Cia

Of course! Owen so should have asked!! But he is a man and they're sort of maschostic it that way. LOL Thanks for the review Lisa.

Yeah, they can be. Talking about emotions, riiiiight! I will have more Carthera stories in the future; I'm just swamped with projects. I'll get back to them, sometime, I swear! Thanks so much for reading, and for commenting, Carrie!

Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!

I hope that your mom gets better Cassie! With symptoms like that I would wonder if she didn't have some sort of imbalance. I'm sure they'll do all the tests that she needs. My sister had similar symptoms to those and kept passing out, and it turned out to be thyroid problems.

Drama, drama, drama. Great emotional arc in this chapter. I like the hook up girl; she was a cool character. Hot sex scene, though I'm not sure if I liked the bitch comment afterward, nor Ogre saying he'd do whatever it takes. It almost made it seem as if bottoming would be a bad thing still, even though he really enjoyed it, cause LM made sure of that. It lessened the scene imo, made their connection and make-up still a bit of a punishment, not an act of showing that Ogre is LM's and truly is acknowledging he's gay inside. Somehow I see complications coming with Eric later in the story though.

Awww, seriously, my eyes were stinging as I read the last part of that chapter and I had a hold of my accent pillow in a death grip. Great flow, I loved the emotion here. The scene with Eric in the morning was hilarious, you show us the emotional ups and downs LM aka Clay went through (and I liked the art class scene too) and then wham! hit us with a doozy at the end.

Good. If it makes you happy, do it!

Perfidy! Slander! Nuh-uh!!! Actually, GA Stories seems to add words. If you looked at this chapter in word, even with the *** mark to indicate a bit of a scene break, this has 999 words. I was up til 11:30 paring things down to make sure of it last night, lol. (Okay, I had to double check this, I was tired last night!!) I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter Mann! Thanks for reviewing. Don't get busted at work, lol, as much as I enjoy the fact that you're reading my stuff.

Pale yellow light is seeping in through the window when I wake up. Owen said he was planning on sleeping in but he's not in bed beside me, he's standing by the window. I slip from the bed and pad up behind him. Rubbing my face against his shoulder, I give him a tight hug. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" The urge to hold my breath is hard to overcome as I wait. I start to let him go. His hands come up, trapping mine. "Stay." His voice is rough and his hands are hard against my wr

The Captain's shield isn't mythical, it was originally a triangular shielf made of bulletproof alloy. Comic franchise issues occured, switching it to the round one. The whole 'the shield is a special vibrational metal that only comes from another planet' bit came way way way later than the original comics, and the movies. But I'm letting my geek show. Anyway, I don't think that we have to make our heroes be the 'guy next door' in order to make them appeal to readers. We simply have to make them 'human'. Consider the varying qualities about each character that prevents them from being 'too perfect'. Clark Kent - Superman's mild mannered disguise - is a bit clumsy and hopelessly shy. Bruce Banner obviously struggles with repressed anger issues, yet is a gentle giant at heart. Batman has a vendetta in his heart over his parent's murders and can act irrationally in that regard. Iron Man's Tony Stark is a irresponsible playboy, until it really matters. In my own stories, I have a male character that is a tech genius that freelances for the government that swoops in to help my main character get out of a very bad situation. Yet, I had an ex of his show up early on and point out how very very bad this guy was at relationships, due to his work and personal failures to connect with his date/partner. (Double Down, if anyone's interested in which story I mean) In Nephy's Face in the Window, Haze swoops in to help Ace from the abuse he's experiencing and the way his family treats him like he is a helpless child, yet Haze has his own very real and damaging temper issues due to a past trauma that affects his own family. In Andy's Premium story, Chosen of Honorus, Farrell, the wizard who is supposed to save the world, is a horrible slob and a more than a bit impatient. No matter what genre, age, or type of character, the common thread through all of these is that no matter how powerful, smart, or good they are, they have very human qualities we can relate to. Everyone might say they want the perfect man, but really, how boring would that be? I want to see the flaws and the struggles to overcome challenges by my heroes in stories, because that way I feel I can root alongside them as they gain their deserved happily ever after moment.

