something she needed.
• 112 •
Better Off red
I craned my neck to the side and offered her my throat, letting
the hot shower spray rain down on my face. She hesitated a moment.
Her finger stilled inside me. Her fangs extended all the way, ready
to strike.
“Red,” she groaned.
“Do it,” I murmured, grinding down as hard as my body could
stand on her thigh. She snapped, her finger plunging as far as it
could go as her fangs broke my skin.
Her name came out of me as a high-pitched scream, and I
soaked her already slick thigh, my thick wetness coating her skin.
She trembled against me, sucking harder for a few more moments
before she licked the puncture wounds closed.
Her finger eased out and she slowly righted us both, cradling
my head against her neck. I kissed her beating pulse point, trying to
catch my breath.
“Better?” she asked then kissed my shoulder.
I swallowed, soaking in the gentle strokes of her other hand
through my hair. My ponytail had fallen loose somewhere along the
way.“No. My legs are broken and I can’t see. I think you ‘repaid
me’ plenty.”
Camila kissed the corner of my mouth. “Not even close, Red.
Not even close.”
❖
We walked to the elevator hand-in-hand. Camila was trapped
inside for another eight hours, at least. I had a ton of studying to get
done, but the last thing I wanted to do was leave her.
“I have to be downtown a few nights this week, but any time
you spend the night here, you’re welcome to spend the night with
me,” she said.
“Is that a formal invitation?”
“It is, Red. You might not be much for my health, but you’re in
me now. You set foot in that front door and I’ll know. You stay past
bedtime, and I’m coming to get you.” The gold in her eyes glowed
as a deep purr came from her throat.
• 113 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Okay, that was creepy.”
“Sorry.” Camila laughed. It was a warm, apologetic sound, but
she couldn’t joke like that, being what she was. “But I can sense you.”
“Maybe next time we can actually talk. I want to know more
about your creepy powers,” I said.
“And yours.”
“Mine? No. I’ve been thinking about it, and beside my
hypersensitive taste buds and my preference for chicken over fish,
there have been no perks to having demon blood in my system.”
“I’d like to find out for sure.” She touched my cheek just for
a moment, then pressed the button for the elevator door. With a
slight swishing sound, it opened. I stepped inside. She’d already
invited me back. The last thing I needed to do was hang around like
a pathetic little puppy.
Camila punched the same series of numbers into the elevator’s
keypad and then kissed me with a soft good-bye before the door
slid closed. I knew it would take everything I had not to daydream
about the taste of her lips—or how good she looked naked—as the
day went on.
The decision to be a grown-up about our interesting relationship
had been made, so I was going to be a big girl and stick to that plan.
I still had to focus on school and whatever new responsibilities now
came with being a member Alpha Beta Omega. Adding occasional
sex with the head sister-queen to the equation was simply a matter
of changing where I slept at night. It could work.
And I felt good about my decision, or at least I knew I should
have. My life had changed over the weekend. New friends, new
secrets, new jewelry, and stylish new pubes. But one thing irked me
as I took the short ride up to the pantry. It was lame, but I couldn’t
keep from thinking of it. I had no way of getting in touch with
Camila. So far, she had been the one to seek me out. Sure, I could
have asked Cleo the best way to reach Camila. I also could have
asked her myself before I hopped on the elevator. That logical detail
was pushed out of my mind.
We weren’t a couple, but I figured after as much time as she
spent with her tongue between my legs, swapping digits wasn’t all
• 114 •
Better Off red
that unreasonable. She could sense me, so it wasn’t like she needed
to speed dial me to lock in on my location, but I couldn’t even text
her if I wanted to. She’d been pretty consistent with asking me what
I wanted. Not that I ever would, but I truly felt like I could turn her
down if I felt like I should. I had plenty of choices in terms of if and
how. She had all the control over the when and where.
By the time I reached Cleo’s room, I realized that bothered me
a lot more than it should.
❖
The day before, the sunlight on my face had been a gift, nature’s
way of showing me that even though we were now bound to the
sister-queens, our lives were still our own. We were safe and we
were free to come and go. Now, as we stepped out onto the porch
of Alpha Beta Omega house and I didn’t burst into flames, I silently
cursed the sun as a harsh reminder of several things I had no interest
in thinking about. I still had a stats test to study for, an English
paper to start, and Greg and I had to complete our lab write-up for
the week.
As we walked to campus, the UV blast on my cheeks was also
another bit of unavoidable truth standing between Camila and me.
