Rangeday

Chapter 17

"Wake up, Babe."

"Mmmf?"

She lay on her stomach in bed, face smooshed into her pillow. Her inborn time-telling instinct told her it was way too early to get up for a Monday morning. For any day, but definitely for a Monday.

"Wake up," a low, sexy voice sing-songed over her ear. The warm, moist breath woke up her body, but her brain was taking its sweet time.

"Why?" she mumbled. "'s not time for work yet..."

He laughed softly, trailing the back of his nails over the nape of her neck, raising goosebumps in their wake.

"Running, Babe."

"Nooo..."

More chuckling. How could he sound this sexy at 5:30 in the morning?
"I have a washcloth full of ice cubes in my hand," he murmured, lips brushing the shell of her ear. "And I'm going to apply them to your body if you don't get up in the next ten seconds."

Mmm, they could do interesting things with icecubes...

"—and not in a nice way."

Wait, what? Ice cubes?

She rolled over and sat up, glaring at his disgustingly sexy and awake self next to her bed. True to his word he was holding a handful of freezing hell.
"You have guts, mister," she grumbled. "Coming into my home and forcing me to run on pain of icecubes."

He flashed her a 200-watt smile, tossed her a set of running clothes, and left her to change. She looked at his choice - shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt. The weather looked okay as far as she could see, but she'd learned that his definition of T-shirt weather differed from hers... either that or he liked to look at her chest when she was cold. Possibly both. Just to annoy him, she accepted his choice of clothing but used the nipple-shields she'd bought to use for bra-less distraction outfits.

Once she had found her running rhythm she found herself thinking this wasn't such a bad way to start the day. The pounding of her feet on the pavement gave her chance to churn through the weekend before the insanity at work started. Saturday had been full of high highs and low lows... the lowest point being the fight she'd had with Ranger. Then they had made up, sort of, and he'd promised to learn to be more open. It hadn't been everything she'd wanted, but she recognised it for a sincere attempt from his side, so maybe this was all she could ask for.

They had held each other for a long time after that, just holding on, soaking each other in. And then she'd gone home. It had seemed logical at the time. By the time she'd actually gotten into her own bed her body had screamed at her in frustration, but by then it was past 1 AM. The image of the Rangeman nightshift glued to the control room monitors as she returned to Ranger's apartment just an hour after she had left was enough to keep her in her own bed. She might be frustrated, but she wasn't that desperate. Yet.

That had been good because Val had called her out of bed on Sunday morning to ask if she wanted to join the Build-A-Bear birthday party, since one of the invitees had cancelled. Once copious amounts of donuts and coffee had been consumed she was in just the right mindset for that sort of thing, and had had an enjoyable day with her sister and nieces. She had picked a yellow Labrador that reminded her of Bob and dressed him up in a cute jogging suit. When she'd gotten home she'd been so drop-dead exhausted that the phrase kids are fun when they don't go home with you had been a recurring theme in her dreams.

They were halfway through the usual route before she remembered to ask what had brought on this early run. Ranger flashed her a smile.

"I'm going to be in Boston for most of the week."

And this is reason to drag me out of bed at an ungodly hour WHY exactly...?

"The Boston police department has asked Rangeman to take part in a large-scale operation," he volunteered after a long moment. "That's where I was last week. I'll need to be there a lot in the next few weeks."

"Oh. Is it dangerous?"

He smiled to himself and suddenly slung an arm about her shoulders, never breaking the pace of their run. He came in close and aimed a kiss at her ear. It went astray and landed up in her hairline. They both grinned, and he let go again

"You never disappoint. And it's no more dangerous than what I'd be doing here."

"Okay. You gonna call?"

"Whenever I can."

"Good. So why is this reason to drag me out of bed and threaten me with icecubes?"

He laughed out loud, and she felt her stomach leap and her spine shiver at the deep sound.

"I have to leave at seven. Figured it'd be the only way I could get to speak to you before I left."

"You could have talked to me without dragging me out of bed," she grumbled, but half heartedly. Now she was out, the running was actually quite nice. Hello endorphins!

"Would have remembered anything I said?"

"Good point."

"How are things going for Rangeday? Everything set for May 5?"

"Don't remind me or I'll stress. Only two and a half weeks left now."

"Need any help?"

She glanced at him and grinned.
"That's the stressful part. Everything is pretty much done. Except shopping on the day before. So the only thing left to do is stress."

He brushed the back of his hand along her arm for a moment, and she hoped that her running-rhythm breathing hid the little gasp. What was probably meant as a comforting gesture set her skin on fire. He noticed, of course. His eyes were warm and dark when he looked at her.

"Babe, pack a football and food and the day has no way of failing."

She glanced up at him and smiled. He could be very reassuring when he put his mind to it. They slowed down to a walk to cool down.

"Can I shower here? I brought breakfast."

