Free Challenge Accepted - A Contemporary Romance by Carol Rose Page B

pants were drenched from sitting in a puddle and his cotton T-shirt was made nearly transparent by the damp. It clung to the muscled wall of his chest.
    Laughter and lust warred inside her as Colt sat on the floor, gripping the pipe.
    "Did you plan to actually let me use one of those?" he asked. "Or are they just for show?"
    Hayley leaped forward, stifling the giggle that bubbled up. "Sorry. Should I hold that so you can turn the knob?"
    "Yeah." He let go of the pipe just as she bent down.
    Jerking back , she still couldn't avoid the spray. She sputtered, dodging the water so she could see where to place her hands. "Don't you think we need to call the plumber?"
    "You want to sit here and hold this pipe while I go out to the meter and cut off the water?" He bent over the turn-off knob, his muscles bunched as he tried to coax it closed.
    "No." Tiny rivulets of water descended from her hair. Hayley scooted closer to the pipe to get a better hold, dodging the ladder and bumping Colt's knee in the process.
    "Well, then I think I’d better handle this."
    Colt tried another wrench.
    "Give it a whack," she suggested.
    "Famous last words as far as plumbing is concerned."
    Hayley shrugged, ducking down to avoid the larger spray of water escaping from between her fingers. The water pressure was beginning to sting her palm. "You're probably right."
    Colt wrestled with the knob, grunting with the effort. He rapped once on the turn-off knob with the wrench and tried to turn it once more.
    Immediately, she felt the water pressure decrease. "You've got it."
    He grinned at her in shared triumph as the flow slowed to a drip. "Thank God you didn't break the other pipe."
    "Isn't that the truth," agreed Hayley, sagging back against the wall.
    Disentangling his legs from hers, Colt moved to sit on the edge of the tub. His eyes met hers for a long second, the corners of his mouth twitching.
    Laughter hit them both at the same time.
    Hayley pointed at him, wordlessly, giggles erupting from her. His deep chuckles echoed with hers in the little room.
    "I bet," she said, gasping, "the crew can hear us from outside. They probably think we're nuts."
    "We are." Colt turned to lean against the tiled wall.
    Hysterics subsiding, the two of them surveyed the shambles.
    "What a mess." Hayley felt like a total idiot.
    The bathroom had been hideous before, but this gave a whole new meaning to the word.
    "Well we were going to tear out the whole bathroom anyway," he offered in consolation.
    "Not the floor," mourned Hayley, tracing the tiny tiles.
    "They might still be okay." Colt took off his wet shirt and bent to mop up as much water as the sodden material would hold. Hayley's breath caught in her chest and she stared at him, unwillingly transfixed.
    She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
    The memory of touching him as he kissed her on the porch last night had left her unable to sleep, and now she would be haunted with visual images, too.
    He was gorgeous, his body firmly muscled without having the ridiculously pumped-up look of a gym devotee. His golden-tanned chest sported a sprinkling of hair she longed to stroke.
    "If we mop the rest of this up quickly, we'll probably be able to save the floor." He straightened. "Got any rags?"
    Hayley shot out of the bathroom, her pulse racing as if she'd just run a marathon. She collected some rags and climbed the staircase slowly, breathing deeply and preparing herself to project a pleasant face. Under no circumstances could she assault him on the bathroom floor.
    He looked up as she returned. "Good. We'll get it dried out and then see if the floor buckles. But I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem."
    "That'll be a relief." She dropped to her knees and began mopping up a corner.
    This was nuts. Why was she battling something she wanted?
    Would a relationship be so bad? Couldn't she trust herself to keep it at a safe level? After all the man had never indicated that he wanted to marry her, for heaven's sake.
    Together,