Disclaimer: These characters are not mine (dammit!) and I am not making any money from them. Just doing for the characters and the story what I think it needs and that the author is not doing.

Author's Note: This is a Babe Story! Morelli is not terribly damaged, but does not come out a winner. I didn't go for Morelli bashing, but his personality and behavior tracks in a certain direction and that's where I went. Sorry Cupcakes!

To all my reviewers: Please keep it up! I love hearing from y'all!

To all my readers: Ranger and Steph on a date date! SMUT warning.

The story is written somewhat in the style of the books, with Stephanie in first person. I will try to keep everyone in character. Unlike the books, you will hear the inside thoughts of some of the other characters, and there will be smut. Definitions at the bottom as well.

****x

*****o

********Chapter 9**********

*** Steph's POV ****

Ranger held the appetizer to my lips. I opened my mouth and took the bite off the fork and started to chew. Suddenly there was an explosion of taste in my mouth as the flavors of cheese and spices and tomatoes burst across my tongue. I couldn't help it, I moaned. Ranger smiled. "I never get tired of that." Wow. I think this is some sort of antipasto but it was incredible. Ranger offered me another bite, I took it chewed and moaned. He was still smiling, but now he was shifting slightly in his chair. He lifted a third bite, but this time I caught his hand and took the fork myself.

"You should try this too." And held the fork for him. He looked past it to me, one eyebrow slightly quirked. "Close your eyes and open your mouth." When he did, I tucked the fork into his mouth and he closed it and took the bite off the fork. He opened his eyes and I stopped him.

"No. Close your eyes." He complied. "Now, slowly chew, let the flavors slide across your tongue. Concentrate on the flavors and textures and let them fill your senses." He followed my instructions and a tiny line formed on his forehead. "Breathe in slowly as you allow the flavors to coat your mouth, then slowly swallow." He did, and moaned slightly. I smiled. "You see? That's why I moan."

Ranger just smiled back, leaned in and kissed me, licking my lips and tasting like the tomatoes and spices himself. Then he took the fork and fed me another bite, and shifted when I moaned. We continued like that, sharing bites, then kissing, until the appetizer was gone. He took my hand, lifted it and kissed my wrist. "That has to be the most exquisite appetizer I have ever eaten." Sitting there in my damp panties, I had to agree.

Still holding my hand, he stood up. "Come on, Babe. Let's dance again." We headed to the dance floor, and passed a couple as they were eating. The woman had been facing towards our table and appeared to be in some sort of pain. As I brushed past her, she whispered what sounded like "lucky bitch". I guess she caught the byplay between Ranger and I and it was pretty hot. She seemed to be fidgeting a little. I just smiled. Lucky bitch is right. We arrived at the dance floor and danced slowly together for a little while. He was leading and all I had to do was lean against him and enjoy being in his arms and feeling safe and cared for. We danced for a little while, then went back to our table where our waiter served dinner. I had chosen to eat a pasta dish with little bowties, a sweet pasta sauce and chicken. Ranger had roasted chicken and a little side of pasta with some veggies in it. I think there was even some parmesan cheese on the pasta. Must be giving the body as a temple a little break tonight.

As we ate, we were quiet. Unusual for me, but I was feeling comfortable with Ranger and was enjoying feeling close. And I was thinking, probably too much. I mean, here was this powerful, handsome, sexy man who I was pretty sure was very rich in his own right, and he was with me. It boggled my mind. I wanted him, oh I absolutely wanted him. But why would he want me? That was a question. And a fear too, I guess.

Suddenly, I asked him a question. "Am I really doing a good job at Rangeman?" and then I wished I hadn't asked.

Ranger put down his fork and looked at me. "Of course you are. You are a very bright and talented lady. You have the will and the means to do an excellent job, as long as you don't second guess yourself. You know my business, and you have a degree giving you the training you need to really do the job."

"I just sometimes feel like a fraud. I got my degree, but it's just business administration and …"

"Babe. You got the degree and you were in the top 10 in your class. Did you cheat or fake anything?"

