Janet gets all the credit for the characters below. She created them and I'm just basking in her shadow.

Jenny (JenRar) I feel like the work you did on this chapter in particular as the beta deserves some kind of award. Thank you for sticking with it until it was right.

Chapter 7 - Simple Gifts

I came out of the bedroom after changing from my typical uniform into a suit to visit a client. It was 0900, so Stephanie was just greeting the day by leaning over the bar in the kitchen to eat her sugar enriched cereal and running through more signs on the program Hector had installed on her study laptop. Her legs were spread apart slightly, and she was completely doubled over at the waist so no milk dripped onto the counter, meaning her ass was spread out perfectly in her sexy, butt-hugging jeans. I glanced at my watch, pissed as hell that I had to leave in ten minutes to make the client meeting as scheduled.

If I had more time, there was no way Stephanie would finish her breakfast. Still, ten minutes could be plenty of time if you were determined enough, and I was known for my ability to focus in order to see a job through to completion.

I tossed my jacket over a stool at the bar, and then pressed my body to the backside of hers, bending over that luscious ass and pressing myself into the denim seam between her round globes.

She froze and let out the most enticing moan that served to increase the speed of my blood flow, at least to certain parts of my body.

When she set her spoon down and pushed against me, I decided I'd never liked this client anyway, and if I was a few minutes late, I didn't really give a shit. I moved my hands around to type in the search feature, Don't move. Two signs popped up, and Stephanie nodded her head that she understood what I wanted.

I unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down, without pulling her panties, too. They were black, and since they were made of lace, I could see her light colored skin shining through at the front. The thin string that ran in the valley of her ass made me stop for a moment, just to take in the temptation that the thin barrier seemed to be offering. I shook my head, knowing Stephanie had a thing against anal sex, and even though I was pretty sure I could get her over that, this wasn't the time for that particular undertaking.

I tapped her right leg as I knelt behind her, and she lifted it enough for me to pull her pants off, before repeating the act on the other side. Her head fell so the top of her curls were resting on her forearms on the bar.

After pulling her gently away from the bar, I moved her legs farther apart, and then used my hands on her neck and shoulder to guide her body over until her hands rested on a bar stool to accommodate the height lost from splitting her legs. I put my hands on the little straps of material holding her panties together on the sides, and then yanked, tearing them from her. She moaned softly and closed her eyes, her hands grasping at the bar stool for support as her body reacted to what I was doing. With the final barrier between us gone, I could easily see from her lusciously tempting ass all the way to her small patch of curls that she kept just to tease me.

I wanted her to watch what I was doing, so I reached up and gently stroked her face, waiting until she had pried her beautiful blue eyes open to see me. When she looked at me questioningly, I pointed to my eyes with my first finger, and then touched that finger to my thumb and opened them, telling her to keep her eyes open. She nodded, so I took that as her understanding what I wanted.

I moved to my knees so I could touch the sensitive bud between her legs with my tongue, keeping the pressure light enough to feel, but not hard enough to get her very far. She made a little sound of frustration, before thrusting her hips back to get her point across. As much as I liked it when Stephanie took control, I wasn't going to allow that this time, so I clamped my hands around her hips to stop her movement and simply blew across her flesh, smiling when goosebumps appeared on her legs.

Figuring she understood that I wanted her to stay still, I let my hands move over her hips to massage the ass that had drawn me over with such urgency. I knew she felt like her backside was too big, but I couldn't disagree with her more. I didn't care that she didn't have big breasts, but I would admit to loving the fact that her ass was round and tight. It begged to be touched and pulled against, and one day, I was going to show her just what else I could do with it.

Thinking about that caused my control to slip a little, and I moved to push a finger into her already wet entrance. Knowing how quickly I could get to her was such a rush. I would have gladly devoted my whole morning to loving her, but I knew I still had to make that meeting, even if I was a little late, so I stopped teasing her and rubbed her clit with my other hand, getting an "oh yes!" as a reward.

