***A special thanks to my new friend and beta – Angela. Girl, I had fun….hope we get to do it again soon. Not making any and don't own any.

He was about to speak when pressed a kiss to his neck. "Not tonight Ranger. We'll talk some more in the morning. Tonight, I just need to feel." He understood that she wasn't ready to discuss their feelings. He just hoped that this wasn't the beginning of the end. "Night, Babe." He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Night, Ranger."

Chapter 4

"Laying the Ground Work"

He lay there in the bed reveling in the feel of her molded to his body. For over an hour, he had just been enjoying the luxury that he rarely allowed. Feeling. Not just feeling her body, but what his heart was telling him. This was his woman and it was time to start laying the ground work for an open and honest relationship.

Her hand strayed to his bare hip and he groaned from the delicate sensation. The sound caught her attention and she blinked open her eyes to his smiling face. She had to blink again because his smile was almost tender. Neither moved, their eyes locked, they both knew that their relationship has moved into a new direction.

Slowly, he bent to catch her lips in the most gentle and seductive kiss she had ever experience. He pulled back before their passions could escalate. He wanted her in the worst way, but knew that he wasn't ready physically. Emotionally, he needed to be sure that this is what she wanted. He nipped her nose, "Mornin, Babe." "Mmmm…Mornin."

She kissed his jaw and sprung from the bed before remembering her nakedness. His laugh was strangled as he held his side. His smile widened as he watched her cute ass fly from the room toward the bathroom. Her boldness from last night faltered with the morning light. She came back with one of his t-shirts hanging to her knees.

She helped him out of the bed, noticing that he was leaning on her less than yesterday. She tried not to notice him swinging in the breeze, but her hormones wouldn't quiet themselves. She wasn't sure how many more mornings she could shower with him before going insane from sexual frustration.

Ranger noticed that she had already started the shower for his daily form of torture. Being naked with her in his physical state was more torturous than the time he was captured by an insurgent group of rebels. They had beaten him bloody for two days before the rescue team found him. This was definitely worse.

Before she could start washing him, he pulled her close to his uninjured side, "Babe, not that I don't enjoy our little morning showers, but you're killing me." She laughed shakily, "Yeah, me too." She took a deep breath, kissing him on the chest before pulling back to look in deeply in his eyes. The passion he saw reflected in her eyes startled him; the love he saw warmed his heart.

He couldn't resist, he had to taste her. Kissing and caressing, they fast became a tangle of limbs as the water turned cool; working quickly they washed and shut off the water. Stephanie's pulse beat at her center as she shakily dried each of them. His arousal pulled his towel tight and his eyes were dark with a burning desire.

Bending was still difficult for him, so she helped him dress in shorts and t-shirt. He sat on the bed while she went to the bathroom to finish her morning ritual. Realizing that she hadn't made any calls since she they arrived, he asked, "Babe, have you checked in with anybody back home?"

She poked her head around the corner and gave him a grin. "Nope. My parents are on vacation and Grandma Mazur is on a senior weekend trip to Atlantic City. So, it will be Monday before anybody is missing me." He heard the dryer running, noticing that she hadn't mentioned Morelli. He really didn't want to ask, but knew he had to know, before this could go any further between them.

When she came back to the bedroom, she was wearing one of his white dress shirts open over a bathing suit. One button was clasped in the middle and she had on what looked like his gym shorts. It was sexy as hell when she wore his clothes. He was still sitting on the bed when she plopped down beside him, turning those baby blues on him.

"Ranger, you don't really think that if I were with Joe that I would be letting things go so far with you, do you?" She had a point. In the past, she had always stopped him and hadn't encouraged him when they were together. He started to say that he didn't want to mess things up between them, but that would be a lie.

"No, I just…." He shrugged his shoulders because he couldn't find the words to express how relieved he was. She bumped his shoulder, "C'mon, let's get some breakfast and laze in the sun for a bit. It's beautiful outside and we can talk while we catch some rays." He chuckled because he knew how much she needed a dose of happy.

She helped him into the living room and flounced her way to the kitchen. Boy, somebody was in a good mood. "Are eggs and toast ok?", she asked from the kitchen. "Yeah, Babe." He heard her laugh and mumble something along the lines of good thing. Her quick wit made him smile. Cooking definitely wasn't her forte, but what difference did it make when she had so many others.

Scrambling eggs, she smiled to herself. Ranger had been fishing about her and Joe. She wasn't completely confident about his feelings, but knew that things had changed since the last time they were together. Hell, they had changed since last week. Her good mood hummed through her. Even though she was frustrated as hell sexually, and was worried about Sullivan, she had a light feeling in her heart for the first time in years.

