All familiar characters and phrases belong to Janet. The mistakes are mine. Warnings for some smut.

Chapter 4

The next two hours passed in a blur of discarded clothes before I finally made a decision. I checked out the time and still had an hour before Ranger would be back, so I decided to take a shower and get dressed early for the job. I smiled thinking about how I hoped Ranger responded to what I'd be wearing. After all, he's always creating havoc with my hormones, it would be nice to get some payback.

I wrapped myself in a towel when I stepped out, and starting on my hair. I used a hair dryer and a round brush to create big loose curls, then changed into a red top made from slinky, slightly sheer fabric with a deep cowl neck in front and an almost non-existent back, paired with black low rise pencil jeans. I was trying to make up my mind between the jeans and a little black skirt, but the jeans won out. I didn't want to think about something going wrong and having the skirt end up over my head. I'd have a hard enough time running in heels, never mind worrying about my ass being on display, too. I finished off the look with a pair of black boots with five inch heels and a wrap around buckle on the side. As Lula would say, the boots were hot!

I checked myself out in Ranger's mirror and thought I did pretty good. Everything was covered, with the exception of my back. And I still looked respectable, if in a slightly slutty way. I couldn't wait to see Ranger's reaction.

I heard the apartment door open and keys hit in the tray by the door. Guess I don't have to wait to find out if he approves. With one last glance in the mirror, I went to meet Ranger.

When I stepped in the kitchen, Ranger had his back to me dropping some files and his Glock onto the counter.

"I brought up the file on Donald Rolson for you to look over," Ranger said, his back still to me.

I walked further into the room."Sure," I told him."I can read it while we eat."

Ranger turned towards me and went still. His eyes started at my sexy hair and slowly took in my body. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I swear the air in the room changed. This was better than I hoped for. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought about the effect Ranger's reaction would have on me. My legs felt a little unsteady, and my heart was pounding a little too hard to be considered normal. So much for revenge.

Ranger still hadn't said anything. And I went from feeling confident, to feeling uneasy. I cleared my throat and smoothed my hands down my jeans in a nervous gesture."Is this okay?" I asked him.

Ranger's eyes finally came back to my face, and I could see that they'd darkened considerably.

Okay, he likes the look, I said to myself, but that doesn't mean he'll want me to wear it out. And he hasn't even seen the back of it yet.

"Babe, you look beautiful," Ranger said."I just don't think I should let you go out anywhere in that."

I put my hands on my hips, and raised an eyebrow at him."Let me?"

Ranger smiled, and pulled me to him."Poor choice of words, Steph," Ranger said."Maybe we should put off the catching Rolson until tomorrow and we can stay in tonight."

I had noticed that the extra height from my boots put Ranger and I at almost the same height. And all our important parts were touching.

"That doesn't sound like a good business decision," I said to Ranger."And besides, what reason would you give the guys for not going after your FTA tonight?"

"If they saw you in this outfit, I wouldn't have to explain anything. They'd understand."

I pushed back from him and rolled my eyes."Men!"

Ranger laughed and reached for me again. I side-stepped him and turned towards the counter.

"Babe ..."

Oh yeah, my exposed back. Maybe there was a chance we wouldn't be leaving here tonight after all.

I didn't hear footsteps, but suddenly Ranger's hand settled on the back of my neck, while his other hand brushed the length of my spine.

"I'm going to have fun with this when we get back home tonight," Ranger whispered against my ear.

My body involuntarily shivered at the feel of his warm breath tickling my ear. Guess he was just kidding about staying home. I should have known. Ranger always had the upper hand. Whether it be in business, in dealing with people, or fighting overactive hormones.

To get my mind off my body and what Ranger could be doing to it, I grabbed the files he had dropped onto the counter and flipped one open."Is this our guy?" I asked Ranger.

"Yes," Ranger said."Donald Rolson. He's not as dangerous as some of the skips we go after, but he's definitely not a saint, either."

"What'd he do?"