Stephanie had begun to talk softer since she lost her hearing. In general conversation, she could still be heard, but you had to pay attention, since her voice lacked the confidence it used to hold. But in bed, she never held back, and if it was possible, I thought she was twice as vocal and nearly twice as loud. It was as though her ears could no longer register the volume she generated, so she didn't have any way to know to hold back. Personally, I was thrilled with this discovery, because she gave me everything I needed to know what buttons to push and how hard to push them. Plus, hearing how carried away she was often got me into such a state, I struggled to hang on. This morning was a prime example of that.

"Ranger, more," she pleaded loudly. "I need you."

I responded by increasing the pressure on her clit, while inserting another finger.

She shook her head no quickly. "No, I need you – all of you."

Who was I to deny my woman something she wanted? I moved quickly to a standing position, unbuckling my belt and nearly ripping the button off my pants to undo them. I barely got them to my thighs, before I was lining up my head at her dripping entrance and thrusting my way inside. I had to stop, although it wasn't just to allow her a chance to stretch around me, which would have been the gentlemanly thing to do. Honestly, I had to grab her hips to keep her from moving so that I didn't blow right off the bat before I'd made sure she was taken care of.

I shut my eyes to block the view I had of her untouched hole and held my breath, hoping that would stop the throbbing at the base of my dick that usually heralded one hell of an orgasm. As soon as I felt like I had some semblance of control, I pulled back and drove into her once more.

Her cries demanding that I not stop told me she was more than okay with my shortened foreplay and hard approach, so I went with it and continued to drive into her faster and harder, until she began to tighten around me and screamed, "Ranger!"

The second I felt her orgasm clamp down on me, my body decided that was the perfect cue to let go as well, so I followed her over, letting her muscles milk the heat from me and slowing down so that I was only moving to prolong the feeling. I bent over her so my chest was on her warm back and parted her hair so I had access to her neck, where I bit down while drawing the skin into my mouth. I knew I was leaving a mark back there, but no one would see it, so I did it without apology. Still, knowing I had left a piece of evidence about what we'd just shared made me smile.

I waited until her hard breathing slowed enough that she let out a contented hum, and then I pulled out slowly, trailing wet kisses down her neck. She stood up when I took a step backward and turned to face me. "You're going to have to change clothes," she all but whispered.

I smiled, pushing her hair back away from her face. "So are you," I said, before leaning over and picking up the ruined undergarment I'd tossed aside.

She took what had been one of Victoria's Secrets and laughed. "I guess I do," she agreed. "But you'd better go first. I think you have somewhere to be, and if I go in there and strip down to get dressed again, you might miss your meeting entirely, instead of just being a little late for it."

I pressed my hands to the sides of her head and lowered my mouth to hers to kiss her, trying to pour how I felt about her into the simple act. It was foolish, I knew that, but without the words, I had to use whatever tools were at my disposal to insure she never doubted how I felt.

When I pulled back, she drew her bottom lip into her mouth and smiled. "Of course, if you're willing to miss that meeting, I'll gladly follow you to the bedroom."

"Tempting," I assured her, before adding, "I wish I could."

"Just so you know, I'll be up here this morning, then I'm working with Zip on five for a few hours at lunch, but then I plan on returning up here after that. We might not be able to do any more now, but there's always tonight," she tempted me once more, before pressing a short kiss to my lips and stepping back to her now soggy cereal.

By the time I got down to the garage, Tank was standing beside the SUV, pulling at his collar and looking at his watch. "You know we're going to be late, right?"

"Not by much," I told him, moving around him to drive.

"Was there an emergency that held you up?" he pushed, asking a question I had no intention of answering directly.

"No, I was just detained," I replied obscurely.

Silence descended for a few beats, before I heard Tank's low laughter beside me. "I'm hoping you can come up with something acceptable to tell the client. But it's going to have to be good to be believable over the damn smile you're sporting. And if I didn't know better, I'd say you smelled like Stephanie. What were you doing to make you smile and smell like a woman?"

That question pretty much ripped the smile off my face, at least for a brief moment, as the idea of my sex life with Stephanie being a topic of discussion. "That's none of your damn business," I informed my oldest friend.

