Happy New Year everyone! Hopefully this new year will give me the boost I need to finish some stories. At any rate, I hope you all had a safe holiday season and that 2013 holds many blessings in store for you all. Now, on to chapter 3. These are not my characters. Again, I'm just taking them out for a test drive. All creative liberties towards characters belongs to Ms. Janet E. My special thanks go out to Elaine for her willingness to beta for me. Thanks girl!

I was just finishing up the last of my searches for the day. The clock on my computer read 5:55, and I had procrastinated just about as long as I could without risking Ranger coming to look for me. I had quickly tucked the book into my messenger bag after Ranger found me reading it, and had spent the past 4 plus hours buried in searches. I had a hard time keeping my mind on the searches that I had done, so I felt like the work went slower than usual. My thoughts kept going back to what I had read in the book, and the research I had done last night. I started to use my laptop, until I remembered that it was a Rangeman laptop. With my luck, everything that I Googled would be logged into my search history. So I used my phone to do a little additional research gathering. I quickly learned that there are all kinds of websites out there- both good and bad- that cover every imaginable thing under the sun. Got a foot fetish? There's a web page for it! Whips and chains excite you? There's thousands of pages…complete with images. My mind was swirling with all of the terms…so many that I had thought about starting a list on a steno pad just to keep it straight!

As my mind continued to whirl, I gathered up all of my printouts, quickly straightened my desk area, and then dropped the completed files into Rodriguez's box. All the remaining guys on duty called out various messages of goodbye as I headed to the elevator. I smiled and waved, praying that they couldn't read my thoughts.

On the short trip up to seven, my thoughts wandered to the comments Ranger had made about the taboo subject of BDSM. And I wondered too about my sudden interest in it. Why did a simple conversation in Vinnie's of all places, lead me to wanting to know…well, more? Why did I have a sudden interest in reading about it? Ranger claimed he didn't read books about it, but could easily write them. And if I were honest with myself, that kind of scared me. I mean, here I am, a simple Burg girl. And he's, well, he's …Ranger! Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have a complex of inferiority, but if I'm honest with myself, I know absolutely nothing about kink yet for some reason, I yearn to know more. I'm almost eager for more. I mean, sure, I've read a few romance novels that I picked up while in college. But those were pretty tame in comparison to what the Fifty Shades books were about. Why does the simple thought of reading about it turn me on so much?

When I realized that the elevator had stopped and the doors were open, Ranger was standing in front of me giving me that half smile that he does so well. "Babe, you okay? You seem really deep in thought."

I quickly snapped out of my musings. Stephanie, get it together! Keep your mind and thoughts out of the gutter! I looked up and smiled. "Nope," I mustered, slightly popping the 'p', "I'm good. Just thinking." Ranger opened the door to his penthouse and allowed me to walk in before him. He quietly shut the door behind us as I sat my messenger bag down beside the door. The fragrant smells of dinner filled the penthouse and I took the opportunity to walk over to the kitchen to see what wonderful concoction Ella had whipped up for us.

"Chicken and wild rice, Babe. But she also left chocolate cake for you for dessert."

I smiled, thinking how odd it was that Ranger could read my unasked question. How is it that he always seems to know what I'm thinking? What I'm feeling? I tried to push those thoughts to the back recesses of my mind. "You actually let her leave saturated fats and carbs in your apartment? Surely you jest?"

"Actually, I asked her to bring something for you. I told her that I was working on the art of compromising. Ella actually smiled and said 'About time!' I thought you'd appreciate the gesture." I looked at Ranger, expecting him to be joking, but only got his serious face in return. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, easily sliding my arms around his waist as he pulled me close and moved my hair from my shoulders. He held me tightly as I took another deep breath and inhaled his essence, his fragrance. Just being near him seemed to give me confidence and make the room spin. I pulled back slightly, so that I could look up to his eyes, and smiled.

"Ranger, I appreciate the effort at compromise. You know as well as anyone that I can't turn down chocolate. But for some reason I feel like there's more to it than that. Normally you would be the last person to supply the chocolate and the first person to complain about me eating it. Are you buttering me up for something?"

Ranger half way smiled and looked just past my shoulder, off into the distance, as if he were thinking about saying something. Or maybe he was thinking about how to say something. Maybe whatever his something was that he had to say was bad. Or maybe he thought I'd go all rabbit on him and run like the wind. All I know is that the silence was killing me and I was starting to really worry.

"Ranger…are you ok? I didn't mean to upset you. I was just kidding about the choc…."

Range put a finger gently over my lips. "Babe, what are we? I mean, what would you like us to be?"

