Star Spangled Cowboy by Paige Warren Page B

done things that I’m not proud of, but I’ve done whatever was necessary for me to survive. You think someone’s going to want a woman who’s been a whore for five years? Someone who never graduated high school? What’s my marketable skill, that I can make you come in less than a minute?”
    He smiled a little at that. “I’m not sure I would consider that skill. I like it when things are dragged out for a while. The anticipation and incredible sensation of feeling you wrapped around my cock are even better than coming.”
    “You get my point, though.”
    Tyson caressed her cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I will do whatever it takes to protect you, Dacey. Anything. If it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have blown my head off months ago. Knowing I’d get to see you twice a week has been the only thing keeping me going, and yeah, I know I pay for your time, but I also know that you enjoy being with me.”
    She leaned into his touch. Just thinking about him ending his life was enough to make her cry, and for once she was thankful for her job. If she hadn’t been a prostitute, they never would have met. He’d gotten Carlos’s number from a friend and she’d just been lucky to be the girl her pimp sent out that night. Ty had made her life so much better, even if she didn’t get to spend much time with him. They’d laughed and talked, and just genuinely enjoyed one another’s company. He’d been so cute that first night, unsure of himself to the point of refusing to take off his pants. It had taken her weeks to get him to undress in front of her, and when he had, she’d taken the time to kiss all of his scars, including what remained of his left leg.
    “You’ve made me whole again,” he said. “You never cared that I only have one leg now, or that I’ve had more holes in me than a pin cushion. My scars don’t disgust you, and I was finally able to see myself through your eyes and come to grips with the body I have now versus the one I had before the explosion.”
    “Ty, don’t say anything you shouldn’t.” She could tell he was winding up for something more, something she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear. Because if he confessed he had feelings for her, she wasn’t certain she could walk away.
    “Dacey, you’re important to me. I don’t even want to think what my life would have been like these past few months without you, and I’m glad you were sent to me that night. I’m sorry that I have to pay to get you to come here, but I understand why you can’t defy Carlos. I don’t like it, but I understand. I would never put your life in danger.”
    Dacey urged him to stand and then she climbed onto the chair, knowing it was hard for him to kneel, and she wanted to look him in the eye. His words moved her, and she wished she could say them back. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel that way about him, because truthfully, she’d fallen a little in love with him. But to love anyone was dangerous for someone in her profession. If Carlos thought for one moment she enjoyed her time with Tyson, he’d forbid her from going. Or he’d find a way to exploit it.
    She trailed her fingers over the smooth line of his jaw and smiled when she realized he’d shaved just for her. Many times she’d come over, and he’d been scruffy, but a few weeks ago, she’d noticed that he was clean shaven during her visit, and he’d been that way for all of her visits since then. It touched her that he wanted to look nice for her when it was her job to please him and not the other way around.
    “Take me to the bedroom,” she said softly. “We don’t have much time left, and I want to feel your arms around me before I have to go. If I’m late, Carlos will come looking for me, and I don’t want to bring our fight to your door.”
    He kissed her, his lips moving against hers in a sensual dance, his tongue stroking, and teasing. Dacey wound her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his