And now in conclusion – Ranger's POV

I have been overwhelmed by your comments and reviews – and although most of you have been very angry with Ranger's stupidity – I hope you won't be too hard on him after this – he's pretty dumb, but I haven't yet met a man who isn't.

Thank you again for giving me the encouragement to keep writing.

As always - I do not profit in any way - this is strictly for fun.

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It was sometime around midnight and I'd been trying to sleep for the better part of an hour with no success. All the tossing and turning made a tangled mess of the sheets and blankets so I stripped my bed and remade it just to have something to occupy my mind, other than Stephanie Plum of course.

I thought coming to Miami would make it easier but she's been a constant presence in my brain since I walked out of her life two weeks ago. I think about her more now than I did when I lived ten minutes away. I suppose that would be considered irony, or poetic justice – retribution maybe? Pick your favorite word or expression.

Now that my bed is back to normal I have nothing else to keep the mental movies of her from playing in my head. Nothing on TV could hold my interest and the radio was a disaster. Every song just brought her back to the forefront of my thoughts.

In all honesty, that's where she's been since the first day I laid eyes on her.

I really don't even know how it happened. I've never let myself get that close to a woman before – not even Julie's Mother. It just caused problems I didn't need or want in the life I had so carefully crafted for myself.

I'd never had any regrets about the choices I'd made. Not until Stephanie.

I'd wanted her the second she walked into that diner the day they we met. It had surprised me; I'd never had that instant of an attraction to anyone. There was obviously something different about her and I didn't know what it was or how I'd let her get inside my head. But I had and she was apparently there to stay.

I'd let myself get too close to her. I'd let myself care about her way too much. I'd let myself love her – and because I'm an asshole and didn't know how to handle it, I let myself hurt her by walking away - more than once.

This time, I walked all the way to Miami. There was trouble here with a high profile client that needed my personal attention so I had to come, but I certainly didn't have to stay. I decided that the distance between us would let me end what I'd let get out of hand between us. That I'd be able to forget and go back to the life I had before I met her.

Twelve hundred miles apart should have let me forget how just seeing her made my day a little brighter- or how it made me smile every time she rolled her eyes, even though it annoyed me when anyone else did it. It should have been enough to let me forget how she'd melt into me whenever I kissed her like her bones had suddenly turned to jelly.

It should have let me forget that she ever existed.

But that was all bullshit.

I knew before I came here that I would never be able to forget. I knew the first time I took her to bed– the second I buried myself deep inside her – that I would never be able to get her out of my head or my heart.

Again, I am an asshole.

God, I missed her. Her smile, her kiss, her touch. Sometimes I think my brain short circuits when she touches me. Doesn't even matter where; my shoulder, a knee, my fingers. I let out an audible sigh and flopped down onto the bed I'd just made with ingrained military precision. I stretched out on my back and as soon as I closed my eyes images from the last night we were together flashed behind them. Stephanie had done some wondrous things with her mouth that night and there had been many nights since my arrival in Miami where that thought alone had kept me awake and as hard as a teenage boy with his first erection.

That same thought had intruded during a meeting this afternoon and I had actually had to leave the room to get my body back under control. If I hadn't left the office so quickly the look on Silvo's face at my hasty departure would have made me laugh. When he asked about it later I made up a story about eating some questionable tacos and needing the bathroom immediately. I don't know if he bought it, but there was no way I was going to admit to having sexual fantasies during an interview with potential new clients.

Now, for the third time today, I'm having the same problem. I could feel my dick throbbing beneath the zipper of my cargos. At least, since it wasn't the middle of the workday, I had some options. I could hit any number of clubs downtown and find any number of women willing to help with the situation, but honestly I hadn't been with anyone else since the first time with Stephanie. And, I no longer had any desire for anyone other than her. I could, of course, take care of it myself - I do have two very useful hands-but that didn't hold any appeal either. Copious amounts of exercise usually did the trick so I jumped off my bed, changed quickly into running clothes, and headed out.

I picked up my keys from the sideboard in the foyer and yanked open my door. I think my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw the object of my affection standing there with her arm raised, ready to knock.

She looked up at me through thick, dark lashes and slowly lowered her hand to her side. Her hair was down and loose around her shoulders and she was wearing the aqua shirt with the low scoop neck that nearly drove me out of my mind. It made the blue of her eyes so deep I thought I might drown in their depths. "We need to talk," she said as I continued to stare at her.

I tried, but no words would come so I did the thing I'd wanted to do for two weeks. I grabbed her, pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her.

She protested, but only mildly and only for a second before her hands slid around my waist. I held her tightly with my cheek resting on the top of her hair. I don't know how long we stood there but eventually she pulled back slightly and tilted her face up to mine. "Ranger…" she began but I still couldn't think of a thing to say so I slanted my mouth over hers and when she parted her lips willingly and touched her tongue to mine, she melted against my body and I moved my arms further down her back to keep her from falling.

We kissed until our hearts raced and our breath exhaled in short uneven gasps. This was doing nothing to alleviate my problem which I knew she could feel pressing into her abdomen. If we didn't get inside I was going to rip her clothes off and take her right there in the lobby of my apartment.

I stepped back from her and she released her hold on my waist. I ushered her into my foyer with my hand at the small of her back. I relieved her of the overnight bag and purse she had slung over her shoulder and set them down on the floor next to the table. I took her hand and tugged her into the living room.

Her head swiveled in every direction taking in the opulence of my apartment. It was nearly identical to the one in Trenton but she'd never been to that one so I'm sure this was a bit of a shock for her. I think she was convinced I lived in a cave like Batman.

