Disclaimer: This a Stephanie Plum FanFiction Story. All recognizable characters belong to the fabulous Janet Evanovich. I am just borrowing her amazing characters for a while. I'm grateful she allows us to play with her characters.
Warning: Adult language, adult situations, violence, and smut.
This is an AU story. What if Steph never lost her job at E.E. Martin and successfully climbed the corporate ladder, meeting Ranger under very different circumstances. Would they be enemies, friends, lovers? This story explores the possibilities.
When Stephanie Met Ranger
Chapter One
Stephanie popped one eye open and then the other, staring at the digital clock next to the bed until the numbers swam into focus.
Shit, it was already six fifteen in the morning. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be late. And, late was definitely not something she wanted to be today. Stephanie had just been promoted to the head of the buying department at E.E. Martin. She was the boss now, managing a team of lingerie and women's apparel buyers, and handling vendor relations and marketing for the company.
With the promotion had come a lot of responsibility, offset only slightly by an increase in salary, but she was excited. It was a promotion she'd worked hard for. She felt like her efforts were finally paying off, and her rise up the corporate ladder, while not meteoric, was at least going in the right direction. Last week she had been tasked to expand the department. Identify and develop relationships with new vendors, and collaborate with other buyers and marketing specialists to develop advertising and social media plans.
She had a meeting with the company CEO, Raymond Skagal, this morning to go over the plans. A meeting she had scheduled far earlier in the day than she would have liked, but Stephanie had a lunchtime doctor's appointment to work into her schedule. Stephanie gave a little shudder, and chose not to think about why.
She really just wanted to snuggle back into the warm covers, instead she told herself this was the price of being an adult. She sat up and swung her legs off the bed, hitting the cold floor. That gave her a little jolt of alertness, but she was still exhausted. Stephanie desperately needed some caffeine. She bargained with herself. She'd spend the five minutes getting coffee, and skip plucking her eyebrows. That seemed like a reasonable trade.
Of course, she'd probably be less exhausted if she wasn't spending her nights at Joe Morelli's house, and rushing across town to her apartment every morning to get ready before heading to work. Morelli was her on-again, off-again, currently sort of on-again boyfriend.
She blew the hair out of her face and got up, padding downstairs. She was wearing one of Morelli's t-shirts and not much else. The shirt smelled like him, and she got a little tingle. They might not be compatible on a lot of things, but sex was not one of them. Morelli was Italian, and he had the libido to go with it. Last night that libido had been on full screaming, clutch the sheets kind of orgasm display.
Of course, that libido had gotten him in trouble more than a few times, including the bar fight that had left the scar through his eyebrow. The only imperfection that marred his otherwise perfect looks. Some jealous boyfriend had blindsided him with a broken beer bottle. Morelli had probably deserved it, but still.
That had been a long time ago. Before he went into the Navy. He'd come out, a different man. The wild child tamed, or at least largely under control.
Morelli men tended to be mean drunks and womanizers. They tended to die young, usually in bar fights, but sometimes from heart attacks while fucking their mistress. It seemed Morelli had somehow managed to escape the Morelli curse, or at least most of it. He wasn't an abuser or a mean drunk, but the womanizing was still a question in her mind. The source of some of their bigger issues, like trust. Always the good with the bad, ying and yang or some such bullshit, Stephanie thought.
Stephanie still had a lot of doubts if monogamy was going to stick for Morelli, and if she was honest, maybe her too. The thought of never touching another man again, did kind of freak her out. Not that they were anywhere close to marriage, despite the pressure from both of their families. It was pretty clear their families thought Stephanie and Morelli might be each other's last best hope for marriage, and their only hope for grandkids.
Morelli still spent a lot of time around his high school sweetheart Terry Gilman, and that made her uneasy. He'd dated Terry all through high school. He was the football star and she was the head cheerleader. Terry was a hot blonde with a bangin' body. She was also a mafia princess, which Stephanie figured might be the only reason Morelli and Terry weren't together. Morelli and Stephanie had plenty of fights over that one, and somehow, she always ended up looking like the lunatic. It was one of the many reasons, they couldn't seem to commit to each other. Of course, Terry wasn't the only issue. There were always women throwing themselves at Morelli, not that she could blame them. Morelli did a pretty good job of deflecting, but every once in a while, those Morelli genes were on full display.
