Free The Protege by Kailin Gow Page B

“You really don’t.”
    Once
she’d unlocked the door, she kicked it open and led Sebastian inside.  The
moment he stepped inside, he vomited all over her freshly cleaned hardwood
floor.
    “Okay,”
she said with surprising calm. “You really don’t feel good.” Gripping his
shoulders, she led him to the sofa and let him fall back. “I’ll go clean up
your little mess and be right back.”
    “Wow,
I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt so…” He gagged, but quickly brought it
under control.
    Serena
quickly picked up his mess, but between his gagging and the awful smell of
partially digested meal, she found herself rushing to the bathroom to throw
cool water on her face.
    “You
okay?” Sebastian called out.
    “Yeah.” 
    Before
he could be sick again, she hurried to the cabinet under the kitchen sink and
pulled out a bucket.  “Here,” she said as she came up and shoved it beside him.
“Use this if you still feel nauseated.”
    He
sat up as he chocked and gagged and retched, but nothing came out and he
reclined once again.  “Get me out of this,” he muttered as he tugged on his
tie.
    As
she pulled the knot of his tie apart and unbuttoned the first button of his
shirt, she noticed how hot his skin was. It wasn’t the smoldering and sexy heat
she’d felt early, but an unhealthy hotness that left his skin ashy and clammy.
    Suddenly
sensing the urgency of his situation, she worked to free him of his jacket,
shirt and pants and quickly snuggled him up in a large and soft fleece gray
sweatshirt and university sports shorts.
    “Come
on,” she said as she tried to sit him up.  “Let’s get you into bed.”
    He
swayed and sank back into the cushions.
    “Sebastian,
I can’t get you to your feet if you don’t help me.”
    When
she tried again, he groaned and she knew this was more than just a little too
much to drink.
    “Okay,
let’s forget getting you into bed.  We’ve got to get you to the hospital.”

 
    Chapter 8
     
     
    “ I initially thought he’d had too much to
drink,” Serena said to the triage nurse.  “It’s only when I noticed how
feverish he’d become that I realized something was wrong.”
    When
the nurse frowned and didn’t say anything, Serena felt uneasy. She glanced at
the woman’s name tag. “Um, Nurse Miller, do you think it could perhaps be
something serious.”
    Nurse
Miller nodded as she efficiently pulled up the sweatshirt and gently prodded
Sebastian’s hard abdomen. Serena watched her, mesmerized by the movements of
the woman’s fingers over his skin, efficient, but almost sensual. Even as sick
as he was, Sebastian managed to have that effect on women. From the admiring
look in Nurse Miller’s eyes, no doubt she was attracted to Sebastian. Serena
couldn’t help but feel a tug of envy. 
    Sebastian
was pale, but he fought to remain upright. His knuckles were white as they
gripped the edge of the examination table.
    “Do
you know what he ate?” the nurse asked.
    “Hmm,
we had an appetizer with escargots in a creamy sauce. After that he had…”
Serena gazed at Sebastian. She hadn’t really paid much attention to what had
been on his plate.
    “Duck,”
he grunted.
    “How
many drinks?”  Though the question was aimed at Sebastian, Nurse Miller looked
pointedly at Serena.
    “A
glass of champagne before dinner and a few glasses of wine with his meal. I
didn’t see him take anything else.” Serena was tempted to tell the young nurse
who Sebastian Sorensen was exactly. Not that she wanted him to have special
treatment, but… perhaps she’d move him along a little faster if she knew who he
was. She gazed at Sebastian and wondered why he didn’t mention it himself. Why
didn’t he demand the VIP treatment affluent people always seem to believe they
deserved?
    “No
after dinner liquor?” the nurse went on.  “No cognac, no brandy or anything
like that?”
    “No,
we left right after the main course.”
    She
cocked a brow.  “Okay.  Looks