A/N: So, I decided with this being the last chapter, tomorrow being Independence Day (in the USA), to publish this tonight, instead of waiting until Saturday. I'm sad to see part one end, but I'm excited for the possibilities part two will bring. Part two is started. I only have the first few chapters outlined to start with, so I'm not sure when I'll start publishing, but it will be coming. As for "Spring Break," I didn't forget about it. I have written more periodically as my muse detoured. I will eventually finish it. I want to thank you all for your support over this ten month journey. I never thought that this story would be so complex and long, and it still isn't over. To all those who shared positive feedback, THANK YOU! You keep my muse fueled up. To those who left constructive criticism, THANK YOU as well. That constructive response helps me to be a better storyteller and writer. I hope that those of you who have read this story but haven't commented so far will leave a comment at the conclusion. I would really love to know every reader's reaction to this story at least once. Anyway, enjoy. There is a second A/N at the end.
TNTCE
Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to JE and the creators of Criminal Minds.
Warnings: Adult situation, adult language, smut
Chapter 80: Saturday, September 3rd, 1300-2100
Ranger's Estate
Ranger's POV
Lunch with Abuela went off without a hitch. Both Stephanie and Tommy seemed to enjoy themselves. Abuela also loved Stephanie. Right before we left, while Stephanie was in the bathroom, Abuela told me not to let her get away, that she was my soulmate, my other half. I fully agree. I am in love with Stephanie, I'm not quite sure when it happened, but it did. I fully intend to make her mine.
However, I know that Lester has wanted to tell me something all morning, but with the impromptu lunch with Abuela, we haven't had the opportunity to talk. If I hazard a guess, I want to say that my men here in Miami did not do what Lester and Stephanie told them to do and the distraction last night got fucked up. If that is the case, I will deal with those imbeciles on Tuesday.
As I parked in the garage, Morelli called Stephanie. I know that he probably called to find out how Champ was doing, but by the end of the call, my Babe was visibly upset. She spoke with him in another room, and I value her privacy too much to eavesdrop, but I wish I knew why she was so upset. I swear, if he said something to her to make her this way, I'll kill him.
I decided to check on Babe while the kids are outside with Champ. I go into the media room, where I find Steph quietly crying, curled up in the recliner.
"Babe, what's wrong?" I ask as I approach her. I kneel so that I am level with her.
"Nothing, I'll be fine."
"Babe, please don't lie to me. I know that you are upset. Don't shut me out. Tell me why you are upset. Was it something that I did?" I ask, now starting to panic. I keep replaying this morning over in my head, and there's nothing I can think of that I did to make her upset.
"No, Carlos, it's not you. It's just the conversation I had with Morelli."
"What did he say to you? Do I need to go kick his ass in Atlanta?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"No, you don't," she said before sighing. "Joe asked me if the night he fucked me in the Tasty Pastry was rape. I told him that he did rape me. It just hit me that I never allowed myself to admit that what he did was wrong, that I didn't deserve that. I am upset because I realize that my first two encounters with sex were both rapes. I grew up envisioning my first time having sex as being a magical moment, when I would become a woman, metaphorically. I thought that it would be a perfect experience. Instead, my first time was on the dirty floor of a bakery, when I didn't really want it, with someone who I was infatuated with, but didn't love. After Joe, I held out for love. I thought that Brian loved me, and I was working my way to allowing him to be with me. Instead, he chose to take my body when I didn't want to give it to him and to share me with his friends. Once again, it wasn't an act of love, but an act of power and control.
"I'm mad at myself for allowing Joe back into my life, and more so, back into my bed. Even when we were together as adults, he still didn't fully respect my wishes and took from me when I wasn't offering. Dickie did the same thing. I don't know why I allowed myself to be abused by these men who said they loved me. I mean, Dickie went as far as to vow to honor and cherish me until death do us part in front of God and the entire Burg. Yet, here I am, alone and broken."
