Janet Evanovich 1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to give Ranger a chance to explain why in Hard Eight he told Stephanie to repair things with Joe and then give the story a Babe ending. Everything familiar - events, phrases, characters - belongs to Janet. The mistakes are mine. Warnings for language and a tiny bit of smut.**

It was the day after Stephanie and I had settled the DeChooch deal, and we're currently in the middle of a conversation I had wanted more than anything to avoid. I hated to say what I'm about to, but I felt I had to give her an out if she wanted one. She's made it clear that she's cautious when it comes to doing _anything _with me, romantic or otherwise, and I wasn't going to force a relationship on her if she wasn't ready for one. The deal was as far as I was willing to push her.

"You need to repair your relationship with Morelli," I told her, feeling like an asshole, but I needed Stephanie happy more than I wanted her with me.

"We needed a time-out," she said.

They needed a fuckload more than that. Like a restraining order to keep Morelli permanently away from her, a transfer to get him out of Trenton for good, or a round-the-clock bodyguard on Stephanie to keep Joe's hands the hell off her, would all be fine with me.

"I'm being a good guy right now because it suits my purposes, but I'm an opportunist, and I'm attracted to you." That was probably the most understated comment I've ever made. The next one was a little more truthful. "And I'll be back in your bed if the Morelli time-out goes on for too long."

I don't know where I was coming up with this shit, but it sounded like I was doing the right thing for her, so I went with it. But just to remind Stephanie of who she'd gotten involved with, I kept talking and put the final nail in my coffin.

"I could make you forget Morelli if I put my mind to it. That wouldn't be good for either of us."

Half truth, half lie. I'd welcome an opportunity to kick Morelli's ass out of her life, but this isn't about me. Stephanie had to want to walk away from Joe on her own first. Not having Stephanie is bad enough, watching her run back to Joe time and time again has fucked with both my head and my heart more than I ever wanted to let it.

"That's very noble, Ranger. Are you done talking now?"

"Yes."

"Good. Since you're feeling so chatty, how about you tell me why I should go back to Joe," she said to me, her beautiful eyes narrowed.

Very different than the drowsy, satisfied look Steph was giving me last night. Now wasn't the time to think about that. I gave my head an almost imperceptible shake at just how deep I was in with her. I have yet to _stop_ thinking about what we had done to each other. Stephanie is on a roll so I thought it wise to pay attention to her instead of picturing her naked, her body and mind open to whatever I had in store for them. Fuck. This isn't helping at all. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Stephanie's anger made a sizable dent in the lust that was quickly taking over my body again.

"So I should 'repair' what Morelli and I had so he can treat me like crap some more?" Steph said, angry at Joe and probably me at the moment, too. "Pressure me to marry him yet again? Is that really what you want? Me to be someone else's problem. Someone else's _wife_?"

She didn't give me a chance to answer. She's beautiful when she's pissed as hell, but it's common knowledge that she's not really willing to listen when she's upset about something.

"And what exactly am I supposed to fix anyway?" She asked me. "Myself? Because according to Joe, that's the only thing wrong with our relationship._ Me_. And you want me to go back to that? I guess that means _you_ don't want me for the same reason."

I made the mistake of waiting to see if she was going to finally let me speak. It's clear that communication between us is on the blink again.

"What?" She said to me. "You've got nothing to say to that?"

Looks like Eliza had been prepared for this conversation, something I sure as hell hadn't been.

"Not that I'm surprised," she continued, pausing only long enough to take a breath. "The Man of Mystery wouldn't dare give anything away ... except for _me_."

My teeth clenched. If Stephanie was mine, I sure as fuck wouldn't 'give her away'.

"You aren't mine ..."

"I guess that's really what I'm asking ... why don't you want me to be?"

That's the question I'd been waiting for. I opened my mouth to say exactly that, but Stephanie had already worked up a head of steam and it was best to let her get it all out of her system before claiming what _should_ have been mine a long time ago.

"Jesus, Ranger. After the night we just had, can't you see that _we're _the ones who need to work on our relationship? Can't you get it through that thick skull of yours that _you _are the only one I want? Not Morelli. Not any of your men. Not Tony down at the Shop 'n Bag. _You_. There ... I said it. Now what are you going to do about it? Push me up against the wall and have your way with me again before walking out? Or leave before giving me even that little bit of yourself?"

I will be having my way with her as much, and for as long, as she'd let me, but there are a few things that need to be done first. And I knew Stephanie wouldn't believe me if I told her how I felt right now. She'd view it as a way of getting her back into bed, nothing more. And while that _is _part of my plan, it isn't the whole one.

Her internal timer went off, and she must have decided that my standing here, appearing unfazed, wasn't what she needed from me so she retreated after going on one hell of an attack.

"I think you should go," she said.

I could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes and I'd rather rip out my own heart a thousand times over than watch hers break. I didn't know exactly how to voice that so I went with plan B and pulled her to me, trying to use my lips and tongue to convey that I'm thinking along the same relationship lines as she is. But after a few seconds of kissing me back, Steph pushed against my shoulders. I let her go reluctantly, and was even prouder of her for taking a stand and not caving even as I was kissing the panties off her. If _I _couldn't change her mind about something, Morelli had no fucking chance. My someday with Stephanie would start tonight, she just didn't know it yet.

