Chapter 4

As if he could read my mind, Lester came over to where I sat and kissed my cheek.

"We'll take this one step at a time, okay?" He whispered against my cheek. All I could do was weakly shake my head. "I'll going to take a shower."

He left me sitting there imaging him in my shower, using my soap and towels. I had visions of him standing there dripping wet. Hot visions. Hot, sexy visions. Okay, Okay, I thought. Let it go.

The thing was I felt something toward him. Something that I know wasn't just mild interest. He was sexy and desirable, sure, but it went deeper than that. I hated myself for comparing him to Ranger and Joe, but the comparisons were pretty obvious, kind of hard to ignore.

I heard the water shut off and started to imagine him toweling dry. My hormones were getting the better of me. I wasn't sure what I would do now that the long showers were out of the question for six weeks. I looked at the stupid blue cast. My leg throbbed mildly. I tried to lift it up to the coffee table, but the thing was heavy and I was feeling pretty weak. I have no idea what medicine Bobby gave me, but it left me feeling helpless. That wasn't a feeling I enjoyed.

"Let me help you prop up that leg," Lester offered. His hair was damp, but the shadow of a beard I saw this morning was gone. He had a beautiful coloring. He wasn't as dark as Ranger, but he had wonderfully golden skin. His hair was dark brown, bordering on black and his eyes were a light brown.

As he propped a pillow under my leg and laid it carefully on the table, I looked at him once more. "Lester, what nationality are you?"

He smiled back at me. "Several, but I simply refer to myself as American. I have Latino blood, Irish blood and some Native American. Figure I can claim it all if I want." He sat down on the couch beside me. "You, I hear, are Hungarian and Italian. Sounds like a lethal combination."

I had to laugh, thinking of my father and my grandmother. Put those two in a room and the words lethal combination do spring to mind. I told him so.

"The guys are afraid of your grandmother. She's a real piece of work. You two are a lot alike," he explained as he rested his arm around my shoulder. "I bet that woman isn't afraid to try much. You get your spunk and tenacity from her."

Grandma Mazur was certainly one-of-a-kind, at least that's what my father hoped. She loved life and didn't let anything or anyone stop her from doing what she wanted. She was game for anything, and I do mean anything. I suppose if given a choice, I would want to be like her when I'm her age.

"I suppose we can call last night our first date," I smiled up at him. "Thanks for staying with me. It means a lot to me to know you care. I guess I overreacted to yesterday. I'm not used to waking up from one of my little episodes to find neither Ranger or Joe in the room with me. I guess that kind of brought it home that I was on my own. Like the dream."

"But you're not on your own. I'm here. Bobby's here for you. You don't have to be alone unless its something you want. As far as our first date, last night wasn't it. Tonight, however, will be. We'll call last night the first time we slept together. Kind of like the ring of that one." He winked at me.

"So what are we going to do tonight. I can't move around very well yet. What the heck did Bobby give me anyway? I feel like my body isn't communicating with my head."

"That's just a side effect of the pain medication. He explained it to me. Today, if you feel like trying, we can stick to OTC stuff."

I nodded that this was acceptable and went back to my coffee. We sat in silence for a while.

My mind was wondering off into areas like 'why is Lester interested' and 'what will Ranger have to say about this' and 'Where the hell is Joe'. It was all so confusing.

"Okay, Steph, I can hear your thoughts. Woman, you broadcast like a radio tower. Let's talk it out. Here and now, Steph." Lester was using his 'persuasive' voice.

"There's just so much I don't know. Maybe never knew about Ranger and frankly the thought of getting involved with one his men is a bit scary too," I started, not daring to look at him.

"Okay, that's progress. You at least admitted to thinking of getting involved with me."

I had to smile. "Who said it was you?" I can be such a tease.

Lester growled. "Honey, I'm the only one you will ever need. I plan on proving that to you in every way I can think of."

