A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story! I believe I have managed to respond to everyone who reviewed the last chapter but for any guests or anyone I may have missed: THANK YOU! Your reviews mean the world to me and keep this story going! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2 – Man Up

The next week was pure hell. Muscles that I didn't even know I had been screaming at me and every night as I fell into bed exhausted out of my mind. Every morning when I woke up I would question my own sanity as I literally crawled into the shower and allowed the warm water to slowly ease my stiff and aching muscles.

Even with all the suffering, I couldn't help but feel slightly proud of myself as I completed each day of the training schedule Woody had created for me. So far we had only been focusing on getting my fitness level up to what Woody would consider an acceptable range, but he had promised that once I met his standards he would begin to teach me Krav Maga.

We met at his house every night this week when he got off his shift and he would spend two hours working me through my paces before doing his own workout and then going to bed to be ready for the next day of work. I had tried to convince him that it wasn't necessary for him to train me every night and definitely not when he had to work twelve hour shifts back to back, but he would just roll his eyes at me and ignore my comments altogether.

Unfortunately, tonight he had picked up a shift for Manny who had promised to take Carla to her sister's wedding. Part of me was excited to have a night off from the torture, but another part of me was already excited by the subtle changes in my endurance and couldn't wait to keep going; however, I refused to tell Woody that.

So instead of spending the evening at Woody's house I was currently cuddled up on my couch with a pint of Ben and Jerry's watching Ghostbuster's for the millionth time. Even Rex was beginning to get tired of my obsession with this movie.

When my phone rang I prayed that it was one of the girls or at least a lead on a skip because I was feeling the urge to get out of my apartment.

"Yo."

"You busy, Babe?"

A bolt of electricity went straight from my phone to a very sensitive place between my legs and I mentally cursed Ranger's ability to get me hot and bothered by simply saying three words. "Not really, what's up?"

"We got a lead on a high dollar skip. You willing to do a distraction tonight?"

I glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already fifteen after nine. "How much time do I have to get ready?"

"I'll pick you up in half an hour." And he hung up.

Seriously, was it that hard to say good-bye? I sighed and put my phone down on the coffee table before rushing into my closet. Thankfully, I'd already taken a shower before vegging out on the couch so I could skip that part of my preparation. Ranger hadn't given me a place or any idea what the skip preferred so I decided to go with my best little black dress matching FMPs. I piled my hair on top of my head and allowed a few wisps to fall down around my face and applied minimal makeup with the exception of the three swipes of mascara it would take to get me through the distraction.

By the time I was finished getting ready Ranger was picking my locks and slipping into my apartment. "Babe, you ready?"

I stepped out of my bedroom and watched as his eyes took in my dress and shoes. Ranger was the master of the blank face, but over the years I had noticed I could pick up more and more of his emotions by watching his eyes. Right they were completely black and I knew choosing this dress had been the right decision. From the front it looked fairly plain, but it was practically backless and dipped so low that I was barely able to keep from showing the black lace of my thong. The one thing I knew Ranger loved was being able to touch my skin and this dress allowed him that ability just by standing next to me.

"Babe."

The years had also made it necessary for me to become fluent in Ranger's one word sentences. I knew with that one word, he was really saying: You look amazing.

I grinned and followed him out the door. "Thanks. Who's our man?"

He handed me a file he had been holding in his hand. "Rico Fuentes. He's got a couple of counts of rape on him and possession of a deadly weapon."

As we rode the elevator down, I took a look at the file. Rico was definitely not what I would call good looking. He was about sixty pounds overweight and looked like he may not have showered in months. Just looking at the picture made my skin crawl and I already couldn't wait for this distraction to be over.

When the elevator doors opened Ranger led me to the parking lot and we climbed in the Turbo. I spent the ride looking over Rico's rap sheet. He had been pulled over for a routine traffic violation and the officer just happened to notice the shape of the gun barrel tucked into his pants and when he ran the license realized the guy was wanted for raping two girls from Hamilton Township. He didn't seem to be violent and his record didn't show any other offenses. Both counts of rape were done by slipping girls date rape drugs so I would need to be sure to watch my cup closely.

Five minutes later we arrived at Tejano Nights. It wasn't one of the more popular clubs in town, but tonight it seemed to have a pretty decent crowd. Ranger reached over and placed his hand on my bare back allowing it to slide inside my dress and around the front to gently caress the underside of my breast before lightly taping the mike to my skin.

