UPDATE: If you read chapter six and it was missing all the apostrophes and quotation marks, sorry about that. I have no idea what caused that to happen, but I've got it fixed now. I assure you, I wrote chapter six with all the necessary punctuation in place.

NOTE: Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for your feedback. It really brightens my day and encourages me to write. The whole point of this was to work out my writer's block, and I must say, this story and your support is really helping me out. I can feel the block moving away, and the exercise of writing every day is doing wonders. Getting such amazing and positive feedback really gives me the push I need. I'm such an instant-gratification sort of person with these things;)

This chapter is loooong. I hope you like it. I'd love to write more, but it's late and I need a smoke before I go to bed and try to kill this headache.

XOXO

SPOILERS: Sure. Spoilered all over the damn place.

RATING: Language, adult situations, soft-smut, and pathos, pathos, pathos.

CHAPTER SEVEN:

It was without any surprise that Stephanie woke up flattened into her mattress, a product of Diesel lying half on top of her. She was on her back and he was face down in his pillow, the right side of his chest pressed against her and an arm and a leg draped over her.

"Diesel," she managed, shoving at his shoulder ineffectually. "Diesel, wake up, I can't breathe."

Diesel made a noise that might have been words and rolled to his left side, drawing her against him with the arm and leg he'd been smooshing her with.

"You smell good," he mumbled, pressing his face into her hair.

Stephanie squirmed and then froze. "You're supposed to be behaving yourself," she hissed, feeling something hard pressed against her hip, and she was pretty sure he hadn't gone to bed with a lead pipe in his shorts.

"Not my fault. And I am behaving myself." His voice was muffled by her hair and she was trying hard not to have a very feminine reaction to his raspy morning voice and appealing proximity.

"Diesel, let me up. I gotta get coffee."

He grumbled something else into her hair, but she was able to roll away from him and to her feet. She felt a smile tip up the corners of her mouth as she took in the picture he made sprawled across the sheets, his shaggy hair covering most his face and his blue boxers, decorated with little Superman shields, riding low on his hips. He must have been vacationing somewhere nice because he was uniformly tanned a warm, caramel brown and judging from the lack of a tan line near his waistband, she was guessing he'd been spending some time sunbathing in the nude. Not an unappealing thought.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her Sig off the side table and headed out of the bedroom, noticing her bra hanging from the doorknob as she passed. No surprises there, she thought as she made for the kitchen and her coffee pot.

By the time the carafe was mostly full, Diesel wandered into the kitchen, looking incredibly sexy with his hair tousled, barefoot and shirtless in his battered jeans.

"You're really set on not making this easy, aren't you?" she asked, pulling two mugs down from the cupboard.

Diesel shoved his hair out of his eyes and scratched his jaw, his calloused fingers rasping across his stubble. "I'm easy," he replied.

Stephanie decided to ignore that comment and busied herself filling their coffee mugs. She handed one to Diesel and dropped a couple bagels in the toaster, pulling out a jar of peanut butter and a table knife from a drawer.

Diesel leaned back against the counter, ankles crossed, and drank deeply of his coffee. "Why you up so early?" he questioned.

"I have a job," she answered, forcibly keeping her eyes on his face instead of all over the rest of him.

"A job that requires you to be up at six in the morning? Since when are you the early riser?"

"Since I started taking my career choice more seriously. I'm meeting Lester at the gun range before my shift starts at eight. Maybe you didn't notice, but my gun isn't in the cookie jar." Her gun, in fact, was on the counter near the coffee pot.

He turned slightly and lifted the lid off the cookie jar in question, peeking inside. "There's cookies in here."

"I know, surprising," she returned. The bagels popped and Stephanie spread peanut butter on them as Diesel munched a cookie between sips of coffee.

"You could of stayed in bed," she said as he accepted the paper plate she handed him.

"I like watching you walk around in your little shorts." His warm brown eyes did a slow slide from her face to her feet and back again, the corners of his mouth tilting up.

"Fair enough," she managed in what she hoped was a normal voice. "What are your plans for the day?"

They headed into the dining area and sat across from each other at her small table.

"Besides picking up some clothes you won't be embarrassed to be seen with me in, I don't really have any. Maybe I'll go say hello to Bernie."

Stephanie raised a brow. "The Easter Bunny?"

"It's good to keep up on Unmentionables, even ones that keep to themselves."

"I want to be out of here and heading to the club around nine," she told him and drained the rest of her coffee.

"I'll be here when you get back from work."

"Great. You want some more coffee?" she gestured to his mostly-empty mug.

"Sure." He handed her the cup and she went back into the kitchen to refill them and drop a couple Cheerios into Rex's aquarium.

They finished their breakfast and Stephanie headed into the bathroom while Diesel plopped down on the couch, flipping on the television.

She hopped into the shower and quickly did her hair and make-up, slicking some curl serum through the dark strands and packing on the eyeliner and mascara. She belted on her robe and crossed into her bedroom to pull on her uniform of fitted black cargo pants and her black RangeMan t-shirt.