"Of course not!" And of course he knew I was in the top 10 because of a dang background search on me.

"Then don't make it into nothing. Getting a degree is hard work. I went to Rutgers myself before I joined the Army and continued my education even while I was in. It takes real work to get a degree." He looked at me intently and I had to believe him.

"I forgot that. You told me before that you spent 2 years at Rutgers. Did you ever finish your degree?" I hoped I wasn't insulting him or hurting his feelings. I wasn't implying he was less because he had only done 2 years.

He inhaled, then looked at me kind of strange. "Well, I only went to Rutgers for 2 years, but I got my degree at the end of those 2 years. You know I had been living in Miami? Well, I had been in an accelerated program in high school and had taken or tested out of most of the Mickey Mouse courses already. Once I got to Rutgers, I was able to focus on the core courses and take a heavier load and graduated with a BA in Management and Business Strategy in 2 years. I joined the Army with my new degree."

I stared at him. "Wow." He shrugged. "You said you took more school while you were in. More business courses?" I was thinking accounting or something to help him set up his business.

"Not exactly. I went ahead and got my Masters in Global Business Management." He was looking at me, watching me. I had to think about this. Ranger had an MBA in global business.

I stared at him. "No wonder you're so good at things."

"Not that good, or I would have paid more attention to costs. It took you to straighten that out for me. And those two kids tearing up my business at Rangeman. Then you came up with the idea of extending technology into what we do in the field. I wasn't thinking in that way about the business at all." He smiled at me.

"You have a lot more things going on that are not monitoring alarms and picking up skips, don't you?" I was thinking about the amount of money he seemed to have access to that was not Rangeman money, as well as hints of real estate and stock exchange involvement that I had gotten after spending some time with him. And that black titanium personal Amex card. I had googled that and it also hinted at way more than just Rangeman money.

"Babe." He didn't seem inclined to say more.

I looked at him a long moment, realizing that this man had a lot of depth to him. What is it that they say, still waters run deep? I realized I wanted to see what was under the surface of that deep water.

We finished eating the dinner portion, and Ranger asked me to dance again. Like I would say no. We danced, and it was magical. I love Ranger. I can say that to myself and not panic now. I love him. Cool. I love him. I like this feeling. Don't get me wrong. There is still a lot to be afraid of, like really needing a man who you can't control or predict. Also, he's not going to be easy to get into a relationship with. Well, a deeper relationship, because no matter what he has said in the past, we've been in a relationship for a long time. I am not going to back off this time, and I am going to make sure he knows it, somehow. No more running away at the first sign of trouble or honest disagreement either. **sigh** More adult Stephanie to deal with.

"Something's burning Babe. Want to share?" I could feel his chest vibrate, we were dancing that closely.

"Not right now. Not here. Maybe later." A lot later. Coward. It needs to be sooner rather than later and you know it. Adult Stephanie seems to be talking to me a lot lately. I'm getting used to her. I think.

"I ordered you dessert. You want to go back and have that now?" He sounded amused.

Hmmm. Desert or cuddle Ranger? Hmmmm. He leaned into me and whispered in my ear. "It's chocolate Tiramisu." I sucked in a breath. "You know you want it. Chocolate." The last word was said with a definite Spanish accent, in a deep sexy voice right in my ear. I'm not sure what was most responsible for the rush I got or the further ruination of my panties, the thought of orgasmic chocolate tiramisu, or the orgasmic voice in my ear. I was thinking about it. "Babe?" I leaned back and looked at him.

"OK. You convinced me. Dessert sounds good." Let's see if he can figure out what exactly I wanted for dessert. He just smiled his 200 watt smile. More ruination of panties. Several of the ladies on the dance floor who were facing us as they danced, stumbled. Sorry ladies, he's mine.

