SPOV
Ranger was taking me to a Cuban restaurant just on the outskirts of town, picking me up at 730. That only gave me an hour and a half to get myself ready. I jumped in the shower making sure to exfoliate and shave so my skin would be nice and soft.
Knowing Ranger likes my hair down didn't spend too much time on that, just throwing in some gel. Next came my make-up, a little eye shadow and mascara to give me some extra confidence and it was onto my closet.
The first dress I saw was the one I knew I should wear. It was on one of my many shopping extravaganza's at Macy's and I happened across this amazing scarlet red, A-lined dress with an empire waist. A small rhinestone was attached by a satin band over the knit and sheer fabric. I remember trying it on and for the first time since the accident I felt stunning. It was on sale so of course I had to have it; I never actually thought there would be an opportunity to wear it.
Not wanting to overdo it with the red I pulled out a new pair of black FMP's and was just buckling myself in when I heard a knock at the door. I froze, whoever was at the door needed to go away, I was going out with batman tonight.
The knock came again and when I didn't answer the second time I heard the locks on my door tumble. In walked Ranger in his sexy Armani suit. He stood in the doorway eyebrow raised, "Did you change your mind about dinner Babe?"
"No not at all why?" I was still dumbfounded at how sexy he looked, not really listening to what he was saying as I tried to get a look at his ass.
Chuckling Ranger stepped into the kitchen and set a black box on the counter. "I knocked on the door twice but you didn't answer. I thought maybe you decided to bail."
Mental head slap! "Oh I'm sorry Ranger! You never knock, I thought it was someone else and I figured if I was quiet they would just go away." I was staring at the rectangular box on the counter curious as to what it held.
When I met Rangers eyes they were the color of molten chocolate and I could feel him stripping me. It made me flush and warmed me in places that needed to stay cool until at least dinner was over. "Open it" he nodded towards the box.
I smiled and lifted the lid, inside the box said Tiffany and Co., I gasped "Ranger… I can't accept this."
"Yes you can Quierda." He lifted the orchid pendant necklace from the box and stood behind me. I raised my hair so he could clasp it together. "Do you know the meaning behind an orchid?" I shook my head, fingering the smooth pendant. "It symbolizes love, luxury, beauty, and strength. All characteristics that make me think of you."
"Wow." I was speechless. "It's so beautiful. I love it. Thank you." I wasn't sure all those characteristics really summarized me, but who was I to argue with Batman.
"You ready to go hermosa?" Most of the time when Ranger spoke Spanish it was yelling at one of his men, there was something rich in it when it used it with me. It made me feel special. In fact, Ranger always made me feel special.
Nodding I grabbed my clutch and followed him down to the car.
We were quiet on the way to the restaurant and I found peace just being in Rangers presence. Most of the emotional damage had been healed when I made positive changes in my life but I was finding that there was a part of me that still needed healing, and Ranger was helping me get there.
We pulled into a small parking lot and I glanced at the blue sign "Pambiche". The exterior was painted in yellows, reds, and oranges, with green lights wrapped around the windows. The interior was just as festive and I loved the murals on the walls, each depicting a different scene right out of Cuba.
Ranger was greeted with a hug by an older woman wearing a multi colored apron. "Carlos, so good to see you again."
"Tia Marie." He responded kissing her on the cheek. "This is Stephanie." The older lady grabbed my hands and kissed both of my cheeks.
"Well don't you just look lovely dear!" She glanced over at Ranger, still holding my hands "She must be a special one to get you out of the house."
"That she is Tia." I felt my cheeks warm.
"Take a seat; I'll be over in a minute to get your order."
Ranger took my hand and, of course, led us to the back of the restaurant where his back was to the wall. He pulled me down next to him and rested his arm across my chair, fingers tickling my neck. I shivered at his touch and he chuckled, leaning over to whisper in my ear, "I'm going to make you shiver a lot more later tonight babe."
I held in a groan at his words. God how I wanted Rangers hand on me, making me writher beneath him. Maybe he was right when he said I just needed to relax. If anyone could help me overcome my… issue, it was Ranger.
His lips grazed my neck as his hand brushed over my thigh, instantly ruining my panties. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight Quierda?"
Not trusting my voice I shook my head, his hand drawing small circles up my leg, closer to my sweet spot. He pulled away as his aunt approaching the table with a bottle of red wine. "On the house dear." She poured two glasses and set the bottle on the table. "Do you know what you would like?"
Oh crap, we hadn't even looked at a menu yet. "Can I order for you Steph? I promise no twigs or barks."
