Year: 2012
It's a warm spring evening. James Rhodes and Sam Wilson host a veteran's gala. They are raising money to help the amputees in the military. I fully support their fundraiser. Natasha and I take the time to honour our friends and hope the gala raises enough funds for improved prosthetics. Tony has already donated a million dollars to the charity.
I sense him before I see him. Sam isn't aware I already know the man entering the room. "Who is he?" I ask Sam, biting my lower lip hard to prevent myself from displaying my thoughts.
He looks in the direction I'm staring. "Ricardo Carlos Manoso," Sam replies. "Would you like an introduction?"
No, Sam, I don't need an introduction, but I can't let him suspect I know the epitome of male sexiness-the modern-day Cuban Adonis, who is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Luckily, I keep my thoughts to myself. Instead, I breathily reply, "Yes." Steve catches my eye and smiles. He can hear my answer from across the room and knows I can't prevent my reaction to Carlos, a man who can play my body like a fiddle and have me singing his tune. Well, it's more like screaming his name, but he doesn't mind. We do our dance of stolen glances from across the room. My body hums in anticipation from the increasing energy as I catch him strutting across the room, moving closer to me.
Steve smiles as he approaches with Carlos on his heels. He knows but is trying to pretend he doesn't know. I must teach Steve how to hide his thoughts. Steve's face is too expressive. Maybe Carlos can give him a few lessons. Oh boy. Steve can hear my heart racing and my heavy breaths as the palpable electricity between Carlos and me increases. I'm not fooling Steve as I foolishly attempt to moderate my breath and slow my heart.
"Carlos Manoso, this lovely lady is Stephanie Plum," Steve says. Manoso's lip twitches in amusement. He's playing his role well and doesn't give anything away.
"Hi, Mr. Manoso," I reply, extending my hand because I can't stand another minute without touching him.
"Please, call me Carlos, Stephanie," he replies. His voice is silky smooth and deep with a slight accent. Goodness gracious. His voice resonates to my core. I can't stop my body from reacting to him.
"Steph," I quickly correct as he chuckles, engulfing my hand in his. I'm visualizing Carlos touching me in more intimate places. The electricity passes through my palm, settling in my core. Carlos' arousal is evident when I lick my lips. His eyes watch the motion of my tongue as it sweeps across my red-painted lips. The air suddenly feels dry, and I'm overheating. I politely excuse myself to get a drink. His eyes follow me as I return to the bar and my best friend. Carlos discretely fixes himself. Ha! One point for me.
Natasha teases me about my inability to keep my eyes off Carlos. "Shove it," I mumble, making her laugh. I'm struggling to stay away from the sexy man. I want to leave the gala and go for a ride on the Cuban love train.
"Drink this," Natasha says. I feel a spark of jealousy when another woman temporarily grabs his attention. Steve quickly steps in to take the attention off Carlos. "Bomba, he isn't Dickie," she whispers. Hearing that asshole's name warrants knocking back the drink in my hand. That jerk wad blames me for Cindy's abortion. As if I had anything to do with her not wanting to be a Burg wife and mother. Cindy was a gold-digging whore who only cared about money and fame.
"Don't bring that asshole into the conversation. Having the police interrogate me was enough," I grumble. "Did you know that my mom still blames me for leaving him at the altar? I was never engaged to the asshole. She's the one who planned a wedding I knew would never happen. Even when he announced his engagement to Cindy, Mom didn't cancel the plans."
"I know, Steph. Your mom was out of line. Go on… give him your phone number," she teases when Sam approaches. Natasha plays along with the ruse, especially when Rhodes and Sam are close enough to hear. They don't know anything about my personal life. I keep it separate from my military career and Stark Industries. Thankfully, SHIELD had nothing in their files when Natasha dumped it onto the internet.
I'm not interested in making the first move tonight. Natasha and I have a job after the gala. I can't afford the distraction. "He's an active soldier," I mumble, raising my hand to get the bartender's attention. The man with dark hair and kind grey eyes smiles and pours whisky over ice before adding a splash of lime and filling the rest with coke. He efficiently exchanges the glasses. I smile in thanks. He winks and moves on to the next person.
"Manoso's a Ranger," Nat shares, proving she knows more about the man than I shared. I raise my brows as she taps on her phone to review the dossier she collected on him. "He's the best in the field. His street name is Ranger."
I catch Steve's eye, and he places a hand over his chest, feigning that Natasha wounded him. Catching his eye, I snort, "Nobody is better than Captain America. There is no competition." Steve winks at me and continues his conversation with Sam Wilson, who is none the wiser.
