Chapter 26 – Ruining

Not my characters, just borrowing them.

STEPHANIE

We didn't wake up for nearly 18 hours. When I finally swam back to consciousness in the early morning, Ranger was still wrapped around me and pressing kisses into my neck.

"Mmmm," I rolled over and returned them, but Mother Nature quicky reminded me of a more urgent priority, and I quickly wriggled out of his arms and made tracks into the bathroom.

When I came out, Ranger was hanging up the phone. "Ella will be up with breakfast in five," he said. I started to go to the closet, but he snagged my wrist and pulled me back to the bed. He kissed me long and deep.

"I'll bring you breakfast in bed," he said, giving me a little push back toward the mattress. Taking that statement as him not wanting me to get dressed, I made myself comfortable and enjoyed the show as his naked ass disappeared into the kitchen. He was back a couple minutes later pushing a little silver cart with two domed lids on the top along with a pot of coffee and a frosty pitcher of orange juice.

"Did you answer the door in that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't like Ranger to be so flagrant about nudity. Not that he was particularly modest, but I didn't see him greeting his aunt au natural.

"She pushed the cart inside the door and left it there," he said. "She didn't think it was a particularly weird request, given that you and I have been apart for half a year."

He lifted the dome to reveal a pile of bacon and sausages, a cheesy omelet, and toast with jam. He passed it to me and lifted the dome on his own breakfast, which was identical to mine.

"Typically, after a mission, I'm usually in need of more calories and fat to get back to my normal weight," he said, answering my unasked question and tucking into his omelet. I cleared my plate in minutes and reclined on the bed, watching as Ranger finished eating.

"Is it wrong that I'm getting turned on seeing you eat bacon that I know isn't turkey based?" I said, serious as a heart attack.

He smirked and kept eating. When he finished, he relaxed against the headboard, a pillow behind his back. He rested his hands behind his head and asked me about the attack in Miami. He nodded when I described how Les and I immediately went on the road and asked about where we went. He stroked my hair, now a faded blonde, but still stick-straight. He actually laughed out loud when I told him the story of the alligator in Alabama, and immediately asked me to text Hector to send me a photo of me holding the baby gator.

I was just starting to tell him about our time in Atlanta, but my hands had accidentally wrapped themselves around Ranger's most perfect part and successfully distracted us both for a while. When we were done, he padded into the bathroom, and I heard the water kick on. A few minutes later, he came to retrieve me, and we settled together in the bathtub full of Bulgari-scented bubbles. Mmm, Ranger in bubbles. Now that's the stuff daydreams are made of!

I sat between his legs, reclining against his chest. Wrapping his arms around me, he started filling me in on his time away. Tracking insurgent leadership, wading through faulty intel, finding the source receiving the info Armando had been sending, orchestrating his own capture after coordinating through messages with Tank to draw out the last of the men involved. I could barely wrap my head around it and refused to let myself consider the "what if's" of things going wrong while Ranger had been tied up with the knife-wielding psychopath. Though when he told me the timeline of when he'd let himself be captured and tortured, I realized it coincided with the worst of my nightmares. Curious, I asked about the timing of some of the other situations, and it seemed as if my Spidey sense was somehow directly connected to Ranger and my subconscious had been giving me nightmares anytime he was in immediate danger.

Reading my mind as always, he tightened his arms around me. "Everything is fine. I'm here, and I'm not leaving again."

We sat in silence for a while until he changed the subject. "You haven't told me about Atlanta," he said, reaching onto the shelf by the tub and lathering up a loofah with Bulgari. He started gently washing me while I talked, but when I told him about the Lester piss spillage incident, he was laughing so hard water was splashing over the side of the tub.

"It's so not funny," I said, giving my best 'Burg glare.

"Sorry, Babe," he said, completely insincerely. "But yeah, it is."

I rolled my eyes. "But if you want, I'll help you find a prank to give Santos a little payback," he finished.

"Now you're talking!" I said. I stood up and reached for a fluffy towel as bubbles clung to my legs. We dried off, and Ranger hung the towels on the bar.

Confidently naked, I padded into the kitchen and stuck my head in the fridge in search of a snack. I came out with sliced green apples, cheddar cheese, and a couple bottles of water. I turned around and smacked right into Ranger's naked chest.

"Hungry?" I asked, stepping around him to set my finds on the counter.

"Starving," he said, eyes dilating black. My eyes slid down his chest, over his beautiful but scarred abs, and stopped to linger when I reached his cock, standing tall and jutting out towards me proudly.

"For food?" I asked, trying to keep from licking my lips.

"That too," he said, lifting me and plopping my ass onto the island counter.

It was chilly, but I barely noticed as he pushed me back and dipped his head between my thighs. He licked me long and slow from ass to clit, and I moaned and swore. It didn't take long for his devilish tongue to bring me to a screaming orgasm right there on the counter. He growled as he gripped my thighs and lifted me off the counter and backed me against the wall. I wrapped my arms around him and attacked his neck with licks and kisses. He deftly lowered me onto his straining erection, and I groaned in appreciation. Using the wall as leverage, he pounded into me. It was hot and wild and lusty, and I reveled in it. My head rolled back against the wall as I chanted my encouragement. We tore each other apart, and when his release finally overtook him, my name was a shout on his lips. He pressed his forehead to mine, holding me in place as we both panted our way back down to earth.

