Chapter 19 – Daphne
19
DAPHNE
I nitially, when I requested to spend the rest of the day in bed, I meant leisurely, like watching movies and napping. However, an unexpected spicy scene in the middle of the movie we were watching had me on fire. And I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I didn’t like to do the initiating, and I wasn’t ready to step out of my comfort zone.
Before I could give it more thought, Dice reached over and pulled me on top of him, positioning me so that I was sitting up and straddling his hips while he rested on his back.
“Take your shirt off,” he said.
“What?”
He smirked. “You heard me. You’ve been over there squirming since that scene. Shirt. Off.”
I complied and removed my shirt, tossing it to the side.
“Now the bra.”
My stomach was fluttering with anticipation as I removed my bra and dropped it to the floor.
“Wet your fingers and rub those nipples for me.”
Closing my eyes, I groaned as I rolled my nipples between my slick fingers.
His sudden firm grip on my hips had my eyes quickly opening.
“Keep your eyes on me.”
At the rate things were going, I was going to explode before he ever really touched me.
“Is your pussy wet?”
“Yes,” I breathed, continuing to rub my nipples.
“Show me.”
Slipping one hand inside my leggings, I ran two fingers between my legs and held them up for him to see.
I gasped when he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth and sucked them clean. “Mmm, you taste good.” After he finished with my fingers, he guided my hand back to my breast without making contact. My hips started to rock against him as I was getting desperate for his touch.
“Take the rest of your clothes off, lay on your back, and spread those legs wide.”
By the time I was in the position he wanted, I was throbbing with need. One well-positioned gust of air would have set me off.
“You look so good, all wet and swollen for me.”
“Please, Dice.”
“Please, what? What do you want?”
“I want to come.”
“So come. I’m not stopping you.”
“But I … I,” I stammered.
“Rub your clit, Daphne,” he said as he got to his feet and started stripping off his clothes.
“Oh, fuck,” I moaned when my fingers made contact with my clit.
Dice climbed back onto the bed with a foil packet in his hands. He reached between my legs and slowly slipped one finger inside me. I was doing everything I could to wait for him, but he was not making it easy. Then he removed his finger and pressed it against my rear entrance. And that was it. The tension that was building snapped, and waves of pleasure pulsed through me. Right as the orgasm hit, Dice pushed his condom-covered cock inside me and fucked me through it. A stream of incoherent words came from my mouth as I relished in every sensation. By the time it was over, I felt like a limp noodle.
Dice chuckled. “Not yet.” Pulling out, he flipped me over and raised my hips before he plunged back inside. “Rub your clit. I want you to come again.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“The fuck you can’t,” he said and picked up his pace.
Reaching between my legs, I started circling my sensitive clit with my fingers. Then his sneaky finger was back, pressing against that forbidden spot. It didn’t take long before I was on the brink again. “I’m,” I panted. “Oh, fuck. Dice, I’m?—”
“You’re going to come,” he said. The pressure of his finger increased, as did his thrusts. The second orgasm hit me with a force I wasn’t prepared for. My hands fisted in the sheets as pleasure took over my body. I was vaguely aware of him finding his own release while I was still reeling from the sensations.
I’m not sure how much time had passed when he gently turned me over and took my hand. “Come on, baby. Let’s take a shower.”
He pulled me to my feet and reached into his nightstand for another condom.
“I don’t think I can handle another round.”
“You sure about that?”
No, I wasn’t.
As it turned out, after Dice washed my entire body, paying special attention to my most sensitive areas, I was more than ready for another round.
And that was how my suggestion of a leisurely weekend in bed turned into a weekend of marathon sex that only stopped because we both had to go back to work.
I had just finished eating lunch at my desk when Jan knocked on my door. “This was just delivered for you,” she said and handed me a white box with a cute bow on top.
“Thanks,” I replied and took the box from her.
“I have the afternoon off, so I’m heading out now. You’ll be the only one here for the rest of the day.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” I said and waved goodbye.
I opened the attached envelope to find a card from the Potters thanking me for helping them find their dream home. Inside the box were a dozen chocolate mint cookies from a local gourmet bakery, according to the label.
The cookies looked delicious, and I was a sucker for sweets. Picking up a cookie, I briefly inspected it before bringing it to my mouth and taking a large bite. “Mmm,” I moaned and swallowed the chocolaty goodness. I opened my mouth to take another bite, but stopped when a strange aftertaste hit me. It wasn’t bad, but definitely not what I expected. Frowning at the cookie, I took a drink of water and tried another bite. After the same strange taste filled my mouth, I dropped the cookie back into the box and pushed it to the side.
“Well, that was disappointing,” I mumbled to myself and got back to work.
I was almost finished for the day when I started to feel sick. At first, I dismissed it and continued with what I was doing. Before long, I couldn’t ignore the way I was feeling. I was dizzy and felt like I was going to throw up. My stomach was hurting and so was my head.
