Recap: Stephanie recounts Morelli breaking into her apartment and chaining her to the shower rod, looking for the distributor cap to his car. But when he leaves, both the door and window are open, exposing her to the cold winter air. It takes her a while to get ahold of him, and she is getting cold.
Sometimes a chapter just doesn't want to be written. This one took me forever, even though I knew exactly where it was going. Still, I hope you enjoy it, and think it was worth the wait.
Ranger
It should have taken me 10 minutes to get to Stephanie's apartment, but the icy rain made the streets treacherous. Learning to drive in Miami had not prepared me for winter driving. So it was 15 minutes later that I pulled into her parking lot, cursing at how slowly I'd had to move. I wanted to sprint into the building, but I'd be no good rescuing her if I ended up sprawled on the pavement with a broken leg. Still, as a bit of motion caught my eye I picked up the pace. It was a flapping curtain from a window open on the 3rd floor.
Once inside I rushed up, taking the stairs 3 at a time. One of the apartments had a door cracked. "Stephanie?" I called, not wanting to barge into a strangers house at 10 o'clock at night, but also desperate to find her.
"In here." I heard softy. I moved in and closed the door. The apartment was cold, maybe 45 degrees. My heart sank when I entered the small bathroom. Stephanie's lips were turning blue and she was shivering.
I swore in Spanish, pulled a handcuff key from my pocket, and undid the cuff, gently inspecting the wrist for damage.
"Thank you. Thanks for coming. I know it's late."
"Don't worry about it. Are you ok?"
She nodded, then started shivering, her teeth chattering so hard I was worries she'd crack a tooth. If I found Morelli, I might just kill him. I try not to kill. Not anymore. But if I had been half an hour later..
No time to think about that. Focus on the mission. "We need to warm you up. I'm going to turn on the water. Not hot, just a little warmer than body temperature." She nodded as she rubbed her hands against her arms, which were covered in goose bumps.
I turned on the tap, getting the water to slightly above skin temperature. She gasped when it touched her skin. "It's that icy burn you get when the water is super hot."
I didn't want to turn it down anymore. The more heat she had, the better. "I promise it's not actually hot, your nerves are just confused. Can you stand it?" She nodded. "I'm going to get the window closed and turn up the heat."
"I can't afford to have the heat on high."
Fuck. "Send me the bill. I'm chilly as well." Before she could object I went into her bedroom, closing the window and shutting the curtain. Then I bumped the thermostat up to 80. I couldn't get her warm if the entire apartment was just above freezing. I turned on the oven for good measure, and left the door cracked.
When I returned to the bathroom Stephanie had curled herself into a ball on the floor of the bathtub, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. She looked forlorn and miserable. And I finally registered that she was naked. It wasn't that I hadn't known that when I walked in, it was just that I'd been so focused on getting her safe that I hadn't devoted any mental energy to it.
"Are you feeling better?"
In response her shivering increased. Slowly at first, then full-body quakes. "Fffffuck, what's wrong with me? I fffffeel warmer than I did before."
"Coming out of Hypothermia. The shivering is good, it means your body is warming up. Do you want me to leave or help?"
Her arm reached out, grabbing mine. "Please don't leave." There was a touch of panic in her eyes.
"OK, I'll stay." I grabbed a paper cup off her counter and poured the water over her back. She drew in a breath at the warmth of it, then relaxed.
"Hmmmm. Keep doing that please."
As the tub filled I kept lifting the water and pouring it over her back. She cupped the water in her hands and splashed it onto her chest. I tried to keep my eyes away, I swear I did. This wasn't seduction, it was first aid.
And then the tub finished filling she leaned back and swished her hair in the water, I assume trying to work out the residue of the shampoo bubbles I could see stuck in her hair. It left me with a view of her breasts, her back arched to get her head deeper in the water, making them stick out. I turned my head, but not before I caught a glimpse of soft brown curls at the cleft of her legs. After a moment I felt her hand on my arm again, and when I looked at her I could see the question in her eyes. And then she kissed me.
Stephanie
I had never been so cold in my life. Not even that camping trip when I was 9 and I had gotten wet right before going to sleep. And then he was there. And I felt safe, and then warm. And I realised I wanted him. I leaned my head back, exposing myself actually seemed easier than saying anything. But the look in his eye was of someone trying not to look at something he really, really wanted to see.
I don't know what made me do it. Maybe the letdown of adrenalin, maybe the way I felt cared for. Maybe it was just that I hadn't had sex since the day I found my rat of an ex-husband with Joyce. But I kissed him. Tentative at first, then harder as he responded to me. My wet arm wrapped around his neck and I clutched at him, pulling his tongue into my mouth. His hand moved my hair back over my shoulder. It was stiff with the dried shampoo gunk that was left in it. He pulled back and looked at me.
