JE owns all the rights to anything familiar - mistakes are mine and probably plentiful. Beta will fix soon

I don't know how, but this tale that was supposed to be a series of one-shots has turned into a full-blown story and I appreciate all of you that have stuck with it and followed along - you've made it easy to continue writing. Thanks!

ZIP POV

The sound of my phone ringing pulled me out of a deep sleep. I checked the clock before answering and it was nearly six. I remember telling Hector I was going to lie down for a while but that had been around two. My thoughts were on when I would start getting my strength and stamina back as I reached for the phone. I was really sick of being tired all the time. I didn't check the display so I was surprised to hear my sister's voice in my ear.

"So it's true," she said gravely. "You are alive." Great. She was calling to give me shit.

"Hello, Zyla," I said. "I've missed you. How is school going? How many men do you have worshipping at your gorgeous altar this week?"

I actually didn't want to know the answer to that one. It wasn't bullshit, my sister's beautiful and she has any number of men tripping over themselves just to get close to her on a regular basis. The problem is, none of them are good enough for her and I want to personally weed out all the losers that always seem to be hanging around. This, of course, makes her crazy.

"Do not try and sweet talk me, Zander." Oh shit, my real name. That meant she was royally pissed at me.

"What are you talking about? I'm just trying to find out what's going on in your world."

She snorted her disbelief in my ear. "Right. Well if you ever picked up a phone, you would know everything there is to know and vice versa. So why is it that I had to hear from mom that you were fucking shot?"

My sister was not one for sugar-coating things.

"I'm sorry, Zy," I tried to smooth it over. "I wasn't trying to shut you out. I just didn't want to worry you."

She exhaled slowly and I could almost hear all her ire deflating. "Jesus, Zip. Are you okay?"

"I am, I promise." I hated it when she worried about things. She needed to be able to concentrate on school without any outside distractions.

"You know if I wasn't right in the middle of midterms I would be on a plane, right?"

"I know, kid. But school is your priority. And you know Mom is here smothering, I mean hovering."

That got a laugh out of her. "She's not the only one, or so I'm told. Do you want to talk now or later about why I also had to hear that from mom?"

Shit. "Our mother has a big mouth."

"Hector! The Hector, right? The one you've been - "

"Okay, okay." I cut her off, so not ready to discuss my love life with my super nosy sister. "We're not talking about this right now."

"As long as you understand you will be telling me every single detail at some point as punishment for keeping it from me for six fucking months. Six months, Zip!"

"Would you look at the time? I have to get going."

"Coward," she said with a laugh. "Call me next week and I love you." She disconnected before I could respond and I set my phone on the night stand with a smile. I never noticed before but my sister kind of reminds me of Stephanie.

And speaking of, Steph would probably be back soon for dinner. I could smell Hector's carnitas already. I rolled out of bed and donned a shirt before heading downstairs.

He was standing at the stove, clad only in a pair of jeans riding dangerously low on his hips and for the first time since I was shot, my dick started to pay attention. I'd been worried about my lack of sex drive so this gave me hope I was definitely on the road back to normalcy. I stalked toward him, silent as a jaguar, even though I had no doubt he already knew I was there. It was almost impossible to sneak up on the man.

I moved in behind him and bent my head to kiss his neck. He was stirring a pot of black beans and stopped to nuzzle the side of his face into mine. The surprisingly intimate gesture made my half-asleep cock come fully and undeniably awake.

"You okay?" Hector asked, the spoon starting again. "I checked on you earlier but you were completely out."

I curled my fingers on his narrow hips and tugged him back into my impressive erection. My lips found his neck again and he murmured, "You're definitely okay."

"Mmmhmm," I agreed. I was more than okay. I licked a path over the curve of his shoulder, across the raised ridge of the knife scar under the skull tattoo on his neck and finally rimmed the outer edge of his ear. "When will Steph be home?" I asked, hoping for the first time since we started staying here that she wouldn't be.