I tried in vain to suppress the moan which built up in my throat when I felt his fingers on skin, but the second the smallest sound escaped me his lips found mine. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was almost as if we were both so desperate for each other that we couldn't control ourselves any longer. Our tongues fought for dominance and my hands moved to his waist to pull his shirt out of his pants and slide my fingers over his rock hard abs. I gently bit his bottom lip and he groaned as he broke away from my mouth and moved to place light kisses along my neck.

Then his cell phone rang.

And just like that the spell was broken. He pushed back from me and grabbed his phone from his pocket he tucked his shirt back into his pants as he listened to whoever was on the phone and then without saying another word hung it up.

"The guys are in place. You ready?"

No. My body was still on fire and I was still reeling from the feeling of his lips on my skin. But instead of admitting that out loud I just said, "Sure."

"Hal's behind the bar, Tank's at the door, and both Woody and Zero are watching out for you inside. Go get 'em tiger."

I laughed and climbed out the Porche. I took a second to straighten my dress before walking into the club. Tank gave me an almost nonexistent nod as I walked past him and I took a quick glance around to notice Zero playing pool not far from Woody who was sitting at the bar a couple of stools down from our man.

I made my way over to the bar and stood between Woody and Rico. Then I bent over the bar and made an over exaggerated effort to get Hal's attention while at the same time giving Rico the chance to see the lack of fabric on the back of my dress.

It took less than ten seconds for him to reach out and place his hand on my bare back. "Need something to drink, sweet thing?"

Sweet thing? Seriously? It was pretty obvious he was already wasted. His speech was slurred and he swayed slightly as he tried to stand next to me. I gave him a smile and nodded. "A drink would be great."

He turned towards Hal and let out a sharp whistle to get his attention. When Hal looked our way he waved him down and turned to me, "What would you like?"

"A rum and coke would be great."

He repeated the order to Hal who disappeared down the bar to make my drink. Rico turned back towards me once he was gone. "What's a pretty girl like you doing out all alone?"

I sighed and twirled one of my loose curls around my finger trying to appear as if I was already a little buzzed. "I came with a couple of my girlfriends, but they're off dancing with their boyfriends. I was beginning to feel like the third wheel so I left them."

He let his eyes roam my body as Hal slid my drink down the counter in front of me. "You can't tell me that a pretty little thing like you doesn't have a boyfriend."

I took a sip of my drink and grinned. "Who said I was looking? I'm not into commitment."

"Me either." A sly grin covered his face and moved his hand to dip underneath the fabric of dress. "You interested in getting out of here?"

I picked up my glass and downed the contents. "Lead the way."

I followed him as he stumbled his way out of the club and couldn't believe how simple this takedown had gone. As soon as he stepped out of the door, Tank had him pinned to the side of the building and Ranger walked up beside him to help lead him into a waiting SUV.

I stood off to the side trying to make it less obvious that I had been a part of the takedown while I watched as Tank secured Rico into the backseat and cuffed him. I was so focused on the activity that I didn't even notice Woody come up next to me and I nearly screamed when I felt his arm fall around my shoulders.

He laughed at my reaction. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings."

I groaned. "Not you too."

"Are you sore?"

I rolled my eyes. "I have muscles which I didn't even know existed that are screaming in pain."

He smiled, "Will you forgive me if I promise to give you a massage tomorrow?"

"That depends on how good the massage is."

He gave me a wolf grin and moved his hands to gently massage my shoulders. "I'm very good with my hands."

I let out a small moan as he worked out a knot right below my left shoulder blade. Based on that alone I knew what he said was true. He silently massaged my shoulders until he noticed Ranger heading our way and then he dropped his hands from my back and reached in his pocket to pull out a small piece of paper which he handed to me.

"I meant to give this to you last night. I made you a code to get into my house in case I get held up at work. Feel free to use it anytime you want to work out or just need a place to get away. You're always welcome. Just be sure to destroy the paper after you memorize the code."

I looked down at the piece of paper and felt my eyes widen as I looked back up at Woody. "Are you sure? I don't want to invade your privacy."

He nodded. "Of course I am. I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't want you there."

At that moment, Ranger walked up beside me and gave Woody a small nod which I assumed was a dismissal since he walked away without saying another word. "Ready to go, Babe?"