Hey hun! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday dear!! Big hugs!!!!

Hi! (I'll leave out the name bit for now, lol) GA's a great site, and my pm box is always open for questions. As for how to change your username, go to your profile, click 'edit my profile' and then under the row of setting options to the left, pick 'display name'. It's pretty self-explanatory from there.

Very cool, thanks for sharing!!

*snickers* Yay! Strike while the iron is hot, go dog shopping this weekend!! As an alternative to the fence, you can always use one of those massive screw in yard stakes with a loooong chain/leash so the dog can have freedom and not be a flight risk at the same time.

Oh don't worry, not wanting to stop reading long enough to review is a huge compliment in itself, lol. I've had a few stories like that before that just floored me as I read and even waiting for the next page to load was enough to get me growling. When I finally do get time, this is DEFINITELY in my re-visit and sequel pile, lol. Dane and Tap are two of my favorite characters of all time and their story deserves to be told. There are things that weren't shared in this story fully that need to come out in the next one. Now I just have to figure out how to stuff about 4 more hours into each day to write, lol. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story Clockwork, and thank you so much for your reviews, and any future sharing of my work with those you know. One of my favorite things to do is to offer up stories to people I know, because reading has, and always will be, a passion for me. Getting my stories out to the wide audience I've gained has been in large part to people like you who are willing to spread the word about my stories. So again, thank you! Btw, if you like this type of story, you might enjoy the modern short story I have written (a bit over 20k) called Double Down. The sequel to it is on hold, but the first story is a stand alone crime/drama/romance.

I know, on the surface I appear to be a totally mainstream wife to a man, mom of 2 kids, house, dog and 3 cat pet owner... but I am also bisexual and love to read and write mm fiction. LOL. I have corners that people do not expect when they face me head on! Tap is just so damn sweet. He nearly makes my teeth hurt. I like his confident humor and sweet disposition. Dane definitely deserves him!

Well I do try! This story has a very strong theme of abuse and how that trauma affects a person. But nothing is every all bad, or all depressed. People need that. A story full of unrelieved drama or angst is very unrealistic, plus I just love prompting those unexpected smiles or laughs from my readers. Glad it worked on you. Thanks for another review Clockwork_Prince!

We celebrate athletes that go above and beyond the call of the body's normal capabilities to become the best at what they do, be that swimming, running, throwing, ect ... Athletes with disabilities take that even farther. I think our natural inclination to shy away from anyone different is avoidance due to a 'this can happen to a person ... so could it happen to me?' discomfort. The games going more mainstream can only help people overcome that stigma that society attaches to anyone with problems. I feel for you. Due to a car accident when I was 19 I have a bad leg, and frequently have to use a cane when the weather is bad and my hip and knee just don't want to work right. It's that or risk falling. People make judgements without taking the time to get to know you, or why you walk/act/seem a certain way. Being a victim of those who feel free to jump to conclusions tends to make a person re-think their approach in life to others.

Happy Birthday MJ! I hope you have a lovely day, dear!!

Well then I did my job! My goal is to always make a story so gripping and believable that you feel like you could reach through the computer and... strangle them! LOL I'm so glad you're still enjoying the story. Can't wait to hear what you think of what comes next!

Yeah, Alan is a real tool in this chapter. Tap ... well, Tap is awesome, lol! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and thanks again for the review.

LOL! To answer that not really asked question would be telling... and I can't do that! It is really easy outside of a situation to see the idiocy inside one, but that's so hard to do when you're one half of a relationship, especially a new one. Don't smack Owen too hard though, you might hurt your hand!

Thank you Carrie! Change is very scary and they are going through a lot of it, individually and together. Communication is key, and something they are not exactly doing well at. More to come next week though!

"I'm glad I'm finally done with this week." I sink down on the couch with a sigh, a beer in my hand. Cooper chuckles. He'd just gotten back from work too. He'd been putting in a lot of hours over the last two weeks too. "Is work always this hectic for you?" he asks, taking a drink of his beer. I shake my head. "But the bosses are pushing hard to have this project wrap up early. We could have worked tomorrow, but I wanted to spend the day with you, so I put the crews on ten hour days this w