"He was arrested for vehicular homicide," Ranger said."Claims it was an accident, but it's hard to accidentally run over someone three times."

"Jeez," I said. I'd probably be okay, though, as long as I didn't let him anywhere near a car, I thought.

"You're just getting him out of the building, Babe," Ranger said."And Vince and Bobby will be inside the bar with you the entire time."

I just nodded looking at Rolsons' picture. He wasn't a bad looking guy, but he didn't exactly look nice. He had hard little eyes, a nose that slightly crooked to one side, indicating that it'd been broken at least once. Probably with good reason. Slicked back brown hair. And a smarmy smile showing large veneered teeth. And now I get to flirt with him. Lucky me.

"There's still time to get someone else to do this," Ranger said to me.

The skank from earlier? Not going to happen. I blew out a sigh."I told you that I wanted the job. And I intend to keep it," I said. I wasn't giving him any reason to call the bimbo in. Okay, so I didn't know for sure that she was a bimbo, or a skank for that matter, but it made me feel better to refer to her as one. I can be very mature at times.

"That's what I thought you'd say," Ranger said. And I had a feeling he was aware of my skank and bimbo thoughts, too. Damn ESP."Steph, I don't want you to do this just because you think you have to. You've said that you still want to do the distraction jobs for us. And I'm not going to go behind your back and replace you. If you feel you need to sit this one out, no one is going to think less of you for doing it. Don't choose stubbornness over your health."

"I admit that I was a little pissed thinking that you were going to ask someone else to do my job." See, I didn't say 'skank' this time. Maybe I am maturing.

"I was only thinking about how your head was feeling," Ranger said, quietly."I should have thought more about how the rest of you would feel about me not asking you about the job before bringing in someone else to do it in case you couldn't."

"I forgive you," I said, leaning forward and kissing him lightly."We're still figuring this out, Ranger. But if we both agree to talk about things before reacting to them, I think we'll be okay."

"Like going to your parents' house?" Ranger said.

I cringed."Yeah, like that," I said. I messed up, but the difference was that this time I admitted it to myself as well as to Ranger."Now we're even. We can start with a clean slate."

"Whatever makes you happy, Babe."

I smiled."You make me happy," I told him.

"Until the day I die, Babe."

I was about to kiss him again but someone knocked on the door. Saved by the housekeeper.

Ranger went to the door, took the tray from Ella and came back into the kitchen. I helped dish up the food then settled myself next to Ranger at the bar and continued reading the file on Rolson.

We didn't talk much while we were eating except for me asking a question about the case and Ranger answering it.

"So how are we doing this?" I asked Ranger when we were finished dinner and I'd closed the file.

"He usually shows up at the bar around ten-thirty, stays for two hours, then leaves for round two at a different bar. We want to catch him before he gets drunk at bar number one. We could still pick him up if he does leave, but he'll be intoxicated and it will make for a much more difficult capture."

"So we should be leaving here at ten?" I asked.

"Yes," Ranger said."Bobby and Vince will be there before Rolson shows up. They'll call us when he enters the bar then you'll take over."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. It was only a little after seven. I had three hours before we had to leave."What do we do until it's time to leave?"

Ranger gave my outfit another full body scan."I know what I'd like to do," Ranger said, his mouth almost smiling,"but I have to head back downstairs."

I tried not to be disappointed at hearing that, but if we were to do what we both obviously wanted to do, it would have destroyed the hair I'd just spent an hour on. Of course, it would have been worth it ...

"Babe," Ranger said, his voice sounding husky.''You need to stop having those thoughts. I have stuff to do and you're making it difficult to leave."

"Hey," I said,"it's not my fault. I didn't ask you to read my should stop doing it if it's so distracting."

Ranger stood, and wrapped me in his arms."You are distracting. But in a very good way."

He kissed me, very thoroughly I might add, and grabbed his gun off the counter, sliding it into the waistband of his cargo pants before going back down to his office on five.