Right on cue we heard the garage door opening and I let a small groan of disappointment escape. I adored Stephanie but right now I wished she would go away. Hector spun around and took my mouth in a brutal kiss which did nothing but make me want him more. "Sorry," he whispered against my lips before pulling away. "Later?"

"Yes," I said. "But now I am going to have to go take a cold shower."

"I've been doing that for two weeks." He flashed me a grin and went to greet her.

I stood in the freezing water until I thought my balls were going crawl right up inside my body in protest. I dried off and shivered as I yanked on a pair of sweats and dragged a t-shirt over my head. I really hoped the walls were soundproofed in this house because I planned on taking Hector's offer of later seriously, whether Steph was here or not.

When I hit the stairs, I heard her laugh and Hector's answering one, and when I found them in the kitchen a minute later they were drinking freshly made margaritas. Hector was still sans a shirt and my eyes were instinctively drawn to the tattoo of the blood red phoenix spanning the entire expanse of his lower abdomen. The bottom half of the bird's body dipped into the waistband of his jeans and if I couldn't stop thinking about slowly unbuttoning them and tracing those feathers and flames with my tongue, it was going to negate the ice shower I just took.

I set my eyes on Stephanie instead and she greeted me with a huge smile.

"Zip! Hi! Come here." She pulled me into her arms for a hug and then said, "Now take off your shirt."

What? I peered down at her face, sure that I'd not heard her correctly. "Excuse me?"

"Your shirt, take it off." She ran her finger up my chest in what I could only describe as a seductive manner and I was starting to panic slightly. What the hell was she doing? I checked her margarita glass and it was only half empty so she couldn't be drunk already, right? I cut my eyes to Hector but all he did was press his lips together trying to hide a smile.

"Um…" I couldn't even form any words and wouldn't know what to say if could.

Stephanie laughed and turned to Hector. "You're right, that was fun."

Shit. Fuckers. Both of them. "It's not nice to mess with an invalid," I said and they both laughed.

"You're far from being an invalid," Steph countered. "But I was serious, take off your shirt. Hector was telling me about your dragon. I want to see it."

Now that I would do. I reached behind my head and grabbed my shirt, pulling it off as I turned to show her my back.

"Oh wow," she breathed and goose bumps broke out when she put her cold fingers on my skin. "It's beautiful."

"Look right here; see this detail on the wings?" Hector's voice sounded right behind me and I silently begged him not to touch me but a second later his thumb slid over my left deltoid muscle and my dick turned to stone. "It's excellent work."

"I've never seen anything like it," Steph said. "How long did this take?"

I ground my teeth together and tried to force my body back under my control but Hector moved his thumb again, gliding it down my spine. "Ten months," I managed to say and I could almost feel Hector's smile. He was torturing me on purpose. Payback would be a bitch.

"I've sort of been thinking about getting a tattoo," Stephanie confessed and Hector, surprised by the admission, dropped his hand from my back.

"Really?" He questioned. "Of what?"

I used the distraction to will my cock to calm down so I could turn around without tented sweats. When I was satisfactorily deflated, I faced them again and pulled my shirt back on. Hector's eyes flashed to my chest before it disappeared from his gaze. He took a drink of his margarita while Stephanie was explaining the tattoo she wanted and that gave me an idea. My doctor told me I should avoid alcohol until I was back to normal but I thought a taste wouldn't hurt.

"How are the margaritas?" I asked and as expected, Hector held out his glass. I took it with my left hand and then used my right to grab him by the wrist and pull him to me. Hector wasn't a public display of affection kind of a guy so I knew what I was about to do would make him uncomfortable. And really turned on.

I bent my head and covered his mouth. Stephanie sucked in an audible breath and I sucked in Hector's tongue. I kissed him slow and deep, just the way he likes, the way that makes him literally weak in the knees and when I felt him start to buckle, I broke away and set his glass on the breakfast bar. "Pretty good, but they need more salt. Is dinner ready? I'm starved!"

Stephanie cleared her throat and then downed the rest of her drink. Hector's whiskey eyes were on mine, dark with lust, and probably a plan for retribution. It was going to be a fun night.

