*Graphic Langue & Sexual Content*

by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth

Mandy opened her eyes and stared at a foreign ceiling.  She took a deep breath in, and tried to remember where she was.  The last real memory she had was from the Raven.  She’d been angry with Armando’s rejection and hell bent on going home with anyone else.  

“James,” she whispered as a lump formed in her throat.  “Oh, God, I went home with James.”  

            She rolled her eyes slightly as she reached down and found herself naked, her lower regions sore, and her body stiff.  Yep, she knew when she’d been rode hard and, apparently, James had been the one that mounted her.   

            The white Egyptian cotton sheets were so soft against her skin that she didn’t want to move.  It surprised her that James’ room was so classy.  She pictured him living in an ultra modern bachelor pad or in an apartment full of clutter, like the frat boy he pretended to be.            

            She sat up slowly, looking for her clothes.  She spotted a pair of Italian loafers and a black sports coat, but that was it.   

            Where does he keep all his leather?  

            Mandy crawled out of the bed, taking the sheet with her.  She ran across the white carpeting and to the slightly opened bathroom door.  She could barely contain her excitement when she spotted her purse and dress on the floor, near the tub. 

             The bathroom wasn’t what she expected James to have either.  It was so large, so white, and so clean.  The whirlpool tub was still full with water.  Rose pedals floated along the edges of it, and it was clear that someone had let the rows of candles burn out.             

            She touched her inner thighs gently and wondered how many times she and James had had sex in the tub.  A hell of a lot from the way her body felt.  

            She reached down and snatched her purse off the floor.  Her goal was to grab her phone and call Michelle.  Looking inside her purse, she stopped dead in her tracks.  She fumbled around and pulled out an unopened box of condoms.  Her mind raced and her pulse sped.  She’d stop taking the pill months ago, around the same time that she’d stopped dating.   

            Mandy ran to the tiny stainless steel trashcan, tripping over the sheet in the process.  After a rather ungraceful slide on her knees, she came to a stop in front of the trashcan and took the lid off.  It was empty.  A wave of nausea hit her.  It was bad enough that she’d let her temper get the better of her and slept with James, not using protection was begging for trouble. 

            Armando would hate her enough already for what she’d done.  Having a child by James would only add to that.   

            The urge to run was overwhelming.  She had to get away.  There was no way she wanted to run into James this morning.  It was best to hightail it out before he climbed out of whatever hole it was he retreated to everyday.  

            Mandy tried the bathroom window at first.  It was too small to climb out of, and seeing that she was at least six stories up, she thought it best not to try too hard with that one.  She tucked the sheet around her body, grabbed her purse, and decided to make a run for the front door.  

            She bolted out of the bathroom, spilling the contents of her purse in the process.  She didn’t care.  She grabbed her wallet and her phone.  Running with a king sized sheet wrapped around her wasn’t easy, but she continued onward.  His place was a hell of a lot bigger than she’d expected it to be.  Finally, she reached the front door and turned the handle.            

            Cool arms snatched her up and off her feet.  Startled, she screamed out.  “Kitten?”  

            Mandy froze.  James sounded an awful lot like Armando.  She glanced around the spacious living room, taking in the fact that the oversized furniture was all golden leather.  It wasn’t until she noticed one of Georges Seurat’s prints that she acknowledged the man holding her was indeed Armando.  

            “I love that painting,” she said, softly.  No, it wasn’t the best way to break the ice, but it was all she had.

            “I know,” he said, nestling his face down on her shoulder.  “The first time I met you, you were looking through art books, trying to find a piece for your new apartment.  You seemed drawn to his work, so I picked one up two years ago.”  

            It took her a minute to register what he was telling her.  They’d met less than a year ago and she’d never taken art books into the Raven.  “What?  I don’t remember….”  

            Armando laughed softly.  “Ah, I really thought that you remembered the first time we met.  You were new here and fresh out of college.  You were also very naive and had no concerns about wandering about after dark.”  He sounded a bit peeved, but continued.  “You were sitting outside the coffee shop down the street from your home, mulling over the books.  I stopped and introduced myself to you.  Remember now?”  

