Here we go, guys! There will probably be one more segment after this one, unless the muse surprises me (grin). All good things must end, though we know Mason and Jessica have many more adventures ahead of them (and possibly more future vignettes!). As always, hope you enjoy this…
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Perhaps it was because of how vulnerable she felt right now, how stripped down to the soul, but if he brought himself to completion, gave his essence to the waves and the sand, rather than to her body, it would be as sharp and devastating a rebuke to her heart as anything else he could do. She equated it with his choosing to leave her behind, not letting her share every part of his life. He was her Master, her life and will his to command, yet it wasn’t that simple. She loved him; she had demands of her own, so many of them having to do with her deep-seated need to serve him.
Those tears touched her lips, suppressed sobs fair choking her. He’d proven his point. He could break her down to this, to pure need and pain, no rational or sensible thoughts in her mind, only emotion. Please don’t…
That feeling came again, that he was at the deepest level of her soul, a tender, quivering thing he held in his strong grasp. But this time that sense spread out through her, holding all of her, so strong an impression it felt like actual physical contact. She could smell him on her skin, feel his heat, even the pressure of his fingers on her flesh. This was what he could have done for Farida, if he hadn’t been magically blocked from helping her during her tragic end. She could have suffered not a moment of true fear, and even more than that.
Jessica realized the sting of the thorns had disappeared, though they still dug into her flesh. She couldn’t feel the hold of the manacles. It was as if she’d stepped inside of him, and nothing being done to her body could affect her…though the pleasure he gave her remained, a lovely, writhing coil that made her soul dance and undulate against his, a seductive dance. And she felt his ethereal response, a blast of male heat that twisted around her like a lazy tornado of glittering particles, making her part her lips and taste him on her tongue.
As a vampire, he’d always had this power, this sorcery, and now he let her experience it as the miraculous gift it was. It was a magic she’d never seen exercised by a vampire before, had never even heard about it.
It is because it is only possible when the servant trusts the vampire so much that she completely surrenders to him, habiba, at every level of her existence. She fears nothing…no pain, no emotion, so long as he holds a claim on her.
He hadn’t expected it either. She heard it in his tone, a thickness to it that suggested she might not be the only one awestruck and too choked up to give voice to it. They simply rode that feeling together. As she drifted in a haze that was nothing short of miraculous, she wondered if this was what they meant when they said a servant followed a vampire into the afterlife. Because this was more than him being inside of her. She was inside of him, they were melded together as if once, long, long ago, before they’d first been created as two separate beings, they’d started this way, two souls entwined in the cradle of their creation.
“No…” she whispered it, because though she felt no pain or the abrasion of her restraints, she could still feel their hold, and the one at her waist was being removed. She didn’t want Amara to take them off. I’ll wait for my Master to remove them. I’ll wait as long as he wishes, if I have to stay this way for days and days…
A fanciful and entirely foolish idea, habiba. What kind of Master would do such a thing to your beautiful skin?
She opened her eyes, dislodging more tears clinging to her lashes, and he caught them on his fingertips. “Your devotion terrifies me,” he said, his voice a low, unsteady rumble, his amber eyes so fierce and wild, as if he thought he might need to fight something off to protect her. It made her want to touch him, but the cross still held her. “All I want is to keep you safe,” he continued in that same raw voice. “You’re so fragile and delicate to me, a treasure so easy to destroy, and yet your love makes you determined to throw yourself against every rock, including my will. If anything shatters you, habiba, it will shatter me. Do you not understand that? Can you not find the mercy to see why I can’t take you where I can’t keep you safe?”
Still so deep inside of him, she could feel it, that deep darkness Lyssa had warned her about, a darkness capable of destroying far more than himself if it was stirred up again. The vampire tiger with the soul of a desert djinn.
“I don’t know how to resolve it, my lord,” she said, just as softly, as those tears kept falling. He continued to collect each one on his fingers as she struggled for the words. “I feel it, I do, and it tears me to pieces to cause you such pain. But…perhaps…” Just as there is a wisdom that vampires have about what their servants need, things we ourselves don’t understand… As your servant, I know for certain, with everything I am, that my place, my destiny, whatever it is, is to be by your side, always, for everything you face. Then she spoke aloud again, staring up at him. “Whatever each of us faces was meant to be faced together. And to deny either of us that is to deny what is meant to be.”