My heart is breaking for Steph. I feel like an ass for the way I've treated her and for the things I told her. Had I known this about her before, I never would have said those things. I never would have made "the Deal" with her. "Stephanie, you are not alone. You are here with me. I am not going anywhere. I love you. Yes, right now, there are cracks in your foundation, but you are working hard to fill those cracks in, but you are not broken. It's not wrong to want to be loved, to want to be cherished. You deserve that, and I intend to spend the rest of my life loving you and cherishing you.
"Babe, even when you think you're in love and choose to have sex for the first time, it is not a perfect experience. At least my first was far from it. I was fourteen, Julie's age, dating my first girl. She hung around the gang I was in and had we allowed girls, would have pledged. Instead, she looked to gain power by dating those of us who showed the most potential. I thought I loved her. Her name was Tiffani. Her parents worked nights, and we often hung out at her house when we weren't with the rest of the gang. One night, on her fourteenth birthday, we went back to her house. We started off making out like we did most nights, but that night, we took it further. We explored each other's bodies. We were both virgins. Soon, we found ourselves naked and decided to go with it. Well, it took me about five minutes to figure out how to get inside her and stay inside. I don't think I lasted more than two minutes before cuming. I don't think I gave her an orgasm. It was awkward at best. I'm actually embarrassed about that night. However, that experience made me want to learn how to do better. I wanted to last longer, I wanted to make my partner happy.
"When I was sent here, two weeks later, I used my time to learn the art of having sex. I listened when older guys talked about their conquests, I watched pornos, I started to ask questions. By the time I was eighteen, I'd probably had sex with over twenty girls. But it was never anything other than sex, until Rachel. The night we conceived Julie, I had just proposed to Rachel. She said yes, and then we had sex for the first time. That was the first time I made love to someone. It was different. But after that night, something changed. It was never the same between us after that. I hadn't made love again until my first night with you, Stephanie. Being with you is an experience unmatched. I've had many partners, more than I'd like to admit, but you are my only lover. I promise to do everything in my power to erase those bad experiences from your mind, to only allow you to remember what it's like to be loved by your partner. Will you allow me to help you heal?"
By the end of my speech, Steph is crying even harder, I pick her up, and sit back down with her in my lap. I wrap my arms around her, trying to take away her pain. "Promise you'll never leave me, Carlos. I don't know if I can survive without you."
"I promise Querida. I love you."
"I love you too, Carlos."
I continue to hold Steph as she calms down. Soon, though, she's asleep in my arms. I slowly stand, carry her to our bedroom, and lay her down in bed. I remove her shoes, her dress, and put on her one of my shirts. I tuck her in. Before I leave, I put a note on the nightstand telling her I'll be in my office, waiting for her whenever she wakes. As I give her a kiss on the forehead, I conclude that tonight is the night to propose to Stephanie, to officially make her mine. I'll need to talk to Lester to start the plan going.
I send a text to Lester and Hector, asking them to meet me in my office. Five minutes later, we are all there.
"Lester, what happened last night?"
"Don't even get me started. Everything was fucked up right from the start. First off, the men decided that they weren't going to try to lure Mahad out by hitting on him. Instead, they decided that challenging him to a game of pool would be better. Well, after Mahad kicked their asses in pool, he decided to walk away, seeing someone who caught his eye. Then, Rivera decided that insulting Mahad would be the way to endear him to come with us. Instead, Rivera has a broken wrist. Before everything could go completely to shit, though, Hector walked in. I told the guys to have Hector's back. Hector did what we had originally planned to do and got Mahad out of the lounge and into our custody within ten minutes. Even after they fucked up, they still blamed the plan, not their inability to follow it."
"Do we have it recorded?" I ask.
"Yes, it's in your e-mail," Lester responds. I open my e-mail, find the video and watch the scene unfold. By the time it is over, I'm ready to clean house.
"Boss, before they went in, Carerra reminded everyone to follow Marco's orders to go against whatever EstefanĂa tell them to do so they can get rid of her sooner rather than later," Hector informs me.
"What game is Marco playing? He must have an ulterior motive. What is it?" I ask.
