Chapter 37—Happy Birthday, Babe
Ranger walked around the car and opened my door for me, extending a hand to help me out and pulling me against his side as we turned and looked at the house.
The floodlights surrounding it revealed a creamy stucco home trimmed with peachy beige around the windows and double front doors. It was three stories high with a separate four-car garage back behind us and to the side, set back from the driveway.
On the front left corner stood a circular tower, all windows, and halfway back on the right side I could see a semicircular bump-out from the side wall that was constructed of glass block. Interesting architecture, not at all like anything I'd seen in Trenton.
I could hear the ocean and smell its salty tang, so I looked along the sides of the house, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of the water through the darkness. The cool, damp ocean breeze kissed my face and bare arms, causing a little shiver and goosebumps. My nipples were hard and my panties were ruined from the drive, or at least in need of a good Woolite soak, and I couldn't believe I wanted Ranger yet again.
Ranger ran his warm hands up and down my arms, wiping away the goosebumps. "Cold, Babe?" he asked.
"No, not really. The breeze feels wonderful."
"Ready to go inside?"
"Yes, please."
Ranger kept one arm around my shoulders, keys in hand, and bent to catch me behind my knees with the other arm, scooping me up like a bride and swooping me up the steps. I laughed with abandon at the sensation of soaring and wrapped my arms around his neck.
With a click of his remote one door unlatched and he kicked it open, turning us sideways to get through. Kicking the door shut behind us he walked through a marble-floored foyer, stopping to punch four digits into a security panel on the wall.
"I just set the system for the night, Babe. If you need to set or disarm it the code is 2-2-2-3." It only took a split second before I realized that was B-A-B-E, and my heart went pitter-patter, pitter-patter. "And your key fob will work on the locks, the same as the seventh floor in Trenton."
Still carrying me, Ranger strode two steps at a time up a wide circular staircase carpeted in beige Berber. The stairway was in the glass block semicircular bump-out on the side of the house.
We reached the second level and I caught a glimpse of a granite-countered open kitchen and a living room with an entire bowed wall of windows facing what I guessed was the ocean. I only had time for a quick glance, though, before we turned the corner and continued up another curved flight of stairs.
At the top was a set of French doors standing open, and through the doors was a huge bedroom done mostly in cream and beige but with a few tropical accents of aqua and apricot, turquoise and salmon. Like the living room below, the curved end wall was entirely windows and I could see a couple of chairs outside with a tan wrought-iron railing beyond.
Ranger walked straight to the bed and balanced me on his knee while he yanked the covers down. He laid me down on soft cotton sheets of pale peach, typical Ranger quality, about a million thread count, and they caressed my skin like silk.
His lips came down on mine and before I knew it we were both naked and he was sliding inside me, stretching my swollen inner walls with velvety stiffness. I was dripping wet, ready for him again, even after multiple orgasms in the limo and on the jet, and he groaned at how primed I was.
He paused for a moment, giving me time to adjust to his substantial size. He was huge and thick, seeming even larger than his normal generous nine inches. I didn't know if he was bigger than usual or if it was just my own heightened sensitivity, but I could feel every millimeter of him and I wanted it all.
I began rotating my hips just a little bit, and that spurred him to begin a gentle in-and-out motion.
"Carlos…" I whispered.
"Stephanie…" he responded.
Our lovemaking was sweet and lengthy, and it was almost one a.m. by the bedside clock when we finally climaxed together, crying out each other's names.
When we'd come down from the orgasms Ranger turned me to our usual starting position for sleep, my back to his front, both of his arms wrapped around me. He rested his face on my hair and I snuggled back until we were completely touching, from his cheek on my head to my feet resting on top of his. We were a perfect fit in every way, I thought, loving the feeling of his skin on mine, loving him with all my heart.
"Goodnight, Babe," he rumbled. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Soldier. Good night."
oOo
Dawn was streaking the sky when I awoke in our usual waking position, lying completely on top of Ranger, my head snuggled into his neck, my forearms tight against his sides, my hands curved under and around his shoulders. His arms were wrapped around me, one large hand in the center of my back and the other splayed across my ass. My right leg was between his legs and his right leg was clasped between my thighs, his morning wood pressing into my right hip.
I carefully extricated myself from his embrace and arose, wandering over to the arc of window wall to look out at the ocean. I could see land far out and I wondered what it was.
"Key Biscayne, Babe," Ranger said, his voice rusty from sleep. "That's Biscayne Bay."
"Where are we, anyway? That's Miami up there, isn't it?" I was looking to the left and could see the tall buildings in the distance.
"Coral Gables."
"It's nice here."
I turned back to look at the opposite side of the room where there were three doors.
"Bathroom's on the right," he said, and that was all I needed to know.
The bathroom was amazing. On the right as you entered was a huge glassed-in shower with eight, yes I counted them, eight shower heads. Just beyond that was a gigantic round Jacuzzi tub, set into the round tower area at the corner of the house, windows all around it.
To the left was a vanity with double sinks, and tucked behind a partition beyond the sinks were the toilet and a bidet.
When I emerged a few minutes later, hair tamed into a ponytail, face washed, teeth brushed and female parts cleaned up, Ranger was sitting up against the pillows, the sheet covering him to the hips.