We made our way to the couch and settled in with blankets and our snacks. Ranger shared more about what Armando had been doing and told me that he'd learned at the debrief that this was only the tip of the iceberg of the many crimes Armando had committed during his time in the service, as well as following his retirement. It looked like he wouldn't ever even make it to a civil trial, the military would try him and send him to Leavenworth, where he'd likely remain for the rest of his life. We talked for quite a while about some of the details we had to clean up from that whole debacle, until Ranger suggested we watch movie. After a few minutes of scrolling through titles, Ranger pulled up Ferris Bueller's Day Off and started it. I called Ella and asked her to bring up lunch, and she told me it would be about 20 minutes until it was ready, but that she would leave it just inside the door as she had with our breakfast early that morning. I thanked her and joined Ranger on the couch for more naked cuddling.

We settled in to watch the movie, enjoying Ella's potato soup, salad, and fresh yeast rolls. Sometime after we finished eating, it struck me that the last time Ranger had come home from a mission, he'd told me he typically went away to decompress. That was what had led to the cruise where we finally got our shit together and turned "Ranger" and "Stephanie" into "Ranger & Stephanie."

"Are you planning to head to one of the properties for a few days?" I asked, turning to face him as Ferris broke into song on a parade float.

"Maybe," Ranger replied, non-committal. He kissed my head. "I really hadn't thought past getting back to you."

I tried not to swoon out loud, but damn if that didn't make me feel completely squishy. I cuddled back into his side and snaked my arms around his waist, listening to the last lines of the movie lost in thought. When the final credits had rolled, Ranger switched off the television and turned to look at me.

"Deep thoughts, Babe?"

"I mean, Ferris is right," I said, climbing off the couch and folding the blanket that I'd had wrapped around me.

"How so?" Ranger asked.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Ranger gave me his 1000-watt smile. "What do you think you're missing, Steph?"

"You," I said simply.

He stood up and folded his own blanket. "You've got me."

"No, I mean, me and you – us – the wedding. Jeanne Ellen asked me when the wedding was, and I had nothing to tell her. And I realized, I hadn't planned anything or even thought about planning anything because I was waiting for the right time."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Babe," Ranger said.

"I know. But I think what this whole op has shown me is that there IS no "right time." There's just right now."

Ranger closed the distance between us and pulled me flush against his body. "What are you saying, Steph?"

"I'm saying that while you were away, I realized if things went badly that I could have missed my chance, and I'm not OK with that. I want to be Mrs. Manoso, and I don't want to waste any more time or take any more chances."

I had more to say, but Ranger sealed his mouth over mine in a kiss filled with equal parts passion and love.

"Then let's do it," he said, between kisses. "Name the time and place, and I'll be there."

"I don't even care," I breathed, tangling my tongue with his. "Let's go to the courthouse. Today. Tomorrow. As soon as possible."

He ran his hands down my sides, settling them on my hips. "I have a better idea," he said, moving to drop kisses down my neck.

"Ok."

"I didn't say what it is," he reminded me with a laugh, and gently pushed me backwards until I came to rest on the couch. He slowly made his way down, placing open mouth kissed on my neck, my shoulder, my collar bone, my chest and down to my naked breasts. Warmth pooled between my thighs.

"I don't care what it is," I said, nibbling on his earlobe. "If it ends with us married, I think it's a great idea."

We effectively distracted ourselves then, exchanging kisses, licks, and nips until I was laid back on the couch with Ranger buried inside of me. When we were finished, he followed me into the bedroom and slid his robe over my arms and tied it deftly.

"Get in the shower," he said. "I've got a couple calls to make." I thought about giving him a salute, but his naked ass was too much temptation, so I gave it a quick smack and darted into the bathroom to clean up.

Two hours later, we were sliding out of the 911 on the tarmac of the private airstrip at Trenton Mercer airport. Ranger took my hand and led me up the stairs of the waiting jet, and I was beyond surprised to see Tank, Bobby, Hector, Lester, Hal, Cal, Ella, and Louis were all waiting for us. I looked at Ranger and raised my eyebrow.

"Did you really think the Core Team would let us get married without them?" he asked with a smile.

"I guess they were there when we got engaged, so it makes sense they'd be there when we get married."

The guys were all smiles as we took our seats. We heard a car door slam, and my mouth dropped open when I saw Mr. Alexander board the plane. I gave him a hug and turned to Ranger.

"I can't believe you did this!"

Ranger shrugged. "I miss your curls."

Bailey, the flight attendant asked us all to take our seats. Mr. Alexander said he would be able to color and curl my hair once we were at our cruising altitude. We buckled into the butter-leather seats, and I reached for Ranger's hand, meshing our fingers together as the plane took off.

