Free Liberation by Shayne McClendon Page B

of business.  Opening the narrow door, he walked her to the sink and she took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the light.  He kept his palm on her at all times. 
    After she washed her hands, he led her back into the bedroom and her eyes widened at the two additional people waiting for her.  One wore sweats and carried a classic doctor’s bag.
    Fahad had pulled on sleep pants but stood gloriously bare-chested.  Focus, Marci.  
    “Hello.”
    “Miss Canfield, I’m Dr. Rosen.  I need to take a quick look at you.”  He gestured to the bench at the end of the bed.  She sat shakily and he bent over to take her hand.  When he shined a light in her eyes, she flinched.  He straightened and said calmly, “You’re suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.” 
    He held out his hand and his assistant placed a packet in his palm before walking to the built-in bar and putting ice, water, and sliced lemon in a glass. 
    “This is an electrolyte replacement.  I’m going to instruct the house staff to give it to you four times a day.”  His smile was gentle.  “I hear you’ll be with us for a few days?”
    “Yes, through the weekend.”
    “That should be enough time to get you back on track.  Any allergies I should be aware of?”  She shook her head.  He opened the pouch and lifted one side of his mouth.  “It’s disgusting.  You can drink lemon water after to get rid of the taste.  You’ll want it.” 
    She took the pouch and squeezed it on her tongue.  “Oh god, it’s revolting.”  She swallowed and fanned her face.  Reaching for the glass of water, she drank more than half before the weird aftertaste was under control. 
    “Excellent, Miss Canfield.  If you get a headache, nothing stronger than ibuprofen.”
    “Thank you, doctor.” 
    The older man crossed his hands in front of him.  “If I may say so, it looks as if you’ve been dealing with such symptoms for a while now.  I imagine your level of daily responsibilities would make most of us look lazy but…you won’t do anyone any good if you collapse.”  He rattled off the signs of dehydration.  “Have you had any of those symptoms for more than a month?” 
    “I…yes.”  She heard the cousins inhale sharply.
    “How long would you estimate you’ve had them?”
    “A-about four months or so.  I probably made it worse.  When I get tired, I go for coffee.  I’m drinking a lot more these days when I forget to eat or have to cut my sleep short.”
    “Hmm, a perfect combination to wear your body down to a dangerous level.  I’ll be by to check on you tomorrow.  In the meantime, drink and rest .”  He nodded and left with his quiet assistant following. 
    Fahad picked her up and put her back in bed.  Nuri handed her the glass of water that he’d refilled.  They stared at her with their arms crossed until she drank the entire thing. 
    Handing it back, she gave them a small smile.  “I’m not normally such a pain in the ass.”  The expressions on their faces weren’t annoyed.  They were worried.  “I won’t neglect the basics again.  You have my word.  There are too many people depending on me to fail based on lack of water and sleep.  I’ll be more careful from this moment on.”
    Exhaling roughly, they nodded and turned out the lights.  When they got back in bed beside her, she soaked up the way they felt against her. 
    Twenty minutes later, she whispered, “Lemon water.  Fuck.”
    Laughing, Fahad slid from beneath the covers and took her hand.  “Slowly this time.” 
    Taking care of business, he hustled her back to the bed.  When she was settled between them, she said happily, “You’re so warm.  Hard.”
    Nuri ground out, “More than you know.”  The words set off a round of laughter.
    “We could…” she began.
    “Absolutely not.  You need rest and that is what you will get.” 
    They pressed close and began to talk softly about many things.  The smooth, accented sounds of their