I do not own any of these characters, although I would really like to meet
up with Ranger in a dark room somewhere. I simply borrow and gently use
them for my amusement.
Chapter Two
I was leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over my chest, watching her sleep peacefully in my bed. The danger that had driven her here certainly didn't trouble her rest. I hungrily took in the details of sleep- mussed hair and the creamy skin of her exposed thigh where she had thrown off the comforter. It was difficult not to climb in next to her and awaken her with the physical proof of my desire for her. Seeing her there, what she would look like in my bed... I had urges that would go way beyond poaching.
I watched for at least fifteen minutes before she began to stir. Her awareness of my presence in a room was getting better; she used to sleep for a half-hour or more while I watched her after breaking into her apartment. I could sense the moment she realized she was not alone, because she tensed up but did not change position.
I let her worry.
It lasted about twenty seconds until she rolled over and opened her amazing blue eyes. Fear and panic cleared sleepiness from them quickly.
"I'm trying to decide if I should throw you out the window, or if I should get in next to you." I kept my tone even, hoping she would realize how serious I was about thinking of getting in with her.
"Are there any other options?" she asked me in a slightly husky tone.
She realized.
Even though Tank had given me a heads up on Stephanie's presence, and a good guess as to why she was here, I was curious about how Steph would explain it to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I needed a safe place to stay."
All the times I had offered to put her in a safe house, hell, tried to cuff her and carry her away from the crazies who always seemed to want to hurt her or kill her, and she had finally taken me up on it on her own, when I'm out of town. I still wasn't sure if I was angry that she had broken into my apartment- okay, not technically- but I guess turn about is fair play. I've broken into her place more times than I could count, and she hasn't always been there to catch me. I was amazed that she had figured out the location of my place on her own- and worried to death about what threat was serious enough to drive her away from Morelli and come here. I decided to play superhero a bit longer, trying to get her to admit why she had turned to me for help- again. "And you think that this is safe?" I asked.
"It was until you came home."
I think there actually was a little bit of real fear behind those words. Maybe I had been overdoing the superhero persona just a little bit? Or was it something more personal, more intimate.... I decided to push her a little bit. "What scares you more...getting thrown out the window or sleeping with me?"
Her reaction- sitting up and pulling the covers up with her- gave me the answer her words didn't. "Don't flatter yourself. You're not that scary."
So. She trusted me far enough not to throw her out the window in a fit of rage, but sex with me petrified her. Still, she kept up the bravado despite being alone with me in a vulnerable position. That bravado was the problem. Sometimes Stephanie was as prickly as could be and unwilling to lose face- even when she should know to just give it up. That's how she ended up in half her problems. If she'd just ask for help before it got so damn dangerous-
Which reminded me of what she'd left by my door. For Stephanie to voluntarily wear a flak jacket and carry a gun- MY gun, I noted- she must be terrified. "I saw the gun and the flak vest when I came in."
It was very difficult to keep my expression neutral as she explained about Junkman and the death threat. I wasn't sure who this Junkman was, but I would find out tomorrow. Then I would eliminate him from the scene, however necessary. She had an absolute talent for getting in over her head without any true effort on her part. Bad people just fell into her lap. But this was a very real threat. She was talking about a professional killer here, not just some psycho with a hard-on for her. Obviously, some of that seriousness had sunk into that thick, Burg skull of hers. She did a smart thing in coming here to hide. But I would have liked to have known what was going on. "You should have asked Tank for help."
She swallowed and bit her lip slightly. She often did that when she realized she choose the hard road when an easier- and safer- one was available. "I don't always feel comfortable with Tank."
I could see that. Tank was built and trained to inspire fear, not comfort. But she had nothing to ever fear from anyone working for me. All the men had standing orders regarding Stephanie, and all of them knew of my...special interest... in her. I was actually pretty sure that there was s second bet going on in the control room, after Steph's cars, about when Steph and I would end up together. Of course, it was that "special interest" that probably made it difficult for her to ask Tank for help in my absence.
And made it easy for her to settle into my apartment. Was this an admission of feelings, of a sort? I was curious. "And you feel comfortable with me?"
Her pause made my heart skip just a beat. I wanted to hear her say it, but it wasn't forthcoming. "Babe," I said, with a touch of mental exasperation. How long have I been pursuing this woman? There was something between us; there had been, from the beginning. On my part, it was serious and big and continuing to grow. It was becoming something of an obsession. "You're in my bed."
