Characters by JE, trouble by me.
Jenny (JenRar) thanks for your encouragement and for trying to tame my run-on sentences as the beta on this story.
Dina (aydinbydin) thank you for reading this chapter ahead of time and giving me your impressions. Obviously, I need all the help I can get.
Chapter 4 – Doughnuts and Take Downs
Lester's POV
Ever since our lunch at Pino's last week, I'd been looking forward to this day. It was all I could do to keep from bouncing on the balls of my feet while Bobby picked the locks to her apartment. Once we got in we sought out the woman who had become a daily fixture in our lives since we decided to try and apply a little subtle persuasion to let her know there were some men who could appreciate her just as she was.
I set the box of six Boston Cream doughnuts on the edge of the nightstand in Stephanie's bedroom. She was curled up on her side, facing the doorway and completely asleep under a thin sheet. Bobby made an uncharacteristically bold move and laid down beside her so that when she woke up, they'd be face to face.
When she didn't stir, I decided to follow suit and climbed up from the foot of the bed to spoon up behind her. Resting my head on my hand, I bent my arm at the elbow so I could see over the sleeping form in front of me to watch Bobby. I tried to keep it casual, but the second I mirrored her position and felt how perfectly she fit against my body – our knees bent at the same angle, her ass exactly in my now interested groin, and the top of her head at my shoulder – I found myself trying to get as close behind her as physically possible.
Bobby pushed back a few of the curls that had dared to cover her face and called her name quietly in an attempt to wake her gradually, hoping to avoid frightening her.
In response to his work, she made a very disgruntled sound, ducked her head farther down, as though trying to hide her face, and in the process, rubbed her ass more firmly against my even more interested crotch. This was going to make getting up hard, in more ways than one.
Even though her hair had stayed where he'd put it, I noticed Bobby run his fingers through it again and say, "Come on, Steph. It's time to get up."
She moaned and grabbed his hand to hold it tight against her chest, like a child would snuggle with a teddy bear.
I smiled at the expression on Bobby's face when Steph pulled his hand to rest between her breasts. He had been resting his head on that arm, and with his pedestal in a place I didn't think he was eager to pull it back from, he relaxed his head onto her pillow.
"This was a mistake," I whispered.
Bobby scowled at my word choice. "What are you talking about? We promised to help her."
"Not helping her. Climbing into bed with her. It feels too damn good to have her between us, and now I'm going to struggle to think about anything else," I confessed in a whisper, never holding the truth back from Bobby.
He got a smug look on his face and challenged, "I'll bet I can make you forget."
"I'll bet you could, too, for an hour or two, but then it would come back and I'd fantasize about what it would be like to have that exact same thing happen, but with Stephanie joining in," I told him, smiling when he shut his eyes and groaned.
He rolled his body away from Steph, keeping his arm in her grasp perfectly still, and flipped open the lid of her doughnuts, handing one to me first, before rolling over again to get another for himself. Normally, I'd never think of eating food I'd brought for her, but I needed to think about something other than the curve of her backside, and if I didn't have something in my hand, I knew I was going to break down and start rubbing her in ways that might make her uncomfortable.
"These things are good. No wonder she goes through so many of them," I admitted, trying to remember if I'd ever eaten this particular kind of doughnut before and drawing a blank.
I glanced over at Bobby, who was licking the cream filling from his thumb, and I realized my hips were pressing themselves even closer to Stephanie's ass. This was ridiculous. I had to get a little distance before I did something unforgivable.
Then I realized Bobby's face bore an expression I rarely saw on him, but dearly loved. I took a deep breath, not wanting to disturb him when he was so relaxed.
"You like this," I pointed out the obvious.
He looked at me as though the oxygen deprivation my brain was no doubt experiencing from the blood pooling so far south was doing permanent damage to my ability to think.
"You need a hobby," I ventured to state, while pointing at the box of doughnuts and opening my hand to indicate I needed another.
"What?" Bobby questioned as he rolled back to refill us both on breakfast.
"You know," I said around my first bite. "A hobby – an interest outside of work."
"I have hobbies," Bobby defended, stuffing half the doughnut in at once.
