Ha! I should write cliffhangers more often – talk about getting a response! I had been considering the realization that the fire of my story was flickering... cliffhangers certinaly spark things up a bit at least.
I could say I'm sorry… but we all know I'm not… It was entirely too good to pass up. Don't worry… this chapter should initiate some happiness.
So, did anyone check out the band Still Time ??
Even though for some damn reason it wouldn't allow me to add the link to their myspace page…
"Babe…I-"
I yanked on his hands that I still gripped in my clammy palms, pulling him towards me as I sealed my mouth over his in a desperate effort to stop whatever it was he was planning on saying. I poured my heart, hell my entire soul, into that kiss… pulling at him, drawing the love I knew he held inside, out with my lips. When I finally allowed him to pull back from the pleading kiss, he searched my face in confusion.
"I don't like where all of this seems to be heading." It was as if he tore the confession from my lips with the strength of his questioning gaze alone. Damn the man and his super hero powers.
It took him a moment to process my words, but when he did, his head fell back and a burst of deep laughter filled the somber air around us.
I blinked in confusion. Did I miss something? What the hell is so funny now?
"You." He answered as his laughter retreated into soft chuckles, pulling me into his lap and running his hands in circles over the back of his oversized t-shirt I had stolen from his closet (along with the sole pair of silk boxers which had led to a few moments of overheated-ness) in what was obviously meant as a comforting gesture. Once again, I found myself blinking in confusion. I felt like I missed out on a big chunk of time that had brought us from Ranger explaining why he didn't want a relationship with me to him laughing at me and cuddling.
What. The. Fuck.
I glared at him, hoping I said that out loud.
"You never disappoint."
"I'm happy that I'm amusing you while you try to break up with me." I answered back stiffly, bracing my hands to climb off his lap so I could walk out the door with a small shred of pride left. "Let me up!" I growled out as his hands kept me firmly in place – and damn if he wasn't still chuckling at me!
"No."
"Yes." I shot back as I tried, unsuccessfully, to remove myself from the band of his arms. He only tightened his hold, smiling softly as I struggled.
"I love you."
Well that would be one way of making me stop struggling. I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean when he just got done explaining the reasons why he couldn't have a relationship with me. Except no sound escaped from my lips and I morphed into a fish out of water, opening and closing my mouth in bewildered silence.
"Huh?"
I know… complete eloquence on my behalf.
"I love you." He repeated with a soft smile, reaching up and tucking an errant curl behind my ear.
"I'm confused." I stated after another few minutes of fish impersonations.
I mean, Ranger had told me he loved me in the past, but not like this – never quite like this... this had an undeniable bottom layer of seriousness to it. I had no idea what to make of it, no idea what was going on inside that thick skull of his. The realization gave me enough of my sense back to glare meaningfully. The unspoken concession between us was that he had less than two minutes to explain before I attempted to leave and never spoke to him again. I'm sick of being left in the dark, damnit… even if he was The Damned Dark Knight himself.
"I've loved you for a long time – you know that." I glared, reminding him with my pissed off stare that he had always categorized his 'love' comments into something that sounded unappealing – purposely… and we both knew it.
The memory pissed me off even more.
"Are you trying to be an ass?"
"You're the only woman I know who would give me the sweetest kisses imaginable while I'm saying something she doesn't like the sound of…" the smile wasn't only on his face, but emanated from the depths of his chest into his deep voice.
"I wasn't trying to break up with you…" he broke off, starting to do the introverted staring thing again. "No, that isn't exactly right… I guess I assumed telling you all the details, explaining why I was the way I am, would do the job for me... would make you understand that you really wouldn't want me in the ways you think you do… I should have known you would do the opposite…" He frowned at himself, staring at the blank wall.
"I'm not sure about any of this," he said after a few moments, as if the wall had depicted images of a possible future relationship. His eyes met mine and I actually saw the man behind the mask… the fear and worries that all of us experience but he usually hides. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle having you so close…"
When the anguish of unspoken worst case scenarios broke off his sentence, I brought my fingers to his face, softly easing the worry lines that etched themselves. What he hadn't realized was that knowing his past, the 'why's' associated with his reserved personality did he exact opposite of what he had assumed. The knowledge was comforting, in a completely screwed up way, but it revealed not only his hidden nightmares and dreams… but also how much he loved me. He loved me… as I was, no conditions, with no 'if', 'or, 'but' stuck onto the end.
He would actually sacrifice anything and everything he had forced himself to believe in… for me.
As odd as it sounds, and as unresolved as everything still seemed despite the revelations… I knew, deep within my soul, that it was distraction time. Distraction - this time from his past and the memories and doubts, worries that assailed him; distraction from the precipice we faced that would change so much in both of our lives.
It was a small shift of my body to be straddling his hips and facing him, and I made sure to move languorously.
