Not mine, but a girl can dream.

Warning: language and sexual innuendo and smut, actually this chapter is lots of smut, but all integral to the storyline, I promise you.

Better Man 12

Storyline and excerpt borrowed from Lean Mean 13

With no sign of Diggery at the food court Lester and I headed back to Haywood. I was still mortified at the thought of Ella seeing my ass print in the middle of the dining room table. I don't think she would want to adopt me now. When my mom found out I stunned Joe and as Grandma put it, who helped me get my happy on, I would be disowned. Without Ella I would have no dessert. I was lost in my thoughts and I think I must have spaced out. The next thing I knew we were in the garage at Haywood.

"You coming Beautiful?" Lester looked at me.

"Huh, what? Sure." I came out of my stupor to see Lester smirking at me.

He was in a teasing mood, "Remembering how the ass print got there Beautiful?"

I blushed. "No, I…"

He helped me out of the car and kissed my cheek, "And no way was it gigantic," he gave me a sly grin.

I blushed an even deeper shade of red and punched him in the arm. Ouch. Mental note: Do not punch Merry Men, it hurts.

We headed up to five to check in. I walked past the control room, not wanting to meet anyone who had been dusting the table remains for my ass print.

Lester headed back to his desk and I stopped by Ranger's office. The door was open. I walked in and threw myself down on the couch and put my hands over my eyes. "Ranger," I whined.

"Babe," he said chuckling from his desk chair.

"Don't Babe me Ranger. I left a giant ass print on the dining room table. Ella is never going to adopt me. I can never look at her again. Plus do you know the men thought we had broken the other table? Someone was trying to dust it for prints – and not ones left by fingers!" I rambled on.

The next thing I knew Ranger had picked me up and taken my place on the couch setting me in his lap. I snuggled into him.

"Babe, don't worry about the table. We are grown adults. Ella doesn't care." He shifted me so I was now straddling him. He kissed me gently. His hands stroked my back moving down to my hips and cupping my ass. "It was not giant," he spoke against my lips, "It was perfect. When I went upstairs and saw it I got hard just thinking about this morning." He ran his hands over my ass, and I could feel him harden again. He moved his lips across my jaw and down my throat kissing and licking. It was suddenly much warmer in here. I let out a little moan as I let my memory of our celebration in the dining room erase any embarrassment. "If it makes you feel better, next time you can be on top. I remember you said something about riding me like a pony." He gave me the wolf grin before capturing my mouth, his tongue exploring, licking, caressing. He moaned and pulled me tighter to him. I am sure he could feel my nipples pushing through my bra and t shirt. I ground my hips into him as I felt a rush of wetness ruin my panties.

He pulled back from the kiss and growled in my ear, "Babe, we can't do this here, now. I've got a takedown in half an hour. Why don't you go run some searches? The guys have been putting them off when they heard you were coming back." He kissed the spot below my ear that made me squirm. He held my hips to still me and nipped at the skin before licking the shell of my ear. "Tonight I'll take you out to dinner and make it up to you."

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't been out forever. Joe never took me out. Was this a date? Would it just be the two of us or would the guys be coming?

He gave me a quick kiss before answering, "Yes, really. It has been a rough couple of days. You deserve a night out. I thought we could go to dinner and then meet up with the guys. They are going to check out a new club." Wow dinner and dancing. Ranger dancing. Omigod. If my panties weren't ruined, they would have been at the image that popped into my mind. I shook my head to try and clear the image, but I couldn't get rid of the grin that threatened to split my face in two. "You alright there Babe? Don't want you to shake anything loose," he teased.

"Yup." I hopped off his lap and tried to straighten my clothes. "Just thinking about you dancing. I've never seen you dance." I was still grinning at him.

He got up and stood in front of me, his wolf grin in place. He placed his arms around me and started to sway like we were dancing. He whispered in my ear, "No Babe, but you've seen my moves. They're pretty much the same horizontal or vertical." He licked his way to the mark on my neck and nipped at it gently before sucking it into his mouth. I am guessing he wanted it to stay around for a while.

