527Once again, we've reached the end of another journey. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. As of right now, there's no sequel in the works, but who knows. It might change.
This one is a little longer because Lester and Natalie needed a little more time in the front. And who doesn't love them!
I hope to have the next story started soon. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Doing these stories and hearing how much you love them really and truly makes my day. Without you readers, I wouldn't be here having so much fun.
Not mine. But I keep wishing...
Warning: Smut. Hello! It's Lester! If you don't like it, skip it. This is M after all.
Lester's POV
"Got it. ETA is in sixty minutes. Thanks, Binkie." I said before I hung up the phone. "Okay, the plane landed on time and they just reached the car we left at the airport. They should be here in about an hour." I said to the people crowding the conference room. They all scurried to get their work done. Tank came up next to me and chuckled.
"Ranger is going to kick your ass for this." He said, pointing to the commotion we were surrounded by.
"Sure, but it'll be worth it for the look on Bombshell's face. She's going to love it."
"True. That might be the only thing that saves you, brother."
The man had a point there. I decided since Stephanie and Ranger were doing the quickie wedding in Las Vegas, it was only fair that we help them celebrate with a little party.
It'll be them and seventy of their closest friends.
Natalie came into the room holding the folder she had been working on for the past hour. "Holy crap." She said, looking around the room.
"Nice, right?"
"You're a regular Mary Poppins."
We had moved the conference table out of the room and pushed most of the chairs back to the walls to make ample room to dance and talk. Ella was currently preparing all of Ranger's and Stephanie's favorite foods and Bobby was picking out the music.
"I think I'm going to throw in the Macarena and see if she can get Ranger to do it." He said, grinning.
"He'll probably shoot the stereo before he does that dance." I replied.
"He better not! That's my baby!"
I rolled my eyes. Tank and Hal were putting up the banners I had ordered and Mrs. Plum was bringing the cake. Mrs. Manoso and her husband were going to bring the card tables for the presents and scrapbooking table.
Natalie snorted. "I didn't even know you knew what scrapbooking was."
"I know lots of things!" I cried out, outraged. The nerve of some people…
She looked at me. "Right."
"I do! I grew up with sisters."
"You have a sister and she's ten years older than you. Try again."
"I used it to pick up chicks."
"I find that hard to believe."
We stared at each other. Her hazel eyes were like a dark pit that I never wanted to crawl out of. I continued to think about that and not about caving. Whatever happened, I wasn't going to cave.
Nope, not me.
Then she stuck out a hip and raised an eyebrow.
"Fine." I sighed. "I googled it."
"There you go. Good boy." She patted my head.
"If you pat other places I can show you how good of a boy I can be."
Her eyes darkened some more. "Upstairs in ten minutes."
"Deal."
She sashayed her hot hips out of the room. I had a feeling that my tongue was wagging like a dogs.
Hal came up to me. "How does everything look?" He was blushing so I knew that he was looking at my woman's hips. I glared at him for a moment, hoping he would get the message.
He did. He blushed some more.
I nodded once and looked around the room. "Ella almost done?"
"She's having Cal and Manny help her bring down the food as she finishes it and Mrs. Plum should be here soon."
"Looks good. Good job."
He nodded once and went to see where he could help.
I, on the other hand, had a date with a naked woman. I calmly walked out of the room and headed for the staircase.
Where I flew down them.
If the guys were laughing, I didn't care. I was going to get some.
Barging into my apartment, I quickly spotted Natalie on the bed. She had stripped down to the lacy thong she had put on this morning and nothing else. I felt my mouth water.
I love women. I don't keep that a secret and many times, that has gotten me into trouble. And with that love, I always figured I'd be a bachelor forever.
But looking at the woman sitting on my bed, I could feel that old life melting away from me. If she wanted to get married, I'm pretty sure I'd go out and find the biggest ring I could.
"Well? Are you just going to stand there or do I have to do everything myself?" She asked in a husky voice. Her fingers started in her hair and moved down to her nipple. She pouted up to me.
That picture alone made me want to come right in my pants like a teenager.
"Touch yourself." I said, my voice as husky as hers.
She obeyed and began rubbing her nipples softly. Her moaned were timed perfectly with the throbbing of my cock. She tweaked them a few more times and looked at me from under her lids. "Now what?"
"Take your thong off."
Without her eyes leaving mine, she slid them off carefully. She opened her legs wide so I could get a great view of how wet she really was. She blinked and stroked her thighs.
"Show me how you want me to touch you."