Stephanie had finally managed to get some uniform shirts that were long enough to tuck into her pants, and she had to admit, she looked like a genuine badass with all her gear on.

Her boots were next to Diesel's under the coffee table, and she padded in her stocking feet to the couch, sitting next to him to lace up. He'd pulled on his t-shirt at some point, but his feet were still bare and propped up on the table, a heap of cookies sitting on his stomach.

Boots laced, she went into the kitchen and fetched her utility belt off the counter where she'd left it and clipped her holster and cell phone in place.

"I'm out of here," she called to Diesel as she snagged her purse.

"See ya," he called back, eyes trained on the TV and a cookie in his hand.

Stephanie left the apartment and took the stairs to the lot. She scanned the cars, looking for anything out of place but not expecting to see anything. It had been a while since she'd had any crazy stalkers, and it probably would have been a good idea to start paying attention while they'd still been a reoccurring problem, but it didn't hurt to be aware of her surroundings now.

The drive to RangeMan didn't take long and Stephanie parked the little black convertible near the exit and as far from Ranger's personal vehicles as possible. She locked up and gave the security camera a little finger wave before heading for the elevator.

It slid open before she could hit the call button and Lester was inside.

"Hey, Beautiful. Ready to fire off a few rounds?"

She smiled at him and stepped inside. "You bet."

Lester draped an arm around her shoulders as the elevator dropped down to the underground gun range. She wanted to talk to him about the plan and Diesel, but worried that Ranger might be watching them on a monitor somewhere in the building. She knew he could access all the security cameras from his apartment and his office on the control floor, and guessed that he was onsite since none of his cars were missing.

They spent an hour blasting holes in paper targets and Stephanie alternated between her Sig and the .38 that she'd taken to carrying in her purse as backup. She hadn't needed either gun for more than show in a while, but she was glad she'd finally started putting effort into being comfortable with the weapons.

When they were finished and had both reloaded and holstered their side arms, Lester rode the elevator with her to the fifth floor. He chucked her under the chin before heading to his cubical and she headed to hers. She had about twenty minutes before her shift would start, so she took the time to return a few phone calls.

Stephanie called her father first and made a plan to have lunch with him later. She knew that avoiding her mother wasn't doing anyone any favors in the long run, but she was really enjoying spending time with her father without the stresses of the Plum household interfering.

Once she was done speaking with Frank, she called up Lula at the bonds office. Lula had her laughing about Joyce Barnhardt's latest meeting with a stun gun during her most recent visit to Vinnie's office and promised Lula that she'd meet her for lunch the next day.

Connie was next, and Lula just handed the phone over to her so she could inform Stephanie about three new FTA's that had come in the previous day. Steph promised she'd check out their files when she came to pick up Lula the next day for lunch and disconnected. It was ten after eight and her inbox was stacked with search requests.

The day raced by and at noon Stephanie logged off and headed for the elevator. She saw Ranger standing in front of the doors, waiting for the car to show up and felt her breath catch and her stomach clench. She couldn't get in an elevator with him. No way, no how. It would either end with her throwing herself at him or something even worse, so she gave him a curt nod and ducked into the stairwell, hoping that her blank face had been firmly in place.

Stephanie took her time descending the stairs. She didn't know if Ranger had been heading up or down and didn't want to run into him in the garage. It was with a large measure of relief that she stepped into the parking lot and found it empty. Ranger's Turbo was missing and she relaxed, glad that he'd left before she could get down the five flights of stairs.

A quick peek at her watch confirmed that she was supposed to be meeting her dad in fifteen minutes and she zipped out of the garage, heading for Pino's.

Frank was waiting for her in the parking lot when she pulled in, sitting in his cab listening to a ball game on the radio. He climbed out of the taxi and embraced her when she approached, kissing her on the forehead.

"Hey, Princess," he greeted her and she smiled at him.

They entered the restaurant and sat at a booth, Stephanie facing the door and a wall at her back. She almost found it funny that she'd adopted such defensive measures in her regular life, but there'd been so many dangerous experiences that such precautions might have prevented that she didn't question her need to remain vigilant.

Frank ordered them a pie to share and they talked about her work and Valerie's kids. Grandma Mazur was driving him nuts as usual and she gathered the expression on his face said the conversation was about to lead to her mother.

"You planning on coming to dinner any time soon?" he asked.

"I don't know. Mom can't seem to get over the fact that I'm not doing the 'Burg wife bit and I think I've earned the right to my own life. I haven't even had a car blow up in months, but she still reminds me that every time she hears sirens she thinks I'm lying dead in a gutter somewhere." Stephanie popped a pepperoni into her mouth and washed it down with a swig of Coke.

"I keep telling her to lay off, but she's got it in her mind that Morelli is your last shot at becoming a respectable woman, or whatever."

"Joe and I are just friends. I'm not in love with him and he's not in love with me. I don't want kids, he does. We love each other, but it's been purely platonic for a while now. No use forcing something that will end up making us both miserable in the end."

Frank nodded. "Your grandmother seems to think you've got it in for that Ranger character."

Stephanie found herself pulling the blank face in direct response to Ranger's name and leaned back in her seat, scanning the room. Mentioning Ranger in public places had a tendency to summon him out of thin air.