"You need to go," she repeated when I didn't move, her eyes no longer watery, just dazed and understandably confused.

Good. I needed her _feeling _not _thinking _right now.

"I'll go, Steph, but I will be back. And soon. We have some unfinished business to sort out once I get this job finished."

"Same 'ol, same 'ol," I heard her mumble under her breath. "We've had nothing but unfinished business between us, why would this be any different?"

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the grin in. _Our _business would be concluded tonight, when I do exactly as I'd threatened and return to her bed where I should've been all along. Morelli could never be the man she needs. And both Steph and I seemed to have figured that out at the same time. Maybe by the time I come back, Stephanie would be willing to swear to it.

I leaned in like I was going to kiss her again just to see if she'd let me. She did, but only for a quick brush of my lips against hers. Steph was still angry, but not enough to eclipse what she feels for me. That brief contact will have to hold me until I could get back here. Tank better have Norrani's actual ass in his sights to take me away from the only thing more important to me than my job at a time like this.

"I'll be back," I promised.

"Yeah? When?" She asked me. "Tonight? Tomorrow? Two years from Tuesday?"

I deserved that. I've disappeared for weeks on end without even calling to tell her if I was alive. That wasn't my choice. I had no choices then, but I have plenty now. And I just made the biggest one ten minutes ago. Now I had to hope she doesn't shoot me the next time I show up here to tell her that.

"Lock your door," I told her, before I let myself out.

I ducked out of the way of her peephole so she wouldn't know that I was waiting to hear all her locks engage before leaving. Good thing I can open every single one of them, because I wasn't sure she'd open the door to me if I knocked on it.

I met up with Tank and we headed to a nasty little strip club between Stark and Comstock. We were able to secure Norrani within seconds of his ass walking out of the building. We sent the stripper he was leaving with on her way and escorted him to the TPD.

I'd never say it, but I was more than a little relieved to hear that Morelli was stuck working a double shift today. That worked perfectly for what I plan to do. Abruzzi would have to wait. Normally, I would've found him and ripped his throat out by now, but I knew Stephanie would be safe from him tonight because I'd be right there beside her to ensure it. If Stephanie didn't decide to call the cops on me that is, or _one _cop in particular. It really wouldn't matter if she did. I'd be up for that confrontation. Morelli wouldn't win the fight or this particular woman.

Tank was right behind me as I walked back to my truck.

"You checking on Stephanie later?" Tank asked me.

"Yes."

I didn't have to ask how he knew. Just warning Tank that I wasn't to be disturbed tonight confirmed all his suspicions. Tank and I are similar in a lot of ways. How we handle people isn't one of them. Tank can be honest - to the point of stupidity in some instances - with someone if they're important to him. I've never experienced a woman like Stephanie so I'm flying completely blind here. It's only now that I realize she isn't going anywhere. She's still on my mind, and since I've sampled everything she has to offer, my body's still craving hers like an addict jonesing for another high. I swear I can still taste her on my lips. My hands fisted as I remembered them closing around her breasts, her thighs, then her hips. There's no way I could let her go now.

I'd been told that she'd another run in with the rabbit, but was fine. And I felt a sense of relief when Stephanie called me after that for a pickup. That meant she wasn't too angry at me to ask for help when she needed it. Even though we both acted like nothing earth-shattering had transpired between us, I took a small measure of comfort in the fact that she still trusted me with her life if not her heart. I'd kissed her in the spot she likes below her ear and pretended it was just business as usual, even as I counted down the minutes until I was alone with her again.

Steph had gone out with Vinnie - why I still don't know - and lost yet another car, mine this time. I picked her and Vinnie up, and then tried once again to get her new system straightened out with Hector. The new technology seemed to be fucking with her more than I am. And both were unintentional. I forced myself to leave her for just a little longer, I promised myself. When I came back, my business would be left in Tank's mostly capable hands because I wouldn't be leaving her apartment again for a while afterwards. She'd call me cocky, but I preferred optimistic.

Neither she or I had mentioned our night together for different reasons. She wanted to avoid discussing it at all now, and I knew that was a conversation that needed to happen when I have plenty of time to devote to it _and _to her. Waiting to address what we'd done, and what I said, will probably end up biting me in the ass, but I would make it up to her as soon as I could.

My days have been extremely busy lately, between getting my security company up and running, catching the skips Stephanie won't even look at for Vinnie, and finishing what I'd started in having Abruzzi located and held so I can personally discourage him from pursuing Stephanie. Those were all going to be back burnered until I straightened things out with her. I've felt responsible for Stephanie Plum from the moment I laid eyes on her. _Now _responsibility is one of the last things I think when her name is said or her face appears in my mind. Love, lust, and longing are just a few that come before it.

Right now, love and flat out lust are warring with each other as my car drove to her apartment seemingly all on its own. It was close to one in the morning and the streets were empty, the night was dark, and sleep wasn't an option for me unless she was breathing softly next to me. I've lost count of how many times I've made this same drive. After a long day, a difficult capture, or when it just wasn't smart to be alone, heading to her place to talk to her for a few minutes, or to just sit in her lot watching her lights turn off one by one at night, made me feel once again like the invincible man everyone believes me to be.