She grinned because those two things seemed to have no connection to one another.

"Sure." Like I'd refuse to see you damp, in a towel.

When they reached the parking lot of her apartment building he went to his car and brought out two small shopping bags and a duffle with what she presumed were his work clothes. The back of the Cayenne was filled with some more bags and things.

"You're leaving straight from here?"

He nodded, handing her one of the shopping bags. It was full of fruit.

She smiled at him as they went inside. It suddenly occurred to her that he had arranged his morning like this to see her for as long as possible before he left, and she felt a rush of indeterminable warmth. No doubt it would have been far easier to run on the treadmill, have Ella make his breakfast and start out from his apartment. Instead he'd come to see her.

When they had put down the bags in her kitchen she backed him against the refrigerator and planted a kiss on him to make sure he knew how much she appreciated the effort. His nostrils flared and he let out a little groan that had her entertaining thoughts of keeping him locked up in her apartment for the rest of the day. Mmm, the possibilities! His hands came up and drew her against his solid, hard body, and she felt her knees go weak at the feel and the scent of him. Sweaty Joe had never done much for her. Sweaty Ranger had her hindbrain sitting up and drooling.

She nipped his bottom lip and drew back, smiling because he looked about as breathless as she felt. From the look of him, it would take no persuasion at all to move this little party to the bedroom. She was definitely warmed up to that idea. Heated up, in fact. But well... he'd still have to leave afterward. And one time of him walking out the door while she was still in the afterglow stage was enough. No more of that. If he got back into her bed then she was keeping him, and since that couldn't happen today...

"Go shower."

"Babe..." he said quietly, hands tightening on her backside.

"Unless you want me to kidnap you and handcuff you to the bed to keep you here as my willing slave..." was that a flash of temptation in his eyes? Note for later reference – he likes that idea. "Go. Shower. And be dressed when you come out of there." Because so help me God, I may not be able to resist you in a towel.

He flashed her a grin and actually lifted her a little, making a half-turn to put her down out of his path, and striding off toward the bathroom without another look at her. She grinned at his less-than-graceful walk. Then, while she made coffee and cleaned fruit, got a bit distracted thinking about him under her shower, Bvlgari bubbles sliding down that gorgeous chest closely followed by his hand going down... down...

She yelped when he materialised behind her, and he grabbed both her elbows before she could turn around with the knife still in her hand.

"Easy Babe," he said softly of her ear, his voice pitched soothingly low. "I thought you heard me."

Her heartbeat slowed down to pre-stroke level and stayed there, encouraged by his closeness and his fresh, male scent. Mmm. Yummy Ranger. I should turn around and take a bite. What was he saying?

"Guess I was deep in thought." Yeah, lecherous thoughts.

"Mm-hmm," he seemed to have caught that last thought. Then he slid his hands down her arms and took over the knife. Caged to the counter by his arms and his hard body. If she turned around... Oh God. She found that she was actually panting a little. His self-control seemed to have returned to him, but it wouldn't stand much of a chance in the face of her super-charged Hungarian hormones.

"Now you shower, Babe."

He pulled back an arm to let her go, and she scurried away before she could change her mind about the not-turning-around thing. Wouldn't want to mess up this Boston thing for him by making him late. Yeah, that's it. Repeat until cooled down. Must not make the hot man late for his important project. Must not make the hot man late.

The bathroom was still steamed up and smelt of Bvlgari. Her eyes glazed over, and she quickly shucked her clothes and stepped under the stream. Mmm, shower massager.

I could. Easily.

Kind of dirty with him waiting for me in the kitchen.

...kind of hot, too.

She caught the hint of a musky scent on the air.

Maybe he did, too. He'd seemed a lot more relaxed when he came out of the shower. She imagined him under the hot spray, long fingers gliding down his stomach, grasping himself, stroking, pumping...

I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this. I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm NO—

I can't believe I just did that.

She washed with Bvlgari, hoping it would drown out any other scent that might be on the air. Then she turned the spray cool for a moment in the hope that it would take away the worst of the afterglow.

He looked at her as she entered the kitchen, fully dressed for the day, and quirked a slow smile at her. His eyes grew very dark, and his nostrils flared as he drew in a slow breath. Of course he knew instantly. This was Ranger. She blushed deeply and looked away. She might feel comfortable playing the game of hook and bait with him, but being practically caught self-combusting with him in the next room...

He put down the cup he'd been holding and the next moment had his arms around her, his body reverberating with a soft, deep laugh.

"Babe," he chuckled into her neck, then kissed the still-damp skin. She let go of her breath, the momentary wave of embarrassment fading. He held her away a little and kissed her deeply, unhurried now. His kiss and his body seemed a lot more... relaxed... than before his shower. Either he'd done some amazing relaxation techniques or she hadn't been the only one using the shower to let off some steam.

