Here's the continuation leading up to Steph's uncharacteristic encounter with Morelii at the bakery.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad and I post when I can.
Stephanie's POV
I was in my zone, walking at a fast pace on the treadmill. The tingling on the back of my neck intensified, pulling me out of my musings. Without having to look around, I shifted my gaze from the blank stare I had going to meet Ranger's dark gaze straight ahead. He was by the weights doing his religious routine. Obviously, he's been watching my every move.
Smiling, I upped the speed and began walking at a more clipped pace. Ranger looked on, strong and silent, but didn't say anything or came closer. He was totally checking out my legs. This morning when I rolled out of bed, practically clinging to him since it's technically the middle of the night for me, Batman wasn't onboard with my shoe choice. I shrugged it off, because this way it doesn't really feel like a workout. Instead, it feels like it's a night out on a distraction or having some fun.
With a beaming grin, I continued moving faster. Ranger's nostrils flared slightly, something that I wouldn't be able to pick up from this distance if I didn't know him so well. In turn, I ogled him freely as his big muscles flexed and a light sheen of sweat covered his upper body. Yum!
"Alright. You're going down!" Lester declared as he took the treadmill beside mine.
"Sparkly red peep toe chunky heels." I noted as Lester set his desired speed, effectively accepting his challenge.
"Bomber's still undefeated." Woody commented as he was the first to drop what he was doing to come and watch the showdown.
"I did some research." Lester shared, pointing out that the last time he chose the wrong type of heels.
"Okay. You asked for it." I teased back, upping my speed and gearing up to start a light jog. Ranger and Bobby aren't too happy with me coming to the gym wearing my FMPs when I'm on cardio rotation. For me, it makes the time fly. It's not my fault the Merry Men didn't believe I could run in heels, were impressed with my ability and then wanted to challenge me.
We amassed a small gathering at first, quickly growing with the speed we picked up every couple of minutes. I have to admit that Lester's been practicing, because he's kept up the pace so far.
"Oh come on." I heard Les wheeze out as we raised the speed yet again and also added some incline. "Holy shit!" Lester sounded like he was about to hyperventilate, which made me feel bad. But only a little bit.
"Dude, she creamed you!" Slick commented when Lester tapped out, dismounting impressively after shutting off the machine.
"How the hell?" Lester gasped as he tried to gulp water, once again leaving me the undefeated victor.
"Decades of practice as a Jersey Girl." I confessed, smiling cheekily as I slowed to a stop before hopping off my favorite treadmill. Yeah, I know. I've been in the gym so often that I now have preferred machines. What a tragedy!
"I'll be your next opponent." Vince declared, making a show of cracking his knuckles as his way of shit talking.
"Yo! Get on the list." Ram protested, making me wonder if I'll have to 'fight' each of the Merry Men eventually.
"Just remember, you'll be on desk duty if you sprain your ankle." Bobby warned, making everyone grimace. I'm not the only one that hates forced desk duty. Yuck!
"I'm still the reigning champion." I boasted as Ranger and I rode the elevator up to the seventh floor minutes after Bobby's warning.
"Babe." Ranger shook his head minutely at my childish glee, still not in full approval of heels in his gym.
In an effort to turn his mind around, I extended my right leg out in front of us to show him my toned legs. Wearing spandex shorts and one of my old Rangeman T-shirts is my gym outfit of choice on cardio days. I'm still not very big on exercise, but have taken up a more active lifestyle in an effort to not be left in the dust when I'm in pursuit of an FTA, especially the Senior citizens. God, they can be willy!
"Babe." Ranger was definitely staring at my legs and ass as I walked in ahead of him, striding confidently as Ranger closed and locked the door behind him.
"Ah!" I let out a surprised yelp when Ranger's big arms wrapped around my waist, effortlessly halting my progress.
"Stephanie." Ranger breathed against my ear, backing me against the sideboard to his left. Somehow I registered his keys hitting the little silver bowl just before his big hands spanned my waist, lifting me as if I weighed nothing and plopping my bottom on the sideboard, right next to the silver bowl.
"Ranger!" I gasped before the giggling fit took over as his hands spread my legs wide so that he could step between my knees. My bubbling laughter vibrated against our mouths when Ranger bent his head to kiss me. And Batman meant business, literally kissing me stupid.
By the time we broke apart, gasping for air, our hands were already busy on their combined quest of tugging each other's clothes off.
"I'm sweaty." I protested weakly, knowing damn well that Batman doesn't care about that since he's about to elevate my heart rate once again. A little perspiration beforehand doesn't matter to him, especially since he's about to make both of us real sweaty. My insecurities resurface at the worst possible times, regardless of how much effort I put into vanishing them from the new phase in my life.