"Sure." It was mesmerizing to hear Ranger order in Spanish. I had no idea what he was getting for us but the way he said it made it all sound delicious.
He smiled over at me once his aunt walked away and there was almost a mischievous grin in his eye. "What?" I skeptically asked.
Laughing he said, "I have some Rangeman news that I haven't shared with anyone yet, not even Tank." It was fun to see him excited like this and I felt butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of his news. "I'm going to expand the Trenton office. We've had so much new business I need more room. I'd like your opinion but I'm thinking of leaving the Hayward office as a control center only. I'd leave the apartments, gym, and shooting range, of course, but the 4th floor conference rooms would be turned into more office space so we can add more monitors and surveillance."
"That sounds great. What would the new office be?"
"A place for current and prospective customers to go. I'd move the management offices there, have conference rooms, and set up a mock monitoring station so we can show them what we offer instead of just telling them about it." That was always what clients wanted to know, how exactly we would be providing their security. It was perfect and I knew Ranger's business would continue to grow by making this change.
"Where would your office be?" It was childish of me but I didn't want to work in a different building than him.
"Lester will be taking over as manager of operations at Hayward and he'll take my office. I'll move into the new building so I can have direct contact with the clients." He paused, "I'd like for you to move to the new office as well. Actually, I'd like for you to move up in the company and oversee all client accounts. From the first meeting, to the contract signing, follow up after installation, and check in with them every couple of months to make sure things are still going well."
He wanted me to take over all client accounts? What if I screwed it up? I didn't want to let Ranger down but I didn't know where I would find time to add those new tasks into my day. Thankfully Marie brought out our dinner giving me an opportunity to think over Rangers offer. There were dozens of plates; all of them smelled mouth watering. Ranger took a fork and fed me bites off each plate, explaining what each was.
It was like an orgasm in my mouth.
RPOV
The noises Stephanie was making had me uncomfortably adjusting my pants. Damn that woman knew how to drive a man wild.
We had eaten most everything off the plates, both leaning back in our chairs letting the food settle. "Oh my god. That was the most amazing dinner I've ever had." Stephanie moaned.
I saw my aunt headed our way with a dessert menu and smiled knowing Steph would find room somehow. "You look like a woman who enjoys dessert after a meal like that." Her eyes were wide and she glanced at me, probably checking to see if I would oppose.
"If you order something I'll order something." I said surprising her. She reached for the menu and quickly scanned the list. Her eyes lit up at all the possibilities so I decided to get another variety, "Can we get some bunelos, pastelitos, and tortiicas de moron?"
"Be right back."
"You're spoiling me Ranger." She said grinning at me. I shrugged. Of course I was spoiling her; and I'd keep spoiling her if it meant she would spend more time with me too.
We quickly had three plates of desserts on the table and I again fed little bites to Steph starting with the torticas de moron. "These were my favorite cookies as a kid." I said as she bit into it. They were much like sugar cookies but with a hint of lime.
"So good" she mumbled around the cookie. Next came the bunelos, a light pastry deep fried with a rich chocolate sauce to dip them in. Stephanie closed her eyes and I zeroed in on her lips, a little chocolate on the corner of her mouth. I couldn't help myself; I leaned forward and licked the sweet liquid from her lips.
My hand was resting on her thigh and I drew circles on the inside, knowing it was driving her crazy. I was bound and determined to make this woman cum tonight so foreplay was going to have to start early. Her blue eyes darkened and I knew she was fighting off a moan. "Do you want more babe?" There was a double meaning behind my words and she knew it.
She slid down in her seat causing my hand to ride up under her dress and brush across her satin panties. "I don't think I can eat anymore." She whispered, closing the distance between our lips. I slid my tongue into her mouth tasting the sweet pastries, while my fingers played along her slit over her panties.
I knew no one would come back to our table, that's why I picked the place my family owned. Never had I brought a date here but when I called for reservations I made it clear we would need our privacy. Stephanie moaned into my mouth and my cock painfully twitched in my pants.
I applied pressure to her sweet spot, feeling her wetness seep through the thin garment she considered underwear. "Let's get out of here babe." I whispered in her ear, nipping at her lobe.
"Okay" She was breathless and her skin was starting to take on a beautiful pink sheen. Not parting my eyes from hers I threw a few hundred dollars onto the table and grabbed her hand, pulling her out to the car.
Steph was silent in the car, and I could feel her anxiety coming in waves. Great, she was nice and relaxed in the restaurant and now she's going to talk herself out of this. I decided to continue where we left off at the restaurant and placed my hand on her inner thigh, making sure my pinkie finger was rubbing against her panties. She stiffened and I immediately stilled my hand, "What wrong babe?"
