Mine's to Kill by Capri Montgomery Page B

they entered his studio he pulled her over to a canvas, pushed the tarp back and moved out of the way.
     
    She knew he was good, but this surpassed all cognitive thought. It was a painting of the two of them. He had started painting this before they had even embarked on a more than professional relationship. She smiled.
     
    “You don’t like it.” She heard his voice and it pulled her from her contemplative thoughts long enough to sign, “I love it.” His lips turned upward in a proud smile.
     
    “You obviously gave this some thought.” She gestured to the position of the loving couple, the man tucked beneath her, the look of love and desire painted in his eyes and an expression of sheer pleasure painted on the woman’s face—on her face.
     
    “Since I first saw you.”
     
    She giggled. “Wow. That is amazing. You’re not going to put that out there for everybody to see are you? It could jeopardize my life in an undercover assignment.” If she was able to get any undercover assignments again. She was well aware that Candice seemed to be aiming towards keeping her in the Special Conditions unit until she was ready to move her—not to mention the fact she was just on camera as Colt’s girlfriend. Well, at least her cover wasn’t blown there. They didn’t suspect she was the agent assigned to protect him because they didn’t have proof that he was the witness.
     
    “This is for me, and you,” he stroked a finger over her lips. “Only for us. I hope when all is done here, I hope that you will spend many nights with me here.”
     
    “Like this,” not that she would mind that at all, but was he just attracted to her because of her position?
     
    “Like more than this. Like the dinners we have shared, lunches, breakfast, conversations and our morning runs. I like this with you.” He looked at the painting. “I like that with you too,” he smiled devilishly.
     
    She laughed. “Me too, to all of it. But first things first—I keep you safe. Once this is all behind us we can focus on more of this and that,” she winked as she looked back to the painting. He was really good. She loved the shades of emeralds and sapphires. The colors were striking, the detail amazing, and the total painting was something she would hang on her wall in a heartbeat. “I really do love it, Colt.”
     
    He pulled her into his arms and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She allowed them to remain like that for just a little while longer before pulling back. They had to go for their run, and then come back to breakfast and a shower. After that he would go into his painting cave and she would do what she did keeping watch on the grounds and making sure he was safe while still trying to handle business at the office from afar. Maybe this setup wasn’t so bad actually. Other than pulling double duty, she rather liked working from home—even if it wasn’t her home she was working from.
     
    She secured her weapon, put on her running shoes and the black sports jacket that would help keep her warm and she and Colt hit the trail around the back of his property. She would swear that today he was making this a race because he was moving out, as her good friend Forester would have said. She kept pace with him, but his longer legs made his effort less than hers. What was he running from—or to? By their fifth mile she needed to slow it down. She caught hold of his arm and gave enough squeeze to let him know she needed him. He slowed his pace until he stopped completely. When he turned to her she smiled at him and signed, “I need to stop. Sorry,” she laughed.
     
    She placed her hands on her thighs and tried to catch her breath. He just seemed to be running faster and faster while by mile three she was thinking of how great it would be if he slowed down a little. She didn’t want to ruin his workout, but she had to catch her breath. She was used to running, just not his kind of running. Plus she was still trying to completely