            It took Mandy a minute, but she could vaguely remember the handsome man who had stopped when she dumped coffee on one of the books she’d been skimming through.  He bought her another cup, commented on her choice of art, and headed off.  She turned her head slowly and looked into Armando’s dark eyes.  “How did I forget that?  Better yet, how did you remember it?  It was all of what, two minutes?”            

“Mmm, not long enough if you ask me,” he said, kissing her neck softly.    

            She stiffened.  “Why am I at your house?”            

            “Kitten, you were in no condition to drive home and since you have never invited me into your home, I could not take you there.  I did the next best thing.  I brought you home with me,” he said, running his hands down the length of the sheet.  “Ah, you look gorgeous in my bedding.”            

            Mandy laughed softly as he kissed her ear.  She let out a long sigh of relief and turned around slowly, gripping the sheet tight to keep it up.  She’d never seen Armando without a shirt on and the sight of his muscular torso almost made her lose her train of thought.  “You have no idea how happy I am to find out that this is your place.”  

            Armando smiled, and then tipped his head to the side.  “I am afraid that you are losing me.  What do you mean—happy to find out that this is my place?”  

            “Well, I woke up a bit…umm, stiff, and none of the,” she looked at Armando, turned red, and then shrugged, “condoms that I had in my purse had been touched.  I’m not on any sort of birth control and, for a minute, I thought I actually had sex last night.  God, am I glad that I ended up here and with you.”  

            “Mandy, what is the last thing you remember about last night?” Armando asked, adjusting his waistband slightly.  

            She closed her eyes and thought about the night’s events.  “The last thing I remember is you using your vampire magic to slam the door to the Raven in my face and me going to find James to…”  She stopped.  

            Armando glanced at her and nodded.  “That is why you are happy to find me here.  You thought that perhaps you slept with James.”  

            “Yes,” Mandy said, sighing.  “That’s why I was sneaking out.  I just wanted to get away and pretend it never happened.”  She took a step towards him and yanked the sheet up more to keep from tripping on it.  “I mean, I woke up sore, naked and in someone else’s bed.  Why wouldn’t I think I just had sex?”  

            Armando’s eyebrows rose slightly.  “You remember nothing else from last night?”  

            “No,” she said, bending down to pick up her phone and wallet.  "Let me guess, I drank too much and got sick all over myself.  That’s why the tub is filled and why I’m naked.  Not that I’m not grateful.  It’s a good thing that you’re such a gentleman,” Mandy said laughing nervously.  “I would have been disappointed to wake up and not remember sex with you, but you made it perfectly clear that you would never allow anything to happen between us.”  

            Armando’s head jerked up.  “I do not recall saying that.  My reason for not coming into your home after our date with Michelle and Dmitri had more to do with not wanting our first night together to be forever linked to Trolly Cheese, than not wanting to be with you, Mandy.”            

            “Hmm, do you think I could borrow something to wear home?” Mandy asked, desperate to change the topic.  Having Armando talk about caring for her made her squeamish.  

            “I rather hoped you would stay with me.”   

            Her brow creased as she looked around.  “Stay for the day?”  

            Armando let out another long sigh.  “I had hoped for more, but if that is all you wish then….”  

            Mandy cut him off and grabbed her stomach.  “It would be nice to spend the day with you.  But I’m famished and since I don’t live on a liquid diet of O-neg, I’m guessing that you don’t have anything in here for me to eat.”  

            “Kitten, you do enjoy underestimating me, don’t you?”  He took a step back, extending his hand outward for her to see the dinning room table.  It was filled with fruit and bagels.  Mandy gave him an odd look and he laughed.  “Say that you’ll stay here with me.”  

            “What about work?” Mandy asked, grasping at a reason to tell him no, even though no part of her wanted to.  

            “Miss a day.  Call in sick.  Call Michelle, she will cover for you,” Armando said, moving forward and pulling her to him.  

 It felt good to be held by him and she wasn’t about to push him away.  One thing was odd with him though.  The last she knew he was mad at her and now he was acting like they were a couple.  “I’m sorry, but did I miss something?”  

“Miss something?”  

“Yeah, last night you’re mad at me and this morning you’re acting like we’re going steady or something.”  

“Going steady?” he asked, with a smile.  

Mandy blushed.  “You know what I mean.”  She glanced down at herself and then back to Armando.  “It’s weird…are you sure that I came straight home with you?  I didn’t stop off in a back room or disappear for a few hours, did I?”  