She tucked a stray hair nervously behind her ear and didn't quite look me in the eye. "Yes. Well, I guess that would indicate a certain comfort level."
"Certain comfort level" indeed. Pretty damn comfortable, judging from her choice of pajamas. Seeing her in my clothes gave me a warm rush. I'd rather see her out of them, but there's something about a woman choosing to wear some article of your clothing when you aren't around that's touching and damn sexy at the same time. "Are you wearing my shirt?"
She at least had the good grace to look a little guilty. "I have to do laundry." Steph was as curious as a cat. I wonder how much snooping she had done through my stuff when she was looking for something to wear. Not that I had a lot of personal items. I just liked my privacy.
Okay, she was wearing my shirt. And she had turned to me for help- again. I thought back to the kiss in the alley when I had first offered her use of my truck. She had kissed me back; she was interested, before she thought about it and realized I was "poaching." Why was she so timid about doing anything about it? I mean, if she really had it for Morelli, they would be married already.
Leaning over, I started unlacing my boots. I was tired of the whole situation right now, and bone-weary from my day. I just wanted to get cleaned up and relax.
Somehow, this set her off her Ranger danger radar- her voice went up a notch when she asked me what I was doing.
I looked over at her. She really looked good in my bed, in my shirt. But I was just too damn tired to keep playing this game. She had walked into the lion's den- let her deal with the newly returned lion. She always backed away from sexual contact now; maybe plain, simple intimacy born of close, non-sexual contact could break down a few of her barriers. "I'm going to bed. I've been up since four this morning, and I just drove nine hours to get home. Half of it in pouring rain. I'm beat. I'm going to take a shower. And I'm going to bed."
"Um..."
Another exasperated mental sigh. "Don't look so panicked. You can sleep on the couch, or you can leave, or you can stay in the bed." I really hoped she would stay. "I'm not going to attack you in your sleep"- no matter how tempted I might be. "At least, it's not my plan right now. We can figure this out in the morning."
She was soundly asleep when I came out, back to the bathroom, face to the wall. I crawled into the bed, carefully arranging myself so that no limbs touched her. I left a safety zone between, so that in a sleep-induced haze I wouldn't accidentally reach out and take her in my arms, as I longed to do. I stared at her back, wondering why she chose to stay instead of moving to the couch. That was a step, wasn't it? As tired as I was, it took me quite a while to fall asleep.
Chapter Two
I was leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over my chest, watching her sleep peacefully in my bed. The danger that had driven her here certainly didn't trouble her rest. I hungrily took in the details of sleep- mussed hair and the creamy skin of her exposed thigh where she had thrown off the comforter. It was difficult not to climb in next to her and awaken her with the physical proof of my desire for her. Seeing her there, what she would look like in my bed... I had urges that would go way beyond poaching.
I watched for at least fifteen minutes before she began to stir. Her awareness of my presence in a room was getting better; she used to sleep for a half-hour or more while I watched her after breaking into her apartment. I could sense the moment she realized she was not alone, because she tensed up but did not change position.
I let her worry.
It lasted about twenty seconds until she rolled over and opened her amazing blue eyes. Fear and panic cleared sleepiness from them quickly.
"I'm trying to decide if I should throw you out the window, or if I should get in next to you." I kept my tone even, hoping she would realize how serious I was about thinking of getting in with her.
"Are there any other options?" she asked me in a slightly husky tone.
She realized.
Even though Tank had given me a heads up on Stephanie's presence, and a good guess as to why she was here, I was curious about how Steph would explain it to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I needed a safe place to stay."
All the times I had offered to put her in a safe house, hell, tried to cuff her and carry her away from the crazies who always seemed to want to hurt her or kill her, and she had finally taken me up on it on her own, when I'm out of town. I still wasn't sure if I was angry that she had broken into my apartment- okay, not technically- but I guess turn about is fair play. I've broken into her place more times than I could count, and she hasn't always been there to catch me. I was amazed that she had figured out the location of my place on her own- and worried to death about what threat was serious enough to drive her away from Morelli and come here. I decided to play superhero a bit longer, trying to get her to admit why she had turned to me for help- again. "And you think that this is safe?" I asked.
"It was until you came home."
I think there actually was a little bit of real fear behind those words. Maybe I had been overdoing the superhero persona just a little bit? Or was it something more personal, more intimate.... I decided to push her a little bit. "What scares you more...getting thrown out the window or sleeping with me?"
Her reaction- sitting up and pulling the covers up with her- gave me the answer her words didn't. "Don't flatter yourself. You're not that scary."
