Somewhere in an A/U. Characters belong to Janet Evanovich; I'm just playing, not making any money on this project (sadly).

Babe story; HEA; smut alert and graphic language ahead, so be warned.

Chapter 3

Carlos' POV

She was the last thing I expected tonight, a total and complete surprise--and I make it my business never to be surprised. In my life surprises can be deadly, so I'm extremely aware of my surroundings at all times. I'd seen the gorgeous brunette in red with the killer body and the unruly mane of curly hair emerge once before from the hotel's back room where private parties are held. I'd watched her and her red-headed girlfriend make their way over to the bar for a drink, laughing merrily, oblivious to the crowd of men watching them both with hungry eyes. The red-head was pretty, but the brunette--God, she was a total knock-out! The kind of woman you can't take your eyes off because she has so much life in her that she just jumps out at you and steals your breath away. I'd been nursing a beer and fantasizing about what I planned to do with her when she re-appeared. I'd had some very detailed and creative XXX rated fantasies in the 30 minutes or so I'd been waiting.

I'm Carlos Manoso, by the way. It says Ricardo Carlos Manoso on my driver's license; but I'm 'Superman' to my army buddies in Special Forces. I grew up in a lower-middleclass Cuban neighborhood of Newark, the middle child of six: one older brother and four sisters. I've spent most of my 26 years getting into one sort of trouble or another: you name it, I've pretty much done it. Finally, after two less than inspiring years at Rutgers Newark I'd finally gotten my shit together and joined the Army, becoming an Army Ranger. That had been the right decision: I'd developed a rigid discipline over mind and body that served me well, helping me to rapidly advance in my career to the point where I was now a Captain in an very elite military force. If I told you exactly what I did for the government, I'd pretty much have to kill you. And that's not an exaggeration. Let's just say that I can watch films about Delta Force and spot the inaccuracies from first-hand experience. Enough said.

Delta Force: the reason I was here tonight, enjoying what was probably my last visit home to see my family--ever--before I shipped out in three days on an overseas mission that had less than a 10% expected survival rate. I'd been deployed to pretty much every trouble spot in the world in my military career: I'd moved from the 75th Army Rangers Battalion, to Special Forces, and finally, to Delta Force. Why do I do it? Good question. I'm an adrenaline junkie, I guess. I'm good at the job; I enjoy it; I feel most alive when I'm facing danger. It's in my blood: I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm definitely not the 9 to 5 type, and I never will be. That's just not in the cards for me: I don't do normal. I'm Superman, remember?

I'd flown into Newark this Friday afternoon from Washington, D.C. and checked into the hotel for the weekend, getting in touch with my parents to set up a visit with the Manoso clan. My siblings were all married with kids, and the party at my parents' house tomorrow afternoon would be crowded with family and friends. I hadn't seen them in almost 18 months: my last deployment to Iraq had been a long one. I was looking forward to spending time at home, but had chosen to stay in a hotel rather than accept my mother's offer of the guest room. I had important things to do in Newark before I shipped out on Monday. I needed to get my legal affairs in order. I needed to touch base with some Army buddies. And I needed to get laid. Desperately. It had been far too long since I'd enjoyed the delights of a beautiful woman in my bed. I intended to rectify that particular situation tonight.

I'd come down to the hotel bar intending to enjoy a beer or two and find a willing companion for the evening. Truthfully, I've never had to put much effort out to get a woman; I usually just smile and they flock to me in droves. During the half hour or so I'd been sitting here, I'd had half a dozen women openly hitting on me. And while any one of them would have gladly done before, none of them had held any appeal at all once I'd spotted the curly-haired brunette. My body knew what it wanted; and however long it took, I intended to complete my mission. My mission being to take her to bed and give us both a night we'd never forget.