"Name one," I challenged, licking the chocolate icing off my fingers as he spoke.
"I read." He smiled as though he'd won this debate.
"You read health journals and medical textbooks, which are directly related to your job. It doesn't count," I scoffed, shutting down his first attempt at proving me wrong.
"All right. I exercise," he lamely offered.
"You do that because it's a requirement of your employment, and because of your extensive medical training, you know how beneficial it is for you," I said, shaking my head as I negated his second attempt.
"I take care of people." He was getting defensive, and as much as I didn't want to argue with Bobby, I needed him to see what I was saying was true.
"Are you really going to make me say it?" I wondered. "That's your job. Ranger pays you to take care of people."
"I do a lot more than Ranger pays me to do, and you know it," Bobby argued.
I softened my tone and tried to keep it at a whisper so that Stephanie didn't jolt awake to the sound of angry voices in her bed. "I know that, and what I'm trying to get through to you is that you preach a good sermon with everybody else, but with yourself, you just keep driving on. This is the first time I've seen you stop in weeks."
Bobby was quiet for a while, not bothering to disagree with me further. When he moved a little piece of hair from her shoulder, he let his hand stay against her arm for a moment and let out a long breath, obviously letting go of the tension he seemed to carry nearly constantly.
"That right there is what I'm talking about," I pointed out. "We've got to find a way to help you find this kind of chill more often."
"It's not so easy," he replied, not bothering to look away from Stephanie's peaceful, sleeping face. "You can't change who you are."
"Shit." I let that come out before I could stop it. "You know me well enough to know better than to accuse me of wanting to change you. You know I've got you – scars and all – and I don't think there's a damn thing wrong with who you are. I'm just saying that you run in high gear taking care of everyone else, and that sometimes, you need to let somebody else step up and help you a little."
Bobby let what I was saying sink in a little while, before saying, "Is that why you woke me up early, saying we needed to bring Stephanie doughnuts?"
I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. "Yeah, but I wanted to see her, too."
Bobby slowly moved his hand up and down Stephanie's upper arm. "I thought it might feel strange to have someone between us, but I don't feel any farther from you than I do at the apartment."
"It's all about who it is," I agreed, placing my hand on top of Bobby's darker one to share in touching her.
When Bobby began to move and lean toward me, I responding automatically, meeting him more than halfway to kiss him over her body. It wasn't the hard, heated kiss that we often shared, but was a softer meeting of the mouths, where we were assuring each other that no matter what happened in our pursuit of Stephanie, we would always have each other.
Just as it was beginning to get warm in her bedroom, Stephanie made a long moaning sound, forcing us to break up a rare tender moment.
Needing to think about anything other than kissing Bobby in a bed, I looked down and said, "It looks like Sleeping Beauty is awake."
She didn't open her eyes, but responded in a sexy voice, slightly deeper from sleep, "And she smells doughnuts. Please tell me that's not a dream, too."
Bobby spoke up before I could. "What do you mean, a dream, too?"
I guess her dreamy state kept her inhibitions from editing her thoughts. "I was dreaming that you guys were getting it on and you let me watch. Then I remembered who I was and how ridiculous that would be."
"Why is it ridiculous?" I asked her, not sure if I should be insulted or turned on by her comment.
She gave us a less than ladylike snort as a response, before adding, "Because it's me, and I'm definitely not the kind of girl that gets to be involved in anything like that."
Hope is a strange thing. You can easily keep it in check when you know you are living in your own fantasy world by telling yourself there is no evidence that what you dream about could ever exist in reality. But when a tiny phrase like what Stephanie had just thrown out there gives you even a tiny reason to think that your fantasy could become real, then the hope you'd controlled so easily begins to spiral and take bloom.
I could hear it in Bobby's voice as clear as it was in my heart. "Why couldn't you be involved?"
She seemed to be fading, but managed to shrug and say, "Nothing special here."
We were both too stunned to argue with her, and she quickly snuggled down, forcing my raging hard-on to endure being caressed by her sweet ass while she wiggled to just the right spot.
