Disclaimer: The primary characters in this story belong to Janet Evanovich. I make no money for this work. While I work in healthcare, the names and places detailed in this story are not based on specific persons.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews. I hope you like this update as well. Thanks to FairTaxGirl and Margaret Fowler for reviewing this for me.

Previously:

Lester chuckled and we drove on to my apartment in silence. He walked me up and checked out the apartment. He came back and handed me my keys and said, "I hear you and Ranger have another date tomorrow."

I nodded and he gave me a grin and a wink and said, "Be good, Beautiful. If you can't, name it after me."

Control Chapter 10

Since it was Sunday, I slept in. I rolled out of bed about 9:00, had some coffee and cereal and started looking through my closet for something to wear for my date with Ranger. He had said we were having a picnic, so casual should be fine, but I didn't want to wear jeans and a t-shirt.

I finally settled on a light blue, sleeveless Capri set. The shirt was button up with a knot tie on the side. I didn't want to trudge through grass in heels, so I chose a cute pair of flats with a pastel flowers on the sides.

I showered, shaved, buffed and lotioned myself to within an inch of my life. I was having a hard time resisting Ranger's charms and I wanted to be ready if things did move to the next level. Who am I kidding? I wanted him, plain and simple. Who wouldn't?

I did my hair in loose curls and went easy on the make-up, using only powder, mascara and a pretty pink lipstick. I sprayed some Dolce Vita in strategic places and went to choose my lingerie. I settled on an ivory lace wonder bra and a matching thong. By this time, it was 11:30, so I got dressed, put my things in a new purse and went to the living room to wait. Ranger was always punctual.

Sure enough, at 11:55, there was a light knock on my door. I answered the door and felt the drool start to accumulate. Ranger was wearing black slacks and a medium blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

He leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss on the lips and said, "You look beautiful. Ready?"

I nodded and he took my hand and led me downstairs. He was in a large, black truck today. He helped me up into the seat and we drove to a park in the Burg. It was a fairly busy park on most days, but it was still early for a Sunday, so we were able to get a nice picnic table near the tree line.

Ranger had brought a picnic basket with him and he proceeded to lay out a white linen tablecloth and put down several plastic carrying dishes, a nice bottle of white wine and two crystal glasses. He had more than I could ever have imagined in that little basket. There was cheese, fresh fruit, and a fresh loaf of bread and pasta salad. He also brought what he apparently considered a healthy dessert, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream.

We sat there and ate and chatted about nothing important. It was nice and relaxing. We were sitting next to each other and every once in a while his hand would brush my hair or rub my lower back or touch my hand. It felt very intimate, even though we were in public.

I felt Ranger stiffen and looked up to see none other than the Italian Stallion headed our way. I put my piece of bread down and said, "I think I just lost my appetite."

Ranger looked over at me and said, "You know Morelli?" I nodded and said only, "We grew up together and it wasn't always pleasant."

I felt Ranger reach behind him to put his hand on his gun and put my hand on his arm. "It's nothing like that. He won't hurt me. He just wants to annoy me."

Ranger gave a brief nod and turned his attention back to Morelli's approach.

Morelli stopped in front of us, gave Ranger a look and said, "Hi, Cupcake. Long time, no see." I glared back and said, "Not nearly long enough as far as I'm concerned."

Morelli sighed and said, "You can't possibly still be mad at me for that. It was years ago. Come on, Cupcake, give me a break."

I snarled and said, "If you call me that again, I will give you another break."

Eddie was headed over and called out, "Joe, they need you on the field." Joe looked toward Ranger and looked back at me. "Are you two dating?"

Ranger spoke up at this and said, "Morelli, you need to be careful."

Joe paled a little, but was about to speak again when Eddie reached us and whispered something to him. Joe paled even more, nodded at us and jogged off to join the softball game.

Eddie was grinning and I asked him what he had said to Joe. "I just reminded him that your grandma still has Big Blue." I laughed with Eddie until I realized that Ranger was going to want to hear the story about Big Blue and Morelli.

Eddie stayed long enough to tell us that he had gotten the restraining order signed that morning. Michael was required to stay at least 1000 yards from me at all times. He was also not allowed within 1000 yards of my apartment or my parents home. Work was trickier, particularly since it was federal property. Eddie would take care of notifying the VA police about the order. Ranger and I both thanked him and he jogged off to join the game.

Ranger looked at me and I studiously avoided looking back at him for as long as possible. Finally, he said, "Babe."

I sighed and told him the story as briefly as I could. "Fine! It's just embarrassing, that's why I don't want to tell you." He continued to stare and wait for the story. "When I was 16, I lost my virginity to Morelli. I'm sure I was probably number 500 or something."

Before I could continue, Ranger said, in a confused voice, "So you hate him because he was your first?"

I explained, "No, I hate him because he wrote about it all over town. My parents and everyone else I knew found out about it within 24 hours. A few days later, he joined the Navy and I didn't see him again for a few years. One day, I was driving my grandmother's 1953 Buick and I saw him on the sidewalk. I kind of lost it when I saw him and drove up on the sidewalk and hit him. I broke his leg."

I ventured a look at Ranger and there were two beats of silence before he threw his head back and laughed. "Stephanie, he should be embarrassed, not you. He knows that, that's why he tries to get back in your good graces."

