Chapter 4
When we entered my apartment, he kissed our joined hands before releasing his grip. He pulled his Glock from the back of his pants to ensure my apartment was secure. After verifying the dust bunnies under my bed were settled and my hamster Rex wouldn't attack us, he pulled me tight to his chest.
He whispered, "Babe," before kissing me senseless. A few minutes later, he asked, "Can I see the mark? I need to be absolutely positive before we can continue."
I stepped back from him and slowly lifted my shirt over my head, exposing the pale purple lacy bra. He bent over to kiss each letter in the word 'BABE' located beneath my breasts. I watched as he stood up and removed his shirt, revealing my loopy neat handwriting located in the same area on his body.
Reciprocating his action, I bent over to kiss each word, a lightly kisses the word 'Hi,' lingered on the word 'Batman,' lightly kissed 'I'm,' then lingered again on my name. I heard his breath hitch as I continued kissing his chest. "Did you know how to find me?" I asked. I was curious because he was fortunate to have his romantic soulmate's name forever inked on his body.
"I've been searching for the last year. I had no idea you would find me first," he honestly answered.
"Did you know I was living in Trenton?" I asked as I led him to my lumpy couch. He sat next to me and pressed his body next to me. We were touching from shoulder to knee.
"My last intel indicated you lived in Newark. Trenton was a more viable location to open our Rangeman office." I had a feeling there was more to the story, but I decided to let it go. Hopefully he'll tell me that story sometime.
I really wanted to jump Carlos, but we needed to become more acquainted before we take the obvious next step. He smiled and said, "Good to know. I agree with you, we should take time to learn more about each other. Tell me random facts about yourself."
It seemed to be an exercise in futility. I had a feeling he already knew everything there was to learn about me. If I wanted to learn about him, I would need to reciprocate. "I'm 30. My birthday is October 12, 1984. Halloween is my favourite holiday and Christmas is my least favourite. My favourite movie is Ghostbusters. I've been married for less than a month when I found my husband Dickie Orr knocking boots with Joyce Barnhardt. Our divorce was very public. I haven't been with anyone since. What about you?"
"Never been married, a girl named Rachel claimed I got her pregnant. She was mistaken. A man named Ron Martine was responsible. We never had sex without a condom that I supplied. I'm also 30. In fact, I'm exactly 2 months older than you. I don't have a favourite holiday or movie. There has been no woman in my life or bed since that one disastrous time with Rachel."
"Are you still contracted with the Rangers?" I asked.
"In a way. My contract is for another 4 years, but I can accept or decline any mission. I do however need to complete missions ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months for a maximum of 72 weeks over 4 years. If I complete longer term missions, my contract ends sooner. There may be a mandatory mission based on previous deep cover missions. I rarely receive more than 2 hours notice for a mandatory mission."
"What about the other ones? How much notice do you receive?"
"Anywhere between 4 and 24 hours depending on the urgency of the mission. Babe, I haven't refused a mission in the last year." I could tell he found it difficult to admit.
"I understand the importance of your job. Dad was a Ranger too. You need to do your job so we can all live with the freedom you fight hard to keep. It's a dangerous job, but someone needs to do the work. I thank you for your sacrifice." I leaned into him to press a kiss to his lips.
Ranger moved his hand to my neck to pull me closer. He took possession of my mouth, our tongues tangled until we needed to catch our breath. This man can really kiss.
I was wanting to take our relationship at a slow pace, but I was questioning my resolve. He was the man of my dreams. Not only could he kiss, he could also ramp my hormones into overdrive. I shifted my position to straddle him, causing my skirt to roll up to my hips.
He grabbed my ass, pulling me closer to him. I felt every hard inch of him pressed into me. Holy cow. If the hardness pressed against my stomach was any indication, he was huge. I moaned as I shifted my position, causing friction between us. Before I could stop myself, I ground against myself against him. I had a build up of pressure I needed to release.
Breaking the kiss he said, "Babe, if you don't stop moving, I'm going to take you right here." I thought, 'please do.' He quickly pulled my shirt over my head and removed my bra. I felt him shift to remove his shirt. Before I realized what was happening, he carried me to the bedroom. He placed me on my back in the centre of my bed. I felt him pull of my skirt and my panties. "You are so beautiful, Babe," he said before pressing his length into me. He waited a few seconds for me to get used to his size. My hands moved to his firm ass, pulling him further into me.
I raised my hips as he pressed into me. Our soul marks were perfectly aligned. The electric charge passed between our marks as I felt our souls connect. It wasn't my intention to have sex with him today, but neither of us were strong enough to resist the pull. The connection solidified as we orgasmed together. "Babe. My mind, body, heart, soul and love belong to you."
"Carlos, I'm all yours. I already love you." It seemed strange to confess my feelings so soon, but he was my soulmate. I can't believe I slept with him before having our first date.
"Babe, we're romantic soulmates. Rules of dating do not apply." I could see a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.
"With my life," I answered without thinking. It however was the truth. I trusted this gorgeous Cuban Adonis with my heart, body and life.
"Let's take a shower." Naked and soapy in a shower with Carlos? Yes please. Where do I sign up? He started laughing.
"What's so funny chuckles?" I asked.
