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 Nine An Admission
Stephanie pulled herself up from the bed and straightened the little that she wore. Pushing her hair back, she leaned against her bureau, a safe distance from Ranger. "What was your wife like?"
Eyes narrowed, Ranger's voice was puzzled and impatient. "Why are you asking that right now?"
"Did you love her, too?"
Ranger finished off the beer on his nightstand. "I married her, didn't I?"
"That's not an answer."
"Why do you need to know this?"
"Ranger, I really want to sleep with you right now. But I don't know you. I know hardly anything about you. Sex with you is like doing it with a blindfold. Scary and wonderful, but still scary." Stephanie reached for her jeans. She needed more clothing between her and Ranger. "I'd rather have sex with someone I know and trust than a stranger. If I wanted a stranger, I could've had Jason Devine, or even Tank."
A muscle contorted in Ranger's face. "Tank's wife wouldn't have liked that."
A retort that Tank's wife have wouldn't liked a lot of what happened tonight died in Steph's mouth. "Ranger, listen to what I'm trying to say. I'm asking you, is this just going to be sex, or do you want something more, too?"
The "too" got his attention. His voice was raw. "What's wrong with just sex?"
Stephanie felt her heart begin to drop. "If that's what we both want, and are happy with, nothing." She paused, biting her lip. "Are you happy with just sex?"
Ranger reached for her again, unsnapping jeans one-handed. "Let's find out."
Emotionally, Steph was unsatisfied with the conversation. Physically, her body wanted to know why she was still talking. She returned his urgent kisses fiercely, biting his lip and sucking his tongue into her mouth. She quieted her mind as best she could. His hands- and tongue- and other hard parts of him- took care of the rest.
When they were through, some time later, Steph lay snuggled up against Ranger's back, bare skin to bare skin. Her eyes were closed, and she was almost asleep when she heard Ranger's whispered answer to the Abruzzi question.
"I killed Abruzzi to protect you. It was the only way he was going to let you alone. I needed to keep you safe."
Steph considered it a moment. Her feelings about Ranger didn't really change, finally knowing what she had suspected all along. Abruzzi's death was the only thing that had kept her alive after Evelyn's departure with Annie. This admission was also the closest thing to an explanation of how Ranger loved her that she was likely to get. "I thought so. I never got a chance to say it, but thanks."
Steph closed her eyes, soaking up his warm presence next to her until she drifted off to sleep. It was sometime before Ranger's finally relaxed enough that his breath fell into the deep pattern of sleep.
Chapter Nine An Admission
Stephanie pulled herself up from the bed and straightened the little that she wore. Pushing her hair back, she leaned against her bureau, a safe distance from Ranger. "What was your wife like?"
Eyes narrowed, Ranger's voice was puzzled and impatient. "Why are you asking that right now?"
"Did you love her, too?"
Ranger finished off the beer on his nightstand. "I married her, didn't I?"
"That's not an answer."
"Why do you need to know this?"
"Ranger, I really want to sleep with you right now. But I don't know you. I know hardly anything about you. Sex with you is like doing it with a blindfold. Scary and wonderful, but still scary." Stephanie reached for her jeans. She needed more clothing between her and Ranger. "I'd rather have sex with someone I know and trust than a stranger. If I wanted a stranger, I could've had Jason Devine, or even Tank."
A muscle contorted in Ranger's face. "Tank's wife wouldn't have liked that."
A retort that Tank's wife have wouldn't liked a lot of what happened tonight died in Steph's mouth. "Ranger, listen to what I'm trying to say. I'm asking you, is this just going to be sex, or do you want something more, too?"
The "too" got his attention. His voice was raw. "What's wrong with just sex?"
Stephanie felt her heart begin to drop. "If that's what we both want, and are happy with, nothing." She paused, biting her lip. "Are you happy with just sex?"
Ranger reached for her again, unsnapping jeans one-handed. "Let's find out."
Emotionally, Steph was unsatisfied with the conversation. Physically, her body wanted to know why she was still talking. She returned his urgent kisses fiercely, biting his lip and sucking his tongue into her mouth. She quieted her mind as best she could. His hands- and tongue- and other hard parts of him- took care of the rest.
When they were through, some time later, Steph lay snuggled up against Ranger's back, bare skin to bare skin. Her eyes were closed, and she was almost asleep when she heard Ranger's whispered answer to the Abruzzi question.
"I killed Abruzzi to protect you. It was the only way he was going to let you alone. I needed to keep you safe."
Steph considered it a moment. Her feelings about Ranger didn't really change, finally knowing what she had suspected all along. Abruzzi's death was the only thing that had kept her alive after Evelyn's departure with Annie. This admission was also the closest thing to an explanation of how Ranger loved her that she was likely to get. "I thought so. I never got a chance to say it, but thanks."
Steph closed her eyes, soaking up his warm presence next to her until she drifted off to sleep. It was sometime before Ranger's finally relaxed enough that his breath fell into the deep pattern of sleep.