Not mine, but a girl can dream.

Warning: language and sexual innuendo and hopefully some smut

Sally

Better Man Ch. 2

From Lean Mean 13 p 124-125 (paperback)

Ranger was waiting outside for me. I pulled to the curb and placed his hat on the console. He got in and put the hat on.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked him.

"A friend gave this hat to me just before he died. It's a reminder to stay alert."

I glanced over at him. "I thought you wore it because it looked hot."

That got a smile from him. "Do you think I look hot in this hat?"

I thought he looked hot in everything. "It's a pretty good hat," I told him.

"Liar," he grinned.

"Ass," I scowled.

"But you love my ass," he countered.

"Says who?" I feigned shock.

"You did Babe. Remember? My ass, my tongue, my lips…" He whispered in my ear, pausing to lick the shell of my ear between each phrase. He moved his lips to the space just under my ear, licking and nipping his way to my lips. He kissed them lightly and whispered, "Better than birthday cake..." His tongue traced my lower lip reminding me of the way I would lick icing off said birthday cake. I moaned. I am not sure if it was the kiss or the thought of cake. Maybe it was both. I mean Ranger's tongue and cake in the same thought, really who wouldn't? Oh naked Ranger and cake, oh and Ranger's tongue and icing and me naked. I moaned again as his tongue slipped inside my mouth.

Mmmm…cake and Ranger. I knew I had said that part of my debate earlier out loud, but my brain was nagging at me. God it was hard to think when he was kissing me with that tongue. Oh yeah, his tongue, his lips, his ass…oh shit, oh fuck. What had he said? I pulled back from him quickly and accidently knocked the SEALS cap from his head and it tumbled to the floor.

"So um, I mean when you said, …ah, I mean when I was earlier, you know..." I mumbled trying to spit out what I wanted to say, unsuccessfully. I mean how do you ask how much did he know about my comparison of he and Morelli?

The corners of his mouth were upturned, threatening to smile. "Is there a question in there somewhere Babe?"

I swallowed my pride, pulled on my big girl panties and looked him in the eye, determined to find out just how big an ass I had made of myself. "So, outside of Starbucks, just how much of that did I say, umm out loud?"

Now it was a full blown smirk. Shit.

"I don't know Babe, why don't you tell me the whole thing and I'll tell you how much I heard."

"Well, it started with your 'I'm better' comment and my mind started to wander to, you know - that night and then the compare…wait,… Fuck! I just did it again! You tricked me! Damn ESP." By now I was nearing rhino mode, mortified my musings which were meant to be private, keep escaping around him. No wonder he is a government weapon. He is better than truth serum. One kiss and I am spilling my guts.

"Babe, I don't usually kiss the guys I deal with on missions. Not sure it would have the same effect." He reached forward and brought his lips to mine again, brushing them back and forth gently nuzzling against me with his nose and mouth in a sweet and intimate gesture. He kissed the corner of my mouth and then the tip of his tongue traced the seam of my lips as I opened for him. All of this talk about cake was making me hungry!

My tongue met his as I tilted my head and began attacking his lips and tongue with mine as if I was trying to lick the icing I had imagined earlier covering Ranger. I snaked my hand up over his shoulder and found his ponytail. I felt, more than heard a growl from low in his chest as I fisted my hand in his hair and pulled back, forcing his neck forward as my mouth left his and I licked off an imaginary path of buttercream icing along his jaw to the sensitive spot under his ear and down to his pulse point. His hands had snaked inside my jacket and up under my t shirt. The pads of his thumbs brushed across my breasts. There was another growl as my nipples hardened, but this time it sounded different. Oh god, I think it was me.

I was just about to climb over the center console when sounds of the Rolling Stones singing startled us both back to reality. "No, you can't always get what you want; you can't always get what you want, you can't always get what you want, and if you try sometime you might find; you get what you need." It was a phone. Fuck! It was my phone. The display read 'Joe Home.' I tried to get my breathing under control as I answered, "Joe?"

"Hey Cupcake, I just wanted to give you a heads up, I am going to be stuck here on a job so I won't be able to make dinner at your parents' tonight."

"You're working a case?" I heard Bob barking in the background.

"Yup. I probably won't see you much in the next few days. This just came up and I have no choice."

"Since when does Trenton PD have a work from home policy?" He was hiding behind work even though he was calling me from the comfort of his own home? I don't think so!

"This is different. Look, I gotta go. I'm heading out." And with that, he was gone.

"Bastard," I muttered. Well I guess there is no winner in the phone manners portion of our competition. I turned my attention back to Bachelor #2.

"You have to fill in for Joe tonight at my parent's house for dinner. I am suspected of murdering my ex husband and I can't face them alone."

"No."

"Come on, you owe me for listening in on my private thoughts." Not hardly. If I lived to be 100, I could never repay my debt to Ranger. Remembering the last payment I made to him, my nipples hardened again and I shivered.

"Do I get to take over Morelli's other responsibilities tonight? His voice dropped and my panties went up in flames.

I chose to ignore him, busying myself with straightening my clothes and buckling my seatbelt. I was headed to face the firing squad, with wet panties no less. There had better be dessert! And it better not be cake. No more cake for me, no siree bob, I was done with cake, birthday, pineapple upside down cake, mocha chocolate cake – shit where did that come from? I would put myself on a diet and just indulge in the occasional Tastycake when the urge strikes. No more dating. No more men. No more Ranger induced orgasms. I mean cake!

"Babe," he picked up the hat and placed it back over his luscious locks and tucked a curl behind my ear, his hand lingering against my neck. His eyes darkened as he warned, "Be careful, always keep your words sweet in case you have to eat them later."

Oh boy!

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