Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places in this story. Thanks to Janet for all the great Plum novels. This is a first attempt and will take me a while to complete. Let me know what you think and if want to read more. Thanks! And as always, thanks to Rach, Jenn and Steph for all of their help! Couldn't do it without you!
Chapter 7
I looked up into Ranger's eyes, debating if I was going to let him in or push him away. "OK," I breathed, "As long as you keep your hands above the waist."
"It's not my hands that have you worried," he challenged.
"True, but you won't do anything I don't want you to. You promised and I expect that you will keep your end of the bargain."
"I've never lied to you, Babe, and I don't intend on starting now. That being said, I will move in if I think you've changed your mind and are offering an invitation. I'm no saint."
I believed that he had never lied to me and that he didn't break promises, however I admit that there were times I found myself wishing he'd find a loophole to get out of this particular promise without me having to actually give an invitation. Times like now.
Ranger stepped away from the tub to finish removing his clothing. I watched the muscles in his back flex as he pulled off his pants. Don't look. Don't look, I chanted to myself. How could I not look? A woman would have to be crazy or blind. I watched Ranger step into the tub, but tried to look away before getting caught. Our eyes met as I bit my lower lip, trying to keep from openly drooling. I was busted.
"See something you like, Babe?" Ranger asked huskily while settling himself into the water. I wanted to memorize every inch of his body, feel it and watch his reaction to my hands. My self restraint was almost completely gone. His hands on my wet skin only increased the direction of my thoughts. He grabbed me, pulling me closer until I had a muscular thigh cradling me in place. Ranger began massaging my shoulders and arms, letting me melt into his chest.
I closed my eyes and my thoughts drifted to our last make-out session in his apartment three nights ago. I hadn't been trying to tease Ranger by devouring the cake, the moaning and licking had happened on accident. When he grabbed me from my seat and planted me in his lap, I found myself straddling a very willing Ranger and I'd been caught up in the moment. His hands might have been first, but I'd quickly followed his lead. My dress was pooled around my waist, bra flung to the far corner of the room, his shirt in another, and his mouth was on a path that had my nipples at attention. I definitely wanted something to happen; I wanted to run my hands and lips over his body, memorizing each curve and contour. I wanted to feel his hands explore my body, heating it with each touch.
As his lips reached their first target, a part of my brain remembered that I didn't do casual sex. Not to say that it hadn't happened, but I didn't want it to be that way with him. Not like it was with Joe. I couldn't take him walking away from me again like he had so long ago. Pulling up the last dregs of willpower I had, I'd pulled away and held my finger to his lips. I told him that I didn't want to confuse the comfort of this two week pretend relationship with reality and asked him to promise to stay out my pants as long as the wedding ring was on my finger.
I'd felt brave at the time. Now, I was feeling like an idiot. His hands were melting away stress I didn't know I'd been carrying and I moaned in pleasure.
He leaned forward until I could feel his warm breath tickling my ear. "Steph, you keep that up and I'll take that as a sign that you want more." Hello! I want more! I want you! He started kissing my neck, pushing my head to the side for better access. With out realizing it, I wiggled back against him. I felt his breath catch in his chest. In a matter of seconds, he had situated himself with his knees bent and me facing him, straddling his lap. He pushed me back against his knees as his eyes swept over my body. If I wiggled a little, we'd be connected in all the right places in one swift thrust. He leaned forward, peppering my checks and forehead with gentle kisses. His lips assaulted the tender area where neck and shoulder meet, before moving downward to my collar bone. I couldn't resist any longer; I ran my hands through his hair. Our eyes met before he moved his lips to mine. I swear I think that kiss stopped the world; I know it stopped my heart.
"Steph," Ranger sighed, pulling away from me slightly, "the water's cold, why don't we get out?" I nodded, assuming we would resume in the bedroom. Ranger got out of the tub and toweled off, then leaned over the tub and kissed me on the top of my head. "I'll wait for you in the bedroom." he said, wrapping the towel around his waist before leaving the room.
I pulled myself from the water, quickly toweled off and wrapped myself in one of the terry cloth robes hanging in the bathroom. Before I could make my way into the bedroom, Ranger reappeared with my pj's in hand.
"Here," he said, before turning and walking back into the bedroom, shutting the door. What the hell? What went wrong? I stalked into the bedroom, hell-bent on finding out, and found Ranger lounging on the bed in only his boxers. I climbed up onto the bed next to him and he pulled me close. Maybe there was hope for a Ranger induced orgasm yet. I felt myself getting absorbed into his force field and my anger melted away. "I didn't mean to pressure you. Let's get some sleep, Babe." And with that, he kissed me lightly on the lips, pulled the covers over us and pulled me closer into his arms.