Ranger collected me at ten minutes to ten. He locked up the apartment and I could feel his eyes on me as I walked to the elevator.

"What?" I asked him.

"Just enjoying the view, Babe."

The doors opened and we stepped inside."It's not like you haven't seen it all before," I said to him.

He hit the button for the garage before pulling me close."True," Ranger said, his hand sliding over my ass."But what you're wearing tonight is showcasing your assets perfectly."

I rolled my eyes at him, but was smiling. I can't cook. I hate to exercise. I can't keep a car in one piece. And I'm not that great at my job. All of these things I can deal with as long as I know that once in a while, with a little effort, I can look really hot. And knowing that Ranger can't seem to keep his eyes, or hands, off of me also helps. That and the fact that Ranger thinks about every part of me more than any man I've ever been with. Whether it's my bruised head, my hurt feelings, or my tightly encased ass, Ranger was all over it.

"Your attention should be on catching your skip tonight," I told him,"not on my body."

"Babe," Ranger said against my ear,"my attention is always on your body one way or another."

Oh boy."I can see now why you didn't do relationships, if you lose all your focus over a pair of jeans," I said.

I could feel Ranger smile against me."Not just any pair of jeans ... yours."

My smile got bigger, but the elevator opened before I could show Ranger how happy I was to hear that. Imagine Ranger, the badass bounty hunter, driven to distraction by little ol' Stephanie Plum from the Burg. I know Ranger loves me, but it's still nice to hear that I affect him almost as much as he does me.

Ranger moved his hand from my butt to my waist and guided me to where Tank and Hal were standing by Ranger's car. Tank was studiously keeping his eyes on my face, not daring to move them below my chin. And Hal was making a visible effort to look anywhere but at me. I guess this would be one of the other reasons Ranger wouldn't want the woman he was about to marry working a distraction job. He didn't want to have to shoot any of his men for looking inappropriately at me. Not that I thought he would ... but it was Ranger, and you could never be sure what he was capable of.

"Bobby just called," Tank said to Ranger."He and Vince are already settled at a table. No sign of Rolson yet."

Ranger looked at his watch."Still early," he said, looking back at Tank."Call me when he gets there. I don't want Steph to be inside the bar any longer than necessary."

I wasn't about to argue, since I didn't want to be in there any longer than necessary, either.

Tank gave us a nod then he and Hal climbed into a Rangeman SUV, and took off ahead of us.

Ranger opened the passenger door for me before angling behind the wheel of the Turbo. He plugged the key into the ignition and drove out of the garage.

Ranger was in his usual zone while driving, so to say the short drive was quiet would have been an understatement. But the interesting part was that he had my hand tucked securely in his, resting them both on his thigh while driving, only letting go long enough to change gears when needed. And he was absently brushing his thumb back and forth over my fingers. I never knew fingers could be an erogenous zone. Then again, Ranger could make any part of your body an erogenous zone. Ranger had always been hands on when dealing with me, even when I was with Morelli, but this was different. He was holding my hand just because he wanted the contact, not because he wanted to get me into bed. Well ... he still wanted me in his bed, but it's no longer the motive for touching me. In the beginning it took some getting used to, but I'm starting to notice the differences in our working, and personal, relationship. And needless to say, I'm really starting to like the change in it.

Ranger pulled to the curb in front of an old brick factory building three doors down from the bar. His phone rang and Ranger listened just long enough to hear that Rolson was inside the building. Ranger let go of my hand, leaned forward, and kissed me.

"Go get him, Babe," he said when he pulled back.

I smiled at him, feeling brave for the first time today."I guess I have to take this off now," I said to Ranger, holding up my left hand. An engagement ring wouldn't help me pick up a guy in a bar. I slid my ring off and handed it to Ranger "Keep this safe for me. I want it back on my finger when this guy's in cuffs."

"We'll both be waiting for you," Ranger said, and slipped the ring into one of the pockets of his cargo pants.

I left Ranger and started walking towards the bar. I spotted Lester standing against a shot out street light. I gave him a small nod as I passed.