He cupped her cheek with that large hand that could almost cover the side of her face, and she pressed her lips to his palm, her wet lashes marking him. “Stay here,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving this room.”
She saw Amara was gone. He moved to the doorway, and with one switch, he cut the torchlight in the room. Then the stairwell light was gone as he shut the heavy oak door, plunging them both in total darkness.
A third-mark could see in the dark, as long as there was some component of light, however dim, but with no windows, there was none. This is what Raithe had done to her, shut her in a dungeon with no lights, marked her with blood and let rats and roaches crawl over her. Whereas before tonight she might have cringed, struggled against the terror, now she drew on that certainty of Mason being inside her. With a savagery that could match his own, she used it like a scythe, severing herself from even a hint of such fear. She wasn’t alone in the darkness. She never would be, not ever again.
His touch on her ankle brought a soft sigh to her lips. “Afraid that I might see you weeping, my lord?” she asked, a tremor in her voice. “I feel your emotions inside of me.”
In answer, his mouth touched her leg, just above her ankle bone. To do that, he had to not only be kneeling, but bent forward, a position of total obeisance. When he lingered there, his mouth grazing her insole, her emotions matched the strength of his. She was the one bound at his behest, helpless to his will, yet he was giving her this, an act of servile devotion, a message so clear that it didn’t need to be said.
As much as she was his slave, so, too, was he hers.
He made his way up her calf, but he took a very long time at it, teasing his way down to her foot and back up again, caressing the back of her knee with his tongue in a way that shot her focus back to her unabated desire in full force. It was like he’d pulled her out of warm water in an underground spring into the cold, brilliant shock of ocean waters under a heated sun. She realized then that he’d unlatched the manacles around her ankles, and freed the rose stems there as well.
As he worked his way up her thighs, he did the same to the stalks he’d wound around her upper thighs, used his fangs to slice the ones that he’d drawn along the crease of hip and thigh from her waist. As he did, his lips were so close to her mound, her aroused clit, she let out a moan, then a full cry as he didn’t deny either of them, sliding over to give her a slow, wet lick there, sealing the heat of his mouth over her clit to gently suckle it. He teased her labia and the opening below with the tip of his tongue, sliding into her for a languid exploration. With his mouth, he drew the soaked rose bloom from her, and she sensed from his shifting he’d carefully set it aside. She knew he’d do what he’d promised. Preserve it, and ever after when she saw it in his gallery, she’d remember this and remember every feeling, every fervent desire.
Then the basket clamp was removed, withdrawn from inside of her and replaced with his tongue, punctuated by her shuddering sigh. She was in such a chaotic haze of the physical, emotional and spiritual, she didn’t move, not even to strain toward him. Her nerves were compact and dense with sensation, her muscles holding her utterly still so she could feel everything he did to her.
He moved away at last to lick the places the thorns had dug into her, soothing her skin. Then his hands were at her waist and he straightened, his body pressed against her as he cut the stems at her back, and sternum, so that everything fell away except the collar of thorns he’d worked around her throat. Now she did move. Tightening her stomach muscles, she used them and the brace of the cuffs holding her arms to lift her legs, twine them around him. He wore only a towel, wrapped low around his hips. The salt water on his bare skin brushed her breasts, the pressure of his chest rocking the clamps and tiny rose buds up in a way that had her strangling another agonized sound of pleasure. As he cupped her face with both hands, he kissed her mouth with unutterable tenderness. Slow, his tongue moving in deep, coiling around hers, no rush, nothing but the two of them in that mind to mind, heart to heart, soul to soul, perfect merging.
When he lifted his head, he removed the stems around her biceps, then her forearms. Only the wrists and forehead were left. That and the clamps.
Deep breath, my love.
