When this month's cover subject and centerfold Peter Steele, the lead singer, bass player and major force behind Goth-erotic band Type O Negative, speaks, his voice--which haunts the band's latest release Bloody Kisses like a carnal lost soul--is an intimate revelation; a sexy serpent coiling around your libido, filled with promise of ecstacies such as we imagine in our dreams.   Once the tour is finished, Steele says the band will begin work on their next project, which he promises will continue in the tradition of their trademark "dark sensuality."

      On the night of his PLAYGIRL cover shoot, we sat at the makeup table and talked sex...among other things.   For such a massive, commanding man, he is remarkably modest and cooperative.   His gaze is potent, serious, yet underneath lurks a playfulness that bubbles to the surface without warning.   As we pass a glass of dark red wine back and forth between us, he tells me about his romantic priorities: "My partner's pleasure comes way before mine.   My pleasure is inconsequential.   That's what I enjoy...pleasing women," he explains, and also points out he's prepared to go the distance to ensure his partner's happiness.   "However she wants it, for however long, I have no problem doing pretty much anything she wants--so long as it doesn't involve physical injury or cause psychological damage," he says, then adds with a laugh, "like running off with my check book."

      I ask what sexual scenario most appeals to him.   He thinks for a moment, then replies:"I like to tease women...not in a malicious way, but to do something very erotic to them; something simple.   Like, if she were sitting next to me, I would reach behind her and pull her hair very gently and bite her on the neck just a little bit, and just when she was getting into it, I'd stop.   I would do this repeatedly and get more dramatic each time... until she initiates the next action."

      Though aware that it may not be PC, Peter has some old-fashioned beliefs that hit many of us right where we live:"I love to take women out.   I love to hold their chairs for them.   I just like to treat women like women," he says.   "I like to treat women like something fragile, something precious.   I like to take care of them.   It makes me feel good.   Maybe it's a selfish motive, but hopefully, they get something out of it, too."

      I know what I got out of it...the need to go home and take a cold shower.

      "I'm melting in her silhouette by the flickering light of burning dreams.   Our shadows, drowning in the flame, dance upon the walls.   These texts and journals, cherished for so long are now a pyre of passion; fuel for our lust...I hold her from behind, her heat seeping through our clothes as she lit a cigarette with a burning page.   My pulse quickened as she tossed another book onto the blaze and laughed.   I knew this was wrong and I loved it.   I loved the taste of smoke and wine when we kissed deeply.   I dropped to my knees and lifted her short skirt.   HEr panties, like her bra, burned too quickly, so I tasted her heat.   She moaned a beutiful song as she watched her clothing combust, and not once did she look away from the fire..."   --From "On The Eve of All Saints," by Peter Steele

      We met with Peter Steele in the hectic days just prior to Type O Negative's 10-week stint on the road with Queensryche.   When he walked through the door, we couldn't help but hold our breath.   At 6'6" and 220 pounds, Steele commands a room like a comic book hero come to life.   His long, jet black hair streams down his broad back as his eyes--the unreal green of a living forest--survey the studio where we are setting up the photo shoot for this month's cover.

      In our first and subsequent conversations, the nature of his sexuality becomes defined by three recurring images--fire, wine and blood.   Fire is the lust, wine the communion and blood the danger--and ultimately the fun--in the ceremonies of his desires.   He tells me about his fantasies: satisfying the lusty cravings of a maiden clad in rubber lingerie and spike heels; his favorite, making love--surrounded by a ring of flame--to a woman so hot her passion alone could set the bed on fire and consume them both; and of course, the one about....

PLAYGIRL: If I were to write down your sexual fantasy, do you see a story?   Does it have a plot--a beginning, a middle and an end?
I like the woods.   I love autumn.   I would imagine that this fantasy would take place in that environment, perhaps under the light of a full moon; a nice big fire....I imagine we're by a pond, surrounded by the elements.   I suppose that she would be having her way with me, more than I would be having my way with her.