"Barton and I ran across Manoso and his men. He's as adept with his hands as he is with a weapon," she says, hoping to get a reaction from me. I spew my drink across the bar. Natasha has no idea how good Carlos is with his hands. Is it hot in here?
I smile apologetically at the bartender, who smiles while washing the counter and shaking his head in amusement. Natasha raises her hand for a replacement drink for me.
"Are you trying to get me drunk? You know my tolerance is low," I remind her. Natasha shrugs, then pushes the drink to me. I roll my eyes, catching Steve watching me when I look in his direction. He grins and winks before continuing his conversation with Carlos. I feel Carlos' eyes on me as I knock back the third drink. It burns my throat as I swallow. Natasha gave me vodka, her drink of choice.
Music starts playing, cutting through the noise of people talking. Electricity flows through the air as it encompasses me with Carlos' approach. His chest grazes my back as his lips tickle my ear, whispering, "Babe, may I have this dance?"
My nipples form into painful peaks as I intentionally brush them against his arm. They are practically begging for attention from his hands and mouth. I'm thankful for wearing three-inch heels, putting me at his height. My lips brush against his in the smallest of kisses. Our noses and lips align perfectly as I ask, "Are you calling me Babe, Mr. Hot Stuff?" My finger trails from his shoulder down his impeccable pecs and abs. It takes all my willpower to stop shy of his belt buckle.
Unable to resist the temptation of feeling him so close after two months apart, I lean into him, flattening my breasts against his firm chest. I whisper, "Ranger, I must warn you that things around me have a way of…exploding." It's my way of telling him I don't want to wait a minute longer until he's buried balls deep inside me.
Too many people are watching us. We can't escape without drawing attention. "Dios!" he exhales when I brush my lips from his ear to the corner of his lips to kiss imperceptibly. "Call me Carlos," he growls, reminding me we're gaining too much unwanted attention.
I know the man is well endowed, as he reminds me when tugging me onto the dance floor. We're dancing so close that I can feel his erection pressing against my hip. It's been two months since I had a social orgasm from the man. "Carlos," I gasp as his thigh pushes against my crotch with the beat of the song. I'm focusing on not riding his leg to ease the ache I feel deep inside. An ache only Carlos can erase. Without warning, an orgasm ripples through my body. He groans and pulsates against my hip before his erection dissipates.
Oh my God. I just orgasmed on the dance floor while dancing with Carlos. Shit! Carlos did, too. It's so embarrassing. "Dios, I haven't done that since I was a teen," Carlos breathes into my ear. He twirls us off the dance floor. I know he's keeping my body against his to hide the evidence of his orgasm.
Steve and Natasha catch my eye and grin. Natasha raises her shot of vodka and mouths, "Cheers," before she knocks back the drink in my honour. Steve and Natasha started laughing when Carlos and I left the room.
Carlos and I enter the hotel elevator, going to who knows where. I have an apartment in the city. Maybe he's too impatient and rented a room instead. Carlos tugs my hand, dragging me from the elevator once the doors open on the seventh floor. He holds my body against the door and swipes the card through the reader. The door beeps and opens. Carlos refuses to release me. His lips slam against mine once the door closes and locks behind us.
"You were right," he breaks the kiss to say. I'm gasping to catch my breath. Our passionate kiss was a steamy prelude to what he had to offer.
"It's known to happen," I joke. "About what?"
"That you make everything explode," he replies, pressing his crotch to my hip.
"Why did that happen?" I ask. Carlos finally releases his grip on me to run his hand through his hair, pulling the leather strip binding the ponytail. The thick, dark locks fall to his shoulder. I moan, fighting the urge to run my fingers through his hair, wondering if it feels as silky as it looks.
"It's been too long since I had sex, and I need to feel you, Babe."
"My name is Stephanie. I don't do one-night stands or relationships," I joke, moving away from him. I want to rub my naked body against his and shout, "Giddy up," but Nat and I have a job in upstate New York after the gala. I can't afford to let my hormones derail my plans.
"You did this to me, Stephanie," he growls. I moan at the way he says my name. He's disarming me tonight. I'm a weak-kneed hormonal pile of goo around Carlos Manoso.
I cave and spend one magical and fantastic night with the wizard. We make love many times, making up for the past two months. My body sings for him. What was I thinking when I agreed to be an Avenger? I want Carlos Manoso in my life every day, not just when we can carve the time out of our busy schedules to be together. We never seem to have more than a few weeks every few months.