Her lights were all off tonight when I parked in her building's lot. Her neighbors were all asleep, there were no suspicious vehicles, and no barnyard animals were lurking in the shadows, so I didn't hesitate at all after beeping the Turbo locked. I took the stairs two at a time up to the second floor. I picked her locks, and within seconds I was opening her door. The apartment was silent, making me worry momentarily that something else had gone on in my absence. Stephanie's loner car was dead, and so was her new keypad, but that should have been the end of the day's casualties. That knowledge didn't stop me from moving a little faster towards her bedroom.

My breath eased out when I saw her lying on her back in bed. The blankets looked like they'd been kicked off so I could see the steady rise and fall of her chest. And that wasn't all I could see. Her little tank top had ridden up and the smooth skin of her stomach made my own gut tighten instantly. The outline of her breasts and nipples were visible to me even in the dimly lit room, and my mouth started watering as I remembered the feel and taste of them. But the best part of the view in front of me is ... there was no Morelli in sight.

Good deal. I told her exactly what would happen if she didn't get back together with Joe, so I didn't feel at all bad about tugging off my clothes before straightening the covers and sliding in beside her. I'd had enough sense to leave my gun on the other side of the room so she wouldn't be tempted to shoot me with it when she woke up. I moved in close and rose up on an elbow to watch her sleep. I knew Stephanie would be surprised to find me here after I blew our morning after conversation First, by not staying. And second, by not assuring her that I'd like nothing better than to stay with her, in bed, for the rest of my life. I never make the same mistake twice, and Stephanie is going to see that.

I ran my hand over her pj clad body, trying to wake her up without scaring her. My hand skimmed her breast and I heard Stephanie moan in her sleep. I refused to let any anger enter the bedroom, but that sexy little sound better have been for me. If she whispered Morelli's name right now, I knew he'd be dead as soon as I left here. I covered her leg with mine and moved it up until I felt the heat pouring off her even through her little shorts. Stephanie definitely wanted _someone_, and from this night on it would be _me_. My teeth grazed her neck before my mouth reached her ear and whispered into it.

"Steph?" I said softly.

Not much in my life has felt as good as Stephanie's skin against mine. She battled unconsciousness and lost, settling back down when I leaned forward and pressed kisses along her hairline.

"Babe?" I said, tugging on one of her curls and watching it spring back. "Wake up."

"No," she said, instinctively moving away from anything trying to wake her up.

I smiled. She couldn't go far. Waking her up is never easy, but I have time.

I started kissing the sweet spot on her neck to make her more awake, or at least _responsive_. I then moved to her shoulder, and that seemed to make Steph semi-coherent finally.

"Ranger?" She asked groggily.

"Yes, Babe?" I said, watching her intently as she blinked her eyes repeatedly before turning her head to look at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be back in your bed if you didn't fix things with Morelli," I reminded her, probably being more literal than I needed to be.

"Yeah, but ..."

"No buts. From now on, this is where I'm going to be. I fucked up big time, but I plan on repairing any damage I've caused."

"And which fuck up are you planning on fixing first?" She asked me. "There's a ton to choose from."

"I know. And I'm sorry."

She couldn't dislodge my body, so she turned her head away to stare at the ceiling.

"Did you just say that you're sorry?" She asked me, avoiding a few feelings herself.

"Yes. And I'll do one better," I told her. "I was also wrong."

That got her attention.

"But you're _never _wrong," she said, her eyes on me again.

"When it comes to you, I've been nothing _but _wrong."

"Really? About what?"

"About what you mean to me, your role in my life, your impact _on _my life ... my _future_."

"What future?" She asked, and I could see her teeth clutch her bottom lip as she waited for my answer.

Before I spoke again, I freed the lip that I've been dreaming about more and more lately.

"The one you'll be sharing with me," I told her, glad my Glock was in a safe place.

Stephanie wouldn't cross the room to look for it unless she was seriously pissed.

"Oh, _now _you want a future with me?" She said, leaning up on her own elbow to poke me in the chest. I was suddenly thankful that she doesn't have nails like Connie. "You said you wanted me back with Morelli, or am I remembering that conversation wrong?"

"Your memory is good, _too _good. And that particular line, I only said because I wanted you to have choices. And if you chose Morelli, I didn't want you to have to feel guilty for it."

"And now?"

"And now ... I know that I'm the only man who can give you whatever life you choose," I told her, tracing the shape of her lips.

I'd be trying to memorize every curve, texture, and shape of her face if I hadn't done that months ago.

"_Sooo_, you decide to show up when I'm asleep, get naked, and crawl into bed with me so we can discuss why you shouldn't have it left in the first place?"

Her saying it out loud didn't make it sound nearly as smart as it did in my head.

"Yes," I told her. Fuck it. Nothing I've done has been smart when it came to her. "And you can't say I didn't warn you that I'd be back in here with you."

"I thought you were bluffing," she said, sounding like she didn't believe that either.

"I _never _bluff."

She rolled her eyes and laid back down again.

"Have you seen Joe today?" I asked her.

