Everybody and anything familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine. Warnings for a little bedroom fun.
"Just make it through the next five minutes and you'll be okay," I told myself.
Too bad I don't believe me anymore this time than I had the last six times I've tried to pep talk my way through this ordeal. The only thing that kept me going was getting to watch Ranger in a muscle shirt and painted-on black sweats running ahead of me.
Going for a run before even dawn decided to wake up is just another example of the lengths I'll go through for the man. Now ... I just have to figure out how to let him know that. I got him over here first thing in the morning by saying I was worried about fitting into a dress I need to wear soon. It worked once in the past and I figured it could work again, especially since he'd already be up to get in his own workout before his day began.
The difference this time is Ranger seems a little angry, not flirty at all. He didn't even playfully ask to see the scrap of fabric I was trying to pass off as a dress. I really want to believe that he's reached the point of being jealous at the thought of me dressing up for a date with someone else, at the same time I realized he's the only person I'm interested in dating, the only man I'd ever torture myself like this for.
I tried to smile as I contemplated the five-mile, take no prisoners pace of this morning's workout being due to his being pissed at something. That I could be the cause, had me finding another burst of energy that would propel me back home before I needed to throw up or call myself an ambulance for a lift.
It's possible I picked the stupidest way to stake my claim on Trenton's resident superhero. It's also possible that now I'll be too sore to do much more than talk if my plan does end up working. When he rounded another corner rather than turning back towards my apartment, instead of crying in disappointment I went over every second of the last full day we'd spent together. Ranger and I had a capture to do that was completed in record time, we'd stopped to pick up Grandma Mazur from a friend's house on the way back from the TPD, and he didn't complain when I'd asked if we could swing by Mary Lou's house while we were already in the area so I could drop off the video game Mary Alice wanted me to give to my BFF's boys.
It had been such a 'normal relationship' day, it had me seeing ours differently. I don't need what Mary Lou or Valerie have. And like Grandma Mazur has proven every day since Grandpa Harry died ... I don't have to live a boring life if I don't choose to. Ranger is anything but boring and I've been undecided on the marriage/kid long before he broke into my life. Maybe what we have is enough because it's what's right for us.
I was so busy picturing how my life would change if I did do more than tell Ranger I love him, I ran forehead-first into him. He had stopped so I wouldn't be lagging a mile behind him again and I hadn't noticed that he'd finally taken some pity on me.
"You still with me, Babe?"
I prayed it was still too dawn-y for him to see just how heavily I was panting. I'd endured the torture better than I thought I would, but my expectations weren't real high to begin with.
"Yeah. All the way," I tried to say, though he didn't know the full scope of my promise.
Some of his usual affection came back as he unstuck a few curls from my temple and tried to tuck them back out of harm's way.
"Let's head back," he said after a thorough inspection of my face.
"I love you!" I all but yelled, so relieved to be nearing the end of the nightmare part of my plan.
Back at my apartment is where I'll have to deal with the terrifying portion of it.
"I'm sure you do," he said, convinced his going easy on me is the reason behind my sudden confession.
I'm ashamed to admit, at that moment it felt so good just to be standing still, using my hand on his chest like it's a kickstand until I started to breathe normally again, that relief could've prompted me to spill my guts. And then he started running back the way we came. I kept my eye on the prize and managed to stick close to him on our reverse route, but that was probably due to Ranger slowing down to a jog so my outright run would almost match it.
I knew he really did love me when he didn't argue about taking the elevator up to my apartment. Although my butt felt kicked already, my nerves kicked in when we were all alone in my apartment.
"Uh ... as the guest, you get first crack at the hot water," I told him. Burg manners come in handy when you're about to chicken out of doing something. "The uniform you left here is hanging in the closet. I made sure it got washed and everything."
He tipped his head and studied me. "What's wrong? You usually stomp off to the bathroom with barely more than a grunt after a run."
I shrugged. "I'm trying to be nice. My mother said I should try it out sometimes."
"Your mother never knows what the hell she's talking about. Go take a shower. I'll be here when you come out."
Three words slipped out again without consulting the proper channels. "I love you," I said, as I was already heading to the bathroom.
"That declaration carries more weight when it isn't always following you getting something you want."
I grinned over my shoulder at him. "Point taken."
