Challenge Accepted - A Contemporary Romance (8 page)

She felt herself drowning in the intensity of his gaze, lost in the passion there.

"What you're really upset about," he challenged softly, "is that I care. Everything you do affects me because of what's between us. Call it friendship, attraction, or lust. We're connected, and that's what scares you the most."

"I don't know what you mean," she whis
pered.

"Yes, you do." He moved closer, so near that she felt his body heat envelop her. ''I'm the biggest risk for you. Me. Us. You talk about facing your fears, but you run from this like a scared rabbit."

Hayley stared into his face, unable to deny it, trembling with a longing she couldn't dismiss.

"Why don't you trust yourself?" he mur
mured. "Trust what you feel? You're a strong woman. Take what you want."

He stood in the fading light, his face filled with challenge and invitation. Beyond the tower's open sides was nothing but sky, the yard below sheltered by the green treetops. They stood isolated from the world, separate and locked together.

He awaited the outcome of her inner struggle, his gaze never leaving her face, his body taut, poised on the brink with her.

Hayley moved to him, reaching ou
t to smooth her hand along his jaw. Colt didn't flinch, didn't move to take her. He held back, still but for the fire blazing in his eyes.

The evening shadow of his beard bristled against her palm as she drew nearer, sliding her fingers into his thick hair at the back of his head. She swayed closer, her body brush
ing his, the tips of her breasts against his chest.

Gently, she pulled him to her, lifting her face. His lips brushed hers, softly and slowly. The erotic sizzle flashed to her core. She pressed her body against him, savoring the warm scent of his skin as he kissed her with the potency of a dark angel.

Sin couldn't have felt any better. She opened her mouth to him, deepening their kiss as she pressed herself against the muscled contours of his body.

He surrounded her then, his arms drawing her closer still as he plundered her willing mouth. Hayley moved against him, her body catapulted into a passion that crashed in her ears. He tasted of need and nectar, some sweet combination that diminished caution and drew her forward.

Nothing seemed real in that moment but the feel of him against her. Hayley nipped at his lower lip gently, desire building within her. She wanted him, wanted everything, needing to revel in the power and feel her strength in seducing him.

Never in her life had she felt this heady glory of her own sensuality. He burned, his body taut against hers, his mouth urgent. For her.

The buttons of his shirt resisted her, only to be tugged open, one by one. She slid her palms over the supple musculature of his chest, only leaving his kiss to press her mouth against his collarbone.

Colt groaned, his hands stilled on her back.

He let her touch him, a warm murmur in his throat as her hands slid over his taut belly and around to his back. She burrowed in to his neck, crushing her aching breasts against him.

His hands slid down her back, slowly strok
ing down to cup her bottom. Lifted against him, Hayley gasped at the pleasure of his arousal.

With quick movements, Colt stripped off her T-shirt, dropping it to join his own shirt on the floor of the tower. Swiftly, he drew her down, and took off her bra, leaving her bare to him.

He bent to her, taking a beaded nipple into his mouth with an exquisite delicacy. He stroked her softness, his hand splayed across her stomach.

Hayley lay on the floor of the tower, the dome dark above her unfocused eyes. The sweep of his mouth and the brush of his bare skin against hers made her writhe with plea
sure, her hands on his shoulders, needing him.

No thought of dependence or weakness clouded the bright passion in her. The ur
gency surging between them held the flavor of eternity, a timelessness locking them in an embrace of destiny.

She felt him cup her, the heel of his palm gentle on the apex of her thighs. Hayley grabbed for his belt, tugging at the opening of his jeans. In a jumble of movement, they undressed each other, their clothes torn free.

He knelt beside her, his skin golden in the dusk, his body strong. She reached for him, drawing him down to be nestled in the cradle of her legs.

Colt held himself above her, balancing his weight on his forearms. His gaze roamed her face, passionate and intense. She felt the hair of his legs and chest brush against her body, each rapid breath a caress. Opening in invita
tion, she captured his mouth in a deep kiss.

Drifting a hand down her sensuous curves, he met her kiss, but made no move to thrust home. Hayley wriggled beneath him, breath
less and aching.

"You have the most glorious skin," he mur
mured, stroking her shoulder.

He bent to nuzzle at the base of her neck, his breath tickling her skin. Hayley stroked his strong back, sliding down to cup his tight buns and pull him to her.

A wicked smile crossed Colt's face and he resisted her urging. Hayley shivered, as their mutual seduction became an erotic duel. First she had led, and now he would take his pleasure.

He shifted to his side, lying on the floor beside her as his hands traveled over her body.

"Colt," she moaned, protesting the delay as he sifted gently through the tight straight. He touched her deftly, his fingers drifting along her damp folds.

Hayley squirmed, reaching out to bite his broad shoulder.

"Ouch!" He pulled back, laughing. "Geez. Give a guy a chance, sweetheart." Colt bent to kiss her breast. "Do you have any idea how long I've fantasized about touching you?"

"Ohhhhhh." She arched as he stroked her again. On fire with desire, she moved against him.

Colt flinched as her hand slid down his hard belly, following the arrow of dark hair. She felt her breath catch as the velvety hardness of his erection surged in her hands.

Reaching out, he snagged his pants and rummaged until he found his wallet. The con
dom was out and in place in seconds.

Colt lay back on the floor of the tower, pull
ing her on top of him. "You wanted to get over your fear of heights," he rasped. "You take the top."

