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As usual, none of the characters are mine, just borrowing them for fun.

Rangers POV

After our night together I knew that Babe had taken off to Point Pleasant for a couple of days. She always retreats to the beach when she needs to relax or clear her mind. It made me wonder about her reasons and what she was thinking. Was she avoiding me? Was she giving me space? Did she regret the night despite her assurances that she wouldn't?

The truth of the matter was that I was the one with regrets for the night. My carefully constructed and controlled life was becoming unravelled all due to this curly haired brunette with beautiful blue eyes. Once we had reached the point of no return and agreed that it was for one night with no regrets, both of us dropped our defences and made love to each other in a manner that I never thought possible. This was supposed to be just a way to satisfy each other's physical needs. But instead it opened a whole world of emotions and desires that I never thought I would feel. And for someone with legendary control I was having trouble stuffing those feelings back in the locked box they belonged.

Since then, Babe came to me in my dreams every night, even if I had already released some tension in the shower before going to bed. Every night I dreamt of her hands gently trailing down my chest and abs, and slowly caressing my cock. I could smell her, feel her, and taste her, and whenever she called my name, gasping on the brink of orgasm, I would wake to a sticky mess over my hand and sheets. I was like some pubescent teenager unable to control my thoughts. It was embarrassing. I had to strip my sheets every morning before Ella came in to tidy the apartment.

For the next three days I threw myself into a gruelling exercise regime to try and regain my self-control and eliminate thoughts of Babe from my head. I was unsuccessful, and that put me in a foul mood. I'm not used to failure. I'm used to getting what I want and being the master of control. Fuck.

I know that the men have been curious about the cause of my mood but they all knew not to ask questions about my private life. The one exception to this of course is Tank. He's been watching me like a hawk, and I know he is biding his time before he calls me on my bullshit. He hasn't asked me anything yet. But it's only a matter of time if I can't get myself under control.

After two days of my surly behaviour and taking out my frustrations on the gym equipment, Tank called me to the mats. The sparing session helped me to refocus my thoughts but I was still unwilling to answer Tank's questions afterwards when he tried to find out what was troubling me. I can understand his concerns, we always have each other's backs, and PTSD is always a risk in our line of work. But I knew Tank did not believe that was the problem. The bastard knew exactly what, or who, was scrambling my mind, even though he didn't know about our deal and our night together. To get some answers he decided to play dirty. He phoned Jeanne-Ellen and asked her to come to Rangeman to help plan the takedown of a skip we were trying to catch.

I was furious when I found out.

"What the fuck Tank, why would you ask for that viper's help?" I exploded

"We've used her for distractions in the past, why not now? Besides, you know she's got a thing for you and brother I think you need to get laid. You've been a bear the last couple of days. When was the last time you got some? " He asked with a smirk.

"None of your fucking business." I growled.

I could feel Tank's scrutiny intensify as he asked his next question, "Well what about Steph then? Should I call her in to help?"

"Sure." Damn. I had a split second delay before I answered and that was all the give-away Tank needed.

"Man, I know you don't like to discuss your private life but this is getting out of control. You've obviously got a thing for her, why don't you just ask her out?"

"Because she doesn't date co-workers and I don't do relationships." I snapped.

"Those are the two most dumb ass excuses I have ever heard. If two unattached people are attracted to each other, surely they would try to get to know each other better and explore the possibility of a relationship."

"Who are you? Dr Phil?"

"I'm just sayin', instead of torturing yourself, and being a pain in the ass to the rest of us, give it some thought. Remember what she was like a couple of weeks ago at that club. She's looking for company. She's been alone for too long and has a lot of love to give. If you don't make a move someone else will and then you'll be an even bigger pain in the ass."

I glowered at the thought of someone else stepping in but that didn't alter my "rules" or response.

"Tank you know my life is too dangerous for relationships."

Tank stood to leave, muttering under his breath, but loud enough so I would still hear "Yeah, yeah, yeah, same old bullshit. I'll call Steph to see if she can assist with the case."

"And make sure you cancel Jeanne-Ellen" I called out at his retreating form.

RPOV
Tank's words kept replaying in my head. And the next day when Babe stopped by I was caught unawares. She came to see me, to check if we were OK. When she entered my office and shut the door behind her I was hard pressed not to go to her, take her in my arms, and kiss her senseless. Instead I sat behind my desk and barely said two words because of the conflicting emotions warring within me. I was the one who said one night and no regrets. I was the one to tell her I didn't do relationships. And now I had to stand by those words and just watch her walk out the door. I think the universe was having a laugh at my expense.