"Stephanie." Ranger's growl against my lips as he reinforced what I already know sent shivers up my spine. The good kind, too. Grabbing my right hand with his left, Ranger placed my open palm on his chest. I kept my eyes glued to his, cataloging his changing facial expressions as my fingers caressed his heated skin. I don't mind if he's slick with sweat, because it mingles with his evil shower gel, morphing into an even more potent Rangery scent. Plus, he barely broke a sweat today, probably because he spent most of our time down in the gym following my every move.
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips over his tempting ones as I traced the outline of his pecs. Smiling against his skin, I trailed tiny open open mouth kisses across his jaw and then down the side of his neck. One of Lula's magazines had an article once, explaining the so-called science behind liking your partner's scent and linking it to be a huge indicator of how successful the relationship will be. I don't know if the article was bullshit or not, but what I do know is that I'm addicted to Ranger and the way he smells. Fresh out of the shower or not, my man's smell drives me wild.
My T-shirt hit the floor after a swift tug from his talented hands, quickly followed by my sports bra. Ranger wasn't wearing a shirt, so I busied myself by torturing him with heated caresses across his abs. With Ranger's help, I shimmied out of my shorts and panties simultaneously. Accomplishing that without falling off my precarious perch on the sideboard was a miracle. Falling on my ass is so not in our plans. Ever.
My hands dipped lower to tug on the waistband of his shorts, pulling them past his powerful hips as he tested how ready I was for him. Spoiler alert: I'm super ready for him. Always.
"Holding on." I joked as I momentarily gripped the edge of the sideboard when Ranger pulled back slightly. Stepping out of his shorts wasn't an easy task for Batman after realizing I was just as ready for him as he is for me. Sometimes it's scary how in tune with each other we are. It's hard to wrap my head around it sometimes, just as it's difficult to think about a time when he wasn't in my life.
Ranger retook his position between my legs once he kicked off his shoes, toed off his socks and nudged his shorts out of the way. Yeah, Batman's sorta commando in the gym since his shorts have a lining to keep his goods protected.
"Ah, so you want me to leave my fuck me shoes on, huh?" I jested just to press his buttons further. Pulling the tiger's tail has very rewarding consequences.
"Babe." Ranger graced me with his full grin, giving me all the wattage of his perfect white teeth in the process. "If you don't mind…" His hands landed on my outer thighs, ascending in a deliciously torturous manner, while he smiled sheepishly.
Matching his smile, I responded with, "Not at all, Batman." Immediately, my legs wrapped around his waist, the heels digging into the top of his perfect butt. "Do you?" I threw out, making sure not to put too much pressure to avoid hurting him. That'd be really embarrassing to explain to Bobby as he has to patch up Ranger's scrapped raw behind. Yeah, no.
Ranger plunged inside, stroking exquisitely from the get go and settling on a comfortable rhythm immediately. His mouth latched onto my throat as I buried my hands in his short hair. Tugging lightly, Ranger got the message. As our tongues mimicked the dance our lower halves were engaged in, I looped my arms around his shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer. Even with my breasts plastered against his hard chest muscle it didn't feel like we were close enough.
The sounds of our passion and the nearly overwhelming delicious feelings radiating from where our bodies were joined consumed all of my senses. Our breathing turned labored as we looked into each other's eyes, moving faster. A shared orgasm was just at our fingertips, a powerful release that was building exponentially until it detonated moments later. We reached that sweet, dynamite heavy nirvana just seconds apart.
"Mmm." I moaned against his throat while Ranger groaned against the side of my head, burying his nose in my curls. "I won't mind the early gym sessions if they come with a bonus side orgasm." I joked as we worked on regulating our choppy breathing. Ranger gave me a look, but the smile tugging on a corner of his mouth gave him away. He found my comment amusing.
"I can arrange that." He let a full grin escape as he helped me off the sideboard, taking advantage of our positions to cup my ass in the process. "Anytime, Babe." His deep laugh rumbled against my ear before he hooked an arm over my shoulder, tucking me against his side as we finally headed towards his bedroom.
A few steps in, Ranger caught on to the fact that I was walking a little funny. Trying to keep my thighs pressed together while trying to keep up with his longer strides just wasn't going to work.
"I don't want to make a mess." I shared, feeling the blush creeping up my chest. Yeah, our combined essence was, uhm, very explosive. The remnants of said release is threatening to make a quick escape from my doodah.