I decided to call it a day and got up to use the restroom before I left. The room swayed when I got to my feet, and my vision darkened around the edges. Reaching for my desk, I steadied myself and dropped back into my chair. I waited for a few minutes to see if things would get better, but they only seemed to worsen.
When another wave of nausea hit me, I barely managed to grab my trash can in time to catch the vomit that spewed from my lips. Knowing I needed help, I picked up my phone and called Dice to see if he could pick me up earlier than planned.
“Hey, Daphne,” he answered.
“Dice,” I croaked. “Can you pick me up from work?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sick. I must have picked up a virus or something.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you.” I ended the call and rested my head on my desk. I couldn’t recall ever feeling so bad.
By the time Dice arrived at my office, I’d thrown up so much there was nothing left to expel, yet the dry heaving continued.
“Daphne!” he gasped when he saw me. Things had definitely gotten worse since I called him.
“I think I need to go to the hospital,” I admitted. “Something’s wrong.”
“Okay,” he said and scooped me into his arms without hesitation.
I was too sick to care about what he was seeing or smelling by being so close to me. When he placed me in the front seat of his truck, I pushed him to the side and leaned forward to vomit once again. Only a small amount came out, but I was thankful it didn’t get on him or his truck. “You should probably grab a bag or something from inside.”
He disappeared into the office and came back with a small trash can.
“Thanks,” I said and took it from him. “I’m sorry about all this.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he assured me. “You’re sick. It happens to everyone.”
As he drove to the hospital, I closed my eyes and prayed for the nausea to stop. I’d never been so sick, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I vaguely heard Dice talking on his phone, but I was in no state to care about who he was talking to or what he was saying.
When we arrived at the hospital, he carried me inside, despite my protests. In all honestly, I was probably too weak to walk by that point. To my surprise, we were escorted to an exam room immediately, completely bypassing the waiting room.
“Hi, Daphne. I’m Dr. Vaughn, but most people call me Patch,” a man said. “And this is Gabby, but I think you’ve already met her. So, what’s going on?”
“I can’t stop throwing up, and I feel like I’m dying.”
“When did the symptoms start?” he asked.
“About an hour ago, I think.”
Gabby moved to the side of the bed and reached for my arm. “I’m going to take your vital signs. Then I’ll start an IV so we can give you something for the nausea and maybe some fluids.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’ve never thrown up this much in my entire life.”
“Was this a gradual or sudden onset?” Patch asked.
“Sudden. I was fine all day.”
“No fever. Blood pressure is low, and heart rate is high,” Gabby said.
“What have you eaten today?” Patch asked.
“I had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast and leftover lasagna for lunch.”
“Nothing else?”
“No. Why?”
“Well, this is presenting like food poisoning, but none of the things you ate are likely culprits.”
“Oh,” I gasped and frantically looked around for something to throw up in. Gabby handed me a basin just in time. Once that round of heaving subsided, I continued, “I also had part of a cookie. It tasted funny, so I didn’t eat all of it.”
“What kind of cookie?” Patch asked.
“Chocolate mint, I think. A client sent them to me as a thank you gift, but they came from a local bakery.”
“When did you eat the cookie?”
“Right after lunch.”
“Do you still have the cookies?”
“They should still be in my office.”
“Go get them,” Patch said to Dice.
“I’ll stay with her until you get back,” Gabby assured him. “And we can have a security guard placed outside of her room.”
“I’ll be here, too. She’s the only patient I’m seeing,” Patch added.
“I’ll be right back,” Dice said and placed a kiss on my forehead before he hurried out of the room.
“What’s going on?” I asked. They were starting to scare me.
“You said the cookies tasted funny. Can you describe the taste?” he asked instead of answering my question.
“I don’t know how to describe it. It wasn’t a bad taste, per se, but it wasn’t a taste you’d expect with cookies. Kind of like when you take a sip of a drink that you’re expecting to be one thing, but it’s something else. I thought it was a fluke, so I drank some water and tried another bite. When I got the same aftertaste, I decided not to eat any more.”
“Is it possible that someone tried to poison you?” Patch asked gently, but the words hit me like a sledgehammer.
I closed my eyes and tilted my head toward the ceiling as tears ran down my cheeks. “Yes, it’s possible.”
“Okay, I’m going to order some activated charcoal. If you were poisoned, it will help absorb the toxin while preventing your body from absorbing it. Do you think you will be able to drink it?”
“I can try,” I said shakily.
“If you can’t, we can feed a tube through your nose to your stomach and administer it. Either way, we need to get the charcoal in you sooner rather than later.”
“Whatever you need to do,” I said.
“Gabby, let’s get some fluids going, and I’ll order some lab work.”