I washed everything twice and shaved what I needed to in case I can convince him to stick around for the day. I'd expected him to be searching for something edible in my kitchen as he waited for his turn at the shower, but I found Ranger sitting on my lumpy couch, already wearing his clean Range-duds.
"I'm sorry," I told him, feeling disappointed as well as sorry that today isn't going to be 'someday' after all. "I took too long, didn't I? And you're probably in a hurry ..."
"I'm in no more of a rush than I usually am. You're fine. I'd showered after I got back from the gym, and since I scaled back the intensity of our run for you, I didn't break a sweat."
He's bionic. He has to be. That's the only reason that a workout that nearly killed me, barely altered his resting heart rate even being his second of the day.
"I should get going," he said while making no move to well ... move.
It's clear that this is today's do or die moment. Problem is, I'm not sure how to tell him that my mind changed when it comes to us. I already blew two 'I love Yous'. I need a different plan of attack now. I went with my normal method ... blurt out something that doesn't make a whole lot of sense at first.
"I'm glad you didn't ask to see the outfit I bought," I told him.
He leaned further back into the cast-off couch's cushion and crossed his arms over his chest. After he'd switched out his workout clothes and put his uniform on, he'd added a light windbreaker since he had been planning on heading out soon. I don't know why the crinkly sound of the waterproof material distracted me so much, but not only is it hiding all the muscles I'd spent the morning ogling ... what would be a defensive gesture had I done it, gave me the impression that I'd been right. He is irritated that I could be going someplace with someone who isn't him.
"Because you didn't want to endanger whoever it is I'm about to kill?" He asked back, confirming my suspicion.
Yep, Batman's definitely a tad testy today.
"No. If you had asked, I would've had to confess that I was lying. There's nothing I have to get into, only out of ... if you don't have a capture or something more important planned for today."
Nothing in his body or face changed, but my skin tingled as the barometric pressure in the room changed.
"What could be more important than getting you out of your clothes, Babe?"
"Me telling you that the only guy I'll work out - and dress up - for ... is you. If you're still not interested in the ring part, I'll take the condom relationship as long as it's a long-lasting, only me and you, one. I don't want us doing just random sleepovers anymore. I don't care about being married, but I do care that it's the two of us working and living together for the foreseeable future."
"Come here," was his response.
I walked to where he was sitting and wasted no time slinging my leg over his thighs so I was straddling his hips. I draped my arms over the back of the couch and leaned forward until my lips were brushing against his.
His hands curved along my thighs and he held on. "When I said the Bat Cave is forever, I meant it."
I pressed my mouth to his briefly before speaking. "Did you mean 'someday' too?"
His left hand wandered up over my ass, along my back, and it burrowed into my wet curls before it curled around the back of my head. His right hand stayed on my thigh, holding my lower half tight to his. I'm effectively trapped ... and couldn't be happier about it.
"I don't say anything I don't mean," he reminded me.
His mouth captured mine and he put a lot into the kiss he planted on me. Strength, need, love, and more importantly ... a very skillful tongue. I swear I heard a snap, crackle, and a pop, when we finally separated. By then, I forgot we were in the middle of a conversation.
"I was just waiting for you to choose the day," he was saying in my ear.
Huh? Choose what? What day? I heard him saying some words but couldn't make sense of the sentence. Thankfully, Ranger is basically eyeball-to-eyeball with me and can easily see the confusion in mine.
"I was ready for whatever you wanted or needed from me long ago, Stephanie. I was just waiting for the day you agree that running from me is no longer an option for you."
I scooted closer to him and the friction that movement created between our bodies had us both pausing to savor it. I linked my fingers behind his neck and I felt the strange combination of being totally grounded and also completely out of my mind with wanting him.
"Guess that's today, since I literally ran to you."
"Only because I had to stop and let you catch up," he teased.
"Seriously? You want to make fun of my fitness level now. I'm still dressed and can stay that way," I threatened.
I slipped a finger into the collar of my T-shirt until it hooked on the red strap of the lacy bra I'd put on, and I flashed it at him just to give him a taste of what he'd be missing out on.
"No, you can't."
That was the only warning I got. Apparently, you can't wave a red bra strap in front of Batman and expect him not to take charge. He moved his thigh-holding hand to my waist and he stood, knowing my legs would automatically curl around any part of him they could get a hold of.