I shrugged and said, "Well, at least he's still afraid of Big Blue." Then I laughed with Ranger. It certainly wasn't funny when it happened, but now, with so many years passed, I could see the humor.

When we quieted down, Ranger pulled me to him and kissed me. It was a slow, sweet kiss that left me wanting more. When he pulled back, I could see that he wanted more, too. He cleared his throat and said, "Ready for the movie?"

I shook my head and said, "I think I'd like to go back to my place and watch a video." Ranger gave me a look, but nodded and we packed up all the picnic remains and headed back to my place.

I asked Ranger to pick the movie while I went to the bathroom. I sat there thinking, the first date was when we went to Chicago, and we could count Saturday morning when he came over because of Michael's message as the second date. The third date was lunch in his apartment and the fourth date was today. Maybe I could ask him to step out in the hall and knock again? Fuck it! I'm an adult. If I want to have sex with a hot, sexy, caring man, I will. I willed myself to stop stressing about it and let it happen if it was the right time. I went back out and sat next to Ranger on the sofa. He had already put a movie in and had gotten us both a bottle of water.

I waited for the movie to start to see what he had picked. When I saw the opening credits, I knew. He had picked Ghostbusters, my all time favorite movie.

I looked over at him and said, "How did you know Ghostbusters is my favorite movie?"

He smiled and said, "I didn't, but it was the only one not in it's case, so I figured it was a safe bet." I smiled back at him and he leaned in and kissed me. It was another soft, sweet kiss and it left me almost breathless.

Desperate for more, I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him to me to deepen the kiss. He reciprocated and without breaking the kiss, went down on his knees in the floor in front of me and pulled my body towards him. His hands traveled under my shirt to stroke my back, making me feel like purring. His hands moved to the front of my shirt to begin unbuttoning and I felt him withdraw.

I opened my eyes and looked at him and his eyes were completely dilated and his jaw was clenched. He pressed his forehead to mine and said, "We've got to get to number five fast. I may combust." I looked up into his beautiful chocolate eyes and said, completely out of the blue, "Coffee! We had coffee!"

Ranger looked completely confused and I continued, "We had coffee last week. Then we went to Chicago Friday night, you came to my apartment Saturday morning and we had lunch at your place later. Today's date IS number five."

Ranger's eyes dilated even further and he said, "Oh, thank God" and grabbed me for a bone-melting kiss. His tongue felt like heaven moving against mine and I moved my body so that I could wrap my legs around him. He broke from my mouth to trail kisses along my neck down to my collarbone. He finished unbuttoning my shirt and pushed it from my shoulders. Then he started on my pants. I lifted my hips so that he could pull them off.

When he was finished, his eyes raked over my body and finally came back to meet my eyes. He said in a soft voice, "Stephanie, you're beautiful." His mouth came back to mine and his tongue circled around my lips, making me arch into him. His mouth worked its way down while his hands removed my bra. He took both breasts in his hands and leaned down to flick each nipple with his tongue before sucking the nipple into his mouth. I groaned and reached for him, desperate to have him naked and inside me. He got the hint and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the most beautiful chest I have ever seen.

I sat up, wanting to touch him and run my tongue along his beautiful body, but he gently pushed me back down saying, "Oh, no, I've been waiting for this since the day I met you. I'm not giving up my turn just yet."

I felt another wash of heat through my body as his mouth returned to me. He lifted my leg and trailed his mouth along my calf, moving upward. When he got to the scar on my thigh, he stuck his tongue out and trailed the length of it, making me shiver in response. With that action, he ensured that every time I thought about that scar, I would think about his mouth instead of the ugly deed that caused it.

He moved his hands to my panties, hooking his thumbs on either side and easing them down. His hand moved to trail along the outside of my sex and he whispered again, "So beautiful." I closed my eyes and threw my head back when I felt his tongue on my clit. He hooked one of my legs over his shoulder and feasted on me. I felt my orgasm building and I was panting as my body exploded.

I felt his mouth return to mine and could only kiss him lazily, my body recovering from my first social orgasm in ages. Soon, though, my need for him came rushing back and I pulled him to me, kissing him hard and demanding more. He pulled back and I realized that sometime during my orgasm, he had removed his pants. I watched as he rolled a condom on the most beautiful specimen of a man I have ever seen in my life. His cock was large and thick and I simultaneously wanted him inside me and in my mouth. I reached for him and he shook his head, saying, "Babe, if you touch me, it'll be all over and I need to be inside you right now."

I laid back and just enjoyed the sensations as he entered me slowly, stretching me and making me arch against him for more. When he was fully sheathed inside me, I wrapped my legs around his hips, silently begging him to move. He complied, his head thrown back, and gritting his teeth, he began to move slowly. "Babe, you're so tight, so hot."

I moved with him, against him, desperate for more of him. I could tell he was trying to be slow and gentle, but that wasn't what I wanted. I ground out, "Ranger, slow and gentle can wait. Fuck me." He growled and started pumping into me faster. I grabbed a sofa pillow with each hand and held on.

I could feel another orgasm building and Ranger must have sensed it, too, because he took his hand and flicked my clit, once, twice and I exploded, screaming my orgasm and his name. He was a beat after me, his cock stiffening inside of me as he came. He collapsed on top of me, his head resting against me chest as we both came back down to reality.

A/N: I'm scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, but I'm going to try and get another chapter out before then. Please read and review!