When he didn't mysteriously appear she returned her gaze to her father. "At this point, my relationship with Ranger is strictly professional."

"Do you want more?"

Stephanie hesitated. Talking about Ranger with her father seemed to make the situation more real and she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with that. That would mean confronting the consequences of her plan not working out and right now, denial was her friend. Nerves would turn her into a mess if she allowed herself to think Ranger wouldn't get with the program.

"It's complicated," she finally replied and gave her dad a sad smile.

"It usually is, honey."

They finished their lunch, which Frank insisted on paying for, and Stephanie gave him another hug.

"Think about coming to dinner. I'll tell your mom to lay off and warn her if she doesn't that you'll leave in the middle." He tapped a finger to her nose. "You look like you can handle just about anything."

Stephanie looked down at herself and laughed. "Trying not to be a walking disaster requires a lot of equipment in this line of work."

"Be good. Maybe I'll see you for dinner soon."

Frank took off and Stephanie headed back to the Haywood building, thinking about what her father had said. Maybe she could bring Diesel to dinner tonight before they went out. Diesel got a kick out of her family and usually his presence caused enough of a ruckus to keep her mother focused on Grandma Mazur's questionable behavior instead of Stephanie's personal and professional life.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, Ranger was still MIA and that was just fine with Stephanie. She finished logging off her computer and slid away from her desk. Lester approached her with a smile and she couldn't help sliding an appreciative eye over him before meeting his gaze.

"Big plans tonight, Beautiful?" he asked, standing close with his thumbs hooked in his belt and his green eyes were crinkled in a smile.

She took a quick look around the control floor.

"No worries, Steph. Ranger's still out."

Relieved, she decided she could take a few minutes to bring Lester up to speed.

"Going dancing with Diesel tonight," she informed him and he laughed, throwing his head back. A few of the other guys turned in their direction and Stephanie was aware that most the guys were the ones from the Operation She's The Boss meeting. Lester would be quizzed on their conversation as soon as she got on the elevator.

"Never do anything halfway, eh, Beautiful?" he chuckled and tugged one of her curls.

"Strangely enough, I think Diesel is my safest bet. He seems to think the entire situation is an opportunity for him to have a good time."

"If he's going to be staying in your apartment I'll have to agree," Lester smirked.

Stephanie made a face. "It's not like that."

"I know, Beautiful. You've only got eyes for the boss."

Once more, Stephanie let her eyes rake over him. "Heart, yes. Eyes… My eyes are free to enjoy the scenery." She gave him a suggestive leer and he pulled her against him, his muscles hard and his green eyes soft.

"Watch it, Stephanie. You don't want to play games with me," he growled, his breath hot against her ear, his hands pressed warm and strong against her back.

Stephanie tilted her head back and to the side, studying him through lowered lashes. "You're right. I don't." She squeezed his shoulders where her hands were resting and fought to keep her eyes off his mouth.

Lester didn't seem to be experiencing the same problem. His eyes were riveted on her lips as she spoke and she pushed against his shoulders, silently asking him to release her. He did, slowly, his hands sliding around her waist before falling to his sides.

"You're a dangerous man, Lester Santos," she whispered.

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, tracing a finger along her jaw before taking a step back. "And you're a dangerous woman, Stephanie Plum." His eyes were stormy as he held her gaze. "Have fun tonight," he finally said. "Stay frosty."

He turned and headed back for his cubical, and Stephanie took a shuddering breath, grabbed her purse and headed for the elevator.

Tank caught up to her just before she could open the door to the foyer. "He's coming up the elevator," he warned her and there was no need for him to explain who "he" was.

Stephanie grimaced and then carefully blanked her expression. "Thanks," she said and Tank winked at her. She pushed through the door and hit the call button, waiting with a stone in her stomach for the doors to open.

A moment later the doors parted and Ranger was right in front of her. He looked tired, the hollows of his eyes darkened with fatigue and the little lines at their corners more pronounced than she'd seen them in a long time.

Sensing an opportunity, Stephanie let her natural inclination to be concerned for him color her expression instead of hiding it behind the usual blank mask. She hoped his obvious exhaustion was a product of a sleepless night filled with thoughts of Diesel in her apartment.

An expression she only recognized as surprise because she knew him so well flashed over his face at her concern and she let her shoulder brush against his as they passed each other. His eyes were locked on hers and she held his gaze as she turned to face the elevator doors.

He looked like he wanted to say something to her and she gave him a sad smile as the doors slid shut, so many words unspoken. Slumping against the elevator wall, Stephanie took a few ragged breaths, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her jaw against the urge to cry or scream. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the garage and she hurried to her car, desperate to get out of the building before she did something premature; like flying back up to the fifth floor to confront Ranger, or throw herself at him. The desire to do one or the other was almost enough to make her want to be sick, but she beeped her car unlocked and slid behind the wheel, pulling out into traffic, her eyes fixed on the building in her rearview mirror and her heart on the man inside.

