Chapter 9
After the door closed behind the guys I turned to Ranger.
I want to know what color of tie-dye you get to wear, I said with an evil grin.
Not gonna happen, Babe. Ranger answered. He rose and squatted on the floor in front of the couch. He brushed my hair back to look in my eyes. Lester said we were going to dress you like a hippie, not me. He studied me for a moment. Yeah, that should work, he murmured.
What? If I've got to be in disguise, so do you! I certainly wasn't planning on being the only one wearing tie-dyes.
My disguise is different, he answered.
I rolled my eyes. That's not helpful. If I have to be a hippie, what are you supposed to be?
He just stared back at me. He leaned in closer, his lips barely brushing against my ear.
Time to run, he whispered. He took both my hands and pulled me off the couch.
Nice change of subject, like that was going to stop me.
Uh-uh. I need to know what you're supposed to be, I wouldn't want to blow our cover. I came back. Besides, you probably shouldn't run with those stitches. You might pull them out or something. I babbled.
Ranger smiled at me. You're just trying to get out of running. he said.
I looked down at my feet.No, that's not it. I just don't want you to get hurt. I don't know how to get to the hospital from here. I wouldn't even know where to tell the ambulance to go, I paused for a breath.
Ranger put a hand under my chin and tilted my face upwards, forcing me to look into his dark eyes. I could get lost in those eyes, I thought. I stood there staring up at him, hoping all my feelings for him weren't revealed in my own eyes. He tilted his face down so he was just inches from me.
Admit it Steph, he said in his deep, sexy voice.
Um, I..., I stuttered.
he rumbled.
Oh, Okay. I don't like running! There, are you happy? I never could pull one over on Ranger. I don't know why I tried. I was worried about his arm, too, though. I glanced over to his left shoulder to where his stitches were.
Are you sure, it's okay for you to run with the stitches, though? I asked. He must have noticed I was genuinely worried for him.
Yeah, Babe, I'll be fine. He closed the distance between us, and brushed his lips across mine. He pulled back and looked me over. He seemed satisfied with what he saw, because he nodded. I'm going to change into running clothes, we leave in five, he said. Then he was gone.
I flopped back down on the couch and closed my eyes. My thoughts and hormones were whirling. I didn't know how much of all the kissing and touching I was going to be able to take before I jumped the man. I indulged myself by thinking about Ranger. Mocha latte, skin, hard, muscular body, deep, loving brown eyes. Whoa! Loving, where did that come from? Probably better not head down that road. This was the man who had slept with me then told me to repair my relationship with Morelli. Of course, he'd also said the bat cave was forever. Then there was the photo of me by the bed, and all the touching and kissing. Confusing to say the least. I was startled when Ranger spoke.
Deep thoughts, Babe? he whispered in my ear.
How had he gotten that close without me hearing anything? I opened my eyes and saw he had changed into a pair of tight black running shorts and tennis shoes. No shirt, either. I might just pass out, I thought as I let my eyes rove over his muscular legs and up to his perfect chest. Yum.
I wasn't ready to start my inquisition yet, so I grasped on to something that had bothered me about the aliases Lester picked. Um, no, just wondering why Lester got the name wrong. Phew.
Ranger quirked an eyebrow. I knew what that meant. I was going to have to explain what the hell I was talking about.
Linda Carter was the actress who played Wonder Woman on tv. The name of Wonder Woman's alter ego was Diana Prince. Batman's alter ego was Bruce Wayne, but that wasn't the actor's name. So, Lester got the name wrong. I explained, waving my hands around to make my point.
Ranger looked at me for a moment, a smile slowly taking over his face. God I loved to see him smile. Then he threw back his head and his booming laughter filled the room.
God, I love you, Steph, he said.
I froze. I managed to keep my jaw from dropping, but just barely. Not ready, not ready. I hopped up.
Let's go, I blurted out.
Ranger recovered himself, the blank mask quickly falling into place. He turned to the door and I followed him out the door into a hallway that had 3 other unmarked doors leading off of it. At the end of the hall was a large wooden door. I followed Ranger to that one. He slid a card into a slot beside the door, and opened it. I stood on tiptoe to look out over Ranger's shoulder.
The door opened onto a huge porch painted dove gray. The lattice work and railings were white. It looked for all the world like a typical colonial style house from the outside. Looking past the porch, I saw a perfect emerald green lawn with a single giant weeping willow tree in the center. The lawn was surrounded by giant evergreen trees, making it impossible to see any other houses or a road. Well, one thing was certain, Ranger lived in a very private place. I was sure the security was probably impenetrable, too.
Ranger moved down the steps and toward the yard. I followed him wondering whether I was supposed to do laps in the yard or what. Turns out I wasn't wrong. As we reached the lawn I saw there was a cinder oval track laid out to circle the yard. I rolled my eyes. I should have guessed Ranger would have his own personal secluded track.
Saw that, he called back over his shoulder, as he started to run.
Because I was feeling so mature, I responded by sticking out my tongue. He either didn't notice or decided to ignore me and continued running. I followed him at top speed for a while, then slowed down to a jog. I admired the view in front of me. The man did have a gorgeous body, and those shorts showed him off to perfection.
I kept falling further and further behind, concentrating on breathing and moving my feet at the same time. Ranger lapped me twice as I ran. After he passed me the second time, I decided it was time for a break. It looked nice and shady by the willow tree, so I walked over to it. I sat and leaned back against the trunk. I looked around and tried to figure out where I could be. I guessed I must be in one of the nicer neighborhoods judging by all the space, and the size of the house. The house was interesting. From the inside, I had thought it was an apartment building, but from here it looked like any other historic mansion. Looks like Ranger's house might be in disguise, too.
I turned my attention back to watching Ranger as he came into view. He finished his lap, and jogged over to me. He gracefully lowered himself to the ground beside me.
Good run? I asked.
He nodded.
I've got to call Lula. We're supposed to go shopping today, I blurted out. I couldn't just not show, she'd shoot me, or at least taser me.
Calm down, Babe. I'll go with you. He answered. He was looking at me a little funny, I thought.
Are you okay? Shopping wasn't something I'd ever had a man volunteer to do with me. I wasn't too sure how comfortable I was with the idea of shopping with Ranger, either. I mean, what if he thought he should look at the lingerie with us? I could just imagine Lula embarrassing me to death. Maybe her shooting me would be easier. I was pretty sure there was no Guns R Us store at the mall, so I'm not sure what Ranger would be interested in shopping for.
Yeah, I shop. We need to find you some clothes for your disguise,he answered with a grin.
What about your disguise? I asked.
His smile spread to his eyes. Taken care of.Oh, whole closetful of tie-dyes already? I asked innocently. I really wanted to know what his disguise was supposed to be. It didn't seem fair that only I had to dress like a hippie.
He just shook his head and stood. I pushed myself up off the ground and stood beside him. Go get ready, I'll call Lula. We leave in thirty.
Yikes! I was going to have to speed shower and pray to the hair gods for help. No time to waste. I took off running for the front door. Luckily, Ranger got there first and opened the door with his magic card. I didn't have a magic card. I pushed past him, and rushed past him through his apartment door. I scrambled up the steps, only tripping once, and into the bat shower. I thought I heard laughter behind me, but I didn't have time to concern myself with that, I had a shopping trip to prepare for.