Bryce hadn’t seen her since Steven and Megan’s one-year anniversary celebration on New Year’s Eve. Normally, he’d be in Colorado for his annual ski vacation during that time, but Bryce rarely saw his brother because he was a United States senator and spent a lot of time in Washington, DC. Postponing the trip with his friends wasn’t an issue. He believed that family came first no matter what and even though he and Sydney never saw eye to eye, Megan was depending on him.
His thoughts trekked back to the last time he saw Sydney. Bryce remembered gazing at the way her red dress fit her body like a glove and how the red pumps she’d worn showcased her caramel-coated legs. A diamond choker graced her swanlike, elegant neckline and her thick, classy bob bounced when she strutted across the room. Whenever he ran into her at the GBI headquarters to speak with a client, she was usually clad in a pair of jeans, a women’s T-shirt that did nothing to hide the six pack that was underneath and a leather jacket. Either way, she was sexy as hell.
When he entered the room, his eyes zoomed immediately onto to Syd as she sat propped up on the bed fussing at another nurse who was checking her IV bag.
“Look, I feel fine. I just need to go home and sleep for the rest of the weekend. That’s all. So please remove the IV from my arm,” Sydney demanded, holding out her left arm to the nurse, who ignored her.
Nurse Joan stepped inside the room as Bryce leaned on the door analyzing the scene before him. Even hooked up to heart monitors, an IV machine and with a pale face, Sydney still was the little spitfire he was used to dealing with. His eyes scanned the room. A hospital gown lay on the chair with her purse and leather jacket. Apparently, she’d refused to put on the gown because she still wore her usual attire of jeans and a white, low-cut ribbed T-shirt that left just enough room for the heart monitor pads to sit on her upper chest. His eyes traveled a few inches lower as the top of her cleavage jiggled, and he tried to tear his gaze away from the provocative sight. He may not care for her attitude toward him, but he couldn’t deny how sexy she was. Her hair rested just below her chin, complemented by her cute pert nose above her pouty lips and her cinnamon, almond-shaped eyes. Even though Sydney and Megan were identical twins, Megan didn’t possess the same blaze in her eyes as Sydney did. He hated to admit that was one of the few reasons he actually loved to debate with her. She only seemed to have them with him, though. With others, she was pleasant and just as sweet as Megan.
His cell phone beeped, indicating he had a text message, and Sydney’s stare rested on him for the first time. Shock crossed her face as she sized him up with a disdainful expression.
“Your loving husband is here,” Joan said in an upbeat manner as she gave a pleasant smile.
“My...?” Sydney stopped as her eyes grew wide as saucers. “What are you doing here and why—”
Bryce dashed into the room and grabbed her to him, imprisoning her lips with his to muffle her protests. He had kissed her deeply at first just so she wouldn’t yell out, “He’s not my husband.” However, when his tongue touched hers, a fervent shiver slammed through him, and he slowed down to savor her juicy lips and their warmth on his. A soft moan erupted from her throat, and he opened his eyes just enough to peer out through the slits to see hers completely closed as she willingly responded to him. Bryce’s hand sank into her thick hair, pulling her farther into him as their tongues wound in a kiss so passion-filled that for a moment he forgot they couldn’t stand each other. His other hand ran along her smooth arm and down to her jean-clad hip as he clutched it, releasing another moan from her that he muted with his mouth.
Somewhere in the back of his subconscious, he heard the nurses dismiss themselves and shut the door. A forceful jolt pushed him back. When he opened his eyes, he realized Sydney had shoved him off her. Her chest heaved up and down at a fast pace as she wiped his kiss from her mouth.
“Why the hell did you kiss me? I don’t even like you!”
A sly smile crossed his face as he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. He stepped toward her and rested his forehead on hers as he stared into her rage-filled eyes that made him want to kiss her all over again.
“You may not, but your lips certainly do.”
* * *
“Get away from me!”
Sydney stared in utter disbelief at the man who had thankfully backed away and was now leaning on the wall next to the door. She hadn’t thought the day could get any worse after she’d passed out at work and found herself waking up in an ambulance with Mumford yelling at the paramedics to save her life. She was glad when he finally left the hospital after she’d convinced him that Megan was on her way. Of course that wasn’t true, but Sydney didn’t like people fawning over her, and Mumford had dinner reservations with his wife. To look up and see Bryce Monroe in the doorway after he had the audacity to lie and say she was married to him, followed by a long, deep kiss, wasn’t how she’d planned to spend her Valentine’s Day. Now she was hooked up to machines with an IV drip going through her veins making her extremely cold, even though for some reason she’d warmed up a bit.
Unfortunately, he was right. Her lips willingly responded to his as if it were the most natural thing between them. She was amazed at how his tongue had taken total control over hers in a sensual tango. For a moment she’d forgotten she wasn’t fond of Bryce and instead had let him take possession over her mind and her mouth. A tingle between her legs twitched, and she drew her knees to her chest, hoping that would help calm down the sensation.
Sydney sucked in her breath and realized how crazy her thoughts were. Bryce was the last man she’d ever have feelings for, and so she decided it was the medication that was being dripped into her veins making her think foolishly.
“What are you doing here?”
“Megan asked me to check on you. Trust me—if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Okay, but why did that nurse think you were my husband?”
“Because only immediate family are allowed in this area of the hospital, and I know you don’t want to alarm your parents.”
Bryce was right about that. Her parents weren’t happy with her decision to become a GBI agent after graduating from law school and forgoing taking the bar exam. They worried she would get hurt on the job. While she’d never been hurt, lately she’d felt mentally and physically drained.
“You didn’t have to kiss me to prove that we’re married. You could’ve said ‘hello, dear’ or ‘wifey’ with a wink or something. I can read body language, you know.”
“I think my way was much more fun. Don’t you?” His tone was seductive and the sensation between her thighs raced once again.
She smacked her lips and rested her head back on the pillow. “I just need to go home. I had plans.” She glanced at the clock on the wall, which read four o’clock on the dot. “Hopefully, the doctor will be here soon with my CT scan results.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Hot date tonight?”
She pushed her hair back over her ears. “Yes, with me, myself and I.”
A wicked grin etched over his handsome mocha face, and he stroked his goatee. “Mmm...interesting.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter. Not that kind of date. I’ve been working nonstop for two weeks and I’m exhausted. I just wanted to chill on the couch and watch old movies this weekend.”
“Exhausted and dehydrated are why you’re here. You’ve been overworking yourself.”
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t know anything about hard work.”
He shook his head, chuckling sarcastically. “Humph...I’m not even going to entertain your comment. You can think whatever you like. You always do anyway.”
“Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?”
Bryce reached into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He