#

Diesel opened the door to her before she could get her keys out of her purse. It scared the crap out of her and she dropped her pocketbook, jumping to the side and pulling her gun halfway out of its holster before realizing who the culprit was.

"I thought you said you didn't want to get shot," she snapped at him and he flashed her a grin.

"My bad. I certainly didn't expect you to be so on your toes. You really have been training." He bent and picked up her pocketbook, holding it out to her as she stepped back toward the door.

Stephanie took it from him and he held the door for her so she could step into the apartment. Diesel locked up as she hung her purse on one of the hooks in the foyer and then he followed her into the kitchen.

The little emotional but wordless exchange with Ranger coupled with Diesel scaring the bejesus out of her made getting a beer in her hand priority number one. She pulled open the fridge and found a chilled cheesecake and two six packs of Mickey's Grenades sitting on the top shelf.

Smiling, Stephanie snagged one of the beers and closed the fridge. Twisting off the lid she looked Diesel up and down.

He was still in jeans and a t-shirt, but they looked new. The jeans were designer faded and the shirt only looked worn.

"Wearing that?" she asked, meeting his amused gaze.

"No, I've got something else in mind for tonight, but I figured I might as well have a few changes of clothes if I'm going to be here for a while." He already had a beer in his hand and he took a swallow of the contents. "Young lady at the store was very helpful."

Stephanie couldn't contain her grin at the thought of Diesel in a clothing store. She bet the female employees would be more than helpful if he let them, and she couldn't blame them. Under different circumstances, she might be willing to help him out herself.

"You think too loud," he warned her, his lips curled in a smirk.

She shrugged and moved to Rex's cage. There were a few raisins in his bowl and his water bottle was full, so Diesel must have fed him.

Turning to face him again she decided to bring up dinner with her parents. "I haven't been to my parents' place in a while. Wanna go to dinner?"

His smirk turned to an expectant smile. "I love your parents' house. Your grandma gonna be there?"

"Should be."

He glanced at the clock and she followed his gaze. Five-forty. They had twenty minutes to get there if they weren't going to be late.

"I'm game."

"Watch out for Grandma, or you might be dinner."

Stephanie finished her beer and dropped the empty in the garbage can. "I'm going to change real quick and then we'll go."

"I'll get my boots on."

#

Dressed in a strapless blue-on-blue printed sundress and leather flip-flops, Stephanie led Diesel to her Miata. Knowing how he was, she tossed him the keys and slid into the passenger seat.

"Your ESP is improving," he said with a smile.

"You're predictable," she returned and he laughed outright, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot then pointing the car toward her parents house.

"What did you drive to the mall?" she asked and he gave her a blank look. "Never mind."

Ellen and Grandma Mazur were standing behind the screen door, shoulder to shoulder, when Diesel pulled the Miata to the curb. They both climbed out of the car and Diesel had an amused half-smile playing over his lips.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?" Ellen began, her voice pinched with annoyance, whether at Stephanie for being AWOL for three weeks or because she'd brought Diesel along to dinner was unknown.

Stephanie schooled her features into polite curiosity, figuring the blank face would just make her mother more prone to scathing remarks.

"Hi to you, too, Mom," Stephanie said, keeping her voice light.

Grandma Mazur swung the door open and Stephanie didn't miss the way her grandmother's eyes did an appreciative appraisal of Diesel's six-foot-one frame. She hugged the old woman and whispered into her ear, "Behave yourself, Grandma."

"Just looking," she returned with a wicked grin.

Stephanie laughed and they all moved into the living room, Diesel closing the door behind him.

Frank was sitting in his recliner, eyes locked on the television. He glanced at Stephanie and gave her a smile, which turned frozen when he spotted Diesel.

"What's the sissy doing here?" he questioned, eyes narrowing.

"Diesel's in town and thought he'd take me out to make up for last time he was around."

"Mr. Plum," Diesel greeted Frank, nodding. Stephanie thought he looked like he was suppressing a grin.

Frank just made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and turned his attention back to the TV.

"Stephanie, could you come help me in the kitchen, please?" her mother asked, walking toward the swinging door.

Stephanie shot Diesel a look and thought, 'Be good,' at him as hard as she could, hoping his ESP wasn't taking a break. He lifted his brows in a classic 'who, me?' expression and she shook a finger at him before stepping into the kitchen.

Her mother was at the stove, stirring a pot of gravy, when she came in. Stephanie walked to the cutting board where an olive loaf was sitting out and began slicing it for the bread basket waiting on the counter.

The silence stretched on, becoming increasingly uncomfortable, before Ellen couldn't contain herself any longer and turned on Stephanie, holding the whisk like a weapon.

"What's that man doing with you?" she demanded, somehow managing to wave the whisk for emphasis without splattering so much as a drop of gravy. She made 'that man' sound like 'The Devil'.

Stephanie did some mental deep breathing, summoning her calm. This was nothing compared to being in close proximity to Ranger all day.

"That man has a name and he's my friend," Stephanie returned, keeping her voice low and level. "And I'm sure he can hear you. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from making him uncomfortable."