"Happy birthday, Babe." He held his arms out to me and I climbed back in bed. It was still early, 6:30, I noted as I glanced at the clock, and I wouldn't have minded sleeping a little longer. Seemed Ranger had other ideas, though, and an hour later he got up to shower, leaving me slack and satiated on the bed. Happy birthday, indeed.
oOo
I desperately needed coffee, so I peeked into the center of the three doors, finding a huge dressing room filled with clothes, half of them women's. I looked closer. All new, tags still on, my size. Someone's been shopping, I thought.
I found a beautiful plush terrycloth robe hanging on a hook to one side, slipped it on, and jittered down the stairs on feeble legs. I craved coffee so badly I swear I could smell it. And bacon and eggs and toast.
I walked around the corner into the kitchen and almost ran into a small, buxom woman with short, gray-streaked dark hair and bright, button eyes.
"Omigod, I'm sorry," I exclaimed, stopping just in time.
She gave me a very warm, somehow familiar smile and held out a hand. "Good morning, dear. You must be Stephanie. I've heard so much about you from my sister."
I shook her hand, and my befuddlement must have been obvious, because she let loose a little burbling laugh and explained, "I'm Lena, Ella's sister."
"Ohhhh," I said, the light dawning. "Oh, I'm very happy to meet you, Lena. Ella is one of my favorite people in the world. I keep hoping she'll adopt me."
Lena's smile was incandescent as she poured a cup of coffee and handed it to me, pushing a sugar bowl and cream pitcher toward me. "You're one of Ella's favorite people, too. She talks about you all the time."
I blushed as I fixed my coffee. "I didn't know you worked for Ranger down here."
"Well, it's only been about a year since he bought this house and we came to work for him. It was right after all that… trouble… last year."
She must have been referring to Julie being kidnapped by Edward Scrog. Hmmm, so Ranger just bought this house. So maybe the Batcave really was a myth.
"Batcave?" asked Lena.
"Oh, nothing." My cheeks got warmer. "I must have been thinking out loud."
Suddenly all the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I knew Ranger was behind me.
"Hey, Carlos," I said without turning around. Ha, who has ESP now! "Lena and I were just getting to know each other."
"Yes, Ranger dear," Lena put in. "It's about time you brought Stephanie down here. I was feeling quite jealous of Ella, getting to shop and cook for her. I had a perfectly wonderful time this week getting ready for your visit."
"So it's you I have to thank for all the beautiful clothes in the closet upstairs?"
"Well, dear, and Ranger, of course. He told me to get whatever I thought you might need, and I got your sizes and tastes from Ella, so I did the best I could."
"Everything is perfect, Lena. Thank you so much." And I gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. It's funny how different I feel about hugging since I've been with Ranger. His whole family was very touchy-feely last weekend, and it made me feel welcome, like part of the family. Being with Ranger somehow eased my touching comfort level so that now I could easily hug Lena. I loved her already.
"Breakfast is in the oven keeping warm, so you should eat. Just leave the dishes and I'll be back later to take care of them." Lena bustled toward the stairs, turning one last time to say, "Have a nice day, dears. And Stephanie, make Ranger relax. He works too hard." And she disappeared.
"Wow," I said to Ranger. "She's quite a dynamo. And she reminds me so much of Ella."
"I was lucky to be able to hire her and Jorje, her husband, when I bought this house last year," he told me. "The family that employed them for over ten years moved to California, so I jumped at the chance."
"Where do they live?"
"There's an apartment over the garage. Lena takes care of the house and Jorje oversees the maintenance and landscaping crews, and keeps his eye on the security system."
We got our plates from the oven and sat at the breakfast bar looking out through the living room window wall at the ocean, excuse me, bay, beyond.
"Rachel called a few minutes ago, Babe. Julie is free this morning, so we'll head over there around ten to say hi."
"Oh, that's great," I said. "Can we maybe take her out to lunch somewhere?"
Ranger's blank face put in an appearance and he didn't answer.
I laid a soft hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"
His eyes showed a trace of what looked like pain. "No, Babe, not at all. It's just that I've never taken Julie anywhere. I've always just seen her at her house, with Rachel and Ron there. I'm not sure how they'll feel about me taking her out."
"It's okay. I just want a chance to say hi, see how she's doing."
"No, Babe, you're right. I should be able to take my daughter places, maybe even have her come here sometime."
He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Rachel, it's Carlos. I was just talking with Stephanie, and we'd really like to take Julie out to lunch. Is that okay with you?"
He listened for a few seconds. "Okay, ask her." There was a pause and then Rachel apparently came back on the line. "Good. We'll pick her up at noon, then. Thank you."
His face spread into the most beautiful smile. "Julie needed to go to the mall and get supplies for a school project, but Rachel said she'd take her this morning. They'll be back by noon and then we can take her out to lunch."
He pulled me to him and gave me a bruising kiss. "Thank you, Babe. I never would have thought of asking to take her out if you hadn't suggested it. But I can see it will be a lot more comfortable for both of us than sitting in their living room with Rachel and Ron listening to every word we say." He kissed me again and released me.
"So Soldier," I said, "I haven't really seen the house. Is it okay if I explore?"
"Of course, Babe. Would you like the grand tour?"
"Yes, please."
TBC