She stroked her thighs a few more times and when she reached her lower lips, Natalie moved her hand to caress those. She gently worked the outside and slowly moved to the inner lips. As she stroked herself, she let out a moan and her head fell back.
"No." I growled. "Look at me. Keep your eyes on me."
Her head came back up and Natalie eventually got her unfocused eyes back to me. She continued to stroke herself and spread the silky wetness coming from her to her clit. When it was good and slick, she used her left hand to rub the tiny nub and used the other hand to penetrate her center.
I caved after a few strokes. I didn't want to watch anymore. I wanted to make her moan. In a flash, I had moved from my spot on the chair and was leaning in front of her. I gently removed Natalie's hand and replaced it with my mouth.
She tasted like heaven. Like sweet nectar that could never be found on earth. I moved the other hand off her clit and began rubbing the pad of my thumb across it. Both of her hands found my head and held on for dear life.
"Lester!" She screamed as she went over for the first time. My mouth went to her clit and began nipping gently as I pushed two fingers into her still pulsing walls. She clenched around them, signaling that she had gone over again. I pushed her over a third time and then gently licked her as she came down.
"Holy crap. I can't move." Natalie said, as she laid herself down on the mattress.
I sat back on my ankles with a smug look on my face. She moved her head to the side. "Shut up and get up here. I want you in me. Now."
"Yes, ma'am." And that was an order I was willing to take. After quickly stripping, I moved her up to the top of the bed, gently setting her down on the pillows. I followed her down and she smiled softly at me.
"What?" I asked after her face turned sad.
She just shook her head. "Nothing."
"You can tell me."
"Are we having a moment right now or are you going to fuck me?"
I thought about it. "Fuck you."
"Good choice." She grabbed my cock and put it to her center. I did the rest of the work and entered her.
It surprised me every time. She felt better than any woman I had ever been with. I waited until she adjusted and began to thrust slowly, working up the speed.
Natalie grabbed onto my ass and tossed her head back. "God, I'm so close."
I could feel it; she was hot and tight around me as I pushed back into her. A few thrusts later, she came again and her nails bit my ass. It was going to leave a mark, but I was too far gone in my own orgasm to care.
As our heart rates slowed, I gently collapsed on top of her. Instead of making me move, she generously accepted the weight. Natalie purred.
I think what surprised me the most about Natalie wasn't the fact that she could handle all my shit and give it right back, but the fact that she wants me to cuddle with her. Being Latino, I come from a long line of passionate and expressive people. We like to hug and kiss family any and every chance we get. Being a player, not a lot of women want the cuddling after. They just want the sex and then they want me to leave. Which I'm okay with, of course.
But sometimes, a man just needs to cuddle a little.
And I loved that Natalie got that.
I'm pretty sure that I loved her. And coming from me, that's saying a lot.
I pulled out a few minutes later and cuddled her close. She sighed happily and wrapped her arms around me.
"Set the alarm, would you?"
"Sure." I grabbed my phone and set it.
Yeah, I could see myself doing this every day.
Thirty minutes later, we were showered and awaiting Stephanie and Ranger's arrival. We had Cal and Binkie monitoring the garage so they could give us a heads up. We had contractors standing by to take their place so they could join the party.
"He's in there." We heard Cal say after feeding Ranger the line about how Tank wanted to talk to him about a customer who wanted out of his contract.
"Five minutes, I promise Babe." He said, giving her a gentle kiss.
Man would he be surprised.
And that's what we did. When the lights came on, we yelled surprise.
Stephanie screamed. Ranger raised an eyebrow.
"Congrats on the ball and chain, cousin!" I said, coming up to him and patting him on the back.
"What the hell did you do?"
"We're throwing you a reception. Dude, just go with it. It's mostly for Stephanie."
When I brought up the new Mrs. Manoso (who was cowering behind Ranger), his facial features softened. He could never say no when we spoiled Stephanie.
In fact, he couldn't stop from spoiling her.
He nodded once and moved on to hug his family. Stephanie who had finally caught her breath, punched me in the arm. "What the hell!"
"We wanted to surprise you!"
"Well mission accomplished." She looked royally pissed with her hands on her hips. She melted a second later and threw herself at me. "Thank you." She whispered into my ear.
My heart tripped a little. "Anytime, Beautiful."
"Move, Lester, I want to say hello to my new daughter." Mama Manoso said. I bowed out of the way. Tia Rose, this is Stephanie. Stephanie, Tia Rose."
"It's nice to meet you." She said.