"Nope," she told me. "I've had other things on my mind."

"Like what?" I asked, catching one of her hands in mine so she'd stop twisting them nervously.

"Butterscotch Krimpets, rabbits, that stupid security system you had installed ..."

"Me?" I asked her.

She sighed. "Yeah ... and you."

"And what exactly were you thinking?"

"That you're a jerk?"

"Babe."

"Don't _Babe _me," she said, taking back custody of her hand. "I don't do one night stands, Ranger."

"Steph ..."

"Let me finish. I've been going through a really shitty time right now. The guy who claims to love me enough to want to marry me, dumps me because I'm too much trouble. A sociopath keeps trying to kill me because I'm looking for a child to put a grandmother's mind at ease. My once perfect sister is coming completely unglued. And my mentor/friend made a deal with me and gave me a night I'll never forget, but let me think that's all it would amount to ... _one night_. So I'm now _that _girl. The one who jumps right into bed with a guy after getting out of a relationship with a different one. It's skeezy and something someone like Joyce would do."

"You're wrong," I assured her. "Joyce would have slept with the guy and had her boyfriend record it."

I relaxed a little when I saw her lips move upwards.

"Yeah, there were a few rumors about her and husband number two," she said, giving me more information than I needed.

"I didn't intend to make you feel like that," I said, bringing the conversation back to us.

"But you did," she said. "And I'm not sure you lying here naked again is helping with that feeling. I was okay not talking about what happened between us with Vinnie and Hector around, but this is different."

Fuck. That's the last thing I wanted to hear. Telling someone how I feel is next to impossible under the best circumstances, and this is far from ideal conditions. Anything involving Stephanie came with a separate set of complications, and her opinion of what we'd done apparently is one of them. I thought Morelli and Abruzzi would be the major obstacles to get through, but I didn't take into account Stephanie's feelings about us.

"I wanted your complete attention, and my being naked seems to accomplish that," I said, nudging my hips forward to drive my point home.

She tried not to react, but I know her body now. And there is no doubt in my mind that it wanted me, which is why I wasn't letting her move away from me.

"I was stupid," I told her. "I'd hoped that with the deal, I'd get you out of my system so I could leave you alone long enough for you to decide who you want to be with. Morelli was offering you a husband and kids, but you didn't seem to want that and kept pushing Joe away because of it. I've told you numerous times that I couldn't do a relationship and could only promise you nights filled with multiple orgasms. You didn't want that, either, but you've never told me to go to hell, or tried to distance yourself from me."

"What are you getting at?" She asked. "That I'm a mess. Or that I've been confused? I already know that."

"You're not a mess. And I've been every bit as confused as you. What I'm getting at is that I don't think you want to trade in your stun gun for a family, at least not right now, but you also don't want just a quick lay when the mood strikes either of us."

"I want to be more than just a physical release to you, Ranger. Though what you did last night could never be called 'quick'."

"So why don't we figure out something in between?" I asked her. "We both suck at defining relationships, and we shouldn't have to. As long as I know that Morelli isn't going to pop back up in your life, in you bed, or between us, I'm good. And I promise that _you _are the only woman I want ... in bed and out. If you think you can handle the gray areas of my life, and the secrecy of some of the jobs I have to do, I want to see if we can do this. But you have to be sure, Steph. There's no going back to the way things were. I don't cheat and I don't share."

"I'm happy to hear that, because sharing isn't really my thing, either," Stephanie told me. "Dickie's lucky he left our marriage with his dick intact."

"If that's been bothering you, Babe, I have someone I can call. Dickie could be dick_less_ within the hour."

Stephanie was silent for a minute, thinking the offer through.

"No," she said finally, sounding disappointed with her own answer.

"What do you say, Babe? Do you want to take a chance with me and see where this goes?"

She was quiet again. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. If she thought about this too long, it could show that Joe meant enough to her to become a problem. And if she threw her arms - and hopefully her legs - around me, that could be seen as her getting caught up in a moment that she may regret tomorrow.

"Steph?" I asked.

"Are you talking about a serious, honest-to-goodness relationship, Ranger?" She asked. "Because I don't want to be jerked around. I need to know that you're willing to put up with me no matter what."

"I thought I've been doing that," I told her.

Watching over Stephanie is a full-time job, one that I would never get tired of doing.

"Funny. But there's a lot of neurotic crap I've yet to subject you to. Why do you think Joe broke up with me?"

"Because he's an idiot. He wouldn't be able to understand how you think, feel, or love if you came with a user's manual written out just for him."

"Was that a compliment for me?" She asked. "Or an insult to Joe?"

"Both," I told her. "So you haven't really spoken to him?"

"No. I only told him about the masturbating rabbit outside of Tasty Pastry. I don't know which is worse ... seeing that or hearing Grandma talk about it afterwards?"

Tough call. Both choices are stomach-turning.

"Was he concerned?" I asked her, because after I heard about it, I decided that this rabbit will be missing a few body parts when I get my hands on him.

And I would think less of Joe as a man if he didn't have the same idea.

"Concerned about me?" She asked. "I don't think so. He didn't threaten to lock me up, or try to convince me to move in with him to protect me. I think it's really over this time."

