Wicked Burn(58)
Author: Beth Kery

When Vic realized he was staring just like every other male at the table, his frown deepened and he transferred his attention to eating his breakfast. Still, he couldn’t shut out the impact of Niall’s low, husky voice, much as he wished he could.

“What would make you think it’s not art?” she asked Donny seriously. “There are some very fine artists in the ranks of cartoonists. Look at the power you’ve managed to convey here”—she brushed her fingertip across the page—“the inherent movement, the forward-surging energy in his body. That’s some very fine artwork. And your writing for the story line is very good, as well. What’s your character’s name?”

Donny glanced up between his too-long bangs to see if anybody was listening, flushing slightly with embarrassment. Vic turned his eyes back to his plate.

“Stealth Judge,” Donny mumbled almost unintelligibly.

“Thank you, Meg,” Niall said warmly when Meg handed her a plate of scrambled eggs. “Let’s close your book, Donny. I don’t want to get anything on your artwork. You know, we did an exhibit at the museum a few years back of Marvel comics. I don’t suppose you came to it?” Niall asked as she reached for a piece of toast.

Donny shook his shaggy head. “Nah, I’ve never been to Chicago.” He sat up straighter in his chair. “You actually showed stuff about comics in a museum?”

Niall laughed, the sound making Vic cock his head slightly, as if trying to catch it fully in his ear. When he realized what he was doing, he determinedly shoveled the rest of his eggs in his mouth in one bite and pushed back his chair. Niall glanced up uncertainly at the loud scraping of his chair.

“Art isn’t as stuffy and boring as you’re making it out to be, Donny,” she assured the boy as soon as she recovered. “Art reflects life, so that means it can be just about anything. It’s the power and message of the reflection that make it art. I brought the book that we published for the Marvel exhibit. I’ll show it to you later. It was amazing. I got to meet Stan Lee.”

Vic looked over his shoulder from where he was standing at the sink with his plate in time to see Donny’s jaw drop a mile.

“You met Stan Lee?” he croaked in disbelief.

Niall nodded, her hazel eyes gleaming with excitement. “He was really nice. Did you know that his real name is Stanley Martin Lieber and . . .”

“He changed his name to Stan Lee by splitting his first name in half?” Donny finished for her breathlessly. Meg threw Tim and Vic an amused look before she handed Donny a plate. Donny distractedly accepted it before he turned back to Niall. “Who’s your favorite Marvel character?”

“The Silver Surfer, hands down. He’s so mysterious.”

Vic was a little surprised when Niall answered so quickly, but he supposed that there were lots of things he hadn’t known about her. Like that she was married for instance, he thought as he opened the dishwasher door with a bang.

Donny stared at Niall like he was witnessing a miracle. “You like the Silver Surfer? He’s my favorite, too. By far . . .” The boy’s words trailed off as he continued to gape at Niall.

“Beginning to reconsider taking Niall’s class this summer, Donny?” Meg chuckled as she sat down with her own plate.

“Yeah, maybe it would be cool,” Donny said slowly. “But only if Vic said I could . . . with work and all.”

Vic paused in the action of putting his plate in the dishwasher when the room went silent. With a quick sweep of his eyes, he took in Meg’s triumphant grin, Donny’s hopeful look, and Niall’s wary expression. His gaze lingered on Niall as he slowly straightened. Fury rose in him like steam scalding his throat when he recognized the subtle trap.

“You know that the agreement from the very beginning was that school always comes first,” Vic finally managed to get out. What else could he say?

“Yeah, but this is just an extracurricular class. And it’s only for art,” Donny waffled.

“What’d ya mean only for art?”

Donny looked a little taken aback. “Nothing . . . I mean . . .”

“Art always put bread on my table,” Vic told Donny in a more restrained voice. He stood and slammed the dishwasher door shut. “Take the class. It’ll do you good and keep you outta trouble, besides. I’ll meet you two out in the barn,” he told his brother-in-law and Andy stiffly before he walked out the door.

Niall glanced uncertainly at Meg before she followed Vic a few seconds later.

“Niall, let it go for now . . .” she heard Meg say warningly, but she plunged out the screen door and onto the back porch anyway. Dawn made the eastern sky a vibrant landscape of pale gold and pink. The air felt cool and pleasant on her skin as she raced down the painted wood stairs. The luminescent promise of the June morning, combined with the soft, calm breeze, seemed to stand in direct contrast with Vic’s tense posture and angry, gravel-scattering footsteps.

“Vic, wait,” she called out once she’d jogged up several feet behind him. She had to force herself not to take several steps backward when he spun around to face her. His handsome face was livid with fury. She lost whatever composure she possessed at the sight.

“I . . . I . . . don’t want you to think . . .” She stumbled over her words anxiously. “I didn’t plan for that to happen just now . . . with Donny, I mean.”

“And I should believe you . . . why, exactly?” Vic asked with brutal sarcasm.

Niall’s cheeks flushed hot at his reference to her past dishonesty. “I’m telling the truth, Vic. I had no way of knowing about the boy. I couldn’t have planned that. I wouldn’t have,” she added under her breath.

He stepped closer. She inhaled the familiar scent of his skin mixing with the spicy, clean smell of his soap. Longing swamped her awareness, the feeling so overwhelmingly powerful that it made her eyes burn. She saw his nostrils flare slightly, as though he’d caught her scent as well. That, combined with the anger that almost seemed to roll off his big body like waves of heat, caused her heart to beat wildly in her chest.

“I wouldn’t put anything past you and Meg at this point,” he stated in a low growl. Niall started when he encircled her upper arm with his hand and pulled her closer. “What the hell are you up to? Why did you come here?”

Niall tried to inhale slowly to calm herself. It wasn’t an easy thing to do while she looked up into his stormy gray eyes. Her gaze lingered for a moment on his mouth . . . on that slightly crooked, sinfully sexy front tooth.