Chapter Ten

As she exited the gym, Stephanie noted the long corridor lined with doors. Five in all. She assumed those led to the corporate apartments Ranger had mentioned. She wondered which one Ranger lived in and what it would be like. Probably a mattress and a TV with black walls to go along with his black heart. She gave a soft snort and followed him.

His back was rigid and his posture was perfect. She wondered if he ever slouched or relaxed. Frankly, she couldn't see either; the man was wound tighter than a top. Probably that stick up his ass kept him ramrod straight. Stephanie glared at his back for good measure, and reminded herself that mister my-body-is-a-temple was an ass, but her traitorous body rebelled at that notion.

She tingled and throbbed from his touch and heat streaked through her like an uncontrolled wildfire, and not because he had taken her to the mats. Stephanie was angry and humiliated, but deathly afraid if she spent another minute with him, she was going to do something monumentally stupid, and that was saying something. Her morning had already been in the hall of fame of stupid, but give her some time, and she could probably top jumping Ranger in his office.

She should just head back to her desk and pretend he didn't exist, or better yet, march right out of RangeMan and never look back. But Ranger was right. She smelled like a locker room, and she really needed a shower. At least, that is what she was going to tell herself. It had nothing to do with the fact she was curious about his apartment, and curious about the man.

Ranger looked back at her. "What's that babe?"

Stephanie realized she was mumbling out loud and heat flushed up her neck. "Nothing." She stammered.

Irritation ghosted across his perfect features before he slammed down that damn blank mask and turned away. She resisted the urge to flip him a classic Italian salute.

Stephanie was surprised when they stopped at the elevator, and didn't head to one of the doors down the corridor. Apparently, Ranger's apartment wasn't on four, and she ignored the fact that intrigued her just a little more than it should have. No thin walls to worry about, no walk of shame. She raked her hand down her face. Jesus, what was her problem? Her common sense had been hijacked by her ovaries, which had perked up and were chattering like a bunch of crazed monkeys.

The doors swished open, and Ranger stabbed the button for the seventh floor. Stephanie trailed in after him and studied him in the polished chrome of the door. He looked like he wanted to be just about anywhere but in the elevator with her. She couldn't tell if he was thinking about bashing himself in the face or busy planning where to bury her body. From the way his jaw was clenched, it could go either way. She resisted the urge to tell him he was grinding his molars again, which was too bad, because he had some really good teeth.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but he clearly had one. She'd been pretty gracious over the whole hooker thing. Even when he told her he hoped she had been paid in advance. Obviously, he thought she was too dumb to be a prostitute, and that had just been down right insulting.

OK, now that she thought about it, maybe asking if he was stupid or clinically insane had been a little stabby, but a girl was entitled. Who knows, maybe his mother had dropped him on his head when he was a baby. Her eyes raked over him. From the look of it, any number of things could have gone wrong, but her money was still on salad and black coffee. A little pineapple upside down cake could probably fix him right up, and improve that bad attitude, because everyone knew cake could fix anything.

Ranger caught her eye in the gleaming reflection of the door and arched his brow with flawless condescension. Stephanie would have sworn he knew her thoughts, and her eyes dropped to the floor, unable to hold his gaze.

Stephanie bit her tongue to keep from blurting out one of about a thousand questions. Like why he was going to train her when he obviously didn't want her around. Was it his way of making her life a living hell until she quit? Well, screw that. He could throw whatever he wanted at her; Stephanie wasn't quitting. Ranger might not think she had what it took to be a bounty hunter, but she planned to prove him wrong. She gave a little huff and crossed her arms. She would have sworn tall, dark, and psycho over there was trying not to smile.

They rode to the seventh floor in silence and stepped off the elevator into a vestibule. Ranger used the fob and entered a complicated code on the electronic keypad and the lock disengaged. Stephanie's pulse kicked up as Ranger pushed open the door and ushered her into the lion's den.

Surprise washed over her as she stepped into a beautifully appointed foyer. The floor was graced by gleaming hardwood in a geometric pattern. In the middle was an intricate inlay that reminded her of a snowflake. A modern chandelier cast a soft glow over the entry. A side table nestled along one wall, framed by an abstract painting in muted colors and a vase of fresh flowers. The overall feel was luxurious, welcoming and very Zen.