Rose stood there for a moment, looking somewhat unhappy. "You love my son?"
Shaking her head, "With all my heart."
Her eyes narrowed. "You pregnant?"
"God no!" Rose tilted her head. "Not… not yet. But… but maybe… someday?"
I think Stephanie was thinking about bolting until Rose hugged her tightly. "Welcome to the family, mija."
"Uh thank you." Stephanie gently patted her back, awkward at the contact.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to the hugging."
"Okay."
"Ricardo. Come meet our new daughter."
And that was how the Manosos took to Stephanie like a duck to water.
The party went off without a hitch. Everyone was getting along and even Mrs. Plum, who thought Joe was Stephanie's 'last chance' was happy with the match. She was glowing just as bright as the bride.
I always figured that Ranger would charm her to the point she'd be asking 'Joe who?'
"Thanks, man." Ranger said.
"Sure." We were silent for a minute. "You take good care of her."
"I will."
"Good because there will be a line to kick your ass if you don't and then another to take your place."
He glared at me. "Noted."
"I'm just saying…"
"Shut up now."
"Aw, is he threatening to rip off your manhood?" Natalie teased as she walked over.
"Yes. Shoot him."
"Not worth the paperwork. Sorry baby."
"What's going on?" Stephanie asked.
"Lester's threatening to kill me if I hurt you."
She snorted. "Please. He'll already be dead. I'll kill him."
We all laughed, but we knew that it was true.
"So, when do you head to DC?" Stephanie asked Natalie.
We both stiffened. "What?" I asked.
"Didn't she tell you about the job offer?"
I turned to her and we locked eyes. "No."
"I hadn't gotten a chance." Natalie supplied.
Stephanie blushed. "Oops, sorry."
"It's fine." Natalie waved it off.
I, on the other hand, wasn't going to forget it. I looked at Ranger, silently letting him know that we needed a minute.
"Babe, let's go say hi to Joe and Nina."
"You're going to love her." She said in her fake happy voice. She was trying to sink into denial land.
I was trying not to let my heart climb out of my chest. "What is she talking about?"
"Well after the arrests, they saw that this was bigger than they thought. With Richard and Anne's testimony alone, we'll bring down a big portion of the cartel. They promoted me to see every operation that becomes of it through. In DC."
"And when were you going to tell me?"
She shrugged. "I was working on that."
"Working on that? We've been back for three weeks!" I looked at my shoes. "When do you need to leave?"
"Day after tomorrow."
Well, at least I had an answer to the sad face.
"Look, I think we can do this. At least until I work it out that I can work from the office here."
"And how long would that take? A year?"
She shrugged and looked down at her shoes. "Around that."
I sighed and crossed my arms. A year. I didn't think our relationship would last the long distance. If it was a few months, maybe. But we couldn't be apart for that long. Everything was still too new. If we had more time…
"Then maybe we should just see this relationship as it is."
"What?"
"It was nothing more than casual. You were always going to go back to New York."
"Yes, but…"
"So it was nothing permanent." She was going to hate me. But I was doing this for her own good.
"No, it wasn't…"
"Look, honey, I'm a player. You can't change that. It's been real fun. Maybe if you're ever in town, you should give me a call."
"You really can't be this callous."
I watched as her eyes filled with tears. It broke my heart.
But it was necessary. I walked away.
Stephanie, who had probably heard everything, came to comfort her. I hit the button for the elevator.
And never looked back.
Three months later…
"Any questions?" Ranger asked the group. When we had none, he nodded and dismissed us.
As we walked out, I couldn't help but smile. Ranger was leaning over Stephanie, who was telling him her plans for the day. He had a small smile on his face and he played with her fingers. It was good to see them still acting like newlyweds.
It made all the guys hopeful.
My heart seized for a moment and I walked quickly from the room.
I didn't want to break up with her, but better to make a clean break then to drag it out for years and end it when we're too bitter to even fight anymore. It was better for her.
And it sucked for me. Which put me in a perpetually bad mood. I'm sure the guys noticed and they kept their distance.
Everyone, but Stephanie. She pounced every second she could.
That is, until I told her I was dating other women. That shut her up pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, it was a lie. I tried dating. But they felt wrong. Either they looked too much like Natalie, or not enough. It was hard to be interested in your date when you're mentally dying her hair. So I stopped altogether. It was just easier.
Who would've thought that Lester Santos, playboy of Rangeman, would stop dating?