I nodded and followed him back to the Turbo. The ride back to my apartment was silent and the air in the car was filled with sexual tension that only seemed to grow as we got closer to my apartment. When we finally arrived, he led me silently inside and before the door was even fully closed he was pressing me up against it as one of his hands roamed my bare back and the other moved up my thigh and to the edge of my dress.

His lips found mine and I felt the fire that always seemed to be between us grow into an inferno. His fingertips slipped beneath my dress and brushed against the lace edge of my thong and I felt a moan escape my lips. He took advantages of the involuntary opening of my lips and slipped his tongue into my mouth brushing his tongue against mine in a way that made me want to forget my own name.

Almost.

There was a voice in the back of my mind which urging me to stop and listen, but my body and mind seemed to be on two different pages. His hands on my body felt so right and so good. He lifted me up wrapping my legs around his waist and then carried me into the kitchen and sat me down on the edge of the kitchen counter so that he would have better access to my center. I had to fight to keep from ripping his clothes off and taking him right there. A second later he ground his erection against my throbbing center and I broke our kiss as I threw my head back and let out a long moan and began grinding myself against him again with more force. The action caused him to groan in response and move his lips to the place kisses along my neck.

It was as if the voice in my head that had been whispering to me that this wasn't enough was all of the sudden screaming. The argument that had ended my relationship with Joe came back to my mind and as I sat on the kitchen counter with Ranger standing between my legs and I knew that I couldn't just have a meaningless sexual relationship with him. He couldn't just pick the times and places he chose to climb into my bed because every time he did I just made me feel cheap.

I pushed on his chest and whispered, "Stop."

He continued pressing kisses against my neck only pausing for a second to say, "You don't mean that."

He bit down on my pulse point and then be gently licked it with his tongue before pulling the sensitive skin into his mouth and sucking. The act almost over rode any thoughts I'd had, but I'd already made up my mind and I couldn't do this again only to have him leave me again in the morning.

"I do mean it. Stop." This time I pushed against him more forcefully and he finally stepped away from me.

His eyes were still dark and full of desire, but I could also see some confusion begin to creep in as well. "Babe?"

I took that to mean, why are we stopping? "Has your opinion on relationships changed?"

He frowned, "Is this about Morelli?"

"No. Morelli and I are done. This is about me. You say there's no price for what we give each other, but there is and it just keeps getting higher for me."

His blank face slammed down. "You've never had an issue before."

"I've always had an issue, but I can't show you those feelings or you run the other direction. Every time you walk away from me it hurts a little bit more and I can't keep doing it." I tried to keep my voice even but it still managed to crack. "You know how I feel about you and I can't keep doing this. I don't want you out of my life so you need to make a decision about if we're just friends or if we're something more. I can't be in your bed and remain unattached to you. I'm tired of feeling like the only way a man would want me is if I follow his rules."

He frowned. "Are you saying that I make you feel that way?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair pulling out the clip that had been holding it up and letting my curls fall around my shoulders. "Not intentionally and it's partially my own fault because I let myself feel that way instead of standing up for what I want. But can you honestly tell me you would have stuck around if I didn't follow your rules?"

His eyes met mine and he ignored my question. "And what is it you want, Babe?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked and when he didn't respond I continued, "I want to be with someone who wants to be with me without trying to change me. I want someone who wants to share their life with me and not just have me walk behind them or be there only when they want me."

He watched me silently for what felt like hours but was probably only a matter of seconds. "I'll be in the wind starting tomorrow. Call Tank if you need anything."

What the hell? I watched as he walked to my door and opened it. "So you're just going to walk away from me without even responding? Man up Manoso and tell me what it is that you want."

He didn't turn back to look at me but said, "I'm sorry, Babe. You deserve everything you want and more."

Then I watched as he walked out my door and closed it softly behind him without ever looking back. I stood frozen in place starting at the door for what felt like an hour before I finally managed to make it into my bedroom. I stripped out of my dress before reaching into my drawer and pulling out a t-shirt to sleep in and then I threw it over my head without pausing to see what it even looked like.

It was only a few seconds later that the tears began to fall as I collapsed into my bed, because the truth was as I watched him walk away I realized what it was that I really wanted. And what I wanted had just walked away from me without a backwards glance.