Decadent Divas: Meet the Stars of "Darkness Calling (Primani Series Book Five)"

In my Primani Series, the Primani are the good guys. Made immortal by an archangel, they exist to give humans a fighting chance against the chaos caused by demons. This doesn’t mean they are pure, or always good, or completely moral. They still retain their humanity. Darkness Calling represents the struggle that Primani Sean and Aisling, and yes, even the demon Cain, face inside their minds. Centuries of loneliness and pain leave scars. Obsession, lust, fear, desperate sadness... sometimes the dark offers an escape for the wounded. Sometimes the dark hides their sins. Sometimes the darkness is impossible to resist even if it destroys them.

Curious? Now that I have your attention, let’s meet two of the stars of book five in the Primani Series, Darkness Calling. Aisling Andersson and Cain--just Cain--but also known as Irku, Slayer of Angels, Bringer of Nightmares, and more titles than probably necessary, have agreed to meet with me to share their dirty secrets with my readers. I invited Sean O’Cahan to share his thoughts, but he flatly refused, pointing out that he’d rather be spit-roasted in Hell (again) than play nice with the demon who keeps trying to rip his heart out. While I can totally understand his attitude, I feel safer when he’s around. I’m more than a little nervous. This is the first time I’ve interviewed my characters, and these two are explosive together. I hope we can keep the noise down and not blow up the studio so I get my deposit back!

Cain, my wicked, but delicious demon, is radiating his usual raw sexuality and overwhelms the chair he’s sprawled across. He is evil to his core, but that doesn’t keep my skin from tingling as my blood pumps harder in his presence. His compelling green and gold eyes hold mine with way too much knowledge, and he shoots me a tiny smirk so I know he senses my arousal. Mmm. He is yummy in a bad, bad, bad sort of way. I cross my legs just a little tighter.

Aisling is another story. She’s pissed as hell to be here. The last thing she wants is to be anywhere near Cain now that the book is finished. Perched on the edge of her seat, she’s dragged her fingers through her pretty strawberry blond hair until it’s floating like a cloud around her pale face. She’s moved her chair as far from Cain as possible and looks ready to slap me--hard. I really wish Sean was here. He’d have my back. He always does. Well, the clock is ticking as Cain likes to say, so best to dive right in.

“Thank you both for agreeing to be here today. I’m sure my readers are dying to hear from you so let’s make this exciting for them. Cain, why don’t we start with you? How did you two meet?”

Cain leans back, crosses his ankles and smiles at Aisling’s scowl. Before she can respond, he replies, “I picked her up in a quaint little trattoria in Rome. 1925. I was bored, and she was desperate for a good fucking.” He lifts one strong shoulder in a careless shrug. “After that first time, I couldn’t get her off my dick.”

Aisling gasps, but recovers to snap, “You bloody asshole! I was minding my own business when you showed up and invaded my space. I was in a really dark place. You offered sex. I wanted a one-night stand. You used some demon mojo to get me to stay!”

He chuckles as Aisling walks right into his trap. He loves to make her lose control. Angling into her face, he asks, “Is that how you live with yourself now? I thought we’d agreed to be honest. You were hungry, angel. Admit it. You loved what I did to you.” His voice drops to a purr, “Every. Single. Thing.”

She sure did, and so did I. After all, I wrote it. My imagination is beginning to roar to life. I clear my throat to get their attention but neither hears me. The tension is palpable, and I’m starting to sweat. Why didn’t I frisk them?

Aisling flushes and rounds on him, teeth ground together. “Fine! I won’t lie. It wasn’t horrible, but I’ve had better!”

“Liar!”

Glaring daggers, she sneers, “Don’t flatter yourself. You weren’t that good.”

“Really? I’ve still got scars on my ass from your nails. It’s been over 100 years.”

She freezes as his words sink in. Time to change the subject before Aisling does something I’m going to regret. I like Cain. He’s too evil to kill just yet. So I say, “Why don’t we move on to talk about what you’ve been doing since the book ended? Aisling? How are things in Plattsburgh?”

She ignores me. She only has eyes for the demon who turned her life inside out. After the space of a heartbeat, she hisses, “You were convenient. A distraction from the pain of my life. Nothing more, Cain. Move on. I have.”

“Still lying? You want me now. You’ll always want me.”

“Are you kidding me? I hate you for what you did to me!”

“What exactly did I do that you didn’t want?” Cain’s voice drops so low that I have to lean closer to make out the words. His hands are steady on his thighs, but one finger twitches with anger. He’s doing his best to stay civil, but he’s got a short temper.

I interject, “You threatened to kill Sean Michael. That wasn’t cool.”

