AN: I don't own them, I'm just playing. Enjoy the chapter, and please please review! :-D

Chapter 18

Revealing Dinners

The night of the dinner was here. Stephanie and Ranger had arrived earlier and were shown their seats. Ranger had decided it was a bad idea to come. First, there was the fact that his wife was wearing a delicious sexy little number. Second, was also the fact that she had informed him what she was not wearing beneath it. Focus soldier! He ordered himself for the umpteenth time. Unfortunately a different soldier in him kept having a different say.

Stephanie smiled, knowing exactly what he was going through. It had always been a delicious form of foreplay for them when they had done things like this when they were younger. There was a comfort in knowing that something like this still worked.

…

Christopher and Richard walked into the large dining room together. Richard couldn't believe he was stuck coming to this dinner with his brother. He had no reason to be here, but Christopher had set out a persona for his little brother and was determined to make him play the game the way he wanted. Richard didn't know how Chris figured out something was going on between him and Cami, but he had definitely used it against him tonight to make him come with him. The implication that he would hurt her if Richard didn't behave and attend the dinner.

So here he was, walking next to his brother, pretending to be the playboy Chris made him out to be. He could get through the night, he was sure of it. Perhaps if he thought about Cami… no, he decided when he felt his body responding, thinking about Cami was definitely not going to be a good idea.

Richard had discovered she had quite an appetite when it came to sex. Once the initial soreness wore off, she was insatiable. She seemed to have more energy than he thought. Most women who had sex with him could only take one, maybe two, rounds with him. Cami could keep up with him for multiple rounds. Of course the fact that she found a Kama Sutra book hidden away in Christopher's library only added to the rounds. Her curiosity left them both breathless and well sated.

When she had seen him dressed in his tux for the evening she looked like she was going to rip it right off him. She was frustrated that Chris wouldn't let her come. All he had said to either of them was that it was not in his interest to have her there.

Richard glowered at his back as they found their table. There was a couple already there. Richard nearly did a double take when he recognized the features of his lover sitting in the two people he and Chris were seated with.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manoso." Chris grinned as Ranger shook his hand. "Good to see you again. This is my brother Richard."

"Hello, Richard." Stephanie smiled as he took her hand.

"Ma'am." The devil inside Richard was dancing so hard he thought he'd physically burst into dance. Chris was unaware of the fact that his brother knew exactly who Cami's parents were.

Another couple joined them. Richard was familiar with them. Eric Travers and his daughter Leona were sitting with them. Travers's wife was unable to attend due to an illness, but Leona had readily agreed to accompany her father. Travers was a known womanizer, and Leona was usually sent to keep an eye on him when her mother couldn't attend functions. Tonight though, she had been told Richard would be attending, and just like several other young women here, she was eyeing him like a prized cow.

"Richard, what do you do?" Stephanie asked kindly.

"Cause trouble." He replied without thinking. He was eyeing the exits, trying to come up with a strategy.

Chris laughed and clapped him on the back. "That he does. I can barely keep track of him. I have better luck finding the women he's been with than I do him. But when you're that young, what can you do?"

Richard grinned, playing along. "It's too bad you can't keep up, brother."

Stephanie laughed. "Someday you could find yourself slowing down."

"I hope so." Chris confided. "I want him to learn the family business. It's good to keep it in the family, don't you agree, Rick?"

"With you? Not to save my life."

The hand on his shoulder tensed. "Well, you never know whose life it could save some day."

The subtle threat was not missed. Stephanie's spidey sense was going off. Something was off with the brothers sitting in front of her and Ranger. She could see the hardening of Richard's eyes as he locked eyes with Chris for a moment. She squeezed Ranger's hand beneath the table. He picked up on it also.

"Richard," Leona purred, "Will you save me a dance tonight?"

"Of course he will." Chris said for him. "He's never been able to resist you."

For a millisecond Ranger thought Richard looked ready to kill his brother. The mask was back in place quickly, but the knuckles on his hand holding a wine glass were white with rage he was trying to conceal. He was good, Ranger decided. He was going to keep an eye on Richard.

Thankfully, meals started arriving, enabling Richard to focus on something other than conversation. He knew he had Ranger and Stephanie's attention, but he had to get them a message somehow. He also had to find a way to keep Leona's hand off him. He kept trying to knock it away from his thigh, but she was beyond persistent.

When the recognition ceremony started, Richard was still concocting plans. He knew what he could do tonight was risky, but he could see the tightness to Ranger and Stephanie's actions. Most people didn't catch it, but considering he'd spent the better part of his life trying to fight Chris, he'd learned to observe people's habits. They were tired and tense. No doubt from trying to find their daughter. He had to get them some sort of reassurance, no matter the cost to him.