Morelli was a plain clothes homicide detective with the Trenton Police Department. He was six foot of lean muscle that oozed testosterone, which largely made him irresistible to most women. The swagger, the broad chest, the fine ass. All chick magnets. Couple that with movie star handsome, and you had TNT. Panties got wet, and panties came off around Morelli.
He was Italian through and through. He had a mane of thick dark hair, almost black that was silky to the touch, and was perpetually a little too long to be considered completely domesticated. It gave him a roguish feel that was like catnip. The slightly bad boy in need of taming. Morelli had dark eyes that could remind you of melted chocolate one minute, and obsidian the next.
He had the Italian good looks and, sometimes, the temper to match. He could get loud and make an impressive array of hand gestures. Being only half-Italian Stephanie wasn't quite as good at it, but she could definitely hold her own in that department. But Morelli was never mean or an abuser. Loud sometimes, but never cruel. Morelli was a good man and a good cop. He just might not be good husband material.
Stephanie knew Morelli would already be up and showered by now. She could tell he had blessedly made coffee, the delicious aroma wafted up to meet her as she headed down the stairs.
They'd been in each other's lives since they were kids. Both born and raised in a blue-collar chunk of Trenton called the Burg, their families had been neighbors. The Morellis lived just two blocks over, from the Plums. They frequented the same local shops and went to the same Catholic mass. The Morelli women being devout Catholics, no doubt in an effort to offset the philandering ways of the Morelli men, spent a lot of time at mass.
Stephanie's mother had warned her to stay far away from those wild Morelli boys, but that advice hadn't really stuck. In fact, that advice had only made her curious. Her mother said the Morelli boys did bad things to girls, unspeakable things when they got them alone. A normal person might have been afraid, and kept their distance. For Stephanie it had just made little Joseph Morelli irresistible. She stared at him with wide-eyed unabashed curiosity, and snuck through the backyards to spy on him. Somehow, she thought he must be a wizard, and it was all dark magic and Harry Potter shit. Turns out those unspeakable things he did to girls, had a lot less to do with the dark arts and a lot more to do with raging hormones. The origin of his reputation wasn't quite so magical, although it turns out it did involve a magic wand.
While Morelli was only a couple of years older, he always seemed far wiser and experienced beyond his years. She'd been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Looking back, she realized Morelli had grown up fast and hard. It was a miracle he wasn't a complete fuck-up. His old man, had been a piece of work. A lazy, mean drunk that took his belt and fists to his young sons for fun. He'd been a mean bastard that had died young at the bottom of a bottle.
While she wanted to blame her mother for creating a mythology around the Morelli boys that had taken her down the garden path, she really couldn't. Stephanie could never be accused of good judgement and common sense. Certainly not when it came to Morelli. Stephanie and Joe had a long and complicated history. He'd been a lot of firsts for her, both good and bad.
He'd been her first sexual experience at the tender age of six. He'd talked her into playing choo-choo with him in his father's garage. His fingers had been the train, and she'd been the tunnel. They'd both just been curious kids, but the whole thing had left her a little confused and even more curious. Apparently, Morelli's curiosity was satisfied, and he moved on to the next tunnel. She didn't see him much over the next ten years. Looking back that should have been a harbinger for how their next encounter would go. Even now she couldn't help but wonder if the minute Morelli got what he wanted, he would he be out of her life again or looking for the next tunnel. Was it the thrill of the chase, and not so much the after that kept him interested?
Morelli had swaggered into the tasty pastry where she worked one evening at closing. He'd looked at her with those beautiful eyes, all soft and tempting. Morelli had turned on the charm, and Stephanie hadn't stood a chance. With those fast hands, clever fingers and magic mouth that could kiss the sense right out of you, he had her down on the floor behind the counter in about four minutes flat where he relieved her of the burden of her virginity.