We started dinner a few minutes later and soon the awkward vibe in the air dissipated as we ate and as Hector and Steph drank the rest of the pitcher of margaritas. She was well on her way to being drunk by the time the last drop was swallowed and Hector was feeling pretty good himself.

The conversation turned to tattoos again when she asked him about the coiled snake under his right bicep and then she stood up on the couch and pointed down at him. "Draw the one I want on me," she demanded. "I think if I see it I'll be able to decide."

Hector jumped up without a word and headed toward the garage.

"Where's he going?" she wanted to know and I almost laughed at the confused look on her face. Drunken Stephanie was highly entertaining. I sipped my water, wishing I could have a margarita or two. I'd have to make up for it when I was fully healed. I didn't know for sure so I just shrugged, but I was guessing he was getting the airbrushing kit out of his truck. That was confirmed a minute later when he reappeared with it under his arm.

"You sure about this?" He asked her and she readily agreed. "Okay, then strip."

Wait, what? Where exactly did she want this tattoo? She reached for the button on her jeans and I watched with wide eyes as she kicked them off and then was standing before us in a barely there black thong. Rangeman was stitched across the front in bright pink thread and that made me smile. Ranger had to put his name on everything.

Hector gestured for her to turn around and I got really nervous when she immediately complied and showed us her bare cheeks. I cut my gaze to the door. What if Ranger came home right now? I'd seen how he reacted when any man got too close or too friendly with her so what would he do if he walked in the door and found us ogling his wife's naked ass? I rubbed at my neck thinking it would suck if he snapped it after I'd just got it repaired.

The airbrush gun was out and Hector was screwing on a new tip as he knelt on the floor behind her.

He started working, and it looked like he was covering a small scar she had high on her left buttock. I had to lean in for a closer look because it looked like a bullet wound. "Yes, she got shot in the ass," Hector confirmed, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Ranger calls it a battle scar," Steph said, "but I hate it."

"It is a battle scar, Chica," Hector told her and I watched his hand move quickly over the area. It didn't take me long to determine the design.

"Do you have any other tattoos besides the dragon, Zip?"

Hector stilled completely and then turned his head to fully look at me. There was a tiny smile tilting the corners of his mouth. I did indeed have another tattoo but there was no way in hell I was showing it to her. I could tell by the look on Hector's face he was thinking about payback for my kissing stunt earlier. I shook my head and shot him a death glare. Taking off my shirt for her was one thing, but I was not removing my pants.

The tattoo was small and high on the inside of my right thigh. I nearly got a hard-on again when I remembered the first time Hector had discovered it. He spent a great deal of time exploring it with his tongue and that almost made me want to get a matching one on the other side.

"Nope, just the dragon," I replied and Hector gave me a raised eyebrow but went back to his task. We fell into companionable silence as he worked and after he changed the color cartridge so he could add a small red heart at the end, he was finished.

"What do you think?" He asked me, still holding the gun in his hand.

I stood up and crossed over to them for a closer look. "It's cute," I said. And it was. Ranger didn't have any tattoos, none that I knew of anyway, so I wondered what he would think if she actually got it for real.

"I want to see," Stephanie whined and tried to peer at it over her shoulder.

"Mirror in the bathroom," Hector instructed, pointing to the powder room down the hall. She took off at a run and Hector grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me against his chest. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did," he said and then buried his face in my neck and sucked hard at the junction where it meets my shoulder.

God, I wanted him.

I latched onto his hips, intent on showing him how much but I heard Stephanie coming back down the hall, squealing with delight so I pushed him away and turned to watch her run into the room.

"I love it!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around Hector's neck. She kissed him noisily on the cheek and then let him go so suddenly he almost stumbled.

The expression on her face was one someone got when they were sure they'd just had a brilliant idea. "Take me to your place so I can get it for real."

Hector and I shared a look. Was she serious or was that the tequila talking?

"Right now?" Hector asked reasonably.

"Yeah, right now. Oh! And you can get yours too. How perfect will that be?" She clapped her hands and did a little dance. "I'll drive," she said and headed for the garage.

