Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.
La Cita (The Date)
Ranger's POV
Only in my hottest and most definitely wettest dream did I ever expect to find Stephanie at my door unannounced, yet looking at me like I was breakfast, lunch and dinner. Her blue eyes zeroed in on my face once she was inside my foyer, shrugging off the soft coat that strategically concealed her body. The sinful silky fabric of her dress clung to her in all the right places, making my heart beat fast and my dick take notice.
Okay, so my body took additional notice. I've been so attuned to her since day one that the constant attraction between us, as well as the ever growing sexual tension, isn't new. I've been attracted to her even on her worst, soaked in garbage gunk days. I wasn't joking when I confessed to Stephanie that I'm a little sick.
"Babe." I somehow found my voice, groaning low as I scanned her for clues. Stephanie's not one to simply pop in for an unannounced visit while wearing such a sexy outfit. Unless we're working a distraction, Babe and I finding ourselves alone in my penthouse while she's barely decent hasn't happened in what feels like ages. The opportunist in me was standing at full attention, ready like the good soldier I've been.
Instead of talking a mile a minute like she normally does, expecting me to keep up, Babe closed the small distance between us without preamble. Leaning forward, her lips hovered an inch from mine. Thanks to her sexy stilettos closing the height gap between us, all either one of us had to do was move the tiniest fraction and we'd be locked in a breathtaking kiss.
"Ranger." Her red lips murmured sultrily, snapping both our tight restraints before my name finished slipping past her inviting plump lips.
"Babe." I breathed against her parted mouth, automatically snapping into action. Before our tongues touched, I had her pressed against my front door, holding her up effortlessly as I crushed her between my taught torso and the cold wood.
Our heavy breathing, unending moaning groans filled the otherwise silent foyer as we bared ourselves. Without a word, our hands divested the other as our bodies melded together in an intimate dance they know all too well.
Becoming one with one swift stroke, I swallowed her responding moaning shriek. Blue eyes locked with my dark ones as I held her up while my hips began to piston furiously. Locked gazes, hands gripping flesh as it became slick with sweat, our sounds of passion filling the space all around us…
Repeatedly burying myself as deep as I could possibly go, our eye contact remained intact amid our ragged breathing. It wasn't long before we clung to each other as Babe spasmed all around me and we detonated in a joint orgasm for the books.
Orgasms, especially the soul sucking type, are always an experience with Babe. I've fought this insanely deep connection between us for so long, yet despite the lies that I've said to myself, Babe and I share a uniquely special bond. Things would be one hundred percent less complicated if all this happened to be was just lust and insanely good sex between us. But it isn't. It's more than just physical attraction, a hard truth that keeps us from taking the plunge.
Not wanting for this moment to end, my opportunistic ways fueled my movements. I'm selfish, I know. Keeping her pressed to my chest while we worked on regulating our still labored breathing, I moved this, whatever this is, back towards my bedroom. Babe automatically tightening her hold around my waist and shoulders as her lips left sucking kisses along my throat, was the exact reaction I was longing for. Round two was well on its way by the time my bare ass cleared my bedroom's doorway.
That night we crested together so many times that I actually lost count. We broke our previous record, with our first night together coming, pun intended, as a close second. Despite the sheer exhaustion a whole night of sex left us with, I wasn't fully surprised when I awoke alone the next morning. Knowing that Babe would take some time away like she tends to do, gave me a false sense of the situation. Instead of avoiding me like the plague for days, or even weeks, after Babe showed up at my door that night. Again, no words were exchanged, alternatively we communicated with our bodies. Heated touches, smoldering looks and tongue heavy kisses dominated every one of those nights that came after. By morning, she was gone, always slipping away before sunrise without fail. We never spoke, reverting to nonverbal cues as we shared raw and intimate moments night after night until I was away for a couple weeks tending to both the Miami and Boston branches.
Upon my return, Babe didn't magically materialize on seven. She knew I was back. Stephanie was part of that day's strategizing meeting for the upcoming distraction operation scheduled for that weekend. I gave her time, I did, but after nearly a week of being a no show, it was my turn to show up at her door unannounced.
Her apartment was empty, except for Rex. Even the dust bunnies she jokes about were shining with their absence. Babe's apartment has never been dirty or messy, yet her place was beyond spotless. I took it to mean that she's been stress cleaning everywhere. Wanting answers, I sat down on her couch to wait. And waited I did. Stephanie arrived close to midnight, carting a basket of clean and folded laundry with her.