Ellen's face locked down in a glare that only the 'Burg could breed. "You shouldn't be shuffling around with a man like that. How are you going to get back with Joseph when you're fooling around with him." She punctuated the end of her sentence with a jab of the whisk toward the living room.

"We're not fooling around. I told you, we're friends. I have some of those." Stephanie turned back to the bread, finished her slicing, and transported the pieces into the basket before covering it with a dish towel.

"And another thing," she said, catching her mother with her mouth wide open for another go. "Joe is another one of those friends. And he's a good friend, and I love him, but we're not a couple, have no intention of ever being a couple again, and we're both satisfied with the state of our current relationship.

"My job and my personal life are exactly the way I want them to be, and all your constant harping is doing is driving me away." Okay, maybe her personal life wasn't exactly the way she wanted it to be, but aside from her love problems, she was very happy with her current relationships.

Ellen's mouth clicked shut with an audible snap. Before she could shift to another mode of attack, the kitchen door swung open and Valerie came tumbling in with Angie looking angelic and Mary Alice galloping in full-on horse mode. Valerie had little baby Lisa tucked against her hip and her Meg Ryan hairdo looked like she'd been shoving her fingers through it for the last twelve hours.

"Hey, saw your car on the curb," Val said in way of greeting to Stephanie and smiled warmly. "And you brought a friend."

"We're going out later. Thought I'd bring him to dinner as a distraction." Stephanie shot a pointed look at her mother and Valerie laughed.

"How's that working out?"

"The night's still young," Stephanie returned.

Valerie had been supportive over the last six months, finally crawling off the Stephanie-Must-Join-The-'Burg bandwagon that her mother was driving and acknowledging all of Stephanie's hard-earned improvement as a BEA and RangeMan employee. Stephanie hadn't been able to bring up her problems with Ranger to her sister, but it looked like they might be developing a genuine sibling relationship that wasn't full of biting remarks thinly veiled behind 'Burg propriety.

Dinner went well and Albert Kloughn only spilled gravy all over himself once and didn't even fall out of his chair.

'Burg etiquette required Ellen to pack an unhealthy amount of leftovers into a number of containers and a plastic shopping bag she pulled from beneath the sink. It was seven-thirty and Stephanie was ready to get out while the getting was good.

Taking the leftovers with a vague promise that she'd be over for dinner again soon, Stephanie made her goodbyes and a quick exit, pulling Diesel behind her.

They stepped out onto the porch and Stephanie took her first deep breath in over an hour, feeling like she'd just escaped from the clutches of one of many past weirdoes that had haunted her life. Diesel shot her an amused look and draped an arm around her shoulders while simultaneously taking the bag of leftovers out of her hand.

"I need a beer," Stephanie said as Diesel guided her to the Miata.

He laughed and gave her a squeeze before opening her door so she could slide into the passenger seat, dropping the leftovers onto her lap before circling and climbing in beside her.

Stephanie let her head drop back against the cushy headrest, her eyes fluttering shut. Diesel could be vigilant while they made the drive back to her place.

Once inside her apartment, Stephanie headed directly to the fridge and grabbed a couple Grenades and the cheesecake. She snagged two forks and brought the entire ensemble to the dining table. Diesel sat across from her and they wordlessly dug in, washing down cheesecake with beer.

Probably not the best combination before dancing, but Stephanie figured that since she didn't do drugs, cheesecake and beer were going to have to do in order to calm her nerves. And she had nerves.

"Stop thinking about Ranger. If he shows, he shows. The point is for him to see us together," Diesel said, interrupting her spinning thoughts.

Stephanie sighed and put the cover back over the remaining half of the cheesecake, shoving her chair back from the table and nodding in agreement.

"I know, I just hope this isn't all going to blow up in my face."

Diesel leaned back in his chair, unleashing the dimples. "How often does that happen?"

They both laughed.

#

Stephanie stepped out of the bathroom at nine on the dot feeling smokin' hot. She was dressed in knee-length black silk shorts cut to fit like slacks in all respects if you ignored the fact that they were so low-rise they barely covered her ass-crack. A wide, black-leather belt with a huge rhinestone buckle draped over her hips gave the shorts a little more definition and encouraged anyone looking to get an eyeful of her flat stomach exposed by the backless white silk halter top that draped her breasts. She'd recently invested in a self-adhesive backless bra and had so far been pleased with its performance. The halter top called for just such a piece of underwear, while the shorts called for none at all. Four-inch black sling-back stilettos with peep toes and red soles completed her outfit.

Her hair was pulled up in a messy twist that would come undone bit by bit throughout the night and her eyes were made up in a range of smoky sterling and black with plenty of kohl eyeliner and four layers of ultra-black mascara. She'd swiped a silver-glitter liquid eyeliner over the kohl, giving her eyes a little extra sparkle and black cherry lip gloss over her pout. Dangling, silver chandelier earrings almost brushed her shoulders and she'd dabbed a jasmine perfume with hints of vanilla on her pulse points and behind her knees.

Diesel's instantly darkening eyes gave her all the proof she needed that she looked good, and she was pleased to see that he cleaned up real nice.