"Stephanie," Hector called, snagging her by the back of her shirt. "If you really want to do this, you need pants."

I picked her jeans up off the floor and handed them to her. "And I'll drive if we're really going. Neither one of you would pass a field sobriety test at the moment."

"Yay! Wait, I have to pee and then we can go." She ran off toward the bathroom again and Hector turned to me with a shrug. "Alcohol makes her a little loopy."

"That's a little? Should we really let her get a tattoo when she's drunk? I would prefer Ranger not murder us with his bare hands."

"That is always a risk," Hector replied but it did nothing to ease my mind. Ranger had a reputation for a reason and I had no desire to test the limits of his restraint.

"Hector..."

He only shook his head. "It's nearly impossible to change Stephanie's mind once she decides she wants something."

I opened my mouth, not sure what else I was going to say but it didn't matter because she bounced back into the room, thankfully fully clothed, and grabbed each of our hands. "Let's go!" She said and began tugging us along behind her. Hector grabbed his shirt off the back of a chair along the way and Stephanie bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet when we stopped in the mud room to put on our shoes.

We piled into Hector's truck and I backed out of the driveway. Stephanie was in the back and leaned forward in between the seats to flick on the radio. She went through the stations until she found something she liked and the sat back, singing softly along with the song.

Hector took my hand and laced our fingers together. "What new tattoo was she talking about earlier?" I asked. "You didn't tell me you were thinking about getting another one."

He lifted a shoulder and his eyes flickered to the sketch pad on the seat between us. "It's just something I've been working on."

I felt myself frowning. He normally showed me everything he drew but I didn't know a thing about this. Why was he hiding it from me? I almost laughed out loud at myself. This was Hector. There wasn't a limit to the secrets he kept buried.

"It's nothing to worry about, mi amor," he said quietly, clearly reading my expression. I know it probably made me a giant pussy, but I loved when he called me that.

I squeezed his hand and steered us towards Immortal Ink. We found out early on that we'd both had our tats done at the same shop, different artists, but the same shop so I knew where to go without asking.

When we rolled into the parking lot, Stephanie poked her head between the seats again. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?" she asked, her crystal blue eyes wide in the dim light glowing from the dash.

"That depends on what you weigh it against," Hector replied logically. "Compared to taking a bullet in the ass, no. Compared to getting your legs waxed, yes. Does that change your mind?"

"Do you wax your legs, Hector?" She said with a playful smile.

"Only my eyebrows," he retorted instantly. "Now get that smartass mouth out of my truck," he added.

We followed her into the shop where Hector introduced us to Gizmo, who'd done every one of Hector's tattoos. I completely understood his nickname; at least I think it was a nickname, because Gizmo looked a lot like a gremlin. They disappeared into a back room and I was left to ponder the mystery of his new ink.

"What about me?" Steph asked, clutching onto my arm.

"I'll see if Asp is here," I told her and just as the words left my mouth, the woman in question came out into the main room from a dark hallway.

I hadn't seen her since she finished my dragon, but she looked the same. Crazy long black dreadlocks tied back from her face with a leather thong, skin the color of coffee with a generous helping of cream and a metal bar pierced through each perfectly arched eyebrow. Her eyes were the green of tempered sea glass and she smiled at us with her entire face.

"Knew you'd be back," she said with her deep raspy voice." No one ever just gets one."

"Not me," I shook my head. "This one." I pointed at Stephanie and Asp gave her the once over with a critical eye.

"Newbie?" She questioned and Steph nodded. "Know what you want?"

Stephanie nodded again and I peered down at her. It wasn't like her to be so quiet. "You okay?" I asked her.

"Yes…but I think I'm starting to get nervous," she whispered and Asp laughed.

"Everyone gets nervous, sugar. Even this tall, hot thing had a case of the shakes." She cut her eyes to mine and winked.

Stephanie's grip on my arm relaxed and I watched the tension ease from her face. Asp had a way of making everyone feel comfortable.

"Come with me, blue eyes, and I'll take care of you." She gestured with a nod of her head and we followed her down the dark hall from where she'd emerged.