We threaded our way back to the table and there sat the most glorious desert. Rossini's chocolate tiramisu. Oh boy. Ranger smiled, forked up a bite and held it to my lips. All I could think of was that appetizer course. Oh boy. I ate the bite, my eyes rolled back and I moaned. He held another bite for me, I ate it and moaned again. Then I took the fork, got a small bite for him (gotta guard the temple) and held it to his lips. He quirked an eyebrow at me. "C'mon. You know you want it. Chocolate…" I did my best Spanish accent imitation at him. He opened his mouth to comment and I popped the fork in, so he took the byte. "Roll it around in your mouth and really taste it." His eyes never left mine as he did.

"Tastes sweet But I still prefer the taste of plums." Oh god. Another rush so strong it was painful. I could remember exactly how much he loved the taste of this plum. I moaned. Ranger took the fork back and fed me the rest of the dessert, watching me and shifting in his chair as I moaned my way through it.

Once the last bite of tiramisu was eaten, Ranger leaned back in his chair. "You want some coffee, or to dance some more?"

I looked at the dance floor, and dismissed the coffee. I don't think I want to dance anymore, at least not here with all these people watching so I can't rip his clothes off and have him right there. "Can we go?"

"Of course. Anything you want." I got another rush.

**** Ranger's POV ****

She was going to kill me. Seriously. I just told her we could go and her eyes glazed over and the woman moaned. I was hard enough that I wasn't sure how gracefully I could walk out of here and to the car and she moans for no reason. Shit.

I signaled the waiter to get the check, and dropped my black Amex card on the payment tray. At least the waiter didn't take long to return the check. I filled out the slip, tucked everything away and decided that I had settled down enough to stand up and walk out without being too obvious. I hope. Standing up, I took her hand and led her out of the restaurant and across to my car. She seemed awfully quiet. I put my arms around her and pulled her against me. "What would you like to do now Babe? We can go to a movie or to a club. What do you want to do?" She sighed, then leaned back and looked up at me.

"Honestly?" I nodded. Whatever she wanted, no matter how chick it was. Even one of those damn cartoon movies if she wanted. "I just want to spend some time with you. Y'know, just the two of us cuddling and talking and being together?" Huh? That's a new one for her. "Is that OK?" OK? OK? Madre de dios. I wanted that more than anything.

Almost anything.

"Of course Babe. I told you, I just want you to be happy tonight." I kissed her sweet lips, dipped my tongue into her mouth and tasted tiramisu. Then I reached back and opened the car door for her and helped her in, then buckled her up with her seatbelt myself. I don't know why I did that, I just wanted to. And she seemed to like it.

"Thank you." She smiled in my face. I shut the passenger door and ran around to the drivers side, climbed in and headed for her place as quickly as I could before she changed her mind.

OoOoOoOo

Driving to her place was simple. I always knew where I was in relation to her apartment. But tonight I couldn't get in my zone. I was too aware of her sitting right next to me. The way she smelled. The way she felt in my arms dancing. All I could think of was her.

I pulled into her parking lot and glanced at the building looking towards her windows out of habit. I stopped the car and just stared.

"What's wrong?" Steph followed my line of sight to her windows. "Oh shit. I forgot about Les and Ellie being there." Uh hunh. And from the movement that was visible through the blinds in her apartment, they were, uh, busy.

"I'm not going up there." Steph pointed at the windows.

"Babe." Me either.

She thought for a minute, then looked at me. "Can you take me home with you?"

Madre de dios! Gracias! Of course she can come home with me. I just put the car in reverse, backed out of her lot and headed for Haywood and my apartment.

**** Steph's POV ****

The drive to Ranger's apartment was quiet. He had my hand in his and was holding it on his thigh. I liked this Ranger. Romantic Ranger. He was such a hot rush all evening long.

We pulled into the garage at Haywood and he parked in one of his personal spots. He got out and ran around to my side, opened the door and helped me out. We went to the elevator holding hands and he used his key fob to get us to the seventh floor and into his apartment.