A few minutes went by and the presence against my backside made it evident that he still wanted me as much as I wanted him. I knew he wasn't asleep when I softly said, "I thought you were an opportunist." As the quiet minutes ticked by, my last waking thought was that I wondered if I'd finally caught Ranger speechless.
The next morning, I awoke calm, rested and, somewhat disappointingly, still dressed in my PJs. Ranger's side of the bed was empty. I rolled to look at the clock. It was nine thirty. They had left for the install without me. So much for being part of the team.
I pulled myself out of the heavenly bed and went in search of coffee. I found a steaming hot coffee pot sitting on the table with two Boston Creams keeping it company. At least I hadn't completely been forgotten. Next to the donuts was a note from Ranger,
Babe, Thought you would rather go shopping today. Call the front desk when you are ready to go, I've made arrangements for a driver for you. I'll be back by four so we can go to Ellis Island. Be careful.
By eleven, I was in the back of a sleek, black town car making my way to Bloomingdale's. The car pulled to a stop and the driver climbed out to open the door for me. I was greeted by a petite blond woman. "Mrs. Rodriguez, my name is Jane. I'm your Bloomingdale's personal shopper. I am so glad to meet you."
"Personal shopper?"
"Yes. Your husband arranged for the hotel to let us know when you were on your way. If you will come with me, your dressing room is ready." She took my arm and led me through the store and up to the concierge level, explaining the services she offered. This is shopping at a whole new level. If Lula were here, she'd be making a spectacle by loudly vocalizing her amazement. I was struggling to be more subtle.
"What brings you in to see us today?" Jane asked.
"Actually I was just coming in to look. I didn't have anything in mind, maybe a dress for dinner, a new pair of jeans."
"Why don't we start off with the spring collection and then we will move forward into summer."
I nodded. Racks of clothes began appearing in the dressing room, all in my size. We went through the clothes laying aside items that she thought would complement my coloring and shape. I tried on outfit after outfit until finally I was brought out of my shopping euphoria by my phone playing the Batman theme song. I quickly searched through my hand bag looking for the phone. "Yo," I answered.
"Babe. Having fun?"
"Sure am, Batman."
"Going to model what you buy?"
"Maybe." I can do the one word answer thing too.
"I'll be leaving here in twenty minutes."
"OK. I'll finish up here and head back."
"No hurry, Love. I'll see you soon." Love? Seiden must be close by.
I returned the phone to my hand bag and looked up at Jane, "I'm ready to check out now. I need to head back to the hotel." I looked over at the rack of items that I had selected: two dresses, two pairs of dress slacks, three sweaters, four bras with matching panties, a midnight blue silk gown, a bikini, three pairs of shoes and a new hand bag. Panic set in. This was going to cost me, big time.
I pulled my wallet out of my purse in search of my credit card. I sat there momentarily stunned by the black American Express card and the lack of my usual plastic. I didn't want Ranger paying for this trip, but he had all of my other cards. I'll pay him back, I reassured myself. Not sure how, but I'd pay him back. I removed the card and a small piece of paper fell out on my lap. I opened it up and recognized the handwriting to be Ranger's. It simply said "No price Babe."
I picked up my phone and sent Ranger a text message, "Thanks."
My phone chirped the arrival of his reply, "Babe."
I arrived back at the hotel a little after four. I hadn't anticipated that wrapping up my purchases and driving less than ten New York miles could take so long. I quickly made my way up stairs where I knew Ranger would be waiting. He sat at the table using the computer.
"Hey, how's it going?" I asked while the bell hop placed my packages on the table. He looked from me to the table and back again before flashing me a grin.
"Good," he said.
"Sorry, looks like we'll have to try the Island another day."
Ranger nodded. "We'll have time to go tomorrow." He closed the lid on his computer and pushed it aside. Taking hold of my wrist, he pulled me to him, sitting me on the edge of the table in its place. He leaned into me, pushing me back until I was leaning on my elbows placing kisses along my jaw line, trailing downward to my throat. My head lolled back in ecstasy, allowing more skin for him to kiss, lick and touch. The man had lips like no other. At times they were soft and patient, other times hard and demanding; either way they turn my brain into goo, leaving me unable to process any type of thought. "What would you like to do tonight?" Ranger asked huskily, gazing intensely into my eyes.
Without thinking, I moaned. I knew what I wanted to do tonight, but I couldn't let that happen. "What about going to dinner?" I suggested.
Ranger nodded, pulling me to my feet and ushered me into the bedroom with my purchases. "Get ready," he said closing the door behind me.
I poked my head out the door of the bedroom. "Hey," I called out. Ranger turned to me, showing me that he was on the phone.
"Perfect. Six is fine." He placed his phone on the table and raised an eye brow at me, Ranger speak for asking what I want.
"Where are we going?"
"Surprise."
"I hate surprises."
