Heath (Wild Boys After Dark, #2)(36)
“I’m afraid of getting hurt.”
“You’ve been hurt before and you survived. How is this different?”
Ally chewed on that question for a few minutes, trying to figure out why she was hesitating. When the realization hit, it stung like a swarm of bees.
“Because this time I care. I’m falling in love with him, and I’ve never been in love before.”
“Oh, Ally.” Amanda reached across the table and took her sister’s hand. “If you’re really falling for him, then that’s a wonderful thing. You’re supposed to feel scared and wonderful at the same time. Trust me. I’ve done my research. I’ve read every romance novel written in the last ten years, watched every romantic movie, and sat in the wings of life longingly watching couples that are in love.”
“Aw, Mandy…” She squeezed her sister’s hand, and when her sister waved her off, obviously not wanting her pity, Ally said, “So you don’t think I’m crazy?”
Amanda laughed. “You’re one of the sanest people I know. Okay, this is the truth.” She narrowed her eyes and lowered her chin in the listen-to-me-baby-sister way she always had. “I might give you shit about your sexual escapades, which I know are not that plentiful but scare me all the same, because you’re my sister and I never want anything bad to happen to you. But you’re out there living life, following your desires. You know what you like and what you don’t like, and I don’t just mean sexually. You’re that way with life in general, and that’s a huge thing. So whatever you’re feeling for Heath is probably very real. I might be older than you, but I’m only now beginning to even think about those things. And even just dressing differently today was empowering. I’m beginning to understand what you’ve known all along.”
“Really?” Ally soaked in her sister’s praise, so thankful for her honesty that she felt near tears.
“Really.”
“I don’t want to be blamed if you meet creeps. In fact, you should tell me where you go with your dates so I can keep an eye on you.”
“Hopefully you’ll be too busy with Mr. Right to hang around watching me.”
Mr. Right.
She’d never really contemplated finding Mr. Right. Then again, she’d never contemplated adopting a blind kitty until she’d found Fifi, either—and she’d never once regretted adopting her.
Maybe some things are meant to be.
Chapter Fifteen
HEATH HADN’T BEEN able to take his eyes off of Ally all evening. Not while they ate dinner, not while they walked through the city, and not now, as he hailed a cab to take them to his mother’s house. She looked too damn sexy in a form-fitting black dress that skimmed her knees. Everything about her was mesmerizing, from the way she twirled her hair when she was nervous to the way her eyes lit up when she spoke about her sister and parents. As he draped an arm over her shoulder and they watched a cab approach, he still couldn’t pinpoint what it was about her that had completely enraptured him from the start. And he no longer cared. Being with Ally was right as rain, and he wasn’t going to pick it apart or look for holes in it.
All day he’d been looking forward to seeing her and bringing her further into his life. He’d almost asked Logan to take his place visiting his mother tonight, but at the last minute he’d realized that if he really wanted Ally in his life, she had to accept all of him, including the time he dedicated to his family. Ally had actually sounded excited to meet her.
“Are you sure you’re still okay with stopping by my mom’s?”
“Of course. I can’t wait to meet the woman who raised you.” She smiled and touched his cheek. She touched him a lot, and it never failed to make him smile. He loved how affectionate she was and how nothing felt forced or unnatural.
“From everything you’ve told me, your mother sounds pretty incredible.” She took a step back as the cab pulled up.
Heath held the door for Ally. “Four rambunctious boys, each two years apart? She had her hands full.”
He tried to ignore the fact that Ally’s dress inched up when she sat down. She gazed up at him through thick lashes, her hair tumbled over her shoulders in loose curls, and her seductive femininity was too potent to resist. He slid a hand to the nape of her neck and pulled her in closer. He brushed his lips over hers, gently covering her mouth, and when she responded, he devoured her softness. Taking every breath she was willing to give, he deepened the kiss, and his hand touched the edge of her dress. He fought the urge to touch her, to seek her heat, and he was surprised by his own restraint.
As their lips parted, her eyes remained closed, and he wanted her more than ever. But he wanted more than the cheap thrill of touching her or taking her over the edge in the back of a cab. He wanted that, too. Of course he did. Naughtiness was part of their relationship. They both knew it. But everything was changing in his heart and his mind, and the thought of the cabdriver seeing her midorgasm made his gut twist with jealousy.
In that moment Heath knew that everything had changed.
He’d completely fallen in love with Ally, and he never wanted to look back.
***
HEATH’S MOTHER’S HOUSE was not what Ally had imagined for a family of six. The small, two-story had a long driveway and sat among other similar houses, with a narrow front porch and two dormers on the second floor.