While I would love to ask Janet Evanovich why she could not give these amazing characters some character, I thank her for allowing us to play in her world.
Chapter 7
Stephanie woke up completely splayed over the chest of Ranger. She listened to his slow, comforting heartbeat against her ear, felt his rock-hard abs against her ribs, and his morning wood against her thigh.
She turned her head and noticed his chocolate-brown eyes smiling at her. He put his hand on top of her back and slowly moved his fingers up and down her back, then slowly started to make circles. His other hand moved toward her and she sucked in her breath as it started to meander down her body, settling over her ass.
She wriggled in anticipation of his next move.
Carlos smiled at her and then flipped her over onto her back, with him now perched over her. He was resting his weight on his forearms and he started to kiss her starting at her lips, then slowly moving down.
She could feel the goosebumps rise as he moved lower and lower.
He gently pushed her legs apart with a knee, then crawled upwards, placing his tip at her entrance. He pushed himself in and started to slowly thrust back and forth.
Her fingernails raked down his back and he sucked in his breath as he continued his attack.
Her moans turned to pleading and he moved faster and faster, taking her over the edge with a final thrust.
Carlos rolled back over and pulled her to him. She lay there feeling sated but boneless.
He played with a curl of her hair as they both began to bring their breathing under control.
She looked at him and her face saddened. Once again she was leaving him and heading off for another Open House and hours and hours of meetings and contract negotiations and above all else, loneliness.
He noticed her mood change and he pulled her to him for a comforting hug.
Carlos knew now how Stephanie felt every time he had left on a mission. He knew that her danger level was so much lower than his had ever been, but the fact that she was out of his eyesight and sometimes far away made the days and more importantly the nights so much harder. They tried to phone each other when they could but the fact that they were both busy people made communication sometimes difficult to arrange.
He looked at his watch, then he looked at his Babe and sighed. They would have to make preparations to leave soon.
He pulled the hotel phone to him and dialed, ordering Room Service for two.
Stephanie carefully exited the bed then dashed for the bathroom. He heard the toilet flush and the shower turn on.
Room Service said they would be about forty minutes and he was going to take every minute to try to satisfy his woman until the next time they saw each other.
Stephanie walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath sheet and Carlos walked out with a towel slung over his hips and tucked in in the front and they both headed for their packed clothes.
Stephanie was scheduled for a meeting with the owner of a newly purchased ranch outside of Lexington so dressed with her usual care.
Ranger put on his Rangeman uniform of cargoes and black t-shirt. He would change back at Rangeman into more business attire as the security meeting was booked for later in the day.
Charles beeped that he would be at the hotel in approximately half an hour and they were ready.
They took their bags to the elevator and headed down to leave. Ranger stopped at the desk and thanked them for their prompt service and authorized the final bill.
They walked to the front door in time to see Charles pull up and pop the trunk open. Ranger dumped in the two bags gently laying the two garment bags on top. The doorman opened the back door, assisting Stephanie to slide in and Ranger followed. He tipped his hat and closed the door and Charles pulled away.
The ride to the airport was made in silence. Unfortunately leaving each other for their jobs was becoming more and more common and they sat in the back holding hands and leaning into each other, breathing in each others' scents and relishing a few precious minutes more time together.
Charles pulled up to the plane and James was standing by the steps.
Once again the trunk popped open and Charles slid out, taking Stephanie's suitcase out of the trunk and handing it to James to store.
He stood by the steps talking and waiting for them to alight, sensing that their farewell to each other needed no audience.
Ranger opened the door and stepped out, then held his hand for Stephanie to grasp as she emerged.
They hugged each other one more time and a soft kiss on the lips was all the emotion that the two men saw.
Stephanie stepped to the stairs and gave both Charles and James a slightly watery smile then climbed the steps into the plane carrying her purse and her computer bag.
James shook Charles' hand then Ranger's and climbed the steps. He pushed the button retracting the steps then closed and locked the door.