I moaned. Damn that man. No way could I sit in these panties all day. If I didn't get out of them, I was pretty sure I would have a wet spot on the front of my cargos too. "Looking forward to it Batman. I guess I better get to work so my boss lets me off a little early to get ready. But first I need to run upstairs." I turned to head out of his office.

"Babe?" He asked wondering why the side trip.

I kept walking, but then Bad Stephanie thought pulling on the tiger's tail would be fun. I turned my head to him and said, "Dry panties. You don't expect me to wear these all afternoon do you? You ruined them." I gave him my sexy grin before heading out the door.

I heard him groan, "Babe," as he dropped into his office chair. I took it to mean, you are an evil woman. I was just hoping he would make me pay for it later. I was really starting to like Bad Stephanie.

After changing into dry panties and having a snack, I headed back to my desk to run searches. Ranger wasn't kidding, my inbox was overflowing. I pulled the ones that were the most urgent and started to pry into people's private lives. It felt good to be back here. I liked working at Rangeman. I liked the searches and I was good at it. Several times I was able to find things that the guys have overlooked. I think I just thought differently than military men. If I was honest, I probably thought differently than anybody I have ever met. Until recently that had really bothered me. I always thought my life would be a lot easier if I have just been able to be a burg clone. It would have saved me a lot of pain and heartache. Ranger had helped me to see that different was not always bad as I had been taught growing up.

I worked searches. I noticed one of them was for Dickie and another was Petiak. Through Petiak I was able to find my Mr. Stapled Nuts. His name was Dave. I was pretty sure I was going to keep referring to him as Mr. Stapled Nuts. It seemed fitting and it made me smile. I may not always be prepared, but I am resourceful. Of course the memory had nothing to do with the fact that after our altercation Ranger was waiting for me and helped to get me out of harm's way. Nope, that had nothing to do with it.

I still had a stupid grin on my face when Lester stopped by to talk.

"Dining room table?" he questioned, grinning.

I blushed, damn. "No." I tried to sound indignant, but I think the stupid smile negated my tone.

He laughed. We talked for a while. He gave me my schedule for the next few weeks. He was apparently my mentor in my training as a full time Rangeman employee. I was going to be going to the gym, running, self defense, spending time in the gun range and learning some more skills like wire tapping and lock picking. I was looking forward to all of it. Well not the gym and the running, but as long as I had the great scenery of sweaty half naked Rangemen I suppose I could suffer through.

"So are you going out with us tonight? We are checking out the new club. There will be lots of drinking and dancing Beautiful." He asked.

"Yeah, Ranger is taking me out for dinner and then we are going to meet up with you guys later." I was excited, not only for my date with Ranger. It was a date wasn't it? But I couldn't wait to see all of the sexy Merry Men on the dance floor. Yum.

"Yeah Beautiful, I think it's a date." I must have said that part out loud. He smiled at me, not quite his full smile, "Lucky Bastard." He kissed me on the cheek and asked me to save a dance for him. Hmmm… that was a little weird. But I was too focused on my date to worry about it now. I finished the last search and headed up to seven to get beautiful.

I put my purse next to the dish Ranger kept his keys in and headed into the kitchen. I leaned into the fridge for a bottle of water when I felt Ranger come up behind me. He put his hands around my waist and pulled me too him. He brushed my hair to one side and started kissing my neck.

"I noticed you're dressed in RangeMan colors," Ranger said to me.

"Turns out I have clothes in your closet."

"More than just underwear and socks," Ranger said. "They were left here from the last time you stayed here."

"Does that make us a couple?"

"Spend another night with me, and I'll explain couple to you," Ranger said.

"Is that a promise?" I asked, my voice just a whisper.

