Haunted Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

man’s needs.
    Whatever they may be.
    Ruben looked at Duncan with a mix of wariness and curiosity. “Are you still an artist, or do you only run the art department at EP?”
    “I still do the occasional artwork, if and when needed,” Duncan admitted with pride. “If my vision and the author’s meet, that is. With EP, the authors have much more say in their cover art than with most other publishers, romance or otherwise. We at Enamored Press have always believed that cover art can be a mutually satisfactory part of publishing and that there’s room for more than one single artistic vision.”
    Ruben nodded, a soft smile tugging the corners of his lips. “I saw some of your work on the EP website and on your professional blog. They’re beautiful.” Admiration was audible in his voice, and Duncan felt a surge of pride and pleasure. Surprisingly, for such a new acquaintance, Ruben’s opinion mattered to him very much.
    “Thank you, Ruben. That’s very kind of you to say.” Duncan watched, rapt, as Ruben’s cheeks pinked at the compliment. “I know my style is very different from yours.” Where Ruben drew and painted imaginative scenes with bright, vivid colors, Duncan often used real models and stock photos, usually in black and white, where motion and action were captured, that flash within a heartbeat.
    “You draw too,” Ruben noted, seemingly relaxing into the conversation.
    “I do, yes. Sometimes the vision simply can’t be done justice with models and real-life images. And for the likes of us, it’s easier and faster to draw a mock-up, isn’t it?” Duncan winked at Ruben, and the boy grinned, blushing endearingly.
    “Yes, I guess so.”
    “Have you ever thought about trying something different? Not saying you have to. Just curious, is all.” Duncan hastened to reassure the kid he hadn’t meant anything bad.
    Ruben frowned and worried his bottom lip, but the gestures seemed more pensive than hurt or irritated. “My brother, Benjamin, he’s into art photography with male and female nudes. He had a show a few years back. An erotica show. Straight and GLBT.”
    Duncan was surprised to hear this. He hadn’t known Ruben had a brother, let alone that the man was an artist too, only of a different kind, having chosen a more modern medium with the camera. Duncan wondered if the brother had as great an eye for art as Ruben did. But the name Benjamin Winterbottom sure didn’t sound familiar.
    “Does he use his real name? I’m only asking because I don’t recognize—”
    “No, his artistic pseudonym is Ben Winters.”
    Now that name did ring bells. Enamored Press had never approached Mr. Winters for covers, even though the man had been a big name a couple of years ago. Having someone with pure name recognition onboard the EP train was an unrealistic goal for a midsize, specialized publisher like his employer.
    “Are you two close?” Duncan had to ask since there were no pictures of the brother he could see, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed Ruben lived a solitary life, with little to no interaction with anyone. From what Duncan had learned, he had assumed Ruben was all alone in the world.
    Squirming in place, Ruben was clearly uncomfortable with the topic at hand. “He’s a successful man. He’s busy a lot. And I don’t live that close to Seattle anymore.”
    The evasive answer tightened something in Duncan’s chest, warming his heart with both sympathy and anger at the same time. A most curious sensation. “I see.” If Duncan had been Ruben’s brother, he would have stayed with this haunted young man for the rest of his days. Then again, if they were brothers, Duncan would be having erotic incest issues, which was bad.
    And these feelings were getting stronger by the minute. Duncan couldn’t turn his eyes away from the shy, dark-haired man with those big gray eyes, almost like a bird’s. Duncan wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug Ruben to keep him safe or to yank him into his