We entered the same room where I'd spent a day every week for 10 months getting mine done. It hadn't changed either.

"You bring a picture?" Asp asked when we settled in the room and she closed the door.

"Better," I said. "It's already airbrushed on her ass, right where she wants it."

Her dreadlocks swayed as she tipped her head back and laughed. "That's great, lemme see."

Stephanie was grinning through the whole exchange and dropped her pants without any inhibitions.

"Hmm," Asp murmured as she eyed Hector's design. "Not what I was expecting, but it will be easy enough. I'm going to take a picture, just to be sure and then I'll have to get it off before I start. That cool with you?"

"Sure," Steph agreed. "But what were you expecting?"

"I don't know, maybe a butterfly or a flower or some other girly shit. Obviously I underestimated you." Asp snapped a picture of the design with her phone and set it on the tray next to the table where she would be working.

"You have no idea," I said.

"So I gathered. Hop on up here and we'll get started." She patted the table and Stephanie boosted herself up and spread out on her stomach. Asp covered above and below the design with privacy cloths and set about removing the airbrush with alcohol.

"I'm going to go check on Hector while you get prepped, Steph," I mentioned casually and her reaction was unexpected.

"No!" She practically yelled, twisting her head around toward where I was hovering near the door. Asp looked at me with wide eyes.

"What's wrong? I'll be right back."

"No, don't leave me! You have to hold my hand." Asp shrugged and I moved to the front of the table. It wasn't like her to be that clingy but if she wanted me to stay, I would stay.

I pulled up a chair and sat near her head at the top of the table. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to do this if you're that freaked out."

"I'm okay. I want to. But I want you to stay with me, okay?" She reached out for my hand and I took it lacing our fingers together.

"I'll stay," I said and she visibly relaxed.

"Alright," Asp called from her stool. "I'm ready to brand this ass. You good to go, sugar?"

"Yep," Steph agreed and the familiar buzz of the gun started. "Oh!" she exclaimed at the first pierce and squeezed my fingers but relaxed fairly quickly. "It's not that bad," she said after a minute and I nodded my head.

She was quiet for awhile and I held her hand as Asp work. "Can I ask you something?" She finally said.

"Anything."

"Do you and Hector want to be alone tonight?"

Yes! I wanted to scream but I lifted a shoulder, feigning indifference and she cocked a brow. "You do," she said and then pressed her lips together in a fine line as if debating the wisdom and saying whatever else was on her mind.

"That kiss earlier…" she trailed off for a few seconds. "That was one of the hottest things I've ever seen, but I felt a little too much like a voyeur. When we're done here I want you to drop me off at Haywood and you and Hector can spend some time alone at the house."

A protest was on my tongue, but I really, really wanted to accept what she was offering. "You don't mind?" I asked instead and she flashed me all her teeth.

"Not even a little."

I couldn't help myself; I leaned forward and kissed her lips. "Thank you," I whispered and touched my forehead to hers before sitting back on the chair.

"This is done," Asp announced and set the gun onto the tray.

"Already? That was fast," Steph said and tried to turn her head to see it.

"Mirrors," I told her with a laugh. "It's impossible to see your own ass without a mirror." We got her up off the table and in front of the long mirror hanging on the back of the door. Asp held up the second one behind her so she could see.

She smiled as she twisted a couple times for different angles.

"What's Ranger going to say?" I asked.

She looked up at me like she hadn't thought of that before now. "Oh. I don't know. He probably won't mind."

I sincerely hope not. I wanted to ask her not to tell him I'd driven her here but she probably already thought I was enough of a girl.

Asp cleaned it off, covered it with ointment, taped plastic wrap over it and gave her quick instructions on after care before we went up front to pay.

Hector wasn't waiting for us so I wanted to go back and see him but Stephanie talked me into going down the street for ice cream. When we got back he was just walking out of the back with Gizmo on his heels. His shirt was in his hand, and there was plastic wrap on his chest, right over his heart. I went to him immediately so I could look at the new tattoo.