He spun me around to face him and he took my face in his hands as he looked into my eyes. I am sure he found hope there mixed with the love I felt for him.

"Yeah Babe, that's a promise." His eyes revealed more than he had ever let me see before. I fisted both of my hands in his hair and drug his mouth to mine, kissing him long and hard. My tongue swept into his mouth and I twirled it around his. I sucked on his tongue mimicking what I would like to do to another part of him. He growled low in his throat and took control of the kiss. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and caressed it with his tongue then biting it before letting it go. His tongue explored every part of my mouth with a barely controlled ferocity I had never felt in him before. He backed me up so I was against the wall, putting one of his legs between mine. He pulled me forward by my hips rubbing me against his thigh. I moaned as he ruined yet another pair of my panties.

I needed to feel him, touch his skin, his warmth. I pulled his shirt free of his cargos and slid my hands up to his chest, caressing all of the muscles in his abs on my way. He broke the kiss long enough to reach behind him and pull off his t shirt. The pure maleness in that movement sent a fresh wave of need through me and soaked my panties further. I pulled him to me and kissed him fiercely before licking and sucking his neck and throat while my hands ran over his muscled back. I had to stop as he pulled off my t shirt before latching onto my nipple through the lace of my bra. I gasped at the sensation as he thrust his leg higher and I ground myself into his thigh. He continued to torture my breast while he teased the other one with his hand. I thrust my hips forward and began to ride his thigh vigorously, needing to find release. He switched breasts, sucking the nipple into his mouth and biting down through the fabric as he moved my hips against his thigh. My orgasm came on quickly as I cried, "Omigod…Oh…my…god…Carlos."

He was busy pulling off the rest of my clothes while I fumbled with the opening on his cargos. I was panting heavily, from my release and the need for more. I couldn't get enough of him. I needed him buried inside of me. The feeling was unlike anything else. There was no comparison. Fuck cake. It had nothing on Ranger. He took over and quickly had both of us naked and I was pressed into the wall again, this time with both of his legs between mine. He was kissing my neck and running his lips and tongue along my throat. I could feel him throbbing, pressed between us.

"God Steph, when you scream my name…" He didn't finish the thought with words, but his mouth was on mine and in his kiss, I knew how much using his name turned him on. Every part of my body was throbbing with need for this man. I grasped his cock in my hand and stroked him none too gently.

"Show me. Show me Carlos what it does to you. Make me do it again." My voice was heavy with my need for him. I brought my leg up to wrap around his waist. He grabbed my ass and lifted my other leg to his waist. I could feel him, the tip at my entrance, rubbing, teasing.

He groaned, feeling how wet I was. My upper thighs were coated and I wouldn't be surprised if I was dripping onto the floor. "I love knowing how much you want me, what I do to you." His voice was deep. He was running his full length against me, coating himself in my wetness. My head was thrown back and my eyes closed. I was struggling to remain conscious. I was overwhelmed with desire, my whole body was shaking.

"Open, your eyes Babe, look at me Steph," he pleaded, in his voice I could tell he needed me as much as I needed him. I opened my eyes. His beautiful brown eyes were dilated with his arousal. "You're mine now." He slid just the head of his cock into me. His voice was hoarse, "After having you, like this, in my bed, in my apartment, in my arms," he slid further into me and I moaned at the sensation and struggled to continue looking at him, his eyes piercing. "I can't go back. I need you, I want you. Say you are mine." He looked at me waiting for my response, his eyes begging me to say yes.

I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice, "Yes, I'm yours. In my heart I always have been." A tear slid down my cheek. How long have I wanted to hear these words from this man? Words I never thought I would hear. He captured my mouth in a passionate kiss full of need, desire and love. He pulled away so he could look at me. He looked down, to where we were joined and swept his gaze up over my body before resting on my eyes.

"Mine." He said. His eyes locked with mine as he buried himself inside of me. I couldn't speak. I just nodded as he pulled almost all the way back before thrusting back in. "Mine." He said with more force and he echoed it with his thrust.

