RQFic August Challenge of "Too Hot to Handle"
Rating: I'm keeping NC-17 as my new best friend.
Disclaimers: Color me spoilered all the way through TWELVE SHARP.
I don't own them. I don't profit from them other than wild fantasies about Ranger. You know what is JE and what is not. I couldn't claim to be JE even if I wanted to. She has talent that I could never dream about having.
A/N: Yes, I'm working on WCA. No, Chapter 11 is not done yet. I'm working on it. I promise. I hope to have it ready to go soon. :) And yes, I'm working on the final part of Satisfaction Guaranteed, it's titled "Or Your Money Back."

"Scorching"

I was having one of those days where I wished I had stayed inside where it was air conditioned and could take a cold shower when the air conditioning didn't do it for me. I knew it was going to be a bad one this morning when the forecasters were talking about a scorching heat wave and heat warnings throughout the day today. But I turned off the television and thought to myself that it wouldn't be that bad. I'd been through worse without air conditioning and I wouldn't have to do anything outside today except to walk to my car and walk into the office. I had some houses I wanted to check out for a skip that had gone MIA, but that is what A/C in the car was for.

Yeah, right.

As soon as I stepped outside this morning, I thought my shoe soles might have melted to the asphalt and my tamed curly hair went into instant frizz status. It was so sweltering that I broke out in a sweat as soon as I walked out of the building. I was a puddle by the time I made it to the Mini and flipped the A/C button over to high. I waited through the initial blast of hot air to get to the icy cold feeling of being spoiled with A/C. It never came. This awful noise squealed from the front end and then was accompanied by a loud pop.

That could only mean one thing and it wasn't good news.

The A/C was broken and I was without the cash to drop it off to get it fixed. I let loose a string of curse words so strong that God might have felt Heaven shake with my fury. I pounded on the dash and flipped the button back and forth. Nothing.

I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to step to thump my head on the steering wheel a couple of times. I flipped the button off and it the automatic button for the windows, rolling them down all the way. I got stuck in gridlock traffic on Hamilton half way to the office and had to sit in stand still for thirty minutes. By the time I made it to this office, I'd pissed off everyone within a five-mile radius and was pretty pissed off myself.

Life without A/C in heat wave like this was hell on the nerves.

I'd been reduced to stripping off clothing like layers of skin. I was now just left with a tiny spaghetti string tank top and cut off jean shorts I'd put on this morning. I'd even slipped to new lows and pulled my shoes and socks off. Only good that did was I beat the hell out of the dash with my sneaker every couple of blocks. Good stress reliever, but the other drivers gave me strange looks and I returned the favor by giving them a goodbye gift; an Italian hand signal that didn't mean 'have a nice day', if you get my drift.

I slipped my sneakers back on and forgot the socks on the floorboard. Jumped out of the Mini and hightailed it into the office, sucking in the A/C with a satisfactory "Ahhhhh." Lula took one look at me and shook her head.

"Girl, you ever heard of A/C?"

I gave her a look and Connie piped up.

"That hair is scary. You might wanna get a hat to tame it down otherwise the birds might try to nest in it."

I slid Connie a look that shouted pissed off and resisted the urge to grab the scissors out of her desk and chop off all my damn hair. It was sticking to the back of my neck and the rest of it that had been in a ponytail had frizzed out of the rubber band.

"The A/C in the Mini broke this morning. I've been reduced to open windows but that doesn't work so well when you get stuck in traffic for thirty minutes without a breeze." I took a deep breath and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face.

"You think you should be doing surveillance on Randy Gribbs without A/C in your car?" Lula said, peeking her head into the bathroom. "You'll be out there all day! And with your pasty white skin, you'll be burnt to a crisp."

"Yeah," Connie said, "There is always tomorrow. You should just take your car in to get it fixed and go after him tomorrow."

I looked up from the bathroom sink, wiping off the excess water dripping off my face with a paper towel.

"Problem is, without that money from dragging Randy Gribbs in, I can't fix the Mini."

"We could take the firebird." Lula offered. "The firebird has A/C and a sound system that plays the beats."

Vinnie came out of his office.

"Stephanie doesn't need a damn babysitter, for Crissakes!" Vinnie shouted at us, "It's not that fucking hot outside. Grow some balls and get back to work!"

I flipped him the stiff middle finger.

"And you," Vinnie said, pointing at Lula, "You have an open file that you are supposed to be working on. What do you think? I run a fucking charity house around here? Get me that FTA. That's your job."

Lula narrowed her eyes at Vinnie.

"You best not be talking to me. I don't have to take your shit."

"That's where you're wrong!" Vinnie called out as he walked back into his office, "I sign your paychecks."

