At quarter of seven, we were pulling into driveway of the LaFayette Yard Marriott, exhausted from a whirlwind day of shopping and eating. Not that I did any shopping. Even if the stores that we had gone to hadn't been way too pricey for my budget, since the chaperone had picked them out, they were much too stuffy and old fashioned. If I had a normal grandmother, I would have said that they were the kind of stores that my grandmother would like, but even Grandma Mazur would have turned up her nose at the dowdy crap that we saw. We had lunch at the Russian Tea Room and an early dinner at the Tavern on the Green before leaving the city.

PJ gave a little gasp as the car pulled to a stop in front of the lobby. (She was now 'PJ', short for 'Princess Jee-Hanna' and I was 'BB', short for 'Burg Babe'.)

"Check out the MRT!" she gasped. 'MRT' was short for 'Most Righteous Torso' and I was pretty sure I knew who she was looking at before I even looked out the window.

On the sidewalk under the overhang stood Ranger looking like a chocolate Adonis under the glittering lights. He wore his trademark black skintight tee shirt which showed every cut and line of his magnificent abs. Just the sight of his chest and biceps made your fingers itch to roam over every swell and valley. For the occasion, he was wearing skin tight black cords and I bit my lip as I thought to myself 'Commando! No underwear!'

"Yeah." I agreed with a sigh, "M.M.R.T! And the rest of him ain't too shabby either. That is Ranger."

"That is the man whom you work for?"

That phrasing rankled just a tad. "No. That is the man that I work with."

She shot me a mischievous glance as Tank walked around to open her door. "How about if you go to Gudang and be the princess and I will stay here and be the Burg Babe?"

The door opening prevented me from answering right away. As she stepped out, Ranger stepped up to greet us. She stood between us as Ranger looked me right in the eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly.

I glanced over at the Princess. "No." I answered baldly.

PJ grinned. "Hey, it was worth the shot."

"Can't blame the girl for trying."

PJ gave me a hug and I returned it with an equal fervor. "Good night, BB! I will see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, PJ! Sleep tight!"

I watched her affectionately as she walked into the hotel, followed by her chaperone, Lester and Hal. I could feel Ranger's eyes on me and I waited for a moment before I shot him a sideways glance.

"BB?" he asked, his lips fighting the smile.

Well, duh! "Burg Babe." I told him, smirking with an air of superiority.

"Tank tells me you two hit it off pretty well. A little touch and go at the beginning. Tank was afraid that he was going to have to break up a catfight at one point."

"Just a little sparring. She's one smart kid." My gaze wandered into the lobby and I smiled as PJ gave me a little wave before the elevator doors closed on her. "She's shouldering a lot of responsibility right now as well as a lot of other baggage. I'm surprised at how normal she is, and funny. I think she's a tad more hormonal than I was at that age, but I suppose it's not surprising that she's developing early considering how quickly she's been forced to mature in other areas."

I felt Ranger's fingers playing with the curls at my temple and I turned and lost my breath as I caught the expression in his eyes. "You will never fail to amaze me, you know that, don't you?" His voice was so low and breathy and held a note that I had never heard there before. A tingle, starting where his finger touched my cheek, flared heat right through my body and I felt my legs trembling. My eyes locked on his lips as his head bent down and I felt his lips brush mine. My body was on fire and my mind was a complete blank. If he had ripped off my clothes and fucked me right there on the driveway of the hotel, I wouldn't have offered an ounce of resistance.

I stumbled forward as he pulled back, stepping away from me. My mind was mush and it was with a start that I remembered where we were. Ranger's smile was twisted but his eyes were warm with laughter and maybe something deeper.

"Oops, sorry!" I said. I don't know why I said that. It just came out. Ranger's smile widened. He reached into his rear pocket and pulled out a slim wallet.

"You're off until tomorrow morning at seven AM. I'll see you then." He peeled off some bills and handed them to me. "I know you're strapped for cash, so here's an advance on your paycheck."

I looked down and quickly counted ten one-hundred dollar bills. "Wow. Is this for today and tomorrow?"

"No, you'll earn another grand tomorrow. And trust me, keeping the princess in check, you're worth ten times that."

Sweet! I was headed for the mall! There was a shoe sale at Macy's and if I was going to be hanging with the Merry Men, I really felt as if I need some sexy black underwear from Victoria's Secrets. "Thanks, Ranger!"

I turned to see the Big Blue parked behind me. Ranger must have ordered it up from Valet Parking before we had arrived. I started towards the car only to feel a hand grab my neck and pull me back. I had barely turned when I felt Ranger's lips on my mouth, his tongue tickling mine, and one of his hands running down my back to gently stroke my buttocks. My mind turned to mush again.

Again, he broke away abruptly. "Take care, Babe. See you tomorrow."

I stumbled blindly to my car. Thank God the keys in the ignition because I think it might have taken me the better part of an hour if I had to try and put the key in that tiny slot myself. Ranger stood at the doorway and watched as I pulled away. How I managed to drive the car down the driveway and turn on to LaFayette Street, I'll never know. As soon as I was out of sight of the hotel, I pulled over and banged my head against the steering wheel a couple of times.

"I am so confused." I announced out loud.

I took a deep breath, pulled myself together, and did what any self-respecting Burg Babe would do when confronted with a crisis of such monumental proportions.

I went shopping.