezed mine when it jumped underneath him at the insult.

"Easy, Mouth." he told her. "How've you been?" He asked, changing the subject instantly, his thumb rubbing circles over the back of my hand while he sipped his coffee.

"Good." She answered. "Working with the horses, mostly. I spent the summer at the local racetrack helping a trainer out. Think I'll do it again next year. Then I'll buy some horses from the track to retrain." While she talked, I sat back and let Ranger toy with my hand. I looked Whisper over good. She was young, definitely. She had Tank's skin color, with straight, black hair that fell halfway down her back, and green eyes. She was very short, about 5'1. And she was very thin and straight. She was beautiful, and there was even a hint of Tank in there.

I was still cold even after finishing my cup of coffee, so I excused myself to go take a shower. Ranger gave me a look that said he'd join me if I waited, but I was cold now, and my hair was a wreck. When I came back down, hair successfully tamed and body heated up by a good ten degrees, he was telling Whisper about my propensity to blow up cars. Gee. Thanks.

"Batman." I glared at him, and he grinned back.

"Babe." He shrugged at me, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. I made a wide circle around him to pick up my coffee cup and put it in the sink. Maybe it was irrational, but I felt...hurt, that he would be laughing about my mishaps, even if the one in question did involve his Porsche Boxster. Before I could grab the mug, though, he reached out and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me to him. Crap. He knew, and he wasn't going to let me run away.

"How many cars?" Whisper asked.

"A lot." I mumbled.

"Keeps me on my toes, babe." he said into my hair, then moved so his chin was on my shoulder. Whisper eyed us for a minute, then stood.

"I should get going. I will get an invitation to the wedding, right?"

"What wedding?" I asked.

"Ours, Babe."

"We're-"

"If there ever is a wedding, you will be invited, Mouth. Don't assume things." He told Whisper, standing us up and walking over to her. He raised an eyebrow and she grinned at him. I noticed that he absolutely didn't touch her, but wasn't sure if that was because of me, or something else. Ranger invited her to dinner the next evening, and she nodded. We walked her to the door and she pulled her snow clothing on quickly, before heading out and untying the horse. She swung up onto his back in one easy movement and turned him to head off in the direction she came.

Ranger pulled me to him and hugged me for a minute. I rested my head against his shoulder and breathed in Bulgari and warm Ranger. He ran a hand down my back, stopping when it reached my waist. He pulled back, and guided me to the living room. I sat on the couch while he got a fire going, and then disappeared into the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later with hot chocolate for me, and tea for him. Then, he sat down beside me and scooted me closer to him.

"So..who exactly is Whisper?" I asked.

"Tank's sister." He told me, and re-positioned us so I was sitting in his lap.

"Um... is there a reason I'm in your lap?" I asked him.

"We're alone, with no interruptions, no work, no Morelli." He said pointedly. "I'm taking advantage."

Ok then. "Does she live alone up here?"

"She lives with her uncle."

"And her name is Whisper? It sounds like a code name."

"Her name's Willow. Their parents were...free-spirits. They lived up here, isolated, and had their own idea of life."

"What's Tank's name?"

"You don't want to know, Babe." Ranger chuckled.

"Yes I do."

"Tank'll kill me if I tell you."

I huffed. Maybe I can trick it out of him. Or maybe Lula can get him to tell her. Hm... Then I wondered why Whisper lived with her uncle.

"Where are their parents?"

"They died in Africa, doing Red Cross work. Tank and I were in Special Ops at the time."

"So that's where Tank gets his desire to help people from. You too?"

Ranger stilled. I think maybe he quit breathing. There was tension in his body and his voice when he finally spoke. "Babe. We've killed people."

"But not innocents." I knew Ranger had killed, but I couldn't see Ranger killing anyone innocent. And that meant he killed to help people.

"Too many times, Babe. I told you once, there are things you don't want to know about me."