Realizing she'd fallen asleep and knowing that discussing this any further right now might be a mistake, I finally decided that I might not have any control over what Stephanie was willing to take on today, but I could at least control what was between my legs. I extracted myself from the bed and tossed out a quiet direction to Bobby that I would be right back, before locking myself in Stephanie's bathroom. I hated the thought of Bobby being forced to stay uncomfortable while I was in here getting relief, but the image of Bobby and Stephanie in bed was all it took to override my guilt and get my hand moving so that I could function again.
My finish time was so fast, I figured Bobby might second guess what he thought I was doing in her restroom. Still, I was pleased that getting my dick back in my pants was definitely easier with the quick blast off, so I flushed, washed my hands, and then pulled myself back together to rejoin them in her bedroom.
When I walked back in, Bobby was on his back, and it looked like Stephanie was attached to his side with her leg thrown over his crotch and her arm happily gripping a handful of shirt over his chest. For his part, Bobby looked pretty content in his new position, and I couldn't stop the smile that came over the fact that Mr. Health and Fitness was now eating his third Boston Cream.
I raised an eyebrow in question, and he said, "I don't even want to hear it. You left me with her in here to rub one off, and I had to do something." Then he glanced at his now empty hand and said, "You know, these things actually take the edge off. I wonder what they put in them?"
"You don't think that's why she eats so many of them, do you?" I asked, suddenly as interested in that little mystery as he was.
"She and Morelli have been apart for a few months now," Bobby pointed out the obvious.
"And Ranger's been in the wind since right before she and the cop split," I added for good measure.
"I don't have a chart," Bobby said, glancing longingly at the last doughnut in the box, "but it does seem like she's been eating more of these things since they both left her alone."
Without thinking about it, I grabbed the last sweet treat and finished it off in two enormous bites.
Bobby looked stricken. "What in the hell are you doing?"
My plan was now growing more clear as I swallowed down the last of the sugar. "I'm not going to be replaced by a freaking doughnut."
Bobby grinned, obviously understanding my plan that if Stephanie used sugar to keep her cravings for sex down, then we definitely wanted to put an end to that in order to help sway the deck in our favor. We'd never push her into something she didn't want, but if there was a way to make her think about it sooner, rather than much later, then we were both all for that.
"You'd better hide the box," Bobby advised. "It's one thing to not bring her anything, but it's something else entirely to confess that we didn't wait for her and we ate them all instead."
I made quick work of getting rid of the evidence, and then I decided to have a little mercy on Bobby. I climbed back behind Stephanie and pulled her fingers off his shirt. "Take a minute," I said, letting my eyes trail down to his bulging zipper.
He looked like he wanted to object or say he didn't need any relief, but Stephanie made a sudden change in position, spinning so that her leg was over my hip and her ass was pressed against his side. Bobby took one look at her backside, now completely uncovered from the sheet that had moved farther down with each move she made and revealing a thin pair of tiny boxers as the only barrier to her pale skin.
I watched him struggle for less than three seconds, before he nodded and got up in a rush to the bathroom, the click of the lock telling me more than any lame excuses he might have tried to feed me.
I took the moment alone to look at the woman resting in my arms, and I realized that even asleep, with her magnetic eyes hidden and her hair going every possible direction, she was still a beautiful woman. Hell, the idea of being able to wake up with a view like this every day was quickly getting me in a state where I might need to follow Bobby and have another go at controlling the beast trying to break free.
I heard Bobby washing his hands and figured I should make a more concerted effort to wake Stephanie up. As much fun as it was to hold her in my arms, I knew we had plans for today, and I didn't want to waste all the time we had with her sleeping. I ran my index finger around her hairline, and then down her jaw, before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Come on, Beautiful. It's time to rise and shine."
"Don't want to," she complained.
When Bobby left the bathroom, he wisely didn't come back in here. I could hear him puttering around in her kitchen. The guy was a really good cook, so I was guessing he was cooking her something to make up for stealing her doughnuts. I decided to use that as leverage.
"Breakfast will be ready soon, and you probably want time to shower and get dressed first."