After breakfast, they made their way to the deck that overlooked the peaceful valley below. The deck had a series of twist and turns of wooden steps that led to a dock. There had to be at least a five hundred stairs. The sun glistened off of the sparkling water and in the distance, the hum of boats could be heard with a mixture of voices that floated their way every once in a while.

A thought occurred to her as they lay on the lounge chairs. "Ranger, we need a boat." He gave her a raised eyebrow. "I was just thinking that we're secluded here and nobody could get in without us knowing, but then we couldn't get out either." She never ceased to amaze him. "You're right. We need a boat." He watched the sway of her hips as she made her way back in the house.

She returned with a bottle of water for him and the sat phone to her ear. "Yes, Lot 14. That's great. I'll meet you at the dock in an hour." She gave him a satisfied look. "Babe, did you just have a boat delivered?" She smiled widely, "Yep, it's a $150 a day rental and we can leave the keys with our cabin key, when we leave. I reserved it for two weeks and extended our time here to match that at the same time. I figured by then you would be recuperated. If not, I can call and extend our time."

"Proud of you, Babe." She waved him off. "I'm going to put on a few more clothes and start making my way down those damn stairs." He chuckled because he knew that she would be doing a whole lot more cursing when she had to walk back up them.

When she came back she handed him his gun, and he noticed the slight bulge in the back of her shirt. Kissing him lightly, she asked if he needed anything before she went down to the dock. When he shook his head, she began her journey down the long and winding stairs.

Ranger watched as she made the transaction, listened to the instructions for running the boat and practiced tying off the boat. The young man ogled her legs as she bent to double check the ropes; he couldn't blame the man, she had great legs. He heard her laughter echo off the water and he wondered at the joke. She waved bye and turned with a gleam of hatred for the stairs.

She stopped every twenty steps or so and fisted her hands on her hips muttering a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. Once he heard her exclaim, "Why the hell, didn't I think to get a damn cabin with one of those fucking lifts. Who the hell builds one of these things on the water without a stinking elevator?" He was nearly in tears by the time she puffed her way back onto the deck. She gave him a glare that said 'don't even think about laughing at me'.

He laughed anyway and wasn't surprised at her smirk when he had to hold his sides from the throbbing pain. After stewing about the stairs for a bit, she asked, "Ok, I took care of getting us here and making sure that we are secure. What do you have planned?" He gave her an expressionless look, "I plan on taking him out."

Even though he seemed neutral, she could see the seriousness of his words. "Babe, Tank's doing research, trying to get a bead on him. Sullivan is highly trained and will make very few mistakes in covering his trail. Tank and I are better. Lester and Bobby are also working night and day trying to locate him. If they don't before I'm well, then I will." He reached over and took her hand, "With your help, I hope."

Her heart swelled at the trust that she saw in his face. "Thanks, Ranger." He shook his head, "No, Babe. Thank you, for taking care of me and for…always, being there. I've never had anybody that would just drop everything for me, except my men and I pay them very well for their loyalty. Your support means a great deal to me."

She thought about his words and felt the honesty in them. She would do anything for him and knew that it was the same for him. "Whatever happens, Ranger, you have to know that I will....." She wanted to say, be beside him, with him always, but was still too uncertain that he was ready to hear those words aloud. He squeezed her hand gently, "I know."

They lay back and rested for a while in the lounge chairs. Another thought came to Stephanie as the sun warmed her body. "Ranger, if I'm Diana Prince, who are you?" He laughed at Lester's idea of a joke. Lester made her fake ID's in the name of Wonder Woman's alter ego, Diana Prince. "M. Steve Trevor, of course." Her laughter was a balm to his soul after last night's discussion.

The remainder of the day was spent in much the same way. She fixed lunch and they ate on the sofa, watching mindless t.v. shows and snuggling on the couch. When dinner rolled around, she went out and came back with ribs from a local smoke house. The entire day had been one of much needed R&R.

When the credits of Die Hard rolled on the screen, he had to nudge her awake. "Hmmmm…I'm awake." She helped him up from the couch, walking with their arms wrapped around each other as she thought of how they slept last night. She really wanted that feeling of closeness that they shared last night, but knew that she couldn't bring herself to ask again. Last night had been....different, because of the emotional rollercoaster that had been the previous 24 hours. Today's mood had been relaxed, lighter and more casual; so she just couldn't find a good excuse to ...well, get naked with Ranger without coming off as a sex starved teenager.

Ok, this is stupid, you want to be naked, he wants to be naked, hell, you shower naked together every morning. Just get naked. "I agree." Her head jerked up at his comment, "Shit. I said that out loud, didn't I?" He gave her one of his wolf grins and started to unbutton her shirt.