I do not own these characters, they belong to Janet Evanovich. I hope you like the new chapter and that you will forgive me for any dark twists and turns in the future. I hadn't intended on this being a lemony chapter, but that is what ended up happening. Hope you like it.

Chapter 4

Ranger POV

When I walked out of the cockpit and saw Manny kissing Steph's hand I just about flew at him. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't given Babe her 'Wedding' ring yet. I quickly retrieve it from my pocket and stood beside her. Luckily Manny was kissing her right hand, so I was able to take her left hand in mine and slide the ring on her finger. After it was in place she squeezed my hand and looked up at me.

"There you are Carlos. You need to introduce me to your friends since your brother obviously has no manners." She shot Lester a playful look and he came up and slid his arm around her neck.

"Beautiful you just needed to give me a second. Manny really didn't give me a chance." I shot Lester a look and he quickly removed his arm.

I slid my arm around Babe's waist and pulled her close to me. "Stephanie Martinez this is Manny Vasquez." Manny, who had never released Steph's hand raised it to his mouth again and kissed it.

"It is nice to meet you Manny. Are these gentlemen behind you friends of yours?" She nodded towards Hector and Victor who were standing in the back of the cabin by the stairs leading outside.

"These are my brothers, Hector and Victor. You are very lucky your husband has such self control Stephanie; my brothers have been trying to lead him down a very sinful path recently. It is a good thing you have joined us when you did. It was only a matter of time before his resolved crumbled." All three brothers laughed and Steph smiled and looked up at me.

"I know my Carlos well enough to say that I am sure there is barely a scratch in his resolve. I am glad to be here though. Being away from him for any amount of time is nearly impossible." Steph removed her hand from his, turned to me, running her hand up my chest to my neck and pulled my mouth to hers. She gave me a slow passionate kiss and I was glad Lester cleared his throat when he did, because for a second there I forgot where I was.

"Well Manny I think I need to get these two back to the boat. They can only keep their hands to themselves for so long." Lester motioned for us all to leave the plane and the brothers complied, meeting us out on the tarmac.

"You two go and enjoy each other. The plan is that we will be leaving by boat day after tomorrow. You can moor you boat at the dock until you return. We will be all going on our yacht." Manny smiled at Steph. She had her arm around me and I felt her nails sink into my waist. "Make sure you bring your bikini Mrs. Martinez; although they are always optional." The other brothers were already getting into their vehicles and Bobby was pulling ours up in front of us.

"I will remember that Manny. It was nice to meet you. I look forward to seeing you again." Steph smiled and gave a little finger wave as I helped her into the SUV.

I leaned in, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll be right back Babe."

I closed the door behind me and crossed to Manny. "It was nice of you to meet us. You didn't have to."

Manny laughed and opened the door to his SUV. "I wanted to meet the woman that has such a powerful hold on you. Be careful Carlos. She has started to bewitch me as well." Manny climbed into his car and shut the door, rolling the window down. "Show your woman the sights tomorrow and then join us for drinks later. I want to get to know your lady before the trip. That way I can make sure she is satisfied during the journey." He gave me a smile that I just wanted to beat off his face.

"That has never been a problem Manny. I know what satisfies my woman. I will make sure that she has everything she needs and wants. But we will be by for drinks. See you then." He nodded, and the SUV drove away, followed by their other vehicles. I got in our car and slid closer to Babe.

Steph started to speak and I quickly took her words away with a long deep kiss. I moved my kiss to her neck and whispered in her ear, "Don't talk yet Babe. Wait." She gave me a quick nod and I returned my mouth to hers. We continued kissing all the way to the dock. Babe's hands explored me and kept me close to her. I pulled her closer to me and I had to fight to remember that Bobby and Lester were in the front seat. Did didn't really matter though as my hand move farther up her thigh, under her little yellow sundress. Steph started kissing my neck, her hand running through my hair. Suddenly Lester's voice was like a cold shower.

"Well we're here. You two love birds want to take this inside or continue here like a couple of teenagers?" Steph blushed and I shot daggers. Bobby grabbed Steph's bags and I picked her up out of the car and carried her to the boat. When I set her down on the deck she looked at me and I slightly shook my head. We didn't know what kind of long range surveillance Vasquez had, so we had to get a minimum safe distance before we spoke.

Bobby pulled the mooring lines and I wrapped my arms around Babe as we watched the city lights disappear. I pulled her back into my chest and continued to kiss down her neck.

"Carlos." Steph whispered and for a moment I forgot why we were there and what we were doing. This was something that I had imagined hundreds of times; being this close to Stephanie, loving her and having her return those feelings with no reservations. Much too quickly we were a mile off shore.

I sighed. "It's safe now Babe." I expected her to pull out of my arm but she didn't, instead she pushed closer into my chest and placed her hands to hold mine around her.

"Carlos, Manny is one creepy dude." She giggled, but I could tell she was frightened.

I kissed the top of her head. "That he is Babe. You did great though. He really has taken a liking to you. Try not to let him get you alone. As I am sure you've figured out, he is not the most stable individual."