She made a noise that I knew meant I was getting to her. I kept my hand moving as she slowly returned to the land of the living, and when her eyes opened, I tried to tell myself it was a good thing she was awake, but I was still disappointed that it meant my time holding her was over.
Bobby came in with a towel flung over his shoulder and leaned against the door frame. He looked so relaxed here, and I knew that if I cared about him at all, I owed it to him to be sure he had that look on his face more often. In truth, there were times when just keeping ourselves functioning seemed to be enough, but now, I was tired of just functioning; I wanted to live, and everything that went with it. I wanted this woman in my arms for all time. I wanted that look on my partner's face every day, and I wanted the three of us to be together. What I didn't know was what to do about it.
She turned slightly to see what I was looking at and smiled at Bobby in greeting. "I thought it was just a dream that you were both here."
"Nah," he told her. "We tend to come as a package deal."
"What a package..." She smiled in a rare display of flirting.
"Get ready, and when you're done, we'll have breakfast before heading out to get the bad guy," Bobby said, giving her the motivation necessary to get up.
I followed Bobby into the kitchen and watched him abusing some eggs with a fork. I glanced around her kitchen and realized it was probably because Stephanie didn't own a whisk. In all the time I'd known her, the only time she ate something homemade was if Ella or her mother made it. I had a feeling her kitchen wasn't all that well stocked.
I was feeling a little jittery, so I opened the cabinet, looking for something to take the sugar rush off, and saw all kinds of food we didn't keep in our apartment. "Peanut butter?" I asked, holding up the jar for him to admit he'd purchased it.
"I couldn't put all health food in her pantry, or she wouldn't have eaten it. I had to get healthier versions of most of what I bought but still work in some of her favorites, as well. She seems to use that stuff as a primary source of protein, so I had to get it," he explained, digging around for something from her fridge and giving me a view of his ass, framed in his cargos as he bent over.
I realized I was definitely guilty of taking my partner for granted. We'd seen each other in the same places, in the same ways, for so long that I didn't take the time to really appreciate him for the good looking and well built man that he was. Bobby was an inch shorter than I was, but his shoulders were wider. We wore the same pants, but his shirts were bigger because of the extra muscle on his frame. And, still up in the air like he had it now, with the cotton blend pulled tightly over it, his ass was one of his best qualities.
Walking up behind him, I let my palms grab onto his ass and grip the muscle there. He stood up slowly, and I didn't move an inch to give him room.
"You realize we have work to do today, right?" he challenged without trying to get away.
"We're helping Steph, which I hardly consider work," I corrected him. "And then we're off all day, so I am putting you on notice that the next time you flaunt this ass in front of me, I'm going to do more than just grab it."
He made my favorite noise that was a cross between a short moan and a low growl, and I knew he would let me do anything I wanted to later tonight. Fortunately, the bathroom door opened, and the noise brought us both back to the fact that we were not alone in our apartment.
I saw a file like what Connie prepped for skips sitting on Steph's little table, and I used that as a distraction to focus on so I didn't lose control again. Alfonso Richards was thirty-nine and wanted for his seventh robbery. This time, it was at a liquor store, but he'd knocked off three convenience stores, two bakeries, and a hardware store before. Each time, he'd just walked in, knocked out the cashier with a single blow to the head, and then taken the cash from the open register. How he was back on the streets with so many priors was beyond me.
Her apartment phone began ringing and we heard her make a sound of frustration before calling out to us, "Just let the machine get it."
It took two more rings before we heard her pre-recorded message floating through the air, followed by the short beep. Then a familiar voice filled the air.
"Stephanie, this your mother. Valerie and Albert are coming over tonight for dinner, and I'll expect you here before six. Albert finished a big case this week, and we're celebrating. Maybe having you here where you can see how nice it is to have a husband who provides for his wife will help you to reconsider the rude behavior you've been giving to poor Joseph. You're not getting any younger, and I think you've played at that job long enough. It's time to start thinking about settling down so you can have a life. Don't be late, or you'll ruin dinner for everyone by drying it out."
