(RQFic Challenge #99 ~ 11/13/2005)

She kept one eye on the clock and one on the man in her bed.  Each tick of the hands signaling that her time with him was running out.  She might never have another opportunity for this. 

She grabbed a handful of the sheet that lay between them and slowly inched it down and away from him, revealing the perfection of his body.  She wondered briefly how two men can both be tall, dark and handsome and yet be worlds apart physically.  Joe had been no marshmallow – he was hard-bodied with the best butt ever created.  But Ranger had muscle definition Joe couldn’t even dream of.  As she stared at the smooth expanse of his back, she studied the play of muscles that stretched across those broad shoulders and down to his slim waist.  Every muscle was outlined, even while he was relaxed. 

She leaned over his shoulder to look at his face, wondering if he was playing possum or was really asleep.  They had had the mother of all sexual marathons; Ranger teasing her that he wanted to ensure her complete ruination.  And he had – to the point of exhaustion.  The only reason she wasn’t in a coma right then was because she didn’t want to miss a moment with him.  Once dawn came, he’d be in the wind.  Though her heart wanted to keep him, her head knew that wasn’t an option. 

Gently, she fingered a lock of his hair, watching as the silky black strand slipped through and spilled across his shoulder.  She studied the different textures of his skin, wanting to touch but afraid to wake him.  Ranger was an alpha male through and through.  And, although he had acquiesced by letting her take the lead in their lovemaking a few times, she knew he would never let down his defenses enough for her to do what she’d been craving to do since the first time he’d kissed her. 

She tried to think up something to say if he woke up and caught her. 

“Oh, why is my hand on the inside of your thigh?  Uh, I’m practicing my EMT skills by taking your pulse from your femoral artery.”

 “Yeah, um, why do I have my fingers in between your toes?  Well, you know, toe jam can be hazardous to your health so I thought I’d take the opportunity to make sure you were jam-free.”

“Uh, why is my tongue in your navel?  Well, they say belly button lint tastes like cotton candy and so I was just going to test that out. You know me and sweets.”

She sighed in defeat.  If she told him any of those, he would quirk an eyebrow, give her that amused look, and then promptly call Tank to haul her off to Bellevue’s mental ward for evaluation.  She let her gaze wander over him again.  Oh, to hell with this.  I’m just going to do it and figure out what to say later if he catches me.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then slid down carefully in the bed until she lay right behind him.  Using just two of her fingers, she lightly swept the hair from the back of his neck and leaned in, inhaling the scent of him.  He had a unique smell, not stinky or sweaty, but kind of spicy with an undercurrent that flipped her switch.  She assumed that the smell was the soap that he used and vowed to hit Macy’s fragrance counter the next day and try them all until she found it.  She took a moment to nuzzle the warm smooth skin at the base of his neck before moving downward. 

Steph lay behind him and studied the expanse of his back.  His shoulders didn’t slope downward like Joe’s, but went straight out showcasing the muscles of his neck and defining his shoulder blades.  She had expressed surprise that he didn’t have any tattoos, considering that it was almost a rite of passage in the military.  He had smiled, playfully tweaked her nipple and said that tattoos made it too easy to identify someone, and he preferred to stay under the radar.  She had looked at him in disbelief.  Apparently, he didn’t realize that he hit every woman and gay man’s radar within a 50 mile radius.  She didn’t mention it to him though; best to let him keep his illusion of stealth. 

Lightly, she ran her fingers over his back.  The skin was soft and smooth, with only a light patch of hair at the base of his spine.  She followed the trail of her hand with her lips, not kissing, exactly, but just caressing.  Ranger shifted a little under her touch and she froze.

“Ranger?” she whispered.  He didn’t respond.  She sat up carefully and peeked at his face.  Nope, still asleep.  She was a little surprised that he hadn’t woken up immediately.  His senses and reflexes were always so sharp.  But he had said that he’d been awake for 25 hours before they got started so it had been nearly 34 hours by the time he’d fallen asleep.  She smiled to herself; taking a little pride in the fact that she wore Batman out.  Heh, she’d love to see Lula’s face when she told her that.  Too bad she was never going to tell her.  Just like Vegas, what happened here; stayed here.  She wouldn’t be telling anyone about this.  It was all hers, and for a little while longer, so was he. 

