Star Spangled Cowboy

E
VERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2016 Paige Warren

ISBN: 978-1-77233-936-9

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

Thank you to Ilse for the medical advice when my heroine was injured.

And thank you to the awesome staff at Evernight Publishing for making my book shine. I love working with the Evernight crew and hope to do so again in the near future.

STAR SPANGLED COWBOY

Paige Warren

Copyright © 2016

Chapter One

Dacey Morgan straightened her mini skirt and tugged her shirt down to showcase the girls a little better. It wasn’t her first time coming to Braxton Ranch, and she doubted it would be her last. Tyson Braxton had left the sleepy little town of Silvercrest at the age of eighteen with a determination to save the world, and he’d returned eight years later a broken man. She didn’t feel sorry for him, but her heart did ache for all that he had suffered. If an hour spent in her company could ease his loneliness—and a little something else—then she was all for it.

Her phone rang, and she pulled it from her small purse.
Carlos
flashed across the screen, and she stuck her tongue out at her phone before answering.

“I’m at Braxton Ranch,” she said. “You know I have a standing appointment here every Tuesday and Friday.”

“I told you there was a party at the edge of town, and I needed everyone there,” Carlos said. “You know what happens when you defy me.”

Her stomach clenched. Yeah, she knew exactly what happened, but it would be worth it just to spend some time with Tyson. She might have to charge him to keep her pimp happy, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the man’s company. He treated her like fine china and not like a crappy Styrofoam plate. She was trailer trash and a whore to boot. No one showed her the least bit of kindness, except Tyson Braxton.

“I’ll come to the party when I’m finished here.”

“No. You’ll go home after you’re finished there and you’ll wait for me. I mean it, Dacey. Don’t defy me on this or your punishment will double.”

She knew she could survive his punishments, but double wasn’t something she looked forward to. If he wanted her home after she was finished with Tyson, then that’s where she would go. Her heart thumped in her chest as she clutched her phone.

“I’ll go home,” she said. “Now I need to go. He’s waiting for me.”

Carlos hung up on her, and she slid her phone back into her purse. Her hands trembled a little as she thought about what was going to happen after she got to her trailer, and then she blew out a breath to calm her nerves. The last thing she needed was for Tyson to know what was going on. He might be broody and antisocial, but he also had a sense of right and wrong, and she had no doubt that he would try to protect her. It wasn’t his battle to fight. It was hers.

She pinched her cheeks to add a little color to her face and then carefully walked across the gravel drive to the wide front porch. Her heels sounded like gunshots as she walked up the steps and approached the wood door. Even though Tyson has always told her she could walk right in, she’d never felt comfortable doing that. Pressing the doorbell, she waited for him to answer. There was a bit of cussing on the other side of the portal and then the door was jerked open.

Tyson scowled down at her, his chocolate eyes narrowed and his lips pressed tightly together. Shoving the door further open, he practically jerked her into the house. Dacey stumbled a little on her heels, but before she could topple over, Tyson wrapped an arm around her waist and hefted her over his shoulder. He slammed the door shut, slid the bolt into place, and then carried her to the kitchen with a halting gate.

Dacey clutched at his sides, the thin material of his wife beater warm to the touch. His boots scraped against the hardwood floors. Tyson dumped her onto a wooden chair, and she pushed her hair out of her face. He’d made dinner?

“I thought you might be hungry,” he said as he claimed the seat across from her. “You’re too damn skinny.”

Her cheeks warmed, and she looked down at her plate. He’d filled it with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a biscuit. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t have much weight on her. After Carlos would take his cut, she would be barely left with enough to keep the utilities turned on at her trailer. Thankfully, she owned the rusted piece of crap, so she didn’t have to worry about rent, but running water and electricity were necessities, as was the small window unit she had in her living room.

Dacey took a hesitant bite and then closed her eyes as the flavor of the crisp chicken exploded on her tongue. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten anything so good, and she wished the moment could last forever. Her stomach rumbled in appreciation as she took another bite, chancing a glance at Tyson. His mocha skin looked even darker against the white tank.

“You didn’t have to make me dinner.” She swirled her fork through the mashed potatoes. “But thank you. It’s really good.”

“I thought maybe you could stay the night. If you wanted to, that is. I’ll still pay your fee for the hour we agreed on, but once you’re off the clock… I just thought maybe you’d like to hang out and watch some movies or something.”

Her heart twisted at his words and she wished more than anything that she could stay. If Carlos weren’t meeting her at her place, she wouldn’t have hesitated.