"I figured that if we kept going on that course, I'd never end up in Boston," he whispered against her lips, his eyes smiling.

"And I figured that if we kept going like that, I wouldn't let you go."

He gave her a 200-watt smile and a sound kiss on the lips, and then stepped back to lead her to the table. There was coffee, freshly toasted bagels and cream cheese, tall glasses of fruity-looking smoothie, and one perfect Boston crème on a plate.

"You're feeding me a donut?"

He sat down and put cream cheese on a bagel. She did the same. Save the best for last.

"Tasty Pasty shares are losing value, Babe. When did you decide to start eating better?"

She shrugged. "Two months ago or so."

He nodded approvingly, but didn't say anything else for a while. They ate in comfortable silence. Until she drank of the pink stuff he had made in her blender.

"What's in this?"

"Strawberry, apple, orange juice, yoghurt."

"I mean the bits."

"Ground flax seed. Very good source of fatty acids."

"I don't want seeds in my smoothie," she grumbled, more to annoy him than that she really objected. "And aren't there enough fatty acids in my donut?"

He did an excellent put-upon sigh, but she could tell he knew that she was baiting him.

The front door was already open, but they were still in her little hallway, saying goodbye.

"I really have to go now."

"That's the third time you've said that."

"Mmm," he kissed her again, his hands sliding down her back and toward her backside. "That's because—" Kiss. His hands cupped her cheeks and squeezed "—you're a hard woman to say goodbye to." Kiss. He pulled her against him with a slow, hard grind.

Say something. Say something. Say something.

"Uhh... should I be flattered?" Flattened. Definitely flattened.

Brief, hard kiss. "Yeah."

Another kiss, longer and hotter. Her knees went weak and she leaned her upper back against the wall.

"..very."

She let her hands slide into his back pockets and curled her fingers as she let her tongue tangle with his.

He finally tore himself lose, and she grinned at the reluctance. At least she wasn't the only one.

"See you Saturday, Babe."

"Moshi moshi."

"Heya Tsuy. How's life?"

"Hello Stephanie. Not particularly exciting today, I regret to say. And how is yours?"

"I work in an office filled with ex-military men," she grinned. "Every day is a thrill. Hey, do you want to go for lunch?" Don't make me say out loud that I've got stuff to discuss with you. Junior is listening from the next cubicle.

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

She must have a radar for this kind of thing.

"Don't know yet. Shall I pick you up at the dojo?"

"Works for me."

"I'll be there at twelve."


"Jeez, you really know how to take all the fun out of pizza, don't you?"

Tsuy looked from the poor imitation of a pizza in front of her with a non-plussed expression.

"Pizza," Stephanie declared, waving at her own Bombshell Special, a masterpiece by Pino's. Then a nod to Tsuy's special, which pretty much lacked everything hers was made up of. It had vegetables. And a little bit of cheese. And nothing else. "Un-pizza."

"You mean that," Tsuy wrinkled her nose at Stephanie's pizza, "is the fun part?"

"Yeah. You don't know how to have fun," she teased.

"I should take you for a drive some time," her friend mused with a glint in her eyes. "Or maybe sailing." Then she seemed to sober. "Is that how people here see me though? As someone who doesn't know how to have fun?"

She thought for a moment about how to phrase this.
"You can come across as someone who is very serious and very together," she said carefully.

Tsuy nodded in acknowledgement and took another bite of her un-pizza. And another. Stephanie felt her hands wanting to curl into fists, wanting, needing a reaction.

I hope I didn't insult her or something. Is she not going to answer? Is she going to let this drive me up the wall?

Or maybe Tsuy was like Ranger, who didn't seem to get that she was hoping for a reaction when they were having this sort of conversation. She'd be waiting for an answer, and meanwhile he'd move on to other things.

"I suppose that compared to Americans, all Japanese people are introverts," Tsuy finally said. "It's a cultural thing. And just because I don't talk about my problems doesn't mean I don't have any."

What kind of problems would you have? She almost asked. But that would be silly.

"Hey, I'm kind of looking for someone to make photos at the day," she said instead.

Tsuy looked at her in surprise.
"You'd have an outsider there?"

"Sure. Would you be interested?""

"Sounds like fun," she flashed a smile. "Not often I get that kind of models."

"Ohh, now there's an idea. Maybe we should get them all to pose for you, and make a calendar. Good money to be made."

Tsuy shook her head with a small grin.
"No posing. Let them do their things and I'll get some good photos. I'll have to get a protective case for the camera, but I planned to get one anyway... could do that Wednesday."

"Cool. You can come along the entire day, and you can stay the night if you like."

Her friend looked uncertain, so she added:
"Sharing a tent with me. I'll be glad to have another woman along to counter-effect the testosterone overdoses."

