I haven't said it yet, but I've been blown away by the response I've gotten to this story. I'd expected to get several dozen readers, but as I write this I've had nearly 2,400 different people read this it. The next week will be insane at work (Yesterday I worked for 22 hours straight, had a 4 hour nap, and am now hoping to finish after only 12 hours.) The reviews and encouragement have been wonderful, though I admit I've probably spent some time writing when I should be sleeping.

Recap: Ranger and Steph have breakfast, then Steph goes to the gun range, where Lester tells her that she and Ranger are the last to know how they felt about each other.

Lester pulled out a sharpie and darkened some of the lines on the poster paper, making a 3x3 grid.

I looked at him. "When you said game, you didn't mean Tic-Tac-Toe, did you?

He grinned at me. "Yup. Thought you might appreciate something to keep this interesting. And maybe you can relax more if you aren't thinking of a gun as a way to kill people. You need to be willing to do that if necessary, but one step at a time, OK?" I nodded. "You want to be X's or O's?"

"I'll be X." Lester pulled out a pad of paper and drew another 3x3 grid on it. He gestured for me to shoot. I aimed for the middle square, figuring that even if I missed, I'd get something.

BANG! A hole appeared within an inch of where I had been aiming. I was pretty pleased with myself, and marked an X on the paper. Lester took aim and hit the upper right corner dead-center, marking the paper with an O. We went back and forth like that, at first he beat me every time because of his superior aim, but as I got better I started to beat him using my long-dormant Tic-Tac-Toe skills. Once I was sure enough of my aim that I was willing to pick a specific place to shoot, not just hope for the best, I started creaming him in every game.

"Damn, Bomber, where did you learn to play Tic-Tac-Toe so well?" he asked after I had beaten him in my 5th game straight.

"Have you ever heard the story about how when I was 6 I tried to fly by jumping off the garage roof? I broke my arm when I landed in the yard."

"No, but it doesn't surprise me one bit. I bet you were hell on wheels as a kid."

"Well, my mom was really mad, and I was in a cast, and I was pretty sore all over. I was grounded and couldn't watch TV, I was too young to read, and too sore to play outside or sit on the floor. So I used to spend hours playing tic-tac-toe with my sister or Grandma. Seems it's a skill that never leaves you."

"That explains it. This is getting too easy for you." On the next poster, he drew smaller squares, making a 6x7 grid, then mounted it lengthwise. "Next up, Connect 4!"

After nearly 3 hours of training my arms were aching, but I was feeling pretty good. Lester had been right, it was easier to work on aim when I wasn't thinking about potentially killing someone. I gave Lester a hug in thanks, and went upstairs to have lunch with Ranger.

As I stepped off the elevator I met Ella, who had a tray with her. "Thanks you for breakfast this morning, it was delicious."

Ella smiled at me. "My pleasure dear. I was so glad to hear you had spent the night. You know you're welcome anytime, right?"

I nodded. It was amazing to have a maternal figure who didn't put me down or question my life choices constantly.

"I made you sandwiches, dear. They will be fine if you leave them out for a while, nothing will go bad." She handed me the tray and left, and I walked in and set it on the kitchen counter. Then it struck me what Ella had said, and I got a naughty grin on my face. I looked at the clock, I had 10 minutes until Ranger would get here. I ran to the bedroom to see what was in the closet.

Ranger's POV

I'd had a productive morning, despite my thoughts constantly drifting back to this morning. I hope Babe didn't regret it, I knew I didn't. We had a pattern of her moving one step forward, two steps back, so I was worried that after our time in bed together she might run for the hills. I just hoped her epiphany last night was clear enough that she wouldn't run to Morelli.

I opened my door and called out, more nervous than I wanted to admit to myself that she wouldn't be here. "Babe? You ready for lunch?"

"I'm in here." Her voice called out from the bedroom. It was husky and pitched much lower than usual. I walked in, and stopped dead in my tracks. Steph was wearing a tight sheath dress that she had worn to a distraction a few weeks ago. The drive over to the bar that night had been an uncomfortable one as I tried not to show how turned on I was. It had taken every ounce of control I had to keep it together when I placed the wire, as she wasn't wearing a bra. Now she was standing in my bedroom, her arm stretched above her head as she leaned against the wall.

"Playing with fire, Babe." I said as I moved closer to her, drawing out the tension, relishing the game.

"Then burn me." I didn't need to be asked twice. I pulled her to close to me, kissed her like my life depended on it, and fell onto the bed with her.

Stephanie's POV

Half an hour later we lay sweaty on the bed. I was still wearing the dress, though it was bunched up around my stomach. Ranger hadn't wanted to take the time to actually remove it, and I hadn't been too keen on the idea anyway. We lay together in a sweaty, tangled heap.

"That was definitely better than sandwiches." I panted, still a little breathless.

"I agree, though maybe next time we could eat lunch off each other."

"Easy for me. I could cover you with whipped cream, or chocolate sauce, or marshmallow fluff. Not sure what you eat that would spread well."

"Hmmm, maybe hummus. I could spread it on your nipples like this." He rubbed gentle circles around my areolas, "And then I could clean it off like this." And he took me in his mouth, running his tongue over the nub, then lightly scraping me with his teeth. A shiver went through my spine, and I arched my back. "I've never been a big fan of hummus, but I bet you could convince me."

We went into the kitchen to eat lunch. I had changed back into Rangeman black jeans and t-shirt. He had donned fresh cargos. At my request, he hadn't added a shirt yet, so I had a lovely view while eating.

"I'm going down to Philly of Friday for more security planning, Babe. I was wondering if you wanted to join me. We could spend a couple days in the city. See the sights. Maybe take in a show. "

"Ranger, are you asking me on a date? A proper one where we aren't trying to catch a fugitive?"

He grinned at me. "Thought I might give it a try. See how a date that didn't involve you trying to seduce other men would go."

"Sounds great. Think Ella would watch Rex for me?"

"Babe."