This is the last chapter that I have pre-written and I had to change some of it because I'm going to start making Stephanie stronger and more confident as the story continues. And I think Ranger and Stephanie have laid a solid foundation for their relationship so after this chapter they won't have to define it anymore, they can just enjoy it. All characters belong to Janet. Warning for a little smut.

Chapter 6

I got no phone calls on the way back to Rangeman. And no shiny black SUV's were tailing me. I had a feeling that Ranger was trying to give me a little space. I had no doubt that someone had their eyes on me during the entire Morelli conversation, but the fact that whoever was watching me didn't go into SWAT mode when Morelli grabbed my arm was a clear sign that Ranger trusted me. First, to take care of myself. And second, to make sure Morelli knew that any attention from him was going to be unwelcome. That being said, if I didn't fill in Ranger immediately as to what went on, he wouldn't be happy.

Ten minutes later, I parked my Cayenne next to Ranger's in the garage. Lula was right. They did look like Mr. and Mrs. Ranger cars. I shook my head at the thought and called Ranger.

"Babe."

Just the sound of his voice was enough to bring my smile back. God, I was acting like a 13-year-old girl with her first crush.

"Where are you?" I asked him.

"I'm on five," Ranger said."I'm just finishing up the details on a new contract."

"I'm assuming you've already heard about my station visit." I didn't make it a question.

"You assume right," Ranger said.

I could hear something in his voice, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" I asked him."Or do you want to pretend it didn't happen?" I knew Ranger wasn't going to let me get out of talking about this, but sometimes it was fun to try.

"We're definitely going to talk about it now."

"Should I head up to seven?" I asked him."Or meet you on five?"

"Seven." And he disconnected.

Maybe when we discuss our vows, I could manage to throw in something about him promising to develop better phone etiquette.

I stuck my cell back in my bag and hurried to the elevator. I had an appointment with Ranger to keep. And maybe after all the talking was done, I could get a little time with Ranger's mouth. Followed by some that included Ranger's hands, body, and his ...

My legs felt more like I'd climbed the stairs instead of taking the elevator, but I wasn't surprised. Ranger thoughts could do that to a woman. I keyed open his door and walked into the apartment, smack dab into a familiar chest for the second time today. Ranger wrapped his arms around me to prevent me from landing on my ass.

"Jeez," I said."Why is everybody sneaking up on me today?"

"Got to be more aware of your surroundings, Babe."

I knew he was talking about bumping (literally) into Joe, not bouncing off his chest just now. I leaned back in Ranger's arms and dropped my bag on to the sideboard.

"The first time I was distracted trying to get my keys out of my bag," I said, sliding my arms around his waist.

"And the second?" Ranger asked.

I looked up into Ranger's eyes and allowed myself to think about what I wanted to do to him."I was distracted thinking about things I wanted to get done tonight," I said to him. Namely me.

I saw his eyes darken, his arms tightened around me, and I knew he was reading my mind again. This time it didn't bother me at all. Okay, maybe that wasn't true, but it bothered me in a completely different way.

"Babe."

"What?" I said, shrugging."You asked."

Ranger lowered his head to mine and kissed me. I thought it would be a short, you're lucky I find you cute kind of kiss, but boy was I wrong. When Ranger's tongue curled around mine, I might have whimpered a little. When he did finally lift his head, I couldn't think of anything beyond getting him onto the nearest flat surface. Ranger, of course, had other ideas.

"Soon, Babe," he told me.

It seemed like Ranger was not at all affected by that kiss, but seeing as how my parts were tight against his, I could tell that he enjoyed it just as much as I did.

I moved against him hoping to get him thinking about more important things than my chat with Morelli.

"How soon?" I asked. Wanting the exact minutes and seconds.

"How ever long it takes us to talk," Ranger said. He moved the mail and dish of keys to the side and sat me on top of the sideboard.

Damn. So much for distracting him.

"Fine," I said."What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Ranger said, standing in front of me.

