Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to the lovely JE
Rating: R
Warnings: References to LMT so consider yourself warned. I'm a babe. Not cupcake friendly, but no Joe bashing in any way.
Thank you very much Stayce for editing, and a big huge thanks to Linda for partnering up with me on this chapter!
Title: Welcome Home
Chapter Nine Couple
After Ranger left for his meeting, I spent the rest of the day with a silly grin plastered to my lips. I could still smell his scent on me. Still feel his lips against my forehead and his warm breath in my ear. I was really excited about dinner and before I knew it, it was quarter to five. I closed the file I was working on and tossed it in my out-box. I looked at the last file sitting in my in-box, and briefly considered working on it. I smiled and signed off my computer. It could wait for Monday.
I pulled open my top drawer and grabbed my apartment keys and my cell phone. Just as I clipped my cell to my hip it rang. I pulled it off, checking the display screen, and smiled. Ranger.
"Yo," I said.
"Yo yourself, Babe," Ranger said. "Can we move dinner to seven?"
"Sure." My smile faded a tad. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't think so. I need to take a look at my parents' security system. It seems to be acting up," Ranger told me. "Not sure I'll make it back by six."
"It's no problem, Ranger," I said, sinking down in my chair. Why was he lying to me? I wondered.
"Why don't we just do dinner another night," I suggested.
"Stephanie," Ranger said.
"No, Ranger. It's okay, really. The guys just piled a bunch of files in my box," I said, cringing as the lie left my mouth. "I'm going to work late, so I don't have all these waiting for me on Monday. We'll do dinner another night when you don't have an emergency. It was just dinner."
"It's not just dinner, Babe," Ranger said.
"Really it's okay. Go handle the security system," I said. "I'm going to work. I'll talk to you later." And I hung up, dropping my phone on my desk.
"Why did I just do that?" I said, loudly.
"What was that, Steph?" Bobby asked from his seat in front of the monitors.
"Nothing. I'm just talking to myself," I muttered, covering my face with my hands.
I felt a tear fall. Did Ranger really get a call from his parents, or was it an excuse to cancel dinner? He wasn't canceling, a voice in my head said. It felt like canceling. Almost like he knew I'd just call it off all together. He'd never talked about his parents with me before. Why now? It just seemed odd, scripted maybe. I shook my head, quickly wiped the tears away, and powered my computer back on. I grabbed the only file in my in-box and got to work on it.
It was six o'clock before I got it completed. It'd been one of those files better left for a Monday. A ruin your entire weekend kind of file. The guy was an FTA and had a rap sheet longer than my arm. He also had about fifty names and aliases. I printed it all off knowing it was going to take forever. But it was the paper jam that pushed me over the edge. It took me twenty-five minutes and a lot of creative cursing to get the damn printer working again.
I signed off my computer again, and grabbed my cell and apartment keys. There had been a shift change at some point while I had my ass in the air, fighting with the printer. Zero, Slick, and Woody all told me goodnight as I stomped past them. I'm pretty sure I responded before taking the elevator down to my apartment. I shoved the key in the knob, and it took me two tries to get the door unlocked. I dropped the keys, cell phone, and gun on the side table before kicking my shoes off as I headed to the bathroom.
I took a long hot shower, washing, conditioning, and shaving everything, and my skin was pruny before I finally decided to get out. Getting out meant that I got to wrap myself up in the thick luxurious towels, though so I braved it. I quickly finger combed it and left it down to air dry as I moved into the sleeping alcove. I put on some black silk panties, a tiny red cotton tank top and black lounge pants.
I was hungry and debating calling Ella for dinner when my cell phone rang. Dread filled my chest as I picked up the phone. I wasn't ready to talk to Ranger. I looked at the display screen and immediately recognized Lula's cell number.
"Hey," I said, smiling when I heard her voice.
"Girlfriend, you forget my number or something," she said with no real heat to her words.
I laughed. I was glad she called, and I'd have to thank Tank for taking the decision to talk to her out of my hands. Lordy knows I'd have put it off for another three weeks.
"How are you?" I asked, flopping down on the couch.
"Never mind me, girl. You're working in a building filled with big hot men," she said. "But you keep your eyes off my man."
My smile grew. I'd missed Lula's non-threatening threats. "No worries. He's all yours," I said just as there was a knock on my door.
"Hang on, Lula, somebody's at my door," I told her.
"I bet it's Batman. That man is so freaking hot!" Lula said. "But not as hot as my Tank."
I burst out laughing as I opened the door. Ranger stood on the other side, arms behind his back. He was still in his corporate attire, but he'd lost the coat and tie. The top three buttons of his black silk shirt were unbuttoned, and the cuffs were rolled up to mid forearm. Damn he was sexy!
"Ranger," I squeaked.
