CHAPTER 10

I woke up wrapped around Ranger again. Sensing I was awake, he kissed my neck, down my collar bone, my breasts, and lower. He was kissing, licking and caressing my body with his hands, lips and tongue. Every touch awakened my body. I arched my back as he reached my centre. His tongue and fingers working me into a frenzy until I orgasmed. He crawled back up my body and entered me. With my face between his hands, forcing me to look into his dark eyes, he said, "Mírame a los ojos y Mira cuánto te amo. Eres mi luz, mi pareja, mi amante. Algún día pronto quiero que lleves a mi hijo." (Look into my eyes and see how much I love you. You are my light, my partner, my lover. Someday soon I want you to carry my child). I have no idea what he said, but those words pushed me over as we orgasmed together. He held my in his arms and caressed my face. Softly, he whispered words in Spanish I couldn't quite hear.

Once I arrived at my desk, I sent Sophia a message. I need to talk to her about the anger I experienced after our last session. She has the ability to help me cut through these raw emotions I feel in order to discover the root of the issue. It took a few minutes before Sophia replied to my message. Since she wasn't travelling to Trenton until that weekend, she asked if a video call will help. I was a bit reluctant to agree to a video call, but after talking to her, I agreed. She convinced me if this helps, we could add additional appointment times via video. Knowing how difficult it would be to wait, I agreed to a meeting tonight at 9 pm. Feeling better, I returned to the task at hand, running searches.

While sitting in my cubicle completing searches, I was feeling extremely bored. I looked at the computer clock to check the time (15:00, so 3 pm), when my phone pinged. I read the text from Tank 'It arrived. Gun range. 10 minutes.' He's a man of very few words just like Ranger.

Knowing what he was referring to, I squealed, "Awesome. Watch out buddy or I'll shoot you in the ass."

Lester and Cal looked out from the control centre and Lester asked, "What are you so excited about?"

"Umm... nothing?" I said through a wicked smile. Feeling that familiar tingle in the back of my neck, I knew Ranger was standing behind me. He grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me to the gun range. Apparently, he was as excited as I was for the paintball tests. Or he wanted to see my accuracy rate with one of those babies. We arrived in the gun range as Hector was installing old cameras to the back of the room. Instead of shooting at paper targets, we will be shooting at the old cameras or into twelve tiny squares drawn on the back wall. The tiny squares were to ensure the paintball coverage before aiming at the cameras. Hector motioned for us to wait until he linked the cameras to his laptop. He wanted to make sure we had the proper set up to replicate the incident at my apartment, at least that was the goal. I was fairly certain this was how the cameras were incapacitated. Tank handed me the paintball gun with the paint filled paintballs. He asked me to shoot into four of the black chalk drawn squares at the back of the room, six across the top and six across the bottom. I lifted the paintball gun and fired, hitting four of the squares, two top, two bottom on the left, dead centre. Ranger and Tank exchanged glances. After Tank inspected the spatter in the squares, he asked me to shoot at the camera on the left side of the room. Taking aim, I fired, hitting the centre of the lens.

Hector started talking in rapid Spanish. He was telling Ranger how impressed he was that I hit it dead centre so easily, but the splatter still allowed visibility through the lens. I shot at it a few more times before I was told to stop. Ranger walked to the back of the room and cleaned the camera lens before we continued. Tank handed me a new paintball gun, slightly heavier than the first, which contained the thin shelled, Vaseline filled paintballs. I was asked to repeat the same process as earlier. Again, I hit four squares dead centre. To keep it interesting, I shot the third and fifth square in the top row, the fourth and six on the bottom. Then aiming for the camera lens on the right, I fired. Again, I hit the lens dead centre. Ranger looked at the display on Hector's laptop and asked me to shoot it again. The second shot provided more coverage, coating the lens until the images on the laptop were too blurry to see. Tank swapped the paintball gun with a similar one, but containing the thick shelled, Vaseline filled paintballs. Before being asked, I aimed for the final four squares, shooting in quick succession then aimed for the left side camera and fired a single shot... dead centre. Hector shouted something and Ranger looked at the screen. The single shot with the thicker shelled paintball covered the camera lens better than using two of the thin shelled ones. We've narrowed it down. Thick shelled, Vaseline filled paintballs were most likely used to disable the cameras at my apartment.