Steph moved her head across my chest and to the side, exposing her neck to me. I took it as an invitation and started kissing behind her ear and down to her shoulder. She moaned and moved her arm around the back of my neck holding me to her. I spun her in my arms so we were facing each other. She looked up at me, and at that moment, I had never been in love with anyone as much as I was in love with Stephanie.

"Babe." I practically growled her name. I wanted to make love to her, but at the same time, I was afraid maybe this was all about the roles we were playing. "You don't have to do this Babe."

A small smile painted her face. Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled like the moon reflecting off the ocean. "Carlos, my Carlos. Do you know how many times I have dreamed of being in a place like this with you? I've missed you so much. Since our one night together, I have longed to be close to you. To have you touch me and not hold back. Tonight, right now, I am Babe and you are Ranger. This will be our last opportunity for who knows how long to show each other, the real us, how we feel. I don't want to wonder while we are forced to be other people, if that is the only reason why you kiss me or are intimate with me. I love you. I, Stephanie Plum, love you , Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Please, make love to me."

Everything disappeared except for her. I picked her up and carried her below deck to our cabin; my eyes never leaving hers. Once we were inside with the doors closed, I sat her on the bed and knelt down at her feet.

"Babe, I need you to know that while we are here, yes we have roles to play, but every touch, every kiss, every look, is from me to you; just as we are now. I've waited too long, I've been too scared to let you into my world and by me making a stupid call, I have pulled you in. I know that by saying this I am even more of a selfish bastard that I thought possible, but I'm so glad you are here. You have been in my thoughts since the first moment I saw you. I'm not sure when exactly I fell in love with you, but I'm done fighting it. Now I just want to get this job done and bring you home safely so that we can build something together." Steph reached her hands out to my neck and pulled me to her. There was such urgency behind her kiss that my body had no choice to respond. Not like I've ever had a choice with Babe.

I stood and she unbuttoned my shirt, letting it fall to the floor. She brought her mouth to my stomach and starting kissing me, running her tongue around my belly button. Letting her fingers trace the ridges of my muscles. Before I knew what was happening, she had unbuttoned my pants and I stepped out of them as her hands moved their way down my body. She looked up at me through her eyelashes and smiled as her hands ran up my thighs. She started to kiss down my stomach as her hand slid up my thigh and she gently ran one nail up the length of my erection. I let out a ragged breath as her tongue followed the path her finger had just made and with one quick fluid movement she took me in her mouth.

"Babe."

She moaned and looked up at me. The view of her, taking me in her mouth, desire filling her blue eyes, made me even harder. She had one hand covering what her sweet mouth couldn't and the other was exploring me. She picked up the pace and I had to hold on to a chair that was beside the bed with one hand while the other hand ran through her hair. I couldn't hold on any longer and found my release. Once I had made sure I had enough control of my body, I reached down, lifting Babe up to me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I lifted her dress over her head. She put her arms around my neck and I took hold of her hair, gently pulling her back to expose her neck and breasts. She had on a very innocent looking white bra, but it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I started to kiss my way down her neck, stopping when I reach just above her breasts. I lay my ear against her chest and listened to her heartbeat. I moved my hand and unclasp her bra, then took my hands and slid the straps off of her shoulders. I moved to look into her eyes as I removed one more barrier between us.

"I love you Carlos." I pulled her close to me, her bare breasts pressing against my chest.

"I love you Babe. Please never forget that." I whispered into her ear. She pulled back from me, want and need visible in her eyes. My hand moved down her body to her simple white cotton bikini underwear. They were soaked through and I slid them aside, gently entering her with two fingers.

"Carlos." Babe's head fell back and her eyes closed. As I moved my fingers inside her, she tightened her grip around my neck and moved her body, pulling me deeper inside of her. I felt her body tighten around my fingers and her breathing quicken.

"Let go Steph. Let go for me." Suddenly her body had my fingers in a vice like grip and her whole body started to shake. I continued to move inside her, bring her down. When she brought her eyes back to mine, she had never looked more beautiful. I removed my fingers from her and she smiled as I brought them to my mouth and sucked them clean. That only brought more of a hunger for her and I gently placed her beautiful head on the pillow, kissing my way down her body, sliding her ruined panties off of her. I brought her legs to my shoulders and began devouring her. Her scent, her taste, it was something I knew that I needed to survive. I brought her body to climax again, and before she was able to completely come down, I slid my body up hers and entered her. Slowly, but her body welcomed me. Babe moved her legs around me and guided me in. Our eye locked as I pushed deeper inside her and she brought a hand to my face. I kissed the palm of her hand as I buried myself as deep as I could, leaving no distance between us. We slowly made love; our bodies caressing each others. Stephanie came over and over, calling my name and moving her hands over every inch of me. I finally gave into my own release as the sun was beginning to turn the sky pink with its arrival.

Reluctantly I left her, but pulled her too me as sleep over took us. The next day brought with it a new life, and more danger than I even wanted to think about, but right now, at this moment, I was in a paradise.