I sighed and went to my desk. The only thing helping me through was work. I think I'm more of a workaholic than Ranger ever was.
"Hey," Stephanie said softly when she came into my office.
"What's up?"
"I need you to stop working so hard. It's making the rest of us look bad." She smiled sadly.
I grinned. "Just raising the bar, Beautiful."
She looked at me. "You're sad."
Leave it to her to sound old enough to be my grandma and a child at the same time. "I'm busy."
"When was the last time we hung out, Lester?"
"Well you've been busy with your new life." I tried not to sound bitter.
"Not too busy to notice that you're sad." She paused. "You miss her."
"Stephanie, we've been over this…"
"I know."
"So why do you keep bringing it up?" I barked.
"Because I hate that you're miserable!" She yelled. I could hear the commotion stop in the control room.
I got up and shut the door. "Look, I appreciate you doing this, but…"
"No. You are going to listen to me now. You've been spouting off lie after lie. I'm done listening to it, Lester Santos. You are miserable. And it's your own damn fault. I don't care what reason you think is the right one, just know that you're wrong. I hope this makes you feel worse. She's just as miserable as you are. She's not the Natalie I know and it's all because of you! You love her. I saw that the minute you two started dating. And I know she loves you. You two are perfect for each other. So perfect that it makes me sick. You're both so stubborn that you won't make the first move. Now you need to make this right. Because if you don't, I'm going to send you to an early grave. You can't live a shell of your former life!" She yelled the last part and stormed out.
I sat back down and stared off into space.
"I hate it when she's that right." Ranger said from the doorway. "She sees more than we give her credit for."
"How can I face her? I acted like an ass."
"Tell her that. And say you're sorry till you're blue in the face. It's what I do with Stephanie." And he ghosted away.
Damn, they were both right. I sighed and turned to my computer. I needed to buy a ticket.
"Sir! You can't go in there!" The secretary at the desk said. The guards were child's play, but I think I had a pit bull on my tail. "Sir!"
I ignored her and she hit a security button. But that didn't slow me down. I was going to find Natalie. I searched every desk with Ms. Pit Bull on my ass. She kept yelling, but I didn't hear a word.
"Natalie!" I yelled.
Her blonde head popped up. Surprise covered her face. I ran to her desk.
"I was an ass." I said, panting.
Her eyebrow rose. "No argument there."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I thought it would be better for you. If there was a clean break. Then we wouldn't hate each other if things went sour. But I was so wrong. I'm miserable…"
"Sir, you need to come with me."
I whipped around and faced the rent-a-cop. "I have a higher clearance than you could ever dream of. It would give you a nosebleed. I'm not a terrorist, I'm just trying to talk to my girlfriend so BACK OFF!"
Natalie nodded to the officer. "He's okay."
"I'm miserable without you. I need to talk to you every day when things suck. I need to kiss you when I'm feeling playful. I need you to be there when the nights are bad." She knew exactly what I meant by that. Screaming, sweating and nightmares. "So this is me, apologizing and asking you to come home."
Natalie's mouth gaped. "I… I… don't…"
My heart sank a little.
Then she handed something.
It was a transfer order.
"I was already coming home."
I looked up from the paper and grabbed her tightly in my arms. When I gave her a little room to breathe, I kissed her as hard as I was hugging her. After a few minutes, we needed air, and I placed my forehead on hers, laughing.
"I'm so glad you're here." She whispered. "I missed you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
I kissed her again and my heart was light again.
Three weeks later, Lester escorted Natalie back to his apartment. The next morning, it was their apartment.
Everyone was thrilled.
A year after that, there was another wedding. This time, it was done in a church, the way Mrs. Plum had hoped for. The bride walked quickly down the aisle to her husband, her eyes never wavering from him. She glowed like a bride in love should.
But not as much as the matron of honor. Stephanie rubbed her growing stomach once before grabbing Natalie's bouquet. The wedding was quick, but everyone knew that it was going to last a lifetime.
"So, how does it feel to be married?" Stephanie asked me as we danced.
"Fantastic. How does it feel to be pregnant?" I asked, rubbing her stomach.
She smiled brightly. "Fantastic." She kissed me on the cheek before her husband took her back into his arms.
"We owe everything to her." Natalie said as she came back to dance with me. "She yelled at me too."
"So I wasn't the only one."
"We should start a support group."
Lester smiled. "I've never been happier."
Natalie's eyes darkened. "I disagree."
"I don't know…"
She grabbed my hand and looked for the closest empty room. "Let me show you…"
The end.