Dead in Bed by Bailey Simms, The Complete First Book by Adrian Birch

to Bryce.
    He was sitting
cross-legged, keeping a close eye on Morgan even while he began to eat.
    I said, “So, I have to
confess something.”
    “Yeah?”
    “I don’t remember
anything about what happened Friday night. Nothing. I drank way too much.
Everything after the bar is totally blacked out.”
    Bryce smiled
sheepishly. “ I remember. You really
don’t remember any of it?”
    I shook my head.
    “That’s a shame.” He
smiled again, but more wryly this time. “Are you asking me to tell you?”
    I felt myself blush a
little and turned away. “I wouldn’t mind.”
    “Well, I guess I could
give you a recap.”
    “I was with you?” I
asked lamely.
    He laughed. “Yeah. You
were with me. You really don’t remember?”
    I shook my head. “I
was with you the whole night?”
    “Most of it.” Bryce
shrugged and smiled once again. He really was incredibly attractive, especially
when he smiled.
    I glanced at Morgan. I
couldn’t believe I was having this conversation right now, but I had to know
what happened.
    “Okay, so tell me,” I
said. “After the bar, what happened?”
    Bryce cleared his
throat. “Well. After the bar… Let’s see. You and I went out for a smoke. And we kinda decided not to go back
in. We thought maybe the motel would be a better idea.”
    “I know this is a
stupid question,” I said. “But we—well… We...slept together?”
    Before he answered,
Bryce gave me a long, cute shrug.
    “Well. All I can say
is that it’s a shame you don’t remember.” He nodded, obviously thinking back to
the night I couldn’t recall. Despite the depth of guilt I felt for cheating on
Shawn, I was actually envious that Bryce could remember our night together and
I couldn’t. “It wasn’t bad,” he said. I felt the warmth of his breath on my ear
when he leaned over and whispered, “Honestly, you were kind of amazing.”
    I felt dizzy, and kind
of like I’d turned into butter. It was all I could do not to throw myself at
him right there on the loft even while Morgan struggled to breathe. I fought to
suppress this new surge of attraction. I couldn’t believe how strong it was.
What was wrong with me?
    I turned away and
forced myself to focus solely on Morgan, checking her pulse. I was starting to
worry that her breathing hadn’t actually slowed.
    “And then what?” I
asked Bryce pragmatically. “I woke up alone. And without my cellphone!” I
slapped his arm. “Where’d you go?”
    “Yeah, sorry about the
phone,” he said. “I got out of there when your husband showed up.”
    “My husband?” What was
he talking about?
    “I’ve learned the hard
way that if a guy from the military shows up when you’re in bed with his wife,
it’s better not to stick around.”
    “Wait,” I said. “What
do you mean, ‘the military’?”
    “Well, his sweatshirt said
‘army’ and he had a big fucking gun. I kind of put two and two together and
crawled out the back window.” He added sheepishly, “I’m glad you don’t remember
that part.”
    “Shit!” I whispered.
“Ian was there?”
    I knew he’d mentioned the hotel. So all this time,
Ian must’ve known I cheated on Shawn. He’d just been too gracious to say
anything. I couldn’t believe it.
    “That wasn’t my
husband,” I explained. “He’s my brother-in-law. Didn’t I say so when I
introduced him at the bar?”
    “Nope.” Bryce shook
his head. “All you said was that your husband was in the bar somewhere. I just
assumed it was him . That guy really wasn’t your
husband? He sure was looking at you like he was.” Bryce laughed, amused. “And
he sure did come after you like he was, too. But I admit I didn’t exactly stick
around long enough to confirm one way or the other.”
     
    * * *
     
    It had
been a mistake to hope that Morgan was improving. By noon she was breathing
much harder than ever before. Her whole body was starting to convulse.
    As if that wasn’t bad
enough, now we couldn’t keep her hand from making its