Guess I wasn't going anywhere.

I told him about Morelli's apology. And about how he wanted to remain friends. I left out the part about Joe not wanting us to be over and what he'd do if he thought Ranger wasn't doing his part to make me happy.

"Babe," Ranger said, when I was finished."Morelli may be a smart cop, but he's an idiot when it comes to you."

I guess he figured out what I had left unsaid."What do you mean?" I asked him.

"First off, he let me near you," Ranger said, his voice held the slightest bit of disbelief."Even asked me to take care of you a couple of times. He knew there was something between us all along, but he didn't pay attention to how strong it was. And while Morelli didn't know exactly what was going on, he seemed to think that as long as we weren't sleeping together he had nothing to worry about."

"Joe can't be blamed for all of it, though," I told Ranger, still feeling a little guilty over my behavior while I was with Joe. I didn't have sex with Ranger, true, but there were some close calls. And lots of make out sessions. Not to mention sharing the same bed with Ranger more than a few times during our on-again periods."I shouldn't have been doing anything with you when Joe and I were together."

I saw Ranger's eyebrow go up, and felt like I needed to explain what I meant a little bit more."I should have ended things with Joe when I realized there was no way of getting you out of my head." I took a deep breath and continued. This talking about your feelings thing is hard."I wanted you, but I knew you didn't do relationships and I didn't want to lose what I had with Joe over something that wasn't ever going to happen. Problem was, I was already in over my head with you. And I couldn't force myself to give up what little I did have with you. That wasn't fair to Joe. I think he started to sense that, and that's when we started fighting more and he started giving ultimatums."

Ranger looked steadily at me for a long moment before he spoke."Do I have to worry about finding you in an alley kissing Morelli?" Ranger asked me, his tone not changing."Are you going to go straight to his house if we have a fight? Call him before me if something happens to you?"

I felt the blood drain from my face at his questions."God no, Ranger! You don't honestly think I'd do any of those to you, do you?"

Ranger's lips kicked up at the corners of his mouth at my horrified expression."No, Babe, I don't think you'd do that. And that's where Morelli screwed himself. He didn't give it any serious thought when you did all of those things with me."

I raised my eyebrows up in question.

"As I said before, Morelli wanted you to marry him, quit your job, have children and stay home raising them. Those were things that he wanted," Ranger said to me."As far as I could see, not only was he not giving up anything to be with you, he never even asked you what you wanted from him aside for him to accept you."

I never thought of that."So what you're saying is ...?"

Ranger's smile grew."I'm saying that even if I wasn't poaching, it was just a matter of time before the two of you split up. Morelli hadn't, and still hasn't, realized that you need more. In life. And in a relationship. I give you that. I thought we had this all sorted out the other day. You have a job that, for the most part, you like. If you need help, I'm there without having to go through a screaming match first. I don't really see Morelli as a threat to our relationship. More of a nuisance. I already said I take care of what's mine. And you are. But I'm not going to go into jealous-male-mode over everyone who looks at you. If someone disrespects you or touches you, whether in lust or in anger, that's another thing altogether. Morelli included."

"Wow," I said, feeling dazed."For a man who didn't do relationships you sure have a lot of insight into them."

"Just ours, Babe. I've been around you, and I've wanted you, for years," Ranger said,"and that's given me the opportunity to witness enough of you and Morelli together to know what I needed to do if I wanted to keep you."

I didn't know if I liked the sound of that last part. It sounded too macho for my liking."Keep me?" I asked.

"Babe, it's one thing to get you into my bed," Ranger said."It's another thing to keep you in my life permanently."

Maybe I could forgive him for the 'keep me' remark.

Ranger started talking again. I'm starting to think that he's been saving up all of his words just for when we finally got together.

"If there was a chance that you and Morelli were done for good," Ranger said to me,"I was going to do something about it."

And he did. After that one night in my apartment, when he walked me up, we've been pretty much attached at the hip. Or at the lips. Or at the ...