Once the Captain gave the OK to move about the cabin, Mr. Alexander expertly coaxed my hair back to its normal color and naturally curly state. They'd even outfitted a special sink so he could wash, dry, and style it. When he'd finished, Bailey had served everyone Caesar chicken wraps, chips, and fruit. The guys were laughing and playing poker. After a few hands, I was getting sleepy, so I figured I'd take a quick cat nap, figuring we had to be landing pretty soon. Assuming we were heading to Miami, it wasn't that long of a flight.

"Babe," Ranger said, sliding a kiss across my lips, sometime later. "We're here. It's time to wake up."

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched.

"Good Afternoon," the captain said over the speaker. "Local time is 4:12pm and the temperature is a sunny 86 degrees." 4 o'clock? Shouldn't it be later than that?

The plane stopped and Ranger motioned for me to walk off first. There were two beautiful flight attendants waiting at the bottom of the stairs holding gorgeous fuchsia leis. Wait, what?

"Welcome to Hawaii, Babe." Oh. My. God.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Ranger had picked the place, and Ella had handled all the rest of the details. Two hours later, I was standing in front of a mirror, wearing a strapless, chiffon white wedding dress with beading on the top hem and bodice. It was ankle length and flared out whenever I moved. My hair was half up and half down and curly with a plum-colored flower secured behind my ear. A knock on the door reveled Lester, wearing a tan linen pants and white button-down shirt and carrying a gorgeous fuchsia bouquet.

"Holy shit, Beautiful!" he breathed. "You're absolutely beautiful."

I blushed. "Are you the flower delivery guy?" I asked with a laugh.

"Fuck, no. I'm the maid of honor," he said seriously, dropping a kiss on the top of my head and closing the door.

"Really?"

"Don't you fucking cry! I'm terrible at dealing with a crying woman, and also, I think Ella might kill me if you mess up your dress."

I hugged him and took a deep breath. "I can't believe this is finally happening."

"Me either," he said. "But then, I've been listening to Ric lament over you… and your ass for years. It's about damn time! Just promise me when the time comes, that I get to be the godfather…"

He didn't get a chance to finish his outrageous statement, because Ella opened the door then.

"It's time, mi hija," she said with a smile.

I took Lester's arm and we walked out of the hotel and down to the beach. Ella stopped us halfway across the sand and told me to wait 60 seconds after they left and then follow. She smoothed my hair and handed me the bouquet, and took off across the sand, disappearing over the horizon. Lester turned to me and smiled.

"I'll be waiting beside your groom, and will stand right beside you the whole time," he said, kissing my cheek.

I counted to sixty-three and then made my way barefoot across the sand. I didn't see anyone for a few steps but when I crested a small hill my breath caught as I took in the scene before me. Standing near the water's edge, with the sunset painting the most beautiful of backdrops, Ranger stood proud and tall wearing a tan linen pants, no shoes, a crisp white shirt with three buttons undone at the collar, and a smile bigger than I'd ever seen. His hair moved haphazardly with the whims of the ocean breeze, and diamonds glittered in his ears. Tank stood to his right in the place of the Best Man, and Lester stood on the other side of a short Polynesian man wearing judge's robes. Hector, Hal, Cal, Bobby, Louis, and Ella were standing on both sides watching for me expectantly.

With a genuine smile on my face, I made my way across the beach and took my place across from Ranger. He took my hands in his, and I heard Ella clear her throat. A second later, Lester was reaching up to relieve me of my bouquet so there was nothing between Ranger and me.

My hair whipped in the breeze, and I realized this was beyond anything I'd ever wanted. It was the perfect setting for the beginning of our someday. The man of my dreams waiting to marry me, my best friend was beside me, and I had the love and support of the men that were closer than brothers to me. One lone tear skittered down my cheek and Ranger reached over to wipe it away with a kiss. The judge said a few words, and then Ranger's eyes were locked with mine and he began his vows.

"Stephanie. Babe. I will love you, support you, respect you, and cherish you all the days of my life. I promise not to shut you out. I promise to include you as a partner. I promise to always help you fly."

The judge turned to me, and I took a deep breath and spoke from the heart.

"Carlos. Ranger. I will love you, support you, respect you, and cherish you for the rest of my life. I promise to talk to you as a partner and not run away when things get tough. I promise to ask you for help when I need it."

They were short, but they were honest, and they were completely us. The sun was disappearing below the horizon of the water, and the sky was a beautiful mix of orange, red, and purple.

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Carlos, you may kiss the bride."

Ranger drew me into him with practiced ease, and with exquisite precision fused his lips to mine in a kiss that made me weak in the knees. I vaguely registered the shouts and cheers from the guys surrounding us.

"Lady and Gentlemen," the judge continued, looking at Ella and the men. "It is my absolute pleasure to present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Manoso!"

FIN

A/N: A huge thank you to all of you who have come on this adventure with me. After my first story, I was so sure I was done writing. Then the more I thought about it, the more I felt like there was more story to be told, and the plot for Ruining was born. I can't express how much all the reviews, follows and favorites have meant to me as I've been on this journey. I have read each one (more than once!) and gone back to them during the times when I felt I wasn't sure if it was worth continuing this story or just giving up. Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and allowing me to share a piece of my creativity with you. -Kj