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He shrugged. “Two, three cocktails, then you crashed out and went to sleep. Your friend said she couldn’t get you to move and she had to go because she had to be up early for work.”
Very odd; she didn’t normally crash out after a couple of drinks. Was it possible they could have been spiked?
“Ted, did I talk to anyone or go with anyone?”
He shook his head. “Nah, you just lay there, comatose. I kept an eye on you like your friend asked.”
That was good to know, at least Sandy had been friend enough to ask that of him. What would she have done had the situation been reversed? She’d have called Sean, that’s what. So why hadn’t Sandy phoned Max? Her head thumped and the nausea returned. She stood and made her way shakily to the bathroom.
* * *
A cool handswept across her forehead. She opened her eyes as she felt her wrist taken in a professional grasp. Max had arrived in full Dom Doctor mode! Whilst taking her pulse he fired questions at her in a calm reassuring voice.
“How do you feel?”
“Groggy and sick. I’m glad you’re here,” she replied croakily.
“Have you actually vomited?”
She winced. He grasped her chin, gently tipping her face up as he studied her. He knew her aversion to being sick.
“Drink the rest of that water. I’m going to have a word with Ted, then I’ll get you to the car.” He strode off. She slumped back against the seat, relieved that he was there.
“I told you to finish that water. Your body needs rehydrating.” Max picked up the glass and held it out; reluctantly she took it, hesitating before she took a sip.
“If it makes you hurl then all the better. Don’t fight your body, Josie. Let it expel the poison if it needs to.”
She grimaced, but sipped more water before she set the glass back down on the table.
“Okay, little girl, let’s get you home and tucked up into bed. We’ll leave discussing what happened here tonight until tomorrow.”
The skin on her bottom crawled. She recognized the euphemism ‘discuss’, which generally meant she was in for a spanking. She groaned as he helped her to stand. When she swayed he lifted her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest. She clung to him. He hadn’t given her much choice but she was in such a fug she couldn’t walk and she knew it. Ted commented that she looked green and hurried to the door, intent on unlocking it for them. Perhaps he wanted them outside quickly before she was sick.
“Thanks, bud, and thanks again for taking care of my girl,” Max told him as he turned sideways to maneuver her through the open doorway.
“No problem, Max,” Ted replied and locked up behind them.
They were traveling well beyond the city limits and out on the open road when her stomach rebelled. Josie knew that she was going to be ill.
“Ma-ax,” she whispered in a soft whine. Immediately he slowed the car and indicated to pull in, leaving his hazards on. Jumping out into the deserted road he came around to her side and opened the passenger door. He popped open the glove box and removed some tissues and a hair tie. Then, placing a hand on top of her head to protect her from the doorframe, he helped her out.
She felt his arm slip around her top half as he supported her against his front. The heat from his body warmed her back. She was shivering, one of the signs she knew meant that she was about to be violently sick. Max quickly drew her hair back in a ponytail and slid the tie in place before urging her onto the verge.
He supported her as she bent double under the powerful impact of her body ejecting whatever foul substance it was that made her stomach roil so horribly.
“Poor baby, that’s it, get all the nasty stuff up and out, that’s right. Daddy has you safe. Good girl,” Max crooned reassuringly until her ordeal was over. Finally done, she sagged in his arms, exhausted. He swung her over to the car and settled her back into the passenger seat. She leant back against the headrest with her eyes closed and moaned quietly to herself.
A sharp, refreshing smell of lemons wafted under her nose. She felt Max gently wipe her face with a lemon scented wet wipe.
“Take this and sip.” She opened her eyes to see that he was holding out a water bottle.
She did as he asked and took a sip. Suddenly she was very thirsty.
“Hey, slow down. I said sip! That’s enough; you’ll make yourself ill again. Small sips, little and often, all right?”
She nodded, relieved that he was there. Max was so good at taking care of her, she was lucky to have him. A guilty tear slipped down her cheek, then, full of self-pity, another fell.
“I d-don’t deserve you. You a-are s-o good to m-me!” she wailed.