"Good. _I _will be the one to protect you. Not Morelli. Not the TPD. _Me._ And I'll be staying in this apartment with you until this Abruzzi situation is resolved if you don't want to leave. If you stop feeling safe here, I have a penthouse apartment in my new building we can move to."

"Holy crap! Are you talking about the Bat Cave?" She asked me, her eyes going wide. "You said the Bat Cave is _forever_."

"This isn't the Bat Cave. It's a place to sleep when I'm in Trenton, but it can still be forever if you want it to be. It's on Haywood Street."

"You're giving me your address?"

Stephanie didn't acknowledge the forever comment, but I know it's only a matter of time before it becomes a reality, so I didn't push the issue.

"Yes."

"Wow. You _are _serious."

"I'm always serious, Babe."

"That's what I used to think until this sex-in-exchange-for-help deal came along."

Proof that she's already changed me. I never would have suggested something like that if she hadn't made my dick and my brain constantly fight for control of my body.

"I was dead serious about that, too. I was willing to do anything to get into your bed. And now that I'm here, I'm not leaving. Joe can find a new bedmate if he gets bored with Bob."

"You're assuming that I even want you in my bed."

"You haven't kicked me out yet."

"Could be I was thinking about kicking you out, and was just waiting to hear what you had to say first to be polite."

"Have I changed your mind on anything?"

"Maybe."

"Joe?"

"No. That's done. Joe needs something I can't give him right now."

"And what about me? I'm not asking for anything from you," I told her.

"You may not realize it, Ranger, but yes you are. You're asking for a hell of a lot from me. If I agree to something with you, I'm going to ask questions you don't want to answer. I'll want to go out on actual dates with you. And it's possible that I'll fall completely in love with you and lose my friend, mentor, and probably the love of my life if we don't work out."

"When have you ever run scared from something?"

"This isn't business. This is personal. And as Morelli has pointed out, I have a hard time admitting and dealing with my emotions."

"That's why we're going to be good together. We're similar in that regard. But you have to be willing to work with me. We're both fucked up, but we have potential."

She rolled her eyes. "Boy, when you're saying sweet stuff like that it's no wonder women are constantly falling at your feet."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"You have to ask?"

"No. So are we clear?"

"Yep ... as the Delaware River."

We both know that the Delaware is one of the most polluted rivers in the country.

"Stephanie ..."

She blew out a breath, displacing another curl.

"Okay, you want the truth?" She asked me.

"Always."

"There's a good chance that I already love you, but you scare the fucking hell out of me."

"I'm aware of that, Babe."

"That I love you, or that you scare me?"

"That I scare you, but I'm glad to hear that you also love me."

"I said there's _a chance_."

I leaned over her body and kissed her forehead. "I heard you. And about your rabbit trouble," I said to her, "you don't have to worry. No one threatens what's mine. He, along with Abruzzi, will be taking care of. They won't be bothering you again."

"You're going to figure out how to get them arrested?"

"I promise, where they're going, they'll never be able to approach you again."

"Don't tell me anymore. I don't want any details," she told me. "And while we're on the subject of things that are bugging me, that car comment ..."

"What comment?" I asked, knowing I shouldn't have since things had been going so well.

"You said you'll be writing the CR-V off as entertainment. That'd better be the only thing you have listed under entertainment, Ranger. I don't mind amusing you up to a point, but I refuse to be thought of as a joke ... especially by _you_."

Shit. I stepped in it again. She's under the impression that I know everything, but when it comes to loving someone, I have just as much to learn as she does.

"You do amuse me, but I'd never use anything that happens to you as a way of hurting you. Looks like I've fucked up again if you think I have. I can hit any target put in front of me, take down any skip given to me, but I don't know shit about expressing myself. I've spent over ten years talking to, and ordering around, guys like Tank and Santos, so if I say something that hurts or bothers you, you're going to have to tell me so I can explain it."

"Okay, that I can do. And I'm glad you said that, because I really didn't want to knee you in the nuts."

I smiled. Speaking of my nuts ... I rolled my body on top of her and settled myself between her legs. The shorts really had to go. Tank top, too.

"I had a feeling since you were naked, and therefore no place to hide it," Steph was saying, "that your Glock isn't the object that has been poking me during this entire conversation."

Stephanie didn't sound at all annoyed at my state of undress, so I took that as a go ahead for some quick pj removal. Before her clothes hit the floor, my hips were back pressing against hers.

"My Glock is safely out of your reach, but this 'gun'," I told her, brushing the tip of my dick against her but going no further, "has been cocked and ready for you ever since I left your bed yesterday." I wanted to take her again, bad, but Stephanie will have to tell me point blank that she wants me before I take us to the place we both want to go. "If I'm being honest, which for the first time I'm trying to be, I've had a hair trigger where you're concerned for longer than I'd care to admit. We both know that I want you, but it's time I clued you in on the fact that I also love you."

Her eyes were wide open now and locked onto my face. I saw that same expression last night when I plunged so deep into her body, I thought I'd never leave it.

"Do you mean that?" She asked me.

"After everything we've been through, you doubt it?"

"Yes."

I understood that. And I love her even more for telling me the truth, no matter how unpleasant.

