All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I have just asked them out to play.

Chapter 1

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfactionSalvador Dali

The pavement was so hot I could feel the rubber soles of my flip-flops melting as I walked. My t-shirt was sticking to my body with damp patches of perspiration staining the front and back, and my hair was frizzing out more and more with each passing second. The sky was hazy and across the street you could see little waves of heat shimmering off the hoods of parked cars. It was summer in Trenton and it felt great to be home. I am Stephanie Manoso, part time BEA, part time Rangeman security employee, and full time wife of Batman.

I had been married to Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, aka Batman, for eight months and it had been the happiest two months of my life. The marriage happened for all the wrong reasons which led me to take a six month break in Las Vegas. But the last two months had been wonderful. Ranger and I had turned a marriage of necessity into a real partnership filled with love and passion.

I was still working for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds as a bounty hunter but only on a part time basis. Vinnie wasn't unhappy about this. Now that Ranger and I were married I always had Rangeman backup, and I was proving to be more efficient on a part time basis than I was when I had worked full time on my own. Did I mention that I'm not very skilled at fugitive apprehension? I don't like guns and I'm not trained in defense techniques, but I am lucky. My talent for being at the right place at the right time combined with back up from one of Ranger's merry men was working out very nicely for Vinnie.

When I wasn't looking for some bail jumping miscreant I spent my extra time at Rangeman corporate headquarters helping with computer searches, doing background checks on potential clients or sexually ambushing my husband behind the locked door of his office. I loved my life.

Today was our eight month anniversary and, although not traditionally celebrated, I had big plans. I was cooking dinner for my husband. I was going to ply him with a good meal, great wine, and then I was going to seduce him into giving me a night of indescribable pleasure. But before I could implement my plan I had to shop, and shopping was always more fun when Lula came along. I pushed the door to the bonds office open and brought some of the sweltering heat in with me.

Lula was sitting at the desk of Connie Rosolli, the office manager, a large text book open in front of her. She looked up and smiled broadly when she saw me.

"You're looking good Steph," she said. "Kinda relaxed and satisfied if you know what I mean. You got a nice calm aura." That was my cue to tell her the scoop. She and Connie were always ready for the details of my intimate life with Ranger. I had become very creative at warding off their requests for information. My husband was an amazing lover and sometimes I wanted to revel in my good fortune and let them know just how amazing he was, but I thought some things had to stay private. Either that, or if I told them they'd bring it up with Ranger, and I thought that wouldn't go well at all! I was pretty sure that Ranger didn't share anything with his men, and I thought I owed him the same courtesy.

"Hey," I said. "Macy's is having a sale. Let's go shopping, and lunch is on me today."

"Hunh," Lula snorted, "Lunch is always on you." That was a cheap shot at my lack of bounty huntering skills, not a comment on my ability to pay. I frequently managed to roll in garbage or get hit with a flying plate of salad in an attempt to cuff an FTA.

"Come on," I said. "I'm in the mood to do some serious damage to my bank account, and it's a great day to stay indoors."

"Sounds great," Lula said. "But I can't leave till Connie gets back. She's down at the cop shop writin' a bond. And I need to stay here and study, on account of I got a final to study for."

"A final?" I questioned. "It's the middle of summer. What kind of class has a final now?"

"This here is an independent study class. I work at my own speed and do my own research. I've been working on it for a while and now I'm ready for the final." Lula turned her attention back to the textbook. I wasn't used to having to persuade Lula to shop.

"What's the class?" I asked. "Maybe I could help you study and then we could go to the mall."

Lula thought about it for a moment. "I guess that could work," she said. "You did go to college and you might have a little life experience that would help with this studyin'. This class is called 'The Psychology of Atypical Sexual Behavior.' And this textbook is illustrated." She flipped the pages to the illustrated appendix. I hurried around the desk to look over her shoulder.

"Dang!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe they have pictures of people doing that, let alone names for what they're doing!"

"Yeah," Lula said. "And if you read the chapter you find out why they're doin' this stuff. I'm starting to think all that stuff we heard about Vinnie is true." We looked at each other and did a simultaneous shiver. "I'll lock up," Lula said. "Connie won't be back for a while, but suddenly I'm feeling the need to shop."

