Over the next few days, no matter what Ashley tried, Cole kept his distance from her, physically. She’d been a little upset that her body had betrayed her that first day when she’d only been able to get through a shower and some food before needing a three-hour nap.

The following day wasn’t much better. She’d made it to just after lunch and then had fallen asleep on the sofa. When she’d woken, the entire house was in darkness. Cole had a fire going in the massive fireplace and had tossed a few blankets over her. In Denver, the weather during the day was probably up in the seventies, but here in the mountains, where the sun hit the house less than five hours a day, the chill was still enough to warrant a fire.

Today, she was determined to force herself to at least get out of the house once. A short walk to the end of the drive and back.

The other days, Cole had persuaded her to eat before doing anything, which had led to her falling asleep. Now, she pulled on a jacket before Cole even came downstairs after his shower.

She stepped out onto the back deck, took several deep breaths, and took in the view and the fresh air. Leaning against the railing, she looked out over the land. It really was beautiful up there. Secluded, quiet, peaceful. Everything she needed at the moment.

Just then, the back door flew open. Glancing over, she frowned at the look on Cole’s face. He didn’t even have a shirt on. His jeans hung low on his hips as he frowned over at her. His hair was still wet, making the locks look darker than normal.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, his eyes moving around quickly.

“Enjoying the sunlight.” She smiled and leaned back to take in everything about him. The sun hit his chest and she realized he had more of a tan going than she had. She wondered where he’d been that had been warm enough for him to enjoy the sun this early in the spring.

“You should have waited for me.” It was then that she noticed he had a T-shirt in his hands. He tossed it over his head, blocking the sexy view of his muscular chest and arms from her.

“You’d just talk me out of it again.” She tried not to sound like she was pouting. “Besides, I wasn’t going anywhere yet, just enjoying the sun.”

“You should have waited for me. Come back in until I can put my shoes on.”

She looked down at his bare feet and smiled. “I can wait here.” She rolled her head back and looked up towards the sun, closing her eyes to its warmth. “I’ve missed the sun.”

“Ash, come inside, at least until I put my shoes on.” The tone in his voice was borderline begging.

Seeing the worry in his eyes, she nodded and followed him back inside. “But I’m not giving up on a walk,” she warned.

“No, we’ll go, just give me a few…” He locked the door behind him and she narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be back down in a minute.” He rushed from the room before she could say anything.

She mentally ticked off the minutes as she thought about what his actions meant. He was still worried that someone was after her. Even here, in the middle of the Rockies, where they were almost impossible to find, he was on guard.

There was something he wasn’t telling her, and her new mission was to get to the bottom of it. After she got some fresh air.

When he jogged back down the stairs, she put her questions aside and was determined to enjoy the walk, no matter how short Cole cut it.

They reached the end of the driveway, and she had to admit, she hadn’t thought about what the bright sunlight would do to her head.

“I should have brought sunglasses.” She groaned as they turned back towards the house.

“Are you hurting?” he asked, reaching for her arm.

“Some.” She sighed. “How long did it take you to recover?”

“The first time, about a week, the second, not as long. The rest…” He shrugged.

She leaned on him as they made their way back to the house. The ground was a little muddy, telling her that it had rained the night before.

When they reached the house, she was relieved and a little breathless. She collapsed on the sofa while Cole got her a glass of water.

“I told you it wasn’t a good idea.” He sat next to her as she downed the cool liquid.

“It was just a walk,” she reminded herself out loud. “Why do I feel like I just ran a marathon?”

“Your body is doing all it can to heal you.” He took the empty glass from her and grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the sofa. “Why don’t you rest, and I’ll see what we have for lunch.”

Just then, her cell phone buzzed. “It’s Amber.” She smiled after looking at the screen.

Cole nodded and disappeared into the kitchen as she answered the call.

She’d talked to Amber twice already since the break-in. The first call had been short, since she’d still been drugged, but the second, she’d spent almost an hour telling her sister every detail she could remember.

“So,” Amber said when she answered, “how’s my little sister?”

She kicked off her shoes and tucked herself under the thick blanket. She hadn’t realized she was chilled, but when the warmth of the blanket hit her, her skin tingled.

“I’m here.” She sighed. “We just took a short walk.” She leaned her head back and winced slightly when she rested on the bump on the back of her head.

“You sound exhausted.”

She chuckled. “You’d think I wouldn’t be, but… I am.”

“I should let you rest.”

“No,” she broke in before her sister could hang up. “My body is tired, but my mind is not. Talk to me, tell me about your wonderful trip.”

Amber chuckled. “What do you want to know?”

Ashley sighed and rested back. “Everything.”

---

By the fifth day alone in the house with Ashley, Cole was starting to lose his mind. He was trying to keep his distance from her physically so she could heal fully. It seemed like she was doing everything she could to slowly drive him crazy. The little looks she’d given him over the last few days had caused his blood to boil. He was almost at his breaking point. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but he knew he couldn’t allow his guard down for even a minute.

On their second-to-last evening there, she was curled up beside him on the sofa, quietly reading a book while he worked on his laptop. He couldn’t get his mind off the scent of her hair or the feel of her soft body pressed up against his.

