Author's Note: All of the character's belong to JE. No one belongs to me. If Ranger did, I'd never leave the house again.

Thank you so much for all your kind reviews. I didn't expect everyone to be so welcoming and it's really encouraging. I'm not sure what the etiquette is about replying to reviews, so please take this new chapter as one big thank you for being such a great group of people. Hope you like it.

Miranda Rights

CHAPTER TWO

I ran my fingers lightly over Ranger's bicep, taking in the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he slept. He looked relaxed and at peace, his hair falling over one eye. I felt my heart clench. There was never a more beautiful sight.

My phone buzzed on the dresser and I shot out a hand to grab it before its jumping could disturb Ranger. When he woke up, he was going to be in a world of pain and I wanted to spare him for a few more minutes. I wondered if Ranger would take the cure if I brought it to him in bed. Nah, his cure was probably a kale smoothie. Bleugh!

"Hello." I whispered into the phone.

"Where the fuck are you?" A voice almost growled down the line. Morelli.

"I'm in bed." I whispered, biting my lip and glancing over at Ranger.

"No you're not because I'm standing in your apartment right now."

"I didn't say I was in my bed." Take that, you jack ass. "What did you think Joe? That I'd be there waiting for you after all this?"

"Stephanie, I'm warning you. Get over here now. You have some explaining to do." The cheek! I could almost hear him grinding his teeth. I took a deep calming breath. What I really wanted to do was give him such a verbal tongue lashing, that he would never wanted to breath the same air as me again but I really didn't want to wake Ranger.

"Actually Joe, I don't think there's anything more to be said. I said no, you stepped out and then to make matters worse, you had my best friend in the whole world arrested. I think there are plenty of nails in this coffin." I hissed and Ranger stirred next to me. His arm came out and snaked around my waist, drawing me closer.

"Babe." He murmured sleepily.

"Is that him? Jesus, Stephanie, he hit a cop." Joe roared and Ranger popped an eye open. His brow furrowed slightly. Guess it hurt.

He reached out and plucked the phone from my hand. "You're lucky that's all I did." He snapped the phone shut, and dropped it back on the nightstand before pulling me even closer.

"How you feeling?" I asked, stroking the side of his face. He made a purring sound and I took it as encouragement, running my fingertips into his hair and massaging with gentle pressure.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." He groaned. "That helps." I smiled and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, continuing my ministrations. Silence fell over the bedroom, just the steady, measured in and out of our breath. I for one was doing some serious mental gymnastics. Would Ranger remember last night? Would he still feel the same way? And what exactly had I agreed to? We hadn't really fleshed out the finer points between the jail cell and dragging him back to his place. There'd been some wandering hands but it was all over when his head hit the pillow. Instant KO.

"Babe, I can hear the wheels turning from here." He rumbled, never opening his eyes.

"Sorry."

Ranger sighed and opened his eyes, rolling over on top of me and trapping me with his big body. "What's the matter?" I shrugged and became preoccupied with trailing my fingertips over his collar bone. "Has something changed since last night?" His eyes were guarded as he stared down at me.

"You remember?" He tilted his head. I guess we were back to stoic Ranger. I suppose I was going to be doing all the talking here. "We never…we didn't really discuss what we were doing here." I motioned at the space between the two of us.

"As far as I'm concerned, we hit all the finer points." Ranger ran a hand down my side, digging his fingertips into my hips to bring me closer. "Morelli's out of the picture and you're in my bed." He ground his hips against me and I lost focus for a second.

Okay Steph, stay on track here. "But what does that mean? Are we bed buddies and nothing more? Are we…'together'? Are we…" Okay, I was rambling now.

Ranger pressed his mouth to mine to silence me. He was familiar with the proper cure for rambling. "It means, we're here together, in our home, starting our life together. It means that your mum can start nagging you about wedding details…" I groaned. "Or we can hop on a plane to Vegas and skip the whole thing. It's up to you. It's all up to you. I'll give you anything you want as long as you'll stay with me." His face was so serious, so intense as he looked down at me.

My breath caught in my throat. "You…you really want to marry me?" I choked out, emotions tightening my throat.