She drew it, and he removed the clamps at the same time. Even with the rose buds buffering them, their bite had been cruel, and she sucked in deeper at the rush of pain, but his hand dropped then, massaging her clit, balancing it. And when you join me in my bed for my dawn sleep, I will suckle and soothe them, massage healing balm into them with my own hands.
She would be content if he fell asleep with his mouth on them instead, her arm around his wide shoulders, her other hand stroking his hair. Her Master, her terrifying, ferocious, yet incredibly tender and loving Master, held in her arms like a sleeping babe, so she might bring him comfort for every fear he had.
Ah, habiba. The thought won her another kiss, and he removed the binding across her forehead. Then, at last, his fingers slid over her wrist, flicked the binding free there, then the other. His arms stretched out to meet hers, body leaning into her, holding her still pilloried, only now with the restraint of his hands, his fingers tangled with hers. She tightened her legs over his hips, holding him even closer, and rubbed herself against his hard, blessedly unrelieved length beneath the Egyptian cotton.
Temptress.
I need you, my lord. She spoke against his lips, wanting the sound of the whisper in the darkness. “Please. I need you inside of me. I’m begging you.”
I cannot resist your pleas, but first…
He slid his arm around her waist then, and she clasped his shoulders, giving an ecstatic mewl as she was able to hold him at last, his chest tight against her sore breasts, his ribcage brushing her abdomen, her thighs locked around his hips. He carried her through that darkness as easily as he would carry a child. When he sat her down on one of the stools at the bar, she heard him opening something like a briefcase. She hadn’t remembered there being a case there, but of course she hadn’t been entirely cognizant of anything but him for quite some time now.
She blinked as he lit a taper candle on the wet bar, giving her a dim flicker of light. The first thing she wanted to see was him, and she immediately lifted her fingers to his face, traced the strong bones of his jaw, his brow, his lips. He allowed it, watching her every movement, the slight, tremulous smile that lifted her own mouth.
“I love you so much, my lord.”
Those amber eyes darkened, and he took hold of her wrist, pressing his mouth hard against her palm, so hard he gave her a tiny nick with his fang. He was always so in control, that unintentional blood draw told her how moved he was. Then she saw what he’d brought her and she was overwhelmed.
“You proved to me beyond doubt tonight that you don’t need this,” he said, lifting the collar before her wide eyes. “But if you will accept it, then perhaps it will always remind me of your devotion, your trust and faith in me.” He paused, held her gaze, so much in his eyes it almost burned her skin. “And maybe that will give me the strength to yield to your will, this once, and believe that Allah will help me protect what surely must be one of his greatest treasures. I know you are mine.”
She gave up the attempt to hold back any more tears. The one inch circlet, with the metals patterned to look like a tiger’s skin, was perfect. As he unhooked the closure, which looked like a tiger’s talon, she noted the amber pendant dangling below it. She reached out, cupping it in her hand, and looked at the unusual swirling pattern inside of it, two intertwined crimson spirals.
“My blood and yours, habiba. The clear amber was infused with it by a very special jeweler, one who also blessed it with a great many protection spells. The collar will lock on your neck, and only I have the key to remove it.”
“I’ll never ask you to do so,” she promised. She raised shining eyes to him. “Please, Master. I accept it with all my heart. Please put it on me.”
When they’d put her on the cross, Enrique and Amara had removed the temporary slim silver collar. As much of an impression as that accessory had made on her, it was nothing next to the weight and significance of this one. If he was placing a ring on her finger in front of an assembly made up of the entire disapproving vampire world, including the Vampire Council, it couldn’t mean more.
It fit her neck closely, holding it as lovingly and irrevocably as his hands might. After he latched it, he picked up the key strung on a silver chain. He was going to thread it over his head one-handed, but when she reached for it, he let her do it, dipping his head so she could guide it down, using both her hands to free his long hair from it, guide the chain to his nape. The key slid down that provocative track of collarbone and sternum, resting at last between the flat planes of hi pectorals. Leaning forward, she kissed the key, and the heated skin beneath.
