I spent the next hour talking with Bobby about Celeste's pregnancy. Once the shock began to wear off, the planner in him took over. The reality of this situation was that it wouldn't be only Bobby affected by having a new baby around. He'd need more time off and more help. In order to keep Rangeman covered that meant either getting Bones or Kristina more training, or hiring another company medic for the Trenton location.

While we could query Bones and Kristina to see if either of them would be interested in expanding their education, we couldn't make any official moves until Ranger and Tank returned. Since Celeste's due date wasn't until June, we'd have a little time to work out the details.

Once we had a rough plan in place, Bobby put the situation aside to focus on the distraction we had planned for the next night. With Ranger and Tank gone, we'd need to pull in a few more men in order to make sure Kristina would remain safe.


It was late the next day when our team returned to Rangeman after completing a perfectly executed distraction. While Hal hates the idea of Kris putting herself in danger, even he is forced to admit that just like Beautiful, she has a natural talent.

With Rangeman now seventy-five thousand dollars richer, the team was ready to relax and celebrate a job well done. We offloaded our gear in weapons storage and then said our goodbyes to each other. Some of the men headed back out for the night to party while the rest of us returned to our apartments. Funny, there was a time when I would have been the first out the door and ready to celebrate late into the night.

Right now, I just wanted a shower, a snack, and a good night's sleep. I did have paperwork to complete, but it could wait until morning. Knowing Casey would probably be asleep by now I made sure to be as quiet as I could when I entered the apartment. After her first week here she decided that despite the nightmares, she needed to learn to sleep on her own.

"I don't want to be relying on you for such elemental things," she'd said.

I have to admit, that in just those few days I grew accustomed to sharing a bed with her. So, I was more than a little disappointed when she decided to sleep alone again. However, I was just as proud of her for being so determined to get better. Begrudgingly, I'd left her bed and returned to my own. It was just as well. She still needed time to heal. The last thing I'd want to do would be to accidentally push her into something she wasn't ready for.

Much to my surprise, her bedroom door was ajar, allowing a glow from the light still on to pour out into the living room. If she was awake, I wouldn't want to scare her by sneaking around. "Casey?"

"In my room," she called back.

I chucked my coat onto one of the breakfast bar stools, took off my boots, and headed for her room. I pushed open the door. She looked up from her book and a slow smile tipped her lips. Warmth bloomed in my chest at the knowledge that her smile was entirely for me.

"Hey," she replied, then reached for the bookmark, placed it between the pages, then closed the book and set it aside. "How did your distraction go?"

A few days ago, she'd been setting up lunch in the breakroom while our distraction team was having an impromptu meeting about tonight's job. She'd overheard our conversations. Later that night, as we'd been relaxing with a movie she'd asked about the distraction.

"Stephanie and Kristina are so brave," she said even as she shook her head. "I could never do something like that."

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against me. "After what you've been through, none of us would ever expect you to want to do something like that. It can be dangerous work."

Now, as I stepped into her room, I knew that part of her asking was because she was concerned for Kristina. She and Stephanie have become quick and close friends with Casey. "It went perfectly. Kristina had the guy eating out of the palm of her hand within ten minutes of his arrival. At the twenty-minute mark, they were heading out the front door, where we were there to scoop him up."

"That's good. Kristina's safe and another bad guy is off the streets," she said.

I angled my hip onto the side of the bed next to her. "It was. Why are you still up? After the long days you've been pulling, I expected you to be sound asleep."

Her smile slipped just a little as she began to worry her bottom lip between her teeth. The fine hairs on my neck stood up with her actions and I expected her to tell me she'd had another nightmare. Since her first week with us, they'd thankfully started to fade, giving her the chance for some good night's sleep.

"I didn't want to go to sleep until you were home," she finally said. "I needed to know that nothing bad happened to you."

My brows winged up at her admission. That certainly wasn't what I expected her to say. Slowly, I lifted a hand to cup her cheek and brushed my thumb along her soft skin. "I'm humbled that you'd worry about me like that, but I'm okay and you need your sleep."

She lifted her hand to cover mine as she held my gaze. "I can't help myself. I care about you, and I'd be crushed if anything bad happened to you."

At that moment, the pull between us was so strong, I couldn't help myself. Before I even realized it, I was leaning toward her, my gaze locked on hers, searching for any sign I should stop.

Instead, she lifted her chin and her eyes drifted shut as I pressed my lips to hers. At first, the kiss was much like the ones before. Soft, chaste, and almost innocent. Just as I was about to back off, she did the one thing I never expected. She lifted her hands and threaded her fingers through my hair as she parted her lips, granting me access. When her tongue swiped across my lips my shock snapped into a hunger I hadn't felt in a very long time. A low growl rumbled from deep inside me as I slid my arms around her and deepened the kiss. She answered with a whimper that tore at every one of my senses until all I could think about was giving her the pleasure she deserved.

I slid my hands lower down her back until I was able to cup her perfect ass, scoop her up, and shift her onto my lap. She pulled back, gasped, and her eyes went wide with shock. No way would she have missed my erection pressed against her. For a moment I thought I'd pushed her too far. Before I could apologize, she once again surprised me when she wrapped her legs around my waist and dove in for another kiss.