Ranger tossed the fob into a silver dish on the side table and Stephanie followed him into the main living area. Stephanie's eyes traveled over the open concept design. The gleaming hardwoods travelled throughout, broken up by plush area rugs. The apartment was decorated in comforting earth tones. Cream, gray, and tan with sleek lines and dark furniture. It was masculine without being overwhelming, inviting with rich fabrics and interesting textures. It looked professionally decorated, and could easily grace the cover of a magazine. Everything about it was unexpected, but it also felt impersonal. Like Ranger stayed here, but didn't really live in the apartment. No dog-eared novels, no framed photos, personal mementos, or clutter of any kind. Nothing personal and nothing that gave away anything about Ranger. It surprised Stephanie to find she was disappointed. She wanted a glimpse into his life, to see what was behind the curtain of that blank face.

Her gaze swept over to the modern kitchen. Dark cabinets, miles of granite and high-end stainless-steel appliances. She wondered if Ranger cooked or if it was just for show. Given how little he seemed to know and appreciate about food, her money was on show. Maybe he used the warming drawer as a gun safe. Stephanie used hers as a magazine rack and a place to shove unpaid bills. They were handy like that.

Ranger watched her as she took it all in. He did that thing where he could measure her heart rate and read her thoughts. Whatever he was thinking was carefully curated behind the blank mask that had settled over his perfect features.

"Do you live here?" She finally asked. Which she knew seemed like an absurd question since it was his apartment.

"I stay here when I'm in Trenton."

"But you live somewhere else?" Her hand made a sweeping motion around the room.

Ranger just looked at her with that unreadable expression. Whatever, Stephanie thought as her face flamed red. Sex, big check mark. Making out in his office, another big check in the yes column. Knowing where he lived, a big red X. His private life was off limits, but apparently not his private parts.

Stephanie tilted her chin and gave him her best bored look. She didn't really care, except she kind of did. Now her curiosity was burning brightly, drowning out what little common sense she still had. So what if he didn't want to share anything personal with her? He could just go be all dark and mysterious, driving his tricked out Batmobile and living a solitary life in some secret bat cave for all she cared. Stephanie ignored the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. What if the bat cave didn't just hide his secret identity? What if it also hid Mrs. Batman and a bunch of bat babies?

The doorbell chimed, making Stephanie jump, and shaking her out of her spiral. Ranger sauntered over to the door and returned with her ancient duffle bag, and handed it to her.

"You can use the bathroom at the end of the hall." Ranger motioned with his head and Stephanie turned and hightailed it down the corridor.

The bathroom was as opulent as the rest of the penthouse, and carried the same earthy color pallette. A huge tile shower stood in one corner, complete with multiple shower heads and more knobs than the space shuttle. Stephanie checked to make sure the door was locked and then stripped off her clothes and climbed in.

After some trial and error and a couple of good blasts of cold water to the face, she finally got one of the shower heads working. Her hand snaked out, and she picked up the body wash and flipped it open. A puff of Ranger's scent drifted out and parts south clenched at the memories evoked by the familiar smell. The wonderful notes of citrus and bergamot floated about and hung in the steam swirling and pulsing around her, making her wish it was Ranger's arms wrapped around her, nuzzling at her neck.

There was something decadent and way too intimate about being in Ranger's shower using his body wash, wondering what it would feel like if his hands were the ones running all over her body. Her mind immediately flipped to him naked in the shower, lathering up that perfect body, and a delicate shiver went through her.

"Stop!" she hissed and yanked her thoughts back from that dangerous fantasy. Stephanie turned the bottle over and looked at the label. It read Bulgari Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert, which she assumed meant expensive and smells nice. She put it back on the shelf and pretended like that little tidbit didn't add to the mystery.

The hot water pounded down on her sore muscles, and she was tempted to lounge under the jets and let them work their magic, as she rolled her neck back and forth, working out the kinks. It was pretty clear Ranger had a lot more than four minutes of hot water in his fancy shower, but she forced herself to quickly rinse and turn off the spray before she threw caution to the wind and took an hour-long shower. Knowing her luck, he'd bust in thinking she'd drowned. She was acutely conscious of the fact he was on the other side of the door and waiting for her to hurry and finish so he could get back to work. She was interrupting his day, and that's exactly how he seemed to view her. An interruption and a nuisance in his orderly world.

Stephanie pulled the towel off the rack and almost moaned in delight as she buried her face in its welcoming folds. It was soft and fluffy, and felt like heaven. She didn't even know towels like that existed. Her eyes cut to the floor, and she briefly wondered if he'd notice if she stuffed one in her ancient duffle bag. Probably. Ranger didn't seem like a guy that missed much, and it was bound to be bad form to steal a towel. He would tack it onto her growing debt to him, and she was already in far too deep as it was.

