He brought the cup to her mouth and held it there, helping her hold onto it just in case in her weakness she dropped it. She cautiously took a few small sips, and when those stayed down, she took a few more. When she'd had enough, she pushed the cup away and turned her head. Hugh brought the cup back to her mouth and pressed it against her lips.
"If you can, try to drink all of it. Your body's had a shock and the more water you drink now, the better you'll feel later."
She swallowed a bit more of the water, and then turned her head away, her lips pressed tightly together. “No more. It's trying to come back up."
Hugh took the cup and set it on the nightstand, and then lowered her body back to the bed.
"What's wrong with me? Was it something I ate? And what are you doing here?"
"No, nothing was wrong with the food. It's not what you ate that's the problem. It's what you drank. Shifter Surprise. Didn't the bartender warn you not to drink it? Your body's reacting to the alcohol.” If she didn't look so miserable, she'd be over his knee right now, getting the spanking of her life.
"The bartender mentioned something about the drink being strong, but I wasn't in a mood to listen. How did you find out?"
"Kiesha told us, thank God. You have no idea how worried we were, especially when we discovered you had already left. Anything could have happened.” And that was before he knew she'd gotten a second one. He'd have been a basket case had he known. “The next time a bartender tells you a drink is too strong, listen to him."
She didn't get a chance to answer. She lurched off of the bed and sprinted back into the bathroom for round number two. Hugh followed closely behind and assisted as he had before, until she was back in bed again. They went through this twice more until her system was totally purged. After laying her on the bed the last time, he called Alex and let him know that she was okay. Alex wanted to send someone over, but Hugh convinced him not to. He'd played nursemaid to plenty of drunken soldiers in his time, so he knew exactly what to do.
Back into the room, he expected to find her sleeping. Instead, she was in the fetal position, shivering. Cursing, he rushed to her side and placed his hand on her forehead. She leaned into his touch.
"Cold. So cold,” she managed to get out through clenched teeth.
Without delay, Hugh scooped her up, flipped back the covers, laid her down and tucked her in. He waited to see if that would help. It didn't. She was curled up so tight she was nothing but a small lump under the covers.
Damn, her body was reacting to the alcohol. He had to get her warm. If he couldn't, he was going to have to take her to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning. He flung off his clothes and climbed under the covers with her. He reached over and uncurled her body, pulling her to him, and wrapped his arms around her. She fought him like a weak kitten until the heat from his body began to soak in. Then she wrapped her body around his like a clinging vine. He groaned and felt his body respond as her bare breast disturbed the small smattering of hair on his chest, her puckered nipples poking into him. His erection rose, nudging against her opening.
He gritted his teeth and forced his body to stand down, resisting the urge to thrust up and sheath his body in her heat. Now was not the time, but soon. Very, very soon. He made himself think of mundane things until he had control over his baser instincts. When he gained it, he forced his body to relax and rest while it could. It was shaping up to be a long night.
Chapter Seven
"Mary Beth. Mary Beth.” She heard a voice calling her name. “Mary Beth.” That was Babs! Only one person called her by that name. “Babs, where are you?” Her eyes snapped opened, but still she couldn't see. Her bed and room had both disappeared. There was a heavy fog blanketing the place where she stood.
"Mary Beth, where are you? Mary Beth!” the voice cried out.
"Babs, I'm here. Where are you? I can't see. The fog's too thick.” She twirled around in a circle, trying to pinpoint the direction from which Babs’ voice was coming. Fog was everywhere. She could barely see two feet in front of her.
"Mary Beth, I needed you and you let me down. It's all your fault. I'm dead now because of you. Why didn't you stop me?” The voice came again, this time to her left, its cry more urgent.
"I tried. You wouldn't listen. It's not my fault.” As she stepped to the left, hands held out in front of her, something shadowy went by on her right, disturbing the fog. She spun around in that direction, only to find nothing there. “Babs! Where are you, Babs? I'm coming."
"You were supposed to protect me, Mary Beth. You let me down. Failed me when I needed you the most."
Something shadowy went by on her left, and she spun in that direction, trying to see what it was. “You made your own decision. You didn't listen. You never listened."
"You're supposed to watch over me. Mother told you to protect me.” Babs’ face appeared out of the fog. It was gray and freakish-looking, like something out of a horror movie. Mary Elizabeth flinched and jerked away, falling on her behind. In the background, like an evil voiceover, she could hear her mother. “You're such a failure, Mary Elizabeth. Can't even do the simplest things. Now your failure's cost your sister her life."
"It's not my fault. I'm not responsible for Babs.” She backpedaled, trying to get away from the ghostly apparition masquerading as her sister Babs.
Babs and her mother's disembodied heads spun around her in a circle, cutting off all avenues of exit, their voices chanting, “Your fault. Your fault."
Mary Elizabeth jerked awake, gasping for air. Tears ran down her face and her heart pounded like it would jump out of her chest. Their words echoed in her mind.
A light clicked on, causing her to blink rapidly as her eyes struggled to adjust.
"What's wrong? Are you sick again?” Hugh's voice was groggy with sleep. He sat up and rubbed his hand across his face, like he was trying to wake up.
Mary Elizabeth shook her head. She lay down and turned her back toward him, hoping he would go back to sleep. Her throat was too tight for her to give him a verbal answer. There was a heavy silence. She could feel him watching her. She hunched her shoulders defensively, resisting the urge to wipe the tears from her face. She really didn't want him to know she was crying. Let him think she was drifting back to sleep.
She could feel his eyes, boring a hole in her back like he had x-ray vision. It was causing her nerves to draw up tight. She could feel the tension in her neck and shoulders.
"If you're not sick, what's wrong?"
Silence.
"I know something is wrong. You're body's too tense for you to be sleeping."
When she refused to respond, he gave a long, drawn out sigh, like she was vexing him. She slid her legs off the bed, needing to get to the bathroom where she could have some privacy. Before her feet touched the floor, Hugh's arm reached out and snagged her by the waist, dragging her across the bed and into his lap. “If you're not sick, it must be something else."
She kept her face turned away from him, still not answering. She was doing all she could not to break down and cry. If she opened her mouth, it would all come out.
"Alex told me about what happened to your sister. Must have been rough. Want to talk about it?"
At his words, she jerked and shook her head rapidly, and a sob escaped before she could choke it back. She was not going to cry. She hated to cry.
Hugh wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. “It's okay to cry, you know. You need to grieve. Let it out. Don't hold it in. You'll only make yourself sick if you do."
She pushed against him, trying to get away. He held her tight. “Let go."