*Graphic Langue & Sexual Content*

by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth

            Mandy spotted Michelle at a table near the bar and headed towards her.  She’d nearly passed out when she’d received her friend’s frantic call first thing this morning.  For a minute, Mandy thought she’d overslept and missed work, until it hit her that it was Saturday.  She’d been spending so much time with Armando for the past two weeks that she’d lost track of her days and nights.  

            It was odd having him around all the time.  The Nocturnal Journal had been swamped since it expanded its market and went nationwide.  Mandy was hard pressed to get out of work before nightfall and Armando made no bones about not wanting her wandering around the city after dark.  He’d picked her up after work every night this week.  The first few nights, he just dropped her at her front door, never bothering to come into her home.  Mid-week he took her home with him and surprised her by cooking dinner for her.   

            After the initial strangeness of eating while a vampire watched her, Mandy enjoyed spending time with him.  Normally, she would have slept with a man at this stage of the game.  She wasn’t proud of that fact, but it was part of who she was and how she operated.  Armando still held true to being a perfect gentleman.  Although, after she woke up in his home two weeks earlier, after the drunken bachelorette party, he’d been a bit more affectionate than she’d expected him to be.  She wasn’t complaining, but all his chaste kisses and gentle backrubs were just leaving her a horny mess.  If Armando didn’t fuck her soon she’d burst or bolt to find the nearest able bodied man.   

            Michelle looked up from her laptop and gave a weak smile.  Mandy’s heart broke.  She knew that she’d been putting Michelle on the back burner to spend time with Armando and she felt horrible about it.  The only piece of mind she had was that Michelle seemed to be distancing herself from everyone.  The more Mandy thought about it, the less comforting that sounded.  

            “Hey, babes,” Mandy said, plopping down in the chair next to her.  “Whatcha working on?”  

            “My column on Jaide Fox,” Michelle said softly.  

            Mandy touched her friend’s hand.  “Are you okay?”   

            “Kitten, I thought I sensed you near,” Armando said, strolling out from his office.  Thankfully, Mandy was used to his creepy talk.  He did have a way of sensing her.  It was odd, but then again, so was Armando.  

            Mandy glanced at Michelle and noted that she pulled her hand back.  “Armando, could I have some time to chat.  Girl talk, you know.”  She winked at him and he nodded.   

            “I will be at the bar if either of you need anything.”  

            “Thanks,” said Mandy, watching his tight ass as he walked away.  She shook her head and focused on Michelle.  “Okay, spill it…what’s wrong?” 

            “I think I’m pregnant,” Michelle said, soberly.  

            Mandy’s jaw dropped.  Armando dropped a glass and Mandy knew that he’d overheard what Michelle had said.  It wasn’t intentional.  He, like most supernaturals, had amazing hearing.  He glanced over and his dark eyes locked on hers.  He gave her an apologetic look and she nodded.  

            “Michelle, why do you think you’re pregnant?  Did you take a test?”   

            “No, not yet,” Michelle said, weakly.  “I’m three days late, cranky, and my stomach as been in a knot for days.”  

            “Oh, sweetie, today makes day number six since my period should have showed its ugly face, and I’m not freaking out.”   

            Armando dropped an entire tray of glasses.  Michelle and Mandy both jumped in their seats.  Mandy cast him an angry look and found him staring at her wide-eyed.  She shrugged her shoulders and concentrated on Michelle.  “Dmitri said that you two didn’t have sex, right?”  

            “That’s what he says, yeah,” Michelle said, wryly.

             “I take it from your tone that you don’t believe him.”  

            Michelle laughed wildly.  “Would you?  You know how he is.  He’s not like Armando.  His morals are a bit bent.  And when he says we didn’t have sex, well maybe that’s because he thinks we just fucked…or ‘made love’ or…who the hell knows what justification his morbid mind gives it.”  

            “Come on,” Mandy said, moving closer to her, embracing her with one arm.  “Dmitri’s a good guy and you know it.  I think that you’d be a hell of a lot more devastated if it was anyone else we were talking about possibly knocking you up.”  

            Michelle rolled her eyes.  “Thanks for putting it so delicately.”  