"Maybe he wants to take over Miami. Miami was the first branch. Marco helped you set it up, and Miami was supposed to be company headquarters. When we opened Boston, Trenton, and Atlanta, they were all modeled after Miami. Once Atlanta didn't grow as we hoped, and we sold it, we started to reevaluate our business plan for all three offices. It was then that we realized that Boston and Trenton were different. Subsequently, you made Trenton company headquarters because of Beautiful. You started to change the business model, without consulting Marco, which is your right as CEO, but Marco must think that you overlooked him somehow."
"Okay. I'll have Stephanie run a search on Marco. I need to know what we are up against. Lester, you and I are going to go over all employee evaluations with a fine tooth comb. I want to know everyone's weaknesses. We will trim away the bad branches. I don't care if we must start from scratch. Anyone who has potential we'll keep. If necessary, we'll send them to Trenton or Boston for training. Tuesday I'll join the FA team meeting, expressing my displeasure. We will discuss whatever plans you have set for the other FTAs, and I'll be part of the communications team making sure things go down without a hitch."
"Sounds good. I can't wait to kick some ass."
"Get in line. Les, do you have plans for tonight?" I ask.
"No, why?"
"I want to take Stephanie out. There's a good chance we won't return until tomorrow."
"Go. I'll stay with Julie and Tommy. Only you better not waste too much more time." Les tells me.
"Don't worry, I won't."
I glance at the clock, seeing that the time is almost 1600. I need to go wake up my Babe because I know she'll want time to get ready. I open the door to the master bedroom, close and lock it behind me. As I approach the bed, I hear Stephanie whimpering in her sleep. It doesn't sound like a nightmare, more like a wet dream. I listen closely to the words she's murmuring.
"Oh, Carlos, please more," I hear her say.
I'm not quite sure what she wants more of, but I'm instantly hard and aching for her. Dios, what she does to me. I guess this is what the term pussy-whipped really means that a man will do anything to get inside his woman's pussy. The sheet and blanket are thrown off her, the shirt riding up on her torso. I bring my hand gently up the inside of her leg from her knee towards her center as I sit beside her. Her body stills slightly, as I skip over ground zero. I then gently run my hand up her abdomen, tracing around her nipples through her lacey bra. I place my mouth down, sucking with the material between my tongue and her skin. Her moans continue, and I know she's enjoying the experience. I allow my fingers to gently caress her folds. I slowly slip two fingers inside as she starts to writhe beneath me. I can see her waking up from her sleep. I continue slowly and gently, wanting her fully awake before I begin my assault on her body. I watch as her eyes flutter open as I kiss up her shoulder and neck.
"Oh my God, Carlos, I thought I was dreaming," she states.
"You were mi amor. I didn't want to leave you high and dry."
"Thank you for that. I usually wake up before the best part."
"And what's that?" I ask while sucking on her ear lobe.
"You giving me the mother of all orgasms." She replies.
"Is that what you want?" She shakes her head in agreement. "Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you. How do you want me to love you?"
I know she doesn't like talking about sex. She is embarrassed so easily, but I want her to be comfortable with telling me what she wants, to know she can ask me for anything.
"I want you to make love to me." She says softly.
I pull my finger out of her, teasing her. "How, Querida. Please tell me exactly what you want. What position, how you want it? Babe, you have control."
"Carlos"
"No, you can tell me. Don't be embarrassed. Tell me about your dream. What was I doing in your dream?"
I watch her struggle to tell me, and I can tell it's going to be something good. "Well, um, you, um, well you had my hands tied above my head to the bed and were kissing my breasts and my entire body, really. You kept skipping my, you know, not giving me want I wanted. You wanted me to beg you to go inside me. You weren't going to make love until I was begging."
I try to keep my face tooled because what she is describing is something, I wanted to do to her for a while, hell, I wanted to do it since I uncuffed her from the shower rod in her bathroom. I walk to the closet and pull out a couple of silk ties. I bring it over to the bed, kissing Stephanie senseless. I bring her arms above her head and start to wrap the ties around her wrists. "Are you sure, Querida? If you want me to stop, let me know."