He slid his hands beneath her arms, lifted her off the bar. Holding her only on the strength of those arms, he backed them up, until he’d reached that heavy oak chair again. Lowering her to her feet, he gently but firmly set her from him. When she lifted her gaze, she saw the stern, steady gaze of her Master.
Her eyes automatically lowered and her knees bent, taking her to a kneeling position before him. She didn’t even have to consciously send her mind the command. As he took a seat in the chair, the towel parted high on his thigh, giving her only a shadowed view of what it concealed.
“Come take me in your mouth as you desired to do, my sweet slave. Prove your devotion to your Master. Prove to me how intent and uninterrupted your focus would be, if I commanded to your knees, to do this before the whole Vampire Council.”
It could be the whole Council, the whole world. As far as she was concerned, from this moment forward, with that collar on her throat and all it symbolized—whether it was just the two of them in a blissful moment like this, or in the middle of the Vampire Gathering—there was only him.
Great segment, Joey. Many thanks.
This is great but ended way too soon! I was just getting revved up.
I hope that you grace us with more than one segment in order to hold on until the release of Vampire Trinity. I truly hope that you will maybe consider combining all these vignettes and fleshing them out to create a second book for Mason and Jessica. I find myself anticipating her being put to test at a vampire council meeting and looking forward to her growth to full personal and sexual actualization. Besides I can’t seem to get enough of Lord Mason’s sensual goodness. I looooooooovvvvveeeee your work. Cheers and keep it up.
Jerry, you’re welcome! And Cathy, the demands never end! (Laughter – I hope they never will, even as I complain – wink). I have a feeling there’s going to be a turn of events in Jacob and Lyssa Part III that will result in us seeing how Mason and Jessica do at the Council meetings (hint, hint), so even if I don’t have a dedicated book for them in the near future, I might at least be able to give you that. Thank you for loving my work – I love to hear that!! (And I admit, I can’t get enough of him either).
Thanks again!
Thanks again for another amazing segment to the Jessica/Mason story. I find myself counting the days until the next one everytime. I hope your muse continues to surprise you. This is a story that could go into so many different directions. I would never get sick of this couple.
I think it’s funny how Jess thinks it’s Mason who has “mastered” her, when in truth, it is Jess who has matered this very powerful vampire. I love the dynamic between them. I love your stories and I can not wait for September.
Another great treat. Thank you Joey. When these end, I am going to be truly sad to say good bye to Mason and Jess. I hope we will get glimpses of them in the future Vampire Queen novels….it’s so hard to say goodbye!
Lainey, don’t worry – as I mentioned to Cathy above, I feel strongly that they’re going to have a part to play in Jacob & Lyssa Book 3! And Jen, I agree – I think in any loving relationship, regardless of the power dynamic, when it gets to the heart of it, they belong to each other (smile). Thanks for giving me a smile, everyone! Glad you’re enjoying this…
I was sooo excited when I went to read the next installment only to realize that I hadn’t yet read part 7 yet! What a treat! I got to read the two together and I am thrilled! As usual, my absolute love and adoration for Mason & Jess was reaffirmed and I can truly say that they are my ALL-TIME favorite couple with Beloved Vampire being my favorite book of ALL -TIME!!! Thanks Joey for you truly are amazing!
Out of all of the couples in this series Lord Mason and Jess are by far my favorite. They just suck you into their world and make you want to stay, I have read their book four times and the others just as much. I started to read the whole series again because I can’t wait til vampire trinity comes. I am counting the days, I look forward to reading about jess and mason in the book. Love this series I hope it never end! Keep up the great work
Rachel, thank you – an author can’t ask for a better compliment than that! And I had a similar experience this week with JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. I thought Lover Mine was the only one I hadn’t read, and I’m waiting for it to come out in paperback, but then I realized I hadn’t read Rehvenge’s story, so I got that same kind of “cool! more to read!” feeling (grin). And to both of you ladies, thanks for sharing the love of Mason and Jess. Writing anything about these two characters is a wonderful experience, because the depth of their feeling for one another always makes the pen just flow along. It’s great to share it with you all.
It’s great to know that after you finish this vignette that we won’t be cut off “cold turkey” from Mason and Jess.