"I'll be right back." I headed for the bathroom. When I came back out, I was carrying my shoes. I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room and stopped. The lights were low, and candles had been lit on the breakfast bar and on some of the tables around the windows. Music was playing, some sort of soft jazzy stuff and Ranger was standing in the living room, looking at me.

"Come dance with me." He held his hand out to me. I dropped my shoes and went into his arms and we began to sway to the music. He smelled wonderful. I nuzzled my face into his chest, breathing in the scent of bulgari and warm Ranger. He reached down and lifted me up against his chest and began to dance with me, my feet way off the ground. He was so strong. We danced that way for a while, just enjoying being together.

Finally, he allowed me to slide down his body back to the floor. His large strong hands cupped my face. "Babe, I want to take you to bed and make love to you. But if I do, if I take you to my bed, this time I'll never let you go."

"God, I hope not." He smiled.

"No regrets? No panic? I'm serious about not letting you go." He searched my eyes. I looked back and just thought I love you at him. He smiled.

"I'm serious too, Ranger."

"Carlos. My name is Carlos." His thumbs caressed my cheeks.

"Then make love to me Carlos."

Suddenly he was in motion, lifting me up and heading for the bedroom. He set me down next to the bed and kissed me deeply, his tongue plundering my mouth. As soon as he raised his head, I started unbuttoning his shirt and pulling at it. He shrugged out of it and tossed it aside. I started pulling at his belt and he stopped me, clasping both my hands in one of his.

"No Babe. Let me love you tonight. I want to go slow and watch you come for me." A rush shot through me straight to my doodah and spreading through my belly. I held still for him. Carlos let go of my hands and reached behind me to unzip my dress. It loosened and fell to the floor, puddling around my feet. Carlos looked down at me, standing in front of him in only my strapless, black lacey push up bra and new black lacie hiphuggers from VS. His eyes darkened to almost black and his breathing rate increased. He raised his hand and slid his fingers down my chest and traced the outline of the bra over my breasts. "Beautiful." He leaned down and gently kissed my neck, and skimmed his lips over the tops of my breasts. I about passed out.

He slid his hands around my back and unhooked the bra, then tossed it aside. He looked at me, my nipples hard and my breasts flushed as I stood there in just panties. He kissed me then gently pushed me to sit on the bed.

"Take your hair down for me, Babe. I want to see your beautiful curls." I reached up and yanked all the pins out and threw them who knows where. I shook my head and let my hair fall around my shoulders and down my back. Carlos slid his fingers in my hair, then leaned over buried his face in my curls and inhaled.

"So pretty."

As I watched, he knelt down in front of me, between my knees. He hands moved to fondle my breasts, then he leaned over and began kissing, sucking and nipping first one breast, then the other. All the while murmuring in Spanish. I had no idea what he was saying, but he sounded hot. I had my hands on his shoulders hanging onto him to keep from falling over. I felt him slide his thumbs under my panties at my hips and start sliding them down past my bottom, down my legs, and then they were gone. His hands clamped onto my hips and began sliding me towards the edge of the bed. He raised his head and looked into my eyes. His were black and intense and he looked at me like I was a nice fat mouse and he was a hungry cat. Feral. I began to tremble in anticipation and sexual need.

My butt was at the edge of the bed. I still had a hold on his shoulders or I would have fallen backwards by now. He kept his eyes on mine. He lowered his head, and blew on my doodah. I yelled his name. "Carlos!" His eyes still on mine, he brushed his fingers against my clit and I made a sound like a whimper. His hands grasped my thighs, pushed them further apart, then over his shoulders as I flopped backwards on the bed. The next thing I felt was his tongue and fingers touching me, exploring my folds. He began licking and nipping with his mouth and caressing me with his fingers. I was almost out of my mind and all I could do was cry out, whimper and plead with him.