“No, after my little outburst I returned to find you dancing with our bleach-blond friend.  I picked you up and brought you here.  Why do you ask?”

 As if her face wasn’t red enough, it got worse.  “If I was standing here with anyone but you, I would think that I had a night of crazy wild sex.”  She giggled and ran her hand over his smooth chest.  “Thanks for being you.”  

Armando went rigid beneath her fingertips.  “Do not thank me.”  

“How have you managed to live so long and stay so modest?”  

“Mandy,” he said, pushing on her shoulders.  “Do not put me on a pedestal.”  

 She turned her head and nipped at his hands, playfully.  “Hey, buddy, you put yourself on a pedestal when you took the let’s wait approach.  I was ready to ‘climb on board’, you took the highroad.”  

“If that were only true,” Armando whispered.  

“What?”  

“Call Michelle and tell her that you’re spending the day here.”  

“Sure,” Mandy said, trying to figure out what Armando had mumbled under his breath.   

~*****~

Michelle opened her eyes slightly, trying to gauge where the ringing noise was coming from.  She groaned as she leaned over, smacking her hand out to turn off her alarm.  It wasn’t there, nothing was there.   

“What the hell?”   

Panicked and a bit disoriented, Michelle glanced down on the floor and found her purse.  My phone, she thought, as she leaned down to retrieve it.  The grey silk sheets pulled back and the cool air from the room hit her bare skin.  She froze, realizing that she was naked.  She never slept naked. 

The phone stopped ringing.  Michelle growled in tired frustration, snatched up her purse, and grabbed her phone out of the front pocket.  Mandy’s number was lit as a missed call.  She dialed her back and waited.  

“Hum?” came Mandy’s amused voice. 

“Ohmygawd, Mandy, I think I’ve been abducted,” Michelle said, in low hushed voice.  She glanced nervously around the room and cringed.  

“I’m sorry, but did you just say that you think you’ve been abducted?” Mandy asked, giggling softly.  

“This is NOT funny!”  Michelle’s eyes widened as she noticed the bed she was in was perfectly round.  “The whole damn place looks like the inside of a spaceship!  The last thing I remember was dancing with that Barbarian Prince Ualan guy who claimed he was from another planet.  Maybe, I’m with him,” Michelle said earnestly.  

“What Prince?” Mandy asked, falling into a full out laugh.  

“That—” Michelle heard someone moving around in the room next to her and pulled the covers up tight.  “Someone’s here.”  

“Where, in space with you?”  

“You’re not helping.”  

“Sorry, right.  Well, not to be a skeptic, but we are talking on cell phones and I don’t know about your provider, but mine has issues when I cross the damn street.  I highly doubt that it would work in space, but you can hear me now right?”  

Michelle had to pull the phone away from her ear as Mandy cackled.  She saw a shadow under the door and gasped.  “Mandy, this is serious.  Ohmygawd!  I think….”  

The door flew open and Michelle screamed.  She could hear Mandy calling her name, but couldn’t move.  She wasn’t frozen from fear.  She was frozen from embarrassment.  There, in the doorway, stood Dmitri, wearing a pair of loose pajama bottoms and nothing else.  He smiled wide at her, his grey eyes sparkling.  “Want some breakfast?” he asked, holding a tray of food in his hands.  

“GET OUT!” Michelle screamed.  He didn’t stop to ask questions.  He laughed and backed out of the room.  

“You’ve got ten minutes and then I’m coming back in!” he called.  

Michelle lifted the phone to her ear.  “I’m with Dmitri!”  

“On the spaceship,” Mandy said, wryly.  

“This is serious!  I’m naked and I think I’m in Dmitri’s bed,” Michelle said, irrationally glancing around for a water dish or any sign that a wolf lived there.  “I think I had sex with him!  Ohmygawd, Mandy!  I slept with Dmitri!”  

“Was it good?” Mandy asked.  “Oh, I bet it was.  Did he prefer doggie style?  I’m guessing that he likes it doggie style.”  

“MANDY, shut up!” Michelle hissed, frantic and not in the mood to hear Mandy ramble on.  Keeping her voice low so Dmitri couldn’t hear her with his super senses, she asked, “What should I do?”  

“You need me to tell you what to do, when you’re naked in a man’s bed?  Michelle, I know that you’re reserved, but a virgin too?”  

