A/N: Hopefully this chapter makes up for all of the teasing.

Ranger's lips and tongue are doing amazing things to my favorite body part and his fingers are sliding into me. My hands are in his hair and I'm almost there.

Except for that annoying ringing noise. What the hell is that and why won't it stop? It just keeps getting louder.

"Fuck!" I yell as I sit straight up in bed. My phone is ringing and it had all been a dream.

I look at the clock. 2:43 AM. I must have fallen asleep waiting for Ranger to call and update me on Tank's condition.

"Hello?" I answer, my voice rough from sleep.

"Babe."

I smile, because if someone had to wake me up, I'm glad it's Ranger.

"How's Tank?"

"He's fine, all stitched up. The bullet just missed his spleen and lung, so mainly he'll just be sore for a while. I'm on my way back now."

"That's good," I let out a relieved sigh. "Ranger?"

"Babe?"

"Feel free to let yourself in when you get back."

"Babe."

He disconnects. I wonder if he ends phone conversations with his mother like that.

I clean up my ice cream mess (I'd eaten an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia as soon as I got in last night) before I make a quick trip to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, and try to tame my hair. I'm changing into some of my new lingerie (I ditched everything Joe had ever seen me in and bought new stuff for Ranger) when I hear the lock tumble on my front door. I quickly pull on a silk robe and meet Ranger in the hallway. He pulls me to him and nuzzles my neck. I take his hand and pull him into my bedroom.

He's undressed and in bed before I realize he's made no attempt to undress me. I drop the robe and slide in next to him. He leans across me and turns off the bedside lamp. He pulls my back to his front and it's perfectly clear that he just wants to sleep.

Here we go again.

"I have needs, you know," I whine.

He makes a noise that I can only classify as a grunt. "Babe, this is payback for all of the times you've shut me down."

"Come on, I know you want me too!" I don't care that I sound immature.

"Let's just go to sleep, okay? I'm exhausted and I don't like to do things halfway."

"Is this some new form of torture? I mean, I was having a really good dream about you when you called, so technically you've shut me down three times tonight."

I hear him snicker.

"I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

"Please, Babe? I promise not to make you run tomorrow."

"Fine," I sigh.

I'm surprised to find Ranger still sleeping in my bed when I wake up. I glance at the clock. 8:06 AM. I try to sneak out of bed as stealthily as possible, and for once it works. I make my way into the bathroom and start the shower.

I'm almost finished rinsing the conditioner out of my hair when I hear the bathroom door open.

"Need some help in there, Babe?" Ranger asks.

"No, thanks. I'm done."

I turn the water off and open the shower door. Ranger's standing right there and doesn't bother to offer me a towel. Normally, I'd be hurrying to cover myself, but right now I just want him to see what he's missing.

"Mi Dios, Babe. Eres la mujer más hermosa." My God, Babe. You are the most beautiful woman.

I have no idea what he's saying, so I smirk and grab the towel from behind him.

"Do you want something, Ranger?"

He blinks.

"Ella has breakfast ready for us on Seven. Meet me when you're dressed."

And he turns and leaves.

I want to take my time getting ready, but my stomach is growling, so I pull my hair back in a ponytail and throw on jeans and a t-shirt. I make sure Rex has fresh food and water and I'm out the door.

Ranger's waiting for me in the kitchen and I see a plate of donuts in front of the chair next to his. He's eating something that looks like shredded cardboard with sliced bananas in it and he's got a file folder open next to that.

"How can you eat that stuff?" I ask as I take the seat next to his.

"How can you eat that stuff?" he asks, pointing to my plate.

"Easily and with pleasure," I take a bite, moaning to prove my point.

He shakes his head. I pour myself a cup of coffee, adding liberal amounts of cream and sugar, and I can see he's biting his tongue.

"Any plans for today?" I ask.

"I've got to cover a shift at the monitors, since Tank's still groggy from the pain meds. Then I thought we could have dinner here tonight."

"Do you want company?"

"Babe. I'm supposed to be watching the monitors. You'll just distract me."

I can't argue with that.

"I've got one skip left. I'm going to see if Lula wants to go with me. I haven't seen her since Tuesday."

"Take one of the guys with you. I'm sure Lester would love to ride along."

"White girl!" Lula exclaims as she runs toward the Cayenne Ranger insisted I take for the day.

I can see Lester cringing in the rear view mirror.

"Hey Lula," I say as she slides into the passenger seat.

"This here's a fine ass car. What's Ranger doin' letting you drive it? Don't he know you can't have a nice car without blowing it up? You musta had one helluva date last night."

I can see this gets Lester's attention, but he's going to be disappointed. I'm not about to get on Ranger's bad side by sharing details of our currently lacking sex life.

"Actually, our date got cut short. Tank got shot, so Ranger had to go to the ER," I tell her, waiting for her reaction.

"So this is more of an apology than a thank you. Huh?"

No mention of Tank. I know they're not together right now, but if Joe got shot, I'd at least want to know if he's okay.

"Tank's fine by the way."

"That's good. That's good. Oh! That fine ass Morelli stopped by the bond's office yesterday. He says you've moved out of your apartment and you won't return his calls. Did you shack up with Batman and forget to tell me? I knew you quitting was a bad idea. You're already not telling me important shit."

