Page 21 of Infamous Heart

“Seriously, he’s scary. Not in a creep out from under the bed kind of way, but have you ever met somebody so confident that you wanted to run away?”

Xander screamed obscenities at somebody cutting off his ambulance. I had no idea where in the city he was driving, but like usual, the man’s anger came across loud and clear. Eventually, we were going to need to have an intervention and suggest he take up yoga. He screamed again. Nope, skip yoga. Xander needed Xanax.

“Have we met?” Xander quipped. I should have known he wasn’t the person to discuss insecurities. “Be careful of the guy. It sounds like he’s an arrogant prick. You the know the kind. They talk a big game and flash their money, but the moment they drop their pants you understand why they try so hard.”

“Perhaps. But I have a feeling this guy has money, and he’s hung like a horse.”

“Don’t salivate.”

I leaned back in my chair, eyeing the painting. It wasn’t anything to hang in a gallery, but I was quite impressed with how it was turning out. It had been difficult to get the suit to look as if it were burning away from the hero, leaving his burly chest exposed. While the cowl hid the person’s identity, it was painfully obvious that I had been remembering Sebastian as I painted it.

“You still there?”

“Sorry,” I dropped my brushes into a cup of water. “I was painting when you called.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear you’re getting back into it. I’ve seen the painting you did for Bernard. I expected you to be more the type of guy who drew superheroes.” Xander didn’t hide the annoyance in his voice every time he mentioned the people that caused him to work harder than normal.

“It’s a superhero, isn’t it?” he asked.

I laughed. “We need to stop hanging out so much. And yes, it’s of a pretty hot superhero.”

“Superhero porn, glad to know there’s somebody out there making it.” Someday I would get to the root of his dislike for the capes protecting the city. Unfortunately, not tonight. “I have to go,” he spat. “Wraith is at it again.”

He hung up without explanation, a common occurrence when talking to him on the job. He must be pulling a twenty-four-hour shift if he was still out saving the city. It was ironic that for all his anger toward people with powers, he was a capeless hero.

I pushed the chair back, rolling along the living room. With a few feet between myself and the painting, I had to admit it wasn’t half bad. The hair on his chest needed a bit more refining, and the shadow by his abs could be contoured further, but overall, it looked as if my hero had endured the worst a villain had to offer and stood proud, ready to protect the city.

And it didn’t hurt that it looked like Sebastian. I had seen him without a shirt, but without decent lighting, I wasn’t sure if his abs were this well-defined? I knew he had plenty of chest hair, but did it taper into a fine line that pointed to the promised land in his pants? Maybe someday I’d—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I stared at my hands covered in paint. Apparently, being neat wasn’t part of my process, and it was impossible to tell how I managed to get this dirty. The knock came at the door again, and I couldn’t imagine who would be at my door this late in the evening.

“I’m coming, give me a second.”

There was no point in being classy as I tried to wipe the paint on the front of my shirt. Pulling it off, careful to not leave streaks across my face, I flip it inside out, using the clean side to slide the chain from the lock.

“Excuse my appearance...”

With the door only half open, I debated throwing it shut and hiding. While I was covered in acrylics, looking like I lost a fight with a painting, Sebastian looked as dashing as ever. In school, they always speak about fight or flight, but they seldom include freeze. I couldn’t move, not to run away and certainly not to hurl myself at the man.

“Did I catch you in the middle of something? I should have called. Stupid, I know. But Vex mentioned I needed to give you the magazine’s style guide. It can wait until morning.”

“Oh.” Business. That made more sense as to why he was knocking at my door. I put aside my admiration and lust and focused on the job. I stared, trying to wrap my head around it when manners pushed their way through my libido. “Come in, come in. Sorry, my brain is in another place.”

“You sure?” He didn’t seem convinced.

“I was painting. When I’m in the zone, I forget the rest of the world exists.” Okay, maybe that’s not the entire truth, but it sure beat confessing to my awkwardness around him.

“Comic books and painting?”

My eyes dropped, eyeballing the paint covering my hands. The streaks of white I had used for the uniform had splattered across my fingers. I felt exposed, like I was standing in my birthday suit, and he was inspecting me. His words were neutral, but I knew the judgement. It had been a constant in my relationship with Dan. It was a foolish—

“I have a landscape painting hanging in my office. I couldn’t tell you anything about the artist. It’s a small cabin in the woods, away from the world. There’s a light on in the cabin, which is weird, because there’s no path leading to the porch. It’s like the man living inside hadn’t left in years. Sometimes when work gets stressful, I imagine I’m in there. My only job in the world is to make sure the fire never goes out. It’s silly, I know.”

“Not at all.” I wanted to reach out and touch him, to put my hand on his cheek and see the fire in his eyes. Without realizing it, I had nearly placed my hand on his chest, stopping just before I soiled his suit.

With a slight shuffle, his chest touched my hand. Just like that, he ruined a perfectly good suit. When I tried to pull away, he stopped me, his hand pressing against mine. Through the suit, I could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage, his entire body vibrating in a quick steady rhythm.

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