Forget any obvious age or possible generational gaps or the fact
she had several businesses to run or that I had freshman year to
get through. The sun itself would keep us apart no matter what we
had to do. Even if she felt the same way I did, which would be nuts
because what kind of a freak show falls for their fuck buddy after
two days, we could never really be together.
Having sex and watching the highlights on her computer over
the weekends was one thing, but her world existed at night. Unless
I decided to switch to all night classes, things would remain this
way. And then I just hated myself for even considering rearranging
my schedule, my life, for Camila. We’d just met. She more than had
a life of her own, and I was just some kid she liked to play with.
Distracting myself with homework seemed like a better idea every
minute.
• 115 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
Amy and I took a quick detour to the dorm to grab our books. I
wanted to ask her if she’d gotten a chance to tell Danni how she felt,
but I couldn’t because Danni tagged along with us. Still, it only took
a few minutes to figure out that something had changed between
them. When we were getting ready to leave the house, Danni was
particularly touchy-feely with Amy. The fact that they held hands
as we walked to the dorms wasn’t a big deal. I’d held hands with
Camila plenty of times in the past few days. But when we got to our
room they started exhibiting more couplesque behavior.
Amy couldn’t find her laptop cord. Danni
helped her look for it
while I was busy texting Todd. I was lost in a back-and-forth about
who he favored in the Monday night game, when something Danni
said caught my attention.
“Baby, where was the last place you saw it?” she asked Amy. I
peeked up and watched them both.
“I think…Oh! I know.” Amy dug into the crack between her
mattress and the wall and pulled out the missing cord. The crisis was
handled, but I was still caught up in their interaction. At some point
in the night, they’d moved on to pet names.
They’d probably swapped numbers too.
“Ginger? You ready?” Amy asked me. I blinked and looked
away after I realized I was staring at Danni’s hands on Amy’s hips.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” I waited for them to walk out and locked
the door behind us. The whole way to the cafeteria, they blissfully
ignored me, completely wrapped up in each other and more pet
names. Danni even chased Amy across the quad, threatening to
tickle her. I was glad Amy was happy, but I just wasn’t in the mood
to be their third wheel. Amy noticed. Once we grabbed our food she
cornered me by the juice dispenser.
“Hey, what’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” I looked around to make sure we were alone. Danni
was across the cafeteria, digging into her own lunch.
“You’re all quiet. Is everything okay with…C?” I snickered as
her eyes darted around. I wasn’t planning on mentioning Camila’s
name in public either. I cleared my throat and glanced around.
• 116 •
Better Off red
“I mean there’s nothing to be ‘okay’ about. We had a good time
last night. I’ll see her again when I see her.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Amy, what are you talking about?”
“I just mean, maybe you…It’s obvious you like her,” she
blurted out the last part.
“Is it? Because you’ve seen us together when?”
“Ginger, you’re so serious about everything. Well, just school.
I’m not saying you’re uptight, but it seems like she’s the only thing
that distracts you.”
“I’m glad I’m not too uptight.” I scoffed. “Listen. I do like spend-
ing time with C, but it’s nothing beyond spending time. Let’s just
consider what and who she is, all that stuff Benny told us, and then
maybe you’ll see that even if I did like her, it wouldn’t matter. Right?”
“No. You’re right,” Amy reluctantly agreed. Then that perky
grin spread across her face. “But Danni did say you’re the only girl
who has spent time alone with her, you know, since initiation.”
Yeah, because of my blood. “We were just talking. It’s nothing.”
“Whatever. I still think you like her.”
“Great. You keep thinking that. I’m going to eat.” Amy drove
me insane, but she did care about me and my feelings. It was hard to
stay annoyed with her.
We grabbed our trays and Amy followed me to a secluded table
where the girls had saved us seats.
“Danni asked me to be her girlfriend,” she said as we walked.
“I figured as much. What did you tell her?”
“Nothing. After we got ready for bed, she just asked me.”
“That’s good. I’m very happy for you.”
“Liar.”
I winked at her and plopped next to Laura. She’d put on about
eight pounds of Goth makeup and a tutu, but traded in her fishnet
sleeves I’d seen her wear around campus for an ABO shirt. It worked
for her.
“I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about this stuff,” she
said to Cleo. Apparently, we’d missed the beginning of a juicy
conversation.
• 117 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Not with people outside of Alpha Beta Omega or OBA,” Cleo
said.“So we can talk to the boys about stuff?” Anna-Jade muttered.
“Yes, A.J. We can.” Anna-Jade blushed at Cleo’s teasing reply.
