Please let me know what you think!
Warning: Some icky description of the head and a tinsy bit of smut!
Chapter 19
'What?' said Lester defensively.
'You're watching 'Sleepy Hollow'.'
'So?' said Bobby, looking confused, 'It's a good movie, even chicks like it – it has Johnny Depp in it.'
Ric took a deep breath and resisted the urge to strangle his men, 'Sleepy Hollow is about a headless horseman that goes around chopping people's heads off.'
Ric looked at his men's blank faces and wondered if they'd been dropped on the head repeatedly as children. Ric sighed, and he spoke in a voice that you would use with very slow children, 'what did Steph find in her oven?'
Lester: 'Shit!'
Bobby: 'Fuck!'
Danny: 'Bollocks!'
Nick: 'Crap!'
'I think that sums it up,' Ric said dryly. 'Fucking idiots.' He muttered, shaking his head. Then he turned on his heel and went looking for his Babe.
He found her curled up in the sleepy place, fast asleep, brown curls spread about her head like a dark halo. 'Mi angel,' Ric said softly with a tender smile. Then he leaned down and gently picked her up, 'My Babe.' He cradled her in his arms and carried her to his bed, 'our bed,' he corrected himself quietly. He laid her down and eased her out of her clothes. Then he took off his top and put it on her. She liked wearing his t-shirts; she said they smelled of him. He removed the rest of his clothes and crawled in next to her.
It was still quite early but Ric was tired. The adrenaline, which had shot through his system when the panic button had gone off, had dissipated – leaving him exhausted. He draped an arm around his woman and drifted off to sleep.
I knew I was dreaming, and I knew what I was dreaming about. But I couldn't make it stop.
'Hey wake up!' I tapped on Rex's can. He twitched his whiskers at me and went back in his can. Huh. I gave him a grape and fresh water and felt like a better hamster mummy. I was busy congratulating myself when I sniffed the air, something didn't smell so good.
Oh no, I really don't want to do this bit again! I watched helplessly as my hands started opening and closing cupboards.
Finally I opened the oven, the smell of death wafted out. But curiosity always gets the better of me. I knew something really icky was in there…but I had to know what it was, especially when I heard this little 'tap, tap' noise. Now I definitely had to know. I hunched down and looked inside.
The 'tap, tap' was caused by the blood droplets dropping from the severed head onto the foil in the bottom of my oven. I raised my eyes from the foil and noted that bits of the spinal chord that were hanging out from the neck, as was what looked like gristle. The wound looked messy, like someone had hacked repeatedly at the neck, rather than one clean blow. My eyes continued to rise, and I noticed the look of pure horror on the man's face, the mouth was open slightly, as if in mid scream. I noted all of this in a few seconds. Who knew a few seconds could be so long?
Curiosity killed the cat, I thought suddenly, my stomach going squishy.
I dragged my eyes up and looked into the milky eyes of the dead. I screamed.
I sat bolt upright and tried to choke off the scream.
Rico's arms wrapped around me and held me close, 'It's all right Baby. It's all right.'
But it wasn't. The man was still dead. And I'd still found his head in my oven. My fricking oven!
'I know,' Ric said soothingly. 'We'll find who killed him.' I nodded and let myself be overtaken by tears again.
He rocked me back and forth and stroked my hair, silently comforting me. And when the tears stopped I leaned forward and kissed him. I pulled back, my eyes pleading with him to make this shadow leave my heart. He looked in my eyes and saw my soul; he leaned forward and kissed me – pure emotion, pure love, pouring into me with such a simple act.
My heart kick started with a ka-thump and I pressed my lips to his again. I parted my lips slightly and slipped my tongue into his waiting warmth. I massaged his tongue with mine and his hands slipped under the shirt that I was wearing, which, I realised with startlement, was his. Always he surprised me. I moaned low in my throat and my hands ran up and down his luscious body, pausing to rub and teases his nipples. He let out a gasp of pleasure and he pulled his shirt off me, tossing it somewhere carelessly. He pushed me gently back into the bed.
His skilled hands stroked my body whilst his lips kissed my skin. His right hand slipped down my body and found my clit. He rubbed my hard nub in sure, slow circles. I pulled my legs up, heel to ass, spreading myself for him in invitation.
'Please.' I managed to say.
Ric looked in my eyes and he knew what I wanted. His fingers did not pause in their torturous teasing of me as he manoeuvred his body so that his cock was at my entrance. He eased himself into me slightly and I moaned, 'more.' I tried to rock down on him but his hand held me in place.
