Free Money Man's Fiancée Negotiation by Michelle Celmer

should have energized her, but she was still exhausted, and her head hurt worse than it had before. Maybe this trip was harder on her system than she realized.
    Their bags were already inside and sitting on the bed.
    “They didn’t have any doubles left and there isn’t another hotel for miles,” he said apologetically. “If you don’t want to share, I can sack out on the floor.”
    They had shared a bed for three years. Of course, she had no memory of that. Maybe he was worried that she would feel strange sleeping with him until they got to know one another better. Which she had to admit was pretty sweet. It was a little unusual being with him thislate at night, since he always left the hospital by ten. But actually, it was kind of nice.
    “I don’t mind sharing,” she assured him.
    “How’s your head feel?”
    She rubbed her left temple. “Like it’s going to implode. Or explode. I’m not sure which.”
    He tapped two painkillers out and got her a glass of water. “Maybe a hot shower would help.”
    She swallowed them and said, “It probably would.”
    “You can use the bathroom first.”
    She stepped in the bathroom and closed the door, smiling when she saw that he’d set her toiletry bag on the edge of the sink. He seriously could not take better care of her.
    She dropped her clothes on the mat and blasted the water as hot as she could stand then stepped under the spray. She soaped up, then washed and conditioned her hair, then she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, letting the water beat down on her. When she felt herself listing to one side her eyes flew open and she jerked upright, realizing that she had actually drifted off to sleep.
    She shut the water off and climbed out, wrapping herself in a towel that reeked of bleach. She combed her hair and brushed her teeth, grabbed her dirty clothes, and when she stepped out of the bathroom Ash was lying in bed with the television controller in one hand, watching a news program.
    “Your turn,” she said.
    He glanced over at her, did a quick double take, then turned back to the TV screen. “I thought I was going to have to call in the national guard,” he said. “You were in there a while.”
    “Sorry. I fell asleep in the shower.”
    “On or off?” he said, gesturing to the TV.
    “Off. The second my head hits the pillow I’ll be out cold.”
    He switched it off and rolled out of bed, grabbing the pajama bottoms he’d set out. “Out in a minute,” he said as he stepped in the bathroom and shut the door. Less than ten seconds later she heard the shower turn on.
    Barely able to keep her eyes open, Melody walked on wobbly legs to the bed. She’d forgotten to grab something to sleep in from her suitcase, and with her case on the floor across the room, it hardly seemed worth the effort. It wasn’t as if he had never seen her naked before, and if she was okay with it, she was sure he would be, too.
    She dropped her towel on the floor and climbed under the covers, her mind going soft and fuzzy as the painkillers started to do their job.
    At some point she heard the bathroom door open and heard Ash moving around in the room, then she felt the covers shift, and she could swear she heard Ash curse under his breath. It seemed as though it was a long time before she felt the bed sink under his weight, or maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. But finally she felt him settle into bed, his arm not much more than an inch from her own, its heat radiating out to touch her.
    She drifted back to sleep and woke in the darkness with something warm and smooth under her cheek. It took a second to realize that it was Ash’s chest. He was flat on his back and she was lying draped across him. At some point she must have cuddled up to him. She wondered if they slept like this all the time. She hoped so, because she liked it. It felt nice to be so close to him.
    The next time she woke up, she could see the hint of sunlight through a break in the