"Yes." I choked out, my voice heavy with emotion. Encouraged by my words he grabbed my hips and began pounding into me in a raw and primal way. I met him thrust for thrust, trying to get him deeper, harder, faster. My whole body was vibrating with need. I could feel he was close, his body tightening, his thrusts more frantic. I grasped his shoulders for leverage as I felt my belly tighten and my whole body vibrate with the sensation as my orgasm overcame me. I shook in his arms as I sobbed, "Yours, Carlos, yes, I'm yours." Tears poured from my eyes, as I was overcome with all of the emotions and sensations that racked my body.

As my body convulsed around him, I felt Carlos thrust into me once more, coming hard. He pinned me tightly against the wall, grinding his hips into me rubbing against my clit, prolonging his release and setting off another one in me as he growled, "Mine, Steph, you are mine."

We collapsed onto the floor, Ranger on his knees, still buried inside of me and my back against the wall. I was breathing hard and thinking I really needed to get into shape if I was going to keep up with him. Maybe Lester's workout plan would have some benefits after all. He leaned into me and pressed our foreheads together. His breath was still ragged as he spoke, "My god, we are going to kill each other." He smiled in a way I have never seen before. The smile reached his eyes, it was tender and gentle and content, like a little boy who had gotten exactly what he had wanted for Christmas.

"I can think of worse ways to go," I said smiling back at him.

He chuckled causing me to spasm around him. He groaned and I moaned.

"Babe, you better go shower or we will never make it out of the apartment tonight. I'll go shower on four and come back for you." He didn't sound like he wanted to shower on four, but if he came into the shower with me; we wouldn't be out for hours. He stood up and slowly slid out of me and I whimpered. He kissed me and pushed me towards the bathroom, swatting me on the ass.

"Omigod what am I going to wear?" I shrieked heading into the bathroom.

"Babe," I could hear him laughing at me.

I quickly showered and shaved, buffed and cleansed my body within an inch of its life all the while contemplating what to wear. I wasn't sure what I had here as options. I had a few things from distractions and some more casual everyday stuff. I would find something that would work. I shut off the water, dried off and slipped into the robe that was hanging on the back of the door. I was sure it wasn't Ranger's. It was short, made of soft terrycloth with satin trim. It was sexy, but practical too. Have I mentioned I love Ella?

I grabbed my hair stuff and worked some anti-frizz stuff into it before setting it in rollers. Before I could do much with the rest of my makeup, I needed to decide what to wear. I walked into the dressing room to rummage for something that would work. There was no need. Hanging on the back of the door was a dress for me that was anything but your basic cocktail dress.

It was a deep blue silk charmeuse. The dress was a halter style, the deep v would settle between my breasts. The halter had vertical rows of chiffon ruffles. The waistband was adorned with bugle beads and the skirt was a fluid a-line that would stop just above my knee. It took my breath away. On the chair next to the vanity I found sheer thigh highs and a pair of blue lace cheekie panties that matched the dress perfectly. The panties covered more than a thong, but less than a bikini. On the floor was a pair of gorgeous peep toe FMPs in silver, with a slight shimmer. I ran my hands over the dress; it was so soft and beautiful. I noticed the clock and hurried back into the bathroom to get ready. I finished up my makeup, going light on the eye shadow, but lining my eyes with charcoal and applying just a couple coats of mascara. I lined my lips and applied a rich raisin colored lipstick that promised to be smudge proof. If anybody could put it to the test it would be Ranger.

I took my hair out of the rollers and arranged it into a pile of curls on top of my head. I allowed a few to escape and frame my face. The back of the dress was open and I wanted to show it off. I stripped off the robe and covered myself with a moisturizer that has just a hint of sparkle to it. I slipped on the panties and thigh highs. Looking at the pumps, I was glad Lula I had taken time to get a pedicure earlier in the week.