Surprised was just how I felt when the town car pulled to a stop in front of the Russian Tea Room. Dinner was a treat for me and not the edible kind. In complete un-Ranger fashion, we spent the entire dinner talking. Talking about ourselves, our upcoming trip and our goals. Ok, so I did most of the talking, but I did learn little tidbits of information about Batman, like blue is actually his favorite color, not black.
Our discussion halted when Ranger seemed to tense. I followed his gaze and saw that Seiden had been seated a few tables to my left. I leaned across the table and whispered to Ranger "Is that his wife?" He simply nodded and I allowed myself a second look at Maya. My mind started reeling trying to come up with a way to introduce myself. It was then that I noticed she had excused herself and headed towards the restrooms.
"I'll be right back." I said and hastily rose from my chair, making my way after her.
I stood in front of the sink, touching up my lipstick, when she emerged from one of the stalls. She washed her hands, looked up and met my gaze in the mirror.
"You have to forgive me, you look so familiar to me, but I have no idea as to where I would know you from." I said giving her a small smile
"I'm Maya Seiden. My husband is a well known attorney in the area."
"Stephanie Rodriguez." I said extending my hand to her. "Andrew has a photo of you on his desk. I knew you looked familiar from some where."
"You know Andrew?"
"Yes. I was in his office yesterday. I work for RMS. We are installing a new system for the office. How's your daughter?"
The question didn't seem to make sense to her, but she politely said, "She's fine."
"I'm glad to hear she is feeling better."
"I'd better get back to Andrew. Nice meeting you, Stephanie." She stammered as I saw the confusion run across her face. She was nervous. Caught off guard perhaps and unsure of what she was supposed to say in my presence. Something didn't add up here.
"You too, Maya." She hurried past me and out the door. I waited a moment longer before returning to our table.
"Everything OK?" Ranger asked.
"Are you ready to go?" I asked, avoiding his question. He nodded and dropped some bills on the table. He slid my chair away, pulling me to him, kissing me at my hairline.
"We have an audience," he whispered into my ear before kissing me on the lips. He placed a hand at the small of my back and moved us forward out of the restaurant. I waited until we were in the car before I told him about Maya and her confusion about the sick daughter. "We'll not worry about it tonight. You can tell Ram about it in the morning. Well done, Babe."
Friday morning I awoke to the alarm on Ranger's phone going off, alerting him that it was six am and time to get up. I felt him pull away from me and leave the bed. Moments later he returned, kissed me and said "Babe, time to wake up. We're going for a walk."
"No thanks." I murmured, rolling away in hopes of going back to sleep.
"Yes, this is important. Now get up. We leave in ten. Your clothes are in the bathroom."
I sighed heavily and pulled myself into a sitting position in time to see Ranger tie his running shoes. I slowly got out of the bed, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, pulled my hair into something that resembled a ponytail and went into the living room to join Ranger.
"Good, you're ready. Let's go."
We walked for what seemed like miles, but was probably less than one before Ranger came to a stop in what appeared to be a park set among Oak and Sweet Gum trees. He took my hand in his, leading me along the cobblestone path to two massive recessed pools with water falling inward from the edges. "Do you know where we are, Steph?" I nodded, looking around the edges of the pools where names had been inscribed, afraid to speak. "This is Ground Zero." He continued motioning to the area before us, "You asked me last night why I continue on with the government contracts, why it is that I do what I do and this is the answer. I don't want to see this happen again to my friends, family."
Ranger hung his head reverently as if he was praying for the souls that were lost here. I felt the tears run down my cheeks as my heart caught in my throat. This was something that I felt sure he had never shared with anyone else and while I was glad that he chose me to share it with, the raw emotion of it all was almost too much for me to bare. At that moment, I saw more feeling in Ranger that I ever had given him credit for. I felt like I was starting to understand the things he had told me in the past. Things that had hurt me at the time, but let him feel as if he was keeping me safe by not letting me get any closer.
I stood still, watching as he walked around the parapets, reading names of those who had lost their lives. He stopped finally and motioned for me to join him. "This one here," he said pointing to a name on the wall, "I went through basic training with him. I lost several close friends that day." He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around my body. Being close to him comforted my soul and deep down, I like to think it helped him too.
We stayed at the memorial for an hour, walking around reading the names from the parapets before heading back to the hotel. When we arrived back to our suite, Ranger excused himself to go to the gym while I showered and got ready for the day. I had never seen a more somber Ranger than he was earlier, it was heart breaking.
An hour later, a sweat soaked Ranger returned. "Babe, order room service for six. The guys will be up in a few to discuss what needs to be finished at Seiden's and our departure." He stripped off his shirt, heading into the bathroom, and my hand instinctively ran across my lips, assuring me that I had not begun to drool openly.