Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich. This story is intended purely as entertainment for myself and others.
A/N: We all know Hector only speaks Spanish, but for the purposes of this story and my limited time, he is now bilingual. Thank you all so much for the continued reviews! They mean so much to me. Thanks to FairTaxGirl for reviewing this chapter for me. I added some smut just for you. You're the best, Babe!
Previously:
I flopped down on the bed in my thinking position. I couldn't help but think how long it had taken us to get here. I had loved Ranger for so long and never really thought it would go any further than stolen kisses and maybe a few rolls in the hay. Now, we're in a relationship and he's asked me to move in with him. When Ranger starts something, he doesn't do it halfway.
Looking for Me? Chapter 10
I lay there in my thinking position going over the discussion with Ranger. Everything he said had sort of given me mental whiplash. The training was a no-brainer. I definitely wanted the training, although it did make me nervous. I'm not exactly an athletic person and I don't want to embarrass myself any more than necessary. I liked the option of training with Hector rather than one of the other Merry Men. Hector is smaller than the others, but still a total badass. To be honest, with his gang tats, he may be scarier than Tank. But, he's always been nice to me and I had enjoyed our shopping trip together. Maybe he could train me to shop like him. That's probably not what Ranger had in mind, though.
The other options weren't so easily decided. The idea of working at RangeMan full-time was appealing on many levels. I'd have a steady paycheck, benefits and an unending supply of hot men to ogle. What girl wouldn't want that? It went without saying that it would be amazing to see Ranger everyday. That was sort of the problem. What if we get sick of each other? More accurately, what if he gets sick of me? I don't consider myself a clingy person, but I guess for a security specialist, I could be considered pretty high-maintenance.
I was getting tired of being a bounty hunter. Well, I'm not so much tired of it as I am tired of sucking at it. I only got the low-end skips, so I never make enough to feel financially stable. I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. Mostly, it would be nice to come home at the end of the day without having been shot at or rolled in garbage. That did get a little old. Ranger had said he wanted me to concentrate more on the business end of things and that would certainly help cut down on the amount of money he spent when I had a stalker. Hell, maybe I'd even be able to keep a car for 6 months. I didn't want to feel indebted to Ranger. He always says there is no price for what we give each other, but I always seem to be the one doing the taking.
Ranger loans me cars and when I need money, he always gives me work. I don't give him anything except female help on occasion and amusement. Ranger isn't really the type to need anything from anyone, though. If we worked together would I feel like I was mooching off him? I didn't want that.
Living together. How do I feel about that? After all the years of stolen kisses, hot looks and innuendos, it would be wonderful not to have to hide the way we feel about each other. Of course, we can do that without moving in together. I can't imagine waking up with Ranger every day. This weekend had been great, but it's hard for me to picture him in a domestic sense. Would we find things to talk about? Things we enjoy doing together? I don't want to screw up this new relationship by moving too fast. Ranger had said we had known each other for years and while that's true, we haven't been in each other's lives every day. That's going to take some getting used to.
I looked up and realized it was lunchtime. I decided to run by Pino's and get a meatball sub. As usual, Pino's was filled with off-duty cops. Hector was also there, sitting in a corner by himself, watching everyone around him. I ordered my sub and stepped over to him to say hello. He was having pizza and beer and looked slightly out of place in Pino's. He didn't seem to care, though. He was scary enough that no one, not even the cops, looked at him for more than a second. Hector smiled and motioned for me to sit down.
I sat and we stared at each other for a moment before he said, "Good weekend with the boss?" I couldn't help it. I beamed. Seeing my smile, Hector laughed out loud and said, "I'm glad for you both. He's loved you for a long time and he needs you." I was confused at the second part and asked, "What do you mean he 'needs me?' Ranger doesn't need anybody."
Hector looked at me seriously and said, "No one else would ever say this to you and I don't know how many people actually realize it, but Ranger hasn't been the same since he met you."
"What do you mean he hasn't been the same?" Hector said, "Look, I've known the boss for a long time. Our paths crossed when we were both badass kids. Ranger doesn't show emotion. He doesn't get personally involved. He doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about other people. When the situation with Abruzzi came up, we all knew there was more going on with you than we thought. Then when Stiva took you and I saw Ranger's reaction, I knew he was in love with you. I don't think he had admitted it to himself at the time, but I knew.
"Then his daughter got kidnapped and he came to you for help. He walked into that apartment knowing he was about to die, but his concern was all for you and Julie. Then he came to you when he thought he had a traitor on his team. What I'm saying is that Ranger needs you not only because he loves you, but because he trusts you above all others."
Hector almost had me in tears. I knew Ranger loved me, but since neither of us was good at talking about our feelings, I didn't know that he trusted me like this. I had a thought that cemented the options Ranger had given me. We loved each other, but we also shared genuine affection, trust, respect and friendship. That was more than love. That was what two people built forever on.
"Thank you, Hector." He smiled and gave me a slight nod.
"So, are you going to train with me, Bomber?" I laughed and nodded, "Yes, I'm going to tell Ranger I want to train with you. You're not going to be easy are you?"
Hector gave me a wicked smile and said, "No, I won't go easy on you, but when we're finished you'll be more confident and more capable at your job. I promise that it will be worth the hell I'm going to put you through."
Shit. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but he's going to put me through hell? "You're freaking me out a little bit. You seem like you're going to enjoy torturing me."