"I knew it was Batman," Lula said in my ear.
"You hung up on me," Ranger said, his eyes devoid of all emotion.
"Oh shit," Lula whispered.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, ignoring Lula's babbling from the phone.
"We have a dinner date, Babe," he said, pulling a bag of Chinese food from behind his back.
"You better call me tomorrow, white girl. I want details," Lula said and hung up.
I closed my phone and moved to let Ranger into the apartment. He slid past me, grabbing my hand on his way. I shut the door and followed his lead to the dining table.
"You want to explain earlier?" Ranger asked, pulling a chair out for me.
I sat down and stared at the table. "Nothing to explain," I said.
Ranger nodded, pulling food out of the bag. He moved into the kitchen area and grabbed us plates, silverware, and napkins, and then sat down across from me and started dishing up his plate.
"Did you get through all the files the guys piled on you?" he asked with a slight smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
I rolled my eyes. I'd always thought I was an excellent liar, but he always knew when I was lying.
"I was saving face," I told him, spooning fried rice on my plate.
"I wasn't canceling, Steph. You cancelled on me," Ranger said.
"It felt like you were canceling."
"Why?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
"I don't know," I said, avoiding looking at him.
Ranger watched me for a beat. "Bullshit, Stephanie. You know exactly why," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Tell me."
"Your parents' security system was acting up?" I said, rolling my eyes again.
Ranger's eyes took on a bewildered look. "I'm not following," he said.
"You've never said anything about your parents to me before, and you never tell me what a job's about," I said.
"Because I told you what I was doing and who I was doing it for, made you feel like I was canceling?" Ranger asked in a bemused tone.
"It felt like a well rehearsed plan to get me to cancel. It felt like a lie," I said and shoved food in my mouth so I didn't have to talk any more. I was making an ass out of myself.
Ranger was silent for a long time, but I could feel his eyes boring into my forehead, since I wouldn't lift mine from the table.
"You asked for space from me, so I gave you what you wanted. I knew when you were ready you would come to me. I've been waiting patiently for three weeks, and you think I'd cancel?" he asked. I lifted my eyes to meet him. "I thought you'd like to know exactly why I needed to change dinner to seven."
The knot that started in my stomach when Ranger appeared outside my door was now in my throat. "I'm sorry," I said, looking back down. "I've been saying that a lot lately."
"I'm not looking for apologies," he said.
I didn't know what to say to that, so I concentrated on eating dinner. Ranger followed my lead and ended our conversation. I wasn't sure if he didn't have anything more to say or he was determined to wait me out. If that were the case he'd be waiting until hell froze over.
Ranger swallowed his last bite ten minutes later and leaned back slightly in his chair studying me. I wasn't really eating any more at that point. More like pushing my food around to look like I'd eaten it. The knot in my throat was keeping food from passing, and I was afraid I might choke to death if I forced the food past it.
After a few more minutes of pushing my food around while avoiding Ranger's eyes, I gave up. There wasn't a point. I wasn't fooling either one of us, so I picked up my plate and walked it to the kitchen area. I dumped the remaining food in the garbage and rinsed the plate before setting it in the sink.
Ranger came in behind me, pressing his hard body into mine, holding me against the counter as he reached around me to rinse his plate as well. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire as I felt the muscles in his chest flexing while he slowly rinsed his plate. He set the plate in the sink; shut the water off, and laced his wet fingers with mine, bracing them on the edge of the counter. I had to fight from moaning as his mouth hovered next to my ear, breathing hot air against my skin.
"Why'd you ask me to dinner tonight?" he asked, his voice soft.
"I told you. I missed you," I said.
"What'd you miss?"
"You," I whispered. "Everything. I missed talking to you, seeing you, being near you."
"Did you miss me touching you?" he asked, running the tip of his tongue along the shell of my ear.
"Yes," I moaned, unable to control myself any longer.
"Are we talking about for the last three weeks or longer?"
"Longer and you're cheating."
He smiled against my skin.
"You never had to miss me at all," he finally said, kissing me just below the ear.
He moved back a little and released one of my hands. "Come on," he said, pulling me to the couch.
He sat down, removing his shoes, and propped his feet on the coffee table. I sat down next to him, and he immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. We sat in silence for a long time with my head on his shoulder. I was feeling drained from my confessions, but I was more hurt than anything. He didn't share my feelings. But what did I expect, really? That he'd missed me as well? That after I walked out of his life he thought about me as much as I thought about him?
Yes, a little voice said.
No I didn't, I told the voice. I hoped he missed me and thought about me, but I didn't expect it.
"You know what our biggest difference is, Babe?" Ranger asked, suddenly.
I lifted my eyebrow. I knew what I thought our biggest difference was, but something told me that wasn't what Ranger was thinking.
"What?"