Tsuy's face said I'm not sure how well this will go over with some of my relatives. "I'll think about staying the night," she said. "It's quite close to where I go horse riding, so I may drop by a few times over the day. We'll see. Oh, before I forget, the company called me, because they weren't sure if they could contact you. You need to call the cook to discuss dinner."

She passed over a scrap of paper with a phone number on it. Yes, that would be a good idea. Barbeque with plenty of vegetables and a big bowl of salad, had been her idea. Had to make sure there was an adequate supply of tree bark.

Her apartment felt empty when she got home that evening, and that was weird – because it was always empty, save for Rex. She couldn't quite define why it felt like this now, and stopped herself from trying. Then she made ham and cheese toasties for dinner and called the cook to talk about the Rangeday menu. It would be a barbeque, but not with just big slabs of meat. Simone would make sure there were plenty of vegetables and salads for the people who didn't follow the Caveman Diet. She would arrange the meals, but Stephanie would do the snacks and beer and other-drinks shopping the day before.

Waking up with the alarm beeping didn't quite have the same charm as Ranger waking her. She hit snooze and groaned, trying to gear herself up for getting out of bed. It was only Tuesday. He wouldn't be back until Friday, and why did that feel like an impossibly long stretch?

Don't answer that.

His apartment felt empty when she went there to change for the lunchtime workout. She couldn't quite define why, because he'd only been gone for 2 days and there were no doubt other times when he wasn't there for a while.

When she came back into the office at 12:05 Lester and Ram were still there. Usually they would be in the changing room by now.

"Hey guys, could I actually be running ahead of you today?"

Ram didn't smile.
"No workout today Steph, sorry."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Tank is using the gym," Lester said. "We'll skip today."
His eyes said don't ask and she knew how to take a hint. She could hit him up for more information later.

"'Kay. I'll go change back."

Just when she got back into the office Tank came in. His face was blank as always, but he didn't seem in a good mood.

"Bill needs a ride," he said softly to Hal. Hal got up from his place at the monitor bank, took a set of car keys and left. Tank replaced him and settled in to listen to the scanner. He seemed calm, but there was a distinct don't bother me vibe around the big man.

"He fired?" Lester asked after a long moment.

"He's fired."

Hmm. Tank takes up the gym for twenty minutes and this guy needs a ride because he's fired?

Bill had been new, started two weeks ago. She had met him a few times, a big guy with brown hair and sharp little eyes. He hadn't given her the time of day, but she had felt him looking at her sometimes.

"It's not that I'm curious," she said to Ram when the two of them were sitting in the lunchroom half an hour later. "I just want to know everything."

He chewed on his tuna sandwich and didn't say anything.

"So what happened? Tank kick this guy out? What did he do?"

"Said something crude."

"Um, yeah? People say crude things around here all the time. Never known that to piss Tank off."

Ram sighed, seeming to realise she wasn't going to let this go.
"Okay, you know how of late, Tank's been smiling a lot when he comes in? We figure he's seeing someone."

Somehow she wasn't surprised that they didn't know. Tank was a private person.

"Well, Bill must have heard us the other day, and when Tank came in he said— something I ain't gonna repeat."

Stephanie sucked in a breath. It wasn't as if Ram didn't swear and curse with the best of them. If he didn't want to repeat it…

"Exactly," Ram said, drinking his coffee. "Tank took the opportunity to adjust that attitude for him. He didn't have a very good mood to begin with, so Hal drove the guy to the ER."

"Shit." She didn't know Tank as volatile, and a crude remark didn't seem enough to warrant this sort of reaction. She wondered what had put him in that mood.

"Did anyone ever get his attitude about me adjusted?" she asked then.

"Not in this way," he said after a moment.

Well, thank God for that. If there's any ass-kicking to be done then I prefer to do it myself.

"It helps that everybody knew from the beginning that the boss had a thing for you," Ram continued blithely.

"What?"

"Come on, giving you cars? All those things he did to help you out, to protect you? Accepting your calls no matter WHAT he was doing at the time?"

Oh dear, had she called him during important meetings or something?

Ram continued. "Having someone open a safe house for you, and then NOT dragging you in by the collar because you, I quote, 'didn't want to go'? Usually when Ranger tells people they go into a safe house they go, one way or another. A guy doesn't do all those things for just anyone."

"But... but… a thing? What's a thing?"

"Well, like, it's when a guy… you know, a thing." His tone said that that should be obvious.

She kept at it for a while longer, trying to figure out if the rangemen had known all along what she had only found out recently – that Ranger had feelings for her. But Ram would say no more, repeating that the boss' thing had been clear to everybody, and that this had inspired respect in the men, or at least the good sense not to say anything stupid.

He'd grimaced at those last words, but she didn't find that such a bad thought. She was all for getting by on her own merit, but not to the extremes that she'd rather have half the guys alternately dismissing her and hitting on her than have a quiet word from Ranger give her a fighting chance.

To be continued