The bar itself was a grungy little brick building with painted out windows, and cigarette smoke oozing out of the door when it was opened. The message was clear. If you cared at all about your health, you would keep on walking. Not reassuring. I couldn't just keep walking since I told Ranger I was doing this, but I was going to try real hard not to breathe at all while I was in there.

I noticed Cal standing by one of the cars in front of the bar. I was effectively sandwiched between Rangemen. Not counting Ranger, Tank, and Hal who were out here somewhere keeping an eye on me.

The front door of the bar was pushed open and I had no excuse to not go in. The guy held the door for me, gave my body an appreciative glance before walking away. Yep, I thought, I've still got it.

I walked into the bar and took a minute to let my eyes adjust. There wasn't much adjusting time needed, though. Between the low-watt lighting, and the cigarette smoke haze, the inside wasn't a whole lot brighter than the outside was since the majority of the street lights were out.

I scanned the room looking for Ranger's skip. I didn't see Rolson, or much of anything else. The bar was pretty well deserted, so I sat down and ordered a beer from the bartender who came up to me. I wanted to order something stronger, but I didn't want to mix booze with the four aspirin I'd choked down while I was getting ready. I was usually at a disadvantage when it came to catching skips and having the lingering effects of getting pistol-whipped definitely wasn't going to help. While barely sipping my beer, I turned on the stool so my back was to the bar and I could look over the room for Rolson without being too obvious. I spotted him three tables back, two away from where Bobby and Vince were sitting trying to look inconspicuous. If they were in any other place that could have been a problem. But here, with the barely there lights and dangerous vibe of the place, they fit right in.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts I finally made eye contact with Donald. I tried out my best flirty smile, hoping it didn't come off looking like a grimace instead. It must have worked because Rolson smiled back and wasted no time ditching the guy he was with to cross the room to me.

Ugh! Here we go, I thought. Ignore all wanting to gag feelings and just get the job done. He came up on my right, standing way too close, smelling like he'd hit the sauce longer than he'd hit the shower. I plastered a smile on my face, and turned to him.

"Hi," I said. I know, it wasn't the most interesting conversation starter, but I was still trying not to breathe if I could help it.

"Hi," he said back."I couldn't help but notice that you're not here with anyone. No one as beautiful as you are should be alone. Can I buy you a drink?"

That might have sounded sweet if we weren't in a bar. And he wasn't who he was. I tried to look interested while not looking directly at his fake smile. I was afraid it was something like an eclipse; that if you look at directly at it, it'll burn your retinas.

I nodded at my still full beer, getting back to the task at hand."I've got one," I said to Rolson."But thanks for asking."

"Since I can't buy you a drink, will you at least allow me the pleasure of keeping you company?"

My first thought was ick. My second thought was this job might go better than I hoped.

"I'd like that," I said to him."But what about your friend?" I asked, looking back to the table he'd left. His friend smiled and then winked at Rolson. Ulk!

Rolson turned back to me."He'll be fine. So what's your name?" He asked me.

I had to make up my mind on whether to give my real name, or risk getting caught in a lie by not answering to a made up one. I decided to use my first name, but not giving him a last one.

"Stephanie."

He took my hand in his, holding it tighter than I would have liked."Donald."

"Nice to meet you," I said. Might as well get the small talk out of the way."So, Donald, what do you do?"

"Oh ... a little bit of this, and a little bit of that."

That was helpful.

"How 'bout you?" He asked me.

"I'm a lingerie buyer," I told him. It wasn't a complete lie. I was a buyer a long time ago. Plus I've found this answer works on most of the skips I try to get out of bars. It seems the common denominator was that all men liked hearing about womens' underwear.

Right on cue Donald's eyes lit up and he leaned in close to me."You buy sexy underwear for a living?"

Yep, works like a charm."Umm-hmm."