"Babe." Ranger, ever the opportunistic problem solver, scooped me up in his arms. I rested my head against the shoulder. As he carried me to our destination, my left arm snaked around his side and to his back. "Stephanie." Ranger's hips automatically buckled when my hand passed over his ass. My chuckle was muffled by his hot skin, drowning out his appreciative groan as I kept massaging my hand over his perfect cheeks to diminish the pointy imprints my FMPs left. Oops.
After the intimate and explosive round of love making, Ranger and I took a joint shower. It was supposed to be to save time, but that's never going to happen for us. We tend to get distracted when we're naked together.
As predicted, our joint shower did take longer than it should have because our hands kept wandering over certain parts, only the reminder of this early morning's plan was the only constraint to our exploring hands.
Taking a deep breath, I shimmied into a pair of skin tight black jeans. I wore these for a distraction last month, earning me my mark's attention within minutes. It makes my legs look really good on top of framing my ass in a way that makes it look a tad bigger. Wearing a thong helped with the pseudo big butt spotlight. For footwear, I'm going with my classic Chucks. After opting for one of my Rangeman T-shirts, I finished the getup with my Rangeman jacket. It's warm and fits me perfectly, accentuating my waist if I fold the hem just a tad bit. See, I can be a mastermind too.
"You don't have to do this, Stephanie." Ranger said at my back as I finished lacing up my shoes. "There's other ways to flush him out." When I spun around to face him, Ranger was already dressed in his full Rangeman gear of cargo pants, T-shirt, combat boots and utility belt.
I blew out a sigh as a way of releasing my sudden pent up nerves. It's been several days since we found out about the surveillance in my bedroom and Hector confirmed my suspicions. We need something substantial that's foolproof, otherwise Morelli's going to get away with his latest intrusion. He's done so much over the years that has gone unpunished and it's time for Morelli to deal with the consequences of his twisted actions.
"I'm okay." Taking a step closer, I hooked my fingers into the waistband of his cargo pants and tugged him the rest of the way to me. Kissing the underside of his jaw, I explained that I wanted to do this. The sooner we put this behind us, the faster we can solely focus on us.
"You won't be alone." Ranger reinforced my rebuilding confidence.
"I know." My smiling lips pressed another kiss, on the side of his neck this time, before I pulled back.
"Babe." Ranger shook his head, using the belt loops in my tight jeans to pull me closer. Leaning down, his lips covered mine in a mind blowing kiss. Mmmm.
Minutes later, we were rushing out the door to avoid missing our window of opportunity. We would have had more time if we didn't indulge in our morning sexy session. I'm not complaining and neither is Ranger.
I angled into the driver's seat of my RAV4 and motored out of the underground garage, pointing the SUV in the direction of Italian People's Bakery. The one in the Burg, obviously.
As I drove, I reviewed the plan to distract myself from the fact that it's not even the butt crack of dawn yet. It's technically twilight since the sunrise will be after six am today. I know because I looked it up. I wanted to be mentally prepared this morning. Who even consciously makes the decision on the daily to get up at this ungodly hour. Eww.
I'd just turned off Hamilton Ave, driving deeper into the Burg, when I got the heads up from Hector that our plan is on track. As predicted, Morelli reheating breakfast is out the window this morning thanks to Hector messing with Joe's circuit breaker. How he did it undetected, I don't know. Hector's got many hidden talents.
"Roger that." I said into my earpiece as I pulled into the parking lot adjacent to Italian People's Bakery. This is a small scale operation, with only Ranger and Hector involved in the mix. I don't feel comfortable bringing on more people given the sensitive nature. Morelli had been spying on me for at least a week before I started feeling continuously creeped out and started staying on seven. Joe most definitely witnessed my intimate session with Ranger, which is not only a mega invasion of my privacy but also very frightening. What if he somehow has a recording? What if his goal is blackmail? There's too many what ifs, leading me to ditch the whole waiting option. I want this uncertainty to be over.
Intentionally, I didn't park right by the door. My SUV is pretty lonely in the lot, but at least it's not dead center as a main focal point. I'm banking on Morelli being too grouchy to really notice it on his way in.
Pauline Kautz was sporting a wide eyed look when she saw me walk in, unable to hide it in time. The rapid blinking was probably her way of trying to wake herself up. Yeah, I'm not one to be up and about this early by choice, so I understand why she's so taken aback.
Not wanting to derail our carefully crafted plan, I smiled warmly as I approached the counter between the glass cases holding the various delectable options.
"Hi." I greeted sweetly. "How's your morning going?"
"It's good. Just getting everything ready for the incoming morning rush." Pauline returned my smile, probably thinking this was some sort of dream. Or maybe a nightmare?