            “Sorry, but you know what I meant.”  She tapped Michelle shoulder.  “Come on.  Let’s go pick up a test and that will help put your mind at ease.  Sound good?”  

            “I can’t.  Jaide’s meeting me down here in about an hour.”   

            Mandy looked over at Armando who had not moved from his position of gawking at her.  “I’m sure that we won’t be gone that long and I’m betting that Armando will keep her occupied until we get back.”  Armando beckoned her with his hand.   

            Michelle stood up slowly.  She looked a bit shaken, but Mandy knew how strong she was.  She’d get through this, regardless what the outcome was.   

“I’ll go get my car,” Michelle said, walking towards the door.  She stopped and looked back.  “Thanks.”  

            Mandy smiled as she shut Michelle’s computer down.  Cool arms wrapped around her.  She laughed a bit as Armando lifted her off the floor and kissed her neck.  “Okay, put me down.  I need to put her stuff in your office.  I don’t want to come back and find a ghoul pecking away at her column.”  

            Armando put her down, but did not move away.  Instead, he turned her to him.  “You did not tell me that you were running behind in your female workings.”  

            She looked at him, puzzled for a moment before it dawned on her what he was taking about.  “Oh, you mean menstrual cycle.”  Armando nodded slightly.  “Why, I didn’t think anything of it.”  

            “You have always been consistent in the time in which this occurs.”  

            “Umm, how exactly do you know that I bleed like clockwork?”  As soon as she said it, Mandy knew the answer.  Armando was a vampire and vampires could smell blood.  She turned to run from the room.  Her cheeks were flushed and she wasn’t sure that she’d ever felt more humiliated in her life.  

            “Mandy, I am sorry.  I did not mean to….”  

            She tossed her hand in the air.  “Forget it.  I’m going to pretend like that’s not creepy.  And, to answer your question, no, it’s not normal for me to be late.” 

            “Perhaps you should pick up a test as well.  If you wait until the sun goes down, I will accompany you.”  

            Mandy let out a nervous laugh.  “Honey, I haven’t had sex in ages.  I would if someone I knew wasn’t such a damn gentleman.”  She reached up and stroked his cheek gently.  He looked a little hurt by her comments, but she wasn’t sure why.   

            “Take the test, please, Mandy.”  

            She tried to back away, but he held her to him.  “There’s no reason for me to take a pregnancy test.  I can’t be pregnant, it’s impossible!” 

            “You ready?” Michelle called from the door.  

            Mandy glanced over at her and smiled.  “Yep, give me one sec.”  

            “Take a test, I beg you,” Armando said, giving her a firm hug.  

            “Take what test?” Dmitri asked, appearing next to them with a crate full of liquor. 

            “Tall dark and dead here thinks I should take a pregnancy test for giggle,” Mandy said, leaning up to kiss Armando’s tight jaw.  She tried to kiss away the tension in his body, but it didn’t work.  

            “Umm,” Dmitri stammered, looking directly at Armando.  He tipped his head to the side and Armando shook his head no.  Mandy didn’t want in on their inside conversation, she just wanted to go help Michelle.  

            She pulled back from Armando and he looked down at her.  “Please, Mandy.  You are going to get one for Michelle anyways, just pick one up for yourself as well.”  

            Dmitri turned deathly pale, dropped the crate of liquor, and cursed.  Mandy headed towards the door, promising to think about taking a test.

~*****~

            Dmitri kicked the chair nearest him and sent it flying across the bar.  “How the hell could she do this?”  

            “Do what?” Armando asked.  

            “You said that Michelle has feelings for me.  You read her.  How could she screw another guy when she supposedly cares for me?”  

            “Yes, I did read her, and yes she does care for you, deeply.  I do not know why she would do such a thing.  If she is expecting, the child cannot be yours.  So I do not know why,” Armando said, his heart heavy for his friend.  

            Dmitri let out an ear-piercing growl and then stopped.  He stretched his shoulders and looked up at Armando.  “Are you planning on telling Mandy that the two of you had sex, or are you going to wait until she’s about to deliver to drop that bombshell on her?” 

            “I will lose her,” Armando said, sadly.  

            Dmitri let out a small laugh.  “You don’t have her.” 