The excerpt you posted on your website of Mal and Elisa (Vampire’s Keeper) looks equally as good as Mason and Jess
Maggie, I’m so glad you feel that way about Mal and Elisa’s segment. And no worries – I don’t think I could ever go cold turkey on Mason and Jess.
Whew! I love Mason and the way he loves Jess. I think I am going to need a fan because this slow build up between them is building up to total conflagration. And I’m loving it. Joey, I always dread getting to the end of the vignette and having to wait for the next one but I also know you will make it so worth the wait!
Karen, based on our previous conversations about our shared affinity for having fans all over the house to blow on us at any time, hopefully there’s one close to hand (laughter). I remember when I was cold all the time…those days are apparently over. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to spontaneously combust one night, a little ball of flame clinging to a pen and notepad!
So beautiful, I cried with this segment.
There are no words for the love between Mason and Jessica. No other compares, not even Lyssa and Jacob. This kind of love is difficult to understand or grasp, even by benign and or friendly beings. I just don’t see how they could keep it a secret under the scrutiny of jealous and envious eyes. There is so much peril around them, I fear for them. Joey please, please, there cannot be a repeat of the tragedy in the desert centuries ago. Please? Before they are found out, could Mason resign from the Council?
Victoria, you’re such a dear! Oh heavens, do you think I or my muse could ever be that cruel? For one thing, you all would hunt me down and string me up (laughter). For another, I love them too much to do such a thing to them. I’m sure they’ll face challenges with the Council, because great love comes with great obstacles, but you know I firmly believe in happily-ever-afters. I won’t give anything away, but something very interesting is shaping up in Jacob & Lyssa Part III (currently titled the Pain-In-My-Ass-For-The-Next-Four-Months – whaddya think? Catchy title? Think the publisher will go for it? lol) that I think will impact all sorts of things for Mason, Jess and others. So no worries on that score!
“”but something very interesting is shaping up in Jacob & Lyssa Part III (currently titled the Pain-In-My-Ass-For-The-Next-Four-Months – whaddya think? Catchy title? Think the publisher will go for it? lol) that I think will impact all sorts of things for Mason, Jess and others. So no worries on that score!”"
I trust you and your muse, I do. Thanks for the encouragement.
Grin – thanks, Victoria. I don’t think the publisher will be as understanding as you are, so we may just have to let that be an alternative title known only to those who frequent my blog and fan forum (laughter).
I have only just discovered one of your books. “Beloved Vampire.” It captured my attention so, that I got annoyed with people when they interupted my reading time. I loathed having to put it down when I had to go to bed.
Combining Mason’s complicated past with his future with Jessica was absolutely enthralling. I love stories that combine that sort of thing. Where one of the main character’s had a lost love that they could not seem to let go, and then someone in their future discovered that story, and became so thoroughly engrossed in it, that they thought of nothing else, and by whatever means, that story brought those two together.
Those are some of the tales that are truly some of the most captivating to read… And yours was by far the best! ‘Twas also the best erotica novel I’ve read, and I have read my own fair share. Anyway… Having read only this title of yours, and having loved it as I do, I am wondering if you are ever going to write anymore published works for Mason & Jessica? If you are then please let me know… I would also love to read any other little stories you have for Lyssa & Jacob, or, maybe even Danny & Devlin. Devlin’s character made me laugh and it was fun to read about him and his relationship with his Mistress.
Thanks so much for writing this book! It’s in my top 10!
Brittany H
Brittany, I’m so pleased to hear that Beloved Vampire was your introduction to my work. And I am deeply flattered to have become part of your top 10 erotic stories. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my work, but please let me know if ever anything disappoints you! And I’m also happy to hear you enjoyed Danny and Dev. Aussie men just make me melt, so I loved writing him.
The timing of your question – as to whether Mason and Jess will have another book – couldn’t have been better. The current vignette on my blog runs simultaneously at my fan forum, http://fansofjoeywhill.forumotion.com/, and many of the Mason/Jess fans there have been after me for awhile to consider another book for them. Nothing was really pinging for me until a couple of the fans, on a lark, started batting a kidnapping scenario back and forth and presto, the muse came to life! So I’ve written down the seed they offered, added some branches and leaves to it. Hopefully, if my publisher still wants more vampire books after these two, Mason and Jess Book 2 will be in the lineup.