We stepped out onto the sidewalk and the heat melted my mascara. Lula looked around and saw my silver Buick. She grimaced. "What are you doing still driving that hunk of junk Buick?" she asked, pointing to my silver Buick Century. "You've got all those Rangeman vehicles to choose from." My Buick Century was well on its way to holding the record for longest life after being purchased by me. I had blown up or destroyed more cars that I wanted to count, and mostly it wasn't my fault.

"We'll take my baby," she decided, pointing to her red Firebird parked down the block. We hopped in and took off with the t-tops open and the music blaring, the bass rattling our bones.

Our shopping trip was successful. Lula found several pairs of shoes on sale. I was looking for something new to wear for the private anniversary party I was planning with Ranger. I found a blue sundress with a halter top that did nice things for my curves. I'm not in the same cleavage category as Lula or Connie but I can hold my own, especially with the right foundation. We visited a couple of lingerie shops and made purchases there as well. I, Stephanie Michelle Plum Manoso, was dressing for a man and it was fun.

Ranger made it no secret that he liked me naked, but I had noticed that he enjoyed getting me naked too. I thought the halter dress would present some interesting opportunities for him. I was looking forward to this evening. I was setting the stage for romance and I had just found the right costume.

I told Lula of my evening plans over our bucket of extra-crispy Cluck in a Bucket lunch. She listened before pointing out the one big flaw in my plan. "You can't cook," she said. "I've never even seen you boil water." I took no offense at what she said. It was the truth.

"I have a secret weapon," I told her. "Ella. She's doing all the prep work and all I have to do is put dinner in the oven to warm it up."

"That's cheating!" Lula exclaimed.

"No," I said, "that's using my brain!" Ella had been Ranger's housekeeper since long before I'd met him. She and her husband Louis lived in an apartment in the Rangeman building, as did most of the Rangeman employees. Ella took good care of Ranger and now she was taking good care of me. She was responsible for maintaining our seventh floor penthouse apartment at Rangeman. She provided luxury sheets for our sumptuous bed and wonderful Bulgari shower gel for Ranger. She acts as a personal shopper for me on occasion and tonight she was helping me make a home cooked meal for my husband.

When I entered the apartment I saw that Ella had everything ready to go. I followed her instructions, tossing salad, and putting the chicken and rice in the oven to warm. The table was already set with candles ready to light when Ranger arrived home. With everything under control in the kitchen I went to the bathroom to shower and prepare myself to be Ranger's dessert.

I was just adjusting my cleavage for maximum effect when I heard the door open. I walked into the living room and met Ranger halfway. His arms came around me and his mouth met mine. His kiss was tender and he nibbled on my lower lip before holding me away from him to look at my dress.

"Nice" he said.

I smiled at him. "Thanks. I have a little celebration planned for the two of us tonight. Do you have any idea what we are celebrating?"

'It's our eight month anniversary, Babe. How could you think I wouldn't know."

My eyes widened. "Well, traditionally people don't celebrate eight months. I just thought it might be fun. I'm surprised you remembered."

The corners of Ranger's mouth turned up slightly, his equivalent of a full on smile.

"How could I forget? Lula called Tank. Tank called me." He pulled me back against him and began to nuzzle my neck, his hands skimming the sides of my breasts before encircling me and pulling me closer still against him.

"Hey Batman," I murmured. "You'll have to save that for later. I have supper fixed for you. And then after we eat you can open your anniversary present."

Ranger raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Babe, you bought me a present for our eight month anniversary?"

"Not exactly," I said. "I'm your present, but the wrapping paper is new." I twirled to show him my new dress.

On the evening of my eight month wedding anniversary I learned that chicken and rice is a very forgiving dish. It can stay in the oven twice as long as recommended and still be edible. It seems Ranger didn't want to wait to unwrap his present. By the time we got around to eating supper the casserole was a little dry, but so was the white wine so everything worked out fine.

After our meal Ranger drew me into the living room and we sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Then came the words I had learned to dread.