She shook her head and looked out the window. Was I pushing things too fast? At the office she didn't seem hesitant when it came to intimate contact. Hell, she initiated the blow job. My dick twitched at the memory but I mentally ignored it trying to figure out how to help her past all this.
I had been paying more attention to Stephanie and not the speed and cursed when I saw familiar red and blue lights behind me. "Shit."
Once I pulled to the side of the road Stephanie growled at the sight of Morelli exiting his vehicle.
"Step out of the car Manoso," he ordered. Fucker. I opened my door, leaving my hands where he could see them and got out of my car.
He knew I carried concealed, but I had a permit for it so there wasn't anything he could do. I wasn't sure about Stephanie, but right now I was hoping she kept it in her cookie jar still.
"Put your hands on the hood and spread your legs." No way in hell.
Not moving I asked, "Why did you pull me over?" I knew I was speeding but if that was the only reason he had, then he needed to give me a ticket and let me go on my way.
"I told you to put your hands on the car!" He started to raise his gun at me when the passenger door opened and Stephanie came out, in complete Rhino mode. Glad to see that hasn't changed either.
"What the hell are you doing Joe?" She stormed around the car finger pointed at him, smoke coming out of her ears.
"You need to get back in the car." He ordered, still focused on me.
She continued to walk over to us and stepped between me and gun. Stephanie was one of the only women I had ever met that would go out of her way to try and protect someone like me. Hell, I had men that would have followed Joe's orders rather than defend me.
"Stephanie get back in the car god damnit." Joe growled at her.
"You tell me why you pulled us over or I won't hesitate to call your captain and report you for harassment, again."
His gun lowered and he glared in our direction, "You promised you wouldn't do that." Interesting choice of words, apparently I don't know the whole story about their break up. It doesn't surprise me that Joe would be harassing Steph though, it's what his kind does.
She took a step forward and I could only imagine the piercing glare she was giving him, "I promised if you left me alone I wouldn't press charges for harassment. But I've had 2 encounters with you in the last 2 days now and that seems suspiciously close to harassment to me."
It was good to see her standing up for herself. Stephanie never had a problem telling Joe how she felt, good or bad, but in the end he usually was able to push her into relenting.
Joe holstered his gun and pointed at me, "I'm going to make sure everyone is watching for you Manoso. The only reason I let you get away with so much shit was because of Stephanie. But as you can see, she's not in my life anymore so I could give a shit what happens to you now." He turned to walk away and I placed my hand on Steph's back, leading her over to the passenger side of the car.
Joe was pulling back onto the road as I slid into the driver's seat. He stopped next to us and motioned for me to roll down the window. I did, curious as to what the asshole had to say now.
I should have known better by the sick smile on his face, "Man to man, you might want to find another woman to take to bed. That one has problems. Unless of course you've convinced her to fake it for you." He shrugged and drove away before I could shoot him. And I would have shot him.
It was scary how quickly his words sent me into assassin mode. My vision narrowed and my fingers were twitching for my gun. Most people's heart rate increases, but not mine. It was critically slow and if Stephanie hadn't been in the car I might have followed him and given in to my dangerous side.
SPOV
My heart was racing and I was gasping for air. I couldn't believe he stopped to warn Ranger about my problem. Although Ranger knew, it was embarrassing and I felt defiled somehow. He had taken something so personal, something he knew I was struggling with, and used it to hurt me.
Ranger's posture changed and for the first time ever, I was scared to be this close to him. I reached for the door, needing to get out of the confined space, and seeking air. As soon as I stood up black dots danced in my vision and I had to reach out for the car for support. Yeah, I was having a full on panic attack.
It had been months since I felt this way, the last time being when I moved home and Joe would let himself into my apartment, checking to see if I was ready to grow up and take responsibility for what happened.
The last straw was the night he almost forced himself on me.
I had been home for 2 weeks, working for Rangeman for just over 2 months. Tank knew Joe was giving me trouble but I declined any help, needing to work through it on my own. Every night I would get home and Joe would either be waiting for me inside, or had left me messages saying he would be over later.
At first I thought it would be as simple as changing the locks. That kept him out for a night, but he had resources through his job that somehow allowed him to access another key, and he started showing up whenever he wanted again.
After the 10th break-in, and his refusal to leave unless I would have sex with him or admit the baby dying was my entire fault, I placed a call into the station and reported him for harassment. His captain, and a family friend of ours, assured me it would not happen again and if it did I could put a restraining order on him.