We stopped in the middle of the room and I looked around unsure of what do next. Offer her a drink? Have her sit down? Cart her off to my bedroom and have my wicked, wicked way with her? I was just so damn happy to see her I couldn't keep a clear thought in my head.

"I can't believe you're here," I finally managed to say. And then I realized that she had to have had help – otherwise she never would have been able to enter the building without my knowledge. "Was it Tank, or Bobby?"

She pulled her bottom lip in with her teeth and her expression was slightly sheepish. "Both. Are they in trouble?"

"Normally yes, but in this instance I'm inclined to not give a shit." In fact I might have to kiss both of them on the mouth the next time I see them. The corners of her lips twitched up in a small smile. "I didn't think you'd ever want to see me again."

"Were you going to try and see me again?" She wanted to know.

Instead of answering I released her hand and picked up the phone from the table at the end of my couch and dialed extension forty two. I held her gaze as it rang in my ear and when Silvo answered I said, "When does my flight to Newark leave tomorrow?" There was a pause and I could picture the look of confusion on his face. It was the last thing he and I discussed today.

"Seven p.m. Didn't I tell you that earlier?" he replied.

"Yes, you did tell me; I was just confirming, thanks." I placed the receiver back in the cradle without breaking eye contact with her.

"You're coming back? To Trenton?" Her face held equal amounts of surprise and hopefulness.

"Yeah," I confirmed simply.

"You said you weren't," she countered.

"Apparently I lied."

"Why?"

"Why did I lie?"

"Why are you coming home?"

I took a deep breath and tried to wrangle all my scattered reasons into one coherent though. I knew this would be my only shot. If I screwed it up I would lose her – probably for good. I took the two steps back to her from the phone and cupped both of her cheeks in the palm of my hands. I needed her to not be able to look away – for her to see the truth of what I was about to say in my eyes.

I kissed her softly, gently and then I said, "Because I am so in love with you that half the time I can't concentrate on anything else and I didn't think I could spend one more day here without you."

"Wow," she whispered and her eyes fluttered closed. The look on her face reminded me of when she ate her Mom's cake. Or doughnuts. Or chocolate pudding. I hoped that was a good sign.

I took advantage while her eyes were closed and kissed her again. I was pretty sure I could spend entire days just kissing her and be extremely happy about it.

Eventually she looked at me again and said, "Can I sit down? I feel a little wobbly."

I guided her into the leather arm chair across from my couch and crouched down in front of her, taking her hand in mine. "Are you okay?"

She sucked in a huge breath and blew it out slowly. "Yeah. I just – I had this whole speech planed out and you sort of derailed my brain. I don't even think I remember what I was going to say."

I turned her hand and brushed my lips over the center of her palm. "How bout I talk some more?"

"I think I could listen to you talk all night after that."

I couldn't help but smile. I don't think I've smiled as much in my entire life as I have when I'm around Stephanie.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you, Steph. I should have been man enough to tell you how I felt. Instead, I'm sure I confused the shit out of you by continuously pulling you close while pushing you away at the same time. I've never let myself love anyone before and I didn't know what to do or even if I wanted to be in love."

She squeezed my hand and reached for the other one. "You seem to be taking all the blame for whatever this is that's been going on between us but you know, I didn't tell you how I felt either."

"How do you feel?" I asked and winced at the demanding tone I heard in my voice.

"Well," she began. "I know that no man has ever made me feel the way I feel when I'm with you."

I exhaled the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "Stephanie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you back."

I sat on the floor and pulled her from the chair and into my lap. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me long and slow and deep. "Ranger," she said stopping so we could both take a breath, "where do we go from here?"

I speared my fingers into her hair and kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm not sure."

"Are we…in a relationship now?"

"Yeah, we are."

"What kind?"

"I don't really know – but I think we have all the time in the world to figure it out."

She nodded her agreement and then said, "Can we start working on that in the bedroom because if I don't get you inside me soon I think I might actually self combust."

I rose from the floor faster than should have been possible with her in my arms and carried her to the bedroom, removing our clothes along the way. We were both naked by the time we reached the bed and I gently laid her on her back while she wrapped her legs around my waist.

Then, as she requested, I buried myself deep inside her with one powerful stroke.

We made love until the sun came up and I could no longer keep my eyes open. I fell asleep curled up to her side, my face nuzzled in the crook of her neck and my arm draped across her stomach possessively.

When I awoke a few hours later I was cold and reached for her. She was warmer than any blanket.

I shot up in bed when my arms slid over the empty space where she should have been.

Stephanie was gone.

I went into full blown panic mode and jumped out of bed. I checked the clock to see if I could determine how big of a head start she had.

I'd thought it was around seven when I'd fallen asleep and now it was nearly noon. I had been dead to the world after our night of devouring each other and she could have left at any point during those five hours. Shit.

I spun and round to grab the phone so I could call the control room to see when she left and saw her leaning on the door jamb to my room. She was wearing one of my t-shirts and holding a bottle of water in one hand.

"Are you okay," she asked with a slight smirk. "You're looking a little…panicked."

I felt my shoulders sag in relief and I began rubbing my chest right over my heart to try and get it to stop pounding beneath my ribs.

"Did you think I'd left?"

"Maybe," I half admitted and stalked over to her. I drew her into my arms, needing to touch her to make sure she was really there.

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured me.

"That's the best thing I've heard in long time," I said. I picked her up and carried her back to bed.

I didn't plan on going anywhere either. Not ever again.