Whiskey Girl (9 page)

“Baby, if you were any better you’d be
talking to a dead man right now.”

Her smile was tentative but the little peal
of laughter to leave her lips was completely genuine. Doug absolutely loved the
sound of her happiness. It warmed him deep inside.

“I’ve never been able not to gag.”

She was now staring at his cock as if
trying to figure out how to work it. He couldn’t help himself from asking, “And
that’s something you’d like to learn?” He grinned at her then. “Because if so,
I’d be willing to take one for the team and teach you.”

“You would, would you?”

“Oh yeah. Actually I can’t think of
anything I’d like to do more right now.” Doug sat up and looked at her in
anticipation. She got to her knees and kissed him softly on the lips.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been a
student. Should I go get my cute plaid skirt?”

Holy hell! The thought of Ausha in a
schoolgirl outfit was nearly too much for his already raging libido. If she
wasn’t careful, the learning process for deep throating was not going to be an
easy one.

“Maybe next time, darlin’. You go putting
on something like that right now, teasing me, and you might get more than you
bargained for. Now lie on your back with your head hanging off the edge of the
bed. Lesson one is about to begin.”

Ausha assumed the position. Her peaked
nipples stood at rigid attention, her breasts thrusting them out as if seeking
his touch. Doug would give them their due later. Right now he had other things
on his mind such as his cock sliding down her throat once again.

Climbing off the bed, Doug moved toward
where Ausha lay. He continued forward until he was straddling her face between
his thighs. She was a smart woman who didn’t have to be told what to do next.
Opening her mouth wide, she took him deep. Until she whimpered and pulled him
to her by reaching up and anchoring her hands on his hips, Doug kept his
thrusts slow and fairly shallow.

“Just relax and let it happen,” Doug
soothed as he moved his hips in a slow, fluid motion. It wasn’t long before the
velvety softness of her throat engulfed his shaft head. “Oh hell yeah, baby.
Just like that.”

He wanted to prolong it, to continue the
lesson, but it wasn’t going to happen if she continued learning as fast as she
already had. Doug reached forward to tweak one of her upturned nipples in hopes
of slowing her down, of changing her pace, but it was no use. She was like a
woman on a mission.

Deciding honesty was best, he said, “If you
don’t slow down, it’s going to be over before we’ve even gotten started.”

He could have been mistaken but Doug was
almost sure he felt her lips curve into a smile around his length. When she
hummed low in her throat, the sound one of pure feminine happiness, he could no
longer hold back.

The orgasm came on so fast he didn’t have
time to do anything more than tense and grunt before Ausha’s throat began to
work around him, attempting to swallow every bit of his come. Keeping his knees
locked was nearly too much work. Doug was completely used up in a way that was
better than any gym workout ever.

“Good God, darlin’.” He backed up and away
from Ausha’s head then stumbled to the bed where he curled up next to her, his
head resting on her hip. When she started scooting down the bed in order to
rest her head comfortably, it caused him to bounce over her hip bone.

Doug looked up to find her watching him. “I
didn’t gag.” She seemed very proud of the fact. From the look on her face, she
was also horrified about blurting out the news. He couldn’t help it, he
laughed. Ausha followed suit. She seemed like a completely different person
when she was like that. Doug could only hope she didn’t close up and try to
shut him out. If so, he would deal with it. For now though, he needed a
breather.

Moving so they were once again spooning,
Doug pulled Ausha’s curvy ass into the cradle of his thighs and quickly fell
into a sound sleep.

* * * * *

Ausha awoke to the heavy weight of Doug’s
arm thrown over her hip. She wasn’t quite sure whether to snuggle deeper into
the covers and attempt more sleep or to sneak away and act as if nothing had
happened.

She smiled. As if he would ever allow such
a thing to happen. Not that she would be able to accomplish anything even close
to pretending on such a level. As it was, she was probably going to have
trouble looking him in the eye and not smiling like some damn idiot.

The thought of being so happy scared her
shitless. She had no right to be so, and yet Ausha couldn’t seem to manage to
pull herself back into the deep, dark nothingness that had consumed her so
thoroughly before meeting Doug.

“Stop thinking so hard.”

Doug’s voice startled Ausha, causing her to
jump. “How did you know I was awake?” Her back was to him and she had yet to
move.

He tapped a finger against her temple. “I
could smell the smoke.” He chuckled softly then, his voice sleep rough and sexy
as hell.

Smacking the hand resting on her hip, she
turned over until she was facing him. The smile left his eyes first, then his
lips. He ran his fingers along her brow, pushing the unruly curls from her
face. “You’re allowed to be happy, you know.”

The man amazed her. It was as if he could
read her mind. “How did you know?”

The look he gave her spoke volumes. It was
very similar to the look she saw in the mirror each morning. “It’s a pretty
typical reaction, and in a way I’ve been there.”

The past two years had been so hard on
Ausha she hadn’t considered hearing about someone else’s loss. Dealing with her
own, or in her case, ignoring it, had been overwhelming enough. Helping someone
else with theirs wasn’t even a consideration. Until now. There was just
something about Detective Doug Pennington and his legendary stubbornness that
made her want to know every little detail of his life.

“Will you tell me?”

Doug nodded then nudged her until she was
once again lying with her back to his front. His arm was wrapped around her
middle and kept her pulled snug to him. If she wasn’t mistaken, the hand palming
her abdomen trembled slightly. Before he even spoke the first word, Ausha’s
eyes were full of tears. She took a deep, shuddering breath, unsure what to
expect.