He smiled at me and eased a little more of himself in me, 'I love you' he whispered. He pulled back, and then he eased a little more of himself inside me, 'I love you,' Ric repeated, and then he pulled back. He was invading my body with slow deliberate thrusts and each time he got deeper, he told me he loved me, and each time I felt the shadow recede that much more.
Eventually he pushed his full length inside of me and it was so tight, such a perfect fit. I felt complete. He picked up tempo slightly and my nails racked down his back. He exploded with a gasped 'I love you Baby!' and feeling him come inside me, spilling his seed inside me, triggered my own release, 'I love you Rico!'
Tears welled in my eyes once more, but these were tears of pleasure and of love. Now I understood the difference between sex and making love.
Ric kissed my tears away, 'I love you Baby, and I'll never stop loving you.'
'I love you Rico, you're everything to me. Everything.' We kissed lightly again, and with our limbs intertwined we sunk back into sleep. If I dreamt, it was only of Ric.
I was awoken by someone gently stroking my hair. I smiled, 'hey Rico.'
'Hey Baby.' Ric said softly. I opened my eyes and looked into his chocolate ones.
'Ready for breakfast?'
Honestly? I was hungry, but I really didn't want to get out of this warm bed. Ric laughed softly, 'you don't have to.'
'Damn Esp,' I said. But it was more out of habit than any real conviction; the truth was I really loved the way he could tell what I was thinking.
Ric picked up a tray from the floor beside him. On the tray were two Boston cream donuts, a cup of coffee exactly the way I liked it, and a single red rose in a tall, thin, glass vase.
'Oh.' I said in a happy voice, and then I pulled him to me and kissed him thoroughly. 'You're so perfect!'
Ric laughed, 'not hardly. But I love that you think so, it makes me want to try to be better than I am.'
'Not possible,' I said firmly, 'you're the best man I know.'
He smiled hugely, 'thanks.'
'You're welcome.' I replied, smiling. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, 'What's the time?'
'Seven.'
'Huh? How come you're up so late?'
Ric laughed and pulled back his side of the covers. He was fully dressed. 'I've already been on a run, had a shower, eaten breakfast, done the compound debriefing, and driven to the Tasty Pastry. But I wanted to lie next to the woman I love for ten minutes. Besides, I wanted you to wake up with me next to you.'
'You're so adorable!'
'Babe,' he said in his mock exasperated voice, 'what did I say?
'I can't call you cute, sweet or adorable. You're not cute, or sweet, or adorable. You're sexy, strong, and brave – very Macho. Got it.'
His lips curved up in amusement, 'I love you.'
I smiled at him, my heart feeling light, 'aren't I the lucky one?'
'Definitely. You get the day off today.'
'Ranger! You can't just give me the day off because you love me…'I was silenced by his lips on mine.
'I'm not. I'm giving you the day off because you got your skip with two days to spare. Besides, I'd give anyone the day off if they found…uh…what you did in your oven. Ok?'
'Oh. Ok then.'
'Babe?'
'Yeah?'
'What's with calling me Ranger?'
'Oh. Well, I figured that when we're working I should call you Ranger, as that's your working name, you know? And then when we're not working I can call you Ric or Rico. You wouldn't really call me Baby in front of all the guys, would you? You'd call me Babe or Steph. It's like when the boys call me Bombshell in front of other people but when we're alone, they call me Angel. You see?'
'I see. It's a good idea Baby.' He glanced at his watch and sighed, 'I'd better go soon. What's your plans for today?'
'I figure I'll just hang out here if that's ok? Maybe go to the gym and go swimming?'
'Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I called your mom last night to do damage control about the head thing, but you might want to call her later to reassure her.'
'You think of everything, don't you? I'll call her.'
Ric smiled, 'I try. If you go out, take Bear with you, ok? He's in the comm. room at the moment, but when you're up and about I expect he'll come and hang with you, keep you safe.'
'Isn't the compound safe?' I said, feeling rather alarmed.
'About as safe as the pentagon, don't worry. It's just I think Bear wants to check on you, make sure you're ok after yesterday.'
'Oh. How do you know all that if he doesn't speak to you?'
'I've been working with Bear for nearly five years, he's what helped hone my Esp.'
'Oh. Well, have a good day Rico.'
'You too Baby, I'll come see you if I have any spare time today. Don't forget you have to go to the station to sign your statement, and don't forget to take Bear with you. Ok?'
I saluted him and he laughed. He kissed me goodbye and was gone like the wind.