"Oh." I said again. I focussed on the fire and watched the flames dance over the wood. The snow had slowed, and looked like it was thinking about stopping. I leaned heavier into Ranger's shoulder and closed my eyes. His arms were still around me, and I threaded my fingers with his. He'd killed innocents. That was his deep dark secret? Maybe, but I didn't feel right about asking about it now. I'm sure he didn't do it by choice, though. He wasn't that type of person.

"You still have the most admirable moral code of anyone I know." I told him.

He didn't answer. I wiggled out of his arms and turned myself to sit sideways on his lap. I twisted to face him and ran my fingers through his hair before wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his shoulder.

"You oughta be disgusted, Babe." He said quietly, some time later. It was getting dark out, and the room was cast in shadows.

"I can't be. I...I...I love you. For who you are, what you believe. Not what you've done." I didn't know if he heard me, I barely heard me. Then, he tightened his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head.

"I love you too, Babe." he whispered. "Dios, I don't deserve you."

I didn't have an answer to that, and we lapsed into silence again. We didn't speak again until a chill was in the air, and I shivered in his arms.

"Cold?" He asked me.

"I'm ok. How long, do you think, until we're not snowed in anymore?" I said. His hand rubbed up and down my back, and then he stood, cradling me to his chest.

"A few days. Let's go to bed." He said softly. I nodded into his shoulder and waited for him to set me down. He didn't, just carried me into the bedroom and set me on the bed. Then, he settled on top of me and cradled my face in his hands. "Babe." he whispered, "I can't believe how easily you accept me." He tipped his head down and kissed me. He loved me thoroughly, and then tucked me tightly in his arms, my head against his chest, his heart beating erratically in my ear. It had been different, this time. So much more profound, so much more intimate. As his heartbeat slowly regulated itself, it lulled me to sleep.

I woke up before Ranger did, and trailed a finger down his ribs. He stirred in his sleep, mumbling my name. Slowly, I wiggled up his body as he started to wake up. Thank goodness I had thought this earlier. I reached under the one pillow and carefully, silently snagged the handcuffs I'd hidden earlier when I went to shower. It was my turn, and he wasn't taking over halfway through this time. I placed the cuffs above his head, then threaded my hands in his as I kissed him. He came awake instantly but, thank God, paid more attention to what I was doing to his mouth than his hands, and he stayed pliable as I raised them above his head.

"Babe." He murmurred against my lips. "You taste good." Good, I thought, kissing him again. His tongue slid into my mouth and I wiggled against him, causing him to growl low in his throat. As he did, I clicked one set of handcuffs onto one wrist, and onto the bedpost. Ranger stilled instantly, and I anchored his other arm, fumbling with the other cuff, finally managing to snap it on. He twisted his arm away, cuff dangling from his wrist.

"Babe." He looked at me, his eyes dark. I think I should have been scared of that look, but there wasn't much he could do to me, cuffed to the bed. I struggled for a minute to keep him from flipping me despite the one arm being immobilized, and then managed to snag his hand and cuff that one to the bed, too.

"There." I said, giving him a satisfied smile.

"What, exactly, are you doing?"

"You said 'later.'" I told him. Comprehension dawned on his face.

"I said 'maybe later.'"

"Same thing. My turn." I gave him the most evil grin I could muster, then shimmied down his body to nip at his shoulder, and then his chest. He hissed as I licked around his nipple, and again when I moved up to bite his shoulder, before moving back down.

"Steph." His voice was raspy, warning, as I made my way down his stomach, and lower.

"My turn." I whispered again, unable to keep my glee and delight from my voice. I was so looking forward to exploring every inch of this magnificent man. He was my man, and this was my chance to drive him wild. "This time, you can't stop me."

"Maybe not, but I've got at least three days to make you pay." Ranger groaned, his hips lifting off the bed as I licked a sensitive spot on his thigh. "Dios!" He could make me pay all he wanted. But right now, I was gonna run up one hell of a bill.

The End

From EOT