"I didn't know you missed me, until you told me. You don't tell me how you feel about me, and you certainly don't show me," he said. "I admit I'm not good at telling either, but I always try to show you how I feel."
I thought about earlier when I knew he missed me by his actions alone. I didn't need to hear the words. I knew! I always analyzed his words, but his actions were unmistakable. But me … I'm emotionally retarded, I thought. I'd always made sure I knew what the men in my life thought about me, but I didn't think about how they might've liked to know how I felt about them.
"I always thought our biggest difference was that you don't eat dessert. That's why I could never marry you," I said, looking at Ranger.
He looked at me for a beat. "Dessert?" he questioned.
"Yeah, dessert. You don't eat it, therefore when we eat dinner together I don't get to eat it, either. You don't think about the fact that I eat dessert when you order dinner."
"You're right. I don't eat dessert, so I don't order it," Ranger said, looking at me seriously. "The bigger issue is the fact that you're not willing to be with me because of it. Is that really a reason to keep us apart?"
I thought about it for a second. It wasn't that he didn't eat dessert. It was that I knew …
"Tell me what you're thinking," Ranger said. "You have more internal conversations than external."
"I knew there was never a chance that you'd want to marry me, so it was my excuse. I don't want to marry him anyway, since he doesn't even eat dessert," I said, suddenly feeling very exposed.
"This is why I do actions better," he said, sounding frustrated. "My words always come back to bite me in the ass."
"Ranger, you've said more than once we don't have a future," I said. "Your lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships. Your love doesn't come with a ring."
"Does it have to come with a ring?" Ranger asked. "Why does it have to end in marriage?"
"I don't want to get married," I said, quietly.
"Then what's the problem?"
"You don't even want a relationship," I said, throwing my hands in the air. "I can't do sex with no commitment. I wasn't raised that way. You aren't wired for a committed relationship, and I'm not wired for a strictly sexual relationship. We're just different people with different requirements in life."
"How many years ago was it that I told you my lifestyle didn't lend itself to relationships?"
"I don't know," I said. "A few."
"I wasn't ready back then for what comes with a relationship. I wanted good sex," he said, grinning slightly, "with you. But not more."
"We already have more," I told him.
He cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip. "Yes we do. So why'd you say yes to Joe?"
"You told me to," I said, shaking my head. "You didn't want me. You didn't want to have more with me."
"I was surprised by the proposal. It wasn't something I was expecting. You caught me off guard, and above anything I just wanted you to be happy. You didn't give me a reason to think you didn't want to marry him," he said, taking my hand in his. "It's not what I wanted, though. I wanted you. I want you. All of you."
He looked at me and brought my hand to his lips. "What do you want, Babe?"
"You," I whispered, hoping this wasn't too good to be true.
Ranger leaned in, touching his lips to mine. They were soft and full and throbbing, and I had a burning desire to have them touch every part of my body. But it didn't happen. He pulled away after a second, with a light nip on my bottom lip. I followed him, protesting loudly.
Ranger chuckled softly. "Can't have you getting distracted, Babe," he said. "I'm not finished talking yet."
"Talking? What happened to Mr. Opportunist?" I asked, leaning away from him.
He dragged me into his lap, straddling his hips. "I have some questions I want you to answer first," he said.
A yearning swept over me so quickly, sending my hormones into overdrive. I couldn't talk to him while I could feel his thick, muscular thighs under me. I wiggled, trying to move off his lap, but his hands held me tighter, pressing me to him, and the closer he held me the more dissatisfied I felt. My hands moved up his broad, muscled chest, molding us together as I shamelessly rubbed up against his rock-hard length.
"Jesus, Babe," Ranger gasped, capturing my mouth with hungry urgency.
I fisted my hands in his hair, kissing him back fiercely, savagely. An explicit come-and-get-me kiss. I wanted him, and by God as my witness I was going to have him. If I could just get him out of his pants and into my mouth he wouldn't want to talk any more.
His hands gripped my hips, trying to control my movements as he broke the kiss. I wasn't having any of that. Control be damned. I dipped my head and pressed my tongue to his pulse point, before drawing the skin into my mouth. His breath caught in his throat, and he hissed rapid Spanish as his precious control slipped away. He moved his hands possessively up my back, his fingers tangling in my hair, giving me all the encouragement I needed. I released the skin, provocatively nipped the spot, and moved to his jaw, kissing and nipping my way to his mouth. We locked eyes as my lips settled on his, warm and wet, and the intensity that reflected back at me quickened my heartbeat. His control was gone.
"What do you want, Babe?" he asked, his voice thick with desire.
"You," I said, running my hands down his face to his chest, touching and caressing his body. "All of you."
Ranger's hand slipped down the back of my pants, grabbing my ass and pulled me to him as his mouth crashed down on mine, hard and demanding. Wetness pooled between my legs, and I ached to have him buried deep inside me.