Her palm skimmed over his butt, and she resisted the urge to squeeze.  Joe still held the title of the Best Ass in Trenton, but Ranger was no slouch.  He could have been the poster boy for Buns of Steel.  She moved down, shoving the covers off of the bed with her foot, while she ran her hand down his leg.  She had heard that Latin men were hairy, but Ranger didn’t really seem to be so.  The hair on his legs was dark and silky, but not any more of it than with any other man she’d seen.  He didn’t have any chest hair, except some around his nipples and a little trail that led from his navel to the Promised Land. 

She checked over his feet.  His heels had a little callous edge, and his toes were long and straight. She ran her fingers over his toes, feeling the tiny hairs tickle against her skin.  Once upon a time, someone had told her that a man’s shoe size was a good indication of his penis size.  Thinking they were full of it, she had Google’d it and, sure enough there was an actual conversion chart showing the corresponding size differences between the two.  Ranger wore a size 12 shoe, so according to the chart his penis size was around 10 inches at full mast.  She thought back to the evening’s activities, and damned if it wasn’t pretty close.  Who thinks these things up, anyway? 

Moving on.  She was checking out his ankle when he shifted again, this time rolling over to his back.  Stephanie held her breath as she watched him, silently willing him not to wake up.  She was nearly finished and she really didn’t want him to know her secret – that she craved to touch every part of him, to feel the different textures of his body.  His legs shifted just wide enough that she could sit in between and again she wondered if he was playing possum.  That seemed a little too convenient. 

“Ranger, you awake?” she whispered.  Again, nothing. 

Cautiously, she ran her fingertips along his knee.  Even here, the muscles were well-formed.  She traced a thin scar that ran along the outside of his knee and up to mid-thigh.  A “hunting accident” he’d called it.  When she questioned what he’d been hunting, all she got was a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. She stroked the inside of his thigh, marveling at the smoothness of his skin.  As she stroked a finger up the crease of his thigh, his penis twitched and she smiled. 

She ran her fingers over the crisp hairs at his groin and glanced up at his face.  She really wanted to wrap her hand around him, but men’s consciousness were tied directly to their dicks, so instead she just stroked the skin of his abdomen.  His eyes were closed, his face relaxed, but once again, his penis moved.  He was at half-mast.  She leaned down and tongued the trail of hair that went from his groin to his belly button.  She couldn’t help herself, she had a belly-button fetish.  She gave it up and finally lay between his legs, giving his navel a lick.  His stomach contracted a little and his hand came up to tangle in her hair. 

“Babe,” he mumbled, lightly massaging her scalp with his fingers. 

Damn, he was awake.  She tried to soothe him back to sleep. “Shhh, it’s not time yet.  Go back to sleep,” she whispered.

He settled down and she continued with her exploration.  The skin of his nipples was espresso brown, contrasting nicely with the mocha-latte color of his skin.  Small black hairs ringed the outer edges of them and she ran her lips lightly over them, testing to see if they were as soft as they looked.  She flicked her tongue over one and it pebbled.  Again, Ranger’s hand came up and cradled her face.

“Mmmm.  That’s nice, babe, but you’re going the wrong way.”  Ranger humor.    He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her up for a kiss.  Lips that could be thin and hard when he was intimidating a skip into submission were now soft and silky as they caressed her own.  His tongue was a sleek wetness that twisted and played with hers as he deepened the kiss.  He pulled back and looked at her, and for a brief moment she thought she saw some emotion flicker across his face.  He gave her a sexy smile.  “So, did you see everything you wanted to see?”

Her face went hot, but then her eyes narrowed.  “You were awake the whole time?!”

“As soon as you touched my hair.”   She gave a defeated sigh.  Busted.  He flipped them over quickly and positioned himself above her.  “You know, you didn’t have to wait until I was asleep to have your wicked way with me.”

She blushed again.  “Sorry,” she said. 

“Don’t be sorry, babe.  Be prepared.”

Uh-oh.  “Prepared for what?”

He gave her a wolfish grin, “My turn.”