Once again let me say that JE owns these wonderful characters.

Chapter 6

Ranger looked at his Babe as he lifted his glass and toasted her.

She had changed so very much from when he had first met her. She was insecure, impetuous, and sometimes brash, but now, well...

He saw sitting in front of him a very secure, well aware, stunningly beautiful woman who was going to go places. Her whole demeanor had taken a complete jump in confidence knowing that she had finally succeeded in convincing herself that she could move in the world of business.

And yet, he could see that sparkle of life that only Stephanie could portray, a look of curiosity, of wonder and of love.

He mentally sat back.

She did not NEED him to be successful. She was successful in her own way. She could talk and walk with anybody now and besides feeling comfortable in the setting, she could make someone else comfortable by her.

He looked at his own life.

He was successful because he had muscled his way into that way of life. He could be ruthless when required, or demanding if need be. He commanded respect where he moved, but it was because his reputation had preceded him. He could give orders and inflict punishment, but he had always felt that he continually needed to dictate his parameters to continue to be the best of the best.

It was a sobering though.

He shook off his thoughts. Tonight was her night and she deserved everything he could give her.

They made light conversation as they chatted. She spoke of how helpful Rod and his staff had been on little hints and suggestions. She talked about the clothes she had chosen and how she had felt driving around in a limo. She spoke of how nice her driver, Charles was and how he had put her at ease, especially with the coffee and Boston crème donuts to start her day.

She stopped talking and her face scrunched up into that cute expression when she was thinking about something.

"Ranger, why are you really in New York? I saw the mountain of work on your desk, and while I love that you are here, there must be something important to take you away from Trenton on such short notice."

Ranger looked amused by the question. He was wondering when she would figure it out.

"Babe; Tank, Bobby, Les and I are in New York setting up the security for next month. We flew down this afternoon after you were at Halston. James dropped you off, then flew to New Haven to pick up an FTA, then back to Trenton to drop him off, then we all flew back here. The others are staying in the Rangeman building and I will join them tomorrow after seeing you off."

She looked pleased then thoughtful.

"Ranger, while this has been a fun day and I look forward to tonight," and she gave him a sexy smile, "I am not really sure how much help I will be at the conference. I anticipate a large number of influential women sharing ideas and success stories. Unless there is something underlying there, I cannot see where there might be a problem. I did a search of all the other Summits and nothing was ever said about security breaches or issues."

She looked at him in all seriousness.

"Ranger, I trust your information and certainly your opinion, but I really don't think I will be of much use here."

Ranger slid his chair around the table and took Stephanie's hand in his.

"Babe, first of all, tonight I am Carlos. I want this to be a special night and if we can keep away from the topic of the Summit, I want to romance you, and take care of you, and love you until you leave tomorrow."

She drew in her breath. It sounded like he was wanting to take their relationship a step closer than ever before and she could see the cliff edge just ahead. Was she ready, was he ready, were they ready?

She relaxed in his presence near her. His commanding demeanor put her at ease and she felt safe and protected. She could almost feel his protective aura surround her. That was what drew her to him more than anything. He let her choose what she wanted in her life and he stood by protecting and guiding as needed.

They chatted and sipped their wine. The appetizers Carlos had ordered arrived and he pointed out each one, asking her to put aside her doubts and taste each one with a fresh mind. He saw her looking with trepidation at the selections and he whispered in her ear.

"Close your eyes, Babe. I want you to trust me to feed you something that you will enjoy. Letting your other senses guide you will open up your world to something new and you might actually like it.

Trusting him she closed her eyes and waited. He took a small piece and put it to her lips. She opened her mouth and gently took it from his fingers.

It tasty somewhat salty and almost stringy but after getting past that, she thought it was delicious.

He watched her as her facial features changed.

Carlos put the water goblet to her lips to take a sip, then he gently took a napkin and dabbed at the side of her mouth.

Next he put something else on a spoon to her mouth and she obediently opened her mouth. She received a small taste on the edge of her tongue. She tried to chew it but there was nothing to chew and she swallowed it regretfully. It almost felt like tapioca.

Next Carlos put what felt like a shell to her mouth and she sucked in the oyster. She had tried those on a dare in college but this tasted so good. Her smile confirmed it. Last but not least Carlos put a tiny piece of fish on her tongue. Once again, she had been introduced to this in college, but it had been overcooked and was tough.

She opened her eyes and smiled at her man. It had been such an enjoyable experience and she vowed to try it again.

In front of him was an appetizer plate with the calamari, caviar, oysters and scallops placed temptingly on a large plate.

Stephanie looked at Carlos.

"That was probably the best fish I have ever tasted."

They tried each one again together and she proclaimed it the best way to sample something new.

Carlos had ordered her main meal for her and the waiter arrived with the plates. He had ordered her the red snapper with steamed asparagus and he had ordered the blackened bass with mixed sampled each other's meal and giggled at something or nothing as they enjoyed each other's company.

Carlos looked at his watch.

"Charles is outside waiting for us, Babe. Would you like to take that trip around New York before we head back to the hotel?"

He waited for her to decide. She was starting to look weary but the instantaneous sparkle in her eyes and obvious excitement gave him his answer.

He caught the eye of their waiter and began to pull out his wallet.

The waiter held up his hand.

"No, No, Monsieur. The bill and the accompanying gratuity has been accounted for. I hope your meal was satisfactory?"

Carlos and Stephanie nodded at the same time.

"Thank you for such an exquisite meal. Please pass on our compliments to the chef."

Carlos opened his phone and pressed a button, then hung up.

He held his hand out to assist Stephanie to her feet and they walked with her hand resting lightly on Carlos's arm to the front door.

Their limo was waiting and the doorman opened the car door. Carlos helped to hand her into the back then climbed in and the doorman closed the door with a click.

The car pulled smoothly onto the main road and they settled in the back. There was a bottle of wine chilling in the ice bucket and two glasses sitting on a little tray beside it.

Charles took a meandering drive through the streets of New York, then headed out to Manhattan. He had the privacy window closed. He had observed them sampling the wine and then leaning against each other, they pointed out the sights as the light shone on what he believed was the most beautiful skyline in the world.

Charles received a beep on the intercom and headed to the hotel. It had been a long day and he would be glad to head home.

He smoothly braked to a stop in front of The London and a doorman strode to the car. He opened the door and observed the lady sleeping on the shoulder of the male passenger.

Carlos climbed out and then reached in and scooped his Babe up and carried her into the hotel. An elevator stood open and pressing the button, it rose swiftly to the requested floor.

Carlos walked into the room and carefully lay his Babe on the bed. He strode to her suitcase and pulled out her sleep attire, smiling to himself as he found one of his black t-shirts. It looked relatively new, and he wondered how many more she had filched.

Stephanie stirred as he knelt and began to take off one beautiful shoe then another.

"Thank you for such a wonderful evening, Carlos. I need to get out of this beautiful dress and I really need to pee."

Carlos laughed and helped her to her feet.

Taking the shirt and a thong she headed for the bathroom.

Carlos was standing by the window looking at the night skyline as she emerged. She stood by him and they looked out, feeling comfortable in each other's company without speaking.

Carlos visibly shook himself. They both had long days ahead of them and sleep was starting to become an issue.

He headed to the washroom and when he returned Stephanie was already in bed.

He undressed, placing his clothing on a chair and climbed in. Pulling his Babe to him, they fell asleep in each others arms.