***No ownership, no fee. This chapter was really difficult for me. My muse didn't want to come out and play, so I had to call in reinforcements. Thanks Angie for all your help. Thanks to all of you reading this story and for your encouragement. I hope you enjoy!

He backed her into the bedroom, pulling off articles of clothing as they went. By the time she felt her knees hit the bed, he had them both completely naked and panting with need. They fell to the bed in a tangle of arms and legs, groping for each other in a heated rush to fulfill their desires.

Chapter 6

"Man to Man"

"Three?" She sat at the breakfast bar with her mouth gaping.

"Yes, three. It's really not a big deal. I started dabbling in real estate several years ago and so now I have three, in Trenton."

She couldn't believe that he had three houses and this weekend he was taking her to all of them, so she could choose which one she wanted to live in. He wanted them to spend their weekends away from the office. Stephanie was flabbergasted that there was not one, but three Batcaves. That's also when the realization came to her that he had money….a LOT of it! It overwhelmed her.

"Exactly….how rich are you?" Her curiosity got the better of her and she blurted out the question, without thinking how rude it sounded.

"Not me…WE…and enough for both of us to retire comfortably, right now."

He said it nonchalantly, but she could see the pride that came with the accomplishment. She watched as her husband got up from the table, put his dirty dishes away and picked up the remaining articles of clothing they'd left behind last night in their heated rush. Watching him do such domesticated tasks was always a bit surprising to her.

"Wait a minute, you said in Trenton. What does that mean?"

He almost laughed out loud at the incredulous look on her face. "Babe, I also have a house in Boston and Miami. When we visit those offices, that's where we'll stay."

She shook her head, wondering what she'd gotten herself into. Stephanie loved Ranger for who he was, not his money. Now, she finds out he's very wealthy and he just brushes it off like it's nothing. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" She picked up his sweats and her panties, intending to put them in the laundry basket. Her head snapped up, stunned, when he jerked the panties out of her hands. He backed her up against the wall and lifted her up by her underarms. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He growled against her lips, "You have no idea how many surprises I have in store for you." His mouth molded to her in a hungry kiss.

When he pulled back and she could breathe again, she said, "You're just trying to distract me from your meeting with Joe."

He laughed as he let her down from her perch, "The thought never crossed my mind, but….did it work?"

"No," she made a grab for the panties, but he was quicker and stuffed them in his pocket.

He smirked and patted his pocket, "Babe, I told you last night. I'm just going to talk to him and set some boundaries."

"Joe never set boundaries with you."

He reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Yeah, he did. I just never listened."

She frowned, "What makes you think he'll listen?"

"Because, deep down, Joe's a nice guy."

She looked thoughtful, "And you're not?"

A feral look passed across his expression and in a flash, he had her pinned to the wall again. This time, he ground his erection against her center. "No. I'm an opportunist. Never make the mistake of forgetting who you married. You and I both know that I applied pressure at every opportunity I got. I had no intention of losing you to Morelli and the 'burg'."

She pouted, "But, you've always been nice to me." Okay, well nice wasn't exactly the word she'd use, but she'd never been really scared of him.

He released her, tugged her towards the door and wrapped his arm around her waist as he led her out the door. He saw the emotions flashing across her features and knew she'd reconsidered her last statement. "Precisely. Now, quit worrying and go to work."

It wasn't until she was in her truck, on the way to the bonds office that she realized he still had her panties in his pocket. The thought made her blush and hot at the same time.

Ranger walked briskly to Joe's front door and wasn't surprised when the door opened before he could knock. Joe didn't say anything. He just motioned him inside.

"What do you want Manoso? I've got to be at work in an hour, so make it fast." Joe didn't like the man, but respected him. He knew this visit was about Stephanie and figured they might as well get the pissing match over with.

Ranger thought to himself, if Joe wanted to get straight to business, then he'd cut straight to the chase. "I came to talk about Stephanie and your treatment of her. In the future, you'll be more respectful of my wife. The way you treat her will no longer be tolerated." Yep, that ought to do it.

Joe's lip curled, "Your wife…you just love throwing that in my face, don't you? Well, let me tell you a thing or two about your 'wife'! The whole reason we broke up was because I was tired of sharing her with you and your goons. Bet she didn't tell you that did she."