“I’m not a virgin and you know what I mean.  Help me, please?”  

Mandy let out a sigh.  “Okay, for starters, get dressed.  You’ll feel a thousand times better if you’re covered.  Secondly, ask Dmitri if you were any good in bed.  If he says yes, then offer—”  

“Mandy!”  Michelle climbed out of the bed to start looking for her clothes.  There was no sign of them anywhere.  “My clothes are missing!”  

“Hey, don’t feel bad, so are mine.”   

Michelle stopped dead in her tracks.  “What?”  

“Hold on, I’m draining the tub now.”  Mandy shuffled around on the other end for a minute.  “Sorry, I want to take a bath.  I’m stiff beyond belief.  They didn’t bring that mechanical bull back into the Raven last night, did they?”  

Michelle was used to following Mandy’s odd conversational pattern, but this time she was losing her.  “What?  No, there was no mechanical bull last night, why?”  

Mandy whispered, “I’m so sore.  I feel like I rode something or someone all night, but that’s not possible.  I’m with the gentleman Armando.”  Her tone at the end suggested that she was not pleased with Armando’s plan on not using her.  

Michelle began to answer her and heard footsteps in the hall.  “One, two, three… here I come,” Dmitri called out as he walked into the room.  

She stood there like a statue.  Unable to move, unable to cover her naked body, Michelle grew redder by the minute.  “I have to go,” she said weakly into the phone, pushing it shut.  

Dmitri’s eyes were wide as he stood there, staring at her.  Finally, he moved and grabbed the sheet from the bed.  “Here,” he said thrusting it out towards her.  

She tried to lift her hand to take it.  She wanted it more than life itself, but her body wasn’t cooperating.  It stayed locked in place, staring at the incredibly sexy lycan before her.  

Dmitri’s jaw tightened.  “Please take it, Michelle.  I can smell your desire for me and if you stand there naked much longer, I’m likely to take you.  I made it through the entire night and never laid a finger on you, but if you taunt me…well, let’s just say I’m a man and I can only take so much.”  

Michelle grabbed the sheet and pulled it to her body.  She looked Dmitri over and his words sunk in.  “Wait, you mean we didn’t have sex?”  

He ran his hand through his tousled blonde locks and shook his head.  “No, we slept in the same bed, that’s all.”  Michelle started to protest, but he brought his hand up quick to stop her.  “Nothing happen, I swear.  I couldn’t let you leave the Raven in the condition you were in, you refused to give me your address, and Armando took Mandy with him, so here we are.”  

“We slept in the same bed while I was naked?”  

“No, we slept in the same bed while we were both naked.  It is the only bed in my house so there was little choice,” Dmitri said with a bad boy grin he just couldn’t help, taking one-step back.  

Michelle glared at him as heat rushed over her entire body.  “And you expect me to believe that you didn’t take advantage of the situation?”  

“I’m a lot of things, Michelle, but a sexual opportunist isn’t one of them,” he said, harshly.  

Michelle glanced down at the floor and her eyes bulged when she saw a gigantic dildo lying there.  The purple-veined monstrosity lay at her feet, mocking her.  “Oh, you are one sick puppy or whatever the term they use for a wolf!”  

Dmitri narrowed his eyes and took a step towards her.  He glanced down at the floor.  “That is NOT mine.  It is yours!”  

Michelle baulked, “Oh, yeah right!  I do not own a vibrator thank you very much.”  

“Funny, for a girl who never owned a vibrator before you sure begged enough for me to use it on you.”   

Her jaw dropped.  “Get out!” she screamed, pointing at the door.

 “No.”  

“What?” she asked, sure that she’d misunderstood him.  

“I’m not leaving.  This is my house and I haven’t done a damn thing wrong,” he said, folding his arms over his massive chest.   

Michelle wanted to argue with him, but had nothing snappy to come back with.  She spun on her heels, unsure of where she was about to storm off to and stopped when she felt a draft on her backside.  Dmitri let out a small chuckle and Michelle thought she would die from the embarrassment of having flashed him yet again.

~*****~

Dmitri waited in the car for Michelle.  He clutched the wheel and had to make an effort not to rip it from the dash.   

How dare she suggest that I took advantage of her?        