He was dressed in black slacks that accentuated his long, muscular legs, and a charcoal gray t-shirt that clung to his ripped torso in all the right places. He was wearing black leather shoes with a high polish a slightly squared toe. He'd come out of the shower earlier clean-shaven, and his hair was now brushed back away from his face. He looked like walking sex.

Stephanie had packed a black patent-leather clutch with her necessities and, the newest addition to her mini-arsenal, a sleek little Glock 36 .45. She didn't even have to worry about carrying concealed since she'd jumped through all of New Jersey's hoops and gotten herself a CCW three months earlier. It hadn't been hard to convince the Trenton Chief of Police that she had an urgent need for self-protection with her history of crazed stalkers and would-be murderers, and having Joe vouch for her had also been helpful with the process. Being a RangeMan employee didn't hurt.

"Ready to go?" she asked Diesel, sashaying to him on her fuck-me-pumps and enjoying the look of male appreciation all over his face.

"You have no idea," he growled, reaching for her.

Stephanie placed a finger in the center of his chest, effectively halting him in mid-grab. "Ah-ah. You can put your hands all over me in the club, but I get a feeling you're going to be all melting-touch if I let you near me right now." As it was, she could feel the heat trying to blaze a path from where her finger was against his chest and she pulled her hand away.

"You're making it very hard to turn it off in that get-up," he reprimanded her. His voice lowered and he leaned forward slightly. "Very hard."

Diesel's heated gaze and innuendo had her feeling a little breathless, so Stephanie did a neat little spin so he could get a good look at her and then brushed past him to snag her clutch off the breakfast counter and shrugged into her fitted black leather biker jacket.

Once in the Miata, Stephanie directed Diesel to the same club she'd been at when she'd drawn her gun on Ranger. Trenton really didn't have much going for it in the way of dance clubs, but the bass driven and cheesily named Rain fit the bill.

Rain was a newer joint and the freshly paved parking lot was a dream to walk on in four-inch heels.

Diesel came around the car and opened her door, helping her out and offering her his arm. She gave him an impressed look from beneath her lashes and he smiled down at her as they approached the front doors of the club.

"Just playing the part, Sugar," he said and she laughed, leaning into him playfully.

The club was packed for a Tuesday night, mostly with college kids trying to get in one last hurrah before the fall semester started. Never a wasted moment, Stephanie thought as she scanned the crowd on their way to the coat check.

Diesel accepted her ticket, slipping into his hip pocket before guiding her to the bar with a warm hand on the small of her back.

They wove up to the bar and Diesel ordered two shots of bourbon, clinking his shot glass against hers before they both knocked them back. Stephanie wiped a finger below her lower lip, catching a little drip of the burning liquid and sucking it off without thinking, but Diesel's eyes narrowed in on the gesture with fiery intensity.

"Let's dance, Honey," he growled and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the center of the crowded dance floor.

A throbbing rhythm that encouraged lower-body contact was pulsing through the air and rocking the floor. Diesel pulled her flush against his rock hard body with a hand on her waist and she slid against him seductively, enjoying the play of his muscles beneath the silk of his shirt and the heat of his hand on her skin.

He slid a thigh between her legs and she hitched herself tightly against him, resting her forearms on his shoulders and lightly linking her fingers together behind his neck. He gave her a slow, dirty smile and she leaned up against him, letting her breasts brush his chest.

"No cheating," she reminded him and he chuckled low in her ear, his breath caressing her skin and sending a shiver down her spine.

"I promised," he rasped and began moving against her, the natural grace he exhibited while walking expressing itself in the smooth motion of his body.

Stephanie rolled her rips against him in time with the music, quickly losing herself in the motion and the heat. She could feel that he was hard against her and it wasn't long before they were both breathing heavily.

She spun in his grip so her back was to his front and felt him fit his hips to her backside, one of his hands on her waist, urging her on, the other splayed on her taut stomach and she undulated against him, raising her arm over and back to rest her fingers on the nape of his neck.

Diesel dipped his head and she felt him inhaling her scent, his breath caressing her skin, but he didn't touch her with his mouth and she fought to keep her mind off imagining what it would be like, remembering that he'd accused her of thinking too loudly in the past.

Moving with a tight, controlled motion she dipped low, bending her knees so that she slid down the length of his body and then back up, her hand on his neck trailing down his chest and abdomen.

The set ended with her facing him once more, eyes heavy lidded and lips parted.

Diesel grinned at her and lowered his forehead to hers. "Don't move for a minute," he urged and she raised a brow. He reached between them and she realized he was making his reaction to their dancing a little less obvious. She couldn't help the little gasp of breath that left her when his fingers brushed inadvertently against the front of her shorts.

"You weren't lying," he groaned at the sound.

"About what?" she breathed, gathering herself, leaving their foreheads together.

"That this would be fun. But, Honey, when we get back to your place, don't interrupt me if I'm in the shower for a little while."

Stephanie laughed and kissed his cheek, breathing in his sexy scent. "Ditto."

He pulled back a bit, eyebrows raised. "Shit, Steph. Watch it. A cat couldn't scratch this."