He gotten up, pulled up his pants and walked his very fine ass out of her life. She didn't see him again until he got out of the Navy. That callousness and rejection had stung. Maybe not quite as much as his leg after she jumped the curb with her car, ran him down and broke it. But hey sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do. It wasn't like losing her virginity on the filthy floor of the tasty pastry in less than five minutes had been all that thrilling or satisfying. Of course, in his defense, Morelli had done an excellent job of making up for the unsatisfying part of that encounter over the ensuing years. Morelli had definitely learned a few tricks since the tasty pastry incident.
They had avoided each other for a few years after she ran him down on the sidewalk, each building their lives. In a way they'd both gotten lucky that night at the tasty pastry. Morelli got laid, and Stephanie didn't get pregnant. She shuddered to think how different life could have been if she'd gotten pregnant at sixteen. Stephanie had gone to college and went to work at E.E. Martin, and Morelli had joined the police department.
About four years ago, they had reconnected. Morelli had been first on the scene at the bingo hall, where two old ladies with blue hair and pink track suits had gotten into it with the bingo caller. Things had escalated and gotten rough. One of the old ladies had pulled out a piece and fired off a few rounds. Stephanie had been there by happenstance. She'd been shamed into taking her Grandma Mazur to bingo that night.
She thought it had been punishment, right up to the point where Morelli had swaggered in with that unruly hair curling around his collar, and those chocolate brown eyes. Badge on one hip, gun on the other making him feel powerful and dangerous.
Morelli had charmed her right out of her panties that night too, but this time he'd stayed the night and taken her to breakfast the next morning. They'd been on-again, off-again ever since. They seemed to make it right up to the commitment line, but then one of them would spook. They'd have some stupid fight over nothing, and break-up.
Stephanie's mother had considered the Morelli boys on par with the anti-Christ when she was growing up, warning her every chance she got to stay away, and now her mother was practically throwing them together. Dropping not so subtle hints about getting married, and starting a family. Her mother didn't even seem completely wedded to the order of those two things as long as married eventually factored into the equation.
Stephanie wasn't sure if it was because her mother's opinion of Morelli had changed, or if she thought Stephanie couldn't do any better. Her mother was desperately afraid Stephanie was rapidly approaching old maid territory, and then her mother would face the pity and shame of the Burg gossip tree. A fate worse than death apparently. Stephanie just rolled her eyes. Stephanie liked her life, and she wasn't in any hurry to tie herself to Morelli or anyone. Giving up her career, popping out babies, and learning to cook sounded more like prison than paradise to her.
Of course, Morelli did have a lot of good qualities a mother would love. He had a stable job, he owned his own home, and he praised the Sunday pot roast. All in, Morelli was a catch as far as her mother was concerned. So what, if he might have a wandering eye.
Sometimes Stephanie thought her mother might be right, maybe Morelli would make a good husband, if she actually wanted one. Maybe Morelli was destined to be her first everything. Her first experience with a boy, her first lover, and maybe her first husband. It was even possible, he could end up being her last husband and her last lover, if they could get out of their own way, and Morelli could keep his roving eye and his roving other parts under control. She was always a little afraid if she did marry Morelli, it might not stick because unlike the Morelli women she wouldn't turn a blind eye to cheating. She had plenty of Catholic guilt, but there weren't enough rosary beads in the world to keep her from getting a divorce if she found her husband cheating.
To be fair, Morelli had really changed in a lot of ways. He'd become far more domesticated, and he was definitely winning the in the race for the title of fully functioning adult.
Morelli had inherited his house from his Aunt Rose. As time and money permitted, he had been remodeling and updating. He had been slowly working to make it his own. It was currently an eclectic mix between Aunt Rose's flowery curtains, and the modern kitchen with dark wood and granite countertops that had a distinctly functional, masculine feel.
Somewhere along the way, the wild child had turned into a full-fledged adult with a house and a stable job. Stephanie, on the other hand, still lived in a crappy apartment with a hamster, and unwanted furniture she'd inherited from relatives. Not that she couldn't afford more, she just didn't need more. Her apartment suited her, and her furniture was comfortable and no one cared if you dropped pizza sauce on the sofa.