"More like I sign them." Connie said under her breath. "He sits in his office all day and plays 'Mister Happy Fingers' with his Johnson."

"I heard that." Vinnie said, as he closed the door to his office.

"It's okay." I told them both. "Not like I've always had A/C in the car. I'll survive. Look how long I had the Nova and the Buick doesn't have A/C either."

"I don't like it." Lula told me, leaning against the doorframe. "Screw what Vinnie says. That FTA ain't going nowhere. He'll be at that same dumpy ass rat trap he calls an apartment tomorrow. He's too doped up to see straight to leave anyway."

I threw my paper towel in the trashcan and Lula took a step away to allow me out of the bathroom. As much as I would like to take her up on her offer, she needed money too. I didn't want to do that to her.

"It's no biggie." I said. "I'll look around and I won't stay out long."

Connie eyed me suspiciously but didn't say anything. I didn't get off so easy with Lula.

"I know you." Lula said, putting a hand on her hip. "You'll stay out there all damn day if you think that he'll show. You just remember if your ass stays out there all day and you are burnt red like a lobster tomorrow, I'm not gonna cut you any slack. You dig me?"

"I'm not going to stay out there all day!" Yeesh! I've entered into the Spanish Inquisition here.

Lula narrowed her eyes at me.

"You remember that tomorrow when you are knee deep in that blue Aloe gunk."

I rolled my eyes and looked to Connie for help.

"You have anything new for me today, Connie?" I asked; taking in as much cool A/C air as I possibly could before I went back outside into hell.

"You have one new one, but you might want to look it over first and tell me if you'd rather RangeMan pick it up. The bond is on the borderline and the felonies are bad enough that Ranger might be interested in it."

Connie went around her desk and slid the file across it for me. I picked it up without looking inside.

"You mind if I take it with me? Makes for good reading material for my afternoon."

"Be my guest." Connie told me. "Just let Ranger know if you don't want it."

I nodded my head. "Will do."

I took a look outside and willed myself to leave. It's always worse to go outside when you know it's scorching hot and you are without a way stay cooled off. I squared my shoulders, walking over to the doors without hesitating and was greeted with a blast of air so hot and muggy that it stole my breath away. This was going to be a long day.

I had sweat dripping in places that I didn't even want to think about. My tank top was clinging to me like second skin and I had given up long ago on my hair. I should have been born at an age when disco dancing was popular. I had the 'fro hair that would do any disco baby proud. It was mid-afternoon now and the air was thick with smog and the stifling heat. I had been sitting in this spot for a couple of hours and it was my last stop of the day. Since it was the last place, and his 'other' girlfriend's house, I figured I had a shot at him showing up. I tapped my fingernails on the steering wheel and turned the radio up a pinch in the volume. Not that the song was a good one, but I needed something to keep my mind off the heat.

I was doing a neck roll, when the passenger door wretched open. I immediately sat up in my seat, reaching for my Sig that was in my pocketbook, when I was met with a familiar face.

Ranger.

"Slumming today on the streets?" I asked, taking in his appearance. He was dressed as a street thug today. He must have been down on Stark scoping out a file, I thought to myself. He was looking at my hair and I subconsciously brought my hand up to it to smooth it down.

"You're looking a little hot, babe." Ranger said to me, letting his eyes caress me slowly. That did nothing for the temperature of my body. I was looking for a cool down, not a hot flash that sends the signal down south to wake up. "Any reason why you are sitting here without the air conditioner on?"

I shrugged my shoulder and kept my eyes on the house. I was willing myself not to get overheated. The heat makes you do crazy things, and things weren't exactly squared away in either of my relationships. I'd told Morelli that I loved him, but it hadn't amounted to much. I loved him, but he realized I wasn't in love with him. He wasn't blind. He knew who I was in love with, but I couldn't do anything about it. Morelli and I were still carrying on like usual. Off again stage didn't mean much right now, and Morelli was so busy with work that we didn't have time for each other. I hadn't been spending much time with Ranger either, unless you count the alley beside the Bond's Office, in the garage on Haywood, or up against the front door of my apartment. I was in deep with Ranger, with no way to dig myself out if I ever wanted to. Spending time with Ranger was always learning experience.

"Broken." I told Ranger.

He seemed to debate that for a minute. He knew better than to ask why I wasn't getting it fixed and why I chose to be out on the street in a black Mini Cooper sweating my ass off in the hottest day of summer.

"You here about the FTA file Connie gave me?" I let my eyes wander from his eyes to his lips without really knowing what I was doing. The heat was short-circuiting my brain. Ranger cleared his throat and I licked my lips. Ranger chuckled and reached for the file on the dash. He glanced over the contents quickly and closed the file. The corners of his lips tipped up slightly as he looked back up at me.