Okay, hold the phone! I'm standing here in Ranger's apartment and he's asking me what are we? Hell if I know! He's the one that doesn't DO relationships. He's the one who wants a condom, not a ring, but a quickie in a closet will work too. I took yet another deep breath, dislodged my arms from his waist, and turned to walk to the window.

"Ranger, what do you mean 'What are we'? We're friends, we're sometimes lovers, we're …well, we're us. It's hard to describe. We're hard to describe."

"Babe, I'm going out on a limb here and I'm trying really hard to meet you half way. I'm trying my damndest to be honest with you for a change. I know I've fed you a lot of shit over the years, and for that I'm sorry. My lifestyle is in many ways unconventional, at best, and I never thought that you would be interested in me for more than we have right now. But you seem to be rather, well…let's call it inquisitive, as of late. Am I mistaken?"

My mind was going a million miles a minute. Inquisitive? What is he talking about? My mind raced back to the short conversations we had exchanged over the past few minutes. No luck there, the only thing I was inquisitive about was what was for diner. Ok, before that there was lunch…I had a turkey sandwich while I was reading the book… Oh God. Oh God! Oh God! The light bulb dinged in my head as Ranger came to stand beside me and took my hand. He had never really been one to beat around the bush with anything. So I suppose this attempt at conversation between us was him asking how much I wanted to know about kink. Oh God…Oh God! I could feel the heat coming from my face. I took a small step away from the window, scared that the heat from my cheeks would make condensation appear on the glass.

"I don't…I don't understand, Ranger. What are you getting at? It's a book. I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. I think you're jumping to conclusions. "

Ranger laughed, and pulled me close. "Am I Steph? Really? Can we just drop all pretenses for a little while and take tonight to be honest with each other? I feel like we've held back from each other long enough. If you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that you have thought of nothing but those books since I left you yesterday, correct?"

I turned, unable or maybe unwilling to meet his eyes. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right, yet in some way I was drawn to him. I was unable to tell him a lie, so I instead remained silent. He walked up to me, and gently touched my shoulders, and spoke softly, gently.

"And if you're even more honest with me, and yourself, you'll admit that you probably did some research online last night, or better yet I bet you went by a bookstore today, to read up on BDSM. Maybe you read a few articles, but knowing you like I do you were probably scared that Rangeman would be able to see your search history since I'm pretty sure you're still using a Rangeman laptop at home. Correct?"

Again, I remained silent. "And since I'm pretty sure you didn't use your laptop to do research, I'm willing to bet that in addition to the book in your messenger bag over there, that there is at least the other 2 parts of the trilogy and a few more sex books down in your car in the garage, right?"

My eyes jumped to meet his. "You little sneak! How did you…did you follow me?"

Ranger laughed softly, and smiled one of the biggest smiles I'd seen in a while. He bent down to kiss me, soft at first, but then harder, nipping at my lip, making it sting just the tiniest bit. "Just as I thought. Babe, you're easy to read. And no I didn't follow you, nor did I track your purchases. I simply am able to read human body language better than most. It's what makes me good at what I do, and it's served me well while when I was in the Army. And I can read you better than anyone else."

"Was? What do you mean was in the Army?" I inquired. I mean, I wasn't real sure of what Ranger did when he went in the wind. I never really asked, since I figured it was top secret. But he had made no mention of not being in the Army anymore. It was something that I worried about continually when he was 'in the wind'. I worried about where he was, when would he return, and what was he doing while he was gone. Was he rescuing people from famine? Stopping illegal drug trading? Putting an end to sex slaves? Or maybe he was just going out of country to meet up with someone else. Did I have a right to know?

"Babe, I can hear the wheels turning in your mind from over here. Come on, let's sit down on the couch and you can tell me what's going on in that head of yours. But first, yes, I spoke correctly. I was in the Army. As of about three months ago I am no longer at the service of Uncle Sam. My contract has ended and I decided not to re-sign. Rangeman is growing and needs more and more of my attention. Tank is able to run things while I am gone, but if I continue to open branches at other areas, then I am going to need to redistribute the core teams for training at other locations."

I followed him to the sofa and let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. "I don't understand, Ranger. Does this mean…does it mean no more 'in the wind'? No more leaving? That's a good thing, right? I mean, it's what you want?"

Ranger rubbed his hands up and down my arms gently. "Yes, Babe, it's a good thing. It's time for me to stop. I'm not as young as I once was, and the thrill doesn't do anything for me like it used to. I can still be called in for consults on an as needed basis. But Rangeman is where my heart is. Rangeman and Trenton. Now that that issue is cleared up, let's get back to our earlier conversation. Maybe I should start over, since I don't think I'm doing such a great job at discussing this. I have a gift for you."