Ranger schooled his features. True, she never really discussed their exact break-up conversation; there was really no point in him knowing all the 'dirty' details. The fact that Joe was now implying that Stephanie was involved in a ménage a trios with his men was not only ridiculous, but demeaning. Well, that was the exact reason they were having this conversation. The derogatory comments had to stop. Ranger refused to have Stephanie's image or self confidence battered anymore…by anyone. "Exactly what are you implying? Keep in mind, Morelli, you'll want to be cautious about smearing my wife's name."

Joe's smiled snidely as he responded, "Oh, please, are you blind, Manoso? She has all your men wrapped around her finger. Hell, after her last disaster, she walked away from me, arm and arm with three of your band of goons. And what do you think she did with them? Hell, I never realized she was into group sex. Shit, if I'd known, my buddies and I could have really had some fun with her."

Ranger grabbed Joe by the shirtfront before shoving his forearm against Joe's neck and warned, "Careful, Morelli, you're dangerously close to pissing me off."

"Okay, okay, let me go, Manoso." Joe straightened his shirt and brushed his hands down the front of his pants; he took a deep breath and continued his explanation. "Anyway, that's why when we talked the next time; I told her it was best if we broke it off. If she wants to sleep with your entire company and it doesn't bother you, then you're crazier than I thought

Ranger threw his head back and laughed outright. "Joe, you're a good cop, but sometimes you miss the most important details." He shook his head at Joe's stupidity. "I know all about that night. She was so torn up about you yelling at her in front of everybody, again, that my men decided to take her out and let her blow off some steam. They didn't know it took so little for her to get drunk, until she'd passed out at the table. They carried her back to my apartment where she slept it off…alone…completely naked between my sheets."

Joe's face was red now with fury, "That's bullshit. Stephanie doesn't sleep naked. And if you weren't there, how do you know?"

Ranger couldn't believe that he'd finally won her because of Joe's insane jealousy and something that was completely innocent. "In my bed, she does. I know what happened that night because my entire building is monitored and my housekeeper picked up her clothes the next morning. Besides, I trust Stephanie and know from experience that she doesn't mess around when she's in a committed relationship. Believe me when I say I know."

Realization finally dawned on Joe, but the stubborn set of his jaw let Ranger know that he was still holding onto something. "And to answer your next question, no. Stephanie and I were together one time, when you weren't seeing each other. She never had sex with me while you two were together. Face it Joe, you never understood her. That was the problem all along with your relationship."

Joe looked defeated and sighed loudly. "And you do? Understand her?"

Ranger put his hand in his pocket and smiled a secret smile as he fondled her panties. "Yeah, I do. She's mine now, Joe. I'll only ask once for you to respect that."

Joe threw up his hands in frustration. "What the hell do you see in her anyway? She's a fucking one woman demolition crew. Hell, trouble follows her everywhere she goes."

Ranger was losing patience with Joe's attitude. He was beginning to understand why all these years she'd had no self-confidence. "It's no concern of yours anymore. Just remember that I'm the lucky son of a bitch that gets the next fifty years or so making her as happy as she makes me."

Joe hated him for his coolness. "Good riddance. I didn't need the acid reflux anyway."

Ranger smiled as he drove the knife in further. "Lucky for me that you couldn't accept her the way she is. I hope you keep this conversation in mind the next time you cross paths with her. Stephanie is mine, not yours." Ranger watched as Joe turned, to run a hand through his hair.

"You love her?" Joe had to know that this wasn't just about winning. Even after it all, he still cared about her and loved her. He didn't like the fact that it was Manoso that would get to spend the rest of his life with her.

"Yeah, I love her. She's my light and I plan on spending every waking moment of my life showing her." Ranger watched the internal battle as Joe tried to let go of the dysfunctional relationship he'd had with Stephanie. He knew it must be hard to give up something as special as his wife.

The muscle in his jaw was clenching and unclenching. "Fine. Now, get out of my house, so I can go to work."

Ranger didn't have to be told twice. He'd tired of this conversation the minute Joe had tried to make something out of Stephanie's relationship with his men.

Stephanie chewed her bottom lip as she sat at her new desk. She couldn't believe that Ranger had rearranged his office for her. Her new cherry desk sat in the corner of his office and sported her new laptop he'd bought her when they'd been in Corinth. She loved that he wanted her close to him while working.