“So what exactly happens when they change you?” Mel urged
Cleo to go on. Cleo looked over at Benny, our source on the inside
thanks to her step-dad. Benny coughed like she was about to lower
her voice. It was almost comical the way we all leaned in closer to
hear. “I’ve only seen it done once, but basically they drain you and
then you drink from at least four others. The most powerful is your
primary. They’re the demon you have to answer to. Or if you break
the law, they will be the one who has to answer for you.”
“Does it hurt?” Amy asked.
“Of course it hurts. You die.” I’d been trying to ignore the fact
that Samantha had joined us for lunch, but her bitchiness made it
impossible. So what if she did have a point.
“I’ve heard it’s different for everyone. If you fight the change,
it is painful,” Benny went on.
“The pain doesn’t bother me. It’s the shit afterward you have to
deal with,” Cleo said.
“What shit?” I asked.
“It’s a complicated process. Most demons live in small groups
with a specific feeder, but the house has to be sealed from sunlight,”
Benny said.
“I think you’re forgetting something.” I didn’t feel good about
the scowl on Cleo’s face. Benny didn’t either, but she let Cleo go on.
“They have to wipe you off the human grid. Fake your death, all
is not worth giving Cynthia Jones a heart attack.” There were a lot of
nervous laughs around the table, but Cleo brought up a very serious
issue. Becoming a vampire meant giving up your entire human life,
and that just wasn’t something I was willing to do. There was no
way I could let my family believe I was dead.
“Hey, Benny, how about you don’t bring your bad news to
breakfast anymore?” Laura said playfully.
• 118 •
Better Off red
“I’m sorry,” Benny said back. “I’m just being honest. I’ll
sugarcoat from now on.”
“No, B. You keep it real. It’s the only way they’ll learn,” Cleo
said with a firm nod.
“Is your mom still…like us?” Mel asked Benny.
“Yes. She’s waiting until I graduate.”
“Why then?” Amy asked exactly what I’d been thinking.
“My step-dad can’t go out in the daytime. She didn’t like the
idea of me facing the day alone. So if I decide to, with my step-dad’s
permission, we’ll both go through with the switch after graduation.”
“Nope.” Cleo laughed. “Even with your step-dad’s permission.
Not doing it.”
I looked up as Amy whispered to Danni. “Do you want to?”
Danni kissed her on the cheek with a dismissive smile. “I don’t
know, babe. I haven’t decided yet.”
“So what are the perks?” Sam asked.
Benny paused, probably contemplating what someone like
Samantha would see as a plus. “You’ve seen what their blood can
do. There’s the issue of immortality, and when it comes to money or
possessions, you want for nothing.”
There was more th
at Benny wasn’t saying, like how vampires
could change form, but I didn’t want to be the know-it-all to bring
that piece of information up. All that would do was bring more
attention to me and the time I was spending with Camila so I kept
my mouth shut.
The conversation slowly shifted then. We went on talking about
the sister-queens and gathering other useful bits of info. Camila and
the others needed to feed three times a week. When school wasn’t in
session, they had various feeders scattered around the city, and from
the way Benny explained it, around the country. They didn’t mind
if they had to travel to feed. I decided it would be better if I didn’t
think about who would be lucky enough to experience Camila’s
many oral talents at any given time. The sex wasn’t necessary, and
Camila wasn’t mine. Other than Benny, I knew none of the other
girls would turn her down if a simple drawing of blood turned into
something more. She had to feed to live and I just had to deal with it.
• 119 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
After we took a few minutes to give Anna-Jade a hard time
about Micah, Cleo and Danni gave us the rundown for the coming
week. We had our first chapter meeting on Tuesday night. Friday
night was movie night at the ABO house. Saturday morning, all the
fraternities were hosting a pancake breakfast for the sororities. The
brothers of OBA would issue our formal invites sometime during
the week. Saturday night, the Chi Nus were throwing an honest-
to-God toga party, but it wasn’t mandatory. Sunday night would be
spent in the ABO kitchen getting ready for our first bake sale to
benefit Types of Hope.
Of course, Camila was on my mind. I couldn’t wait to see
her again, but the weekend ahead sounded pretty good without the
prospect of spending the night in her arms. You couldn’t go wrong
with all-you-can-eat pancakes and hanging out with the girls.
❖
The moment we left the cafeteria on Sunday, things in my life
went from pretty darn interesting to utter crap. Micah and an agitated
Greg were waiting for Anna-Jade and me at the library. I had an idea
of what was pissing him off. If we’d been alone, I would have asked
Greg if he wanted to talk, but he was being such a moody jerk that
staying with the group seemed like the better move.
Halfway through the afternoon, Samantha showed up. She’d