Any Man Of Mine - sade meeks (top young adult novels txt) 📗

shifting into a bring-it-on stance.

"Up there singing that song. A song about the kind of man you want. Talk about inviting trouble. For God's sake Stephanie, it's a fricking miracle you didn't wind up attracting another stalker bringing attention to yourself like that." Shit! Now is one of those times when I really wish I could school my face into a blank mask like Ranger can. I didn't want Joe to know about the flower guy. Something must have shown on my face though as Morelli's face turned purple. "Shit Stephanie! Again? Have you been threatened?" When I shook my head to indicate no, he continued on with his rant. "Why is it always my girlfriend who has to put herself in the spotlight and invite psychos to her? Why can't I have a girlfriend who is content to live a normal life?" Joe was back to running his hands through his hair. Well, I'd heard enough.

"Fuck you Morelli. I don't need your bullshit on top of what's already going on. You know what? You don't have to worry about your girlfriend anymore, 'cause as of right now, you don't have one." I flipped him the bird, as I stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind me for good measure.


"This is heaven," I thought to myself as I let the cascading water rinse the Bulgari bubbles from my body. Lula had left me abandoned at the Trenton PD like usual. I'd not wanted to be confronted with my mother's ideas of how I was a failure at my job, being a 'Burg daughter, and simply at being a woman. That meant not going to their place to clean up and not going to mine where I knew my phone would be ringing off the hook. It also meant not calling my father to come pick me up with the cab.

So, I used a speed dial number I rarely even remembered I had programmed and called Tank. He picked me up; no questions asked and brought me back to the Rangeman office building on Haywood. For once I hadn't felt like I'd needed to fill the silent void in the car with my rambling. I knew Lula would tell him at some point what had happened to us. I'd spent most of the trip trying to figure out how best to resume my regular skin tone.

On my way up to the 7th floor apartment, I'd stopped off at the 6th floor and asked Ella for help. I figured if anyone would be able to help get rid of Easter Egg Stephanie, she would. After mixing coarse sea salts, baking soda, and some olive oil together, she'd handed me the jar.

"To use this, stand out of the spray. Rub it on generously but not with a lot of force. Rinse thoroughly. Follow up with the shower gel of your choice." Ella'd given me a small knowing smile at that. I was pretty sure she couldn't see the blush with all the color already on my face though. "This won't remove all the color but it will exfoliate your skin and that should fade the coloring some. You'll need to do this over the course of the next few days until the color is gone completely. Is there anything else, dear?"

"No. Thank you, Ella. I've taken up enough of your time as it is."

"Nonsense. I'm happy to help. Call if you need anything." After promising Ella that I would, I'd gone the rest of the way up to the penthouse. I'd already ascertained that I wasn't dripping color or making a bigger mess by walking around so I didn't have to worry about making a colorful mess in the apartment. I'd followed Ella's directions exactly and it was working.

Once my body was rinsed, I lathered up my hair and started humming. When I realized I was humming "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair", I'd started giggling. Oddly relieved that it wasn't "Rubber Ducky" I was humming. A couple of nights ago, after drinking with the girls at the bar, I'd had a nightmare involving that song, a bathroom, and Vinnie which I had been trying desperately ever since to forget. That led my thoughts back to the Karaoke at the bar that night. I started singing the lyrics that I could remember to "Any Man of Mine" once I was done washing that man out of my hair.

"Any man of mine better be proud of me." I trilled as the last of the shampoo slid down my back and circled the drain. As I felt a draft of cool air reach me through the steam filled bathroom, the rest of the words caught in the back of my throat. Someone had opened and closed the bathroom door and I hadn't heard them. No surprise really…I hadn't expected anyone to be around so I hadn't been listening for anyone. Not that it really would have mattered, I suppose if I was honest with myself. Ranger doesn't make a lot of noise entering anywhere, especially not his own apartment. I'd managed to learn that Ranger was out on a call concerning a high bond skip before coming up here. I'd figured I'd have a while before he got back. I must have miscalculated. I felt goose bumps prickling my arms and legs. The draft was only part of the cause. I knew the rest of the cause was standing outside the shower doors even though I couldn't see him through the foggy air. I was hoping the same was true for him. I was going to have a problem here quickly though. The hot water had to run out at some point and with it the steam.

"Ranger."

"Yo."

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting."

"For?"

"You."

"Wait somewhere else. I'm naked in here." Oh Shit. Did I just say that? Crap.