"Babe, if you were happy with, and committed to, Morelli, I wouldn't have stood a chance."

I liked the faith that he had in me, but I wasn't entirely sure that was true. I mean Ranger is frickin' Batman! And he looks like that! If he would have shown any interest in me at all, besides being a fun way to spend a night, I probably wouldn't have gone back to Joe at all. In the past (okay, yesterday) I had trouble believing someone like Ranger wanted me. Little klutzy, imperfect, Stephanie from the Burg. In the beginning I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. I mean, I know I'm not hideous, but I'm far from the physical perfection that Ranger is. I'm cranky most days. I have a tendency to get myself into serious trouble, though I almost always manage to get out of it. My hair is freaky. And whoever is with me has to put up with my insane family. All in all, that didn't add up to the most attractive package.

"Babe, stop." Ranger said.

I shook my head to clear it."I'm saying that's what I used to feel, but someone told me recently that I'm a pretty remarkable woman."

"And he was right in saying so," Ranger said."You're just starting to understand how different you are ..."

I cut him off."Believe me, Ranger, I know how different I am." I told him with a laugh."I've spent close to thirty years hearing about just how different I am."

Ranger smiled at me, and I smiled back. I was done letting my past control me, and he knew it since he's been key in helping me do it.

"Your mother just didn't know what to look for, Babe. You have some of the best instincts I've ever seen."

"My spidey sense?"

"Yes," Ranger said."You willingly put yourself in danger to help people you don't even know. And even some you don't even like."

"Joyce?"

Ranger nodded. At least, I think it was a nod.

"To name just one," Ranger told me."You got kidnapped, burnt, almost killed numerous times, and yet you always bounce back. It takes a certain type of person to be able to do that. It usually takes the military months to train men to achieve that. You claim I'm trying to save the world, but what you do isn't all that different, just on a smaller scale. You're always trying to save whoever needs you at the time without thinking about anything else, including your own safety."

"And that's on the pro side of the list?" I asked.

"Most days," Ranger said.

Ranger praise was good for my ego, I thought. I have a feeling that a few more months with Ranger will completely wipe out the previous thirty years of my mother's voice in my head.

"Hearing it put like that," I said him."I wish I could date me."

Ranger, knowing that I still wasn't entirely comfortable with compliments, went along with me."I don't share, Babe," he said, putting his arms back around my body."Did I mention you look good, too?"

This I could deal with. This was very familiar territory.

"Now that we've talked," Ranger said, his voice low, "I can start showing you another reason why I don't have to worry about Morelli or anyone else."

"Showing me?" I asked, my breath hitched as Ranger nudged my legs apart, pressing his lower body into mine.

"Yes," Ranger said to me."No other man can make you feel the things I do."

"Are you sure about that?" I already knew the answer, and agreed entirely with it, but I didn't wanted to appear easy. Though Ranger was only standing against me and I was ready to go lights out. Looks like I am easy.

"Positive."

I was positive, too. Ranger is good at everything. Get him out of his clothes and you have to start inventing new words to describe him.

Ranger lowered his head and captured my lips with his. The kiss started out soft, but immediately turned into something else entirely. Ranger's tongue was in my mouth, and I still couldn't get enough of him. I heard a moan and I was pretty sure it came from me. I wrapped my leg around his, trying to get even closer to him. Ranger lifted his mouth from mine and gave me a gentle smile.

"We've got all night, Babe."

Sure, I wanted all night, but I also wanted something right now.

"Uh-huh," I said, and pulled his head back down to mine. I threaded my fingers through Ranger's hair and held on. I almost smiled when I got an assist from Ranger. He pulled my other leg around him and carried me into the bedroom. We had all night, but we had to start it sometime, right?