"Don't stop. I want this, Carlos."
Once her hands are sufficiently bound, I bring my eyes down her body, realizing I left her t-shirt and bra on. Oh well. I reach in my pocket and pull out my knife. I look at her as her eyes open wide. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life."
I take the knife, cutting off the shirt and the straps of the bra. I'll buy Steph whatever she needs. I pull her panties off and start to kiss her body from her toes, working my way up each leg. I reach her center, and she is already dripping in anticipation. "Dios, Babe, you're so wet already." I start to lap up her juices, tasting her natural sweetness, which is like an elixir to me. Then, I continue further up her body. I feel her hips bucking beneath me, her groan of disappointment, but she's not yet begging. I attack her right breast, biting, sucking, and licking her nipple. It is hard and sensitive, making her respond more.
"Carlos, please."
"Please what, Babe?"
"Please don't stop," she replies.
I move to her other breast and repeat the same actions while tweaking the first with my fingers. I bring myself back down her body, towards her wonderful center, as I tease all around her with my mouth. I refuse to touch her clit or her folds.
"Carlos, I want you inside me. I want to feel you fill me."
"Not yet, Querida. You're not quite ready yet." I stick my tongue between her folds, fucking her, and drinking her juices. I feel her body quivering, building with anticipation. Then, I pull away, kissing her inner thighs. I see and feel her struggling against her binds, for I know she wants to hold my head to her center.
"Please, Carlos, inside me."
I bring my tongue back inside her, fucking her gently, but still refusing to touch her clit. I know that she's close, but I don't want her to come until I sheath myself inside her. Dios, she's so tight.
"Carlos, stop torturing me and fuck me already. I want your glorious cock inside me. Please, Carlos."
"What if I don't, Amante?"
"I'll self-implode."
"I don't want that to happen." I gently nip her clit, watching her eyes widen before sitting on my knees between her legs. I bring her legs up on my shoulders and enter her quickly. I pause momentarily, allowing her to adjust, before slowly pumping into her. She's so tight, she's squeezing me already. I know I don't have long before I shoot my seed in her, and I want her to fly. I bring her agonizingly close to a release, then stop, which is a feat for me as well. I feel her walls clamping down on me as I try to still myself.
"Dios, Babe, you're going to make me cum, and I'm not ready to yet."
"Well, hurry up and get moving. I can't wait much longer."
I start moving faster inside her, as she pants "yes" repeatedly. I reach with one hand and pinch her nipple while leaning forward, to brush against her clit while pumping. I feel us both building, and within moments, we're both cuming, screaming each other's names. I continue to pump, milking us both dry. Then, I slowly pull out.
"How was that, Babe? Did that meet your expectations?"
"No, it surpassed my expectations."
I feel a little smug at my abilities to please my woman. "I'm glad," I tell her as I untie her wrists. I kiss her skin, which is a little red, and I frown. "Did I tie you too tightly?"
"No, it wasn't tight, I was pulling too much. You weren't going fast enough." I make a note to purchase better bindings. If bondage is something, she wants to explore a little, I'm going to do so in a manner that will cause her the least discomfort.
"Go take a shower and get dressed. I'm taking you out on a date tonight. We're going someplace nice, borderline fancy. We'll eat dinner there, and there is live music, but usually slower songs. We can dance if you want, but not necessary. After, I'd like to take a walk along the beach. I'll pick you up from here at 1930. That gives you two and a half hours."
"You need to get out of here if I'm going to be ready on time. Damn you, Carlos." Steph replies with a huge smile.
I put on my board shorts, heading down to the pool. I see Tommy is in the pool with Lester, while Julie is sitting underneath a tree, reading. Her cast is coming off on Tuesday, so she'll be able to go in the pool then. I walk over to Julie, sitting next to her.
"Everything okay, Princesa?"