Now that I had his undivided attention, I just had to figure out how to get him and me out the door. Then I'd be free to go back to Ranger's apartment and take a long hot shower. I was pretty sure whatever dirty thoughts he was thinking right then were going to rub off onto me if I didn't hurry.

"What kinds of stuff did you buy today?"

"You know the usual stuff, thongs, lacy bras ... garter belts."

I was presented with a full view of all Rolsons' teeth when he gave me a blinding smile.

This was almost too easy, I thought to myself. Now onto getting him outside. I had two choices. Make a fool of myself and ask if he wanted to dance on what the bar laughingly considered a dance floor, then ask him to walk me to my car. Or check out the dart game at the back of the bar, then ask him for a ride home. I chose option number one, just because I didn't want to go any further into the bar than I already was. And I didn't want to attract too much attention from anyone else. Not that I looked like a supermodel or anything, but a drunk crowd mixed with skimpy clothes was never a good idea.

I gave Rolson a small smile."Would you like to dance?" I asked. Just in case he decided to say no I added a little guilt."It feels like forever since I'd been out. I'd been with my boyfriend for five years. He never wanted to go out and do anything, and I wasn't ready to settle down, so I finally dumped him. Now I have a lot of things to make up for."

"He must be stupid to not want to show off a woman like you."

"That's what I said! Except, I may have called him something besides stupid."

"He deserved it."

"Thank you for that," I said, looking towards the dirty little floor."I don't want to talk about him tonight. I've wasted to much time on him already."

"How about that dance then?" Rolson asked, as he stood.

Maybe he wasn't so sleazy, I thought, as I slid off the barstool. I mean, he's been pretty good so far.

My opinion of him changed as I felt his arm go around me, and his hand settle on my lower back. I was seriously rethinking my choice of tops. It seem like a good option at the time, but with any other shirt in my closet I would have had at least some material between my bare back and this creep's sweaty hand. And if that wasn't bad enough, the hand was starting to move lower. Shit! Now what do I do? I wasn't about to get felt up by a creepy, possibly drunk FTA, but I didn't want to create a scene, either.

I went with my standard move for getting me out of these types of situations ... I faked a stumble. When he tried to help right me, my elbow accidentally; okay, I did it on purpose, came into direct contact with his face.

"Oh, no," I said, with a lot of fake concern."Did I hit you? I'm so sorry." Not! And now I had a perfect excuse for going outside with him, and not having to worry about his wandering hands.

"I'm okay," Rolson said, trying to stem the flow of blood coming from his nose.

"But you're bleeding," I said."My car is parked right out front. Let me take you to the emergency room, since this was all my fault." Sometimes I was so good I scared myself. I'd added a slight tremor to my voice and hoped he didn't pick up on how desperate I was to get him outside. He must not have noticed, because walked slowly behind me to the front of the bar.

The second Rolsons' ass cleared the doorway, we were flanked by Rangemen. Ranger, Tank, and Lester, all stared at Rolson for a beat. Then looked over at me. Donald was bent slightly over with blood dripping continuously from his nose.

"Shit," Lester said, taking Rolson from me and cuffing him.

"Babe," Ranger said, raising an eyebrow at me."What happened?"

"He grabbed my ass," I said to Ranger, not feeling all that bad about it,"so I kind of broke his nose."

"Used to be you'd just knee the guy in the balls," Ranger said.

"Those were the good ol' days," I told him.

"He do anything else?" Ranger asked. His expression not giving anything away.

"Nope. I told you that I can handle myself in these kinds of situations."

"That may be true," Ranger said."But I'll feel better after I deal with Mr. Rolson myself."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Tank and Lester were standing with Donald, not far from us.

"Hey Boss," Lester said, clearly wanting in on any action."You want us to break something else? A hand? A couple fingers?"

I shot a look at Lester, but he wasn't intimidated at all, the jerk. Rolson was silent next to them, glaring at me. Obviously not liking the fact that I had tricked him, but he was smart enough not to say what he was thinking out loud. He may have had a little to drink, but he didn't have a death wish.