He’d read the security report more than half a dozen times since she’d snuggled up next to him, and he couldn’t remember a single word of it. Instead, his mind wandered to the last time he’d held her, naked, in his arms.

He’d helped her wash her hair in the shower one morning. She’d been so pale, and he’d taken his time washing the dried blood from each strand of her hair. He’d tried to be so gentle with her, but she’d deserved so much more.

“You’re deep in thought.” Ashley’s voice broke into his foggy mind.

“Hmm?” He glanced down at her. She had put her book down and had been watching him.

“You’re staring at that screen, but your eyes haven’t moved.” She smiled. “Telling me that you’re not really reading whatever this is.” She leaned in and tried to look at the screen and then frowned.

He quickly shut the laptop cover.

“Was that…” She shifted and looked at him again.

“Forget about it.” He groaned. “How about some dinner?”

“No.” She stopped him from getting up. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“We don’t know anything new, other than it does appear that the group we were after in Paris is after me. We’re still unsure why. We’re convinced it was a man named Anton Vahdeem who broke into your place. We have surveillance video from a shop down the street that happened to catch a fuzzy image of him that night.

He felt her shiver and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m okay,” she reassured him. “Go on.”

He sighed. “That’s it.” He shrugged. It was the truth. He hadn’t gotten much further in the report than that.

She relaxed against him. “What do we do now?”

“Now?” He thought about it. “We make dinner and then enjoy a movie together.”

She gave him a look, and he smiled as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

“All we can do is take it one day at a time,” he said.

She was silent for a moment as she bit her bottom lip in a move he’d seen her do a million times. It signaled she was deep in thought.

Then she shocked him by quickly climbing onto his lap, locking him to the sofa with her hips and knees. Her hands rested on his shoulders, holding him in place.

“If we’re going to be stuck with one another for a while, then I have some demands of my own.”

“Okay.” He was shocked that he’d managed to say the one word. His entire body had gone on full alert. He didn’t remember putting his hands on her hips, but suddenly, they were there, digging into her softness, holding her firm.

“One,” she said softly, moving closer, her lips hovering an inch above his, “no more keeping me in the dark.” She leaned in and ran her lips over his.

“Hmm,” he managed, his eyes going fuzzy as he focused on what she was doing to him.

“Two.” She leaned back slightly as she moved her hips over his. “No more treating me like I’ll break.” She leaned in again and this time took the kiss deeper.

“Hmm,” he said again when she tried to pull back again. His hands kept her plastered against his body.

“Cole,” she whispered against his skin, “we’re in this together.” She kissed him again. “Say it.”

At that moment, he would have given her anything. He closed his eyes, waiting for her next kiss. When it didn’t come, he opened them again. She was looking down at him, waiting.

“Say it,” she said softly again. “Promise me that we’re in this together.”

“Ash.” He dropped his hands from her. “I can’t.”

He felt her stiffen and tried to hold onto her, but she was off his lap and across the room quickly.

“Why not?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

He moved next to her and took her shoulders in his hands.

“I’ve spent the last few years living in danger. Always looking over my shoulder.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t wish that kind of life on anyone. Especially not you.” He gathered her in his arms again. “It was wrong of me to touch you, to take you. To fall so hard for you.” He took several deep breaths, enjoying the subtle scent of her skin. He would miss it when he was gone. “After what happened, there’s no way I can drag you further into this kind of life.” He pulled back and dropped his hands from her, not fully trusting himself to ever let her go if he didn’t step away now.

“It’s a little late for that now, don’t you think?” She stepped to him again. “I can’t hide out here forever.”

He rolled his shoulders and sighed deeply. “No, we can’t.”

“Is it so hard for you to let me in all the way?” she asked.

“No,” he answered quickly, but, too late, he realized she was right. It was hard, one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do, letting her into his dark world. She didn’t belong there. She belonged in one of her paintings. A world full of light and color. “You deserve better,” he said as he ran his fingers through her hair. They’d removed the bandages from her stitches so the wound could air out, and he was careful not to get too close to that section of her head.

“I deserve happiness.” She moved closer to him again, wrapping her arms around his waist. “And being with you makes me happy.” She leaned up and kissed his lips. “Stop treating me like I’m glass. I won’t break.” She smiled up at him as she took his hand in hers. “Now, take me upstairs and make love to me.”

His heart stopped. He was pretty sure he had died and gone to heaven.

“Ash…”

“Don’t make me beg.” She tugged on his hand, and he moved towards the stairs with her. His eyes zoned in on the sway of her hips. She was wearing those tight grey yoga pants he loved so much. Even with the long sweater she wore over them, he could see the curve of her tight butt as she walked.

He could have been following her through the gates of hell for all he cared at the moment. There wasn’t a power strong enough on earth to stop what was coming next.

He swooped in and picked her up and jogged up the rest of the stairs.

When he laid her down gently on the bed, he knew she’d gotten her wish. There was no way he could keep her from his future. He knew he had some planning to do, but for right now, for tonight, he was going to let go and enjoy the woman he loved.