 He pulled his phone out and called Armando’s, needing to vent to someone and soon.  It rang twice before Armando picked it up.  He answered so softly that Dmitri thought he might have woke him up.  “Sorry, bud, I thought you’d be up by now.”  

“Yes, well, we were just taking a bit of a nap,”Armando said, sleepily.  

“We?”  

“Mandy’s here, we dozed off on the sofa.  We had every intention of watching a movie, but….”  

“Ha, it’s a good thing you’re Mr. Morals or I might think you were up to no good there,” Dmitri said, waiting for his oldest friend to laugh.  Armando sighed and Dmitri shifted in his seat slightly.  “You didn’t, did you?”  

“You know my views on discussing this matter.”  

Dmitri smacked the wheel.  “Hot damn, you did!  How was it?”  

“Dmitri!” Armando said sternly.  “I will not discuss this with you further.”  

“Oh, it was good.  Remember that time in France, 1906 when you and that….”  

“DMITRI!”  Armando sighed.  “Fine, if you must know, yes we did.  We did it five times to be exact.”  

“Five times?”  Dmitri ached just hearing him say it.  “Why the hell do you sound like someone chipped your fang?  No, I can’t believe that you had sex five times if it sucked.”  

“It was all I had hoped it would be and more.  The problem is, Mandy has no memory of the night.  She is relieved that she woke up here, in my home, because she believes me to be honorable.”  

Dmitri felt for his friend.  He knew deep Armando’s feelings for Mandy ran and this had to be devastating.  “Are you going to tell her what happened?”  

“Ah, I am afraid that my window of opportunity has now passed,” Armando said, with a heavy voice.  “Now, tell me of your night with Michelle.”  

“Michelle thinks we had mad, crazy sex.  We didn’t.  After she tossed her cookies twice, I had to help her out of her clothes and get her cleaned up.  On my honor I never once touched her inappropriately.”  

“But, you wanted to.”  

“Of course I wanted to.  She begged me to touch her, take her, but I held strong,” Dmitri said, gripping the wheel tighter.  

“Then you have proven yourself to be more of a man than I, my friend.”  

“I’m not so sure about that.  If I would have known last night that Michelle would accuse me of taking advantage of her, I would have reconsidered,” Dmitri said, looking up and seeing Michelle heading out of the door. “Listen, I’ve got to go.  We’re heading back down to the club so she can grab her car and meet an author, Stephanie Burke.  She had been scheduled to meet the girls down at the Nocturnal Journal, but when Mandy called back to say she wasn’t going in today, Michelle thought it best not to cancel the interview.  Are you two going to make it down to the club?”  

“I am not sure.  Mandy is out cold and I’m a bit tired myself.”   

“Ha, Kitten wore you out, huh?” Dmitri whispered as Michelle climbed in.  

“That she did, that she did,” Armando said, laughing softly.  “Do not let Michelle’s mistrust detour you.  She cares for you.  I told you that already and we both know that you care for her.”  

“Yes.  I’ll talk to you later,” said Dmitri.  He closed his phone and nodded silently at Michelle as she climbed into his truck.  

Michelle cringed.  She didn’t want to think about the night before.  She looked at where Dmitri stormed into his office.  He’d not said two words to her on the drive over.  Looking down at her clothes in amazement, she sighed.  He had washed them before she even woke up.  And he had made her breakfast in bed—or at least he had tried.  Both were indisputably intimate facts that only pointed to one thing.  She finally fulfilled her fantasy by sleeping with Dmitri, and she couldn’t remember a damned thing. 

Seeing a tall woman with beautiful ebony skin, Michelle pasted on a smile.  She was very familiar with Stephanie Burke’s work, and had especially enjoyed The Slayer.  She knew this interview was an important one, and she couldn’t let her insecurities about Dmitri get in her way of work.  Mandy’s words chose that moment to come back to her.   

Ask him if you were any good…. 

Michelle grimaced, refusing to think about it until she was alone, in the dark with a box of tissues, a five gallon tub of Butter Pecan ice cream, and a towering tray of fudge brownies.   

“Stephanie!  It’s good to see you again!” 

            “Michelle!”  Stephanie’s chocolate brown eyes glimmered as she smiled.  She smoothed her reddish brown hair.  “Thanks for meeting me here instead of at the office.  I own a supernatural employment agency and needed to come in and speak to the owners.  Figured I could kill two birds with one stone.” 