The next day I was somewhat more under control and looking forward to the meeting with Babe and the core team to plan the apprehension of Andre Kruzlec. Kruzlec was a scum of the earth asshole who dealt in drugs and human trafficking. He had skipped his court date and so far had eluded capture. He was wealthy and well-connected but we had received a tip off that he was going to be in Trenton to conclude some "business" before going to ground again. My enthusiasm for the meeting was short lived when Jeanne-Ellen sauntered into the conference room.

What the hell was she doing here? This was so not going to go well.

Jeanne locked eyes on me as soon as she entered and proceeded to ignore everyone else in the room.

"Jeanne-Ellen, I thought Tank phoned you to say you weren't required for this meeting."

"He did, but I thought I'd come and help out anyway, you know for old time's sake." Her smile had me on edge and I could only hope that she wouldn't be too disruptive. That thought was short lived.

This woman was a barracuda. She only had eyes for me, and tried to monopolise my attention and the meeting in general. She was insulting to Babe, dismissive of the core team and acted as though she had some position of intimacy and entitlement with me. I slammed my blank face into place and focussed on the job at hand. Time was running out with Kruzlec and Jeanne-Ellen's antics would have to be ignored at present.

Despite Jeanne-Ellen's obnoxious attitude to Stephanie, Babe remained calm and simply listened and made notes. I should have learnt by now to ask for Babe's input sooner rather than later. But I must admit, when I did finally ask it was great seeing Jeanne-Ellen put in her place.

You see, this is the talent and gift of Stephanie Plum and why she is so invaluable to Rangeman. Babe's research and puzzle solving skills are second to none. We had all completely missed the clues that pointed to Kruzlec being a closet homosexual. The man was married. But it was all a farce. And the information would change how we approached the distraction and apprehension. When Babe called our attention to his gender/sexual preferences Jeanne-Ellen was livid. It was like a bitch slap to her. The highly trained ex-CIA operative with a high and mighty opinion of herself shown up by a modest and unassuming "girl from the Burg'".

Once we had the plan settled and the men were instructed that Hector would be required for tonight's distraction, I left the conference room to put as much distance as possible between Jeanne-Ellen and myself. I wanted Babe to see that this woman meant nothing to me. That she had no claim and I had no interest. What I wasn't prepared for was just how jealous Jeanne-Ellen was of Babe.

A copy of the conference room tapes was on my desk when I returned to my office an hour later, with a note to watch the end of the meeting. To say I was furious after I watched the tape was an understatement. My blood boiled as I watched as Jeanne-Ellen accuse Steph of fucking me and being the company whore. I restrained myself from picking up my lap top and hurling it at the wall. How dare she insult Steph like that? Jeanne-Ellen's infatuation with me had gone too far this time. She had been told time and again that there would never be anything between us but she was obviously still obsessed. This was something I did not want Stephanie exposed to.

I dragged my hands through my hair in frustration. I should never have let Jeanne-Ellen join the meeting. I should have found and excuse, citing need-to-know-only or some such crap. There was no going back though, all I could do now was damage control. I would make sure all of Jeanne-Ellen's access to the building was cancelled and all work contracts terminated. On top of the rage I also felt the twinge of disappointment when Babe told her there was nothing between us.

SPOV.

It's been two weeks since my night with Ranger. We gave each other space for a few days and Ranger said we were OK, but then I had the distinct displeasure of meeting Jeanne-Ellen Burrows. Ranger obviously shares some history with Jeanne-Ellen but I can't find out what it is. She acts like she has a claim on him and accused me of fucking him or being the company whore.

Is that how other people see me as well? Crap. Maybe I should distance myself a bit from Rangeman. I mean, I can still be friends with Ranger and the guys, but maybe it would be best not to work too closely with them for a while. Assumptions like these can damage Rangeman more than it can hurt me. The last thing high profile business like Rangeman needs is a reputation of having an in house whore, no matter how untrue it is.

I keep telling myself that Ranger's relationship with Jeanne-Ellen is none of my business, that Ranger and I are only friends. But when I'm alone in my bed in the dead of night, I can't avoid facing the truth. Ranger holds my heart captive, despite my efforts to protect it. I keep reminding myself it was only one night, no regrets, and that we are still friends. But I would gladly be more if he would reconsider his stance on relationships.

TBC.