"Partly." Ranger told me. He fingered a frizzed curl and the thoughts of making him just as sweaty as I was, rushed into my mind. I brought my eyes back up to his and his eyes darkened to dark chocolate.

"Babe."

I blinked a couple of times and shook my head. "Sorry. It's the heat. I can't think straight."

The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up, "Having indecent thoughts, babe?"

"That's only the half of it." I told him truthfully. "The heat makes people do crazy things."

"Feeling a little wild?" Ranger asked me, leaning closer to me so that his lips were inches away from mine, "Or do you want something to help cool you off?"

I gasped at the thought of Ranger cooling me off. My mind was playing wicked tricks on me. All I could think about was a cold shower with Ranger heating my blood up with the things that he could do with his mouth. Suddenly, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the Mini and my pulse was fluttering wildly. I leaned away from Ranger and fanned myself. Ranger flashed me an evil grin. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You did that on purpose!"

"I'd like to do more things on purpose to you, babe. And talking isn't one of them."

Oh boy, I thought. The heat curled into a tight knot formed in my abdomen and my heart rate was getting out of control. I had to get home fast. I needed a cold shower like no one had needed it before! I looked around for a vehicle and didn't see the either Porsche or the standard RangeMan SUV.

"Where's your vehicle?"

Ranger slid his hand over mine on the steering wheel and his fingers were sliding in a pattern that reminded me of a horizontal dance you do while laying naked in a bed.

"Tank dropped me off."

I was watching his fingers draw patterns over the creases of each finger and each time his index finger dipped into the crease a shot of heat struck me so hard I had to keep from moaning out loud. I bit my lip and looked up into his eyes.

"You're not playing fair." I murmured.

Ranger gave me a half smile, and scraped a fingernail lightly over the skin causing me to squirm in my seat.

"I never said I would, babe."

I didn't have a reply to that. I hadn't exactly been pushing him away all these months either, more like pulling him closer and getting closer to the edge. Ranger laced his finger in mine and brought my fingers to his mouth where he open mouthed kissed each one, letting his tongue flick the tips. My nipples hardened to tight little pencil points and pushed out against the soaked fabric of my skimpy tank top. I didn't want to watch but I couldn't drag my eyes away from his either. When his teeth scraped against the fingertip of my index finger, a tiny moan escaped my lips before I could suppress it. I found myself leaning close to him, turning up my face, parting my lips, watching Ranger lower his mouth onto mine before I finally snapped out of it.

He was doing this on purpose, knowing that he could get to me. Ranger was seducing me in the front seat of my Mini, with no air conditioning and me sweating bullets. I pulled my hand from him and leaned back in my seat. My heart was racing to its own beat and my breathing was coming out in sporadic pants. Not to mention my shorts were soaked, and not from sweat, I might add.

I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't pulled away. Ranger just knew he was beyond temptation for me. If only I could keep my mouth shut and stop telling him how much he affected me. That I just couldn't help myself when he touched me. Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie, I heard my conscience say; you'd be riding him like a pony racing for a new world record if he would've kissed you. In the broad daylight and in front of a hangout for a FTA you are supposed to be staking out, no less. I took a deep breath and held it for a minute while I tried to calm down my racing hormones. It wasn't doing any good, but it was the thought that counts, right?

"So," I said, sounding a little too breathless for my liking, "Where are you off to?" The bat cave, your home that still remains a mystery, or a foreign country that is nameless? I was pleading to myself. Please say anywhere other than to my apartment.

He flashed me that patented 200-watt smile, and I knew I was a goner. But I was going to pretend it didn't affect me.

"All right then." I said, cranking the engine over and whipping a U-turn in the middle of the road. The FTA was just going to have to wait until tomorrow. I wasn't going to be able to concentrate until I got rid of the naughty Ranger thoughts dancing through my head. Only thing that would take care of that was a cold shower and a healthy relationship with the shower massager.

I wove through the back roads and several minutes later I pulled into the back lot of my apartment complex. I looked at Ranger expectantly, hoping he was going to say that Tank was meeting him here to pick him up; but that wasn't the answer I got. Instead I got Ranger giving me the once over and was graced with another all-knowing smile. Damn the luck, this was bad. I thought to myself. This was really, really bad. I'd have to try really hard not to do anything if he went upstairs with me, and I knew that wasn't possible. Trouble was that he knew it too.

"Babe." Ranger said to me as he was getting out of the Mini. I had neglected to roll up the windows and at this point was stalling for time.