But that's where things had stalled. Sometimes Stephanie thought about marriage, and sometimes Morelli brought it up in a roundabout way. At one point, Stephanie thought Morelli was saving to buy her a ring. Turns out, he was saving for a pool table. As her friend Mary Lou pointed out, men that bought pool tables were not contemplating marriage. Stephanie was pretty sure Mary Lou had been right.
About as domesticated as they ever got was living together for a couple of months. They'd broken up over bread that time. Stephanie had eaten the last of the bread, and Morelli didn't have toast the next morning. That had ended in an all-out war, and three months of not speaking. Stephanie had staunchly refused to move in after that. And, that is why she was rushing down the stairs bargaining with the universe for a cup of coffee before she raced to her crappy apartment to get ready for work.
Morelli was lounging against the kitchen cabinet, coffee cup in one hand phone in the other. His hair slightly damp from his shower. His jeans hugging his seriously fine ass. Her heart did a little flip flop. He was gorgeous, she'd give him that.
When Stephanie walked in, she saw Morelli's eyes scan her body, taking in the short t-shirt and her bare legs. She saw his eyes turn soft and sexy and desire flowed through her.
Morelli smiled at her, put down his coffee cup and pulled her up against him, snuggling into her neck, his hand sliding around stroking the bare skin on her backside. Stephanie could feel his appreciation prodding against her belly.
"Well, good morning to you too." She purred.
Morelli leaned down and gave her a kiss. One with lots of tongue that telegraphed his intentions. When his hand started snaking up under her t-shirt, she pushed on his chest.
"Slow down there ace, I've got to get to work." Stephanie was mentally calculating whether or not there was time. Morelli could do fast and hard with the best of them when the situation called for it. Sadly, she really couldn't be late.
Morelli groaned and stepped back.
Morelli's gaze caught hers. "You know, if you moved in or at least moved some stuff in, we would have more time in the morning."
Stephanie gave him a stiff smile. "I'll think about it."
Leave it to Morelli to figure out how to carve out more time for sex. She wondered if it should bother her that morning sex was his motivation for having her move in, or if she was just being childish. Clearly moving in would mean more than just extra sex time, but it would be nice if he said that. Stephanie pushed that thought away before it could become full blown irritation, which would lead to yet another fight.
Morelli blew out a breath. "OK, well think hard." He winked at her, and she couldn't help but smile.
Morelli poured her a cup of coffee as she went to the fridge for the cream. Stephanie poured a healthy amount in, and took the first sip of heavenly bliss. She could feel the caffeine starting to work as it snaked through her blood, waking her up.
"Remember we have dinner at my parents tonight." He said cautiously.
Stephanie's eyes narrowed. "I told you, I'm not going."
"Come on Steph, when are you going to let that go." Morelli's voice was louder, and she could see him working to control his temper.
"Let it go?" Stephanie's voice rang with disbelief. "I caught your crazy grandma Bella in your room poking holes in the condoms. I'm not just going to let that go."
Stephanie had forgotten some work files at Morelli's one morning. On her lunch break she had swung by his house to pick them up. She'd heard something upstairs. Convinced it was a burglar she'd crept upstairs to investigate, her heart racing and her hands shaking. She had been sure she was going to find a masked intruder.
What she found hadn't been a burglar, it had been worse. No, she had found Morelli's grandma in his bedroom. Condoms strewn across the bed. She was using a safety pin to poke holes in them. Stephanie had been so stunned, she was mute. She snapped a photo for proof, and crept back downstairs, fled the house and called Morelli. There had been no sense in having that crazy old bat give her the evil eye. While she was pretty sure the evil eye wasn't real, there didn't seem to be any good reason to take the chance. She'd sent Morelli the photo, and he said he would take care of it, and buy new condoms. He had been far too calm about the whole thing as far as Stephanie was concerned.