"Can you stand enough to shower? I want to get the warm water all over you, and the tub isn't big enough."
I tried to stand, but my knees wobbled. I reached out to him for support, and got his sleeves wet in the process. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine, it's fine." he replied.
"Maybe…" I hesitated. Good Burg girls didn't do this sort of thing. "Maybe you could join me in the shower?"
In an instant his shirt was off, revealing a sculpted chest with a light dusting of hair. I tugged on his belt as he kicked off his shoes, loosening it then pushing down the waist of his cargo pants. I heard the thud that told me one of the pockets held something heavy and metallic. And then he was in the shower with me.
He pulled the remains of the curtain closed. It was torn but still mostly functional. Then he turned on the sprayer. The water felt both scalding and cold, even though I could see on the temperature knob that it was only a little above lukewarm.
Ranger took the shower head and gently ran it over my hair, back, and stomach. As I warmed up the water stopped it's weird scalding/freezing sensation, and started to actually feel good. I nudged the temperature up to where I normally had it, then even hotter. I turned to him, taking his face in my hands and kissing him again. He put the shower massager back in it's holster and let the water fall over both of us as his arms wrapped around me. My hands trailed down his back, heavily corded with muscle. His tongue explored my mouth as my fingers slipped under the boxers he was still wearing to feel his amazing ass.
I broke away from the kiss, panting.
"Do you want to stop?" he asked. Obviously he didn't want to. His erection was straining against the wet fabric.
"No." I replied. I really didn't want to. "But I'm not on the pill right now and.."
He grinned, bent down, and dug in one of the pockets of his cargo pants, producing a 3-pack of condoms. "Remind me to thank my cousin."
I'd send him a fruit basket. Well, I couldn't afford a fruit basket. I might be able to send him a banana. Speaking of bananas, either Ranger was happy to see me, or he was carrying one in his boxer pockets. Did boxers have pockets? I turned off the water and stroked Ranger, feeling his length. Definitely not fruit. Focus Stephanie. "Let's take this to the bedroom."
Ranger's speed was impressive. One moment I was in the shower, the next wrapped in a threadbare towel and he was carrying me effortlessly to my bed. The air was warm, almost hot. My skin was too, thanks to all the steamy water I had been standing under. And then I was laid out on the bed, under the covers. And he was kissing me. First my mouth, then sucking on my neck. Then a trail of kisses down my abdomen and oh my god!
I moaned as his nose nuzzled against my clit, then nearly screamed as he sucked it between his teeth, sending sensations I'd never felt before running like lightning through my veins. He held a finger against my pussy as I shifted my hips, trying to drive him into me. "More" I managed to get out. Despite the danger I had been in earlier, or perhaps because of it, I felt alive. More alive than I had in months. One finger slipped into me as I shifted. It felt incredible, and I groaned, almost in awe of what he was doing to me, to my body. He added more fingers, and I rode him as he sucked and licked me. His left hand had reached up and was pinching my nipple. My nerves were on overdrive, and he somehow seemed to be everywhere at once. Caressing my breasts, my stomach, my ass. All the while his tongue was working and his fingers pumping into me. I felt the telltale build-up of an orgasm, but when it hit, it was like nothing I'd ever felt before. Previously my orgasms had been a little crest, like going over a hill. A few seconds of pleasant feelings, then a few minutes of relaxation. This...this was different. Every muscle in my body tensed up so hard I arched up, then released simultaneously. I let out a cry, then gasped as I struggled to get in more oxygen as the waves of sensation knocked me nearly senseless. The entire world shrunk down to that bed. I could still feel Ranger's fingers inside me as I squirmed.
He pushed himself up to my face, capturing it in a blistering kiss. Then his lips traveled to my ear. He murmured something in Spanish that I didn't understand. "Mmmm?" I mumbled, only barely conscious in the aftershocks of what was undoubtedly the best orgasm of my life.
"I said, do you want me to fuck you?" he said in a low, throaty voice.
I nodded, barely able to form words. "Use protection." His body lifted slightly, there was a small tearing sound, and then he was inside me, thrusting deep. I could feel it everywhere, not just in my pussy, but throughout my body. I wrapped my legs around his waist, driving him further in. His mouth trailed to my neck, sucking hard enough I thought I might have a hickey the next day. All I wanted in the world was for him to be inside me. Somehow he slipped a finger in between us and started to rub my clit again. I wrapped my legs tighter, and added my arms around his back. His skin was still wet from the shower, aiding as I rocked into him. In only a few moments I was tensing up again, my body still primed from the last orgasm. I screamed out as the tension released, followed a moment after by a grunt, and his weight collapsing onto me. We both shuddered for a moment, and he whispered in my ear "Babe."