"Yes, Papi. Everything's okay. I can't wait to be rid of this cast."
"I understand that sentiment. Julie, do you like Stephanie?"
"Like Stephanie? Papi, I love Stephanie. Since we started talking more, you have always mentioned something about her, in every conversation we had. She is so nice and kind. She's never made me feel bad or judged me when I would tell her how I felt."
"What do you mean, Princesa?"
"Well, you know Stephanie and I e-mail, right?"
"Yes."
"So, I would tell her things I couldn't tell Mom or you. She never betrayed my confidence, though she told me repeatedly that if I ever told her something that would impact my safety or well-being, she would tell you."
"That's why she knew when Rachel tried to have Rocco and Tommy removed from your detail."
"Yeah, Papi. Mom was monitoring everything I sent you, so I couldn't tell you directly, but Stephanie was able to talk to you. Papi, are you and Stephanie together?"
"We are sweetie. Julie, how would you feel if I asked Stephanie to marry me? Would you be happy with her as your step-mom?"
"OhmyGod, Papi! Are you really going to ask her? That's amazing! OhmyGod! You have to!"
"Does that mean you approve?"
"Yes, Papi. I approve. I was hoping you'd ask her because you know, she's perfect for you. When are you going to ask her?"
"Tonight, Princesa. I'm taking her out tonight."
"Good! I hope she says yes."
"Me too. Uncle Lester's going to stay here with you. I'm not sure if we'll be home tonight or if I'm going to take Steph to the boat."
"Take her to the boat. I think she'll love it."
"Okay, Julie. I know I haven't always been there for you, but I love you."
"I love you too, Papi." She replies as we share a hug. I kiss her on her forehead, and she kisses my cheek. "Go into the pool. I know you want to."
I smile at my daughter and dive in. I swim about fifty laps before going over to where Lester is helping Tommy learn to swim. We spend the next ninety minutes in the pool, while Lester gets out to barbeque chicken kabobs for dinner. Once dinner is ready, I get out and head to the gym to get dressed. I shower, shave, and put on my charcoal grey Armani suit with a white shirt and gray and black checkered tie with matching pocket square. I tie my hair back, putting on my good dress shoes. I go to the office to retrieve Steph's ring out of the safe. As I'm about to get Steph, Julie comes barreling into the office.
"Papi, I ordered roses for Stephanie from you. Give them to her before you leave." She orders me while handing me two dozen stunning red roses. Before I can say thank you, she's out of the room.
I walk to our bedroom and knock on the door. When Steph opens the door, my breath hitches. Words cannot describe how magnificent she looks, in a plum-colored halter top dress that hugs her curves until just above her knees. She has on a pair matching stilettos. Her hair was falling in perfect curls, and she only had on mascara and lip gloss. She was beyond beautiful.
"Steph, Babe, you look amazing. I can't even think of the proper adjectives to describe how wonderful you look tonight." I tell her as she blushes.
"You look delectable yourself, Mister."
I hand her the roses, which she gushes over before she places them on the dresser. I grab one from the bouquet and hand it to her. I want that one for later. I take her arm as we walk down the stairs together. Tommy and Julie come running to see us, and both stop in their tracks.
"Wow, Steph you could be on TV you are butiful," Tommy says.
"Thank you, LT."
"You both look great. Let me get a picture." Julie says. She takes out her phone, having us pose for a picture. I turn and look at Steph as she looks at me, and I hear Julie's phone click.
"Let me see the picture," Steph says.
"No, tomorrow. Go."
I take Steph's hand, gently pulling her towards the door to the garage. I walk over to the Lamborghini, helping her, get in. I close the door and sit on the driver's side. I open the garage door, and we drive out, down the drive to the road. I try to get in my zone, but I'm nervous. Afraid that she'll say no, that it's too soon, or that she's scared. I'm afraid she'll run. But I have to trust in myself, and in my love for Stephanie Plum.