Ranger, without breaking the kiss, placed his knee on the bed and laid me down flat on it. My legs were still wrapped around him and he was fully clothed between them. Ranger ran his hands underneath my shirt and up my ribcage, catching my T-shirt with his wrists, peeling it off of me. He let my mouth go only long enough to pull the shirt over my head before he was kissing me again. Ranger's hands were moving again, my bra was unfastened and discarded, and he made short work of the button on my jeans. He broke off the kiss and started sliding my jeans and panties down my legs. I impatiently helped kick them off after Ranger removed my shoes and socks. He reached up and pulled his shirt off one handed, before settling between my legs again. Ranger kissed his way up the inside of my thigh, barely touching the place where I wanted him the most, and did the same thing up my left thigh. I was beyond squirming at this point. I could feel everything below my neck wake up, and I was afraid that I wasn't going to last the night. Ranger was always thorough when we made love. And he always made sure that I was right there with him every step of the way, but tonight was different. It was almost like this was his gift to me. That he was showing me, with only his body, just how much I mean to him. I felt tears prickle at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. If I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle tonight, then I was terrified that Ranger would see my tears and stop what he was doing. I never considered myself an emotional person, but Ranger triggered every one of them. Whether it be anger, lust, or love, Ranger brought out the unfiltered version of every single one of them.

My tears were forgotten when Ranger finally put his mouth on me. I might have screamed, or blacked out, or both. All I can remember is the feeling of Ranger's warm breath between my legs and his hot mouth where I ached for him to be. After what had to be at least two orgasms, Ranger raised his head and started pressing open-mouthed kisses to my hip bones, my lower belly, before circling my belly button with his tongue. Who knew that kissing a belly button could be that sexy? He slid further up my body and kissed my left breast, while his thumb brushed across the nipple of the right one. My hands were holding Ranger to me, my hips were arching uncontrollably off the bed, and Ranger was still taking his time. I couldn't say that I didn't enjoy it, but I wanted more. I wanted Ranger inside of me. Now. He switched sides, palming my left breast while kissing the right one, and I was reduced to groaning. Partly from desire and partly from pure frustration.

Ranger must have sensed what I was feeling, because he lifted his head from my chest and kissed me. At the same moment he plunged his tongue into my mouth, his body plunged into mine. I don't know when he got rid of the rest of his clothes, but I didn't have time to think about it. I would've let out a shriek a banshee would have been impressed by, if Ranger's mouth hadn't been covering mine. I'd agreed with him earlier that no man could make me feel the way Ranger does. And I had been telling the truth. But tonight was something way beyond sex. I have never felt more loved than I did at that moment.

"I love you, too," I whispered against Ranger's lips, and I felt them smile in response. He knew that I understood what he'd been saying.

Hours later it was dark, and I was molded like putty to Ranger's chest. He had pulled the blanket over us, and was now running his fingertips up and down my back. I was totally relaxed, but not sleepy at all. Something Ranger had said earlier kept pushing to the front of my brain. I would have asked him about it a while ago, but I was distracted by the whole orgasm thing.

"Can I ask you something?" I said, picking my head up off of his chest.

"Go ahead," Ranger said.

"Earlier you said that if there was a chance that Joe and I were over for good, you were going to do something about it,"I said to him."That sounds like you wanted things to change between us."

"I did," Ranger said, easing my head back down to his chest, his fingers stroking my rat's nest of curls.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" I asked."Why did you wait?"

Ranger's hand stilled while he figured out what he was going to tell me. I hope I wasn't going to regret bringing this up.

"Babe, when I finally admitted to myself that I needed you in my life," Ranger said,"that it would be easier to keep you safe from my enemies if we were together, I had to make sure it was what you wanted too before I did something to change things."

"But Morelli and I were broken up," I told him."And you must have known that I loved you."

"I did," Ranger said, kissing the top of my head."But you also loved Morelli."

I started to raise my head up again, but Ranger's hand slid through my hair and cupped the back of my head, keeping me where I was.

"Calm down, Babe, and let me finish."

I was starting to miss the Ranger who never spoke.