So. She trusted me far enough not to throw her out the window in a fit of rage, but sex with me petrified her. Still, she kept up the bravado despite being alone with me in a vulnerable position. That bravado was the problem. Sometimes Stephanie was as prickly as could be and unwilling to lose face- even when she should know to just give it up. That's how she ended up in half her problems. If she'd just ask for help before it got so damn dangerous-
Which reminded me of what she'd left by my door. For Stephanie to voluntarily wear a flak jacket and carry a gun- MY gun, I noted- she must be terrified. "I saw the gun and the flak vest when I came in."
It was very difficult to keep my expression neutral as she explained about Junkman and the death threat. I wasn't sure who this Junkman was, but I would find out tomorrow. Then I would eliminate him from the scene, however necessary. She had an absolute talent for getting in over her head without any true effort on her part. Bad people just fell into her lap. But this was a very real threat. She was talking about a professional killer here, not just some psycho with a hard-on for her. Obviously, some of that seriousness had sunk into that thick, Burg skull of hers. She did a smart thing in coming here to hide. But I would have liked to have known what was going on. "You should have asked Tank for help."
She swallowed and bit her lip slightly. She often did that when she realized she choose the hard road when an easier- and safer- one was available. "I don't always feel comfortable with Tank."
I could see that. Tank was built and trained to inspire fear, not comfort. But she had nothing to ever fear from anyone working for me. All the men had standing orders regarding Stephanie, and all of them knew of my...special interest... in her. I was actually pretty sure that there was s second bet going on in the control room, after Steph's cars, about when Steph and I would end up together. Of course, it was that "special interest" that probably made it difficult for her to ask Tank for help in my absence.
And made it easy for her to settle into my apartment. Was this an admission of feelings, of a sort? I was curious. "And you feel comfortable with me?"
Her pause made my heart skip just a beat. I wanted to hear her say it, but it wasn't forthcoming. "Babe," I said, with a touch of mental exasperation. How long have I been pursuing this woman? There was something between us; there had been, from the beginning. On my part, it was serious and big and continuing to grow. It was becoming something of an obsession. "You're in my bed."
She tucked a stray hair nervously behind her ear and didn't quite look me in the eye. "Yes. Well, I guess that would indicate a certain comfort level."
"Certain comfort level" indeed. Pretty damn comfortable, judging from her choice of pajamas. Seeing her in my clothes gave me a warm rush. I'd rather see her out of them, but there's something about a woman choosing to wear some article of your clothing when you aren't around that's touching and damn sexy at the same time. "Are you wearing my shirt?"
She at least had the good grace to look a little guilty. "I have to do laundry." Steph was as curious as a cat. I wonder how much snooping she had done through my stuff when she was looking for something to wear. Not that I had a lot of personal items. I just liked my privacy.
Okay, she was wearing my shirt. And she had turned to me for help- again. I thought back to the kiss in the alley when I had first offered her use of my truck. She had kissed me back; she was interested, before she thought about it and realized I was "poaching." Why was she so timid about doing anything about it? I mean, if she really had it for Morelli, they would be married already.
Leaning over, I started unlacing my boots. I was tired of the whole situation right now, and bone-weary from my day. I just wanted to get cleaned up and relax.
Somehow, this set her off her Ranger danger radar- her voice went up a notch when she asked me what I was doing.
I looked over at her. She really looked good in my bed, in my shirt. But I was just too damn tired to keep playing this game. She had walked into the lion's den- let her deal with the newly returned lion. She always backed away from sexual contact now; maybe plain, simple intimacy born of close, non-sexual contact could break down a few of her barriers. "I'm going to bed. I've been up since four this morning, and I just drove nine hours to get home. Half of it in pouring rain. I'm beat. I'm going to take a shower. And I'm going to bed."
"Um..."
Another exasperated mental sigh. "Don't look so panicked. You can sleep on the couch, or you can leave, or you can stay in the bed." I really hoped she would stay. "I'm not going to attack you in your sleep"- no matter how tempted I might be. "At least, it's not my plan right now. We can figure this out in the morning."
She was soundly asleep when I came out, back to the bathroom, face to the wall. I crawled into the bed, carefully arranging myself so that no limbs touched her. I left a safety zone between, so that in a sleep-induced haze I wouldn't accidentally reach out and take her in my arms, as I longed to do. I stared at her back, wondering why she chose to stay instead of moving to the couch. That was a step, wasn't it? As tired as I was, it took me quite a while to fall asleep.