"Lula!" I interrupt her tirade, "I didn't shack up with Ranger. I moved into an apartment in the Rangeman building. It's safer and so much nicer than my old place"

"Girl, I gotta see this new place."

"Once I get my stuff unpacked, I promise."

Technically, everything is unpacked, but I'm not sure how Ranger will feel about letting Lula loose in the building.

"So who we picking up?" Lula asked.

"Sally Sweet. He got into another bar fight."

"No shit?"

"Apparently he takes offense to drunk guys confusing him for a woman."

"Then maybe he shouldn't dress like one."

"I hear ya, but in his defense, a woman usually doesn't have a five o'clock shadow."

Sally hadn't put up much of a fight this time, so even after stopping at the mall for lunch and shopping, I'd still made it back to Rangeman before Ranger's shift at the monitors had ended. I checked in on Rex, changed clothes, and headed up to Seven to wait for him.

I wake up some time later to Ranger nuzzling my neck and sneaking a hand up my shirt. I swat his hand away.

"Babe," he sounds offended.

"Don't start something you're not ready to finish."

He gives me the wolf grin and pulls me up from the couch.

"Come on, Babe. Let's eat."

I follow him to the table and it smells delicious. I see what appears to be chicken parmesan and I look curiously at Ranger.

"Whole wheat pasta and the chicken is breaded in whole wheat flour and baked instead of fried" he explains.

I cautiously take a bite and am pleasantly surprised. The pasta is similar in consistency to al dente, which I prefer anyway. The sauce is seasoned perfectly and the chicken tastes pretty much the same, just less greasy.

I've cleaned my plate by the time Ranger has finished his salad.

"Dessert?" I ask hopefully.

"Pineapple upside down cake in the oven," he tells me.

I'm so shocked, I'm speechless. Donuts for breakfast and my favorite dessert all in the same day. He sure knows how to treat a woman. I jump out of my chair and peek into the oven. Nope, he wasn't just pulling my leg. That's definitely pineapple upside down cake. I pull it out and cut a huge piece, just in case he finds some excuse not to sleep with me yet again tonight. I carry it back to the table and he grins when he sees my plate.

"So, how was your day?" I ask, in an effort not to inhale my dessert like I did the main course.

"Boring as staring at a monitor for eight hours usually is. Nothing ever happens on my shift," he tells me, "And yours?"

"My last skip was Sally Sweet, and he said he only missed his court date because he didn't have anything to wear. He didn't put up a fight, because he'd just got a manicure. I was saving him for last, hoping he'd be a little more entertaining."

"Are you missing it already?"

"Maybe a little bit, but I don't regret any of the choices I've made this past week," I tell him, looking him in the eyes.

"Good," he tells me and pushes his chair away from the table, "Let's go to bed, Babe."

He holds a hand out to me and I longingly look down at my cake that I've hardly touched, before letting him pull me up.

As soon as we're in his bedroom, he starts kissing me. His hands slip under my shirt and we part briefly while he takes it off.

"This is really happening? You're not just messing with me?" I ask as I work on removing his shirt.

"It's really happening and it's going to be good."

His mouth moves to my neck as he unbuttons and unzips my jeans. Once they're on the floor, he picks me up and tosses me in the middle of his bed. He crawls up my body, and the look on his face is predatory. I shiver as he lifts me up just enough to unhook my bra. I try to unzip his cargos, but he pushes my hands away.

His gently bites one of my nipples and I arch up from the bed. I'm already panting when he moves his mouth to the other one. Then he's kissing down my body, before he gets off the bed and kneels on the floor. He grabs my legs and pulls me to the edge of the bed, quickly removing my panties. He looks me straight in the eyes as he gently spreads my legs. Then he tongues my clit, not breaking eye contact.

I feel my eyes roll back in my head as he sucks on my clit and his thumbs are massaging my folds. "Don't stop, Ranger."

He pulls back, "Call me Carlos, Babe."

I think about it for a second while he watches me. I say it once and it feels weird. He's always been Ranger to me, but I could get used to it.

"Say it again, Babe."

"Carlos, please," I beg.

He resumes sucking on my clit and slips one finger inside me. I arch off of the bed again and he holds my hips down with his other hand. He puts another finger in me and curls both fingers, applying pressure right on my other favorite spot. I'm coming before I know what's hit me and he thrusts his fingers in and out, while he licks my clit, not letting up until I come again.

My hands manage to find his hair and I gently tug on him until he lets up. He pushes me up on the bed, removes his cargos, and crawls on top of me. I pull his face to mine and run my tongue along his lips until he opens up and meets my tongue with his. I can feel his impressive length against my stomach and pull back to take a quick peek.

"Like what you see?" he smirks.

I nod. He kisses me again.

"Are you on the pill?" he asks.

I nod again.

"Do you want me to use a condom?"

"No, just get me in already!" I say, grabbing his cock to emphasize my desire.

He doesn't waste any more time before sliding in and I don't think I've ever been happier in my life. Finally, this gorgeous man is making love to me.

A/N: So what do you think? Suggestions for the next chapter? Dinner with Stephanie's parents?