My breath stopped in my lungs and an inexplicable lump formed in my throat as what I was seeing registered in my brain. Those were my initials… and the heart and….my suddenly wet eyes found his, but he kept his expression guarded, waiting for my reaction.

I wanted to hug him and kiss him and fuck him exactly in that order and I wanted to do it immediately but the public setting was an unfortunate road block. Getting close to him in front of Stephanie was one thing but with other eyes in the room, I didn't know how he'd react.

I spun on my heel and stormed out of the shop, hoping he would understand and follow.

"Does that mean he doesn't like it?" I heard Gizmo ask as the door closed. I headed for the truck and turned around when I reached it. Hector was right in my face and I grabbed his head, bringing his mouth to mine.

Our tongues battled brutally and his fingers curled into my waist, trying to bring our bodies closer together. We kissed until I thought I would die if I didn't get inside him and he finally wrenched our lips apart. I dropped my head onto his shoulder as aired sawed raggedly in and out of my lungs.

"You do like it," he said a few beats later and I choked out a laugh.

"That is a huge understatement." I pulled back and lifted my hand to it, running it gently over the plastic. "It's…." I couldn't find the words to actually say how it made me feel. I was completely undone. "I need you," I told him, my voice harsh with want. "Right now."

"That's a bit of problem," he said.

"No it isn't," Stephanie stated and I lifted my head. She was standing a few feet away with a smile on her face. I hadn't even heard her come out of the shop. "You two go back to the house. Tank is on his way to get me. I'm going to Rangeman tonight."

Hector opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off with a shake of her head. "Don't even think about it," she said. "Go!" She made the universal 'shooing' gesture with her hands and I wasn't about to argue with her.

We didn't even say goodbye.

#####

RANGER POV

When I pulled into my driveway, I felt my entire body finally relax. I'd been on edge since I left three weeks ago and I was pretty sure these assignments I kept accepting were slowly killing me - or maybe it was being away from Stephanie for long periods of time that was slowly killing me. I never actually slept while I was gone and eating was always an afterthought. Only thoughts of getting back to her kept me going; everything else was incidental. But I was tired. I was tired of crawling around in the jungle or the desert or wherever else they sent me. I was tired of leaving her alone with the prospect of me not coming back always hanging in the air around her.

Because it was always a possibility.

I rubbed at the bandage on my arm. It hadn't been a life-threatening injury and it was already starting to heal because it was itching like crazy but it was still an injury and if I'd been off my game at all, I would be in the hospital …or worse and I didn't want to put my wife through that anymore. She never complained, not once, and she never tried to get me to stop doing what I've always done and I loved her for it…but I never had any intention of doing this forever and it was time for some changes.

I eased into the garage and killed the engine. Steph's Explorer was in the space next to mine and I looked back at Hector's truck in the driveway. Apparently we still had house guests.

I left my bag on the floor in the mud room and kicked off my boots before entering the kitchen. It was a mess in there, dirty pots and pans and dishes strewn everywhere. Hector must have been cooking again because Steph's idea of making dinner is bringing home pizza from Pino's.

I dropped my keys into the tray on the table in the foyer and hit the stairs. It was almost two in the morning and I knew she'd be sleeping, but I was going to wake her up and I was sure she probably wouldn't mind.

The door to our master suite was ajar and it instinctively had me reaching for my gun. She always slept with that door closed and bolted when I was gone, and actually that's how we slept when I was home too, but it was open and my gun was in my hand.

I eased it the rest of the way open with my shoulder and the sight that greeted me had me lifting both my eyebrows. I lowered my weapon and Hector did the same. I leaned in the doorway and watched him set my Glock back on the nightstand.

I tucked my Sig into the small of my back and said quietly, "Under normal circumstances, finding two men in bed with my wife would lead to two very painful deaths."

His eyes flickered to the sleeping forms beside him. Stephanie was curled against Hector's side and Zip was spooned behind her with an arm draped over her hip.

"She didn't want to be alone," he told me and brushed a loose curl from her cheek.

I nodded. I didn't want her to be alone either. "I worry less when I know she's with you."