Tank let out a whistle and pushed his luck further. "What happened to the old Ricardo that used to tell me all about his conquests – giving details and even phone numbers from time to time?"

Before I could stop it, a growl came out of my chest. It was such an unexpected sound of possession that I stopped to confirm it had really come from me. I realized Tank was watching me, so I said, "Stephanie isn't a conquest. She's my woman, and if you want to keep your teeth, you'll never refer to her like that again."

He lifted a hand, indicating he understood and would stop. "I'm glad to hear it. As much as I have your back, I've seen you over the years from that position, and I needed to be sure what this was to you. Stephanie's different, and I needed to be sure she wasn't just a temporary distraction or the person you were using to try to scratch an itch."

I was hit with the desire to stop the car and pound my fist into the side of his shiny head for referring to Steph as just an itch. But at the same time, there was something in me that was pleased to know he was watching over her just as diligently as he'd watched over me for years.

In the end, I told him, "This is it for me, man. She's it for me. No wondering eyes, no need to move on; she's everything I wanted, but never thought I'd have."

"All right, all right," he interrupted me. "There's no reason to turn into some kind of greeting card on me. I just needed to be sure you were treating our girl right. It sounds like you are, so let's get this meeting over with so I can get out of this damn suit. Wearing a tie makes me cranky."

I laughed as I put the SUV in park. "Man, everything makes you cranky; just add this to the list."

He pretended to be surprised at my disclosure, before saying, "I'm hurt, man. You make me sound high maintenance."

I couldn't stop the laughter that boomed from me at his joke. I guess having Stephanie in my life didn't just make me smile more around her, but it carried over to being more laid back with the guys, as well.

He put his hand on my arm to stop me from getting out and said, "Seriously, man, I'm happy for you two. I just needed to check on things, but I can see you're solid with her, and I'm glad you two finally relaxed and gave it a chance."

"All right, enough of the girl talk. We need to win this guy over. He's about to expand and open three new stores, and I want RangeMan to cover all his security needs," I explained, trying to switch the subject before all the talk about feelings began to feel normal between me and Tank. He was a good friend, and the person I trusted most to follow me into battle, but I didn't think I could handle him being the guy I poured my heart out to. At least... not without copious amounts of alcohol involved.

I spent the next two hours trying to point out all the winning points of using RangeMan for store security to Ernesto Rodriguez, who owned a highly successful chain of jewelry stores. We were currently only covering one of his locations, and he had decided to centralize this function and use one company for all his stores, including the new expansion locations.

We had run out of things to discuss, so we stood to make our way to the front, with Mr. Rodriguez walking us out. He pointed to a RangeMan camera, which was mounted at the juncture of the wall and ceiling, so small and colored to blend in with the wall and the display near it so it was hardly detectable. He was making the point that he appreciated the effort we made to keep the security presence lower where people shopped so they didn't feel that someone was watching them.

I let my eyes fall from the camera to the case it was covering and saw a necklace that caught my eye.

Mr. Rodriguez proved himself to be the original salesman of the store when he noticed my reaction and moved to stand behind the display. "Is there something you'd like to see?"

I moved closer to one section of the case and saw there were necklaces that displayed charms of a single hand in various positions. I knew enough now to know they were signing letters of the alphabet. I recognized most of them from the practice I'd done with Stephanie in the evenings, but a few seemed to be something besides the letters alone.

"Are these sign language?" I asked, pointing to the collection.

"Yes, they are," he answered, unlocking the case and pulling out a sleeve of the necklaces. "Do you know someone who signs?" he asked, allowing me to look at them.

I was silent as I wondered if this was something Stephanie would like. "What does this mean?" I asked, pointing to one that had the thumb, index, and little finger up, with the third and forth fingers folded down. In the center of the palm was a heart made of an inset ruby.

He lifted the one I was pointing to and placed it on a stand lined with black velvet, setting off the beauty of the simple design. "It means I love you," he explained, taking a sharp tipped metal pointer to guide me through the description. "It is the combination of the three letters I, L, and Y in one hand position. Think of it as short hand for the hearing impaired."