            “What do you mean?”  

            “Listen, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this, but I overheard Mike talking to James last night.  Apparently, Mandy has agreed to go on a date with him.”  

            Armando’s temper flared.  His fangs extended and the urge to rip James’ throat hit him hard.  “Where is he?”  

            “Clam down there, buddy,” Dmitri said, walking tentatively over to him.  “I don’t know all the details.  I only overheard the last part of the conversation.” 

            Armando stormed towards the front door.  Dmitri was on him in an instance, pummeling him into the wall.   

“Are you trying to kill yourself?  It’s broad daylight out there!”  Dmitri panted.  “Wait until the sun sets and we’ll both go hunting.  I’d like to get my hands on the man Michelle let touch her.”  

~*****~

 Michelle’s hands shook as she tried to set the stick down.  Mandy moved up next to her and she held it out to her.  

“You’re joking, right?” Mandy asked.  

“I’m a nervous wreck.”  Michelle said, thrusting the pregnancy stick towards her friend again.  

Mandy took it.  “Okay, but just so you know, this is crossing the line for my required duties as your friend.”  

Michelle washed her hands and snatched the box up.  “It should tell me in….”  

“It’s done,” Mandy said, smiling.  

“Already?” Michelle asked, suddenly unsure if she wanted to hear her fate.  “You’re smiling, that’s good right?”  

“That’s real good!  It’s negative!”   

Michelle went to hug Mandy, but stopped when she realized that she was still holding the stick.  “Maybe you should wash up now.”  

“Ya think?” Mandy asked, sarcastically.  

Michelle waited outside the ladies room for Mandy to get cleaned up.  She should have felt relieved.  She wasn’t about to be a single mother.  Why the hell did she still have a nagging feeling in her gut?  

Mandy opened the door and smile at her as she walked out.  “We should get back, Jaide might be there.”  

“Crap,” said Michelle, heading back into the bathroom.  “George just showed up for a visit.”  

She heard Mandy cackling long after the door closed behind her.  

~*****~

Michelle pushed open the door to the club and stopped when she realized that it was quieter than normal.  The place was normally booming by now and tonight everyone seemed preoccupied.  They all were focused on the bar.  She followed their gaze and found four barely dressed women gyrating on the bar.  Two were rubbing themselves against bar patrons, one had Armando backed into the corner, and the other was straddling Dmitri in what was definitely more than a simple lap dance.  

Michelle froze in horror for about five seconds.  Her heart stopped beating in her chest.  She could barely contain her rage.  Her hands balled into tight fists and she glared at Dmitri.  His grey eyes moved to her and grew to the size of half dollars.  He pushed at the shapely redhead gyrating against him.  The redhead merely licked his hand and kept on dancing.  Michelle spun on her heels to leave and ran smack dab into Mandy, who was just walking in.  

“What’s up?” Mandy asked, looking past Michelle.  Her jaw dropped and Michelle knew that she saw what the boys had been up to.  

“Let’s go,” Michelle said, seeing Mandy’s face and knowing that she was on the verge of having a throw down.  

“Hey, where the heck are you two going?  The fun just started.”   

They both turned to see a tall, leggy, brunette standing behind them.  The red leather corset she wore did distract from the fact that she was only wearing lace undies, but did little else to tone her down.  She smiled and pits appeared on the side of her face.  Michelle shook her head and laughed.  “Jaide Fox, I’d know those dimples anywhere!”  

Jaide laughed and ran over to hug them.  Michelle noted that she had to set her top hat and wipe down.  “Do I even want to know what you’re doing dolled up like this?” Michelle asked, trying to keep her mind off the cheating lycan.  

It can’t be cheating if you’re not dating, Michelle reminded herself bitterly. 

A tall man moved up along side Jaide and put his arm around her, handing her a glass of orange juice.  “Thanks, Vachel.  Now, go see if you can get the girls under control.”  

“Wait, those girls are with you?” Mandy asked.  

Jaide smiled sheepishly, “Actually, they’re not just with me, they’re mine.  I bought a bordello the other day.  Got it for a steal and they came with it.”  

Michelle bit back her laughter.  Buying a bordello on a whim was a very Jaide thing to do.  She glanced in the direction that she’d seen Dmitri being pawed a moment before, but didn’t see him.   

