Mary and the Bear by Zena Wynn Page B

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.
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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