"I swear to you that I won't give you a reason to doubt it after tonight."

"You swear, huh?"

"Yes. And you know me well enough to get that I never make a promise I can't follow through on."

"That is true," she told me, sliding her thigh over my hip. "You'd better get busy then, because you have a lot to make up for. You tried to hand me off to another man, ran out without so much as a backwards glance after having sex with me, and you never said anything remotely like _I love you _after the amazing night we had together. And let's not forget to add the fact that you just broke into my apartment for the millionth time and woke me up a half hour after I'd finally managed to get myself to sleep."

"I'm sorry about waking you, Babe, but now that you _are _awake, I will make it worth your while for hearing me out," I said, sliding all the way into her. I heard her breath catch and I smiled down at her. "Do you believe me now?"

"_Yes _..." she sighed.

"About making it worth your while? Or that I love you?" I asked, using her questioning technique from earlier.

"Both," she said, wrapping her other leg around me, too, holding me tight to her as if there was a chance in hell I'd separate our bodies anytime soon.

I lowered my head and kissed her. She tasted just like I remembered, and I knew I'd never get enough. Abruzzi, Morelli, and our own inadequacies won't be getting in our way. I'd make sure of it.

I didn't move at all after entering her. Her muscles clamped down hard on me, and I was content for the moment to just enjoy the feel of her surrounding me inside and out.

"_Ranger_," Stephanie groaned, "what are you waiting for?"

That was an easy one. "_You_, Babe. I've been waiting for _you_."

And I rocked us both to the first orgasm of the night. A long time later, I rolled an exhausted Stephanie onto my chest, covering us both with the blanket. I waited until her body relaxed and her breathing evened out before I closed my eyes and let myself sleep.

The following day, I left Stephanie only long enough to take care of Abruzzi myself once and for all. He won't be Stephanie, Evelyn, or Annie's problem any longer. I would do anything for Stephanie Plum, and the last words Eddie Abruzzi ever got to hear were similar ones.

**A/N: I didn't mark this story as complete even though this chapter is. The next chapter I add, when I get the chance to write one in between my other stories, will be a different scene from another book.**


	2. Alternative Eleven

**The first two paragraphs of this are from Eleven On Top, with me only adding to the end of what Janet originally wrote. I've always thought Ranger's underwear statement could've been a turning point in the series if Janet had wanted to go in a more Babe direction with the books. Everything familiar belongs to Janet.**

I locked eyes with Stephanie. I want her to see that I'm not fucking around.

"Just so you know, for future reference, _I _wouldn't understand. If you were living with me, and you came home without underwear, I'd go looking for the guy who had it. And it wouldn't be pretty when I found him. Morelli will be making a grave error if he doesn't do the same."

She went completely still. "What are you saying?" She asked after a beat. "And why now?"

"How truthfully do you want me to answer that?"

Her lips parted, I'd guess to say something, but I put my index finger up to her mouth to stop her.

"Your answer could change things between us - and between you and Joe - so you really need to put some thought into it."

She turned her head to glance at Morelli's house, then she looked back at me.

"Is my brain still groggy from sleep, or are you actually hinting at something?"

"I'm not _hinting _at anything. That's why I felt you should be warned before we continue this conversation."

"Joe's probably waiting for me," she started to say, clearly uncomfortable with our discussion.

"Who isn't?" I said, more to myself than to her.

"_What?_"

"Nothing."

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Can we cut the crap here? If there's something you want to tell me, just spit it out already."

"If I do, Morelli will be waiting a hell of a lot longer for you than just a few hours, and you'll be missing more than your underwear when I'm through."

"This Stiva thing is getting to us all ..."

She's obviously trying to convince _herself _- as much as she wanted to convince me - that what's between us is based solely on hormones and adrenaline. I'd like to believe that, but I haven't stayed alive this long by deluding myself. I know I love her, and it's getting increasingly difficult to let her go home to another man at night.

"This has nothing to do with Stiva and everything to do with _you_, Babe. You need to open your eyes and see that."

The blue eyes I'm referring to suddenly narrowed at me. Good. When she's angry, at least I'm able to get the truth out of her.

"What I _see _right now ... is a man who likes screwing with me and my emotions just when I finally get my life back to normal."

I didn't hold back the derisive sound. "_Nothing _about you or your life is normal, Steph."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"I didn't say that to be cruel. You currently have a maniac stalking you, a 'boyfriend' who almost became roadkill and is now using his injury to maneuver you into his house. And let's not forget the feelings you have for a man who definitely isn't the boyfriend."

"Yeah ... well your life isn't perfect, either."

"It isn't, but I finally figured out what can make it better," I admitted, knowing she's about to hear something that will make things much harder for her in the long run.

"How?" She asked.

Her breasts were rising and falling as her breathing became more erratic, showing that her instincts for detecting incoming trouble are spot on.

"By you telling me to start the car and take you back to Rangeman ... to my apartment."

"And Joe?"

"Joe can call his mother to come play nursemaid. I feel sorry for the guy, but not enough to let you stay with him if you'd rather be with me. We both know I can keep you safer than he ever could."

"But ..."

