Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.
Ranger's POV
"Babe." Pressing my head against her bare shoulder, my labored breath ghosted against her soft skin.
"Oh my God." Babe murmured in between catching her breath, her voice horse from her successive orgasms.
"Mmm." I concurred, nuzzling her skin as I kissed my way across her shoulder, up her neck and reaching her left ear. Biting the lobe, I basked in the yelp Stephanie let out before the laugh I knew was coming bubbled past her lips. Of course, that rich laugh made me want to kiss those delectable lips even more, so as soon as Babe turned her head to the side in anticipation of the kissing session she knew was next, I delivered.
Joint groans were lost in our tongue heavy kiss when Babe twisted around in arms, which caused me to slip out and sever the connection in our lower halves. With our mouths and tongues busy, her fingers speared into my hair as I scooped her into my arms to lead us away from my front door. My foyer, including the side bar, and hers have seen many desperate couplings. Sometimes we just can't wait another single millisecond after stumbling inside either of our places.
Settling Babe on the marble sink counter, I disentangled myself from her soft body long enough to turn on the ceiling water spout to fill the tub. Adding the bath salts, soaps, and all the other things Babe likes in a relaxing bath, I returned to Babe's side while we waited for the tub to fill with the scalding hot water Babe loves.
"Are you okay?" I asked Babe as I raked my eyes over her form. Knowing how fragile my control can be while I'm with her, especially after a distraction job where our mark was too touchy for my liking, I tend to worry that I can unintentionally hurt Stephanie given how much bigger and stronger I am. "Did I hurt you?" I asked if I'd been too rough. Our joint orgasm was one for the books, so it's a valid concern.
"No." Shaking her head vigorously, several curls dislodged from her updo and whipped across her beautifully flushed face. Grinning wide as she looped her arms around my shoulders, Babe assured me that the roughness was just right.
I was jolted awake when the announcement that we're approaching landing penetrated my short nap. Adjusting the obvious bulge in my cargo pants, I leaned back against the seat as the jet began its descent. Smirking to myself, I enjoyed the mental image of Babe's lust filled eyes tracking my movement as I used my teeth to remove the red lacy thong she was wearing under the distractingly sexy red dress that fit her like a second skin, dragging the scrap of lace down her long legs as her unique scent filled my nostrils. God I've missed Babe. I'm looking forward to seeing her face and hearing her voice in person. Phone and video calls just aren't enough, not when we're exclusive and had spent so much time together before my departure. I know she'll be ecstatic to know that me being in the wind, as she calls it, is officially a thing of the past.
A Rangeman fleet SUV was waiting as soon as we touched down in Trenton-Mercer. Thanking the pilot and crew, I grabbed my duffel bag and hauled ass down the airstairs. I was so excited to be back in Trenton that even seeing Santos behind the wheel of my transport wasn't enough to damper my mood.
"Happy to be back, Cuz?" Santos asked, wagging his eyebrows and adding enough innuendo into his tone to make sure I didn't miss what he was getting at. When I refused to engage in his line of invasive questioning, my cousin raised his hands in surrender before shifting gears and getting us moving.
I'm sure my excitement to be back in town was palpable. I don't care to curb my feelings or fully mask my emotions when I'm moments away from being reunited with Babe. I'll deal with Santos and his pestering later. A session on the mats has Lester's name all over it.
"Uh oh." Santos audibly gulped when I grinned in response to the mental beatdown I envision for Lester on our next mat session.
Before I could officially schedule our mat time with Santos, the control room issued a concerning notification call to all units in the area. Santos and I locked eyes as Manny announced that Babe's panic button sent out an alert of distress. When he said it was the hidden button on the underside of her coffee table, my stomach dropped. There's no way that alert would go off on its own. That panic button was placed in a deliberate position so that it couldn't be set off on accident. Babe must have pressed it as the result of being surprised with no way of retreating to her bedroom or hightailing it out the front door.
Already being on the way to her apartment, we were the closest unit to reach the scene. Ram and Ramon will be the second unit on the scene, with their ETA three minutes after our arrival.
Santos had just swung into the packed parking lot when I wrenched my door open, hitting the ground running. Lester's heavy footsteps thundered behind me as I took the stairs three at a time. Not wasting a second longer than needed, I put my boot to the front door and kicked it down without missing a beat. I was inside of the apartment faster than those inside could react to my impending approach.
With gun drawn, I quickly surveyed from the foyer to get a quick read on the scene. The sounds that floated from the living room made my gut twist with worry. A high pitched wail resounded across the small space as I moved deeper into the apartment.
"Stop, stop, stop!" The crying pleading sounds turned out not to be Babe's.
Rushing forward, I was finally able to register the scene in full. Babe was straddling a man, having sunk her weight high on his chest, and was wailing on him nonstop. The rain of hits focused on his face as Babe punched and scratched him over and over again. She was relentless.
With one arm, I scooped Babe off of him, taking three steps back towards the hallway leading to her bedroom so that I could have enough room to set Babe back on her bare feet.
Santos locked eyes with me as he reached the man's side, his green eyes darkening the instant he registered that the man writhing on the floor was gripping remnants of Babe's robe and belt.
"Babe." Holstering my gun, I used both arms to wrap around her body as she began to shake violently. She stopped resisting as soon as it finally dawned on her overtaxed senses that she was no longer on her own.
"Ranger." Her blue eyes blinked furiously as they darted over my face, clearly still stuck in fight mode.
S
Lester's POV
My jaw tightened automatically as I watched Beautiful absolutely wail on the latest asshole that decided to fixate on her. The striking contrast of the blood that covered her hands against her fair skin was haunting.