“I have to meet someone when I leave here.” She looked anywhere but at Tyson. “If I didn’t have to be somewhere, I’d have loved to stay.”

She heard the scrape of his chair and then he was looming over her. Dacey looked up into his stormy gaze and felt her stomach flip. She knew he would never harm her, but watching his muscles bulge and his jaw tic, she remembered that her mother had always said there was a first time for everything.

Tyson slowly kneeled and took her hand in his, his touch gentle. “I know that we only have a business arrangement, Dacey, and I have no claim on you. That being said, despite the fact I use your services, I don’t like your job. I don’t like the thought of other men’s hands on you, or that you have to sleep with random strangers just to pay your bills. I once offered to help take care of you if you would just give up that lifestyle. Why won’t you let me?”

“I’m not a problem for you to solve, Tyson. My life may not be perfect, but it’s mine. My trailer isn’t much, but at least I own it. And my job may not be as glamorous as it looked on
Pretty Woman
, but I’m careful.”

His hand tightened on hers. “I don’t like it, but I know I can’t force you to quit. One day, you’ll decide you’re ready for a respectable life, a home, and a family. What are you going to do when that happens?”

She already wanted those things, desperately, but how was she supposed to get away from Carlos? She wasn’t as popular as the other girls, but she still brought him a steady income, and he wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon. He owned her, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. If she went to the police to turn him in, they’d just arrest her as well for prostitution. And she couldn’t let Tyson go after Carlos, not with his disability. He might act all big and tough, but she knew he was still recovering.

“No one’s going to want a washed-up whore, so I guess I never have to worry about that. Besides, I don’t think I can have children. Back when I first started working, Carlos took a few months to get my birth control lined up, and he didn’t always make the customers use a condom. I think I’d have gotten pregnant if it were a possibility.”

She’d gotten frequently tested during that period of her life, and she still went every month. Of course, she also made sure her customers used condoms and refused to service the ones who wouldn’t. It had been the cause of many fights between Carlos and her, but knowing she wasn’t doubling her chances of an STD was worth the beatings.

“You can’t save me, Ty,” she said softly. “I appreciate that you want to, really I do, but it’s too late for me. I’ve been working this job since I was seventeen. I’ve seen things and 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 chest. Her heart raced in anticipation of what was to come, and her body hummed with excitement. Being with Tyson was the only time she enjoyed her job. Until the night he’d touched her, she hadn’t had an orgasm in years, not unless it was by her hand. No one ever cared if she enjoyed herself, not until Tyson.

Dacey broke the kiss, hopped off the chair, and took Tyson by the hand, leading him toward the bedroom at the back of the house. He’d converted the sunroom into a master bedroom after he’d come home from the war injured and unable to climb the stairs. She smiled when she saw the twinkling fairy lights strung around the room and smelled the sweet scent of lavender. It seemed her soldier cowboy was trying to romance her, and he was succeeding. If he’d wanted her to crawl into his bed and never leave, he’d certainly been on the right track of making that happen.

Dacey spun to face him and slowly lifted her shirt over her head before letting it fall to the floor. She’d worn her best bra, a pink lacey confection that he’d professed to love the first time he’d seen it. The material itched, but the look in his eyes as he moved closer was more than worth a little discomfort. His hands landed on her hips as he bent to kiss the swell of each breast. His lips trailed a fiery path to the waist of her skirt, as he kneeled at her feet, and then he quickly removed it, leaving her in her bra and matching thong.

“So beautiful,” he rumbled. “It humbles me that someone as gorgeous as you would ever be interested in disfigured man like me.”

“You’re not disfigured. You’re handsome, and you know it, Ty. Women pant whenever you walk by, I’ve seen it firsthand.”

His lips teased the sensitive skin of her stomach. “And if they saw me without my clothes, there would be disgust in their eyes. They see a pretty face and a good bank account, and that’s all that matters to them, but you like me as I am, and that means more than you could ever know.”

Oh, she had an inkling. The fact that Tyson wanted her in his life, despite her current job, told her what kind of man he was. No one had ever accepted her the way he did, and she doubted anyone ever would again. Once Tyson was comfortable enough to seek out a girlfriend, their time would come to a close, and she’d never see him again. It always made her heart ache that one day she wouldn’t be able to enjoy his company anymore. The one bright spot in her life would be gone, and she’d tumble back into the hell she’d been living before their first appointment.