She slid over him like silk, sending sparks through every nerve. He moved beneath her, strong and alive, his warmth cushioning her body. She brac
ed her hands on his shoulders, moving with him, consumed with sensation from the inside out.

His hands held her hips firmly as he drove into her over and over. She rocked with each thrust, as he surged beneath her, his body taut, poised on the brink. Each stroke held a hint of heaven, a glimmer of pure pleasure until a last thrust brought her to climax, and his rough cry echoed her own. Hayley tum
bled forward onto his chest.

His labored breathing brushed her ear, the quickly slowing tempo of his heart almost audible. He shifted then, tugging her over to his side and burying his face in her hair.

Hayley wound her arms around him and sighed as a tear slid down her cheek. She'd been resisting this for so long, fighting against her own need, her own sense of connection with him. It didn't have to be anything more than sex, but it was.

She had met her greatest fear and con
quered it. Everything felt as clean and clear as the stars just peeping through the evening sky. She didn't have to know the future when the present held such glory.

"Colt?"

"Mmmm." He drew her tighter against him, and they slept...

*

Stepping back, Hayley squinted up at the scaffold-bedecked house. Skip and the crew had finished the first coat of primer and would start sanding this morning. She could hardly believe everything was progressing so smoothly.

Around the corner of the house, she could see Colt conferring with the plumber. Looking at him now, with the crew scurrying around the place, she could hardly believe what had happened between them last night.

Except that she felt different-safer and stronger somehow. It had seemed perfectly natural to wake up beside him this morning and share breakfast at her tiny kitchen table.

Hayley looked away from where Colt stood, knowing the men on the crew were avidly in
terested in her relationship with him. Hiding her emotions had never been easy, but at this point, she couldn't seem to care. Colt was right about one thing: she'd earned her crew's respect. They weren't going to turn on her because she'd let down her guard with her partner.

"Skip," she called out, "make sure Colt's guys know how t
o handle sanding the spindles."

Behind her, a truck roared up the driveway and screeched to a halt. Hayley turned.

One of Colt's trainees vaulted out of the blue pick-up and trotted over to her. "Hayley! There's an urgent message." He paused to catch his breath, his face more anxious than usual.

Colt appeared at her elbow. "What's going on, Eric?"

The younger man turned to him. "Hayley's father's assistant called the office for her. It's very important that she call him right away."

She should have expected it. If anyone could track her down and ferret out her con
nection to Granger Construction, it would be Thomas. He'd been her father's assistant for most of her life and she suspected had gotten used to doing Henry's dirty work--even chasing down an errant daughter.

"It's probably a terribly urgent dinner invi
tation," Hayley commented dryly.

Both Colt and Eric stared at her. "He said it was a matter of life and death," said Eric, his expression still worried.

"Most of my father's wishes are considered a matter of life and death to those who work for him." She squelched the urge to recount the number of times she'd raced home in answer to a summons only to discover her father engaged in pleasant conversation with another eligible bachelor he'd corralled for her.

"Thomas left this number." Eric thrust a scrap of paper into her hand.

Hayley sighed, knowing it was hard for others to understand since her father always seemed pleasant and generous. "I guess I'd better call."

"You can use my cell phone. It's in the Sub
urban," Colt offered, a trace of compassion in his eyes.

"Thanks." She followed him to where the vehicle was parked at the front curb.

Colt walked around to the passenger door, drawing her into his arms when they were sheltered from the crew's sight. "Your father has been quite a trial, hasn't he?"

Hayley felt tears prickle behind her eyes at his unexpected understanding. She reached up, brushing a kiss across his mouth as a re
ward.

His arms tightened around her. "Honey, you better ma
ke that call before we get sidetracked." Laughter warmed his voice as he unlocked the door.

He went around to the driver's side and slid into the seat to start the engine.

Taking the phone, Hayley punched in the unfamiliar long-distance number. Having Colt's supportive presence beside her felt good.

"Methodist Health Center," a woman's voice crackled through the line.

Hayley looked down at the paper. "Extension 207." Was it some sort of clinic? Maybe her father had decided to have more plastic surgery. If so, that explained the "life and death" story. Henry liked having family at his bedside when he was getting lifted and tucked.

"Hello?" Her father's assistant sounded ex
hausted.

"Thomas? Is that you?"

"Oh, Miss Hayley. Thank God. Your father is very ill."

She'd never understand Thomas's devotion to her father. The small, precise man could have run ten companies on his own. Instead, he tolerated Henry Haslett's whims and rages and offered a loyalty that mystified her.

"What's the problem, Thomas?"

"Well," his voice lowered, "his cardiologist said he's had a heart attack."

Hayley frowned through the windshield, trying to gauge reality. Her father always seemed robust for a man his age. A heart attack?

"He needs you here, Miss Hayley."

"Is he in the hospital, Thomas?"

"Yes, we were in San Diego for a meeting. The hospital is Methodist Medical."

Her father really was ill. The thought left her dazed. Here she'd been scoffing and expecting a pity party, and he was actually lying hurt in a hospital.

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Thomas." She hung up.

"Your dad's sick?" Colt leaned across to take her hand.

Hayley nodded, the numbness spreading through her. "Heart attack. He's in San Di
ego." She turned to open the door. ''I'll leave instructions with Skip. He'll be able to direct things here. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"You aren't planning on driving the Volvo to San Diego?" he questioned with a frown.

"Of course. It'll just take a couple of hours." She looked back at him, her mind still grappling with the image of the powerful father she knew, brought down by his own aging body.