She'd spent more of her morning fielding calls from her mother about the confrontation with Joe. She'd known the minute Joe approached her, she would have to listen to her mother's rant. Her speech problems from the other day seemed to have vanished. She thought about the conversation and scowled.

"Stephanie, you're married now and have no business sitting in a truck with your ex-boyfriend. What will the neighbors say? They'll think you're cheating on your husband."

"Mom, trust me, it was either talk to Joe in the truck or do it on the side-walk for the entire 'burg' to hear. Besides, Ranger doesn't think anything of the kind. In fact, he's gone now to talk to Joe about respecting me in public."

"Oh, dear Lord. That's all you need is for your ex-boyfriend and your husband to have a confrontation."

"It's not like that. Mom, why do you have to always find the negative? Ranger and I are happy. I love him and he's taking care of me."

"I just think that you need to be careful when pitting those two against each other. Now, will you be coming to dinner tonight?"

"No, Mom. Ranger and I will only be coming to dinner once a week."

"What? You can't cook. And you'll most certainly lose that man if you serve him fast food all the time. A man needs his wife to be take care of him."

"Mom, I don't have to cook. Ranger has a housekeeper. Her name is Ella and she cooks all our meals. I gotta go Mom. I've got work to do."

Thank goodness her mom had been rendered speechless by the housekeeper comment and she let her off the phone. She scowled again at her mom's out-dated view of marriage.

"Babe, you keep scowling like that you're going to get wrinkles. Besides, you're a newlywed. You aren't supposed to be unhappy. What's got you so uptight?" His hands went to her shoulders and started massaging.

She'd been so deep in thought; she hadn't heard him come in. "Oh, it's nothing. Just the usual lecture from my mom. She got wind of the Joe confrontation yesterday and had to tell me what a bad wife I am."

Ranger thought, he needed to have to have another conversation about the treatment of his wife. Maybe, just maybe, he'd bypass the mom and have another man to man, but this time with her dad. He smiled when he thought of the unassuming man that was Stephanie's dad. He was betting that when Frank did have his say, it would be in encouragement of his daughter.

"Babe, you're not a bad wife. What we build together will be our own version of married life, not somebody else's." He spun her chair around and leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips.

She gave him a dazzling smile. "How do you always know exactly how to make me feel better?"

He pulled her up and into his arms. "That's my job."

She toyed with his ponytail, then leaned in to kiss him above the neck of his shirt. "And you do it so well."

"C'mon, let's get out of here." He was already pulling her out the office door.

She could see that he had something on his mind. "What about work?"

Ranger smiled, "That's the benefit of being the boss. I have something to show you and we won't be gone long."

She stood between his legs propped against the hood of the Turbo looking out at the activity below. He'd brought her to a clearing that over-looked the city. It was peaceful standing there with her husbands arms around her.

He kissed her neck and then behind her ear. "I come here sometimes to relax. I thought you needed to unwind."

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Thanks. So, do you want to tell me about your visit with Joe?" She thought she heard him sigh. Surely, he didn't think she wouldn't ask.

"Babe, we talked. It was….enlightening. And, no, I'm not going to give you a play-by-play of the conversation. We talked and came to an understanding regarding his behavior around you and that's really all there was to it." No way was he telling her that Joe thought she was sleeping with him and all his men.

She chewed her bottom lip. Decisions, decisions. Did she push the issue or let it die a natural death? "Somehow, I think there's a little more to it than that, but I'll let it drop….for now."

He turned her to face him. "Good decision. Now….," he trailed a few hot kisses up her jaw line. "Ever made love in a Porsche?"

She gave him a wicked grin, remembering how they'd made love in the rain. "No, but I'm about to."

They laughed like teenagers as they groped each other, making their way to the back seat of the car. In a heated rush, clothes flying, they got naked in the back seat of the Turbo.

Ranger entwined their fingers as he poised above her. His only thought was how beautiful she was. No, he wouldn't change a thing. He thrust inside her and marveled at what her sweet sounds did to him.

Her only thought as she came was how lucky she was to have him for her very own. She felt him shudder with his own climax and welcomed him into her arms. Later, much later, she would laugh that they'd made love in broad daylight in the back seat of a car and she hadn't thought once about being caught. That's what he did to her. He made her forget the world around them.