Morelli's grandma Bella was a full-on barking lunatic. If the grim reaper had a grandmother, she'd be it. Bella had immigrated to the States over fifty years ago, but she was still more Sicilian than American. She was devious and probably flat-out batshit crazy. Morelli was her favorite grandson, and Stephanie could see why. He didn't get drunk, beat women, or father a bunch of illegitimate kids. At least none, that anyone knew about, yet. Maybe Bella should have thought that through before poking holes in his condoms she thought sourly. Stephanie might not be the only one he was using them with. They were dating, but they'd never talked about it being exclusive after the last break-up. It was entirely possible Morelli was shagging other women including Terry.
Bella thought Stephanie, the harlot, had corrupted favorite grandson, dragging him into a life of sin. In Bella's estimation it was time make an honest woman out of Stephanie, and time for her favorite grandson to get married, ready or not. Bella knew if Morelli knocked her up, marriage would be a given. An involuntary shudder went down her spine.
Stephine used to feel a sorry for Bella, but after the condom incident, all she felt was anger and resentment at her meddling, and Stephanie didn't want to be anywhere around her. Morelli's mom was a decent, kind woman, and she liked her, but Bella was a crackpot. Morelli was way too forgiving when it came to that old battle axe. The fact Bella was trying to rope him into fatherhood and marriage, should have been the last straw, and frankly Stephanie didn't understand why it wasn't.
Bella always wore black. Black dress, black hose, ugly black shoes with big chunky heels. The heels taking her to maybe five foot two. She was a little woman, but she ruled with an iron fist. Her silver hair always pulled back in a severe bun at the nape of her neck. In all the years she'd know Bella, Stephanie was pretty sure she'd never seen her smile. Stephanie was a little afraid that is what happened to you when you married a Morelli man.
Bella had been widowed years ago, but still she dressed like she was in mourning. From all accounts, her husband had been the philandering sort, but long-suffering Bella had stood by him. He had been a drunk that gambled away his paycheck when he had one. He'd died in a seedy motel fucking a stripper. Maybe that was her frame of reference for marriage, but it wasn't one that interested Stephanie.
The fact that Bella was poking holes in the condoms had terrified Stephanie. She'd felt her body go alternately hot and cold, wondering if she was already pregnant. The entire trajectory of her life altered. A couple of agonizing weeks, and hundreds of dollars on pregnancy tests had finally convinced Stephanie she wasn't pregnant. Stephanie had gone to the OBGYN and gotten an IUD. Stephanie wasn't going to take any chances.
She was going back today for a check-up, which is why she had such an insanely early meeting with Raymond. For reasons, she didn't want to examine too closely, Stephanie hadn't told Morelli. Part of her was still a little afraid Morelli might be dipping his quill in other ink. She wasn't quite ready to give up the condoms just yet. If Morelli knew she'd finally gotten an IUD, all bets would be off. He'd been suggesting she get on birth control for a while now.
"Joe, what she did was a complete violation of trust." Stephanie hissed, as she pulled herself out the Bella rabbit hole.
Morelli closed his eyes for a second, wrestling for control. "Steph, I know. But she apologized. She promised never to do anything like that again."
Stephanie couldn't believe Morelli was defending that old bat. Like saying she was sorry just made it all go away.
"I could have gotten fucking pregnant. You do understand that right. Or whoever else you're fucking could have gotten knocked up." Despite her best-efforts, Stephanie's voice was starting to get louder, color heating her cheeks.
"You think I want to have a baby with you?" Morelli snapped.
Stephanie's eyebrows went up. Stephanie might be half-Italian and half-Hungarian, but her temper was all Italian. Now suddenly she was fine to fuck, but not fine to actually procreate with? What did that mean? Was this Joe's way of saying he never planned to marry her, that they were just having a little fun. Some little diddy about free milk and a cow came to mind and she narrowed her eyes. She also noticed he didn't deny he was fucking other women. A hard lump was forming in her stomach.
Morelli held out his hands. "Look, that didn't come out right. I'm not any more ready right now for a baby than you are. It's just, she is my family." He shrugged helplessly.
Stephanie just glared at him. Stephanie couldn't believe she was in competition with Bella, and sadly it was clear who was winning.
Stephanie smacked her coffee cup on the counter sloshing the liquid everywhere.
"And other women?" She hissed.
"Steph I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." His expression was guarded. Stephanie wondered if that was just a clever way of not lying to her and gaslighting her all at the same time.
