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Ford spent two full hours watching Cilla through his binoculars, sketching her froles After all, the way she moved jump-started the concept every bit as much as the way she looked The lines, the curves, the shape, the coloring-all part of it But movement, that was key Grace and athleticisrace of a sprinter Strength and purpose rather than art and flow
A warrior’s grace, he thought Econoet a look at her with her hair down and loose instead of pulled back in a tail A good look at her ars And hell, any other parts of her that s any
He’d Googled her, and studied several photographs, and he’d NetFlixed her movies, so he’d have those to study But the last ht years old
He wanted the woirl
He already had the story line in his head, craht before, taking a couple hours away from his latest Seeker novel to draft the outline Andjust a little bit more today, but he wanted to do a couple of pencils, and he didn’t want to do those until he had more detailed sketches
The trouble was, his model had too many damn clothes on
"I’d really like to see her naked," he said, and Spock gave a kind of smart-assed snort "Not that way Well, yeah, that way, too Who wouldn’t? But I’roanings noith Spock rolling to his side "I a, which is why I can buy your food"
Spock snagged the sain and dropped it on Ford’s foot Then began to dance hopefully in place "We’ve been through this before You’re responsible for feeding hiain He’d pay another "Hi, neighbor" call See if he could talk her into posing for him
Inside, he loaded up his sketch pad, his pencils, tucked in a copy of The Seeker: Vanished, then considered what he ht have around the house to serve as a bribe
He settled on a nice bottle of cabernet, shoved that into the bag, then started the hike across the road Spock deserted the bear and scrambled up to follow
SHE SAW HIM COMING as she hauled another load of trash and debris out to the Dumpster she’d rented Inside the house she’d started piles of wood and trio Sentiically restore rotted wood
Cilla tossed the pile, then set her gloved hands on her hips What did her hot-looking neighbor and appealingly ugly dog want now?
He’d shaved, she noted So the scruffy look n She preferred laziness Over one shoulder he carried a large leather satchel, and as he ca
Spock sniffed around the Du
"Hey You’ve had a lot going on here the last couple of days"
"No point wasting ti tiutting the place?"
"Not entirely, but e than deliberation, but it does the job just as well Hello, Spock" At the greeting the dog walked over, offered a paw Okay, Cilla thought as they shook Ugly but char up to that But first, I brought you this" He dug into the satchel, came out with the bottle of red
"That’s nice Thanks"
"And this" He drew out the graphic novel "A little reading material with your wine at the end of the day It’s what I do"
"Drink wine and read comic books?"
"Yeah, actually, but Isarcastic"
"I got that I speak sarcases Do you ever read the "I crairl for the Clooney version I lost out to Alicia Silverstone"
"Probably just as well, the way that one turned out"
Cilla cocked an eyebrow "Let e Clooney"
Ford could only shake his head "Michael Keaton was Batman It’s all about the I’m-a-little-bit-crazy eyes Plus they lost the operatic sense after the Keaton et me started on Val Kil the previoussoy I probably overprepped"
She shrugged off what had been a major blow to her at sixteen "You do your own art?"
"Yeah" He studied her as she studied the cover Look at that ers itched for his pad and pencil "I’otistical Nobody can do it the way I do it, so nobody gets the chance"
She flipped through as he spoke "It’s a lot I always think of cooing BAM! ZAP! Your art’s strong and vivid, with a lot of dark edges"
"The Seeker has a lot of dark edges I’ up a new one It should be done in a few days It would’ve been done today, probably, if you hadn’t distracted me"
The wine tucked in the curve of her arht "How did I do that?"
"The way you look, the way youon you on a personal level" He slid his gaze down "Yet," he qualified "It’s a professional tap I’ve been trying to come up with a new character, the central for another series, apart from the Seeker A woman-female power, vulnerabilities, viewpoints, problems And the duality Not important for today’s purposes," he said "You’reyour pardon?"
"Dr Cass Murphy, archaeologist, professor of same Cool, quiet, solitary woman whose heart really lies in the field work The discovery Prodigy Nobody gets too close to Cass She’s all business That’s the way she was raised She’s emotionally repressed"
"I’m emotionally repressed?"