I pulled at his shirt until it was free from his pants, delirious for skin-to-skin contact. His skin was hot under my hands, impelling me to explore. I ran them along the smooth muscles on his belly, inching my way down his body until I found his straining erection and massaged him through his pants.
Ranger pulled his lips from mine and ripped my tank top off, throwing it to the side. His hands slid up my naked skin to my achingly swollen breasts, kneading and squeezing until my nipples were rigid with desire. I arched into him, whimpering and panting as my hands fought with his buckle to release him. He sprang out of his confines, and I wrapped my hand around his pulsing shaft, stroking him. His breathing halted for a second, my nipple pinched between his thumb and finger. He leaned forward catching my waiting nipple between his teeth, biting down. Uncontrollable, shuddering contractions erupted throughout my body, the orgasm hitting me fast and unexpectedly.
"Oh, my God!" I screamed, my head dropping back.
Ranger lifted his head from my breast and pulled my lips to his in a searing kiss. His tongue darted into my mouth, sending a fresh rush to my center.
I broke the kiss, panting from need and arousal. I watched Ranger through lowered lashes. His eyes were black and shiny, and his hair hung loose where I had pulled it from the ponytail. I slowly dropped to my knees in front of him and pushed him back into the couch. I wanted to make him feel as good as he made me feel.
Ranger's breath caught as I grabbed the base of his massive hard-on and gently ran my hand up and down the hard length. Leaning in, I ran my tongue in circles over the head, reveling in his gasp. I sucked the head into my mouth, enjoying the taste of him and the feel of smooth skin against my tongue. His hands were fisted at his sides, and his head was thrown back in pleasure. I increased my pace; licking and sucking him while running my hand over the part I couldn't fit in my mouth.
Ranger made a strangled sound and he grabbed my arms, dragging me up beside him on the couch. He roughly pulled my pants and panties down my leg, and before I realized what was happening, he thrust two long fingers inside of me. I screamed as the sensations washed over me, leaving me panting and wanting more. His fingers were magic inside of me, rubbing just the right spot, and I reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss.
His tongue probed my mouth in time with his fingers, and I felt the beginnings of a second orgasm rising in my body, working its way from my toes upward. By the time it reached my head, my entire body was humming with the need for release.
I gave a startled yelp as Ranger suddenly took his hand away, leaving me hanging on the edge between sanity and mind numbing pleasure. He was only gone long enough to shed the rest of his clothes and join me on the couch again.
He entered me with a long stoke, burying himself to the hilt. My head fell back against the couch, the pleasure almost too much, and I felt Ranger's teeth scraping my throat. He sucked a piece of skin into his mouth, marking me and I couldn't keep myself from craning my head further, exposing my neck completely to him.
I heard myself whimper and groan, the raw sounds alien to me. Ranger thrust in and out of me with furious strokes, his obvious need and passion for me as big a turn on as his mouth on my neck.
He moved down from my neck and sucked one of my achingly hard nipples into his mouth, biting down. It was all it took to send me flying again. The climax washed over me, goose bumps spreading over my body, my muscles tensing and releasing of their own accord. Somewhere far away, I heard Ranger growl his own release, but I was too far gone to reflect over it.
As the orgasm lessened its hold, I slowly came back to earth. I was panting and my body felt like I had just run a marathon. A very pleasurable one at that. I slowly opened my eyes giving Ranger a satisfied smile. He returned my smile with a lazy one of his own, and then suddenly he pulled me up, tossing me over his shoulder. I let out a screech, surprised at the sudden movement. Ranger moved across the room and tossed me in the middle of the bed. I laughed, bouncing a few times, and propped myself up on my elbows, watching the devilishly handsome man standing at the end of my bed.
"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, smiling his full 200-watts.
I bent my knees and planted my feet flat on the bed, my knees dropping to the sides. "What are the options?" I asked, grinning at him.
His eyes darkened as they moved up my exposed body.
"I have an option that I believe needs to be discussed in detail," I said, sliding my eyes to his impressive hard-on, and then back up his body.
"Oh?" he asked, grinning. "What is this option?"
"You own the building, so technically this is your apartment," I said, glancing at my closet. "And as you can see all of my clothes are in your closet."
Ranger smiled. "And?"
"I think that qualifies us as a couple. What do you think?" I asked.
"I think you're right. This option needs thorough attention," he said, moving onto the bed.
I watched him crawl across the bed to me. He slid up my body, pressing me into the mattress.
"What kind of attention did you have in mind?" I asked, wrapping my legs around his waist.
"I think it's time I explain "couple" to you," he said and licked up my neck.
"If you feel you must," I said, grinning. "But next, I get to ride you like Zorro."