****I don't know where exactly my muse went off to, but maybe that's her pounding on my skull. If it's just a figment of my imagination, I'm terribly sorry. I know it's been awhile and thank you for waiting patiently, but Real Life has been kicking my butt. The muse has been on hiatus and I really hope this is her??? Hope you all had a great a New Year as Stephanie and Ranger. Thanks Angie, for worrying about me and being a great friend and beta.

Teasing her back, he whispered in her ear as they entered the stairwell. "Oh, I can be a slave master alright, just wait till we get off shift."

With weak knees, she entered the control room. "Jeez, what do you have to do that right before going to work?"

"It's all about anticipation. We don't have to work all day, you know. Want to find out more about the gift that keeps on giving?"

Holy hot flash! An entire day and night, with her husband all to herself was an image she could definitely get into.

Chapter 11

"Honeymoon – Part 1"

"Ella? What are the suitcases doing on the bed?" Stephanie saw the mischievous smile that played on Ella's face as she came out of the bathroom holding her cosmetic bag.

"Stephanie dear, you weren't supposed to be back from your mom's for another hour. Oh, dear. I guess the cat's out of the bag. Ranger asked me to pack for your honeymoon. You're leaving after lunch. Now, shoo. I've got to get finished and I don't want Ranger to know your surprise is spoiled." She was just finishing her ramblings when they both heard a throat cleared from the bedroom door.

Stephanie and Ella turned with embarrassed looks on their faces. "Too late. It's okay Ella. I was going to tell her when she came home for lunch." Ranger leaned against the door jam and smiled at their surprised faces.

"We're leaving on New Years Eve?" She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice, but the last thing she wanted to be doing was traveling while the New Year rolled in.

"Babe, we're only going to be traveling for a few hours before the first stop. You don't honestly think that I'd have you several thousand miles in the air when we celebrated our first New Year's together." He pulled her out of the bedroom and away from Ella's inquiring eyes. Once in the kitchen, he pinned her to the bar with his lower body.

"Mmmmm…keep that up and we'll be staying in this apartment for our entire honeymoon." He laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

"Babe, eat the sandwich Ella fixed and then we'll be on our way."

"Ranger, what if she doesn't pack everything I want. Aren't you going to even give me a hint about our travel plans?" She'd been trying to get it out of him ever since he told her that they were leaving in the next few days to start their honeymoon. Even though she was married now, her curiosity hadn't lessened; especially where her husband was concerned.

"Nope, each leg of our journey is going to be a surprise. Don't worry about what Ella packed. She's taken care of everything that we'll need. Besides, Trenton isn't the only place in the world with a mall or retail store." He wound a curl tight around his finger and used it to tug her closer, so he could brush a kiss across her pouty lips. When he pulled back, he wasn't sure if the glazed look she sported was because of his kiss or the fact that she was going to get to go shopping while on their honeymoon. Whichever, it didn't matter to him as long as he pleased her.

As she slid into her new dress, she thought about how extraordinary the day had been. Ranger had driven them to New York where he'd booked them a room at The Plaza. Then he'd escorted her about town to the most prestigious boutiques where they'd selected formal clothes for the evening he'd planned.

After shopping, he'd taken her to a spa, where they had a couples massage. Then he'd disappeared while she'd received the 'works' in beauty treatments. When she'd been waxed, buffed and coiffed, for nearly two hours, he returned to escort her to their suite.

Now she stood in the dressing room finishing up getting dressed while he dressed in the bedroom. She slid into the red strapless gown that hugged her body like a second skin. It had been the first one she'd tried on and had giggled when Ranger, who sat in one of the chairs outside the dressing room, waited patiently while she modeled. He'd motioned for her to turn. After her slow spin, he'd turned his head to the sales clerk and said, 'We'll take it.'

With her matching four inch FMP's on, she took one last look in the mirror before heading out to take a look at how her husband was dressed for their evening. As always, there was that slam of lust and love that fisted into her stomach at the sight of him. At her slow perusal of him, he paused in brushing his pants legs with a lint roller. Stephanie grimaced at what was tangled around the roller. Her hair. "Sorry, that's the price of long hair. It's more noticeable when you lose some of it."