"Babe. You nailed every target. Dead centre. Yet in the gun range, you only have 85% accuracy." I doubled over laughing.

I pointed to the paintball gun, "This is not a real gun so I'm more relaxed. I don't like shooting guns." Tank laughed as he gathered the paintball equipment for storage. The look on Ranger's face had me rolling on the floor laughing. "I'm surprised you or Tank didn't shoot at the targets."

"Tank thought it would be therapeutic for you to prove your theory. I see he was correct. Your accuracy surprised us." Huh, Tank was actually giving me the chance to prove my theory. "Next time we have our paintball war, you're on my team," Ranger said before kissing my forehead. We walked out of the gun range holding hands. The mystery of the Vaseline covered lenses is solved, next job is to figure out the person shooting the paintball gun. I pushed the thought to the back of my head, knowing I will eventually find the answer.

At exactly 9 pm, Sophia called via FaceTime. Ranger set up my MacBook in his office to give me some privacy as Sophia and I talked. I sat in Ranger's home office while we discussed the anger that radiated through my body after our last session. "I really don't understand why I felt so angry," I stated.

She thought for a minute and answered, "You lost your home, a place you kept to maintain your independence. It's understandable to be angry from this type of, especially so soon after the shooting."

I absorbed her words for a few minutes. "Sophia, you're right. Not only did I need to rely on Bobby to tend my injuries, I lost the only other form of independence I coveted. Ranger and I were forced to admit our feelings and I was forced to move into his apartment. Everything in our relationship seems to be happening at warp speed and I'm struggling to keep up."

Empathy showed on her face as she asked, "Stephanie, you have experienced many things even soldiers never experience. You always rise above your emotions to live your life, be happy and still maintain compassion for others. What are you expecting from Ranger in your relationship?"

"I'm not really sure what I expect from Ranger. We have this amazing connection that I cannot begin to explain. Every morning I wake up in his arms or to his touch or kiss, I'm thankful this wonderful man loves me," I reply. As we continued talking, I seem to have reached an epiphany, "Sophia, I realize now what I want from Ranger."

She asked, "What is it?"

My face flushed pink before I answered, "I want everything, his past, present and future. Anything he's willing to give me, I'll take, even if it doesn't come with a ring. I only want him, body and soul." For the first time in my life, I feel as though I can conquer it all, that I could have it all. Sophia and I ended the call. It's time for me to embrace my new reality. Temporarily living with Ranger was definitely not a chore or prison sentence. I want this, I deserve this, he's the only person who will let my fly. Besides, living with Ranger gives me full tile access to Ella. However, once I'm healed, I'll need to find a new apartment. As much as I want to live with Ranger, this is only temporary.

Another week had passed when Bobby finally asked me to meet him the infirmary, located in his office. He removed the boot cast and bandages to assess my left leg. Smiling at me, he said, "Bomber, we can remove the stitches. You still need the bandages to cover the incision for another week, but the boot cast is no longer needed."

I smiled and gave Bobby a hug. "Thank you. This is the best news ever." I really hated the boot cast. It was affecting my balance. Impatiently, I waited for Bobby to remove the stitches. I sighed and counted I felt the tug from each stitch removal.

When I reached 30, Bobby told me I was finished while handing me a lotion to reduce scarring. "Steph, I haven't cleared you for regular activities yet. You need to start physiotherapy immediately. Once you pass all the required physical strength tests, I'll sign the papers to return you to active duty."

I laughed, "You make it sound like I'm in the army."

Bobby chuckled, "I'm used to treating the men who work here. Your PT session starts in one hour. I suggest you change into gym clothes." I groaned, hopped off the table and stumbled slightly. Bobby smiled and shook his head.