I touched the heart in the palm of the hand and knew I had to have it. "Can you put this in a gift box?" I asked, reaching for my wallet.

"May I ask who this is for?" he pushed once more.

I looked at him, weighing the risk of admitting the woman I loved couldn't hear. Just being associated with me put her at risk, but to allow the fact that she would be easy to sneak up on to become public knowledge as well was almost putting a bull's-eye on her head. Still, the 'Burg had no secrets, so it was only a matter of time until the streets knew about it anyway. I finally decided to just level with the man I was asking to trust me with his business.

"It's for the woman I love."

I didn't have to turn my head to see the shock register on Tank's face. I didn't know if it was the fact that I'd admitted anything to the jeweler, or if it was how strongly I stated how I felt.

Before I could turn to raise an eyebrow in question, Mr. Rodriguez said, "Has she always signed?"

"No, she's having to learn because of an injury that's taken away her hearing," I admitted, watching him closely for any sign that he was judging me or Stephanie.

Instead, he reached below the cabinet and pulled out a brochure. "This is from the company that makes the charms and shows their full selection." Then he pulled a small card from the drawer behind him and showed it to me. It was a detailed description of the necklace I had selected, included its meaning.

"My wife lost her hearing slowly through her childhood. There are times when it's a challenge, but I don't think it's any more of a test of a relationship than any other non-changing trait. She can't hear, but she can do everything else – in many ways, more than most other women I know, so it's never bothered us. I know it must be a shock, but if you really love her, you will adjust quickly so that you hardly notice the lack of hearing."

As he spoke, he worked to secure it in a long black box. Then he put a red ribbon around the box and tied it, before slipping it in a small bag and setting it on the counter. I knew Stephanie didn't wear a lot of jewelry and didn't like big gaudy things, but I hoped that in being able to understand the sentiment, she would accept it for what it was – a public statement of my love for her.

We were only a quarter of a mile from Haywood when Tank spoke up. "She'll like that necklace."

I nodded, but didn't say anything in response.

"I'll let the guys know they can relax about watching for signs that you might need a gentle reminder on the mats of how to treat our girl," he said, apparently approving of how I'd acted with Mr. Rodriguez. "I always knew you had it in you; I just wondered if you'd let it out this easy."

There were a dozen responses flying through my mind at his comment. Finally, I decided to joke a little and told him, "Man, I've got Cuban blood in me. Did you really think I didn't know how to love a woman? It's genetic! Now that I've stepped up, she'll always be well loved."

Tank laughed at my response. "Damn, boss, I thought Don Juan was Spanish."

I decided a fist to the bicep was a better response than anything else I could say, but added to it anyway. "Don Juan was Spanish, so he loved as many women as he could. I'm Cuban, so I love only one woman, but I do it with so great a passion, she will never need another man."

Tank found that answer just as humorous as my first one. "Shit, she better not need another man. In ten days, you have changed to the point that I hardly recognize you. I'm not sure what would happen if she weren't here."

That cut closer to the truth than I cared to admit, so I shrugged it off as we made our way to the elevator.

While we were riding up, he asked, "How's the leg?"

"Better." I gave him all I wanted to in that response. The truth was, it was much better, and according to Bobby, it was healing exceedingly well, especially considering how bad it had been with the infection compounding the injury. But it was still sore, and it was only because of years of experience handling pain that I was able to walk without limping now.

"You'd tell me if I needed to cover something, right?" he asked, following up on my less than helpful answer.

"It's under control." I hoped that would shut him down once and for all about my injury.

"Because we're riding the elevator, not taking the stairs like normal," he pointed out, proving I wasn't as well off as I was pretending to be.

"Damn, man," I bit out, trying to act irritated. "First the talk about feelings in the truck, and now you're playing the part of Nurse Tank."

He smiled at my response and nodded, as though accepting the fact that he wasn't going to get any more from me.

I decided to press it a little further when the doors opened and told him, "I thought I left my woman upstairs, but from the sound of your griping, you seem to think that title belongs to you. It figures... I'm finally ready to settle down, and I'm stuck with the ugliest woman at RangeMan riding my ass."