            “I don’t mind,” said Michelle. 

            “This place is great!  I can’t wait to come back here at night.  Is this your first time here?” asked Stephanie. 

            “Ah, no, actually the owners are…they’re friends of mine.” 

            “Great!  Would you mind giving the introduction?  I’ve heard that they go through help like it’s water.  I guess that might have something to do with clientele they keep, but one never knows when the urge to feed will strike.  It’s amazing that they keep help here at all.”  Stephanie reached over and took a sip of her pop.  Then, grabbing a sleek black leather briefcase, she set it on the table.  “I hope you don’t mind me asking you to get me an in.”  

            “Not at all,” answered Michelle.  She cringed, knowing she would be forced to talk to Dmitri again, even if for a little bit.  Just being in his presence had been uncomfortable.  She just knew she must have been a horrible lay the night before.  How good could it have been with her slobbering drunk, begging Dmtiri to use…a…large….  Michelle shook her thoughts and concentrated on what Stephanie was saying. 

            “Torn in about six foot six and is considered short for his people—the warriors of the Warrior Realm.  He’s gracious and very generous.  But, he does have an alter ego living deep within him called The Reiver who is more bloodthirsty and practical in nature.  The Reiver is a huge, solid black, red-eyed demon with an almost feline visage and a long sleek tail.  It is the Reiver’s job to take the evil of others unto himself, but if the evil is too much he is forced to kill the person.” 

            Michelle smiled, intrigued, forgetting her own troubles.  “And this is your next release coming in spring?” 

            “Yeah, I brought you a copy of it for review,” said Stephanie, handing it over.   

             “Oh, The Reiver of Souls.  It looks wonderful.  I love reviewing.  I get to see everything first.  I just read ‘Lucavarious’.  I couldn’t put it down.  I mean, who can resist a guy who wears tunics and drawstring pants, has a deep, gravely voice and a major arrogance and attitude.  He was just too loveable.” 

            Michelle stopped.  Why was she thinking of Dmitri—AGAIN?  And why did she suddenly have chills like he was breathing down the back of her neck? 

            “We need to talk.” 

            Michelle gasped, turning to see Dmitri’s lips close to her cheek.  Stephanie smiled.  “Ah, Dmitri…I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Stephanie Burke.  She runs a supernatural employment agency, when she’s not busy being a multi-published author, and would love to talk to you about the employment turnover you’ve had here recently.  She heard that you were looking for help and thought she might be able to assist you and Armando.” 

            Dmitri nodded at Stephanie.  Stephanie stood, leaning on a sleek cane as she held out her hand.  They made polite introductions and seemed to launch right into what the club needed and how Stephanie could help.  It seemed like an eternity before Dmitri and Stephanie were done talking, but it was clear that she possessed the kind of talent he was looking for, so Michelle didn’t interrupt them.  

            She waited quietly as they finished the last of their arrangements.  Mike, Dmitri’s cousin, would be staying on as a permanent bartender, but the kitchen always needed help.  Two lycan chefs had been drained dry by hungery vamp patrons just last month.  Armando and Dmitri had been forced to stake them, but were more concerned with losing good help.  

            “Stephanie,” said Michelle, grabbing a press pack off the table.  “Thanks so much for all of this.  I’ll contact you as soon as the article’s done.  I’m thinking I can get it squeezed in this month’s issue if I hurry.” 

            “Perfect!  I’ll be back later tonight.  I’ve got a hot date and I’m thinking the Raven is the perfect place to stop by.”            

Q: Which would you be a vampire or a lycan, why?

 A:  I would be both, and have the best of both worlds! As a Lycan, you can still use some senses that a vamp can’t use, while a Vamp, depending on the type, can have fewer vulnerabilities and a lot of time to cover them up!

 A: (Looking over at her boys and the other men that crowd the bar) That one! (pointing to a red head,) No, that one! (pointing to a blond) Are their yellow M&M’s? No… that one? (pointing to a black haired vamp.) Maybe with he candy coating off!