"And?" I could hear the predatory smile in Ranger's voice.

"And nothing." I nearly growled. Frustration helping to off-set the hormone rush, I turned the water off and quickly opened the shower door just wide enough to snake my arm out. I grabbed for the nearest towel and closed the door again, wrapping myself in the towel. I assessed my situation. I really needed another towel for my hair. All of a sudden, the door opened a bit but before I could react there was a well muscled mocha-latte colored arm reaching inside the shower, holding a fluffy bathrobe. Feeling foolish, I took the robe and put it on; using the towel I had been wearing to wrap my hair. "Thanks."

"Babe."

I sighed in relief as I heard the door open and close this time. Hurriedly I dried off and finger combed the snarls out of my hair. Using the hair towel to wipe the condensation from the mirror I appraised the damage. A green splotch decorated my forehead, a pink one on my left cheek, blue on the right. Purple and green blobs overlapped on the sides of my neck and down my chest. The robe covered the rest, as it went from my shoulders to my ankles. Thank the heavens for shoes. My right foot was completely normal; the left looked like someone had placed a drop of orange on it and let gravity do its work. I suspected there was more to that orange further up though. I lifted the robe on that side slightly. Yep. I sighed and decided to brave the full sight. I removed the robe and turned to look at my body in the mirror. Fuck! I looked like a multicolor Rorschach test. Oh, look, I see a purple bunny rabbit. Here's a patch that looks like cotton candy clouds. I put the robe back on, tying the belt tightly, took a deep breath, and opened the bathroom door. Well, it's now or never.

Chapter 4

I walked across the bedroom to the dressing room, not saying anything to the six feet of hard muscle encased in black clothes stretched out on the bed. I forcibly pressed my lips together to ensure I wasn't drooling. I could feel his eyes following my every movement. I knew closing the door to the dressing room wouldn't keep him out if he really wanted to follow me but I did it anyway as my way of indicating that I wanted to be alone at the moment.

I stood in the middle of Ranger's walk-in closet and stared in wonder at the sight of my clothes hung up with his. During the time I was the chief suspect in the disappearance of Dickie, my ex-husband, Ranger and I had bantered about the implications of my clothes in his closet. I hadn't thought too much about it in the intervening months. Looking around though, I realized that where as when I first discovered Ranger's apartment, there had been no signs of a feminine presence at all, now, to an outsider, it would look like two people, a man and a woman, shared this apartment on a regular basis.

Try as I may, I couldn't keep a small smile from playing on my lips at the realization. It was scary, satisfying, and saddening all at the same time. Scary because I wasn't sure I was ready for a commitment, not that it really mattered I suppose. The mysterious man in black out there doesn't have a life style conducive to relationships. That was the sad part. I could daydream and think about it all I wanted but it wasn't going to change. I shook my head to clear the fuzzy cobwebs out and noticed I was still standing here in the robe. I quickly got dressed and went to do more with my hair before it decided to completely frizz. The current condition of my body already had me feeling defensive enough; I didn't need a bad hair day on top of it.

I managed to get back across the bedroom without looking over at Ranger still lying on the bed. Finishing up the task of covering the colored patches on my face, I sensed Ranger's presence behind me. I met his gaze in the mirror and saw more than felt as he pushed my hair back and lightly kissed a purple section of my neck, his eyes never leaving mine. My stomach fluttered and my knees shook slightly. Closing my eyes, I pictured the look on his face as I left the Bonds office earlier. My eyes snapped open and found his again.

His reflection flashed me a lupine grin before he kissed my neck again. Damn ESP! He knew what I'd been thinking about. I pushed back away from the sink in an attempt to gain enough space to turn around. It didn't work. My back wound up fully pressed against Ranger's rock hard chest and he wasn't budging. Oh Well. Guess I'm stuck here. Too bad. I thought sarcastically.

I let my eye lids fall again and gave into the pleasurable sensation of his lips on my skin. I felt my body go limp against him as he brought his muscular arms up around my waist. We stayed like that for several minutes.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Ranger asked, his lips hovering just a hair above that sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder.

"Hmphmmm?" I was in the middle of a tidal wave of hormones and he's asking me questions? My brain was shutting down. I wasn't into thinking at the moment, I was too busy feeling. I'm not the world's best multi-tasker when it comes to something like this.

I felt Ranger's chest shake against my back as he chuckled. He pulled away and turned my