Taking her cue, Stephanie took a step back and nodded once toward the bar. "Thirsty?"

"More like starving, but they don't serve what I want at the bar, so a drink will have to do," he replied, his breathing returning to normal.

"Grab us a table and I'll get some drinks," he said and left her on the edge of the dance floor.

Stephanie wove through milling patrons taking a break while the DJ played something mellow to give the crowd a rest. There was a tall table with two barstools positioned next to it a few feet away and she moved quickly to stake her claim on it before anyone else noticed it was empty.

Diesel showed up a moment later, carrying two large glasses with something that shown black and red in the light and another two shot glasses in his hands. He didn't seem to be having any trouble managing the complicated arrangement and he set them all on the table in front of her before seating himself across from her on the other stool.

"What's this?" Stephanie asked, pulling one of the larger glasses toward herself.

"Black Opal. Careful. Tastes easy but it packs a punch."

Stephanie thought there might be something else at the table that tasted easy and packed a punch, but tried to keep that thinking to herself. Either Diesel had shut down the ESP or he chose to ignore the thought, taking a long swallow from his Black Opal.

Stephanie brought the straw to her lips and took a pull, tasting raspberries and sweet and sour. "Yeow," she said, pulling back. "Anything that goes down that easy must be loaded."

Diesel seemed to think for a second before answering. "Vodka, rum, triple sec, tequila, gin, and raspberry liqueur."

"I'm going to have to lay off after this," she said. "Too much more and I'll either be stripping on the dance floor or tossing my cookies in the parking lot."

"Feel free to strip, but if we could avoid the barfing, that would be great."

She grinned at him and lifted her shot glass, offering it up for him to clink his glass against hers.

"Here's to me, and here's to you, and should we ever disagree, then here's to me and fuck you," he toasted, his eyes crinkled with laughter.

"Ooh, I'll toast to that," Stephanie answered and they knocked the warm liquor back.

They finished their drinks just as the DJ was staring a new set and moved back out onto the dance floor. Fire pooled in her belly as Diesel moved against her seductively, his brown eyes intense in the dark club and his hair hanging against his jaw.

She threaded her fingers through the thick strands, raking it back with her nails and noticed that he clenched his jaw, lips slightly parted, lashes lowering over his smoldering gaze.

"I think I need a break," she whispered and he nodded, taking her hand and leading her back toward the table they'd vacated earlier.

A tingling in the back of her neck alerted her a second before she felt a warm and familiar hand come to rest on her hip, halting her forward motion. She lost her grip on Diesel's fingers and he turned, his gaze sliding from her to Ranger standing at her back.

"May I have this dance?" Ranger asked, his lips near her ear and a smirk kicked up Diesel's mouth as she locked her eyes with his.

"It's okay," she mouthed and he gave them both a little nod before heading up to the bar.

Stephanie pivoted on her toe and pressed herself firmly against Ranger in one smooth movement.

"You want to dance, Ranger?" she questioned, her voice deceptively quiet, her hand covering the one still on her hip and her other hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His jaw tightened and his fingers dug into her skin. "Let's dance."

She moved him back, taking advantage of the liquid courage coursing through her veins and the hormones driving her.

Equal parts lust and anger fueled her. This was her dance and she was going to give him a hint of what he was missing by driving him wild on the dance floor.

Ranger's face was blank but his eyes were black as they scanned her sexily clad form, lingering on her stomach and then her breasts before sliding with an almost physical caress over her lips and to her eyes.

Stephanie walked a slow circle around him, drawing her finger along his shoulders before turning to press her ass against him and rolling her hips. His hands gripped her, fingers splayed wide so that his thumbs and forefingers were against her bare skin.

She undulated and ground herself against him, aware of his immediate reaction to her. She leaned back, feeling his hard chest against her bare skin. His hands slid just under the hem of her shirt, caressing her abs and she twisted against him, stepping out with one foot so one of his thighs was locked between her legs.

Stephanie arched back, holding her arms over her head as she dipped backwards, abdomen muscles contracting to control the bend, the weight of her upper body causing her hips to press so tightly to his that they might as well have been naked.

One of his hands was pressed at the small of her back, balancing her while the other slid to cup her ass, gripping the soft curve through the silk of her pants and she rolled against him on her way upright, cupping the back of his neck, curling her fingers into his shirt.

She let her eyes dip to his mouth and licked her lips suggestively.

Ranger moved on the dance floor the same way he did in bed, graceful and dangerous, his rock hard length pinned between them.

He pulled her up against his chest, sliding his thigh against her. His head dipped down and she felt his lips against her throat.

"Babe," he growled, fingers tightening.

His tongue flicked out to taste her and she shivered, continuing to rub herself against him. She slid her fingers into his hair and his mouth clamped onto her neck, his teeth grazing her, his tongue stroking her.

Ranger dragged his mouth up to her ear, biting the lobe and tugging gently. And then his mouth was on hers, his hands holding her against him as they moved. His kiss was all soft lips and skillful tongue and she shivered again thinking of what he could do to her with that tongue. What he'd done to her with that tongue.

