They spent the day enjoying the sunshine, on Ranger's motor yacht.
Yep, Ranger had a yacht, moored at his father's marina.
Yep, the marina where Scuba was located.
The yacht was big and white and bright on the outside and dark and cocoonlike on the inside. The blue of the cushions and curtains was the same colour as Steph's eyes and went beautifully with the gold and cream of the internal decor All contrasting well with the dark wood panelling. It had three bedrooms. Steph knew because they christened the master bed and carried on exploring each other as they roamed around the rest of the boat.
o0o0o0o0o0o
"Mother? Everything OK?"
"Fine son" came the amused reply.
"It's just that you don't tend to call me, I'm the one that calls you."
"True, but I know how busy your new job is and thought I'd better be the one to pick up the phone – that way I'll get to speak to you. So, how's things?"
"Really busy, flat out with my job. I've now got all my staff in place and things are starting to get organised. Bit like the scum we hoover up."
"Great."
"Ok. What did you really call for?"
"Can't a mother phone her son?"
"No! You're not that kind of mother. Don't tell me the Burg has no gossip at the moment..."
"You wound me..."
"Spit it out" he returned, smiling and running his hands through his hair as he sat down on the sofa.
"Ok, ok. I've been speaking to Steph and I think she really needs to see you. After you left the other day she sat down with Manoso and had a long chat. Seems she didn't like what she saw about herself. Seems she thinks she needs to put things right between the two of you. Seems she thinks that she as much to blame for you and Aly's little tryst as you are. Seems she'd like her friend back."
Silence
"Give her a chance to be your friend, Joe. You've so much history and she still cares deeply for you. You'll never have her love again, but I think you should hear her out."
"I'll think about it." He said, blandly.
"Good! Oh, by the way, I found out from Mrs Henderson that Bethany moved up to New York about a year ago. Seems she's having a lovely time. Perhaps you should meet up again. She's probably got a good network of friends by now."
"Mum! The last time we met up I shoved ice down her vest top and she bit me so hard she left brace as well as teeth marks on my arm."
"People change, Son, people change."
o0o0o0o0o0o
"Are you sure, Carlos?" Steph yelled as Ranger strapped her in front of him in the harness.
"Positive!" he screamed back, hugging her loosely to him, well as closely as their life jackets would allow.
He kissed the top of her head "You've always wanted to fly, Babe so here goes" he yelled as he waived to the captain of the "Bombshell".
Yep, Ranger's boat was called Bombshell.
Steph let out a loud squeal as they shot off the back of the boat and into the air, the parachute pulling them up into the sky.
"Wow!" said Steph, as they left the noise of the engines and water behind. The only sounds around them being distant laughter and the flapping of their strappings in the wind.
"Great, isn't it?" Carlos said as he hugged her against him, pulling cords to move them in different directions.
They could see for ever across the white sands of Miami. The marina they'd left five minutes ago laid out clearly below.
"So this is what a bird sees." Steph yelled in wonder.
"Pretty much" came the reply.
"Wheeeeeeeeeeee!" Steph screamed out laughing. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
o0o0o0o0o0o
After a long and athletic shower Ranger pulled Steph down onto the bed and tickled her mercilessly before kissing her senseless. The mood changed from light hearted to slow and sensual as Carlos deepened the kiss. He slowly caressed her thigh with one hand whilst bracing himself on his forearm above her with the other. He pulled back slightly and she looked up at him with adoration and trust his own eyes mirroring hers. He tapped her nose gently "don't go anywhere, be right back" he quipped as he sprung up off the bed "wasn't planning to" she replied, putting her hands lazily behind her head.
He disappeared out of the door, wrapping a towel round his torso as he went. His fine arse moved quickly out of sight. Steph sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. What new 'horizon expanding activity' did he have in mind she wondered, smiling as she recounted that afternoon's activity. She knew it was probably the nearest thing she would ever get to flying and it had been wonderful. Bit like her man, she thought. 'Her man'. Where had that come from? Who cares, it sounded perfect anyway.
"Keep you eyes closed, Querida" Ranger whispered in her ear.
"Carlos! Make some noise will you?" Steph grumbled out as she almost jumped off the bed.