"I have to go." She announced.
"Steph, come on. We need to talk about this. Don't just storm off." Morelli pleaded.
"I have to go to work. I don't have time for this bullshit right now." Besides what was there to talk about.
"OK, then let's talk tonight."
Stephanie stopped. She could feel the flush of anger washing through her body. "I have to work late. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow." Stephanie stormed off.
"Yeah, so what's new." She heard Morelli mumble under his breath.
Yeah, that was rich. Morelli was the one that got called out in the middle of the night for some homicide. He was the one that would disappear for days into a case, but if she missed dinner, it was a tragedy. Another one of those things that made doubt whisper through her. Morelli had some pretty traditional views about women and marriage. It was clear he wanted home and family to be the priority for his wife. Work, if it she even had a job, a distant second. Stephanie wasn't so sure how she felt about that. Getting dinner on the table by six sharp as the goal of the entire day, didn't seem very fulfilling or interesting. No wonder Burg women spent the day tippling with the good whiskey disguised as tea.
Stephanie stormed up the stairs, dug around on the floor until she found her clothes. She yanked them on, all the while wondering why the fact that Morelli hadn't denied he was sleeping with other women bothered her quite so much. They were dating, they were not exclusive. She should be glad, because that meant she could see other people too. If she met the man of her dreams today, she could shag him without guilt. So why did that thought hold zero appeal? Probably because the odds of finding any man let alone one of her dreams was fast approaching zero. She snorted and rolled her eyes. Either the dating pool was getting very shallow or she was getting very picky.
When she got back downstairs, Morelli handed her a to-go mug of coffee, and her righteous anger eased a little. Morelli was a good man. She gave him a tentative smile.
"Do you want me to pick up Pino's for dinner?" he asked. A lock of unruly hair falling across his forehead.
Stephanie reached up and pushed his hair back. "Yeah, that would be good."
He leaned in and kissed her, and she felt that familiar tingle. Stephanie sighed and headed for the door. She really did need to go, or she would be late for her meeting.
"I'm not sleeping with other women Steph." He called to her. "It's just my family is important to me, and so are you. I did talk to her, you know that. I don't know what else you want me to do."
"I don't know Joe, it really freaked me out. I know it's not your fault." And, it wasn't. Morelli wasn't the one poking holes in condoms or pressuring her for marriage. He was right, what else could he do? Bella was his family, and short of cutting himself off from them, he had to forgive Bella. That and check every condom with a flashlight for the foreseeable future.
"Would it be so bad?" His voice was quiet, almost tentative. "To have my baby, get married?"
Stephanie blew her hair out of her face, and thought about it for a second. "No." She conceded. The problem wasn't having a baby with Morelli. The problem was having a baby. It wasn't something Stephanie was even sure she wanted. Kids largely freaked her out. She could barely manage a hamster, how would she ever manage a kid.
Morelli locked eyes with her. "Then maybe that is something we should talk about. We keep doing this dance Steph. Maybe it's time to talk about the future." His shoulder went up in a half shrug.
"Maybe." Stephanie hedged. Her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
"Look, I'll get Pino's and we can talk tonight. I know you need to get to work."
Her stomach did a little lurch. "I'll try not to be too late, OK." She called back to him.
Maybe Morelli was right, what else was he supposed to do. Stephanie really wanted to believe him about the other women, she really did, but Mary Lou had spotted Morelli with Terry just two nights ago. They'd been at Mario's looking pretty cozy. Stephanie should probably just ask, but part of her really didn't want to know.
Morelli just smiled at her. "OK cupcake."
Stephanie gave a good-natured eye roll at the pet name and headed out to her car. Maybe Joe was right. They needed to sit down and talk. Maybe it was time to be in or get out. They'd been circling each other for years; drawn into each other's orbit they burned hot for a while and then would sling shot out of each other's lives. She was pretty sure she loved Morelli, and she was pretty sure he loved her, but somehow the pieces just didn't quite align. They were always just a little mismatched. When she was ready, he wasn't, when he was, she wasn't. But whatever the answer, right now she needed to get home and get ready for work.