Whiskey Girl (4 page)

“I can’t wait to taste you like that,” Doug
nudged the juncture of her thighs with his knee, “right here.”

She stared at him for a moment before the
words finally sank in and she blushed very prettily. “Don’t say things like
that,” she admonished him, craning her neck to peer around the room.

Doug allowed her the movement and did the
same himself, noticing nearly every eye in the place was on them. Good, his
claim was staked. No man in the place would think otherwise, and with the size
of Memory, the news would spread like wildfire across the prairie.

Ausha smacked his arm. Her mouth was
pinched in disapproval. In that instant, he could very well picture her in
mother mode. If it wasn’t for the way her eyes flashed, dancing merrily with a
happiness she would fight to the death before setting free, Doug might have
thought he royally fucked up.

“Why did you do that?” The words were a
husky whisper. Doug heard arousal in every single word she spoke.

Deciding to keep things light, he pulled
her into his embrace, completely lifting her off her feet. He would have
enjoyed a squeal of delight but knew it was way too soon for a show of such
jovial affection. After setting her back down, he held her at arm’s length.
Drawing his brows together, he purposefully messed with her. “Are you slow,
woman? I already told you. It’s because I like you.”

With that he resumed his seat. “I’ll have a
big glass of tea if you’ve got it.”

She appeared dumbfounded by his answer.
When she finally shook herself back into the here and now, her only response
was to ask if he wanted anything to eat. Doug kept the retort vying for freedom
to himself. Oh yeah, there was plenty he was hungry for, but there would be
time for all that later. When Ausha was ready and not a moment before. In the
meantime, he planned to spend as much time with her as possible.

“No thanks, we’ll go to my house after you
close and have supper. Just the two of us.” When she stood there staring at
him, he motioned for her to go. “I need that drink, darlin’. You’ve made me a very
thirsty man.”

Ausha stumbled over the chair behind her as
she left Doug’s table. The man was utterly fascinatingly irritating. She didn’t
know whether to hug him or strangle him. Getting too close to him felt more
dangerous than anything she could think of right at the moment, but the thought
of not being around him seemed like an awful alternative.

Besides, what would it hurt to have a meal
with him?

She asked herself the question knowing good
and well it didn’t really matter how she answered herself. The one thing she’d
picked up from Doug’s supposed invitation was it wasn’t really an invitation at
all. He hadn’t asked or waited for her to answer. He had stated quite simply
they would be eating together.

Ausha had only been in Memory for a couple
of years and hadn’t actually put herself out there as dating material. Was this
how all men courted women now or was it merely Doug’s way to be such a bossy
ass? Maybe she would ask him.

After pouring his glass of tea, she started
back across the room. She didn’t give herself time to think. As she reached the
table and set down his drink, she blurted, “Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Bossy.” He knew damn well what she was
talking about. Humor danced in his eyes.

“Guess it depends on who you ask.”

“Well, I don’t like it. What if I don’t
want to go to your place for dinner? Did you ever stop to think about that?”

She watched as he patted the bench seat
next to him. “Come sit down here for a minute while we work this out. Unless
you want all the busybodies in town to know our plans too.” He nodded to the
room at large.

Ausha sat on the very edge of the seat in a
huff. How he could always be so infuriatingly calm was beyond her
comprehension.

“If you don’t want to go to my place
tonight, that’s fine.”

Why his words made her feel bad, she had no
idea. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go as much as she didn’t
want
to
want to go. Oh hell, she didn’t have a fucking clue what she really wanted
anymore except for the pain of loss to lessen. Why was he being so understanding?
It sort of made her nervous. If anything, Ausha was preparing for a fight.

“Okay.” She had absolutely no clue what
else to say.

“We’ll go to your place instead if that’s
what you want. What do you have handy? I’m in the mood for steaks.”

Ausha rolled her eyes and stood. Leaning
over the table toward him, she glared. “Like I said, bossy.”

He didn’t argue the point, merely nodded.
“You’ll get used to it.”

She wasn’t so sure but chose to keep her
mouth shut since there probably wouldn’t be anything nice coming out of it.

“Do you have any?”

“I have steak.” He might need it to put on
his eye after she whacked him one, but she had some.

“Perfect. What time do you get off?”

“I’ll be done at eight. Jeff’s closing
tonight.”

“I’ll be right here waiting, darlin’.” She
wasn’t going to smile and she sure as shit wasn’t going to get all soft just
because he kept calling her darlin’ in his low, gravelly voice. “You probably
ought to get back to work before the rest of the place thinks I’m monopolizing
your time. I’ll see you in a bit.”

A soft growl escaped before she could
swallow it down. Here she was, drooling over his voice, worrying and wondering
about what being close to him was going to do to the walls she’d spent so much
time erecting, and the jackass shooed her back to work like a lazy child.

Damn the man!

Ausha worked the rest of her shift with a
vengeance. She made sure to refill Doug’s tea as needed but said not a word to
him. He, on the other hand, seemed content enough not to speak. He watched her
like a hawk though. She could feel the burn of his gaze with every move she
made. More than once she felt his anger surround her like waves at the beach if
another man spoke to her or touched her in a suggestive manner.

At those times he seemed coiled tight. To
an outsider he might appear relaxed, but she knew better. A muscle on the side
of his jaw twitched. She watched from across the room as he relaxed his fisted
hands. For a second, Ausha was very glad he was on her side and not an enemy.
The relief was short lived though. She remembered how determined he was to pull
her back among the living and realized he was probably the closest thing to an
enemy she had right this minute.