I slipped into the dress, the silk feeling amazing against my skin. Luckily there was a built in bra that gave me some cleavage to show off. I was able to slip into the dress with the neck clasp closed, but the zipper would have to wait for Ranger. I slipped on the pumps and stood in front of the mirror. Not bad.

In the mirror I saw Ranger standing in the doorway. He had on charcoal dress pants that must have been made for him, the way they showcased his body. His grey dress shirt looked to be silk and he had left 2 buttons undone at the top, just hinting at the gorgeous chest that lay beneath. His hair was down, just brushing his shoulders. He was wearing his diamond studs and he looked absolutely edible. I licked my lips. His eyes darken as he looked me over from the top of my curls to the tips of my toes, for once I felt up to the scrutiny. Looking like this, I felt beautiful enough to be by his side.

Taking long strides he was behind me almost instantly. "Beautiful" he murmured into my ear. His fingers traced down my bare back to the zipper. He dipped a finger inside the dress to run along the lacy edge of my panties before zipping up the dress. I watched him in the mirror as his eyes came back to mine. He turned me towards him and he kissed me gently, "Perfect,…almost" he said.

He reached into his pocket and I saw something sparkly as he threaded an earring into my ear. He kissed my cheek before turning me so he could do the other ear. After kissing the other cheek he turned me back to the mirror. He kept one hand around my waist and the other was lightly tracing along my collar bone and shoulder. He looked into my eyes in the reflection and said, "Perfect."

I stepped closer to the mirror and saw what he had done. They were diamond earrings, a drop style. The one at the top looked to be at least one carat, dangling from it on a platinum chain were two more. The middle one looked to be about half the size of the first. The bottom diamond was a teardrop shape and somewhere in size between the other two. They were stunning. I reached for his hand. "They're beautiful. But they are too much, I can't accept them." I reached up to take them out.

He grabbed my hands and turned me to him. "No price, remember. They were made for you. I can't return them and they would look silly on me. Please keep them." He smiled at me, the full 200 watts.

Damn, the man said please. I smiled at the thought of Ranger wearing them. They really weren't his style. I reached up and kissed him slowly, in thanks. "Thank you, they are beautiful. But you know I don't need things like this. I just need you."

He kissed me and answered, "I know, that's what makes it so much fun to give you things. Get used to it. I don't want you to put up a fight every time I want to give you something." His eyes pleaded with me. I nodded and I turned back to the mirror, looking at the two of us.

"Thank you. For all of this," I ran my hands down the skirt of my dress, "It's beautiful. I feel beautiful."

He kissed my jaw, his eyes still locked with mine in the mirror, "Because you are Quidera, and it isn't the dress, it's you." He kissed my neck before he continued. "Now I would love to stand here all evening and just drink in your beauty, but we have reservations."

I stopped to grab the silver clutch bag that had appeared alongside the dress. I threw in my lipstick, pepper spray and a few other essentials.

We took the elevator down to the garage. He pulled me in close to him, my back to his front. Neither of us spoke, we just gazed at our reflection in the metal door.

He guided me to the Turbo with his hand on my back. He settled me inside, buckling the belt. He ran his finger from my earlobe, down my throat and into the deep v in the dress. He caressed the side of my breast that was showing. His eyes darkened as my breath hitched. He kissed me hard and fast before shutting the door. I heard him muttering to himself, but it was all in Spanish, so I had no idea what he was saying. Even so, my panties got a little wet.

As he drove, he was in his zone, but he held my hand on his thigh. I just watched him, he was breath taking, and he was mine. He was mine right? I mean if I was his, he was mine, right? Mine. If Joe had ever said anything like that to me I would have kneed him in the balls. I have never wanted to belong to anyone. But I had belonged to Ranger since our one night together, whether I wanted to or not. I just didn't think he wanted me. I never thought I would hear those words from him. A tear slid down my cheek, partly remembering the pain from the morning after but more for the joy I was feeling now. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize we had stopped. I looked up to see that we were parked right outside Rossini's.

