Planning Bliss (Bliss Series Book 1)

The Bridesmaid

The (Blushing) Bridesmaid

The pounding in my head just would not stop.

When I get pissed drunk, I never remember to close the blinds the previous night. So when the bright sun was up, it would hit me like a battering ram the first time I tried to open my eyes. Oh, Universe you are so cruel to me!

The pounding continued, followed by a wheezing sound. Where was that coming from? I didn't want to open my eyes. Maybe my nose bled again. It happened sometimes when I had a bit too much to drink, and I certainly had way too much last night.

I was about to stuff my head under my pillows when a grunt and a groan, which came from my side, stopped me.

It also made me open my eyes, which was a huge mistake when the sunlight assaulted my brain, so I shut them tight. Bright spots danced under my lids. I tried it again, slowly, the second time around.

Blurs started to form into shapes, shapes into objects, familiar objects like my dresser, my lamp, my shirt on the floor, my bra hanging over my sleigh bed, and a hand. That last one wasn't so familiar. It was a large hand resting over the blanket on my right hip.

A man's hand.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I assessed my state under the blanket, and flinched when I saw nothing but skin. I was naked in my bed with a man! But which man? Panic set in.

What had happened last night wasn't too clear. I pinkie-promised myself that I would never touch any type of liquor again. A voice in my head, sounding a little too similar to Chase's, screamed in protest at my promise.

I tested my vertigo as I sat up. Then turned towards this... stranger in my bed. He wasn't facing me; his head was hidden under a pillow. One arm was stretched towards me, keeping a connection between our bodies.

His back-- a very sexy, toned back, I noticed --faced me and the rest was thankfully under the blanket. I hoped that maybe he wasn't naked underneath it. That would be beyond bad. But I knew better. I stared at what was in front of me, trying to find a familiar marker-- a freckle, a scar, a tattoo --that would indicate who this man was.

I had never come home drunk with a stranger before. I had a system. I was too organized for spontaneity. Last night, I was ambushed, lured with the possibility that I would be able to continue working with Jake and Sandrine on their wedding plans.

That's it! I was with Jake and Sandrine. We went to a club after dinner. Had I picked up a man from the club? Chase would have been proud! I groaned at the possibility. Moreover, I wondered if Jake had seen me leave with this man. Oh, the horror.

Pulling up the blanket to my neck, I poked him a couple times on his shoulder. He removed his arm that was reaching for me, with the fingers precariously placed over the front of my right hip once I sat up. But he didn't rouse.

I gave him another poke, this time with two fingers instead of just one. And again. I heard another groan so I continued jabbing my fingers with the grapefruit pink polished nails on said stranger.

He turned his whole body away from me, the blanket falling off his back and revealing the top of his naked tanned butt. My mouth dried up. I held on tightly to my blanket, reached out and poked him again.

"Please don't tell me you're a morning person." He grunted, the pillow muffling the sound of his voice, but it was clear enough.

That voice, rich, low and gruff. I definitely knew that voice.

"Levi?" I jumped off my bed, tried to take the covers with me, but he tugged it and won. So I grabbed some clothing off the floor, and used it as an armor. I could not believe Levi was in my bed... naked! No. No. No!