Eight o’clock rolled around before Ausha
was sure she was ready. Doug glanced at his watch then stood. He moved toward
the bar, to where she stood facing him, washing the last of the glasses.

“You aren’t stalling by any chance, are
you?”

She’d like to be able to say no but it
would have been a lie, so she said nothing. When she finished the task, Ausha
collected her purse and gave Jeff some last-minute instructions for the night.
Being a weeknight it was slow. He’d have no problem keeping up with the
drinking crowd, especially since the kitchen was now closed.

Ausha rounded the end of the bar, followed
closely by Jeff, who, to her surprise, stepped in front of Doug. His
muscle-free chest was puffed out in a completely adorable way.

“Treat her well.”

Ausha was uncomfortable by Jeff’s worry for
her. It put another dent in her armor and proved she really wasn’t as alone and
carefree as she’d originally thought. It hurt to know someone cared about her
when for the most part she hadn’t put any effort into caring in return.

Doug clapped Jeff on the shoulder in a
brotherly fashion. “No worries there.”

His words seemed to appease Jeff, who moved
out of the way and bid them a good night. Now she really was going to be truly
and utterly alone with Doug for the first time.

“I’ll drive.”

His words stopped Ausha in her tracks.
“I’ll need my car, so how about you follow me instead.”

Not one to be deterred, with a hand planted
firmly on the small of her back, Doug steered her toward his truck. “I have
tomorrow off. Call me when you’re ready to come in and I’ll pick you up.”

“Doug.” They were standing beside the
passenger door of his truck when Ausha reached behind her to grasp the hand at
her back. “You have got to stop herding me around like cattle. I have a
perfectly fine car parked right over there.” She nodded in the general vicinity
of her vehicle.

“I know you do, darlin’.” He kissed her
then, putting her off balance just the way he had since their first meeting.
“Just do this for me without arguing about it, please.” Doug’s hand was gentle
on the nape of her neck.

His blue eyes seemed as deep as the ocean
and so damn sincere she had trouble looking away. “Okay, but sometimes I come
in early so I don’t have to rush before opening.”

Doug unlocked and opened the door then
helped her in. On one hand his actions made her feel childish but on the other
she felt cherished. It was a dangerously heady combination, one that confused
her every way possible.

“Oh and, Ausha?” He was staring at her
hands. They were clasped together white-knuckled tight in her lap.

She tried not to enjoy the warmth of his
fingers twining their way between her own. “Yeah?”

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t
want to. Ever.” Doug gave her fingers one last squeeze then released his hold.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” She
knew the moment his smile turned predatory she should have kept her thoughts to
herself.

Chapter Four

It was the first time she’d voluntarily
shown nervousness in his presence. Even such a small admission was a huge step
as far as Doug was concerned. As he rounded the front of his truck, he vowed
not to push too hard or too fast for sex, even though what he really wanted to
do was jump her the minute he had her alone.

She needed time to get to know him, time to
trust herself and her ability to judge people. Her ex-husband had seriously
messed up that part of her. Doug could only imagine how often she blamed
herself for loving and trusting such a man and yet, had she not, Ausha never
would have had even the short amount of time she did to love her beautiful
daughter. It was sort of like not being able to see the trees through the
forest.

“Thank you.” Doug turned to her as he
fastened his seat belt. “I know you lack trust of others and this is a big step
for you. I appreciate it.”

He didn’t wait for a response before
putting the truck in reverse and backing out since he knew his words more than
likely made her uncomfortable. “Point me in the right direction.”

Doug followed her instructions, a bit
startled to learn she lived in an apartment complex only a few blocks from his
own home. How had he never passed her on the street in such a small town?

He frowned when they reached the door to
her place. She was on the ground floor and her front curtains were wide open.
Anyone could look inside anytime they wanted. Disbelief shot straight to his
gut when she reached for the knob and opened the front door without the need to
unlock it. Who in their right mind didn’t lock their doors in this day and age?
Even in a small town where violence wasn’t the usual, it was a very stupid
practice.

He followed her over the threshold. “You
don’t lock your doors?”

Ausha turned to look at him as if his
question made no sense at all. With a wave of her hand, she encompassed her
living space. “Take a look around. See anything you want to steal?”

Until that moment Doug hadn’t bothered to
look. What he saw now nearly stole his breath. The place was stark bare. Not in
the typical sense of not having enough money to buy nice things. It went far
beyond.

The walls were white with not one picture
hanging from the flat surfaces. No knickknacks, pictures or personal items
cluttered the surface of the entertainment center. As a matter of fact, nothing
took up space in the large wooden piece of furniture. There wasn’t even a TV.
From the looks of it, a small radio and a stack of bills were about it.

The couch looked new and its beige surface
appeared as if it wasn’t often occupied. The matching chair seemed a little
more worn, but not by much. Doug couldn’t help but ask. “How long have you
lived here?”

“Two years.” She turned away from him.
“Come on, the kitchen is this way.”

He followed in her wake but couldn’t get
the coldness of the place out of his mind. It felt so isolated, so desolate. He
figured it was probably the complete opposite from what the home she’d shared
with her daughter looked like.

Her kitchen was much of the same except the
curtains covering the window over the sink were drawn tight, clipped shut even.
Seemed a bit strange considering the front room was as open as a fishbowl. He’d
ponder the whys of it later.

“I don’t have a barbecue grill so we’ll
have to cook them in the house.”

“No problem. Does this place have a
backyard?”