Stephanie wrapped the towel around her and took a quick look in the mirror. Between the sweat and the shower, the concealer was long gone and the stark purple bruise under her eye and along her cheek bone stood out against her pale skin. There was nothing she could do about that, so she raked her hair into a haphazard ponytail and pulled on her jeans and shirt.

The scent of Ranger's shower gel lingered on her damp skin, teasing her and testing her resolve. She wasn't sure what was worse, smelling like a locker room or smelling like Ranger. As her nipples pebbled at the thought of his hot greedy mouth against her skin, locker room seemed like the better, safer choice. After what he had done to her in front of everybody, how she could still think he was hot was a mystery. He was an arrogant, sadistic asshole. Stephanie squared her shoulders and went out to face the devil, that tempted her with every look and every touch.

Ranger heard the bathroom door snick open, and he quickly shoved the bag of frozen peas he had been using to ice his nose back in the freezer and lounged against the counter, pretending that his cock wasn't about to burst through the fabric of his pants. Visions of Stephanie naked in his shower had quickly led to visions of him joining her and running his hands over her wet, slick skin. He had tried to shove those thoughts right out of his head, but somehow ended up imagining her lounging naked in his bed. Ranger was sensing a theme. He had a thousand things he needed to be doing and exactly none of them were Stephanie Plum. Irritation skittered through him, and he angled his body behind the counter to hide his growing problem because he really didn't want to be that jackass.

He watched as she squared her shoulders like she was preparing herself to face an unpleasant experience. Ranger figured that experience was probably him. She marched down the hall and into the kitchen. Attitude rolled off of her in waves, and Ranger braced himself for the storm. She was mad. That much at least was clear. One minute she was riding his cock and whispering his name, and the next she looked at him like something she found stuck to the bottom of her shoe. Ranger was going to get whiplash if this kept up much longer.

Ranger's gut gave a vicious lurch when his eyes landed on the bruise that marred her perfect skin. All the rage and the helplessness washed over him again. She had come so close to dying yesterday. Her eyes narrowed and her chin tilted, and he realized the look on his face was probably bordering on hostile. Ranger opened the cabinet and pulled out a container of arnica gel and stepped towards her.

"This will help with the bruising."

"Don't touch me." She snapped.

Ranger stopped short and held up his hands. "OK."

He wasn't sure when he'd become public enemy number one or what that was about. Maybe her nerves were as raw as his.

"You're a sick twist, do you know that?"

Stephanie's eyes were blazing, and she had the same voice his sisters used right before they kicked the crap out of him for doing something stupid. Anger roiled through his gut, making his blood hum. Ranger had done plenty of stupid shit in the last forty-eight hours, but the little wolverine over there hadn't exactly been an innocent bystander. She'd been right there with him in his office grinding against him making those delicious sounds of appreciation.

Ranger tried to wrangle the anger that flitted over his better judgement and threatened the tenuous grip he had on his runaway mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest in an effort not to reach out, yank her in his arms and kiss that foul temper right out of her. Where had that come from? Kissing her was the last thing on his mind. She'd probably knee him in the balls, and that wasn't at the top of his list of things to do today. He was going to have a pretty impressive bruise on his thigh the way it was, after her last attempt to neuter him.

"Want to let me in on what I've done to piss you off?" Ranger gave her a Jersey worthy eye roll. "This time?"

Ranger fully registered the tone of his voice was patronizing and would not win him any favor. He wasn't sure who he was mad at, her or him.

Her eyebrows shot up on her head. "Oh please, like you don't know. That little stunt in the gym was unnecessary and you know it."

Disbelief coupled with anger roared through Ranger and he was in front of her in two strides. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she stood her ground.

"Your attack was uncoordinated and reckless and in the real world, it could have gotten you killed. You need to realize this isn't a damn game. The people you are dealing with can be dangerous. If you want to be a bounty hunter, then get some skills or find a different job." Ranger barked.

Stephanie sucked in a sharp breath. "And you think you're the one to teach me? Because that felt more like trying to put me in my place than showing me how to defend myself."

Ranger was pretty sure if he clenched his jaw any tighter, his teeth were going to crack. The only place Ranger really wanted to put Stephanie was underneath him, and maybe that was the problem. He wasn't objective. He hadn't treated her any differently from any other trainee, had he?