I chanced a look at him. Damn, he is pretty. His eyes were darker now, hinting at the raw sexuality that he usually contained behind the Rangeman mask. I had seen it before on the dance floor. Lester could move; he could excite.

"Sounds like a challenge to me," I barely managed to whisper. In seconds, I was caught up in a mind-blowing kiss that rattled my senses. His mouth was pure mastery as it possessed mine and drove the next conscious thought away. I might have felt his hands on my arms, but wasn't sure. I was lost in the sensation of his hot mouth.

He pulled away. "Shit, I hadn't intended to do that, Honey. I'm sorry. I could never resist a challenge," he tried to explain.

I was shocked, but not necessarily speechless. "I don't' need an apology, unless that's how you treat every challenge. I won't be just another conquest, Lester. I can't handle that."

He whipped around to stare at me. "Is that what you think? That I could or would treat you like some pick-up? I don't deserve that, Stephanie. I don't deserve to have you label me because of some rep that's being given me. I'm careful about who I sleep with. I may appear to play the field, but you have to understand that it goes with the job. It's not who or what I am. I had hoped you knew that. Guess that's just one more thing that we have to talk about."

I was once again shocked, but this time nearly speechless. "Lester, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Hell, let's face it, I don't know you very well."

He took in a deep breathe. "How about we change that? You ask the questions and I'll answer them. I don't want there to be any unanswered questions between us."

He settled down on the couch after bringing in a breakfast of my favorites. We played the typical 20 questions and enjoyed many laughs over the answers. Lester was pretty inventive with his questions. He learned things about me that I had hoped to keep secret. I learned things about him that increased my respect for him. He's very talented in a lot of areas that I would not have given him credit for. I learned that he owned a townhouse that he was renovating himself. He didn't live there yet, but preferred to stay at the Rangeman apartments because of the all construction. He promised to show me the place. We talked for a couple of hours, breakfast long past us. I had to take a couple of bathroom breaks and noticed that my hobbling was actually working a bit better. I didn't sound so clunky as I had and didn't hit the wall once the last time out.

Lester was in the kitchen when I came back from my last trip. He called out to me, "Lula called. She's on her way over. You might want to get dressed. Let me know if you need any help."

I turned right around and headed to the closet. Shirts were easy enough, but I had no idea what to do with the pants. Even my sweat pants couldn't be pulled over the cast. I was standing at the door to the closet pondering this problem when a pair of sweat pants appeared before me.

Lester was behind me offering a pair of his pants. "They will be long, but they're bigger so that they can stretch over the leg. Try them on."

He watched as I sat on the bed and began to pull on the sweats. I was only wearing panties and the shirt that I had chosen, so it was a bit of a show. I looked up to see his eyes intent on me and could see them growing darker as I watched him.

"Stephanie, even with a cast, you're absolutely beautiful. I can't believe that I'm standing here imaging ravishing you with a cast on, but damn, it's a great visual."

I blushed. I didn't want him to know that my thoughts were starting to run in that direction as well. He put a shirt on and yet it did nothing to hide the muscled chest underneath it. He was hot, clothes or not clothes. Right now, he was also in an aroused state that made me lick my lips.

Lester groaned. "I've got to get out of here or Lula's in for one hell of show."

I swallowed roughly. "I'm not that easy, you know."

Lester turned around. "Honey, no one ever said you were easy, but I am willing to bet my life that you're worth whatever it takes. I've been watching you for years, waiting and hoping for a chance to make you mine. I'm telling you right now, Steph. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to make you understand what a relationship can be like and how it can work. You're going to see me, honey, as your best and only choice. You can that to the bank."

Oh my God, I was nearly done for. I watched him walk out of the bedroom before I threw myself back on the bed. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I didn't know how I could face him now. He had thrown down the gauntlet and was letting me know that he wanted me in a way that meant more than sex, more than friendship. The question was, could I handle that? I had a hard time juggling that things as part of a relationship, but a part of me wanted to learn how. Maybe Lester was the man who could help me convince the other part.