I didn't intend to write another birthday story for Ranger, but I figured he and Stephanie would both enjoy me finishing this one. Everything familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine. Warnings for some smut.

"When you said you had something memorable planned for my birthday, Babe, I hadn't expected this."

"I know," she told me, a sexy smile on her face. "That's why I went with this instead of a regular gift. You're a hard man to buy stuff for, and I thought maybe you'd be okay with something you already have."

"I definitely appreciate everything I have now."

I took my time scanning her naked body, leisurely enjoying the sight of her toned legs, ivory expanse of flat stomach, and her already hard nipples, before I let my gaze settle on the cuffs attaching her to my shower head. She had to improvise slightly since I have a glass door instead of a shower curtain that requires a rod.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that," she told me.

If I didn't know better, I'd say she even moved to give me a better look at how her gym time has been paying off.

A grin pulled at my lips. "And I hope this ends differently than when you called me after the cop shackled you," I said, leaving the doorway and approaching her in a way reminiscent of an animal stalking prey.

"It definitely will. I talked to Ella earlier and told her that I'd be providing your birthday meal. So we shouldn't be disturbed unless Tank can't handle something."

I skimmed a fingertip along her jaw, down her throat, and across her collarbone, just to see her nipples tighten more and goosebumps break out over her body.

"You seem to have everything worked out," I said to her, cupping the curve of her hip.

"Up until you got here anyway. Now I'm not sure what's going to happen."

I know what's about to happen. I made a mistake by not pursuing her back when she'd called me to rescue her from her own bathroom, which left the door wide open for Morelli to fuck with her head even more than he had in the past. I rectified our situation once she ditched the cop. And tonight, I get to reap the rewards again for admitting I'd been wrong about a few things regarding us.

I appreciate her wanting to give me control of the night, but I prefer her full participation. I lowered my head and took her nipple in my mouth while I reached into my pocket to retrieve the tool I needed. The click of the cuff unlocking sounded a beat later.

I let her go and saw her eye slowly reopen. Her confidence has improved daily and she didn't try to hide herself from me as she lowered her arm. She figured out fast that her belief in herself is as sexy to me as her body spread out on my bed.

The opened cuff touched her thigh, but she barely paid attention to it. "You freed me?"

"Yes."

"This soon? After only kissing my breast?"

"Yes, again. I want both of your hands on me, Babe."

And I kissed her. Both hands did go immediately to my back, and my t-shirt was being clumsily pulled off. The metal of the cuff was cool on my now bare skin, but I didn't remove it. I kissed her again and didn't stop until her fingers were no longer clutching my shoulders, moving to my belt instead.

That had me drawing back and scooping her up. I took us to bed, and since she saved me some time by already being bare, I got rid of my boots and pants before settling between her legs on the mattress. Only then did I take the free cuff and secure it around my own wrist.

Her blue eyes went wide. It's not a move she'd seen coming, but she understood the reason behind it when I moved our hands down her body. I'd chosen the mirror-opposite one as the hand she had cuffed so wherever I wanted to touch her, she'd also be able to touch me.

When my hand grazed the inside of her thigh, her fingers got to curl around me. We both sucked some air as our bodies reacted to each other simultaneously. Her eyes drifted shut again as she squeezed me, and I slid two fingers into her in retaliation.

"Why didn't I do this sooner?" She asked on another inhale.

"Because you wanted my birthday to be one I'll remember. And, Babe ...?"

"Yeah?" She said, opening herself wider so I could go deeper.

She became even wetter, so I added a third finger and hooked them so they'd rub against the place that makes her moans audible.

"I promise it'll be a birthday you'll also remember. Vividly."

There was still enough light in the room for me to see her expression turn playful.

"Cocky, aren't you?"

I thrust my hips into the loosening fist she had around me. "What do you think?"

She let me go only as much as the cuff allowed in order to run her captive hand from the base of my dick to its head.

"Hmm, after a thorough examination, my official diagnosis is that you're 'cocky' enough for three men."

'Priceless' doesn't even begin to capture what she is to me. I lowered myself down onto her and tunneled my free hand into her hair so I could kiss her. The movement only pushed my fingers deeper into her and made her tighten her hold on me. It was unintentional foreplay, but it worked to our advantage because her lips parted as sensations started overtaking her. My tongue ended up almost as deep in her mouth as my hand was inside her body.

She was gasping and my breathing was slightly labored when I eased myself back.

"I'm not going to last," she whispered.

I already knew that from the internal/external death grip she had on me. I started to move my hand slowly in and out of her with the intention of making her come, but her bound hand twisted to grab mine, stopping me.

"I want it to happen together," she explained.

She isn't embarrassed about anything we do together or at having her or my body's wetness on me or on herself. And the expression on her face when I brought our connected hands to my mouth to kiss, had me readily agreeing to her first orgasm being a shared one.

I laced my damp hand through hers and rested them by her head, then I guided myself into her as her other hand went to my ass to make sure I didn't decide to torture us both by easing into her inch-by-agonizingly-slow inch.

When I was buried as far as I could go, she left my ass alone, using her legs to direct me. She shoved her fingers through my hair and held tightly to the strands to bring my mouth back to hers. One thing I've learned from being with her longer than a night, is that she's demanding in bed if she thinks her needs are going to be respected and met. She hasn't had to worry about that with me. Satisfying her every need inside this room, as well as out of it, has become my mission in life. And I made sure she was writhing under me, then exploding around me, before I picked up my pace to join her.

We were silent for a few moments, neither of us ready for reality to intrude yet. When it did, I couldn't help but grin down at her when she spoke.

"No wonder you cuffed yourself," she told me, linking our fingers again. "You should be illegal."

I squeezed her hand. "Thank you, but I think you're the one worth going to jail for."

She must have been pleased by the compliment, because after I snagged my discarded pants and discarded the handcuffs, she pressed a cock-hardening kiss to my mouth right before fitting her head beneath my chin.

"What do you think about blowing out a Batman candle?" She asked me. "We should probably do at least one traditional birthday thing today before we do anything else exertive."

I must have been seriously distracted not to notice until we were sated, the personalized-sized, strawberry-covered cake sitting on my nightstand. And I must've been really good to get Stephanie to forgot that a bakery item was sitting only feet away from her.

"I can if you'd like," I said to her. "Remember when I fed you an icing rose?"

I didn't have to ask. We both remember every detail before and after Scrog.

"Yeah," she said, resting her chin on my sternum so she could see my face.

"You interested in finding out what I can do with an entire cake?"

She didn't answer me, however she did slide her body completely over mine so her breasts were flattened into my chest and her legs tangled with mine beneath the sheet I'd covered us with. She picked up the black lighter that was sitting beside a single fork and the cake, lit Batman's head on the first try, and proceeded to quickly blow out the flame herself.

I thought we were through talking, but she surprised me again.

"You really don't need cuffs to enslave a woman," she told me, leaning over to pick up the restraints. "But you can use them to have a little fun with this particular one."

She dropped them on the pillow and pressed her lips to my mouth. My hands slid to her hips and down between her legs again as I kissed her back. It's still my birthday for another couple hours, and I'm confident we'll get to - and find mutually beneficial ways of incorporating - the strawberries, cream, and cuffs, during them.