by Rose, Carol
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 whispered.
"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 murmured. "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 out 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 brushing 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 stroking 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 pleasure, her hands on his shoulders, needing him.
No thought of dependence or weakness clouded the bright passion in her. The urgency 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 invitation, 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, breathless and aching.
"You have the most glorious skin," he murmured, 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 condom was out and in place in seconds.
Colt lay back on the floor of the tower, pulling 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 braced 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 tumbled 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 conquered 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 interested i
n 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 to 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 connection 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 invitation," 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 Suburban," 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 reward.
His arms tightened around her. "Honey, you better make 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 exhausted.
"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 Diego." 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.
“Hayley, that heap won’t get you halfway there. The engine is making sounds like it’s due for a major overhaul and the tires are nearly bald.”
She raised her eyes to his, not questioning the validity of his assessment, but determined to follow her conscience. “I have to go. I’m sure I’ll make it.”
“Let me drive you,” he offered, his face concerned.
“Oh, no.” That’s not necessary,” she responded hastily. “You have so much going on here.”
Her panic made no sense, but the idea of her father meeting Colt sounded all Hayley’s alarms. The understanding between them was too new, too fragile and important to her. She couldn’t subject Colt to the full blast of her father’s obnoxiousness, couldn’t allow him to be cross-examined and found wanting, the way so many others had. The only men her father approved of were the ones he found for her.
Besides, a tiny voice in her head, who knows how Colt would react to your father.
“You’re important to me,” Colt interrupted her scurrying thoughts. “I want you to be safe.
She hesitated before saying in a small voice, “You could lend me the Suburban.”
Colt managed not to flinch. He didn’t exactly consider his car an extension of himself, but he'd hate to see it smashed, particularly if Hayley was in it. On a good day, she drove like the devil was on her tail. He could just imagine how distracted she'd be today.
More than anything, he wanted to be with her as she faced this situation. He saw the hesitation on her face, however. The woman clearly didn't want him anywhere near her father. The fact hurt. He'd thought they had taken some hurdles in the last twenty-four hours. She had come to him last night like a woman breaking free and he never wanted to let her go.
"I'd rather drive you there," he said, with forced easiness. "Given my past experience with you behind the wheel."
A weak smile crept over her face. "My father can be...overwhelming," mentioned Hayley with obvious hesitation.
"I'll take my chances." Hell, driving her to San Diego ranked low on the list of dangerous things he'd do for Hayley.
"Okay," she said with a sigh as though making a great decision. "I'll need to go by my apartment to change."
CHAPTER EIGHT
Colt waited in her tiny living room as she changed. She had been silent as he drove her home, locked in thoughts he could only guess.
He looked around the cluttered apartment, his gaze stopping on a toppling pile of architectural restoration books decorated with a lacy peach bra. A pair of sandals lay under the tiled coffee table and a bottle of pink nail polish sat next to a potted plant.
Definitely Hayley's place, filled with books, plants, overstuffed garage-sale reject furniture. Yet, it was warm and inviting. Her scent pervaded the room, some combination of shampoo and the natural aroma that was hers alone. Desire curled through him.
The bedroom door opened, drawing his attention, but the woman who stepped into the living room couldn't be Hayley. She wore a demure, knee-length dress in a deep shade of beige and carried a little purse in one hand. On her feet were sling-back pumps and she actually had on hose.
Colt stared at her, registering the severely subdued hairstyle and the perfect make-up. Where in the hell had his woman gone?
"I'm ready," she said nervously as she glanced at her reflection in the wall mirror.
"Good," he managed. "You look beautiful."
Her smile wavered tremulously. "Thank you."
"Well," he said, a little stunned by her transformation, "let's go."
The drive from Redlands to San Diego took two hours. Colt had time to consider the change in her. She sat next to him in the Suburban, her feet crossed at the ankles, her beautiful face as still and lifeless as a frozen pond.
None of it made sense. Anxiety over her father's illness, he could understand. But this head-to-toe transformation went way deeper than that.
The closer they got to San Diego, the more convinced he was that he'd somehow stumbled onto a clue, but he didn't understand the connection. Surely, Hayley didn't think she had to become someone completely different to go see her father. Was this what she thought Haslett wanted? An immaculately dressed female robot?
She couldn't be right. What father could prefer a lifeless Hayley to the bright, spunky woman Colt was coming to love?
Hayley clutched the handle of her purse more tightly as Colt pulled up in front of the hospital. The building looked sterile and cold, the very place for her businesslike father. He'd always believed in technology and he never settled for less than his money could buy.
Why didn't that matter? Why couldn't she summon up her hard-won detachment? He wouldn't be any different, she knew. Even at death's door, Henry Haslett would be Henry Haslett.
The reality of that should have tempered her fear of losing him. What would life be like without her father, domineering as he was?
Colt parked and got out, coming around to open her door. She didn't acknowledge the courtesy. They walked up the sidewalk and into the lobby, the doors closing silently behind them.
His arm came around her as she hesitated in front of the elevators. "Did your father's assistant tell you his room number?"
"No." Hayley felt as if she were in a fog. Coming back seemed arduous, every movement requiring greater effort. But she couldn't stay away, couldn't ignore her father's distress, despite the fact that he'd ignored hers all her life.