"Steph," Ranger said to me."Why don't you wait for me in the Turbo."

I narrowed my eyes at him."Why?"

Ranger did the eyebrow thing again. I blew out a sigh."Fine."

I was about ten feet away from them when I heard a crunch, and a groan of pain. I was pretty sure it didn't come from one of Ranger's men. I guess I should feel bad, but I wasn't exactly a fan of having my ass grabbed by a complete stranger. If Ranger was doing the grabbing, that would have been a completely different story. One I definitely wouldn't have had any problem with.

I slid into the passenger seat of the Turbo, and watched as Vince and Bobby joined Ranger. Bobby was talking, gesturing a lot with his arm, and I was pretty sure it had something to do with me and Rolsons' nose.

When Bobby was done, Ranger headed for me and the Turbo, while Tank and Lester led Rolson to a waiting SUV. Vince and Bobby disappeared into the darkness where I assumed their vehicle was parked. Good. I'm glad that my part in this job was over and I didn't have to go to the station with them.

Ranger angled behind the wheel and took my ring out of his pocket."This needs to be back where it belongs," Ranger said. What was weird was that I haven't had the ring all that long, but my finger now felt funny without it. Ranger slid the ring back onto my finger before turning the key in the ignition. He pulled away from the curb, and headed back to Rangeman.

"Did you have to do that?" I asked him.

He looked over at me."Do what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I said."I already broke his nose, for crying out loud. You didn't have to break anything else."

"Yes," Ranger said, quietly."I did."

I knew that voice. That was the voice he used when he wanted to make a skip wet himself.

"All he did was grab my ass, it's not like he attacked me or anything."

"Babe, it's simple," Ranger said."There are certain rules where I come from. When someone puts their hands on something that belongs to you ... you break their hands."

That seemed a little harsh, but also oddly sweet.

"Are you saying that I belong to you?"

Ranger picked up my hand, and kissed my knuckles."In every way," he said, resting my hand on his thigh.

I thought about this for a minute."That goes both ways, right?" I asked him."I mean, if some tramp tries anything with you, I get to claw her eyes out?"

Ranger looked like he was thinking about smiling."You can break her hand and claw her eyes out, if that will make you happy."

"Good," I said, settling back down."But just remember that your hands aren't safe from the breaking, either."

Ranger stopped at a stop sign, and locked eyes with me."I'm not worried, Babe, because the only place I want my hands are on you."

I really liked the sound of that.

Eight minutes later, he pulled into the Rangeman garage. Bobby, and Vince were already there. No sign of Lester and Tank. Probably it'll be a late night at the cop shop. Ranger opened my door for me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and walked me to the elevator.

He unlocked the apartment door, and followed me in. I took my boots off in the little hallway, not wanting to wait until I was in the bedroom. They may look good, but I was sure they weren't designed for standing any length of time in them. Ranger's clothes, I noticed, were never anywhere beside the bedroom. Well, unless I wanted them off. Fast. Then he was willing to let go of the neat-freak thing. In my defense, though, Ranger had Ella and he didn't have to wear five-inch heels. The fact that I didn't have to wear them either wasn't important. They looked good on me and that's all that mattered.

While I was busy with my thoughts, Ranger had come up behind me, and started pressing a string of kisses down my exposed back, his hands slowly creeping up to my breasts. I leaned my head back against him and relaxed.

"Are you up for this, Steph?" Ranger whispered against my ear.

"It would take more than a blow to the head to make me not want you, Ranger."

I could feel him smile."Thinking about someone hitting you is killing the mood, Babe."

"Sorry. You can get back to what you were doing now. I'm good," I said, and sighed as Ranger's hands slid lower, over my stomach and down to the waistband of my jeans. His fingers worked the button of my jeans, and then they were pushed down over my hips and discarded. Looks like there'll be more than my shoes on the floor at the rate he was going.