He cocks his head and murmurs, “Ah. But I didn’t. Did I? I left the boy alone. I didn’t cross that line.”

Aisling throws up her hands in exasperation. “You kidnapped me and threw me in a dog crate for two weeks! No food, no water! You put a friggin’ shock collar around my neck, you prick! You tortured me!”

Cain waves away her protests. “You provoked me. I told you to stay away from that Primani. I wasn’t going to interfere until you spent the night fucking his brains out.” He looks at me and arches a brow in question. “You didn’t expect me to let that go, did you? I’ve got a reputation to protect.”

I can’t argue with him. I created him to be the bad guy... and he was a very good bad guy. I use my best apologetic tone. “Sorry, Ais. I have to agree with Cain on this point. He wouldn’t be a legit demon if he let that go. Fucking Sean was a slap in the face.”

Her blue eyes begin to glow with her saol. Uh-oh. “You’re just jealous because you want Sean to be real! You sit at your computer and write these smoking hot sex scenes without caring how they hurt your characters in the end! Why don’t you find your own demon to play with?”

Ouch! “Whoa! That’s not true! I do care what happens to my characters! After a thousand years of loneliness, I gave you mind-blowing sex with two gorgeous studs. I know it didn’t end well, but you enjoyed Cain’s intensity until you found out he was a demon. I’ll admit that was a little cruel of me, but it fit the story perfectly.”

Cain crosses his arms over his chest with a smirk. “Ah, yes. Good times. My favorite was bending you over the statue of Gabriel. Do you think he watched?”

Aisling has calmed down, but she’s clearly unhappy with me. She glares at me one last time before turning to Cain. “You’re a pig.”

That finger begins to twitch again, and his eyes narrow to slits. “Be very careful, cara. You might want to rewrite our history, but you are only lying to yourself. I didn’t love you, but I gave you freedom. Freedom to embrace the darkness inside you. You should be more grateful. You can lie to yourself, but don’t lie to me. I was there.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but then stops. Her eyes dart around the set as if she’s looking for...

Sean. I feel his body heat before he’s fully rematerialized behind me. As soon as he’s corporeal, he lays his hand over my shoulder and squeezes.

“Easy, darlin’. I thought you might need me. Mind if I sit in?” He drags a chair to my side and straddles it backwards; his black Oakley’s hide his glorious eyes.

“Um. Yeah. Sure, Sean. Are you armed?”

He picks up my hand, kisses my knuckles, and smiles tightly. “Always.”

I breathe him in, and my nerves calm. Okay. I can do this. They aren’t real, right? They can’t really draw blood? Feeling a lot like Jerry Springer, I say, “Why don’t we move away from the past and talk about something else? Sean, what scene was the most difficult for you as a character?”

Sean’s shielded gaze rests on Cain’s golden eyes; his muscles tense. He’s ready to launch himself at the slightest twitch of the demon’s body. After less than a second of thought, he breathes, “Gina.”

Oh, damn. I used Gina to rip his heart open and leave him on his knees, utterly destroyed. Cain made that happen with a few clever strokes of his knife. I grope for Sean’s hand and find the cold silver of his Primani blade instead. The haft’s resting in his palm; the blade gleams along his thigh. I swallow hard as his body vibrates with subtle power. “I’m sorry I put you through that, but you handled it very well. I was proud of your self-control. Please use some now. I don’t want any fighting today.”

Without breaking his stare, he says, “I’m biding my time. He’ll get what’s coming to him whether you write it or not.”

Cain unfolds himself and flexes his fingers with a hard grin. Aisling jumps to her feet crying, “Sean, no! Not now!” She splays her palm over her belly. “He’s not worth it!”

Cain snaps his fingers, and his black athame appears in his palm. Sean springs to his feet with blade ready, mouth curled into a snarl. Aisling throws herself between them, cursing them both in Italian.

Oh, for fuck’s sake! Clearly, I’ve lost control over this interview.... “Sean, please! Cain, get back to Hell--NOW!”

Cain rakes his eyes over me, but takes a step away from Sean. “Control is an illusion I let you enjoy. Don’t get comfortable with it.” With that, he’s gone.

Sean and Aisling share a private thought before she gives me a stiff hug. Sean rolls his eyes at her prickliness before sweeping me into a bear hug that steals my breath. After dropping a kiss on my cheek, he slips off his favorite Oakley’s and sets them on the top of my head. His mesmerizing eyes delve into my soul, and he smiles at what he finds. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Call me any time.”

They leave me standing here with the light techs, the sound guy, and a nerdy little producer who thinks he’s Steven Spielberg. I touch my cheek to feel the lingering heat from Sean’s mouth on my skin.

Maybe my demon is right. Control is only an illusion.