He tossed the lint roller over his shoulder and walked with the stealth of a panther towards her. Quick as a snake, he had an arm wrapped around her, then with a snappy jerk of his forearm, her body molded to his. "If that's the price, then I'll gladly pay it. I love your hair, and yet, every chance you get, you pile it on top of your head and out of my reach."

She grinned at his fake pout. "I thought you enjoyed watching me let my hair down." Stephanie thought about purring as he nuzzled her neck and nibbled his way along her shoulder.

"Sí. Me encanta cuando te pones tu cabello hacia abajo, pero también me encanta cuando te pones arriba y me pongo a ver lo toma hacia abajo. Me encanta ver como su pelo derrames temerariamente sobre sus hombros y le pasa los dedos a través de él, dándole un alborotado. Me gusta especialmente cuando hacemos el amor y cae como una cortina alrededor de la cara como nos besamos. Ni siquiera puedo empezar a describir lo que hace a mí cuando los rizos gloriosa cepillo mis muslos como el arco hacia atrás mientras montaba mi polla. Y todo eso es sólo el comienzo de todas las maneras en que me encanta tu pelo. Probablemente podría continuar toda la noche con las formas en que me encanta tu pelo.."

Translation: Yes. I love when you wear your hair down, but I also love it when you wear it up and I get to watch you take it down. I love to watch as your hair spills recklessly over your shoulders and you run your fingers through it, giving it a tousle. I especially love it when we make love and it falls like a curtain around our faces as we kiss. I can't even begin to describe what it does to me when those glorious curls brush my thighs as you arch backwards while riding my dick. And all of that is just the beginning of all the ways in which I love your hair. I could probably continue all night with ways in which I love your hair.

By the end of his little speech, her knees felt as if they'd been filled with Jell-o and she was certain that her panties had gone up in smoke. "I thought it was sexy before I actually knew what you were saying. Now?...Whew, you need to stop that or we'll never leave this hotel room."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Would that be such a bad thing? I think I could get into a night of private dancing in a hotel room." He threw his head back and laughed at the look of indecision that crossed her face as she considered his idea. "No, quierda, we're going down to the party. It is in our honor after all." At her shocked look, he grinned. He'd purposely left out that part.

"My partners throw a New Year's bash every year. They thought that since I never brought anyone with me before; and that now I was not only bringing someone, but my wife, it was indeed a reason for celebration." He loved the flabbergasted look on her face. He kissed her nose and hugged her close while swaying with her in a dance. "I can't wait to show off my beautiful wife."

As Ranger turned to finish dressing, his eye caught the magazine that Stephanie had been reading on the plane. Baby and Me. "Babe, I was hoping that on our honeymoon that we could just…uh…concentrate on us and having fun. Do you think that it would be okay to shelve any baby talk until we return to Trenton?"

Ranger wasn't sure if he'd said that quite the right way when he noticed her chewing on her bottom lip.

"Do you not want to have a baby anymore?"

Oh, yeah. He'd definitely stuck his foot in it. Her crestfallen look was almost more than he could bear. "No, Babe. You misunderstood. I just don't want us worrying about it or having it overshadow our honeymoon." He pulled her back into his embrace and stroked her back. "I only wanted this time to be about you and me….just you and me, Babe. It may be the only time we get, for a very long time, once a baby comes into the mix. I also think that if you're not thinking about it non-stop, that you'll relax and….it'll happen."

When she relaxed into his embrace, he knew that he'd finally said the right thing. He pulled back and when she looked up at him with eyes shining with love, he continued. "If you're not pregnant by the time we get back to Trenton, then we'll do the whole thermometer thing if you want."

Stephanie grinned widely as she lightly tapped his chest with the back of her hand. "You have been ready my book. I wondered why the pages weren't turned to where I'd been reading." His feigned innocence wasn't fooling her. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on each side of his face before whispering, "Thanks".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later……After dancing, laughing and lots of champagne, Ranger and Stephanie emerged from the elevator giddy and light hearted. It had certainly been an eye opening experience to meet Ranger's partners, especially Elvis. And boy, did he look like Elvis, albeit a young Army Elvis. She'd found out that he was going to RangeMan Trenton to stand in for Ranger during their honeymoon.

When they got to the door of their hotel room, Ranger stopped and turned a serious eye to Stephanie. "It seems that I have been remiss in my husbandly duties." With that he scooped her up and carried her over the threshold of their room. She laughed when he proceeded to carry her out to the balcony. It didn't take her long to realize that this was the reason they'd left the party before midnight.