"I know, and she knows too. Although I think she'd prefer if I was with you." He gestured to my arm. "How bad?"

"Nothing serious. How's Zip?"

"Better. I appreciate you letting us stay here while he recovered."

"Stephanie wasn't going to have it any other way, hermano."

He flashed me a grin and clicked on the lamp beside the bed before gently trying to rouse my wife. "You need to wake up, Chica."

"Mmm," was her response as she stretched her legs. "Too early," she murmured. Zip stirred behind her and then rolled onto his back, blinking his eyes open. They widened in surprise when they landed on me and he sat up abruptly.

"Relax," I said to calm the panic I saw brewing on his face. "But I would like to be alone with my wife now, if you don't mind."

"Ranger?" Stephanie questioned, finally coming fully awake. She opened her eyes and when she saw me standing there, she was up on her feet and crossing the length of our king sized mattress.

I moved at the same time and caught her in my arms when she launched herself off the end of the bed. She kissed me, long and slow and deep and I saw Hector and Zip silently sneak out of the room and close the door behind them.

My injured arm was starting to shake, protesting the weight I was supporting so I carried her a few steps to the overstuffed armchair in the corner and sank into it, settling her on my lap. She cuddled into my chest and then ran her fingers over the bandage on my arm.

"I hate when you get hurt," she said softly.

"I know, but it's just a scratch," I lied and she let out a small laugh, knowing I was lying.

"I hate when you're gone, too," she added and I pulled her tighter against me.

"So do I, but you won't have to worry about it anymore."

She stilled in my arms and then tilted back, tipping her head up to see my eyes. "What?"

"The contracts. I'm not going to accept anymore. This was my last mission."

"Are you serious?" She asked slowly and I nodded.

"Ranger…this isn't…you're not doing this because of me, are you? I don't…I would never ask you...I know this is a part of who you are and I don't want you compromising yourself because you're worried about me. I can handle this. I got my boys; they all look after me when you're gone."

I smiled at her and ran a hand over her messy hair. This was one of the many reasons why I loved her. She accepted me and what I do unconditionally, and without the slightest reservation for what it did to her own psyche.

"I'm doing it for us, Stephanie. I am very aware how hard it is on you when I'm gone, especially when I can't tell you where I am or when I'll be back and if the situations were reversed – I don't think I could take it. I don't think I would be able to function not knowing if you were dead or alive or if I'd ever see you again. You are the strongest person I know, Babe. Way stronger than I will ever be and I want to be home now, here with you, permanently."

She didn't say anything; she simply leaned in and pressed her lips to mine in a sweet and tender kiss. I closed my eyes and breathed her in, wondering how I got fucking lucky enough to have this woman love me.

"Let's go to bed," she said, untangling herself from my lap and pushing to her feet. I followed after her, stripping along the way.

"Since you brought it up, if I ever come home and find you in our bed with two men again, I can't be held responsible for my actions."

She smiled as she stripped out of her Wonder Woman t-shirt, drawing my gaze to her perfect pink nipples. "Well, since you said you're not leaving me anymore, I doubt the situation will present itself again." She slowly shimmied out of her plaid pajama bottoms and turned to climb onto our bed. I watched her progress as my dick swelled in appreciation and then I noticed something on her ass that was certainly not there the last time I'd seen it. I reached for her, pressing onto her spine as I crawled into the bed behind her until she was flat on her stomach. I pushed her thighs apart as I knelt between her legs and ran my fingers over the tattoo. "What is this?"

"Oh. Well." She twisted her neck around to look at me. "You know how I hate that scar. I've wanted to cover it for a while. Are you mad?"

I traced the outline of the bat signal and then each and every letter of my name that was scrawled inside of it in a curvy, italic script. When I was done, I bent my head and pressed my lips to the tiny red heart at the end of my name.

Without warning I flipped her on her back, lifted her legs and sank into her hot, wet heat. "It's sexy as hell," I said when I was as deep as I could go.

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AN: This will probably be the last chapter for a while – but I will be back eventually. Thanks to all of you who have followed along and were kind enough to leave me notes. I appreciate each and every one of you.