I knew Joe was just upset over losing the baby, and probably over losing me, so I didn't want him to lose his job too. He left me alone for 3 nights and I had started to feel safe at home again. But on the 4th night, exactly 2 weeks since moving back in, he was drunk and showed up at 2 in the morning.
I was frightened at first, being jerked out of sleep by him falling on top of me. "Cupcake, I miss you so much." He was placing kisses along my jaw and neck and I tried to push him off of me, but it was no use. "Why don't you love me anymore?" He jerked the covers down and I froze.
"Joe, let me up, I can't breathe." I knew he was drunk, I could smell the whiskey on his breath, and inside I was panicking. Other than emotional damage, Joe had never hurt me, but he seemed different this time.
Ignoring me he continued to kiss his way down my chest and I felt tears in my eyes, not knowing how to stop him. I still kept my gun in the cookie jar so that wasn't an option, but I had my phone on the night stand. He wasn't concentrating on me, only on my body, so I easily reached it and pushed speed dial 2, for Tank.
My movement got his attention and when he saw the phone in my hand he was pissed. "Who are you calling?"
"I want you to leave." My voice shook a little but it was steady enough that he knew I was serious.
"I don't care that you can't finish Stephanie! I'm your boyfriend; there are things a woman is supposed to do to please her man. Fake it if you have to." He grabbed the phone and threw it across the room. Boyfriend? Was he that drunk he forgot we had broken up months ago? I knew it was a mistake to sleep with him couple nights ago, I knew he would assume we were getting back together.
Thankfully he had pushed himself up enough that I could move and I pushed him back further, making him stumble off the bed. "We are not together Joe! If you don't leave right now I'm calling the police station and your job is done. You know it." I rolled off the bed, on the opposite side he had fallen and headed to the kitchen, praying I could reach the phone before he reached me. I knew my cell was broken by the pieces lying on the ground.
He grabbed my arm and jerked me into the wall, "You wouldn't."
"If you don't leave me alone I will." I couldn't fight the tears anymore. They weren't tears of fear or sadness, I was angry and the anger was bubbling up inside me and spilling over. "I want you out of my apartment and out of my life!" I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and pushed with everything I had enforcing my words. At the same time my front door opened and in walked Zero and Binkie.
"Is there are problem here?" They asked, taking in the scene. I mentally thanked Tank, knowing he had answered and called in someone to check on me.
I stared at Joe, silently asking him if there was going to be a problem. He narrowed his eyes at me, "I bet you fake it for them don't you?" He took a step forward, coming closer to me, "Or maybe you don't have to fake it at all. Maybe you don't really have a problem Steph, is it just that you like it with criminals now?"
Each man grabbed one of Joe's arms and pulled him away from me. Binkie was deadly with his words, "The lady has asked you to leave; now I suggest you do so on your own accord or I will personally make you wish you had."
Joe turned his glare to the man, "Are you threatening a cop?"
"Absolutely." We all stared in silence for a few minutes before Joe tried, unsuccessfully to yank his arms from their grasp.
"Let me go. I don't want this whore anymore anyway." Neither of them let go and there was an unspoken agreement that I didn't want to know about.
"We'll take it from here Steph. Have a good night." Zero nodded to me and they dragged Joe out of my apartment.
I don't know what they said or did to him that night, and I truly don't care. Whatever it was Joe never bothered me again, that is until Ranger came back home. At some point during my flashback Ranger had exited the car and was now holding me, rubbing my back.
I pushed away from him, "I'm sorry" I wiped at my tears, "I'm fine. Can you just take me home please?"
He studied my face for a few seconds before nodding and helping me into the car.
Once back at my apartment I thanked him for dinner, "Dinner was great Ranger. I had so much fun trying all the new food. Thank you for taking me there." I knew I was speaking fast, but all I wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep away the pain. "I'm sorry about Joe. We didn't part on great terms and he's clearly still upset with me about the baby."
"Steph…" I put my hand up. Whatever he was about to say, I didn't want to hear it.
"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow at work." Plastering a fake smile on, I exited the car and headed towards my building. I could feel him watching me and waved when I opened the door, feeling a little sad that he wasn't following.
As much as I wanted to be alone tonight to cry, I also wanted Ranger to hold me. No… that's the old Stephanie. You don't need Ranger to save you from yourself. I reminded myself as I took the stairs up to the second floor. Just go to sleep and forget tonight happened.
Tomorrow everything will be fine.