**** Rangers POV ****

I was living out one of the many fantasies I've had over my Babe. She was writhing on the bed making the most exciting sounds and pleading with me, calling my name. Dios, I was enjoying myself. Letting myself do those things I had been dreaming of for so long. She tasted sweet and was so hot. I pushed her close to the edge and backed her off several times, then finally brought her over the edge. I raised up on my knees to watch her face and gently pinched her clit and she came hard, screaming my name. She was beautiful when she came for me. I gently rubbed her inner thighs as she came back down to me, and took care of getting rid of my pants. She opened her eyes and looked at me, panting. Keeping eye contact, I rubbed my fingers across her and watched her eyes widen. I smiled then lowered myself to do it all over again. She made incoherent sounds and then began crying my name again. I was licking her, kissing her, nibbling on her, sliding my fingers in and out of her. She was so tight. Madre de dios! I was so hard I was in physical pain. I brought her to the edge, two then three times. On the forth, I gently nipped her clit with my teeth and felt her coming around my fingers screaming my name.

I had had enough. I rose to my feet, scooped her up and took us both to the center of the bed. She was trembling with need. I lay her down in front of me, her legs spread with me between them. I looked down at her, memorizing the way she looked right then, flushed with need, spread wide and wanting me. I lay down on her, my weight on my forearms and kissed her hard, my tongue possessing her mouth. She was whimpering. I began to slide my cock up and down along her hot wet slit with increasing pressure. She tried moving her hips to get me inside but I wouldn't allow it. I just kept sliding up and down watching her, watching the pressure of another climax building in her. At the top of that pressure, I reached between us and pinched her clit sending her over again. I held her, watching her beautiful face as she came back down, then I reached over to the night stand and grabbed a condom from the drawer. She didn't know it yet, but they were there for her and only for her and always had been.

Steph watched as I rose up to my knees opened the condom and dressed myself. Then I laid back down on her, pressing the tip of my cock against her opening. I looked at her and began to press forward. She closed her eyes. "No amante. Open your eyes and look at me. I want to see you as you feel me inside you." She opened her eyes and I watched as they widened and got the most incredible expression in them as I pressed forward into her. Dios, she was tight. I slid into her, rocked my hips slightly to get the most access. Steph pulled her knees up and rocked her hips until I was completely inside of her. She was making noises almost like sobs as I filled her. "Am I hurting you querida?"

"No, no, no, please stay. You feel so good. I love the way you feel." I began rocking my hips, slowly increasing the tempo and the amount I moved in and out of her until I was sliding almost all the way out before returning. I was trying desperately to keep a slow pace, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could. I kissed her, then kissed my way down her chin and back to her ear. I nipped her neck and then kissed and sucked on the spot marking her as I slid back and forth inside her.

"Oh Carlos please!" She rocked her hips and moaned.

"You want more querida? You want it harder?"

"Please Carlos!" I began moving faster and harder into her. I heard her crying out and knew she was close again. I increased the pace and tilted the angle of her hips so that I rubbed her just right as I moved in her and suddenly she was writhing under me in a hard climax. The feel of her walls squeezing and trembling on my cock as she came caused me to lose control and I simply pounded myself into her, desperate to come inside her. A few moments before my own climax, I heard her talking to me.

"Come inside me Carlos! I want to hear it. I want to feel it. Come for me Carlos!" Her calling my name ended in a yell as she felt me climax inside her. I was yelling her name. It was the hardest, most incredible climax I had ever had. I kept groaning and rocking. It seemed to go on forever. When it was over, I was laying limp on top of her, her legs were relaxed around my hips and her hands were sliding through my hair. She was kissing me on the side of my face. I turned my head so I could get a kiss on my lips. I think I was purring.

"I must be crushing you."

"No, not yet. You feel good. You feel right." She kissed me again. I just lay there enjoying feeling her under me.

**** Steph's POV ****

Oh my god! That was the most incredible love making I've ever had. Even the first time we were together was nothing like this. Of course the first time I was a bit hesitant and nervous, but not this time. Lord have mercy! And now he was just laying on me all relaxed and boneless like a big cat. A very big cat. It felt wonderful.

