Steph's Bad Day – Chapter 5
Disclaimer: Not mine
RANGER POV
Today was the best day of my life. I have my Babe with me and she agreed to marry me. We will never be separated again and I won't be alone. Julie will be happy when we tell her. She loves Babe and they have a bond already after being held together by Scrog. My parents met Babe at the hospital while I was in surgery. My mother instantly fell in love with Babe for putting herself in danger for Julie. Mama told me that when she arrived my girls were sitting together hugging each other and crying. They were worried about me. I knew Babe was scared when I walked into her apartment that day, I also knew Scrog was there and holding them hostage to get to me. I would willingly give my life for her and I went in unarmed. Morelli had told me I was crazy to do it. That just showed he never really loved her like I do.
I took out my phone and called the concierge at the Venetian. I explained we were staying there for a few days and we wished to be married on the bridge over the canal on Thursday, two days from now. I set up a spa day for Babe at Canyon Ranch in the hotel and a limo to take us tomorrow morning to get the license. Les and Babe would have the limo for the rest of the day to shop. Dinner reservations were made for one of the restaurants for dinner for the four of us along with possibly two guests and a small wedding cake was ordered. Babe would want a wedding cake. Les came back after awhile to check on us. He smiled at her sleeping figure. "Les I need to ask you to do something for me. Stephanie and I will be married on Thursday and tomorrow I'd like you to take her shopping for a dress. Whatever she wants, I want it to be a special day for her. I'd like you and Cal to be witnesses that's why I asked you each to bring a suit. You can walk her down the aisle."
Les looked at me with a smirk. "Boy, you move fast she broke up with Morelli yesterday. About time you pulled your head out of your ass. Everyone at Rangeman knows the two of you belong together. The guys are going to be real happy." Les thought for a second then continued "I'd be honored to walk Beautiful down the aisle. Is she going to work full time with us?"
Ranger responded "I asked her to work full time at Rangeman but she didn't give me an answer yet. She agreed to move in with me, and then marry me on this trip. I really don't want to push her. I denied my feelings for too long and I'm lucky I didn't lose her. Mama and Julie will be happy when I tell them."
"Tia Maria will kick your ass for running off and getting married again and telling her after the fact. She may forgive you because she loves Stephanie. She always asks me or Tia Ella about her" Les replied.
I smiled at his statement. "Can you send Cal back here so I can tell him the plan?" I asked as Les walked to the cockpit. After speaking to Cal I fell asleep for the rest of the flight. We landed in Las Vegas at midnight local time. I woke Babe and we exited the plane and were met by Eric Salvatora and his partner Miguel Martinez. Babe smiled and gave a little finger wave to the men and Salvatora grimaced "Where's Big Bertha and the Bone Crusher?"
Babe was quick to respond "Left them home this trip. I don't even need a bodyguard this time."
I stepped in "Enough, Salvatora you were suppose to keep your distance and there was a killer after her. Her friends were trying to protect her and my future wife will be afforded the same respect as me."
Salvatora laughed "You're getting married? When?"
"Thursday evening 7 pm. The two of you are welcome to join us. It'll just be the four of us otherwise."
Babe looked up at me "You got everything set? How? We were on a plane for five hours?"
"Babe" was all I said. Salvatora drove us to the Venetian while Martinez drove Les and Cal. We checked in and went up to our room. Les and Cal had a two bedroom suite while Babe and I had the bridal suite.
STEPH'S POV
We walked into the room and it was beautiful. I was no longer tired after napping on the plane and I couldn't wait to have a Ranger induced orgasm. I mean it's been so long and he is so sexy. For the trip he was wearing faded jeans and a faded green button down shirt loose to hide his gun. His hair has been short for a while now, better fits the image of a CEO but he's wearing diamond studs in his ears. He looks delicious and I was unconsciously licking my lips while he tipped the bellman that brought our bags and escorted us up to the room. Ranger looked over at me after the bellman closed the door and purposely strode over to me, his eyes dark with desire. "See something you like Babe" his voice was low and husky.
"I definitely like what I see" I said as he took me into his arms and kissed him with all the passion I felt. We slowly moved to the bedroom shedding our clothes on our way.
He laid me down on the bed and slowly kissed his way down my body and back up while I moaned "Carlos."
"I like hearing you say my name" he whispered in my ear.
"Carlos, please…." It was another amazing night. It just proved that the first time wasn't a fluke. We belong together and no one else has ever made me feel this way. We spent the rest of the night in each other's arms until we had to get up to get our marriage license.
Lester's POV
This ought to be a real fun day - not. I get to ride in a limo with Beautiful while she finds a wedding gown. What's worse is she doesn't want one of those fluffy white things. She wants something different. I mean I love Beautiful like a sister and I'd take a bullet for her but shopping for her wedding dress is not my idea of fun. The only thing that would make it worse is if I had to listen to Lula too. Don't get me wrong I like Lula but she can get annoying after awhile.