"Babe, we have to talk." His face was a blank mask and his eyes hooded. I had no idea what was coming but I didn't think it was good. Where was Carlos who had made such beautiful love with me before supper? And how did he change between my loving husband and bad-ass mercenary so seamlessly.

"I got a phone call today," he began. "All the times that I told you that my life didn't lend itself to relationships were because I didn't want to deal with a situation like this. I have to leave, Steph. I've no choice. This will be the last time I have to go. I have taken steps to change the part of my life I can't talk about. I want to be a good husband to you and share everything from this point forward, but there are things about my past which you can never know, and unfortunately the past is rearing its ugly head one last time."

He looked at me, face still emotionless, waiting for the explosion of my temper. My aversion to having secrets kept from me was well known. I was more than curious, but I had thought about situations like this before I agreed to make this marriage a real one. I didn't really want to know all of Batman's secrets. I knew he would be a faithful loving husband and that was going to have to be enough to satisfy me.

"When do you leave?" I asked, "and how long will you be gone?"

His face was full of emotion now. I'm not sure I could categorize everything I saw, but there was concern for me and maybe a little sadness. "I won't be gone long, Babe. Four or five days at the most. It's a simple mission but," he hesitated, clearly trying to decide how much to tell me.

He took my hands in his and started again, "It's a simple mission, but potentially very dangerous. If I'm not back in five days, Babe, I probably won't be coming back." He kept his eyes on my face, waiting for the inevitable hysteria.

I sensed that my reaction to his news would shape the entire course of our future life. Bile was rising in my throat and I wanted nothing more that to give in to the fear trying to overtake me. I took in a deep and hopefully calming breath.

"When do you leave?" I asked again.

"In the morning," he responded.

"Are you ready to go? " I asked. He nodded. He was clad only in black sweat pants after our pre-dinner lovemaking. I leaned forward and kissed his jaw, then his neck and I let my tongue skim over the sensitive cords at the base of his throat. My mouth left a trail down his chest until I reached a flat male nipple. I circled it with my tongue, sucking and biting softly. I heard his indrawn breath.

"Then let's quit wasting time." I said.

I woke up alone in bed. The apartment was still dark and a glance at the bedside clock told me it was three a.m. I heard a noise and my heart stuttered, then I saw Ranger sitting on a chair he had pulled to the end of the bed. He was motionless, staring at me. It reminded me of other times when he came to visit me at my apartment before going into the wind.

"Ranger," I said softly, "what are you doing?"

"You center me, Babe. I watch you sleep and you calm me."

I held out my hand. "Come back to bed."

"I can't," he said. "I'll need to leave soon. I looked and saw that he was dressed. Tank is taking me to the airport. He will give you any information he has while I am gone."

I got out of bed and began searching for clothes to put on. "I'll go to the airport with you."

"Not possible, Babe. But get dressed anyway. I have an anniversary present for you." He smiled at me across the dark room. I pulled on a t-shirt and yesterday's jeans. I was not one to delay getting a present, even in this circumstance.

Ranger turned on the light and took a long look at me. "A little scary, Babe." I looked in the mirror. My hair was standing almost perpendicular to my scalp. I was wearing neither shoes nor underwear and my jeans were already giving me a denim wedgie. How does Ranger do that commando thing, I wondered. He walked across the room and slipped something into my hand. I looked down to see a blue leather key fob with a silver charm attached. The charm was engraved with one word. Babe. An insignia was carved into the leather. It was ..oh my gosh..a Porsche insignia!

I ran through the apartment, out the door and down seven flights of stairs, barefooted. I burst through the door to the garage. There in the middle of a sea of black was a beautiful bright blue Porsche 911 Turbo. I stood momentarily paralyzed. Then I felt a pair of strong arms come around me and I was pulled backward against my husband.

"I didn't forget our anniversary, Babe. I've been planning this surprise longer than you planned yours." I looked over my shoulder to see the full 200 watt smile. He dropped a quick kiss on my shoulder. "It matches your eyes." He walked across the parking garage to where Tank was standing beside a black Navigator. He got in without looking back and I stood frozen as I watched Tank get in and the Navigator left the garage.