"Don't make excuses for him or yourself," I warned her. "If you didn't have to worry about hurting Joe's feelings or what your mother will say, where would you like to be right now? Here in the Burg ... or inside my building?"

"Ranger, it's not that easy."

"It could be if you'd stop trying to adhere to boundaries we both failed at respecting. Do you want me?"

She paused, then sighed. I already know what her answer will be. She's discovered what I had long ago, we can't _not _want each other.

"Yes."

"Do you love me?" I asked her.

"Yeah."

"Do you think my team and I can keep Stiva from getting to you?"

"Probably ... _but_."

"You're doing it again."

"I don't want to hurt Joe."

"So you're going to give up what makes you happy just so he can be? You'll both end up miserable in the end. You constantly moving out of his house days after moving in proves that."

"Why does it even matter what I do? Up until five minutes ago _you _weren't a possibility. Didn't you just say at Mama Mac's funeral that you're not family material?"

"Haven't you been telling Morelli all along that you don't want one?"

"_Shit_."

I have her there. My not wanting to be married _would _be a problem if she wants a white picket fence, 2.5 kids kind of life, but she claims she doesn't - not in the immediate future anyway - so that's one less issue preventing us from attempting this.

"Come back to Rangeman with me and let us take care of Stiva for you."

She looked like she was about to protest, so I sweetened the pot.

"You can help track him down from the safety of my building. I know you need to be involved in locating him, I just don't want him or anyone else getting their hands on you."

She had moved her head slightly in order to stare at the lights shining through the downstairs windows of Morelli's house. I'm not a hundred percent sure I have her, or if she's going to choose the Burg over me, even after I offered her what she claims she needs. Despite my recent mind-change regarding commitment, I still won't be an easy man to love daily or live with indefinitely. She's smart in not forgetting that.

Her face is still turned to the window so I can't read her expression, but I can fix that. I reached across the console, and with two fingers under her chin I made her look at me.

"What do you want me to do, Babe?"

I saw her swallow hard, but she kept eye contact this time. I'm taking that as a positive sign.

"Start the car," she said, after a moment's pause. "Then help me figure out how the fuck I'm supposed to explain this to Joe."

"In spite of what he wants to believe, he already knows that you love me. All you have to tell him is that you're refusing to run from that knowledge now."

"I love him, too," she admitted to me, as I started the Porsche.

Before I pulled away from the curb, I took my hand off the stick shift to catch hers.

"But not in the same way, Steph. You know there's a difference as well as I do."

Her whole body seemed to slump in the passenger's seat. "You should've just left me sleeping in my cubby," she said. "Joe's head is going to be smoking more than my car was."

"I'll have a word with Morelli before you do, that way he'll act like less of a prick to you. He understands that the two of you weren't headed anywhere or he wouldn't have ended things right after you got engaged."

"We weren't ever _really _'engaged'," she told me.

"Exactly."

I pulled out onto Slater Street, quickly putting distance between Stephanie and Morelli before she changed her mind about leaving with me. First thing I'll do is get her settled in at my place, then I'll let Morelli know she's safe but not coming home to him again. After that, I'm hunting down the fucker threatening her and I'll make him as much a memory for her as Joe is about to be.


	3. Seven Shaken Up

**The first eight lines of this Ranger POV chapter are a combination of mine and Janet's words. The rest of it is how I wished "Seven Up" had ended. Everyone and everything familiar belongs to Janet. The mistakes are solely mine. Warnings for a little smut.**

My body has surpassed hard and Stephanie's had definitely been in the process of melting against the front of mine, but she's now drawing back ... again.

"Okay, here's the truth," she told me. "I'd really like to sleep with you, but I have this stupid wedding gown ..."

That's not information I can't work around. I swept my lips along her jawline to her ear.

"I could make you forget the gown," I whispered into it.

"You could. But that would create really terrible problems."

Giving in to our mutual attraction would cause us both problems, but the inevitable complications from it are mattering less and less the longer I'm around her.

"You have a moral dilemma," I pointed out.

"Yes."

I kissed her again to give her something more to consider. "You could have something worth the dilemma."

I watched the expressions cross her face as she tried to figure out what I'm implying.

"You're saying that I can have _you_? Nothing new there. You're always up to - or _for _- something if it involves us without clothes on, but I have a chance at a serious relationship with a guy who says he loves me. Why would you want to put yourself in the middle of that and risk me wanting something like that with you?" She paused and then rolled her eyes at herself. "What am I saying? You wouldn't. And I wouldn't want you to."

"Are you sure about that?"

"If I'm not, I should be," she replied. "Look at how you are tonight. The short hair, cashmere jacket, black dress pants, classical music in your car ... you change personas like other men change friggin' socks. I'd be crazy to give up an engagement of sorts to a man I've known forever for whatever I could get from someone who's too full of mystery most of the time."

"It's better to change than chance marrying a guy who never will, Steph. If you think living with Morelli will be easier once you both have rings on your fingers, you've got bigger problems than a wedding gown."

"Why do you keep complicating my life?" She asked, burying her face in her hands, her indecision and frustration with me clear.

I've pushed her enough for now. When I come back to this room, it'll be with a different intent.

I peeled her hands away and tilted her chin up so she can see that I'm not fucking around anymore.

