Ranger POV

"Primo, you know there is going to be a Cuban inquisition don't you?"

I felt an internal sigh emerging, I really couldn't believe this was happening, my Babe was going to meet my family. Not at an informal dinner with the parents or with my siblings but at the Manoso Christmas party with all my family present.

Lester stood in my office staring at me, I guess he was expecting some sort of a response. Used to be my men would never come in my office and comment on my personal life, they would rather navigate a minefield. My cousin has always been the most brazen, he and Tank, but since Stephanie has come along it feels like all bets are off. Rangeman feels like more of a family since her arrival and families like to talk about 'feelings' and while we don't do it in the traditional sense, I've found myself having to field more and more questions that involve 'my emotions.'

"There will be several of my employees there, she shouldn't be treated any differently than anyone else."

Lester left my office laughing, the bastard, even as I said the sentence I knew it was a lie but I certainly wasn't going to let him know how nervous I was about it. I can't say what possessed me to open my mouth and invite her, maybe my subconscious spoke before my brain could catch up. This isn't technically the first time Steph would be meeting my parents, while I was in surgery after being shot to Swiss cheese by Scrog, Tank told me she met my mother and father. My Babe has never talked to me about it, which is very unlike her and I wonder if she even realizes who they were. The men told me Steph was inconsolable, they've seen her after some tough situations, but they all looked haunted when they recounted seeing her that night.

Morelli had made the mistake of suggesting to Steph that instead of sitting around the waiting room at the hospital that they should go back to his house to get some sleep and he would bring her back the next day. He made to direct her out the door and I was told she shrieked and yelled that she wouldn't leave me, I love thinking those words. She wouldn't leave ME, that thought warms my entire body. It's been 4 months since Scrog and 3 months since her and the cop have called it quits. I'm not sure what happened, she won't talk about it but when I asked her what was different this time from all the other numerous break-ups, she simply said everything.

I hoped that this time was different, this is more than a Christmas celebration to me. I had an announcement to make I planned to make, it seemed an efficient opportunity given my family will be together and would save me from the dozens of phone calls I know would come. My contract with the military will expire on January 1st, I will be more a contract worker in the traditional sense meaning I'd have the ability to accept or refuse jobs. I'll have much more freedom to focus on Rangeman but if I am honest, the only thing I want to focus on is Stephanie.

It has been 9 months since I made that idiotic deal to sleep with her but I also think it's one of the best things I've ever done. I'm not sure she was ever going to admit to herself that she wanted me as much as I wanted her and it gave us both the excuse to give in to our desires. Our lives might be very different right now if I hadn't been such a chicken shit the next morning but I was expecting it to just be one night of sex. It is what I told her it would be, what she agreed to but it was anything but the itch I thought needed scratching. We made love that night, it was a first for me and unexpected, not to mention it scared the hell out of me. I knew then that she had the power to destroy me if she wanted, luckily she has no idea the kind of control she has over me.

I told her I would ruin her for all other men but it was the other way around, she completely and undeniably owns me. Not long after the deal I tried to prove to myself that it was nothing more than an enthusiastic night of sex. I called up one of the women I had spent time with before, it was an established sex but no strings relationship. I arrived at her apartment and she greeted me eagerly, wearing a sheer chemise and my favorite brandy in her hand ready for me. We sat on her couch together and something immediately felt off to me, she began kissing me but I just wasn't into it. I was tired, it had been a long day, even I wasn't immune to exhaustion so I cut myself some slack for my untypical lack of enthusiasm. When she straddled my lap with her large DD breasts in my face I thought for the slightest of seconds, what the hell am I doing here but I was saved from having to go too deep into that thought. My phone rang out loud and clear about a break-in at a VIP account and I was needed on site. I excused myself with a promise to call her another time.

The next day I was feeling disgruntled about my 'date', I've always been attentive to my partners and enjoyed the company of women but I all but ran out of her apartment. There was a little niggling voice in the back of my head telling me what was wrong, why I had a beautiful body at my disposal and I essentially floundered. The little voice told me, 'you know why asshole,' and I firmly thought NO!

"No, what Boss?"

Cal had chosen that time to walk by my door and for a moment I didn't know what he was talking about. Then I realized I must have said that out loud, my God she was rubbing off on me. I quickly dismissed him and picked up my phone to make another call but this time to Georgiana. I hadn't seen her in a while but we always had a very good time together, she liked to experiment as did I. Later that night I went to her house, but it was worse than the night before. She was kissing my neck and the little voice was back but I was determined to ignore it. Our lips met in a passionate kiss and that is when I thought of her, that time she had chocolate on her cheek for practically the whole day, the way her curls tangled between my fingers, how her lips seemed to match up perfectly to mine. I pulled back from the kiss and instead of the bright cerulean blue eyes I expected to see they were a dark brown. I didn't wait for my phone to interrupt us, I did the only thing I could think of, told her that I had made a mistake and needed to leave.

It was the day of the party, most of my family arrives in the early afternoon and there is constant activity from then on. Lester, Tank, Hector, Cal and Woody were riding together to my parent's home and Steph rode with me in the 911. It was a quiet ride, I knew she was nervous and I did what I knew would calm her. I placed my hand over hers, gently rubbing my thumb over the smooth skin of the back of her hand and she eased back into the soft leather seats that she loves so much. She looked absolutely fucking gorgeous, she had on minimal makeup. Her skin glowed, a natural coloring to her cheeks with a soft rose peach lipstick on her full pouty lips and her rich brunette locks fell below her shoulders. She wore a soft off-white dress that was modest and sexy as hell, the skirt was full and I noticed it did a sexy lil swish with every move of her hips as she walked to the car. I got out of the car to open her door because I'm such a gentleman but I really wanted to get a closer look at her, the sleeves ended high on her arms but the best part was the neckline. It was rather deep, going down almost to her waist where it met a simple tied piece of fabric that emphasized her small waist. My family would find it tasteful but I knew all the men would find it sensual. I was having thoughts of reaching my hand inside the deep cut of her dress to cup her breast, to feel her nipple pebble on my palm. This was going to be a long ass night.