"Babe." My greeting startled her. Despite turning on the lights on her way in, it's clear that Stephanie wasn't expecting to find a visitor, much less me, hanging around her place awaiting her return.
"Jesus, Ranger." With a hand on her chest, Babe took a deep breath before hanging her shoulder bag on the hook in her foyer by the front door. "You scared me…." The muffled sound of her voice as she moved into her small kitchen, balancing a bag of what has to be leftovers while dragging her clothes hamper along, snapped me into action. "…wasn't expecting to get a lead on one of my FTA's. It was an uneventful capture…" The rest of her recount was drowned by the clattering of the glass bottles in her fridge door as she yanked it open. Placing her food inside, Babe kicked the door closed before turning around to wash her hands in the kitchen sink.
"Babe." Crowding behind her, our bodies filled the small strip of space this ancient building calls a kitchen. Whatever this thing we've somehow found ourselves in is, neither of us have taken the plunge to define what this is. Or put a real stop to it. "Stephanie." I breathed against the back of her head, tightening my hold around her waist as I kissed her curls.
"Ranger…" Her breathy sigh wasn't a reprimand, nor a plea for me to stop.
When her hands guided mine into motion, it was all over. We slipped into nonverbal cues and simply allowed our bodies to do all the talking. Despite a whole night of round after round of explosive soul sucking orgasms, the uncertainty remained. It didn't help matters any that a mix of administrative boss duties kept me chained to my desk on five for the week that followed.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes to help keep the headache that was forming at bay when my cell phone buzzed. Blindly reaching into my right slacks pocket, I wasn't expecting him to send me a message.
Morelli and I are not and will never be anything along the lines of friends. Despite our one-sided rivalry, we've put our differences aside many a times whenever Babe's been in danger. Knowing that he and Babe haven't been together since their last non-public breakup months ago, I knew that whatever attachment he sent wouldn't be of my liking. If it doesn't have something to do with Babe's safety, he could be trying to re-stake his claim on her. I haven't seen Babe privately for two days, so it could be possible that they're back together. That could explain why Babe didn't make any after hours appearances at Rangeman since earlier in the week.
Blowing out a breath, I hoped, prayed even, that I was wrong. Babe being safe and sound was my biggest priority, even if having to hear Morelli's smug bitchy tone telling me to back off would still feel like a literal stab in my chest if he's claiming they're back together.
Playing the video Morelli sent, my office was immediately filled with bumping music.
"Manoso!" Morelli slurred, clearly inebriated. "I always knew you weren't shit!" That stupid cocky grin of his filled his face as he yelled to be heard over the blaring music. From the looks of it, he's a guest at some Burg party being held at the hall where all 'major' events are held. According to the Burg, if you can't book the number one hall, then you might as well not celebrate your event in Jersey. "You will never be man enough!" Laughing as he reached to chug the remainder of his drink, I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.
And just as I was getting ready to exit Morelli's nonsense filled video, his camera panned to the bustling dance floor. Taking advantage of his average zoom, Morelli made sure I could get a front row seat from his current POV. There, dancing with abandon, was Babe. She swayed to the music, clearly enjoying herself by her flushed look. And, of course, she wasn't dancing alone. Some guy was sidled up real close to her backside, undeniably enjoying his close proximity to Stephanie.
"Uh, our girl knows how to par-tay!" Lester's either improved his stealthy skills, or I'm getting rusty. My cousin getting this close, his head close to mine as he watches Babe move to the beat wouldn't have been possible had I not been distracted. "Fisting three drinks in one hand and two beers in the other, ha! She's wasted, wasted." Lester's chuckle irked me.
"Out." I ordered, silently warning him that he'd be the one to take on my wrath.
"You're no fun." Santos teased, dropping the Gundersen file on my desk before he hightailed it out of my office. He likes pushing buttons, but even he knows where to draw the line.
I sat, mind racing, for several minutes after watching the video a couple of times.
So, Babe's dancing with some wannabe, it's not a big deal.
Or is it?
My concentration was shot, especially when Morelli decided to send me minute by minute updates of Drunk Babe and some random asshole who was a little too handsy from my virtual vantage point.
"So, what are ya gonna do about it?!" Morelli's final video message dared me to act, only to call me a coward in the same breath. "I'll tell ya what! You ain't gonna do shit, Manoso!" His cackling laugh had me ready to snap the device in my hand in two.
What the hell does he know?!
Nothing. He's just trying to stir the pot, the asshole!
Unable to concentrate, I pushed away from my desk and bolted out of Rangeman.
Maybe I am going to do something about it. Finally.