What does she look like?
Tall.   I don't want to have to bend down too much.   I've got back problems.

Is that from your days with the Parks Service?
(Laughs) No that's from incomplete evolution I would imagine.   From what I understand, man is not quite ready to stand upright; which is why we have back problems.   We're not really meant to walk on two legs.   There are times when we should be walking around on all fours....But maybe we should be getting back to the bedroom scene.

Or the forest scene....OK, she's tall....
Her hair color is inconsequential.   I do prefer light eyes.

So you're in the forest minding your own business, when...
Here she comes like Little Red Riding Hood down the path, and I guess I'm the Big Bad Wolf?...This is hard.

What's she wearing?
I love high heels.   I don't really care for combat boots on women.

What else is she wearing?
I like latex.   I like leather.   I like fur.   I like sensuality...things that have a very nice feel to them.   Regular clothing is fine, too, of course.   I wouldn't expect her to be wearing a latex outfit in the woods.

This is your fantasy.
True, but I'm so rooted in reality that I have a difficult time fantisizing because I put so many mental limitations on things.   It has to be within reason for me to get excited about it.

If it isn't realistic, do you start to laugh?
If it isn't with reason, the fantasy ceases at that moment.   It has to be attainable.

OK, you're in the woods, the woman is coming toward you.   She's tall, and she's pale?
I would say pale.

She has light eyes, and for the sake of argument, we'll say she has black hair...
And very full lips.

What does she say to you?
"Get the hell out of my back yard?"   I'm only kidding.   Maybe she doesn't say anything.   She just sits down right next to me.   Maybe, by some chance, I have a bottle of wine with me, the fire's already built, the flames are reflecting off the pond, and without saying a word, I give her some wine from my glass--or my mouth.

Then what happens?
Touching....Maybe, she puts her hand in mine.

What part of her do you want to touch most?
Her face, very gently.   So I can fully absorb her contours.   I want every sense to be excited.   I want to smell her.   I want to touch her.   I want to see her.   I want to hear her voice and I want to taste her.   I want every sense to be capacitated

The fire is burning...you're sitting down touching her face.
She's touching my face now.   There would be a lot of touching.   Like I said earlier, I would pass wine from my mouth to hers.

Does that have anything to do with all the blood in your lyrics?   Blood is very sexual....
Blood is sexual.   Blood is violent.   Blood means something extreme to everyone.

It's life, isn't it?
And it's death.   It can mean pretty much whatever you want it to mean.   It's the ultimate symbol....But as far as the wine goes, it's a very sensual drink.   It's sensual to give someone wine from my mouth...as long as I've brushed my teeth within the last couple of hours. (laughs)

What is femine to you?
High heels, skirts, not a lot of makeup, but some.   It doesn't really matter if she wears makeup or not.   It doesn't change her psyche.   It just appeals to me.   I like long hair.   It doesn't always have to be long, but that's what I prefer.
There are some women who know how to smoke and some women who don't know how to smoke....

Do you smoke?
No.   I think that smoking is an extremely feminine thing.   When I see men smoke, it's very effiminate to me.   It's like a man walking around with a dildo in his mouth.   It's the same thing.

What about kissing women who smoke?
Sexually speaking.   I like to watch women smoke.   It's very sensual.   If I'm going to kiss a woman who smokes, it's probably because I'm attracted to her, first off, and the act of smoking just augments that.   So even though I don't like the taste, I can overcome it.

So, when I go back to my office to write your "as told to PLAYGIRL" fantasy, I'm going to have to have this high-heeled babe in latex in the middle of the forest smoking a cigarette.
That's pretty much it.

So, one more time, tell our readers what your ultimate sexual fantasy would be.
An old mansion in the dead of winter, in front of a huge fireplace, on a bearskin rug, surrounded by a circle of black candles...just having foreplay for hours.   I would be working my way along her body from top to bottom--extremely slowly--over the course of days maybe...until she passes out.