"I'd hate for anyone to steal it." I said, taking my time getting out of the car. I had to peel myself off the bucket seat, and adjust my wet clothes so that they weren't clinging indecently. Ranger's eyes danced with amusement and shot him a look. Ranger held the door open to the building and I bolted in without brushing up against him. I wanted to rub up on him like a cat in heat, but I didn't think my hormones could take that right now. I was on a tight leash of control as it was, if I didn't watch it was I going to be seducing him against the elevator doors, stairwell or in the hallway where Mr. Wolesky could watch. I wasn't into voyeurism. No matter how desperate I was.

I took the stairs two at a time and practically sprinted to my door, hoping the sooner we could get in there, the sooner he could check the apartment out and leave with no harm done. I shoved my key in the lock before Ranger could step up behind me and threw open the door. Ranger shook his head at me and stepped in first, checking each room one at a time until he met me in the kitchen. I was staring at his nicely shaped ass as he was turned away from me looking in the living room and thanking my lucky stars that the cargos he was wearing looked like they were made for him. He was made for digging your fingernails into his rock hard muscles and screaming out his name in satisfaction.

Ranger cleared his throat and I realized that I was no longer staring at his ass, but I was staring right at the bulge in front of his cargos. I flushed bright red and turned, pulling open the freezer door and practically shoving myself in. I closed my eyes and told myself to get control of myself. Acting like some sex-starved teenager never did anyone any good. I told myself. Yeah, my conscience said, it only gets you laid. Shit, just what I needed. A reminder!

I heard the footsteps fall behind me and could feel the body heat radiate off of him before I felt the material of his cargos brushing against me. I sucked in a breath and tried not to push myself up on him. I felt his mouth hover near my ear, his breath was hot on my flesh, but I felt myself shiver.

"Are you ready for your cool down…" Ranger murmured, flicking his tongue on the shell of my ear, moving it down in a tantalizingly slow motion, "babe."

The desire that had been pulsing in the car returned full force and I felt myself tighten in response. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Ranger was sliding his fingers under the hem of my tank top and pulling it upward. He peeled it off in a slow motion, tossing it to the floor, and started to work on my shorts, flicking open the button and sliding the zipper down, letting his fingers brush the front of my cotton panties. My heart was beating in my ears and almost thumping out of my chest. Ranger pushed the shorts off my hips and they fell to the ground as I stepped out of them, kicking them to the side where my tank top was. His hands were already at work, one sliding underneath the material of my panties and the other sliding upward to gently knead my left breast. His mouth was working its way down my neck, sliding open mouthed to the crook between my neck and collarbone, sucking at the skin and flicking his tongue over it. I was gasping for breath and braced myself against the door of the refrigerator. My senses went into overload as Ranger flicked a finger over my most sensitive spot and I felt myself edge closer to the end. I pushed back against him and his teeth scraped against my collarbone.

"Ranger." I moaned. I was beyond thinking and was so close to the point of no return. He slowly turned me in his arms and pressed his full length against me, so that the cool metal of the refrigerator was at my back, the freezer air cool against the open mouthed trails that Ranger had traced on my skin. I was on fire; he had pulled away just at my breaking point. He knew it and knew I would want more.

Ranger reached past me and pulled a single ice cube from the tray. I gasped as the ice cube touched my scorching skin and watched him under lowered lashes trace it from the soft spot under my ear, down to my collarbone to the other side and back up. He was rocking his hips into mine and I wrapped a leg around his to pull him closer. I felt him smile against my neck as I closed my eyes and leaned my head back into the freezer. He took the ice cube all the way down my body, using it to trace my breasts one at a time and further down. He was taking his time, going slow, letting the ice cube touch me and then his index finger would linger behind it. When he brought his hand down to the elastic band of my panties, I didn't have time to protest before he slipped the ice cube in, touching the hottest part of me with rapidly melting ice cube. Ranger brought his mouth down to mine as I moaned shamelessly. With his fingers and the ice cube, it didn't take me long to lose control and I was crying out his name on his lips as I did.

It took me several minutes to climb out of the daze that I had fallen into, and when I did, I opened my eyes and was met with a pair of passion filled black eyes focused intently on me. The front of his cargos were stretched tight and still fitted against the lower half of me that was still pleasantly throbbing. I was fitted against him like I was made for him and had no intentions of moving. I rubbed up against him and he pressed his hips into mine.

"I think I may have melted all the ice in the freezer." I told him with a half smile.

Ranger threaded his hands into hairline right over my ears and tipped my head back for a slow erotic kiss where his tongue was showing me exactly what he would like to be doing to me.

"I hope you aren't cooled down." He told me as he trailed his lips along my jaw line. "I'm just getting started."

Oh boy.

El Fin…