"I'd rather run on the treadmill," I thought to myself. Bobby started laughing, "I never thought I'd see the day where you wanted to go running."

While watching the monitors, Ranger noticed my boot cast was removed. To surprise me, he waited in our apartment for me to arrive. As soon as the door opened, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. As our kissed deepened, he lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist. After a blissful hour of making love, I looked at the clock, gasped and jumped out of bed. I was late for my PT session. "Crap! I'm late for my session."

Ranger tipped his head back and laughed. "Slow down Babe. Your therapist won't mind if you're a few minutes late." I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and took the fastest shower possible. Within ten minutes, I was ready to go. While I dressed, Ranger took a quick shower, dressed in black basketball shorts and a white muscle shirt. Instead of wearing his combat boots, he pulled on a pair of black Nike shoes. I assumed he was going to the gym to spar with Tank.

When we arrived in the gym, he pulled me over to the set of mats near the weight machines. "Uh, you aren't planning on watching my session are you?" I was suddenly feeling nervous.

He raised one eyebrow and said, "Babe, I'm your physiotherapist."

Shaking my head no, I stammered, "B..b..but why?"

He leaned his head back and laughed. "I'm the resident physiotherapist. Whenever the men are healing from injuries, I carefully instruct them through stretches and weight training until they return to full strength. Bobby only helps when I'm visiting one of the other offices or when I'm in the wind."

"Oh. That's why you said my therapist wouldn't mind if I was late." Laughing hard, I toppled onto the mats holding my stomach. I wasn't sure why I was laughing, because having Ranger as my therapist was going to be a challenge.

Ranger had me slowly stretch my left leg by pulling my foot towards my knee, then extending it to point away from me. I repeated the exercise until sweat was pouring down my face. This was painful. The healing muscles felt tight and stretching them hurt worse than a Charlie horse. He could see I was in pain and asked on a scale of one to ten how much pain I was in. I said it was at level five. It was more like level ten, but I didn't want to tell him that. He told me to continue the exercise for a few more minutes. I continued to work through the pain. It was important to work the muscles to help them heal. After fifteen minutes, he suggested repeating the exercises on the other leg. "But my right leg is fine," I whined.

He gave me that blank look that said 'just do what I ask or else', so I sighed and continued with the session. Not wanting to overwork the freshly healed muscles, Ranger said we were done for the day. I returned to the seventh floor apartment since the change room was 'men only'. We discussed the possibility of hiring more women for the office. If Rangeman employed more women, a change room for women will be necessary. Once I showered, I changed into the boy shorts and tank top I use for pyjamas. I made myself comfortable on the couch to watch TV. Ranger strolled into the apartment nearly an hour later. He showered then changed into loose dark grey sweats and a black t-shirt. Kneeling in front of me, he lifted my left leg, placing it on his right thigh before removing the bandages. He opened a tube of massage oil and gently massaged the muscle around the scar.

I leaned my head back onto the couch and moaned. "Hmm... that feels really good." Ranger remained silent as he continued the gentle massage. Once he was finished, he carefully cleaned my leg, applied antibiotic lotion then replaced the bandages.

Leaning over, he kissed my leg then pulled me into his arms. "I like taking care of you," he whispered into my ear.

"Carlos, I like it too."

"Thank you for agreeing to moving in with me," he said as he kissed the spot behind my ear. I know he's allowing me to live here out of pity, so why was he thanking me? "Babe. I wanted you to move in with me for months. Circumstances happened before I had the opportunity to formally ask."

He was going to ask me to live with him? I guess it makes sense since I was practically living here already. "Living here certainly has it's benefits. Like Ella doing all the cooking, laundry and cleaning," I said with a sly grin.

"Babe," he said in a resigned tone.

I smiled and said, "Best of all is climbing into your bed and waking up every morning with your arms wrapped around me."

Ranger gave me his best smile and said, "Agreed." He lifted me into his arms, carried me to bed and showed me exactly how happy he is having me as his permanent roommate.