“Antonio Parelli had been my best friend
since grade school. We did everything together. When he found out he was
terminal with cancer, I think I was as devastated as Andrea, his wife, was.
From the minute they’d met, Andrea had accepted my friendship and was always
graceful in inviting me into their family.”

He rubbed her stomach then. Ausha wasn’t
sure if the motion was as soothing for him as it was for her. Her mind was
already conjuring up all sorts of very bad stuff.

“One day I stopped by, as usual, to see how
Antonio was doing or if they needed anything. By this time, he was dealing with
a lot of pain and coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to last
much longer. He was scared to leave Andrea alone. That was when he asked me if
I would step into his place once he was gone.”

Ausha sucked in a breath. That was not at
all what she’d been expecting. “Oh damn.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Doug pulled her
tighter to him then tucked the top of her head beneath his chin. At that point,
Ausha would have attempted to twist herself into a pretzel had she thought it
would help him or make him feel better.

“I didn’t know what to say at first. I had
always found Andrea attractive but only in a sisterly fashion. To contemplate
more felt entirely wrong to me. Antonio, however, was adamant. He was worried
sick about what would happen to Andrea. The emotion in his voice would have
been enough to sway anyone. Before leaving that day, I promised him I would
take care of Andrea and that he didn’t have to worry about her.”

Doug was silent then. The only sound heard
in the room was the breath he took before speaking again. Tears streamed down
Ausha’s cheek and into her hair. His pain was palpable. She wanted to fix it,
to make it go away.

“He thanked me profusely, crying and
hugging me. Late that night I got a call. It was all over. He’d died and I’d
made a promise I had absolutely no clue how to keep.”

“Oh God, Doug. I’m so sorry.” And she meant
it. The last couple of years had been hard on her, a time when she couldn’t
bring herself to help others or to even consider their pain. “What did you do?”

When he looked away she knew he was having
a hard time finishing the story. “It’s okay if you want to stop now.” Ausha ran
a soothing hand across his hip.

“We took care of the funeral arrangements
together and then I did as I’d promised. I took care of her the best I knew how
to.” He moved away then, sitting on the edge of the bed. “We even got together
for a while, like a couple. I knew it was hard on her, especially at first.
When I told her about the promise I’d made Antonio, I thought she was going to
leave me, but she didn’t. I worked hard so she understood I had fallen in love
with her, the woman, and not as my best friend’s wife who I’d promised to take
care of.”

“I’m sure she knew, Doug.” He was a good,
caring and honest man how could she not, Ausha thought silently.

“I thought so too. She seemed to be doing
well, going out with friends again, having more energy for work.” Almost as a
side note he added with a sad smile curving his mouth, “She was an event
planner. Planned half the weddings in the county, I’m sure.”

Ausha felt dread wash over her when he
covered his face with both hands briefly before standing up and pulling on his
pants.

“Their anniversary was going to be a hard
day. I knew it and was worried. I called off that day, offered to take her to
the cemetery. She seemed distracted, but I thought she was just feeling down in
the dumps. When I went to her house to pick her up that night, it was to find
she’d taken a whole bottle of sleeping pills along with enough alcohol for a
frat party. She was already gone.”

Anger burned through Ausha. Anger that this
woman who she had never met, a woman who had lost her husband, was willing to
hurt someone like Doug. She felt very uncharitable about the whole thing.
Climbing from the bed, she wrapped her arms around his back, squeezing tight,
anchoring him to her, hoping he knew she understood what he was feeling even
though she couldn’t seem to utter the words.

Doug turned in her arms until they were
face-to-face. He placed a hand on each side of her head, using his thumbs to
rub away the tears he found there. “Afterward, I was in a bad place. It took
those closest to me to make sure I got out in one piece.” He kissed her lips
then, tenderly, slowly. “It was their willingness to hound me and kick my ass
all the way where I needed to be that saved me, Ausha. I’m here to be your
ass-kicker and make sure you get out in one piece as well.”

Chapter Eight

The next day, while working behind the bar,
Ausha wondered how long it had taken Doug to come to a point where he could so
freely share his feelings. She’d cried for him, been angry for him, hurt in
every ounce of her being for him, and yet she couldn’t seem to accept the thing
for herself.

She knew there were many avenues for
dealing with her grief. A grief counselor had contacted her on behalf of the
hospital after Lauren’s death. The kind woman probably would have been able to
help had Ausha been willing to listen. That hadn’t been the case though. Still
wasn’t most days.

So how did she go about finding help now
after so long? Most people assumed after a certain amount of time had passed
those left behind were supposed to get over it.

It had taken Doug to open her eyes, to show
her life was worth living and that ignoring it and getting over it were not
viable options. If she was going to really work on things, she was going to
have to work through them. Head-on.

Ausha was saved from worrying about it
anymore right that second by the chiming of her phone, announcing a text
message. She smiled before even picking it up, knowing it was Doug as no one
else sent her text messages.

Staring over the bar and into the crowded
room, she was a bit surprised he didn’t occupy his normal corner table. Ausha
figured he’d been kept late at work and tried not to worry why.

She opened the text and read, her smile
growing wider. Doug wasn’t going to be able to make it, but he would meet her
at her place as soon as she was able to get away. He asked if she had any
objection to his use of her spare key, stating he had a surprise for her.

Ausha was thrilled. She couldn’t remember
the last time she’d been surprised, at least not pleasantly so.

An hour passed before she was able to get
away. It took everything in her not to speed all the way home, chancing a
ticket and Doug’s wrath in the process.

When she pulled up, it was to find she was
a little apprehensive. About what, she had no idea, but something warned that
after tonight life as she knew it would never be the same. Things were about to
change, and if the hair standing on the back of her neck was any indication, it
was going to change drastically.