Ranger was watching me. He leaned over and brushed away the tear and asked, "Happy tears Babe?"

"Mostly," I smiled at him. "I was just thinking about the long road we've taken to get here." I didn't want to be specific about my thoughts. I didn't want to hurt him. There would be a time and a place to discuss that memory, but not now.

He looked like he wanted to know more, but he didn't ask. Instead he asked, "Is it alright we came here? One of the few times we have been out to eat together it was here. This place always makes me think of you."

My stomach took its opportunity to voice its opinion. I smiled at Ranger. "Sorry. Yes this is perfect. I remember that day. It was right after the garbage truck landed on the Porche." I still felt bad about that. Ranger kissed me quickly before getting out of the door and coming over to help me out. As he pulled me from the car he kissed me again, gently.

"Babe, I don't care about the car. Things don't matter, people do. You do." He put his hand on the small of my back and steered us towards the door.

I hadn't been here since I was here with Ranger. But Rossini's was one of those places that never changed. We started to follow the host to our table in the far back corner of the room. The restaurant was nearly full, mostly couples, a few families. I sent a smile to a few people I knew when my eyes landed on a couple sitting at a table who were both staring at me. I froze. My parents. Fuck, Fuckity, Fuck, Fuck. God hates me. I am being punished for enjoying too many Ranger induced orgasms and this was a way to even it out. Karma's a bitch. Ranger felt me tense and followed my gaze. He spoke to the host and then steered us towards my parents. He kept one hand at my back, but grasped mine with the other. He gave me a gentle squeeze trying to reassure me. I think it was going to take more than that.

"Hi Mom, Dad, you remember Ranger." My dad stood up, he kissed my cheek and shook Ranger's hand.

"You look beautiful Pumpkin."

Ranger smiled at my Dad, not removing his hand from my back, "Mr. Plum, please call me Carlos. It's Carlos Manoso." My dad returned Ranger's smile. What? My Dad never smiled at Joe, most of the time he just ignored him. My dad went by the old adage, If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I preferred Grandma's version, If you can't say anything nice, come sit by me.

I turned to my Mom. She hadn't said anything yet. In fact she hadn't moved. Her mouth hung open in a big O. I wasn't sure if I preferred her this way or not. At least this way she wasn't yelling at me. "Mom, where is Grandma tonight? It is nice that you two can have a date night." I was trying to coax her out of her stupor. She snapped her mouth shut as her eyes flicked from Ranger to me and back again. It was like she was watching a high speed tennis match. I was worried she might give herself an aneurysm. She finally snapped out of it. She sprung out of her chair and hugged me. What the fuck? My mother does not hug.

She pulled back and looked at me, "Stephanie, you look beautiful." She held my arms out and took another step back taking in my dress, shoes, hair, face and my earrings. I was grateful that the halter of the dress covered Ranger's mark on my neck. She stepped forward and touched one of the diamonds. She smiled at me. She was really starting to freak me out. "They're stunning. A gift?" She looked to Ranger.

"Yes Mom," I smiled. "They are from Carlos. I told him they were too much, but he insisted." I looked away from her and at Ranger, smiling up at him.

"Mrs. Plum," Ranger took my Mom's hand and kissed it, as he released it he smiled at her, the full 200 watts. She was momentarily stunned, like a deer in the headlights. I had seen it happen to women all the time, but it was the first time I had seen it work on my mother.

Snapping out of it, she told Carlos, "You have excellent taste, they are beautiful."

"Thank you, she is, isn't she." He kissed my cheek.

"Well we should let you two enjoy your dinner, you make a lovely couple." My Mom's burg manners came back to her. "Will we see you at dinner on Sunday?" she asked me.

Before I could answer, I heard Carlos say, "We'll be there." He turned and steered us towards our table.

This was turning out to be a very interesting night.