"You had to make the first move, Steph," Ranger said."You had to figure out for yourself that you and Morelli would never have worked out. I didn't wanted to pressure you into anything only to have you feel unsure or guilty later on. So I waited."

"Crap," I said. He knew me better than I knew myself. I probably would've felt guilty about hurting Joe and worried that Ranger would feel used.

"If you chose to be with me, then there was going to be no on-and-off thing," Ranger said, his voice leaving no room for arguing."No running back to Morelli if I did something you didn't like. No guilt. No worrying about what the Burg would say. What your mother would say. Just you and I ... together. No gray areas."

I thought that was kind of funny considering Ranger's whole life is a gray area.

"So all this time I thought that your no-relationship rule was what kept us apart and all along it was me?" I asked."My commitment issues?"

Ranger let out what for him was a sigh."That's the point I'm making, Babe," Ranger said, this time lifting my chin to look at him."You don't have commitment issues. Not anymore."

Huh."Maybe you shouldn't say that," I said."I still have a wedding to plan."

Ranger kissed me, and when he pulled back I could see the corners of his lips twitching."You don't have to plan a wedding, Babe," Ranger said to me."We could always fly to Vegas."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I may not be the most traditional women when it comes to getting married, but I draw the line at an Elvis wannabe pronouncing us husband and wife. Before my mother had the chance to kill me, I'd kill myself.

"Not going to happen," I said to him.

Ranger's smile widened, and I knew he'd been teasing me. Great. Now I'm defending a fluffy white dress/probably going to be expensive/something that my mother would approve of wedding. Damn.

"Steph," Ranger said,"don't stress out over this."

Easy for him to say."Easy for you to say," I said, out loud this time.

"If you want, I can take care of it."

Usually when Ranger takes care of something it disappears, never to be seen again. Somehow I don't think that's what he meant in this case.

I leaned up on an elbow and looked down at him."You know how to plan a wedding?" I asked him. I thought his quickie marriage to Rachel was a civil service done at a courthouse.

"No," Ranger said to me."But I can hire people who do."

I thought about this for a long moment."Thanks for the offer, but I want to do this myself. If we hire someone they'll spend a huge amount of money, invite people who don't need to be there, and I'll end up with the Burg wedding that I don't want."

"Babe, you pay the people to do what you want."

That may be what happened when Ranger hired someone, but sometimes I'll cave when I'm pressured too much. Just look at my relationship with my mother. I was determined not to let anyone browbeat me into anything I didn't want, but I wasn't willing to risk it in this case. Our wedding was too important to me.

"No," I told him,"I need to do this myself. I don't want input from anybody but you. I want a small wedding with food that we like and only our friends, family, and the people here at Rangeman, attending."

"Works for me," Ranger said, wrapping his arms around me."Anything else you want?" Ranger asked me.

"You're going to be there, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it, Babe," Ranger said, laughing softly before kissing me.

"Then no," I told him, when he let me breathe again."I'm good."

I guess he liked my answer because his mouth covered mine again. Ranger deepened the kiss, and I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him back. When we broke apart a few moments later we were both breathing hard.

"So is there anything else we should talk about now, Batman?" I asked.

"Talking isn't what I had in mind," Ranger said.

I plastered an innocent look on my face while I moved my hips against his."What did you have in mind then?"

For an answer, Ranger ran his hands down my back and lifted my hips so he could slide into me. We'd only shared two kisses, but Ranger knew I was ready for him. I was starting to think being turned on was going to be a life long condition.

If the first time we made love was about Ranger showing me how much he loved me, than this time was about how much he wanted me. And the feeling was definitely mutual.

The alarm wasn't what woke me up the next time. It was the feeling of what I was using as a pillow, Ranger's shoulder, moving away from me.

"Unh," I said. Even though I was getting used to Ranger's hours since I've been staying here more often than not, I was still far from a morning person.

"Go back to sleep, Babe," Ranger said. He kissed the top of my head before sliding the rest of the way out of bed."It's still early. I'm heading down to the gym before work."

