Author's Note: Good evening, all. I guess watching crime show reruns and mobster films are good for the Muses. I was watching CSI: Miami at work earlier (Ryan/Natalia is my new obsess-ship…RaIn, I think it's called…) and I finally managed to see the middle part of Goodfellas without falling asleep. After I type up this update (the 3 chapters each system is back on), I'm gonna take a crack at a new fandom. Perhaps doing so will help my wandering, lazy muses with my dormant fics. Here's hoping. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"

"How'd he get in?"

"Picked the lock."

"How'd you get in?"

"Picked the lock…look, get yourself a couple of deadbolts…and lock that shit up."

-Ranger and Stephanie in One for the Money (2012)

Another thing I had done to distract myself (other than writing a local best selling tell all) was cooking lessons with Ella. I love Ella. She's a goddess among mortals and her cooking lessons were a far cry from the ones my mother had given me off and on. There was no lecturing, no pressure to get it right the first time ("Your husband won't accept excuses, young lady!"), no frustrated tears on my part and most of all, what we made together was edible. Some things were actually delicious. Plus, it was fun. Lots of laughter and bad dancing to girly pop and old school folks like Sergio Mendes…

Anyway, my core dishes, dishes I know won't cause a mushroom cloud, are all breakfast related, which is awesome because I know Carlos has got to be ravenous. I saw a few documentaries on military life and some of the food they give our soldiers…man. I'm sure it's got a lot of nutritional value and all but…damn. Come on, Powers that Be! Give our military better food! They go out and keep our land the Land of the Free. Let 'em have something that's not freeze dried or in a can every once in a while. Just. Saying. Plus, breakfast in bed is an awesome 'welcome home/ thank god you're alive and with me again' present. So, I'm gonna make egg white pepper jack scrambled eggs with lots of vegetables, and I'm gonna slice up some the fresh fruit into a platter with bowls of Greek yogurt on the side. Healthy and tasty…but mostly healthy, right up Carlos' alley.

Nodding along to Ke$ha's anthem on addictive love in the background, I put some cheddar cubes, broccoli bits, almonds, and raisins in Rex's bowl. He ran out of his soup can like The Flash and I rolled my eyes as he happily chowed down. I guess his Hamster Daddy's gotten to him too. He'd still eat a cheese doodle or a Tastykake with no trouble but healthy foods were his favorite stuff now. It's okay, I guess. I read someplace that it's easier to stick to a new diet if you get the whole family involved, anyway.

I was chopping up some eggplant when first one, then two mocha latte arms wrapped around me from behind. I was clad only in my purple and silver zebra print bra and panties so I could feel his warmth easily. Carlos had pulled on a pair of black silk boxers and I tilted my head obligingly as he pressed a brief kiss to my pulse point.

"Hi.", I greeted softly, getting back to work. Food, then sex, Plum. Remember that. Food is fuel. Food provides fuel for sex and fuel for sex is awesome, especially if the sex is with Carlos…

"Hi. You're cooking?"

"Trying to. Don't worry, it'll be edible. Ella's been giving me lessons."

"I heard."

I turned the eggs on low and pulled out the yogurt, spooning some into two blue bowls and drizzling honey on top like they did on cooking shows. Strawberries, bananas, and kiwis were chopped and put on a small red platter, the platter joining the bowls on the tray. Carlos placed two mini bottles of orange juice on the tray and withdrew to the living room, turning on a good Spongebob rerun before stretching out like a Calvin Klein refugee.

I want to lick him. Just one good long lick from throat to…

I cleared my throat and turned off the eggs, serving up two portions on sunshine yellow plates. The Technicolor dishes had been an impulse buy at Target and unlike paying out the nose for shoes I'd only wear a few times, the dishes were endlessly practical and a surefire way to put a smile on my face. Picking up the tray, I joined him in the living room and we ate in companionable silence, a snort escaping me as Spongebob and Patrick fled from Hibernating Sandy. I don't blame her. If two idiots decided to wake me up during my blizzard nap time, I'd squish some skulls, too…

"That was really good, Steph." Carlos praised, stacking our dishes neatly on the coffee table.

I blushed at his approval and curled into his side like a content kitten.

"Cooking's really not as difficult as I made it out to be. Yeah, I still burn some things occasionally but I'm not a lost cause anymore. Plus, my food can't be intercepted if I make it myself."

"Good point." he conceded with a slight thickening of his accent. That only happened when he was pissed off but keeping a firm lid on it. Swine had riveted his attention and I watched from my bedroom chair as he read. He hadn't said a word the whole time but his eyes had widened then narrowed in places. The part where I wrote about the aftermath of the Tasty Pastry had seen his face go blanker than blank. He had closed the paper and just looked at me. Although his face was placid, his eyes were not. Animal rage, deep sadness, protectiveness, possessiveness, love…lots and lots of love swam in the dark orbs and he had opened his arms silently. I entered them calmly and he nearly squeezed the life out of me, tenderly kissing my cheek before cupping my face intensely.

"Never…fucking…again, Babe. He won't fucking hurt you like this again. Not while I'm breathing. I promise."

And of course, I believe him. If Hector getting Morelli would get him hosed into a pothole, then Carlos getting ahold to him…the pieces would fit in an Altoids tin…if there were pieces to be had. I seriously doubt there would be…

A surprised gasp escaped me as he aggressively took my lips but I responded with gusto. Not only had our separation made me feel vulnerable and lonely, it had made me near unbearably horny. Morelli had been half right that night. I did need my muff munched and I did need a good hard fuck against a wall but I certainly didn't need it from him. Nope. Only Carlos. Any other man, my showerhead, even the best vibrator on the market wouldn't come close to satisfying me. I needed Carlos. I needed his hands, his lips, his scent, his warmth, his everything to get me where I wanted to be, safe and sated.

I pushed us back onto the larger and way more comfortable couch and my bra was off in a flash, his mouth on my nipples hungrily. My back arched like a bow and I put my fingers in his shorter hair. It wasn't enough to tie back anymore but there was still length to it, as well as loose waves. He groaned happily as my hormone driven hands shucked off his boxers and wrapped around his arousal. He was throbbing in my hand and I could feel droplets of pre-come dampen my finger tips as I stroked him. My panties were quickly discarded and I shivered as Carlos put me underneath him. I was burning up with need, my walls clenching and twisting demandingly as he kissed down my trembling body.

"…want to taste you, Babe…want to lick you…let me…"

Carlos growled as I wailed, his tongue feeling absolutely delicious on me. My toes curled and I moved my hips into his ministrations. Electricity was racing through my veins, my heart pounding in my ears. All I could concentrate on was Carlos, all of him, my world concentrated into each movement between my legs. I could feel his throbbing member against my flesh, rubbing against me until I felt as if I was going to combust.

His lips closed around my clit and I was there, gushing and screaming loudly as he lapped at me greedily, murmuring in hot honeyed Spanish. His accent was very thick now, a sign of his utter arousal and teetering control. I want to push him over the edge. I want him inside me where he belongs. I want to welcome him home in the most special way I could. I want him inside me…why isn't he getting inside…?

"Oooh…"

"…love you…so fucking good…so hot…tight…missed you…missed this…shit, Stephanie…"

"Take me, Carlos…ah! Yes…yes, just like that…ohh…love…love you, too…"