Anyhow, if you want to see that discussion, it was in the forum’s comment section under this Part VIII. Past vignettes are archived at the forum as well, so you’ll find a snippet there that featured Lyssa and Thomas, her former servant, called “One Night Only”. It’s about four parts. Once you read Vampire MIstress/Vampire Trinity, there’s also a great character interview featuring the three from those books – Gideon, Daegan and Anwyn.
In short, there’s a lot of good reading out there (wink). One final note – you do have to logon to the forum, but that’s about a 30 second process that only requires a valid email address and setting a password. Once you do that, the Vignette sections show up on the main board for you. :> You can lurk as much as you want, or post your own comments, like you did here.
Thanks again!
I have always been a fan of paranormal romance and have always loved Laurell K Hamilton’s work and LA Banks as well. I only recently learned of your books and for that I am sorry. Within the 1st five pages of Lyssa and Jacob’s story I was enthralled. I couldn’t get through your books fast enough and was always disapointed when I got to the last page. I want them to go on forever.
I just finshed reading the vignette’s and am blown away by them. Mason and Jessica are absolutely fabulous. She’s coming into her own again with the right master. I look forward to Jacob and Lyssa III to see how she does in council.
Jacob and Lyssa are my favorites but I also love Gideon and Mistress Anwyn. I am waiting with baited breath for the next book. Thank you Joey for the characters and the insight into them. I almost feel like I am part of it.
I hope you continue bringing the characters to life as I see many books possible. Good luck with your editor to bring more vampire books to us.
Another beautiful segment, Joey. I knew that Jess was a strong enough woman to finally bring Mason to his knees.
What a wonderful and subtle contrast between Farida bending to wash his feet, and Mason bowing to Jessica’s – so completely gentle and powerful at the same time. Just tremendous. 
Kathleen, wow, what wonderful feedback. I always like hearing how a reader discovered my work. Though you said you were sorry you discovered me late, the good thing about coming in later is you have a good backlist to read while waiting for the next book (grin). And when an author hears that a reader feels like she’s part of the story, right in there with the characters, it’s extremely gratifying – because that’s what we want to have happen. So thank you for giving me your reaction so eloquently and kindly. It’s very appreciated! I’m afraid I’m going to explode before Vampire Trinity comes out. As I’ve said, so many times you all are going to start accusing me of redundancy, I want to talk to someone about this book, and I’m having to sit on my mouth (a very awkward position) until September 7! (lol).
Lisa, I had not thought of that comparison – what a lovely way to bring past and present together. And Dom/sub relationships are so fascinatingly complex that way – the confidence of the sub grows under the hand of her Master, to the point it often underscores how devoted and truly dependent he is on her as well, just like Mason and Jess. Of course, we probably see that kind of power/growth/confidence dynamic happen in a lot of loving relationships. It’s one of the things that makes writing romance so rewarding. I’ve never figured out how anyone can think that romances are “trivial” writing. I don’t think they’re paying close enough attention, hmm?
Thanks again!!
The timing of your question – as to whether Mason and Jess will have another book – couldn’t have been better. The current vignette on my blog runs simultaneously at my fan forum, http://fansofjoeywhill.forumotion.com/, and many of the Mason/Jess fans there have been after me for awhile to consider another book for them. Nothing was really pinging for me until a couple of the fans, on a lark, started batting a kidnapping scenario back and forth and presto, the muse came to life! So I’ve written down the seed they offered, added some branches and leaves to it. Hopefully, if my publisher still wants more vampire books after these two, Mason and Jess Book 2 will be in the lineup.
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OH
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Muh
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GAWD!