In answer, Ranger rolled off of me and padded into the walk-in closet. He returned a moment later and in his hand was a little blue box. I gasped. He sat down beside me and took my hand, kissing my open palm. "I bought this a week after we were together for the first time." He flipped open the box.

"Why?" I asked, blinking back tears. "You sent me back to Morelli."

"When have you ever done anything anyone has told you to do? I was sort of hoping you'd tell me to go to hell." He confessed. "I was trying to force your hand. I handled it badly."

"I didn't handle it at all." I conceded. "Why now?"

"Because I've got you where I want you and you're not going anywhere." Ranger grinned, sneaking a bone-melting kiss. "Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you marry me?" He whispered against my lips.

"Oh yeah." I breathed.

Ringing. I could hear ringing. "Yo." Ranger answered, leaning over to place a warm kiss against my shoulder. "Where?" He paused. "I'll be there in 5." He hung up and sighed. Wow, hungover Ranger sighed.

"What's going on?" I asked breathily as he trailed kisses along my shoulder.

His head dropped against my chest. "Morelli's downstairs." Well there went the mood. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

"Do we have to?" Even to my ears, I sounded like a petulant child.

"Unless we want Morelli to live in the lobby, I think it's for the best." Ranger rose from the bed and held out a hand to pull me up. "Besides, I'm sort of looking forward to letting Morelli know that his loss is my gain." Despite myself, I giggled and looked around for my clothes. "There are things in the closet, Babe."

See here's the thing about me and Ranger. Even though we've only just pulled our heads out of our asses, we've been in some kind of relationship for years. I had clothes in his closet, toiletries in his bathroom and a parking space in his lot. He supported my choices and made sure that I always knew he had my best interests at heart. I, in turn, trusted him more than anyone else on the planet and would do anything he asked of me. Morelli who?

Four minutes later we stepped off the elevator and into the path of a raging bull. Lester was hovering close by, watching his agitated pacing. Morelli was across the lobby like a shot and in my face. "What the hell are you playing at Cupcake?" He began, his face already a violent purple. "How dare you embarrass me like this? This thug should be in jail for the stunt he pulled last night." He took another step towards me and that was close enough for Ranger. He tugged me behind him and turned to glower at Morelli.

"You got exactly what you deserved last night." I roared, sticking my head out from behind Ranger. "It's only a shame that you could only handle the one hit."

"You little slut. We're supposed to be getting married and you behave like this." He was waving his hands around and scrunching up his face just like always. I'd never really noticed how his face bloated when he yelled or how spittle collected at the corner of his mouth. It was not an attractive sight. Why the hell had I put up with it for so long?

"Watch yourself." Ranger growled, taking a step towards him.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and some of the tension left him. "I've got this." I whispered and stepped around him. "You're right Morelli. I am getting married. Just not to you." I placed my left hand on Ranger's shoulder, the ring glittering on my finger. You could hear a pin drop. Then Lester gave a whoop and a 'hot damn'! The corner of my mouth hitched up. Morelli looked ready to implode. "I'm actually very thankful to you for last night." I told him calmly. "You really helped me dodge a bullet. To think, I might have ended up trapped in a marriage with an asshole like you, when I could be looking at a future with Ranger." I smiled up at him and he returned the look.

"You bitch." He rushed towards me but he didn't get far. Ranger had him by the throat in a heartbeat.

"This seems oddly familiar." I heard Lester mutter.

Ranger leaned in close and in a voice that sent a shiver down my spine, said, "I suggest you leave now before I fit you for a body bag. If you ever come near my fiancé again, the same applies." He promised. "And just in case you were thinking of making trouble, this lobby is fully monitored for sound and video. I wonder what Joe Juniak would think about you attacking his niece?" He dropped him and stepped away, letting Lester escort him from the building.

He gathered me in his arms. "You okay Babe?" He asked, skating his fingers over my jawline.

"I've never been so good Batman." A small smile broke across his face and bloomed into an all out laugh. "What?"

He flicked a look over his shoulder at a retreating Morelli. "I've been waiting three years to do that."