I knocked on the door to their room and Ranger opened the door and let me and Cal in. Beautiful comes out of, what I assume to be the bedroom, and she is glowing. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy and is even more beautiful because of it. "Are you ready Les? I'll try not to drive you crazy, ok?" she laughed.
"You won't drive me crazy; I don't want you to rush because you are worried I'll be bored. Besides, I get to be around beautiful women all day. Who could ask for more?" I said with a cocky grin. I hope there is a bar in the limo, I'll probably need it. She gave Ranger a quick kiss and hugged Cal on her way out the door.
Ranger pulled me aside and handed me his black card and said "There's a bar in the limo with champagne. Don't let her get drunk but you'll probably want to be." Great, no wonder I got stuck with this.
I got in the limo next to Beautiful and noticed the already open bottle of champagne and poured some into a glass, at least it was after lunch. Steph has an appointment at an exclusive bridal shop on the northwest side of town. The concierge said they have designer gowns and they'll provide exclusive service by appointment only including overnight alterations. The place was called Belle Marriee and catered to the wealthy and of course Ranger only wants the best for his Babe. It took 45 minutes to get there and Steph was nervous and excited and talked a mile a minute. We pulled up and a doorman opened the front door and we spoke to the woman at the front desk. She was around 35 years old and stunningly beautiful I noticed as she smiled at us. She ushered us into a private salon where she listened to Steph explain what she was looking for.
STEPH'S POV
I walked into the shop with Lester and it was decorated in French provincial with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Everything was in lavender and it looked expensive. The woman at the front desk was my gown consultant and her name was Heather. She made me feel comfortable and listened to what I wanted. She brought out 20 gowns for me to try on. I tried them all on and the last one was the one I chose. Lester was so sweet through it all but when I walked out in the Monique Lhuiller dress he said "That's the one Beautiful, it was made for you." That earned him a smile from Heather. The gown was called Twiggy and it was an ivory organza strapless A-line tea length dress from the fall 2011 collection. I wanted tea length because I was afraid of tripping like I did when I married the Dick. My mother had to have the wedding video edited to take that out.
We then looked at the tiaras, handbags, lingerie and shoes. This place had everything I needed. I chose a diamond tiara but decided to forgo the handbag. Lester said I could give him my lipstick and wouldn't need anything else because everything was at the hotel. Lester had fun picking out my lingerie, he always enjoys that part. I decided I didn't want to wear any stockings or thigh highs because the shoes I chose were strappy sandals in sliver. Lester thought a corset would be good and that Ranger would appreciate the extra time it took to unlace it. I disagreed. "Come on Beautiful it will be fun" he joked.
"Lester you know that he'll get pissed and rip it off and then beat the hell out of you on the mats" I laughed.
"True, but it'd be worth it. I can get hours of enjoyment by teasing him and thinking about his reaction" he whined.
"I really don't like the idea of you thinking about my wedding night Les" I retorted. I chose a white silk and lace strapless bra with matching thong. We walked up to the counter and Les pulled out the magic black card and $20,000 later we left. Most of that was the tiara.
LESTER'S POV
Shopping wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I mean sitting through 20 dress changes sucked and of course the last one was the best but I got to talk to Heather. I spent the time in between dresses flirting with her and she is going to meet me for dinner and drinks later. She was much friendlier when she found out I wasn't the groom. I mean she almost threw the complimentary champagne in my face when I started flirting. Once I explained Steph was marrying my cousin and I was her bodyguard for the day she warmed up. She was a stunning woman and I couldn't wait until 7 pm when her and one of her coworkers, who came over to flirt with me, meet me and Cal. Let's be honest, Steph and Ranger will be locked in their room all night so Cal and I should be able to have some fun.
We walked into the lobby of the hotel and my cell rang, it was Ranger. I knew this not just from the caller ID but from the bark of "Report." Jeez the guy needs to relax. I mean he's way better now that Beautiful is around but still.
"We just entered the elevator. I grabbed a bellman to bring the dress and bags up to your room so the dress doesn't get wrinkled. The shop steamed it while we bought the rest of her stuff." I explained and with that he disconnected. I closed the phone.
Beautiful giggled "That man needs to learn phone manners."
I smiled at that and replied "He won't change, in the Rangers we learned to not expend pointless energy talking." The elevator opened and I walked Steph to their room. She pulled out the key and we walked in. She ran to Ranger and threw herself at him and they began kissing. It was actually a little uncomfortable to watch. I can't believe it took them so long to get together I mean they can barely keep their hands off each other. I answered the knock at the door and let the bellman in and took the dress and bags and Ranger walked over and gave him a $100 bill. The guy left and I said "later."
Stephanie came up to me and kissed my cheek and said "Thanks for everything today Lester. Tell Heather thank you again for being so patient."
I grinned "You bet Beautiful."
RANGER POV
I was glad to see Babe so happy when she came in with Lester after shopping. Of course I loved her response to me even more. After Les left I asked "Who's Heather?"
