Ken had dragged himself out bed the next morning at the sound of his alarm. He had heard Miranda briefly get up at some point during the night and head to the bathroom, likely to pee and brush her teeth. He had brushed his own and gargled some mouthwash upon waking and was grateful to scrub himself clean in the shower. They were going to need to change the sheets before they went to bed tonight. He had dropped the discarded cuffs back into his nightstand drawer, returned the chair to his desk and the rest of the supplies to their various locations. His silk tie and the pillow cover he took with him. He didn't want to take the chance of Miranda absconding with his tie again, and both were going to need the services of a professional. He'd drop them off at the dry cleaners at some point in the next few days. He had fixed them both breakfast, plating Miranda's and leaving in the fridge for her on a microwave safe plate.

Once he finished dressing, he went over to the bed. She had barely moved during all of his morning preparations. Normally, he would have done some calisthenics, too. But, given last night, he figured he had earned the morning off. He bent to kiss her cheek, there wasn't much accessible that wasn't tucked heavily under the blanket. He wanted to let her rest, but needed to give her a few instructions.

"Miranda…Miranda, M, hey sweetie, I got to go. Can you wake up a minute? I need to let you know a few things, then you can go back to sleep." She stirred enough to open her eyes, and he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "Your breakfast is on a plate in the fridge. You just need to microwave it, a minute, minute thirty should do. I know you can make coffee. I'll aim to be home around four. Use anything you need. If you do decide to go out, please be careful. A lot of the city really isn't safe. Lock the door behind you and make sure you stop at the front desk. Even if you have to wait longer, have the doorman call for the cab for you. They have set drivers that they use. They'll take care of you, especially if they know you tip well. Get a card from the cabbie and have the last store you're in call for the same cab for the ride home. I'm going to have the doorman get you an extra key, but it probably won't be ready for you until later."

"Ok," she responded sleepily.

"Miranda, did you hear everything I just said?"

"Yes, I did. I got it."

"And are you going to do everything I told you to do?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He bent to kiss her again. "Good girl. I'll see you tonight."

"Ken?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for taking such good care of me." He bent to kiss her lips and she turned to capture his. "Have a good day at work." It was so domestic, she had to bite her tongue to prevent the I love you from slipping out. Little did she know, Ken had just had almost the same thought. He did smile to himself as he turned and left the room.

Even though he was tired, he sailed through what he needed to get done at work, excited to have another evening alone with her.

Miranda had slept until nearly eleven. By the time she had warmed up Ken's breakfast, which was quite good, eaten, showered, and gotten dressed and downstairs, she had only had time for two stores. As it was, it was fast approaching four twenty when she got off the elevator to Ken's floor, bags in hand. She had retrieved her key from the front desk and was in the process of letting herself in when Ken opened the door.

"Hey," he greeted, running a hand through his hair. He had already been home for about forty minutes. He wasn't going to tell her, but when four o'clock had come and gone, he had called the front desk to inquire about her departure, attempting to garner clues if anything had seemed amiss. The doorman had assured him that yes, Miss McCallister had checked in on her way out, they had arranged for a cab to take her to the requested area of Fifth Avenue for shopping, and she had been told that her key would be ready for her upon her return. Nothing seemed amiss from what he could tell. Still, he had been pacing his apartment for the better part of the last fifteen minutes.

When he had left that morning, the same doorman that had let Miranda in happened to be working. He had started a fake reprimand of the man for taking Miranda's bribe. The instant he had him looking very nervous, he had burst out laughing, clapped the man on the back, and thanked him for an utterly wonderful decision. If he had the extra cash, he would have tipped the guy double or triple the bribe.

Miranda smiled at him, as he took the bags from her. "You've been busy," he commented.

"Not as busy as I intended," she commented. "Slept too late. Someone tired me out. Sorry, I'm late. How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Not terribly long." He replied, setting the bags down near her travel rolling case. He glanced between her purchases and her bags. "Are you going to have room for everything?"

"I'll see. I can ship some things if I have too."

Ken spoke before he really thought. "You can leave some things here, if you want." Miranda's eyes shot up to his. She had already been thinking about the fact that he had given her a key already. She had decided that she was really ok with it, and he must be or he wouldn't have given it to her. It had crossed her mind that maybe he had only given her the key for the day and that maybe she should ask if he wanted it back. Her next thought was that she didn't want to give it back anyway, so she had decided to just not bring it up.

It wasn't that Ken would mind her leaving things with him, he just didn't want to scare her off with moving too quickly. But he had said it. "That is, as long as this wasn't just a final booty call," he smiled, trying to save a little face.

Miranda took a chance, "Not on your life."

"Good," Ken replied, relaxing. "So, dinner? Do you like Indian? There's a great place around the corner. I can call in an order. They deliver."

"I like the flavor, but I don't like too much spice."

"They make a nice, sweet marsala. I'll order you that, and get some Naan, too." He didn't mind the spice, but he knew about the marsala on the menu from past girlfriends.

"That sounds good," she agreed.

"I'll put the order in then we can change the sheets together. They need it after last night."

They worked together to strip the bed and put fresh sheets on. The food arrived shortly afterwards. Ken had the thought last night of eating take out in bed with her, but with the clean sheets, Miranda talked him into eating on the couch instead. The food was excellent, probably the most flavorful she had ever had, and it didn't set her mouth on fire. She ate more of the flat bread than she probably should have, but she reasoned that it was only her second meal of the day and her new man had worked enough calories off her the night before. When they had finished, Ken let her pick out a movie and he lay down on the couch, snuggling his head onto her lap. Not fifteen minutes into the movie and he fast asleep.