Why the brunette? She had the whole package: her body was to-die-for, molded into a tight red dress that fit like a second skin; with long shapely legs that went on for miles, and saucy little red-tipped toes that peeked out from shoes that made her hot tight little ass move in ways that had my jeans fitting far too tightly for my own comfort. Her face--well, there were no words to do her beauty justice. None. Her lips were sensual and pouty and just begging to be kissed; and those eyes--those big blue eyes were true killers. They were a shade of Caribbean blue that I knew would haunt my dreams from tonight on.

She was sex personified. From looking at her initially, I'd expected that she'd never had difficulty in her life attracting any man she'd ever wanted. I'd been more than willing to work for her company tonight: I'd spent my time checking out that back room to determine if she'd come with a date, and planning how best to part her from him. I'd been delighted to discover she was with female friends, with no men in sight; and amused to see the idiot stripping so damned badly. There was no chance in hell he was going to get lucky with her tonight. So I went back to the bar, ordered another beer and I watched and waited for my chance to part her from her herd of companions and haul her upstairs to my room for a night of hot and heavy sex.

It had taken me less than a minute to make my move once she'd finally re-emerged for another drink. I could tell she was ready to bolt any second; so I'd quickly maneuvered my way behind her in order to block her path of escape. She'd tossed back her martini like it had been water, and seconds later she was right where I wanted her. Well…almost where I wanted her: flat on her back underneath me would come later. Right now, she was mere inches away closely examining me, and definitely admiring the view. So was I: she was even more beautiful up close than she'd appeared from the other end of the bar. So far, things had been moving according to my plan.

Then came the surprise. The gorgeous vision in red now stood before me, those big impossibly blue eyes seemingly riveted to the floor in mortification and a flush suffusing her face--what little I could still see of it, that is.

"I'm just looking for hot sex," she'd blurted. Then those innocent blue eyes had widened in stunned horror at her own honesty. She'd given a quick look over her shoulder--I imagine checking to see if her friends had followed her out and heard her outrageous admission--then she'd turned bright red in embarrassment.

It was the blushing that completely did me in. God, she was so damned irresistible, I wanted to scoop her up right then and there and spend the rest of the evening satisfying her every desire.

"Just how hot are we talking here?" I'd teased wickedly, my smile broadening.

"Ummmm…really really hot?" She still wasn't able to meet my eyes.

I wondered for the first time just how sexually experienced she really was. Not very, I was surprisingly pleased to realize. "Okay."

"Okay?" It was more like a bleet; she was clearly nervous and no doubt wondering how the hell she'd gotten herself into this whole thing. And frantically trying to figure out what to do next.

She might have been dressed like a femme fatale, but this woman was as girl next door as they came. Very innocent. Breathtakingly sexy. God, I wanted her and I wanted her badly!

"That works for me, Babe." I had every intention of giving her the hottest sex of her life. Neither one of us was looking to start a relationship; that much was clear. But we certainly had a like purpose in mind for the evening.

"It does?" She was so out of her depth now; and we both knew it.

"Ask and ye shall receive." And receive and receive and receive. All night long, in fact.

She stayed silent and motionless, still examining the floor intently. I gently touched her chin, bringing her face up so that our eyes could meet. We stood frozen in a tableau for a few minutes, our eyes locked in a private conversation. They say the eyes are the window to the soul; hers was pure and shining; mine was less than. But she didn't pull away, so we both drank in our fill.

I could feel her trembling, and her expressive eyes darkened in arousal. I felt a surprising need to reassure her; she brought out a protectiveness in me that I hadn't expected. I didn't want to examine it too closely, either. But it was there, and it was growing stronger the more time I spent in her company. "Don't worry." I wanted her to know she was safe with me: I wasn't going to do anything she didn't want; I wasn't going to hurt her. I wasn't going to treat her like a slut; I knew damned well what a treasure she was, and I intended to treat her that way. God, I was falling hard, and I'd just met her. Watch it, Superman, you're shipping out Monday!

"I'm not. Worried, I mean. I'm fine." Her voice was so soft I had to strain to hear it.

