Recap: Ranger and Tank leave to go get Stephanie's stuff. Lester and Bobby try to interrogate Ramirez, but he grabs Bobby's arm through the door slot, injuring him. Stephanie uses a cloth with her blood on it to heal him.
Ranger
Stephanie didn't live very far away. It was a basic red-brick apartment building that had seen better days. I remembered which apartment was hers from two days before. Had it really been only that long? If felt like weeks.
Last time I was here I was concerned about freeing her, then warming her up, then bedding her. Now, I could see how stark her living had been. There was no TV on the cart that clearly used to have one, based on the dust outlines. There was also an outline where something like a DVD player used to be. A few titles were sitting on a bookshelf, but there was space for a lot more. Add to the available evidence my knowledge of her financial situation, and it seemed obvious she had been hocking everything she had to survive. All that was left was a DVD on Intro to Yoga, a recording of a high school production of Grease, a copy of Ghostbusters, and a few old magazines. I grabbed all of them.
"Did this place get robbed?" Tank asked, looking around. It wasn't a bad guess. There wasn't anything of value visible.
"No. But she's been living on the edge for a while. It's why she wanted to try bounty hunting." And it had gotten her killed. Sort of.
Her bedroom was the room I knew best. The bed was still unmade, rumpled from our activities. Tank raised an eyebrow looking at it, and the two pillows that showed signs of being slept on. "A gentleman never kisses and tells" I said, heading him off before he said anything.
He scoffed. "Since when are you a gentleman?"
It wasn't an unfair question. I let it slide. The best container in the room was a laundry basket. I opened drawers and pulled a few things out from each. Shirts, pants, socks, sweaters. I admit my heart skipped a beat when I opened the underwear drawer. There was a lot of very skimpy stuff there. I pictured her wearing a purple lacey number and felt my dick twitch. Focus Manoso.
I shoved a few outfits into the basket, a well-loved blanket, some toiletries from the bathroom, then fetched the hamster. His nose was twitching, scenting the world around him. He had no idea how much things had changed. When I placed him on top of the clothes, he skittered into a can in the corner.
"Tank, call a cab and take this back to the office. I'm going to go pick up some stuff, be back as soon as I can."
He nodded. "On it boss."
Stephanie
I can't afford therapy. Even before I lost my job working as a lingerie buyer. So instead, I took showers. Much cheaper. So after having what really qualifies as one of the worst days ever, not to mention being covered in sand, dirt, sweat, and a fair bit of blood, there was nothing I wanted more than to get under some hot water.
Bobby said that eventually there would be a lot of showers in the building, but that at the moment the best they had was the one in the medical bay. It wasn't luxurious, but it was hot and wet and at the moment it sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world. Especially because the water heater was huge due to the number of people who would eventually be living here.
After 20 minutes Tank came into the infirmary, letting me know he had clothes for me, and would put Rex in my room. I peeked out of the stall in time to see him place my laundry basket on the floor, while covering his eyes with one of his gigantic hands so he didn't see anything. It was sweet.
I scrubbed and scrubbed until the water ran clear. Then scrubbed some more for good measure. I wanted to wash the entire day away. Night away. There wouldn't be any more days, not for me.
Finally I got out. My hair looked like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket, but I found a precious bottle of Friz-ease in the basket Tank had left for me. There were also sweats. I needed comfortable right now, so I climbed into them
And then I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to go back to the basement. I'd be spending a lot of time there. There wasn't a lot of things to look at in the building yet, since construction was done on the frame but not the interior. I just wanted to be outside, and maybe a little alone. So I went to the staircase, called down to let the guys know what I was doing, then headed upstairs.
Ranger
The truck was loaded with a few things to help Stephanie adjust to her new surroundings. A smart TV to put in her room. Hotspot router and signal boosters to get signal even in the underground basement. Extra linens. A few books and magazines. Chew toys for the hamster. I had no idea what would actually make her happy, so I grabbed haphazardly.
When I got back Tank told me she was upstairs on the roof. I left the guys to set up everything. After today, I really needed to give them all a raise. Digging up vampire girlfriends was not listed in any job description they had ever seen.
I opened the door to the roof cautiously. "Steph? Are you up here?"
"I'm here."
She was leaning on the low wall overlooking the street. I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and settling my chin on her shoulder. Steam rose from her wet hair, and her skin was warm. Almost as warm as when she had been alive.
"It's so odd," she whispered, staring into the distance. "I know it's night, but I can see so clearly. Much better than I could before in broad daylight. I can read the shirt of that guy three blocks away. He's offering free mustache rides. Probably no one will take him up on it. The sidewalk has a crack forming from the tree growing over there. And the tree has an old birds nest in it left over from last spring."
She turned her face slightly, rubbing her cheek against mine. "I could feel you when you were away. Like a ping inside me. I knew what direction you were in, and about how far. Everything is so odd and new and scary, but also kind of amazing. Does that make sense?"
I nodded. "I'm glad you aren't miserable. Though I still wish I could have saved you. Or..I wish you hadn't gone through that. Especially without me there."
I held her a little tighter. And then my dick got a mind of its own and started to twitch. I adjusted myself, hoping she wouldn't notice. Which was futile. She arched her back a bit, pressing her ass harder against my crotch. "Do you still want me? Even though I'm…even though I'm different?"
"Madre de Dios, yes" I murmured into her ear.
Stephanie
I didn't need to breath, but every time I did a whole new world of scents filled my brain. Being Trenton, they weren't always good ones. But lust, lust was a heady aroma and it was coming off Ranger in waves. Wiggling my ass a bit gave a satisfying response. And I felt a new hunger. Not for blood, but just as strong. For him. I gripped the wall tighter, the concrete edge crumbling in my hands. "Shit!" I said. I still didn't really know how strong I was, and I had lost control. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm afraid to touch you."
"Don't worry, you just stand there. I'll take care of everything." he murmured. His hands rested on my stomach, splaying out and brushing my skin as they crept under my waistband. I tilted my head back, my nerves alive, even if I wasn't.
I sucked in a breath of air as his hands roamed down, brushing the soft curls. It was habit more than anything, but it gave me the air to whisper "Yes".
And then his left hand was caressing my breasts while his right was playing with my clit. Each hand found a nub to play with, and he played like a virtuoso. His erection was harder and harder against my back as I felt a finger dip into me. His thumb traveled in tiny circles around the bundle of nerves and I could't help but clamp my inner muscles down on his finger.
"Fuck!" he moaned in a short outburst.
"Did I hurt you?" I asked, panicked.
"No, just, oh God I can't wait to feel you on my dick."
I couldn't wait either. I'd had a really, really bad day and dammit I deserved to get laid. Quite possibly no one has ever deserved it more.
I tried to pull down my pants. I pulled too hard, and they ripped along the seam. "Shh, I'll take care of it, you just enjoy the ride" he said. I could feel myself dripping and ready for him. All the tension of the last day demanding an outlet. I stood on tiptoes to give him more access and his hand on my hips guided me onto him.
Ranger
It was bliss. Her muscles were throbbing and it felt like she was pulling me into her. My right hand returned to her clit as I pumped, desperately trying to give her the pleasure she was giving me. She was close, I could feel it. I could feel everything. My nerves were on fire and I could feel every vein in my body singing. Suddenly she lurched forward, but her pussy had such a tight grip on my cock I fell forward with her, sandwiching her body between mine and the wall. I could feel her walls clamp down on me over and over, and it only took a few seconds for me to cum, spilling into her. We both shuddered from pleasure as the lights of the Trenton skyline painted the night.