I was starting to wake up a little more."You didn't use enough muscles last night?" I asked him.

I could see Ranger smile in the dimly lit room."Got to keep up with you, Babe."

Yeah, right.

While Ranger threw on his workout clothes I flopped over to his side of the bed. It was still warm from his body and smelled like him. I closed my eyes and fell right back to sleep.

It was brighter in the bedroom when I heard Ranger step out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp, and he had on his Rangeman uniform of black cargos, black T-shirt, and he was carrying his boots in his hand. I didn't hear him come back from the gym, or even the shower running. Guess I was out cold. Again.

"What time is it?" I asked Ranger.

He sat next to me on the edge of the bed and pulled on his boots.

"A little after six," he said. When he was done he leaned over and kissed me."Morning, Babe."

"Mmm, morning," I said sleepily.

"Do you want to have breakfast now?" Ranger asked."Or do you want to call Ella when you wake up?"

"I'm awake," I said. And I was, sort of."I can get ready while you eat breakfast and we can head down to five together."

I already decide today would be a Rangeman day. It was never a good idea to leave my desk for longer than a day. I swear that Rodriguez guy loves screwing with me. He waits until I'm not looking and then proceeds to heap searches onto my already overflowing pile of them.

Ranger kissed me again."Take your time," Ranger said."I'll wait for you."

After one last kiss, Ranger stood and I made my way to the bathroom.

I took the quickest shower I could. And not wanting to waste anymore time on the hairdryer, I pulled my partially wet hair into a ponytail. Ranger may not think it's a big deal, but I didn't want him to keep adjusting his schedule for me.

I finished getting dressed and walked into the kitchen ten minutes later. Ranger looked over at me and smiled when he noticed my still damp hair struggling to break free from the ponytail I'd managed to wrangle it into.

"Babe," Ranger said."I told you I'd wait for you."

"No need," I said."I'm ready."

I looked at the table and noticed that Ranger hadn't touched his breakfast.

"I thought you were going to eat while I was showering?" I said to him."I was going to grab something on five to eat at my desk."

Ranger looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but since his willpower is stronger than mine, he didn't.

"Babe, sit." Ranger said.

I blew out a sigh. I tried, I told myself. If he wants to wait for me then who am I to argue? Well, more than I already had.

I took the chair next to him, and looked under the cover of my breakfast dish. Pancakes! And extra syrup! God, I loved Ella. I was glad now that Ranger waited. You couldn't get something like this in the control room kitchen. Ranger had his usual egg white creation with something healthy and green stirred into it.

When the last of my syrup had been mopped up, I sat back in my chair and noticed Ranger watching me.

"What?" I asked him."Was I making noise again?"

"Only a little," Ranger said.

"What's with the staring then?"

"Babe, have you ever seen me do something that I didn't want to do?"

Uh-oh. I knew that tone. This had the makings of another 'serious' talk.

"Not that I can remember," I said."Although, you didn't want to be closer than fifty-feet to Grandma Mazur, and you've already had dinner with her a few times."

Ranger's eyes narrowed fractionally. Hard to tell if it was directed at me for trying to joke my way out of potentially important talk, or if it was the memories of said dinners with Grandma, that earned that look.

"Sorry," I said, to cover either one.

"Babe," Ranger said, serious."You need to listen to me ..."

"I do listen to you," I said, not waiting for him to finish. Well, I listen to him mostly.

This time I swear I heard a sigh come from him. He gave his head an almost imperceptible shake and soldiered on.

"I want you here in my apartment," Ranger began."I want you to work for my company. I want to marry you and spend the rest of our lives annoying the hell out of each other."

"Hey!"