“Jaide, do you mind if I have a word with a couple of your girls?” Mandy asked, hiking her sleeve up.  

Jaide looked at Michelle and smiled.  “I see she hasn’t changed a bit.”  She took a sip of her OJ and nodded in the direction of the bar.  “Sure, be sure to rough them all up, they’ve been getting on my nerves.”  

“Not a problem,” Mandy said, heading towards the bar.  

“Who is the hunk your with?” Michelle asked.  

“Oh, that’s Vachel, Raphael’s brother.”   

Michelle was impressed.  She knew that Raphael was the inspiration for one of Jaide’s books, Seduced by Darkness, but she didn’t know that the brothers were as handsome in real life as she’d made them in the book.  “You should bring your men in more often.  I don’t think that I’ve read one of your books and haven’t drooled.  Where’s an intergalactic bad boy when you need one?  You know I’m waiting for my book with the brothers.  You promised them to me a couple months ago.”   

“Off getting into trouble, I’m sure,” Jaide said with a grin.  

“Could you stop by my office tomorrow?  I’ve been dying to talk to you about your upcoming release His Wicked Ways,” said Michelle, doing her best to stay focused on her good friend Jaide.  

“OUCH!” someone yelled.  

Michelle turned to see the brunette who had been all over Armando staggering towards them, holding her face.  She brought her hand away revealing a bloody nose.  Michelle didn’t bother to hide her laughter.   

Jaide stayed very still until the brunette was within a foot of her.  She then lashed out, punching the girl in the jaw.  Jaide rubbed her hand and winked at Michelle.  “Oh, that one has been under my skin for days.”  She glanced up towards the bar.  A blonde with the biggest pair of ta-ta’s in the world held her eye moaning softly.  “That bitch hit me!”  

“Should we go help Mandy?” Jaide asked, giggling.  

“Sure,” said Michelle, scowling.  “I’ve got dibs on the redhead.”  

~*****~

Armando stood still, with his arms out, looking at her like she was a fragile child.  Mandy wanted to gauge his gorgeous dark eyes from his head.  “Thanks a hell of a lot.  I love walking in and finding you getting felt up by a girl in the corner.”  

“Excuse me, but am I allowed a chance to defend myself?” he asked, taking a small step forward.  

“What’s to defend?  I saw her all over you!”  

“Precisely.”  

Mandy resisted knocking him on his backside.  It was tough, but she managed.  “What?  Is that your defense?  God, I’m so stupid.  I knew better than to fall for you.  I knew that someone like you would do this.  Of course you’d want a freakishly tall woman with enough work to make Joan Rivers look real.”  

“Kitten,” Armando said, trying to touch her.   

She batted his hand away.  “Don’t Kitten me!”  

            “Tell me then, when is your date with James?  Tonight, tomorrow?  When were you planning on sneaking away to be with him?” asked Armando, his face void of emotion.  

            Mandy stood there, too stunned to move.  “What the hell are you talking about?”  

“Do not play coy with me, Mandy.  I know that you agreed to go out with him.  How could you?  Even if the fact that this hurts our relationship isn’t enough, your current state should be.”  

She tried her best to absorb what he was saying.  “Wait, we have a relationship?”  

“I thought that was obvious.”  

“So, tell me why you let the tramp hang all over you,” Mandy said, matter-of-factly.  

“Oh, I’ve got this one,” Jaide said.  She put her hand on Mandy’s shoulder and gave her a weak smile.  

“Cinnamon has a vampire fetish.  She’s always slitting her wrists to try and lure them out,” Jaide said, pushing her curly locks back from her face.  

“Cinnamon?  Her name is Cinnamon?”  Mandy glared at Armando.  “You cheated on me with a spice!”  

“Oh, sugs,” Jaide said, pulling her back from Armando.  “He’d been trying to keep her at arms length since we got here.  He even offered some bleached blonde British vamp to her for the taking.  I’m not sure why he ran off.  Might have had something to do with vamp-boy here threatening to rip his heart from his chest.”  

Mandy looked up at Armando.  “You scared James off?”  