"That's good to hear." I used all the charm I could muster to rope her in as a helper. "Can I ask you for a favor?" I didn't wait for her to fully respond, taking her nod as answer enough. "My boyfriend, Joe Morelli, works so hard as a detective." Pauline nodded attentively, probably as a reflex. "He loves the coffee and breakfast sandwiches from here." I nearly burst out laughing when Pauline's scrunched up forehead erased her previous customer service look. The woman is shook! The whole Burg knows that Morelli and I called quits a long while back in a very public display of 'go fuck yourself' after one of my cars went kaboom! It wasn't my fault! Anyway, we've been done, done since. Pauline is mentally scratching her head, doing some heavy mental gymnastics trying to figure out when we got back together. Haha!
"Uhm…" Poor Pauline. She was trying to process the 'bombshell', possibly her mind's already running a mile a minute. Kautz is likely dying to spread the news to get her five minutes of fame. See, the Burg grapevine works both ways. Just how rumors can be spread far and wide until it reaches my unsuspecting ears, I can also reverse the roles and use it to my advantage. It's really easy to get people to believe something in the Burg if it's disguised as a rumor. I may or may not have done this in the past a time or two, which is why I know I'll be successful this go around too. Pauline Kautz will unknowingly help me spin the narrative exactly how I crafted it.
"My Joe really likes the number three with extra cheese." I asked if she could have Mamma Pancetti start on that so it could be ready when he stopped by to get it. Oh, my poor boyfriend works so hard and I'm just trying to make his morning a tiny bit better before he starts yet another heavy shift at the TPD. Aww, how nice of me.
"Ye-yes." Nodding, Kautz went to do just that.
Pauline had just returned to the front when I heard the door open and close behind me. I suppressed the compulsion to shiver visibly, focusing instead on Pauline's minute head tilt as my added confirmation that Morelli had arrived.
"Thanks." I verbalized my gratitude after ordering additional items for myself and paying, leaving a hefty tip. I mean, I'm already awake and have first dibs on fresh out of the oven goodies. Why wouldn't I take advantage of this golden opportunity? Like, when am I ever going to be at a bakery this early ever again? It might never be. Carpe diem, right?
Morelli's stare was heavy. To combat the icky feeling, I hurriedly prepped both of our coffees. Mine will always be more doctored than his or Ranger's. Ranger is a black coffee, no added anything on the daily, except when he occasionally indulges in a café cubano. Morelli likes some sugar and creamer on his, yet nothing compared to mine.
I schooled my features, like this was a distraction, and pasted a friendly smile on my face when I spun around to face him. He looked like he wanted to pretend like I wasn't here, so I hurried to force the interaction.
"Good morning." I greeted Morelli after handing him his cup of coffee. His wariness betrayed the schooled cop mask when I deliberately brushed my fingers against his.
"Morning." Joe murmured suspiciously even as he took the hot coffee cup from me. Morelli frowned when the scent hit his nostrils, probably wondering if I prepped his coffee cup just how he likes it or not. There was a war waging within him. On the one hand, he's guarded and confused with my offering. On the other hand, he likes the stroke to his ego. Joe probably thinks this means I'm looking for us to get back together. Ha! Never. Ever. Nope!
Just to make sure I had him locked in, I made a display of sipping my sugar and creamer heavy coffee. "Ohhh…mmm." I moaned, using my sultriest tone as I savored the taste.
It worked, my moan leaving Morelli rooted in place. I nearly gagged as I saw the lust heavy look cross his eyes. He was reliving that night at the Tasty Pastry, the one that changed my life forever. I've been in denial for many years, mentally blocking a lot of the horrible things that have happened to me. It's safe to say that I now know that what Joe and I had was a twisted form of trauma bonding on my part. It made what happened at the Tasty Pastry that horrific night less traumatic in a sense. It couldn't have been that bad if we were in a relationship in the present, right?! The whole dark, twisted truth wasn't something I could clearly see until I finally healed that part of me that died that night on the dusty bakery floor behind the eclair case.
Pushing the past to the back of my mind, I exited the bakery.
"Target tagged." I said just loud enough for the mic attached to the earpiece in my ear, hidden under my curly hair, to pick up. I smiled to myself as I took another sip of my coffee. So much for a star detective. Morelli didn't even register when I placed a tracker on him, completely missing my sleight of hand movement. He likes to wear the same jacket when it gets cold, one he leaves in his car and hardly ever washes. This tracker will give us a good sense of his movements when he's out of his house. Hector already bugged and tagged his car and home. Now, Joe is the one being monitored. We have him under a close watch.
