Heath (Wild Boys After Dark, #2)(11)

He reread her text from last night for the tenth time that morning, wondering if she was in fact in New York City, or if she was just playing with him. He liked that snarky side of her, too, because she was snarky sweet, not snarky obnoxious, like some women were. She was the perfect blend of femininity, sensuality, and intelligence, and that was what had him sending her a text even though it went against his cardinal rule.

I thought about your lips all night. It was a very long night.

He set his phone on the desk and opened a patient file. His eyes darted back to his phone every few seconds. He glanced at his watch, wondering what she was doing, where she worked, and if she was thinking of him, too. Why had she volunteered at the conference? Was she linked in some way to the ortho field?

He tried to focus on one patient file after another, but his mind kept circling back to Ally. He wondered why she hadn’t texted back, and he couldn’t stop replaying last night’s conversation in his mind.

A knock at his office door brought his eyes up. Before he could say, Come in, the door pushed open and his younger brother Logan sauntered in, wearing a pair of dark slacks and a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Logan was two years younger than Heath and a private investigator. For a moment Heath contemplated having Logan track down Ally for him, but he quickly nixed that idea. He wasn’t a stalker.

The four Wild brothers looked strikingly similar; they were either six two or three, with broad shoulders, athletic builds, and thick dark hair. They got their blue eyes from their mother, whose eyes had changed to a grayish blue when she’d lost her sight during a home invasion, the same home invasion that had killed their father while he was trying to protect her; the home invasion that had taken place while Logan was on an overseas mission with the Navy SEALS. He’d returned home a broken man, having been fighting for his country while his father lay dying and his mother was savagely beaten.

“Logan. Everything okay?” Heath motioned to the chair across from him. He’d just seen Logan last night at dinner with their mother, as they had every Sunday night since their father was killed.

“You tell me.” Logan leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. He raised his brows as if he had a secret he was dying to tell—or rather, knowing Logan, he suspected that Heath had a secret.

And Heath was definitely not itching to share.

Heath leaned back, locking his fingers behind his head, and shrugged. “Mom seemed well last night.”

Heath had told Ally the truth. He was not a man who lied, not even to his brothers. His father, Bill Wild, had raised his boys to have strong family values. Honesty and loyalty topped the list. One would think that having such strong ties to family would lead the Wild brothers to long-term relationships, but that’s where things went awry. Heath had been burned, and he wasn’t interested in being burned again. He lived an honest life, which was part of the reason he had a no-ties rule. He didn’t have any interest in getting into a relationship that might cause him to start acting in ways he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to be nagged into defending his actions, either. He was doing just fine sleeping with a handful of women when it suited him.

At least he had been.

Until Ally.

He shifted his eyes to his silent cell phone, wondering why she hadn’t texted him yet. Again, he wondered why he cared.

“That was another reason I came by,” Logan said, bringing Heath’s mind back to the present. “I want to take Stormy to a Broadway show tonight. She’s never been, and I was offered great tickets. Any chance you can stop by Mom’s for me?” Logan was the first of Heath’s siblings to fall in love, and he’d been the most likely not to. They’d all been surprised when he’d brought Stella “Stormy” Krane to their mother’s house for dinner. Stormy had been on the run from an abusive, drug-trafficking ex-boyfriend, and Logan had helped her track down enough dirt on the guy to get him sent to jail for the next twenty years. Logan had fallen hard and fast for her, and Heath had never seen his brother look happier.

“Sure. I’m happy to stop by.” Heath and his brothers took turns stopping by their mother’s house on a nightly basis. They visited, took her out for groceries, to events and dinners. It was not only their way of making sure that losing her sight didn’t mean losing out on other aspects of her life, but it was also a way for them to ensure she was protected and safe. Heath had spent many nights driving by at odd hours to check on her, and he knew his brothers did as well. Their mother had plenty of friends she spent time with, but nothing replaced family. Heath knew that no matter how often they visited and what gaps in her life they filled, nothing would ever replace the emptiness their father’s death had left behind.

Heath’s phone vibrated. He felt his pulse quicken and noted the unfamiliar sensation as he snagged the phone and read Ally’s text.

Your body must have been burning. I had an X-rated dream about you last night.

He felt himself smile as he typed a return text.

What did you do about it when you woke up?

He set the phone down, and Logan cleared his throat. Shit. From the narrow-eyed look Logan was giving him, Heath knew he might as well have a tattoo on his forehead that said, Yup. I’ve got a secret, and she’s damn hot.

Heath pushed the files around on his desk and avoided Logan’s curious gaze. “So, what else is up? I’ll stop by Mom’s tonight after I finish rounds at the hospital, but I’ve got to get started on my patients.” He glanced at Logan, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. Heath shook his head.