Too Much of a Good Thing?. Joss Wood

we’ve never met before how do you know my name?’

      ‘Oh, you have some business cards in your wallet. After I got you settled I went through it to try and find someone I could contact for you.’

      That made sense. She did have business cards in her wallet that she occasionally handed out to promote her photography.

      ‘So, you saw me with this guy...?’ Lu prompted.

      ‘I pulled the name Flora out of the air and he went along with it. That was a pretty big clue that something wasn’t right. So I grabbed hold of you and tried to figure out a way to attract a bouncer’s attention. Then you puked all over him. And yourself. And my shoes,’ Will added ruefully.

      Lu closed her eyes. ‘Oh...hell. Seriously?’

      Will nodded. ‘Thank God you did. Puking probably saved your life. You got all the rest of that undigested date-rape drug out of your system.’

      Lu blinked and held up her hand. ‘Whoa! Date-rape drug? What date rape drug? What?’

      ‘It’s the only reason why a stone-cold sober person would be reduced to a high, spaced-out, unresponsive robot in fifteen minutes,’ Will explained.

      Lu felt the pounding in her head increase, followed by an unpleasant whirling sensation. Date-rape drug? Lu staggered to the edge of the bed, dropped down and felt nausea building in her throat. She could have been held hostage, raped repeatedly, subjected to indescribably disgusting acts...

      In her head she was screaming, panic was bubbling, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep from whimpering. She would not cry. She would not lose control, she thought as stark images conjured up by her imagination—hard and cruel—slapped her again and again.

      She couldn’t get any air...she needed air.

      Will crouched in front of her, his arm resting on his knee. ‘That’s quite an impressive show of control. Most girls would be hysterical by now. Right—now, breathe. The important point is to remember that nothing happened. I took you away after you threw up. So just breathe, slow and deep.’ It was the voice from her dreams, calm, steady. In control. The images disappeared.

      ‘But...’

      ‘Nothing happened, Lu.’

      Will hooked her chin and made her look into his calm face. She could see hot rage bubbling in his eyes...for her? She grabbed his wrist and held onto to him, needing his steadiness, needing the contact, needing to lean, just for a minute, on his strength.

      She sucked in more air. ‘OK, nothing happened. You’re sure?’

      ‘Very sure. A thousand percent sure. You were in my sight the entire time, apart from the fifteen minutes just after your drink was spiked. You’ve only been alone with me the entire time. Believe me?’

      She did.

      ‘Your mobile is dead, so I couldn’t contact anyone, but I took you to the closest hospital, they pumped your stomach and you stayed there the night.’

      ‘What? I stayed the night in hospital?’

      Will nodded, his face grim.

      ‘So today isn’t today, it’s tomorrow?’ Lu cried. ‘I lost an entire day?’

      Will grimaced. ‘Yeah. You came round for a while this afternoon and the doctors thought that you were well enough to be discharged, provided someone kept an eye on you.’

      ‘I don’t remember anything!’

      ‘Apparently that’s normal.’

      ‘That’s your opinion. Nothing is vaguely normal about this. So you brought me back here?’ Lu looked around. ‘Where is here?’

      ‘The Bay—penthouse suite. My temporary quarters until I find a flat to rent. Well, I didn’t know who to contact, and I couldn’t leave you alone, so I changed you into one of my T-shirts and let you sleep it off.’

      Lu looked at the bed they’d shared. ‘You slept with me?’

      ‘Just to keep an eye on you,’ Will reassured her. ‘You were having some nasty dreams. Judging by your quick downhill slide, the hospital doctors think it was GHB, which is very easy to overdose on. You were very lucky. Because you weigh next to nothing, the doctors were worried. An overdose can lead to a coma or death. ‘

      ‘I never leave my drink unattended,’ Lu protested.

      ‘You did. You put it on the bar when your friend came back from the dance floor. You checked the time...’ Will cursed.

      Lu raised her eyebrows. He’d been watching her? How? From where? And yet she still didn’t feel creeped out. Just protected...and safe. As if she had a burly guardian angel looking after her.

      Will closed his eyes for a millisecond. ‘You were directly below me. I was watching the action from the VIP area above.

      ‘Now I sound like a stalker.’ He raked his hand through his short hair and grimaced. ‘I’m not, I promise. I saw you. You looked sober. The next time I saw you, you looked high, with someone I hadn’t seen you even speak to. Something just didn’t seem right.’

      Lu believed him. Maybe she was being naïve or dumb, but she knew, to the bottom of her toes, that Will had saved her. Besides, seriously, why would anyone who looked like him need a date-rape drug to get a girl into bed? He was probably beating them off with clubs as it was.

      She wasn’t a celeb-watcher but his profile was high enough that it was hard not to read about him. He was the ex-bad-boy of international rugby who dated supermodels and superstars. His ex-wife was the Golden Princess of women’s professional tennis, with a face and body that could launch intergalactic starships. And he was an international rugby god—one of New Zealand’s national treasures, Lu thought as she remembered the twins’ many conversations about him. He was a multi-capped player and had been instrumental in leading his team to victory in the last World Cup. He’d just retired from international rugby and was in Durban for a few months.

      Lu was snapped back to the present by a sharp rap on the suite door. Will smiled and her stomach rolled. Hoo-boy! Mega-attractive man.

      ‘Coffee. It’s about time.’ Will moved to the door and looked at her over his shoulder. ‘My mobile is next to the bed, or use the hotel phone to contact anyone you need to.’

      ‘Thank you. I will...after I use the bathroom. And Will?’

      Lu swallowed and lifted her hands when he turned and looked at her.

      ‘Thank you. It sounds inadequate, but I am so, so grateful. For everything. I am forever in your debt.’

      * * *

      Lu washed up and held each side of the free-standing basin, staring down into the expanse of white porcelain. Why did she feel nineteen again? Defenceless, vulnerable, scared... It had to be because, like before, she’d been dumped into this horrible situation without any warning, any time to prepare.

      It was a situation she couldn’t control and she was propelled back to that black time when she’d felt sick with grief, crippled by the responsibility of her new role as guardian to her brothers, feeling so helpless.

      Every insecurity she’d ever had came rushing back—every sadness, every fear. Oh, she knew intellectually that this wasn’t her fault, but knowing was different from feeling, and being at the mercy of whoever it was who’d spiked her drink scared her down to her toes. Added to that was the realisation that she’d been in Will’s hands, his care...under his power.

      She wanted to curl up in a corner and suck her thumb. GHB? Spiked drinks? A high-profile celebrity rescuing her from what might have been a very nasty situation? Incidents like this didn’t happen to ordinary girls like her. If she thought about what could have happened...

      Lu bumped her hand against her forehead in an effort to clear the cobwebs and realised that her stomach was rebelling again.