"We're going to do this, Babe," I ran my finger over her bottom lip and her tongue peeked out to meet it, "and it's going to be good. I promise you that."

"Omigod. Omigod. Omigod." She closed her eyes, but made no effort to pull away. I continued to trace her perfect lips with my thumb, memorizing her mouth and enjoying the feel of her skin in my hand. She moaned softly.

"Do you want to call your friends and tell them you're leaving with me?" Not that I really wanted her to, lest they try to convince her to stay. But I guessed it was best--after all, I certainly didn't need people searching the hotel thinking she'd been a victim of foul play.

"I guess I should, huh?" she seemed almost hypnotized by my touch.

"Whatever you want, Babe." Anything and everything.

"I think I already told you what I want," her eyes opened finally, and there was a wicked twinkle in them that told me she had definitely decided to take what she wanted tonight. Happily, that was me--and I was ready, willing and able to be taken.

"You certainly did--and I promised to deliver. And I always keep my word. Especially to beautiful brunettes with big blue eyes."

"That's good to know. I'll call them from my room. Let's get the hell out of here before I melt into a puddle on the floor."

I gave her a big smile, and offered my arm, "Lead on. Wither thou goest, and all that…"

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She seemed to be talking to herself more than to me.

"Having second thoughts, Babe?" We were heading into the hotel lobby now, and I couldn't take my eyes off her. So much for being aware of my surroundings: I had it bad.

"No. I'm just….." she bit her lip and risked another look at me, "I'm not usually this…um….forward. Slutty. Holy shit! I just picked up a hot guy from the bar for a one night stand! My mother would absolutely kill me if she ever found out."

"I'm not going to tell your mom," I promised her, wondering if she was even aware she was speaking out loud. "We don't have to do this if you're having second thoughts, Babe."

"I'm not having second thoughts," she assured me, "I'm just processing my first thoughts kinda slowly. God! I'm really screwing this up, aren't I? You think I'm a real dork. Go ahead, you can admit it. I'm a complete failure at this whole Sex In the City slut thing."

I actually was finding her enchanting, but I didn't think she'd believe me. I settled for, "You're doing just fine; you worry too much."

We were just passing the hotel gift shop, and I indicated to her that I needed to make a quick stop. She looked at me quizzically.

"I need to get something for tonight," I guided her inside and headed for the counter.

"Candy bars?" She sounded hopeful. "That sounds like a good idea. I could use a few."

"Actually, I was planning on picking up a box of condoms--but if you want candy, Babe, just pick out what you want."

"Shit! I'm a such a loser!" she groaned in mortification. "DUH!! Of course you weren't stopping for candy!"

Impulsively, I gave her a quick and affectionate kiss, and she blinked in surprise. "What kind do you want, Babe? Pick out anything you want, as much as you want."

"You mean it?" She bit her lip, and I saw her eyes surveying the selection with interest.

"Sure: I gotta keep your strength up for the marathon tonight, right?"

She blushed again, no doubt thinking about my 'marathon' comment. "I'll be fine."

"Actually, I'll take you out to dinner if you're hungry," I offered, surprising myself as well as her. "Candy bars are empty calories." I checked my watch, "You want to go somewhere and get something to eat first?"

"Really? You mean it?" She hurriedly pushed two Snickers bars on the counter, and the clerk rang up the total. "Oh God!"

I looked over and found her staring at the counter in a kind of daze. "Now what's the problem, Babe?"

"Magnum XXL?" she squeaked, pointing at the blue box of condoms incredulously.

I gave her a wolf grin, teasing, "I had to settle for these: they're all out of XXXL."

She widened her very expressive eyes, saying nothing. Then she let her eyes travel down to my crotch, apparently trying her best to figure out just how big XXXL might cover.

"You okay there, Babe? You're kinda quiet all of a sudden."

"Oh boy!" She was bright red again. But definitely smiling happily in anticipation.

I just laughed, and gave her another quick kiss. She was too much! And for tonight, at least, she was all mine! I'd never felt luckier.