Whiskey Girl by Maggie Casper Read Free Book Online Page A

“Hello.”
    “Morning.” Her voice was throaty and low as
if she wasn’t quite awake. He loved the sound of it and couldn’t wait until he
could hear it firsthand from right next to her on the bed.
    “Good morning to you too, beautiful.” And
she was. Stunningly, gloriously beautiful. “What’s your favorite color?”
    His question seemed to cause some sort of
confusion. “My favorite color?”
    “Yeah, what is it?”
    If she said black, he was going to tan her
ass. Once the thought danced through his mind, Doug wished she would say black.
    “Red, I guess.”
    She guessed? “You
don’t know what your favorite color is?”
    When she got quiet, Doug knew there was
more going through her head than colors. “It’s been a long time since I’ve
thought about it. I used to like calm colors, pastels.”
    Doug couldn’t understand why the change.
“Why red now?” he couldn’t help but ask.
    “It’s silly.”
    Now she’d piqued his interest. “A silly
reason for picking a favorite color? Now I have to know.”
    “All right. I read somewhere once that for
the Cherokee red was a color of protection. I liked the story so I sort of
borrowed the idea.”
    Ausha was such a contradiction. She left herself
open to theft and God knew what else by leaving her doors unlocked, yet she
picked her new favorite color because it was one of protection. As the thought
crossed his mind, Doug asked, “Are your doors and windows locked?”
    A groan of irritation crossed the distance
between phones. “Yeah, all locked.”
    “Good. Curtains drawn?”
    “Yep, I’m shut in tight.” This time he
could hear the smile in her voice. It warmed his heart.
    “Thank you, darlin’. It makes me happy
knowing you’re safe.” Doug meant every word he said. “Not that I would have
minded terribly, spanking your ass for not taking care of business.”
    When her end of the line remained silent,
Doug decided to get a feel for the lay of things. “Does being spanked turn you
on, Ausha?”
    She made a choking sound before answering.
When she did, her voice was much lower than before and no longer sounded sleep
muddled. “I’ve never really tried it.”
    “Ahhh, makes me almost as happy as knowing
your doors are locked.”
    This time her laugh was full of energy. It
was the first time he’d heard her truly laugh. “Why the hell would you say such
a thing?”
    Doug’s smile reached from ear to ear at the
humor in her voice. “Because I want your first experience to be with me.”
    Her laughter died an abrupt death only to
be replaced by a hiss of breath. He nearly cursed aloud, thinking he’d royally
screwed up, possibly pushing too hard too early.
    “After last night, that might be a very
good possibility.”
    He was taken aback by her candidness. “I’m
always open for possibilities, darlin’.”
    The next few seconds were occupied by an
uncomfortable silence. When she spoke again, her voice no longer seemed joyous.
“I used to be, but, Doug?”
    Doug hated to hear her sound so uncertain.
He wished she were there with him so they could speak face-to-face while he
held her tight in his arms. “Yeah, baby.”
    “I’m scared.”
    Admitting fear was the last thing he
expected from her. It made his heart ache to know she was going through so much
at a time when she should be experiencing life to its fullest.
    “I know and I’m sorry for it, but, Ausha?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. “We’ll figure it all out and you’ll do what
you need to do to bring yourself back to a life with some sort of semblance of
normalcy.”
    For a moment he’d wavered in his decision
to push her, to drag her out of the doom and gloom she called life, but saying
those words to her were like a vow. He was going to do exactly as he said. She
was going to be pushed until she probably hated the mere sight of him. Doug
sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but he also knew it was a distinct
possibility and was trying to prepare for the