Note: The characters, places and descriptions in this story recognizable as Janet Evanovich's are used solely for entertainment purposes.


The hot California sun beat down onto my pale skin. I was asking for it. I lay out on a lounger beside my pool begging for rays. I wanted a nice California tan before I went home to visit my family. I'd been living in Brentwood for almost three years with my husband and I hadn't been home to visit since. My parents and grandmother have made several visits a year, but for reasons entirely personal to me, I haven't been back to Trenton since I moved to California. Namely, a sexy Cuban American named Ricardo Carlos Mañoso or Ranger to most who knew him.

My name is Stephanie Pine, formerly Plum, and I am the wife of actor Chris Pine, who played James T. Kirk in Star Trek, the newest movie, not the 1960s television series. Due to this role, my nickname for him is Captain, Kirk if I'm angry, and Chris when I'm feeling passionate. Chris and I met on a luxury cruise ship in the Caribbean when I was on an undercover mission with my friend, and one time lover, Carlos Mañoso, aka Ranger. In a drugged stupor induced by a woman who was stalking Chris, we'd gotten married on the ship the first night we met. When we found out about the marriage later, we decided that love was worth a try and continued with the arrangement. So far, life is better than I ever expected.

The problem with being married to an actor is they tend to go away for long periods of time. Movies are shot "on location" wherever it makes the most sense to shoot the movie based on scenery, budget, and availability. Currently, Chris is in New Zealand shooting a sequel to Star Trek. This gets me excited because, not only do I call him Captain, now he spends his days dressed like one. I love seeing him in his uniform and we've had fun with a few of them a couple of times when I visited him on set.

The nice thing about living with an actor is that when I need my personal space, I have it. Chris is gone frequently so I am usually living by myself and doing my own thing. I have the freedom to be Stephanie Plum while having the perks of being Stephanie Pine, not to mention the fact that I'm insanely crazy about my husband. When he is home from filming, I am thrilled to have him home. When he leaves, I am sad for a while and then I go back into solo mode and enjoy my solitude … for a few days, anyway.

There have been a few times when I've traveled with him so I could see new places or just to spend time with him, but my work at the local shelter for battered women and children keeps me grounded in Brentwood, so most of the time I stay home. In order to not completely lose touch as a couple, I frequently take weekend trips to visit him.

Another reason I haven't made a trek back to Trenton is the Burg gossip mill. The fact that gossip is so important to Burg life is a constant source of stress to my mother, much easier to avoid them, especially since I'm not perfect. Being married to an actor means every slip up I have is national news. And I've had a few.

My pre-Chris bounty hunter life landed me in the local paper quite often, so being the center of media scrutiny is not new to me, but with a famous husband, my slip ups went from local to national overnight. I do miss bounty hunting sometimes because it was great to be involved in getting low-life's off the streets, but the shelter gives me a great outlet and something to be passionate about … besides my husband.

Our three year wedding anniversary was in two days, but due to problems with filming, Chris couldn't make it home. I'd decided to visit Trenton and see my friends and family so I wouldn't be alone. Normally, I would visit him, but he's not the same when he's involved with a stressful portion of filming and we decided our anniversary would be better for both of us if we waited to celebrate until he could take a few days off and relax. I'm not a hopeless romantic, but spending time alone on my wedding anniversary isn't high on my fun list. I'd spent the past two weeks tanning a little each day so I wouldn't burn and today was my last chance to get the sun on me. I was flying home tomorrow night.

I had just flipped over onto my stomach when a shadow came over me. Figuring it was our housekeeper, I lifted my head and met my husband's sultry blue eyes. Stunned, I blinked and stared. He grinned and came over to lift me off my lounge chair in a big bear hug. "What are you doing here, Captain?" I asked between kissing and staring at him. Chris is six feet one inch of lean muscle, smoldering blue eyes, brown hair, and thick brown eyebrows. He has pretty amazing lips, too. And other amazing body parts I admire frequently.

Looking at him never gets old. He maintained a mouth-watering physique by lifting weights and running, but his eyes were the clincher. They could mesmerize and draw me in and before I realized what he was doing. Before I knew it, I got trapped in a sea of blue fire. He did it to me every time.

"I worked out a deal. I got to come home and see my Princess before she ran off to New Jersey. I have to fly back tomorrow night." His arms came around me and he lifted me off the ground, hugging me to him and kissing me until my body was trembling. Princess is his nickname for me. He'd started calling me that when he thought I was a princess in witness protection on the ship. He knew that something was different about me, but he hadn't guessed that I was a bounty hunter. What a shock it had been to him. "Do you remember the first time I blocked your sun?"

He referred to the day we met. He'd come looking for me on the deck of the ship and stood over my body prone on a lounger beside the pool. "No, I don't know what you're talking about," I said kissing his neck.

"I'm starting to forget, too," he said peeling off his shirt and untying my bikini top.

We ran off to our bedroom laughing like school children and then had wild gorilla sex like naughty school teachers. "I missed you, Captain," I said later. I was lying on the bed on my stomach and he was half lying across me, we were both still and satisfied.

"I think I got a cramp," he said, laughing.

"You'd better not. I still need your services one or two more times tonight," I mumbled into my pillow. Then I felt his lips on my lower back. "Okay, definitely two. Maybe three," I said, turning over.

Here's the thing about only getting a few stolen days together. You appreciate the time you have. I'm convinced that my whole problem with relationships before was that I was spending too much time with the men in my life. Chris and I work because we see each other when we can and otherwise we email or talk on the phone. Plus, Chris never tells me what to do or locks me up. Two things I hate. Chris may be my Captain, but he has never commanded me to do anything. He has made requests before, but never demanded. Just another reason to love him.

