Chapter 45

LPOV

My wife is so beautiful inside and out. She doesn't see what everyone else can see. When she looks in the mirror, she sees an average looking woman with a little more padding than the svelte model type. I see a very fit, sexy, gorgeous woman. Her inner beauty easily shines through. Stephanie doesn't have an ounce of fat anywhere on her body. Her curves are in all the right places.

She has very short hair now, but she has never looked sexier. Maybe I can talk her into keeping her hair short. It isn't long enough to pull back into a ponytail, but it's still long enough for me to grab hold as we're making love.

I rolled over on top of Stephanie, fitting comfortably between her legs. "Condom," she said with a gravely voice before I could push into her. Reaching under my pillow, I grabbed one of the condoms Stephanie thoughtfully stashed the night before. Without wasting time, I quickly covered myself and thrust into her warmth.

"Lucas," she moaned. "Faster." I listened to my wife and moved at her pace. With a final scream, I felt her squeeze the orgasm from my body. "Mmm… thank you my love."

"You don't need to thank me Sweetheart. I love you," I say before kissing her.

"Love you too baby. It's time for your workout," she reminded me.

"Isn't that what I just did?" I joked.

"Cardio maybe, but you're scheduled for weight training today," she joked back. "I need to get showered. Mallory's coming over to hang out." I climbed out of bed, grabbed the last condom and dragged her towards the shower.

She removed the bandage from my tattoo and I returned the favour. The tattoo looked amazing on her pale skin. I removed the bandage from her hip and pulled her into the shower. "You don't need to cover them anymore," I explained.

"Neither do you," she said before kissing my tattoo. "I can't believe you drew this."

"My drawing didn't look this good. Cal and Manny fixed the design before printing the stencil."

"You still designed it," she stated, not permitting me to downplay my role in creating the tattoo perfectly representing our connection.

After I washed her hair, she washed mine. As she ran her fingers through my hair, my breathing got heavy and I needed to be buried inside her again. Our shower took much longer than planned.

She laughed as I dried my body, "I guess we kind of got carried away. You're the boss and you just missed your gym start time by 20 minutes."

"Yuk it up Sweetheart. I can always tell the guys why I was late," I joked. She laughed even harder since it was a moot point. The men probably already know why I'm late.

Stephanie was brushing her hair when Mallory knocked on the door. Thankfully we were both dressed. I opened the door to a radiant Mallory. "Oh my God!" Stephanie shouted, pushing me out the door. "Love you Luke. Mal and I need to talk."

I turned to tell her I'd see her later, but she was already closing the door behind me. Shaking my head, I went down a floor to the gym. My workout would need to be split up for the day. I can do my leg workout now and do my arms after lunch. It wouldn't be wise for me to be late for the 0800 meeting. After finishing my workout and taking another quick shower, I was able to make it to the meeting a few minutes early.

Cal and Woody were wearing matching grins when I entered the conference room. "Get a late start this morning?" Cal joked.

"Slept in a bit," I quickly answered.

Woody laughed before stage whispering to Cal, "Rodriguez forgets my room is next to his. Darlin' has a good set of lungs." I groaned before dropping my head into my hands. "Yup, heard that noise too," he added.

When the final man entered the room, we started the meeting. Ranger, Tank, Lester, Bobby, Ram, Hal, Stephanie, Mallory and Manny were visibly absent. They were taking their required 2 week downtime and ordered not to attend the meeting. Besides, they already know everything I'm about to announce.

Cal stood in front of the group to begin the meeting. We reviewed the assignments for the week. I had the toughest job to do today. As acting CEO, it was my job to announce the dissolution of Rangeman Atlanta.

After Cal finished his requirements, I was able to tell the men what happened to our Atlanta branch. "It's with great regret we decided to close Rangeman Atlanta. All current contracted clients will be monitored by our reliable contract workers from a temporary satellite office," I announced.

Woody stood in front of the group to state, "Vince, Junior, Cal and I conducted interviews with each current employee before deciding they did not meet basic Rangeman requirements. We are conducting interviews with the men previously terminated by the Atlanta office management."

"Any wrongfully dismissed employee will be rehired, provided they meet current Rangeman standards. Details regarding the closure of the Atlanta office are not available until the case is tried in military court," I stated.

We knew the importance to wait for specifics during an ongoing investigation, especially when it involves the military. During the evidence gathering stage, specifics are not to be shared by those not directly involved with the case.

The FBI and Military need to gather sufficient legally admissible evidence to convince the judge or military officers the suspect is guilty. Dixon will face both a tribunal and federal court. I was privy to the details since it directly affects the operation of our other branches. My brilliant wife already provided all the evidence required, but they still need to conduct their own investigations.

Our Miami and Boston core members will be notified once I conclude this meeting. I've scheduled their meeting for 0930.

As I concluded our meeting and ordered the men to concentrate on their jobs, my phone rang. I held Cal, Woody, Junior and Vince back for them to hear the conversation. Dixon's second in command, Carl Jeffries, in Atlanta wanted to purchase the building and remaining clients from Rangeman. He apparently did his homework.

"I've been talking to our current clients," he started, "They said your office was handling their accounts via an Atlanta satellite office. I'm proposing we take over the contracts and pay a fee per client."

