Disclaimer: JE owns them. I do not. This is a sequel to my story Anniversary Surprise. It isn't absolutely necessary to read that first, but you'll be missing out if you don't! Warning for lemony goodness.

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The Great Birthday Hunt

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Chapter 1: One Month Before...
Stephanie's POV

When the clock hit four, I stood up and stretched. I'd eaten lunch today while working so I could take off a couple of hours early. I had big plans and needed to talk to Tank. Setting aside a few searches to have Annie run in the morning, I grabbed my stuff and headed to Tank's office.

Knocking, I waited for his customary greeting, but was surprised when instead, he said, "Come in, Bomber."

I walked in, shutting the door behind me. "Psychic, Tank?" I laughed.

"Nope, just remembered you'd asked if you could come talk to me at this time today," he said seriously.

I took a seat on the couch, propped my feet up on his coffee table, and then pulled out my little notebook and a pen from my purse. "Tank, come relax. This is a fun discussion, I promise." I pointed to the other side of the couch.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Boss'll kill me if he sees me relaxing on company time, especially with his woman." He obviously wasn't too worried, though, as he came over and took a seat on the other end of the couch, facing me. "So what's up?"

"I want to plan a surprise birthday party for Ranger. Remember the scavenger hunt a few months ago for our anniversary? I want to do something like that, only it'll end up at Rossini's with all the RangeMan crew, some other friends, and our families there. I know he's not a huge fan of birthday celebrations, especially for his own birthday, but I don't care," I said, laughing. "He'll play along because I'm doing it."

Tank grinned at me. "That's great, Steph. What can I do to help?"

"Okay, a few things. First, one of my gifts to him is that I'm going to try to bring Julie up here for the party and to stay a week. So if Rachel allows it, I'll need someone to pick Julie up at the airport and stash her at Ranger's parents' house."

Tank nodded. "Consider it done."

"Next thing has to do with the day of the party. I'm going to have him blindfold himself, and I'll need someone to drive him out to Rossini's. I believe that'll be your personal job, because if anyone can get him to go along with it, you can." He laughed, and I continued, "Finally, I want to get him a new custom-fit leather shoulder holster. I'll get his measurements from Ella, but I need to know the best place to order it from."

"That one's easy. Gimme your paper and I'll write down the info for you."

I passed him the notebook and took it back when he was done.

"Thanks, Tank. I've gotta go run an errand and then make some phone calls before Ranger gets back for the night. Keep this to yourself! I'm going to make it a surprise if it kills me," I told him.

Glancing at the clock, I realized I was running out of time, so as soon as I left Tank's office, I grabbed the Cayenne's keys from the control room and sped to the jeweler's, taking the pendant and money clip I'd bought last week to be engraved. Once I dropped them off, I hurried back to RangeMan to make the phone calls.

I ran upstairs to seven, grabbed the phone, and dialed the number in Miami I'd come to memorize over the last year and a half.

"Hello?" Rachel's voice answered.

"Hi, Rachel. It's Stephanie."

"Oh! Steph, how are you? Is everything okay?" She began to sound alarmed.

"Yes, Rachel," I laughed, "everything's fine. I have a question for you and Ron, though. You know Ranger's birthday is next month, right?"

"August twelfth, yes," she replied.

"Part of my gift to Ranger, if you'll allow it, is to buy a plane ticket for Julie and have her come up for a surprise party I'm planning for him. Then I thought they would both like it if she could stay the week."

"Oh, I don't see a problem with that. She'd have to be out of school, but she's doing well enough that we could pick up her work ahead of time and send it with her, as long as you made sure it gets done." Rachel laughed. "You really expect to keep the party a surprise from Ranger?"

"I hope to. The invitations won't go out until about two weeks before the party, and Tank will help me keep the guys from spilling the beans. It's the 'Burg gossip I'm most worried about, though." I groaned, thinking of the grapevine here in town.

"Good luck with that," she laughed again. "Although, after hearing from Julie about the scavenger hunt he planned for your anniversary, I'd wager that he's so in love with you, he'd go along with it, even if he did find out."

I chuckled. "I'm doing something similar for him, as well. I think he'll enjoy it." I smiled, remembering our anniversary and our trip to New York City a few months back.

"Okay, well, just get back to me on the flight details, and I'll get it set up with Julie's school. Ron won't have a problem, and I know Julie'll be thrilled."