Ranger's lips tipped up at the corners."What I'm saying, Babe, is that I want to spend as much time as I can with you. If that means leaving later in the morning for work, or walking you down to the garage, or rushing out to help you out with a skip. These are things that I choose to do. You are not responsible for my choices. And my business will not come to a screeching halt if I leave early or come in late. I'm now at a place in my life where I can do what I want to do, when I want to do it. I'll always have a heavy workload, and I'll still have to leave once in a while, but the rest of the time is mine to spend how I see fit. And now that I finally have you here, you're where I want to spend it."

"I know, but ..."

"No buts," Ranger said."I'm not going to stop loving you if you make me mad, or think that you're clingy if you want me to be in bed with you when you wake up in the morning. I know I've screwed up and said some stupid shit to you in the past ..."

"Not as bad as I have," I said, thinking about the my on-again-off-again years with Morelli.

Ranger ignored me."I don't want you to have to wonder about where your place is in my life,"

"And that place is where exactly?" I asked, holding my breath.

"Any place you want to be," Ranger said."You are the person who matters most in my life, aside from Julie. If you need something, I want to be there to give it to you. If you need to talk to me, I'm there anytime. You need to get naked, I'm ready whenever you are."

I rolled my eyes at that one."That hasn't changed," I said."You were always ready."

Ranger grinned and pulled me into his lap."Still am," he said, brushing a kiss against my hair."You are not in the way up here or downstairs. I want you to be completely comfortable in either place with me."

I tilted my head to look up at him."I am comfortable with you," I said.

"Not completely," Ranger said, surprising me.

"What do you mean?"

"Take this morning for example," Ranger said to me,"you were going to eat at your desk because you didn't want to make me wait for you."

"Yeah, so?" I said."I was being considerate."

"I already told you that I was going to wait," Ranger said to me,"so you shouldn't have tried to hurry."

"But ..."

"Babe," Ranger said.

I blew out breath."I know, I know ... no buts."

"There are always going to be things that I can't tell you about, but I don't want to have to completely separate my personal life from my business life. The men here all know that you belong to me. And it goes without saying that part of their job is to make sure that you're always taken care of."

"Ranger, I need to stand on my own two feet once in a while, too," I told him."I'm not about to bother your men unless I really need to."

"My men are already half in love with you, so believe me when I tell you that they'll trip over themselves to do anything you ask them to do."

I gave an unladylike snort at that."Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say," I said to him."I'm still not going to waste anymore of the guys time than I have to."

"That another reason why I love you," Ranger said."You don't treat my men like they're nothing more than hired hands. And that's what they love about you. Even if we offer to help you, you only accept it when you're absolutely forced to."

"They aren't hired hands, " I said."They should be considered for sainthood for having to come out with me."

"I'm the boss," Ranger said to me."They all know that. And they respect me because I still scare the crap out of them. They know that you are important to me so even if the men didn't already like you, they would make it a point to stay on your good side. You also don't need to worry about their reaction to us as a couple. As you can see from Ella, everyone is happy for us. You're important to Rangeman in more ways than one. And I need you to feel comfortable enough around my men to ask them for help if I'm not available. To not be afraid to come to my office when you need to talk to me whether or not I'm with someone."

"You really don't have to do this," I told Ranger."I don't want you to have to be my mentor in our relationship, too. I agree that I still have some things to deal with, but I want to be your equal in this, Ranger, not make you feel like you have to walk me through it. I may not have been completely successful at it, and screwed things up more than I fixed them, but I've been taking care of myself for a while now and, thanks to you, I'm getting better at it."

Ranger brushed a soft kiss at my hairline."I know, Babe," he said."And, for the most part, you've done a good job. And we are equals, but I refuse to take any chances with you."

Jeez, he makes it sound like I'm a trouble magnet. Oh, that's right, I am a trouble magnet. I curled up tighter into Ranger's lap. Since we didn't have to hurry getting to work, maybe I could convince him to take a side-trip to the bedroom. I was starting to feel like a nymphomaniac. Stupid Ranger hormones. Okay, they weren't stupid, just freakin' relentless.

I felt my body shake, as Ranger laughed softly against me."Later, Babe," he promised."I don't want any time constraints when I get you back into my bed."