"I don’t know yet, but she is See" He pulled out his sketchbook, flipped to a page Angling her head, Cilla studied the drawing, studied herself if she wore conservative suits, sensible pu"
"She wants to look boring She doesn’t want to be noticed If people notice her, they s she doesn’t want to feel Even on a dig, she See?"
"H but efficient and practical Maybe subtly sexy, given the mannish cut of the shirt and pants She’s ot a knack for this"
"I’ve read my share of storyboards I don’t know your field, but I can’t see much of a story with this character"
"Oh, Cass has layers," he assured her "We just have to uncover the The way she’ll uncover an ancient weapon and symbol of pohen she’s trapped in a cave on a mythical island I have to create, after she discovers the dastardly plans of the billionaire backer of the project, who’s also an evil sorcerer"
"Naturally"
"I’ve got some work to do there, but here she is Brid, Warrior Goddess"
"Wow" It was really all she could think of She was all leather and legs, breastplate and boobs The boring and practical had becos planted in knee-high boots,and a short-handled, double-headed haerated the cup size," she commented
"The Oh, well, it’s hard to tell Besides, the architecture of the breastplate’s bound to give them a boost But you hit on what you can do for et what I need froet better with-"
"Whoa" She slapped her hand over his as he flipped to a page covered with ss of her "Those aren’t character sketches That’s , essentially"
"You’ve been over there, watching s of me without my consent? You don’t see that as rude and intrusive?"
"No, I see it as work If I snuck over here and peeked in your s, that would be rude and intrusive You move like an athlete with just a hint of dancer Even when you’re standing still there’s a punch to it That’s what I need I don’t need your permission to base a character on your physicality, but I’d do a better job with your cooperation"
She shoved his hand away to flip back to the warrior goddess "That’s reat face it is, too"
"If I said I’ruhted and hard-assed And your choice I don’t think you’d get anywhere, but to save myself the hassle, I can er nose Make her a redhead-a redhead’s not a bad idea Sharper cheekbones Let’s see"
He dug out a pencil, flipped to a fresh page While Cilla watched, he drew a quick freehand sketch
"I’ot killer eyes Widen the e those cheekbones, lengthen the nose It’s rough, but it’s a great face, too"
"If you think you can goad me into-"
"But I like yours better Come on, Cilla Who doesn’t want to be a superhero? I proirl"
She hated feeling stupid, and feeling her teot work to do"
"I take that as a no on posing for o away, I’ic hammer and beat you over the head with it"
Her hands curled into fists when he smiled at her "That’s the spirit Just let e your"See you later," he added and, tucking his pencil behind his ear, headed back down her driveith his ugly little dog
SHE STEWED ABOUT IT The physical labor helped work off thepart had to run its course It was just her luck, just her freaking luck, that she could move out to as almost the middle of nowhere and end up with a nosy, pushy, intrusive neighbor who had no respect for boundaries or privacy
Her boundaries Her privacy
All she wanted was to do what she wanted to do, in her own tiely by herself She wanted to build so On her own terms
She didn’t mind the aches and pains of hard physical labor In fact she considered the with every blister and callus
Damned if she wanted her steps, her oddess," she ing gutters "Make her a redhead and give her collagen lips and D cups Typical"
She cliutters coht out on the ground
She hurt every damn where
She wanted to soak herself lie And top that off with a couple glasses of wine, and possibly sex with Orlando Blooht just feel hu on that wish list at hand was the wine, she’d settle for that When she couldportion of the program was complete, and with her mind clear and her body exhausted, she knew the core reason for her reaction to Ford’s sketches
A decade of therapy hadn’t been wasted
So she groaned, pushed herself up And went inside for the wine
WITH SPOCK and his bear snoring h the final ould be in color, his technique was to approach the inking as a near completion of the final art
He’d already inked the panel borders, and the outlines of the background objects with his 108 Hunt After corounds, he stepped back, squinted, studied, approved Once again, the Seeker, shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, face half turned away, slipped back toward the shadows that haunted his existence
Poor sap