Ranger smiled at me, told me to stay where I was, and then stood to go to his bedroom. A gift? For me? I'm about as confused as a termite in a yo-yo! How did we go from talking about Fifty Shades of Gray, to BDSM research, then to talk about Ranger leaving the Army? And what is up with talkative Ranger? I'm beginning to think he has more shades to him than Christian Gray!

Ranger walked back into the room with two wrapped boxes. Each one was wrapped in black paper with silver bows. He handed each to me with a smile. "Open them."

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. "Ranger, I don't mean to keep repeating myself. But I don't understand. Why the gifts? And it seems that our conversation is all over the place tonight."

"Part of that is my fault Steph. Please, just open the gifts and I'll explain as you do."

I began to unwrap them, and noticed that the first was a new laptop. "This, Steph, is a laptop just for you. It's not for work, and it's not tied to Rangeman in any way. The internet subscription is on my account, and there's no tracing what you look up on it. It's for your use completely. There is something I have always wondered about you, but now, after the past couple of days, I feel a little more comfortable in talking to you about it. The laptop is yours. You can look up anything you'd like."

"Gee, Ranger, I don't know what to say. It's too much, way too much."

"No, it's not Steph. I care for you a great deal."

"But why, Ranger? I mean, why the laptop? And what's the thing you're wondering about."

"Let's hold that thought for just now. Open the next gift."

I shook my head slightly, still confused at the gesture as I unwrapped the next gift. It was a Kindle Fire. "Ranger, this is all too much. A Kindle and a laptop? I still don't understand."

Ranger took the gifts and set the laptop aside, and pulled the Kindle out of the box. He turned the eReader on, as he pulled me to his side. "Let me explain Steph. I want you to be able to explore anything you'd like to learn about. Knowledge is the key to power and self discovery. I've traveled the world, and seen a lot of things. Some good, some bad. Those experiences make me who I am and have molded me into the person that I am today. When your experiences are limited, you have a more limited view, there's less chance for knowledge, less opportunities for self discovery. People compensate by burying themselves in their work, or simply get busy living life."

"So you want me to become a book and tech nerd?"

Ranger laughed. "No, not at all Steph. I've noticed how you light up when I make references of a sexual nature."

"Ha! Have you looked at yourself? Geez Ranger! Half of the Eastern seaboard would light up if you smiled at them."

"Stephanie, let's be serious. Do you honestly want to tell me that you don't want to know more about sex? About BDSM? About kink? If I'm wrong, I'll admit it, and you can keep the gifts. I'll wipe the Kindle, and you're free to download Hamsters for Dummies if you'd like, or whatever else lights your fire."

"What do you mean wipe the Kindle? What's on it?" I wondered aloud.

Ranger grinned. "Babe, I took the liberty of preloading some interesting reading for you. Some books that are filled with factual information. There's been several good books published on the subject. A lot of what you will find on the internet is, well, trash. There's good information out there too, but many times you spend a lot of time looking through the filth to find truth."

"So what's this reading material about? Ranger I was married, so I'm not a virgin. I know how to have sex. We've had sex. Surely I'm not that bad at it."

Ranger interrupted. "No, Babe. I don't mean that at all. I simply want you to be able to research for yourself. You are a wonderful partner in bed. But I feel like you are holding back with me. And I know that you've realized I hold back with you. I don't want to push you beyond what you are comfortable with. But I think if you're honest with yourself you want more. I simply felt that in light of our recent conversations, this would be a good time to broach the topic that I'd wanted to talk to you about for a while now."

I took a minute to absorb what Ranger had said. It's true. Everything he had said was true. I was curious about many things. And I did feel like I should know more than I did. But still, I felt lured by the darker topics I'd read about last night.

"What exactly is this that you want to talk to me about Ranger? Besides sex. I mean, what is it that you have wanted to ask me about all along?"

Ranger took a deep breath, looked me in the eye, and gently took my hand. "Steph, I simply wanted to ask you what I've seen in you all along."

"Oh really? And what is that, Ranger?"

"You spend your days being the sassy Trenton Bounty Hunter. But deep down you know that you really want to give control to someone. You're tired of spending all of your time portraying the persona that you want everyone to see. You want someone to have your best interests at heart, and you want time when you can relax and just be you. Just Stephanie. With someone else having the responsibility of making sure your needs are met without giving up what makes you you. What I'm trying to say, Steph, is I think you would really enjoy trying out some other things…sexual things. The world doesn't have to always be vanilla. There's a lot to be said for other flavors. Let's say you only eat chocolate donuts. If you never tried a Boston crème, how do you know what you're missing?

I looked at him seriously. Now he was speaking my language. Donuts I could relate to!

"Steph, I think you'd enjoy being submissive in the bedroom. And if I'm right, and you do enjoy it, we could extend our activities, maybe even extend our relationship. What do you think, Steph? You interested?"

Oh boy!