She knew he was laughing at her but couldn't see where he was to glare at him as he'd tied a soft pale pink scarf round her head, covering her eyes. "Trust me, please" he whispered. Steph nodded her head in consent and gulped loudly.
She felt cold metal circulate her right wrist, shutting gently and very loosely, Ranger kissed and nibbled the skin next to it. Steph's breath caught in her throat at what that had just happened. "Breathe, Babe, breathe" Ranger whispered as he attached the other end of the cuffs to the headboard, pulling her arm slightly up and across the bed. The other wrist was similarly ensnared and pulled gently in the opposite direction.
"Neither cuff is tight so you can slip your hand out at any time." Ranger said gently by way of an explanation. "If you aren't comfortable with anything I do, just say and I'll stop" he murmured, kissing his way across her collar bone. Steph squirmed at the sensations Carlos was creating with his soft warm breath, his kisses and her confinement.
She felt something cold being drizzled onto her now burning skin, she moaned at the sensations Carlos was creating. "I love cream with my dessert" he whispered between kisses.
He spent several tortuous minutes dripping and drizzling a pattern across her body. Down her neck, between and over her nipples and breasts, towards her belly button and finally stopping just above her glistening curls.
"So wet, my love" he whispered as he bent down and sniffed her mound, rubbing his nose through her hair.
"Ohhhh." Steph managed to say, eloquently. Every fibre of her body totally attuned to the liquid that had burned her with its promises. Carlos licked, nibbled and suckled his way over the trail that he had made, Steph's whole body responding to his every ministration. She'd never been so hot and cold at the same time. The sensation was mind blowing and she suspected he hadn't even warmed up yet.
He could feel her winding up like a tightly coiled spring and it made his already engorged dick harder and more painful. This whole evening was to be about her though, he thought as he finished 'cleaning' up the mess he had made. He took the cream and began to decorate the lower half of her beautiful body.
Steph hissed with frustration as he moved up the front of her legs in a criss cross pattern. He knew the sheets would be too messy to sleep in later, but the crew would change them whilst they were out dancing so he moved agonisingly slowly, letting the liquid spill off the sides of her limbs.
"Please" Steph hissed.
"Shhh."
"Ohhh, I need to cum, please."
"Shhh, just enjoy."
He bit her gently on her inner thigh and she bucked in response as he let the liquid pour down her mound and into her soft folds before dribbling on down towards the bed.
"Ahhhhhh" she sighed, her breath coming in pants as she opened her legs slightly.
Ranger sat to one side of her to admire the view in front of him for a few moments. His woman, totally dominated, totally tortured and loving every minute of it. He trailed kisses and began to lick her clean again.
".god. Ahhh, Carlos, please..."
He smiled "soon, soon enough, Babe" as he finished cleaning up her legs nibbling on the sensitive skin at the top of her inner thigh. He blew over her lips which glistened from the cream he'd poured onto her and her own arousal. The mixture of the two was too heady and Carlos needed to drink them both in. He pushed her legs apart gently as he settled between her thighs and dipped his head and began to drink from her soft folds. She came almost immediately, screaming his name hoarsely as she convulsed beneath him. He hadn't even touched her clit.
"Naughty, naughty girl" he said, slapping her bottom gently, kissing her skin after each pat. He gave her a few more slaps each being slightly less gentle than its predecessor and he waited to guage her reaction but as he didn't get a negative one he continued a little while longer, kissing away any stinging immediately after each swat.
"You really are a very naughty girl" he repeated as he slid one of his hands between her legs and sunk two fingers into her moist depths, caressing her g-spot. He could feel her begin to tighten round him and his dick ached to be allowed to go home. Down boy! He thought. This weekend was about expanding Steph's horizons, teaching her about him through thought and word and deed. He needed her to know everything about him. This weekend was a crash course in doing just that.
He flicked her clit with his tongue and she started to climax again, he could feel her tightening around his fingers as the sensation hit her. As she writhed around him he could feel his own orgasm building so shifted slightly to stop himself losing focus.
"That's it, cum for me, Amante" he whispered as he suckled on her sensitive nub and pounded his fingers in and out of her. She went over the edge and he continued to stroke her g-spot as she rode out the orgasm. He felt her go limp as she blacked out momentarily. It hit him that she experienced a petit mort orgasm and he grinned smugly to himself.
