DISCLAIMER: All characters are based on the characters developed by Janet Evanovich in her Stephanie Plum series. This short story follows the events between Smokin' Seventeen and Explosive Eighteen.
Chapter 3: The Plan
I woke up in the morning all tangled up in the sheets on top of Ranger. I tried to untangle myself from him, but he put his arms around my waist. "Babe, where do you think you're going?" he asked. I didn't know what to say. I just looked into his eyes and knew that if I didn't get up, we weren't getting out of bed any time in the near future. "Bathroom." And with that I ran in.
I must have taken the world's quickest show and realized that I only had my towel. My clothes were in the room, and to get them, I had to get past Ranger with only a towel on. Geez. This is a challenge. I carefully wrapped the towel around me only to find out that it was about 1 inch below backside. This was not going to help. There was no way I could keep to wrapped around me, so I had to take the chance and try to get to my clothes without Ranger getting the towel off from around my body. I slowly opened the door and I didn't see him. Whew. I calmly walked over the my suit case and extracted a white push up bra and matching panties to wear with a white, strapless sundress and pale blue sweater. I got my 4 blue FMPs out and brought the clothes into the bathroom. I covered my 5'7" frame with my clothes, put on about 4 layers of mascara, and through my unruly curly brown hair into a pony tail. When I stepped out of the bathroom I walked right into Ranger.
"Where did you go?" I inquired.
"Babe." He put his right hand on my upper back and his left at my waist, and pulled me in for one of his earth-shattering kisses. His tongue enter into my mouth and it sent warmth down my entire body. I reached around his neck and pulled him closer to me. I felt him reaching under my dress and slowing pulling my panties down. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't resist. I could feel him hard against my belly, and I knew that I wanted him badly. Just then, there was a knock on the door. We pulled away, panting. The knock came again, followed by the announcement of room service. I pulled my panties back up, smoothed my dress, and answered the door while Ranger went into the bathroom. In walked the valet with a cart of breakfast food. I gave him a tip and he left. Suddenly, Ranger was at my side and setting up the little desk in the room as our makeshift table. He ordered French toast, bacon, and a donut for me, and an egg white omelet, fresh fruit, multigrain toast, and yogurt for himself. How he is satisfied eating that is beyond me.
I sat down and dug in. I moaned at the first bite of the French toast. It was heavenly. Ranger looked at me with raised eyebrows and simply said "Babe."
I laughed. "I'm sorry, you know I love food. And this French toast is amazing. It tastes so tropical. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was." I said while taking another bite. "Where did you go while I was in the shower?"
"To the car. I didn't want to bring in all my bags, being that we are checking out of here after we finish with breakfast. I needed my phone charger."
"What do you mean we are checking out? We aren't staying here? We can't stay at the other hotel, we are not a married couple."
"Babe, we are staying at the resort. I already book a suite for Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Manoso, who are here celebrating their honeymoon."
I suddenly started to panic. Did Ranger think I was going to marry him? I mean, right here, right now? I started to hyperventilate. "Babe, don't panic." He chuckled. "Just think of it as a long-term distraction. You and I will play the role of husband and wife, and once we are in the resort, we will be able to apprehend The Rug." He was next to me, rubbing my back and pushing my head between my legs. Once I calmed down, I laughed, though it was just to break the tension.
"I don't know if this is a good idea, Ranger. I mean, what happens if it gets back to the Burg that I'm here as Stephanie Manoso. I don't thing Joe will understand."
"Joe won't know, Babe. He isn't here, and neither is anyone else from Trenton, for that matter, other than the Ruguzzis. I will be fine."
"But, we don't have wedding rings, we don't have any paperwork. All my identification and credit cards say Stephanie Plum, not Stephanie Manoso. We won't be able to pull this off."
Ranger shook his head and sighed. "What's wrong, Ranger?" "Babe, when you get married it take a few weeks to get your named changed on all official documents. It would be completely normal for you to have all of your documentation written in your maiden name only, as you don't get your marriage license for a few weeks after your wedding. You should know this. You were married to Orr before."
"I never changed my name. I didn't want to."
"So then why are you worried?
"Ok, fine. What about rings? We don't have wedding bands."
With that, Ranger got up and pulled a box out of his pocket. In that box were two matching wedding bands. They were yellow and rose gold, which etching going around. My heart stopped for a moment when I saw them. He carefully took out mine, lifted my left hand, and gently placed the ring on my finger. He took my hand, moved it to his lips, and kissed my finger.
He moved the open box towards me. I took out his ring and placed it on his finger. OMG...we just exchanged wedding rings. I took a moment and just stared at our matching bands, looked up at Ranger's face, and kissed him.
He kissed me back before breaking away. "Pack you stuff, Babe, we need to get over there. Check out is 10 a.m. It's already 9:30." It was then that I actually noticed what he was wearing. He wasn't in his typical Rangeman black. He was wearing blue dress shirt and black dress pants that fit him like a glove. Damn, he looked so delicious. I don't know how this week is going to turn out, but I'm not really confident that we are going to get The Rug at this point.
"Babe, are you ready?"
"I just need 5 more minutes." I jumped up, packed my toiletries, did a quick room check for cell phone charger and any random items I might have left out, and met Ranger at the door.
I checked out and stepped outside to find Ranger waiting behind a black Porsche 911 convertible with the top down. "Where's my rental?" I asked Ranger. "Returned. I feel that Mr. and Mrs. Manoso needed a sexier car for their honeymoon, don't you think?" I shook my head and bit back a laugh while he opened the door so I could sink into the car. He buckled me in, gave me a quick kiss on the lips, closed the door, and walked around to the driver's side. He got in the car, pulled away, and grabbed my left hand and rubbed the ring on my finger. Oh boy, what did I do?
Ten minutes later, we pulled into the resort. When we arrived, the valet and bell hop were ready to take the car and bags. We entered the lobby and found that it was Sofia at the desk and not Matt, thankfully. "Mr. and Mrs. Manoso here." Ranger announced.
"Mr. Manoso, thank you for choosing our resort. I know you will enjoy your stay. You are book in our Presidential Suite. You have a spa, a Jacuzzi, and private beach access. You also can enjoy any of the other amenities here at our resort. Would you like to book any couples massages at this time?"
"No, thank you. We had a long flight and my wife and I just want to settle in first."
"No problem, sir. Kai will take you to your suite. Please be sure to let me know if you need anything further." She said while smiling. I could see her mentally undressing Ranger. I know that we are only doing a distraction job, but I couldn't help be jealous. He must have sensed my jealousy, because at that moment, he put his arm around my waist and give me a kiss that would melt all the ice in Antarctica. We followed Kai to our room and waited for him to place our luggage inside the suite. Ranger tipped him, and I entered. In the middle of room was a king sized bed that overlooked the ocean and the beach. We had a built in Jacuzzi, and the most amazing shower I have ever seen in a hotel.
Suddenly, Rangers was behind me with his arms around my waist. He moved my hair aside and started to kiss my neck, my shoulder, and a turned my head to meet his lips with mine. His hand were moving up towards my breasts, when my phone rang. "Babe, ignore it." "I can't. I haven't spoken to anyone back home yet. They are probably worried I got kidnapped or killed. Let me just see who it is." I checked my phone and it was Joe. Damn it.