We get to the restaurant, a top rated seafood place, within twenty minutes. I pull up to the valet station and run around to open the door for Steph. I watch as the valets ogled Steph, but they quickly look away when I give them my death glare. We walk arm in arm into the restaurant.
"You didn't need to scare them. The guys were just looking." Steph tells me, chuckling.
"You're mine. And they weren't just looking. They were mentally undressing you. Only I get to do that." Babe rolls her eyes at that statement as we arrive at the hostess stand.
"Good evening. Reservation for two for Manoso." I tell the hostess, a woman who is in her fifties.
"Right this way, Madam, Sir." She responds. We follow her to a secluded corner. I help Steph into her seat as I sit across from her, with my back to the corner. The waiter comes over, again an older gentleman in his fifties.
"Good evening. My name is Elvin, and I'll be your waiter this evening. May I start you off with a bottle of wine?"
"Two glasses of Cristal, please," I respond.
"No problem, Sir. I'll be back with that momentarily."
I'm glad that he is a professional because I don't think I would be able to handle watching our waiter staring at Steph every time he approaches. I know she thought the same about the hostess. Elvin arrives a few minutes later with the Cristal.
"Babe, my I order for you?"
"Yes. That's fine."
I order our dinner and a salad for an opener. As we are waiting, I start the conversation. "Babe, thank you for being such a good sounding board for Julie. I'm glad that she has had someone she trusted that she could talk to."
"It was no problem. When I was growing up, I never had anyone to confide in. My grandmother, while being loving, is a gossip, and my mother and sister didn't understand me. I always wished I had someone I could talk to. When Julie started to confide in me, I told her I would never break her confidence, unless it was something that would affect her health or safety. Fortunately, the only thing she ever shared was Rachel trying to get rid of her guards."
"I know. Julie told me. I'm grateful that she had you to turn to, and that, hopefully, she'll still have you." I didn't want to ask before dinner, but this seems like the right time. I stand up and kneel next to Stephanie.
"Babe, te queiro, with all my heart and soul. I can't imagine ever being without you by my side. Please, Stephanie Plum, honor me by agreeing to become my wife, making me the happiest man alive." I ask her, holding my breath.
I look at her face, seeing what I hope are happy tears in her eyes. "Yes, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I will be your wife. I love you too." She replies. I open the box with the ring, watching as her eyes open wide. It's a three carat round diamond with small round sapphires surrounding the diamond, extending down the band on both sides. I slip the ring on her left-hand ring finger before kissing my fiancé. Life can't get much better than this.
TNTCE
A/N: Finally, we have reached the end of the first part of this journey, at over 186,800 words. I have started to write part two, which has no title yet. I'm not sure when I'll start publishing again, but please make sure to follow me as an author so you will be notified when I start publishing. When I first wrote chapter 1 last September, the story was not quite as long, not quite as complex, and not a Criminal Minds crossover. It evolved early on, and about halfway through, I realized I couldn't finish Stephanie's and Carlos' journey in one story that would last about two weeks. I have an extremely general outline for part II. I need to flush out the details. I also have a few ideas for Spring Break. During my publishing hiatus, I'll be writing, writing, writing. I would love to have whatever story I publish next completed before I start to publish. If that is the case, I plan on employing an every-other-day publishing schedule.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their comments along the way. There are about twenty or so individuals who have published after every chapter, leaving me 80 reviews a piece. I look forward to reading your insights each day. There are also many others who have commented once or only a few times, and I appreciate all those reviews as well. I hope that everyone who reads my story will comment at the end. I'd love to know how you feel about the overall work. I am not one who typically reviews after each chapter, because I do tend to wait until 10-15 chapters are published before reviewing.
Finally, I'd like to thank my fabulous beta, Susan, for offering me her editing expertise. She does a great job of catching my mistakes, modifying my words to better match my intent, and helping to give me guidance when needed. I'd also like to thank Kelly, better known as Hermione Incarnate, for being a sounding board when I got stuck on where I wanted to go and for allowing me to vent when needed. Without you Babes, I couldn't have finished this story. Until next time, much love. -Misty