Ranger one-armed swept her off of the little bitch that was literally weeping on the carpeted floor, retreating to have enough room to set her back on her feet and make her focus on him instead. They do this freaky thing where they can have full on conversations without words.
"That bitch broke my dick!" The crying mess at my feet aimed his sob story my way. I recognized his accent instantly and realized the fucker is none other than Treyton, one of our most recently used contract workers.
"Good job, Beautiful." Good girl. I had to smile proudly, even if she couldn't see me right now. Given how bad she messed his shit up, I'm fully on her side. He got what he deserved. Treyton's bloody face is the least of his worries. His dick is already very swollen and that weird angle it's sporting has got to hurt.
The left sleeve of her robe was torn right off. The way Ranger is keeping her robe from gaping open by holding on to the lapels, along with her very wet hair tells me that she'd likely just gotten out of the shower and isn't wearing anything under that robe.
"Oh fuck." Ram muttered as he and Ramon joined us.
"It's Treyton." I shared when my comrades flashed me questioning looks when they recognized the Rangeman issued uniform.
"You're a dead man." Ramon stage whispered, kicking Treyton's shoulder none too gently.
"Bobby is pulling up." Ram told Ranger, redirecting our attention back to Beautiful's bloody hands.
As Ranger guided her past the sick fucker on his way towards her front door, Treyton tried to insinuate that Beautiful had come on to him and that she went feral on him when he threatened to tell Ranger about the affair.
Ram, Ramon and I let out a bark of laughter in unison at the ridiculousness of his attempt to save his own ass. Idiot. He's lucky Ranger held Beautiful back, or Treyton would be resuming his nonstop wailing like the little bitch that he is.
"Oh you fucked up." I beamed down once Ranger and Beautiful were fully out of earshot. "She's one of us." I reinforced while the toe of my boot connected with his ribs. I kicked him hard.
"Yeah. And now we're gonna have to teach you a lesson." Ram pipped in, all too eager to jump in.
For Beautiful to be able to cause that kind of damage to his dick, it had to have been erect. For the audacity alone, we'll make sure to inflict max levels of pain.
S
Ranger's POV
I didn't stop until I was absolutely sure my point got across, and absolute terror filled the once smug composure. He broke too fast for my liking as he deserves a punishment worse than death. He's lucky Babe already handed it to him.
"To regain full function, you really needed prompt medical attention and a good surgical team." Bobby told our latest guest as he begged for us to end the torture. "As it's going, you might be lucky if you can piss normally ever again."
Bobby's psychological attack was the bow to tie this all off. We'll dump him at the TPD, altering the timeline so that on paper Rangeman turned him over after Babe's panic button went off. Knowing how slow the TPD can be when it wants to, Treyton may never have a functioning dick after tonight. Truthfully, I don't feel sorry for him. None of us do. With a quick nod to my men, I left so that they could get one more blow in before they sent off our guest with a bang.
Taking the elevator from the underground holding cell up to the seventh floor felt eternal. When Babe's adrenaline crash hit full force, I left her tucked in my bed so that I could have a chat with Treyton. Though I haven't been gone as long as I thought I'd be, I'm still left wondering if she'd wake up before my return. After the night she's had, it's not the most ideal.
When I entered my penthouse, I didn't have to go very far. I crossed paths with Stephanie as she was padding out of the kitchen with a bottle of water in one hand.
Eyeing me as I approached, I knew what she was going to ask before the question tumbled past her lips.
"Did you kill him?"
"Babe." I didn't have to elaborate. Stephanie has learned to decipher my use of Babe.
"Good." Wrapping her arms around my waist, she melted against me, still groggy from her sleep crash. "He's not worth getting your hands dirty." Placing a kiss on my chest, over my heart, Babe reinforced how well she knows me.
"Babe." I couldn't help but chuckle at her word choice seeing as she was the one with bloody hands. His blood to be exact. "The guys are bummed that you literally beat the fight out of him." She really made it too easy for us.
Rolling her eyes, Babe took my right hand in hers and led the way back to my bedroom. "After I snapped it like an ice pop I kinda blacked out from rage."
"Proud of you, Babe." Kissing the top of her head, I shed my clothes as she crawled back under the sheets. Sliding under the covers, I held her tightly. "I'm sorry, Stephanie."
"No, no, no." Placing her hand on my chest, Babe bolted upright before I could turn off the bedside lamp. "This isn't your fault, Ranger." Leaning down to place a soft kiss on my lips, Babe rested her forehead against mine as she voiced how this wasn't her fault either. Hearing that all too familiar line made me smile against her lips.
Running my hands up and down her arms, I shared why Treyton was on the slow track to eventually becoming a Rangeman. I do my due diligence. Had Treyton's superiors or fellow comrades alluded to any outright red flags, he would have been automatically disqualified. Wanting to get a feel for him myself, I approved a contractor role. It's what we do for any applicants that don't come with high or stellar recommendations from the start as a way of trying to be fair. He'd barely had a handful of shifts on monitors and no one reported any issues with him. His level of work was as bland as his application and references. He didn't stand out in the least bit. Sadly, his mediocreness allowed him to skate by until now that he decided to go after Babe.
The sadness in Babe's eyes reflected what I feel now that Rangeman's hiring screening will triple in cautiousness. There will be no room for error, because I cannot allow this to happen again.
As Babe settled against my side, resting her head on my shoulder, we kept up the physical contact until exhaustion lulled us into slumber. I didn't allow myself to fully relax until Stephanie's even breaths brushed against my bare chest. Only once I satiated my need to know that she was safe in my arms did I too fall asleep.