It was a very good idea, but it was outside the parameters of my temporary contract. Any sale of a current Rangeman office needs to be cleared by Ranger. The man himself entered the conference room and heard the proposition. He decided to toss the man a bone. "I'll agree to those terms. Expect a courier from my lawyer outlining the details," he stated before taking a seat.

Jeffries was told not to use any Rangeman uniforms or state they represent Rangeman. He was aware they no longer had Rangeman's support. After apologizing to Ranger for their underhanded behaviour, he ended the call.

"Well done, Rodriguez. I couldn't have handled it better myself," Ranger stated.

"You're supposed to be offline."

"I will once Rangeman Atlanta is finished," he stated. He looked at Cal and barked, "Report."

Cal and Woody detailed the interviews conducted for the Atlanta men. Ranger nodded when they said none of the men fit current standards. He was pleased to hear the men fired by Dixon will be interviewed immediately and placed wherever there was an opening.

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SPOV

"So Mal, how was it?" I asked as I dragged her to my couch.

"I'm not sure I understand your question," she answered.

"Uh huh… I bet you do, but you're deflecting," I stated. "Mallory, you're glowing."

"No I'm not," she said half heartedly trying to convince me.

"Sure. I really would like to believe you, but you're glowing as bright as a beacon on a foggy day. Kind of like I do after I've been thoroughly fucked by my husband," I stated.

"Steph, he's absolutely amazing. Easily the best I've ever had," she finally gushed. She gave me more information than I would be willing to share. "How does Lucas rate among your sexual conquests?"

"I wouldn't know. Lucas is my one and only," I answered honestly.

"Val said you've had a few partners," she confessed.

"Our sister was obviously fed those lies by Helen. I can't deny some men tried, but I wasn't very interested." She raised an eyebrow so I decided to continue. "I'm not a total prude Mallory and I wasn't planning to save myself for marriage."

"You just never found the one to hand over your v-card to, until you met Lucas," she finished for me.

"Exactly. I've never met anyone like him before. He's everything I never knew I wanted. Lucas often tells me I'm like no other woman he's ever met. When he's watching me on the security feed, I can feel his eyes searching for mine. We have a strong connection. My body constantly craves his touch," I said on a sigh.

"Have you ever felt a tingling like sensation throughout your body whenever he's near?" Mallory asked.

"Like your heartstrings are perfectly tuned and your heartbeat is synchronized with his? Yes, Mal. I have only felt that with Luke," I answered honestly. "Is that how you feel around Manny?"

Mallory nodded, unable to vocalize her emotions. We are too much alike. I wrapped my arms around her for comfort. "He feels it too," I whispered.

"Are you sure? I've been burned by men before."

"So have I Mal. Luckily sex never complicated the issue. I see the way Manny looks at you. His eyes are always focused on you. He's a very good guy. Trust your feelings and you won't be disappointed," I advised.

We discussed sex with our partners. As usual, I never divulged information such as his penis length or girth. I did tell her his refractory time was very short. She giggled as she provided way more details than I cared to know. On a sigh, she asked, "Is it too soon to be in love with him?"

"If he's truly the one for you, the love of your life, your soulmate, then it definitely is not too soon," I answered. "Do you love him?" I asked already knowing the answer since it was clearly written on her face.

"I do love him. After we finally had sex for the first time, he said he loved me. I wasn't sure if I should reciprocate," she confessed.

"Mallory, if you really do love him, you should reciprocate, but only when you feel it's right. Don't tell him you love him because I said you should. Do what is best for you. Whatever happens, I've got your back," I stated.

"I love you Steph. I'm very proud to have you as my younger sister and best friend."

A tear slipped from my eye, creating a path down my cheek to my jaw. "I love you too Mal." Shaking my head and wiping the tear off my face, I announced, "Let's go see mama. Maybe she'll have something for us to eat." My stomach growled in agreement.

"Ella has been amazing. She's everything you could wish for as a mother," Mallory stated.

"She treats everyone like they're her son or daughter. If there's anything you need, leave a note and she'll grab it for you. Like this morning, we ran out of condoms and I…" I immediately stopped talking.

"And you… what?" Mallory asked pulling me onto the elevator.

"Mal, we ran out of condoms. I'm on antibiotics," I say while panicking. "We…"

"Had sex without protection," she stated knowingly.

"Yes… that," I groaned.

"Next time have a full box on hand," she joked.

"We had a box of 12," I whispered.

"Did you use them all last night?" she asked.

"Not exactly last night. More like between 0200 and 0830 this morning," I groaned.

"How exactly are you walking?" I could tell she was impressed with my husband's endurance. "Sweetie, if you two had sex that much last night, there probably wasn't enough swimmers to get you pregnant," she whispered. We knew the men could be listening to our conversation.

"From your lips to God's ears. However if I do get pregnant, you're on diaper changing duty," I say while bumping her shoulder. We continued the trip to the sixth floor in silence. I was waiting for the panic attack I was bound to have whenever I thought about having a baby. Surprisingly, it never came.

Having a baby with Lucas seems to be the next logical step. We've talked about having children, but we wanted to wait a bit longer. Why we were waiting didn't seem like such a good excuse after all.