Here's the continuation.
S&R are having some fun, enjoying their time together away from the daily grind in Trenton. Growing closer? There have been some sprinkled hints since chapter one about possible culprits. What are your thoughts on the whodunit?
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.
Ranger's POV Cont.
By the time Stephanie re-emerged from the bathroom, she was ready for us to head out to our evening group get together on the beach and I'd sufficiently calmed my increased excitement to her that's been amplified by our close quarters. The hotel's convenient access to the private beach allows for the occasional meal out in the open. Tonight, it's being catered by a local celebrity private chef per the client's request.
"Babe." I smiled when I noticed she went with sensible shoes for tonight, a pair of intricately ornate sandals instead of her patented FMP.
"What?" That big blue eyed stare made an appearance before Stephanie looked down at her feet, wiggling her freshly pedicured toes as she contemplated her shoe choice.
"Babe." Smiling at her antics, I wrapped an arm around her waist, effectively plastering our bodies from shoulder to hip, as I nudged her towards the door and guided her down the hall.
With my hand pressed securely on her lower back, my fingers tingling with the skin to skin contact thanks to her choice of a maroon backless and sleeveless jumpsuit tied at the back of her neck, I escorted Stephanie past the main entrance and towards our VIP style gathering spot overlooking the ocean.
"Alejandro and Laura!" Several members of our party greeted us in unison when we arrived at the tableside. The long oval table accommodated our group perfectly, giving half of us an incredible view of the ocean waves crashing on shore and the other half the mountainside behind the hotel.
I smiled as I took out Babe's chair, waiting as she waved to the others and sat down before I scooted her closer to the table. Taking my seat next to Stephanie's, drinks arrived shortly after. Guess our host opted for one of the vintage wines in his Grand Cru collection.
Conversation flowed naturally as tongues became looser with each swig of their dark wine glasses. Some hands began to wander beneath the table, given some of the obvious lewd reactions the amped sexual atmosphere blanketed our group in as the food arrived. In fact, Stephanie's left hand was on my right thigh. Her innocent touch had me fantisizing to have her fingers inching higher on an obvious quest to delicious torture. Except, even in my lust filled imagination Babe never made it to the one place where I really wanted her to caress, grip, tug, lick, lap, suck, kiss… anything! God, this insane sexual tension that always simmers below the surface between us has reached new blazing levels of heat with our close contact as of late. Morelli's been out of the picture for good this time, yet neither of us have dared to destroy those invisible walls she's constructed after every one of my major fuckups. We must be on the same page that once that happens, there'll be no going back. Fear of ruining what we already do have has kept us prisoners for far too long.
"Owgh." Robert Carmichael covered his howl of pain with a forced cough, aiming to minimize the well deserved counterattack Stephanie subjected him to, and pulling me out of sexy fantasy fueled dirty thoughts. Leaning slightly forward adjusted my visual, seeing that he was cupping his pathetic 'jewels' as he squirmed in pain from both the immediate blow and the heat of the liquid blue flames of Stephanie's hard stare.
"Switch seats with me, Babe." I ordered, already moving to heft her out of the chair by placing my hands on either side of her. Babe shook her head forcefully, her curls brushing against the side of my face as she refused to budge despite my tight grip on the slippery material of her ensemble over her hips.
"You'll be missing your favorite appendage if you ever try that again. Capiche?" Babe gritted through clenched teeth before she resumed her engagement with the others, who were either oblivious to what went down or too sauced to really soak it all in.
My glare bored into the side of Robert's head until the heat of it must have crumbled his resolve. We locked eyes briefly before Robert chugged the rest of his drink, desperate to quench the pain burning within his pathetic self. He may think he's untouchable for being the right hand of such a powerful man, but Carmichael will learn that Babe is completely off limits.
Draping my arm across her shoulders, I crushed Stephanie to my side as I scooted her chair impossibly closer to me. I respect her self-sufficient need to defend herself, which is the only reason why she's not currently sitting on my lap instead.
"Babe." I whispered in her ear with the pretext of kissing her cheek, flaring my nostrils to flood my senses with her scent in a monumental effort to restrain my killer instincts.
Proving that she can decipher my every Babe, Stephanie patted my knee with her left hand at the same time she entwined the fingers of her right hand with mine as they rested over her right upper arm. "I'm fine." She assured me, turning her head slightly to brush her lips across mine as she whispered the reassurance. Only Stephanie focuses on everything and everyone else except herself in the aftermath of an unsolicited grope.
"Babe." Resting my forehead with hers, I crushed her further against me simply because I needed that physical touch to keep me from flipping the switch to turn into the mercenary monster that I truly am. To once again demonstrate how much she really understands my descent into darkness cues, Stephanie twisted around in my hold to be able to kiss me fully. It was the type of kiss that always makes me want to hold her tighter and never, ever let go, because I know I'm never going to stop loving her.
The rest of our group dinner was uneventful. There wasn't anything noteworthy happening, aside from my client making a show of gifting his wife the expensive piece we picked up at the jewelry store this morning.
The women all added their congratulatory input, making my client and his wife the center of attention at the conclusion of our night. It's exactly the type of response we were looking for.
The couples began to head off one by one until the group dwindled to just Babe and I.
"Come." Babe tugged my hand, still linked with hers, doing her best to drag me towards the beach instead of back the way we came from.
"Babe." I shook my head when she shivered violently, the night breeze sweeping around us as we walked barefoot through the sand on our self made path parallel to the lapping waves.
"Thanks." Despite the moonlight and flickering hotel lights in the distance making for less than stellar lighting, I was still able to make out the grateful, nearly breathtaking smile that danced across her beautiful face as I draped my jacket over her bare shoulders.
"The wine's hitting yet, Stephanie?" I murmured as she swayed with every step, head thrown back as she took in her surroundings.
"Ha!" Her rich laugh bubbled past her lips as she nudged me with her shoulder. "No." Shaking her head, Steph explained that she hadn't really felt how cold it was thanks to outdoor heaters surrounding our table.
We continued to walk, with Babe's fascination of the glowing waves growing the closer we got to the water.
"Wow. It's like the starry night sky above." Babe murmured, still completely entranced with the glowing water. "Bioluminescence." She pointed towards the nearing wave as it crested closer to the shore. "I've read about it, but had never seen it firsthand." Babe explained as she tracked the brilliant blue glow as it neared, washing onto the sand and ending just shy of our bare feet.
"Read?" I teased, knowing that Babe only likes to read about topics she's interested in.
I didn't have to advise her that no matter how beautifully tempting it was, swimming wasn't an option. She understood, silently appreciating the breathtaking view. I'd say the shimmery blue was in fact gorgeous, but I'd be lying because it paled in comparison to her captivating electric blue eyes.
"You wanna go swimming, don't you?" I asked as we continued to walk close to the luminous water.
"Yes!" Stephanie burst out laughing, because she knows I'm well aware of her intrusive thoughts. "What a shame." She sighed as she linked arms with me, leaning her head against my bicep as we rounded back towards the hotel.
Yeah, sometimes you have something spectacular so close to the tips of your fingers yet it's unattainable. Kissing her forehead, I sighed as I thought about Someday…