Chapter 17

Wow. He hadn’t seen the caring side of Alyssa. This news surely brought her into a whole new dimension. “Couldn’t these women make more money stripping and . . . taking customers on the side?”

“Turning tricks?” Tyler raised a brow. “You’re damn lucky Alyssa didn’t hear that. She’d skin you alive and boil you in oil. That shit doesn’t happen here. Period. ’Course she can’t stop a dancer willing to entertain customers after hours and off premises, but she usually ends up firing them since they’re often trouble.”

The answer floored Luc. Educated and principled? Had he failed to see past their scorching sex and her short skirts to the woman underneath?

As much as he hated to admit it, yes.

But did it matter? As much as he wanted her, he couldn’t take her. She wasn’t a mommy candidate. He couldn’t even see her as someone’s wife. Alyssa would be impossible to tame, and Luc wanted a woman who would be content to stay home and focus on children. He didn’t see her as