(claps with excitement)
And I highly doubt your stuff will ever disappoint me. I’m a sucker for these kind’s of stories and have never been let down. I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic, and most guys with accents melt me (snicker)… and the Aussie’s just seem to have a bit of spunk to them, a bit of a smartass streak…Thanks for the friending back on FB! and it seems with all the feedback you get here alone on your website, should convince you publisher to let you have another book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if they dont…well I know I wouldnt be the only one that’d be unhappy… Thanks again!!!!!!
Brittany – thanks for that extra encouragement and compliments. And I agree with you about the Aussies!
[quote]Nothing was really pinging for me until a couple of the fans, on a lark, started batting a kidnapping scenario back and forth and presto, the muse came to life! So I’ve written down the seed they offered, added some branches and leaves to it. Hopefully, if my publisher still wants more vampire books after these two, Mason and Jess Book 2 will be in the lineup quote]
WOO-HOO!!!!
Oh MY! Just the thought of Mason’s REACTION to Jess getting kidnapped….*drools* and then subsequent ACTIONS to get her back….*fans self rapidly* and then his RETRIBUTION..? *feels very dizzy* I can HARDLY WAIT!!! God! I LOVE your muse!! 
Oh Rachel, wait, it gets better. The scenario they suggested was that MASON gets kidnapped, and that’s what tripped off my muse! Jessica has to enlist Lyssa’s help because his kidnapper is linked to the Fae world… But of course Mason would be seriously pissed that she risks herself to come get him, and of course anyone who threatens her will likely be VERY sorry… So, we’ll still get some of that, but it’s a different twist on the idea (grin).
I think one of the reasons my muse got tripped on that is because I love the JD Robb In Death series, but it drives me crazy how invincible Roarke is – I want him to get kidnapped sometime, or beat up, or something, just because I know how much Eve loves him and she’d let loose on anyone who hurt him, just like he would for her. It doesn’t mean he wouldn’t handle himself well in the kidnapping (just as she does when she’s in danger), but you know the romantic soul just loves those moments when one of the lovers is in mortal peril, and while I’ve loved every time he’s come to her rescue, every once in awhile it’s very intriguing to turn those tables…particularly for a very strong, fascinating hero. And I think Mason and Jess would be an extremely great story for that.
Anyhow, I’m looking forward to writing it, and am glad you’re in the cheering section for another Mason and Jess story as well!
* The following comment was written AFTER I picked myself up off the floor following a THUD which came AFTER reading the above reply from Joey Hill*
I SWEAR, last night right after I submitted that comment, I got to thinking-”Hmmm…what if it ISNT Jess that gets taken but MASON!?” *shivers in anticipation* GREAT news, but I have to tell ya, it’s always such a nail biting experience waiting for your next book to be released how the @#$%^ will I ever make it THAT long? Oh, wait, I know! Savor.Vampire Trinity & Jacob and Lyssa’s next book.verrry.slowly!!
“Oh, wait, Savior.Vampire Trinty & Lyssa’s next book” (are coming soon).
My thoughts exactly. I’m planning to reread Vampire Mistress just as Vampire Trinity ships. And rereading the two original Lyssa/Jacob books just before Book 3 ships will be great fun. I wonder if the Lyssa/Jacob baby will be appearing in that book?…?
I do, however, regret that Danny/Dev are not included in the upcoming books. Joey: perhaps an appearance for them in the Lyssa/Jacob book??
Rachel – lol – glad your thoughts went that way as well. Though I didn’t intend it so deliberately, it reminded me of an old exercise from my earliest writing classes – take a familiar plot, and then figure out how to turn it 180 degrees to see it from a different perspective. Sometimes it results in some marvelous story ideas! And I promise I’ll write as fast as I can (chuckle).
Jerry, I’ve had that experience myself – I finished Vampire Queen’s Servant last week and now I’m about 1/3 of the way through Mark of the Vampire Queen, re-familiarizing myself with all the details of their relationship – Karen put it very well to me – it was like rediscovering old friends. And I’ll hope the muse will give us a Danny/Dev appearance as well, but one thing I can promise – they play a very prominent role in Vampire’s Keeper, Elisa’s story, coming in July. And yes, Kane, J&L’s baby, is in Jacob & Lyssa part III.