I guess I don’t have one! I love them all! But I really love a dark hair weird eye color combination! (Pointing to Kye with his warring green/gold eyes and dark black hair.) Oh! You meant the candy! Be more specific! I lost the regular candy and was working on the eye candy! Besides, they are all dark when you turn off the lights, slowly lick off the candy coating, rolling them around on your tongue, sucking on the hard…. Um, I like them all! I need a drink! Something cold!

Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?

 A:  My latest release is Reiver of Souls, and that should be popping along soon!

(Motioning Torn to step forward. He does, tossing an extremely long lock of black curly hair behind his shoulders.)

Torn here is the Reiver, a one of a kind creature created from his Grandfathers curse upon his father. (leaning forward and whispering) He has another soul in there with him, (Smiling as his purple eyes flash in anger)

That is The Reiver showing his fangs. (Pointing out the change in eye color)

“Watch it, Flash,” he whispers, his voice gravely as his eyes kind of bleed to red.

Try again, Torn! I made ya, I can break ya!

(He snorts and rolls his eyes as the red starts to swirl with the purple.)

I can give your Lady a yeast infection and tell her it was all your fault! You know how red heads get!

(He looks terrified for a moment, and then his eyes bleed back to purple)

Scourge of Evil!( Giggles) What can you do? (Smiling at Torn how grumbles, but give a slow grin, showing his rather prominent fangs.)

Anyway, Torn is kind of an outcast to his people and a half-breed to boot! His mother was the only child of the leader of the Magic Realm and his father the ruler of the Warrior Realm. His Granddad was not happy with the union and with having his only daughter stolen away form him, so he lays a curse that will supposedly make their offspring kill his father, who is supposedly evil! But his father, Terror, is ruthless, but not evil! Big difference! So to make a long story short, the Reiver was conceived and is Torn’s alter ego, making him more different than anyone could ever guess! Kind of short too! (Looks up at the near seven foot warrior and smiles)

But when he decides to take a mate, she tries to kill him off, even though he has given her multiple orgasms in bed, to draw the Reiver out into the open for an untimely death.. Crazy wench!

She wants her daddy to take over everything and will sacrifice her supposed one true live to achieve his goals.(Torn nods in agreement)

Um, No one knows that gentle different Torn is The Reiver of Souls! It’s a secret! Well, it was a secret!

But instead of dying, through some mystical manipulation, he is thrust form the warriors realm and straight into ours! LONG LIVE MAGIC! In Merry old Scotland to be precise, where he meets Jack and Jillian-call me Jill, who will turn out to be his best friends and allies! More important that that, he meets the love of his life, Sable. There are a few problems though! (Torn rolls his eyes at that understatement.)

One, he doesn’t speak the lingo, poor baby, and he is the quintessential stranger in a strange land! He has never even seen rain before, and now he is in Scotland surrounded by bikers, rain storms and people who are even smaller than he is!

Two, he is not used to modern technology, though Jack and Jill’s relationship doesn’t seem to bother him at all. There are several homosexual relationships among warriors class; that is just another way of life. (Torn nods smiling.) But riding in a car can give him a heart attack, bug tine!

Three, the woman, okay, his woman (Changed after he glares) thinks that he is a great Celtic fey warrior of old and wants to deny him the essential of life, like sex and red meat. The red meat thing can be overcome, but the sex thin…well, you’ll just have to wait and see. (Torn snickers)

And lastly, four, Sable has red hair, like his potentially murderous ex. How is that for external conflict and appearance problems! But Sable is nothing like Zulthla and she proves it in a million understanding ways. She is one sharp cookie, if I must say so myself!

Then add to it the fact that his powers are going out of wack and that there is relatively more evil here than in the Warriors Realm, and that the inner demon he has controlled for years is chafing at that bit and wanting out, and that his soul is slowly destroying itself in a bid to keep both halves of his soul separated! Poor Torn! Maybe there are more than a few little problems! (He growls, “You wrote it like that!)

Hush, man! I am getting to the good parts!

Now the question is, what will he do when everyone comes for the different realms to Earth either trying to reclaim him, kill him, or force him to become something that he is not?

Not to mention having your father privy to certain events in your sex life every time they happen, and the bumbling warriors sent to rescue you causing more problems than what they are worth, And having mommy and daddy to the rescue, and there is that potentially murderous ex popping in for revenge…. And then there was the leather bar scene! (Torn blushes) and then everyone got arrested! Why man,( nodding to Torn) you tore up Scotland! The Highlands will never be the same! And then there is the ending! Who would have thought that you would…(Torn reaches out and slaps a hand over her mouth while whispering in her ear.)