From their balcony, they had a perfect view for watching the ball drop. "Oh, Ranger, I've always wanted to be in New York on New Year's and see the ball drop."

Ranger was busy kissing her bare shoulders as the countdown began. "Ranger, you're going to miss it!"

"Seen it before, Babe. This is much more interesting. I love the taste of your skin." He laved his way up to the juncture of her neck and nipped her there just as the ball started to drop.

Against her ear, he breathed, "Happy New Year, Stephanie Manoso."

As she felt his hands on her zipper, she said on a husky breath, "Happy New Year, Ranger."

When he had her dress unzipped, he slid his hands into her dress and stroked the satiny skin of her hips as she leaned into his hard chest. Her head lolled back as she let his warmth envelop her. "Take me to bed, husband."

"My pleasure, wife."

Somewhere between the balcony and the bedroom, she'd lost her dress and he was down to just his pants. After he had her lying comfortably on the bed, waiting and wanting, he stood to remove his trousers. "Tomorrow, I'm going to show you the world, but tonight I'm going to take you to heaven."

Stephanie felt the wetness pool between her legs as Ranger crawled up between them pressing wet kisses as he made his way to her heated core. At the touch of his tongue to her nub, she arched and groaned out loud. Grasping the sheets, she screamed as the first orgasm hit.

"That's it baby, come for me again." He helped her along by thrusting his tongue into her and mimicked with his tongue what he planned to do with his cock. When he felt her clenching, he moved his mouth back to her throbbing clit and sucked as the juices flowed from her and into his mouth.

By the time she'd come back to herself, he was settled beside her playing with her hair while resting his head on his hand. "I love to make you come and enjoy drinking your delicious nectar."

His hands began the descent for what she knew was going to be her second trip to heaven. She arched into his touch and wove her hands through his hair as he took an already peaked nipple into his mouth. His humming against her skin increased the erotic sensation of his suckling. When he plunged two fingers into her wetness, her immediate orgasm didn't surprise either of them.

Ranger used his fingers to bring her to orgasm again before he rose above her, positioning the head of his cock at her entrance. Her desire clouded eyes rose to his and he nearly came when she whispered, 'Ti Amo'. He could certainly see why she thought it was erotic when he spoke to her in his native language.

It was always the same, that instant spark along with a sharing of souls. They moved in sync, slow and languidly; their eyes never leaving each other. When they came together, they both shuddered while murmuring each other's name in reverence.

Later and after several rounds of mind blowing orgasms, Stephanie lay sprawled face down on the bed replete with exhaustion. In a groggy voice, she asked, "So, where are you taking me on our honeymoon? Besides heaven, that is?"

He was stroking the skin of her thighs and then cupping the apples of her bottom in a repetitive motion. "Hmmmm…..it's supposed to be a surprise."

Stephanie turned her head to look at him with a smug look. "I could make you talk…..that is, if I had any bones left to move. I'm liquid right now."

It was Ranger's turn to look smug. He knew he'd worked her hard, making her come over and over again. "Since you've been so good not to needle me until now, I'll tell you. We're going to start by going skiing in the Alps. Then we're going to travel around Europe. I'm not telling you all of our stops. I want to leave a little mystery to our journey. The final week, we are going to laze about on a secluded island in the tropics."

Stephanie sighed; he was too good to her.

He saw that her eyelids were drooping as she let out a big yawn. He pulled her against him as she wiggled to get closer. "Sleep, we have a long trip tomorrow."

Ranger was almost asleep himself when he heard her say in a sleepy voice, "Ranger".

"Hmmmm, Babe?"

"You could have taken me anywhere or nowhere and I would have loved it. But, thank you."

Ranger smiled. It was always like that with her. She didn't care about his money or what he could give her with it. That's the reason he wanted to give her the world, simply because she'd never ask. "Night my love."

She sleepily mumbled, "night my heart". He knew by her stillness that she had taken the plunge into dreamland. Lying there cradling her in his arms, he contemplated his life without her and knew without a shadow of a doubt, that it had been empty and void of anything meaningful. As sleep came upon him, he thanked God for the precious gift he'd been given in Stephanie.

***I'd love to hear from you. I hope that the long wait was worth it.