"Yes you can…" I whispered, leaning in to scatter soft kisses along the hard line of his jaw. "Because so can I." I spoke the words without breaking my lips from his skin. "Besides, you can't go ruining me for all other men if you plan on abandoning me… that's just rude."
I sealed the statement using my lips pushing into his with strength, a strength that if I wanted to get all philosophical with, equaled to the strength we had together. Considering I had Ranger between my legs at the moment though, I wasn't going anywhere near being philosophical… I was going to go with the physical distraction route.
Seriously, who could blame me?
Honestly, I was feeling oddly confident and almost a little sassy (unusual for me, I assure you when it comes to dealing with Batman) with my new knowledge of Ranger, so I decided to use it to the best of my ability.
I nibbled my way along the hard ridge of jaw before exploring the cords of his neck that he presented my mouth with as his head dug its way into the supple black leather, allowing me complete control.
a/n: yea, so I don't remember how Ranger's couch is described, but black leather worked for me right now…
I looked up through my lashes, awed at the sight of Ranger's face relaxed with pure pleasure against the couch and my mind instantly latched onto the 'everyday' men that were superheroes – the Bruce Wayne's and the Clark Kent's… and the Ricardo Carlos Manoso's. I ran my hands up and underneath the tight black t-shirt at the thought, feeling the hardened muscles clench under my fingers as I my mouth inched closer to his ear.
"Mmmm… Batman and Superman merged into one… 'The Dark Steel Knight'" I combined the breathy word 'steel' with the apex of my silk clad thighs sliding roughly along his hard length. I'm sure Ranger had no idea where that comment came from… but he obviously wasn't concerned with asking, unless that's what his slight groan was supposed to signify. His long fingers instantly snaked under the loose folds of his silk boxers I was wearing, pushing them up with the hard journey of his gripping hands. Emotions that had been running high fueled a sudden burst of fire between us, our hands became a frenzy of movement in an attempt to gain access to skin and our bodies shamelessly bucked and rubbed, adding potent fuel that shoved us on the way to a sure explosion.
My shirt was the first to get tossed aside, and since I hadn't worn a bra the previous night Ranger's fingers and mouth instantly latched onto my exposed nipples. I slipped out a groan in response, arching my back into him and slowly gathering the black cloth of the shirt he was wearing in my clenching fists, revealing inches of perfect mocha latte skin with each gasp of pleasure. Within minutes the inhibition it was causing forced him to pull away slightly, allowing me to free the mountain range of muscles that created Ranger's droolworthy torso. The sight alone had me reaching down and popping the button on his black cargos. Okay, okay…you caught me in a lie… the memory of what was hidden without barrier behind that zipper had a lot to do with it too. Actually, the combination of memory, hormones, and the expanse of Ranger's naked upper half (and soon the lower half as well, if I had my way) had me feeling like one of my car bombs on the verge of detonating.
And he wasn't even naked yet… unbelievable hotness to the umpteenth degree, I assure you.
Ranger's hands, that had reattached themselves to my body the moment he was freed from the confines of such a tight, heart-attack causing shirt, managed to snake to my drenched center through the loose leg openings of his boxers. I'm pretty sure I actually screamed at the sensation, rocking my hips wantonly on my frenzied path to release. In the midst of clutching, kissing, licking, biting, suckling, tweaking, and slithering… my body, poised to take flight on 'United Ranger Doomsday Orgasm Airlines' was abruptly without Ranger's touch. Then I heard the sound, and the ensuing pressure, of silk ripping… as in off of me.
My eyes snapped open, my fingernails dug into skin deeply, my glazed eyes attempted to glare and my mouth opened to protest when Ranger's hands suddenly gripped my hips and slammed me down on him with a force that had simultaneous exclamations of pleasure escaping our lips. We each froze, appreciating the feeling of being joined so intimately and completely. From that moment on pure animalistic tendencies took over and our bodies were slamming into each other, driven by a passion that blinded us to everything except one another. It was as if no one could touch us here… there was no outside world that was full of dangerous people out for us, no gossip, no family… nothing but us and the magic between us. Our bodies, slicked with a sheen of sweat and gliding silkily locked together hurled us to the crest, exploding within seconds of the other in earthquake sized pulses that effectively liquefied bones. The resonating waves continued sporadically, clenching my muscles around him in bursts of aftershocks through our limp bodies; almost as a reminder of the measure of intensity that had been shared between us – on multiple levels.
Ranger, being Ranger, stirred first with heavenly nuzzles and soft caresses that didn't fail to bring me out of my post coital stupor.
"C'mon… you can nap in bed." He whispered, standing up effortlessly with me tucked in his arms as he kicked off the cargos around his legs and walked in all his naked gloriousness to the bed. The soft mattress and divine sheets hugged me as I smiled sleepily at Ranger, who had stood after depositing me in his bed and was looking at me as if he had solved a great puzzle. And, guessing on the tone he used at his statement… I'm guessing, in his 'mystery' mind, he did.
"I like seeing you naked in my bed."