“Yes and I would do it again.”  He reached out and took her hand.  “This will be bruised come morning.  Was hitting the other girls truly worth it?”  

“It felt damn good and I’d do it again.”   

            Armando pulled Mandy closer to him and she didn’t fight him when he embraced her.   

            “JAIDE!”   

            Mandy turned to see the redhead who had been giving Dmitri his own private dance getting the crap beat out of her by Michelle.  Armando took a deep breath in and looked sad.  “What’s wrong?”  

            “Your female workings arrived,” he said, softly.  

            It took Mandy only a second to get what he meant.  She cringed at the thought of her boyfriend’s gift for smelling blood.  “It’s not me, it’s Michelle.  Mine must be taking the month off.  It’s about time.  I could stand a small break.”  

            “You took a test then, so you are not…?”  

            Mandy stepped back as the redhead slid past her on the floor.  She smiled down at her before pushing her back towards Michelle with her foot.  “I love how easy things slide on your floor.”  She put a lot of emphasis on the word easy.  

            “Mandy, you did take a test, right?”  

            “What?” she asked, still watching Michelle pound on the supermodel hussy.  “No, I already told you that there’s no need.  I highly doubt that I’ll be selected for an Immaculate Conception, and since you’re into withholding the goods, I’m settling in for a dry spell.  Oh, have you reconsidered?  We are in a relationship now.”  

            “Put me down!”  

            “No.”  

            Michelle gasped.  “Why, the nerve of you!  I’m beside myself with worry thinking that I’m….” she let the part about being pregnant slide.  “I come back here and find you getting a lap dance.”  

            “So,” Dmirtri said, coldly.  

            “So?” Michelle echoed.  

            “Yeah, so!”  Dmitri dropped her down and she kicked out, catching his shin.  “Ouch, damn it!  You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here with that kind of attitude.  What will your boyfriend say when he finds out you’re participating in bar fights in your ‘delicate condition’?”  

            Michelle’s temper hit a whole new level.  “I didn’t know that menstruating was referred to as a condition nowadays.  Not that your archaic speech patterns surprise me, you…ancient relic!  And, what boyfriend?”  

            Dmitri grabbed her arm.  “You’re not expecting a child?”  

            “No and I don’t have a boyfriend.”  She refused to say that she desperately wanted him to fill that position.  

            “Then why did you think you might be pregnant?” Dmitri asked, loosening his grip on her slightly.  

            Michelle blushed, not wanting to bring up what they’d been so delicately skating around for the past two weeks.  “That night, after the bachelorette party, I woke up naked in your bed, and I was late, so I….”  

            “You thought that I lied about not taking advantage of you,” Dmitri said, pulling her close to him.  His hug was strong and much needed.  Michelle slipped her arms around him and returned the affection.  “I’m happy that there’s no one else, but it hurts that you don’t trust me.”  

            “You were getting a lap dance when I walked in.  Does that seem trustworthy to you?” she asked, her voice slightly muffled from his massive chest pushing against her face.  

            “I thought you were sleeping with someone else.”  

            “Did it occur to you to just ask me?”   

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

 A: Do I have to be a vampire or werewolf?  ‘Cause I think I’d like to be caught between a Lycan and a Vampire and be bit by both at the same time.  Hey, a girl has to have at least one threesome fantasy, right?  Then I suppose we’d find out what happens after that!

 Q: What is your favorite color M&M?    

A: I’m sure a lot of people answered green (those pervs LOL), but my fave color is the dark brown one that’s almost black.  I’m just into dark colors, ya know, being a creature of the night and all. =D

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

 A: I’m hard pressed to say what I enjoy most.  I’ve loved fantasy for what seems like forever, but I also enjoy creating my own universe and rules and applying that to other genres, like futuristics and paranormals.

 Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?

 A: My next release is HIS WICKED WAYS, a Regency-set romance with two men vying for one woman’s attention in a competition of sorts.  After that, I have a short story set in Shadowmere, CONJURERS OF THE FLESH, which features twin wizards and the woman that accidentally stumbles into their domain.  I’m also working on an contemporary paranormal/fantasy with dragons titled The Hidden: A STIRRING OF SHADOWS.

 Q: What authors inspired you growing up?