Her reaction only served to encourage the beast I've kept locked away. I tightened my grip on her ass, pulling her taut to me as I ground against her core. Her hands slowly trailed away from my hair, down my neck, and came to rest on my chest.

Her lips trailed away from my mouth to brush across my ear. "You feel it, don't you," she whispered. "This insane attraction. This need."

"I do," I managed to reply.

"What do we do about it?" she asked right before her lips found their way back to mine.

This time the kiss was deeper, hotter, and more urgent than any we'd shared before. Obviously, she wanted me as much as I wanted her, but I couldn't completely ignore the little voice in my mind. The one telling me she was still recovering, and we needed to slow down.

Knowing I should stop this before it went too far, I reluctantly broke the kiss, then rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes as I tried to get my bearings. The feelings coursing through me were new, unfamiliar, and nearly overwhelming. I'm not sure I've ever wanted a woman more than I want Casey right now.

Considering the signals she's given me so far; I have no doubt I could strip her naked and take our relationship to the next level. However, I know she's far from being ready for such an intimate act. Once again, I find myself pissed at Blackmore for the evils he forced upon her.

Despite the varying emotions now battling inside me, I managed to coax my lips into a smile as I cupped her cheek. "We're going to throttle this back and take this nice and slow."

A frown tugged at her lips as she stared at me. "But-"

I lifted a finger to her lips, silencing her protest. "Don't get me wrong, Precious. I want you more than I want my next breath right now."

"I want you too," she replied. "So, what's the problem?"

I shook my head. "It's not a problem, per se. I just feel like what we're building here, is worth more than a quick roll in the sheets. You deserve better than that."

For a brief second, I would have sworn I saw disappointment in her eyes, but the emotion was gone nearly as quickly as it appeared. "Okay."

I shifted so I could take her hand in mine and rubbed my thumb over her knuckles. "If we're going to do this properly, how about we start with an actual date?"

Joy lit in her face as she squirmed in my lap, causing me to grit my teeth at the feel of her heat rubbing against my still-hard dick. "A date?" she repeated, her voice filled with excitement. "I'm not sure I've ever been on a real date."

The happiness she exuded at just the idea of going on a date eased the beast raging inside and pulled a smile from me. "Then we have to make that happen. How would you like to go ice skating with me at Penn's Landing in Philly?"

Her smile faltered just a little as her expression turned contemplative. "I don't know how to ice skate."

"Oh." I paused as my hopes fell for a moment before I caught myself. I'm Lester Freaking Santos. "I can teach you," I replied. "If you're willing to try." The moment the words left my mouth, I second-guessed myself. Was it wrong of me to put her on the spot like that? "Or, we don't have to go skating. I can come up with something else for us to do instead."

"No." She shook her head. "I'd like to try it. Do you think you really can teach me?"

"I'm sure of it," I replied. "And if you decide you don't like it, we could always find something else to do," I said.

Her brown knit as if she suddenly thought of something.

"What?"

"How can I go on a date? Keeping up with feeding everyone, cleaning and laundry is more than a full-time job. Honestly, I don't know how Ella has done it by herself for so long."

That was something we all had wondered for years.

"I mean, she can still do some things, even confined to a wheelchair while she heals, but there are other things she simply can't do."

"We have a company we subcontract to whenever Ella takes a vacation or needs time off. They're the same ones we use for weekends and holidays. I can call and arrange for them to cover for you for the day."

"Maybe just half the day," she said. "I should be able to manage breakfast and lunch."

I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "Done. Now, it's late and five a.m. is going to come early for both of us. So, get some sleep."

"You too," she said as she slid off my lap, then climbed back on the bed.

I pushed up, then covered her with the sheet and blanket before crossing the room to turn off the light. I stopped in the doorway when an idea popped into my head. "You know, if it would make you more comfortable, maybe we can talk to Hal and Kristina or Stephanie, and if he's back by then Ranger, to go with us."

"That would be fun," she said. It would make sense that she'd feel safer in a group setting. "But wouldn't that make it a group outing instead of a date?" With it now being dark in her room I couldn't see the expression on her face, so I could only gauge her feelings based on her tone.

"Maybe we can make it both. Let me work out the details and I'll let you know."

"Sounds good," she replied, and I could see her shadow snuggle deeper under the blankets. "Good night, Lester."

"Good night, Precious." I pulled the door closed and then headed for my bedroom. My dick was still hard as steel, and I was now feeling antsy. The only way for me to settle down enough to sleep was to address the problem.

When I first came home, I'd planned on a shower and a snack before going to bed. Now, I was no longer hungry for food. While I could still take a shower, it would be more to relieve my tension than to wash off the dirty feelings from tonight's job.

With her bedroom sharing a wall I wasn't sure how much she'd be able to overhear. Instead, I stripped down and climbed into bed. Lying flat on my back, I draped one arm over my eyes while I took hold of the situation in the other. It wasn't hard to imagine the hand wrapped around me being Casey's instead of my own.

Much to my embarrassment, it only took a couple of minutes for my release. The last time I came that fast I'm pretty sure I was still in high school. Though, in my defense, it had been nearly a year since I last had sex. I'm just glad it happened while I was alone. Maybe now, when Casey and I finally do come together I'll have enough stamina to endure for more than five minutes.