Okay, no giving away the endings, but I do love a bit of drama! Now behave or I’ll sic your mother and Sable on ya!

(Torn looking terrified, shudders and settles down.)

I love them tall dark and silent, don’t you? Ah, blackmail! What a beautiful thing it is!

Q: What’s your favorite genre to write in?

A: Ohh! My favorite genre? (Looking around at her men) Paranormal! It has to be paranormal! I love creating new worlds and pushing into them the most weird magic that I can find! Give me shape shifting dragons, lycans, vamps, ligers, chimeras, fey, warlocks, demons, anything magical and I am a happy girl! Why? I guess it is because I get tired of living in reality! There are so many things that you can create, give them the problems that we are facing in the world today, and come up with a solution that will make a somewhat happy ending! I don’t do perfection in my writing, I am that much of a realist, and all endings will not be happy, but I make them as close as I c an!

My people face prejudice, anger, loss of wages, income, and jobs! They were prostitutes, hard workers, people who have been hurt by the ones who profess to love them, parents, and creatures trying to exist the best way they know how! I bring as much realism in as I can stand, then I sit back and see what happens.

I can also make men pregnant, (Ignoring Flames sparkling eyes and flying hair as he glares daggers at me!) Aw, Flame, it was only natural childbirth and you had the twins without too many troubles! Want me to tell you about my labor with my first? (Ignoring his horrified look and smiling.) Besides Spark and Ember came out just fine!

I can also make my people almost insane, and stop growling, Kye! It makes people thing you are insane, And stop laughing Nubius! It is not nice to tease the mentally deficient! Stop laughing or I take away your leather! (He calm sup really quick).

I get to create some of them most amazing people and put then in wild situations! That is priceless to me!

I like writing contemporaries, don’t get me wrong. There is Xavier in More Than Skin Deep and a few others. And I have a few historical outlined as well, but there is something about infusing my characters whit traits that I can never hope to have, to come up with solutions to problems that I know I couldn’t face and stay sane, and experience their world through their eyes. It’s so much fun and it lets me loose my imagination on something other than the walls of my house! You should see the colors and flowers I painted in my kitchen!

(Glaring at them as they stifle a giggle and stare at the walls, innocently!)

Q: How do you come up with character names?

 A:  Wait! If you listen quietly you can hear my editor, Martha Punches, scream!

I have no idea where the names come from! And there are a few doozies! Lucavarious, Lucavarian, Omnubius, Miznari, Kye, Kerian, Dagon, Xavier, Cord, Alena, Zulthla! I think I have wrecked more spell check programs single handedly than any virus on the market! LOL Some of the names comes to me in dreams, complete with the whole story ready to be put down, and then some I agonize over. I try to find a name that fits the character, not tailor the character to the name. The odder the name, the better I like it! I love unusual things, and an unusual name will defiantly add to the characters personality! Pronouncing some of those names though...sometimes that take a bit of work! But they add personality to my characters, and that is what’s important to me! Besides, the leading ladies can come up with some interesting nick names and teasing jokes off of some of them! (Shrinking under the gave of all her oddly named characters) Hey! It’s fun guys! Admit it! You grow to like them after a bit! (Glares get even harder) Um, next question?

Q: What would you do if you weren’t a writer?

A: Um, I haven’t a clue! I’ve always been a writer, a storyteller, and a dreamer! I can’t picture myself doing any other thing! Even if I never published another book, I would still write! It is my escape and helps me deal with life!

Of course, my other major was graphic arts in school and I do a lot of murals around here! I even had an art show years ago! So art would be a good guess.

Then there is that Do Before I Die, list! I guess I could be climbing mountains and exploring caves in Kenya! I always wanted to do that! Then, I can see myself getting lost in one or falling off of that mountain, so I guess writing has been saving my life!

But I love outside and everyone says that I am an extremist, so I would take what I experienced and would probably write about it! I can’t get away from that and I don’t see myself doing anything else! Though I have been offered a job in a strip club, but then I don’t think I have the mentality for that! Do you? (Looking at the men who all vehemently shake their heads no, Flame looking a bit frightened!)