When Dice returned with the cookies, I was resting somewhat comfortably. The nausea medication had done wonders for me. I’d even managed to drink the charcoal and keep it down. I still felt awful, but at least I wasn’t throwing up every five minutes.
“Here are the cookies,” he said and handed them to Gabby.
She opened the box and looked inside before leaning closer and smelling them. She tilted her head to the side as her forehead wrinkled.
“What is it?” Dice asked.
“I’m not sure. Hold on,” she said and walked over to the door. She leaned into the hallway and waved someone over.
Gabby smiled when a very pregnant nurse entered my room. “These cookies have a smell that I can’t put my finger on. I was hoping your pregnancy nose could help.”
The woman laughed and held out her hands for the box. “I’ll give it a shot.” She took the box and smelled the cookies, just like Gabby did. “Mushrooms,” she declared and wrinkled her nose. “Who puts mushrooms in cookies?”
“You’re sure?” Gabby asked.
“Absolutely. I’d know that smell anywhere. I liked them before but haven’t been able to stand them since I’ve been pregnant.”
“Thank you,” Gabby said. “Will you send Dr. Vaughn in here, please? Tell him it’s urgent.”
Patch entered the room moments later. “What’s going on?”
Gabby pointed to the cookies. “Tonya said these smell like mushrooms.”
Patch took his turn smelling the cookies and cursed. “Son of a bitch! I think she’s right. Okay, if her lab results aren’t back yet, call the lab and tell them we need them immediately. I have a friend who’s a mycologist. I’m going to get her on the phone. I’ll be right back.”
“A friend who’s a what?” I asked.
“A mycologist,” Gabby said. “A person who studies fungi, which is what mushrooms are.”
“Why is he calling a mushroom specialist?” I asked, sounding somewhat panicked.
Gabby grimaced. “There are some mushrooms that are very toxic if ingested. Some can even be lethal, but the main component of successful treatment is early intervention. You came to the hospital within a few hours of ingestion, and you’ve already had a dose of charcoal. I know this all sounds terrifying, but we’re on the right track. I’m going to go check on your labs and see if Patch has any new orders for you. I’ll be right back.” She took my hand and gently squeezed it. “You’re going to be okay.”
I looked at Dice and burst into tears. He was instantly at my side, trying to soothe me. “I didn’t want to believe it,” I cried, “but someone really is trying to kill me. I mean, I know someone has been harassing me and doing things that would hurt me, but I didn’t think they were actually trying to kill me until now.”
“We’re not going to let that happen,” he promised.
“You can’t—” I started, but he cut me off.
“Yes, I can. You mean the world to me, Daphne, and I will not let anyone hurt you.”
Rationally, I knew he was making a promise he couldn’t guarantee, but I chose to relish in the comfort his words provided.
I had almost dozed off when Patch came back into the room. “I spoke to my friend,” he said.
“The mushroom lady?” I interrupted.
He smiled. “Yes, the mushroom lady. She’s on her way here to get a sample of the cookies for testing. Normally, we’d have to send your blood to a special lab for testing, and it would take days to get results, but she can test the cookies and have an answer for us tonight. In the meantime, we’re going to admit you to the hospital and get you moved upstairs. If it is amatoxin poisoning, you’ll be in the hospital for several days.”
“Ama-what?” I asked.
“Sorry, amatoxin. That’s the name of a toxin found in some poisonous mushrooms. There are many kinds of mushroom toxins, but amatoxin is the one we’re concerned about in your case.”
“Why do you think it’s that one?”
“Your symptoms align with amatoxin poisoning, and mushrooms in the Amanita family are the most common type of poisonous mushroom in our area.”
“If it is what you said, what’s the prognosis?” I asked.
“Amatoxin poisoning can be fatal. It can also result in liver and kidney failure. The key to treatment is early intervention. There isn’t a specific antidote for amatoxin, but there are some experimental options we can try once it’s confirmed. Until then, the recommended treatment is activated charcoal, intravenous fluids, anti-nausea medications, and monitoring lab results, all of which we’re doing,” he explained. “Do you have any questions?”
“I can’t think of any right now.”
“I know it’s a lot to process. If you do think of one, don’t hesitate to ask for me or Gabby. Neither one of us is going anywhere any time soon.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate everything you’re doing.”
He smiled kindly. “I’m just glad you came to the hospital when you did. I’ll check on you in a little bit.”
“If I’m going to be here for a few days, I need somebody to take care of Diablo. I also need to call my dad, and I need to let my boss know what’s going on. Can you hand me my phone?”
Dice shook his head. “You rest. I’ll take care of everything else. Are you okay with Diablo staying with Ember?”
“That’s fine, if she doesn’t mind.”
“She won’t mind,” he assured me. “Seriously, close your eyes and rest. I’ll be right here.”
“Okay,” I agreed and did what he said.