"And just what did I do, princess?" Ranger drawled.

"You didn't have to humiliate me." She snapped.

Ranger watched in horror as her feigned bravado slipped. Her lower lip trembled, and a lone tear popped out and slid down her cheek. Oh shit, that was not good.

"And you didn't have to hurt me." She accused in a hoarse whisper.

Ranger's whole body flushed hot. Had he hurt her? He'd tried so hard not to be rough with her. He thought he might puke.

"God babe. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Stephanie didn't look like she believed anything he was saying, and he swallowed down the rising bile.

He ran an agitated hand through his hair. Where did I hurt you, how? Tell me." He pleaded.

Stephanie's hand went up over her heart. "Here." She whispered.

All the betrayal and confusion were written across her beautiful face, and his heart squeezed. His mouth opened to say something, anything to fix this fuck-up, but nothing came out. He reached for her and she side stepped him.

She made a strangled little sound and pushed past him and raced to the front door and yanked on the handle. She gave a cry of frustration when the door wouldn't budge.

Ranger followed her into the foyer. Her forehead was resting on the door, and her shoulders were shaking with silent sobs. Ranger knew this had less to do with the gym and more to do with the horror of yesterday catching up to her, swamping her with memories and fear. She hadn't processed it all just yet, and he should have recognized the signs. Stephanie wasn't a trained soldier. Until two days ago, she had been an office worker, and he should have adjusted his approach.

She was resilient, but trauma had a funny way of sneaking up on you when you least expected it. He'd been too rough with her, too soon. What she'd needed was a friend. Someone to talk to, not another reminder of just how vulnerable she was. Shit, he'd fucked that up royally, but that seemed to be his go to move with this woman.

He approached her slowly and gently stroked his hand down her spine. She flinched but didn't pull away.

"Babe."

There were so many things that he should say, so many things she needed to hear. Instead, he gathered her into his arms and pulled her against his chest. She was stiff as a board, but he nestled her against him anyway, cursing his own stupidity. He could feel her tears, hot and wet against his t-shirt, and he was sure his heart broke with each one.

He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry you got hurt yesterday, and I'm sorry about the gym."

With each comforting stroke, Stephanie relaxed into him, and after a few moments her crying stopped. He knew the minute she realized she was wrapped in his arms, clinging to him like she didn't really hate him. The air around them shifted and awareness fluttered. He expected her to jerk out of his arms and accuse him of some other heinous motive, but she didn't. She just rested her head on his chest and listened to the slow cadence of his heart.

He took her chin between his thumb and his forefinger and tilted it until she looked at him. Her cheeks were wet, and unshed tears shimmered in her eyes, but he could see her strength and her resolve coming to the surface.

"You are smart, brave, and you have good instincts. You can be good at this job, but you need to be able to keep yourself safe. I didn't treat you any different from anyone else, but that's where I was wrong." Ranger brushed a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail away from her face. "Yesterday was a lot, and I pushed you too hard, too fast. I would never hurt you, not intentionally."

"You think I can be a bounty hunter?" She gave a little hiccup.

Ranger smiled at her. A good one that reached his eyes. "Yes."

"And you'll help me?" She asked.

"Do you trust me? Trust that everything I do is to make you better, even if some days you hate me for it?"

A man could get lost in those eyes. Deep blue pools that danced with fire. He could see a hundred emotions warring across her face, and he held his breath, waiting to learn his fate.

"Yes."

Warmth glowed in his belly and his eyes locked with hers. Something between them shifted and his breath caught in his throat. It was possible he was in real trouble with this woman, that somehow, she had slid right past all his defenses and upended his carefully constructed plan. Ranger didn't do relationships, he didn't do emotional, and right now he couldn't remember why that had been a good idea. His eyes dropped to her lips. The sexy little hitch in her breathing and the fluttering of her pulse telegraphed the fact she could feel what her nearness did to him as his body stirred to life.

Stephanie took a step back, putting distance between them, and he was simultaneously glad one of them still had a functioning brain, and oddly disappointed. He could see the walls going up, her embarrassment at letting him see her weakness. Ranger's heart skipped around, but he kept his face impassive, and willed his body to remain relaxed.

"You can't keep kissing me senseless."

"I know." Ranger confirmed.

Something like disappointment crossed her expressive face before she held out her hand to him. "Deal."

