don't think so.'
'Not much you can do about it, babe.'
'I'll be mad at you.'
'You can't be mad at me,' Ranger said. 'I'm cute. I might even be adorable.'
'Try jerk on for size.'
'Sticks and stones.' He looked in the bag and gave a single soft bark of laughter. 'Nice,' he said, taking the dildo out, setting it on the counter, balls down, shaft up, like a giant pink rubber mushroom.
I'm not one of those women who blushes easily, but I could feel my ears burning.
'Having problems with Morelli?' Ranger asked, the edge gone. Anger replaced by something much softer… amusement, exhaustion, affection.
'The woman working in the Pleasure Treasures store went FTA, and Lula and I went in to make an apprehension, and Lula got this dancing dildo, but they were having a two-for-one-sale, and somehow I ended up with this. It's the Herbert Horsecock model.'
'It's impressive.'
'It's frightening,' I told him.
He took the DVD out of the bag. 'Big Boys,' he said. 'I'm seeing a theme here.'
'Lula said it would change my life.'
Ranger put the dildo and the DVD back in the bag. 'Does your life need changing?'
'I don't know. I thought so a while ago, but it feels comfortable now… except for a commitment dilemma.'
He pulled me to him and kissed me in a way that more than made up for the benign kiss in the bakery. 'Let me know when you figure it out,' he said.
I realized that sometime during the kiss I'd inserted my leg between his and had plastered myself to him in all the strategic places. I inched away and smoothed out the wrinkles I'd made when I gripped his shirt.
'Is there something I should be doing tonight to find Julie?' I asked him.
'Not tonight, but I have some legwork for you to do tomorrow if you have time.'
'Of course I have time. Are you managing this okay?'
'It's not the first time I've had to find someone important to me. You learn to keep moving forward. And you go deep into denial.'
'Are you scared?'
'Yeah,' Ranger said. 'I'm scared for Julie.'
'Do you have a place to stay?'
'I have a safe house in north Trenton. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight.' He reached out to kiss me again, but I jumped away. Another kiss like the last one and he wouldn't leave… I'd make sure of it.
'Still think I'm cute?' Ranger asked with the almost nonexistent smile curving the corners of his mouth. And he left.
Eight
I opened an eye and squinted at my bedside clock. Six-thirty. In the morning! My alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour, but something had dragged me awake. I opened the other eye and did some deep breathing, sucking in the smell of coffee brewing. I rolled out of bed and shuffled into the dining room.
Ranger was at the table, using my laptop.
'Unh,' I said.
'Coffee's in the kitchen.'
'What are you doing here?'
'No computer in the safe house, and I thought this was easier than getting Tank to try to get a laptop to me. I had some things I wanted to run down.'
'I don't have very good programs.'
'I don't need programs. Silvio is sending me information from Miami.'
'How long have you been here?'
'About an hour.' He stood and stretched and headed for the kitchen. He got two mugs out of the cabinet, filled them with coffee, added milk, and gave one to me.
I was wearing short cotton pajama bottoms and a knit tank top, and I could see Ranger was enjoying the tank top.
'I'm feeling self-conscious,' I said to him.
'That's not what I'm feeling.'
No kidding! 'Go back to work,' I told him. 'I'm going to take my coffee into the shower. I'll be ready to go in a half hour.'
Ranger had parked on a side street a block away from my building. He left through the front door and walked to his car. I left through the back door, got into the Mini, and drove around three blocks until I was sure I wasn't being followed. I parked behind Ranger, beeped the Mini locked, and slipped into the green Explorer.
'Now what?' I asked.
Ranger pulled into traffic and went north on Hamilton. 'I want you to canvas a
'Not much you can do about it, babe.'
'I'll be mad at you.'
'You can't be mad at me,' Ranger said. 'I'm cute. I might even be adorable.'
'Try jerk on for size.'
'Sticks and stones.' He looked in the bag and gave a single soft bark of laughter. 'Nice,' he said, taking the dildo out, setting it on the counter, balls down, shaft up, like a giant pink rubber mushroom.
I'm not one of those women who blushes easily, but I could feel my ears burning.
'Having problems with Morelli?' Ranger asked, the edge gone. Anger replaced by something much softer… amusement, exhaustion, affection.
'The woman working in the Pleasure Treasures store went FTA, and Lula and I went in to make an apprehension, and Lula got this dancing dildo, but they were having a two-for-one-sale, and somehow I ended up with this. It's the Herbert Horsecock model.'
'It's impressive.'
'It's frightening,' I told him.
He took the DVD out of the bag. 'Big Boys,' he said. 'I'm seeing a theme here.'
'Lula said it would change my life.'
Ranger put the dildo and the DVD back in the bag. 'Does your life need changing?'
'I don't know. I thought so a while ago, but it feels comfortable now… except for a commitment dilemma.'
He pulled me to him and kissed me in a way that more than made up for the benign kiss in the bakery. 'Let me know when you figure it out,' he said.
I realized that sometime during the kiss I'd inserted my leg between his and had plastered myself to him in all the strategic places. I inched away and smoothed out the wrinkles I'd made when I gripped his shirt.
'Is there something I should be doing tonight to find Julie?' I asked him.
'Not tonight, but I have some legwork for you to do tomorrow if you have time.'
'Of course I have time. Are you managing this okay?'
'It's not the first time I've had to find someone important to me. You learn to keep moving forward. And you go deep into denial.'
'Are you scared?'
'Yeah,' Ranger said. 'I'm scared for Julie.'
'Do you have a place to stay?'
'I have a safe house in north Trenton. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at eight.' He reached out to kiss me again, but I jumped away. Another kiss like the last one and he wouldn't leave… I'd make sure of it.
'Still think I'm cute?' Ranger asked with the almost nonexistent smile curving the corners of his mouth. And he left.
Eight
I opened an eye and squinted at my bedside clock. Six-thirty. In the morning! My alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour, but something had dragged me awake. I opened the other eye and did some deep breathing, sucking in the smell of coffee brewing. I rolled out of bed and shuffled into the dining room.
Ranger was at the table, using my laptop.
'Unh,' I said.
'Coffee's in the kitchen.'
'What are you doing here?'
'No computer in the safe house, and I thought this was easier than getting Tank to try to get a laptop to me. I had some things I wanted to run down.'
'I don't have very good programs.'
'I don't need programs. Silvio is sending me information from Miami.'
'How long have you been here?'
'About an hour.' He stood and stretched and headed for the kitchen. He got two mugs out of the cabinet, filled them with coffee, added milk, and gave one to me.
I was wearing short cotton pajama bottoms and a knit tank top, and I could see Ranger was enjoying the tank top.
'I'm feeling self-conscious,' I said to him.
'That's not what I'm feeling.'
No kidding! 'Go back to work,' I told him. 'I'm going to take my coffee into the shower. I'll be ready to go in a half hour.'
Ranger had parked on a side street a block away from my building. He left through the front door and walked to his car. I left through the back door, got into the Mini, and drove around three blocks until I was sure I wasn't being followed. I parked behind Ranger, beeped the Mini locked, and slipped into the green Explorer.
'Now what?' I asked.
Ranger pulled into traffic and went north on Hamilton. 'I want you to canvas a
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