"I think the more pressing question is ... why do I want to complicate mine?"

I lowered my head and kissed her again, taking my time in seducing her using only her mouth. Her body will come later. When her breathing became erratic, I stepped back and let myself out, waiting by her door until I heard her lock it behind me. Then I went back to my own room to call Tank for backup.

My presence here in Richmond has somewhat changed. _Our _original objective was to rescue Dougie and Mooner, but _my _new goal is to get Stephanie naked, under me, and promising to stay there once we get back to Trenton.

I waited exactly two hours before I slipped back into her motel room. I'd heard her moving around for a while after I'd left, and I wanted her sleepy and her defenses down when I broke in. I opened, closed, and relocked her door without making a sound. I crossed the room, transferred my cell and gun from my pants to the nightstand, and stood by her bed, counting out the seconds until she sensed me near her.

It only took one minute and thirty-two seconds before she stirred this time.

"_Ranger?_"

"Yes."

"Did something happen, or are you making sure your B&E skills aren't rusty, since you decided not to break into Louie D's house earlier?" She said, flopping over onto her back, her voice still sounding half asleep.

I ignored the question.

"Trouble sleeping?" I asked.

She hesitated with her answer, but then gave me one anyway.

"At first."

I sat on the edge of her bed and fingered the hem of the t-shirt that had lifted, leaving a sliver of skin showing above the waistband of her sexy underwear.

"Because of me?"

She paused again, then just admitted the truth. "Yeah. I couldn't seem to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I started off in just my panties, thinking that would help cool me down some, but putting at least my shirt back on seemed safer."

"If I can get through a locked door, Babe. A couple layers of material is nothing."

"Yeah ... but while you were in the process of locating skin, one of us may have come to our senses."

"'Coming to our senses' would mean what?"

"That we're a bad idea."

I agree, I just don't give a fuck anymore.

"We are a bad idea," I told her. "But you and Morelli are a worse one."

"Because you know there will be no collecting on the deal if I'm married?"

"My moral code may be a bit skewed, but I would never touch another man's wife."

"Is that what this room break-in is about?" She asked me. "Time's running out, and since you have me alone and already turned on, you're going to do something about it?"

"If you believe that, why aren't you kicking me out?"

She didn't say anything. I took that as a positive sign. I kicked off my boots and nudged her over so I could share her bed.

"What are you doing?" She asked, finally snapping out of her own head.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." I slid my hand into her curls and 'encouraged' her to face me. "Our plans have changed. Tank and Bobby are on their way here as backup and victim transport, so we'll have a little time now and after the rescue to deal with this thing between us. Tomorrow we'll retrieve Dougie and Mooner, then when we get back to Trenton, you're telling Morelli to take the gown and himself and go to hell."

"Ranger ..."

I shut her up with a kiss. I started out gentle to counteract the thoughts I'm currently having on taking her here, then in my apartment back home, and any place else she'll let me. What she was about to tell me doesn't matter. I'm through watching, waiting, and sharing. I've never denied myself something I've wanted, and I want her ... have wanted her since she first approached my table at the diner. I would've preferred to claim her someplace other than a rented room, but I'm not letting her sleep alone _tonight _or any other night I'm able to be in bed with her.

No more words were needed. Whatever thoughts, guilt, or reservations, she had regarding me or Morelli, were put aside as her desire for me took over. I rolled to my back and tugged her on top of me so I could get rid of her t-shirt. Once that was pulled over her head, I slid both hands down her bare back to her hips, under her panties, and down her legs, taking her thong completely off her body. Then my hands came back up, as I rolled us to put her beneath me.

Her lips were parted, yet she wasn't telling me to stop. If anything, she egged me on by yanking at my shirt, so I ditched it. Her fingers went first to my chest, then they traced my individual ab muscles while mine worked two pleasure points ... one below her waist and one above it.

"_Oh, shit_ ..." she hissed, when I slid a finger into her and finally left her nipples alone to focus solely on making her come.

I smiled into the dark room. "Shit good or shit bad, Babe?" I asked, before kissing her mouth again.

"_Gooooood_," she said into it.

And it did feel real good when I felt her spasming in my hand three seconds after I put a little tongue into our kiss.

"_This _isn't part of a deal is it?" She asked me, though she sounded as if she knew it wasn't really a valid question.

I unbuckled my pants and urged her to open her legs wider before answering. As I eased myself inside her still trembling body, I put my mouth close to hers once again so she wouldn't misunderstand me.

"No, Stephanie. _This _isn't anything except an expression of what I feel for you."

When my dick was almost all the way in, she started panting again, even lifting her hips in order to accept more of me.

"You must _feel _an awful lot," she said, "because I definitely do."

I've never laughed during sex before, but this woman has inspired a lot of firsts for me.

I kept my thrusts slow but deep to start so she'd still be coherent enough to comprehend my words.

"I feel more than 'a lot' for you, Babe. And _this_," I said, punctuating my statement with a twist of my hips, "is just the beginning of me proving - and owning - it."

I may be the wrong man for her, but after tonight, I'm going to be the _only _man for her.


End file.

Janet Evanovich, Friendship, Romance