Page 20 of Built of Illusions

“No. It’s a colleague in Hawaii who has no concept of time zones.”

That made her smile, and Nico leaned down to kiss her again.

He’d probably used up half of his five minutes when he lifted his head. He ran his hands up her arms until he cupped her face in his hands. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a hell of a long time.”

Surprise showed on her face and then she smiled. “Me too.”

He grinned at her. “Good to know. So, we’ll be doing that some more?”

Josie laughed and straightened his tie. “We will.”

She smiled, but her eyes weren’t quite there. Not fully. He tipped up her chin. “You okay? I can back the hell off if you need me to.”

That brought a true smile. “I don’t need you to back off at all.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

She patted his cheek. “Asks the FBI Special Agent who is never off the clock because of all the creepy bastards out there.”

He frowned at her. His job was one of the reasons he never let women get too close. No one had ever got under his skin like Josie. He thought of her too often. Like his grandmother’s ring, she was one of the touchstones he used to remind himself of all the good in the world.

He hadn’t planned on ever moving on Josie. She was too close to his circle of family and friends. Too much a part of his life. Maybe he should back off. Think it through.

Josie’s smile was soft and sad. “I won’t pressure you, Nico.”

This time, his were the eyes widening in surprise. No one read his expressions. No one knew what he was thinking unless he wanted them to know.

This wasn’t that Josie had proven she could see beyond the surface. While that scared him a little, it also intrigued the hell out of him. What would it be like to be with someone who saw all of him?

Before he could vocalize any of his chaotic thoughts, his phone rang again, saving him from figuring it out. He lifted Josie off the counter and set her on the floor, then headed to the door.

He kissed her nose and then opened the door while he answered the phone. “Hey, Kaleo. What’s up?”

Josie gave him a little wave. As she was closing the door, the light glinted off a lighter on the tiny stoop. He bent down and handed it to her. He knew she didn’t smoke, but he figured it was something she used in her art. He needed to focus on Kaleo’s case so he lifted his hand in a wave and motioned for her to lock the doors.

Josie rolled her eyes, but he didn’t move until he heard the locks engage. Then he turned all of his attention to his buddy.

Well, ninety percent of it, anyway.

Josie frowned at the lighter Nico had found on the stoop. It was an ugly little thing decorated with bull horns. The flip side showed it was from a bar in San Antonio. The mail carrier must have dropped it earlier in the day. She shoved it into a kitchen drawer and decided she’d return it the next time she got mail.

When she turned, the island in front of her had her smiling. That had been one whopper of a kiss. Several kisses. All of them life-changing. Who would have thought the starched and pressed special agent would kiss like he’d been born to do that and only that for his whole life?

Her tingles still vibrated from the kisses. She’d never had such an intense reaction to a man. If they ever managed to get naked together, she’d have to have a fire extinguisher on hand.

The thought had Josie’s imagination churning and she smiled as she picked up her paintbrush again. She didn’t normally paint in an over-sized t-shirt and panties, but she hadn’t slept the night before and she’d been thinking about trying to sleep when the urge to paint struck her.

She’d been planning a painting of Midnight Lake as the sun rose behind the lodge. She’d loved watching as the treetops brightened first. It took another couple of hours before the rays hit the water.

The only thing she’d managed to get on the canvas was the backdrop, swirls of black and greens and blues that made up the natural landscape.

Knowing the adrenaline from the kiss would swirl through her system for hours yet, she decided to work on the piece. Slowly, she built the background, the deep shadows between the trees. The depths of the sleeping lake. Both flora and fauna resting. Waiting.

Unlike the killer who lurked in the shadows of alleys and parking lots, everything in this painting was waiting to be awakened by the sun. The rays would lift the shadows, showing life stirring and stretching. Awakening to the best kinds of possibilities and potentials. Josie blended the paints and built the scene, sinking into the peace she created on the canvas.

There was bad stuff out there. There would always be bad stuff out there. But Midnight Lake and the people who lived there reminded her there was so much more.

Life could be marvelous and generous. Beautiful.

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