"Babe" he whispered reverently. He moved slightly on the bed to accommodate her and pressed his cock into the bed, brushing past her velvet skin as he did so. He came immediately, much to his own surprise, injecting his own semen deep into the bed linen. He'd never been unaware of his surroundings before let alone his body! What a woman that he hadn't even realised his own physical wants whilst with her! Wow!
"With my dying breath I will honour you." He whispered as he scooped her up in his arms away from the mess, removed her restraints and blindfold and waited for her to come to.
o0o0o0o0o0o
The club was in full swing when Ranger and Steph arrived a few hours later. They walked past the waiting queue and were waived straight in, much to the disgust of many of those waiting patiently in line, including several d-list celebrities. They followed the heavy beat of the pulsing music past the cloakrooms and into the club and immediately became infused with its intoxicating rhythm.
Carlos held Steph close to protect her from the writhing bodies that threatened to engulf them both. He spotted his brother-in-law Alejandro who motioned them to follow him through a door into the VIP area which was quieter and less crowded. They saw a handful of celebrities dotted round the room, locked in conversations with minders, friends and lovers. He installed them at a small table, and removed the reserved sign that had been put there. A bottle of expensive looking champagne glistening with droplets of water and three glasses were brought to the table.
Ranger looked at Alejandro quizzically then at the label - Krug, Clos du Mesnil 1995. Alejandro bent over and whispered something in his ear to which Carlos frowned and nodded. Steph watched them both cautiously and lent forward to pick up the tall glass she was being offered by her lover. Alejandro raised a silent toast to them both, took a large slug of his drink and stood and left nodding again at Ranger.
"What was that all about?" Steph asked.
"Seems my father can't keep a secret" he replied blackly.
"?"
"I told him about my mission and it looks as if he's told Alejandro."
"Why? What? Who else?"
"Because he's worried about us. That I might not make it back. No-one else" Ranger spat out.
"Ok, so that's the worst of his conversation, but why the champagne?"
"Seems like he knows me too well. I have two bottles of this one at home. It's the most expensive champagne in the world. I have it saved for two special occasions, to celebrate my marriage and first born." Ranger said, shaking his head.
"?"
"Stephanie Michelle Plum would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" he whispered, settling on one knee in front of her, his head down stroking the hand he was holding.
She pulled his face up with her fingers to see two big tears sliding down his cheeks "thought you'd never ask" she replied as she leaned forward and kissed him.
"I'll take that as a yes, then" he smirked as he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a ring box. Holding it up and opening it she could see it was empty.
She looked at him, confused.
"I want you to design one" he explained "but in the mean time I thought this would do" he pulled a ring out of his other pocket and slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. Of course.
It was made of three heavy gold bands fused together at the back. Each had three diamonds in a random position along it. Some nestled against another, the biggest of them all on its own in the middle. Ranger had thought of everything and the stones were placed down into the bands in a rub over setting so that they did not sit proud and would not catch on anything. It sparkled even in the dim lights.
Steph looked back at Carlos, now her fiancé. Tears in her eyes too. He registered that the room was now silent and thought that if its occupants wanted a show he would damn well give them one.
"Mine" he growled as he crashed his lips down onto hers.
The evening went by in a blur. They drank the champagne, danced with abandon, were showered with good luck wishes from those who'd seen him propose and communicated their love silently with caresses and kisses the whole night through.
They'd just finished a particularly energetic salsa when the DJ announced that the next song, which was the last one of the evening was to be dedicated to two people who'd just pledged their lives to each other.
Ranger made to pull Steph off the floor when Alejandro grabbed their free hands and tugged them back to the middle where a small ring of people hemmed them in. They gave in gracefully and danced to "You'll never walk alone" by the Righteous Brothers:
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk
You'll never walk
You'll never walk alone.
"I'll kill him" Ranger breathed into her ear.
She laughed "no, no you won't Carlos, just enjoy this feeling of utter acceptance and love"
"Proud of you, babe" he whispered as he leant into her hair and kissed it, inhaling her essence and storing it up for the storm to come.
The ring I was trying to describe is based on one on the Boodles website and it's called the Raindance ring. Go to their website for a look, it really is beautiful. .com