"Carlos?" I ask the following morning. Luckily, Natasha and Steve gave me the night off. They ran the operation in upstate New York so I could spend the night with my husband.
"Yes, my love?" he sleepily replies. My back is against his chest. I feel him waking up.
"Would you be upset if I leave the Avengers?" I wonder.
He turns me in his arms and gently brushes the hair off my face, tucking it behind my ear. I lean into his palm. "I'll support whatever you decide. Steve wants you to be available when they have a mission. He promises to send the quinjet to Miami when they need you," Carlos explains.
"Jaime and Nate need me more," I argue. "Where are they?"
"Our gorgeous twins are at home with Uncle Lester," Carlos replies. "I said you'll be home for their third birthday."
"Stop it. I won't be gone that long," I say, gently slapping Carlos' shoulder. "They only turned two around four months ago. I really miss them."
"They miss you too, Babe." Carlos rolls to reach his pants on the floor. He removes his wallet from his pocket. "I know you don't want to wear an engagement ring. Would you please wear this?" Carlos hands me a platinum and rose gold ring. The metal colours entwine on the rings, with an intricate etched pattern resembling flowers and ivy on the band.
I wipe the tears from my eyes as I read the inscription on the inside. "Mi amor. Mi corazón. Mi vida. My Babe."
It emulates my inscription on his ring, except I had "Your Babe" at the end. My left hand shakes as he slips the ring onto my finger. Carlos kisses it. "I asked the priest to bless our rings," he whispers.
I kiss Carlos instead of vocalizing my thoughts. "Happy anniversary," I whisper. "I left your gift in my apartment."
"Having you for the night was more than enough for me," Carlos replies.
Giggling, I roll him onto his back and slide onto his morning wood. "The modern theme for the sixth wedding anniversary is wood. I think this is a great substitution," I breathily say before moaning.
"It's perfect," Carlos adds, thrusting into me. I moan my release a few minutes later. He quickly follows me over the edge.
We take separate showers because we need to leave before noon. I'm going home with Carlos to spend time with our twins. I miss them too much when I work extended hours with the Avengers. Thankfully, Tony and the others don't need me unless our team needs to save the world from alien attacks.
I didn't have to worry about a change of clothes. Carlos had Ella, Rangeman's housekeeper, pack them in his luggage. She deserves a raise.
After showering, dressing and eating breakfast, Carlos and I exited the hotel. He passes the card key to the man at the welcome desk and asks him to charge the room to Rangeman Securities. I shake my head when the man replies, "I'm sorry, Mr. Manoso. Tony Stark covered the expenses for your suite."
Carlos politely smiles. "Thank you." He laughs when a limousine is waiting outside the main entrance. Happy stands outside the car at the rear passenger door. He smiles and opens it for us to climb inside. Happy removes the bag from Carlos' hand and places it in the back. I stifle a giggle because I know Carlos finds Tony's generosity exasperating. "Doesn't Tony let you pay for anything?" Carlos teases.
"Not if he can help it. You know what he's like. He gave us the Rangeman Miami office as our wedding gift," I reply, shaking my head. I still couldn't get over it. Thankfully, he didn't pull that shit when opening branches in Atlanta and Boston. We are opening another office in Trenton. Tank and his wife, Victoria, are searching for appropriate locations.
"And he practically bought everything in the children's clothing and toy stores when you had the twins," Carlos adds. "It was too much."
"Carlos, Tony knows we donated everything we didn't use to charities for single mothers and children's hospitals. I only hope he doesn't buy them cars when they're sixteen," I joke, making Happy chuckle and Carlos groan.
Happy drives us to the airport, where Tony waits for us with a quinjet. "I assumed you wanted to get home within an hour," he says, shaking Carlos' hand. "Ah. She's glowing. I take your evening went well?"
My face heats from embarrassment. "It did," Carlos replies, grinning. "Thank you for taking care of everything else."
"It's my pleasure," Tony says. His eyes dance in amusement. He opens his mouth to say something else, but I stop him with my glare. "Alrighty. Have a safe trip." Tony climbs into the limousine with Happy. With a wave, he closes the door, and they drive away.
Our flight to Miami is relatively short. I pilot the plane, much to Carlos' amusement. He knows I can fly but never had the pleasure of the experience. Piloting the jet isn't necessary since JARVIS can take over the controls. He will return the quinjet after I land on Rangeman Miami's roof.
We exited the plane, and Carlos grabbed the luggage when the door to the roof opened. My beautiful little girl and her handsome brother ran to me, screaming, "Mama." I squat to their level and open my arms.
"I missed you," I cry.