When the machine beeped again to indicate the message was over, I looked at Bobby, who appeared to be cataloging all the different ways he could make Mrs. Plum disappear without anyone suspecting our involvement. I'd heard Stephanie joke about her mother's annoying phone messages and pressures to just give into the life she was raised for, but until I heard it with my own ears, I couldn't believe that a mother would be that cruel.
Steph came out half a minute later, glanced at the blinking light, and then at us before saying, "Let me guess. Dinner tonight at six, and some reference to me not getting any younger and it's time for me to settle down, right?"
"Pretty much," I confirmed, before adding, "Only she nagged a bit and was a lot bitchier in how she said it."
"Cool, then I don't have to listen to it," she stated in a strangely detached way, before reaching over and deleting the unheard message.
"So what's the plan?" Steph asked, smiling when Bobby turned around and handed her a plate with sausage, eggs, and toast on it.
He handed me another plate with the exact same serving he'd taken for himself, which was half what we would usually eat, but I knew he was compensating for the half dozen Boston Creams we'd plowed through earlier.
When she was done, Stephanie thanked him for cooking her real food and not forcing her to eat twigs and berries. He gave a non-committal response and began washing the dishes. I knew him; the sausage was either turkey, or at the very least, reduced fat. The pile of eggs was probably three whites and only one yolk for color. And the toast had no sugar added fruit preserves on it to keep you from missing the fact that there was no butter.
We picked up the file, and then followed her to the parking lot, where she directed us to Richards' house. His truck was parked at the front, so I assumed that meant he was home.
"How do you want to handle this?" I asked, remembering her condition when she agreed to let us come along was that she wanted to do the talking.
"I'd love to see if he'll come with me before having you guys threaten him," she stated, a little unsure.
"We'll be at the side of the house." Bobby pointed to the alcove, where we could stay out of his line of vision, but still keep a visual on Stephanie and be within twenty feet of the front door if we had to rush to her aid. "And we'll hear every word. As long as Richards cooperates, we won't interfere."
"But the second he so much as looks at you in a threatening way, we're moving in," I added, wanting to be sure she was prepared for us to help.
She claimed to understand, so we slipped into position ahead of her, and then waited on alert as she knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal a guy much bigger and uglier than his mug shot indicated was possible.
"Mr. Richards, I'm Stephanie Plum with Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, and you missed your court date, so I'm here to take you back to the station to get rebonded." She sounded so friendly, I felt like she could have been offering to sell him Girl Scout cookies and not a trip back to the slammer.
"I ain't going to jail," Richards said.
"Ranger Manoso asked me to call him if you felt that his assistance was required to get you there," she added, still sounding chipper.
He took two steps closer and repeated, "I ain't going to jail. You can tell Manoso that the next time he sends you to bring me in, I'll send you flying off the porch again."
"Let's roll," Bobby said, an edge to his voice that made me a little nervous.
I tended to be the more out there of the two of us. I got mad faster, and as such, I would get louder and rowdier much more often. Bobby's fuse was definitely longer than mine, so he didn't tend to have so many mini-anger bursts throughout the day like I did. Since he kept a much tighter control on his emotions, when he did get angry, it was a volcanic-like explosion that would burn anything that came close. I knew he wouldn't want Stephanie to see him lose control like that, so I had to be sure I got to Richards first. I took off at a run instead of the intimating stroll I'd been planning on, and when I bounded onto the porch behind Stephanie with a single leap, she jumped from the shock of it and Richards took a big step backward.
"We're here to be sure she doesn't have any trouble getting you to the station. We don't need to call Manoso. We can deliver on our threats while we're here," I told him with an edge to my voice that meant I was getting close to losing the fragile grip on my own temper. I took a few slow breaths through my nose, willing myself to calm down before I did something stupid.
Bobby walked right past me and Steph and muscled Richards so his face was pressed against the dirty siding on his house. In one efficient movement, Bobby got his hands cuffed behind him, and he leaned in and said something in Richards' ear too soft for me to hear. But when he spun him around again, instructing him to walk to the waiting SUV, I couldn't help but notice that the front of Richards' pants was wet. Since I didn't recall Steph saying anything about an issue with incontinence for this skip, I had to assume whatever Bobby had said had made quite an impression.