"You, Babe. No need to sign up. Any time you want to get me naked and soapy, I'm game." His smile was absolutely radiant. I could feel my face turn beet red. He grabbed my hand to pull me off the bed.
"This way, Carlos," I said as I led him towards the bathroom.
Carlos was magical in bed, but he was equally magical in the shower. I must have had another 3 orgasms before he lifted me onto him.
We returned to my bedroom to dress. I watched as he dressed in the clothes he wore earlier. He was a very muscular, sexy man. In my limited experience, I have never orgasmed as much as I have today. I don't recall ever experiencing one prior to today.
"His loss Babe. I vow to make sure you have at least 3 every time we make love."
I felt guilty thinking about another man as I stared at Carlos. "I'm sorry Carlos, I shouldn't be comparing you to anyone else."
"It's a perfectly natural response. No other woman could ever compare to you, mi amor." I saw the truth in his eyes. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me senseless.
"Weren't you planning to do something?" I knew that was the wrong question when his eyes darkened. Luckily my stomach growled, breaking the mood.
"Babe," he said as his lips turned up at the corners. "Let's go feed the beast."
He led me to his SUV and drove to a 7 floor building on Haywood, parking in the underground lot. "Where are we?"
"Rangeman." He quickly exited the car and opened my door. I giggled when he held out his hand towards me.
"Such a gentleman."
"Come on Babe. They guys are probably seconds away from surrounding us."
As we walked to the elevator, the doors opened. I couldn't believe how many gorgeous, muscular and sexy men were around me. It certainly must be a crime to have so many hot men in a small space. I realized I said the words aloud when Carlos, I mean Ranger, chuckled.
A gorgeous, sexy, 6'2" tall man with blond spiky hair and green eyes approached. From the way he swaggered towards us, I got the impression he was a jokester, flirt and a ladies man. He noticeably checked me out as he stopped in front of me. "Damn, Beautiful. If being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged," he said with a sexy smile.
I was a bit surprised from his choice of words. They were written on my lower back above 2 other sets of words. I quickly replied, "Wow, you're almost as sexy as Batman." The man started to turn around and raise his shirt. "Not here," I whispered. I held my hand out to introduce myself, "Stephanie Plum."
He shook my hand as his eyes immediately focused on Ranger. "Lester Santos. I'm Ranger's cousin." I guess he knows Ranger's romantic soulmate words.
Another man approached us. He was maybe an inch shorter than Lester. His hair was braided in corn rolls, skin slightly darker than Rangers and he had nice amber eyes. As he approached, he had a huge radiant smile that just about ruined my panties. Ranger growled and Lester laughed. Damn it, I really must stop doing that. "I'm a certified love doctor. I spent years mastering it." His words were just below Lester's words.
Laughter erupted from my lips. OMG, what's with these men. I swear they all must be horn dogs. "I think you should reexamine your certificate, because it's been forged." He gasped and made to raise his shirt. "Not here," I whispered. "Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum."
He snapped his eyes to Ranger. Huh, another person who knows Ranger's words. "Bobby Brown," he said as he quickly refocused on me. "I'm the company medic. I've known Ranger since basic training."
Another man approached. He's black and bald and has got to be 6'6". I felt myself lean into Ranger. He whispered, "Tank's harmless, but he's a master of intimidation. He uses his size to his advantage."
When the man held out his hand, I couldn't stop myself from saying, "Is your last name Sherman? You know, like the Army tanks?"
He started laughing. A lot of the men looked towards us in awe. I'm assuming nobody has ever heard this giant of a man laugh.
"As a matter of fact, yes it is, Little Girl." Tank is obviously not his real name. I wonder if that's why he was given that as a nickname.
"It's not from his last name," Lester was responding to my thoughts. "He earned the nickname from his size and he barrelled through the crawl obstacle course in basic. His partner got stuck and nearly shredded his leg trying to free himself from the barbed wire. Tank ploughed through the course to free his partner."
I nodded, "Well I guess that makes more sense. What's your real name?"
He shuddered before leaning over to whisper, "Pierre. But if you ever call me by that name, I'll have to kill you." I wasn't sure if he was joking.
"Oh! Sorry! I'm Stephanie Plum. Mom would be horrified if I don't use proper Burg etiquette." I noticed the exchange between Ranger and Tank. It was starting to get on my nerves. "Why did you guys look at Ranger when you heard my name?" If I was reading their expressions correctly, they surely must know I'm his romantic soulmate.
"Not here," Ranger stated. He grabbed my hand to guide me to his office. Tank, Lester and Bobby quickly filed in behind us. Ranger saw every inch of my body, so he knows the words on my lower back belong to his team.
Bobby, being the last person to enter the office, closed and locked the door. Lester, Tank and Bobby quickly removed their shirts to expose my words on their lower backs. After confirming my writing, I turned around and slowly lifted my shirt. It was a bit awkward, so Ranger stood in front of me to hold up my shirt.
Calloused fingers stroked the area containing Lester's words. Another calloused, but warm finger gently stroked the words beneath. A larger warm finger touched the words along the bottom. Each man said, "This is my writing," as they ran their finger along their words.
"Babe, my core team are your platonic soulmates. This makes everything much easier fo me." He let my shirt fall back into place. I wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to tell me.