Tank returned with a fist to my upper arm and shook his head while walking away to his office.

I heard some laughter coming from the break room, but chose to ignore it, knowing the guys would break up and get to work as soon as they realized I was back in the office.

I'd barely sat down at my desk when Zip knocked on my open door.

I lifted my chin as a hello and come in combination, and he took a few steps forward, but didn't sit down. Tank could learn a few things from Zip here, not forcing himself or his opinions on anybody.

"You should pull up the feed on the break room," he advised, blowing my theory about him not forcing his ideas on anyone out of the water.

I sat down and logged in, and while my computer brought up the program, I asked, "Am I looking for something in particular?"

"Stephanie came down early, and we worked a little more together before the guys started coming in the break room for lunch. Of course, everyone came over to talk to her, and she managed to keep up with most of them. But in the process, she gained a whole lot of confidence. For the last half hour, she's been shooting the shit with whoever's in there. She misses a little, but she's gotten over the embarrassment of asking people to either repeat themselves or write it down. I thought you might like to see it before it breaks up," he said, and then turned around to leave.

I called out to him before he got to the door. "Thanks for this."

He turned his head, but didn't completely face me. "De Nada, I did it for her. She's done so much for us, it was the least I could do. Besides, I've used this skill to gather intel that's brought about all kinds of death and destruction, so it's nice to finally use it for something good."

I knew what he meant, so I let him leave when he started walking this time.

When the image from the break room came up, I zoomed in and brought up the sound, as well, so I could see what was going on. Stephanie was sitting at one of the round tables with six of the guys sitting around her, their chairs turned so she could see their faces. They were talking, and she would occasionally respond back, but the look on her face made it clear that she was getting whatever they were discussing. She'd done it. She had learned how to read lips and broken through the wall that a lack of hearing might have presented.

I couldn't have been more proud. And as I watched her, I realized my pride in what she was overcoming was making me think of her possessively, which, or course, made me think of all the ways I wanted to possess her yet.

Stephanie laughed at a joke someone made, and from the moment her face lit up the black and white feed on my monitor, I knew I couldn't stay away. I picked up the bag from the jewelry store and walked into the break room to interrupt the party so I could steel her away for my own.

As the guys filed out, pretending to complain, I made my way to Stephanie, glad to see she was still smiling and not upset about me ruining her fun.

"Welcome back," she said as I pulled her into my arms.

I kissed her neck up to her jaw, and then pulled back to ask, "Are you still free to go upstairs?"

Both her eyebrows rose, although I wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't just raise one, or because she was genuinely shocked. It didn't take her long to recover and say, "That depends. My cereal was ruined this morning, and I'm not sure I want to go back upstairs with you if you continue to trash my food."

I could see her eyes sparkling, obviously enjoying taunting me. I decided to play just a little in return and showed her the bag from the jewelry store, before taking a small step away from her. "It's hours away from dinner, but if you don't want to come upstairs with me, I can just take this and get rid of it."

I'd barely turned to walk away, when she flung herself at my back to try and stop me. I was going to pull her up piggy back style and steal her away upstairs, but the strain on my leg was a little more than I wanted to take at the moment, so I handed her the bag instead and said, "Mercy."

She grinned up at me, before looking into the jewelry store bag to see the long velvet box inside. Then she took my hand in hers and pulled me to the elevator, obviously okay with my suggestion to relocate. I could feel her practically bouncing beside me, no doubt still riding the high of being around the guys and being able to carry on a conversation.

In that moment, I realized Tank had been partially right earlier. It wasn't that I had completely changed over the last ten days. It was more that I had been completely freed by giving up the fight of staying away from Stephanie and giving into the joy of loving her freely and completely. Her joy was my own – just as her pleasure was mine.

That last thought might have been one too many, because now I had no desire to see her reaction to the gift I'd brought for her. I wanted to test just how far her pleasure could take me. And since my schedule was free for the rest of the day, I had plenty of time to test it out.