I made the short walk to my SUV while munching my bagel and exaggeratedly sashing my hips. I knew that he was watching me from afar. The sound of the bakery's door swinging open, as well as the feeling of being watched gave him away. I've learned to be very aware of my surroundings, a lesson learned the hard way. Also, I'm more inclined to listen to my Spidey Sense since it tends to be often right.
"Shoot!" I groaned loudly, making a show and really milking the unplanned opportunity. My hands are pretty full with holding my coffee cup, half eaten bagel, and the rest of the pastry goodies that are destined to be delivered to the Rangeman break room on five. Juggling all of that caused me to drop my keys. The heat of Morelli's heavy stare followed my movements as I bent to grab said keys, the lightbulb igniting with a last minute idea.
"Anggghhh." Morelli was unable to contain his groan as he watched me stick my ass in the air. God, this is too easy.
I spent longer than I should have to straighten back into a standing position. Luckily, I didn't spill my coffee nor drop any of the sweet goodies. Regardless of how grossed out I felt with Joe and his sick actions, recent and past, I knew that it was vital to keep my cool and follow our carefully crafted plan in an effort to get solid evidence. This time he's not getting away with his abuse of power. It's time he pays, confronted by consequences rather than getting the usual slap on the wrist like every other past infraction.
As I was in the process of angling into the driver's seat, another car pulled into the parking lot, honking loudly and cursing Morelli for being in the way. The fact that Joe didn't use his badge to give shit to the driver was clear evidence of how unbalanced with our interaction he is. Good. Successfully pulling the rug from under his feet is exactly what we need to get him to lower his guard. He'll make at least one mistake that way. That's all we need to nab him. Just one tiny mistake will do.
"Bye!" I powered down my window, flashing another forced bright smile and giving him a finger wave as I drove past his stupefied self.
I couldn't breathe freely until I turned on Haywood. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I sped towards the Rangeman gate.
A sigh of relief, accompanied by a warm feeling spreading across my chest, ebbed away the last of my adrenaline crash. It took a great effort to keep myself from demanding answers from Joe. If I had given in to the urge, we would have lost our chance to set up the final pieces of our trap.
"Babe." Ranger was waiting for me, standing beside his truck as I parked in the open space next to his car. Technically, this is my assigned parking spot now.
"Yo, I did it." I declared, as exhaustion suddenly slammed my body full force. The encounter was very draining, but I'm glad I made it through. One step closer to the end. "Thank you." I placed a soft kiss on his right cheek when Ranger opened my door, helped me out of my seat, took the earpiece from my hand and enveloped me in the safety of his strong arms.
"Proud of you, Babe." Ranger praised, kissing the top of my head in that way that always makes me feel really loved.
"Want a cannoli?" I asked Ranger as he helped me take the treats upstairs for the Merry Men.
"Babe." Ranger gave me a pointed look as we loaded the elevator.
"Is that a no, Batman?" I teased while fobbing us up to the fifth floor and stealing a goodie for me. Taking a big bite, I moaned as my tastebuds received an explosion of sweet, cheesy cream flavor. "So good."
"That stuff will kill you, Babe." He said without heat, once again amused by my antics.
Smiling deviously, I waited until the elevator reached our destination to attack. "Muah!" I planted an obnoxiously loud kiss on Ranger's tempting lips, lapping the smeared cannoli filling that was transferred with the quick peck. Before Ranger could crowd me against the elevator wall, I darted away as soon as the door's slid opened.
My laughter gathered the attention of several of the men starting their shifts.
"You're playing with fire, Stephanie." Ranger growled in my ear when he caught up to me in the hallway.
"Sweet!" Lester made a beeline for the pastries, taking the bags from Ranger's hands. "Thanks, Beautiful." Kissing my cheek, Les too made a speedy escape before Ranger unleashed his wrath on him.
"Santos." Ranger growled beside me, his overprotective ways resurfacing. Les is harmless, and everyone knows that none of the guys would dare cross an inappropriate line with me. That doesn't mean that Lester won't enjoy poking the Ranger sized bear every now and then.
"Yeah, yeah." Lester hollered from inside the break room. "Totally worth it! Mmmm."
"Some of us like playing with fire." I said to Ranger, flashing him my best seductive smile. With a wink, I made my way towards my cubicle to get a headstart on the new stack of searches in my inbox.
I was in the process of logging in to the search program when my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket.
I had an incoming text from Ranger. Clicking on the notification, his message popped up: a fire emoji.
As a reply, I sent the hot face emoji.
If Ranger wants to up the temperature, two can play.
Bring it on, Batman. Bring it on.