I couldn't argue with that. I curled my arm around Ranger's neck and kissed him. It's not often that I start things between us, but I felt it was important to show Ranger that I could take charge. And that I could handle all aspects of him, and this life that we've started together.

When I pulled back moments later, both of his eyebrows were raised and Ranger had a smile forming on his lips.

I knew he was waiting for me to speak, so I took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to find the words for what I wanted to say.

"I'm not good at talking about my feelings," I said to him.

Ranger didn't say anything, but I saw one of his eyebrows go back up for what I took as the eyebrow equivalent of 'No, shit!'

"Anyway ..." I continued."Everything you've said in the last two days have been things that I've been concerned about. But I'm used to ignoring, denying, conveniently forgetting, and all around avoiding, talking about these types of things. You never talk. Well, you didn't until recently. And yet you, without any help at all from me, addressed and solved everything that I've been concerned about. For you to know me well enough to accurately pin-point what was making me question myself is both scary and amazing."

Ranger's arms tightened around me."Babe, you forget that I may not talk a lot, but I pay attention. I'm also persistent, patient, and ruthless. And I'll do whatever it takes when it comes to getting what I want. And once I have it, I don't let go."

I smiled up at him."Are you promising me, or warning me?" I asked him.

Ranger dropped a kiss on my upturned lips."It can be taken as both."

Ranger stood with me still in his arms, then lowered my legs to the floor."We have to go, Babe."

I sighed."I know, but I don't want to."

Ranger pulled me into his arms and kissed me."I'll make sure that we have plenty of time after work for anything else you might want to discuss."

Oh boy.

I cleaned up our breakfast dishes and waited for Ranger by the front door. When he came down the hall, his gun was attached to his belt and he was carrying a Rangeman windbreaker.

"Ready, Babe?" He asked me.

"Yep," I said, grabbing my bag off of the sideboard.

Ranger locked up behind us and I waved at the mini cam when we entered the elevator. Ranger put his arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to him.

"This still feels weird," I said."Having the guys watching us."

"They'd better have something better to do than watch us take an elevator ride."

The guys never shirked their duties, but I knew if it happened to be a slow day we'd be the star attraction.

Tank was waiting when we stepped off the elevator. Ranger held up a finger to Tank, silently telling him to wait a minute before he walked with me to my cubby and kissed me softly on the lips.

I knew he had stuff to do so I gently pushed against his chest."You'd better get to work," I told him."If you keep kissing me, I'm going to be too distracted to work. And the guy I work for is such a hardass, he'll probably fire me for slacking off."

Ranger kissed me again."I should be done by six," Ranger said."I'll meet you upstairs and we can resume our oral activities."

Damn. Just when I thought that I was finally getting the last word, he has to go and say something like that. I should know better. Ranger always has the upper hand.

He was watching me, waiting to see my reaction. I'd decided I wasn't going to give him one. Two can play this game. Ranger must have taken my blank expression as a challenge because he pulled me to him, whispered in my ear a few of the things he was going to do me tonight, and gave me another kiss that involved a lot of tongue. When he pulled away, I knew my cheeks were flushed and my heart had definitely kicked into overdrive.

I blew a stray curl off of my forehead and admitted defeat."Fine, you win," I told Ranger."Happy now?"

This time Ranger actually smiled and I braced myself."A little," he said."But I know I'll be a lot happier tonight. And so will you."

With that being said he walked out of my cubby, caught Tank's eye and nodded towards his office. Tank immediately stopped trying to look busy and headed for Ranger's door. It was astonishing to see how Ranger had us all at his beck and call. Whether it was out of love, awe, respect, or fear. We were all loyal to him. It was kind of scary, if you thought about it, but the benefits of having Ranger in your corner, or in my case my bed, made it worth it.

I fired up my computer and pushed Ranger's plans for my body to the back of my mind. I could focus on those all I wanted to tonight. As for right now, I had a day of searches to get done.