"Thanks, Rachel! That's a big part of his gift, so I'm glad you agreed to let her come up. Talk to you soon," I said, hanging up when I heard her welcome in reply.

I grabbed the phone book to look up the number for the restaurant and dialed as I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Thank you for calling Rossini's. May I help you?" a young woman's voice asked.

"Yes, hi. I need to speak to someone about reserving the largest back room for next month for a dinner party of thirty, or possibly more, people."

She laughed and said, "Let me get you to Brian, my manager. He'll have to arrange it for that many people. Do you mind if I put you on hold for a minute while I go find him?"

"Not at all," I replied. "Thank you."

There was silence for nearly two minutes, until a deep voice said, "This is Brian. Sorry it took so long. I was in the back room looking at the stock in the cooler. Now, Tracy said you wanted to reserve the big room for a large party?"

"Yes, at least thirty. Do you know Ricardo Manoso?" I asked, knowing he did.

"Yes, Ranger's been a friend for many years. Is this Stephanie?" he asked.

I laughed. "Yes, it is. We've been in your restaurant many times. It's wonderful."

"Thank you! Now, when do you want to book it for and what's the occasion?"

"Ranger turns thirty-two next month, on the twelfth. I'm planning a surprise party for him a few days before his birthday. His family and mine will be there, as well as quite a few of the people from RangeMan and a few of our friends. I'm not sure of the exact night, since a lot depends on the availability of the back room there," I told him honestly.

"Let me check something on the calendar. Give me just a minute." It was quiet for a bit, and then he came back on the phone. "Okay, Stephanie, how about this. On Thursday, the tenth, we don't have any current reservations. Instead of the back room, how about I just close the restaurant and open it up for a private party? There's normally an extra three hundred dollar charge, but for you and Ranger, I'll waive that. All you'll be required to pay for are the dinners and any gratuity you feel the service and meals are worth. Does that work for you?"

I was speechless. "Brian, I don't know what to say! I can't let you close down the restaurant for us..."

He quickly replied, "Ranger and RangeMan have been a great help to us for years. I would love to do something to return the favor. Consider it my thank you and my happy birthday to the man himself."

"All right," I quickly answered. "Before you change your mind, book it for the tenth, then. It may be up to say, forty people. It'll depend on which guys in the company can make it. And please, try to keep it under wraps as to who the party is for. I really would love it if I could surprise him!"

"Consider it done, Stephanie. You are now booked under the name Rick Edwards. Let me know closer to the date about what time you'd like to start the party and how many people you expect, and we'll get it set up for you."

"Thank you so very much, Brian! This was so much better than I'd planned. I'll speak to you in a few weeks. Bye!"

"Goodbye, Stephanie."

After hanging up, I grabbed my address book from the desk and flipped to find Ranger's parents' phone number.

"Hello, Stephanie," Maria, Ranger's mother, said as soon as she answered the phone.

I chuckled. "ESP like your son?"

"No, dear. Caller ID." She laughed and then asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was calling to tell you that I'm in the middle of planning a surprise party for Carlos's birthday next month. I'll be sending out invitations, but I wanted to go ahead and give you the heads-up so you can start passing out the info to all of Carlos's siblings and their families. We'll do a family picnic the day of his birthday for the kids, but the dinner out will be adults only. Could you please mark down August tenth and spread the word? Quietly, of course, as I really would like this to be a surprise."

Maria laughed again. "I put a note in my day planner, Stephanie. I know we'll all be there. I'll look forward to hearing more details soon. Please call if you need any help!"

"I will, thank you. I need to make one more phone call and I have about ten minutes until Carlos gets home from work, so I need to go. Thanks again, Maria! Tell the family we said hello."

"Will do. Give Carlos my love. Goodbye, Stephanie."

We hung up, and instead of calling, I decided to head down to six and see Ella in person. I wrote a note to Ranger in case he made it up before I got back and then quickly ran down the stairs to Louis and Ella's apartment.

Ella answered the door after only a few beats. "Stephanie, what a pleasure! Was I supposed to make you dinner tonight?" She looked around, confused.

"Oh, no, I'm not here about dinner. I need a favor," I said.

"Come in, dear. What can I do for you?"

We took a seat on the sofa right inside the door.

"Ella, you know Ranger's birthday is next month, right?" I waited for her nod before continuing. "I'm planning a surprise birthday party for him a couple of days before his birthday. You and Louis are invited, of course. It will be at Rossini's. But the reason I'm here now is because I need to get his latest measurements. I'm going to get him a leather shoulder holster custom-made, and I want to make sure it fits him perfectly."