They watched as the engines spun faster and faster and the plane began to taxi away.
Stephanie watched out the window as the plane began to move. She raised her fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss, then put her hand on the window.
They watched as the Gulfstream taxied to the edge of the runway, then gaining speed, raced down the runway and smoothly lifted into the air.
Once again, his Babe was gone.
~~~o0o~~~
Ella was about ready to tear her hair out. Lula had begged her to babysit the twins for just an hour, but what an hour.
So far, they had pulled the coffee table over on themselves trapping them both under the heavy top. JP had tried to eat one of her prized hyacinths, and TR had found all her pots and pans in the kitchen and was pulling them out.
She was contemplating picking them up and taking them to a holding cell but stilled her efforts. She was out of practice on babysitting, but two at once was still quite the handful.
She sighed a breath of relief as Lula knocked on the door.
She had been to the doctor and Tank could not look after them as he was out of town. The housekeeper was grocery shopping and the nanny was on holidays.
Ella watched as Lula rounded up the boys. She seemed to have eyes in the back of her head as she accepted a cup of coffee from Ella and sat down on the couch.
Lula had brought a bag of things to amuse the boys and they were eagerly trying to delve into it. Lula looked so comfortable in such a short period of time. She had all the patience in the world when it came to her boys.
Lula looked at Ella and Ella could just guess at the subject she was about to broach.
"Did you have any time to talk to Stephanie this time when she was in town? I really miss her and it seemed like she had to leave a lot sooner than she planned. I spoke to Edna and she also mentioned that usually she spends some time with both her family and her nieces."
Ella shook her head. She had come to appreciate any time that they could stop and have a cup of coffee. She loved to see how Stephanie was changing each and every time she stopped in.
She could see that Stephanie was starting to blossom with new-found confidence with her ability to manage a busy business. Unfortunately she was also experiencing the loneliness that constant travel and frequent periods of absence was starting to erode on their relationship. Ranger was slowing down his missions and she was ramping up on hers. Ella figured that soon it would become a ships-in-the-night kind of scenario unless they could co-ordinate it.
Lula picked up her boys and prepared to leave.
"Thanks for looking after them, Ella. If I really need you, can I call on you again?"
Ella took a look at Lula's posture. There was something wrong but Lula was not elaborating. She figured that the trip to the doctor was related and Tank needed to know first. She silently crossed her fingers and hoped it was not bad news.
"Of course you can. If I can handle a whole building of grown men acting like little boys some days, I can handle two little boys wanting to get into trouble like grown men."
She smiled and gave Lula and the boys a hug and walked them to the door.
Lula walked out with the diaper bag, toy bag and her purse wedged in around the two boys in her arms.
Ella headed to the kitchen. When she was upset or worried, she baked, and she figured that she better get ready. She suspected that she might be doing a lot of baking before long.
~~~o0o~~~
Ranger stepped into the main reception area at Rangeman New York. It was set up much differently than any other branch. New York was such a different scenario. The attitude was different, and the men working there were so much more animated. New York marched to a much different beat believing that as a whole New Yorkers were more confident of themselves in the business world. They believed that they were the only ones capable of putting on something such as the Forbes Women's Summit and the success rate could possibly substantiate that.
Ranger jogged up the stairs to five. He wanted to see what was sitting on his desk before meeting with the men prior to the planning meeting across town. He wanted to know if there had been any more chatter. He wanted to know the current threat levels in a city with all the major financial institutions that were always ripe for attack.
Nine eleven had been a wake-up call for literally every corner of the country dwelling on what could happen at any given moment.
It was not just the security, but the ease that something as catastrophic as that could bring a city to its knees.
It was also the optimism that New Yorkers had been blessed with that the city and the country had bounced back as fast and as strong as it had. They would continue to mourn that fateful day, but many lessons had been learned. They were not alone.
~~~o0o~~~
There was another phone call. This one was between two conspirators only.
"God has smiled on us today."
The connection was broken without anything else being said.