"It's not that I'm going to enjoy torturing you. I'm excited that you're going to do this. We all are. We all like you and we want you to be safe. Besides, having you around keeps things interesting and I like it when things aren't boring."
"Yeah, I'm never boring, that's for sure. I'll talk to Ranger tonight and let him know I've decided to train. Please don't say anything until I've talked to him first."
"No problem. He'll let me know when he wants us to get started." Pino brought me my sub and Hector walked me to my car. I sat in the car, eating my sub, and thought about all Hector had said. Was I making this harder than it needed to be? I decided to put on my big-girl panties and talk to Ranger when he came by tonight.
It was only about 2:00, so I went by to visit Grandma Mazur and my parents and stayed for a few hours. They didn't know about my weekend away so they couldn't ask me any embarrassing questions. Work, tomorrow, would be a different story. Lula and Connie didn't care how embarrassed I might be, they would want information. Hell, they'd want measurements and detailed descriptions of positions and talents.
I went back home and cleaned and did laundry. By the time I was done with that, Ranger was coming in the door. He was in his black SWAT gear and holding two bags of what smelled like Chinese food. I couldn't decide which was more tasty, the food or Ranger.
Ranger saw the look on my face and gave me a wolf-grin. "I know what you're thinking, but let's have dinner and talk first. I've got something for you." He sat the food on the table and handed me an envelope with the RangeMan seal on it. I opened it up and was surprised to find a check. A check for $20,000. I had completely forgotten about the distraction money! Holy Shit! I have $20,000! I jumped up into Ranger's arms chanting, "I have $20,000 freaking dollars!"
Ranger laughed and hugged me to him. He sat me on my feet and smiled down at me. "You didn't seem this excited when I first told you about the money."
"I was afraid something would go wrong if I got excited about it or counted on it. Then with everything that happened this weekend, I completely forgot!"
Ranger set the food out and got plates and drinks while I sat there staring at the check. He placed a plate in front of me, along with a glass of wine. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. Let the questions begin.
"What are you going to do with the money?" He asked. I thought about it and said, "I don't really know. I may pay some bills off or get a car or just put it in the bank for a rainy day. Hell, I might go on a shopping spree." His eyes danced and he said, "What kind of shopping are we talking about?"
I smiled and said, "Not the kind you're talking about, though I would probably hit Victoria's Secret pretty hard."
Ranger's face became more serious as he ate and he finally asked, "Have you thought any more about our discussion?" I swallowed and said, "I have." He gave me a moment to get my thoughts together.
"Without a doubt, I want the training. It's the other stuff that is more difficult to decide?" I noticed that his blank face had slid into place and realized that I might actually hurt him if I didn't say this right. It was weird to think of Ranger getting his feelings hurt, but it was the last thing I wanted.
But I did want to have a real discussion about working and living together. I wanted him to understand why I was worried about it.
"Ranger, I'm worried that if we live and work together, we'll get sick of each other. I'm worried that we're moving a little too fast. Yes, we've known each other for a few years, but we haven't been in each other's space everyday. I'm not good at sharing space or communicating or any of that stuff. I'm worried that you'll end up hating me." I had gotten a little emotional talking and Ranger leaned over and put his arm around me.
"Babe, it's not the 1950's. You're not going to have to cook and clean. We have Ella for that and believe me when I say she is well compensated. We're not going to be under each other's feet all the time. You work and I work. We'll work together, but even then, we won't be with each other constantly. You'll be doing different work, making the company look good. I would still like for you to help out on distractions and take-down's, but it won't be your primary job." He paused and said, "If I wasn't 100% sure we could make this work, I wouldn't have asked you to work for or move in with me. You're the only person I've ever been this close with. I just want us to have more time together and I think you would be good for RangeMan. I'd like us to have more than me dropping by for 5 minute late night visits and calls when you need help with a skip."
Ranger sat back and looked at me, giving me time to think. I decided to do what I'd done the other night. I was going to take what I wanted.
"Ranger, I want to move in with you and work with you. Just remember that I warned you. I'm not easy to live with." Ranger smirked and said, "Neither am I, Babe, but I can't wait to see how we handle it."
He stood, taking my hand and leading me to the sofa with him. He sat down and pulled me into his lap. I looked at his face, took in the beauty of his eyes and his lips and realized how much I had missed him today. I turned so that I was straddling him and took his mouth with mine. I used my tongue to trace his lips before entering his mouth. Ranger seemed content to let me have control. I hadn't planned on rushing things, but within a moment I was desperate to feel him inside me.
I ground myself against him and his breath hitched. His hands came up and ripped off my shirt. We broke apart briefly to undress and then I was sliding onto him, feeling him fill me. I would never get over how good he felt. I moved slowly at first, getting used to his size. He wrapped a hand in my hair and pulled me down for another kiss. Feeling his tongue in my mouth while he moved inside me was more than I could take. I started to move faster and he broke our kiss to latch his mouth onto each of my nipples in turn. He reached a hand between us to rub circles on my clit. I moaned and moved faster, desperate for release. My orgasm came fast and hard and Ranger grabbed my hips to pound me against him harder and then he was flying with me, grunting my name. We stilled against each other and I laid my head against his shoulder while he rubbed circles on my back.
Once my breathing calmed, I raised myself up until our foreheads were touching and said, "I'm so in love with you." Ranger gave me a huge smile and said, "I know the feeling, Babe."