Dancing started shortly after the awards were handed out. Leona grabbed his hand before the music even started to play and was dragging him out to the dance floor. Most of the young women here would claim his time. It would fit right into what Chris wanted. Make people think he was the irresponsible playboy brother while he was the successful older one who took his orphaned brother under his wing.

He spent the next hour allowing his time to be monopolized by women his age or slightly older as he struggled to find a way to talk to the Manosos. Plus it kept him away from Chris. That was a blessing itself. While he danced, he noticed the show Stephanie and Range put on. He could see exactly where Cami got her 'chameleon' from. Neither of them were letting on that there was anything amiss. They had laughed at dinner, praised their children's accomplishments, and listened to others tell stories of their own children.

Finally, he made his way back to the table. He sat down and grabbed a glass of wine. Fuck, he hated this. Stephanie and Ranger were sitting at the table talking quietly. Chris was nowhere to be seen. Leona had come to sit down as well. She gave him a pouty look that he ignored.

"You're a wonderful dance, Richard." Stephanie smiled at him. She had watched him dance trying to figure him out.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said politely.

"Richard, tell me, do you still salsa?" Leona asked. "You're the best salsa dancer I know."

"There's only one woman I'll salsa with." It slipped out before he could stop himself. Then it hit him. If he could slip hints through casual conversation then maybe they'd pick up on it.

"Really? Anyone I know?" Leona batted her eyelashes at him.

"No, probably not."

"Does she salsa as well as I do?" She asked.

"Better." He grinned slightly. "Her father is Cuban and her mother Italian-Hungarian. She can dance anyone here under the rug." He kept his focus on Leona, but could feel their eyes on him. Please, he prayed, let it have worked.

"Is she pretty?"

"Gorgeous. Has blue eyes that look like the ocean." Leona was helping his plan perfectly, he decided. Women were nosy as hell when it came to competition. Normally it irked him, but in this case it was a godsend. Leona was also known for getting jealous of other girls who caught his attention. He'd slept with her once, which wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but after that Christopher shoved him at her at every function he was forced to come to.

And right now he knew her jealousy was rising. "Well," She huffed, "She can't have anything I don't have."

"Don't worry, she does." Richard grinned, "She's got a fiery temper. Piss her off well enough she'll rip you a new one in Spanish." For added measure, so he could be sure they knew he was talking about Cami he continued, "And the beauty of it is that she'll never let you see what she doesn't want. She can show you exactly what she wants you to see. She's a chameleon that way."

"She doesn't sound very interesting." Leona tried to dismiss her, but Richard picked up his glass of wine and took a good long sip before saying, "She's amazing."

Leona knew then and there whoever this mystery woman was she had Richard hook, line and sinker. There was no getting back into his bed after this. It grated on her. She was sure she could have gotten him to propose. After all if he was going to run Christopher's business someday then he should have a wife who would take care of his needs and make sure they were the perfect trophy wife.

Plus, he was good in bed. He gave her the best orgasms of her life. She wondered briefly if this was just a test for her. If perhaps he was describing her, but disregarded it. Her parents were both Hispanic.

Her father came to collect her. She smiled at him, then passed on a farewell to everyone at the table.

Richard didn't get a chance to look at the Manoso's. Christopher came up to him. "Rick, I have some business to deal with. I'll be a bit. Think you can entertain yourself for a bit without causing trouble." Richard met his eyes. They told him if he did cause trouble then he would definitely be paying for it later. If not him, then Cami would. He wouldn't let that happen. He nodded and as Christopher left a bouncy little blonde who giggled way too much came up and pulled him up to dance.

He kept trying to get the Manosos' attention but their backs were usually turned to him. Fuck. He had prayed that this would work. If it didn't he didn't know what else to do to help Cami. The fact that Christopher was arrogant enough to believe that he wouldn't have any idea who Cami's parents were was laughable. He'd found out the night he met her after she was done reaming him a new one.

And when they weren't occupied with loving each other, she told him stories about her childhood. She had described her parents perfectly which he was extremely grateful for. It had helped him when he saw them. The stories he'd heard of Ranger when he'd been in gangs never took the time to give details on his looks, but Cami…she positively lit up talking about her parents.

When a salsa came on, he excused himself and opened a glass door leading out to a secluded balcony. The cool air did wonders to ease the tension away from him. He braced his hands on the stone guardrail and hung his head. "Fuck."

He had promised Cami he would get her back to her family no matter what it took. But short of holding up a sign that said, "Here's my brother the kidnapper, he's got your daughter," he didn't know what else to do. Christopher was enjoying his control over both him and Cami way too much right now.

Angrily he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top couple buttons of the shirt. The damn thing was suffocating him. His hand clenched tightly around the rail as he desperately tried to figure out what else he could do.

"Care to tell us where you have our daughter?"

He whirled around. The exhaustion and tension were gone from them. It had been replaced with fury. He let out a sigh. "Thank God. I was wondering what I'd have to do to get your attention."