Miranda looked down at him and softly ran a hand through his hair. Sound asleep, he didn't give off the appearance of a big scary former Green Beret, or her new sex master for that matter. She did note that he had wrapped his hands round one thigh and knee, like he was unwilling to let her go, even in his slumber.

When the movie finished, she gently woke him. They took a quick shower together. They made out for a few minutes under the warm stream, which was sexy in itself, as the water ran over their mouths as they licked and tongued each other, swallowing as needed. Ken didn't try to escalate anything further, which she was grateful for. A night off in between seemed to be working for her. He took her to bed and as he promised, just held her close.

"So, I'm on an evening shift tomorrow and I don't have to be in until four. I'd like to drive you to the airport depending on when your flight is," he offered.

"My flight's at two ten out of JFK, so, I'd like that, but I'm not going home."

"Oh yeah," he started, as he paused, tracing the outline of her fingers with one of his own. It reminded her of making turkey hands as a child for Thanksgiving in grade school, and it felt wonderful. "Where are you headed?"

"Wyoming. My grandparents purchased some land just outside of Jackson Hole in the forties. They built a gorgeous estate that they used as both a vacation home and for 'destination' business deals, seasonal skiing, hiking, Western nature, with all the accompaniments. My parents have never really used it. Its apparently my new job to oversee revitalizing it."

Ken's heart dropped in his chest. Maryland was one thing. Wyoming wasn't a four-hour doable weekend car trip. "That sounds like a big job," he managed.

"It is. I'm the overseer for all of the renovations. But I am excited that I'll be able to put my own stamp on the place. I loved it as a child the couple of times I got to go, but, like I said, my parents never really used it."

"Seems like a waste."

"I think that's why my parents decided to have something done with it. I'm not sure if they plan on selling it. They haven't really told me the end game, even though I've asked, but I hope they don't. I'd hate to have it no longer be in the family."

Ken was quiet, and Miranda must have noticed. "So, I'll still be in Maryland part of the time, but I was hoping you'd be willing to also add Jackson to our rotation. When the workmen aren't there, we'd have the whole place to ourselves. It's huge." She trailed a finger seductively down his arm. "I can think of a lot of ways we could get into a whole host of trouble."

Ken's heart instantly lifted, as well as his lips to hers. "Well, when you put it like that…"

He fell asleep first, holding her in his strong arms. Having slept so late that morning, she wasn't as tired, but didn't want to disturb him. The light on his nightstand was still on, and she was able to pick up the book he had there. It wasn't something she would normally have read, some Tom Clancy novel, but she was able to read until she got sleepy enough. She turned off the light and kissed the top of his head. He responded by nestling her closer in his embrace.

They both awoke a little after seven the following morning and he cooked her another delicious breakfast. He showered while she made coffee. After the meal, he followed her into the bedroom after her shower, pulling her towel from her, and not too subtly leaning her back into the bed. They had what for them amounted to a slow comfortable screw, but Miranda still nearly screamed with his first breach of her even though he was trying to be gentle. She did notice that her body was beginning to learn to accommodate his breath and his length and for that she was grateful, along with the fact that he seemed to always have a ready supply of lube.

Afterwards, she finished packing her bags, leaving a few of her things in a spot he cleaned out in a drawer for her. Then he drove her to airport. He pulled the stingray up to the curb outside her gate and pulled her luggage case from the trunk. He leaned on the side, behind the passenger door, feet up on the curb as she leaned against him. He ran a hand through her hair. "So, again, not goodbye, remember?"

"Yeah," she agreed, though not looking forward to missing him again. "I'll get you the ticket to Jackson for the weekend and have a courier deliver it, ok?"

"You don't have to do that," he responded. "I can buy my own way. I'm not a kept man."

"I want too," she answered. "And look, you get to keep me in the bedroom, and I get to keep you outside the bedroom, its only fair. I need some balance here."

He had to laugh at that, she at least had somewhat of a point. He did realize that she didn't let anyone else control her like she allowed him to do, and for that he was grateful. He loved her strength and her fire. He didn't want to break her, he only wanted to channel it for both of their benefits. Maybe that's why she let him, maybe she realized that.

"Ok," he acquiesced.

"So, can we firm up when we'll be in contact again, you know, so that I don't have to pull another stunt and surprise you because I miss you?" she asked.

"I don't know, your surprises have been pretty good so far," he teased. She lifted one side of her lips, giving him a half smirk of mild annoyance. He took pity on her. "Ok, so how 'bout this? Sex every other night seems to be working for us. How about we talk every other night that we're apart?"

She smiled at him, "That sounds good. The workmen are usually done by six at the latest."

"I'm generally home by eight."

"So, let's see two-hour time difference, with a little cushion, that would be nine your time, seven mine. So, I'll call you every other night then." He gave her a look. "Kept man, remember?"

Ken sighed, "As long as I get to keep you in the bedroom."

"That's our arrangement," she confirmed.

"I think I'm getting the better end of the deal here," he commented.

"We'll have to agree to disagree."

"Have you seen you?" he argued.

"Have you seen your dick?"

Ken had to laugh at that one too. He loved how well she could keep up with him. "Yeah, we're good friends."

"Then you know I'm getting the bigger deal," she countered. He silenced her light laugh with his lips.

"Oye!" A security officer yelled in their direction. "You need to move it along!"

Ken laughed and gave her a final peck, moving to get in the car. Miranda grabbed the handle to roll her suitcase into the terminal. "I'll call Monday!" she yelled to him as he hopped in to pull away from the curb.

"I'll be waiting!" he hollered back to her.