He brought us into my bedroom and followed me down onto the mattress after only a three second glare at it. Normally, his hatred of my uncomfortable and too-small bed is more vocal and a bit time-consuming. If I had to take a guess, I'd say he wasn't going to give me time or a chance to suggest that a bed isn't needed after all.
Feeling what's going on between my legs had his bed-less concern feeling groundless. He peeled off his jacket and tossed it on my chair but that was all the thought he put into his clothing. Mine were his main focus. I didn't think it was insane to believe that he has something like a sensual timer implanted somewhere in his brain. He spent almost the same amount of time on every part of my body, and as soon as he sensed I was getting too close to screaming his name, he'd move onto the section of sensitive skin right below it.
His mouth started at my lips, kissing me slowly and deeply, and in a way that suggested he really isn't in any hurry to be doing anything other than me. Which is good but also bad, since Ranger is very controlled in bed until he's satisfied that I've been thoroughly, whereas I'm bossy and impatient and want him the second I get him naked. He teases, I whine. He kisses, I just moan for more. I say 'Hurry up!' and he immediately slows down. He is literally a frustrating man in this particular area, but he always makes me happy he waited. As he clocked in his time at my mouth and throat, and then proceeded to remove my T-shirt and red bra to get busy driving me crazy on another level, I didn't have time to ponder how prophetic my words were.
His lips closed around a nipple and that sweet suction had me digging my hands into his hair in an attempt to tighten the pressure or release it. My breasts were both sporting faint whisker burn despite his recent shave when his 'sexy clock' said it was my stomach's turn at bat. His tongue dipped into my naval and then systematically worked its way out towards every rib before heading down to my hip bones that were suddenly visible after he unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans.
How he's staying so controlled is just one of his many mysteries. I know I had a thought to finish, but it slipped from my brain on a moan the second his mouth went to work on my breasts. I was too far gone for anything more than reaching for him, or wriggling against him, trying to get him to at least let me get one orgasm out of the way before he subjected me to a second one.
When my socks, jeans, and underwear, were added to the pile next to my bed, I didn't care about anything except getting him inside me. I learned in that moment to always clarify my statements. It was his tongue I felt licking, stroking, and delving, into me long before his fingers and anything else took over.
His lips did the suction thing again and my hips soared off the bed as my mind went with them. I saw fireworks, stars, and the end of my single days forever. Even with my eyes closed, he must have seen all of that in my face when he looked up my body at me, because he tore off his shirt and ditched everything below it. We should be getting close to the main event, I thought, as my eyes blinked open and were immediately filled with the large expanse of muscled mocha chest.
I reached my hand out to outline every muscle and ridge, but he was gone again. He resumed his tongue torture, adding two of his fingers into the play to help wind me up all over again.
"Let go for me, Babe," he ordered.
I thought round two's release would take longer, but feeling him say those words against the most sensitive and pretty responsive part of my body, did the job. A drawn-out moan was answer enough and I was rewarded with all of him this time. He didn't just slam his point home either. He kept his place between my legs, but slid upwards to re-kiss a few spots that clearly missed him, given how they're still pointing into his chest when he got close again. He kissed me as I wrapped my arms around him, and he proved that his body needs no compass to find his way home.
When his hips began a rhythm I could keep up with, I started touching ... exploring all the arm muscle that's bulging as he attempted to keep most of his weight off me. I skimmed my nails over his abs just because it always makes him flinch and immediately harden, which was just me teasing him right now since it isn't possible for him to be any harder than he is when he's inside me. It was my fingers digging into his backside trying to gain some control over how fast he could make me let go again that did it for him.
When he slowly lowered his big body to lie along the length of mine, still buried deep inside me, my earlier round of introspection returned. While I hugged him with one arm and the opposite leg, and moved his sweaty hair off his forehead with my free hand, I hit send on two thoughts. One, our morning run may not have had him breaking a sweat, but me being horizontal did the trick judging from the tempo his heart's tapping out against my breast. And two, I'd been thinking earlier that he always has me grateful that he waited, and seeing how long he's waited for me to commit to an us, I'm going to use every day, starting on this one, to get him feeling just as thankful as I am that he did.