Ranger turned me in his arms so that I was facing him, and kissed along my neck and into the deep V of my top. He wasn't touching anything particularly important, but my standing there only in my underwear and shirt in the hall, while he was fully dressed, was turning me on. If I was with anyone other than Ranger, I probably would have felt uncomfortable or somewhat vulnerable. But with him, all I felt was his mouth and his warm breath between my breasts, turning my bones to liquid.

Ranger pulled me closer and kissed me. He was hard everywhere. His chest, his thighs, and everything in between, was hard. Without breaking from the kiss, Ranger grabbed my legs and wrapped them around his waist and started towards the bedroom. My shirt was soon gone, followed by the bra I was afraid he would have had trouble taking off, since it was specifically designed for a backless shirt. I didn't need to worry on that score, because Ranger had it off in seconds, and had also shed his own clothes. His mouth was back on mine and he lowered me down to the mattress. He broke from the kiss, and moved his lips from my mouth to the side of my neck, gently biting the sensitive skin where my neck and shoulder met. I clutched at his back trying to decide between pulling him back to up my mouth, or waiting to see where he went next. I decided to go with waiting. And I wasn't disappointed. My back arched off of the bed when Ranger ran his tongue from between my breasts to my navel, kissed my navel, then licked his way back up over my ribs capturing my nipple in his mouth. He did the tongue thing again to my other breast, but this time his tongue didn't stop at my navel. I could feel his breath against me, and then his mouth. I think I was close to a doomsday orgasm as I've ever gotten before and I could tell that Ranger wasn't even close to being finished with me. I remembered my hands fisting in the sheet, my eyes rolling back in my head while shouting Ranger's name, and then ...nothing.

Ranger was still taking his time exploring my body with his lips, when my eyes finally listened to me and opened. He stopped at any place that made me bite my lip or squirm against him. When he got back to my mouth, he kissed me again and I felt him come inside me. Then it was lights out Stephanie ... again.

I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup the following morning when a pair of muscled arms circled me from behind.

I thought I'd live dangerously this morning and have a little fun."Lester, not now, Ranger might catch us." I barely had time to get the words out before the arms around me tightened.

"Not funny, Babe" Ranger said into my ear.

I looked at his reflection in the mirror in front of me. Nope. Ranger didn't look amused."I don't know," I said."I thought it was."

"I doubt Lester would find it funny, either."

This was true. If one of the men thought for a moment that they were involved in a rumor about making a move on the boss' woman, they'd probably shoot themselves just to avoid whatever Ranger had in store for them.

Since Ranger was here, instead of in the kitchen, I knew something was up.

"What's going on?" I asked.

One of Ranger's hands settled on my hip, while the other one splayed across my stomach holding me against him."Tank called when you were in the shower. There's a problem with one of the accounts, so I'm going to grab something from the fifth floor kitchen and head out. I just wanted to let you know. Ella brought breakfast up for you. It's on the bar in the kitchen."

I'm still surprised that Ranger is so willing to tell me where he was going and what he was doing. At least when he can.

I turned my head to look up at him."Okay," I said."And be careful today."

"Now that I have you to come home to, Babe," Ranger said, his head lowering to me,"I always am."

He kissed me, and his hand moved from my belly up to my breast while his tongue curled around mine. Ranger's thumb slid across my nipple and I bit back a moan.

"See you tonight, Babe," he said after the complete assault on my mouth, his voice sounding less than steady. Then he was gone.

You would think that I'd get used to Ranger's hands on me, but it still surprised me how deep my feelings for him were. I gave my heart a moment to calm down and my legs to stop shaking, before following my nose to the kitchen and Ella's cooking.

After I finished breakfast and cleaned up the dishes, I grabbed my shoulder bag and car keys and headed to the elevator. I unlocked my car and and plugged the key into the ignition. After three tries it finally caught. Looks like this car's days were numbered, I thought to myself. Time to start eating more meals at my parents' house and scrounging around for extra cash so I could buy a new one. And by new I mean a horribly abused old one that would only be 'new' to me.