Babe smiled at me and giggled "She helped me at the bridal shop and Les almost got a face full of champagne when he started to flirt with her. She thought he was the groom. She is really beautiful and she is bringing another one of the girls with her tonight to have dinner and drinks with Les and Cal."
I just shook my head; Santos never fails to find a willing woman to warm his bed. We ordered room service and had a nice dinner with champagne. Babe decided to order chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. I couldn't wait for dinner to be over I had plans to make love to her all night. Unfortunately that was interrupted by my phone while feeding her the strawberries.
My attorney, Dan Wilson, called first to advise that he obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Morelli. He spoke to the police chief as well as Morelli's captain. They called Morelli in and he was verbally combative about the situation and claimed that I was holding his fiancée hostage. Wilson had to call Vinnie to verify we went to Vegas to bring in a skip and that our behavior in the office didn't look like Babe was being forced to do anything. Vinnie went so far as to tell them that Babe and I appeared to be in love and that we had probably finally admitted to our feelings for each other. Wilson said the police chief said "'bout time he pulled his head outta his ass." Morelli turned purple at that and Wilson handed him the TRO. The chief and his captain both warned him he faced disciplinary action if he was found in violation of the TRO. Wilson told them that we had given permission for him to attend the Law Enforcement Banquet on Saturday where Eddie Gazzara was being given an award for service. Babe was to give a short speech. Rangeman bought two tables and I gave tickets to Vinnie as well now that I co-owned the bond's office.
No sooner did I hang up than the phone ring again, this time it was Tank. It seems that Helen Plum has been calling all day looking for Stephanie and ranting about how we are trying to ruin Joseph's career. There was also a problem with a client and I told him to set up a meeting Friday afternoon. We were scheduled to arrive at noon with the skip. I arranged for a team to meet us to escort the skip to the jail with Babe and I would have to go to the office to change and get ready for the meeting. I didn't like her having to go to the cop shop without me but what else could I do. After hanging up with Tank I shut the phone off and found Babe taking a bath.
She looked at me when I walked in and her eyes were dark with desire, she said in a husky voice "are ya gonna join me?" How could I refuse an invitation like that?
STEPH'S POV
Today is my wedding day. I can't believe I'm marrying Ranger today. It's something I never even dared to dream before a few days ago. Ranger has arranged for me to spend the day at the Canyon Ranch spa to be beautified and relaxed for our wedding. Guess I better get to it. How lucky can a girl get? As if the night of marathon sex wasn't enough.
It is now 5:00 pm and Lester is walking me to my room. "Beautiful, Ranger went to my room to change and he ordered you a snack. He wants you to eat and then get dressed. I'll be back to get you about quarter after six. I can zip your dress for you then walk you to the bridge. This place is huge so it will take some time to get there. They will have your bouquet when we get there and Ranger has the rings."
"Oh my god Lester I never thought about the rings" I cried.
Lester laughed "Do you really think Ranger didn't have them already? He bought them with your engagement ring."
I giggled "Oh yeah, my man always has a plan and a backup plan for the backup plan." We got to the room and I went in to get ready, only two more hours to wait and I'll be Stephanie Manoso. I ate my snack, a piece of cheesecake, god I love that man. Then I got my dress out of the bag and put on my sexy lingerie. The stylist that put my hair in an up-do leaving a few tendrils to frame my face had put the tiara in my hair. I put on my make-up, I did the natural look. Ranger likes that better than the Jersey girl slut make-up. I looked and felt like a princess.
Ranger left a box on the dresser with a note for me stating every bride should wear pearls. I opened it and inside was a beautiful string of perfectly round creamy matching white pearls with a pair of matching earrings. I put the earrings in and heard a knock at the door. I walked over and answered it and let Lester in. He zipped my dress and put the necklace on me and kissed my cheek. "Stephanie, you look very beautiful. My cousin is a lucky man. Let's go get you married."
I walked up the steps to the bridge with Lester holding a bouquet of white calla lilies and saw Armani Ranger. He looked so beautiful and sexy in a black suit with a white silk shirt and black silk tie. Cal, Salvatora and Martinez stood next to him and I took my place next to Carlos with Lester on the other side of me. Carlos took my hand and whispered in my ear "Dios Babe, you look more beautiful than I could possibly have imagined." We exchanged vows in a civil ceremony in front of a judge. We had a photographer who took pictures for us and Carlos bought the memory card so we could have all the pictures and make copies for our families. We had dinner at Aqua Knox with the other men and Ranger fed me wedding cake. He was so sweet to get me a cake and even ate a small piece. Then we went up to our room for our wedding night.
Ranger pulled me to him and kissed me passionately when we walked into our room, his hands roamed all over my body. I could feel his arousal against my stomach. We headed towards the bedroom, removing articles of clothes along the way. He laid me on the bed, kissing my neck, caressing my breasts, running his thumbs over my nipples. I moaned under his touch. I reached down stroking his hardness. He growled as he sucked on my nipple then kissed me all the way down and I groaned. We made love all night and it was one hell of a wedding night. I woke in the morning sore but completely satisfied. He H