*******

The next evening, we got into a car together and to head to the airport. Chris had arranged his flight to depart around the same time as mine so we could ride together. When we arrived at the airport, we saw a few paps that snapped pictures of us taking our suitcases out of the trunk of the chauffeured car.

"Hey, it's Chris Pine and his wife, Stephanie. Are you guys heading out on a tropical getaway?" A short, squat man with a messy goatee and a video phone trained on us asked.

"Nice tie, man," Chris said by way of answer. We handed our luggage off to an attendant and Chris wrapped an arm around me to lead me into the airport.

"Aww, come on, man. Where are you guys going? Stephanie, are you going to watch Chris film Star Trek?" Actually, I loved watching him film, but not when things were hectic. I looked down. "Your shoe's untied," I said.

"Nice try, my shoe isn't – oh, shit, it is."

Chris and I went through security together, then he walked me to my gate and pulled me into his arms. He was holding me close, his forehead tipped forward against mine, his eyes looking deep into mine. "I miss you, Princess."

"I'm not gone, yet."

"I'm going to miss you so much that I started missing you last night," he said.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "It sucks about tomorrow night," I said.

"I know, but I have a gift for you," he said, smiling.

"We said no gifts until you were done!" I said, trying to act upset, but thrilled that he'd gotten me something.

"I had it made for you. I thought maybe you'd like to have it while I finish filming this movie," he said, pulling out a long velvet box.

I smiled at him and took the box, opening it carefully. Inside was a long, thin platinum omega chain. On the chain was a pendant of some type. It was platinum and shaped like an oblong boomerang with a cutout in the center. It was about the size of my thumbnail. I looked at him.

He smiled. "It's the Starfleet insignia."

I looked at it and then back at him. "You gave me a Star Trek gift?"

He grinned. "Okay, I know it sounds a little full of myself, but you know I'm not. I just got this idea and went with it. It's what we wear on our uniforms, right over here." He leaned down and kissed a spot above my left breast through my shirt.

"People are watching us," I said with a smile.

"I don't care. I'm giving my wife her anniversary gift; well, one of them," he said pulling me in for a kiss. "Anyway, I just decided that I was going to give you something that would remind you of me … and it sort of feels like you would be with me if you were wearing it. I got it long enough so it would hang … right … down … here." He had opened the catch and put the necklace on me as he finished his sentence. When he said the word "here" the insignia landed right between my breasts over my heart. He smiled and his eyes swirled with deep blue fire. "Right in my favorite nuzzling spot."

I got warm in that spot and just about every other erogenous zone on my body at his statement. He grinned and pulled me in for a kiss laced with need, sadness, and passion.

I had tears in my eyes when he pulled back. "I miss you, too." He smiled and hugged me and held me close. "I love you, Captain."

"I love you, Princess."

My hand closed over the pendant. The back felt rough. I pulled it out and read it: You are my final frontier. I laughed. I couldn't help it. I laughed so that I wouldn't cry. "You're such a geek," I said.

"Yes, but I'm a sexy geek."

"You area sexy geek." I laughed and gave him a kiss. "I'm going to miss my plane. I'll see you. Call me when you get to New Zealand, Captain."

"Call me when you get to Jersey, Princess." He hesitated for a second. "Can you please reconsider having someone keeping an eye out for you? Just in case?"

He worried that I would run into an old skip still bearing a grudge.

"I'll think about it."

"Even if it's Ranger, I don't care. I want you safe," he said.

"I don't think you want me in Ranger's kind of safety."

"You're my wife," he said as if that meant it put me out of reach.

"Ranger is an opportunist. Don't forget that about him," I said and gave him a finger wave. "I'll talk to you later, Captain."

"I love you, Stephanie." As I walked away, he said, "He may be an opportunist, but you're mine. I trust you."

I turned around ran back to him and jumped into his arms to gave him a huge hug. We weren't normally so clingy, but we'd seen each other only a few times in the past four months of filming and this one night wasn't enough for me right now. "I am yours. God, Chris. Let's go on a vacation after this, okay? Just us. For two months, nothing but sex and birthday cake."

He laughed. "You and your birthday cake." He stroked my cheek. "I'll talk to you soon."

I nodded and fought off tears. "Soon," I said and walked up to the gate attendant to present my ticket and license.

I boarded the plane and fingered the insignia. He was amazing, I decided. If I ever wanted to write out the perfect husband for me, it would describe him. He's tall, handsome, has a great ass and great eyes, and muscles. He's kind and loving, but tough and likes to laugh. He doesn't demand and he is encouraging. Yes, he still has some man things that drive me nuts, but I can easily overlook them. Also on my black list: He likes to eat salad, he works out a lot, and he tries to curb my sugar habit. Those are things I can complain about, so he's not perfect … but nearly so. Plus, I like how he tries to curb my sugar habit.

I don't normally sleep on planes, but after last night I was exhausted. I fell asleep and woke when we hit Denver for my connecting flight. Once on my next flight, I started making a list of how I wanted to spend my seven days in Trenton. Thinking of that city gave me a pang in my chest. I'd moved away three years ago after being beaten to a pulp by a crazy Italian man. Chris had whisked me away from danger in Trenton to peace and quiet in Brentwood. Well, mostly peace and quiet. Sometimes we still had wacko paparazzi trying to get pictures of me sunning myself out by our pool, but otherwise life was quiet.

The quiet life had gotten boring for me quickly, so I started looking for something to keep me occupied and found the shelter almost right away. All of the women and children there needed someone to take care of them and keep them safe. I could get passionate about that myself. I'd been hunted down like a dog before. I'd been beaten and it wasn't fun. I wanted to do what I could to help the women and children get through the ordeals they had to face. It was my mission and I loved it. I got a rush every time we rescued someone.

The plane landed in Newark and I could smell the stench and feel the smog entering my lungs. I'd finally come home.