To say the least!

And OH WOW! I so was not expecting that with Valerie and Nicolas, even though that’s usually the first place my mind goes! LOL. That was amazing.

That first picture of Reyes on this last page is excellent. Something about it is perfect.

And what’s coming?!?!? I love a good cliffhanger!

LOL! Carla is a denizen of gutterville? I would never have thought. ;) I’m glad you love them because I tend to end up with them a lot…

anyway the conversation with Valery and Nicolas is hilarious… lol I love when he said he doesn’t hit girls… and then he refers to Melisande as his slutty sister.. lol she is still a girl, you know!!! :D lol well at least he is still his old cocky self… :D lol it was nice to have his humor back… last chapter he really looked all shadowed by something invisible… anyway…

Now I want to cry… :( I feel so sorry for Valerie… Nicolas is right… I mean… seriously what was she thinking when she thought of Christian as a man… :( her obsession for him is consuming her slowly… she looks like crap… i don’t know how you do it, but damn, you really captured ever single emotion in her face… those dark circles under her eyes make her look like a thousand year older than she really is… she does look like a crackwhore….

oh…. well I’m glad Nicolas and Valerie talked about the past… lol…
and what happened in between was just FANTASTIC, FABULOUS and not expected at all…it was damn sexy and so well written!!!

I wonder what Ylva is up to… she is a very interesting character…

I love the way you end each chapter.. lol I can’t never seem to get enough of your writing… :D

Wonderful chapter Mao!!!

Haha, yes, Christian and Eckhard definitely have a run-in coming up, but I can’t promise you it will be Eckhard’s end. ;) There’s a bit more to go before we even breach that hurdle! Awww, well, Christian is a man, lol… and he did save her when Nicolas ran her through by giving up some of his own energy. She also has been very close to him since Beryl died. She was the one who trained Evangeline, so yeah. ;) Given Valerie’s state, it’s only natural… but Christian is pretty dead-set on Beryl, dead or not. There isn’t anyone else for him, even if the thing with Beryl was doomed from the beginning. He’s nutty like that.

Thanks, Sandy! :D I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

And can I squeal here *Reyes without a shirt! Screeeee*

Thank you, had to get that out of the way.
Hmmm. Sorry to See Marcus knocked on his ass, but with Eck, what would you expect.
And Christian continues to fascinate. Not exactly warm, fuzzy family feelings between these characters, are there? Makes it all the more delicious to read.

Haha, yay! You’re all caught up. :D Now you’re stuck waiting for updates… lol. I’m trying to make sure the gaps aren’t as long as they have been, at least. Valerie has her own agenda but Nicolas, for once, while not thinking is not manipulating. It won’t end well.

LOL! I actually thought of the comment you made before about Reyes when I was writing. ;)

Christian is a bit of an enigma in this one. We haven’t seen much of him nor will he be a very “present”. He does have a bigger role coming up, though!

“You tried to kill me!”
Oh sure Val throw that back in his face. *giggles* She’s angry but really, is she angry with the right person right now? Hmmm

*whimpers* Its about time! Oh Val, I’m so proud of you!! Yay! *sighs contently* Well now that they got that out of the way, they can concentrate on other things! *tilts head thinking* Yanno, this could be what Valerie needed. Not Nicolas so much as the release of the tension and stress. I’m not saying she simply used him but it was very carnal and not all doe eyed i’ve got a huge crush on you stuff like she was when she was a teen. As she pointed out, he destroyed that in her back when he ‘used a sword’ on her. *nodnods*

wait for it… wait for it.. ah its coming.. not sure what ‘it’ is but my guess is its one of the trio (Eva, Christian or Echkard).. then again I could be wrong and it could be death but doubtful

Reads comments before posting: Ha! No Mao you are not the only one with a dirty mind.
Ylva is chaotic Neutral (showing my inner nerd)
I totally agree, the shots and everything that transpired between Val & Nicolas was fabulously done.

LOL, Ruby! You always crack me up with the squealing. :lol: It wouldn’t be a ruby comment on an Eckhard appearance if there was no squealing! Valerie’s going to use that forever. I don’t think she’ll ever stop. It could help Valerie, but she had different motives than “relief”. We’ll see that in the next update. But you’re totally right, this wasn’t some sort of innocent surrender type of situation at all. Totally right about Ylva, that’s what I tend to think of when I try and work out her motives. ;) You’re not the only nerd! Thank you, I’m always worried when I have to do stuff out of my comfort zone.

Valerie and Nicolas have had a few issues to work out for a while, but I can’t see this improving things more than complicating them. Nicolas is always so sure he is right and Valerie is too determined to never let him have the upper hand. The tension has been there, but Valerie has such a tight rein on the situation and she is so wrapped up in Christian that you just know its not going to end well for Nicolas.

Ylva is up to something too, I am very curious to find out how she knows so much about what is going on.

Vampires… it’s like a battle to see who is more arrogant. ;) I am so glad you pointed out that it’s not going to end well for Nicolas… Valerie isn’t exactly acting loosely. Her intent isn’t malicious, but it’s pretty obvious it isn’t pure emotion, either. Plus, he did try to kill her! Ylva is always up to something, the fun part is finding out what.

Valerie and Nicolas’ conversation had the perfect tension and build-up. If they didn’t end up in bed with one another after that I would have lost some money if I was a betting woman.

Ylva has me guessing what is coming. Death? Evangeline? Something worse?

Quite! He’ll be a bit smarter next time he sees him. ;) Eckhard may be a little nutty, but he’s no pushover. I’m glad that it all made sense! Major relief on my part. I was worried how it would come across. Ahh, that is the question, isn’t it? We’ll have to wait and see!

Hi there, gloomaphobia! I’m always tickled to meet lurkers or new readers. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it and thank you so much for the kind words! Hope you continue to enjoy. :D

Nicely done with the poses too. Clearly you’re a pro :)

Errrr… by the by, just read back that comment… by ‘clearly you’re a pro’ I meant at using poseboxes and whatnot… not anything seedier… hehe.

ROFL! Our minds are all in the gutter by this point. xD My husband said the same thing about the room and bed when I asked how he knew without seeing anything but a picture. Men! LOL Thanks, TK!

and those shots are INCREDIBLE!

Thanks, Beth! I was so tempted to whine to you via email, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, LOL. Christian’s cool assurance is backed by the fact he knows Evangeline is as much Beryl as him. She’ll scratch Eckhard’s eyes out before he really gets hold of her!

*sigh* Long time Valerie and Nicholas fan here (I’ve confessed that before), so I enjoyed this. Own that mistake, girl, own it! I know, I know, they’re just damage to each other, but man, there’s some chemistry, for sure! And I suppose they see that too ;)

But aside from my fangirl-ness that was just a great scene. Witty lines, sexual tension, anger, sadness, lust. Good stuff!

And oooh, gorgeous sky in those dawn pictures!

Those dawn pictures were lazy Mao using gradients, LOL! Thanks! You’ve got to give it to him for trying. He’s nothing if not persistent! I figured that some of the people from WoS would be all into this, but that’s why I put the warning in my email newsletter. Sex isn’t always good, sometimes it can make things worse. Although, this time, I don’t think Valerie will be the one on the hurting end. Thank you! I’m not really a romance writer, so I appreciate it!