Carlos lay with me for a while, then moved, rolling off me to his side, then reaching past me to grab some Kleenex from the night stand. He took care of the spent condom, tossing it into a trash can on the other side of the room. 2 points! He smiled at me and began gently sliding his hand over my belly and breasts.

"You all right Babe?"

I smiled, raised my hand and ran my hand down his face. "I'm good, you?"

He smiled, a full on 200 watt smile. "I'm more than good. In a few minutes, I'm going to show you just how good you make me feel."

I stared at him. More? Could I handle more of that?

"Babe. That was just the appetizer."

**** Ellie's POV ****

I woke up in Lester's arms after making love all over the apartment, ending in Steph's bed. I was aching and sore in places I forgot I had. It hurt so good. Who knew there were that many uses for a coffee table?

I listened and realized that Lester was deeply asleep and snoring just slightly as he lay against me. I needed to pee, and was going to have to extract myself from his arms without waking him. At least I would try.

I started moving slowly and was almost loose from him when he mumbled at me. "Where going…"

"Shhh. Go back to sleep. I just need to go to the bathroom. Sleep. I'll be right back."

"Kay." And he settled back and let me go.

I went to the bathroom, then washed my hands and rinsed my face. I was still naked and noticed that Les had added to the marks on my skin. Possessive bastard. I smiled. I had left some marks of my own. He was going to catch hell at work Monday.

Turning off the light, I opened the door and went back to the bedroom. I looked at Les a moment and sure enough, he was sound asleep, snoring lightly.

Good. I have time.

Still naked, I padded back into the dark main room of the apartment and went to the dining table and my computer bag. My laptop was out on the table and I fired it up, checking my email accounts to see if there was any news.

Bingo. There was the message I was waiting for. I stopped a moment and listened. Les was still sound asleep. I reached into the computer bag to a hidden closure in the lining of the padded computer compartment. I removed a thin, silver high tech note book and opened it, turning it on. As it booted up, I fished out two more items from the hidden pouch. One was a heavy-ish looking piece of electronics with a USB connector. The other was a tiny piece of plastic with a digital read out on it.

The little notebook was up and ready, so I plugged in the electronics and opened the dashboard controlling it on the screen. I watched as it caught and opened a secure satellite connection. It demanded a code to allow access to the site. I looked at the little piece of plastic which contained the key code generator and waited for it to generate a new key. I entered the code and pressed enter. I was in.

I stopped and listened again. Still sleeping. I began to type looking for the report that should be there. Found it, and opened it and began to read. A few minutes of reading later, I leaned back. This was not good. Things were worse off than I thought. I built the response in my mind, building a picture of possible outcomes until I knew what I wanted to say.

I began typing, re-reading and re-wording until I had crafted a response that clearly outlined my thoughts. I read it through once more, then clicked send, waiting for the successful message. When it came, I closed the applications down, closed the connection, then closed the PC. I stowed everything back in the hidden pouch in my bag and headed back to bed.

I reached the bedroom and stopped, listened and made sure Lester was still asleep before I crawled back in with him. I didn't know how much more sleep I would get, but wanted to get as much as I could. Lester mumbled and gathered me in his arms, buried his face in my neck and went deeply asleep again. I smiled. The last thing I remember was looking at the clock before I went to sleep myself.

It was 4:30am Saturday morning.

****x

*****o

*****Notes*****

Querida Mio – my lover or my love.

Amante – same, same.

Madre de dios – mother of god.

OK. Ranger Romance and hot sex! Purrrrrrr! The electronics that Ellie was using are real life devices and are used to manage very secure connections. The antipasto appetizer Ranger and Steph shared is one of my personal favorites, being made of sliced ripe tomatoes, thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil with a little salt and pepper and drizzled with EVOO and 50 year old balsamic vinegar. YUM! It's also mostly healthy which is why Ranger chose it. Next chapter will be revelations.

Eyebrow waggle. Conspiracies, mysteries, and secrets. Eventual HEAs.