She was trying for detached professionalism, but Ranger could tell she felt the jolt of electricity when he took her hand in his. Now he just had to figure out how to keep his hands off of her. He had a sinking feeling that was easier said than done. She was right. He was going to train her, be her mentor, and her sometimes employer. They couldn't act like a couple of horny teenagers.

Ranger passed her a key fob. "Here. This gets you to the seventh floor and in and out of my apartment. You can use my apartment any time you want to shower or change. I'll have security program in your birthdate on the electronic lock outside and add you to the biometric scanner on the inside."

Stephanie looked down and toed the floor. "Thanks, but won't that be awkward?" Her eyes shifted up to him and back to the floor, and she scrunched up her nose. "I mean, what if you are up here with someone?"

"Someone?" Ranger feigned innocence and tried to keep the smug look off his face. He was pretty sure that was her not-so-subtle attempt to see if he was dating.

"You know. A woman."

Ranger nodded. "I don't bring women here. Just you."

"Never?"

"Never." Ranger confirmed.

"Oh," she replied as her eyebrows furrowed together forming a crease, the knowledge leaving her speechless.

Ranger placed his index finger on the scanner by the door and the lock released. He opened the door for her. "Santos will meet you downstairs and introduce you to Silvio. Silvio will show you how to use the search programs. Run those first three skips and we can pick them up tomorrow." He gave her a rueful smile. "After your self-defense training."

Stephanie gave a half-hearted roll of her eyes. "Yeah me."

"I have a distraction tomorrow night, I could use help on." Ranger's shoulder tilted up. "If you are interested."

"Sure."

"Great, we can go over the details tomorrow."

Ranger thought if the conversation got anymore stilted or formal, he might have to find the nearest sharp object to hurl himself onto. He felt like he was back in high school asking Zoey Pérez to the prom.

"Oh wait, I need to grab my duffle." Stephanie blurted out, yanking him back to the present and the woman standing in front of him, making him think things he didn't have any business thinking about.

"I'll have Ella launder your clothes and put them in the closet." Ranger did his best not to wince.

He couldn't believe that had just popped out of his mouth, or he had just offered to make space for a woman in his closet. He was beginning to wonder if he was the one with the head injury.

"If you need a change or want to grab a mid-day work out." He said in his best matter-of-fact voice, like there wasn't something fifty shades of awkward about him clearing out space for her in his closet.

"Yeah, OK." She gave him a smile that said she thought he was a shade off normal.

Stephanie fobbed her way onto the elevator, and Ranger closed the door and whacked his forehead against it. This is one of the many reasons he stuck to meaningless sex, and avoided relationships. He seriously sucked at them. Half the time he didn't talk and the other half he said the wrong thing.

Stephanie spent the afternoon working with Silvio. He showed her the search programs and gave her tips and tricks to run down leads and verify possible information. The amount of information returned in a standard search alternately awed her and terrified her. Nothing was private, and nothing was off limits. Ranger had been right about all three skips. Dixon was staying with his mother, Maria was back working her corner on Stark Street, and Ziggy was in the wind.

A little after five, Les sauntered over and propped his hip on her desk. He gave her what she'd come to think of as the trademark Santos grin.

"So how about I buy you a burger and a beer?" He asked.

Stephanie grinned back. "I'm the one that is supposed to buy you dinner. You know that whole saving my life thing."

Les shrugged. "You can buy next time."

"Next time?" Stephanie blurted out before her brain caught up to her mouth.

Les locked eyes with her. "Yeah, next time."

Stephanie stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what that meant. Next time? They both knew Les was a one and done kind of guy and she doubted he had a lot of women friends. She decided she didn't want to overthink it, because it didn't have to mean anything. She could use some food and light conversation, and if something else happened, well, she'd deal with it.

"Look, we have a tradition here at RangeMan. If you survive your first day of training with Ranger, we buy you a beer. I drew the short straw."

Stephanie laughed. "You made that up."

Les winked at her. "Yes, I did. How about it?"

"Make it a meatball sub and I'm in."

"Done."

Les held out his arm, and she hooked hers through his and they headed for the elevator arm in arm. Her eyes darted towards Ranger's office. He was standing in his doorway, watching. Arms crossed over his chest, expression blank. Stephanie tried to ignore him, but she could feel the weight of his stare as they crossed the floor.

What did she care if he saw her leaving with Les? They'd agreed from here on out it was all business, all the time. She ignored the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach at that thought.

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A/N: This chapter represents a personal victory for me. I reached my goal of 1 Million words of fanfiction!