"That's a wonderful idea, dear. Give me just a second and I'll get those for you." She came back a minute later with a scrap of paper in her hand. "Here you are, Stephanie. Let me know if I can do anything to help, okay?"

I gave her a quick hug and said thank you before heading back up to seven. True to form, I grabbed the elevator, giving the guys in the control room a finger wave and smiling at the camera.

I'd been back less than three minutes when I heard Ranger coming into the apartment. Before I could react, he was across the room and had me pressed against him.

"Babe," he said huskily. "I've been thinking of doing this all day."

He leaned down and kissed me, our tongues slipping around the other's and teeth clashing. He broke away from my mouth as we gasped for air. Then I felt him tug at my hair to turn my head to the side a bit. Suddenly, his lips were on my neck and he was kissing and nibbling my neck and shoulder like a dying man going back for his last supper. His desire was almost palpable, and when his hips pushed up against mine, I felt his need for me through his cargoes.

"Carlos," I whimpered. "I want you..." To show him just how much, I thrust my hips forward against his, our bodies pressed so tightly together, you couldn't even fit a sheet of paper.

"Dios mio!" Ranger growled, picking me up and carrying me to the bedroom.

He threw me onto the bed, leaning down immediately to pull off my shoes and pants. I heard a rip, and then my panties fell to the floor at his feet. He pulled me up enough that he could drag my T-shirt over my head. I reached back to undo my bra before tossing it down beside my panties.

Lying there, completely bare and open to his gaze, I trembled with need.

Standing at the end of the bed, he had his clothes off and on the floor with mine before I could blink. He slowly crawled onto the bed and stalked toward me, moving between my thighs. He kept his eyes on mine as he lowered his head to my throbbing center. His tongue flicked out to catch a drop of moisture that was already leaking from my lips and he growled.

"So sweet," he murmured against my lips.

Using one hand, he placed it on my lower belly, holding my hips to the bed, and said clearly, "Hold still, querida, or this will be over before either of us is ready."

He lowered his head and his tongue moved in one long stroke from the very bottom of my slit to the top, where he circled my clit, being careful to avoid the already tight bundle of nerves. His chin nudged my lips apart, his nose rubbed against my clit, and suddenly, he thrust his tongue as far inside my hot, wet center as he could. His head moved up and down, side to side, and around in small circles as he worked my body, bringing me right up to the edge before backing off, keeping me from the orgasm my body was craving.

Finally, he lifted his head enough to look into my eyes, and I saw that everything from his nose to his chin was covered in my juices. Not moving his head at all, he watched my back arch off the bed as he quickly thrust two of his long, thick fingers into me. He began nibbling on my clit as his fingers demanded entrance inside me. After only a few nibbles, he bit down more forcefully, and finally, the orgasm took over and shivers wracked my body. Heat flushed to my skin and pooled in my lower belly. Ranger kept up the attack on my clit until I cried out, unable to take any more.

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe normally, as Ranger moved up to lie beside me. His fingers began tracing lazy circles on my stomach, and he lowered his head to place soft kisses on my collarbone. When my stomach started quivering under his touch and my breathing quickened, his lips moved slowly down until they sucked in my nipple, using his teeth to scrape gently across the hardening point. His other hand moved up to cup my other breast, squeezing gently.

I started writhing under his touch and moaned, "Please, Carlos, I need you inside me now. I want your cock inside me..."

He chuckled and then moved to kneel between my open legs. Using one hand, he guided his cock up and down my slit, wetting it. I thrust my hips up, catching the head inside me. He groaned and then slid into me in one hard thrust. I cried out, a mix of sensations walking the thin line between pleasure and pain, and when pleasure won out, my body began moving against him.

We were both slick with sweat and hungry with the need for release. After a few more strokes with his cock, he reached between us and gave my clit a pinch, pushing me over the edge. As my pussy clenched around him, he jerked and I felt him release himself inside me.

White heat exploded behind my eyelids, and I grabbed Ranger's hair and pulled his head down. My lips moved to his ear and I sucked the lobe into my mouth, biting him gently, causing him to shudder in an extended release before he collapsed, his weight heavy, but not uncomfortable.

My last conscious were of the birthday plans and an overwhelming need to show Ranger just how much he meant to me. Feeling at peace, exhaustion overtook my body and I fell into a deep sleep.