His mouth left hers to blaze a trail of fire down her neck to the hollow between her clavicle bones, tonguing her pulse and she couldn't stop the little moan that passed her lips or the wanting that was burning deep in her core.

"What are you doing with Diesel?" he growled against her jaw, nipping and licking the hollow below her ear.

"What do you care?" she questioned, sliding her mouth over his jaw and then blowing on the wet path she'd left, feeling him shudder against her.

"You'll get hurt," he rasped and rocked her against his erection, his fingers digging into her hips, holding her tight.

She bit her lip, eyes narrowing. "I'm already hurt," she replied and watched as something like pain flashed over his face, warring with desire in his eyes.

"Babe," he breathed and she leaned it, giving him a sharp bite right over his jugular.

"I'm all torn up, Ranger," she rasped, her body mimicking what she wanted to do to him in a bed.

She turned, once more pressing her back to his chest, covering his hands on her hips with her own, gyrating as she tilted her head back onto his shoulder so her mouth was just below his ear.

"You ripped my heart out," she continued and his arms slid around her waist, holding her, his hands splayed over her ribs. "And now this?" She nipped at him. "What is this?"

He groaned, arms tightening, hips rocking.

"You want me, but not us," she growled and slid her tongue along his skin. "I'm no longer dealing in half measures. I only want one thing from you, Ranger."

"What?" he questioned.

"Everything."

She stepped away from him abruptly, feeling the loss of his body against hers in some profound way that she hid behind her mask.

"Stephanie." He stepped toward her, and she moved back, feeling Diesel suddenly behind her, exuding a silent menace at the man before her.

Ranger stilled and there was a darkness that swept his features before they went blank at Diesel's protective stance behind her. The other people on the dance floor were oblivious, but a few nearby were getting a vibe that encouraged them to shuffle away, clearing a little space.

"I love you," she told him and his blank face slipped, giving her a glimpse of something raw and barely restrained. Diesel's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his chest. "It's all or nothing."

Diesel, either reading her mind or just aware of what she would want, took a step back, pulling her with him and then guided her from the dance floor, leaving Ranger staring after them.

A shiver racked her and he pulled her against his side, supporting her.

"M-m-my things," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

"I've got them," he answered and she finally noticed that he had her jacket and her clutch in his other hand. "C'mon, darlin'. I've got you."

They stepped out of the club and the cool night air hit her fevered skin, sharpening her focus and shimmying another shudder down her spine.

Diesel scooped her up with an arm behind her shoulders and another under her knees and she leaned against him, burying her face in his neck, sucking in deep breathes. His heart was steady and comforting against her side, beating evenly in sharp contrast to her own racing pulse.

"You did good," he assured her. "It's okay."

A sob wracked her body and tears slid down her cheeks.

"Shh. Steph, it's okay." They were at her car and Diesel opened the door, not bothering with keys. He buckled her into the passenger seat and covered her with her jacket, tucking it around her shoulders.

She curled into the seat, suppressing sobs, hating that she was so weak when it came to dealing with Ranger, hoping she hadn't shown her hand too soon.

Diesel was in the car beside her, starting the ignition without the keys. He shifted and pulled out of the lot, slipping from one gear to the next and racing them toward her apartment, somehow only hitting green lights and avoiding any other traffic.

They made it to her place in record time and Diesel was around to her side, lifting her out of her seat, pushing the door closed with his foot. He took her up the stairs and before she knew it she was in his lap on the couch, holding on to him.

"Don't be so scared," he said, his arms tight around her, his mouth against her hair. "Ranger is good at keeping his thoughts hidden, but he was thinking about what you said. You told him all or nothing and his first thought was 'all'."

Diesel pulled the clip out of her hair and threaded his fingers through her sweat dampened curls.

Stephanie felt some of the fear drain out of her. "Really?" she managed, her voice tight.

"He wants it too, doll. He's going to come around and my bet would be soon."

Diesel continued to hold her, his hands soothing the tension out of her, his heartbeat steady beneath her cheek.

"Sleep, honey. Things will be better in the morning."

Stephanie let out a shuddering sigh and curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of Diesel's neck.

"Thank you," she whispered and his arms tightened fractionally. "You're a good friend."

He kissed the top of her head and settled himself into the couch as she felt herself drifting off.

As blessed unconsciousness claimed her, she heard him rumble against her hair, "You're a good woman."

#

YO: Long chapter! 8,300+ words for this round. Once more, it's just about four in the morning. This is becoming a habit.

What did you think? I meant for this chapter to have more Ranger/Steph interaction, but I hope the little bits and then the end helped. I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I feel like a lot got accomplished here, so we'll see what the next chapter brings.

Another little mini-steamy scene with Lester, because I can't get him out of my mind. Plum Inc. made a short appearance and Ellen, who always has my eye twitching didn't fare so well, but at least Steph got to tell her off without losing her cool.

Diesel takes everything in stride and I had a hot flash just thinking about him "taking care of business" in the shower. Yeow, just writing that caused a mini-one.

Chapter Eight should be up soon. I can't wait to hear what you all think of this one ;)